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Daily Current Capsules 05th October 2021

Defence
DRDO Dare to Dream 2.0 & Young Scientists awards

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Dare to Dream 2.0)
What's the NEWS

  • Defence Minister felicitated the winners of ‘Dare to Dream 2.0' Contest of Defence Research & Development Organisation (DRDO)
  • He also launched ‘Dare to Dream 3.0' to promote innovators & startups and provide a platform for the young ignited minds in the country.

Dare to Dream

  • It is DRDO's pan-India contest to promote Indian academicians, individuals and startups to develop emerging defence and aerospace technologies/systems.
  • DRDO provides technical and financial support to the winners for realisation of their ideas under the Technology Development Fund (TDF) scheme.
  • Defence Minister also gave away DRDO Young Scientists awards for the year 2019.
  • Sixteen DRDO scientists, under the age of 35 years, were awarded for their outstanding contribution in areas of their expertise.

On this occasion, three products/systems indigenously developed by DRDO were also handed over to the Armed Forces. These are:

  • ARINC818 Video Processing and Switching Module: The module, developed for the Indian Air Force It is a state-of-the-art module with high bandwidth, low latency, channel bonding, easy networking and will cater to 5th generation aircraft development programmes.
  • Sonar Performance Modelling System: Developed for the Indian Navy, It is useful for Indian Naval ships, submarines and under water surveillance stations etc.
  • Bund Blasting Device Mk-II: The device, developed for Indian Army, It is used to reduce the height of Ditch-cum-Bund obstacles to enhance the mobility of mechanised infantry during wartime.

Two policy documents of DRDO released
Directed Research Policy and Records Management Policy 2021.

  • It provides framework for establishment of Advanced Technology Centres and Research Cells in academic institutes for focussed research on identified subjects such as futuristic surveillance and defensive and offensive capabilities.

Long Term Directed Research Policy

  • It was recently approved by the Government to support & provide impetus to outcome and application oriented directed research in collaboration with academia.
  • The Records Management Policy aims to further strengthen the records management activities of DRDO.

Bilateral Relations/Economy
Seychelles' Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB) programme launched in partnership with India

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about TIWB programme)
What's the NEWS

  • Tax Inspectors Without Borders (TIWB), a joint initiative of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), launched its programme in Seychelles on 4th October, 2021.
  • India was chosen as the Partner Administration and has provided Tax Expert for this programme.

Know! about the programme

  • This programme is expected to be of 12 months duration during which India, in collaboration with the TIWB Secretariat and support of the UNDP Country Office in Mauritius and Seychelles, aims to aid Seychelles in strengthening its tax administration by transferring technical know-how and skills to its tax auditors through sharing of best audit practices.
  • The focus of the programme will be on Transfer Pricing cases of tourism and financial services sectors.
  • This programme is the sixth TIWB programme which India has supported by providing Tax Expert.

Environment
World Animal Day celebrated by the AWBI on 4th October, 2021

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about World Animal Day + AWBI + Laws related to animal protection)
What's the NEWS

  • The Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) celebrated World Animal Day 2021 on 4th October
  • The Day is celebrated every year on 4 October internationally, on the feast day of Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals, to educate humans about how their actions impact animals and create awareness about the protection of animals all over the world.
  • Objective : To uplift the condition of animals and improve their welfare
  • Theme of this day for the year 2021: "Forests and Livelihoods: Sustaining People and Planet."
  • The first celebration of World Animal Day was observed in March, 1925.
  • This Day is observed globally to raise the status of animals in order to improve welfare standards.
  • This day is an international day of action for animal rights and welfare.

Laws related to animal protection in India

  • Section 38(J) of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 : Tampering, molesting, injuring, feeding or disturbing any animal by noise or otherwise is prohibited.
  • Section 11 (i) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960: Leaving an animal in such a condition that it causes pain due to hunger or thirst, is a punishable offence.
  • Section 11(1)(h) of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960: Failure by an owner to provide adequate food, drink or shelter to his pet is a punishable offence.
  • Section 428 and Section 429 of the Indian Penal Code: Killing, poisoning, maiming or torturing any animal is a cognizable offence.

Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI)

  • Headquartered at Ballabhgarh in Haryana state
  • It is a statutory advisory body advising the Government of India's Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying (Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying).
  • The Animal Welfare Board of India was established in 1962 under Section 4 of The Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act,1960.
  • The Board consists of 28 Members, who serve for a period of 3 years.
  • The board was initially within the jurisdiction of the Government of India's Ministry of Food and Agriculture. In 1990, the subject of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals was transferred to the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate change, where it now resides.

