[WpProQuiz 124]

[WpProQuiz 123]

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. DEATH PENALTY FOR RAPE

THE CONTEXT: Maharashtra is the second state in India after Andhra Pradesh to approve the death penalty for heinous offences of rapes and gang-rapes, with the Maharashtra Assembly unanimously passing the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Bill.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Bill, which aims to curb crime against women and children, provides stricter punishment including the death penalty in rape cases.
• The Bill provides for the death penalty or life imprisonment for cases of heinous offences of rape, gang-rape and rape and gang-rape on women under 16 years of age, punishment to men, women, and transgenders in cases of insulting the modesty of a woman and intimidating a woman by any mode of communication and completing the investigation in 30 days.
• Other provisions include punishment such as imprisonment up to three months and a fine of Rs 25 lakh or both against the social media platform, internet, or mobile telephony data providers for failure to share data for police investigation.
• In case of filing false cases or providing false information to any person, it provides for punishment such as the imprisonment of not less than three years and up to three years and a fine of Rs 1 lakh.
• In acid attack cases, the punishment is imprisonment of at least 15 years that may extend to the remainder of a convict’s natural life, and a fine to be paid to the victim. Also, the expenditure of plastic surgery and face reconstruction operations for the victim will be taken care of from the monetary fine to be charged on the accused.

Add to your Knowledge:

• According to the Project 39 A, (criminal laws advocacy group with the National Law University in Delhi), corresponding to the legislative expansion of the death penalty for sexual crimes against women, more than 65 percent of all death sentences imposed by trial courts were linked to such cases in 2020, the annual study in the death penalty in India.
• Since 2016, the share of sexual crimes in the list of crimes for which trial courts are imposing the death penalty has been steadily increasing. From 6 percent in 2016, it jumped to 37.27 percent in 2017,41.1 percent in 2018 and 53.39 percent in 2019.
• Incidentally, in over 80 percent of cases — 41 of the 50 death sentences — involving sexual crimes in 2020, the victim is below the age of 18 years. While only nine cases involve rape and murder of adults, 21 are connected to the rape and murder of children below the age of 12, and 16 in which the age of the victim was between 12-18 years.
• The study also found that the restricted functioning of courts in the country due to the pandemic contributed to a drop in the number of death sentences imposed in 2020. Nearly 62 percent — 48 of the 77 — death sentences imposed in 2020 were awarded before the nationwide lockdown was enforced to deal with the pandemic. In comparison, 2019 saw less than half the sentences in the same period with 20 death sentences. In 2018, 27 death sentences were imposed in the same time period.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. 10TH NON-EUROPEAN COUNTRY TO JOIN EUROPOL

THE CONTEXT: South Korea has become the 10th country outside of Europe to join the European Union (EU) law enforcement cooperation agency that fights terrorism and other international crimes.

WHAT IS EUROPOL?

Europol is the European Union’s law enforcement agency. Their main goal is to achieve a safer Europe for the benefit of all the EU citizens. It is established in 1992 and its headquarter is in The Hague, the Netherlands, we support the 27 EU Member States in their fight against terrorism, cybercrime and other serious and organized forms of crime.

Large-scale criminal and terrorist networks pose a significant threat to the internal security of the EU and to the safety and livelihood of its people. The biggest security threats come from:

• international drug trafficking and money laundering.
• organized fraud.
• the counterfeiting of euros.
• trafficking in human beings.

The networks behind the crimes in each of these areas are quick to seize new opportunities, and they are resilient in the face of traditional law enforcement measures.

However, EUROPOL has no executive powers. The officials of EUROPOL cannot arrest the suspects without prior approval from competent authorities.

Under the agreement, police can now exchange information on crime and cooperate with member states of EUROPOL 17 European and nine non-European countries as well as international organizations and research institutes collaborating with the agency.

Who are the other 9 Non- EU members?

1. Andorra
2. San Marino
3. UK
4. Chile
5. Mexico
6. New Zealand
7. Israel
8. Kosovo
9. Japan

India and EUROPOL:

In the year 2020, India-EU Strategic Partnership: A Roadmap to 2025 was held, during the summit between India and the EU talked about implementing a working arrangement between Europol and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

3. THE WORLD’S LEGGIEST ANIMAL HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN AUSTRALIA

THE CONTEXT: The eyeless, subterranean creature with 1,306 legs discovered 60 meters underground is the first ‘true millipede’.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• The eyeless, subterranean Eumillipespersephone, discovered 60 meters underground near the south coast of Western Australia, has up to 1,306 legs, making it the first “true millipede” and the leggiest animal on Earth.
• The name “millipede” comes from the Latin for “thousand feet”, but until now no known species had more than 750 legs.
• Millipedes were the first land animals, as of today scientists know of more than 13,000 species. There are likely thousands more species of the many-legged invertebrates awaiting discovery and formal scientific description.
• These incredibly elongated millipedes, less than a millimeter wide and almost 10 centimeters long. They pointed out how their triangular faces placed them in the family Siphonotidae, comprised of sucking millipedes from the order Polyzoniida.
• Researchers classify any millipede with more than 180 body segments as “super-elongated”. E Persephone has 330.

Finding unknown

• Finding this incredible species, which represents a unique branch of the millipede tree of life, is a small first step towards the conservation of subterranean biodiversity in arid landscapes.
• A large proportion of the species of arid Australia are undescribed. For subterranean fauna, this may be more than 90%. Not knowing these animals exist makes it impossible to assess their conservation status.

 4. MASS TAGGING MISSION OF OLIVE RIDLEY TURTLES

THE CONTEXT: Scientists have resumed tagging of Olive Ridley turtles at Rushikulya rookery along the Odisha coast, which would help them identify the migration path and places visited by the marine reptiles after congregation and nesting.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Researchers of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) are carrying out tagging of the Olive Ridleys at three mass nesting sites — Gahirmatha, Devi River mouth and Rushikulya. The exercise was undertaken in Odisha in January 2021 after a span of about 25 years and 1,556 turtles had been tagged.

• They are studying the path taken by turtles in the sea if they keep coming to one nesting site for laying eggs, and the number of sites they visit over the years. Besides, the growth of turtles could be measured during the current study.
• Also, the study would reveal the inter-rookery movement of turtles in Odisha. The migration pattern to other countries would be recorded in detail.”

Mass Tagging:

• The metal tags affixed to turtles are non-corrosive and they do not harm their body. It can be removed later. The tags are uniquely numbered containing details such as the name of the organization, country code and email address.
• “If researchers in other countries come across the tagged turtles, they will email their location in longitude and latitude to the forest official. There is an established network working on turtles”. “The researchers intend to tag 30,000 turtles over a period of 10 years.

Olive Ridley Sea Turtles

• Olive Ridley Turtles (Lepidochelys olivacea) are migratory species visiting Indian coasts for nesting.
• These turtles travel all the way from the South Pacific Ocean to breed on the coast of Gahirmatha. Their mass nesting phenomenon is called arribadas.
• IUCN Status: Vulnerable; CITES: APPENDIX 1
• They have the highest degree of protection as they are included in Schedule-I of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972. 

• The turtle eggs normally take 45 days to hatch. After this, tiny hatchlings come out and make their way to the sea.
• Threats: Heavy predation of eggs by dogs and wild animals, indiscriminate fishing with trawlers and gill nets, and beach soil erosion.
• Every year, the Indian Coast Guard’s “Operation Olivia”, initiated in the early 1980s, helps protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from November to December.
• KURMA App: It is aimed at turtle conservation by providing users a database to identify a species but also provides the location of the nearest rescue center for turtles across the country.

Developed by: The application has been developed by the Indian Turtle Conservation Action Network(ITCAN) in collaboration with the Turtle Survival Alliance-India and Wildlife Conservation Society-India.

DEFENCE AND SECURITY

5. INDIGENOUS AERIAL TARGET – ‘ABHYAS’ SUCCESSFULLY TESTED

THE CONTEXT: DRDO successfully conducted the flight test of Indigenously developed High-speed Expendable Aerial Target (HEAT) Abhyas from Integrated Test Range (ITR), Chandipur off the coast, Odisha.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• ABHYAS is designed and developed by DRDO’s Aeronautical Development Establishment (ADE); Bengaluru-based DRDO laboratory along with other DRDO laboratories has developed this indigenous unmanned aerial target system to meet the requirement of aerial targets of Indian Armed Forces.
• The aircraft is controlled from a ground-based controller and an indigenously developed MEMS-based Inertial Navigation System along with the Flight Control Computer which helps it to follow the pre-designated path in a fully autonomous mode.
• The air vehicle is launched using twin under-slung boosters which provide the initial acceleration to the vehicle.
• It is powered by a gas turbine engine to sustain a long-endurance flight at subsonic speed. The vehicle is programmed for fully autonomous flight. The check-out of air vehicles is done using a laptop-based Ground Control Station (GCS).

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

1. Who among the following are eligible beneficiaries under Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana(PMUY)?

1. An adult woman who is also a beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana.
2. An adult woman who is also a beneficiary of Antyodaya Anna Yojana.
3. An adult woman who is also a beneficiary of Pradhan Mantri Matritva Vandana Yojana.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

              a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) All of them

ANSWER FOR 23^rd DECEMBER 2021

Answer: a)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: Summoning of parliamentary session is done by the President
• Statement 1 is incorrect: Prorogation of parliamentary session is done by the President.

[WpProQuiz 121]

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. CONCLUSION OF WINTER SESSION 2021

THE CONTEXT: The winter session of Parliament ended the same way it started on November 29,2021 — on an acrimonious note. Both Houses have adjourned sine die a day ahead of schedule.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, that the productivity of the Lok Sabha was around 82% and that of the Rajya Sabha around 48%.
• During the session, 13 Bills (12 in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha) were introduced, while 11 Bills were passed by both Houses of Parliament.
• Also, the government had referred six Bills to parliamentary committees for closer scrutiny, including the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Amendment) Bill that seeks to override personal laws of different religions to increase the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years.

Sessions of Parliament

Summoning of the Parliament is specified in Article 85 of the constitution.

The power to convene a session of Parliament rests with the government. The decision is taken by the Cabinet Committee on Parliamentary Affairs. The decision of the Committee is formalized by the President, in whose name MPs are summoned to meet for a session.

There are usually three sessions in a year, viz,

• the Budget Session (February to May);
• the Monsoon Session (July to September); and
• the Winter Session (November to December).

 Also, every year the session starts with the Presidential address.

Adjournment:

• Adjournment refers to postponing the further transaction of the business for a specified time. Adjournment terminates the sitting of the House which meets again at the time appointed for the next sitting.

Adjournment sine die:

Adjournment sine die refers to the termination of a sitting of the House without any definite date being fixed for the next sitting.

Prorogation:

• The termination of a session of Rajya Sabha by an order made by the President under article 85(2) (a) of the Constitution is called Prorogation. A prorogation puts an end to a session and not Lok Sabha itself.

Dissolution:

• Dissolution may take place either by end of the 5-year term of Lok Sabha or the end of term as extended by emergency or by an order of President as mentioned in article 85 (2).
• Dissolution puts an end to the Lok Sabha and fresh elections must be held.

2. KARNATAKA’S ANTI-CONVERSION LEGISLATION

THE CONTEXT: The Karnataka Protection of Right to Freedom of Religion Bill, 2021 introduced in the Karnataka Assembly aims to prohibit conversion by misrepresentation, force, fraud, the allurement of marriage, coercion and undue influence.

THE PROVISIONS OF THE BILL:

• According to the Bill, any person intending to convert will have to inform the district magistrate at least thirty days in advance, following which an inquiry will be conducted.
• After getting converted, the person has to again inform the district magistrate within 30 days and must appear before the district magistrate to confirm his/her identity. Not informing the district magistrate will lead to the conversion being declared null and void.
• The offence of conversion will attract a jail term of three to five years and a fine of ₹25,000 for people found violating the law and a jail term of three to 10 years, and a fine of ₹50,000 for people converting minors, women and persons from the SC and ST communities.

About conversion, the Bill claims that “allurement” includes any offer of any temptation in the form of:

• Any gift, gratification, easy money, or material benefit either in cash or kind;
• Employment, free education in school or college run by any religious body;
• Promise to marry;
• A better lifestyle, divine displeasure or otherwise;
• Portraying practice, rituals and ceremonies or any integral part of a religion in a detrimental way vis-a-vis another religion; or
• Glorifying one religion against another religion.

How has Parliament handled anti-conversion bills?

• In post-Independent India, the first Indian Conversion (Regulation and Registration) Bill was introduced in 1954, which sought to enforce “licensing of missionaries and the registration of conversion with government officials.” This bill was rejected.
• This was followed by the introduction of the Backward Communities (Religious Protection) Bill in 1960, “which aimed at checking conversion of Hindus to ‘non-Indian religions’ which, as per the definition in the Bill, included Islam, Christianity, Judaism and Zoroastrianism,” and the Freedom of Religion Bill in 1979, which sought “official curbs on inter-religious conversion.”
• These bills fell through for want of majority approval.
• Research indicates that in the 1980s, the focus of anti-conversion laws was Muslims seeking to convert non- Muslims, while Christianity has received its share of attention since the 1990s.

3. 15 YEARS OF FOREST RIGHTS ACTS

THE CONTEXT: According to the Monthly Progress Report on Forest Rights Acts, published by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA), Government of India, only 14.75% of the minimum potential forest areas for forest rights in India has been recognized since the Act came into force.

