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GUARANTEED PRELIMS SELECTION OR GET 100% FEE BACK Shaping a trilateral as Rome looks to the Indo-Pacific2 A Kerala model for an anti-discrimination law4 Tapping on the potential of the youth7 Sikkim blossoms: State home to 27% of India’s flowering plants10 Explained12 The 2020 Millennium Technology Prize goes to…14 21st Session of India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation16 Indian researchers spot rare superluminous supernova shining with borrowed energy source18 The Indian courser is on uncertain ground20 Page 2 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 SHAPING A TRILATERAL AS ROME LOOKS TO THE INDO-PACIFIC Relevant for: International Relations | Topic: Effect of policies and politics of developed & developing countries on India's interests

One of the signs of India’s growing centrality in the Indo-Pacific strategic architecture is its burgeoning engagement with key western nations. Even countries which have been lackadaisical in their regional outreach so far have begun to approach the Indo-Pacific with a new seriousness and have been reaching out to New Delhi.

The growth of India’s weight in Indo-Pacific affairs comes at a time when it is becoming clearer that complex regional geopolitical problems cannot be addressed adequately by rigid and structured traditional alliance frameworks. This aspect is even more evident in the context of the Indo-Pacific, where the geographical vastness of the area and the criticality of the challenges posed by China’s assertive initiatives clash with a region lacking multilateral organisations capable of solving problems effectively.

Biden Admin welcomes India’s emergence as a leading global power, its role in Indo-Pacific region

But as a new pushback against China takes shape and as Indian foreign policy becomes strategically clearer, there is a new momentum to initiatives such as the Quad. Countries that share similar values and face similar challenges are coming together to create purpose-oriented partnerships. In doing so, they are making it possible for participating nations to address specific common challenges, from maritime security to a coordinated pandemic response, including consolidating and further developing strong reciprocal trade relationships, without compromising the political autonomy of each participant.

Recently, Italy has also begun to signal its intention to enter the Indo-Pacific geography. It has done so by seeking to join India and Japan in a trilateral partnership. This initiative comes after years of Rome’s relative absence from the geopolitical affairs of the region as it sought to concentrate more on the Atlantic and European dimensions while maintaining good, albeit well below potential, bilateral relations with India.

The Italian government headed by Prime Minister Mario Draghi has started to pay attention outside its immediate neighbourhood again. At the same time, Italy has become more vocal on the risks emanating from China’s strategic competitive initiatives. Recently, Mr. Draghi described Chinese competitive practices as “unfair” and invited the European Union (EU) to be franker and more courageous in confronting Beijing on its violations of human rights, reiterating that with respectcrackIAS.com to China “the reciprocal visions of the world are very different”. Also read | Indo-Pacific: ‘Italy can lend support to India-centric E.U. strategy’

On the Indian side, there is great interest in forging new partnerships with like-minded countries interested in preserving peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific. During a recent India-Italy-Japan trilateral, organised by the Italian embassies in India and Japan, Riva Ganguly Das, Secretary (East) of the Ministry of External Affairs, reiterated that the responsibility of keeping the Indo- Pacific free and open, and working for the welfare of its inhabitants falls on like-minded countries within and beyond the region. Page 3 First Quad Summit | Quad leaders for ‘open, free’ Indo-Pacific

With the expression of interest on the Italian side, the first step towards this trilateral has been taken, yet it needs to evolve into something more significant. The Italian government must formulate a clear Indo-Pacific strategy that must indicate its objectives and, above all, the means and initiatives it is willing to implement on its own and in cooperation with its partners. Italy’s tendency to privilege diplomatic action through the mechanisms of the EU can be a resource for consolidating the EU-India strategic relationship. But Rome must go beyond that in defining and implementing, at the margins of the EU’s common initiatives, its own policy with respect to the Indo-Pacific.

The India, Italy and Japan trilateral initiative can, and should, be a forum to foster and consolidate a strategic relationship between these three countries, and specifically expand India- Italy bilateral relations. As it stands, relations between Rome and Tokyo are historically strong, and those between New Delhi and Tokyo are a strategic pillar of the free and open Indo-Pacific. A trilateral cooperation can be the right forum for India and Italy to learn more from each other’s practices and interests and consolidate a strategic dialogue that should include the economic, the security and the political dimensions. The next G20 leaders’ summit in Rome, in October, before the presidency handover to India in 2023, should be the right opportunity for further trilateral coordination on economic and political issues at an institutional level. To consolidate the trilateral cooperation in this field, the three countries need to define a common economic and strategic agenda.

