Ministry of Education asks States to encourage use of online coaching platform SATHEE

SATHEE (Self Assessment Test and Help for Entrance Exams) Portal

• It is a new initiative by the Ministry of Education to provide a free learning and assessment platform for students.
• It will help students gain access to training and coaching for competitive examinations for free.
• The platform aims to bridge the gap for students in society who are not able to afford the costly entrance exam guidance and coaching.
• It will have preparation materials for students in English, Hindi, and other regional languages of India so that students can prepare for exams like JEE and NEET.
• It will be useful for candidates who will be preparing for CAT, GATE, UPSC, etc. It will also allow candidates to gain experience in coaching centres.
• The platform will have videos made by the faculty members of IITs and IISC to help students prepare for the competitive examinations. The videos would also help students learn concepts and revise topics they are weak at.
• It makes use of an indigenously developed AI programme called Prutor, which was developed by IIT-Kanpur.
• SATHEE Features:
  • Preparation material for entrance exams, including JEE and NEET
  • Video solutions in regional languages for entrance exams
  • JEE and NEET entrance exam preparation ideas webinars
  • Students'' stories of struggles and achievement
  • Solve with me sessions
  • Motivational sessions

Restore risk weights on bank loans to NBFCs catering to MSMEs

• The Reserve Bank of India has raised the risk weight on consumer credit by banks and NBFCs to 125%, compared to 100% earlier.

Risk weight

• It is every rupee lent by the bank is a cost or has an implication on its capital position.
• Risk-weighted assets: These are used to determine the minimum amount of capital a bank must hold in relation to the risk profile of its lending activities and other assets.
• The Reserve Bank of India decided in April 1992 to introduce a risk-asset ratio system for banks (including foreign banks) in India as a capital adequacy measure in line with the Capital Adequacy Norms prescribed by the Basel Committee.
• Impacts
  • Lower the risk weight, lower the rate of interest. Therefore, risk weights impact borrowers indirectly and are felt through the pricing of loans.
  • The increase in risk weights by the RBI will elevate funding costs for NBFCs and impact capital requirements.

How a NASA experiment will study ‘air glow’ to understand Space weather, why it matters

Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE)

• It is a first-of-its-kind NASA experimental attempt aimed at studying the interactions between terrestrial and space weather.
• It is planned under NASA’s Heliophysics Explorers Programme. This mission will study the links between how waves in the lower layers of the atmosphere impact the upper atmosphere and, thus, space weather.
• It will be launched and mounted on the exterior of the Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS).
• From the vantage point, it will look down at the Earth and record the colourful light bands, commonly known as airglow.
• The new NASA mission will try to understand the combination of forces that drive the Space weather in the upper atmosphere.
• It will measure the airglow at mesopause (about 85 to 87 km above the Earth’s surface), where the atmospheric temperatures dip to minus 100 degrees Celsius.
• At this altitude, it is possible to capture the faint airglow in the infrared bandwidth, which appears to be the brightest, enabling easy detection.
• It will be able to resolve waves at finer horizontal scales than what satellites can usually see at those altitudes, which is part of what makes the mission unique.
• The health of the ionosphere, whose lower layers sit at the edge of space, is important for maintaining seamless communication.

NASA’s AWE

• It will perform focused mapping of the colourful airglows in the Earth’s atmosphere.
• Onboard AWE is an Advanced Mesospheric Temperature Mapper (ATMT), an instrument that will scan or map the mesopause (a region between the mesosphere and thermosphere).
• Using the four identical telescopes comprising an imaging radiometer, scientists hope to obtain the brightness of light at specific wavelengths.
• This information can then be converted into a temperature map, which could reveal the airglow movement and, ultimately, give clues on their role in the upper atmosphere and Space weather.

Airglow

• It is a faint luminescence of Earth’s upper atmosphere that is caused by air molecules’ and atoms’ selective absorption of solar ultraviolet and X-radiation.
• Most of the airglow emanates from the region about 50 to 300 km above the surface of Earth, with the brightest area concentrated at altitudes around 97 km.

What is Tantalum, a rare metal IIT-Ropar researchers discovered in Sutlej?

