[WpProQuiz 139]

[WpProQuiz 138]

[WpProQuiz 137]

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. THE EMERGENCE OF LOK ADALAT

THE CONTEXT: According to National Legal Services Authority, that it is committed to deliver prompt and inexpensive justice to the citizens. Recently, it has decided to lay more emphasis on contribution of National Lok Adalat in effectively reducing the number of pending cases through Alternative Dispute Mechanisms.

THE STATUS OF LOK ADALAT:

• To achieve this goal, the Legal Services Authorities shifted to dynamic preparation strategies for organization of the Lok Adalats. As a preparatory measure, NALSA started organization of prior consultative and review meetings with all the State Legal Services Authorities to guide them towards the maximum disposal during such Lok Adalats.

The empirical Data:

• A cumulative effect of all the preparatory and mobilization measures resulted in extraordinary disposal figures during the year 2021. Across the country, a total number of 1,27,87,329 cases were disposed of in four National Lok Adalats, which included a huge number of pending cases i.e., 55,81,117 and a record number of pre-litigation cases i.e., 72,06,212. Through these activities the Legal Services Authorities disposed off a large number of cases giving relief to the common citizens by ending or preventing long lasting legal battles.
• The second in line were the Revenue cases consisting of 11,59,794 pre-litigation and 14,99,558 pending cases. Apart from these, the other disposed of cases were cheque bounce cases under NI Act, Bank Recovery Cases, Motor Accident Claims, Labour Disputes, matrimonial cases, etc.

Technological Advancements:

• In June 2020, the Legal Services Authorities integrated technology with the conventional modes of dispute settlement and introduced virtual Lok Adalats also called as ‘E-Lok Adalats’. Since then, all the Lok Adalats including National Lok Adalats are organized through virtual and hybrid modes.
• Due to these technological advancements, Lok Adalats have reached to the doorsteps of the parties. The parties are now able to join the Lok Adalat proceedings from their homes or workplaces, saving them the hassle of travelling and reserving a full day for an affair, which gets over within minutes.
• The other major factor in the success of Lok Adalats was the formulation of decisive strategies at the National level. Under these strategies, the State Legal Services Authorities were instructed to conduct meetings with various stakeholder across every level with an objective to ensure their full cooperation and coordination. The authorities were guided to follow a litigant friendly approach as well as to persuade such litigants to settle the cases involving settled propositions of law.

Value Addition:

About Lok Adalat

• Lok Adalat is a system of alternative dispute resolution developed in India. It roughly means “People’s Court”, which is established through Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987 which came into force on 9th November 1995.
• Article 39 A of the Constitution provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society, to promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity. Article 14 and Article 22 (1), obligates State to ensure equality before law.
• They are held periodically for exercising such jurisdiction as they determine. The first Lok Adalat was held on March 14, 1982, in Gujarat.

What is an ADR?

• Alternative dispute resolution (ADR) is designed to settle disputes outside of the courtroom with the help of an impartial third party. The latter means the decision is final and enforceable, while the former implies that the arbitrator’s ruling is advisory and only set in stone if both parties agree to it.
• The ADR techniques mainly include arbitration, conciliation, mediation, and negotiation. In India, Lok Adalat stands as another additional form of ADR mechanism, which combines different techniques like conciliation, mediation, and negotiation.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. THE WORLD’S SIXTH MASS EXTINCTION

THE CONTEXT: Scientists are warning that we are in the early throes of another such annihilation event. Unlike any other, this sixth mass die-off — or Anthropocene extinction — is the only one caused by humans, and climate change, habitat destruction, pollution and industrial agriculture all play a hand.

THE EXPLANATION:

• In mass extinctions, at least three-quarters of all species cease to exist within about 3 million years. Some scientists believe that at our current rate, could be on track to lose that number within a few centuries.
• Over the next few decades alone, at least 1 million species are at risk of being wiped out. That’s according to an estimate in a landmark report published in 2019 — but many scientists say it could well be an undercount.
• Trying to predict the results of a complete collapse in biodiversity is almost a black art — ecosystems are incredibly complex.
• However, that there are several clear predictions should extinctions continue at this rate.

LOSS OF FOOD SECURITY

• Bees play a vital role in ensuring our food security
• About one-third of the world’s food supply relies on pollinators such as bees, and, if they die out, agricultural yields could plummet.
• Some crop pests may thrive as predators drop off, further impacting monoculture harvests.
• And millions of people rely on wild species for nutrition and their livelihoods, particularly on coastal and inland fisheries, which are especially vulnerable to disappearing.
• According to Scientist, this lack of food security, which will also be connected to increased drought and flooding, will hit poorer regions hardest — particularly sub-Saharan Africa and parts of Southeast Asia.

SOIL FERTILITY

• The quality of soil is also expected to deteriorate if critical microorganisms die off. Though underrepresented in the data, some researchers believe they are potentially vanishing at a faster rate than other species. Their disappearance could lead to worsening erosion, which in turn results in more floods, as well as poorer fertility, which again impacts crop growth.
• Healthy soils rely on microorganisms that some scientists say are dying out at rapid rates.

ATER SHORTAGES AND NATURAL DISASTERS

• A lot of the world’s fresh water comes from wetlands that purify and redistribute this life source. The Himalayan water tower for example, which is fed by rivers and wetlands, supplies about two billion people. If systems like these collapse, as a result of impacts including algae blooms and receding vegetation, humanity could lose a lot of water for drinking and agricultural use.
• As forests recede, rainfall patterns are likely to shift as evapotranspiration — the process in which moisture is returned to the atmosphere through evaporation and plant transpiration — is affected, further drying out the landscape, as has been seen in the Amazon.
• The UN Food and Agriculture Organization estimates that about 10 million hectares (24 million acres) of forest were cut down annually from 2015. The Amazon rainforest is under threat from deforestation. And with the loss of trees and vegetation — fundamental regulators of atmospheric carbon dioxide — climate change is expected to worsen, triggering more extreme weather events. Drier conditions and unhealthy forests also increase the risk of wildfire.
• Meanwhile, crop failures and other ecological threats will likely trigger mass migrations as people escape famine and conflict over dwindling resources.

THE SOCIAL AND HEALTH ISSUES

3. THE KALA AZAR DEATH IN JHARKHAND

THE CONTEXT: For the first time in eight years, Jharkhand reported a death due to kala azar in the state, even as the total cases continue to decline. While 752 cases were identified as positive in 2015, the number of provisional cases last year till November 2021 was 242, as per data on the National Centre for Vector Borne Disease Control portal.

THE EXPLANATION:

• In Jharkhand, it is endemic to four districts, especially their rural areas: Sahebganj, Godda, Dumka and Pakur, covering 33 blocks. The disease is considered endemic if there is more than one case per 10,000 population.
• Jharkhand, in fact, has managed to ensure an uninterrupted decline in cases – 25% on an average annually – despite two waves of Covid-19. “Cases have declined, but the transmission cannot be reduced abruptly.
• Data regarding kala azar in the state is available since 2014. However, even in 2015, when Jharkhand reported a high of 1,358 cases, no deaths were seen.

About the Kala Azar Disease:

• Kala azar (meaning black death) or Visceral leishmaniasis is the second largest parasitic killer in the world—only malaria is more deadly. Along with Chagas disease and sleeping sickness, kala azar is one of the most dangerous neglected tropical diseases (NTDs).

Initiatives were taken by Government of India

• WHO has set the target for GOI to eliminate it by 2017. A centrally sponsored kala-azar control programme had been launched for endemic states in the year 1990-91.
• National roadmap for Kala-azar has been circulated in all states.
• Treatment of the patient with single day single dose AmBisome injection has improved treatment compliance.
• Regular supply of diagnostic kit.
• 300 being given to ASHA worker or health volunteer to bring cases suspected with Kala-azar and ensures their full treatment.

THE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

4. THE GRIME-EATING BACTERIA TO RESTORE CLASSICAL ART (BIO CLEANING & BIO RESTORATION)

THE CONTEXT: Scientists from Italy are using grime-eating bacteria to restore classical art. Art restorers have usually employed chemical agents and, more recently laser techniques, to remove dirt, oil, glue, or pollutants from monuments, stone works, and paintings.

THE EXPLANATION:

Since the 1980s, when researchers first used the bacteria Desulfovibrio vulgaris to clean a marble monument at the Cave Hill Cemetery in Louisville, US, the role of micro-organisms has been recognised in protecting the artistic heritage of humanity.

Calling in the bugs 

• The New York Times, which first reported the initially secret restoration in Florence, said the team washed the hair of one of the marble statues with Pseudomonas stutzeri CONC11 bacterium isolated from the waste of a tannery near Naples, and cleaned the residue of casting molds, glue, and oil using Rhodococcus sp. ZCONT, another strain that came from soil contaminated with diesel.

Cleaning of Taj Mahal:

• Researchers from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology, Patiala, and Curtin University in Perth, Australia, and the Archaeological Survey of India is learning the way to exploring the option of employing bio-restoration at the Taj.
• According to the researchers, “first they need to study the marble to understand if it is just dust and particulate carbon causing the dark colour or if there is a biofilm formation.”

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 13^TH JANUARY 2022

Q1. Which of the following is not compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment?

               a) CPI for Industrial Workers (IW)

b) CPI for Agricultural Labourer (AL)

c) CPI for Rural Labourer (RL)

d) CPI (Rural/Urban/Combined)

ANSWER FOR 12^TH JANUARY 2022.

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Henley Passport Index ranks world’s passports according to the
• number of destinations their holders can access without prior visa.
• Statement 2 is correct: Ranking is based on data from International Air Transport Association
• (IATA).
• Statement 3 is incorrect: India is ranked 83rd in its 2022 index, climbing seven places from 90th rank last year.

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. DEMAND FOR ‘GREATER TIPRALAND’

THE CONTEXT: The demand has grown louder to carve out a separate state of ‘Greater Tipraland’ for the indigenous communities in Tripura under Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• Several tribal outfits in Tripura have joined hands to push their demand for a separate state for indigenous communities in the region, arguing that their “survival and existence” was at stake.
• Among the political parties that have come together for the cause are TIPRA Motha (Tipraha Indigenous Progressive Regional Alliance) and IPFT (Indigenous People’s Front of Tripura), which had so far been rivals in the electoral fray.

What is their main demand?

• The parties are demanding a separate state of ‘Greater Tipraland’ for the indigenous communities of the north-eastern state. They want the Centre to carve out the separate state under Article 2 and 3 of the Constitution.
• Among the 19 notified Scheduled Tribes in Tripura, Tripuris (aka Tipra and Tiprasas) are the largest. According to the 2011 census, there are at least 5.92 lakh Tripuris in the state, followed by Reangs (1.88 lakh) and Jamatias (83,000).

What does the Constitution say?

• Article 2 of the Constitution deals with admission or establishment of new states. “Parliament may by law admit into the Union, or establish, new States on such terms and conditions, as it thinks fit,” it states.
• Article 3 comes into play in the case of “formation of new States and alteration of areas, boundaries or names of existing States” by the Parliament.

How did the demand originate?

• Tripura was a kingdom ruled by the Manikya dynasty from the late 13th century until the signing of the Instrument of Accession with the Indian government on October 15, 1949.
• The demand mainly stems from the anxiety of the indigenous communities in connection with the change in the demographics of the state, which has reduced them to a minority. It happened due to the displacement of Bengalis from the erstwhile East Pakistan between 1947 and 1971.
• From 63.77 per cent in 1881, the population of the tribals in Tripura was down to 31.80 per cent by 2011. In the intervening decades, ethnic conflict and insurgency gripped the state, which shares a nearly 860-km long boundary with Bangladesh. The joint forum has also pointed out that the indigenous people have not only been reduced to a minority, but have also been dislodged from land reserved for them by the penultimate king of the Manikya dynasty Bir Bikram Kishore Debbarman.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. MALLARD SPOTTED IN HYDERABAD

THE CONTEXT: The Mallard or the wild duck with an iridescent green or blue-headed plumage was spotted in the Hyderabad.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• The Himalayan Mallard belongs to the duck family and is commonly seen in the colder regions of north India but not seen in the western and southern regions of the country. While a few rare sightings have been recorded in the western belt of Maharashtra, there is no recorded sighting to date in Telangana.
• Scientifically known as Anas Platyrhynchos, and commonly called the wild duck, the Mallard belongs to the duck family but has a most distinctive feature in the iridescent green or blue-headed plumage of the male.
• The Mallard is a dabbling duck that feeds on all aquatic plants and vegetation near the surface of the water as well as insects and snails. Mallards are domesticated and are commonly-reared pets in areas where they are easily found and are reared for food.

