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There are many innings.Don’t forget to tell in comments which is your favorite.This is not a rating. The list is subjective and innings are arranged in chronological order of their occurance.59 vs Pakistan, Faisalabad, 1989Up until Shafali Verma this past week, the record for youngest Indian to score a half-century in international cricket belonged to Tendulkar. That record was set in 1989 in what was Sachin's maiden Test series when he was all of 16 years and 214 days old. “I was nervous and didn’t know what was going on around me. I thought it was a school game going on and I batted as if it was one. I can never forget that moment as I felt that was the first and the last Test match of my career," Tendulkar told ESPN on what he felt at the time.First brush with destiny: A teenaged Sachin Tendulkar gave ample glimpse of his potential on his maiden international tour in 1989. File Image/GettyAfter an unsavoury opening Test, Tendulkar and the rest of the party moved to Faisalabad for the second match and were put in to bat. Wasim Akram took three wickets and Saleem Jaffer got rid of Ravi Shastri to reduce India to 101/4. This brought out Tendulkar to the middle to partner fellow Mumbai batsman Sanjay Manjrekar.They kept the Pakistan bowling attack at bay for the remainder of the day's place to see Manjrekar walk back on 58, Tendulkar on 35 and India 200/4.Next day, Tendulkar and Manjrekar picked up from where they left off. They played sensibly and with patience to keep Pakistan bowlers toiling until Tendulkar was dismissed leg before by Imran Khan on 59 from 172 balls with four boundaries. The stand was thus broken at 143 runs.The inning is important for multiple reasons. Tendulkar had batted against his usual technique of going into attack but was patient in how he got his runs. At all of 16, Sachin had shown tremendous maturity to face a legendary Pakistan bowling attack, in Pakistan, and made them work for his wicket. But most pivotal was that the shackles were off for what was to come in the future.119* vs England, Manchester, 1990Right when he started playing school cricket in Mumbai, the general consensus was that the kid is special. After making his debut as a 16-year-old against Pakistan and then scoring two half-centuries against a tough bowling attack in the series, Tendulkar gave a glimpse of his talent, grit and determination that would later define his cricketing career.But back in 1990, the jury was still out whether he could be consistent with his scores. He was yet to score an international hundred, and the tour of England was seen as a perfect test for the teenager. It was the second Test at Manchester. India were batting second and Tendulkar played a good knock – 68– in the first innings. But it was in the final innings of the match, when India were batting to save the Test that we saw Tendulkar answering all the questions his critics posed to him. A match-saving 119-run knock followed. Those glorious cover-drives on the back-foot, the rising toes and the punch to the ball. Tendulkar showed he didn't just belong to international cricket, he was meant to thrive in it.114 vs Australia, Perth, 1992Throughout Tendulkar’s illustrious 24-year career, plenty of times it appeared as if he was batting on a completely different surface than his teammates and at times even his opponents. However, no better innings to vindicate the recital than the magnificent 114 on the parched Perth pitch in 1992.Meeting fire with fire: Tendulkar's ton in Perth confirmed his credentials as a special batsman. File/ GettyHeading into the last Test of what had been an arduous tour Down Under, with India trailing the five-match series 0-3, there couldn’t have been a more daunting task for the jaded tourists, but only for the fastest surface in the world to be laid out. The famed WACA cracks, symbolising the chasm between the two sides, had started to widen with pacemen Craig McDermott, Merv Hughes, Paul Reiffel and Mike Whitney all gung ho to blow India away. They were largely successful but for an 18-year-old man-child to play a once-in-a-lifetime innings. Many who saw it believe that it was Tendulkar’s finest.111 vs South Africa, Johannesburg, 1992At times, it can be easy to forget just how prodigious a talent Sachin Tendulkar was. Aged 19, he already had three Test centuries to his name heading into a 1992 series against South Africa on foreign soil. The first match of that series was drawn, with Tendulkar having scored just 11 runs, and the second began with South Africa scoring 292 runs.Tendulkar came in to bat at 27/2 in India’s first innings, after the opening pair of Ravi Shastri and Ajay Jadeja had departed for scores of 7 and 14 respectively. The bowling attack he was up against at the time was spearheaded by Allan Donald, whose blistering pace earned him the moniker of ‘White Lightning,’ and rounded out by Brian McMillan and Craig Matthews, who were no slouches themselves.While the rest of his teammates buckled under pressure, Tendulkar took the match in his own hands, scoring a measured 111 in 270 balls. The next highest run-getter in that innings was Kapil Dev, who scored just 25 runs. The match eventually ended in a draw, but had Tendulkar not shown such poise and composure, it would almost certainly have resulted in defeat.104 vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 1993After 1986 Test series win in England and the retirement of Sunil Gavaskar in the subsequent year, India went through a lull in terms of winning an overseas Test. Tendulkar’s schoolmate Vinod Kambli scored a century in the first innings which helped India post a competitive 366.Navjot Singh Sidhu and Tendulkar notched fabulous hundreds to set Lanka an improbable 472 runs to win at the Singhalese Sports Club. Tendulkar drove, cut and hooked with elan and brute, compiling a memorable ton that saw India record their first Test win on foreign soil in seven years and gave them their maiden triumph against Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka.165 vs England, Chennai 1993A young Sachin Tendulkar walked in to bat at No 4 for India in the first innings of the second Test as his first 150-plus score in Tests awaited him in Chennai against England. Tendulkar enjoyed batting against England and at Chepauk as well, where he went on to score five Test tons. He, particularly, relished the English spin trio of Phil Tufnell, Ian Salisbury, and Graeme Hick, driving, cutting, pulling them for runs. His innings included 24 fours and 1 six, scoring 102 runs just in boundaries. Navjot Singh Sidhu stroked a brilliant century as well, and India declared innings at 560/6. It was enough to make England bat twice and yet they fell short by 22 runs. India registered an innings victory and went on to clean sweep the three-match series.82 vs New Zealand, Auckland, 1994The innings that marked the anointment of Sachin Tendulkar as ODI cricket’s opener extraordinaire. Replacing an injured Navjot Singh Sidhu, Tendulkar bossed his way to 82 runs off just 49 balls (reminding for impact: the year was 1994) and made the position his own.The knock was a display of unadulterated, unabashed strokeplay which at times flirted with incredulity. The home side struggled their way to 142 in the first innings at Eden Park, suggesting it was a difficult surface to bat on, but only for Tendulkar to come out and bust the myth in no time. The 21-year-old threw caution to the wind to carve out one of the greatest — and defining — individual performances in 50-over cricket.90 vs Australia, Mumbai, 1996If there is any sub-100 innings that could rival Tendulkar’s bludgeoning 98 against Pakistan, it is the combative 90 he doled out against Australia during the 1996 World Cup.India were 6 for 2 after seven overs, but before the end of 11th over, India’s scoreboard read 50, with Tendulkar unbeaten on 41 off 35 balls. To dislodge McGrath off his rhythm was important before the metronomic pacer could dictate terms. His first three overs were maidens, and next five produced 48 runs, including a 14-run over that comprised an outworldly pick-up shot that went over wide long on, almost cow corner, as the champion batsman launched a thunderous counter-attack.118 vs Pakistan, Sharjah 1996Sachin Tendulkar was hungry for runs in this match after having scored just 1 and 2 in the first two games of Sharjah Cup against Pakistan and South Africa. India desperately wanted their talisman back in form to stay alive in the tournament.Tendulkar began slowly after the loss of his opening partner Vikram Rathour but soon came into his own, smashing Waqar Younis and Aaqib Javed at will. He dealt with pacers with authority and kept on scoring on the leg side, in particular, with flicks and cross-batted strokes going for maximums and boundaries to deep mid-wicket and long on. Coupled with Navjot Singh Sidhu's ton, Tendulkar's 118 took India to 305/5 at the end of 50 overs, their first 300-plus total in one-day cricket. India went on to win the match by 28 runs.169 vs South Africa, Cape Town, 1997A knock that came during Sachin Tendulkar’s ill-fated spell as India captain, this 169 is often mentioned whilst discussing the Indian batsman’s greatest innings. India had begun this series as they began many series in that troubled spell, which was with a heavy defeat. The second Test looked likely to add insult to injury, when South Africa batted first and scored a whopping 529/7 before declaring.Tendulkar’s century came at a time when his side were desperately in need of rescue, with three wickets having fallen for a paltry total of 25 runs during their first innings.After Tendulkar’s introduction, two more wickets would fall before the establishment of a secure partnership with the arrival of Mohammad Azharuddin. The pair put together 222 runs, a valiant effort that would ultimately go in vain as India crumbled in the second innings, losing the match by 282 runs.That series was a low point of Tendulkar’s captaincy, but despite his perceived failures as a leader, it did serve to highlight what has always been his greatest strength: Scoring runs with effortless grace.