1. TRANSGENIC CROPS

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Three States, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, have deferred a proposal, approved by the Centre’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), to test a new kind of transgenic cotton seed that contains a gene, Cry2Ai, that purportedly makes cotton resistant to pink bollworm, a major pest. The conflict shows that a broad acceptance of genetically modified crops continues to be elusive.

EXPLANATION:

What is the status of transgenic crops in India?

• There is wide variety of crops as brinjal, tomato, maize, chickpea in various stages of trials that employ transgenic technology. However, cotton remains the only transgenic crop that is being commercially cultivated in India.
• After a long wait, the GEAC, the apex technical body charged with evaluating proposals for testing genetically modified (GM) seeds, approved the environmental release of Mustard hybrid DMH-11 and its parental lines in 2022 for seed production and testing.
• In 2010, the GEAC had approved GM Brinjal, but this was put on an “indefinite moratorium” by the United Progressive Alliance government.

What is the process of regulating transgenic crops in India?

• The process of developing transgenic crops is an elaborate one as inserting transgenic genes into plants to elicit a sustained, protective response is a mix of both science and chance.
• There are multiple safety assessments done by committees before they are cleared for further tests in open plots of land which are located at either agricultural universities or plots controlled by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• A transgenic plant can apply for commercial clearance, only after it has proven to be demonstrably better than comparable non-GM variants on claimed parameters (for instance, drought tolerance or insect resistance) without posing ecological harm to other species that may be being cultivated in the vicinity.
• Open field trials often take place over multiple crop seasons and types of geographical conditions, to assess its suitability across different States.

What is the issue?

• The cotton seed has been developed by the Hyderabad-based Bioseed Research India with Cry2Ai which makes it resistant to pink bollworm.
• The first generations of transgenic cotton had been developed to inure cotton against a more widespread pest called the American bollworm.
• The Cry2Ai seed has passed preliminary, confined trials and was recommended by the GEAC to be tested in farmer’s fields at Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat and Haryana.
• This was after the GEAC in October 2022 sent letters to all States to communicate their views within two months on the proposal. States responded that the proposal was unacceptable to them.

Are there changes in the offing in process of regulation of GM crops?

• The GEAC consists of a panel of plant biotechnologists and is headed by a senior official of the Environment Ministry and co-chaired by the scientist of the DBT
• To resolve the issue of States not according to approvals on testing, because of differing attitudes to GM crops, the GEAC is considering a proposal by the DBT to declare some regions across India as ‘notified testing sites.

Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

• It functions in the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change(MoEF&CC).
• As per Rules, 1989, it is responsible for appraisal of activities involving large scale use of hazardous microorganisms and recombinants in research and industrial production from the environmental angle.
• The committee is also responsible for appraisal of proposals relating to release of genetically engineered (GE) organisms and products into the enviornment including experimental field trials.
• GEAC is chaired by the Special Secretary/Additional Secretary of MoEF&CC and co-chaired by a representative from the Department of Biotechnology (DBT).
• Presently, it has 24 members and meets every month to review the applications in the areas indicated above.

2. NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES

TAG: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: The new national estimates for diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCD) shows that 31 million more Indians became diabetic in four years (2019-2021).

EXPLANATION:

What were the findings?

• In 2021, a study found that India has 101 million people with diabetes and 136 million people with prediabetes.
• Additionally, 315 million people had high blood pressure; 254 million had generalised obesity, and 351 million had abdominal obesity.
• 213 million people had hypercholesterolaemia (wherein fat collects in arteries and puts individuals at greater risk of heart attack and strokes) and 185 million had high low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol.
• The decade-long nationwide study was funded by the Indian Council of Medical Research and Department of Health Research, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and co-ordinated by the Madras Diabetes Research Foundation. The results of the study are to be published in The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology journal.

What is the significance of the study?

• The study is the first comprehensive epidemiological research paper which includes participants from 31 States and some Union Territories. There are two big trend indicators in the study.
• First, diabetes and other metabolic non-communicable diseases, such as hypertension, obesity and dyslipidemia are much more common than estimated previously in India.
• Second, while currently urban regions had higher rates of all metabolic NCDs than rural areas, with the exception of prediabetes, rural India will see a diabetes explosion in the next five years if left unregulated.
• While the diabetes epidemic is stabilising in the more developed States of the country, it is still increasing in most of the other States. Thus, there are serious implications for the nation, warranting urgent State-specific policies and interventions to arrest the rapidly rising epidemic of metabolic NCDs in India.

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.

National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD)

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Objectives of NP-NCD

• Health promotion through behaviour change with involvement of community, civil society, community based organizations, media etc.
• To prevent and control chronic non-Communicable diseases, especially Cancer, Diabetes, CVDs and Stroke.
• 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.

3. TRANSCRANIAL MAGNETIC STIMULATION (TMS)

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, a study by Stanford University researchers reported some evidence that in people without depression, a part of the brain called the anterior insula sends signals to another part called the anterior cingulate cortex, whereas in people with depression, the signal goes the other way. According to the researchers, TMS may be alleviating depression by reversing the signal to go the right way.

EXPLANATION:

• The technique is used to non-invasively modulate the cortical activity of the brain.
• Magnetic pulses applied non-invasively to the scalp can stimulate the brain, to reverse brain changes, and to bring about rapid relief to severely depressed patients for whom standard treatments may have failed. This non-invasive brain stimulation modality is called repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS).
• rTMS is based on the phenomenon of electromagnetic mutual induction, first reported by Michael Faraday in 1831.
• rTMS generates brief electromagnetic pulses via an insulated coil placed over the scalp. These magnetic pulses non-invasively modulate the cortical activity of the brain.
• Daily rTMS stimulation for several weeks has also been shown to be effective in reducing the symptoms of a range of neuropsychiatric disorders.
• In 2008, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved TMS as a treatment for clinical depression.
• The neuropsychological effects of TMS are particularly likely when a current is delivered in repetitive trains rather than as single pulses. If the stimulation occurs more quickly than once per second (1 Hz), it is called fast rTMS.
• It’s quite different from electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). Unlike ECT, rTMS does not involve producing a seizure, and does not require the person to be asleep or under anaesthetic

Why does TMS work?

• rTMS stimulation, over the course of a few weeks, increases neuronal activity in the area under the coil. It also changes the strength of connections between different areas of the brain. There is some reason to believe this restores the normal interaction between brain regions, although such hypotheses require further testing and replication.
• By briefly passing a current through a coil of wires, a strong and rapidly fluctuating magnetic field can be formed. This generates electrical currents in the underlying brain tissue. This also affects the membrane potential of nearby brain cells.
• rTMS can stimulate specific brain regions, such as the sensory or motor areas, to evoke corresponding sensory or motor responses. It can also interfere with ongoing brain activity and act as a brief virtual lesion.

What are the clinical applications?

• TMS has been used for many years in clinical neurophysiology to explore the integrity of the motor cortex of the brain after a stroke.
• Clinically, rTMS has been used to relieve depressive states. In the treatment of depression, 40 pulses of stimulation are delivered over four seconds, followed by a gap of 26 seconds before the next 40 pulses. A brain area called the left prefrontal cortex, which is in the front part of the brain, is targeted in this process.
• Research studies have also examined whether active and sham (dummy) TMS produce the same clinical response in depression. These studies concluded that greater response was observed in patients who received active treatment.
• rTMS has also been used to treat refractory obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). Although the FDA has approved the use of rTMS for refractory OCD, more evidence and refinement in protocols are needed at this time. At present, it remains an add-on treatment.
• There is also preliminary evidence that rTMS relieves post-traumatic stress disorder (or PTSD).

Does TMS have adverse effects?

• Rarely, rTMS may induce seizures in at-risk patients, for example those with a family history of epilepsy. This is more likely with fast rTMS than with slow rTMS. However, current safety protocols have also greatly reduced the likelihood of seizures.
• Minor side-effects are more common, including muscle tension headaches. To prevent short-term changes in hearing threshold as a result of the noise generated by the equipment, earplugs are recommended during the session.

4. ALLIGATOR GAR FISH

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Recently, a non-native alligator gar fish, known for its crocodile-like head and razor-sharp teeth, was found in one of Kashmir’s idyllic lakes, raising apprehensions about its impact on the native fish species.

EXPLANATION:

• The rare, carnivorous fish was caught by the Jammu and Kashmir Lake Conservation and Management Authority (LCMA) during the routine deweeding process near Sher-e-Kashmir International Convention Centre (SKICC), the main venue for the Group of Twenty (G20) tourism meeting in Srinagar, the summer capital of Jammu and Kashmir.
• The finding sent alarm bells ringing among the scientists; they fear that the presence of non-native fish species will spell doom for the eco-fragile flora and fauna of the waterbody.
• It would kill all fingerlings of fish species already present in the waterbody and has a tendency to destroy natural aquatic life of Dal Lake.
• Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute Barrackpore, said alligator gar fish is not an Indian species and normally found in northern and central America and also in Mexico. “But in recent years it was also found in some parts of India like Bhopal, Kerala and from the waterbodies of Maharashtra and Kolkata.

Alligator gar:

• The alligator gar is a close relative of the bowfin species. It is a ray-finned euryhaline fish and is one of the biggest freshwater fish in North America and the largest species in the ‘gar’ family.
• It is a predator fish and a carnivore, it can eat all types of fishes and therefore poses a threat to native species and to the overall ecosystem. For example, gar fish grows rapidly and has a life span of 20-30 years.

• Alligator gars feed on other fish and are thrown in Indian waterbodies knowingly or unknowingly. Gar fishes are euryhaline and can grow up to eight feet. They can be dangerous for indigenous fish species. During winter, they can even sustain in the cold waters of Dal because the temperature they mostly live in is 11-23 degrees Celsius.
• The Indian Biological Diversity Act 2002 prohibits the presence of any kind of invasive fish species that can be hazardous to natural fish fauna.
• Alligator gars are undoubtedly a serious threat to local biodiversity but only if they become adaptive in a particular environment.

5. PREDATOR UAV

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT:  Defence Acquisition Council (DAC) approved the procurement of armed Predator Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI),  an aeronautics company based in the United States. The procurement is now awaiting the final nod from the Cabinet Committee on Security.

EXPLANATION:

• As per GA-ASI, the MQ-9 UAV has an endurance of over 27 hours, speeds of 240 KTAS, can operate up to 50,000 feet, and has a 3,850 pound (1,746 kilograms) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kilograms) of external stores.
• The maritime variant of the MQ-9 UAV, known as Sea Guardian, has an endurance of over 30 hours.

• Once delivered and employed, these High-Altitude Long Endurance drones can carry out and boost the Indian Armed Forces’ Intelligence-Surveillance-Reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities.
• Armed with payloads, the weaponized UAV will be able to strike strategic targets in mountains and the maritime domain during long-endurance missions.
• As per the USAF, MQ-9 UAV is employed primarily as an intelligence-collection asset and secondarily against dynamic execution targets.
• It can also undertake close air support, combat search and rescue, precision strike, buddy-lase, convoy and raid overwatch, route clearance, target development, and terminal air guidance, according to the USAF.
• As per GA-ASI, the MQ-9 UAV has been acquired by the US Air Force, the US Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Royal Air Force, the Italian Air Force, the French Air Force and the Spanish Air Force.

Defence Acquisition Council (DAC):

• DAC is the highest decision-making body of the defence Ministry on procurement to ensure expeditious procurement of the approved requirements of the armed forces.
• The apex body is responsible for clearing all capital acquisitions for the Indian Armed Forces.
• The DAC will perform the following functions:

(a) Give ‘in principle’ approval to Capital acquisitions in the Long Term Perspective Plan (LTPP) covering a 15-year time span at the beginning of a Five Year Plan period.

(b) Give ‘in principle’ acceptance of necessity to each Capital acquisition project for incorporation in the forthcoming Five Year Plan, at least nine months before the commencement of the first year of that plan. The approval will involve the identification of Either – ‘Buy’ Projects (outright purchase) Or – ‘Buy and Make’ projects (purchase followed by licensed production/ indigenous development) Or – ‘Make’ Projects (indigenous production and R&D)

(c) Monitor the progress of major projects on a feedback from the Defence Procurement Board.

• The DAC will meet as required. The approval in principle should be seen as first step in the process of ‘acceptance of necessity’ by the concerned Administrative Wing in MoD in consultation with Defence(Finance) and as a recommendation for eventual consideration of FM/CCS (as required).
• The decision of Defence Minister based on DAC deliberations will flow down from implementation to Defence Procurement Board, Defence Production Board and Defence R&D Board.

1. GLOBAL SLAVERY INDEX 2023

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Global Slavery Index 2023 have been recently released. According to it, on any given day in 2021, as many as 50 million people were living in “modern slavery”. Among these 50 million, 28 million suffer from forced labour and 22 million from forced marriages. Of these 50 million, 12 million are children. To be sure, the phrase “modern slavery” has a specific definition.

EXPLANATION:

What is modern slavery?

