Genetic engineering gives mosquito control an upgrade

Gene-drive technology

• A gene drive is a type of genetic engineering technique that modifies genes.
• This technology was conceived by Austin Burt, a professor at Imperial College London.
• This technique could be an effective way to eradicate nuisance species, such as malaria-causing mosquitoes.
• Under this technique, mosquitoes will selectively inherit some genes rather than the inheritance to follow the rules of Mendelian genetics.
• In this, a protein cuts the mosquito’s DNA at a part that doesn’t encode a particular sequence in the genome.
• This triggers a natural mechanism in the cell containing the DNA to repair it and forces the cell to incorporate a sequence called the drive sequence into the damaged portion.

Recent development

• Researchers at Imperial College London genetically enhanced a gene expressed in the midgut of mosquitoes to secrete two antimicrobial substances called magainin 2 and melittin.
• They are detrimental to the Plasmodium parasite’s development in the midgut and also reduce the lifespan of female mosquitoes.
• Computational modelling studies have suggested that this approach could significantly disrupt malaria transmission.

The European Commission lists some tech titans as ''gatekeepers'' of online services

Digital Markets Act

• It is a groundbreaking European law aiming to prevent large online platforms that connect consumers with content, goods, and services from abusing their market power.
• The European Commission believes that keeping the big internet companies in check can lead to more competition and choice, greater innovation, better quality, and lower prices.
• Key Measures
  • Tighter restrictions on how digital gatekeepers can use people’s data—users must give their explicit consent for their activities to be tracked for advertising purposes.
  • Messaging services and social media platforms teaming up and sharing users. This could mean, for example, Meta-owned WhatsApp users being able to send messages directly to a completely different messaging service, such as Telegram.
  • Presenting users with the option to uninstall preloaded applications on devices.
  • Gatekeepers are banned from ranking their own products or services higher than others in online searches.
• According to the rules, any service offered by the company that meets two criteria is gatekeeper designated. These are:
  • They have a market value of at least EUR 75 billion (approximately $82 billion), and
  • Either own a social platform or app that is used by at least 45 million people every month or have at least 10,000 active business users.
• The bulk of the DMA will become enforceable during 2023.

Vidya Samiksha Kendras That The Education Ministry Is Asking States To Implement Soon

Vidya Samiksha Kendra

• Vidya Samiksha Kendra (VSKs) is a data repository which will have data from all schemes run by the Ministry of Education (MoE).
• The control rooms of these Kendras will collect data to track key performance indicators as well as analyse data collated from govt schemes ‘using AI & machine-learning.’
• This repository will include regularly updated data from
  • The PM-POSHAN mid-day meal programmes;
  • Teacher training data from the National Initiative for School Heads’ and Teachers’ Holistic Advancement portal;
  • Textbook content from Digital Infrastructure for Knowledge Sharing;
  • School dropout and attendance-related data on Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE+);
  • Students learning outcomes from the National Achievement Survey;
  • Performance Grading Index, which evaluates the school education system at the State/U.T. level.
• Funding: The Centre has allocated funds ranging from 2 to 5 crore rupees to each State for adopting and establishing VSKs.
• Significance:
• The idea of developing VSKs is also to map the school location layer with the population layer to assess the Gross Access Ratio.
• It can help plan for new schools or for industry clusters to understand the skilling requirements of the area and help plan higher educational institutions based on demand and future scenarios.

Nipah Alert in Kerala: 2 Unnatural Deaths Reported in Kozhikide

Nipah Virus

• Nipah virus infection is a zoonotic illness that is transmitted from animals to humans.
• The organism which causes Nipah Virus encephalitis is an RNA or Ribonucleic acid virus of the family Paramyxoviridae, genus Henipavirus, and is closely related to Hendra virus.
• It was first broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999.
• It first appeared in domestic pigs and has been found among several species of domestic animals, including dogs, cats, goats, horses and sheep.
• Transmission
  • The disease spreads through fruit bats, or ‘flying foxes,’ of the genus Pteropus, who are natural reservoir hosts of the Nipah and Hendra viruses.
  • The virus is present in bat urine and, potentially, bat faeces, saliva, and birthing fluids.
• Symptoms
  • Typically, the human infection presents as an encephalitic syndrome marked by fever, headache, drowsiness, disorientation, mental confusion, coma, and potentially death.
• Treatment: There is no definitive treatment available for the virus.

Why the RBI has proposed setting-up a Self Regulatory Organisation for fintechs

Self-Regulatory Organisation

• It is a non-governmental organisation that sets and enforces rules and standards relating to the conduct of entities in the industry (members).
• Aim: Protecting the customer and promoting ethics, equality, and professionalism.
• These typically collaborate with all stakeholders in framing rules and regulations.

Functions of an SRO

• The recognised SRO will serve as a two-way communication channel between its members and the RBI.
• It will work towards establishing minimum benchmarks and standards and help instil professional and healthy market behaviour among its members.
• These will impart training to the staff of its members and others and will conduct awareness programmes.
• It will establish a uniform grievance redressal and dispute management framework across its members.

