QUICK REVISION BOOKLET-PART 2

CRR or cash reserve ratio

• It is a certain minimum amount of deposit that the commercial banks have to hold as reserves with the central bank.
• The percentage of cash required to be kept in reserves, vis-a-vis a bank’s total deposits, is called the Cash Reserve Ratio.
• The cash reserve is either stored in the bank’s vault or is sent to the RBI. Banks do not get any interest on the money that is with the RBI under the CRR requirements.

Repo Rate and Reverse Repo Rate

• The interest rate that the RBI charges when commercial banks borrow money from it is called the repo rate.
• The interest rate that the RBI pays commercial banks when they park their excess cash with the central bank is called the reverse repo rate.
• Since RBI is also a bank and has to earn more than it pays, the repo rate is higher than the reverse repo rate.

ATLANTIC MERIDIONAL OVERTURNING CIRCULATION (AMOC)

• The AMOC is a large system of ocean currents. It is the Atlantic branch of the ocean conveyor belt or Thermohaline circulation (THC) and distributes heat and nutrients throughout the world’s ocean basins.
• Two main features of the AMOC:
  1. Flow of warm, salty water in the upper layers of the ocean northwards from the Gulf of Mexico (red line). This is made up of the “Gulf Stream” to the south and the “North Atlantic Current” further north.
  2. Cooling of water in the high latitudes of the Atlantic, which makes the water denser. This denser water then sinks and returns southwards towards tropics and then to the South Atlantic as a bottom current (blue line). From there it is distributed to all ocean basins via the Antarctic circumpolar current.

Thermohaline circulation (THC)

• While winds drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.
• It is also known as the Global Ocean Conveyor or Great Ocean Conveyor Belt.

National Monetisation Pipeline

• The NMP estimates aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6 lakh crores through core assets of the Central Government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025.
• The plan is in line with Prime Minister’s strategic divestment policy
• It aims to unlock value in brownfield projects by engaging the private sector, transferring to them revenue rights and not ownership in the projects, and using the funds generated for infrastructure creation across the country.
• The NMP has been announced to provide a clear framework for monetisation and give potential investors a ready list of assets to generate investment interest.
• Currently, only assets of central government line ministries and Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in infrastructure sectors have been included.
• Roads, railways and power sector assets will comprise over 66% of the total estimated value of the assets to be monetised.

Land Bank

• Land bank is a governmental entity or non-profit corporation to manage and dispose of vacant properties, vacant land, or tax-delinquent  properties to ensure more productive use of vacant land.
• NITI Aayog’s, in its strategy for New India @ 75 suggested new system using Geographic Information System (GIS) based maps at all levels to create preapproved land banks for manufacturing facilities.

National Multidimensional Poverty Index: NITI Ayog

• NITI Aayog has released the Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI).

  • Earlier, Global Multidimensional Poverty Index 2021 was released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty & Human Development Initiative (OPHI).
• The MPI seeks to measure poverty across its multiple dimensions and in effect complements existing poverty statistics based on per capita consumption expenditure.
• According to Global MPI 2021, India’s rank is 66 out of 109 countries. The National MPI is aimed at deconstructing the Global MPI and creating a globally aligned and yet customised India MPI for drawing up comprehensive Reform Action Plans with the larger goal of improving India’s position in the Global MPI rankings.
• It has three equally weighted dimensions – health, education, and standard of living.
  • These three dimensions are represented by 12 indicators such as nutrition, school attendance, years of schooling, drinking water, sanitation, housing, bank accounts among others.
• The national MPI measure uses the globally accepted and robust methodology developed by the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) and the UNDP.
• This baseline report of the national MPI measure is based on the reference period of 2015-16 of the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4).

Financial Inclusion Index

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has unveiled the first composite Financial Inclusion Index (FI-Index).
• The index has been conceptualised as a comprehensive index incorporating details of banking, investments, insurance, postal as well as the pension sector in consultation with the government and respective sectoral regulators.
  • It will be published annually in July every year.
• It has been constructed without any ‘base year’ and as such it reflects cumulative efforts of all stakeholders over the years towards financial inclusion.
• It comprises three broad parameters (weights indicated in brackets) viz., Access (35%), Usage (45%), and Quality (20%) with each of these consisting of various dimensions, which are computed based on a number of indicators.

