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GS Paper: GS3

Food security and Climate change:The Interlink
Context
- In pursuance of the earlier announcement of additional food security under PMGKAY, the Union Cabinet has approved the extension for the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PMGKAY-Phase VII) for a further period of 3 months from October to December 2022.
What is Climate Change?
- United Nations defines Climate change as long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas
What is food security?
- The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)defines food security as , when all people, at all times, have physical and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.
Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana?
- Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY) is a scheme as part of Atmanirbhar Bharat to supply free food grains to migrants and poor.
- Phase-I and Phase-II of this scheme was operational from April to June, 2020 and July to November, 2020 respectively.
- The PMGKAY scheme for Phase VI from April-September, 2022 would entail an estimated additional food subsidy of Rs. Rs. 80,000 Crore.
How food security and climate change are interlinked?
- Extreme events: India is going to have extreme events such as heatwaves, droughts, floods, etc of increasing intensity and frequency.
- Rising GHGs emission: We may keep blaming developed economies and ask for climate justice, yet we will have to act fast and boldly to correct our own policies that increase GHG emissions and aggravate the situation.
- Subsidies: Power provided at next-to-nothing prices, free water and highly subsidised fertilisers especially urea are some of the policies that are damaging the natural environment.
- Food ecosystem: Food security is one of the leading concerns associated with climate change. Climate change affects food security in complex ways. It impacts crops, livestock, forestry, fisheries and aquaculture, and can cause grave social and economic consequences in the form of reduced incomes, eroded livelihoods, trade disruption and adverse health impacts.
Why food security is a matter of concern?
- Fiscal deficit: The fiscal deficit of the Centre may go higher than provisioned in the Budget for FY23. The finance ministry not supporting the extension of this free food beyond September was, economically, a rational recommendation. More so as Covid-19 is behind us and the economy is back to its normal level of activity.
- Depleting stocks: The PMGKAY was announced in April 2020 in the wake of the pandemic’s first wave. At that time, it was perhaps necessary to support all those who lost their jobs. But doubling free rations depleted the bulging stocks of grains. Now with wheat procurement having plummeted, there is a concern about whether stocks are enough to curb inflationary expectations in the country.
- Less harvest: To replenish wheat stocks in FCI godowns, the government will have to raise the minimum support price (MSP) of wheat quite substantially. For rice, the current stocks are ample, but given the monsoon vagaries, the forthcoming rice harvest is estimated to be about 7 million tonnes less.
- Rising MSP: PMGKAY will be difficult to extend beyond December without putting an undue burden on MSPs and the fiscal deficit.
- Other reasons:
1. Inflation: Even though the RBI has raised the repo rate by 50 basis points, the probability of inflation, as measured by the consumer price index (CPI), remaining higher than the central bank’s tolerance band is increasing by the day.
2. Depreciating Rupee: The RBI has already spent more than $80 billion to support the rupee, and there are limits to which it can go. And, if RBI tries to hold the rupee artificially high, it will adversely hit Indian exports, widening the current account deficit and putting further pressure on the rupee. The best that RBI can and should do is to avoid a sudden and abrupt fall in the rupee, but also let it find its natural level given what is happening globally, especially in the currency markets.
3. Long haul: The risks of higher inflation from the falling rupee remain and are likely to continue for at least one year, if not more.
What can we do?
- Increasing foreign exchange reserves: Government have to have innovative policies to promote exports and attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).
- Fixing Issue price: fix the issue prices of PDS supplies at half the MSP and limit the PDS coverage to 30 per cent of the bottom population.
- On rupee fall: The best that RBI can and should do is to avoid a sudden and abrupt fall in the rupee, but also let it find its natural level given what is happening globally, especially in the currency markets.
- Use of technology: If we have to tame food inflation, we will have to invest more in climate-smart agriculture, in precision farming, with high productivity and less damage to natural resources.
- Right ecosystem: Science and technologies can, of course, help us, but they cannot be scaled in a perverse policy ecosystem.
- Adoption of sustainable agricultural practices: India needs to step up public investment in development and dissemination of crop varieties which are more tolerant of temperature and precipitation fluctuations and are more water and nutrient efficient.
- Management of water resources: A four pronged strategy is recommended for the water sector; Increase irrigation efficiency, Promote micro irrigation in water-deficient areas, Better water resource infrastructure planning, Restoration of water bodies in rural areas, Stronger emphasis on public health.
- Long-term relief measures in the event of natural disasters: A recent report by NITI Aayog suggests that the government should transfer a minimum specified sum of cash to affected farmers and landless workers as an instant relief. For richer farmers who may want insurance above this relief, the report recommends a separate commercially viable crop insurance programme.
Conclusion
- So far India has done well to tame the food inflation as compared to other developed and developing economies. Present policy of RBI burning the FOREX and government increasing the deficit is unsustainable in long run. Food security needs to be insured by climate resilient policies for long term sustenance.
Mains Question

