THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. WORLD MIGRATORY BIRDS DAY

THE CONTEXT: Arctic migrants such as the Pacific Golden Plover and Curlew Sandpiper have seen major decline in numbers in the past three decades, potentially due to pronounced effects of climate change in the Arctic

THE EXPLANATION:

• Several migratory species that make transcontinental journeys from northern latitudes to avian hotspots in India are increasingly facing threats such as climate change and habitat loss.
• There has been a decline in the number of waterfowl as well as shorebirds visiting wetlands including Bharatpur in the last 20-25 years.
• Arctic migrants such as the Pacific Golden Plover and Curlew Sandpiper have seen major declines in the past three decades, potentially due to pronounced effects of climate change in the Arctic.
• The Pacific Golden Plover declined by almost 85-90 per cent in the last 25 years according to the State of India’s Birds report based on observations uploaded by birdwatchers to the online platform eBird. The Curlew Sandpiper has declined by 80 percent likely reasons for the decline of these two species are climate change and changes in their breeding areas.
• Everybody loves the sight of flocks of exotic birds making the most of the winter sun. But how many pause to think of how their lot really fare?The eve of World Migratory Bird Day is marked for raising awareness.

2. THE HIDDEN ENVIRONMENTAL COSTS OF INDIA’S DATA CENTRE PUSH

THE CONTEXT: Data centres are giant industrial collections of servers that store and process data underlying the modern information economy.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Data centres are a crucial element of modern information and communication technology industries. They are giant industrial collections of servers that store and process data underlying the modern information economy. The control of data centres offers economic benefits as well as the ability to achieve data sovereignty.
• The Indian data centre market is estimated to grow to $5 billion. In addition, India’s natural resources, connectivity to global markets and strategic location at the junction of multiple submarine cables offers private players good incentives to invest in data centres.
• Recognising this, the Government of India released a draft ‘National Data Centre Policy‘ in 2020. Several major states have also notified their respective data centre policies and others have signed MoUs with private players to develop data centres. This is how the installed data centre capacity of India is expected to double from 499 MW in 2021 to 1,008 MW by 2023.
• These policies however, ignore a very pertinent issue with data centres their environmental impact.
• Data centres affect the environment in two major ways: electricity consumption and water usage. They are online 24/7 and require power back-up and a captive power source, as well as a substantial volume of water to stay cool. They often have a deleterious impact on nearby watersheds along with emissions issues arising from the disposal of cooling water and waste heat.

THE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

3. RBI OPENS BANKS CREDIT FOR NBFCS TO ON-LEND CONTINUOUSLY TO PRIORITY SECTOR

THE CONTEXT: Bank credit to NBFCs, including HFCs, will be allowed up to an overall limit of 5% of an individual banks total priority sector lending

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) decided to allow banks to lend to NBFCs for on-lending to priority sectors on an on-going basis to ensure continuation of the synergies that have been developed between banks and NBFCs in delivering credit to the specified priority sectors. The same holds true for small finance banks who are on-lending to NBFC-MFIs. This facility was earlier allowed till March 31, 2022.
• Now, bank credit to NBFCs, including housing finance companies (HFCs), for on-lending to priority sectors will be allowed upto an overall limit of 5 per cent of an individual banks total priority sector lending. Similarly, small finance banks for on-lending to NBFC-MFIs and other MFIs, which are RBI recognised, will be allowed up to an overall limit of 10 per cent of an individual bank’s total priority sector lending.
• These limits shall be computed by averaging across four quarters of the financial year, to determine adherence to the prescribed cap.
• Small finance banks will be allowed to lend to registered NBFC-MFIs and other MFIs who have a gross loan portfolio of upto Rs 500 crore as of March 31 of the previous financial year.
• In case the gross loan portfolio of the NBFC-MFIs/other MFIs exceeds the stipulated limit at a later date, all priority sector loans created prior to exceeding the gross loan portfolio limit will continue to be classified by the small finance banks (SFBs) as priority sector lending till repayment/maturity, whichever is earlier.

