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GS Paper: GS3

  • IIT Mandi’s novel catalyst to make Hydrogen more viable fuel

    hydrogen

    Scientists at IIT Mandi have created an innovative carbon-based catalyst that can enhance the efficiency of water electrolysis to generate green hydrogen.

    Water electrolysis and its Challenges

    • Water electrolysis is the process of splitting water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen using electricity inside an electrolyser.
    • However, this process consumes a lot of electrical energy.
    • A well-known solution is to use a catalyst to induce the water molecules to split at a much lower energy.
    • The better catalysts are often based on the metals iridium and ruthenium, which are expensive, in great demand in other sectors, and not consistently stable as the reaction progresses.

    IIT’s breakthrough: Development of Laser Carbon

    • Researchers have developed a porous carbon material containing nitrogen that functions both as a catalyst and as the anode in electrolyser units.
    • This material, called “laser carbon,” was produced by exposing a sheet of a polymer called polyimide to a laser beam, which carbonised the exposed bits, leaving the remainder rich in nitrogen.

    How does laser carbon work?

    • The nitrogen atoms in laser carbon draw electron clouds towards themselves, rendering the nearby carbon atoms to bond with atoms or molecules containing electron pairs.
    • This makes the location of these atoms active sites for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER).
    • OER is a bottleneck in this ideal reaction process because it proceeds slowly, with many intermediate steps, lowering the total reaction efficiency.
    • Laser carbon offers to fix this problem by reducing the OER overpotential, which means the reaction kicks off sooner and proceeds with more vigor.

    Advantages of laser carbon

    Laser carbon has several advantages over other carbon-based catalysts.

    • It is “highly power efficient,” cheaper to produce, has a simpler synthesis technique, and “can be batch-manufactured with a laser.”
    • The manufacturing process is also environment-friendly, as no waste is generated, and there are no wet chemicals that would require disposal.
    • Additionally, it does not require a substrate as it is self-supported in the form of a film, acting as both electrode and electrocatalyst.

    Challenges

    • The catalytic activity of laser carbon may not be as high as that of some metals but is comparable.
    • Further improvements in the fabrication process and use of other polymers may address this challenge.

  • Novel compound to treat Kala-Azar Infection

    kala-azar

    Central idea: The Kolkata-based Indian Association for the Cultivation of Science (IACS) have established the potential of quinoline derivatives to treat drug-resistant leishmaniasis, which is also called kala-azar or black fever.

    What is Kala Azar?

    • Kala-Azar is a vector-borne (sandfly) neglected tropical disease caused by the protozoan parasites of the genus leishmania.
    • It afflicts the world’s poorest populations in over 90 countries throughout Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and Central and South America.
    • Current annual estimates of kala-azar are about 1,00,000.
    • More than 95% of cases reported to the WHO are from India and other tropical countries, most importantly co-infection with HIV, which leads to an immunocompromised state.

    How does Quinoline work over this?

    • The quinoline derivative is a potent inhibitor of an enzyme called topoisomerase 1 (LdTop1).
    • This enzyme is essential for the maintenance of DNA architecture in parasites and is distinct from the one found in humans.
    • Poisoning LdTop1 imparts significant cytotoxicity to both Leishmania parasites found in the gut of sandfly vectors (promastigotes) and those found in infected humans (amastigotes) of both the wild type and the antimony-resistant isolates.
    • This is done without inducing lethality to human and mice host cells.

    Significance of quinoline treatment

    • Overcoming drug resistance in clinical leishmaniasis is a severe challenge in rural India.
    • The current treatment regimens against kala-azar use formulations that are toxic and induce high levels of drug-resistance.

    What is the breakthrough?

    • The novel inhibitor targeting the leishmania parasites was identified by screening them against recombinant Leishmania topoisomerase 1 enzyme.
    • In all, 21 derivatives were prepared and evaluated for their antileishmanial activity, and one of them was found to be effective.

     

  • Bandipur completes 50 years as Project Tiger Reserve

    tiger

    Central idea: Bandipur completed 50 years as a Project Tiger Reserve on April 1, 2023.