Debt to GDP Ratio

• It is the ratio of a country’s public debt to its gross domestic product (GDP).
• It indicates a country’s ability to pay back its debts.
• Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act mandated debt-to-GDP ratio of the Centre to be brought down to 40% and that of states to 20% by 2024-25

PROMPT CORRECTIVE ACTION (PCA)

PCA is a framework under which financial institutions, usually banks and now NBFCs as well, with weak financial metrics are put under watch by the RBI.

NBFCs

• NBFCs, also known as nonbank financial  institutions, are entities that provide certain-bank like and financial services but do not hold a  banking license and excludes entities with  agriculture activity, industrial activity, purchase or sale of any goods (other than securities) as  principal business or providing any service and sale/purchase/construction of immovable property.

Difference between Banks and NBFCs

• NBFCs can’t accept demand deposits;
• NBFCs are not part of payment and settlement system and can’t issue cheques drawn on itself; and
• DICGC facility is not available to depositors of NBFCs.
• Regulation: NBFCs are regulated by RBI although some NBFCs are regulated by SEBI, IRDAI, National Housing Bank etc. to avoid dual regulation

Payments Bank

A payments bank is like any other bank, but operating on a smaller scale without involving any credit risk. In simple words, it can carry out most banking operations but can’t advance loans or issue credit cards. It can accept demand deposits (up to Rs 1 lakh), offer remittance services, mobile payments/transfers/purchases and other banking services like ATM/debit cards, net banking and third party fund transfers.

Based in suggestion of Dr Nachiket Mor committee.

DEPOSIT INSURANCE AND CREDIT GUARANTEE CORPORATION (DICGC)

• DICGC is a wholly owned subsidiary of the RBI created under the DICGC Act, 1961 with Deputy Governor of RBI as its ex-officio Chairman.
• Governed by the provisions of the DICGC Act of 1961 and DICGC General Regulations of 1961, DICGC is liable to pay the insured deposit amount to depositors of an insured bank.
• It registers a bank as insured immediately and automatically on issuance of banking license

Pre-packaged insolvency resolution

• A pre-packed insolvency resolution mechanism is a process wherein a resolution arrangement is  agreed upon between the distressed corporate debtor (CDs) and lender before approaching the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) for bankruptcy proceedings.
• It follows a debtor-in-possession model and gives legal sanction to a plan agreed among banks, promoters, and the buyer.

Asset Reconstruction and ARC

Asset reconstruction is defined as ‘the acquisition of  banks/financial institutions right or interest in any financial assistance by an ARC for realization of such  financial assistance.

Forex Reserves

• Foreign exchange reserves are assets held on reserve by a central bank in foreign currencies, which can include bonds, treasury bills and other government securities.
  • It needs to be noted that most foreign exchange reserves are held in US dollars.
• India’s Forex Reserve include:
  • Foreign Currency Assets
  • Gold reserves
  • Special Drawing Rights
  • Reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Foreign Currency Assets

• FCAs are assets that are valued based on a currency other than the country’s own currency.
• FCA is the largest component of the forex reserve. It is expressed in dollar terms.

Special Drawing Rights

• The SDR is an international reserve asset, created by the IMF in 1969 to supplement its member countries’ official reserves.
• The SDR is neither a currency nor a claim on the IMF. Rather, it is a potential claim on the freely usable currencies of IMF members. SDRs can be exchanged for these currencies.

Reserve Position in the International Monetary Fund

• A reserve tranche position implies a portion of the required quota of currency each member country must provide to the IMF that can be utilized for its own purposes.
• The reserve tranche is basically an emergency account that IMF members can access at any time without agreeing to conditions or paying a service fee.

Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR)

• It governs the capital that a bank ought to hold as a percentage of its total assets. CAR is also known as Capital to Risk (Weighted) Assets Ratio (CRAR). 