Presence in India: Mallard is found in the north and central part of India. It can also be spotted in the Madhav National Park, Panna National Park, Nameri National Park, Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and Hemis National Park in India.

Habitat: Mallards prefers shallow inland waterways, such as ponds, lakes, rivers, reservoirs, and marshes.

Diet: Mallard are omnivorous and feeds on seeds, plants, shoots, buds, grain, acorns, aquatic invertebrates and insects. In most parts, humans provide them abundant food throughout the year.

Protection Status:

• IUCN: LEAST CONCERN
• Wildlife Protection Act: Schedule-IV

THE ECONOMY

3. CHINA A ‘DEVELOPING’ COUNTRY TAG’ AT WTO

THE CONTEXT: China’s status as a ‘developing country’ at the World Trade Organization (WTO) has become a contentious issue with a number of countries raising concerns over the upper middle-income nation deriving benefits reserved for developing countries under WTO norms.

THE EXPLANATION:   

The concerns have been raised over the ‘least developed country’ (LDC) status, with Bangladesh potentially losing this tag after surpassing India in terms of GDP per capita.

What are the benefits of ‘developing country’ tag?

• Certain WTO agreements give developing countries special rights through ‘special and differential treatment’ (S&DT) provisions, which can grant developing countries longer timeframes to implement the agreements and even commitments to raise trading opportunities for such countries.
• WTO pacts are often aimed at reduction in government support to certain industries over time and set more lenient target for developing nations and grant them more time to achieve these targets compared to developed ones.
• The classification also allows other countries to offer preferential treatment.

How is a ‘developing country’ decided and why are some against China being classified as one?

• The WTO has not defined ‘developed’ and ‘developing’ countries and therefore member countries are free to announce whether they are ‘developed’ or ‘developing’.
• However, given the rise in China’s per capita income to become an upper middle-income country according to the World Bank and the country’s alleged use of unfair trade practices such as preferential treatment for state enterprises, data restrictions and inadequate enforcement of intellectual property rights, a number of nations have called on China to either refrain from seeking benefits available to developing countries or forego its classification as a developing country altogether.
• “One way for China to show leadership would be by refraining from claiming benefits that would correspond to a developing country in ongoing negotiations”.
• The US, EU and Australia had recommended that China relinquish “its access to special and differential treatment”. China’s per capita income was $10,435 in 2020 according to the World Bank while that of India was $1,928.

What are the benefits of LDC classification? 

• The WTO recognises LDCs relying on a classification by the UN based on a criteria that is reviewed every three years. LDCs are often exempted from certain provisions of WTO pacts.
• Bangladesh, currently classified as an LDC, receives zero duty, zero quota access for almost all exports to the EU. It is, however, set to graduate from the LDC status in 2026 as its per capita GDP has risen sharply surpassing that of India in FY21.

Status of India:

India has self-designated itself as a developing nation and is accordingly, classified by the World Bank as a lower-middle-income economy.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

4. UNESCO ON WORLD HINDI DAY

THE CONTEXT: UNESCO announced that on the occasion of World Hindi Day, UNESCO’s World Heritage Centre has agreed to publish Hindi descriptions of India’s UNESCO World Heritage Sites on WHC website.

THE EXPLANATION:

World Hindi Day

• It is also called Vishwa Hindi Divas. It is celebrated on January 10 to mark the first World Hindi Conference held on January 10, 1975. It was held in Nagpur. It was hosted by the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. Around 30 countries participated in the conference.
• The main aim of celebrating the day is to promote Hindi language all over the world. The decision of celebrating January 10 as World Hindi Day was made during a World Hindi Conference held in 2005. This was announced by the then PM Manmohan Singh. The first World Hindi Day was celebrated in 2006.

How is World Hindi Day different from National Hindi Divas?

• The National Hindi Divas is celebrated on September 14. This day is celebrated to commemorate the adoption of Hindi as the official language. This is celebrated in India. While World Hindi Day is observed by the Indian embassies located in foreign lands.
• Hindi is spoken by more than 260 million people. It is the fourth most spoken language in the world. The most widely spoken language is English. It is followed by Spanish and Mandarin.

World Heritage Sites

• These are natural or man-made areas. These sites require special protection. They have international importance. The World Heritage sites are important for humanity. They hold great cultural value.
• The sites list is maintained by the WHP. It is made of 21 member states. In order become a World Heritage Site, the place should be historically and geographically unique. The site is chosen in the interest of international community and based on national interests.
• However, the recommendations to include a site under the list are made by the member countries.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 12^TH JANUARY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about Henley Passport Index:

1. It ranks world’s passports according to the number of destinations their holders can access without prior visa.
2. Ranking is based on data from International Air Transport Association (IATA).
3. India is ranked 90 th in its 2022 index.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

            a) 1 only

b) 1 and 2 only

c) 2 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

ANSWER FOR 11^TH JANUARY 2022.

Answer: a)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: National Clean Air Program (NCAP) was launched in 2019 to reduce

levels of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in certain cities (called non-attainment cities) which fail to meet

the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) in five year period.

• Statement 2 is incorrect: It aims to reduce particulate matter levels in those cities by 20-30% in 2024.

[WpProQuiz 135]

[WpProQuiz 134]

[WpProQuiz 133]

THE POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. THE 24TH NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON E-GOVERNANCE 2021

THE CONTEXT: The Department of Administrative Reforms & Public Grievances (DARPG) and Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), Government of India, in association with the State Government of Telangana organized the 24th Conference on e-Governance (NCG) 2021.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• The theme of this Conference is “India’s Techade: Digital Governance in a Post Pandemic World”. At the Valedictory Session ‘Hyderabad Declaration’ on e-Governance was adopted after intensive deliberations during the sessions.
• The discussions were held on six sub-themes in Plenary sessions- AatmaNirbhar Bharat: Universalization of Public Services; Innovation– Platformization, Emerging Technologies; Ease of living through Technology Interventions for Good Governance; Government Process Re-engineering and Citizen’s participation in Government Processes; India’s Techade – Digital Economy (Digital Payments – Building Citizen’s Confidence).

HYDERABAD DECLARATION:

The Conference resolved that Government of India and State Governments shall collaborate to:

1. To bring citizens and government closer through digital platforms.
2. Transform citizen services through use of technology by leveraging the artifacts of India Stack that include Aadhaar, UPI, DigiLocker, UMANG, e Sign and consent framework.
3. Fast track the implementation of the national level public digital platforms in key social sectors viz. Health, Education, Agriculture, etc by adopting open interoperable architecture for joined up connected services.
4. Operationalize the data governance framework to facilitate data sharing within Government entities as also make available all data on data.gov.in except for a negative list. Enable protocols for data collection, data harvesting, data privacy, data anonymization, data security, and data preservation that can help build a data economy.
5. Foster responsible use of emerging technology such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, 5G, Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, etc for Social Empowerment.
6. Use technology for propagating end to end service delivery without human interference to the citizen at the grass root level.
7. Make “digital” the primary aspect of government service design and delivery and provide requisite infrastructure to achieve that.

Value Addition:

What is e-Governance?

• E-governance is the application of ICT to the processes of government functioning for good governance. In other words, e-governance is the public sector’s use of ICTs with the aim to improve information and service delivery, encourage citizen participation in decision-making and make government more accountable, transparent and efficient.
• So in essence, e-governance is the application of ICT in government functioning to bring in SMART governance implying: simple, moral, accountable, responsive and transparent

SMART governance, thus, helps in:

• improving the internal organizational processes of governments;
• providing better information and service delivery;
• increasing government transparency in order to reduce corruption;
• reinforcing political credibility and accountability; and
• promoting democratic practices through public participation and consultation.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. THE RARE MICROBES

THE CONTEXT: Researchers from the University of Southern Denmark have discovered that oxygen is also produced without sunlight, possibly deep below the ocean surface. Researchers have discovered that some of the invisible microorganisms living in water columns produce oxygen in an unexpected way.

THE EXPLANATION:

Scientists say there would be no oxygen on Earth were it not for sunlight: the key component in photosynthesis.

Nitrogen cycle

• A few microbes are known to make oxygen without sunlight, but so far, they have only been discovered in very limited quantities and in very specific habitats.
• But the ocean living microbe Nitrosopumilus maritimus and its cousins, called ammonia-oxidizing archaea play an important role in the nitrogen cycle. For this, they need oxygen. So it has been a long-standing puzzle why they are also very abundant in waters where there is no oxygen.
• The researchers found that N. maritimus was using the oxygen present in water, but the oxygen levels started increasing again in water. The micro-organisms were able to make oxygen even in a dark environment. Not sufficiently high to influence oxygen levels on Earth, but enough to keep itself going.
• maritimus couples the oxygen production to the production of gaseous nitrogen. By doing so they remove bioavailable nitrogen from the environment.

What are Microbes?

A microbe, or “microscopic organism,” is a living thing that is too small to be seen with the naked eye. We need to use a microscope to see them.It is used to describe many different types of life forms, with dramatically different sizes and characteristics:

• Bacteria
• Archaea
• Fungi
• Protists
• Viruses

Microscopic Animals

The human body is home to microbes from all of these categories. Microscopic plants are also considered microbes, though they don’t generally live on or in the human body.         

3. THE RETURN OF GHARIAL TO ORANG NATIONAL PARK

THE CONTEXT: The Assam government issued a preliminary notification for adding 200.32 sq. km to the 78.82 sq. km Orang National Park as it is to be expanded to more than thrice its existing size; to include Gharials, dolphins, turtles.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The gharial, wiped out from the Brahmaputra River system in the 1950s, could be the prime beneficiary of a process to expand an Assam tiger reserve.

• Orang, on the northern bank of the river, is strategic to the Kaziranga Orang Riverine Landscape. Tigers and rhinos are known to use the islands in this riverine landscape, about 180 km long, to hop between Orang and Kaziranga.
• “The government is pursuing a policy for the reintroduction of the gharial that became locally extinct more than six decades ago. With better protection, the stretch of Kaziranga-Orang landscape is ideal for sustaining the gharial,”
• The Gangetic dolphin is also expected to be a beneficiary of the final notification of the addition to Orang, expected to take at least three months after the rights and claims are settled.
• Other national parks in Assam are Kaziranga, Manas, Nameri, Dibru-Saikhowa, Raimona and DehingPatkai.

About Gharials

Gharials (or gavials) are a type of Asian crocodilian distinguished by their long, thin snouts. Crocodilians are a group of reptiles that includes crocodiles, alligators, caimans, and more.

India has three species of Crocodilians namely:

• Gharial: IUCN Red List– Critically Endangered
• Mugger crocodile: IUCN-
• Saltwater crocodile: IUCN- Least Concern.
• All the three are listed on Appendix I of CITES and Schedule I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972.
• However, Saltwater Crocodile populations of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea are included in Appendix II of CITES.

Habitats include:

• Fresh waters of the northern India – Chambal river, Ghagra, Gandak river and the Sone river (Bihar).
• Population of Gharials is a good indicator of clean river water.

Conservation Efforts:

• Breeding Centres of Kukrail Gharial Rehabilitation Centre in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, National Chambal Sanctuary (Gharial Eco Park, Madhya Pradesh).

Orang National Park

• The Orang National Park also known as Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park is located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam and covers an area of 78.81 square kilometers.
• It was established as a wildlife sanctuary in 1985 but was declared as National Park in 1999. It is also 49th Tiger Reserve of the country, being notified in 2016.
• It is also known as the mini Kaziranga National Park (IUCN site) since the two parks have a similar landscape made up of marshes, streams, and grasslands.
• Pachnoi River, Belsiri River and Dhansiri River border the park and join the Brahmaputra River.

THE DEFENCE AND SECURITY

4. THE LIGHT COMBAT AIRCRAFT PROGRAMME

THE CONTEXT: According to the Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), HAL expects to deliver all Final Operational Clearance (FOC) variant aircraft to the Indian Air Force (IAF) in 2022 pending some systems from Israel, while the LCA-MK1A is expected to take flight in June 2022. There is another 20 to 24 months of testing after which deliveries would begin with manufacturing activities going parallel to the testing.

THE BACKGROUND:

• The term Tejas means ‘radiance’. Developed as a joint venture between Aeronautical Development Agency and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Tejas is a lightweight aircraft technically described as a multi-role, singing-engine tactical fighter. The Light Combat Aircraft (LCA)-Tejas was conceptualized in the year
• Specially manufactured for induction into the Indian Navy and Indian Air force, Tejas comes with two variations.
• Tejas is an indigenously manufactured Light Combat Aircraft (LCA). Notably, this is among the world’s smallest and lightest multi-role fighter aircraft belonging to the Supersonic class. The highlights of this tailless Aircraft include a single-engine and a compound delta wing. In the mission of its development, we see ADA and HAL partners also making use of the expertise of DRDO, CSIR, BEL, DGAQA, IAF and IN. Upon its deployment, Tejas will meet the diverse requirements of the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Indian Navy (IN).