• According to the index, “modern slavery” refers to situations of exploitation that a person cannot refuse or leave because of threats, violence, coercion, deception, or abuses of power.
• Modern slavery is an umbrella term and includes a whole variety of abuses such as forced labour, forced marriage, debt bondage, sexual exploitation, human trafficking, slavery-like practices, forced or servile marriage, and the sale and exploitation of children.
• The schematic alongside provides a broad framework of what all modern slavery covers.
• The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations also resolve to end modern slavery. Target 8.7 of the SDGs states: “Take immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, end modern slavery and human trafficking and secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including recruitment and use of child soldiers, and by 2025 end child labour in all its forms.”

What is the Global Slavery Index?

• The index presents a global picture of modern slavery. It is constructed by Walk Free, a human rights organisation and is based on data provided by the Global Estimates of Modern Slavery, which, in turn, is produced by International Labour Organization (ILO), Walk Free, and International Organization for Migration (IOM).
• This is the fifth edition of the Global Slavery Index and is based on the 2022 estimates.
• However, the initial estimates are regional and to arrive at country-wise estimates, the index uses several representative surveys.

What are the country-wise findings?

There are three sets of key findings.

• The first looks at the prevalence of modern slavery. The prevalence refers to the incidence of modern slavery per 1000 population. On this count, the following 10 countries are the worst offenders: North Korea, Eritrea, Mauritania, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Afghanistan, Kuwait.
• These countries share some political, social, and economic characteristics, including limited protections for civil liberties and human rights,” states the index.
• Following are the countries with the lowest prevalence: Switzerland, Norway, Germany, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Belgium, Ireland, Japan, Finland.
• However, apart from prevalence, the index also calculates the countries hosting the maximum number of people living in modern slavery. Here the list is as follows: India, China, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, Indonesia, Nigeria, Turkey, Bangladesh, United States.
• Collectively, these countries account for nearly two in every three people living in modern slavery and over half the world’s population. Notably, six are G20 nations: India, China, Russia, Indonesia, Türkiye, and the US,” points out the index.

2. LEPTOSPIROSIS

TAG: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: Leptospirosis is a disease that surges in the monsoon month. The disease is an occupational hazard for people working in agricultural settings. Its severity ranges from a mild flu-like illness to being life-threatening

EXPLANATION:

• Leptospirosis has emerged as an important infectious disease in the world today.
• It is a potentially fatal zoonotic bacterial disease that tends to have large outbreaks after heavy rainfall or flooding.
• The disease is more prevalent in warm, humid countries and in both urban and rural areas.
• However, the numbers at the global and regional levels aren’t exact because of misdiagnosis (its symptoms mimic those of dengue, malaria, and hepatitis), limited access to reliable diagnostics, lack of awareness among treating physicians, and lack of environmental surveillance.

What causes the disease?

• The disease is caused by a bacterium called Leptospira interrogans, or leptospira. It is a contagious disease in animals but is occasionally transmitted to humans in certain environmental conditions.
• The carriers of the disease can be either wild or domestic animals, including rodents, cattle, pigs, and dogs.
• The cycle of disease transmission begins with the shedding of leptospira, usually in the urine of infected animals.
• According to the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, infected animals can continue to excrete the bacteria into their surroundings for a few months, but sometimes up to several years.

Which people are at risk?

• Humans become part of the cycle when they come in direct contact with this urine or indirectly, through soil and water that contain leptospira bacteria. A person is more likely to contract leptospirosis if they have cuts or abrasions on their skin.
• The disease is also considered an occupational hazard for people working in agricultural settings, with animals, or in sanitary services that bring them into contact with contaminated water.
• Recreational activities in contaminated lakes and rivers are also reported to increase the risk of leptospirosis.

What are the symptoms of leptospirosis?

• The severity of a leptospirosis infection ranges from a mild flu-like illness to being life-threatening.
• The infection can affect many organs, reflecting the systemic nature of the disease. This is also why the signs and symptoms of leptospirosis are often mistaken for other diseases.
• In milder cases, patients could experience a sudden onset of fever, chills, and headache – or no symptoms at all. But in severe cases, the disease can be characterised by the dysfunction of multiple organs, including the liver, kidneys, lungs, and the brain.
• Animals exhibit a variety of clinical symptoms and indications. In cattle and pigs, the disease can potentially cause reproductive failure, stillbirths, and weak calves or piglets. Dogs experience a range of symptoms, including fever, jaundice, vomiting, diarrhoea, renal failure, and even death.

What are the misconceptions about leptospirosis?

• Preventing leptospirosis requires appropriate and adequate health education, community health empowerment, and preventive habits.
• The disease has been called “ili jwara” in Kannada and “eli pani” in Malayalam, both meaning “rat fever. This usage has fed the common belief that rats are the sole cause of the disease, which is not true.
• Leptospirosis has a spectrum of reservoir hosts, including pigs, cattle, water buffaloes, goats, dogs, horses, and sheep. Further, seasonal patterns such as the onset of the monsoon can also potentially facilitate the disease’s incidence and transmission.
• The incidence of the disease is also linked to extreme weather events like floods and hurricanes, when people are exposed to contaminated water.
• Similarly, poor waste management, a high density of stray animals, faulty drainage systems, and unhygienic sanitation facilities are major drivers of the disease in urban areas. In rural parts, these are contaminated paddy fields, dirty livestock shelters, and poor water-quality and sanitation.

How can we prevent leptospirosis?

• Leptospirosis control can benefit from a ‘One Health’ approach. ‘One Health’ is an interdisciplinary approach that recognises the interconnections between the health of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
• Preventing animals from getting infected is also important to reduce the risk of leptospirosis spreading and to limit farmers’ economic losses (when the disease causes reproductive failures in pigs and cattle). This in turn requires sanitary animal-keeping conditions, which is also desirable to improve the animals’ health and to prevent the spread of many diseases.
• Given the spike in leptospirosis during the monsoons, it is best to take precautions, including washing one’s arms and legs with an antiseptic liquid after handling animal waste and after working in water.

3. NUTRIENT-BASED SUBSIDY (NBS)

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: CACP recommends Centre to bring urea under NBS regime to check overuse. Disproportionate use of urea in agriculture over the years has been one of the primary reasons for worsening plant nutrient imbalance

EXPLANATION:

• The Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) has recommended the Centre to bring urea under the nutrient-based subsidy (NBS) regime to address the problem of imbalanced use of nutrients.
• According to CACP report, fertiliser response and efficiency has continuously declined over decades mainly due to imbalanced use of nutrients, deficiency of micro and secondary nutrients and depletion of soil organic carbon, while fertiliser subsidy has been rising.

Issue:

• Urea does not come under NBS, which includes non-urea fertilisers like phosphorous and potassium.
• Keeping urea out of NBS essentially means that the government has retained direct control over MRP of urea and its subsidy.
• The MRPs of other fertilisers have been under indirect control by virtue of NBS policy.
• Manufacturers of these fertilisers have the freedom to fix MRP within “reasonable limits”, and a fixed per-tonne subsidy linked to their nutrient content is given.
• This has caused their MRPs to increase over the years, whereas urea’s price has remained unchanged. This has led to tilting of the usage of fertilisers in favour of urea because farmers have overused it, owing to its low pricing, thus resulting in deteriorating soil health.
• India is one of the largest producers and consumers of fertilisers in the world, and fertiliser consumption has increased significantly over the years.

Nutrient-Based Subsidy(NBS) Scheme:

• NBS scheme, which governs the subsidy on P&K fertilizers, has been instrumental in ensuring the availability of essential nutrients to farmers at subsidized prices since 1 April, 2010.
• It aims at ensuring Nation’s food security, improving agricultural productivity and ensuring the balanced application of fertilizers.
• NBS is applicable for Di Ammonium Phosphate (DAP, 18-46-0), Muriate of Potash (MOP), Mono Ammonium Phosphate (MAP, 11-52-0), Triple Super Phosphate (TSP, 0-46-0), Single Super Phosphate (SSP, 0-16-0-11), Ammonium Sulphate (AS – (Caprolactum grade by GSFC and FACT)  and 16 grades of complex fertilizers which. Primary nutrients, namely Nitrogen ‘N’, Phosphate ‘P’ and Potash ‘K’ and nutrient Sulphur ‘S’ contained in the fertilizers.
• The government has now approved the revision in NBS rates to provide 25 grades of P&K fertilizers to farmers during the rabi and kharif seasons.
• This decision by the Cabinet brings two significant benefits. Firstly, it ensures the availability of diammonium phosphate DAP and other P&K fertilizers to farmers at subsidized, affordable, and reasonable prices during the Kharif season.
• This will enable farmers to access essential fertilizers necessary for their agricultural activities. Secondly, the decision rationalizes the subsidy on P&K fertilizers, ensuring effective and efficient utilization of government resources.

4. CHILD TRAFFICKING

TAG: GS 1: SOCIETY

THE CONTEXT: The United Nations World Day Against Child Labour 2023 emphasises how social injustices, such as poverty and lack of education, create precarious conditions for children.

EXPLANATION:

• Child labour a form of modern slavery includes any work that deprives children of their childhood, their potential and their dignity, and that harms their physical or mental development, per the International Labour Organisation (ILO) definition.
• The practice includes, and is not limited to, trafficking, sexual exploitation, debt bondage, and exploitation in armed conflicts. 12% of those in forced labour are possibly children, ILO noted.
• Child trafficking manifests in the form of domestic labour, forced child labour across industries, and illegal activities such as begging, organ trade and commercial sex purposes.
• Eight children were trafficked every day in India in 2021 for labour, begging and sexual exploitation per data from the latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB).
• One such practice happens in the name of ‘khadama’, where girls go to Gulf countries to work as housemaids.
• This data only includes confirmed cases of trafficking, which does not account for “missing children.” One child goes missing every eight minutes in India with millions ending up in domestic slavery, sex work and forced labour.
• Global prevalence of child trafficking

1. Domestic work (21%)
2. Begging (10%)
3. Hospitality sector (7%)
4. Street and small-scale retail (6%)
5. Illicit activities (6%)
6. Agriculture (5%)
7. More than 40% of children trafficked were recruited by a family member or relative.

Status of India:

• The 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report released by the U.S. Department of State categorises India as Tier 2 in terms of progress. It implies that India “does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.”
• Countries in tier 2 are those where a) the estimated number of victims is very significant or is significantly increasing and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions; b) the country has failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat rising cases.
• India doesn’t have a composite anti-trafficking law that addresses prevention, protection, rehabilitation and compensation of survivors. There are, however, separate regulations that address different crimes related to trafficking.

Laws governing anti-trafficking crimes

• The Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (PITA) is targeted at stopping immoral trafficking and sex work. It went through two amendments, in 1978 and 1986. Experts have criticised PITA for falsely presuming that all trafficking is done for sex work only, and say that it criminalises sex workers without providing sufficient legal recourse or scope for rehabilitation.
• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, prohibits and penalises the act of child marriage. In August 2021, the NGO Save the Children warned of a rise in child marriage and sexual abuse during the COVID-19 pandemic.
• The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, prevents children from partaking in certain employments and regulates the conditions of work for children in other fields. In 2016, an amendment completely banned the employment of children below 14 years; adolescents aged 14-18 years are allowed to work in family-related businesses but not in fields that have “hazardous” working conditions.
• The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, prohibits systems of labour where people, including children, work under conditions of servitude to pay off debt, and also provides a framework for rehabilitating released labourers.
• The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, which governs laws relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law.
• The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, makes commercial dealing in human organs a punishable offence.
• Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which seeks to prevent commercial sexual exploitation of children.
• India set up Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in 2007. AHTUs are tasked with “addressing the existing gaps in the law enforcement response,” “ensuring a victim-centric approach which ensures the ‘best interest of the victim/ survivor’ and prevents ‘secondary victimization/ re-victimisation of the victim,” and developing databases on traffickers.
• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, revised Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with buying and selling of any person as a slave, to include the concept of human trafficking. Two sections — 370 and 370A — form the framework “to provide a comprehensive definition of human trafficking and also provide for strict punishment,” the Ministry of Home Affairs noted.

What is the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill? 

• MWCD published the Draft Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Care and Rehabilitation) Bill in June 2021, with 11 chapters detailing measures to prevent, protect and rehabilitate victims.
• There are specified penalties for offences divided into “trafficking” and “aggravated trafficking”.
• The Bill built upon its 2018 iteration: it widened the scope of “victims” to include transgender persons and others, introduced mechanisms for the prevention and rehabilitation of victims (such as providing shelter and food) and extended the framework to include cross-border trafficking cases.
• The Bill proposes district- and State-level “anti-trafficking units” with designated police officers and a National Anti-Trafficking Bureau which looks after investigations involving two or more States. Investigations are required to be completed within 90 days of the offender’s arrest, and there are appointed sessions courts for speedy trials measures which could potentially address low conviction rates. The Bill, expected to be tabled in the parliament’s 2022 monsoon session, was not brought up.

5. WORLD’S FIRST CARBON-NEUTRAL AIRLINE

TAG: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: World’s first carbon-neutral airline is facing law suit. In this regard, lets look into the issue and the mechanisms involved.

