Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Missions on Venus
Mains level: Planetory exploration
NASA has selected two missions to the planet Venus, Earth’s nearest neighbor. The missions are called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.
DAVINCI+ and VERITAS
(1) DAVINCI+
- DAVINCI+ is short for ‘Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging’ and is the first US-led mission to the planet’s atmosphere since 1978.
- It will try to understand Venus’ composition to see how the planet formed and evolved.
- This mission also consists of a decent sphere that will pass through the planet’s thick atmosphere and make observations and take measurements of noble gases and other elements.
- Significantly, this mission will also try to return the first high-resolution photographs of a geological feature that is unique to Venus.
- This feature, which is called “tesserae” may be comparable to Earth’s continents.
- The presence of tesseraes may suggest that Venus has tectonic plates like Earth.
(2) VERITAS
- The second mission called VERITAS is short for ‘Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy’.
- It will map the planet’s surface to determine its geologic history and understand the reasons why it developed so differently from Earth.
- VERITAS will orbit Venus with a radar that will help to create a 3D reconstruction of its topography which might be able to tell scientists if processes such as plate tectonics and volcanism are still active there.
- This mission will also map the emissions from Venus’s surface that may help in determining the type of rocks that exist on Venus–a piece of information that is not exactly known yet.
- It will also determine if active volcanoes are releasing water vapor into the atmosphere.
Why study Venus?
- The results from DAVINCI+ are expected to reshape the understanding of terrestrial planet formation in the solar system and beyond.
- Taken together, both missions are expected to tell scientists more about the planet’s thick cloud cover and the volcanoes on its surface.
- Further, scientists speculate about the existence of life on Venus in its distant past and the possibility that life may exist in the top layers of its clouds where temperatures are less extreme.
Have humans visited Venus?
- Because of the planet’s harsh environment, no humans have visited it and even the spacecraft that have been sent to the planet have not survived for a very long time.
- Venus’ high surface temperatures overheat electronics in spacecraft in a short time, so it seems unlikely that a person could survive for long on the Venusian surface.
- So far, spacecraft from several nations have visited the planet.
- The first such spacecraft was the Soviet Union’s Venera series (the spacecraft, however, could not survive for long because of the planet’s harsh conditions).
- It was followed by NASA’s Magellan Mission that studied Venus from 1990-1994. As of now, Japan’s Akatsuki mission is studying the planet from Orbit.
Back2Basics: Venus
- For those on Earth, Venus is the second-brightest object in the sky after the moon.
- It appears bright because of its thick cloud cover that reflects and scatters light.
- Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes. Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes.
Some unknown facts
- While Venus, which is the second closest planet to the Sun, is called the Earth’s twin because of their similar sizes, the two planets have significant differences between them.
- For one, the planet’s thick atmosphere traps heat and is the reason that it is the hottest planet in the solar system, despite coming after Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.
- Further, Venus moves forward on its orbit around the Sun but spins backwards around its axis slowly.
- This means on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the East.
- One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days because of its backward spinning, opposite to that of the Earth’s and most other planets.
- Venus also does not have a moon and no rings.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: OneWeb, LEO
Mains level: Space internet concept
Following the successful launch of 36 satellites, OneWeb’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation reached 218 in-orbit satellites.
What is OneWeb?
- OneWeb is a global communications company that aims to deliver broadband satellite Internet around the world through its fleet of LEO satellites.
- OneWeb satellites are built at a OneWeb and Airbus joint venture facility in Florida that can produce up to two satellites a day.
- The launch roll-out of the satellites is facilitated by French company Arianespace using Russian-made Soyuz rockets.
- The company has announced plans to enter the Indian market by 2022.
About its constellation
- The company has one more launch to complete before it obtains the capacity to enable its ‘Five to 50’ service of offering internet connectivity to all regions north of 50 degrees latitude.
- The Five to 50 service is expected to be switched on by June 2021 with global services powered by 648 satellites available in 2022.
What are LEO satellites?
- LEO satellites have been orbiting the planet since the 1990s, providing companies and individuals with various communication services.
- They are positioned around 500km-2000km from earth, compared to stationary orbit satellites which are approximately 36,000km away.
- Latency, or the time needed for data to be sent and received, is contingent on proximity.
- As LEO satellites orbit closer to the earth, they are able to provide stronger signals and faster speeds than traditional fixed-satellite systems.
- Additionally, because signals travel faster through space than through fiber-optic cables, they also have the potential to rival if not exceed existing ground-based networks.
- However, LEO satellites travel at a speed of 27,000 kph and complete a full circuit of the planet in 90-120 minutes.
- As a result, individual satellites can only make direct contact with a land transmitter for a short period of time thus requiring massive LEO satellite fleets and consequently, a significant capital investment.
Criticisms of LEO satellites
- During the days of the Sputnik and Apollo missions, governments dominated and regulated space-based activities.
- There are logistical challenges with launching thousands of satellites into space as well.
- Satellites can sometimes be seen in the night skies which creates difficulties for astronomers as the satellites reflect sunlight to earth, leaving streaks across images.
- Satellites traveling at a lower orbit can also interrupt the frequency of those orbiting above them, an accusation that has been leveled against Starlink satellites already.
- Another worry is that there are already almost 1 million objects larger than 1cm in diameter in orbit, a byproduct of decades of space activities.
- Those objects, colloquially referred to as ‘space junk,’ have the potential to damage spacecraft or collide with other satellites.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Artificial Sun
Mains level: Concept behind artificial sun
China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which mimics the energy generation process of the sun, set a new record.
What is China’s ‘artificial sun’ EAST?
- The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor is an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device.
- The purpose of the artificial sun is to replicate the process of nuclear fusion, which is the same reaction that powers the sun.
- The EAST is one of three major domestic tokamaks that are presently being operated across the country.
- Apart from the EAST, China is currently operating the HL-2A reactor as well as J-TEXT.
- Since it first became operational in 2006, the EAST has set several records for the duration of confinement of exceedingly hot plasma.
- The EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor when it becomes operational in 2035.
- The project includes the contributions of several countries, including India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.
How does the ‘artificial sun’ EAST work?
- The EAST Tokamak device is designed to replicate the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun and stars.
- Nuclear fusion is a process through which high levels of energy are produced without generating large quantities of waste.
- Previously, energy was produced through nuclear fission — a process in which the nucleus of a heavy atom was split into two or more nuclei of lighter atoms.
Fission vs. Fusion
- While fission is an easier process to carry out, it generates far more nuclear waste.
- Unlike fission, fusion also does not emit greenhouse gases and is considered a safer process with a lower risk of accidents.
- Once mastered, nuclear fusion could potentially provide unlimited clean energy and very low costs.
