60th meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB60)

• As the world gears up for the 29th Conference of Parties (COP) to UNFCCC later this year, Delhi-based think tank Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has called on developed countries to fulfill their financial obligations in the fight against climate change.

SB60:

• The 60th Sessions of United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Subsidiary Bodies (also called the 2024 Bonn Climate Change Conference) will build on the many mandates that emerged at COP28 in Dubai, and aim to drive forward progress on key issues and prepare decisions for adoption at the COP29 UN Climate Change Conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November of 2024.
• The mid-year climate conference, also known as the 60th meeting of the Subsidiary Bodies (SB60) will bring together countries that are signatories to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

It will focus on critical issues such as-

1. Climate finance
2. Advancing progress on the next round of national climate action
3. plans (Nationally Determined Contributions- NDCs)
4. Timely submission of countries’
5. First Biennial Transparency Reports
6. Work on National Adaptation Plans
7. Accelerating climate action through a just transition

• It will feature the inaugural Annual Global Stock take (GST) Dialogue, which aims to foster a sharing of effective strategies and lessons learned on how countries are incorporating the GST outcomes into their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), promoting collaborative learning and progress towards achieving the Paris Agreement''s goals.

Centre for Science and Environment (CSE):

• Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) is a public interest research organisation based in New Delhi.
• It researches and communicates the urgency of development that is sustainable and equitable.
• It works as a think tank on environment-development issues in India, poor planning, climate shifts devastating India''s Sundarbans and advocates for policy changes and better implementation of the already existing policies.
• The Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) has designated Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) as a "Centre of Excellence" (CoE) for sustainable water management.

As per the data by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) FDI inflows in 2023-24 contracted by 3.49% to $44.42 billion compared to 2022-23.

Key Highlights:

FDI Inflows:

• FDI inflows in 2023-24: $44.42 billion, a decline of 3.49% from $46.03 billion in 2022-23.
• Total FDI (including equity inflows, reinvested earnings, and other capital): Declined by 1% to $70.95 billion from $71.35 billion in 2022-23.
• Highest ever FDI inflows: $84.83 billion in 2021-22.

Quarterly Performance:

• January-March FY24: FDI inflows rose by 33.4% to $12.38 billion from $9.28 billion in the same period the previous year.

Top Sectors for FDI:

• 2023-24 Top Sectors: Computer Software & Hardware, Service Sector, and Construction Activities.
• 2000-2024 Top Sectors: Services Sector, Computer Software & Hardware, Trading, Telecommunications, and Automobile Industry.

Top Recipient States in 2023-24:

• Maharashtra: Highest with $15.1 billion, up from $14.8 billion in 2022-23.
• Gujarat: $7.3 billion, up from $4.7 billion in 2022-23.
• Karnataka: Declined to $6.57 billion from $10.42 billion in 2022-23.
• Growth also recorded in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Jharkhand.
• Decline observed in Delhi, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, and Haryana.

Top Source Countries:

• 2023-24 Top Sources: Singapore, Mauritius, and USA.
• 2000-2024 Top Sources: Mauritius, Singapore, USA, Netherlands, and Japan.
• Decreased Inflows: From countries like Mauritius, Singapore, US, UK, UAE, Cayman Islands, Germany, and Cyprus.
• Increased Inflows: From Netherlands and Japan.

Justice M S Sonak became the first person in Goa to register a “living will”.

Living Will:

• A living will, also known as an Advance Medical Directive, is a written document where an individual specifies their decisions regarding medical treatment in advance.
• It allows individuals to explicitly instruct on the medical treatments they wish to accept or refuse in the event they become unable to communicate their decisions due to incapacity.
• The document ensures that the person''s wishes are respected when they are no longer competent to make decisions about their health care.
• The Supreme Court''s judgment in the case of Common Cause vs. Union of India & Anr. (2018) supports the execution of living wills, recognizing the right to passive euthanasia. This involves withdrawing life support systems in cases where a person is in a persistent vegetative state.
• Living wills enable individuals, especially those diagnosed with terminal illnesses, to refuse specific medical treatments, thus allowing death to occur naturally and without unnecessary medical intervention.
• The execution of a living will is voluntary and can only be done by an adult who is of sound mind, highlighting the importance of personal autonomy in medical decision-making.

China''s space agency said that China landed an uncrewed spacecraft on the far side of the moon on 2nd of June.

Chang''e-6:

• The Chang''e-6 craft successfully landed in the South Pole-Aitken Basin on the back of the moon.
• It is the first human sampling and return mission from the far side of the moon for the first time.
• It was launched by a Chinese Long March-5 rocket from Wenchang Space Launch Center on the southern island of Hainan before 53 days.
• Chang''e-6 consists of an orbiter, a returner, a lander and an ascender.
• The lander was equipped with multiple sensors, including microwave, laser and optical imaging sensors which can measure distance and speed, and identify obstacles on the lunar surface.
• The probe is scheduled to complete sampling within two days. It has adopted two methods of moon sampling, which include:
• Using a drill to collect subsurface samples
• Grabbing samples on the surface with a robotic arm.
• It has achieved a breakthrough in the design and control technology of the lunar retrograde orbit and aims to realize key technologies of intelligent and rapid sampling.
• It marks the second time a mission has successfully reached the far side of the moon. China first completed that historic feat in 2019 with its Chang’e-4 probe.

Scientists at the Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV), Thiruvananthapuram, recently developed a novel way of generating non-infectious Nipah virus-like particles (VLPs) in the laboratory.

Virus-like Particles (VLPs):

• VLPs are molecules that resemble viruses but lack infectivity because of the absence of viral genetic material.
• They are a very effective way of creating vaccines against diseases such as human papillomavirus (HPV), hepatitis B, malaria, and more.
• As they are very similar to real viral molecules, introducing a VLP into the body will trigger an immune response, but a person will not experience any symptoms of the virus they are being vaccinated against.
• Once the body has had an immune response to the VLP, it will recognize the virus and prevent infection in the future, giving people immunity to that particular virus.

Structure:

• VLPs are very small, with a particle radius of approximately 20 to 200 nm. This means that they can easily enter the lymph nodes, where the immune system is activated in the case of an infection.
• A VLP consists of one or more structural proteins that can be arranged in multiple layers.
• They can also contain an outer lipid envelope, which is the outermost layer that covers a large number of different viruses. This outer layer protects the genetic material inside the virus particle.
• Creating a VLP vaccinecan use bacterial, yeast, insect, or mammalian cells.
• When used as a vaccine, VLPs cause a robust immunogenic response due to their high-density display of epitopes and the capacity to present multiple proteins to the immune system.
• Most recently, VLPs have been employed as nanomachines to deliver pharmaceutically active products to specific sites and into specific cells in the body.

Nipah Virus:

• Nipah virus (NiV) is a zoonotic virus (it is transmitted from animals to humans) and can also be transmitted through contaminated food or directly between people.
• In infected people, it causes a range of illnesses, from asymptomatic (subclinical) infection to acute respiratory illness and fatal encephalitis.
• The virus can also cause severe disease in animals, such as pigs, resulting in significant economic losses for farmers.
• It first broke out in Malaysia and Singapore in 1998 and 1999.

Treatment:

• There are currently no drugs or vaccines specific for Nipah virus infection.
• Intensive supportive careis recommended to treat severe respiratory and neurologic complications.