Synthetic Biology
Context:
The Centre is working on a national policy on synthetic biology, an emerging science that deals with engineering life forms for a wide range of applications from making designer medicines to foods.
Relevance:
GS III- Science and Technology
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is Synthetic Biology?
- Difference between synthetic biology and genome editing:
- Applications of synthetic biology
What is Synthetic Biology?
- Synthetic biology is a field of science that involves redesigning organisms for useful purposes by engineering them to have new abilities.
- Synthetic biology researchers and companies around the world are harnessing the power of nature to solve problems in medicine, manufacturing and agriculture.
What can synthetic biology do?
Redesigning organisms so that they produce a substance, such as a medicine or fuel, or gain a new ability, such as sensing something in the environment, are common goals of synthetic biology projects. Some examples of what scientists are producing with synthetic biology are:
- Microorganisms harnessed for bioremediation to clean pollutants from our water, soil and air.
- Rice modified to produce beta-carotene, a nutrient usually associated with carrots, that prevents vitamin A deficiency.
- Vitamin A deficiency causes blindness in 250,000 – 500,000 children every year and greatly increases a child’s risk of death from infectious diseases.
- Yeast engineered to produce rose oil as an eco-friendly and sustainable substitute for real roses that perfumers use to make luxury scents.
Difference between synthetic biology and genome editing:
In some ways, synthetic biology is similar to another approach called “genome editing” because both involve changing an organism’s genetic code; however, some people draw a distinction between these two approaches based on how that change is made.
Synthetic biology:
- In synthetic biology, scientists typically stitch together long stretches of DNA and insert them into an organism’s genome.
- These synthesized pieces of DNA could be genes that are found in other organisms or they could be entirely novel.
Genome editing:
- In genome editing, scientists typically use tools to make smaller changes to the organism’s own DNA.
- Genome editing tools can also be used to delete or add small stretches of DNA in the genome.
Applications of synthetic biology
The application of synthetic biology varies from life sciences inquest to the research of biofuels. The potential of synthetic biology is quite vast and stirring.
- Industrial Enzymes – the manufactory of industrial enzymes in quest of supportable processes that facilitates greater yield, expanded enzymes, higher efficiency etc.
- Biofuels – accumulation genes, microbes and plants for effective transformation of feedstock as biofuels.
- Antibody prolongation and vaccine – stimulates in industry to enhance the therapeutic pipeline and increase the progress rate of practices. Vaccines spotlights on prevention of diseases and illness.
- Bio-based chemicals – accredits the quick fix from nature. Implies sustainable advances to plastic, chemicals, textiles with minimal effect t on the environment.
- Plant science – combined ways and automations to facilitate sequence-to-function scrutiny of plants.
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA)
Context:
The draconian Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) of 2002 has evolved as the Government’s “hatchet” law in recent years, considering the series of raids and arrests of politicians, their relatives, and activists. The frequency and timings of these raids and arrests have raised suspicions of whether the PMLA and its agency, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), are the tip of the spear used to strike rival camps with political embarrassment..
Relevance:
GS-III: Internal Security Challenges (Money Laundering), GS II: Governance
Dimensions of the Article:
- Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002
- Enforcement Directorate
- Functions of Enforcement Directorate
Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002
- According to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) 2002, Money laundering is concealing or disguising the identity of illegally obtained proceeds so that they appear to have originated from legitimate sources.
- It is frequently a component of other, much more serious, crimes such as drug trafficking, robbery or extortion.
- Money laundering is punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a minimum of 3 years and a maximum of 7 years and Fine under the PMLA.
- The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is responsible for investigating offences under the PMLA.
- The Financial Intelligence Unit – India (FIU-IND) is the national agency that receives, processes, analyses and disseminates information related to suspect financial transactions.
- After hearing the application, a special court (designated under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act PMLA, 2002) may declare an individual as a fugitive economic offender and also confiscate properties which are proceeds of crime, Benami properties and any other property, in India or abroad.