​155* vs Australia, Chennai, 1998Another ton against Australia, another epic in Chennai. The series was billed as a Sachin Tendulkar vs Shane Warne showdown — this was the ace leg-spinner’s first Test tour to India. Tendulkar fired the warning shots with a brutal unbeaten 192-ball 204 as then Ranji champions Mumbai sank Australia in the practice match. Days later, he tore into Warne in Chennai heat.In the first innings, Tendulkar walked in at a comfortable 126/2, but Warne sent him back for just four runs. In the next essay, with Australia leading by 71 runs, the Little Master went into a shot-making overdrive. He completed his fifty before lunch, and when Warne came round the wicket post-lunch, Tendulkar was ready.The story of Tendulkar summoning former India leg-spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan in Mumbai nets to bowl him around the wicket and into the custom-made rough near the leg stump is now a part of cricketing lore. Tendulkar took guard outside the leg stump, and welcomed Warne with a slog sweep – from the rough. The floodgates fell through.Warne kept pitching the ball in the rough, hoping for one mistimed shot or a top-edge, and Tendulkar kept sweeping him against the turn and from the rough. He peppered the region between long on and deep square leg with an incredible array of slog sweeps, and the carnage ended only with Mohammed Azharuddin’s declaration. India’s run rate read 3.9, and Tendulkar’s unbeaten masterclass had come at a strike rate of 81.15.On a pitch where 28 of the 34 wickets went to spinners, Tendulkar’s nimble footwork and brute strength stood out for posterity.143 vs Australia, Sharjah, 1998When annus mirabilis witnessed a classic pièce de résistance. Seldom before and rarely after did Tendulkar appear as dominant and as hell-bent on stamping his excellence. Chasing Australia’s 284/7 – and 237 in 46 overs to qualify for the final – Tendulkar took it upon himself to single-handedly decimate an Aussie attack featuring Damien Fleming, Michael Kasprowicz, and Shane Warne. The match was played in stifling April heat of Sharjah, and years later, Tendulkar remembered heat seeping through his shoes in extreme playing conditions.Desert Storm: Sachin Tendulkar tore into Shane Warne to carve arguably his finest ODI hundred. File/ AFPOn the crease though, it hardly seemed to matter. He started staidly, but broke into an insane mayhem when match started after a desert storm. There were no celebrations when he crossed his 50, or reached his ton; he had entered the rarified space athletes refer to as ‘zone.’ Some of the straight sixes hit off the Aussie pacers would become stuff of legends, going on to inspire a certain Virat Kohli. India ultimately failed to win that match, but qualified for the final and win it a day later, backed by another Tendulkar ton. Arguably Tendulkar’s finest international ton that year – and he scored 12 of those in 12 months.186 vs New Zealand, Hyderabad, 1999On one of the instances when the 200-run barrier was nearly breached back in the 1990s, the Master Blaster hunted the Kiwis down at Hyderabad’s Lal Bahadur Shastri Stadium in the second one-dayer to help India level the five-match series after the first ODI was lost by 43 runs.New Zealand had a sniff after Sourav Ganguly was run-out for just 4, but the 337-run partnership between Tendulkar and Dravid — the highest partnership for any wicket in ODI cricket until 2015 — virtually ended their hopes of going 2-0 up in the series.Tendulkar dazzled the spectators with a 150-ball 186 — his highest ODI score for the next 11 years — that contained 20 fours and three sixes. It was a decimation of a scale that was rarely seen in an era in which runs still came at a premium, and Tendulkar, who had been enjoying a brilliant run with the bat that year, gave fans another display of the incredible talent that made him the icon he was.136 vs Pakistan, Chennai, 1999The stakes were high as this was India vs Pakistan in whites and India needed a tricky total to chase on Day 4 and 5 of the Chennai Test. The hallmark of this innings was Sachin Tendulkar's back foot play, especially against Saqlain Mushtaq. Whenever Saqlain pitched short, Tendulkar went back and across to hit him over mid-wicket for runs. Whenever Saqlain went fuller, he was swept.Tragi-classic: Fighting back spasms and a potent Pakistan attack, Tendulkar carved an epic 136 in Chennai, albeit for a losing cause. File/AFPOn 90, Tendulkar got a reprieve from wicketkeeper Moin Khan who made a mess of a stumping chance. Tendulkar reached his 100 soon but back spasms returned to haunt him. He soldiered on, but the pain was to show its effect soon.On 136, Tendulkar tried to hit Saqlain over long on but got a leading edge and was caught. The then India head coach Anshuman Gaekwad later said that Tendulkar buried his head in a towel and wept inconsolably as the tail folded without any fight. India fell short by 12 runs, making the innings a piece of tragic mastery.140* vs Kenya, Bristol, 1999A century that came during the "most difficult stage" of Tendulkar's life. And that is what makes it difficult to summarise it in a few words. India needed a win to stay alive in 1999 World Cup but Tendulkar's participation was not even guaranteed as his father had passed away a few days back.Tendulkar had returned to India after the sad news and joined the team only on her mother's insistence. The loved son gave a perfect tribute to his late father and a helping hand to his struggling team. He slammed 140* off 101 balls, in an innings that was studded with glorious shots driven with passion and resolve, as India went on to register a 94-run victory. He was also adjudged the Man of the Match. But the most memorable moment from that innings was his nod towards the heaven, seemingly at his late father, after reaching the century mark. It made a million hearts heavy and proud!38 vs Australia, Nairobi, 2000In a career that has seen multiple iconic knocks and big figures, also stands out an inning of just 38 runs. But this Tendulkar knock would be remembered for the even battle between bat and ball — a rarity these days — where Australia's Glenn McGrath faced up to Tendulkar in Nairobi during the ICC KnockOut, as the Champions Trophy was called back then.Bar a lucky edge which flew over the third man fielder, Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly had made a cagey start — in part due to the perfect line bowled by seam duo of McGrath and Brett Lee. The shackles came off in the fourth over when Tendulkar came down the track and thumped McGrath for a massive six over his head. Next ball, the process was the same but the result was a boundary. On the follow-through, Tendulkar nodded back to McGrath as if to suggest he was there for the challenge and wasn't going to buckle down.The Aussie seamer’s frustration only grew on the next delivery when a misfield turned a dot ball into a double. The over closed out with Tendulkar letting the ball pass outside his off stump.What followed, however, was the rarity in Tendulkar's glittering career. Not one to sledge opponents, or at least not blatantly, Tendulkar mouthed a fair share of F-words to McGrath as the Aussie legend cupped his ears.In a short inning — 38 from 37 balls — arguably the best shot arrived in the seventh over. A short ball by McGrath was bowled on the leg stump and it gave Tendulkar the leverge to hook it over the long leg boundary for a six — his third of the innings.The tussle between Tendulkar and McGrath saw multiple unorthodox shots from the willow of the Master Blaster, but in the 11th over, there was the trademark drive on the up to send the ball running to the boundary rope. His stay in the middle was brought to an end by Lee when Tendulkar's slash only found Damien Martyn in the slips.It may not have been the most important innings Tendulkar would have played but it was definitely one of the most entertaining ones — in part due to the rivalry he shared with Australia and McGrath.155 vs South Africa, Bloemfontein, 2001India have always found it tough cracking the South African pace attack in their backyard, both due to their difficulty to adapt to the seam-friendly surfaces there as well as the Proteas pace