    Bandipur Tiger Reserve

    • The reserve is located in the Indian state of Karnataka and is spread over an area of 912.04 sq. km.
    • It is recognized as one of the prime tiger habitats in the world and is an important component of the country’s first biosphere reserve – Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

    Tiger Population in Bandipur

    • When Project Tiger was launched in 1973, there were 12 tigers in Bandipur, according to Ramesh Kumar, director, of Bandipur Tiger Reserve.
    • Today, the number of tigers utilizing the park is 173 while the number of tigers within the reserve has been pegged at 126 as per the Status of Tigers Co-predators and Prey in India, 2018.

    History of conservation efforts in Bandipur

    • Much before the Wildlife Conservation Act, 1972, was passed, the erstwhile rulers of Mysuru had realized the importance of conserving flora and fauna.
    • The Mysore Game and Fish Preservation Act was passed in 1901, and several forest areas were preserved as Game Reserves, and Tiger Blocks were identified with shooting restrictions imposed.
    • Initially, an area spread over 35 sq miles was declared as a Game Sanctuary in Chamarajanagar State Forest of Mysore district in 1931 and was protected for 10 years.

    Bandipur’s inclusion in Project Tiger

    • When Project Tiger was launched in 1973, Bandipur was among the first nine reserves to be brought under the flagship program, and it included most areas that were already protected under the Venugopal Wildlife Park.
    • The park was upgraded to a national park and renamed Bandipur, and the adjacent reserve forests were included under it to extend its area to 874.20 sq km.

    Significance of the area

    • The landscape spanning Bandipur, Nagarahole, Mudumalai, and Wayanad complex is home not only to the highest number of tigers in the country – about 724 – but also to the largest Asian Elephant population.
    • The Bandipur Tiger Reserve is an important component of the country’s first biosphere reserve – Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve.

    Tap to read more about:

    [Sansad TV] Perspective – Project Tiger: Reclaiming Territories

     

  • India’s Semiconductor Dreams: A Strategic Shift in Focus and Incentives

    India’s Semiconductor

    Central Idea

     

    • India’s semiconductor policy should shift focus from attracting global giants like Intel to leveraging existing facilities and developing domestic solutions for electronics markets.

     

    Background

    • The US Department of Commerce and India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry recently signed a memorandum of understanding to ensure subsidies do not hinder India’s semiconductor ambitions.
    • However, the likelihood of Intel investing in a greenfield 300mm wafer fabrication plant in India remains low due to its focus on fabs in the US.

     

    Facts for prelims: Semiconductors

    • Semiconductors are materials that have properties that are in between those of conductors (such as copper) and insulators (such as rubber).
    • They have the ability to conduct electricity under certain conditions, but not under others.
    • The conductivity of semiconductors can be manipulated through the introduction of impurities or doping with other materials. This process alters the electronic properties of the material and creates regions of excess or deficit of electrons, called p-type and n-type regions respectively. The interface between these regions is known as a p-n junction, which is a fundamental building block of many semiconductor devices.

     

    Applications

    • Semiconductors are a fundamental component of modern technology and have significant importance in many areas of our daily lives.
    • Electronics industry: Semiconductors are a crucial component in the electronics industry, which is one of the fastest-growing industries in the world. Semiconductors are used in a wide range of electronic devices, from smartphones and computers to medical equipment and home appliances.
    • Miniaturization: The ability to miniaturize electronic components using semiconductors has led to the development of smaller, more powerful, and more energy-efficient devices. This has enabled the development of portable devices, such as smartphones and laptops, which have become an essential part of our daily lives.
    • Energy efficiency: Semiconductors have enabled the development of energy-efficient devices, which are crucial in the context of climate change and global warming. Energy-efficient lighting, for example, uses semiconductor materials such as LEDs, which consume far less energy than traditional incandescent bulbs.
    • Renewable energy: Semiconductors are also essential in the development of renewable energy technologies such as solar cells and wind turbines. Solar cells, for example, use semiconductor materials to convert sunlight into electrical energy.
    • Medical applications: Semiconductors are also used in a wide range of medical applications, from imaging devices to implantable medical devices. In particular, semiconductor-based biosensors are becoming increasingly important for disease diagnosis and monitoring.

