Current Affairs – 27th Feb 2024

Articles Covered

  1. Red Sea Crisis: Vital Suez Canal shortcut stands disrupted amid attacks
  2. India-specific model developed to determine the age of a foetus in a pregnant woman in the second and third trimesters precisely
  3. Garbh-Ini programme
  4. IIT Madras & THSTI Faridabad Researchers develop the first India-specific AI model to determine the age of the foetus
  5. Are ‘colour molecules’ the key to a room-temperature quantum computer?
  6. Sweden is set to join NATO: What to know about the military alliance
  7. S.-India Defense Accelerator Ecosystem (INDUS-X)- 2024
  8. INDIA-JAPAN joint exercise ‘DHARMA GUARDIAN’ commences in RAJASTHAN

Red Sea Crisis: Vital Suez Canal shortcut stands disrupted amid attacks

  • The canal connects Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea to the Indian Ocean via the Egyptian city of Suez on the Red Sea.
  • It serves as a crucial international shipping route, allowing vessels to navigate between Europe and Asia without having to circumnavigate the African continent.

Geographical location

  • The Suez Canal is situated in northeastern Egypt, spanning across the Isthmus of Suez.
  • It extends approximately 120 miles (193 kilometers) from the city of Port Said in the north to the city of Suez in the south.
  • The canal separates the African continent from the Sinai Peninsula.

History Associated with the Suez Canal

  1. The idea of constructing a canal across the Isthmus of Suez dates back to ancient times.
  2. However, it was during the nineteenth century that significant efforts were made.
  3. In 1858, the Universal Suez Ship Canal Company was tasked to construct the canal. The French and British held most of the shares in this company.
  4. The 193 km long canal was opened for international navigation in 1869.
  5. Until 1956British powers controlled the canal. In 1956, during the Suez Crisis, Egypt nationalized the canal.
  6. The canal remained under the control of the Suez Canal Authority until 1957 when it was reopened for international navigation.

Importance of Suez Canal

For International trade

  1. The canal carries – 12% of world trade, 7% of world’s oil, 30% container – ship daily.
  2. Since, the canal has no locks, it can even handle aircraft carriers.
  3. The canal provides direct route between Europe and Asia. This saves the fuel and brings down the transportation costthereby making the international trade cheaper.

For Energy Security

The canal’s location makes it a key link for shipping crude oil and other hydrocarbons from countries such as Saudi Arabia to Europe and North America.

For Egypt

  1. The canal contributed 2% of Egypt’s GDP pre-pandemic.
  2. According to the Suez Canal Authority, last year, 23,851 vessels passed through the waterway, compared to 20,649 vessels in 2021.
  3. It is a major source of revenue for Egypt. The revenue from the canal in 2022 reached $8 billion.

For India

  1. Indian trade worth $200 billion to/from North America, South America and Europe is carried out using this route.
  2. For India, it is a major route for import and export of ethane with the US, and the imports of crude from Latin America. Hence, it is important for India’s energy security.
  3. It enables the Indian Navy to project its presence in the region and participate in global naval operations. This highlights its strategic importance for India.

India-specific model developed to determine the age of a foetus in a pregnant woman in the second and third trimesters precisely

Garbh-Ini programme

Recently, the Indian scientists working in the Garbh-Ini programme have identified 19 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), or genetic markers, that are associated with preterm or premature birth.

Garbh-Ini programme:

  1. It promotes Maternal and Child Healthand develops prediction tools for preterm birth.
  2. It is an initiative under the Department of Biotechnologyof the Union Ministry of Science and Technology as a collaborative interdisciplinary programme.
  3. This program is led by the Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), NCR Biotech cluster, Faridabad.
  4. It is part of the Atal JaiAnusandhan Biotech Mission– Undertaking Nationally Relevant Technology Innovation (UNaTI).

single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP)

  1. It is the most common type of genetic variation among people.
  2. Each SNP represents a difference in a single DNA building block, called a nucleotide.
  3. For example, an SNP may replace the nucleotide cytosine (C) with the nucleotide thymine (T) in a certain stretch of DNA.
  4. Most commonly these are found in the DNA between genes.

Significance:

  1. These help in predicting an individual’s response to certain drugs, susceptibility to environmental factors such as toxins, and risk of developing diseases.
  2. These can also be used to track the inheritance of disease-associated genetic variants within families.
  3. They can act as biological markerswhich help scientists locate genes that are associated with the disease.
pre-term birth

  • It is defined as babies born alive before 37 weeks of pregnancy are completed. There are sub-categories of preterm birth, based on gestational age:
  • Extremely preterm (less than 28 weeks)
  • Very preterm (28 to 32 weeks)
  • Moderate to late preterm (32 to 37 weeks).