But what is Fusion?
- For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and pressure are applied on hydrogen atoms so that they fuse together. `
- The nuclei of deuterium and tritium — both found in hydrogen — are made to fuse together to create a helium nucleus, a neutron along with a whole lot of energy.
- Fuel is heated to temperatures of over 150 million degrees C so that it forms a hot plasma “soup” of subatomic particles.
- With the help of a strong magnetic field, the plasma is kept away from the walls of the reactor to ensure it does not cool down and lose its potential to generate large amounts of energy.
- The plasma is confined for long durations for fusion to take place.
What is the latest record and why does it matter?
- The EAST reactor set a new record on Friday when it achieved a plasma temperature of 216 million degrees Fahrenheit and also managed to run for 20 seconds at 288 million degrees Fahrenheit.
- To put this in perspective, the sun’s core only reaches about 15 million degrees Celsius, which means the reactor was able to touch temperatures that are 10 times hotter than that.
- The next goal for the scientists behind the experimental reactor is to maintain the high temperature for a long period of time. Previously, the EAST had reached a record temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius in 2018.
China is not the only
- But China is not the only country that has achieved high plasma temperatures.
- In 2020, South Korea’s KSTAR reactor set a new record by maintaining a plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SDG Index
Mains level: India's quest for SDGs
The third edition of the SDG India Index and Dashboard 2020–21 was released by NITI Aayog.
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
States and Union Territories are classified as below based on their SDG India Index score:
- Aspirant: 0–49
- Performer: 50–64
- Front-Runner: 65–99
- Achiever: 100
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 the 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 programs.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Real interest rate
Mains level: Paper 3- Challenge of managing inflationary pressure
The article discusses the challenges in managing the inflationary pressure while ensuring the low interest rates and sufficient liquidity in the covid battered economy.
Growing inflationary pressure
- As the second wave eases, producers could pass on more cost increases to consumers, pushing up inflation.
- Inflationary pressures are on the rise, globally and domestically.
- Real rates in India have moved into the negative terrain and some measures of inflation expectations have begun to rise gently.
- WPI inflation was subdued last year during the first wave of the pandemic due to falling global commodity prices.
- This year is different, as inflationary pressures have surfaced in the WPI.
- And within WPI inflation, input prices are rising much faster than WPI output prices.
- Producers do not seem to be passing on much of the rise in raw material costs to output prices, perhaps worried that already uncertain demand could weaken further.
- After states roll back local lockdowns, the demand for goods and services will gradually picks up, producers may feel more confident about passing on raw material cost increases to output prices, pushing core inflation higher, particularly in the second half of FY22.
RBI’s role: Dealing with impossible trinity?
- Last year, RBI was faced with conflicting objectives on inflation, bond yields and the rupee, also known as the impossible trinity.
- It bought dollars to prevent the rupee from strengthening too much and purchased government bonds to keep bond yields from spiralling out of control.
- But this created excess rupee liquidity in the banking system, which over time can stoke inflation and other financial imbalances.
- These conflicting objectives are also likely to linger this year, and RBI will have to juggle them carefully.
- As the year progresses, space could open up for RBI to gradually shift the focus to inflation control.
- With the current account moving into deficit, the balance of payments surplus is likely to fall, so RBI may not have to purchase as many dollars as last year.
- The will result in decrease in domestic liquidity and ultimately an important part of the normalization of monetary policy and inflation control.
- RBI would still need to buy government bonds to support the administration’s borrowing programme.
- However, a large carry-over of cash balances could act as a buffer—they totalled ₹2.5 trillion at the end of FY21, almost double the recent average.
- This could help fund some of the unbudgeted rise in the fiscal deficit.
Way forward on controlling inflation
- If the need to buy dollars is lower than last year, RBI could gradually shift the focus to controlling inflation.
- Starting in 4Q 2021, when the proportion of the population vaccinated will hopefully reach critical mass, RBI need to start reducing the level of surplus liquidity, raise the reverse repo rate, and change its monetary stance to neutral.
- The aim should be to gradually push up short-end rates towards 4%, so that real rates don’t remain hugely negative for too long.
- An increase in the benchmark repo rate— currently 4%— can wait, perhaps until there are surer signs that the private investment cycle is rising.
Conclusion
Dealing with the three elements of impossible trinity this time is not as difficult for the RBI as it was last year, it needs to shift focus to inflation control at the opportune moment.
Back2Basics: Real interest rate
- A real interest rate is an interest rate that has been adjusted to remove the effects of inflation to reflect the real cost of funds to the borrower and the real yield to the lender or to an investor.
- The real interest rate of an investment is calculated as the difference between the nominal interest rate and the inflation rate.
Real Interest Rate = Nominal Interest Rate – Inflation (Expected or Actual)
The impossible trinity
- A theory that states that, in the long-run, a central bank that hopes to conduct independent monetary policy must choose between maintaining a fixed foreign exchange rate and allowing the free movement of capital.
- For instance, a central bank that chooses to increase the total money supply by adopting loose monetary policy cannot hope to maintain the foreign exchange value of its currency unless it resorts to restricting the sale of domestic currency in the currency market.
- The idea is derived from the academic works of Canadian economist Robert Mundell and British economist Marcus Fleming.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Growing tendency towards centralisation
The article highlights the challenges faced by the federalism in India in various domains and forms and suggests the ways to deal with these challenges.
Growing tendency towards Centralisation
- Moves to erode the powers of State governments are not new.
- The Centre, on several occasions, has used its powers to dismiss or use the Governor to intimidate democratically elected governments.
- During the Emergency, education was moved to the Concurrent list which was until then a State subject under the constitutional division of responsibilities.
- However, the changes to federal relations at present are more systemic.
- There has been increasing centralisation in resource allocations and welfare interventions.
- After GST, the gap between the revenue that State governments are allowed to generate and the expenditure that they are expected to incur has been widening.
- The Centre has been encroaching into domains under State government control through centrally sponsored schemes in sectors such as education and health.
Three domains in which federalism faces challenges
1) State-capital relation
- At present there is growing trend towards centralising economic power in conjunction with political centralisation.
- The consolidation and expansion of a few big business groups is taking place, probably at the expense of smaller players.
- On the one hand, the Centre has sought to insulate Indian big business from global competition by choosing not to enter into the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
- But the power of small businesses is eroded through support for GST and the call for a single national market.
- So, big businesses are more likely to benefit from a removal of State-level barriers to trade at the expense of smaller regional players.
2) Institutional transgression
- Central institutions are increasingly weakening the policy levers of State institutions.
