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WE PROMISED & WE DELIVERED 7 0 + questions came from Our 10 RED BOOKS In 2020. See Proof : www.crackias.com/proof

GUARANTEED PRELIMS SELECTION OR GET 100% FEE BACK NASA Mars rover may have snagged 1st rock sample for return2 ‘Rajiv Gandhi’ goes from Assam national park’s name3 Jallianwala Bagh conservation was supervised by ASI: Culture Ministry4 Breakthrough challenge: The Hindu Editorial on COVID-19 vaccines and the Delta variants of coronavirus5 BRICS Energy Report 2021, BRICS Energy Technology Report 2021 and BRICS Energy Research Directory 2021 launched virtually by Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar6 Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman leads Indian delegation in 11th UK-India Economic and Financial Dialogue8 Blue straggler - bigger and bluer star formed when one star eats up another10 Particulate pollution: 40% Indians risk reduced life expectancy14 Page 2 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-09-03 NASA MARS ROVER MAY HAVE SNAGGED 1ST ROCK SAMPLE FOR RETURN Relevant for: Science & Technology | Topic: Space Technology & related matters

This Wednesday, Sept. 1, 2021 photo made available by NASA shows the first rock sample for return to Earth, obtained by the Mars Perseverance rover | Photo Credit: AP

NASA’s newest Mars rover may have successfully collected its first rock sample for return to Earth, after last month’s attempt came up empty.

The Perseverance rover's chief engineer, Adam Steltzner, called it a perfect core sample.

"I’ve never been more happy to see a hole in a rock," he tweeted September 2.

But NASA later said it was awaiting more photos before declaring success although the “team is confident that the sample is in the tube.”

A month ago, Perseverance drilled into much softer rock, and the sample crumbled and didn't get in the titanium tube. The rover drove a half-mile to a better spot to try again.

Initial photos taken on September 1 show a sample in the tube but later images were inconclusive because of poor lighting, NASA said in a news release. The rock sample, about the thickness of a pencil could have slipped down deeper into the tube during a series of planned vibrations, it said. More photos are planned.

Perseverance arrived in February at Mars' Jezero Crater believed to be the home of a lush lakebed and river delta billions of years ago in search of rocks that might hold evidence of ancient life. NASA plans to launch more spacecraft to retrieve the samples collected by Perseverance; engineers are hoping to return as many as three dozen samples in about a decade.

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The study has been published as a letter in the ‘Astronomy and Astrophysics’ journal

END Downloaded from crackIAS.com crackIAS.com© Zuccess App by crackIAS.com Page 3 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-09-03 ‘RAJIV GANDHI’ GOES FROM ASSAM NATIONAL PARK’S NAME Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Wildlife Related Issues

Less than a month after the Central government renamed the Khel Ratna after hockey legend Dhyan Chand, the Assam Cabinet has decided to drop former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s name from the Orang National Park. “The decision to restore the original name of Orang National Park was taken following requests from the Adivasi groups in the State,” government spokesperson Pijush Hazarika said after a Cabinet meeting. The Assam Pradesh Congress Committee condemned “such petty attitudes” of the BJP-led government.

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crackIAS.com Page 4 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-09-03 JALLIANWALA BAGH CONSERVATION WAS SUPERVISED BY ASI: CULTURE MINISTRY Relevant for: History | Topic: Indian Architecture incl. Art & Craft & Paintings

A view of the Jallianwala Bagh memorial.

Reacting to criticism of the renovated Jallianwala Bagh by some historians, Culture Secretary Raghvendra Singh said on Thursday the “conservation was done under direct supervision of the Archaeological Survey of India” and that there was “nothing factually incorrect”.

Mr. Singh said the Ministry was in talks with the descendants of the martyrs of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre to share their memorabilia for display at the one of the galleries at the complex.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had inaugurated four new galleries and the revamped Jallianwala Bagh on August 28 after the site was closed for renovations for about a year-and-a-half. The site of a massacre of Indians by British forces on April 13, 1919 in Amritsar, some historians said, had been turned into a place for enjoyment through the renovations.

