Multi Constituency Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM)

• The new RVM prototype will enable a voter, who is listed in constituencies, to exercise voting rights from a single machine.
• The multi-constituency remote EVM, developed by a public sector undertaking, can handle up to 72 constituencies from a single remote polling booth.
• Migrant voters would not need to travel to their home districts to exercise their franchise if the remote electronic voting machine is implemented properly.
• The remote e-voting machine will be a standalone device which doesn’t need connectivity to operate.
• The Representation of the People Act, The Conduct of Election Rules and The Registration of Electors Rules will need to be amended to introduce remote voting.

Working

• The RVMs will have the same security system and voting experience as the EVM, with the modification of an electronic ballot display with candidates and symbols instead of a fixed ballot paper sheet.
• When the voter scans his/her constituency card in the presence of the Presiding Officer at the station, their respective constituency and candidate list will appear on the RVM display.
• As for counting the votes, the electronic system will also count and store the votes for each candidate in a constituency.
• As per the 2011 census, 45.36 crore Indians (37% of the population) were internal migrants, settled in a place different from that of their registered residence.
• While 67.4% of the eligible 91.2 crore Indians voted in the 2019 Lok Sabha election, about one-third or close to 30 crore voters did not cast their vote.
• Inability to vote due to internal migration (domestic migrants) is one of the prominent reasons to be addressed to improve voter turnout and ensure participative elections.

Patriotic citizens in border villages can provide permanent security : Union Home Minister

• Vibrant Villages Programme (VVP) has been announced in the Finance Minister’s Budget Speech 2022.
• VVP is aiming at enhancing infrastructure in villages along India''s border with China, in states like Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, and Arunachal Pradesh.
• Activities under the VVP include building infrastructure such as housing, tourist centres, road connectivity, providing decentralised renewable energy, direct-to-home access for Doordarshan and educational channels, and support for livelihood generation.
• The programme envisages coverage of border villages on Northern border having sparse population, limited connectivity and infrastructure, which often get left out from the development gains.
• Convergence of existing schemes is proposed under VVP. The villages on the Northern border to be covered under VVP are being finalised.

129th birth anniversary of Satyendra Nath Bose

• Satyendra Nath Bose was a Mathematician and physicist from India. Born on January 1, 1894, Bose

  collaborated with Einstein to develop what we now know as the Bose-Einstein statistics.

• He was appointed to the position of Reader in Physics at the University of Dhaka. It was here that he made his most significant contributions to physics.

• Bose designed equipment for setting up an X-ray crystallography laboratory at the university, and wrote several papers on a range of subjects, such as ‘D2 Statistics’, and ‘Total Reflection of Electromagnetic Waves in the Ionosphere’.

• In 1945, he left Dhaka to return to his alma mater, the University of Calcutta, as the Khaira Professor of Physics. He retired from the University of Calcutta in 1956 and spent a year as the Vice Chancellor at the Viswa-Bharati University.

• Bose was awarded Padma Vibhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in the country, by the Indian government in 1954.

• He served as president of many scientific institutions, which include the Indian Physical Society, National Institute of Science, Indian Science Congress, and the Indian Statistical Institute.

• He also acted as an advisor to the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, and later became a Fellow of the Royal Society.

Dinesh Kumar Shukla takes over charge as Chairman of AERB

• The AERB was constituted on November 15, 1983, by the President of India by exercising the powers conferred by the Atomic Energy Act, 1962 to carry out certain regulatory and safety functions under the Act.
• The regulatory authority of AERB is derived from the rules and notifications promulgated under the Atomic Energy Act and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
• The Mission of the AERB is to ensure the use of ionizing radiation and nuclear energy in India does not cause undue risk to the health of people and the environment.
• The total number of members including the Chairman and Member-Secretary shall not exceed five. The Board shall be responsible to the Atomic Energy Commission.
  • The Board shall consist of full time and part time members. The Board shall have a full time Chairman and a full time Member-Secretary.
• The AERB shall have authority to administer the provisions of the Factories Act, 1948, the industrial safety for the units of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) as per Section 23 of the Atomic Energy Act,1962.
• The executive functions of the AERB shall be vested in Chairman, AERB.
• The DAE will provide the necessary administrative support to the AERB in this regard to its budget, parliamentary work and establishment and accounts matters.

