THE PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS: BUDGET SESSION 2022

1. PARLIAMENT PASSES CONSTITUTION (SCHEDULED TRIBES) ORDER (AMENDMENT) BILL, 2022

THE CONTEXT: Both the houses of the Parliament has passed the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Bill seeks to amend the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950, which specifies the tribes and tribal communities deemed to be Scheduled Tribes (STs) in various states and union territories.

• Inclusion of certain community in the list of STs in Tripura: The Bill seeks to amend Part XV of the Schedule to the 1950 Order, which specifies the STs in Tripura.  It includes the Darlong community as a sub-tribe of the Kuki tribe in the list of STs in Tripura.

Value Addition:

• Darlongs is a small community of around 11,000 people in Tripura.
• Despite its small population, the community has a high prevalence of education, cultural activities and members of the community are serving in different high positions in the local administration.
• Tribal musicologist and Rosem (tribal instrument) maestro Thanga Darlong was conferred the prestigious Padma Shri award a few years back for his contribution to culture.
• Darlongs, despite being Scheduled Tribes, were never given ST certificates.
• Since they were considered a generic tribe under the Kuki community, they were handed their tribal certificates as members of ‘Kuki’ community.
• The subsequent identity crisis among them, especially Darlong youths, who were equipped with modern education, culminated in the demand for a separate statutory identity of their own in 1995.

Tribes of Tripura-

• Tripura, the tiny Northeast state of 37 lakh people houses 19 tribal communities. 
• These include Tripuri or Debbarma, Reangs or Brus, Jamatia, Noatia, Uchoi, Chakma, Mog, Lushai, Kuki, Munda, Kour, Oram, Santhal, Bhil, Bhutia, Chaimar or Sermai, Garo, Khasi, Lepcha and Halam.
• Many of these communities are further divided into sub-tribes. For example, Kuki’s have nearly 17-18 sub-tribes within the community.
• It is an umbrella tribal community including many smaller clans like Khasi, Lushai, Hmars and other generic clans.
• In course of time, Lushai, Hmar, Garo etc. came out of Kuki as separate communities.
• Halam community also has several sub-tribes such as Rangkhawl, Ranglong, Dab, Chaimar or Sermai, Bong, Korbong, Harbong, Bongcher etc.
• Out of 37 lakh people of Tripura, nearly 30 per cent are tribals, who mostly live in areas under jurisdiction of the Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC), spread in patches across all eight districts and covering 70 per cent of the state’s geographical area.
• The state, which was ruled by tribal kings for over 500 years till 1949, when it merged into the Indian Union, saw tribals become minority in their own state due to arrival of East Pakistani refugees who fled their country.

2. RESERVATION TO OBCS

THE CONTEXT: According to the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment,

(i) The following States have provided 27% to OBCs: –

Assam, NCT of Delhi, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana (27% in Class III & IV posts, 10% in Class I & II posts), Odisha, Uttar Pradesh, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu.

(ii) The following States have given more than 27% reservation to OBCs:-

Andhara Pradesh (29%), Bihar (33%), Karnataka (32%), Kerala (40%),Tamil Nadu (50%),Andaman & Nicobar (38%), Puducherry (34%).

(iii) The following States have given less than 27% reservation to OBCs:-

Chhattisgarh (14%), Himachal Pradesh (12% in Category-I posts & 18% in Category-II posts), Jharkhand (14%), Madhya Pradesh (14%), Manipur (17%), Punjab (12%), Rajasthan (21%), Sikkim (21%), Uttarakhand (14%), West Bengal (17%), Dadra & Nagar Haveli (5%).

(iv) The following States have not given any reservation to OBCs:-

Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura and Lakshadweep.

The reservation policy in State/UT Government services etc. is decided and implemented by the concerned Governments, while keeping in view the interests of the citizens of the State/UT. The Central Government has no role in deciding the reservation policy of State Government.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENTS

3. INVESTMENT AND EXPORT IN STEEL SECTOR

THE CONTEXT: According to the Union Ministry of Steel, the investment and export in steel sector as follows:

THE EXPLANATION:

1. Notification of the following policies having impact on investment and export in the steel sector:-

a. National Steel Policy 2017 which envisages inter-alia domestically meeting the entire demand of steel and high-grade automotive steel, electrical steel, special steel and alloys for strategic applications.

b. Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI&SP) Policy for promoting procurement of Made in India steel.

c. Steel Scrap Recycling Policy to enhance the availability of domestically generated scrap for making steel at competitive prices.

d. Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS)in order to enhance production through disseminating advance information regarding grades of the imports for enhancing investment and import substitution.

e. Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel with an outlay of Rs 6,322 Crore to promote the manufacturing of specialty steel within the country for domestic use and export by attracting Capital investments.

