Today's News 26 March 2019
नीति आयोग फिनटेक कॉनक्‍लेव 2019
नीति आयोग 25 मार्च, 2019 को नई दिल्‍ली के डॉ. अम्‍बेडकर नगर अंतरराष्‍ट्रीय केन्‍द्र में एक दिनभर चलने वाले फिनटेक कॉनक्‍लेव का आयोजन किया। इसका उद्देश्‍य भारत के फिनटेक क्षेत्र में बढ़ती ऊंचाइयों को आकार देना, भविष्‍य की रणनीति एवं नीतिगत प्रयासों के लिए योजना बनाना तथा व्‍यापक वित्‍तीय समावेश के लिए कदमों पर विचार करना है। इस कॉनक्‍लेव में वित्‍तीय स्‍थान- केन्‍द्रीय मंत्रालयों, विनियामकों, बैकरों, स्‍टार्टअप्‍स, सेवा प्रदाताओं एवं उद्यमियों के प्रतिनिधि भाग लिए।
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants-hindi/19417-2019-25
#FinitechConclave #Policy #Commission #NitiAayog #India #SEBI #MSME

अर्थव्यवस्था में तरलता की स्थिति बेहतर
वित्त मंत्रालय और भारतीय रिजर्व बैंक (RBI) ने 25 मार्च 2019 जानकारी दी है कि अर्थव्यवस्था में तरलता (लिक्विडिटी) आरामदायक स्थिति में है। उन्होंने यह भी कहा कि इसमें रुपी-डॉलर स्वैप विंडो के जरिए 35,000 करोड़ रुपये का और बूस्ट दिया जाएगा। आर्थिक मामलों के विभाग के सचिव सुभाष चंद्र गर्ग ने पत्रकारों को बताया कि तरलता आरामदायक स्थिति में हैं। तरलता को बढ़ाने के लिए RBI की ओर से रुपये-डॉलर स्वैप व्यवस्था के नए उपकरण के बारे में पूछे जाने पर गर्ग ने कहा कि यह आरबीआई की ओर से उठाया गया सार्थक कदम है।
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants-hindi/19416-2019-03-26-04-16-50
#RBI #SubhashChandra #dollar #economy #FinanceMinistry

Global Energy Transition index
India has moved up two places to rank 76th on a global energy transition index, which has ranked 115 economies on how well they are able to balance energy security and access with environmental sustainability and affordability. Sweden remains on the top on this annual list compiled by Geneva-based World Economic Forum (WEF) and is followed by Switzerland and Norway in the top three, as per its latest report released on 25 March 2019.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/19421-global-energy-transition-index
#WEF #India #BRICS #China #Brazil #CO2

Chandrayaan 2 to carry NASA science instrument
India's second moon mission Chandrayaan 2, scheduled for launch in April, would be carrying a NASA science probe. Chandrayaan 2 will carry NASA-owned laser retroreflector arrays that allow scientists to make precise measurements of the distance to the Moon, the US space agency officials said, during the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference held in Texas.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/19420-chandrayaan-2-to-carry-nasa-science-instrument
#NASA #Chandrayaan2 #ISRO #India #spacecraft

Magnetoreception found in Human
Many people are able to unconsciously detect changes in the Earth’s magnetic fields, according to scientists who claim to have found concrete evidence of a new human sense — magnetoreception. Researchers from California Institute of Technology in the US and the University of Tokyo in Japan offer experimental evidence that human brain waves respond to controlled changes in Earth-strength magnetic fields.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/19419-magnetoreception-found-in-human
#Magnetoreception #Human #Earth #magneticfields #eNeuro

SC dismisses plea of Triple Talaq
The Supreme Court 25 March 2019 dismissed a plea challenging the constitutional validity of an ordinance which makes the practice of instant ‘triple talaq’ a punishable offence. A bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi dismissed a plea of a Kerala-based outfit and said it will not like to interfere.
Read More: https://www.ksgindia.com/index.php/study-material/news-for-aspirants/19418-sc-dismisses-plea-of-triple-talaq
#SC #TripleTalaq #RanjanGogoi #SupremeCourt

Additionally, activists from the community say that this will come at a loss for Dalit, Bahujan and Adivasi transgender persons, as they will have to make a choice between availing reservation either based on caste and tribal identity or gender identity.

“This is in violation of the Constitution. SC, ST persons should be able to avail internal reservation in their categories. If trans persons from these categories do not have the choice to do that, they will be forced into two corners. Either compete with cis-gendered SC, ST persons. Or under OBC, compete with other savarna transgender persons, and cis-gendered persons from OBC communities,” said Kanmani, a trans woman and lawyer, to The Indian Express.