- There are growing allegations of the misuse of institutions such as the Income Tax Department, the Enforcement Directorate and the National Investigation Agency are being used to intimidate opponents..
- Direct transfers to beneficiaries of welfare schemes bypassing States are also contributing to this dynamic.
- The Centre is increasingly ignoring elected representatives of State governments, holding meetings with State secretaries and district collectors on issues that are primarily under State control.
- Governors perform active administrative roles instead of their signatory roles.
- To ensure national uniformity in educational institutions NEET was introduced in medical education.
- But it subverts the affirmative action policies developed at the regional level in response to local.
- In the domain of health, the Centre has now put State governments at a disadvantage in vaccine usage by fixing differential pricing for procuring vaccines.
3) Socio-cultural foundations
- Beside the legal-constitutional aspects of federalism, it is diversity in cultural foundation of regions that sustains Indian federalism.
- Markers of regional identities and regional socio-cultural practices are now interpreted as belonging to a pan-Indian Hindu tradition.
Conclusion
To stem this trend towards centralisation we need to provide more legal and constitutional safeguard to the States, strong regional political assertion and a strong federal coalition.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Global Minimum corporate tax and issues associated with it
The article deals with the issue of global minimum tax proposal floated by the US, challenges it faces and its implications for India.
The US proposal for global minimum tax
- In its recent proposal, the U.S. sought to impose a global minimum tax on foreign income earned by U.S. corporations.
- The proposal is intended to disincentivise American companies from inverting their structures due to the increase in the U.S. corporate tax rate.
- The U.S. is now discussing a floor of 15% for the minimum tax rate.
- The proposal is similar to Pillar Two, except for the rate of the effective minimum tax.
Similarity with Pillar Two Proposal
- The Pillar Two proposal was the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s (OECD) plan to plug the remaining Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) issues
- It provide jurisdictions the right to “tax back” where other jurisdictions have either not exercised their primary taxing right or have exercised it at low levels of effective taxation.
- For instance, if an Indian-headquartered multinational corporation (MNC) has an entity in Singapore or the Netherlands through which global operations are run, and its income from global operations is not taxed at an effective rate of 10% or 15%, then it can be taxed in India.
- India has been part of the Pillar Two discussions and has not objected in principle to the proposal.
How Global Minimum Tax would benefit India?
- The proposal, along with the increased tax bill for U.S. companies, may benefit the Indian revenue department.
- The State of Tax Justice report of 2020 notes that India loses over $10 billion in tax revenue due to the use of offshore structures, particularly through investments made by Indian residents through Mauritius, Singapore and the Netherlands.
- This is supported by the overseas direct investment (ODI) data from 2000 to 2021 published by the Reserve Bank of India.
- Start-ups and large Indian conglomerates commonly use offshore structures for conducting global operations.
- Revenue from such operations is often retained offshore and not repatriated to India.
- Tax advantages incentivise such structures, due to which taxes on such income are not paid in India.
- Once these proposals are implemented, Indian companies would have to pay additional taxes on their offshore structures to the extent that the effective rate of tax is lower than the global minimum tax rate.
Challenges
- Lack of consensus: Several countries have taken a different approach to the rate of global minimum tax.
- While France and Germany have expressed support, the EU has raised concerns regarding the high rate proposed by the United States.
- Tax sovereignty issue: Countries have stated that the proposal infringes upon their tax sovereignty and that the fight against unfair tax competition should not become a fight against competitive tax systems.
Consider the question “What are the factors that led to the demand of global minimum corporate tax? What will be its implications for India?”
Conclusion
As economies struggle amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the necessity of encouraging trade and economic activity should be prioritised over disagreements on tax allocations. A tax-related trade war or entrenchment of unilateral levies may further harm both global and national economies.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- What explained increased total FDI in Indian?
The article analyses the factors contributing to the claim of 10% rise in total Foreign Direct Investment in 2020-21 and its impact on economy.
Making sense of increased FDI
- Total foreign direct investment (FDI) inflow in 2020-21 is $81.7 billion, up 10% over the previous year, reported a recent Ministry of Commerce and Industry press release.
- The short press release highlighted industry and State-specific foreign investment figures without detailed statistical information.
- The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) bulletin, which was released a week earlier, has the details.
What explains increased gross inflows
- The gross inflow consists of (i) direct investment to India and (ii) repatriation/disinvestment.
- The disaggregation shows that direct investment to India has declined by 2.4%.
- Hence, an increase of 47% in “repatriation/disinvestment” entirely accounts for the rise in the gross inflows.
- In other words, there is a wide gap between gross FDI inflow and direct investment to India.
- Similarly, measured on a net basis (that is, “direct investment to India” net of “FDI by India” or, outward FDI from India), direct investment to India has barely risen (0.8%) in 2020-21 over the last year.
- What then accounts for the impressive headline number of 10% rise in gross inflow?
- It is almost entirely on account of “Net Portfolio Investment”, shooting up from $1.4 billion in 2019-20 to $36.8 billion in the next year.
- That is a whopping 2,526% rise.
- Further, within the net portfolio investment, foreign institutional investment (FIIs) has boomed by an astounding 6,800% to $38 billion in 2020-21, from a mere half a billion dollars in the previous year.
- This explains the surge in gross FDI inflows which is entirely on account of net foreign portfolio investment.
How FDI is different from FII
- FDI inflow, in theory, is supposed to bring in additional capital to augment potential output (taking managerial control/stake).
- In contrast, foreign portfolio investment, as the name suggests, is short-term investment in domestic capital (equity and debt) markets to realise better financial returns.
- But the conceptual distinctions have blurred in official reporting, showing an outsized role of FDI and its growth in India.
How FPI distorted equity markets?
- The deluge of FII inflow did little to augment the economy’s potential output.
- It added a lot of froth to the stock prices.
- When GDP has contracted by 7.3% in 2020-21 on account of the pandemic and the economic lockdown, the BSE Sensex nearly doubled from about 26,000 points on March 23, 2020 to over 50,000 on March 31, 2021.
- BSE’s price-earnings (P-E) multiple — defined as share price relative to earnings per share — is among the world’s highest, close behind S&P 500 in the U.S.
FDI inflow’s contribution to domestic output
- As Figure below shows, between 2013-14 and 2019-20, the ratio of net FDI to GDP has remained just over 1% (left-hand scale), with no discernible rising trend in it.
- The proportion of net FDI to gross fixed capital formation (fixed investment) is range-bound between 4% and 6%.
- These stagnant trends are evident when the economy’s fixed investment rate — gross fixed capital formation to GDP ratio — has plummeted from 31.3% in 2013-14 to 26.9% in 2019-20 (right-hand scale).
- Thus, FDI inflow’s contribution to domestic output and investment remains modest.
