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The 2023 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine has been awarded to Hungarian biochemist Katalin Karikó and American physician-scientist Drew Weissman.
Announcing the names on Monday, the Royal Swedish Academy of Science said they had been feted for “discoveries concerning nucleoside base modification that enabled the development of effective mRNA vaccines against COVID-19”.
Dr. Karikó is only the 13th woman to win the prize. That the citation mentions the pandemic shows the effect mRNA vaccines had on its evolution as well as how the global disaster became an opportunity for the vaccine technology to showcase its potential.
mRNA stands for messenger RNA, a type of molecule that carries instructions from the DNA to a cell’s cytoplasm, where those messages are ‘read’ to produce various proteins.
In the late 1980s, scientists realised that mRNA could become the basis for a new kind of vaccines if some hurdles could be overcome.
The idea was to inject the body with a modified mRNA that would instruct cells to build a certain protein, which could then provoke the body’s immune system to ‘attack’ it as well as prepare itself to encounters with the same protein in future.
This protein could be something produced by a virus — such as the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2. But the mRNA would have to survive its journey inside the body and be able to enter a cell.
Dr. Karikó and Dr. Weissman began to collaborate in the late 1990s. They and other scientists published many studies elucidating the steps from delivering mRNA into a body to the immune system responding.
But one problem remained. The immune system sensed the synthetic mRNA to be a foreign substance that needed to be eliminated but not the cells’ mRNA.
At 36%, EBCs largest group in Bihar, shows caste study (Page no. 1)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
Months away from the Lok Sabha election in 2024, the Bihar government released the report of a caste survey conducted in the State, saying “it’s only compiled data and no analysis of it has been done yet”.
“Today, on the auspicious occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the data of caste-based census conducted in Bihar have been published.
The proposal for the survey was passed unanimously in the legislature,” Chief Minister Nitish Kumar posted on the microblogging site X. “All nine political parties in the Assembly will now be called for a meeting to apprise them of the report.”
The report said the Other Backward Classes (OBCs) make up 27.1286% of the population of the State; the Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) 36.0148%; the Scheduled Castes 19.6518%; and the Scheduled Tribes 1.6824%.
The upper castes make up 15.5224%. Hindus form 81.9986% of the population and Muslims 17.7088%. The total population is over 13 crore.
The survey report — Bihar Jaati Adharit Ganana, 2022 (Bihar caste-based survey, 2022) — says the Yadavs make up 14.26% of the State population; Kushwahas 4.27%; and and Kurmis 2.87%.
The Musahar caste makes up 3% of the State population and Brahmins 3.66%. The upper-caste Kasha community comes to 0.68% population of the State.
The Congress called upon the Centre to hold a similar exercise at the national level immediately. Former party president Rahul Gandhi said the census had proved that 84% of the people in the State belonged to the OBCs, SCs and STs and their share should be according to their population.
Editorial
Criminal law Bills and a hollow decolonisation (Page no. 6)
(GS Paper 2, Governance)
In introducing the three criminal law Bills in 2023 and, earlier, while setting up the Committee for Reforms in Criminal Law in 2020, a lot was said about the decolonisation that these Bills will bring about.
Unfortunately, the Bills do very little to decolonise Indian criminal law. They do, however, indicate the continuation and intensification of colonial-style powers.
Colonisation is, broadly, a process of oppression where the colonised become vehicles for the supreme colonial power to fulfil its desires.
The subject unquestioningly serves the colonial state and remains at its mercy. Those in power have rights; those without must oblige.
At the same time, the colonial state also considers itself to forever be at risk of being victimised by those it rules. Therefore, the interest it needs to protect is its own, not the subjects’, who are not just inferior but also suspicious.
This is the foundational essence of colonial laws — to secure and protect the colonial state and not the colonised. The purpose of laws such as the Indian Penal Code (1860) which the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) seeks to replace, was not just to maintain law and order; it was an opportunity for the colonial state to legitimise, through the law, its status as a potential victim under threat from the people it colonised.
A ‘decolonised’ or a post-colonial law, then, would necessarily need to reflect the changed relationship between the citizen and the state.
An independent people are not to serve but to be served through the state and government they give themselves. This fundamental shift changes the process of law-making, and the priorities and purpose of the law.
The Bills fail these essential requirements both in how they have been brought about and their content. The framework produced by them views citizens with such increased suspicion and mistrust that the state appears to almost be in opposition to the citizen.
Opinion
Building BRICS for the future (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
In August, six new members were inducted into the BRICS grouping, in South Africa. While many believe that this meeting did not have productive results, we need to look at BRICS from the perspective of how it has evolved rather than the results of one meeting.
