The Hindu

WHO defines pathogens

Context: Pathogens that transmit through the air will be described by the term ‘infectious respiratory particles’ or IRPs, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The world health body has thus ended the lack of a common terminology to describe the transmission of these pathogens, which was particularly challenging during the global COVID-19 pandemic.

More information:

The descriptor "through the air" can be used for infectious diseases where the main type of transmission involves the pathogen travelling through the air or being suspended in the air, in line with other terms such as "waterborne" diseases.

Pathogens:

A pathogen is any organism that causes disease.
These microbes only cause a problem if your immune system is weakened or if they manage to enter a normally sterile part of your body.
They can be spread through skin contact, bodily fluids, airborne particles, contact with faeces, and touching a surface touched by an infected person.

Types:

Viruses:

Made up of a piece of genetic code, such as DNA or RNA, and protected by a coating of protein.
Invade host cells within the body and use the components of the host cell to replicate, producing more viruses.
These new viruses usually damage or destroy the infected cells. Some viruses can remain dormant for a time before multiplying again.
Antibiotics do not kill viruses and therefore are ineffective as a treatment for viral infections. Antiviral medications can sometimes be used, depending on the virus.
Causes number of infections, many of which are contagious: common cold flu; meningitis; warts, chickenpox/shingles; measles; hepatitis A, B, C, D, E; yellow fever; dengue fever; HIV and AID

Bacteria:

Microorganisms made of a single cell.
Have the ability to live in any environment, including in and on our body.
Not all bacteria cause infections. Those that can are called pathogenic bacteria.
Our body can be more prone to bacterial infections when immune system is compromised by a virus.
Antibiotics are used to treat bacterial infections.
Examples of bacterial infections: strep throat; bacterial gastroenteritis, such as salmonella food poisoning or E.coli infection; bacterial meningitis; Lyme disease; tuberculosis

Fungi:

Found everywhere in the environment, including indoors, outdoors, and on human skin.
Cause infection when they overgrow.
Fungi cells contain a nucleus and other components protected by a membrane and a thick cell wall. Their structure can make them harder to kill.
New strains of fungal infections are dangerous, such as Candida aurus.
Examples of common fungal infections are: thrush; athlete’s foot

Parasites:

Organisms that live in or on a host and feeding from or at the expense of the host.
Parasitic infections are more common in tropical and subtropical regions.
Three main types of parasites can cause disease in humans:
- Protozoa: single-celled organisms that can live and multiply in our body
- Helminths: multi-celled organisms that can live inside or outside our body and are commonly known as worms
- Ectoparasites: multi-celled organisms that live on or feed off our skin, including some insects, such as ticks and mosquitos
Spread through contaminated soil, water, food, and blood, as well as through sexual contact and via insect bites.
Examples of diseases caused by parasites include: Trichomoniasis; malaria

Nagorno Karabakh

Context: Russian peacekeepers have commenced their withdrawal from Nagorno-Karabakh subsequent to Azerbaijan’s recapture of the disputed territory from Armenian separatist control last year.

About Nagorno-Karabakh Region:

It is a landlocked mountainous region, encircled by Azerbaijan.
The region is majorly inhabited by ethnic Armenians.
The region has been subject of territorial dispute between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Nagorno-Karabakh region has been under the self-declared Republic of Artsakh.
In 2023, Azerbaijan attacked the Nagorno-Karabakh region. The attack resulted in the removal of institutions of Republic of Artsakh. Nagorno-Karabakh was connected to Armenia by a small corridor known as Lachin Corridor.
More than half the population of Nagorno-Karabakh region has fled to Armenia. Armenia has accused Azerbaijan of committing ethnic cleansing in the region.

Malas and Madigas

Context: The rivalry between the Malas and Madigas, sub-castes among the Scheduled Castes (SCs) in Telangana, has come to the fore yet again after political parties announced candidates for the general elections.

