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Distribution: yearly

  • Heat Waves and the anatomy behind

    heat

    The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has already started sensing the first signs of heat waves for this summer season.

    What is the news?

    • The IMD warned that the maximum temperatures over northwest, west, and central India would be 3-5° C higher than the long-term average in this week.
    • If the heat waves had played out, they would have been the earliest these regions would have experienced this deadly phenomenon.

    What are Heat Waves?

    • Heatwaves generally occur over India between March and June.
    • IMD declares a heatwave event when the maximum (day) temperature for a location in the plains crosses 40 degrees Celsius.
    • Over the hills, the threshold temperature is 30 degrees Celsius.

    How are they formed?

    • Heatwaves form when high pressure aloft (3,000–7,600 metres) strengthens and remains over a region for several days up to several weeks.
    • This is common in summer (in both Northern and Southern Hemispheres) as the jet stream ‘follows the sun’.
    • On the equator side of the jet stream, in the upper layers of the atmosphere, is the high pressure area.
    • Summertime weather patterns are generally slower to change than in winter. As a result, this upper level high pressure also moves slowly.
    • Under high pressure, the air subsides (sinks) toward the surface, warming and drying adiabatically, inhibiting convection and preventing the formation of clouds.
    • Reduction of clouds increases shortwave radiation reaching the surface.
    • A low pressure at the surface leads to surface wind from lower latitudes that brings warm air, enhancing the warming.
    • Alternatively, the surface winds could blow from the hot continental interior towards the coastal zone, leading to heat waves.

    Following criteria are used to declare heatwave:

    To declare heatwave, the below criteria should be met at least in 2 stations in a Meteorological subdivision for at least two consecutive days and it will be declared on the second day.

    (a) Based on Departure from Normal

    • Heat Wave: Departure from normal is 4.5°C to 6.4°C
    • Severe Heat Wave: Departure from normal is >6.4°C

    (b) Based on Actual Maximum Temperature (for plains only)

    • Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥ 45°C
    • Severe Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥47°C

     

    Recent context: El Nino + heat waves

    • The last three years have been La Nina years, which has served as a precursor to 2023 likely being an El Nino
    • The El Nino is a complementary phenomenon in which warmer water spreads west-east across the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
    • As we eagerly await the likely birth of an El Nino this year, we have already had a heat wave occur over northwest India.
    • Heat waves tend to be confined to north and northwest India in El Nino years.

    Why do heat waves occur in the first place?

    • Heat waves are formed for one of two reasons: because warmer air is flowing in from elsewhere or because something is producing it locally.
    • Air is warmed locally when the air is warmed by higher land surface temperature or because the air sinking down from above is compressed along the way, producing hot air near the surface.

    How do different processes contribute to the formation of a heat wave?

    • The direction of air flowing in from the west-northwest, warming in the Middle East, and compression over mountains of Afghanistan and Pakistan cause warm air to enter India.
    • The warming Arabian Sea also contributes to the warming trend.
    • Upper atmospheric westerly winds control near-surface winds, which rotate faster than the planet itself.
    • Additionally, the lapse rate, or the rate at which temperatures cool from surface to upper atmosphere, is declining due to global warming.

    Regional occurrences

    • The other factors that affect the formation of heat waves are the age of the air mass and how far it has traveled.
    • The north-northwestern heatwaves are typically formed with air masses that come from 800-1,600 km away and are around two days old.
    • Heat waves over peninsular India on the other hand arrive from the oceans, which are closer (around 200-400 km) and are barely a day old.
    • As a result, they are on average less intense.

  • India ranks 42 among 55 countries on International IP Index

    ip

    India ranks 42nd among 55 leading global economies on the International Intellectual Property (IP) Index released by the US Chambers of Commerce.

    International IP Index

    • It is released annually by the US Chamber of Commerce.
    • The index evaluates IP rights in 55 global economies across 50 unique indicators.
    • The indicators include patent and copyright policies to commercialization of IP assets, and ratification of international treaties.
    • The index aims to help nations navigate toward a brighter economic future marked by greater innovation, creativity, and competitiveness.

    Key prospects for India

    • India is ripe to become a leader for emerging markets seeking to transform their economy through IP-driven innovation said the report.
    • Successful IP-based businesses in India include pharmaceutical companies, software firms, and creative industries.

