How COP29 outcomes compel countries like India to reassess their climate targets

• As global climate negotiations continue to face challenges, the US administration’s decision to disengage itself from the international climate change framework – evident in its withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and recently from the board of the recently-created Loss and Damage Fund which is meant to provide financial support to countries ravaged by climate change disasters – speaks volumes about the geopolitical and economic realities of climate negotiations.
• The COP29 outcomes have already disappointed developing economies, which severely undermined the objectives of the Paris Agreement by promising just $300 billion in climate finance, instead of the projected requirement of more than $1 trillion a year. 
• India has consistently stressed the need for adequate financial support from developed nations to help developing countries meet their climate commitments. However, the shortfall in funding commitments may compel India, along with other developing nations, to reassess their climate targets and future action plans. 
• It is reflected in the recent delay by India and other countries in meeting the February 10 deadline to submit their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) for the period up to 2035. 
• Earlier in December 2024, India also failed to submit its first Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) – the new format in which a country has to report its detailed inventory of emissions. This report is expected to be submitted around the middle of the year. 
• Additionally, a recent report by the Reserve Bank of India estimated that the country will need to spend at least 2.5% of its GDP annually until 2030 on climate finance to fulfil its green transition requirements. All these developments highlight the significance of understanding what climate finance means for India, its climate commitments, and its plan to achieve them. 

What climate finance means

• To fulfil their climate commitments, countries like India need to build green infrastructure, which requires substantial financial resources. Large-scale investments in climate finance are needed to build adaptation and mitigation capabilities and significantly reduce emissions. 
• The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) defines climate finance as “local, national or transnational financing — drawn from public, private and alternative sources of financing that seeks to support mitigation and adaptation actions that will address climate change.”

India’s climate commitments

• At COP26, held in 2021 in Glasgow, UK, India presented its short-term and long-term climate targets as the Panchamrit climate action plan (Five Nectar). These targets aimed at –
• — Achieving 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030
• — Meeting at least 50% of the energy requirements from renewable sources by 2030
• — Reducing CO2 emissions by 1 billion tons by 2030,
• — Reducing carbon intensity below 45% by 2030 (compared to 2005 levels)
• — Achieving Net-Zero emissions target by 2070
• Marking progress towards these goals, India’s total renewable energy installed capacity crossed the 200 GW milestone by October 2024, which now constitutes more than 46.3% of total capacity. 

This achievement aligns with India’s target of producing 500 GW of energy from non-fossil sources by 2030. Various sources contributing to this milestone are –  

• — Solar power (92.12 GW)
• — Wind power (47.72 GW) 
• — Large hydro projects (46.93 GW)
• — Small hydropower (5.07 GW)
• — Bioenergy (11.32 GW)
• — Nuclear capacity (8,180 MW)
• India plans to achieve 20 GW of nuclear power generation by 2030 and aims to raise it to 9% of its total electricity needs by the year 2047. The Union Budget 2025-26 has a proposal to amend the Atomic Energy Act to enable private players to build small nuclear reactors, accelerating the green transition.

Budgetary allocations and schemes for climate action 

• Keeping its commitment to renewable energy transition, the budget allocated Rs 26,549.38 crore to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy – an increase of 53.48% against the Revised Estimates of Rs 17,298.44 crore a year ago. The ministry has witnessed a 904% increase in fund allocations since FY21.
• The budget also provided 20,000 crore for the Nuclear Energy Mission this year. Funding for e-mobility initiatives has increased from Rs 4,435 crore in FY25 (Revised Estimates) to Rs 5,322 crore in FY26.
• India’s budget for its adaptation strategies increased from 3.7% to 5.6% of GDP between FY16 and FY22. Further, to mobilise financial resources for building green infrastructure, the central government is issuing sovereign green bonds (SGrBs) for varying maturities of 5, 10 and 30 years.
• According to the Economic Survey 2024-25, the government issued bonds worth Rs 16,000 crore in FY23, Rs 20,000 crores in FY24 and ₹11,697.40 crores to date in FY25. 

