• The mystery of how does the bacterial resident of the human intestine, the E-coli move towards or away from chemicals---a phenomenon called chemotaxis, has intrigued scientists for a long time.
• E.coli bacteria show chemotaxis in response to different chemicals present in human gastrointestinal tract.
• Scientists have now found the condition that is most suitable for getting the best chemotactic performance.
• The new finding will help track behavior of E-Coli bacteria in response to chemical signals.
• The response of E-Coli to chemicals in the intestine bacteria plays a crucial role in the functioning of the human intestine.

• Many organisms in nature respond to the chemical signal received from their environment by showing bodily motion or as chemotaxis.
• A sperm cell finds the ovum using chemotaxis.
• White blood cells that are needed for healing injuries find the site of injury or inflammation by chemotaxis.
• Butterflies also track flowers, and male insects reach their targets by using chemotaxis.
• Understanding chemotaxis involves how it is affected by various conditions present inside the cell or in the environment.

• It is a Gram-negative, facultative anaerobic, rod-shaped, coliform bacterium of the genus Escherichia that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms (endotherms).
• Most E. coli strains are harmless, but some serotypes (EPEC, ETEC etc.) can cause serious food poisoning in their hosts, and are occasionally responsible for food contamination incidents that prompt product recalls.
• The harmless strains are part of the normal microbiota of the gut, and can benefit their hosts by producing vitamin K2, (which helps blood to clot) and preventing colonisation of the intestine with pathogenic bacteria, having a mutualistic relationship.
• E. coli is expelled into the environment within fecal matter. The bacterium grows massively in fresh fecal matter under aerobic conditions for 3 days, but its numbers decline slowly afterwards.

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Longevity finance + about Silver generation + IFSCA) + Mains ( GS III Financial inclusion)
What's the NEWS

• Centre proposes to develop the Gujarat-based GIFT International Financial Services Centres (IFSC) as a 'Longevity Finance Hub' to cater to the investment and wealth management needs of the 'silver generation' comprising individuals aged 60 years and older.
• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has been established as a unified regulator to develop and regulate financial products, financial services, and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centres (IFSCs) in India.

Silver generation

• Global estimates suggest that there are one billion people in the silver generation (a global cohort of individuals aged 60 and older) with a combined spending power of $15 trillion and the size is ever expanding.
• Development in medicinal science and technology will support extending of lifespan and longevity of the silver generation.
• It is estimated that by 2040, there will be more members of the silver generation than people under 20.
• This demographic change will throw open new challenges and opportunities especially in the areas of wealth management, health, insurance, and other investment products.

Longevity Finance Hub

• IFSCA, in its endeavour to develop a Longevity Finance Hub in GIFT IFSC has constituted an Expert Committee to recommend approach towards development of Longevity Finance Hub and provide road map for the same.
• The committee members comprise of leaders from the entire longevity finance ecosystem including from areas such as banking, insurance, wealth management, FinTech, legal, compliance and management consultancy.

Governance
Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 +Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has requested States and Union Territories (UTs)to direct all police stations under their jurisdiction not to register cases under the repealed Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• It has also asked the States and UTs to sensitize law enforcement agencies for the compliance of the order issued by the Supreme Court on 24.03.2015.
• The MHA has also requested that if any case has been booked in States and UTs under section 66A of the IT Act, 2000, such cases should be immediately withdrawn.

Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India

• The Supreme Court in its judgment on 24.03.2015 in the matter of Shreya Singhal Vs. Union of India, had struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
• This made Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 null and void with effect from the date of the order, therefore 24.03.2015 and hence no action could be taken under this section.

Know! about Section 66A

• Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 pertains to the arrest of the persons for social media posts.
• Through Shreya Singhal judgment of 2015, Supreme Court scrapped the section.
• Cases are booked even after this judgment.
• Under the scrapped section, a person posting offensive messages could be imprisoned for up to 3 years along with fine.

Science & Technology
Inter-Ministerial Cooperation for Promotion and Facilitation of Marine Resources in the field of Polar biology

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the collaboration between Department of Biotechnology and Ministry of Earth Sciences + about Polar Biology) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• A (Memorandum of Understanding (MoU has been signed between Department of Biotechnology and Ministry of Earth Sciences
• DBT, MoES have signed an Inter-Ministerial Agreement for cooperation in the field of Polar Biology.
• POLAR region encompassing the Antarctic, Arctic, Southern Ocean and the Himalayas being a unique ecosystem offers a huge amount of interest due to its extreme climate compare to the rest of the world.
• Although researchers across the globe have contributed to different areas of research, the POLAR region is yet known as an unexplored ecosystem.

Know! more about the MoU - Collaborative approach

• The MoU envisages mutual collaboration to explore the possibility of cooperation, convergence and synergy to bring out expertise and services of both the organizations under one roof and work hand-in-hand for addressing relevant questions in the field of polar biology.
• Particularly, biotechnological applications of polar microbes could be the centre point of this collaboration between both the Ministry of Earth Sciences and DBT.
• The MoU will be implemented with the aim to collaborate with in mutually agreed-upon thrust areas of research in the area of POLAR sciences.
• Initially these efforts would be taken up through collaborative proposal by the researchers at MOES institutes making use of the presently available set ups of MOES at Polar Regions.
• The MoES has research stations in both the Arctic and the Antarctica regions.
• In order to strengthen this association and expedite the research in the polar region joint laboratories will be set up at MOES stations.
• This will allow researchers to carry out the experiments on the site without the need for transporting the samples in the parent laboratories in India and will generate valuable information and novel products from these unique environments.
• This flagship synergistic approach would be taken-up in mission mode through networking with the elite institutions in the country.

