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  • Who was Guru Tegh Bahadur?

    The government will celebrate the 400th birth anniversary of Guru Tegh Bahadur with a two-day event at the Red Fort.

     Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)

    • Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He was born at Amritsar in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind.
    • His term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
    • There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders.
    • He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
    • He was publicly executed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing Mughal rulers and defying them.
    • Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of his body.

    Impact of his martyrdom

    • The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against religious oppression and persecution.
    • His martyrdom helped all Sikh Panths consolidate to make the protection of human rights central to its Sikh identity.
    • Inspired by him, his nine-year-old son, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, eventually organized the Sikh group into a distinct, formal, symbol-patterned community that came to be known as Khalsa (Martial) identity.
    • In the words of Noel King of the University of California, “Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom was the first-ever martyrdom for human rights in the world.
    • He is fondly remembered as ‘Hind di Chaadar’.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

     

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”hnvg6h5b2p” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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  • [Burning Issue] Artificial Intelligence and Climate change

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    Context

    Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies have been often thought as a gateway to a future written in chrome, operating on a virtual cloud.

    Even in Budget 2022-23, AI was described as a sunrise technology that would “assist sustainable development at scale and modernize the country.”

    In terms of climate change, AI can prove to be immensely helpful in developing environment-friendly infrastructure, making climate predictions and decarbonizing industries. However, ironically, AI with itself brings an environmental cost to the development of the technology.

    What is Climate Change?

    • It deals with the global phenomenon of climate transformation that significantly impacts the earth’s usual climatic conditions (temperature, precipitation, wind, etc.). 
    • They are mainly caused due to human-made activities.
    • The major source of climate change is global warming, which is primarily caused by the greenhouse effect.
    • Rapid urbanization and industrial revolution are the other main causes that lead to the risk of climate change with increased energy demand and production, especially in the form of fossil fuels.
    •  The growing risk of climate change has a disastrous impact on earth organisms, including human beings and earth’s flora and fauna.
    • It further leads to the destruction of the food chain and economic resources.

    Social and Economic Impact of Climate Change

    • The cost of adapting coastal areas to rising sea levels.
    • Relocation of whole towns.
    • Shrinking productivity of harvests.
    • Loss of the capacity to work due to heat.
    • More wars to gain access to limited resources.
    • Freshwater will be short in the supply.
    • Spread of diseases due to higher temperatures.
    • Inflation in food and consumer goods.
    • The extreme meteorological phenomenon will cause widespread poverty.

    Artificial Intelligence

    • Artificial intelligence is the simulation of human intelligence processes by machines, especially computer systems. Specific applications of AI include expert systems, natural language processing, speech recognition and machine vision.
    • In general, AI systems work by ingesting large amounts of labeled training data, analyzing the data for correlations and patterns, and using these patterns to make predictions about future states.
    • AI programming focuses on three cognitive skills: learning, reasoning and self-correction.

    How can AI help in the mitigation of Climate Change?

    • AI is a disruptive paradigm that has greater potential to assess, predict, and mitigate the risk of climate change with the efficient use of data, learning algorithms, and sensing devices.
    • It performs a calculation, makes predictions, and takes decisions to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
    • By developing effective models for weather forecasting and environmental monitoring, AI makes us better understand the impacts of climate change across various geographical locations.
    • It interprets climatic data and predicts weather events, extreme climate conditions, and other socio-economic impacts of climate change and precipitation.
    • From a technical perspective, AI offers better climatic predictions, shows the impacts of extreme weather, finds the actual source of carbon emitters and includes numerous other reasonable contributions. 
    • This enables the policymakers to be aware of the rising sea levels, earth hazards, hurricanes, temperature change, disruption to natural habitats, and species extinction.

