DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Udayarpalayam Palace was once an impregnable seat of power in Tamil Nadu but now is a refuge for pigeons and bats.

• It is a 5 acre palace that resembles the Thirumalai Nayakkar Mahal of Madurai.
• Location - Udayarpalayam in Ariyalur district, Tamil Nadu.
• Built in – 18^th century by the then Zamindars.
• Architecture - South Indian secular architecture.
• The foundation is made of granite boulders and pillars.
• The palace includes
  • Lakshmi Vilasam (A court hall)
  • Krishna Vilasam (Hall for dance and music concerts)
  • Marriage hall
• Stucco images - The skeleton of every image (dancers and others) was made of wood, covered with cloth over which plastering was done and final touches were given with lime and sand paste.

Rulers of Udayarpalayam

• Udayarpalayam rulers lived as poligars.

Palaiyakkarars, or Poligar, in Andhra and Tamil Nadu refers to the holder of a small kingdom (palayam) as a feudatory to a greater sovereign.

• Genealogy – The names of the rulers start with the title Kachi, indicating that they had migrated from Kancheepuram.
• 1^st ruler - Kachi Yuvarangappa Kalakka Tola Udayar.
• Currency – Udayarpalayam puthupanam [new money].
• Political scenario – They submitted to the Mughals when they took Gingee and paid Peshkash (tribute).
• During Anglo-French struggle, they supported British.

International Space Station (ISS), a place of peaceful collaboration for science, has completed more than 140,000 Earth orbits in its journey of 25 years.

• ISS is a multi-nation construction project that is the largest single structure humans ever put into space.
• Origin – Mainly a creation of USA and later Russia was invited to participate.
• Operated by – 5 agencies
  • Canadian Space Agency (CSA)
  • The European Space Agency (ESA)
  • The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
  • The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
  • The State Space Corporation “Roscosmos”
• Size – Measures 109 meters (357 feet) end-to-end.
• Location – At Low Earth Orbit (430 kilometers)

Among the 1^st “live-in” astronauts were Bill Shepherd of NASA and Roscosmos cosmonauts Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev.

• Components – It consists of
  • Zarya Control Module – Russia based component that was launched in 1998 for supplying fuel storage, battery power, and serving as a docking zone for other vehicles
  • Unity Node 1 module – US based component
• It passes over our heads 16 times every 24 hours (orbiting Earth every 90 minutes at a speed of 8 kilometers per second.
• Achievements - Its discoveries have benefitted drug development, new water purification systems, methods to mitigate muscle and bone atrophy and lead to innovations in food production.
• Future of ISS - NASA, CSA, and the ESA have committed to operate till 2030, while Russia has said that it will withdraw after 2024 to focus on building its own space station around 2028.

NASA plans to spend up to $1 billion to build the US Deorbit Vehicle (USDV) to deorbit ISS.

India has launched 2 new initiatives - Global DPI Repository and Social Impact Fund, to advance Digital Public Infrastructure in Global South.

Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is a set of shared digital systems to deliver and provide equitable access to public and / or private services to drive development, inclusion, innovation and respect human rights and fundamental freedoms.

• Global DPI Repository (GDPIR) – A virtual repository of DPI, voluntarily shared by G20 members and beyond.
• Developed by – Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
• Aim - To bridge the knowledge gap in the choices and methodologies required for the design, construction, deployment, and governance of DPIs.
• To showcase the information in a standardized format by incorporating elements such as maturity scales, source codes and governance frameworks.

Currently, the GDPIR features 54 DPIs from 16 countries.

Social Impact Fund (SIF)

• It is envisioned as a government led, multistakeholder initiative to fast-track DPI implementation in the global south.

• Aim – To offer a platform for all stakeholders to contribute to this fund and help accelerate the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Low- and Middle-Income Countries (LMICs) through DPIs.
• To provide upstream technical and non-technical assistance to countries in developing DPI systems.

The SIF India has pledged an initial commitment of 25 million USD.

Recently launched Investor Risk Reduction Access (IRRA) platform acts as a ‘safety net’ for investors registered with SEBI.

• Need – There is rise in instances of glitches in trading members’ systems making the investors with open positions at risk.
• Launched by – SEBI (Securities and Exchange Board of India)
• Developed by – It has been jointly developed by all the stock exchanges of India
  • BSE (Bombay Stock Exchange)
  • NSE (National Stock Exchange)
  • NCDEX (National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange Limited)
  • MCX (Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd)
  • MSE (Metropolitan Stock Exchange of India)
• Objectives
  • To reduce risks faced by investors during technical glitches at both the primary and disaster recovery site.
  • To provide an opportunity to square off/close their open positions and cancel pending orders.
• Working
  • It can be invoked by trading members or suo moto by stock exchanges.
  • It downloads trades information from all the trading venues.
  • It sends SMS/email to investors with IRRA access link over an Internet-based Based Trading (IBT) web URL and an app.
  • Investors can access through a secure login system using their Unique Client Code (UCC) or investor’s PAN number.
• Reverse migration - Based on the trading member’s request and confirmation from all exchanges, the IRRA will be shut down and enable to resume business from the original trading system.
• Only 1 reverse migration will be allowed during a trading day.
• Limitations – It is not meant for taking fresh positions or orders, and is not available for algo trading, Institutional clients.

Squaring off is a trading style that, day trade investors use to make profit from the market volatility.

India needs to secure a fair and equitable share of the global carbon budget at COP 28, as it is a key factor for limiting global warming.

What is a global carbon budget?

