First ever Surety Bond Insurance for infrastructure projects launched (GS Paper 3, Economy)
Why in news?
- Recently, the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways launched one of India’s first-ever Surety Bond Insurance product from Bajaj Allianz.
Surety Bond Insurance:
- Surety Bond Insurance will act as a security arrangement for infrastructure projects and will insulate the contractor as well as the principal.
- The product will cater to the requirements of a diversified group of contractors, many of whom are operating in today’s increasingly volatile environment.
Contract of guarantee:
- The Surety Bond Insurance is a risk transfer tool for the Principal and shields the Principal from the losses that may arise in case the contractor fails to perform their contractual obligation.
- The product gives the principal a contract of guarantee that contractual terms and other business deals will be concluded in accordance with the mutually agreed terms.
- In case the contractor doesn’t fulfil the contractual terms, the Principal can raise a claim on the surety bond and recover the losses they have incurred.
Zero Collateral:
- Unlike a bank guarantee, the Surety Bond Insurance does not require large collateral from the contractor thus freeing up significant funds for the contractor, which they can utilize for the growth of the business.
- The product will also help in reducing the contractors’ debts to a large extent thus addressing their financial worries. The product will facilitate the growth of upcoming infrastructure projects in the country.
Way Forward:
- With this new instrument of Surety Bonds, the availability of both liquidity and capacity will definitely be boosted; such products stand to strengthen the sector.
Meteorite found in Assam hides secrets of the origin of life on Earth
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- Researchers at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur have found evidence of vesicles in minerals for the first time in any chondrite meteorite from the outer solar system and may find new clues about the origin of life.
Origin of life:
- Seven years after it survived a fiery entry through Earth's thick atmosphere and crashed near Kamargaon town in the Golaghat district of Assam, the piece of space rock is on the verge of unraveling the origin of life on Earth.
- The chemical composition hints that it all began in the core of stars and stardust.
Kamargaon meteorite:
- The meteorite found in Assam comes from the asteroid belt located between Mars and Jupiter.
- The space rock broke down from another source following a collision with an asteroid at a high velocity.
- This collision resulted in the breaking of the asteroid into small pieces. A few of these asteroid pieces fell on the Earth’s surface as the Kamargaon meteorite.
- The Kamargaon meteorite came from an asteroid over 6.4 kilometers in size.
Findings:
- The findings of the study states that it is the first occurrence of vesicular olivine and pyroxene in an ordinary chondrite.
- The shocked meteorites are extraterrestrial rocks that experience transient high-pressure and high-temperature conditions caused by planetary collisions in outer space and contain abundant fractures subsequently filled with frictional melt known as shock veins.
- The study provides evidence of volatile elements, for example sulfur, sodium, manganese, and iron in the Kamargaon meteorite, which are crucial elements for the origin of life.
Way Forward:
- Researchers said that the volatile elements present in rocks become mobile at high temperatures and try to escape the rock. Such types of volatile escape from the rock systems create holes on the surface of the rocks known as vesicles.
- Therefore, these vesicles can be used as a tool to understand the outgassing mechanisms, quantity, and type of volatiles present in the rocks.
Scientists discover hammerhead shark nursery in Ecuador's Galapagos
(GS Paper 3, Science and Tech)
Why in news?
- Recently, a team of researchers has discovered a nursery of baby hammerhead sharks off an island in Ecuador's Galapagos archipelago, a finding that could help protect the species from the threat of extinction.
- It was discovered near Isabela Island, the Galapagos' largest island, and offers refuge for the sharks during mating and early development stages.
IUCN Status:
- The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) considers the scalloped hammerhead shark, the species found in the Galapagos, as ‘critically endangered.’
Threat:
- It is largely threatened by commercial fishing and demand for their fins, which are used to make shark fin soup.
- Researchers spent months scouring the archipelago for possible nursery sites as part of a hammerhead shark monitoring program.
Galapagos Islands:
- The Galapagos Islands with its unique wildlife was critical to British scientist Charles Darwin's theory of evolution.
- It is home to many species not found elsewhere such as giant tortoises, flightless cormorants and marine iguanas.
UN chief to convene no nonsense climate ambition summit in Sept next year
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Why in news?
- Recently, UN Secretary General announced that he will convene a no-nonsense climate ambition summit in September 2023.
- He said he will keep pushing for a Climate Solidarity Pact, in which all big emitters make an extra effort to reduce emissions this decade in line with the 1.5-degree goal and ensure support for those who need it.
Climate Ambition Summit:
- He will convene a Climate Ambition Summit in September 2023.
- He noted that while invitation to the summit is open, there will be a non-negotiable price of entry to the summit, which is credible, serious and new climate action and nature-based solutions that will move the needle forward and respond to the urgency of the climate crisis must be presented.
- Asserting it will be a no-nonsense summit, with no exceptions and no compromises, he cautioned that there will be "no room for back-sliders, greenwashers, blame-shifters or repackaging of announcements of previous years.
- He called on every leader to step up from governments, business, cities and regions, civil society and finance.
Way Forward:
- The Climate Ambition Summit will be convened alongside a crucial gathering of world leaders to accelerate action at the mid-way point of the Sustainable Development Goals.