- The authorities under the PMLA, 2002 will exercise powers given to them under the Fugitive Economic Offenders Act.
- These powers will be similar to those of a civil court, including the search of persons in possession of records or proceeds of crime, the search of premises on the belief that a person is an FEO and seizure of documents.
Enforcement Directorate
- The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
- It is part of the Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, Government Of India.
- It is composed of officers from the Indian Revenue Service, Indian Corporate Law Service, Indian Police Service and the Indian Administrative Service.
- The origin of this Directorate goes back to 1 May 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed, in Department of Economic Affairs, for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, 1947.
- In the year 1957, this Unit was renamed as ‘Enforcement Directorate’.
Functions of Enforcement Directorate
- The prime objective of the Enforcement Directorate is the enforcement of two key Acts of the Government of India namely, the
- Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA)
- the Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA).
- The ED’s (Enforcement Directorate) official website enlists its other objectives which are primarily linked to checking money laundering in India.
- In fact this is an investigation agency so providing the complete details on public domain is against the rules of GOI.
- ED; investigates suspected violations of the provisions of the FEMA.
- Suspected violations includes; non-realization of export proceeds, “hawala transactions”, purchase of assets abroad, possession of foreign currency in huge amount, non-repatriation of foreign exchange, foreign exchange violations and other forms of violations under FEMA.
- ED collects, develops and disseminates intelligence information related to violations of FEMA, 1999. The ED receives the intelligence inputs from Central and State Intelligence agencies, complaints etc.
- ED has the power to attach the asset of the culprits found guilty of violation of FEMA.
- “Attachment of the assets” means prohibition of transfer, conversion, disposition or movement of property by an order issued under Chapter III of the Money Laundering Act [Section 2(1) (d)].
- To undertake, search, seizure, arrest, prosecution action and survey etc. against offender of PMLA offence.
- To provide and seek mutual legal assistance to/from respective states in respect of attachment/confiscation of proceeds of crime and handed over the transfer of accused persons under Money Laundering Act.
- To settle cases of violations of the erstwhile FERA, 1973 and FEMA, 1999 and to decide penalties imposed on conclusion of settlement proceedings.
First Information Report
Context:
An First Information Report (FIR) is a very important document as it sets the process of criminal justice in motion. It is only after the FIR is registered in the police station that the police take up investigation of the case.
Relevance:
GS II: Government Policies & Interventions, Issues Arising Out of Design & Implementation of Policies
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is an FIR?
- What are cognizable offence and non-cognizable offence ?
- What is the difference between a complaint and an FIR?
- What is a Zero FIR?
What is an FIR?
- An FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint.
- The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.
- The term first information report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law, but in police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as First Information Report (FIR).
- Section 154 (“Information in cognizable cases”) says that “every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe”.
- Also, “a copy of the information as recorded…shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant”.
Three important elements of an FIR:
- The information must relate to the commission of a cognizable offence,
- It should be given in writing or orally to the head of the police station
- It must be written down and signed by the informant, and its key points should be recorded in a daily diary.
What happens after an FIR is filed?
- The police will investigate the case and will collect evidence in the form of statements of witnesses or other scientific materials. They can arrest the alleged persons as per law.
- If there is sufficient evidence to corroborate the allegations of the complainant, then a chargesheet will be filed. Or else, a Final Report mentioning that no evidence was found will be filed in court.
- If it is found that no offence has been committed, a cancellation report will be filed. If no trace of the accused persons is found, an ‘untraced’ report will be filed.
What are cognizable offence and non-cognizable offence?
- A cognizable offence/case is one in which a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule of the CrPC, or under any other law for the time being in force, make an arrest without a warrant.
- In the First Schedule, “the word ‘cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer may arrest without warrant’; and the word ‘non-cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer shall not arrest without warrant’.”
What is the difference between a complaint and an FIR?
- The CrPC defines a “complaint” as “any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code, that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.”
- However, an FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint. The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.
- If, on the basis of a complaint, it appears that a cognizable offence has been committed, then an FIR under Section 154 CrPC will be registered, and police will open an investigation. If no offence is found, the police will close the inquiry.