The rising sun in India-Japan relations

A strategic trilateral between India, Italy and Japan has, in the medium to long term, a lot of potential. Their compatible economic systems can create a virtuous and mutually beneficial contribution to the reorganisation of the global supply chains that is now being reviewed by many players as a natural result of the Chinese mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the security level, the well-defined India-Japan Indo-Pacific partnership can easily be complemented by Italy, already present in the western Indian Ocean where it is engaged in anti- piracy operations off the coast of Somalia. At the multilateral level, the three countries share the same values and the same rules-based world view. Despite these fundamental convergences, the risk inherent in missing this opportunity also exists. For this reason, a clear political will is needed from all sides, and Italy, in particular, should recognise its interests in playing a larger role towards the maintenance of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Robust India-Italy strategic ties can be the first step towards the realisation of this goal.

Harsh V. Pant is Director of Research at the Observer Research Foundation, New Delhi and Professor of International Relations at King’s College London. Mauro Bonavita is a PhD candidate at King’s College London crackIAS.com Our code of editorial values

END Downloaded from crackIAS.com © Zuccess App by crackIAS.com Page 4 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 A KERALA MODEL FOR AN ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW Relevant for: Developmental Issues | Topic: Rights & Welfare of Minorities Incl. Linguistic Minorities - Schemes & their performance; Mechanisms, Laws, Institutions & Bodies

A couple turned down for a home they wish to rent, because they are Muslim. A qualified professional rejected for a job because he uses a wheelchair. A pair of students denied facilities on campus because of their caste or ethnicity. An air hostess dismissed for being above the weight deemed desirable, even though male stewards/pursers of that weight continue in their jobs.

Such incidents are all too common in our society. “Silent segregation” on the grounds of marital status, gender, sexual orientation or eating preferences are followed in several housing societies and residents’ associations. The Housing Discrimination Project at Jindal Global Law School has shown how extensive housing discrimination is across the country. The recent Pew Research Center Report has confirmed that a substantial number of Indians prefer not to have a person from a different religious community as their neighbour. The absence of a proper legal recourse for those who suffer from housing discrimination only makes matters worse.

Indians value religious freedom and tolerance but not great at integration, finds Pew survey

Even though Section 377 of the Indian Penal Code was read down by the Supreme Court of India to exclude consensual relations between adults of the same sex, social prejudice against members of the LGBTQIA+ community in the country remains strong. Article 15(1) of the Constitution of India prohibits the state from discriminating against individuals on basis of certain protected characteristics such as religion, race, caste, sex and place of birth. But it does not bar private individuals or institutions from doing what the state is not permitted to. Nor does it expressly list ethnicity, linguistic identity, nationality, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance and other personal characteristics as prohibited grounds of discrimination.

The understanding of discrimination has also evolved over the years. It does not operate along a single axis; it can take the form of combined discrimination which is a combination of discrimination on two or more grounds. In April, the Supreme Court, in Patan Jamal Vali vs State of Andhra Pradesh, recognised intersectional discrimination — discrimination on the basis of the intersection of personal characteristics, such as that faced by Dalit women as Dalits, as women and in the unique category of Dalit women. Discriminatory practices may also be indirect in nature, whereby policies that seem neutral and not expressly targeted at a particular group, still cause a disproportional adverse impact on disadvantaged sections of society.

Since discrimination thus operates on a wide variety of grounds, legal remedies are needed for its victims,crackIAS.com whether direct, indirect or intersectional. A comprehensive anti-discrimination legal framework is required to fill the existing legal lacunae. India is one of the few liberal democracies without such a framework. The Sachar Committee, in 2006, recognised the need for an anti- discrimination law. This was further reiterated by the Expert Group on Equal Opportunity Commission headed by Prof. N.R. Madhava Menon. Though the proposal for an anti- discrimination law was approved by the United Progressive Alliance Cabinet, it was put on the back-burner after the government changed in 2014.

The need for an anti-discrimination law Page 5 One of us (Tharoor) tried to revive the idea by introducing the Anti-Discrimination and Equality Bill, 2016 in the Lok Sabha. Perhaps predictably, the Treasury Benches were not interested to take it forward and the Bill lapsed in 2019 with the dissolution of the Lok Sabha. It seems clear to us that the only way progressive legislation of this nature can be passed in the present climate would be if the States lead the way, by enacting anti-discrimination laws in their respective jurisdictions. States have a vital role in strengthening our right to equality. A central Bill cannot, at any rate, cover subjects that are under the exclusive jurisdiction of State governments. And if States take the initiative, the demand for a national anti-discrimination law to cover services and institutions under the domain of the Union government will be reignited.

Kerala is one the best placed States to take this proposal forward, especially since both the major political fronts in the State have previously committed themselves to such legislation. The CPI(M) in its 2019 manifesto and the United Democratic Front (UDF) in its 2021 State Assembly manifesto have both promised to enact an anti-discrimination law which covers the private and the public sectors. The State legislature can use its powers under Entry 8 of List III in the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution to enact an anti-discrimination law that attracts civil penalties for those who engage in discriminatory practices.

