News in Short: 27 August 2024

Balochistan Region

About Balochistan: 

• Balochistan is a region with a distinct cultural and historical identity that is now divided between three countries mainly Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan.
• Borders: It is bordered by Iran in the West, Afghanistan in the Northwest, Sindh in the Southeast and Arabian Sea in the South.
• Terrain: The Sulaiman and Kirthar ranges are prominent geographical features.
• Economic Resources:
  • Mineral Wealth: Balochistan is rich in mineral resources, including copper, gold, coal, and natural gas.
• Cultural Heritage: The Baloch people have a distinct cultural identity with their own languages, traditions, and historical narratives. Balochi, Pashto, and Brahui are spoken in the region.

Geo-Strategic Significance of Balochistan: 

• Strategic Location: Its location along the Arabian Sea and near the Strait of Hormuz makes it crucial for maritime trade and energy routes.
• Gwadar Port: It is a part of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and is strategically important for trade and military presence. 
• Regional Influence: Its proximity to Iran and Afghanistan places it at the intersection of significant regional dynamics, impacting security and economic interests in South and Central Asia.
• Resource Richness: The province’s mineral wealth, including oil and gas reserves, adds to its strategic importance, influencing both national and international economic interests.

Vigyan Dhara Scheme

About the Vigyan Dhara Scheme: 

• Components: The scheme has three broad components:
  • Science and Technology (S&T) Institutional and Human Capacity Building,
  • Research and Development and
  • Innovation, Technology Development and Deployment.
• Outlay: The proposed outlay for the implementation of the scheme is Rs.10,579.84 crore during the 15th finance Commission period from 2021-22 to 2025-26.
• Objective: Promote S&T capacity building as well as research, innovation and technology development towards strengthening the Science, Technology and Innovation ecosystem in the country.

Significance

• Infrastructure: Strengthens S&T infrastructure and equips R&D labs in academic institutions.
• Efficiency: Merges existing schemes for better fund utilization and synchronization.
• Research Focus: Supports basic, translational, and collaborative research, with international cooperation.
• Human Resources: Aims to build a critical human resource pool and expand the R&D base of the country towards improving the Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) researcher count.
• Gender Parity: Promotes women’s participation in S&T with goals for gender parity.
• Innovation Support: Encourages innovation from school to industry, with increased collaboration between academia, government, and industries.

About Department of Science & Technology (DST): It acts as the nodal department for organizing, coordinating and promoting S&T activities in the country.

Disputed Sabina Shoal

About Sabina Shoal:

• Sabina Shoal: It is an oceanic coral atoll that developed on top of a seamount in the eastern part of the Spratlys.
• Location: It is located in west of the Philippine island of Palawan.
  • The closest shallow geographic feature is Boxall Reef
• China- Philippines Dispute: China refers to Sabina Shoal as Xianbin Reef, while the Philippines calls it Escoda Shoal.
  • China claims the Sabina Shoal. It is more than 1,000 km from China’s nearest major landmass, Hainan island.
  • Manila and Beijing have stationed coast guard vessels around the shoal in recent months, with the Philippines fearing China is about to build an artificial island there.

Plea Bargaining in India

About Plea Bargaining:

• Plea Bargain: It is a practice whereby the accused forgoes his right to plead not guilty and demand a full trial and instead uses a right to bargain for a benefit.
• Plea bargaining was incorporated into the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) in 2005.
• Plea bargaining is a less lucrative alternative for an accused to end the proceedings in contrast with other mechanisms: 
  • Compounding (compromise). 
  • Quashing (of criminal proceedings). 
  • Witness turning hostile (account of compromise between the parties).
• Use of Plea Bargaining: Only 0.11% of cases were resolved through plea bargaining in 2022, according to Ministry of Law and Justice report.
  • Report: ‘Access to Justice through Plea Bargaining as an Alternative Model to Traditional Criminal Trial in India: A Case Study of Select Indian States’ 
• The 2022 NCRB report revealed that 119 cases of crimes against women and four cases registered under POCSO Act were disposed of by plea bargaining.

Right to Disconnect

About Right to Disconnect:

• Aim: To safeguard personal time and promote a more balanced work-life harmony.
• Working: The law does not ban employers from contacting workers after hours.
  • Instead, it gives staff the right not to reply unless their refusal is deemed unreasonable.
• Significance: The right seeks to shield employees from the constant expectation of being always available, thereby alleviating stress, preventing burnout.
• Similar Regulations: By introducing this law, Australia joins about two dozen other countries, mostly in Europe and Latin America, that have similar regulations. 
  • France was one of the first to implement its right to disconnect in 2017.
• Flexible & Practical: Employers can contact employees in emergencies or when the nature of the job requires irregular hours. 
  • This flexibility ensures that the law is practical and doesn’t hinder essential business operations.

World’s First Lung Cancer Vaccine Trial Begins

Overview of Trails of Lung Cancer Vaccine:

• About Lung Cancer Vaccine: The BNT116 vaccine, developed by BioNTech, is aimed at treating Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC), the most common type of lung cancer. 
• Aim: To eliminate cancer cells and prevent their recurrence by training the immune system to recognize and attack tumor markers specific to NSCLC.
• Technology: It uses the same mRNA technology as some Covid jabs to give instructions to the immune system.
• Trials: The trial, taking place in the UK, the US, Germany, Spain, and Türkiye, among others, is considered a significant step in lung cancer treatment.

About Lung Cancer: 

• Lung Cancer: It is a malignant tumor that forms in the lung’s tissues, usually in the cells that line the air passages.
• Two Main Types: Small cell lung cancer and non-small cell lung cancer. 
  • Non-small cell lung cancer is the most common type.
• Causes: Smoking is the leading cause of lung cancer, responsible for about 85% of all cases, but nonsmokers can also develop it. 
• Symptoms: 
  • Cough that does not go away after a few weeks.
  • Chest infections that keep coming back.
  • Coughing up blood.

SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Mission

About SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn Mission:

• Polaris Dawn: SpaceX’s five-day mission will swing in an oval-shaped orbit, passing as close to Earth as 190 km and as far as 1,400 km. 
  • This is farthest any humans will have ventured since the end of the United States’ Apollo moon program in 1972.
• Spacewalk: Two of the mission’s four-member crew will venture out of their Crew Dragon capsule in Earth’s orbit for a tethered spacewalk. 
  • This will mark the first major test of SpaceX’s new spacesuits.
• Major Concern: The capsule lacks an airlock and will completely depressurize for the spacewalk, requiring all four crew members to rely on their suits for survival.
• Significance: The mission is an opportunity to advance technologies that could be used on the moon and Mars.