Author: CD Staff

Context

ChatGPT, which was only released a few months ago, is gaining popularity online as users marvel at its incredible powers. The latest artificial intelligence tool is creating a buzz among computer scientists and programmers due to its creative capabilities.

In this context, this edition of the burning issue will elaborate on this latest buzz in the technology sector- ChatGPT

What is ChatGPT?

• About ChatGPT: ChatGPT (Generative Pre-trained Transformer) is a chatbot launched by OpenAI in November 2022. It is built on top of OpenAI’s GPT-3 family of large language models and is fine-tuned with both supervised and reinforcement learning techniques.
• OpenAI: ChatGPT has been developed by OpenAI, which is a research institute and company that focuses on developing artificial intelligence technology responsibly and safely. It was founded in 2015 by a group of entrepreneurs and researchers, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and Greg Brockman.
• A human-like language model: ChatGPT is built on a large-scale transformer-based language model that is trained on a diverse dataset of text and is capable of generating human-like responses to prompts. It is based on GPT-3.5, a language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text.
• It is more engaging with details: However, while the older GPT-3 model only took text prompts and tried to continue on that with its own generated text, ChatGPT is more engaging. It’s much better at generating detailed text and can even come up with poems.
• Keeps the memory of the conversations: Another unique characteristic is memory. The bot can remember earlier comments in a conversation and recount them to the user.
• Human-like resemblance: A conversation with ChatGPT is like talking to a computer, a smart one, which appears to have some semblance of human-like intelligence.

The evolution of ChatGPT

• Generative Pre-Training (GPT) language model: ChatGPT follows a generation of language models that were released by OpenAI in 2018. In 2018, OpenAI released the Generative Pre-Training (GPT) language model. Here, generative means that it is a type of neural network that can create new content based on input content called Training Data. This technology makes it suitable for creative tasks like writing a new story.
• Transformer technique: With the transformer technique mentioned above, GPT was improved and “Generative Pre-trained Transformer 2” or GPT-2 was released in 2019. GPT-3 with even more sophisticated neural networks was launched in 2020.
• GPT3.5: In early 2022, GPT3.5 was released and ChatGPT is a successor to GPT3.5. Each successive generation is more advanced than its predecessor. For example, GPT-3 was trained with 175 billion parameters. These large language models have looked at almost all text available on the internet and many other text documents, thereby making them highly informed. Finally, ChatGPT was launched in November 2022.

About Chatbots and AI

What is a ChatBot?

• A chatbot (coined from the term “chat robot”) is a computer program that simulates human conversation either by voice or text communication, and is designed to help solve a problem.
• Organizations use chatbots to engage with customers alongside classic customer service channels like phone, email, and social media.

What is Artificial intelligence?

• AI is a constellation of technologies that enable machines to act with higher levels of intelligence and emulate the human capabilities of sense, comprehend and act. Thus, computer vision and audio processing can actively perceive the world around them by acquiring and processing images, sound and speech.
• Natural language processing and inference engines can enable AI systems to analyze and understand the information collected.
• An AI system can also take action through technologies such as expert systems and inference engines or undertake actions in the physical world.
• These human-like capabilities are augmented by the ability to learn from experience and keep adapting over time.

Working of ChatGPT

• ChatGPT is what is called a Language Model, rather than a chatbot. A language model is a software that prints out a sequence of words as output that are related to some words given as input with appropriate semantic relation;
• in practical terms, it means that it can perform tasks like answering questions and carrying on a conversation with humans. It is often used in natural language processing (NLP) applications, such as speech recognition, automatic translation, and text generation.
• It is also a neural network. A neural network can be thought of as a large network of computers that can fine-tune its output of words based on the feedback given to it during stages of training: this training process and the technology together are called Reinforcement Learning.
• With a further refining technique called “Transformer”, a neural network can accurately “understand” the context of a sentence or a paragraph. This “comprehension” can be used for multiple purposes like answering a question, summarising a paragraph or an article, translating documents and so on.

Applications of ChatGPT

• A virtual study mate: ChatGPT could be used to generate practice questions or prompts for students to use when studying or preparing for exams. Input a prompt into ChatGPT that relates to the topic you are studying. For example, you might write ‘generate practice questions from Indian Polity on fundamental rights’. ChatGPT will then generate a series of practice questions that could range from multiple choice, true/false, or short answers.
• A writing assistant: ChatGPT can be used to generate text in a variety of styles and formats, such as stories, news articles, poems, and more. This could be useful for creative writing, or for generating content for websites and social media.
• A human-like search engine: One of the most used applications of ChatGPT is to answer specific questions and get answers in human talking style-dialogue format. It can also simplify complex theories. Microsoft is planning to integrate OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot into its Bing search engine in order to take advantage of its ability to respond to a wide range of questions while mimicking human conversation styles.
• For language translation: ChatGPT could be used to automatically translate text from one language to another, making it easier for people to communicate with each other across language barriers.

