Einstein Ring

• In Einstein’s theory of Gravity, mass can bend the path of light.
• A gravitational lens happens when astronomers on Earth look toward a huge galaxy or galaxy cluster, so massive that its gravity distorts any light passing near.
• The massive object acts like a lens in space, spreading the light out, often to produce multiple images of a more distant object that happens to be shining behind it.
• Or, if the distant background object and the intervening massive galaxy are perfectly aligned, the gravitational lens may spread the light to produce an image of a ring in space.
• It is created when the light from distant objects, like galaxies, pass by an extremely large mass.
• A ring-shaped image produced in this way is known as an Einstein Ring.
• The ring itself not a real physical structure in space, but just a play of light and gravity, a result of the gravitational lensing effect.
• For instance the lens is a free-floating black hole which has a lot of mass but is not luminous, and it happens to line up directly with a star behind it, we will see that background star appear like a ring on the sky.
• Gravitational lens and its resulting Einstein ring helps in weighing a black hole.

Polysaccharides

• They are also called glycan, the form in which most natural carbohydrates occur.
• Polysaccharides may have a molecular structure that is either branched or linear.
• Linear compounds such as cellulose often pack together to form a rigid structure; branched forms generally are soluble in water and make pastes.
• Researchers at the IIT Guwahati have developed an edible coating that can extend the shelf-life of fruits and vegetables.
• The specialised coating was created using a mixture of two substances: micro-algae extract and polysaccharides.
• The extract is from the marine microalgae Dunaliella tertiolecta, which is often used as a source of algae oil, which is a health supplement that is a plant-based alternative to fish oil.
• It was tested on various vegetables and fruits including potatoes, tomatoes, green chillies, strawberries, mandarins, apples, pineapples, and kiwis.

Conversion Therapy

• It is also known as reparative therapy, is a range of dangerous and discredited practices that falsely claim to change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, or expression.
• Such practices have been rejected by every mainstream medical and mental health organization for decades.
• The National Medical Commission (NMC), the apex regulatory body of medical professionals in India, has said that “conversion therapy” will be counted as professional misconduct.
• Conversion therapy is not part of the Transgender Persons Act, 2019.

Kurki

• It means attachment of a farmer’s land, already pledged to the money lending institution or individual, in case of a loan default.
• Apart from banks, private moneylenders, commission agents also get these decrees against farmers from time to time.
• Kurki orders are executed under Section 60 of Civil Procedure Code, 1908.
• The land which is pledged by the farmer to the bank or money lender gets registered in their name.
• In some cases, the land is auctioned as well.
• The process begins after the money lender moves court to get kurki orders in case the farmer is unable to pay back his loan.
• In kurki, attachment of farmer’s land as well as his tractor can be done as per the Section 60.
• The Punjab government in 2017, abolished Section 67-A of Punjab Cooperative Societies Act that enabled cooperatives to recover unpaid loans through auctioning of land mortgaged by farmers.
• However, Section 63-B, 63-C of the Act were not dropped to prevent attachment of land.
• The Section 60 of Civil Procedure Code, 1908, under which kurki takes place, was over 110 years old and needed complete revision.

Kashmiri Architecture

• Kashmiri architecture is different from the rest of India as most temples are square or oblong in design.
• They are subdivided into closed (vimana) or open (mandapa) type. Kashmiri temples are typically constructed with one kind of material from base to the summit.
• The ancient temples of Kashmir mostly range from mid-8th century AD to 12th century AD.

Martand Sun Temple

• It is located five miles from Anantnag town in Kashmir Valley.
• In ancient scriptures, the place is mentioned as Martand (the sun). A beautiful spring and a small rivulet flows through this place.
• The temple in Indo-Greak architectural style was built by the King Lalitaditya.
• The Martand temple is one of the most important archaeological sites of the country.