4. INDIA BANS IMMEDIATE EXPORT OF WHEAT TO CONTROL RISING DOMESTIC PRICES

THE CONTEXT: The government has banned the export of wheat with immediate effect in a bid to control rising domestic prices

THE EXPLANATION:

• India is the second-largest producer of wheat in the world, with a share of around 14.14 per cent of the total production in 2020. The country produces around 107.59 million MT of wheat annually and a major chunk of it goes towards domestic consumption.
• The move comes after India’s retail inflation rose to an 8-year high of 7.79 per cent in April, “largely driven by rising fuel and food prices and staying well above the Reserve Bank of India’s upper tolerance limit for a fourth consecutive month”.
• This also comes days after India decided to send trade delegations to countries such as Morocco, Tunisia, Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Turkey, Algeria and Lebanon to explore the possibility of boosting wheat exports.
• food inflation reached a multi-month high in March globally and was “expected to remain elevated due to higher vegetable and cooking oil prices” across the world.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. SCIENTISTS GROW PLANTS IN LUNAR DIRT, THE NEXT STOP MOON

THE CONTEXT: For the first time, scientists have grown plants in soil from the moon collected by NASA’s Apollo astronauts.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Researchers had no idea if anything would sprout in the harsh moon dirt and wanted to see if it could be used to grow food by the next generation of lunar explorers. The results stunned them.
• The longer the soil was exposed to punishing cosmic radiation and solar wind on the moon, the worse the plants seemed to do. The Apollo 11 samples — exposed a couple billion years longer to the elements because of the Sea of Tranquility’s older surface — were the least conducive for growth, according to scientists.
• This is a big step forward to know that you can grow plants, “The real next step is to go and do it on the surface of the moon.”

6. ISRO SUCCESSFULLY CARRIES OUT STATIC TEST OF GAGANYAAN ROCKET’S BOOSTER

THE CONTEXT: The Indian Space Research Organisation successfully completed the static test of a human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) for the Gaganyaan programme at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Indian Space Research Organisation on Monday successfully completed the static test of a human-rated solid rocket booster (HS200) for the Gaganyaan programme at Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC) in Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• The HS200 is the human-rated version of the S200 rocket booster of satellite launch vehicle GSLV Mk III, popularly known as LVM3.
• The S200 motor, which is the first stage of the LVM3 launch vehicle intended for launching a 4,000 kg class satellite to the geosynchronous transfer orbit, was configured as a strap-on rocket booster.
• Based on the successful launch pedigree of this launch vehicle including the Chandrayaan mission, the LVM3 has been identified as the launcher for the Gaganyaan mission.
• For the manned space mission, LVM3 launch vehicle underwent improvements stipulated by the requirements of human rating.
• The additional safety features for motor case joints, robust insulation and ignition systems. The control system used in this booster employs one of the world’s most powerful electro-mechanical actuators with multiple redundancies and safety features.
• The system is indigenously designed and developed by ISRO in participation with various industries spread across the country.
• The HS200 booster loaded with 203 tonnes of solid propellant was tested for a duration of 135 seconds. The 20-metre long and 3.2 m diameter booster is the world’s second-largest operational booster with solid propellant.
• With the successful completion of this test, ISRO marches one more step closer to Gaganyaan Programme.
• Out of the three propulsion stages of LVM3, the human-rated versions of the second-stage known as L110-G loaded with liquid propellant and the third stage C25-G with cryogenic propellant are in the final phase of qualification, including tests with static firing.
• Gaganyaan programme, the most prestigious scientific endeavour of India, is steadily progressing towards its final goal of taking an Indian to space and bringing him safely back.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION FOR 14th MAY 2022

Q1. Which of the following is not a member of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO)?

