Category Career Queries

What is the NIA?

The NIA is currently under the spotlight following the October 23 Coimbatore car blast in which one person was killed. Following the incident, explosive materials used to make bombs were seized from the house of the deceased. Investigation points to terror links in the case. But what is NIA and what does its role entail? Come, let’s find out.

Investigate terror-related crimes The National Investigation Agency (NIA) is the central counter-terrorism law enforcement agency which functions under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. It is empowered to investigate terror-related crimes across the country without having to acquire permission from the States. The agency was set up in 2008 to combat terrorism in the country, following the deadly Mumbai terror attack the same year. It came into force with the enactment of the National Investigation Agency Act 2008 by Parliament.

The NIA has its headquarters in New Delhi. Headed by a Director-General (an IPS officer), it maintains the “NIA Most Wanted list”. Dinkar Gupta, a 1987-batch IPS officer and former chief of Punjab Police, is NIA’s current Director-General.

Building ties with foreign counterparts

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, while inaugurating the Raipur branch office of the NIA in August 2022, said that the government wanted it to become a federal crime investigation agency with offices in all States before the 2024 General Election. He further said that the NIA is working towards building ties with its foreign counterparts for better coordination in terror investigations. As of 2022, the NIA has 14 branches across the country in places such as Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai, Imphal, Bengaluru, and Patna.

The NIA aims to act as a deterrent on existing and potential terrorists. Its mission is to investigate terror-related offences using the latest scientific methods and facilitate a speedy, effective trial. One of its stated objectives is to create and share with States and other law enforcement agencies in the country a database of information pertaining to terrorists.

New offences brought under NIA Act

Under the NIA Act, the Central government can hand over cases for investigation to the NIA anywhere in the country. And State governments can request an investigation by the NIA upon the Central government’s approval. The NIA Act of 2008 was amended by Parliament in 2019 when some major changes were introduced. So new offences such as human trafficking, counterfeit currency, sale or manufacture of prohibited arms, and cyber terrorism have been brought under the purview of the Act. The agency’s jurisdiction has been extended outside India, subject to international treaties and domestic laws of the country concerned. Besides, the Act allows for the constitution of special courts by the Centre to conduct trials.

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Did you know that some of the words were contributed by the authors themselves and those words became popular among the masses?

Ever wondered how words are formed? Our language is ever-evolving. Every year, hundreds of words get added to our vocabulary. Did you know that some of the words were contributed by the authors themselves or that those words became popular among the masses? Some even found a place in the dictionaries. Let’s take a look at some of the authors who have offered us their repertoire of words which subsequently became famous.

PANDEMONIUM – BY JOHN MILTON

A word used to refer to chaos and uproar. “pandemonium” is a highly mainstream word. The word is created by poet and writer John Milton. It was in the poem “Paradise Lost that Milton referred to the capital of Hell as Pandemonium. And the word came into being! And that is not all. He is credited with introducing as many as 630 words to the English language. Did you know that the oft-used words such as “liturgical”, “debauchery”, “besottedly”, “unhealthily”, “padlock”, “dismissive”, “terrific”. “embellishing”, “fragrance”, “love-lorn” and “complacency” were created by the poet?

SERENDIPITY- BY HORACE WALPOLE

 Serendipity is one of the magical words in the English language. It refers to happy accidents, the fact of finding something interesting or valuable by chance. There is even a movie titled “Serendipity,” starring John Cusak. And we credit Horace Walpole for the word. He is said to have been inspired by a fairy tale called “The Three Princes of Serendip” and used the word and announced his coinage in one of his correspondence letters. He uses the word in a letter to his friend Horace Mann. Did you know that “serendip” was actually another name for Sri Lanka?

