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Distribution: weekly

  • Reintroduction of African Cheetahs in India

    Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh was all prepped to welcome the African cheetahs — a project that has been a decade in the making — this year. The project has now been postponed, as the new coronavirus variant of concern omicron prompted travel restrictions.

    Confused over Leopard and Cheetah?

    The most common difference between these two animals is the patterns on their coat. At first glance, it may look like they both have spots, but in actual fact, a leopard has rosettes which are rose-like markings, and cheetahs have a solid round or oval spot shape.

    About Asiatic Cheetah

    • Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal was declared extinct in India in 1952.
    • The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
    • It was expected to be re-introduced into the country after the Supreme Court lifted curbs for its re-introduction.
    • From 400 in the 1990s, their numbers are estimated to have reached to 50-70 today, because of poaching, hunting of their main prey (gazelles) and encroachment on their habitat.

    Why reintroduce Cheetahs?

    • Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognized as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
    • The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
    • India now has the economic ability to consider restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons.

    Why was the project halted?

    • The court was worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable climate as far as the abundance of prey is concerned.
    • Those who challenged the plan argued that the habitat of cheetahs needed to support a genetically viable population.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following:

    1. Black necked crane

    2. Cheetah

    3. Flying squirrel

    4. Snow leopard

    Which of the above are naturally found in India?

    (a) 1, 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2 and 4 only

    (b) 1, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

     

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  • Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission

    The J&K Delimitation Commission has proposed to increase six seats for the Jammu division and one for the Kashmir division evoking sharp reactions from the regional parties.

    What is Delimitation and why is it needed?

    • Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of an Assembly or Lok Sabha seat to represent changes in population over time.
    • This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
    • The objective is to redraw boundaries (based on the data of the last Census) in a way so that the population of all seats, as far as practicable, be the same throughout the State.
    • Aside from changing the limits of a constituency, the process may result in a change in the number of seats in a state.

    Delimitation in J&K

    • Assembly seats in J&K were delimited in 1963, 1973 and 1995.
    • Prior to August 5, 2019, carving out of J&K’s Assembly seats was carried out under the J&K Constitution and Jammu and Kashmir Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • Until then, the delimitation of Lok Sabha seats in J&K was governed by the Constitution of India.
    • However, the delimitation of the state’s Assembly was governed by the J&K Constitution and J&K Representation of the People Act, 1957.
    • There was no census in the state in 1991 and hence no Delimitation Commission was set up by the state until 2001 census.

    Why is it in the news again?

    • After the abrogation of J&K’s special status in 2019, the delimitation of Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in the newly-created UT would be as per the provisions of the Indian Constitution.
    • On March 6, 2020, the government set up the Delimitation Commission, headed by retired Supreme Court judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, which was tasked with winding up delimitation in J&K in a year.
    • As per the J&K Reorganization Bill, the number of Assembly seats in J&K would increase from 107 to 114, which is expected to benefit the Jammu region.

    Factors considered during Delimitation

    • The number of districts had increased from 12 to 20 and tehsils from 52 to 207 since the last delimitation.
    • The population density ranged from 29 persons a square km in Kishtwar to 3,436 persons a square km in Srinagar.
    • The remoteness of the place, inaccessibility etc are also considered during the exercise.

    What’s new?

    Ans. Reserved constituencies for SC/STs

    • For the first time, in Jammu and Kashmir, nine seats are proposed to be allocated for Scheduled Tribes out of 90 seats on the basis of population.
    • Seven seats are proposed for Scheduled Castes.

    Concerns raised over Delimitation

    • Jammu vs. Kashmir: Concerns had been expressed over how the delimitation process may end up favoring the Jammu region over Kashmir in terms of the seats.
    • Under-representation of Ladakh: Arguments have been made on how Ladakh has been underrepresented, with demands for statehood/sixth schedule.
    • Non-proportionate reservations: It is argued that seats for STs should’ve been divided in both Jammu province & Kashmir province, as the ST population is almost equal.