• A customizable chatbot: You could use the ChatGPT model to create a chatbot that can answer questions or have a conversation with a user. ChatGPT could answer customer questions or provide assistance in online chatbots or virtual assistants, allowing businesses to provide 24/7 support to their customers. It is trainable with specific data to create a virtual customer service bot that can converse and respond to queries.

Advantages

• Available for customers 24/7: ChatGPT could answer customer questions at any hour, day or night. Now, the customer can ask a query to the chatbot and get an instant reply or get sent to the page with the right product. 
• Offers Better personalization: Personalization is important for customers. In fact, about 44% of buyers become repeat customers after receiving a personalized experience. It pays off to customize your messages to clients and provide more personalized customer service. 
• Faster response time: About 96% of shoppers expect a response within five minutes. And chatbots like ChatGPT can provide instant responses to help customers with simple questions right there and then. This helps to decrease the waiting time for customer support to a couple of seconds. 
• Increase sales: Chatbots can bring more sales for businesses. Bots turn first-time website visitors into new customers by showing off your new products and offering discounts to tempt potential clients.
• Save costs: Cost saving is another essential benefit. It can automate day-to-day tasks that include everything from answering FAQs to booking appointments. This allows the customer support team to concentrate on more complex queries. 

Concerns and Limitations

• Implications for cybersecurity: Check Point Research and others noted that ChatGPT was capable of writing phishing emails and malware, especially when combined with OpenAI Codex.
• May involve in unethical use: ChatGPT attempts to reject prompts that may violate its content policy. However, some users managed to jailbreak ChatGPT by using various prompt engineering techniques to bypass these restrictions in early December 2022 and successfully tricked ChatGPT into giving instructions for how to create a Molotov cocktail or a nuclear bomb, or into generating arguments in the style of a Neo-Nazi.
• ChatGPT is not entirely accurate: It is not entirely accurate, something even OpenAI has admitted. It is also evident that some of the essays written by ChatGPT lack the depth that a real human expert might showcase when writing on the same subject.
• ChatGPT lacks depth like the human mind: It doesn’t quite have the nuance that a human would often be able to provide. For example, when asked ChatGPT how one should cope with a cancer diagnosis. The responses were kind but generic. The type of responses you would find in any general self-help guide.
• It lacks the same experiences as humans: AI has a long way to go. After all, it doesn’t have the same experiences as a human.
• ChatGPT does not excel in code: ChatGPT is writing basic code. As several reports have shown, ChatGPT doesn’t quite excel at this yet. But a future where basic code is written using AI doesn’t seem so incredible right now.
• ChatGPT is still prone to Misinformation: Despite of abilities of the bot, there are some limitations. ChatGPT is still prone to misinformation and biases, which is something that plagued previous versions of GPT as well. The model can give incorrect answers to, say, algebraic problems.
• ChatGPT can write incorrect answers: OpenAI understands some flaws and has noted them down on its announcement blog that “ChatGPT sometimes writes plausible-sounding but the incorrect or nonsensical answer

Conclusion

• OpenAI’s ChatGPT turned that simple experience into something entirely different. ChatGPT is a path-breaking example of an AI chatbot and what the technology could achieve when applied at scale.
• Limitations aside, ChatGPT still makes for a fun little bot to interact with. However, there are some challenges that need to be addressed before it becomes an unavoidable part of human life.

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Context

• Considered as holy, the town of Joshimath in the Chamoli district, located at an altitude of 6,150 feet, is sinking rapidly due to human-induced causes.
• In this context, this edition of the burning issue will elaborate on the Joshimath crisis.

About Joshimath

• A tourist spot: At a height of 6,107 feet, Joshimath is a busy town in the Chamoli district of Uttarakhand. Despite a population of only about 23,000, it has been heavily built on, with hotels, resorts, and a bustling market that caters mainly to tourists, pilgrims, trekkers and personnel of the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP).
• Linked to Adi Shankaracharya: Joshimath was established by Adi Shankaracharya in North India. The math has temples of Badrinarayan and Rajrajeshwari Devi. It has a sacred cave where Adi Shankaracharya supposedly undertook tapasya.
• Strategic significance: After the 1962 India-China war, Joshimath emerged as a place of strategic importance as it leads to villages along the India-China border. It is also en route to Barahoti, a disputed territory along the border.
• Pilgrimage site: The town is also a gateway to noted sites of pilgrimage — Badrinath for Hindus and Hemkund Sahib for Sikhs; the international skiing site of Auli; and the Valley of Flowers, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

What is happening in Joshimath?

• Cracks first appeared in a few houses in Uttarakhand’s Joshimath town in October 2021. Over a year later, by January 11, 2023, 723 houses in all of the nine wards in the town had developed major or minor cracks on the floors, ceilings and walls. In response, 145 families have been temporarily moved to safer locations within the town.
• Subsequently, cracks continued to appear around town and residents resorted to repairs. The situation became particularly alarming towards the end of 2022 and the beginning of 2023 when large parts of the town experienced sudden land sinking and several houses developed major cracks.

