Context: Recently, the Indian Prime Minister arrived in Paris on a two-day official visit.

Significance of France for India

• Thriving Relationship: Year 2023 marks the 25th anniversary of India-France strategic partnership.
  • Two countries cooperate closely across various domains, including defence, space, civil nuclear, blue economy, trade, investment, education, culture and people-to-people ties.
• Strong Global Supporter: France was the first country to recognise the strategic importance of India after the nuclear tests in 1998. The partnership with France is India’s most important strategic partnership in Europe. 
• Trade and commerce: France emerged as a key trading partner for India. 
  • The annual trade volume reached $12.42 billion in 2021-22, and France stands as the 11th largest foreign investor in India, with a cumulative investment of $10.31 billion over the past two decades.
• Role in Defence and Security: French has played an important role in modernising India’s defence industrial base through co-development and co-production of weapons.

• • It became the second-largest defence supplier between 2017 and 2021. 
  • Crucial defence deals, such as the induction of French Scorpene submarines and the procurement of 36 Rafale fighter jets, highlight the depth of their defence cooperation. 
  • Joint military exercises and dialogues, including Varuna, Garuda, and Shakti, further strengthen these ties.
  • Joint Strategic Vision of Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region and a logistic support agreement: It gave the two countries access to each other’s military facilities.
• Climate: India’s commitment to combating climate change aligns with France’s goals, as demonstrated by their joint efforts under the Paris Agreement and the establishment of the International Solar Alliance in 2015.
• Space cooperation: With ISRO and CNES conducting numerous cooperative research programmes and satellite launches, India and France have a long history of cooperation in the realm of space that dates back fifty years.
• Energy sector: The Nuclear Power Corporation of India (NPCIL) and Areva have been in negotiations to develop six EPR (European Pressurised Reactors) nuclear power reactors with a total installed capacity of 9.6 GW since roughly ten years ago.
• Support in global bodies: France supports India’s permanent membership in the United Nations Security Council and entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group. 
• INdo-Pacific strategy:  France is the only EU state with territories in the Indo-Pacific.
  • France is a part of three regional networks — the Indian Ocean Commission, since 1986, the Indian Ocean Naval Symposium since its creation in 2008 and the Indian Ocean Rim Association (created in 1995) since 2020. 
• Keeping check on China: Both countries share concerns over China’s regional and global behaviour and are committed to working together to maintain balance in the Indo-Pacific.
  • Thus, France could be an important partner for building maritime domain awareness and keep an eye on China’s presence in the region, augmenting New Delhi’s participation in the Quad.

Future Course of Action: France, India, and the world

• Both India and France value their strategic autonomy, pursue independence in their foreign policies, and seek a multipolar world.
• Ukraine war: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the geopolitical changes it triggered have brought a new European awareness (particularly France) of the strategic importance of India and vice versa. 
• On G20 meet in India: French support will also be critical to a consensus outcome at the G20 summit in New Delhi this September. 
  • India remains hopeful that differences over the war in Ukraine will not block a positive outcome. 
  • The visit could provide an opportunity for the Prime Minister to understand better the French and European assessment of the war, and be prepared to take “tough decisions” with regard to forging consensus at the G20 summit.
• Vision statement for future course: The two sides are expected to come up with a 25-year vision statement for India-France bilateral ties and ambitious outcomes are expected on defence, space, geo-strategy, infrastructure, energy, climate action, museology, student mobility, people to people, sports, culture. Separate joint statements are expected on Indo-Pacific, as well as on the strategic pillar.

News Source: The Indian Express

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Context:

ISRO is set to launch the Chandrayaan 3 spacecraft using the LVM3 rocket from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, India.

About:

• Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third lunar mission as well as second attempt to achieve a soft landing of a robotic lander on the moon’s surface. If the soft-landing succeeds, India will become the fourth country in the world to have achieved this.
• It is a follow-up to the 2019 Chandrayaan-2 mission, which partially failed after its lander and rover couldn’t execute a soft-landing on the Moon.

Chandrayaan-3’s objectives:

• To demonstrate Safe and Soft Landing on Lunar Surface
• To demonstrate Rover roving on the moon and
• To conduct in-situ scientific experiments

How will Chandrayaan-3 get to the lunar surface?

