Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: CERT-In
Mains level: Paper 3- Critical information infrastructure protection
The article underscores the threat of cyberattacks on the critical infrastructure and also suggests the steps to be taken to secure these infrastructures.
Cyberattack on the power grid
- On October 12 last year, Mumbai plunged into darkness as the electric grid supply to the city failed.
- Recently, a study by Massachusetts-based Recorded Future, said that the Mumbai power outage could have been a cyberattack aimed at critical infrastructure.
- It was carried out by the state-sponsored group Red Echo.
- As recently as in February, the Centre’s nodal agency National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) had reported concerted attempts by Red Echo to hack the critical grid network.
- CERT-In, is reported to have detected the ShadowPad malware in one of the largest supply chain attacks a month after the Mumbai outage.
- Many of the suspected IP addresses identified by NCIIPC and CERT-In were the same and most have been blocked in time.
- The Chinese focus in the past was stealing information and not projecting power, but the situation with India might be different.
Why critical infrastructures are so vulnerable
- As many of these critical infrastructures were never designed keeping security in mind and always focused on productivity and reliability, their vulnerability is more evident today.
- With devices getting more interconnected and dependent on the internet facilitating remote access during a pandemic, the security of cyber-physical systems has, indeed, become a major challenge for utility companies.
Critical information infrastructure protection
- For more than a decade, there have been concerns about critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP).
- In January 2014, the NCIIPC was notified to be the national nodal agency for CIIP and over these years has been working closely with the various agencies.
- In January 2019, the government also announced a National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS), with a budget of Rs 3,660 crore for the next five years, to strengthen the sector.
Way forward
- Most ministries and departments need better budget allocations for cybersecurity as well as a more robust infrastructure, processes and audit system.
- The Industrial Cybersecurity Standards (IEC62443) launched by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), has to be adopted soon.
- For the power sector, a strong regulation on the lines of the North American Electric Reliability Critical Infrastructure Protection (NERC) policy could serve as a guide.
Consider the question “Discuss the importance of critical information infrastructure protection (CIIP)? Also mention the steps taken by the government in this regard.”
Conclusion
Clearly, the incident is a wake-up call for better preparedness in terms of a more robust cyber security ecosystem in place. The new cyber security policy awaiting imminent announcement will hopefully cater to that.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Regulatory constraints faced by the farmers
Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2019, published by the World Bank highlights the constraints faced by farmers. The article highlights the key findings of the publication.
Constraints in carrying out farming activity
- Debates around the farm laws have brought to light the issue of developing a sound regulatory framework to promote India’s agricultural growth.
- The fact remains that farmers, mainly smallholders, across India continue to face various constraints.
- They include constraints in accessing agricultural inputs, markets, finance, human resources, and information, which are critical for increasing farmers’ competitiveness.
- A recent publication by the World Bank titled Enabling the Business of Agriculture (EBA) 2019 measures the extent to which government regulatory systems in 101 countries worldwide make it easier for their farmers to operate agricultural activities.
- These indicators measure the strength of a country’s agricultural regulatory environment pertaining to market integration and entrepreneurship in agriculture.
- Among 101 countries covered, India ranked 49 on the EBA aggregate score.
Key takeaways from EBA for India
- India lags behind its close competitors in world agriculture, namely China, Brazil, and Russia.
- Compared to these three countries, India has the weakest performance on five out of eight indicators.
- They are registering fertilizer and machinery, securing water, sustaining livestock, and protecting plant health indicators.
- Registering fertilizer and machinery indicators measure domestic laws and regulations that provide farmers access to fertilizer and agricultural machinery.
- The regulatory processes that help farmers make appropriate decisions regarding the level of investment in irrigation are measured by securing water indicator.
- Sustaining livestock indicator captures the quality of regulations affecting farmers’ access to livestock farming inputs.
- The quality of legislation on phytosanitary standards (SPS) is captured through the protecting plant health indicator.
Need to develop a suitable regulatory system
- Governments can play a critical role in this regard by enacting laws and regulations.
- Such laws and regulations can influence farmers’ access to agricultural inputs, cost of production, agricultural markets and value chains, the competitiveness of farmers, and private investment in the farming sector.
- The regulatory system that governs irrigation management is essential for reducing the variability of farm output, prices, and incomes, minimising vulnerability to natural shocks, and incentivising the production of riskier and high returns crops.
- Gaining access to the global agricultural value chain requires a sound regulatory framework on SPS.