    Applications of AI for Climate Change mitigation

    The following are the few areas in which AI can directly help mitigate the risks posed by climate change:-

    • AI-assisted prediction models for climate change mitigation
    • Role of machine vision in climate informatics and forecasting
    • Recent trends in AI to reduce carbon footprints for a sustainable environment
    • AI for earth hazard management
    • AI to promote eco-friendly energy production and consumption
    • AI-assisted expert systems for climate change risk prediction and assessment
    • AI-assisted big data analytics Synergy of IoT, big data, cloud computing, and AI techniques in climate change prediction and mitigation
    • Machine learning for a sustainable green future
    • AI in reducing the impacts of global warming
    • Deep learning for sustainable earth surveillance and earth informatics

    AI Can Accelerate Our Response to Climate Change

    • Improve Energy Efficiency– According to the Capgemini Research Institute, artificial intelligence should improve power efficiency by 15% in the next three to five years.
    • Optimize Clean Energy Development- AI computational models can find sites for dams that can produce the lowest amounts of GHG emissions.
    • Avoid Waste- Companies, governments, and leaders frequently deploy AI solutions to avoid waste, reduce energy waste from buildings or understand supply and demand.
    • Make Transportation More Efficient- AI is already the technology that powers autonomous vehicles, including shared cars and smart transportation systems in some cities.
    • Tools to Help Understand Carbon Footprint- AI can help build tools to help individuals and companies understand their carbon footprint and what actions they can take to reduce it.
    • Create New Low-Carbon Materials- If AI could develop new materials with similar properties but with a smaller carbon footprint, it could help slow climate change.

    What are the Global Trends for the Development of AI Technology?

    • Unfair Start- A few developed economies possess certain material advantages right from the start, they also set the rules.
    • They have an advantage in research and development, and possess a skilled workforce as well as wealth to invest in AI.
    • West vs the World- North America and East Asia alone account for three-fourths of global private investment in AI, patents and publications.
    • Political Advantage- The current state of inequity in AI in terms of governance raises concerns about the technological fluency of policymakers in developing and underdeveloped countries and their representation and empowerment at the international bodies that set rules and standards on AI.
    • Benefits for few- The developing and underdeveloped countries have not been much benefitted by the technology as AI’s social and economic benefits are accruing to a few countries only.

    India & AI

    • In Budget 2022-23, AI was described as a sunrise technology that would “assist sustainable development at scale and modernize the country.”
    • Research ecosystem- India has 386 of a total of 22,000 Ph.D. educated researchers worldwide and ranked 10th globally in research.  AI research concentrated mostly at institutes, like IITs, IIITs and IISc.
    • Present Use of AI- Presently, AI is used in India in sectors such as Smart Mobility and Transportation, Healthcare, Agriculture, Education and Smart Cities & Infrastructure.
    • AI adoption across sectors-
    1. COREs– Centres of Research Excellence in Artificial Intelligence will focus on core research of AI.
    2. ICTAI– International Centre for Transformational Artificial Intelligence will provide the ecosystem for application-based technology development and deployment.
    3. AIRAWAT (AI research, analytics and knowledge assimilation platform will be a cloud platform for Big Data Analytics and Assimilation, with a large, power-optimized AI Computing infrastructure using advanced AI processing.

    AI in India: Opportunities

    AI has the potential to drive growth by enabling:

    • Intelligent automation i.e. ability to automate complex physical world tasks that require adaptability and agility across industries,
    • Labor and capital augmentation: enabling humans to focus on parts of their role that add the most value, complementing human capabilities and improving capital efficiency
    • Innovation diffusion i.e. propelling innovations as it diffuses through the economy

    What is the Impact of AI Technology on Climate?

    • Carbon Footprint- The climate impact of AI can be majorly attributed to the energy use of training and operating large AI models.
    • Emissions- In 2020, digital technologies accounted for between 1.8% and 6.3% of global emissions.
    • At this same time, AI development and adoption across sectors skyrocketed and so did the demand for processing power associated with larger and larger AI models.
    • Quantification– A main problem to tackle in reducing AI’s climate impact is to quantify its energy consumption and carbon emission, and to make this information transparent.
    • UNESCO’s Efforts- The idea of sustainability is rapidly entering mainstream debates on AI ethics and sustainable development.
    • Recently, UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.”

    Way Forward

    • Research: Dedicated studies, more investments in R&D, and better policy interventions are required in this field. AI needs to be developed and deployed so it can meet society’s needs and protect the environment by saving more energy than it expends.
    • Technology + Sustainable Development:  To make sure AI is used to help, and not hinder society, it’s time to merge the two big debates of the present time – digital technology and sustainable development (in particular, the environment). If we use the former to save the latter, this could be the best possible use made out of the resources available to us.
    • Opportunities for the Developing World: Governments of developing countries, including India, should assess their technology-led growth priorities in the context of AI’s climate costs.
    • Recommendation of WEF: The AI developers “must incorporate the health of the natural environment as a fundamental dimension.”