What is land subsidence?

• Land subsidence is when the ground sinks or settles. It can happen because people are taking too much water or minerals from the ground, which causes the ground to sink.
• It can also be caused by natural processes, like soil compaction or the movement of the earth’s crust. Land subsidence can cause problems like damage to buildings and roads, and can make it more likely for flooding to occur.

Reason for land subsidence in Joshimath

• Situated on Joshimath an old landslide: Joshimath is built on the deposits of an old landslide, which means that the slopes can be destabilized even by slight triggers.
• Lies in seismic zone V: The town is also in Zone V, which, as per India’s seismic zonation scheme, denotes the highest risk. It lies between two thrusts, the Main Central Thrust (MCT) and the Vaikrita Thrust (VT), and thus occupies a seismically active terrain.
• Construction of subsurface structures: The Government proposes to build 66 tunnels in the Uttarakhand Himalaya and 18 tunnels are already in operation. Building these subsurface structures could result in gross damage to the environment, including the concentration of pollutants from traffic exhaust compounded by a microenvironment with no sunlight and limited dispersion in such long-distance tunnels. 
• Large-scale construction projects in the vicinity: The construction of highways and railway tracks has now become a prime cause for landslides and their occurrences have doubled over the years. The increased anthropogenic activities such as road construction have made the hill slopes extremely unstable. That is why the recurring landslides have gone up in numbers in the Himalayas.

• Descending groundwater levels: Irreversible impact on groundwater like descending water levels have been observed in the areas of tunnel construction. Erratic rainfall and ecological degradation associated with land use change for infrastructural development are already impacting mountain aquifer systems. Groundwater use in the Himalayan States differs from that in the plains, as large and contiguous aquifers do not exist in the hills.
• NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro project: It has been recorded that the NTPC’s Tapovan-Vishnugad hydro project tunnel which passes just below Joshimath, could be a contributing factor to this phenomenon. During the construction of the tunnel, a boring machine perforated a water-bearing stratum on the left bank of the Alaknanda river near Shelong village, leading to a discharge of 60-70 million litres per day. This must have led to the gradual depletion of pore pressure within the sediment leading to aquifer compaction and settling of the ground.
• Unsustainable tourism: The Himalayan terrain demands sustainable tourism, not mass tourism. The daily average footfall last year along the Char Dham route was reported to be around 58,000. There is the unregulated rise in tourism that has led to a construction boom in unsafe zones such as river valleys, floodplains and slopes vulnerable to landslides.
• Lack of drainage and wastewater disposal systems: The 2022 USDMA report also pointed to a lack of drainage and wastewater disposal systems as being part of the subsidence problem. According to Mr. Sati, about 85% of buildings in the town — including those owned by the Army — aren’t connected to a sewerage system and have soak pits instead.

About the Mishra Committee report on Joshimath

• Land subsidence was noticed in the area decades ago. The then Uttar Pradesh government (Uttarakhand was then a part of Uttar Pradesh) formed a committee led by M.C. Mishra to study its causes.
• The committee’s report of 1976 warned against heavy and unscientific construction in the town, further reporting that Joshimath is a deposit of sand and stone and hence was not a suitable place for the coming up of a township. Vibrations produced by blasting and heavy traffic will also lead to disequilibrium in natural factors.
• However, Joshimath continued to develop exactly the way the Mishra committee had advised against.

Other major Disasters in the Himalayas

• Chamoli disaster due to avalanche in June 2021: Large mass of snow, ice and rock avalanche along with a hanging mass of rock crashed into the Raunthi Garh valley floor thus killing 78 people.
• Kedarnath floods, 2013: In the early hours of June 17, 2013 a flash flood came down upon the overflowing banks of the Chorabari lake in Uttarakhand. Carrying huge amounts of silt and rocks, it destroyed lives, houses and everything else that came it’s way. According to figures provided by the Government of Uttarakhand, more than 5,700 people were “presumed dead.” This total included 934 residents. The death toll was later placed at 6,054. Most of the dead were pilgrims.

Why frequent Landslides in the Himalayas?

• Heavy snowfall in winter and melting in summer. This induces debris flow, which is carried in large quantities by numerous streams and rivers.
• Himalayas are made of sedimentary rocks which can easily be eroded. These aides landslides.
• Drifting of the Indian plate causes frequent earthquakes and resultant instability in the region.
• Man-made activities like grazing, construction and cultivation abet soil erosion and risks of landslides.
• The Himalayas have not yet reached their isostatic equilibrium which destabilizes the slopes. It leads to landslides.
• Diurnal temperature changes are much more in northern India than in southern slopes. This weakens the rocks and aids mass wasting.

The larger picture in the crisis: Development vs Environment debate

• Traditionally, economic growth and development are seen as the primary goal of governments across the globe, devoted to the idyllic objective of upgrading their citizens’ living standards. However, economic growth cannot be discussed in a fair view without considering the environmental contribution to such aspirations.