India’s strong areas
- The comparative score of India on supplying seed, trading food, and accessing finance indicators is high.
- Supplying seed indicator evaluates laws and regulations that ensure timely release of seed to farmers.
- The trading food indicator assesses laws and regulations that facilitate exporting of farm products by farmers.
- The regulatory framework on the use of warehouse receipts is assessed using accessing finance indicator.
- A robust warehouse receipts system enables the farmers to obtain the credit needed to invest in agriculture.
Opportunity for India
- The future of world agriculture and food production is expected to increasingly depend on middle-income countries such as China, India, Brazil, and Indonesia.
- To make the best use of this great opportunity, India needs to put in place an agricultural regulatory system that would make it easier for its farmers to conduct agricultural activities.
Consider the question “Farmers, mainly smallholders, across India continue to face various constraints in carrying out farming activities. What are the implications of such constraints? What role government can play in removing these constraints?”
Conclusion
The EBA project results reveal that, compared to its close competitors, the strength of India’s agricultural regulatory environment is weak on the whole and with respect to key performance indicators.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quad
Mains level: Paper 2- Relevance of the Quad
As India deepens its engagement with the Quad, it must consider several aspects related to such engagement. The article deals with this issue.
Background of India’s engagement with Quad
- India’s engagement with the Quad goes back to China’s expanding footprint in South Asia and the Indian Ocean Region over the last few years.
- China’s ambitious Belt and Road Initiative rang alarm bells in India as the projects were viewed as encroachments into India’s strategic space.
- The U.S.’s focus on the west Pacific due to aggressive Chinese maritime activity gradually pulled India into the ambit of the Indo-Pacific that views the western Pacific and the Indian Ocean as an integrated geopolitical space.
- Besides the U.S. navy, India expanded its maritime ties with other regional states, the most high-profile of the interactions being the Quad.
Core structural problems with Quad
- The Quad has a core structural problem as well in that it pivots around the U.S.
- The Quad riles China as a hostile grouping, but hardly serves the security interests of its members.
- The U.S. views China’s rise as a threat to the world order it has led since the Second World War.
- Despite rhetoric relating to the promotion of a ‘rules-based’ world order, the Quad neither shares a strategic vision nor is it animated by a shared agenda.
- This is obvious not only from its inability to deter China in the west Pacific, but also by its members’ anxiety to maintain close ties with China.
Implications for India
- By affiliating with the U.S.-led maritime coalition, India ignored the principal areas of its security concerns which is an undemarcated 3,500-km land border with China.
- From April 2020, Indian and Chinese forces had their latest border face-off in Ladakh, abruptly ending a long period of productive relations.
- In retrospect, this confrontation appears to be China’s sharp response to the steady shift in India’s regional posture in favour of an alignment with the U.S. and its allies against China.
- The stand-off at Ladakh has been a bitter experience for India: it has affirmed the limits of India-U.S. security ties, the folly of Indian involvement in the Quad.
- The stand-off has also underscored need to focus national attention and resources in areas of abiding interest for India — the border, the neighbours and the Indian Ocean.
Lessons for India
- Ladakh also offers some valuable lessons for India.
- One, the rebuilding of ties with China will have to be a priority concern.
- India need to dilute its focus on the Indo-Pacific and the Quad and accept that the borders and the Indian Ocean are where its crucial interests lie.
- Two, the Ladakh experience has highlighted certain deficiencies at home:
- It hardly needs reiteration that India’s capacities can only be built by a united people committed to the national cause.
- Finally, foreign policy cannot be a part-time concern of the national leadership; in terms of priority and attention, it should be on a par with domestic affairs.
Consider the question “Examine the factors that India should consider as it seeks to deepen its engagement in the Quad.”
Conclusion
As the global scenario gets more complex and India’s ambitions increase, a cohesive strategic vision would give substance and drive to India’s pursuit of its interests over the long term.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NSAP
Mains level: Various pension schemes in India
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development has slammed the Centre’s meagre pension allocations under National Social Assistance Programme (NSAP).
What did the new report flag?
- The panel slammed the government’s laxity in raising the amount, pointing out the recommendations to increase the sums.
- It observed the meagre amount of assistance ranging from ₹200 to ₹500 per month under the different components of this Scheme.
- The panel also flagged delays and statewide disparities in the payment of wages and unemployment allowances under the flagship MGNREGA scheme.
NSAP
- NSAP is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme of the GoI that provides financial assistance to the elderly, widows and persons with disabilities in the form of social pensions.
- It was launched on 15th August 1995.
