1. LANDSLIDE IN UTTARAKHAND

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY; GS 3: DISASTER MANAGEMENT

THE CONTEXT: Recently, landslide hit the state of Uttarakhand in the Langha Jakhan village of Vikasnagar tehsil in Dehradun district.

EXPLANATION:

• Incessant rain has been lashing various parts of the hill state, causing landslides that demolished buildings and flooding rivers and streams whose swirling waters swept away people in separate incidents.
• Landslide in Uttarakhand disrupted livelihoods, cause lossof human lives and damages to property and infrastructure.
• Meanwhile, State Disaster Response Force personnel have safely evacuated pilgrims stranded since Monday on the trek route to Madmaheshwar temple following a bridge collapse in rain-hit Uttarakhand’s Rudraprayag district.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD) has forecasted substantial rainfall in the mountainous regions of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand over the next four days.

What is a Landslide?

• A landslide is defined as the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Landslides are a type of “mass wasting,” which denotes any down-slope movement of soil and rock under the direct influence of gravity.
• The term “landslide” encompasses five modes of slope movement: falls, topples, slides, spreads, and flows.
• These are further subdivided by the type of geologic material (bedrock, debris, or earth). Debris flows (commonly referred to as mudflows or mudslides) and rock falls are examples of common landslide types.
• A general landslide hazard map of India shown here marks the areas of different hazard zones in various states of India where Himalayas of Northwest and Northeast India and the Western Ghats are two regions of high vulnerability and are landslide prone.
• NDMA guidelines are being followed for Landslide Hazard Zonation (LHZ) maps at 1: 50,000 scale and progressively larger scales for specific areas.

Causes of landslides:

Landslides occur when masses of rock, earth, or debris move down a slope. Debris flows, also known as mudslides, are a common type of fast-moving landslide that tends to flow in channels. Landslides are caused by disturbances in the natural stability of a slope.

Natural causes:

• Earthquake: When earthquakes occur on areas with steep slopes, many times the soil slips causing landslides. Furthermore, ashes debris flows caused by earthquakes can also trigger mass movement of soil.
• Heavy rainfall: When sloped areas become completely saturated by heavy rainfall many times landslides can occur. Without the aid of mechanical root support the soil simply runs off when it contains too much water.

Human causes:

• Clear cutting of forest: Method of timber harvesting which completely removes all old growth timber from the area. This method is hazardous because it destroys the existing mechanical root structure in the area.
• Mining: Mining operations that use blasting techniques often cause other areas that are at the risk of sliding to slide due to vibrations under the soil.

Government Initiatives for landslide management:

• The Landslide Hazard Atlas of India containing small scale maps was published jointly by the Building Materials and Technology Promotion Council (BMTPC) and Anna University in 2004.
• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was given the responsibility of nodal agency for LHZ and the Department of Science and Technology (DST) and the Ministry of Environment and Forests and climate change (MoEFCC) were identified as nodal agencies for the remaining two task forces, respectively.
• In June 2009, the National Disaster Management Authority released the Guidelines on Management of Landslides and Snow Avalanches, laying down national policy for the management of landslides and related activities in the country.

SOURCE: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/uttarakhand-rains-landslide-destroys-15-houses-7-cowsheds-in-dehradun-11692244128608.html

2. COMPETITION COMMISSION OF INDIA (CCI)

TAG: GS 2: GOVERNANCE

THE CONTEXT: The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has slapped a fine of Rs 40 lakh on Axis Bank for failing to notify the regulator about its acquisition of a stake in CSC e-Governance.

EXPLANATION:

• The transaction under consideration comprised acquisition of a 9.91 per cent stake in CSC e-Governance by Axis Bank and got completed in November 2020.
• For the transaction, Axis Bank was required to give notice to the fair-trade regulator. However, it failed to do so.
• It is apparent that the acquisition of stake in CSC e-Governance by Axis Bank was neither solely as an investment nor can be considered to be in ordinary course of business.
• Therefore, the Axis-CSC e-Governance acquisition is not eligible for the benefit of the Item 1 of Schedule I (combination regulation) and accordingly, it is immaterial whether the transaction led to acquisition of control or not.
• To avail the benefit of combination rules, the acquirer should not be a member of the board of directors, does not have a right to nominate a director and should not participate in the affairs or management of the enterprise whose shares or voting right are being acquired.
• CSC e-Governance Services India Ltd is a special-purpose vehicle set up by the electronics and information technology ministry to oversee the implementation of the common services centre scheme.

Competition Commission of India (CCI)

• Competition Commission of India (CCI) is the chief national competition regulator in India.
• It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs and is responsible for enforcing the Competition Act, 2002.
• It aims to promote competition and prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India. The CCI looks into cases and investigates them if the same has a negative impact on competition.

Objectives of CCI:

• Make the markets work for the benefit and welfare of consumers.
• Ensure fair and healthy competition in economic activities in the country for faster and inclusive growth and development of the economy.
• Implement competition policies with an aim to effectuate the most efficient utilization of economic resources.
• Develop and nurture effective relations and interactions with sectoral regulators to ensure smooth alignment of sectoral regulatory laws in tandem with competition law.
• Effectively carry out competition advocacy and spread the information on benefits of competition among all stakeholders to establish and nurture competition culture in Indian economy.

SOURCE: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/banking/finance/banking/competition-commission-of-india-slaps-rs-40-lakh-on-axis-bank/articleshow/102839553.cms?from=mdr

3. OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: The Union ministry of new and renewable energy has sought bids to survey sites identified for offshore wind power projects in Tamil Nadu.

EXPLANATION:

• A notification released by the ministry showed that the government plans to bid out projects of 4GW capacity on 1 December. Further, in the next financial year, it plans to bid out projects with a total capacity of 3GW.
• The government will bid out sites for offshore wind power projects through two models.
• In one model, the government will provide viability gap funding, and in the other, identified offshore wind sites will be leased out under competitive bidding for carrying out studies and surveys and subsequent project development without any central financial assistance.
• The bids for the study of the sites have been called for the second model where financial support is not available.
• Under this model, sites are proposed to be allocated for a period of two years to carry out the survey.
• The government may also call for bids for procurement of power for distribution companies based on tariffs after two years.
• Although the government notified the national offshore wind energy policy in 2015, and efforts have been on to establish the sector in the country, the sector has not taken off as anticipated.
• To boost investments in this space, the Union power ministry in May announced a waiver of Inter-State Transmission System (ISTS) charges on the transmission of electricity generated via offshore wind sources.

OFFSHORE WIND ENERGY IN INDIA

• India is blessed with a coastline of about 7600 km surrounded by water on three sides and has good prospects of harnessing offshore wind energy.
• The wind resources assessment carried out by the National Institute of Wind Energy shows India’s total wind energy potential at 302GW at 100m and 695.50GW at 120m hub height.
• Out of the total estimated potential, more than 95% of commercially exploitable wind resources are concentrated in seven states—Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.
• Considering this, the Government had notified the “National offshore wind energy policy” as per the Gazette Notification dated 6th October 2015.
• As per the policy, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy will act as the nodal Ministry for development of Offshore Wind Energy in India.
• It will work in close coordination with other government entities for Development and Use of Maritime Space within the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of the country and shall be responsible for overall monitoring of offshore wind energy development in the country.
• National Institute of Wind Energy (NIWE), Chennai will be the nodal agency to carryout resource assessment; surveys and studies in EEZ demarcate blocks and facilitate developers for setting up offshore wind energy farms.
• India has extensive experience with onshore wind turbines, with an installed capacity of more than 30 gigawatts. As part of its efforts to mitigate climate change, the country has decided to utilize offshore wind energy as well.
• India’s plan is a call for 5,000 megawatts of offshore wind by 2022, and 30,000 megawatts by 2030.
• Offshore wind is an important component of India’s plan to install 500GW of renewable capacity by 2030 and to achieve its target of reaching net zero by 2070.

SOURCE: https://www.livemint.com/industry/energy/centre-sets-the-ball-rolling-for-offshore-wind-projects-11692379960523.html

4. BA.2.86: A NEW VARIANT OF THE CORONAVIRUS

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: The World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States centre for Disease Control and Prevention are monitoring a new variant of the coronavirus, BA.2.86, also known as BA.X.

EXPLANATION:

• It has been detected in the U.S., the U.K., Denmark, and Israel.
• Over 1.4 million new COVID-19 cases and 2,300 deaths were reported from WHO’s six regions in the period of 28 days (July 17 to August 13, 2023).
• Reported cases do not accurately represent infection rates due to the reduction in testing and reporting globally.
• But the potential impacts of the BA.2.86 mutations are presently unknown and undergoing careful assessment.
• The United States federal agency Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is monitoring the lineage.
• WHO monitors the different COVID variants under three categories.
• variant under monitoring (VUM)
• variant of interest (VOI)
• variant of concern (VOC)
• WHO has classified BA.2.86 as a VUM.
• A “variant under monitoring” is a strain with genetic changes that could affect its characteristics like transmissibility, but that limited evidence makes its impact unclear, WHO has classified BA.2.86 as a VUM.

SOME NEW CORONAVIRUS VARIANTS

• 5:
• It is a descendent of the Omicron lineage of XBB.1.9.2.
• It was designated as VOI after risk evaluation by the World Health Organization. It was previously designated as VUM.
• 5 was first reported on February 17, 2023, and it has been reported from a total of 48 countries and in India, one EG.5.1 was detected in Maharashtra in May, 2023.
• 1.5:
  • It is derived from the 2 Omicron subvariant and the most contagious variant of the virus causing COVID-19.
  • The XBB.1.5 subvariant has a mutation that can become more transmissible.
  • IT IS DESIGNATED AS variant of interest (VOI)
  • It was reported in dec 2022, and it has been detected in 28 other countries worldwide.

SOURCE: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/health/who-us-cdc-are-now-tracking-new-covid-variant-ba-2-86-91247

5. 3D PRINTED BUILDINGS

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: India Inaugurated its first 3D-Printed Post Office in Bengaluru, Karnataka.

EXPLANATION:

• The post office building has been fully developed with the use of 3D printing technology.
• The company Larsen & Toubro Limited undertook the construction while IIT Madras provided technical guidance on the project.
• This new and unique building construction used 3D-concrete printing technology method.

3D Concrete Printing Technology

• It is a fully automated construction technology in which a robotic printer deposits the concrete layer after layer much like a human worker.
• It is also known as additive manufacturing.
• It carries out the construction in accordance with the approved design.
• Special-grade concrete is used in the project because it hardens quickly, ensuring easy and fast bonding between the layers to print the structure.
• Compared to the conventional methods, this technology has completed the construction of entire structure in just 45 days.
• Additive Manufacturing Society of India (AMSI) promotes 3D printing & Additive Manufacturing Technologies in India
• It is helping in the design, R&D organisations, manufacturing professionals and academics in 3D Printing.
• Its applications are Helmets, Dental meds, Jet Engine parts, Cars and Hearing aid and now even a house.

Benefits of 3D Printing Technology

• Contrasting to the traditional machines, it decreases waste and costs (through economy of scale).
• It is appropriate for products with challenging environmental conditions.
• It reduces capital, space required, and carbon footprint and improves customisation.
• Different materials can be mixed during the printing process to create a unique alloy.
• Prototypes can be made quicker allowing designers to check different iterations resulting in a quicker design cycle phase.
• Robust IT infrastructure and increased connectivity will support the Digital India Campaign.

SOURCE: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/everyday-explainers/how-does-3d-printing-work-8898689/

1. E20 FUEL BY 2025

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: India’s aim to cover the entire nation with E20 fuel by 2025.

EXPLANATION:

• India has started the rollout of E20 fuel.
• It aims to cover the entire nation by 2025.
• We must find ways to bridge technology gaps, promote energy security and work on diversifying supply chains.

E20 Fuel

• E20 fuel is a blend of 20% ethanol with petrol.
• It is a move toward cleaner transportation.
• Sales of electric vehicles in India are on the upswing, but most people can’t afford them. As a result, E20 or flex-fuel vehicles provide a wonderful option for cutting down on pollution without breaking the bank.
• India has achieved 10% ethanol blending in petrol by 2021-22.

Ethanol Blending Programme

• This programme is under the ambit of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
• The Government has advanced the target of 20% blending of ethanol from 2030 to 2025.
• Ethanol Blending programme has been a key focus area of the Government to achieve Aatmanirbhar in the field of energy.
• Due to the sustained efforts of the Government, Ethanol production capacity has seen six times increase since 2013-14.
• The achievements in the last eight years under Ethanol Blending Program & Biofuels Program have augmented India’s energy security.

India Energy Week (IEW)

• Prime Minister inaugurated India Energy Week (IEW) 2023 in Bengaluru, Karnataka, on 6^thFeb 2023.
• IEW is aimed to showcase India’s rising prowess as an energy transition powerhouse.
• PM Launched E20 Fuel and Flagged off Green Mobility Rally.
• HPCL and other oil marketing companies are setting up 2G-3G ethanol plants that will facilitate the progress.
• It will help raise a lot of awareness in the Nation towards Green and Sustainable fuels.

Significance in Creating Sustainable Future

• The government of India’s policy push, like the Ethanol Blending Program and National Green Hydrogen Mission, will fuel the Indian economy towards its target of a 5 trillion-dollar economy and realizing Net Zero by 2070.
• It will help raise a lot of awareness in the Nation towards Green and Sustainable fuels.
• It will help in the achievement of the Paris Agreement Goals.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/indias-aim-to-cover-entire-nation-with-e20-fuel-by-2025-pm-modi-11690000951830.html

2. MARINE HEAT WAVES

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: The world is currently baking under the blazing sun. In April, it reached 21.1 degrees Celsius, breaking the previous record of 21 degrees Celsius in 2016. And since then, ocean temperatures have remained at record-high levels, giving rise to marine heat waves (MHWs) around the globe.

EXPLANATION:

• Sweltering temperatureshave induced extreme heat warnings, wildfires and poor air quality in different regions.
• At present, MHWs have gripped the north-east Pacific, the southern hemisphere in the southern Indian Ocean and the Pacific, the north-east Atlantic, tropical North Atlantic, and the Mediterranean.
• These disastrous consequences are set to become even worse as the world continues to get warmer, making MHWs more intense and longer.

What are marine heat waves?

• A marine heat wave is an extreme weather event.
• It occurs when the surface temperature of a particular region of the sea rises to 3 or 4 degrees Celsius above the average temperature for at least five days.
• MHWs can last for weeks, months or even years, according to the US government’s agency National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

What is the impact of marine heat waves on ocean life?

• It can be catastrophic for marine life. For instance, MHWs along the Western Australian coast during the summer of 2010 and 2011 caused some “devastating” fish kills over a short period and mainly within a particular area.
• It can lead to coral bleaching as when water gets too warm, they expel the algae known as zooxanthellae, living in their tissues, causing them to turn entirely white.
• Coral bleaching has severe consequences as it reduces the reproductivity of corals and makes them more vulnerable to fatal diseases.
• It also fuels the growth of invasive alien species, which can be destructive to marine food webs.
• It forces species to change their behaviour in a way that puts wildlife at increased risk of harm. For example, it has been linked to whale entanglements in fishing gear, according to a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
• They may cause the deaths of several marine species, alter their migration patterns even impact weather patterns.

How do marine heat waves affect humans?

• When storms travel across hot oceans, they gather more water vapour and heat. This results in more powerful winds, heavier rainfall and more flooding when storms reach the land meaning heightened devastation for humans.
• Higher ocean temperatures, which are associated with MHWs, can make storms like hurricanes and tropical cyclones stronger, which can severely affect coastal communities.
• According to NOAA, half a billion people depend on coral reefs for food, income, and protection. So, when MHWs destroy these reefs, humans relying on them also bear the brunt.

Source:https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/marine-heat-waves-impact-cause-explained-8855048/

3. STAR-C INITIATIVE

TAG: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Following the Prime Minister’s participation in a summit with Pacific Island countries, India is considering expanding its solar STAR-C initiative to a number of Pacific Island countries.

EXPLANATION:

• India’s efforts will primarily be focused on economic development, connectivity and climate change. The expansion of the STAR-C initiative will form a key part of that outreach. In the Pacific, it currently runs in Tonga.
• The government announced a 12-step action plan for the islands, which included solar power projects. India has also emphasized the importance of working with Pacific Island countries on climate change and renewable energy in recent years.

What is the STAR-C initiative?

• It is an initiative by ISA and United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), and the funding for the project is provided by both India and France.
• Its major objective is to create a strong network of institutional capacities within ISA Member States.
• It aims to enhance quality infrastructure (QI) for the uptake of solar energy products and service markets, particularly in least developed countries (LDCs) and small island developing states (SIDS).
• It aims to boost capacity in developing countries by building solar workforces, standardizing products, setting up infrastructure and bringing greater awareness among policymakers.
• In its initial stages, the focus was on the Economic Community of West African States, the Pacific Islands Forum (PIF) and the East African Community.

International Solar Alliance (ISA)

• The alliance is also called International Agency for Solar Policy and Application (IASPA).
• It is an alliance of 114 signatory countries, most being sunshine countries, which lie either completely or partly between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
• The primary objective of the alliance is to work for efficient consumption of solar energy to reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
• The alliance is a treaty-based inter-governmental organization. Countries that do not fall within the Tropics can join the alliance and enjoy all benefits as other members, with the exception of voting rights.

• The initiative was launched at the India Africa Summit and a meeting of member countries ahead of the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris in November 2015.
• In January 2016, the Indian Prime Minister and the then-French President jointly laid the foundation stone of the ISA Headquarters and inaugurated the interim Secretariat at the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) in Gurugram, Haryana.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/world/india-may-build-solar-infra-in-pacific-island-nations-amid-chinese-push-11689875862684.html

4. CREDIT GUARANTEE SCHEME FOR LIVESTOCK SECTOR

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: Government launches first-ever credit guarantee scheme for collateral-free loans to livestock MSMEs.

EXPLANATION:

• It has been launched by the Department of Animal Husbandry & Dairying (DAHD) under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
• The scheme is set up under the Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund (AHIDF) under Prime Minister’s Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan stimulus package and aims to facilitate collateral-free credit for MSMEs in the livestock sector.
• A credit guarantee fund trust of Rs 750 crores has been set up for credit guarantee coverage of up to 25 per cent of loans disbursed to MSMEs by eligible banks and other lending institutions.
• The primary aim of the scheme is for the lender to focus on project viability and secure the credit facility only based on the primary security of the assets financed.
• The credit guarantee scheme facilitates access to finance for the un-served and under-served livestock sector.
• Eligible beneficiaries for the availability of financial assistance from lenders are mainly first-generation entrepreneurs and underprivileged sections of society who lack collateral security for supporting their ventures. The aim is to incentivize investments by entrepreneurs, private firms, MSMEs, Farmers’ Producers Organizations (FPOs) and Section 8 companies.
• It aims to establish dairy processing and value addition infrastructure; meat processing and value addition infrastructure; animal feed plants; breed improvement technology and breed multiplication farm; etc.
• A credit guarantee portal has been developed as a rule-based B2B portal and implemented the enrollment of eligible lending institutions under the credit guarantee scheme, issuance/renewal of credit guarantee cover and settlement of claims.
• It will greatly increase the participation of MSMEs engaged in the livestock sector, leading to increased flow of credit to the sector and strengthening the MSMEs to boost the overall rural economy.

Status of the Livestock sector in India:

• Livestock plays an important role in the Indian economy. About 20.5 million people depend upon livestock for their livelihood.
• Livestock contributed 16% to the income of small farm households as against an average of 14% for all rural households.
• Livestock provides livelihood to two-thirds of the rural communities.
• It also provides employment to about 8.8 % of the population in India. India has vast livestock resources. The livestock sector contributes 4.11% of GDP and 25.6% of total Agriculture GDP.

Other initiatives in Livestock Sector:

• National Livestock Mission: It was launched in the financial year 2014-15 and seeks to ensure quantitative and qualitative improvement in livestock production systems and capacity building of all stakeholders. The scheme was implemented as a sub-scheme of the White Revolution – Rashtriya Pashudhan Vikas Yojana in April 2019. It aims for Employment generation through entrepreneurship development in the small ruminant, poultry and piggery sector & Fodder sector.
• Dairy Processing and Infrastructure Development Fund: It has been announced under NABARD to ensure that Dairy Cooperatives remain competitive for the sustained benefit of farmers in the Union Budget of 2017-18. Funding is in the form of an interest-bearing loan, which will flow from the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) to the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) / National Cooperative Development Corporation (NCDC) and, in turn to eligible End Borrowers.

Source: https://www.financialexpress.com/industry/sme/msme-fin-government-launches-first-ever-credit-guarantee-scheme-for-collateral-free-loans-to-livestock-msmes/3179845/

5. INDIA CLIMATE ENERGY DASHBOARD (ICED)

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Recently, NITI Aayog has released the India Climate Energy Dashboard (ICED) 3.0.

EXPLANATION:

• Developed as a user-friendly platform, ICED 3.0 enables users to freely access and analyse datasets using an analytical engine.
• It will facilitate insights and enhance understanding about the energy and climate sectors while identifying the key challenges.
• The portal will draw insights from the available data parameters and hence immensely useful in monitoring the progress of India’s clean energy transition journey.

India Climate Energy Dashboard (ICED):

• It is the country’s one-stop platform for near real-time data on the energy sector, climate, and related economic datasets based on government-published sources.
• It contains real-time information on energy, climate, economy and demography of the country, sourced from govt sources.
• It has been set up by NITI Aayog in collaboration with the energy and climate think-tank Vasudha Foundation.
• It is claimed to aid the policymakers, the general public, and energy and climate trackers to track the latest information on these topics, compiled from different ministries.
• The portal offers specialized, customized information sets which can be visualized with the help of maps, graphs and other visual elements.

• This dashboard empowers users with more than 500 parameters, over 2000 infographics, and several interactive visualizations, allowing users to gain a holistic understanding of India’s energy sector holistically.
• It is a user-friendly platform that aims to bring together comprehensive and time series data from 2005 onwards to provide single window access for all datasets on these topics required for their modelling assessments and research.
• It offers insightful analysis of India’s energy, climate, and relevant economy-related aspects
• and further act as a pillar for robust decision-making enabling India’s clean energy transition,
• Besides energy and climate.
• It also offers information on economy and demography for comparative study and its combined analysis along with the energy and climate issues.

Source:https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1941095#:~:text=The%20ICED%20is%20the%20country’s,datasets%20using%20an%20analytical%20engine.

1. HEATWAVES

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the US scientific and regulatory agency the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that the year 2023 witnessed Earth’s hottest June since the record-keeping of global temperatures began 174 years ago.

EXPLANATION:

• According to scientists and experts, a number of factors are fueling the soaring temperatures in different parts of the world.
• At present, heat domes and anticyclones are responsible for the occurrence of heat waves in several parts of the world. Although they don’t occur due to climate change, they have become more intense and longer as a result of soaring global temperatures.
• Also, El Nino conditionsare exacerbating the extreme heat around the world. Essentially a weather pattern that refers to an abnormal warming of surface waters in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, El Nino is known to “greatly increase the likelihood of breaking temperature records and triggering more extreme heat in many parts of the world and in the ocean.
• While in the USA and Algeria, heat domes are responsible for unleashing heat waves, Europe has suffered due to the arrival of two consecutive anticyclones that originated in Africa.

Anticyclones:

• An anticyclone, also known as a high-pressure system, is essentially an area of high pressure in which the air goes downwards towards the Earth’s surface. As the air sinks, its molecules get compressed, which increases the pressure, making it warmer. This causes dry and hot weather.
• The winds remain calm and gentle during an anticyclone, and there is almost no formation of clouds because here the air sinks rather than rises.

Heat domes:

• A heat dome occurs when an area of high-pressure stays over a region for days and weeks. It traps warm air, just like a lid on a pot, for an extended period.
• The longer that air remains trapped, the more the sun works to heat the air, producing warmer conditions with every passing day. Heat domes, if they last for a long period, may cause deadly heat waves.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/heat-domes-anticyclones-heat-waves-explained-8852775/

2. BHOOMI SAMMAN AWARD

TAG: GS 2: GOVERNANCE

THE CONTEXT: The President presented the Bhoomi Samman awards to nine state secretaries and 68 district collectors for their achievements in the implementation of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme.

EXPLANATION:

• Bhoomi Samman Awards aims to acknowledge and encourage outstanding performance in the implementation of the Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP).
• Digitisation increases transparency, and this mission of digitising land records will have a positive impact on rural development.
• The awards were given to nine state secretaries and 68 district collectors for achieving saturation of the core components of DILRMP.
• The digitisation process of land records and registration will help mitigate the huge pendency of court cases involving land disputes, cutting down the loss to the country’s economy due to projects being stalled over such litigations.
• It is expected to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of various services and benefits of the programmes of central and state departments related to agriculture and farmer welfare, chemical and fertilizer, public distribution system (PDS) etc.
• It is noted that the Department of Land Resources has achieved 94% digitisation targets pan-India and is aiming for 100% by March 31, 2024.

Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP):

• Digital India Land Records Modernization Programme (DILRMP) led to merger of two erstwhile Centrally Sponsored schemes of the Land Reforms (LR) Division

1. Computerisation of Land Records (CLR)
2. Strengthening of Revenue Administration and Updating of Land Records (SRA&ULR).

• The main aims of DILRMP are to create a system of updated land records, automated and automatic mutation, integration between textual and spatial records, inter-connectivity between revenue and registration
• It aims to replace the present deeds registration and presumptive title system with that of conclusive titling with title guarantee.
• The DILRMP has 3 major components
• Computerization of land record
• Survey/re-survey
• Computerization of Registration.
• Programme implementation: The State Governments/UT Administrations will implement the programme with financial and technical support from the Dept. of Land Resources, Government of India. The district will be taken as the unit of implementation, where all activities under the programme will converge.
• The citizen is expected to benefit from DILRMP in one or more of the following ways;
• Real-time land ownership records will be available to the citizen
• Free accessibility to the records will reduce the interface between the citizen and the Government functionaries, thereby reducing rent-seeking and harassment.
• Public-private partnership (PPP) mode of service delivery will further reduce citizen interface with Govt. machinery, while adding to the convenience
• Abolition of stamp papers and payment of stamp duty and registration fees through banks, etc., will also reduce interface with the Registration machinery
• The single-window service or the web-enabled “anytime-anywhere” access will save the citizen time and effort in obtaining RoRs, etc.

Source:https://www.deccanherald.com/national/president-murmu-presents-bhoomi-samman-awards-1238245.html

3. INDIA-JAPAN SEMICONDUCTOR PACT

TAG: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: India and Japan have signed a memorandum of understanding for developing the semiconductor ecosystem, covering manufacturing and research.

EXPLANATION:

• Japan has become the second Quad partner after the United States to sign an agreement with India for the joint development of the semiconductor ecosystem and maintain the resilience of its global supply chain.
• Both nations will also work together on government-to-government and industry-to-industry collaboration and set up an implementation organisation.
• The agreement is for semiconductor design, talent development, research into equipment, and to increase resilience in the supply chain. It aims semiconductor industry to become a USD 1 trillion industry from USD 650 billion at present.
• Partnership with Japan will also help India to move from assembly and advanced packaging of semiconductors to manufacturing.
• Further, the government might also easily focus on developing the semiconductor ecosystem below the 28-nanometer node as well going forward. In the entire 100% of semiconductor demand, close to 55% of demand is going to come from the larger nodes such as 40 nanometers, 60 nanometers, even 90 nanometers, 28 nanometers.

Japan’s strengths:

• Japan houses companies that are global leaders in the raw form of semiconductor wafers, chemicals and gases, lenses that are used in chip manufacturing equipment, display technologies etc.
• With around 100 semiconductor manufacturing plants, Japan is among the top five countries to have a semiconductor ecosystem.
• Collaboration with Japan for the development of semiconductors will help the government to attract Japanese companies to the Rs 76,000 crore semiconductor incentive scheme, thereby boosting the semiconductor ecosystem in the country.

India’ Strengths:

• Japan sees India as a partner where complementary strengths can be used, adding that India has over 50,000 design engineers.
• Cost competitiveness of manufacturing in India, market and talent base are the key things that will drive Japanese companies to invest in India with regard to the semiconductor and electronic ecosystem.

Semiconductor:

• A semiconductor is a substance that has specific electrical properties that enable it to serve as a foundation for computers and other electronic devices.
• It is typically a solid chemical element or compound that conducts electricity under certain conditions but not others.
• Elemental semiconductors include antimony, arsenic, boron, carbon, germanium, selenium, silicon, sulfur and tellurium. Silicon is the best known of these, forming the basis of most ICs.
• Common semiconductor compounds include gallium arsenide, indium antimonide and the oxides of most metals.
• Types: An N-type semiconductor carries current mainly in the form of negatively charged electrons, similar to the conduction of current in a wire. A P-type semiconductor carries current predominantly as electron deficiencies called holes. A hole has a positive electric charge, equal and opposite to the charge of an electron.

Government initiatives in the semiconductor sector:

• India currently imports all chips, and the market is estimated to touch USD 100 billion by 2025 from USD 24 billion now.
• In 2021, India announced its roughly USD 10 billion-dollar Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) schemeto encourage semiconductor and display manufacturing in the country.
• In 2021, MeitY also launched the Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Schemeto nurture at least 20 domestic companies involved in semiconductor design and facilitate them to achieve a turnover of more than Rs.1500 Crore in the next 5 years.
• Scheme for Promotion of Manufacturing of Electronic Components and Semiconductors (SPECS): It aims to strengthen the value chain for the manufacturing of electronic products in India. The target segment comprises of the downstream value chain of electronic products, i.e., electronic components, semiconductor/ display fabrication units, ATMP units, specialized sub-assemblies and capital goods for the manufacture of aforesaid goods. The scheme will lead to higher domestic value addition and strengthen the existing ecosystem of ESDM in India.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/electronics/india-japan-sign-pact-for-semiconductor-development/articleshow/101992248.cms

4. FLYASH IN SUNDARBANS

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Barges carrying fly ash from India to Bangladesh through the vulnerable Sundarban islands are triggering erosion in the river banks.

EXPLANATION:

• About 40 barges regularly traverse adjacent to the Indian Sundarbans, taking fly ash from Indian thermal power plants to Bangladesh, where it is used as raw material for cement production.
• Ghoramara Island erosion has been cited as proof by a scientist. It has been alleged the erosion has increased significantly since the barges started travelling close to the inhabited islands of the Sundarbans about a decade ago. These barges are triggering the high erosion in the river banks.
• However, senior officials from both IWAI and Kolkata Port Trust claimed the regular tidal waves and fluctuations, as well as strong winds and sea level rise, damaged river banks.
• A 2019-20 report by IWAI showed fly ash transport accounts for 10 per cent of traffic on all the national waterways.

Flyash and its regulations

• Fly ash is an unwanted unburnt residue of coal combustion in a coal thermal power plant. It is emitted along with flue gases during the burning of coal in a furnace and collected using the electrostatic precipitators.
• Fly ash consists of substantial amounts of silicon dioxide (SiO2), aluminium oxide (Al2O3), ferric oxide (Fe2O3) and calcium oxide (CaO).
• Uses: It is primarily known for improving the durability and workability of concrete mixes. It is also a filler in paints, adhesives, and metal and plastic composites. It is commonly used as structural fill for road construction, and fly ash can be used to make bricks, ceramic tiles, plaster, Portland cement, and ready-mix cement.

• Harmful effects: Fly ash contains mercury, cadmium, and arsenic. Without proper management, fly ash can pollute waterways, groundwater, drinking water, and air, posing a risk to humans, wildlife, and the environment. Using fly ash in construction materials instead of sending it to the landfill reduces the amount of hazardous waste affecting the environment. Substituting fly ash for a fourth or a third of the cement in concrete also decreases the CO₂ emissions generated by cement production, reducing the overall impact on the environment.
• Government initiatives and regulations:
• A web portal for monitoring fly ash generation and utilisation and a mobile-based application titled “ASHTRACK” has been launched by the Government.
• National Thermal Power Corporation: National Thermal Power Corporation Limited (NTPC) issued an Expression of interest (EOI) call earlier in 2021 for the sale of fly ash. Additionally, NTPC has worked with cement producers all throughout the nation to supply fly ash.
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana: The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban) has placed a strong emphasis on cutting-edge, ecologically friendly building techniques, like the utilization of fly ash bricks.
• Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban)has focused on new construction technologies such as using fly ash bricks that are innovative and environmentally friendly.
• Thermal power plants and lignite plants that do not utilise 100 per cent of the fly ash they generate in an “eco-friendly” way will now face penalties under a new set of rules notified by notification from the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

Sunderbans:

• The Sundarbans mangrove forest is one of the largest such forests in the world (140,000 ha), lies on the delta of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna rivers on the Bay of Bengal.
• It is adjacent to the border of India’s Sundarbans World Heritage ,Site inscribed in 1987.
• The Sundarbans is made up of around 100 islands that are almost evenly divided between human habitats and wild islands.
• The site is intersected by a complex network of tidal waterways, mudflats and small islands of salt-tolerant mangrove forests and presents an excellent example of ongoing ecological processes.
• The area is known for its wide range of fauna, including 260 bird species, the Bengal tiger and other threatened species, such as the estuarine crocodile and the Indian python.
• These have been identified as a climate impact hotspot. The islands are already being eroded due to the rapid rise in sea levels and tidal fluctuations.

Ghoramara island

• Ghoramara Island is an island 92 km south of Kolkata, India, in the Sundarban Delta complex of the Bay of Bengal.
• The island is small, roughly five square kilometres in area, and is quickly disappearing due to erosion and sea level rise.
• In the year 1903, this island was connected with Sagar Island. Now it is located at 18.36 nautical miles away from Haldia dock in the estuary of Hugli.
• Global warming has caused the rivers that pour down from the Himalayas and empty into the Bay of Bengal to swell and shift in recent decades, placing Sundarbans in danger.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

• IWAI is a statutory body which looks after the development & maintenance of national waterways in India.
• The Authority primarily undertakes projects for the development and maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grants received from the Ministry of Shipping.
• Its Head Office is in Noida, while regional offices are in Patna, Kolkata, Guwahati and Kochi.
• Functions related to National Waterways include Survey Navigation,Infrastructure and Regulations, Fairway Development, Pilotage and Coordination of IWT with other modes
• The general functions of IWAI include Carrying out hydrographic surveys, Developing consultancy services, Research & Development Classification of waterways and Standards & safety.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/environment/barges-carrying-fly-ash-from-india-to-bangladesh-eroding-sundarbans-bengal-minister-90742

5. GAGANYAAN’S SERVICE MODULE PROPULSION SYSTEM

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully tested the Gaganyaan Service Module Propulsion System (SMPS) at ISRO Propulsion Complex in Mahendragiri, Tamil Nadu.

