24 February 2024

• Economy: PM Awas Yojana's sustainability challenges: only 67 per cent completion rate in rural phase; six states account for 70 per cent of targets.
• Science: CERN scientists achieved the first laser cooling of positronium, a step toward fundamental physics experiments.
• Agriculture: IISc developed a synthetic human antibody against three-finger toxin (3FTx) from snakebite, effective even with delayed treatment.
• Biology: Speed-breeding protocol reduces the pigeonpea development cycle from 13 years to 2-4 years.

GS area: Governance (Housing Policy, Environment)

The Interim Budget 2024 announced construction of 2 crore additional houses under PMAY-Grameen (G) in the next five years.

Key sustainability and implementation concerns:

• Completion rate: Only 67 per cent of the rural phase houses sanctioned in earlier phases were actually completed.
• Geographic concentration: Six states (Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Bihar, Odisha) account for approximately 70 per cent of PMAY-G targets.
• Environmental concerns:
  • Heavy use of cement and steel without energy-efficiency standards. The construction sector contributes about 8 per cent of global CO2 emissions.
  • Inadequate solar panel provision and rainwater harvesting.
• Government technology initiatives: Light House Projects (six cities, using emerging construction technologies); Global Housing Technology Challenge-India (GHTC-India); Mivan Construction Technology (aluminium formwork for rapid construction); Insulating Concrete Formwork (ICF).
• Middle-class scheme: A new urban housing scheme for the middle class was also announced in the budget, separate from PMAY for economically weaker sections.

Static linkage: Governance (housing policy, PMAY, government schemes), Environment (construction sustainability).

GS area: Science and Technology (Physics)

CERN scientists achieved the first-ever laser cooling of positronium, an exotic atomic system.

• Positronium: An atom-like system consisting of an electron and its antiparticle, a positron. It has no nucleus. Because it consists of matter and antimatter, it annihilates within 142 nanoseconds (longest-lived form).
• Laser cooling: Using a precisely tuned laser to slow down atoms, reducing their temperature to fractions of a degree above absolute zero. Standard laser cooling works on ordinary atoms; positronium's extremely short lifespan made cooling it extraordinarily difficult.
• Achievement: CERN cooled positronium from approximately 380 Kelvin to 170 Kelvin using a 70-nanosecond pulse from an alexandrite laser.
• Applications:
  • Measuring Earth's gravitational acceleration with extreme precision (testing general relativity with antimatter).
  • Quantum electrodynamics (QED) research.
  • Potential future gamma-ray lasers.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (particle physics, antimatter, CERN, laser cooling).

GS area: Science and Technology (Biotechnology, Health)

Researchers at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru, developed a synthetic human antibody effective against three-finger toxin (3FTx), a major category of snake venom.

• 3FTx: Three-finger toxins are found in elapid snakes (cobras, kraits, mambas, and sea snakes). They block neuromuscular transmission, causing respiratory paralysis.
• Current antivenom problem: Traditional polyvalent antivenom is made from horse blood immunised with venom. It has high rates of adverse reactions and must be administered quickly. It covers multiple species but imprecisely.
• The IISc antibody: A synthetic human monoclonal antibody that specifically neutralises 3FTx. It showed effectiveness in animal models even when administered with a significant delay after envenomation.
• India's snakebite burden: India reports approximately 58,000 snakebite deaths per year (WHO estimate), the highest globally. Most victims are agricultural workers and rural communities.
• Significance: A species-specific, synthetic antibody could be cheaper to manufacture, safer (human-derived, no horse antibody reactions), and more effective.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (biotechnology, snakebite, IISc, one health).

GS area: Science and Technology (Agriculture, Biotechnology)

Researchers developed a speed-breeding protocol that reduces the pigeonpea (Cajanus cajan) variety development cycle from 13 years to 2 to 4 years.

• Pigeonpea (Tur/Arhar): A legume crop critical for dryland agriculture in semi-arid regions. Rich in protein. Used as dal (split lentils) across India.
• Production states: Over 80 per cent of India's tur production comes from six states: Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat, and Jharkhand.
• The challenge: Conventional plant breeding involves multiple cycles of crossing and selecting plants over many years. Each generation requires a full growing season.
• Speed-breeding technique: Controlled growth chambers with extended lighting (22 hours of light per day) and precise temperature accelerate the plant's life cycle, allowing multiple generations per year.
• Impact: New drought-tolerant, high-yield, and pest-resistant varieties can reach farmers in a quarter of the previous time. This is crucial as climate change alters rainfall patterns in dryland areas.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (plant breeding, agricultural biotechnology), Economy (pulses, food security, dryland agriculture).

GS area: Environment (Conservation, Freshwater Biodiversity)

The first-ever breeding population of Cantor's Giant Softshell Turtle was discovered in the Chandragiri River in Kerala.

• IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
• Identification: The world's largest freshwater turtle. Named after Danish naturalist Theodore Edward Cantor. Previously thought nearly extinct in India.
• Legal protection: Listed under Schedule I of the Wildlife Protection Act 1972 (highest protection; possession and trade are strictly prohibited). Listed under Appendix II of CITES.
• Habitat: Large, slow-flowing rivers with sandy or muddy bottoms. Breathes through its nostrils while buried in sand, with only its snout breaking the surface.
• Threat: Sand mining in rivers, fishing nets, and habitat degradation. The Chandragiri River discovery is significant because it suggests viable populations can persist in rivers with appropriate habitat.

Static linkage: Environment (freshwater biodiversity, WPA Schedule I, CITES, critically endangered species, Kerala rivers).

• Venture capital and startup assessment: The SIDBI-CRISIL "Prabhaav" report assessed the impact of the Fund of Funds for Start-ups (FFS), which is managed by SIDBI (Small Industries Development Bank of India) and falls under DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade). The report found that FFS-supported startups showed stronger performance in deep tech, agri-tech, and health tech sectors.
• Albania diplomatic ties: India and Albania announced plans to open resident embassies in each other's capitals (India's first embassy in Tirana). Albania is a Balkan nation bordering Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia, and Greece in Southeast Europe.