Andhra Pradesh Police Sub-Inspector V. Venkateswara Rao, of Eluru Rural Police Station, marked India’s 80th Independence Day by scaling Mount Elbrus, the highest peak in Europe, located in Russia.

About Mount Elbrus

Mount Elbrus is located in southern Russia and is the highest peak of the Caucasus Mountains. It rises to an elevation of 5,642 metres.

It is regarded as the highest mountain in Europe as well as the highest mountain in Russia. It is also among the world’s most prominent peaks and forms part of the Seven Summits, which represent the highest mountains on each of the seven continents.

Geological Features

Mount Elbrus is an inactive volcano consisting of two principal summits, both of which are dormant volcanic domes. It is also considered Eurasia’s highest stratovolcano.

Geologically, the Caucasus Mountains were formed primarily due to the northward collision of the Arabian Plate with the Eurasian Plate.

Studies indicate that Mount Elbrus formed more than 2.5 million years ago, while its volcanic activity was particularly significant during the Holocene Epoch.

Glaciers of Mount Elbrus

The snowfields of Mount Elbrus cover approximately 138 sq. km. They contain around 22 principal glaciers and 77 secondary glaciers.

The major glaciers include the Bolshoi Azaou Glacier and the Irik Glacier.

These glaciers are important sources for several rivers of the region. The Baksan, Malka and Kuban Rivers originate from glaciers associated with the Mount Elbrus region.

Recently, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) dismantled a major network involved in importing South-East Asian areca nuts into India by falsely declaring them as being of Bangladeshi origin. The network allegedly attempted to avail concessional customs duty benefits under SAFTA.

This case highlights the importance of rules of origin in determining whether imported goods are eligible for preferential tariff treatment under a free trade agreement.

About SAFTA

The South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA) is a free trade arrangement among the member countries of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).

The SAFTA Agreement came into force in 2006, replacing the earlier SAARC Preferential Trading Arrangement (SAPTA), which had been established in 1993.

SAFTA Member Countries

The eight signatories to SAFTA are:

Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Objectives of SAFTA

The primary objective of SAFTA is to promote and enhance mutual trade and economic cooperation among the participating countries.

It seeks to eliminate barriers to trade and facilitate the cross-border movement of goods between member countries.

SAFTA also aims to promote fair competition within the free trade area and ensure that the benefits of trade are distributed equitably, while taking into account the different levels and patterns of economic development among member countries.

The agreement establishes an effective institutional mechanism for its implementation, administration and the resolution of disputes.

It also provides a framework for further regional cooperation to expand and enhance mutual economic benefits.

Special and Differential Treatment for LDCs

SAFTA recognises the need for special and differential treatment for Least Developed Countries (LDCs).

This principle is intended to accommodate the different levels of economic development among member countries and provide greater flexibility to the less-developed economies participating in the agreement.

SAFTA and Rules of Origin

An important concept associated with preferential trade agreements such as SAFTA is the Rules of Origin.

Preferential tariff benefits are available only when goods satisfy the prescribed origin criteria under the agreement. Therefore, goods produced in a non-member country cannot simply be routed through a SAFTA member country and declared as originating from that country to obtain preferential customs treatment.

In the present case, the alleged misdeclaration of South-East Asian areca nuts as Bangladeshi-origin goods was intended to obtain concessional duty benefits available under SAFTA.

NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is set to begin its journey to its new home in deep space on August 30. It is NASA’s next major flagship space observatory and is designed to investigate some of the most important questions concerning the Universe, dark energy, dark matter and exoplanets.

About Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is a NASA space observatory designed to study the Universe primarily through infrared observations.

It is named after Nancy Grace Roman, a NASA astronomer who is widely regarded as one of the key figures in the development of NASA’s space astronomy programme.

The telescope will focus on three major areas of scientific research: dark energy, exoplanets and dark matter.

It will also provide an exceptionally deep and wide view of the Milky Way Galaxy, particularly its central region.

Orbit: Sun-Earth L2

The telescope will operate around the second Sun-Earth Lagrange point (L2).

L2 is a special location in space where the gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth, together with the orbital motion of a spacecraft, allow the spacecraft to remain in a relatively stable position with respect to Earth and the Sun.

This location is particularly useful for space observatories because it provides a suitable environment for long-duration observations while keeping the spacecraft relatively aligned with Earth and the Sun.

Major Scientific Objectives

The Roman Space Telescope will monitor hundreds of millions of stars to detect small changes in their brightness that can reveal the presence of planets.

Its observations will help scientists study dark energy, which is associated with the accelerating expansion of the Universe, and improve our understanding of dark matter.

The telescope will also search for distant stars, small icy objects in the outer Solar System and isolated black holes.

Its observations will contribute significantly to the study of exoplanets, particularly through gravitational microlensing.

Instruments of Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope

1. Wide Field Instrument

The Wide Field Instrument (WFI) is a 300-megapixel infrared camera.

Its field of view is expected to be around 100 times larger than that of Hubble’s infrared instrument, allowing it to observe a much larger portion of the sky in considerably less observing time.

Over its mission lifetime, the instrument is expected to measure light from approximately one billion galaxies.

The WFI will also conduct a microlensing survey of the inner Milky Way and is expected to detect around 2,600 exoplanets.

2. Coronagraph Instrument

The Coronagraph Instrument is primarily a technology demonstration designed to test advanced techniques for directly studying individual nearby exoplanets.

It will perform high-contrast imaging and spectroscopy, helping scientists distinguish faint planets from the much brighter light of their parent stars.

Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey

The telescope will conduct the Galactic Bulge Time-Domain Survey, which will focus on the dense central region, or bulge, of the Milky Way.

By repeatedly observing this region and detecting changes in stellar brightness, scientists will be able to identify exoplanets and other transient astronomical phenomena.

Why in News?

Recently, the Supreme Court expressed concern over the pendency of cases before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) and asked the Centre to consider establishing regional and circuit benches to reduce the backlog.

About NCDRC

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) is a quasi-judicial commission established in 1988 under the Consumer Protection Act, 1986.

Its primary mandate is to provide inexpensive, speedy and summary redressal of consumer disputes.

Composition

The Commission is headed by a sitting or retired Judge of the Supreme Court of India or a sitting or retired Chief Justice of a High Court.

The head office of the NCDRC is located in New Delhi.

Jurisdiction

The NCDRC has jurisdiction to entertain consumer complaints involving a value of more than ₹2 crore, as stated in the source.

It also exercises appellate and revisional jurisdiction over orders passed by the State Commissions or District Consumer Fora, as applicable.

The consumer protection framework covers both goods and services.

Appeal against NCDRC Orders

A person aggrieved by an order of the NCDRC may prefer an appeal against the order before the Supreme Court of India within 30 days.

Who Can File a Consumer Complaint?

A complaint may be filed by a consumer, a voluntary consumer association registered under the Companies Act, 1956, the Central Government or any State Government, or one or more consumers where there are numerous consumers having the same interest.