Booker Prize 2022

Why in News?

Geetanjali Shree’s novel Tomb of Sand has become the first book in an Indian language to win the International Booker Prize.

About the Book

– Originally published as Ret Samadhi in Hindi, the book has been translated into English by Daisy Rockwell.    – Tomb of Sand is set in northern India and narrates the journey of an 80-year-old woman, Ma, who suffers from depression following her husband’s death.
– She finally overcomes her depression and, much to her family’s consternation, wants to travel to Pakistan to confront the unresolved trauma of her teenage experiences of Partition.

About Booker Prize

– The Booker Prize is a literary prize awarded every year to the best novel written in the English language which is published in the UK or Ireland.
– It is a high-profile literary prize and thus, is much anticipated among book lovers.
– It is a mark of distinction for authors to be selected in the shortlist or even to be nominated for the “longlist”.

Green Hydrogen

In News: The union government plans to launch a comprehensive green hydrogen mission in two months to take forward the green hydrogen policy announced in February.

About Green Hydrogen

– A colourless, odourless, tasteless, non-toxic and highly combustible gaseous substance, hydrogen is the lightest, simplest and most abundant member of the family of chemical elements in the universe.
– But a colour green prefixed to it makes hydrogen the “fuel of the future”.                  – The ‘green’ depends on how the electricity is generated to obtain the hydrogen, which does not emit greenhouse gas when burned.
– Green hydrogen is produced through electrolysis using renewable sources of energy such as solar, wind or hydel power.      –India has just begun to generate green hydrogen with the objective of raising non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.
– On April 20, India’s first 99.99% pure green hydrogen pilot plant was set up in eastern Assam’s Duliajan.       – Green hydrogen can be stored for long periods of time. The stored hydrogen can be used to produce electricity using fuel cells.

India’s commitment

– India has just begun to generate green hydrogen with the objective of raising non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.
– Under the Paris Agreement (a legally binding international treaty on climate change with the goal of limiting global warming to below 2°C compared to pre-industrial levels) of 2015, India is committed to reducing its greenhouse gas emissions by 33-35% from the 2005 levels.
– At the 2021 Conference of Parties in Glasgow, India reiterated its commitment to move from a fossil and import-dependent economy to a net-zero economy by 2070.

National Hydrogen Mission

– The National Hydrogen Mission was launched on August 15, 2021, with a view to cutting down carbon emissions and increasing the use of renewable sources of energy.

Monkey Pox

In News: Cases of monkeypox – a rare, little-known disease – are being investigated in European countries including the UK, the US, Canada and Australia.

How common is monkeypox?

– Monkeypox is caused by the monkeypox virus, a member of the same family of viruses as smallpox, although it is much less severe and experts say chances of infection are low.
– Monkeypox can be spread when someone is in close contact with an infected person.
– The virus can enter the body through broken skin, the respiratory tract or through the eyes, nose or mouth.
– It can also be spread by contact with infected animals such as monkeys, rats and squirrels, or by virus-contaminated objects, such as bedding and clothing.

History of Monkey Pox Spread

– The virus was first identified in a captive monkey and since 1970 there have been sporadic outbreaks reported across 10 African countries.
– In 2003 there was an outbreak in the US, the first time it had been seen outside Africa.
– In 2017, Nigeria experienced the largest known outbreak. There were 172 suspected cases and 75% of victims were men between 21 and 40 years old.

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