EXPLANATION:

• The service module of Gaganyaan is a regulated bi-propellant-based propulsion system that caters to the requirements of the Orbital Module, performing orbit injection, circularisation, on-orbit control, and de-boost manoeuvring during the ascent phase.
• This test involved five liquid apogee motor (LAM) engines with a thrust of 440 N, and 16 reaction control system (RCS) thrusters with a thrust of 100 N.
• The 440 N thrust LAM engines provide the main propulsive force during the ascending phase, while the RCS thrusters ensure precise altitude correction.
• The hot test of the System Demonstration Model (SDM) emulated the fluid circuit of the Service Module Propulsion System, encompassing the propellant tank feed system, helium pressurisation system, flight-qualified thrusters, and control components.
• With the successful completion of the hot test, the SMPS demonstrated its performance in the full configuration.
• Moving forward, ISRO has scheduled five additional tests to demonstrate both nominal and off-nominal mission scenarios, reinforcing the rigour of testing.

Gaganyaan mission:

• Gaganyaan project envisages a demonstration of human spaceflight capability by launching a crew of 3 members to an orbit of 400 km for a 3 days mission and bringing them back safely to earth by landing in Indian sea waters.
• The project is accomplished through an optimal strategy by considering in-house expertise, experience of Indian industry, intellectual capabilities of Indian academia & research institutions, along with cutting-edge technologies available with international agencies.
• The pre-requisites for the Gaganyaan mission include the development of many critical technologies, including human-rated launch vehicle for carrying the crew safely to space, a Life Support System to provide earth-like environment to the crew in space, crew emergency escape provision and evolving crew management aspects for training, recovery and rehabilitation of crew.
• Various precursor missions are planned to demonstrate the Technology Preparedness Levels before carrying out the actual Human Space Flight mission.
• These demonstrator missions include Integrated AirDrop Tests (IADT), Pad Abort Tests (PAT) and Test Vehicle (TV) flights. Safety and reliability of all systems will be proven in unmanned missions preceding manned missions.

• LVM3 rocket – The well-proven and reliable heavy lift launcher of ISRO is identified as the launch vehicle for the Gaganyaan mission. It consists of solid stage, liquid stage and cryogenic stage.
• All systems in the LVM3 launch vehicle are re-configured to meet human rating requirements and christened Human Rated LVM3. HLVM3 will be capable of launching the Orbital Module to an intended Low Earth Orbit of 400 km.
• HLVM3 consists of a Crew Escape System (CES) powered by a set of quick-acting, high-burn rate solid motors, which ensures that the Crew Module, along with the crew, is taken to a safe distance in case of any emergency either at the launch pad or during the ascent phase.
• Orbital Module (OM) that will be Orbiting Earth comprises of Crew Module (CM) and Service Module (SM). OM is equipped with state-of-the-art avionics systems with adequate redundancy considering human safety.
• Crew Module is the habitable space with Earth-like environment in space for the crew. It is of double-walled construction consisting of a pressurized metallic Inner Structure and an unpressurised External Structure with a Thermal Protection System (TPS).
• It houses the crew interfaces, human-centric products, life support system, avionics and deceleration systems. It is also designed for re-entry to ensure the safety of the crew during descent till touchdown.
• The service Module will be used to provide necessary support to CM while in orbit. It is an unpressurized structure containing thermal systems, propulsion systems, power systems, avionics systems and deployment mechanisms.
• Human safety is of paramount importance in the Gaganyaan mission. In order to ensure the same, various new technologies comprising Engineering systems and Human-centric systems are being developed and realised.
• Crew training for Gaganyaan: India has collaborated with Russia for crew training. Astronaut Training Facility established in Bengaluru caters to Classroom training, Physical Fitness training, Simulator training and Flight suit training.
• Training modules cover academic courses, Gaganyaan Flight Systems, Micro-gravity familiarization through Parabolic Flights, Aero-medical training, Recovery & Survival training, mastering of Flight Procedures and training on Crew Training Simulators.
• Aeromedical training, Periodical flying practice and Yoga are also included as part of the training.

Source:https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/isro-successfully-tests-gaganyaan-service-module-propulsion-system/article67101045.ece

1. ZOMBIE FIRES

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: Canada’s extreme wildfire season offers a glimpse of new risks in a warmer, drier future. As global temperatures rise, zombie fires are also spreading farther north and into the Arctic.

EXPLANATION:

• Earlier, the blanket of wildfire smoke spread across large parts of the U.S. and Canada, signifying apocalyptic orange skies and air pollution levels.
• These fires are not just burning in trees and grasses. New research on the exceptional Arctic fire seasons of 2019 and 2020 points to fires moving into the ground as well. These underground fires are known as “zombie fires”.
• First, as the organic-rich Arctic soils dry up because of changing climate conditions, they can burn slowly and release vast amounts of smoke into the atmosphere.
• Second, soil fires that spread underground are harder for firefighters to tame and extinguish, thus demanding more resources for longer periods of time.
• In areas where carbon-rich peatlands are common, people are dealing with fires smouldering to depths dozens of feet underground.
• As these soil fires don’t die easily, as recent research finds that Arctic soil fires can smoulder through the winter and reignite during early spring when temperatures rise, hence the nickname “zombie fires.”

What is a zombie fire?

• Most people picture wildfires as catastrophic flames consuming trees and grasses.
• Zombie fires are ground fires that do not flame but burn more slowly and have the tendency to spread deep into the ground and spread laterally.
• The result is that ground-smoldering fires are not only less visible, but they are also less accessible and require digging up and dousing with lots of water.
• These smouldering fires also produce more smoke because of their lower temperature of combustion.
• Ultra-fine particles in smoke are particularly harmful to the respiratory and cardiovascular systems and can be carried far and wide by winds.
• Because of the slow combustion process and the abundance of fuel in the form of carbon and oxygen, smouldering ground fires can also burn for months and sometimes years.
• Some of these ground fires can become so massive that they release smoke plumes that cover vast geographical regions.
• In 1997, peat fires in Indonesia sent dangerous levels of smoke across Southeast Asia and parts of Australia and increased carbon emissions. They were ignited by slash-and-burn activities to plant palm plantations and amplified by drought conditions during a severe El Niño event.

Reasons:

• Wildfires have been a natural part of the northern forest and tundra ecosystems for thousands of years.
• Rising temperature: The Arctic is warming nearly four times faster than the rest of the world, a phenomenon known as Arctic amplification, i.e. the Arctic has already exceeded a 2 C (3.6 F) increase compared with pre-industrial times.
• Changes in atmospheric circulation: It creates periods of extreme heat, dry out vegetation and reduces moisture in soils, and, importantly, leads to more frequent lightning strikes that can spark blazes.
• Lightning: Although lightning remains infrequent at very high latitudes, it is expected to increase and expand over larger territories into the far north as the climate warms and generates more storms that can produce lightning. In 2022, thousands of lightning strikes helped spark one of Alaska’s worst fire seasons on record.
• Peatleads: As the Arctic warms and fires move farther northward, peat soils rich in dead plant material burn at an accelerated rate. Northern ecosystems store twice as much carbon in their peat and permafrost as the atmosphere, and both are increasingly vulnerable to fire.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/-zombie-fires-in-the-arctic-canada-s-extreme-wildfire-season-offers-a-glimpse-of-new-risks-in-a-warmer-drier-future-90711

2. BACTERIOPHAGES

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: With antibiotic resistance rising, scientists think bacteriophages which hunt and kill bacteria could cure bacterial infections.

EXPLANATION:

• Outbreaks of viral diseases, such as smallpox, influenza, HIV, and COVID-19, have killed billions and fundamentally shaped societies throughout human history.
• But not all viruses are bad; similar to bacteria, “good” or “friendly” viruses can also be beneficial for health.
• Scientists now talk of a virome which is all the different types of viruses that a human body hosts in bodies which contribute to health, much like the bacterial microbiome.
• A person has 380 trillion virus particles living (or existing) in the body right now, i.e. 10 times more than the number of bacteria.
• These viruses lurk in our lungs and blood, live on our skin and linger inside the microbes in our guts.
• There are viruses that kill cancer cells and help break down tumours, others that train our immune system and help them fight pathogens and even some that control gene expression in pregnancy.

Bacteriophages: Anti-bacterial guard dogs

• The vast majority of viruses inside us are bacteriophages which are the viruses that kill bacteria in our microbiomes.
• Bacteriophages, also known as phages, are harmless to human cells as they do not recognize them as their bacterial prey.

Mechanism of Bacteriophages:

• They work by hunting down bacteria and attaching themselves to the surface of a bacterial cell before injecting viral DNA material into the cell.
• The viral DNA then replicates inside the bacteria, sometimes by borrowing the DNA replication hardware of the bacteria.
• Once enough new viruses have been created inside the bacterial cell, the cell then bursts to release the new viral particles.
• All this takes just 30 minutes, meaning one virus can become many in a couple of hours.

Phage therapy:

• The advantages of phages lie in their effectiveness against every multi-resistant pathogen. Phages are extremely precise in their elimination of bacterial strains that won’t disturb the gut microbiome, as is the case with antibiotics.
• Phages could be a huge boon in our fight against antibacterial resistance.
• Due to the scarcity of antibiotics in Soviet-era Russia, phages were used to treat bacterial infections, and their use has continued in countries like Georgia, Ukraine and Russia for decades.
• However, Phage therapy must be precisely tailored to the bacteria that cause an infection in a patient, as bacteria do also develop resistance to phage therapies.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/bacteriophages-good-viruses-fight-bacteria-8848914/

3. WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT INDEX (WEI) AND THE GLOBAL GENDER PARITY INDEX (GGPI)

TAG: GS 1: SOCIETY; GS 2: SOCIAL JUSTICE

THE CONTEXT: According to a UN report, only 1% of women live in countries with high gender parity, and female empowerment. In India, women empowerment, gender parity was found to be ‘low’ despite ‘medium’ human development.

EXPLANATION:

• They are a first-of-its-kind report that presents a comprehensive analysis of the progress made in the human development of women and girls was jointly created by two UN agencies, i.e. UN Women and UN Development Programme.
• The bodies collated data from 114 countries and analysed them based on the twin indices of the Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) and the Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI).
• This report highlights the global challenges faced by women and provides a roadmap for targeted interventions and policy reforms. The report introduces two new indices:
• The Women’s Empowerment Index (WEI) measures women’s power and freedom to make choices.
• The Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI) evaluates the status of women relative to men in core dimensions of human development and exposes gaps in parity between women and men.
• Combined, these indices offer a comprehensive assessment of countries’ progress in achieving gender equality.
• The WEI focuses solely on women, measuring their power and freedom to make choices and seize opportunities in life.

Findings of the report:

• According to the report by the United Nations, only an abysmal 1% of women across the world live in countries that have managed to achieve both high women empowerment and gender parity.
• The report noted leadership roles and decision-making still mostly lie with men and are unavailable to women.
• As per WEI, on average, women are empowered to achieve only 60 per cent of their full potential.
• As measured by the GGPI, women were also found to achieve 28 per cent less than men across key human development dimensions.
• None of the 114 countries analysed achieved full women’s empowerment or complete gender parity.
• More than 90 per cent of the global population of women live in countries with low or middle women’s empowerment and low or middle performance in achieving gender parity.
• In India, women’s empowerment and gender parity were both found to be ‘low’, although it was assessed to be in the ‘medium’ category in terms of human development.
• It was found that about 8 per cent of women and girls live in countries with low or middle women’s empowerment but high performance in achieving gender parity.
• The report identified areas where comprehensive policy action is needed:

1. Health policies: Support and promote long and healthy lives for all, with a focus on universal access to sexual and reproductive health
2. Equality in education: Address gaps in skills and quality of education, especially in fields such as STEM, to empower women and girls in the digital age
3. Work-life balance and support for families: Invest in policies and services that address work-life balance, including affordable quality childcare services, parental leave schemes, and flexible working arrangements
4. Women’s equal participation: Set targets and action plans for achieving gender parity in all spheres of public life and eliminate discriminatory laws and regulations that hold women back
5. Violence against women: Implement comprehensive measures focused on prevention, changing social norms, and eliminating discriminatory laws and policies

WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT INDEX (WEI)

• The WEI is a composite index designed to measure progress in the multi-dimensional aspects of women’s empowerment.
• Empowerment is considered a factor of both women’s achievements as well as of gender parity with men.
• WEI measures progress on women’s empowerment by aggregating results across five key areas (or “domains”). Each domain is comprised of a series of metrics (or “indicators”) which quantifies performance in this domain.

THE GLOBAL GENDER PARITY INDEX (GGPI)

• It is a socioeconomic index usually designed to measure the human development of males and females.
• It measures attempts to eliminate gender disparities and emphasizes the plight of girls with unequal access in third-world countries.
• It is often used in order to identify nations and regions that are in need of economic development and equality.
• For any development indicator, one can define the GPI relative to this indicator by dividing its value for females by its value for males.
• A GPI value less than one is an indication that gender parity favours males, while a GPI value greater than one designates that gender parity is in favour of females.
• The closer a GPI is to one, the closer a country is to achieving equality of access between males and females. A nation is said to have achieved gender parity when its GPI value falls within the range of 0.97 and 1.03.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/world/only-1-women-live-in-countries-with-high-gender-parity-female-empowerment-un-report-90685

4. U.S.-INDIA STRATEGIC CLEAN ENERGY PARTNERSHIP (SCEP)

TAG: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: India and the US emphasized the need for joint action and collaboration to navigate the global energy transition during the Ministerial meeting of the U.S.-India Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP).

EXPLANATION:

Highlights of the meeting:

• A joint statement said that both sides renewed their commitment to work towards a just, orderly and sustainable energy transition, which prioritizes access to reliable, affordable, and clean energy supply.
• The statement said that during the meeting, both the countries noted the growing importance of bilateral energy cooperation between the countries while underscoring the critical importance of bilateral clean energy engagement.
• They highlight the achievements of the SCEP in strengthening energy security, creating opportunities for clean energy innovation, addressing climate change and creating employment generation opportunities.
• They reviewed the mandates of SCEP, which over the years has deepened collaboration across a wide breadth of clean energy work streams, including clean and renewable energy, energy efficiency, and increased collaboration in emerging technologies.
• Both sides recognised the importance of producing green/clean hydrogen as a critical energy source for global decarbonisation and agreed to support each other’s national hydrogen missions.
• The sides also acknowledged that successfully achieving ambitious climate and clean energy aspirations necessitates coordinated efforts on development of energy transition roadmaps, capacity building, job skilling, and sharing of best practices at all levels of government.
• In that context, the sides agreed to work toward development of net zero villages in India to support the clean energy transition.”

Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP):

• A high-level U.S.- India Climate and Clean Energy Agenda 2030 Partnership was announced jointly by the Indian Prime Minister and US President on the margins of the April 2021 Leaders’ Summit on Climate.
• It aims to advance shared climate and clean energy goals.
• The Agenda 2030 Partnership includes two tracks in the form of the Strategic Clean Energy Partnership (SCEP) and the Climate Action and Finance Mobilization Dialogue.
• The SCEP was earlier established as the Strategic Energy Partnership in 2018 and had replaced the U.S.-India Energy Dialogue, the previous intergovernmental engagement for energy cooperation.
• The SCEP advances energy security and innovation with greater emphasis on electrification and decarbonization of processes and end uses, scaling up emerging clean energy technologies while finding solutions for hard-to decarbonize sectors.
• Engagement with the private sector and other stakeholders will remain a priority.

• The Strategic Clean Energy Partnership’s Renewable Energy Pillar objectives are aligned to drive faster deployment of renewable energy for inclusive and resilient development, taking into account national circumstances and sustainable development priorities.
• The overarching goal is to enhance equitable economic development, universal energy access, and energy security in India, with broader benefits through South Asia and the Indo-Pacific region as a whole.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/industry/energy/india-us-stress-on-joint-action-for-global-energy-transition-11689709121376.html

5. BURA CHAPORI WILDLIFE SANCTUARY

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Recently, in  Assam’s Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary, violence erupted, leaving one woman, Rahima Khatun, dead and six others, including three forest guards, injured.

EXPLANATION:

• The picturesque location first made news in February,2023 when it was at the centre of a massive eviction exercise during which the forest department cleared 1,282 hectares of land where more than 2,000 people had set up homes.

Bura Chapori Wildlife Sanctuary

• It is a protected area located in the state of Assam in India. It is located in Sonipat district, 40 km from Tezpur town and 181 km away from Guwahati.
• This wildlife sanctuary covers 44.06 km2 on the south bank of the Brahmaputra River.
• The area was declared a Reserved forest in 1974; it became a sanctuary in 1995.
• It comprises of a mosaic of wet alluvial grassland, riparian and semi-evergreen forests dotted by wetland and river systems.
• It forms an integral part of the Laokhowa-Burachapori ecosystem and is a notified buffer of the Kaziranga Tiger reserve.

Biodiversity

• This sanctuary is home to the different mammals. Reptiles and fish are also found here.
• Mammals: Great Indian one-horned rhinoceros, tiger, leopard, wild buffalo, hog deer, wild pig, and elephants.
• Several wetlands within the wildlife sanctuary also make it an ideal breeding place for several species of migratory birds during the winter season.
• Bird: Bengal Florican, Black-necked Stork, Mallard, Open billed Stork, Teal, and Whistling Duck among others.
• The grassland is also rich in various kinds of medicinal herbs and plants.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/in-assam-eviction-flare-up-leaves-mother-of-2-dead-what-was-the-need-to-shoot-8847244/

1. ANTHROPOCENE EPOCH

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: In a major development that could change the Earth’s official geological timeline, geologists have said sediments at Crawford Lake in Canada’s Ontario have provided evidence of the beginning of the Anthropocene epoch.

EXPLANATION:

• Geologists revealed the findings after analysing the lake’s bottom sediments, which have, over the years, captured the fallouts of large-scale burning of fossil fuels, explosion of nuclear weapons and dumping of plastic and fertilisers on land and in water bodies.
• The data show a clear shift from the mid-20th century, taking Earth’s system beyond the normal bounds of the Holocene, i.e. the epoch that started at the end of the last ice age 11,700 years ago.

What is the Anthropocene epoch?

• Anthropocene epoch began sometime between 1950 and 1954, is a proposed epoch that denotes the present geological time interval, in which the Earth’s ecosystem has gone through radical changes due to human impact.
• The Anthropocene epoch as a term was first coined by Nobel Prize-winning chemist Paul Crutzen and biology professor Eugene Stoermer in 2000 to denote the present geological time interval.
• This epoch is caused especially by the onset of the Industrial Revolution.
• There are numerous phenomena associated with this epoch, such as global warming, sea-level rise, ocean acidification,the advent of deadly heat waves, and deterioration of the biosphere, among others.
• Many of these changes will persist for millennia or longer and are altering the trajectory of the Earth System, some with permanent effects.
• They are being reflected in a distinctive body of geological strata now accumulating, with potential to be preserved into the far future.

What have the geologists found?

• The 79 feet deep and 25,800 square-foot-wide Crawford Lake was chosen for examination by the geologists over 11 other potential sites as its layers of sediment preserved the annual impact of human activities on the Earth’s soil, atmosphere and biology.
• Scientist who has studied that lake, said there are distinct and multiple signals starting around 1950 in the water body, which showed that “the effects of humans overwhelm the Earth system”.
• Scientists found that the presence of plutonium due to detonation of nuclear weapons which indicates unique global ‘fingerprint’ of human behavior on our planet.
• Anthropocene Working Group(AWG) plans to present a proposal in front of the Subcommission on Quaternary Stratigraphy (SQS), a constituent body of the International Commission on Stratigraphy (ICS), and if it passes, it will go to the ICS for the next round of approval.
• Both SQS and ICS are part of the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), which represents more than 1 million geoscientists across the globe. A final approval might come at the 37th International Geological Congress in Busan, South Korea.

How is the Earth’s geological time divided?

• The planet’s geological time scale is divided into five broad categories: aeons, epochs, eras, periods, epochs and ages.
• While aeon is the broadest category of geological time, age is the smallest category.
• Each of these categories is further divided into sub-categories. For instance, Earth’s history is characterised by four aeons, including Hadeon (oldest), Archean, Proterozoic, and Phanerozoic (youngest).
• Most of the boundaries on the geological time scale correspond to the origination or extinction of particular kinds of fossils.
• This is also related to something called the principle of faunal succession, which states that different kinds of fossils characterise different intervals of time.
• As of now, officially, we are in the Phanerozoic aeon, Cenozoic era, Quaternary period, Holocene epoch and the Meghalayan age.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/anthropocene-epoch-meaning-significance-8831445/

2. EL NINO

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: The UN World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has confirmed that El Nino conditions have arrived and are expected to become moderate to strong as they develop over the coming year.

EXPLANATION:

• El Nino–Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is the hot phase of a natural fluctuation in the Earth’s climate system.
• It normally lasts for a couple of years and is happening on top of a long-term trend of human-driven global warming.

EL nino Coditions:

• An El Niño event is typically declared when sea surface temperatures in the tropical eastern Pacific rise to at least 0.5C above the long-term average.
• In normal conditions, surface water in the Pacific Ocean is cooler in the east and warmer in the west.
• The “trade winds” tend to blow east-to-west, and heat from the sun progressively warms the waters as they move in this direction.
• During El Niño events, these winds weaken or reverse, sending warm surface waters eastwards instead.

Impacts of El Nino:

• Short-term heat extremes will continue to destabilise systems like coral reefs and the Amazon rainforest, which are thought to be vulnerable to tipping.
• With global average temperatures already high this year, El Niño strengthening into next year could make 2024 the hottest year on record. El Niño can add up to 0.2°C to global temperatures.
• Increasing global warming by continuing to burn fossil fuels will also make future El Niño events more intense
• The WMO says it is now very likely that the Earth’s temperature will temporarily exceed 1.5°C above the pre-industrial average by 2027, which is promised to limit in the Paris Agreement in 2015.
• El Nino events profoundly influence extreme weather events around the world, with far-reaching consequences for food production, water availability, and the well-being of both people and ecosystems.
• With the oceans absorbing around 93 per cent of the additional heat from global warming, El Ninos are becoming stronger.

El Nino and Tipping points

• This new El Niño event will directly trigger climate tipping points. El Niño events combined with human-driven global warming will continue to break temperature records, and there is high chance of tipping points being crossed.
• The tipping point is a self-sustaining shift in the climate system that locks in devastating changes once critical warming levels are passed. It is a critical threshold that, when crossed, leads to large and often irreversible changes in the climate system.
• Recent research led that several of these climate tipping points become likely beyond 1.5°C and can’t be ruled out even at current warming of around 1.2°C.
• Tipping points can also lock in extra global warming by amplifying greenhouse gas emissions from natural sources.

El Nino impact on India:

• India’s vital monsoon rains can be disrupted by an El Nino, which is a major concern for crop production.
• India’s monsoon was delayed, which meant far lower rainfall across the subcontinent in early June and a vicious heatwave.
• A delayed and weak monsoon is usually the case when an El Nino develops in the (northern hemisphere) Spring, as has been the case this year after three consecutive years of La Nina.
• Historically, at least half of the instances of El Nino have been directly linked to droughts during the summer monsoon season.
• The impact of these events serves as a stark reminder of the far-reaching effects that escalating extreme weather events can have on communities and economies.
• This increase is attributed to the global warming-induced rise in atmospheric moisture content.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/climate-change/what-el-nino-means-for-the-world-s-perilous-climate-tipping-points-90528

3. PLACES OF WORSHIP ACT, 1991

TAG: GS 2: POLITY

THE CONTEXT: The Supreme Court gave the Centre “sufficient time” till October 31 to clarify its stand on the validity of the Places of Worship Act, which protects the identity and character of religious places as they were on Independence Day.

EXPLANATION:

• The Ayodhya judgment of the Supreme Court had found that the 1991 Act spoke “to our history and to the future of the nation. In preserving the character of places of public worship, the Parliament has mandated in no uncertain terms that history and its wrongs shall not be used as instruments to oppress the present and the future”.
• However, last year Solicitor General, who appeared for the government, stated that remarks made in the Ayodhya judgment about the 1991 Act would not prevent the court from examining the validity of the statute now.
• It was argued that the Act were merely ‘obiter dicta” and did not have the force of law.
• A slew of petitions has been filed in the apex court against the Act, contending that the law has barred Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs from approaching courts to “re-claim” their places of worship.
• The challenge to the Act questions the legality of the prohibition it imposes on any community laying claim to the places of worship of another.

Arguments by petitioners:

• As the Act deals with subject matters mentioned in the State List of 7th schedule of the Constitution, petitioners questioned that whether the parliament was legislatively competent to enact the act.
• Petitioner stated that the act is violative of fundamental rights as Article 14, 21, 25, 26 and 29(1) of the Indian constitution.
• It denies access to the Court of justice for peaceful resolution of disputes.
• Abatement of pending suits and other legal proceedings would result in a decision of cases by legislative fiat and without following any procedure of adjudication is contrary to basic feature of Rule of Law and Judicial Review

The Places of Worship Act:

• The law was enacted to freeze the status of all places of worship in the country on August 15, 1947. An exception was made to keep the Babri Masjid-Ramjanmabhoomi dispute out of its ambit as the structure was then the subject of litigation.
• The Act says that no person shall convert any place of worship of any religious denomination into one of a different denomination or section. It contains a declaration that a place of worship shall continue to be as it was on August 15, 1947.
• Significantly, it prohibits any legal proceedings from being instituted regarding the character of a place of worship. It declares that all suits and appeals pending before any court or authority on the cut-off date regarding the conversion of the character of a place of worship shall abate.
• In other words, all pending cases will come to an end, and no further proceedings can be filed. However, any suit or proceedings relating to any conversion of status that happened after the cut-off date can continue.

In which cases will the act not apply?

• It will not apply to ancient and historical monuments and archaeological sites and remains that are covered by the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958.
• It will also not apply to any suit that has been finally settled or disposed of, any dispute that has been settled by the parties before the 1991 Act came into force, or to the conversion of any place that took place by agreement.
• The Act specifically exempted from its purview the place of worship commonly referred to at the time as Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid in Ayodhya. It was done to allow the pending litigation to continue as well as to preserve the scope for a negotiated settlement.
• Anyone contravening the prohibition on converting the status of a place of worship is liable to be imprisoned for up to three years and a fine. Those abetting or participating in a criminal conspiracy to commit this offence will also get the same punishment.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/validity-of-places-of-worship-act-sc-gives-centre-time-to-clarify-stand-adjourns-case-to-october-31/article67066721.ece

4. SCHEME FOR CAPACITY BUILDING IN TEXTILES SECTOR (SAMARTH) SCHEME

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: In a recent meeting, the Empowered Committee for the Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector (SAMARTH) announced significant developments to enhance skill development in the textiles industry.

EXPLANATION:

• The textiles ministry said that 43 new implementing partners had been empanelled under the scheme with an additional training target of 75,000 beneficiaries and a 5% increment in support to implementing partners.
• The government has partnered with 157 textile industries, industry associations, 16 central and state government agencies and three sectoral organisations to undertake training programmes under Scheme for Capacity Building in Textiles Sector (SAMARTH).
• The funding pattern has also been revised with an increment of 5% in cost norms, which will give much-needed additional financial support to industries imparting skills under this scheme.

SAMARTH Scheme:

• Samarth is a demand-driven and placement-oriented umbrella skilling programme of the Ministry of Textiles.
• The implementation period of the scheme is up to March 2024.
• The scheme was formulated under the broad skilling policy framework adopted by M/o Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.
• Samarth aims to incentivize and supplement the efforts of the industry in creating jobs in the organized textile and related sectors, covering the entire value chain of textiles, excluding Spinning and Weaving.
• Samarth also caters to the upskilling/ re-skilling requirement of traditional textile sectors such as handloom, handicraft, silk and jute.
• The scheme is implemented through Implementing Partners (IPs) comprising of Textile Industry/ Industry Associations, State government agencies and Sectoral Organizations of Ministry of Textiles like DC/ Handloom, DC/Handicrafts and Central Silk Board.
• Samarth has been formulated with advanced features such as Aadhaar Enabled Biometric Attendance System (AEBAS), Training of Trainers (ToT), and CCTV recording of the training programme.
• It is equipped with a dedicated call centre with a helpline number, mobile app, Web-based Management Information System (MIS), online monitoring of the training process etc.
• The major processes/procedures adopted in the implementation of the scheme are: Training Centres proposed by the implementing partners are to be physically verified through dedicated Government agencies.
• Furthermore, a total of 184 courses aligned with the National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF) have been adopted under the scheme across various textile segments .

National Skill Qualification Framework (NSQF):

• It is a nationally integrated education and competency-based framework that enables persons to acquire desired competency levels.
• It organizes qualifications according to a series of levels of knowledge, skills and aptitude.
• These levels are graded from one to ten, and are defined in terms of learning outcomes which the learner must possess regardless of whether they were acquired through formal, non-formal or informal learning.
• It provides vocational education, vocational training, general education and technical education, thus linking one level of learning to another higher level.

Source: https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/garments-/ textiles/government-adds-43-new-partners-to-implement-samarth-5-higher-support/articleshow/101676263.cms

5. INDIA US COLLABORATION ON CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY

TAG: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: The Ministry of Science & Technology said that India and the United States jointly launched a call for collaborative proposals on “Critical and Emerging Technology: Quantum Technologies and Artificial Intelligence for Transforming Lives”.

EXPLANATION:

• The Indo-US Science and Technology Forum (IUSSTF) and the Secretariat for USISTEF have designed the program, which aims to foster technology innovation and entrepreneurship in commercially viable and socially relevant areas.
• The announcement comes in the wake of the Indian Prime Minister’s recent visit to the United States, where he emphasized the need for a new chapter in bilateral comprehensive and global strategic partnership.
• The initiative reflects the commitment of both nations to carry forward the decisions made by the leaders and enhance cooperation in critical and emerging technologies. It highlights the importance of technology partnerships in the future, particularly in the areas of artificial intelligence (AI) and quantum technologies.
• Investments in AI and quantum technology hold the potential to address global challenges and bring transformative advancements in various sectors such as healthcare, agriculture, and climate change.
• Earlier cooperation includes the strategic framework being developed by NASA and ISRO for human spaceflight cooperation, including India’s participation in NASA’s astronaut program. India’s signing of the Artemis Accords, which envisions collaborative efforts in space exploration for the benefit of humanity.
• It will provide a significant boost to the domestic as well as the US priorities, looking at various facets of Sustainable Development Goals (SDG).

Quantum Computing: 

• It uses phenomena in quantum physics to create new ways of computing. It explains the behavior of energy and material on the atomic and subatomic levels.
• It involves Unlike a normal computer bit, which can be either 0 or 1, a qubit can exist in a multidimensional state. 
• The basic properties of quantum computing are superposition, entanglement, and interference.

1. Superposition:  It is the ability of a quantum system to be in multiple states simultaneously.
2. Entanglement: It means the two members of a pair (Qubits) exist in a single quantum state.
3. Interference:  Qubits can be in more than one place at any given time and also an individual particle, as a photon can cross its own trajectory and interfere with the direction of its path.

Artificial Intelligence:

• It is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition and machine vision.
• AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labelled training data, analyzing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions about future states.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/indiaus-launch-call-for-proposals-on-critical-and-emerging-technology-11689191486315.html

1. HINDU UNDIVIDED FAMILY AND UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

TAG: GS 1: SOCIETY, GS 2: POLITY

THE CONTEXT: The Law Commission of India has recently initiated a fresh deliberation on the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and solicited public views on the same. This has resulted in a debate over the institution of Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) and its separate treatment under the tax laws of the country.

EXPLANATION:

Hindu Undivided Family and its tax structure:

• The concept of HUF is closely tied to the concepts of joint family and coparcenary. This is unique to Hindu personal law (deemed to include Jains, Buddhists & Sikhs).
• The existence of the Hindu Undivided Family as a legal entity is based on an acknowledgment of local customs during the British Raj.
• The HUF was seen as an institution which operated on a strong sense of blood ties and kinship, with a view to jointly exercise control over familial property among Hindu families.
• It gave way for family business arrangements to be based on Hindu personal laws rather than contractual arrangements.
• HUF as a legal entity has always portrayed a dual identity one of a family-backed institution and the other of an income-generating entity, solely for the purposes of maintenance of the family.

Tax structure related to HUF:

• As per the Income Tax provisions, the HUF is a family which consists of all persons lineally descended from a common ancestor and includes their wives and unmarried daughters.
• A HUF has its own Permanent Account Number (PAN) and files tax returns independent of members.
• The HUF consists of the ‘karta’ typically the eldest male member of the family with others in the family being coparceners. The ‘karta’ manages the day-to-day affairs of the HUF. Children are coparceners of their father’s HUF.
• Income Tax Act, 1886 which specifically recognised the HUF under the term “person”.
• When the income tax regime was overhauled in 1922, the idea of the HUF as a distinct category of tax payer was incorporated into the law. The Income Tax Act, 1922 formed the basis of the post-independence Income Tax Act, 1961, which is currently in force and recognises the HUF as a person under Section 2(31)(ii)

How Hindu Undivided Families receive beneficial tax treatment

• From 1922 to 1961, there was a practice of granting an additional exemption limit to the HUF when compared with other forms of taxpayers (including individuals).
• This resulted in the HUF paying lesser tax than other similarly placed taxpayers, despite earning the income in the same manner as others. This preferential exemption regime was done away with under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
• The institution of the HUF as a separate tax entity provides an avenue for Hindu families to reduce their tax burden in a number of ways.
• Lastly, Section 10(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 provides that any sum received by an individual as a member of the HUF out of the HUF income is not to be included in her total income.
• Additionally, the HUF is entitled to claim expenses, exemptions and several deductions from its taxable income. This further reduces the tax burden of a Hindu family.

Impacts of Uniform Civil Code on Hindu Undivided Family:

• Granting an additional tax treatment which lowers the tax burden only on the basis of religion is arbitrary and contradict Article 14 of the Constitution.
• If the UCC is ultimately implemented, the concept of HUF is tend to be dismissed.
• This may need an amendment in the Income Tax Act on the similar line as contained in the “Kerala Joint Hindu Family System (Abolition) Act, 1975” which provided that all the institutions of HUF will not be recognised in the state of Kerala.
• So, not only the provisions about the rights of persons taking birth after coming into force of UCC but also provisions about the existing joint family will have to be made either under the UCC or under the Income Tax Laws.
• The law may provide that all the assets of erstwhile HUF shall be deemed to have been divided and distributed amongst all the members who are entitled to get a share in the assets of the HUF.
• The properties cannot be divided in pieces, a deemed partition would be assumed and all the members shall hold the immovable property as tenant in common and a member will become a full-fledged owner for his share of the joint family property.

UNIFORM CIVIL CODE

• In India the purpose of Uniform Civil code is to replace the personal laws based on the scriptures and customs of each major religious community in the country with a common set of rules governing every citizen.

Indian constitution on uniform civil code:

• A uniform civil code will mean a set of common personal laws for all citizens. Currently, for example, there are different personal laws for Hindus and Muslims. Personal law covers property, marriage and divorce, inheritance and succession.
• Article 44 of the Constitution calls upon the State to endeavour towards securing a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.
• It falls within Part IV of the Constitution titled as Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP) and states that The State shall endeavor to secure for the citizens a uniform civil code throughout the territory of India.
• There are a number of cases where the Supreme Court has referred to Article 44 and the concept of uniform civil code, mainly to highlight the monotonous attitude of the executive and the legislature in the implementation of the directive.

