Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Grey hydrogen and green hydrogen
Mains level: Paper 3- Green hydrogen
Context
The ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine have led to the prices of crude oil shooting to $130/barrel. Green hydrogen is an emerging option that will help reduce India’s vulnerability to such price shocks.
Four deficiencies in Renewable Energy Technologies
- 1] Intermittent nature of RE: RE can only be generated intermittently.
- Battery technology cannot store electricity at a grid scale.
- 2] Financial viability: There are question marks on the financial viability of green power.
- In India, renewable electricity is a replacement for coal-based power, the cheapest form of energy.
- That’s a big constraint on its viability.
- Moreover, the customers of this power – the state distribution companies – are collectively insolvent.
- A business cannot prosper if its primary customers are not financially viable.
- 3] Batteries are not suitable for heavy trucks: While electric cars and two-wheelers get a lot of visibility, much of India’s oil is burnt in heavy trucks.
- Lithium batteries are not viable for trucks.
- 4] Critical minerals: Electric vehicles require large quantities of lithium and cobalt that India lacks.
- These minerals also have very concentrated supply chains that are vulnerable to disruptions.
- Large-scale investments in electric vehicles may create unsustainable dependencies for the country.
Is green hydrogen a solution?
- Intermittent hydrogen in the energy mix can help circumvent some of these problems.
- Hydrogen is an important industrial gas and is used on a large scale in petroleum refining, steel, and fertiliser production.
- As of now, the hydrogen used in these industries is grey hydrogen, produced from natural gas.
- Green hydrogen produced using renewable energy can be blended with grey hydrogen.
- This will allow the creation of a substantial green hydrogen production capacity, without the risk that it may become a stranded asset.
- Creating this hydrogen capacity will provide experience in handling the gas at a large scale and the challenges involved.
- Blending with CNG: To widen the use of green hydrogen, it can be blended with compressed natural gas (CNG), widely used as a fuel for vehicles in Delhi, Mumbai and some other cities.
- This will partly offset the need for imported natural gas and also help flag off the challenges of creating and distributing hydrogen at a national level.
- By bringing down the price of green hydrogen sufficiently, India can help unlock some stranded assets.
- The country has close to 25,000 megawatts of gas-fired power generation capacity that operates at a very low-capacity utilisation level. The high price of natural gas reduces the viability of such electricity.
- These plants could use hydrogen blended with natural gas. Hydrogen should, however, be used to generate electricity after it has served its utility in other avenue.
Way forward
- To catalyse a hydrogen economy, India needs some specialist players to execute projects as well as finance them.
- Participation of private players: Apart from government-backed players, the hydrogen economy will need private sector participation.
- India’s start-up sector, with over 75 unicorns, is perhaps the most vibrant part of the country’s economy currently.
- This ecosystem has been enabled by a mix of factors, including the presence of entrepreneurs with ideas and investors who are willing to back up these ideas
- Creation of refueling network: One challenge of using new transport fuels, whether CNG or electric vehicles, is the creation of large-scale refuelling networks.
- Bringing hydrogen vehicles on the road too soon will require the creation of yet another set of infrastructure.
- Building fleets of hydrogen-fueled vehicles for gated infrastructure can be a good starting point.
- Airports, ports and warehouses, for instance, use a large number of vehicles such as forklifts, cranes, trucks, tractors and passenger vehicles.
Conclusion
The government’s Green Hydrogen Policy sends the right signals about its intent. It now needs to ensure that investment can freely come into this space.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: One Nation One Ration Card project
Mains level: Paper 2- Policy for migrant labourers
Context
Repeated surveys have found that the incomes of migrant households continue to be lower than pre-pandemic levels, even after returning to cities.
Lack of policy for migrants
- In the wake of a nationwide lockdown, India was left shocked by the plight of migrant workers walking hundreds of kilometres.
- They became the focus of large-scale relief efforts by governments and civil society alike.
- The Government ramped up the One Nation One Ration Card (ONORC) project, announced the Affordable Rental Housing Complexes (ARHC) scheme, set up the e-Shram portal and began to draft a migration policy.