EXPLANATION:

Issue:

• Delta Air Lines in 2020 marketed itself as the “world’s first carbon-neutral airline”, investing $1 billion to work on reducing fuel usage and investing in carbon removal techniques. Recently it is facing lawsuit the first of its kind against a U.S. airline’s climate claims  arguing Delta Air Line’s assertions were bogus, misleading and false.
• The ‘green airline’ tag is a contested commodity, as flyers and companies alike are realising that flying is a significant contributor to carbon pollution (accounting for more than 2% of all greenhouse-gas emissions).
• Aviation emissions could grow by 300-700% by 2050, per estimates.

What does the lawsuit say?

• Delta relied on “carbon offsetting”, shorthand for a slew of ways companies can reduce or remove carbon emissions from the environment. Activities like planting trees, shifting to cleaner fuel, funding carbon capture techniques in theory balance out a company’s carbon emissions.
• A 2021 Guardian investigation found the carbon offset systems of most airlines are “flawed” and deceptive.
• In 2021, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which is home to 300 airlines across 120 countries, pledged to achieve net zero by 2050, in a move that was criticised as “greenwashing”.

What are carbon credits?

• Carbon offsets work like a game of Monopoly, except instead of money, companies deal in carbon emissions. A company gets “carbon credits” for investment in offset projects, tokens which represent an amount of carbon dioxide which would have been funnelled out of the atmosphere due to these initiatives.
• Each credit is equal to a metric ton of CO2, which would have caused global warming. These credits allow companies to continue emitting carbon in one place (say, aeroplane travel), with the promise their offsets are reducing emissions elsewhere (in distant rainforests).
• The voluntary carbon-offset market is expected to grow from $2 billion in 2020 to around $250 billion by 2050,
• The United Nations in 2008 formalised this idea by setting up the Reducing Emissions From Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+), believing that the incentives from offsetting will help nations achieve climate goals.
• There are also blind spots built into the offset system. The voluntary carbon offset market is self-regulated: there are middlemen in the form of organisations like REDD+ that connect credit buyers and sellers. There are “certification” standards set by companies like Verra which allow companies to create and register their carbon-offsetting projects (the Gold Standard is considered among the most rigorous credit programs).
• Offset programs work only when they remove or reduce carbon emissions that wouldn’t have been eliminated otherwise, what is called “additionality”. Proving additionality is a structural challenge, for it is hard to track the genuine progress of activities on the ground.

1. NYAYA VIKAS PORTAL

TAG: GS 2: JUDICIARY

THE CONTEXT: Ministry of Law and Justice bringing some new significant changes along with improvising many schemes for the Judicial services. It has also facilitated justice to common man through a plethora of initiatives like nyaya vikas portal.

EXPLANATION:

Nyaya Vikas Portal:

• This portal has been created for monitoring the implementation of this Nyaya Vikas Scheme.
• This portal provides stakeholders with convenient access to information regarding funding, documentation, project monitoring, and approval.
• Nyaya Vikas Portal created for monitoring the implementation of Centrally Sponsored Schemes for Development of Infrastructure for Judiciary.
• Nyaya Vikas Portal allows four efficient ways of logging into the portal, thereby empowering stakeholders with seamless access to information pertaining to funding, documentation, project monitoring and approval.

About Nyaya Vikas Scheme:

• The Department of Justice has been implementing the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) for Development of Infrastructure Facilities for Districts and Subordinate Judiciary since 1993-94.
• Under the Scheme,  central assistance is provided to the State Government / UT Administrations for construction of court halls and residential units for Judicial Officers / Judges of District and Subordinate Courts.
• With further extension of the scheme beyond 31.03.2021, some new features like Lawyers Hall, Toilet complexes and Digital computer rooms have been added to the scheme for the convenience of lawyers and litigants, besides court halls and residential units.
• The funds sharing pattern under the Scheme for Center and State is 60:40 in respect of States other than North Eastern and Himalayan States.
• The funds sharing pattern is 90:10 in respect of North Eastern and Himalayan States; and 100% in respect of Union Territories.
• The Nyaya Vikas Program adopts a multi-faceted approach to achieve its objectives. Some of the strategies employed include targeted welfare schemes tailored to the needs of marginalized communities, capacity building through training and support, leveraging technology and digital connectivity to bridge the digital divide, and forging partnerships and collaborations with non-governmental organizations, private sector entities, and civil society.

2. DRAFT PANDEMIC TREATY AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE

TAG: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: Since the beginning of negotiations on the Pandemic Instrument, there have been calls from civil society and leading experts to include antimicrobial resistance. In the latest version of the draft Pandemic Instrument, also referred to as the “pandemic treaty,” was shared with Member States at the World Health Assembly. The text was made available online via Health Policy Watch and it quickly became apparent that all mentions of addressing antimicrobial resistance in the Pandemic Instrument were at risk of removal.

EXPLANATION:

Zero Draft of the Pandemic Treaty:

• Work on the Pandemic Instrument began in December 2021 after the World Health Assembly agreed to a global process to draft and negotiate an international instrument under the Constitution of the World Health Organization (WHO) to protect nations and communities from future pandemic emergencies.
• Zero Draft of the treaty, known as the Zero Draft of WHO CA+, was published on 1 February 2023, and discussed at the Intergovernmental Negotiating Body’s fourth meeting between 27 February 2023 and 3 March 2023.
• Because the Zero Draft is the starting point for negotiations, the substantive provisions and content of the treaty could change. But the general structure and broad issues the treaty is likely to address are more likely to remain.
• The main goal of this treaty would be to foster an all of government and all of society approach, strengthening national, regional and global capacities and resilience to future pandemics. This includes greatly enhancing international co-operation to improve, for example, alert systems, data-sharing, research and local, regional and global production and distribution of medical and public health counter-measures such as vaccines, medicines, diagnostics and personal protective equipment.
• Currently, the parties are negotiating on issues such as:
• The definition, means, and procedure for declaring a pandemic, and what this actually means in practice for states.
• How the treaty would work alongside the International Health Regulations.
• Key international principles that will guide the treaty, such as human rights, sovereignty, equity, solidarity, transparency, accountability and more.
• How to achieve equity in the global supply chain for pandemic-related products, and access to relevant technologies.
• Strengthening the resilience and responsiveness of health systems.
• How states and the WHO should be coordinating and cooperating in pandemic preparedness and response.
• How to finance pandemic preparedness and response initiatives.
• Setting up a new Governing Body for the treaty – a COP or Conference of the Parties.
• Other general legal issues relating to the treaty, such as amendments, withdrawal, and dispute settlement.

Anti Microbial Resistance:

• Since the beginning of negotiations on the Pandemic Instrument, there have been calls to include the so-called “silent” pandemic of antimicrobial resistance in the instrument as not all pandemics in the past have been caused by viruses and not all pandemics in the future will be caused by viruses. Devastating past pandemics of bacterial diseases have included plague and cholera. The next pandemic could be caused by bacteria or other microbes.
• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the process by which infections caused by microbes become resistant to the medicines developed to treat them. Microbes include bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites. Bacterial infections alone cause one in eight deaths globally.
• AMR is fueling the rise of drug-resistant infections, including drug-resistant tuberculosis, drug-resistant pneumonia and drug-resistant Staph infections such as methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA).
• Even if the world faces another viral pandemic, secondary bacterial infections will be a serious issue. During the COVID-19 pandemic for instance, large percentages of those hospitalized with COVID-19 required treatment for secondary bacterial infections.
• The exclusion of these measures would hinder efforts to protect people from future pandemics, and appears to be part of a broader shift to water-down the language in the Pandemic Instrument, making it easier for countries to opt-out of taking recommended actions to prevent future pandemics.

3. FOURTEEN FIXED-DOSE COMBINATION (FDC) MEDICINES

TAG: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: Fourteen fixed-dose combination (FDC) medicines found to lack therapeutic relevance have been banned by the Central Government through a gazette notification. While industry experts claim that some of these combinations aren’t available in the market currently, the banned combinations include medicines used for cough, fever and infections, and are sold over the counter.

EXPLANATION:

• These banned drugs included those used for treating common infections, cough and fever combinations such as: Nimesulide Paracetamol dispersible tablets, Chlopheniramine Maleate Codeine Syrup, Pholcodine Promethazine, Amoxicillin Bromhexine and Bromhexine Dextromethorphan Ammonium Chloride Menthol, Paracetamol Bromhexine Phenylephrine Chlorpheniramine Guaiphenesin and Salbutamol Bromhexine.
• The expert committee said that there is “no therapeutic justification for this FDC (fixed dose combination) and the FDC may involve risk to human beings.
• Hence, in the larger public interest, it is necessary to prohibit the manufacture, sale or distribution of this FDC under section 26 A of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940.

Fixed-Dose Combination (FDC) medicines:

• According to the Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), FDCs refer to products containing one or more active ingredients used for a particular indication(s).
• FDCs can be divided into the following groups and data required for approval for marketing is described below:
• The first group of FDCs includes those in which one or more of the active ingredients is a new drug. For such FDCs to be approved for marketing data to be submitted will be similar to data required for any new drug (including clinical trials).
• The second group FDCs includes those in which active ingredients already approved/marketed individually are combined for the first time, for a particular claim and where the ingredients are likely to have significant interaction of a pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic nature.
• The third group of FDCs includes those which are already marketed, but in which it is proposed either to change the ratio of active ingredients or to make a new therapeutic claim. For such FDCs, the appropriate rationale including published reports should be submitted to obtain marketing permission. Permission will be granted depending upon the nature of the claim and data submitted.
• The fourth group of FDC includes those whose individual active ingredients (or drugs from the same class) have been widely used in a particular indication(s) for years, their concomitant use is often necessary and no claim is proposed to be made other than convenience. It will have to be demonstrated that the proposed dosage form is stable and the ingredients are unlikely to have significant interaction of a pharmacodynamic or pharmacokinetic nature. No additional animal or human data are generally required for these FDCs, and marketing permission may be granted if the FDC has an acceptable rationale.

Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO):

• It is under Directorate General of Health Services,Ministry of Health & Family Welfare,Government of India.
• Its headquarter is located at FDA Bhawan, Kotla Road, New Delhi and also has six zonal offices,four sub zonal offices,thirteen Port offices and seven laboratories spread across the country.
• The Drugs & Cosmetics Act,1940 and rules 1945 have entrusted various responsibilities to central & state regulators for regulation of drugs & cosmetics.
• It envisages uniform implementation of the provisions of the Act & Rules made there under for ensuring the safety, rights and well being of the patients by regulating the drugs and cosmetics.
• Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice with a view of bring about the uniformity in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
• Further CDSCO along with state regulators, is jointly responsible for grant of licenses of certain specialized categories of critical Drugs such as blood and blood products, I. V. Fluids, Vaccine and Sera.
• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organization (CDSCO) is the primary regulatory body for medical devices in India. It is responsible for overseeing the import, manufacture, sale, and distribution of medical devices in the country.

4. THE DECADE-LONG SEARCH FOR A RARE HIGGS BOSON DECAY

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Recently, physicists working with the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) particle-smasher at CERN, in Europe, reported that they had detected a Higgs boson decaying into a Z boson particle and a photon. This is a very rare decay process that tells us important things about the Higgs boson as well as about our universe.

EXPLANATION:

• The Higgs boson is a type of boson, a force-carrying subatomic particle.
• It carries the force that a particle experiences when it moves through an energy field, called the Higgs field, that is believed to be present throughout the universe.
• For example, when an electron interacts with the Higgs field, the effects it experiences are said to be due to its interaction with Higgs bosons
• The stronger a particle’s interaction with the Higgs boson, the more mass it has. This is why electrons have a certain mass, protons have more of it, and neutrons have just a little bit more than protons, and so on.
• A Higgs boson can also interact with another Higgs boson: this is how we know that its mass is greater than that of protons or neutrons.
• Photons, the particles of light, have no mass because they don’t interact with Higgs bosons

How did a Higgs boson decay to a Z boson and a photon if it doesn’t interact with photons and what are virtual particles?

• According to quantum field theory, which is the theory physicists use to study these interactions, space at the subatomic level is not empty. It is filled with virtual particles, which are particles that quickly pop in and out of existence. They can’t be detected directly, but according to physicists their effects sometimes linger.
• The LHC creates a Higgs boson by accelerating billions of highly energetic protons into a head-on collision, releasing a tremendous amount of energy that condenses into different particles.
• When a Higgs boson is created in this hot soup, it has a fleeting interaction with virtual particles that creates a Z boson and a photon.

What is the new result?

• Higgs boson is an unstable particle because it is so heavy, that decays into lighter particles.
• For example, this theory, called the Standard Model, says that a Higgs boson will decay to a Z boson and a photon 0.1% of the time. This means the LHC needed to have created at least 1,000 Higgs bosons to have been able to spot one of them decaying to a Z boson and a photon.
• As it happens, the Z boson is also unstable. Z bosons decay to two muons some 3% of the time. If the detectors at the LHC were looking for a pair of muons plus a photon created at the same time, the LHC would have had to create at least 30,000 Higgs bosons to observe the decay just once.
• The two detectors that announced the new measurement, called ATLAS and CMS, had in fact looked for and found the decay before as well (in 2018 and 2020). On this occasion, however, the two teams combined their data, collected “between 2015 and 2018”, and as a result “significantly increased the statistical precision and reach of their searches,” according to a CERN statement.

