Prelims – 10th Nov 23

Bio-Fertiliser

• Biofertilizer is a natural way of providing essential nutrients to plants and soil in order to improve their health and fertility.
• The term ‘Bio­fertilizer’ or, more appropriately, microbial inoculant can be defined as the preparations containing live and latent cells of efficient strains of nitrogen-fixing, phosphate solubilizing, or cellulolytic microorganisms used for application to soil, seed, or composting areas with the objectives of the increasing number of such microorganism and accelerating certain microbial processes to augment the extent of the availability of nutrients in a form which plants can easily assimilate.
• They do not contain any chemicals detrimental to the living soil.
• Types of biofertilizers – Rhizobium inoculant, azotobacter inoculant etc.

Blue Green Algae (biofertilizer) can be helpful in agriculture as they have the capability to fix atmospheric nitrogen to soil.

Space Weaponisation

Space weaponisation involves placing and developing weapons and military technology in outer space. The Outer Space Treaty 1967 prohibits only weapons of mass destructionin outer space, not ordinary weapons.

There is no global regulatory regime to address the growing militarisation in space which compel India to develop deterrence for the security of its space-based assets.

Space weaponization – strengthening the security architecture of India:

• In 2019, India carried out an anti-satellite (ASAT) test during an operation code named Mission Shakti. Anti-satellite technology has so far been in the hands of very few countries: United States, Russia and China.
• In 2019, India also established two new bureaucracies for space, the Defense Space Research Organization (DSRO) and the Defense Space Agency (DSA).
• Indian government conducted a tabletop war game called ‘IndSpaceEx’ involving stakeholders from the military and scientific establishments.
• DRDO has created Electro-Magnetic Intelligence Satellite (EMISAT) for surveillance and other satellites like CARTOSAT-3, GSAT-7, etc.
• However, India has no intention of getting into an arms race in outer space. India has always held that space must be utilised for peaceful purposes only. India is a party to all the major international treaties connected with Outer Space.

Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Progress Report 2023

• Released by the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA)
• It monitors global progress on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• As per the report, Progress on more than 50% of targets of SDGs is weak; on 30 %, it has stalled or gone into reverse

UNDESA

• Established- 1948
• HQ: New York
• It is part of the UN Secretariat and assists countries around the world in agenda-setting and decision-making with the goal of meeting their economic, social and environmental challenges (including SDG Goals))