    Key factors contributing to India’s score

    • IP laws
    • Efficiency of its judicial system and
    • Level of enforcement of IP rights

    Challenges faced

    • These are some challenges faced by Indian companies in protecting and monetizing their IP include issues such as-
    1. Counterfeiting
    2. Piracy
    3. Weak enforcement of IP laws

    IP regime in India

    Broadly, the following acts deal with the protection of intellectual property:

    • Trade Marks Act, 1999
    • The Patents Act, 1970 (as amended in 2005)
    • The Copyright Act, 1957
    • The Designs Act, 2000
    • The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999
    • The Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout Design Act, 2000
    • The Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Right Act, 2001
    • The Information Technology Act, 2000

    Way forward

    • India must undertake reforms to strengthen IP protection and enforcement, modernizing IP laws, and increasing investment in IP infrastructure.
    • Collaboration between government, industry, and academia is important in improving India’s IP ecosystem/
    • Lessons can be learned from other countries with successful IP regimes, such as the United States, Japan, and South Korea.

     

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  • Are neutrinos their own anti-particles?

    neutrino

    Central idea: The article discusses recent research on the idea that neutrinos might be their own antiparticles, a concept that has been debated in the scientific community for many years.

    What are neutrinos?

    • Neutrinos are fundamental particles that are similar to electrons but have no electric charge.
    • They are one of the most abundant particles in the universe, but they are also one of the most difficult to detect because they interact only very weakly with matter.
    • Neutrinos are created in a variety of natural processes, including nuclear reactions in stars, radioactive decay, and cosmic ray interactions.
    • They are also produced in particle accelerators and nuclear reactors.

    Its types

    • Neutrinos come in three different types or “flavors”:
    1. Electron neutrinos
    2. Muon neutrinos, and
    3. Tau neutrinos
    • Each flavor of neutrino is associated with a different charged lepton (electron, muon, or tau).

    Why study neutrinos?

    • Because they are electrically neutral and interact only weakly with matter, neutrinos can pass through enormous amounts of material without being stopped or deflected.
    • This property makes them useful for studying astrophysical phenomena such as supernovae and the sun’s interior, as well as for exploring the fundamental nature of matter.

    Neutrinos as their own antiparticles

    • Particle physics explains that particles and their antiparticles have opposite properties, and they can annihilate each other when they meet.
    • Neutrinos are fundamental particles that are difficult to detect as they have no electric charge and interact only weakly with matter.
    • The idea that neutrinos could be their own antiparticles is supported by the fact that they are electrically neutral, and they could interact with themselves in a process called neutrinoless double beta decay.

    Substantiation of this

    • The Majorana Demonstrator experiment is designed to detect neutrinoless double beta decay.
    • The experiment has reported some promising results that suggest that neutrinos could indeed be their own antiparticles.

    Significance of this theory

    • If confirmed, the idea that neutrinos are their own antiparticles could have important implications for our understanding of the fundamental nature of matter and the universe as a whole.
    • More research will be needed before any definitive conclusions can be drawn, but the results of the Majorana Demonstrator experiment provide some promising evidence for the idea that neutrinos are their own antiparticles.

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  • What is ‘e-Sanjeevani App’?

    sanjeevani

    The eSanjeevani app was featured in Prime Minister’s “Mann Ki Baat” address as part of the government’s efforts to promote digital healthcare in the country.

    What is the e-Sanjeevani app?

    • E-Sanjeevani is a browser-based platform-independent application that allows for both ‘doctor-to-doctor’ and ‘patient-to-doctor’ teleconsultations.
    • During the Covid pandemic, the union health ministry launched the e-Sanjeevani telemedicine services to ensure that health consultations reach people even in remote villages.
    • At the time of its launch, the union health ministry stated that it was a doctor-to-doctor telemedicine service that would provide general and specialised health care in rural areas.

    How does e-Sanjeevani work?

    • The e-Sanjeevani service establishes a virtual link between the beneficiary and doctor or specialist at the hub, which will be a tertiary healthcare facility.
    • This network’s spoke would be a paramedic or generalist at a health and wellness centre.
    • It allows for real-time virtual consultations between doctors and specialists at the hub and the beneficiary (via paramedics) at the spoke.
    • The e-prescription generated at the conclusion of the session is used to obtain medications.

