News In Short-24-04-2025

Davis Strait

Syllabus: GS1/Places in News

Context

• A hidden landmass has been found beneath the icy waters of the Davis Strait.

About

• The discovery was made by a team of scientists from the UK and Sweden during a study of the ocean floor in the region. 
• The landmass is now named the Davis Strait proto-microcontinent. 
  • It is made up of unusually thick continental crust and measures between 12 and 15 miles (around 19 to 24 kilometres).
  • It lies submerged beneath Greenland’s western offshore waters and has been identified as a primitive microcontinent which is an ancient fragment of crust that never fully separated when Greenland and North America drifted apart.

Davis Strait

• Davis Strait, the body of water that separates Canada’s Baffin Island from Greenland.
• The Strait connects the Labrador Sea (Atlantic Ocean) in the south with Baffin Bay to the north.
• Straits are usually defined as a narrow passage or a waterway that lies between two land masses and connects two oceans or large bodies of water.
  • They are formed by natural geological phenomena such as tectonic shifts.

Source: TOI

5 Years of SVAMITVA Scheme

Syllabus :GS 2/Governance  

In News

• Recently, SVAMITVA (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas) Scheme completed 5 Years.

About SVAMITVA Scheme

• SVAMITVA Scheme was launched on April 24, 2020 on National Panchayati Raj Day.

• It is a Central Sector scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj.
• It aims to provide legal ownership papers for houses and land in villages using drones and mapping technology. 
• This helps villagers access loans, resolve disputes, and support better planning.
• It is being implemented by the Survey of India with National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) as the tech partner
• It has a budget of ₹566.23 crores from FY 2020-21 to 2024-25, with an extension to FY 2025-26.

Progress 

• Over 2.42 crore property cards have been created for 1.61 lakh villages under the scheme.
• Drone surveys completed in 3.20 lakh villages, covering 68,122 sq. km of the area.

Source :PIB

PoshanTracker Application

Syllabus: GS2/ Governance

Context

• The PoshanTracker Application of the Ministry of Women and Child Development, received the Prime Minister’s Award for Excellence in Public Administration 2024 under the Innovation category.

About

• The Poshan Tracker is a mobile-based, ICT-enabled application used by Anganwadi Workers (AWWs) to capture and monitor the delivery of nutrition and childcare services in real-time.
• It aims to ensure accurate tracking, assessment, and monitoring of key indicators related to maternal and child nutrition.
• It covers all Anganwadi Centres (AWCs), their workers, and beneficiaries, thereby creating a unified digital ecosystem for the Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS).
• It seeks to digitize data near-real time monitoring and enabling policies for targeted intervention.

Source: PIB

Tobacco Farming

Syllabus: GS3/Agriculture

Context

• Andhra Pradesh Social Welfare Minister assures support to tobacco farmers facing issues with low bids and delayed procurement.

Tobacco Farming

• Tobacco cultivation in India was introduced by the Portuguese in 1605.
• India is the 2nd largest producer of tobacco in the world after China. 
• India is the 2nd largest exporter of unmanufactured tobacco (quantity terms) after Brazil. 
• In India tobacco is predominantly cultivated in Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, UP and Bihar. 
  • Gujarat accounts for 45 per cent of the area and 30 per cent of production. Productivity is also highest in Gujarat followed by AP.

Climatic Conditions

• In India, tobacco is grown when the mean temperature is 20° to 27°C. 
• It is not usually grown where rainfall exceeds 1200 mm during the season. 
• In India, cigar and binder tobacco are grown on sandy to loamy red soils.
• It needs larger quantities of nitrogen, potassium, calcium and magnesium. 

The Tobacco Board

• The Tobacco Board was established in 1976 by the Tobacco Board Act, 1975.
• The Board’s primary role is to ensure the smooth functioning of the farming system and to ensure fair and remunerative prices for tobacco farmers and the promotion of exports.

Source: TH

Safeguard Duty

Syllabus: GS3/ Economy

Context

• India has imposed a 12% provisional safeguard duty for 200 days on five categories of steel products to protect domestic producers from a surge in low-cost imports.

Safeguard Duty

• A safeguard duty is a temporary measure used to limit the import of a specific good to prevent serious harm to a domestic industry.
  • It is permitted under World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.
• These duties typically have a deadline and are applicable against all the countries with uniform rate of duty unlike the anti-dumping duties.
• These are considered an emergency action and are deemed necessary only when certain imports present serious injury or damage to domestic industries.

Source: TH

Lipids & RC1 Complex

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• A new study challenges the traditional view that lipids are merely structural components, revealing their active role in cellular evolution and mitochondrial function.

What are Lipids?

• Lipids are fatty compounds that make up 30% of the dry weight of living cells.
• It plays critical roles in the body which includes; Energy storage, Hormone production,  transport of fat-soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K.