There are many schemes that complement these financial initiatives and give impetus to India’s green energy transition efforts, including   

• — PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana
• — Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM)
• — Initiatives for electric vehicles (EVs) and charging infrastructure
• — Solar power adoption programmes such as Solar Rooftop Phase II
• — Promotion of energy-efficient appliances
• — Increased allocations for the National Green Hydrogen Mission

Climate financing and India’s focus on adaptation strategies 

• However, financing remains a major hurdle. The outcomes of COP29 have been a huge disappointment for developing nations, including India, where developed countries promised just $300 billion in climate finance, starting from 2035, against the requirement of $1 trillion a year.
• The Economic Survey 2024-25 described it as a significant misalignment with the mandate of the Paris Agreement. 
• As per the Paris Agreement, countries are required to update their NDCs every five years. This year, countries were expected to submit their NDCs for the period up to 2035 by February 10, 2025.
• However, many countries, including India, failed to meet this deadline. The delay in submitting NDCs could be due to various factors.
• But in the case of India, its plan to host the COP33 climate conference in 2028 could be one of the reasons. Host countries usually announce new climate initiatives ahead of the conference to demonstrate their leadership and create momentum for a more meaningful outcome. India is likely to achieve its 2030 climate commitments ahead of schedule.
• Moreover, after assessing the current global realities, India is now trying to reorient its strategy towards prioritising adaptation over emissions reduction.
• While global climate action is more focused on mitigation efforts, India, as a developing country with limited resources, recognises the need to build adaptive capacities. Adaptation here means enhancing community resilience against adverse impacts of climate change.   

Need for Climate finance taxonomy

• Aligning with this shift, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her July 2024 budget speech, said, “We will develop a taxonomy for climate finance for enhancing the availability of capital for climate adaptation and mitigation.
• This will support achievement of the country’s climate commitments and green transition.”
• Climate finance taxonomies are standardised regulations and guidelines that define environmentally sustainable economic activities.
•  It helps companies and investors to make climate-friendly ‘green’ investments. However, it is still in process, and the final document is yet to be released.
• Till April 2024, there were 47 sustainable finance taxonomies, with the EU and China being frontrunners in developing sustainable finance taxonomies, later Singapore, Thailand, South Korea, Mexico, South Africa, and other countries have either developed or are developing their own taxonomies.
• Given the unprecedented scale and pace of climate change, India’s adaptation and mitigation efforts have significant implications for the financial stability of the Indian economy. However, by setting ambitious targets, New Delhi has made a decision on where it wants to spend its resources.

Five Eyes Alliance 

• The Five Eyes Alliance is one of the world’s most advanced intelligence-sharing partnerships. It brings together five nations to collaborate on security, surveillance, and counterintelligence efforts.
• Established during World War II, the alliance has since evolved to address modern threats, including cyber warfare and terrorism.

What is the Five Eyes Alliance?

• The Five Eyes Alliance is an intelligence-sharing agreement among five countries: the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.
•  This alliance facilitates seamless cooperation in gathering and analyzing intelligence to enhance national security. Formed during World War II, the alliance continues to play a crucial role in global surveillance and cybersecurity efforts.

Five Eyes Alliance Formed in Which Year?

• The origins of the Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance date back to 1941, when the UK and the US signed the Atlantic Charter, setting the stage for intelligence collaboration.
•  The formal agreement, known as the UKUSA Agreement, was established in 1946, bringing Canada, Australia, and New Zealand into the alliance soon after. Since then, the Five Eyes has evolved into one of the most advanced intelligence-sharing partnerships in the world.

 Five Eyes Countries Name and Role

• The Five Eyes countries include:
• United States – The National Security Agency (NSA) plays a key role in intelligence gathering.
• United Kingdom – The Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) specializes in cybersecurity and signals intelligence.
• Canada – The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) contributes to cyber intelligence and counterterrorism.
• Australia – The Australian Signals Directorate (ASD) focuses on regional security and cyber threats.
• New Zealand – The Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) provides intelligence related to the Pacific region.
• Each country has a unique role, but they work together to monitor threats, share intelligence, and ensure global security.

Five Eyes Headquarters and Operations

• The Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance does not have a single headquarters. Instead, each member country operates its own intelligence agencies, collaborating through secure communication channels.
• Intelligence is gathered from various sources, including electronic surveillance, cyber monitoring, and human intelligence. These findings are shared among the Five Eyes nations to combat terrorism, cyber threats, and espionage.

Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance Working

• The alliance functions through seamless cooperation among its intelligence agencies. Member nations collect intelligence using signals interception, cybersecurity measures, and satellite monitoring.
• Shared intelligence helps prevent security threats, from counterterrorism operations to cyber defense strategies. The Five Eyes also works closely with extended alliances like the Nine Eyes and Fourteen Eyes, which include additional partner nations with limited intelligence access.

Five Eyes Alliance Importance

• The Five Eyes Intelligence Alliance plays a vital role in global security. It enables rapid information exchange on national threats, cyberattacks, and terrorism. The alliance also strengthens military collaboration and diplomatic ties among its member nations. Given the rise of cyber warfare and geopolitical tensions, the Five Eyes remains essential for countering global security challenges.

One million malnourished children in Nigeria and Ethiopia risk losing aid, UNICEF says

• The United Nations children’s agency said on Friday it will run out of its supply of lifesaving food to treat children suffering from acute forms of malnutrition in Ethiopia and Nigeria within the next two months due to lack of funding exacerbated by Trump administration cuts to foreign aid.
• Some 1.3 million children under five suffering from severe acute malnutrition risk losing access to lifesaving support this year in Ethiopia and Nigeria, UNICEF says.
• “Without new funding, we will run out of our supply chain of Ready-to-Use-Therapeutic-Food by May, and that means that 70,000 children in Ethiopia that depend on this type of treatment cannot be served,”, UNICEF’s deputy executive director, told reporters in Geneva .
• In Nigeria, UNICEF said it may run out of supplies to feed 80,000 malnourished children as soon as the end of this month. Van der Heijden described recently being in a hospital in Maiduguri with a child who was so malnourished that her skin was falling off.
• International donors have in recent years reduced contributions to UN agencies, including UNICEF. Its funding woes were accelerated when the United States, its top donor, imposed a 90-day pause on all U.S. foreign aid on the first day of President Donald Trump’s return to the White House in January.
• That action, and ensuing orders halting many programmes of the U.S. Agency for International Development worldwide, have jeopardised the delivery of lifesaving food and medical aid, throwing into chaos global humanitarian relief efforts.
• “This funding crisis will become a child survival crisis,” adding that the sudden nature of the cuts did not give the agency the ability to mitigate the risks.
• Funding cuts have also hit health programmes offering nutrition and malaria care for pregnant women and children in Ethiopia. Twenty-three mobile health clinics were taken out of operation in the region of Afar, with only seven left operating due to funding cuts, according to UNICEF.

Centre reviewing nuclear laws to boost energy capacity: Jitendra Singh

• The central government has constituted dedicated task forces to examine amendments required in the Atomic Energy Act and the Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage (CLND) Act as part of efforts to accelerate India’s nuclear energy capacity, Dr. Jitendra Singh, Union Minister for Science and Technology, informed Parliament on Thursday.
• In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Singh said that the task force under the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) includes representatives from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), NITI Aayog, Ministry of Law and Justice (MoLJ), and Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• This group is reviewing key aspects such as the build-own-operate model of nuclear power plants (NPPs) by the private sector, nuclear safety, security, safeguards, fuel procurement, waste management, and spent fuel reprocessing.
• A separate task force is also evaluating necessary changes to the CLND Act to address concerns raised by private suppliers, Singh said.
• As part of the Union Budget 2025, the government announced an ambitious Nuclear Energy Mission targeting the deployment of 100 GWe of nuclear energy capacity by 2047. This initiative is critical for achieving India’s Net Zero emissions target by 2070.
• The mission is aimed at providing a reliable, clean alternative to fossil fuels by replacing retiring thermal power plants, supporting energy-intensive industries with captive nuclear plants, and delivering power to remote and off-grid areas to aid in the decarbonization of the energy sector.
• To support these objectives, DAE is actively engaged in the design and development of various Small Modular Reactors (SMRs), including the 200 MWe Bharat Small Modular Reactor (BSMR), a 55 MWe SMR, and a gas-cooled high-temperature reactor specifically designed for hydrogen production.
• The Union Budget 2025 has allocated ₹20,000 crore for the deployment of five SMRs by 2033. This allocation will also fund continued research and development efforts for these reactors.
• Additionally, as part of the current financial year’s policy directive, a move has been made to involve the private sector in nuclear energy projects.
•  NPCIL has issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) inviting private industries to finance and construct small-sized 220 MW Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR)-based NPPs as captive plants dedicated to electricity production.
• Singh announced on Wednesday that North India’s first nuclear power project will be established in Gorakhpur, Haryana. He described the upcoming facility as a major milestone in India’s nuclear energy expansion and a crucial step in advancing the country’s clean energy ambitions.