• The interlinkages between the environment and economy are manifold; the environment lends its natural resources as inputs for the production of goods and services, and also acts as a sink of waste and emissions generated through such economic activities.
• Even with the increased environmental awareness in developing nations, the notion of promoting economic development at the cost of the environment is a well-accepted phenomenon. Most individuals, firms, and governments of developing countries have already surrendered to environmental degradation as a consequence of pursuing profits/income.
• In Joshimath’s case too, environmentalists are pointing towards the environmental damage that is being done in the name of development under the Char dham project, over-tourism and the multiple hydropower projects that are under construction in the Himalayan region or are in pipeline.

What is needed? The Way forward

• Finding an alternative source of energy generation: The National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) report on the Chamoli disaster in April 2022 clearly states that “in the long term, it will be necessary to focus on finding alternative sources of energy, as the area appears to be environmentally sensitive”.
• Sustainable and regional development strategy: A development strategy for the Himalayas should not come at the cost of the environment. It should be primarily based on the region’s natural resources such as forest, water, biodiversity and ecotourism.
• Better construct small hydel projects: Rather than building massive dams, the focus should be on small projects that would help provide a local energy supply.
• Making Use of traditional knowledge: An appropriate strategy for human well-being should use traditional knowledge, agricultural practices, construction practices and local cultural aspects.
• Ensuring the safety of people: This should be an immediate priority. The state government should establish a clear and continuous communication channel with the affected people.
• Continuous seismic monitoring: of the region must be done using satellite technology and ground-level scientific studies.
• A risk-sensitive urban development plan: for Joshimath should also be developed in addition to a relief, rehabilitation and compensation policy.

What 1976 Mishra Committee Report had suggested-

• Imposition of restrictions on heavy construction: Construction should only be allowed after examining the load-bearing capacity of the soil and the stability of the site, and restrictions should also be imposed on the excavation of slopes.
• Keeping the boulders: In the landslide areas, stones and boulders should not be removed from the bottom of the hill as it would remove toe support, increasing the possibility of landslides.
• Sealing of cracks: Cracks that have developed on the slopes should be sealed. The toe of a landslide is its bottom-most point.
• Conserving of trees: It has also advised against cutting trees in the landslide zone and said that extensive plantation work should be undertaken in the area, particularly between Marwari and Joshimath, to conserve soil and water resources.
• Agriculture on the slopes must be avoided: Activities like plowing loosens the soil thereby triggering the scope for landslides.
• Preventing water seepage: To prevent any more landslides in the future, the seepage of open rainwater must be stopped by the construction of a pucca drainage system.
• Cobbled roads: Roads should be metalled and without scuppers, that drain away the water from the road surface.
• River training: The construction of structures to guide the river’s flow should be carried out. Hanging boulders on the foothills should be provided with appropriate support.

Conclusion

• The Joshimath episode is a warning that the Himalayan environment is at a tipping point and it may not be able to withstand another push generated by intrusive anthropogenic activities in the form of massive construction projects of townships, highways, tunnels, railway tracks and dams — an ecosystem already grappling with the consequences of global warming. And, in this process, the devotees must be at the forefront to save the “Abode of the Gods”.

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Context

• The three-day National Conference of State Tourism Minister was held at Dharamshala last year, a first-of-its-kind meeting aimed to discuss, debate and deliberate on modes and mechanisms to develop tourism in India.
• The three-day National Conference concluded with the adoption of the “Dharamshala Declaration” which affirms commitment toward developing “sustainable and responsible tourism” and positions India as a “global leader in the tourism sector by 2047”.
• In this context, this edition of Burning issue will elaborate on the tourism sector of India.

What is tourism?

• Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours.

Types of tourism

• Domestic tourism: Refers to activities of a visitor within their country of residence and outside of their home (e.g. Indian visiting other parts of India)
• Inbound tourism: Refers to the activities of a visitor from outside of the country of residence (e.g. a Spaniard visiting Britain).
• Outbound tourism: Refers to the activities of a resident visitor outside of their country of residence (e.g. an Indian visiting an overseas country).

What is the importance of tourism?

• Boosts economies: Tourism boosts the revenue of the economy, creates thousands of jobs, develops the infrastructures of a country, and plants a sense of cultural exchange between foreigners and citizens.
• Satisfy human exploration urge: Tourism is a compulsion driven by the urge to discover new places. Because we have this compulsion to venture into the unknown, we need each other. When humans travel, meet and exchange ideas, civilization flourishes.
• A major economic sector: the business volume of tourism equals or even surpasses that of oil exports, ‎food products or automobiles. Tourism has become one of the major players in ‎international commerce and represents at the same time one of the main income ‎sources for many developing countries.