    Conclusion

    Governments of developing countries, India included, should also assess their technology-led growth priorities in the context of AI’s climate costs. It is argued that as developing nations are not plagued by the legacy infrastructure it would be easier for them to “build up better”. These countries don’t have to follow the same AI-led growth paradigm as their Western counterparts.

    It may be worth thinking through what “solutions” would truly work for the unique social and economic contexts of the communities in our global village.

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  • [Sansad TV] Perspective: INDIA-USA Dialogue

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    India and USA have reaffirmed their commitment to promote regional stability and rule of law at the fourth 2 +2 Ministerial Dialogue held in Washington recently.

    Outcome of the dialogue

    • India’s Defence and EAM and their US counterparts undertook a comprehensive review of cross-cutting issues in the India-US bilateral agenda related to Foreign Policy, Defence and Security.
    • PM Modi and US President Biden also held a virtual meeting before the 2+2 dialogue where both leaders discussed the destabilizing impacts of Russia’s war against Ukraine.
    • Modi also pointed out that India placed importance on the safety of the civilian population in Ukraine and the uninterrupted supply of humanitarian aid to them including medicines and relief materials.
    • Both sides also expressed their commitment to strengthening the bilateral relationship through cooperation.

    Major Outcome: Both agreed to differ on Ukraine

    • India stood firm in its stand despite what appeared to be growing pressure from the US.
    • New Delhi continued to promote dialogue to end the war.
    • It didn’t criticise Russia directly but chose some strong words about the need to respect the sovereignty of each nation.
    • In a candid remark, Mr Blinken agreed that India’s relationship with Russia has developed over decades at a time when the United States was not able to be a partner to India.

    What is the 2+2 talks between India and allies?

    • The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues.
    • A 2+2 ministerial dialogue enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides.
    • This helps to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.
    • India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: US, Australia, Japan, and RUSSIA.

    Inception of the idea

    • The inaugural 2+2 dialogue with Australia was held in September 2021 when Jaishankar and Singh met with their counterparts Marise Payne and Peter Dutton in New Delhi.
    • India held its first 2+2 dialogue with Russia in December last year, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited India.
    • The first India-Japan talks in the 2+2 format were held on November 30, 2019 in New Delhi.

    Dialogue with the US

    • The US is India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner.
    • The first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries was held during the Trump Administration.
    • It hosted then-Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and then-Secretary of Defence James Mattis and the late Sushma Swaraj and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi in September 2018.
    • The second and third editions of the 2+2 dialogues were held in Washington DC and New Delhi in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

    Defence and strategic agreements

    • Over the years, the strategic bilateral relationship with its partners, including the dialogues held in the 2+2 format, have produced tangible and far-reaching results for India.
    • India and the US have signed a troika of “foundational pacts” for deep military cooperation, beginning with the:
    1. Logistics Exchange Memorandum of Agreement (LEMOA) in 2016
    2. Communications Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) after the first 2+2 dialogue in 2018, and
    3. Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) in 2020

    Deterrents in the dialogue

    • Bullying India: For the first time since the Biden administration came to office, the US has raised the issue of India’s human rights record in a public forum.
    • No defined protocol: There is little doubt as to how beneficial this mechanism has been.
    • Progress in Indo-Pacific: On one side, the ‘two plus dialogue’ is expected to abate, if not resolve, highly problematic issues such as Chinese aggression.
    • Russia factor: This time, the US is sceptical of India’s mammoth oil import from Russia. Another problematic pointer is India’s voluminous weaponry sanctions from Russia.

    Holding 2+2 with Russia

    Russia is one of those countries with which a 2+2 format talk “fits perfectly” in India’s foreign policy.

    • Traditional partners: Having a 2+2 with Russia also means that India is “not in anyone’s camp” and that bilateral ties between Moscow and New Delhi are “traditional and comprehensive”.
    • Strategic partnership: India and Russia have shared a strategic relationship since October 2000, which later got upgraded to ‘Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership’ in December 2010. To be sure, the India-Russia 2+2 does have a particularly strong signalling component when seen against the backdrop of the S400 controversy.
    • Non-Alignment: Holding the 2+2 talks with Russia is much needed. This gives out a strong message to the world that India sees everyone to be on the same level.
    • National interests: This is visible messaging that India cannot be compelled to choose partners. India pursues an independent foreign policy serving its national and non-allied interests.

