News In Short – 27-08-2024

Chile’s Atacama Salt Flat Sinking Due to Lithium Mining

Syllabus :GS 1/Geography 

In News 

• The Atacama salt flat in Chile is sinking at 1 to 2 centimeters per year due to lithium mining.

About 

• Referred to as “white gold,” lithium is crucial for rechargeable batteries in devices like laptops, mobile phones, and electric vehicles.
• Lithium Triangle: Argentina is the part of “Lithium Triangle” along with Chile and Bolivia with more than half of world’s total lithium resources and having the distinction of having 2nd largest lithium resources, 3rd largest lithium reserves and 4th largest production in the world.
• India’s Lithium Supply: India imports all its lithium needs and is exploring domestic extraction in J&K, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Odisha, and Chhattisgarh.
• Lithium is extracted by pumping salt-rich water to the surface and using evaporation ponds.
• Study Details: Researchers from the University of Chile used satellite data from 2020 to 2023 to observe deformations in the salt flat’s crust.
• Affected Area: The sinking primarily affects an 8 km by 5 km area in the southwest where mining is concentrated.
• Environmental Impact: Lithium extraction is depleting water sources, using 2,000 tons of water per ton of lithium, and contaminating soil and water with chemicals.
  • The decline in water levels has negatively affected local flamingo populations, reducing reproduction rates

Do you know?  – The salt flat is the Salar de Atacama, one of the largest sources of lithium, a key ingredient in rechargeable batteries.  – The salar is in Chile’s Atacama Desert, probably the driest place on the planet. Water leaves the salar only through evaporation, a process that leaves behind salts.

Source: IE

Mass Wasting of Sedongpu Gully of Tibetan Plateau 

Syllabus: GS 1/Geography

In News 

• Environmental scientists have raised concerns in a recent study regarding the high frequency of mass wasting events occurring in the Sedongpu Gully of the Tibetan Plateau since 2017.

About Mass Wasting

• Mass wasting refers to the movement of soil, rock, and debris down slopes, often triggered by factors such as heavy rainfall, earthquakes, or human activities.

Sedongpu Gully

• The Sedongpu Gully, in the catchment of the Sedongpu glacier and its valley, is 11 km long and covers 66.8 sq. km. 
• It drains into the Yarlung Zangbo, or the Tsangpo River, near where it takes a sharp turn — called the Great Bend — while flowing around Mt. Namcha Barwa (altitude 7,782 metres) and Mt. Gyala Peri (7,294 metres) to create a gorge 505 km long and 6,009 metres deep.
• This is one of the deepest gorges on the earth.
  • The Great Bend is close to Tibet’s border with Arunachal Pradesh, where the Tsangpo flows as the Siang River. 
  • In Assam further downstream, the Siang meets the Dibang and Lohit to form the Brahmaputra, which flows as the Jamuna in Bangladesh.

Source :TH

Wular Lake

Syllabus: GS1/ Physical Geography

In News

• Wular Lake is confronted with extensive siltation.

About Wular Lake

• Located in Jammu and Kashmir’s Bandipora district, it is the largest freshwater lake in India and second largest in Asia (after Lake Baikal).
• It was formed by tectonic activity and fed by the Jhelum River.
• Zain Lank is a small island in a lake constructed by King Zainul-Abi-Din. Wular Lake is designated as a Ramsar site.
• Threats: Pollution, encroachment, and siltation have reduced the lake’s size and ecological health.

Source: DTE

Lakhpati Didi Sammelan

Syllabus: GS1/Social Justice; GS2/Government Policy and Intervention

Context

• Recently, the Prime Minister participated in ‘Lakhpati Didi Sammelan’ at Jalgaon, Maharashtra.

About the Lakhpati Didi Sammelan

• It is an inspiring gathering that recognises and celebrates the achievements of women who have become ‘Lakhpati Didis’ – those who earn an annual sustainable income of at least ₹1 lakh (approximately $1,350).
  • This income is calculated for at least four agricultural seasons and/or business cycles, with an average monthly income exceeding Rupees Ten Thousand (Rs. 10,000), so that it is sustainable.

Lakhpati Didi Yojana

• It aims to uplift women in rural areas by providing them with skill development, training programmes, and financial support, organised under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana – National Rural Livelihoods Mission (DAY-NRLM) scheme of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD).
• It facilitates diversified livelihood activities, by ensuring convergence across all Government departments/ Ministries, Private sector and Market players. The strategy includes focused planning, implementation and monitoring at all levels.
• The government disburses funds to self-help groups (SHGs) through a revolving fund.
• Since the inception of the Lakhpati Didi Yojana, one crore women have already achieved Lakhpati status, and the government has set a target of three crore Lakhpati Didis, reflecting its commitment to women’s economic empowerment.

Source: TH

Plea Bargaining

Syllabus: GS2/Polity and Governance

Context

• According to the Ministry of Law and Justice, only 0.11% of cases were resolved through plea bargaining in 2022.

About Plea Bargaining

• A “plea bargain” is a practice whereby the accused forgoes his right to plead not guilty and demand a full trial and instead uses a right to bargain for a benefit.
• Plea bargaining was incorporated into the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in 2005 with the expectation that it would streamline the judicial process by allowing accused persons to admit guilt in exchange for leniency in sentencing. 
• It applies only to offences punishable by up to seven years of imprisonment, with further restrictions excluding cases involving crimes against women, children, or socio-economic offences.

Source: TH

FSSAI Retracts Directive on A1 and A2 Milk Labeling

Syllabus: GS2/Health

Context

• The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI), has withdrawn its recent advisory that directed food businesses to remove claims regarding A1 and A2 types of milk and milk products from packaging.