Q.Climate change is a growing concern that threatens sustainable development in addition to food security and inflation. Discuss

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October 3, 2022
Nord Stream Pipeline Leakage: A climate Catastrophe
Context
- Four leakages were reported at different points in the Nord Stream pipelines, linking Russia and Europe, since September 26. Two of the leaks were in Swedish waters while the other two were reported from Danish waters. The European Union said they suspected “sabotage” behind the leaks.
What is Nord Stream Pipeline?
- Nord Stream 1:
- Nord Stream 1 is the biggest pipeline transporting natural gas between Russia and Europe via Germany.It is a system of offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany.
- Nord Stream 1 is a 1,224 km underwater gas pipeline that runs from Vyborg in northwest Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany via the Baltic Sea.
- Nord Stream 2:
- Russian threats to choke this gas supply to Europe present an economic threat to Germany.
- To expand options and double the supply from Russia, Germany decided to build Nord Stream 2.
- The construction of the $11 billion-worth Nord Stream 2 was completed in 2021 but never began commercial operations.
Why the Nord Stream pipeline is so important?
- For Germany: Energy prices in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, are among the lowest in the continent because of the cheap gas supplies via Nord Stream 1. This also makes German manufactured goods more competitive in the international market.
- For European Union: In 2021, Russia supplied nearly 40 per cent of the EU’s natural gas needs through this pipeline. The flows through Nord Stream play a vital role in filling up the national storage tanks of EU. It is crucial to provide the required heating in the upcoming winter.
- For Russia: Russia is using the supplies via the crucial pipeline as a bargain to navigate its economy through sanctions from the western countries.
What is the current status of Nord Stream Pipeline?
- Nord stream pipeline is the largest single supply route for Russian gas to Europe. The Russian state owned gas company Gazprom has a majority ownership in the pipeline.
- While it was running at just 20% of its capacity since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, the company, in early September fully cut gas flows from the pipeline on the pretext of maintenance.
- According to Bloomberg, while 40% of Europe’s pipeline gas came from Russia before Russia Ukraine the war, the number now stands at just 9%.
- Even though both pipelines were not running commercially, they had millions of cubic metres of gas stored in them.
The recent leakage in the pipeline
- Commercial Methane: Measuring satellite firm GHGSat says, that a conservative estimate based on available data suggested that the leaks together were releasing ‘more than500 metric tonnes of methane per hour’ when first breached, with the flow decreasing over time.
- Biggest methane leakage ever: According to UNEP The leakage from the Nord Stream natural gas pipeline system under the Baltic Sea have led to perhaps the single biggest release of methane ever recorded.
- Amount of leakage: The rate of leakage at one of the four points of rupture in the pipeline was 22,920 kg per hour. That is equal to burning about 286,000 kg of coal every hour, according to scientists.
What will be the Impact of methane leakage?
- Possibility of more leakage: With the timeframe for repairs being uncertain, the pipelines were unlikely to provide any gas to Europe in the forthcoming winter months, even if the political will to resume supply was found.
- Commercial damage: European gas prices spiked after reports of the leaks emerged; European Benchmark prices rose 12% on Tuesday, while Dutch and British Prices continued to rise.
- Ozone formation: Methane is the primary contributor to the formation of ground-level ozone, a hazardous air pollutant and greenhouse gas, exposure to which causes 1 million premature deaths every year.
- Green House gas: Methane is also a powerful greenhouse gas. Over a 20-year period, it is 80 times more potent at warming than carbon dioxide.
- Global warming: Methane has accounted for roughly 30 per cent of global warming since pre-industrial times and is proliferating faster than at any other time since record keeping began in the 1980s.
- Emission have already increased during the lockdown: According to data from the United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, even as carbon dioxide emissions decelerated during the pandemic-related lockdowns of 2020, atmospheric methane shot up.
Why is it important to reduce methane emission?
- Short lifespan: Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for hundreds to thousands of years. But it takes only about a decade for methane to break down. So, reducing methane emissions now would have an impact in the near term and is critical for helping keep the world on a path to 1.5°C.
- Human caused methane emissions: Human-caused methane emissions could be reduced by as much as 45 per cent within the decade. This would avert nearly 0.3°C of global warming by 2045, helping to limit global temperature rise to 1.5˚C and putting the planet on track to achieve the Paris Agreement targets.
- Prevent premature deaths: Every year, the subsequent reduction in ground-level ozone would also prevent 260,000 premature deaths, 775,000 asthma-related hospital visits, 73 billion hours of lost labour from extreme heat and 25 million tonnes of crop losses.
- Reducing the Agriculture emission: Agriculture and allied activities remains the biggest contributor of methane emission. The UN’s Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture initiative is supporting the transformation of agricultural and food systems, focusing on how to maintain productivity amid a changing climate. Representatives are also working to mainstream agriculture into the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Conclusion
- Nord stream pipeline leakages will further exacerbate the ozone formation, Green House Gas emissions global warming and thereby climate change. In the spirit of Paris climate change agreement nations must act together to rein in the menace of GHG emissions.
Mains Questions

