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GS Paper: GS3

  • India to host ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference

    The Ministry of Home Affairs will be organising the Third Ministerial ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference next week where participants from around 75 countries are expected to attend.

    ‘No Money for Terror’ Conference

    • The conference that was first held In Paris in 2018, followed by Melbourne in 2019.
    • It will be held in Delhi after gap of two years due to the travel restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Objectives of the event

    • India’s efforts: The event conveys India’s determination in its fight against terrorism as well as its support systems for achieving success against it.
    • Global cooperation: It also intends to include discussions on technical, legal, regulatory and cooperation aspects of all facets of terrorism financing.
    • Compliance mechanism: The involvement of a compliant State often exacerbates terrorism, especially its financing.

    What is Terror Financing?

    • Terrorist financing encompasses the means and methods used by terrorist organizations to finance their activities.
    • This money can come from legitimate sources, for example from profits from businesses and charitable organizations.
    • But terrorist groups can also get their financing from illegal activities such as trafficking in weapons, drugs or people, or kidnapping for ransom.
    • Nations like Pakistan has stated policy of supporting cross-border terrorism in India through global fundings.

    Why need consensus over terror-finance prevention?

    • Globally, countries have been affected by terrorism and militancy for several years and the pattern of violence differs in most theatres.
    • It is largely impacted by tumultuous geo-political environment, coupled with prolonged armed sectarian conflicts.
    • Such conflicts often lead to poor governance, political instability, economic deprivation and large ungoverned spaces.

    Other mechanisms to curb terror financing: FATF

    • FATF is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1989 on the initiative of the G7 to develop policies to combat money laundering.
    • It makes recommendations for combating financial crime, reviews members’ policies and procedures, and seeks to increase acceptance of anti-money laundering regulations across the globe.

    What hinders the global consensus?

    • No definition of terrorism: There is no universal agreement over what constitutes terrorism. This weakens efforts to formulate a concerted global response.
    • Non-enforcement: Multilateral action suffers from inadequate compliance and enforcement of existing instruments.
    • No global watchdog: Counter-terrorism regime lacks a central global body dedicated to terrorist prevention and response.

    Way forward

    • No country if safe if terrorism persists anywhere across the world.
    • The world must resolve to make the international financial system entirely hostile to terrorist financing.
    • Concerted efforts and a comprehensive approach should be adopted to counter terrorism under the UN auspices on a firm international legal basis.

     

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  • Making the Indigenous Defence Industry Self-Reliant and Globally Competitive

    Defence

    Context

    • Defence-Expo 2022 held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat in October drew attention to a major policy initiative, the need for India to acquire the appropriate degree of “atma nirbharata” (self-reliance) in the defence sector and the arduous path ahead.

    What is the present status of defence supplies in India?

    • High dependency on foreign supply: Even as India aspires to become a $5-trillion economy, it is evident that it faces many national security inadequacies. The high dependency index on foreign suppliers (traditionally the former USSR now Russia) for major military inventory items is stark.
    • Risk of National vulnerability: This dependency induces a macro national vulnerability and dilutes India’s quest for meaningful and credible strategic autonomy.
    • Undermining national interest: Furthermore, the current gaps in combat capacity expose the chinks in the Indian ability to safeguard core national security interests. The Galwan setback apropos China is illustrative.

    Defence

    Do you know the following examples of Indigenous defence production?

    • INS Vikrant: The commissioning of the indigenously-designed and built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant.
    • SLBM Missiles: The recent test fired SLBM (submarine-launched ballistic missile) from the INS Arihant is indigenously bulit.
    • LCH Prachand: The induction of the made in India Prachand LCH (light combat helicopter) is significant leap.
    • Kalashnikov-type light weapon: The conclusion of a deal with Russia to manufacture a Kalashnikov-type light weapon/small arms in India.
    • 155mm artillery Gun: The 155-mm artillery guns being designed and manufactured in the country.