Microfinance

• Microfinance is a banking service provided to unemployed or low-income individuals or groups to help them to work their way out of poverty by  undertaking income generating activities.
• Features: Lending of small amounts of loans without any collateral and flexible repayment schedule.
• Origin: Microfinance largely originated from works of NGOs with Bangladesh Grameen Bank as first microfinance institution in 1983

NBFC-MFI

Factoring

ACCOUNT AGGREGATOR SYSTEM LAUNCHED TO BOLSTER LENDING ECOSYSTEM

• Account Aggregator (AA) system is a data-sharing system to revolutionize investing and credit.
• It involves an account aggregator, a financial entity to consolidate all the financial data of an individual and present it in reader friendly manner with  analysis of different financial holdings.
• Under the RBI Act, 1934, RBI released the  “NonBanking Financial Company – Account  Aggregator (Reserve Bank) Directions, 2016” with o Account Aggregator as a special class of NBFC under section 45-I of RBI Act, to- Enable easy sharing of financial data, Provide inbuilt consent framework for users etc.

e-RUPI

• “e-RUPI” is an electronic voucher based digital  payment system which is person-specific and purpose-specific payments system.
• It is developed by the National Payments  Corporation of India on its UPI platform, in collaboration with the Department of Financial  Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare and National Health Authority.

SOCIAL STOCK EXCHANGE

• SSE functions as a regulated funding platform to allow For-Profit Social Enterprises (FPEs) and not-forprofit organizations (NPO) with a social purpose, to raise funds.
• At present, avenues through which the social sector (FPEs and NPO) receive funding include Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), impact investing, philanthropic/Government grants etc.
• At SSE, impact investors can buy stake in the form of bonds from listed organizations.
• SSE will work under the regulatory ambit of SEBI as a separate segment of the existing stock exchanges

India’s first Euro denominated Green Bond

• Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFC), leading NBFC in power sector, issued India’s first €300 million 7-year Euro Green Bond.
• In green bonds, the money raised by the issuer are earmarked towards financing `green’ projects’ like renewable energy, clean transportation etc.
• First ever green bond of India was launched by Yes Bank in 2015.

NSE-Shine

• First for India, the NSE-Shine is a blockchain platform for gold bullion launched by the National Stock Exchange (NSE) with Chainflux in support with India Gold Policy Centre (IGPC) and the Indian Bullion and Jewelers’ Association (IBJA).

GUAREX

Guar gum has been asked in past prelims

• GUAREX is a price-based index tracking the price movement in the futures contracts of its underlying i.e., Guar Seed and Guar Gum Refined Splits on a real-time basis.
• It is India’s first sectoral index in Agri-commodities basket.
• Guar gum is the gum derived from seeds of the guar plant (Cyamopsis tetragonoloba).
• The guar or cluster bean is an agricultural crop grown in arid zones of West and North-West India,Rajasthan is the biggest producer.
• India grows over 80% of the total guar produced all over the world.
• The largest market for guar gum is in the food industry, where it is used as a thickener and binder of free water. Guar gum also finds extensive use in many industrial applications.

Escrow Account

Asked in past prelims.

It is an account where funds or assets are held in trust by a third party whilst two or more parties complete a transaction. It offers benefits like overcoming uncertainty on ability to meet obligations and facilitating custody of cash, securities and other collaterals based on the transaction type.

Stagflation

Asked in past prelims.

Stagflation is an economic situation in which the inflation rate is high, economic growth rate slows, and unemployment remains steadily high. It creates a dilemma for government since most actions designed to lower inflation may raise unemployment levels, and  policies designed to decrease unemployment may  worsen inflation.

Legal Entity Identifier (LEI)

• LEI is a 20-character, alpha-numeric code based on the ISO 17442 standard from International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
• Used to uniquely identify parties to financial transactions worldwide, improving accuracy of financial data reporting systems.
• It’s issuance and use is regulated by Global Legal Entity Identifier Foundation (GLEIF), established by the Financial Stability Board in 2014.

Agreement on Agriculture- WTO

• AoA is aimed to remove trade barriers and to promote transparent market access and integration of global markets.