 Government steps to promote clean energy alternatives to Kerosene

• Government makes allocation of Public Distribution System (PDS) Kerosene for cooking and lighting purpose.
•  Besides this, Government in 2012, has also empowered States/ UTs to draw an allocation of one month’s quota of PDS Kerosene at Non-Subsidized rates during each financial year for special needs such as natural calamities, religious functions, fisheries, various yatras etc.
•  The allocation of SKO under PDS has been rationalized considering the polluting nature of Kerosene. Further, Government provided cash incentives to States under Direct benefit Transfer for Kerosene scheme (DBTK) for voluntary surrender of PDS Kerosene allocations from 2015-16 to 2019-20. Since then, 13 states have become Kerosene free till FY 2023-24.
• Government is leading as well as working with various international initiatives to lead a clean energy transition. India was one of the founding members of the International Solar Alliance in November 2015 and the Global Biofuel Alliance during its G20 presidency in September 2023.
• During India Energy Week 2025, India hosted a Ministerial Roundtable on Clean Cooking to discuss ways to address challenges faced by the Global South and share lessons from India’s Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY).
• Government has adopted a multi-pronged strategy to promote clean energy which, inter alia, include demand substitution by promoting usage of natural gas as fuel/feedstock across the country towards increasing the share of natural gas in economy and moving towards gas based economy, promotion of renewable and alternate fuels like ethanol, second generation ethanol, compressed bio gas and biodiesel, refinery process improvements, promoting energy efficiency and conservation, efforts for increasing production of oil and natural gas through various policies initiatives, etc.
• For promoting the use of Compressed Bio Gas (CBG) as automotive fuel, Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) initiative has also been launched.
• As a cleaner alternative to Kerosene for lighting purposes, India has achieved near universal saturation in electricity access through Saubhagya (Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana) and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).
• With a view to provide access to clean cooking fuel to poor households across the country, Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY) was launched in May, 2016.
•  To make LPG more affordable to PMUY consumers and ensure sustained usage of LPG by them, Government started a targeted subsidy of Rs.200/- per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 Kg connections) to the PMUY consumers in May 2022.
•  In October 2023, Government increased the targeted subsidy to Rs.300 per 14.2 kg cylinder for up to 12 refills per annum (and proportionately pro-rated for 5 Kg connections).
• After a targeted subsidy of Rs. 300/cylinder to PMUY consumers, Government of India is providing 14.2 Kg LPG cylinders at an effective price of Rs.503 per cylinder (in Delhi). This is available to more than 10.33 crore Ujjwala beneficiaries, across the country.
• In order to improve awareness of the benefits of LPG across the country, various steps have been taken inter alia, including organizing campaigns for improving awareness about PMUY, organizing melas/camps to enroll and distribute connections, promotion through Out of Home(OOH) hoardings, radio jingles, Information, Education and Communication (IEC) Vans etc., spreading awareness about advantages of using LPG over other conventional fuels and safe usage of LPG through LPG Panchayats, enrolment/awareness camps under Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, facilitation of consumers and their families for Aadhar enrolment and opening of bank accounts for getting PMUY connections, simplification of process of getting LPG connection, online application for PMUY connection at www.pmuy.gov.in, nearest LPG distributors, Common Service Centres (CSC) etc., option of 5 Kg Double Bottle Connection(DBC), swap option from 14.2 Kg to 5 Kg, provision for Migrant Families to avail new connection on Self-Declaration instead of Proof of Address and Ration Card. Further, OMCs are continuously commissioning new LPG Distributorships, especially in rural areas.
•  Since the launch of PMUY scheme, OMCs have commissioned 7959 Distributorships (commissioned during 01.04.2016 to 31.12.2024) across the country, out of which 7373 (i.e. 93 %) are catering to rural areas.
•  As a result of Government’s interventions, LPG access in India has improved from 62 % in April 2016 to near saturation now.
•  Kerosene has traditionally been used to meet the lighting and cooking needs, especially in rural areas. The government has decided to phase out use of kerosene for cooking and lighting in view of the increasing coverage of electricity for lighting needs and LPG as a clean cooking fuel. 
• The government of India has taken significant steps to promote clean energy alternatives to kerosene, focusing on reducing dependency on kerosene for cooking and lighting purposes. 
• These efforts align with the broader goals of environmental sustainability, energy security, and improved public health. 