According to sources, the project had been carried out by the ASI and the NBCC, which tendered out the work. The contract was given to Gujarat-based Vama Communications. In response to the critique that the space had been beautified, an official said landscaping had been done and it was not the same as beautification.

One of the criticisms of the project was the addition of glittering murals on the walls of the narrow corridor through which British forces entered. The official said the murals had not been “mindlessly created” and that they depicted families happily entering the space where they were eventually killed. The official said the 31 descendants of the martyrs who attended the opening on August 28 had “no objections”.

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END Downloaded from crackIAS.com © Zuccess App by crackIAS.com crackIAS.com Page 5 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-09-03 BREAKTHROUGH CHALLENGE: THE HINDU EDITORIAL ON COVID-19 VACCINES AND THE DELTA VARIANTS OF CORONAVIRUS Relevant for: Science & Technology | Topic: Health & Sanitation and related issues

With over 66 crore vaccine doses administered since the vaccination drive commenced in January, India has now inoculated at least half its adult population with at least one dose, and 16% with two. There is a small, discernible rise in the number of new infections. Kerala, which contributes the bulk of infections, also has among the highest proportions of the population who are double vaccinated. This apparent paradox underlies concerns about the rise in ‘breakthrough infections’, or confirmed infections in those who took the second dose at least two weeks earlier. A recent study by CSIR scientists found that nearly a quarter of 600 fully vaccinated care workers were reinfected. Earlier studies from the CMC Vellore, and PGIMER, Chandigarh, too have reported between 1%-10% of fully vaccinated health-care workers as having been infected. However, less than 5% of them have required hospitalisation and no deaths have been confirmed, indicating the effectiveness of vaccines in preventing severe sickness and death. Internationally too, the trend is clear. Israel and the U.S. in spite of high vaccination coverage, continue to report new cases; though here too, the infection rate is much higher in the unvaccinated. The prime suspects, internationally as well as in India, are the Delta variants and related sub-lineages that are believed to form the bulk of coronavirus infections. The Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) that tracks mutations in coronavirus strains has said that the breakthrough infections reported so far are within “expected” numbers. That is, vaccines in large, controlled clinical trials had demonstrated 70%-90% efficacy but lost considerable ability to reduce symptomatic infections when confronted with the Delta variants, and so a certain fraction of those fully vaccinated would continue to be vulnerable.

While it is a fact of evolution that viruses would mutate to be able to avoid antibodies, and vaccines, therefore, would have to keep being upgraded, it seems that the moment appears to have come too soon. A country like India, in spite of being a major vaccine producer in the pre- pandemic era, has only now managed to get production lines to deliver one crore vaccines a day. While other vaccines are in the pipeline, all of them are designed on the Wuhan-virus platform and although companies claim that the strength of m-RNA and DNA-based vaccine platforms lies in the ability to quickly tweak them to accommodate new variants, there are no reports yet, anywhere in the world, of vaccine makers specifying a timeline for vaccines that are tuned to the Delta variants. Vaccine makers who may have got emergency-use authorisations but are a while away from launch, should ideally move to making vaccines for the Delta variants and not rely on their existing pipeline.

Our codecrackIAS.com of editorial values From the abrogation of the special status of Jammu and Kashmir, to the landmark Ayodhya verdict, 2019 proved to be an eventful year.

END Downloaded from crackIAS.com © Zuccess App by crackIAS.com Page 6 Source : www.pib.gov.in Date : 2021-09-03 BRICS ENERGY REPORT 2021, BRICS ENERGY TECHNOLOGY REPORT 2021 AND BRICS ENERGY RESEARCH DIRECTORY 2021 LAUNCHED VIRTUALLY BY SHRI KRISHAN PAL GURJAR Relevant for: Current Affairs | Topic: BRICS, IBSA and India

Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries,Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, today chaired the “Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Energy” under the Chairship of India. The Energy Ministers of BRICS Countries and delegates attended the virtual meeting.During the Meeting, BRICS Energy Report 2021, BRICS Energy Technology Report 2021 and BRICS Energy Research Directory 2021 were launched virtually by Shri Gurjar, in the presence of the Energy Ministers of BRICS Countries. This was the 6th meeting of BRICS Energy Ministers and a joint communique was adopted.

