• India is participating in the 3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3) - the global platform for discussing research and cooperation in the Arctic region (8-9 May, 2021).
• Dr Harsh Vardhan, who participated in the event also proposed that India may be given an opportunity to host the next or future ASM.
• The first two meetings—ASM1 and ASM2—were held in the USA in 2016 and Germany in 2018, respectively.

3rd Arctic Science Ministerial (ASM3)

• ASM3, jointly organised by Iceland and Japan, is the first Ministerial meeting being held in Asia.
• The meeting is designed to provide opportunities to various stakeholders, including academia, indigenous communities, governments and policymakers, to enhance collective understanding of the Arctic region.
• The theme for this year is ‘Knowledge for a Sustainable Arctic’.

Arctic Council

• It is the leading intergovernmental forum promoting cooperation, coordination and interaction among the Arctic States, Arctic Indigenous peoples and other Arctic inhabitants on common Arctic issues, in particular on issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the Arctic.
• It was formally established in 1996.

The Ottawa Declaration defines the following states as Members of the Arctic Council:

1. Sweden
2. Canada
3. Finland
4. Iceland
5. Norway
6. The United States
7. The Russian Federation
8. The Kingdom of Denmark

• Observer status in the Arctic Council is open to non-Arctic states.
• Since 2013, India enjoys ‘Observer’ status in the Arctic Council with twelve other countries (Japan, China, France, Germany, UK, Italy, Switzerland, Poland, Spain, Netherlands, Singapore, and South Korea). 
• The Chairmanship of the Arctic Council rotates every two years among the Arctic States. 
• The Arctic Council’s mandate, as articulated in the Ottawa Declaration, explicitly excludes military security.

• Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI) has recently approved an anti-COVID drug developed by DRDO for emergency use.

2-deoxy-D-glucose (2-DG)

• It is an anti-COVID-19 therapeutic application developed by Institute of Nuclear Medicine and Allied Sciences (INMAS), a lab of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), in collaboration with Dr Reddy’s Laboratories (DRL), Hyderabad.
• Clinical trial results have shown that this molecule helps in faster recovery of hospitalised patients and reduces supplemental oxygen dependence.
• The drug will be of immense benefit to the people suffering from COVID-19.
• The drug comes in powder form in sachet, which is taken orally by dissolving it in water.
• It accumulates in the virus infected cells and prevents virus growth by stopping viral synthesis and energy production.
• Its selective accumulation in virally infected cells makes this drug unique.

• Gopal Krishna Gokhale joined the Indian National Congress (INC) in 1889, motivated by his mentor, social reformer M G Ranade.

Hakki Pikki Tribes

• It literally means bird hunters in Kannada.
• They are a nomadic tribe of hunter-gatherers that once roamed the forests of the country.
• In the 1970’s, once stringent wildlife protection laws were passed, the government rehabilitated the tribe to urban areas in Karnataka.

Long March 5B Rocket

• China launched the Long March 5B’ rocket and prototype spacecraft in 2020 .
• It aims to operate a permanent space station and send astronauts to the Moon.
• It was considered as China’s successful step to operate a permanent space station and send astronauts to the Moon.
• Long March 5B’ Rocket was launched from the Wenchang launch site in the southern island of Hainan.
• It is expected to transport astronauts to a space station that China plans to complete by 2022 and eventually to the Moon, It will have capacity for a crew of six.
• Recently debris from a Chinese rocket Sunday made an uncontrolled re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere and disintegrated over the Indian Ocean, with remnants falling at a location to the west of Maldives.
• The debris came from the upper stage of a Long March 5B rocket that had been launched for putting into orbit a core module of the new Tianhe space station, which is expected to become operational in 2022.

Non-Hypergolic Liquid Propellants

• Liquid propellants can consist of a single chemical (a monopropellant) or a mix of two chemicals, called bipropellants.
• Bipropellants can further be divided into two categories; hypergolic propellants, which ignite when the fuel and oxidizer make contact, and non-hypergolic propellants which require an ignition source.
• A hypergolic propellant combination used in a rocket engine is one whose components spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with each other.