- Section 155 (“Information as to non-cognizable cases and investigation of such cases”) says: “When information is given to an officer in charge of a police station of the commission within the limits of such station of a non-cognizable offence, he shall enter or cause to be entered the substance of the information in a book…and refer the informant to the Magistrate. No police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate having power to try such case or commit the case for trial.”
What is a Zero FIR?
- When a police station receives a complaint regarding an alleged offence that has been committed in the jurisdiction of another police station, it registers an FIR, and then transfers it to the concerned police station for further investigation. This is called a Zero FIR.
- No regular FIR number is given. After receiving the Zero FIR, the concerned police station registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation.
Permanent Indus Commission
Context:
A 10-member Indian delegation will visit Pakistan for the annual meeting of the Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) from March 1-3.
Relevance:
GS-II: International Relations (India and its Neighborhood, International Treaties, Policies and Agreements affecting India’s Interests)
Dimensions of the Article:
- What is the Permanent Indus Commission?
- About the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)
- Indus River Basin
What is the Permanent Indus Commission?
- The Permanent Indus Commission (PIC) is a bilateral commission consisting of officials from India and Pakistan, created to implement and manage the goals and objectives and outlines of the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT).
- The PIC has experts who look into issues and disputes on the ground over the utilisation of the waters of six rivers of the Indus system.
About the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT)
- The Indus Waters Treaty is a water-distribution treaty between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank, to use the water available in the Indus River and its tributaries.
- The Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) was signed in Karachi in 1960.
- The Treaty gives control over the waters of the three “eastern rivers” — the Beas, Ravi and Sutlej to India, while control over the waters of the three “western rivers” — the Indus, Chenab and Jhelum to Pakistan.
- India was allocated about 16% of the total water carried by the Indus system while Pakistan was allocated the remainder.
- The treaty allows India to use the Western River waters (the ones in Pakistan’s control) for limited irrigation use and unlimited non-consumptive use for such applications as power generation, navigation, floating of property, fish culture, etc.
- It lays down detailed regulations for India in building projects over the western rivers.
- The preamble of the treaty recognises the rights and obligations of each country in the optimum use of water from the Indus system in a spirit of goodwill, friendship and cooperation.
Indus River Basin
- The Indus River (also called the Sindhū) is one of the longest rivers in Asia and the longest river of Pakistan.
- It flows through China (western Tibet), India (Ladakh) and Pakistan.
- Its estimated annual flow is estimated to be twice that of the Nile River making it one of the largest rivers in the world in terms of annual flow.
- The Zanskar river is its left bank tributary in Ladakh.
- In the plains, its left bank tributary is the Panjnad which itself has five major tributaries, namely, the Chenab, Jhelum, the Ravi, the Beas, and the Sutlej.
- Its principal right bank tributaries are the Shyok, the Gilgit, the Kabul, the Gomal, and the Kurram.
Sealed Cover Jurisprudence
Context:
Questioning the Kerala HC’s decision to uphold the MIB’s revocation of Malayalam news channel MediaOne’s broadcasting license, 11 MPs and others criticised ‘sealed cover jurisprudence’
Relevance:
GS II- Executive & Judiciary
Dimensions of the article::
- Details:
- What is sealed cover jurisprudence?
- When has it been done in the past?
- Criticism
Details:
- The channel went off air as the Centre suspended its telecast over “security reasons”.
- The High Court’s decision was based entirely on the assessment of documents presented by the MHA in a sealed cover.
- The contents of which were not shared with the news channel.
What is sealed cover jurisprudence?
- It is a practice used by the Supreme Court and sometimes lower courts, of asking for or accepting information from government agencies in sealed envelopes that can only be accessed by judges.
- While a specific law does not define the doctrine of sealed cover, the Supreme Court derives its power to use it from Rule 7 of order XIII of the Supreme Court Rules and Section 123 of the Indian Evidence Act of 1872.
