Today’s Articles for The Hindu Daily Digest
Editorials For Discussion
1. China, India and the conflict over Buddhism
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GS-II-INTERNATIONAL REALTION ▶️ INDIA-CHINA RLEATION
The Himalayas are the real frontier for another conflict between the Asian giants.
2. Redeeming India’s nuclear power promise
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GS-III-SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ▶️ ALTERNATIVE ENERGY
If India is to meet its ambitious target of 100 GW of power generating capacity by 2047, it needs foreign partners as well as private entities to participate in the nuclear sector which has been till now completely under the government.
THE GIST
India had an early start, setting up Asia’s first nuclear research reactor, Apsara, in 1956, and beginning work on Asia’s first nuclear power reactors at Tarapore in 1963.
India’s electricity generation capacity, currently at 480 GW (divided almost equally between fossil fuels and renewables), will have to grow five-fold, accounting for growth in population and urbanisation. However, solar, wind, and small hydro projects provide only intermittent power. Therefore, the obvious candidate to fuel India’s energy growth is nuclear power.
Nuclear power financing is qualitatively different because of the higher upfront capital costs, lower operating costs, a lifecycle of 50-60 years, and costs associated with decommissioning as well as managing radioactive waste.
3. A beetle-fungi combo threatens plantations in rubber capital Kerala
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GS-III-SECIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ▶️ BIO-TECHNOLOGY
GS-III-ECONOMY ▶️ CROP PATTERN
GS-I-GEOGRAPHY ▶️ CROPS
The destructive power of the beetle-fungi association and the risk of other pathogenic fungi teaming up with the beetles are a cause for alarm. According to experts, this calls for an action plan to mitigate and prevent further attacks. Policymakers and researchers should step up, collaborate, and provide solutions to manage infections
While phytosanitary measures appear to have worked in coniferous trees, the same may not work on rubber and teak. The infection also makes other economically significant plants, such as coffee, cashew, and coconut, vulnerable. To prepare, experts recommend strategies based on the geographic location of the plantations.
THE GIST
The beetles usually attack dead or infected trees. The fungi feed on the bark and the beetles bore tunnels carrying fungi into the tree and farm the fungi for nutrients. The fungi also release enzymes that weaken the wood, allowing beetles to penetrate deeper.
The beetle-fungi association causes leaf fall, trunk drying, and tree death. The infection also affects latex production. Antifungal agents are a popular way of combating the problem apart from removing infected parts, burning or chipping, and traps for beetles.
Controlling a fungal infection in plants is difficult. The fungi reside in the deeper parts where insecticides don’t reach. Once an infection has progressed systemically, it’s too late to save a plant from it. Many Fusarium sp. spread either through soil or are carried by insect vectors.
4. Universities everywhere are in crisis
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ESSAY ▶️ INTELLECTUAL AUTONOMY
Across the world, universities, once imagined as havens of free inquiry, are now being transformed into sites of political control.
Short News
1. The universe has no top or bottom
PAGE – 7
GS-III-SECIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY ▶️ SPACE TECH / PARTICLE PHYSICS
2. SC notice to Centre, States on President, Governors’ powers
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GS-II-INDIAN POLITY AND CONSTITUTION ▶️ CHECK AND BALANCE / SOP / ARTICLE 143
3. Goa govt. will file contempt plea against Karnataka in SC over Mhadei water diversion: CM
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GS-II-POLITY AND CONSTITUTION ▶️ INTRA-STATE RELATION
4. T.N. govt. will develop Chola Gangam lake, says Stalin
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GS-I-ART & CULTURE ▶️ CHOLAS
5. BIG SHOT
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GS-I-GEOGRAPHY ▶️ RIVER ▶️ BRAHMAPUTRA
GS-II-INTERNATIONAL RELATION ▶️ INDIA-CHINA