    Current scenario of India’s Defence export

    • Rising defence export: India’s defence exports have grown eight times in the last five years.
    • Exporting the defence material to 75 nations: India is exporting defence materials and equipment to more than 75 countries of the world. In 2021-22, defence exports from India reached $1.59 billion (about Rs 13,000 crore).
    • Target of $5 billion export: The government has now set a target of $5 billion (Rs 40,000 crore).” This is an ambitious target and will demand mission-mode resolve to be realised.

    Why our defence industry is not competitive at global stage?

    • Import of critical components: India does not yet have the domestic competence to fully design and manufacture any significant combat weapon/platform and is dependent on the foreign supplier for the critical components that lie at the core of the combat index of the equipment in question.
    • Partial methods of indigenous manufacturing: While it is commendable that India is now going to manufacture the C295 transport aircraft in a collaboration with AirBus, France, the reality is that the engine, avionics, landing gear, etc, will come from abroad and the integration will be done by the Indian entity.
    • Soft defence export: While India now claims that it will soon become a major arms exporter, the composition of such inventory leans towards the “soft” category (clothing, helmets, surveillance equipment).
    • No major defence manufacturing hub: India missed the industrial design and manufacturing bus, a national competence demonstrated by nations like South Korea and China, over the last five decades. Technological advances have made the design and manufacture of the semiconductor chip the new currency of national prosperity and military power.

    Ways to make India’s defence industry globally competitive?

    • Increasing the investment in R&D is necessary: At the heart of this challenge is the grim reality that historically, India has not invested enough in the national research and development (R&D) effort. As per data collated by the World Bank, India has been able to allocate only 0.66 per cent of GDP (2018) towards R&D, while the world average is 2.63 per cent.
    • Matching with the Global players in R&D: The comparable individual R&D allocation (per cent of GDP) for some other nations is as follows: Israel 5.44; USA 3.45; Japan 3.26; Germany 3.14; China 2.4; and Turkey 1.09.
    • Making the R&D prior national issue: Providing a sustained fillip to the national R&D effort across the board (state, corporate and academia) remains critical if India is to emerge as a credible military power and one would identify this as a high-priority issue for the national security apex the CCS (cabinet committee on security).

    defence

    Read this news Defence- Expo 2022

    • India’s flagship exhibition on land, naval and homeland security systems.
    • Defence-Expo 2022 was the 12th edition, held in Gandhinagar, Gujrat
    • Largest participation with 75 countries so far.
    • A milestone under Atmanirbhar Bharat policy.

    Conclusion

    • The push to achieve self-reliance in defence is commendable. India must step up R&D to achieve competence in design, manufacture of combat weapons/platforms. Meaningful indigenisation and credible “atma nirbharta” calls for sustained funding support, fortitude and an ecosystem that will nurture this effort.

    Mains Question

    Q. Discuss the current state of indigenous defence production in India? Why Indian defence industry is not Globally competitive?

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  • In news: Kisan Rail Project

    kisan rail

    Punjab has assured Kerala Government to provide paddy straw for usage as fodder for livestock using the Kisan Rail Project.

    Why such move?

    • Kerala, being a land-stressed coastal state, does not generate enough roughage that can be used as fodder for cattle.
    • It ranks second in milk production after Punjab.
    • The move will help Punjab to deal with the excessive paddy straw which contributes to stubble burning.

    About Kisan Rail Project

    • In the Union Budget 2020-21 an announcement was made by the Union Finance Minister regarding the launch of Kisan Rail.
    • The idea behind running Kisan Rail services is to move perishables including fruits, vegetables, meat, poultry, fishery and dairy products from production or surplus regions to consumption or deficient regions.
    • The speedy rail movement would thus ensure minimum damage during transit.

    How can farmers transport their produce?

    • The farmers have to approach the Chief Parcel Supervisor of the Railway Stations from where the Kisan Rail service is scheduled to originate or to have enroute stoppage, along with their consignment.
    • Due care is taken to ensure that the packing condition is not faulty.
    • The consignment is weighed and charges are levied as per the prescribed parcel rates (P-scale).

