Daily Current Affairs for UPSC IAS: 1st June 2024

Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve : Woman Was Killed By a Tiger

A 32-year-old woman was killed by a tiger in the buffer zone of the Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra’s Chandrapur district recently.

• Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve is located in the Chandrapur district of Maharashtra.
• It includes Tadoba National Park and Andhari Wildlife Sanctuary.
• It is the largest and oldest Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra.
• The total area of the reserve is 625.4 sq. km.
• The origin of the name “Tadoba” lies with the name of the god “Tadoba” or “Taru”, worshipped by the tribes that live in the dense forests of the Tadoba and Andhari regions. “Andhari” refers to the Andhari River that meanders through the forest.
• The reserve has corridor linkages with Nagzira-Navegaon and Pench Tiger Reserves within the State.

External Commercial Borrowings : Study

Registrations by Indian companies for External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) almost doubled to $49.2 billion in the financial year 2023-24 (FY24) from $26.6 billion in FY23, according to data from the RBI.

• External Commercial Borrowings (ECBs) refer to the borrowing of funds by Indian companies from foreign sourcesin the form of loans, bonds, or other financial instruments.
• It can be used to finance a variety of purposes, including the expansion of business, the acquisition of assets, and the repayment of existing debt.
• ECBs can be obtained from a variety of sources, including foreign banks, international financial institutions, and foreign subsidiaries of Indian companies.
• ECB can be in the form of rupee-denominated loans, which are repaid in Indian rupees, or foreign currency-denominated loans, which are repaid in a foreign currency.
• ECB is subject to regulatory oversight by the RBI, which sets limits on the amount of ECB that Indian companies can obtain and the purposes for which it can be used.
• As per RBI guidelines, all entities except a Limited Liability Partnership are allowed to raise ECBs.

Cryonics : Practice Of Freezing An Individual Who Has Died

A cryonics company has frozen its first client in Australia in the hope of bringing him back to life in the future.

• Cryonics, the practice of freezing an individual who has died, with the object of reviving the individual sometime in the future.
• The word cryonics is derived from the Greek krýos, meaning “icy cold.”
• It is an effort to save lives by using temperatures so cold that a person beyond help by today’s medicine can be preserved for decades or centuries until a future medical technology can restore that person to full health.
• A person that is held in such a state is called a “cryopreserved patient”, because Cryonicists (the advocates of cryonics) do not regard the cryopreserved person as really dead.
• Cryonic preservation can be performed only after an individual has been declared legally dead.
• The process is initiated shortly after death, with the body being packed in iceand shipped to a cryonics facility.
• There, the blood is drained from the body and replaced with antifreeze and organ-preserving compounds known as cryoprotective agents.
• In this vitrified state, the body is placed in a chamber filled with liquid nitrogen, where it will theoretically stay preserved at -196 °C until scientists are able to find a way to resuscitate the body in the future.
• Currently, there are a few hundred bodies that have been frozen through cryonics.

Red Flag 24 Exercise:

An Indian Air Force (IAF) contingent recently arrived at the Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska to participate in the prestigious multi-national exercise, Red Flag 24

• It is a two-week advanced aerial combat training exercise aimed at integrating aircrew in a multinational environment.
• It is designed to replicate a realistic and challenging environment, bringing together aircrew and equipment from different nations and services.
• Approximately 3100 service members are expected to fly, maintain, and support more than 100 aircraft during the exercise.
• The IAF deployed Rafale fighter jets for the Red Flag 24 exercise.
• The exercises can be adapted to integrate various forces into a realistic threat environment using the more than 77,000 square miles of airspace in the Joint Pacific Alaska Range Complex, which is the largest combat training range in the world.
• Since its inception in 1975, Red Flag exercises are designed to create a comprehensive learning environment by simulating realistic combat scenarios.
• There are two distinct Red Flag exercise locations: Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Eielson Air Force Base in Alaska.
• The Nevada exercise is organized by the United States Air Force Warfare Center (USAFWC), while the Alaska exercise is managed by the Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), the air component command of the United States’ Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM).

Framework Or Recognising Self-Regulatory Organisation For The FinTech Sector (SRO-FT) : RBI

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently issued the Framework for Recognising Self-Regulatory Organisation for the FinTech Sector (SRO-FT) for better self-governance and compliance by firms in this space.

