Dr.M S Swaminathan conferred Bharat Ratna

Giving the late agricultural scientist Dr. M S Swaminathan the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honor.

Background:

• The five Bharat Ratna awards awarded this year are more than the four in 1999, making it the most number of awards ever given out in a single year. L.K. Advani, Karpoori Thakur, M. S. Swaminathan, Narasimha Rao, and Chaudhary Charan Singh are the prize recipients.

About M.S.Swaminathan:- 

• Mankombu Sambasivan Swaminathan, who was born in Kumbakonam, Tamil Nadu, on August 7, 1925, is revered as the pioneer of India’s green revolution.
• The famine that struck Bengal in 1942–1943 had a profound effect on Dr. Swaminathan.
• From 1981 to 1985, he presided as the Food and Agricultural Organization Council’s independent chairman.
• The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources elected him president in 1984–1990.
• From 1989 until 1996, he also served as President of the World Wide Fund for Nature (India).
• Among his positions was that of Director General of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).

Contribution to green revolution:

• Swaminathan provided the fundamental strategic idea for the Indian Green Revolution, which involved establishing a new genetic strain or “plant type” that was amenable to higher fertilizer and water application.
• The traditional wheat and rice cultivars’ tall and slender stature was an issue. When they grew, these “lodged,” or dropped flat on the ground, and their earheads were loaded with dense grains that were formed in reaction to heat
• Norman Borlaug, who had inserted dwarfing genes into wheat cultivars in Mexico, was approached by Swaminathan.
• In 1963, India began a dedicated breeding program for dwarf wheat.
• Thanks to his efforts, India’s wheat production climbed from 6 million tonnes year in 1947 to 17 million tons annually between 1964 and 1968, transforming the country from one that was food insecure.

Sovereign gold bond scheme

• Subscriptions for the Sovereign Gold Bone Scheme, 2023–2024 will be accepted from February 12–16, 2024.

Context:

• Sovereign Gold Bonds, or SGBs, were introduced by the Indian government in 2015 and have since gained popularity among investors as a cutting-edge gold investment method.
  
  Concerning SGBs:
  
  
• Investors are given SGBs as an alternative to actual gold.
• The scheme’s primary goal is to decrease the market for physical gold and convert a portion of the money used to buy it—which typically equates to a substantial import bill—into savings through the sale of Gold Bonds.
• SGBs are issued by RBI on behalf of the Indian government and are valued in kilos of gold. Payment for the required amount in rupees is required.
• Investors who are not eligible to engage in the SGB scheme are as follows: non-resident Indians are not allowed to make direct investments in SGB; foreign institutional investors (FIIs) are not allowed to make investments in SGBs; and minors are only allowed to make investments in SGBs through their guardians.
• The bonds are offered in paper and Demat formats. The India Bullion and Jewellers Association’s (IBJA) simple average of the closing price for 999-purity gold from the preceding week is used to determine the Bond rate.
• The bond has an eight-year tenor, with an exit option that can be exercised on interest payment days starting in the fifth year.
• A steady interest rate of 2.50% per year is payable to SGB program participants semi-annually, deducted from the investment’s nominal value.
• Upon maturity, the investor will get the rupee value equivalent to the amount of gold invested at the going rate, which is determined by taking the simple average of the closing price of 999 pure gold for the three working days prior.

KYASANUR FOREST DISEASE (KFD)

• In Karnataka, a viral infection known as Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD) has claimed the lives of two persons since January 1.
  Context:
• The first recorded death from monkey fever occurred in Shivamogga district on January 8, when an 18-year-old contracted the virus, according to the health department. The second death was recorded in the Udupi district at Manipal, where a 79-year-old man passed away in a private hospital.
  About:
  
  
  