    Salient features

    • 50 percent subsidy is given in freight for transportation of fruits and vegetables.
    • The subsidy is being borne by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries under their Operation Greens – TOP to Total scheme.
    • There is no minimum limit on quantity that can be booked, enabling small famers to reach bigger and distant markets.
    • Kisan Rails are based on the concept of multi commodity, multi consignor, multi consignee and multi stoppages – to help small farmers with lesser produce to transport their consignment without any middleman.

    Need for such scheme

    • Farmers, especially small and marginal farmers, often find it difficult to sell their produce in markets beyond a certain distance.
    • This is primarily due to factors such as non-availability of affordable transport, delay in transit resulting in damage/decay to produce, and unwillingness of road transporters to carry small sized consignments.

    Benefits provided

    • Access to markets: Vast network of Indian Railways enables farmers from remote villages to connect to the mainstream market and sell their agricultural produce.
    • Helps prevent food wastage: It saves times and encourages farmers to transport their perishables to greater distances and bigger markets.
    • Getting better deal for farmers: Kisan Rail is a factor enabling improvement in terms of trade for farmers and the real returns received by farmers for their produce.
    • Doubling farmers’ income: Access to such markets will enable farmers to sell their produce at a better price, which will go a long way in fulfilling Government’s vision of ‘doubling farmers’ income.’

     

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  • US removes India from its Currency Monitoring List

    The United States’ Department of Treasury has removed India from its Currency Monitoring List. India had been on the list for the last two years for alleged manipulation of Rupee.

    What is Currency Manipulation?

    • Currency manipulation refers to actions taken by governments to change the value of their currencies relative to other currencies in order to bring about some desirable objective.
    • It is a designation applied by the US Department of the Treasury, to countries that engage in what is called “unfair currency practices” that give them a trade advantage.
    • The typical claim – often doubtful – is that countries manipulate their currencies in order to make their exports effectively cheaper on the world market and in turn make imports more expensive.

    Why do countries manipulate their currencies?

    • In general, countries prefer their currency to be weak because it makes them more competitive on the international trade front.
    • A lower currency makes a country’s exports more attractive because they are cheaper on the international market.
    • For example, a weak Rupee makes Indian exports less expensive for offshore buyers.
    • Secondly, by boosting exports, a country can use a lower currency to shrink its trade deficit.
    • Finally, a weaker currency alleviates pressure on a country’s sovereign debt obligations.
    • After issuing offshore debt, a country will make payments, and as these payments are denominated in the offshore currency, a weak local currency effectively decreases these debt payments.

    US treasury’s criteria for currency monitoring

    To be labelled a manipulator by the U.S. Treasury:

    • Countries must at least have a $20 billion-plus bilateral trade surplus with the US
    • foreign currency intervention exceeding 2% of GDP and a global current account surplus exceeding 2% of GDP

    Which are the countries under this list?

    • China, Japan, Korea, Germany, Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan are the seven economies that are a part of the current Currency Monitoring List.
    • China’s failure to publish foreign exchange intervention and broader lack of transparency around key features of its exchange rate mechanism.

     

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  • Species in news: Himalayan Gray Langur

    langur

    Differences in altitude make a primate species in the same Himalayan habitat choose between flowers and fruits as food options beyond their staple menu of leaves, a new study has revealed.

    Himalayan Gray Langur

    • The Himalayan (Kashmir) Gray Langur or the Chamba Sacred Langur (Semnopithecus ajax) is a colobine, meaning leaf-eating monkey.
    • It is considered an endangered species in IUCN red list.
    • According to the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, the langur is a protected species under Schedule II.
    • Globally, its population is estimated to be less than 1,500 mature individuals in 15-20 groups.

