• The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), through a notification recently, enhanced the “arrest, search and seize” powers of the Border Security Force (BSF) up to 50 km from the international boundary within Assam, West Bengal and Punjab.
• In Gujarat, the limit was reduced from the existing 80 km to 50 km. In Rajasthan, the 50-km limit remains unchanged.
• The recent notification also specifically mentions the two newly created Union Territories-J&K and Ladakh.
• The two Opposition ruled border States- Punjab and West Bengal, have termed the MHA’s move an attack on federalism.

Background

• India is a Union of States and under One Border One Force policy, the BSF is deployed along the Pakistan and Bangladesh borders.
• It is also deployed in areas affected by Left Wing Extremism (LWE) and is routinely deployed for election and other law and order duties on the request of State governments.
• BSF Act, 1968, which also empowered the BSF to conduct counter-insurgency operations in the States of Manipur, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Border Security Force (BSF)

• BSF is a Central Armed Police Force (CAPF) that functions under the Ministry of Home Affairs.
• It was raised in 1965 in the aftermath of the India-Pakistan war.
• The BSF Act was passed by Parliament in 1968 and the rules governing the Act were framed in 1969.
• The violations against which the BSF carries out search and seizure include smuggling of narcotics, prohibited items, illegal entry of foreigners and offences punishable under any other Central Act.
• The BSF does not have police powers; after apprehending a suspect it can only conduct “preliminary questioning” and has to hand over a seized consignment or the suspect to the local police within 24 hours.
• It does not have powers to prosecute crime suspects. Police is a State subject under the Constitution.

Heat Islands

• These are urbanized areas that experience higher temperatures than outlying areas.
• Structures such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes such as forests and water bodies.
• Urban areas, where these structures are highly concentrated and greenery is limited, become “islands” of higher temperatures relative to outlying areas.

Causes

• Natural landscapes - Natural landscapes which tend to cool the air by providing shade, transpiring water from plant leaves, and evaporating surface water are very low in urban areas.

• Urban Material Properties - Conventional human-made materials used in urban environments such as pavements or roofing tend to reflect less solar energy, and absorb and emit more of the sun’s heat.
• Urban Geometry - In heavily developed areas, surfaces and structures obstructed by neighbouring buildings become large thermal masses that cannot release their heat readily.
• Cities with many narrow streets and tall buildings become urban canyons, which can block natural wind flow that would bring cooling effects.
• Anthropogenic activities - Vehicles, air-conditioning units, buildings, and industrial facilities all emit heat into the urban environment.
• Weather and Geography - Calm and clear weather conditions result in more severe heat islands by maximizing the amount of solar energy reaching urban surfaces and minimizing the amount of heat that can be carried away. 

Measures to reduce Urban Island Effect

• Increasing tree and vegetation cover
• Growing plants, shrubs, grasses, and/or trees on a rooftop
• Installing a cool roof made of materials or coatings that significantly reflect sunlight and heat away from a building
• Using paving materials on sidewalks, parking lots, and streets that remain cooler than conventional pavements
• Smart growth practices which cover a range of development and conservation strategies that help protect the natural environment.

Sir Syed Ahmad Khan

• He is an iconic social reformer and founder of the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU).
• He was born on 17th October 1817 in Delhi.
• When the war of independence broke out in 1857 Sir Syed was working as a chief judge Bijnaur and is said to have saved the lives of many women and children during the fighting.
• He started a movement in order to give respectable position to Muslims in society as they had in past, this movement is known as Aligarh Movement.

The main focus of the Aligarh movement was:

1. Loyalty to British Government.
2. Modern western education for the Muslims to compete with Hindus.
3. To keep away the Muslims from politics.

• In 1859, Sir Syed Ahmad Khan set up the first school for Muslims in Muradabad where English, Persian, Islamiat, Arabic, Urdu were compulsory subjects.
• In 1875, Sir Syed established Mohammedan Anglo Oriental School at Aligarh.
• The main characteristic of this college was that it offered both Western and Eastern educations.
• He forbade the Muslims to join Congress since he knew that Hindus will never be of the same interests as that of Muslims.
• He put stress on acquiring modern and political education before getting into politics.
• He wrote a magazine “Rasala-e-Asbab-e-Baghawat-e-Hind to revive muslim relations with British Government.
• He also wrote “Loyal Muhammadans of India” a detailed article accounted for the services which were rendered by loyal Muslims to British Government.