1) Phasing Out Kerosene

•  The allocation of Public Distribution System (PDS) Kerosene has been rationalized due to its polluting nature. Since 1 March 2020, the retail selling price of PDS kerosene has been maintained at NIL under-recovery on a pan-India basis.
•  From 2015-16 to 2019-20, the government provided cash incentives to states for voluntarily surrendering PDS kerosene allocations. As a result, 13 states have become kerosene-free as of FY 2023-24.
• States/UTs are allowed to draw one month’s quota of PDS kerosene at non-subsidised rates for special needs like natural calamities, religious functions, fisheries, and yatras.

2) Promoting Clean Cooking Fuel

•  Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana (PMUY): Launched in May 2016, PMUY aims to provide LPG connections to poor households. Key features include:
•  Targeted Subsidy: A subsidy of Rs 300 per 14.2 kg cylinder (and proportionately for 5 kg cylinders) for up to 12 refills per year is provided to PMUY beneficiaries. This brings the effective price of a 14.2 kg cylinder to  Rs 503 in Delhi.
•  Expanded Access: Over 10.33 crore Ujjwala beneficiaries have been covered, increasing LPG access from 62% in April 2016 to near saturation levels.
• Awareness Campaigns: Initiatives like LPG Panchayats, Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, and IEC campaigns have been conducted to promote the benefits of LPG and ensure safe usage.
• Simplified Processes: Online applications for PMUY connections, 5 kg Double Bottle Connections (DBC), and options for migrant families to avail connections with self-declaration instead of proof of address have been introduced.
• Rural Expansion: 7,959 new LPG distributorships have been commissioned since April 2016, with 93 per cent catering to rural areas.

3) Clean Energy Alternatives for Lighting

• Saubhagya Scheme: The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana has achieved near-universal electricity access, providing a cleaner alternative to kerosene for lighting.
• Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY): This scheme has strengthened rural electrification, further reducing reliance on kerosene.

4) Multi-Pronged Clean Energy Strategy

• Natural Gas Promotion: The government is promoting the use of natural gas as a cleaner fuel/feedstock to increase its share in the economy.
• Renewable and Alternative Fuels: Initiatives like ethanol blending, second-generation ethanol, compressed biogas (CBG), and biodiesel are being promoted.
• Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT): Launched to promote CBG as an automotive fuel.
• Energy Efficiency and Conservation: Efforts are being made to improve energy efficiency across sectors.

5) International Collaborations

• International Solar Alliance (ISA): India, as a founding member, is leading global efforts in solar energy adoption.
•  Global Biofuel Alliance: Launched during India’s G20 presidency in September 2023, this alliance promotes biofuels as a sustainable energy source.

6) Key Achievements

• Reduction in Kerosene Dependency: The rationalisation of PDS kerosene and the success of PMUY have significantly reduced kerosene usage.
• Universal Electricity Access: Schemes like Saubhagya and DDUGJY have ensured near-universal access to electricity, eliminating the need for kerosene for lighting.
• Increased LPG Penetration: LPG access has risen from 62 per cent in April 2016 to near saturation levels, with over 10.33 crore PMUY beneficiaries.