     

    All you need to know about India’s semiconductor policy

     

    • India has launched a new semiconductor policy called the National Policy on Electronics (NPE) in 2019, with the aim of creating a globally competitive electronics manufacturing industry in the country.
    • The policy aims to attract investment in semiconductor fabrication units, also known as fabs, and encourage the development of a domestic ecosystem for semiconductor design and manufacturing.

     

    The key objectives of the policy

     

    • Attracting investment: The policy aims to attract global semiconductor companies to set up manufacturing units in India by providing them with incentives such as financial support, tax incentives, and land at subsidized rates.
    • Promoting domestic manufacturing: The policy aims to promote domestic manufacturing of semiconductor components by providing incentives such as production-linked incentives, subsidies, and preferential market access to products made in India.
    • Developing human resources: The policy aims to develop a skilled workforce in the semiconductor sector by providing training and education programs in collaboration with leading academic institutions.
    • Encouraging research and development: The policy aims to encourage research and development in the semiconductor sector by providing financial support to research institutions and startups.

     

    India’s semiconductor policy: What it needs?

    1. India’s Semiconductor History
    • The Semi-Conductor Laboratory (SCL) was established in Mohali in 1983 to create an electronics ecosystem.
    • Market liberalization in 1991 and a fire in 1989 derailed these plans, but the facility still has the potential to support India’s semiconductor ecosystem.
    1. Shifting Focus:
    • The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeITy) has been trying to attract Intel to India, but their efforts may not be fruitful.
    • A better approach would be to leverage SCL’s existing assets and focus on the More than Moore segment of semiconductors (>180 nm node) for automotive electronics, PV-Inverters, 5G infrastructure, and railway electronics.
    1. Incentives and Subsidies:
    • Subsidies should target fabless design houses with proven designs willing to fabricate at the SCL in the 180nm+ node.
    • Incentives should also be provided to global design companies with products aimed at India-specific markets.
    • The existing DLI/PLI schemes do not provide such incentives, and a course correction is needed.
    1. Leveraging Existing Infrastructure:
    • Efforts to open up subsidies to global small and medium-sized enterprises in the upstream supply chain are welcome.
    • However, coupling these efforts with the defined incentives and targeted upgrades is essential for success.
    1. Leadership and Execution: To achieve this vision in the next five years, the SCL needs a full-time director with prior “More than Moore” foundry experience, as opposed to a career scientist from the Department of Space.

    India’s Semiconductor

    Conclusion

    • India’s semiconductor policy should shift focus from attracting global giants like Intel to leveraging existing facilities and developing domestic solutions for electronics markets. This will require a strategic shift in focus, targeted incentives, and strong leadership. Failure to act may result in India missing out on the semiconductor fabrication bus once again.

    Mains Question

    Q. Semiconductors are a fundamental component of modern technology. In this light analyze India’s semiconductor policy.

  • Foreign Trade Policy 2023: Aiming for $2 Trillion in Exports and Streamlining Processes

    Central Idea

     

    • Foreign Trade Policy 2023 focuses on shifting from an incentive to a tax remission-based regime, improving the ease of doing business, promoting exports through collaborations, and targeting emerging areas. It aims to achieve $2 trillion in export of goods and services by 2030, up from the previous $900 billion target.

     

    Foreign Trade Policy 2023

     

    1. Reducing Friction Points:
    • Automatic approvals for various permissions will streamline processes and reduce bureaucratic hurdles for businesses.
    • Reduced processing times for revalidation of authorizations (expected to be brought down to one day), extension of export obligation periods, advance authorizations, and EPCG issuances will expedite export activities.
    • Lowered application fees for MSMEs will provide financial relief and encourage more small businesses to participate in global trade.
    1. Supporting Export Growth:
    • Facilitating e-commerce exports will enable Indian businesses to tap into the growing global e-commerce market, estimated to reach $6.07 trillion by 2024.
    • Widening the basket covered under RODTEP will ensure more exporters benefit from tax remission, increasing competitiveness.
    • Boosting manufacturing, particularly in labor-intensive sectors, will create more jobs and enhance the export potential.
    • Rationalizing thresholds for exporter recognition will make it easier for businesses to be acknowledged and incentivized for their export performance.
    • Merchanting trade reform will promote services exports and reduce transaction costs.
    • Promoting the use of the rupee in international trade can help reduce exchange rate risks and increase trade with countries facing currency restrictions.
    1. One-time Amnesty Scheme: The amnesty scheme aims at faster resolution of trade disputes, clearing pending cases, and improving the overall trade environment.

