Daily Current Affairs UPSC 15 June 2024

Derivatives

NSE Chief's Warning on Derivatives Trading

• Retail investors cautioned against trading derivatives by NSE chief.

Understanding Derivatives

• Definition: Financial contracts deriving value from an underlying asset.
• Purpose: Used for hedging or speculation.
• Types: Futures, options, swaps.

Derivatives Market in India

• Regulated by SEBI.
• Two types of markets: Exchanges-traded and Over-the-Counter (OTC).
• Exchanges-traded: Standardised contracts on exchanges.
• OTC: Decentralised, contracts negotiated directly between parties.

Nagastra-1

• Indian Army receives first indigenous Loitering Munition suicide drones Nagastra-1.
• Developed by Solar Industries' Economics Explosives Ltd (EEL) in Nagpur.
• Capable of neutralizing hostile threats in 'kamikaze mode' with GPS-enabled precision strikes.
• Kamikaze mode allows for accuracy of up to 2 meters.
• Can carry out precision strikes on enemy camps without endangering soldiers' lives.
• Equipped with day-and-night surveillance cameras.
• Carries a 1 kg high-explosive fragmenting warhead.
• Unique features include abort, recover, and reuse capabilities facilitated by a parachute recovery mechanism.

Divya Drishti

• Introduction to Divya Drishti.
• Combines facial recognition with gait analysis for authentication.
• Ensures accuracy and minimizes risk of false positives or identity fraud.
• Developed under CAIR, a lab of DRDO.
• Applications in Defence, Law Enforcement, Corporate, and Public Infrastructure.

Dead Zone

NOAA predicts above-average summer 'dead zone' in Gulf of Mexico

1. Dead Zone (Hypoxic area).

• Area of low oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life.

Causes of Dead Zones

1. Natural Causes.

• Stratification in water column restricts oxygen supply from surface waters to bottom waters.
• Black Sea is largest naturally occurring dead zone.

Anthropogenic Causes

1. Eutrophication from excess nutrients like phosphorus and nitrogen.

• Agricultural runoff, fossil-fuel burning, and wastewater treatment effluent contribute to eutrophication.

2. Algal bloom caused by eutrophication prevents light penetration in water's surface.

Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA)

• India-IORA Cruise Tourism Conference took place in New Delhi.
• IORA is an inter-governmental organization founded in 1997 with the vision of Nelson Mandela.
• The aim of IORA is to enhance regional cooperation and sustainable development in the Indian Ocean Region.
• There are 23 members in IORA, including India.
• Priority areas for IORA include Maritime Safety & Security, Disaster Risk Management, etc.
• IORA has specialized agencies like the Regional Centre for Science and Technology Transfer (RCSTT).
• The secretariat of IORA is located in Mauritius.

Environmental DNA (eDNA)

• Researchers have found that monitoring freshwater biodiversity using eDNA is effective.
• eDNA is genetic material released by organisms into the environment.
• eDNA is increasingly used to detect species and assess biodiversity.
• eDNA monitoring is reliable, accurate, and cost-effective.
• Information from eDNA can help inform conservation efforts, such as the IUCN Red List.

Truenat platform

Recognition at World Health Assembly for India's Truenat Platform

• Truenat Platform developed by Molbio in Goa.

Features of Truenat Platform

• Handheld, battery-operated, real-time, rapid molecular test.
• Used for diagnosing pulmonary, extrapulmonary, and rifampicin-resistant tuberculosis.
• Can be used in health centers, labs, and fields.
• Provides test results in less than an hour.
• Can detect over 40 diseases.

Kavli Prize

• The Kavli Prize winners were recently announced.
• Established by Norwegian-American philanthropist Fred Kavli.
• Given by the US-based Kavli Foundation in partnership with Norwegian organizations.
• Each award includes a $1 million cash prize, a scroll, and a medal.
• Honours breakthroughs in astrophysics, nanoscience, and neuroscience.
• Designed to be similar to the Nobel Prize in these fields.
• Does not restrict achievements to the preceding year.