THE ANALYSIS OF THE FOREST RIGHTS ACT

• A 2015 report by the Rights and Resources Initiative, Vasundhara and Natural Resources Management Consultants pointed out the FRA has the potential to restore the rights of forest dwellers over at least 40 million hectares or 100 million acres of forest land in 170,000 villages, i.e. one-fourth of the villages across the country. Importantly, at least 150 million people, including 90 million tribal people, are estimated to benefit from the recognition of forest rights under the FRA.
• Even within this lower recognition rate, there is uneven implementation of FRA across states. For example, Andhra Pradesh has recognized 23% of 29,64,000 acres of its minimum potential forest claim, while Jharkhand, with 52,36,400 acres of minimum potential forest area, has recognized only 5%.
• A similar phenomenon is at work within states, where some districts have performed better than others. For example, within a high performing state like Odisha, a district like Nabarangapur has a 100% IFR recognition rate, but in Sambalpur, it is at 41.34%
• The MoTA’s monthly FRA progress report reveals that since 2016, the total FRA claims received have declined. Advocates of the Act argue that this is not because of a delay in claim filing, but rather that state administrations have done too little to facilitate the claim process. A perennial challenge in the enforcement of the FRA at the state level, regardless of the political party in power, is the lack of political and administrative support to implement the Act.

IFR = Individual Forest Rights and CFR = Community Forest Rights 

Enforcement challenges

• The biggest challenge throughout the country has been a lack of coordination between tribal, forest and revenue departments at the local level. Equally pathetic is the sedentary attitude of the state-level monitoring committee to supervise the activities of the DLC and SDLC.
• Claims are arbitrarily rejected without any written explanation to the claimants. Invariably, the claimed forest area for IFR and CFR is not recognized. Lesser forest area against the claimed area is recognized without giving justification.
• Wherever rights are recognized, little or no attempt is made to enhance the title holders’ livelihood and increase the productivity of the recognized land. Recognition of claims in protected and tiger reserve areas is very low or rejected by misinterpreting the law.
• It is probably no mere coincidence that over the past few years, as several forest rights claims have been pending and rejected, the Union government has diverted more than 20,000 hectares of forest areas for developmental activities across the country.

MYTHS ABOUT FRA

• Degradation of forests: The FRA is hardly the primary factor contributing to a decline in forest cover. According to another report, there is no correlation between FRA implementation and forest cover decline. While isolated examples of encroachment by the local community can surely be uncovered, there are countless studies and a lot of evidence to illustrate how forest-dwellers across the country have sustainably managed their surrounding forest. The campaign against the FRA may be a function of parties that have little to do with forest conservation and more to do with vested interests of tourism and corporate business.
• The disappearance of tigers: The implementation of FRA in tiger reserve areas has not caused the disappearance of tigers. In fact, the number of tigers has gone up after the FRA came into the picture and the number of animals has increased in reserves where the Act has been implemented. For example, after giving forest titles to the Soliga tribal community in the BRT Hills of Karnataka, a 2013 government estimate shows tiger density to be 11.3 tiger/100 sq km, making it second only to Kaziranga.

Way forward

• It is essential to ensure that the potential of FRA is maximized. Several steps can be taken to achieve the law’s goal. Each state’s intervention strategies need to be different given the distinctive nature of forest history and landscape. To this effect, concerted political and administrative interventions to strengthen the enforcement of the law at the grassroots level would help ensure that forest-dwellers get their statutory rights. The intervention strategies of Maharashtra and Chhattisgarh to upscale the implementation of FRA is worth emulating.
• As gram sabhas struggle to file their claims, it will be critically important for the state machinery to create a climate that enables them to exercise rights recognized under the FRA.
• It is essential to build a consistent, uniform and transparent database across states and build a fair understanding of lacunas in implementation over the years.
• Policies that aim to support the post-recognition phase would also help the titleholders improve their livelihood and land productivity.

THE BACKGROUND:

About Forest Rights Act 2006:

• The symbiotic relationship between forests and forest-dwelling communities found recognition in the National Forest Policy, 1988.
• The policy called for the need to associate tribal people in the protection, regeneration and development of forests.
• The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006, was enacted to protect the marginalized socio-economic class of citizens and balance the right to the environment with their right to life and livelihood.

Provisions of the 2006 Act

• The Act recognizes that tribal and other traditional forest-dwelling communities would be hard put to provide documentary evidence for their claims.
• Rule 13 of the Act, therefore, stipulates that the gram sabhas should consider more than one evidence in determining forest rights.
• The rule sanctions a wide range of evidence, including “statements by village elders”, “community rights” and “physical attributes such as houses, huts and permanent improvements made to lands such as leveling, bunds and check dams”.

Features of the Act

• The act recognizes and vests the forest rights and occupation in Forest land in forest Dwelling Scheduled Tribes (FDST) and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (OTFD)who have been residing in such forests for generations.
• The act also establishes the responsibilities and authority for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of the ecological balance of FDST and OTFD.
• It strengthens the conservation regime of the forests while ensuring the livelihood and food security of the FDST and OTFD.
• It seeks to rectify colonial injustice to the FDST and OTFD who are integral to the very survival and sustainability of the forest ecosystem.

The act identifies four types of rights:

Title rights

• It gives FDST and OTFD the right to ownership to land farmed by tribals or forest dwellers subject to a maximum of 4 hectares.
• Ownership is only for land that is actually being cultivated by the concerned family and no new lands will be granted.

Use rights

• The rights of the dwellers extend to extracting Minor Forest Produce, grazing areas, to pastoralist routes, etc.

Relief and development rights

• To rehabilitation in case of illegal eviction or forced displacement and to basic amenities, subject to restrictions for forest protection

Forest management rights

• It includes the right to protect, regenerate or conserve or manage any community forest resource which they have been traditionally protecting and conserving for sustainable use.

THE ECON0OMIC DEVELOPMENT

4. MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (MSP) FOR COPRA FOR 2022 SEASON

THE CONTEXT: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs chaired by the Prime Minister has given its approval for the Minimum Support Prices (MSPs) for copra for the 2022 season.

THE EXPLANATION:

According to the statement released by the Government,

• The MSP for Fair Average Quality (FAQ) of milling copra has been increased to Rs10,590/- per quintal for the 2022 season from Rs.10,335/- per quintal in 2021 and the MSP for ball copra has been increased to Rs.11,000/- per quintal for 2022 season from Rs.10,600/- per quintal in 2021. This is to ensure a return of 51.85 percent for milling copra and 57.73 percent for ball copra over the all-India weighted average cost of production. The increase in MSP for copra for the 2022 season is in line with the principle of fixing the MSP at a level of at least 1.5 times the all India weighted average cost of production as announced by the Government in the Budget 2018-19.
• It assures a minimum of 50 percent as a margin of profit as one of the important and progressive steps towards making possible doubling of farmers’ incomes by 2022.
• The National Agricultural Cooperative Marketing Federation of India Limited and National Cooperative Consumer Federation of India Limited will continue to act as Central Nodal Agencies to undertake price support operations at the MSP in the coconut growing States.

VALUE ADDITION:

What is the Minimum Support Price:

• Minimum Support Price (MSP) is a form of market intervention by the Government of India to insure agricultural producers against any sharp fall in farm prices.
• The minimum support prices are announced by the Government of India at the beginning of the sowing season for certain crops on the basis of the recommendations of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).
• MSP is price fixed by the Government of India to protect the producer – farmers – against excessive falls in price during bumper production years. The minimum support prices are a guaranteed price for their produce from the Government

Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP)

• CACP is an expert body that recommends minimum support prices (MSPs) to the Government (CCEA) by taking into account the cost of production, trends in domestic and international prices.
• It is a statutory panel under the Ministry of Agriculture, established in January 1965.
• It makes recommendations for MSPs for 23 Kharif and rabi crops
• However, its suggestions are not binding on the government.

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 set up with the object to promote Cooperative 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.

5. DEMAND TO EXTEND TOKENIZATION DEADLINE

THE CONTEXT: Digital payment firms and merchant bodies have petitioned the Reserve Bank of India to extend the deadline for implementation of the new credit and debit card data storage norms, or card-on-file tokenization (CoF). The RBI mandate on tokenization kicks in from January 1, 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

WHAT IS TOKENISATION?

• Tokenization refers to the replacement of actual credit and debit card details with an alternate code called the “token”, which will be unique for a combination of card, token requestor and device.
• A tokenized card transaction is considered safer as the actual card details are not shared with the merchant during transaction processing. Customers who do not have the tokenization facility will have to key in their name, 16-digit card number, expiry date and CVV each time they order something online.

Challenges with the process

• If implemented in the present state of readiness, the new RBI mandate could cause major disruptions and loss of revenue, especially for merchants.
• According to the Digital payment firms and merchant bodies, “the disruptions of this nature erode trust in digital payments and reverses consumer habits back towards cash-based payments.
• They have voiced their concerns over industry readiness on the RBI directive on card-on-file tokenization and urged the central bank for an extension of the December 31 deadline for implementation of card data storage norms.
• An estimated 5 million customers, who have stored their card details for online transactions on various platforms, could be impacted if the online players and merchants are not able to implement the changes at their backend.

E-commerce platforms, online service providers and small merchants

• could be especially hit. Equated monthly installments and subscription-based transactions that are paid through stored cards will also have to adhere.

Significance:

• “India has an estimated 98.5 crore cards, which are used for about 1.5 crore daily transactions worth Rs 4000 crore. The value of the Indian digital payments industry in 2020-21, as per RBI’s annual report, was Rs 14,14,85,173 crore. Digital payments have triggered and sustained economic growth, especially through the trying times of the pandemic…While RBI’s intent is to protect consumer interest, the challenge on ground pertains to implementation.
• In September 2021 the RBI prohibited merchants from storing customer card details on their servers with effect from January 1 and mandated adoption of CoF tokenization as an alternative to card storage.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

6. ADVERSE EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE

THE CONTEXT: Forest officials from Sirnapalli forest in Telangana spotted a rare Albino flap shell species, researchers later suggested they were traced only twice before in 2020 — once in Odisha and then in West Bengal,

THE EXPLANATION:

About Indian Flapshell turtle 

• It is a freshwater species of turtle found in South Asia.
• The “flap-shelled” name stems from the presence of femoral flaps located on the plastron. These flaps of skin cover the limbs when they retract into the shell. It is unclear what protection the flaps offer against predators.
• It is morphologically an evolutionary link between the softshell and hardshell aquatic turtles.
• Habitat: The Indian flap shell turtle is found in Pakistan, India (common in lakes and rivers), Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh (Indus and Gange’s drainages), and Myanmar (Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers). It has been introduced to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also found in the desert ponds of Rajasthan, where hundreds are killed every year during the dry summers.
• In 2020 a farmer found a yellow flap shell turtle, believed to be an albino version of the species.

Threat: Exploitation on for-profit and habitat change are threats to their survival.

• Conservation status:
• Appendix- I of CITES
• IUCN – Vulnerable

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

1. Consider the following statements:

1. Summoning of parliamentary session is done by the President.
2. Prorogation of parliamentary session is done by the Presiding officer of the Houses.

Which of the given statements is/are correct?

      a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

FOR 22TH DECEMBER 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: c)

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is correct: is published annually by Reporters Without Borders

Statement 1 is correct: In 2021, India was ranked 142nd out of 180 countries, placed in ‘bad category.

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. NAGALAND CREATES THREE NEW DISTRICTS

THE CONTEXT: Nagaland government has created three new districts in the state, taking the total number of districts to 15.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Nagaland government established three new districts on Saturday, raising the state’s total number of administrative entities to 15. The new three districts are named- Tseminyu, Nuland, and Chumukedima.
• Nuland and Chumukedima have been formed out of Dimapur district, while the Tseminyu is the sub-division of the Kohima district which has been promoted to a district. Despite requests for new districts from at least 11 tribes, the Cabinet could only consider three of them because some districts are home to only one tribe and cannot be separated.

How are new districts carved?

The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments. This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the State Assembly. The many States prefer the executive route by simply issuing a notification in the official gazette.

How does it help?

States argue that smaller districts lead to better administration and governance. For example, in 2016, the Assam government issued a notification to upgrade the Majuli sub-division to Majuli district for “administrative expediency”.bdivision under Kohima district, Nagaland,” read a notification issued by the Nagaland government.

Does the Central government have a role to play here?

The Centre has no role to play in the alteration of districts or the creation of new ones. States are free to decide. The Home Ministry comes into the picture when a State wants to change the name of a district or a railway station. The State government’s request is sent to other departments and agencies such as the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Geographical Survey of India Sciences and the Railway Ministry seeking clearance. A no-objection certificate may be issued after examining their replies.

What has been the trend?

According to the 2011 Census, there were 593 districts in the country. The Census results showed that between 2001-2011, as many as 46 districts were created by States. Though the 2021 Census is yet to happen, Know India, a website run by the Government of India, says currently there are 718 districts in the country. The surge in number is also due to the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh into A.P and Telangana in 2014. Telangana at present has 33 districts and A.P has 13 districts.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. DECADE-OLD CONFLICT IN SYRIA

THE CONTEXT: Underlining that the humanitarian crisis in Syria has not seen significant improvement in recent months, India has called for a nationwide comprehensive ceasefire, saying doing so will help to expand crossline humanitarian aid operations in the country.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• At a United Nations Security Council briefing about Syria, India said decade-long conflict and involvement of external players has adversely affected the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria.
• “India has been reiterating since the beginning of the conflict that imposing external solutions cannot help in the resolution of the conflict
• On its part, India has continued to extend developmental assistance and human resource development support to Syria through grants and lines of credits for developmental projects, supply of medicine and food, artificial limb fitment camps and capacity building training programs.
• On the security front, India remains concerned with the overall situation in Syria, including the increasing incidents of ceasefire violations in North-West Syria.
• Also, India pointed out, Since the beginning of the conflict, India has always stood by the Syrian people. Reaffirming India’s commitment to a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned UN-facilitated political process in line with UN Security Council Resolution 2254″.

THE BACKGROUND

Syria is a west Asian Country bordering Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq, Jordan, and Israel. The civil war in Syria is regarded as the most brutal conflict in the world which started off in 2011.

