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  • Forest fire in Simlipal Biosphere Reserve

    The Simlipal forest reserve area frequently witnesses forest fires during dry weather conditions.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.From the ecological point of view, which one of the following assumes importance in being a good link between the Eastern Ghats and the Western Ghats?

    (a) Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve

    (b) Nallamala Forest

    (c) Nagarhole National Park

    (d) Seshachalam Biosphere Reserve

    Simlipal Biosphere Reserve

    • Similipal, which derives its name from the ‘Simul’ (silk cotton) tree, is a national park and a tiger reserve situated in the northern part of Odisha’s Mayurbhanj district.
    • Similipal and the adjoining areas, comprising 5,569 sq km, was declared a biosphere reserve by the Government of India on June 22, 1994, and lies in the eastern end of the eastern ghat.
    • It includes three protected areas — Similipal Tiger Reserve, Hadgarh Wildlife Sanctuary with 191.06 km2 (73.77 sq mi) and Kuldiha Wildlife Sanctuary.
    • It is the abode of 94 species of orchids and about 3,000 species of plants.
    • The identified species of fauna include 12 species of amphibians, 29 species of reptiles, 264 species of birds and 42 species of mammals, all of which collectively highlight the biodiversity richness of Similipal.
    • Sal is a dominant tree species.

    How fire-prone is Simlipal forest?

    • Generally, with the onset of summers and towards the end of autumn, the forest area remains vulnerable to forest fires.
    • They are a recurrent annual phenomenon but are also brought under control due to the short span of precipitation.
    • This duration coincides with the shedding of deciduous forests in the forest areas.
    • The fallen leaves are more vulnerable to catching fire and facilitate the spreading of these forest fires quickly over the entire forest area.

  • [pib] Devasthal Optical Telescope

    Indian Scientists have indigenously designed and developed a low-cost optical spectrograph called Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT).

    Devasthal Optical Telescope

    • The ‘Made in India’ optical spectrograph is named as Aries-Devasthal Faint Object Spectrograph & Camera (ADFOSC).
    • It is indigenously designed and developed by Aryabhatta Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES), Nainital.
    • DOT locates sources of faint light from distant quasars and galaxies in a very young universe, regions around supermassive black-holes around the galaxies, and cosmic explosions.
    • Such spectroscopes were so far imported from abroad involved high costs.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.“Event Horizon” is related to:

    (a) Telescope

    (b) Black hole

    (c) Solar glares

    (d) None of the above

    Special features

    • It is about 2.5 times less costly compared to the imported ones and can locate sources of light with a photon-rate as low as about 1 photon per second.
    • It has been successfully commissioned on the 3.6-m Devasthal Optical Telescope (DOT), the largest in the country and in Asia, near Nainital Uttarakhand.
    • This instrument uses a complex arrangement of several lenses made of special glasses, polished to better than 5-nanometer smoothness to produce sharp images of the celestial sky.
    • Photons coming from distant celestial sources, collected by the telescope, are sorted into different colours by the spectrograph and are finally converted into electronic recordable signals.
    • It uses an in-house developed Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) camera cooled to an extremely low temperature of -120 0

  • Replicating success in space and pharmaceuticals in knowledge economy

    The article underlines India’s success in pharma and space, and also analyses the reasons for India’s inability to replicate the success in other areas.

    India’s success in space and pharmaceuticals

    • The launch of Brazil’s Amazonia-1 satellite by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) comes weeks after India allowed the export of COVID-19 vaccine to Brazil.
    • Taken together, these two examples of technological and scientific cooperation draw attention to the diplomatic potential of India’s knowledge economy.
    • The credit for India’s competitive pricing of satellite launches and pharmaceuticals exports goes entirely to Indian engineering, scientific and technological talent.

    Decrease in capability for knowledge-based diplomacy

    • Indian science and technology had something to offer the developing world that the developed economies of the West were either unwilling to provide or did so at much higher cost.
    • Overseas students were drawn to Indian universities and institutions because they offered good quality education at a fraction of the cost of developed country institutions.
    • The appeal of education in India for overseas students has waned.
    • Indian expertise was sought by global organisations such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
    • Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), had acquired a global profile with business in Africa and Asia.
    • The development of India’s dairy and livestock economy also attracted global interest.