1. Kazakhstan
2. Afghanistan
3. Tajikistan
4. Uzbekistan

 ANSWER FOR THE 13TH MAY

Answer: D

Explanation:

Please refer to the given map-

1. Duty to our soul READ MORE  
2. Need & importance of civil service values READ MORE

1. Sustainability – road to a better future READ MORE
2. Extreme weather: What is it and how is it connected to climate change? READ MORE

1. Face the facts on communal violence in India READ MORE
2. Here’s what India’s higher education ecosystem needs today READ MORE

1. Actions that corrode the steel frame of India READ MORE
2. How to make a Uniform Civil Code READ MORE
3. Ingenious cybercrimes: Law enforcement agencies ill-equipped to deal with menace READ MORE
4. Sedition law may not witness a sea change READ MORE
5. Comprehending Digital Democracy READ MORE

(Newspapers, PIB and other important sources)

Prelim and Main

1. ISRO successfully carries out static test of Gaganyaan rocket’s booster READ MORE
2. China, Russia, Pakistan to attend SCO anti-terror meet in Delhi READ MORE
3. Faux populi: Public opinion cannot influence jurisprudence READ MORE
4. India bans immediate export of wheat to control rising domestic prices READ MORE
5. World Migratory Birds Day: How are India’s winged guests doing READ MORE
6. New powering system developed for IoT applications READ MORE
7. RBI opens banks credit for NBFCs to on-lend continuously to priority sector READ MORE
8. Govt releases breed-wise report of livestock, poultry READ MORE

Main Exam   

GS Paper- 1

1.  A look at the origin of Mughal paintings READ MORE
2.  Face the facts on communal violence in India READ MORE

GS Paper- 2

POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Actions that corrode the steel frame of India READ MORE
2. How to make a Uniform Civil Code READ MORE
3. Ingenious cybercrimes: Law enforcement agencies ill-equipped to deal with menace READ MORE
4. Sedition law may not witness a sea change READ MORE
5. Comprehending Digital Democracy READ MORE

SOCIAL JUSTICE

1. Here’s what India’s higher education ecosystem needs today READ MORE

INTERNATIONAL ISSUES

1. Reforming WHO: More needs to be done to enhance WHO’s ability to respond to disease outbreaks READ MORE

GS Paper- 3

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

1. Full circle: Cutting fuel taxes is a must to ensure overall macroeconomic stability READ MORE  
2. NPA Resolution and Bad Bank READ MORE
3. Financial Inclusion and the Pandemic READ MORE

ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Sustainability – road to a better future READ MORE
2. Extreme weather: What is it and how is it connected to climate change? READ MORE

SECURITY

1. Weapons in Space~II READ MORE

GS Paper- 4

ETHICS EXAMPLES AND CASE STUDY

1. duty to our soul READ MORE  
2. Need & importance of civil service values READ MORE

Questions for the MAIN exam

1. The idea of a national language finds its expression in multiple areas, including the debate over link language. While it is desirable to have a language spoken and understood by all, it is not necessary for a nation’s integrity and progress. Critically Analyse.
2. In the changing geo-politics, initiatives such as New Arctic Policy can be vital to address the emerging energy challenges experienced by India in the recent past. Explain.

QUOTATIONS AND CAPTIONS

• There are only three ways to meet the unpaid bills of a nation: taxation, repudiation and inflation.
• That a civil servant’s pliant stance ends service neutrality hardly seems to bother the political or bureaucratic leadership.
• Constitutional morality is not a natural sentiment, it has to be cultivated. We must realise that our people have yet to learn it. Democracy in India is only a top dressing on an Indian soil which is essentially undemocratic.
• Cutting fuel taxes is a must to ensure overall macroeconomic stability.
• Uniform Civil Code must be nationwide and involve the abolition of all regressive laws.
• Under the Constitution, family and succession laws are in the concurrent jurisdiction of the Centre and states, but a law to be equally applicable in the entire country can be enacted by Parliament alone.
• Life is a wonderful gift given to us by God. And God too is wonderful to have given us this beautiful life.
• The government has been appropriating old ideas, and one of the ways of doing it is to make new laws based on old principles. It would not be right to blame the powers that be for believing in a mailed-fist State because it is part of their anti-libertarian and anti-individualist political ideology.
• Sustainability emphasizes the need for society to conserve resources, protect natural ecosystems, minimize pollution and promote social equity.
• A healthy planet will thrive and nurture happy and safe survival for present and future generations.
• Mughal painting, which contributed immensely to the annals of Indian art history, had become full-fledged under the patronage of King Akbar.
• People around the globe are experiencing dramatic heatwaves, deadly floods and wildfires as a result of climate change.