Conclusion
The flood of FIIs has boosted stock prices and financial returns. These inflows did little to augment fixed investment and output growth.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: India's farm sector and its contribution to the GDP
2020-21 saw the Indian economy register its worst-ever contraction since Independence and also the first since 1979-80. There has been recording economic contraction, however, the farm sector actually grew by 3.6%.
Growth in Farm Sector
There are two main reasons why agriculture didn’t suffer the fate of the rest of the economy last year.
(1) Better monsoon and yields
- 2019 and 2020, by contrast, were above-normal monsoon years, with the country receiving an area-weighted rainfall.
- It led to the filling of reservoirs and recharging of groundwater tables and aquifers, unlike after the deficient monsoons of 2014 and 2015 and the near-deficient one of 2018.
- Not surprisingly, 2019-20 and 2020-21 produced back-to-back bumper harvests.
(2) Ease during lockdowns
- The second reason had to do with agriculture being exempted from the nationwide lockdown that followed the first wave of Covid-19.
- Lockdown restrictions only spared PDS ration shops and other stores selling food, groceries, fruits & vegetables, milk, meat and fish, animal fodder, seeds and pesticides.
- But within days, an addendum was issued, extending the lifting of curbs to fertilizer outlets, all field operations by farmers and farmworkers, intra- and inter-state movement of agricultural machinery, sale of produce in wholesale mandis and procurement.
Inherent resilience of India’s farm sector
- Simply put, farmers made sure they did not waste a good monsoon, finding ways to even mobilize harvesting and planting labor during peak lockdown.
- The inherent resilience and adaptability of rural economic actors — meant that the farm sector was relatively insulated from lockdown-imposed supply-side
What were the issues faced?
- The problems agriculture encountered due to the lockdown had more to do with the demand
- The closure of hotels, restaurants, roadside eateries, sweetmeat shops, hostels, and canteens — and no wedding receptions and other public functions — resulted in a collapse of out-of-home consumption.
- This was demand destruction not from rising prices — “movement along the demand curve”.
- Instead, it was from forced consumption reduction, translating into lower demand for farm produce even at the same price — “a leftward shift in the demand curve”.
Various successes
(1) Success of MSP procurement
- MSP procurement was effective largely in crops and regions where the institutions undertaking such operations — be it the Food Corporation of India, NAFED, Cotton Corporation of India or even cooperative dairies.
- These all were active and could stem price declines during the period of demand destruction.
- Such intervention wasn’t possible in non-mainstream produce (vegetables, fruits, poultry, fish, flowers, spices, etc) and regions (maize in Bihar), where the corresponding institutional mechanisms were non-existent.
- The demand situation improved, though, with the gradual lifting of lockdown restrictions and also the recovery in global agri-commodity prices.
(2) MGNREGA
- While agriculture grew amid an unprecedented economic contraction, 2020-21 was also notable for the record person-days of employment generated under MGNREGA.
- This flagship employment scheme was yet another source of liquidity infusion and, again, a pre-existing program that the government could deploy to support rural incomes during a crisis.
- Rural consumption, in turn, provided some cushion to the economy and preventing a bad situation from turning much worse.
Prospects for this Year
The one obvious difference between now and last year is Covid-19 cases. Covid’s impact on agriculture per se would depend on the spread, intensity, and duration of the infection.
- Rural areas were mostly unaffected by the pandemic’s first wave.
- Farm-related activities could, then, go on relatively unhindered, which government policy, whether to do with lockdown or public procurement, also facilitated.
- That situation has changed with the second wave and rising share of rural districts in total cases, even without factoring in the higher probability of underreporting in these places.
What next?
- While fear of the virus may induce precautionary behavior and economic growth, it is unlikely to affect normal agricultural operations.
- And if last years’ experience is any guide, the adaptability of farmers and myriad rural economic agents should not be underestimated.
(1) The first factor to be considered is the monsoon. The good news this time is that there is no El Niño.
- There are increasing chances of a La Niña — El Niño’s counterpart that is associated with above-normal rains and lower temperatures in India — for the autumn and winter months.
- El Nino is the abnormal warming of the tropical central and eastern Pacific Ocean surface waters, resulting in increased evaporation and cloud-formation activity around South America and away from Asia.
(2) Uncertainty is prices
- Global prices — be it of wheat, maize, soybean, palm oil, sugar, skimmed milk powder or cotton — have scaled multi-year highs in the recent period, helping India’s agri-commodity exports.
- But export demand alone cannot sustain prices, especially in a scenario where job and income losses, accelerated post the pandemic that has severely dented domestic purchasing power.
- Diesel prices alone have gone up by over a third in the last year; so have that of most non-urea fertilizers.
Way forward
- The real challenge for Indian agriculture and farmers will be on the demand side.
- That is specifically going to come from declining real incomes and particularly affecting demand for milk, pulses, egg, meat, fruits, vegetables and other protein/micronutrient-rich foods.
- While rising rural wages and overall incomes is what propelled the demand for these foods in the past — in turn, contributing to dietary and cropping diversification — the ongoing slide presents a frightening proposition.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: 5G technology
Mains level: Issues with 5g rollout
A notable actor has filed a lawsuit in the Bombay High Court against the 5G telecom technology up-gradation, trial runs for which have started in India now.
What is 5G technology?
- 5G or fifth generation is the latest upgrade in the long-term evolution (LTE) mobile broadband networks.
- It mainly works in 3 bands, namely low, mid and high-frequency spectrum — all of which have their own uses as well as limitations.
Issues with the rollout
- However, 5G and its rollout in many countries have been hampered due to fears over health concerns even some conspiracy theories as well, which have tried to link it with the coronavirus among other things.
- The recent lawsuit is asking questions around the overall impact of 5G and low intensity radiofrequency (RF) electronic magnetic field (EMF) radiation on human health, and its environmental impact as well.
- These concerns, while not yet proven, have been raised by various scientists before too.
Arguments raised in the lawsuit
- It has stated that the ‘radiation’ it will emit will be “extremely harmful and injurious to the health and safety of the people”.
- While using wireless devices one is in a constant dilemma about “RF radiation from wire-free gadgets and network cell towers”.
- There is sufficient reason to believe that the radiation is extremely harmful and injurious to the health and safety of the people.
- It wants the concerned department to certify that 5G technology is safe for humans and also animals and birds.
Why is 5G essential?
- 5G promises to revolutionize mobile broadband and is a big generational leap over the existing 4G technology.
- This new technology will be capable of not just ensuring fast internet on our phones, but also help power IoT (Internet of Things) networks to run connected cars and homes smarter.
- It will also support the streaming of rich media.