What is the Standard Model?

• The Standard Model has made many accurate predictions but it can’t explain what dark matter is or, in fact, why the Higgs boson is so heavy. Testing its predictions as precisely as possible is a way for physicists to find whether there are any cracks in the Model – cracks through which they can validate new theories of physics.
• Standard Model predicts that the Higgs boson will take this path 0.1% of the time if its mass is 125 billion eV/c2 (a unit of mass used for subatomic particles).

5. THE ENERGY PROGRESS REPORT 2023

TAG: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT:  According to the energy progress report 2023, World still off-track from achieving universal energy access to all i.e SDG 7. High inflation, debt distress, policy inactions and lagging financial flows slowing access to electricity, clean cooking in developing economies

EXPLANATION:

Finding of the report:

• SDG 7 includes reaching universal access to electricity and clean cooking, doubling historic levels of efficiency improvements, and substantially increasing the share of renewables in the global energy mix.
• Several major economic factors are impeding the realisation of SDG 7 globally, like uncertain macroeconomic outlook, high levels of inflation, currency fluctuations, debt distress in many countries, lack of financing, supply chain bottlenecks, tighter fiscal circumstances and soaring prices for materials.
• The rate of improvement in energy efficiency (target 7.3) is not on track to double by 2030, with the current trend of 1.8 per cent falling short of the targeted increase of 2.6 per cent each year between 2010-2030.
• Globally, access to electricity grew by an annual average of 0.7 percentage points between 2010 and 2021, rising from 84 per cent of the world’s population to 91 per cent.
• With the ongoing impact of COVID-19 and soaring energy prices, the IEA estimates show 100 million people who recently transitioned to clean cooking may revert to using traditional biomass, the report added.
• In 2020, the share of renewable energy in total final energy consumption stood at just 19.1 per cent (or 12.5 per cent if traditional use of biomass is excluded), not much more than the 16 per cent a decade earlier.

Sustainable Development Goal:

• Sustainable Development Goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all.
• They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate change, environmental degradation, peace and justice.
• The 17 Goals are all interconnected, and in order to leave no one behind, it is important that we achieve them all by 2030.

Energy Progress Report:

• IRENA produces the report jointly with the SDG 7 co-custodian agencies: the International Energy Agency (IEA), the United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), the World Bank, and the World Health Organization (WHO).
• The Energy Progress Report provides the international community with a global dashboard to register progress on the targets of Sustainable Development Goal 7 (SDG7): ensuring universal energy access, doubling progress on energy efficiency and substantially increasing the share of renewable energy.
• It also registers progress towards enhanced international cooperation to facilitate access to clean and renewable energy by 2030, as well as on the expansion of infrastructure and technology upgrade for supplying modern and sustainable energy services for all in developing countries.
• It assesses the progress made by each country on these targets and provides a snapshot of how far we are from achieving SDG7. The 2022 release is the eight edition of this report, which was formerly known as the Global Tracking Framework (GTF).

International Energy Agency:

• It is an international energy forum comprised of 29 industrialized countries under the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation (OECD).
• The IEA was established in 1974, in the wake of the 1973-1974 oil crisis, to help its members respond to major oil supply disruptions, a role it continues to fulfill today.
• IEA’s mandate has expanded over time to include tracking and analyzing global key energy trends, promoting sound energy policy, and fostering multinational energy technology cooperation.

International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA):

• It is an intergovernmental organisation that supports countries in their transition to a sustainable energy future, and serves as the principal platform for international cooperation, a centre of excellence, and a repository of policy, technology, resource and financial knowledge on renewable energy.
• IRENA promotes the widespread adoption and sustainable use of all forms of renewable energy, including bioenergy, geothermal, hydropower, ocean, solar and wind energy in the pursuit of sustainable development, energy access, energy security and low-carbon economic growth and prosperity.

1. HYSTERECTOMIES

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

CONTEXT: In 2020, a study on Maharashtra’s cane cutters identified a widening blind spot in women’s health: the unchecked rise of hysterectomies. Laws regulating private clinics were poorly implemented, awareness about the procedure of uterus removal was dismal, gynaecological services were absent and no standard protocols existed, the authors noted.

EXPLANATION:

• As per National Family Health Survey-5 data, half of the women reportedly go through hysterectomies before they turn 35.
• This is a serious violation of the fundamental rights of the women who underwent unnecessary hysterectomies.
• After caesarean deliveries, hysterectomies are the second-most frequent procedure in women of the reproductive age group.

When and Why, it should be conducted?

• Medically, hysterectomies should be conducted in the later part of an individual’s reproductive life, or as an intervention during emergencies.
• Noted medical indications for removing a uterus include fibroids (growths around the uterus), abnormal uterine bleeding and uterine prolapse, chronic pelvic pain, and premalignant and malignant tumours of the uterus and cervix. In some cases, oophorectomy, the removal of ovaries (the primary source of estrogen), is also frequently performed, which is a form of surgical menopause and linked to several chronic conditions.

Effects of hysterectomy:

• There is evidence about the long-term effects of hysterectomy both with or without oophorectomy (removal of ovaries).
• A 2022 review of 29 studies found a correlation between hysterectomy and chronic diseases including an increased risk of cardiovascular events, cancers, depression, metabolic disorders, and dementia (Journal of Clinical Medicine).
• In India, hysterectomies in women above 45 years of age were associated with hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes and bone disease, aching joints, back pain, depression, and insomnia, among other side effects, impairing their health and ability to work.

Government measures:

• Union Health Ministry in 2022 issued guidelines to prevent unnecessary hysterectomies by listing possible indications of when hysterectomy may be required and alternative clinical treatments for gynaecological issues.
• Government recommended setting up district, State-level and national hysterectomy monitoring committees which to collect data on age, mortality, and occupations, among other details.
• The government also proposed a grievance portal, monitored by the National Hysterectomy Monitoring Committee, for hysterectomy beneficiaries.
• Guidelines emphasise that authorities should report hysterectomies conducted for women less than 40 years of age and incorporate the reason for hysterectomy into the existing screening checklist.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana:

• The government’s flagship health insurance programme Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana provides health cover of ₹5 lakhs for 1,949 procedures including hysterectomies.
• The government has authorised 45,434 hospitals to conduct these operations and also developed two standard treatment guidelines for hysterectomy-related procedures.
• These guidelines, developed by the Union Health Ministry and the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR) in consultation with health experts, explicitly state that the procedure should be “considered only when childbearing is completed and rarely in younger patients”.

Violation of international conventions:

• Unnecessary hysterectomies violate international conventions to which India is a signatory.
• These include the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (which recognises people’s right to control their health and body, including reproductive and sexual freedom), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.

Ayushman Bharat Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana:

2. FOUCAULT PENDULUM

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: One of the features of the new Parliament building in New Delhi, is a Foucault pendulum suspended from its ‘Constitutional Gallery’ area.

EXPLANATION:

• The original Foucault’s pendulum, named after 19th century French scientist Leon Foucault, is a simple experiment to demonstrate the earth’s rotation.
• When Foucault carried out this experiment for the public in 1851, it was the first direct visual evidence of the fact that the earth rotates on its axis.

How it works?

• The pendulum consists of a heavy bob suspended at the end of a long, strong wire from a fixed point in the ceiling.
• As the pendulum swings, the imaginary surface across which the wire and the bob swipe is called the plane of the swing.
• A Foucault pendulum is not a simple matter of setting up a pendulum with large parts. It must be designed, installed, and set swinging in such a way that the bob’s motion is influenced to the extent possible only by gravity.
• If the pendulum is installed at the North Pole, the pendulum will basically be swinging as the earth rotates ‘below’. But someone standing on the earth’s surface doesn’t notice the planet’s rotation without e.g. looking up at the sky from time to time; instead, to them, the plane of the swing will seem to rotate by a full circle as the earth completes one rotation.
• If the pendulum is installed over the equator, the plane won’t appear to shift at all because it will be rotating along with the earth. On any other latitude, the plane will shift through 360º in “one sidereal day divided by the sine of the latitude of its location”.

How was the pendulum made for Parliament?

• It has been designed and installed by the National Council of Science Museums (NCSM), Kolkata.
• The Central Research & Training Laboratory (CRTL) is the R&D unit of NCSM, which in turn, functions under the aegis of the Ministry of Culture.
• The piece, made using gunmetal, has been fixed with an electromagnetic coil to ensure hassle-free movement.
• On the symbolism of the pendulum and its prime place in the hallowed building it demonstrates the Article 51A of the Constitution enshrines every citizen “to develop the scientific temper, humanism, and the spirit of inquiry and reform”.

3. SHENZHOU-16

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: China launched a spacecraft carrying three astronauts, including its first civilian, to its Tiangong space station on May 30. This is the China’s fifth manned mission to a fully functional space station since 2021.According to state media, the spacecraft, the Shenzhou-16, was launched atop a Long March-2F rocket from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Centre in the Gobi Desert in northwest China at 9:31 am.

EXPLANATION:

• The crew of Shenzhou-16 includes Jing Haipeng as the leading commander on the mission, as well as Zhu Yangzhu and Gui Haichao, the first Chinese civilian to travel to space. The three astronauts will replace the crew of Shenzhou-15 aboard the Tiangong space station, who have been there since November last year.
• The new crew will stay there for the next five months and will carry out “large-scale in-orbit tests and experiments in various fields as planned. They are expected to make high-level scientific achievements in the study of novel quantum phenomena, high-precision space time-frequency systems, the verification of general relativity, and the origin of life.

What is the Tiangong space station?

• It is operated by China Manned Space Agency (CMSA), the Tiangong space station was built by China after the USA barred NASA from working with the Asian country, citing a high risk of espionage.
• The permanently inhabited space station’s first module entered orbit in 2021 and two more modules were added to it in the following years.
• The Tiangong space station, expected to become the sole in-orbit outpost for scientific research after the end of operations for the International Space Station in 2030, is China’s ambitious project to achieve its space dreams.

International Space Station:

• The International Space Station is a large spacecraft in orbit around Earth. It serves as a home where crews of astronauts and cosmonauts live.
• The first piece of the International Space Station was launched in November 1998. A Russian rocket launched the Russian Zarya (zar EE uh) control module.
• It orbits Earth at an average altitude of approximately 250 miles.
• It travels at 17,500 mph. This means it orbits Earth every 90 minutes.
• NASA is using the space station to learn more about living and working in space.

4. DIGITAL PAYMENT

TAGS: GS 3: ECONOMY

CONTEXT: Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has conceptualised a lightweight payment and settlements system, which it is calling a “bunker” equivalent of digital payments, which can be operated from anywhere by a bare minimum staff in exigencies such as natural calamities or war.

EXPLANATION:

Objective:

• Such a lightweight and portable payment system could ensure near zero downtime of the payment and settlement system in the country.
• It will keep the liquidity pipeline of the economy alive and intact by facilitating uninterrupted functioning of essential payment services like bulk payments, interbank payments and provision of cash to participant institutions.
• The system is expected to process transactions that are critical to ensure the stability of the economy, including government and market related transactions.
• Having such a resilient system is also likely to act as a bunker equivalent in payment systems and thereby enhance public confidence in digital payments and financial market infrastructure even during extreme conditions.

How will it work?

• Infrastructure for this system will be independent of the technologies that underlie the existing systems of payments such as UPI, NEFT, and RTGS.
• The central bank has not offered a timeline for the launch of this payments system yet.
• In its Annual Report for 2022-23 published on May 30, RBI says that the lightweight and portable payment system is expected to operate on minimalistic hardware and software and would be made active only on a “need basis”.

How will the lightweight system be different from UPI?

• According to the RBI, existing conventional payments systems such as RTGS, NEFT, and UPI are designed to handle large volumes of transactions while ensuring sustained availability. As a result, they are dependent on complex wired networks backed by advanced IT infrastructure.
• However, catastrophic events like natural calamities and war have the potential to render these payment systems temporarily unavailable by disrupting the underlying information and communication infrastructure. Therefore, this new system is designed to be prepared to face such extreme and volatile situations.

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.

NEFT and RTGS:

5. EMISSION FROM AVIATION SECTOR

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: Last week, France announced a ban on all short-haul domestic flights. A month earlier, the Schiphol airport in Amsterdam, one of the busiest in Europe, banned private jets and small business planes. There is a growing clamour in Europe for a bigger crackdown on private aviation sector.

