17 May | UPSC Current Affairs: Geomagnetic Storm, Sahul, CAATSA, Blue Flag, Regulatory Sandboxes and More

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GS Paper 1

Geomagnetic Storm

  • News: U.S. Satellite images show what the historic geomagnetic storm looked like from space.
  • Geomagnetic Storms: Geomagnetic storms are temporary disturbances of Earth’s magnetosphere, the region of charged particles surrounding our planet that shields us from harmful solar wind radiation.
  • Causes of Geomagnetic Storms:  These storms are triggered by eruptions on the Sun, such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), which are massive clouds of charged particles hurled into space.
  • Effects of Geomagnetic Storms: 
    • Auroras: Disruption of Earth’s magnetic field, caused by the heating of the ionosphere, leads to the creation of auroras (northern and southern lights) at high latitudes.
    • Satellite and Power Grid Damage: Induced currents from these storms can cause potential damage to satellites and power grids.
    • Communication and Navigation Disruption: Geomagnetic storms can disrupt radio communications and navigation systems.
    • Increased Radiation Exposure: In extreme cases, astronauts may experience increased exposure to radiation.

Sahul

  • News: Archeologists have found evidence of a lost landscape known as Sahul in the ancient days.
  • What is Sahul?
    • The supercontinent, once known as Sahul, was a landmass that was exposed thousands of years ago during the Pleistocene epoch – when Earth was in the middle of the last ice age.
    • Glaciation led to declining sea levels, exposing areas of the continental shelf that had previously been submerged.
    • This revealed land connecting what is now mainland Australia to Papua New Guinea in the north and Tasmania in the south.
    • It helped humans in ancient times to cross continents from Asia to Australia almost 7,000 decades ago.

CAATSA

  • News: The US warns of CAATSA sanctions on dealings with Iran after India signs a 10-year contract on Chabahar Port.
  • CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries through Sanctions Act): 
    • CAATSA is a US law.
    • It is a federal law under which the American government can impose sanctions on any country that has “significant transactions with Iran, North Korea or Russia”.  
    • The law entails economic & financial penalties for any nation that transacts with Russia on arms. The law has been in force since August 2017.
  • Economic sanctions: Include restrictions on financial transactions, trade, and investment with sanctioned entities.
    • It also includes economic and financial penalties for any nation engaging in “significant transactions” with Russian intelligence and military agents.
    • In 2018, the US passed a legislative amendment exempting India from economic sanctions under the CAATSA for its purchase of the S-400 missile defense system from Russia.

GS Paper 3

Blue Flag

  • Definition: The Blue Flag is an eco-label certification awarded to beaches, marinas, and sustainable boat tourism operators that meet a set of stringent environmental, educational, safety, and accessibility criteria.
  • Awarding Organization: The Blue Flag certification is accorded by the Denmark-based non-profit Foundation for Environmental Education.
  • Certified Locations in India: There are 12 Blue Flag-certified beaches in India:
    • Minicoy Thundi in Lakshadweep
    • Kadmat in Lakshadweep
    • Ghoghla in Diu
    • Golden Beach in Odisha
    • Rushikonda Beach, Andhra Pradesh
    • Kasarkod Beach, Karnataka
    • Shivrajpur Beach, Dwarka, Gujarat
    • Radhanagar Beach, Andaman & Nicobar Islands
    • Kappad Beach, Kerala
    • Kovalam Beach, Tamil Nadu
    • Padubidri Beach, Karnataka
    • Eden Beach, Puducherry
  • Increased Tourism: Certified locations experience a boost in tourism.
  • Environmental Recognition: Certified sites gain recognition for their environmental responsibility.
  • Public Awareness: The certification promotes public awareness about coastal conservation.