First, it is important to note that BRICS emerged out of an economic compulsion. It does not provide military or security support to various countries, is not involved in the policing of nations, and does not provide peacekeepers.
Compare this to, say, NATO: European Allies and Canada have invested an extra $350 billion since 2014, with eight consecutive years of increased defence spending.
The GDP of BRICS is now 36% of the global GDP and the population of its members will be 47% of the world population by 2050. Therefore, it is important to look at the long-term opportunities that this group presents.
More members could be inducted, which means that BRICS could pose a serious challenge to the dominance of the G7 comprising Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S.
World reported twice as many cholera cases in 2022 as in 2021: WHO (Page no. 7)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
Cholera is a water-borne disease caused by two strains called O1 and O139 of the bacteria Vibrio cholerae. Of these, O1 is responsible for almost all outbreaks; outbreaks of O139 are rare and none have been recorded outside Asia.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO)’s weekly epidemiological record, published on September 22, the world reported more than twice as many cholera cases in 2022 as it did in 2021.
Between these years, more than twice as many countries also reported at least 10,000 suspected as well as confirmed cases of cholera.
Both these trends suggest a reversal of a short-term trend, of declining prevalence since 2019. The reversal also complicates a target the WHO specified in 2017, to reduce the number of cholera deaths worldwide by 90% by 2030.
According to the United Nations health body, “Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities.” Vibrio cholerae bacteria also favour warmer waters with lower salinity.
All these conditions are created as a result of climate change — which increases the likelihood of floods, heatwaves, intense monsoonal rains and storms, and the duration of warm periods — and war.
The epidemiological record report blames the uptick on the decline of the COVID-19 pandemic, and its restrictions; “limited investments” in providing care to those most vulnerable to the disease; the effects of climate change; and increasing conflict.
News
IAF likely to induct Astra BVR air-to-air missile by year-end (Page no. 10)
(GS Paper 3, Defence)
The Indian Air Force (IAF) has placed two contracts with Bharat Dynamics Ltd. (BDL) for the indigenous Astra Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air Missile and the first batch is expected to be inducted by the end of the year, according to defence sources.
Development is under way on the more advanced and longer-range Astra-Mk2, a defence source said and static firing has been conducted.
The BDL has already received bulk production clearance for the manufacture of the Astra-MK1 missiles from the Centre for Military Airworthiness and Certification (CEMILAC), a defence source said adding that this financial year, the IAF will compete proof firing and induction.
The Astra is fully integrated on the Su-30MKI. In August, it was successfully test fired from the Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas off the coast of Goa during which the missile was released from the aircraft at an altitude of about 20,000 ft.
The IAF plans to arm its frontline fighters with the Astra-MK1 and officials have said that the Astra-2 would become the mainstay of the IAF’s BVR missile arsenal, reducing import dependency.
In May 2022, the Defence Ministry signed a contract with BDL for supply of Astra Mk-I missiles and associated equipment for the IAF and the Navy at a cost of ₹2,971 crore.
Bihar caste survey may throw a challenge to 50% quota limit (Page no. 11)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
Findings of the caste survey undertaken by the Bihar government which were made public may open the door to a challenge to the 50% ceiling on reservations in jobs and educational institutions and a recalibration of the Mandal politics of the 1990s, say observers.
The survey report, released by Bihar Development Commissioner Vivek Singh, showed that the Other Backward Classes and the Extremely Backward Classes together constituted 63% of the State’s population — the EBCs constituted 36% and the OBCs 27.13%.
This survey is an important simply because it can open the door for challenging the ceiling of 50% reservations currently in place,” said political scientist Ashwani Kumar of the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS).
The 50% ceiling on reservations in jobs and educational institutions was accepted by the Supreme Court in the Indira Sawhney vs Union of India case in 1992, a few years after the V.P. Singh government announced the implementation of the Mandal Commission report, which recommended reservations for OBCs.
This will also lead to a recalibration of the Mandal politics of the 1990s,” Mr. Kumar said. “If in the 1990s you saw the Mandal parties, such as the Rashtriya Janata Dal and the Samajwadi Party commanding the support of an umbrella OBC bloc, post 2014, the Mandal 2.0 version of the BJP, under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, carved out the support of the non-Yadav OBCs from this larger bloc, and also some sections of the EBCs.
Now we may see a Mandal 3.0 of demands for proportional representation within this bloc as well as the lifting of the 50% ceiling.
WHO approves use of malaria vaccine with adjuvant tech (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, Health)
The R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the Serum Institute of India, leveraging Novavax’s adjuvant technology, was recommended for use by the World Health Organization (WHO), after meeting required safety, quality and effectiveness standards.
