Prelims Pinponter
SHAKTI Scholars
Context
- The National Commission for Women (NCW) launched SHAKTI Scholars – NCW Young Research Fellowship.
- The fellowship aims to promote policy-oriented research on women-centric issues in India.
- It focuses on strengthening evidence-based inputs for gender-responsive governance.
About SHAKTI Scholars Fellowship
- SHAKTI Scholars is a six-month, grant-based research fellowship.
- Designed for young scholars and independent researchers.
- Encourages multidisciplinary and policy-relevant research on women’s issues.
- Implemented and funded by the National Commission for Women (NCW).
Objectives
- Promote evidence-based research addressing challenges faced by women.
- Create a pipeline of young researchers supporting gender-sensitive policymaking.
- Generate research inputs to inform laws, schemes, and institutional reforms.
- Strengthen the link between academic research and public policy.
Eligibility Criteria
- Nationality: Only Indian citizens are eligible.
- Age limit: Between 21 and 30 years.
- Educational qualification: Minimum graduation from a recognised institution.
- Preference given to:
- Candidates pursuing or holding post-graduation, M.Phil., or PhD.
- Scholars from disciplines like Gender Studies, Law, Social Sciences, Public Policy, Economics, Health, Technology, and Development Studies.
Key Features
- Research grant: ₹1 lakh per fellow.
- Grant covers data collection, fieldwork, analysis, and documentation expenses.
- Duration: Fixed at six months, ensuring policy relevance and feasibility.
- Phased fund release: Disbursement linked to progress and accountability milestones.
Priority Research Themes
- Women’s safety and dignity.
- Gender-based violence and POSH Act implementation.
- Legal rights and access to justice.
- Cyber safety and digital risks.
- Health, nutrition, education, and skill development.
- Economic empowerment and women’s labour force participation.
- Women’s leadership, political participation, and work-life balance.
Significance
- Strengthens gender-focused policy research ecosystem.
- Enhances youth participation in governance-oriented research.
- Supports NCW’s mandate of advancing women’s rights and empowerment.
Raccoon Roundworm (Baylisascaris Procyonis)
Context
- A recent European study reports widespread raccoon roundworm infection in wild raccoon populations.
- High prevalence detected across nine European countries, with Germany as the epicentre.
- Raises concerns due to severe zoonotic risk despite rare human infections.
What is Raccoon Roundworm
- Raccoon roundworm is a zoonotic parasitic disease caused by the nematode Baylisascaris procyonis.
- It primarily infects raccoons, but humans and other animals are accidental hosts.
- Human infection can lead to serious neurological and ocular damage.
Origin and Spread
- Native to North America, where raccoons are natural reservoir hosts.
- Introduced into Europe during the early 20th century via pet trade and fur farming.
- Escaped raccoons formed wild populations, enabling parasite establishment and spread.
- India remains unaffected due to absence of wild raccoon populations.
Hosts and Geographic Distribution
- Primary host: Raccoons (Procyon lotor).
- Accidental hosts: Dogs, birds, rodents, and small mammals.
- Geographical presence:
- Endemic in North America.
- Established in Europe across multiple countries.
Transmission and Risk Factors
- Infection occurs through ingestion of embryonated eggs from contaminated soil or surfaces.
- Children are high-risk due to soil exposure and inadequate hand hygiene.
- Eggs become infectious 2–4 weeks after shedding in the environment.
Symptoms in Humans
- Early symptoms: Nausea, fatigue, hepatomegaly.
- Neurological signs: Loss of coordination, attention deficits, muscle weakness.
- Severe manifestations:
- Ocular larva migrans: Vision loss or blindness.
- Neural larva migrans: Brain damage, coma, or death.
Key Biological Features
- Eggs are extremely resilient, surviving for years in soil.
- Adult worms produce millions of eggs, increasing environmental contamination.
- Diagnosis is difficult, with no widely available definitive human tests.
- Characterised by low incidence but very high severity.
Public Health Significance
- Represents a major emerging zoonotic threat in Europe.
- Highlights risks associated with invasive species and wildlife–human interfaces.
- Emphasises need for wildlife surveillance, public awareness, and hygiene measures.
Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) Spacecraft
Context
- NASA lost contact with the MAVEN spacecraft in early December 2025.
- Communication blackout occurred during a routine operational phase.
- Mission silence has raised concerns regarding continuity of Mars atmospheric observations.
What is MAVEN
- MAVEN is a NASA Mars orbiter mission focused on studying Mars’ upper atmosphere.
- It examines the ionosphere, solar interactions, and atmospheric escape processes.
- Mission helps explain Mars’ transition from a warm, wet planet to a cold, dry world.
- Launch date: 18 November 2013.
Mission Objectives
- Determine how and how fast Mars lost its atmosphere over geological time.
- Assess the role of the Sun and solar wind in stripping atmospheric gases.
- Provide communications relay support for surface missions on Mars.
Orbital Design and Mission Architecture
- Operates in a highly elliptical orbit, sampling a wide range of altitudes.
- Enables study of daily, seasonal, and solar-driven atmospheric variations.
- Close atmospheric passes allow direct measurements of escape regions.