    What is the reach of e-Sanjeevani?

    • Sanjeevani HWC is currently operational in approximately 50,000 health and wellness centres across the country.
    • As PM Modi stated in ‘Mann Ki Baat’, the number of tele-consultants using the e-Sanjeevani app has now surpassed 10 crore.
    • Health minister has stated that 100.11 million patients were served at 115,234 Health and Wellness Centres (as spokes) via 15,731 hubs and 1,152 online OPDs staffed by 2,29,057 telemedicine-trained medical specialists and super-specialists.
    • More than 57% of e-Sanjeevani beneficiaries are women, with only about 12% being senior citizens, according to union health ministry.

     

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  • Upgrades in the ALMA Telescope

    alma

    The Atacama Large Millimetre/submillimetre Array (ALMA) — a radio telescope in the Atacama Desert of northern Chile is set to get software and hardware upgrades.

    What is ALMA?

    • ALMA is a state-of-the-art telescope that studies celestial objects at millimetre and submillimetre wavelengths which can penetrate through dust clouds.
    • It helps astronomers examine dim and distant galaxies and stars out there.
    • It also has extraordinary sensitivity, which allows it to detect even extremely faint radio signals.
    • The telescope consists of 66 high-precision antennas, spread over a distance of up to 16 km.
    • Each antenna is outfitted with a series of receivers, and each receiver is tuned to a specific range of wavelengths on the electromagnetic spectrum.

    Who operates ALMA?

    • ALMA is operated under a partnership among the United States, 16 countries in Europe, Canada, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Chile.
    • Fully functional since 2013, the radio telescope was designed, planned and constructed by US, Japan and EU.

    Why is ALMA located in Chile’s Atacama Desert?

    • ALMA is situated at an altitude of 16,570 feet (5,050 metres) above sea level on the Chajnantor plateau in Chile’s Atacama Desert.
    • The high altitude and low humidity of the site make it an ideal location for a radio telescope, as there is minimal atmospheric interference.
    • Moreover, the desert is the driest place in the world, meaning most of the nights here are clear of clouds and free of light-distorting moisture — making it a perfect location for examining the universe.

    Significant discoveries

    • One of the earliest findings came in 2013 when it discovered starburst galaxies earlier in the universe’s history than they were previously thought to have existed.
    • These newly discovered galaxies represent what today’s most massive galaxies looked like in their energetic, star-forming youth.
    • In 2015, the telescope helped scientists observe a phenomenon known as the Einstein ring, which occurs when light from a galaxy or star passes by a massive object en route to the Earth, in extraordinary detail.

     

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  • What is a Caveat in Judiciary?

    Recently, the Supreme Court bench reprimanded a law student for filing a caveat in a petition seeking menstrual leave for female students and working women across Indian institutions.

    What is a Caveat?

    • In common parlance, a caveat refers to “warning” or “caution”.
    • However, legally it connotes a “formal notice requesting the court to refrain from taking some specified action without giving prior notice to the person lodging the caveat.”
    • The person lodging the caveat is called a “caveator”.
    • The provision was inserted by the Amendment Act of 1976 after the Law Commission’s recommendation by Section 148A of the Civil Procedure Code (CPC).
    • However, the term is not expressly defined anywhere except in the Calcutta High Court’s 1978 ruling.

    Who can fill the Caveat?

    • Any person has a right to lodge a caveat in a Court.
    • Any person claiming a right to appear before the Court on the hearing of such application may lodge a caveat in respect thereof.
    • The caveator or the person lodging is also required to serve a notice of the caveat by “registered post” to the person on whose plea they are lodging the application

     

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  • CCR5-delta 32 Gene Transplant: Permanent cure of HIV

    hiv

    Central idea: This article discusses recent developments in the field of HIV research that have led to the possibility of a cure for the disease.

    What is HIV/AIDS?

    • HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) is a virus that attacks cells that help the body fight infection, making a person more vulnerable to other infections and diseases.
    • First identified in 1981, HIV is the cause of one of humanity’s deadliest and most persistent epidemics.
    • It is spread by contact with certain bodily fluids of a person with HIV, most commonly during unprotected sex, or through sharing injection drug equipment.
    • If left untreated, HIV can lead to the disease AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome).
    • The human body can’t get rid of HIV and no effective HIV cure exists.