    Onus lies on the US

    • It’s clear that there is a lot more ground to cover for the US to replace Moscow as India’s largest partner.
    • Washington acknowledged that Russia is India’s biggest defence supplier – accounting for more than 50% of its imports.
    • In contrast, the US was India’s second-largest supplier between 2011 and 2015 after Russia, but fell behind France and Israel in the period between 2016 and 2021.
    • India continues to import from Russia because it gets good value for money, and, crucially, transfers of technology in some areas.
    • The US needs to give commitments on technology transfers to be able to get a bigger share of India’s defence imports.

    Way forward

    • India and the US don’t set ‘red lines’ and are pushing for “an honest dialogue”, the ongoing 2+2 dialogue is an opportunity for both India and the US.
    • The US also understands that India is one of the few countries that could leverage its relationship with Russia to bring the two warring parties to the negotiating table through a ceasefire and diplomatic resolution.
    • For Delhi, it is a season for careful and adroit diplomacy.

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  • Status of India’s National Cyber Security Strategy

    Recently, Chinese state-sponsored hackers targeted Indian electricity distribution centres near Ladakh.

    Amid a surge in cyberattacks on India’s networks, the Centre is yet to implement the National Cyber Security Strategy which has been in the works since 2020.

    Recent trends of Cyber-attacks in India

    • As per American cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks’ 2021 report, Maharashtra was the most targeted State in India — facing 42% of all ransomware attacks.
    • India is among the more economically profitable regions for hacker groups and hence these hackers ask Indian firms to pay a ransom, usually using cryptocurrencies, in order to regain access to the data.
    • One in four Indian organisations suffered a ransomware attack in 2021.
    • Indian organisations witnessed a 218% increase in ransomware — higher than the global average of 21%.
    • Software and services (26%), capital goods (14%) and the public sector (9%) were among the most targeted sectors.

    Increase in such attacks has brought to light the urgent need for strengthening India’s cybersecurity.

    What is the National Cyber Security Strategy?

    Conceptualised by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the report focuses on 21 areas to ensure a safe, secure, trusted, resilient, and vibrant cyberspace for India.

    The main sectors of focus of the report are:

    • Large scale digitisation of public services: There needs to be a focus on security in the early stages of design in all digitisation initiatives and for developing institutional capability for assessment, evaluation, certification, and rating of core devices.
    • Supply chain security: There should be robust monitoring and mapping of the supply chain of the Integrated circuits (ICT) and electronics products. Product testing and certification needs to be scaled up, and the country’s semiconductor design capabilities must be leveraged globally.
    • Critical information infrastructure protection: The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security should be integrated with enterprise security. A repository of vulnerabilities should also be maintained.
    • Digital payments: There should be mapping and modelling of devices and platform deployed, transacting entities, payment flows, interfaces and data exchange as well as threat research and sharing of threat intelligence.
    • State-level cyber security: State-level cybersecurity policies and guidelines for security architecture, operations, and governance need to be developed.

    What steps does the report suggest?

    To implement cybersecurity in the above-listed focus areas, the report lists the following recommendations:

