Prelims Factoids
PRANA, SVASTA ,VaU and Shwaas
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about PRANA, SVASTA and VaU and Shwaas + role of VSSC)
What's the NEWS

• Three mechanical ventilator models and a portable medical oxygen concentrator (MOC) developed by the Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC), Thumba, as part of the battle against COVID-19 are expected to be ready for technology transfer by the end of this month.

Know! about these ventilators

• Multi-disciplinary teams of space scientists at the ISRO facility had begun working on the ventilator designs-named PRANA, SVASTA and VaU (read as Vayu)-following the outbreak last year.
• They should be ready for technology transfer by May-end. The MOC is ready for technology transfer

• It is designed to work without electric power. The system operates on compressed air and achieves different modes of ventilation through mechanical settings alone, according to a concept note on the model.

PRANA, acronym for Programmable Respiratory Assistance for the Needy Aid

• The design of PRANA, acronym for Programmable Respiratory Assistance for the Needy Aid, is based on an Ambu bag (a commercial manual respirator bag).
• PRANA delivers oxygen-rich air to the patient by automated compression of the Ambu bag using an actuator.

VaU

• It a pneumatic circuit-based system expanded as Ventilation assist Unit is a more ambitious project that eyes a low-cost, state-of-the art ventilator that can match the high-end, expensive ones in the market.
• VaU is a dual-mode ventilator that can work with either medical oxygen from the hospital or with ambient air.
• It can be used either as an ICU ventilator or as a portable or home ventilation unit. VSSC is collaborating with other ISRO centres on VaU.

Shwaas

• Developed by VSSC, ‘Shwaas' is a portable Medical Oxygen Concentrator (MOC) capable of continuously delivering enriched levels of oxygen than that present in air to patients with respiratory problems or those requiring oxygen therapy.
• The device enhances the oxygen content by selectively separating nitrogen gas from ambient air through Pressure Swing Adsorption (PSA).
• The device has undergone all the system-level reviews and it meets the WHO standards defined for medical oxygen concentrators

Environment
Great Nicobar Island Project
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the project + role of EIA and EAC) + Mains ( GS III Environment conservation)

What's the NEWS

• Environment Appraisal Committee which flagged concerns over project has now ‘recommended' it ‘for grant of terms of reference' for EIA studies
• The Environment Appraisal Committee (EAC) - Infrastructure I of the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has flagged serious concerns about NITI Aayog's ambitious project for Great Nicobar Island
• The committee has, however, removed the first hurdle faced by the project.
• It has "recommended" it "for grant of terms of reference (TOR)" for Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) studies, which in the first instance will include baseline studies over three months.

Know! about the recent development

• Documents uploaded recently on the MoEFCC's Parivesh portal show that the 15-member committee headed by Deepak Apte
• The EAC was responding to the 126 page ‘pre-feasibility' report, ‘Holistic Development of Great Nicobar Island at Andaman and Nicobar Islands', prepared for the NITI Aayog by the Gurugram-based consulting agency Aecom India Private Limited.
• The proposal includes an international container transhipment terminal, a greenfield international airport, a power plant and a township complex spread over 166 sq. km. (mainly pristine coastal systems and tropical forests), and is estimated to cost Rs.75,000 crore.

Concerns on site

• The committee's concerns were both procedural and substantive.
• A point-wise response to concerns was submitted by the project proponent, the Andaman and Nicobar Island Integrated Development Corporation (ANIIDCO)
• ANIIDCO, the Port Blair project proponent, is a government undertaking involved in activities such as tourism, trading (iron and steel, milk, petroleum products, and liquor) and infrastructure development for tourism and fisheries.
• Yet, the proposal was taken up for consideration and even recommended for grant of ToR to go ahead.
• The committee raised a number of additional issues, including about Galathea Bay, the site of the port and the centrepiece of the NITI Aayog proposal.
• Galathea Bay is an iconic nesting site in India of the enigmatic Giant Leatherback, the world's largest marine turtle - borne out by surveys done over three decades by the island's Forest Department and research agencies like the Andaman and Nicobar Environment Team, Dakshin Foundation and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc)
• The committee noted that the site selection for the port had been done mainly on technical and financial criteria, ignoring the environmental aspects.
• It has now asked for "an independent study/ evaluation for the suitability of the proposed port site with specific focus on Leatherback Turtle, Nicobar Magapod (sic) and Dugong".