    Protection measures

    • The Gray Langur was once considered a sub-species of the Semnopithecus entellus, commonly known as the Bengal Sacred Langur or Hanuman Langur, but it was separated as a species in 2005.
    • Two protected habitats of the species namely Machiara National Park and Dachigam National Park are located in politically disturbed areas.
    • Machiara National park is in Pak-Occupied Kashmir where there is very little scope for scientific inputs.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

    (a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass

    (b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard.

    (c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)

    (d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah

     

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

     

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  • Vande Bharat: Modern trains need modern infrastructure

    Vande Bharat

    Context

    • When the Prime Minister inaugurated the latest edition of the Vande Bharat train recently, India made a huge leap into the future of mass transportation. The new Vande Bharat Express trains or Vande Bharat 2.0 are expected to usher in an era of faster, safer and more comfortable rail travel for passengers.

    All you need to know about Vande Bharat

    • The Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed, electric multiple unit train previously known as Train 18
    • It is designed, built by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) under the Make in India Initiative
    • Vande bharat running on 5 routes as of November 2022.
    • The first Vande Bharat Express train was flagged off on February 15, 2019, on the New Delhi-Kanpur-Allahabad-Varanasi route.
    • All the coaches are equipped with automatic doors, GPS-based audio-visual passenger information system, onboard hotspot Wi-Fi for entertainment purposes, and comfortable seats.
    • Vande bharat running on 5 routes as of November 2022.
    • Indian Railways hopes to roll out another 25 Vande Bharat train sets by the end of March 2023.
    • Railways plans to roll out 75 Vande Bharat trains by Independence Day next year

    What is Vande Bharat 2.0?

    • The name may be the same, but this train, the third in the Vande Bharat series, is being dubbed ‘Vande Bharat 2.0’, because of certain upgrades it has received over its predecessors.

    Vande Bharat

    What are the notable upgrades and newly added features in 2.0?

    • Faster and lighter than the previous: This train reaches a top speed of 160 km per hour in 129 seconds, around 16 seconds faster than its predecessor. This is because this train weighs around 392 tonnes, 38 tonnes lighter than the last one, and needs to run almost a km less to attain its top speed.
    • Improved on Riding Index: It also has a better riding index (lower the better) of 3.26 at 180 km per hour, from the earlier 3.87. At a standard speed of 115 km per, its riding index is 3.26, better than 3.62 attained at the same speed by the earlier. In layman’s terms, Riding index is a global benchmark to calculate how comfortable and steady the passenger is while the train is in motion.
    • Fitted with automatic anti-collision system “Kavach”: In terms of safety features, the new train comes fitted with the automatic anti-collision system Kavach, which the previous trains did not have.
    • Improved on safety features: Coaches have disaster lights and their battery backup increased from the last one’s one-hour battery backup. The exterior has eight flatform-side cameras, up from four.
    • Passenger communication facility: There is a passenger-guard communication facility in coaches, which comes with automatic voice recording feature.
    • Making it flood resilient: The new trainset is higher, making it safe from floods up to 650 mm, up from 400 mm.
    • Better quality streaming of audio-visual information with improved network: A centralised coach monitoring system, another new addition, through CCTV cameras, and the internal network supports data at 1 gigabyte per second, This means better quality streaming of audio-visual information.
    • Air purification system: The internal air is filtered through photo catalytic ultra violet air purification system with UV lamp which deactivates 99 per cent of germs, the Railways claims something the earlier trainsets did not have.
    • Onboard infotainment: It also has a wifi-enabled onboard infotainment system and the LCD display in each coach is now 32 inches, up from the 24-inch screen.

    Vande Bharat

    Challenges to the modern railway infrastructure

    • Tracks are not in sync with the modern age trains: This new-age train slammed head-on into the “old-age” country on at least two occasions in its very first week. The train crashed into a herd of cows, damaging the aircraft-like nose of the driver coach car.
    • Poor fencing along the tracks: The railways built a new-age train but forgot to construct fencing along the tracks to prevent bovine collisions.
    • Issues with the battery charging units: Occasional Failure in the battery charging mechanism due to a fault in the charging cable as well as tripping of a circuit breaker needs to addressed.
    • Technical glitches in the alerting software system: Failure to alert the technical glitches in the functioning of the system creating problems and adding up to malfunctioning.

