UPSC: Chagos Archipelago, India Young Professionals, WBG GP & More

Table of Contents

UPSC GS 1

Chagos Archipelago

News: India has reaffirmed its support to Mauritius on the issue of the Chagos Archipelago, with the move being appreciated by the island nation in the Indian Ocean.
Location: Chagos Archipelago, island group in the central Indian Ocean, located about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) south of the southern tip of the Indian subcontinent.
Establishment and Key Islands: The overseas territory of the United Kingdom was established on November 8, 1965. It includes key islands such as:
- - Diego Garcia atoll
  - Danger Island
  - Egmont Islands
  - Eagle Islands
  - Nelsons Island
  - Peros Banhos atoll
  - Diego Garcia houses a strategic US military base.
Climate: The territory experiences a tropical marine climate characterized by:
- - High temperatures
  - Elevated humidity
  - The climate is heavily moderated by the trade winds blowing over the islands.

Chagos Island Dispute:
- - The Chagos dispute centers around the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, which Britain claimed along with Mauritius in 1814.
  - In 1966, Britain leased Diego Garcia, the largest of the Chagos Islands, to the United States for a military base.
  - The Chagossians, primarily descendants of African slaves brought to the islands in the 18th century, have been engaged in a prolonged legal battle to return to their homeland.
  - Mauritius, which gained independence from Britain in 1968, has consistently claimed the Chagos Islands.
  - In 2019, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) dismissed the UK’s right to govern the Chagos Islands and called on the UK government to withdraw from the archipelago.

Read also: UPSC Current Affairs: Bhojshala, Halwa Ceremony, PM Cares, Blight, Chandipura Virus

UPSC GS 2

India Young Professionals Scheme 2024

News: The UK Government has started the ballot system to apply for the India Young Professionals Scheme visa.
Scheme: The India Young Professionals Scheme visa (also known as a Youth Mobility Scheme visa) is an important part of the UK-India Mobility and Migration Partnership, which was signed between the two countries in May 2021.
Aim: The visa under this scheme allows Indians between 18 and 30 years old to live and work in the UK for up to 2 years.
Eligibility criteria:
- - Must be an Indian national or citizen aged 18-30.
  - Must have a qualification at the bachelor’s degree level or above.
  - Must have £2,530 (approximately Rs 274,980) in savings to support yourself in the UK.
  - The applicants can not have any children under the age of 18 who live with them or for whom they are financially responsible.
Validity:
- - It allows Indian citizens to live and work in the UK for up to two years.
  - Entry to the UK can be at any time while the visa is valid, with the freedom to leave and return during the stay.
  - Visa holders must enter the UK within six months of issuance.
Opportunities:
- - Applicants can pursue degree programs, including post-graduate studies or research in sensitive subjects.
  - For these, an additional certificate under the Academic Technology Approval Scheme (ATAS) is required before beginning the course or research.
  - Applicants are permitted to work in most jobs.
  - Applicants can start their own business, provided the premises are rented, the equipment is valued at no more than £5,000, and they do not have any employees.

World Bank Group Guarantee Platform (WBG GP)

News: The World Bank Group (WBG) guarantee platform is now open for business.
About the Platform:
Housed at MIGA: The platform is based at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA).
Initiated in 2024: The platform was started in 2024.
Integrated Expertise: It combines products and expertise from the World Bank, International Finance Corporation (IFC), and MIGA.
Goal: The platform aims to increase annual guarantee issuance to $20 billion by 2030, serving as a one-stop shop for all World Bank Group guarantee needs.
Key Features:
- - Credit Guarantees: For loans to the public or private sectors.
  - Trade Finance Guarantees: For trade finance projects involving public entities.
  - Political Risk Insurance: Protects against non-commercial risks in private sector projects or public-private partnerships.

Significance:
- - Consolidation: The platform consolidates all guarantee products and experts from across the World Bank Group institutions at MIGA.
  - Simplified Solutions: It offers a simplified and comprehensive menu of guarantee solutions, enabling clients to select the most suitable instrument.
  - Streamlined Processes: By streamlining processes, removing redundancies, and enhancing accessibility, the platform de-risks investments in developing countries.