Tejas aircraft Performance

• Altitude: 50,000 feet; Max Speed at all altitudes: Supersonic; and ‘g’ limits: +8/-3.5.
• The efficiency and worth of any modern fighter aircraft depend on the weapons it is capable of delivering on the target. Tejas can carry a veritable plethora of air to surface, air to air, standoff and precision-guided weaponry. In the air-to-air arena, Tejas can carry long-range and beyond-visual-range weapons. It can also tackle any kind of close combat threat by handling highly agile and high off-boresight missiles.
• A broad range of air to ground munitions and highly accurate navigation and attack system makes it possible for the aircraft to prosecute the surface targets both over the land or at the sea with the mission accomplished with a high degree of accuracy. These features bestow the multi-swing role capabilities to this highly touted fighter jet aircraft Tejas.

What is the status of the LCA programme?

• Two decades since the first flight, in February 2021, the Defence Ministry signed a ₹48,000 crore deal with HAL to supply 83 LCA-Mk1A to the IAF. This includes 73 LCA Tejas Mk-1A fighter aircraft and 10 LCA Mk-1 trainer aircraft at the cost of ₹45,696 crores along with the design and development of infrastructure sanctions worth ₹1,202 crores.
• The MK-1A will have over 40 modifications over the MK1 variant including some major ones like a new Electronic Warfare system, Advanced Electronically Scanning Array (AESA) radar, Beyond Visual Range (BVR) missiles and network warfare system including Software Defined Radio (SDR).
• The first IOC fighter aircraft was delivered in 2016 and the first LCA squadron No. 45 “Flying Daggers” in the IAF was formed in July 2016 with two aircraft. The first squadron is now complete and the second LCA squadron No. 18 ‘Flying Bullets’ was operationalized in May 2020.

What is the way forward?

• To ramp up production, HAL has already set up two additional assembly lines which are operational. Some back-end activities are also being finished at the moment, according to HAL.
• The indigenous content in LCA is currently about 52% and HAL said it is looking at ways to increase it to 65%.
• An ambitious fifth-generation fighter aircraft Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA), and a new Twin Engine Deck Based Fighter (TEDBF) to operate from the Navy’s aircraft carriers are being developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and Aeronautical Development Agency (ADA).
• The AMCA is envisaged as a 25-tonne aircraft with an internal carriage of 1,500kg of payload and a 5,500kg external payload with 6,500kg of internal fuel with the rollout planned in 2024 and first flight planned in 2025, according to ADA officials.
• The TEDBF is being designed based on lessons learned from the Naval LCA programme and the first flight is planned for 2026. In addition to supplying to the IAF, HAL is aggressively pitching its helicopters and Tejas to countries in South East Asia and West Asia and LCA is in the contest in Malaysia.

THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT

5. THE GALÁPAGOS ISLANDS VOLCANO ERUPTS

THE CONTEXT: According to Ecuador’s Geophysical Institute the tallest mountain in the Galápagos islands has erupted, spewing lava down its flanks and clouds of ash over the Pacific Ocean.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The 1,701-meter volcano is one of the numerous active volcanos in the Galápagos, which are nearly 1,000km (600 miles) from mainland South America.
• A cloud of gas and ash from Wolf Volcano rose to 3,793 meters (12,444 feet) above sea level after the eruption.
• The volcano last erupted in 2015.

Value Addition:

A volcano is an opening in the earth’s crust through which gases, molten rocks materials (lava), ash, steam etc. are emitted outward in the course of an eruption. Volcanic activity is an example of an endogenic process. 

Difference between Magma and Lava:

• Magma is the term used to denote the molten rocks and related materials seen inside the earth. A weaker zone of the mantle called the asthenosphere usually is the source of magma.
• Once this magma came out to the earth’s surface through the vent of a volcano, it is called the Lava. Therefore, Lava is nothing but the magma on earth’s surface.
• The process by which solid, liquid and gaseous material escape from the earth’s interior to the surface of the earth is called Volcanism.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES IN NEWS

6. NEW MICROCHIP IN E-PASSPORTS

THE CONTEXT: The Ministry of External Affairs signed an agreement with Tata Consultancy Services Limited for the second phase of the Passport Seva Programme (PSP), one of the several Mission Mode Projects (MMPs) of the Government of India.

THE EXPLANATION:

The latest agreement will facilitate the next phase of the PSP termed PSP-V2.0. The $1 billion agreement will focus on faster delivery of passports to the citizens and create a more effective integration between various wings of the Government like the MEA and the local police network that can work in harmony for verification of applicants and quick tracing in case of emergency situations.

What are the features of the new passport initiative programme?

• The new initiative is aimed at creating a digital platform that would be “transparent, more accessible and reliable” and that it would be backed by a trained workforce. This will create a state-of-the-art digital ecosystem, overhaul existing processes and integrate various wings of Government that is involved in the issuance of passports.
• The overall system would be connected to all the Indian diplomatic missions abroad and will allow monitoring and supervision through the state-of-art Network Operation Centre, and Security Operation Centre.
• “The programme has recently been connected to more than 176 Indian Missions/Posts through Global Passport Seva Programme (GPSP), providing seamless delivery of passport services to the Indian diaspora,”

What will be the new features of PSP-V2.0?

• The new programme is expected to have technology upgrades including the use of the latest biometrics technology, Artificial Intelligence, Advanced Data Analytics, Chat-Bot, Auto-response, Natural Language Processing, Cloud Enablement.
• The newest feature under the PSP-V2.0 will be the issuance of the new generation of passports called e-passports. Under this, new and renewed passports will be fitted with a microchip that will hold all biometric information regarding the applicants

How different will e-passports be from the current passports?

• Current passports are scanned at the immigration counters to reveal the travel record of the citizen using the same document and the e-passport is also expected to perform the same function. However, unlike the current passports, the e-passport users will have physical storage of their biometric data in a chip which will reduce risk of data leakage.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS 

QUESTION OF THE DAY 10^TH JANUARY 2022

Q1. Consider the following statements about AIIB.

1. It is a multilateral development bank headquartered in Beijing.
2. India is the second-largest shareholder in AIIB.
3. Japan is not a member of AIIB.

Which of the statements given above are correct?

          a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) 1, 2 and 3

THE INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

1. MOU BETWEEN INDIA AND NEPAL FOR CONSTRUCTION OF BRIDGE

THE CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between India and Nepal for the construction of a bridge over Mahakali River at Dharchula (India)- Dharchula (Nepal).

THE EXPLANATION:

As close neighbours, India and Nepal share unique ties of friendship and cooperation characterized by an open border and deep-rooted people-to-people contacts of kinship and culture.  Both India and Nepal have been working together on different regional forums i.e. SAARC, BIMSTEC as well as global fora.

IMPORTANCE:

• Nepal shares a border with 5 Indian states-Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Sikkim and Bihar. Hence an important point of cultural and economic exchange.
• Importance for India can be studied from two different angles: a) their strategic importance for India’s national security; and b) their place in India’s role perception in international politics.
• Nepal is right in the middle of India’s ‘Himalayan frontiers’, and along with Bhutan, it acts as northern ‘borderland’ flanks and acts as buffer states against any possible aggression from China.
• The two countries not only share an open border and unhindered movement of people, but they also have close bonds through marriages and familial ties, popularly known as Roti-Beti ka Rishta.
• India is Nepal’s largest trade partner and the largest source of foreign investments, besides providing transit for almost the entire third-country trade of Nepal.
• Indian firms engaged in manufacturing, services (banking, insurance, dry port), power sector and tourism industries etc.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

2. THE SOVEREIGN GOLD BOND SCHEME 2021-22

THE CONTEXT: The Government of India in consultation with the Reserve Bank of India has decided to allow a discount of Rs 50 (Rupees Fifty only) per gram from the issue price to those investors who apply online, and the payment is made through digital mode. For such investors, the issue price of Gold Bond will be Rs 4,736 (Rupees Four thousand seven hundred thirty-six only) per gram of gold.

THE EXPLANATION:

About the Sovereign Gold Bond Scheme:

• The sovereign gold bond was introduced by the Government in 2015.
• The government introduced these bonds to help reduce India’s over-dependence on gold imports.
• The move was also aimed at changing the habits of Indians from saving in the physical form of gold to a paper form with Sovereign backing.
• Joint Holder: In the case of joint holding, the investment limit of 4 kg will be applied to the first applicant only.
• Collateral: Bonds can be used as collateral for loans. The loan-to-value (LTV) ratio is to be set equal to the ordinary gold loan mandated by the Reserve Bank from time to time.

Merits of investing in gold bonds:

• For investors, it is advisable to invest in gold for portfolio diversification.
• Sovereign gold bonds are considered one of the better ways of investing in gold as along with capital appreciation an investor gets a fixed rate of interest.
• Apart from this, it is tax-efficient as no capital gains is charged in case of redemption on maturity.
• Sovereign gold bonds are a good way to ensure an investment that does not need physical storage of the gold.

Demerits of sovereign gold bonds

• This is a long-term investment, unlike physical gold which can be sold immediately.
• Sovereign gold bonds are listed on an exchange, but the trading volumes are not high, therefore it will be difficult to exit before maturity

3. INDIA TO OVERTAKE JAPAN AS ASIA’S SECOND-LARGEST ECONOMY BY 2030: REPORT

THE CONTEXT: India is likely to overtake Japan as Asia’s second-largest economy by 2030 when its GDP is also projected to surpass that of Germany and the UK to rank as world’s No.3, according to the IHS Markit report.

THE EXPLANATION:

THE REPORT HIGHLIGHTS:

• Currently, India is the sixth-largest economy in the world, behind the US, China, Japan, Germany and the United Kingdom.
• According to the projection “India’s nominal GDP measured in USD terms is forecast to rise from USD 2.7 trillion in 2021 to USD 8.4 trillion by 2030.” “This rapid pace of economic expansion would result in the size of Indian GDP exceeding Japanese GDP by 2030, making India the second-largest economy in the Asia-Pacific region.” By 2030, the Indian economy would also be larger in size than the largest Western European economies of Germany, France and the UK.
• Overall, India is expected to continue to be one of the world’s fastest-growing economies over the next decade.
• “An important positive factor for India is its large and fast-growing middle class, which is helping to drive consumer spending,” forecasting that the country’s consumption expenditure will double from USD 1.5 trillion in 2020 to USD 3 trillion by 2030.
• For the full fiscal year 2021-22 (April 2021 to March 2022), India’s real GDP growth rate is projected to be 8.2 percent, rebounding from the severe contraction of 7.3 percent year-on-year in 2020-21.
• The rapidly growing domestic consumer market as well as its large industrial sector have made India an increasingly important investment destination for a wide range of multinationals in many sectors, including manufacturing, infrastructure and services.
• The digital transformation of India that is currently underway is expected to accelerate the growth of e-commerce, changing the retail consumer market landscape over the next decade.
• “The large increase in FDI inflows to India that has been evident over the past five years is also continuing with strong momentum in 2020 and 2021”.
• Being one of the world’s fastest-growing economies will make India one of the most important long-term growth markets for multinationals in a wide range of industries, including manufacturing industries such as autos, electronics and chemicals, and services industries such as banking, insurance, asset management, healthcare and information technology.

4. NSO ESTIMATES ON FY22 GDP GROWTH

THE CONTEXT: According to first advance estimates of the National Statistical Office (NSO), India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to grow 9.2% in the financial year 2021-22.

THE EXPLANATION:

• India’s gross domestic product (GDP) is expected to grow by 9.2% in the current financial year following last fiscal’s 7.3% contraction, the National Statistical Office (NSO) said in its first advance estimates of economic output released amid concerns over the likely impact of a third wave of the COVID pandemic.

• “GDP at constant prices (2011-12) in the year 2021-22 is estimated at ₹147.54 lakh crore, as against the provisional estimate of GDP for the year 2020-21 of ₹135.13 lakh crore”. It also added that growth in real GDP is pegged at 2%. “Real GVA at Basic Prices is estimated at ₹135.22 lakh crore in 2021-22, as against ₹124.53 lakh crore in 2020-21, showing a growth of 8.6%”.

