Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT)

• Securities Appellate Tribunal is a statutory body established under the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.
• It works to hear and dispose of appeals against orders passed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India or by an adjudicating officer under the Act.
• It also works to exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred on the Tribunal by or under this Act or any other law for the time being in force.
• It works under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance & has only one bench which sits at Mumbai.
• It has the same powers as vested in a civil court & if any person feels aggrieved by SAT’s decision or order can appeal to the Supreme Court.

Hybrid Immunity

• It is a combination of both natural immunity from an infection and the immunity provided by the vaccine.
• The advantage from hybrid immunity arises mostly from memory B cells (MBC).
• MBC is a type of B lymphocyte that forms part of the adaptive immune system.
• B lymphocytes are the cells the immune system that make antibodies to invade pathogens like viruses.
• While the bulk of antibodies after infection or vaccination decline after a short while, the memory B cells get triggered on subsequent infection or vaccination.
• Unlike after vaccination, the memory B cells formed after natural infection are more likely to make antibodies that block immune-evading variants.

Euthanasia and Living Will

• Euthanasia refers to the practice of an individual deliberately ending their life, oftentimes to get relief from an incurable condition, or intolerable pain and suffering.
• Euthanasia, which can be administered only by a physician, can be either ‘active’ or ‘passive’.
• Active euthanasia involves an active intervention to end a person’s life with substances or external force, such as administering a lethal injection.
• Passive euthanasia refers to withdrawing life support or treatment that is essential to keep a terminally ill person alive.
• Passive euthanasia was legalised in India by the Supreme Court in 2018, contingent upon the person having a ‘living will’.
• Living will is a written document that specifies what actions should be taken if the person is unable to make their own medical decisions in the future.
• In case a person does not have a living will, members of their family can make a plea before the High Court to seek permission for passive euthanasia.
• In India only passive euthanasia is permitted.

Different countries, different laws

• Netherlands, Luxembourg, Belgium allow both euthanasia and assisted suicide for anyone who faces “unbearable suffering” that has no chance of improvement.
• Switzerland bans euthanasia but allows assisted dying in the presence of a doctor or physician.
• Canada had announced that euthanasia and assisted dying would be allowed for mentally ill patients by March 2023; however, the decision has been widely criticised, and the move may be delayed.
• United States has different laws in different states. Euthanasia is allowed in some states like Washington, Oregon, and Montana.
• United Kingdom considers it illegal and equivalent to manslaughter.

Sovereign Green Bonds (SGB)

• Green bonds are bonds issued by any sovereign entity, inter-governmental groups or alliances and corporates with the aim that the proceeds of the bonds are utilised for projects classified as environmentally sustainable.
• The RBI issues SGB in India and will be auctioning two green bonds with tenures of 5 and 10 years, worth Rs 4,000 crore each.
• Green Bonds offer investors a platform to engage in good practices, influencing the business strategy of bond issuers.
• They provide a means to hedge against climate change risks while achieving at least similar, if not better, returns on their investment.
• In this way, the growth in Green Bonds and green finance also indirectly works to disincentives high carbon-emitting projects, as per the IFC.
• In renewable energy, investments will be made in solar, wind, biomass and hydropower energy projects.
• SGrB may carry lower interest rate than that for regular government borrowings.
• India is set to issue its first green bond at a “Greenium”.
• Greenium refers to the bonds with yields below prevailing market rates.

Kelp Forests

• Kelp is a brown algae that grow as large coastal seaweeds in colder seas.
• Kelps provide critical habitat and are an important food source for a wide range of coastal organisms, including many fish and invertebrates.
• In ideal conditions, kelp can grow up to 18 inches per day, and in stark contrast to the colourful and slow-growing corals, the giant kelp canopies tower above the ocean floor.
• Like trees in a forest, these giant algae provide food and shelter for many organisms.
• Also like a terrestrial forest, kelp forests experience seasonal changes.
• Storms and large weather events, like El Niño, can tear and dislodge the kelp, leaving a tattered winter forest to begin its growth again each spring.
• Kelp forests can be seen along much of the west coast of North America. Kelp are large brown algae that live in cool, relatively shallow waters close to the shore.
• They grow in dense groupings much like a forest on land.