About Proteome:

• A proteome is a set of proteins produced in an organism, system, or biological context.
• The proteome is not constant; it differs from cell to cell and changes over time.
• The proteome of any given individual will be unique, as protein expression patterns are determined by an individual’s genes.
• The proteome is always significantly larger than the number of genes in an individual due to a number of factors:
  • Gene sequences may be alternatively spliced following transcription to generate multiple protein variants from a single gene.
  • Proteins may be modified (e.g. glycosylated, phosphorylated, etc.) following translation to promote further variations.
• Proteomics is the large-scale study of proteomes.
• With each protein playing distinct roles and functions, proteomics provides valuable insights into cellular processes, signaling pathways, and disease mechanisms.
• Scientists typically study the proteome using techniques like mass spectrometry or traditional protein sequencing.
• Proteomics is used to investigate:
  • when and where proteins are expressed
  • rates of protein production, degradation, and steady-state abundance
  • how proteins are modified (for example, post-translational modifications (PTMs) such as phosphorylation)
  • the movement of proteins between subcellular compartments
  • the involvement of proteins in metabolic pathways
  • how proteins interact with one another
• Understanding the proteome can shed light on disease mechanisms, help identify potential drug targets, and develop novel therapeutic interventions.

About Lipulekh Pass:

• It is a high-altitude mountain pass located in the Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand, in India's Kumaon region.
• It sits at the intersection of three international borders: India to the south and west, China (Tibet Autonomous Region) to the north and east, and Nepal to the west.
• It is the first Indian border post opened for trade with China in 1992.
• Other passes: This was followed by the opening of Shipki La Pass, Himachal Pradesh, in 1994 and Nathu La Pass, Sikkim, in 2006.
• Significance:
  • Strategic Location: Lies at the tri-junction of India, Nepal, and China, making it geographically significant.
  • Ancient Trade Route: Lipulekh Pass has been utilized for centuries as a trade route, connecting the Indian subcontinent with the Tibetan plateau.
  • Religious Significance: It is a key corridor for the Kailash Mansarovar Yatra and plays an important role in connecting border communities, especially tribal groups such as the Bhotiyas who depend on cross-border trade.

About S-71K Kovyor Missile:

• It is an air-launched cruise missile developed by Russia.
• It is designed primarily for Russia’s Su-57E fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
• Features:
  • It employs a flattened, broad, aircraft-like planform instead of a conventional cylindrical missile body.
  • It has an asymmetric design with a trapezoidal nose carrying a chin-mounted optical sensor, low-mounted swept-back wings, and inverted V-tails.
  • The missile's three internal fuel tanks and turbojet propulsion give it a conventional powered-cruise flight profile rather than that of a simple glide bomb, letting it approach a target from a different axis than the launch aircraft.
  • It has an estimated range between 300 to 350 km.
  • It uses an inertial navigation system for guidance and reportedly lacks a sophisticated terminal seeker.
  • It is primarily designed for attacking pre-programmed fixed targets, rather than behaving like a modern imaging missile that can independently identify and select a target immediately before impact.
  • It carries a 250 kg OFAB-250-270 high-explosive fragmentation warhead.

About Schizopygopsis waddellii:

• It is a rare species of high-altitude Himalayan fish.
• It was recorded in India for the first time from the Pangkang Teng Tso Lake.
• It was previously known only from the Tibetan and China Plateau region, including Yamdrok Lake in Tibet.
• The present record expands its known distribution range and adds a new species to India’s freshwater fish fauna.
• The fish belongs to the Cyprinidae family and is adapted to the harsh conditions of high-altitude freshwater
• The fish has an elongated, cylindrical body, a dark greyish to olive-coloured upper side, and a lighter, silvery to creamy-white underside.
• It also has a complete lateral line, a blunt snout, a distinctive hard plate-like structure around the lower lip and snout, a subterminal mouth, and a deeply forked caudal fin.