    Conclusion

    • A senior railway official proudly detailed the “superior” features of the Vande Bharat train, which would provide passengers with an “aircraft-like travelling experience” albeit, even quieter than an aircraft, also testified by the Prime Minister But these superior features need superior and resilient infrastructure to achieve the target.

  • Current Account Deficit (CAD) likely to be lower at 3% this fiscal

    deficit

    The SBI has estimated a lower current account deficit at 3% for this fiscal as against the minimum consensus of 3.5%, citing rising software exports, remittances and a likely $5-billion jump in forex reserves via swap deals.

    What is Current Account Deficit (CAD)?

    deficit

    • A current account is a key component of balance of payments, which is the account of transactions or exchanges made between entities in a country and the rest of the world.
    • This includes a nation’s net trade in products and services, its net earnings on cross border investments including interest and dividends, and its net transfer payments such as remittances and foreign aid.
    • A CAD arises when the value of goods and services imported exceeds the value of exports, while the trade balance refers to the net balance of export and import of goods or merchandise trade.

    Components of Current Account

    Current Account Deficit (CAD) =  Trade Deficit + Net Income + Net Transfers

    (1) Trade Deficit

    • Trade Deficit = Imports – Exports
    • A Country is said to have a trade deficit when it imports more goods and services than it exports.
    • Trade deficit is an economic measure of a negative balance of trade in which a country’s imports exceeds its exports.
    • A trade deficit represents an outflow of domestic currency to foreign markets.

    (2) Net Income

    • Net Income = Income Earned by MNCs from their investments in India.
    • When foreign investment income exceeds the savings of the country’s residents, then the country has net income deficit.
    • This foreign investment can help a country’s economy grow. But if foreign investors worry they won’t get a return in a reasonable amount of time, they will cut off funding.
    • Net income is measured by the following things:
    1. Payments made to foreigners in the form of dividends of domestic stocks.
    2. Interest payments on bonds.
    3. Wages paid to foreigners working in the country.

    (3) Net Transfers

    • In Net Transfers, foreign residents send back money to their home countries. It also includes government grants to foreigners.
    • It Includes Remittances, Gifts, Donation etc

    How Current Account Transaction does takes place?

    • While understanding the Current Account Deficit in detail, it is important to understand what the current account transactions are.
    • Current account transactions are transactions that require foreign currency.
    • Following transactions with from which component these transactions belong to :
    1. Component 1 : Payments connection with Foreign trade – Import & Export
    2. Component 2 : Interest on loans to other countries and Net income from investments in other countries
    3. Component 3 : Remittances for living expenses of parents, spouse and children residing abroad, and Expenses in connection with Foreign travel, Education and Medical care of parents, spouse and children

    What has the SBI said?

    • The biggest impact on CAD is oil imports, which form as much as 30% of the country’s import bills.
    • Every $10 increase in crude prices impacts the CAD to the tune of 40 basis points while the same on fuel inflation is 50 bps and also results in 23 bps decline in growth.
    • Strong remittances and software exports had lowered CAD by 60 basis points (bps) in the June quarter.
    • Forex reserves, which have declined from $642 billion in September 2021 to about $531 billion last week, are expected to rise by $5 billion as swap transactions reverse.

     

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  • Urban Pollution

    Urban Pollution

    Context

    • More than 1,10,000 infants are likely to have been killed by air pollution in India in 2019, almost immediately after being born while long-term exposure to outdoor and household air pollution was estimated to be responsible for about 1.67 million annual deaths amongst the adult population in the country.

    What is pollution?