About Mala and Madiga

Madiga:

The Madiga community is a Telugu caste, mainly living in the southern states of Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka. However, they also live in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Odisha.
As per the 2011 census, the Madiga community in the undivided Andhra Pradesh and Telangana constituted more than 48 per cent of the SC population
Within this community, there are various sub-castes include Bindla, Chindu, Dakkali and Mashti.
They have their own classes; the priestly class is known as Madiga Dasari.
The occupation of this community is primarily associated with tanning leather, making footwear, belts, pouches, toddy-containers, and bags.
This community is known for their expertise in crafting the traditional drum called the Dappu

Mala:

Mala is a Telugu caste from the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They are also present in smaller numbers in the states of Karnataka and Maharashtra.
According to 2001 census data, Malas constituted 41.6 percent (51.39 lakh) of the Scheduled Castes population in the then state of Andhra Pradesh, which also included the present state of Telangana.

Caste and Urbanisation

Context: While transition to city life might have weakened some structures of caste oppression, they have morphed through language, state sanction and policy, and have evolved to allow caste to thrive in Indian cities.

About Caste and Urbanization

Views on village life:

Mahatma Gandhi saw the Indian village as a self-reliant, equitable and just non-violent order, and argued for the decentralisation of power to the villages through Gram Swaraj.
B.R. Ambedkar rejected village life and encouraged Dalits to move to the city.
- Ambedkar said that an Indian village is “the working plant of the Hindu social order” and argued that it is the ideal place to understand caste.
- Ambedkar believed that the idealisation of Indian village life emerged either from the colonial romanticisation of the rural population or from the desire of Hindus to retain caste domination.
- In the Constituent Assembly, Ambedkar opposed the idea that villages should be recognised as autonomous administrative units and felt relieved that the Assembly rejected the idea.

Views on Urbanisation

Ambedkar: In the process of urbanisation, Ambedkar saw an opportunity for Dalit liberation. He believed that the systems of caste oppression that thrive in Indian villages become weaker in cities. These included segregation of Dalits into ghettos, restrictions on economic activities, and denial of land ownership.
Jyotirao Phule: He had also admired city life for being liberal and enabling him to earn a living. Cities offer an opportunity to become a stranger among a sea of strangers and transition from a caste-based order to a class-based order. One defined not by genealogy but by accumulation of resources or capital.

Caste discrimination in urban India:

Language of purity-pollution: Caste translates into a city’s spatiality through the language of ‘purity-pollution’. A consumer survey in 2021 revealed that eating non-vegetarian food is the biggest deal-breaker in finding rental housing in India.
- Gopal Guru (Indian political scientist) says that the ghetto is not merely a space but also forms the constitution of the body of the ghetto dweller. The language of purity-pollution that identifies the savarna space as ‘pure’ and one that can be polluted by the Dalit body, extends to the logic of the city.
- Example: The language of caste has been imposed on public spaces of the city by various governments. In March 2017, the Uttar Pradesh government, issued regulations for meat shops that included, for example, a ban on selling meat near religious places and black paint or curtains in the facade of the shop to hide the sight of meat from pedestrians. In 2021, several municipal corporations in Gujarat banned the sale of meat-based street food on the city’s main roads citing “religious sentiments”.
Ghettoisation of caste: Urban governance policies and housing crises have also sustained caste-based segregation.
- A large-scale study found that public services and access to municipal infrastructure such as clean drinking water are the worst in Dalit and Muslim ghettos.
- Research in sacrifice zones regions marked for severe environmental pollution such as landfills shows that such areas are overwhelmingly inhabited by Dalits and Muslims.
- A recent report by the Housing and Land Rights Network on forced evictions in India also shows that Dalits and Muslims are the most impacted by slum demolition drives.
Apartmentisation: In some cities, caste discrimination still affects how people live. For example, in residential areas, Dalits often have separate access to facilities like elevators and toilets. Domestic workers who live with their employers usually have small rooms and bathrooms, or just a bed in a corner. Sometimes, they even have their own separate entrances.
Employment opportunities: OBCs and SCs end up working in the informal sector due to a combination of limited job options and societal pressures linked to caste. E.g. Some occupations are linked to caste such as manual scavenging.
Economic discrimination and school choice: Lower castes often face economic hardship, making private schools with higher fees out of reach. This limits their access to potentially better educational resources.
- Students from backward castes might be ostracized by classmates or teachers due to their caste background. e.g. Dalit students shunned during midday meals in Gujarat’s Morbi district.
Caste based matrimonial: In urban areas, caste-based matrimonial practices such as Rajput matrimony, Baniya Matrimony contribute significantly to sustaining caste discrimination, despite the modern and cosmopolitan facade of cities. Such matrimonial preferences reinforce caste identities and boundaries, limiting social interaction and integration across different caste groups. This perpetuation of caste lines through marriage not only entrenches social and economic inequalities but also normalizes the preference for intra-caste relationships, thereby obstructing efforts towards social cohesion.