IIT Madras & THSTI Faridabad Researchers develop the first India-specific AI model to determine the age of the foetus

Researchers at Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) and Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), Faridabad, as part of ‘Interdisciplinary Group for Advanced Research on Birth Outcomes – DBT India Initiative’ (GARBH-Ini) program,have developed the first India-specific Artificial Intelligence (AI) model to determine the age of a foetus in a pregnant woman in the second and third trimesters precisely.

Accurate ‘Gestational Age’ (GA) is necessary for the appropriate care of pregnant women and for determining precise delivery dates.Called ‘Garbhini-GA2’, this is the first late-trimester GA estimation model to be developed and validated using Indian population data.

The most important benefits of this GAmodel include

  1. Currently, the age of a foetus (‘Gestational Age’ or GA) is determined using a formula developed for Western population
  2. They are likely to be erroneous when applied in the later part of pregnancy due to variations in the growth of the foetus in the Indian population
  3. The newly developed ‘Garbhini-GA2’ accurately estimates the age of a foetus for the Indian population, reducing error by almost three times.
  4. This GA model can improve the care delivered by obstetricians and neonatologists, thus reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in India.

Welcoming this research, Dr. Rajesh Gokhale, Secretary, Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India, said

  • “GARBH-Ini is a flagship programme of DBT, and the development of these population-specific models for estimating gestational age is a commendable outcome. These models are being validated across the country.”
  1. This research was undertaken by Dr.Himanshu Sinha, Associate Professor, Bhupat and Jyoti Mehta School of Biosciences, Department of Biotechnology, IIT Madras, Dr.Shinjini Bhatnagar, the Principal Investigator of GARBH-Ini programme and a distinguished professor at Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI),(See below for complete list of authors) and other researchers. The findings were published in the prestigious international peer-reviewed journal Lancet Regional Health Southeast Asia (DOI: 10.1016/j.lansea.2024.100362)
  2. The BRIC-THSTI is an institute under the Biotechnology Research and Innovation Council (BRIC), Department of Biotechnology, Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India. The institute acts as a catalyst to translate fundamental discoveries by building rigorous clinical research capacity and enabling faster transition of discoveries from bench to bedside.
  3. Highlighting the importance of this study, Dr Himanshu Sinha, who is also a Coordinator at the Center for Integrative Biology and Systems Medicine, IIT Madras, and who led the data science work for this research, said,“IIT Madras has been contributing towards solving healthcare problems at the grassroots and local level with the aim of enhancing public health in India. To this end, working with our clinical partner, THSTI, we are utilising advanced data science and AI/ML techniques to build tools to predict unfavourable birth outcomes. The first step towards this is to develop accurate GA models that perform significantly better than currently used models designed using Western populations.”
  4. Elaborating further, Dr Shinjini Bhatnagar, Principal Investigator of the GARBH-Ini programme and a Distinguished Professor, Translational Health Science and Technology Institute (THSTI), said, “Improving the GA accuracy is a critical component of the broader goals of the GARBH-Ini study, which aims to reduce the adverse pregnancy outcomes. The mere application of sophisticated data science tools is not sufficient. The crux of ensuring that these technological advancements yield tangible benefits in the clinical realm lies in the end-to-end partnership between clinicians and data scientists. Such collaboration ensures that the development of solutions is not only technically sound but also clinically relevant and seamlessly integrated into healthcare workflows. This study is an exemplar of this approach.”
  5. Ultrasound dating in early pregnancy is the standard of care for determining GA. However, dating based on formulae developed with Western data, particularly in the second and third trimesters, tends to be less accurate in the Indian population due to the variations in foetal growth.
  6. The researchers used genetic algorithm-based methods to develop Garbhini-GA2, which, when applied in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy, was more accurate than the current Hadlock and recent INTERGROWTH-21st models. The Garbhini-GA2 model, compared to Hadlock, reduces the GA estimation median error by more than three times.
  7. Garbhini-GA2 used three routinely measured foetal ultrasound parameters, was developed using GARBH-Ini cohort data documented at Gurugram Civil Hospital, Haryana, and was validated in an independent cohort in South India. Application of Indian population-specific GA formulae with better accuracy can potentially improve pregnancy care, leading to better outcomes. This accurate dating will also enhance the precision of epidemiological estimates for pregnancy outcomes in the country.

Once validated in prospective pan-India cohorts, this Garbhini-GA2 can be deployed in clinics across India, improving the care delivered by obstetricians and neonatologists, thus reducing maternal and infant mortality rates in India.

Are ‘colour molecules’ the key to a room-temperature quantum computer?

