Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: The Maha Kumbh Mela 2025 is scheduled to commence on January 13, 2025, with the Paush Purnima Snan, and will conclude on February 26, 2025.

Background: –

• Maha Kumbh Mela is rooted in Hindu mythology and is considered an opportunity for devotees to absolve sins and attain Moksha, or liberation.
• In 2017, the Kumbh Mela was declared India’s ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ by UNESCO.

Key takeaways

• The Kumbh Mela is celebrated four times in a 12-year span – once every three years, and it is held in four places in rotation, which are Prayagraj, Haridwar, Ujjain and Nashik.
• Ancient Hindu epics and literature, such as the Mahabharata and Puranas, are where the Kumbh Mela got its start. According to the Amrit Manthan tradition, four drips of amrita, or nectar, dropped on the ground at each of the four Kumbh Mela places.

Maha Kumbh and Kumbh 

• Maha Kumbh Mela and Kumbh Mela are two significant Hindu religious gatherings that attract millions of devotees; however, there are some differences between the two:
• The Mahakumbh Mela occurs once every 12 years and is considered the most sacred of all Kumbh Melas. Whereas Kumbh Mela is celebrated every 3 years, rotating among four locations: Haridwar, Ujjain, Nashik, and Prayagraj, with each location hosting the Kumbh Mela in a cycle that ensures each site is featured once every 12 years.
• The Mahakumbh Mela is primarily held at Prayagraj, where the Ganga, Yamuna, and Saraswati rivers converge.
• Participating in the Mahakumbh Mela is believed to provide immense spiritual benefits, including purification of sins and attainment of salvation. While Kumbh Mela is also significant for spiritual growth and purification, it is viewed as less potent than the Mahakumbh.
• Lastly, the Mahakumbh Mela attracts an estimated 40 crore devotees, making it one of the largest religious gatherings in the world, while the Kumbh Mela, generally sees lesser participants due to its more frequent occurrence and smaller scale.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – ART & CULTURE

Context: Vice-President addressed the inauguration ceremony of the 27th International Congress of Vedanta at JNU.

Background: –

• Vedanta is not a relic of the past, it is relevant for the present as it offers a blueprint for the future, Vice-President said.

Key takeaways

• Vedanta, derived from Sanskrit (Veda + Anta), means “the end or culmination of knowledge.” It represents one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy and focuses on understanding the ultimate nature of reality, human existence, and the self. 
• Origin:
  • Based on the teachings of the Upanishads, which are philosophical interpretations of the Vedas.
  • The term “Vedanta” initially referred to the concluding sections of the Vedas but evolved to denote the philosophical essence of the Vedic texts.
• Sacred Texts: Upanishads, Brahma Sutras, Bhagavad Gita.
• Core Concepts
  • Brahman: Ultimate, unchanging reality that is infinite and eternal.
  • Atman: The individual soul or self, identical to Brahman in Advaita Vedanta.
  • Maya: Illusory power that creates the perception of duality and the material world.
  • Moksha: Liberation from the cycle of birth and death (samsara), achieved through self-realization and union with Brahman.

Philosophical Schools of Vedanta – Vedanta has evolved into multiple sub-schools, each with its interpretation of the Upanishads:

• Advaita Vedanta (Non-dualism):
  • Associated with : Adi Shankaracharya.
  • Core Idea: Brahman (ultimate reality) is the only truth; the world is an illusion (Maya).
• Vishishtadvaita (Qualified Non-dualism):
  • Associated with : Ramanujacharya.
  • Core Idea: Brahman is the supreme reality but manifests with qualities (Saguna Brahman).
• Dvaita (Dualism):
  • Associated with: Madhvacharya.
  • Core Idea: Distinction between God (Brahman) and individual souls (Jiva) is real. It also states that the physical universe is real and not an illusion.
• Other Schools:
  • Shuddhadvaita (Pure Non-dualism) by Vallabhacharya.
  • Achintya Bheda Abheda (Inconceivable Oneness and Difference) by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Source: PIB

Syllabus:

• Prelims – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Context: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India has provided clarity on use of methylcobalamin, a form of Vitamin B12, in health supplements, medical purposes and nutraceutical products.