Q.Methane emission into atmosphere is done more by human activities than natural causes. In the spirit of Paris climate change agreement nations must act together to rein in the menace of GHG emissions. Explain

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October 3, 2022
Report on Abuse of UAPA
The People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has released a report titled “UAPA: criminalizing dissent and state terror” on the alleged abuse of the legislation between 2009 and 2022, and demanded that the law be repealed.

What is Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)?
- The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
- Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
- It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
- It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.
What are Unlawful Activities and Associations?
- The UAPA lays down the definitions and rules for designating an organisation as an “unlawful association” if it is engaged in certain types of activities.
- Under Section 3 of the UAPA Act, the government has powers to declare an association “unlawful”.
- The government can then issue a notification designating such an organisation as a terrorist organisation, if it believes that the organisation is part of “terrorist activities.”
(1) Unlawful Activites
- Under section 2(o) of the UAPA, an unlawful activity in relation to an individual or association means – Any action taken by such an individual or association (whether by committing an act or by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise), –
1. Works for the Cession of a part of the territory of India or the secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union
2. Disclaims, questions, disrupts or is intended to Disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India; or
3. which causes or is intended to cause Disaffection against India;
- Related and ancillary acts, including financing, support or promotion of any such activities are also “unlawful activity”.
(2) Unlawful Association