- The scheme represents a significant step towards the fulfilment of the Directive Principles in Article 41.
- Article 41 of the Constitution of India directs the State to provide public assistance to its citizens in case of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement.
- For getting benefits under NSAP the applicant must belong to a Below Poverty Line (BPL) family.
Check this PYQ from CSP 2012:
Q. Who among the following can join the National Pension System (NPS)?
(a) Resident Indian citizens only
(b) Persons of age from 21 to 55 only
(c) All-State Government employees joining the services after the date of notification by the respective State Governments
(d) All Central Governments Employees including those of Armed Forces joining the services on or after 1st April 2004
Components of NSAP
- The NSAP at its inception in 1995 had three components namely
- National Old Age Pension Scheme (NOAPS,
- National Family Benefit Scheme (NFBS) and
- National Maternity Benefit Scheme (NMBS).
- The NMBS was subsequently transferred on 1st April 2001 from the Ministry of Rural Development to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.
- On 1st April 2000, a new Scheme known as Annapurna Scheme was launched.
- In February 2009, two new Schemes are known as Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS) and Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS) were introduced.
Presently NSAP comprises of five schemes, namely –
- Indira Gandhi National Old Age Pension Scheme (IGNOAPS)
- Indira Gandhi National Widow Pension Scheme (IGNWPS)
- Indira Gandhi National Disability Pension Scheme (IGNDPS)
- National Family Benefit Scheme NFBS) and
- Annapurna
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NASA-ISRO SAR
Mains level: Read the attached story
Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has completed the development of a Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR).
Note the key features of the Mission. Every statement has a unique information.
NASA-ISRO SAR
- NISAR is a joint collaboration for a dual-frequency L and S-band SAR for earth observation.
- NASA and Bengaluru-headquartered ISRO signed a partnership on September 30, 2014, to collaborate on and launch NISAR.
- The mission is targeted to launch in early 2022 from ISRO’s Sriharikota spaceport in Andhra Pradesh’s Nellore district, about 100km north of Chennai.
- It is capable of producing extremely high-resolution images for a joint earth observation satellite mission with NASA.
- It will be the first satellite mission to use two different radar frequencies (L-band and S-band) to measure changes in our planet’s surface less than a centimetre across.
Objectives of the NISAR
- NISAR will observe Earth’s land and ice-covered surfaces globally with 12-day regularity on ascending and descending passes, sampling Earth on average every six days for a baseline three-year mission.
- It will measure Earth’s changing ecosystems, dynamic surfaces and ice masses, providing information about biomass, natural hazards, sea-level rise and groundwater, and will support a host of other applications.
- It would also provide data on natural hazards including earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes and landslides.
What are L and S Bands?
- L band waves are used for GPS units because they are able to penetrate clouds, fog, rain, storms, and vegetation.
- The S-band is used by airport surveillance radar for air traffic control, weather radar, surface ship radar, and some communications satellites, especially those used by NASA to communicate with the Space Shuttle and the International Space Station.
- NISAR uses a sophisticated information-processing technique known as SAR to produce extremely high-resolution images.
- Radar penetrates clouds and darkness, enabling NISAR to collect data day and night in any weather.
What is collaboration?
- NASA is providing the mission’s L-band SAR, a high-rate communication subsystem for science data, GPS receivers, a solid-state recorder and payload data subsystem.
- ISRO is providing the spacecraft bus, the S-band radar, the launch vehicle and associated launch services for the mission, whose goal is to make global measurements of the causes and consequences of land surface changes using advanced radar imaging.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Revolution of Earth and other planets around the Sun
Mains level: NA
For us, 365 days make up a year because Earth takes as many days to complete one orbit of the Sun. But have you ever wondered how many days make up a year on other planets?
What determines the length of a year?
- The length of a year on any planet depends on where the planet is orbiting.
- Planets that are closer to the Sun than Earth will have fewer days in a year, while those rotating farther away will take many more days to make up a year.
- This is because of two reasons – planets that are closer to the Sun will take a shorter time to orbit it than those farther away, and the closer a planet orbits the Sun, the Sun’s gravity can pull on the planet, making the planet orbit faster.
Why should we care?
- To send a spacecraft to another planet, we need to know where the planet is in orbit.
- This will help us plan and manoeuvre the spacecraft accordingly.