     

    Supplemental Measures

     

    • Boost to domestic manufacturing: Lowering import tariffs will make raw materials and intermediate goods more affordable, boosting domestic manufacturing and export competitiveness.
    • Competitive Indian goods and services: Ensuring a competitive exchange rate will enhance the affordability of Indian goods and services in global markets.
    • FTA’s: Signing broader and deeper free trade agreements can open new markets for Indian exporters and attract foreign investments.

     

    Conclusion

     

    • The Foreign Trade Policy 2023 comes at a time of global uncertainty, but with India’s small share in global trade (around 1.8% in merchandise exports and roughly 4% in services), there is significant room for improvement. The new policy, along with additional measures, can enhance the country’s trade performance and achieve the ambitious $2 trillion export target by 2030. However, it is crucial to monitor the policy’s implementation and address potential challenges for businesses to fully reap the benefits.

  • Key highlights of the Foreign Trade Policy, 2023

    foreign trade policy

    Union Minister of Commerce and Industry has launched the Foreign Trade Policy 2023.

    Foreign Trade Policy, 2023

    • The policy is dynamic and open-ended to accommodate the emerging needs of the time.
    • It aims to promote India’s overall exports, which has already crossed US$ 750 Billion.
    • The key approach to the policy is based on these 4 pillars:
    1. Incentive to Remission,
    2. Export promotion through collaboration – Exporters, States, Districts, Indian Missions,
    3. Ease of doing business, reduction in transaction cost and e-initiatives and
    4. Emerging Areas – E-Commerce Developing Districts as Export Hubs and streamlining SCOMET (Special Chemicals, Organisms, Materials, Equipment, and Technologies) Policy

    Overview of the FTP, 2023

    • FTP to provide the policy continuity and a responsive framework
    • Approach of FTP: From Incentive to Remission
    • Introduces scheme for remission of duties, taxes and govt levies on export goods
    • Digitisation of applications pertaining to FTP
    • Automatic system-based approval of FTP applications
    • Pilot introduced for cutting processing of applications related to advance authorisation to 1 day
    • Norms for recognition as Star Trading Houses eased
    • Promotes trade in Indian Rupee
    • Introduces provisions for merchanting trade
    • Dairy sector to be exempted from maintaining average export obligation * Battery electric vehicles; vertical farming equipment & green hydrogen eligible for reduced obligation under Export Promotion Capital Goods (EPCG) scheme
    • Special advance authorization scheme extended for apparel & clothing sector
    • Extends all FTP benefits to e-commerce exports
    • Value limit for exports through courier service increased from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh per consignment
    • Focus on engaging with states & districts through Districts as Export Hubs initiative
    • Aims at streamlining export of dual use items under SCOMET policy
    • Introduces amnesty scheme for one-time settlement of default in export obligation by advance authorisation and EPCG authorisation holders
    • FTP to be dynamic and responsive to the emerging trade scenario
    • Restructuring of Department of Commerce on the anvil to make it future-ready

     

    Key highlights

    (1) Process Re-Engineering and Automation

    • The policy emphasizes export promotion and development, moving away from an incentive regime to a regime which is facilitating, based on technology interface and principles of collaboration.
    • Reduction in fee structures and IT-based schemes will make it easier for MSMEs and others to access export benefits.
    • Duty exemption schemes for export production will now be implemented through Regional Offices in a rule-based IT system environment, eliminating the need for manual interface.

    (2) Towns of Export Excellence

    • Four new towns have been designated as Towns of Export Excellence (TEE) in addition to the existing 39 towns.
    • The TEEs will have priority access to export promotion funds under the Market Access Initiative (MAI) Scheme.
    • It will be able to avail Common Service Provider (CSP) benefits for export fulfilment under the EPCG Scheme.

    (3) Recognition of Exporters

    • Exporter firms recognized with ‘status’ based on export performance will now be partners in capacity-building initiatives on a best-endeavour basis.
    • 2-star and above status holders would be encouraged to provide trade-related training based on a model curriculum to interested individuals.