factory producing match-winners on a consistent basis. No wonder, winning a Test series in South Africa is still something of a ‘Final Frontier’ for Team India.India had earlier been outplayed by South Africa in the ODI tri-series final, and the visiting side were hoping to put up a better show in the Tests. Pollock and Co. elected to field and seized control early on the game by reducing the tourists to 68/4. Had it not been for the rescue effort mounted by Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag, who made his Test debut in that match, the Test might have finished well within three days.Instead, the two diminutive batsmen took on the five-pronged seam-attack.Sachin began counter-attacking towards the end of the turbulent first session, and eventually got the better of the opposition for the remainder of the day, until he finally got dismissed off Makhaya Ntini’s bowling for 155. He did however, become only the second Indian batsman to cross 7,000 Test runs. India put up a challenging first innings total of 379, which eventually got overshadowed by South Africa’s brilliance as they went 1-0 up in the series with a nine-wicket win.117 vs West Indies, Port of Spain, 2002Indian cricket witnessed a steady growth after Sourav Ganguly was appointed the new captain in the wake of the match-fixing scandal, and the team under the ‘Prince of Calcutta’ was beginning to turn things around, especially when it came to overseas tours.Their victory in the second Test at Port-of-Spain in their 2002 tour of the West Indies gave Ganguly and Co the series lead and real hope of winning their first Test series in the Caribbean in over three decades. Except none of that might have happened had Tendulkar, not without solid support at the other end, not stood between the West Indian bowling and a first innings collapse.India lost their openers early after being put in to bat by the hosts — whose four-prong seam attack kept the visitors under check early on. Tendulkar survived a few early jitters, and began grinding the Windies attack, building a 124-run stand for the third wicket with Rahul Dravid (67) to bring India back on track.The visitors posted 339, collected a 94-run first innings lead which eventually led to a 37-run victory despite some fightback from the hosts in the latter half of the Test.193 vs England, Leeds, 2002The Headingley Test in 2002 was one where India looked in complete control right from the word go. History was scripted as India beat England in their own backyard after a hiatus of 16 years.Apart from the side, in general, if there was an individual who made sure that the Test was a memorable one, it was Sachin Tendulkar.The ‘Master Blaster’ had a tryst with the record books as he overtook the legendary Donald Bradman with his 30th Test century.Although Tendulkar had good support at the other end from Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly (both of whom also scored tons), he made batting look ridiculously easy. That too, on a greenish pitch with overcast conditions, just the way the English seamers would have liked.Tendulkar, who was also India’s top run-scorer in the Test, looked at his vintage best. Be it the cover drive, straight drive, sweep, short arm pull or even the meaty blows that sailed over the rope – the genius gave a glimpse of all the possible shots in his armoury.While he was unlucky to have missed out on a double ton, his 193 ensured that India batted the hosts out of the match.Ultimately, the visitors put up a massive total of 628/8 declared. This was followed by a clinical performance from the bowlers, who took 20 wickets and handed England a defeat by an innings and 46 runs.98 vs Pakistan, Centurion, 2003It had to be there, isn’t it? 98 off 75. India vs Pakistan. World Cup. True, India had won each of their encounters against Pakistan at the World Cups (the record stands at 7-0 in 50-over World Cups, as of now), but sport seldom rests on statistics alone. In pre-IPL days, a chase of 274 runs in 50 overs was still a tall order, more so when the opposition had an assembly line of pace merchants. Pakistan seldom lost when one of Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis, or Shoiab Akhtar had his day, and more often than not, they did.India had their assembly line too – of world-class batsmen. Sachin Tendulkar, Virender Sehwag, Sourav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, and Yuvraj Singh are all legends of the game, but it was always one man who gave hope to a billion-plus nation. The match was billed as Indian batting versus Pakistani bowling, and Tendulkar owned the stage on that sunny afternoon of 1 March, 2003.He started with a delectable backfoot punch of Akram, and in the next over, tore into Akhtar. In one hop and swing of the blade, Tendulkar exorcised the ghosts of Javed Miandad’s last-ball six of 1986. A generation rejoiced, a generation hoped. An incredible flick was followed by a divine straight drive, the ball leaving Tendulkar’s blade in a blaze of white speck. Tendulkar feasted on the Pakistani attack, cutting, driving, and sweeping with ruthless authority until a bout of cramps pegged him back. Akhtar’s brutal bouncer stopped him two short of what would have been the best of his 100 international hundreds, but, what the hell! An innings to savour.241* vs Australia, Sydney, 2004Tendulkar had not crossed 44 in his five previous innings, and in two of those attempts, he was dismissed without scoring. The Tendulkar-Australia love affair had gone sour, or was it? Sourav Ganguly’s best chance to win a Test series in Australia hinged on the outcome of the fourth Test in Sydney, and Tendulkar chose his moment to rise.Bit by bit, the rust of Brisbane, Adelaide, and Melbourne was scrapped off, but even more startling was the bloody-mindedness to not play a single cover drive. A knock without a single cover drive, and still good enough to accumulate 241 chanceless runs must be something. It was. He remained unbeaten after a 433-ball epic, and added another undefeated 60 in the second innings to finish the Test with 301 runs. The win, though, eluded India as Steve Waugh typically dug his heels in what was his last Test.141 vs Pakistan, Rawalpindi, 2004On one of those days when most of the Indian batsmen failed to convert starts into a big innings, Sachin Tendulkar towered above everyone and carved a ton that is remembered to the day. And despite ending on the losing side, crossing the 13,000-run-mark in ODIs was a personal achievement for him.Chasing Pakistan's 329/6, Tendulkar composed a fearless knock and was hardly troubled in his 135-ball stay.He hardly made any errors during the knock, correctly picking the line and length of the likes of Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami. Tendulkar was dismissed with India's score reading 245/4. The rest of the batting crumbled after his departure, and the visitors lost six wickets for 72 runs, being bundled out for 317 and losing the match by 12 runs.55 vs Australia, Mumbai, 2004It wasn't a double century or a century and that's probably the reason it's not talked about much. But that knock of 55 in the second innings of the Wankhede Test against Australia remains one of Tendulkar's most underrated knocks. It came during at a time when he was going through probably the toughest phase of his life. The form had dipped and the tennis elbow would not let him sleep. After being out for two and a half months, Tendulkar made a comeback in the Nagpur Test during the 2004 series against AustraliaHaving lost the series 2-0, India were bowled out for 104 in the first innings and Australia took a 99-run lead. India lost Gambhir and Sehwag in the first six overs. Tendulkar then joined Laxman at the crease, and on a minefield, unfurled a series of flicks, cuts and lofts.Jason Gillespie was hit for four fours, including three in an over. He also hit Nathan Hauritz for two fours and a six. That six was special, as it was his first in Test cricket in two years. On 55, Sachin top-edged a slog sweep off Hauritz and he walked off to a standing ovation. This was the vibrant and vintage Tendulkar that the cricketing world knew.109 vs Sri Lanka, New Delhi, 2005On 10 December, 2005, Sachin Tendulkar scripted history at Delhi’s Feroz Shah Kotla as he surpassed Sunil Gavaskar’s tally of record 34 hundreds in Tests. This landmark also served to establish him as arguably the finest Test batsmen of his generation.India were 56 for two with openers Gautam Gambhir and Rahul Dravid back in the pavilion. Just when the chips were down, both VVS Laxman and Sourav Ganguly played resilient knocks of 69 and 40 respectively and stitched a partnership with Sachin Tendulkar – the lone centurion from both sides during the Test.Studded with 14 fours and a six, Tendulkar’s knock of 109 was multi-faceted. In the first half of his century, the ‘Master Blaster’ had survived one lbw appeal each of Muttiah Muralitharan and Chaminda Vaas and understandably, looked circumspect. However, he went to his second fifty in a flash and made the Sri Lankan bowlers pay. The highlight of his innings was when he smacked veteran off-spinner Muralitharan for three consecutive fours.Tendulkar was