Action points

• 100 specific points of action listed out by the committee.
• The need for an independent assessment of terrestrial and marine biodiversity, a study on the impact of dredging, reclamation and port operations, including oil spills (to be carried out by nationally recognised institutions such as the Wildlife Institute of India, IISc or the Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History), the need for studies of alternative sites for the port with a focus on environmental and ecological impact, especially on turtles, analysis of risk-handling capabilities, a seismic and tsunami hazard map, a disaster management plan, details of labour, labour camps and their requirements, an assessment of the cumulative impact, and a hydro-geological study to assess impact on round and surface water regimes.
• Ecological surveys in the last few years have reported a number of new species, many restricted to just the Galathea region.
• These include the critically endangered Nicobar shrew, the Great Nicobar crake, the Nicobar frog, the Nicobar cat snake, a new skink (Lipinia sp), a new lizard (Dibamus sp,) and a snake of the Lycodon sp that is yet to be described.

Environment Appraisal Committee

• The EACs' primary role in the environmental clearance (EC) process is to give recommendations to the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on project proposals after considering the potential impacts of the project.
• Based on these recommendations, the MoEFCC either rejects the proposal or grants a clearance with conditions which would mitigate the impacts or compensate for the same.

Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA)

• Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is a process of evaluating the likely environmental impacts of a proposed project or development, taking into account inter-related socio-economic, cultural and human-health impacts, both beneficial and adverse.
• Environment Impact Assessment in India is statutorily backed by the Environment Protection Act, 1986 which contains various provisions on EIA methodology and process.

Prelims Factoids
Crocidura narcondamica
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Crocidura narcondamica)
What's the NEWS

• Scientists from the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) have discovered a new species of insectivorous mammal, a white-toothed shrew, from Narcondam Island of the Andaman and Nicobar group of islands.

Know! all about Crocidura narcondamica

• The species Crocidura narcondamica is a new addition to the list of mammals found in the country. Shrews are small and mouse-like mammals, and they live in sub-leaf stratum in the forests.
• Insects are the primary diet of these animals.
• This is the first discovery of a shrew from this volcanic island (Narcondam Island) and it increases the number of White-toothed shrew (genus Crocidura) species in India from 11to 12
• The new species is of medium size (head and body lengths) and has a distinct external morphology with darker grey dense fur with a thick, darker tail compared to other species of the genus
• With this discovery the number of mammals found in the country have increased from 429 to 430.
• This discovery is based on both osteological and DNA molecular studies of the specimen
• The new white-toothed shrew species is named after the type locality, Narcondam Island regarded as a volcanic island situated in the Andaman and Nicobar Archipelago, India: Narcondam Shrew Crocidura norcondamica
• The discovery of a new insectivorous mammal comes after 43 years. Prior to this, scientists from the ZSI had discovered Crocidura jenkinsi on the South Andaman Island in 1978.
• The discovery comes from one of most remote and uninhabited islands, Narcondam island, of the Andaman and Nicobar archipelago.

Narcondam Island

• It is located about 130 km east of North Andaman, and about 446 km of the west coast of Myanmar.
• The isolated island covers an area of 6.8 km2 and the highest peak (volcanic cone) is 710 m above sea level; however, the base lies approximately 1,500 m beneath the sea.
• This thickly vegetated island is bordered by cliffs on the southern side and crested by three peaks is part of a volcanic arc that continues northward from Sumatra to Myanmar.