A road map for tolerance

With the invaluable assistance of Professor Tarunabh Khaitan of Oxford University, we have drafted an anti-discrimination Bill for the Kerala government to consider introducing in the State Legislative Assembly. The Bill prohibits employers, landlords, traders, service providers, private persons performing public functions, and public authorities, from discriminating on grounds of caste, race, ethnicity, descent, sex, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, sexual orientation, religious identity, tribe, disability, linguistic identity, HIV-status, nationality, marital status, dietary preference, skin tone, physical appearance, place of residence, place of birth, age or analogous characteristics which are beyond the control of an individual or those that constitute a fundamental choice.

At the same time, the Bill balances the anti-discrimination mandate with other rights guaranteed by the Constitution. The anti-discrimination mandate can be restricted in pursuance of a legitimate objective:for instance, a drama company putting up a production of the Ramayana can insist on only male applicants for the role of Ram. That would not be discrimination in the terms covered by the law.

The Bill also introduces affirmative-action provisions whereby public authorities are obliged to progressively realise diversification of their workforces by recruiting members of disadvantaged sections excluded from society, such as transgender persons or persons with disabilities. Given the backlogs in our judicial system, the Bill establishes a ‘Kerala Equality Commission’ to adjudicate complaints and to provide policy recommendations to the State government. Given that the proliferation of post-retirement public offices for judges does not augur well for judicial independence,crackIAS.com the proposed commission does not follow the tried and tested model of former judges presiding over statutory bodies. Rather, appointments to the Commission are left to the political process, with substantial weightage given to the largest parties in the State, both in the Treasury and Opposition benches, to ensure bipartisan buy-in to the process.

The Bill has been forwarded both to the Law Minister of Kerala and the Leader of the Opposition with the suggestion that it should be subjected to a pre-legislative consultation process, so that democratic participation in enacting this historic law is encouraged. If this Bill is enacted, it will be the largest expansion of civil rights in the State since the commencement of the Constitution, and it can be a model for other States to follow. We recognise that an anti-discrimination law is not a panacea for the problems of inequality and social prejudice that are deeply rooted in our Page 6 society. Nevertheless, it is a necessary step — an idea whose time has come.

Shashi Tharoor is Member of Parliament for Thiruvananthapuram and an author. Arvind Kurian Abraham is a fellow at the University of Oxford

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crackIAS.com Page 7 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 TAPPING ON THE POTENTIAL OF THE YOUTH Relevant for: Developmental Issues | Topic: Government policies & interventions for development in various Sectors and issues arising out of their design & implementation incl. Housing

World Population Day is marked on July 11 every year to focus attention on the importance of population-related issues. It was first observed by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 1989 and aims to raise the discourse on sustainable ways to safeguard each life that adds up to a population.

As flagged by a UNDP report last year, and subsequently in a global study by The Lancet, India will stabilise its population 12 years earlier than expected. Therefore, the window India has to leverage its ‘demographic dividend’ is narrower than we had thought. Fears of a ‘population explosion’ are misplaced; instead, it is critical that we focus our attention on safeguarding young people’s well-being because India’s welfare hinges on them.

Why India’s population may overtake China’s sooner than expected | The Hindu In Focus Podcast

At 253 million, India’s adolescent population is among the largest. Over 62% of India is aged between 15 and 59 years, and the median age of the population is less than 30 years. India’s ‘demographic dividend’ represents the potential for economic growth based on the age structure of the population. However, transforming this potential into reality requires adolescents and the youth to be healthy and well-educated.

Even before COVID-19 caused country-wide school closures, India’s underfunded education system was inadequately equipped to provide the skills young people need to take advantage of emerging employment opportunities. According to the World Bank, public expenditure on education constituted 4.4% of GDP in 2019 and only 3.4% of GDP in 2020. Another report revealed that India stands 62nd in terms of public expenditure per student, and fares badly in quality of education measures such as student-teacher ratios. Coupled with the impact of COVID-19, this paints a bleak picture of the state of education today.

In India, more than 32 crore students have been affected by the nationwide lockdown due to COVID-19. Of these, about 15.8 crore are female. The number of schoolgirls who are impacted is 158 million and many of those who have dropped out are unlikely to go back to school. Schools have remained closed even in remote areas where the effect of the pandemic has been minimal. Studies show that school closures have a serious impact on the lives and mental well- being of children. YouthcrackIAS.com can be a clear advantage for India The impact of the pandemic on adolescents has been severe. A survey by the International Labour Organization reveals that 65% of adolescents worldwide reported having learnt less during the pandemic, and 51% felt that their learning would be further delayed. It also highlighted that adolescent mental well-being has taken a big blow, with 17% of young people likely to be suffering from anxiety and depression.

It is important, therefore, for policymakers to balance the risks of transmission through children with the harm of prolonged school closures. By prioritising the vaccination of teachers and school support staff and also allowing a decentralised approach where district-level officials may reopen schools based on local COVID-19 transmission rates, schools could be opened in a safe Page 8 and phased manner. In Odisha, for example, community schools have re-opened in some areas. Students wear face masks and sit physically distanced from each other outdoors under sheds or tents. With some innovation and creativity, opening schools with a mix of online and offline options could be an important step to addressing the learning needs and mental well-being of adolescents.