Mining spurt

• The NSO’s GVA estimates show the mining sector outpacing others with the growth of 3% following in 2021 8.5% contraction, followed by manufacturing which is seen expanding by 12.5% after shrinking 7.2% in the previous 12-month period.
• The agriculture sector is estimated to grow at 3.9% in FY22 (3.6%). The electricity, water supply and other utility services category is estimated to grow at 8.5% (1.9%), while construction is expected to grow 10.7% (-8.6%) and trade, hotels, transport, communication and broadcasting services are projected to grow at 11.9% against a sharp contraction of 18.2% in 2022.
• “Compared to the pre-COVID performance of FY2020, the advance estimates project an anemic rise of 1.3% and 1.9%, respectively, for GDP and GVA in FY2022”.

GLOSSARY:

• Gross value added (GVA) is the measure of the total value of goods and services produced in an economy( area, region or country). The amount of value-added to a product is taken into account.
• GVA= Gross Domestic Product + Subsidies on products – Taxes on products.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. THE SEASONAL FLUCTUATIONS IN DARTERS’ MOVEMENTS BEING MONITORED

THE CONTEXT: A new record has been set by the Chinese ‘artificial sun’ or the experimental advanced superconducting tokamak (EAST) fusion energy reactor in Hefei as it ran at 70 million°C for 1,056 seconds, which is over 17 minutes. The record was apparently achieved.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to a report have mentioned that the achieved temperature is almost five times hotter than the real Sun, which hits a temperature of 15 million°C at its core.
• The previous record set by EAST set was in May by running for 101 seconds at a higher temperature of 20 million°C.
• Also, researchers noted that “this time, steady-state plasma operation was sustained for 1,056 seconds at a temperature close to 70 million degrees Celsius, laying a solid scientific and experimental foundation toward the running of a fusion reactor”.
• It is important to note that nuclear fusion power works by colliding heavy hydrogen atoms to form helium. It releases vast amounts of energy.

ABOUT EXPERIMENTAL ADVANCED SUPERCONDUCTING TOKAMAK (EAST)

• The mission mimics the energy generation process of the sun.
• The reactor consists of an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device located in Hefei, China.
• It is one of three major domestic tokamaks that are presently being operated across the country.
• The EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor when it becomes operational in 2035.
• The ITER project includes the contributions of several countries, including India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.

HOW DOES THE ‘ARTIFICIAL SUN’ EAST WORK?

• It replicates the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun and stars.
• For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and pressure are applied on hydrogen atoms so that they fuse together.
• The nuclei of deuterium and tritium — both found in hydrogen — are made to fuse together to create a helium nucleus, a neutron along with a whole lot of energy.
• Here, fuel is heated to temperatures of over 150 million degrees C so that it forms a hot plasma “soup” of subatomic particles.
• With the help of a strong magnetic field, the plasma is kept away from the walls of the reactor to ensure it does not cool down and lose its potential to generate large amounts of energy. The plasma is confined for long durations for fusion to take place.

WHY IS FUSION BETTER THAN FISSION?

• While fission is an easier process to carry out, it generates far more nuclear waste.
• Unlike fission, fusion also does not emit greenhouse gases and is considered a safer process with lower risk of accidents.
• Once mastered, nuclear fusion could potentially provide unlimited clean energy and very low costs.
• Like fission, fusion also does not emit greenhouse gases and is considered a safer process with lower risk of accidents.

 Which other countries have achieved this feat?

• China is not the only country that has achieved high plasma temperatures. In 2020, South Korea’s KSTAR reactor set a new record by maintaining a plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.

Value Addition:

What is Nuclear Fusion?

Nuclear fusion is a reaction through which two or more light nuclei collide to form a heavier nucleus. The nuclear fusion process occurs in elements that have a low atomic number, such as hydrogen. Nuclear Fusion is the opposite of nuclear fission reaction in which heavy elements diffuse and form lighter elements. Both nuclear fusion and fission produce a massive amount of energy.

[WpProQuiz 132]

[WpProQuiz 131]

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

1. BIOENERGY CROPS CREATE A COOLING EFFECT ON CULTIVATED AREAS

THE CONTEXT: Researchers found that global air temperature decreases by 0.03~0.08 °C, with strong regional contrasts and inter-annual variability, after 50 years of large-scale bioenergy crop cultivation.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The researchers — led by Institute for Global Change Studies, Beijing — looked at the biophysical climate effects of large-scale bioenergy crops to fully assess their role in climate mitigation.
• According to a new study, converting annual crops to perennial bioenergy crops can induce a cooling effect on the areas where they are cultivated.
• Cultivation area under bioenergy crops occupies 8 percent ± 0.5 percent of the global total land area, but they exert strong regional biophysical effects, leading to a global net change in air temperature of −0.08 ~ +0.05 degrees Celsius.
• The study also demonstrated the importance of the crop type choice, the original land use type upon which bioenergy crops are expanded, the total cultivation area and its spatial distribution patterns.

Importance:

• The biophysical cooling or warming effects of bioenergy crop cultivation can significantly strengthen or weaken the effectiveness of bioenergy crop cultivation with carbon capture and storage (BECCS) in limiting the temperature increments, depending on the cultivation map and the bioenergy crop type.
• Large-scale bioenergy crop cultivation induces a biophysical cooling effect at the global scale, but the air temperature change has strong spatial variations and inter-annual variability.
• Cultivating eucalypt shows generally cooling effects that are more robust than if switchgrass is used as the main bioenergy crop, implying that eucalypt is superior to switchgrass in cooling the lands biophysically.
• Replacing forests with switchgrass not only results in biophysical warming effects but could also release more carbon through deforestation than converting other short vegetation to bioenergy crops.
• Deforestation, therefore, should be avoided. The magnitude of changes in the biophysical effects also depends on the total area under cultivation.

What are Bioenergy Crops?

• Bioenergy crops are defined as any. plant material used to produce bioenergy. These crops have the capacity to produce large volumes of biomass, have high energy potential, and can be grown in marginal soils.
• It is a renewable source of energy that is produced from plants and animals. … Some forms of bioenergy have been around for a long time. Examples include burning wood to create heat, using biodiesel and ethanol to fuel vehicles, and using methane gas and wood to generate electricity.

Impacts on Environment:

2. SIX ONE DISTRICT ONE PRODUCT BRANDS LAUNCHED UNDER THE PMFME

THE CONTEXT: The Union Ministry of Food Processing Industries launched six, One District One Product (ODOP) brands under the Pradhan Mantri Formalizations of Micro food processing Enterprises (PMFME) Scheme.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Ministry of Food Processing Industries has signed an agreement with NAFED for developing 10 brands of selected ODOPs under the branding and marketing component of the PMFME scheme. Out of these, six brands namely Amrit Phal, Cori Gold, Kashmiri Mantra, Madhu Mantra, Somdana, and Whole Wheat Cookies of Dilli Bakes.
• Through this initiative under the PMFME scheme, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries aims to encourage the micro food processing enterprises (MFPEs) across the country about the vision, efforts, and initiatives of the Government to formalise, upgrade and strengthen them and take them a step closer to Aatmanirbhar Bharat.

Value Addition:

PMFME Scheme

• The PMFME Scheme is a centrally sponsored scheme that aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry.
• It aims to enhance the competitiveness of existing individual micro-enterprises in the unorganized segment of the food processing industry and promote formalization of the sector,
• It further aims to promote formalization of the sector and provide support to Farmer Producer Organizations, Self Help Groups, and Producers Cooperatives along their entire value chain.
• The scheme envisions to directly assisting the 2,00,000 micro food processing units for providing financial, technical, and business support for the up-gradation of existing micro food processing enterprises.

A major component of the scheme

One District One Product

• Under the One District One Product (ODOP) component of the PMFME Scheme, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries approved ODOP for 137 unique products.
• The GIS ODOP digital map of India has been launched to provide details of ODOP products of all the States and UTs.
• The digital map also has indicators for Tribal, SC, ST, and aspirational districts.
• It will enable stakeholders to make concerted efforts for its value chain development.

About NAFED:

• National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Ltd.(NAFED), established in 1958, is registered under the Multi State Co-operative Societies Act.
• Nafed was setup with the object to promote Co-operative marketing of Agricultural Produce to benefit the farmers.
• The objectives of the NAFED shall be to organize, promote and develop marketing, processing and storage of agricultural, horticultural and forest produce, distribution of agricultural machinery, implements and other inputs, undertake inter-state, import and export trade etc.

THE ENVIRONMENT ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. THE NEW RULES ON FLY ASH DISPOSAL

THE CONTEXT: The notification from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change intends to “bring out a comprehensive framework for ash utilization including a system of environmental compensation based on the polluter-pays principle”.

THE EXPLANATION:

The New Rule highlights:

• It is mandatory for Thermal Power Plants (TPPs) to ensure 100% utilization of fly ash within three to five years.
• Existing provisions allow TPPs to fully utilize fly ash in a four-year cycle in a staggered manner.
• It also introduced fines of Rs 1,000 on non-compliant plants under the ‘polluter pays principle’, taking into account utilization targets from April 1, 2022.
• The ‘polluter pays principle is the commonly accepted practice that those who produce pollution should bear the costs of managing it to prevent damage to human health or the environment.
• Under this, the collected fines will be deposited in the designated account of the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
• The fine collected by CPCB from the TPPs and other defaulters shall be used towards the safe disposal of the unutilized ash.
• It also deals with unutilized accumulated ash (legacy ash) where TPPs will have to utilize it within 10 years from the date of publication of final notification in a staggered manner.
• If the utilization of legacy ash is not completed at the end of 10 years, a fine of Rs 1000 per tons will be imposed on the remaining unutilized quantity which has not been fined earlier.

BACKGROUND:

• India has over 200 coal power plants that generate an enormous amount of fly ash. According to the Central Electricity Authority, India’s coal plants generated 232.56 million tonnes of fly ash in 2020-2021. Although 93 percent of it was utilized, millions of tonnes accumulated over the years lie unused.
• A study by the think tank Centre for Science and Environment in March 2021 found that over half of India’s power plants failed to fully utilize their fly ash and fell behind previous government targets.
• The new notification will replace the 1999 notification that had originally set up rules for fly ash utilisation. It will also supersede the various amendments to the 1999 notification made in 2003, 2009 and 2016, which have all sought to manage the generation of fly ash.

What do experts say?

• According to experts, the introduction of a penalty for non-compliance and acknowledgment of legacy ash is a step in the right direction, but there are other facets that the notification doesn’t adequately address.
• “The notification calls the filling of low-lying areas an eco-friendly method of utilizing fly ash, but more often than not, this is a euphemism for irresponsibly dumping ash. Dumping ash in low-lying areas can lead to severe ecological consequences.
• A report found that there were eight major fly ash breaches between 2019 and 2021, leading to destruction and contamination.
• While the notification says that all yearly and legacy ash must be utilized, it also makes a provision for ash stored in dykes and ponds — structures built for large amounts of ash disposal — saying that as long as such storage is “stabilized” or reclaimed by growing plantations, coal power plants certified with the CPCB can be excluded from the 10-year deadline.
• “It is critical to take policy measures to link fly ash utilization with steps being taken by the government to prevent diseases and deaths and provide health services. The environmental regulation that emerges from this approach of ‘fly ash as a health risk’ has the potential to identify remedies to address the legacy impact and prevent future legal breaches.

Value Addition:

What is Fly Ash?

• Fly ash is a byproduct of burning pulverized coal in thermal power plants.
• During combustion, mineral impurities in the coal (clay, feldspar, quartz, and shale) fuse in suspension and float out of the combustion chamber with the exhaust gases. As the fused material rises, it cools and solidifies into spherical glassy particles called fly ash.
• The low-grade coal used in thermal power generation carries 30-45% ash content. The high-grade imported coal has a low ash content of 10-15%.
• Since most of the coal used in thermal plants is low-grade, it generates a large quantity of ash which requires a large area as landfill or ponds for disposal.
• All fly ashes exhibit cementitious properties to varying degrees depending on the chemical and physical properties of both the fly ash and cement.

Composition:

• Depending upon the source and composition of the coal being burned, the components of fly ash vary considerably, but all fly ash includes substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminum oxide (Al2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO), the main mineral compounds in coal-bearing rock strata.
• Minor constituents include arsenic, beryllium, boron, cadmium, chromium, hexavalent chromium, cobalt, lead, manganese, mercury, molybdenum, selenium, strontium, thallium, and vanadium, along with very small concentrations of dioxins and PAH compounds. It also has unburnt carbon.