    (4) Promoting Export from the Districts

    • The FTP aims at building partnerships with State governments and taking forward the Districts as Export Hubs (DEH) initiative.
    • This would promote exports at the district level and accelerate the development of grassroots trade ecosystem.

    (5) Streamlining SCOMET Policy

    • India is placing more emphasis on the “export control” regime.
    • A robust export control system in India would provide access of dual-use High end goods and technologies to Indian exporters while facilitating exports of controlled items/technologies under SCOMET from India.

     

    (6) Facilitating E-Commerce Exports

    • Various estimates suggest e-commerce export potential in the range of $200 to $300 billion by 2030.
    • FTP 2023 outlines the intent and roadmap for establishing e-commerce hubs and related elements such as payment reconciliation, book-keeping, returns policy, and export entitlements.
    • As a starting point, the consignment wise cap on E-Commerce exports through courier has been raised from ₹5Lakh to ₹10 Lakh in the FTP 2023.

    (7) Facilitation under Export Promotion of Capital Goods (EPCG) Scheme

    The government has made several changes to the Foreign Trade Policy, including:

    • Adding PM MITRA scheme for textile and apparel parks to EPCG’s Common Service Provider Scheme
    • Exempting dairy sector from maintaining Average Export Obligation
    • Adding green technologies such as BEVs, vertical farming equipment, and rainwater harvesting to EPCG’s reduced Export Obligation requirement.

    (8) Facilitation under Advance authorization Scheme

    • DTA (Domestic Tariff Area) units can access the Advance Authorization Scheme for duty-free import of raw materials for manufacturing export items, and it can be used for domestic and export production.
    • The Special Advance Authorization Scheme has been extended to the Apparel and Clothing sector to facilitate prompt execution of export orders.
    • The Self-Ratification Scheme for fixation of Input-Output Norms has been extended to 2-star and above status holders.

    (9) Merchanting trade

    • The FTP 2023 has introduced provisions for merchanting trade, which allows the shipment of goods from one foreign country to another foreign country without touching Indian ports, involving an Indian intermediary.
    • This will be subject to compliance with RBI guidelines, and it won’t be applicable for goods/items classified in the CITES and SCOMET list.
    • This is expected to allow Indian entrepreneurs to convert certain places into major merchanting hubs.

    (10) Amnesty Scheme

    • The government is introducing a special one-time Amnesty Scheme under the FTP 2023 to address default on Export Obligations and provide relief to exporters who have been unable to meet their obligations under EPCG and Advance Authorizations.
    • All pending cases of default in meeting Export Obligation (EO) of authorizations can be regularized on payment of all customs duties that were exempted in proportion to unfulfilled Export Obligation.
    • The interest payable is capped at 100% of these exempted duties under this scheme, and no interest is payable on the portion of Additional Customs Duty and Special Additional Customs Duty.

     

  • Competition (Amendment) Bill passed in Lok Sabha

    The Lok Sabha passed the Competition (Amendment) Bill, 2023, which could pose new challenges for global technology companies.

    About Competition Act, 2022

    • The Competition Act, 2002 was passed by the Parliament in the year 2002, to which the President accorded assent in January, 2003.
    • It was subsequently amended by the Competition (Amendment) Act, 2007.
    • In accordance with the provisions of the Amendment Act, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) and the Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPAT) have been established.
    • The CCI is now fully functional with a Chairperson and six members.

    Changes brought by the Amendment

    (1) Penal powers to CCI

    • It grants the CCI the authority to penalize entities found engaging in anti-competitive behavior based on their global turnover, rather than just their annual domestic turnover, which was the case previously.

    (2) Turnover Definition

    • The definition of “turnover” has been a widely debated subject in the competition law landscape.
    • The Supreme Court had previously fixed the criteria for determining turnover in competition law contraventions, holding that it should be the “relevant turnover,” i.e., turnover derived from the sales of goods or services.

    (3) Mergers and acquisition

    • The CCI will have greater authority in mergers and acquisitions worth more than Rs 2,000 crore.
    • Additionally, the time limit for approval of mergers and acquisitions has been reduced from 210 days to 150 days.

