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- Researchers identify a new mushroom species from the Western Ghats - Page No.6 , GS 3
- Lost voice - Page No.8 , GS 2
- Towards stabilisation of U.S.-China ties - Page No.9, GS 2
- Putting the '70-hour work week' idea into perspective- Page No.9, GS 3
- COVID-19 vaccines did not increase the risk of sudden death among youth - Page No. 14, GS 2
- Electoral bonds - Page No.14, GS 2
- Chinese vessel begins research off the coast of Sri Lanka- Page No.16, GS 2
- Text and Context - The expansion of settlements into flood-prone areas
Researchers identify a new mushroom species from the Western Ghats - Page No.6 , GS 3
- A tiny, fragile-looking mushroom sporting a honey-yellow 'cap' found on the campus of the Jawaharlal Nehru Tropical Botanic Garden and Research Institute (JNTBGRI) at Palode in Thiruvananthapuram has been identified as a new species.
- Turning the spotlight once again on the remarkable Western Ghats biodiversity, the discovery also gives fresh impetus to the study of the region's fungal diversity.
- Researchers at the JNTBGRI identified and described the new species as belonging to the genus Candolleomyces.
- The new species has been named Candolleomyces albosquamosus - 'albosquamosus' for the white woolly scale-like structures on its pileus or cap. Delicate in build, the mushroom grows to a height of just about 58 mm.
Lost voice - Page No.8 , GS 2
- India has explained its decision to abstain at last week's vote at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) for a ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict as its way of protesting the omission of any "explicit condemnation" of the heinous October 7 terror attack by Hamas militants on Israel.
- India's principled stand on terrorism, which the Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN articulated, cannot be questioned.
- Every other country in the neighbourhood, in the extended BRICS grouping and much of the developing world, was part of the 120 countries that voted for the UNGA resolution on Friday.
Towards stabilisation of U.S.-China ties - Page No.9, GS 2
- In the latest issue of Foreign Affairs, U.S. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan wrote, "High level and repeated interaction is crucial to clear up misperception, avoid miscommunication, send unambiguous signals, and arrest downward spirals that could erupt into a major crisis."
- Recall that Mr. Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping met in Bali at the sidelines of the G-20 summit last year and discussed Taiwan, their competition, and strategic communications. But the relationship went into a tailspin following the so-called spy balloon incident earlier this year.
- The U.S. is currently speaking from a position of strength. Its economy is doing well while that of China is stumbling. In foreign policy, the Biden administration has been able to revive America's traditional alliance in Europe on account of the Ukraine war, and strengthen the hub-and-spoke alliances into a larger matrix covering the Indo-Pacific. This involves strengthened ties with India, upgraded ties with Australia, Vietnam and Japan, and revived ties with the Philippines.
- China believes that the U.S. remains a formal military power but is in inevitable decline.
- China has sought to establish its dominance in the western Pacific. But its neighbours such as Japan, Philippones, and Vietnam, which are backed by the U.S., contest is Taiwan occupies a difficult position in this situation.
- U.S.-China relations are crutial in dealing with issues such as climate change or crises such as the one in West, but the climate of truculence is hampering effecive.
Putting the '70-hour work week' idea into perspective- Page No.9, GS 3
- Infosys founder N.R. Narayana Murthy recently said that young Indians must work for 70 hours a week. The comment has been met with support from some and criticism from others.
- Assuming a six-day work week, Mr. Murthy's comment means that Indians would have to work 11.5 hours of work a day.
- According to the Time Use Survey conducted in India in 2019, a person aged 15-29 spends over 7.2 hours a day in employment and related activities in rural areas and 8.5 hours a day in urban areas.
- Assuming that if people work for five days, they would have to work for 14 hours a day, a point to ponder is whether working more hours translates to better productivity.
- The chart shows that the average annual working hours of Germans and the Japanese peaked after the war at about 2,200 hours to 2,400 hours a year — about 8.3 to 9 hours a day during a five-day workweek without holidays. This is still 2.5 hours less than what Mr. Murthy's envisions.