About Market Infrastructure Institutions (MIIs):

• A MII is a financial entity that provides essential infrastructure for running the daily operations in the Stock Market/Capital Markets.
• The MII primarily consists of the following 3 entities from the stock market:
  • Stock Exchanges (including Commodity Exchanges)
  • Clearing House/Clearing Corporation
  • Depository Organization
• The MIIs help to efficiently trade the financial securities, which in turn helps in the economic growth of the country.
• These entities provide platforms and mechanisms for trading, clearing, settlement, record keeping, storage of securities, etc.
• Any disruption in the operations of these institutions can adversely impact the functioning of the entire financial system.
• The MIIs are separate corporate entities that are in the business to earn a profit for their services.
• Their role is critical in maintaining investor confidence, reducing systemic risk, and enabling smooth capital market operations.
• They are uniquely empowered by law to regulate their members, including listed companies, Trading Members, Clearing Members, and Depository Participants.
• MIIs must balance their role as public utilities and first-line regulators, operating efficiently and competitively as profit-driven entities.
• Since MIIs are also the first-line regulators in the market, they have to follow strong corporate governance standards.
• The Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) is the main regulatory body for the capital markets in India.
  • So, every MII in the stock market has to be registered with SEBI.
  • The regulatory guidelines primarily include responsibilities for safeguarding the interests of the investors.

About Solani River:

• Origin: It originates in the Himalayan foothills near Dehradun in Uttarakhand.
• Course: It flows through Saharanpur and Muzaffarnagar districts in Uttar Pradesh, and joins the Banganga river upstream of Shukratal.
• Major Landmarks:
  • Solani Aqueduct: It is located near Roorkee, which is a historic 19th-century masonry structure carries the Upper Ganga Canal safely over the Solani River.

What is National Green Tribunal?

• It was established in 2010, under the National Green Tribunal Act, 2010.
• It is a specialised body that fast-tracks environmental justice in India.
• Functions: It handles cases related to environmental protection, forest conservation, and environmental rights, offering compensation for damages caused by environmental violations.
• Composition:
  • Chairperson: A retired Supreme Court judge or Chief Justice of a High Court, appointed by the Central Government in consultation with the Chief Justice of India, serving for five years or until age 70.
  • Judicial Members: Between 10 to 20 former Supreme Court or High Court judges appointed by the Central Government based on merit, serving for five years or until age 67 (for High Court judges) or 70 (for Supreme Court judges).
  • Expert Members: Includes 10 to 20 members with a Master’s degree in Science, Engineering, or Technology and relevant environmental experience, appointed by the Central Government, serving for five years or until age 65.

About Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) 3.0

• It is aimed at integrating land records, maps, registrations and related data through a GIS-based digital framework.
• Background:
  • The Government of India in 2008, merged Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA & ULR) and the Computerization of Land Records (CLR) and named it as National Land Records Modernization Program (NLRMP).
  • NLRMP was brought under the “Digital India” ambit and re-named as Digital India Land Records Modernization Program (DILRMP) in 2016.
• Time Period: It is five year initiative i.e 2026-31.
• Funding: It is a central sector scheme with 100% central funding.
• Implemented by: The Department of Land Resources (DoLR), Ministry of Rural Development, real-time progress monitored by an upgraded DILRMP-MIS dashboard.
• Features:
  • Universal Bhu-Aadhaar (ULPIN):A framework to assign a 14-digit unique identification number to every land parcel in the country, ensuring secure and unmistakable identity for all properties.
  • Digitisation of Maps and Georeferencing: Complete digitization of cadastral maps embedded with exact geographical coordinates.
  • Paperless Property Registration: The introduction of end-to-end online, paperless registration and a new Registration Repository. The Ministry also plans to upgrade 75 Sub-Registrar Offices (SROs) into modern 'Registration Seva Kendras'.
  • Integrated Revenue Courts: A modern, paperless case management system (RCCMS) integrated directly with land records to track disputes and cut down the time and cost of legal battles.
  • NAKSHA Pilot for Urban Areas: Completion of NAKSHA Pilot.
  • Under DILRMP 3.0, each state will be able to develop its own "land stack" by integrating land-related datasets and systems through APIs.
  • These state-level stacks will form the building blocks of a federated national land stack.

