UPSC Weekly Concepts Snapshot: Why are ballistic missile defence, new WPI series and ‘brain-eating amoeba’ in the news?

SCIENCE

Ballistic missile defence 

Core Concept: 

— The DRDO, on June 10 and 11, conducted three consecutive flight tests to demonstrate multi-layered defence against long-range ballistic missiles and anti-ship capability at medium range, the Defence Ministry said in a statement. 

— The Multi-layered BMD capability was successfully demonstrated during the tests, which were conducted on June 10 and 11. “The interceptors successfully engaged their respective targets. The systems are designed and developed with the latest technologies to address the emerging missile threats,” it said.

— Ballistic missile defense systems seek to defend against an attack by launching interceptors that would hit incoming missiles and destroy them on impact.

— Generally, BMD systems employ a multi-layered defence architecture, enabling interception both outside the Earth’s atmosphere (exo-atmospheric) and within the atmosphere (endo-atmospheric).

— Intercepting ballistic missiles involves four steps:

(i) Detection of the incoming missile (using radar and/or satellites)

(ii) Discrimination (distinguishing the missile or warhead from accompanying debris, decoys and other countermeasures)

(iii) Fire control (predicting the target location and guiding the interceptor)

(iv) Killing (hitting the missile or warhead with the interceptor)

📍UPSC Twist Points: Ballistic missiles vs Cruise missiles 

— Ballistic missiles use projectile motion to deliver warheads to a target. They are powered for a relatively brief time, after which they let the laws of physics take them to their target. 

— These missiles are categorised based on range. Ballistic missiles can carry either nuclear or conventional warheads. Examples of ballistic missiles are Agni I, Agni II, Prithvi I, Prithvi II and Dhanush missiles. 

— Cruise missiles are unmanned vehicles powered by jet engines that can be launched from ground, air, or sea platforms. Examples of cruise missiles are BrahMos, Tomahawk, Kalibr, AGM-86 ALCM and JASSM. The cruise missiles fly at a low distance from the ground while the ballistic missiles follow a parabolic trajectory. 

ECONOMY

New Series of Wholesale Price Index

Core Concept: 

— The WPI measures the price changes in the wholesale market. Say, for example, the price of a commodity (such as onions) would vary depending on the fact that it is bought from the wholesale market or retail market.  

— While inflation based on the Consumer Price Index (CPI) is the most widely considered measure of price increases in the country for households and used by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to decide interest rates, the WPI is crucial too and used in price escalation clauses in the supply of raw materials, machinery, and construction work. 

— For example, in long-term sales and purchase contracts, WPI inflation is used by companies as an indexing tool to adjust terms to account for changes in prices in the future. 

— Major changes in the new WPI series (Base Year 2022-23)

(i) Increased number of Items: In the new WPI series, the total number of items have increased from 697 to 957.

(ii) Inclusion of new sources of energy under Electricity: New sources of energy, such as Solar and Wind, have been added under ‘Electricity’ Group. Nuclear Electricity also has been included in the basket.

(iii) Restructuring for tracking Energy Prices: Crude petroleum and natural gas have been shifted from ‘Primary Articles’ to the ‘Fuel and Power’ major group, which already includes other major fuels, such as coal, electricity, and petroleum products.

(iv) Improved methodology: Gross Value of Output (GVO) has been used for preparing weights for WPI 2022-23 series, compared to Net Traded Value i.e. GVO + Imports – Exports, used in WPI 2011-12 series. 

📍UPSC Twist Points– India’s new CPI series

— The CPI measures the price changes in the retail market (maximum retail prices{MRP}, inclusive of taxes). A key difference that must not be missed is that the WPI does not take into account the change in prices of services — say a haircut or a banking transaction. But CPI does. 

— The MoSPI has also released the new Consumer Price Index (CPI) with the updated base year 2024. The newest CPI reconstitutes the consumption basket based on the results of the 2023-24 Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES), so that prices are measured as per the latest consumption patterns and not the 2011-12 survey.

— CPI 2024 uses the latest classification system developed by the United Nations Statistics Division. 

— The 2024 series has replaced the earlier structure comprising six broad groups—Food and beverages, Pan, tobacco and intoxicants, Clothing and footwear, Housing, Fuel and light, and Miscellaneous (services such as education, health care etc.).

— In CPI 2024, a basket of 358 goods and services is there which is more than 59 goods and services of the erstwhile basket. The expenditure is classified into 12 divisions at the first level, 43 groups, 92 classes, 162 subclasses, enabling, and 358 items at the last level of hierarchy. It has included rural house rent for the first time to improve coverage of rural housing consumption.

ENVIRONMENT

Brain-eating amoeba (Naegleria fowleri)

Core Concept: 

— Naegleria is an amoeba, a single-celled organism, and only one of its species, called Naegleria fowleri, can infect humans, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is a free-living amoeba and was first discovered in Australia in 1965. 

— Naegleria fowleri lives in warm fresh water, such as lakes and rivers, swimming pools, splash pads, surf parks, or other recreational venues that are poorly maintained or minimally chlorinated.

— The amoeba infects people when it enters the body through the nose, usually when people are swimming. It then travels up to the brain, where it destroys the brain tissue and causes a primary amebic meningoencephalitis.

— Interestingly, people cannot get infected with Naegleria fowleri from drinking water contaminated with the amoeba. Scientists haven’t found any evidence of the spreading of Naegleria fowleri through water vapour or aerosol droplets. 

— According to the CDC, with the rising global temperatures, the chances of getting Naegleria fowleri infection will go up as the amoeba mainly thrives in warm freshwater bodies. The organism best grows in high temperatures up to 46°C and sometimes can survive at even higher temperatures.

— Various recent studies have also found that excess atmospheric carbon dioxide has led to an increase in the temperature of lakes and rivers. According to the CDC website, “These conditions provide a more favourable environment for the amoeba to grow. Heat waves, when air and water temperatures may be higher than usual, may also allow the amoeba to thrive,”.

📍UPSC Twist Points– PAM vs GAE

— A major chunk of the cases, according to the health department, are granulomatous amoebic encephalitis (GAE), caused by Acanthamoeba, a free-living amoeba found mainly in contaminated water. Whereas Primary Amoebic Meningoencephalitis (PAM) is caused by Naegleria fowleri. 

— PAM has a global fatality rate of 97 per cent but GAE has a better survival rate. 

Prelims Practice MCQ

Let’s see how much can you recall

Consider the following statements:

1. Ballistic Missile Defence  systems can intercept incoming ballistic missiles both within and outside the Earth’s atmosphere.

2. The Wholesale Price Index captures changes in the prices of both goods and services at the wholesale level.

3. Naegleria fowleri infects humans primarily when contaminated water enters the body through the nose.

How many of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) Only One

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Answer Key

(b)

ALSO CHECK

UPSC Prelims Weekly Snapshot: GPS interference, RBI’s Monetary Policy, Heatwaves

UPSC Prelims Weekly Snapshot: Dimethyl Ether, CPI overhaul, Tar Balls 

UPSC Prelims Weekly Snapshot : Induction cooktop, Forex reserve, and Earth’s energy imbalance 

UPSC Prelims Weekly Snapshot: Talking cars, GDP rebasing and Nor’westers — quick look 

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