Relevance IN - Prelims ( about terminology - Advanced Chaff Technology + Counter Measure Dispensing System (CMDS)
What's the NEWS

• Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO) has developed an Advanced Chaff Technology to safeguard fighter aircraft of the Indian Air Force (IAF) against hostile radar threats.
• Defence Laboratory Jodhpur, a DRDO laboratory developed the advanced Chaff material and chaff cartridge-118/I in collaboration with High Energy Materials Research Laboratory (HEMRL), a Pune based laboratory of DRDO
• The Indian Air Force has started the process of induction of this technology after completion of successful user trials.

Know! about Advanced Chaff Technology

• To ensure survivability of aircraft, Counter Measure Dispensing System (CMDS) is used which provides passive jamming against Infra-Red and radar threats.
• Chaff is a critical defence technology used to protect fighter aircraft from hostile radar threats.
• The importance of this technology lies in the fact that very less quantity of chaff material deployed in the air acts as decoy to deflect enemy's missiles for ensuring safety of the fighter aircraft.
• The technology has been given to the industry for production in large quantities to meet the annual rolling requirement of the Indian Air Force.

Science & Technology
DBT-BIRAC supported ZyCoV-D developed by Zydus Cadila Receives Emergency Use Authorization

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about World's first DNA based vaccine +Mission COVID Suraksha + DBT +BIRAC)
What's the NEWS

• Zydus Cadila has received approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) for ZyCoV-D

World's first DNA based vaccine

• It is the world's first and India's indigenously developed DNA based vaccine for COVID-19 to be administered in humans including Children and adults 12 years and above.
• Developed in partnership with the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India under the ‘Mission COVID Suraksha' and implemented by BIRAC, ZyCoV-D has been supported under COVID-19 Research Consortia through National Biopharma Mission for Preclinical studies, Phase I and Phase II Clinical Trials and under the Mission COVID Suraksha for Phase III Clinical Trial.
• This 3 dose vaccine which when injected produces the spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus and elicits an immune response, which plays a vital role in protection from disease as well as viral clearance.
• The plug-and-play technology on which the plasmid DNA platform is based can be easily adapted to deal with mutations in the virus, such as those already occurring.
• The Indian Vaccine Mission COVID Suraksha was launched under the Atma Nirbhar Bharat package 3.0 being implemented by BIRAC, is aimed at the development of safe and efficacious COVID-19 vaccines for public health.

Know! about DBT

• The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), under the Ministry of Science and Technology, promotes and improves biotechnology development in India through its development and implementation in agriculture, healthcare, animal sciences, the environment, and industry.

Know! about BIRAC

• A non-for-profit Public Sector Enterprise, Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC), has been set up by the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, which acts as an interface agency to enhance and encourage the evolving biotechnology industry to implement strategic research and development activities in regards to the product development needs of the Nation.

Know! about Mission COVID Suraksha

• The Government of India (GOI) has announced the third stimulus package of Rs. 900 Crore for the Mission COVID Suraksha- The Indian COVID-19 Vaccine Development Mission.
• This grant will be provided to the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) for Research & Development of Indian COVID-19 vaccines.
• The COVID-19 Vaccine development Mission with end-to-end focus from preclinical development through clinical development and manufacturing and regulatory facilitation for deployment, would consolidate all available and funded resources towards an accelerated product development.
• The important objectives of the fund will be accelerating pre-clinical& clinical development; licensure of COVID-19 vaccine candidates that are currently in clinical stages or ready to enter clinical stage of development, establishing clinical trial sites, and strengthening the existing immunoassay laboratories, central laboratories and suitable facilities for animal studies, production facilities and other testing facilities to support COVID-19 vaccine development.
• Led by Department of Biotechnology and implemented by a dedicated Mission Implementation Unit at Biotechnology Industry Research Assistance Council (BIRAC),the existing activities under National Bio Pharma Mission (NBM) and Ind-CEPI Mission will provide complementary strengths to this Mission.