Background:

• Most of the Indian population is deficient of methylcobalamin due to a number of factors and most important among them is the higher vegetarian population.

Key takeaways

• Methylcobalamin is a form of vitamin B12, which is essential for various bodily functions.
• Because of the distinctive methyl group (-CH3) bonded to the cobalt atom, methylcobalamin differs structurally from other forms of vitamin B12, such as cyanocobalamin, adenosylcobalamin, and hydroxocobalamin. Because of this structural change, methylcobalamin has different biochemical characteristics and greater bioavailability, making it the most functional and easily absorbed form of Vitamin B12.
• Functions
  • Red Blood Cell Production: Essential for the production of red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body.
  • Nervous System: Supports the health of the nervous system and helps in the maintenance of nerve cells.
  • Energy Metabolism: Helps in the metabolism of fats and carbohydrates for energy.
  • DNA Synthesis: Plays a role in DNA synthesis and repair
• Sources:
  • Found in animal-based foods such as fish, meat, eggs, and dairy.
  • Not present in significant quantities in plant-based foods, making vegetarians and vegans more susceptible to deficiency.

Source: Hindu Businessline

Syllabus:

• Prelims – SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

Context: The icy crust on Jupiter’s moon Europa is much thicker than scientists had thought, which could quash the hope of finding the ingredients for life in the oceans beneath its surface.

Background: –

• Using measurements collected by NASA’s Juno spacecraft, researchers estimated the ice is around 35 km thick, which could suggest the ocean doesn’t have the heat or chemical reactions needed to spark life. The crust could thwart the efforts of NASA’s Europa Clipper to investigate the moon for the ingredients for life.

Key takeaways

• Europa is one of Jupiter’s largest moons and is particularly fascinating due to its potential to harbor extraterrestrial life.
• Europa was discovered by Galileo Galilei and Simon Marius on January 8, 1610.
• Europa has an equatorial diameter of about 1,940 miles (3,100 kilometers), making it roughly 90% the size of Earth’s Moon.
• NASA has undertaken two significant missions to explore Jupiter and its moons: the Juno mission and the Europa Clipper mission.

Juno Mission

• Launched in 2011, NASA’s Juno spacecraft embarked on a journey to study Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system. It entered Jupiter’s orbit in 2016, and has been collecting valuable data since then.
• Objectives:
  • Investigate Jupiter’s origins and evolution.
  • Measure the planet’s composition, gravity field, magnetic field, and polar magnetosphere.
  • Explore the deep atmosphere to assess water and ammonia content.
  • Study the planet’s auroras to gain insights into its magnetosphere.

Europa Clipper Mission

• The Europa Clipper mission is designed to conduct detailed reconnaissance of Jupiter’s moon Europa, assessing its potential to support life. The spacecraft was launched on October 14, 2024.
• The spacecraft will travel 1.8 billion miles (2.9 billion km) to reach Jupiter in April 2030. It will orbit Jupiter, and conduct close flybys of Europa.
• Objectives:
  • Determine the thickness of Europa’s icy shell and the depth and salinity of its subsurface ocean.
  • Analyze the moon’s surface composition and geology.
  • Investigate the potential for current geological activity, including plumes that may be venting subsurface water into space.
  • Assess the habitability of Europa’s environment.
• Mission Profile:
  • The spacecraft will perform approximately 49 close flybys of Europa, collecting high-resolution images and scientific data.
  • Instruments on board include ice-penetrating radar, spectrometers, and magnetometers to study the moon’s ice shell and subsurface ocean.

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus:

• Mains – GS 2

Context: China’s plan to build a mega-hydropower dam on the Brahmaputra in the Great Bend region of Medog County, Tibet, gained momentum with its official approval on December 25, 2024.