India’s population data and a tale of two projections

Increased poverty levels during the pandemic may well have led to a worrying spurt in early marriages of girls in India. As demographers like Shireen Jejeebhoy note, while child marriage as a strategy to address household poverty has been noted in India in general, it has registered an alarming rise during the pandemic. This is linked with increases in gender-based violence. Adolescent girls are at high risk during times like these, given their vulnerability to abuse and trafficking, especially if primary caregivers fall ill or die. Restricted mobility due to lockdowns puts girls at risk of violence at home at the hands of caregivers or partners. The impact of the crisis on adolescents, especially girls, is of gigantic proportions, but the problem is not irredeemable, provided we display firm commitment to implementing quick and effective strategies to overcome the challenges.

We are living through a global crisis and the road ahead is uncertain. This will have long- standing effects on adolescents and youth. Recognising that COVID-19 has affected all dimensions of the lives of youth, collaborative actions by key ministries, government agencies, and civil society will be central to developing a holistic and meaningful solution. It is imperative that we have in place mechanisms for better inter-sectoral collaboration as we move to safeguard the futures of our adolescents. School mid-day meals, for example, exemplify how improved nutrition benefits learning. Not only do they provide an incentive for parents to send their children to school on the assurance of one nutritious meal; they also provide the calorie intake required to stay alert in the classroom. Studies have established strong links between nutrition and cognitive scores among teenagers. Coordination across departments can enable better solutions and greater efficiencies in tackling the crisis that our adolescents face.

Much could be gained if the Ministry of Education took steps to ensure that adolescents, especially girls, continue their education during the pandemic. Simultaneously, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare must collaborate with the Education Ministry to disseminate key information to help adolescents safeguard their health and ability to learn.

China’s coercive population measures serve as warning for India: Experts

Given that school closures have impacted access to schemes such as the delivery of menstrual hygiene products to adolescents, teachers can work as volunteers for collaborating with frontline health workers to distribute sanitary napkins to girls. To address the mental health of adolescents, the Health and Education Ministries should strengthen outreach via existing helplinescrackIAS.com and by enabling conversations on critical issues regarding their reproductive and sexual health.

There is enough academic research to demonstrate how the demographic dividend contributed to growth in other countries, especially during East Asia’s economic miracle of 1965-1990. During that period, East Asia's working age population grew at a faster rate than its dependent population, thereby expanding the per capita productivity of these economies. This occurred because East Asian countries developed social, economic, and political institutions and policies that allowed them to realise the growth potential created by the transition.

Also read | ‘Efficacy of two-child norm has never been demonstrated’ Page 9 Improving the lives of our adolescents in mission mode would lift their lives, but also generate a virtuous cycle with healthier and educated young adults contributing substantially to securing India’s future.

Poonam Muttreja is Executive Director and Dipa Nag Choudhury is Director of Programmes, Population Foundation of India

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To reassure Indian Muslims, the PM needs to state that the govt. will not conduct an exercise like NRC

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crackIAS.com Page 10 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 SIKKIM BLOSSOMS: STATE HOME TO 27% OF INDIA’S FLOWERING PLANTS Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Wildlife Related Issues

Flower power:Rhododendron aeruginosumandHypericum reptansin Sikkim.Special Arrangement

Sikkim, the smallest State with less than 1% of India’s landmass, is home to 27% of all flowering plants found in the country, reveals a recent publication by the Botanical Survey of India (BSI). Flora of Sikkim – A Pictorial Guide , released earlier this week, lists 4,912 naturally occurring flowering plants in the tiny Himalayan State.

“The total number of naturally occurring flowering plants in the country is about 18,004 species, and with 4,912 species, the diversity of flowering plants in Sikkim, spread over an area of 7,096 sq. km is very unique,” Rajib Gogoi, Scientist and Regional Head, BSI, Gangtok, and the lead author of the publication, said.

Dr. Gogoi said the publication provides details of 5,068 taxa (including 152 cultivated taxa) belonging to 1,491 genera and 209 angiosperm families which are naturally occurring flowering plants, along with geography, ecology, vegetation pattern and forest types of Sikkim.

The other authors of the publication include Norbu Sherpa, J.H. Franklin Benjamin, D.K. Agrawala, S.K. Rai and S.S. Dash. In the 582-page publication, the authors have included more than 2,000 photographs of about 1,350 plant species from the State.

Kanchenjuga biosphere

The State, which is a part of the Kanchenjunga biosphere landscape, has different altitudinal ecosystems, which provide opportunity for herbs and trees to grow and thrive.