Regulatory Sandboxes

  • News: Governments and regulatory bodies are using “AI regulatory sandboxes” to balance fostering AI innovation with ensuring responsible development.
  • What is a Regulatory Sandbox?
      • A regulatory sandbox refers to live testing of new products or services in a controlled regulatory environment, acting as a “safe space” for businesses where regulators may permit certain relaxations for testing purposes.
  • Purpose: 
    • Testing Environment: Allows regulators, innovators, financial service providers, and customers to conduct field tests to collect evidence on the benefits and risks of new financial innovations.
    • Controlled Experimentation: Entities can experiment with fintech solutions in a live environment on a limited set of real users for a limited time frame.
  • Benefits of Regulatory Sandboxes
    • Regulatory Insight: Regulators gain empirical evidence on the benefits and risks of emerging technologies.
    • Enables informed decisions on regulatory changes or new regulations to support innovation while managing risks.
    • Industry Understanding: Financial service providers, including banks, improve their understanding of new financial technologies.
    • Helps integrate new technologies into their business plans effectively.
    • Innovator Benefits:
    • Innovators and fintech companies better understand the regulations governing their offerings.
    • Allows for shaping products to comply with regulatory requirements.
    • Market Testing: Enables testing of product viability without the need for a larger, more expensive roll-out.
    • Successful products can be authorized and brought to the broader market more quickly.
    • Financial Inclusion: Fintech solutions in the sandbox can enhance financial inclusion significantly.
    • Areas impacted include microfinance, small savings and micro-insurance products, remittances, mobile banking, and digital payments.
  • Regulatory Sandboxes in India: Financial regulators such as the RBI, SEBI, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and the International Financial Services Centres Authority run their own sandboxes.

Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

  • News: NASA’s upcoming Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to embark on a groundbreaking mission to hunt for primordial black holes, tracing them back billions of years to the time of the Big Bang.
  • Definition: The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a NASA observatory designed to address key questions in dark energy, exoplanets, and infrared astrophysics.
      • It was formerly known as the Wide Field InfraRed Survey Telescope (WFIRST). 
  • Aim: The telescope will offer one of the most in-depth views of the center of our Milky Way galaxy.
      • The telescope aims to continuously observe hundreds of millions of stars to detect subtle changes in brightness, indicating the presence of planets, distant stars, icy objects on the fringes of our solar system, and isolated black holes.
  • Telescope Instruments: 
  • Wide Field Instrument (WFI) : Allows scientists to explore from the outskirts of our solar system to the edge of the observable universe.
      • Expansive Field of View: Possesses a field of view 100 times larger than Hubble’s infrared instrument, enabling broader sky coverage in less time.
      • Galactic Survey: Aimed at measuring light from a billion galaxies throughout the mission.
      • Exoplanet Search: Conducts a microlensing survey of the inner Milky Way to discover approximately 2,600 exoplanets.
  • Coronagraph Instrument: 
    • Advanced Imaging: Serves as a technology demonstrator for high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy of nearby exoplanets.
    • Focused Galactic Survey: The Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey will use infrared vision to penetrate dust clouds obscuring the dense central region of the Milky Way.
  • Observational Strategy: 
    • Frequent Imaging: Takes images every 15 minutes continuously around the clock for about two months.
    • Extended Mission Timeline: This imaging cycle will be repeated six times throughout the five-year primary mission, totaling over a year of observation time.

NISAR Mission

  • News: NISAR Mission is targeted to launch in Sep – 2024, into a near-polar orbit.
  •  Definition: NISAR stands for NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR). SAR refers to a technique for producing high-resolution images.
  • Agency: NISAR is a joint Earth-observing mission between NASA and ISRO. 
  • Aim: 
    • It is aimed at making global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.
    • Global Scanning: NISAR will scan the globe every 14-15 days over its 3-year mission, providing an “unprecedented” view of the planet.
    • Primary Goals: Tracking tectonic movements, Spotting warning signs of imminent volcanic eruptions, Monitoring water stress on Earth, Tracking the rate at which ice sheets are melting. 
  • Unique Features:
      • NISAR will be the first radar of its kind in space to systematically map Earth using two different radar frequencies (L-band radar by the USA and S-band radar by India) to measure changes in our planet’s surface with centimetre accuracy. 
  • Radar Frequencies: L-band and S-band are segments of the electromagnetic spectrum utilized for various applications, including radar, communication, and navigation.
  • Advantages:
      • Better penetration through obstacles like buildings and foliage due to longer wavelengths
      • Less susceptible to interference from weather conditions
  • Disadvantages:
      • Requires larger antennas
      • Lower data transfer rate
  • S-band Radar (2 GHz to 4 GHz):
    • Advantages:
      • Requires smaller antennas
      • Higher data transfer rate
      • Better resolution due to shorter wavelengths
  • Disadvantages:
    • Weaker penetration through obstacles
    • More susceptible to interference from weather conditions like rain