The UAPA also defines an “Unlawful Association” under section 2(p) as meaning any association,–
1. which has for its object any unlawful activity, or which encourages or aids persons to undertake any unlawful activity, or of which the members undertake such activity or
2. which encourages or aids persons to undertake any such activity, or of which the members undertake any such activity
Reported abuse of UAPA
- The PUCL report studied data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) from 2015 to 2020.
- It has found per-case conviction rate under the UAPA was 27.57% compared with 49.67% in Indian Penal Code (IPC) cases.
- The per-arrestee conviction rate was just 2.8% against 22.19% in IPC cases.
- This is far less to figure of the success of having UAPA.
Cases registered under UAPA
- During the check period, 5,924 cases were registered and 8,371 persons arrested.
- The National Investigation Agency, on its website, had listed 456 cases of which 78% involved UAPA charges.
Issues with UAPA
- Burden of proof: With such high barriers of proof, it is now impossible for an accused to obtain bail, and is in fact a convenient tool to put a person behind bars indefinitely.
- No interim bail: As a consequence of UAPA being applied, the accused cannot even get bail.
- Traitor branding: This is being abused by the government, police and prosecution liberally: now, all dissenters are routinely implicated under charges of sedition or criminal conspiracy and under the UAPA.
- Fake and framed cases: In multiple instances, evidence is untenable, sometimes even arguably planted, and generally weak overall.
Key recommendations of the report
- The report has sought:
1. Repeal of the NIA Act and disbanding of the agency
2. Release of all political prisoners (also who are on bail) and
3. Action to provide reparations for those wrongfully accused and released by Courts
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October 3, 2022
How Tokenization will change your online purchase?
The RBI’s deadline for tokenization of cards used in online payments passed on 30 September.

What is Tokenization?
- Tokenisation refers to the replacement of credit and debit card details with an alternative code called a ‘token’.
- This token is unique for a combination of card, token requestor (the entity that accepts a request from the customer for tokenization of a card and passes it on to the card network to issue a token) and the device.
How does it work?
- Tokenizing credit and debit cards is a way to reduce the number of places where your card data can be found.
- For instance, payments on Uber showed a warning that your card data will be saved with payment gateways such as Visa and Mastercard.
- What it is saying is that a merchant like Uber will have to work with payment networks like Visa to convert the card details into a digital token, which is then used to validate transactions.
- As a result, the card details you enter on the Uber app, or any online platform, are not stored on the company’s cloud servers, and are hence more secure.
What is the digital token being used?
- The digital token is a randomized string, usually alphanumeric. So, a 16-digit card number gets converted to something like 8f9%yf57ljTa.
- It is generated by computer programmes, and the card network tags the token to your actual card details, and relays the token to the merchant.
- When payments are to be requested, the merchant sends this token to the card network, which matches it against the saved details and validates the transaction.
- A third party accessing the token won’t have use for it, since tokens will be unique across combinations of card, token requestor and merchants.
Who can offer tokenization services?
- Tokenisation can be performed only by the authorised card network and recovery of original Primary Account Number (PAN) should be feasible for the authorised card network only.
- Adequate safeguards have to be put in place to ensure that PAN cannot be found out from the token and vice versa, by anyone except the card network.
- RBI has emphasised that the integrity of the token generation process has to be ensured at all times.
Benefits of Tokenization
- Transaction safety: Tokenization reduces the chances of fraud arising from sharing card details.
- Easy payments: The token is used to perform contactless card transactions at point-of-sale (PoS) terminals and QR code payments.
- Data storage: Only card networks and card-issuing banks will have access to and can store any card data.
How were the transactions processed?
- There are many players involved in processing one card transaction today:
1. Merchant
2. Payment aggregator
3. Issuing bank
4. Card network
- When a transaction happens on a merchant platform, the data is sent to the payment aggregator (PA).
- The PA next sends the details to either the issuing bank or the card network.
- Then issuing bank sends an OTP and the transaction flows back.
How will tokenization prevent online fraud?
- Card details saved on an app are stored in cloud servers, which if hacked, can give the hacker access to information like card numbers, expiry dates, name of holder etc.
- Though most merchants put special mechanisms to store card details in an obfuscated manner, it’s much more difficult to hack a bank or a Visa than it is to hack websites and apps.
How does it differ from encryption?
- The primary difference is that the token cannot lead one to the card details.
- In encryption, a computer program obfuscates data using an encryption key, and this key can turn the data back to its original form.
- In tokenization, however, there is no way to know what data a token represents unless one has access to the databases of the actual issuer of that token.
- In many cases, laws don’t consider tokens as “sensitive data”, and hence, companies don’t have to ensure the same compliance to protect them.
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October 3, 2022
PUC Certificate must to buy fuel in New Delhi
Motorists will not be able to buy fuel in Delhi without a valid Pollution Under Control (PUC) certificate from October 25.

