1. LUPEX (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Context: In a joint effort, the space agencies of India and Japan are embarking on the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX).

• This mission, slated for a 2025 launch, aims to assess the feasibility of establishing a lunar base, investigate the presence of water ice, and advance surface exploration technologies.

About Lunar Polar Exploration Mission (LUPEX)

• It's a collaborative project jointly undertaken by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) and the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• The mission's launch is planned for the year 2025.
• LUPEX aims to employ a rover and lander to investigate the feasibility of establishing a lunar base, the presence of water ice, and surface exploration technologies.
• The rover and lander are being developed by JAXA and ISRO, respectively.
• The rover will carry instruments not only from ISRO and JAXA but also from NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA).

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2. Denom Particle (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Sci & Tech)

Context: Researchers at the University of Illinois recently discovered a demon particle that could lead to the making of superconductors that can operate at room temperature. This massless particle termed the holy grail of superconductors, was discovered nearly 70 years after ‘demons’ were first predicted.

About Demon Particle

• The theoretical physicist David Pines, in 1956, made the initial prediction of the demon particle.
• Pines' hypothesis suggested that distinct behaviors would be displayed by electrons moving through a solid, potentially resulting in the creation of a novel particle termed the "demon particle."
• These particles possess no mass, carry no charge, and are transparent to light.
• They have the capability to come together to form plasmons, which are collective electron entities exhibiting wave-like characteristics.
• Plasmons play a crucial role in superconductivity, and the identification of demon particles might pave the way for the design of new superconducting materials that can function at room temperature.

What is Superconductivity?

• Definition: Superconductivity is a phenomenon in which an electric charge travels through a substance without experiencing any resistance.
• Efficient Energy Transfer: The concept suggests that electrical energy can be transmitted between two locations with complete efficiency, without any loss of heat.
• Discovery: Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes first identified superconductivity in 1911. 
• He noticed a sudden decrease in the electrical resistance of mercury when it was subjected to extremely low temperatures.
• Temperature Dependence: It is generally observed at extremely low temperatures, often near absolute zero (0 Kelvin or -273.15°C).

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3. Black Eagle (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Env & Eco)

Context: A rare black eagle has been spotted for the first time in the Chail wildlife sanctuary located in Himachal Pradesh’s Solan district. 

About Black Eagle

• Belonging to the family Accipitridae, it stands alone as the sole representative of the genus Ictinaetus.
• Features: They can grow up to 81 cm. It has a grey-yellow beak with a black tip and yellow feet.
• Gliding gracefully, they traverse the forests in the elevated terrains of tropical and subtropical regions in South and Southeast Asia, along with southeastern China.
• Distribution: They can be spotted in the Indian states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu & and Kashmir, as well as within the forests of the Eastern and Western Ghats in peninsular India.
• IUCN Status: Least concern

About Chail Wildlife Sanctuary

Location: Chail, Himachal Pradesh. 

• It forms a portion of the watershed of a Giri River tributary.
• Flora: Oak and Pine trees, as well as grasslands.
• Fauna: wild boar, goral, sambar, spotted deer, Himalayan black bear, common langur, Indian porcupine, flying squirrel, and more.

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4. Respiratory Syncytial Virus (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Science & Tech)

Context: Recently, The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first vaccination to save newborns from Respiratory Syncytial Virus.

• The new vaccine is made by Pfizer and is given to mothers late in their pregnancies. It provides protection to infants through their first six months of life.

About Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV)

• RSV is a common respiratory virus.
• It is one of the most frequent causes of childhood illness.
• It usually causes mild, cold-like symptoms, such as runny nose, cough, and fever.
• However, premature infants, babies younger than 6 months old, people over age 65, and people with a compromised immune system, chronic lung disease, or congenital heart condition can get a more severe case of RSV.
• A severe infection can lead to pneumonia and bronchiolitis.
• Transmission: Spreads from person to person
• The air by coughing and sneezing, Direct contact, such as kissing the face of a child, touching an object or surface with the virus on it.
• Symptoms: Runny nose, Decrease in appetite, Cough, Sneezing, Fever & Wheezing.
• ABRYSVO's approval is a significant milestone because it is the first maternal vaccine that can protect newborns from RSV.