- Despite this, a cohesive migration policy guidance remains elusive.
- Contribution of migrant workers: Today, a third of the nation’s workforce is mobile.
- Migrants fuel critical sectors such as manufacturing, construction, hospitality, logistics and commercial agriculture.
- Despite clear economic and humanitarian reasoning to bring migrants back into the policy discourse, the current policy scenario is at best fragmented and at worst waning.
Structural constraints
1] Politicisation of issue and fragmented policy response
- Migration is a highly politicised phenomenon in India.
- ‘Destination States’ experience a tension between economic needs, which require migrant labour, and political needs, which promote nativist policies that impose domicile restrictions on employment and social security.
- On the flip side, the ‘sending States’ are highly motivated to serve their “own people” because they vote in their source villages.
- This fragmented policy response to internal migration follows from State-specific calculations.
- Development policy in India has bet big on rural development as an antidote to migration.
- This widespread ‘sedentary bias’ continues to influence policy even though migration is an important pathway for impoverished marginalised rural households to find economic security (and social emancipation).
2] Categorisation challenge
- Migrants are a perennially fuzzy category in policy discourse, located inside two larger categories: the unorganised worker and the urban poor.
- Even the e-Shram portal, which has made impressive progress in registering unorganised workers, has been unable to accurately distinguish and target migrants.
- Policy interventions in major urban destinations continue to conflate the urban poor with low-income migrants.
- Hence, slum development continues as the primary medium for alleviating migrant concerns, while in reality, most migrants live on worksites that are entirely out of the policy gaze.
3] Gaps in the data
- Migration policy discourse is seemingly paralysed by the now well-acknowledged failure of official datasets to capture the actual scale and the frequency of internal migration in India.
- Data systems designed to periodically record only one spatial location have posed great challenges to welfare delivery for up to 500 million people who are part of multi-locational migrant households.
- The novel coronavirus pandemic has placed a sharp focus on problems such as educating and vaccinating those children who accompany their migrant parents, or ensuring that migrant women avail maternity benefits at multiple locations.
Way forward: Strategic policy guidance by Centre and a platform for inter-State coordination
- Policy in India often emerges from the ground up, taking decades to cement into national law and standard practice.
- We have seen this in education and food security.
- State’s initiatives: In migration too, many States have initiated data projects that can track migrants and generate dynamic real-time data that aid welfare delivery.
- Maharashtra’s Migration Tracking System (MTS), Chhattisgarh’s State Migrant Workers Policy is premised on registering migrant workers at source and tracking them through phone-based outreach systems.
- Multisectoral approach: There is further need for multisectoral approaches underpinned by a strategic convergence across government departments and initiatives.
- Odisha’s Planning and Convergence Department, which offers an institutional mechanism for inter-departmental coordination, is one possible model.
- Important role of the Centre: State-level political economy constraints make the Centre’s role particularly crucial in addressing issues of inter-State migrant workers at ‘destination States’.
- The NITI Aayog’s Draft Policy on Migrant Workers is a positive step forward.
Conclusion
Strategic initiatives to provide migrants safety nets regardless of location as well as bolster their ability to migrate safely and affordably must keep up the momentum toward migrant-supportive policy.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Fundamental Duties
Mains level: Read the attached story
Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal said that there was no need to enact specific laws to “enforce” fundamental duties on citizens.
What is the case?
- The Supreme Court is entertaining a public interest litigation (PIL) petition to enforce the fundamental duties of citizens, including patriotism and unity of nation, through “comprehensive, well-defined laws”.
Precursor to AG’s remark
- The Supreme Court has directed in the Ranganath Mishra judgment of 2003 regarding the implementation of the Justice J.S. Verma Committee’s report on the “operationalization of fundamental duties”.
- The committee’s work was a part of a report of the National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution.
- The report had urged the government to sensitise people to, and create general awareness of, their duties and the protection of minorities and freedom of religion.
What are Fundamental Duties?
- The fundamental duties of citizens were added to the constitution by the 42nd Amendment in 1976, upon the recommendations of the Swaran Singh Committee.
