News In Short-01-03-2025

Battle of Karnal

Syllabus :GS 1/History 

Context 

• The Battle of Karnal on February 24, 1739 marked a pivotal moment in Indian history, signaling the beginning of the end for the Mughal Empire.

Do you know? – Nadir Shah was  the founder of the Afsharid dynasty of Iran. – Nadir Shah was a military genius, who had already defeated multiple powers before turning his attention to India. – After conquering Kandahar, he crossed the Khyber Pass and swiftly took control of Mughal vassal states, heading towards Delhi.

The Battle of Karnal 

• Nadir Shah’s army defeated Mughal Emperor Muhammad Shah ‘Rangila’ (within 3 hours).
• The Mughal army, 300,000 strong, was outclassed by Nadir Shah’s smaller but more disciplined force of 55,000.
• Nadir Shah’s modern tactics and weaponry, including mounted musketeers, decisively defeated the Mughal cavalry.
• Nadir Shah captured and plundered Delhi, taking the Peacock Throne and the Koh-i-noor diamond.

Impact on the Mughal Empire

• Nadir Shah spared Muhammad Shah’s life and restored most of his territory.
• Despite this, the Mughal Empire was left severely weakened, and its power declined over the next century.
• Nadir Shah left Delhi with almost empty coffers, weakening the Mughal’s control over their empire.
• Over the next century, the Mughal Empire ceded more territory and power, eventually leading to British rule by 1857.

Reasons for Mughal Decline

• Structural issues, such as excessive taxation on peasants (leading to revolts) and corruption within the nobility, contributed to the decline.
• The oppressive religious policies of Aurangzeb also alienated Hindus and other religious minorities.

Source: IE

Avalanche

Syllabus: GS1/ Physical Geography, GS3/Disaster Management

Context

• An Avalanche has struck the Border Roads Organisation (BRO) project at Mana in Uttarakhand’s Chamoli.

Avalanche

• Definition: A rapid descent of snow, rock, ice, and other materials down a mountainside.
  • Snow avalanches, the most common type, can travel faster than 320 km/h (200 mph).
• Causes: Avalanches occur when an unstable snowpack breaks apart, often due to weak bonds between layers, such as ice, fresh snow, or spring thaw. Added weight or vibration can trigger the slide.
• Types of Avalanches:
  • Sluffs: Small, less dangerous avalanches of dry, powdery snow.
  • Slabs: More dangerous, large snow masses where the weak layer is buried deeper.
• Factors Influencing Avalanches: Storms, temperature, wind, slope steepness, terrain, and snowpack conditions all influence the likelihood and type of avalanche.
  • Most avalanches are triggered by vibrations from people or external forces, such as earthquakes. 

Difference Between Avalanche and Landslide

Aspect	Avalanche	Landslide
Definition	Rapid flow of snow, ice, and debris down a slope.	Mass of rock, soil, or debris sliding down a hillside.
Speed	Can reach speeds up to 320 km/h (200 mph).	Varies, typically slower than avalanches.
Causes	Weak snowpack layers, weather, or human activity.	Heavy rainfall, earthquakes, or human activity.
Location	Snow-covered mountains or slopes.	Steep slopes in various terrains (forests, urban areas, hills).

Source: IE

Giloy

Syllabus: GS 2/Health

In News

• Research on Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia) has seen a dramatic 376.5% increase over the past decade, driven by a surge in interest post-COVID as experts explore its immune-boosting, antiviral, and adaptogenic properties. 

Giloy

• Giloy (Tinospora cordifolia), a native tropical plant of India, is known for its medicinal properties in Ayurveda.
• It contains bioactive compounds such as alkaloids, steroids, and glycosides, found in its root, stem, and whole plant.
• Giloy is cultivated across plains, foothills, and semi-arid regions of India, especially in states like Bihar, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh.

Benefits 

• It  is referred to as Amrita in Sanskrit, meaning the ‘herb of immortality,’ due to its numerous health benefits.
• It is known for its various health benefits, including anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-stress, hepatoprotective, and immunomodulatory effects.

Source: PIB

Gold Card US visa

Syllabus: GS2/ International issues

Context

• The United States has announced a visa program called “Gold Card” for foreign investors seeking permanent residency in the country, and ultimately American citizenship.

About

• The program will replace the EB-5 visa, which currently allows foreign nationals to invest between $800,000 and $1.05 mn in job-creating ventures for conditional residency.
  • EB-5 is a category of temporary visa that holders could use for a Green Card, and ultimately American citizenship.
• The Gold Card visa raises the stakes, needing an investment of $5 million.
  • The scheme will bring high-net-worth individuals to America, whose investments will stimulate the US economy.
• Around 12 countries worldwide provide citizenship in return for investment, including Malta, Egypt, and Cambodia.

Source: IE

Tiangong Space Station

Syllabus: GS3/Space

Context

• China and Pakistan signed a cooperation agreement to select and train Pakistani astronauts for China’s Tiangong space station.