How long each planet takes to orbit the Sun (in Earth days):
- Mercury: 88 days
- Venus: 225 days
- Earth: 365 days
- Mars: 687 days
- Jupiter: 4,333 days
- Saturn: 10,759 days
- Uranus: 30,687 days
- Neptune: 60,190 days
It’s a mean task to consider this PYQ from 2013, Huh!
Q.Which planet was downgraded to dwarf planet status?
(a) Pluto
(b) Mars
(c) Earth
(d) Venus
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Dandi March
Mains level: Civil Disobedience Movement
PM will flag off a commemorative ‘Dandi March’ on March 12 to launch the celebrations of the 75th year of Independence.
Dandi March
- The Dandi March was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi.
- The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March 1930 to 5 April 1930 as a direct action campaign of tax resistance and nonviolent protest against the British salt monopoly.
- Another reason for this march was that the Civil Disobedience Movement needed a strong inauguration that would inspire more people to follow Gandhi’s example.
- Growing numbers joined them along the way.
- When Gandhi broke the British Raj salt laws at 6:30 am on 6 April 1930, it sparked large scale acts of civil disobedience against the salt laws by millions of Indians.
Try this PYQ:
Q. Who of the following organized a March on the Tanjore coast to break the Salt Law in April 1930?
(a) V. O. Chidambaram Pillai
(b) C. Rajagopalachari
(c) K. Kamaraj
(d) Annie Besant
Followed by Dharasana Satyagraha
- After making the salt at Dandi, Gandhi continued southward along the coast, making salt and addressing meetings on the way.
- The INC planned to stage a satyagraha at the Dharasana Salt Works, 40 km south of Dandi.
- However, Gandhi was arrested on the midnight of 4–5 May 1930, just days before the planned action at Dharasana.
- The Dandi March and the ensuing Dharasana Satyagraha drew worldwide attention to the Indian independence movement through extensive newspaper and newsreel coverage.
- The satyagraha against the salt tax continued for almost a year, ending with Gandhi’s release from jail and negotiations with Viceroy Lord Irwin at the Second Round Table Conference.
Its aftermath
- The March to Dandi had a significant influence on American activists Martin Luther King Jr., James Bevel, and others during the Civil Rights Movement for African Americans in the 1960s.
- The march was the most significant organised challenge to British authority since the Non-cooperation movement of 1920–22.
- It directly followed the Purna Swaraj declaration of sovereignty and self-rule by the Indian National Congress on 26 January 1930.
- It gained worldwide attention which gave impetus to the Indian independence movement and started the nationwide Civil Disobedience.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indigenious varities of rice mentioned
Mains level: Not Much
The Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare has provided some useful information about some indigenous varieties of rice.
Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:
Q.With reference to the Genetically Modified mustard (GM mustard) developed in India, consider the following statements:
- GM mustard has the genes of a soil bacterium that give the plant the property of pest-resistance to a wide variety of pests.
- GM mustard has the genes that allow the plant cross-pollination and hybridization.
- GM mustard has been developed jointly by the IARI and Punjab Agricultural University.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Indigenous varieties of rice
- Indigenous varieties of rice are being promoted through varieties of programmes.
- 574 indigenous varieties of rice have been propagated and tested at more than 10,000 farmers’ fields.
- Nutritional profiling of 300 selected rice varieties has been done for market linkage and better price to the farmers.
- Farmers are also being trained on conservation, improvement and use of traditional/ indigenous varieties through participatory variety selection.
- Further, for access to seeds of these indigenous varieties, community seed banks have been established.
Key varieties
- Lalat and Improved Lalat (GI value: 54) as Low GI
- Swarna, Sambha Mahsuri and Shaktiman (GI value <60) as intermediate GI have been identified
There is no certification for GI (Glycemic Index) in rice in India.
What is Glycemic Index (GI)?
- GI is a number from 0 to 100 assigned to food, with pure glucose arbitrarily given the value of 100, which represents the relative rise in the blood glucose level two hours after consuming that food.
- The GI of a specific food depends primarily on the quantity and type of carbohydrate it contains.
- But it is also affected by the amount of entrapment of the carbohydrate molecules within the food, the fat and protein content of the food, the number of organic acids (or their salts) in the food, and whether it is cooked and, if so, how it is cooked.
- A food is considered to have a low GI if it is 55 or less; high GI if 70 or more, and mid-range GI if 56 to 69.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: KUSUM Scheme
Mains level: Not Much
An Agri-voltaic system of 105 KW capacity has been developed by ICAR-Central Arid Zone Research Institute, Jodhpur.