ultimately dismissed by Muralitharan on the second day of the Test. But his hand proved pivotal as India took a valuable lead of 60 runs in the first innings and later, went on to win the match by 188 runs.117 vs Australia, Sydney, 2008Bossing the likes of Brett Lee and Mitchell Johnson in their own backyard in an era in which Australia were still the world’s best team deserve every bit of credit.What’s more, Tendulkar did all of the above in the first of the best-of-three finals of the 2008 Commonwealth Bank triangular ODI series. India had come close to winning the then-annual ODI tri-series in Australia in the past, but never got their hands on the silverware.Sydney had long been one of Sachin’s most successful venues in terms of runs, having notched up his highest Test score four years ago and slammed a magnificent 154 in the infamous ‘Monkeygate’ Test earlier in the 2007-08 tour, and the batting icon continued his love affair with the historic venue that evening.India had been set 240 to win in the first final at the SCG, a modest target made competitive by the Aussie attack. Tendulkar was lucky to survive an inside edge early on in the chase, but there was no stopping him once he got into his groove with a well-timed crunch through point off Nathan Bracken. While Australia managed to get rid of his batting partners cheaply, barring Rohit Sharma who chipped in with an 87-ball 66, there was no stopping the ‘Master Blaster’ as he almost single-handedly took India 1-0 up in the finals.103* vs England, Chennai, 2008An innings that put a smile on the face of the nation. Also, a special innings for various reasons. It came in the backdrop of the horrendous 26/11 attacks and for a Mumbai boy like Tendulkar, his 103 against England in a winning cause after the dastardly attack should definitely hold a special place.One for the bleeding hearts: Tendulkar's match-winning ton in Chennai lifted the national mood after the Mumbai attacks of 26/11. File/AFPEngland's tour was brought to an abrupt end by the terrorist attack but they returned in December for a two-match Test series, the first of which was played in Chennai. A star-studded England made a strong start to the match with India suffering a 75-run first-innings deficit. Eventually, they were set an imposing target of 387 in the fourth innings.Openers gave India a good start but a mini collapse tipped the balance in visitors' favour. It was here that Tendulkar took control of the chase. With Yuvraj Singh providing support from the other end, Tendulkar guided India to a memorable win. And guess what, it was also is his first fourth-innings hundred in an Indian win. In 1999, Tendulkar had failed to complete a job at the same venue against Pakistan; in 2008, he exorcised that ghost.163 vs New Zealand, Christchurch, 2009Coming on the back of an innings of 61 in the abandoned series-opener in Wellington, Sachin Tendulkar, who had not registered a century on Kiwi soil before, showcased grit and accuracy in his knock of 163 off just 133 deliveries. Had it not been for his struggles with the abdominal muscles, he could have become the first international cricketer to slam a double ton in ODI cricket (although he did achieve the feat against South Africa a year later).India, batting first, lost Virender Sehwag early. Tendulkar took his time to settle down, but once he had the measure the pitch and conditions, he began reading the bowlers with ease. It was a complete masterclass from the ‘Master Blaster’, finding the gaps, timing and placing the ball so precisely that everyone would just stay glued to the action on the ground.What’s more, he built two century stands in the match — one each with Yuvraj Singh and MS Dhoni, as the visitors powered themselves to 392/4 in 50 overs.While Jesse Ryder did threaten with his 80-ball 105, the bowlers, led by Zaheer Khan and Praveen Kumar, put up an all-round effort to see off the hosts for 334 in 45.1 overs, thereby taking an unassailable 2-0 lead. Despite no clean sweep, India would go on to win the series 3-1. ​175 vs Australia, Hyderabad, 2009Ben Hilfenhaus and Doug Bollinger running in from both ends and bowling at 140 clicks with remarkable consistency, considering the pitch was a typical subcontinent dust-bowl that favours batsmen. At the crease, Sachin Tendulkar playing a blinder, not shying away from hitting on the up even as wickets keep falling on the other end. One would probably associate such an innings of abandon with Virender Sehwag. However, on that night in Hyderabad, Tendulkar borrowed from his fellow opener’s template, lacing it with his own calculated aggression.Australia had set India a target of 351 in the fifth ODI of the seven-match series in 2009. In reply, India started off well with Tendulkar and Sehwag stripping the Australian pace attack of any chances of breaking through early. However, after Sehwag’s fall just before the powerplay, the middle order couldn’t hold out for long. Gambhir, Yuvraj and Dhoni went out in single digits on the worst possible night. All the while, Tendulkar continued pulling searing length deliveries directed at his waist over the in-field.The Little Master forged a 137-run partnership with Suresh Raina (59), who played a run-a-ball innings while Tendulkar took the role of the aggressor, now advancing down the wicket like a ballet dancer and depositing Nathan Hauritz for six over long-on. Their partnership brought India within touching distance but the lower order's fragility came into focus as Praveen Kumar and Munaf Patel failed to get five runs off three balls. India lost by three runs, eventually.200* vs South Africa, Gwalior, 2010The year was 2010. T20 cricket was just starting to flourish. Shots like the scoops, upper cuts, switch hits and the helicopter were becoming more increasingly frequent. The 300-plus chases were not seen as the impossibles ones. Was cricket becoming a batsman's game? In a lot of ways, yes. So somebody finally scoring a double century in ODIs was not surprising. But what is surprising that it did come from a 36-year-old veteran of the game.Giant leap for mankind: Sachin Tendulkar's second wind saw him become the first man to score 200 runs in an ODI innings. File/AFPIndia were playing South Africa in Gawlior. It was the second of the three-match series. The Proteas' bowling attack had Dale Steyn, Charl Langeveldt, Wayne Parnell and Jacques Kallis. Not that bad right? But the day ended on a very bad note for them. Tendulkar was at his imperious best, smashing 25 boundaries and three sixes to score first double hundred in men's ODI history. His unbeaten 200 from 147 balls helped India to post 401/3 in 50 overs and they eventually won the match by 153 runs. Many more 200s were scored by players in ODI cricket, but the first one, and the fact that it came from one the biggest sporting icons of the world, made it special.111 vs South Africa, Nagpur, 2011Tendulkar slapped a 145kph length delivery from Morne Morkel for four. However, no one was watching the ball as it raced away. It was a boundary, no questions asked. The commentators were more interested in what was happening at the pitch. While Morkel took a tumble in his failed bid to stop the ball from going to the boundary, people ogled at Tendulkar’s follow through on his straight drive.He remained there for a couple of seconds, admiring the shot he had played, like the artist scrutinising his own canvas. It was vintage Tendulkar, playing a shot that had made many people fall in love with cricket. However, on that day, there was much more on display for the Little Master played all the shots within his arsenal, making it seem like he could go on for another ten years or so.The pull shot came next as Tendulkar absorbed Dale Steyn’s express pace and hit a six over square leg. While Sehwag had gone berserk on the other end, Tendulkar was rewinding the years as he raced away to his fifty off just 33 balls. Soon enough, he had brought up his 99th international century, off just 92 deliveries. It was a shame though that from 267/2, India slumped to 296 all out owing to a familiar lower-order batting collapse. The result? India had lost its first match of the World Cup, South Africa winning by three wickets.Reference: https://www.firstpost.com/firstcricket/sports-news/remembering-sachin-tendulkars-30-memorable-innings-as-master-blaster-completes-three-decades-to-international-debut-7650301.html