    Do not forget to answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.With reference to the Delimitation Commission, consider the following statements:

    1. The orders of the Delimitation Commission cannot be challenged in a Court of Law.
    2. When the orders of the Delimitation Commission are laid before the Lok Sabha or State Legislative Assembly, they cannot affect any modifications in the orders.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

     

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  • UDAN scheme

    PM launched the UDAN scheme nearly five years back with the aim to take flying to the masses. However, many routes have launched by airlines have been discontinued.

    UDAN Scheme

    • The Ude Desh Ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme is a low-cost flying scheme launched with the aim of taking flying to the masses.
    • The first flight under UDAN was launched by the PM in April 2017.
    • It is also known as the regional connectivity scheme (RCS) as it seeks to improve air connectivity to tier-2 and tier-3 cities through revival of unused and underused airports.

    Working of the Scheme

    • Airlines are awarded routes under the programme through a bidding process and are required to offer airfares at the rate of ₹2,500 per hour of flight.
    • At least 50% of the total seats on an aircraft have to be offered at cheaper rates.
    • In order to enable airlines to offer affordable fares they are given a subsidy from the govt. for a period of three years.

    Present status of working

    • A total of nine rounds of bidding have taken place since January 2017.
    • The Ministry of Civil Aviation has set a target of operationalizing as many as 100 unserved and underserved airports and starting at least 1,000 RCS routes by 2024.
    • So far, the Airports Authority of India (AAI) has awarded 948 routes under UDAN, of which 403 routes have taken off that connect 65 airports.
    • Out of the total 28 seaplane routes connecting 14 water aerodromes, only two have commenced.

    Issues with the working

    • Discontinuance: In reality, some of the routes launched have been discontinued as most of the routes awarded under UDAN are not active.
    • On-paper Ambitions: UDAN was expanded to provide improved connectivity to hilly regions and islands through helicopters and seaplanes. However, they mostly remain on paper.
    • The reasons include:
    1. Failure to set up airports or heliports due to lack of availability of land
    2. Airlines unable to start flights on routes awarded to them or finding the routes difficult to sustain
    3. Adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic

    Various challenges

    • Lack of funds: Many small airlines await infusion of funds, to be able to undertake maintenance of aircraft, pay rentals to lessors, give salaries to its staff, etc.
    • Maintenance issue: Many players don’t have more than one or two planes and they are often poorly maintained. New planes are too expensive for these smaller players.
    • Availability of pilots: Often, they also have problems with the availability of pilots and are forced to hire foreign pilots which costs them a lot of money and makes the business unviable.
    • Competition: Only those routes that have been bagged by bigger domestic players such as IndiGo and SpiceJet have seen a better success rate.

    Way forward

    • The govt offers subsidies for a route for a period of three years and expects the airline to develop the route during this time so that it becomes self-sufficient.
    • Airlines need an extension of the subsidy period for their operational continuity.
    • Due to the rise in COVID cases, travel restrictions and passenger safety too needs to be taken into consideration in the loss-making of such airlines.

     

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  • Phrase ‘Anti-national’ not defined in statutes: MHA

    The phrase ‘anti-national’ has not been defined in statutes, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has informed the Parliament.

    Defining Anti-national Activities

    (1) Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act  

    • The UAPA is aimed at the prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
    • Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India.

    (2) Sedition Law

    • Section 124A IPC deals with attempts to bring into hatred or contempt or excites or attempts to excite disaffection towards, the Government established by law in India.
    • This law was enacted by the British colonial government in 1870 with the sole object of suppressing all voices of Indians critical of the government.

     (3) NCRB Reports

    • In 2019, when the National Crime Records Bureau released the annual Crime in India report for year 2017, it included for the first time a new chapter on “Crime Committed by Anti National Elements.”
    • The chapter listed – “North East insurgents, Left Wing Extremists and Terrorists (including Jihadi terrorists)” as the three anti-national elements.

    Attempts for defining

    • There are criminal legislations and various judicial pronouncements deal with unlawful and subversive activities which are detrimental to the unity and integrity of the country.
    • In this regard, it is relevant to mention that the 42nd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1976 inserted in the Constitution Article 31D (during Emergency) which defined “anti-national activity”.
    • This Article 31D was, later, omitted by the 43rd Constitutional Amendment Act, 1977.