• Global Carbon Budget - It is the amount of CO2 that humanity can emit while still having a chance to contain global warming within 1.5°Celsius compared with preindustrial levels, as advocated by the Paris Agreement.
• It is taken from the atmosphere, regional carbon emissions, CO2 emissions from land usage, carbon emissions from man-made projects in many forms.
• It is produced under the umbrella of Global Carbon Project (GCP).
• It is part of the greater carbon cycle and the ways in which the Earth’s reservoirs of carbon are added to and subtracted from.
• The budget is estimated to be around 1 trillion tonnes of carbon.
• Need- To understand how CO2 emissions (both natural and manmade) are contributing to the changes in the Earth’s environment.

As per Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s Sixth Assessment Report (IPCC AR6), every 1,000 billion tonnes of CO2 in emissions causes an estimated 0.45°Celsius rise in the global surface temperature.

What is the significance of global carbon budget?

• Limits global warming- It establishes how much CO2 can be emitted without exceeding the temperature goals of the Paris Agreement.
• Set targets- It helps to set emissions reduction targets in a fair and effective way, based on the scientific evidence and value judgments.

IPCC AR6 has shown that almost four-fifths of the global carbon budget stands depleted and only a fifth remains to meet the target set in the Paris Agreement.

• Clean energy- It encourages the development of alternative energy resources and more efficient ways to use energy, by making carbon-emitting fuels more expensive.
• Fund- It generates revenue that can be used to fund clean-energy technologies, compensate the affected people, or reduce other taxes.
• Climate science- It will help countries to stay within the remaining warming limit.
• Road to net zero- Governments can measure how well they are doing in reducing their climate impact.
• Impetus to CBDR- It boosts Common But Different Responsibilities (CBDR) that was formalized at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

How does the carbon budget matter for India?

• Carbon inequality- Developed countries have appropriated a disproportionately larger share of the global carbon budget to date.
• South Asia, including India, has low historical and per capita emissions compared to North America and the world.
• Carbon equity- Developed countries should take more responsibility for reducing emissions and provide finance and technology to developing countries.
• India must recognize its fair share of the carbon budget as a strategic national resource, and demand it at the COP28 climate talks.

• Development- It is the first defence against climate change, India has made progress in reducing poverty and providing food security to millions of people, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic.

As per NITI Aayog- U.N. Development Programme’s Multidimensional Poverty Index Report 2023 review, India has been able to lift more than 135 million poor out of poverty in less than 5 years (2015-2021).

• Non-discriminatory- Developed countries have pressured developing countries to phase out coal, but have failed to do so themselves.

• The 17^th edition of Joint Military Exercise SURYA KIRAN between India and Nepal conducted in Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand recently.

It is an annual event and conducted alternatively in the two countries.

• It is one of the highest National Awards in the field of livestock and dairy sector to be conferred as a part of National Milk Day celebration 2023.
• Aim - To motivate farmers to rear indigenous breeds, increase their population, and improve their production and productivity.

National Milk Day is celebrated every year on November 26 to honor the birth anniversary of Dr. Verghese Kurien (Father of White Revolution).

• Ministry of Rural Development and the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare jointly launched training of Krishi Sakhis for promotion of Natural Farming.
• Krishi Sakhis are Community Agriculture Care Service Providers (CASPs).
• They are trained para extension professionals and practicing farmers at the grass root level.

The Krishi Sakhis initiative was launched under the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana - National Rural Livelihoods.

• CREAMS is a laboratory that monitors crop conditions in extreme weather, established in 2013 by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi.
• CREAMS provides data on the number of Active Fire Events (AFE) caused by burning paddy crop residue.
• CREAMS also provides data on stubble-burning incidents in northern India.

In 2023, the number of stubble-burning incidents in Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and NCR areas of Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh decreased from 13,964 in 2022 to 6,391.

• The Central government recently exempted the Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) from the ambit of the Right to Information Act (RTI), 2005.
• CERT-In, established in 2004, is the national nodal agency for responding to computer security incidents as and when they occur.
• It functions under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• According to RTI Act, organisations listed under Schedule II of RTI Act are exempted.

With this, there are 27 other intelligence and security organisations such as the IB, R&AW, Directorate of Enforcement, National Technical Research Organisation that are exempt under RTI.

Against the backdrop of the Israel-Hamas conflict, Prime Minister of India chaired a virtual summit of G20 leaders recently.

• Bannerghatta National Park (BNP) was declared in 1974.
• It is situated in Bengaluru, Karnataka and borders with Cauvery Wildlife Sanctuary in the South and with Javalagiri Reserved Forests in the Tamil Nadu State on its South-Eastern boundaries.
• There are 4 ranges in the national park, namely, Anekal, Bannerghatta, Harohalli and Kodihalli wildlife ranges.
• Bannerghatta’s Sloth Bear Rescue Centre completes 18 years.

Sloth Bear

• A Sloth Bear (Melursus ursinus) is an omnivorous mammal that can live up to 40 years.
• Sloth bears are the only bears to routinely carry their young on their backs and are native to India, Sri Lanka and Nepal.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN - Vulnerable
  • CITES - Appendix I,

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 - Schedule I (Highest Protection)

• The 6^th annual Australia India Leadership Dialogue 2023 held in Melbourne, Australia recently.
• The Australia India Leadership Dialogue is the premier forum for informal diplomacy between Australia and India.
• The dialogue used Bridges of Bharosa (trust) as one of its themes.
• It provides an opportunity to deepen mutual understanding between Australian and Indian leaders.

It also paves way for addressing Australia-India bilateral relations in the wider context of the Indo-Pacific region.

• Guru Nanak Dev (1469–1539) was the founder of Sikhism.
• He was born in Talwandi (now Nankana Sahib, near Lahore).
• Nanak was a Bhakti saint who preached that the most important form of worship is Bhakti, or devotion to Waheguru.

Guru Nanak Jayanti, also known as Gurpurab, is the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak