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1. Seven dead as glacial lake bursts in Sikkim - Page No.1, GS 3
2. Ujwala Scheme - Page No. 1, GS 2
3. Trio wins Chemistry Nobel for 'quantum dots' - Page No.1, GS 3
4. Let there be light - Page No.8, GS 3
5. Retribution for the south, accolade for the north - Page No.8, GS 2
6. Keeping tabs on carbon with an accounting system - Page No.8 , GS 3
7. Women's quota, panchayats to Parliament - Page No.9 , GS 2
8. UAPA case against portal for plot to disrupt sovereignty of India: police- Page No. 12 , GS 2
9. New defence indigenisation list has futuristic weapons, systems -Page No. 14 , GS 3
10. Turmeric Board - Page No. 14, GS 3

Seven dead as glacial lake bursts in Sikkim - Page No.1, GS 3

• At least seven people were killed and scores more were injured or are missing after flash floods inundated Sikkim on Wednesday.
• The floods are believed to have been triggered after a lake, forming from the gradual melting of a Himalayan glacier, suddenly overflowed and inundated the Teesta river basin.
• This destroyed the Chungthang dam, a key component of the State's largest hydroelectric project, and washed away highways, villages, and towns.
• The South Lhonak lake in northern Sikkim is situated about 5,200 metres above sea level. Scientists have previously warned that the lake had been expanding over years, possibly from the melting of the ice at its head. Nearly half the lake was drained out, according to a press statement by the National Disaster Management Agency (NDMA). This was likely caused by an "avalanche from the ice-capped feature"
• "It is observed that the lake is burst and about 105 hectares (about one square km) area (of the lake) has been drained out which might have created a flash flood downstream," the ISRO said in a statement, releasing satellite images of September 28 and October 4 for comparison.

Ujwala Scheme - Page No. 1, GS 2

• The Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MOPNG), introduced the 'Pradhan Mantri Ujiwala Yojana' (PMUY) as a flagship scheme with the objective of making clean cooking fuel such as LPG available to the rural and deprived households which were otherwise using traditional cooking fuels such as firewood, coal, cow-dung cakes etc.
• Usage of traditional cooking fuels had detrimental impacts on the health of rural women as well as on the environment.

Benefits of PMUY:

• The eligible beneficiaries receive a free LPG connection.
• The beneficiaries also receive a subsidy on the first six refills of 14.2 kg cylinders or eight refills of 5 kg cylinders.
• The beneficiaries can also join the PAHAL scheme to receive the subsidy amount directly in their bank accounts.
• A 14.2-kg cylinder under the Ujjwala scheme, which provides free
• cooking gas connections to poor women, will now cost 7603 as against the current $703.
• The decision is expected to benefit 9.6 crore families.

Trio wins Chemistry Nobel for 'quantum dots' - Page No.1, GS 3

• The 2023 Nobel Prize in Chemistry has been awarded to Alexei Ekimov, Louis Brus, and Moungi Bawendi for their work on quantum dots - very small crystals with peculiar properties that have found application in a variety of fields, from new-age LED screens to quantum computers.
• "Quantum dots are ... bringing the greatest benefit to humankind, and we have just begun to explore their potential," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said in a statement on Wednesday. "Researchers believe that in future, quantum dots can contribute to flexible electronics, miniscule sensors, slimmer solar cells, and perhaps encrypted quantum communication."
• Quantum dots are like jails for electrons. Imagine a tiny "box" in which you can trap electrons. Once you do this you can harness the quantum effects that electrons exhibit.
• Example: Electrons can absorb energy and emit light of a certain colour, depending on the size of the quantum dot.
• Quantum dots are particles that are nanosized in all three dimensions. They behave like artificial atoms, as they can have a fixed number of electrons in a confined space, leading to unique properties that are size-dependent. One of the key areas of interest is their interaction with light, which has led to the development of the field of nanophotonics.

Let there be light - Page No.8, GS 3

• According to the laws of quantum mechanics, the observable properties of electrons in matter - like a fruit or a rock - change in a few hundred attoseconds. One attosecond is 10-18 seconds.
• To study these extremely rapid changes, special tools are needed, and Anne L'Huillier, Pierre Agostini, and Ferenc Krausz have received the 2023 physics Nobel Prize for building these tools.
• The medicine Nobel Prize this year celebrated the invention of mRNA vaccines and their effect on the COVID-19 pandemic. The utility for people here was straightforward. whereas that for attosecond physics is not.

Retribution for the south, accolade for the north - Page No.8, GS 2

• In Indian federal democracy, a State's relative population size gains political and economic significance.
• In sharp contrast to the northern States, population control has been achieved in the southern States through social development and economic growth.
• Article 81 of the Indian Constitution stipulates that Lok Sabha constituencies in the country should be equal by the size of population.
• Based on the 1971 Census, the number of Lok Sabha constituencies for States was determined and frozen for the next 25 years through the 42nd Amendment Act 1976.
• In 2001, through the 84th Amendment Act, the freeze on the number of constituencies for each State was further prolonged until the first Census after 2026.
• If equal size of Lok Sabha constituencies by population is enforced today as in the population projections of 2023, the five southern States will lose 23 seats, while the northern States will gain 37.
• Every Finance Commission recommends a formula for the horizontal distribution of the Union government's tax revenue among the States. Population and per capita income of a State are considered to be two important indicators that are always included in the distribution formula with larger weights.
• Using the current population for delimitation of Lok Sabha constituencies by equalising population and in the distribution formula for assignment of Union government tax revenue to States is clear retribution for the population control efforts of the southern States and a transparent accolade for the higher growth rate of population in the northern States.