    Factors responsible

    • India lost this leadership in the knowledge economy, barring sectors like space, pharma and information-technology, for two reasons.
    • First, a flight of Indian talent that began in the 1970s and has since accelerated. This has sharply increased in recent years.
    • Second, China has emerged as a major competitor offering equally good, if not better quality, S&T products and services at lower cost.

    Consider the question “India’s success in pharma and space indicates its potential. What are the challenges India faces in replicating the success in these two sectors in other areas of the economy?

    Conclusion

    Global success of space and pharma points to the diplomatic potential of the knowledge industry and to India’s “soft power”. However, the fact that they are the exception rather than the rule points to the lack of political and intellectual support to the development of India’s knowledge base and an inadequate commitment to excellence.

  • China’s cyber eye and India

    Amid souring relations between India and China last year, evidence has emerged that a Chinese government-linked company’s attempt led to a power outage in Mumbai yesterday and now in Telangana today.

    Q.The use of cyber offensive tools and espionage is a fairly active element of the People’s Republic of China. Discuss in light of recent incidences of cyber attack in India.

    Red Echo & ShadowPad

    • On February 28, a Massachusetts-based firm published a report saying it had observed a steep rise in the use of resources like malware by a Chinese group called Red Echo.
    • It aimed to target “a large swathe” of India’s power sector.
    • It said 10 distinct Indian power sector organisations were targeted, including four Regional Load Despatch Centres (RLDCs) that are responsible for the smooth operation of the country’s power grid by balancing the supply and demand of electricity.
    • Red Echo used malware called ShadowPad, which involves the use of a backdoor to access servers.

    India confirms cyber attack

    • The Ministry of Power has confirmed these attempts, stating it had been informed in November 2020 about the ShadowPad malware at some control centres.
    • The Ministry said it was informed of Red Echo’s attempts to target the country’s load despatch centres in February.
    • It had said “no data breach/data loss” had been detected due to the incidents.

    What does it imply?

    • This is clearly something that is linked to China’s geopolitical interests.
    • It is established very clearly that the use of cyber offensive tools and espionage is a fairly active element of what the People’s Republic of China seems to be adopting and encouraging.
    • Even when they are not directly in charge of an offensive operation, they seem to be consistently encouraging actors to develop this capability.

    PRC’s long term strategy

    • These cyber-attacks are seen as an attempt to test and lay the grounds for further operations in the future.
    • We need to remember that sometimes these offensive operations are carried out to distract people from other places that they might be targeting or other activities that might be occurring.
    • There was an increase in cyber offensive operations and incidents around the world in the second half of 2020 especially targeting the healthcare and vaccine space.
    • When vaccine companies are targeted, the motive could be competition.
    • The motivation behind Stone Panda’s attack against SII and Bharat Biotech’s IT systems was to extract the companies’ intellectual property and gain a competitive advantage.

    Other such attacks: Stone Panda & vaccines

    • A Chinese hacker group known as Stone Panda had identified gaps and vulnerabilities in the IT infrastructure and supply chain software of Bharat Biotech and the Serum Institute of India.
    • These companies have developed Covaxin and Covishield, which are currently being used in the national vaccination campaign.
    • They are also in the process of testing additional Covid-19 vaccines that could add value to efforts around the world.

  • Live Telecast of Parliament Proceedings

    Lok Sabha Television (LSTV) and Rajya Sabha Television (RSTV) have been merged into a single ‘Sansad TV’.

    Live telecast of parliament

    • Lok Sabha TV is the older of the two — it started operating on July 24, 2006.
    • The channel’s vision, according to its website, is to reach the “live proceedings of the Parliament House…to every household”.
    • This is because awareness of citizens towards the working of Member of Parliament in the Parliament House helps in bringing awareness about various efforts of various stakeholders in the governance process.
    • The information empowers the citizens to utilise their democratic rights diligently and be part of the democratic ecosystem.

    Do you know?

    The Union Budget allocates funds for the running of channels.

