07-November -2023-Daily-Current-Affairs

MYANMAR’S POLITICAL QUAGMIRE

GS 2 (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS): SOURCE – ORF

Myanmar’s struggle for democratic governance amid the entrenched military rule has sparked complex challenges requiring internal and external collaborative efforts.

Civilian Casualties and Power Dynamics

• Civilian Fatalities: A report highlights more than 3,000 documented civilian deaths attributed to the military and over 2,000 due to anti-coup resistance.
• Complexity of Situation: The resistance’s strength and the military junta’s entrenchment create uncertainty in the struggle to establish democratic governance.

                           

Constitutional Predicament

• Existing Limitations: The 2008 Constitution, favoring military interests, imposes substantial restrictions in amending power dynamics.
• Challenges in Transformation: Transitioning towards an inclusive democratic governance model faces constitutional hurdles, particularly in reducing military influence.

Role of National Unity Government (NUG)

• Proposed Framework: The NUG aims to abolish the 2008 Constitution and establish a federal structure with extensive devolution of authority to subnational levels.
• Diversity in Leadership: The NUG cabinet exhibits substantial diversity, reflecting a broad representation of Myanmar’s ethnic and minority communities.
• NUG’s Struggle and International Recognition
• Operational Challenges: The NUG faces hurdles in providing public services and ensuring citizen protection, partly due to limited mobility and influence over regions controlled by ethnic armed factions.
• Recognition Predicament: While some countries engage in discussions, formal recognition for NUG remains pending due to diplomatic complexities.

ASEAN and Regional Diplomacy

• Five-Point Consensus: ASEAN’s push for constructive dialogue and aid distribution faces resistance from Myanmar’s military junta, impacting regional engagement.
• Troika Framework: The regional ASEAN body’s establishment of a troika system aims to oversee Myanmar’s situation, suggesting growing regional pressure.

Conclusion

Myanmar’s political landscape stands at a critical juncture, requiring a comprehensive approach involving internal stakeholders, international recognition, and active regional diplomacy. The quest for democracy, inclusion, and stability in Myanmar necessitates sustained attention and diplomatic collaboration to address the deep-rooted challenges the nation faces.

CHINA’S GROWING SUBMARINE CAPABILITIES

GS 2 (INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS): SOURCE – ORF

The maritime landscape of the Indo-Pacific is evolving with China’s augmented submarine capabilities. This transformation in China’s naval prowess is not only an area of concern for regional powers but also incites a concerted international effort in monitoring and preparing for potential developments in the region.

China’s Naval Expansion

• PLAN’s Enhanced Capabilities: China’s maritime strength is escalating with the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) growing more assertive and powerful.
• Recent Incidents: China attempted to send the Shi Yan 6 research vessel to Sri Lanka, raising concerns about espionage capabilities, specifically data collection for submarine operations.

Naval Espionage and Research Activities

• Underlying Concerns: India expressed apprehension about China’s hidden objectives behind seemingly benign marine research activities in Sri Lanka.
• Espionage Data Gathering: The Shi Yan 6 vessel’s involvement in collecting vital data of the Indian Ocean for China’s submarine operations drew international attention.

Advancements in Chinese Submarines

• Type 095 and Type 096 Submarines: China’s development of Type 095 nuclear-powered cruise missile submarines and Type 096 ballistic missile submarines signifies a significant leap in submarine capabilities.
• Implications for Security: These submarines pose challenges for U.S. and Indo-Pacific security, particularly due to their quieter operation and long-range missile capabilities.

Strategic Concerns

• Global Security Implications: The emergence of Type 096 submarines signifies an impending challenge in submarine detection and its expected deployment by 2030.
• Nuclear Submarine Dynamics: Developments in Type 093B nuclear attack submarines raise concerns about enhanced anti-surface warfare capabilities.

Collaborative Response and Regional Exercises

• International Monitoring: Major regional powers are engaging in coordinated efforts to track China’s growing submarine capabilities, reflecting the significance of international cooperation.
• Multilateral Exercises: Indo-Pacific powers, including Japan, India, the U.S., Australia, and France, are intensifying anti-submarine warfare efforts, particularly in tracking China’s submarines.

Conclusion

China’s escalating submarine capabilities have raised alarms among major Indo-Pacific powers, prompting collaborative efforts to monitor, track, and adapt to these advancements. The shared concerns over China’s submarine dominance have led to increased multilateral engagement and exercises, highlighting the imperative for ongoing international coordination to navigate the evolving maritime scenario in the Indo-Pacific region.

KRISHI 24/7

GS 3 (ECONOMY): SOURCE – ORF

The Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare (DA&FW), in collaboration with the Wadhwani Institute for Artificial Intelligence (Wadhwani AI) and support from Google.org, has unveiled Krishi 24/7, an innovative AI-powered tool for automated agricultural news monitoring and analysis. This groundbreaking initiative aims to streamline the identification and management of critical agricultural news articles, enabling prompt decision-making in the agricultural sector.

Key Features of Krishi 24/7

• Automated News Monitoring: Krishi 24/7 employs AI algorithms to scan agricultural news articles in various languages, translating them into English for comprehensive analysis.
• Data Extraction: The tool extracts vital information from news articles, including headlines, crop details, event types, dates, locations, severity, summaries, and source links.
• Real-time Alerts: By offering near real-time monitoring of online agricultural news articles, Krishi 24/7 assists the DA&FW in identifying pertinent news, creating alerts, and taking timely actions.

Empowering Decision-Making

• The tool empowers the DA&FW to stay informed and shape the narrative around agricultural developments.
• Continuous improvement is emphasized, ensuring that Krishi 24/7 evolves to adapt to changing information landscapes.