Security Council Extends Mandate of United Nations Mission in Afghanistan, Unanimously Adopting Resolution

•  The Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) until 17 March 2026, also welcoming its ongoing efforts in the implementation of its mandated tasks and priorities.
• The Council stressed the importance of the Mission’s continued presence and called on all relevant stakeholders to coordinate with it to ensure the safety, security and freedom of movement of UN and associated personnel throughout the country.  The 15-member organ also requested that the Secretary-General report every three months on the situation in Afghanistan and the implementation of UNAMA’s mandate.
• The council also expressed appreciation for the UN’s long-term commitment to the country and its people, reiterating its full support for UNAMA and the Special Representative of the Secretary-General who leads the mission.
• Meanwhile, the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Afghanistan warned that funding shortages could force the closure of 80 per cent of the agency’s health services there, leaving millions without access to critical medical care.
•  As of March 4, as many as 167 health facilities in 25 provinces had to shut down due to lack of money. A further 220 facilities could close by June, affecting the most vulnerable populations — women, children, the elderly and the displaced and returnees.
• Even before the funding cuts, Afghanistan had been battling multiple health emergencies, including outbreaks of measles, malaria, dengue, polio and Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever.

What is UNAMA?

• The United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) is a UN Special Political Mission tasked with assisting the people of Afghanistan.
• UNAMA was established on March 28, 2002 by United Nations Security Council resolution.
• Reviewed annually, this mandate has been altered over time to reflect the needs of the country.
• UNAMA is a political mission which facilitates dialogue between political leaders in Afghanistan, regional stakeholders and the international community, to promote inclusive governance and conflict prevention.
• The deputy chief of the mission is also in charge of coordinating the UN’s extensive aid operation in cooperation with the de facto Taliban authorities since they returned to power in 2021.
• It is also mandated by the Security Council to monitor and report on the human rights situation, with a focus on women’s rights, minorities and vulnerable groups.
• UNAMA also supports regional cooperation, encouraging engagement between Afghanistan and neighbouring countries on issues related to security, stability and economic development.
• The United Nations has been involved in the region since 1946 when Afghanistan joined the General Assembly. Agencies such as UNICEF have been operating in Afghanistan since 1949.
• UNAMA''s headquarters is in Kabul and it maintains a field presence across Afghanistan, as well as liaison offices in Pakistan and Iran.

How ‘microlightning’ in water droplets may have sparked life on Earth

• How life began on Earth has been a long-standing mystery, but according to a study the process could have been kicked off simply with crashing waterfalls and breaking waves that would have thrown up mists of water.
• The findings add another angle to the much-disputed Miller-Urey hypothesis, which argues that life on the planet emerged from a lightning strike.
•  They were described in the study, ‘Spraying of water microdroplets forms luminescence and causes chemical reactions in surrounding gas’, which was published in the journal Science Advances last week.

What is the Miller-Urey hypothesis?

• The Earth formed around 4.6 billion years ago. For a few billion years afterwards, it had a rich mixture of chemicals but almost no organic molecules with carbon-nitrogen bonds. These bonds are crucial for proteins, enzymes, nucleic acids, chlorophyll, and other compounds that makeup living beings today.
• In 1952, American chemist Stanley Miller and physicist Harold Urey performed an experiment in which they successfully demonstrated that the organic compounds (such as amino acids) needed for life could form with the application of electricity to a mixture of water and inorganic gases.
• Put simply, the two scientists showed that a lightning bolt struck the ocean, triggering chemical interaction with gases such as methane, ammonia, and hydrogen that created organic molecules.
• The experiment was considered a landmark at the time as it gave one of the possible explanations for how life could have found its first foothold on Earth.
• However, in the following years, many scientists raised doubts about the experiment, saying “real lightning would have struck infrequently — and mostly in open ocean, where organic compounds would have quickly dispersed,” according to a report by Scientific American.

And what did the new study find?

• According to the new study, water spray is sufficient to generate organic compounds without the requirement of external electricity. Stanford University chemist Richard Zare, who led the analysis, told “Unlike lightning… water sprays are everywhere”.
• Zare and his team showed that when water droplets divide, they develop opposing charges. While larger droplets have positive charges, smaller ones carry negative ones.
• When these oppositely charged droplets move close together, tiny sparks leap between them. This process, called “microlightning” by the researchers, imitates how lightning forms in clouds. As a result, when Zare and his team sprayed water into a mixture of nitrogen, methane, carbon dioxide and ammonia, it led to the formation of organic compounds, including hydrogen cyanide, glycine, and uracil.
• According to the researchers, the findings showed that it was not necessarily that lightning strikes may have kick-started life on Earth. Tiny sparks due to crashing waves or waterfalls may have done the job.
• “On early Earth, there were water sprays all over the place – into crevices or against rocks, and they can accumulate and create this chemical reaction… I think this overcomes many of the problems people have with the Miller-Urey hypothesis,”.