The conflict between Shia Islam and Sunni Islam

The root of this conflict can be traced to sectarian conflicts in the region existing there for centuries. Shia Islam and Sunni Islam are the two major denominations of Islam Religion. With Saudi Arabia regarding itself as the leader of Sunni Muslims and Iran as the protector of Shia Muslims, the West Asian region is divided under these two leaders. Saudi and Iran started playing an important role in the geopolitical conflicts in the region.

What caused the uprising?

While lack of freedoms and economic woes drove resentment of the Syrian government, the harsh crackdown on protesters inflamed public anger.

• Arab Spring: In 2011, successful uprisings – that became known as the Arab Spring – toppled Tunisia‘s and Egypt‘s presidents. This gave hope to Syrian pro-democracy activists.
• That March, peaceful protests erupted in Syria as well, after 15 boys were detained and tortured for writing graffiti in support of the Arab Spring. One of the boys, a 13-year-old, was killed after having been brutally tortured.
• The Syrian government, led by President Bashar al-Assad, responded to the protests by killing hundreds of demonstrators and imprisoning many more.
• In July 2011, defectors from the military announced the formation of the Free Syrian Army, a rebel group aiming to overthrow the government, and Syria began to slide into war.
• While the protests in 2011 were mostly non-sectarian, the armed conflict surfaced starker sectarian divisions. Most Syrians are Sunni Muslims, but Syria’s security establishment has long been dominated by members of the Alawi sect, of which Assad is a member.
• In 1982, Bashar’s father ordered a military crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood in Hama, killing tens of thousands of people and flattening much of the city.
• Even global warming is said to have played a role in sparking the 2011 uprising. Severe drought plagued Syria from 2007-10, causing as many as 1.5 million people to migrate from the countryside into cities, exacerbating poverty and social unrest.

Who are Kurds?

• The Kurds are the world’s largest stateless ethnic group. There are an estimated 25 million to 35 million of them.
• They live in the highlands of southern and eastern Turkey, northern Iraq, northeastern Syria, northwestern Iran, and parts of south Armenia, and are a minority in each of these countries.
• Kurdish nationalists claim a history going back 2,500 years, but they became identifiable as a distinct community only in the 7th century, when most tribes in the area adopted Islam.
• The Treaty of Sèvres (1920), which partitioned the old Ottoman dominions, marked out a much smaller territory as Kurdistan. However, Turkey negotiated with the Allied powers and, in 1923, the Treaty of Lausanne overtook the Treaty of Sèvres and ended the idea of a self-governing Kurdistan.
• Over the decades, the Kurds made repeated attempts at establishing a Kurdistan with defined national borders (within the territory of Turkey), and in this process, Turkey retaliated with massive repression of Kurds.

Why is Turkey invading Syria?

By invading northern Syria, Turkey seeks to create a peace zone, where it can deport Syrian refugees that fled the country during the Civil war in Syria.

However, experts believe in the name of the creation of a peace zone, Turkey wants to land grab the strategic area.

• Geopolitical Importance of northern Syria.
• It holds 30% of Syrian oil & gas.
• This area harbors fertile agricultural land.
• Also, the region is drained by water from the river Euphrates.
• Apart from this, the area is under the control of Kurds, which Turkey recognizes as a threat to its territorial integrity.

The Way ahead:

The outside powers that are involved in Syria’s civil war through proxy means need to reconsider their decision. Their role in converting a peaceful democratic movement into full-fledged war should be condemned. They should stop financing the extremist groups to avoid further conflicts in the region.

Considering the large-scale devastation which happened in Syria, rebuilding its human and social capital will be an insurmountable task for the govt. Therefore, the international community should come forward with a helping hand to bring the war-torn nation into normalcy. India can also play a constructive humanitarian role to establish peace and stability in the region.

THE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

3. PROHIBITION ON USE OF TB ANTIBIOTICS ON CROPS

THE CONTEXT: The Union Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare notified the draft order on ‘Prohibition of Streptomycin + Tetracycline in agriculture’, which prohibits import, manufacture or formulation of Streptomycin and Tetracycline for use in agriculture from February 1, 2022.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The draft order comes growing concerns over antimicrobial resistance observed in various crops, particularly to streptomycin, which is used in the treatment of tuberculosis (TB). Tetracycline antibiotics find application in the treatment of bacterial infections.
• Streptomycin is a critically important antimicrobial while tetracycline belongs to the class of highly important antimicrobials, according to the World Health Organization.
• The order ensures a complete ban on the use of the two antibiotics in agriculture from January 1, 2024, onwards. It directed every state government to take all such steps necessary for executing the order in their state.
• The draft order is the fallout of the deliberations within the Central Insecticides Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC), where the registration committee (RC) in August 2021 had approved the recommendation for phasing out the use of streptomycin and tetracycline amid growing concerns over antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Empirical data

• Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) in 2019 highlighted the practices of antibiotic misuse in the crop sector in India. It showed how streptomycin (90:10 combinations of streptomycin and tetracycline) was being misused along the banks of the Yamuna in national capital Delhi, Hisar (Haryana) and Fazilka (Punjab).
• It found that farmers there routinely and indiscriminately used high doses of streptomycin on crops, including on the ones for which they had not received any approval.
• CSE had recommended these antibiotics should not be used as pesticides, and that they are used under expert supervision only after a bacterial disease has been diagnosed in a crop. It said so underlining the importance of streptomycin use in humans for “previously treated tuberculosis” and for treating multidrug-resistant TB and certain cases of TB meningitis.
• It added that all other antibiotics should be phased out. Since then CSE has been continuously advocating about the issue on various platforms.

What is antimicrobial resistance?

• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
• As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become increasingly difficult or impossible to treat.

For example:

Colistin is the only last resort treatment for life-threatening infections caused by carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (i.e. E.coli, Klebsiella, etc). Bacteria resistant to colistin have also been detected in several countries and regions, causing infections for which there is no effective antibiotic treatment at present.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

4. A RARE TURTLE SPECIES FOUND IN SIRNAPALLY FOREST IN TELANGANA

THE CONTEXT: Forest officials from Sirnapalli forest in Telangana spotted a rare Albino flap shell species, researchers later suggested they were traced only twice before in 2020 — once in Odisha and then in West Bengal,

THE EXPLANATION:

About Indian Flapshell turtle 

• It is a freshwater species of turtle found in South Asia.
• The “flap-shelled” name stems from the presence of femoral flaps located on the plastron. These flaps of skin cover the limbs when they retract into the shell. It is unclear what protection the flaps offer against predators.
• It is morphologically an evolutionary link between the softshell and hardshell aquatic turtles.
• Habitat: The Indian flap shell turtle is found in Pakistan, India (common in lakes and rivers), Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bangladesh (Indus and Gange’s drainages), and Myanmar (Irrawaddy and Salween Rivers). It has been introduced to the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. It is also found in the desert ponds of Rajasthan, where hundreds are killed every year during the dry summers.
• In 2020 a farmer found a yellow flap shell turtle, believed to be an albino version of the species.

Threat: Exploitation on for-profit and habitat change are threats to their survival.

• Conservation status:
• Appendix- I of CITES
• IUCN – Vulnerable

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES/INITIATIVES IN NEWS

5. THE PROBLEMS WITHIN THE UDAN SCHEME

THE CONTEXT: Prime Minister launched the UDAN scheme nearly five years back with the aim to take flying to the masses. While over 400 routes have been launched by airlines, some of them have been discontinued.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• The MoS stated that this was because of the failure to set up airports due to lack of availability of land, airlines finding the routes difficult to sustain, and the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The poor financial health of much smaller, regional carriers has been a bane for the scheme.

What is UDAN Scheme:

• The scheme is aimed at enhancing connectivity to remote and regional areas of the country and making air travel affordable.
• It is a key component of the Centre’s National Civil Aviation Policy in 2016.
• Under the scheme, nearly half of the seats in Udan flights are offered at subsidized fares, and the participating carriers are provided a certain amount of viability gap funding (VGF) – an amount shared between the Centre and the concerned states.
• The scheme will be jointly funded by the central government and state governments.
• The scheme will run for 10 years and can be extended thereafter

What is the status of the scheme?

• A total of nine rounds of bidding have taken place since January 2017. The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set a target of operationalizing as many as 100 unserved and underserved airports and starting at least 1,000 RCS routes by 2024.
• So far, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has awarded 948 routes under UDAN, of which 403 routes have taken off that connect 65 airports, which include eight heliports. Out of the total 28 seaplane routes connecting 14 water aerodromes, only two have commenced.
• While the Ministry of Civil Aviation undertook interesting initiatives within the scheme to provide improved connectivity to hilly regions and islands through helicopters and seaplanes, as well as linking Assam with certain international destinations in South Asia and Southeast Asia, these mostly remain on paper.

What have been the challenges?

• The poor financial health of much smaller, regional carriers has been a bane for the scheme. Financial crunch for maintenance.
• According to Government, they also have problems with the availability of pilots and are forced to hire foreign pilots which costs them a lot of money and makes the business unviable. So far, only those routes that have been bagged by bigger domestic players such as IndiGo and SpiceJet have seen a better success rate”.
• Similarly, the only seaplane flight launched remains suspended. SpiceJet’s seaplane flight from Statue of Unity in Kevadiya to Sabarmati Riverfront in Ahmedabad was launched in October 2020, by the Prime Minister and saw a few flights till April but has since been suspended “due to rise in COVID cases, travel restrictions and keeping passenger safety in mind”.

What lies ahead for the scheme?

The Government offers subsidies for a route for a period of three years and expects the airline to develop the route during this time so that it becomes self-sufficient.

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

1. Consider the following statements about World Press Freedom Index:

1. It is published annually by Reporters Without Borders.
2. In 2021, India was ranked 142nd out of 180 countries.

 Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. JAMMU & KASHMIR: DELIMITATION DRAFT

THE CONTEXT: The number of Assembly constituencies in Jammu will increase by six and in Kashmir by one, according to the draft paper of the Delimitation Commission.  For the first time, the commission proposed reserving nine seats for Scheduled Tribes on the basis of population. Seven seats are proposed for the Scheduled Caste community. An additional 24 seats are proposed to be reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Delimitation Commission chaired by Justice (Retd.) Ranjana Prakash Desai, with the proposed addition, the total Assembly constituencies in Jammu and Kashmir have risen to 90 — in Jammu, the number of seats has gone up to 43 from 37, and in Kashmir, by one seat to 47. An additional 24 seats are proposed to be reserved for Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

• Of the seven additional Assembly constituencies in the Union Territory, one each has been proposed in the districts of Kathua, Samba, Rajouri, Reasi, Doda and Kishtwar in the Jammu division, and Kupwara in the Kashmir valley. In a statement, the Commission said it has proposed carving out an additional constituency in some districts to balance the representation for geographical areas with inadequate communication and lack of public conveniences given their excessive remoteness or inhospitable conditions on the international border.

What is Delimitation?

• Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies to represent changes in population and is done on the basis of the preceding Census.
• This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and can not be questioned before any court.

Aim: The key aim is to have equal representation to equal segments of the population in order to ensure a fair division of geographical areas so that all political parties or candidates contesting elections have a level playing field in terms of the number of voters.

Constitutional provisions:

• Article 82: This provides the Parliament with the authority to enact a Delimitation Act after every Census.
• Article 170: This provides for the States to get divided into territorial constituencies as per the Delimitation Act after every Census.
• The Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission once the Act is in force.
• Objective: To provide equal representation for equal population segments and a fair division of geographical areas so that no political party has an advantage

Delimitation Commission

• It is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
• Its members are a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by CEC and Election Commissioners of the respective state.
• Its function is to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies, to identify seats reserved for SC/ST.
• It is a high-power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
• Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

2. PANEX­ 21

THE CONTEXT: Recently, PANEX-21was held in Pune for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief Exercise is to be held among the BIMSTEC countries: Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand. The main aim of the exercise is to build regional cooperation in responding to natural disasters.

About PANEX-21:

• It is a multinational disaster relief exercise.
• The exercise is to be held among the BIMSTEC countries: Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, India and Thailand.
• The main aim of the exercise is to build regional cooperation in responding to natural disasters.

How will the exercise be conducted?

• The participants of the exercise will be divided into eight syndicates. One syndicate from the participating countries and two from India.
• It will analyse the capabilities of member states in responding to a natural disaster. The countries will share their best practices.
• The exercise will review the procedures of preparedness and response. It will then recommend the evolution of organized structure.
• During the exercise, the countries will discuss military–to–military cooperation protocol.

Why is the exercise important?

• Recently, the cyclones in the Bay of Bengal are becoming more disastrous. This is mainly due to climate change. The increase in surface sea temperature is making cyclones more powerful. The increase in sea–surface temperature increases the wind speeds of the cyclones. The devastation caused by Cyclone Amphan was 13 billion USD.
• The unplanned development in Ecological Sensitive Zones fails to address the risks posed by the increasing intense cyclones.
• For these reasons, it is essential to remain prepared. Therefore, there is a need for international cooperation among the coastal countries.

Why is BIMSTEC important for India?

As the region’s largest economy, India has a lot at stake.