International scenario on uniform civil code:

• Israel, Japan, France and Russia are strong today because of their sense of oneness which we have yet to develop and propagate.
• Virtually all countries have uniform civil code or for that matter uniform law- civil or criminal.
• The European nations and US have a secular law that applies equally and uniformly to all citizens irrespective of their religion.
• The Islamic countries have a uniform law based on shariah which applies to all individuals irrespective of their religion.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-law/expert-explains-hindu-undivided-family-ucc-8823492/

2. CHANDRAYAAN-3 MISSION

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Chandrayaan-3 will be the world’s first mission to soft-land near the lunar south pole. All the previous spacecrafts have landed a few degrees latitude north or south of the lunar equator.

EXPLANATION:

• Chandrayan-3 is set to be launched from Andhra Pradesh’s Sriharikota as, India’s third lunar mission.
• It is a follow-up to the Chandrayaan-2 mission, which partially failed after its lander and rover couldn’t execute a soft-landing on the Moon.
• Chandrayaan-3 will reach the lunar orbit almost a month after its launch, and its lander, Vikram, and rover, Pragyaan, are likely to land on the Moon.
• Notably, the landing site of the latest mission is more or less the same as the Chandrayaan-2e near the south pole of the moon at 70 degrees latitude.
• The furthest that any spacecraft has gone from the equator was Surveyor 7, launched by NASA, which made a moon landing way back in 1968. This spacecraft landed near 40 degrees south latitude.

Why hasn’t any spacecraft ever landed near the lunar south pole?

• Most of the landings on the Moon so far have happened in the equatorial region.
• Even China’s Chang’e 4, which became the first spacecraft to land on the far side of the moon the side that does not face the earth landed near the 45-degree latitude.
• It is easier and safer to land near the equator. The terrain and temperature are more hospitable and conducive for a long and sustained operation of instruments.
• The surface here is even and smooth, very steep slopes are almost absent, and there are fewer hills or craters.
• Sunlight is present in abundance, at least on the side facing the earth, thus offering a regular supply of energy to solar-powered instruments.
• The polar regions of the Moon, however, are a very different, and difficult, terrain. Many parts lie in a completely dark region where sunlight never reaches, and temperatures can go below 230 degrees Celsius.
• Lack of sunlight and extremely low temperatures create difficulty in the operation of instruments. In addition, there are large craters all over the place, ranging from a few centimetres in size to those extending to several thousands of kilometres.

Why do scientists want to explore the lunar south pole?

• Due to their rugged environment, the polar regions of the Moon have remained unexplored.
• There are indications of the presence of ice molecules in substantial amounts in the deep craters in this region.
• India’s 2008 Chandrayaan-1 mission indicated the presence of water on the lunar surface with the help of its two instruments onboard.
• In addition, the extremely cold temperatures here mean that anything trapped in the region would remain frozen in time, without undergoing much change. The rocks and soil in Moon’s north and south poles could therefore provide clues to the early Solar System.

Why don’t some parts of the lunar polar regions receive any sunlight?

• Unlike the Earth, whose spin axis is tilted with respect to the plane of the Earth’s solar orbit by 23.5 degrees, the Moon’s axis tilts only 1.5 degrees. Because of this unique geometry, sunlight never shines on the floors of a number of craters near the lunar north and south poles. These areas are known as Permanently Shadowed Regions, or PSRs.
• In a 2019 report, NASA said, “Water that happens to find its way into PSRs may remain there for long periods of time.
• Data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, robotic spacecraft currently orbiting the Moon which measures temperatures across the Moon indicate that some surfaces are cold enough so that water is stable at the surface.

Chandrayaan mission of India:

Chandrayaan 1:

• Chandrayaan-1 was the first lunar space probe of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO).
• It found water on the Moon. It mapped the Moon in infrared, visible, and X-ray light from lunar orbit and used reflected radiation to prospect for various elements, minerals, and ice.
• It was launched in 2008 by Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle launched, from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre on Sriharikota Island, Andhra Pradesh state.
• It launched a small craft, the Moon Impact Probe (MIP), that was designed to test systems for future landings and study the thin lunar atmosphere before crashing on the Moon’s surface.
• MIP impacted near the south pole, but, before it crashed, it discovered small amounts of water in the Moon’s atmosphere.

Chandrayaan 2:

• Chandrayaan-2 launched in, 2019, from Sriharikota by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle Mark III.
• The spacecraft consisted of an orbiter, a lander, and a rover. The orbiter will circle the Moon in a polar orbit for one year at a height of 100 km.
• The mission’s Vikram lander was planned to land in the south polar region where water ice could be found under the surface.
• Vikram carried the small Pragyan rover. Both Vikram and Pragyan were designed to operate for 1 lunar day (14 Earth days).
• India would have been the fourth country to have landed a spacecraft on the Moon after the United States, Russia, and China if landed properly.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-sci-tech/chandrayaan-3-moon-south-pole-significance-8823703/

3. BATTERY ELECTRIC VEHICLES (BEVs)

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Battery electric vehicles are at the heart of the government’s push for net zero. As it is clear that electrification is the future, the roadmap to achieve the same is not so clear.

EXPLANATION:

• The EVs that qualify for a clear upfront tax incentive are the ones referred to as BEVs.
• India’s electric mobility plan is largely focussed on battery electric vehicles (BEVs) replacing internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles, with Li-ion seen as the most viable battery option for now.

Issues in BEV push:

• Upfront Subsidy: There is need of an elaborate system of incentives as the electric push works only if it is backed by state subsidies.
• Charging network: A World Bank analysis found that investing in charging infrastructure is 4-7 times more effective in EV adoption than providing upfront purchase subsidies. There is need of development of infrastructure.
• Value chain: There is need to diversify the country’s dependency on Li-ion batteries in the EV mix. India is almost entirely dependent on imports from a small pool of countries to cater to its demand as more than 90% of the global Li production is concentrated in Chile, Argentina, and Bolivia alongside Australia and China.

New technologies

• Hybrids: The hybrid technology is seen as a good intermediate step towards achieving the all-electric goal. Hybrids typically have improved fuel efficiency through electrification of the powertrain, but do not require the charging infrastructure base that is an essential for BEVs. However, hybrids too have the issue of Li-ion batteries being the main source, even though the self-charging mode obviates the need for charging points.
• Ethanol & flex fuel: A flex fuel, or flexible fuel, vehicle has an internal combustion engine, but unlike a regular petrol or diesel vehicle, it can run on more than one type of fuel, or even a mixture of fuels such as petrol and ethanol.
• FCEVs & Hydrogen fuel cell electric vehicles (FCEVs) are practically zero emission, but a major hurdle to their adoption has been the lack of fuelling station infrastructure.
• Hydrogen Ice: Hydrogen Ice vehicles are similar to conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, with a few tweaks to prep them to run on hydrogen.

Government Measures:

• The Government of India is continuously showing its support to develop India as a global leader in the EV sector. Several schemes and incentives have been launched by the government to boost the demand for electric vehicles.
• FAME-II: The FAME India initiative was launched in 2015 to reduce the usage of petrol and diesel automobiles. It aims to incentivize all types of vehicles. The four focus areas of the Fame India Scheme are as follows: Demand for technology,  Pilot  Projects, Technology development, Infrastructure for  Charging.
• The FAME II scheme: It was introduced in 2019  to drive greater adoption of EVs in India. The scheme was supposed to end in 2022. But now, In the budget for FY2022-23, the Government of India has decided to extend the FAME-II scheme till 31 March 2024.
• PLI scheme: The Department of Heavy Industry launched the Production Linked Incentive for Advanced Chemistry Cell  Battery Storage (PLI-ACC Scheme). Its goal is to entice domestic and international investors to invest in India’s Giga scale ACC manufacturing facilities.
• Special E-mobility Zone: The government plans to establish dedicated mobility zones for electric vehicles. Only electric vehicles or comparable vehicles will be permitted to operate in the zones identified by the administration. It will help curb overcrowding due to private vehicles.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/the-problem-with-battery-electric-vehicles-8822335/

4. INDIAN MONSOON

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: Unceasing rains over the weekend have brought north India to its knees, with deluges, landslides, and waterlogging in cities due to western disturbances.

EXPLANATION:

• The IMD said the intense rainfall over north India is because of an interaction between western disturbance and monsoonal winds.
• The excessive rains in many parts of India in the first eight days of July have bridged the rainfall deficit for the entire country (243.2 mm, which is two per cent above the normal of 239.1 mm).

Monsoon in India:

• Indian monsoon is the most prominent of the world’s monsoon systems, which primarily affects India and its surrounding water bodies.
• It blows from the northeast during cooler months and reverses direction to blow from the southwest during the warmest months of the year. This process brings large amounts of rainfall to the region during June and July.
• The southwest monsoon that starts around the first week of June, making the first landfall in Kerala. It is one of the most anticipated events of the year, as India receives 70-90 percent of its annual rainfall during this monsoon

Factors causing monsoon:

• Location of India near equator
• Frequent westerly winds occur at the surface almost constantly throughout the year
• Jet streams
• Westerly subtropical jet stream still controls the flow of air across northern India
• Availability of energy in the atmosphere,
• Intertropical convergence zone
• Coriolis effect
• Indian Ocean Dipole
• Equatorial Indian Ocean Oscillation

Western Disturbances:

• A western disturbance is an extratropical storm originating in the mediterranean region that brings sudden winter rain to the northern parts of the Indian subcontinent
• It extends as east as up to northern parts of Bangladesh and South eastern Nepal.
• It is a non-monsoonal precipitation pattern driven by the westerlies.
• It is global phenomena with moisture usually carried in the upper atmosphere, unlike their tropical counterparts where the moisture is carried in the lower atmosphere. In the case of the Indian subcontinent, moisture is sometimes shed as rain when the storm system encounters the Himalayas. Western disturbances are more frequent and stronger in the winter season.
• Western disturbances are important for the development of the Rabi crop , which includes the locally important staple wheat.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/video/climate-change/incessant-rainfall-brings-north-india-to-its-knees-90513

5. LAMBANI EMBROIDERY

TAG: GS 1: ART AND CULTURE

THE CONTEXT: As part of the third G20 culture working group (CWG) meeting in Hampi, a Guinness world record was created for the ‘largest display of Lambani items’.

EXPLANATION:

• Over 450 women artisans and cultural practitioners from Lambani a nomadic community of Karnataka came together to create embroidered patches with GI-tagged Sandur Lambani embroidery.
• The display titled ‘Threads of Unity’ celebrates the aesthetic expressions and design vocabulary of Lambani embroidery.

Lambani embroidery:

• The Lambani embroidery is an intricate form of textile embellishment characterised by colourful threads, mirror-work and stitch patterns.
• It is practised in several villages of Karnataka such as Sandur, Keri Tanda, Mariyammanahalli, Kadirampur, Sitaram Tanda, Bijapur and Kamalapur.
• The Lambani craft tradition involves stitching together small pieces of discarded fabric to create a beautiful fabric.
• The embroidery traditions of the Lambanis are shared in terms of technique and aesthetics with textile traditions across Eastern Europe, West, and Central Asia.
• The Lambani embroidery is an amalgam of pattern darning, mirror work, cross stitch, and overlaid and quilting stitches with borders of “Kangura” patchwork appliqué, done on loosely woven dark blue or red handloom base fabric.
• Lambani embroidery is commonly mistaken as Kutchi (Kachhi) embroidery because of mirror work, but shells and coins are unique to this type of embroidery. Also, the stitches used are different.
• The 14 types of stitches used in Lambani embroidery are Kilan, Vele, Bakkya, Maki, Suryakanti Maki, Kans, Tera Dora, Kaudi, Relo, Gadri, Bhuriya, Pote, Jollya, Nakra. Products made with such embroidery have wonderful textures and a bohemian style, making them very popular with tourists.
• A distinctive design range is its revival and use of local mud-resist handloom fabric, and the mirrors, shells and white ornamental trims that are a traditional part of Lambani as well as the Irikil saris of Dharwad-Hubli and other local fabrics.
• Some of the villages around Hampi, where this craft is practiced are Kadirampur, Mariyammanahalli, Sitaram Tanda, Kamalapur, Keri Tanda.

Lambani community:

• Lambani elsewhere known as “Banjaras”, originally came from Marwar are semi-nomadic people who reside mostly in Southern and Middle India.
• As with many tribal groups, especially those with a nomadic heritage, there is a modern tendency to either isolate or assimilate.
• The Lambani women practice a unique mirror and embroidery craft, which they mostly use for making their own traditional dresses or for giving to their daughters for their weddings.

About Hampi:

• Hampi also referred to as the Group of Monuments at Hampi, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in Vijayanagara district, east-central Karnataka.
• It predates the Vijayanagara Empire and is an important religious centre, housing the Virupaksha Temple.
• Hampi was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire in the 14th century. It was a fortified city.
• Hampi was a prosperous, wealthy and grand city near the Tungabhadra River, with numerous temples, farms and trading markets.
• Hampi and its nearby region remained a contested and fought-over region claimed by the local chiefs, the Hyderabad Muslim nizams, the Maratha Hindu kings, and Hyder Ali and his son Tipu Sultan of Mysore through the 18th century.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/at-g20-meet-a-guinness-effort-to-shine-light-on-karnatakas-lambani-craft-8825059/

1. THE LEGALITY OF THE DELHI ORDINANCE

TAG: GS 2: POLITY

THE CONTEXT: The Ordinance promulgated by the President on May 19, 2023 amending the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act 1991(GNCTD Act) took away the services from the jurisdiction of the Delhi government. The services had been earlier restored to the Delhi government by the Supreme Court in a landmark judgment delivered on May 11, 2023.

EXPLANATION:

• Supreme Court has held in a large number of cases that since Parliament does not possess judicial powers, it cannot negate the decision of the Court. The Ordinance nullifies that judgment of the Supreme Court.
• The Court had found that if a government does not have control over its officers it would paralyse governance which cannot be the intention of the Constitution makers while incorporating Article 239AA, which gives a special constitutional status to Delhi.
• The Court held that “legislative and executive power over services such as the Indian Administrative Services or Joint Cadre Services which are relevant for the implementation of policies and vision of NCTD [National Capital Territory of Delhi] in terms of day-to-day administration of the region shall lie with the NCTD.”

Provision for Services under Delhi Government:

• Article 239AA (3)(a) which states that Delhi’s Legislative Assembly shall have the power to make laws with respect to any of the matters enumerated in the State list or the concurrent list except the three excluded items such as police, public order and land.
• Since the executive power is co-extensive with the legislative power the Government of NCTD gets all the powers to deal with the services. This position was affirmed by the Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court.

How the ordinance is violating the constitutional provisions?

• Section 3A of the new GNCTD Act inserted through the Ordinance which states that notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment of any court, the legislative assembly shall not have the power to make laws with respect to any matter enumerated in entry 41 which means services.
• After taking away the services from the Delhi government, the Ordinance confers the powers of posting, transfer and disciplinary matters on an authority named the National Capital Civil Services Authority consisting of a chairman and two members.
• The Chief Minister is made the chairman and the Chief Secretary and the Home Secretary are the other members. With two members constituting the quorum and the fact that the two members can take all decisions makes the purpose of constituting this authority all too obvious.
• All decisions relating to posting, transfer, disciplinary issues etc. will be taken by the two officers and the opinion of the Chief Minister will have no value. These decisions will then be forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi whose decision shall be final.
• Such a statutory body, wherein all decisions are taken by bureaucrats and the opinion of an elected Chief Minister can just be ignored, is unheard of in administrative history.

Ordinance making power of the President

• Article 123 of the Indian Constitution grants the President of India certain lawmaking powers i.e. to Promulgate Ordinances when either of the two Houses of the Parliament is not in session which makes it impossible for a single House to pass and enact a law.
• When both the houses of the parliament or the legislatures are in session then there is no provision for the promulgation of the ordinances.
• Ordinances may relate to any subject that the parliament has the power to make law, and would be having the same limitations as
• When the legislature is not in session: the President can only promulgate when either of the House of Parliament is not in session.
• Immediate action is needed: the President though has the power of promulgating the ordinances but the same cannot be done unless he is satisfied that there are circumstances that require him to take immediate action.
• Parliament should approve: after the ordinance has been passed it is required to be approved by the parliament within six weeks of reassembling. The same will cease to operate if disapproved by either House.
• The President may withdraw an ordinance at any time. However, he exercises his power with the consent of the Council of Ministers headed by the President.
• The Ordinances may have retrospective effect and may modify or repeal any act of parliament or other ordinances. It may be used to amend a tax law but it can never amend the Constitution.

Few cases related to Ordinances:

Case 1: The Central farm laws which met with widespread protests were initially brought through the ordinance route. The Farmers Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Ordinance, The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Ordinance, and the ordinance to amend The Essential Commodities Act were brought in June 2020. Later, all three ordinances were replaced by laws in parliament during its monsoon session in 2022.

Case 2: An ordinance was brought for ‘Commission on Air Quality Management’ (CAQM) in October 2020, the ordinance allows for the setting up of a statutory body to manage air quality in India’s polluted National Capital Region and adjoining areas of the Indo-Gangetic plain, which includes Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.

2. RECENT FINDING OF PARKER SOLAR PROBE

TAG: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Parker Solar Probe identifies mechanism driving the sun’s fast wind and finds magnetic energy near sun’s surface enables solar wind to reach gravity-defying speeds.

EXPLANATION:

Recent finding

• Researchers have utilized data from NASA’s Parker Solar Probe to understand how the sun’s wind, composed of ionized particles or plasma, can exceed speeds of 1 million miles per hour.
• This could assist in predicting large solar eruptions, enhance our understanding of cosmic wind phenomena, and aid in the search for habitable planets.
• They discovered that the energy released from the magnetic field near the sun’s surface is powerful enough to drive the fast solar wind, which is made up of ionized particles called plasma that flow outward from the sun.
• The solar wind forms a giant magnetic bubble, known as the heliosphere, that protects planets in our solar system from a barrage of high-energy cosmic rays that whip around the galaxy.
• Solar wind also carries plasma and part of the sun’s magnetic field, which can crash into earth’s magnetosphere and cause disturbances, including geomagnetic storms.
• These storms occur when the sun experiences more turbulent activity, including solar flares and enormous expulsions of plasma into space, known as coronal mass ejections.
• Geomagnetic storms are responsible for spectacular aurora light shows that can be seen near the Earth’s poles.
• Entire surface of the sun is covered in small “jetlets” of hot plasma that are propelled upward by magnetic reconnection, which occurs when magnetic fields pointing in opposite directions cross-connect which triggers the release of massive amounts of energy.
• First characterization of the bursts of magnetic energy occurs in coronal holes, that are openings in the sun’s magnetic field as well as the source of the solar wind.
• The researchers demonstrated that magnetic reconnection between open and closed magnetic fields known as interchange connection is a continuous process, rather than a series of isolated events. This led t to conclusion that the rate of magnetic energy release, which drives the outward jet of heated plasma, was powerful enough to overcome gravity and produce the sun’s fast wind.
• By understanding these smaller releases of energy that are constantly occurring on the sun, researchers hope to understand and possibly even predict the larger and more dangerous eruptions that launch plasma out into space.

The Parker Solar Probe:

• It is a NASA space probe launched in 2018 with the mission of making observations of the outer corona of the Sun.
• It will approach to within 9.86 solar radii from the center of the Sun, and by 2025 will travel, at closest approach, as fast as 690,000 km/h (430,000 mph), or 0.064% the speed of light.
• It is the fastest object ever built by humans.

3. PM-PRANAM (PM PROGRAMME FOR RESTORATION, AWARENESS, GENERATION, NOURISHMENT AND AMELIORATION OF MOTHER EARTH) SCHEME

TAG: SCHEMES

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the PM-PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) scheme.

EXPLANATION:

• The PM-PRANAM scheme is aimed to promote use of nutrient-based, biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture to save the soil by balanced use of fertilizers.
• Centre would incentivise those States which would adopt alternative fertilizers with the subsidy that was saved by reducing the use of chemical fertilizers.
• The scheme included a bouquet of various schemes which would boost farmers’ income, strengthen natural / organic farming, rejuvenate soil productivity, and ensure food security.

Objectives of PM PRANAM Scheme:

• The scheme aims to reduce the subsidy burden on chemical fertilisers, expected to increase by 39% to Rs.2.25 lakh crore in 2022-2023 compared to Rs.1.62 lakh crore in the previous year.
• It aims to discourage chemical fertiliser usage and promote sustainable agriculture practices.
• The government plans to introduce this scheme to reduce the use of chemical fertilisers in India by incentivising states.

Features of PM PRANAM Scheme:

• The scheme will be financed by the “savings of existing fertiliser subsidy” under the schemes run by the Department of Fertilisers scheme and will not have a separate budget.
• 50% subsidy savings will be given as a grant to the state that saves money.
• States can use 70% of the grant given under the scheme for asset creation related to alternate fertiliser production and technological adoption of alternate fertiliser units at the block, village and district levels.
• States can use the remaining 30% of the grant money to incentivise panchayats, farmer producer organisations, farmers and self-help groups involved in awareness generation and reducing fertiliser use.
• The government would compare a state’s reduction or increase in urea in a particular year to its average consumption of urea during the last three years.
• The data on a Fertiliser Ministry dashboard, IFMS (Integrated fertilisers Management System), would be used to collect the state’s urea consumption data.

Benefits of PM PRANAM Scheme:

• The scheme explicitly aims to promote the reduced use of chemical fertilisers.
• It would promote using other nutrients and fertilisers, including natural nutrients.
• Reduced use of chemical fertilisers may improve soil quality in the long run.
• Excessive exposure to chemical fertilisers affects human health through cancers and diseases caused due to DNA damage. It would promote a safe work environment.
• Environmental pollution due to chemical fertilisers can pollute water bodies, leading to algal bloom and affecting aquatic life. This scheme would prevent environmental damage.
• It would encourage natural farming, lower the burden of subsidies, increase yield, and encourage states.

4. GREEDFLATION AND ITS COUNTER ARGUMENTS

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, economists have questioned the validity of the argument that corporate thirst for higher profits is the cause behind inflation.

EXPLANATION:

• Greedflation refers to price inflation caused by corporate greed for high profits in products as food and energy.
• Here, where companies exploit inflation by raising prices excessively, going beyond covering their increased costs, and aiming to maximize their profit margins.
• Progressives in the United States have accused corporate greed as a major reason for the historically high price inflation in the U.S. since the pandemic.
• S. corporations have allegedly increased the prices of their goods by more than what was necessary to compensate for higher input costs caused by supply-chain bottlenecks.
• The proponents of the idea of greedflation argue that corporate profit margins have risen significantly since the pandemic even the larger economy has struggled which has contributed to high inflation.
• They also see this as a sign of increased market dominance by corporations and have called for efforts to rein in market power of large corporations and some have even advocated for a ban on price hikes to prevent “profiteering”.

Reasons for greedflation:

• Cost of inputs used by businesses has risen at a faster pace than the pace at which the prices of consumer goods have risen which indicates market dominance of U.S. corporations may have risen considerably could possibly be a sign of weakening competition among businesses.
• However, it still does not mean that rising profit margins are the reason behind high inflation as prices are ultimately determined by buyers and not by sellers.
• The only way corporations can influence the overall price level is by reducing the supply of goods and services. There is, however, no evidence of deliberate reduction in the output of U.S. corporations recently.
• The current high inflation in the U.S. is due to U.S. Federal Reserve’s expansionary monetary policy during the pandemic which increased the prices of goods and services in the economy.
• This condition combined with supply-chain bottlenecks caused by stringent lockdowns led to high inflation.

Greedflation and cost push inflation:

• Greedflation is compared to other theories of “cost-push” inflation which attribute inflation to a rise in input costs. For example, in the past, a rise in the wages demanded by workers has been blamed for the rise in the prices of goods and services. In the case of greedflation, it is the rise in the corporate thirst for profits that is seen as a cost that is driving up prices.
• A criticism of the cost-push theory of inflation has been that it ignores the fact that the cost of producing any good is itself determined indirectly, but ultimately, by consumers. It should be noted that the cost of inputs, which can be used towards different alternative ends of society, is determined by competitive bidding in the market.

Inflation:

• Inflation refers to a general rise in the price level (meaning a widespread rise in the prices of goods and services across the broader economy) rather than in the prices of individual goods and services.
• Inflation is the percentage change in the value of the Wholesale Price Index (WPI) on a year-on year basis. It effectively measures the change in the prices of a basket of goods and services in a year. In India, inflation is calculated by taking the WPI as base.
• Inflation occurs due to an imbalance between demand and supply of money, changes in production and distribution cost or increase in taxes on products. When economy experiences inflation, i.e. when the price level of goods and services rises, the value of currency reduces.

Types of inflation:

1. Demand-Pull Inflation: This type of inflation is caused due to an increase in aggregate demand in the economy.

Causes of Demand-Pull Inflation:

• A growing economy or increase in the supply of money
• Asset inflation or Increase in Forex reserves
• Government spending or Deficit financing by the government
• Depreciation of rupee. Low unemployment rate.

2. Cost-Push Inflation: Cost pull inflation is considered bad among the two types of inflation. Because the National Income is reduced along with the reduction in supply in the Cost-push type of inflation.

Causes of cost pull inflation:

• Increase in price of inputs
• Hoarding and Speculation of commodities
• Defective Supply chain, Increase in indirect taxes
• Depreciation of Currency
• Interest rates increased by RBI

5. DEEP SEA MINING

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: The International Seabed Authority that regulates the deep sea mining and world’s ocean floor is now preparing to resume negotiations that could open the international seabed for mining the materials critical for the green energy transition.

EXPLANATION:

• The ISA’s Legal and Technical Commission, which oversees the development of deep-sea mining regulations, will meet in early July to discuss the yet-to-be mining code draft. The earliest that mining under ISA regulations could begin is 2026. Applications for mining must be considered and environmental impact assessments need to be carried out.
• In the meantime, some companies such as Google, Samsung, BMW and others have backed the World Wildlife Fund’s call to pledge to avoid using minerals that have been mined from the planet’s oceans.
• More than a dozen countries including France, Germany and several Pacific Island nations have officially called for a ban, pause or moratorium on deep sea mining at least until environmental safeguards are in place.

What is deep sea mining?

• Deep sea mining involves removing mineral deposits and metals from the ocean’s seabed. There are three types of such mining: taking deposit-rich polymetallic nodules off the ocean floor, mining massive seafloor sulphide deposits and stripping cobalt crusts from rock.
• Deep sea mining can led to findings of nodules, deposits and crusts containing materials, such as nickel, rare earths, cobalt and more, that are needed for batteries and other materials used in tapping renewable energy and also for everyday technology like cellphones and computers.

Deep sea mining regulation:

• Countries manage their own maritime territory and exclusive economic zones, while the high seas and the international ocean floor are governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas. It is considered to apply to states regardless of whether or not they have signed or ratified it.
• Under the treaty, the seabed and its mineral resources are considered as the “common heritage of mankind” that protects the interests of humanity through the sharing of economic benefits and protecting marine environments.

Environmental concerns:

• Ecosystems will be damaged by mining, especially without any environmental protocols.
• Damage from mining can include noise, vibration and light pollution, as well as possible leaks and spills of fuels and other chemicals used in the mining process.
• Sediment dust from some mining can harm filter feeding species like corals and sponges, and could smother or otherwise interfere with some creatures.

International Seabed Authority (ISA):

• It is an intergovernmental body of 167 member states and the European Union established under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and its 1994 Agreement on Implementation.
• The ISA’s dual mission is to authorize and control development of mineral related operations in the international seabed considered the “common heritage of all mankind and also protect the ecosystem of the seabed, ocean floor and subsoil in “The Area” beyond national jurisdiction.
• The ISA is to safeguard the international deep sea, the waters below 200 meters or 656 feet, where photosynthesis is hampered by inadequate light Governing approximately half of the total area of the world’s oceans, the ISA is to exercise oversight of activities that might threaten biological diversity and harm the marine environment.
• The Authority operates as an autonomous international organization with its own Assembly, Council and Secretariat.

India in International Seabed Authority:

• International Seabed Authority has officially designated India as a “Pioneer Investor”.
• Pioneer Investor is an early investment made in any new sector or technology. e.g. Polymetallic nodules at the ocean bed.
• International Seabed Authority (ISA) and Ministry of Earth Sciences also exchanged PMN (Polymetallic Nodules) exploration extension contract. This contract was initially signed on 25th March 2002 for a period of 15 years, which later was extended by the authority twice for 5 years period, during 2017 and 2022.

1. OPEN MARKET SALE SCHEME

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: States have been looking at alternative ways of procuring wheat and rice in the aftermath of the Food Corporation of India’s (FCI) quantity restrictions followed by the refusal to allow states to procure the two food grains through its Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS).

EXPLANATION:

• Centre has made it clear that the reason for first restricting supplies per bidder and eventually excluding states for the OMSS was to curb inflation and regulate supply.
• State government in Karnataka announced that being unable to procure enough rice in the market at a reasonable cost in time to meet the needs of its free good grain distribution scheme for BPL families- the Anna Bhagya scheme, it had decided to temporarily give cash to the beneficiaries in lieu of the promised five kg of free rice.

What is the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS)?

• Firstly, the procurement of food grains like wheat and paddy for the central pool happens in Rabi and Kharif marketing seasons by the FCI and State corporations according to procurement estimates finalised by the government of India before the seasons. These purchases happen as per the Minimum Support Price.
• From the central pool, the government has to set aside wheat and rice for the beneficiaries of free foodgrains under the National Food Security Act (NFSA), maintain a buffer stock, and have a marketable surplus.
• Under the Open Market Sale Scheme, the FCI from time to time sells surplus food grains from the central pool especially wheat and rice in the open market to traders, bulk consumers, retail chains and so on at pre-determined prices. The Corporation does this through e-auctions where open market bidders can buy specified quantities at the prices set at the start of a cycle and revised routinely.
• Usually, states are also allowed to procure food grains through the OMSS without participating in the auctions, for their needs beyond what they get from the central pool to distribute to NFSA beneficiaries.
• The idea is to activate the OMSS during the lean season, the time between harvests, to improve and regulate domestic supply and availability of the two grains and bring down their prices in the open market; essentially making the scheme a measure to curb food grain inflation.

How has the Centre revised the OMSS?

• Recently, the Centre decided to restrict the quantity that a single bidder can purchase in a single bid under the OMSS. While the maximum quantity allowed earlier was 3,000 metric tonnes (MT) per bid for a buyer, it will now range from 10-100 metric tonnes (MT).
• The rationale given for the same by the Corporation is that the quantities have been reduced this time “to accommodate more small and marginal buyers and to ensure wider reach of the scheme”.
• The body contends this move will allow the supplies to the general public immediately. The objective behind the move is also to curb retail prices as allowing smaller bids should ideally break monopolies of bulk buyers, allowing more competitive bids by small buyers.
• Another reason for the move is to meet the FCI’s food security obligations. The Centre said that in recent years, production of agriculture crops was affected due to untimely rains, rise in temperature in the month of March and so on, making it incumbent upon the FCI to release its stocks “judicious manner under the OMSS (D)” so that the overall stock position is maintained at a comfortable level”.

2. GREEN CREDIT PROGRAMME

TAG:  GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: The Union Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change has notified draft rules for ‘Green Credit’, an incentive that individuals, farmer-producer organisations (FPO), industries, rural and urban local bodies, among other stakeholders, will be able to earn for environment positive actions. 

EXPLANATION:

• The ministry proposed the draft Green Credit Programme Implementation Rules 2023 in a notification issued June 26, 2023 and has invited for objections and suggestions within 60 days.
• The programme will incentivise individuals & organisations to take positive actions for the environment.
• By ‘green credit’, the government means a singular unit of an incentive provided for a specified activity, delivering a positive impact on the environment.
• The activities include:

1. Tree plantation-based green credit: To promote activities for increasing the green cover across the country through tree plantation and related activities
2. Water-based green credit: To promote water conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency / savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater
3. Sustainable agriculture-based green credit: To promote natural and regenerative agricultural practices and land restoration to improve productivity, soil health and nutritional value of food produced
4. Waste management-based green credit: To promote sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including collection, segregation and treatment
5. Air pollution reduction-based green credit: To promote measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution abatement activities
6. Mangrove conservation and restoration-based green credit: To promote measures for conservation and restoration of mangroves
7. Ecomark-based green credit: To encourage manufacturers to obtain ‘Ecomark’ label for their goods and services
8. Sustainable building and infrastructure-based green credit: To encourage the construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technologies and materials

• Through the programme, thresholds and benchmarks will be developed for each green credit activity.
• The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education shall be the administrator of the programme. The institute will develop guidelines, processes and procedures for implementation of the programme and develop methodologies and standards, registration process and associated measurement, reporting and verification mechanisms.
• The green credits will be tradable and those earning it will be able to put these credits up for sale on a proposed domestic market platform.
• It was first announced in the 2023-24 budget with a view to leverage a competitive market-based approach and incentivise voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders.
• Apart from incentivising individual / community behaviour, the Green Credit Programme will encourage private sector industries and companies as well as other entities to meet their existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions which are able to converge with activities relevant for generating or buying green credits.
• It’s a first of its kind instrument that seeks to value and reward multiple ecosystem services to allow green projects to achieve optimal returns beyond just carbon. In fact, the scheme will allow project proponents to also access carbon markets additionally.

3. GROUNDWATER EXTRACTION HAS TILTED EARTH’S SPIN

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: Humans have caused marked tilts in the Earth’s axis by pumping water out of the ground and moving it elsewhere,  according to a new study. Pronounced shifts in the Earth’s axis of rotation can impact our planet’s climate, noted the study published in Geophysical Research Letters, the journal of the American Geophysical Union, on June 15, 2023.

EXPLANATION:

• Groundwater pumping has tilted the planet nearly 80 centimetres east between 1993 and 2010 alone. The water circulated across the planet determines how mass is distributed. Scientists had predicted that between 1993 and 2010, people pumped 2,150 gigatons of groundwater, or more than 6 millimetres (0.24 inches), of sea level increase. However, it is difficult to validate that estimate.
• Attempts to slow groundwater depletion rates in sensitive regions could alter the change in drift.
• Humans have caused marked tilts in the Earth’s axis by pumping water out of the ground and moving it elsewhere, according to a new study.
• The planet’s geographic north and south poles are where its axis intersects the surface; however, they are not fixed. The axis and hence the poles fluctuate due to variations in the Earth’s mass distribution.
• In the past, the poles’ drift was only caused by natural forces like ocean currents and the convection of heated rock deep beneath the Earth. But the new research pitched the redistribution of groundwater as the primary culprit for the drift.
• Rotational pole normally changes by several metres within about a year, so changes due to groundwater pumping don’t run the risk of shifting seasons. But on geologic time scales, polar drift can have an impact on climate.Our study shows that among climate-related causes, the redistribution of groundwater actually has the largest impact on the drift of the rotational pole.

• Redistributing water from the mid-latitudes significantly influences polar drift; therefore, the location of redistribution determines polar drift. During the study period, most redistribution occurred in western North America and northwestern India both located at mid-latitudes.
• In the new study, researchers analysed changes in the drift of Earth’s rotational pole and water movement first, by accounting for just ice sheets and glaciers and then by adding different groundwater redistribution scenarios.
• Although the shift isn’t significant enough to have real-life consequences, the study shows that humans have extracted so much water from the ground that it has impacted the planet’s axis and contributed to global sea level rise.