Way forward to deal with caste discrimination:

Economic empowerment: Provide more economic opportunities, fair employment practices and skill development programs to uplift marginalized caste communities in urban areas.
Housing policies: Develop housing policies that promote mixed-caste neighbourhoods and discourage segregation based on caste.
Social inclusion initiatives: Support community-led initiatives that foster social cohesion and inclusion, including inter-caste dialogue, cultural exchange programs, and community-building activities.
Promote inter-caste interactions: Platforms can encourage users to connect with potential partners from different castes.
Tenant support services: Establish tenant support services to assist those facing caste discrimination in finding housing and enforcing their rights.

Tiger Triumph Joint defence exercise

Context: India and the United States have conducted a bilateral tri-service humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) exercise on Kakinada Beach, Andhra Pradesh, as part of ‘Tiger Triumph-24’.

About Tiger Triumph Exercise:

Aim: enhancing readiness during natural disasters and cooperation between the two forces.
Part of the ongoing partnership between India and the United States.
It improved interoperability for conducting Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) operations and refined Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) to enable rapid and smooth coordination.
INS Jalashwa of the Indian Navy and the USS Somerset of the US Navy along with other vessels including the USS Halsey, the INS Airavat and the INS Kesari participated.

For more information: INDO- US RELATIONS

Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) activities undertaken by India:

India launched Operation Karuna in 2023 to assist cyclone-hit Myanmar, where Indian naval ships carried emergency relief materials to Yangon.
India became one of the first countries to assist the Turkish government in humanitarian efforts through Operation Dost following the deadly earthquakes in the country.
New Delhi offered a helping hand to Pakistan in wake of its devastating floods in 2022 and during the COVID-19 pandemic India was one of the first to deploy capacities across the West Asian region.
India through its Operation Insaniyat in 2017, sent aid to Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.
These operations remind the world that humanitarian assistance and disaster relief (HADR) is a key element of Indian foreign policy.

History of HADR:

HADR came in focus of foreign policy in the aftermath of the Indian Ocean tsunami in December 2004, when the Indian Navy provided holistic intervention in the form of reconnaissance, rescue and relief operations of survivors in Sri Lanka, the Maldives, and Indonesia.
This initiative enabled India to project its soft power and it had the prerequisite resources and manpower to manage the crisis.
To navigate through the crisis, India employed indigenous resources in the form of Indian naval ships, aircraft, and helicopters and the Indian Navy became the first international navy to commence rescue operations within 12 hours of the tsunami.
India was eventually invited to be a part of the Tsunami Core Group, put together by the United States to provide relief and assistance.
India provided humanitarian assistance during natural calamities (Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, and Sri Lanka) and security conflicts (Afghanistan, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka) over the last decade, thus, cementing its position as a first responder in crisis.