Addressing the meet, Shri Gurjar emphasised upon the need of promoting energy efficiency and renewables to combat adverse effect of climate change. He also welcomed the efforts made by Energy professionals from Brazil, India, China South Africa and Russia in ensuring regular power supply despite difficult circumstances due to Covid 19 conditions. During the Summit,India also reiterated focus on one sun, one world and one grid as the initiative proposed by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi.

Shri Gurjar underlined that India is committed to improving the quality of life of its citizens by ensuring adequacy of electricity availability. He said, “The ‘Power for All’ by 2022 program is a major step in this direction. We have achieved universal access. We added 28 million consumers in just about 18 months, which was the fastest expansion access anywhere in the world, and much of it is due to the fact that we went in for renewables in a major way.”

The Ministers from other BRICS countries, Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa also highlighted their targets and achievements in the field of energy transition and climate change. This Energy Ministers’ Summit of BRICS countries was the concluding event as part of the energy dialogue between member countries, since April 2021. Various events like hydrogen webinar, building energy efficiency and battery storage were conducted and saw participation of large number of experts from these countries.

Energy Ministers recognized the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector. It was noted that electricity security and resilient energy systems are more indispensable than ever for providing uninterrupted supply of energy. They commended the contribution made by energy professionals in BRICS Countries and efforts taken by international communitiescrackIAS.com to cope with the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector. ***

MV/IG

Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries,Shri Krishan Pal Gurjar, today chaired the “Meeting of BRICS Ministers of Energy” under the Chairship of India. The Energy Ministers of BRICS Countries and delegates attended the virtual meeting.During the Meeting, BRICS Energy Report 2021, BRICS Energy Technology Report 2021 and BRICS Energy Research Directory 2021 were launched virtually by Shri Gurjar, in the presence of the Energy Ministers of Page 7 BRICS Countries. This was the 6th meeting of BRICS Energy Ministers and a joint communique was adopted.

Energy Ministers recognized the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector. It was noted that electricity security and resilient energy systems are more indispensable than ever for providing uninterrupted supply of energy. They commended the contribution made by energy professionals in BRICS Countries and efforts taken by international communities to cope with the adverse impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the energy sector.

***

MV/IG

END Downloaded from crackIAS.com © Zuccess App by crackIAS.com crackIAS.com Page 8 Source : www.pib.gov.in Date : 2021-09-03 FINANCE MINISTER SMT. NIRMALA SITHARAMAN LEADS INDIAN DELEGATION IN 11TH UK-INDIA ECONOMIC AND FINANCIAL DIALOGUE Relevant for: International Relations | Topic: India - UK

The 11th India-United Kingdom Economic and Financial Dialogue (EFD) was held here today, virtually chaired by Indian Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman and the United Kingdom Treasury Chancellor Mr. Rishi Sunak.

The Indian delegation included Governor RBI, Chairman SEBI, Chairman IFSCA, Secretary Economic Affairs and other representatives from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of External Affairs and Indian High Commission, UK.

The UK delegation included Governor Bank of England, CEO Financial Conduct Authority, Economic Secretary and other representatives from UK HMT.

The Dialogue, inter alia, covered discussions on economic cooperation on multilateral issues, including G20 and COP26. Both sides deliberated on furthering of Financial Services collaboration with special emphasis on Fin-Tech and GIFT City, annual India-UK Financial Market Dialogue and measures underway to reform financial markets. Infrastructure development and promotion of sustainable finance and climate finance were also discussed.

Private sector initiatives under India-UK Financial Partnership (IUKFP) and India-UK Sustainable Finance Working Group including its progress were also discussed. The Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership was launched today by both sides which aims to work with financial institutions, corporates, and existing sustainable finance initiatives to accelerate efforts to mobilise capital into India. Both sides agreed to continue to work together to mobilise finances via multilateral and private means and sharing relevant experience, including of the UK’s upcoming sovereign green bond issuance.