• BIMSTEC connects not only South and Southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal.
• For India, it is a natural platform to fulfill our key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighborhood First’ and ‘Act East.
• For New Delhi, one key reason for engagement is the vast potential that is unlocked with stronger connectivity. Almost 300 million people, or roughly one-quarter of India’s population, live in the four coastal states adjacent to the Bay of Bengal (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal).
• From the strategic perspective, the Bay of Bengal, a funnel to the Malacca straits, has emerged as a key theatre for an increasingly assertive China in maintaining its access route to the Indian Ocean.
• As China mounts assertive activities in the Bay of Bengal region, with increased submarine movement and ship visits in the Indian Ocean, it is in India’s interest to consolidate its internal engagement among the BIMSTEC countries.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

3. THE ADVERSE EFFECTS OF AIR POLLUTION

THE CONTEXT: According to the new report, India recorded 867,000 deaths in 2017 due to exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) — the second highest in the world.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The study Global Burden of Disease from Major Air Pollution Sources: A Global Approach by Health Effects Institute (HEI), an independent, non-profit research institute was published December 15, 2021. It analysed data on air pollution and mortality from 1970-2017.
• China topped the list with 1,387,000 deaths. Indonesia came third, recording 94,000 deaths, followed by Egypt 88,000, Pakistan 86,000, Russian Federation 68,000, Bangladesh 64,000, Nigeria 51,000 and the United States 47.
• In India, the top four of the 200 areas with the highest PM2.5 concentrations — Singrauli, Kanpur, Sitapur and Ahmedabad — all experienced increase in population-weighted mean (PWM) for PM2.5 mass between 1970 and 2017 (the study period). The PWM for these places was 14-16 times the annual average advocated in World Health Organization guidelines.

Major Pollutants:

• Fossil fuels are a major source of PM2.5 emissions that are trapped in the atmosphere due to various atmospheric factors, past studies have established.
• Of the fossil fuels, coal contributed the most to global deaths associated with particulate matter emissions, the study found. “In India, coal accounted for 16 percent deaths linked to air pollution in 2015 and 17.1 percent in 2017.”  
• Globally, the number of deaths associated with outdoor PM2.5 exposure was 2.07 million in 2017 and increased marginally to 09 million in 2019, the HEI study found.
• The burning of fossil fuels contributed to nearly 1.05 million deaths in 2017 worldwide, 800,000 of which were in South Asia or East Asia (32.5 percent of air pollution-related deaths in those regions), according to a new study.
• Coal combustion alone was responsible for half of those deaths, while natural gas and oil combustion were responsible for the other half, the study found.
• Other dominant global sources included residential, industrial and energy sectors, according to the report.
• Regions with large anthropogenic contributions generally had the highest attributable deaths, the findings showed.
• Complete elimination of coal in China and India could reduce the global PM2.5 disease burden by nearly 20 percent, the study suggested.

Value Addition:

What is PM 2.5 and PM 10?

• PM is also called Particulate Matter or particle pollution, which is a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets present in the atmosphere. The particles present in the air are so minute that you cannot even view them through naked eyes. Some particles are so small that they can only be detected by using an electron microscope. Particle pollution consists of PM2.5 and PM10 which are very dangerous.
• 5 refers to the atmospheric particulate matter that has a diameter of fewer than 2.5 micrometers, which is about 3% of the diameter of human hair.

Sources of Particulate Matter

• Particulate Matter is of different sizes, and it can be due to both human and natural sources. Sources can be primary and secondary.
• The primary source includes automobile emissions, dust and cooking smoke. The secondary source of pollution can be due to complex reactions of chemicals like Sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide.
• These particles are mixed in the air and pollute it. Apart from these, forest fires, wood-burning stoves, agricultural burning, the smoke of the industry, dust occurring from various construction sites also causes air pollution etc.

What are the health effects of PM2.5 and PM10?

• Problem in breathing
• Irritation in eyes, nose, and throat
• Tightness of the chest
• Lungs do not work properly
• Severe Respiratory diseases
• Irregular heartbeat etc.

Government Measurements:

• Introduction of cleaner gaseous fuels like CNG, LPG etc and ethanol blending.
• Banning of the burning of biomass.
• Promotion of public transport network.
• Pollution Under Control Certificate.
• Issuance of directions under Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• Installation of online continuous (24×7) monitoring devices by 17 highly polluting industrial sectors.
• Regulating the bursting of pollution-emitting crackers.
• Notification of graded response action plan for Delhi identifying source-wise actions for various levels of air pollution, etc.
• Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI standards for vehicles by 1st April 2020.

4. THE EXPANSION OF THE THAR DESERT

THE CONTEXT: The study was undertaken as part of an assessment of the environmentally sensitive areas within the framework of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). The scientists associated with the project studied the climate and vegetation in Thar, which is the world’s ninth-largest hot subtropical desert, to understand the desertification process.

THE EXPLANATION:

• With these findings, a study on desertification of the Thar region conducted by the Central University of Rajasthan has predicted that the sandstorms from the desert will travel as far as the National Capital Region (NCR) in the years to come. The sandstorms will become intense with the erosion of the Aravali hills, which act as a ‘natural green wall’ between the desert and the plains.
• Along with the gradual destruction of the Aravali ranges, the mighty Thar desert in western Rajasthan is expanding fast because of the migration of people, changes in the rainfall pattern, spread of sand dunes and unscientific plantation drives. The degradation of land is posing a threat to the desert ecology, while climate change has contributed to the spread of arid regions.

LOSS OF ARAVALI’S

• According to the scientists, the loss of Aravali hills because of unchecked mining activities would result in sandstorms traveling to NCR and Delhi. “The suspended particles from the arid region are contributing to air pollution in NCR. The sandstorms will hit this area because of the desert expanding in the eastern direction”.

• The study, which focused on Barmer, Jaisalmer, Bikaner and Jodhpur districts covering more than 50% of Thar desert, found that Jodhpur, situated near the Aravali hills, had witnessed a slow speed of desertification. It also found that the vegetation cover and water bodies had increased in the area in the last 46 years and the complex sand region had decreased by 4.98%.
• According to CAZRI,(Central Arid Zone Research Institute), the biggest reason contributing to desertification turned out to be water erosion. Our report suggested that 64.69% of the mapped area is facing wind erosion. For instance, 10% of land degradation in districts like Barmer, Jaisalmer and Jodhpur is due to water erosion.

About the Thar Desert:

The Thar Desert is about 4.56% of the total geographic area of India. More than 60% of the desert lies in the Indian state of Rajasthan; the portion in India also extends into Gujarat, Punjab, and Haryana.

UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD):

• Established in 1994, the UNCCD is the only legally binding international agreement linking environment and development issues to the land agenda.
• Focus area:It addresses specifically the arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid areas, known as the drylands, where some of the most vulnerable ecosystems and peoples can be found.
• 2006 was declared “International Year of Deserts and Desertification”.
• Its secretariat has been located in Bonn, Germany.

COP14

• The 14th edition of the Conference of Parties (COP-14) to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) 2019. Held in Greater Noida, this was the first time that India hosted an edition of the UNCCD COP.
• The theme of the Conference was ‘Restore land, Sustain future’.
• India is the global host for COP 14 has taken over the COP Presidency from China for the next two years till 2021.
• India is among the select few countries to have hosted the COP of all three Rio conventions on climate change, biodiversity and land.

OUTCOMES:

Delhi Declaration: Commitment for a range of issues, including gender and health, ecosystem restoration, taking action on climate change, private sector engagement, Peace Forest Initiative and recovery of five million hectares of degraded land in India.

The country parties have agreed to make the Sustainable Development Goal target of achieving land degradation neutrality by 2030, a national target for action.

Peace Forest Initiative: It is an initiative of South Korea to use ecological restoration as a peace-building process. It aims at addressing the issue of land degradation in conflict-torn border areas and would go a long way in alleviating tensions and building trust between communities living there and between enemy countries in particular.

The Bonn Challenge is a global effort to bring 150 million hectares of the world’s deforested and degraded land under restoration by 2020, and 350 million hectares by 2030.

5. EXCESS RAIN AFFECTS BIRD MIGRATION TO KARNATAKA

THE CONTEXT: Heavy rains across Karnataka during October and November 2021 have affected the winter migration of birds that otherwise used to flock in large numbers and roost in the water bodies of the State before flying out again during the onset of summer.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to ornithologists, they are witnessing a dispersal of bird population and the groups have scattered to different places in search of a more suitable habitat mainly marshy lands. Hence the bird count is low in the lakes that are full to the brim during this season”.

• The bar-headed Geese, which flies across the Himalayas from southern China and Mongolia, are yet to be sighted in large numbers either in Hadinaru near Nanjangud or Sira in Tumakuru.
• These birds tend to have a stopover in the wetlands around Vijayapura and the backwaters of Ghataprabha before heading towards the southern parts of Karnataka. Teals, pin-tailed ducks, Gargini, Coot, Sandpipers, common pochards are a few other species that roost in the State during winter.
• A majority of the winter migratory birds are waders and prefer the shallow and stagnant waters of a lake with hydrophytes or vegetation that draw insects and facilitate larvae formation.
• A stagnant and shallow pool provides a rich source of food for wading birds. But heavy rains and continuous inflow of water into lakes do not allow for their formation and this will benefit only the fish-eating birds, according to the bird watchers.
• Another scenario common across the State was the so-called lake development projects and use of excavators during desilting exercises which were forcing the birds to abandon such habitats.

6. INDIAN DESERT CAT SPOTTED IN PANNA TIGER RESERVE

THE CONTEXT: An Indian desert cat has been spotted for the first time in Madhya Pradesh’s Panna Tiger Reserve (PTR).

THE EXPLANATION:

• As the name suggests, this cat is found in deserts and can survive without water. The toes of the species have cushion-like hair which helps them balance the fluctuating desert temperatures.
• According to forest officials, the presence of this wild cat was not reported in the PTR’s records earlier.

About Indian Desert Cat

• It is a species of wild cat found in ‘Western India’. It is commonly seen in Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh. It lives in desert-shrub areas. It is also known as ‘Asian wild cat’.
• Their ears are large so that they can hear even low sounds. Their toes have hair-like cushions that allow it to adapt to the temperature fluctuations of the desert. This species can survive even without water.
• Their color is such that they can easily hide in the desert sand. They rest during the day and hunt small animals and birds during the night.

Threats and Conservation:

• Habitat destruction, breeding with domestic cats and poaching are major threats.
• This is protected under Schedule-I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 and included in the category of ‘Least Concern’ in the Red List of IUCN.

About Panna Tiger Reserve

• The Panna ‘National Park’ was initially set up in It only received the status of a tiger reserve in the early 1990s under “Project Tiger.”
• Once it had been converted into a tiger reserve, the population of tigers started to bloom.
• Panna Tiger Reserve spans 576 kilometers in the Panna and Chhatarpur districts of Madhya Pradesh.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) declared Panna Tiger Reserve as a Biosphere Reserve in 2011.
• The thick deciduous forest of the Panna National Reserve is the natural habitat of sloth, Indian wolf, Bear Pangolin, Leopard, Gharial, Indian fox and a lot more. While visiting the park, tourists also get to witness stone carvings that date back to the Neolithic era.
• A report by the All-India Tiger Estimation made Madhya Pradesh the state with the highest number of tigers.
• The state had a total of 526 big cats according to the 2018 census. After Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka and Uttarakhand have the highest number of tigers.

UNESCO on Panna Biosphere Reserve

• UNESCO’s recognition mentioned Panna Tiger Reserve as a critical tiger habitat.
• It stated that the area has undergone substantial ecosystem restoration in the buffer zone.
• With only three urban centers and over 300 villages, agriculture is the main source of income here, together with horticulture, forestry and cultural and eco-tourism.

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

Q1. Consider the following statements about OIC:

1. It was established in September 1969.
2. Its headquarter is in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
3. India is not a member of OIC.

Which of the above statements is/are correct?

            a) 1 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) All of them

FOR 19TH DECEMBER 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: A)

Explanation:

• Please refer to the given map

[WpProQuiz 119]

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. INDIA-CENTRAL ASIA DIALOGUE

THE CONTEXT: The 3rd meeting of the India-Central Asia Dialogue was held under the chairmanship of the External Affairs Minister of India. Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan took part in the meeting.

IMPORTANT OUTCOMES OF THE MEETING

During Pandemic: 

• The Ministers expressed satisfaction at the ongoing Central Asia-India cooperation in the fight against Covid-19 pandemic. The Foreign Ministers of Central Asian countries appreciated India’s assistance in supply of vaccines and essential medicines during their early stage of fight against Covid-19.

INSTC Corridor: 

• The Ministers emphasized on optimum usage of the International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) as well as Ashgabat Agreement on International Transport and Transit Corridor to enhance connectivity between India and the Central Asian countries. They stress that connectivity initiatives should be based on the principles of transparency, broad participation, local priorities, financial sustainability and respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity of all countries.
• They welcomed the proposal to include Chabahar Port within the framework of INSTC and expressed interest in cooperation on issues related to the development and strengthening of regional connectivity in Central and South Asia. In this regard, the Ministers noted the outcomes of the High-Level International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity; Challenges and Opportunities”. 

INSTC CORRIDOR 

Defence and Security:

• The Ministers emphasized that interaction in the fields of defence and security constitutes an important element of India- Central Asia cooperation. In this regard, they noted the importance of holding regular consultations among the National Security Councils of India and the Central Asian countries in the fight against terrorism and other emerging challenges in the region.
• The Ministers condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and reiterated that providing safe haven, using terrorist proxies for cross-border terrorism, terror financing, arms and drugs trafficking, dissemination of a radical ideology and abuse of cyber space to spread disinformation and incite violence, goes against the basic principles of humanity and international relations. They stressed that perpetrators, organizers, financiers and sponsors of terrorist acts must be held accountable and brought to justice in accordance with principle of “extradite or prosecute”. In this context, they called for early adoption of the UN Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. They called on the international community to strengthen UN-led global counter-terrorism cooperation and fully implement the relevant UNSC resolutions, Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy and FATF standards.

Afghan Crisis: 

• The sides discussed the current situation in Afghanistan and its impact on the region. The Ministers reiterated strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan while emphasizing the respect for sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity and non-interference in its internal affairs. They also discussed the current humanitarian situation and decided to continue to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people. The Ministers reaffirmed the importance of UNSC Resolution 2593 (2021) which unequivocally demands that Afghan territory not be used for sheltering, training, planning or financing terrorist acts and called for concerted action against all terrorist groups.