    Supreme Court guidelines

    • In the ultimate analysis, the judgment in Kedar Nath (1962) read down Section 124A and held that without incitement to violence or rebellion there is no sedition.
    • It says that ‘only when the words written or spoken etc. which have the pernicious tendency or intention of creating public disorder the law steps in.

    Who maintains the data of such individuals?

    • The onus of maintenance of such data lies with the respective states.
    • ‘Public Order’ and ‘Police’ are State subjects as per the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution.
    • Hence the data about the number of people arrested for indulging in anti-national activities are not maintained centrally.

     

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  • ‘Chillai Kalan’ begins in Kashmir

    Kashmir is in a deep freeze as the 40-day harshest spell of winter, locally called ‘chillai kalan’ has started with the minimum temperature already sub-zero in the entire Valley.

    Chillai Kalan

    • Chillai Kalan is the coldest 40-day period of harsh winter of winter in the Jammu and Kashmir region.
    • It is traditionally defined as a seasonal period of harsh winter accompanied by a change in increase in both frequency and quantity of precipitation usually snow.
    • It begins from December 21 and ends on January 31 next year.
    • It is followed by a 20-day long Chillai-Khurd (small cold) that occurs between January 31 and February 19 and a 10-day long Chillai-Bachha (baby cold).
    • According to Persian tradition, the night of 21st December is celebrated as Shab-e Yalda-“Night of Birth”, or Shab-e Chelleh “Night of Forty”.

    Its’ celebration

    • In the Persian tradition, the night of December 21, the longest of the year, is celebrated as Shab-e-Yalda (night of birth) or Shab-e-Chelleh.
    • Dozens of netizens from Kashmir named it the ‘Pheran Day’, after the long woollen gown worn during the winters in Kashmir.
    • Use of a traditional firing pot called Kangri increases.
    • Tap water pipelines partially freeze during this period. The Dal Lake also freezes.
    • The famous tourist resort of Gulmarg receives heavy snow which attracts skier’s from every part of the world.

     

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  • [pib] Seed Village Programme (Beej Gram Yojana)

    The govt is implementing Seed Village Programme (Beej Gram Yojana) since 2014-15 to upgrade the quality of farmers’ saved seeds.

    What do you mean by Seed Village?

    • It is a village, wherein a trained group of farmers are involved in the production of seeds of various crops and cater to their needs themselves.

    Seed Village Programme

    • This program aims at upgrading the quality of farm-saved seeds.
    • Under this, financial assistance is available for up to one acre per farmer for distribution of foundation/certified seeds at:
    1. 50% of seed cost for cereal crops
    2. 60% for pulses, oilseeds, fodder, and green manure crops

    Objectives of the program

    • Increasing the seed production
    • Increasing the seed replacement rate
    • Organizing seed production in cluster (or) compact area replacing existing local varieties with new high yielding varieties
    • Self-sufficiency and self-reliance of the village

    Implementation

    The present program of seed village scheme is having two phases:

    • Seed production of different crops: The area which is suitable for raising a particular crop will be selected, and raised with a single variety of a kind.
    • Establishing seed processing unit: If the seeds are not processed and handled properly, all the past efforts in production may be lost. Thus seed processing and packaging is a very important aspect of seed production.

    Benefits offered

    • Seed is available at the doorsteps of farms at an appropriate time.
    • Seeds are available at affordable costs even lesser than the market price.
    • It has increased the confidence among the farmers about the quality because of known sources of production.
    • It facilitates the fast spread of new cultivars of different kinds.

    Back2Basics: Seed Replacement Rate

    • It is the percentage of area sown out of the total area of the crop planted in the season by using certified/quality seeds other than the farm-saved seed.
    • In simple terms, it is a measure of the cropped area covered with quality seed.

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  • Amendment to the Multi-State Cooperatives Act, 2002

    The Union Home and Cooperation Minister has announced the decision to amend the Multi-State Cooperative Societies (MSCS) Act, 2002 to plug the loopholes in the Act.

    What is MSCS Act?

    • Cooperatives are a state subject, but there are many societies such as those for sugar and milk, banks, milk unions etc whose members and areas of operation are spread across more than one state.
    • The MSCS Act was passed to govern such cooperatives.
    • For example, most sugar mills along the districts on the Karnataka-Maharashtra border procure cane from both states.