Securitization of HADR:

While Indian HADR efforts are usually non-intrusive, China has offered humanitarian assistance on an ad hoc basis to increase its influence.
China has often disregarded abiding by the principles of military participation in HADR, such as multilateral coordination with other foreign militaries and other civilian organizations.
China has used HADR to increase its influence in South Asia as well. Chinese humanitarian intervention during the Nepal earthquakes in 2015 was a matter of concern for India.
- China potentially compromised Nepali sovereignty.
- In order to appease China, Nepal not only refused aid from Taiwan but also asked the Indian Army rescue team not to fly near China’s airspace.
HADR operations have also led China to increase its interregional port calls.
- China’s military pact with the Solomon Islands.
- The security agreement includes HADR as one of the main areas of security cooperation.

Indian response:

India is worried about a growing Chinese presence in South Asia and the Indo-Pacific and India views two regions as its natural backyard and believes in the ideal of a ‘free and open Indo-Pacific.’
- China may potentially use HADR to subvert Indian influence in South Asia and the IOR.
India’s flagship maritime policy of Security and Growth for All’ (SAGAR), 2015:
- India has constituted the Annual Joint HADR Exercise (AJHE)-Operation Chakravat, to demonstrate India’s capabilities in disaster risk mitigation, and disaster risk response within the IOR.
India has instituted Operation Tiger Triumph exercise with the United States to foster tri-services engagement while having the ability to conduct amphibious HADR operations in the advent of a natural calamity.
Multilateral exercises with various multilateral organisations: HADR exercise PANEX 21 for BIMSTEC 2021; SMANVAY 22 for ASEAN members in 2022.
Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QUAD):
- Quad has deliberated on providing coordinated responses to climate disasters while expanding its capacity, capability, and interoperability within the Indo-Pacific.
- Quad sherpas organized the first Quad HADR in New Delhi in December 2022.

Way Forward

India should invest in suitable platforms to enhance its HADR missions through the acquisition of utility helicopters, Landing Platform Helicopters (LPHs), and Landing Platform Docks (LPDs) to ensure faster deployments.
India and China must engage in confidence building measures (CBMs):
- These measures are important, so that overt securitization of HADR does not contribute to the creation of new security dilemmas in the IOR.
- Benign actions of one nation should not be deemed as a threat by another.
Specific initiatives could include a greater focus on:
- Quadrilateral dialogue with the United States, Australia and Japan with more focus on HADR exercises and capacity-building;
- bilateral dialogues and exercises with Indonesia, other ASEAN members, France and the European Union on disaster management and relief.
- Capacity-building for Indian Ocean-island and littoral states.

Conclusion

HADR being a relatively non-controversial point of agenda can act as a tool for strengthening India’s ties with its neighbours, along with reviving regional cooperation, whether through SAARC, BIMSTEC or other forums.

Muria tribe

Context: The Muria tribe custom mandates that a man weaves a bamboo cradle (vookada) for his newborn baby as a lifetime memory for both the father and the child. The father must go into the forest, collect the bamboo, dry it, and weave the cradle with his own hands, with no help from anyone.

About Muria tribe:

A baby sleeps in a bamboo cradle woven by his father at Chukkalapadu settlement of the Muria tribe in Alluri Sitarama Raju district of Andhra Pradesh.

Location: An adivasi (scheduled tribe) of the Bastar district of Chhattisgarh, India. They are part of the Gondi people, and also have a large presence in the nearby states of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh.
Economic activity: They are predominantly agrarian people, and farming and other forest-based activities provide the majority of their income.
Culture: They have a strong cultural history and adhere to their own customs, rituals, and practices. They have a unique system of social structure, and an elder council oversees each of their settlements.
- They are renowned for their vibrant Gaur dance, which is performed during festivals and celebrations, as well as their musical customs and dance forms.
- They practise a hybrid of animistic and Hindu doctrines. They execute religious rites and offerings at village shrines in order to worship a variety of gods and spirits.
- They observe a number of holidays throughout the year, including the harvest festival of Dandari and the new year festival of Narayanpur.
- The Muria people also have a tradition of making and drinking "handia," a hand-crafted rice beer.
- They are renowned for its extensive legacy of handicrafts, which includes a range of products manufactured from materials that are easily accessible locally, like bamboo, fabric, and wood.