• The framework defines fintech as entities providing technological solutions for delivery of financial products and services to businesses and consumers or encompassing regulatory and supervisory compliance in partnership with traditional financial institutions or otherwise.
• The SRO-FT would be industry-led and will be responsible for establishing and enforcing regulatory standards, promoting ethical conduct, ensuring market integrity, resolving disputes and fostering transparency and accountability among its members.
• The applicant should be set up as a not-for-profit company, and its shareholding should be sufficiently diversified, with no entity holding 10% or more of its paid-up share capital, either singly or acting in concert.
• Applicants will need to have a minimum net worth of ₹2 crore within one year after recognition as an SRO-FT or before commencement of operations, whichever is earlier.
• At least one-third of members on the board, including the chairperson, should be independent and without any active association with a fintech entity.
• Further, the majority of non-independent directors are to be representatives of FinTechs that are currently not directly regulated.
• Applicants should demonstrate the capability of establishing the necessary infrastructure to act as an SRO-FT effectively and consistently.
• It will also need to put in place systems for managing ‘user harm’ instances, which may include fraud, mis-selling, unfair practices, unauthorised transactions, or any other form of misconduct.
• While the SRO can’t open branches or offices outside India, FinTechs domiciled outside India can become members of an SRO.
• The number of SRO-FTs to be recognised would depend on the number and nature of the applicants received, and the RBI reserves the right not to grant recognition to any such application.
• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) can nominate or depute observers on the SRO-FT’s board.

LignoSat : Japan’s Tiny Wooden Satellite

In a world-first, Japanese researchers have built a tiny wooden satellite named LignoSat that will be launched into space in September.

• LignoSat a fusion of “ligno” (the Latin word for wood) and “satellite”,.
• It is developed by collaborative research and development by a team comprising members from Kyoto University and Sumitomo Forestry Co.
• Their objective is to leverage the eco-friendliness and cost-effectiveness of wood in space exploration.
• It is constructed from magnolia wood, chosen for its durability and adaptability.
• Wooden satellites are viewed as more environmentally friendly upon reentering the Earth’s atmosphere at the conclusion of their mission.
• Unlike metal satellites, which pose air pollution risks due to the generation of metal particles during reentry, wooden satellites mitigate these concerns.
• It will first be sent to the International Space Station (ISS) aboard a SpaceX rocket from the Kennedy Space Center.
• Once it reaches the ISS, it will be released from the Japanese experiment module to test its durability and strength.
• Researchers will receive data from the satellite to monitor its performance, including signs of strain and its ability to withstand extreme temperature changes.

Global Food Policy Report 2024:

Global food policy report 2024: Food systems for healthy diets and nutrition was released by International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI)

Highlights of Global food policy report 2024:

• It mentions that at least 38 per cent of the Indian population ate unhealthy foods, while only 28 per cent ate all five recommended food groups, which include at least one starchy staple food, one vegetable, one fruit, one pulse, nut or seed and one animal-source food.
• The consumption of such calorie-dense and nutrient-poor foods was not only high but was also increasing, while the consumption of vegetables and other micronutrient-rich foods was low.
• In India and other South Asian countries, consumption of processed foods is on the rise.
• After cereals and milk, snacks and prepared foods accounted for the majority of Indian food budgets.
• In India, the proportion of the population suffering from malnutrition increased from 15.4% in 2011 to 16.6% by 2021.
• The prevalence of overweight in adults increased from 12.9% in 2006 to 16.4% in 2016.
• Similarly, the share of packaged (highly processed and calorie-dense) foods in household food budgets nearly doubled during this period, to 12 per cent from 6.5 per cent.
• In the South Asian region, the report highlighted that micronutrient-rich foods were expensive, whereas cereals, fats and oils, sugar, and sugary and salty snacks were relatively inexpensive.

International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI):

• It was established in 1975 and provides research-based policy solutions to sustainably reduce poverty and end hunger and malnutrition in developing countries.
• It is a research centre of CGIAR, which is the world’s largest agricultural innovation network.

Sympatric Speciation: Study

A recent study from the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay (IIT-B) sheds light on the mechanisms of sympatric speciation, challenging the traditional view that new species can evolve only when populations are isolated by geographic barriers (a process called allopatric speciation).

Highlights of the Study:

• The study focused on three key factors like disruptive selection (where extreme traits are favoured), sexual selection (mate choice based on specific traits), and genetic architecture (how genes influence traits). Researchers simulated a bird population to understand these processes.
• Disruptive Selection: Individuals with extreme traits have higher fitness than those with intermediate traits due to non-uniform resource distribution in the environment.
• Example: Birds with small beaks were better suited for food resources like nuts, while those with longer beaks were more efficient at utilising flower nectar as food.
• Researchers found the disruptive selection, favouring extreme traits based on environmental resource variations, can create a “divide” within a population without geographic isolation.
• Sexual Selection: Contrary to traditional belief, the study reveals that sexual selection favouring resource-relevant traits (e.g., beak size) drives sympatric speciation, not arbitrary traits like feather colour.
• Arbitrary trait-based sexual selection does not lead to speciation. The study also notes potential lower offspring fitness due to sexual selection.
• The study found that genetic architecture plays a key role in sympatric speciation likelihood. Even with weak disruptive selection, if genetic architecture permits trait changes (e.g., beak size), new species can emerge

Sympatric Speciation:

• Speciation occurs when a group within a species separates from other members of its species and develops its unique characteristics.
• Sympatric speciation occurs when new species evolve from a single ancestral species while inhabiting the same geographic region.
• Allopatric Speciation: Traditionally, speciation was thought to occur mainly through allopatric speciation, it occurs when a species separates into two isolated groups due to a geographical barrier, leading to different development based on their unique habitat or genetic characteristics. When the Grand Canyon formed in Arizona, it separated a population of squirrels and other small mammals, leading to allopatric speciation.
• As a result, two separate squirrel species now inhabit the north and south rims of the canyon.