What is PUC Certificate?
- The PUC certificate is a document that any person driving a motor vehicle can be asked to produce by a police officer in uniform authorized by the state government.
- These issue certificates if a vehicle is found complying with the prescribed emission norms.
- Since the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act, 2019 came into force, PUC certificate has been made mandatory.
- A PUC certificate contains information such as the vehicle’s license plate number, PUC test reading, date on which the PUC test was conducted and the expiry date.
Compliance rules
- According to Central Motor Vehicles Rules, 1989, every motor vehicle is required to carry a valid PUC Certificate after the expiry of period of one year from the date of its first registration.
- This includes those conforming to BS-I/ BS-II/ BS-III/BS-IV /BS-VI as well as vehicles plying on CNG/LPG.
- However, the validity of four-wheeled BS-IV compliant vehicles is one year and for other vehicles it is three months.
How is a pollution control check carried out?
- The computerized model for pollution check was developed by the Society of Indian Automobile manufacturers.
- A gas analyzer is connected to a computer, to which a camera and a printer are attached.
- The gas analyzer records the emission value and sends it to the computer directly, while the camera captures the license plate of the vehicle.
- Subsequently, a certificate may be issued if the emission values are within the limits.
Why obtain PUC Certificate?
- Emissions from automobiles are major contributors to air pollution all over the world.
- The smoke emitted from vehicles contains the following pollutants:
1. Hydrocarbons (HC)
2. Carbon Monoxide (CO)
3. Oxides of Nitrogen (NO_x)
4. Particulate Matter (PM)
5. Sulphur Dioxide (SO₂)
6. Carbon Dioxide (CO₂)
7. Nitrous Oxide (N₂O)
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October 3, 2022
MeFSAT Database for Medicinal Fungi
An analytical study of medicinal fungi using MeFSAT carried out by researchers from Chennai shows that some chemicals they secrete may find use as novel drugs.

What is MeFSAT?
- MeFSAT (Medicinal Fungi Secondary Metabolites and Therapeutics) is a database that compiles information on 184 medicinal fungi, including mushrooms.
- It is a manually curated database that compiles information on secondary metabolites and reported therapeutic uses of medicinal fungi from published research articles and specialized books on the subject.
Why in news?
- Chennai-based researchers analysed the structure of 1,830 secondary metabolites of medicinal fungi.
- Secondary metabolites are chemical compounds that fungi produce when they are stressed.
- They enhance the fungus’ ability to survive.
What are medicinal fungi?
- Medicinal fungi belongs to two taxonomic divisions namely, basidiomycota and ascomycota.
- Mushrooms belong to the basidiomycota division. An example is Agaricus bisporus, the button mushroom, which can be consumed.
- Fungi belonging to the ascomycota division are generally not mushrooms.
Examples of fungi-based medicines
- Cordycepin, a secondary metabolite produced by Cordyceps species of fungus, is known to have anti-tumor properties.
- Not only cordycepin, in general, but several secondary metabolites are also known to be beneficial for humans in terms of both therapy and health.
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October 3, 2022
Stressed ecology of Bay of Bengal
Context
- At the fourth BIMSTEC summit, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the opening of the Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBS) at Nalanda University. The launch of the CBS has once again demonstrated India’s commitment to advancing constructive agendas by forging connections and setting up platforms for all those with an interest in the of Bay of Benagl.
Why Bay of Bengal is so important?
- Commerce hub: The Bay has long been a major commerce hub for the Indian Ocean. It created a conduit between the East and the West in terms for trade and culture.
- Emerging arena of maritime warfare: An Indo-Pacific orientation and the realignment of global economic and military power towards Asia have had a considerable impact on the Bay region.
- Communication and Energy: The key sea lanes of communication in this area are lifelines for global economic security and are crucial to the energy security that powers the economies of many countries in the region.Further, non-traditional dangers including terrorism and climate change have become more prevalent.
- Under water resources: The Bay also provides an opportunity for greater regional cooperation in the environmentally friendly exploration of marine and energy resources. The Bay has a biodiverse marine environment.
- Fresh water resources: It receives the water from some of the world’s largest rivers. It is a partially enclosed sea that has given rise to several geological characteristics.
- Ecology: It is home to many rare and endangered marine species and mangroves, which are essential to the survival of the ecology and the fishing sector.
Why ecology in the region is under threat?