Voyage of the iguanas: How they travelled from Americas to Fiji

• For decades, the native iguanas of Fiji and Tonga have presented an evolutionary mystery. Every other living iguana species dwells in the Americas, from southwestern US to the Caribbean and parts of South America.

So how could a handful of reptilian transplants have ended up on two islands in the South Pacific?

• In research published ,Simon G Scarpetta, an evolutionary biologist at the University of San Francisco, and his colleagues make the case that the ancestors of Fiji’s iguanas crossed on mats of floating vegetation.
• Such a voyage across nearly 8,000 km of open ocean would be the longest known by a non-human vertebrate.

An incredible challenge

• Rafting — the term scientists use for hitching a ride across oceans on uprooted trees or tangles of plants — has long been recognised as a way for small creatures to reach islands.
•  But this is generally seen among invertebrates, whose small size means they can survive a long way in an uprooted tree trunk. Among vertebrates, lizards and snakes seem to be able to raft farther than mammals, perhaps because their slower metabolism allows them to fast for a long time.
• Iguana species have proved adept at making shorter crossings. In 1995, scientists observed at least 15 green iguanas rafting more than 300 km on hurricane debris from one Caribbean island to another. And researchers have long agreed that the ancestors of the iguanas of the Galápagos Islands made the nearly 1,000 km trip from South America on bobbing vegetation.
•  A crossing to the South Pacific islands, however, represents an almost unimaginable challenge. This has led many scientists to argue that the iguanas were the remnant of an extinct group, one that had possibly crossed over land from the Americas to Asia or Australia, and then made the relatively easier crossing to Fiji and Tonga.

Timing is everything

• Scarpetta’s team tackled the question by trying to work out when Fijian iguana species — which belong to a distinct genus, Brachylophus — split off from their closest relatives.
• After sampling the genetics from 14 living iguana species, the researchers found that the Fijian species’ closest living relatives were the genus Dipsosaurus, a group of desert iguanas found in the American Southwest and northwestern Mexico. The team’s analysis suggested that the two genuses split around 30 million and 34 million years ago.
• That timing is important. This was roughly the time when the Fijian archipelago was born. More importantly, the cold and ice around the poles at that time would have made it impossible for any lineage of temperature-sensitive iguanas to make it to Asia or Australia from the Americas, and then hop to the Pacific islands.
• This means that overwater rafting is the “best supported” mechanism for explaining how the American reptile landed in Fiji.
• This argument is further bolstered by the fact that a three- to four-month crossing would have been roughly the length of creatures’ winter hibernation, meaning the lizards could have made the voyage without starving.
• Also, travelling on vegetation would have provided the herbivores with a steady source of food.
• Evolutionary genetecist Hamish G Spencer the study adds to a growing body of research suggesting that “long-distance dispersal is far more important in the evolutionary history of many animal groups than had previously been appreciated.

Serbia’s govt accused of using a sonic weapon against protestors: What is this device?

• Serbia’s President Aleksandar Vucic has denied that his police forces used a banned ‘sonic weapon’ to disperse protesters in Belgrade.
• A Serbia is currently witnessing mass protests against Vucic and his government over several issues, including allegations of widespread corruption and nepotism.
• According to some military experts, the authorities used a sonic weapon to produce a piercing noise to curb the protests. Under the country’s police law, the use of such a weapon is illegal.

What is a sonic weapon?

• Acoustic or sonic weapons are devices that deliver very loud sounds over long distances. They can be designed to emit painful audible or inaudible sound waves. These devices can also be used to act like voice amplifiers to deliver voice messages or other sounds.
• Although sound amplifiers have been around for centuries, the use of this technology for crowd-control purposes goes back to the early 1990s. In 2004, the United States military for the first time used specialty devices that were able to project loud sounds over very long ranges in Iraq.

How do sonic weapons work?

• Such weapons usually comprise hundreds of modern transducers — an electronic device that converts energy from one form to another — to create highly concentrated and amplified sound. “This fairly narrow beam can focus on specific targeted areas.
• The sound is designed to be controlled by police officers who can alter the frequency, level, quality, and duration of the alarm,” according to a report by Physicians for Human Rights (PHR), a US-based non-profit organisation.

