GS PAPER: III

Aditya-L1 into L1 orbit

Why in the news?

• With the Aditya L1 spacecraft expected to reach the Lagrangian point (L1)  the Indian Space Research Organisation will attempt a crucial manoeuvre to bind the spacecraft to an orbit around L1.

Advantage of being placed in L1 orbit

• The propulsion system of the spacecraft comprises the 440 Newton Liquid Apogee Motor (LAM) engine plus eight 22 Newton thrusters and four 10 Newton thrusters which will be intermittently fired to perform the manoeuvre.
• According to ISRO a satellite placed in the halo orbit around the L1 point has the major advantage of continuously viewing the Sun without any occultation/eclipse. This will provide a greater advantage of observing the solar activities continuously.
• Using the special vantage point of L1, four payloads will directly view the Sun and the remaining three payloads will carry out in-situ studies of particles and fields at the L1.

About Aditya-L1

• Aditya-L1, the first Indian space based observatory to study the Sun was launched on September 2, 2023 from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota.

Study conducted by Aditya L1

The spacecraft carries seven payloads to observe:

• The photosphere (deepest layer of the sun we can directly observe),
• Chromosphere (the layer about 400 km and 2,100 km above the photosphere), and
• Outermost layers of the Sun (the corona), using electromagnetic and particle and magnetic field detectors.

Remote sensing payloads which will study the sun

• Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC) for corona/imaging and spectroscopy and CME;
• Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT) for photosphere and chromosphere imaging;
• Solar Low Energy X-ray Spectrometer (SoLEXS), which is a soft X-ray spectrometer for Sun-as-a-star observation; and
• High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS), which is a Hard X-ray spectrometer for Sun-as-a-star observation

The payloads to study the L1 in situ

• Aditya Solar wind Particle Experiment (ASPEX), for solar wind/particle analyzer protons and heavier ions with directions;
• Plasma Analyser Package For Aditya (PAPA), for solar wind/particle analyzer electrons and heavier ions with directions; and
• Advanced Tri-axial High Resolution Digital Magnetometers for in situ magnetic field study.

About Lagrangian point (L1)

• A Lagrange pointis a position in space where the gravitational pull of two large masses precisely equals the centripetal force required for a small object to move with them.
• i.e., at that point, the gravitational attraction and repulsion between two heavenly bodies is such that an object placed between them will effectively stay in the same relative position while moving with them.
• These points in space can be used by spacecraft to reduce fuel consumption needed to remain in position.
• The Lagrange points are named in honour of Italian-French mathematician Josephy-Louis Lagrange, and there are five of them: L1, L2, L3, L4, and L5.

GS PAPER – III

Assisted Reproductive Technology

Why in the news?

• Recently the Union Health Ministry has sought data from all States and Union Territories on the total number of single women (divorcees/widows) and unmarried women who have successfully used Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in order to assess the functioning of the ART Act, 2021.

About Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART)

• ART procedures involve surgically removing eggs from a woman’s ovaries, combining them with sperm in the laboratory, and returning them to the woman’s body or donating them to another woman.
• Assisted Reproductive Technology fertility treatments handle both a woman’s egg and a man’s sperm.
• By definition, ART does not include treatments in which only sperm are handled or procedures in which a woman takes medicine only to stimulate egg production without the intention of having eggs retrieved.

Assisted Reproductive Technology (ART) in India

• ART refers to a range of techniques used to achieve pregnancy by handling sperm or egg cells outside the human body and transferring embryos into the woman’s reproductive tract.
• It is regulated by Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act 2021 in India.
• ART in India is regulated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

ART Regulation Act 2021

Regulation of ART Clinics and Banks:

• Registration Requirement: ART clinics and banks must be registered under the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India, maintaining a central database of these institutions.
• Validity and Renewal: Registration is valid for five years and can be renewed for an additional five years.
• Compliance and Penalties: Violation of the Act’s provisions may result in cancellation or suspension of the institution’s registration.

Conditions for Sperm Donation and ART Services

• Eligibility Criteria: Registered ART banks can screen, collect, and store semen from men aged between 21 and 55 years, as well as store eggs from women aged between 23 and 35 years.
• Female Donor Requirements: Female donors must be married with at least one child of their own, aged at least three years.
• Parental Rights: A child born through ART procedures is legally considered the couple’s biological child, and the donor does not retain any parental rights over the child.

Consent and Insurance Coverage

• Informed Consent: ART procedures require written informed consent from both the couple seeking the procedure and the donor.
• Insurance Coverage: The couple must provide insurance coverage for the female donor, protecting against loss, damage, or death.

Regulation of ART Processes

• National and State Boards: The Surrogacy Act 2021 establishes National and State Boards responsible for regulating ART services.
• Advisory Role: These boards advise the government on policy matters, review and monitor law implementation, and formulate a code of conduct for ART clinics and banks.