- Distant orbital segments enable global-scale atmospheric observations.
Scientific Payload and Capabilities
- Carries eight specialised scientific instruments for atmospheric diagnostics.
- Instruments analyse neutral gases, ions, plasma, magnetic fields, and solar wind.
- Equipped with Imaging Ultraviolet Spectrograph (IUVS) for atmospheric mapping.
- Lacks a conventional camera; relies on ultraviolet imaging for composition studies.
Key Scientific Contributions
- Confirmed solar wind stripping as a dominant atmospheric loss mechanism.
- Demonstrated long-term depletion of Martian atmosphere over billions of years.
- Identified water loss pathways, where hydrogen escapes irreversibly to space.
- Showed solar storms sharply accelerate atmospheric escape rates.
- Linked atmospheric thinning to Mars’ loss of surface liquid water.
Additional Mission Role
- Acts as an interplanetary communications relay satellite.
- Supports data transmission from rovers like Curiosity and Perseverance.
Significance
- MAVEN provides critical insights into planetary habitability evolution.
- Findings inform comparative studies of Earth, Mars, and exoplanet atmospheres.
- Loss of contact threatens a key dataset on Mars–Sun atmospheric interactions.
Ghost Pairing
Context
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued an advisory on WhatsApp “ghost pairing”.
- Advisory highlights rising cases of social-engineering–based cyber fraud targeting messaging platforms.
What is Ghost Pairing
- Ghost pairing is a social-engineering cyberattack enabling unauthorised WhatsApp account access.
- Fraudsters secretly link a victim’s WhatsApp account to their own device.
- Attack occurs without hacking the phone, SIM swap, or password compromise.
- Enables attackers to access real-time chats, media files, and contact lists.
Objective of the Attack
- Gain unauthorised access to private conversations and personal data.
- Steal sensitive information like documents, photos, and OTP clues.
- Conduct identity theft, financial fraud, extortion, or follow-up scams.
- Exploit trust to empty bank accounts or impersonate victims.
Modus Operandi
- Impersonation: Attacker poses as a known contact, bank, or government authority.
- Bait message: Victim receives alarming messages like “Account blocked” or “Check this photo”.
- Urgency creation: Panic induced through threats of number deactivation or financial loss.
- Verification trap: Victim unknowingly approves a WhatsApp device-linking request or shares verification code.
- Silent takeover: Attacker’s device becomes a linked companion device, granting full access.
- Victim often remains unaware until misuse or financial loss occurs.
Key Features
- No SIM swap required, unlike traditional WhatsApp account hijacking.
- No password cracking or malware installation involved.
- Exploits human trust, urgency, fear, and inattention.
- Functions across WhatsApp, Telegram, and similar messaging platforms.
- Allows continuous surveillance and data extraction without alerts.
Limitations and Detection
- Attack succeeds only if the victim takes action, such as approving pairing.
- Linked devices are visible under WhatsApp → Linked Devices settings.
- Unknown devices can be manually removed, instantly cutting attacker access.
- Financial fraud creates digital transaction trails, enabling account freezing if reported quickly.
Significance
- Highlights growing risks of social-engineering attacks over technical hacking.
- Emphasises need for digital awareness and user vigilance in messaging platforms.
Yellowstone National Park
Context
- The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released footage of mud eruptions at Black Diamond Pool.
- Activity highlights renewed hydrothermal processes within Yellowstone National Park.
What is Yellowstone National Park
- Yellowstone National Park is the world’s first national park, known for geothermal and volcanic features.
- It hosts nearly half of the world’s hydrothermal features, including geysers, hot springs, and mud pools.
- The park represents a rare intact temperate ecosystem with high ecological and geological value.
Location and Extent
- Located in the northwestern United States, spanning Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho.
- Covers approximately 8,992 sq km, making it one of the largest protected areas in the U.S.
- Lies over a volcanic hotspot, influencing surface geothermal manifestations.
Historical Background
- Established on March 1, 1872, by an Act of the U.S. Congress.
- Recognised as the first national park globally, pioneering conservation governance.
- Declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve (1976) and World Heritage Site (1978).
Key Physical and Geological Features
- Geothermal dominance: Over 10,000 hydrothermal features and more than 300 geysers.
- Hosts iconic geysers like Old Faithful and Steamboat Geyser, the world’s tallest active geyser.
- Volcanic hotspot: Magma chambers heat groundwater, producing geysers, fumaroles, and mud pots.
- Seismicity: Experiences hundreds of minor earthquakes annually, indicating active subsurface processes.
- Landscape diversity: Includes volcanic plateaus, lava flows, obsidian cliffs, and deep canyons.
Hydrology and Biodiversity
- Contains Yellowstone Lake, North America’s largest high-altitude lake.
- Includes the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone River, carved by volcanic and fluvial action.
- Supports rich wildlife such as bison, grizzly bears, wolves, and elk.
- Maintains one of the largest intact temperate ecosystems globally.
Significance
- Serves as a global natural laboratory for volcanology and geothermal research.
- Set the global precedent for national park–based conservation models.
- Offers vital insights into climate change, ecosystem resilience, and wildlife dynamics.
