The Minister underscored the transformative potential of blending India’s ancient wisdom with contemporary scientific innovations at the celebration of five years of the SHRI Programme.

About SHRI Programme

• It engages experts from diverse fields for data capture and analysis, to form new collaborations, and provide viable technology to address cultural heritage related issues.
• Key initiatives under SHRI: Non-invasive techniques for heritage preservation, digitalizing the Ajanta caves, and artifact restoration, etc.
• Ministry / Department: Department of Science & Technology.

Mirror Bacteria are synthetic bacteria whose building blocks are enantiomers of their natural counterparts.

• An enantiomer is defined as one of two chemically identical molecular species that are non-superposable mirror images of each other.

Threats posed by Mirror Bacteria

• Immune Evasion: Could bypass human immune responses.
• Environmental Impact: Might disrupt ecosystems if introduced, competing with native microbes.
• Biosecurity Risks: Potential for misuse in biological warfare.

Scientists studying North Atlantic orcas found high levels of toxic POPs in their blubbers, despite living far from human settlements.

About POPs

• POPs are chemical substances (carbon based) that persist in the environment. They are pesticides, industrial chemicals, or unwanted by-products of industrial processes. 

• Resist photolytic, biological and chemical degradation. E.g. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) etc.

Key physical and chemical properties

• Highly lipid soluble (this facilitates bio-accumulation in living organisms).
• Semi-Volatile in nature (enabling them to move long distances in the atmosphere before deposition occurs).
• International legally binding agreement on POPs: Stockholm Convention.

Recently, Centre for Development of Telematics (C-DOT) under Department of Telecommunications (DoT), has entered into partnership to develop "Face Recognition Using Drone".

• Agreement has been signed under the Telecom Technology Development Fund program of Universal Service Obligation Fund. 

Facial Recognition using Drones

• About: It recognizes the face of person using drone equipped with long-range cameras optimized for facial recognition, high-accuracy edge processing, and real-time data transmission.
• Significance:  Leverage cutting-edge computer vision and AI technologies to address challenges like camera and target movement, low-light conditions, etc. 
• Applications: Traffic management, emergency response, defense, and environmental monitoring, etc. 

In a recent case, the Supreme Court explained the Henderson doctrine.  

Henderson Doctrine

• Origin: Propounded in the English case of Henderson vs Henderson, 1843.
• About: It suggests that all issues arising in the litigation out of the same subject matter must be addressed in a single suit.
  • It is not a rigid rule but a flexible principle. 
• Significance: Conducts judicial litigation in good faith; prevent parties from engaging in tactics that fragment or undermine litigations. 

Recent wildfires from Malibu, California have been attributed to “Santa Ana” winds and climate change.

Santa Ana Winds

• About: These winds blow due to the pressure difference between Great Basin — the area between the Rocky Mountains and Sierra Nevada in USA (high pressure) and California’s coast (low pressure). 
• Relation with Wildfires: As it comes down the mountains, it compresses and heats up leading to drop in humidity making vegetation dry and prone to burning. 
• Duration: Usually occur from October to January. 

Recently, a number of innovative techniques like Miyawaki Plantation in addition to traditional methods of plantation have been undertaken to increase green cover.

About Miyawaki Plantation

• Origin: Pioneered in the 70s by Japanese botanist Mr. Akira Miyawaki. 
• Technique: It involves planting native trees, shrubs and groundcover plants within every square metre. 
  • It is ideal for small parcels of land and deals with creating mini forests in urban areas. 
  • Plant species chosen for this are those that do not require a lot of maintenance and can survive harsh weather and water-scarce conditions.