    • Budgetary provisions: A minimum allocation of 0.25% of the annual budget, which can be raised up to 1% has been recommended to be set aside for cyber security.
    • Ministry-wise allocation: In terms of separate ministries and agencies, 15-20% of the IT/technology expenditure should be earmarked for cybersecurity.
    • Setting up a Fund of Funds: The report also suggests setting up a Fund of Funds for cybersecurity and to provide central funding to States to build capabilities in the same field.
    • R&D, skill-building and technology development: The report suggests investing in modernisation and digitisation of ICTs, setting up a short and long term agenda for cyber security via outcome-based programs and providing investments in deep-tech cyber security innovation.
    • National framework for certifications: Furthermore, a national framework should be devised in collaboration with institutions like the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and ISEA (Information Security Education and Awareness) to provide global professional certifications in security.
    • Creating a ‘cyber security services’: The DSCI further recommends creating a ‘cyber security services’ with cadre chosen from the Indian Engineering Services.
    • Crisis management: For adequate preparation to handle crisis, the DSCI recommends holding cybersecurity drills which include real-life scenarios with their ramifications. In critical sectors, simulation exercises for cross-border scenarios must be held on an inter-country basis.
    • Cyber insurance: Cyber insurance being a yet to be researched field, must have an actuarial science to address cybersecurity risks in business and technology scenarios as well as calculate threat exposures.
    • Cyber diplomacy: Cyber diplomacy plays a huge role in shaping India’s global relations. To further better diplomacy, the government should promote brand India as a responsible player in cyber security and also create ‘cyber envoys’ for the key countries/regions.
    • Cybercrime investigation: It also suggests charting a five-year roadmap factoring possible technology transformation, setting up exclusive courts to deal with cybercrimes and remove backlog of cybercrimes by increasing centres providing opinion related to digital evidence under section 79A of the IT act.
    • Advanced forensic training: Moreover, the DSCI suggests advanced forensic training for agencies to keep up in the age of AI/ML, blockchain, IoT, cloud, automation.
    • Cooperation among agencies: Law enforcement and other agencies should partner with their counterparts abroad to seek information of service providers overseas.

    Progress in its implementation

    • The Centre has formulated a draft National Cyber Security Strategy 2021 which holistically looks at addressing the issues of security of national cyberspace.
    • Without mentioning a deadline for its implementation, the Centre added that it had no plans as of yet to coordinate with other countries to develop a global legal framework on cyber terrorism.

    Way forward

    • India has to contend with the importance and necessity of cyber offence as much as cyber defence.
    • As of today, India’s primary or possibly only response measures appear to be defensive.
    • India has to also invest in more offensive cyber means as a response.

     

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  • The Functioning of the Enforcement Directorate (ED)

    The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is in the news now and often.

    About Enforcement Directorate (ED)

    • It goes back to May 1, 1956, when an ‘Enforcement Unit’ was formed in the Department of Economic Affairs.
    • It then aimed for handling Exchange Control Laws violations under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA).
    • The ED today is a multi-dimensional organisation investigating economic offences under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), Fugitive Economic Offenders Act, Foreign Exchange Management Act and FERA.

    From where does the ED get its powers?

    • When proceeds of crime (property/money) are generated, the best way to save that money is by parking it somewhere, so one is not answerable to anyone in the country.
    • Therefore, there was a need to control and prevent the laundering of money.
    • The PMLA was brought in for this exact reason in 2002, but was enacted only in 2005.
    • The objective was to prevent parking of the money outside India and to trace out the layering and the trail of money.
    • So as per the Act, the ED got its power to investigate under Sections 48 (authorities under act) and 49 (appointment and powers of authorities and other officers).

    At what stage does the ED step in when a crime is committed?

    • Whenever any offence is registered by a local police station, which has generated proceeds of crime over and above ₹1 crore, the investigating police officer forwards the details to the ED.
    • Alternately, if the offence comes under the knowledge of the Central agency, they can then call for the First Information Report (FIR) or the chargesheet if it has been filed directly by police officials.
    • This will be done to find out if any laundering has taken place.

    What differentiates the probe between the local police and officers of the ED?

    Case study:

    • If a theft has been committed in a nationalised bank, the local police station will first investigate the crime.
    • If it is learnt that the founder of the bank took all the money and kept it in his house, without being spent or used, then the crime is only theft and the ED won’t interfere because the amount has already been seized.
    • But if the amount which has been stolen is used after four years to purchase some properties, then the ill-gotten money is brought back in the market.
    • Or if the money is given to someone else to buy properties in different parts of the country, then there is ‘laundering’ of money.
    • Hence the ED will need to step in and look into the layering and attachment of properties to recover the money.
    • If jewellery costing ₹1 crore is stolen, police officers will investigate the theft. The ED, however, will attach assets of the accused to recover the amount of ₹1 crore.

    What are the other roles and functions of the ED?

    • The ED carries out search (property) and seizure (money/documents) after it has decided that the money has been laundered, under Section 16 (power of survey) and Section 17 (search and seizure) of the PMLA.
    • On the basis of that, the authorities will decide if arrest is needed as per Section 19 (power of arrest).
    • Under Section 50, the ED can also directly carry out search and seizure without calling the person for questioning.
    • It is not necessary to summon the person first and then start with the search and seizure.
    • If the person is arrested, the ED gets 60 days to file the prosecution complaint (chargesheet) as the punishment under PMLA doesn’t go beyond seven years.
    • If no one is arrested and only the property is attached, then the prosecution complaint along with attachment order is to be submitted before the adjudicating authority within 60 days.

