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5th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis | Prelims & Mains 2020
Shaurya missile
HEADLINES:
Shaurya missile launched.
WHY IN NEWS:
- Recently, a successful trial of the nuclear-capable Shaurya missile was conducted by India.
- Also, Brahmos land attack cruise missile was tested a few days before this testing.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Defence
CONTEXT:
SHAURYA MISSILE
- It has a range of at least 750 kilometers.
- It is a surface-to-surface tactical missile.
- It is capable of carrying payloads of 200 kg to 1000 kg.
- It is codenamed after late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam – which are launched from Arihant class of nuclear submarines.
- The missile is less vulnerable to anti-ballistic missile defence systems due to its high maneuverability.
K FAMILY OF MISSILES
- The K family of missiles are primarily Submarine Launched Ballistic Missiles (SLBMs).
- India has also developed and successfully tested multiple times the K-4 missiles from the family which has a range of 3500 km.
- K-5 and K-6 with ranges of 5000 and 6000 km are also under development.
DEVELOPMENT
- The development of these missiles began in the late 1990s as a step towards completing India’s nuclear triad.
- Nuclear triad is the capability of launching nuclear weapons from land, sea and air-based assets.
- Because these missiles are to be launched from submarines, they are lighter, smaller and stealthier than their land-based counterparts – the Agni series of missiles.
- Agni Missiles are medium and intercontinental range nuclear capable ballistic missiles.
IASbhai WINDUP:
SLBMs
- The capability of SLMBs has great strategic importance in the context of achieving a nuclear triad.
- These submarines can not only survive a first strike by the adversary but also can launch a strike in retaliation thus achieving Credible Nuclear Deterrence.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | 5th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis
SC against involuntary narco tests
HEADLINES:
SC against involuntary narco tests : Nation in shock
WHY IN NEWS:
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 2 : 3: Policies and Interventions
ISSUE:
SUPREME COURT VERDICT
NARCO TESTS
- Involuntary administration of narco or lie detector tests is an “intrusion” into a person’s “mental privacy”, a Supreme Court judgment of 2010 has held.
- 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 devastating, the court said.
- Such tests are an affront to human dignity and liberty, and have long-lasting effects.
- “An individual’s decision to make a statement is the product of a private choice and there should be no scope for any other individual to interfere with such autonomy,” the apex court had held.
IASbhai WINDUP:
SMT. SELVI VS STATE OF KARNATAKA
- The judgment in Smt. Selvi vs State of Karnataka observed that involuntary administration of these scientific tests was “sufficient to constitute a custodial environment”.
- It amounted to a “restraint on personal liberty”.
- “Law disapproves of involuntary testimony .It violates the prescribed boundaries of privacy.
- It most certainly comes into conflict with the ‘right against self-incrimination’.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | 5th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis
Xoo bacterium
HEADLINES:
Moving towards a vaccine to reduce yield loss due to diseases in rice
WHY IN NEWS:
Dr Tayi Lavanya and her team is developing new disease control strategies which they can use as vaccines that activate the rice immune system.
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3:Health:Diseases
ISSUE:
XOO BACTERIUM
- The research group is working to identify and develop few molecules which are derived from either the Xoo bacterium or from the infected rice cell walls.
- This can activate the rice immune system and provide resistance to rice plants from subsequent infections by pathogens.
XOO INFECTION
- Xanthomonas oryzaepv. oryzae, or commonly known as Xoo infection, cause huge yield losses to rice cultivation throughout the world.
- The team carried out biochemical and functional studies on plant cell wall degrading enzymes secreted by Xoo.
- This has provided key insights into the mechanisms by which the Xoo pathogen interacts with rice plant and cause disease.
IASbhai WINDUP:
We may be close to a vaccine to boost the immune system of rice !
- Currently, the group is working on a cellulase protein secreted by Xoo.
- This cellulase protein has the features of a typical vaccine as it is a potent elicitor of rice immune responses.
- Pre-treatment of rice plants with this protein provides resistance to rice against subsequent Xoo infection.
SOURCES:THE HINDU & PIB | 5th Oct Current Affairs News Analysis
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