Science and Technology
SWASTIIK
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SWASTIK) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• Modern technology and Indian traditional knowledge of Ayurveda have been combined for a solution to disinfect water completely and also offer possible health benefits of natural oils.
• CSIR-NCL Pune, with support from the Water Technology Initiative of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, has developed the novel hybrid technology called SWASTIIK' that involves boiling of a liquid as a result of pressure reduction (cavitation) and also uses natural oils having antimicrobial properties.

Know! all about SWASTIIK

• This technology can eliminate harmful bacteria, including antimicrobial-resistant bacteria, economically.
• It not only integrates Indian traditional knowledge of Ayurveda for complete disinfection of water but also may offer possible health benefits of natural oils.
• The technique used ---hydrodynamic cavitation combines chemistry, biology, and chemical engineering along with natural resources in the form of natural oils and plant extracts.
• The process, which draws inspiration from Indian traditional knowledge, has resulted in increased efficiency and reduced cost of water treatment.
• The team achieved complete elimination for gram-negative E. coli and gram-positive S. aureus bacteria and even AMR bacteria/ difficult opportunistic pathogenic bacteria typically in 5-10 minutes.
• It was observed that increased rates of disinfection using oil can drastically reduce the time of operation and consequently reduce cost as compared to other advanced treatment processes.
• The novel strategy of SWASTIIK (Safe Water and Sustainable Technology Initiative from Indian Knowledgebase) can have significant benefits in terms of providing SAFE WATER and also possible health benefits that can also boost immunity, an important aspect as underlined in the current COVID-19 era.

Environment
Birds ringed in India spotted in China, Pakistan, Uzbekistan
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the study done by BNHS + about flyways )
What's the NEWS

• A Northern Shoveler, a medium sized bird, which flew down to Odisha's Chilika Lake for wintering in February 2018 was spotted at Yazyavan in Uzbekistan in April 2021.
• Three years after a Terek Sandpiper was tagged at Gujarat's Gulf of Kutch, it was spotted in Jandola in Pakistan's Khyber in May.
• The mysterious ability to fly down thousands of kilometres defying international boundaries was documented by the Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), one of India's oldest wildlife research organisations, recently.
• The BNHS, a veteran in ringing study, had initiated the study in 1927 and since 1959 it has carried out systematic and large scale studies.
• The known breeding population is in India, making India's conservation efforts crucial for the survival of this species.
• Based on these recoveries, the breeding zones, migratory routes, and stopover sites of more than 40 species were well documented.
• The information obtained through these intensive studies was pivotal in delineating the boundaries of Central Asian Flyway (CAF) and the overlap of East-Asian, Australasian (EAAF) and African Eurasian flyways with the CAF
• The BNHS also uses colour-flags, colour-bands and neck-collars on certain species. These colour combinations are in accordance with the international flyway protocols. Most tagged individuals are identified through high-resolution photographs.
• Chilika is one of the oldest sites for ringing study where it has been going on for the past 30 years. India is the current President of the Convention on Migratory Species.
• Each year, an estimated 50 billion birds undertake such migrations across the globe.

Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS)

• The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research.
• It supports many research efforts through grants and publishes the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society. Many prominent naturalists, including the ornithologists Sálim Ali and S. Dillon Ripley, have been associated with it.
• BNHS is the partner of BirdLife International in India. It has been designated as a 'Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation' by the Department of Science and Technology.
• Its headquarter is in Mumbai and has one regional centre at Wetland Research and Training Centre, near Chilika Lake, Odisha.

Know! about Indian Skimmer

• The Indian Skimmer is a striking black and white bird with a bright orange beak.
• The Indian skimmer or Indian scissors-bill (Rynchops albicollis) is one of the three species that belong to the skimmer genus Rynchops in the family Laridae.
• They are somewhat tern-like but like other skimmers, have a short upper mandible and the longer lower mandible that is ploughed along the surface of water as the bird flies over the water to pick aquatic prey.
• It is found in southern Asia, where it is patchily distributed and declining in numbers. They are mainly found in rivers or estuaries.
• They are very brightly marked in black, white and orange, making them difficult to miss.