    Can the ED investigate cases of money laundering retrospectively?

    • If an ill-gotten property is acquired before the year 2005 (when the law was brought in) and disposed off, then there is no case under PMLA.
    • But if proceeds of the crime were possessed before 2005, kept in storage, and used after 2005 by buying properties, the colour of the money is still black and the person is liable to be prosecuted under PMLA.
    • Under Section 3 of PMLA, a person shall be guilty of money-laundering, if such person is found to have directly or indirectly attempted to indulge or knowingly assist a party involved in one or more of the following activities:
    • Concealment; possession; acquisition; use; or projecting as untainted property; or claiming as untainted property in any manner etc.

     

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  • What is Parboiled Rice, and why Centre wants to stop purchasing it?

    Recently, Telangana CM and members of his Cabinet staged a protest demanding a uniform paddy procurement policy. The protest came after the Centre said it was stopping the purchase of excess parboiled rice, of which Telangana is a major producer.

    What is Parboiled Rice?

    • The dictionary meaning of ‘parboil’ is ‘partly cooked by boiling’.
    • Thus, the expression parboiled rice refers to rice that has been partially boiled at the paddy stage, before milling.
    • Parboiling of rice is not a new practice, and has been followed in India since ancient times.
    • However, there is no specific definition of parboiled rice of the Food Corporation of India or the Food Ministry.

    How is it prepared?

    • There are several processes for parboiling rice.
    • The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru, uses a method in which the paddy is soaked in hot water for three hours, in contrast to the more common method in which paddy is soaked for 8 hours.
    • The water is then drained and the paddy steamed for 20 minutes.
    • Also, the paddy is dried in the shade in the method used by the CFTRI, but is sun-dried in the common method.
    • The Paddy Processing Research Centre (PPRC), Thanjavur follows a method known as the chromate soaking process.
    • It uses chromate, a family of salt in which the anion contains both chromium and oxygen, which removes the odour from the wet rice.
    • All processes generally involve three stages—soaking, steaming and drying. After passing through these stages, the paddy goes for milling.

    Are all rice varieties suitable for parboiling?

    • Generally, all varieties can be processed into parboiled rice, but it is ideal to use long slender varieties to prevent breakage during milling.
    • However, aromatic varieties should not be parboiled because the process can make it can lose its aroma.

    What are the benefits?

    • Parboiling makes rice tougher. This reduces the chances of the rice kernel breaking during milling.
    • It also increases the nutrient value of the rice.
    • It has a higher resistance to insects and fungi.

    Certain disadvantages

    • The rice becomes darker and may smell unpleasant due to prolonged soaking.
    • Besides, setting up a parboiling rice milling unit requires a higher investment than a raw rice milling unit.

    How much is the stock of parboiled rice in the country?

    • According to the Food Ministry, the total stock of parboiled rice is 40.58 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) as on April 1, 2022.
    • Out of this, the highest stock is in Telangana at 16.52 LMT, followed by Tamil Nadu (12.09 LMT) and Kerala (3 LMT).
    • The stock was in the range 0.04–2.92 LMT in 10 other states —Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.
    • From the other 10 rice-producing states, including Telangana, the Ministry has no plan to procure parboiled rice.
    • In the coming days, the total parboiled rice stock will increase to 47.76 LMT.

    How high is the demand?

    • The Food Ministry pegs the parboiled rice demand at 20 LMT per annum for distribution under the National Food Security Act, 2013.
    • According to the Ministry, the demand for parboiled rice has come down in recent years.
    • In the last few years, production in parboiled rice-consuming states such as Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu has increased, resulting in less movement to the deficit states.
    • Earlier, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) used to procure parboiled rice from states such as Telangana to supply to these states.
    • But in recent years, parboiled rice production has increased in these states.
    • The current stock is sufficient to meet the demand for the next two years.

     

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  • Places in news: Gulf of Gabes

    A Fuel Ship with 750 tons of diesel sinks off the Gulf Of Gabes in Tunisia.