The region’s maritime environment has changed as are result of major powers expanding their economic and geopolitical influence.
- Competition: Political and cultural engagement, together with economic competition, have taken on new dimensions. More crucially, the Bay’s ecosystem is going through an unprecedented crisis brought on by widespread environmental exploitation and geopolitical unrest.
- Resource exploitation: Species extinction is a result of careless exploitation of the maritime environment, which has severe consequences on biodiversity. Problems such as population growth, altered land use, excessive resource exploitation, salinity, sea level rise, and climate change are exerting significant strain on the Bay’s environment.
- Water pollution: Operational discharge from small and medium feeder ships, shipping collisions, unintentional oil spills, industrial waste, pollution, and the accumulation of non- biodegradable plastic litter are all contributing to the deterioration of the Bay.
- Declining ecology: A dead-zone has formed, and the mangrove trees that protect the shore from the fury of nature are under more threat than ever.
What could be the Solutions?

For a better knowledge of challenges, and strategies to overcome them for the sustainable development of the region, more focused and inter-disciplinary study is required on these issues.
- Centre for Bay of Bengal studies: By founding the CBS, Nalanda University has already started its journey and given the nation a unique interdisciplinary research centre devoted to Bay focused teaching, research, and capacity building. Additionally, scholars from many countries and academic streams are already participating in CBS’s first certificate programme on the Bay.
- Inter-governmental cooperation: It is essential that nautical neighbours develop a partnership and cooperate because of the maritime domain’s interrelated and interdependent nature, transnational character, and cross-jurisdictional engagement of various governments and diverse organisations and enterprises.
- Maritime connectivity: A few concerns that need immediate attention include expanding cooperation in maritime safety and security, enhancing cooperation on maritime connectivity and the ease of maritime transit, and boosting investment possibilities in the maritime connectivity sector.
- Illegal activities: The latter subject involves addressing non-traditional threats and fostering group efforts to reduce illicit, unreported, and unregulated fishing.
- Data sharing: Standardising and harmonising data reporting.
- Balanced approach: Furthermore regional marine entities should strive to balance opportunities and goals on a national, regional, and international scale.
- Investment in R&D: Littoral governments need to support and promote skill-building, research, and training.
Conclusion
- Countries in the Bay of Bengal need to mobilise investments, manage maritime affairs more effectively. Alternative lifestyle should be explored. The cooperation of all member states, for information gathering, sharing and result oriented actions is crucial in protecting the ecology of Bay of Bengal.
Mains Question

Q.Countries in the Indian subcontinent are developing rapidly, putting serious stress on the environment of the Bay of Bengal.Mention the challenges and suggest solutions.

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September 29, 2022
Transboundary Flood Disasters
Context
- Pakistan experiencing devastation, with a spread of diseases and severe shortage of potable water after intense flooding. In June this year Assam experienced one of its worst floods in which it affected over 30 districts. Assam and Bihar frequently suffer from transboundary flood disasters.
What is transboundary flood?
- Floods that are originate in upper riparian state crosses the international boundary and also affects the lower riparian state. For example, river Brahmaputra causes flood both in China and India simultaneously.
How the transboundary floods are difficult to manage than normal floods?
- Flooding is still considered to be a natural phenomenon that cannot be entirely prevented. But it is compounded by the lack of transparency in the sharing of hydrological information and also information relating to activities (such as by one riparian state) that are transboundary in their effect (affecting other riparian states), thus serving as an obstacle in understanding the magnitude of flooding.
What is a riparian state?
- A riparian state is state (or country) located alongside a river.
What are the International laws governing transboundary waters?