EXPLANATION:

• As the world continues to fall behind in the race against time to curb global warming, desperate and non-conventional measures seem to be beginning to kick in.
• Aviation is a relatively small contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions and attempts to curtail these have not been very fruitful till now.
• Air transport, globally, accounts for just about 2 per cent of global carbon dioxide emissions every year, and less than two per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.
• Though the airline industry’s contribution to the overall greenhouse gas emissions has been rather modest, it is still considered a big worry, mainly due to two reasons it is generated by a very small fraction of global population, and it is projected to grow at a very fast pace.
• Also, airplanes produce non-CO2 emissions as well, and their impact on global warming is equally significant. According to the UN Climate Change, if the non-CO2 emissions, like water vapour, are also accounted for, the airline industry would be responsible for causing almost five per cent of historical global warming.
• Emissions from international aviation falls in a grey area. The emissions from planes flying within the boundaries of a country are attributed to that country. But emissions from airlines making international flights are not attributable to any country.
• Along with international shipping, international aviation forms a separate class of emissions those from bunker fuel. It also means that no country has any responsibility to curtail these emissions. These are not covered under the Paris Agreement.

Offset mechanism:

• In 2016, the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) put in place an offset mechanism to ensure that any increase in emissions over 2020 levelsis compensated for by the airline industry through investment in carbon saving projects elsewhere.
• It is called Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA, the offset plan is supposed to run from 2021 to 2035.
• Reducing aviation emissions through other means has not proved to be easy. Unlike road or rail travel, aviation does not have viable technology alternatives for shifting to cleaner fuels. Biofuels have been tried and so have hydrogen fuel cells. Solar powered planes have also made trips. But use of these alternative fuels for flying large commercial airliners is still some distance away.

International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)

• It was created in 1944 to promote the safe and orderly development of international civil aviation throughout the world.
• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations.
• It sets standards and regulations necessary for aviation safety, security and facilitation, efficiency, economic development of air transport as well as to improve the environmental performance of aviation.
• The organization serves as the forum for cooperation in all fields of civil aviation among its 192 Member States.

Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, or CORSIA:

• CORSIA is the first global market-based measure for any sector and represents a cooperative approach that moves away from a “patchwork” of national or regional regulatory initiatives.
• It offers a harmonized way to reduce emissions from international aviation, minimizing market distortion, while respecting the special circumstances and respective capabilities of ICAO Member States.
• CORSIA complements the other elements of the basket of measures by offsetting the amount of CO2 emissions that cannot be reduced through the use of technological improvements, operational improvements, and sustainable aviation fuels with emissions units from the carbon market.
• CORSIA is considered a breakthrough, but it is not very ambitious. It only seeks to offset emissions that are over and above 2020 levels. It does not deal with total emissions.

1. GLOBAL WARMING WILL LIKELY SOON CROSS 1.5º C

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has predicted that there is a greater than 66% probability that at least one of the years from 2023 to 2027 will witness a global mean surface temperature rise of 1.5 o C above the average in the years 1850-1900.

EXPLANATION:

• Models are less skilled at forecasting precipitation than at forecasting temperatures. The forecasted rainfall for 2022 has wider error margins than those for the temperatures, including over India.

What are atmospheric models?

• Specialists forecast the weather the fast changes in the order of hours to days using atmospheric models that work with the sea surface temperature fixed.
• Atmospheric modeling is an important method to generate physical and numerical measurements of climate parameters, quantify the spatiotemporal changes of atmospheric phenomena over space and time, and predict their occurrences.
• With simulated data sets from atmospheric models, scientists are able to examine the driving forces of atmospheric phenomena and perform advanced analysis.
• Weather forecasts also need the atmosphere to be ‘initialised’ to be able to make predictions.To ‘initialise’ means to have the best estimates of temperature, humidity, winds, and so on at each point of the computer model, using data from weather balloons, satellites, radiosondes, and such.

What are ocean-atmosphere models?

• The weather model becomes chaotic after a few days since fast-moving air, with its low heat capacity, tends to shed the memory of the initial conditions.
• Climate, on the other hand, is largely driven by the slow changes in the ocean temperature and its heat content.
• As a result, the climate forecasts, such as for the El Niño and the monsoons, are made with ocean-atmosphere models.
• This model is at the core of numerical climate models. There is an extraordinarily broad class of coupled atmosphere-ocean models ranging from sets of equations that can be solved analytically to highly detailed representations of Nature requiring the most advanced computers for execution.
• The models are applied to subjects including the conceptual understanding of Earth’s climate, predictions that support human activities in a variable climate, and projections aimed to prepare society for climate change.
• The ocean is initialised using data from satellites, ships, moorings in the ocean, and so on.
• Some climate modes, such as those for the El Niño, can be predicted six to nine months in advance.
• A land model is also always included at all timescales, going from weather to climate to climate change.
• Weather and climate prediction models do not worry about changes in the concentrations of greenhouse gases since they integrate their inputs just for a few days to a few seasons.
• IPCC projections for the forthcoming decades are ocean-atmosphere models, initialised typically starting from the concentrations of greenhouse gases from the pre-industrial era and integrated forward, into the 21st century and beyond.
• These models need to account for changes in the concentrations of greenhouse gases as well as sunspot changes and volcanic eruptions, along with land use changes. These integrations capture the global mean temperatures very well, since they are mostly driven by greenhouse gases.

Short term prediction models:

• Only in 2017, the WMO recognised the need for shorter term predictions to fill a gap between seasonal forecasts and climate projections.
• A number of modelling centres around the world were entrained to issue decadal forecasts, which are initialised similar to the seasonal climate forecast models.
• They also accommodate the evolution of greenhouse gases and solar radiative forcing (i.e., changes in solar radiation that affect our climate).

Global Warming:

• Global warming is the gradual increase in the average temperature of the planet over a long period of time.
• As our population has grown, so has our reliance on fossil fuels such as coal, oil, and natural gas. These fuels emit greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, which trap heat from the sun in the Earth’s atmosphere. This creates what is known as the greenhouse effect.

World Meteorological Organization (WMO):

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations, with a membership of 193 Member States and Territories.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization (IMO), the roots of which were planted at the 1873 Vienna International Meteorological Congress.
• It is dedicated to international cooperation and coordination on the state and behaviour of the Earth’s atmosphere, its interaction with the land and oceans, the weather and climate it produces, and the resulting distribution of water resources.

WMO facilitates and promotes:

• the establishment of an integrated Earth System observation networkto provide weather, climate and water-related data
• the establishment and maintenance of data management centres and telecommunication systemsfor the provision and rapid exchange of weather, climate and water-related data
• the creation of standards for observation and monitoringin order to ensure adequate uniformity in the practices and procedures employed worldwide and, thereby, ascertain the homogeneity of data and statistics
• the provision of weather, climate and water-related services- through the application of science and technology in operational meteorology and hydrology – to reduce disaster risks and contribute to climate change adaptation, as well as for sectors such as transport (aviation, maritime and land-based), water resource management, agriculture, health, energy and other areas
• activities in operational hydrology as well as closer cooperation between National Meteorological and Hydrological Services in states and territories where they are separate
• the coordination of researchand training in meteorology and related fields.

2. REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Inching closer to a fully reusable launch vehicle, the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) successfully carried out the landing experiment of the Reusable Launch Vehicle-Technology Demonstration (RLV-TD) programme.

EXPLANATION:

• ISRO executed the landing experiment at the Aeronautical Test Range in Challakere, C The RLV was dropped by an Indian Air Force (IAF) Chinook helicopter from an altitude of 4.5 km.
• The vehicle performed approach and landing manoeuvres on the runway autonomously, under the conditions in which a re-entry vehicle from space might return at high speed and without human inputs to achieve a stable landing.
• ISRO’s mission to develop a fully reusable launch vehicle is a part of its vision to enable low-cost access to space.
• Currently, ISRO has three active launch vehicles: the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV), the Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV), and the Launch Vehicle Mark-III (LVM3). The PSLV has four stages while the GSLVs have three stages each. Each stage has a different fuel, and is jettisoned when the fuel is expended as the rocket ascends.

Reusable Launch Vehicle:

• Primarily, launch vehicles comprise three or four stages apart from the payload, which needs to be launched into a polar or a geosynchronous orbit, depending on a mission’s requirements.
• In ISRO’s three-stage rockets,
• first or lowermost stage has a motor fuelled by solid fuel (in the GSLV, this can also be augmented by up to four liquid strap-on boosters)
• second stage has the Vikas engine powered by liquid fuel
• third and uppermost stage has a cryogenic engine which uses liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.
• In the four-stage PSLV
• first stage has a motor using solid fuel (augmentable with up to six solid-fuel strap-on boosters)
• second stage has a Vikas engine
• third stage again has a solid-fuel motor
• fourth stage has two liquid engines.
• The RLV that ISRO is building has only two stages to propel the vehicle into orbit. Once the fuel in the first stage has been expended, the vehicle will shed it, and carry on with the second stage.
• Once it has been shed, the first stage will re-enter the atmosphere and land in an autonomous fashion at a pre-determined location. After some maintenance, it will be available for reuse.

Have RLVs been used in the past?

• Since the 1960s, experts have conceived reusable rockets as a way to lower the cost of space missions. In the most idealised version, they imagined a single-stage-to-orbit rocket that could take off and land vertically.
• The American aerospace manufacturing company McDonnell Douglas realised this dream in 1993, building the Delta Clipper (DC-X) to demonstrate lift-off, maintain altitude, and a landing on its tail. The project was later transferred to NASA’s Reusable Launch Vehicle program after the cost of each test flight proved to be too expensive. In its twelfth flight in 1996, the DC-X crashed and burned on landing, extensively damaging its exterior chassis.
• NASA later shelved the project due to budgetary constraints, bringing this chapter of the single-stage to-orbit launch vehicle to an end.

What reusable technologies are currently in play in spaceflight?

• It is currently being used by Blue Origin and SpaceX who are developing rockets with reusable parts, especially the first stage, rather than the whole vehicle being reusable.
• It was also used in Falcon 9 in 2010, a 54-metre-tall two-stage rocket with nine engines, capable of transporting cargo and crew to the International Space Station (ISS). Instead of using parachutes to recover the first stage, the Falcon 9 was equipped with retrograde thrusters, using which the first stage could come back down to a designated spot using its engines themselves.
• In addition to these companies, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the United Launch Alliance (ULA), the European Space Agency (ESA), and ISRO have also been undertaking R&D on other aspects of reusable launch systems.

What is ISRO working on?

• In 2010, ISRO began developing a winged reusable rocket, taking the first step towards realising a two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) launch vehicle that could be fully reusable. In 2016, the winged vehicle successfully flew at hypersonic speed. It also withstood fiery re-entry temperatures as it re-entered, qualifying its thermal protection systems, before it touched down at a pre-determined site 425 km east of Sriharikota, in the Bay of Bengal.
• While several other related technologies have been tested through the years, ISRO’s RLV’s autonomous landing was only tested successfully on April 2, 2023.
• Currently, ISRO is working on the ‘Orbital Re-entry Experiment’ (ORE), which will be taken to orbit by a modified launch vehicle comprising existing GSLV and PSLV stages. The vehicle will stay in orbit for a stipulated period, re-enter, and finally land autonomously on a runway, with landing gear.

3. HUMAN PANGENOME MAP

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: A new study published in issue of the Nature journal describes a pangenome reference map, built using genomes from 47 anonymous individuals (19 men and 28 women), mainly from Africa but also from the Caribbean, Americas, East Asia, and Europe.

EXPLANATION:

What is a genome?

• The genome is the blueprint of life, a collection of all the genes and the regions between the genes contained in our 23 pairs of chromosomes.
• Each chromosome is a contiguous stretch of DNA string. Our genome consists of 23 different strings, each composed of millions of individual building blocks called nucleotides or bases.
• The four types of building blocks (A, T, G and C) are arranged and repeated millions of times in different combinations to make all of our 23 chromosomes.
• Genome sequencing is the method used to determine the precise order of the four letters and how they are arranged in chromosomes.
• Sequencing individual genomes helps us understand human diversity at the genetic level and how prone we are to certain diseases.

What is a reference genome?

• When genomes are newly sequenced, they are compared to a reference map called a reference genome.
• This helps us to understand the regions of differences between the newly sequenced genome and the reference genome.
• First reference genome was made in 2001 and it helped scientists discover thousands of genes linked to various diseases; better understand diseases like cancer at the genetic level; and design novel diagnostic tests.
• Although a remarkable feat, the reference genome of 2001 was 92% complete and contained many gaps and errors. Additionally, it was not representative of all human beings as it was built using mostly the genome of a single individual of mixed African and European ancestry.
• Since then, the reference genome map has been refined and improved to have complete end-to-end sequences of all the 23 human chromosomes.

What is a pangenome map?

• Unlike the earlier reference genome, which is a linear sequence, the pangenome is a graph.
• The graph of each chromosome is like a bamboo stem with nodes where a stretch of sequences of all 47 individuals converge, and with internodes of varying lengths representing genetic variations among those individuals from different ancestries.
• To create complete and contiguous chromosome maps in the pangenome project, the researchers used long-read DNA sequencing technologies, which produce strings of contiguous DNA strands of tens of thousands of nucleotides long.
• Using longer reads helps assemble the sequences with minimum errors and read through the repetitive regions of the chromosomes which are hard to sequence with short-read technologies used earlier.

Why is a pangenome map important?