SERVICES DOMESTIC REGULATIONS (SDR)

• 67 member countries of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) concluded their negotiations on Services Domestic Regulations (SDR) aimed at making it easier for foreign service providers to access, understand and follow the procedures for getting authorisations or licenses for operating in the host country and be assured of legal certainty, predictability, regulatory quality and facilitation.
• It is the first WTO deal on services in over two decades.

Anthraquinone in Tea

• India has raised concerns at a WTO Meeting regarding European Union’s decision to classify anthraquinone as a pesticide (found in tea) and labelling it as a non-tariff barrier.
• India argued that anthraquinone is a naturally occurring pollutant or a hydrocarbon and not a pesticide.
• Also, Russia has classified tea as “fruits and vegetables”, due to which a higher-level quality-check parameters was applied to tea.
• India is the second largest producer of tea, fourth largest exporter of tea in the world after Kenya, China and Sri Lanka.

Early Harvest Scheme

• Early harvest scheme is a precursor to an FTA between two trading partners. This is to help the two trading countries identify certain products for tariff liberalisation pending the conclusion of FTA negotiation. It is primarily a confidence building measure. Ex- EHS between India and Thailand.

Definition of Start up and Unicorns

An entity shall be considered as a Startup:

• Upto a period of ten years from the date of incorporation/ registration, if it is incorporated as a private limited company (as defined in the Companies Act, 2013) or registered as a partnership firm (registered under section 59 of the Partnership Act, 1932) or a limited liability partnership (under the Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008) in India.
• Turnover of the entity for any of the financial years since incorporation/ registration has not exceeded one hundred crore rupees.
• Entity is working towards innovation, development or improvement of products or processes or services, or if it is a scalable business model with a high potential of employment generation or wealth creation. Provided that an entity formed by splitting up or reconstruction of an existing business shall not be considered a ‘Startup’.
• startups are recognized by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)

Unicorns

 The term currently refers to a startup that reaches a valuation of $1 billion.

SAMBHAV

• It is a mass outreach programme under the Ministry of MSME in which students from different colleges/ITIs from all parts of the country will be encouraged by 130 field offices of the Ministry to take up entrepreneurship.

Ubharte Sitaare Alternative Investment Fund

• Ministry of Finance has launched ‘Ubharte Sitaare’ Alternative Investment Fund to facilitate debt and equity funding to export-oriented MSMEs (Micro Small and medium Enterprises).

Global Innovation Index 2021

• India has climbed two spots and has been ranked 46^th in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2021 rankings.
• Co-published by the World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), Cornell University and INSEAD.

Reasons for rising indebtedness in Agriculture

According to the ‘Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land Holdings of Households in Rural India, 2019’ survey by the National Statistical Office, the average outstanding loan per agricultural household increased by 57.7% from 2013 to 2018.

• Easy access to institutional finance due to  Government effort.
• Inadequate growth in farm productivity and income due to factors like rising cost of cultivation, price volatility, climate change, Subsistence farming of small landholdings etc
• Poor risk mitigation mechanism
• Dependence on high interest informal loans
• Intergenerational debt cycle due to debts for non-productive purposes
• Farm loan waivers

Di-Ammonium Phosphate

• DAP is the second most commonly used fertiliser in India after urea.
  • Farmers normally apply this fertiliser just before or at the beginning of sowing, as it is high in phosphorus (P) that stimulates root development.
  • DAP (46% P, 18% Nitrogen) is the preferred source of Phosphorus for farmers.
  • This is similar to urea, which is their preferred nitrogenous fertiliser containing 46% N.
• Shortage due to disruption in global supply chain.
• Ideal NPK ratio for fertilisers- 4:2:1

National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm

• for self-reliance in edible oil involves investment of over Rs. 11,000 crore (over a five year period).
• To harness domestic edible oil prices that are dictated by expensive palm oil imports.
• To raise the domestic production of palm oil by three times 
• The special emphasis of the scheme will be in India’s north-eastern states and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands due to the conducive weather conditions in the regions.
• Price assurance to the oil palm farmers on the lines of the MSP for the Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFBs) from which oil is extracted by the industry. This will be known as the Viability Price (VP).
• India is the largest consumer of vegetable oil in the world. Of this, palm oil imports are almost 55% of its total vegetable oil imports.