There are at two international treaties that governs the transboundary water
- UNWC:
- United Nations Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Use of International Watercourses (UNWC) 1997.UNWC contains a direct reference to floods, which covers harmful conditions and the emergency situations.
- Article 27 of the Convention says, Watercourse States shall individually and, where appropriate, jointly, take all appropriate measures to prevent or mitigate conditions that may be harmful to other watercourse States, whether resulting from natural causes or human conduct or desertification.
- Environmental Impact Assessment:
- The International Court of Justice (ICJ), in the Pulp Mills on the River Uruguay (Argentina vs Uruguay) case of 2010, upheld that conducting a transboundary environmental impact assessment (TEIA) of a planned measure or projects on the shared water course is part of customary international law.
- In fact, the ICJ noted that the acting state must notify the affected party of the results of TEIA for assessment of its own damages that are likely to occur.
- UNECE: United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) on the Protection and Use of Transboundary Watercourses and International Lakes 1992 (Water Convention).
How India manages transboundary flood?
- Note:Neither India nor China are signatory to UNWC or UNCEC.
- River Brahmaputra: India has signed the memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China in 2013 with a view to sharing hydrological information during the flood season (June to September). The MoU does not allow India access to urbanisation and deforestation activities on the Chinese side of the river basin.
- Rivers Gandak and kosi: Floods are also a recurrent problem in the Kosi and Gandak river basins that are shared by India and Nepal.
- The India-Nepal Kosi agreement 1954: Agreement aimed at reducing devastating flooding in the river basin. The treaty-based joint bodies have also tried to refine the early warning systems for flood forecasting.
What are the suggestions?
- Signing the treaty: Expert suggests, India by becoming a party to either the UNWC and the Water Convention could lay the groundwork for a bilateral treaty on the Brahmaputra but subject to the reservation that it should not insist on the insertion of a dispute settlement mechanism provision.
- Information exchange: In contravention of procedural customary international law obligation, India considers data on transboundary rivers as classified information, which is one of the key challenges in developing cross-border flood warning systems. India needs to share the hydrological and river information for its own sake.
Conclusion
- Climate change has accelerated the frequency and intensity of floods across the world. with Changing climate India should also change its strategy to protect its people, to preserve the soil and to save its resources from the scourge of floods.
Mains Questions

Q.Climate change has created a more difficult challenge in flood management. In this context, what measures can be taken to deal with frequent transboundary floods in India. Discuss.

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September 29, 2022
MHA bans PFI for five years under UAPA
The Union Home Ministry has declared the Popular Front of India (PFI) and its front organizations as an “unlawful association” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

PFI under the Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)
- The UAPA is aimed at the effective prevention of unlawful activity associations in India.
- Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
- It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
- It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
- Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.
What are Unlawful Activities and Associations?
- The UAPA lays down the definitions and rules for designating an organization as an “unlawful association” if it is engaged in certain types of activities.
- Under Section 3 of the UAPA Act, the government has powers to declare an association “unlawful”.
- The government can then issue a notification designating such an organization as a terrorist organization if it believes that the organization is part of “terrorist activities.”
(1) Unlawful Activites
- Under section 2(o) of the UAPA, an unlawful activity in relation to an individual or association means – Any action taken by such an individual or association (whether by committing an act or by words, either spoken or written, or by signs or by visible representation or otherwise), –
1. Works for the Cession of a part of the territory of India or the secession of a part of the territory of India from the Union
2. Disclaims, questions, disrupts or is intended to Disrupt the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India; or
3. which causes or is intended to cause Disaffection against India;
- Related and ancillary acts, including financing, support or promotion of any such activities are also “unlawful activity”.
(2) Unlawful Association