- It basically imply the moral obligations of all citizens of a country and today, there are 11 fundamental duties in India, which are written in Part IV-A of the Constitution, to promote patriotism and strengthen the unity of India.
- The FDs obligate all citizens to respect the national symbols of India, including the constitution, to cherish its heritage, preserve its composite culture and assist in its defence.
- They also obligate all Indians to promote the spirit of common brotherhood, protect the environment and public property, develop scientific temper, abjure violence, and strive towards excellence in all spheres of life.
Judicial interpretation of FDs
- The Supreme Court has held that FDs are not enforceable in any Court of Law.
- It ruled that these fundamental duties can also help the court to decide the constitutionality of a law passed by the legislature.
- There is a reference to such duties in international instruments such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and Article 51A brings the Indian constitution into conformity with these treaties.
Total FDs
- Originally ten in number, the fundamental duties were increased to eleven by the 86th Amendment in 2002.
The 10 fundamental duties are as follows:
- To oblige with the Indian Constitution and respect the National Anthem and Flag
- To cherish and follow the noble ideas that inspired the national struggle for freedom
- To protect the integrity, sovereignty, and unity of India
- To defend the country and perform national services if and when the country requires
- To promote the spirit of harmony and brotherhood amongst all the people of India and renounce any practices that are derogatory to women
- To cherish and preserve the rich national heritage of our composite culture
- To protect and improve the natural environment including lakes, wildlife, rivers, forests, etc.
- To develop scientific temper, humanism, and spirit of inquiry
- To safeguard all public property
- To strive towards excellence in all genres of individual and collective activities
The 11th fundamental duty which was added to this list is:
- To provide opportunities for education to children between 6-14 years of age, and duty as parents to ensure that such opportunities are being awarded to their child. (86th Amendment, 2002)
Try this PYQ from CSP 2017:
Q. Which of the following is/are among the Fundamental Duties of citizens laid down in the Indian Constitution?
1. To preserve the rich heritage of our composite culture
2. To protect the weaker sections from social injustice
3. To develop the scientific temper and spirit of inquiry
4. To strive towards excellence in all spheres of individual and collective activity.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) Only 2
(c) 1, 3 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Creation of new districts
Mains level: Administrative convenience
Andhra Pradesh has got a new map with the creation of 13 new districts, taking the number of total districts in the state to 26.
What are Districts?
- India’s districts are local administrative units inherited from the British Raj.
- They generally form the tier of local government immediately below that of India’s subnational states and territories.
- A district is headed by a Deputy Commissioner/ Collector, who is responsible for the overall administration and the maintenance of law and order.
- The district collector may belong to IAS (Indian Administrative Service).
- Districts are most frequently further sub-divided into smaller administrative units, called either tehsils or talukas or mandals, depending on the region.
How are new districts carved?
- The power to create new districts or alter or abolish existing districts rests with the State governments.
- This can either be done through an executive order or by passing a law in the State Assembly.
- Many States prefer the executive route by simply issuing a notification in the official gazette.
How does it help?
- States argue that smaller districts lead to better administration and governance.
- For example, in 2016, the Assam government issued a notification to upgrade the Majuli sub-division to Majuli district for “administrative expediency”.
Does the Central government have a role to play here?
- The Centre has no role to play in the alteration of districts or creation of new ones. States are free to decide.
- The Home Ministry comes into the picture when a State wants to change the name of a district or a railway station.
- The State government’s request is sent to other departments and agencies such as the Ministry of Earth Sciences, Intelligence Bureau, Department of Posts, Geographical Survey of India Sciences and the Railway Ministry seeking clearance.
- A no-objection certificate may be issued after examining their replies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Delimitation of constituencies
Mains level: Jammu and Kashmir after reorganization
Members of the Jammu & Kashmir Delimitation Commission faced protests in Jammu as they embarked on a two-day visit to hold consultations with citizens, civil society groups and political parties.
What is Delimitation and why is it needed?
- Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
- This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
- The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
- Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.
Delimitation in J&K
- Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
- Prior to August 5, 2019, carving out of J&K’s Assembly seats was carried out under the J&K Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
- Until then, the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
- However, the delimitation of the state’s Assembly was governed by the J&K Constitution and J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957.