The Zoological Survey of India (ZSI)

• It founded on 1 July 1916 by Government of India Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change, as premier Indian organisation in zoological research and studies to promote the survey, exploration and research of the fauna in the country.
• The history of ZSI begins from the days of the Asiatic Society of Bengal founded by Sir William Jones on 15 January 1784.
• The Asiatic Society of Bengal was the mother institution not only to the Indian Museum (1875) but also to the institutions like the Zoological Survey of India and the Geological Survey of India.
• The genesis of Zoological Survey of India was in 1875 with the opening of the Indian Museum.
• The new museum on its inception comprised only three sections: the Zoological, the Archaeological and the Geological.

Prelims Factoids
India humanitarian air bridge
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about India humanitarian air bridge )
What's the NEWS

• India humanitarian air bridge is in place between Dubai and nine major cities in the country to transport urgent COVID-19 medical and relief items.

Know! more about the India humanitarian air bridge

• Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram are the designated cities for the initiative taken by Emirates' to support India in its fight to control the second wave of the pandemic.
• The first shipment under the initiative, a consignment of over 12 tonnes of multi-purpose tents from the World Health Organisation (WHO), has reached Delhi.
• Emirates has offered cargo capacity free of charge to NGOs to ship relief items on all its flights from Dubai to nine cities where it is operating flights.
• Emirates SkyCargo has been transporting medicines and medical equipment on scheduled and charter cargo flights.
• Regular and reliable wide-body capacity aircraft in the fleet would be used for rushing relief materials.
• International Humanitarian City in Dubai, the largest crisis relief hub in the world, will facilitate movement of urgent medical supplies.
• The freight division of Emirates has a close partnership with IHC, developed over several years of delivering relief materials to communities across the world impacted by natural disasters and other crises.

NITI Aayog
NITI Aayog and Mastercard Release Report on ‘Connected Commerce: Creating a Roadmap for a Digitally Inclusive Bharat'

Relevance IN - Prelims ( the report highlights) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology + cyber awareness + information technology)
What's the NEWS

• NITI Aayog and Mastercard released a report titled‘Connected Commerce: Creating a Roadmap for a Digitally Inclusive Bharat'.
• The report identifies challenges in accelerating digital financial inclusion in India and provides recommendations for making digital services accessible to its 1.3 billion citizens.

Report highlights

• Based on five roundtable discussions held in October and November 2020, the report highlights key issues and opportunities, with inferences and recommendations on policy and capacity building across agriculture, small business (MSMEs), urban mobility and cyber security.
• Experts from the government, banking sector, the financial regulator, fintech enterprises, and various ecosystem innovators participated in the discussions led by NITI Aayog and supported by Mastercard.
• NITI Aayog was a knowledge partner in this endeavour. The series of workshops and the outcome report were curated by business advisory firm FTI Consulting.

Key issues addressed during the knowledge series were:

1. Acceleration of digital financial inclusion for underserved sections of Indian society.
2. Enabling SMEs to ‘get paid, get capital and get digital' and access customers, and ensure their continued resilience.
3. Policy and technological interventions to foster trust and increase cyber resilience.
4. Unlocking the promise of digitization in India's agriculture sector.
5. The essential elements of a digital roadmap to make transit accessible for all citizens.

Key recommendations in the report include:

1. Strengthening the payment infrastructure to promote a level playing field for NBFCs and banks.
2. Digitizing registration and compliance processes and diversifying credit sources to enable growth opportunities for MSMEs.
3. Building information sharing systems ,including a ‘fraud repository', and ensuring that online digital commerce platforms carry warnings to alert consumers to the risk of frauds.
4. Enabling agricultural NBFCs to access low-cost capital and deploy a ‘phygital' (physical + digital) model for achieving better long-term digital outcomes. Digitizing land records will also provide a major boost to the sector.
5. To make city transit seamlessly accessible to all with minimal crowding and queues, leveraging existing smartphones and contactless cards, and aim for an inclusive, interoperable, and fully open system such as that of the London ‘Tube'.

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