2. Establishment of Project Development Cell in the Ministry to attract and facilitate investment in the steel sector.

3. ‘Make in India’ initiative and the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, with further engagement with potential users, including from Railways, Defence, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing, Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways, Agriculture and Rural Development sectors to enhance the steel usage, overall demand for steel and investment in steel sector in the country.

4. Adjustments in basic custom duty on steel products and trade remedial measures like Anti-dumping duty (ADD), Countervailing duty (CVD) on certain raw materials and steel products to enhance competitiveness of India’s steel sector.

5. Other measures to improve Ease of Doing Business and Reducing Compliance burden, Market Access Initiatives (MAI), Startup India initiative etc. to help domestic industry in capacity creation, providing level playing field and creating a conducive business environment to attract investments and promote exports.

4. ADB PROJECTS INDIA’S ECONOMY TO GROW BY 7.5% IN FY23

THE CONTEXT: Asian Development Bank projected a 7 per cent collective growth for South Asian economies in 2022 with the subregion’s largest economy India growing by 7.5 per cent in the current fiscal year before picking up to eight per cent the next year.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Manila-based multilateral funding agency, Asian Development Bank (ADB) has projected the GDP growth rate of the Indian economy, in its flagship Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022, as follows:

• 2022-23 (FY23): 7.5 per cent
• 2023-24 (FY24): 8.0 per cent

ADB said developing Asia’s economies are forecast to grow 5.2% this year and 5.3% in 2023, thanks to a robust recovery in domestic demand and continued expansion in exports.

VALUE ADDITION:

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• ADB is a regional development bank established in 1966, Headquartered at Manila, Philippines
• It has 68 members. India is a founding member. Forty-nine are from within Asia and the Pacific and 19 outside.
• It aims to promote social and economic development in Asia and the Pacific.

Voting rights:

• It is modelled closely on the World Bank and has a similar weighted voting system where votes are distributed in proportion with members’ capital subscriptions.
• As of 31 December 2020, ADB’s five largest shareholders are Japan and the United States (each with 15.6% of total shares), the People’s Republic of China (6.4%), India (6.3%), and Australia (5.8%).

Roles and functions:

• Dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration.
• This is carried out through investments – in the form of loans, grants and information sharing – in infrastructure, health care services, financial and public administration systems, helping nations prepare for the impact of climate change or better manage their natural resources, as well as other areas.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. GROSS EXPENDITURE ON RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT (GERD)

THE CONTEXT: According the Department of Science and Technology, that the Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD), in absolute terms, has been consistently increasing over the years and has increased 3 times during the last 10 years.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According the department, some of the key efforts made by Government include the successive increase in plan allocations for Scientific Departments, incentivizing investment by private sector to increase their share in GERD, improving the ease of doing  business in the Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) activities; introducing flexible tools for public procurement; creating avenues for collaborative STI funding through portfolio-based funding mechanisms such as Public-Private-Partnerships and other innovative hybrid funding mechanisms.
• It also noted that, the Government has allowed corporate sector to make R&D investments under the provision of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Corporates can invest in technology business incubators or contribute in research efforts carried out by institutions and national research laboratories as a part of their CSR.
• Also the Department noted that as part of the new draft Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) policy, several provisions have been included with the focus to increase GERD. Some of the key provisions include; greater participation of central, state, local governments and public sector enterprises; fiscal incentives to attract private sector; fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to attract Foreign Direct Investment; Micro-financing through crowdfunding and philanthropic sources; linking public procurement with domestic industries; Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) and industry led mission oriented joint initiatives; etc.

Value Addition:

• According to UNESCO’s stats, the global expenditure on research and development (R&D) has crossed $1.7 trillion. The most used indicator to measure country-wise investments in R&D is the gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) as the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP).
• A comparison of the R&D spending of some of the countries representing different regions of the world and India in terms of GERD as a percentage of GDP shows India to be a low spender (only 0.66 per cent of the GDP) in comparison to the developed countries and emerging economic powers of East Asia.
• Worst still, the percentage expenditure for the last couple of years is showing a downward trend. A quick analysis of the allocations to various R&D organisations in the recently presented 2022-23 budget shows continued stagnation.