Climate Change: 

• The Ministers expressed appreciation for support to each other in the UN and other multilateral fora including SCO, CICA etc. India highlighted the role of “International Solar Alliance (ISA)” initiative in collective, rapid and massive deployment of solar energy for effective implementation of the Paris Agreement. India also underlined the role of “Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)” in promoting disaster resilient infrastructure for reducing economic losses and improving the well-being of communities in the face of calamities. India looked forward to Central Asian countries joining the ISA and CDRI.
• The Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Central Asian countries reiterated support of their countries for permanent membership of India in an expanded and reformed UN Security Council. They welcomed the ongoing non-permanent tenure of India in the UNSC and its priorities.
• The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan informed about their proposal to convene the Second High-Level International Conference on the International Decade for Action “Water for Sustainable Development”, 2018-2028 from 6-9 June 2022 in Dushanbe that will be part of the preparatory process for the UN Conference on the Midterm Comprehensive Review of the Implementation of the Objectives of the Water Decade in 2023 in New York.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. INDIA DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH AIR QUALITY MONITORS

THE CONTEXT: According to researchers, with its size, population and aggravating air pollution, India needs 1,600 to 4,000 air quality monitors but has only 804 as of September 2021, most of which are concentrated in urban areas.

THE EXPLANATION: 

• India has nine of the 10 most polluted cities in the world, but with 200 particulate matter 2.5 monitoring sites in operation during the 2010-2016 period, India’s air quality monitor density – about 0.14 monitors per million people – is below China (1.2), the United States of America (3.4), Japan (0.5) and Brazil (1.8), according to research from 2019.
• As a consequence, India does not accurately know the spread of pollutants, including sulphur dioxide, nitrous dioxide, respirable PM 10, the finer particulate matter or PM 2.5, lead, carbon monoxide and ammonia. Chronic exposure to these pollutants contributes to the risk of developing ailments such as cardiovascular, respiratory diseases, as well as of lung cancer, according to the World Health Organization.
• Further, since existing air quality monitors are concentrated in urban areas, health and environmental authorities cannot assess the extent of air pollution in rural areas due to biomass, fuelwood, stubble burning and spraying of pesticides.

Real-time monitoring 

• Ambient air quality is monitored by observing pollutants, including sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, PM 10, PM 2.5, lead, carbon monoxide and ammonia, present in the air. Currently, the country’s clean air programme has set a tentative national target of 20%-30% reduction of air pollution in132 non-attainment cities by 2024, taking 2017 as the base year. The “non-attainment cities”, called so because they did not meet the national ambient air quality standards at the time, are required to formulate city-specific action plans in order to reduce air pollution. So, while the thrust is on the most-polluted cities, rural and semi-urban areas are not being fully monitored for want of monitors and protocols.
• In India, air quality has been traditionally monitored using manual readings. Data from 804 monitoring stations are used for monitoring ambient air quality. Even after the introduction of real-time monitors, the Central Pollution Control Board continues the practice of using data only from manual monitors to report compliance with air quality standards, according to a Centre for Science and Environment report from 2020.

There are 261 real-time monitors whose data are updated on the central database. This network is technically part of the National Air Quality Monitoring Programme but its data are stored and treated separately because Central Pollution Control Board has not established a method of equivalence between the two monitoring techniques, the 2020 Centre for Science and Environment report pointed out.

Monitoring stations needed 

• The minimum number of stations to monitor suspended particulate matter where the area’s population is less than 1,00,000 is four. The minimum number is three for sulphur dioxide, four for nitrous dioxide, one for carbon monoxide, according to Central Pollution Control Board guidelines for ambient air quality monitoring released in 2003. The number of monitors required increases with the population.
• India’s six megacities (Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, Delhi) need at least 23 to 44 air quality monitoring stations each, while the existing number of stations range between nine and 12 [excluding Delhi], according to the Centre for Science and Environment report from 2020.

Measuring pollutants 

• To address the data gaps in monitoring pollutants, India will require 1,600 monitors-4,000 monitors (1.2 monitors-3 monitors per million people), the Elsevier paper said, and warned that even at these densities, only relatively basic information on common air pollutants would be available more frequently, and would cover a relatively limited area.
• India has set aside a budget of Rs 470 crore for control of pollution in the financial year 2021-’22, which includes funding for its ambitious National Clean Air Programme. 

Value Addition:
National Air Quality Index (AQI)

• The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells how clean or polluted the air is.
• The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern.
• Research studies have attributed the key sources of PM2.5 in summer to be: dust and construction activities (35%), transport sector (20%) and industry (20%).
• Would measure

1. Particulate Matter 2.5
2. Ozone
3. Carbon monoxide
4. Ammonia
5. Lead
6. Nitrogen oxide
7. Sulpher dioxide
8. PM 10

Six AQI categories

Centre-run System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research (SAFAR) 

• It was indigenously developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune.
• It is run by India Meteorological Department (IMD).
• The objective is to provide Real-time air quality index on 24×7 basis with colour coding along with 72-hour advance weather forecast.
• Another goal is to issue health advisory to prepare citizens well in advance.

Government Measurements: 

• Introduction of cleaner gaseous fuels like CNG, LPG etc, and ethanol blending.
• Banning the burning of biomass.
• Promotion of public transport network.
• Pollution Under Control Certificate.
• Issuance of directions under Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981.
• Installation of on-line continuous (24×7) monitoring devices by 17 highly polluting industrial sectors.
• Regulating the bursting of pollution-emitting crackers.
• Notification of graded response action plan for Delhi identifying source wise actions for various levels of air pollution, etc.
• Leapfrogging from BS-IV to BS-VI standards for vehicles by 1st April 2020.

3. REINTRODUCTION OF GHARIALS

THE CONTEXT: After successfully reintroducing the critically endangered Gharial (Gavialis Gangeticus) in the rivers of Punjab where it had become extinct half a century ago, the State’s wildlife preservation wing is now keeping its fingers crossed, expecting the breeding of the crocodilians to start in the new few years as the released gharials are healthy and have adapted to the Beas Conservation Reserve as their home.
THE EXPLANATION: 

• The gharial reintroduction in the Beas Conservation Reserve is an ambitious programme of the Punjab government. The reptiles were commonly sighted in the Beas River till the 1960s but later became extinct. The gharial can be found in north Indian rivers like the Ganga, Yamuna, Chambal and their tributaries.

• Since 2017, 94 gharials released in the Beas Conservation Reserve and there have been only two causalities. These gharials have been dispersed both upstream and downstream of the release sites in the reserve and they can be spotted any time depending on the water levels and season, indicating that the first step of their rehabilitation has been successful. 
• According to Punjab wildlife officials, the next big challenge is their breeding. Once natural breeding of gharials starts it would then be a real success. Normally, expect the breeding to start after 10 years. The eldest of the reintroduced ghairals is seven years old now and we are hopeful that breeding could start in the coming three-four years. The habitat is conducive for egg-laying and hatching and we are taking all necessary steps to provide a safe environment predator. 
• In the first phase of the reintroduction project, 47 gharials were released in 2017-2018 in the river in Amritsar and Tarn Taran districts. Later, 23 gharials were released in February 2021 on an island near Saleempur and Tahli Forest in district Hoshiarpur. Most recently, in December 2021, another set of 24 gharials was released near the KullaFatta forests in the reserve in Hoshiarpur district.

Value Addition: 

• 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- Vulnerable.
            Saltwater crocodile: IUCN- Least Concern. 
• All the three are listed on Appendix I of CITES and Schedule I of the Wildlife (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.

Habitat and Distribution 

• Primary habitat Chambal river and its prefers to live in riverine habitats with deep, clear, fast-moving water and steep, sandy banks.
• Deep pools, formed at sharp river bends are another preferred spot.
• They use sandy banks (at river’s edge or mid-river) and rocky outcrops for basking.

SECURITY

4. NEW GENERATION BALLISTIC MISSILE ‘AGNI P’ SUCCESSFULLY TESTED

THE CONTEXT: Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) successfully tested the new generation nuclear capable ballistic missile ‘Agni P’ from Dr APJ Abdul Kalam island off the coast of Odisha.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Agni P is a two-stage canisterised solid propellant ballistic missile with dual redundant navigation and guidance system. This second flight-test has proven the reliable performance of all the advanced technologies integrated into the system.
• Various telemetry, radar, electro-optical stations and down range ships positioned along the eastern coast tracked and monitored the missile trajectory and parameters. The missile followed text book trajectory meeting all mission objectives with high level of accuracy.

About Agni-V
Agni-V is an Indian nuclear-capable intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM). It has been developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation. Missile is having a range of around 5000 to 8000 km. It is a three-stage, solid-fuelled and road-mobile intercontinental ballistic missile. It is transported by a truck and launched using a canister.

Significance of Agni V
Agni V is used to enhance India’s nuclear deterrence against China. Earlier, the longest-range missile in India was Agni-III, which had the range of 3000–3500 km. This range was not sufficient to reach targets eastern and north-eastern region of China. Thus, DRDO was working on the upgraded version of this missile called Agni-V.

What is Ballistic Missile? 

• A ballistic missile follows a ballistic trajectory to deliver one or more warheads on a predetermined target.
• A ballistic trajectory is the path of an object that is launched but has no active propulsion during its actual flight (these weapons are guided only during relatively brief periods of flight).
• Consequently, the trajectory is fully determined by a given initial velocity, effects of gravity, air resistance, and motion of the earth (Coriolis Force).

Types of ballistic missiles based on the range 

• Short-range (tactical) ballistic missile (SRBM): Range between 300 km and 1,000 km.
• Medium-range (theatre) ballistic missile (MRBM): 1,000 km to 3,500 km.
• Intermediate-range (Long-Range) ballistic missile (IRBM or LRBM): 3,500 km and 5,500 km.
• Intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM): 5,500 km +.

What is the difference between ballistic and cruise missiles 

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

Q1. ‘Nord Stream’ sometimes seen in the news is a natural gas pipeline between which of the following countries?

                        A) Russia and Germany

B) Germany and U.K.

C) K. and France

D) Germany and Sweden

FOR 18TH DECEMBER 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: B

Explanation:

• Statement 1 is incorrect: Competition Commission of India is a statutory body established under Competition Act, 2002.

Statement 2 is correct: It consists of a chairperson and 6 Members.

[WpProQuiz 117]

THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. THIRD ANNUAL DEFENCE DIALOGUE

THE CONTEXT: The third Annual Defence Dialogue between India and France took place between Defence Minister and his French counterpart in New Delhi. A wide range of bilateral, regional, defence and defence industrial cooperation issues were discussed in the annual meeting.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Ministers reviewed the existing military-to-military cooperation, which has increased in spite of pandemic challenges. They discussed ways to increase defence cooperation in all domains.
• Defence industrial cooperation was discussed with a focus on future collaborations and co-production between the two countries.

France’s resolve to expand strategic cooperation with India came nearly two months after the unveiling of a new security alliance (AUKUS) by Australia, the UK and the US that had infuriated the French government.

Defence & Space Cooperation between the two countries

• Regular talks take place between the service chiefs of both nations. An annual defence dialogue at the ministerial level has also been initiated in 2018.
• Regular defence exercises take place between France and India. Such as
• Exercise Shakti (Army)
• Exercise Varuna (Navy)
• Exercise Garuda (Air Force)
• India also buys defence equipment from France, the most famous of them being Rafale aircraft and P-75 Scorpene project.
• There is a Dassault Reliance Aerospace Limited (DRAL) manufacturing facility at Mihan in Maharashtra, which is a joint venture between India’s Reliance Group and the French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.
• France and India signed an agreement for the cooperation of the Gaganyaan mission. France space agency, CNES, will support scientific experiment plans and will provide french equipment, consumables, and medical instruments for Indian astronauts’ use.
• ISRO and CNES (the French space agency) have conducted joint research programmes and satellite launches. Examples of joint Indo-French satellites: TRISHNA, Megha-Tropiques, etc.
• France is a major supplier of equipment and components for the Indian space programme.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. IMD HAS PREDICTED A COLD WAVE IN NORTHWEST INDIA

THE CONTEXT: The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has predicted a cold wave in parts of Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh from mid-December 2021.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is a cold wave?

The IMD defines a cold wave qualitatively as “a condition of air temperature which becomes fatal to the human body when exposed.”

• The minimum temperature is likely to fall by 2 to 4 degrees Celsius in these places over mid December 2021.
• The IMD records a cold wave when the minimum temperature is equal to or less than 10 degrees Celsius at a weather station in the plains and is 4.5 degrees to 6.4 degrees below the normal temperature for that period. A cold wave may also be recorded at a station in the plains when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 4 degrees Celsius.

Why do cold waves occur?

• Cold waves usually occur from mid-December to the end of February in northern India. Sometimes, a cold wave may set in before mid-December. According to IMD, that the cold waves depend on weather systems and wind patterns from the middle latitudes, that is from Europe or West Asia, since the winds from these regions bring cold weather.
• Also, it noted, the factors that bring cold waves to India include the movement of cold air masses brought about by upper-level winds. They can be triggered by strong westerly winds approaching northwest India and transporting cold air towards the southeast direction. The build-up of an extended area of relatively high pressure over northwest Asia can also bring cold waves.“Like heat waves, cold waves are hazardous to those who are exposed to the cold”.

How is it measured?

• For hilly regions, a cold wave is declared when the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 0 degree Celsius and the minimum temperature is 4.5 degrees to 6.4 degrees below the normal.
• In ‘severe’ cold wave conditions, where the minimum temperature is less than or equal to 10 degree Celsius and departs from the normal by 6.5 degrees or more.