LARGE AREA CERTIFICATION (LAC) SCHEME

• It is a unique quick certification programme to harness the potential areas of Organic farming in India.
• It was launched by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare under its flagship scheme of Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY).
• Under LAC, each village in the area is considered as one cluster or group .

Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF)

• Zero budget natural farming is a method of chemical-free agriculture drawing from traditional Indian practices.
• It is a unique model that relies on Agro-ecology. It aims to bring down the cost of production to nearly zero and return to a pre-green revolution style of farming
• It was originally promoted by agriculturist and Padma Shri recipient Subhash Palekar, who developed it in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution’s methods driven by chemical fertilizers, pesticides and intensive irrigation.

Bioenergy Crops

• Bioenergy crops are defined as any plant material used to produce bioenergy.

Cage aquaculture

• Cage aquaculture involves the growing of fishes in existing water resources while being enclosed in a net cage which allows free flow of water.

Matsya Setu

• Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying has launched the Online Course Mobile App “Matsya Setu” for fish farmers.
• It aims to disseminate the latest freshwater aquaculture technologies to the aqua farmers of the country, thus increasing the productivity and income.

CRITICAL MINERALS

• Critical minerals are metals and non-metals that are considered vital for the economic well-being of the world’s major and emerging economies, yet whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors. There is no universal classification of critical materials.
• Some examples include minerals such as – Rare-earth elements (REE), lithium, cobalt, tungsten, platinum, magnesium, molybdenum, antimony, , vanadium, nickel, chromium, manganese.

DISTRICT MINERAL FOUNDATION

• Centre took complete control of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds, negating states’ right to sanction or approve any expenditure out of the funds accrued from mandatory contribution from mining lease holders.
• DMF is conceptualized as a benefit-sharing mechanism with mining-affected communities, recognizing them as partners in natural resource-led development.
• It is set up as a non-profit trust in all mining districts of India, with objective to ‘work for the interest and benefit of people and areas affected by mining’, through a participatory process.

Revised MSME Classification

Micro

Investment < 1 crore

Turnover < 5 crores

Small

Investment < 10 crores

Turnover < 50 crores

Medium

Investment < 20 crores

Turnover < 100 crores

Design Linked Incentive for Semiconductors

• The DLI scheme is part of the MeitY’s comprehensive Program for the Development of Semiconductors and Display Manufacturing Ecosystems in the country.

Semiconductors

• Any of a class of crystalline solids intermediate in electrical conductivity between a conductor and an insulator.
• Semiconductors are employed in the manufacture of various kinds of electronic devices, including diodes, transistors, and integrated circuits. Such devices have found wide application because of their compactness, reliability, power efficiency, and low cost.

Under the DLI Scheme financial incentives and design infrastructure support will be extended to domestic companies, startups and MSMEs.

Periodic Labour Force Survey

• Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) shows that the unemployment rate had shot up sharply during the nationwide lockdown in 2020 during the first wave of the pandemic.

Objective of PLFS

• To estimate the key employment and unemployment indicators (viz. WPR, LFPR, UR) in the short time interval of three months for the urban areas only in the Current Weekly Status (CWS).
• To estimate employment and unemployment indicators in both usual status and CWS in both rural and urban areas annually.

National Statistical Office

• It is the central statistical agency of the Government mandated under the Statistical Services Act 1980 under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
• It is responsible for the development of arrangements for providing statistical information services to meet the needs of the Government and other users for information on which to base policy, planning, monitoring and management decisions.
  • The services include collecting, compiling and disseminating official statistical information.
• Other Reports & Indices by NSO:
  • Index of Industrial Production (IIP)
  • Consumer Price Index (CPI)
  • Sustainable Development Goals National Indicator Framework Progress Report

Dark Genome

• Scientists may have discovered important clues to the treatment of mental illnesses such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder within a recently-evolved region of the so-called ‘dark genome’, that part of the DNA outside known genes, according to a study published in Molecular Psychiatry.