THE PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

6. EXPLAINED: WHY CENTRE HAS OPPOSED ODISHA’S PLANS FOR LANDMARK LINGARAJ TEMPLE

THE CONTEXT: The Ministry of Home Affairs has said several sections of the proposed ordinance are in conflict with the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Central government has told the Odisha government that its ordinance to bring the 11th-century Lingaraj temple in Bhubaneswar and its associated temples under a special law is outside the legislative competence of the state legislature. It also said the ordinance is in conflict with the rules laid down under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (AMASR Act).

What is the Lingaraj Temple Ordinance, 2020?

• Lingaraj temple, the largest in Bhubaneswar, was constructed by King Jajati Keshari in the 10th Century and completed by King Lalatendu Keshari in the 11th Century.
• In December 2019, the Odisha Government had announced a development plan for the temple and its peripheral area in Bhubaneshwar. The 66-acre “Ekamra Kshetra” development plan was launched to preserve the heritage and development of the nine sites and their nearby areas at a cost of around Rs 700 crore.

Why has the Centre opposed the ordinance?

The Ministry of Home Affairs has said several sections of the proposed ordinance conflicted with the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act. The AMASR Act provides for preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance.

Value Addition:

Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958

• The AMASR Act provides for the preservation of ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance. It also provides for the regulation of archaeological excavations and for the protection of sculptures, carvings and other like objects.

• The Archaeological Survey of India functions under the provisions of this act. It was founded in 1861 by Alexander Cunningham- the first Director-General of ASI. Alexander Cunningham is also known as the “Father of Indian Archaeology”.

• The Act prohibits construction in a ‘prohibited area’, an area of 100 meters around a protected monument was amended in 2010 to declare the 100-metre radius of protected monuments as prohibited areas and the next 300-metre radius as regulated areas.
• It does not permit construction in such prohibited areas even if it is for public purposes, except under certain conditions. The iconic monuments in India, Taj Mahal, Ajanta Caves, The Great Stupa at Sanchi and the Sun Temple of Konark, among others are designated as “ancient monuments of national importance” and protected under the AMASR Act.
• The Archaeological Survey of India is the custodian of these monuments.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY

Q1. Director of CBI is appointed by Central Government on the recommendation of a committee consisting of which of the following?

1. The Prime Minister as Chairperson
2. The Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha
3. The Chief Justice of India or Judge of the Supreme Court nominated by him
4. The union home minister

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

a) 1 and 3 only

b) 1, 2 and 3 only

c) 1, 3 and 4 only

d) All of them

ANSWER FOR 6TH APRIL 2022

Answer: C

Explanation:

• Antarctic Treaty signed in 1959 — India joined the Treaty System in 1983.
• The Antarctic Treaty came into force on June 23, 1961, after ratification by the 12 countries that were then active in Antarctic science. (Statement 1 is correct and statement 2 is incorrect).
• The Treaty covers the area south of 60°S latitude. (Statement 3 is correct).
• Its key objectives are to demilitarize Antarctica, to establish it as a zone free of nuclear tests and the disposal of radioactive waste, and to ensure that it is used for peaceful purposes only; to promote international scientific cooperation in Antarctica and to set aside disputes over territorial sovereignty. (Statement 4 is correct).
• Of the 54 signatory countries, 29 have ‘consultative’ status that give them voting rights. The Treaty parties meet each year at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting.

1. We Need Climate Action – But It Shouldn’t Be at the Expense of Social Justice READ MORE
2. The hijab case and the struggle for the right to be and remain different READ MORE

1. A moment of moral awakening READ MORE
2. Beauty, body and soul READ MORE

1. Safety first: The Dam Safety Authority might be able to monitor safety aspects of Mullaperiyar dam READ MORE
2. 10 Reasons Why Hydropower Dams Are a False Climate Solution READ MORE
3. IPCC report shows a greater need for increased climate action READ MORE