    Impact on Tech Companies

    • While the provision on global turnover will not be exclusively applicable to tech companies, they are likely to be the most affected by it, given the nature of their business that operates across geographies.
    • Typically, the revenue earned from these companies’ India operations is much smaller than their income in other regions, such as the US and Europe.

  • GPT-4: AI Breakthrough or Pandora’s Box?

    GPT-4

    Central Idea

    • OpenAI’s GPT-4, the latest AI model, is creating shock waves around the world. It has incredible capabilities, but also raises ethical questions and concerns about its potential misuse.

    Capabilities of GPT-4

    • Enhanced abilities: GPT-4 is a considerable improvement over its predecessor, GPT-3.5, with enhanced conversational and creative abilities that allow it to understand and produce more meaningful and engaging content.
    • Accept both text and image input: It can accept both text and image input simultaneously, which enables it to consider multiple inputs while generating responses, such as suggesting recipes based on an image of ingredients.
    • Diverse potential: GPT-4’s impressive performance in various tests designed for humans, such as simulated bar examinations and advanced courses in multiple subjects, demonstrates its potential applications in diverse fields.

    Background: What is ChatGPT?

    • Simple definition: ChatGPT is a chatbot built on a large-scale transformer-based language model that is trained on a diverse dataset of text and is capable of generating human-like responses to prompts.
    • A human like language model: It is based on GPT-3.5, a language model that uses deep learning to produce human-like text.
    • It is more engaging with details: However, while the older GPT-3 model only took text prompts and tried to continue on that with its own generated text, ChatGPT is more engaging. It’s much better at generating detailed text and can even come up with poems.
    • Keeps the memory of the conversations: Another unique characteristic is memory. The bot can remember earlier comments in a conversation and recount them to the user.
    • Human- like resemblance: A conversation with ChatGPT is like talking to a computer, a smart one, which appears to have some semblance of human-like intelligence.

    Facts for Prelims: Other AI models

    Model Name Developer Key Features/Description
    BERT Google Transformer-based, bidirectional, excels in question-answering, sentiment analysis, and NER
    XLNet Google/CMU Combines BERT and autoregressive language modeling, improved performance in NLP benchmarks
    T5 Google Transformer-based, multi-task learning framework, strong performance across NLP tasks
    RoBERTa Facebook AI Optimized version of BERT, improved training strategies, top performance on NLP benchmarks
    Megatron NVIDIA Designed for large-scale training, used for training GPT-like models with billions of parameters
    CLIP OpenAI Learns from text and image data, bridges NLP and computer vision, zero-shot image classification

    Limitations and Concerns of GPT-4

    • Factual inaccuracies: GPT-4, like its predecessor, is prone to factual inaccuracies, known as hallucinations, which can result in the generation of misleading or incorrect information.
    • Not transparent: OpenAI has not been transparent about GPT-4’s inner workings, including its architecture, hardware, and training methods, citing safety and competitive reasons, which prevents critical scrutiny of the model.
    • Biased data: The model has been trained on biased data from the internet, containing harmful biases and stereotypes, which may lead to harmful outputs that perpetuate these biases.

    GPT-4

    Potential Misuse

    • Undermining human skills and knowledge in education: GPT-4’s capabilities pose a threat to examination systems as students may use the AI-generated text to complete their essays and assignments, undermining the assessment of their skills and knowledge.
    • Potential to be misused as a propaganda and disinformation engine: The powerful language model has the potential to be misused as a propaganda and disinformation engine, spreading false or misleading information that can have far-reaching consequences.

    Ethical and Environmental Implications

    • Ethical use: The development of large language models like GPT-4 raises concerns about the ethical implications of their use, especially with regard to biases and the potential for misuse.
    • Energy consumption: The environmental costs associated with training these models, such as energy consumption and carbon emissions, contribute to the ongoing debate about the sustainability of AI development.

    Conclusion

    • GPT-4 offers incredible advancements in AI, but it also raises important questions about the ethical implications and potential misuse of such powerful technology. Society must carefully weigh the benefits and drawbacks of building models that test the limits of what is possible and prioritize the development of responsible AI systems.