Applications:

• It is an excellent material for making construction materials such as bricks, mosaic tiles and hollow blocks.
• Bricks made of fly ash can help conserve soil to a great extent.
• There are several eco-friendly ways to utilize fly ash so that it does not pollute air and water.
• It includes the use of fly ash in the manufacturing of cement, ready-mix concrete; constructing roads, dams and embankments, and filling of low-lying areas and mines.

Health and environmental hazards:

• Toxic heavy metals present: All the heavy metals found in fly ash nickel, cadmium, arsenic, chromium, lead, etc—are toxic in nature. They are minute, poisonous particles that accumulate in the respiratory tract, and cause gradual poisoning.
• Radiation: For an equal amount of electricity generated, fly ash contains a hundred times more radiation than nuclear waste secured via dry cask or water storage.
• Water pollution: The breaching of ash dykes and consequent ash spills occur frequently in India, polluting a large number of water bodies.
• Effects on the environment: The destruction of mangroves, drastic reduction in crop yields, and the pollution of groundwater in the Rann of Kutch from the ash sludge of adjoining Coal power plants has been well documented.

THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT

4. THAILAND’S NEW EARLY WARNING TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: A new early warning and hazard monitoring system, ThaiAWARE, will provide advanced decision support capabilities to Thailand’s disaster managers, protecting the country’s 70 million residents from natural disasters.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Thailand is prone to natural disasters, such as floods, droughts and tropical storms.
• The country suffered an economic loss to the tune of $46,055,161 due to natural disasters from 2009-2018.
• The National Disaster Relief Centre has indicated that flood disasters in Thailand between 1989 and 2018 caused more than B160.8 billion ($5.1 billion) in damage to the economy. The 2011 floods accrued economic damage of more than B23 billion ($0.7 billion) alone.
• Thailand’s Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Department (DDPM) reported that flooding affected 229,220 households across 6,827 villages in 193 districts of 31 provinces, as of September 2021.
• According to the Thailand Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, 32 of the country’s 76 provinces have been affected by flooding in October 2021. In late September and early October 2021 , tropical storm Dianmu inundated the region, leading to flash flooding.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION 

Q1. Bisphenol A (BPA), a cause of concern, is a structural/key component in the manufacture of which of the following kinds of plastics?

                 a) Low-density polyethylene

                 b) Polycarbonate

                 c) Polyethylene terephthalate

                 d) Polyvinyl chloride

ANSWER FOR 04^TH JANUARY 2022 

ANSWER: A

Explanation:

Dholavira: a Harappan city, is one of the very few well preserved urban settlements in South Asia dating from the 3rd to mid-2nd millennium BCE. Being the 6th largest of more than 1,000 Harappan sites discovered so far, and occupied for over 1,500 years, Dholavira not only witnesses the entire trajectory of the rise and fall of this early civilization of humankind, but also demonstrates its multifaceted achievements in terms of urban planning, construction techniques, water management, social governance and development, art, manufacturing, trading, and belief system. With extremely rich artifacts, the well-preserved urban settlement of Dholavira depicts a vivid picture of a regional center with its distinct characteristics, that also contribute significantly to the existing knowledge of Harappan Civilization as a whole.

The property comprises two parts: a walled city and a cemetery to the west of the city. The walled city consists of a fortified Castle with attached fortified Bailey and Ceremonial Ground, and a fortified Middle Town and Lower Town. A series of reservoirs are found to the east and south of the Citadel. The great majority of the burials in the Cemetery are memorial in nature.

[WpProQuiz 130]

THE GEOGRAPHY

1. INDIA TO ACQUIRE LITHIUM, COBALT MINES IN SOUTH AMERICA, AUSTRALIA

THE CONTEXT: The Mines Ministry has created a joint venture (JV) company — Khanij Bidesh India (KABIL) — with participating interest from National Aluminium Company (NALCO), Hindustan Copper (HCL) and Mineral Exploration Corporation (MECL).

THE EXPLANATION:

• India is working on acquiring mines of strategic minerals such as lithium and cobalt in producing countries like Australia, Argentina, Bolivia and Chile. The government’s move is aimed at ensuring a committed supply of raw materials especially for renewable energy (RE) and e-mobility sectors.
• To ensure India’s mineral security as well as to attain self-reliance in the area of critical and strategic minerals, KABIL is mandated to identify and acquire overseas mineral assets of critical and strategic nature such as Lithium, Cobalt etc.
• This initiative, aimed at giving further fillip to Atmanirbhar Bharat, will cater to the requirements of crucial sectors such as e-mobility, renewable energy, medicine, aerospace, aviation among others.
• In the country, the Atomic Minerals Directorate (AMD) conducted preliminary surveys on the surface and limited subsurface exploration, which revealed the presence of Lithium resources of 1,600 tonnes (inferred category) in the pegmatites of Marlagalla–Allapatna area in Mandya district of Karnataka.
• Presently, there is no production of cobalt in the country from primary cobalt resources. The demand for cobalt is usually met through imports. The refining capacity of cobalt in India is estimated at about 2,060 tonnes per year.

Importance of Cobalt and Lithium:

• Cobalt is key for boosting energy density and battery life because it keeps the layered structure stable as lithium ions get reversibly stuffed into and extracted from the cathode during battery operation.
• Lithium has the lowest density of all metals. It reacts vigorously with water.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

2. NBBL UNVEILS UPMS TO SIMPLIFY BILL PAYMENTS

THE CONTEXT: NPCI Bharat BillPay (NBBL), the wholly-owned subsidiary of National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), has introduced the ‘Unified Presentment Management System’ (UPMS) to simplify bill payments in the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to NPCI, the UPMS provides a great opportunity for the service providers and fintechs of the digital payments ecosystem to run through this innovative feature in the sandbox environment of BBPS. Several Operating Units (OUs) and Technical Service Providers (TSPs) are actively coming forward in the rapid deployment of UPMS.

UNIFIED PRESENTMENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (UPMS)

• UPMS will help the customers to set up standing instructions, for any mode and from any channel on their recurring bill payments.
• Bills will be fetched automatically from the billers and will be presented to customers for their action, in terms of bill payment and auto-debit management.
• With the launch of UPMS, the motive is to enable all the Bharat BillPay Operating Units (BBPOU) to extend the facility for their customers or corporate clients with minimal effort by means of centralized infrastructure as well as application support provided by Bharat BillPay Central Unit (BBPCU).
• UPMS will also help in democratizing recurring bill payments and making them convenient for customers.
• It provides a great opportunity for fintech and service providers of the digital payments ecosystem for running through this innovative feature in the sandbox environment of BBPS.
• UPMS will enable a common repository of bills. It will ensure that the entire bill payment ecosystem gets updated in real-time.

DEPLOYMENT OF UPMS

• Technical Service Providers (TSPs) and Several Operating Units (OUs) are actively helping in the rapid deployment of UPMS. Ecosystem partners like IDFC FIRST Bank and Axis Bank are amongst Private Banks and PhonePe are actively engaged in taking UPMS services for their Billers and Consumers.

SIGNIFICANCE OF UPMS

• UPMS service assumes criticality with undergoing category expansion, as a majority of the transactions in new categories under BBPS such as mutual fund, subscriptions, insurance, school fee payments, presently happen through presentment and standing instructions.

ABOUT NPCI

• The National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) is an initiative taken by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the Indian Bank’s Association (IBA) to operate the retail payments and settlement systems in India. This organization was founded in the year 2008 under the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007. NPCI has been incorporated as a ‘not for profit company under section 8 of the Companies Act 2013.

PRODUCTS OF NPCI

• RuPay
• National Common Mobility Card
• Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM)
• Unified Payments Interface (UPI)
• Bharat Bill Payment System

THE ENVIRONMENT ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. THE LARGEST WINTERING GROUND OF THE INDIAN SUBCONTINENT

THE CONTEXT: Chilika Lake, the largest brackish water lake and wintering ground of the birds in the Indian subcontinent saw a million birds, including uncommon Mongolian gull, visiting the waterbody.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Chilika lake hosts birds migrating from thousands of miles away from the Caspian Sea, Lake Baikal, Aral Sea, remote parts of Russia, Kirghiz steppes of Mongolia, Central and Southeast Asia, Ladakh and the Himalayas. The winged guests find the vast mud-field and abundant fish stock here suitable to congregate.
• As per the waterbird status survey-2022 conducted in the Chilika, a total of 10,74,173 birds of the 107 waterbird species and 37,953 individuals of 76 wetland-dependent species were counted at the entire lagoon. In the year 2021, the count in Chilika was over 12 lakh. Bird census members reported rare sightings of the uncommon Mongolian gull.
• The census was undertaken jointly by the Odisha State Wildlife Organisation, the Chilika Development Authority (CDA) and the Bombay Natural History Society. The Chilika Lagoon was divided strategically into 21 segments for the census.
• A total of 3,58,889 birds (97 species) were counted in the Nalabana Bird Sanctuary inside Chilika – a decrease of 65,899 from the year 2021. The decrease is attributed to high water levels and the presence of water in cultivated fields in adjoining areas.
• “Among the three pintail species of ducks, the northern pintail (1,72,285), gadwall (1,53,985), Eurasian wigeon (1,50,843) accounted for over one lakh in this year’s count,” says the report. However, the population of gadwall and Eurasian wigeon was less than that of the year 2021.
• There was a marginal decrease in the number of species such as the northern shoveler, tufted duck and red-crested pochard. An increase in the population of northern pintail, common coot and common pochard was noticed.
• “The increase in numbers for the greater flamingo at Nalabana mudflat indicates that the restoration at Nalabana is effective. This year’s greater flamingo count was the highest in the last one decade. It is largely due to appropriate management of mudflats”. Overall, the local resident species such as purple swamp-hen, purple heron, Indian moorhen, and jacanas were found in higher numbers.

VALUE ADDITION:

SIGNIFICANCE OF CHILIKA LAKE:

• After the New Caledonian barrier reef, it is Asia’s largest and world’s second-largest brackish water lagoon.
• A lagoon is a shallow body of water that is isolated from a larger body of water by a narrow landform like reefs, barrier islands, barrier peninsulas, or isthmuses.
• It has been designated as a Ramsar Site and a possible UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• Chilika Lake was declared as the first Ramsar Convention wetland of international importance in India in 1981.
• Satapada Island, Irrawaddy dolphins are frequently seen.
• In 1987, Nalabana Island (Forest of Reeds), a 16-square-kilometer island in the lagoon, was designated as a bird sanctuary.
• It covers an area of nearly 1,100 km2 and is located at the mouth of the Daya River, which flows into the Bay of Bengal.

ABOUT BNHS:

• The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), founded on 15 September 1883, is one of the largest non-governmental organisations in India engaged in conservation and biodiversity research
• BNHS is the partner of Birdlife International in India, it has been designated “Scientific and Industrial Research Organization” by the Department of Science and Technology.

4. INCREASE IN RAINFALL IN NORTH AND CENTRAL AFRICA: STUDY

THE CONTEXT: Rainfall trend analysis of Africa published in the journal Remote Sensing showed a significant increase in annual rainfall at the national level from 1983 to 2020 in almost all regions of the continent, except those in the south and the east.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Country-level annual rainfall variability indicated that after 2000, the annual rainfall in most of the countries in the Central African region exceeded 1,700 mm. However, Algeria, Tunisia, Mali, Niger and Western Sahara in the Northern and Eastern African regions showed an apparent increase in annual average rainfall from 1983 to 2020.
• The highest annual rainfall trends were recorded in Rwanda (11.97 millimeters per year), the Gulf of Guinea (river basin 8.71 mm/year), the tropical rainforest climate zone (8.21 mm/year) and the Central African region (6.84 mm/year).
• The lowest annual rainfall trends were recorded in Mozambique (−0.437 mm/year), the subtropical northern desert (0.80 mm/year), the west coast river basin of South Africa (−0.360 mm/year) and the Northern Africa region (1.07 mm/year).
• In the tropical northern desert climates, tropical northern peninsulas and tropical grasslands, there was a significant increase in rainfall over the entire timeframe of the month, season and year.
• Climate variability directly impacts agriculture and poses a significant threat to food security and livelihoods, especially in poor or developing countries.
• A slight variation in climatic conditions can subject a large number of the rural poor to increased poverty and misery as their ability to earn their livelihoods is compromised.
• Adverse impacts of climate variability and change are making it difficult for the poor rural populations to continue engaging in meaningful agriculture and obtain secure livelihoods. This is because agricultural productivity is highly dependent on rainfall.