1. Explained: How electoral bonds work, and why they face criticism READ MORE
2. A candid conversation about the ‘caged parrot’ READ MORE
3. The hijab case and the struggle for the right to be and remain different READ MORE
4. Has IAS failed the nation? Not really: Critiques of the service should also recognise its immense strengths & many constraints READ MORE
5. Criminal Identification Bill: A good step, but more needs to be done READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. Rajnath Singh launches second edition of swarm drone competition for start-ups READ MORE
2. Explained: Why Centre has opposed Odisha’s plans for landmark Lingaraj Temple READ MORE
3. Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa revokes state of emergency declared on April 1 READ MORE
4. Union Bank launches super-app UnionNXT, digital project SMBHAV READ MORE
5. Parliament passes Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order (Amendment) Bill, 2022 READ MORE
6. Pahwa Plastics: The Judgement That Endangers India’s Environmental Jurisprudence READ MORE
7. ADB projects India’s economy to grow by 7.5% in FY23 READ MORE

Main Exam   

GS Paper- 1

1. Safety first: The Dam Safety Authority might be able to monitor safety aspects of Mullaperiyar dam READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Explained: How electoral bonds work, and why they face criticism READ MORE
2. A candid conversation about the ‘caged parrot’ READ MORE
3. The hijab case and the struggle for the right to be and remain different READ MORE
4. Has IAS failed the nation? Not really: Critiques of the service should also recognise its immense strengths & many constraints READ MORE
5. Criminal Identification Bill: A good step, but more needs to be done READ MORE

SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. We Need Climate Action – But It Shouldn’t Be at the Expense of Social Justice READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Repairing the complex India-Nepal relationship READ MORE
2. Neutrality dissonance READ MORE
3. Amid Sanctions Against Russia, BRICS Can Lead the Change Towards National Currency Payments READ MORE
4. India’s Dilemma Over West vs Russia READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. India-Australia trade pact promises significant economic, strategic gains READ MORE
2. Economic well-being key to social stability READ MORE
3. Sri Lankan economic crisis and India READ MORE
4. Export opportunity: India can become a reliable grain exporter READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY  

1. 10 Reasons Why Hydropower Dams Are a False Climate Solution READ MORE
2. IPCC report shows a greater need for increased climate action READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Not just AFSPA, India must reboot counter-insurgency strategy & free Army from it READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. A moment of moral awakening READ MORE
2. Beauty, body and soul READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. ‘India needs to be a sensitive and generous partner for the “neighbourhood first” policy to take root’. In the light of the statement discuss the need for revival of relations between India and Nepal.
2. ‘If the CBI is to tread the path of virtue, it should have a strong leader with a distinct belief in the law and ethics’. Comment on the statement in the light of recent criticism facing by CBI in its working.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• Every heart to love will come, but like a refugee.
• India needs to be a sensitive and generous partner for the “neighbourhood first” policy to take root.
• Reforming the criminal justice system is the task of many years. In the immediate future, however, it is at least possible to curtail the manner in which the UAPA plays havoc with the lives of so many individuals.
• If the CBI is to tread the path of virtue, it should have a strong leader with a distinct belief in the law and ethics.
• The primary task of constitutional politics is to transmute a partisan controversy into a reasoned public debate.
• Constitutional governance entails rectitude, and responsibility, in the exercise of power.
• Ukraine’s plea at the UNSC should not be interpreted for solutions. It must be a moment to recognise the human costs of war.
• Regulation needs to find its way through the ‘efficiency vs equity’ argument, encouraging gains through technology to pay, via taxes, for traditional market inefficiency.
• Any laxity on grabbing this export opportunity would mean missing the golden chance to create the much-needed export outlet for the surplus grains.
• The government must carry out a holistic review of India’s counter-insurgency strategy, transform the CRPF (if not done in the last 8 years) and relieve the armed forces for their primary mission.
• Not only does hydel power fail to prevent catastrophic climate change, but it also renders countries more vulnerable to climate change while emitting significant amounts of methane.

50-WORD TALK

• Evidence shows Russian troops killed unarmed civilians in Bucha. True to type, the Kremlin’s claimed it’s the victim of disinformation, but survivor testimony is backed up by video and satellite imaging. The world must unite to demand punishment for this war crime. India has done well to strongly condemn it.
• The need today in order to increase the happiness quotient of people in India is to follow the economic policies of Scandinavian countries marked by social security and job market flexibility. This will raise incomes and reduce social tensions that result from income disparities. The Scandinavian societies are free of sectarian tensions. There is a strong sense of social responsibility which prompts these nations to opt for taking in refugees who are victims of ethnic conflict.