It is New Year’s Eve 2019 and around the world stock markets are closing for business on a high note. Shares in the US are up by almost 30% on the year, those in Japan by 18%. Even in Britain, where the mood has been dampened by months of Brexit uncertainty, the FTSE 100 has risen by 12%.Overall, it had been the best year for stocks since 2009 and traders saw no real reason why the party should not continue into 2020. The US and China looked close to an armistice in their trade war, the US central bank was stimulating the world’s biggest economy, and Boris Johnson’s decisive victory in the general election had removed any lingering doubts about whether Britain would leave the European Union.New year celebrations in Times Square. The economic outlook for 2020 was cautiously optimistic after world markets had their best year since 2009What the markets had yet to factor in was that on that same day China had informed the World Health Organization about a string of pneumonia-like cases in Wuhan.Few of those trading on Wall Street or in Canary Wharf had heard of this city of 11 million people nestled on the banks of the Yangtze river. A month later they would know plenty about Wuhan.Three months on, a localised health problem has turned into a pandemic. The global economy is in a state of paralysis, there has been a massive expansion in the size of the state, and questions are being asked about whether global capitalism will ever be the same again.Alistair Darling was the UK’s chancellor of the exchequer during the 2008 financial crisis and he knows how easy it is for governments to be overtaken by events. “It was happening in China and we didn’t do much about it. People thought this would be the last thing that would come and get us.”Yet it did, and the scary health numbers have been joined by some scary economic numbers. The collapse has been instantaneous, swifter than during the Great Depression. As late as mid March, around 200,000 Americans were filing jobless claims each week. In the last week of March that figure shot up to more than 3 million and the following week it doubled to 6.87 million. A further 6.6 million filed claims the week after that – taking the total to more than 16 million in three weeks.But it is not just America. More than 80 emerging market economies are now seeking help from the International Monetary Fund, which is warning of a recession “as bad or worse” than in 2008.A health worker talks to residents in Cape Town, South Africa. The pandemic could have a particularly serious effect on the economic health of the whole continent.There are fears of a new debt crisis in Africa and for the future of the European Union, where the initial response of member states has been to close borders and for each to look after their own citizens. An already underperforming Italy is seeking help from EU partners as it struggles to cope with the rising cost of its lockdown.Its prime minister, Giuseppe Conte, said: “If Europe does not rise to this unprecedented challenge, the whole European structure loses its raison d’être to the people. We are at a critical point in European history.”Across the English Channel in Britain, there were four big spending announcements within three weeks in an attempt to shield businesses and consumers from an unprecedented drop in activity.The UK went into the crisis with a chancellor of the exchequer, Rishi Sunak, who had been in office for a month, and a new Bank of England governor, Andrew Bailey, who took up his post in the middle of March with the markets in chaos, official interest rates at their lowest ever – just 0.1% – and Threadneedle Street down to a skeleton staff.“We are facing an emergency,” Bailey said. “I didn’t think that three days into the job I would be sitting in a virtually empty building. But we are ready to do whatever we have to do.”Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey took over in mid-March, and was soon working ‘in a virtually empty building’.Central banks and finance ministries have been battle-hardened by 2008, when the global banking system came within a few hours of going under. The solution back then was relatively simple: bail out the banks, unblock the financial system, get lending going again, reflate the economy.In 2020 the dual nature of the crisis – a global pandemic together with an economic collapse – makes things far more complicated.Gordon Brown, who took the lead during the 2008 financial crisis, put it this way: “The more you intervene to deal with the medical emergency the more you put the economy at risk.”Brown’s task was also made easier because in 2008 the world’s biggest economies agreed a co-ordinated response to the crisis. In 2020, very little of the spirit of 2008 remains. Trump’s “America first” approach is now the template for strongman leaders around the globe. There is a row between Saudi Arabia and Russia which has resulted in a glut of oil at a time when planes are sitting idly at airports and there are no cars on the streets.“We need leaders to come together and say international cooperation matters to deal with what is both a global medical and economic problem,” Brown said. But outside of central banks, nobody is really listening.Against this backdrop, the stimulus plans conjured up by governments – and there are plenty of them – are expensive palliatives, not cures. The UK government broke new ground by subsidising the wages of workers to prevent them being made redundant, by providing support for the self-employed and by agreeing to underwrite loans to businesses threatened with collapse.But for many it will still not be enough, and with little hard evidence to go on and no real inkling of how long the lockdown will be in place, thinktanks such as the Institute for Fiscal Studies can only hazard a guess at how much it will cost.A budget deficit of £200bn – around 10% of national output – in the current financial year, even with a relatively short shutdown, is the IFS’s estimate. Debt is set to soar to levels normally only seen in wartime: 100% of gross domestic product, perhaps higher, depending on the length of the lockdown.Donald Trump has pushed a $2.2tn stimulus package through Congress. Germany has abandoned its hardline opposition to running budget deficits. Central banks have turned the electronic money-printing presses back on. Yet labour market experts such as Danny Blanchflower, a former Bank of England interest-rate setter, still predict that almost a third of Americans will end up jobless, worse even than in the early 1930s.Women working in a British munitions factory during the second world war. Comparisons with the current economic crisis are tempting but possibly misleading.Governments say they are waging war against Covid-19 but the metaphor is not quite right. In wartime, economies work flat out to provide the military hardware needed for victory. This time shops, restaurants, gyms, hotels, bars, coffee shops have all closed their doors because people have been instructed to stay at home. Big sporting events – Wimbledon, the Masters, the Olympics – have been called off. Forecasts of the looming drop in output have just got bigger and bigger. JP Morgan says Chinese GDP might have contracted by 40% in the first three months of 2020. Morgan Stanley pencils in a 30% drop in US output in the second quarter. The numbers are mindboggling, but in a way the pictures of Times Square in New York City and St Mark’s Square in Venice tell the story better: normal life has ceased. It is like something out of a science fiction movie.Times Square, one of the world landmarks that has emptied of traffic since the pandemic began.The sense of unreality is heightened by the speed at which the crisis has unfolded. In mid-January the World Economic Forum, the body that organises the global elite’s annual talking shop in Davos, released its annual global risks report – the collective wisdom of hundreds of experts about the possible threats that could lie ahead.The too five concerns over the next decade, the document suggested, were all environmental: the possibility of a global pandemic did not register, even though by late January, a few cases of Covid-19 were being reported in Europe. At Davos, Trump railed against “the prophets of doom” – a line he also took in late January and early February when the financial markets finally woke up to the seriousness of Covid-19. He first dismissed the virus as a hoax, then said it would go away when the warm weather arrived. “One day it’s like a miracle – it will disappear.”Donald Trump’s economic optimism was on show at Davos in January. As the virus moved up the agenda in February he remained untroubled.By the time the president realised that Covid-19 was not fake news it was too late: the virus had taken hold. But Trump was not alone in being in denial about the threat. Until late January, the assumption in the financial markets had been that there was no need to panic because the current outbreak of coronavirus would turn out to be no more serious than previous health scares, such as Sars in the early 2000s.Mohammed El-Erian, chief economic adviser to Allianz, is one of the few to have spotted Covid-19 for what it was: a Black Swan – an event that comes as a surprise, has a dramatic impact and which, with the benefit of hindsight, was obvious.Wall Street had become conditioned to take every drop in share prices as a reason to pile into the market, safe in the knowledge that the Federal Reserve would ride to the rescue if things started to look rough. El-Erian said the markets would regret “buying on the dip” this time and was proved 100% right. Shares have had their biggest quarterly falls since the financial crisis of http://2008.As the 100th day of Covid-19 approaches, concerted action by central banks has quietened markets down a little and attention is now shifting to two questions: how big will the economic damage be; and how long will countries continue to be locked down?A screen at a South Korean