Sovereign Credit Rating

• Sovereign Credit Rating is an assessment of a country’s creditworthiness.
• The three influential rating agencies include Moody’s Services, Fitch Ratings, and Standard & Poor’s.
• These ratings are important for countries that want to access funds in the international bond market.
• A credit rating agency will evaluate a country’s economic and political environment at the request of the government and assign a rating stretching from AAA grade to grade D.
• A country with high credit ratings can access funds easily from the international bond market and also secure foreign direct investment.
• A low sovereign credit rating means that a country faces a high risk of default and may have experienced difficulties in paying back debts.
• Determinants of Sovereign Credit Ratings are as follows
• Per capita income - It estimates the income earned per person in a specific area.
• It is calculated by taking the total income earned by individuals in a given area divided by the number of people residing in that area.
• A high per capita income increases the potential tax base of the government, which subsequently increases the government’s ability to repay its debts.
• GDP growth - It refers to the percentage growth in the GDP of a country from one quarter to another as the economy navigates a business cycle.
• Strong GDP growth means that a country will be able to meet its debt obligations since the growth in GDP results in higher tax revenues for the government.
• Rate of inflation - Sovereign debts are susceptible to changes in the rate of inflation, and an increase in inflation will affect a country’s ability to finance its debt.
• A high inflation rate points to structural problems in a country’s finances, and it is likely to cause political instability as the public becomes dissatisfied with the increasing inflation.
• External debt - Some countries rely heavily on external debts to finance their development and infrastructure projects.
• Increasing debt levels translate to a higher risk of default, which may affect its ability to access funding from international lenders.
• Economic development - The credit rating agencies consider the level of development when determining the sovereign credit rating of a country.
• History of defaults - A country that defaulted on its debt obligations in the past is considered to have a high sovereign credit risk by rating agencies.
• It means that countries with a record of defaults receive low ratings, making them less attractive to investors looking for low-risk investments.

Global Methane Assessment

• Recently, a report, titled Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions suggested that the world needs to dramatically cut methane emissions to avoid the worst of climate change.
• The report was released by the Climate and Clean Air Coalition and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP).
• Report highlights are as follows

1. Human-caused methane emissions are increasing faster currently than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s.
2. Carbon dioxide levels have dropped during the Covid-19 pandemic. However, methane in the atmosphere reached record levels last year.
3. This is a cause of concern as it was responsible for about 30%of warming since pre-industrial times.
4. Human-caused methane emissions must be cut by 45% to avoid the worst effects of climate change.
5. Such a cut would prevent a rise in global warming by up to 0.3 degrees Celsius by 2045.
6. It would also prevent 260,000 premature deaths, 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits annually, as well as 25 million tonnes of crop losses.
7. However, cutting methane emissions can rapidly reduce the rate of warming in the near-term as the gas broke down quickly.

Methane

• Methane is gas that is found in small quantities in Earth's atmosphere.
• Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon, consisting of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms (CH4).
• Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, it’s flammable and is used as a fuel worldwide.
• Methane is produced by the breakdown or decay of organic material and can be introduced into the atmosphere by following ways

1. Natural processes - Such as the decay of plant material in wetlands, the seepage of gas from underground deposits or the digestion of food by cattle
2. Human activities - Such as oil and gas production, rice farming or waste management.

• Methane is 84 times more potent than carbon and doesn’t last as long in the atmosphere before it breaks down.
• This makes it a critical target for reducing global warming more quickly while simultaneously working to reduce other greenhouse gases.
• It is responsible for creating ground-level ozone, a dangerous air pollutant.

Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0)

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has constituted an Advisory Group to assist the second Regulations Review Authority (RRA 2.0).
• The RBI has set up the RRA 2.0, initially for a period of one year from 1st May, 2021, with a view to streamline regulations and reduce the compliance burden of regulated entities.

• In 1999, the RBI had set up a Regulations Review Authority (RRA) for reviewing the regulations, circulars, reporting systems, based on the feedback from the public, banks, and financial institutions.
• RRA 2.0 will focus on streamlining regulatory instructions, reducing compliance burden of the regulated entities by simplifying procedures and reducing reporting requirements, wherever possible.
• It will also obtain feedback from regulated entities.
• Regulated entities include commercial banks, urban co-operative banks, Non-Banking Financial Companies.

Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs)

• Prostaglandins are a family of chemicals that are produced by the cells of the body and have several important functions.
• They promote inflammation that is necessary for healing, but also results in pain, and fever.
• The NSAIDs block the cyclooxygenase (COX) enzymes and reduce prostaglandins throughout the body.
• The NSAID family of anti-inflammatory drugs includes those widely used by the general public like ibuprofen, an active substance in common drugs, such as Nurofen or Advil or ketoprofen.
• They are good at treating pain caused by slow tissue damage, such as arthritis pain.
• They also work well fighting back pain, menstrual cramps and headaches.
• They work like corticosteroids (also called steroids), without many of the side effects of steroids.
• Recently, a new observational study of more than 72,000 people in the UK published that the use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) does not lead to higher rates of death or severe disease in patients who are hospitalised with Covid-19.
• In patients with rheumatological disease, the use of NSAIDs did not increase mortality.
• It also found that those who took NSAIDs were no more likely to be admitted to critical care, need invasive or non-invasive ventilation, or require oxygen.