1. B.1.617

The “double mutant” virus that scientists had flagged last month as having a bearing on the spread of the pandemic in India, has a formal scientific classification: B.1.617.

About:

• The variant is common in India and has a couple of defining mutations, E484Q and L425R, that enable it to become more infectious and evade antibodies.
• Though these mutations have individually been found in several other coronavirus variants, the presence of both mutations together were first found in some coronavirus genomes from India.
• Certain variants of the coronavirus, for instance, B.1.1.7 and B.1.351 — have been termed the “United Kingdom” and “South Africa” variant, respectively, because they have mutations associated with large spikes in these countries or reduce the efficacy of vaccines and are termed “variants of concern (VOC)”.
• So far, only three global VOCs have been identified: the U.K. variant, the South African and the Brazilian (P.1) lineage.

Source : The Hindu

2. Muon g–2

Newly published results of an international experiment hint at the possibility of new physics governing the laws of nature.

About:

• The results of the experiment, which studied a subatomic particle called the muon, do not match the predictions of the Standard Model, on which all particle physics is based, and instead reconfirm a discrepancy that had been detected in an experiment 20 years previously.
• The experiment, called Muon g–2 (g minus two), was conducted at the US Department of Energy’s Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab).
• What is the Standard Model?
• The Standard Model is a rigorous theory that predicts the behaviour of the building blocks of the universe.
• It lays out the rules for six types of quarks, six leptons, the Higgs boson, three fundamental forces, and how the subatomic particles behave under the influence of electromagnetic forces.
• The muon is one of the leptons. It is similar to the electron, but 200 times larger, and much more unstable, surviving for a fraction of a second.

Muon g–2 experiment

• It measured a quantity relating to the muon, following up a previous experiment at Brookhaven National Laboratory, under the US Department of Energy.
• Concluded in 2001, the Brookhaven experiment came up with results that did not identically match predictions by the Standard Model.
• The Muon g–2 experiment measured this quantity with greater accuracy.

What quantity was measured?

• It is called the g–factor, a measure that derives from the magnetic properties of the muon.
• The rate at which the muon wobbles is described by the g-factor, the quantity that was measured.
• This value is known to be close to 2, so scientists measure the deviation from 2. Hence the name g–2.
• The new experimental results (combined from the Brookhaven and Fermilab results) announced are:
• g-factor: 00233184122
• anomalous magnetic moment: 00116592061.

Source : Indian Express

3. TRIBUNALS REFORMS (RATIONALISATION AND CONDITIONS OF SERVICE) ORDINANCE, 2021

The Government of India by an ordinance abolished the Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT), which heard appeals by filmmakers seeking certification for their films.

About:

• The Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of Service) Ordinance, 2021, which came into effect on April 4, amends the Cinematograph Act, 1952 by omitting some sections and replacing the word “Tribunal” with “High Court” in other sections.
• The abolition of FCAT means filmmakers will now have to approach the High Court whenever they want to challenge a CBFC certification, or lack of it. The sudden move has upset many filmmakers.

Film Certificate Appellate Tribunal (FCAT)

• FCAT was a statutory body constituted set up by the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting in 1983, under Section 5D of the Cinematograph Act, 1952.
• Its main job was to hear appeals filed under Section 5C of the Cinematograph Act, by applicants for certification aggrieved by the decision of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC).
• The tribunal was headed by a chairperson and had four other members, including a Secretary appointed by the Government of India to handle.
• The Tribunal was headquartered in New Delhi.

Source : Indian Express

4. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES ACQUISITION PROGRAMME (G-SAP)

RBI Governor has announced Government Securities Acquisition Programme (G-SAP), through which it will purchase government securities worth Rs 1 lakh crore in the first quarter of FY22.

Benefits of this Programme:

• In the backdrop of the government’s elevated borrowing for this year, which the RBI has to ensure goes through without causing disruption, G-SAP aims to provide more comfort to the bond market.
• Market participants always wanted to know the RBI’s Open Market Operations (OMO) purchase calendar, and the RBI has now provided that to the market through this announcement on GSAP.
• it will provide certainty to the bond market participants with regard to RBI’s commitment of support to the bond market in FY22.
• The announcement of this structured programme will help reduce the spread between the repo rate and the 10-year government bond yield. That, in turn, will help to reduce the aggregate cost of borrowing for the Centre and states in FY22.

Source : Indian Express

5. NET-ZERO GOAL

John Kerry, the US President’s Special Envoy on Climate, is currently on a three-day visit to India. One of the objectives of Kerry’s visit is to explore whether India can agree to the possibility of pledging itself to a 2050 net-zero goal.

About:

• Net-zero, which is also referred to as carbon-neutrality, does not mean that a country would bring down its emissions to zero.
• Rather, net-zero is a state in which a country’s emissions are compensated by absorption and removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
• Absorption of the emissions can be increased by creating more carbon sinks such as forests, while removal of gases from the atmosphere requires futuristic technologies such as carbon capture and storage.
• This way, it is even possible for a country to have negative emissions, if the absorption and removal exceed the actual emissions. A good example is Bhutan which is often described as carbon-negative because it absorbs more than it emits.

Significance of net-zero goal by 2050

• A very active campaign has been going on for the last two years to get every country to sign on to a net-zero goal for 2050.
• It is being argued that global carbon neutrality by 2050 is the only way to achieve the Paris Agreement target of keeping the planet’s temperature from rising beyond 2°C compared to pre-industrial times.
• Current policies and actions being taken to reduce emissions would not even be able to prevent a 3–4°C rise by the turn of the century.