Rollout status in India
- 5G has not yet been rolled out in India though some companies have been given a trial spectrum to test 5G technology in the country.
- Once this is over, it is expected that networks will go live with the 5G bands by the end of this year.
- The 5G rollout is expected to gather pace in the country by 2022.
Fear around the impact of 5G radiation on human health
- The claim is that the more powerful 5G waves will emit more radiation and cause harm to humans as well as other living beings.
- Also, 5G will require more towers in order to ensure better connectivity, and since it will power more than just our smartphones, it will increase human exposure to such radiation in general.
- This is an extension of the idea that cellular towers, which emit low-level RF-EMF radiation, are in general damaging our bodies.
- But radiation from cellphone towers, mobile phones, WiFi routers is typically called non-ionizing radiation like radio waves, microwaves, and optical radiation.
- RF fields have been classified by WHO’s International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) as possibly carcinogenic to humans (Group 2B).
Layman understandings over such radiations
- There’s no doubt that radiation at very high levels, also referred to as ionizing radiation, heats up our tissue and can eventually lead to cancer.
- This applies to medical devices such as a CT-scan machine or X-ray machine, which emit high-level ionizing radiation.
- That’s exactly why doctors don’t recommend that you go get a CT scan for every health issue because it does increase unnecessary exposure to radiation.
- But there are increasing concerns that our smartphones, other WiFi-ready devices such as laptops, and mobile phone towers which also emit low-level RF radiation are damaging our bodies given the constant exposure.
What WHO has to say?
- On its page on 5G, the World Health Organization (WHO) says “no adverse health effect has been causally linked with exposure to wireless technologies.”
- But it also states that “only a few studies have been carried out at the frequencies to be used by 5G.”
- Given the growing concerns, the WHO is conducting “a health risk assessment from exposure to radio frequencies, covering the entire radiofrequency range, including 5G.”
- This study will be published by 2022.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Nitrogen pollution
Mains level: NA
The United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the main focus of the eighth triennial conference of the International Nitrogen Initiative (INI) being held virtually this week.
International Nitrogen Initiative
- INI is an international program, set up in 2003 under the sponsorship of the Scientific Committee on Problems of the Environment (SCOPE) and from the International Geosphere-Biosphere Program (IGBP).
- The key aims of the INI are to:
- optimize nitrogen’s beneficial role in sustainable food production, and
- minimize nitrogen’s negative effects on human health and the environment resulting from food and energy production.
Answer this PYQ in the comment box:
Q.Which of the following adds/add nitrogen to the soil?
- Excretion of Urea by animals
- Burning of coal by man
- Death of vegetation
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2, and 3
Why nitrogen?
- Reactive nitrogen compounds like NOx, ammonia and the greenhouse gas nitrous oxide impact air, water and soil quality, health, biodiversity and climate change, among others.
- These compounds are lost from fertilizers, manures, and sewage as well as from fuel burning in transport and industry.
- Assessing and managing them sustainably will be crucial to achieving the 17 UN SDGs targeted for 2030.
Also read:
[Burning Issue] Nitrogen Pollution in India
Back2Basics: Nitrogen Pollution
- While nitrogen is the dominant gas in the atmosphere, it is inert and doesn’t react.
- However, when it is released as part of compounds from agriculture, sewage and biological waste, nitrogen is considered reactive.
- It may be polluting and even exert a potent greenhouse gas effect.
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide but isn’t as prevalent in the atmosphere.
- Other than air pollution, nitrogen is also linked to the loss of biodiversity, the pollution of rivers and seas, ozone depletion, health, economy, and livelihoods.
- Nitrogen pollution is caused, for example, by emissions from chemical fertilizers, livestock manure and burning fossil fuels.
- Gases such as ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) contribute to poor air quality and can aggravate respiratory and heart conditions, leading to millions of premature deaths across the world.
- Nitrate from chemical fertilizers, manure, and industry pollute the rivers and seas, posing a health risk for humans, fish, coral, and plant life.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Challenges in dealing with child labour
The article highlights the risk posed by pandemic to the gains made by India on reducing the child labour in India.
Child labour in India
- A Government of India survey (NSS Report No. 585, 2017-18) suggests that only 79.6%. of the children in the age group of 14-17 years are attending educational institutions (formal and informal).
- The Census of India 2011 reports 10.1 million working children in the age group of 5-14 years.
- Out of whom 8.1 million are in rural areas mainly engaged as cultivators (26%) and agricultural labourers (32.9%).
- UNESCO estimates based on the 2011 Census record 38.1 million children as “out of school” i.e.18.3% of total children in the age group of 6-13 years.
- A Rapid Survey on Children (2013-14), jointly undertaken by the Ministry of Women and Child Development and UNICEF, found that less than half of children in the age group of 10-14 years have completed primary education.
How policies and initiatives helped reduce child labour in India (2001-11)
- Child labour in India decreased in the decade 2001 to 2011.
- Policy interventions such as the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) 2005, the Right to Education Act 2009 and the Mid Day Meal Scheme have paved the way for children to be in schools along with guaranteed wage employment (unskilled) for rural families.
- Efforts towards convergence of government schemes is also the focus of the implementation of the National Child Labour Project.
- Ratifying International Labour Organization Conventions Nos. 138 and 182 in 2017, the Indian government further demonstrated its commitment to the elimination of child labour.
- The Ministry of Labour and Employment-operated online portal allows to share information and coordinate on child labour cases at the national, State and local levels for effective enforcement of child labour laws.
Challenges ahead
- The economic contraction and lockdowns have worsened the situation, posing a real risk of backtracking the gains made in eliminating child labour.
- With increased economic insecurity, lack of social protection and reduced household income, children from poor households are being pushed to contribute to the family income.
- With closure of schools and challenges of distance learning, children may drop out leaving little scope for return unless affirmative and immediate actions are taken.
- As many schools and educational institutions are moving to online platforms for continuation of learning, the ‘digital divide’ is a challenge that India has to reconcile within the next several years.
- The NSS Report titled ‘Household Social Consumption on Education in India’ suggests that in 2017-18, only 24% of Indian households had access to an Internet facility.
- The Annual Status of Education Report (ASER) 2020 survey highlights that a third of the total enrolled children received some kind of learning materials from their teachers during the reference period (October 2020) as digital mode of education was opted for.
Way forward
- It is through strategic partnerships and collaborations involving government, employers, trade unions, community-based organisations and child labour families that we could make a difference building back better and sooner.
- We need a strong alliance paving our way towards ending child labour in all its forms by 2025 to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 8.7.
Consider the question “What are the policy measures and programmatic intervention implemented to reduce the child labour in India. How Covid-19 threatens the gains made on reducing the child labour?”