Offences and Penalties

• Offences defined: Child abandonment or exploitation, sale or trade of embryos, exploitation of couples or donors, and transfer of embryos into males or animals.
• Penalties: Offenders may face imprisonment ranging from 8 to 12 years and fines up to Rs 10 to 20 lakhs.
• Sex-Selective ART Prohibition: Clinics and banks are prohibited from advertising or offering sex-selective ART, with penalties of imprisonment ranging from 5 to 10 years and fines up to Rs 10 to 25 lakhs.

GS PAPER – II

Qatar: Indian ex-naval officers get ‘varying’ jail terms

Why in news?

• On 26 0ctober, eight former Indian Navy personnel were given death sentence by Qatar court.
• On 28 October Qatar court reduces the death sentence for 8 ex Indian Navy personnel to 3 – 25 years in jail.
• The legal team had been given 60 days to appeal against the jail terms.

Why there were provided death sentence?

• The Qatari Authorities didn’t reveal the charges against the Indian citizens.
• But the sources alleged the former Navy officials were spying for Israel.
• In 2022, the authorities in Qatar detained eight Indian Navy soldiers working for defence service Provider Company.
• Since then, they have been held in solitary confinement.
• The authorities filed a charge sheet against the accused in March 2023 and court sentenced them to death on 26 October 2023.

What followed in?

• An appeal was filed by Indian government against the death sentence by Qatar courts.
• Ministry of external affairs have noted the verdict today of the court of appeal of Qatar in the Dhara global case, in which the sentence has been reduced.

Who were the eight peoples?

• Captain Navtej singh
• Captain Birendra kumarverma
• Captain Saurabh vashisht
• Commander Amit Nagpal
• Commander purnendu Tiwari
• Commander sugunakarpakala
• Commander Sanjeev gupta
• Sailor Rajesh

GS PAPER – II

India–Nepal power pact

Why in news?

• Indian foreign external minister is on two-day visit to the Himalayan nation Nepal.
• Nepal signed a long-term agreement for the export of 10,000 MW power to India in the next 10 years.

What happened during the visit?

• India’s energy secretary Pankaj Agarwal and his Nepal counterpart Gopal sigdel signed the bilateral agreement in the presence of Jaishankar and Nepal minister for energy, water resources and Irrigation, Shakti Bahadur Basnet.
• Three cross border transmission lines are jointly inaugurated by External affair minister and his Nepal counterpart NP saud.
• The power export agreement was also signed during the 7^th meeting of Nepal India joint commission.
• Mou for cooperation in renewable energy was also signed by the Nepal electricity Authority and national thermal power corporation limited.
• Discussion focused on trade, economic relation, land, rail and air connectivity projects, cooperation in defence and security, agriculture, energy power, disaster management, civil aviation.

What are three cross border transmission line?

• 132 KV Raxaulparwanipur
• 132 KV kushaha – katiya
• New nautanwa – Mainahiya

India Nepal relation

• India has helped Nepal develop multiple hydropower projects on high volume rivers and more projects in pipeline and power export agreement comes as the next step in the bilateral relations.
• Nepal PM pushpa kaamal dahal prachand called the agreement a major breakthrough in Nepal’s power sector.
• The two countries not only share open border but also, they have Roti beti ka Rishta.
• The India and Nepal treaty of peace and friendship of 1950 forms the bedrock of special relations that exist between India and Nepal.

GS PAPER – II

Grievance redressal panel for Street vendors

Why in news?

First National seminar on the issue of Implementation of grievance redressal committee was addressed by Housing and urban affairs minister Hardeep singh Puri.

What is the issue?

• The Act to protect livelihood of street vendors came into force 10 years before.
• But the one of the key provisions of law, the establishment of grievance redressal committee in all urban local bodies is yet to be implemented.
• But the GRC have only been set up in 17 states and that too, not in all urban local bodies of those states.

What is Grievance redressal committee?

• Street vendor’s having grievances, including instances of harassment by police and other local authorities can approach GRC and submit a written application regarding the same.
• The GRC is authorised to conduct an enquiry and redress the grievances.
• It will be a committee consist of a retired civil judge or judicial magistrate as the chairperson along with two other professional.

What is street vendor act2014?

• It is an act to protect the rights of urban street vendors and to regulate street vending activities and for matter connected therewith.
• According to ministry of Housing and urban poverty alleviation there are 10 million street vendors in India, with Mumbai accounting for 2, 50,000, Delhi has 450,000.
• Most of them are immigrants or laid off workers, work for an average 10-12 hours a day and remain impoverished.
• For their betterment government came with this act which includes town vending committee, designated vending zone, age criteria for certification and other provision.