Prelims Factoids
World War-2 era Trincomalee oil tank farm

Relevance IN - Prelims ( Trincomalee harbour)
What's the NEWS

  • Foreign Secretary of India, Harsh Vardhan Shringla visited the Second World War-era oil storage facility in the strategically important port district of Trincomalee on Sri Lanka's east coast, which has been a key bilateral economic partnership link for decades.

Know! about Trincomalee harbour

  • The Trincomalee harbour, one of the deepest natural harbours in the world, was developed by the British during the War.
  • Since 2003, the Lanka IOC, the Sri Lankan subsidiary of India's oil major Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), has the leasing rights to 99 tanks at the facility for a period of 35 years for an annual payment of $100,000.
  • His visit to the site assumes significance as oil sector trade unions in Sri Lanka have demanded that tanks be brought under the control of the state fuel entity Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC).
  • As per the agreement, the IOC was also given a one-third share of the Sri Lankan government entity, Petroleum Storage Limited. However, the CPC trade unions had been pressing for the takeover of the tanks.

Prelims Factoids
ICMR's drone-based vaccine delivery model launched

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about i-Drone)
What's the NEWS

  • Union Health Minister launched the ICMR's drone response and outreach in the north-east (i-Drone).
  • The delivery model is aimed at ensuring that life-saving vaccines reach everyone.

Know! more about i-Drone

  • This i-Drone has been designed to overcome these challenges by deploying Unmanned Aerial vehicles (UAV)/drones to remote areas and hard to reach terrains.
  • This is for the first time that a ‘Make in India' drone has been used in South Asia to transport COVID vaccine over an aerial distance of 15 km in 12-15 minutes from the Bishnupur district hospital to Loktak lake, Karang island in Manipur for administration at the primary health centre.
  • The actual road distance between these locations is 26 km.
  • India is home to geographical diversities and drones can be used to deliver essentials to the last mile.
  • This would facilitate vaccine delivery to tough and hard-to-reach terrains.
  • Currently, the drone-based delivery project has been granted permission for implementation in Manipur and Nagaland, as well as the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
  • The ICMR conducted an initial study in collaboration with the IIT Kanpur to test the capacity of the drones to carry and transfer vaccines safely.
  • The study was conducted in Manipur, Nagaland and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands
  • These studies provided promising results on the basis of which the Ministry of Civil Aviation (MoCA), the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) and other regulatory authorities have granted permission to fly drones beyond the Visual Line Of Sight.

The Medicine from the Sky project

  • Launched by - Telangana government
  • Last month, Telangana launched Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLoS) flights to deliver a payload comprising vaccines.
  • The Medicine from the Sky project - a collaboration of the Telangana government, World Economic Forum, HealthNet Global and NITI Aayog - seeks to deliver medicines, vaccination, and units of blood to remote, rural areas by means of drones

BVLOS (Beyond Visual Line of Sight)

  • It is a term relating to the operation of UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) and drones at distances outside the normal visible range of the pilot.
  • It is the distances where the drones and UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) operate outside the normal visible range.
  • It is the second stage in the testing of drones. In the first phase of testing, the drones are operated within the visual line of sight.
  • If two stages of testing is complete, the permitted entities will seek permission for further clearance to explore the possibility of vaccine delivery using drones.
  • The BLVOS drones are controlled by data provided by on-board instruments. Here, the information is transmitted to the operator through telemetry link. The information includes altitude, speed, position and direction of flight.

Prelims Factoids
Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine 2021

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Nobel Prize for Medicine and terminologies associated with it - TRPV1 + TRPM8 and Piezo1.
What's the NEWS

  • American scientists David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian won the 2021 Nobel Prize for Medicine for discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch which could pave the way for new pain-killers.
  • Their findings "have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us
  • The prestigious Nobel prizes, for achievements in science, literature and peace, were created and funded in the will of Swedish dynamite inventor and businessman Alfred Nobel.
  • They have been awarded since 1901, with the economics prize first handed out in 1969.

Know! the study done by David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian

  • Julius has been studying the different compounds in chili peppers and spider venom to understand how our bodies sense heat and chemical irritants. Decoding the neuroscience of pain can help develop new targets for pain therapy.
  • In 1997, Dr. Julius and his team published a paper in Nature detailing how capsaicin, or the chemical compound in chilli peppers, causes the burning sensation.
  • They created a library of DNA fragments to understand the corresponding genes and finally discovered a new capsaicin receptor and named it TRPV1.
  • This discovery paved the way for the identification of many other temperature-sensing receptors.
  • Ardem Patapoutian helped discover a novel class of sensors in our skin and internal organs that respond to cold and other mechanical stimuli.
  • Independently of one another, both David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian identified another new receptor called TRPM8, a receptor that is activated by cold.
  • Ardem Patapoutian and his team identified a single gene, which when silenced made the cells insensitive to the poking. They named this new mechanosensitive ion channel Piezo1.

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