Things to Remember:

• For prelims-related news try to understand the context of the news and relate with its concepts so that it will be easier for you to answer (or eliminate) from given options.
• Whenever any international place will be in news, you should do map work (marking those areas in maps and exploring other geographical locations nearby including mountains, rivers, etc. same applies to the national places.)
• For economy-related news (banking, agriculture, etc.) you should focus on terms and how these are related to various economic aspects, for example, if inflation has been mentioned, try to relate with prevailing price rises, shortage of essential supplies, banking rates, etc.
• For main exam-related topics, you should focus on the various dimensions of the given topic, the most important topics which occur frequently and are important from the mains point of view will be covered in ED.
• Try to use the given content in your answer. Regular use of this content will bring more enrichment to your writing.

[WpProQuiz 195]

THE CONTEXT: In February 2022, Elon Musk’s Starlink lost dozens of satellites that were caught in a geomagnetic storm a day after they were launched. The loss of over 40 satellites in a single solar event has been described as “unheard of” and “huge”.However, the satellites were designed to burn up on reentry into the Earth’s atmosphere and did not create debris in space. The following article explains the phenomenon of geomagnetic storms from a geographical perspective.

GEOMAGNETIC STORMS

A geomagnetic storm is a major and temporary disturbance of Earth’s magnetosphere. They occur when a surge of the solar wind (charged particles from the sun) interacts with Earth’s magnetic field and generates currents in Earth’s upper atmosphere.

The magnetosphere shields our planet from harmful solar and cosmic particle radiation, Solar Storms occur during the release of magnetic energy associated with sunspots (‘dark’ regions on the Sun that are cooler than the surrounding photosphere – the lowest layer of the solar atmosphere) and can last for a few minutes or hours.

A Solar Storm or a Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) as astronomers call it, is an ejection of highly magnetized particles from the sun. These particles can travel several million km per hour and can take about 13 hours to five days to reach Earth.

Earth is surrounded by an immense magnetic field called the magnetosphere. Generated by powerful, dynamic forces at the center of Earth, our magnetosphere shields us from erosion of our atmosphere by the solar wind, erosion and particle radiation from coronal mass ejections, and cosmic rays from deep space. Our magnetosphere plays the role of gatekeeper, repelling this unwanted energy that’s harmful to life on Earth.

• The Bow Shockoccurs when the magnetosphere of an astrophysical object interacts with the nearby flowing ambient plasma such as the solar wind. For Earth and other magnetized planets, it is the boundary at which the speed of the stellar wind abruptly drops as a result of its approach to magnetopause.
• The Polar Cuspsare near-zero magnetic field magnitude and funnel-shaped areas between field lines that map to the dayside and nightside of the magnetopause surface. They are the primary regions for direct entry of magnetosheath/solar wind plasma into the magnetosphere and may create the appearance of beautiful auroras when seen from the arctic regions of the Earth.
• Van Allen radiation belt, doughnut-shaped zones of highly energetic charged particles trapped at high altitudes in Earth’s magnetic field. The belts are most intense over the Equator and are effectively absent above the poles. The Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of energetic charged particles originating from the solar wind. The particles are captured and held around a planet by that planet’s magnetic field. It surrounds Earth, containing a nearly impenetrable barrier that prevents the fastest, most energetic electrons from reaching Earth.

IMPACT OF GEOMAGNETIC STORMS ON EARTH

ON SPACE WEATHER: Not all solar flares reach Earth, but solar flares/storms, Solar Energetic Particles (SEPs), high-speed solar winds, and Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) that come close can impact space weather in near-Earth space and the upper atmosphere.

ON  MAGNETOSPHERE: Coronal Mass Ejections (CMEs) significantly loaded with matter traveling at millions of miles an hour can potentially create disturbances in the magnetosphere. Geomagnetic storms result in intense currents in the magnetosphere, changes in the radiation belts, and changes in the ionosphere, including heating the ionosphere and the thermosphere.

ON SPACE-DEPENDENT SERVICES: Solar storms can hit operations of space-dependent services like Global Positioning Systems (GPS), radio, and satellite communications. Aircraft flights, power grids, and space exploration programs are also vulnerable to geomagnetic storms.

