3 January 2025

• Technology: Air India became the first Indian airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi on domestic routes.
• Agriculture: Project VISTAAR, an IIT Madras partnership with the Agriculture Ministry, integrates data on 12,000 agri-startups.
• History and Society: Sree Narayana Guru's anniversary renewed attention to his caste-reform legacy in Kerala.
• Governance: The CAG launched the ODK platform for transparent audit data collection across government schemes.
• Economy: The Ramesh Chand Committee is reviewing the Wholesale Price Index with base year 2011-12 nearing revision.

GS area: Science and Technology, Infrastructure

Air India became the first Indian airline to offer in-flight Wi-Fi on domestic flights following regulatory clearance.

• Air-to-Ground (ATG) connectivity: Uses ground-based cellular towers to transmit signals to the aircraft. Works only over land and has limitations over water bodies.
• Satellite-based connectivity: Onboard antennae communicate with satellites in low or medium Earth orbit. Covers oceanic routes but costs more.
• Signal path: A passenger's device connects to an in-cabin router, which relays data via onboard antennae to either ground stations (ATG) or satellites.
• Limitations: Slower than ground-based broadband, higher latency, and high costs remain barriers to widespread adoption in India.

Static linkage: Aviation sector, communication technology (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Agriculture, Technology in Governance

VISTAAR stands for Virtually Integrated System to Access Agricultural Resources. It is a digital platform built by IIT Madras in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare.

• Data integration: Pulls together information on more than 12,000 agricultural startups operating across India.
• Purpose: Digitises agricultural extension services, connects farmers with startup innovations, and promotes climate-resilient farming practices.
• Features: Advisory services on crop production, marketing, supply chain management, and access to government schemes.

Agricultural extension is the system by which new research and techniques reach farmers. VISTAAR aims to route startup-developed solutions through this system.

Static linkage: Agriculture and allied activities (Economy), digital governance.

GS area: Modern Indian History, Society

Sree Narayana Guru was a social reformer from Kerala who challenged caste-based discrimination through both symbolic acts and institutional organisation.

• Born: 22 August 1856, Chempazhanthy near Thiruvananthapuram. He belonged to the Ezhava community, a marginalised group denied temple entry.
• Aruvippuram consecration (1888): Installed a Shivalinga at Aruvippuram without caste sanction, breaking the monopoly of upper-caste priests over temple ritual. This was his most famous act of defiance.
• SNDP Yogam (1903): Founded the Shree Narayana Dharma Paripalana movement to organise the Ezhava community socially and economically.
• Famous slogan: "One Caste, One Religion, One God for All."
• Works: Authored Atmopadesa Satakam and devotional hymns in Sanskrit and Malayalam.

His approach combined religious reform with social organisation and rejected both caste hierarchy and untouchability.

Static linkage: Social reform movements in India (Modern History, GS Paper 1).

GS area: Governance, Accountability

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India launched the Open Data Kit (ODK) platform to improve transparency in public spending audits.

• Purpose: Provides a digital platform for audit data collection and management across government schemes.
• Integration: Works with CAG's Operating System (OIOS) and includes end-to-end encryption and multi-language support.
• Real-time feedback: Collects beneficiary feedback for audit planning and has been used for performance reviews of institutions including AIIMS.
• Constitutional position of CAG: Article 148 establishes the Comptroller and Auditor General. The CAG audits all receipts and expenditures of the Government of India and the state governments.

Static linkage: Accountability institutions (Polity), Article 148-151.

GS area: Economy, Statistics

An 18-member expert panel led by Ramesh Chand, a member of NITI Aayog, is reviewing the Wholesale Price Index.

• Current base year: 2011-12. The committee is examining revision to 2022-23.
• WPI composition: Tracks 697 items: 117 primary articles, 16 fuel and power items, and 564 manufactured products.
• Issuing authority: The Office of Economic Advisor under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).
• Producers' Price Index (PPI): The committee is also examining whether India should transition to a PPI, which measures prices at the production stage, includes services, and aligns with international statistical standards. Most developed economies use PPI rather than WPI.

WPI measures price changes at the wholesale level. It differs from CPI (Consumer Price Index), which measures retail prices paid by consumers. India uses CPI for the RBI's inflation targeting framework.

Static linkage: Price indices, inflation (Economy), monetary policy.

GS area: International Relations, World History

In the news because of renewed US debate about the Panama Canal.

• Signed: 7 September 1977 between US President Jimmy Carter and Panama's General Omar Torrijos.
• Two treaties: The Panama Canal Treaty transferred control of the canal to Panama by 31 December 1999. The Permanent Neutrality Treaty declared the canal neutral and permanently open to ships of all nations.
• Significance: Restored Panamanian sovereignty, ended the colonial-era US control of the Canal Zone, and shifted the dynamics of US-Latin America relations.

Static linkage: International relations, Latin America (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Science and Technology (Medical Research)

Researchers at IIT-Guwahati and the Bose Institute in Kolkata developed an injectable hydrogel for localised cancer drug delivery.

• Mechanism: The hydrogel responds to elevated glutathione (GSH) levels in tumour cells. Tumour cells have much higher GSH concentrations than normal cells, which triggers the hydrogel to release the anti-cancer drug specifically at the tumour site.
• Advantage: Reduces systemic chemotherapy side effects by targeting delivery to cancer cells only.
• Biocompatibility: Designed to be safe for surrounding tissue.

Static linkage: Biotechnology, medical research (Science and Technology, GS Paper 3).

• Mubarak Manzil Palace, Agra: A 17th-century Mughal heritage structure near the Yamuna built during Aurangzeb's reign. It later served as a British customs house and then an East Indian Railway depot. Concerns about partial demolition brought it to public attention.