PM to inaugurate Indian Science Congress virtually today

• Indian Science Congress, the annual gathering of researchers in the country is organised by the Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA).
• Theme: “Science and Technology for Sustainable Development with Women Empowerment.”
• The first meeting of the Congress was held from January 15-17, 1914 at the premises of the Asiatic Society, Calcutta.
• Sections covered in ISC: There are fourteen sections which includes Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Earth System Sciences, Engineering Sciences, Environmental Sciences, Mathematical Sciences, Medical Sciences etc.

Indian Science Congress Association (ISCA)

• Established in 1914, ISCA is a professional body under Department of Science & Technology, Ministry of Science & Technology.
• ISCA owes its origin to the foresight and initiative of two British Chemists, namely, Professor J. L. Simonsen and Professor P.S. MacMahon.

Researchers from India, Israel, US trying to develop drug to treat rare disease ''GNB1 Encephalopathy''

• What it is? GNB1 Encephalopathy is a kind of brain disease or neurological disorder which affects individuals in the foetus stage.
• Symptoms: Delayed physical and mental development, intellectual disabilities, frequent epileptic seizures.
• Cause: A single nucleotide mutation in the GNB1 gene that makes one of the G-proteins, the "Gβ1 protein," causes this disease.
• Prevalence: To date, less than a hundred cases have been documented worldwide. However, the actual number of affected children is probably much greater as diagnosis is not widely available since it requires a sophisticated and expensive procedure.

G-Protein Coupled Receptor'' (GPCR) signalling

• Every cell in the human body has a wide variety of signalling molecules and pathways that help in communicating with other cells and within itself. The major signalling mechanism used by cells is “GPCR signalling,".
• GPCR is a receptor that receives a signal (e.g. a hormone, light, neurotransmitter) from the outside of the cell and transduces it to the inside of the cell. GPCR is present in the cell membrane and has a G-protein (αβγ) attached to it from inside the cell.

  • G-proteins are the . These G-proteins are present in every cell, and any malfunction will cause disease.

    immediate downstream molecules that relay the signal received by the GPCR

Tamil Nadu undertakes project to conserve Nilgiri tahr

• Under The Nilgiri Tahr project, the Tamil Nadu government plans to
• Develop a better understanding of the Nilgiri Tahr population through surveys and radio telemetry studies
• Reintroduce the Tahrs to their historical habitat
• Address proximate threats
• Increase public awareness of the species
• The project is to be implemented for 5 year period from 2022 to 2027.

Nilgiri Tahr

• Nilgiri Tahr is the only Caprinae species found in the tropical mountains of southern
• Habitat: They are endemic to the Western Ghats and used to inhabit a large part of the Western Ghats between Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
• Conservation Status
• IUCN - Endangered
• Wildlife (Protection) Act of India, 1972 - Schedule I

Emperor penguin at risk of extinction, along with two-thirds of native Antarctic species, research shows

• They are the 2nd largest penguin species.
• Habitat: They live on Antarctic and sub-Antarctic islands. Major colonies are found on Crozet, Prince Edward Island, Kerguelen Island, Heard Island, South Georgia and Macquarie Island.
• King penguins don''t make a nest and they carry their egg around with them at all times on top of their feet by taking turns.
• Conservation Status: According to IUCN it is under the category of Least Concern.
• Threats: Climate change, habitat shifting and southward shifting of the Antarctic Polar Front.

Ministry of Rural Development launches Prajjwala Challenge

• Aim: To invite ideas, solutions and actions that can transform the rural economy. This Mission is looking for ideas which are broadly categorised into
• Focus on Women and the Marginalized section of the community
• Localised Models
• Sustainability
• Cost Effective solutions
• Multi-sectoral ideas and solutions
• Shortlisted ideas will be acknowledged by the Mission and will be provided mentorship support from an expert panel and incubation support to scale up. The top 5 ideas will be rewarded with Rs. 2 Lakh each.

DAY-NRLM

• It is one of the flagship poverty alleviation programs which aims at creating efficient and effective institutional platforms for the rural poor, enabling them to increase household income through sustainable livelihood enhancements and improved access to financial services.
• Key Features:
  • Universal Social Mobilisation: At least one woman member from each identified rural poor household, is to be brought under the Self Help Group (SHG) network in a time bound manner.
  • Participatory Identification of Poor (PIP): All households identified as poor through the PIP process is the NRLM Target Group and is eligible for all the benefits under the programme.
  • Community Funds as Resources in Perpetuity: NRLM provides Revolving Fund (RF) and Community Investment Fund (CIF) as resources in perpetuity to the institutions of the poor, to strengthen their institutional and financial management capacity.