“From subalpine vegetation to the temperate to the tropical, the State has different kinds of vegetation, and that is the reason for such a diversity of flora. The elevation also varies between 300 metres and 8,598 metres above mean sea level, the apex being the top of Mt. Kanchenjunga (8,586 metres),” Ashiho A. Mao, Director of BSI, said. Dr. Mao emphasised the need to have updated checklist of flora of every State, and active cooperation with the State government is needed in this regard.

Sikkim’s Minister of Forest and Environment Karma Loday Bhutia, who was present at the launch of the publication, said that along with unique geographical features, the people of Sikkim have a unique bond with nature and trees. The Minister referred to the notification titled Sikkim ForestcrackIAS.com Tree (Amity & Reverence) Rules, 2017 which state that the, “State government shall allow any person to associate with trees standing on his or her private land or on any public land by entering into a Mith/Mit or Mitini relationship.” The notification encouraged people to adopt a tree “as if it was his or her own child in which case the tree shall be called an adopted tree”.

Mr. Bhutia, however, expressed concern that certain activities in the mountain State were being carried out without considering their impact on the environment and biodiversity. “The widening of roads to Nathu La, which is of strategic interest to us (bordering China), and the hydel power plants in north Sikkim, should also take into account the environmental concerns of locals. We are not against such activities, but it should not come at the cost of our biodiversity,” the Minister Page 11 said.

Orchids galore

The publication details 532 species of wild orchids (which is more than 40% of all orchid species found in India), 36 species of rhododendron and 20 species of oak, and more than 30 species of high value medicinal plants, among other species.

Mr. Gogoi said that the founding fathers of botany were always interested in the flora of Sikkim. Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker, one of the pioneers of modern botany, conducted the first survey of Sikkim in 1848 and published Rhododendrons of Sikkim . In 1898, two British botanists, Sir George King and Robert Pantling, published their monumental work, The Orchids of Sikkim- Himalayas .

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crackIAS.com Page 12 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 EXPLAINED Relevant for: Developmental Issues | Topic: Health & Sanitation and related issues

Home Quarantine - Icon as EPS 10 File | Photo Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

The story so far: As countries start lifting curbs imposed on societies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, news reports have indicated higher rates of respiratory infections, even unseasonal diseases such as influenza and the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). Doctors have called this the “immunity debt” brought on by non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) put in place to reduce the spread of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

The NPIs, including social distancing, use of masks, and hand hygiene, were seen as being effective in breaking the chain of transmission of the SARS-CoV-2. During the pandemic, they have been employed to do exactly that, and have succeeded at varying levels in countries, depending on the level of compliance.

However, they have had unintended consequences for other respiratory infections as well. Rachel E. Baker et al have highlighted the issue in a Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS) paper titled The impact of COVID-19 nonpharmaceutical interventions on the future dynamics of endemic infections. America is among the nations seeing an increase in the number of RSV cases in the infant population. “Non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) have been employed to reduce the transmission of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), yet these measures are already having similar effects on other directly transmitted, endemic diseases. Disruptions to the seasonal transmission patterns of these diseases may have consequences for the timing and severity of future outbreaks,” it states.

Gagandeep Kang, Professor of Microbiology, Christian Medical College, Vellore, explains: “Basically, when you are constantly exposed to infectious agents, what you are doing is boosting the immune response in the human body. If you don’t see the bugs you normally see, there is a possibility that there are unseasonal outbreaks, and with greater severity than usual.”

Q. Sue Huang, Tim Wood and others record in Nature Communications that New Zealand, which has seen a number of RSV cases, has a well-established influenza circulation pattern with peak incidences in the winter months. “Remarkably, influenza virus circulation was almost non- existent during the 2020 winter, a 99.9% reduction compared with previous years,” the report said. They postulated that the country’s use of stringent lockdowns and border controls had resulted in substantial reduction in contact between individuals, leading to the fall in the number of cases in 2020. RSV crackIAS.comcan be severe in very young infants, but it is commonly a winter infection. Babies gain some protection from mothers, but the mother must have had some exposure to the virus. If mothers are not exposed, it leaves the baby unprotected, and if it is not very severe, children can be supported through the infection, explains Dr. Kang. A monoclonal antibody is used to treat RSV. In adults, an outbreak of seasonal influenza is expected.

While lockdowns, as they reduce the chances of transmission, might affect other respiratory infections, is it possible that there might be a rash of other infections as well, for instance, gastrointestinal (GI) infections? Ashish Bavdekar, a Pune-based paediatric gastroenterologist, says this may be possible, although data to support it is not available in India. “We do not have very good data on this. In fact, we don’t have data on the number of cases of RSV too, but we Page 13 will know about GI-related infections in a few months,” he says. “This is such an unusual phenomenon that has occurred. But I don’t think the change of season will have long-term epidemiological effects, they will go back to the regular seasonal impact in a while.”

Despite the huge social and economic costs, lockdowns and social distancing have shown demonstrable success in containing the pandemic. But how stringent should lockdown measures be in future?