What has happened so far on horizontal reservations?

Since the NALSA judgment, there has been no direction from the Central government on delivering on the right to reservation for trans persons.

In 2015, Rajya Sabha DMK MP Tiruchi Siva presented the Rights of Transgender Persons Bill. Prepared with inputs from the trans community, this Private Member’s Bill, in line with the NALSA judgment, had provisions for reservation for trans persons — in the public and private sector. After being passed in the Rajya Sabha, the Bill was rejected in the Lok Sabha. Instead, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Bill, 2016 was introduced by the Centre. It had no provision for reservations.

In 2018, a parliamentary standing committee under the Ministry of Social Justice was set up. It was headed by BJP MP Ramesh Bais, now Governor of Maharashtra. The committee, again in line with the NALSA judgment, recommended reservations for transgender persons. Yet, the Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act, 2019 did not have any mention of reservation — vertical or horizontal.

Alternatively, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, included in its purview the right of disabled persons to accrue horizontal reservation. Since this Act has been implemented, horizontal reservation for disabled people is now ensured under the Central government.

In 2015, the Tamil Nadu government decided to categorise “transgender or eunuch (thirunangai or aravani)”, that is, only transwomen under the Most Backward Classes (MBC) category. After Sangama v State of Karnataka, Karnataka became the first and only state to offer one per cent horizontal reservation to transgender persons in 2021. In April this year, transgender persons were included in the OBC category in Madhya Pradesh.

“The aspect of the implementation [of the NALSA judgment] has really not gone anywhere. Currently, the primary challenges are legislative. This lack of action needs to be legally challenged,” Bittu K R, a genderqueer trans man and Associate Professor of Biology and Psychology at Ashoka University, told The Indian Express.

Transgender persons have filed several petitions of late in the Delhi HC, Madras HC, Rajasthan HC, etc., asking for horizontal reservation in education and jobs.

#upsc #news #reservation #theindianexpress #transgendercommunity #bombay #highcourt #variouscommunities #nalsa #socialasymmetry #sc #st #obc #policies #national #human #rights #commission #violation #constitution #uttarakhand #bihar

Today's Headlines - 01 August 2023
DGCA fined for Tail strikes
GS Paper - 2 (Infrastructure)

The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) has fined IndiGo a sum of Rs 30 lakhs and issued a show cause notice to the airline, following a special audit concerning frequent tail strike incidents. The special audit uncovered “certain systemic deficiencies” in IndiGo’s documentation pertaining to “operations/training procedures and engineering procedures”.

What is a tail strike?

A tail strike refers to an incident where the tail of an aircraft hits the ground or strikes any other stationary object.
While tail strikes can occur during takeoff, a majority happen during the landing of an aircraft.
According to Airbus statistical data, over 65 per cent of tail strikes happen during landings.
Tail strikes can cause significant damage to the aircraft, with major repairs needed to restore the plane’s structural integrity.
Even in cases where the damage is not major or immediately obvious, thorough inspections are carried out before the aircraft is declared fit to fly again.

What causes tail strikes?

While modern aircraft are fitted with a whole gamut of systems to aid pilots in flying aircraft and reduce the probability of human error, most tail strikes can be attributed to mistakes made by pilots.
Simply put, tail strikes occur when the pitch attitude of the aircraft (more on that in a moment) – while taking off or landing – is steep enough for the tail of the craft to hit the ground.
Aircraft, depending on their size, have different “tail strike margins” – the longer the aircraft, more prone it is to a tail strike as the rear of the plane juts out further behind the rear undercarriage.
An aircraft in flight is free to rotate in three dimensions: yaw, nose left or right about an axis running up and down; roll, rotation about an axis running from nose to tail; and pitch, nose up or down about an axis running from wing to wing. These are collectively known as an aircraft’s attitude.
Tail strikes are most impacted by the aircraft’s pitching motion. A positive pitching motion raises the nose of the aircraft and lowers the tail.
Tail strikes are caused by such a motion being executed improperly during take off and landing.

#upsc #news #DGCA #tail #strikes #infrastructure #indigo #systemic #engineering #aircraft #gamut #axis #rotate #motion #human #probability

Today's Headlines - 04 August 2023
The crypto project WorldCoin
GS Paper - 3 (Economy)

A new cryptocurrency project called WorldCoin, from OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, has claimed over 2 million sign-ups across the world after its official launch on 24 July 2023. OpenAi was the company behind the AI chatbot ChatGPT.

What differentiates WorldCoin from many existing cryptocurrencies?