The Money Bill Debate

• In India, a Money Bill is a type of legislation that relates to the appropriation of money from the Consolidated Fund of India, which is the main fund of the government. 
• Money Bills are typically related to financial matters such as taxation, public expenditure, and public debt.

 Criteria that a bill should fulfill to became a money bill

According to the Constitution of India, a bill is considered a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters:

• The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration, or regulation of any tax.
• The regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India.
• The custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of money into or the withdrawal of money from any such fund.
• The appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• The declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure.
• The receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money.
• Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified above.

 Procedure for the passage of the Money Bill in Parliament

The Constitution lays out a special procedure for the passing of money bills in Parliament.

• Money bills can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha and only with the recommendation of the President.
• Money bills are considered government bills and can only be introduced by a minister.
• After a money bill is passed by the Lok Sabha, it is transmitted to the Rajya Sabha for consideration. The Rajya Sabha has limited powers with regard to money bills and can only make recommendations and cannot reject or amend the bill.
• The Rajya Sabha must return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, with or without recommendations. The Lok Sabha can accept or reject any recommendations made by the Rajya Sabha.
• If the Lok Sabha accepts any recommendations, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the modified form.
• If the Lok Sabha does not accept any recommendations, the bill is deemed to have passed by both Houses in the form originally passed by the Lok Sabha without any change.
• If the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, the bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form originally passed by the Lok Sabha.
• The Lok Sabha has more powers than the Rajya Sabha with regard to money bills.
• When a money bill is presented to the President, he may give or withhold his assent to the bill but cannot return the bill for reconsideration.
• The President normally gives assent to a money bill as it is introduced in the Parliament with his prior permission.

 Issues pertaining to the misuse of the money bill

• Evading scrutiny: Provisions of a money bill should not be used to bypass the legislative process or to evade the scrutiny of the Rajya Sabha.
• Aadhaar Bill Controversy: During the passage of the Aadhaar Act 2016, Opposition has claimed that enabling a fair and equitable distribution of benefits and subsidies is not a money matter under Article 110. Hence, it has questioned the legality of the Aadhaar Bill as a money bill.
• Certifying Authority: There are allegations of partisan role by the speaker through the sole discretion given to the speaker for certifying the bill as a money bill. 
• Separation of Power: For instance, Finance Act 2017 was passed as a money bill. It amended various Acts to provide for new rules and appointments to various tribunals, such as National Green Tribunal. 
• The Supreme Court held that a money bill should not contain provisions that are not directly related to the subjects listed in Article 110 of the Constitution of India (which defines the subjects that can be covered by a money bill).

Was The Passage of The Aadhaar Act as A Money Bill Lawful?

• The first major challenge about whether a bill qualified as a money bill under the Constitution was in the Aadhaar case.
• In K.S. Puttaswamy  v. Union of India (2018), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the Aadhaar (Targeted Delivery of Financial and Other Subsidies, Benefits and Services) Act, 2016.
• It was done by a 4:1 majority and stated that no illegality was committed by passing the Aadhaar Bill as a money bill in the Parliament. However, Justice Chandrachud, had dissented.

The majority opinion:

• It reasoned that the main objective of the legislation is to extend benefits in the nature of aid, grant, or subsidy to the marginalised sections of society with the support of the Consolidated Fund of India.
• Therefore, the Act fell within the ambit of Article 110 (1)(e) of the Constitution (expenditure charged to the consolidated fund) and was validly passed as a money bill.
• It was highlighted that the other provisions are only “incidental” in nature for the proper working of the Act.
• Notably, the concurring opinion by Justice Bhushan affirmed that the matter is subject to future judicial review.

The Dissenting opinion:

• It criticised the government for passing the Act as a money bill and pointed out an important word in provision (i) of Article 110 “only,” followed by a list of matters connected to taxation and expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India.
• In light of this, he dismissed the argument that since the Aadhar Act involved extending grants from the Consolidated Fund, it should qualify as a money bill.
• In his view, such a contention would allow just about anything to be passed as a money bill . The dissent also underscored that superseding the authority of the Rajya Sabha is in conflict with the constitutional scheme and the legitimacy of democratic institutions.
• In Roger Mathew v. Union of India (2019), a five-judge Constitution Bench headed by then CJI Ranjan Gogoi struck down an amendment to the 2017 Finance Act, passed as a money bill, that altered the structure and functioning of various tribunals.
• The Bench noted that majority did not substantially discuss the effect of the word “only” in Article 110(1) in Puttaswamy case. Also, the Puttaswamy case did not examine the repercussions of a finding when some of the provisions of an enactment passed as a “money bill” do not conform to Article 110(1)(a) to (g). Therefore, the Bench asked for the question to be put before a larger bench of the Supreme Court

PMLA verdict

• In 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019, amendments to Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002 related to bail and classification of offences were made through the Finance Act. Finance Bills passed during the budget are introduced as money bills.
• Petitions thereafter filed in the Supreme Court contended that the passage of such amendments as money bills was in violation of Article 110.
• In July 2022, a three-judge Bench upheld key provisions of the PMLA which conferred extensive powers upon the Enforcement Directorate (ED) but left it open for a seven-judge Bench to decide whether these amendments could have been passed through the money bill route.

