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GS Paper: GS3

  • The Process of Cartelisation

    This newscard is an excerpt from the original article published in TH.

    What is a Cartel?

    • According to CCI, a “Cartel includes an association of producers, sellers, distributors, traders or service providers who, by agreement amongst themselves, limit, control or attempt to control the production, distribution, sale or price of, or, trade in goods or provision of services”.
    • The three common components of a cartel are:
    1. an agreement
    2. between competitors
    3. to restrict competition

    What is Cartelization?

    • Cartelization is when enterprises collude to fix prices, indulge in bid-rigging, or share customers, etc. But when prices are controlled by the government under law, that is not cartelization.
    • The Competition Act contains strong provisions against cartels.
    • It also has the leniency provision to incentivize a party to a cartel to break away and report to the Commission, and thereby expect total or partial leniency.
    • This has proved a highly effective tool against cartels worldwide.

    Philosophy behind

    • Cartels, which involve a group of businesses colluding to keep prices high, have been viewed by economists as a significant threat to the market economy.
    • When businesses cooperate with each other rather than compete against each other, there could be many adverse consequences to consumers.
    • For one, consumers will have to pay higher prices for goods and services.
    • It should be noted that the way cartels keep prices high is by limiting the supply of their output. Further, in the absence of any threat from competition, cartels also have very little reason to innovate or cater to consumers in better ways.
    • In other words, they essentially act like a monopoly.
    • The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is the most well-known international cartel that influences the price of oil globally through coordinated efforts to limit supply.

    How do they work?

    • Four categories of conduct are commonly identified across jurisdictions (countries). These are: price-fixing, output restrictions, market allocation and, bid-rigging
    • In sum, participants in hard-core cartels agree to insulate themselves from the rigors of a competitive marketplace, substituting cooperation for competition.

    How do cartels hurt?

    • They not only directly hurt the consumers but also, indirectly, undermine overall economic efficiency and innovations.
    • A successful cartel raises the price above the competitive level and reduces output.
    • Consumers choose either not to pay the higher price for some or all of the cartelized product that they desire, thus forgoing the product, or they pay the cartel price and thereby unknowingly transfer wealth to the cartel operators.

    Are there provisions in the Competition Act against monopolistic prices?

    • There are provisions in the Competition Act against abuse of dominance.
    • One of the abuses is when a dominant enterprise “directly or indirectly imposes unfair or discriminatory prices” in the purchase or sale of goods or services.
    • Thus, excessive pricing by a dominant enterprise could, in certain conditions, be regarded as abuse and, therefore, subject to investigation by the Competition Commission if it were fully functional.
    • However, where pricing is a result of normal supply and demand, the Competition Commission may have no role.

    What is the penalty for cartelization?

    • The Competition Act calls for a penalty on each member of the cartel, which is up to three times its profit for each year of anti-competitive behavior, or 10% of turnover for each year of its continuance, whichever is higher.
    • However, in case of a leniency petition, CCI can waive the penalty depending on the timing and usefulness of the disclosure  and  full cooperation  in  the  probe.

    How might cartels be worse than monopolies?

    • Monopolies are bad for both individual consumer interests as well as society at large.
    • Monopolist completely dominates the concerned market and, more often than not, abuse this dominance either in the form of charging higher than warranted prices or by providing lower than the warranted quality of the good or service in question.

    How to stop the spread of cartelization?

    • Strong deterrence to those cartels that are found guilty of being one.
    • Typically this takes the form of a monetary penalty that exceeds the gains amassed by the cartel and it is not always easy to ascertain the exact gains from cartelization.
    • The threat of stringent penalties can be used in conjunction with providing leniency — as was done in the beer case.

    Back2Basics: Competition Commission of India (CCI)

    • The CCI is the chief national competition regulator in India.
    • It is a statutory body within the Ministry of Corporate Affairs.
    • It is responsible for enforcing The Competition Act, 2002 in order to promote competition and prevent activities that have an appreciable adverse effect on competition in India.

     

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  • WHO & Traditional Medicine

    PM Modi, along with World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr Tedros Ghebreyesus, will perform the groundbreaking ceremony for the first-of-its-kind WHO Global Centre for Traditional Medicine (GCTM) in Jamnagar, Gujarat.

    What is Traditional Medicine?

    • The WHO describes traditional medicine as the total sum of the “knowledge, skills and practices indigenous and different cultures have used over time to maintain health and prevent, diagnose and treat physical and mental illness”.
    • Its reach encompasses ancient practices such as acupuncture, ayurvedic medicine and herbal mixtures as well as modern medicines.
    • According to WHO estimates, 80% of the world’s population uses traditional medicine.