Agariyas

India is the third-largest producer of salt globally after the United States and China.

Agariyas, the salt farmers of the Little Rann of Kutch (LRK), produce 30 per cent of India’s inland salt — about 0.35 million metric tonnes.

Microplastics

Microplastics are small plastic pieces less than five millimeters long which can be harmful to our ocean and aquatic life.

Polyethylene terephthalate (PET), commonly used in disposable water bottles- most widely encountered plastic polymer

The second most common, polystyrene (PS), which is used for food packaging .

Microbeads

Asked in Past Prelims

Microbeads, a type of microplastic, are very tiny pieces of manufactured polyethylene plastic that are added as exfoliants to health and beauty products, such as some cleansers and toothpastes. These tiny particles easily pass through water filtration systems.

Light Fidelity (Lifi) Technology

• LiFi is a wireless optical networking technology, which uses light emitting diodes (LEDs) to transmit data.
• It makes a LED light bulb emit pulses of light that are undetectable to human eye and  within those emitted pulses, data can travel to and from receivers.
• LiFi is not strictly a line-of-sight technology.

Internet of Things (IoT)

Asked in past prelims

• It is a seamless connected network of embedded objects/ devices, with identifiers, in which Machine to Machine (M2M) communication without any human intervention is possible using standard and interoperable communication protocols.

METAVERSE

• India among top 5 countries in terms of interest in metaverse projects
• Metaverse projects refer to blockchain-based games and applications that are set in virtual worlds
• Metaverse can be understood as a combination of multiple elements of technology, including virtual reality, augmented reality and video where users “live” within a digitally enhanced surrounding.

Virtual Reality (VR): VR can be understood as the use of computer modelling and simulation that enables a person to interact with an artificial three-dimensional (3-D) visual or other sensory environment.

Augmented Reality (AR): It is an enhanced version of the real physical world that is achieved through the use of digital visual elements, sound, or other sensory stimuli  delivered via technology.

Avatar: An avatar in the metaverse is a representation of an individual in the virtual world, this digital avatar enables the person to function like an actual human being in a digitally created world.

Satellite Internet Service

• Satellite Internet Services is a wireless internet connection which uses satellites in space to get an internet signal from the Internet Service Provider (ISP) to users.
• It operates using two way satellites like VSAT (Very Small Aperture Terminal) or telecommunication satellites to liaison between Internet Service  Providers (ISPs) and Users with satellite dishes.
• These can be the geostationary satellites or satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO); in 500-2000 km by Starlink (SpaceX), Kupier(Amazon)and OneWeb.

Onlinemaps Portal, SARTHI, and MANCHITRAN – Launch of 3 Online Applications to Purchase Geospatial Data Collected by Govt. Organizations

The Govt. of India in Feb 2021 announced the liberation of the Geospatial Policy of India. It has announced a new Geospatial policy to unlock new avenues for business, private sector, and research institutes to build applications and drive innovation in the creation of digital public goods.

1. Onlinemaps Portal  – a Geospatial data dissemination Portal by Survey of India (SOI)
2. SARTHI – a Web GIS Application Portal by Survey of India (SOI)
3. MANCHITRAN – an Enterprise Geoportal by National Atlas & Thematic Mapping Organisation (NATMO)

Geospatial Technology

• It includes Geographic Information System (GIS), Remote Sensing (RS)  and Global Positioning System (GPS).
• Geospatial Technologies helps to collect data about assets and resources,  enables analysis and interpretation, reporting and monitoring, planning and decision making and to take informed action.

Doppler radar 

• Doppler radar systems can provide information regarding the movement of targets as well as their position. When the WSR-88D transmits pulses of radio waves, the system keeps track of the phase of those pulses.
• By measuring the shift (or change) in phase between a transmitted pulse and a received echo, the target’s movement directly toward or away from the radar is calculated.
• Used in weather forecasts too. 

Space Rice– China harvested its first batch of “space rice” from seeds that returned from a lunar voyage (Chang’e-5 lunar probe).