• Launch and Launch Vehicle: The mission starts with a launch aboard India’s LVM3 rocket (the country’s heavy lift vehicle capable of placing about 8 metric tons into low-Earth orbit).
• Orbit Placement: The LVM3 will place the spacecraft and an attached propulsion module into an elongated Earth orbit with an apogee, or high point, of about 36,500 kilometers above the planet. 
• Propulsion module: This module  will take the lander and the rover to the moon. Module itself does not land on the moon and instead settles on a parking orbit of 100 km x 100 km around the moon. 
• Landing site: The site has been moved slightly from the previous location on a plateau between two craters. The site, at around 70 degreeS near the Southern pole of the moon, was selected as there are several craters here that remain permanently in shade, and can be the store-house of water ice and precious minerals. 
• Lander and rover module: The lander and rover will separate from the propulsion module to land on the moon.
• Preventing crash landing: The lander has engines that will slow down the fall, so that it descends gently onto the moon rather than crash-landing on it.  
• Touchdown of Lander and Rover: After the touchdown, the lander will remain stationary at the landing site, while the rover, which is a tiny, trolley kind of device with wheels will explore the moon.
• Activity Duration:The lander and rover will be alive for 14 earth days, which corresponds to one moon day. Since the solar panels that provide electricity to the lander and rover need sunlight, they will be alive for one moon day, which is 14 earth days. 

Advanced technology Equipments on lander to ensure proper soft landing:

• Altimeters: To measure altitude
• Velocimeters: To measure velocity, and cameras for hazard detection and avoidance. 
• Laser Doppler Velocity Meter: A new laser sensor has been added to better judge the lunar terrain before landing.

Rover Payloads:

• Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscope (LIBS): Determines the chemical and mineralogical composition of the surface.
• Alpha Particle X-ray Spectrometer (APXS): Determines the elemental composition of the surface. 

Lander payloads:

• Radio Anatomy of Moon Bound Hypersensitive ionosphere and Atmosphere (RAMBHA): Measures how the local gas and plasma environment changes over time.
• Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment (ChaSTE): Studies the surface’s thermal properties.
• Instrument for Lunar Seismic Activity (ILSA): Measures seismic activity at the landing site in order to delineate the subsurface crust and mantle.
• Laser Retroreflector Array (LRA): A NASA-provided retroreflector that allows for lunar ranging studies. Laser ranging is the process of zapping a reflector with a laser and measuring the time it takes for the signal to bounce back. 
• Gathering data:
  • Lander and rover will study:
    • The surface and atmosphere of the Moon, 
    • The low-height atmospheric characteristics and electrostatic characteristics of the Moon.
    • Constituents of the regolith (planetary surface)
    • Examine the ionised atmosphere’s behaviour in day and night
  • Orbiter:
    • The orbiter will focus on Earth to look at signatures of life on the Pale Blue Dot so that it can aid in the search of exoplanets (planets beyond the solar system) that may support life.

Key differences between Chandrayaan-2 and Chandrayaan-3:

• Expansion of landing area: Instead of trying to reach a specific 500mx500m patch for landing as targeted by Chandrayaan-2, the current mission has been given instructions to land safely anywhere in a 4kmx2.4km area.
• Pictures from Chandrayaan-2: The lander will no longer depend only on the pictures it clicks during the descent to determine a landing site. High resolution images from the Chandrayaan-2 orbiter have been fed into the lander and it will click images just to confirm that it has reached the correct location.
• Change in physical structure of lander: The central thruster on the lander has been removed, reducing the number from five to four. The legs have been made sturdier to ensure it can land even at a higher velocity. 
• Increased fuel and solar panels: More solar panels have been added to the body of the lander.
• No orbiter: While Chandrayaan-2 comprised Vikram lander, Pragyan rover, and an orbiter, Chandrayaan-3 will reportedly use the Orbiter already hovering above the Moon launched withChandrayaan-2 for its communications and terrain mapping requirements.

Image Credits: Indian Express

Relevance of Chandrayaan-3 for India:

• First soft landing near south pole: If everything goes well, the Chandrayaan-3 will become the world’s first mission to soft-land near the lunar south pole.
• International collaborations: success of the mission would position India among the top four technologically-advanced space nations and pave the way for important international collaborations, similar to the recent Artemis Accord signing between ISRO and the American space agency NASA
• Counterweight to China: The success of the ambitious lunar mission could also position India as a potential counterweight to China in the global space race.

Significance of the moon mission:

• Moon is the closest cosmic body to earth, where space discovery can be attempted and documented.
•  It is described as a promising test bed to demonstrate technologies required for future deep-space missions.

News Source: The Hindu

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Context: 

India has been experiencing the double burden of two debilitating and severe epidemics – type 2 diabetes (a.k.a. diabetes mellitus, DM) and tuberculosis (TB). The figures for both are staggering. 

Current Status:

• India has around 74.2 million people living with diabetes while TB affects 2.6 million Indians every year.