    Inception of the idea

    • LSTV was the brainchild of former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee.
    • People familiar with the circumstances in which the channel was set up, said that then Rajya Sabha Chairman Bhairon Singh Shekhawat was not really convinced with Chatterjee’s proposal.
    • It was during his time of Shekhawat’s successor, Hamid Ansari, that the separate channel for the Upper House materialized.

    Before the channels

    • Before LSTV started functioning as a channel, select parliamentary proceedings had been televised since December 20, 198.
    • On April 18, 1994, the entire proceedings of Lok Sabha started to be filmed.
    • And in August that year, a Low Power Transmitter (LPT) was set up and made operational in Parliament House to telecast the proceedings live.
    • From December 1994, Question Hour in both Houses was telecast live on alternate weeks on Doordarshan.
    • It was arranged in such a manner that during the telecast of the Question Hour of one House by Doordarshan, the Question Hour of the other House was broadcast by All India Radio.
    • When the DD News channel was launched, Question Hour in both Houses started getting telecast simultaneously on DD channels.

    Separate channels

    • But it was only after a decade, in December 2004, that a separate dedicated satellite channel was set up for the live telecast of the proceedings of both Houses.
    • In 2006, LSTV started airing the proceedings of the Lower House live.
    • RSTV was launched in 2011. Apart from telecasting live the proceedings in Rajya Sabha, it also brings analyses of parliamentary affairs and provides a platform for knowledge-based programmes.

  • LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021

    The Opportunity Index 2021 highlights the difference in perception of available opportunities in the market for men and women in India.

    LinkedIn Opportunity Index 2021

    • The report seeks to understand how people perceive opportunities and the barriers that stand in the way of achieving them.
    • This year’s report dives deep to understand how women perceive opportunities, and how the gender gap is further slowing down career progress for working women in India amid the pandemic.

    LinkedIn is an American business and employment-oriented online service that operates via websites and mobile apps. Launched on May 5, 2003, the platform is mainly used for professional networking and allows job seekers to post their CVs and employers to post jobs

    Highlights of the report

    India’s working women still face the strongest gender bias across Asia Pacific countries.

    • Covid impact: Nine in 10 (89%) women state they were negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • General Bias: 1 in 5 (22%) working women in India said their company’s exhibit a ‘favourable bias’ towards men at work when compared to the regional average of 16%.
    • Work opportunity: While 37% of India’s working women say they get fewer opportunities than men, only 25% of men agree with this.
    • Pay: This disparity in perception is also seen in conversations about equal pay, as more women (37%) say they get less pay than men, while only 21% of men share this sentiment.
    • Promotion: In India, more than 4 in 5 working women (85%) claim to have missed out on a raise, promotion, or work offer because of their gender, compared to the regional average of 60%.
    • Family burden: Lack of time and family care stop 7 in 10 Indian women from progressing in their careers.
    • Maternity: Consumer sentiment from the report shows that more than 7 in 10 working women (71%) and working mothers (77%) feel that managing familial responsibilities often come in their way of career development.

    Scope for equality

    • The report shows that even though 66% of people in India feel that gender equality has improved compared to their parents’ age.
    • In India, the top three job opportunities sought by both men and women are job security, a job that they love, and a good work-life balance.
    • But despite having similar goals, more women (63%) think a person’s gender is important to get ahead in life when compared to men (54%).

    Barriers faced by Indian women

    • Lack of required professional skills and a lack of guidance through networks and connections are also some of the other barriers that get in the way of career development for working women in India.

    What next?

    • Organisations should step up to provide robust maternity policies and flexibility programs.
    • Reduced and flexible schedules, more sabbaticals, and new opportunities to upskill and learn are critical offerings that can help organizations attract, hire, and retain more female talent.

  • [pib] Better Than Cash Alliance

    The Government of India, FICCI, and the Better Than Cash Alliance has come under the partnership to achieve the industry level commitment of responsible digitization of merchants.

    Make a note here that it is a BTCA is a global partnership with diverse funding, a UN office as its secretariat and Indian being its member.