Blue straggler– Blue stragglers are bigger and bluer star formed when one star eats up another. These stars are primarily present in the older and massive star clusters. 

Magnetar– A magnetar is a type of neutron star. In a typical neutron star, magnetic field is trillions of times that of the Earth’s magnetic field; however, in a magnetar, magnetic field is another 1000 times stronger.

White Dwarf Star

• A white dwarf is a star that has burnt up all of its fuel and shed its outer layers, now undergoing a process of shrinking and cooling over millions of years. 
• A white dwarf star, named LAMOST J024048.51+195226.9 — or J0240+1952, that completes a full rotation once every 25 seconds is the fastest spinning confirmed white dwarf.

Asteroid Ryugu

• NASA received its first sample of asteroid Ryugu, which was returned to Earth last December by Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA) Hayabusa2 spacecraft.
• Ryugu, diamond-shaped space rock, is orbiting the sun between Earth and Mars and occasionally crosses Earth’s orbit (therefore classified as potentially hazardous).
• Ryugu is classified as a carbonaceous, or C-type asteroid, which means it contains a lot of carbon and water. 

Ganymede– the largest moon in the solar system,cicles Jupiter.

Hycean planets

• Up to 2.6 times bigger than Earth, with large oceans and hydrogen rich atmosphere.
• Aren’t rocky like Earth.
• Incredibly abundant throughout the Milky Way galaxy. 

Nucleic Acid vaccines 

• Instead of injecting a weakened form of a virus or bacteria into the body, Nucleic acid vaccines use genetic material from a disease-causing virus or bacterium (a pathogen) to stimulate an immune response against it.
• Zydus Cadilla received emergency use approval for ZyCov-D, its plasmid DNA vaccine against COVID-19 –  This would be the world’s first DNA vaccine against COVID-19. 

One Health

One Health is a collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach — working at the local, regional, national, and global levels — with the goal of achieving optimal health outcomes recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment. One Health is an approach that recognizes that the health of people is closely connected to the health of animals and our shared environment. 

BCG

• Developed by two Frenchmen, Albert Calmette and Camille Guerin, by modifying a strain of Mycobacterium bovis that causes TB in cattle.
• BCG is the only licensed vaccine available for the prevention of TB.
• The efficacy of BCG is higher in geographic locations farther from the equator.
• This vaccine gives protection against tuberculosis (TB) infection. It is 70-80% effective against the most severe forms of TB, such as TB meningitis. However, it is less effective in preventing the form of TB that affects the lungs.
• The BCG vaccine contains live bacteria that have been weakened (attenuated), so that they stimulate the immune system but do not cause disease in healthy people

Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) 

• NTD are communicable diseases that prevail in tropical and subtropical countries and affect more than one billion people. Populations living in poverty, without adequate sanitation and in close contact with infectious vectors and domestic animals and livestock are those worst affected. 
• January 30 – NTD day

Mucormycosis/ Black fungus 

• A rare fungal infection caused by a group of moulds known as mucormycetes. This mucor mould is commonly found in soil, plants, manure, and decaying fruits and vegetables. 

TRANS FATS

Asked in past prelims

• Trans fat, or trans-fatty acids, are  unsaturated fatty acids that come from either natural or industrial sources:
  o Naturally occurring trans-fat come from ruminants (cows and sheep).
  o Industrially produced trans-fat are found in hardened vegetable fats such as margarine and are often present in snack foods, baked goods and fried foods.
  ✓ Industrially produced trans-fats are formed in a process that adds hydrogen to vegetable oil converting the liquid into a solid, resulting in “partially hydrogenated” oil (PHO).
  ✓ Manufacturers often use them as they have a longer shelf life and are cheaper than other fats
• Intake of TFA is associated with increased risk of heart attacks and death from coronary heart disease.