UPSC GS 3

Dual-Tower Solar Thermal Power Plant

News: China has unveiled the world’s first dual-tower solar thermal power plant in Located in Gansu Province.
Key Features:
- - The plant features two 200-meter tall towers, each surrounded by nearly 30,000 mirrors that form overlapping circles to focus sunlight onto the towers.

Innovative Design:
- - This plant utilizes a dual-tower configuration, a key innovation that sets it apart from traditional solar thermal facilities.
  - The mirrors in the overlapping area can be utilized by either tower.
  - Unlike conventional thermal power plants, this design incorporates molten salt storage, which acts as a thermal battery.
  - The molten salt retains extra heat collected during the day and releases it at night, allowing the plant to generate power continuously.
Mirror Specifications:
- - The mirrors used in the plant are made of specialized materials that can achieve a remarkable 94% reflection efficiency.
  - Additionally, the mirrors are programmed to automatically track the sun’s movement, concentrating the rays on the eastern tower in the morning and adjusting westward in the afternoon.
Scalability:
- - This innovative dual-tower design has the potential to be scaled up even further.
  - The system also has the potential to involve multiple towers for even greater efficiency gains.
Clean Energy Integration:
- - The Gansu plant is part of a larger clean energy complex.
  - This complex will integrate solar, thermal, and wind power to generate over 1.8 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity annually.
  - It will avoid 1.53 million tons of carbon emissions.
Global Impact:
- - China’s pioneering work in solar thermal technology represents a significant advancement in the global pursuit of sustainable energy solutions.

Titan’s Hydrocarbon Seas

News: NASA’s Cassini’s radar observations are providing intriguing new details about the seas of liquid hydrocarbons on the surface of Titan.
Titan:
- - Titan is Saturn’s largest moon.
  - It is an icy world whose surface is completely obscured by a golden hazy atmosphere.
  - Titan is the second largest moon in our solar system. Only Jupiter’s moon Ganymede is larger, by just 2 %.
  - Titan is the only moon in the solar system with a dense atmosphere, and it’s the only world besides Earth that has standing bodies of liquid, including rivers, lakes and seas, on its surface
  - Titan is bigger than Earth’s moon, and larger than even the planet Mercury.
  - Like Earth, Titan’s atmosphere is primarily nitrogen, plus a small amount of methane.
The Study: The study involved three seas near Titan’s north pole:
- - Kraken Mare: Largest sea, similar in size to the Caspian Sea.
  - Ligeia Mare: Second-largest, comparable to Lake Superior.
  - Punga Mare: About the size of Lake Victoria.
  - Rivers and Composition:
  - Rivers carry pure liquid methane, which mixes with the more ethane-rich seas.
  - The composition of these seas changes with latitude, being more methane-rich or ethane-rich depending on their location.
  - Sea surface ripples and roughness near estuaries indicate active tidal currents.

- - Hydrocarbon Seas:
  - Titan’s polar regions, especially the northern one, are dotted with seas and lakes of liquid hydrocarbons.
  - Precipitation-fed channels flow into these seas, forming estuaries and deltas.
  - Tidal Effects:
  - Titan’s seas are affected by Saturn’s gravity, causing tides similar to those on Earth.
  - Some shorelines experience tidal ranges of about a foot (30 cm).
  - Titan’s long day (16 Earth days) results in slow tidal cycles and generally weak tidal currents.

FishMIP Initiative

News: The Ecosystem Model Intercomparison Project (FishMIP) report highlights a projected decline in exploitable fish biomass by more than 10% by mid-century, especially under high-emission scenarios, affecting many global regions.
About the FishMIP Initiative
Launch: Initiated in 2013 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
Purpose: Provides critical knowledge to help industry and governments plan for resilient seafood sectors amidst climate change.
Network: Comprises over 100 marine ecosystem modelers and researchers worldwide.
Collaboration: Works with the FAO to analyze long-term climate impacts on marine ecosystems and fisheries using advanced numerical models.
FishMIP2.0: Launched in 2024 to improve modeling reliability and address broader policy questions related to food security and marine resource management, with a focus on climate change.

Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO): The FAO is a specialized agency of the United Nations that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.
Goals:
- - The primary goal of the FAO is to achieve food security for all.
  - The FAO aims to ensure that people have regular access to enough high-quality food to lead active, healthy lives.
Membership: The FAO has 195 members, comprising 194 countries and the European Union.
Global Reach: The FAO works in over 130 countries worldwide.
Headquarters: Rome, Italy.
Reports by FAO:
- - The State of the World’s Forests (SOFO)
  - The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA)
  - The State of Agricultural Commodity Markets (SOCO)
  - The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI)

See this: Explain Importance of Fiscal Federalism in India | UPSC

Foreign Exchange Reserves

News: India’s foreign exchange reserves hit a record high of $657.2 billion.
Definition: Foreign exchange reserves are assets held on reserve by a central bank in foreign currencies. These reserves are used to back liabilities and influence monetary policy.
Aim: These assets are held to ensure that a central government agency has backup funds if their national currency rapidly devalues or becomes entirely insolvent
Types: Foreign exchange reserves can include banknotes, deposits, bonds, gold reserves , treasury bills, government securities, special drawing rights (SDRs) and reserve position in the IMF.

RBI: RBI is the custodian of the Foreign exchange reserves in India.
Advantages:
- - The most significant objective behind this is to ensure that RBI has backup funds if their national currency rapidly devalues or becomes altogether insolvent.
  - If the value of the Rupee decreases due to an increase in demand of the foreign currency then RBI sells the dollar in the Indian money market so that depreciation of the Indian currency can be checked.
  - A country with a good stock of forex has a good image at the international level because the trading countries can be sure about their payments.
  - A good forex reserve helps in attracting foreign trade and earns a good reputation in trading partners.
India’s Forex: India’s foreign exchange reserves comprise of:
- - Foreign currency assets (FCAs): These are maintained in currencies like the US dollar, euro, pound sterling, Australian dollar, and Japanese yen.
  - Gold
  - SDR (Special Drawing Rights): This is the reserve currency with the IMF.
  - RTP (Reserve Tranche Position): This is the reserve capital with the IMF.
  - The biggest contributor to India’s Forex Reserve is foreign currency assets followed by the gold, SDR.

Electroencephalogram (EEG)

News: This year marks the 100th anniversary of the first human electroencephalogram (EEG) by German physiologist Hans Berger.
EEG Measures Brain Activity:
- - EEG (electroencephalography) measures the electrical activity in the brain generated by neurons.
  - Researchers use EEG in fields such as neuroscience, cognitive psychology, and neurolinguistics.

About EEG:
Definition:
- - EEG stands for electroencephalography.
  - ‘Electro’ pertains to electricity, ‘encephalo’ to the brain, and ‘graphy’ to representation.
Common Uses:
- - EEG is commonly used to diagnose epilepsy.
  - It monitors anesthesia effects, sleep patterns, coma activity, and brain death.
Working of EEG:
- - Neurons in the brain move electrically charged particles, creating electrical activity.
  - EEG tests visualize this activity and help distinguish between normal and abnormal brain states.
Advantages of EEG:
- - EEG setups are simple and cost-effective.
  - The equipment is small, doesn’t emit radiation or noise, and is non-invasive and portable.
Disadvantages of EEG:
- - Setting up an EEG test takes time, including applying gel and placing electrodes. Thicker hair can affect EEG readings.
  - EEG is good at tracking rapid electrical activity in the brain but is biased towards signals near the brain’s surface.
  - It may not accurately pinpoint the origin of electrical activity within the brain.
Overcoming Limitations:
- - To overcome its limitations, EEG is often used with other tests like MRI and advanced data processing methods.