    • Pollution is the introduction of harmful materials into the environment. These harmful materials are called pollutants. Pollutants can be natural, such as volcanic ash. They can also be created by human activity, such as trash or runoff produced by factories. Pollutants damage the quality of air, water, and land.

    Urban Pollution

    Menace of air pollution in urban areas

    • Demands for air purifiers: Demand for air purifiers has boomed. Recently, in Delhi, pollution-related curbs were lifted and schools opened, despite air quality continuing to be in the “very poor” category.
    • Health related problems: For the majority of urban north Indians who can’t afford air purifiers, life continues amidst dust, cough and breathlessness.
    • Children are most affected: Our children in urban localities are growing up with stunted lungs, amidst poverty.
    • High percentage of respiratory problems: Eighty per cent of all families in Delhi are noted to be suffering respiratory ailments due to severe pollution.

    How we can reduce the air pollution?

    • Expand green cover across urban areas to reduce dust pollution: Ahmedabad’s municipal corporation, for instance, has experimented with urban forests, with the city’s 43rd urban forest inaugurated in June 2021 over 20,000 trees have been in 7,625 sq. metres. Chandigarh has about 1,800 parks. Close to 46 per cent of the city was classified as a green area in 2019.
    • Use of Miyawaki technique: Civil society could also help in Chennai, the NGO Thuvakkam, with a volunteer force of 1,800, has been able to grow 25 Miyawaki forests, raising over 65,000 trees. Such plantations are now being replicated in other cities including Tuticorin, Vellore and Kanchipuram.
    • Push for airshed management: With a focus on understanding meteorological, seasonal and geographic patterns for air quality across a large region. In the US, the passage of the Air Quality Act (1967) saw the state of California being divided into 35 districts which had similar geographic and meteorological conditions and pollution was regulated at the state level. This approach was successful in reducing emissions by 98 per cent from 2010 to 2019.
    • Heavy penalty on polluting cars: Inspiration can also be taken from London’s air pollution revolution an Ultra-Low Emission zone has been established in Central London, with hefty daily fees on cars that emit more than 75g/km of pollution.

    Urban Pollution

    Water pollution in Indian cities

    • Untreated water into freshwater bodies: 72 per cent of urban sewage is untreated in India’s urban freshwater bodies. The Central Pollution Control Board reckons that more than 50 per cent of 351 river stretches (on 323 rivers) are polluted. Over 4,000 septic trucks (with each truck having 5,000 litres of human waste) dispose of their waste in the Ganga every day. In Delhi, about 941 MLPD of raw sewage finds its way to the river, killing off fish and preventing rituals on the banks.
    • Riverine Pollution: Riverine pollution causes due to raw sewage overflowing from sewage treatment plants, untreated waste from unauthorized colonies, industrial effluents, sewer water from authorized colonies and inter-state pollution.
    • Water scarcity: More than 40 per cent of Indians are expected to face water scarcity by 2050 and close to 35 million will face annual coastal flooding with sea level rise.
    • Lack of planning: Apathy prevails as of May 2021, only 16 Indian cities had disclosed their plans to tackle climate change to international institutions, with only eight having actual sustainability-related targets in their urban master plans. Only 43 per cent of all Indian cities surveyed actually sought to address climate change adaption as a topic in their master plans, while only five had a GHG emission reduction target.

    Urban Pollution

    Do you know this harsh reality?

    • In India, nearly 7 lakh premature deaths are attributed to water pollution
    • Globally, 1.5 million children under five years die each year as a result of water-related diseases.

    How to fight water pollution?