    Present treatment of HIV

    • However, by taking HIV medicine (called antiretroviral therapy or ART), people with HIV can live long and healthy lives and prevent transmitting HIV to their sexual partners.
    • In addition, there are effective methods to prevent getting HIV through sex or drug use, including pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) and post-exposure prophylaxis (PEP).

    What is the new breakthrough?

    • Doctors selected a donor carrying two copies of a CCR5-delta 32 genetic mutation – a mutation that is known to make the carriers almost immune to HIV.
    • The CCR5-delta 32 genetic mutation is a rare genetic mutation that affects the CCR5 gene, which is involved in the immune system’s response to infection.
    • The mutation causes a deletion of 32 nucleotides in the gene, resulting in a truncated or shortened version of the CCR5 protein.
    • This truncated protein is not able to function normally, and people with this mutation are largely resistant to HIV infection.

    How has the CCR5-delta 32 mutation been used in HIV research?

    • Researchers have been studying the CCR5-delta 32 mutation as a potential avenue for developing an HIV cure.
    • One approach involves using gene editing technologies like CRISPR to induce the mutation in HIV-positive individuals, effectively making their immune cells resistant to HIV infection.
    • Another approach involves bone marrow transplantation from donors with the CCR5-delta 32 mutation.

    What are the risks associated?

    • Gene editing technologies like CRISPR are still in their early stages, and there are concerns about the safety and effectiveness of these methods.
    • Additionally, bone marrow transplantation is a complex and risky procedure that is not feasible for all HIV-positive individuals.
    • Finally, it is important to note that not all HIV infections are caused by the CCR5 strain of the virus, and therefore the use of the CCR5-delta 32 mutation as an HIV cure would not be effective for all cases of HIV.

    Prevalence of HIV/AIDS in India

    • As per the India HIV Estimation 2019 report, the estimated adult (15 to 49 years) HIV prevalence trend has been declining in India since the epidemic’s peak in the year 2000 and has been stabilizing in recent years.
    • In 2019, HIV prevalence among adult males (15–49 years) was estimated at 0.24% and among adult females at 0.20% of the population.
    • There were 23.48 lakh Indians living with HIV in 2019.
    • Maharashtra had the maximum at 3.96 lakh followed by Andhra Pradesh (3.14 lakh) and Karnataka.
    • ART is freely available to all those who require and there are deputed centres across the country where they can be availed from.

     

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  • 60% of India’s voters linked Aadhaar to voter ID: RTI

    aadhaar

    Central idea: An RTI query has revealed that around 60% of Indian voters have linked their Aadhaar cards with their voter ID cards.

    Benefits of Aadhaar linking

    • Voter uniqueness: The move to link Aadhaar and voter ID cards was introduced to prevent electoral fraud and ensure unique identity of each voter.
    • Curb bogus votes: It is expected to help prevent multiple voting, impersonation, and bogus voting, which have been a concern in the past.
    • Facilitate migrant voting: There have been migrant workers who may have been registered more than once on the electoral rolls in different constituencies or for persons registered multiple times within the same constituency.

    Is the linking of Aadhaar with one’s Voter ID mandatory?

    • In December 2021, Parliament passed the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 .
    • It states that the electoral registration officer may require voters to furnish their Aadhaar numbers to verify Authencity of voters list.
    • This was to amend the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Section 23(4) was inserted in the RP Act.

    Why was such linking proposed?

    The preference to use Aadhaar for verification and authentication, both by the state and private sector, stems from few reasons:

    • Increase in UID-holders: First, at the end of 2021, 99.7% of the adult Indian population had an Aadhaar card.
    • Most versatile document: This coverage exceeds that of any other officially valid document such as driver’s licence, ration cards, PAN cards etc. that are mostly applied for specific purposes.
    • Reliable source of authentication: Since Aadhaar allows for biometric authentication, Aadhaar based authentication and verification is considered more reliable, quicker and cost efficient when compared to other IDs.