  • Issues with new Quality Control Orders for fibres

    quality

    Central idea

    • Quality Control Orders (QCO) have been issued for fibres like cotton, polyester, and viscose to control the import of sub-quality and cheaper items and to ensure that customers get quality products.
    • The QCOs are made mandatory for some and yet to be finalized for others.

    What is the move?

    • The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will issue certificate to manufacturers of viscose staple fibre (VSF) who comply with its standards (IS17266: 2019).
    • The hallmark is made mandatory.

    Why are fibres covered under QCOs?

    • The Indian textile and clothing industry consumes both indigenous and imported fibres and filaments.
    • The imports are for different reasons, such as cost competitiveness, non-availability in the domestic market, or to meet a specified demand of the overseas buyer.
    • The main aim of the QCO is to control the import of sub-quality and cheaper items and to ensure that customers get quality products.

    Reasons behind

    • India’s move to introduce a draft of Quality Control Orders (QCO) aims to curb a Chinese import surge and boost exports to western markets.

    What challenges does the new mandate bring?

    • Supply chain disruption: India imports annually 50,000 – 60,000 tonnes of viscose fibre and its variants such as Modal and Tencel LF from nearly 20 countries. In the case of polyester, almost 90,000 tonnes of polyester fibre and 1.25 lakh tonnes of POY (Polyester Partially Oriented Yarn) are imported annually.
    • Unease of doing business: Getting the certificate from the BIS involves a cost and hence not all are interested in getting the certificate.
    • Value chain disruption: The Indian textile manufacturers who are dependent on these suppliers for the raw material will have to either look at other suppliers or lose orders.
    • Material shortage: Some varieties of fibres have special functional properties and separate HS (Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System) code when imported. The textile industry imports just small quantities of such fibres, and restricting their availability will deny Indian consumers of niche products.
    • Prospected price rise: Several textile units use lower-grade fibres that are generated from rejects and wastes and these are not covered under the QCO.

    Textile industry’s expectation

    • The industry is of the view that the import of speciality fibres that are used as blends with other fibres should be made available without restriction.
    • Any overseas applicant for the BIS certificate should get it without delay after inspection.

    Way forward

    • Polyester-spun yarn mills in the MSME sector need capital support to set up labs to test products.
    • The QCO should be implemented only after the ambiguities are cleared and the anomalies set right, says the industry.

  • Scientists spot Piezoelectric Effect in Liquids

    peizo

    Central idea: Scientists have recently discovered evidence of the piezoelectric effect in liquids for the first time. This effect has only been observed in solids for the past 143 years. This new finding challenges the theory that describes this effect and opens doors to previously unanticipated applications in electronic and mechanical systems.

    What is Piezoelectric Effect?

    • The piezoelectric effect occurs when a body develops an electric current when it is squeezed.
    • It has been observed in quartz crystals (SiO2), which are used in wristwatches, clocks, and various instruments that convert mechanical stress to a current.

    Recent observation

    • The piezoelectric effect was found in pure 1-butyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethyl-sulfonyl)imide and 1-hexyl-3-methyl imidazolium bis(trifluoromethylsulfonyl)imide.
    • Both of these liquids are ionic liquids, which means that they are made of ions instead of molecules, and were found at room temperature.

    Why is the effect in liquids surprising?

    • Liquids do not have an organized structure like solids, which is why the piezoelectric effect has only been expected in solids until now.
    • However, the scientists found the effect in pure ionic liquids at room temperature, challenging the current understanding of the effect.
    • The magnitude of the piezoelectric effect in the first liquid was 16 millivolt per newton (mV/N) and in the second, 17 mV/N, in both cases within a margin of 1 mV/N.

    What is the strength of the effect?

    • In the experiment, the scientists found that the strength of the piezoelectric effect in the two ionic liquids they tested was lower than that of quartz by a factor of 10.
    • However, this is still a significant discovery since it opens the door to new applications.

    Possible applications

    • The discovery of the piezoelectric effect in liquids opens the door to previously inaccessible applications that have fewer environmental issues than many currently used piezoelectric materials.
    • Additionally, these liquids displayed the inverse piezoelectric effect, which could be used to control how the liquids bend light passing through them by passing different currents through them, creating lenses with dynamic focusing abilities.