It is its use of biometrics. Its unique method of sign-up, involving scanning of irises, has rung alarm bells in countries such as France, Germany and Kenya.
India also has at least 17 sign-up locations – mostly at Delhi Metro stations in the NCR region and a few in Bengaluru. In comparison, the United States has 10 locations and Japan has three locations, according to the WorldCoin website.

What is WorldCoin?

The Worldcoin protocol is intended to be the world’s largest identity and financial public network, open to everyone regardless of their country, background or economic status.
WorldCoin wants to offer users an account that only “real humans” can get, through what it calls a “World ID”.
For this, a customer has to sign up and do in-person eyes scan at particular locations, where their irises would be scanned through a ball-like object called an ‘orb’.
Once the orb’s iris scan verifies the person is a real human, it creates a World ID for them.
The reasoning given here is that biometric data would help differentiate between humans and Artificial Intelligence systems and prevent duplication of IDs from the same person.
It can then be used as an ID in a variety of everyday applications – such as a cryptocurrency wallet – without revealing the user’s identity.
The project has three aspects: a World ID or a digital identity for “proving an individual’s unique personhood,” a Worldcoin token (WLD) that is its cryptocurrency, and a World App that enables “payment, purchases and transfers globally using digital assets and traditional currencies.”
It says that creating a World ID (through the orb scanning) is not essential for accessing the app or tokens. But it provides certain incentives for doing so.

Who owns WorldCoin?

San Francisco and Berlin-based company Tools for Humanity is behind WorldCoin. Altman is its Co-Founder and Alex Blania is its Co-Founder and CEO.
The company’s website simply states that it is a technology company that was built to ensure a “more just economic system”, and re-directs visitors to the WorldCoin website.
The Worldcoin can help address how the economy will be reshaped by generative AI technology.

#upsc #news #headline #crypto #project #worldcoin #economy #world #chatGPT #OpenAi #currencies #germany #kenya #delhimetro #US #japan #location #financial #worldID #human #intelligence #technology #visitors #humanity #berlin #francisco #CEO

Today's Headlines - 12 August 2023
Russia’s Luna-25 mission
GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

As the Chandrayaan-3 mission tightens its orbit around the Moon, Russia was launched its first moon-landing spacecraft in 47 years on 11 August 2023. The Luna-25 mission is scheduled to land on the Moon on 23 August 2023, the same day as Chandrayaan-3’s planned landing.

More about Luna-25

Luna-25 was launched from the Vosthochny cosmodrome in the Russian Far East less than a month after Chandrayaan-3 launched from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota.
The Russian mission will try to land on the lunar South Pole just like the Indian mission, aiming for a prized destination that may hold significant quantities of ice that could be used to extract oxygen and fuel in the future.
If either of the missions succeeds before the other, it will be the first one to land on the lunar South Pole in human history.
Roscosmos, Russia’s ISRO counterparts said that Luna-25 will practice soft-landing, analyse soil samples and conduct long-term scientific research on the Moon’s surface.
The Chandrayaan-3 mission is carrying an orbiter, a lander and a rover. The lander and rover are carrying many scientific payloads.
This is Russia’s first lunar mission since 1976 when the country was part of the Soviet Union and it will be completed without equipment from the European Space Agency (ESA). ESA ended its cooperation with Roscosmos after Russia invaded Ukraine.
Luna-25 has a mass of 1.8 tons and carries 31 kilograms of scientific equipment, including some that it will use to take rock samples from up to a depth of 15 centimetres to test for the presence of water that could be used to support future crewed missions to the Moon.
The mission was originally scheduled to launch in October 2021 but was marred by many delays.
The Russian mission will take a lot less time to reach the Moon than Chandrayaan-3 because the latter is taking a longer route that takes advantage of the gravities of the Earth and the Moon to use a lot less fuel.
Russia willevacuate villagers from a village near the launch site due to a “one in a million chance” that one of the rocket stages that launches could fall to the Earth there.

#upsc #news #headline #russia #luna #mission #space #technology #chandrayaan #moon #spacecraft #vosthochny #cosmodrome #lunar #southpole #indianmission #oxygen #soil #history #land #human #orbiter #ESA #launch #gravaities #earth #october #rover #ISRO #fuel

Today's Headlines - 18 August 2023
IITG produces pluripotent stem cells
GS Paper - 3 (Biotechnology)

Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati (IITG) in collaboration with scientists from Christian Medical College, Vellore, have reported a method to convert regular human skin cells into pluripotent stem cells. The human body is made of many kinds of cells – nerve cells, heart cells, liver cells, pancreatic cells, and so on, with unique structures and functions.

