14 JULY 2023

Topic 1: Exercise Southern Readiness 2023

Context: INS Sunayna was at Seychelles to participate in Op Southern Readiness 2023.

Key details:

• The exercise was conducted by Combined Maritime Forces(CMF).
• CMF is a multi-national naval partnership.
  • India is NOT a member country of CMF.
• Aims:
  • strengthening multilateral ties and
  • enhancing cooperation through CMF
  • enhancing maritime security,
  • countering piracy to ensure safety and freedom of navigation in the region.

About INS Sunayna:

• INS Sunayna is the second of the NOPV (Naval Offshore Patrol Vessel) class of ship.
• It is based under Southern Naval Command.
• The ship was designed and constructed indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited to meet the increasing ocean surveillance and patrolling requirements of the Indian Navy.
• INS Sunayna can also carry a helicopter.

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Topic 2: Bastille Day

Context: Prime Minister will attend the French National Day (Bastille Day) celebrations as the Guest of Honour.

Key details:

• The national day of France is celebrated on July 14, also known as Bastille Day or Fête nationale française.
• It is celebrated on 14 July each year.
• The French National Day is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, a major event of the French Revolution, as well as the Fête de la Fédération that celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790.

History of Bastille Day

• Bastille Day can be said to have set in motion the decade-long French Revolution, which fundamentally altered French political and social life and influenced the foundational ideas of democracy across the world, popularising slogans such as “Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité” (Liberty, Equality, Fraternity).
• This was the day on which ordinary people stormed Bastille, a 14th century fortress-prison in Paris that was used to incarcerate political prisoners.
• The reason the mob chose Bastille was because people were imprisoned here without trial and without publicly stated causes.

The French Revolution:

• The French Revolution was a milestone episode in modern European history.
• It began in 1789 and ended in the late 1790s with the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.
• The turmoil was caused due to extensive discontent with the monarchy and the pitiable economic policies of King Louis XVI. 
• The French Revolution played a critical role in shaping modern nations by showing its goals and at times disintegrated into a chaotic bloodbath.
• The social and political structure of France was completely changed due to this revolution.
• It came to an end to the French feudalism, monarchy and took political power from the Catholic Church.
• It brought new ideas to Europe including liberty and freedom for the commoner as well as the abolishment of slavery and the rights of women.
• The democratic rights and right to liberty was the most important heritage of the French revolution.
• Later, these ideas were adopted by Indian revolutionary strugglers like Tipu Sultan and Raja Rammohan Roy.

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Topic 3: NASA’s Perseverance rover

Context: The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Perseverance rover has discovered evidence of organic compounds in a Martian crater, offering clues on the potential habitability of the planet, according to a new study.

Key details:

• Organic compounds are carbon-based molecules.
  • Organic matter can be formed by a variety of biological and non-biological processes.
  • These possible Martian organics could have originated from geological processes or chemical reactions, which can also produce organic molecules.
  • Organic compounds can be created by processes not related to life
• Other elements, such as hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and sulphide, are often found in them.
• The results reveal that Mars has a more complex organic geochemical cycle than previously thought, implying the existence of multiple reservoirs of potential organic molecules on the planet.
• So far, only the Mars Phoenix lander and the Curiosity rover have been able to detect organic carbon using cutting-edge methods like evolved gas analysis and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry.

About the Rover:

• Perseverance, nicknamed Percy, is a car-sized Mars rover designed to explore the Jezero crater on Mars.
• Perseverance has a similar design to its predecessor rover, Curiosity.
• The rover also carried the mini-helicopter Ingenuity to Mars, an experimental aircraft and technology testbed that made the first powered flight on another planet.
• Aims of the rover:
  • identifying ancient Martian environments capable of supporting life,
  • seeking out evidence of former microbial life existing in those environments,
  • collecting rock and soil samples to store on the Martian surface, and
  • testing oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere to prepare for future crewed missions
• Instruments
  • Mars Oxygen ISRU Experiment (MOXIE), an exploration technology investigation to produce a small amount of oxygen (O2) from Martian atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2).
  • Planetary Instrument for X-Ray Lithochemistry (PIXL), an X-ray fluorescence spectrometer to determine the fine scale elemental composition of Martian surface materials.
  • Radar Imager for Mars’ subsurface experiment (RIMFAX), a ground-penetrating radar to image different ground densities, structural layers, buried rocks, meteorites, and detect underground water ice and salty brine.
  • Mars Environmental Dynamics Analyzer (MEDA), a set of sensors that measure temperature, wind speed and direction, pressure, relative humidity, radiation, and dust particle size and shape.
  • SuperCam, an instrument suite that can provide imaging, chemical composition analysis, and mineralogy in rocks and regolith from a distance.
  • Mastcam-Z, a stereoscopic imaging system with the ability to zoom.
  • Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman and Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals (SHERLOC), an ultraviolet Raman spectrometer that uses fine-scale imaging and an ultraviolet (UV) laser to determine fine-scale mineralogy and detect organic compounds.

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Topic 4: Changing colour of Oceans

Context: Climate change has altered the colour of 56 per cent of the world’s oceans, according to a new study.

Key findings of the study:

• The waters in the tropics have turned green.
• The southern Indian Ocean, in particular, has seen a significant colour change.
• What green colour means?
  • Green-coloured water indicates life, especially phytoplankton, which are microscopic plant-like organisms.
• What blue colour means:
  • Blue colour indicates little life.
  • The colour also determines the amount of carbon dioxide absorbed by the ocean.
  • Currently, oceans absorbed 25 per cent of all carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions.
• Significance of colour change:
  • Changes in the ocean colour indicate alternations to the phytoplankton communities since phytoplankton are essential for most life in the ocean as the base of the marine food web.
• How the current study was done?
  • Researchers analysed data generated from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) aboard the Aqua satellite, which has been monitoring ocean colour for two decades between 2002 and 2022.
  • MODIS takes measurements in seven visible wavelengths – Light of different wavelengths produces different perceptions of colour.
  • The oceans appear blue, but the true colour may contain a mix of subtler wavelengths, from blue to green and even red.
  • The addition of greenhouse gas emissions showed that colour could change in about 50 per cent of the world’s surface oceans, which is comparable to satellite observations.
  • These observations estimated that 56 per cent of the saltwater bodies are turning green or blue.
  • The green hue comes from chlorophyll, a pigment that helps phytoplankton make food.
  • A change in colour due to an increase or decline in the population will impact organisms that feed on plankton.

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Topic 5: India-France relations

Context: Prime Minister of India will be the Guest of Honour at France’s Bastille Day parade in Paris, France.

About India-France Relations:

• A special partnership
  • The two countries commenced their strategic partnership, India’s first, immediately after India’s nuclear tests.
  • France was the first country to recognise the strategic importance of India after the nuclear tests in 1998.
  • The signing of an agreement for the supply of 36 Rafale aircraft in September 2016, and an industrial agreement in March 2018 to build six European pressurized water reactors (EPR) at the Jaitapur site are directly linked to this partnership.
• Technology transfer
  • The French offered their Safran engine that would be fully made in India.
  • The French are said to have promised 100 per cent technology transfer.
  • An MoU signed recently between NPCI International Payments Limited (NIPL) and Lyra, a France-based payment services provider, may be implemented soon to enable UPI and RuPay payments in Europe.
• Climate agreements:
  • Recently, India and France signed a Road Map on Green Hydrogen, which aims to bring the French and Indian hydrogen ecosystems together to establish a reliable and sustainable value chain for a global supply of decarbonised hydrogen.
  • In 2022, they signed a Road Map on the Blue Economy and Ocean Governance.
• Economic Cooperation
  • France has emerged as a major source of FDI for India with more than 1,000 French establishments already present in India.
  • France is the 11th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative FDI stock of USD 9.83 billion from April 2000 to March 2021, which represents 2 % of the total FDI inflows into India.
  • There are more than 150 Indian companies operating in France (including sub-subsidiaries).
  • France’s GDP is almost similar to that of India’s, but our bilateral trade remains far below potential, even though India has enjoyed a consistent trade surplus.
  • In the period April 2020-March 2021, India-France bilateral trade stood at USD 7.86 billion.
  • India’s exports to France were valued at USD 5.6 billion, down by 22.9%.
  • French exports to India decreased by 20.95% during the same  period to USD 5.1 billion.
  • Trade with France constitutes only 1.41% of India’s total international trade.
  • A joint  announcement was also signed for setting up of a FAST-TRACK system for French companies in India and Indian companies in France
• Development Cooperation
  • AFD, the French Agency for Development has, since 2008, committed close to 2 billion Euros in the form of loans  to  the  State  and  State-owned  companies,  as well as technical assistance programs.
  • It has extended a loan of Euro 100 million to the Government of India for its Smart Cities Mission.
  • The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) announced that it has allocated 200 million Euros  for an agreement with India’s Finance Ministry to support welfare measures and the most vulnerable sections of society.
• Defence Cooperation
  • The two countries have a Ministerial level Defence dialogue, which has been held annually since 2018.
  • The three services also have regular defence exercises; viz.
    • Exercise Shakti (Army),
    • Exercise Varuna (Navy),
    • Exercise Garuda (Air Force).
  • The Indian Navy also participated in the French led La Pérouse exercise, along with other Quad members in 2021.
• Space Cooperation
  • India and France have a rich history of cooperation in the field of space, since the 1960s with the construction of Sriharikota launch-pad with French technical assistance.
  • As part of the ongoing bilateral cooperation between ISRO and Arianespace, recently GSAT-24 communication satellite of  New  Space  India  Ltd (NSIL) was successfully launched on-board Ariane-5.
  • France continues to be a major supplier of components and equipment for the Indian space programme.
  • France is supporting Indian human space flight programme – Gaganyaan.
• Civil Nuclear Cooperation
  • An agreement on civil nuclear cooperation was signed between India and France in 2008.
  • India is a member of ITER (“The Way” in Latin), a multi-national consortium formed to construct a experimental fusion  reactor,  located  in  Cadarache,  France. 
• Environment and Renewable Energy
  • India joined the French-led initiative called  the  High  Ambition  Coalition  for Nature and People. 
• Cyberspace and Digital technology
  • France in collaboration with India has developed “PARAM-Siddhi- AI”, India’s fastest supercomputer.
  • InFinity or India France Innovation in Information Technology Summit was launched by the Embassy of India, Paris which brought together Governments, corporates, technology stakeholders and startups on a virtual platform to connect and discuss to cover various themes of Digital sovereignty.
• Counter-terrorism
  • India and France have resolved to work together for adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism (CCIT) in the UN.
• Indian community in France
  • It is estimated that the Indian community, including NRIs in mainland France number around 109,000
  • Major communities constituting the Indian origin population originate from Puducherry and Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Punjab.

Conclusion:

• India’s partnership with France is built on common values and goals.
• Both have underlined the importance of maintaining strategic autonomy with a shared understanding of global risks in many domains.
• There is a high-level India-France political dialogue that is ongoing in defence, maritime, counterterrorism and the Indo-Pacific.
• They are now forging ahead with cooperation in issues such as digitisation, cyber, green energy, a blue economy, ocean sciences, and space’.
• India and France understand each other’s interests and dependencies, be it in relation to China or Russia.
• In the marking of a long strategic partnership, a common interest in enhancing strategic autonomy and improving resilience, there is much ground ahead for further collaboration.

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 Topic 6: Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour

Context: French President conferred his country’s highest honour, the Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour, upon Prime Minister of India.

About the Legion of Honour:

• The National Order of the Legion of Honour, or simply The Legion of Honour is the highest French decoration, both civil and military.
• The Order was established by Napoleon Bonaparte in 1802.
• There is no material or financial benefit attached to the award.
• The Legion of Honour cannot be applied for – the government identifies the potential honourees.
• It is described as a national emblem of France.
• The Legion of Honour has five degrees of increasing distinction:
  • three ranks — Chevalier (Knight), Officier (Officer), and Commandeur (Commander)
  • two titles — Grand Officier (Grand Officer) and Grand-croix (Grand Cross).
• The Prime Minister of India has been honoured with the highest French honour, akin to the Bharat Ratna in India.