CHORTLE – BY LEWIS CARROLL

The man who wrote “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” gave us not just remarkable characters such as the Mad Hatter, Cheshire Cat or Alice but also new words. “Chortle” is one such word coined by the author. A word that means a kind of laugh which is a mix of a chuckle and snort, the word was used in the nonsense poem by the author Jabberwocky. “Galumphing” is another word from the poem that is also used in modern language that means “galloping in a triumphant manner. Another word invented by the author is “portmanteau word. The word portmanteau did exist already but the author created a portmanteau word which means a word made by joining two words. “Frabjous” is a word in the dictionary that has been coined by Carroll that means joyous. “Mimsy” is yet another word coined by him which means prim or underwhelming.

ALLIGATOR – BY SHAKESPEARE

Shakespeare has been credited with having invented hundreds of words by scholars. Let’s take a look at some of the words he came up with. Did you know that the word “alligator first appeared in Shakespeare’s “Romeo and Juliet? It is the anglicised version of the Spanish words ‘el lagarto’. Some other words include “arch-villain”, “green-eyed”, “dauntless”, “besmirch”, “lackluster”, “dwindle” and so on.

TWEEN – BY J.R.R. TOLKIEN

Tolkien gifted us Middle Earth, a fantastical universe with wizards, elves, dragons, dark lords, trolls, dwarves, orts, and so on. The fictional land has a fictional language too, containing many new words. His fictional works “The Hobbit” and “The Lord of the Rings” have many words coined by him. Did you know that ‘Hobbit’ was included in the Collins English Dictionary? It is defined as ‘one of an imaginary race of half-size people living in holes’. The word ‘orc’ was also made popular by him. Derived from the Italian word Orco, which means man-eating giant, the word orc was reimagined by him. ‘Tween’ is another word that we have borrowed from the author. The word is used to refer to a preteen, someone who is nearing teenage but who is not yet a teenager. The word was used by Tolkien to refer to the hobbit’s “irresponsible twenties”. ‘Mithril’ is yet another word. A fictional metal found in Tolkien’s Middle Earth, Mithril is also a popular word.

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Is there methane in clouds?

Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas that gets released into the atmosphere due to anthropological activities. It is responsible for about 30% of the Earth’s warming.

Methane clouds have been in the news recently with large plumes of methane being spotted over countries such as China, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and so on. The recent methane hotspots were attributed to waste sectors in these countries. And the scenario is alarming.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas and is responsible for about 30% of the Earth’s warming. According to scientists, the potent greenhouse gas has 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere. As such, reducing emissions of methane is one of the fastest ways to cool the planet.

Waste sector triggering methane clouds

A cloud of methane near a waste site in India was observed earlier this month. According to the satellite images taken, the methane plume is the result of the landfill in the country. The estimated emissions rate was 1.328 kg per hour of methane. These clouds of methane can cover vast areas and sometimes stretch for even 200 miles. All these observations were made through the satellite images released by the GHGSat, which is involved in high-resolution remote-sensing of greenhouse gas from space. Garbage and landfills can generate the potent greenhouse gas. This happens when organic material such as food waste breaks down in the absence of oxygen Landfills and wastewater are responsible for about 20% of the methane emissions generated from human activity. Not doing enough to stop these emissions can affect the global climate goals.

Sources of methane leak

Methane gets released into the atmosphere due to anthropological activities. It is also generated as a byproduct of oil and coal production and as part of agricultural activities. If not properly sealed, closed or abandoned coal mines can leak methane. This can go on for years.

Monitoring methane from space

Satellites can identify and track methane from anywhere, thereby aiding in tracking the methane footprint. This helps in climate transparency, bringing in accountability for countries and companies releasing methane. Greenhouse gases can be quantified and attributed in real-time. A total of 120 countries are part of the global methane pledge, which aims to cut the release of the gas by 30% by the end of this decade from the 2020 levels.

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Which is the largest diamond ever found?

The largest diamond that has ever been found is the Cullinan Diamond, and it weighed 3106.75 carats (621.35 g) at the time of its discovery. It was found in Cullinan of South Africa, in a mine called Premier No.2 on 26 January 1905. The diamond was named after the owner of the mine, Thomas Cullinan. But this gem was not sold for two years after it was put on sale in London on April 1905, and was later bought by the Transvaal Colony government in 1907. It was gifted to Edward VII, King of the United Kingdom, by the Prime Minister Louis Botha. The diamond was however cut by Joseph Asscher & Co. in Amsterdam based on the King’s liking.