• There are two types of cholesterol;
  • LDL (low-density lipoprotein), often referred to as ‘bad’ cholesterol because it can accumulate in the walls of arteries and contribute to severe diseases, and 
  • HDL (high-density lipoprotein), known as ‘good’ cholesterol.

RC1 Complex

• The RC1 (Respiratory Complex I) is a group of proteins embedded in the inner mitochondrial membrane of all aerobic eukaryotic cells.
• It is vital for cellular respiration, the process of converting oxygen and nutrients into energy.
• In humans, RC1 comprises 44 proteins, some encoded by nuclear DNA and others by mitochondrial DNA.
  • These proteins must assemble accurately in the lipid-rich mitochondrial membrane for efficient function.

Source: TH, PIB

Nano-sulphur

Syllabus: GS3/Agriculture

Context

• The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) scientists claim that the nano sulphur developed by them increases the yield of mustard by 30-40%.

About

• DMH-11, the genetically-modified mustard, increases average per hectare yield by 10-40 per cent in various multi-site trials conducted so far.
  • Existing mustard varieties give an average per hectare yield of around 1-1.8 tonne.
• Significance of Nano Sulphur:
  • It is a completely green product that uses biological agents like plant promoting bacteria that secrete enzymes and metabolites.
  • It also replaces up to 50% of traditional sulphur fertilisers and can lead to an additional earning of up to ₹12,000 per acre for farmers.
  • Cost Effective: A 500 millilitre bottle of nano sulphur will cost a farmer around ₹450 while a bag of conventional sulphur in different grades varies from ₹900-1,800.

Sulphur

• Sulphur is a key component of amino acids like cysteine and methionine, which are building blocks of proteins.
• This is especially important in legumes, oilseeds (like mustard), and cereals.
• Sulphur boosts oil content in oilseeds (e.g., canola, sunflower).
• It improves grain quality in cereals like wheat and enhances flavor in onions, garlic, and other alliums.

Source: BS

Galaxy NGC 1052-DF2

Syllabus :GS 3/Space 

In News

• Astronomers at the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA) have investigated the unusual lack of dark matter in the galaxy NGC 1052-DF2, which challenges standard galaxy formation theories. 

Dark matter

• It  makes up about 27% of the universe but doesn’t interact with light, making it invisible and detectable only through its gravitational effects.
• Dark matter and dark energy are mysterious components of the universe, making up about 95% of it.
  • The remaining less than 5% includes everything we can see and understand, like Earth and observable matter.

NGC 1052-DF2

• It is an ultra-diffuse galaxy the size of the Milky Way but with far fewer stars and only 1/400th the expected dark matter. 
• It is unique for its extreme dark matter deficiency, making it a rare anomaly even among ultra-diffuse galaxies.
• It has a total mass of around 340 million solar masses—mostly from stars—indicating very little dark matter compared to typical galaxies like the Milky Way.

Latest Developments 

• Researcher K. Aditya modeled the galaxy using stellar density data and found that mass models with a “cuspy” dark matter halo (dense in the center) did not match observed data. 
• These findings suggest that the galaxy may either lack dark matter or contain it in a very diffuse form, prompting new questions about galaxy formation and the nature of dark matter.

Source :TH

Schemes for Sportspersons in India

Syllabus: Miscellaneous   

In News

• The GOI has demonstrated a strong commitment to elevating sports across the nation by creating a comprehensive framework of support for athletes at every stage of their journey.

Present Status 

• India has made remarkable strides in sports, driven by strong government support through various schemes and initiatives.
• The Khelo India Programme, launched in 2016-17, is at the heart of this effort, aiming to build a sporting culture at the grassroots and support athletes across all levels.
• With a record budget of ₹3,794 crore for FY 2025–26, major investments are going into athlete training, infrastructure, and talent development.

Major schemes

• RESET Programme (2024) empowers retired athletes through education and job opportunities.
• Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay National Welfare Fund  for Sportspersons offers one-time ex-gratia aid of up to ₹5 lakh, a monthly pension of ₹5,000, medical assistance up to ₹10 lakh, and support up to ₹10 lakh for injuries sustained during training or competitions.
  • Families of deceased sportspersons and support personnel like coaches, referees, and physiotherapists may also receive financial aid, with a maximum of ₹5 lakh and ₹2 lakh respectively.
• Human Resources Development in Sports promotes research, global exposure, and skill upgrades in sports science and coaching.
• Scheme for Sports & Games for the Disabled promotes inclusive sports at the grassroots for persons with disabilities.
• Panchayat Yuva Krida aur Khel Abhiyan (PYKKA) strengthens sports infrastructure and events at village/block levels.
• Assistance to National Sports Federations (ANSF) funds training, coaching, and participation in international events.
• National Sports Development Fund (NSDF) bridges gaps in athlete support and infrastructure with public-private funding.
• Pension for Meritorious Sportspersons offers life-long financial security to decorated athletes.
• National Sports Awards honor outstanding athletes, reinforcing motivation and recognition.

Source :TH