- More importantly, as labour productivity increased in Germany and Japan, two countries that were relatively more industrialised even before the Second World War, the average working hours reduced drastically to about 1,400-1,600 hours a year by 2020 (5.3 to 6 hours a day)
COVID-19 vaccines did not increase the risk of sudden death among youth - Page No. 14, GS 2
- COVID-19 vaccination did not increase the risk of sudden death among young adults, but health issues and lifestyle factors appear to play a more prominent role in these events, according to a study conducted by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).
- This has been revealed in a pre-review summary of a study, titled "Factors associated with sudden deaths among adults aged 18 to 45 in India". The study is a multi-centric matched case-control report.
- The study, which concluded this month, notes that factors that did increase the chances of sudden death included having a family history of sudden death, being in the hospital for COVID-19 in the past, and certain behaviours such as binge drinking and intense physical activi shortly before death.
- Indian Council of Medical Research Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) is the apex body in India for the formulation, coordination and promotion of biomedical research.
- Its mandate is to conduct, coordinate and implement medical research for the benefit of the Society; translating medical innovations into products/processes and introducing them into the public health system.
- It is funded by the Government of India through the Departmen of Health Research, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare.
Electoral bonds - Page No.14, GS 2
- The electoral bonds system was introduced in 2017 by way of a Finance bill and it was implemented in 2018.
- They serve as a means for individuals and entities to make donations to registered political parties while maintaining donor anonymity.
- State Bank of India (SBI) issues the bonds in denominations of Rs 1,000, Rs 10,000, Rs 1 lakh, Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 1 crore.
- Payable to the bearer on demand and interest-free.
- Purchased by Indian citizens or entities established in India.
- Can be bought individually or jointly with other individuals.
- Valid for 15 calendar days from the date of issue.
- Only the political parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 and have secured not less than 1% of the votes polled in the last general election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly, are eligible to receive electoral bonds.
- The central criticism of the electoral bonds scheme is that it does the exact opposite of what it was meant to do i.e. to bring transparency to election funding. For example, critics argue that the anonymity of electoral bonds is only for the broader public and opposition parties.
- Through an amendment to the Finance Act 2017, the Union government exempted political parties from disclosing donations received through electoral bonds. This means the voters will not know which individual, company, or orgagnization has funded which party, and to what extent.
Features:
Eligibility of Political Parties:
Chinese vessel begins research off the coast of Sri Lanka- Page No.16, GS 2
- Chinese research vessel Shiyan 6, which arrived in Colombo last week amid concerns raised by India and the U.S., is set to begin its two-day research off the Sri Lankan coast on Monday, Sri Lankan authorities said.
- Research ship Shiyan 6 was added to China's fleet of marine research vessels in December 2020. Said to be the country's first scientific research vessel focusing on geophysical exploration, it is scheduled to operate at sea for about 80 days, with 13 research teams onboard pursuing 28 scientific research projects across 12,000 nautical miles, the state-run China Global Television Network reported in September.
- Both, India and the U.S. raised concern over the vessel's visit, as the two countries had done in the past, around earlier visits of Chinese vessels.
- In September this year, INS Delhi, India's first indigenously built destroyer undertook a goodwill visit to Sri Lanka. Last week, ROKS Gwanggaeto the Great of the Korean Navy and more recently, Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) destroyer AKEBONO (DD 108) arrived at the Trincomalee harbour. located on Sri Lanka's north-eastern coast on an official visit
Text and Context - The expansion of settlements into flood-prone areas
- India's urban areas have been flooding more and more often, destroying lives and livelihoods. Yet, according to a study led by the World Bank and published in Nature on October 4, flood risk in many cities is rising because they are expanding into flood-prone areas.
- According to the paper, since 1985, human settlements in flood-prone areas have more than doubled.
- India isn't among the 20 countries whose settlements are most exposed to flood hazards, but it was the third highest contributor to global settlements, after China and the U.S., and also third - after China and Vietnam - among countries with new settlements expanding into flood-prone areas, all from 1985 to 2015.
- "Every city needs to do a proper scientific mapping of the flood prone areas,"