• Although any two humans are more than 99% similar in their DNA, there is still about a 0.4% difference between any two individuals.
• This may be a small percentage, but considering that the human genome consists of 3.2 billion individual nucleotides, the difference between any two individuals is a whopping 12.8 million nucleotides.
• A complete and error-free human pangenome map will help us understand those differences and explain human diversity better.
• It will also help us understand genetic variants in some populations, which result in underlying health conditions.
• The pangenome reference map has added nearly 119 million new letters to the existing genome map and has already aided the discovery of 150 new genes linked to autism.
• Although the project is a leap forward, genomes from many populations are still not a part of it. For example, genomes from more people from Africa, the Indian sub-continent, indigenous groups in Asia and Oceania, and West Asian regions are not represented in the current version of the pangenome map.

4. INDIAN-SPACE-POLICY 2023

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released the Indian Space Policy 2023 which has been received positively by industry. However, it needs to be followed up with suitable legislation, accompanied by clear rules and regulations.

EXPLANATION:

Background:

• Until the early 1990s, India’s space industry and space economy were defined by ISRO.
• Private sector involvement was limited to building to ISRO designs and specifications.
• The Second Space Age began with the licensing of private TV channels, the explosive growth of the Internet, mobile telephony, and the emergence of the smartphone.
• Broadband, OTT and 5G promise a double-digit annual growth in satellite-based services. It is estimated that with an enabling environment, the Indian space industry could grow to $60 billion by 2030, directly creating more than two lakh jobs.
• To streamline matters, a draft Space Activities Bill was brought out in 2017, which went through a long consultative process. It lapsed in 2019 with the outgoing Lok Sabha. The government was expected to introduce a new Bill by 2021, but it appears to have contented itself with the new policy statement.

Reasons for the policy:

• The first satellite communication policy was introduced in 1997, with guidelines for foreign direct investment (FDI) in the satellite industry that were further liberalised but never generated much enthusiasm.
• A remote sensing data policy was introduced in 2001, which was amended in 2011; in 2016, it was replaced by a National Geospatial Policy that has been further liberalised in 2022. Yet, Indian users including the security and defence agencies spend nearly a billion dollars annually to procure earth observation data and imagery from foreign sources.

 Indian Space Policy 2023:

• It is qualitatively different from previous efforts. It is a short 11-page document, which includes three pages devoted to definitions and abbreviations.
• The ‘Vision’ is to “enable, encourage and develop a flourishing commercial presence in space” that suggests an acceptance that the private sector is a critical stakeholder in the entire value chain of the space economy.
• It makes five key points which defines its role in India’s “socio-economic development and security, protection of environment and lives, pursuing peaceful exploration of outer space, stimulation of public awareness and scientific quest”.
• First, The focus for security purposes is on civilian and peaceful applications. Considering that space-based intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, communication, positioning and navigation capabilities are increasingly seen as mission critical by the defence services.
• Second, the policy lays out a strategy and roles of the Department of Space, ISRO, the Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation Centre (IN-SPACe) and the NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) under the Department of Space as the commercial arm of ISRO to replace the now defunct Antrix.
• Thirdly, ISRO will transition out of the existing practice of being present in the manufacturing of operational space systems. ISRO shall focus on R&D in advanced technology, proving newer systems and realisation of space objects for meeting national prerogatives. ISRO aims to “share technologies, products, processes and best practices with NGEs (non-government entities) and/or Government companies”.
• Fourth, the NGEs are allowed to undertake end-to-end activities in the space sector through establishment and operation of space objects, ground-based assets and related services, such as communication, remote sensing, navigation, etc.
• Finally, IN-SPACe is expected to create a stable and predictable regulatory framework that will ensure a level playing field for the NGEs. It will act as a promoter by setting up industry clusters and as the regulator, issue guidelines on liability issues.

Gaps in the policy:

• The policy sets out an ambitious role for IN-SPACe but provides no time frame for the necessary steps ahead.
• There is no indicative timeline for ISRO’s transitioning out of its current practices nor is there a schedule for IN-SPACe to create the regulatory framework.
• The policy framework envisaged will need clear rules and regulations pertaining to FDI and licensing, government procurement to sustain the new space start-ups, liability in case of violations and an appellate framework for dispute settlement.
• A regulatory body needs legislative authority. The Reserve Bank of India was set up by the 1934 RBI Act, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) by the 1992 SEBI Act, and the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) by the 1997 TRAI Act. IN-SPACe is expected to authorise space activities for all, both government and non-government entities. Currently, its position is ambiguous as it functions under the purview of the Department of Space. The Secretary (Space) is also Chairman of ISRO, the government entity to be regulated by IN-SPACe.

5. NATIONAL MEDICAL DEVICES POLICY, 2023

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT:  Union Cabinet approved the National Medical Devices Policy, 2023. The policy endeavours to facilitate an orderly growth of the sector and in turn, achieve the public health objectives of access, affordability, quality and innovation.

EXPLANATION:

• It is expected to help the domestic medical devices sector market grow from $11 billion to $50 billion by 2030 alongside achieving a 10-12% global market share over the next 25 years.
• The aim is to provide the required support and direction, and help the sector become “competitive, self-reliant, resilient and innovative” to cater not only to domestic but global needs.

Features:

• The policy will help boost manufacturing, help traders and importers to start investing in factories and end the import dependency forced upon.
• The policy endeavours to facilitate an orderly growth of the sector and in turn, achieve public health objectives of access, affordability, quality and innovation.
• The most significant of the introduced measures entail regulatory streamlining.
• The policy enhances the role of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) along with designing a coherent pricing regulation.
• Pricing regulation is particularly important for addressing a broader challenge in the domestic device manufacturing sector as some private hospitals give higher priced products instead of available low-cost options.
• It aims to monitor MRP of imports and compared with imports’ landed prices and steps taken to control when found irrationally excessive.
• Streamlining endeavour will also create a single window clearance system for licensing of medical devices, combining relevant departments like the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB), MeitY and the Department of Animal Husbandry and Dairying (DAHD).
• This would complement the Department’s proposed National Policy on Research and Development alongside innovation in the pharma-MedTech sector in India.
• The policy also seeks to establish and strengthen large medical device parks and clusters with quality infrastructure facilities close to economic zones with requisite logistics connectivity.
• This is expected to be a collaborative venture with the State governments and industry, resulting in better convergence and backward integration with the industry.
• Ensuring an ecosystem to encourage private investments, series of funding from venture capitalists and potential public-private partnerships (PPP) is a key component of this endeavour.
• This will also be supplemented intervention programs such as Make in India, Ayushman Bharat, Heal-in-India and Start-up mission.

Export Promotion Council: 

• As per the Indian Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), a huge gap still exists in the current demand and supply of medical devices from U.S., China and Germany; India has an overall 70-80% import dependency on medical devices.
• The policy envisages the creation of a dedicated Export Promotion Council for the sector under the Department of Health.
• This would be a forum to deal with varied market access issues, while also combining and sharing stakeholders’s knowledge and expertise.

Current status of domestic market:

• The domestic industry comprises a combination of large multinationals, small and mid-sized companies.
• As per the IBEF, India is the fourth largest Asian medical market after Japan, China and South Korea and is among the top 20 globally.
• It is estimated to grow at a CAGR of 15% two-and-half times the global growth rate.
• Exports of medical devices stood at $2.90 billion in FY 2022 and this is estimated to scale to $10 billion by FY 2025. Key export countries include U.S., France, Singapore, China, Turkey, Brazil, the Netherlands, Iran and Belgium.
• India’s major medical clusters are Gujarat, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Haryana, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Their manufacturing expertise varies from pharmaceuticals, medical electronics, stents and implants to low-end medical consumables.

1. COMMON NATIONAL MEDICAL REGISTER

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: All registered medical practitioners across the country will now be covered under a common National Medical Register with each of them allotted a unique identification number, as per a gazette notification recently released by the National Medical Commission (NMC) titled “Registration of Medical Practitioners and License to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023”.

EXPLANATION:

• A common medical register will be maintained and updated by the NMC for all the registered medical practitioners of the country. The register will be maintained and updated by the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB).
• Indian government has made it mandatory for all registered doctors to get a Unique Identification Number (UID) from the National Medical Commission (NMC) to make it easier for people to get the access of doctors’ detail.
• National register will contain all the entries of the registered medical practitioners of all State registers maintained by the various State Medical Councils.
• This register will be made public on the official NMC website and will contain relevant information about a medical practitioner including registration number, name, father’s name, date of registration, place of working (name of hospital/institute), medical qualification including additional medical qualification, speciality, year of passing, university, name of the institute/university where qualification was obtained.
• The notification explains that until such time that these regulations and appropriate sections are in force, licence to practise and prevailing system of registration shall continue.
• The NMC has also laid down the process of registration of additional qualifications, renewal of licence to practise medicine, transfer of licence to practise, removal and restoration of registration, transitory provisions, denial of licence to practise, among others.
• The licence to practice medicine issued to a registered medical practitioner will be valid for a period of five years after which the medical practitioner will have to renew the licencing by making an app application to the State Medical Council as per Registration of Medical Practitioners and Licence to Practice Medicine Regulations, 2023″.
• The application for renewal of licence may be made before three month of expiration of the validity of licence.
• On denial of licence to practise, the notification says that if the application of a candidate for grant of licence to practise /for renewal is rejected by the State Medical Council on any ground, the applicant concerned may file an appeal to the Ethics and Medical Registration Board (EMRB) against the decision of the State medical Council, within 30 days of receipt of such decision.
• The EMRB shall examine the appeal and in case the first appeal is rejected by the Board, the applicant may file a second appeal to the NMC, within a period of 60 days from receipt of communication from the EMRB. “The decision of the NMC shall be final,” said the notification.
• The notification also makes the passing of National Exit Test (NEXT) compulsory for both Indian and foreign medical graduates for the purpose of registration with the National Medical Register.

National Medical Register:

• National Medical Register is a central database maintained and updated by the National Medical Commission (NMC).
• It contains all the details about the doctor registered with the website. Government has made it mandatory for all doctors to register themselves with NMC.
• Database includes the information of all the doctors registered with State Medical Councils across India till 2021.

National Medical Commission:

• The National Medical Commission (NMC) has been constituted by an act of Parliament known as National Medical Commission Act, 2019 by replacing the Medical Council of India (MCI).
• The Aim of the National Medical Commission are:

1. improve access to quality and affordable medical education
2. ensure availability of adequate and high-quality medical professionals in all parts of the country
3. promote equitable and universal healthcare that encourages community health perspective and makes services of medical professionals accessible to all the citizens
4. encourages medical professionals to adopt latest medical research in their work and to contribute to research
5. objectively assess medical institutions periodically in a transparent manner
6. maintain a medical register for India
7. enforce high ethical standards in all aspects of medical services
8. have an effective grievance redressal mechanism

2. PRODUCTION LINKED INCENTIVE (PLI) SCHEME

TAGS: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet has approved the second edition of the production linked incentive (PLI 2.0) scheme for IT hardware with a ₹17,000-crore outlay.

EXPLANATION:

PRODUCTION LINKED INCENTIVE (PLI) SCHEME:

• The scheme was first introduced in March 2020 and in 2021-2022 Budget an outlay of Rs 1.97 lakh crore was announced for the PLI scheme.
• The scheme is aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing under the Atmanirbhar Bharat initiative of the government.
• PLIs are essentially financial incentives for businesses to augment their output. They could come in the form of tax rebates, lowered import and export duties or easier land acquisition norms.
• The 14 sectors are mobile manufacturing, manufacturing of medical devices, automobiles and auto components, pharmaceuticals, drugs, specialty steel, telecom & networking products, electronic products, white goods (ACs and LEDs), food products, textile products, solar PV modules, advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery, and drones and drone components.
• It aims to make Indian manufacturers globally competitive, attract investment in the areas of core competency and cutting-edge technology; ensure efficiencies; create economies of scale; enhance exports and make India an integral part of the global supply chain.

Implementation of PLI Scheme:

• The PLI scheme will be implemented by the concerned ministries/departments and will be within the overall financial limits prescribed.
• The final proposals of PLI for individual sectors will be appraised by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and approved by the Cabinet.
• The incentive amount offered varies across sectorsand the savings generated from PLI of one sector can be appropriated towards other sector after approval from

Empowered Group of Secretaries.

• Any new sector for PLI will require fresh approval of the Cabinet.