Try this PYQ:
With reference to technologies for solar power production, consider the following statements:
- ‘Photovoltaics’ is a technology that generates electricity by direct conversion of light into electricity, while ‘Solar Thermal’ is a technology that utilizes the Sun’s rays to generate heat which is further used in electricity generation process.
- Photovoltaics generate Alternating Current (AC), while Solar Thermal generates Direct Current (DC).
- India has manufacturing base for Solar Thermal technology, but not for Photovoltaics.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1, 2 and 3
(d) None
Agriculture Voltage Technology
- This technology can increase the income of farmers by the generation of electricity and growing cash crops simultaneously on the same piece of land.
- Under component-I of the KUSUM (Kisan Urja Suraksha Utthan Mahabhiyan) scheme, there is a provision for installation of the agri-voltaic system in farmers’ fields with a capacity ranging from 500 KW to 2 MW.
- Moreover, the National Solar Energy Federation of India (NSEFI) has also documented 13 operational agri-voltaic systems in the country managed by different solar PV functionaries and public Institutes.
About KUSUM Scheme
- The scheme aims to provide extra income to farmers, by giving them an option to sell additional power to the grid through solar power projects set up on their barren lands.
- It was announced in the Union Budget 2018-19.
Component of KUSUM Scheme
The proposed scheme consists of three components:
Component-A
- Renewable power plants of capacity 500 KW to 2 MW will be set up by individual farmers/ cooperatives/panchayats /farmer producer organisations (FPO) on their barren or cultivable lands.
- The power generated will be purchased by the DISCOMs at Feed-in tariffs determined by respective SERC.
Component-B
- Installation of 17.50 lakh standalone Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps.
- Individual farmers will be supported to install standalone solar pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP. Solar PV capacity in kW equal to the pump capacity in HP is allowed under the scheme.
Component-C
- Solarization of 10 Lakh Grid-connected Solar Powered Agriculture Pumps is included in this component,
- Individual farmers will be supported to solarise pumps of capacity up to 7.5 HP.
- Solar PV capacity up to two times of pump capacity in kW is allowed under the scheme.
- The excess available energy will be sold to DISCOM.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SGG India Index
Mains level: Sustainable Development Goals
The third rendition of India’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Index will be launched by NITI Aayog today.
First launched in December 2018, the index has become the primary tool for monitoring progress on the SDGs in the country and has simultaneously fostered competition among the States and UTs.
SDG India Index
- The index measures the progress at the national and sub-national level in the country’s journey towards meeting the Global Goals and targets.
- It has been successful as an advocacy tool to propagate the messages of sustainability, resilience, and partnerships, as well.
- From covering 13 Goals, 39 targets, and 62 indicators in the first edition in 2018-19 to 17 Goals, 54 targets and 100 indicators in the second; this third edition of the index covers 17 Goals, 70 targets, and 115 indicators.
Aims and objectives
- The construction of the index and the ensuing methodology embodies the central objectives of measuring the performance of States and UTs on the SDGs and ranking them.
- It aims at supporting States and UTs in identifying areas which require more attention; and promoting healthy competition among them.
Methodology and Process
- The index estimation is based on data on indicators for the first 16 goals, with a qualitative assessment for Goal 17.
- The technical process of target setting and normalization of scores follow the globally established methodology.
- While target setting enables the measurement of the distance from the target for each indicator, the process of normalization of positive and negative indicators allows for comparability and estimation of goal wise scores.
- The composite score of a State is derived by assigning each goal the same weight, keeping in mind the indivisible nature of the 2030 Agenda.
- The selection of indicators is preceded by a consultative process undertaken in close coordination with MoSPI, Union Ministries and stakeholders from States and UTs.
Highlights of the 2021 Report
*The launch has been postponed due to model code of conduct by the Election Commission.
Its significance
- The index represents the articulation of the comprehensive nature of the Global Goals under the 2030 Agenda while being attuned to the national priorities.
- The modular nature of the index has become a policy tool and a ready reckoner for gauging the progress of States and UTs on the nature of goals including health, education, gender, economic growth and climate change and the environment.
Back2Basics: Sustainable Development Goals
- The UN General Assembly in its 70thSession considered and adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for the next 15 years.
- The 17 SDGs came into force with effect from 1st January 2016.
- Though not legally binding, the SDGs have become de facto international obligations and have potential to reorient domestic spending priorities of the countries during the next fifteen years.
- Countries are expected to take ownership and establish a national framework for achieving these Goals.
- Implementation and success will rely on countries’ own sustainable development policies, plans and programmes.
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