Prelims Factoids
Platform for Regulated Entities for Integrated Supervision and Monitoring (PRISM)
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about PRISM)
What's the NEWS

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) is putting in place a Platform for Regulated Entities for Integrated Supervision and Monitoring (PRISM), a web-based end-to-end workflow automation system, to strengthen compliance by supervised entities (SEs).

Know! about PRISM

• This is aimed at helping supervised entities to strengthen their internal defences and resilience and bringing focus on root cause analysis (RCA).
• PRISM will have various functionalities (inspection; compliance; incident functionality for cyber security; complaints; and returns functionalities), with built-in remediation workflows, time tracking, notifications and alerts, management information system (MIS) reports and dashboards.

PM remembers martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) on day of Ashura

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS)
What's the NEWS

• The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi has remembered the sacrifices of Hazrat Imam Hussain (AS) on the day of Ashura and recalled his courage as well as commitment to justice.
• Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar.
• It is one of the four sacred months of the year and is considered the second holiest after the Ramazan month.
• Hussain and his followers were martyred at the Battle of Karbala that took place more than 14 centuries ago.
• The place is now situated in Iraq. Every year on the tenth day of Muharram, Muslims across the world mourn the martyrdom of Hazrat Imam Hussain, the son of Hazrat Ali.
• The mourning period begins from the first night of Muharram and continues for 10 nights, concluding on the 10^th of Muharram, which is known as the Day of Ashura.
• Muslims are also prohibited from taking part in activities like warfare and use it as a period of prayer and reflection.
• In India, the Markazi Ruyat e Hilal Committee under Imarat e Shariah New Delhi confirmed the start of the Islamic New Year 1443 AH on Wednesday (August 11) hence, Muslims in the country observed their Ashura fasting on Friday.

Wanchuwa festival

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Wanchuwa festival)
What's the NEWS

• The Wanchuwa festival is celebrated by the Tiwa tribals (Lalung tribals), an indigenous community living in Assam and Meghalaya, to commemorate a good harvest.
• A bountiful harvest is considered to be the grace of the great power of nature.
• The people of the community wear traditional clothes and perform dances, songs and rituals.
• These people install the skulls and bones of pigs as gods and goddesses and believe that they will protect them for many generations.
• Some populations of Tiwa tribals are also found in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Manipur.

Energy Security
Bioethanol
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Bioethanol + steps taken by India to reduce Oil import)
What's the NEWS

• The country's target of 20 per cent ethanol blending in petrol (E20) by 2025 can play a key role in reducing the crude oil imports and bolstering India's energy independence.
• India currently blends approximately 8.5 per cent ethanol with petrol.
• Biomass has always been a reliable source of energy.
• Cultivated biomass has begun to be used to generate bioethanol.

Know! about Bioethanol

• They are categorised as first (1G), second (2G) and third-generation (3G), based on the source of raw material used for bioethanol production.
• Raw materials for 1G bioethanol synthesis are corn seeds and sugarcane; both are food sources.
• There is not enough food for everyone; so the use of 1G is a major concern.
• 2G bioethanol can be produced using inedible farm waste left over after harvest.
• Corn cobs, rice husks, wheat straw and sugarcane bagasse can all be transformed into cellulose and fermented into ethanol that can then be mixed with conventional fuels.
• Algae grown in wastewater, sewage or salt water can be used to produce bioethanol.

Why India is promoting 2G Bioethanol

• The country has been promoting 2G bioethanol to achieve its E20 target.
• In addition to reducing agricultural waste incineration, it can also help meet the goal of converting waste into energy.
• The 2G plant will play a major role in making bioethanol available for blending.
• It is estimated that ethanol production in India will triple to approximately 10 billion litres per year by 2025
• HPCL plans to set up four 2G ethanol plants that will convert agricultural waste into biofuel, reducing toxic air pollution in northern India.
• HPCL has plans to build four plants to produce ethanol using grains, such as surplus maize, surplus rice and damaged grain.
• The first 2G ethanol biorefinery is being set up at Bathinda, Punjab.
• The pipeline connects the sugar factories where the ethanol is produced to the blending depot at the closest oil manufacturing companies.
• Reactive pipeline technology is poised to be a game-changer for sugar factories and grain-based distilleries since uninterrupted raw material supply is a major challenge.