Language: The primary tongue is the Muria language, which belongs to the Gondi linguistic family. One of the largest indigenous tribal communities in India, the Gond people speak a Dravidian language called Gondi.
Style & attire: Their fashion sense and garb are a reflection of their voluminous cultural heritage. Muria men and women wear basic yet distinctive traditional clothing that symbolises their rural and agrarian way of life.

About Gond tribe

They are one of the largest tribal groups in India, predominantly residing in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh.
The name Gond comes from Kond (means green mountains).
Main occupation is Agriculture or daily wages
Their native language, Gondi, belongs to the Dravidian family.
They believe in animistic belief system, where they worship nature spirits and deities. They also revere ancestors and have a rich tradition of folk worship
They have subdivided into various tribes such as raj gonds, madia, dhurve etc.
Rice is a celebratory food enjoyed during festivals, millets like kodo and kutki form the foundation of the Gond diet.

ISRO’s ‘zero orbital debris’ milestone

Context: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) announced that its PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3 (POEM-3) re-entered the Earth's atmosphere in March 2024 without leaving any debris in orbit.

Major Highlights:

Mission launch: The PSLV-C58 mission was launched on January 1, 2024.
Primary Mission: The mission's main objective was to deploy XPoSAT satellite into the intended orbit of 650 km, which it successfully accomplished.
POEM-3: After deploying the satellite, the leftover part of the PSLV rocket, the terminal stage (fourth stage), was not discarded. Instead, it was ingeniously repurposed into a stabilised platform named POEM-3 (PSLV Orbital Experimental Module-3).

PSLV Orbital Experimental Module (POEM):

Developed by: Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre (VSSC).
POEM is an experimental mission or space platform to perform in-orbit experiments using the final, and otherwise discarded, stage of ISRO’s PSLV.
- PSLV is a four-stage rocket where the first three spent stages fall back into the ocean, and the final stage (PS4) — after launching the satellite into orbit — ends up as space junk.
- In POEM, the spent final stage will be utilised as a stabilised platform to perform experiments.
POEM has a dedicated Navigation Guidance and Control (NGC) system which will act as the platform’s brain for attitude stabilisation with specified accuracy.
POEM will derive its power from solar panels mounted around the PS4 tank, and a Li-Ion battery. It will navigate using four sun sensors, a magnetometer, gyros & NavIC.

Zero orbital debris milestone:

Deorbiting POEM-3: To ensure POEM-3 would not remain as space junk, its orbit was lowered from a high altitude of 650 km to a much lower one at 350 km. This significantly reduced the time it took for POEM-3 to re-enter Earth's atmosphere and burn up.
Passivation: To further minimise risks, any leftover fuel on POEM-3 was eliminated in a process called passivation. This reduced the chance of an accidental explosion during re-entry that could create debris.
Zero-Debris Goal Achieved: On March 21, 2024, POEM-3 re-entered the earth’s atmosphere, meeting its fiery end. Due to the well-planned deorbiting and passivation manoeuvres, the PSLV-C58/XPoSat mission resulted in practically zero debris left behind in Earth's orbit. This is a significant achievement in space sustainability, reducing the potential hazards of space debris for future missions.