Indian mission on the Arctic

• Himadri Station is India's first Arctic research station located at Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway.
• It is located at the International Arctic Research base, Ny-Ålesund.
• It was inaugurated on the 1st of July, 2008 by the Minister of Earth Sciences. It is followed by IndARC.
• The United States Geological Survey estimates that 22% of the world's oil and natural gas could be located beneath the Arctic.
• ONGC Videsh has signed joint-venture with Russia for oil exploration there.

India has set up three research stations in Antartica

• The Indian Antarctic Program is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program under the control of the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India.
• It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica.
• The program gained global acceptance with India's signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983,superseded by the Maitri base from 1989.
• The newest base commissioned in 2012 is Bharati, constructed out of 134 shipping containers.
• Under the program, atmospheric, biological, earth, chemical, and medical sciences are studied by India

National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR)

• It is an important R&D institution under the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
• It conducts research in the Polar and Antarctic Ocean
• Located in Goa, It was established as an autonomous R&D body in 1998.
• It is the nodal agency for coordinating and implementing India's Antarctic program.
• It also maintains India's permanent stations in Antarctica, Maitri and Bharati, and also the research base in the Arctic, Himadri.

Polar Biology

• It is a focal point for biologists working in polar regions. It is also of interest to scientists working in biology, ecology and physiology in general, as well as in oceanography and climatology related to polar life.
• Polar Biology publishes Original Papers, Reviews, and Short Notes that present results of studies on plants, animals, and micro-organisms of ocean, land and freshwater habitats in polar and subpolar regions of both hemispheres

Miscellaneous
Right to repair movement
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about right to repair movement)
What's the NEWS

• Activists and organisations around the world have been advocating for the right of consumers to be able to repair their own electronics and other products as part of the ‘right to repair' movement.

Know! all about the Movement

• The goal of the movement is to get companies to make spare parts, tools and information on how to repair devices available to customers and repair shops to increase the lifespan of products and to keep them from ending up in landfills.
• Manufacturing an electronic device is a highly polluting process.
• It makes use of polluting sources of energy, such as fossil fuel, which has an adverse impact on the environment.
• These electronic manufacturers are encouraging a culture of ‘planned obsolescence' - which means that devices are designed specifically to last a limited amount of time and to be replaced.
• This leads to immense pressure on the environment and wasted natural resources.
• In recent years, countries around the world have been attempting to pass effective ‘right to repair' laws. But it is no surprise that the movement has faced tremendous resistance from tech giants
• Right to repair advocates also argue that this will help boost business for small repair shops, which are an important part of local economies.
• If a manufacturer has monopoly on repairs, then prices rise exponentially and quality tends to drop, they say.
• Price is a major factor propounded by these activists. As there is a lack of competition in the repair market in the west, consumers are not able to hunt for the best deal.

Right to repair (AGAINST)

• Large tech companies, including Apple, Microsoft, Amazon and Tesla, have been lobbying against the right to repair.
• Their argument is that opening up their intellectual property to third party repair services or amateur repairers could lead to exploitation and impact the safety and security of their devices.

Governance
Govt reviews the progress made on implementation of SVAMITVA

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about SVAMITVA scheme) + Mains ( GS II Governance)
What's the NEWS

• Minister of Panchayati Raj & Rural Development reviewed the progress made regarding implementation of SVAMITVA Scheme and e-Panchayat Programmes.

SVAMITVA (Survey of villages and mapping with improvised technology in village areas) scheme

• It is a new initiative of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj. It aims to provide rural people with the right to document their residential properties so that they can use their property for economic purposes.
• The scheme is for surveying the land parcels in rural inhabited area using Drone technology.
• The survey shall be done across the country in a phase wise manner over the period 2020 -2025
• The scheme is proposed as a Central Sector scheme with a projected outlay of Rs 79.65 crores for the pilot phase (FY 2020 -21)

Objectives

• To bring financial stability to the citizens in rural India by enabling them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
• Creation of accurate land records for rural planning.
• Determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs directly in States where it is devolved or else, add to the State exchequer.
• Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be leveraged by any department for their use.
• To support in preparation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) by making use of GIS maps.
• To reduce property related disputes and legal cases

Coverage

• There are about 6.62 lakh villages in the country which will be eventually covered in this scheme.
• The entire work is likely to be spread over a period of five years.

Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS)

• A Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) network provides regional positioning service.
• In CORS Infrastructure, the corrections to the map are instantly sent to the rover receiver from control centre which helps to find very accurate positioning of rover in real me.
• CORS plays a major role in achieving centimetre accuracy positioning in many applications, for example, cadastral mapping, land information management, large scale mapping, fleet management, tracking and navigation etc which is otherwise not possible with traditional methods.

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