Supreme Court rules that tribunals cannot direct government to frame policy.

• The Supreme Court recently clarified that tribunals functioning under the strict parameters of their governing legislation cannot direct the government to make policy.
• Tribunals are judicial or quasi-judicial institutions established by law.
• They intend to provide a platform for faster adjudication as compared to traditional courts, as well as expertise on certain subject matters.
• It performs a number of functions, like adjudicating disputes, determining rights between contesting parties, making an administrative decision, reviewing an existing administrative decision, and so forth.
• Constitutional Recognition:
• The 42nd Amendment Act, 1976, inserted Articles 323-A and 323-B.
• Article 323A empowers Parliament to constitute administrative Tribunals (both at the central and state levels) for adjudication of matters related to the recruitment and conditions of service of public servants.
• Article 323B specifies certain subjects (such as taxation and land reforms) for which Parliament or state legislatures may constitute tribunals by enacting a law.

Composition of Tribunals:

• The presence of expert members (technical members) along with judicial members is a key feature of tribunals, which distinguishes them from traditional courts.
• The Supreme Court has noted that the members of a tribunal may be selected from departments of the central government as well as from various other fields of expertise.
• Only persons with a judicial background (such as judges of the High Court and lawyers with the prescribed experience who are eligible for appointment as High Court Judges) may be considered for appointment as Judicial Members.
• The Supreme Court specified that there is no need of a technical member if jurisdiction of courts is transferred to tribunals to achieve expeditious disposal of matters.

Nuclear fusion enters ‘new era’ after major breakthrough for near-limitless clean energy.

• Scientists have managed to repeatedly produce nuclear fusion ignition for the first time, marking a major milestone towards achieving near-limitless clean energy at scale.
• Nuclear fusion is the process by which two light atomic nuclei combine to form a single heavier one while releasing massive amounts of energy.
• Fusion reactions take place in a state of matter called plasma—a hot, charged gas made of positive ions and free-moving electrons with unique properties distinct from solids, liquids, or gases.
• The sun, along with all other stars, is powered by this reaction.

What are Tokamaks?

• The devices designated for the task of doing this here on Earth—nuclear fusion reactors — are called tokamaks.
• Tokamaks are often also called ''artificial suns'' due to the fact that these doughnut-shaped machines replicate processes that occur in the sun.
• There are currently over 200 tokamaks in operation across the globe, with the scientific milestones achieved in these devices developing a roadmap for the operation of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor, or ITER, the world''s largest fusion experiment under construction in the south of France.
• A commercial tokamak will aim to use the thermal energy of plasma heated by fusion to heat water, create steam, and, in turn, spin a turbine that generates electricity.
• Though fusion can involve a wealth of chemical elements, the nuclear reaction that most tokamaks aim to make viable is the fusion of the heavy hydrogen isotopes deuterium (with a nucleus of one proton and one neutron) and tritium (one proton and two neutrons). Fusing the atoms of these elements together creates a neutron and a helium nucleus.

Advantages of Nuclear Fusion:

• Nuclear Fusion produces more energy than fission does. Fusion could generate four times more energy per kilogram of fuel than fission (used in nuclear power plants) and nearly four million times more energy than burning oil or coal.
• It also doesn’t produce radioactive byproductsthat need to be stored or harmful carbon emissions; it simply produces inert helium and a neutron.
• Unlimited Fuel Supply: The fuel to make fusion happen is simply heavy hydrogen atoms, which can be found in something that Earth has in abundance: seawater. No mining of uranium is required.
• It is much safer than nuclear fission, since fusion can’t create runaway reactions.

Amid JN.1 Covid Spread, Do You Need Additional Dose Of Vaccine? INSACOG Chief Reveals

• Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases in India and the detection of a subvariant JN.1, the India SARS-CoV-2 Genomics Consortium (INSACOG) chief said that no additional dose of vaccine is needed against the subvariant at present.
• It is jointly initiated by the Union Health Ministry of Health and the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) with the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
• It is a consortium of 54 laboratories to monitor the genomic variations in the SARS-CoV-2 by a sentinel sequencing effort, which is facilitated by the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), Delhi, involving the Central Surveillance Unit (CSU) under the Integrated Disease Surveillance Programme (IDSP).

Why was INSACOG established?

• The SARS-CoV-2 virus, commonly known as the COVID-19 virus, posed unprecedented public health challenges globally.
• Against this backdrop, INSACOG was established to expand the whole genome sequencing of the SARS-CoV-2 virus across the nation, aiding our understanding of how the virus spreads and evolves, and providing information to aid public health response.
• Any changes to the genetic code or mutations in the virus can be observed based on the analysis and sequencing of samples done in the laboratories under INSACOG.
• INSACOG has the following specific objectives:
• To ascertain the status of Variants of Interest (VoI) and Variants of Concern (VoC) in the country.
• To establish sentinel surveillance and surge surveillance mechanisms for early detection of genomic variants and assist in formulating an effective public health response.
• To determine the presence of genomic variants in samples collected during super-spreader events and in areas reporting an increasing trend of cases/deaths etc.

