Context: India is on the verge of finalizing a deal to acquire exploration and development rights for five lithium blocks in Argentina. The agreement is set to be formalized between Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) and CAMYEN, a state-owned mining and energy company in Argentina.

About Lithium:

Properties:

• Lithium, denoted by the symbol Li and atomic number 3, is classified as a chemical element.
• Belonging to the alkali metal group on the periodic table, it is characterized as a soft, silvery-white metal.
• Its high reactivity is attributed to its position within the alkali metal group.
• Lithium finds diverse industrial applications, with its primary use in rechargeable lithium-ion batteries.
• These batteries are extensively utilized in electronic devices like smartphones, laptops, and electric vehicles.
• Lithium-ion batteries have emerged as crucial technology for energy storage solutions.
• Widely adopted in portable electronic devices, electric vehicles, and grid energy storage, they play a pivotal role in the global transition to renewable energy.
• The majority of the world's lithium production is concentrated in countries such as Australia, Chile, and Argentina.
• These nations possess substantial lithium reserves and serve as key contributors to the global lithium market.

Lithium Triangle

• The term "Lithium Triangle" denotes a South American region renowned for hosting some of the globe's most substantial lithium reserves.
• This triangular area encompasses portions of Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile. Collectively, Argentina, Bolivia, and Chile are estimated to hold 58 percent of the world's recognized lithium reserves.
• The abundance of lithium Resources in this region positions these three nations as major contributors to the global lithium market.

India's Engagement with Lithium Triangle Countries (LTCs)

• India has been actively expanding its diplomatic ties with Lithium Triangle Countries (LTCs) in pursuit of accessing vital mineral Resources.
• The primary objective is to secure lithium Resources, especially for the escalating demand in lithium-ion batteries, notably within the realms of electric vehicles (EVs) and renewable energy storage.
• As part of this initiative, India has launched an ambitious plan under the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme to manufacture Advanced Chemistry Cells (ACC) and enhance battery production.
• Despite these endeavors, India currently relies entirely on imports for 100 percent of its lithium metal, primarily sourcing from East Asian countries like China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea for battery production.
• Notably, Indian states like Telangana aspire to position themselves as the hub for EV manufacturing within the country.
• While actively seeking critical minerals abroad, India is also exploring domestic lithium deposits, including those in regions like Jammu and Kashmir. This dual approach underscores India's strategic efforts to ensure a stable supply chain and strengthen its position in the global lithium landscape.

India's collaboration with the nations in the Lithium Triangle aligns with its comprehensive approach to establishing a dependable supply chain for crucial minerals, particularly those vital for manufacturing lithium-ion batteries. The government's emphasis on encouraging the use of electric vehicles is driven by environmental considerations and the goal of diminishing reliance on fossil fuels. The assurance of a consistent and dependable lithium supply is paramount for the advancement and expansion of the electric vehicle sector in India.

Context: Refusing to hand over a probe into allegations of the Hindenburg Research report on Adani Group to a Special Investigation Team, the Supreme Court asked market regulator SEBI to continue with its investigations and complete the probe in three months.

Background:

• In late January, Hindenburg Research, which specialises in short selling, published a report critical of the group’s finances. The research firm, which has short positions in Adani companies through US-traded bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments, said key listed companies in the group had “substantial debt” which has put the entire group on a “precarious financial footing”.
• Since the day  Hindenburg Research accused industrialist Gautam Adani-led conglomerate of “brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades”, shares of Adani Group companies have nosedived.
• Adani, who until recently was the richest Indian in the world, has now slipped to 22nd spot in the Forbes Real-time billionaire list for 2023.
• • Hindenburg Research is an investment research firm that focuses on analysing accounting irregularities, undisclosed indenburg Research transactions, illegal business or financial reporting practices among others.
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  • It alleged that Gautam Adani, founder and chairman of the Adani  group, has added over $100 billion to his net worth over the last three years, largely through stock manipulation and fraud.
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  • The research firm has raised concerns about its substantial debt.
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  • Hindenburg alleged that Adani used offshore shells for money laundering and siphoned from listed companies.
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  • Hindenburg revealed about short positions in Adani companies through bonds and non-Indian-traded derivative instruments.
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  • As per India’s tax and SEBI laws, short selling of domestic stocks outside the country’s jurisdiction is illegal unless they are listed on any exchange.
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  • While Adani bonds are listed on the US exchange, Hindenburg’s reference to the ‘non-Indian-traded derivatives’ raised the alarm for Indian regulators.