Link between DM and TB:

• Delayed Conversion: DM delays the sputum smear and culture conversion in individuals with both DM and TB, meaning it takes longer for TB bacteria to decrease below the threshold for claiming healing.
• Impaired Immunity: DM impairs cell-mediated immunity and affects cytokine response, compromising immune function and increasing the risk of TB infection.
• Altered Defences: DM alters defences in alveolar macrophages and small blood vessels in the lungs, facilitating TB invasion and establishment.
• Higher Bacterial Load: People with DM and TB have a higher bacterial load, leading to more severe symptoms.
• Radiological Findings: Individuals with TB and DM are more likely to have cavitary lesions in lower lung fields.
• Lung Function: TB-DM patients show reduced lung functioning after TB treatment compared to TB non-DM patients.
• Treatment Outcomes: DM increases the likelihood of unfavorable TB treatment outcomes, such as treatment failure, relapse/reinfection, and death.
• Impact: The coexistence of DM and TB has a greater impact on patients, healthcare systems, families, and communities.

Way Forward:

• Integrated and Patient-Centred Care: Implement integrated care approaches that cater to the individual needs of patients with TB and DM, as well as other comorbidities.
  • Establish coordinated mechanisms for the diagnosis and treatment of both TB and DM, including bidirectional screening, patient education and support, and DM treatment in new TB cases.
• High-Quality Care for Comorbidities: Intensify high-quality care for TB, DM, and associated comorbidities by incorporating them into holistic treatment plans.
• Building Resilient and Integrated Health Systems: Increase commitment from stakeholders to build and scale up resilient and integrated health systems that effectively address TB, DM, and other related conditions.
  • Develop stronger policy guidance and mobilize additional resources to support the development of integrated healthcare systems.
• Enhancing Research and Data: Build on the existing TB-DM research literature to gain a deeper understanding of the interactions between these two diseases.
  • Promote research that explores the nature of their interactions and develops appropriate response strategies.
  • Access to better data will enable informed decision-making and improve patient outcomes.

News Source: The Hindu

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Context: 

Indian government is looking at resuming operations of state-run ONGC Videsh Ltd’s (OVL) hydrocarbon exploration block in Iraq, which has been under force majeure since 2003.

Image Source: BBC

More on News:

• ‘Block 20’, earlier known as Block 8, is a large on-land exploration block in the Western Desert of Iraq. 
• OVL had acquired 100% stake in the block by signing the exploration and development contract in November 2000, However, force majeure was declared in 2003 amid security concerns.
  • Force majeure is a contract clause that removes liability for catastrophic events, such as natural disasters and warfare.

About IRAQ:

• Location: Iraq is located in Western Asia.
• Borders: Iraq shares borders with several countries:
  • Turkey to the north
  • Iran to the east
  • The Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast
  • Saudi Arabia to the south
  • Jordan to the southwest
  • Syria to the west
• Capital and Important Cities: The capital and largest city of Iraq is Baghdad.
  • Other important cities in Iraq include: Mosul, Al Basrah, Kirkuk, Al Najaf.
• Geographical Features: Iraq encompasses various geographical features, including:
  • The Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain
  • The northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range
  • The eastern part of the Syrian Desert
• Rivers: Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, flow through Iraq.They converge near the Persian Gulf in the Shatt al-Arab.
• Climate: Hot arid climate with subtropical influences.

News Source: Livemint

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Context:

The Kanwar yatra begins on the first day of Shravan and finishes on Chaturdashi Tithi, the 14th day during the waning phase of the lunar cycle.

About Kanwar Yatra:

• Kanwar Yatra is an annual pilgrimage of devotees of Lord Shiva, the Hindu God of Destruction.
• Kanvar/Kavad: The yatra derives its name from the word ‘kanvar’ – a bamboo pole to which containers of holy water are tied at opposite ends. Also known as ‘Kavad’, the yatra or the journey entails several days of walking bare feet to appease the God.
• Religious significance: Kanwar Yatra is related to the churning of the ocean of milk, also known as ‘samudra manthan‘ as per the Puranas.
• Duration: It is organized in the Hindu calendar month of Shravana (Saavn). Once the pilgrims reach their destination, the Ganges water is used to bathe the Shiva lingam on the 13th day (trayodashi) in Shravana month, which is also known as the Sawan Shivaratri.

News Source: The Indian Express

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Context:

A team of doctors from Tamil Nadu along with scientists from Japan have developed a disease-modifying treatment for Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD).

About Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy(DMD):

• DMD  is a genetic disorder that is characterized by growing muscle degeneration and weakness. 
• Cause: It is caused due to the DMD gene failing to produce any functional dystrophin because of mutations in the dystrophin gene, found in the X chromosome.
• Onset: The onset of this genetic disorder is generally in early childhood, usually between the ages of two and three, and is typically known to affect boys.
• Diagnosis: A thorough clinical assessment, a complete review of the patient’s medical history along with a number of specialist testing, including genetic tests, are used to diagnose DMD.
• Treatment: Currently available treatments are gene therapy, exon-skipping and disease modifying agents (anti-inflammatory medicines such as steroids).