 3. COVID-19 AND CLIMATE CRISIS

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Arctic Report Card was published by the Arctic Program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration where it stated that “the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated existing challenges for Alaska natives in accessing traditional foods”.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Arctic Circle, one of the most climatologically important regions on the planet, has continued to warm at more than twice the rate as the
• rest of the world through 2021.
• The time between October 2020 and September 2021 was the seventh-warmest since the beginning of records. It was the eighth consecutive year since 2014 when the average temperature of the region was at least 1 degree Celsius above the pre-industrial average.
• The warming has also caused the rapid melting of sea ice. “Summer 2021 saw the second-lowest amount of older, multi-year ice since 1985, and the post-winter sea ice volume in April 2021 was the lowest since records began in 2010,” the report st
  ated.
• The decline in sea ice extent is one of the most iconic indicators of global climate change.
• The melting snow has in turn increased the discharge of the Arctic rivers by 12 percent over the average between 1981 and 2010, which could change the intensity of the water cycle of the region.
• The warming has also caused major disruptions in the ecology of the Arctic region. Scientists observed a higher ocean primary productivity than the long-term average between 2003 and 2020, in seven of the nine sub-regions of the Arctic.

• The green cover of the tundra biome of the Arctic region also increased in 2021. Beavers have been colonizing the Arctic tundra in western Alaska, transforming lowland ecosystems and degrading permafrost by increasing the amount of unfrozen surface water on the landscape in winter.
• The degradation of the permafrost can emanate huge amounts of methane, a greenhouse gas that is much more (more than 25 times) potent than carbon dioxide.
• Other human interventions in the Arctic are also disrupting the region’s environment and its inhabitants. For instance, ships (mostly for trade) ferrying between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans have increased. Ambient marine noise levels have been increasing in the frequency bands used by marine mammals.
• This causes discrepancies in their navigation systems, sometimes leading to the mass stranding of whales, dolphins and other species along the beaches of many countries in and around the Arctic region.

Value Addition:

What is the Arctic Council?

• It is an intergovernmental forum for discussing and resolving issues related to the Arctic region. The issues may include scientific research and the peaceful and sustainable use of resources in the region.

• It works on the overall objective of conserving the pristine environment, biodiversity and the interests and well-being of the local populations.
• It is not a treaty-based international legal entity like the UN organizations or trade or regional groupings such as NATO or ASEAN.
• It was set up by the 8 Arctic countries by means of the Ottawa Declaration of 1996. These countries are the US, Canada, Russia, Iceland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, and Finland.

India and Arctic

• India became an Observer in the Arctic Council for the first time in 2013. And, India isn’t a full-time observer.
• India launched its first scientific expedition to the Arctic in 2007 and set up a research station ‘Himadri’ in the international Arctic research base at Ny-Ålesund in Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway.
• It has two other observatories in Kongsforden and Gruvebadet. Himadri is manned for about 180 days a year.

4. INDIA-US ANNOUNCE SUPPORT TO INNOVATIONS TO TACKLE CLIMATE, CLEAN ENERGY CHALLENGES

THE CONTEXT: The launch of the US-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership in April 2021 reiterated the commitment of both nations to work together to achieve their ambitious climate and clean energy targets and to strengthen bilateral collaborations.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Science and Technology Ministry, the programme aims to support India-US Science &Technology-based entrepreneurial initiatives that address the development and implementation of next-generation clean and renewable energy, energy storage, and carbon sequestration has been announced to tackle climate and clean energy challenges.
• The programme titled ‘Technology-based Energy Solutions: Innovations for Net Zero’ constitutes a call for Ignition Grants by the United States-India Science & Technology Endowment Fund (USISTEF), in partnership with Social Alpha, a non-profit organization promoting S&T entrepreneurship. It will identify and support ‘technology showstoppers.

What is the need?

• Climate Change is one of the biggest challenges facing our world today, spurring the call for global collaborations to tackle this crisis. The launch of the U.S.-India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 partnership in April 2021 reiterated the commitment of both nations to work together to achieve their ambitious climate and clean energy targets and to strengthen bilateral collaborations.
• India, the fifth most vulnerable country to climate change, has been witnessing increasing extreme weather events, including flash floods in Uttarakhand, increasing cyclones on the western coast and heatwaves in Rajasthan and Delhi in 2021 so far.
• More than 75% of India’s districts, home to 638 million people–nearly half the population–have been identified as hot spots for extreme climate events. India also faces a risk of a 5-4.5% hit to the annual gross domestic product from impacts of extreme weather.

ADD TO YOUR KNOWLEDGE

The US’s special envoy for climate action, visited India in April 2021 to discuss climate finance and action under the bilateral Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030Partnership. The partnership, launched in April 2021, aims to provide financial and technological support to India to meet its Paris Agreement goals on transitioning to renewable energy by 2030

Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE)

• In 2009, India and the US launched the Partnership to Advance Clean Energy (PACE), to accelerate low-carbon economic growth and deployment of clean industrial technologies, through sharing of knowledge and technology.
• PACE mobilized $2.5 billion (Rs 18,382 crore) in private and public investment in clean energy deployment in India. In 2016, both countries launched a $7.9 million (Rs 58 crore) PACEsetter Fund to provide grants for innovations in clean energy solutions.

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

Q1. Consider the following statements:

1. Competition Commission of India is a statutory body established under SEBI Act 1992.
2. It consists of a chairperson and 6 Members.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

        a) 1 only

b) 2 only

c) Both 1 and 2

d) Neither 1 nor 2

FOR 17TH DECEMBER 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: c)

Explanation:

• All subsidies which are supposed to distort production and trade fall into the amber box,i.e., all agricultural subsidies except those which fall into the blue and green boxes.
• These include government policies of minimum support prices (as MSP in India) for agricultural products or any help directly related to production quantities (as power, fertilizers, pesticides, irrigation, etc).

Answer: b)

Explanation:

Blue box subsidies:

• The conditions are designed to reduce distortions. Any subsidy that would normally be in the amber box, is placed in the blue box if it requires farmers to go for a certain production level.
• These subsidies are nothing but certain direct payments (i.e., direct set-aside payments) made to farmers by the government in the form of assistance programmes to encourage agriculture, rural development, etc.

THE INDIAN HISTORY, ART AND CULTURE

1. THE CHALCOLITHIC CULTURES OF CENTRAL INDIA

THE CONTEXT:According to the Ministry of Culture, the Chalcolithic cultures of Central India are adequately investigated and studied. Much of their aspects are sufficiently researched and analyzed.

THE EXPLANATION:

During field season 2021-22, ASI has received proposals for excavations at the sites of Chalcolithic affiliations at Eran, district Sagar and at Tewar, district Jabalpur of Madhya Pradesh.

Status of Archaeological Investigations in Central India 

Excavation at Eran during 2020-21: Eran (ancient Airikina) is situated on the left bank of the Bina (ancient Venva) river and surrounded by it on three sides. Eran is located 75 km north-west from Sagar district headquarter.

• The recent excavation at this site, during 2020-21, has unearthed a variety of antiquities including a copper coin, an iron arrowhead, terracotta bead, stone beads along with a copper coins, stone celt, beads of steatite and jasper, glass, carnelian, terracotta wheel, animal figurines, miniature pots, iron objects, stone querns, pestles and a red slipped terracotta with inscription in Devnagari.
• The occurrence of few specimens of plain, thin grey ware is noteworthy. The use of iron was evidenced by few metallic objects at the site.
• This excavation at the site also revealed the remains of Chalcolithic culture with four major periods i.e.Period I: Chalcolithic (18th -7th BCE), Period II: Early historic (7th – 2nd century BCE), Period II B: 2nd century BCE – 1st century CE, Period III: 1st – 6th century CE and Period IV: late medieval (16th – 18th century CE).

Excavation at Tewar during 2020-21:Tewar (Tripuri) village is located 12 km west of Jabalpur district on Jabalpur – Bhopal highway. The ancient site of Tripuri is situated nearly 2 km south west from Tewar village. During 2020-21 ASI conducted excavation of Tewar at two locations, TWR 1 and TWR 2.

• This excavation did not reach the natural soil and revealed four folds of cultural sequences i.e.Kushana, Shunga, Satvahana, and Kalachuri. Antiquarian remains in this excavation include viz remains of sculptures, hopscotch, terracotta balls, Iron nails, copper coins, terracotta beads, implements of Iron and terracotta figurine, in ceramics red ware, black ware, red slipped ware with shapes of handi, bowl, spouted pot, small pot, big jar, etc., structural remains consist of brick wall and structure of sandstone columns.

VALUE ADDITION:

The term Chalcolithic is a combination of two words- Chalco+Lithic is an archaeological period that is usually considered to be part of the broader Neolithic (although it was originally defined as a transition between the Neolithic and the Bronze Age).

Important Sites Chalcolithic Culture

Characteristics of Chalcolithic Age

1. Agriculture and Animals

(a) People of Chalcolithic Age survived on hunting, fishing, and farming

(b) Hunting was one of the important occupations

(c) Animals such as sheep, buffalo, goat, cattle, and pig were reared and killed for food

(d) Remains of camels are also found. People ate beef but no traces of eating pork are found

(e) People of Navdatoli grew ber and linseed

(f) Cotton was produced in black cotton soil

(g) Traces of rice cultivation are also found. This shows that their food included fish and rice. Eastern India produced rice and Western India produced barley

(h) The major crops cultivated were barley and wheat, lentil, bajra, jowar, ragi millets, green pea, green and black gram

2. Tools and Weapons

(a) Metals such as copper and its alloys were used to make knives, axes, fishing hooks, chisels, pins, and rods

3. Houses

(a) Use of bricks was extensive during the Chalcolithic people of Harappa but there are no traces of burnt (baked) bricks.

(b) The planning of the houses was simple which was either rectangular or circular.

(c) The walls of houses were made from mud and plastered with cow dung and lime.

(d) The houses mostly had only one room, but sometimes multi-roomed houses were also seen.

(e) For influential people, large mud houses with 5 rooms, 4 rectangular and 1 circular in centre of the settlement are found.

(f) In inamgaon, ovens and circular pit houses are found.

2. COUNTRY MARKS 50 YEARS OF 1971 WAR

THE CONTEXT: The country commemorated 50 years of the decisive victory in the 1971 Liberation War of Bangladesh, which also changed the geography of South Asia.

THE EXPLANATION:

• This marks the culmination of year-long ‘Swarnim Vijay Varsh’ As part this, 30 ‘Mukti Jodhas’ who took part in the war were invited from Bangladesh and honoured.
• December 16 is celebrated as ‘Vijay Diwas’ each year to mark the day of surrender and decisive victory of the Indian armed forces over the Pakistani armed force.
• It was the largest military surrender after the Second World War and the Indian armed forces, along with Mukti Bahini, liberated Bangladesh in a span of just 13 days and also the surrender of 93,000 Pakistani soldiers, the largest surrender of armed forces post Second World War.

What were the causes of 1971 war?

• 1971 war was a crushing blow to Pakistan and its military. However, Pakistani military and Pakistani policies were responsible for spread of anti-Pakistan sentiment in Bangladesh.
• Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, who is called Bangabandhu the father of the nation of Bangladesh, clinched electoral victory for his party in 1970.
• However, instead of letting the victors rule, Pakistan military used force to sway the outcome. This resulted in a massive exodus of people from Bangladesh to India. This forced India to intervene.
• On December 3, 1971, Pakistani fighter planes launched a pre-emptive strike on Indian Air Force stations. The war had begun. A day later, India decided to support Bangladeshi nationalist groups, notably Mukti Bahini and Indian forces launched Operation Trident which ended in Indian victory.

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

3. WINTER PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS 2021

THE CONTEXT: Natural disasters such as cyclones and floods have increased in the country and the Arsenic in groundwater beyond the permissible limit has been encountered in three districts in Punjab.

THE EXPLANATION:

Frequency of natural disasters

• According to Ministry of Science and technology, the Natured disasters such as cyclones and floods have increased in the country in the last few years.
• There was a significant rise [86 per decade] in the frequency of post-monsoon (October-December) very severe cyclonic storms in the northern Indian Ocean during the past two decades (2000-2018).
• The frequency of extremely severe cyclonic storms over the Arabian Sea increased during the same period.
• There was also an increased frequency of localised heavy rainfall on sub-daily and daily timescales that has enhanced the flood risk over India, contributing to an increased frequency and impacts of floods in urban areas.

Heavy metals in groundwater

According to the data available with Central Ground Water Board, As of December 13, 2021, 36,873 rural habitations were reported to have quality issues in drinking water sources.

Arsenic in groundwater beyond the permissible limit has been encountered in three districts in Punjab, particularly in Malwa belt Mansa, Faridkot and Sangrur;

• Lead from three districts Bathinda, Ferozepur and Muktsar;
• Cadmium from Fatehgarh Sahib, Ludhiana, Patiala and Sangrur;
• Chromium from Bathinda, Mansa, and Sangrur districts;
• Uranium from Bathinda, Moga, Faridkot, Fatehgarh Sahib, Ferozepur, Ludhiana, Muktsar, Patiala and Sangrur, BishweswarTudu

Old dams

India has 1,175 large dams (including one dam of Punjab, Nangal dam) more than 50 years old (constructed in or before 1971), according to the National Register of Large Dams (2019) maintained by the Central Water Commission.

The country has 227 large dams having more than 100 years of service life (constructed in or before 1921).

Cost economics of renewable energy sources

• According to the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy and Power,the country has seen record low renewable energy tariffs of Rs 1.99 per kilowatt-hour for solar power and Rs 2.43 per KWh for wind power, quite favourable as compared to the tariff of electricity produced from non-renewable energy sources.
• In line with the Prime Minister’s announcement at the 26th Conference of the Parties (CoP26) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the ministry is committed to achieving 500 GW of installed electricity capacity from non-fossil sources by 2030.

Encroachment of water bodies

According to the Ministry of Jal Shakthi, the works related to the enumeration of water bodies, their protection from encroachment or diversion for use for other purposes, comes under the purview of the state government concerned. However, from time to time, the Union Ministry of Jal Shakti conducts census of minor irrigation schemes in the country, which captures data regarding water bodies in rural areas associated with irrigation.

