SVAMITVA Scheme wins Best Innovation Award for Innovation Sandbox presentation during Public Policy Dialogues–2024 at Indian School of Business, Hyderabad:

• SVAMITVA Scheme of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj is a Central Sector Scheme that has significantly contributed to the empowerment of rural communities in India.
• By leveraging cutting-edge drone surveys and GIS mapping technology, the scheme ensures accurate demarcation of land parcels, thereby mitigating disputes and providing individuals with property records of rights i.e. SVAMITVA Property Cards, thereby facilitating monetization of properties, enabling bank loans and comprehensive village-level planning.
• This integration of technology not only streamlines the documentation process but also marks a significant step towards a more transparent and efficient land administration system, fostering socio-economic progress in rural areas.
• The SVAMITVA Scheme (https://svamitva.nic.in) stands out as a ground-breaking initiative that harnesses innovation and new technologies to transform the landscape of land ownership in rural India.
• The Scheme has been recognized and received awards on various platforms since its launch by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 24th April, 2020.
• The scheme with a target year of completion of its implementation 2024–25, has achieved many milestones.
• The drone survey has been completed in 2.90 lakh villages and 1.66 crore property cards have been prepared for 1.06 lakh villages so far.
• The scheme has been saturated with generation of property cards of all inhabited villages of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Goa.

High-frequency waves detected in the Martian Upper Atmosphere could help understand plasma processes over Mars:

• Scientists have detected the existence of high-frequency plasma waves in the Martian Upper Atmosphere with novel narrowband and broadband features that can help to understand plasma processes in the Martian plasma environment.
• Various plasma waves are often observed in the Earth’s magnetosphere, a magnetic field cavity around the Earth.
• In general, plasma waves are identified as the short-time scale fluctuations in the electric and magnetic field observations.
• These plasma waves play an important role in the energization and transport of the charged particles in the Earth’s magnetosphere.
• Some of the plasma waves like electromagnetic ion cyclotron waves act as a cleaning agent for the Earth’s radiation belt, which is hazardous to our satellites. Knowing this scenario, researchers are curious to understand the existence of various plasma waves in the vicinity of unmagnetized planets like Mars.
• The planet Mars does not have any intrinsic magnetic field therefore the high-speed solar wind coming from the Sun interacts directly with the Mars atmosphere, like an obstacle in the flow.
• The researchers at Indian Institute of Geomagnetism (IIG), an autonomous institute of Department of Science and Technology have examined the existence of high-frequency plasma waves in the Martian plasma environment by making use of the high-resolution electric field data from the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution Mission (MAVEN) spacecraft of NASA.
• These waves could be either electron oscillations that propagate parallel to the background magnetic field (Langmuir waves) or electron oscillations that propagate perpendicular to the background magnetic field (upper-hybrid type waves) in the magnetosheath region of Mars.
• They observed two distinct wave modes with frequency below and above the electron plasma frequency in the Martian magnetosphere. These waves were observed around 5 LT (local time) on February 9, 2015, when the MAVEN spacecraft crossed the magnetopause boundary and entered the magnetosheath region.
• These waves are either broadband- or narrowband-type with distinguishable features in the frequency domain.
• The broadband waves were consistently found to have periodic patchy structures with a periodicity of 8–14 milliseconds.
• Observations of such waves provide a tool to explore how electrons gain or dissipate energy in the Martian plasma environment.
• The physical mechanism responsible for the generation of broadband-type waves and its modulation remains unexplained and further investigation is required.
• This study was carried out by IIG scientists in collaboration with scientists from Japan, USA, and UAE and it has been published in Astronomy & Astrophysics Journal.

