24 September 2024

• History: 2024 marks 100 years of the discovery of the Indus Valley Civilisation, announced by John Marshall in 1924.
• International: The sixth Quad Leaders' Summit at Wilmington launched the Cancer Moonshot, MAITRI and semiconductor cooperation.
• Sports: India won historic double gold at the Chess Olympiad 2024 (both men's and women's open categories).
• Environment: The Wildlife Habitats Development Scheme (Rs 2,602 crore) was approved for 55 tiger reserves, 33 elephant reserves and 718 protected areas.

GS area: History (ancient India)

The year 2024 marks the centenary of the formal announcement of the Indus Valley Civilisation's discovery by John Marshall in 1924.

Key facts:

• Discovery: John Marshall (Director-General of the Archaeological Survey of India) announced the discovery in 1924 in the Illustrated London News. Before this, Harappa was partially excavated by Daya Ram Sahni and Mohenjo-daro by Rakhal Das Banerji.
• Alternative names: Harappan Civilisation (after Harappa, the first site named), Indus Valley Civilisation (after the primary river), and Indus-Saraswati Civilisation (emphasising the Saraswati/Ghaggar-Hakra river system).
• Timeline: Thrived from approximately 3200 BCE to 1500 BCE. Peak phase: 2600-1900 BCE.
• Geographic span: 2,000 archaeological sites across present-day India, Pakistan and Afghanistan. Covered approximately 1.5 million square kilometres.
• Key characteristics: Advanced town planning (grid streets, covered drainage), baked brick houses, standardised weights and measures, trade connections with Mesopotamia.
• Decline: Cambridge University study (referenced in this week's coverage) showed droughts beginning 4,200 years ago and lasting over 200 years disrupted food systems, forcing population migration eastward toward the Gangetic Plain. Crop substitution toward drought-resilient millets accompanied the shift.
• Lothal: Southernmost major site; world's earliest known artificial dock, in Gujarat.
• Great Bath at Mohenjo-daro: A large public bathing structure suggesting ritual bathing practices.

Static linkage: Ancient Indian history, Indus Valley Civilisation, ASI.

GS area: International Relations

The Quad Leaders' Summit at Wilmington, Delaware, was the sixth edition of the annual Leaders' Summit.

Key initiatives:

• Quad Cancer Moonshot: Joint initiative on cervical cancer in the Indo-Pacific. Cervical cancer accounts for significant female cancer deaths in the region; HPV vaccination access and screening are the focus.
• MAITRI (Maritime Initiative for Training in Indo-Pacific): Training framework for maritime security professionals across partner nations in the Indo-Pacific.
• Quad-at-Sea Ship Observer Mission: Planned for 2025. Naval exercise for maritime interoperability.
• Ports of the Future Partnership: Resilient, climate-adaptable port infrastructure development.
• Quad STEM Fellowship: Scholarships for Indo-Pacific students to study science and technology in member countries.
• Semiconductor supply chains: Diversifying from China-centric global semiconductor production.
• Quad formation timeline:
  • 2004: Initial coordination for Indian Ocean tsunami relief.
  • 2007: First officials' meeting.
  • 2017: Revival by Japan's PM Shinzo Abe.
  • 2021: First Leaders' Summit (virtual).
  • 2024: Wilmington summit (sixth edition).

Static linkage: Quad, Indo-Pacific strategy, India-US-Japan-Australia relations.

GS area: Sports (general awareness)

India won gold medals in both the Open and Women's categories at the Chess Olympiad 2024, a historic first.

Key context:

• Chess Olympiad format: Biennial team championship. Open category (five-player team) and Women's category (four-player team). Uses Swiss-system tournament format.
• Governing body: FIDE (International Chess Federation, Fédération Internationale des Échecs). Established in 1924. Headquartered in Lausanne, Switzerland.
• India's chess rise: India is the world's leading chess nation by player depth. Top Indian players include D. Gukesh (who won the World Chess Championship 2024), R. Praggnanandhaa, Vidit Gujrathi, Arjun Erigaisi and Koneru Humpy.
• 2022 Olympiad: India won bronze in Open and gold in Women's category (online edition).
• 2024 venue: Budapest, Hungary.

Static linkage: Sports governance, FIDE.

GS area: Environment (biodiversity, conservation)

The Cabinet approved the Wildlife Habitats Development Scheme with a Rs 2,602 crore outlay for the 15th Finance Commission period.

Key components:

• Coverage: 55 tiger reserves, 33 elephant reserves, 718 protected areas.
• Umbrella schemes supported: Project Tiger, Project Elephant, Project Dolphin (Gangetic river dolphin) and Project Lion (Asiatic lion in Gir).
• Technology integration: AI-powered camera traps for wildlife monitoring, satellite tracking and conservation genetics monitoring.
• Climate resilience: The scheme explicitly includes funding for climate adaptation in wildlife habitats.
• Critical tiger statistics:
  • 2022 All India Tiger Estimation: 3,682 tigers.
  • India holds approximately 75 per cent of the global wild tiger population.
  • Kaziranga National Park (Assam) has the highest density.
• Project Lion: The Asiatic lion is found only in the Gir Forest National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary in Gujarat. As of the 2020 census: 674 Asiatic lions.

Static linkage: Wildlife conservation, protected areas, tiger conservation.

GS area: Economy (energy, aviation), Environment

India and Brazil reaffirmed their partnership on Sustainable Aviation Fuels at the UN General Assembly margins.

Key facts:

• SAF definition: Fuels produced from non-petroleum sources including waste oils, agricultural residues, algae and municipal solid waste. They can replace or blend with conventional jet fuel without modifying engines.
• Emissions reduction: SAF can reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions by up to 80 per cent compared to conventional jet fuel.
• India-Brazil SAF angle: Both are founding members of the Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA, launched at G20 New Delhi Summit, September 2023). Both have strong biofuel production bases (Brazil from sugarcane ethanol; India from sugarcane and rice straw).
• India's aviation growth: India is projected to be the world's third-largest aviation market by 2030. SAF is critical to meeting the aviation sector's net-zero targets.
• Regulatory framework: DGCA and ICAO coordinate on SAF blending mandates.

Static linkage: Biofuels, Global Biofuels Alliance, aviation policy.

GS area: Governance (food safety), Technology

The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) launched the FIRA (Food Import Rejection Alert) Portal at the Global Food Regulators Summit 2024.

Key facts:

• Purpose: A notification system that alerts food safety regulators and importers about consignments rejected at Indian borders due to quality failures.
• Previous rejections: Over 1,500 imported food consignments failed Indian quality standards in the year preceding the summit.
• FSSAI: The apex food safety regulator under the Food Safety and Standards Act 2006. Under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
• Relevance: FIRA creates transparency and helps importers understand specific rejection grounds. It also creates a database for pattern analysis (which countries, which products, which contaminants).
• Global Food Regulators Summit 2024: A ministerial-level meeting convening regulators from across the world on food safety standards and trade harmonisation.

Static linkage: Food safety, FSSAI, trade regulations.

• Nanozymes: CSIR-CLRI research on manganese-based nanozymes that enhance collagen stability. The mechanism uses tannic acid-tyrosine linkage to make collagen resistant to collagenase. Applications include wound healing, tissue engineering and biomaterial durability.
• Dr. Mary Poonen Lukose (1886-): Kerala's first female physician, first woman in any Indian princely state's legislative council (Travancore), and first woman to serve as health department head in a princely state (1924). Relevance: women's history, medical governance.