DBT-NIBMG creates the world’s first database of genomic variants of oral cancer

• DBT-National Institute of Biomedical Genomics (NIBMG), Kalyani an Autonomous Institute funded by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India has created a database of genomic variations in oral cancer; the first of its kind in the world.
• NIBMG has made this database publicly-accessible.
• dbGENVOC is a browsable online database of GENomic Variants of Oral Cancer and is a free resource.
• First release of dbGENVOC contains

1. ~24 million somatic and germline variants derived from whole exome sequences of 100 Indian oral cancer patients and whole genome sequences of 5 oral cancer patients from India,
2. somatic variation data from 220 patient samples drawn from the USA and analyzed by TCGA-HNSCC project and
3. manually curated variation data of 118 patients from recently published peer-reviewed publications.

• Variants were identified by the community approved best practice protocol and annotated using multiple analytic pipeline.
• dbGENVOC is not just a catalogue of genomic variants, it has a built-in powerful search engine.
• It also allows a reasonable extent of statistical and bioinformatic analysis to be carried out online, including identifying variants in associated altered pathways in oral cancer.
• The repository, which will be updated annually with variation data from new oral cancer patients from different regions of India and southeast Asia, has the potential to support advances in oral cancer research and will be a major step in moving forward from simply cataloguing variants to gain insight into their significance.
• Oral cancer is the most prevalent form of cancer among men in India, largely fuelled by tobacco-chewing. Tobacco-chewing causes changes in the genetic material of cells in the oral cavity.
• These changes (mutations) precipitate oral cancer. Research to identify those genetic mutations that drive oral cancer are ongoing. Such driver mutations may be variable across populations.

Schemes for Solar Energy

PM KUSUM SCHEME: (MNRE)

1. Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) Scheme.
2. For installation of solar pumps and grid connected solar and other renewable power plants in the country.
3. The scheme aims to add solar and other renewable capacities of 25,750 MW by 2022.
4. It consists of 3 components
   1. 10,000 MW of Decentralized Ground Mounted Grid Connected Renewable Power Plants of individual plant size up to 2 MW.
   2. Installation of 17.5 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agri Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP.
   3. Solarisation of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Agriculture Pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP.
5. Implementation by State Nodal Agencies(SNAs) of MNRE.
6. The scheme will open a stable source of income to rural land owners for 25 years by utilization of their dry/ uncultivable land.
7. Decentralised irrigation through solar-powered pump set on barren land with 60:30:10 that is given by Center + States: Banks: Farmers.
8. Benefits:
   1. Plan for regional planning.
   2. Inter-state and Intra state discrepancies.
   3. To control Climate Change and to achieve INDCs.
   4. Solve the problem of alkalization and salinization.
   5. It aims to provide Energy efficiency and sustainable irrigation access to farmers.
   6. Reduced Transmission losses.
   7. It will help DISCOMs achieve the RPO target.
   8. It will save expenditure incurred on diesel pumps
   9. Feeding rural load centres, decentralization, reduced Transmission losses for STUs and DISCOMS; achieving RPO target; saving the expenditure incurred on diesel; preventing pollution.

International solar alliance (ISA)

1. -ISA is an alliance of more than 122 countries initiated by India, most of them being sunshine countries, lying between the Tropic of Cancer and Capricorn, now extended to all members of UN.
2. The Paris Declaration establishes ISA.
3. Objectives: Global deployment of over 1,000GW of solar generation capacity and mobilisation of investment of over US$ 1000 billion into solar energy by 2030.
4. ISA brings together countries with rich solar potential to aggregate global demand, thereby reducing prices through bulk purchase, facilitating the deployment of existing solar technologies at scale, and promoting collaborative solar R&D and capacity building.
5. HQ is at Gurugram, India.

Other Solar Schemes

• MNRE and Solar capacity
  1. Grid Connected Rooftop & Small Solar Power Plants Programme and
  2. Off-Grid & Decentralised Solar programmes.
• National Solar Mission, 2010:
  1. It is a part of the NAPCC. The target is 20 GW by 2022. Later, this target was increased to 100 GW in 2015. By 2017-18, India has surpassed the original target of 20 GW.
  2. A "Rent a Roof" policy is also being prepared to support the target of generating 40 GW of power through solar rooftop projects by 2022. It is included in 100 GW of the National Solar Mission.
• State Rooftop Solar Attractiveness Index–SARAL: launched by MNRE. SARAL evaluates Indian states based on their attractiveness for rooftop development. Karnataka ranked 1st after Telangana, Gujarat and AP.
• REN21’s Renewable 2019 Global Status Report (GSR).
• Rooftop Solar
  1. Rooftop solar are installed on roof of buildings. They are of 2 types: commercial and residential.
  2. Benefits
     1. They provide an alternative source of Electricity to the grid and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
     2. It can provide Electricity to those areas which are not connected to the grid, remote locations and mountains etc.
  3. Problems
     1. Variability in the supply. It depends on the day/ weather. Plus it is inactive at night. And in fact, night is when the offgrid locations most need alternative sources of electricity.
     2. Storage technology for electricity is still underdeveloped and expensive.
     3. The many States do not have a net metering concept. Costs > Profits.
• Draft National Wind-Solar Hybrid Policy: Government seeks to promote new renewable energy projects and hybridisation of the existing ones.
• Off-Grid and Decentralised Solar Photo Voltaic Applications Programme: for meeting the lighting and electricity needs of individuals, communities, and commercial and industrial institutions.
• Promotion of Solar Parks and Ultra Mega Solar Power Projects: The aim of the mega project is to set up at least 25 Solar Parks and Mega-Solar Power Projects to produce 20, 000 MW of solar energy between 2014- 15 and 2021-22.
• Grid Connected Solar Rooftop programme: This scheme promotes the installation of solar panels on the rooftops of residential, commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.
• Sustainable Rooftop Implementation for Solar Transfiguration of India (SRISTI) scheme: This scheme provides financial aid to the beneficiaries who install a solar power plant on the rooftop within the country.