SWATI (Science for Women-A Technology & Innovation) Portal

The SWATI portal was recently launched by the Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India that will serve in policy making to address the challenges of Gender-gap.

• SWATI (Science for Women-A Technology & Innovation) Portal aims to create a single online portal representing Indian Women and Girls in STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics & Medicine).
• The database of SWATI Portal will serve in policy making to address the challenges of Gender-gap.
• The Portal is a complete interactive database that is first-of-its-kind in India which is developed, hosted and maintained by the National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR).
• The other objectives of the SWATI Portal include:
  • To scale up the effort exponentially to include each and every Indian woman in science, across all career stages and subjects, spanning both Academia and the Industry,
  • It enables reliable and statistically significant long term research on the issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity in India,
  • Inclusion of each and every Indian WiS, career stages, subjects, spanning both Academia and the Industry and
  • To enable reliable and statistically significant long term research on the issues of equality, diversity and inclusivity in India.
• This is a dynamically growing portal and the endeavour is to have data of all women scientists of the country included.
• This would provide an opportunity to discuss and evolve a roadmap for ‘Women in Science’ & ‘Science for Women’.
• National Institute of Plant Genome Research (NIPGR) – It was formerly known as National Centre for Plant Genome Research.
• It is an autonomous institution aided by the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India.
• The entire working community of NIPGR is committed to make the institute a premier Institution for plant genomic research in the country.

Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024

The Lok Sabha recently passed the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment bill, 2024, which makes important changes to the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.

• Water is a State subject, and the Centre cannot directly pass legislative laws influencing water management.
• However, the Centre can create legislation, if two or more States demand it, and this can be made applicable by States over their territories if they adopt the legislation in their Assemblies.
• The amended version of the Act, Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Amendment Bill, 2024, will currently apply to Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan and the Union territories.
• The original Act (the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974) is applicable in 25 States.
• The most important change is that it removes the provisions of imprisonment for several violations, deemed “minor”, and replaces them with fines, to the tune of Rs 10,000 extending up to Rs 15 lakh.
• A court may take cognizance of an offence if a complaint is made by:
  1. Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) or State Pollution Control Board (SPCB)
  2. A person who has given a notice of the complaint to the Boards
  3. Adjudicating officer
• So the CPCP or SPCB is not the only authority the court can take up the cognizance of an offence if the complaints are made.
• The bill also give the Centre greater authority to over-ride SPCB in some instances.
• As per the original Act, the SPCB’s permission is needed for establishing any industry or treatment plant, which could discharge sewage into a water body, sewer or land.
• The Bill specifies that the Centre, in consultation with the CPCB, may exempt certain categories of industrial plants from obtaining such consent.

Palaeo Proxies

Recently few scientists using the Palaeo Proxies technique have noted that that the earth’s surface has already warmed by more than 1.5 degrees C on average over pre-industrial levels.

• Palaeo Proxies are tools that scientists use to reconstruct past climate and environmental conditions.
• The technique that uses chemical evidence stored in various organic matter, such as corals, stalactites and stalagmites to approximate the temperature at some point in the past.
• These proxies are typically derived from physical, biological, or chemical processes that respond to changes in temperature or other climatic factors.
• It is still only indirect evidence of temperature changes with respect to a baseline temperature.
• Since palaeo proxies don’t directly measure the temperature, we call them proxies of past temperature deviations (the ‘palaeo’ denotes the past).
• Limitations – It can only provide temperature anomalies on long timescales, such as centuries or thousands of years.
• Even the best proxies only offer estimates on weekly or seasonal timescales.
• All temperature proxies are local or regional, making global temperature estimates uncertain.

Nazool Land

Recently Violence erupted in Uttarakhand’s Haldwani district after the administration conducted a demolition drive at the site of a mosque and madrasa, allegedly on Nazool land, killing five and injuring many.

• Nazool land is owned by the government but most often not directly administered as state property.
• The state generally allots such land to any entity on lease for a fixed period, generally between 15 and 99 years.
• In case the lease term is expiring, one can approach the authority to renew the lease by submitting a written application to the Revenue Department of the local development authority.
• The government is free to either renew the lease or cancel it.
• In almost all major cities of India, Nazool land has been allotted to different entities for a variety of different purposes.
• The government generally uses Nazool land for public purposes like building schools, hospitals, Gram Panchayat buildings, etc.
• Several cities in India have also seen large tracts of land denoted as Nazool land used for housing societies, generally on lease.
• The Nazool Lands (Transfer) Rules, 1956 is the law mostly used for Nazool land adjudication.
• The several states have also brought in government orders for the purpose of framing rules for Nazool land.
• It was emerged during the British rule in India.
• The British after defeating the opponents would often take their land away from them.
• With the British vacating these lands after the Independence, these lands became vacant.
• With the kings and royals often lacking proper documentation to prove prior ownership, these lands were marked as Nazool land which came to be owned by the respective state governments.

High-altitude Pseudo Satellite Vehicle (HAPS)

The National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) has successfully completed the first test of a solar-powered “pseudo satellite”, a new age unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that can significantly increase India’s surveillance and monitoring capabilities in the border areas.

• High-altitude Pseudo Satellite Vehicle (HAPS) is a solar-powered pseudo satellite, a new age unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV).
• It can fly at altitudes of 18-20 km from the ground, almost double the heights attained by commercial airplanes.
• Its ability to generate solar power, can remain in air for months, even years, offering it advantages of a satellite.
• The cost of operating HAPS is several times lower than that of a satellite that is usually placed at least 200 km from the earth.
• It can significantly increase India’s surveillance and monitoring capabilities in the border areas.
• It can provide mobile communications networks in remote areas, if the normal networks get damaged due to any disasters or calamity.
• HAPS is a still-developing technology, and the successful test flight last week puts India among a very small group of countries currently experimenting with this technology.
• National Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in Bengaluru is one of the laboratories under the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).