BACKGROUND:

• Africa receives rainfall over two major monsoons — the west African monsoon and East African monsoon. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Atlas introduced four other rainfall seasons, March-April-May, June-July-August, September-October-November, and December-January-February to study and compare the climate variability across geographies.
• Rainfall in Africa is sensitive to large-scale climatic variables such as El Niño-Southern Oscillation, La Niña-Southern Oscillation, Indian Ocean Depot and Intertropical Convergence Zone. 

THE INTERNAL SECURITY AFFAIRS

5. INTELLIGENCE BUREAU’S COUNTER-TERRORISM GRID: MAC

THE CONTEXT: The Centre wants the States to share more intelligence inputs through the Multi-Agency Centre (MAC), a common counter-terrorism grid under the Intelligence Bureau (IB) that was made operational in 2001 post-Kargil war.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Union Home Ministry asked the Director’s General of Police to share adequate information and actionable inputs through the MAC.
• As many as 28 organizations, including the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW), armed forces and State police are part of the platform and various security agencies share real-time intelligence inputs on the MAC. Plans are afoot for more than a decade to link the system up to the district level.
• According to the Home Ministry, though the system existed to share information among various agencies, it was not being implemented effectively. “States are often reluctant to share information on the platform.
• There are around 400 secured sites connected with the MAC headquarters. The reluctance on the part of the States was also stated in a parliamentary standing committee report in 2020.
• The committee had observed that the contribution made over the years by State agencies is lower in the overall inputs that had been received at the MAC. The IB had informed the committee that all organizations that are in any way involved in the counter-terrorism effort is a member of this center. All the States have a subsidiary multi-agency center (SMAC) located in all State capitals. The IB informed the panel that the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), along with the IB, was contemplating extending the connectivity of SMAC to the districts.

WHAT IS THE NEED?

According to the Home Ministry, “It is highlighting the continued threats of terrorism and global terror groups, terror financing, narco-terrorism, organized crime-terror nexus, illicit use of cyberspace, movement of foreign terrorist fighters, it also stressed upon the need for better coordination and synergy among the central and state security agencies in countering the ever-changing counter-terrorism and security challenges.

ABOUT THE CENTRE

• MAC was formed in December 2001 following the Kargil intrusion and the subsequent overhaul of the Indian national security apparatus suggested by the Kargil Review Committee report and GoM report.
• Accordingly, the Intelligence Bureau (IB) was authorized to create a multi-agency center (MAC) in New Delhi.
• Now functioning 24/7 as the nodal body for sharing intelligence inputs, MAC coordinates with representatives from numerous agencies, different ministries, both central and state.
• As noted in a 2016 parliamentary report the major contributors of intelligence inputs to the MAC were the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW).

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION 

Q1. Which one of the following ancient towns is well-known for its elaborate system of water harvesting and management by building a series of dams and channelizing water into connected reservoirs?

1. Dholavira
2. Kalibangan
3. Rakhigarhi
4. Ropar

ANSWER FOR 04^TH JANUARY 2022

ANSWER: C

[WpProQuiz 129]

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. CHINA CONSTRUCTING BRIDGE ON PANGONG LAKE IN LADAKH

THE CONTEXT: China is constructing a bridge in eastern Ladakh connecting the north and south banks of Pangong Tso (lake), which will significantly bring down the time for the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to move troops and equipment between the two sectors.

THE EXPLANATION:

• “On the north bank, there is a PLA garrison at Karnak fort and on the south bank at Moldo, and the distance between the two is around 200 km. The new bridge between the closest points on two banks, which is around 500 m, will bring down the movement time between the two sectors from around 12 hours to three or four hours,” one of the sources said. The bridge is located around 25 km ahead of the Line of Actual Control (LAC), the source stated.

• The construction had been going on for some time and it would reduce the overall distance by 140-150 km, the other source said.
• Earlier, the PLA had to take a roundabout crossing Rudok county. But now the bridge would provide a direct axis, the first source said, adding that the biggest advantage with the new bridge was the inter-sector movement as the time would come down significantly. “They need to build piers for the bridge, which has been underway,” the source stated.
• The bridge is in China’s territory and the Indian Army would have to now factor this in its operational plans, the source noted. India holds one-third of the 135-km-long boomerang-shaped lake located at an altitude of over 14,000 feet. The lake, a glacial melt, has mountain spurs of the Chang Chenmo range jutting down, referred to as fingers.
• The north bank, which has much higher differences in perception of the LAC than the south bank, was the initial site of the clashes in early May 2020, while tensions on the south bank flared up later in August. The Indian Army got a tactical advantage over the PLA on the south bank in August-end by occupying several peaks lying vacant since 1962, gaining a dominating view of the Moldo area. On the north bank too, the Indian troops set up posts facing PLA positions on the ridge-lines of Finger 4.

About Pangong Lake

• Pangong Tso is popular for its changing colour ability. Its colour changes from shades of blue to green to red.
• It is one of the highest altitude lakes in the world that is filled with saline water. It is located at an altitude of 4350 m above sea level.
• It is located in disputed territory. Approximately 60 percent of the lake, in terms of length, lies in China, and the eastern end of Pangong Tso lies in Tibet.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

2. RBI APPROVES SMALL OFFLINE E-PAYMENTS

THE CONTEXT: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has come out with the framework for facilitating small-value digital payments in offline mode, a move that would promote digital payments in semi-urban and rural areas.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The framework incorporates feedback received from the pilot experiments on offline transactions conducted in different parts of the country between September 2020 and June 2021.
• Offline digital payment does not require Internet or telecom connectivity.
• “Under this new framework, such payments can be carried out face-to-face (proximity mode) using any channel or instrument like cards, wallets and mobile devices,” the RBI said.
• “Such transactions would not require an Additional Factor of Authentication. Since the transactions are offline, alerts (by way of SMS and/or e-mail) will be received by the customer after a time lag,” it added.
• There is a limit of ₹200 per transaction and an overall limit of ₹2,000 until the balance in the account is replenished. The RBI said the framework took effect ‘immediately’.

3. INDIA’S INCOME INEQUALITY FELL POST-2020 LOCKDOWN AS RICH GOT POORER, US ECONOMIC STUDY SHOWS

THE CONTEXT: Millions of Indians were pushed into poverty during the Covid-19 pandemic, but the period post the initial strict lockdown also saw a decline in income inequality in the country.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The paper, titled ‘Inequality in India declined during Covid’, published by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) said the pandemic in India was associated with a decline in inequality in two senses.
• Indians from higher income groups had larger relative reductions in income than the poor.
• Consumption inequality also declined, albeit only marginally so.
• The researchers’ main source of data was the Consumer Pyramids Household Survey (CPHS), conducted by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, which comprises a sample of 1.97 lakh households, with monthly information on their finances available from January 2015 to July 2021.
• The study’s most remarkable finding that income inequalities have declined in the months since the lockdown was lifted seems to stand in contrast with what other recent studies have said about income inequalities in India.
• According to the World Inequality Report 2022, the top 10 percent of Indians had about 96 times more income on average than the bottom 50 percent. Similarly, Oxfam International claimed that in 2021 India’s top 1 percent owned about 77 percent of the country’s wealth.
• The NBER paper, however, qualifies its findings by noting that Gini coefficients — a statistical measure of the amount of inequality that exists in a population.
• The decline in inequality actually began in 2018, a trend that was “interrupted” by the lockdown, but which then resumed.

HOW DID THE GAP SHORTEN?

• Income inequality is basically the average gap between the incomes of the rich and the poor. This ‘inequality’ falls if the incomes of the rich fall, or if the incomes of the poor rise.
• The study shows that the reduction in income inequality in India could be attributed to incomes of upper-income households falling during the pandemic.
• According to the study, income poverty in urban areas jumped from 40 percent before the pandemic to nearly 70 percent during the lockdowns. Poverty was defined, in this case, by the World Bank’s $1.9 a day (or less) benchmark. After the lockdown, poverty fell and income and consumption increased, “but it did not recover to pre-pandemic levels”, the researchers said.
• However, despite the increase in poverty, income inequality fell in both urban and rural areas, largely because the earnings of richer households went down.

WHY DID THE INCOMES OF RICHER PEOPLE FALL?

• The sources of income of India’s rich derive “disproportionately” from services and capital income (basically wealth derived from wealth, like dividends and interest), both of which were “disproportionately impacted during the pandemic”. Unlike for the rich, capital incomes do not form a major share in the incomes of poorer households.
• A larger fraction of top-quartile income is from the service sector… and that sector experienced the largest drop in consumer expenditure during the pandemic.
• Demand for the type of labour supplied by the rich also dropped more than for the poor.
• The employment rate fell more for the poorer sections of society during the lockdown, but they also recovered more quickly.
• The performance of the lower percentiles was “particularly remarkable” since India, unlike the US, had “little fiscal stimulus in the form of income transfers”.

4. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT GST COMPENSATION

THE CONTEXT: States are seeking an extension of GST compensation for five more years.

WHAT IS GST COMPENSATION?

• The introduction of the Goods & Services Tax (GST) required States and Union Territories (with Legislature) to subsume their sovereignty in a GST Council, raising the issue of loss on account of migration from Value Added Tax/Sales Tax to GST. Any mechanism to remedy this should be backed by the legislature.
• Keeping this in mind, Section 18 of the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016 prescribes: “Parliament shall, by law, on the recommendation of the Goods and Services Tax Council, provide for compensation to the States for loss of revenue arising on account of implementation of the goods and services tax for a period of five years.”
• Accordingly, the Parliament enacted a law — GST (Compensation to States) Act, 2017. The law prescribes that the financial year 2015-16 shall be taken as the base year for the purpose of calculating compensation and States were assured of a 14 percent growth in revenues every year.

HOW IS IT FUNDED?

• In order to mobilize resources for compensation, a cess is being levied on such goods, as recommended by the Goods and Services Tax Council, over and above the GST on that item. It is called compensation cess.
• As of date, compensation cess is levied on products such as pan masala, tobacco, aerated waters and motor cars apart from coal.

WHO PAYS COMPENSATION TO WHOM? WHEN?

• The consumer is required to pay for compensation. It is collected by the Centre which releases it to States.
• The proceeds of the compensation cess will be credited to a non-lapsable fund known as the Goods and Services Tax Compensation Fund in the public account.

FOR HOW LONG WILL IT BE PAID?

• According to the law, it will be paid for five years from the date GST came into effect; i.e. till June 2022. However, a cess will continue to be levied for repayment of loans taken to compensate States during FY21 and FY22.

WHY ARE STATES DEMANDING AN EXTENSION OF THE COMPENSATION?

• States say their revenue situation is yet to improve on two counts due to the introduction of the GST and because the pandemic has affected revenue collection.
• At the same time, their expenses have gone up and they expect a higher deficit as revenue growth is low.
• Considering all these, States are seeking an extension of compensation for five more years. Any decision, in this regard, has to be taken by GST Council.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. ISRO GEARING UP FOR MULTIPLE SPACE MISSIONS IN 2022

THE CONTEXT: After a rather muted 2021 in terms of satellite launches, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is gearing up for a number of missions in 2022 including the launch of the first unmanned mission of Gaganyaan, its Chairman, K. Sivan said.

• In his New Year’s message for 2022, Mr. Sivan said ISRO had a number of missions to execute this year. These include
  • the launch of the Earth Observation Satellites,
  • EOS-4 and EOS-6 onboard the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), and
  • the EOS-02 on board the maiden flight of the Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
  • “[ISRO has] many test flights for Crew Escape System of Gaganyaan and launch of the first unmanned mission of Gaganyaan. In addition, we also have Chandrayaan-03, Aditya Ll, XpoSat, IRNSS and technology demonstration missions with indigenously developed advanced technologies,” he said. Design changes on Chandrayaan-3 and testing have seen huge progress, he said.
  • Sivan said the hardware in loop test of Aditya L1 spacecraft and accommodation studies for XpoSat in the SSLV have been completed and ISRO has delivered the S-band SAR payload to NASA for NISAR [NASA-ISRO SAR] mission.
  • Three new space science missions are also in the pipeline, Mr. Sivan said. These include a Venus mission, DISHA –a twin aeronomy satellite mission and TRISHNA, an ISRO-CNES [Centre national d’étudesspatiales] mission in 2024.

THE DISASTER MANAGEMENT

6. INDIA’S OLD DAMS: GANDHI SAGAR IN MP NEEDS IMMEDIATE REPAIR, SAYS CAG REPORT

THE CONTEXT: Gandhi Sagar Dam on Chambal River in Madhya Pradesh is in need of immediate repair, warned a new CAG report. It is one of the five water reservoirs of national importance.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The absence of regular checks, non-functional instruments and choked drains are the major problems plaguing the dam for years, the report by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) released December 23, 2021.
• Gandhi Sagar was put in Category II of the dam inspection report.
• Dams with major deficiencies, which may lead to complete failure / partial failure and need attention at once, fall under Category I. Those with minor to medium deficiencies, which are rectifiable but need immediate attention fall under Category II.
• The CAG report mentioned there is one dam in Category I but didn’t name it. As many as 27 other smaller dams of MP were in Category II.