More about the News

All these distinctive cells originate from stem cells to perform a specific function. Lack of any of this cell type in a human body will result in a disease or disorder.
Thus, stem cells can be programmed to develop into mature functional cells, which can be used to replace damaged cells.
Stem Cells have to be extracted from embryos or parts of the adult human body like the brain or bone marrow, which is challenging from both ethical and practical aspects.
Thus, scientists are exploring techniques to convert ordinary cells, like skin or blood cells, into pluripotent stem cells – stem cells that can be programmed to develop into any other form of an adult cell type. These cells are called Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSCs).
The most important advantage of iPSCs is their potential to produce patient-specific cells which can be transplanted to the site of injury or the site of tissue degeneration due to various disease conditions, and thereby, eliminate any chance of immune rejection.
The conversion of mature cells into iPSCs was first shown by Prof. Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for his discovery.
How it Prepared

This research involved introducing specific genes into mature cells to convert them into iPSCs.
The researchers have used a safe, integration-free method, and have introduced genes such as OCT3/4, SOX2, KLF4, L-MYC, LIN28 and a p53 shRNA into skin cells to transform them into iPSCs.
The iPSCs produced by the IITG and CMC researchers were versatile, maintained their genetic makeup well, and could potentially differentiate into a range of body cell types.
Additionally, tests confirmed that the DNA structure of the cells was not altered and matched that of the original cells. Importantly, these iPSCs were found to be free from bacterial contamination.
iPSCs are useful for the design of stem-cell therapies for a range of ailments. iPSCs can be programmed to become beta islet cells to treat diabetes, blood cells to treat leukaemia, or neurons to treat disorders like Parkinson's and Alzheimer’s diseases.
Given the importance and potential of stem cells, the Government of India actively supports stem cell research through the Department of Health Research-Indian Council of Medical Research (DHR-ICMR).
This commitment spans two decades and includes initiatives such as advanced research centres, thematic task forces, and iPSC generation.
The collaboration between IIT Guwahati and CMC Vellore aligns seamlessly with these efforts and India’s endeavour to be at the forefront of stem cell research.

#upsc #news #headline #IITG #pluripotent #stem #cells #biotechnology #technology #guwahati #biotechnology #christian #medical #college #vellore #human #pluripotent #nervecells #pancreaticcells #unique #functions #disease #adult #practical #IPSC #shinyayamanaka #nobelprize #parkinson #alzheimer #diabetes #forces #research #DHR #ICMR #department #taskforces #india

Today's Headlines - 10 September 2023
Scientists grew whole model of human embryo
GS Paper - 3 (Biotechnology)

Scientists have successfully grown a “human embryo” in the lab without using an egg or sperm. They used a mix of stem cells — early cells that have the ability to differentiate into other types of cells — that were able to spontaneously assemble into an embryo-like structure, mimicking molecular characteristics of an early embryo.

How was the embryo model created?

The scientists have called it one of the most complete models of a 14-day-old human embryo.
Several teams have been working on developing these human embryo-like models — around six such models have been published this year itself.
None of them fully replicate the processes that happen during the early stages of embryo development, but all of them add to their understanding.
The researchers from Israel used a mix of stem cells and chemicals, a small portion of which was able to spontaneously assemble to form different types of cells that form the foetus, those that provide nutrients to the foetus, cells that lay out the plan for development of the body, and cells that create structures like placenta and umbilical cord to support the foetus.
One of the problems that the team faced, however, was that only 1% of this mixture actually assembled spontaneously, making the process not very efficient.
Why are embryo models and research important?

There is no way for scientists to ethically research the early stages of development of an embryo, as it is difficult to study it after it implants in the uterus. Scientists currently study these initial changes in various lab models or donated embryos.
This research is crucial because the initial days of embryo development is when the majority of miscarriages and birth defects occur.
Studying the initial stages, scientists say, may help understand genetic and inherited diseases better.
The understanding of why some embryos develop normally, retain the proper genetic code, and implant properly in the womb while others do not, may also help in improving success rates of in vitro fertilisation.
Can lab-grown embryos be used to get pregnant?

No. These models are meant to just study the early stages of development of a foetus.
It is generally accepted — and legally supported in most countries — that these embryo models will be destroyed after studying the first 14 days. Attempts to implant are not allowed.
Also, creating a lab-based model that mimics the properties of early embryos is still far from an actual embryo that can implant to the lining of the womb.

#upsc #headline #news #scientists #grew #whole #model #human #embryo #biotechnology #egg #sperm #stem #cells #structure #embryo #mimicking #spontaneously #created #development #israel #chemicals #cells #fortus #placenta #umbilical #cord #body #efficient #research #birth #fertilisation #getpregant #foetus #implant #womb