Sectors under PLI Scheme:

• Mobile Manufacturing and Specified Electronic Components: It comes under MEITY and it aims for Large Scale Mobile and Electronics Manufacturing and proposes a financial incentive to boost domestic manufacturing and attract large investments in the electronics value chain including mobile phones, electronic components and ATMP units.
• Manufacturing of Medical Devices: It comes under Department of Pharmaceuticals. It aims to strengthen India’s manufacturing capacity in the pharmaceutical sector by increasing investment and production. Department laid special emphasis on promoting domestic manufacturing of medical equipment and strengthening the pharmaceutical industry.
• Automobiles and auto components: The automotive industry is a major economic contributor in India. The PLI scheme will make the Indian automotive Industry more competitive and will enhance globalization of the Indian automotive sector.
• Pharmaceutical industry: The Indian pharmaceutical industry is the third largest in the world by volume and 14th largest in terms of value. It contributes 3.5% of the total drugs and medicines exported globally. India possesses the complete ecosystem for development and manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and a robust ecosystem of allied industries. The PLI scheme will incentivize the global and domestic players to engage in high value production.
• Drugs: With an objective to attain self-reliance and reduce import dependence in these critical Bulk Drugs – Key Starting Materials (KSMs)/ Drug Intermediates and Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) in the country, the Department of Pharmaceuticals had launched a Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for promotion of their domestic manufacturing by setting up greenfield plants.
• Specialty Steel: It is a strategically important industry and India is the world’s second largest steel producer in the world. It is a net exporter of finished steel and has the potential to become a champion in certain grades of steel. A PLI scheme in Specialty Steel will help in enhancing manufacturing capabilities for value added steel leading to increase in total exports.
• Telecom equipment: It forms a critical and strategic element of building a secured telecom infrastructure and India aspires to become a major original equipment manufacturer of telecom and networking products. The PLI scheme is expected to attract large investments from global players and help domestic companies seize the emerging opportunities and become big players in the export market.
• Electronic products: India is expected to have a USD 1 trillion digital economy by 2025. Additionally, the Government’s push for data localization, Internet of Things market in India, projects such as Smart City and Digital India are expected to increase the demand for electronic products. The PLI scheme will boost the production of electronic products in India.
• White goods (ACs and LEDs): White goods (air conditioners and LEDs) have very high potential of domestic value addition and making these products globally competitive. A PLI scheme for the sector will lead to more domestic manufacturing, generation of jobs and increased exports.
• Food products: The growth of the processed food industry leads to better price for farmers and reduces high levels of wastage. Specific product lines having high growth potential and capabilities to generate medium- to large-scale employment have been identified for providing support through PLI scheme.
• Textile products: The Indian textile industry is one of the largest in the world and has a share of 5% of global exports in textiles and apparel. But India’s share in the manmade fibre (MMF) segment is low in contrast to the global consumption pattern, which is majorly in this segment. The PLI scheme will attract large investment in the sector to further boost domestic manufacturing, especially in the MMF segment and technical textiles.
• Advanced chemistry cell (ACC) battery: ACC battery manufacturing represents one of the largest economic opportunities of the twenty-first century for several global growth sectors, such as consumer electronics, electric vehicles, and renewable energy. The PLI scheme for ACC battery will incentivize large domestic and international players in establishing a competitive ACC battery set-up in the country.
• Drones and drone components: Drones offer tremendous benefits to almost all sectors of the economy as agriculture, mining, infrastructure, surveillance etc. Given its traditional strengths, India has the potential of becoming a global drone hub by 2030. The PLI scheme comes as a follow-through of the liberalised Drone Rules, 2021released by the Central Government on 25 August 2021.  The PLI scheme and new drone rules are intended to catalyse super-normal growth in the upcoming drone sectors.
• Solar PV modules: Large imports of solar PV panels pose risks in supply-chain resilience and have strategic security challenges considering the electronic (hackable) nature of the value chain. A focused PLI scheme for solar PV modules will incentivize domestic and global players to build large-scale solar PV capacity in India and help India leapfrog in capturing the global value chains for solar PV manufacturing.

3. UNIQUE ECONOMIC OFFENDER CODE

TAGS: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: Government aims to create a unique code for each individual or company accused of economic offences for the identification of economic offenders.

EXPLANATION:

• The ‘Unique Economic Offender Code’ will be alpha-numeric which will be PAN or Aadhaar-based for companies and individuals to tag all the cases of economic offences against them and have a 360-degree profile.
• A database of about 2.5 lakh economic offenders has been setup by the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau under the finance ministry.
• By creating these unique codes, government aims to quickly launch a multi-agency probe against the offenders against the current practice of waiting for one agency to complete its probe and file chargesheet or prosecution complaint before the same is shared with others for further investigation.
• The code will be system-generated and will emerge once police, any central intelligence or enforcement agency feeds data into the under-construction central repository of NEOR -National Economic Offence Records. This would mean that will be easily identified with a Unique Economic Offender Code.

National Economic Offence Records (NEOR):

• It is a central repository of all economic offences that will share data related to each economic offender with all central and state intelligence and enforcement agencies.
• It is being created with a Rs 40 crore budget.
• The task of its completion has been assigned to the Central Economic Intelligence Bureau with the help of the National Informatics Centre.

Financial Action Task Force (FATF):

• Financial Action Task Force (FATF) formed in 1989 in G7 Summit in Paris is the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
• It originally included the G7 countries, the European Commission and eight other countries.
• India becameObserver at FATF in the year 2006 and in 2010 India admitted as 34th Country Member of FATF.
• There are currently 39 membersof the FATF; 37 jurisdictions and 2 regional organisations (the Gulf Cooperation Council and the European Commission)
• It sets international standards, and to develop and promote policies, both at national and international levels, to combat money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
• The FATF membership is currently made up of 32 countries and territories and two regional organizations. Eight regional bodies similar to FATF, known as FATF Style Regional Bodies, have also developed.

4. AADHAAR-enabled PAYMENT SYSTEM (AePS)

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

THE CONTEXT: Gaps in Aadhaar-enabled Payment System (AePS) is being abused by cybercriminals.

Scammers are reportedly using leaked biometric details, bypassing the need for OTPs, to siphon money from users’ bank accounts. A quick search on Google reveals that similar incidents have been reported in many different parts of the country.

EXPLANATION:

• Aadhaar-enabled Payment Services (AePS) is a bank-led model which allows online financial transactions at Point-of-Sale (PoS) and Micro ATMs through the business correspondent of any bank using Aadhaar authentication.
• Banking Services Offered by AePS includes cash deposit, cash withdrawal, balance inquiry, mini statement, Aadhaar to Aadhaar fund transfer, authentication, and BHIM Aadhaar pay.
• The model removes the need for OTPs, bank account details, and other financial details. It allows fund transfers using only the bank name, Aadhaar number, and fingerprint captured during Aadhaar enrolment, according to the National Payments Corporation of India (NCPI).

The only inputs required for a customer to do a transaction under this scenario are:

• Bank Name
• Aadhaar Number
• Fingerprint captured during enrollment.

Objectives:

• To empower a bank customer to use Aadhaar as his/her identity to access his/ her respective Aadhaar enabled bank account and perform basic banking transactions like cash deposit, cash withdrawal, Intrabank or interbank fund transfer, balance enquiry and obtain a mini statement through a Business Correspondent
• To sub-serve the goal of Government of India (GoI) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in furthering Financial Inclusion.
• To sub-serve the goal of RBI in electronification of retail payments.
• To enable banks to route the Aadhaar initiated interbank transactions through a central switching and clearing agency.
• To facilitate disbursements of Government entitlements like NREGA, Social Security pension, Handicapped Old Age Pension etc. of any Central or State Government bodies, using Aadhaar and authentication thereof as supported by UIDAI.
• To facilitate inter-operability across banks in a safe and secured manner.
• To build the foundation for a full range of Aadhaar enabled Banking services.

Are AePS transactions enabled by default?

• Neither Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDA)I nor NPCI mentions clearly whether AePS is enabled by default.
• Cashless India, a website managed and run by MeitY, says the service does not require any activation, with the only requirement being that the user’s bank account should be linked with their Aadhaar number.
• Users who wish to receive any benefit or subsidy under schemes notified under section 7 of the Aadhaar Act, have to mandatorily submit their Aadhaar number to the banking service provider, according to UIDAI.
• Aadhaar is also the preferred method of KYC for banking institutions, thus enabling AePS by default for most bank account holders.

How to secure Aadhaar biometric information?

• The UIDAI is proposing an amendment to the Aadhaar (Sharing of Information) Regulations, 2016, which will require entities in possession of an Aadhaar number to not share details unless the Aadhaar numbers have been redacted or blacked out through appropriate means, both in print and electronic form.
• The UIDAI has also implemented a new two-factor authentication mechanism that uses a machine-learning-based security system, combining finger minutiae and finger image capture to check the liveness of a fingerprint.
• Additionally, users are also advised to ensure that they lock their Aadhaar information by visiting the UIDAI website or using the mobile app. This will ensure that their biometric information, even if compromised, cannot be used to initiate financial transactions.

5. NUTRIENT BASED SUBSIDY SCHEME

TAGS: GS 3: ECONOMY

THE CONTEXT: The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the proposal of the Department of Fertilizers for revision in Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) rates for various nutrients i.e. Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P),Potash (K) and Sulphur (S) for Rabi Season 2022-23 and approved NBS rates for Kharif Season, 2023 for Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers.

EXPLANATION:

• The Subsidy on P&K fertilizers is governed by Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme.
• The Cabinet decision will have the two-fold benefit of ensuring availability of DAP and other P&K fertilizers to farmers at subsidized, affordable and reasonable prices during Kharif season and will also ensure rationalization of subsidy on P&K fertilizers.

Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme:

Background:

• Government of India decontrolled Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers with effect from 25th August 1992 on the recommendations of Joint Parliamentary Committee.
• Consequent upon the decontrol, the prices of the Phosphatic & Potassic fertilizers registered a sharp increase in the market, which exercised an adverse impact on the demand and consumption of the same.
• It led to an imbalance in the usage of the nutrients of N, P & K (Nitrogen, Phosphate and Potash) and the productivity of the soil.
• A Group of Ministers (GoM) constituted to look into all aspects of the fertilizer regime, recommended that Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) may be introduced based on the contents of the nutrients in the subsidized fertilizers.
• Government then introduced Nutrient Based Subsidy Policy under the Department of Fertilizers, Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizersin 2010 in continuation of the erstwhile Concession Scheme for decontrolled P & K fertilizers.

Features of the scheme:

• It aims to provide fertilizers to the farmers at subsidized prices and rationalizes the subsidy on P&K fertilizers, ensuring effective and efficient utilization of government resources.
• The MRP of urea is statutorily fixedby the Government of India and is not included in the NBS scheme and remains under price control.
• It aims to ensuring Nation’s food security, improving agricultural productivity and ensuring the balanced application of fertilizers.
• Subsidy is fixed by an inter-ministerial committee taking into account the benchmark international prices of finished fertilisers as well as raw materials.
• The subsidy is given to registered P & K fertiliser manufacturers/importers which provides these fertilisers at subsidised rates to farmers.

New Guidelines:

• NBS to be paid annually on each nutrient namely, ‘N’, ‘P’, ‘K’ and ‘S’ has been decided/announced by the Government for 2022-23.
• Distribution and movement of fertilizers along with import of finished fertilizers, fertilizer inputs and production by indigenous units continues to be monitored through the on-line web based “Integrated Fertilizer Monitoring System (iFMS)” (erstwhile FMS and mFMS).
• The fertilizer companies are required to print Maximum Retail Price (MRP) along with applicable subsidy on the fertilizer bags clearly. Any sale above the printed MRP will be punishable under the EC Act.
• Manufacturers of customized fertilizers and mixture fertilizers are eligible to source subsidized fertilizers from the manufacturers/ importers after their receipt in the districts as inputs for manufacturing customized fertilizers and mixture fertilizers for agricultural purpose. There is no separate subsidy on sale of customized fertilizers and mixture fertilizers.

1. GREEN OPEN ACCESS RULES 2022

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: Union New and Renewable Energy Minister has directed the industry to set targets under the Green Open Access Rules 2022, in a bid to accelerate the country’s renewable energy programmes.

EXPLANATION:

• Electricity (Promoting Renewable Energy Through Green Energy Open Access) Rules, 2022 has been notified by Ministry of Power.
• The Ministry of Power notified Power System Operation Corporation (POSOCO) as Central Nodal Agency to set up and operate a single window green energy open access system for renewable energy under these Rules.
• It was launched in order to further accelerate our ambitious renewable energy programmes, with the objective of ensuring access to affordable, reliable, sustainable and green energy for all.
• As per the Electricity Act 2003, the tariff is determined by the Appropriate Commission. Accordingly, the tariff for the green energy shall be determined by Appropriate Commission and shall comprise of the average pooled power purchase cost of the renewable energy, cross-subsidy charges, if any, and service charges covering the prudent cost of the distribution licensee for providing green energy to the consumers.
• It is a major step towards achieving India’s aims to cut emissions in India to net zero by 2070 and aims to achieve 500 GW renewable power capacity, reduce emissions by one billion tonnes and an emissions intensity of the GDP by 45 percent by 2030.

Key Features:

• There will be a uniform Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO), on all obligated entities in area of a distribution licensees. Green hydrogen/green ammonia has also been included for fulfillment of its RPO. The consumers will be given green certificate beyond their RPO obligation.
• It will provide certainty on open access charges to be levied on Green Energy Open Access consumers which includes transmission charges, wheeling charges, cross-subsidy surcharge and standby charges.
• It also enables a simplified procedure for the open access to green power. Open access permits a consumer to purchase power from a source of his/her choice.
• The transaction limit would be minimum 100 KW for non-captive consumers. No limit has been kept for captive consumers.
• These rules are notified for promoting generation, purchase and consumption of green energy including the energy from Waste-to-Energy plants.
• Consumers are entitled to demand supply of Green Power from Discoms. Discoms would be obligated to procure and supply green power to eligible consumers.
• Commercial and Industrial consumers are allowed to purchase green power on voluntarily basis.