    What are Multi-State Cooperatives?

    • They draw their membership from two or more states, and they are thus registered under the MSCS Act.
    • Their board of directors has representation from all states they operate in.
    • Administrative and financial control of these societies is with the central registrar, with the law making it clear that no state government official can wield any control on them.

    Why does the government plan to amend the Act?

    (1) Issues with Central Registrar

    • The exclusive control of the central registrar, who is also the Central Cooperative Commissioner, was meant to allow smooth functioning of these societies.
    • The central Act cushions them from the interference of state authorities so that these societies are able to function in multiple states.
    • What was supposed to facilitate smooth functioning, however, has created obstacles.
    • For state-registered societies, financial and administrative control rests with state registrars who exercise it through district- and tehsil-level officers.

    (2) Multiple checks and balances

    • Thus if a sugar mill wishes to buy new machinery or go for expansion, they would first have to take permission from the sugar commissioner for both.
    • Post this, the proposal would go to the state-level committee that would float tenders and carry out the process.
    • While the system for state-registered societies includes checks and balances at multiple layers to ensure transparency in the process, these layers do not exist in the case of multistate societies.
    • Instead, the board of directors has control of all finances and administration.

    (3) Lack of govt control

    • There is an apparent lack of day-to-day government control on such societies.
    • Unlike state cooperatives, which have to submit multiple reports to the state registrar, multistate cooperatives need not.
    • The central registrar can only allow inspection of the societies under special conditions — a written request by one-third of the members of the board.
    • Inspections can happen only after prior intimation to societies.

    (4) Lack of infrastructure

    • The on-ground infrastructure for central registrar is thin — there are no officers or offices at state level, with most work being carried out either online or through correspondence.
    • For members of the societies, the only office where they can seek justice is in Delhi, with state authorities expressing their inability to do anything.

    (5) Ponzi schemes functioning as MCS

    • There have been instances across the country when credit societies have launched ponzi schemes taking advantage of these loopholes.
    • Such schemes mostly target small and medium holders with the lure of high returns.
    • Fly-by-night operators get people to invest and, after a few instalments, wind up their operations.

    What kind of amendments can be expected?

    • The Centre is holding extensive consultations with experts from various fields: bankers, sugar commissioners, cooperative commissioners, housing societies federations etc.
    • The centre might increase their manpower, first in Delhi and then in the states, to ensure better governance of the societies.
    • Also, technology will be used to bring in transparency.

     

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  • SEBI suspends Futures Trading in key farm crops

    Market regulator Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has issued an order suspending futures trading in paddy (non-basmati), wheat, Bengal gram (chana dal), mustard seeds and its derivatives, soyabean and its derivatives, crude palm oil and green gram (moong dal) for a year.

    What are Derivatives?

    • A derivative is a contract between two parties which derives its value/price from an underlying asset.
    • The value of the underlying asset is bound to change as the value of the underlying assets keep changing continuously.
    • Generally, stocks, bonds, currency, commodities and interest rates form the underlying asset.

    Types of Derivatives

    The most common types of derivatives are futures, options, forwards and swaps:

    (1) Futures

    • Futures are standardized contracts that allow the holder to buy/sell the asset at an agreed price at the specified date.
    • The parties to the futures contract are under an obligation to perform the contract. These contracts are traded on the stock exchange.
    • The value of future contracts is marked to market every day.
    • It means that the contract value is adjusted according to market movements till the expiration date.

     (2) Options

    • Options are derivative contracts that give the buyer a right to buy/sell the underlying asset at the specified price during a certain period of time.
    • The buyer is not under any obligation to exercise the option.
    • The option seller is known as the option writer. The specified price is known as the strike price.

    (3) Forwards

    • Forwards are like futures contracts wherein the holder is under an obligation to perform the contract.
    • But forwards are unstandardized and not traded on stock exchanges.
    • These are available over-the-counter and are not marked-to-market.
    • These can be customized to suit the requirements of the parties to the contract.

