Polity 

On Samsung workers’ right to unionise - The Hindu

The realisation of their fundamental right to form a registered trade union to collectively bargain for better terms of employment is at the heart of the protests by Samsung India workers’ at Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. They want to meet the South Korean giant on equal terms across the negotiating table to jointly frame a collective agreement regulating their work conditions.

World Affairs 

Jaishankar in Pakistan: Low expectations, some possibilities - Indian Express

In May 2023, Indian External Affairs Minister had described his then Pakistani counterpart Bilawal Bhutto Zardari as a “promoter, justifier, and a spokesperson of a terrorism industry, which is the mainstay of Pakistan”. Now hewill visit Islamabad for the SCO Council of Heads of Government meeting on October 15-16.

Strategic Focus

• China Challenge: Ongoing border standoff with China since May 2020 is a major concern for India.
• Jammu & Kashmir: Security remains fragile, especially with increased terror attacks in the Jammu region.

Shanghai Cooperation Organization  (SCO)

Economy 

Acemoglu, Johnson and Robinson share Nobel prize on Economics for work on wealth inequality - The Hindu

The Nobel prize in Economics was awarded to Turkish-American Daron Acemoglu and British-Americans Simon Johnson and James Robinson for research into wealth inequality between nations.

Key Contributions

• Focus: Explored how political and economic systems introduced by European colonisers affect societal institutions and prosperity.
• Key Insight: Highlighted the role of societal institutions in reducing income disparities between countries.
• Inclusive Institutions: Demonstrated that differences in political and economic institutions, not geography or culture, are critical in explaining prosperity gaps.

Environment 

Nagarjuna Sagar Srisailam Tiger Reserve tops in increase of leopard population - Indian Express 

According to the recently released ‘EnviStats India-2024’ report, the Nagarjuna Sagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR) in the Nallamala Forest has been ranked first among India’s 55 tiger reserves for its leopard population, with an estimated 360 leopards.

Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger Reserve (NSTR)

• Location: Nallamala hill ranges(an offshoot of the Eastern Ghats) of Andhra Pradesh.
• Area: Largest tiger reserve in the country with an area of 5937 sq. km.

• Significance: Has the largest tiger population in the Eastern Ghats.
• Naming: Named after two major dams in the area, Nagarjuna Sagar Dam and Srisailam Dam.
• Wildlife sanctuaries: Rajiv Gandhi Wildlife Sanctuary and Gundla Brahmeswaram Wildlife Sanctuary (GBM).
• River: River Krishna.  
• Vegetation: Tropical dry deciduous forests with bamboo and grass.
• Flora: Andrographis nallamalayana, Eriolaena lushingtonii, Crotalaria madurensis Var, Dicliptera beddomei, and Premna hamiltonii.
• Fauna: Tiger, Leopard, Wolf, Wild Dog, Jackal, Sambar, Chital, Chowsingha, Chinkara, Mouse Deer, Wild boar, Porcupine, Muggers, Otters and Turtles.

Sci and Tech 

Haber-Bosch process - The Hindu

A hundred million tonnes of nitrogen are now removed from the atmosphere and converted into fertilizer via the Haber-Bosch process, adding 165 million tonnes of reactive nitrogen to the soil. To compare, biological processes replenish an estimated 100-140 million tonnes of reactive nitrogen every year. Without the industrial synthesis of ammonia from nitrogen and hydrogen, we would have had no way to meet the world’s expanding demand for food.

Nitrogen molecule

• Nitrates: Molecules of oxygen and nitrogen, abundant in the earth’s atmosphere. 
• Nitrogen in nature: Among natural things, only lightning has enough energy to destroy the N2 triple bond. In a lightning bolt, nitrogen in the air combines with oxygen to generate nitrogen oxides such as NO and NO2. They can then combine with water vapour to create nitric and nitrous acids. 
• Metabolic process by Azotobacter bacteria: Some microorganisms like Rhizobia have developed symbiotic relationships with legume plants (clover, peas, beans, alfalfa, and acacia) to provide reactive nitrogen in exchange for nutrition. 
• Azolla: A species of aquatic fern with a symbiotic association with the cyanobacterium Anabaena azollae, can absorb and convert nitrogen from the air to reactive nitrogen, so dried and decaying Azolla is an effective fertilizer for farmland.

Haber-Bosch process

• About: In it, hydrogen and nitrogen are reacted together at high temperatures and pressures to produce ammonia, NH3.
• Significance: 
  • It allowed industries to develop cheap synthetic fertilizers, which was a critical component in the sevenfold rise in the world’s food supply during the 20th century. 
  • According to one estimate, one-third of the world’s population —around two billion people — would be without food if the Haber process for nitrogen fixation did not exist.

Why SpaceX'catching' Starship booster with robotic arms is significant - Indian Express

A pair of giant robotic arms caught the more than 70-metre-long first stage booster of SpaceX’s Starship on Sunday, bringing Elon Musk’s company a step closer to its goal of building a fully and rapidly reusable rocket system.