Green Open Access Registry:

• It is a transparent platform through which long term, medium term and short-term open access transactions will be managed and performed to interstate transmission system and intra state transmission system.
• The Power Ministry has notified the Grid Controller of India Limited as the central nodal agency to operate the Green Open Access Registry (GOAR) portal which is the single window portal to register and apply for the green energy open access.
• This platform will be accessible to all the stakeholders present in the Indian Power Market.
• This platform will provide automated transaction workflows to ease the turnaround time of transaction for all open access consumers.

Green energy open access portal:

• It will allow consumers with a 100 KW-sanctioned load to get a supply of renewables. The government rules mandate approval for green energy open access to be granted to consumers in a time-bound manner within 15 days.

Power System Operation Corporation Limited (POSOCO)

• It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Power Grid Corporation of India Limited (PGCIL). It was formed in March 2010 to handle the power management functions of PGCIL.
• It is responsible to ensure the integrated operation of the Grid in a reliable, efficient and secure manner.
• It consists of 5 Regional Load Despatch Centres and a National Load Despatch Centre (NLDC).

2. 25 YEARS OF KUDUMBASHREE

TAGS:  GS 1: SOCIETY

THE CONTEXT: In her maiden visit to Kerala, President of India inaugurated the silver jubilee celebrations of Kudumbashree, the largest self-help group network in the country. The president had also released a handbook titled chuvadu (footsteps) that codified ideas for the movement’s future and the achievements it has gained so far.

EXPLANATION:

• Kudumbashree means “prosperity of the family” in the local Malayalam language is the Kerala government’s ongoing participatory “poverty eradication and women empowerment” mission.
• It began in 1998 as a cluster of microcredit neighbourhood groups with thrift and credit activities, creating many crisis managers and entrepreneurs of humble origins over the years.
• The collective transformed ordinary women from poverty-ridden families into agents of change and recovery in critical times like the flood and the pandemic.
• Now, Kudumbashree is Kerala’s biggest social capital. Its members have risen to become elected members of the three-tier local bodies after enforcing the 33 per cent women reservation (in Kerala local bodies, the percentage of reservations is 50).

Background:

The two immediate contexts for Kudumbashree are the following:

• First, in 1997, a three-member task force constituted by the Kerala Government recommended setting up a State Poverty Eradication Mission (SPEM). However, it became fully operational only in April 1999 with the name Kudumbashree Mission.
• The second immediate context was the 73^rdand 74^th Constitution Amendment Acts. The Kerala government used the amendment as an opportunity to deliver poverty alleviation programmes through local participation and self-government institutions.
• From the beginning, it has been functioning under the local self-government department by accepting financial support from the union government and NABARD.

Membership:

• The Mission conceives women empowerment and community development as central to poverty eradication.
• Thus, the membership of the Mission’s community network is limited to women.
• During the initial phase, the membership consisted of women from below-poverty-line households but currently all adult women are eligible for membership to the Neighbourhood Groups the basic units of Kudumbashree’s community network.
• The membership follows a “one family, one member” rule. However, any women irrespective of this rule can participate in the discussion and activities of the Kudumbashree.

Organization:

• A three-tiered community network or self-help groups of women implements this mission.
• At the primary level, Kudumbasree is the collective of Neighbourhood Groups (NHG). Area Development Societies (ADS) at the ward level and Community Development Societies (CDS) at the local government level.
• The first and the lowest tier of Kudumbashree’s community network is Neighbourhood Groups (or Ayalkootamin Malayalam) consisting of ten to twenty women. The second level consisting of two or more Neighbourhood Groups is Area Development Societies. All Area Development Societies in an area are affiliated to the local self-government level Community Development Society.

Aims:

• The mission aims to eradicate poverty through women empowerment.
• economic empowerment such as through collective farming, livestock farming, market development
• social empowerment such as destitute identification and rehabilitation, and rehabilitation of mentally challenged persons
• women empowerment consisting of educational programmes and programmes for the elimination of violence against women.
• It also plans income-generating activities involving agriculture or micro-enterprises to be run jointly by members of the network.
• It also helps the local self-government institutions (Panchayats in rural areas and Municipalities in urban areas) in the preparation and implementation of the local bodies’ anti-poverty plan, women component plan, and other local development schemes.
• It also assists the local self-government institutions in the identification of beneficiaries of central (federal) and state (provincial) government’s welfare programmes.
• Community Development Society of the network acts as a liasing body with banks for loans for the network’s activities.
• It also facilitates capacity building activities by training and providing information to women in particular to assume leadership roles.
• It also helps in creating awareness around gender related government initiatives such as prevention of violence against women and legal literacy.

3. ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

THE CONTEXT: The World Health Organisation recommended against using artificial sweeteners to achieve weight loss and prevent lifestyle diseases such as diabetes. The report emphasized that while there was a need to cut intake of sugar, it should not be replaced by artificial sweeteners.

EXPLANATION:

Artificial sweeteners or non-sugar sweeteners (NSS):

• Non-sugar sweeteners or artificial sweeteners are intensely sweet chemicals up to several hundred times sweeter than sugar that are used for sweeten food while only adding very little or no calories.
• It provides the sweet taste with very little to no calories. Many diabetics use the sweeteners in their tea and coffee, but there is a growing market for packaged foods and beverages using these sweeteners to offer low-calorie options.
• Common NSS include acesulfame K(Ace-K), aspartame, advantame, cyclamates, neotame, saccharin, sucralose, stevia and stevia derivatives. Erythritol, a popular artificial sweetener that is widely available in India and abroad under various brand name was associated with an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.

WHO recommendations:

• The WHO guideline on NSS is part of a suite of existing and forthcoming guidelines on healthy diets that aim to establish lifelong healthy eating habits, improve dietary quality and decrease the risk of NCDs worldwide.
• While there could be some weight-lossand reduction in Body Mass Index in the short term as the artificial sweeteners bring down the calories consumed, but in the long run they have been linked to weight gain.
• The sweeteners have also linked to an increased risk of Type-2 diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and mortality in the long run. It is also linked to bladder cancer and preterm birth when consumed by pregnant women.
• Long-term adverse effects in the form of increased risk of death and disease offset any potential short-term health benefit resulting from the relatively small reduction in body weight and BMI observed in randomized controlled trials.
• The recommendation applies to all people except individuals with pre-existing diabetes and includes all synthetic and naturally occurring or modified non-nutritive sweeteners that are not classified as sugars found in manufactured foods and beverages or sold on their own to be added to foods and beverages by consumers.
• The recommendation does not apply to personal care and hygiene products containing NSS, such as toothpaste, skin cream, and medications, or to low-calorie sugars and sugar alcohols (polyols), which are sugars or sugar derivatives containing calories and are therefore not considered NSS.

4. SUSTAINABILITY AND RELATED INITIATIVES

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: There are a number of traditional conservationists who dismiss the works covered under the broader sustainability/nature-based solutions framing it as deceptive. On the other hand, there are hardcore business folks who almost always feel a false sense of piety towards the sustainability agenda.

EXPLANATION:

• Sustainability is the ability to maintain or support a process over time. There is need of the strengthening of a better understanding and a space for deeper engagement and collaboration.
• While conservation is more action-focused on specific areas (landscape, theme, species), sustainability remains a bit more overarching. It is a strategic process of convening multiple stakeholders around a policy objective and programme strategies that would augment the work being done through conservation approaches.

Environment, Social and Governance:

• It is a framework that helps stakeholders understand how an organization is managing risks and opportunities related to environmental, social, and governance criteria (sometimes called ESG factors).
• It typically includes managing and avoiding the depletion of natural resources to maintain global ecological balance.
• It takes the holistic view that sustainability extends beyond just environmental issues.

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR):

• It is a management concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business  operations and interactions with their stakeholders.
• CSR is generally understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance of economic, environmental and social imperatives (“Triple-Bottom-Line-  Approach”), while at the same time addressing the expectations of  shareholders and stakeholders.

ESG vs CSR:

CSR may be used as an internal framework, while ESG provides a measure of assessment for investors. Corporate social responsibility is a business model by which companies make a concerted effort to operate in ways that enhance rather than degrade society and the environment whereas ESG provides a more quantitative measure of sustainability.

European Deforestation Regulation (EUDR):

• It is an initiative to limit deforestation caused by forestry and agricultural activities all over the world.
• EU deforestation-free regulation is part of the EU Green Deal and a broader EU strategy to protect the world’s forests.
• While these regulations focus on deforestation caused by illegal timber logging, the new EU deforestation-free regulation covers a broader set of commodities.
• The regulation affects seven specific commodities (cocoa, coffee, soy, palm oil, wood, rubber, and cattle) and their derivatives, as well as products made using these commodities (e.g. leather, cosmetics, chocolate etc.).
• The new Regulation will require any companyimporting or exporting these commodities from the EU to prove the products are deforestation-free. This applies to any company, regardless of whether they are EU-based or not, and for legal and illegal sources of deforestation in Europe and overseas.
• The Regulation defines a product as deforestation-free when the product itself, its ingredients or its derivatives were not produced on land subject to deforestation or forest degradation after the cut-off date of 31 December 2020. This cut-off date has been suggested to minimize disruption to international supply chains.

Greenwashing:

• It is typically corporate action to be perceived as environmentally conscious for marketing purposes without any notable sustainability efforts.
• It happens when a company makes an environmental claim about something the organization is doing that is intended to promote a sense of environmental impact that doesn’t exist. The green claim is typically about some form of positive effect on the environment.
• Greenwashing is when an organization spends more time and money on marketing itself as environmentally friendly than on actually minimizing its environmental impact.
• It’s a deceitful marketing gimmick intended to mislead consumers who prefer to buy goods and services from environmentally conscious brands Whilst some greenwashing is unintentional and results from a lack of knowledge about what sustainability truly is, it is often intentionally carried out through a wide range of marketing and PR efforts. But the common denominator among all greenwashing is that it is not only misleading, but it’s also really not helping to further sustainable design or circular economy.

As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s common but differentiated responsibilities says:

The aim is minimum disruption and destruction — not to destroy the planet, the environment and the existing human life and ensure that this life remains available to future generations in its totality. With this understanding, countries and companies are building sustainability reporting into everyday action and attempting to turn theoretical issues into concrete actions.

5. MISSION DefSpace AND 100^TH SPRINT (NAVY) CONTRACT

TAGS: GS 3: SECURITY

THE CONTEXT: Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), the flagship initiative of Ministry of Defence, has reached a milestone with the signing of its 250^th contract – first under Mission DefSpace and 100^th SPRINT (Navy) contract.

EXPLANATION:

Mission DefSpace:

• Recognising the strategic significance of the space domain, Mission DefSpace was launched with 75 Defence Space Challenges to be addressed by the private sector in 2022.
• It aims to nurture the Indian Private Space industry through challenges addressing every stage of a space mission from mission planning to satellite data analytics.

Mission DefSpace contract

• The first iDEX contract of Mission DefSpace was exchanged where one of the winners of the challenge ‘Micropropulsion system for cubesats’. This challenge is being led by the Defence Space Agency.
• Cubesats are a class of smallsats, which are modular; low-cost; easy to manufacture, integrate, and launch; and form a critical component for launch-on-demand capabilities. For imagery/Intelligence Surveillance & Reconnaissance/communication purposes, cubesats need to be precisely aligned, hence there is a requirement of a compact micropropulsion system for precise manoeuvring and orbit correction.
• InspeCity is developing a gas-based system for this purpose. This technology, once developed, can be integrated with other satellites, including the cubesat swarm being developed under Mission DefSpace.

100^th SPRINT (Navy) contract

‘SPRINT’ initiative:

• The initiative aims at inducting at least 75 technologies/products into the Indian Navy by August 2023 as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.
• The 100^thSPRINT (Navy) contract was exchanged where the winner of the Challenge was development of a prototype that is a lightweight ASIC (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit) based communication system using software defined antenna for Low Earth Orbit, Medium Earth Orbit and Geostationary satellite communication.

About iDEX

• iDEX is being implemented by Defence Innovation Organisation(DIO), established under the Department of Defence Production, MoD.
• It will help India become the biggest defence innovation ecosystem in the world in the times to come.
• Its objective is to provide the platform of co-creation & co-development in the defence sector. It aims to engage start-ups to contribute to the defence sector and develop defence and aerospace setup in the country.
• iDEX has also been able to generate thousands of jobs and attract India’s talent back to the country.
• iDEX is working at a path-breaking pace to ensure that its agreements with the start-ups and innovators reach logical conclusions timely, eventually opening a myriad of options for the budding, soon to be unicorns and at the same time addressing the requirement of Services.

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.

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.