- There was no census in the state in 1991 and hence no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state until 2001 census.
Why is it in the news again?
- After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the newly-created UT would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
- On March 6, 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
- As per the J&K Reorganization Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.
Factors considered during Delimitation
- The number of districts had increased from 12 to 20 and tehsils from 52 to 207 since the last delimitation.
- The population density ranged from 29 persons a square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons a square km in Srinagar.
- The remoteness of the place, inaccessibility etc are also considered during the exercise.
Concerns raised over Delimitation
- Jammu vs. Kashmir: Concerns had been expressed over how the delimitation process may end up favoring the Jammu region over Kashmir in terms of the seats.
- Under-representation of Ladakh: Arguments have been made on how Ladakh has been underrepresented, with demands for statehood/sixth schedule.
- Non-proportionate reservations: It is argued that seats for STs should’ve been divided in both Jammu province & Kashmir province, as the ST population is almost equal.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sacred Grooves
Mains level: Read the attached story
India’s sacred groves are being gradually altered due to ever-expanding human populations, pollution and removal of biomass; effective conservation is the need of the hour to maintain their functional values
What are Sacred Grooves?
- Sacred groves of India are forest fragments of varying sizes, which are communally protected, and which usually have a significant religious connotation for the protecting community.
- It usually consists of a dense cover of vegetation including climbers, herbs, shrubs and trees, with the presence of a village deity and is mostly situated near a perennial water source.
- Sacred groves are considered to be symbols of the primitive practice of nature worship and support nature conservation to a great extent.
- The introduction of the protected area category community reserves under the Wild Life (Protection) Amendment Act, 2002 has introduced legislation for providing government protection to community-held lands, which could include sacred groves.
Historical references
- Indian sacred groves are often associated with temples, monasteries, shrines, pilgrimage sites, or with burial grounds.
- Historically, sacred groves find their mentions in Hindu, Jain and Buddhist texts, from sacred tree groves in Hinduism to sacred deer parks in Buddhism for example.
- Sacred groves may be loosely used to refer to natural habitat protected on religious grounds.
- Other historical references to sacred groves can be obtained in Vrukshayurveda an ancient treatise, ancient classics such as Kalidasa’s Vikramuurvashiiya.
- There has been a growing interest in creating green patches such as Nakshatravana
Regulation of activities in Sacred Grooves
- Hunting and logging are usually strictly prohibited within these patches.
- Other forms of forest usage like honey collection and deadwood collection are sometimes allowed on a sustainable basis.
- NGOs work with local villagers to protect such groves.
- Traditionally, and in some cases even today, members of the community take turns to protect the grove.
Threats to such grooves
- Threats to the groves include urbanization, and over-exploitation of resources.
- While many of the groves are looked upon as abode of Hindu deities, in the recent past a number of them have been partially cleared for construction of shrines and temples.
Total grooves in India
- Around 14,000 sacred groves have been reported from all over India, which act as reservoirs of rare fauna, and more often rare flora, amid rural and even urban settings.
- Experts believe that the total number of sacred groves could be as high as 100,000.
- They are called by different names in different states:
- Sarna in Bihar
- Dev Van in Himachal Pradesh
- Devarakadu in Karnataka
- Kavu in Kerala
- Dev in Madhya Pradesh
- Devarahati or Devarai in Maharashtra
- Lai Umang in Maharashtra
- Law Kyntang or Asong Khosi in Meghalaya
- Oran in Rajasthan
- Kovil Kadu or Sarpa Kavu in Tamil Nadu
What lies ahead?
- The groves have great research value in in situ conservation of rare, endangered and threatened plant species.
- It is high time that public awareness is created about the importance of these sacred groves, developmental activities are banned and the felling of trees or removal of any other vegetation is completely stopped.
- This is possible only by way of enacting a special law for the protection and management of sacred groves.
- As the management practices and other rituals vary from state to state, the concerned state governments may promulgate such an act as suitable for the state.
- The idea should be to protect certain rare, endangered and threatened plant species in the era of global warming and climate change.
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