Earth’s axis keeps shifting

• Earth spins around an imaginary axis which passes through the north pole, its centre of mass and the south pole — just like a top spins around its spindle. Scientists for years have known that the poles and the axis keep shifting naturally as the mass distribution in and on the planet changes. This phenomenon is known as “polar motion”.
• There are several other reasons responsible for polar motion like ocean currents and even hurricanes. But this phenomenon is also impacted by human activities. In 2016, a team of researchers demonstrated that climate-driven changes in water mass distribution, led by the melting of glaciers and ice in Greenland, can cause Earth’s axis to drift. Five years later, another study said climate change was causing the rotational axis to shift more than usual since the 1990s.

4. ‘HORIZONTAL’ RESERVATION

TAG: GS 2: POLITY

THE CONTEXT: In the 2014 NALSA judgment, the Supreme Court ruled that transgender persons have a right to reservation, owing to the fact that they “are a socially and educationally backward class. In response to a clarification requested by the Bombay High Court, the Maharashtra government said on June 13 that it will be difficult to provide “additional reservations” to transgender persons in education and public employment, given the reservation that exists so far for various communities in India.

EXPLANATION:

• Considering the extent of vertical and horizontal reservations which are already provided, providing additional reservations for transgender persons seems difficult. The issue is pending before the Supreme Court.
• Trans persons in India have been fighting for the right to horizontal reservation for a long time.

What have the courts said on reservation for the transgender community?

• In the National Legal Services Authority of India (NALSA) v Union of India (2014) case, the Supreme Court ruled that transgender persons have a right to reservation, owing to the fact that they “are a socially and educationally backward class”.
• With regards to reservation, the judgment noted: “We direct the Centre and the State Governments to take steps to treat them [transgender persons] as socially and educationally backward classes of citizens and extend all kinds of reservation in cases of admission in educational institutions and for public appointments.”
• The NALSA judgment entitles trans persons to reservations on constitutional grounds. It does not, however, mention the nature of reservations – whether they are to be vertical or horizontal.

First, what are horizontal reservations?

• In India, historically oppressed and disadvantaged communities have a right to affirmative action policies. Reservation in education and employment can be divided into two broad categories, namely, vertical and horizontal.
• Vertical reservations are provisions aimed at addressing social asymmetry arising out of caste hierarchy. These include reservations for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC).
• Horizontal reservation, on the other hand, cuts across all vertical groups to provide affirmative policies for disadvantaged groups within categories. For example, disabled persons are guaranteed horizontal reservation in all the aforementioned vertical categories, general and reserved (vertical) alike, by the Central government States like Uttarakhand and Bihar have also rolled out policies that guarantee horizontal reservation for women. This means that a woman who belongs to the SC category should be able to avail reservation based on both caste and gender. The horizontal model ensures this. This is exactly what transgender persons are fighting for, as well.

What is the demand for horizontal reservation?

• It has to do with the need for mandating provisions for a community that has been marginalized for long in society and recognising the different aspects making up their social identity.
• In this regard, the NALSA verdict has largely been interpreted as directing reservations for transgender people in the OBC category. This perhaps stems from the bench identifying the community as “a socially and educationally backward class”. So far, no implementation has happened even to that end.
• Since the NALSA judgment, there has been no direction from the Central government on delivering on the right to reservation for trans persons.
• Alternatively, the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, included in its purview the right of disabled persons to accrue horizontal reservation. Since this Act has been implemented, horizontal reservation for disabled people is now ensured under the Central government.

5. CRITICAL MINERALS

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: In a strategic move, the Centre has identified 30 critical minerals, including lithium, cobalt, nickel, graphite, tin and copper, which are essential for the country’s economic development and national security.

EXPLANATION:

• The identification of these minerals which form part of multiple strategic value chains, including clean technologies initiatives such as zero-emission vehicles, wind turbines, solar panels; information and communication technologies, including semiconductors; and advanced manufacturing inputs and materials such as defence applications, permanent magnets, ceramics was done on the basis of a report on critical minerals prepared by an expert team constituted by the Ministry of Mines November, 2022.
• The ministry will revisit the list periodically.

The exercise

• While elements such as cobalt, nickel and lithium are required for batteries used in electric vehicles or cellphones, rare earth minerals are critical, in trace amounts, in the semiconductors and high-end electronics manufacturing. Most countries of the world have identified critical minerals as per their national priorities and future requirements.
• In India too, some efforts have been made in the past to identify the minerals that are critical for the country, including an initiative in 2011 by the Planning Commission of India (now NITI Aayog) that highlighted the need for the “assured availability of mineral resources for the country’s industrial growth”, with a clear focus on the well-planned exploration and management of already discovered resources.
• That report analysed 11 groups of minerals under categories such as metallic, nonmetallic, precious stones and metals, and strategic minerals. From 2017 to 2020, a big thrust was accorded to the study of exploration and development of rare earth elements in the country.
• The specific trigger for the latest exercise are India’s international commitments towards reducing carbon emissions, which require the country to urgently relook at its mineral requirements for energy transition and net-zero commitments.
• In November 2022, the Ministry of Mines had constituted a seven-member Committee under the chairmanship of Joint Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Mines to identify a list of minerals critical to our country and the panel decided to have a three-stage assessment to arrive at a list of critical minerals. Critical minerals
• One of the definitions cited in the report characterises a mineral as critical when the risk of supply shortage and associated impact on the economy is (relatively) higher than other raw materials.
• This definition of a critical mineral was first adopted in the US and the subsequent legislation that resulted from the analysis, the report said. The European Union also carried out a similar exercise and categorised critical minerals on the basis of two prerequisites: supply risk and economic importance.
• Australia refers to critical minerals as: “metals, non-metals and minerals that are considered vital for the economic well-being of the world’s major and emerging economies, yet whose supply may be at risk due to geological scarcity, geopolitical issues, trade policy or other factors”.

Three-stage process

• In its three-stage assessment for identifying the minerals critical to India, the panel, in the first stage, looked at the strategies of various countries such as Australia, USA, Canada, UK, Japan and South Korea.
• Accordingly, a total of 69 elements/ minerals that were considered critical by major global economies were identified for further examination, the report said, adding that due importance was given to domestic initiatives as well.
• In the second stage of assessment, an inter ministerial consultation was carried out with different ministries to identify minerals critical to their sectors. Comments and suggestions were received from the Ministry of Power, Department of Atomic Energy, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, Department of Fertilisers, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Pharmaceuticals, NITI Aayog, etc.
• The third stage assessment was to derive an empirical formula for evaluating minerals criticality, taking cognizance of the EU methodology that considers two major factors — economic importance and supply risk.
• Based on this process, a total of 30 minerals were found to be most critical for India, out of which two are critical as fertiliser minerals: Antimony, Beryllium, Bismuth, Cobalt, Copper, Gallium, Germanium, Graphite, Hafnium, Indium, Lithium, Molybdenum, Niobium, Nickel, PGE, Phosphorous, Potash, REE, Rhenium, Silicon, Strontium, Tantalum, Tellurium, Tin, Titanium, Tungsten, Vanadium, Zirconium, Selenium and Cadmium.

Domestic and global outreach

• The Geological Survey of India, an attached office of Ministry of Mines, has carried out a G3 stage mineral exploration (fairly advanced) during Field Season 2020-21 and 2021-22 in Salal- Haimna areas of Reasi district, Jammu & Kashmir, and estimated an inferred resource of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore. The estimated value of lithium at that site will be estimated on completion of further exploration. Based on the mapping outcome, more exploration programmes on various mineral commodities including lithium will be taken up in future in different parts of the country, including Jammu & Kashmir.
• In addition, a joint venture company namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL) has been incorporated with equity contribution from three Central Public Sector Enterprises. It is mandated to identify and acquire overseas mineral assets of critical and strategic nature such as lithium, cobalt and others so as to ensure supply side assurance. KABIL has initiated engagement with several state owned-organisations of the shortlisted source countries through the Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian Embassies in countries like Argentina and Australia to acquire mineral assets, including lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements.
• In a fresh boost, India has recently been inducted into the Mineral Security Partnership (MSP), a US-led collaboration of 14 countries that aims to catalyse public and private investment in critical mineral supply chains globally. India’s inclusion assumes significance given that one of the key elements of New Delhi’s growth strategy is powered by an ambitious shift in the mobility space through the conversion of a large part of public and private transport to electric vehicles.
• India is seen as a late mover in attempts to enter the lithium value chain, coming at a time when EVs are predicted to be a sector ripe for disruption. The year 2023 could be an inflection point for battery technology – with several potential improvements to the Li-ion technology, and alternatives to this combination in various stages of commercialization.

1. CURRENT ACCOUNT DEFICIT

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: Experts believe the country’s current account deficit is likely to moderate in the current fiscal. External balances will benefit from lower commodity prices as well as a sharp pick up in portfolio flows in the April-June 2023 quarter. Current account deficit moderates to 0.2% of GDP in March quarter.

EXPLANATION:

• The country’s current account deficit (CAD) is which measures the difference between exports and imports of goods and services – narrowed to 0.2 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022-2023, from 2 per cent in the preceding quarter.
• However, as compared to 1.2 per cent in FY2022, CAD widened to 2 per cent of GDP in Y2023, according to recent data released by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

What is the Current Account Deficit or CAD?

• The current account deficit or CAD is a key indicator of a country’s external sector. When the value of the goods and services that a country imports exceeds the value of the products it exports, it is known as the current account deficit.

• Together with the fiscal deficit, which is the amount of money that the government has to borrow in any year to fill the gap between its expenditures and revenues, the two make up the ‘twin deficits’ that are considered the enemies of the stock market and investors.
• If the current account – the country’s trade and transactions with other countries – shows a surplus, that indicates money is flowing into the country, boosting the foreign exchange reserves and the value of the rupee against the dollar. These are factors that will have ramifications on the economy and the stock markets, as well as on returns on investments by people.

Why CAD shrink?

• Remittances, which are the second largest major source of external financing after service export, also contributed to narrowing the CAD.
• During the quarter, private transfer receipts, mainly representing remittances by Indians employed overseas, increased to $28.6 billion, up 20.8 per cent from their level a year ago.
• Terms of trade relief from a correction in commodity prices, strong service trade and resilient remittances helped to narrow CAD in Q4 FY23 compared to the quarter before.
• In the quarter, net foreign direct investment (FDI) was $6.4 billion. Net foreign portfolio investment (FPI) recorded an outflow of $1.7 billion in Q4 FY23, compared with an outflow of $15.2 billion in the year-ago quarter.

What does a lower CAD reflect?

• The current account deficit is essentially the difference between investment and savings. If a country runs a current account deficit, then it needs foreign savings to finance that gap.
• When the current account deficit is lower, less money is needed to finance the gap. It is also treated as a sign of the resilience of the economy.

2. FAILTURE OF CHANDRAYAAN-2

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Almost four years after its first unsuccessful attempt to make a spacecraft land on the Moon, Isro will launch its third moon mission, Chandrayaan-3 (Ch-3), on July 12, with the primary objective of executing a precise landing on the celestial body. In 2019, the lander and rover of the Chandrayaan-2 mission malfunctioned in the final moments and crash-landed, getting destroyed in the process.

EXPLANATION:

• Launched on July 22, 2019, the Chandrayaan-2 mission’s Vikram lunar lander crashed on the Moon during the early hours of September 6.
• Despite the setback, the mission wasn’t a complete failure as its Orbiter part kept on working normally.
• Chandrayaan-2 mission’s Vikram lunar lander crashed on the Moon during the early hours of September 6. Its debris was later found by NASA around three months later. Despite the setback, the mission wasn’t a complete failure as its Orbiter part kept on working normally and gathered a wealth of new information that added to our knowledge about the Moon and its environment.

What was the Chandrayaan-2 mission?

• Chandrayaan-2 was to demonstrate the ability to soft-land a lander and rover on the unexplored south pole of the Moon, it also had other goals.
• The mission was “designed to expand the lunar scientific knowledge through a detailed study of topography, seismography, mineral identification and distribution, surface chemical composition, thermo-physical characteristics of topsoil and composition of the tenuous lunar atmosphere, leading to a new understanding of the origin and evolution of the Moon.
• In 2021, the space agency revealed that the mission’s Orbiter had produced a handsome amount of data about the Moon. This helped in building upon existing knowledge of the celestial body in terms of its surface, sub-surface and exosphere.
• A key outcome from Chandrayaan-2 was the exploration of the permanently shadowed regions as well as craters and boulders underneath the regolith, the loose deposit comprising the top surface extending up to 3-4m in depth.

What was missed because of the crash landing?

• The most obvious miss was the opportunity to demonstrate the technology to make a soft landing in outer space.
• The lander Vikram and rover Pragyaan were carrying instruments to carry out observations on the surface. These were supposed to pick up additional information about the terrain, composition and mineralogy. With the support of the Orbiter, Vikram and Pragyaan would have provided two diverse sets of data that could have helped prepare a more composite picture of the Moon.

3. INDIAN OCEAN DIPOLE

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: With the El Nino phenomenon almost certain to affect the Indian monsoon this year, high hopes are pinned on the development of a positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) and its ability to counterbalance the El Nino effect.

EXPLANATION:

• The Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is an ocean-atmosphere interaction very similar to the El Nino fluctuations in the Pacific Ocean, in the Indian Ocean.
• It is also a much weaker system than El Nino, and thus has relatively limited impacts.
• But a positive IOD does have the potential to offset the impacts of El Nino to a small measure in neighbouring areas, and it has, at least once in the past (1997), delivered admirably on this potential.
• While the El Nino is already firmly established in the Pacific Ocean this year, the IOD is still in the neutral phase. “The Indian Ocean Dipole is currently neutral. All international climate models surveyed by the Bureau suggest a positive IOD event may develop in the coming months.

 Indian Ocean Dipole:

• Also known as the Indian Nino, the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) is defined as the difference in sea surface temperature between the western pole of the Arabian Sea (western Indian Ocean) and an eastern pole south of Indonesia, which has an impact on the climate of Australia and other nations in the Indian Ocean Basin.
• Experts state that the IOD is similar to the El Nino phenomenon but that it plays out in the relatively smaller area of the Indian Ocean between the Indonesian and Malaysian coastline in the east and the African coastline near Somalia in the west. It primarily sees one side of the ocean, along the equator, getting warmer than the other.
• The IOD is said to be positive when the western side of the Indian Ocean, near the Somalia coast, becomes warmer than the eastern Indian Ocean. It’s said to be negative when the western Indian Ocean is cooler.
• A positive IOD event is often seen developing at times of an El Nino, while a negative IOD is sometimes associated with La Nina.
• Many studies suggest that IOD events are actually induced by El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO). However, there is evidence to show that IOD events can have an independent existence.

What impact will IOD have?

• During a positive IOD event, the western Indian Ocean experiences higher-than-normal rainfall, while the eastern Indian Ocean experiences drier-than-normal conditions.
• This can lead to increased rainfall over India and can offset the effects of El Nino, which usually brings drier-than-normal conditions to India.
• In 2019, it was a positive Indian Ocean Dipole that had caused floods in East Africa, with the Horn of Africa seeing up to 300 per cent above average rainfall between October and mid-November.
• Similarly, the devastating bushfires in Australia in 2020 was owing to an extreme Indian Ocean Dipole.

What is El Nino?

• El Nino is a weather phenomenon that occurs when ocean temperatures in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean rise above normal. The warming causes changes in atmospheric patterns, leading to a weakening of the monsoon circulation over the Indian subcontinent. As a result, the Indian monsoon tends to be weaker and less reliable during El Nino years.
• Weather experts note that over the past seven decades, the El Nino weather pattern occurred has 15 times and of these nine monsoon seasons have experienced deficient rainfall. In the last four El Nino years, India has constantly faced drought conditions and a severe decrease in rainfall.

4. LABOUR FORCE PARTICIPATION RATE (LFPR)

TAG:  GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT:  According to the latest data available from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), India’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) fell to 39.5% in the last financial year (2022-23) that ended in March. This is the lowest LFPR reading since 2016-17. The LFPR for men stood at a seven-year low of 66% while that of women was pegged at a mere 8.8%.

EXPLANATION:

• The LFPR is the share of the working-age population aged 15 years and above that is employed or unemployed, willing and looking for employment.
• In other words, of all the Indians aged 15 years and above, only 39.5% are even asking for a job. Among men, this proportion was 66% and among women, just 8.8%.

Why LFPR matters?        

• In India’s case, the unemployment rate is an inadequate measure because India’s LFPR (or the proportion asking for a job) has not only been lower than the global average but also falling.
• A low and falling LFPR is never a good sign for a developing economy because it shows that, despite low levels of income, its workers are opting out of the jobs market.
• LFPR has been falling in a secular manner since 2016-17 and has hit its lowest in 2022-23. It is noteworthy that the fall has happened despite the fast growth rate of the economy.
• India’s female LFPR has fallen to just 8.8% in FY23. In other words, more than 90% of all working-age women in India don’t even look for a job.

Global laggard:

• CMIE admits that its measure of assessing LFPR are more stringent than others. For instance, the International Labour Organization (ILO) pegged India’s LFPR at 49% for 2022 distinctly higher than CMIE’s 40% for 2022.
• However, even by ILO’s standards, India’s LFPR lagged far behind other countries. According to CMIE, India’s LPR is woefully low when compared to some Latin American and Asian economies that boast far higher labour participation rates as estimated by the same ILO model.

Key takeaways:

• Regardless of the rate of GDP growth, the decline in LFPR is unabated.
• Dta shows that the bulk of the decline happened before the Covid pandemic. This was the time when the economy was decelerating sharply. The GDP in 2019-20 grew by less than 4%.
• India’s workforce is becoming increasingly male-dominated, thanks to India’s starkly low female LFPR.
• CMIE data shows that in 2016-17, females comprised only 15.3 per cent of the labour force in India. This fell to 12 per cent in 2019-20 and fell further to a mere 10.3 per cent in 2022-23.

5. DIFFERENTIAL TIME-BASED POWER TARIFFS

TAG:  PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: The Centre has signalled a move towards rolling out differential time-based electricity tariffs, which would entail discounted prices during an eight-hour period during daytime and premium or surge pricing during the peak power consumption hours. The Union Power Ministry announced amendments to the Electricity (Rights of Consumers) Rules, 2020, and the changes included the introduction of time-of-day (ToD) tariff provisions.

EXPLANATION:

• Broadly, time-based power tariff structures can be static predetermined tariffs based on time blocks or dynamic determined on a real-time basis in accordance with the actual demand conditions.
• There are some other variants as well, but those are combinations of static and dynamic pricing models. As per the notification issued by the Centre, ToD tariffs in India will be static, which means they will be decided in advance for different blocks of the day.

Time-of-day tariff norms :

• Under the ToD tariff system, the power tariff during “solar hours” the duration of eight hours a day as specified by the respective State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) of the day shall be at least 20 per cent lower than the normal tariff.
• On the other hand, tariffs during peak hours will be at least 20 per cent higher than the normal tariff for commercial and industrial consumers, and at least 10 per higher for other consumers.
• ToD tariff would be applicable for Commercial and Industrial consumers having Maximum demand of 10 KW and above, from 1st April, 2024 and for all other consumers except agricultural consumers, latest from 1st April, 2025.
• Time of Day tariff shall be made effective immediately after installation of smart meters, for the consumers with smart meters. Smart meters are a prerequisite for ToD tariff systems.
• The amended rules prohibit the duration of peak power consumption hours to exceed the duration of the solar hours, which would be eight hours.
• As per the government, most SERCs have already implemented ToD tariffs for large commercial and industrial categories of consumers, and with the installation of smart meters, ToD metering at the domestic consumer level will also be introduced.
• Also, power distribution companies will be required to display on their websites the tariffs for each category of consumers, and in case of a change in rates, consumers will have to be notified at least a month in advance.

Potential benefits of ToD power tariffs:

• The TOD tariffs, which are separate tariffs for peak hours, solar hours, and normal hours, send price signals to consumers to manage their load according to the tariff.
• Since solar power is cheaper, the tariff during the solar hours will be less, so the consumer benefits.
• During the non-solar hours, mostly thermal, hydel, and gas-based power is consumed, which is relatively costlier than solar power.
• Hence, tariffs during non-solar hours will be relatively higher, reflecting the higher cost of electricity. As for peak power consumption hours, the government hopes to discourage consumers from placing excessive load on the grid with higher-than-normal tariffs.
• If the load on the grid during peak consumption hours goes down, the requirement for additional investments in grid infrastructure for maintenance and upgradation also declines over the medium to long term.
• The government also expects the ToD tariff structure to lead to better integration of renewable energy sources with the country’s electricity grid, which will hopefully expedite India’s energy transition.
• The ToD tariff will improve the management of renewable generation fluctuations, incentivize demand increase during the periods of high RE generation hours and thereby increase grid integration of larger quantities of renewable power.

Grid management tool:

• In India, which is the world’s third largest producer of renewable energy, nearly 40 per cent of installed electricity capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources.
• This green push has resulted in a sharp 24 per cent reduction in the emission intensity of GDP between 2005 and 2016, but it has also thrown up challenges of a grid being increasingly powered by renewables.
• Even as the Lithium-ion storage battery option for grid application is now being ruled out as unviable, at least for now, an emerging policy push in the direction of solar and wind-based generation cannot continue to be pushed down to struggling electricity distribution companies or discoms.
• The renewables challenge is compounded by the fact that SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India Ltd) — the state-owned company conducting solar auctions — has locked a number of contracts involving green developers in rigid PPAs (power purchase agreements) with no scope for innovation, according to sectoral experts.
• Energy storage is needed alongside green energy sources to primarily balance out the variability in a renewable generation – electricity is generated only when the sun shines or when the wind blows. This is not always in sync with the demand cycle. Storage can help tide over this shortcoming associated with renewables.
• For procurers such as state-owned discoms, renewables are not always a viable option precisely due to these vagaries in the generation trends, which means they still have to depend on thermal or nuclear generation for meeting base load demand. Renewables bundled with a viable storage option help overcome this problem.
• There are two alternatives being considered by the government now: hydrogen and hybrid generation models blended with off-stream pumped storage. In 2023, as the hidden challengesof the RE (Renewable Energy) transition are likely to manifest more concretely, the government is making a renewed push on both technologies. A policy for stepping up green hydrogen production and tapping into its potential as a fuel has just been cleared by the cabinet.
• The Union Ministry of Power has also wrapped up a survey of all pumped hydro sites and hydro PSUs have been given a target of taking up pumped hydro schemes. The Ministry of Power has also written to the Union Coal Ministry to consider the option of opencast mines as potential sites for pumped hydro in the future.

Constraints in integrating RE generation:

• The main challenge is the non-availability of natural gas to run gas turbines to complement the growing RE capacity in the generation mix.
• India’s vast fleet of coal-based power plants of 200 MW series is more than 25 years old, runs on old technology and does not promise robust reliability.
• The country’s current installed generation capacity is around 410 GW (1 gigawatt is 1,000 megawatts) while the maximum demand is around 229 GW. Of the installed capacity, the total electric power installed capacity from non-fossil fuel-based energy resources was 179 GW, which is over 40 per cent of the total electric power installed capacity, primarily solar and wind.
• To compensate for the intermittency, pumped-storage hydroelectric plants where it stores energy in the form of the gravitational potential energy of water that is generally pumped from a lower elevation reservoir to a higher elevation reservoir when renewable power is available, which is then released to move a turbine to generate electricity when renewable generation is not available – is being seen as the most viable alternative.

1. NEW GUIDELINES ON GENETICALLY MODIFIED INSECTS

TAG:  PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the Department of Biotechnology issued the ‘Guidelines for Genetically Engineered Insects. They provide procedural roadmaps for those interested in creating GE insects.

EXPLANATION:

• India’s bioeconomy contributes 2.6% to the GDP.
• In April 2023, the Department of Biotechnology (DBT) released its ‘Bioeconomy Report 2022’ report, envisioning this contribution to be closer to 5% by 2030.
• This ambitious leap of $220 billion in eight years will require aggressive investment and policy support. .
• Along with more money, policies that enable risk-taking appetite within Indian scientists will be required to create an ecosystem of innovation and industrial action.
• Despite a slight uptick during COVID-19, when DBT led the vaccine and diagnostics efforts, funding hasn’t returned to the pre-pandemic level. The current allocation is also only 0.0001% of India’s GDP, and it needs to be significantly revised if biotechnology is to be of any serious consequence for the economy.

Issues:

Uncertainty of purpose:

• The guidelines note that GE insects are becoming globally available and are intended to help Indian researchers navigate regulatory requirements.
• However, the guidelines don’t specify the purposes for which GE insects may be approved in India or how the DBT, as a promoter of biotechnology, envisions their use.
• The guidelines only provide regulatory procedures for R&D on insects with some beneficial applications.
• The emphasis of using GE insects appears to be on uplifting the standard of living by reducing disease burden, enabling food security and conserving the environment.
• The guidelines which are more procedural in nature than indicative of governmental policy set out forms and instructions for using GE insects of various types.
• The approval for these experiments comes under the broad ambit of the Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation, a body under the DBT.
• The guidelines have been harmonised to guidance from the World Health Organisation on GE mosquitoes.
• GE mosquitoes represent the most advanced application for this technology yet the guidelines seem to downplay the economic opportunities that such insects provide.
• Engineering honey bees to make better-quality and/or quantities of honey will help reduce imports and also maybe facilitate exports.
• Similarly, GE silkworms may be used to produce finer and/or cheaper silk, affecting prices and boosting sales. But the guidelines and policy are both quiet on how GE insects can benefit the bioeconomy and for which purposes the government might approve the insects’ release.

Uncertainty for researchers

• The guidelines are applicable only to research and not to confined trials or deployment. That is, once the insects are ‘made’ and tested in the laboratory, researchers can conduct trials with them on the approval of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), of the Union Environment Ministry.
• Government authorities will also have to closely follow the deployment of these insects. Once deployed, GE insects can’t be recalled, and unlike genetically modified foods, they are not amenable to individual consumer choice.
• So wider community engagement and monitoring of the impact of GE will be required. The nature of the technology products – i.e. mosquitoes, honey bees, etc. – also make their private use difficult.
• In any case, the government will be the primary buyer in many cases, such as ‘GE mosquitoes for disease alleviation’ or ‘honey bees for increased pollination’.
• On the other hand, as honey bees populations decrease, genetically edited honey bees which live longer, might be of use in India.
• On a related note, the guidelines define GE insects by their risk group and not by the end product.

Uncertainty of ambit

• The guidelines offer standard operating procedures for GE mosquitoes, crop pests, and beneficial insects but what ‘beneficial’ means, in the context of GE insects, is not clear.
• The lack of clarity about the insects and the modifications to them that are deemed ‘beneficial’ will impede funders and scientists from investing in this research. In a country with low public as well as private funding, the absence of a precise stance to identify and  promote research priorities hampers progress.
• Other gene-editing guidelines contain similar ambiguity, such as the National Guidelines for Gene Therapy Product Development and Clinical Trials. They identify a gene-therapy product as “any entity which includes a nucleic acid component being delivered by various means for therapeutic benefit”. But they don’t “define therapeutic benefit”, creating confusion on which gene therapy products will actually be permitted.
• Further, genetic engineering can also be used to unintentionally generate malicious products. In 2016, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency floated an ‘Insect Allies’ programme with the idea of creating insect vectors to deliver gene-editing components to plants that are threatened by pests. Scientists quickly pointed out that this application could also be used to create bioweapons. Similarly, the new guidelines don’t sufficiently account for more dangerous possibilities.

2. CENTRE FOR SCIENCE AND ENVIRONMENT (CSE) REPORT ON EMISSION

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: As of April 2023, however, only 5 per cent of the country’s installed coal-based thermal power generation capacities had the FGD mechanism in place, according to a new report by Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment (CSE).

EXPLANATION:

• Emission reduction has been the unequivocally accepted pathway for limiting global warming.  But despite ambitious targets, one of the most polluting sectors of India coal-based thermal power generation  was found to be brazenly flouting emission norms and not doing the bare minimum required to reduce their environmental footprint.
• A case in point is the poor implementation of the sulphur dioxide emissions regulations issued by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in 2015.
• The ministry made it mandatory for thermal power plants to instal a flue gas de-sulfurization (FGD) system to remove sulphur dioxide from their exhaust.
• Moreover, 17 per cent of the overall coal power capacity was still at very initial stages of compliance.
• The organisation analysed the updated status of FGD systems in thermal power plants from data released by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), the technical arm of the Union Ministry of Power.
• The findings for eastern India were abysmal as no plant in the region was found to be compliant of SO2 emissions norms.
• Maharashtra has the highest capacity complying with the norms, followed by Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Tamil Nadu, showed the analysis.
• Only 0.81 GW of the 32.63 GW newly commissioned capacity is complying with the norms, the researchers found.
• Just 57 per cent of the capacity within 10 kilometres of Delhi-NCR or million-plus cities will be able to meet the deadline, based on the analysis. Around 11 per cent of the capacity within 10 km radius of critically polluted areas is unlikely to meet the deadline.
• Around 13 gigawatts of the installed capacity is now likely to comply because of the extension in deadline, the report noted.
• None of the plants that have installed FGDs or are reported to be complying with SOx norms are state-owned, the analysts found.
• The latest National Electricity Plan (NEP) for 2022-32 cited various factors that may have delayed the implementation of the norms: The sector’s dependency on the external market for some FGD components, novelty of the technology for the Indian market and the COVID-19 pandemic.

National Electricity Plan:

• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) has notified the National Electricity Plan (NEP) for the period of 2022-32.
• The plan document, which was released on May 31, 2023, includes a review of the last five years (2017-22), a detailed plan for the next five years (2022-27), and the prospective plan for the next five years (2027-32).

Peak demand

• According to the NEP document, the projected All-India peak electricity demand and electrical energy requirement are 277.2 GW and 1,907.8 BU for FY27 and 366.4 GW and 2473.8 BU for FY32, as per 20th Electric Power Survey (EPS) Demand projections.
• The energy requirement & peak demand are inclusive of the impact due to increased adoption of electric vehicles, installation of solar rooftops, production of green hydrogen, Saubhagya scheme, etc, a government release said.

Generation Capacity

• Based on generation planning studies carried out under the purview of preparation of the National Electricity Plan for the period of 2022-27, the likely installed power generation capacity for FY27 is 609,591 MW, and that for FY32 is 900,422 MW.
• The projection of total capacity addition is in line with the target of the country to achieve a non-fossil-based installed capacity of around 500 GW by the year 2029-30.
• NEP envisages that the share of non-fossil-based capacity is likely to increase to 57.4 percent by the end of FY27 and may further increase to 68.4 percent by the end of FY23, from around 42.5 percent as on April 2023.
• The average PLF of the total installed coal capacity of 235.1 GW is likely to be about 58.4 percent in 2026-27and that of 259.6 GW of coal-based capacity is likely to be about 58.7 percent in 2031-32.
• The project battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity is projected at 8,680 mw for FY27. For FY32, the estimated figure is 47,244 MW. BESS capacity is based on four-hour storage. The corresponding power available would therefore be 34,720 MWh and 236,220 MWh, respectively.
• The domestic coal requirement has been estimated to be 866.4 million tonnes for FY276 and 1025.8 million tonnes for FY32 and an estimated requirement of 28.9 million tonnes of coal imports for the plants designed to run on imported coal.

3. FLASH FLOODS

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Flash floods have led to landslides in parts of Himachal Pradesh and Haryana. The Chandigarh-Manali highway was blocked following flash floods and landslides since in parts of Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. Flash floods were witnessed in Khotinallah near Aut (in HP) on the Pandoh–Kullu stretch due to a heavy downpour and the commuters have been stranded as a result.

EXPLANATION:

• Flash floods refers to a flood situation, but one that occurs in a much shorter span of time, under six hours, and is a highly localised phenomenon.
• The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) added that there was no warning for flash floods. But flash floods are not simply a situation of excessive rains, there are certain criteria for terming rains as such.
• Excessive or continuous rainfall over a period of days, or during particular seasons, can lead to stagnation of water and cause flooding.
• Flash floods refer to such a situation, but occurring in a much shorter span of time, and are highly localised.
• For instance, the US’s meteorological agency, the National Weather Service, says flash floods are caused when rainfall creates flooding in less than 6 hours. It adds that flash floods can also be caused by factors apart from rainfall, like when water goes beyond the levels of a dam.
• In India, flash floods are often associated with cloudbursts – sudden, intense rainfall in a short period of time. Himalayan states further face the challenge of overflowing glacial lakes, formed due to the melting of glaciers, and their numbers have been increasing in the last few years.
• Frequently, flash floods are accompanied by landslides, which are sudden movements of rock, boulders, earth or debris down a slope. It is common in mountainous terrains, where there are conditions created for it in terms of the soil, rock, geology and slope.
• Natural causes that trigger landslides include heavy rainfall, earthquakes, snowmelting and undercutting of slopes due to Landslides can also be caused by human activities, such as excavation, cutting of hills and trees, excessive infrastructure development, and overgrazing by cattle. India is one of the countries most likely to face landslides.
• Flash flooding commonly happens more where rivers are narrow and steep, so they flow more They can occur in urban areas located near small rivers, since hard surfaces such as roads and concrete do not allow the water to absorb into the ground.

How common are flash floods and floods?

• According to government data from a project by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, India is the worst flood-affected country in the world, after Bangladesh, and accounts for one-fifth of the global death count due to floods. Flash floods have been commonly witnessed in cities like Chennai and Mumbai. Depression and cyclonic storms in the coastal areas of Orissa, West Bengal, Andhra Pradesh, and others also cause flash floods.
• Further, data from the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) states that one of the reasons for flood situations occurring so frequently is that nearly 75 per cent of the total Indian rainfall is concentrated over a short monsoon season of four months (June to September).
• As a result, the rivers witness a heavy discharge during these months. About 40 million hectares of land in the country are liable to floods according to the National Flood Commission, and an average of 18.6 million hectares of land are affected annually.
• Flash floods may in the future, begin to take place after wildfires that have been taking place more frequently. This is because wildfires destroy forests and other vegetation, which in turn weakens the soil and makes it less permeable for water to seep through.

4. GLOBAL LIVEABILITY INDEX 2023

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has recently unveiled its highly anticipated list of the ‘Most Liveable Cities in the World 2023’.

EXPLANATION:

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has recently unveiled its highly anticipated list of the ‘Most Liveable Cities in the World 2023’.
• Through an evaluation of five metrics, including healthcare, culture, environment, education, and stability, this ranking offers insights into the cities that excel in providing an exceptional quality of life.
• This year, the index covered 172 cities and for the second year in a row, Vienna, Austria, has been named the best city to live in the world.
• The Global Liveability Index 2023 attributed Vienna’s success to its “unsurpassed combination of stability, good infrastructure, strong education and healthcare services, and plenty of culture and entertainment.”
• Denmark’s capital Copenhagen also retained its second-place position in the list. Following it are two Australian cities, Melbourne and Sydney, respectively. “The Australian cities, which bounced up and down the rankings during the pandemic, are now in third and fourth place.
• They have seen their scores in the healthcare category improve since last year when they were still affected by Covid waves that stressed their healthcare systems.
• Three Canadian cities Vancouver, Calgary and Toronto also made it to the top ten list. From Asia, Japan’s Osaka was ranked number 10 in the rankings.
• According to EIU, the index rose last year to reach a 15-year high as the world recovered from the pandemic. The average index score is now 76.2 out of 100, up from 73.2 a year ago.
• Despite overall growth in the index score, stability saw a marginal decline.
• It is because of instances of civil unrest in many cities amid a cost-of-living crisis and an uptick in crimes in some cities. The EIU added that those in Western Europe in particular, have slipped in rankings due to increased instances of workers’ strikes failing to “match gains” made by cities in Asia and the Middle East.