Conclusion
To deal with the child labour challenge, we need the right level of commitment among all the relevant stakeholders and the right mix of policy and programmatic interventions are present.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Diplomatic fallout of the second covid wave
The article highlights the contrast in India’s diplomacy during the first wave of the pandemic and the second wave. It also discusses the challenges ahead for India.
India’s diplomatic structure in two Covid waves
- In the past month, the focus for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) and Missions abroad has shifted.
- During the first wave of the pandemic, focus was on coordinating exports of COVID-19 medicines, flights to repatriate Indians abroad through the ‘Vande Bharat Mission’ after the lockdown, and then exporting vaccines worldwide- ‘Vaccine Maitri’.
- After the second wave, Covid Diplomacy 2.0 has a different order of tasks, both in the immediate and the long term.
- The immediate imperative was to deal with oxygen and medicine shortages that claimed the lives of thousands.
- The Ministry of External Affairs has had to deal with internal health concerns while galvanising help from abroad for others.
- Despite difficulties, the Ministry of External Affairs has completed the task of bringing in supplies in a timely manner, and with success.
Dealing with vaccine shortage
- Companies manufacturing AstraZeneca and Sputnik-V are stretched as far as future production is concerned.
- The Chinese vaccines are out of consideration given bilateral tensions.
- So, it is clear that India is looking to the U.S. to make up the shortfall.
- This could be done in the following ways:
- 1) Requesting the U.S. to share a substantial portion of its stockpile of AstraZeneca.
- The U.S. government is holding up its AstraZeneca exports until its own United States Food and Drug Administration approves them.
- 2) Asking the US to release more vaccine ingredients which are restricted for exports.
- 3) To buy more stock outright from the three U.S. manufacturers, Pfizer, Moderna and Johnson & Johnson, and to encourage production in India of these vaccines.
- Production of Johnson & Johnson single-dose vaccines in India, as had been announced during the Quad summit, will take some time.
- The U.S. companies seem set on getting both an indemnity waiver from India as well as Emergency Use Authorisation prior to supplying them.
- The Government may also need to make a change to its publicly announced policy that States in India will need to negotiate purchases directly, as the U.S. manufacturers want centralised orders, with payments up-front.
2) Patent waiver
- The promise of patent waivers, from India’s joint proposal at the World Trade Organization (WTO) will not reap early benefits.
- Even though it has received support from world leaders such as the U.S., Russia and China.
- Many countries including Japan, Australia, Brazil and EU are still holding out on the idea of freeing up intellectual property rights on vaccines for three years.
- That could ultimately hold up proceedings at the WTO, as it works by consensus.
3) Diplomatic fallout of vaccine collapse
- The Government has defended its decision to export more than 66 million vaccines doses to 95 countries between January and April this year.
- All exports were stopped as soon as cases in India began to soar.
- Both India’s neighbours and partners in Africa as well as global agencies depending on India for vaccines have been left in the lurch by the Government’s failure to balance its vaccine budget.
- For example, once India completed delivery of the first batch, of 550,000 Covishield doses, Bhutan completed the administration of the first dose to 93% of its population in a record 16 days.
- Two months later, Bhutan does not have any vaccines to complete the second dose and has been left requesting other countries for vaccines.
- It is no surprise that each of India’s neighbours has now sought help from China and the U.S. to complete their vaccination drives.
4) Tracing virus pathways
- India, as one of the worst pandemic-hit countries, must be at the forefront of demanding accountability on the origin of the virus.
- The World Health Organisation (WHO) which studied “pathways of emergence” of SARS-CoV2 in Wuhan, listed four possibilities:
- 1) Direct zoonotic transmission.
- 2) An intermediate host.
- 3) Cold chain or transmission through food.
- 4) A laboratory incident.
- China appears adamant on blocking these studies.
- Even the U.S. appears to have dragged its feet on a conclusive finding, possibly because the U.S. National Institutes of Health had funded some of the Wuhan Institute’s research.
Way forward on virus pathways
- India must call for a more definitive answer and also raise its voice for a stronger convention to regulate any research that could lead, by accident or design, to something as the current pandemic.
- It is necessary to revamp the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention to institute an implementation body to assess treaty compliance, and build safer standards for the future.
Consider the question “How different was the impact of two Covid-19 waves on India’s diplomacy? What are the challenges India faces in the near future in dealing with the fallout of the pandemic?”
Conclusion
With its seat at the UN Security Council as non-permanent member and its position on WHO’s Executive Board, India could seek to regain the footing it has lost over the past few months of COVID-19 mismanagement, by taking a lead role in ensuring the world is protected from the next such pandemic.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Litoria mira
Mains level: NA
A species of frog lives in the rainforests of New Guinea that appears to be made from chocolate — just like the magical sweets popular in the wizarding world of J K Rowling’s Harry Potter.
Litoria mira
- The cocoa-colored frogs have turned out to be a new species — and an addition to our knowledge of the animal kingdom.
- It has a well-known relative — the common green tree frog of Australia called Litoria cerulean.
- Litoria Mira can be distinguished from all other Litoria by its unique combination of moderately large size, webbing on hand, relatively short and robust limbs, and a small violet patch of skin on the edge of its eyes.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Various economic indicators mentioned
Mains level: India's economic growth
India’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) contracted by 7.3% in 2020-21.
Tap to read more about:
National Income Determination, GDP, GNP, NDP, NNP, Personal Income
GDP contraction
There are two ways to view this contraction:
- One is to look at this as an outlier — after all, India, like most other countries, is facing a once-in-a-century pandemic — and wish it away.
- The other way would be to look at this contraction in the context of what has been happening to the Indian economy since the regime change.
Impact of the new regime
Let’s look at the most important ones.
(1) Gross Domestic Product
- Contrary to perception advanced by the Union government, the GDP growth rate has been a point of growing weakness for the last 5 of these 7 years.
- The GDP growth rate steadily fell from over 8% in FY17 to about 4% in FY20, just before Covid-19 hit the country.
- The economy was already struggling with massive bad loans which were further deteriorated by demonetization and the GST regime.
(2) GDP per capita
- Often, it helps to look at GDP per capita, which is total GDP divided by the total population, to better understand how well-placed an average person is in an economy.
- At a level of Rs 99,700, India’s GDP per capita is now what it used to be in 2016-17 — the year when the slide started.
- As a result, India has been losing out to other countries. A case in point is how even Bangladesh has overtaken India in per-capita-GDP terms.
(3) Unemployment rate
- This is the metric on which India has possibly performed the worst.
- First came the news that India’s unemployment rate, even according to the government’s own surveys, was at a 45-year high in 2017-18 — the year after demonetization and GST.
- Then in 2019 came the news that between 2012 and 2018, the total number of employed people fell by 9 million — the first such instance of total employment declining in independent India’s history.
- As against the norm of an unemployment rate of 2%-3%, India started routinely witnessing unemployment rates close to 6%-7% in the years leading up to Covid-19.
- The pandemic, of course, made matters considerably worse.
- What makes India’s unemployment even more worrisome is the fact that this is happening even when the labor force participation rate — which maps the proportion of people who even look for a job — has been falling.
(4) Inflation rate
- After staying close to the $110-a-barrel mark throughout 2011 to 2014, oil prices (India basket) fell rapidly to just $85 in 2015 and further to below (or around) $50 in 2017 and 2018.
- On the one hand, the sudden and sharp fall in oil prices allowed the government to completely tame the high retail inflation in the country, while on the other, it allowed the government to collect additional taxes on fuel.
- But since the last quarter of 2019, India has been facing persistently high retail inflation.
- Even the demand destruction due to lockdowns induced by Covid-19 in 2020 could not extinguish the inflationary surge.
(5) Fiscal deficit
- The fiscal deficit is essentially a marker of the health of government finances and tracks the amount of money that a government has to borrow from the market to meet its expenses.
- Typically, there are two downsides of excessive borrowing:
- One, government borrowings reduce the investible funds available for the private businesses to borrow (this is called “crowding out the private sector”); this also drives up the price (that is, the interest rate) for such loans.
- Two, additional borrowings increase the overall debt that the government has to repay. Higher debt levels imply a higher proportion of government taxes going to pay back past loans. For the same reason, higher levels of debt also imply a higher level of taxes.
On paper, India’s fiscal deficit levels were just a tad more than the norms set, but, in reality, even before Covid-19, it was an open secret that the fiscal deficit was far more than what the government publicly stated.
(6) Rupee vs dollar
- The exchange rate of the domestic currency with the US dollar is a robust metric to capture the relative strength of the economy.
- A US dollar was worth Rs 59 when the government took charge in 2014.
- Seven years later, it is closer to Rs 73. The relative weakness of the rupee reflects the reduced purchasing power of the Indian currency.
What’s the outlook on growth?
- The biggest engine for growth in India is the expenditure by common people in their private capacity.
- This “demand” for goods accounts for 55% of all GDP.
- The private consumption expenditure has fallen to levels last seen in 2016-17.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Civil services reforms
West Bengal CM has announced that the outgoing Chief Secretary would be appointed Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister.
Story so far
- A senior IAS officer has been the subject of a tussle between the Centre and the state government over the last few days.
- He was due to begin an extension of three months after retiring as Chief Secretary, but the Centre instead asked him to report and join the Government of India.
- He did not do so.
How officers get an extension?
- Rule 16(1) of DCRB (Death-cum-Retirement Benefit) Rules says that “a member of the Service may be given an extension of service for a period not exceeding three months in the public interest, with the prior approval of the Central Government”.
- For an officer posted as Chief Secretary of a state, this extension can be for six months.
Central Deputation
- In normal practice, the Centre asks every year for an “offer list” of officers of the All India Services willing to go on central deputation.
- Rule 6(1) of the IAS Cadre Rules says an officer may with the concurrence of the State Governments concerned and the Central Government, be deputed for service under the Central Government or another State Government…”
- It says “in case of any disagreement, the matter shall be decided by the Central Government and the State Government or State Governments concerned shall give effect to the decision of the Central Government.”
Issues with such deputation
- Because of the Rule, states have to bear the brunt of arbitrary actions taken by the Centre, while the Rule makes it difficult for the Centre to enforce its will on a state that refuses to back down.
What next
- The Centre cannot take action against civil service officials who are posted under the state government unless the latter agrees.
- Rule 7 of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, states that the authority to institute proceedings and to impose penalty will be the state government.
- For any action to be taken against an officer of the All India Services, the state and the Centre both need to agree.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: One-Child Policy
China will for the first time allow couples to have a third child in a further relaxation of family planning rules five years after a “two-child policy” largely failed to boost birth rates.
Do you think that the One-Child Policy would be effective for population control in India?
What was the One-Child Policy?
- China embarked upon its one-child policy in 1980 when the Communist Party was concerned that the country’s growing population, which at the time was approaching one billion, would impede economic progress.
- The policy was implemented more effectively in urban areas.
- It was enforced through several means, including incentivizing families financially to have one child, making contraceptives widely available, and imposing sanctions against those who violated the policy.
How well did the policy fare?
- Chinese authorities have long hailed the policy as a success, claiming that it helped the country avert severe food and water shortages by preventing up to 40 crore people from being born.
- However, the policy was also a source of discontent, as the state used brutal tactics such as forced abortions and sterilizations.
- It also met criticism and remained controversial for violating human rights, and for being unfair to poorer Chinese since the richer ones could afford to pay economic sanctions if they violated the policy.
- Additionally, China’s rulers have been accused of enforcing reproductive limits as a tool for social control.
- The Uighur Muslim ethnic minority, for example, has been forced to have fewer children to restrict the growth of their population.
Demographic changes due to the policy
- Due to the policy, while the birth rate fell, the sex ratio became skewed towards males.
- This happened because of a traditional preference for male children in the country, due to which abortion of female fetuses rose and so did the number of girls who were placed in orphanages or abandoned.
- Experts have also blamed the policy for making China’s population age faster than other countries, impacting the country’s growth potential.
- It is also suggested that because of the long-lingering impact of the policy, China would be unable to reap the full benefits of its economic growth and will need other ways to support it.
Skeptics of the new move
- Experts say relaxing limits on reproductive rights alone cannot go a long way in averting an unwanted demographic shift.
- The main factors behind fewer children being born, they say, are rising costs of living, education, and supporting aging parents.
- The problem is made worse by the country’s pervasive culture of long working hours.
- There has also been a cultural shift during the decades in which the one-child policy remained in force, with many couples believing that one child is enough, and some expressing no interest in having children.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: AmbiTag
Mains level: NA
IIT Ropar in (Punjab) has developed a first-of-its-kind IoT device – AmbiTag that records real-time ambient temperature during the transportation of perishable products, vaccines, and even body organs and blood.
AmbiTag
- Shaped like a USB device, AmbiTag continuously records the temperature of its immediate surroundings “from -40 to +80 degrees in any time zone for a full 90 days on a single charge.
- Most of the similar devices available in the international market record data only for a duration of 30- 60 days.
- It generates an alert when the temperature goes beyond a pre-set limit. The recorded data can be retrieved by connecting the USB with any computer.