Background

• FSSAI directed food businesses, including e-commerce players, to remove claims of ‘A1’ and ‘A2’ types of milk and milk products from packaging, calling such labeling misleading.
• It said that these claims do not conform with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006. 
• A1 and A2 milk differ in their beta-casein protein composition, which varies based on cow breed.

A1 vs. A2 Variety

• Casein proteins make up roughly 80% of proteins in cow milk. There are four casein subtypes: alpha S1, alpha S2, beta, and kappa-casein.
  • Beta-caseins, specifically A1 and A2 beta-casein, are the most abundant. 
• Cow milk contains a combination of A1/A2-beta casein, despite being conventional, organic, grass-fed, full-fat, or skim. 
• A1 and A2 are similar, with only one difference at position 67 in the amino acid sequence: histidine for A1 and proline for A2. 

Impact of A1 beta-casein

• Research suggests that the structural difference, albeit small, has a significant impact on digestion. 
• The digestion of A1 beta-casein, unlike A2, releases beta-casomorphin 7 (BCM-7) which is believed to be an antecedent to various health problems like gut issues, heart disease, type 1 diabetes, autism, and cognitive decline. 

Source: HT

Scrub Typhus

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

In News

• Recently, the Chief Minister of Meghalaya tested positive for Scrub Typhus.

About Scrub Typhus

• It is an acute febrile illness caused by the bacterium Orientia tsutsugamushi.
• Transmitted to humans through bites from infected chiggers (larval mites).
• It is common in rural and forested areas of the Asia-Pacific region, including India.
• Symptoms include high fever, headache, rash, and a characteristic eschar at the bite site. 
• No vaccine is available for scrub typhus.

Source: TH

Leptospirosis

Syllabus: GS2/ Health

In News

• A severe Leptospirosis outbreak, also known as ‘rat fever’, has emerged as a major public health concern across Kerala.

About

• Leptospirosis is a bacterial infection caused by Leptospira, transmitted to humans through contact with water, soil, or food contaminated with the urine of infected animals, especially rodents. It is a Zoonotic Disease.
• Common in tropical regions, it can range from mild flu-like symptoms to severe illness, including kidney damage and liver failure. 

Source: DTE

Rs 23,000 Crore Pull Out by FPIs in Financial Sector 

Syllabus:GS3/Economy

Context

• According to National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) data, the financial services sector witnessed outflows of Rs 23,000 crore by foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) between July 16 and August 15.

About

• The selling by FPIs in the financial sector was mainly on concerns over slower deposit growth compared to loan growth, which can affect profitability of banks.
• Automobile and auto components, capital goods, construction materials, oil, gas and consumable fuels and services were the other sectors where FPIs pulled out money in the period.

Foreign portfolio investment (FPI)

• FPI consists of securities and other financial assets held by investors in another country. 
• It does not provide the investor with direct ownership of a company’s assets and is relatively liquid depending on the volatility of the market.
• FPI holdings can include stocks, American Depositary Receipts (ADRs), Global Depositary Receipts (GDRs), bonds, mutual funds, and Exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
• It is different from Foreign direct investment (FDI), which is an ownership stake in a foreign company or project made by an investor, company, or government from another country.

Source: IE

Sonoluminescence

Syllabus: GS3/ S&T

In Context

• Pistol shrimp (family Alpheidae) possess a specialised claw that can snap shut with incredible speed causing Sonoluminescence.

About

• The human eye is highly sensitive to light, able to detect even the faintest glimmers, but light pollution often obstructs this ability. This fascination with light led to the discovery of sonoluminescence in 1934 by two German engineers studying sonar. 
• They observed that a small bubble in liquid, when struck by powerful sound waves, emits a brief flash of light. 
• This occurs as the bubble rapidly expands and collapses due to sound waves, creating extreme temperatures that ionize gases inside, producing light.
  • The alternating high and low pressure of sound waves leads to rapid expansion and contraction of bubbles.

Source: TH

Tanager-1 Satellite

Syllabus: GS 3 / Science and Technology

Context

• NASA has recently launched the Tanager-1 satellite to track methane emissions.

How will the Tanager-1 satellite track emissions?  

• The satellite will use imaging spectrometer technology to track methane and carbon dioxide emissions. 
• It will do so by measuring hundreds of wavelengths of light that are reflected by Earth’s surface.
  • Different compounds in the planet’s atmosphere — including methane and carbon dioxide — absorb different wavelengths of light, leaving spectral “fingerprints” that the imaging spectrometer can identify.
  • These infrared fingerprints can enable researchers to pinpoint and quantify strong greenhouse gas emissions.

Why do researchers want to track methane emissions? 

• Methane is an invisible but strong greenhouse gas, and the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide, responsible for 30 percent of global heating since the Industrial Revolution. 
• According to the United Nations Environment Programme, over a period of 20 years, methane is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
• It also contributes to the formation of ground-level ozone that causes around one million premature deaths annually.

Source: IE

India’s Import of LNG Increased

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

Context

• According to energy intelligence firm Vortexa, India’s monthly liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports in May – July 2024 hit a four year record, averaging 2.57 million tonnes (MT).

About

• LNG stands for liquefied natural gas. 
  • It’s natural gas that has been cooled down to about -260°F (-162°C) to turn it into a liquid form. 
  • LNG is primarily composed of methane (CH₄), but it can contain small amounts of other hydrocarbons. 
  • It is used just like conventional natural gas for heating, electricity generation, and as a fuel for vehicles. 

Source: IE