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar Prize 2022 Winners Name

Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar awards

• The award is named after the founder Director of the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) India, the late Shanti Swarup Bhatnagar.
• The Prize is given each year for outstanding contributions to science and technology.
• Nature of the Prize
  • It carries a prize amount of Rs 5,00,000 (Rupees five lakh only).
  • It is given for notable and outstanding research, applied or fundamental in the following disciplines: (i) Biological Sciences, (ii) Chemical Sciences, (iii) Earth, Atmosphere, Ocean and Planetary Sciences, (iv) Engineering Sciences, (v) Mathematical Sciences, (vi) Medical Sciences and (vii) Physical Sciences.
• Eligibility
  • Any citizen of India engaged in research in any field of science and technology up to the age of 45 years as reckoned on 31st December of the year preceding the year of the Prize.
  • Overseas citizens of India (OCI) and Persons of Indian Origin (PIO) working in India are also eligible.
  • The Prize is awarded on the basis of contributions made through work done primarily in India during the five years preceding the year of the Prize.
• In awarding the Prize, the Governing Body of CSIR is guided by the recommendations of the Advisory Committees constituted with the approval of the Chairman of the Governing body of CSIR.
• The names of the recipients are made public on 26 September, the CSIR Foundation Day, by the Director General CSIR.

Sonowal leaves for Russia to represent India at Eastern Economic Forum

Eastern Economic Forum

• It was established in 2015 to support the economic development of Russia’s Far East and to expand international cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region.
• It is a key international platform for establishing and strengthening ties within the Russian and global investment communities.
• For a comprehensive expert evaluation of the economic potential of the Russian Far East, the investment opportunities it offers, and business conditions within advanced special economic zones.

Russia Far East

• It is the easternmost part of Russia.
• The macro-region borders two oceans, the Pacific and the Arctic, and five countries (China, Japan, Mongolia, the United States and the DPRK).
• The Far Eastern region spreads over four time zones and various climate zones, from northern deserts to subtropics.
• It is rich in natural resources like diamonds, borax, etc.
• About 1/3 of all coal reserves and hydro-engineering resources of the country are here.

Small island nations seek protection from ocean pollution, climate change

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea

• It is an independent judicial body established by the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
• Composition
  • The Tribunal is composed of 21 independent members.
  • Members elected by secret ballot by the States Parties to the Convention.
  • Each State Party may nominate up to two candidates.
• Jurisdiction
  • It has jurisdiction over any dispute concerning the interpretation or application of the Convention and over all matters specifically provided for in any other agreement which confers jurisdiction on the Tribunal.
  • Disputes relating to the Convention may concern the delimitation of maritime zones, navigation, conservation and management of the living resources of the sea, protection and preservation of the marine environment and marine scientific research.
  • The Tribunal is open to States Parties to the Convention(i.e. States and international organisations which are parties to the Convention).
  • It is also open to entities other than States Parties, i.e., States or intergovernmental organisations which are not parties to the Convention, and to state enterprises and private entities.
• The seat of the Tribunal is in the City of Hamburg, Germany.

Two new ‘shy’ spider species found, named after Great Indian Bustard

New spider species

• These two species (Godawan and Maldhok) are named in honour of the local name of the Great Indian Bustard.
• Characteristics of these spiders
  • The spiders are particularly shy, hiding under rocks or in crevices when disturbed.
  • They are maroon in colour, a unique feature they share with the other two known species in their genus, Palpimanidae.
  • They are ground species and have heavier bodies; their ability to disperse as spiders do by ballooning, shooting their web, and traipsing from one place to another is limited.
  • They stay confined to an area.

Great Indian Bustard

• It is mainly found in the Indian subcontinent and is the flagship grassland species of India.
• It is one of the largest flying birds in the world and India’s heaviest flying bird.
• Distribution:
  • Its population of about 150 in Rajasthan accounts for 95% of its total world population.
  • They are mainly in the Jaisalmer district of Rajasthan, including the Desert National Park, which is the natural habitat of the species.
  • Grasslands of Kutch in Gujarat, which is home to the second-largest bustard population in India.
  • Arid regions of Maharashtra (Solapur), Karnataka (Bellary and Haveri) and Andhra Pradesh (Kurnool)
  • It is the State bird of Rajasthan.
• Conservation status
  • IUCN: Critically Endangered.
  • CITES: Appendix I
  • The Indian Wildlife (Protection)Act, 1972: Schedule I