50-WORD TALK

• Vladimir Putin’s hammer-blows might level Ukraine, but Finland’s imminent application for NATO membership shows they’re failing to bend Europe to his will. Instead of scaring Russia’s neighbours into submission, Russia’s president has driven them to shelter under the United States’ security shield. Threats obviously don’t turn difficult neighbours into friends.

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.

THE CONTEXT: On April 7, 2022, in the 37th meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee, the Union home minister said that Hindi, not a local language, should be acknowledged as an alternative to English. He added that people of different states should connect with each other in Hindi, not English. This has generated a debate that the Union government is trying to impose Hindi on the speakers of other languages. This article examines this issue in detail.

AN OVERVIEW OF THE HOME MINISTER’S SPEECH

Union Home Minister remarked that people from different states should start talking to each other in Hindi while presiding over a meeting of the Parliamentary Official Language Committee. In various parts of the country, Hindi should be learned as a second language after a mother tongue. He declared Hindi to be the “language of India” and claimed it should be considered a viable alternative to English. Now the time has come to make the Official Language an important part of the Unity of the country. He also stated that Hindi would have become a compulsory language in the North-East.

WHAT ARE THE CONSTITUTIONAL PROVISIONS REGARDING OFFICIAL LANGUAGES?

PART 17 OF THE CONSTITUTION:

• Part 17 of the Indian Constitution (Articles 343 to 351) has detailed provisions concerning the official language of the Republic of India.
• Articles 343 and 344 of the Indian Constitution include the key provisions governing the Union’s official language.
• The Constitution does not provide for a national language.

ENGLISH AND HINDI AS THE CO-OFFICIAL LANGUAGES:

• The Official Language of the Union is Hindi, written in Devanagari script.
• The original Constitution stipulated that English would be used for all official purposes of the Union for a period of 15 years from the date of the Constitution’s adoption.
• The Constitution stated that the President might, by order, permit the use of Hindi in addition to English and the Devanagari form of numerals in addition to the international form of Indian numerals for any of the Union’s official purposes for the specified term.

ROLE OF THE CENTRAL GOVERNMENT:

• The Constitution also states that the Parliament may, by law, provide for the continued use of English for any specific purpose beyond 15 years.
• The Constitution has given the central government complete control over the formulation and implementation of language policy.
• It is also the role of the center to promote and develop the Union’s official language (Hindi) (Art. 351).

OFFICIAL LANGUAGE OF THE STATES:

• Though Hindi is the official language of India, the states may by law adopt any one or more of the languages in use in the state or Hindi as the language or languages to be used for all or any of the official purposes of that state.

LANGUAGE OF COMMUNICATION:

• According to Article 346, the official language ​​of communication between one state and another, or between states and the Union, is English.
• If two or more states agree that Hindi can be the official language of communication between those states, that language can be used for such communication.

COMMISSION CONSTITUTED UNDER ART 344:

• The President at the expiration of five years from the commencement of the Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of ten years by order constitute a Commission.
• It will consist of a Chairman and other members representing the different languages specified in the Eighth Schedule.
• It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to:
• the progressive use of the Hindi language for the official purposes of the Union.
• restrictions on the use of the English language for all or any of the official purposes of the Union etc,.