 Many different physical systems are suitable for use as qubits in a quantum computer, but most of them do so only at a very low temperature. Researchers are working on alternative, simpler technologies to reduce costs.

Will ‘colour molecules’ make quantum computers accessible

  1. The article discusses the development of room-temperature qubits using Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) in Japan, showcasing a significant breakthrough in quantum computing, potentially reducing costs and advancing the field.
  2. Classical computers use bits with two states (0 and 1) for computations.
  3. Qubits, the fundamental quantum computer components, exhibit superposition—unlike classical bits, they can exist in multiple states simultaneously.

Common Qubit Systems:

  1. Superconducting junctions, trapped ions, and quantum dots are traditional qubit systems.
  2. These often require low temperatures or high vacuums, making quantum computers expensive.

Room-Temperature Qubits – Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOF):

  1. Recent research in Japan introduces qubits in MOFs, structures with metal atoms linked by organic molecules.
  2. The chosen MOFuses zirconium and a chromophore, pentacene, for qubit creation.

Singlet Fission Mechanism:

  1. Chromophores in a singlet excited state can undergo singlet fission, generating two triplet excited
  2. MOF’s porous nature allows chromophore rotation, influencing interaction strength and coherence duration.

Room-Temperature Coherence:

  1. The Japanese study demonstrates coherence of superposition of two four-electron states at room temperature.
  2. Coherence lasting a fraction of a microsecond at room temperature is a significant achievement compared to other qubit systems.

Quantum Computers

  • Quantum computers are not just the next generation of faster and more efficient computers, they exploit the very special properties of matterin the sub-atomic world for calculations beyond the capabilities of ordinary computers.
  • This technology uses the concepts of Superposition, Entanglementto solve calculations and complex problems in a matter of seconds.
Quantum computers are different from conventional computers

Conventional computers store and process information in bits (0 and 1).

  • A two-bit system in a conventional computer can have four states; (0,0), (0,1), (1,0), and (1,1), but only one at a time.
  • To go through each of these four states, the computer has to take four steps.

Whereas Quantum computers use quantum bits or qubits. The concept of superposition allows a supercomputer to process the ones and zeroes simultaneously.

  • Therefore, a quantum computer can process a lot more information than conventional computers.
  • With just a few qubits quantum computers can outpace traditional computers.
  • Quantum computers are fundamentally different in the way they handle and process information.

They are meant to be useful in some very specific situations where the traditional ways of computing are inadequate.

As more qubits are added, the processing capability of the quantum computer increases exponentially.

Tasks that conventional computers would take millions of years to finish can become a matter of seconds with a quantum computer

Such tasks are found in a variety of domains: Internet and data security, Health research, Artificial intelligence and Machine Learning, etc.

Sweden is set to join NATO: What to know about the military alliance

  • Sweden is set to join NATO after Hungary’s parliament voted Monday to approve its membership, ending a standoffthat has lasted almost two years. NATO officials and diplomats said membership formalities could be completed by the end of the week.
  • The historic expansionof the military alliance — Finland also joined last year— was set in motion by Russia’s war in Ukraine. Sweden and Finland both put aside years of military nonalignment to seek security within NATO after Russia’s invasion in 2022. Their membership is expected to strengthen NATO’s capabilities in the high north and the Baltic Sea.
  • NATO member countries and allies, including the United States, have provided Ukraine with more than $175 billion worth of military, financial and humanitarian aid since Russia’s invasion.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)

Formed in 1949 with the signing of the Washington Treaty, NATO is a security alliance of 31 countries from North America and Europe.

  1. In April 2023, Finland joined the alliance as its 31stmember.
  2. NATO’s fundamental goal is to safeguard the Allies’ freedom and security by political and military means.
  3. It is a system of collective defencewhere independent member states agree for mutual defence in case of any attack by external party.
  4. Article 5 of the Washington Treaty states that an attack against one Ally is an attack against all. This article forms the core of the Alliance, a promise of collective defense.
  5. Headquarter – Brussels, Belgium.

Functions

Political

  • NATO promotes democratic values and enables members to consult and cooperate on defence and security-related issues to solve problems, build trust and, in the long run, prevent conflict.

Military

  1. NATO is committed to the peaceful resolution of disputes.
  2. If diplomatic efforts fail, it has the military power to undertake crisis-management operations.

Turkey’s parliament approves Sweden’s NATO membership

  1. On January 23, Turkey’s parliament voted to approve Sweden’s membership bid to join NATO.
  2. The vote ended a 20-month delay that frustrated Turkey’s Western allies.