    • Improving sewage treatment plant capacity: ensuring linkages with the drainage network. Mangalore’s City Corporation (MCC) has wastewater treatment plants with end-user linkages. The MCC offered to supply treated water to such industrial end-users in the city’s special economic zone if the latter agreed to fund about 70 per cent of the operations and maintenance cost of the pumps and the sewage treatment plant.
    • Developing a sanitation network: The problem of untreated waste and sewer water from unauthorized colonies can be solved by investing in a sewerage network. Consider the example of Alandur, a small suburb of Chennai in 2000, it had no underground sewage lines, with most houses dependent on septic tanks. In the late 1990s, the local municipality in partnership with local resident welfare associations conducted collection drives to gain deposits (ranging from Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500) for developing a sanitation network.
    • Pump house: The project was launched with a push for creating a pump house, setting up over 5,650 manholes and providing sewerage connections to 23,700 households, a sewage treatment plant with a 12 MLD capacity was also set up. Going forward, many other municipalities in Tamil Nadu have sought to adopt this model.
    • A systems-based approach should be adopted: along with a push for protecting “blue infra” areas places that act as natural sponges for absorbing surface runoff, allowing groundwater to be recharged. At the household level, we can encourage citizens to take up rainwater harvesting, urban roof terrace greening, urban roof water retention tanks and having a green corridor around residential buildings.
    • Water permeable roads: Municipalities could be encouraged to make existing roads permeable with a push for green landscaping and rain gardens. At the city level and beyond, policymakers should push for “sponge cities” and incorporate disaster planning. A mindset shift, in citizenry and policymakers, is urgently needed.

    Conclusion

    • Urban planning and urban pollution are largely neglected in our governance model. Unplanned cities are facing the various problems. We must embrace the technology to fight the pollution in urban India.

    Mains Question

    How severe is the problem of Urban pollution? What steps can be taken to fight the urban pollution in India?

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  • Genesis of the Delhi Air Pollution and its mitigation

    delhi

    As the situation becomes an annually recurring one in New Delhi and NCR, here’s a look at how far back it goes and what policies have been adopted by the Centre and Delhi’s elected governments to curb air pollution over the years.

    Do you know?

    In November 2016, in an event known as the Great Smog of Delhi, the air pollution spiked far beyond acceptable levels. This tagged New Delhi to be world’s most polluted city ever.

    Causes of Poor Air Quality

    • Motor vehicle emissions are one of the causes of poor air quality.
    • Badarpur Thermal Power Station, a coal-fired power plant was another major source of air pollution in Delhi.
    • The drift/mist emissions from the wet cooling towers are also a source of particulate matter as they are widely used in industry and other sectors for dissipating heat in cooling systems.
    • Although Delhi is kerosene free and 90% of the households use LPG for cooking, the remaining 10% uses wood, crop residue, cow dung, and coal for cooking. (Census-India, 2011)
    • Fires in Bhalswa landfill is a major reason for airborne particles in Delhi.
    • Burning of effigies during Vijayadashami and bursting of firecrackers burning during Diwali is often accused by the left-wing activists to cause of Delhi’s poor air quality.
    • Agricultural stubble burning in Haryana and Punjab, coupled with north-westerly winds also affects Delhi’s air quality since the 1980s when crops are being harvested.

    Evolution of policies

    (1) Recognition of the broader issue (1995)

    • In March 1995, the Supreme Court, while hearing a plea by environmentalist and lawyer M.C. Mehta about Delhi’s polluting industries
    • It noted that Delhi was the world’s fourth most polluted city in terms of concentration of suspended particulate matter (SPM) in the ambient atmosphere as per the WHO’s 1989 report.

    (2) Identifying major pollutants (1996)

    • The Court took note of two polluting factors — vehicles and industries.
    • In 1996, the court ordered the closure and relocation of over 1,300 highly-polluting industries from Delhi’s residential areas beyond the National Capital Region (NCR) in a phased manner.
    • In 1996, Mr. Mehta filed another public interest litigation (PIL) alleging that vehicular emissions were leading to air pollution and that it posed a public health hazard.

    (3) Action plan by Delhi Govt. (1996)

    • The Delhi government submitted an action plan to the apex court.
    • The court recognised the need for technical assistance and advice in decision-making and implementation of its orders.