    (4) Swaps

    • Swaps are derivative contracts wherein two parties exchange their financial obligations.
    • The cash flows are based on a notional principal amount agreed between both parties without the exchange of principal.
    • The amount of cash flows is based on a rate of interest.
    • One cash flow is generally fixed and the other changes on the basis of a benchmark interest rate.
    • Swaps are not traded on stock exchanges and are over-the-counter contracts between businesses or financial institutions.

    What are Agri-Futures?

    Like equity, currency or interest rate futures, they allows to buy or sell an underlier at a preset price on a future date. All agri contracts end in compulsory delivery.

    • Agri products available for trade include wheat, sugar, chana, soyabean, castor, chilli , jeera futures, etc. Edible oil seeds and oils, spices and items like guar are among the more liquid contracts.
    • An objective of futures trading is gains reaching farmers, by establishing an efficient price-discovery platform.
    • This has been achieved to a large extent on NCDEX, in products such as castor, chana, soy complex, mustard, guar, cumin, etc.

    National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Limited (NCDEX) is an Indian online commodity and derivative exchange. It is under the ownership of Ministry of Finance.

    What are the reasons for this ban?

    (1) To cool off Food Inflation

    • India’s retail inflation rose to a three-month high of 4.91 % in November from 4.48 % in the previous month primarily because of a rise in food inflation to 1.87 % from 0.85 % over this period.

    (2) Double Digits WPI

    • Wholesale Price Index-based inflation has remained in double digits for eight consecutive months beginning in April, mainly because of the surging prices of food items.
    • In November, the wholesale price-based inflation surged to a record high of 14.23 % amid the hardening of prices of mineral oils, basic metals, crude petroleum, and natural gas.

    (3) To insulate future Price Shock

    • In view of Rabi Output that might be affected morbidly because of fertilizer shortage faced in many parts of the country.
    • By banning future’s trade, the government is trying to insulate any price shock the market might feel in the days to come in case the production is not up to par.

    What will be the impact?

    (1) The imports in such commodities, especially edible oils, would reduce in the short term as traders will not have a hedging platform.

    • Hedging, which is speculative in nature, has been made difficult.
    • This will lead to the release of blocked local produce supplies into the market, which should cool the prices.
    • Imports of commodities for speculative gains will be discouraged.

    (2) It is believed that speculators have a role in jacking up prices and this needed to be discouraged to curb inflation and support growth as the economy is recovering from the COVID-19 impact.

    (3) India is the world’s biggest importer of vegetable oil and this measure will make it difficult for edible oil importers and traders to transact business since they use Indian exchanges to hedge their risk.

    (4) Agri-futures, driven mainly by NCDEX, have a checkered history with bans often pushing NCDEX back.

    • Such frequent bans are not a good development for the market as it affects confidence levels.
    • Often, a contract that is banned may not return to the table, which were very effective in price-discovery.
    • Even when the contracts are restored, traders hesitate because of the fear of bans.
    • As it involves losses for market participants with open positions as they must square off contracts before maturity.

    What are the other steps taken?

    • Supply-side interventions by the Government had limited the fallout of continuing high international edible oil prices on domestic prices.
    • The Union Government substantially reduced taxes on imports of palm, soy and sunflower oil.
    • Union and State Governments had also recently reduced excise duty and VAT on petrol and diesel, aimed at bringing down inflation.
    • It has both direct effects as well as indirect effects operating through fuel and transportation costs.

    Way Forward

    • The ban is expected to be lifted by March when the next mustard crop starts hitting the market and prices cool down.
      • If the weather remains benign in the coming weeks, India is on course to harvest a bumper 11 million tonnes of mustard in 2021-22, up from 8.5 million tonnes in 2020-21.
    • The way out is not to ban any contract, but make sure to correct any serious aberration through a combination of higher margins so that if at all the price is getting distorted due to market manipulation, the correction takes place immediately.
    • Further, talking to potential wrongdoers is another way out, provided trading patterns noticed by the exchange reveal such tendencies.
      • Position limits can be changed to ensure undue influence is not exerted by any set of traders.

     

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  • Disability in india

    Context

    The Draft Accessibility Standards/Guidelines recently released by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) for built infrastructure under its purview (police stations, prisons and disaster mitigation centres) and services associated with them assume significance.