Places in NEWS(PIN)
Water shortage in Colorado River Basin

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Colorado river basin - location based questions)
What's the NEWS

• The federal government in the US has declared a water shortage for the Colorado river basin due to a historic drought.
• The Colorado River flows from the Rocky Mountains into the southwestern US and into Mexico.
• The river is fed by snowmelt from the Rocky and Wasatch mountains and flows a distance of over 2,250 km (river Ganga flows through a distance of roughly 2,500 km) across seven states and into Mexico.
• The Colorado River Basin is divided into the Upper (Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and northern Arizona) and Lower Basins (parts of Nevada, Arizona, California, southwestern Utah and western New Mexico).
• In the Lower Basin, the Hoover Dam controls floods and regulates water delivery and storage.
• Apart from the Hoover dam, there is the Davis Dam, Parker Dam and the Imperial Dam that regulate the release of water from the Hoover Dam.

Economy
Positive Pay System for high-value cheques
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Positive Pay System)
What's the NEWS

• Banks have been informing customers about making mandatory, the positive pay system, a process of reconfirming the key details of high-value cheques.

Know! about Positive Pay System

• The Positive Pay System, developed by the National Payments Corporation of India, is a process of reconfirming the key details of large value cheques.
• Under this system, a person issuing the high-value cheque submits certain essential details of that cheque like date, name of the beneficiary/payee amount etc. to the drawee bank.
• The details can be submitted through electronic means such as SMS, mobile app, internet banking, ATM etc.
• The details are cross-checked while issuing the cheque and any discrepancy is flagged.
• RBI has told banks to enable the facility for all account holders issuing cheques for amounts of Rs.50,000 and above.
• It has also been said that while availing of the facility is at the discretion of the account holder, banks may consider making it mandatory in case of cheque values of Rs.5 lakh and above.

Governance
National Accreditation Board for Education and Training of the Quality Council of India (QCI-NABET).
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about QCI-NABET + MMDR Amendment Act, 2021- to increase the pace of exploration) + Mains ( GS II governance)
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Mines has adopted the scheme for accreditation of private exploration agencies developed by the National Accreditation Board for Education and Training of the Quality Council of India (QCI-NABET).
• The QCI-NABET will grant accreditation to private exploration agencies for undertaking prospecting operations of minerals in accordance with the standards and procedures of the scheme.
• The interested private exploration agencies shall be required to obtain accreditation in accordance with the scheme and thereafter apply to the Ministry for their notification under the second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 4 of the Act

MMDR Amendment Act, 2021 (benefits)

• The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, MMDR Act was recently amended through the MMDR Amendment
• It now empowers the Central Government to notify entities, including private entities, that may undertake prospecting operations
• With the view to increase the pace of exploration in the country and to bring advance technology in exploration of minerals, it has been decided to notify private exploration agencies to undertake prospecting operations under the second proviso to section 4(1) of the MMDR Act.
• At present, only Government agencies are involved in exploration and the pace of exploration is limited by their capacity.
• The present step of the Government is a major regulatory reform in the mineral sector aimed to unleash the economic potential of the sector by bringing more agencies in exploration of minerals.
• This will increase the pace of exploration, create new employment opportunities in the sector and bring more explored blocks for auction.
• The scheme will also help in encouraging new entrepreneurs in the field of exploration and bringing latest technology and expertise to the sector.

National Accreditation Board for Education and Training

• It is a constituent Board of Quality Council of India.
• NABET has established a mechanism for the accreditation of vocational training organizations and for skill assessment bodies.
• NABET is offering accreditation program for Quality School Governance in the Country, with a view to provide framework for the effective management and delivery of the holistic education program aimed at overall development of students.
• Quality Council of India met the financial needs of NABET from the pool money received from the Government and Industry during formation of the NABET Board.
• Present needs of NABET is met by the fee received from the various accreditation schemes/programs operated from NABET

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