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The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully conducted an experiment that it said would propel the country forward in its goal to send reusable rockets into space.
The space agency conducted the ‘Reusable Launch Vehicle Autonomous Landing Mission (RLV LEX)’ at the Aeronautical Test Range of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) in Karnataka’s Chitradurga district.
According to ISRO, the RLV took off as the underslung load of a Chinook Helicopter of the Indian Air Force and, after reaching an altitude of 4.6 km, was released for carrying out an autonomous landing on a runway. Such a technique has never been used before.
ISRO said the experiment was carried out under the exact conditions of a space re-entry vehicle’s landing such as “high speed, unmanned, precise landing from the same return path”.
ISRO chairman Dr S Somanath said the success of the experiment has edged India closer to having its own reusable rockets and landing craft for specific mission goals.
Lithium find in J&K: Chile, with most reserves, ready to share know-how (Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 1, Natural Resources)
Chile, the country endowed with most lithium reserves and home to SQM, the second largest global lithium producer, is keen to partner with India on tapping into the lithium value chain.
This includes potentially extending technical expertise in exploiting the newly established “inferred” lithium resources of 5.9 million tonnes in Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir.
We are open (to it) if the Indian Government were to initiate anything formally,” Alex Wetzig, Secretary General, Chile’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He had held meetings with counterparts in the Ministry of Commerce and the MEA, with discussions covering cooperation in wide ranging areas including trade, technology, renewables, space, mining and education.
“Currently we have an agreement on trade of goods. And of course, we want to improve our exchange by adding services and investment in a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
We are trying to have better relations with all the markets, especially in the Asia Pacific region. And, of course, India is a very interesting market because it’s growing, the number of potential consumers.
He indicated about the possibility of tapping the expertise of Chilean lithium mining specialists being on the cards, and that companies such as SQM are likely to be open to transfer of technology to help in the exploitation of the white alkali metal, a vital ingredient of the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and mobile phones.
Editorial
Fossil fuel lessons (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Four decades back, Indira Gandhi walked the upstream (exploration and production) petroleum sector down from the “commanding heights” occupied by public sector enterprises to the plains of the market and competition.
Her decision was driven by the strategic imperative to reduce India’s exposure to external supply shocks. In 2020, PM Narendra Modi introduced the production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme to incentivise investment, inter alia, in the minerals, components and equipment required for the generation and consumption of clean energy. His decision was driven by a similar impulse.
The purpose of this article is to draw on the learnings of 40 years of effort to develop a self-sufficient fossil fuel energy system as guideposts for the current effort to transition to a self-reliant (atmanirbhar) clean energy system.
First, the liberalisation of upstream petroleum did not bridge the gap between the domestic demand for petroleum and indigenous supply. On the contrary, the gap has widened.
There are many reasons for this but the one that has relevance for clean energy is it is not enough to have raw materials. The surrounding economic, technical and operating ecosystem must enable their conversion into commercially-useful products.
India has the raw material of oil and gas. That is a geological fact. But what it does not have are the enabling conditions to monetise them. The bulk of its hydrocarbon resources are located in harsh terrain and complex geology.
They are, therefore, difficult to locate and even when located they are difficult to produce on a commercial basis. This is because of the high cost of drilling and development. In consequence, a large percentage of discovered hydrocarbons have not been produced.
Explained
Why bedaquiline patent decision could hold key to 2025 TB goal (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The patent office in India rejected the secondary patent of the Johnson and Johnson’s TB medication bedaquiline, used for the treatment of those with drug resistant infections.
The decision prevented the best drug in the class from being locked up in patent for another four years after its primary patent expires in July this year.
Experts, health activists, and survivors welcomed the decision as generic versions are likely to bring down the cost of the medicine and improve access.
At the time of receiving an approval from US Food and Drug Administration in 2012, bedaquiline became the first new TB therapy to become available after a period of 40 years.
But the novelty of the drug is not the only reason why there is a need for increased access. Bedaquiline is considered to be one of the most effective treatments available for drug resistant tuberculosis, with minimal side-effects as compared to the existing drugs such as Kanamycin that can lead to kidney damage and permanent hearing loss.
The drug also prompted development of shorter-courses of treatment for such resistant TB – more than halving it from two years to nine month to one year course. It is also an oral medicine unlike Kanamycin or Streptomycin.
A shorter-course, all-oral medicine is likely to increase odds of people completing their treatment and preventing more cases of drug resistant TB.
This is the reason the World Health Organisation updated its treatment protocol for rifampicin-resistant or multi-drug resistant TB to include bedaquiline as the core drug.
With severe side-effects, the guidelines also recommended limiting the use of the injectable drugs. However, the higher costs and limited availability of the medicine was a challenge for use of the drug for the treatment of a larger number of people.
Recalling Vaikom, satyagraha that led to opening of temple doors to lower castes (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 1, History)
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, will inaugurate the centenary celebrations of the Vaikom Satyagraha.
On March 30, 1924, in the temple town of Vaikom in the princely state of Travancore, a non-violent agitation started, marking the beginning of “temple entry movements” across the country.
At the time, caste discrimination and untouchability was rife across India, with some of the most rigid and dehumanising norms documented in Travancore.
Lower castes like the Ezhavas and Pulayas were considered polluting and various rules were in place to distance them from upper castes. These included a prohibition, not just on temple entry, but even on walking on the roads surrounding temples.
The Vaikom Satyagraha was launched in opposition to this. Amidst rising nationalist sentiment and agitations across the country, it foregrounded social reform.
Not only that, for the first time, it brought Gandhian methods of nonviolent protest to Travancore. A look back at the events at Vaikom, the historical context in which they occurred, and their enduring legacy.
The princely state of Travancore had a “feudal, militaristic, and ruthless system of custom-ridden government,” cultural anthropologist A Aiyappan wrote in Social Revolution in a Kerala Village: A Study in Culture (1965).
While the caste system was not unique to Travancore, some of the most rigid, refined and ruthless social norms and customs were seen in Travancore.
Notably, the idea of caste pollution worked not only on the basis of touch but also sight. This was documented by travellers such as Portuguese Duarte Barbosa who wrote in his memoirs, “When (upper caste Nairs) walk along a street, they shout to the low caste folk to get out of their way.