Food Foritification

• Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD), under the Consumer Affairs Ministry had issued uniform specifications for fortified rice kernels (FRK) for Grade A and common rice for procurement of fortified rice stocks, wherein 1% of FRK should be blended with normal rice.
• Fortified rice is to be distributed under various government schemes including public distribution system and midday meals in schools by 2024.
• According to the FSSAI norms, 1 kg fortified rice shall contain iron (28mg-42.5mg), folic acid (75-125 microgram) and Vitamin B-12 (0.75-1.25 microgram).
• In addition, rice may also be fortified with micronutrients such as zinc, Vitamin A, Vitamin B1, Vitamin B2, Vitamin B3 and Vitamin B6.
• WHO defines Fortification as the practice of deliberately increasing the content of an essential micronutrient, i.e. vitamins and minerals (including trace elements) in a food, so as to improve the nutritional quality of the food supply and provide a public health  benefit with minimal risk to health.Eg- Iodized Salt.
• In October 2016, FSSAI operationalized the Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016 for fortifying staples namely Wheat Flour and Rice (with Iron, Vitamin B12 and Folic Acid), Milk and Edible Oil (with Vitamins A and D) and Double Fortified Salt (with Iodine and Iron) to reduce the high burden of micronutrient malnutrition in India.

Note – India has slipped to 101^st position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) 2021 of 116 countries, from its 2020 position of 94^th.

Coal Based Hydrogen

• Coal is a mixture of two components: carbon-based matter (the decayed remains of prehistoric vegetation) and mineral matter (which comes from the ground from which the coal is dug).
• The carbon-based matter is composed of five main elements: carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen and sulfur.
• Coal is one of the important sources of hydrogen making (Brown Hydrogen) apart from Natural Gas (Grey hydrogen) and renewable energy (Green Hydrogen) through electrolysis. In case of renewable energy (Green Hydrogen) surplus solar power is used to electrolyze water into hydrogen and oxygen.
• The partial oxidation process is used to produce hydrogen from coal.

Solid State lithium-metal battery (SSLMB)

• A solid-state battery replaces polymer separator used in conventional lithium-ion batteries with a solid-state separator.
• Lithium-ion batteries use aqueous electrolyte solutions to keep anode (negative electrode generally made of graphite) and cathode (positive electrode made of lithium) apart.
• On the other hand, solid-state battery uses solid electrolyte that plays the role of a separator as well.
• Replacement of the separator enables carbon or silicon anode used in conventional lithium-ion batteries to be replaced with a lithium-metal anode.
• Advantages – Higher cell energy density ; Lower charging time and  longer life; Improved safety.

Lithium ion (Li-ion) batteries

• A lithium-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery that is charged and discharged by lithium ions moving between the negative (anode) and positive (cathode) electrodes .

Perovskite Solar Cells(PSC) 

• Perovskite Solar Cells(PSC) is a type of solar cell that includes a perovskite-structured compound, most commonly a hybrid organic-inorganic lead or tin halide-based material, as the light-harvesting active layer.
• Higher efficiencies and very low production costs
• Challenge lies in its short- and long-term stability.

Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO)

• It was designed for direct detection of gravitational waves predicted by Einstein’s General Theory of Relativity.
• It is being operated at two sites in US (Washington and Louisiana).

Gravitational Waves

• They are ‘ripples’ in spacetime travelling at speed of light caused by some of most violent and energetic processes in Universe.
• They carry with them information about their cataclysmic origins, as well as invaluable clues to nature of gravity itself.

LiDAR technology

• LiDAR is a remote sensing technology that uses light in the form of a pulsed laser to measure ranges (distances) to a target.
• These light pulses—combined with other data recorded by the airborne system— generate precise, three-dimensional information about the shape of the Earth and its surface characteristics.
• Applications: Land management and planning efforts, including hazard assessment, forestry, agriculture, geologic mapping, and watershed and river surveys etc.

Flex Fuel Vehicle (FFV)

• It is a modified version of vehicles that could run both on gasoline and blended petrol with different levels of ethanol blends.
• These are currently being used successfully in Brazil, giving people the option to switch fuel (gasoline and ethanol).

Muans

• An unstable subatomic particle of the same class as an electron (a lepton), but with a mass around 200 times greater. Muons make up much of the cosmic radiation reaching the earth’s surface.