Sweden wants to join NATO

  • Sweden has not fought a war in two centuries, staying neutral through the two World Wars and the Cold War.
  • In recent years, while it joined the European Union and collaborated with NATO, it showed no intention of actually joining the military alliance.
  • However, this neutrality had to be abandoned after Russia invaded Ukraine.
  1. With public opinion increasingly in favour of joining NATO, both Sweden and Finland applied for membership in 2022.
  2. While Finland’s bid was cleared, Sweden ran into stiff opposition from Turkey and Hungary.

Past- experience:

Hungary’s Stand on Nato Membership to Sweden

Reason to Oppose Membership:

  1. Negative Remarks:Hungary’s grievances with Sweden are due to its negative remarks about the rule of law and state of democracy under the current Prime Minister of Hungary.
  2. Russia- Friendly:The current Prime Minister of Hungary is also more friendly with Russia than other NATO members.
  3. Present Stand: After Turkey’s move, Hungary said that he had invited the Swedish Prime Minister to Budapest to discuss future cooperation in the field of security and defense as allies and partners.

India standing up to a bully in a very determined fashion: Defence Secretary on China

Giridhar Aramane acknowledges intelligence support from the U.S. to counter 2020 challenge from northern neighbour

U.S.-India Defense Accelerator Ecosystem (INDUS-X)

  1. It was launched in June 2023 during the state visit of the Prime Minister of India to the US.
  2. Objective: To expand strategic technology partnerships and defense industrial cooperation between governments, businesses, and academic institutions in India and the US.
  3. INDUS X will be a defence innovation bridge, which will inter-alia, include Joint Challenges, Joint Innovation Fund, Academia engagement, Industry-startup connect, investment by private entities in defence projects, mentoring by experts and niche technology projects etc.
  4. It will focus on advancing high-tech cooperation and fostering joint research, development, and production opportunities in the defence sector.
  5. The initiative aims to explore possibilities for co-producing jet engines, long-range artillery, and infantry vehicles.
  6. India’s Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX) and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD), US, are leading INDUS-X activities.

Innovations for Defense Excellence (iDEX)

  1. It is the flagship scheme of the Ministry of Defence, Govt of India, launched in 2018.
  2. The objective of the scheme is to cultivate an innovation ecosystem in the Defence and Aerospace sector by collaborating with startups, innovators, MSMEs, incubators, and academia.
  3. iDEX offers grants and support for R&D with significant potential for future adoption in Indian defence and aerospace.
  4. It is currently engaged with around 400+ Startups and MSMEs.
  5. It is recognized as a game-changer in the defence ecosystem, iDEX has received the PM Award for Innovation in the defence sector.
  6. Funding: It will be funded and managed by a ‘Defence Innovation Organization (DIO)’ which has been formed as a ‘not for profit’ company as per the Companies Act 2013 for this purpose, by the two founder members i.e., Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs): HAL and BEL.
  7. iDEX will function as the executive arm of DIO, carrying out all the required activities, while DIO will provide high level policy guidance to iDEX.

INDIA-JAPAN JOINT EXERCISE ‘DHARMA GUARDIAN’ COMMENCES IN RAJASTHAN

Recently, India and Japan kicked-off a two-week military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ in Rajasthan’s Mahajan field firing range to foster deeper cooperation in confronting common security challenges.

The objective of the exercise is to promote military cooperation and enhance joint capabilities to conduct joint operations in semi-urban environments under Chapter VII of the United Nations mandate

  • The fifth edition of the joint military exercise ‘Dharma Guardian’ between the Indian Army and the Japanese Ground Self-Defense Forces commenced on Sunday at Mahajan Field Firing Range in Rajasthan, the army said. The exercise will conclude on March 9.

Exercise Dharma Guardian

  1. It is an annual exercise and conducted alternatively in India and Japan.
  2. It is the 5th edition of joint military exercise between the Indian Army and the Japan
  3. Aim of the Exercise is to foster Military Cooperation and enhance combined capabilities to execute joint operations in semi-urban environments under Chapter VII of United Nations Charter.
  4. The Exercise would focus on a high degree of physical fitness, joint planning, joint tactical drills and basics of special arms skills.

Significance

  1. It will enable the two sides to share their best practices in Tactics, Techniques and Procedures of conducting tactical operations.
  2. The Exercise will also facilitate developing inter-operability, bonhomie and camaraderie between troops of both the sides.
  3. This will enhance the level of defence cooperation, further fostering bilateral relations between the two friendly nations.

Other Exercises between India and Japan

  1. Malabar: It is a multinational naval exercise in which India, Japan, United States and Australia participates.
  2. JIMEX (naval)
  3. SHINYUU Maitri (Air Force)

Exercise Shinyuu Maitri

It is a bilateral military exercise between Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF). The exercise is being organized on the sidelines of the Indo-Japan Joint Army Exercise, Dharma Guardian.

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