About Copper:

• Copper is a naturally occurring chemical element with the symbol Cu.
• Occurrence: It is found as a free metal in nature. It also occurs in minerals like chalcocite, chalcopyrite, and bornite.
• Properties
  • Physical Properties: It is known for its high conductivity, malleability, and corrosion resistance.
  • Recyclability: Copper is 100% recyclable without any loss in quality, making it an eco-friendly metal.
• Major Copper Reserves in India and World
  • Rajasthan: Khetri and Jhunjhunu belt.
  • Madhya Pradesh: Malanjkhand mine, the largest open-pit copper mine in India.
  • Jharkhand: Singhbhum copper belt.
  • Major Countries with Copper Reserve: Chile, Australia, Peru and Russia
• Applications of Copper:
  • Electrical Industry: Used in wiring, motors, and transformers due to its high conductivity.
  • Construction: Roofing, plumbing, and heating systems utilize copper.
  • Automobile Industry: Essential for wiring, radiators, and connectors.
  • Electronics: It is used in integrated circuits and semiconductors rely heavily on copper.
  • Renewable Energy: It is crucial for wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles.

About Przewalski’s Horse:

• It is the only living wild relative of the domestic horse. 
• Przewalski's horse (Equus ferus przewalskii or Equus przewalskii), otherwise known as P-horse, is named after Nikolai Przewalski.
• Habitat: It lives on open steppes and semi-deserts and also in winter on the large increasingly barren grassy plains.
• Distribution: The species historically lived across the steppe grasslands of Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia and northern China.
• Characteristics:
  • The horses are capable of resisting harsh winters like the ones in Kazakhstan where temperatures can drop below minus 30 degrees C.
  • These are diurnal and gregarious animals that live in small herds consisting of 10-20 individuals. 
  • Diet: They maintain a herbivorous (graminivorous) diet, which is generally composed of grass and various plants. 
  • They are hind-gut fermenters, meaning that they need to consume large amounts of water and low quality food.
• Ecological Role: They graze on dry vegetation to reduce wildfire risk, their hooves disturb the soil letting new plants take root, and they disperse seeds across the landscape as they roam.
• Conservation Status
  • IUCN Red List: Endangered

About Thirukkural:

• It is authored by the poet-philosopher Thiruvalluvar(also known as “Valluvar”).
• It is considered a seminal work of ancient Tamil literature and philosophy and regarded as an influential work on ethics.
• It was composed more than two millennia ago (between 300 BCE and 500 BCE).
• Thirukkural, which translates to “sacred verses” or “sacred couplets” in English, consists of 1,330 stanzas or couplets, each of seven words called “kurals”.
• These are arranged into 133 chapters, each containing 10 couplets.
• It is divided into three books:
  • The Book of Virtue (Dharma): It deals with morality (aram) and values of an individual. It has 38 chapters.
  • The Book of Polity: It is filled with teachings regarding materialism (porul) and socio-economic values. This has 70 chapters.
  • The Book of Love: It has details teachings of love (inbam). It has 25 chapters.
• Themes of Thirukkural
  • It emphasises moral conduct and speaks of the realities of human life.
  • Thiruvalluvar discouraged divisions based on religion, caste, creed, and race. Instead, he asserted that morality and kindness are indispensable for a meaningful human life. 
  • Thiruvalluvar warned that a life devoid of morality leads to misery, as individuals become dominated by jealousy, greed, wrath, and harshness.
  • To elevate human life and social well-being, he outlines certain virtues, such as spirituality, charity, and love. 
  • The concept of God, delineated in the very first chapter titled Kadavul Vazhthu (The Praise of God), is distinctive.
  • For him, God is “pure intelligence” and omniscient, and embodies wisdom, compassion, morality, and love.
  • The topic of love (inbam) is categorised in two forms: Kalaviyal and Karpiyal. 
    • Kalaviyal refers to pre-marital love and is subsequently tied to marriage without any ceremony, whereas Karpiyal refers to traditional marital love.
    • His verses portray love not just as passion but as a source of tranquil joy.