The Central Asian Flyway (CAF)

• It covers a large continental area of Eurasia between the Arctic and Indian Oceans and the associated island chains.
• The Flyway comprises several important migration routes of waterbirds, most of which extend from the northernmost breeding grounds in the Russian Federation (Siberia) to the southernmost non-breeding (wintering) grounds in West and South Asia, the Maldives and the British Indian Ocean Territory.
• The birds on their annual migration cross the borders of several countries. Geographically the flyway region covers 30 countries of North, Central and South Asia and Trans-Caucasus.
• There is an overlap between the CAF and the area of the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), which was concluded in 1995, at The Hague, the Netherlands.
• Sixteen out of the thirty countries encompassed by the CAF are located in the AEWA Agreement Area.

Social Justice
SAGE( Senior care Ageing Growth Engine) initiative and SAGE portal
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SAGE) + ( GS II government initiatives for the vulnerable section of population)
What's the NEWS

• With the objective of focussing on the needs of India's fast-rising elderly population, the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment will launch tomorrow Senior care Ageing Growth Engine (SAGE) project to select, support and create a "one-stop access" of elderly care products and services by credible start-ups.
• Start-ups can apply for being a part of SAGE through a dedicated portal, which will also be launched

Know! about SAGE project

• The start-ups will be selected on the basis of innovative products and services, which they should be able to provide across sectors such as health, housing, care centres, apart from technological access linked to finances, food and wealth management, and legal guidance.
• The Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment will act as a facilitator, enabling the elderly to access the products through these identified start-ups. India's elderly population is on the rise, and as per surveys, the share of elders, as a percentage of the total population in the country, is expected to increase from around 7.5% in 2001 to almost 12.5% by 2026, and surpass 19.5% by 2050.
• Accordingly, there is an urgent need to create a more robust elder care ecosystem in India, especially in the post-COVID phase.
• The SAGE project is shaped on the recommendations of the empowered expert committee (EEC) report on start-ups for elderly.

Miscellaneous
Tulsa race massacre
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Tulsa Race Massacre)
What's the NEWS

• U.S. President Joe Biden became the first sitting American head of state to officially recognise one of the worst incidents of violent racial hate in the country's modern history - the Tulsa Race Massacre of May-June 1921.
• The widespread killings in Tulsa, Oklahoma, targeting relatively well-to-do African Americans, and the extensive damage to their property by rampaging white mobs at the time shocked the nation and world.
• Over the decades since then, it has led to introspection and policy actions that have sought to bridge the racial chasm that continues to haunt American society.
• In 1921, it was the affluent, predominantly African American neighbourhood of Greenwood, Tulsa, founded by descendants of slaves and having earned a reputation as the "Black Wall Street" of the U.S., that faced the carnage unleashed on May 31 and June 1.

Bilateral Relations
Union Cabinet gives nod to India-Japan MoC on urban development
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the MoC highlights) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Cabinet approved a memorandum of cooperation with Japan in the field of sustainable urban development which is expected to create employment opportunities.

Know! about the MoC (highlights)

• The memorandum of cooperation (MoC) will be signed between the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, Japan in supersession of an existing MoU of 2007 on urban development.
• The MoC is expected to create employment opportunities in the areas of sustainable urban development, including urban planning, smart cities development, affordable housing, urban flood management, sewerage and waste water management, urban transport - including intelligent transport management system - transit-oriented development and multimodal integration and disaster resilient development.
• A Joint Working Group (JWG) will be constituted to strategise and implement programmes on cooperation under the framework of the MoC. The JWG will meet once in a year, alternately in Japan and in India.
• The agreement will promote strong, deep and long-term bilateral cooperation in the field of sustainable urban development between the two countries

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