15 April 2024

• Elections: The ECI's home voting initiative allows citizens above 85 and persons with disabilities to vote without travelling to polling booths.
• Environment: A mange outbreak threatens Asiatic wild dogs at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, likely transmitted from feral dogs.
• Science: NASA's PACE satellite begins distributing ocean colour and aerosol data, tracking phytoplankton health and air quality.
• Astronomy: A gravitational wave event (GW230529) captures the merger of a neutron star with a mysterious object in the "mass gap."
• Polity: The PMLA Adjudicating Authority confirms the provisional attachment of National Herald assets.

GS area: Polity (elections, social justice)

The Election Commission of India introduced home voting (Postal Ballot for Senior Citizens and Persons with Disabilities) for the 2024 general election.

Key facts:

• Eligibility: Citizens above 85 years of age. Persons with Disabilities (PwD) with a benchmark disability of 40 per cent or more.
• Process: Eligible voters can opt for a postal ballot. Election officers visit their homes with ballot material. The completed ballot is collected and counted.
• Purpose: Removes the physical barrier of travelling to a polling booth, expanding the franchise to those who cannot easily leave home.
• Other 2024 accessibility measures:
  • Braille signage at booths in Puducherry (Tamil and English).
  • Companion allowance for visually impaired voters under Rule 49N of Conduct of Elections Rules, 1961.
  • Proposed Remote Electronic Voting Machine (RVM) for migrant voters: not yet deployed in 2024 but in trials.
  • Proxy voting and postal ballots for service voters.

Static linkage: elections, rights of persons with disabilities, ECI.

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity

A mange disease outbreak was detected among Asiatic wild dog populations at Mudumalai Tiger Reserve, likely transmitted from feral domestic dogs on the reserve's buffer zone boundary.

Key facts:

• Mudumalai Tiger Reserve: Located in Nilgiris District, Tamil Nadu, at the trijunction of Karnataka, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. It forms part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India's first biosphere reserve.
• Asiatic wild dog (Dhole): Scientific name Cuon alpinus. Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List. Protected under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and listed in CITES Appendix II.
• Mange disease: A skin disease caused by Sarcoptes scabiei mites. Causes inflammation, severe itching, and hair loss. Can be fatal in wild animals through secondary infection and exhaustion. Spreads via direct contact with infected animals.
• Feral dog problem: Strays and abandoned dogs at wildlife reserve borders are a known disease vector for wild carnivores in India. The issue is especially acute in reserve buffer zones.
• Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve: Established in 1986, covering 5,520 sq km. The first biosphere reserve in India. Now a UNESCO World Network of Biosphere Reserve member.

Static linkage: environment, biodiversity, wildlife protection, Tamil Nadu.

GS area: Science and Technology, Environment

NASA's PACE (Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem) satellite began distributing data publicly after its February 2024 launch.

Key facts:

• Instruments:
  • Ocean Color Instrument (OCI): Measures light reflected from the ocean across a wide range of wavelengths, enabling identification of specific phytoplankton species.
  • Two multi-angle polarimeters: Measure the polarisation of light from aerosols and clouds.
• Applications:
  • Ocean health: Tracks phytoplankton blooms, which form the base of marine food webs and absorb significant carbon dioxide.
  • Air quality: Identifies aerosol types (dust, smoke, sea salt) by their polarisation signatures.
  • Climate monitoring: Measures how clouds and aerosols affect Earth's energy balance.
• Significance: Previous ocean colour satellites could not distinguish between phytoplankton species. PACE can, enabling finer monitoring of marine ecosystems.

Static linkage: science and technology, environment, oceanography.

GS area: Science and Technology

LIGO and Virgo detected gravitational wave event GW230529, caused by the merger of a neutron star with a compact object in the "mass gap."

Key facts:

• Gravitational waves: Ripples in spacetime caused by accelerating massive objects. Predicted by Einstein in 1916. First detected in 2015 at LIGO.
• GW230529: Located approximately 650 million light-years from Earth. The lighter object is almost certainly a neutron star. The heavier object (between 2.5 and 4.5 solar masses) is in the "mass gap."
• Mass gap: The range of compact object masses between the heaviest known neutron stars (approximately 2.5 solar masses) and the lightest known black holes (approximately 5 solar masses). Objects in this range are rare. GW230529 may be the lightest black hole ever discovered or an unusually heavy neutron star.
• Significance: Understanding mass-gap objects helps explain how compact binary systems form and the limits of neutron star matter.

Static linkage: science and technology, important discoveries.

GS area: Governance (education), Social Justice

The Prerana programme, a residential school immersion in values education, held its inaugural virtual alumni meet.

Key facts:

• Launch: Pilot phase began January 2024.
• Focus: Nine value-based themes designed to build future leadership. Students from various states and union territories participate.
• Host site: PM's residence in New Delhi (Lok Kalyan Marg) and other heritage sites, where students interact with achievers from different walks of life.
• Goal: Foster mentorship and encourage alumni to drive positive community change.

Static linkage: education, governance, youth.

GS area: Arts and Culture

Kuchipudi, the classical dance-drama form from Andhra Pradesh, faces challenges of declining youth interest and insufficient institutional support.

Key facts:

• Origin: Krishna district, Andhra Pradesh, in the village of Kuchipudi.
• Form: A dance-drama tradition that evolved from male-dominated village performances into a classical form with prominent female dancers.
• Distinguishing feature: Unlike other classical forms, Kuchipudi includes spoken dialogue (yakshagana style) within the performance.
• Recognition: One of India's eight classical dance forms recognised by the Sangeet Natak Akademi. The other seven are Bharatanatyam, Odissi, Manipuri, Mohiniyattam, Kathak, Kathakali, and Sattriya.
• Challenges: Youth migration to urban areas, high cost of training, and inadequate government support for practitioners.

Static linkage: art forms, India's cultural heritage.

• Gravitational wave infrastructure: LIGO (Laser Interferometer Gravitational- Wave Observatory) has two detectors in the US (Hanford and Livingston). Virgo operates in Italy. India's own detector, LIGO-India, is under construction in Hingoli, Maharashtra.
• Mount Etna volcanic vortex rings: Europe's largest active volcano, Mount Etna in Sicily (3,329 m), produced visible volcanic vortex rings. These form when gas escapes rapidly through circular vents and can persist for up to 10 minutes. First documented at Etna in 1724.
• Hydrogel for microplastics: IISc researchers developed a three-layer polymer hydrogel that removes 95 per cent of microplastics from water under UV light. The hydrogel contains copper-substituted polyoxometalate nanoclusters.