    Issues with mandatory linking: Puttaswamy judgment highlights

    • Puttaswamy judgment: The above reasons do not suffice the mandating of Aadhaar except in limited circumstances as per the Puttaswamy judgment.
    • The indispensability of the purpose: It needs to be considered whether such mandatory linkage of Aadhaar with Voter ID would pass the test of being “necessary and proportionate” to the purpose of de-duplication which is sought to be achieved.
    • Constitutional ambiguity: In Puttaswamy, one of the questions that the Supreme Court explored was whether the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts was constitutional or not.
    • Against informational autonomy: It is the right to privacy which would allow a person to decide which official document they want to use for verification and authentication.

    Other judicial observations: Lal Babu Hussein (1995) Case

    • The Supreme Court had held that the Right to vote cannot be disallowed by insisting only on four proofs of identity.
    • The voters are entitled to rely on any other proof of identity and obtain the right to vote.

    What are the operational difficulties?

    • Aadhaar is not a citizenship proof: The preference to Aadhaar for the purposes of determining voters is puzzling as Aadhaar is only a proof of residence and not a proof of citizenship.
    • Excluding non-citizens is not easy: Verifying voter identity against this will only help in tackling duplication but will not remove voters who are not citizens of India from the electoral rolls.
    • Estimate of error rates in biometric based authentication: This certainly differs. As per the UIDAI in 2018, Aadhaar based biometric authentication had a 12% error rate.
    • Disenfranchisement of existing voters: Errors have led to the disenfranchisement of around 30 lakh voters in AP and Telangana before the Supreme Court stalled the process of linkage.

    Key concern: Right to Privacy

    • Some civil societies has highlighted that linking of the two databases of electoral rolls and Aadhaar could lead to the linkage of Aadhaar’s “demographic” information with voter ID information.
    • This could lead to violation of the right to privacy and surveillance measures by the state.
    • This would leave the EC with the option of verifying its information only through door-to-door checks.
    • There is a lack of enforceable data protection principles that regulate how authentication data will be used.

    Way Forward

    • Address privacy and security concerns: There should be strict measures in place to ensure the safety of personal information and prevent data breaches.
    • Provide alternative authentication: The government should provide alternative methods of identity verification. This will help ensure that no citizen is disenfranchised due to the lack of an Aadhaar card.
    • Regular monitoring and evaluation: The government should regularly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the linking of Aadhaar and voter ID cards in preventing electoral fraud.

     

     

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  • GST revenues hit a record ₹1.59 lakh CR in January

    gst

    India’s Goods and Services Tax (GST) revenues grew 12.7% in January to hit almost ₹1.59 lakh crore ($17.9 billion), the second-highest monthly collections on record, as per revised figures from the Finance Ministry.

    What led to hike in GST revenue collection?

    • Economic recovery: Discusses how the steady economic recovery in India has led to higher consumption and spending, resulting in increased GST collections
    • Crackdown on Tax evasion: Several measures were taken by the government to streamline the GST system and reduce tax evasion, including the implementation of e-invoicing and the use of technology to track compliance.
    • Crackdown on fraudulent claims: The government’s efforts to crack down on fraudulent input tax credit claims, have also contributed to the increase in GST collections
    • Increase in imports: The higher value of imported goods due to rising commodity prices is another reason behind the increase in GST collections from imports.

    What is GST?

    • GST is an indirect tax that has replaced many indirect taxes in India such as excise duty, VAT, services tax, etc.
    • The Goods and Service Tax Act was passed in Parliament on 29th March 2017 and came into effect on 1st July 2017.
    • It is a single domestic indirect tax law for the entire country.
    • It is a comprehensive, multi-stage, destination-based tax that is levied on every value addition.
    • Under the GST regime, the tax is levied at every point of sale. In the case of intra-state sales, Central GST and State GST are charged. All the inter-state sales are chargeable to the Integrated GST.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q. All revenues received by the Union. Government by way of taxes and other receipts for the conduct of Government business are credited to the (CSP 2015):

    (a) Contingency Fund of India

    (b) Public Account

    (c) Consolidated Fund of India

    (d) Deposits and Advances Fund

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”6s76jj2296″ question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

    What are the components of GST?