Read also – UPSC Current Affairs: Auroras, Chabahar Port Pact, Zero-Day Vulnerability, and More

Armoured Sailfin Catfish

  • News: Scientists at the CSIR-CCMB have discovered that the invasive armoured sailfin catfish has spread to 60% of the water bodies in the Eastern Ghats, causing damage to fishing nets and the ecosystem.
  • Common Names: Known as Rakashi or devil fish.
  • Genus: Belongs to the genus Pterygoplichthys.
  • Adaptability: Exhibits a remarkable ability to thrive on a varied diet and survive in low-oxygen environments.
  • Mobility: Capable of navigating on land using its powerful fins.
  • Reason for Introduction:
  • This species was initially introduced due to its unique appearance and utility in cleaning algal growth in tanks and aquariums.
  • Invasive Status:
  • It is classified as an invasive species, with a rapidly expanding population confirmed by advanced genetic testing methods such as ‘eDNA-based quantitative PCR assay’.
  • Impact on the Environment: 
    • Threat to Biodiversity: Consumes large quantities of native fish, thus threatening the balance of aquatic ecosystems.
    • Lacks commercial value: Equipped with sharp spines and a robust body, causing damage to fishing nets and injuries to fishermen.
  • Significance in the Ornamental Fish Trade
    • Regulation by National Biodiversity Authority (NBA): Listed as one of the 14 invasive species by the NBA, specifically highlighting its prominence in the ornamental fish industry. 
    • Predominance in Invasive Listings: Four out of the six species introduced for ornamental purposes and listed as invasive belong to the Pterygoplichthys genus, marking it as a particularly problematic invasive group.

Ligdus Garvale

  • News:  New spider species found in Kodagu.
  • New Species: Ligdus Garvale is a newly discovered species of jumping spider.
  • Historical Significance: It marks only the second recorded instance of the Ligdus genus in 129 years.
  • Location: Found in Garvale village of the Kodagu district, Karnataka, which is characterized by agroforestry with prominent coffee plantations, as well as pepper and paddy fields.
  • Discovery Site: Discovered under the leaf of a torch ginger plant, it bears a resemblance to pseudoscorpions.
  • Behavior: As a high canopy jumper, it often goes unnoticed and constructs a double-layered web for retreat.
  • Jumping Spiders: Jumping spiders belong to the largest family of spiders, Salticidae, with more than 6,380 species.
      • Habitat: Common in the tropics, but some species also inhabit northern and Arctic regions.
  • Body and Appearance: Most species have few hairs (setae), though a few species have hairy bodies.
      • The body is often brightly colored or strikingly patterned.
      • Eyesight: They possess impressive eyesight with four pairs of eyes, including a large, forward-facing principal pair.
  • Behavior: Jumping spiders are diurnal and most are solitary. Known for their ability to jump and pounce upon their prey.

Bulava Missile

  • News: Russia has commissioned its submarine-launched Bulava intercontinental ballistic missile, marking a significant advancement in the modernization of its nuclear arsenal.
  • Name: RSM-56 Bulava (NATO reporting name: SS-N-32)
  • Type: Russian submarine-launched intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM)
  • Designer: Moscow Institute of Thermal Technology
  • Development: Initiated in the late 1990s
  • Deployment: Designed for Russia’s Borei-class submarines
  • Strategic Importance: Core component of Russia’s future strategic nuclear force
  • Features
    • Propellant: Three-stage solid-propellant
    • Launch Mass: Approximately 8 tonnes
    • Throw Weight: 1,150 kg
  • Dimensions:
      • Length: 12.1 meters (in launch container)
      • Diameter: 2 meters
  • Range and Payload:
      • Maximum Range: 8,300 km (5,160 miles)
      • Payload: Up to 10 multiple independently targetable re-entry vehicles (MIRVs), capable of delivering nuclear warheads to different targets.
  • Maneuverability and Accuracy:
      • In-Flight Maneuverability: Capable of re-targeting to outmaneuver enemy defenses
      • Accuracy: Expected accuracy of around 250 to 300 meters
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