Global tourism industry

• The Travel and Tourism (T&T) industry directly contributes about 3.6% of the world’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and, indirectly contributes about 10.3% to it.
• As one of the biggest contributors to the global GDP, this industry directly employs nearly 77 million people worldwide, which comprises about 3% of the world’s total employment.
• The industry also represents about 12% of the total world exports.
• Continuing world prosperity, growing recognition of tourism’s contribution to employment and economic growth, availability of better infrastructure, focused marketing and promotion efforts, liberalization of air transport, growing intraregional cooperation, and a growing number of Public-Private-Partnerships (PPPs) are seen as the key drivers for tourism in the next decade.

Indian tourism industry

• The travel and tourism industry contributed a total of $124.8 billion to the GDP in India in 2015 — this accounted for approximately 10% of India’s total GDP in 2020.
• A 2014 study found that India was one of the fastest-growing tourism destinations worldwide. Placed eleventh on the list, the direct contribution of travel and tourism to GDP in India was expected to grow an average of 6.4% annually between 2014 and 2024.
• The sector is expected to grow at an annual average growth rate of 7.9% till 2023, making India the third fastest-growing tourism destination over the next decade.
• Tourism in India provides 40 million jobs. The industry provided more than 23.5 million jobs in 2015. Over 7.7% of Indian employees work in the tourism industry.
• The largest source market for visitors to India was the US, followed by Bangladesh and the UK. Outbound travel from India is also forecasted to reach 1.41 million in 2020.
• According to an official release of PIB, Foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) in March 2022 were 3,42,308 with a positive growth rate of 117.9% as compared to 1,23,179 in march 2021, indicating the post-pandemic revival of the tourism sector.
• The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021, ranks India 54th out of 117 countries overall.

Prospects of Indian Tourism

• High diversity: India has a gift with the most prominent diversity in culture. In Addition, geography and art pull in a colossal measure of voyagers to the nation. Different new forms of tourism are offering in recent years are also helping to build up the country’s tourism industry.
• Multiple tourism types available: Medical tourism, eco-tourism, adventure tourism, and cruise tourism have gained tremendous popularity and attention among foreigners. Now and have the potential for high growth shortly. The Himalayas are the greatest assets of India in adventure tourism.
• Huge domestic tourist market: Many people from all over the country are attracted to India because of its scenic beauty which spreads from Kashmir in the North to Kanyakumari in the South and Arunachal Pradesh in the East to Gujrat in the West, and multiculturalism. 
• New tourism sectors opening: In India, the tourism industry is diversifying away from traditional sightseeing tours oriented (primarily places of cultural tourism interest) to a more rapidly expanding market based on the country’s atmosphere and environment, emphasizing the aesthetic, environmental, and socio-cultural implications of projects.

What is the Importance of Tourism in India?  

• Economic progress: The tourism industry aids and supports foreign exchange reserves. It helps our country in generating foreign exchange. Every year a large number of tourists visit India and other places. Places they go to; Stay and shop in our country.  All this contributes to a significant amount of foreign exchange. Despite the global recession, Indian tourism grew by 9% in 2015 to $42 billion.
• Source of Income: Tourism is a continuous source of income for public and private income. It led to employment, especially in the hotel industry, hospitality industry, service sector, entertainment, and transportation industry. Even a seller of local commodities like artefacts, handicraft items etc. earns due to tourism.
• Development of Infrastructure: Have you ever noticed how the look and feel of a place change when it is declared a tourist destination? Indeed, tourism aids and encourages infrastructure development by making way for dams, roads, connectivity, airport improvements, and any other activity that helps a tourist visit a place in a better way. The best example can be the development of Kevadia town in Gujarat due to the statue of unity.
• Social Progress: Tourism is an excellent way for cultural exchange. It also encourages social progress as tourists learn to show respect, tolerance, and love for each other when visiting new places.
• Cultural Heritage: Tourism helps to articulate the beauty, art, history, and culture of our country. Different people who come to any country take beautiful cultural concepts with them and spread those concepts to other people by going to other places.
• Puts India on the map globally: In terms of variety, India has a lot to offer global travelers. With the country’s landscape spreading across six major climatic subtypes, tourists can take their pick from among the snow-clad mountains in the north, the vast expanses of coastlines in the south, the arid deserts in the western regions, and the rich ecosystems in the east. Developing this sector of the economy can thus put India on the map globally since the country has a lot to offer.

Challenges of the Indian tourism sector

• Lack of Proper infrastructure: An established framework of the foundation includes lots of elements. Proper transportation facilities, health facilities, and stability. Also, uninterrupted connectivity and other human resources are mandatory for enduring tourism.
• Inaccessibility: There are many tourist destinations in the country, which are not accessible to the poor, women and elderly because of the high cost of transportation, poor connectivity with cities, and tourist-friendly infrastructure. Around 2% of the tourist cannot access many of the tourist spots in the country.
• Human Resources & Planning: Highly skilful and potential men or women hold an inevitable part of the tourism sector. So currently, there is a lack of workforce in both the hospitality and tourism sectors.