Tantalum

• It is a rare metal with the atomic number 73—the number of protons found in one atom of the element.
• The rare metal has been named after a Greek mythological figure, Tantalus.
• Properties
  • It’s grey, heavy, very hard, and one of the most corrosion-resistant metals in use today.
  • It possesses high corrosion resistance because, when exposed to air, it forms an oxide layer that is extremely difficult to remove, even when it interacts with strong and hot acid environments.
  • When pure, tantalum is ductile, meaning it can be stretched, pulled, or drawn into a thin wire or thread without breaking.
  • It is almost completely immune to chemical attack at temperatures below 150°C and is attacked only by hydrofluoric acid, acidic solutions containing the fluoride ion, and free sulphur trioxide."
  • It also has an extremely high melting point, exceeded only by tungsten and rhenium.
  • When it is placed in the midst of acids, it is incapable of taking any of them up.
• Applications
  • It is most prominently used in the electronic sector.
  • The capacitors made from tantalum are capable of storing more electricity in smaller sizes without much leakage than any other type of capacitor.
  • This makes them ideal for use in portable electronic devices such as smartphones, laptops, and digital cameras.
  • As tantalum has a high melting point, it is frequently used as a substitute for platinum, which is more expensive.
  • The rare metal is also used to make components for chemical plants, nuclear power plants, aeroplanes and missiles.
  • It does not react with bodily fluids and is used to make surgical equipment and implants, like artificial joints
  • A composite consisting of tantalum carbide (TaC) and graphite is one of the hardest materials known and is used on the cutting edges of high-speed machine tools.

India-USA joint exercise vajra prahar commences in Umroi

Exercise VAJRA PRAHAR

• It is a joint exercise conducted between the Indian Army and the US Army Special Forces.
• It aims at sharing best practises and experiences in areas such as joint mission planning and operational tactics.
• It is the 14th Edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise “VAJRA PRAHAR 2023," which commenced at the Joint Training Node, Umroi
• The US contingent is represented by personnel from the 1st Special Forces Group (SFG) of the US Special Forces. The Indian Army contingent is led by Special Forces personnel from the Eastern Command.
• The first edition was conducted in 2010 in India, and the 13th edition of the Indo-US Joint Special Forces exercise was conducted at the Special Forces Training School (SFTS), Bakloh (HP).
• The current edition is being conducted in Umroi Cantonment, Meghalaya from 21st November to 11th December 2023.
• It is also a platform to enhance inter-operability and strengthen defence cooperation between the armies of India and the United States of America.

Indian Navy tests first indigenously developed ‘anti-ship missile’

Naval Anti-Ship Missile Short Range (NASM-SR)

• It is the first indigenous air-launched anti-ship cruise missile developed for the Indian Navy.
• It was developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
• It can be launched from attack helicopters.
• This missile will replace the Sea Eagle missiles, which are currently in use with the Navy.
• With the Sea King helicopters also being phased out, it is expected that the NASM-SR will be used with the new MH-60R multi-role helicopters, which are being inducted into the Navy.
• Features:
  • The missile’s new guidance system includes a state-of-the-art navigation system and integrated avionics.
  • It employs several new technologies, including an indigenously developed launcher for the helicopter.
  • With a strike range of around 60 km, the air-launched anti-ship missile can travel at a speed of Mach 0.8 (slower than the speed of sound).
  • It would have an imaging infrared seeker, which would home in on the heat emissions of its targets.
  • It can have a warhead of 100kg and is capable of sinking patrol boats and damaging larger warships.
  • The NASM-SR, on approach to its target, can cruise at just 5 metres above sea level, making it difficult for enemy radars to detect, track, and shoot down with surface-to-air missiles or guns. This low-level capability of anti-ship missiles is known as sea skimming.

Elephant, big cat conservation reviewed at CITES meeting

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES):

• It is an international agreement between governments that aims to ensure that international trade in wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.
• CITES was adopted in 1973 and entered into force in 1975.
• There are 184 member parties, and trade is regulated in more than 38,000 species.
• Although CITES is legally binding on the Parties– in other words, they have to implement the Convention–it does not take the place of national laws.
• The CITES Secretariat is administered by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and is located in Geneva, Switzerland.
• Representatives of CITES nations meet every two to three years at a Conference of the Parties (or COP) to review progress and adjust the lists of protected species, which are grouped into three categories with different levels of protection:
• Appendix I:
  • It includes species threatened with extinction and provides the greatest level of protection, including a prohibition on commercial trade.
• Appendix II:
  • It includes species that are not currently threatened with extinction but may become so without trade controls.
  • Regulated trade is allowed if the exporting country issues a permit based on findings that the specimens were legally acquired and the trade will not be detrimental to the survival of the species or its role in the ecosystem.
• Appendix III:
  • It includes species for which a country has asked other CITES parties to help control international trade.
  • Trade in Appendix III species is regulated using CITES export permits (issued by the country that listed the species in Appendix III) and certificates of origin (issued by all other countries).
  • Countries may list species for which they have domestic regulations in Appendix III at any time.
• CITES also brings together law enforcement officers from wildlife authorities, national parks, customs, and police agencies to collaborate on efforts to combat wildlife crime targeted at animals such as elephants and rhinos.

Even after backfire, Gambusia fish remain popular to beat mosquitoes

Gambusia fish

• It is known as mosquitofish and, is widely used as a biological agent for controlling mosquito larvae.
• It is native to the waters of the south-eastern United States.
• It has been a part of mosquito-control strategies for over a century in various parts of the world, including India.
• A single full-grown fish eats about 100 to 300 mosquito larvae per day.
• Also, it has been part of various malaria control strategies in India since 1928, including the Urban Malaria Scheme.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) declares Gambusia one of the 100 worst invasive alien species in the world.