Following a detailed scientific review by the WHO’s independent advisory body, the Strategic Advisory Group of Experts (SAGE), and the Malaria Policy Advisory Group (MPAG), the R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine has been recommended for use, noted a release issued by the Serum Institute of India.
With the approval and recommendations by the WHO, additional regulatory approvals are expected to follow shortly and vaccine doses could be ready to begin wider roll-out as early as next year.
The Serum Institute has already established production capacity for 100 million doses a year, which will be doubled over the next two years.
This scale of production is critical because vaccinating those at high risk of malaria will be important in stemming the spread of disease, as well as protecting the vaccinated.
The Matrix-M component is a proprietary saponin-based adjuvant from Novavax, which is licensed to the Serum Institute for use in endemic countries, while Novavax retains commercial rights in non-endemic countries.
The vaccine was developed by the Jenner Institute at Oxford University and the Serum Institute of India with support from the European and Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP), the Wellcome Trust, and the European Investment Bank (EIB).
Business
Revision to July fuel shipments value lifts overall exports figure (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 3, Economy)
India’s goods exports value for July has been sharply revised upwards by about $2.3 billion to $34.52 billion, driven by a 51% jump in the petroleum exports tally from the month’s initial estimates.
This is the sharpest revision in export figures since March and implies that July’s revised year-on-year decline in goods exports of 9.95% was the least since April, breaking a three-month streak of double-digit contractions.
Quick estimates had pegged July’s exports at a nine-month low of $32.25 billion, translating a 15.9% YoY slump.
The revised July tally also puts August’s initial exports tally of $34.5 billion, which were reckoned to be a three-month high, in the shade.
Moreover, with no substantive changes in the $52.9 billion merchandise import bill for July, the trade deficit has also narrowed to a three-month low of $18.4 billion, from the $20.7 billion estimate.
Earlier, June’s exports had been revised higher by $1.4 billion, reviving a spate of such data revisions that began in late 2021 and peaked in the last six months of 2022-23, when the final tallies for exports were raised by almost $3 billion a month. Import numbers were also revised last year, with October to March seeing an average change of $1.8 billion, albeit with upward as well as downward revisions.
World
After Muizzu’s win, jailed Maldivian leader Yameen is transferred to house arrest (Page no. 14)
(GS Paper 2, International Organisation)
A day after his victory in the Maldives’ election run-off, President-elect Mohamed Muizzu secured the transfer of former President and jailed Maldivian leader Abdulla Yameen to home confinement.
Mr. Yameen, who was serving a 11-year-jail term following conviction in a corruption case, returned home on Sunday, to a rousing welcome from his supporters, according to local media.
Soon after Saturday’s poll verdict, Mr. Muizzu requested President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to release Mr. Yameen. “This truly is joyous, and the decision is in the best interest of the majority of the people.
Mr. Muizzu, who beat incumbent Mr. Solih in the second round of the presidential poll, was fielded by the Opposition, after the Supreme Court barred Mr. Yameen from contesting, owing to his criminal conviction.
The first round held on September 9 was inconclusive, since no candidate secured over 50 % of the votes necessary for election victory.
Over the last few years, Mr. Yameen, and broadly his political camp, mobilised several Maldivians disenchanted with the Solih administration, as part of an ‘India Out’ campaign, aimed at attacking the government’s ‘India first’ policy and close economic and developmental partnership.
Science
What are the Lagrange points and why is Aditya-L1 headed to one? (Page no. 18)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
Some of the most amazing phenomena in nature,from electromagnetic radiation and infrared vision to subatomic particles and cosmic rays,are invisible, and we get to know them only through their various applications.
This is true of Lagrange points as well –points in space between celestial bodies where a spacecraft stays more or less stationary, as if held in place by some cosmic magic.
The ‘magic’, of course, owes itself to the unseen forces of gravity exerted by these bodies. Lagrange points are found along the plane of two objects in orbit around their common centre ofgravity, where their gravitational forces cancel each other, so that a third body of negligible mass will remain at rest between them.
For example, the combined gravitational force between the sun and the earth equals the centrifugal force required by a satellite or an asteroid to orbit the sun-earth centre ofgravity. At this Lagrange point, a satellite will keep its position constant relative to both the sun and the earth.
Planetary scientists are fascinated by Lagrange points because they offer the best ‘parking spots’ in space for satellites. That is, seen from the earth, Lagrange points appear to stay motionless, and this makes them ideal for controllers on the ground to communicate with spacecraft stationed there.
No wonder these locations are home to several astronomical observatories that utilise their vantage position to have ringside views of the earth and the backyard of the Solar System, which would not be possible nearer to the planet.