The 11th Economic and Financial Dialogue concluded with adoption of Joint Statement by Union Finance Minister and Chancellor of Exchequer of United Kingdom and release of the Joint Statement on Climate Finance Leadership Initiative (CFLI) India partnership.

Enclosure:

1. Joint Statement of 11th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue 2. JointcrackIAS.com Statement of Climate Finance Leadership Initiative Partnership ****

RM/KMN

The Indian delegation included Governor RBI, Chairman SEBI, Chairman IFSCA, Secretary Page 9 Economic Affairs and other representatives from Ministry of Finance, Ministry of External Affairs and Indian High Commission, UK.

The UK delegation included Governor Bank of England, CEO Financial Conduct Authority, Economic Secretary and other representatives from UK HMT.

Enclosure:

1. Joint Statement of 11th India-UK Economic and Financial Dialogue

2. Joint Statement of Climate Finance Leadership Initiative Partnership

****

RM/KMN

END Downloaded from crackIAS.com © Zuccess App by crackIAS.com crackIAS.com Page 10 Source : www.pib.gov.in Date : 2021-09-03 BLUE STRAGGLER - BIGGER AND BLUER STAR FORMED WHEN ONE STAR EATS UP ANOTHER Relevant for: Science & Technology | Topic: Space Technology & related matters

Blue stragglers, a class of stars on open or globular clusters that stand out as they are bigger and bluer than the rest of the stars, have intrigued scientists who have for long probed their origin.

Carrying out the first-ever comprehensive analysis of blue stragglers, Indian researchers found that half of the blue stragglers in their sample are formed through mass transfer from a close binary companion star, one third are likely formed through collisions of 2 stars, and the remaining are formed through interactions of more than 2 stars.

A bunch of stars born at the same time from the same cloud form a star cluster. As time passes, each star evolves differently depending on its mass. The most massive and bright stars evolve and move off the main sequence creating a bend in their track, known as the turnoff. Stars above this bend or brighter and hotter stars are not expected in a cluster, as they leave the main sequence to become red giants. But in 1953, Allan Sandage found that some stars seem to be hotter than the turnoff of the parent cluster. Initially, these blue stars still straggling above the turnoff were not part of these clusters. However, later studies confirmed that these stars are indeed cluster members, and they were termed “Blue Stragglers”. The only probable way these stars can still be present in these clusters is if they have somehow acquired extra mass along the way while on the main sequence. Confirming the mechanisms of the mass gain required a study using a large sample of blue-straggler stars and estimates of the mass they have gained.

Vikrant Jadhav and his PhD supervisor, Annapurni Subramaniam from the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA), utilised the Gaia telescope launched in 2013 by the European Space Agency with its excellent positional accuracy to select the blue stragglers in clusters and understand how many such stars there are, where they are and how they are formed.

They found that among the clusters they scanned, 228 have a total of 868 blue stragglers. This first-ever comprehensive analysis of blue stragglers is published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society. It showed that these stars are primarily present in the older and massive star clusters. And due to their large mass, they are segregated towards the centre of the clusters. The researchers compared the mass of the blue stragglers to the mass of the turnoff stars (which are the most massive ‘normal’ stars in the cluster) and predicted the formation mechanisms.

Vikrant Jadhav, the PhD student who led the work, says, “Overall, we found that more than 54% of blue stragglers are formed through mass transfer from a close binary companion star, and 30% ofcrackIAS.com the blue stragglers are likely formed through collisions of 2 stars. Interestingly, 10-16% of the blue stragglers are formed through interactions of more than 2 stars”.