Illegal sand mining: 20 arrested, 40 big boats seized in Bihar police operation on Sone River.

• Bihar police have arrested 20 sand smugglers and seized 40 sand-laden boats in a major crackdown against illegal sand mining on the Sone River.
• It is one of the largest southern tributaries of the Gangesafter the Yamuna River.
• Origin: It originates from the Amarkantak highlands in the hills of the Maikala range in Bilaspur district of Chhattisgarh at an elevation of 640 m. (The Narmada River also originates from Amarkantak, though it flows westward while Sone journeys towards the east).
• The river cuts through the Kaimur Rangeand joins the Ganges above Patna in Bihar after a 487-mile (784-km) course.
• It flows through the states of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Jharkhand.
• The total catchment area of the river system is 70,055 sq.km.
• The Sone valley is geologically almost a continuation of that of the Narmada Riverto the southwest. It is largely forested and sparsely populated.
• The valley is bordered by the Kaimur Range to the north and the Chota Nagpur plateau to the south.
• The floodplain of the river is narrow and only, 3 to 5 kilometers wide.
• The river’s flow is seasonal, and the Sone is unimportant for navigation.
• Major Tributaries: The main tributaries of the Sone River are the Rihand Riverand the Koel River. The other tributaries are the Gopad River and the Kanhar River.
• Dehri is the major town situated on the Sone River.

Uttar Pradesh''s Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary

• Location: It is a protected area in the Upper Gangetic plain in Uttar Pradesh and covers an area of 400.6 km2 in the Terai of the Bahraich district.
• In 1987, it was brought under the purview of the ‘Project Tiger’, and together with the Kishanpur Wildlife Sanctuary and the Dudhwa National Park, it forms the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve.
• It provides strategic connectivity between the tiger habitats of Dudhwa and Kishanpur in India and the Bardia National Park in Nepal.
• Vegetation: Its fragile Terai ecosystem comprises a mosaic of sal and teak forests, lush grasslands, and numerous swamps, and wetlands.
• Flora: It is predominantly Sal Forestwith its associate tree species like Terminalia alata (Asna), Lagerstroemia parviflora (Asidha), Adina cordifonia (Haldu), Mitragyna parpiflora (Faldu), Gamelina arborea (Gahmhar), etc.
• Fauna: It is home to a number of endangered species, including the Gharial, tiger, rhino, swamp deer, hispid hare, Bengal florican, and white-backed and long-billed vultures.
• The Gairwa River, which flows in the KWS area, is declared a sanctuary for Mugger and Gharial. It is also home to rare turtles, freshwater fish, and a host of aquatic life.
• It is among the few places in India where freshwater dolphins, also known as Gangetic dolphins, are found in their natural habitat.

Pantoea Tagorei: Visva-Bharati researchers name a bacteria after Rabindranth Tagore that helps plants.

• It was discovered from soil samples collected in the Jharia coal mines.

Characteristics

• It has unique properties beneficial for plant growth.
• It not only solubilizes potassium but also replenishes nitrogen and solubilizes
• The team has conducted experiments by introducing this bacterium to farmers, who have expressed satisfaction with the positive results.
• Significance: This bacteria marks a significant stride toward fostering environmentally friendly agricultural methods.

Key facts about Rabindranath Tagore:

• He was a world-renowned poet, litterateur, philosopherand Asia’s first Nobel laureate.
• He was born in Kolkata on May 7, 1861.
• He was popularly known as Bard of Bengal,and
• He introduced new prose and verse forms and the use of colloquial language into Bengali literature, thereby freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit.
• He was highly influential in introducing Indian culture to the West and vice versa.
• Awards: In 1913he became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature
• He was awarded a knighthood in 1915, but he repudiated it in 1919 as a protest against the Amritsar (Jallianwala Bagh) Massacre.
• Visva Bharati University, which was known as Shantiniketan founded by Rabindranath Tagore.
• Rabindranath Tagore wrote India''s national anthem, Jana Gana Mana.
• Tagore’s most notable work of poetry is Gitanjali: Song Offerings, for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

Octopus DNA hides big secret about Antarctic doomsday.