The Nature Communications article calls for a reassessment of the role of NPIs and an analysis to identify the most effective components to prevent respiratory virus transmission and infection. This might yield “new and sustainable interventions that can minimise and prevent seasonal and epidemic respiratory viral illnesses in the future”.

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Depression could be exacerbated post-long COVID, says expert.

If the recommendations of a 13-member expert committee headed by cardiologist Devi Prasad Shetty are implemented by the State government, detection of

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crackIAS.com Page 14 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 THE 2020 MILLENNIUM TECHNOLOGY PRIZE GOES TO… Relevant for: Developmental Issues | Topic: Health & Sanitation and related issues

Perfect blend: The work of Shankar Balasubramanian (right) and David Klenerman brings together science and innovation. | Photo Credit: Millennium Technology Prize

The 2020 Millennium Technology Prize, announced in May, has been awarded to Shankar Balasubramanian and David Klenerman, “for their development of revolutionary DNA sequencing techniques.” Their work is a perfect blend of science and innovation, and very apt as we have all heard a great deal about genome sequencing in the context of the ongoing pandemic.

Awarded by the Republic of Finland, along with top Finnish academic institutions and industries, The Millennium Prize has a 21st century outlook, with a strong emphasis on innovation. Past winners include Tim Berners-Lee (for implementing the world-wide web) and Frances Arnold (for her work on directed evolution in a laboratory setting). Three of the eleven awardees so far have subsequently won Nobel prizes. We wait, with bated breath, for Balasubramanian and Klenerman!

Shankar Balasubramanian was born in Chennai, and has lived in England for most of his life. After his PhD, he joined the Chemistry Department, Cambridge University. He teamed up with David Klenerman, recruited by the Department around the same time. The initial aim was to build a microscope that could follow single molecules. Of special interest to him was the molecular machinery that DNA uses to make copies of itself. Somewhere in their discussions arose the germ of the idea for a new way to read the alphabet that make up DNA, and to thereby access the information stored in them.

DNA (or RNA, in some viruses), the genetic material of life forms, is made of four bases (A, T, G and C; with U replacing T in the case of RNA). A chromosome is the duplex of a long linear chain of these – and in the DNA sequence is information – the blueprint of life. Life famously can replicate, and DNA replicates when an enzyme, DNA polymerase, synthesises a complementary strand using an existing DNA strand as the template.

The breakthrough idea of Balasubramanian and Klenerman was to sequence DNA (or RNA) using this process of strand synthesis. They cleverly modified their ATGC bases so that each shone with a different colour. When copied, the “coloured” copy of DNA could be deciphered from the colours alone, using miniature optical and electronic devices.

A very significant advance in their “Next Generation Sequencing” (NGS) method lies in the size of DNAcrackIAS.com that could be sequenced at one go – more than a million base pairs can be sequenced, which translates to hundreds of genes or even the whole genome of an organism. This is made possible by simultaneously sequencing hundreds of pieces of DNA at the same time. Many copies of this long DNA “sentence” are randomly broken up into small pieces, each no more than a few hundred bases long, which are all sequenced together. The “reads” are then fitted together, in the manner of a puzzle, to give the final sequence.

This technology was spun off as a commercial entity, Solexa, with the initiative of Balasubramanian and Klenerman. This phenomenally successful startup was later acquired by the biotech company Illumina. Page 15 What about the cost of all this sequencing? When the Human Genome Project delivered the first, near-complete sequence of our genome, the cost was estimated to have been 3 billion dollars. As all our chromosomes together have 3 billion base pairs, it becomes an easy calculation – One dollar per sequenced base. By the year 2020, Next Generation Sequencing technologies had pushed the price for sequencing your genome down to a thousand dollars – when this technology becomes prevalent in India, this sum should become a few thousands of rupees!

To think that a coronavirus genome has not 3 billion but 30,000 RNA bases – not surprisingly, this has resulted in an explosion of data on the genomes of the novel coronavirus and its variants. Health authorities in the United Kingdom have sequenced the viral genome of one out of sixteen people who have tested Covid-positive. The popular genomic data sharing site GSAID has over two million submissions of Cov-2 genomic sequences, from 172 countries. NGS has been at the heart of monitoring the spread of viral variants across the globe, and tracing the source of outbreaks.

Shankar Balasubramanian continues to run a fine laboratory, focused on the design of therapeutic molecules that would tune down the uncontrolled expression of certain genes, and so control the damage they cause in conditions such as cancer.

(This article has been written by D. Balasubramanian in collaboration with Sushil Chandani who is a professional computational biologist, [email protected] ) [email protected]

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This study was completed before the emergence of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 now dominating in the U.K.

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21st Session of India-Italy Joint Commission for Economic Cooperation (JCEC) was held on 09th July 2021 virtually. Mr. Piyush Goyal, Commerce & Industry Minister and Mr. Luigi Di Maio, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Italy co-chaired the Session.