    Better Than Cash Alliance

    • The Better Than Cash Alliance is a global partnership of 75 governments, companies, and international organizations that accelerates the transition from cash to digital payments in order to reduce poverty and drive inclusive growth.
    • It was created in September 2012 by the United Nations Capital Development Fund (Secretariat), the US Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Visa Inc. among others.
    • Based at the UN, the Alliance has over 50 members, works closely with other global organizations, and is an implementing partner for the G20 Global Partnership for Financial Inclusion.
    • India became a member of the alliance in 2015 to digitize payments to achieve financial inclusion and to share success stories from PM Jan Dhan Yojana, the world’s largest financial inclusion program.

    Working method

    The Better Than Cash Alliance partners with governments, companies, and international organizations that are the key drivers behind the transition to make digital payments widely available by:

    1. Advocating for the transition from cash to digital payments in a way that advances financial inclusion and promotes responsible digital finance.
    2. Conducting research and sharing the experiences of our members to inform strategies for making the transition.
    3. Catalyzing the development of inclusive digital payments ecosystems in member countries to reduce costs, increase transparency, advance financial inclusion– particularly for women– and drive inclusive growth.

  • NITI Aayog proposes revisions to National Food Security Act

    The NITI Aayog has recently proposed a revision in the National Food Security Act (NFSA), 2013 for lowering the coverage of both rural and urban population to save up to Rs 47,229 crore annually.

    National Food Security (NFS) Act

    • The NFS Act, 2013 aims to provide subsidized food grains to approximately two-thirds of India’s 1.2 billion people.
    • It was signed into law on 12 September 2013, retroactive to 5 July 2013.
    • It converts into legal entitlements for existing food security programmes of the GoI.
    • It includes the Midday Meal Scheme, Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS) scheme and the Public Distribution System (PDS).
    • Further, the NFSA 2013 recognizes maternity entitlements.
    • The Midday Meal Scheme and the ICDS are universal in nature whereas the PDS will reach about two-thirds of the population (75% in rural areas and 50% in urban areas).
    • Pregnant women, lactating mothers, and certain categories of children are eligible for daily free cereals.

    Key provisions of NFSA

    • The NFSA provides a legal right to persons belonging to “eligible households” to receive foodgrains at a subsidised price.
    • It includes rice at Rs 3/kg, wheat at Rs 2/kg and coarse grain at Rs 1/kg — under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS).
    • These are called central issue prices (CIPs).

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to the provisions made under the National Food Security Act, 2013, consider the following statements:

    1. The families coming under the category of ‘below poverty line (BPL)’ only are eligible to receive subsidized food grains.
    2. The eldest woman in a household, of age 18 years or above, shall be the head of the Household for the purpose of issuance of a ration card.
    3. Pregnant women and lactating mothers are entitled to a ‘take-home ration’ of 1600 calories per day during pregnancy and for six months thereafter.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 3 only

    What has NITI Aayog asked for review?

    • A revision of CIPs is one of the issues that have been discussed.
    • The other issues are updating of the population covered under the NFSA, and beneficiary identification criteria.
    • Under sub-section (1) of Section 3 of the Act, the term “eligible households” comprises two categories — “priority households”, and families covered by the Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY).
    • Priority households are entitled to receive 5 kg of foodgrains per person per month, whereas AAY households are entitled to 35 kg per month at the same prices.

    Provisions for review

    • Under Schedule-I of the Act, these subsidised prices were fixed for “a period of three years from the date of commencement of the Act”.
    • While different states began implementing the Act at different dates, the deemed date of its coming into effect is July 5, 2013, and the three-year period was therefore completed on July 5, 2016.
    • However, the government has yet not revised subsidised prices.
    • The government can do so under Schedule-I of the Act, after completion of the three-year period.
    • To revise the prices, the government can amend Schedule-I through a notification, a copy of which has to be laid before each House of Parliament as soon as possible after it is issued.
    • The revised prices cannot exceed the minimum support price for wheat and coarse grains, and the derived minimum support price for rice.

    The question of coverage

    • The Act has prescribed the coverage under “eligible households” — 75% of the rural population and up to 50% of the urban population.
    • On the basis of Census 2011 figures and the national rural and urban coverage ratios, 81.35 crore persons are covered under NFSA currently.
    • This overall figure has been divided among the states and UTs, based on the NSSO Household Consumer Expenditure Survey 2011-12.
    • Section 9 of the Act deals with an update of coverage of the population under the Act.
    • However, given the population increase since then, there have been demands from the states and union territories to update the list by ensuring an annual updating system under NFSA.