• Monkey fever, sometimes called Kyasanur Forest Disease (KFD), is a viral hemorrhagic fever that is endemic to the southwest of India and is transmitted by ticks.
• The Kyasanur Forest disease virus (KFDV), a member of the Flaviviridae virus family, is the cause of KFD.
• KFDV is stored in the hard tick (Haemaphysalis spinigera) reservoir. Ticks carry the infection for the rest of their lives.
• Hosts: After being bitten by an infected tick, rodents, shrews, and monkeys frequently serve as KFDV hosts.
  Human Transmission: Contact with infected animals or tick bites can result in the transmission of KFD to humans.
• KFD has historically only been present in the western and central regions of India’s Karnataka State.
• The disease was originally discovered in 1957 when it was isolated from a sick monkey in the Kyasanur Forest in Karnataka (previously Mysore), according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Although supportive therapy and early hospitalization are crucial, there is no specific treatment for KFD.
• There is a KFD vaccination that is utilized in India’s endemic regions.

High-altitude pseudo satellite vehicle (HAPS)

• The first test of a new generation of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) powered by solar energy was successfully accomplished by THE NATIONAL Aerospace Laboratories (NAL) in Bengaluru.
  
  Background:
  
  The successful test flight last week places India among the extremely tiny group of nations now working with HAPS, a technology that is still in its early stages of development.
  
  About HAPS:
  
  
• Nearly twice as high as commercial aircraft can fly, the high-altitude pseudo satellite vehicle, or HAPS, may reach elevations of 18–20 kilometers above the earth.
• It can stay in the air for months or possibly years since it can produce solar electricity, giving it advantages over a satellite.
• HAPS may travel into orbit without the use of a rocket, and its operational costs are far less than those of a satellite, which is typically positioned at least 200 kilometers from Earth.
  
  Need of HAPS
  
  
• The need for constant border area observation, especially in the wake of the Doklam standoff, led to the creation of high-endurance, high-altitude flying sensors.
• Low-Earth orbit satellites that are designed to monitor Earth typically shift within their orbits and do not keep a continual watch.
• Unmanned aircraft driven by solar energy is thought to be a superior option.

Current State of Indias HAPS

• The prototype, weighing only 23 kg and having a wing span of around 12 meters, was able to reach an altitude of approximately 3 km during the test flight, which lasted for approximately eight and a half hours.
• We now need to get this spacecraft airborne for a minimum of twenty-four hours.
• NAL is only going to develop a prototype and the technology. Through industrial links, the actual thing would be manufactured.

Inheritance Tax

• According to a survey by Oxfam, 70% of nations do not impose any kind of inheritance tax on wealth.
  
  Background:
  
  
• The report is released against a backdrop of widening disparities in wealth, income, and resource ownership.
  
  About Inheritance tax:
• During the period of its inheritance, a certain asset was subject to a tax.
• It falls under direct taxation, and inheritance can be received through the decedent’s personal law or through a will.
  
  Status of inheritance tax in India:
  
  
• With effect from 1985, the Inheritance or Estate Tax was eliminated. The idea of taxing inheritance is now nonexistent in India.
• If someone were to pass away, their assets would be transferred to his or her lawful heirs without any payment being made in exchange. Therefore, it can be deductible from income tax as a gift.
• The transfer of assets by will or inheritance is expressly exempt from gift tax under the Income Tax Act of 1961.
  
  When should the person receiving the inheritance pay tax ?
  
  
• Once he becomes the owner of the inherited assets, the person receiving the inheritance is required to pay tax on any income (rent, interest, etc.) received in relation to those assets.
• When the person sells the inherited asset, capital gains tax is due.
  
  Need for an inheritance tax in India
  
  
• It will make wealth distribution more effective.
• By eroding the advantages that the children of the wealthiest families enjoy by default of birth, it will establish a meritocratic society.
• Since indirect taxes account for the majority of India’s tax income, the suffering of economically weaker
• The exchequer may receive a sizable amount of revenue via inheritance tax.
• England, France, Germany, the United States, and Greece are among the nations that impose a 40% tax on inherited wealth.