Both sides held extensive discussions on bilateral trade and Investment and economic cooperation in the areas of Food Processing, Textiles, Leather, Railways, Start-ups and promotion of SMEs which play crucial role in economic growth and employment generation. The bilateral market access issues and non-tariff barriers were also discussed to facilitate trade and investment. The progress on the outcomes of India-EU leaders Summit in Porto, Portugal was also reviewed.

Following the India-Italy JCEC G2G Meeting, a G2B Session focusing on Energy partnership was held virtually in the presence of the two Ministers. During the meeting, 3 Indian companies (Indian Oil Corporation, Adani Solar, ReNew Power) and 3 Italian companies (Enel Green Power, Snam, Maire Tecnimont) made presentations focusing on the areas of green economy, clean technology and promotion of use of renewable energy for grid-based multi-energy systems. During the Session, both the Ministers reiterated the vision laid down by the Prime Ministers of India and Italy, under the Plan of Action adopted on 6th November 2020, to promote energy transition, leveraging technology and climate partnerships. They underscored the pioneering role played by India and Italy at the multi-lateral fora as early adopters of ambitious clean energy targets and invited the private and public sectors of both countries to explore synergies to further enhance mutual energy capacities.

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Both sides held extensive discussions on bilateral trade and Investment and economic cooperationcrackIAS.com in the areas of Food Processing, Textiles, Leather, Railways, Start-ups and promotion of SMEs which play crucial role in economic growth and employment generation. The bilateral market access issues and non-tariff barriers were also discussed to facilitate trade and investment. The progress on the outcomes of India-EU leaders Summit in Porto, Portugal was also reviewed.

Indian side also raised the issues of Mutual recognition of COWIN Vaccine Certificate and opening up of Travel restrictions, longer duration of Business Visas and Portability of social security benefits of Indians working in Italy. Page 17 Following the India-Italy JCEC G2G Meeting, a G2B Session focusing on Energy partnership was held virtually in the presence of the two Ministers. During the meeting, 3 Indian companies (Indian Oil Corporation, Adani Solar, ReNew Power) and 3 Italian companies (Enel Green Power, Snam, Maire Tecnimont) made presentations focusing on the areas of green economy, clean technology and promotion of use of renewable energy for grid-based multi-energy systems. During the Session, both the Ministers reiterated the vision laid down by the Prime Ministers of India and Italy, under the Plan of Action adopted on 6th November 2020, to promote energy transition, leveraging technology and climate partnerships. They underscored the pioneering role played by India and Italy at the multi-lateral fora as early adopters of ambitious clean energy targets and invited the private and public sectors of both countries to explore synergies to further enhance mutual energy capacities.

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crackIAS.com Page 18 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 INDIAN RESEARCHERS SPOT RARE SUPERLUMINOUS SUPERNOVA SHINING WITH BORROWED ENERGY SOURCE Relevant for: Science & Technology | Topic: Space Technology & related matters

An extremely bright, hydrogen deficient, fast-evolving supernova that shines with the energy borrowed from an exotic type of neutron star with an ultra-powerful magnetic field has been spotted by Indian researchers.

A deep study of such ancient spatial objects can help probe the mysteries of the early universe, the Department of Science and Technology (DST) said.

Supernovae (SNe) are highly energetic explosions in the universe releasing an enormous amount of energy. Such type of supernovae called SuperLuminous Supernova (SLSNe) are very rare.

This is because they generally originated from very massive stars (minimum mass limit is more than 25 times that of the sun), and the number distribution of such massive stars in our galaxy or in nearby galaxies is sparse. Among them, SLSNe-I has been counted to about 150 entities spectroscopically confirmed so far, the DST said.

These ancient objects are among the least understood SNe because their underlying sources are unclear, and their extremely high peak luminosity is unexplained, it said.

The SN 2020ank, first discovered by the Zwicky Transient Facility on January 19, 2020, was studied by scientists from Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) Nainital, a research institute under the Department of Science and Technology (DST), from February 2020 and then through the coronavirus lockdown phase of March and April, the DST said.

The apparent look of the SN was very similar to other objects in the field. However, once the brightness was estimated, it turned out as a very blue object reflecting its brighter character, it said.

The team observed it using special arrangements at India's recently commissioned Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT-3.6m) along with two other Indian telescopes: Sampurnanand Telescope-1.04m and Himalayan Chandra Telescope-2.0m, it said.

They found that the outer layers of the onion structured supernovae had been peeled off, and the corecrackIAS.com was shining with a borrowed energy source, it added. The study led by Amit Kumar, a PhD student working under S B Pandey, and published in the Monthly Notice of the Royal Astronomical Society suggested a possibly powering source from an exotic type of neutron star with an ultra-powerful magnetic field (magnetar) with a total ejected mass of ~ 3.6 7.2 times the mass of the sun, the DST said The study established the role of 3.6. DOT is exploring very rare distant SLSNe in the future.