Through the years, the Cullinan mine has produced stones of various cuts and sizes. Cullinanlor the Great Star of Africa, which is the largest clear cut diamond in the world, weighs 530.4 carats (106.08 g), and adorns the head of the British Sovereign’s Sceptre with Cross, which is a part of the Crown Jewels of the British monarch.

The second-largest diamondalso comes from Cullinan and is named Cullinan II or the Second Star of Africa, weighing 317.4 carats (63.48 g). It is mounted in the Imperial State Crown. The two of the largest diamonds are thus part of the British Crown Jewels. Seven other major diamonds, that is, total of 208.29 carats (41.66 g), were owned by Elizabeth II privately. She inherited them from her grandmother, Queen Mary, in 1953. Apart from these, the Queen also owned minor stones and a set of unpolished fragments from Cullinan.

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What conditions could help more parts of Earth host life?

Researchers find out an often overlooked key role played by the orbit of Jupiter on Earth.

Most planets have eccentric orbits. While circular orbits around a star would ensure that the distance between the star and the planet never changes, these eccentric orbits mean that the planets traverse around a star in an oval-shape. As a result, the planet would receive more heat when it goes closer to the star, affecting the planet’s climate.

Alternative solar system

Based on this knowledge and using detailed data from the solar system as we know it today, researchers from the University of California Riverside created an alternative solar system. In this hypothetical theoretical system, they were able to show that if Jupiter’s orbit were to become more eccentric, then it would lead to big changes in Earth’s orbit, thereby making the Earth more hospitable than it is currently.

This is because Jupiter in this theoretical system would push Earth’s orbit to be even more eccentric. As a result, parts of Earth would sometimes get closer to the sun. This would mean that even parts of Earth’s surface that are now sub-freezing will get warmer. In effect, the habitable range on the surface of the Earth would be increased.

Assumptions proven wrong

 The findings of this research, published in September in Astronomical Journal, go against two long-held scientific beliefs with respect to our solar system. One of these is that the current avatar of Earth is the best in terms of habitability. The second one is that changes to Jupiter’s orbit could only be bad for Earth.

Apart from upending these long-held assumptions, the researchers are looking to apply their findings in the search of exoplanets – habitable planets around other stars. While existing telescopes are adept at measuring a planet’s orbit, the same cannot be said about measuring a planet’s tilt towards or away from a star- another factor that could affect habitability.

The model developed in this research helps us better understand the impact of the biggest planet in our solar system, Jupiter, on Earth’s climate through time. Additionally, it also paves the way to find out how the movement of a giant planet is crucial in making predictions about habitability of planets in other systems.

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How Charles Goodyear’s discovery of the vulcanisation of rubber revolutionised the rubber industry?

In the early 1800s, American businessmen caught the ‘rubber fever. They imported tonnes of rubber from Brazil, hoping to reap riches by turning it into baggage and life preservers. What they didn’t realise was that rubber turned into a sticky mess in summer and became hard and brittle in winter.

Charles Goodyear, whose hardware store went bankrupt in 1830, became interested in turning rubber into a usable material. He experimented by mixing it with various chemicals like nitric acid and sulphur, but with limited success. Once while trying to sell his sulphur-improved rubber at a hardware store, Goodyear became agitated when the owner mocked his product. He gesticulated wildly and the piece of rubber flew from his hand onto a hot, open stove top. While scraping it off, he found that it had become hard yet flexible!

After more experiments, Goodyear finally perfected the process. Called ‘vulcanised’ rubber (from the Roman god of fire, Vulcan), it created untold wealth for the many entrepreneurs who used Goodyear’s idea without his consent, even though he had a patent. Goodyear himself died in 1860 heavily in debt because of fighting and losing many court battles. Much later, his family benefited from the royalties earned from his patent.

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