    What are the provisions under the Standards?

    • Models for police stations: The Standards set out models for building new police stations as well as improving upon existing police stations and prisons that are modern, gender sensitive and accessible.
    • The Standards speak to the need to make the websites and institutional social networks of police stations accessible, ensuring that persons with disabilities accused of committing any crimes are treated appropriately, having disabled-friendly entrances to police stations and disabled-friendly toilets.
    • Inclusive police force: the Standards state that the police staff on civil duty could be persons with disabilities.
    • Equal protection during natural disasters: Acknowledging that persons with disabilities must receive equal protection as others in such situations, the Standards provide direction on disability inclusion in disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery efforts.
    • They also stress on disability inclusive training for persons involved in disaster relief activities, data aggregation, use of information and communication technology (ICT) and enforcing accessible infrastructure models for schools, hospitals and shelters following the principle of universal design.
    • Accessibility norm: The Standards introduce accessibility norms for services associated with police stations and prisons.
    • These norms promote the use of ICTs to facilitate communication, development of police websites, app-based services for filing complaints, making enquiries, etc., as well as encouraging the use of sign language, communication systems such as Braille, images for persons with psycho-social disabilities, and other augmentative and alternative modes of communication.

    Shortcomings of the Standards/norms

    • Accessibility of signage not ensured: The Standards call for the deployment of directional signage regarding accessibility features in the MHA’s physical infrastructure as well as to indicate the location of accessible toilets.
    • However, they do not require that such signage itself be accessible to the visually challenged, such as through auditory means.
    • Certain accommodations merely recommendatory: The Standards characterise several reasonable accommodations that are necessary for the disabled as being merely recommendatory.
    • These include having trained police personnel in every police station to assist persons with disabilities and placing beepers at all entrances to enable the visually challenged/blind to locate themselves.
    • Lack of detail on human assistance: In the case of Patan Jamal Vali, the Court suggested connecting special educators and interpreters with police stations to operationalise the reasonable accommodations embodied in the Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013.
    • While the standards do require developing a mechanism to provide human assistance to the disabled such as sign language interpreters, they are short on specifics on this count.
    • Lack of representation: Interestingly, the Standards state that the police staff on civil duty could be persons with disabilities.
    • This is inconsistent with the Office Memorandum issued by the Department of Empowerment for Persons with Disabilities on August 18, 2021, according to which the Centre has exempted posts in the Indian Police Service; the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshdweep, Daman and Diu and Dadra and Nagar Haveli Police Service; as well as the Indian Railway Protection Force Service from the mandated 4% reservation for persons with disabilities in government jobs.

    Conclusion

    In sum, the Standards, when enacted into law, will mark a huge step forward in making our law enforcement apparatus more disabled-friendly. Bolstering the Standards further, by incorporating the suggestions flowing from well- thought-out public comments, will take us closer to the aim of ensuring that India’s disabled citizens truly have the police they deserve.

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  • Explained: India’s Missile Capability

    The Defence Minister has encouraged scientists to work towards developing hypersonic missile technology after China’s successful demonstration of hypersonic glide vehicles (HGV).

    Try this question:

    Q. Hypersonic missiles are nothing but weapons of deterrence. Critically comment in context of arms race development for hypersonic missiles.

    History of Missile Technology in India

    (1) Pre-Independence

    • Before Independence, several kingdoms in India were using rockets as part of their warfare technologies.
    • Mysore ruler Hyder Ali started inducting iron-cased rockets in his army in the mid-18th century.
    • By the time Hyder’s son Tipu Sultan died, a company of rocketeers was attached to each brigade of his army, which has been estimated at around 5,000 rocket-carrying troops.

    (2) Post-Independence

    • At the time of Independence, India did not have any indigenous missile capabilities.
    • The government created the Special Weapon Development Team in 1958.
    • This was later expanded and called the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), which moved from Delhi to Hyderabad by 1962.
    • In 1972, Project Devil, for the development of a medium-range Surface-to-Surface Missile was initiated.
    • By 1982, DRDL was working on several missile technologies under the Integrated Guided Missiles Development Programme (IGMDP).