    Gulf of Gabes

    • The Gulf of Gabes also known as Lesser Syrtis contrasting with the Greater Syrtis in Libya, is a gulf on Tunisia’s east coast in the Mediterranean Sea, off North Africa.
    • The gulf roughly spans the coast from Sfax to Djerba.
    • At the head of the gulf is the city of Gabès (Ghannouche) where the tides have a large range of up to 2.1 m at spring tides.
    • Both Gabès and Sfax are major ports on the gulf, supporting sponge and tuna fisheries, with Gabès being the economic and administrative centre.
    • It is 60 miles (100 km) long and 60 miles wide and is bounded by the Qarqannah (Kerkena) Islands on the northeast and by Jarbah (Djerba) Island on the southeast.

    Regional economy of the gulf

    • Except for the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Venice, it is the only part of the Mediterranean with a substantial tidal range, causing the uncovering of extensive sandbanks at low water.
    • Sponge and tuna fisheries are located at the main ports of Qābis (Gabès) and Ṣafāqis (Sfax).
    • Oil and natural-gas deposits have been found in the gulf, east of Ṣafāqis.

     

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  • Nutrition status and TB risk

    Context

    Historical importance of good nutrition was ignored by the modern therapist who tried to control TB initially with streptomycin injection, isoniazid and para-aminosalisylic acid. In the ecstasy of finding antibiotics killing the germs, the social determinants of disease were ignored.

    Lack of patient-centric TB treatment

    • With more drug arsenals such as rifampicin, ethambutol, pyrazinamide, the fight against TB bacteria continued, which became multidrug resistant.
    • The regimes and the mode of delivery of drugs were changed to plug the loopholes of non-compliance of patients.
    • Blister packs of a multi-drug regime were provided at the doorstep, and the directly observed treatment/therapy (DOT) mechanism set up.
    • Many of the poor discontinued blister-packaged free drugs thinking that these were “hot and strong” drugs not suited for the hunger pains they experienced every night.

    Role of nutrition in dealing with TB

    • India has around 2.8 million active cases. It is a disease of the poor.
    • And the poor are three times less likely to go for treatment and four times less likely to complete their treatment for TB, according to WHO, in 2002.
    • The fact is that 90% of Indians exposed to TB remain dormant if their nutritional status and thereby the immune system, is good. 
    • When the infected person is immunocompromised, TB as a disease manifests itself in 10% of the infected.
    • The 2019 Global TB report identified malnutrition as the single-most associated risk factor for the development of TB, accounting for more cases than four other risks, i.e., smoking, the harmful use of alcohol, diabetes and HIV.
    • The work and the findings of a team at the Jan Swasthya Sahayog hospital at Ganiyari, Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh established the association of poor nutritional status with a higher risk of TB.

    Way forward

    • Chhattisgarh initiated the supply of groundnut, moong dhal and soya oil, and from April 2018, under the Nikshay Poshan Yojana of the National Health Mission.
    • All States began extending cash support of ₹500 per month to TB patients to buy food. This amount needs to be raised.
    • Nutrition education and counselling support: Without simultaneous nutrition education and counselling support, this cash transfer will not have the desired outcome.

    Conclusion

    Food is a guaranteed right for life under the Constitution for all citizens, more so for TB patients. Thus, the goals of reducing the incidence of TB in India and of reducing TB mortality cannot be reached without addressing undernutrition.

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  • Why is the Black Sea crucial to Russia?

    The sinking of the huge Russian warship Moskva whether due to a Ukrainian missile strike or, as Russia claims, a fire on board — is a serious setback for Russia in the Black Sea.

    About Black Sea

    • The famed water body is bound by Ukraine to the north and northwest, Russia and Georgia to the east, Turkey to the south, and Bulgaria and Romania to the west.
    • It links to the Sea of Marmara through the Bosphorus and then to the Aegean through the Dardanelles.

    Significance of Black Sea for Russia

    • Domination of the Black Sea region is a geostrategic imperative for Moscow.
    • Black Sea has traditionally been Russia’s warm water gateway to Europe.
    • For Russia, the Black Sea is both a stepping stone to the Mediterranean.
    • It acts as a strategic buffer between NATO and itself.
    • It showcases the Russian power in the Mediterranean and to secure the economic gateway to key markets in southern Europe.
    • The Rhine-Main-Danube canal connects the Black Sea to the Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea and the port of Odessa serves as a vital link between Ukraine and the outside world.