Background: –

• The outstanding land boundary dispute between China and India is weaved into the intense securitisation of the Brahmaputra river basin, which makes it an active site for strategic posturing by both countries.

Key takeaways 

• The Brahmaputra is a transboundary Himalayan river basin spanning four riparian countries. China is the uppermost riparian nation with the river system originating in the Tibetan Autonomous Region  (TAR), where it is known as the Yarlung Zangbo (or Tsangpo).

Dam-building race in the Brahmaputra basin?

• China has announced the biggest hydropower project at the Great Bend while India has announced its largest dam project, at Upper Siang.
• Mega-dams on rivers systems are seen as important sovereignty markers; symbols of nation-state control over natural features. 
• Upstream hydropower dams are viewed as ‘water bombs’ by lower riparian nations, as in the case of the Medog dam project.
• None of the riparian countries of the Brahmaputra river basin have signed the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-navigational Uses of International Watercourses of 2014, and hence first user-rights on river systems are non-enforceable. 
• China and India have an Expert Level Mechanism (ELM) since 2006, to discuss outstanding issues and share hydrological data, but do not have a comprehensive bilateral treaty to govern shared transboundary rivers. 

Impacts of mega project on people and ecology

• The communities living along the river have adapted as the river has shaped and shifted over centuries. However, with interventions such as mega dams, communities cannot use their traditional knowledge about the river system meaningfully, as the pace and occurrence of disasters have magnified. 
• The perennial flow of the Brahmaputra in downstream areas depends on the flow of the Yarlung Zangbo. The blocking of that perennial flow, will have consequences on surface water levels and groundwater systems of the river basin. This affects agro-pastoral communities, biodiversity, living biota in rivers and wetland systems.
• Tibet’s river systems are important to the Earth’s cryosphere and major climate systems directing climate and precipitation pathways such as the monsoon. 
• The Brahmaputra river basin will turn into an active risk-scape if all these planned dams are built eventually.
• One of the greatest earthquakes of modern times, the 1950 Medog Earthquake, or the Assam-Tibet Earthquake, which transformed the riparian landscape, had its epicenter at Medog in Tibet. The earthquake had disastrous effects downstream in Assam and Bangladesh, with the landscape until now trapped in an unending cycle of annual catastrophic floods.

Way Forward

• A bioregional/ecoregional framework to protect the Himalayas could help desecuritise the Brahmaputra basin.
• Collaborative agreements between riparian countries are essential to ensure sustainable development and mitigate risks.

Source: The Hindu

Q1.) Which of the following statements are correct regarding Europa and NASA’s missions?

1. Europa, a moon of Jupiter, is believed to have an icy crust that is thinner than initially expected, suggesting a potentially habitable environment beneath it.
2. NASA’s Juno mission is designed to study Jupiter’s atmosphere, while the Europa Clipper mission focuses on exploring Jupiter’s moon Europa.
3. The Europa Clipper mission will conduct 49 flybys of Europa to assess its subsurface ocean and potential for life.

Select the correct answer using the codes below:

a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2, and 3

Q2.) Consider the following statements regarding Methylcobalamin:

1. Methylcobalamin is a form of Vitamin B12 that is highly bioavailable and easily absorbed by the body.
2. It is found primarily in plant-based foods such as vegetables and fruits.
3. Methylcobalamin supports functions like red blood cell production and energy metabolism.

Which of the above statements are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2, and 3

Q3.) Consider the following statements about Vedanta:

1. Vedanta is one of the six orthodox schools of Indian philosophy, focusing on understanding the ultimate nature of reality and human existence.
2. Advaita Vedanta (Non-dualism) is  associated with Adi Shankaracharya.
3. The core concept of Maya in Vedanta refers to the individual soul or self.

Which of the above statements are correct?

a) 1 and 2 only
b) 2 and 3 only
c) 1 and 3 only
d) 1, 2, and 3

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  Today’s – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs

Q.1) – b

Q.2) – b

Q.3) – c