About

• As a country with historically close ties to China, Pakistan has in recent years sought to improve its own space capabilities by participating in Chinese initiatives.
• Tiangong Space Station: 
  • Completed in: 2022
  • It can house a maximum of three astronauts for months at an orbital altitude of up to 450 km (280 miles). 
  • It has a designed operational lifespan of at least 15 years.

Space Station

• A space station is a large, habitable spacecraft that orbits Earth.
• It serves as a research laboratory in space for scientific experiments.
• The most famous space station is the International Space Station (ISS).
• It enables research in microgravity conditions, aiding studies in biology, physics, and materials science.
• Space stations are typically modular and can be expanded or upgraded over time.

Source: ET

Amazon Unveils ‘Ocelot’ Quantum Computing Prototype Chip

Syllabus: GS3/ Science and Technology

Context

• Amazon Web Services (AWS) has unveiled ‘Ocelot’, its first prototype quantum computing chip with claims of reducing error correction costs by up to 90 per cent.

Ocelot chip

• The Ocelot chip features a two-layer integrated silicon design, with each microchip occupying roughly one square centimeter. Key components include:
  • Five data qubits (Cat qubits): These store the quantum states necessary for computation.
  • Five buffer circuits: Designed to stabilize the data qubits.
  • Four additional qubits: Responsible for detecting errors in the data qubits.
  • Oscillators made from Tantalum: This superconducting material enhances performance and stability.

What is Quantum Error Correction?

• Traditional computers operate on bits (0s and 1s), whereas quantum computers use qubits, which can exist in multiple states simultaneously due to quantum superposition. 
• However, qubits are highly sensitive to external factors such as heat, vibrations, and electromagnetic interference, making them prone to errors.
• Amazon’s Cat qubits, inspired by Schrödinger’s cat thought experiment, help mitigate these errors intrinsically, significantly reducing the computational resources required for error correction.

Source: HT

Gharials (Gavialis Gangeticus)

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

Context

• Madhya Pradesh government released 10 gharials into the Chambal river at the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary in Morena.

About Gharials

• Characteristics:
  • The name “Gharial” originates from the Hindi word ghara (pot), referring to the bulbous knob (narial excrescence) present at the tip of a mature male’s snout. Though, this feature is absent in females.
  • They show Sexual Dimorphism means males and females differ significantly in size and appearance.
  • Unlike crocodiles, gharials feed exclusively on warm-blooded species and are not man-eaters.
• Habitat Distribution:
  • Gharials are strictly riverine species, requiring deep, clear, fast-flowing waters with steep, sandy riverbanks.
  • Mainly found in Chambal River, Girwa River, Ken River, Yamuna River, Brahmaputra River, Ghaghara River, Bhagirathi-Hoogly River.
• Conservation Status:
  • IUCN Status: Critically Endangered
  • It is listed under Schedule 1 of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.

Conservation Status

• Project Crocodile (1975): Initiative of United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and focused on captive breeding.
• Gharial Reserves in India: In Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan.
  • Notable protected areas are Chambal Sanctuary, Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary.

Chambal River – Source: The Chambal originates from the Janapav Hills in the Vindhyan range, Madhya Pradesh. – Course: It flows through Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and enters Uttar Pradesh, where it joins the Yamuna River. – Tributary: Banas, parvati, kali sindh, Shipra – Dams: Gandhi Sagar dam, Rana Pratap Sagar dam, Jawahar Sagar Dam. – Geological Significance: Chambal flows through the Malwa Plateau and forms deep gorges in the Vindhyan and Aravalli Hills. 1. Its basin is prone to ravine formation due to soil erosion, especially in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. – Keoladeo National Park is supplied with water from the Chambal river irrigation project.

Source: IE

‘Diyaslai’

Syllabus :Miscellaneous 

In News

• The Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA), in collaboration with the Satyarthi Movement for Global Compassion, held a discussion on Diyaslai.

Diyaslai

• It is the autobiography of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Kailash Satyarthi.
• It  chronicles Kailash Satyarthi’s  journey from a humble family in Vidisha to his lifelong fight for child rights, culminating in the Nobel Peace Prize.

Kailash Satyarthi – Kailash Satyarthi, born (in 1954) in Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh. – He has been a global advocate for social transformation, leading efforts to combat child slavery and exploitation across 140 countries.  – Over the past 44 years, he and his organization have rescued more than 138,000 children from child labour, slavery, and trafficking, providing them with opportunities for education and a better future. – Kailash Satyarthi  emphasized that compassion is key to solving global issues. Major Contributions  – In 2001, Satyarthi launched the Shiksha Yatra, a nationwide march demanding free and compulsory education as a fundamental right in India.  1. His efforts contributed to the amendment of India’s Constitution in 2002 and the passage of the Right to Education Act in 2009. – In 2014, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize alongside Malala Yousafzai for their efforts in fighting child oppression and promoting the right to education for all children. – In 2017, he organized the Bharat Yatra, the world’s largest movement against child sexual exploitation, which covered 12,000 km across 22 states.  1. The campaign resulted in stronger laws against child rape and trafficking, including amendments to India’s Criminal Law that imposed harsher punishments.

Source :PIB