    Black Sea in the Ukraine war

    • Russia has been making efforts to gain complete control over the Black Sea since the Crimean crisis of 2014.
    • During the ongoing invasion, the domination of the Black Sea has been a major Russian objective, along with the land bridge to connect Russia and Crimea.
    • As such, there have been intense efforts to capture Mariupol, the Sea of Azov port in the breakaway eastern Ukrainian oblast of Donetsk.
    • Mariupol appeared close to falling to the Russians.

    Sinking of the Moskva

    • The sinking of the Moskva is believed to be the worst loss in the history of naval warfare.
    • It was sunk by shore-based anti-ship cruise missiles which took advantage of bad weather and used decoy UAV attacks to defeat the ship’s air defence systems.
    • It demonstrates the success of outside-the-box measures adopted by Ukraine in the war.

     

    Must answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following pairs:

    Sea Bordering country
    1. Adriatic Sea Albania
    2. Black Sea Croatia
    3. Caspian Sea Kazakhstan
    4. Mediterranean Sea Morocco
    5. Red Sea Syria

    Which of the pair given above are correctly matched? (CSP 2020)

    (a) 1, 2 and 4 only

    (b) 1, 3 and 4 only

    (c) 2 and 5 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5

     

  • What are Oil Bonds?

    Over the last one year, as retail prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products have surged, the government has attracted criticism.

    Finance Minister has sought to counter such criticism by claiming that the current government cannot bring down taxes (and, as a consequence, prices) because it has to pay for the oil bonds issued by the previous regime.

    What are oil bonds?

    • An oil bond is an IOU (I owe you), or a promissory note issued by the government to the OMCs, in lieu of cash that the government would have given them so that these companies don’t charge the public the full price of fuel.
    • An oil bond says the government will pay the oil marketing company the sum of, say, Rs 1,000 crore in 10 years.
    • And to compensate the OMC for not having this money straightaway, the government will pay it, say, 8% (or Rs 80 crore) each year until the bond matures.
    • Thus, by issuing such oil bonds, the government of the day is able to protect/ subsidise the consumers without either ruining the profitability of the OMC or running a huge budget deficit itself.

    Why were they issued?

    • When fuel prices were too high for domestic consumers, governments in the past often asked oil marketing companies (OMCs) to avoid charging consumers the full price.
    • But if oil companies don’t get paid, they would become unprofitable.
    • To address this, the government said it would pay the difference.
    • But again, if the government paid that amount in cash, it would have been pointless, because then the government would have had to tax the same people to collect the money to pay the OMCs.
    • This is where oil bonds come in.

    How much of fuel prices is tax?

    • There are two components to the domestic retail price — the price of crude oil itself, and the taxes levied on this basic price.
    • Together they make up the retail price.
    • The taxes vary from one product to another. For instance, as of now, taxes account for 50% of the total retail price for a litre of petrol, and 44% for a litre of diesel.

    How much of the UPA-era oil bonds has the NDA government paid back?

    • There are two components of oil bonds that need to be paid off: the annual interest payment, and the final payment at the end of the bond’s tenure.
    • By issuing such bonds, a government can defer the full payment by 5 or 10 or 20 years, and in the interim just pay the interest costs.
    • Table 1 shows that between 2015 and 2021, the NDA government has fully paid off four sets of oil bonds — a total of Rs 13,500 crore.
    • Each year, the BJP government had also had to pay the interest rate on all bonds that have not matured. Chart 1 shows the amount paid towards interest payment each year.
    • Between 2014 and 2022, the government has had to spend a total of Rs 93,686 crore towards interest as well as the principal.

    Still, isn’t it a bad idea to issue such bonds?

    • Former PM Manmohan Singh was correct in noting that issuing bonds just pushed the liability to a future generation.
    • But to a great extent, most of the government’s borrowing is in the form of bonds.
    • This is why each year the fiscal deficit (which is essentially the level of government’s borrowing from the market) is so keenly tracked.
    • Further, in a relatively country like India, all governments are forced to resort to the use of bonds of some kind.
    • Take the current NDA government itself, which has issued bonds worth Rs 2.79 lakh crore (twice the amount of oil bonds) to recapitalise public sector banks.
    • These bonds will be paid by governments till 2036.

     

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