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5. Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill 2023 (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Polity)

Context: The proposed Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill (BNS) says that causing “floods” is a terrorist offence.

• The Bill that seeks to replace the British-era Indian Penal Code defines terrorism as a separate offence for the first time as part of a general law. The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, of 1967 is a special law focused on terrorist activities.
• Section 111 (6) (a) of the Bill says that a “terrorist” refers to any person who “develops, manufactures, possesses, acquires, transports, supplies or uses weapons, explosives, or releases nuclear, radiological or other dangerous substance, or cause fire, floods or explosions.”

About Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill (BNS)

• The initial Law Commission, led by Thomas Babington Macaulay in 1834, was responsible for drafting the Indian Penal Code. Its enforcement commenced in January 1860.
• This Bill will replace the Indian Panel Code.
• Proposed Changes in Bill: It suggests amendments to existing clauses, including defamation, crimes against women, and attempted suicide.
• The Indian Penal Code comprises 511 sections, while the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita Bill encompasses 356 provisions.
• This Bill introduces a definition of the term "terrorism," marking the first instance of such a definition, unlike the IPC.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA)

• Passed: in 1967.
• Aims: To effective prevention of unlawful activities and associations in India.
• The Act grants complete authority to the central government. 
• If the Centre perceives an activity as illegal, it can proclaim it as such through an Official Gazette.
• UAPA Apply: Both Indian and foreign nationals can be charged.
• Meaning of Unlawful Activity: It pertains to any action by an individual or group with the intent to undermine India's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

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6. Real State Sector (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Economy)

Context: A 14-member committee chaired by former NITI Aayog CEO and India’s G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant, was constituted to examine stalled real estate projects and recommend ways to complete them.

About the Committee

• Establishment: March 2023
• Ministry: Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs

Recommendations of the Committee

• Rehabilitation Package: State administrations ought to formulate a rehabilitation package, while developers need to pledge a completion schedule spanning three years.
• Zero Period: Spanning from April 1, 2020, to March 31, 2022, would entail the suspension of interest and penalties owing to Covid-19 and court directives.
• Mandatory RERA Registration: The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, provisions for registering projects with RERA must be enforced.
• Resolution for Incomplete Projects: RERAs need to identify primarily finished projects encountering administrative obstacles and offer a solution within a 30-day timeframe.

SWAHIM Fund

It has government backing and operates as a Category-II AIF debt fund under SEBI registration.

• An Alternative Investment Fund (AIF) denotes a privately pooled investment vehicle gathering funds from sophisticated investors, Indian or foreign, for purposeful investment based on a defined policy for investors' gain.
• SBICAP Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SBI Capital Markets and the State Bank of India, serves as the Fund's Investment Manager.
• The Government aims to inject funds totaling up to Rs. 10,000 crores into the affordable and middle-income group housing sector via the Special Window.

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7. Kerala Towards Drought (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 - Disaster)

Context: Kerala has received 45 percent less rain than normal this season, and increasing heat severely affected power generation and drinking water needs across the state. Only 36 percent of water remains in the reservoirs managed by the state electricity board.

Key Points

• Palakkad: The most water-scarce district in Kerala, facing critical drinking water shortage.
• Bharathapuzha River: In Shornur, Palakkad, Kerala's second-largest river, Bharathapuzha, has dwindled to a mere trickle. 
• This situation has intensified the drinking water scarcity in Shornur and the neighboring Ottappalam.
• Malampuzha: Kerala's largest drinking water reservoir, there is a significant depletion of 58 percent. 
• At present, Peppara Dam can provide drinking water for only the next 100 days.
• Idukki: Kerala's biggest hydroelectric power project, has received 60% less rain this season. This could affect power generation at the Idukki hydroelectric station.
• Climate experts opined that this month is becoming one of the most rain-starved Augusts on record due to a looming El Nino.