- So far, such devices are being imported by India in a massive quantity from other countries such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Ireland, and China.
- The device has been developed under Technology Innovation Hub – AWaDH (Agriculture and Water Technology Development Hub) and its Startup ScratchNest.
Its applications
- The device helps know whether that particular item transported from anywhere in the world is still usable or perished because of temperature variation.
- This information is particularly critical for vaccines including the Covid-19 vaccine, organs, and blood transportation.
- Besides perishable items including vegetables, meat, and dairy products it can also monitor the temperature of animal semen during transit.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Israel-Palestine conflict
The article suggest the Indian model for peaceful coexistence as a possible solution to Israel-Palestine conflict.
Brief history of the conflict
- Britain renounced its Mandate over Palestine in 1948.
- This paved the way for the United Nations to divide Palestine between the Jews and Arabs, giving them about 55% and 45% of the land, respectively.
- The Jews, meanwhile, had declared the establishment of the state of Israel for which they had been working for long.
- The Palestinians, who lacked the resources to conceive of a state, failed to form a state of their own in the land allotted to them.
- Instead, a coalition of Arab countries invaded the nascent state of Israel to nip it in the bud.
- Israel defeated the Arab armies.
- Israel also destroyed about 600 Palestinian villages and expelled about 80% of Arabs from its territory.
- In 1967, in the Six-Day War, Israel captured not just more Palestinian land but also Egypt’s Sinai Peninsula and Syria’s Golan Heights.
- During the Yom Kippur War of 1973, the Arabs came to realise that Israel is here to stay.
Need for realisation on both the sides
- The Arab states failed to impress the realisation of permanency of Israel upon their Palestinian brethren, a sizeable number of whom remain committed to seeking a solution through counter-violence.
- Vicious cycle of violence is not going to end unless there is realism on both sides.
- The Hamas should know that Israel will not give up on holding on to land it has held for years.
- Israel should understand that total subjugation, expulsion or even decimation of Palestinians will not make it any safer.
- A solution based on the common humanity of all stakeholders, one that is not riven by racial and religious schisms, needs to be explored.
Viability of Indian model
- The Indian model of democracy and secularism, which accommodates religious, ethnic, linguistic and other diversities, could be a viable model for the peaceful coexistence of formerly antagonistic groups.
- India evolved a unique model of accommodating the victors and the vanquished, without ever resorting to the latter’s decimation.
- A modus vivendi has to evolve on the basis of hard realities, the first of which is that neither the Jews nor the Palestinians are going to vanish.
- If the two-state solution is nowhere in the offing, a single state after the Indian model, i.e., a secular, democratic and pluralistic state, may be the only feasible option.
- The Palestinian refugees have a right to return.
- That the altered demographics would impinge on the religio-racial character of Israel is not an argument which behoves a modern democratic state.
- It is true that a nation state belongs to the group which constituted itself into a nation.
- A nation is an imagined community.
- As imagination expands, the foundations of the nation become deeper.
Consider the question “In the absence of two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict, what lessons India could offer to the two parties for peaceful coexistence?”
Conclusion
Israel might not offer the right model of conflict resolution for India, but India presents a model of peaceful coexistence for Israel.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: SEATO and SENTO
Mains level: Paper 2- India-Pak relations
The article explains evolution of Pakistan’s approach towards forming alliances and maintaining strategic autonomy against the backdrop of U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.
New dynamic Pakistan has to face
- As the US withdraws its troops from Afghanistan, Pakistan is eager to build a relationship with Washington that is not tied to US stakes in Afghanistan.
- Pakistan does not want to be totally alienated from U.S. in the new geopolitical jousting between the US and China.
- How Pakistan copes with the new dynamic between the US and China as well as manages the deepening crisis in Afghanistan would be of great interest to India.
Striking the balance between autonomy and alliance
- Autonomy is about the basic impulse for enhancing the degree of one’s freedom.
- Alliances are about coping with real or perceived threats to one’s security.
- Both are natural trends in international politics.
- Joining an alliance does not mean ceding one’s sovereignty.
- Within every alliance, there is a perennial tension between seeking more commitments from the partner in return for limiting one’s own.
Explaining Pakistan’s approach to alliances
- Pakistan’s insecurities in relation to India meant it was eager for alliances.
- And as the Anglo-Americans scouted for partners in the crusade against global communism, Pakistan signed a bilateral security treaty with the US and joined the South East Asia Treaty Organisation and Central Treaty Organisation in the mid-1950s.
- Rather than target Pakistan’s alliance with a West that was intensely hostile to Beijing in the 1950s, Chinese premier Zhou Enlai saw room to exploit Pakistan’s insecurities on India.
- While Pakistan’s ties with the US went up and down, its relationship with China has seen steady expansion.
- Pakistan’s relations with the US flourished after the Soviet Union sent its troops into Afghanistan at the end of 1979.
- The US and Pakistan reconnected in 2001 as Washington sought physical access and intelligence support to sustain its intervention in Afghanistan following the attacks on September 11.
- Now the US wants Pakistan to persuade the Taliban to accept a peaceful transition to a new political order in Afghanistan.
Pakistan’s ability to adapt to shifting geopolitical trends
- Pakistan worries that its leverage in U.S. will diminish once the US turns its back on Afghanistan and towards the Indo-Pacific.
- Pakistan does not want to get in the Indo-Pacific crossfire between the US and China.
- It would also like to dent India’s growing importance in America’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
- India should not underestimate Pakistan’s agency in adapting to the shifting global currents.
- Pakistan has been good at using its great power alliances to its own benefit.
Three problems that complicates Pakistan’s strategic autonomy
- 1) Relative economic decline: Pakistan’s expected aggregate GDP at around $300 billion in 2021 is 10 times smaller than India’s.
- 2) Obsession with Kashmir: Pakistan’s enduring obsessions with separating Kashmir from India, and extending its political sway over Afghanistan; both look elusive despite massive political investments by the Pakistan army.
- Unsurprisingly, there is a recognition that Pakistan needs reorientation — from geopolitics to geoeconomics and permanent war with neighbours to peace of some sorts.
- 3) Using religion as political instrument: Turning Islam into a political instrument and empowering religious extremism seemed clever a few decades ago.
- However, today those forces have acquired a life of their own and severely constrain the capacity of the Pakistani state to build internal coherence and widen international options.
Conclusion
It will be unwise to rule out Pakistan’s positive reinvention; no country has a bigger stake in it than India. For now, though, Pakistan offers a cautionary tale on the dangers of squandering a nation’s strategic advantages — including a critical geopolitical location that it had inherited and the powerful partnerships that came its way.
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