What are the different types of sonic weapons?

There are three main types of sonic weapons:

• 1. Long-range acoustic device (LRAD): The device is manufactured by US-based Genasys Inc, which was earlier known as the LRAD Corporation. It has a range of 8,900 metres for intelligible speech, and produces a highly directional “beam” of extremely loud sound which can go to up to 160 decibels (dB).
• For comparison, standing directly behind a jet engine as it takes off is between 130-140 dB, and a nearby gunshot produces around 150 dB. “Anything over 140 dB will cause pain for most people, but even sounds over 120 dB can cause permanent hearing damage from even short periods of exposure,” according to a report by The Conversation.
• 2. Mosquito: This device produces very high-pitched sounds that are audible and painful to only younger people — usually teenagers and those in their twenties. It does not affect older people (30 and above).
• 3. Infrasonic weapon: This is a newer technology and could deliver very low-frequency sounds that would be inaudible but could cause pain and disorientation. Experts are still investigating its capabilities.
• Infrasonic devices are likely to be the hardest to weaponise. “There are (sonic) devices that are used as weapons, but none that I know of use infrasound,” .

What are the health effects of sonic weapons?

• These weapons can cause significant harm to the eardrums and delicate organs of the ears and/or hearing loss. Although using earplugs can reduce the sound by 20–30 dB, this may not be enough to avoid significant injury. The impact depends on a person’s distance from the sound, duration of exposure, and preexisting bodily conditions.
• Loud noises, for example, emitted by LRAD can cause a sensation of ringing ears, also called tinnitus, which can last for minutes after the exposure or for days. “Other sound injury symptoms include headaches, nausea, sweating, vertigo, and loss of balance. Signs of more serious injury include vomiting and mucus or blood from the ears,” according to a report in Pitchfork.
• Human rights organisations such as PHR note that there is not enough literature on the effects of sonic weapons. PHR also highlights that these weapons are “indiscriminate, causing harm or pain to protesters, bystanders and law enforcement, despite the narrow beam in which sound is concentrated.

PRITHVI Vigyan (PRITHVI) programme

• The various components of ongoing research projects, such as ACROSS, O-SMART, PACER, SAGE, and REACHOUT, under the PRITHVI scheme are inter-dependent. The overarching scheme of PRITHVI holistically addresses all the components to improve the understating of the Earth System Sciences and to provide reliable services for the country.
• These integrated R&D efforts will help in addressing the grand challenges of weather, ocean, climate, seismological and geological hazards and explore the living and non-living resources for their sustainable harnessing.
• Ministry of Earth Sciences supports international collaborative projects of mutual interest under PRITHVI scheme.
• For the evaluation of collaborative proposals from global scientific institutions, a joint expert committee is set up, which evaluates and recommends the proposal.
• Deep Ocean Mission was launched in 2021 with a total budget outlay of Rs 4,077 crores to be implemented by the Ministry of Earth Sciences.
•  It is a multi-disciplinary programme with activities encompassing six verticals, namely a) Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining and Manned Submersible, Underwater Vehicles and Underwater Robotics for exploring and harnessing ocean resources, b) Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services, c) Technological innovation for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity, d) Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration, e) Energy and Freshwater from the Ocean, and f) Advance Marine Station for Ocean Biology.
• Survey has been conducted at potential sites of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphide mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges using autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) in March 2024 at ten locations, of which two locations of active and two locations of inactive vents showing sulphide mineralisation have been identified.
• In order to enhance India’s capacity to address climate change impacts through improved understanding of the atmosphere-ocean-pole interactions, a number of activities have been carried out, including augmentation of the existing observational networks on land, poles and in oceans, augmenting the High-Performance Computing (HPC) facility, improving understanding of weather and climate processes and enhancing prediction capabilities by developing improved earth system models, Training and Research at MoES Institutes, as well as Collaborative Research.
•  Further, the Ministry has recently launched Mission Mausam with the goal of making Bharat a "Weather-ready and Climate-smart" nation to mitigate the impact of climate change and extreme weather events and strengthen the resilience of communities.