Port of Odesa: Key Facts for Prelims

• The Port of Odesa (Odesa Sea Port) is the largest Ukrainian seaport and one of the largest ports in the Black Sea basin.
• It has a total annual traffic capacity of 40 million tonnes.
• Located at the western shores of Odesa Bay, with direct railway access for transfer of cargo from sea routes to ground transportation.
• Its satellite ports are Chornomorsk (1958) and Yuzhne (1973).

Black Sea: Key Geographic Facts

• The Black Sea is an inland sea bordered by Ukraine, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Georgia, and Russia.
• It connects to the Mediterranean Sea through the Bosphorus Strait, Sea of Marmara, and Dardanelles Strait.
• It connects to the Sea of Azov in the north through the Kerch Strait.
• Major rivers draining into the Black Sea include the Danube, Dnieper, Don, and Dniester.

Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB): Key Facts

• CPCB is a statutory organisation constituted in September 1974 under the Water (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1974.
• It was also entrusted with powers under the Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• It serves as a field formation and provides technical services to the Ministry of Environment and Forests under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

CPCB: Principal Functions

Wholesale Price Index (WPI): Key Facts

• WPI measures price changes at the wholesale level (producer/bulk buyer level), unlike CPI which measures retail level prices.
• WPI has three sub-categories: Primary Articles (food, minerals), Fuel and Power, and Manufactured Products.
• Published by the Office of the Economic Adviser (OEA) under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry (DPIIT).
• Base year: currently 2011-12. WPI is used as a GDP deflator and for contract escalation in industry.

Demand-Pull vs Cost-Push Inflation

Causes & Policy Measures

• Food inflation: supply shocks from poor monsoons/droughts and the El Niño effect are primary causes; every drought year in India has been accompanied by a significant rise in food inflation.
• Manufactured goods inflation: cost-determined, with rising oil prices directly increasing production costs; a near one-to-one correspondence exists between fuel/power prices and manufactured goods inflation.
• India adopted flexible inflation targeting in 2016, with RBI targeting 4% CPI (tolerance band 2% to 6%).
• RBI’s repo rate is effective against demand-pull inflation but less effective for cost-push inflation.

How Maglev Trains Are Lifted

Propulsion Mechanism

• Guideway walls are lined with coils carrying alternating current (AC), creating a magnetic field that constantly shifts its poles along the track.
• The train’s magnets are attracted to the opposite pole ahead and repelled by the like pole behind, pulling and pushing the train forward simultaneously.
• Higher AC frequency means faster speed; regenerative braking diverts saved energy back to the electric grid.
• Emergency braking uses auxiliary wheels with conventional or friction braking pads between the guideway and train.

QDENGA: Key Technical Facts

• QDENGA (TAK-003) is a live-attenuated tetravalent vaccine providing protection against all four dengue virus serotypes (DENV-1, 2, 3, 4).
• Approved age group: 4 to 60 years; no pre-vaccination screening required, and it can be administered regardless of prior dengue infection.

About Dengue: Key Facts

• Dengue is a viral disease caused by the dengue virus (DENV), belonging to the Flaviviridae family, with four serotypes: DENV-1 to DENV-4.
• Vector: transmitted by Aedes aegypti mosquito (primary) and Aedes albopictus (secondary), which bite during the day.
• Incubation period: 4 to 10 days after the bite of an infected mosquito.
• Symptoms: high fever, severe headache, pain behind the eyes, joint and muscle pain, rash, and mild bleeding; severe dengue (DHF/DSS) can be life-threatening.

India’s Eastern Europe Outreach

• India’s outreach to Eastern Europe seeks to diversify European engagement beyond major Western powers like France and Germany.
• The India-Moldova Business Forum explored opportunities in agritech, IT, defence, pharmaceuticals, e-commerce, engineering, and manufacturing.
• Both countries are exploring cooperation in digital public infrastructure, food processing, logistics, and skills development.

Moldova: Key Geographic Facts

• Moldova is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, with capital Chisinau, bordered by Romania to the west and Ukraine to the north, east, and south.
• Situated in the northeastern corner of the Balkan Peninsula, east of the Carpathian Mountains.
• Key rivers: Prut River (borders Romania to the west) and Dniester River (major waterway in the east).
• EU Status: Moldova is not an EU member but was granted EU candidate status in 2022.
• Transnistria: a breakaway territory east of the Dniester River, controlled by pro-Russian separatists and permanently hosting Russian troops and a large arms depot.