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Sugrib Naik, 29, and Singi Majhi, 59, are a generation apart and have never met. They have nothing in common except, recently, both their names were struck out of the beneficiary list under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS).
In both the cases, there is a mismatch between their names on the MGNREGS job cards and their Aadhaar card. A missing letter and a differently spelt name were enough to push both to a common destiny — migration to earn a living.
By an order on January 30, the Union Rural Development Ministry made it mandatory that the payment of MGNREGS wages will be Aadhaar-linked.
The initial deadline was set for February 1, which, after two extensions, is now set for June 30. As States rush to meet this deadline, the number of deletions is spiralling.
By June 23 this year, names of 61 lakh registered workers had been deleted citing various reasons ranging from unwillingness to work to fake job cards, amounting to net deletion of 1.16%.
This amounts to 2.26% of the total registered workers. According to an analysis by research group Lib Tech, financial year 2022-23 saw a 244.3% hike in the number of deleted workers.
From 1.49 crore deletions in 2021-22 with a net deletion of 1.8%, it climbed to 5.13 crore in 2022-23 with a net deletion rate of 14.28%. The government claims this is a routine exercise to weed out corruption.
News
As part of UAV deal with U.S. firm, India is expected to develop some components locally (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
As part of the process to conclude the deal for procurement of 31 MQ-9B armed High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), the Defence Ministry is expected to issue the Letter of Request (LoR) to the U.S. by first week of July.
This would initiate acquisition through the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) programme of the U.S. government.Meanwhile, discussions continue to increase the indigenous content and sourcing as part of the deal. The deal is expected to take a few months to be concluded.
The current indigenous content proposed in the MQ-9B deal is 8% to 9% while India is hoping it can be increased up to 15% to 20%. Discussions are on and General Atomics is positive to it and the U.S. government has to agree to it.
Some of the components will be manufactured here which can be scaled up and some of the electronics, sensors and avionics can also be manufactured here, the official said adding discussions are continuing on it. General Atomics is also in talks with several Indian companies as part of the deal.
The U.S.-India joint statement issued after the talks between U.S. President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the MQ-9Bs, which will be assembled in India, will enhance the Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities of India’s armed forces across domains.
“As part of this plan, General Atomics will also establish a comprehensive global Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility in India in support of India’s long-term goals to boost indigenous defence capabilities.
Experts optimistic on jet engine production (Page no. 9)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The jet engine technology deal announced during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to the U.S. bears some resemblance to the India-U.S. Civil Nuclear Deal in the manner it was pushed through by Washington and New Delhi. However, experts say it will probably fare better than the nuclear deal in producing an actual commercial deal between General Electric and Hindustan Aeronautical Ltd. (HAL) for the joint production of GE-F414 jet engines in India, given some of the preparatory moves taken, and the strong push by the U.S. administration to provide India technology currently only available to three other countries — Russia, the U.K. and France.
As a result, the jet engine deal could defeat some of the scepticism around previous big-ticket India-U.S. deals that did not result in a deal, like the NPCIL-Westinghouse MoU for six nuclear reactors in Andhra Pradesh first signed in 2009 and held up by Indian regulations, or the Petronet-Tellurian deal for investment in an LNG project in the U.S. signed in 2019, or even the previous round of negotiations between India and the U.S. over jet engine Transfer of Technology (ToT) that were held under the Defence Technology and Trade Initiative (DTTI) framework from 2012 to 2019 before being shelved over the U.S. export regulations.
According to former Ambassador Arun Singh, who has been a member of the National Security Advisory Board and is a Fellow at the Carnegie India think tank that works on India-U.S. technology issues, many steps had been taken prior to the GE-F414 announcement that makes this case different from the last round of talks and the nuclear deal.
A number of other agreements signed between India and the U.S. over the past decade, including the declaration of India as a “major defence partner” in 2016, the Strategic Trade Authorisation-1 (STA-1 Status) in 2018, the signing of four “foundational agreements” between the two militaries, have built trust between them.
The launch of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) between National Security Advisers (NSAs) and Strategic Trade Dialogue set up between the two governments would help resolve any issues that crop up.
Modi reaches Cairo; to meet with President El Sisi and the Grand Mufti (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, International Relation)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reached Cairo, beginning his first state visit to Egypt. The trip comes five months after President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi visited India as the chief guest at the Republic Day celebrations.
PM Modi will meet with the India Unit of the Egyptian Cabinet,” Arindam Bagchi, official spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, said in an official broadcast from the Cairo airport.
The India Unit is a special group of senior Egyptian Ministers that has been created by President El-Sisi to enhance bilateral ties with India.
The visit acquires significance as it is taking place just days after Mr. Modi wrote to his G-20 counterparts to expand the grouping by including the African Union, of which Egypt is a leading member.