ABOUT GANDHI SAGAR DAM

• Gandhi Sagar Dam was constructed in 1960 to provide drinking water to several districts of Rajasthan and generate 115 megawatts of electricity. It has been breached several times in recent years, causing flooding in downstream areas.
• Three districts in the state, Sheopur, Morena and Bhind, with an approximate collective population of 4.35 million (as per the 2011 Census), lie downstream the dam.
• Gandhi Sagar Dam was among the few of national importance to be instrumented but many of the instruments have been non-functional for years, the CAG report observed.
• The state dam safety organization (SDSO), the department responsible for its maintenance, did not comply with recommendations by the Central Water Commission (CWC) and Dam Safety Inspection Pane (DSIP) on remedial measures, according to the CAG.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

Q1. With reference to Madanapalle of Andhra Pradesh, which one of the following statements is correct?

a) PingaliVenkayya designed the tricolor Indian National Flag here.

b) PattabhiSitaramaiah led the Quit India Movement of the Andhra region from here.

c) Rabindranath Tagore translated the National Anthem from Bengali to English here.

d) Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott set up headquarters of Theosophical Society first here.

ANSWER FOR 31^STDECEMBER 2021

Answer: D

Explanation:

Please refer to the following map of the Indus River System.

[WpProQuiz 128]

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. RADIO TAGGING OF INDIAN PANGOLIN

THE CONTEXT: The Odisha Forest and Environment Department has completed its first-ever radio-tagging of the Indian pangolin in an attempt to standardise the rehabilitation protocol for the animal in the State.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• According to the forest department a male pangolin, which was rescued by the Paralakhemundi Forest Division November 2021, was radio-tagged and released in the Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary after treatment.
• “To standardise the rehabilitation protocol for such rescued animals, a radio-tagged Indian pangolin was released into the wild in Nandankanan Wildlife Sanctuary following soft release protocols and provision for post-release monitoring”.
• The animal was screened for parasites and diseases during a month-long quarantine at the Nandankanan Zoological Park (NZP), which is the only conservation breeding centre for Indian pangolins in the world.
• According to the forest officials, “the pangolin was found suitable for release in the wild. It gained 780 grams during quarantine and now weighs 14.740 kg. It is exhibiting normal behaviour. It is fitted with a VHF [very high frequency] radio transmitter, weighing 0.5% of its body weight, procured from advanced telemetry systems specialised in radio telemetry instruments”.
• After Madhya Pradesh, Odisha is the second State in the country to release a radio-tagged Indian pangolin into the wild. NZP authorities said the exercise was expected to reveal valuable information on the ecology, dispersal pattern, home range and survival of the reclusive animal.

What is Radio Tagging?

Radio-tracking is the technique of determining information about an animal through the use of radio signals from or to a device carried by the animal. Most radio tracking systems involve transmitters tuned to different frequencies (analogous to different AM/FM radio stations) that allow individual identification.

About Indian Pangolin

The Indian pangolin or thick-tailed pangolin is a solitary, shy, slow moving, nocturnal mammal, Unlike other pangolin species, the Indian pangolin does not often climb trees. Pangolins or scaly anteaters (order Pholidota, meaning ‘scaled animals’) are a group of unusual mammals with tough, protective keratin scales.

Distribution: Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

Threats:

• Once known to be found in large numbers, its population is rapidly declining in its range due to habitat loss and rampant poaching for its skin, scales, and meat.
• Pangolins are the most illegally traded mammals in the world and the Indian pangolin is the largest among eight pangolin species. The nocturnal animal lives in burrows and feed on ants and termites. In Odisha, seizures of pangolins and their scales have been made over the past few years.

Conservation status:

• All pangolin species are listed in Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) Appendix I.
• In India, pangolins, both Indian and Chinese, are protected under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

2. ELECTORAL BONDS

THE CONTEXT: Ahead of assembly elections in five states, the Union government approved the issuance of the 19th tranche of electoral bonds which will be open for sale from January 1 to 10 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Electoral bonds have been pitched as an alternative to cash donations made to political parties as part of efforts to bring transparency in political funding. However, Opposition parties have been raising concerns about alleged opaqueness in funding through such bonds.
• The 29 specified SBI branches are in cities such as Lucknow, Shimla, Dehradun Kolkata, Guwahati, Chennai, Thiruvananthapuram, Patna, New Delhi, Chandigarh, Srinagar, Gandhinagar, Bhopal, Raipur, and Mumbai.

What are Electoral Bonds?

• The Government of India has notified the Electoral Bond Scheme 2018. As per provisions of the Scheme, Electoral Bonds may be purchased by a person who is a citizen of India or incorporated or established in India. A person being an individual can buy Electoral Bonds, either singly or jointly with other individuals.
• Only the Political Parties registered under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 (43 of 1951) and which secured not less than one percent of the votes polled in the last General Election to the House of the People or the Legislative Assembly of the State, shall be eligible to receive the Electoral Bonds. The Electoral Bonds shall be encashed by an eligible Political Party only through a Bank account with the Authorized Bank.
• State Bank of India (SBI), has been authorised to issue and encash Electoral Bonds through its 29 Authorized Branches ( as per list enclosed) e.f. 01.07.2021 to 10.07.2021.
• The Electoral Bonds shall be valid for fifteen calendar days from the date of issue and no payment shall be made to any payee Political Party if the Electoral Bond is deposited after expiry of the validity period. The Electoral Bond deposited by an eligible Political Party in its account shall be credited on the same day.

INTERNAL SECURITY

3. AFSPA EXTENDED IN NAGALAND

THE CONTEXT: The Government of India has extended the Armed Forces Special Powers Act, 1958 in Nagaland for another six months (June 30, 2022). The decision came days after the Home Ministry had instituted a high-level committee chaired by a Secretary-level officer for examining the possibility of AFSPA repeal in Nagaland.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Central Government issued a notification in which it declared an entire state of Nagaland as a ‘disturbed area’ and extended the AFSPA, 1958 in the state for the period of another six months. Govt extending the Armed Forces act till June 30, 2022, stated that Nagaland’s ‘disturbed and dangerous’ situation has necessitated the use of armed forces in aid of the civil power. The Indian Army is also currently conducting a court of inquiry into an ambush that went wrong in Nagaland.
• The decision came three weeks after 6 innocent civilians in early December 2021, in the state were killed in an Army ambush and eight more in the violence that was triggered in Mon District, Nagaland

Govt demands repeal of the law

• In view of the improved situation in the Northeast state, the Nagaland government has been consistently taking a stand that the state must not be declared a ‘disturbed area’ and the entire Naga Society has been calling to repeal AFSPA.
• The Chief Minister while informing about the State govt’s clear stand on the law further added that the declaration of a state or any other area as the ‘disturbed area’ under AFSPA is made by the Central Government generally for a period of 6 months only at a time.
• The State Government has passed a resolution against the Armed Forces Special Act that has been adopted in the aftermath of the killing of 14 civilians by the security forces.

What is Armed Forces Special Powers Act (AFSPA)?

How is a region declared ‘disturbed’?

• Section (3) of the AFSPA empowers the governor of the state or Union territoryto issue an official notification in The Gazette of India, following which the Centre has the authority to send in armed forces for civilian aid.
• Once declared ‘disturbed’, the region has to maintain status quo for a minimum of three months, according to The Disturbed Areas (Special Courts) Act, 1976.

 Criticism of AFSPA:

• Sec 4(a) in which army can shoot to kill, as it violates article 21 which gives right to life.
• Section 4(b) search without warrants violates right to liberty and article 22.
• Dispersion of civil assembly by armed forces under section 121 violates right to assembly
• No judicial magistrate permission required while arresting –violate article 22
• Overrides CrPC.
• Violation of human rights
• It alienates the people from army and then from the rest of India. A feeling of otherworldly is generated in their mind.

What should be done?

• Create committees at the district level with representatives of the army, administrators and the public which will report, assess and track complaints in that area.
• All investigations should be time bound reasons for the delay must be communicated with the aggrieved.
• Amendments In-Laws :The lacunae in the Act, as a result of definitional voids with respect to terms like “disturbed”, “dangerous” and “land forces” need to be amplified to ensure greater clarity.
• The onus of proving the alleged person as terrorists should lie with the forces. Sec 7 should be suitable amended to this effect.

4. CHINA ISSUES ‘OFFICIAL’ NAMES FOR 15 PLACES IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

THE CONTEXT: China’s Ministry of Civil Affairs issued a statement stating that they have ‘standardised’ names for 15 places in Arunachal Pradesh, to be used on Chinese maps. This is the second time China has renamed the names of the places of Arunachal Pradesh.

THE EXPLANATION:

• China shares its 22,457 km land boundary with 14 countries including India, the third longest after the borders with Mongolia and Russia.
• The Ministry of External Affairs has dismissed the Chinese “invention”. According to the ministry ,“Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be, an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact.”

Why is China giving names to places that are in India?

• China claims some 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh as its territory. It calls the area “Zangnan” in the Chinese language and makes repeated references to “South Tibet”. Chinese maps show Arunachal Pradesh as part of China, and sometimes parenthetically refer to it as “so-called Arunachal Pradesh”.
• China makes periodic efforts to underline this unilateral claim to Indian territory. Giving Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh is part of that effort.

“According to relevant regulations on the management of place names, the department has standardised some place names in China’s South Tibet region. We have released the first batch of the place names in South Tibet (six in total).

The latitude and longitude listed with the names showed those places as Tawang, KraDaadi, West Siang, Siang (where Mechuka or Menchuka is an emerging tourist destination), Anjaw, and Subansiri respectively.

These six places spanned the breadth of Arunachal Pradesh — “Wo’gyainling” in the west, “Bumo La” in the east and the other four located in the central part of the state.

What is China’s argument for claiming these areas?

• The People’s Republic of China disputes the legal status of the McMahon Line, the boundary between Tibet and British India that was agreed at the Simla Convention — officially the ‘Convention Between Great Britain, China, and Tibet’ — of 1914.
• China was represented at the Simla Convention by a plenipotentiary of the Republic of China, which had been declared in 1912 after the Qing dynasty was overthrown. (The present communist government came to power only in 1949, when the People’s Republic was proclaimed.) The Chinese representative did not consent to the Simla Convention, saying Tibet had no independent authority to enter into international agreements.
• The McMohan Line, named after Henry McMahon, the chief British negotiator at Shimla, was drawn from the eastern border of Bhutan to the Isu Razi pass on the China-Myanmar border. China claims territory to the south of the McMahon Line, lying in Arunachal Pradesh.

THE MISCELLANEOUS

5. SAHITYA AKADEMI AWARDS

THE CONTEXT: The Sahitya Akademi announced its prestigious “Sahitya Akademi Awards, YuvaPuraskar as well as Bal Sahitya Puraskar” for 2021 in various languages.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Sahitya Akademy Award 2021 was given in 20 Indian languages.
• Namita Gokhale received it in English for her novel titled ‘Things to Leave Behind’.

Other winners include:

• Anuradha Sarma Pujari (Assamese)
• BratyaBasu (Bengali)
• Daya Prakash Sinha (Hindi)
• WaliMohdAseerKashtawari (Kashmiri)
• Khalid Hussain (Punjabi)
• Vindeshwari prasad Mishr “Vinay” (Sanskrit) etc.

Sahitya AkademiYuvaPuraskar 2021

• The Sahitya AkademiYuvaPuraskar 2021 was given in 22 Indian languages.
• Megha Majumdar won this award for her debut book ‘A Burning’, which was published in 2020. This book is about struggles of life in India.
• Megha Majumdar was born in India, but now lives in New York and works as an Editor in chief- Books at Catapult Story.

Other winners of the award include:

• Abhijit Bora (Assamese)
• Gourob Chakraborty (Bengali)
• DrashtiSoni (Gujarati)
• Himanshu Vajpai (Hindi)
• Mahesh Dahal (Nepali)
• SwetapadmaSatapathy (Sanskrit) etc.

Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2021

• The Bal Sahitya Puraskar 2021 was given in 22 Indian languages.
• Anita Vachharajani won the award in the English language. She was awarded for her children’s book titled ‘Amrita Sher-Gil: Rebel With A Paintbrush’.