bank shows a now-familiar downward trend. Early on, some economists had dared to hope for a V-shaped rebound worldwide.In the early stages of the market panic – from late February to early March – the assumption was that the pain would be intense but relatively short. Activity would plunge but then rebound just as quickly. This, though, presupposed that the lockdowns would be only temporary and that no real permanent damage would be done.Now the chances of a V-shaped recession look less likely. Even from the small amounts of data available it is obvious economies are in the middle of a collapse unprecedented in modern times.What is unclear now is how fast they will recover. China is coming out of lockdown, and some European countries such as Austria are planning to do the same, but restrictions remain in place and the mood of consumers remains cautious. Forecasters have started to talk about a steep downturn followed by a slow – and perhaps uneven – recovery.This looks much more plausible. Governments are going to be wary of the virus coming back. Consumers and businesses are going to take time to get over the shock. It will take some time before many people feel safe to travel abroad. There may be deeper changes too: more working from home, a further blow to high-street retailers. As yet little attention has been paid to how all the extra government spending will be paid for.Aware of the mounting costs, governments are desperate to get their countries back to work. This especially applies in the US, where the need to avoid a second Great Depression obsesses US politicians, especially those – like Trump – imminently up for re-election. But even in the US, it is clear it will take time for life to return to normal.As Dr Anthony Fauci, the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, puts it: “You’ve got to be realistic, and you’ve got to understand that you don’t make the timeline, the virus makes the timeline.

Below I am posting notes of 13th September 2020 from The Hindu, PIB, Indian Express etc…hope they might give you some insights regarding notes making.Source: Telegram Channel: Prelims Specific Notes for IAS (these are key words to be used in the search bar of the Telegram App).Prelims Specific Analysis: 13th September 2020The Hindu, PIB, IE and OthersIndexIndices/Committees/Reports/Organisations1. Global Economic Freedom Index 2020 (livemint)2. Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | A counter-coalition of Eurasian powers (TH, pg 12)Geography, Environment and Biodiversity3. Ecological Threat Register (DTE)Schemes/Policies/Initiatives/Social Issues4. Bharat Craft Portal (livemint)5. Integrated Road Accident Database Project (iRAD) (PIB)International Relations6. India’s Logistics Agreements (TH, pg 7)7. Open trading border posts between India and China (TH, pg 1)Science and Technology; Defence8. Indian Brain Template (PIB)9. Methane Hydrate Deposits (PIB)10. Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) (TH, pg 11)11. Some of the ground-breaking inventions and innovators who have made the hand-held fast, versatile computers possible (TH, pg 11)Economy12. Singapore Convention on Mediation comes into force (TH, pg 9)Art, Culture and History13. National School of Drama (PIB)Indices/Committees/Reports/OrganisationsGlobal Economic Freedom Index 2020 (livemint)Context: India’s rank in the Global Economic Freedom Index 2020 dropped 26 spots from 79 to 105 among 162 countries and territories, according to the Economic Freedom of the World: 2020 Annual Report released recently.AnalysisThe report, prepared by Canada’s Fraser Institute, was released in India in collaboration with New Delhi-based think tank Centre For Civil Society.The report measures the ‘economic freedom’, or the ability of individuals to make their own economic decisions in a country, by analysing policies and institutions of these countries.It does so by looking at indicators like regulations, the freedom to trade internationally, size of government, property rights, government spending and taxation.In India, the report was co-published by Delhi-based Centre for Civil Society.According to the 2020 report, India performed worse in terms of size of government, regulations and the freedom to trade internationally.China ranked worse than India overall and was positioned at 124 on the index.The ranking is based on 2018 data, newer restrictions on international trade, tightening of the credit market due to NPAs and the impact of Covid-19 on debt and deficits were not reflected in India’s score.Hong Kong and Singapore retain the top two positions.Shanghai Cooperation Organisation | A counter-coalition of Eurasian powers (TH, pg 12)The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) is a permanent intergovernmental organisation.The SCO grew out of the Shanghai Five grouping — of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan — which was set up in 1996 to resolve boundary disputes between China and each of the four other members.It admitted Uzbekistan in 2001, re-christened itself the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation and broadened its agenda to include political, economic and security cooperation.In June 2017 in Astana (the capital city of Kazakhstan), India and Pakistan became full members of the Organization.The admission of India and Pakistan has expanded the geographical, demographic and economic profile of the SCO, which now has about half the world’s population and a quarter of its GDP.The SCO has four observer States: Afghanistan, Belarus, Iran and Mongolia.The SCO has six dialogue partners: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey, and Sri Lanka.The Heads of State Council (HSC) is the supreme decision-making body in the SCO which meets once a year.The organisation has two permanent bodies — the SCO Secretariat based in Beijing and the Executive Committee of the Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) based in Tashkent.The SCO Secretary-General and the Director of the Executive Committee of the SCO RATS are appointed by the Council of Heads of State for a term of three years.The SCO's official languages are Russian and Chinese.Shanghai Cooperation Organization sometimes also referred as ‘Eastern NATO’.The SCO's main goals are as follows:strengthening mutual trust and neighbourliness among the member states;promoting their effective cooperation in politics, trade, the economy, research, technology and culture, as well as in education, energy, transport, tourism, environmental protection, and other areas;making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region; andmoving towards the establishment of a democratic, fair and rational new international political and economic order.Regional Anti-Terrorist Structure (RATS) of the SCO – It coordinates cooperation for security and stability, through intelligence-sharing on criminal and terrorist activities.India will host the meeting of Council of Heads of Government in 2020.U.S. and Europe called it the “Anti-NATO” for proposing military cooperation.In 2005, the Astana declaration called for SCO countries to work on a “joint SCO response to situations that threaten peace, security and stability in the region”.Geography, Environment and BiodiversityEcological Threat Register (DTE)The Ecological Threat Register (ETR) covers around 157 independent states and territories.Produced by the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP), the ETR measures ecological threats that countries are currently facing and provides projections to 2050.The ETR is unique in that it combines measures of resilience with the most comprehensive ecological data available to shed light on the countries least likely to cope with extreme ecological shocks, now and into the future.The IEP's Positive Peace framework is used to identify areas where resilience is unlikely to be strong enough to adapt or cope with these future shocks.The ETR clusters threats into two major domains: resource scarcity and natural disasters.The resource scarcity domain includes food insecurity, water scarcity and high population growth.The natural disaster domain measures the threat of floods, droughts, cyclones, sea level rise and rising temperatures.The ETR identifies three clusters of ecological hotspots, which are particularly susceptible to collapse:The Sahel-Horn belt of Africa, from Mauritania to Somalia;The Southern African belt, from Angola to Madagascar;The Middle East and Central Asian belt, from Syria to Pakistan.Within these hotspots the most fragile countries will include Iran, Mozambique, Madagascar, Pakistan and Kenya.Schemes/Policies/Initiatives/Social IssuesBharat Craft Portal (livemint)More than a year after being announced, the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME)’s proposal to create an online e-marketplace similar to Amazon, which would be open to all consumers, is yet to take off due to lack of a business plan, the unavailability of a technology partner, and shortage of funds.Officially set to be the government’s first foray into the private sector, initial estimates had eyed ~10 trillion worth of revenue from the project over a period of 2-3 years. But subsequent studies have shown the real figures may be substantially lower.While the primary mandate remains an e-marketplace for showcasing products by tribal, rural, and small businesses, market surveys showed buyer interest may remain muted for such products.Instead, online primary consumer activity remains focused on brands and bargain hunting, key attributes that products on the platform may not have.Integrated Road Accident Database Project (iRAD) (PIB)The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is in the process of implementing ‘Integrated Road Accident Database Project (iRAD)’ which will be applicable across the country.In the first instance, it has been decided to implement the proposal in six States, viz. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.The development and implementation of iRAD has been entrusted to lIT Madras and National Informatics Centre Services Inc.This project is proposed on IT based system for capturing the spot accident data using mobile app configured for this purpose.This data can then be utilized for various purposes like finding the causes of the accidents and remedial measures to improve the road infrastructure, to record the accidents data for the use of police, health services and other concerned departments.International RelationsIndia’s Logistics Agreements (TH, pg 7)Context: After concluding a logistics support agreement with Japan in September 2020, India is now working on three such agreements with Russia, the U.K. and Vietnam.AnalysisIndia now has military logistics agreements with all Quad countries, Australia, Japan and the U.S., significantly improving interoperability as they also operate several common military platforms.India has been signing MLSAs with countries primarily eyeing deeper maritime cooperation which is important considering China's rapid military expansionism in the Indo-Pacific, Indian Ocean and South China Sea.India has already signed such agreements with a few countries beginning with the U.S.India signed the Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Understanding (LEMOA) with the U.S. in August 2016 after decade-long negotiations.After India signed the foundational agreement Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) with the U.S., it got access to encrypted communication systems for seamless communication.As part of this, in March 2019 the Navy and U.S. Navy signed a loan agreement and installed two Pacific fleet provided CENTRIXS (Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System) kits at the Indian Navy headquarters.Since then, it has concluded several such agreements with Australia, France, Oman, the Philippines and Singapore and gained access to the Sabang port in Indonesia.In June 2020, India and Australia signed the long pending Mutual Logistics Support (MLSA), elevated their partnership to Comprehensive Strategic partnership, and also announced a joint declaration on a shared vision for maritime cooperation in the Indo-Pacific.The logistics pact with Japan, Reciprocal Provision of Supplies and Services between armed forces, was signed in September. India and Japan have already signed an implementing arrangement for deeper cooperation between the Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defence Force (JMSDF).Logistics AgreementsLogistics agreements are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement, simplifying logistical support and increasing operational turnaround of the military away from India.The biggest beneficiary of the logistics pacts has been the Navy which interacts and exercises the most with foreign navies.When operating on the high seas, exercises or during humanitarian assistance missions fuel, food and other needs can be exchanged and settled through the established modalities later.Open trading border posts between India and China (TH, pg 1)India-China standoff casts a shadow on Nathu La border trade.While the pandemic stalled business this year, the 200 traders from Sikkim fear LAC tensions may affect their work next year too.Nathu La is one of the three open trading border posts between India and China; the other two being Shipkila in Himachal Pradesh and Lipulekh (or Lipulech) in Uttarakhand.Science and Technology; DefenceIndian Brain Template (PIB)Context: An Indian brain template for five distinct age groups as well as a brain atlas to help accurate assessment of psychiatric illnesses and conduct neuro-surgical operations have been developed by neuroscientists at the Bengaluru-based National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Sciences (NIMHANS).AnalysisThe neuroscientists studied over 500 brain scans of Indian patients to develop five sets of templates and a brain atlas for five age groups covering late childhood to late adulthood (six to 60 years).The significance of this study is that neuroscientists need not be dependent upon the current universal standard of using the Montreal Neurological Index (MNI) template.The MNI was developed by averaging Caucasian brains. Over a period of time, neuroscientists discovered that Caucasian brains are different from Asian brains.Scientists from across the world have been pointing out that there are significant variations in the location of key brain regions and the density of neurons in various brain areas between racial types.Drawing from this, several countries, including China, South Korea and Canada, have brain templates of their population.The project is funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) and the Newton Grant from the Medical Research Council (MRC), UK.What is a Brain Template?Database of brain images from Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), when compiled together, results in the so-called Brain Template (BT).Methane Hydrate Deposits (PIB)Context: Scientists have said that the massive methane hydrate deposits of biogenic origin in the Krishna-Godavari (KG) basin and near the coast of Andaman and Mahanadi make it necessary to study the associated methanogenic community.Even the lowest estimate of methane present in the methane hydrates in KG Basin is twice that of all fossil fuel reserves available worldwide.AnalysisMethane hydrate deposits are believed to be a larger hydrocarbon resource than all of the world's oil, natural gas and coal resources combined.The current challenge is to inventory this resource and find safe, economical ways to develop it.What is Methane Hydrate?Methane hydrate is a crystalline solid that consists of a methane molecule surrounded by a cage of interlocking water molecules.Methane hydrate is an "ice" that only occurs naturally in subsurface deposits where temperature and pressure conditions are favorable for its formation.Most methane hydrate deposits also contain small amounts of other hydrocarbon hydrates.These include propane hydrate and ethane hydrate.Where are the Methane Hydrate Deposits?Four Earth environments have the temperature and pressure conditions suitable for the formation and stability of methane hydrate. These are:sediment and sedimentary rock units below Arctic permafrost;sedimentary deposits along continental margins;deep-water sediments of inland lakes and seas; and,under Antarctic ice.With the exception of the Antarctic deposits, methane hydrate accumulations are not very deep below Earth's surface.In most situations the methane hydrate is within a few hundred meters of the sediment surface.How are Methane Hydrates produced?Methane gas is primarily formed by microorganisms (methanogens) that live in the deep sediment layers and slowly convert organic substances to methane.These organic materials are the remains of plankton that lived in the ocean long ago, sank to the ocean floor, and were finally incorporated into the sediments.Methane hydrate is formed when hydrogen-bonded water and methane gas come into contact at high pressures and low temperatures in oceans.But with increasing depth into the thick sediment layers on the sea floor, the temperatures begin to rise again because of the proximity to the Earth’s interior. In sediment depths greater than about 1 kilometre the temperatures rise to over 30 degrees Celsius, so that no methane hydrates can be deposited.This, however, is where the methane formation is especially vigorous.First, small methane gas bubbles are produced deep within the sediment.These then rise and are transformed to methane hydrates in the cooler pore waters near the sea floor.So, the methane is formed in the deep warm sediment horizons and is converted and consolidated as methane hydrate in the cold upper sediment layers.No methane hydrates are found in marginal seas and shelf areas because the pressure at the sea floor is not sufficient to stabilize the hydrates.At the bottom of the expansive ocean basins, on the other hand, where the pressure is great enough, scarcely any hydrates are found because there is insufficient organic matter embedded in the deep-sea sediments.The reason for this is that in the open sea the water is comparatively nutrient poor, so that little biomass is produced to sink to the sea floor.Methane hydrates therefore occur mainly near the continental margins at water depths between 350 and 5000 metres.For one reason, enough organic