THE FUNCTIONS OF THE OFFICIAL LANGUAGE COMMITTEE OF THE PARLIAMENT

As per Article 344, a Committee consisting of thirty members, of whom twenty shall be members of the House of the People and ten shall be members of the Council of States, will be constituted. The members will be elected respectively by the members of the House of the People and the members of the Council of States in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote. It shall be the duty of the Committee to examine the recommendations of the Commission constituted under Art 344 and to report to the President their opinion thereon.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE ISSUE OF LANGUAGE SINCE INDEPENDENCE

PRE-INDEPENDENCE: 

• Before India became independent, the sole language in use for all official and administrative purposes was English.
• In 1947, when India gained Independence, the issue of language was one of the most hotly contested in the Constituent Assembly debates.
• While many of our founding fathers had called for Sanskrit and Hindi to be used as our republic’s lingua franca, there was major dissent from the people who did not speak Hindi as a native tongue.

STATE RE-ORGANISATION:

• The 1948 Linguistic Provinces Commission, also known as the Dhar Commission, observed that the formation of provinces exclusively on or even mainly on linguistic considerations is not in the larger interests of the Indian nation.
• The Fazal Ali Commission, 1953 recommended restructuring the states based on language but not before giving a sound rationale for the same.
  

LANGUAGE CONFLICT:

• Vehement opposition from the legislators and agitation from the student intelligentsia, especially in Tamil Nadu, forced the then PM Lal Bahadur Shastri to make a national radio broadcast assuring the Tamils that English would be continued to be used in interstate and Centre-state communications and in Civil Services Examinations.
• In 1967, the Indira Gandhi government amended the 1963 Official Languages Act and allowed for the continuation of English as the lingua franca of the Indian Union.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY:

• The NEP draft earlier made studying Hindi mandatory till Class 8 in non-Hindi-speaking states, and due to opposition, it was dropped.

PRESENT ISSUE:

• Hindi as the link language and the opposition to it.

ENGLISH AS THE PREFERED MEDIUM OF INSTRUCTION

The 2011 language census uncovered that only 12 out of India’s then 35 states chose Hindi as their first language. Even though Hindi is spoken by about 43% of India’s population, only 26% or just over 1/4th of Indians speak the language as their mother tongue. The 2020 NEP, which the Union Cabinet approved, called for the medium of instruction to be the mother tongue of a student ‘whenever possible’ till the VIIIth standard. According to a Unified District Information System for Education (UDISE) report of 2019-20, despite Hindi remaining the biggest medium of instruction in India, accounting for around 42% of the share, the preference for the English medium is on the rise. Studies indicate J&K has nearly 100% enrolment in English, trailed by Telangana, which has a nearly 75% enrolment. Another 2020 NSO study found that over 50% of pre-primary schoolchildren who spoke one of 13 regional languages at home, including Tamil, Malayalam, Kannada, and Punjabi, were enrolled in English medium schools.

WHAT ARE THE ARGUMENTS FOR HINDI AS A LINK LANGUAGE?

SPOKEN BY A LARGE NUMBER OF PEOPLE: A large number of people speak Hindi either as their mother tongue or otherwise, and hence promoting Hindi will be more feasible than other languages.

IDENTITY OF THE NATION: The entire country must have one language that becomes the identity of the nation in the world. If there is any language that can tie the whole country in one thread, it is the most spoken language of, Hindi.

ECONOMIC DIMENSIONS: Having a language that is spoken and understood by all the people of a country is beneficial from the economic standpoint as it will provide for effective communication, open up new markets and improve trust between the seller and buyer.

SOCIAL MILIEU: Lack of understanding of each other’s language is held to create distance between individuals and communities, which impacts social cohesion and prevent generating social capital.

CONSTITUTIONAL MANDATE: A holistic reading of Part 17 of the Constitution, the Official Language Act 1963, various policies and schemes of the government make it clear that there is a strong mandate for promoting Hindi. The idea of a link language is one approach in this direction.

GANDHIAN VIEW: Mahatma Gandhi, during the freedom struggle, had described Hindi as the national language and called for its adoption and many members of the Constituent Assembly echoed such sentiments.

WHAT ARE THE CRITICISMS OF SUCH A PROPOSAL?

