9 June 2023

• Disaster: Cyclone Biparjoy intensified rapidly in the Arabian Sea, prompting IMD to issue a red alert for Gujarat and Pakistan coasts.
• Archaeology: Evidence that Homo naledi buried its dead and created cave symbols challenged the assumption that such behaviours were unique to Homo sapiens.
• Health: The European Union approved the first vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV) for people over 60.
• Science: India launched the MAHIR mission, a five-year programme on green hydrogen, advanced batteries, and carbon capture.
• Governance: Kerala topped the FSSAI State Food Safety Index for large states for the third consecutive time.

GS area: Geography (climatology), Disaster Management

The India Meteorological Department tracked Cyclone Biparjoy as it intensified from a depression to a very severe cyclonic storm over the Arabian Sea. It was the strongest pre-monsoon Arabian Sea cyclone in years.

• Name meaning: "Biparjoy" means disaster or calamity in Bengali. The name was given by Bangladesh following the rotational naming system.
• Naming system: Cyclone names in the North Indian Ocean are assigned by the WMO's Regional Specialised Meteorological Centre at New Delhi. The list is contributed to by thirteen member countries of the RSMC zone. Each country contributes a set of names used in sequence.
• Classification at peak: Very Severe Cyclonic Storm. The IMD scale goes: Depression, Deep Depression, Cyclonic Storm, Severe Cyclonic Storm, Very Severe, Extremely Severe, and Super Cyclonic Storm.
• Track: Moving north-northwest toward the Saurashtra-Kutch coast in Gujarat and the Pakistani coast of Sindh. Landfall occurred around 15 June 2023.
• IMD onset criteria for monsoon: Separate from cyclone tracking. Monsoon onset over Kerala requires 60 per cent of 14 stations to record at least 2.5 mm of rainfall for two consecutive days, combined with westerlies reaching 600 hPa level and outgoing longwave radiation below 200 W/sq m.

Static linkage: Indian geography (Arabian Sea, Bay of Bengal cyclones); disaster management.

GS area: Science and Technology, History (ancient humans)

A new study from Rising Star Cave in South Africa provided evidence that Homo naledi, an extinct human relative, buried its dead and created cave engravings.

• Homo naledi: A species discovered in 2013 in the Dinaledi Chamber of Rising Star Cave in South Africa. It has a small brain (roughly a third the size of a modern human brain) but walked upright and had human-like hands.
• Previous assumption: Deliberate burial and the creation of symbols were thought to be behaviours exclusive to large-brained Homo sapiens, appearing around 100,000 years ago.
• New evidence: Researchers found what appear to be intentionally positioned bodies in oval depressions in the cave floor, consistent with deliberate burial. Geometric engravings (lines, crosses, hashtag patterns) were found on cave walls in the same system.
• Significance: If confirmed, it means complex ritualistic behaviour predates large brains and was not unique to our species.

Static linkage: Science and technology; art and culture (prehistoric).

GS area: Science and Technology, Economy (energy)

The Ministries of New and Renewable Energy and Power jointly launched the MAHIR (Mission on Advanced and High-Impact Research) mission.

• Duration: Five years, 2023 to 2028.
• Focus areas: Green hydrogen production (electrolysis, bio-pathways); advanced battery chemistry (alternatives to lithium); carbon capture, utilisation, and storage; advanced materials for clean energy.
• Green hydrogen: Produced by electrolysis of water using renewable electricity. It produces no CO2, unlike grey hydrogen (from natural gas without carbon capture).
• India's ambition: The National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023) set a target of 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen production annually by 2030 and 50 GW of electrolyser capacity.

Static linkage: Science and technology; energy; environment.

GS area: Government Schemes, Governance

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India released the fifth edition of its State Food Safety Index.

• Purpose: Assesses states and UTs on food safety infrastructure, surveillance, regulation, and industry support.
• Rankings: Kerala topped among large states for the third consecutive time. Goa led among small states. Jammu and Kashmir topped among Union Territories.
• FSSAI: Established under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. It functions under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The FSSAI sets standards for food safety, licensing, and registration of food businesses.

Static linkage: Government schemes; health and governance.

GS area: Science and Technology (health)

The European Union approved Arexvy, the world's first approved vaccine against Respiratory Syncytial Virus, for adults aged 60 and above.

• RSV: A common respiratory virus. In healthy adults, it causes cold-like symptoms. In the elderly and infants, it causes bronchiolitis and pneumonia.
• Manufacturer: GlaxoSmithKline (GSK).
• Significance: RSV has been a leading cause of hospitalisation in the elderly, yet no vaccine existed until this approval.
• India context: Rotavirus and RSV are the two leading causes of infant respiratory and gastrointestinal illness in India. An infant-specific RSV vaccine remains in development.

Static linkage: Science and technology (health); international developments.

• Northern Sea Route: An Arctic shipping corridor running from the Barents Sea to the Bering Strait, entirely within Russia's Exclusive Economic Zone. The distance from Europe to Asia is about a third that of the Suez Canal route. Russia announced a USD 24 billion investment plan to develop the route as Arctic ice retreats.
• Genetic diversity study: A CCMB (Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology, Hyderabad) study found that species with maternal care show higher genetic diversity. Genetic diversity increases with geographic distance from a species' origin point.
• India's 5th State Food Safety Index (FSSAI): Mentioned above as the main item. Repeat: Kerala (large state), Goa (small state), J&K (UT) topped their respective categories.