List of the top 10 cities in the world in 2023:

1. Vienna, Austria
2. Copenhagen, Denmark
3. Melbourne, Australia
4. Sydney, Australia
5. Vancouver, Canada
6. Zurich, Switzerland
7. Calgary, Canada
8. Geneva, Switzerland
9. Toronto, Canada
10. Osaka, Japan

5. MEDICINES PATENT POOL (MPP)

TAG: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: In a move that would make certain cancer drugs more accessible and cheaper for patients, the Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) signed sub-licence agreements with three India-based companies, Eugia, Hetero and Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, along with Indonesian firm BrightGene to manufacture generic versions of Novartis’ cancer treatment drug Nilotinib. The drug is used for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML), a type of blood-cell cancer.

EXPLANATION:

• These are the first sub-licence agreements that MPP has signed for a cancer treatment drug and are the result of a licence agreement signed between MPP and Novartis Pharma AG in October 2022 for their patented cancer medicine. Nilotinib is sold under the brand name Tasigna and marketed worldwide by Novartis.
• According to information released by MPP, a United Nations-backed group working to increase access to, and facilitate the development of, life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the selected manufacturers can manufacture generic versions of Nilotinib in India and seven middle-income countries and supply it in 44 territories included in the licence through a non-exclusive licence agreement, subject to local regulatory authorisation.
• The licence includes the opportunity to develop and supply generic versions of Nilotinib in seven middle-income countries, namely Egypt, Guatemala, Indonesia, Morocco, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Tunisia, where patents on the product are pending or in force.
• In 2020, the World Health Organization reported that more than 3.5 million new cancer cases were diagnosed in LMICs and premature deaths from cancer in these countries will rise from 2.3 million to 4 million in the next 20 years.
• MPP, said that they have worked with the four generic manufacturers to develop generic Nilotinib and bring an affordable treatment option to people diagnosed with CML in the selected countries.
• Voluntary licensing is a truly impactful way of delivering affordable treatments to tackle the ever-rising burden of cancer in LMICs.
• President of Global Health and Sustainability added that great gains have been seen in cancer survival in the richest countries over the last decade.
• Through ‘public-private partnerships’, it aims to address barriers to healthcare and expand access to innovative treatment solutions for the long-term for as many people as possible regardless of location or socio-economic situation.

Medicines Patent Pool:

• The Medicines Patent Pool (MPP) is a United Nations-backed public health organisation working to increase access to, and facilitate the development of, life-saving medicines for low- and middle-income countries.
• Through its innovative business model, MPP partners with civil society, governments, international organisations, industry, patient groups, and other stakeholders, to prioritise and license needed medicines and pool intellectual property to encourage generic manufacture and the development of new formulations.
• MPP has signed agreements with 18 patent holders for 14 HIV antiretrovirals, one HIV technology platform, three hepatitis C direct-acting antivirals, a tuberculosis treatment, a cancer treatment, four long-acting technologies, three oral antiviral treatments for COVID-19 and 12 COVID-19 technologies.
• MPP was founded by Unitaid, which continues to be MPP’s main funder. MPP’s work on access to essential medicines is also funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). MPP’s activities in COVID-19 are undertaken with the financial support of the Japanese Government, the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, the German Agency for International Cooperation, and SDC.

1. NEW COLLECTIVE QUANTIFIED GOAL ON CLIMATE FINANCE

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: The recently-concluded Bonn climate conference in Germany, expected to outline the political agenda for the crucial end-of-year Conference Of Parties-28 (COP28) in Dubai, was critical for reviewing and reforming the climate finance architecture.

EXPLANATION:

What is the NCQG?

• A commitment of ‘$100 billion per year till 2020’ to developing nations from developed countries was a target set at the Conference of Parties (COP) in 2009.
• But estimates since then show addressing climate change may cost billions, and even, trillions of dollars.
• Therefore, the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement agreed on setting a New Collective Quantified Goal (NCGQ) for climate financing prior to 2025 a reference point which accounts for the needs and priorities of developing nations.
• The NCGQ is thus, termed the “most important climate goal”. It pulls up the ceiling on commitment from developed countries, is supposed to anchor the evolving needs and priorities of developing countries based on scientific evidence and should respond “to the ever-increasing sums of funding necessary for Loss and Damage in response to failed and/or delayed financial support.
• It is stated under paragraph 53 of Decision 1/CP.21 that “developed countries intend to continue their existing collective mobilization goal through 2025 in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation.” All actors, from Parties to non-state stakeholders, must work together to create a bolder commitment to climate finance with the necessary tools and capacities to reduce adaptation and mitigation gaps and avoid any further loss and damage (L&D), in aid of climate-resilient development.

Guiding principles

• The formulation and operationalization of the NCQG need to be bound within the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement, anchored on climate justice.

• The new goal must be grounded on the long-established principles of the “polluter pays”, common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capacities, and intergenerational justice. It must be inclusive of the needs and priorities of developing countries and the most vulnerable sectors and communities (from both developed and developing nations), using the lens of gender, youth, indigenous peoples, and other highly-vulnerable sectors.
• It should also be primarily based on national climate policies and plans, such as the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). All established financial glows must abide by Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement, where Parties agreed to “making finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas emissions and climate-resilient development.”

• The NCQG must be regularly updated to reflect the changing needs of developing countries and the most vulnerable sectors.

• Climate finance is never static, as risks, vulnerabilities, social, economic, and environmental conditions, development goals, and corresponding needs for adaptation and mitigation evolve as a response to GHG emissions, climate change impacts, and among themselves.
• The quantitative and qualitative characteristics of the new goal to be determined by 2025 must reflect the dynamic nature and interlinkages between and among impacts, solutions, and stakeholders relevant to developing countries, with subsequent finance goals being updated to cover changes to these factors and actors.

Structure and components

• The NCQG must be established as a matrix that categorizes targets according to the three pillars of climate action. These pillars are mitigation, adaptation, and L&D, with a specific list of quantitative and qualitative sub-goals listed under each of these components that differentiates needs for direct (i.e., project funding) and indirect (i.e., investments) modes of finance.
• Gaps, needs, and priorities must be based on what developing countries indicated in their policy documents under the UNFCCC, including NDCs, NAPs, and National Communications. With the understanding that current metrics for mitigation are mostly quantitative and those for adaptation are qualitative, the resulting formats for reporting data under the NCQG must reflect these characteristics.
• The funding allocated for adaptation and resilience must be at least half of the NCQG.
• Despite Article 9.4 of the Paris Agreement stating the need for a financing balance between mitigation and adaptation, the latter has been underfunded. The lack of adaptation finance places billions of people, especially those in Least Developed Countries and Small-Island Developing States, at even higher climate risk and worsens vulnerabilities that perpetuates climate injustices. Developed countries must commit to ensuring that at least 50% of the new goal will be dedicated to adaptation, with this percentage evolving in subsequent settings of the NCQG depending on global and national circumstances related to adaptation and mitigation.
• The NCQG must include allocated finance for averting or minimizing loss and damage. L&D must be officially recognized at COP27 as the third pillar of climate action and finance, separate from adaptation and mitigation, in words as much as in actions. Key to this call is the establishment of a L&D finance mechanism at COP27, which is vital to the survival of the victims of sudden onset disasters and slow onset events.
• Aligned with the justice and rights-based principles that are also reflected within the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreements, modalities under this finance facility must be grants-based, needs-based, gender-responsive, comprehensive in coverage of economic and non-economic L&D, and driven by inputs from those experiencing L&D themselves.
• The NCQG must allocate a portion of the finance in advancing climate change education. Education is the foundation on which to build the road to climate resilience and low- emissions sustainable development, a vital component of adaptation that strengthens multiple facets of climate action, especially long-term competencies, continuity within the climate sphere, and intergenerational justice.
• A fund under the NCQG must be allotted to support the implementation of the Glasgow Work Programme, which was adopted at COP26 to enhance the implementation of Action for Climate Empowerment (ACE), as defined under Article 6 of the UNFCCC. The decision-making process in determining this “ACE Fund” must include youth representation and be largely driven by the inputs of this sector.
• The NCQG must increase every five years and embedded with monitoring, review, transparency, and accountability mechanisms. Updating the NCQG post-2025 should be based on the findings of the latest Global Stocktake (GST) through an evidence-based, comprehensive, regular, and inclusive review process. This must result in higher ambition and corresponding pledges for the next collective goal to be set, aligned with the principle of increasing ambition as stipulated within the Paris Agreement. Spaces and mechanisms must be placed such that the inputs of non-state actors, especially civil society groups and the most vulnerable communities and sectors, are meaningfully integrated into the process.
• Standardized terminologies, methodologies, formats, and communications of NCQG-related pledges by developed countries and other funding stakeholders must also be established to obtain as accurate of an assessment of the progress being made as possible, and avoid double- counting that dilutes the intended impact of such financing and collective pursuit of addressing the climate crisis, especially for developing countries.

2. NATIONAL MEDICAL COMMISSION (NMC)

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: While first year MBBS classes are likely to begin on August 1 of each year, the National Medical Commission (NMC) has also brought in changes in the undergraduate medical curriculum with the latest overhaul bringing in time limit on completing the MBBS course (by 9 years), fixed number of attempts to clear failed papers, compulsory attendance for both theory and practical papers and a family outreach programme.

EXPLANATION:

• Additionally, some subjects, including biochemistry and microbiology, have seen a reduction in the number of papers that need to be taken by the students.
• Reacting to the changes, senior doctors expressed fear that medical education is growing in its dependency on coaching institutes while medical students feel the changes are welcome.
• Meanwhile, as per the latest format, the four-and-half-year MBBS course will be divided into three phases with first and second phases of 12 months each, and phase three will be of 30 months — part I of 12 months and part II of 18 months.
• Each academic year will have at least 39 teaching weeks with a minimum of eight hours of study on each day and a total of 15 hours per week clinical posting is necessary from second year onwards. A minimum of 75% attendance in theory and 80% in practical or clinical is must for eligibility to appear for the examinations in that subject.
• Students failing in university examinations at the end of each professional year will appear in supplementary exams. As per the guidelines, supplementary exam results will be processed within three to six weeks from the date of declaration of the results of the main examination for every professional year, so that the candidates who pass can join the main batch for progression. The council has also specified the time that can be taken for clearing supplementary papers at various stages.
• Also, the National Exit Test (NExT), a comprehensive computer-based examination, that will replace the corresponding existing examinations for medical graduates in India, is to be conducted in December-January in the subjects of General Medicine, General Surgery, Ophthalmology, Obstetrics and Gynaecology, among others. NExT is also set to replace the NEET-PG entrance exams in India after 2023.

National Medical Commission (NMC)

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) has been constituted by an act of Parliament known as National Medical Commission Act, 2019.
• The Board of Governors in supersession of Medical Council of India constituted under section 3A of the Indian Medical Council Act, 1956 stands dissolved thereafter.
• While the MCI members were elected from within the medical community, the members of the NMCwere to be appointed by the government. NMC was thus prone to politicization of its very governing structure. It also summarily eroded the medical fraternity’s privilege of self-regulation.
• The Aim of the National Medical Commission are to (i) improve access to quality and affordable medical education, (ii) ensure availability of adequate and high quality medical professionals in all parts of the country; (iii) promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens; (iv) encourages medical professionals to adopt latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research; (v) objectively assess medical institutions  periodically in a transparent manner; (vi) maintain a medical register for India; (vi) enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services; (vii) have an effective grievance redressal mechanism.

3. INSOLVENCY RESOLUTION PROCESS

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: The low-cost airline Go First (originally GoAir) filed for the initiation of insolvency proceedings recently. The company had been struggling with engine troubles for some time, which had led to the grounding of a large number of its aircraft. The percentage of grounded aircraft had risen from 7% of Go First’s fleet in December 2019 to 50% in December 2022. As a consequence, the market share of the airline crashed from 11% in November 2019 to 6.9% in March 2023. This significantly affected its cash flows, weakening its ability to meet its obligations.

EXPLANATION:

• A revival plan is reportedly in the works. But airfares are as of now through the roof, and the IBC process has been slower and less productive than expected. The longer this process is delayed, the more will be the value lost, and the more difficult it will be to restart operations.
• It is a struggling company’s financial creditors (banks) and operational creditors (who supply goods and services) who typically initiate proceedings under The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016 for non-payment of their dues. In Go First’s case, however, it was the company that filed for the initiation of these proceedings. The airline had not defaulted on its loan repayments to banks, but had reportedly defaulted on obligations to its operational creditors.

 What is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code?

• In 2016, the government put in place a framework to deal with the problem of bad loans in the country’s banking system. The IBC provides a framework for a time-bound resolution process.
• Broadly, if a company is unable to service its obligations (payments that are due to its financial and operational creditors), one of two processes could follow: (i) the company’s liabilities are restructured, and it gets a chance to continue its operations, perhaps under new owners; (ii) its assets are liquidated, and the money is recovered.
• Before the IBC, there were other regulatory frameworks to deal with bad loans. But it usually took very long for the process to conclude. As per the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business report, it would take 4.3 years on average to resolve insolvency cases before the IBC was enacted.
• The IBC put strict timelines in place. Initially, the process was to be completed within 270 days, failing which the company would be pushed into liquidation; the deadline was subsequently extended to 330 days. The time-bound nature of the process under IBC was appealing, because delays in resolution lead to further destruction in the value of the firm.

So did the introduction of the IBC help creditors?

• The IBC attempted to reshape the credit culture in the country by titling the balance in favour of creditors. The threat of losing their company under this framework, as soon the proceedings are initiated, the existing promoters/ management lose control over the firm works as a powerful deterrent for errant promoters and puts pressure on them to honour their obligations.
• This framework has also given a negotiating tool to operational creditors, who are typically small firms, to negotiate the payment of their dues by larger firms. Data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India show that of all the cases admitted under IBC, proceedings in almost half have been initiated by operational creditors, signalling how widely this is being used by these firms.

4. SUMMER SOLSTICE

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: The longest day of the year, for anyone living north of the Equator, is June 21. The day is referred to as the summer solstice, and it occurs when the sun is directly over the Tropic of Cancer, or more specifically right over 23.5 degrees north latitude.

EXPLANATION:

Why do we have the summer solstice?

• Since Earth rotates on its axis, the Northern Hemisphere gets more direct sunlight between March and September over the course of a day, which also means people living in the Northern Hemisphere experience summer during this time. The rest of the year, the Southern Hemisphere gets more sunlight.
• During the solstice, the Earth’s axis around which the planet spins, completing one turn each day is tilted in a way that the North Pole is tipped towards the Sun and the South Pole is away from it.
• Typically, this imaginary axis passes right through the middle of the Earth from top to bottom and is always tilted at 23.5 degrees with respect to the Sun. Therefore, the solstice, as NASA puts it, is that instant in time when the North Pole points more directly toward the Sun than at any other time during the year. Solstice means “sun stands still” in Latin.
• While the solstice occurs at the same time across the world, different countries experience it at different times according to their time zones.

What happens during the solstice?

• This day sees the Earth receiving a greater amount of energy from the Sun.
• The maximum amount of sunlight received by the Northern Hemisphere during this time is usually on June 20, 21 or 22. In contrast, the Southern Hemisphere receives most sunlight on December 21, 22 or 23 when the northern hemisphere has its longest nights or the winter solstice.
• The amount of light received by a specific area in the Northern Hemisphere during the summer solstice depends on the latitudinal location of the place. The further north one moves from the equator, the more light one receives during the summer solstice. At the Arctic Circle, the sun does not set during the solstice.
• Summer solstice, however, does not necessarily mean the earliest sunrise or latest sunset. That depends on the latitudinal location of the country.

5. TITAN, THE MISSING TITANIC TOURIST SUBMERSIBLE

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: On June 18, a submersible named Titan went missing. On board the missing vehicle were one pilot and four crew members travelling to see the wreckage of RMS Titanic, which is nearly four thousand metres under water in the frigid North Atlantic ocean. One hour and forty-five minutes into the journey, contact with Titan was lost.

EXPLANATION:

• United States and Canadian authorities have been using airplanes and boats, and are leveraging sonar technology to locate the sub.
• Titan has 96 hours of life support for a crew of five. Authorities are working round the clock to re-establish contact with the undersea vehicle. One of the crew members is Stockton Rush, CEO of OceanGate Inc., the company that runs these tours to the sunken ship.

What is the Titan submersible?

• Titan is a submersible, or an underwater vehicle. It is operated by the privately owned U.S. company OceanGate that organises underwater expeditions for both research and tourism.
• The company claims that Titan, which it said was built with “off-the-shelf” components, is lighter and more cost-efficient than other deep diving submersibles. The 6.7-metre-long manned submersible is intended for site survey and inspection, research and data collection, film and media production, and deep sea testing of hardware and software.
• The company said its expeditions were meant to document the Titanic and its rate of decay on the ocean floor, and that all expeditions were in line with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Guidelines for Research Exploration and Salvage of RMS Titanic, as well as the UNESCO guidelines for the preservation of underwater world heritage sites.

What do these guidelines say?

• The UNESCO guidelines stress on the long-term preservation of “underwater cultural heritage” and the need to protect the surrounding waters as well by ensuring “responsible non-intrusive access.”
• The NOAA guidelines are similar and insist that recovered material and artefacts must be managed as per professional standards. In other words, taking souvenirs from the wreckage site is strongly discouraged.

What is the difference between a submarine and a submersible?

• While the two categories can overlap, a submarine refers to an underwater vehicle that is largely independent and has power reserves to help it depart from a port or come back to the port after an expedition.
• Meanwhile, a submersible is generally smaller in size and has less power, so it needs to work with a ship in order to be launched and recovered.

How was the submersible operated?

• Titan is made of carbon fibre and titanium, and weighs 10,432 kilograms, according to OceanGate’s website. It is capable of going 4,000 metres undersea, and moves as fast as three knots per hour (5.56 kph). Based on images from the company website, there is space for the five crew members to sit on the floor, though not stand.
• A small porthole window is at one end, but below 1,000 metres no sunlight reaches the ocean so the submersible would have to rely on its own lighting. The submersible is dependent on external crew members, as it is bolted from the outside. Titan also has an integrated launch and recovery platform
• The sub’s interior was filmed when it was on land. In a 2022 video interview with BBC, OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush said that Titan had only one button inside and that the submersible was run with a “Sony PlayStation-style controller” made by Logitech. The company has explained that “off-the-shelf” technology helped make it easier to replace parts.
• While it may sound strange that a submersible on such a high-risk expedition was operated with a gaming-style controller, the fact is that such devices are also used by some drone operators, navy personnel, and robot operators. Game controllers are cheap, easy to buy in bulk, designed to be intuitive, and respond quickly to the users’ hand movements.
• Before the expedition, OceanGate also said in a tweet that it was relying on satellite-based internet from the Elon Musk-founded company SpaceX’s Starlink for communication from the middle of the ocean, throughout the Titanic expedition.

1. THE REMARKABLE ENDURANCE OF THE Y CHROMOSOME, ‘MASTER OF MALENESS’

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Researchers have discovered that the Y chromosome possesses genes linked to ageing and lifespan regulation.

EXPLANATION:

• In humans, in addition to the 22 pairs of chromosomes in each, there is a pair of sex chromosomes called X and Y.
• Sex as a specification is determined by these sex chromosomes. They carry sex-determining genes.
• All biological males have X and Y chromosomes and all biological females have two X chromosomes. The ‘sex-determining region Y’ on the Y chromosome determines the biological male sex.

How is the Y chromosome characterised?

• Scientists published the complete genetic sequence of the Y chromosome in 2003. This sequence provided an outline of 23 million bases of the 60 million or so bases that together make up the Y chromosome. In total, the chromosome encoded for only 55 genes and accounted for around 2% of the genetic material inside a cell.
• Many researchers refer to the Y chromosome as the “juvenile delinquent” among chromosomes due to its abundance of repetitive sequences, poor functional utility with a small number of genes, reluctance to recombine with other chromosomes, and a high proclivity to degenerate over the course of evolution.
• It has little potential to recombine, the diminutive Y chromosome has been passed from father to son, carrying the legacy of generations.
• Scientists have extensively studied it to understand human migration and evolution. It has also fuelled countless debates, unravelled the mysteries of paternity, revealed genetic diversity, and illuminated the intricate tapestry of our shared past.

Why does the Y chromosome matter?

• In a landmark genetic study, published in March 2003 in the American Journal of Human Genetics, researchers reported that around 0.5% of all the men in the world have inherited a Y chromosome from the Mongol emperor Genghis Khan or one of his descendants.
• Researchers have discovered of late that the Y chromosome possesses genes that are vital to biological functions, including those linked to ageing and lifespan regulation
• In the animal kingdom (including mammals), scientists have noticed substantial differences in lifespan between the sexes: the females tend to live longer than the males. This phenomenon has been attributed largely to the absence of a second Y chromosome in males, exposing the deleterious mutations in the X chromosome.
• It is also well known that men lose the Y chromosome (LoY) with age and that this is associated with a higher frequency of cancers, Alzheimer’s disease, and a shorter lifespan.
• However, a recent study in fruit flies from France’s National Centre for Scientific Research, published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution attributed the longevity to the phenotypic sex of the animal rather than the presence of a Y chromosome. Phenotypic sex refers to an individual’s sex as deduced from their genitalia.

2. INITIATIVE ON CRITICAL AND EMERGING TECHNOLOGY (iCET)

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Recently, India and the United States unveiled a roadmap for enhanced collaboration in high-technology areas, with a focus on addressing regulatory barriers and aligning export controls for smoother trade and “deeper cooperation” in critical areas. This was part of the Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technology (iCET) announced by US President and Indian Prime Minister in 2022.

EXPLANATION:

What is iCET?

• The Initiative on Critical and Emerging Technologies is a framework agreed upon by India and the U.S. for cooperation on critical and emerging technologies in areas including artificial intelligence, quantum computing, semiconductors and wireless telecommunication.
• It was launched in January 2023 to strengthen their strategic partnership and drive technology and defence cooperation.
• It was first announced the framework on the sidelines of the Quad meeting in Tokyo in May 2022.
• The United States and India affirm that the ways in which technology is designed, developed, governed, and used should be shaped by our shared democratic values and respect for universal human rights.
• It aims to fostering an open, accessible, and secure technology ecosystem, based on mutual trust and confidence, that will reinforce our democratic values and democratic institutions.

What are the focus areas of the initiative?

• Primarily, the iCET seeks to position India and USA as “trusted technology partners” to build supply chains and support the co-production and co-development of items.
• A White House fact sheet released after the inaugural dialogue gives a broad outline of areas the two countries intend to explore to expand the depth of tech partnership and cooperation between their governments, businesses, and academic institutions.
• Key takeaways include setting up a research agency partnership to drive collaboration in areas like AI; developing a new defence industrial cooperation roadmap to accelerate technological cooperation for joint development and production; developing common standards in AI; developing a roadmap to accelerate defence technological cooperation and ‘innovation bridge’ to connect defence startups; supporting the development of a semiconductor ecosystem; strengthening cooperation on human spaceflight; advancing cooperation on development in 5G and 6G; and adopting OpenRAN network technology in India.

What has been the progress so far?

• The two countries have already put in place the Quantum Coordination Mechanism, launched a public-private dialogue (PDD) on telecommunication to drive collaboration in OpenRAN, 5G and 6G, and held “important exchanges” on AI and space.
• India and the U.S. signed an MoU on establishing a semiconductor supply chain that paved the way for creating a semiconductor sub-committee to review recommendations from an industry-led task force launched in connection with the iCET.
• On the defence front, the two countries are close to concluding a mega jet engine deal.
• In addition, a new initiative to advance cutting-edge technology cooperation, known as the India-U.S. Defence Acceleration Ecosystem (INDUS-X), is set to be launched during the visit.
• India and the U.S. have also concluded a roadmap for ‘Defence Industrial Cooperation’ to guide the policy direction for the next few years.
• The two countries have also established a Strategic Trade Dialogue to remove regulatory “barriers” and review existing export control norms to take forward strategic technology and trade collaborations envisaged under iCET.
• Both the NSAs express optimism that the initiative will achieve more specific and tangible results in the near future
• India and the United States unveiled a roadmap for enhanced collaboration in high-technology areas, with a focus on addressing regulatory barriers and aligning export controls for smoother trade and “deeper cooperation” in critical areas.
• India and the U.S. signed an MoU on establishing a semiconductor supply chain that paved the way for creating a semiconductor sub-committee to review recommendations from an industry-led task force launched in connection with the iCET.

3. FUNCTIONING OF TELEGRAM BOTS

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Bots on Telegram are small applications that run entirely within the platform and can be designed to support any kind of task or service. However, not all of them are secure and safe. They may collect user data, including personal information and chat history.

EXPLANATION:

• Recently, reports came out which alleged that a Telegram bot had access to and was presenting the identification numbers of the documents submitted for vaccination purposes which includes Aadhaar, PAN card, and even passport numbers of individuals.
• In a similar incident, in 2021, a bot on the platform was found selling phone numbers pulled from Facebook. Security researchers reportedly found a network of deep fake bots on the platform that were generating non-consensual images of people submitted by users, some of which involved children.

What is Telegram?

• Telegram is an open-source API messaging platform service launched in 2013. The platform allows developers to create their own apps and use the free-to-use API to develop specialised tools, like bots, to integrate services.
• The platform currently has over 700 million monthly active users and is one of the 10 most downloaded apps in the world, and is known for supporting file shares of up to 2GB, stored on the cloud that can be accessed from different devices.
• Telegram makes money through its sponsored messages and premium subscriptions. The platform protects private conversations from snooping third parties including officials, marketers, and advertisers, the platform’s website says.
• The platform does not process any requests related to group chats and private conversations among participants. They only entertain requests related to sticker sets, channels, and bots as they are publicly available.

What are Telegram bots?

• Bots are computer programs that act as agents of a user or another computer program. Bots on Telegram are small applications that run entirely within the platform and can be designed to support any kind of task or service.
• Bots on Telegram can host full Web Apps and can be designed to support everything from online stores to arcade games. Additionally, they can also be designed to make it easier for users to access information held within large databases they are connected to.
• Users can enter commands, or simply enter the name or description of files they are looking for and the bot can search the connected database to present the information.
• Bots are listed on the platform as special accounts that do not require a phone number to set up and are connected to the owner’s server which processes input and requests from users. They can be found using the search feature on the Telegram app.

Who can create bots on Telegram?

• Any developer with some skills in computer programming or a third-party service provider can create a Telegram bot using the platform’s bot API. The API gives the tools and framework required to integrate code for the bot within the platform. The platform assists the creation of bots through “Botfather” a virtual user designed to be the central development tool for Telegram bots.
• Telegram requires bots created using its Bot API to be registered using an authentication token generated by the platform. Bots on the platform can be created using a wide range of programming languages which include Java and Python.

What is the use of bots on Telegram?

• Bots are usually used in professional areas for smart communication and pulling information from defined databases.
• Users can send commands to bots that they respond to with relevant information or perform tasks they are designed to do. For example, if a user does not wish to open their email app to check their messages, they can use a bot to check their email within the Telegram app.
• Users can also authorise bots to respond to emails from the Telegram app.

Are bots on Telegram safe?

• While Telegram encourages developers to create bots that comply with its terms of service, not all bots may be secure and some can pose security risks.
• Bots may collect user data, including personal information and chat history and users should read the terms of service and privacy policy to understand how individual bots handle user data.
• Bots can also be created by threat actors to contain malicious content, such as links to phishing websites or malware. Threat actors can also distribute bots to scam users, promising rewards or discounts on purchases to lure users into sharing their personal data.
• Some bots could have security vulnerabilities that can be used by threat actors to compromise the security of users.

4. DIRECT SEEDING VERSUS TRANSPLANTING

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: As weak monoon can impact paddy production, here direct seeding of rice, instead of transplanting and flooding of fields, can cut down the massive water consumption of paddy.

EXPLANATION:

• The southwest monsoon season (June-September) has registered 37.2% deficient rain so far. With most global weather agencies predicting El Niño which typically suppresses rainfall in India to fully set in by this month-end, the outlook for the rest of the season doesn’t look great.
• A weak monsoon can particularly impact paddy (rice with husk). A highly water-intensive crop, its cultivation entails preparing nurseries, where the seeds are first raised into young plants that are uprooted and re-planted around 30 days later in the main field. During the nursery stage, water equivalent to one round of irrigation is given.
• But the real water consumption starts after that: The field in which the seedlings are transplanted is usually irrigated once, before being “puddled” or tilled in standing water. Puddling churns the soil, making it softer for transplanting, and breaks its capillary pores through which water percolates down. This operation alone consumes water equivalent to three irrigations.
• For the first two weeks or more after transplanting, farmers have to irrigate every 1-2 days to maintain a water depth of 4-5 cm, necessary to prevent weed growth during the crop’s early stage. In the remaining 110-odd days out of the total 155-160 days duration (seed to grain) the irrigation requirement reduces to once a week.
• In all, the conventional transplanting route requires some 28 irrigations. It can go up if high temperatures force more frequent watering, and go down if there is enough rain. Each irrigation consumes roughly 5 hectare-cm or 500,000 litres of water (one hectare-cm is one cm of standing water in one hectare area, equal to 100,000 litres).

Direct seeding versus transplanting

• In Direct seeding of rice (DSR) paddy here is sown directly in the field without any nursery preparation, puddling or flooding. In transplanting, the flooded fields basically deny oxygen to the weed seeds in the soil, preventing their germination. Water, thus, acts as a natural herbicide. In DSR, water is replaced with chemical herbicides.
• First ploughing of the land is done  and used a laser leveler machine for smoothening and leveling of the soil surface. This was followed by a pre-sowing irrigation and 2-3 rounds of planking to compact the soil for it to retain moisture.
• Sowing was done by a DSR machine after 4-5 days, when the field had sufficient workable soil moisture. Pendimethalin herbicide was then sprayed (at 1.5 litres/acre) within 24 hours of sowing. The weeds whose small seeds in the soil germinate fast once irrigation is given are killed on coming into contact with this “pre-emergent” herbicide.
• DSR is effective against weeds and saves water compared to transplanting. The second irrigation is required only 18-20 days after sowing. Also, a second “post-emergent” herbicide, bispyribac sodium, is applied (at 100-125 gm/acre) 20-25 days after sowing, when the crop’s main stem has produced 2-3 leaves.
• The water saving in DSR comes from no puddling and flooding of fields during the initial 2-3 weeks.

Why DSR hasn’t picked up?

• A key reason is subsidised or even free electricity for irrigation, providing farmers little incentive to deploy water-saving technology. A second reason highlighted is the lack of good machines.
• The recommended spacing for paddy is 20 cm row-to-row and 15 cm plant-to-plant, allowing for a plant population of 33 per square meter. The DSR seed drill machines mostly sow row-to-row and don’t get the plant-to-plant distance right.

5. IS THIS ‘AGE OF THE DELTA’ COMING TO AN END?

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: The soils are sinking, for varied and complex reasons. Worse, as the climate warms, the seas are rising leading to disappearance of delta, often quite rapidly.

EXPLANATION:

• Deltas are inherently impermanent as climate changes through the epochs, as the seas rise and fall, deltas are formed and then buried underwater. Still, these past few thousand years can be thought of as an “age of the delta,”. Not coincidentally, it has also been an age of human flourishing. Human civilisation started when modern river deltas started to appear.
• Similar landforms flat and wet and rich with wildlife have built up wherever rivers dump their mud and sand into shallow oceans. There are thousands of such deltas across the world, ranging in size from just a few acres to, in the case of the Mississippi River’s, thousands of square miles. Many of these places, including the marshes in Louisiana, are

What are river deltas, and why are they important?

• River deltas are places where river sediments settle. Rivers slow down when they reach the sea, and then all the sediments that rivers carry are dropped out. That builds land over time.
• A typical delta is a place that’s flooded, sometimes by tides every couple of hours, while some deltas flood only once a year, during a monsoon or a big hurricane. The ecology and biology have to be very well adapted to this periodic inundation.
• These are great places for fish. The river-carried sediment is rich with organic material, which is good for agriculture.

How do deltas form?

• Deltas exist on a balance. Some forces are constructive like river to supply a lot of sediment. That can happen naturally, through mountain-building and then erosion that’s why we have a lot of big deltas downstream of the Himalayas.
• Then there are destructive forces. Sea level is a first-order control on the evolution of deltas. When the seas are rising, it’s hard for rivers to supply enough sediment to keep up.
• Humans can actually be a constructive force for deltas. What we’ve seen over the past few hundred years is that deforestation upstream in a river’s watershed can cause an increase in the amount of sediment that is brought down by a river. So in that sense, humans have greatly accelerated delta growth over the past centuries.
• But humans can be a destructive force, too. There is subsidence, for example: land lowering, which happens a lot in deltas because they are built from young, soft soils. Here in the Netherlands, we started to drain the delta because we wanted to use it for agriculture. And then subsidence accelerates and the land sinks beneath your feet, since the water in the soil dries out. So now you build levees to protect yourself from all the extra flooding.

Is it really end of delta?

• Really, though, given how big a control sea-level rise is on delta construction, the biggest problem now is climate change. As ice sheets begin to melt again, that’s causing seas to rise much more quickly than they have in thousands of years.
• It sounds like we’ve been in an “age of the delta,” but that’s now coming to an end.
• So it could go very, very fast. Since sea level is so important here, a lot of that depends on what we do in terms of CO2 emissions and climate change.
• But for many deltas, we’ve built levees, so they’re fixed – they’re not moving anywhere. And big deltas are hard to sustain. They need a lot of sediment. Those deltas are much more uncertain.
• Eventually, sea-level rise will slow again, and then we’ll reenter an age of the delta, when rivers can build again. Ironically, if we continue emissions at a high rate that might happen sooner, because we will speed up the tipping point where the world’s ice sheets collapse. If we continue emissions at a high rate, then sea-level rise might slow again around the year 2400, and deltas may be able to grow again by the end of this millennium, once much of Greenland and Antarctica have melted.

Is there anything we can do to save today’s deltas?

• There are adaptation methods that can work for individual deltas. One key idea is trying to use the sediments coming down from the river in a smarter way. That typically means breaking down levees and restoring the natural flow of the river into the delta’s wetlands. These projects are sometimes called “river diversions.”
• River diversions lead to high sedimentation rates, but these rates decline over time. The sedimentation rate is dependent on the elevation difference, so as you build your land, it gets harder and harder to keep up. And diversions work on very small parts of a delta.

