Prelim Bits 25-04-2024 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Sodium-ion battery vs Li-ion battery

South Korean researchers have developed a high power hybrid sodium-ion battery that can be charged in seconds.

• Sodium-ion hybrid energy storage (SIHES) cells – It is a hybrid battery with high energy and high power density.
• It can be possible with integrated anode materials typically used in batteries with cathodes suitable for super capacitors.
• The combination helped the battery to achieve high storage capacities and rapid charge-discharge rates.

Reference

WION| Lithium-ion Batteries Vs Sodium-ion Batteries

Organ Donation

Centre asks states to monitor, inspect organ transplants involving foreigners.

• It is a surgical procedure that involves removing an organ, tissue, or group of cells from one person (the donor) and transplanting it into another person (the recipient).
• In India – It is regulated by the Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, and Rules, 2014
  • Organs from deceased donor are anonymously allocated to people waiting for a transplant.
  • Organs from living donor can be donated only if they (donor and recipient) are close relatives or share a close bond and want to donate altruistically.
• Altruistic donations – Allowed from distant relatives, in-laws, or long-time friends after ensuring there is no financial exchange.
• Commercial trading is not allowed under Indian laws.

Form 21 is a key document considered by the Authorisation Committee, which approves the transplants, to show that the donor and recipients are indeed related and there is no commercial trading of organs.

• Donations from close relatives – Require documents establishing their identities, family trees, and pictures to prove the donor-recipient relationship and they are also interviewed.
• Donations from unrelated persons – Require documents and photographic evidence to prove their long-term association or friendship which are examined by an external committee to prevent illegal dealings.
• Authorisation Committee – It oversees and approves organ transplant procedures for non-relative donors and recipients.
• Issues involving foreigners – In Delhi, poor Myanmar nationals were allegedly paid to donate kidneys.
• Centre’s directions – The states shall ensure a NOTTO ID is generated for both living & deceased donor and recipient.
• For living-donor transplant, it shall be generated at the earliest, maximum within 48 hours after the transplant surgery is done.
• States are required to devise a system for regular inspection of all transplant and retrieval centres to monitor the
  • Quality of transplantation, post-operative follow up of donors and recipients, and outcomes of transplantation.

References

1. The Indian Express| Organ Transplantation involving Foreigner’s
2. Indian Express| Organ Donations in India

Rumi Darwaza & General Wali Kothi

A heritage exhibition was organised on the occasion of World Heritage Day (April 18^th) with the theme ‘Discover and experience diversity’ by the Lucknow circle of Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

• Rumi Darwaza – Often called the Turkish Gate due to its resemblance to Bab-i-Humayun gateway in Turkey.
• Located in – Lucknow, between Bara Imambara and Chhota Imambara.
• Constructed in – 1784, during the reign of Nawab Asaf-ud-Daula.
• It was initiated as a part of the Food for Work program during the period when the city was suffering from a severe famine.
• Architecture – The design, which resembles Mughal, Roman and Turkish styles later known as Awadhi architecture or the Lucknow School of Architecture.
• Unlike traditional Mughal monuments that often used red sandstone, it primarily relies on bricks with a lime coating.
• The structure's pinnacle is decorated with a chhatri (umbrella) was illuminated by a huge lantern and the beautiful flower buds carved on the arch's sides would release little water jets.
• It stands tall at a height of 60ft, it served as the entrance to Old Lucknow City in the past.

General Wali Kothi

• Located in – Lucknow, on the right bank or River Gomti (tributary of River Ganga).
• Period – During the reign of Nawab Saadat Ali Khan.
• Residential place – The 1^st resident of this Kothi (house) was Shas-ud daulah, Nawab Saadat Ali Khan's elder son and chief of the army.
• It rose to fame during the reign of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah, whose brother Hashmat Ali the army chief started to live in the kothi.
• Since Hashmat dressed as a general, the place got associated with him as 'general sahib ki kothi'.
• Structure – It is a double floor and well ventilated palace reflecting typical British architectural style.
• It has a number of Roman arches decorated with serpent head motifs.
• Renovation – It was used the Uttar Pradesh State police till 2006-07 when Archaeological survey of India got it vacated and initiated restoration work.

References

1. Hindustan Times| Rumi Darwaza
2. Times of India| History of General Wali Kothi

Sinking China

A recent research reported that big cities in China are sinking under their weight, suffering from moderate to severe subsidence.

• Study – A systematic national-scale satellite assessment of land subsidence in 82 of China’s major cities from 2015 to 2022.
• Technology used
  • Space-borne Sentinal-1 Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR)
  • Ground-based GPS data.
• InSAR uses highly precise radar pulses to measure the change in distance between the satellite and the ground surface.
• Findings – Nearly 50% of major cities are sinking.
  • 45% of examined urban lands are subsiding faster than 3 millimeters (mm) per year
  • 16% are subsiding faster than 10mm per year
• The sinking is due to a range of factors, including groundwater extraction and the weight of the built environment.
• It could affect roughly one-third of the nation’s urban population.
• By 2120, 22-26% of China’s coastal lands will have a relative elevation lower than sea level, because of the combined effect of city subsidence and sea-level rise.
• Recommendations – Long-term and sustained control of ground water extraction.

Reference

India Today| Big Cities of China are sinking

Global Report on Food Crisis (GRFC)

The 2024 edition of Global Report on Food Crisis (GRFC) was released.

• Preparation – It is produced annually by the Food Security Information Network (FSIN).
• Launched by – The Global Network Against Food Crises (GNAFC).
• GNAFC – A multistakeholder initiative that includes UN organizations, the EU, the United States Agency for International Development, and NGO’s working together to tackle food crises.

Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) is a standardised scale developed by UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization for improving food security analysis and decision making.

• 2024 report – It analysed a population of 1.3 billion in 2023 across 59 countries.
• Food crisis – Nearly 282 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity in 59 countries in 2023.
• It was marginally lower than in 2022, but the number of people affected increased by 24 million since 2022, marking the 5 consecutive year of rising numbers.
• Overall, 1 in 5 people assessed were in need of critical urgent action.

Acute food insecurity is when a person's inability to consume adequate food puts their lives or livelihoods in immediate danger.

• Vulnerable areas – The conflict hotspots in 2023, notably Palestine (Gaza Strip) and Sudan shows the high correlation between displacement and acute food insecurity.
• Sudan became the world’s biggest internal displacement crisis.
• The Gaza Strip became the area with the most severe food crisis in the last 8 years of GRFC reporting.
• Causes – Conflict / insecurity became the primary driver in 20 countries, directly affecting 135 million people.
• Extreme weather being the 2^nd most significant factor.
• Economic shocks were the 3^rd main driver in 21 countries, mostly low-income and import-dependent, where decreasing global food prices did not transmit.
• Positive signs – Food security improved in 17 countries with comparable data between 2022 and 2023, resulting in 7.2 million fewer people facing high levels of acute food insecurity.

Reference

Down To Earth| Global Report on Food Crisis 2024