There are 516,303 water bodies in the rural areas of the country being used for minor irrigation purposes, out of which 53,396 are not in use for various reasons such as non-availability of water, siltation, salinity, etc.

 4. RAISING LEGAL AGE OF MARRIAGE FOR WOMEN

THE CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet took the decision to raise the legal age of marriage for women from 18 to 21 years. The legal age of marriage for men is 21 years. With this decision, the government will be bringing the age of marriage for both men and women at par.

THE EXPLANATION:

Why is there a minimum age of marriage?

• The law prescribes a minimum age of marriage to essentially outlaw child marriages and prevent the abuse of minors.Personal laws of various religions that deal with marriage have their own standards, often reflecting custom.
• For Hindus, The Hindu Marriage Act, 1955 sets 18 years as the minimum age for the bride and 21 years as the minimum age for the groom. In Islam, the marriage of a minor who has attained puberty is considered valid.
• The Special Marriage Act, 1954 and the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006 also prescribe 18 and 21 years as the minimum age of consent for marriage for women and men, respectively. For the new age of marriage to be implemented, these laws are expected to be amended.

Why has the government decided to re-examine the age of marriage?

• The NDA government decided to re-examine the age of marriage for women for a number of reasons, including gender-neutrality. An early age of marriage, and consequent early pregnancies, also have impacts on nutritional levels of mothers and their children, and their overall health and mental wellbeing.
• It also has an impact on Infant Mortality Rate and Maternal Mortality Rate, and the empowerment of women who are cut off from access to education and livelihood after anearly marriage.
• The recently released National Family Health Survey (NFHS) revealed that child marriage has come down marginally from 27 per cent in 2015-16 to 23 per cent in 2019-20 in the country, but the government has been pushing to bring this down further.

What is the Jaya Jaitly committee?

• In June 2020, the Ministry for Women and Child Development set up a task force to look into the correlation between the age of marriage with issues of women’s nutrition, prevalence of anaemia, IMR, MMR and other social indices.
• The committee, headed by Jaya Jaitly, the committee was to look at the feasibility of increasing the age of marriage and its implication on women and child health, as well as how to increase access to education for women. The committee was to also recommend a timeline by which the government could roll out the implementation of the policy, as well as the amendments that would need to be made in existing laws in order for this to happen.

What did the committee recommend?

• The committee has recommended the age of marriage be increased to 21 years, on the basis of feedback they received from young adults from 16 universities across the country. Over 15 NGOs were also engaged to reach out to young adults in far-flung areas and marginalised communities.
• committee members have said that feedback has been taken from youth belonging to all religions, as well as from rural and urban areas equally.
• The committee also asked the government to look into increasing access to schools and colleges for girls, including their transportation to these institutes from far-flung areas. Skill and business training has also been recommended, as has sex education in schools.
• The committee said these deliveries must come first, as, unless they are implemented and women are empowered, the law will not be as effective.
• The committee has further recommended that an awareness campaign be undertaken on a massive scale on the increase in age of marriage, and to encourage social acceptance of the new legislation, which they have said would be far more effective than coercive measures.

THE SOCIAL ISSUES AND SOCIAL JUSTICE

5. REPORTERS WITHOUT BORDERS

THE CONTEXT: According to the report, there are currently 488 media professionals imprisoned around the world,the highest number since Reporters Without Borders began counting more than 25 years ago.

THE EXPLANATION:

• By contrast, the number killed this year — 46 — was the lowest since it began issuing annual tallies, due to the relative stabilisation of conflicts in the West Asia.
• According to RSF, China once again has the highest number of imprisoned journalists at 127.The most dangerous countries were once again Mexico and Afghanistan, with seven and six journalist deaths respectively, followed by Yemen and India with four apiece.
• The number of detained scribes has risen by some 20% over the past year, largely due to crackdowns on the media in Myanmar, Belarus and Hong Kong. RSF said it had also never seen so many female journalists detained, with the overall number of 60 representing a third more than 2020.

• It also stated that the 2021 report “shows that journalism, the main vaccine against disinformation, is completely or partly blocked in 73% of the 180 countries ranked by the organisation,” and, the “2021 Edelman Trust barometer reveals a disturbing level of public mistrust of journalists, with 59% of respondents in 28 countries saying that journalists deliberately try to mislead the public by reporting information they know to be false”. The report noted that “only 12 of the Index’s 180 countries (7%) can claim to offer a favourable environment for journalism”.

WORLD PRESS REPORT 2021

India is ranked 142, same as in 2020, after it had consistently slid down from 133 in 2016. In the South Asian neighbourhood, Nepal is at 106, Sri Lanka at 127, Myanmar (before the coup) at 140, Pakistan at 145 and Bangladesh at 152.

About World Press Freedom Index:

• Published annually by Reporters Without Borders since 2002, the World Press Freedom Index measures the level of media freedom in 180 countries.
• It is based on an evaluation of media freedom that measures pluralism, media independence, the quality of the legal framework and the safety of journalists.
• It also includes indicators of the level of media freedom violations in each region.
• It is compiled by means of a questionnaire in 20 languages that is completed by experts all over the world. This qualitative analysis is combined with quantitative data on abuses and acts of violence against journalists during the period evaluated.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

6. RARE BUTTERFLY SPECIES SIGHTED IN ARUNACHAL PRADESH

THE CONTEXT: Researchers from Mishmi hills of Arunachal Pradesh sighted a rare species of Butterfly, which is first documented in 20 years ago.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Huang’s Mystic Lethe wui Huang is a species of the brush-footed butterfly first recorded in 1999 from Metok in Southeast Tibet by Hao Huang. It would take another 12 years, in 2011, that the species’ sighting would be re-recorded, this time from Panwa in northern Myanmar’s Kachin state.

• This elusive butterfly did not feature in scientific records for five years after that, until 2016, when it was spotted at Nujiang in China’s northwest Yunnan.
• The proximity to mainland China (and Bhutan and Myanmar) also means that the state shares much of the same geographical features with the neighbouring countries as it does with the other parts of India.
• Lepidopterists, the scientific term for entomologists specialising in studying butterflies and moths, have had a bloom in recent years in Arunachal Pradesh. The state, nestled in the Eastern Himalayan Biodiversity Hotspot, usually appears in the mainstream news media with repeated claims of Chinese authority over its landmass.

Since the Huang’s Mystic Lethe wui Huang has not been reported in India until now, it is not safeguarded by the country’s Wildlife (Protection) Act unlike several other species of butterflies.

Butterfly festivals

• In 2018 at the fifth edition of the Northeast Butterfly Meet held in the Seijosa area of Arunachal Pradesh’s East Kameng district, 180 species were recorded. These included the Creteuscyrina, the only one from the Creteus genus found in Southeast Asia.
• Butterfly festivals such as those held at Ziro and Namdapha National Park in Changlang district have become the go-to sites for butterfly sightings.
• At a state ministerial meeting held at the premises of the Pakke Tiger Reserve in Seijosa this November, a decision was taken to adopt the “Kaiser-i-Hind” (Teinopalpusimperialis), as the state butterfly.(To read more about this news article kindly refer to November month Perspective Magazine)
• The ‘Pakke Tiger Reserve 2047 Declaration on Climate Change-Resilient and Responsive ‘Arunachal Pradesh, as it has been formally dubbed, is aimed at lowering emissions and achieving sustainable development to help advance India’s agenda on meeting the Paris Agreement goals on climate change leveraging the state’s forest cover and natural resources.

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

Q1. Minimum Support Prices (MSP) for agricultural products comes under which of the following box of WTO?

              a) Blue box

b) Green box

c) Amber box

d) S & D box

Q2. In the context of the WTO, the subsidies tied to programmes that limit production are known as-

               a) Amber box subsidies

b) Blue box subsidies

c) Green box subsidies

d) S & D box subsidies

FOR 16TH DECEMBER 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: D)

Explanation:

1. Holi is not listed in UNESCO intangible heritage sites
2. Kuttiyattamm, Nowruz, Kalbelia are listed in the UNESCO intangible heritage sites.

[WpProQuiz 116]

THE INDIAN ART, CULTURE AND HERITAGE

1. DURGA PUJA GETS INTANGIBLE CULTURAL HERITAGE TAG

THE CONTEXT: Durga Puja in Kolkata, one of largest cultural carnivals and street art festival of the country, received an important international recognition by making it to UNESCO’s Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Kolkata’s Durga Puja festival has become the latest event to be inscribed in the ‘Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO).
• With this, festival becoming the new addition in the ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage’ list by the UNESCO, India now has a total of 14 events that represent the country’s tradition and culture in it.
• An annual festival, Durga Puja is celebrated in different parts of the country, but most notably in Kolkata. It marks the ten-day worship of goddess Durga which involves artisanal sculptures of the goddess sculpted from clay pulled from the Ganga.

UNESCO’s ‘Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity’ list

• The list is made up of those intangible heritage elements that help demonstrate diversity of cultural heritage and raise awareness about its importance.
• The list was established in 2008 when Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage came into effect.
• UNESCO maintains three lists under its “Intangible Cultural Heritage” banner: the list of intangible cultural heritage in need of urgent safeguarding, the list of the intangible cultural heritage of humanity and the register of good safeguarding practices. 

• Some of the criteria for inclusion in the representative list are if the inscription of the element will ensure visibility and awareness of it and if the element has been nominated after having “the widestpossible participation” of the community, group or individuals concerned and with their free, prior and informed consent.

THE INDIAN POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

2. DEMAND FOR INCLUSION OF LADAKH IN THE SIXTH SCHEDULE

THE CONTEXT: Recently, a Member of Parliament from Ladakh demanded that the region be included in the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution to safeguard land, employment, and cultural identity of the local population.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is the Sixth Schedule?

• The Sixth Schedule under Article 244 provides for the formation of autonomous administrative divisions — Autonomous District Councils (ADCs) — that have some legislative, judicial, and administrative autonomy within a state.
•  with more than 40 members and the right to make laws on 39 issues.
• ADCs have up to 30 members with a term of five years, and can make laws, rules and regulations with regard to land,forest, water, agriculture, village councils, health, sanitation, village- and town-level policing, inheritance, marriage and divorce, social customs and mining, etc.
• The Bodoland Territorial Council in Assam is an exception

The Sixth Schedule applies to the Northeastern states of Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram (three Councils each), and Tripura (one Council).

Why does Ladakh want to be part of the Sixth Schedule?

There was much enthusiasm initially, mostly in Leh, after the August 5, 2019 decisions that created two new Union Territories. Buddhist-dominated Leh district had long demanded UT status because it felt neglected by the erstwhile state government, which was dominated by politicians from Kashmir and Jammu.

The UT has two Hill councils in Leh and Kargil, but neither is under the Sixth Schedule. Their powers are limited to collection of some local taxes such as parking fees and allotment and use of land vested by the Centre.

Voices from the ground:

In Kargil district, which is dominated by Shia Muslims, demands have been raised for the restoration of special status — also for a merger with the UT of J&K which has been provisioned a legislature. Representatives of social, religious, and political groups in Kargil have come together under the banner of the KDA.

Can Ladakh be included in Sixth Schedule?

In September 2019, the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes recommended the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, noting that the new UT was predominantly tribal (more than 97%), people from other parts of the country had been restricted from purchasing or acquiring land there, and its distinct cultural heritage needed preservation.

Notably, no region outside the Northeast has been included in the Sixth Schedule. In fact, even in Manipur, which has predominantly tribal populations in some places, the autonomous councils are not included in the Sixth Schedule.Nagaland and Arunachal Pradesh, which are totally tribal, are also not in the Sixth Schedule.

According to Home Ministry. “The Ladakh’s inclusion in the Sixth Schedule would be difficult. The Constitution is very clear, Sixth Schedule is for the Northeast. For tribal areas in the rest of the country, there is the Fifth Schedule”.

However, it remains the prerogative of the government — it can, if it so decides, bring a Bill to amend the Constitution for this purpose.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

3. HIMACHAL PRADESH PUSHING TOWARDS WATER INSECURITY

THE CONTEXT: According to a report by the State Centre on Climate Change Shimla and Space Application Centre of the ISRO in Ahmedabad said, that the Himachal Pradesh, a state that has five important perennial rivers fed particularly by glaciers, has witnessed a decline in snowfall over the past year. The area under snow cover in the state has declined by 18.5% between 2019-’20 and 2020-’21.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The study revealed that the area under snow cover in 2019-’20 was 23,542 sq km, which dropped to 19,183 sq km in 2020-’21, a decline of 3,404 sq km or 18.52%. Usually, in the winter season, about one-third of the geographical area of the state, which amounts to about 18,556 sq km, remains under thick snow cover.
• Most of the major rivers like Chenab, Beas, Parvati, Baspa, Spiti, Ravi, Sutlej andtheir perennial tributaries originating from the Himalayas depend upon the seasonal snow cover for their discharge dependability.
• Also, the centre noted, they observed a shift in snowfall patterns in the last few years and snow cover is continuously declining “. They also observed a decreasing trend in four river basins of the state which put long-term implications on water availability in the river basins.

Falling snow cover

The report added that the snow cover in the Chenab basin fell from 7,154 sq km in 2019-’20 to 6,516 sq km in 2020-’21, a reduction of 638 sq km or 8.92%. The Beas basin shows a decrease of about 19% with its average snow cover area having decreased from 2,458 sq km to 2,002 sq km, a loss of 455 sq km. The Ravi basin saw an overall reduction of 23% in the total area under snow cover.

The snow cover in the Sutlej Basin, which covers 45% area of Himachal and is the longest river in the state, shrunk the most by 23.49% or 2,777 sq km. It was 11,823 sq km in 2019-’20 and 9,046 sq km this year.