• Insufficient Digital Promotion and Marketing: Grand promotion and suitable digital marketing push are excessively indispensable for a nation’s travel industry improvement. The Digital marketing of the Indian Tourism industry is not to the point yet.
• Taxation issues with Indian Tourism: there are high taxes on the entire production for the airline facilities, hotels, and tour operators. Those are highly expensive. That is the most significant reason for losses to other less expensive countries when it comes to tourism.
• Security issues: Security is one of the Major Challenges of Indian Tourism. There is an increasing rate of Sexual Abuse of women, Theft, and Credit Card Fraud with foreign tourists. Also, Public Violence is affecting Indian Tourism to a high intent.

What needs to be done? Way forward

• National Tourism Authority: A separate National Tourism Authority (NTA) should be established for executing and operationalizing various tourism-related initiatives. Simple, flexible and elegant processes will be laid down to allow for nimbleness.
• National Tourism Advisory Board: A National Tourism Advisory Board (NTAB) should be set up to provide overall vision, guidance and direction to the Development of the Tourism Sector in the country.
• Creating Synergy in Tourism Eco System: In order to ensure synergy at various levels of Government and with the Private Sector, it is important to have a well-defined framework in place.
• Quality Tourism Framework: A robust framework for quality certification of products and services across all segments like accommodation providers, tour operators, adventure tour operators, and service providers like spa and wellness, guides, restaurants etc. should be laid down.
• Enhancing the existing luxury tourism products: The existing tourism products such as Nilgiri Mountain Railway, Palace on Wheels etc. should be enhanced and their numbers will also be increased. Haulage charges will be rationalized to make luxury trains viable.
• Railways can be a game changer: For tourism, Railways have a presence in most parts of the country. Most of the tourist destinations in the country are connected by rail. Indian Railways is working towards promoting tourism in the country by operating more trains connecting tourists’ destinations and also by providing an array of products starting from luxury tourist trains to budget catering tourist trains
• Prioritize the most popular tourist destinations: Instead of spreading limited resources over a significant number of circuits or centres, develop selected tourist circuits and centres that are popular among tourists.

Steps taken by Government in this regard

• Swadesh Darshan Scheme The Swadesh Darshan scheme, a flagship programme, was launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2014–15. The scheme aims to encourage theme-based tourism to promote, develop, and capitalise on India’s tourist potential. The ministry developed tourism-related infrastructure at more than 500 tourist destinations. In April 2022, the ministry sanctioned 10 new projects under the heritage circuit theme.
• National Integrated Database of Hospitality Industry (NIDHI): NIDHI is an initiative towards Aatma nirbhar Bharat to use technology to empower businesses. This programme aims to understand the hospitality sector’s geographical spread, size, structure and capacity. As of 27 August 2022, a total of 45,152 accommodations were registered under this portal.
• E-tourist Visa: The Indian Government launched this initiative in October 2014. This programme aims to simplify the process of obtaining a tourist visa for foreign nationals. This initiative has helped promote tourism in the country. In 2019, the government granted 2.36 million e-tourist visas.
• Advertising Campaigns: The Indian Government has promoted tourism and showcased the country’s rich cultural heritage to the world through its ‘Incredible India’ campaign. The campaign aims to promote tourism in India on an international scale. In recent months, the government has taken various initiatives to promote tourism. For instance, it launched the Italy edition of Incredible India Reconnect 2022, a virtual roadshow, to encourage international tourists to visit India.
• Organising International Buddhist Conclave: once in 2 years to showcase the Buddhist Heritage and International Tourism Mart for showcasing the tourism potential of North East held every year.
• The National Mission for Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme, was also launched by the Ministry for the development and beautification of pilgrimage sites to tap the growth of domestic tourists driven by spiritual/religious sentiments. The scheme seeks to augment tourism infrastructure at places of pilgrimage to provide better facilities to pilgrims/tourists and enhance their experience.
• Multilingual Tourist Helpline: The Ministry of Tourism launched the 24×7 Toll-Free Multi-Lingual Tourist Helpline in 12 languages on February 8, 2016.
• Adarsh Smarak: ASI has identified 100 monuments to be developed as Model Monuments. These monuments would be provided with necessary tourist facilities including Wi-Fi, security, signage, encroachment-free area, and interpretation centres showing short films about the importance of monuments and signboards of Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.
• The Dharamshala Declaration: aims to recognise India’s potential in supporting global tourism and also promote domestic tourism

• Tourist police scheme: The Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD) has brought out a booklet on the tourist police scheme detailing the mode of setting up of tourist police stations and control rooms, outposts, uniforms, recruitment, qualifications, training and logistics requirements for tourist police stations.

MICE tourism model of Gujarat

• The acronym “MICE” stands for “Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions”, and is essentially a version of business tourism that draws domestic and international tourists to a destination.
• The policy aims to make Gujarat one of the top five MICE tourism destinations in the country.

Conclusion

• If the goal of the positioning India as one of the world’s best tourism destinations by 2047, there is a need to integrate various schemes of different ministries. Need to involve various stakeholders, and local communities; necessary interventions at an urban and rural level should be a priority.