Taraknath Das (15th June, 1884- 22nd December, 1958) 

• Celebrating the Birth Anniversary of Shri Taraknath Das.

Shri Taraknath Das: A Brief Overview

• Born on 15th June, 1884 in North 24 Pargana, Bengal.
• Known as a journalist, teacher, philanthropist, and revolutionary.

Contributions of Shri Taraknath Das

• Joined Anushilan Samiti in 1903.
• Started 'Free Hindusthan' newspaper in the USA.
• Associated with the Ghadar Movement in 1913.
• Implicated in the Indo-German conspiracy case in 1917.
• Established Taraknath Das Foundation in 1935 to promote educational activities and cultural. relations between the US and Asian countries.

Values Upheld by Shri Taraknath Das

• Dedication, courage, determination, vision, selflessness.

China's Grey-zone Tactics

• Grey-zone Warfare Tactics Deployed by China.

Definition of Grey-zone Warfare

• Refers to the space between direct conflict and peace.
• Aims to harm adversaries without them realizing they are under attack.
• Uses conventional and non-conventional means of warfare.

Mechanisms of Grey-zone Warfare

• Actions like salami slicing to conquer territory piece by piece.
• Nefarious economic activities, cyberattacks, psychological operations, use of proxy forces, etc.

Characteristics of Grey-zone Warfare

• Below threshold operations using non-military tools.
• Gradual unfolding of bold steps over years or decades.
• Lack of attributability/accountability by aggressor.
• Target specific, focusing on vulnerable countries with limited retaliation options.

Required Measures

• Active monitoring and information sharing between countries.
• Deterrence through capability demonstration.
• Fostering a rule-based order to counter Grey-zone Warfare tactics.

India’s Preparedness against Grey-zone Warfare

• Coordination of Indian Army, Air Force, and Navy by Chief of Defence Staff.
• Promotion of self-reliance in defence manufacturing through initiatives like Defence Procurement Procedure (DAP) 2020.
• Cooperation with like-minded countries through agreements like General Security of Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) with the US.
• Establishment of Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) for cybersecurity readiness.

"New Report Reveals Untapped Collective Intelligence for Climate Action"

Collective Intelligence (CI) in Climate Action

• CI is the collaboration of people using technology to gather a variety of information and ideas, creating a more powerful result than individual contributions alone.

Potential of CI in Climate Action:

• Data gap: CI can help gather real-time localized data from citizens and combine data sets to reveal new insights.
• Doing gap: Involving more people in climate action and monitoring the progress of institutions.
• Diversity gap: Including a wider range of people, such as Indigenous communities, in climate processes and data collection.

Benefits of CI in Climate Action:

• Distance Gap: CI initiatives facilitate communication between scientists and local communities, improving scientific understanding and public knowledge while building trust.
• Decision-making Gap: CI can bridge gaps between conflicting views and interests (e.g. Climate vs. growth) to accelerate necessary climate action.

Examples of Competitive Intelligence (CI) Initiatives in India

• Agrolly app: This app offers real-time weather monitoring and crop information to assist farmers in making informed decisions about which crops to grow.
• Water-Associated Infectious Diseases in India (WADIM): This initiative focuses on disease surveillance for waterborne diseases in India.
• GeoAI open data platform: This platform is used to map the entire brick kiln belt in India, particularly in Bihar, to improve targeting of environmental policy violations.
• Data in Climate Resilient Agriculture (DiCRA) platform: Developed by UNDP India, this platform helps identify the best regional strategies for food security in India.

El Nino-Free Pacific Ocean: NOAA's Report

El Nino and La Nina Climate Patterns

• The National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the end of El Nino conditions and the transition to an El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) neutral phase.
• ENSO is a climate pattern involving changes in ocean temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean, occurring in cycles of 2-7 years.
• El Nino and La Nina are extreme phases of the ENSO cycle, with a neutral phase in between where sea surface temperatures are close to average.