Colombo Process : Regional Consultative Process

India has assumed the chair of the Colombo Process for 2024-26, the first time since the forum’s inception in 2003.

• The Colombo Process is a Regional Consultative Process focused on managing overseas employment and contractual labour.
• It comprises 12 Asian member states, including Bangladesh and Sri Lanka, with India as a founding member. Priority areas include skills and qualification recognition and fostering ethical recruitment practices.
• The UN’s International Organization for Migration provides technical and administrative support.
• IOM: Established in 1951 as part of the UN System, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It comprises 175 member states and aims to address displacement issues and facilitate pathways for regular migration. It leads initiatives like the Global Compact For Migration.

Alaska River : Change In Colour

Rivers and streams in Alaska are changing color – from a clean, clear blue to a rusty orange – because of the toxic metals released by thawing permafrost.

• The Arctic is warming four times faster than the rest of the world resulting in the thawing of permafrost.
• The discoloration and cloudiness are being caused by metals such as iron, zinc, copper, nickel and lead – some of which are toxic to the river and stream ecosystems – as permafrost thaws and exposes the waterways to minerals locked away underground for thousands of years.
• Arctic soils naturally contain organic carbon, nutrients and metals, such as mercury, within their permafrost.
• High temperatures have caused these minerals and the water sources around them to meet as permafrost melts.
• Permafrost is soil or underwater sediment which continuously remains below 0 °C (32 °F) for two years or more: the oldest permafrost had been continuously frozen for around 700,000 years.
• While the shallowest permafrost has a vertical extent of below a meter (3 ft), the deepest is greater than 1,500 m (4,900 ft).
• Around 15% of the Northern Hemisphere or 11% of the global surface is underlain by permafrost. This includes large areas of Alaska, Canada, Greenland, and Siberia. It is also located in high mountain regions, with the Tibetan Plateau a prominent example.
• Only a minority of permafrost exists in the Southern Hemisphere, where it is consigned to mountain slopes like in the Andes of Patagonia, the Southern Alps of New Zealand, or the highest mountains of Antarctica

Alaska:

• Alaska lies at the extreme northwest of the North American continent, and the Alaska Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the Western Hemisphere.
• Because the 180th meridian passes through the state’s Aleutian Islands, Alaska’s westernmost portion is in the Eastern Hemisphere.
• Thus, technically, Alaska is in both hemispheres.
• Alaska is bounded by the Beaufort Sea and the Arctic Ocean to the north, Canada’s Yukon territory and British Columbia province to the east, the Gulf of Alaska and the Pacific Ocean to the south, the Bering Strait and the Bering Sea to the west, and the Chukchi Sea to the northwest.
• Alaska, constituent state of the United States of America. It was admitted to the union as the 49th state on January 3, 1959.
• The capital is Juneau, which lies in the southeast, in the panhandle region.

Dag Hammarskjold Medal:

Naik Dhananjay Kumar Singh, who served with the UN Stabilisation Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (MONUSCO), was posthumously honoured with the prestigious Dag Hammarskjold medal.

• Naik Singh’s valour and sacrifice were honoured during a solemn ceremony when the UN commemorated the International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers.
• He was among the 61 military, police and civilian peacekeepers honoured posthumously with the prestigious medal during the occasion.
• The Dag Hammarskjöld Medal is a posthumous award given by the United Nations (UN) to military personnel, police, or civilians who lose their lives while serving in a United Nations peacekeeping operation.
• The medal is named after Dag Hammarskjöld, the second Secretary-General of the United Nations, who died in a plane crash in what is now Zambia in September 1961.
• The award is given to any military personnel, police, or civilians who lose their lives while serving in a United Nations peacekeeping operation, so long as the death did not result from misconduct or criminal acts.

Pig Liver Transplant In Cancer Patient:

A man with advanced liver cancer who is 71 years old is the first person in history to receive a liver donation from a genetically modified pig.

• This is a huge step forward in medicine. Doctors at Anhui Medical University’s First Affiliated Hospital in China did this historic treatment.
• The safe use of pig liver is a big step forward in the field of xenotransplantation, which is the transplantation of organs from animals into people.
• A pig liver that had been genetically modified in ten specific ways to lower the risk of organ rejection and other problems was used before.
• The pig liver weighed 514 grams and was designed to work as well in the human body as possible.
• Interestingly, after the surgery, the transplanted liver started working properly, making about 200 milliliters of bile every day.
• The patient also showed no signs of immediate or acute rejection, so the liver function and blood clotting stayed normal.