India’s objections

• India, the world’s third biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, after the US and China, is the only one opposing this target because it is likely to be the most impacted by it.
• Over the next two to three decades, India’s emissions are likely to grow at the fastest pace in the world, as it presses for higher growth to pull hundreds of millions of people out of poverty.
• No amount of afforestation or reforestation would be able to compensate for the increased emissions. Most of the carbon removal technologies right now are either unreliable or very expensive.
• India also argues that the net-zero goal does not figure in the 2015 Paris Agreement, the new global architecture to fight climate change. The Paris Agreement only requires every signatory to take the best climate action it can.

Source : Indian Express

6. CIVIL DEFENCE VOLUNTEERS

From being lauded for their work during the pandemic to facing allegations of high-handedness, the role of the civil defence volunteers in the national capital has come under intense scrutiny in the recent past.

About:

• Due to their identical khaki uniform, it often becomes difficult for people to distinguish between police and civil defence personnel, leading to arguments.
• The Delhi Police also issued a statement, pointing out that civil defence personnel, also known as Delhi Civil Defence (DCD) volunteers, have no power to stop people using police barricades and prosecute them for violation of Covid-19 appropriate behaviour such as not wearing masks.

Who are civil defence volunteers?

• In Delhi, these are men and women who work under the command of the district magistrates.
• The overall command lies with the divisional commissioner, to which the DMs report.
• These volunteers are governed by the Civil Defence Act, 1968 which was last amended in 2010, when disaster management was added as one of their roles.
• With the Centre invoking the Disaster Management Act in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak in 2020, the role of these volunteers came under the spotlight.
• According to the Civil Defence Act, 1968, civil defence is defined as any measure “not amounting to actual combat, that protects persons, property and places in India from hostile attack”. The 2010 amendment expanded the definition by including disaster management as one of the responsibilities.

Source : Indian Express

7. INDIA – SEYCHELLES RELATIONS

PM Modi and Seychelles President jointly inaugurate several Indian projects in Seychelles.

About:

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said that Seychelles is central to India’s vision of ‘SAGAR’ - ‘Security and Growth for All in the Region’.
• During times of need, India was able to supply essential medicines and 50,000 doses of Made in India vaccines to Seychelles. Seychelles was the First African country to receive the Made in India COVID-19 vaccines.
• India has contributed towards the construction of the new Magistrates’ Court Building in Seychelles.
• For strengthening the maritime security of Seychelles, India has handed over a Made-in-India Fast Patrol Vessel to the Seychelles Coast Guard.
• India handed over a One Mega Watt solar power plant in the Seychelles built with India’s assistance.
• The virtual Summit between the two sides also saw the handing over of 10 High Impact Community Development Projects, HICDPs implemented by the High Commission of India in collaboration with local bodies, educational and vocational institutions.

Do you know?

• Present President of Seychelles, Wavel Ramkalawan is a Person of Indian origin (PIO) with his roots in Gopalganj, Bihar.

Source : All India Radio

8. COPYRIGHT (AMENDMENT) RULES, 2021

The Government of India has notified Copyright (Amendment) Rules, 2021.

About:

• In India, the copyright regime is governed by the Copyright Act, 1957 and the Copyright Rules, 2013. The Copyright Rules, 2013 were last amended in the year 2016.
• Objective of the amendments is to bring the existing rules in parity with other relevant legislations.
• A new provision regarding publication of a copyrights journal has been incorporated, thereby eliminating the requirement of publication in the Official Gazette. The said journal would be available at the website of the Copyright Office.
• In order to encourage accountability and transparency, new provisions have been introduced, to deal with the undistributed royalty amounts and use of electronic and traceable payment methods while collection and distribution of royalties.
• To reinforce transparency in working of copyright societies a new rule has been introduced, whereby the copyright societies will be required to draw up and make public an Annual Transparency Report for each financial year.
• The amendments have harmonised the Copyright Rules with the provisions of Finance Act, 2017 whereby the Copyright Board has been merged with Appellate Board.
• The compliance requirements for registration of software works have been largely reduced, as now the applicant has the liberty to file the first 10 and last 10 pages of source code, or the entire source code if less than 20 pages, with no blocked out or redacted portions.
• The time limit for the Central Government to respond to an application made before it for registration as a copyright society is extended to 180 days, so that the application can be more comprehensively examined.

Source : PIB

9. INDIAN NATIONAL YOUNG ACADEMY OF SCIENCES (INYAS)

INYAS has launched a multipronged nationwide mass awareness campaign to bust myths about Covid 19 vaccination programme. The campaign will be carried out through COVACNEWS android-based mobile app.

About:

• Indian National Young Academy of Sciences (INYAS) in the first and only recognized young scientist academy of India.
• INYAS was founded by the Indian National Science Academy (INSA) council in 2014 with a vision to promote Science education and networking among young scientists at National as well as International level.

Source : PIB

10. DRONES

Drone use permission granted to Central Mine Planning and Design Institute for coalfield survey.

About:

• Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) have granted conditional exemption to Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI) for surveying in coalfield areas of Coal India Ltd.
• As per the permission, the drones will be deployed for acquisition of data for monitoring of Mapping and Surveying activity using UAV Based Optical, LiDAR and Thermal Payloads, volumetric measurement, and, inspections in coalfield areas of Coal India Limited.
• The conditional exemption is valid till 04 April 2022 from the date of issue of the letter or until the full operationalization of Digital Sky Platform (Phase-1), whichever is earlier.
• Exemption from Ministry of Civil Aviation must be obtained from UAS Rules, 2021 before operation.

Source : PIB