In a special gesture, the Prime Minister of Egypt, Mostafa Madbouly, received Mr. Modi at the airport on Saturday. “I thank Prime Minister His Excellency Mostafa Madbouly for the special gesture of welcoming me at the airport. I hope that the Indo-Egyptian relations will flourish for the benefit of our two nations,” Mr. Modi said in a message soon after landing at the Egyptian capital on his way back from Washington DC.
New ART regulations push up cost of treatment, limit conception opportunities (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The Health Ministry had notified the Assisted Reproductive Technology Regulations (ART), 2023, which are aimed at providing donors and patients with better medical care and security earlier this year.
But the new provisions have pushed up the already sky-high medical costs and are proving to be a challenge for treating doctors and couples wanting to have children through ART because of the restricted and limited resource availability in terms of donors, according to industry insiders.
The new ART provisions impose restrictions on the number of times a donor, male or female, can donate (sperm/oocyte) in their lifetime, and specifies age limits for donors.
The provision states that an oocyte donor should be a person who have been married at least once in their lives and have at least one living child of her own (minimum three years of age). She can donate oocyte only once in her lifetime and not more than seven oocytes can be retrieved.
Also, an ART bank cannot supply gamete (reproductive cell) of a single donor to more than one commissioning couple (couple seeking services).
Additionally, parties seeking ART services will be required to provide insurance coverage in the favour of the oocyte donor (for any loss, damage, or death of the donor).
A clinic is prohibited from offering to provide a child of pre-determined sex. Also checking for genetic diseases before the embryo implantation is needed.
While welcoming the safety measures and transparency the new provisions bring, Archna Dhawan Bajaj, gynaecologist, Nurture IVF, said that the restrictions significantly limit the opportunities for ART couples to find suitable donors.
Science
The role of the Y chromosome in cancer outcomes studied (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Two studies have shed light on the role of the Y chromosome in cancer outcomes, in which males are often more adversely affected than females. The results of the studies were published in Nature.
One paper identified an upregulated gene on the Y chromosome that contributes to colorectal cancer in mice by driving tumour invasion and aiding immune escape in males.
The other study demonstrated how the loss of the Y chromosome in bladder cancer generates a more immunosuppressive tumour microenvironment and contributes to worse outcomes.
Sex is known to affect cancer incidence, clinical outcomes and tumour biology, with most cancers causing worse outcomes in males than in females. Some studies have suggested that the function of the Y chromosome may have a role.
Ronald DePinho from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and colleagues assessed sex differences in colorectal cancer in a mouse model of the disease.
Colorectal cancer is the second most common cause of cancer-related deaths, which is more aggressive and metastatic in males.
The model is a specific form of the disease, driven by a known oncogene called KRAS. The researchers observed a higher frequency of metastasis and worse survival in male mice, mirroring the outcomes seen in humans.
Mosquito surveillance in non-residential areas needed (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
A longitudinal study conducted between February 2021 and June 2022 in Bengaluru city has found how urbanisation affects mosquito ecology and how mosquito species diversity and abundance changes across macro and microhabitats.
The study found that the quality of breeding sites determines the abundance and distribution of mosquito species, specifically the ones that cause dengue.
Water containers, discarded grinding stones, tyres and plastic containers served as perfect man-made larval habitats, the way mosquitoes interact with larval habitats in different macrohabitats did play an important role in determining mosquito diversity and abundance.
Whereas plantations, owing to diverse habitat types, proved to have high mosquito species diversity and richness compared with high-density populated areas in the city, even barren lands did have microhabitats conducive for breeding.
The results of the study, posted in the medRxiv preprint server, are yet to be peer-reviewed.
Six macrohabitats were studied. These include: barren lands, lakes and their surroundings, plantations, and high dense, medium dense, and low dense urban areas.
A total of 48 index grids (fixed) were selected with eight replicates of each macrohabitat type, which were surveyed during all four seasons — dry (January-March), pre-monsoon (April-June), monsoon (July-September), post-monsoon (October-December).
In addition, 98 random grids representing a macrohabitat type were surveyed during two seasons (April-June and July-September).
This allowed sampling mosquitoes in varied ecological niches in the city while surveying fixed grids on a seasonal basis. In each macrohabitat the researchers visually inspected for the presence of mosquito larvae.
How prokaryotes led to eukaryotes (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Organisms on planet earth are broadly divided into prokaryotes and eukaryotes. The former are unicellular, do not have any organelles such as mitochondria, and their DNA is not packaged into a nucleus.
Eukaryotes have mitochondria, their DNA is packaged into a nucleus, and most of them are complex, multicellular beings.
About 50 years ago, a subset of unicellular organisms, the Archaea, were shown to have a different line of descent as compared to bacteria.
The two differ in the composition of their cell walls, and in the sequence of some of their genes. The term Archaea, was used because the first members of this domain were found living in extreme environments of very high temperatures or very high salt.
One group of archaea were shown to have proteins that closely resembled eukaryotic proteins. These organisms are found in a geological formation where geothermally heated water is forced out of a ridge in the Atlantic Ocean floor at a depth of 2400 meters below sea level.