CENSUS DATA EVIDENCE:

• Residents of only 12 of the 35 States and Union Territories (UTs) reported Hindi as their first choice of language for communication (Census 2011).
• But there is a caveat. “Hindi” is an umbrella term encompassing 56 languages (mother tongues), including Bhojpuri, Rajasthani, Hindi, and Chhattisgarhi.
• While 43% of Indians speak “Hindi”, only 26% speak Hindi specifically as their mother tongue.

UTILITARIAN ARGUMENT:

• The claim that Hindi is a better language than English because the majority speaks it cannot be sustained since it is a majoritarian argument.
• Instead, we must address a pragmatic question: which language, Hindi, or English, would be more advantageous to citizens as they pursue better lives?
• To put it another way, would learning English assist native Hindi speakers, or should Hindi be pushed on the non-Hindi speaking populace for their “benefit”?

HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX COMPARISON:

• A comparison of the Human Development Index (HDI) of States and UTs reveals that regions with a higher share of English speakers have higher HDI scores (Chart 1), while states with a higher share of Hindi speakers have lower HDI scores (Chart 2).
• This indicates that greater quality of life correlates with a higher proportion of English speakers.

MIGRATION AND LANGUAGE:

• More people from the Hindi-speaking States have been migrating to the non-Hindi-speaking regions in search of better livelihoods.
• An analysis of the 2011 Census data also shows that net in-migration for the Hindi States, where Hindi is spoken by at least 50% of the population, is negative.
• This indicates that the migrant outflow was higher than the inflow in these States. In non-Hindi States, the net in-migration was positive. This pattern was observed for all types of migrations, including those done for work and education.

DEPRIVATION OF OPPORTUNITIES:

• Native Hindi speakers will have a clear advantage over others when it comes to employment opportunities.
• Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar will beat Telugus and Kannadigas, and Malayalees with ease in the job market, where language abilities are a primary factor.

POLITICAL AND CIVIL SOCIETY OPPOSITION:

• The north-eastern states, the southern states, especially Tamil Nadu, are regions where Hindi is very negligibly used.
• Different political parties and civil society organisations have raised concerns against the proposal to make Hindi the communication language.
• Making one language, a communication language is considered a step towards centralisation and degrading other dialects.

ENGLISH IN A HINDI STATE: THE UTTAR PRADESH EXAMPLE

In what looks like a revolution, the UP Government recently made 15,000 primary and upper primary schools switch to English as the medium of instruction. Reports said that the objective of the policy switch was to develop the English-speaking skills of children studying in government schools so that they could compete effectively with students coming from convent-run schools.

THE WAY FORWARD

• Although the promotion of Hindi needs to be undertaken through multiple media, the perception of its imposition needs to be avoided.
• The Unity of our country is built and strengthened on the edifice of diversity and not on homogeneity and sameness. Hence, while there can be efforts to develop a language that will aid in effective communication and trust-building among communities, other languages should also be given their due status.
• As English has significant utilitarian value, especially in a globalised economy and given India’s inherent strength of the service sector, English language teaching and learning also should be given impetus.
• Higher political functionaries of the government need to focus on building consensus on sensitive issues.
• Making Hindi flexible by accepting words from other local languages would help promote both Hindi and local Indian languages.

THE CONCLUSION: The idea of a national language finds its expression in multiple areas, including the debate over “link language”. While it is desirable to have a language spoken and understood by all, it is not necessary for a nation’s integrity and progress, as seen in Canada, the USA, etc. In fact, politics need to focus on the “bread and butter issues” in India and not rake up issues that have no immediate relevance. Nevertheless, the debate over the link language needs to be seen in the larger context of centralisation tendencies the polity is experiencing which is not a healthy proposition for good governance.

QUESTIONS:

1. By explaining the Constitutional provisions related to Official Languages, comment upon the debate over Hindi as the link language.
2. The idea of a national language finds its expression in multiple areas, including the debate over link language. While it is desirable to have a language spoken and understood by all, it is not necessary for a nation’s integrity and progress. Critically Analyse.