material is deposited in the sediments there, and for another, the temperature and pressure conditions are favourable for methane to be converted to methane hydrates.Greenhouse gas formationAt low temperatures the methane hydrates on the sea floor are stable, but if the water and the sea floor become warmer, then the hydrates can break down.Because microorganisms then oxidize the resulting methane gas to form the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide (CO2), methane hydrates have recently become a topic of intense discussion within the context of climate change.Methane, which itself acts as a strong greenhouse gas, does not escape directly out of the sea as methane because it is transformed into CO2.But the formation and release of carbon dioxide are considerable.An additional problem is that the oxygen in seawater is consumed through the formation of carbon dioxide.Many bacteria use methane to provide energy for their meta­bolism. Some bacteria break the methane down with the help of oxygen. This is called aerobic oxidation. Other bacteria do not need oxygen. This kind of oxidation is called anaerobic.Scientists therefore fear that large quantities of methane hydrate will melt there in the future, releasing increased amounts of CO2 into the ocean and the atmosphere. The oxygen content of the seawater will decrease accordingly.Furthermore, the CO2 released not only contributes to further global warming, it also leads to acidification of the oceans.Ocean acidification is the name given to the ongoing decrease in the pH and increase in acidity of the Earth's oceans, caused by the uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere.Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) (TH, pg 11)Context: The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) recently successfully flight tested the Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) – an unmanned scramjet vehicle with a capability to travel at six times the speed of sound, making India the fourth country in the world after the US, China and Russia to develop such technology.AnalysisThe test was conducted using the Agni missile. A solid rocket motor of Agni missile was used to take to an altitude of 30 kilometers where the cruise vehicle separated from the launch vehicle and the air intake opened as planned.(Just for understanding!) On the D-day, a launch vehicle, which was derived from Agni 1 missile, rose from its launch pad in Odisha, carrying the HSTDV.The Agni 1 booster climbed to a height of 30 km in 12 seconds at a speed of Mach 5.6.When the launch vehicle reached an altitude of 30 km, the air intake ducts in the scramjet engine opened just before the launch vehicle separated smoothly.At 30 km altitude, the cruise vehicle’s nose cone split in two and fell off. Besides, the heat shield covering the cruiser was jettisoned. All these events took place in micro seconds.Air from the atmosphere was then rammed into the scramjet engine’s combustion chamber at a supersonic speed.The air mixed with the atomised fuel, the fuel was ignited and the scramjet engine revved into action.The HSTDV flew for the next 20 seconds at a hypersonic speed of Mach six and fell 40 km away in the Bay of Bengal. The mission was a success.Indigenous technologyThe centrepiece of the HSTDV was the indigenously developed air-breathing scramjet engine, which formed the HSTDV’s propulsion system. If the mission’s aim was to prove this scramjet engine in flight, it was achieved.In a scramjet engine, air from the atmosphere is rammed into the engine’s combustion chamber at a supersonic speed of more than Mach two.In the chamber, the air mixes with the fuel to ignite a supersonic combustion but the cruiser’s flight will be at a hypersonic speed of Mach six to seven. So, it is called supersonic combustion ramjet or Scramjet.ApplicationsThis successful test will pave the way for missiles that can travel at six times the speed of sound.Apart from being used as a vehicle for hypersonic and long-range cruise missiles, the HSTDV is a dual-use technology that will have multiple civilian applications, including the launch of small satellites at low cost.Mastering the air-breathing scramjet technology will lead to the development of hypersonic missiles, faster civilian air transportation and facilities for putting satellites into orbit at a low cost.The hypersonic vehicle and its scramjet engineThe scramjets are a variant of a category of jet engines called the air breathing engines.The ability of engines to handle airflows of speeds in multiples of speed of sound, gives it a capability of operating at those speeds.Hypersonic speeds are those which are five times or more than the speed of sound (Mach 5 or more).Hypersonic nuclear missilesHypersonic missiles travel at speeds faster than 3,800 miles per hour or 6,115 km per hour, much faster than other ballistic and cruise missiles.They can deliver conventional or nuclear payloads within minutes.They are highly manoeuvrable and do not follow a predictable arc as they travel.They are said to combine the speed of ballistic missiles with the manoeuvring capabilities of cruise missiles.The speed makes them hard to track compared to traditional missile tech.In March this year, the United States announced it had successfully tested an unarmed prototype of a hypersonic missile.Some of the ground-breaking inventions and innovators who have made the hand-held fast, versatile computers possible (TH, pg 11)FORTRAN or Formula Translation: This translated the binary language (0 and 1) of digital computers into everyday language that can be understood and used by all.Integrated Circuits or ICs: Until they were invented, signals were amplified using vacuum tubes. Invention of transistors reduced the size, and power consumption of amplifiers. This caused a revolution in information technology, because using these could actually make a fully integrated complex electronic circuit on a single silicon chip.Relational Database Management System, or RDBMS: Earlier, these files were stored in magnetic tapes, then in floppy discs and now in CDs and pen drives.Local Area Networks (or LANs): A wireless broadcast system to interconnect computers.Ethernet: It allows multiple computers to share and exchange messages and files through cable connections.Public Key Cryptography: To open your phone or a computer, you need a passcode, which is secure and known only to you. And when a bank or a sender sends you a ‘confidential’ message, they too send a secure passcode (e.g., OTP). This aspect is what is known as an encryption system. This public key cryptography is one of the Innovations.Computer Graphics: These are built-in programs that not only allow you to take photographs, movies and send them using applications like WhatsApp, Facetime and such.EconomySingapore Convention on Mediation comes into force (TH, pg 9)Context: The Singapore Convention on Mediation came into force recently (September 2020) and will provide a more effective way for enforcing mediated settlements of corporate disputes involving businesses in India and other countries that are signatories to the Convention.AnalysisAlso known as the United Nations Convention on International Settlement Agreements Resulting from Mediation, this is also the first UN treaty to be named after Singapore.With the Convention in force, businesses seeking enforcement of a mediated settlement agreement across borders can do so by applying directly to the courts of countries that have signed and ratified the treaty, instead of having to enforce the settlement agreement as a contract in accordance with each country’s domestic process.The harmonised and simplified enforcement framework under the Convention translates to savings in time and legal costs, which is important for businesses in times of uncertainty, such as during the current COVID-19 pandemic.As on September 1, the Convention has 53 signatories, including India, China and the U.S.The Convention would boost India’s ‘ease of doing business’ credentials by enabling swift mediated settlements of corporate disputes.Art, Culture and HistoryNational School of Drama (PIB)The National School of Drama (NSD) is foremost theatre training institutions in the world.Established in 1959, the National School of Drama is the only one of its kind in India and is an autonomous organization, fully financed by the Ministry of Culture.One of the foremost theatre training institution in the world, NSD was incepted under the aegis of the Sangeet Natak Akademi and became an independent entity in 1975.National School of Drama had been declared as deemed university by University Grant Commission in 2005.However, National School of Drama has requested the government to declare it as institute of national importance and therefore status of deemed university was not accepted.It is one of the major organisations involved in preservation and propagation of the 13 Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) elements from India that have been inscribed till date on the UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.In 2019, NSD was ranked 14th among the best film schools in the world by CEOWORLD Magazine of the USA.