Other winners include:

• Mrinal Chandra Kalita (Assamese)
• Sunirmal Chakraborty (Bengali)
• Devendra Mewari (Hindi)
• Majeed Majazi (Kashmiri) etc.

The Sahitya Akademi Award

• It is a literary honour in India, conferred annually by the Sahitya Akademi. Award is conferred on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit, which are published in any of 24 major Indian languages and 22 languages that are listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution. The award was established in 1954.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

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GEOGRAPHY: DISTRIBUTION OF NATURAL RESOURCES

1. GOA APPROVES EXPORT OF LOW-GRADE IRON ORE

THE CONTEXT: The Goa state Government permitting mining companies to export low-grade iron ore, paving the way for the resumption of mining activity that has been stalled since 2018.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Government, about 10 to 20 million tonnes of low-grade iron ore were lying at different locations outside the mining leases and could sustain mining activity in Goa for the next four-five years.
• “The State government has formulated a policy for regularisation of mining dumps on government and private land. The Chief Minister stated that in the past the State Land Revenue Code had empowered the government to impose fines if the land was used for dumping mining rejects or similar materials without permission.
• Goa’s mining sector, which contributed about 15-16% of the State’s Gross Domestic Product in 2011-12, now accounts for barely 2%.
• In March, the Supreme Court had deemed Goa’s mining lease renewals to be illegal and canceled 88 such leases that had been renewed by the State government in 2014-15.
• In March 2021 the Supreme Court had deemed Goa’s mining lease renewals to be illegal and canceled 88 such leases that had been renewed by the State government in 2014-15.
• The government would take over the mining dumps where the penalty was not paid and auction the ore.

Value Addition:

The total recoverable reserves of iron ore in India are about 9,602 million tonnes of hematite and 3,408 million tonnes of magnetite. Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka, Jharkhand, Odisha, Goa, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu are the principal Indian producers of iron ore.

INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. TUSSLE OVER THE ELECTION OF MAHARASHTRA ASSEMBLY SPEAKER

THE CONTEXT: Amid ongoing tensions between the Governor of Maharashtra and the State Government over the election to the Speaker of the Assembly, and the winter session of the state assembly ends but the Governor has not given his consent to the election programme recommended by the Cabinet.

THE EXPLANATION:  

What Constitution says?

Article 178 of the Constitution states: “Every Legislative Assembly of a State shall, as soon as may be, choose two members of the Assembly to be respectively Speaker and Deputy Speaker thereof and, so often as the office of Speaker or Deputy Speaker becomes vacant, the Assembly shall choose another member to be Speaker or Deputy Speaker, as the case may be.”

The Constitution does not specify the process of holding these elections; that is left to the state legislatures. It also does not set a timeframe other than to say the elections should be held “as soon as maybe”.

Some states lay down timeframes

• In Haryana, the election of the Speaker must be held as soon as possible after the Assembly election, and the Deputy Speaker must be elected within another seven days.
• In UP, the Speaker’s election is required to be held within 15 days if the post falls vacant during the term of the Assembly.
• The date for the Speaker’s election is notified by the Governor.

A crucial case in Maharashtra

• As per Rule 6 of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly Rules, “The Governor shall fix a date for the holding of the election and the Secretary shall send to every member notice of the date so fixed.”
• A former Secretary of the state Assembly said the election of the Speaker can take place only after the Governor fixes the date for it.

What are the recent amendments?

• The govt has moved a motion in the Assembly seeking amendments to Rules 6 (election of Assembly Speaker) and 7 (election of Deputy Assembly Speaker) by voice vote instead of a secret ballot.
• The amendments excluded the words “holding of the election” and included the words “to elect the Speaker on the recommendation of the Chief Minister” in Rule 6 of Maharashtra Assembly Rules.

What are the objections to these amendments?

• The Opposition accused the govt of running the “most insecure government” that does not trust its MLAs and fears there would be cross-voting in the election of the Speaker.
• It argued that the Rules cannot be amended in the absence of the Speaker.

What is the government’s position?

• The government has argued that the amendments are in line with the Rules that are in practice in Lok Sabha, the Upper House of the state legislature, and in the Assemblies of several other states.
• It has also been said that the amendments would put an end to horse-trading.

What is the way ahead?

• The govt can explore legal options to see whether the election of the Speaker could be held without the consent of the Governor. However, the situation is very odd.
• While Rule 6 mandates that the Governor should fix the date for the election, the amendment says that the Governor should fix the date on the advice of the CM.

3. NORTHEASTERN REGION DISTRICT SDG INDEX: NITI AAYOG

THE CONTEXT: Niti Aayog with technical support from UNDP, released the first its kind Northeastern Region District SDG Index. The index measures the performance of the district of the eight NE States. This SDG Index will be used as a base for planning of development and welfare activities, education, health care.

THE EXPLANATION:  

According to the report, the East Sikkim district of Sikkim has topped the Northeastern Region (NER) District SDG Index 2021-22 while the Kiphire district of Nagaland was ranked last amongst 103 districts in the ranking. Gomati, North Tripura is second, West Tripura is third in the ranking.

What is NER District SDG Index?

• The Index measures the performance of the districts of the eight states of Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura on the Sustainable Development Goals and ranks these districts on the basis of the same.
• The index offers insights into the social, economic, and environmental status of the region and its districts in their march towards achieving the SDGs. East Sikkim was ranked first in the region, followed by districts Gomati and North Tripura in the second position.
• “The North-eastern Region District SDG Index will help in evidence-based planning, resource allocation, both financial as well as others, and effective supervision and monitoring of developmental efforts for focused and balanced regional development”.

Objectives:

• To strengthen the monitoring of SDGs for all States and Districts of the region
• To establish the NER District SDG Index as the comprehensive progress monitoring tool at the district level
• To enable the States and Districts to identify critical sectoral gaps
• To promote healthy competition in the region among States and Districts
• To facilitate cross-learning through good practices and challenges

4. ATAL RANKINGS FOR INNOVATION

THE CONTEXT: Ministry of Education released the “Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA),” out of which Sevan Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs) have made it to the top 10.

THE EXPLANATION:

• IIT Madras, IIT Bombay and IIT Delhi topped the rankings for technical central universities, for their innovative approach. The IITs in Kanpur, Roorkee, Hyderabad and Kharagpur also feature in the top 10.
• Other institutions on the list are Bengaluru’s Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Prayagraj’s Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology, and the National Institute of Technology in Kozhikode (formerly Calicut).
• According to Education Ministry, the ARIIA rankings will “inspire Indian institutions to reorient their mindset and build ecosystems to encourage high-quality research, innovation and entrepreneurship in their campuses”. The rankings will inspire institutions to ‘reorient their mindset’, promote innovation to achieve $5 trillion economies by 2025.

What is ARIIA?

• ARIIA is an annual ranking released by the education ministry to recognize the contribution of institutions in research and innovation. It systematically ranks all major higher education institutions and universities in India on indicators related to the promotion and support of “innovation and entrepreneurship development” among students and faculty.
• The first edition of ARIIA was released in 2019 when a total of 496 institutes competed to get a ranking. This year, 1,438 institutions (including all IITs, NITs, IISc, etc.) participated.

Parameters:

• The parameters on which institutes were judged include academic courses offered on innovation and start-up, successful innovation and start-ups that emerged from campus, investment, collaboration and partnerships with ecosystem enablers, research outputs and technology transfer and commercialization efforts.
• The ranking is divided into two categories — technical and non-technical institutions. There are five sub-categories under the ‘technical’ category— central universities, state universities, private universities, government-aided institutions, and deemed private universities. Under ‘non-technical’ institutions, the categories are ‘central government’ and ‘general’.

THE DEFENCE AND SECURITY

5. INDIGENISATION2500 SUBSYSTEMS BARRED FROM IMPORTS: MOD

THE CONTEXT: Following the two positive indigenization lists barring the import of 209 major platforms and systems, the Defence Ministry notified a list of another 2,500 subsystems and components and 351 more imported items to be made locally in the next three years.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Ministry of Defence, “The Atmanirbhar initiative will save foreign exchange approximately equivalent to ₹3,000 crores every year”.
• A positive indigenization list of subsystems and components had been notified by the Department of Defence Production as part of the MoD’s efforts to achieve self-reliance in manufacturing and minimize imports by the Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs). They would only be procured from the Indian industry after the timelines indicated in the list.

• “DPSUs will work in close coordination with local industrial supply chain to ensure strict adherence to the stipulated timelines.” Necessary certifications/approval of all items included in the list shall be granted on priority by the stakeholders concerned.

To reduce imports

• The positive indigenization list is among a series of measures announced recently to reduce defence imports and give a push to domestic manufacturing.
• At present, India’s defence and aerospace manufacturing market was worth ₹85,000 crores, of which the present contribution of the private sector was ₹18,000 crore. In 2022, the country’s defence and aerospace manufacturing market would increase to ₹1 lakh crore and could reach ₹5 lakh crore by 2047.
• The Ministry is also expected to put out the final version of the ‘Defence Production and Export Promotion Policy (DPEPP) 2020’, the draft of which has been released for public feedback.

Emerging technologies

• Indian Army said in its statement, “Army has also established an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Centre at the same institution with over 140 deployments in forwarding areas and active support of industry and academia. Training on cyberwarfare is being imparted through a state of art cyber range, and cyber security labs”.
• Ideation for the Army’s involvement in Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations was done in a seminar on Electromagnetic Spectrum and National Security organized in October 2020, the statement noted and added that since then an impetus had been given to the Army’s technology institutions for investing in AI, quantum and cyber.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES AND INITIATIVES IN NEWS

6. RYTHU BANDHU SCHEME OF TELANGANA

THE CONTEXT: Ahead of the ongoing Rabi season, the Telangana government started crediting money into the bank accounts of eligible beneficiaries in the state.

THE EXPLANATION:

Under the Rythu Bandhu scheme, as many as 66.56 lakh farmers identified as beneficiaries, regardless of the extent of land owned by them, would receive financial assistance in 10 days.

With this, the state government would have disbursed Rs 50,405.63 crore to farmers under the scheme to date, a major landmark since its inception in May 2018.

What is Rythu Bandhu?

• Rythu Bandhu is a scheme under which the state government extends financial support to land-owning farmers at the beginning of the crop season through direct benefit transfer so that they can take care of the initial investment needs and do not fall into a debt trap.
• This in turn instills confidence in farmers, enhances productivity and income, and breaks the cycle of rural indebtedness.
• Each farmer gets Rs 5,000 per acre per crop season without any ceiling on the number of acres held. So, a farmer who owns two acres of land would receive Rs 20,000 a year, whereas a farmer who owns 10 acres would receive Rs 1 lakh a year from the government. The grant helps them cover the expenses on input requirements such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides, and labour.

How does it compare with the PM-KISAN scheme?

The state government has often said that the Centre’s PM-KISAN (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi) scheme is a “copy” of Rythu Bandhu. The Telangana government further claims that its own scheme is much better than PM-KISAN.

What about landless farmers?

• The Rythu Bandhu scheme has also come in from criticism from several quarters, with one of the major ones being that it ignores the plight of landless or tenant farmers.
• Farmer bodies have been demanding that the state government should extend the agriculture assistance to tenant farmers as well. They have pointed out that those who work on lands taken on lease from landowners also need government assistance at the beginning of a crop season.

PLACES IN NEWS

7. PORT OF LATAKIA

THE CONTEXT: An Israeli airstrike hit a shipment of Iranian weapons in the Syrian port of Latakia on 7th December 2021.

THE EXPLANATION:

Port of Latakia:

• The Port of Latakia is a seaport, located on the Mediterranean Sea in the city of Latakia.
• Established in 1950, it has since served as Syria’s main seaport.

Significance:

• The repeated strikes are a flagrant violation of Syria’s sovereignty. Israel, which has hardly upheld international norms and laws when it comes to its security policies, is setting another bad precedent.
• Syria, devastated by the civil war, is emerging as a new front in the Israel-Iran tussle. In recent years, Israel has reportedly carried out sabotage activities inside Iran and assassinated Iranian nuclear scientists. Iran, in return, has attacked Israel-linked vessels in the Gulf and Mediterranean waters and enhanced supplies to Shia rebel groups in the region.
• Iran is preparing to take control of Syria’s main commercial port, advancing its plans to secure a trade route from Tehran to the Mediterranean and establishing a significant foothold on Israel’s doorstep.
• Russia, whose primary focus in Syria is on the survival of the Assad regime and the protection of its own troops and assets deployed there, has largely stayed away from the Iran-Israel cold war. This gives Israel a free hand in Syria to target the Iranian and Hezbollah shipments.

Major ports in Syria: 

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTION

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