The Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has issued a warning to the coastal states about the “complete suspension of operational and recreational activities.

Swell Waves:

• These waves are formed by an ocean swell, hence the name swell waves/swell surge. A swell wave is the formation of long wavelength waves on the surface of the seas.
• They propagate along the interface between water and air.  Thus, they are often referred to as surface gravity waves.
• Origin: Ocean swells do not occur due to the local winds, but rather due to distant storms like hurricanes, or even long periods of strong winds.
• Usually, states like Kerala witness swell waves as a result of strong winds in the southern part of the Indian Ocean, where an ocean swell is generated, and the waves then travel north to reach the coast in two or three days.
• Influencing Factors: The speed of the wind, the amount of ocean surface area affected by wind blowing in the same direction (also known as fetch), and the amount of time those winds blow over the same part of the ocean.
• Potential for Swell Surges: This is due to the potential for swell surges and rough sea conditions caused by the influence of high-period swell waves approaching from the distant southern Indian Ocean.
• Origin and Movement of High-Period Swells: The high period swells had started at approximately 10,000 km away from the Indian coast in the southern Atlantic Ocean and slowly moved towards the southern Indian Ocean.
• This had caused the high energy swell propagation towards the Indian coastal regions which is expected to hit the southern tip of India in the early hours of May 4.
• These long-period swells combined with high tide conditions can cause coastal flooding in the low-lying areas on May 4 & 5.

Features of Swell Waves:

• Narrow range of Frequencies: Swells have a narrower range of frequencies and directions than locally generated wind waves.
• Swells take on a more defined shape and direction and are less random than locally generated wind waves.
• In terms of directionality, they are characterised by the direction from where it emanates instead of where it is headed.
• Wavelength: Swell waves often have a long wavelength but this varies with the size of the water body. Their wavelengths may rarely exceed more than 150 m.
• Swell wavelength, also, varies from event to event. Occasionally, swells which are longer than 700 m occur as a result of the most severe storms.
• Earlier Instances of Swell Waves in India: The swell waves in March were generated after a low atmospheric pressure system moved over the region from the South Atlantic Ocean.
• INCOIS provides Ocean State Forecast (OSF) Services detailing wave height, direction, period, sea surface currents, temperature, and more.
• Swell Surge Forecast System: To forecast swell waves, INCOIS launched it in 2020 which can give forewarning seven days in advance.
• The arrival of the pressure system resulted in strong winds, which led to the formation of swell waves of up to 11 metres in height. These waves hit the Kerala coast and Lakshadweep.

Difference between Swell waves and Tsunamis:

• Distinguishing Characteristic: Unlike swell waves, a tsunami is a series of enormous waves created by an underwater disturbance usually associated with earthquakes occurring below or near the ocean.
• Tsunamis are around 10 times faster than swell waves. Although both swell waves and tsunamis slow down near the coast, the swell waves hit land at 30–50 km/h.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) revised the guidelines for custodian banks to issue Irrevocable Payment Commitments (IPCs) in light of the T+1 settlement regime for stocks.

Guidelines:

• Capital Market Exposure(CME) Limit: The maximum intraday risk to the custodian banks issuing IPCs would be considered as CME at 30 percent of the settlement amount.
• Basis for the 30% Risk Limit: It is based on the assumption of a 20 per cent downward price movement of the equities on T+1, with an additional margin of 10 per cent for further downward movement of price.
• Earlier, the risk mitigation measures were prescribed based on T+2 rolling settlement for equities (T being the trade day).
• Eligibility Criteria for Custodian Banks Issuing IPCs: Only custodian banks, who have an agreement with clients giving them an inalienable right over the securities for receiving a payout in the settlement, are permitted to issue IPCs.
• This clause will not be insisted upon if the transactions are pre-funded.
• Capital Maintenance in T+1 Settlement Cycle: Under the T+1 settlement cycle, the exposure shall normally be intraday.
• However, if exposure remains outstanding at the end of T+1 Indian Standard Time, the bank will have to maintain capital based on the outstanding capital market exposure.
• Regulation of Bank Counterparty Exposures: The underlying exposures of banks to their counterparties, emanating from the intraday capital market exposure (CME), will be subject to limits prescribed under the Large Exposure Framework.

Trade Settlement:

• It refers to the transfer of securities and funds between buyers and sellers after a trade is executed.
• A trade settlement is said to be complete once purchased securities of a listed company are delivered to the buyer, and the seller gets the money.
• Trade Settlement Period: It refers to the interval of time between the trade date on which an order is executed in the market and the settlement date on which a trade is deemed final.
• T+1 Trade Settlement:  It means trade-related settlements happen within a day, or within 24 hours of the actual transaction.
• Under the T+1 settlement cycle, if an investor sells securities, the money gets credited into her account the following day.
• Status of India: India became the second country to start the T+1 settlement cycle in top listed securities after China, bringing operational efficiency, faster fund remittances, share delivery, and ease for stock market participants.
• T+2 Trade Settlement: In this, Indian stock exchanges are settled in two working days after the transaction is done (T+2).
• T+0 Trade Settlement:  This would mean settlements on the same day (within an hour)  and instant settlement would ensure trades are settled immediately.