    Propositions by NITI Aayog

    • The NITI Aayog has suggested that the national rural and urban coverage ratio be reduced from the existing 75-50 to 60-40.
    • If this reduction happens, the number of beneficiaries under the NFSA will drop to 71.62 crores (on the basis of the projected population in 2020).
    • To make these changes in the law, the government will have to amend sub-section (2) of Section 3 of the NFSA. For this, it will require parliamentary approval.

    Implications of the move

    • If the national coverage ratio is revised downward, the Centre can save up to Rs 47,229 crore (as estimated by the NITI Aayog paper).
    • On the other hand, if the rural-urban coverage ratio remains at 75-50, then the total number of people covered will increase from the existing 81.35 crores to 89.52 crore —an increase of 8.17 crore.
    • This estimate by the NITI Aayog is based on the projected 2020 population, and, according to the paper, will result in an additional subsidy requirement of Rs 14,800 crore.

  • What is Khujli Ghar?

    Some villages in Nagaland are trying to revive a traditional form of punishment that seeks to check crime with an itch in time.

    What is Khujli Ghar?

    • Social offenders or violators of Naga customary laws have over the ages dreaded a cramped, triangular cage made from the logs of an indigenous tree that irritates the skin.
    • The dread is more of humiliation or loss of face within the community or clan than of spending at least a day scratching furiously without any space to move.
    • Such itchy cages are referred to as khujli ghar in Nagamese but each Naga community has its own name.
    • The Aos, one of the major tribes of Nagaland, call it Shi-ki that means flesh-house.

    Terminologies associated

    • The cage is usually placed at a central spot in the village, usually in front of the morung or bachelor’s dormitory, for the inmate to be in full public view.
    • The cage is made of the logs of Masang-fung, a local tree that people avoid because of the irritation it causes.
    • It does not affect the palm but people who make the cages have to be careful.

    Naga belief in this

    • It is not proper to view the itchy cages from the prism of modern laws.
    • They have served a purpose for ages and have often proved to reform offenders, as identity and family or clan reputation is very important to a Naga.

    Do you know?

    Article 371(A) of the Constitution guarantees the preservation of the Naga customary laws.

    The State also funds the customary courts in villages and towns where cases — mostly dealing with land litigation, money-lending and marital disputes — have a high rate of prompt disposal.

    Back2Basics: Article 371A

    • Parliament cannot legislate in matters of Naga religion or social practices, the Naga customary law and procedure, administration of civil and criminal justice involving decisions according to Naga customary law.
    • Parliament also cannot intervene in ownership and transfer of land and its resources, without the concurrence of the Legislative Assembly of the state.
    • This provision was inserted in the Constitution after a 16-point agreement between the Centre and the Naga People’s Convention in 1960, which led to the creation of Nagaland in 1963.
    • Also, there is a provision for a 35-member Regional Council for Tuensang district, which elects the Tuensang members in the Assembly.
    • A member from the Tuensang district is Minister for Tuensang Affairs. The Governor has the final say on all Tuensang-related matters.

  • Places in news: Mount Sinabung

    Indonesia’s Mount Sinabung volcano sent a cloud of hot ash as high as 3 km today, in its first big eruption since August last year.

    Mount Sinabung

    • It is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
    • It is created by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Eurasian Plate.
    • It erupted in 2010 after a 400-year-long hiatus and has been continuously active since September 2013.

    Why frequent eruptions?

    • Indonesia straddles the “Pacific ring of fire” with nearly130 active volcanoes, more than any other country.
    • Sinabung had been inactive for centuries before it erupted again in 2010.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
    2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar
    3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3

    What is the Pacific ring of fire?

    • The Pacific Ring of Fire is a region around much of the rim of the Pacific Ocean where many volcanic eruptions and earthquakes occur.
    • It includes the Pacific coasts of South America, North America and Kamchatka, and some islands in the western Pacific Ocean.
    • It is a direct result of plate tectonics: specifically the movement, collision and destruction of lithospheric plates under and around the Pacific Ocean.
    • The collisions have created a nearly continuous series of subduction zones, where volcanoes are created and earthquakes occur.