Seaweeds

• They have long been sourced by the food industry for its stabilising properties.
• When processed, it loses its pungency, and seaweed products such as agar gel can withstand high temperatures.
• Agar gel can be used as a stabiliser and thickener in pie fillings, icings and meringues.
• As it is tasteless, it does not interfere with the flavour of the food, and in ice creams it is used to inhibit the crystallisation of ice.
• Agar-agar, the main ingredient in falooda and jigarthanda, is a seaweed-based product.
• Kappaphycus alvarezii is a species of seaweed that yields carrageenan.
• Carrageenan is an additive used to thicken, emulsify, and preserve food and drinks and it is a commercially viable venture.
• Alginate, another extract, is used in restructured and reformed food products such as chicken nuggets.
• As a binder and emulsifier, it helps meat retain its shape. 

Fertilizer of Future

• Sagarika - Seeing the nutrient value of this sea vegetable and encouraged by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative, AquAgri manufactures a product called Sagarika.
• It was derived from the sap of red and brown algae, which acts as a bioenhancer and stimulates the internal growth of plants.
• Researchers say that an extract from seaweed also helps in the faster germination of seeds, and this was successfully tested on cotton seeds.
• As organic farming becomes the buzzword, seaweed is becoming the fertiliser of the future.

Ground water in India

• India is the biggest user of groundwater.
• According to a report India extracts more groundwater than China and the US the next two biggest pullers of groundwater combined.
• Half of total clean water needed in our country is met from groundwater.
• About 89 percent of groundwater extracted in India is used for irrigation making it the highest category user in the country.
• Household use comes second with 9 percent share of the extracted groundwater followed by industry that uses only 2 percent of it.
• Similarly, the Central Ground Water Board (CGWB) has stated in Lok Sabha that 50 percent of urban water requirement and 85 percent of rural domestic water needs are fulfilled by groundwater.

• Excess Grant: It is granted when money has been spent on any service during a financial year in excess of the amount granted for that service in the budget for that year. It is voted by the Lok Sabha after the financial year. Before the demands for excess grants are submitted to the Lok Sabha for voting, they must be approved by the Public Accounts Committee of Parliament.
• Supplementary Grant: It is granted when the amount authorised by the Parliament through the appropriation act for a particular service for the current financial year is found to be insufficient for that year.
• Additional Grant: It is granted when a need has arisen during the current financial year for additional expenditure upon some new service not contempleted in the budget for that year.

Order of Transaction Process in Crypto Currency

1. New Transaction is entered.
2. Transaction is then transmitted to network of peer to peer computers scattered across the world.
3. Network of computers then solve the equation to confirm the validation of the transaction.
4. Once confirmed as legitimate transactions, they are clustered into blocks.
5. These blocks are then chained together creating a long history of all transactions that are permanent.
6. Transaction is complete.

IMF Tranche

• A reserve tranche is a portion of the required quota of currency each member country must provide to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that can be utilized for its own purposes.
• The reserve tranche is basically an emergency account that IMF members can access at any time without agreeing to conditions or paying a service fee.
• The reserve tranches that countries hold with the IMF are considered their facilities of first resort, meaning they will tap into the reserve tranche before seeking a formal credit tranche.
• In theory, members can borrow over 100% of their quota.
• However, if the amount being sought by the member nation exceeds its reserve tranche position (RTP), then it becomes a credit tranche that must be repaid in three years with interest.

Rivers that flow into Arctic Ocean:

• Yukon and Mackenzie in North America
• The rivers in Asia, the Ob, Yenisey and Lena Rivers.
• The Alatna and the Irtysh Rivers flow in Alaska, United States.

Lucy Mission of NASA

• It aims to look back into the origins of the solar system through Trojans.
• Jupiter Trojan asteroids are large group of asteroids that share the Jupiter’s orbit around the Sun.
• The United States National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) launched Lucy, the spacecraft, October 16, 2021, on a 12-year cruise to the swarms of these Trojans.
• Lucy will fly by eight asteroids—seven Trojans and one main-belt asteroid — over the next 12 years. It is the agency’s first single spacecraft mission in history to explore so many different asteroids.
• Lucy’s Trojan destinations are trapped near Jupiter’s Lagrange (L) points, which are gravitationally stable locations — it is where the gravity from the Sun and from Jupiter cancels each other out.
• This also means that the Asteroids are as far away from Jupiter as they are from the Sun.