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Context

• For the first time, researchers from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in Bengaluru have been roped in to study the ecological and economical value of water bodies and coasts in Karnataka. This will be part of a Blue Economy study, a joint initiative taken up by the Central government and the World Bank.
• Also, in December 2022, India and Indonesia organized the 4th ASEAN-Indian Blue Economy Workshop.
• Both events underscore the idea of Blue Economy. Hence this edition of the Burning Issue will elaborate on the idea of blue economy from the perspective of both world and India.

What is Blue Economy?

• Blue Economy is defined by the World Bank as the “Sustainable use of ocean resources for economic growth, improved livelihoods, and jobs while preserving the health of the ecosystem.”
• It essentially refers to the multitude of ocean resources available in the country that can be harnessed to aid the production of goods and services because of its linkages with economic growth, environmental sustainability, and national security.
• Gunter Pauli’s book, “The Blue Economy: 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs” (2010) brought the Blue Economy concept into prominence.

• The UN first introduced “blue economy” at a conference in 2012 and underlined sustainable management, based on the argument that marine ecosystems are more productive when they are healthy. In fact, the UN notes that the Blue Economy is exactly what is needed to implement SDG 14, Life Below Water.

Significance of Blue Economy

• Source of renewable energy: Maritime renewable energy sources, such as offshore wind, floating solar arrays and wave and tidal power, hold enormous promise to build energy independence and help countries meet their emissions reduction commitments under the Paris Climate Change Agreement. The report Offshore wind outlook 2019 by the International Energy Agency (IEA), offshore wind power has the potential to generate more than 18 times the global electricity demand today.
• New jobs and food security: Investing in sustainable fisheries and, in particular, aquaculture will create well-paid jobs and help promote food security and economic fairness, especially in developing countries.
• Tourism: Sustainable and regenerative tourism can form a critical building block in ensuring a lasting economic recovery for coastal nations in a way that supports the ocean and nature – and the countless people who depend on them.
• Maritime transport: One of the largest employers within ocean-related activities. Maritime transport plays a big role in the globalized market in the form of containerships, tankers, and ports, coastal tourism is the largest employer within ocean-related activities.
• Eighty percent of trade happens on the seas: Eighty per cent of world trade happens using the seas, 40 per cent of the world’s population lives near coastal areas, and more than three billion people access the oceans for their livelihood.

Current Status of Blue Economy in the world

• Adds value to the Global Economy: According to the OECD, oceans contribute $1.5 trillion annually in value-added to the overall economy and this number could reach $3 trillion by 2030.
• Livelihood and jobs: The FAO estimates that around 58.5 million people are employed worldwide in primary fish production alone – of which approximately 21 percent are women. It is estimated that about 600 million livelihoods depend at least partially on fisheries and aquaculture.  Most are in developing countries and are small-scale, artisanal fishers and fish farmers.
• Food production: In 2020, global production of aquatic animals was estimated at 178 tonnes – of which capture fisheries contributed 90 million tonnes. , with a “first sale” value estimated at US$406 – of which US$ 141 billion for capture fisheries and US$ 265 billion for aquaculture.
• Source of protein: In 2019 aquatic foods provided about 3.3 billion people with at least 20 percent of their average intake of animal protein, with an even higher proportion in many poor countries.
• Tourism: Over 350 million people annually travel to the coral reef coast of the world. The coral reef tourism sector has an estimated annual value of $36 billion. Coastal and marine tourism constitute approximately 50 per cent of all global tourism, equal to USD 4.6 trillion or 5.2 per cent of the global gross domestic product.
• Energy production: Offshore wind currently provides just 0.3% of global power generation, but its potential is vast.
• Promoting exports: A new UNCTAD report estimates the export value in ocean-based industries at $2.5 trillion, according to the latest available data, covering 2018.

Significance of Blue Economy for India

• India’s blue economy is a subset of the national economy comprising the entire ocean resources system and human-made economic infrastructure in marine, maritime, and onshore coastal zones within the country’s legal jurisdiction.
• Vast coastline: With some 7,500 kilometers, India has a unique maritime position. Nine of its 29 states are coastal, and its geography includes 1,382 islands.
• Large EEZ: Besides, India’s Exclusive Economic Zone of over 2 million square kilometers has a bounty of living and non-living resources with significant recoverable resources such as crude oil and natural gas.
• Supports coastal lives: The coastal economy sustains over 4 million fishermen and coastal towns. India is the second largest fish-producing nation in the world and has a fleet of 2,50,000 fishing boats.
• Growth of states: Nine of India’s states has access to the coastline. India comprises 200 ports of which 12 are major ports that handled 541.76 million tonnes in FY21, the highest being Mormugao Port, located in Goa, which handled 62.6% of the total traffic.
• Unhindered access to the Indian Ocean: The Indian Ocean’s Blue Economy has become a global economic corridor. It is the world’s third-largest body of water, covering 68.5 million square km and rich in oil and mineral resources, and countries around the ocean’s periphery are home to about one-third of humanity.
• Ocean mineral resources: Polymetallic nodules, which are golf-to-tennis-ball-sized nodules containing nickel, cobalt, iron, and manganese that grow over millions of years on the seafloor, are often discovered at 4-5 Kms in water depth. In 1987, India was granted exclusive rights to explore polymetallic nodules in the Central Indian Ocean Basin. It has explored four million square miles and established two mine locations since then.