• It is a species of benthicoctopus with a circumpolar Antarctic distribution.
• The species has a wide depth range, occurring from shallow waters to 4,000 m deep.
• Appearance: It is characterised by the absence of a skin ridge around the body, and its nearly smooth skin, which is covered with low granular bumps.
• In the wild it is known to be preyed upon by Patagonian toothfish off South Georgia and Weddell seals off the South Shetland Islands.
• These cephalopods, inhabitants of the Southern Ocean, navigated the region when the ice sheet melted approximately 125,000 years ago.
• Conservation Status
• IUCN: Least concern (LC)

Key Facts about the West Antarctic ice sheet

• The Transantarctic Mountains divide the West Antarctic Ice Sheet from the East Antarctic Ice Sheet.
• West Antarctica is approximately 97% ice-covered.
• The West Antarctic Ice Sheet flows into the Bellingshausen, Weddell, Amundsen and Ross seas.
• There are principally three sectors of the ice sheet, which flow northeast-ward into the Weddell Sea, westward into the Ross Ice Shelf and northward into the Amundsen/Bellingshausen seas.
• West Antarctica is surrounded by a strong clockwise circumpolar circulation.
• These currents play a significant role in the global thermohaline circulation, and are one of the reasons why Antarctica is so cold.

Unesco recognises Kempegowda T2 as one of ''world''s most beautiful airports''.

• It is announced each year at UNESCO since 2015.
• The Prix Versailles awards celebrate outstanding achievements in architecture and design on a global scale.
• It focuses on intelligent sustainability as a cultural driver, acknowledging innovation, and creativity, reflection of local heritage, ecological efficiency, and values of social interaction.
• The Terminal 2 (T2) secured recognition as one of the ''World''s most beautiful airports'' and was awarded the coveted ''World special prize for an interior 2023.''

Key facts about T2 of KIA

• It is also known as the Terminal in a Garden.
• It is built upon four foundational pillars — technological leadership, terminal in a garden, environmental and ecological stewardship, and a celebration of Karnataka’s rich heritage and culture.
• It had previously earned the prestigious IGBC platinum certification from the Indian Green Building Council under the IGBC Green New Building Rating system.
• Also for sustainable design it has been recognized as the world''s largest terminal pre-certified with a platinum LEED rating by the US Green Building Council.

VGF-funded Battery Energy Storage Systems.

• The Union Minister for Power, New & Renewable Energy has informed that the Government has approved the scheme for Viability Gap Funding (VGF) for development of Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) with capacity of 4,000 megawatts hours (MWh).
• This scheme envisages the development of 4,000 MWh of BESS projects by 2030-31.

Funding:

• Financial support of up to 40% of the capital cost as budgetary support in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) is provided by the union government.
• The VGF shall be disbursed in five tranches linked with the various stages of implementation of BESS projects.
• By offering VGF support, the scheme targets achieving a Levelized Cost of Storage (LCoS) ranging from Rs. 5.50-6.60 per kilowatt-hour (kWh), making stored renewable energy a viable option for managing peak power demand across the country.
• For passing on the scheme to consumers of the Discoms, at least 85% of the power from VGF-funded BESS projects shall be first offered to Discoms before making it available for others.
• The selection of BESS developers for VGF grants will be carried out through a transparent, competitive bidding process, promoting a level playing field for both public and private sector entities.

Significance:

• This will not only enhance the integration of renewable energy into the electricity grid but also minimise wastage while optimising the utilisation of transmission networks.
• This will reduce the need for costly infrastructure upgrades.
• The competitive bidding process approach will foster healthy competition and encourage the growth of a robust ecosystem for BESS, attracting significant investments and generating opportunities for associated industries.
• This scheme is designed to harness the potential of renewable energy sources such as solar and wind power; the scheme aims to provide clean, reliable, and affordable electricity to the citizens.

Project PRAYAS: UN program to help Indian youth migrate abroad.

• Promoting Regular Assisted Migration for Youth and Skilled Professionals (PRAYAS) was launched in partnership with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• It is one of the first attempts to consolidate all the state-level initiatives for safe, orderly, and well-managed international migration.
• Goal: To facilitate safe, orderly, and regular migration for aspiring Indian migrant workers and students through policy recommendations in collaboration with the MEA and state governments, thus strengthening international migration governance.
• It aims to undertake a study, capturing the key migration trends, the needs and aspirations of migrants, and the major international migration and mobility initiatives taken by the union, as well as the state governments sharing the analysis with the ministry.

Key facts about the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)

• Established in 1951, IOM is a United Nations (UN) agency dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration.
• The IOM defines the term migrant as: “a person who moves away from his or her place of usual residence, whether within a country or across an international border, temporarily or permanently, and for a variety of reasons.”
• It offers, at the request of States, its support to migrants but also to internally displaced persons, refugees and other uprooted people in the four broad areas of migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration and addressing forced migration.
• Member countries: It currently has 172 member states and 8 states holding observer status. India is a member of this organization.
• Headquarters: Geneva, Switzerland.