    What kind of missiles does India have?

    • India is considered among the top few nations when it comes to designing and developing missiles indigenously.
    • However, it is way behind the US, China and Russia in terms of range.
    • DRDO is working on multiple varieties of missiles:

    [A] Surface-launched Systems

    ANTI-TANK GUIDED MISSILE:

    • Nag has already been inducted into the services. Nag is the only fire-and-forget ATGM meeting all weather requirements for its range (around 20 km).
    • Recently Heli-Nag was tested, which will be operated from helicopters and will be inducted by 2022.
    • There is also a Stand-off Anti-Tank (SANT) missile, with a range over 10 km.

    SURFACE-TO-AIR MISSILE

    • Short-range SAM system: Akash has already been inducted in the Army and the Air Force.
    • For Akash 1, which has a seeker, the Army has already got the Acceptance of Necessity from the government.
    • For Akash (New Generation), the first tests were conducted in July this year and a couple more trials are to be done.
    • Medium-Range SAM: Production of MRSAM systems for the Navy is complete, and it is placing its order.

    [B] Air-launched Systems

    AIR-TO-AIR:

    • Astra, India’s Beyond Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile (BVRAAM), has been completely tested and is under induction.
    • It has a range of around 100 km, and DRDO is trying to now induct it with more IAF platforms, including the domestically developed light combat aircraft Tejas.
    • A long-range Astra is also being developed, for which initial tests have been conducted.
    • The missile uses solid fuel ramjet technology, which enhances speed, and will have an indigenously-built seeker.

    AIR-TO-GROUND:

    • Rudram, a New Generation Anti-Radiation Missile (NGRAM), has cleared initial tests and some more tests will be conducted soon.
    • With a maximum range of around 200 km, the missile mainly targets communication, radar and surveillance systems of the adversary, and was tested from the Sukhoi-30MKI fighter jet last year.
    • BrahMos, which India developed jointly with Russia, is already operational.
    • It has a 300 km to 500 km range, and is a short-range, ramjet-powered, single warhead, supersonic anti-ship or land attack cruise missile.

    India’s crucial missile systems

    The two most important are Agni and Prithvi, both being used by the Strategic Forces Command.

    • Agni (range around 5,000) is India’s only contender for an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM), which is available in only a few countries.
    • Prithvi, although a short-range surface-to-surface missile with a 350 km range, has strategic uses. India also tested an anti-satellite system in April 2019.
    • A modified anti-ballistic missile named Prithvi Defence Vehicle Mk 2 was used to hit a low-orbit satellite.
    • It put India only behind the US, Russia and China in this capability.

    What about Hypersonic Technology?

    • India has been working on this for a few years, and is just behind the US, Russia and China.
    • DRDO successfully tested a Hypersonic Technology Demonstrated Vehicle (HSTDV) in September 2020, and demonstrated its hypersonic air-breathing scramjet technology.
    • India has developed its own cryogenic engine and demonstrated it in a 23-second flight.
    • India will try to make a hypersonic cruise missile, using HSTDV.
    • Only Russia has proven its hypersonic missile capability so far, while China has demonstrated its HGV capacity.
    • India is expected to be able to have a hypersonic weapons system within four years, with medium- to long-range capabilities.

    What makes India good in missile technology?

    • Missile technology is one field in which India has made very positive and substantial progress.
    • Under the IGMP then headed by A P J Abdul Kalam, later India’s President, first came Prithvi, then Agni.
    • BrahMos, at 2.5-3 times the speed of sound, was among the fastest in the world when developed.
    • After the nuclear blast in 1998, cryogenic etc were not given to us by developed countries. Kalam and others, they made it a point that they developed it within the country.

    Where do China and Pakistan stand compared to India?

    • While China is ahead of India, a lot of things about China are psychological.
    • China may have either achieved parity or even exceeded the US in land-based conventional ballistic and cruise missile capabilities.
    • China’s missile development is definitely a concern for us, but we will definitely evolve.
    • It has given the technology to the irresponsible hands of Pakistan. But getting technology and really using it, and thereafter evolving and adopting a policy is totally different.

    Must read:

    Agni V vs China’s Hypersonic Missile

     

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