Many other related members were later found in unusual ecosystems, and came to be collectively called the Asgard, which is the home of the Gods in Norse mythology.
The mitochondria, which are the energy-generating organelles of eukaryotic cells, and the photosynthesizing chloroplasts found in plant cells, have evolved from free-living bacteria.
The ancestor of mitochondria was a proteobacteria that was engulfed by an Asgard archaean organism. Descendants of this endosymbiotic union gave rise to animals, fungi and plants.
FAQ
What does U.S. approval for lab meat mean? (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Science and Technology)
On June 21, two California-based companies were cleared to make and sell cell-cultivated chicken, the ‘official’ name of chicken meat that is grown in a laboratory for human consumption.
As a concept, it is being hailed by stakeholders as a major step towards reducing carbon emissions associated with the food industry worldwide.
The two companies, Good Meat and Upside Foods, have received the U.S. government’s approval to make and sell their cell-cultivated chicken. In cases like these, a company in question is required to assess the safety of its own facilities and the veracity of its production process.
Sometimes, in order to boost consumer and investor confidence, it may consult with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). At the end of this process, if the FDA is satisfied by the company's submissions, it will send a “no questions” letter, signalling its tacit approval.
The FDA provided such letters to Upside in November 2022 and to Good Meat in March 2023. In June, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided a ‘grant of inspection’, which is required to operate production facilities, to the companies.
To make cell-cultivated meat, the two companies isolate the cells that make up the meat (the meat that we consume), and put them in a setting where they have all the resources they need to grow and make more copies of themselves.
These resources are typically nutrients, fats, carbohydrates, amino acids, the right temperature, etc. The ‘setting’ in which this process transpires is often a bioreactor (also known as a ‘cultivator’), a sensor-fit device — like a container — that has been designed to support a particular biological environment.
Once there are enough of these cells, which takes around two to three weeks in Upside’s process, they resemble a mass of minced meat. They are collected and processed with additives to improve texture.
Why is U.S.-India fighter jet deal important? (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
Coinciding with Prime Minister Modi’s first state visit, India and the U.S. have announced a slew of deals in defence cooperation, space technology, AI and other areas.
The U.S.-India joint statement mentions the “landmark” signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between General Electric (GE) and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) for the manufacture of GE F414 jet engines in India, for the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Mk2. A fact sheet issued by the U.S. said a manufacturing licence agreement has been submitted for Congressional notification.
A senior Defence Ministry official said it is an “almost done” deal with some commercial terms pending finalisation, in addition to the U.S.
Congressional approval, while stating that there would be an 80% transfer of production technology which will see some critical technologies transferred to India.
“It will take three years for the first engine to roll out once the contract is signed. It will see 80% technology transfer to HAL. Such a thing has never occurred before in the history of India’s quest for high technology”.
Except for a small component, the F414-INS6 engine will be entirely manufactured in India which also shows the trust India has evoked in the U.S.
The U.S. has stringent export controls and licensing systems for sharing sensitive and niche technologies. The final deal can be concluded only after the U.S. Congress approves it, though with the bipartisan support for India at the Congress, officials on both sides have expressed confidence that it will go through.
Does China-Pak. N-deal flout global rules? (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
On June 20, China and Pakistan signed an agreement for a 1,200 MW nuclear power plant in the Chashma nuclear complex in Pakistan.
The deal, reported to be worth $4.8 billion, comes amid Pakistan facing a dual energy and economic crisis. The latest nuclear deal between China and Pakistan has implications not only for the crisis-hit country but also for the global governance of nuclear commerce, with Beijing proceeding with the recent deal without seeking necessary waivers from the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG).
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on June 20 witnessed the signing of the agreement for the construction of a 1,200 MW nuclear plant. This is the fifth reactor at the Chashma nuclear complex (C-5).
The financial details have not been spelled out, but Mr. Sharif said China had given “special concessions” for financing the construction amid Pakistan’s continuing financial crisis and on-going negotiations for a bailout from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
C-5 will be the biggest reactor at Chashma, where China has already constructed four phases of the complex, with four reactors of around 325 MW each. It will use China’s Hualong One reactor, which has also been installed in two plants in Karachi.
Pakistan is currently operating six China-built nuclear plants, four smaller reactors at the Chashma complex and two at the Karachi Nuclear Power Plant (KANUPP).
Pakistan’s oldest reactor, the Canada-built KANUPP-1, is now decommissioned, while KANUPP-2 and KANUPP-3 both use 1,100 MW Chinese Hualong One reactors. KANUPP-3, with a $2.7 billion investment, went fully online in the past year and was hailed by Mr. Sharif as helping ease Pakistan’s energy crisis.
An agreement for KANUPP-3 was signed in 2013, the year Chinese President Xi Jinping launched his Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), and became a flagship energy project as part of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) of the BRI.