Space Debris:

Space debris in the low earth orbit (LEO) mainly comprises pieces of spacecraft, rockets, and defunct satellites, and the fragments of objects that have deteriorated explosively as a result of anti-satellite missile tests.
This debris often flies around at high speeds of up to 27,000 kilometres per hour. Due to their sheer volume and momentum, they pose a risk to several space assets.
With the rise in the number of satellites in orbit around the earth, space debris has become a pressing issue, particularly in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO).
- Currently, there are 7,000 operational satellites orbiting the earth at different altitudes along with millions of pieces of space debris.
- According to ISRO’s Space Situational Assessment report 2022, the world placed 2,533 objects in space in 179 launches in 2022, up from 1860 objects in 135 launches in 2021.
As more communication satellites/constellations are launched and more anti-satellite tests are conducted, more on-orbit breakup and collisions occur, producing smaller and smaller fragments in orbit.
- The number of space objects (debris or functional equipment) greater than 10 cm in size in LEO is expected to be about 60,000 by 2030, per ISRO estimates.
Space debris also leads to two major risks – it creates unusable regions of the orbit due to excessive debris, and leads to the ‘Kessler syndrome’ – creation of more debris due to cascading collisions resulting from one collision.

How are space agencies dealing with debris?

Currently, there are no international space laws pertaining to LEO debris.
However, most space-exploring nations abide by the Space Debris Mitigation Guidelines 2002 specified by the Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee (IADC), which the U.N. endorsed in 2007.
The U.S. Space Command tracks and catalogues space debris larger than 10 centimetres in LEO and larger than 0.3-1 metres in geosynchronous orbit (GEO).

Project NETRA:

Initiative by ISRO, an early warning system in space to detect debris and hazards to Indian satellites and thus gaining capability in space situational awareness (SSA).
NETRA will use telescopes, radars, data processing units, and other tools to spot and track objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km.

National One Health Mission

Context: The union cabinet approves creation of post of Director of National Institute of One Health at the level of scientist ‘H’ to spearhead National One Health Mission for integrated disease control and pandemic preparedness

About One Health:

One Health is an integrating idea that brings different sectors together to solve the health, productivity, and conservation challenges and has major implications for India.
India with its diverse wildlife, one of the largest livestock populations and high density of human population, carries heightened risks for inter-compartmental spread of diseases.

About National One Health Mission:

Launched in 2022.
The goal is to develop strategies for integrated disease surveillance, joint outbreak response, coordinated research and development (R&D) and ensure seamless information sharing for better control of routine diseases as well as those of a pandemic nature.
It will help India to achieve integrated disease control and pandemic preparedness by institutionalizing the One Health approach
Under the mission, a national network of high-risk pathogen (Biosafety level or BSL 3 and BSL 4) laboratories has been created.
Under the mission, efforts are being made to apply artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning and disease modelling to address these issues and coordinate capacity building in epidemiology across sectors.
- Emerging approaches such as genomic surveillance from wastewater showed promise during the COVID-19 pandemic. This will be expanded to other sentinels such as places where animals (livestock or wildlife) congregate for a broader set of diseases to be taken up so that we mainstream these approaches to be a part of routine surveillance across human, livestock and environmental sectors.

13 Ministries and Departments as well as science funding agencies such as Department Of Science and Technology, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT), the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), the Department of Pharmaceuticals, and AYUSH, the Ministries of Health, Animal Husbandry and Environment as well as Defence came together to shape the mission, taking one of the most holistic approaches to one health and pandemic preparedness in the world.
While diseases that affect humans such as COVID-19, diseases that affect animals such as foot and mouth disease or lumpy skin disease can hit productivity and trade. Similarly, these and other diseases such as canine distemper affect wild animals and their conservation. Only a coordinated approach is essential to enhance readiness for prevalent diseases and potential pandemic threats like avian influenza or Nipah.
Pandemic preparedness is incomplete without there being a focus on strong R&D. Focused R&D efforts are crucial for enhancing preparedness against emerging diseases by creating essential tools like vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics, which are vital for both India and the global Community.

National Institute of One Health (NIOH)

It is being set up in Nagpur, Maharashtra.
It is part of a National One Health Mission.
The institute will focus on a ‘One Health’ approach, recognizing the interconnectedness between human, animal, and environmental health. This approach is crucial for tackling zoonotic diseases, which can jump from animals to humans.
The director of NIOH will serve as the mission director for the multi-ministerial and multi-sectoral National One Health Mission for integrated disease control and pandemic preparedness by bringing human, anima, plant and environmental sectors together.