Another study published in 2019 said that the Sutlej River basin glaciers are melting fast and may shrink significantly by as soon as 2050. The research estimates that the melting would cause 33% of the glaciers to disappear by 2050 and 81% by the end of the century.

Melting glaciers

Not only Himachal, glaciers in Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh are also melting at a significant rate. According to a 2020 study, over 1,200 glaciers in the region saw an annual reduction in mass of 35 centimetres on average between 2000 and 2012. The study added that the glaciers have reduced from 102 sq km in 1980 to 72 sq km in 2018 showing a recession 28.8% decrease.

The Ganges River system in the Indian Himalayas can be divided into four major river basins i.e the Yamuna, Bhagirathi, Alaknanda and Ghaghara River Basins. The Ganges River system remains the main source of fresh water for half the population of India and Bangladesh and nearly the entire population of Nepal. Reports also mention a decline in snow cover of the Brahmaputra basin.

According to a study Glacio-hydrology of the Himalaya-Karakoram by Ministry of Science and Technology, snow and glaciers are melting rapidly in the Himalayan range due to climate change, altering water supplies in the rivers like Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra in the Himalaya-Karakoram ranges. Total river runoff, glacier melt and seasonality of flow in these rivers are projected to increase until the 2050s, with some exceptions and large uncertainties.

Panchprayag:

The five holy places of PanchPrayag include:

1. Vishnuprayag = Alaknanda +Dhauli Ganga
2. Nandprayag = Alaknanda + Nandakini
3. Karnaprayag =   Alaknanda + Pinderi
4. Rudraprayag = Alaknanda + Mandakini
5. Devprayag =   Alaknanda + Bhagirathi\

4. THE PUSH FOR ZERO BUDGET NATURAL FARMING

THE CONTEXT:The Prime Minister highlighted the importance of Zero Budget Natural Farming and, he called for the method to become a mass movement.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the Agriculture Ministry, the Centre has sanctioned support for converting four lakh additional hectares of crop land in eight States to using ZBNF techniques. This is meant to provide a showcase for their benefits although scientific studies on the method have not yet been completed.

What is Zero Budget Natural Farming?

ZBNF is a method of chemical-free agriculturedrawing from traditional Indian practices. It was originally promoted by agriculturist and Padma Shri recipient Subhash Palekar, who developed it in the mid-1990s as an alternative to the Green Revolution’s methods driven by chemical fertilizers, pesticides and intensive irrigation.

What is it and how did it come about?

According to Subhash Palekar, he argued that the rising cost of these external inputs was a leading cause of indebtedness and suicide among farmers, while the impact of chemicals on the environment and on long-term fertility was devastating. Without the need to spend money on these inputs — or take loans to buy them — the cost of production could be reduced, and farming made into a “zero budget” exercise, breaking the debt cycle for many small farmers.

What is the method?

• Instead of commercially produced chemical inputs, ZBNF promotes the application of jivamrita — a mixture of fresh cow dung and aged cow urine, jaggery, pulse flour, water, and soil — on farmland.
• This is a fermented microbial culture that adds nutrients to the soil and acts as a catalytic agent to promote the activity of microorganisms and earthworms in the soil. About 200 litres of jivamritashould be sprayed twice a month per acre of land; after three years, the system is supposed to become self-sustaining.
• Only one cow is needed for 30 acres of land, according to Mr. Palekar, with the caveat that it must be a local Indian breed — not an imported Jersey or Holstein.

A similar mixture, called bijamrita, is used to treat seeds, while concoctions using neem leaves and pulp, tobacco and green chillis are prepared for insect and pest management.

The ZBNF method also promotes soil aeration, minimal watering, intercropping, bunds and topsoil mulching and discourages intensive irrigation and deep ploughing. Mr. Palekar is against vermicomposting, which is the mainstay of typical organic farming, as it introduces the most common composting worm, the European red wiggler (Eisenia fetida) to Indian soils. He claims these worms absorb toxic metals and poison groundwater and soil.

Is it effective?

A limited 2017 study in Andhra Pradesh claimed a sharp decline in input costs and improvement in yields. However, reports also suggest that many farmers, including from Mr. Palekar’s native Maharashtra, have reverted to conventional farming after seeing their ZBNF returns drop after a few years, in turn raising doubts about the method’s efficacy in increasing farmers’ incomes.

ZBNF critics, including some experts within the central policy and planning think tank NITI Aayog, note that India needed the Green Revolution in order to become self-sufficient and ensure food security. They warn against a wholesale move away from that model without sufficient proof that yields will not be affected. Sikkim,(First organic state in India) which has seen some decline in yields following a conversion to organic farming, is used as a cautionary tale regarding the pitfalls of abandoning chemical fertilizers.

Which are the States with big plans?

The Centre has sanctioned the proposals of eight States for support under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana scheme. Andhra Pradesh has the biggest ambition to bring one lakh additional hectares of land under ZBNF under the scheme, followed by Chhattisgarh, with 85,000 additional hectares and Gujarat, with 71,000 additional hectares.

Need of the hour:

While harnessing the advantages of the prescribed natural inputs, it is also important to explore the feasibility of alternatives in case of inaccessibility to critical inputs. Considering the Government’s interest in promoting ZBNF at the national level, the extent of its sustainability needs to be critically monitored in the next few years. An extensive study with a larger sample size and a few demonstration units in small pockets of monitored agricultural land is recommended.

As the prescribed guidelines for ZBNF are similar for all crops and agro-climatic conditions, the single-solution applicability of natural ingredients needs to be tested for all crops and soil types. Close monitoring of the soil health during and after transition would allow us to understand the long-term impact of the practice.

THE INDIAN ECONOMY

5. THE PCA FRAMEWORK FOR NBFC

THE CONTEXT: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) introduced a prompt corrective action (PCA) framework for large non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), putting restrictions on para-banks whenever vital financial metrics dip below the prescribed threshold.

THE EXPLANATION:

• This brings them almost on a par with banks in terms of supervision and regulatory reach. This follows the scale-based regulations and revision in non-performing asset (NPA) norms brought in by the regulator for the sector.
• The PCA framework for NBFCs comes into effect on October 1 next year on the basis of their financial position on or after March 31. It will be applicable for all deposit-taking NBFCs and other large ones that sit in the middle, upper, and top layers of the central bank’s scale-based regulation for the sector.
• However, those not taking deposits and with an asset size of less than Rs 1,000 crore, primary dealers, government owned NBFCs, and housing finance companies are exempt from this framework.
• This will, therefore, be applicable for only a few NBFCs while the vast majority of the nearly 10,000 such entities will be excluded. However, the central bank can take any action irrespective of the size of an NBFC.
• The central bank cited the growing size of the NBFC sector and “substantial interconnectedness with other segments of the financial system” as the reason for the PCA framework. It said it would further strengthen the supervisory tools for NBFCs.
• According to RBI, the objective of the PCA Framework is to enable supervisory intervention at appropriate time and require the supervised entity to initiate and implement remedial measures in a timely manner, so as to restore its financial health”.

What is Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)? 

• PCA is a framework under which banks with weak financial metrics are put under watch by the RBI.
• The RBI introduced the PCA framework in 2002 as a structured early-intervention mechanism for banks that become undercapitalised due to poor asset quality, or vulnerable due to loss of profitability.
• It aims to check the problem of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking sector.
• The framework was reviewed in 2017 based on the recommendations of the working group of the Financial Stability and Development Council on Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions in India and the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission.

6. INDIA LOSES WTO DISPUTE OVER SUGAR-EXPORT SUBSIDIES

THE CONTEXT: A World Trade Organization panel ruled that India violated international trade rules when it offered excessive subsidies for the production and export of sugar and sugarcane.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to WTO, India’s policies were inconsistent with WTO rules that govern the levels at which nations can subsidize domestic agricultural production. Under WTO rules, India’s sugar subsidies are capped at a de minimis limit of 10% of the value of production.
• India — the world’s largest sugar producer after Brazil — has already pledged to refrain from subsidizing sugar exports this year due to high global prices. The government previously approved a subsidy of $475 million for the 2020-2021 growing season.

The dispute dates back to 2019 when Brazil, Australia and Guatemala filed parallel WTO complaints that alleged the Indian government massively increased its sugar subsidies and reintroduced a minimum price for sugar, which led to increased production of sugar that outstripped domestic demand.

According to Brazil’s complaint, during the 2018-2019 growing season, India approved dozens of federal and state-level assistance programs for the sugar industry that collectively exceeded 55 billion rupees ($730 million).

India’s response:

• The findings of the WTO panel are “completely unacceptable,” India’s commerce ministry said in a statement adding its measures on sugar are consistent with its obligations under WTO agreements.
• “India has initiated all measures necessary to protect its interest and file an appeal at the WTO against the report, to protect the interests of its farmers”.

WTO Agreement on Agriculture:

AoA is aimed to remove trade barriers and to promote transparent market access and integration of global markets. Agreement on agriculture has three components:

• Domestic Support: It aims for reduction in domestic subsidies that distorts free trade and fair price.

Under this provision, the Aggregate Measurement of Support (AMS) is to be reduced by 20% over a period of 6 years by developed countries and 13% over a period of 10 years by developing countries.

Under this, Subsidies are categorized into three parts:

• Market Access: It requires that tariffs fixed (like custom duties) by individual countries be cut progressively to allow free trade. It also required countries to remove non-tariff barriers and convert them to Tariff duties.
• Export Subsidy: Subsidy on agriculture inputs or making export cheaper or other incentives for exports such as import duty remission etc are included under export subsidies. These can result in dumping of highly subsidized (and cheap) products in other countries and damage the domestic agriculture sector of other country.

7. UNION CABINET APPROVES ₹76,000 CRORE PUSH FOR SEMICONDUCTOR MAKERS

THE CONTEXT: In an attempt to push Semiconductor manufacturing within the country, the Union Cabinet,cleared a Rs 76,000 crore production-linked incentive scheme (PLI) for semiconductor and display manufacturers to make the country an electronic system design and manufacturing global hub.

THE EXPLANATION:

• According to the government, it proposes to provide incentives worth Rs 76,000 crore for semiconductor production over the next six years.
• “The programme will usher in a new era in electronics manufacturing by providing a globally competitive incentive package to companies in semiconductors and display manufacturing as well as design”.
• The PLI scheme will provide monetary support of up to 50% of the project cost for setting up semiconductor and display fabrication units in the country. Moreover, the government noted that the Centre will work with the States to set up high-tech clusters with the necessary infrastructure such as land and semiconductor-grade water.

What is the need?

Semiconductors and displays are the foundation of modern electronics driving the next phase of digital transformation under Industry 4.0. Semiconductors and display manufacturing is very complex and technology-intensive sector involving huge capital investments, high risk, long gestation and payback periods, and rapid changes in technology, which require significant and sustained investments.

• The program will give an impetus to semiconductor and display manufacturing by facilitating capital support and technological collaborations.
• The programme aims to provide attractive incentive support to companies / consortia that are engaged in Silicon Semiconductor Fabs, Display Fabs, Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs, Semiconductor Packaging (ATMP / OSAT), Semiconductor Design.

Following broad incentives have been approved for the development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystem in India:

Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL): Union Cabinet has also approved that Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will take requisite steps for modernization and commercialization of Semi-conductor Laboratory (SCL).MeitY will explore the possibility for the Joint Venture of SCL with a commercial fab partner to modernize the brownfield fab facility.

Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT Units: The Scheme for Setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors (including MEMS) Fabs and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT facilities in India shall extend fiscal support of 30% of capital expenditure to approved units. At least 15 such units of Compound Semiconductors and Semiconductor Packaging are expected to be established with Government support under this scheme.

Semiconductor Design Companies: The Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme shall extend product design linked incentive of up to 50% of eligible expenditure and product deployment linked incentive of 6% – 4% on net sales for five years.

India Semiconductor Mission: In order to drive the long-term strategies for developing a sustainable semiconductors and display ecosystem, a specialized and independent “India Semiconductor Mission (ISM)” will be set up. The India Semiconductor Mission will be led by global experts in semiconductor and display industry. It will act as the nodal agency for efficient and smooth implementation of the schemes on Semiconductors and Display ecosystem.

Significance:

• In the current geopolitical scenario, trusted sources of semiconductors and displays hold strategic importance and are key to the security of critical information infrastructure. The approved program will propel innovation and build domestic capacities to ensure the digital sovereignty of India. It will also create highly skilled employment opportunities to harness the demographic dividend of the country.
• Development of semiconductor and display ecosystem will have a multiplier effect across different sectors of the economy with deeper integration to the global value chain. The program will promote higher domestic value addition in electronics manufacturing and will contribute significantly to achieving a USD 1 Trillion digital economy and a USD 5 Trillion GDP by 2025.

BACKGROUND:

What is a Semiconductor?

• A semiconductor material is defined by its ability to conduct electricity and its conductivity properties lie between conductor and insulator.
• Under specific conditions, Semiconductors have the ability to act either as a pure conductor or a pure insulator.
• Examples of Semiconductor materials are Silicon, Germanium, Gallium Arsenide etc., where Silicon is the most commonly used.
• Gallium arsenide stands as the second-best semiconductor material and is used in solar cells, laser diodes, microwave frequency integrated circuits etc.

THE PRELIM PRACTICE QUESTION

1.Consider the following are in the UNESCO intangible heritage sites:

1. Kuttiyattam
2. Nowruz
3. Holi
4. Kalbelia

Which of the statements given above are incorrect?

a) 1 and 2 only

b) 2 and 3 only

c) 1 and 3 only

d) None

ANSWER FOR 13TH DECEMBER 2021 PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

Answer: c)

Explanation:

1. Statement 1 is correct: WPI measures inflation at the first stage of transaction i.e. at wholesale level.
2. Statement 2 is correct: It is compiled by Office of Economic Advisor in DIPP, in Ministry of Commerce & Industry.
3. Statement 3 is incorrect: It measures inflation on a year-on-year basis.