    (4) Establishment of EPCA (1998)

    • The Supreme Court asked the Environment Ministry to establish an authority for Delhi, leading to the creation of the Environmental Pollution Control Authority of Delhi NCR (EPCA) in 1998.
    • The EPCA submitted its report containing a two-year action.
    • The Court subsequently ordered the Delhi Transport Corporation (DTC) bus fleet, taxis, and autos to switch to Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), and the phasing out of all pre-1990 autos.
    • Coal-based power plants within Delhi were also converted to gas-based ones.

    (5) National Air Quality Programme (NAMP)

    • Around the same time, the Centre decided to establish a network of monitoring stations under the National Air Quality Programme (NAMP) to measure key pollutants.
    • The NAMP monitors the four major pollutants as part of the AQI – sulphur dioxide, oxides of nitrogen, respirable particulate matter and fine particulate matter.
    • It also checks wind speed and direction along with relative humidity and temperature.

    How were air quality standards revised?

    • The National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were specified by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB).
    • It identified pollutants like PM10 (particulate matter with a diameter exceeding 10 microns), sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxides were measured.
    • The NAAQS were revised in 2009 to include 12 categories of pollutants including PM2.5 (particulate matter with a diameter under 2.5 microns
    • Particulate Matter (PM) is primarily generated by fuel combustion from different sectors, including transport, energy, households, industry and agriculture.

    Arriving finally at: Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)

    • According to the revised NAAQS, the acceptable annual limit for PM2.5 is 40 micrograms per cubic metre (ug/m3) and 60 ug/m3 for PM10.
    • In the winter of 2016, Delhi witnessed one of its worst incidents of pollution-induced smog, with PM2.5 and PM10 levels reaching a whopping 999 ug/m3 in parts of Delhi on November 1.
    • Subsequently, the Supreme Court in November 2016 told Delhi and NCR authorities to form a plan to deal with the air pollution.
    • The MoEFCC in early 2017 came out with the Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP).

     

    Try this question from CS Mains 2015:

    Q.Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata are the three megacities of the country but the air pollution is a much more serious problem in Delhi as compared to the other two. Why is this so?

     

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  • In news: Pashmina Wool

    pashmina

    Traders of Pashmina shawls are complaining that “obsolete testing methods” have resulted in many of their export consignments being flagged for the presence of ‘Shahtoosh’ guard hair, which is obtained from endangered Tibetan antelopes.

    Shahtoosh, on the other hand, is the fine undercoat fibre obtained from the Tibetan Antelope, known locally as ‘Chiru’, a species living mainly in the northern parts of the Changthang Plateau in Tibet.  

    What is Pashmina?

    • Pashmina is a fine type of cashmere wool. The textiles made from it were first woven in Kashmir.
    • The wool comes from a number of different breeds of the cashmere goat; such as the changthangi or Kashmir pashmina goat from the Changthang Plateau in Tibet and part of the Ladakh region and few parts of Himachal Pradesh.
    • Often shawls called shahmina are made from this material in Kashmir and Nepal; these shawls are hand spun and woven from the very fine cashmere fibre.
    • Traditional producers of pashmina wool are people known as the Changpa.
    • Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has published an Indian Standard for identification, marking and labelling of the already GI tagged Pashmina products to certify its purity.

    About Pashmina goat

    • The Changthangi or Pashmina goat is a special breed of goat indigenous to the high altitude regions of Ladakh in Jammu and Kashmir.
    • They are raised for ultra-fine cashmere wool, known as Pashmina once woven. The Textiles are handspun and were first woven in Kashmir.
    • The Changthangi goat grows a thick warn undercoat which is the source of Kashmir Pashmina wool – the world’s finest cashmere measuring between 12-15 microns in fiber thickness.
    • These goats are generally domesticated and reared by nomadic communities called the Changpa in the Changthang region of Greater Ladakh.
    • The Changthangi goats have revitalized the economy of Changthang, Leh and Ladakh region.

     

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:

    1. They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
    2. They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
    3. They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

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