EI Nino Climate Pattern

• El Nino is associated with warming ocean surface temperatures in the central and eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
• Key Impacts: It suppresses rainfall over India during monsoon season and brings rain to South America while causing droughts in Indonesia and Australia.

La Nina Climate Pattern

• La Nina refers to the cooling of ocean surface temperatures in the central and east-central equatorial Pacific.
• Key Impacts: It has the opposite effect of El Nino, bringing strong monsoons, above-average rains, and colder winters in the subcontinent. 

"WHO Recognizes CCRAS-NIIMH as Traditional Medicine Research Centre"

Responsibilities of NIIMH as WHO Collaborating Centre (CC IND-177)

• Assisting WHO in standardizing terminologies for traditional medicine practices like Ayurveda, Unani, Siddha, and Sowa-Rigpa.
• Helping WHO update the Traditional Medicine Module-II for the Eleventh edition of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11), which includes a chapter on traditional medicine.
• Supporting Member States in developing research methodologies for Traditional Medicine.

About NIIMH

• Established in 1956, NIIMH is a unit of the Central Council for Research in Ayurvedic Sciences (CCRAS), Ministry of Ayush.
• Mandated to document and showcase medico-historical research in Ayurveda, Yoga Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha, and other related healthcare disciplines in India.

Initiatives of NIIMH for promoting Traditional Medicine research

• Journal of Indian Medical Heritage publication.
• Digital initiatives like the AMAR Portal, National Ayush Morbidity and Standardized Terminologies Electronic (NAMSTE) portal, and Showcase of Ayurvedic Historical Imprints (SAHI) portal.
• Other resources include e-Books of Ayush and the Ayush Research Portal.

"50th G7 Summit Wraps Up"

• Italy hosted the summit with India participating in the G7 outreach session on various topics.

Key Outcomes of the Summit:

• Launched G7 Apulia Food Systems Initiative (AFSI) to address food security and nutrition.
• Partnership for Global Infrastructure Investment (PGII) aims to mobilize up to USD 600 billion by 2027 for infrastructure projects in developing countries.
• Announced plans to develop a brand to support the implementation of the International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems.

About the G7 Summit:

• An informal forum consisting of Italy, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States of America.
• The European Union also participates in the Summit.
• Established in response to the 1973 energy crisis, with the first Summit held in 1975.
• Expanded into the G8 with the inclusion of Russia from 1997 to 2013, but Russia's participation was suspended in 2014.

Relevance of the G7:

• Their collective economic power allows them to shape global economic policies and address economic challenges.
• Launched PGII in response to China's Belt and Road Initiative.
• Played a key role in creating international financial institutions like the Financial Action Task Force.

"Prime Minister meets with Japanese counterpart"

• Meeting at G-7 Summit in Italy.
• Shared interests amidst China's rise in Indo-Pacific.

Political Cooperation:

• Relationship elevated to 'Special Strategic and Global Partnership' since 2014.
• India-Japan Act East Forum for collaboration under respective policies.
• Vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.

Economic Cooperation:

• Signed Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
• Bilateral trade totalled US$ 21.96 billion in FY 2022-23.
• India largest recipient of Japanese ODA loans.

Security Cooperation:

• Established Foreign and Defense Ministerial Meeting.
• Bilateral logistics agreement for Defense Forces.
• Military exercises like Veer Guardian, 'DHARMA GUARDIAN', Malabar.

Infrastructure Cooperation:

• Mumbai-Ahmedabad High-Speed Rail Project.
• Japan-India Clean Energy Partnership.

Multilateral Cooperation:

• Asia Africa Growth Corridor.
• Members of Quadrilateral Security Dialogue and SCRI.
• Japan joined India-led initiatives like ISA, CDRI.