The UAPA also defines an “Unlawful Association” under section 2(p) as meaning any association,–
1. which has for its object any unlawful activity, or which encourages or aids persons to undertake any unlawful activity, or of which the members undertake such activity or
2. which encourages or aids persons to undertake any such activity, or of which the members undertake any such activity
Reading the ban on PFI
- At present, the MHA notification published has said that the PFI and its affiliated organisations are being notified as “Unlawful Associations” with immediate effect.
- The charges against PFI are-
1. Pursuing a secret agenda to radicalize a particular section of society
2. Working towards undermining the concept of democracy and
3. Showing sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set up of the country
4. Gathering funds and ideological support from outside the country
5. Money laundering
Immediate trigger for PFI’s ban
- The PFI is accused of engaging in violent and barbaric acts.
- Criminal violent acts carried out by PFI include chopping off the limb of a college professor, cold-blooded killings of persons associated with organisations espousing other faiths.
- It has been allegedly involved in obtaining explosives to target prominent people and places and destruction of public property.
What does the ‘ban’ mean?
- The notification means that the membership of, support or financing to the PFI and the allied banned organizations, is now ILLEGAL.
- Any person who is a member of these organisations can face arrest, and joining membership of these organisations is a criminal offence.
- The government can also seize the properties, bank accounts and offices connected to these organisations.
September 29, 2022
Forex Reserves to dip by $23 billion by Dec
India’s depleted foreign exchange reserves are likely to drop further, falling to their lowest level in more than two years by end-2022.

Forex to dip
- In a battle that has so far failed to staunch the rupee’s fall to a record low against the greenback, the RBI has drawn down its foreign exchange reserves by close to $100 billion, to $545 billion.
- Those reserves are forecast to fall another $23 billion to $523 billion by the end of this year.
What is Foreign Exchange (Forex) Reserve?
- Foreign exchange reserves are important assets held by the central bank in foreign currencies as reserves.
- They are commonly used to support the exchange rate and set monetary policy.
- In India’s case, foreign reserves include Gold, Dollars, and the IMF’s quota for Special Drawing Rights.
- Most of the reserves are usually held in US dollars, given the currency’s importance in the international financial and trading system.
- Some central banks keep reserves in Euros, British pounds, Japanese yen, or Chinese yuan, in addition to their US dollar reserves.
India’s forex reserves cover:
- Foreign Currency Assets (FCAs)
- Special Drawing Rights (SDRs)
- Gold Reserves
- Reserve position with the International Monetary Fund (IMF)
Countries with the highest foreign reserves

Currently, China has the largest reserves followed by Japan and Switzerland. India has overtaken Russia to become the fourth largest country with foreign exchange reserves. (Data from August 2022)
1. China – $3,349 Billion
2. Japan – $1,376 Billion
3. Switzerland – $1,074 Billion
4. India – $612.73 Billion
5. Russia – $597.40 Billion
Why are these reserves so important?
- All international transactions are settled in US dollars and, therefore, required to support India’s imports.
- More importantly, they need to maintain support and confidence for central bank action, whether monetary policy action or any exchange rate intervention to support the domestic currency.
- It also helps to limit any vulnerability due to sudden disturbances in foreign capital flows, which may arise during a crisis.
- Holding liquid foreign currency provides a cushion against such effects and provides confidence that there will still be enough foreign exchange to help the country with crucial imports in case of external shocks.
Initiatives taken by the government to increase forex
- To increase the foreign exchange reserves, the Government of India has taken many initiatives like AatmaNirbhar Bharat, in which India has to be made a self-reliant nation so that India does not have to import things that India can produce.
- Other than AatmaNirbhar Bharat, the government has started schemes like Duty Exemption Scheme, Remission of Duty or Taxes on Export Product (RoDTEP), Nirvik (Niryat Rin Vikas Yojana) scheme, etc.
- Apart from these schemes, India is one of the top countries that attracted the highest amount of Foreign Direct Investment, thereby improving India’s foreign exchange reserves.
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September 29, 2022