News:

The two aspects of the Hindenburg Research allegations against the Adani Group which market regulator Securities and Exchange Board of India is still probing are:

i) ownership of 12 foreign portfolio investors who hold stake in the companies of the group, and

ii) short sellers (selling without owning) in Adani shares during January 18-31 last year (around the time of the release of the Hindenburg report).

This investigation is being conducted by the regulator to find if there has been a violation of Section 19A of the Securities Contract (Regulation) Act, which stipulates minimum 25% public shareholding in listed companies.

Short selling

It is also known as "shorting," is a trading strategy where an investor sells a security that they do not own, with the expectation that its price will fall. The investor borrows the security through a broker and sells it on the open market, aiming to buy it back later at a lower price to make a profit. Short selling is considered an advanced strategy that carries high risk and requires careful analysis and timing

Follow-on Public Offer

An FPO, or Follow-on Public Offer, is a process where a company that is already publicly listed on the stock market issues additional shares to investors. This is done after the company has gone through an Initial Public Offering (IPO) and decides to make more of its shares available.

The purpose of an FPO is to diversify the company's equity base and raise additional funds for various reasons, such as financing expansion plans, paying off debt, or funding acquisitions.

The FPO process is similar to an IPO, requiring issuers to draft an offering document and allot shares to investors before listing them on the stock exchange.

There are two main types of FPOs: dilutive, where new shares are added, and non-dilutive, where existing private shares are sold publicly. Non-dilutive FPOs do not decrease the valuation and the ownership percentage of the company. Successful FPOs require careful planning, market analysis, and risk management

Free-float methodology in stock market capitalization: This method calculates the market capitalization of a stock market by taking the equity's price and multiplying it by the number of outstanding shares available for public trading, excluding locked-in shares held by insiders, promoters, governments, and other private parties. The free-float methodology is sometimes referred to as float-adjusted capitalization. It is considered a better way of determining market capitalization as it provides a more accurate representation of a company's worth according to public investors

Impacts of such events on the economy

• Impact on Capital Flow: MSCI's decision is expected to have a negative effect on the capital inflow into Adani stocks, particularly from passive investors who follow indices constructed by entities like MSCI.
• Decline in India’s Index Weight: According to Goldman Sachs, India's weight in MSCI's emerging markets index may decrease by 20-30 basis points due to the reduced weight of Adani stocks.
• Impact on Banks: Apart from the decline in Adani Group shares, banks, including the State Bank of India, which have provided loans to these companies, are also experiencing negative repercussions.
• Affecting Investor Confidence: The negative attention generated by Adani-related headlines has the potential to dampen investor interest in Indian stocks, impacting overall investor confidence.
• Consequences for Capital Raising: The ongoing developments can adversely affect the Adani Group's attempts to raise capital, whether through equity or debt offerings.
• Shortage of Shares: Indian-listed entities are facing a shortage of shares available for short sellers to borrow, leading to higher costs for such transactions.
• Impact on India’s Growth Narrative: If the downward trend in asset prices persists and further erodes investor confidence in the Adani empire, it could pose a setback to India's growth narrative, especially at a critical juncture.

• Cyber kidnapping is a type of cybercrime where attackers gain unauthorized access to computer systems or data and then demand ransom.
• In cyber kidnapping, online attackers target victims and force them into isolating themselves to demand ransom from their families.

They monitor the victims through video chat and use pictures captured by them in isolated conditions to extort money from their families.

• Starlink is a satellite internet network operated by SpaceX, an American aerospace company.
• It provides coverage to over 70 countries and aims to provide high-speed internet coverage to every part of the world.