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Topic 7: Rafale Marine jet

Context: The Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) held a crucial meeting to clear proposals to buy 26 Rafale Marine fighter jets for the Navy.

Difference between Rafale jets and their Marine version

• The Rafale Marine fighters are the naval variant of the Rafale fighter jets, 36 of which are operated by the Indian Air Force.
• About Rafale:
  • The Rafales are advanced twin engine, multirole fighter jets are equipped with latest weapon systems, including:
    • Meteor-beyond visual range air-to-air missiles,
    • Hammer air to surface smart weapon system,
    • Scalp cruise missiles
  • These are fitted with modern sensors, and radar to detect and track and attack targets.
  • The jets can carry exceptionally high payloads.
  • The jets have also been equipped with certain India-specific enhancements.
• The Marine version:
  • The Marine version of the jets will be slightly different, given that they will operate from aircraft carriers on sea.
  • The differences include foldable wings, a longer airframe for landing on carriers, and a tail hook for arrested landing on a carrier.
  • The Rafale M nose gear also incorporates the “jump strut technology” in the shock absorber to give the aircraft an angle of attack during catapulting.
  • This naval version of the aircraft can also carry a wider range of weapons:
    • anti-ship missiles
    • air to surface missiles
    • radar meant for maritime operations.

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Topic 8: Gujarat PASA Act

Context: Lieutenant Governor (L-G) of Delhi recently approved a proposal by the Delhi Home Department to extend the Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985 to the national capital.

About the Act:

• The Gujarat Prevention of Anti-Social Activities Act, 1985, provides for preventive detention of:
  • boot-leggers,
  • dangerous persons,
  • drug offenders,
  • immoral traffic offenders, and
  • property grabbers
• Aim:
  • Preventing their anti-social and dangerous activities prejudicial to the maintenance of public order.
• Amendments:
  • In 2020, amendments to the Act brought under its ambit:
    • operators of gambling dens and prostitution rackets,
    • offenders of cow-slaughter,
    • sexual offences and cyber crimes,
    • those involved in usury, and
    • repeated offenders of the Arms Act.

• Rules for detention:
  • The state government may make an order directing that such a person be detained.
  • The person can be detained anywhere in Gujarat, and be removed from one place of detention to another within the state.
  • The offender must have more than one FIR filed against him at any police station within the state.
  • However, the offender can be booked under PASA only by an officer whose territorial jurisdiction he resides in.
• Criticism:
  • Misuse:
    • The authorities have received criticism over the ‘misuse’ of the Act, especially since the criterion of multiple FIRs is often met through complaints filed years ago, for which the detainee has not been convicted.
    • It has been argued that the Act infringes upon a person’s personal liberty.
  • Multiple grounds of detention:
    • It allows the government to detain an individual on multiple grounds, making separate orders for each ground.
    • Therefore, even if one of the multiple grounds is held ‘invalid’ or ‘vague’ in a Court, the detention order can sustain on the other grounds.

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Topic 9: Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy

Context: A team of doctors from Tamil Nadu along with scientists from Japan have developed a disease modifying treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), using a food additive – a beta-glucan produced by N-163 strain of a yeast Aureobasidium pullulans.

About the disease:

• There are approximately 5,000 patients in Japan and 80,000 in India.
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is a genetic disorder characterized by progressive muscle degeneration and weakness due to the alterations of a protein called dystrophin that helps keep muscle cells intact.
• This damages and weakens the muscles, and patients become wheelchair-bound in their early teens and die prematurely.
• The condition most often affects boys due to the way the disease is inherited.
• DMD is one of four conditions known as dystrophinopathies.

• The other three diseases that belong to this group are:
  • Becker Muscular dystrophy (BMD, a mild form of DMD);
  • an intermediate clinical presentation between DMD and BMD; and
  • DMD-associated dilated cardiomyopathy (heart-disease) with little or no clinical skeletal, or voluntary, muscle disease.
• Treatment:
  • Currently available treatments are:
    • gene therapy,
    • Exon-skipping and
    • disease modifying agents (anti-inflammatory medicines such as steroids