1. EL NINO

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: NOAA flags dramatic warming in Pacific Ocean after 7 years. It is important to note that El Niño has no one-on-one links India’s summer monsoon. However, it is true that practically all drought years in India since Independence have witnessed El Niño events of varying intensity.

EXPLANATION:

• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of the United States federal administration, announced El Niño is back in the Pacific Ocean after seven years.

What is El Niño?

• El Niño, which in Spanish means “little boy”, is a climate pattern that develops along the equatorial Pacific Ocean after intervals of a few years ranging between 2 and 7 years.
• Essentially, water on the surface of the ocean sees an unusual warming in a band straddling the equator in the central and east-central pacific broadly extending from the International Date line and 120°W longitude, i.e., off the Pacific coast of South America, west of the Galapagos islands.

How and why does El Niño happen?

• When the so-called El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) is in its neutral phase, the trade winds blow west along the equator and take the warm water from South America towards Asia.
• However, during an event of El Niño, these trade winds weaken (or may even reverse) and instead of blowing from the east (South America) to the west (Indonesia), they could turn into westerlies.
• In this situation, as the winds blow from the west to east, they cause masses of warm water to move into the central and eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean, and reach the coast of western America.
• During such years, there prevails warmer-than-average sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean.

And what is the impact of El Niño conditions?

• Globally, El Niño has been associated with severe heatwaves, floods, and droughts in the past.
• Depending on its strength, El Niño can cause a range of impacts such as increasing the risk of heavy rainfall and droughts in certain locations around the world.

How severe are this year’s El Niño conditions?

• The 2023 event is the fifth since 2000 — which means they develop every 4-5 years on average.
• Sea surface temperatures along the equatorial Pacific Ocean, especially along the various Niño regions, have been showing signs of much more rapid warming than had been predicted by the weather models.
• The Niño 3.4 index value the vital indicator confirming an event of El Niño jumped from minus 0.2 degrees Celsius to 0.8 degrees Celsius between March and June this year. Whereas, the threshold value of this index is 0.5 degrees Celsius.

How worried should India be about this development?

• In the Indian context, over the last hundred years, there have been 18 drought years.
• Of these, 13 years were associated with El Niño. Thus, there seems to be a correlation between an El Niño event and a year of poor rainfall in India.
• Also, between 1900 and 1950, there were 7 El Niño years but during the 1951-2021 period, there were 15 El Niño years ( 2015, 2009, 2004, 2002, 1997, 1991, 1987, 1982, 1972, 1969, 1965, 1963, 1957, 1953 and 1951). This suggests that the frequency of El Niño events has been increasing over time.
• Of the 15 El Niño years in the 1951-2021 period, nine summer monsoon seasons over the country recorded deficient rain by more than 90 per cent of the Long Period Average (LPA).
• Climate change can exacerbate or mitigate certain impacts related to El Niño.
• It could lead to new records for temperatures, particularly in areas that already experience above-average temperatures.

2. KAZIRANGA MAHOUTS CAUGHT FOR CONSUMING RARE TURTLES 

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Three persons engaged as mahouts in the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve have been arrested for capturing and consuming a rare species of a freshwater turtle i.e spotted pond turtles inside the one-horned rhino habitat. Action against the trio was taken under relevant sections of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

EXPLANATION:

Spotted pond turtles

• Spotted pond turtles are named for the yellow or white spots on their black heads, legs and tails. They have large heads and short snouts, and their webbed feet help them swim.
• The pond turtle’s carapace, or upper shell, is generally black with bright patterns that fade with age. Males have concave carapaces and larger, thicker tails than females.
• Pond turtles bask in the sun to regulate their body temperature.
• Spotted pond turtles are found in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent in the Indus and Ganges river drainages. Their range includes parts of Pakistan, northern India, Bangladesh, and Nepal.

• They are semi-aquatic and can typically be found in shallow, standing waters, such as oxbow lakes, ponds and marshes.
• They prefer water with thick vegetation that provides cover, as well as places to lie and bask.
• Communication : When they retreat into their shells, spotted pond turtles make a soft croak.
• Spotted pond turtles are primarily carnivorous and eat aquatic invertebrates. They use the bony surfaces of their strong jaws to crush the shells of snails, prawns, crabs and other crustaceans. They also eat mollusks, fish, amphibians and cereal grains, and will sometimes graze on grasses.
• Spotted pond turtles reach sexual maturity between 6 and 8 years old. Females dig a bowl-shaped nest for their eggs that is about 6-10 centimeters (2-4 inches) deep. The nest is dug into loamy soil (soil with sand, silt and clay) in a spot where it will be concealed by bushes and other vegetation.
• Spotted pond turtles are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at twilight (dusk and dawn).

Kaziranga national park

• Kaziranga National park’s 430 square kilometer area sprinkled with elephant-grass meadows, swampy lagoons, and dense forests is home to more than 2200 Indian one-horned rhinoceros, approximately 2/3rd of their total world population.
• The park is located in the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspots Golaghat and Nagaon district.
• In the year 1985, the park was declared as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. Along with the iconic Greater one-horned rhinoceros, the park is the breeding ground of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer.
• Over the time, the tiger population has also increased in Kaziranga, and that’s the reason why Kaziranga was declared as Tiger Reserve in 2006. Also, the park is recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species. Birds like lesser white-fronted goose, ferruginous duck, Baer’s pochard duck and lesser adjutant, greater adjutant, black-necked stork, and Asian Openbill stork specially migrate from the Central Asia during the winter season..
• There are mainly four types of vegetation’ like alluvial inundated grasslands, alluvial savanna woodlands, tropical moist mixed deciduous forests, and tropical semi-evergreen forests.

3. UNIFIED PAYMENTS INTERFACE (UPI)

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: As transactions facilitated by the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) breach record highs, banks have opted for daily limits. These are over and above the already imposed ceilings mandated by the facilitator, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), in 2021. The idea is to sustain the smoother functioning of the payments interface as it continues to acquire popularity in our daily lives.

EXPLANATION:

• At present, users can make up to 20 transactions or ₹1 lakh in a single day either all at once or through the day.
• For certain specific categories of transactions such as the capital markets, collections (such as bills, among others), insurance and forward inward remittances, the limit is ₹2 lakh.
• In December 2021, the limit for the UPI-based ASBA (Application Supported by Blocked Amount) IPO and retail direct schemes was increased to ₹5 lakh for each transaction.
• As the payments interface looks to expand its footprint (recall the boarding of non-resident accounts having international numbers into the ecosystem) and its growing utility in daily lives, limits would help maintain an essential security infrastructure and its seamless functioning.

Unified Payments Interface (UPI)

• Unified Payments Interface (UPI) is a system that powers multiple bank accounts into a single mobile application (of any participating bank), merging several banking features, seamless fund routing & merchant payments into one hood.
• It also caters to the “Peer to Peer” collect request which can be scheduled and paid as per requirement and convenience. Each Bank provides its own UPI App for Android, Windows and iOS mobile platform(s).
• The Unified Payment Interface is a way to make payments that work in real-time.
• The Reserve Bank of India, the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI), and the Indian Banks Association started UPI (IBA).

How the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) works?

• UPI uses technologies like the Immediate Payment Service (IMPS) and the Aadhaar-Enabled Payment System (AEPS) to ensure that payments between accounts go smoothly.
• It can handle push (pay) and pull (receive) transactions, over-the-counter or barcode payments and many recurring payments, like utility bills, school fees, and other subscriptions.
• Once a single identifier is set up, the method lets mobile payments be made without using credit or debit cards, online banking, or entering account information.
• This will make sensitive information safer, and people with bank accounts will be able to link their phones to their accounts to easily make transactions.

4. WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ARCTIC SEA ICE?

TAGS: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: A recent study in the Nature journal says that the loss of Arctic sea ice is inevitable in the decades ahead, even if the world somehow gets its act together and sharply reduces carbon emissions.

EXPLANATION:

Why is the Arctic sea ice important?

• The massive sheets of ice that pad the Arctic region play a major role in influencing global climate and the rise and fall in Arctic sea temperatures.
• During winter, the sea ice envelops most of the Arctic Ocean and in summer, a portion of it melts due to being exposed to longer periods of sunlight and elevated temperatures.
• Sea ice normally melts and is at its thinnest and most sparse in mid-September, when the area covered by ice is roughly half the size of the winter maximum.
• The United States’ Environment Protection Agency (EPA) explains the importance of sea ice thus: “Sea ice is light-coloured and therefore reflects more sunlight back to space than liquid water, thus playing a vital role in keeping polar regions cool and maintaining the earth’s energy balance. Sea ice also keeps the air cool by forming a barrier between the cold air above and the relatively warmer water below.
• As the amount of sea ice decreases, the Arctic region’s cooling effect is reduced, and this may initiate a ‘feedback loop’ whereby ocean warming caused by more absorption of solar energy leads to an even greater loss of sea ice and further warming.
• Changes in sea ice can affect biodiversity and impact mammals such as polar bears and walruses, which rely on the presence of sea ice for hunting, breeding, and migrating. The reduction in ice cover also affects the traditional subsistence hunting lifestyle of indigenous Arctic populations such as the Yup’ik, Iñupiat, and Inuit.
• On the other hand, reduced ice can present “commercial and economic opportunities” with the opening up of shipping lanes and increased access to natural resources in the Arctic region. This has already provoked global competition with several countries, including India, vying for greater influence in groups such as the Arctic Council that governs access to Arctic resources

What does the new study say?

• Arctic sea ice is decreasing is well-known and acknowledged in several reports of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and it is widely expected that the world will see its first ‘sea-ice free summer’ before 2050.
• This, however is under the assumption that global emissions will drive temperatures to beyond 4.5°C making the Arctic ice-free by 2081-2100.
• There was uncertainty on whether this sea-ice-free scenario applied to situations where carbon emissions were curbed enough to ensure that temperature-rise was restricted to say 1.5°C or 2°C, as envisaged in the Paris Agreement.
• The recent Nature study confirms that there is no scenario under which the Arctic sea ice can be saved in summer.
• Moreover, if drastic reductions in emissions aren’t undertaken, we could very well be seeing the first such summer in the 2030s. Satellites monitoring the Arctic have shown the rate of loss to be 13% every year.

Effects:

• The diminished sea ice while warming the Arctic also leads to a weakening of the polar jet streams, which are currents of air that form when warm and cold air meet.
• This weakening has been linked to rising temperatures and heatwaves in Europe as well as unseasonal showers in northwest India.
• While the ice-free summer may be inevitable, reducing carbon emissions might mean being better able to adapt to climate ‘tipping points.’

5. POWER TRADING AND CERC

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: The power ministry has asked Central Electricity Regulatory Authority (CERC) to initiate the process of coupling multiple power exchanges, a mechanism which seeks to ensure uniformity in price discovery of energy at trading platforms.

EXPLANATION:

• At present India has three power exchanges — Indian Electricity Exchange (IEX), Power Exchange of India (PXIL) and Hindustan Power Exchange (HPX). The IEX has the largest market share of 88% in total power trade at multiple exchanges in India
• In the present scenario, buyers and sellers at each exchange do trading of electricity and discover spot price separately at these exchanges. After coupling of exchanges, the price discovery would be uniform.
• This will give a fillip to the service levels in the power market, and ensure better transparency and uniform prices discovery across exchanges.
• The move is also expected to bring down the power tariff in the country significantly.

Central Electricity Regulatory Authority

• CERC is a statutory body functioning under sec – 76 of the Electricity Act 2003 (CERC was initially constituted under the Electricity Regulatory Commissions Act, 1998 on 24th July, 1998).
• The Commission intends to promote competition, efficiency and economy in bulk power markets, improve the quality of supply, promote investments and advise government on the removal of institutional barriers to bridge the demand supply gap and thus foster the interests of consumers.

In pursuit of these objectives the Commission aims to –

• Improve the operations and management of the regional transmission systems through Indian Electricity Grid Code (IEGC), Availability Based Tariff (ABT), etc.
• Formulate an efficient tariff setting mechanism, which ensures speedy and time bound disposal of tariff petitions, promotes competition, economy and efficiency in the pricing of bulk power and transmission services and ensures least cost investments.
• Facilitate open access in inter-state transmission
• Facilitate inter-state trading
• Promote development of power market
• Improve access to information for all stakeholders
• Facilitate technological and institutional changes required for the development of competitive markets in bulk power and transmission services.
• Advise on the removal of barriers to entry and exit for capital and management, within the limits of environmental, safety and security concerns and the existing legislative requirements, as the first step to the creation of competitive markets.

1. ONSET OF THE MONSOON

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: According to India Meteorological Department (IMD), the southwest monsoon has set in over the Kerala coast on 8 june, along with 2016 and 2019, is the most that the monsoon’s onset has been delayed in the last couple of decades the rains hit the Kerala coast on June 8 in those two earlier years as well. In 2022, the monsoon arrived over the Kerala coast on May 29, earlier than its expected date.

EXPLANATION:

What is meant by the “onset of the monsoon” over the Kerala coast?

• The onset of the monsoon over Kerala signals the beginning of the four-month (June-September) southwest monsoon season, during which India gets more than 70% of its annual rainfall.
• Onset does not mean the first rain of the season. That can start happening in certain places even before the onset is declared ‘onset’ is a technical expression with a specific definition and IMD announces the onset of the monsoon only after certain precisely defined and measurable parameters are met.

What are these conditions, which determine the onset of monsoon?

• According to the IMD, the onset of the monsoon happens when there is a significant transition in the large-scale atmospheric and ocean circulations in the Indo-Pacific region.
• The IMD essentially looks at the consistency of rainfall over a defined geography, the intensity of the rainfall, and the wind speed.
• RAINFALL: The onset is declared if at least 60% of 14 designated meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep record at least 2.5 mm of rain for two consecutive days at any time after May 10. The onset over Kerala is declared on the second day, as long as specific wind and temperature criteria are also fulfilled. The 14 enlisted stations are: (I) Minicoy, (ii) Amini, (iii) Thiruvananthapuram, (iv) Punalur, (v) Kollam, (vi) Alappuzha, (vii) Kottayam, (viii) Kochi, (ix) Thrissur, (x) Kozhikode, (xi) Thalassery, (xii) Kannur, (xiii) Kasaragod, and (xiv) Mangaluru.
• WIND FIELD: The IMD says that the depth of westerlies should be up to 600 hectopascal (1 hPa is equal to 1 millibar of pressure) in the area that is bound by the equator to 10ºN latitude, and from longitude 55ºE to 80ºE. The 10th parallel North passes through Kochi; and the area bound by the 55th and the 80th meridians East stretches from the middle of Iran to about Chennai. The zonal wind speed over the area bound by 5-10ºN latitude (Maldives to Kochi) and 70-80ºE longitude (Arabian Sea to Chennai) should be of the order of 15-20 knots (28-37 kph) at 925 hPa.
• HEAT: The INSAT-derived Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value which is a measure of the energy emitted to space by the Earth’s surface, oceans, and atmosphere — should be below 200 watt per sq m (wm2) in the area between the 5ºN and 10ºN latitudes, and 70ºE and 75ºE longitudes.

Does a delayed onset mean cascading delays across the country and for the rest of the season?

• A delay in the onset over Kerala can potentially delay the arrival of the monsoon in other parts of the country, especially in the southern states, which normally start getting rain within days of the monsoon reaching the Kerala coast. The monsoon covers the entire country by July 15.
• A delayed onset over Kerala does not automatically or invariably mean delays in the arrival of the monsoon over other parts of the country.
• The northward progression of the monsoon after it has hit the Kerala coast is not uniform it depends on local factors, including the creation of low-pressure areas. The monsoon may stall over certain places in certain years; or it may progress faster than usual.
• A delay or an early arrival has no bearing on the quality or amount of rainfall, or its regional distribution across the country.

2. MANUAL SCAVENGING

TAG: GS 1: SOCIETY

THE CONTEXT: Despite stating over the last few years that manual scavenging had been eliminated in the country, and that the only remaining threat was hazardous cleaning of sewers and septic tanks, the Union Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment has now said that only 508 districts out of the total 766 districts in the country have declared themselves manual-scavenging free.

EXPLANATION:

• Manual scavenging is the practice of removing human excreta by hand from sewers or septic tanks. India banned the practice under the Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (PEMSR). The Act bans the use of any individual for manually cleaning, carrying, disposing of or otherwise handling in any manner, human excreta till its disposal.

Developments:

• According to the scheme for rehabilitation of manual scavengers, the 58,000 identified sewer workers have been given a one-time cash pay-out of ₹40,000 each. In addition, around 22,000 of them (less than half) have been connected to skills training programmes.
• However, the scheme for rehabilitation of manual scavengers has now been merged with the NAMASTE scheme for 100% mechanisation of sewer work. The FY 2023-24 Union Budget showed no allocation for the rehabilitation scheme and ₹100 crore allocation for the NAMASTE scheme.
• The guidelines for this scheme are yet to be finalized. The scheme will require over 4,800 urban local bodies across the country to identify and profile all septic tank/sewer workers in their respective areas, provide them occupational training and safety equipment, and sign them up for health insurance under the Ayushmaan Bharat scheme.
• To incentivise mechanisation, the scheme also provides for capital subsidies for sewer workers willing to mechanise their work and become empanelled with the concerned local body.

Laws to Prevent Manual Scavenging:

• The Employment of Manual Scavenging and Construction of Dry Latrines (Prohibition) Act, 1993: It is an act to provide for the prohibition of employment of manual scavengers as well as construction or continuance of dry latrines and for the regulation of construction and maintenance of water-seal latrines and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
• Provision in the constitution: Fraternity assuring the dignity of the individual has been enshrined in the Preamble to the Apart from that, article 47 of the Constitution, inter alia, provides that the State shall regard raising the standard of living of its people and the improvement of public health as among its primary duties.
• Prohibition of Employment as Manual Scavengers and their Rehabilitation Act, 2013 (MS Act, 2013): 2013 Act goes beyond prohibitions on dry latrines, and outlaws all manual cleaning of insanitary latrines, open drains, or pits. The 2013 Act further recognizes a constitutional obligation to correct the historical injustice and indignity suffered by manual scavenging communities by providing extensive rehabilitation assistance to them and to their families.
• The Self Employment Scheme for Rehabilitation of Manual Scavenging, 2007 (SRMS): The objective of SRMS is to provide assistance to the identified manual scavengers and their dependants for their rehabilitation in alternative occupations. The scheme is being implemented at the national level through the NSKFDC.
• National Safai Karamcharis Finance and Development Corporation (NSKFDC): It is a wholly owned Govt. of India Undertaking under the Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment (M/o SJ&E) was set up as a Company “Not for Profit” under Section 25 of the Companies Act, 1956.  NSKFDC is in operation since October, 1997, as an Apex Corporation for the all round socio-economic upliftment of the Safai Karamcharis, Scavengers and their dependants throughout India, through various loan and non-loan based schemes.
• National Action for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem (NAMASTE): Namaste is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) as a joint initiative of the MoSJE and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA). NAMASTE would also aim at providing access to alternative livelihoods support  and entitlements to reduce the vulnerabilities of sanitation workers and enable them to access self-employment and skilled wage employment opportunities and break the intergenerationality in sanitation work.

3. GROUND LEVEL OZONE

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: According to a new analysis by the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), parts of the Delhi-NCR region witnessed ground-level ozone readings exceeding the national standards on 87 out of 92 days in the summer period between March and May. The worst affected parts in the area are New Delhi and South Delhi neighbourhoods.

EXPLANATION:

• Based on Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) data on ozone levels from 58 stations across Delhi-NCR, the CSE analysis noted that although the spatial spread number of stations exceeding the standard across the core NCR of ground-level ozone has been lower this year, its duration has increased.
• Moreover, the region is seeing a rare phenomenon where ozone levels remain elevated hours after sunset ground-level ozone should ideally become negligible during the night. Another issue is that the pollutant, which once used to be prominent only during the summers, has become a yearlong problem.

What is ground-level ozone?

• Also known as tropospheric ozone, ground-level ozone is “a colourless and highly irritating gas that forms just above the Earth’s surface (up to 2 miles above the ground) as per Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).
• It is not directly emitted into the air but rather produced when two primary pollutants react in sunlight and stagnant air. These two primary pollutants are nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Therefore, ground-level ozone is called a “secondary” pollutant.
• NOx and VOCs come from natural sources as well as human activities. About 95 per cent of NOx from human activity comes from the burning of coal, gasoline and oil in motor vehicles, homes, industries and power plants. VOCs from human activity come mainly from gasoline combustion and marketing, upstream oil and gas production, residential wood combustion, and from the evaporation of liquid fuels and solvents.
• Ground-level ozone is likely to breach safety standards on hot summer days in urban areas, but can also reach unhealthy levels during colder months.
• The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) mentioned on its website that the pollutant can also travel long distances due to wind and affect rural areas also.

What are the harmful effects of ground-level ozone?

• The CSE analysis said as ground-level ozone is a highly reactive gas, it has serious health consequences.
• Those with respiratory conditions, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and particularly children with premature lungs and older adults are at serious risk.
• This can inflame and damage airways, make lungs susceptible to infection, aggravate asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis and increase the frequency of asthma attacks leading to increased hospitalization.
• The pollutant can also affect sensitive vegetation and ecosystems, including forests, parks and wildlife refuges. Significantly, it can harm sensitive vegetation during the growing season too.

What is the situation of ground-level ozone in India?

• In recent years, ground-level ozone has become a serious public health issue in India, as per the CSE analysis.
• It quoted the 2020 State of Global Air report, which stated that age-standardised rates of death attributable to ground-level ozone are among the highest in the country and the seasonal 8-hour daily maximum concentrations have recorded one of the highest increases in India between 2010 and 2017– about 17 per cent.

4. KAKHOVKA DAM

TAG: PRELIMS: PLACE IN NEWS

THE CONTEXT: Kakhovka Dam has been destroyed unleashing floodwaters across the war zone. Ukraine said Russia had destroyed it, while Russian officials gave conflicting accounts, some saying it was destroyed by Ukrainian shelling and others saying it collapsed due to earlier damage.

EXPLANATION:

• It was a huge Soviet-era dam on the Dnipro River that separates Russian and Ukrainian forces in southern Ukraine.
• The dam is 30 metres (98 feet) tall and 3.2 km (2 miles) long, was built in 1956 as part of the Kakhovka hydroelectric power plant.
• The reservoir also supplies water to the Crimean peninsula, which Russia claims to have annexed in 2014, and to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant, which is also under Russian control.
• It holds an 18 km3 reservoir, a volume about equal to the Great Salt Lake in the U.S. state of Utah.

Possible impacts:

• With water levels surging higher, many thousands of people are likely to be affected.
• Ukraine’s southern Kherson region are at risk of flooding.
• There is a risk that water levels in the North Crimea Canal, which carries fresh water to the Crimean peninsula from the Dnipro river, could fall after rupture of the dam.
• Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, Europe’s largest nuclear power plant, gets its cooling water from the reservoir. It is located on the southern side, now under Russian control. However, The U.N. nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency said there is no immediate nuclear safety risk.

5. NATIONAL INSTITUTIONAL RANKING FRAMEWORK (NIRF)

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: The National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF) announced the India Rankings 2023 of higher education institutions. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Madras in Chennai remained the best educational institution in overall rankings for the fifth consecutive term. The Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru ranked as the best university in the country for eight years in a row.

EXPLANATION:

• This is the eighth consecutive edition of India Rankings of HEIs in India. “With the addition of new category (Innovation) subject domain  (Agriculture & Allied Sectors) and expansion of ‘Architecture’ to ‘Architecture and Planning’, the existing portfolio of India Rankings has increased to 13 categories and subject domains that have been ranked in India Rankings 2023.
• The top 100 in the overall category of higher education institutions consist of 44 centrally funded technical institutes, Central universities, 24 State universities, 13 deemed universities, 18 private universities, four agriculture and allied sector institutions, and three management institutions.

Findings:

• Miranda House, Delhi is ranked the best college.
• Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Ahmedabad is the top management institute.
• National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research (NIPER), Hyderabad is ranked number one for pharmaceutical studies.
• All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi is ranked the best medical college.
• Saveetha Institute of Medical and Technical Sciences, Chennai is the top dental college.
• National Law School of India University, Bengaluru is ranked the best law college in the country.
• IIT-M has also been ranked the best engineering college for the eighth consecutive year (from 2016 to 2023).
• IISc Bengaluru stood first in ‘Research Institutions’ category, too, for the third consecutive year.
• Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi took the top slot in ‘Agriculture and Allied Sectors’. IIT-Kanpur topped the ‘Innovation’ category.

National Institutional Ranking Framework:

• It is under the Union Ministry of Education(MoE).
• This framework outlines a methodology to rank institutions across the country. The methodology draws from the overall recommendations broad understanding arrived at by a Core Committee set up by MoE to identify the broad parameters for ranking various universities and institutions
• The five broad categories of parameters identified in the NIRF are “Teaching, Learning and Resources,” “Research and Professional Practices,” “Graduation Outcomes,” “Outreach and Inclusivity,” and “Perception”.
• Each of these five parameters have 2 to 5 sub-parameters. A total number of 16-18 sub-parameters are used for the ranking of HEIs in different categories and subject domains. Institutions are ranked based on total sum of marks assigned for each of these five broad groups of parameters.

Parameters and sub parameters:

1)Teaching, Learning & Resources (TLR)

• Student Strength including Doctoral Students (SS)
• Faculty-student ratio with emphasis on permanent faculty (FSR)
• Combined metric for Faculty with PhD (or equivalent) and Experience (FQE)
• Financial Resources and their Utilisation (FRU)

2)Research and Professional Practice (RP)

• Combined metric for Publications (PU)
• Combined metric for Quality of Publications (QP)
• IPR and Patents: Published and Granted (IPR)
• Footprint of Projects and Professional Practice (FPPP)

3)Graduation Outcomes (GO)

• Metric for University Examinations (GUE)
• Metric for Number of Ph.D. Students Graduated (GPHD)

4)Outreach and Inclusivity (OI)

• Percentage of Students from Other States/Countries (Region Diversity RD)
• Percentage of Women (Women Diversity WD)
• Economically and Socially Challenged Students (ESCS)
• Facilities for Physically Challenged Students (PCS)

5)Perception (PR) Ranking

• Peer Perception
• Academic Peers and Employers (PR)

Discipline-wise methodology for India Rankings

1. Overall
2. Universities
3. Engineering
4. Management
5. Pharmacy
6. Colleges
7. Architecture and Planning
8. Law
9. Medical
10. Dental
11. Research Institutions
12. Innovation
13. Agriculture & Allied Sectors

1. CYCLONE AND ITS IMPACT ON MONSOON

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: A cyclonic storm, named Biparjoy, has developed in the Arabian Sea. The cyclone is predicted to gain its strength and develop into a very severe cyclonic storm by June 13. Biparjoy’ was suggested by Bangladesh and the word means ‘disaster’ or ‘calamity’ in Bengali. The naming of cyclones is done by countries on a rotational basis, following certain existing guidelines. The impact of global warming on the monsoon are manifest in the onset, withdrawal, its seasonal total rainfall, and its extremes. Global warming also affects the cyclones over the Indian Ocean and the typhoons over the northwestern Pacific Ocean.

EXPLANATION:

• According to an Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), the cyclone would affect along the coastline of Karnataka, Goa and Maharashtra.

How did Cyclone Biparjoy get its name and how are cyclones named?

• The naming of cyclones is done by countries on a rotational basis, following certain existing guidelines.
• There are six regional specialised meteorological centres (RSMCs) and five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) mandated for issuing advisories and naming of tropical cyclones.
• IMD is one of the six RSMCs to provide tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories to 13 member countries under the WMO/Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) Panel including Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
• RSMC, New Delhi is also mandated to name the Tropical Cyclones developing over the north Indian Ocean (NIO), including the Bay of Bengal (BoB) and the Arabian Sea (AS).
• The WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones in 2000 agreed in principle to assign names to the tropical cyclones in these seas.
• After deliberations, the naming began in September 2004. This list contained names proposed by then eight member countries of WMO/ESCAP PTC, viz., Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand. It was expanded to include five more countries in 2018 — Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen
• The list of 169 cyclone names released by IMD in 2020 was provided by these countries — 13 suggestions from each of the 13 countries.

Some rules are to be followed while naming cyclones, such as:

*The proposed name should be neutral to (a) politics and political figures (b) religious believes, (c) cultures and (d) gender

*Name should be chosen in such a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any group of population over the globe

*It should not be very rude and cruel in nature

*It should be short, easy to pronounce and should not be offensive to any member

*The maximum length of the name will be eight letters

Is it not rare for cyclones to develop in the Arabian sea?

• There are fewer number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea than the Bay of Bengal, but it is not uncommon. In fact, June is one of the favourable months for the formation of cyclones in the Arabian Sea.
• A cyclone is a low-pressure system that forms over warm waters. Usually, a high temperature anywhere means the existence of low-pressure air, and a low temperature means high-pressure wind. In fact, that is one of the main reasons why we see greater number of cyclones in the Bay of Bengal compared to Arabian Sea.
• Bay of Bengal is slightly warmer. Because of climate change, the Arabian Sea side is also getting warmer, and as a result, the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea is showing an increasing trend in the recent trend.

Cyclone formation:

• As air warms over hotter regions, it ascends, leading to low pressure at the surface it is covering. When air cools in colder areas it descends, leading to high pressure at the surface.
• In a depression or low-pressure situation, the air is rising and blows in an anticlockwise direction around the low in the northern hemisphere and in a clockwise direction in the southern hemisphere. This is because of the Coriolis effect, a result of the earth’s rotation on its axis.
• As warm air rises and cools, water vapour condenses to form clouds and this can lead to rains.
• Weather systems formed over the Bay of Bengal in the peak of summer in May are among the strongest in the North Indian Ocean region.
• Warm seas present ripe conditions for the development and strengthening of cyclones and fuel these systems over the water.

How does a cyclone affect the monsoon’s onset?

• The impact of global warming on the monsoons are manifest in the onset, withdrawal, its seasonal total rainfall, and its extremes. Global warming also affects the cyclones over the Indian Ocean and the typhoons over the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
• There is cyclone formations in the pre-monsoon cyclone season, closer to the monsoon onset, arguably due to the influence of a warmer Arctic Ocean on winds over the Arabian Sea.
• The monsoon is also affected by the three tropical oceans – Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific; the ‘atmospheric bridge’ from the Arctic; and the oceanic tunnel as well as the atmospheric bridge from the Southern Ocean (a.k.a. the Antarctic Ocean)
• A ‘bridge’ refers to two faraway regions interacting in the atmosphere while a ‘tunnel’ refers to two remote oceanic regions connecting within the ocean.

Mawar, Biparjoy, and Guchol

• Cyclone Biparjoy is not interacting much with the monsoon trough at this time. However, its late birth as well as the late onset of the monsoon are both closely related to typhoons in the northwestern Pacific Ocean.
• On May 19, Typhoon Mawar was born and dissipated away by June 3. Mawar qualified as a ‘super typhoon’ and is thus far the strongest typhoon to have taken shape in May. It is also the strongest cyclone of 2023 so far.
• Tropical storm Guchol is now active just to the east of the Philippines and is likely to continue northwest before veering off to the northeast. These powerful typhoons are thirsty beasts and demand moisture from far and wide.

2. MOON MISSIONS

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Space is the newest frontier where the United States of America and China are competing. While China has set 2030 as its deadline to land on the moon, US’ Artemis mission is set to put its crew on the moon in 2025.

EXPLANATION:

• China sent its first civilian into space through the Shenzhou 16 spacecraft. The three-member crew will complete a five-month mission at the space station.
• With the successful landing of a second manned crew aboard its space station, the Chinese Manned Space Agency aims to land astronauts on the moon before 2030.
• On the other hand, the US plans to send a manned crew to the moon by 2025 under the Artemis programme.

Artemis programme?

• Succeeding the Apollo missions which sent seven manned crews to the moon and back between 1969 and 1972, the Artemis programme aims to land on the moon, set up a long-term base and then send the first astronauts to Mars.
• Led by the US, the programme is a joint venture of several countries, including Australia, Canada, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, South Korea, New Zealand, Brazil, Poland, Mexico, Israel, Romania, Bahrain, Singapore, Colombia, France, Saudi Arabia, Rwanda, Nigeria, Czech Republic, and Spain. These countries are signatories of an open treaty called the ‘Artemis accords’ which aims to put humans back on the moon.

Artemis-I

• For Artemis I, NASA built a super heavy-lift launch vehicle called the ‘Space Launch System’ (SLS) to carry its spacecraft , astronauts, and cargo directly to the moon on a single mission.
• NASA also built a human spacecraft named ‘Orion’ for deep-space missions to travel to the moon and Mars. It can also carry a human crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain astronauts during their missions and provide safe re-entry from deep space. Orion spacecraft returned to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on after completing its 1.4-million-mile journey from Earth to the moon and back.

Artemis-II

• Under Artemis-II, NASA plans to launch a crew of four astronauts onboard the SLS, perform multiple manoeuvres on an expanding orbit around the Earth on the Orion, do a lunar flyby and return back to Earth. The ten-day mission is slated for 2024.

Artemis-III

• Artemis-III will mark the return of humans to the moon in 2025. Similar to Artemis-I and II, the crew onboard the Orion will be launched to the moon. After the ICPS pushes the Orion towards the lunar orbit, the Orion will perform two engine burns to set itself on a Near-Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NRHO) in the moon’s gravitational orbit. The NHRO will help to establish a landing site on the moon.
• NASA has selected SpaceX to provide the lunar lander which will transport the crew from Orion to the surface of the moon and back again.

Artemis IV and onwards

• In Artemis IV, NASA aims to land a second crew on the moon in 2028 and establish a Lunar Gateway station whose components will be launched prior to the Artemis IV mission to the NHRO. The aim is to set up a permanent base on the lunar surface and then proceed to send astronauts to Mars from the moon.

China’s Moon mission

Chang’ e 1 to 5

• Dubbed as the Chang’e mission, the Chinese Lunar Exploration Program has already launched two lunar orbiters (Chang’ e 1 & 2) and two lunar rovers (Chang’e 3 & 4) one on the unexplored south pole of the far side of the moon.
• The Chinese launched Chang’e 5 in, 2020, onboard its Long March 5 rocket. The spacecraft entered the lunar orbit, and its descender slowly soft-landed in the Mons Rumker region of Oceanus Procellarum on the south pole of the moon

Chang’ e 6,7 & 8

• China aims to continue its research of the moon’s south pole, sending two missions Chang’e 6 and Chang’e 7 — in 2024 and 2026 to bring back samples. Chang’ e 7 comprises an orbiter, a relay satellite, a lander, and a mini-flying probe and will explore the lunar south pole for resources. It will also aim to detect water ice in the permanently shadowed area.
• China further plans to build a permanent science base on the moon. Towards this end, Chang’ e 8 will carry a lander, a rover, and a flying detector along with a 3D-printing module to test the construction of a lunar base.

International Lunar Research Station

• Constructing a lunar base is a joint venture between China and Russia. The two nation’s space agencies China National Space Administration and Russia’s State Space Corporation (Roscosmos) issued a joint statement that they will collaborate in the construction of an International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) for the peaceful exploration and use of the Moon.
• The station will be equipped with energy supplies, communications and navigation, space shuffling, lunar research and ground support services and a command centre. Apart from Russia, Pakistan, Argentina and international organizations including the Asia Pacific Space Cooperation Organization have agreed to participate in the project, while at least ten other countries are considering it. 