Definition: 

• Custodian Bank: It is a financial institution that holds customers’ securities for safekeeping to prevent them from being stolen or lost. The custodian may hold stocks, bonds, or other assets in electronic or physical form on behalf of its customers.
• Irrevocable Payment Commitments (IPCs): IPC are defined as an obligation on the part of credit institutions to pay their contributions in the future through a contract signed between the financial arrangement and an institution that opts for the IPC.

According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF for Reporters sans Frontières), India’s position in the World Press Freedom Index declined from 36.62 to 31.28.

World Press Freedom Index:

• The index is compiled by RSF annually assessing the ability of journalists to work and report freely and independently.
• Reporters Without Borders (RWB): It is an international non-profit organization governed by principles of democratic governance. It defends the right of every human being to have access to free and reliable information.
• Headquarter: Paris
• Press Freedom:It is the ability of journalists to select, produce, and disseminate news in the public interest independent of political, economic, legal, and social interference and in the absence of threats to their physical and mental safety.

Report analysis:

• India’s Ranking: India’s rank improved from 161 in 2023 to 159 in 2024. However, this rise was primarily due to other countries slipping in their rankings.
• Scores for India decreased in all categories except for the security indicator in the press freedom questionnaire, which encompasses political context, legal framework, economic context, sociocultural context, and security.
• Ranking of Indian Neighbors: Pakistan ranked 152, Sri Lanka at 15, Nepal at 74 and Maldives at 106.
• Afghanistan is at 178, Bangladesh at 165 and Myanmar at 171.
• Asia-Pacific Region: It is the world’s second most difficult region for practicing journalism.
• Five countries are among the world’s ten most dangerous countries for journalism. Myanmar (171st), China (172nd), North Korea (177th), Vietnam (174th) and Afghanistan (178th).
• Middle East and North Africa: The situation is “very serious” in nearly half of the countries.
• The United Arab Emirates joins the eight other countries in the red zone on the map: Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Palestine, Iraq, Bahrain, Syria and Egypt.
• Palestine, occupied and under bombardment by the Israeli army, and the deadliest country for journalists, is at the bottom of the Index.
• Countries with Good Press Freedom: The countries where press freedom is “good” are all in Europe, and more specifically within the European Union, which has adopted its first media freedom law (EMFA).
• Norway(1st) is followed by Denmark (2nd) and Sweden (3rd).

Concern Raised by the Index:

• Global Press Freedoms Under Threat: Political authorities, who are supposed to safeguard press freedom, are increasingly becoming threats to it.
• Press freedoms have experienced a decline, with an average decrease of 7.6 points globally.
• Use of AI for Election Manipulation: Increasing use of artificial intelligence(AI) is raising concerns, particularly its application in propagating disinformation for political motives.
• Deep Fakes are now being used to influence the course of elections.

Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) Project

Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) telescope site in Santiago, Chile is now open for business.

Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO):

• The University of Tokyo Atacama Observatory (TAO) Project aims to construct a 6.5 meter optical-infrared telescope at the summit of Cerro Chajnantor, which is at an altitude of 5,640 meters in the Atacama Desert of Chile.
• Cerro Chajnantor is noted as the world''s highest astronomical site.
• The region’s high altitude, thin atmosphere, and perennially arid climate are ideal for observing almost the entire range of near-infrared wavelength.

Instruments and Research Focus:

• SWIMS (Simultaneous-color Wide-field Infrared Multi-object Spectrograph): Aimed at understanding the evolution of galaxies.
• MIMIZUKU (Mid-Infrared Multi-field Imager for gaZing at the UnKnown Universe): Used to study planet formation and the origin of materials.
• The TAO project is promoted by the Institute of Astronomy (IoA) at the University of Tokyo, in collaboration with the Department of Astronomy at the University of Tokyo.
• It includes partnerships with many other Japanese facilities such as the National Astronomical Observatory, ISAS/JAXA, other universities, and the Department of Astronomy at the University of Chile.
• The telescope is dedicated to enhancing our understanding of the nature of the Universe and the origin of life.

RailTel Corporation of India signed an MOU with a tech firm for exploring and delivering KAVACH (train collision avoidance system) implementation projects in India and abroad.

KAVACH:

• KAVACH, initially known as Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), is an indigenously developed Automatic Train Protection (ATP) system.
• It was developed by the Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO) in collaboration with the Indian industry, with development starting in 2011.
• B.Rajaram, known for the Skybus Metro system, played a significant role in its development.
• Field trials commenced in 2014, leading to refinement of the system, and it received final approval in 2019.

Features and Specifications:

• KAVACH operates to Safety Integrity Level 4 (SIL-4) standards, indicating a very high level of safety with a probability of error being 1 in 10,000 years.
• It includes centralized live monitoring of train movements, automatic braking to prevent overspeeding, and SoS message relaying.
• The system comprises trackside RFID tags, onboard locomotive equipment, and radio infrastructure, facilitating real-time train monitoring and communication via radio.
• Drivers are alerted, and automatic braking is triggered to prevent collisions, using various data inputs like location, direction, and time.

Operational Impact and Challenges:

• KAVACH helps prevent collisions by alerting locomotive pilots about a ‘red signal’; if the pilot fails to slow down below 15 kmph, it automatically applies the brakes.
• Event recorders retain records of interactions and incidents for analysis.
• However, implementing KAVACH comes at a high cost of ₹50 lakh per kilometer, and it currently covers only 1,500 kilometers of the total 68,000-kilometer network of Indian Railways as of November 2023, posing significant expansion challenges.