- NATIONAL
WERE 8 CRORE NEW JOBS CREATED IN THREE YEARS?
- KLEMS stands for Capital (K), Labour (L), Energy (E), Material (M) and Services (S).
- It is a framework used to measure industry-level “total factor productivity” (TFP), which is considered a measure of the efficiency of all the inputs to produce a unit of output.
- The objective of the KLEMS framework is not to produce data on employment In India-KLEMS, the estimates of population in 2017-18, 2018-19 and 2019-20 were borrowed from the Economic Survey (ES), 2021-22.
- The ES projected these populations by assuming that population growth rates between 2001 and 2011 were the same for the years after 2011
- Data from India-KLEMS, which was designed for very different purposes, are being used to drive a political narrative on employment generation
2. BILATERAL
DHAKA TO PRESS WITH ITS DEMANDS FOR TEESTA WATERS
- Teesta River water is crucial for agriculture and livelihood in both countries.
- International Arbitration: Bangladesh may consider taking the issue to an international platform, indicating the potential for international mediation or arbitration in transboundary water disputes.
- Bilateral Relations: The dispute impacts the broader India-Bangladesh bilateral relations, especially concerning shared river management and regional cooperation.
- Regional Politics: The assertive stance of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on the issue reflects the complexities of domestic politics affecting international negotiations.
3. GEOGRAPHY
17 WORKERS KILLED AS FIRE BREAKS OUT AFTER REACTOR BLAST AT A.P PHARMA PLANT
- Incident Overview: A reactor blast at a pharmaceutical plant in Atchutapuram SEZ, Anakapalli, Andhra Pradesh, led to a major fire, killing at least 17 workers and injuring 20 others. The plant manufactures intermediate chemicals and pharmaceutical ingredients.
- Management Criticism: Workers and union leaders criticized the management for alleged safety violations and negligence. There were calls for stricter enforcement of safety regulations, highlighting a history of frequent accidents in the area.
- Industrial Safety Norms and Measures in India Key Legislations:
- Factories Act, 1948: Governs health, safety, and welfare in factories. Requires Safety Committees in hazardous industries.
- Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code, 2020: Consolidates 13 labor laws; mandates a safe working environment, regular health checks, and safety training.
- Explosives Act, 1884: Regulates the use, storage, and manufacture of explosives in industries.
- Chemical Accidents Rules, 1996: Focuses on emergency preparedness and response for chemical industries, mandates safety audits and Local Crisis Groups.
- Government Bodies and Regulations: DGFASLI: Provides safety guidelines, conducts inspections, and offers training on industrial safety.
- NDMA: Develops guidelines for managing industrial disasters and coordinates response efforts.
- Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Services: To monitor and enforce safety standards in factories, including regular inspections, audits, and compliance checks.
- Key Court Verdicts: Bhopal Gas Tragedy (1984): Led to stricter liability laws and the Environment Protection Act, 1986.
- Oleum Gas Leak Case (1986): Established the “absolute liability” principle, holding industries strictly liable for industrial accidents.
- Supreme Court Directive on Industrial Disasters (2019): Mandated regular safety audits and compliance checks, following a series of industrial accident
4. NATIONAL
PM BEGINS POLAND VISIT, SAYS IT WILL HELP FORGE MORE VIBRANT RELATIONS
- Historical Significance: This is the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Poland in 45 years, marking 70 years of diplomatic relations between the two nations.
- Strategic Objectives: Bilateral Relations: The visit aims to strengthen and expand the “extensive contacts” between India and Poland, focusing on creating more vibrant relations in the future.
- Economic Cooperation: Poland is a key economic partner in Central Europe. Discussions are expected to cover deepening trade ties and exploring investment opportunities, particularly as Poland is part of the EU.
- Cultural and Diplomatic Engagements: Indian Diaspora: PM Modi interacted with the Indian community in Warsaw, highlighting the cultural ties and contributions of the diaspora.
- Homage: PM Modi paid tribute to Jam Saheb of Nawanagar for his role in providing sanctuary to Polish refugees during World War II, and also honored Indian and Polish soldiers who fought together during the war.
- Geopolitical Context: Balancing Relations: The visit is seen as part of India’s broader diplomatic strategy to balance relations between the West and Russia, especially in the context of the ongoing Ukraine conflict.
5. AGRICULTURE
ICAR, PENN STATE TEAM MAKES A TOOL SMALL ENOUGH TO EDIT PLANT GENOMES
- A critical obstacle of CRISPR Gene Editing Tool: the commonly used form of the CRISPR system is too big for plant genomes. This system uses one of two proteins, Cas9 or Cas12, to target specific parts of the DNA. But they are too bulky for plant cells to accommodate
- Researchers presented an alternative that could solve this major problem in plant genome editing
- They reported developing a plant genome editor consisting of a protein called ISDra2TnpB, derived from bacteria called Deinococcus radiodurans (famous for being able to survive extreme environmental conditions) ○ ISDra2TnpB is less than half the size of Cas9 and Cas12
- TnpB is a protein made up of around 400 amino acid units. ○ It belongs to a family of transposable elements, or transposons. ○ Sometimes called “jumping genes”, transposons are parts of a genome that can move from one location to another. How does it work!
- In the new system, TnpB hitches a ride on a piece of RNA that guides it to the target DNA sequence.
- Once there the TnpB binds with the sequence and eliminates it.
- The cell that houses this DNA repairs the cut by restoring the “correct” sequence.
- Thus, the genome is modified to replace an undesirable sequence with a desirable one. The researchers behind the new study exploited the genome editing abilities of a TnpB-based system to achieve a 33.58% editing efficiency in an average plant genome on targets that Cas9 or Cas12 couldn’t reach
ONE LINER
- R.Gopinath teacher from Gudiyatham in Vellore has been selected for the prestigious National Teacher Award for 2024
- The Union Ministry of Women and Child Development has launched SHeBOX, a centralized portal for registering and monitoring complaints of sexual harassment of women at the workplace
