Audible Enclaves and PAL Technology

Source: TH 

Sound waves are longitudinal, propagating through compression and rarefaction, but they also spread due to diffraction, leading to dispersion (which increases with frequency), making precise sound delivery to a specific individual difficult in noisy environments. 

• However, audible enclaves and parametric array loudspeakers (PAL) solve this by focusing sound into narrow beams, ensuring only the intended listener hears it. 
• Audible Enclaves (AE): These are focused pockets of sound created using 2 high-frequency waves that are individually inaudible but produce audible sound at specific locations through nonlinear interactions.  
  • This ensures precision sound delivery without external disturbance, enhancing privacy and customization.  
• PAL: PAL uses high-frequency ultrasonic waves modulated with an audio signal to create a highly directional sound beam, ensuring only targeted listeners hear the audio.  
  • By self-demodulating in the air, they generate focused sound while preventing unwanted dispersion.  
• Applications of PAL and AE: PAL and AE find applications in museums, retail, public announcements, immersive entertainment, assistive technology, and security, offering precise audio without disturbing surrounding areas. 

GI Tag to Tomato Chilli and Kannadippaya

Source: TH 

Why in News? 

Telangana’s Warangal Chapata Chilli (Tomato Chilli) and Kerala’s tribal handicraft Kannadippaya have been granted the Geographical Indication (GI) tag, further enriching India’s GI registry, which now has over 600 products listed. 

Geographical Indication (GI) Tag 

• About: A GI tag is a name or sign used on certain products that correspond to a specific geographical location or origin. 
  • The GI tag ensures that only authorised users or those residing in the geographical territory are allowed to use the popular product name. 
    • It also protects the product from being copied or imitated by others. 
  • A registered GI is valid for 10 years and can be renewed. 
  • GI registration is overseen by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. 
• Legal Framework: 
  • Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 
  • WTO Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS). 

What are the Key Facts About Warangal Chapata Chilli? 

• About: It is Telangana’s 18th GI-tagged product and the third agricultural GI, after Banaganapalli Mango and Tandur Red Gram. 

 

• Features:  It is known for its bright red colour and round tomato-like shape. 
  • The chilli is less spicy but lends a bright red colour with extensive flavour due to its capsicum oleoresin properties (anti-obesogenic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and neuroprotective properties). 
• Types:  It exists in three fruit types: Single Patti, Double Patti, and Odalu. 
• Cultivation: The Warangal Chapata is under cultivation in the villages of Nagaram of Jammikunta mandal for more than 80 years while Nadikuda village and mandal could be the oldest source. 
  • Its unique characteristics can be attributed to the red and black soil of the region.  
  • The area's unique soil, water, and weather make it hard to grow this crop anywhere else. 

What are the Key Facts About Kannadippaya? 

• About: The recognition makes Kannadippaya the first tribal handicraft product from Kerala to receive the GI tag. 

• Origin: The craft is primarily preserved by the Oorali, Mannan, Muthuva, Malayan, and Kadar tribal communities and by the Ulladan, Malayarayan, and Hill Pulaya artisans in Idukki, Thrissur, Ernakulam, and Palakkad districts. 
  • In the past, Kannadippaya was once presented to kings by tribal communities as a mark of honour. 
• Key Features: The product derives its name, which literally means mirror mat, from its unique reflective pattern 
  • It is made from the soft inner layers of reed bamboo (Teinostachyum wightii), the mat is known for its unique properties like providing warmth during winter and cooling effects in summer. 

What are the Other Recent GI Tagged Products? 

Product	State	Year	Fact
Banaras Thandai	Uttar Pradesh	2024	Traditional spiced beverage associated with Varanasi.
Assam Bihu Dhol	Assam	2024	Traditional drum integral to Bihu celebrations.
Kasti Coriander	Maharashtra	2023	Known for its distinctive fragrance and taste
Koraput Kalajeera Rice	Odisha	2023	Aromatic black paddy rice, often referred to as the 'Prince of Rice'.
Uttarakhand Red Rice	Uttarakhand	2023	High-altitude rice known for its nutritional benefits and distinct aroma.

UPSC Civil Services Examination, Previous Year Questions (PYQs) 

Q. Which of the following has/have been accorded ‘Geographical Indication’ status? (2015)

1. Banaras Brocades and Sarees 
2. Rajasthani Daal-Bati-Churma 
3. Tirupathi Laddu 

Select the correct answer using the code given below: 

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

Ans: (c) 

Q. India enacted the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 in order to comply with the obligations to (2018)

(a) ILO 
(b) IMF 
(c) UNCTAD 
(d) WTO 

Ans: (d)

Chandrayaan’s ChaSTE

Source: TH 

India's Chandrayaan-3 mission’s ChaSTE (Chandra’s Surface Thermophysical Experiment) became the first-ever instrument to successfully measure subsurface temperature near the Moon’s south pole. 

• ChaSTE was deployed by the Vikram lander after Chandrayaan-3's successful lunar landing in August 2023. 
  • The ChaSTE probe features 10 temperature sensors spaced 1 cm apart along its needle, with a rotation-based deployment mechanism, rather than a hammering one. 
  • The probe successfully descended up to 10 cm into the lunar surface and collected thermal data until September, 2023. 
  • The data suggested the presence of more water ice near the south pole than previously estimated, a crucial discovery for future lunar missions. 
  • ChaSTE’s success was attributed to its rotating probe mechanism, which proved more effective than the hammering technique used by earlier missions. 
• Previous Missions: ESA's Philae lander (2014) couldn’t deploy the MUPUS (Multi-Purpose Sensors for Surface and Subsurface Science) thermal probe due to an awkward landing on comet 67P. 
  • NASA’s InSight (2018) on Mars also failed to gather subsurface data due to mechanical issues with the Heat Flow and Physical Properties Package (HP3) instrument. 

Read more: Chandrayaan-3 Successfully Lands on Moon's South Pole 

Denmark Reaffirms Greenland’s Sovereignty

Source: TH 

Recently, Denmark's Prime Minister dismissed U.S. suggestions regarding the annexation of Greenland, emphasizing that such actions are unacceptable even when justified on the grounds of national security. 

• Greenland holds strategic significance for the U.S. due to the Pituffik Space Base, vital for missile defense and positioned along the shortest route between North America and Europe.  
• Greenland's rich mineral resources, including rare earth minerals, attract US interest.  
• Greenland: It is the world's largest island, lying in the North Atlantic Ocean,  between North America and Europe. 
  • It features major mountain ranges like the Watkins Range and Stauning Alps, and rivers such as Borglum, and Majorqaq. 
  • It has an Arctic climate with over 80% ice cover (up to 4 km thick), harsh winters (-50°C), short summers (10–15°C), and 2 months of continuous daylight. 
  • It functions as an autonomous territory under the Kingdom of Denmark, with self-government and its own Parliament (Inatsisartut). 

Read More: US Territorial Acquisitions and Interest in Greenland