3. MINIMUM SUPPORT PRICE (MSP)

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister on approved raising minimum support prices (MSP) of kharif crops for the 2023-24 marketing season. Centre has set the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for paddy sown in the kharif or monsoon season at ₹2,183 per quintal, a hike of ₹143 per quintal in comparison to last year. The 2023-24 MSPs for 17 kharif crops and variants were approved at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by Prime Minister.

EXPLANATION:

• Food Minister told after the CCEA meeting that farmers will benefit from the increase in the MSP at a time when the retail inflation is declining.
• In agriculture, MSP is being fixed from time to time based on the recommendations of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP). The increase in MSP of the kharif crops for this year is highest compared to the previous years.

Minimum Support Price (MSP) :

• 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 Government of India to protect the producer – farmers – against excessive fall in price during bumper production years. The minimum support prices are a guarantee price for their produce from the Government.
• In formulating the recommendations in respect of the level of minimum support prices and other non-price measures, the Commission takes into account, apart from a comprehensive view of the entire structure of the economy of a particular commodity or group of commodities, the following factors:-

1. Cost of production
2. Changes in input prices
3. Input-output price parity
4. Trends in market prices
5. Demand and supply
6. Inter-crop price parity
7. Effect on industrial cost structure
8. Effect on cost of living
9. Effect on general price level
10. International price situation
11. Parity between prices paid and prices received by the farmers.
12. Effect on issue prices and implications for subsidy

• Government announces minimum support prices (MSPs) for 22 mandated crops and fair and remunerative price (FRP) for sugarcane.
• The mandated crops are 14 crops of the kharif season, 6 rabi crops and two other commercial crops. In addition, the MSPs of toria and de-husked coconut are fixed on the basis of the MSPs of rapeseed/mustard and copra, respectively.
• The list of crops are as follows.

1. Cereals (7) – paddy, wheat, barley, jowar, bajra, maize and ragi
2. Pulses (5) – gram, arhar/tur, moong, urad and lentil
3. Oilseeds (8) – groundnut, rapeseed/mustard, toria, soyabean, sunflower seed, sesamum, safflower seed and nigerseed
4. Raw cotton
5. Raw jute
6. Copra
7. De-husked coconut
8. Sugarcane (Fair and remunerative price)
9. Virginia flu cured (VFC) tobacco

4. VADNAGAR

TAG: GS-1: ART AND CULTURE

THE CONTEXT: In December2022, northern Gujarat’s Vadnagar city and the Sun Temple of Modhera, both part of the Mehsana district, made it to the Tentative list of the UNESCO World heritage sites. There are new plans for PM’s school in his hometown Vadnagar lets have a look on archeological significance of the city.

EXPLANATION:

• The Ministry of Culture has now announced the redevelopment of a primary school here attended by Prime Minister in Vadnagar. Children from across the country will spend a week at the Prerna school to learn “how to live a very evolved life”, as part of a joint initiative by the central and state governments.
• Vadnagar has been known by names like Anartapura, Anandapur, Chamatkarpur and so on, during different periods of its history, and has often been compared to Varanasi in terms of both claiming to be “living cities”.

Archaeological excavations at Vadnagar:

• Vadnagar was first excavated in 1953, mainly to understand its “ceramic sequence” which revealed a flourishing conch shell trade industry, with bangles and other wares also found here.
• Five periods of continuous settlement have been identified at the site from its formative period. An unbroken sequence of seven successive cultures going back to 750 BCE was found and divided into seven periods: pre-rampart phase (in 2nd century BCE), Rampart phase (2nd century BCE – 1st century CE), Kshatrapa phase (1st – 4th century CE), post-Kshatrapa phase (5th – 9th/10th century CE), Solanki phase (10th – 13th century CE), Sultanate-Mughal phase (14th – 17th century CE) and Gaekwad phase (17th/18th – 19th century CE.
• Most of the excavations found – like the fortification, a Buddhist monastery, votive stupas, house-complexes, lanes/streets and industrial hearth – are from pre-2nd century BCE to the Gaekwad period (18th – 19th century CE).

Vadnagar as a ‘living city’:

• These structures showcase the architectural influence of various cultural periods. Extensive water management system in and around the town also played a role in its continuity.
• The town represents a continuously evolving historic urban landscape/area which played a major role in the hinterland trade network of Western India. The continuity of the historic town proves its resilience and outstanding universal value unlike the sites like Harappa and Kalibangan, (Rajasthan) which were abandoned eventually states the description of Vadnagar in UNESCO’s Tentative List.
• Vadnagar was an important centre of Sammitya Buddhists, a sect which Chinese traveller Hieun Tsang also supported.
• It was located at the intersection of two major trade routes – Central India to Sindh and northwest, and Gujarat to Rajasthan and north India, Vadnagar was also known as one of the important land ports (Sthal Pattan) of Gujarat.
• A mound here rises gently and the highest point in the middle of the settlement is 25 metres high, called Darbargadh. Such types of a mound on which Vadnagar is built are not available in other parts of India.
• Human habitation existed here from mid-8th century BCE till date, as per ASI findings. “These findings uncovered a unique aspect of the town: an uninterrupted extensive human habitation and cross-cultural evolution that sustained itself and continues till date. Such a long period of human habitation is exceptional in the Indian scenario with very few sites claiming similar uninterrupted continuity.

Evidence of Buddhism

• Hieun Tsang or Xuanzang visited Vadnagar around 641 CE and called it o-nan-to-pu-lo (Anandpur) who recorded that ‘there are more than 1000 monks of the Sammitiya School or Little Vehicle in 10 monasteries’. He also records Vadnagar as a capital city which has no king.
• The first evidence of Vadnagar’s Buddhist association is in the form of a red sandstone image of a Bodhisattva or a deity-like revered figure in Buddhism. An inscription on the pedestal of the image records that it was brought for the Chaitya of Sammatiya. The image is an example of Mathura art and seems to have been brought from there.
• Abul Fazl’s Ain-e-Akbari from the 16th century makes a note of Vadnagar or Barnagar, as a “large and ancient city containing 3,000 pagodas, near each of which is a tank” and “chiefly inhabited by Brahmans.”
• The ASI, in its submission to the UNESCO, claims a “Roman connection” in the finding of an intaglio in clay – a coin mould of Greco-Indian king Apollodotus II (80-65 BC) – and a sealing with impression of a Roman coin belonging to Valentinian-I (364-367 CE). Careful analysis and study of non-indigenous pottery such as torpedo jars and Glazed ware establish the site’s contacts with the Sassanid region and West Asia.

The current town

• Vadnagar is an L-shaped town spread across 85 hectares, with the Sharmishtha Lake located on its north eastern edge.
• It is surrounded by the remains of a fortification wall, punctured by a series of gates that mark the entry and exit points of the town. There are primary entry and exit points to the town in all cardinal directions, along with gateways that are elaborate single storey stone structures.
• While most gates are mediaeval, the Ghanskol and Pithori gates are of the 11th- 12th century CE. Other prominent gates are Nadiol Gate, Amtol Gate, Amarthol Gate and Arjun Bari Gate (protected by the ASI).
• The Ambaji Mata Temple dates back to 10th-11th century CE, while other important Hindu and Jain temples within the town are from the 17th century onwards.
• While the Hatkeshwar temple is located outside Nadiol gate, the two identical glory gates outside the fortification wall to the north of the town are the Kirti Torans, built in yellow sandstone without mortar or any other cementing material.

5. BONN MEETING: TAKING STOCK OF CLIMATE ACTION

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: The climate meeting in Bonn has seen old demands raised and old faultlines come up. In different ways, countries have been taking measures to respond to climate change since at least the mid-1990s, though it is only in the last decade or so that these actions have become significant enough for any meaningful impact. But the global response has never kept pace with the worsening of the climate crisis, whose seriousness has increased rapidly in the last few years.

EXPLANATION:

• Negotiators from around the world meeting in the German city of Bonn to discuss ways to strengthen their collective response to climate change. This meeting in Bonn, at the headquarters of the UN Climate Change, happens every year. The work done and decisions taken here feed into the year- ending annual climate change conferences.
• One of the most important tasks to be accomplished at this year’s Bonn meeting is what is known as Global Stocktake, or GST, a term that is expected to come up frequently in climate change conversations this year.

Global Stocktake or GST:

• Mandated by the 2015 Paris Agreement, GST is an exercise aimed at assessing the progress being made in the fight against climate change, and deciding ways and means to enhance the global effort to bridge the adequacy gap.
• This stocktake exercise is expected to result in a significant increase in the global response to climate change, not just in terms of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, but also in terms of adaptation, provision for finance and availability of technology.
• The current stocktake it has been going on for more than a year now and is supposed to conclude this year is the first such exercise and is mandated by the Paris Agreement to happen every five years hereafter.

Highlights of the meeting:

• There is a wealth of scientific evidence that shows that the current set of actions being taken by the world is woefully inadequate to limit the global temperature rise within 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times.
• The most notable of these is the sixth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), published over the last four years.
• The world needs to cut its emissions by almost half by 2030 from the 2019 levels if it has to retain any realistic chances of achieving the 1.5 degree target. At current levels of climate action, the world is headed to a nearly 3 degree Celsius warmer world by 2100.
• The United States said bridging the gap was not the sole responsibility of the developed countries, and it would not accept any attempt to include such suggestions in the GST decisions, either explicitly or through references to phrases such as “closing of pre-2020 gaps”.

• Climate actions in the pre-2020 period were directed by the Kyoto Protocol, the predecessor to the Paris Agreement. A set of about 40 developed countries, including the United States, had specifically allocated emissions reduction targets, besides other obligations, to be met by 2020.
• India reacted strongly to the US suggestion and said it would not accept any “prescriptive messages” from GST on what the content of a country’s climate action plan, called Nationally Determined Contributions. India said it retained its “sovereign right” to determine its climate targets in pursuit of its national goals. It also said that it did not accept the suggestions that NDCs must necessarily be economy-wide, covering all sectors or all greenhouse gases (like methane). It aligned itself with other developing countries in reiterating the demand for the closing of pre-2020 gaps.
• The most forceful argument on pre-2020 gaps came from China, which said it was disappointed to see that the repeated demands of 134 developing countries had not been captured adequately in GST discussions so far. It said the pre-2020 gaps were an integral part of the global efforts towards fulfilling the Paris Agreement targets, and pointed out that there was now irrefutable scientific evidence to show that a bulk of the carbon dioxide emissions from 1850 to 2018 had been generated before 1990.
• Several other points of discussion under GST as finance, adaptation, technology transfer are also heavily contested. Negotiators are expected to finish the technical discussions on GST in Bonn.
• Its findings would be presented at the annual year-ending climate conference, this time happening in Dubai. The Dubai meeting will, hopefully, take the final decisions on the GST.

1. OVERTURNING CIRCULATION

TAG: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

CONTEXT: Antarctica sets the stage for the world’s greatest waterfall. The action takes place beneath the surface of the ocean. Here, trillions of tonnes of cold, dense, oxygen-rich water cascade off the continental shelf and sink to great depths. This Antarctic “bottom water” then spreads north along the sea floor in deep ocean currents, before slowly rising, thousands of kilometres away. Antarctica drives a global network of ocean currents called the “overturning circulation” that redistributes heat, carbon and nutrients around the globe.

EXPLANATION:

What is Overturning circulation?

• The ocean’s water is constantly circulated by currents.
• Tidal currents occur close to shore and are influenced by the sun and moon. Surface currents are influenced by the wind. However, other, much slower currents that occur from the surface to the seafloor are driven by changes in the saltiness and ocean temperature.
• The overturning is crucial to keep the earth’s climate stable.
• It is also the main way oxygen reaches the deep ocean.

Effects of overturning circulation:

• Melting of Antarctic ice is disrupting the formation of Antarctic bottom water. As the flow of bottom water slows, the supply of oxygen to the deep ocean declines. The shrinking oxygen-rich bottom water layer is then replaced by warmer waters that are lower in oxygen, further reducing oxygen levels.
• Ocean animals, large and small, respond to even small changes in oxygen. Deep-ocean animals are adapted to low oxygen conditions but still have to breathe. Losses of oxygen may cause them to seek refuge in other regions or adapt their behaviour.
• Slowdown of the overturning may also intensify global warming. The overturning circulation carries carbon dioxide and heat to the deep ocean, where it is stored and hidden from the atmosphere. As the ocean storage capacity is reduced, more carbon dioxide and heat are left in the atmosphere. This feedback accelerates global warming.
• Reductions in the amount of Antarctic bottom water reaching the ocean floor also increases sea levels because the warmer water that replaces it takes up more space (thermal expansion).

How is this happening?

• Overturning circulation has slowed by almost a third (30%) and deep ocean oxygen levels are declining.
• This slowdown has the potential to disrupt the connection between the Antarctic coasts and the deep ocean.
• Melting of Antarctic ice is disrupting the formation of Antarctic bottom water. The meltwater makes Antarctic surface waters fresher, less dense, and therefore less likely to sink. This puts the brakes on the overturning circulation.

How was it measured?

• The full-depth measurements collected by ships provide snapshots of ocean density but are usually repeated about once a decade.
• Moored instruments, on the other hand, provide continuous measurements of density and speed, but only for a limited time at a particular location.
• A new approach that combines ship data, mooring records, and a high resolution numerical simulation to calculate the strength of Antarctic bottom water flow and how much oxygen it transports to the deep ocean.

Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC):

• The AMOC circulates water from north to south and back in a long cycle within the Atlantic Ocean. This circulation brings warmth to various parts of the globe and also carries nutrients necessary to sustain ocean life.
• The circulation process begins as warm water near the surface moves toward the poles (such as the Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic), where it cools and forms sea ice. As this ice forms, salt is left behind in the ocean water.
• Due to the large amount of salt in the water, it becomes denser, sinks down, and is carried southwards in the depths below. Eventually, the water gets pulled back up towards the surface and warms up in a process called upwelling, completing the cycle.
• The entire circulation cycle of the AMOC, and the global conveyor belt, is quite slow. It takes an estimated 1,000 years for a parcel (any given cubic meter) of water to complete its journey along the belt.
• Even though the whole process is slow on its own, there is some evidence that the AMOC is slowing down further. NOAA funds research to better understand this potential slowing, as well as to investigate the AMOC’s role in coastal sea level changes and its relationship to extreme events.

2. CHEETAH

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

CONTEXT: Almost 70 years after the Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) went extinct in India, eight cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa were introduced into the Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh in September 2022 and February 2023, respectively. The intent was to establish a free-ranging population of cheetahs belonging to the subspecies, Acinonyx jubatus. Recent Study states that Cheetahs introduced without considering spatial ecology. Ideally, just one cheetah is present in 100 sq. km. of an unfenced area, whereas the density of Cheetahs in the Kuno national park stands at three per 100 sq. km.

EXPLANATION:

• Cheetahs fulfil a unique ecological role within the carnivore hierarchy and their restoration is expected to enhance ecosystem health in India.
• As a charismatic species, the cheetah can also benefit India’s broader conservation goals by improving general protection and ecotourism in areas that have been previously neglected.

Project Cheetah:

• The Union environment ministry’s National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) implements Project Cheetah.
• The project hopes to benefit global cheetah conservation efforts by providing up to 100 000 km2 of habitat in legally protected areas and an additional 600 000 km2 of habitable landscape for the species.

Body characteristics:

• The cheetah is a sexually dimorphic species though it is difficult to identify cheetahs’ sex by appearance alone. Male cheetahs are slightly bigger than females and they have larger heads, but they do not display the same degree of physical difference between the sexes of other big cat species like lions.
• Cheetahs have a thin frame with a narrow waist and deep chest. They have large nostrils that allow for increased oxygen intake. Cheetahs have a large lungs and hearts connected to a circulatory system with strong arteries and adrenals that work in tandem to circulate oxygen through their blood very efficiently.
• With its long legs and very slender body, the cheetah is quite different from all other cats and is the only member of its genus, Acinonyx. The cheetah’s unique morphology and physiology allow it to attain the extreme speeds for which it’s famous.
• The gestation (pregnancy) period for the cheetah is 93 days, and litters range in size from one or two up to six cubs (the occasional litter of eight cubs has been recorded, but it is rare).
• Cheetahs prey includes: gazelles (especially Thomson’s gazelles), impalas and other small to medium-sized antelopes, hares, birds, and rodents. Cheetahs will also prey on the calves of larger herd animals.

Species of Cheetah:

• Widely regarded as the fastest animal on land, cheetahs are divided into four subspecies; the Southeast African cheetah, the Northeast African cheetah, the Northwest African cheetah, and the rare Asiatic cheetah.

Asiatic and African cheetah:

• The Asiatic cheetah is slightly smaller and slender than the African cheetah. The neck is much smaller and longer.
• The Asiatic cheetah has a buff to light fawn color bordering on pale yellow skin, and it has more fur on the body, especially under the belly and the back of the neck. The African cheetah has a light brown to golden brown fur color that is thicker than the Asiatic ones. The spots are more pronounced on the face and are more densely distributed on the body compared to Asiatic cheetahs.

         African cheetah                               Asiatic cheetah

• Asiatic Cheetahs are only found in a small region between Iran and Pakistan. Asiatic cheetahs once roamed the whole expanse of the central Asian continent from India to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but with their numbers reduced, it is hard for them to be sighted outside Iran. On the other hand, The African cheetah is spread out across Africa from Northwest Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa. With a bigger territory, the African cheetahs have the highest populations compared to their Asiatic counterparts.
• Asiatic cheetah has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red while African cheetahs are listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List.

Most of the reasons for the cheetah’s endangerment can be grouped into three overarching categories:

• human-wildlife conflict,
• loss of habitat and loss of prey,
• poaching and illegal wildlife trafficking, with cubs being taken from the Horn of Africa and smuggled into the exotic pet trade, primarily in the Gulf States.

3. GRAVITATIONAL WAVES

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT: Since time immemorial, humans have looked up at the universe and pondered its secrets. In the past few centuries, many of these secrets have started to unravel. One such mystery we began to pry apart very recently is the gravitational wave. Gravitational waves are ripples in space-time produced by some of the most intense phenomena in our universe.

EXPLANATION:

• A century ago, Albert Einstein hypothesized the existence of gravitational waves, small ripples in space-time that dash across the universe at the speed of light.
• But scientists have been able to find only indirect evidence of their existence.
• Recently, a news conference called by the U.S. National Science Foundation, researchers announced at long last direct observations of the elusive waves.
• The discovery would represent a scientific landmark, opening the door to an entirely new way to observe the cosmos and unlock secrets about the early universe and mysterious objects like black holes and neutron stars.

What are gravitational waves?

• Gravitational waves are small ripples in space-time that are believed to travel across the universe at the speed of light.
• These waves contain information about the events that emitted them, so studying them can give scientists a glimpse of distant cosmic affairs.

What does Einstein say about gravity?

• In 1915, Albert Einstein’s theory of relativity predicted the existence of gravitational waves.
• According to this theory, celestial objects such as black holes and neutron stars could send gravitational energy thrumming through the fabric of space-time in every direction, moving off at the speed of light.
• While Sir Isaac Newton visualised gravitational force as a pulling force between objects, Albert Einstein opined it to be a pushing force due to the curvature of four dimensional spacetime fabric.

How are these waves detected?

• Scientists have been trying to detect them using two large laser instruments in the United States, known together as the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO), as well as another in Italy.
• The twin LIGO installations are located roughly 3,000 km apart in Livingston, Louisiana, and Hanford, Washington. Having two detectors is a way to sift out terrestrial rumblings, such as traffic and earthquakes, from the faint ripples of space itself.
• The LIGO work is funded by the National Science Foundation, an independent agency of the U.S. government.

What is Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatories (LIGO)?

• The Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory is a large-scale physics experiment aiming to directly detect gravitational waves.
• They directly observed gravitational waves for the first time in 2015, proving Einstein’s theory.
• LIGO operates two gravitational wave observatories in unison: the LIGO Livingston Observatory in Livingston, Louisiana, and the LIGO Hanford Observatory, on the DOE Hanford Site, located near Richland, Washington.
• These sites are separated by 3,002 kilometers. Since gravitational waves are expected to travel at the speed of light, this distance corresponds to a difference in gravitational wave arrival times of up to ten milliseconds. A third LIGO will be built in India this decade.

Why is the study important?

• Discovery of gravitational waves would represent a scientific landmark, opening the door to an entirely new way to observe the cosmos and unlock secrets about the early universe and mysterious objects like black holes and neutron stars.

4. GENETICALLY MODIFIED CROPS

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT; GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT: Genetically modified crops remains controversial, especially in Europe, but for some experts it is the best science-based method for a sustainable global food system amidst biodiversity loss and a rising population. According to the online scientific publication Our World in Data, agriculture is responsible for a quarter of the carbon emissions in the atmosphere and the vast majority of world’s biodiversity losses.

EXPLANATION:

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs)

• Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) can be defined as organisms i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination.
• The technology is often called “modern biotechnology” or “gene technology”, sometimes also “recombinant DNA technology” or “genetic engineering”.
• It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between nonrelated species.
• GMOs were first introduced in the US in 1994, with modified tomato plants that ripened more slowly to prolong their shelf life. Since then, a wide range of crops, such as soybeans, wheat and rice have been approved for agricultural use, along with GM bacteria grown to produce large amounts of protein.
• Scientists in India have also developed strains of Sub-1 rice, which are much more resistant to flooding. Flooding is a major issue in rice-growing regions of northern India and Bangladesh, set to become worse as the climate crises develops, and now 6 million farmers in the region are using Sub-1 rice to safeguard their crops against inundation.
• Golden rice, on the other hand, is a GM strain modified to contain vitamin A, designed to combat the shortage of dietary vitamin A in parts of Asia and Africa.

GM Crops:

• Crops produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM crops.
• Genetically modified crops can improve yield, build resistances to pests, frost or drought, or add nutrients.
• Crops can also be modified to reduce carbon emissions and boost the sustainability of food production.
• While widespread, GM crop productionuses only about 10% of the land non-GM crop production uses.

Benefits:

• GM crops are developed and marketed because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer of these foods. This is meant to translate into a product with a lower price, greater benefit (in terms of durability or nutritional value) or both.
• One of the objectives for developing plants based on GM organisms is to improve crop protection. The GM crops currently on the market are mainly aimed at an increased level of crop protection through the introduction of resistance against plant diseases caused by insects or viruses or through increased tolerance towards herbicides.
• Resistance against insects is achieved by incorporating into the food plant the gene for toxin production from the bacterium Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt). This toxin is currently used as a conventional insecticide in agriculture and is safe for human consumption.
• Herbicide tolerance is achieved through the introduction of a gene from a bacterium conveying resistance to some herbicides. In situations where weed pressure is high, the use of such crops has resulted in a reduction in the quantity of the herbicides used.

What are the main issues of concern for human health?

• Allergenicity: As a matter of principle, the transfer of genes from commonly allergenic organisms to non-allergic organisms is discouraged unless it can be demonstrated that the protein product of the transferred gene is not allergenic.
• Gene transfer: Gene transfer from GM foods to cells of the body or to bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract would cause concern if the transferred genetic material adversely affects human health.
• Outcrossing: The migration of genes from GM plants into conventional crops or related species in the wild (referred to as “outcrossing”), as well as the mixing of crops derived from conventional seeds with GM crops, may have an indirect effect on food safety and food security.

5. IRON FORTIFICATION: HEALTH RISKS OF EXCESSIVE IRON INTAKE

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: Iron is an essential mineral required for many bodily functions, including the formation of hemoglobin, but can be harmful when taken in excess. The net effect of iron provision through fortification on haemoglobin formation is likely to be lower than thought.

EXPLANATION:

• It is used for the treatment of iron deficiency or anemia.
• Typically, a chosen food staple like wheat or rice or even salt is fortified to provide up to two thirds (10 mg/day) of the iron requirement of adult women, and almost the entire daily requirement of men.

How excess consumption occurs:

• Excess consumption of iron can occur if one habitually consumes a balanced quality diet to begin with or exceeds limits for consumption of the fortified food as can occur with staples like rice or wheat or if two fortified foods are simultaneously consumed.
• When combined with additional iron supplemental interventions like weekly iron folic acid supplements (such as in the National Iron Plus Initiative programme), this can lead to an excess of iron intake for women. There is a defined level of iron intake beyond which the risk of adverse events begins to increase. This is called the ‘tolerable upper limit’ of intake, and is set at 40 mg/day.
• Once iron is absorbed, it is thought that its excretion is steady and very small, except when bleeding takes place, as with menstrual bleeding. Thus, women can ‘excrete’ iron from the body, but men cannot, unless they have some form of pathological or abnormal bleeding. This makes men particularly vulnerable to excess iron intake.

Negative consequences of excess iron:

• Unabsorbed iron can lead to inflammation in the gastrointestinal lining and disrupt the colonic microbiota with long term consequences.
• This irritation of the lining may present itself clinically as abdominal cramps, constipation, or diarrhoea.
• The irritation of mucosa can also lead to gastrointestinal blood loss.
• An excess of iron in the gastrointestinal tract can impair absorption of other minerals such as zinc and copper, which are also essential for the body and lead to other deficiencies.
• Excess iron has been closely linked to many chronic comorbidities like diabetes.

It can be especially deleterious for populations who have iron overload states like patients with thalassemia and other hemolytic anemias, hemochromatosis, and chronic liver disease, which have impaired iron excretion mechanisms. 

1. CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICERS (CISO) DEEP-DIVE TRAINING PROGRAMME

TAGS: GS 3: SECURITY

CONTEXT:  National e-Governance Division (NeGD), under its Capacity Building scheme, organised 36^th CISO Deep-Dive training programme from 8^th-12^th May 2023 with 24 participants from Central Line Ministries and States/UTs at Indian Institute of Public Administration.

EXPLANATION:

• The five-day intensive training programme is designed for designated CISOs from Central and State/UT Governments, subordinate agencies/PSUs, including public sector banks and insurance companies, technical wings of police and security forces, CTOs and members of technical/PMU teams; also, officers responsible to observe security of IT systems in their respective organisations.
• It is training which aims for partnership between the Government and industry consortium under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• The deep-dive training specifically aims at educating and enabling CISOs to understand cyber-attacks comprehensively and thoroughly, get necessary exposure in latest technologies of safeguard, and translate the benefits of a resilient e-infrastructure to individual organisations and citizens at large.
• The training also focuses on providing a holistic view of legal provisions, enabling CISOs to formulate policies in the domain of cyber security and build concrete cyber crisis management plans.
• The training programme is bringing together an array of subject matter experts from the industry, the academia and the government to speak on key issues of cyber security: Governance Risk and Compliance, Landscape of Cyber Security Products in India, End Point & Digital Workplace Security, Network Security, Application and Data security.

Cyber Surakshit Bharat:

• It is the initiative of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which was conceptualised with the mission to spread awareness about cyber-crime and build capacities of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT officials, across all government departments.
• It is for ensuring adequate safety measures to combat the growing menace – Organisations need to defend their digital infrastructures and become future-ready in tackling cyber-attacks.

Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) roles and responsibilities:

• Establishing a cyber security program and business continuity programme and for drafting of various security policies e.g., Information security policy, Data governance and classification policy, Access control policy, Acceptable use of assets and asset management, Risk assessment and risk treatment methodology, Statement of Applicability, Risk management framework including third parties, Cryptography, Communications security, Information Security awareness programs for all personnel in the organisation and Incident management.
• Interacting with regulatory bodies and external agencies that could be of help to maintain information security for the organization, e.g. CERT-In
• It aims to protect Critical Information Infrastructure as a computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which shall have debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety.

2. RAISING AND ACCELERATING MSME PERFORMANCE (RAMP)

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE: SCHEME

CONTEXT:  The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India organised the first meeting of the National MSME Council with emphasis on RAISING AND ACCELERATING MSME PERFORMANCE (RAMP).

EXPLANATION:

• It is a new scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) for addressing the generic and COVID related challenges in the MSME sector by way of impact enhancement of existing MSME schemes, especially, on the competitiveness front.
• This is World Bank assisted Central Sector Scheme commenced in FY 2022-23. The total outlay for the scheme is Rs.6,062.45 crore or USD 808 Million, out of which Rs. 3750 crore or USD 500 Million would be a loan from the World Bank and the remaining Rs.2312.45 crore or USD 308 Million would be funded by the Government of India (GoI).
• The programme aims at improving access to market and credit, strengthening institutions and governance at the Centre and State, improving Centre-State linkages and partnerships, addressing issues of delayed payments and greening of MSMEs.
• In addition to building the MoMSME’s capacity at the national level, the RAMP program will seek to scale up implementation capacity and MSME coverage in State.
• Further, the programme will bolster the inadequately addressed blocks of capacity building, handholding, skill development, quality enrichment, technological upgradation, digitization, outreach and marketing promotion, amongst other things.
• RAMP will complement the Atma Nirbhar Bharat mission by fostering innovation and enhancement in industry standards, practices and provide the necessary technological inputs to the MSMEs to make them competitive and self-reliant, enhancing exports, substituting imports, and promoting domestic manufacturing.

RAMP targets:

• ‘’Policy Provider’’ through the enhanced capacity for evidence-based policy and program design, to enable the delivery of more effective and cost-efficient MSME interventions to improve competitiveness and business sustainability.
• “Knowledge Provider” through bench-marking, sharing and demonstrating best practices/success stories by leveraging international experiences, and
• “Technology Provider” providing access to high-end technology resulting in the digital and technological transformation of MSMEs through state of art Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Internet of things (IoT), Machine Learning etc.

Funding

Funds would flow through RAMP into the Ministry’s budget against Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) to support ongoing MoMSME programmes, focusing on improving market access and competitiveness.

The disbursement of funds from World Bank towards RAMP would be made on fulfilling the following Disbursement Linked Indicators:

• Implementing the National MSME Reform Agenda
• Accelerating MSME Sector Centre-State collaboration
• Enhancing effectiveness of Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS)
• Strengthening Receivable Financing Market for MSMEs
• Enhancing Effectiveness of Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and “Greening and Gender” delivery
• Reducing the incidence of delayed payments

Implementation Strategy

• The overall monitoring and policy overview of RAMP would be done by an apex National MSME Council.
• A RAMP programme committee headed by the Secretary of MoMSME to monitor the specific deliverables under RAMP.
• Further, for day to day implementation there would be programme management units at the National level and in States, comprising professionals and experts competitively selected from the industry to support MoMSME and States, to implement, monitor and evaluate RAMP programme.

The National MSME Council

• It is headed by Minister for MSME, including representation from various Ministries and supported by a secretariat.
• It has been set up to work as an administrative and functional body to oversee inter-Central Ministerial/Departmental co-ordination, Centre State synergies and advise / monitor progress on the reforms mandated in the MSME sector including the RAMP programme.

3. POSHAN BHI, PADHAI BHI

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE: SCHEME

CONTEXT:  Union Minister for Women and Child Development launched the Centre’s flagship programme ‘Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi’, which will focus on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) at anganwadis across the country. 600 crores has been allocated for the training of anganwadi workers to implement the ECCE. The National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) has been roped in for the training of Anganwadi workers.

EXPLANATION:

• As per the guidelines of the National Education Policy 2020, with ‘Poshan bhi Padhai bhi, Government has taken up the goal of strengthening the foundations of the country’s future generations.
• It is not only to make anganwadi centres nutrition hubs but also education-imparting centres.
• It is a pathbreaking ECCE program to ensure that India has the world’s largest, universal, high-quality pre-school network and will focus on education in the mother tongue, as per the New Education Policy.
• Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) which is an important component of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) and envisaged under the National Education Policy.
• Government will target children’s development in every domain mentioned in the National Curriculum Framework, viz., physical and motor development, cognitive development, socio-emotional-ethical development, cultural/artistic development, and the development of communication and early language, literacy, and numeracy.
• All States will follow the national ECCE taskforce recommendations for a play-based, activity-based learning pedagogy, targeted specifically at developmental milestones of 0-3-year olds as well as 3-6-year olds, including special support for Divyang children.
• Through ECCE policy, every child would be provided with at least two hours of high-quality pre-school instruction on a daily basis.
• As stated in the NEP, Anganwadi Centres will be strengthened with high-quality infrastructure, play equipment, and well-trained Anganwadi workers/teachers.
• Poshan bhi Padhai bhi will focus on promoting holistic and quality early stimulation and pre-primary education for children, ensuring the use of developmentally appropriate pedagogies and emphasizing the links with primary education as well as early childhood health and nutrition services.
• Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi program will provide for mother tongue as primary teacher instruction medium, different types of teaching-learning material (visual aids, audio aids, audio-visual and bodily-kinesthetic aids) to Anganwadi Sewikas, and help build a Jan Andolan, to involve communities in strengthening the foundations of the country’s future generation.

Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0)

• It is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme. It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent ecosystem to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.
• Poshan 2.0 shall focus on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment of MAM/SAM and Wellness through AYUSH. It will rest on the pillars of Convergence, Governance, and Capacity-building. Poshan Abhiyan will be the pillar for Outreach and will cover innovations related to nutritional support, ICT interventions, Media Advocacy and Research, Community Outreach and Jan Andolan.

With a view to address various gaps and shortcomings in the on-going nutrition programme and to improve implementation as well as to accelerate improvement in nutrition and child development outcomes, the existing scheme components have been re-organized under Poshan 2.0 into the primary verticals given below:

• Nutrition Support for POSHAN through Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) for children of the age group of 06 months to 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers (PWLM); and for Adolescent Girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts and North Eastern Region (NER);
• Early Childhood Care and Education [3-6 years] and early stimulation for (0-3 years)
• Anganwadi Infrastructure including modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi; and
• Poshan Abhiyaan

The objectives of Poshan 2.0 are as follows:

• To contribute to human capital development of the country
• Address challenges of malnutrition
• Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing
• Address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies.

4. PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

CONTEXT: World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Covid-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and that the focus would now be on the long-term management of the infection.

EXPLANATION:

• SARS-CoV-2 was a novel virus which discovered that the infection put the immune system into overdrive, leading to a cytokine storm when immune cells started attacking the patient’s own organs. This tended to happen more in the elderly, and in those with existing comorbidities like diabetes.
• COVID-19 was raised as its highest level of alert and termed as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, a designation that remained in place for over three years.

Three conditions for declaring a disease a public health emergency:

• It is spreading across several countries.
• It is leading to serious illness, hospitalisations, and deaths.
• Serious stress on health systems because of the disease.

Why WHO removed the designation?

• Methods of transmission reduced
• better, cheaper, and point-of-care diagnostics
• a treatment protocol that works
• medicines to prevent viral replication that can help in reducing severity of the diseases
• vaccines that can prevent severe disease.