Indian Space Research Organisation, ISRO successfully entered Aditya L1 satellite into final orbit on 6th Jan 2024:

Source: https://newsonair.gov.in/News?title=ISRO-successfully-enters-Aditya-L1-satellite-into-final-orbit&id=474661

• Aditya L1 is India’s maiden Solar mission to observe and study the Sun’s Corona, understand its extreme heat and its influence on Earth.
• L1 is the Lagrangian Point where gravitational forces between the Earth and the Sun reach equilibrium and the Sun can be observed without the hindrance of eclipse.
• After the launch from Sriharikota, Aditya L1 had undergone four Earth bound manoeuvres and a Trans Lagrangian Point I

Aditya-L1:

• First Indian mission dedicated to studying the Sun, built by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• Launched on September 2nd, 2023 to low earth orbit using ISRO’s reliable Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV).
• After multiple manoeuvres, it is expected to reach its designated halo orbit at L1 Lagrange point, about 1.5 million kilometres from Earth on January 6th, 2024.
• Study the solar atmosphere, particularly the chromosphere and corona.
• Observe solar magnetic storms and their impact on Earth’s environment.

Scientific Instruments:

Seven payloads, all developed indigenously in India.

Four for remote sensing of the Sun:

1. Solar Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (SUIT): captures high-resolution images of the corona.
2. Extreme Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope (EUIT): observes hot plasma in the corona.
3. Coronal Mass Ejection Imager (C-EIT): tracks coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
4. Magnetosphere Imaging Instrument (MIX): studies the solar magnetic field.

Three for in-situ observation of the solar environment:

1. Particle Plasma Experiment (PPE): measures charged particles around the spacecraft.
2. Solar Wind Monitor (SWM): measures the properties of the solar wind.
3. Cosmic Ray Telescope (CRT): studies cosmic rays originating from the Sun.

Significance of the Mission:

• Aditya-L1 would help in deeper understanding of the Sun’s behaviour and its impact on Earth.
• Advancements in space weather forecasting to protect satellites, telecommunications, mobile-based Internet services, and power grids.
• Boost to India’s space program and scientific research capabilities.
• It would study solar upper atmospheric (chromosphere and corona) dynamics and understand the physics of the solar corona and its heating mechanism.
• The difference between the Sun’s upper atmosphere’s temperature of 1-3 million degrees Celsius and its lower temperature of 5500 degree Celsius is one of the most significant unresolved problems in the study of solar physics.
• To understand this issue, it will capture near-simultaneous photos of the many layers of the Sun’s atmosphere, revealing how energy is routed and transported from one layer to the next.

Lagrange points:

• Lagrange points, named after mathematician Joseph-Louis Lagrange who discovered them, are positions in a moving two-body system where the combined gravitational forces of two large bodies (such as the Sun and Earth or Earth and the Moon) acting on a third body of smaller mass cancel each other out.
• At these special locations in space, the gravitational forces between the Earth and the Sun reach equilibrium. While absolute neutralisation is not achievable due to the influence of other celestial bodies such as the Moon, Mars, and Venus, they provide a stable position where a spacecraft may be “parked” to make observations.
• There are five Lagrangian points, denoted L1 to L5, which are located along the line connecting the two larger celestial bodies.
• Of these, three are unstable and two are stable. Unstable Lagrange points are labelled L1, L2 and L3.
• Unstable means that if an object/satellite located at these points is nudged, it will break out from the orbit and drift off into interplanetary space.
• Stable Lagrange points are labelled as L4 and L5. This means that if a small object at L4 or L5 is nudged, there would be an effective restoring force to bring a satellite back to the stable point.

• L1 point: L1 is located roughly 1.5 million kilometres from Earth, where the Sun and Earth’s combined gravitational pull permits a spacecraft to remain nearly stationary to the Sun. The L1 point provides an uninterrupted view of the Sun as the satellite can continuously view solar activities without eclipses.
• L2 point: L2 point is used as a location for space-based observatories, as it provides an unobstructed view of the Universe and is stable enough to allow long-duration observations. The James Webb Space Telescope is placed at the L2 Lagrange point.
• L3 point: L3 point lies behind the Sun, opposite to Earth. Objects in L3 cannot be seen from Earth and offers the potential to observe the far side of the Sun. There is no known natural object at the L3 point, but it is sometimes discussed as a possible location for a future space-based observatory.
• L4 and L5 point: L4 and L5 are good and stable locations, but are much farther from Earth compared to L1, which is directly between the Sun and the Earth.