- It is stated under the said rule that if the Chief Justice or court directs certain information to be kept under sealed cover or considers it of confidential nature, no party would be allowed access to the contents of such information, except if the Chief Justice himself orders that the opposite party be allowed to access it.
It also mentions that information can be kept confidential if its
- publication is not considered to be in the interest of the public.
- As for the Evidence Act, official unpublished documents relating to state affairs are protected and a public officer cannot be compelled to disclose such documents.
- Other instances where information may be sought in secrecy or confidence is when its publication impedes an ongoing investigation, such as details which are part of the police’s case diary; or breaches the privacy of an individual.
When has it been done in the past?
Rafale fighter jet deal,
- A Bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi in 2018, had asked the Centre to submit details related to deal’s decision making and pricing in a sealed cover. T
- his was done as the Centre had contended that such details were subject to the Official Secrets Act and Secrecy clauses in the deal.
National Register of Citizens (NRC) in Assam
- The supreme court mandated coordinator of the NRC, Prateek Hajela, was asked by the apex court to submit period reports in sealed cover, which could neither be accessed by the government nor the petitioners.
In the 2014 BCCI reforms case
- The probe committee of the cricket body had submitted its report to the Supreme Court in a sealed envelope, asking it not to make public the names of nine cricketers who were suspected of a match and spot fixing scam.
Bhima Koregaon case
- Activists were arrested under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, the Supreme Court had relied on information submitted by the Maharashtra police in a sealed cover.
Criticism:
- Critics of this practice contend that it is not favorable to the principles of transparency and accountability of the Indian justice system.
- It stands in contrast to the idea of an open court, where decisions can be subjected to public scrutiny.
- It is also said to enlarge the scope for arbitrariness in court decisions, as judges are supposed to lay down reasoning for their decisions.
- Besides, it is argued that not providing access to such documents to the accused parties obstructs their passage to a fair trial and adjudication.
Lucy Mission to probe Jupiter’s Trojan Asteroids
Context:
NASA is set to send its first spacecraft to study Jupiter’s Trojan asteroids to glean new insights into the solar system’s formation 4.5 billion years ago.
Relevance:
GS III- Awareness In The Fields Of It, Space, Computers, Robotics, Nano-Technology, Bio-Technology, Pharma Sector & Health Science
Dimensions of the article:
- About Lucy Mission
- Asteroids
About Lucy Mission
- It is named after an ancient fossil 3.2 million-year-old ancestor who belonged to a species of hominins.
- It is a 12-year journey of eight different asteroids including one in the Main Belt between Mars & Jupiter and seven Trojans.
- It is NASA’s first single spacecraft mission in history to explore so many different asteroids.
- Lucy will run on solar power out to 850 million km away from the Sun.
- This makes it the farthest-flung solar-powered spacecraft ever, according to NASA.
Aim & Objective:
- To get insights into the formation of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago.
- Investigating the group of rocky bodies that are circling the Sun in two swarms- one preceding Jupiter and the other trailing behind it.
Donald Johnson Asteroid:
- The spacecraft’s first encounter will be with an asteroid that lies in the main belt that can be found between Mars and Jupiter.
- This asteroid is named ‘Donald Johnson’ after the paleoanthropologist who discovered the fossilised remains of “Lucy”.
Asteroids:
Rocky objects revolving around the sun that are too small to be called planets.
Classification based on their orbits:
- Main asteroid belt b/w Mars and Jupiter.
- Trojan asteroids orbit a larger planet in two special places, known as Lagrange points, where the gravitational pull of the sun and the planet are balanced.
- NASA reports the presence of Jupiter, Neptune and Mars trojans. In 2011, they reported an Earth trojan as well.
- Near-Earth Asteroids (NEA), circle closer to Earth than the sun.
Lagrange points
- Lagrange points are the locations in space where the combined gravitational pull of two large masses roughly balance each other.
- Any small mass placed at that location will remains at constant distances relative to the large masses.
- There are five such points in Sun-Earth system and they are denoted as L1, L2, L3, L4 and L5.