ON COMMUNICATION: Geomagnetic storms interfere with high-frequency radio communications that rely on the ionosphere for propagation.

ON POWER GRIDS, OIL, AND GAS PIPELINES: When the earth is in the direct path of such solar storms, these magnetized and charged solar particles will interact with the earth’s magnetic field and induce strong electric currents on the earth’s surface that can damage long-distance cables.

ON UNDERSEA INTERNET CABLES: Undersea cables have a higher risk of failure compared to land cables due to their large lengths as current is proportional to the area of the loop formed by the two grounds and the cable.

HEALTH RISKS FOR ASTRONAUTS: Astronauts on spacewalks face health risks from possible exposure to solar radiation outside the Earth’s protective atmosphere.

FORMATION OF AURORAS: These storms can create the appearance of beautiful auroras aurora borealis (the northern lights) and aurora australis (the southern lights.)

LINK BETWEEN SOLAR STORMS AND ANIMAL BEACHINGS: Researchers from a cross-section of fields pooled massive data sets to see if disturbances to the magnetic field around Earth could be what confuses these sea creatures, known as cetaceans. CETACEANS are thought to use Earth’s magnetic field to navigate. Since intense solar storms can disturb the magnetic field, scientists want to determine whether they could, by extension, actually interfere with animals’ internal compasses and lead them astray. However solar storms may not be the primary cause of animal beaching but the research continues.

LINK BETWEEN SOLAR STORMS AND MIGRATORY BIRDS: Birds possess a magnetic sense and rely on the Earth’s magnetic field for orientation during migration. However, the geomagnetic field can be altered by solar activity at relatively unpredictable intervals. How birds cope with the temporal geomagnetic variations caused by solar storms during migration is still unclear.

CONCERNS WITH GEOMAGNETIC STORMS

• The Sun goes through an 11-year cycle – cycles of high and low sunspots activity. It also has a longer 100-year cycle. During the last three decades, when the internet infrastructure was booming, it was a low period. And very soon, either in this cycle or the next cycle, we are going towards the peaks of the 100-year cycle. So it is highly likely that we might see one powerful solar storm during our lifetime
• The rapid development of technology took place in the last three decades when the Sun was in its period of low activity and there are very limited studies on whether our current infrastructure can withstand a powerful solar storm.

GEOMAGNETIC STORMS AND INDIA

• The countries in the lower latitudes are at a much lower risk but there is a need for more studies to fully understand the effects of geomagnetic storms and the regions of lower latitudes.
• Modelled and Simulation Studies to understand how connectivity will be affected on a country-scale, showed that the majority of cables connecting India will be unaffected.
• Even under the high-failure scenario, some international connectivity remains (e.g., India to Singapore, the Middle East, etc.). Unlike in China, the key cities of Mumbai and Chennai do not lose connectivity even with high failures
• Compared to the US, India is less vulnerable, but we still need to know more about the strength of solar storms and whether a powerful one can affect India.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Shutdown Strategy:‘Shutdown Strategy’ can help minimize the connectivity loss during and after a solar storm impact. Similar to how we power off power grids, a temporary internet shutdown can protect our equipment during a solar event and ensure the continuation of services.
• Systematic Protocols:
• We need a more systematic protocol for doing this. Both NASA and the European Space Agency have probes now that can detect a solar storm and can give about 13 hours of warning.
• Experts from different fields need to come together to design protocols for power companies and internet service providers.
• Also, today’s health care system depends on power and the internet and we need to have a fallback strategy.
• With the increasing global dependence on satellites for almost every activity, there is a need for better space weather forecasts and more effective ways to protect satellites.

THE CONCLUSION: Current models are capable of predicting a storm’s time of arrival and its speed. But we are still not able to predict the storm’s structure or orientation. Independent solar observations show that solar superstorms capable of large-scale damage may occur only a few times in a century. Nevertheless, given their potential to cause large-scale disruption to our modern society, research and studies are needed to help us prepare and take steps for reducing their impact.

MAINS QUESTIONS:

1. What are geomagnetic storms? What steps are needed to prepare for any possible cause of a powerful solar storm in the future?
2. Explain the possible consequences of a powerful solar storm on life and property on Earth.

ADDED INFORMATION: 5 categories measure geomagnetic storms given by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, USA (NOAA).