Public Health Emergency of International Concern

• A PHEIC is a formal declaration by WHO of ‘an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response’, formulated when a situation arises that is ‘serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected’, which ‘carries implications for public health beyond the affected state’s national border’ and ‘may require immediate international action’.
• PHEIC are not confined to only infectious diseases and may cover events caused by chemical agents or radioactive materials. However, to date, all PHEIC declarations have been for viral emerging infectious diseases, not for bacterial diseases, nor for chemical or radioactive materials.
• States have a legal duty to respond promptly to a PHEIC.
• International Health Regulations (IHR) have been the governing framework for global health security since 2007. Declaring public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) is a cornerstone of the IHR.
• Six events were declared PHEIC between 2007 and 2020: the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Ebola (West African outbreak 2013–2015, outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo 2018–2020), poliomyelitis (2014 to present), Zika (2016) and COVID-19 (2020 to present).

The International Health Regulations (IHR):

• It is governing framework for global health security for the past decade and are a nearly universally recognized World Health Organization (WHO) treaty, with 196 States Parties.
• The IHR is one of the six leadership priorities of the WHO programme of work, the purpose of which is to promote health and well-being. Declaring public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) is a cornerstone of the IHR.
• The IHR provide an overarching legal framework that defines countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders.
• It is legally binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States.

5. DEEP OCEAN MISSION

TAGS: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

CONTEXT: India has identified 11 potential sites for exploration of hydrogen sulfide and a dedicated multi-purpose vessel was being acquired to carry out detailed surveys as part of the Deep Ocean Mission. Addressing the first meeting of the Mission Steering Committee it was stated that the technologies developed under the Deep Ocean Mission would help in exploration of the oceans and possible harnessing of non-living resources such as energy, fresh water and strategic minerals.

EXPLANATION:

• It is a mission mode project to support the Blue Economy Initiatives of the Government of India under Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to explore deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
• The deep-sea mining industry is developing specialized underwater mining technology to harvest remotely-located mineral resource from thousands of square kilometers of seafloor, which will involve collecting the nodules at the seabed and bringing them up to a ship for transport to land.

Major Objectives of Deep Ocean Mission:

• To address issues arising from long term changes in the ocean due to climate change
• To develop technologies for deep-sea mission of living (biodiversity) and non-living (minerals) resources
• To develop underwater vehicles and underwater robotics
• To provide ocean climate change advisory services
• To identify technological innovations and conservation methods for sustainable utilization of marine bioresources
• To develop offshore based desalination techniques
• To develop renewable energy generation techniques
• To provide clean drinking water and explore the avenues of desalination of water as well as extracting minerals from the ocean belt.

Components of Deep Ocean Mission:

• Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned Submersible: A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6000 metres in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools.
• Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services: A suite of observations and models will be developed to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales under this proof-of-concept component.
• Create awareness amongst the public, students, academicians and user communities about the various fields of Earth system science as well as on the achievements and services rendered by MoES.
• Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity: Bio- prospecting of deep-sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilization of deep-sea bio-resources will be the main focus. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Fisheries and allied services.
• Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration: The primary objective of this component is to explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges. This component will additionally support the Blue Economy priority area of deep-sea exploration of ocean resources.
• Energy and freshwater from the Ocean: Studies and detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plant are envisaged in this proof-of-concept proposal. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of off-shore energy development.
• Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology: This component is aimed as development of human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Biology, Blue trade and Blue manufacturing.

India’s First and Unique Manned Ocean Mission, Samudrayan

• It was launched in 2021 from Chennai. With this step India joined the elite club of nations such as USA, Russia, Japan, France and China in having such underwater vehicles for carrying out subsea activities.
• The Samudrayaan Mission’s manned submersible vehicle MATSYA 6000 will help conduct deep-ocean exploration for resources such as gas hydrates, polymetallic manganese nodules, hydro-thermal sulphides, and cobalt crusts, which are found at depths of 1000 to 5500 metres.
• Under the Deep Ocean Mission, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) constructed the manned submersible with a depth capacity of 6000 metres.
• It will facilitate MoES in carrying out deep ocean exploration of the nonliving resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulphides and cobalt crusts, located at a depth between 1000 and 5500 metres.

What are Polymetallic nodules?

• It primarily consists of precipitated iron oxyhydroxides and manganese oxides, onto which metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, titanium and rare earth elements absorb.
• Mining of polymetallic nodules has been spurred by the need for critical metals to support growing populations, urbanization, high-technology applications and the development of a green-energy economy.
• These nodules are found in various deep ocean regions, including the deep Pacific and Indian Oceans.
• They are used in making electronics like rechargeable batteries and touch screens, among other things.

1. SURROGACY LAWS IN INDIA

TAGS: GS 2: SOCIETY

CONTEXT: The government in the Supreme Court has said that same sex couples and live-in partners are not included in surrogacy and assisted reproduction laws to avoid ‘misuse’ and provide children a ‘complete family’. The Union’s Department of Health Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research, in a 131-page affidavit, said the welfare of the child “trumps any notions of equality amongst prospective/intending parents/couples”.

EXPLANATION:

Types of Surrogacy:

• Surrogacy is considered altruistic when the surrogate offers to carry the child of the commissioning couple in her womb purely out of love for them and empathy for their need to have a child.
• Surrogacy is considered commercial when money is paid to the surrogate for her services. Surrogacy law bans commercial surrogacy and makes it a non-bailable and non-compoundable offence to undertake commercial surrogacy. The commission of such an offence invites imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.

Background:

• Indian Council of Medical Research in 2005 come up with a set of guidelines for the conduct of surrogacy. Later in 2010, the government put more curbs on the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill.

The Surrogacy (Regulation)Act, 2021:

Some of the key features of the Act include the following-

• All the clinics providing the surrogacy treatment and facilities need to be registered under this Act and people practicing in those clinics need to qualify as per the criteria given in this bill.
• Every facility that performs surrogacy treatments must apply for registration within sixty days after the competent authority’s appointment. Every three years, registration must be renewed.
• Commercial surrogacy is prohibited in any form by any surrogacy clinic, gynaecologist, embryologist, or other medical practitioner. Only altruistic surrogacy is permissible under the 2021 Act.
• Eligibility: The Act is restricted to only two categories of people i.e., the intending couple who are legally married and according to the laws of India, and that have a certificate of infertility can use this facility. The intending couple i.e., the couple wanting to have the baby must be legally married in line with the laws of India. The age of the female should be between 25-50 years and that of the male should be 26-55 years. Also, another important condition is that they shouldn’t be having any other adopted or conceived child through surrogacy or naturally.
• As required by the law, the surrogate has to be eligible too. She has to be between 25 and 35 years of age; be married with a child of her own. She should also be a first-time surrogate. Furthermore, a psychiatrist has to certify her as being mentally fit. Any woman cannot be a surrogate mother more than once in her entire lifetime.
• Furthermore, the couple should have an insurance policy for the surrogate mother to cover her medical needs for 36 months from the date of embryo transfer. Once the board validates the couple’s submission, an essentiality certificate is issued to them
• The National/State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board must provide a ‘Certificate of Essentiality/Infertility’ to an intended couple who has a medical need for surrogacy.

LGBTQIA+ community exclusion:

• In line with the gender bias that still exists in our society, this Act only allows a legally married man and woman in India to get a baby through this method, and thus the non-binary and the same-sex couple are not able to enjoy the parenthood even if they wish to.
• Though in the case ofNavtej Singh v. Union of India, 2018, the Supreme court decriminalized homosexuality, same-sex marriage is still not legal in India hence homosexual couples do not come under the purview of this Act.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021:

• The Act aims at the regulation and supervision of ART clinics and assisted reproductive technology banks, prevention of misuse, and safe and ethical practice of ART service.
• Every ART clinic and bank is required by the Act to be listed in the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India. This Registry, which consists of scientific and technical personnel, will serve as a central database for all facilities in India that offer ART treatments.

2. PETERSBERG CLIMATE DIALOGUE (PCD)

TAGS: GS3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: The Petersberg Climate Dialogue (PCD) is an annual high-level political and international forum that took place from 2 -3 May 2023 ahead of the annual United Nations Climate Change Conferences (Conference of the Parties or COP). The PCD series was co-hosted in Berlin by the German Federal Foreign Office and the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Delegates from 40 countries attended this year’s high-level dialogue series, the 14^th such event.

EXPLANATION:

Background:

• The first Petersberg Climate Dialogue, aimed at improving communication between leaders and environmental ministers following the nearly unsuccessful negotiations at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15), was initiated by German politician and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• The meeting took place on April 2–4, 2010 at Hotel Petersberg, located on the hill named “Petersberg” near the German city of Bonn, where the UNFCCC is headquartered.
• In subsequent years, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue conference was held in Berlin.
• PCD aims at strengthening strategic dialogue on just energy transition, global transformation and responses to climate impacts.

Highlights from the summit are as follows:

• The 14th Petersberg Climate Dialogue will bring together high-level representatives from around 40 countries to discuss concrete steps towards overcoming the climate crisis and strengthen confidence both in multilateral climate negotiations and between countries.
• The Dialogue will focus on cross-cutting themes related to the availability and affordability of and access to finance. In particular, participants will discuss implementation of the UNFCCC COP 27 decision on financial support for overcoming loss and damage caused by climate change.
• The focus this year included topics such as climate adaptation, climate finance and dealing with loss and damage, but in particular the first-ever global stocktake.
• Global renewables target: In order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to make sharp cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions. Discussions inititated around a potential global target for renewables at the next climate conference.
• Fossil fuels: Phaseout production or reduce emissions?: COP28 President called on meeting participants to ramp up renewable energy capacity building and phasing out fossil fuel emissions, while phasing up viable, affordable zero-carbon alternatives. He called for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030 followed by a doubling in 2040.
• On track for $100 billion climate finance: It is found that developed countries are “on good track” to deliver the $100 billion per year they had promised to mobilise by 2020 during the COP15 in 2009.
• Global Stocktake: 2023 is the year for the Global Stocktake, which is essentially a periodic review of global climate action which aims to assess whether current efforts will enable us to reach the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement. This is the first Global Stocktake year since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 and the report has been underway for the past two years. It is set to be released in September of 2023.

India’s stand:

• Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Labour and Employment said that there was a broader consensus over the need for stronger mitigation and adaptation efforts and for expansion of renewables.
• At the event it was reiterated that recognising the need for support towards Just, Affordable & Inclusive Energy Transition is crucial in the spirit of leaving no one behind.
• While following the clean energy pathway, to protect livelihood of local population and local economy, which depend on the existing energy system, focus on diversifying the economy and creation of new livelihood opportunities are required.

3. CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM (CBAM)

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: European Union (EU) proposes to introduce a framework for levying a carbon tax on imports of products that rely on non-green or sub-optimally sustainable processes and where carbon emissions are deemed to have not been adequately priced.

EXPLANATION:

• It is also known as Carbon Border Tax which imposes importers and non-EU manufacturers to pay for the carbon emission linked to the goods they sell within EU limits.
• Importers will be required to purchase carbon import certificates/ permits for each metric ton of CO2 brought into the EU through specified goods. The price of certificates could depend on carbon intensity of goods being impo . and carbon price per metric ton which will be the same as domestic carbon price being paid by EU producers.
• The CBAM plans to impose a tariff on a set of carbon-intensive imports, which will have to be paid by EU importers and companies who export such goods to EU countries.
• This Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will begin with an import monitoring mechanism and culminate in the levy of duties as determined from January 2026.
• The EU argues that the CBAM will ensure its climate objectives are not undermined by carbon-intensive imports and spur cleaner production in the rest of the world.

How will the CBAM work?

• The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) plans to impose a tariff on a set of carbon-intensive imports from countries having weaker climate policies.
• The CBAM initially plans to impose a carbon border tax on the most carbon-intensive imports—iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium and electricity.

• The CBAM will start phasing in from October 2023, if all approvals go through, first requiring importers in the EU to collect data about the number of metric tons of carbon dioxide released during the manufacture of the goods they import.
• The CBAM will be implemented in a phased manner with importers in the EU submitting data about the embedded emissions of their imports in 2023 and start buying certificates for such imports by 2026.
• After that, importers will need to buy a new type of pollution certificate to reflect that discharge at prices aligned with the bloc’s Emissions Trading System. The fee could be partially waived if a carbon tax has already been paid in the country where the goods were the goods were originally manufactured.

Why are developing countries including India opposing it?

• While the EU believes the mechanism is a global solution to the global problem of climate change, trading partners such the United States, China, Russia and developing countries including India, have opposed the measure, describing it as unilateral, “protectionist” and even a trade weapon.
• India has invoked climate justice on the global fora and contends that it places a carbon charge on companies from countries that did not primarily or historically cause climate change.
• According to the Global Trade Research Initiative, the tax will translate into a 20-35% tariff on India’s exports of steel, aluminium and cement, which now attract an MFN duty of less than 3%. As much as 27% of India’s exports of steel, iron and aluminium products, or $8.2 billion, head to the EU.
• It is critical that the Centre reacts with greater alacrity to what may be considered by some as a sophisticated trade barrier doused in ‘greenwashing’ optics, proposed by the EU. Last year, about a third of India’s iron, steel and aluminium exports, for instance, were shipped to EU members. Engineering products, the largest export growth driver in recent years, would be impacted too.

4. ECUADOR SEALED DEBT FOR NATURE SWAPS FOR CONSERVATION OF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT; GS 1: GEOGRAPHY; PRELIMS: PLACES IN NEWS

CONTEXT: Ecuador sealed the world’s largest “debt-for-nature” swap on record on Tuesday, selling a new “blue bond” that will funnel at least $12 million a year into conservation of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world’s most precious ecosystems.

EXPLANATION:

Background:

• With Ecuador in severe financial peril, the bonds were trading well below face value as investors considered non-repayment to be likely.
• Effectively, Ecuador has now bought its own debt back at a knock-down price via a fresh loan from Credit Suisse.
• And in return, Ecuador’s government had pledged to spend about $18 million annually for two decades on conservation in the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos islands:

• The Galapagos archipelago is located about 1,000 km from continental Ecuador and is composed of 127 islands, islets and rocks, of which 19 are large and 4are inhabited. 97% of the total emerged surface (7,665,100 ha) was declared National Park in 1959. Human settlements are restricted to the remaining 3% in specifically zoned rural and urban areas on four islands (a fifth island only has an airport, tourism dock, fuel containment, and military facilities).
• The islands are surrounded by the Galapagos Marine Reserve which was created in 1986 (70,000 km²) and extended to its current area (133,000 km²) in 1998, making it one of the largest marine reserves in the world.
• These islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’ that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection following his visit in 1835.
• It is located at the confluence of three ocean currents as a ‘melting pot’ of marine species. Ongoing seismic and volcanic activity reflects the processes that formed the islands. These processes, together with the extreme isolation of the islands, led to the development of unusual animal life such as the land iguana, the giant tortoise and the many types of finch.
• The remote islands home to some of the most unspoiled nature in the world are a UNESCO world nature heritage site.
• The main threats to the Galapagos are the introduction of invasive species, increased tourism, demographic growth, illegal fishing and governance issues.

Debt for nature swaps:

• It is an initiative of World Wide Fund for Nature implemented through trust funds or foundations specifically set up to channel funding to local biodiversity.
• They are typically a voluntary transaction in which an amount of debt owed by a developing country government is cancelled or reduced by a creditor, in exchange for the debtor making financial commitments to conservation.
• Swaps typically involve countries that are financially distressed and experiencing difficulties in repaying foreign debts. The earnings generated through swaps are often administered by local conservation or environmental trust funds.
• Debt-for-nature swaps have proved successful in Belize, Barbados and the Seychelles in recent years, but Ecuador’s deal is by far the largest to date, cutting the country’s debt by over $1 billion once the $450 million of total conservation spending is taken into account.

5. NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR PREVENTION & CONTROL OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NP-NCD)

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

CONTEXT: The existing National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) programme has been renamed National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) amid widening coverage and expansion.

EXPLANATION:

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has decided to rename the portal which enables population enumeration, risk assessment, and screening for five common NCDs, including hypertension, diabetes, and oral, breast and cervical cancers of the population aged above 30 years.
• Now Schemes subsume all types of NCDs with an addition of diseases to the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease etc.

Status of Non communicable disease:

• India is experiencing a rapid health transition with a rising burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) surpassing the burden of Communicable diseases like water-borne or vector borne diseases, TB, HIV, etc.
• The four major NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and diabetes which share four behavioural risk factors – unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, and use of tobacco and alcohol.
• Meanwhile, a study ‘India: Health of the Nation’s States – The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative in 2017’ by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) estimated that the proportion of deaths due to NCDs in India have increased from 37.9% in 1990 to 61.8% in 2016.
• Non-Communicable Diseases like Cardiovascular diseases, Cancer, Chronic Respiratory Diseases, Diabetes, etc. are estimated to account for around 60% of all deaths. NCDs cause considerable loss in potentially productive years of life. Losses due to premature deaths related to heart diseases, stroke and Diabetes are also projected to increase over the years.

Objectives of NP-NCD

• Health promotion through behaviour change with involvement of community, civil society, community based organizations, media etc.
• Opportunistic screening at all levels in the health care delivery system from subcentre and above for early detection of diabetes, hypertension and common cancers.
• Outreach camps are also envisaged.
• To prevent and control chronic non-Communicable diseases, especially Cancer, Diabetes, CVDs and Stroke.
• To build capacity at various levels of health care for prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, IEC/BCC, operational research and rehabilitation.
• To support for diagnosis and cost-effective treatment at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of health care.
• To support for development of database of NCDs through Surveillance System and to monitor NCD morbidity and mortality and risk factors.

The strategies for prevention, control and treatment of NCDs would have following components: 

• Health promotion awareness generation and promotion of healthy lifestyle
• Screening and early detection
• Timely affordable and accurate diagnosis
• Access to affordable treatment
• Rehabilitation

Mechanism of the scheme:

• NP-NCD is being implemented under the National Health Mission (NHM) across the country.
• Under NP-NCD, NCD Cells are being established at National, State and District levels for programme management, and NCD Clinics are being set up at District and CHC levels, to provide services for early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up for common NCDs.
• Provision has been made under the programme to provide free diagnostic facilities and drugs for patients attending the NCD clinics. Cardiac Care Units (CCU) are also being set up in identified districts for providing facilities for emergency Cardiac Care. Day Care Centres at the identified districts are setup to provide facilities for Cancer care.

SOCIAL ISSUES

1. BIHAR GOVERNMENT TO CONDUCT CASTE-BASED SURVEY

TAGS: GS-I & II- SOCIETY AND SOCIAL ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: The government of Bihar, led by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, is set to begin the first phase of a caste-based survey in the state. The survey, which is set to conclude on May 31, 2023, will be conducted in two phases.

THE EXPLANATION:

The first phase of the survey will involve counting and recording the number of all households in the state. This phase is set to run from January 7 to January 21, 2023 and will be carried out by 5.24 lakh surveyors. These surveyors, who are mostly teachers, agriculture coordinators, and government workers, will visit each of the 2.58 crore households in urban and rural areas across all 38 districts of the state. The survey is expected to cover an estimated population of 12.70 crore in Bihar.

Phase 2: Caste and Socio-Economic Information Collection

• The second phase of the survey will take place from April 1 to April 30, 2023 and will involve surveyors visiting each household to gather information about the caste of family members, their socio-economic profile, and their exposure to government welfare schemes. There will be 26 columns in the survey form for this phase, and all of the collected data will be uploaded to a portal.

Purpose of the Survey

• According to Bihar Chief Minister, the purpose of the survey is to create a detailed record of castes and communities in the state in order to aid in their development. The survey is expected to be particularly beneficial to the ruling parties of Bihar, the Janata Dal (United) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, as they have the support of many socially and economically disadvantaged caste groups. The survey report will allow for more effective implementation of welfare schemes for these groups.

Data Collection Methods

• Data for the survey will be collected digitally through a mobile application as part of an eight-level survey process from the panchayat to the district level. The app will include questions about the place of residence, caste, number of people in the family, their profession, and their annual income. Information will also be collected about family members who are living outside the state.

Difference between SECC and Census

Census

The Census provides a picture of the Indian population

Census falls under the Census Act of 1948 and all data are considered confidential

SECC

SECC is a tool to identify beneficiaries of state support

All the personal information given in the SECC is open for use by Government departments to grant and/or restrict benefits to households.

HEALTH ISSUES

2. INDIA’S KALA-AZAR CASES DECLINED 98.7%

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE- GS-II-HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: According to the Union Health Minister, Kala-azar cases in India fell to 834 in 2022 from 44,533 in 2007 — a 98.7 per cent decline.

THE EXPLANATION:

• As many as 632 endemic blocks (99.8 per cent) spread across Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal have received elimination status (less than one case per 10,000), the minister added. He was chairing a high-level review meeting on the status of the disease in these four endemic states.
• Only one block (Littipara) of Pakur district, Jharkhand is in the endemic category (1.23 cases / 10,000 population).
• After malaria, kala-azar is the deadliest parasitic disease in the world. It is one of the three conditions in the disease group called leishmaniasis caused by the protozoa parasite Leishmania. The parasite is transmitted to humans by the bite of an infected female phlebotomine sandfly, a tiny 2-3 mm long insect vector, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
• Visceral leishmaniasis or kala-azar is the most serious form of the disease and as of November 2022, about 89 per cent of the global cases were reported from eight countries: Brazil, Eritrea, Ethiopia, India, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan and Sudan, WHO noted. India contributes 11.5 per cent of total cases reported globally.

VALUE ADDITION:

What is Kala Azar Disease?

Kala Azar or black fever is a disease caused by infection with Leishmania parasites. It is transmitted by female sandfly – Phlebotomus argentipes. It is also known as visceral leishmaniasis or black fever or Dum-Dum fever.

Types:

Cutaneous leishmaniasis:

• This is another form of Kala-azar which results in skin lesions – mainly ulcers on the exposed parts of the body, which creates scars and serious disability. The lesions usually are painless but can be painful, particularly if open sores become infected with bacteria. Types of Cutaneous leishmaniasis:

Mucosal Leishmaniasis:

• In this type of Cutaneous leishmaniasis, the infection results from the dissemination of parasites from the skin to the naso-oropharyngeal mucosa.
• Symptoms
• Initially, leishmania parasites cause skin sores or ulcers at the site of the bite. If the disease progresses, it attacks the immune system.
• Kala azar presents after two to eight months with more generalized symptoms including prolonged fever and weakness.

Treatment: Treatment of Kala Azar is done through liposomal AmB – this is the drug of choice for immunocompetent patients. There are other treatment options available such as paromomycin, miltefosine and multidrug therapy treatment.

PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

3. WORLD’S FIRST PALM-LEAF MANUSCRIPT MUSEUM IN KERALA

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT:The recently opened Palm Leaf Manuscript Museum in Thiruvananthapuram has added to the cultural and intellectual life of the state of Kerala.

THE EXPLANATION:

The museum, which is the world’s first of its kind, contains 187 manuscripts and other artefacts related to the former Travancore kingdom from 650 AD until the end of the 19th century. It also has documents from the regions of Kochi and Malabar.

Exhibits at the Museum

• The museum’s exhibits include palm leaf manuscripts, styluses, carriers for Cadjan bundles, copper plates, and bamboo splints. The museum is divided into eight galleries, each focused on a different aspect of Travancore history, including “History of Writing,” “Land and People,” “Administration,” “War and Peace,” “Education and Health,” “Economy,” “Art and Culture,” and “Mathilakam Records.” Some galleries also include films and QR code technology for gathering additional information.
• The museum is particularly notable for its manuscripts, which are written on cured and treated palm leaves and contain primary source material on a variety of topics. One of the most famous manuscripts is the account of the Battle of Colachel, in which Travancore’s AnizhamThirunalMarthanda Varma defeated the Dutch East India Company in 1741. This battle put a halt to Dutch expansion in India and cemented Travancore’s place as a major power in the region.
• The museum is divided into eight galleries representing different segments of Travancore history: ‘History of Writing’, ‘Land and people’, ‘Administration’, ‘War and peace’, ‘Education and Health’, ‘Economy’, ‘Art and culture’, and ‘Mathilakam Records’. These galleries also include films and QR code technologies for gathering information.

Conservation Efforts

• The Palm Leaf Manuscript Museum was created as part of a larger conservation effort by the state of Kerala. The museum is located in a three-century-old building that is home to the Central Archives for the state government. The first phase of the museum’s collection was selected from 1.5 crore (15 million) palm leaf records that had been poorly preserved throughout the state.
• The manuscripts at the museum provide important information on the development of writing in the area, including the evolution of the Malayalam script from earlier systems like Vattezhuthu and Kolezhuthu. They also offer insights into the complex administrative systems, proclamations of the Travancore royals, and international negotiations and agreements that shaped the kingdom’s history.
• The Palm Leaf Manuscript Museum is a valuable resource for both general visitors and specialized researchers. It offers a glimpse into the rich history of the Travancore kingdom and helps to fill in gaps in our understanding of Kerala’s past. The museum’s audio-visual technology and multimedia exhibits make it an engaging and informative experience for all who visit.

4. HAWAII’S KILAUEA VOLCANO ERUPTS

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE- GS-1- GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT:Hawaii’s Kilauea volcano, one of the world’s most active, erupted again releasing lava fountains and discharges of volcanic ash into the air.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory detected a glow in webcam images indicating Kilauea had begun erupting inside Halemaumau crater at the volcano’s summit caldera. The observatory raised Kilauea’s alert level lowered it from warning to watch because the initial high effusion rates are declining and no infrastructure is threatened. The observatory expects the eruption to remain in the summit.
• There is generally a three-month cooling off period before scientists consider an eruption to be complete. It is currently unclear why both Kilauea and Mauna Loa ceased erupting at around the same time in December 2021.

Cultural and Spiritual Significance

• Volcanic eruptions hold significant cultural and spiritual meanings for native Hawaiians. During the Mauna Loa eruption in November 2021, many Hawaiians participated in traditional practices such as singing, chanting, and dancing in honor of Pele, the god of fire and volcanoes.

About Kilauea Volcano

• The Kilauea volcano is the most active of the five volcanoes that make up the Island of Hawaii. It is a shield volcano, which is a type of volcano composed of fluid lava and characterized by its vast lava flow.
• Kilauea has two active rift zones and a recently formed caldera, a massive depression formed when the ground surface collapses into an emptied magma chamber. The pit crater within Kilauea is called Halemaumau, which contained a lava lake before it began erupting in multiple locations in 2018.

Kilauea’s Last Eruptions

• This is not the first time Kilauea has erupted in recent years. It last erupted for 16 months starting in September 2021, and for about two weeks in November 2021, Hawaii had two volcanoes, Kilauea and Mauna Loa, spewing lava side by side.

5. WORLD’S FIRST VACCINE FOR HONEYBEES GETS CONDITIONAL NOD IN US

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Recently, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has granted a conditional license for a vaccine for honeybees to curb American foulbrood (AFB), a fatal bacterial disease for the insect.

THE EXPLANATION:

• US has approved the first-ever vaccine for honey bees which will confer protection from the American foulbrood disease, raising hopes of a new weapon against diseases that routinely ravage colonies that are relied upon for food pollination. The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has permitted a conditional license for a vaccine, developed by a US-based biotech company.
• The vaccine, which contains an inactivated form of the causative bacteria, will be administered along with the royal jelly feed given by the worker bees to the queen bee. The developing bee larvae, being exposed to the vaccine, will have immunity to the foulbrood disease when they hatch. This will cut down the death rates associated with the disease, claims the company.

There is no cure for the foulbrood disease:

• American foulbrood (AFB) is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium Paenibacillus larvae that can weaken and kill honey bee colonies. Currently, there is no cure for this contagious disease.
• Beekeepers follow one treatment method and that is to destroy and burn the infected hives and administer antibiotics to the nearby colonies in order to curb the spread of the disease.

GEOGRAPHY

1. WHAT IS BOMB CYCLONE?

GS-I-GEOGRAPHY

THE CONTEXT: Millions of Americans have been recently warned to brace for a bomb cyclone with blizzard conditions, wind chills and temperatures plunging as low as -45.6C (-50.1F) – cold enough to get frostbite in less than five minutes.

THE EXPLANATION:

What is Bomb Cyclone?

• A bomb cyclone is a mid-latitude storm in which the central pressure drops fast at one millibar per hour for at least 24 hours. However, the millibar readings can change based on where the storm is forming.
• This quickly increases the pressure difference, or gradient, between the two air masses, making the winds stronger. This process of rapid intensification has a name: bombogenesis.
• As the winds blow, the rotation of the Earth creates a cyclonic effect. The direction is counterclockwise in the Northern Hemisphere (when viewed from above).

Formation:

• A bomb cyclone is formed when the air of different air masses (cold, dry) comes together.
• As the warm air rises, it creates a cloud system lowering air pressure and forming into a storm circulating counter clockwise around the low-pressure area.

Characteristics:

• The bomb cyclone will be characterised by cold winds, which are also expected to pick up, and wind chill temperatures could drop to dangerous lows far below zero — enough to cause frostbite within minutes.
• The dangerous storm is expected to hit everyone east of the Rockies — around two-thirds of the country.

HEALTH ISSUES

2. KALA AZAR

GS-2 -HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: Recently, PM in his Mann Ki Baat programme on All India Radio,emphasised that India has eradicated diseases like Smallpox, Polio and ‘Guinea Worm’. He spoke about Kala Azar, another disease which is about to be eradicated.

THE EXPLANATION:

Till recently, the scourge of Kala-azar had spread in more than 50 districts across four states. The Prime Minister noted with satisfaction that this disease is confined to only four districts of Bihar and Jharkhand at present. He expressed confidence that people’s awareness in these states will help the government’s efforts to eliminate the disease from these districts as well.

What is Kala Azar Disease?

Kala Azar or black fever is a disease caused by infection with Leishmania parasites. It is transmitted by female sandfly – Phlebotomus argentipes. It is also known as visceral leishmaniasis or black fever or Dum-Dum fever.

Types:
Cutaneous leishmaniasis:

• This is another form of Kala-azar which results in skin lesions – mainly ulcers on the exposed parts of the body, which creates scars and serious disability. The lesions usually are painless but can be painful, particularly if open sores become infected with bacteria. Types of Cutaneous leishmaniasis:

Mucosal Leishmaniasis:

• In this type of Cutaneous leishmaniasis, the infection results from the dissemination of parasites from the skin to the naso-oropharyngeal mucosa.
• Symptoms
• Initially, leishmania parasites cause skin sores or ulcers at the site of the bite. If the disease progresses, it attacks the immune system.
• Kala azar presents after two to eight months with more generalized symptoms including prolonged fever and weakness.

Treatment: Treatment of Kala Azar is done through liposomal AmB – this is the drug of choice for immunocompetent patients. There are other treatment options available such as paromomycin, miltefosine and multidrug therapy treatment.

ENVIRONMENT, ECOLOGY AND CLIMATE CHANGE

3. CORAL BLEACHING

GS-III- ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Scientists working on Australia’s Great Barrier Reef have successfully trialled a new method for freezing and storing coral larvae they say could eventually help rewild reefs threatened by climate change.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Great Barrier Reef has suffered four bleaching events in the last seven years, including the first ever bleach during a La Nina phenomenon, which typically brings cooler temperatures.

Coral Bleaching:

• The stunning colours in corals come from marine algae called zooxanthellae, which live inside their tissues.
• These algae provide the corals with an easy food supply thanks to photosynthesis, which gives the corals energy, allowing them to grow and reproduce.
• When corals get stressed, from things such as heat or pollution, they react by expelling these algae, leaving a ghostly, transparent skeleton behind.
• This is known as ‘coral bleaching. Some corals can feed themselves, but without the zooxanthellae, most corals starve.
• Causes for Coral Bleaching include changes in Ocean Temperature, Runoff and Pollution, Overexposure to sunlight and extremely low tides.

About Great Barrier Reef:

• The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of over 2,900 individual reefs and 900 islands.
• The reef is located in the Coral Sea (North-East Coast), off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
• The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms.
• The reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981.

4. DELHI “REAL-TIME SOURCE APPORTIONMENT PROJECT”

GS-III- ENVIRONMENT & ECOLOGY- AIR POLLUTION

THE CONTEXT: Recently, Delhi Chief Minister reviewed the progress of the ‘Real-time Source Apportionment Project’, which is aimed at identifying the sources of Delhi’s pollution on a real-time basis.

THE EXPLANATION:

The project has been undertaken by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Kanpur (IIT-K), Indian Institute of Delhi (IIT-D) and TERI.

What is Real-time Source Apportionment Project?

• The real-time source apportionment project is being implemented by the Delhi Pollution Control Committee in collaboration with IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Delhi and TERI.
• It is one of the actions listed under the Delhi Government’s winter action plan.
• The Delhi government approved the project in October 2021 and launched it in November 2022.
• Under this project, a supersite with cutting-edge air analysers and a mobile air quality monitoring system will be used to measure the concentration of various substances in the air above Delhi.
• The project will identify various sources of PM2.5 on a real-time hourly basis and provide a 3-day hourly forecast of the total PM 2.5.
• The data obtained from this project will help the Delhi government to accurately identify the sources of air pollution like vehicular exhaust, dust, biomass burning, and industrial emissions.
• The supersite data will also be used to forecast air pollution levels on an hourly, daily and weekly bases. This will help the government take proactive measures to curb pollution and mobilize resources to ensure strict compliance with pollution control norms.
• The findings will further be complemented by a mobile van that will capture air pollution readings and sources from different corners of Delhi.

What are the outcomes of the recent meeting?

• During the recently held review meeting on the progress of the real-time source apportionment project, a team of scientists from IIT Kanpur informed that the secondary inorganic aerosols have traveled long distances to contribute to a large portion of the air pollution mix.
• Other major contributors of PM2.5 in the past one month are biomass burning (wood, stubble etc.), vehicular emissions and dust (road and construction).
• The Delhi Chief Minister has directed IIT Kanpur team to provide more detailed information on the real-time sources like the type of vehicles causing the pollution at different times and specific areas where biomass, including garbage, is burnt to help the government to eliminate these sources.

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

5. DARK PATTERNS

GS-III SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, it is been found that some Internet ¬based firms have been tricking users into agreeing to certain conditions or clicking a few links.

THE EXPLANATION:

About Dark Patterns:

• It is a user interface that has been crafted to trick or manipulate users into making choices that are detrimental to their interests.
• The term ‘Dark Patterns’ was coined by user experience designer Harry Brignull in 2010.
• Dark patterns endanger the experience of internet users and make them more vulnerable to financial and data exploitation by BigTech firms.
• Dark patterns confuse users, introduce online obstacles, make simple tasks time-consuming, have users sign up for unwanted services or products and force them to pay more money or share more personal information than they intended.
• In the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has taken note of dark patterns and the risks they pose. In a report released in September, 2022, the regulatory body listed over 30 dark patterns.
• The FTC report outlined its legal action against Amazon in 2014, for a supposedly free children’s app that fooled its young users into making in-app purchases that their parents had to pay later for.

Types of dark patterns

In India, The Advertising Standards Council of India (ASCI) has recognised four dark patterns and these are the proposed areas of extension to the ASCI code on misleading ads.

• Drip pricing: It is a pattern when the total price is only revealed at the very end of the buying process.
• Bait and switch: It is a pattern that occurs when a user takes an action expecting one outcome, but instead is served an outcome they didn’t want.
• False urgency: It is a dark pattern that refers to misleading information on quantities of a particular product.
• Disguised advertising: It is a pattern when an advertisement mimics editorial content.