    There are three taxes applicable under this system:

    1. CGST: It is the tax collected by the Central Government on an intra-state sale (e.g., a transaction happening within Maharashtra)
    2. SGST: It is the tax collected by the state government on an intra-state sale (e.g., a transaction happening within Maharashtra)
    3. IGST: It is a tax collected by the Central Government for an inter-state sale (e.g., Maharashtra to Tamil Nadu)

    Advantages of GST

    • GST has mainly removed the cascading effect on the sale of goods and services.
    • Removal of the cascading effect has impacted the cost of goods.
    • Since the GST regime eliminates the tax on tax, the cost of goods decreases.
    • Also, GST is mainly technologically driven.
    • All the activities like registration, return filing, application for refund and response to notice needs to be done online on the GST portal, which accelerates the processes.

    Issues with GST

    • High operational cost
    • GST has given rise to complexity for many business owners across the nation.
    • GST has received criticism for being called a ‘Disability Tax’ as it now taxes articles such as braille paper, wheelchairs, hearing aid etc.
    • Petrol is not under GST, which goes against the ideals of the unification of commodities.

    Take a look at the share of GST in government earnings for the previous fiscal:

    gst

    UPSC can ask about the majority component of the Revenue Receipts of the govt. See how Corporate tax is nearing the GST revenues.

    Do you think it will surpass GST revenue when the economy is fully recovered?

     

     

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  • Russia officially ‘suspends’ New START Treaty

    Central idea: The article provides an overview of the New START treaty, which was signed by Russia and the United States in 2010. It highlights how the treaty limits the number of nuclear weapons that the two countries can possess and deploy.

    The New START, INF and the Open Skies …. Be clear about the differences of these treaties. For example- to check if their inception was during cold war era etc.

    New START Treaty

    • The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) pact limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers and is due to expire in 2021 unless renewed.
    • The treaty limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, well below Cold War caps.
    • It was signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
    • It is one of the key controls on the superpower deployment of nuclear weapons.

    Background of US-Russia Nuclear Relations

    • The US formally QUIT the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF)
    • The agreement obliged the two countries to eliminate all ground-based missiles of ranges between 500 and 5,500 km.

    When did nuclear disarmament begin?

    • In 1985, the two countries entered into arms control negotiations on three tracks.
    • The first dealt with strategic weapons with ranges of over 5,500 km, leading to the START agreement in 1991.
    • It limited both sides to 1,600 strategic delivery vehicles and 6,000 warheads.
    • A second track dealt with intermediate-range missiles and this led to the INF Treaty in 1987.
    • A third track, Nuclear, and Space Talks was intended to address Soviet concerns regarding the U.S.’s Strategic Defence Initiative (SDI) but this did not yield any outcome.

    Success of INF

    • The INF Treaty was hailed as a great disarmament pact even though no nuclear warheads were dismantled.
    • As it is a bilateral agreement, it did not restrict other countries.
    • By 1991, the INF was implemented. USSR destroyed 1,846 and the US destroyed 846 Pershing and cruise missiles. 
    • Associated production facilities were also closed down.
    • INF Treaty was the first pact to include intensive verification measures, including on-site inspections.

    How has the nuclear behavior been?

    start

    • With the end of the Cold War and the break-up of the USSR in end-1991, former Soviet allies were joining NATO and becoming EU members.
    • The U.S. was investing in missile defense and conventional global precision strike capabilities to expand its technological lead.
    • In 2001, the U.S. announced its unilateral withdrawal from the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty).
    • The US also blamed Russia for not complying with the ‘zero-yield’ standard imposed by the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). This may indicate the beginning of a new nuclear arms race.

    Implications of the New Start

    • The 2011 New START lapsed in 2021. It may meet the fate of the INF Treaty.
    • The 2018 NPR envisaged the development of new nuclear weapons, including low-yield weapons.
    • China is preparing to operate its test site year-round with its goals for its nuclear force.
    • CTBT requires ratification by U.S., China, and Iran, Israel and Egypt and adherence by India, Pakistan and North Korea. It is unlikely to ever enter into force.

    Conclusion

    • A new nuclear arms race could just be the beginning. It may be more complicated because of multiple countries being involved.
    • Technological changes are bringing cyber and space domains into contention. It raises the risks of escalation.

     

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