The Wadhwani AI Collaboration

• Wadhwani AI, in collaboration with government bodies, is committed to providing innovative AI solutions to enhance information flow and support data-driven decisions.
• The success of similar AI-based solutions, such as disease outbreak tracking and analysis, highlights the potential of Krishi 24/7.

RELICS OF HUGE PRIMORDIAL COLLISION RESIDE IN EARTH’S DEEP INTERIOR.

GS 3 (SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY): SOURCE – THE HINDU

Recent research unveils the lingering impact of a colossal collision over 4.46 billion years ago that contributed to the formation of the moon. Seismologists discovered two dense, continent-sized structures residing in Earth’s mantle, theorized to be remnants of the primordial collision with a celestial body called Theia.

                               

Key Findings

• Theia’s Remnants: Chunks of Theia, remaining from the primordial collision, are suggested to reside within Earth’s mantle, contributing to the formation of large blobs detected under Africa and the South Pacific.
• Computer Simulations: Computer simulations analysed the impact, geophysical properties of Theia, and the mantle’s evolution, proposing that most of Theia was absorbed into Earth, forming the identified blobs.
• Detecting Earth’s Relics: Seismic waves’ slower travel within these blob regions indicates their denser composition compared to the surrounding mantle, akin to twice the mass of the moon.

Implications and Future Studies

• Unearthing evidence of Theia’s existence within Earth’s mantle could shed light on the hypothesized moon-forming event.
• The blobs’ increased density, potentially rich in iron like moon rocks, offers insight into the collision’s material aftermath.

Prospects for Exploration

• Future lunar missions could provide isotopic tests to corroborate the similarities between the lunar mantle rocks and these Earth-based dense regions.
• Insights into this ancient collision event may offer valuable knowledge about Earth’s evolution and differences from other rocky planets.

Conclusion

Uncovering relics from an ancient celestial collision within Earth’s mantle paves the way for a deeper understanding of our planet’s history and could provide clues about the development of habitable planets within our solar system and beyond.

IN THE SIKKIM FLOOD’S WAKE, A TRAIL OF HAZARDS LIE IN WAIT

GS 3 (ENVIRONMENT): SOURCE – THE HINDU

The recent GLOF (Glacial Lake Outburst Flood) in Sikkim caused severe devastation, leading to the loss of lives and infrastructural damages across the region. The incident, involving the breach of the South Lhonak glacier lake, has prompted in-depth investigations and debates regarding its triggers, risks, and implications.

Cascade of Catastrophic Events

1. Breach Sequence: The glacial lake breach resulted from a slope failure along the lake’s left bank, triggering an impulse wave leading to a partial breach and damaging the area, impacting thousands of lives.
2. Ongoing Hazard: The lake, although partially drained, still poses a potential hazard. Continuous landslides near the initial breach site heighten the threat of sudden water release.
3. Secondary Damages: The Teesta-III hydropower project dam failure combined with the GLOF led to amplified destruction downstream, affecting other dams and causing significant infrastructural damage.

Causes and Weather Contradictions

• Disputed Causes: Despite the government’s attribution of the flood to a cloudburst, meteorological data suggests low rainfall levels during the period, questioning the authenticity of the claim.
• Probable Triggers: Scientific communities investigate potential earthquakes as another probable trigger for the catastrophic event.

Climate Change and Environmental Impact

• Glacial Retreat: Decades of climate-induced glacial melting resulted in the South Lhonak glacier’s rapid reduction, directly correlating with the amplified lake size and the eventual breach.
• Permafrost Weakening: Accelerated lake expansion weakened the permafrost, potentially contributing to the slope failure and event cascades.
  

Conclusions and Future Precautions

The Sikkim disaster unfolds multifaceted environmental, climatic, and infrastructural vulnerabilities. Future initiatives should include comprehensive disaster preparedness and glacial lake monitoring to mitigate similar risks in high-risk zones. Understanding the climate’s influence on such incidents is crucial for better management and disaster mitigation strategies.

ENCORE BY ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA

GS 2 (POLITY AND GOVERNANCE): SOURCE- THE INDIAN EXPRESS

• Election Management Software: The Election Commission of India (ECI) developed ‘ENCORE,’ an in-house software designed to manage candidates and elections comprehensively.
• End-to-End Functionality: ENCORE serves as an end-to-end application allowing Returning Officers to digitize votes, tabulate round-wise data, and generate essential statutory reports for the counting process.
• ENCORE Scrutiny Application: This supplementary application enables Returning Officers to scrutinize candidates’ filed nominations digitally.
• ENCORE Nodal App: Departments such as fire, education, police, and environment utilize the ENCORE Nodal App to issue ‘no objection’ certificates for political rallies, road shows, etc., streamlining the process through online channels.
• Efficiency Enhancement: These applications collectively improve the efficiency and transparency of election management, ensuring a streamlined, digital, and more accessible electoral process.

ENVIRONMENTAL DNA (eDNA) METHODOLOGY

GS 3 (ENVIRONMENT): SOURCE- TIMES OF INDIA

                        

• eDNA for Biodiversity Assessment: LaCONES, part of CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), introduced a novel technique to evaluate overall biodiversity.
• Sequencing eDNA Samples: Researchers use this approach to sequence environmental DNA (eDNA) collected from various sources like water, soil, or air to comprehend the total biodiversity present.
• Non-Destructive Monitoring: The eDNA method is a non-destructive and non-invasive way of biologically monitoring ecosystems, allowing for the assessment of biodiversity without harming the environment.
• Understanding eDNA: Environmental DNA, or eDNA, encompasses genetic material released into the environment by organisms during their lifetime or after their demise through natural processes.
• Advantages: This innovative method provides a deeper insight into the diversity of life forms in different ecosystems through the analysis of genetic material present in the environment.