Concerns regarding the blue economy

• Human-induced Oceanic pollution: Marine activities have brought in pollution, ocean warming, eutrophication, acidification and fishery collapse as consequences on the marine ecosystems.
• Oceans are rarely financial institutions: The ocean is uncharted territory, and rarely understood by financial institutions. Hence preparedness of these institutions in making available affordable long-term financing at scale is nearly zero.
• Developing nations pay a heavy price: In this journey of achieving blue economy goals, it is developing nations that pay a heavy economic price.
• Lack of capacity is a critical hindrance: Many developing nations have high levels of external debt. Lack of capacity and technology for transition between the Agri economy and marine economy is also a critical hindrance.
• Not having an elaborative guiding principle is a major concern: There is concern that without the elaboration of specific principles or guidance, national blue economies, or sustainable ocean economies, economic growth will be pursued with little attention paid to environmental sustainability and social equity.

What needs to be done?

• Decarbonize global shipping: If this industrial sector were a country, it would be the world’s eighth-largest in terms of carbon emissions. The good news is that emerging technologies can vastly reduce emissions from vessels and port facilities. The international community needs to set new standards to ensure best practices are implemented evenly around the world.
• Investing in sustainable fisheries: in particular, aquaculture will create well-paid jobs and help promote food security and economic fairness, especially in developing countries.
• Sustainable and regenerative tourism: can form a critical building block in ensuring a lasting economic recovery for coastal nations in a way that supports the ocean and nature – and the countless people who depend on them.
• Inclusive discussion and participation is a must: The blue economy is based on multiple fields within ocean science and, therefore, needs inter-sectoral experts and stakeholders. It is imperative to involve the civil society, fishing communities, indigenous people and communities for an inclusive discussion.
• SDG-14 journey cannot undermine the other SDGs: The UN stresses that equity must not be forgotten when supporting a blue economy. Land and resources often belong to communities, and the interests of communities dependent on the ocean are often marginalized since sectors such as coastal tourism are encouraged to boost the economy.
• Integrated marine spatial planning with national and global expertise is necessary: Developing the blue economy should be based on national and global expertise. It is important that any blue economy transformation should include using integrated marine spatial planning. This would provide collaborative participation of all stakeholders of the oceans, and would make room for debate, discussion and conflict resolution between the stakeholders.

Steps taken by Indian Government

• Draft National Policy for India’s Blue Economy: The Ministry of Earth Sciences released the draft of the National Policy for India’s Blue Economy 2021. The goal of the policy document is to increase the blue economy’s contribution to India’s GDP, improve the lives of coastal residents, protect marine biodiversity, and ensure the national security of maritime areas and resources. The proposed policy framework emphasizes policies in a number of critical areas, including fisheries to aim to achieve holistic growth. The four objectives of this blue economy policy are:
• Sustainable framework for a National Coastal Marine: An Expert Group would be formed to recommend changes to meet the national and local needs. The CMSP (Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning) would serve as the foundation for the future development of the Blue Economy in India’s Exclusive Economic zones, which includes the country’s islands, as well as developing ecotourism in island areas and expanding the number of Blue Flag beaches.
• Integration with National Coastal Mission and SDG-14: Blue Economy activities will be integrated with the National Coastal Mission, which is being proposed by the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change. Blue Economy Policy will also include the execution of the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-14).
• The National Blue Economy Council: There is a proposal for the initiation of an apex body, the National Blue Economy Council will enforce this and prevent compartmentalized work, wastage of effort and policy uncertainty by combining all current skills and programs into a single supervisory agency for comprehensive planning and implementation.
• The Blue Revolution: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS) was established in 2015-16 with a five-year budget of Rs. 3,000 crores (US$ 384.3 million).
• The ‘Fisheries and Aquaculture Infrastructure Development Fund (FIDF) was established in 2018-19 with a fund size of Rs. 7,522.48 crores (963.5 million) to provide concessional credit to state/UT governments, their entities, and the private sector to fill significant gaps in the fisheries infrastructure.
• Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY): was launched in 2020, with the highest investment of Rs. 20,050crore (US$ 2.5 billion) to bring about a Blue Revolution through sustainable and responsible development of the country’s fisheries sector.

Conclusion

• The Blue Economy is poised for significant growth in the next few years. Transitioning away from an agricultural industry towards a bluer economy will be demanding. This means that governments must work together to make blue economies sustainable, share research and know-how.
• In India, The sector is the sixth dimension of the government’s ‘Vision of New India by 2030’; with the Blue Economy policies aiming for long-term economic advantages in order to achieve the greater goals of growth, job creation, equity, and environmental protection.

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