Why are Women affected rarely by DMD?

• Role of Mother: Women are usually carriers of the genetic trait and aren’t aware of carrying a mutation until they have an affected son. A carrier mother’s son has a 50 per cent possibility of inheriting the defective gene from her while the daughter of a carrier mother has a 50 percent chance of carrying the gene in two healthy copies and a 50 percent chance of becoming a carrier herself. 
• Role of Father: An unaffected father always either transmits a normal X to his daughter or a normal Y to his son whereas in an affected father it is an X-linked recessive disorder caused by a mutation in the dystrophin gene. 

News Source : The Hindu

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Why in the News?

• Assessments of the health impacts of the non-sugar sweetener aspartame have been released by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) , the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Joint Expert Committee on Food Additives (JECFA). 

Key Points:

• Lack of clarity: JECFA has declared that the aspartame sweetener is a ‘possible carcinogen’, as per JECFA,  it did not have convincing evidence of harm caused by aspartame. 
• Safety Limit: It remains safe to be consumed in agreed quantities , JECFA recommended to keep consumption levels of aspartame below 40mg/kg a day.
• Further research required: The assessments of aspartame have indicated that, while safety is not a major concern at the doses which are commonly used, potential effects have been described that need to be investigated by more and better studies.
• Limited evidence: There was also limited evidence for cancer in experimental animals and limited evidence related to the possible mechanisms for causing cancer.

Aspartame: 

• Discovery: It was discovered in 1965 by American chemist James Schlatter. 
• Approval: Approved by the FDA in 1974, it is used in various food and beverage products since the 1980s, It gained popularity due to its zero calories and lack of bitter aftertaste.  
• Uses: It is used to enhance flavoring of baked and canned foods, powdered drink mixes, candy and puddings. Other uses include sweetening  agent in diet drinks, chewing gum, gelatin, ice cream, dairy products such as yogurt, breakfast cereal, toothpaste and medications such as cough drops and chewable vitamins.

News Source: The Hindu

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Context: Recently, the Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved proposals to procure 26 Rafale Marine aircraft and three additional Scorpene submarines for the Indian Navy.

• Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) chaired by Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.

About Rafale Marine Aircraft  

• It will come with associated ancillary equipment, weapons, simulator, spares, documentation, crew training and logistic support. 
  • Their procurement from the French Government is on an Inter-Governmental Agreement (IGA) basis.
  • 26 Rafale-M fighters include 22 single seater jets and four twin-seater trainers,
• For the Navy’s fighter jet deal, the competition was between Boeing’s F/A-18 , E/F Super Hornet and Dassault Aviation’s Rafale-M. 
  • While both fighters met the Navy’s requirements, the Rafale M had common spares and support as the Rafale operated by the Indian Air Force.
  • IAF operates 36 Rafale jets customised for Indian requirements procured under a €7.87 bn deal signed in April 2016.

About Scorpene submarines

• DAC also granted the Acceptance of Necessity (AoN) for procurement of three additional Scorpene submarines.
• Submarines will be procured under Buy (Indian) category and will be built by the Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited (MDL).
• The MDL is already building six Scorpene class submarines under Project-75 under transfer of technology from Naval Group which was a $3.75-billion deal signed in October 2005. 
  • Five of these have already been commissioned and the sixth will likely be commissioned early next year.

News Source: HT

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Context: Recently, a new study of the sediments from a seasonal lake in the Kaas Plateau has indicated a major shift in the Indian Summer Monsoons towards dry and stressed conditions with low rainfall during the Early-Mid–Holocene, around 8664 years BP. 

• Study indicated a relatively reduced rainfall and weak southwest monsoon during the late Holocene (around 2827 years BP).

About Kaas Plateau

• Location: Kaas Pathar is a plateau made from volcanic rocks in the Satara district of Maharashtra. 
• Etymology: Known as Kaas Pathar in Marathi, its name is derived from the Kaasa tree, botanically known as Elaeocarpus glandulosus (rudraksha family).
• Ecological importance: Kaas Plateau is a UNESCO World Natural Heritage Site, under the name the Western Ghats.It falls in the biosphere of the Western Ghats.
  • Designated as a biodiversity hotspot, the Kaas Plateau comes to life with various seasonal flowers forming a floral carpet over the entire lateritic crust during August and September.
• The plateau of Kaas experiences a natural cycle of extreme conditions. 
  • It becomes wet water-logged cool in monsoon rains, very dry, barren hot summer (45 degree C) and dry winter (5 degree C). 
• The soil we find in the Kaas Plateau is a thin layer on top of Deccan rock, with varying quality of nutrients. 
• Kaas Pathar is home to 1500 plant species, 450 wildflower species out of which 33 are endangered. 

Image Source:  The Hindu Buisnessline

News Source: The PIB

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