Deeper investigations could explore the underlying physical mechanisms, possible progenitors, and environments hosting such rare explosions and their possible associations with other energetic explosions like Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and Fast Radio Bursts (FRBs), the DST Page 19 said.

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This study was completed before the emergence of the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 now dominating in the U.K.

crackIAS.com Page 20 Source : www.thehindu.com Date : 2021-07-12 THE INDIAN COURSER IS ON UNCERTAIN GROUND Relevant for: Environment | Topic: Biodiversity, Ecology, and Wildlife Related Issues

The Indian courser, a bird of dry open land, at Mamandur in Kancheepuram. Photo: Rama Neelamegam

When parents pop out of sight, an infant has trouble believing they have not disappeared forever. As it grows in days, the infant totters on to an understanding of “object permanence”, learning not to equate “popping out of sight” with “going out of existence”.

The problem arises when infants that have grown into adults fail to unlearn the lesson of object permanence in certain situations. If something — and someone — keeps popping out of sight far too often, and pops back in only after a drearily long passage of time, it may actually be disappearing from the scene. Not with a bang, but with a series of inscrutable budges.

Applying this logic to wildlife conservation, wildlife ecologists can sometimes get overly optimistic about a species’ resilience, believing it exists in the same encouraging numbers, ignoring growing evidence that it is checking out of many of its known habitats. Talking of a specific case, there is evidence that it is time to such shed misplaced optimism about the Indian courser (cursorius coromandelicus).

The Indian courser is found across India in patches of suitable habitats. Though still described “widespread” and of “least concern”, the bird puts in rare appearances in many of its known habitats. In Chennai and surrounding districts, Indian courser’s occurrence data is patchy, being occasionally reported from lake beds (when they had become dry), the most notable example being Siruthavoor.

With the Indian courser, ornithologist V Santharam employs unminced language one wants to hear more often.

“The Indian Courser is one of those species likely to become hugely uncommon and disappear in the next few decades. It has already become uncommon in many areas. Because, open areas are places people think should not be left open.” The Indian courser is viewed as a ground bird, because it largely sticks to terra firma even when it perceives a threat to its safety. Its “fleeing” behaviour shows this bird bets on its wings as well as its legs to carry it to safety — more on the latter. The Indian courser belongs to the category of birds that make short work of nest-building. The nest is just a scrape in the ground.

Its preference for open, dry land is what puts the bird at a huge disadvantage. Because, it is just the kind of earth that turns the eyes of “development”, eyes that view fallow lands as waiting to be “putcrackIAS.com to good use”. “These birds like open lands, open dry river beds, lake beds and open stony dry country,” points out Santharam. “The Indian Courser is receding because it prefers open areas which are sparsely populated and less disturbed.”

On the subject of how the Indian courser is being squeezed out of its habitats, the ornithologist presents a snapshot of a pre-monsoonal Pallikaranai from the 1980s.

“We have seen the species in Pallikaranai Marsh. Those days, you would be able to spot it right from the road (which would later go on to become the Pallavaram-Thoriapakkam 200-feet Radial Page 21 Road.”

The natural water-flow movement of the Marsh existing at that time provided a conducive environment for the Indian courser during certain months of the year. “In those days (just as now), the Pallikaranai area would be inundated up to the road during the monsoon. But the difference is that once the rains stopped, the water would start receding. There would be these areas along the road, for at least up to 300 metres on both sides, that would be covered with slight grass in most parts and be slushy in some parts. Overall, it would offer a more dry kind of habitat for months. When the water was down — as I have seen in the months of September and October before the monsoon arrived — the Oriental pratincoles would come. So would the Indian coursers,” explains Santharam.

He then goes on to present the prevailing situation. “But now, there is water logging through the year, changing the quality of the habitat. Reeds are found right next to the road. In those days, reeds would be seen only half a kilometre away. When the section got developed, the character of the place changed. The water would not flow that freely and started stagnating and reeds also started coming up close to the road.”

“The Indian courser is one the most neglected and least studied birds,” says S Balachandran, deputy director at the BHNS Regional Migration Study Centre in Point Calimere. “It is not a common bird, and over 40 years of field studies, primarily across Tamil Nadu, I must have had only 10 sightings of the Indian Courser. In the Tirunelveli side, in a dry area, I had seen one or two Indian coursers. Other of the rare sightings I have had of this species include the ones at Kaliveli and Kodiakarai. Going by the Tamil Nadu experience, the bird is scarcely found. As the bird prefers neither wetlands nor forests, and is a species of dry open land, surveying it can a challenge. Being found in barren and dry grassland, this bird suffers directly from development activities. It is affected just as the yellow-wattled lapwing is, which is also a bird of dry open land.”While according due importance to the role of citizen-science efforts to document sightings of species like the Indian Courser, Balachandran punctuates the necessity of carrying out a sustained study of the Indian courser.

(‘Uncommon Resident’ discusses resident birds of Chennai and surrounding districts that are not easily seen, and may be dwindling in numbers)

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