The study will help improve understanding of these stellar systems to uncover exciting results in studies of large stellar populations, including galaxies. Following these findings, the researchers are conducting detailed analyses of individual blue stragglers in the catalogue to obtain their stellar properties. Furthermore, interesting clusters and blue stragglers identified in this study will be followed up with ultraviolet imaging with Ultra-Violet Imaging Telescope on AstroSat, India’s first dedicated space observatory, as well as the 3.6 m Devasthal Optical Telescope in Nainital. Page 11

Publication Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.01396

For more details, Vikrant Jadhav ([email protected]) can be contacted. crackIAS.com <><><><><><>

SNC/PK/RR

Blue stragglers, a class of stars on open or globular clusters that stand out as they are bigger and bluer than the rest of the stars, have intrigued scientists who have for long probed their origin.

Carrying out the first-ever comprehensive analysis of blue stragglers, Indian researchers found Page 12 that half of the blue stragglers in their sample are formed through mass transfer from a close binary companion star, one third are likely formed through collisions of 2 stars, and the remaining are formed through interactions of more than 2 stars.

Vikrant Jadhav, the PhD student who led the work, says, “Overall, we found that more than 54% of blue stragglers are formed through mass transfer from a close binary companion star, and 30% of the blue stragglers are likely formed through collisions of 2 stars. Interestingly, 10-16% of the blue stragglers are formed through interactions of more than 2 stars”.

Publication Link: https://arxiv.org/abs/2108.01396

For more details, Vikrant Jadhav ([email protected]) can be contacted.

crackIAS.com <><><><><><> SNC/PK/RR

END Downloaded from crackIAS.com © Zuccess App by crackIAS.com Page 14 Source : www.livemint.com Date : 2021-09-03 PARTICULATE POLLUTION: 40% INDIANS RISK REDUCED LIFE EXPECTANCY Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Environmental Pollution - Air, Water, Soil & E-waste

NEW DELHI: Nearly 40% of India’s population is exposed to pollution levels not seen in any other country, with 510 million North Indians forecast to losing 8.5 years of life expectancy on an average if current levels persist, as per a study done by Energy Policy Institute of University of Chicago.

The study highlighted that all of India’s 1.3 billion people live in areas where the annual average particulate pollution level exceeds the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline. Since 1998, average annual particulate pollution has increased 15%, cutting nine years off the life of an average resident over those years.

The scientists took into account new data from the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI), according to which South Asia is home to the most polluted countries on earth, with Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan accounting for nearly a quarter of the global population and consistently ranking among the top five most polluted countries in the world.

According to AQLI, the estimated impact is even greater across northern India, the region that experiences the most extreme of air pollution in the world. The residents of this region, which includes the megacities of Delhi and Kolkata, are on track to lose more than nine years of life expectancy if 2019 concentrations persist.

It added that annual average PM2.5 concentration in the cities of Allahabad and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh is 12 times the WHO guideline. Residents of Lucknow stand to lose 11.1 years of life expectancy if these pollution levels persist. Residents of the national capital could see up to 10 years added to their lives if pollution were reduced to meet the WHO guideline; up to 7 years if pollution met India’s national standard, the study said.

Working unseen inside the human body, particulate pollution has a more devastating impact on life expectancy than communicable diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, behavioural killers like cigarette smoking, and even war, scientists said.

"During a truly unprecedented year where some people accustomed to breathing dirty air experienced clean air, and others accustomed to clean air saw their air dirty, it became acutely apparent the important role policy has played and could play in reducing fossil fuels that contribute both to local air pollution and climate change," says Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and creator of the AQLI along with colleagues at the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). “The AQLI demonstratescrackIAS.com the benefits these policies could bring to improve our health and lengthen our lives."

Alarmingly, India’s high level of air pollution has expanded geographically over time, the study said.

In 2019, the central government declared a “war on pollution" and announced the National Clean Air Programme (NCAP). The goal is to reduce particulate pollution by 20-30% relative to 2017 levels by 2024. Though the NCAP’s goals are non-binding, if India does achieve and sustain this reduction, it would lead to remarkable health improvements: a nationwide reduction Page 15 of 25%, the midpoint of the NCAP’s target, would increase India’s national life expectancy by 1.8 years, and by 3.5 years for residents of Delhi, the study pointed out.

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