Garudan Thookkam

Context: Devotees at the Sarkara Devi Temple in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, participated in the ‘Garudan Thookkam’, which is a ritual art form.

About Garudan Thookkam:

Garudan Thookam (Eagle Hanging) is a form of dance art performed popularly in some Bhadrakali (Goddess Kali) temples in central Tamil Nadu and Kerala.

Performance of the ritual art form:

The performers dress up as Garuda by wearing vibrant costumes, and headgear along with make-up.
Pattuvaal, Njori, Kacha, Mundi, Astimala (garlands made from the wood of Mango Tree), Chiraku (wings), Uttareeyam (upper garment), Kireedam (crown) are some of the elements used in the costume of Garuda.
Traditional musical instruments are employed during the performance:
- Chenda: cylindrical percussion instrument originating in the state of Kerala);
- Elathalam: metallic musical instrument which resembles a miniature pair of cymbals; this instrument from Kerala in southern India is completely made out of bronze and has two pieces in it;
- Kombu/Kompu/Kombu Pattu: a wind instrument in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Performance includes 18 Thalavattam (rhythmic patterns).
The whole ritual is performed colourfully with these Garudas taken in a procession on bullock carts or boats or hand-pulled carts.
Legend:
- As per the Hindu mythology, Goddess Kali, after killing the demon king Darika in a fiercely-fought battle, was insatiable and thirsty.
- At this time, Lord Vishnu sent his Vahana Garuda to Kali to quench her thirst.
- The dancing and bleeding Garuda is taken to Kali who is pacified after consuming his blood.

About Sarkara Devi Temple:

Situated: Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala.
Main deity: Bhadrakali (Goddess Durga).
Historically important due to the introduction of the famous Kaliyoot festival by Anizham Thirunal Marthanda Varma, the Travancore sovereign, in 1748.
Another festival, Meena Bharani mahotsavam, is conducted for ten days in the month of March-April every year.
Architecture:
- Sanctum Sanctorum is a two storied rectangular structure.
- Roof is polished with bronze.
- Second storey is decorated with sculptures of Lord Krishna, Lord Rama, Durga, Lord Ganapathy, Lord Vishnu, Narasimhamoorthi and several other deities.

Navy chief inaugurates new facilities at Karwar naval base

Context: Chief Admiral inaugurated a 350-m-long major pier for Offshore Patrol Vessels (OPVs) at Naval Base at Karwar in Karnataka as part of Project Seabird.

More information from the news:

The naval base at Karwar can accommodate 32 ships and submarines, 23-yard craft, a dual-use naval air station, a full-fledged naval dockyard, four covered dry berths and logistics for ships and aircraft.
The pier would also provide strategic depths and operational flexibility on the western seaboard, especially against Pakistan.
The naval base is being expanded with the aim to make it the largest facility in Asia.

(Naval Bases in India)

INS Kadamba or Naval Base Karwar or Project Seabird:

It is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka.
The first phase of construction of the base, code-named Project Seabird, was commissioned in 2005.
Kadamba has become India’s third largest operational naval base, after Mumbai and Visakhapatnam.
The Navy's aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya is based at Karwar.
The base also has the country's first sealift facility, a unique shiplift and transfer system for docking and undocking ships and submarines.
Significance:
- During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in Mumbai Harbour due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists.
- At the end of the war, various options were considered to address these concerns.
- Karwar base is a dedicated naval base, between the hills of the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea.
- The location had significant advantages as being very close to the world's busiest shipping route between the Persian Gulf and east Asia and out of range of most strike aircraft from neighbouring countries.
- It also offered a natural deep-water harbour and significant land area for expansion, allowing larger aircraft carriers to berth.