Five of six accused in Parliament breach case give nod to undergo polygraph test:

Polygraph or Lie Detector Test:

• It is a procedure that measures and records several physiological indicators such as blood pressure, pulse, respiration, and skin conductivity while a person is asked and answers a series of questions.
• This test is based on the assumption that physiological responses that are triggered when a person is lying are different from what they would be otherwise.
• A numerical value is assigned to each response to conclude whether the person is telling the truth, is deceiving, or is uncertain.
• A test similar to Polygraph was first done in the 19th century by the Italian criminologist Cesare Lombroso, who used a machine to measure changes in the blood pressure of criminal suspects during interrogation.

Limitations:

• None of these methods has been proven scientifically to have a 100% success rate, and remain contentious in the medical field as well.
• The consequences of such tests on individuals from weaker sections of society who are unaware of their fundamental rights and unable to afford legal advice can be adverse.
• It may involve future abuse, harassment, and surveillance, even leakage of the video material to the Press for a trial by the media.

Legal and Constitutional Aspects:

• In the Selvi vs State of Karnataka & Anr case (2010), the Supreme Court ruled that no lie detector tests should be administered without the consent of the accused.
• In the D.K. Basu vs. State of West Bengal case, 1997, the SC ruled that involuntary administration of the polygraph and narcos test will amount to cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment in the context of Article 21 or the Right to Life and Liberty. It may also be violative of the Right to Privacy which is a part of the Right to Life. The Indian Evidence Act, 1871 does not admit the results of these tests as evidence.
• The National Human Rights Commission in 1999 adopted a set of guidelines relating to the administration of the Polygraph Test which included consent, recording of the test, etc.

Bobbili Veena:

• The Bobbili veena is a large plucked string instrument used in Carnatic classical music, also known as the Saraswati veena and is named after the town of Bobbili, where it was invented.
• In 2011, the Government of India gave the instrument a Geographical Indication tag.
• The Bobbili veena is known for its distinctive notes and fine tune which is made from a single piece of jackfruit tree wood.
• The making of the veena began in the 17th century during the reign of Pedda Rayudu, the king of Bobbili Samsthanam in Andhra Pradesh.

Project ‘Veer Gatha’:

• Project Veer Gatha was instituted under Gallantry Awards Portal (GAP) in 2021 with the aim to disseminate the details of acts of bravery of the Gallantry Awardees and the life stories of these brave hearts among the students so as to raise the spirit of patriotism and instil amongst them values of civic consciousness.
• Project Veer Gatha deepened this noble aim by providing a platform to the school students to do creative projects/activities based on gallantry award winners.
• As part of this, the students framed different projects through various media like art, poems, essays and multimedia on these gallantry award winners and best projects were awarded at national level by the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Education.
• The project has been coterminous with Republic Day Celebrations each year. Veer Gatha has been a phenomenal success with 8 lakhs participation in Veer Gatha 1.0 conducted in 2021-22 and 19.5 lakhs in Veer Gatha 2.0.conducted in 2022-23.
• Hon’ble Raksha Mantri and Hon’ble Minister of Education have commended Veer Gatha as ‘heralding of a revolution amongst the students of India’.
• The Ministry of Defence (MoD) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MoE) has now decided to launch Project Veer Gatha 3.0 in the current year 2023-24.

SC Legal Services Committee:

• Supreme Court judge Justice BR Gavai has been nominated as the Chairman of the Supreme Court Legal Services Committee (SCLSC) recently.
• The SCLSC is a statutory body constituted under Section 3A of the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987.
• It gives free legal services to the poor, marginalised, and unprivileged.