It also aims to provide global mobile phone service after 2023.

• The Earth reached its perihelion, or the closest point in its orbit around the Sun recently.

Perihelion occurs in early January, about 2 weeks after the Winter Solstice.

A recent study published in the Lancet noted overall decrease in child marriage in India except 4 States.

What are the key findings of the Lancet report?

• India – 1 in 5 girls are still married below legal marriage age
• Skewed achievements – Some States have achieved dramatic decreases while other states like West Bengal have struggled.
• Bihar (16.7%), West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Maharashtra accounted for more than half of the total headcount burden of child marriages in girls.
• West Bengal – It has the largest absolute increase in headcount representing an increase of 32.3% in headcount with over 5,00,000 more girls getting married as children.

What is situation of child marriage in West Bengal?

• Statistics – The National Family Health Survey-5 (NFHS-5)carried out in 2019-20, points out that the women aged 20-24 years who were married before the age of 18 years remains one of the highest in the country at 41.6% same as NFHS- 4.
• The all-India figure of women aged 20-24 years getting married before they turn 18 is pegged at 23.3%.
• Policy interventions – 2 schemes were introduced to curb child marriages situations in the state.
  • Rupashree Prakalpa – A cash incentive scheme for marriage of girls who are above legal marriage age in India.
  • Kanyashree Prakalpa - A conditional cash transfer scheme aimed at incentivising the schooling of all teenage girls between the ages of 13 and 18, and simultaneously discouraging child marriage.

• Challenges – Cash incentives and existing laws have failed to check child marriages in West Bengal.
• Poverty forces the family to continue with the custom of child marriage.
  • Murshidabad, economically poorer district of the State, has one of the highest numbers of child marriages.
• A significant population of the State go out to work (migration) in other States and they don’t want to leave unmarried daughters at home.
• Despite high literacy, the incidence of child marriage is also disproportionately high in some districts.
  • For example, the Purba Medinipur district with over 88% literacy rate has the highest incidence of child marriage of more than 57.6% as per NFHS- 5.
• Certain families avail cash benefits of both the schemes to organise marriage of girls, sometimes soon after cashing in on the school scheme.
• Lower number of cases registered under Prohibition of Child Marriages Act, 2006 due to the lack of awareness.
  • In 2021, West Bengal registered only 105 cases whereas States like Assam with smaller population and lesser instances of child marriage registered more cases in the past 5 years.

The Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill, 2021 introduced in Parliament in 2021 for raising the age of marriage of women to 21 years to bring it on par with the men has been referred to a Parliamentary Standing Committee.

Bio-Imaging Bank

AI can help detect cancer and India’s biggest cancer treatment hospital is utilizing it.

Bio imaging

• It is an optical form of biosensing used to create non-invasive, visual representations of biological processes in cells, tissues, and anatomy for more accurate diagnosis and treatment of diseases.

Biosensing is a detection of target molecules based on the principles used by a living system such as an immune system.

• Aim - Bioimaging aims to interfere as little as possible with life processes.
• Uses - Moreover, it is often used to gain information on the 3-D structure of the observed specimen from the outside, i.e. without physical interference.
• Bioimaging also includes methods visualizing biological material that has been fixed for observation.

The Bank

• Background - By established a ‘Bio-Imaging Bank’ for cancer, hospitals are utilizing deep learning to craft a cancer-specific tailored algorithm that aids in early-stage cancer detection.
• Goal - To create a robust repository encompassing radiology and pathology images, intricately linked with clinical information, outcome data, treatment specifics, and additional metadata.
• Design - This comprehensive resource is strategically designed for the training, validation, and rigorous testing of AI algorithms.
• Fund - The project is funded by the Department of Biotechnology, in collaboration with IIT-Bombay, RGCIRC-New Delhi, AIIMS-New Delhi, and PGIMER-Chandigarh.
• Method - Segmenting and annotating images, outlining tumours, identifying different features, and annotating them as malignant, inflammatory, or edematous.
• Biopsy results, histopathology, immunohistochemistry reports, and genomic sequences are correlated with images and clinical data to develop diverse algorithms.

Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) has already added the data of 60,000 patients into the biobank over the previous year, started using AI to reduce radiation exposure for paediatric patients undergoing CT scans.

SVAMITVA Scheme wins Best Innovation Award for Innovation Sandbox presentation during Public Policy Dialogues–2024 at Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.

Initiative by - It is a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Panchayati Raj, State Panchayati Raj Departments, State Revenue Departments and Survey of India.

Launch - It is a Central Sector Scheme, launched in the year 2021.

Aim - It is a scheme for mapping the land parcels in rural inhabited areas using drone technology and Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS).

• To provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India.

SVAMITVA Property Cards - They facilitate monetization of properties, enabling bank loans and comprehensive village-level planning.

Purpose - The SVAMITVA Scheme stands out as a groundbreaking initiative that harnesses innovation and new technologies to transform the landscape of land ownership in rural India.

• Target - The scheme has target year of completion of its implementation as 2024–25.

Coverage Area - The scheme has been saturated with generation of property cards of all inhabited villages of Haryana, Uttarakhand, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Goa.

Shark & ray meat (elasmobranch meat) consumption no longer restricted to India’s tribal & coastal peoples.

• Elasmobranch is a subclass of the Class Chondrichthyes: Cartilaginous Fishes, which consists of sharks, rays, skates, and chimaeras.

The rise in demand for elasmobranch meat could lead to more unsustainable fishing of shark species.

Difference - The other subclass of cartilaginous fish, the Holocephali, consists of Chimaeras, ratfish (Genus Chimaera) and elephantfish (Genus Callorhynchus).

• The main differences between these two subclasses are the structure of their gills and how they grow in the embryo.
• Holocephali has four-gill slits with a gill cover (an operculum); while Elasmobranchs have five to seven, external gill slits with no gill cover.
• The term Elasmobranch actually means naked gill.
• In addition, in the Holocephali the upper jaw is fused to the skull, unlike in the Elasmobranchii.

Features - A skeleton made of cartilage; No swim bladders; Five to seven pairs of gills opening individually to the exterior; Rigid dorsal fins; Rough skin made up of small dermal denticles.

• Elasmobranch skin is made of tiny, hard, tooth-like placoid scales called denticles.
• Elasmobranchs are renowned for their highly tuned senses, which make them incredibly successful in their environment.
• Many Elasmobranchs can sense electrical impulses of other animals but not generate their own special fields, as they possess sensory organs called the Ampullae of Lorenzini.
• Females have no obvious external reproductive structures, whilst males have two extensions of the pelvic fin known as claspers.

India has banned the live finning of sharks and the export of fins of all shark and ray species and ten species are completely protected from any fishing and trade.

Researchers at the Indian Institutes of Technology Madras and Mandi have metabolically engineered plant cells to increase production of anti-cancer drug camptothecin (CPT).

Nathapodytes nimmoniana

• Nathapodytes nimmoniana is an endangered medicinal plant widely distributed throughout the Western Ghats of India.
• The plant contains camptothecin (CPT) which is renowned anticancer drugs.
• Though, CPT found in many plant species but maximum amount of CPT has been reported from N. nimmoniana.
• Due to very good source of CPT, this plant has been explored for its Phytochemical, Biotechnological and Pharmacological aspects.
• The plant has been overharvested, pushing it to the endangered list.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature has red-listed the plant as in the past decade alone there has been a 20% decline in the plant’s population. 

The Chinese variety of the plant used to extract the cell is listed as critically endangered.

Camptothecin (CPT)

• Camptothecin (CPT) was discovered from plant extracts more than 60 years ago.
• Since then, only two CPT analogs (irinotecan and topotecan) have been approved for cancer treatment.
• Camptothecin (CPT) class of compounds has been demonstrated to be effective against a broad spectrum of tumors.
• The allopathic medicine is produced using Nathapodytes nimmoniana.
• Camptothecin is majorly produced in southeast Asian region, with the plant being largely found only in China and India.