Project Seabird:

In 1999, following Pokhran-II, Project Seabird was approved, to pursue the construction of the new naval base at Karwar.
The Binaga Bay was dredged and its rock outcrops blasted to allow even large aircraft carriers to turn inside the bay.
Anjadip Island is one of the two islands to which the breakwaters are linked for reinforcement.
- Located in the Arabian Sea, near the coast of Canacona, Goa.
- It is politically part of Goa state but geographically the nearest mainland is the coastal Kanara subregion of Karnataka.
- It was part of the Portuguese Indian settlements until 1961.
Phase I:
- Phase I of INS Kadamba was commissioned in May 2005.
- Key facilities: ship lift, a ship transfer system for dry docking at the Naval Ship Repair Yard.
Phase-II:
- The Phase-IIA expansion approval was obtained from the Cabinet Committee on Security in 2012, after getting approval from then Defence Minister.
- New facilities and infrastructure were inaugurated including, two major piers and residential towers.
- Phase II-B: INS Kadamba will be able to base 50 front-line warships and will be the biggest naval base east of the Suez-canal.

Higgs Boson

Context: Recently, the British physicist Peter Higgs passed away at the age of 94. He had come up with the idea of the Higgs boson particle (also was known as the ‘God Particle’). After the experimental discovery of the Higgs boson in 2012, he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics in 2013.

About Higgs Boson:

In 1964, Peter Higgs gave a theory related to how subatomic particles (building blocks of matter) get their mass. Here, he predicted the existence of a new particle (later named Higgs boson) that granted mass to fundamental particles.
He suggested that just after the Big Bang, in the early stages, the fundamental particles did not have any mass. As the Universe cooled, an invisible force field got formed which has been termed as Higgs Field. The associated particles with the Higgs field are the Higgs Bosons.
Any particle that interacted with the Higgs field got mass, and those particles that were left out of the Higgs field remained massless. The more a particle interacts with the Higgs field, the heavier it is.
- E.g., Photon (the particle that carries light) does not interact with the Higgs field and therefore has no mass.
As these Higgs bosons grant mass to particles like electrons, quarks, etc. (the primary condition for existence of matter), they were termed as the ‘God particle’.
Eventually, the Higgs boson was discovered by the Large Hadron Collider in 2012. (LHC is the world’s largest and most powerful particle accelerator constructed by the European Organisation for Nuclear Research)

Science behind the functioning of a Mosquito Bat

Basics of Electricity:

Electricity is the flow of electrical charge, and these charge carriers are electrons.
Electric current is carried by electrons, the negatively charged fundamental particles that usually revolve around positively charged protons in every atom.
Essentially, air is an insulator, i.e., the electrons are bound to the air molecules tight, and it would need a high energy/voltage to pull an electron out of its molecule.
- Every atom has an equal number of protons and electrons, rendering them electrical neutral.
Thus, the application of a high voltage will force electrons out of atoms. Hence, instead of a neutrally charged air, we have a gas made of positively charged atoms and negatively charged electrons floating together.

Working of an Electric bat:

There are three metal meshes in a mosquito bat. The one at the centre is positively charged and the outer ones are negatively charged.
When the layers don’t touch each other, current cannot flow.
But when a mosquito connects them, a current passes through and kills the insect.

The ‘colour’ of electricity:

Strong voltages ionise and pull electrons away from atoms. But, these atoms try to get their electrons back. So, if the electrons do go back, they need to lose the ‘excess’ energy they have, and they do this by emitting light.
Every time the electron loses some energy, the light has some wavelength.
In the case of air, the light the electrons lose is in the range of wavelengths human eyes can see. And this light is what we see.
The colour of the light and the spark depends on the type of atom (its unique identifier). For example, in air, most of the atoms are of oxygen and nitrogen and so the sparks are white or near-white. On the other hand, on some alien planet with an atmosphere made of neon, the sparks will look red.