Malaria

• It is a disease caused by the Plasmodium parasite.
• The parasite can be spread to humans through the bites of infected mosquitoes.
• Transmission
  • The plasmodium parasite is spread by female Anopheles mosquitoes, which are known as "night-biting" mosquitoes because they most commonly bite between dusk and dawn.
• Only five types of parasites cause malaria in humans.
  • Plasmodium falciparum– It is mainly found in Africa; it''s the most common type of malaria parasite and is responsible for most malaria deaths worldwide.
  • Plasmodium vivax– It is mainly found in Asia and South America, this parasite causes milder symptoms than Plasmodium falciparum, but it can stay in the liver for up to 3 years, which can result in relapses.
  • Plasmodium ovale – fairly uncommon and usually found in West Africa, it can remain in the human liver for several years without producing symptoms.
  • Plasmodium malariae – It is only found in Africa.
  • Plasmodium knowlesi – It is very rare and found in parts of Southeast Asia.

Dinosaurs That Died 190 Million Years Ago Found With 50 ''Leathery'' Eggs

• Alongside the adult specimens, the Chinese researchers also uncovered around 50 fossilised eggs of the same species, spread out across five different nests that contained the skeletal remains of the embryos inside them.
• The discoveries may represent the earliest known fossil record of adult dinosaurs and their associated egg nests.

Qianlong Shouhu

• It belongs to a group of dinosaurs known as sauropodomorphs, which contains sauropods and their ancestors.
• It lived in what is now China during the Early Jurassic epoch, between 200 and 193 million years ago.
• The name of the new species roughly translates to "a dragon in Guizhou that protects its embryos."
• It was a medium-sized sauropodomorph that measured roughly 20 feet in length and likely weighed 1 tonne.
• Their eggs were elliptical in shape and relatively small. The eggshells may have had a texture similar to leather. It provides "strong evidence" for the earliest known "leathery" eggs.

Sauropods

• Sauropods were the dominant herbivores of the Jurassic period and were characterized by their long necks, long tails, and four-legged stance.
• They were some of the largest land animals ever to walk on Earth. They often reached lengths of up to 40 to 150 feet or more from head to tail.
• Sauropods typically weigh between 20 and 70 tonnes, which is equivalent to 10 to 35 elephants.
• They had relatively small skulls and brains and erect limbs reminiscent of the limbs of elephants.
• They were also one of the longest-living groups, existing for approximately 1040 million years in a wide variety of habitats around the world.
• Fossilised bones or footprints belonging to sauropods have been found on every continent except Antarctica.
• Their greatest abundance was during the Jurassic Period, but they continued to exist until the Upper Cretaceous period when many other dinosaur species went extinct.

Take a look at the stunning image of ‘airglow’ outlining Earth''s horizon. NASA shares pic

Airglow

• Airglow is the natural “glowing” of the Earth’s atmosphere.
• It happens all the time and across the whole globe.
• The phenomenon is similar to auroras, but where auroras are driven by high-energy particles originating from the solar wind, airglow is energized by ordinary, day-to-day solar radiation.
• Unlike the aurora, airglow does not exhibit structures such as arcs and is emitted from the entire sky at all latitudes at all times.
• There are three types of airglow: dayglow, twilightglow, and nightglow.
• Each is the result of sunlight interacting with the molecules in the atmosphere, but they have their own special way of forming.
• The most common airglow colors are green, red, and blue. However, other colors also occur.
• Dayglow:
  • It forms when sunlight strikes the daytime atmosphere.
  • Some of the sunlight is absorbed by the molecules in the atmosphere, which gives them excess energy. They become excited.
  • The molecules then release this energy as light, either at the same or slightly lower frequency (colour) as the light they absorbed. This light is much dimmer than daylight, so we can’t see it by eye.
• Twilight glow:
  • It is essentially the same as dayglow, but only the upper atmosphere is sunlit.
  • The rest of the atmosphere and the observer on the ground are in darkness.
  • So, unlike day glow, twilight glow is actually visible to us on the ground with the naked eye.
• Nightglow:
  • The chemistry behind Nightglow is different. There is no sunlight shining on the nighttime atmosphere. Instead, a process called “chemiluminescence” is responsible for the glowing atmosphere.
  • Sunlight deposits energy into the atmosphere during the day, some of which is transferred to oxygen molecules (e.g. O₂).
  • This extra energy causes the oxygen molecules to rip apart into individual oxygen atoms. This happens particularly around 100km in altitude.
  • However, atomic oxygen isn’t able to get rid of this excess energy easily, so it acts as a “store” of energy for several hours.
  • Eventually, the atomic oxygen does manage to “recombine”, once again forming molecular oxygen. The molecular oxygen then releases energy, again in the form of light.