About El Nino

• This phenomenon involves the periodic warming of seawater in the central-east Equatorial Pacific, occurring at irregular intervals.
• El Niño Effects: During El Niño events, temperatures on the surface of the Pacific Ocean along the equator increase, leading to a weakening of trade winds. 
• Wind Shift: The typical easterly trade winds that flow from the Americas towards Asia are disrupted during El Niño.

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8. CRISPR Cas9 (Syllabus: GS Paper 3 – Science & Tech)

Context: Indian scientists have developed the first-ever low-pungent mustard that is pest and disease-resistant. It is based on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing while being non-GM and transgene-free.

Oilseeds yield not only oil for cooking and frying. Their so-called meal – the residual cake after extraction of oil from the seeds – is a protein-rich ingredient used in livestock, poultry and aqua feed.

India is the 4th largest oilseeds producer in the world. It has 20.8% of the total area under cultivation globally, accounting for 10% of global production.

CRISPR Cas9 Technology

CRISPR is an acronym representing Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palindromic Repeats.

• It is an innovative technology that provides geneticists and medical researchers with the capability to alter precise segments of the genome.
• CRISPRs are unique segments of DNA with specialized functions.
• The protein Cas9, also known as "CRISPR-associated," functions as an enzyme resembling molecular scissors, proficient in cleaving DNA strands.
• This capability enables researchers to conveniently modify DNA sequences and manipulate gene behaviour.

Genetically Modified (GM) Crops 

• GM crops encompass the introduction of external genes into an organism's genetic makeup, resulting in transgenic plants. 

These genes can originate from species unrelated to the host organism.

Genome-edited (GE) Crops

• GE crops involve the alteration of preexisting genes within an organism's genome, usually without the incorporation of foreign genes.

 These modifications emulate naturally occurring mutations.

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9. PM-DevINE (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 - Governance)

Context: The Prime Minister's Development Initiative for North Eastern Region (PM-DevINE), which was launched to boost the development of North-East India, has recently been revised to better reflect the region's needs and aspirations.

• The Ministry of Development of the North Eastern Region (MDoNER) has issued fresh Scheme Guidelines for the execution of the Cabinet-endorsed North East Special Infrastructure Development Scheme (NESIDS) throughout the balance period of the 15th Finance Commission (2022-2026).

About PM-DevINE

• This initiative, operating as a Central Sector Scheme, was introduced under the framework of the Union Budget for the fiscal year 2022-23.
• Implemented By: Ministry of Development of the Northeast Region.
• It has been allocated full 100% funding from the Central government, ensuring direct allocation of resources for development endeavours.
• Time Constraints: Efforts will be made to complete the PM-DevINE projects by 2025-26.

PM-DevINE Target

• The creation of infrastructure, 
• Support industries, 
• Social development projects and 
• Create livelihood activities for the youth and women, with a focus on job creation. 
• These projects will include basic infrastructure in all primary healthcare centres and government schools.

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10. Ultra-Processed Food (Syllabus: GS Paper 2 – Health)

Context: There has been a rapid rise in the sales of ultra-processed foods in India in the last 10 years, shows a report released by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in collaboration with the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER).

• By 2032, despite a decline in market share, chocolate and sugar confectioneries will continue to dominate ultra-processed food followed by salty snacks and ready-made and convenience food, according to the report.

About World Health Organization (WHO)

• WHO takes the lead in worldwide health concerns, influencing the health research direction, establishing norms and benchmarks, formulating policy recommendations based on evidence, offering technical assistance to nations, and tracking and evaluating health trends.
• Agency: United Nations Specialized Agency for Health 
• Founded: in 1948.
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland
• Objective: To serve as the overseeing and harmonizing entity for global health initiatives.

Ultra-processed foods are made mostly from substances extracted from foods, such as fats, starches, added sugars, and hydrogenated fats. Ex: Ice cream, biscuits, carbonated drinks etc.

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