    Traditional medicine in India

    • It is often defined as including practices and therapies — such as Yoga, Ayurveda, Siddha — that have been part of Indian tradition historically, as well as others — such as homeopathy — that became part of Indian tradition over the years.
    • Ayurveda and yoga are practised widely across the country.
    • The Siddha system is followed predominantly in Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
    • The Sowa-Rigpa System is practised mainly in Leh-Ladakh and Himalayan regions such as Sikkim, Arunachal Pradesh, Darjeeling, Lahaul & Spiti.

    What will the GCTM be about?

    • The GCTM will aim to focus on evidence-based research, innovation, and data analysis to optimise the contribution of traditional medicine to global health.
    • Its main focus will to develop norms, standards and guidelines in technical areas relating to traditional medicine.
    • It will seek to set policies and standards on traditional medicine products and help countries create a comprehensive, safe, and high-quality health system.
    • The GCTM will support efforts to implement the WHO’s Traditional Medicine Strategy (2014-23).
    • It will serve as the hub, and focus on building a “solid evidence base” for policies and “help countries integrate it as appropriate into their health systems”.

    Why has the WHO felt the need to advance knowledge of traditional medicine?

    • Almost all WHO members have reported widespread use of traditional medicine.
    • These member states have asked for its support in creating a body of reliable evidence and data on traditional medicine practices and products.
    • The WHO has found that the national health systems and strategies do not yet fully integrate traditional medicine workers, accredited courses and health facilities.
    • It has stressed the need to conserve biodiversity and sustainability as about 40% of approved pharmaceutical products today derive from natural substances.
    • It has referred to modernization of the ways traditional medicine is being studied. Artificial intelligence is now used to map evidence and trends in traditional medicine.

     

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  • Status of India’s National Cyber Security Strategy

    Recently, Chinese state-sponsored hackers targeted Indian electricity distribution centres near Ladakh.

    Amid a surge in cyberattacks on India’s networks, the Centre is yet to implement the National Cyber Security Strategy which has been in the works since 2020.

    Recent trends of Cyber-attacks in India

    • As per American cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks’ 2021 report, Maharashtra was the most targeted State in India — facing 42% of all ransomware attacks.
    • India is among the more economically profitable regions for hacker groups and hence these hackers ask Indian firms to pay a ransom, usually using cryptocurrencies, in order to regain access to the data.
    • One in four Indian organisations suffered a ransomware attack in 2021.
    • Indian organisations witnessed a 218% increase in ransomware — higher than the global average of 21%.
    • Software and services (26%), capital goods (14%) and the public sector (9%) were among the most targeted sectors.

    Increase in such attacks has brought to light the urgent need for strengthening India’s cybersecurity.

    What is the National Cyber Security Strategy?

    Conceptualised by the Data Security Council of India (DSCI), the report focuses on 21 areas to ensure a safe, secure, trusted, resilient, and vibrant cyberspace for India.

    The main sectors of focus of the report are:

    • Large scale digitisation of public services: There needs to be a focus on security in the early stages of design in all digitisation initiatives and for developing institutional capability for assessment, evaluation, certification, and rating of core devices.
    • Supply chain security: There should be robust monitoring and mapping of the supply chain of the Integrated circuits (ICT) and electronics products. Product testing and certification needs to be scaled up, and the country’s semiconductor design capabilities must be leveraged globally.
    • Critical information infrastructure protection: The supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) security should be integrated with enterprise security. A repository of vulnerabilities should also be maintained.
    • Digital payments: There should be mapping and modelling of devices and platform deployed, transacting entities, payment flows, interfaces and data exchange as well as threat research and sharing of threat intelligence.
    • State-level cyber security: State-level cybersecurity policies and guidelines for security architecture, operations, and governance need to be developed.

    What steps does the report suggest?

    To implement cybersecurity in the above-listed focus areas, the report lists the following recommendations:

    • Budgetary provisions: A minimum allocation of 0.25% of the annual budget, which can be raised up to 1% has been recommended to be set aside for cyber security.
    • Ministry-wise allocation: In terms of separate ministries and agencies, 15-20% of the IT/technology expenditure should be earmarked for cybersecurity.
    • Setting up a Fund of Funds: The report also suggests setting up a Fund of Funds for cybersecurity and to provide central funding to States to build capabilities in the same field.
    • R&D, skill-building and technology development: The report suggests investing in modernisation and digitisation of ICTs, setting up a short and long term agenda for cyber security via outcome-based programs and providing investments in deep-tech cyber security innovation.
    • National framework for certifications: Furthermore, a national framework should be devised in collaboration with institutions like the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) and ISEA (Information Security Education and Awareness) to provide global professional certifications in security.
    • Creating a ‘cyber security services’: The DSCI further recommends creating a ‘cyber security services’ with cadre chosen from the Indian Engineering Services.
    • Crisis management: For adequate preparation to handle crisis, the DSCI recommends holding cybersecurity drills which include real-life scenarios with their ramifications. In critical sectors, simulation exercises for cross-border scenarios must be held on an inter-country basis.
    • Cyber insurance: Cyber insurance being a yet to be researched field, must have an actuarial science to address cybersecurity risks in business and technology scenarios as well as calculate threat exposures.
    • Cyber diplomacy: Cyber diplomacy plays a huge role in shaping India’s global relations. To further better diplomacy, the government should promote brand India as a responsible player in cyber security and also create ‘cyber envoys’ for the key countries/regions.
    • Cybercrime investigation: It also suggests charting a five-year roadmap factoring possible technology transformation, setting up exclusive courts to deal with cybercrimes and remove backlog of cybercrimes by increasing centres providing opinion related to digital evidence under section 79A of the IT act.
    • Advanced forensic training: Moreover, the DSCI suggests advanced forensic training for agencies to keep up in the age of AI/ML, blockchain, IoT, cloud, automation.
    • Cooperation among agencies: Law enforcement and other agencies should partner with their counterparts abroad to seek information of service providers overseas.

    Progress in its implementation

    • The Centre has formulated a draft National Cyber Security Strategy 2021 which holistically looks at addressing the issues of security of national cyberspace.
    • Without mentioning a deadline for its implementation, the Centre added that it had no plans as of yet to coordinate with other countries to develop a global legal framework on cyber terrorism.

    Way forward

    • India has to contend with the importance and necessity of cyber offence as much as cyber defence.
    • As of today, India’s primary or possibly only response measures appear to be defensive.
    • India has to also invest in more offensive cyber means as a response.

     

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  • What is Parboiled Rice, and why Centre wants to stop purchasing it?

    Recently, Telangana CM and members of his Cabinet staged a protest demanding a uniform paddy procurement policy. The protest came after the Centre said it was stopping the purchase of excess parboiled rice, of which Telangana is a major producer.

    What is Parboiled Rice?

    • The dictionary meaning of ‘parboil’ is ‘partly cooked by boiling’.
    • Thus, the expression parboiled rice refers to rice that has been partially boiled at the paddy stage, before milling.
    • Parboiling of rice is not a new practice, and has been followed in India since ancient times.
    • However, there is no specific definition of parboiled rice of the Food Corporation of India or the Food Ministry.

    How is it prepared?

    • There are several processes for parboiling rice.
    • The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysuru, uses a method in which the paddy is soaked in hot water for three hours, in contrast to the more common method in which paddy is soaked for 8 hours.
    • The water is then drained and the paddy steamed for 20 minutes.
    • Also, the paddy is dried in the shade in the method used by the CFTRI, but is sun-dried in the common method.
    • The Paddy Processing Research Centre (PPRC), Thanjavur follows a method known as the chromate soaking process.
    • It uses chromate, a family of salt in which the anion contains both chromium and oxygen, which removes the odour from the wet rice.
    • All processes generally involve three stages—soaking, steaming and drying. After passing through these stages, the paddy goes for milling.

    Are all rice varieties suitable for parboiling?

    • Generally, all varieties can be processed into parboiled rice, but it is ideal to use long slender varieties to prevent breakage during milling.
    • However, aromatic varieties should not be parboiled because the process can make it can lose its aroma.

    What are the benefits?

    • Parboiling makes rice tougher. This reduces the chances of the rice kernel breaking during milling.
    • It also increases the nutrient value of the rice.
    • It has a higher resistance to insects and fungi.

    Certain disadvantages

    • The rice becomes darker and may smell unpleasant due to prolonged soaking.
    • Besides, setting up a parboiling rice milling unit requires a higher investment than a raw rice milling unit.

    How much is the stock of parboiled rice in the country?

    • According to the Food Ministry, the total stock of parboiled rice is 40.58 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) as on April 1, 2022.
    • Out of this, the highest stock is in Telangana at 16.52 LMT, followed by Tamil Nadu (12.09 LMT) and Kerala (3 LMT).
    • The stock was in the range 0.04–2.92 LMT in 10 other states —Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Karnataka, Bihar, Punjab and Haryana.
    • From the other 10 rice-producing states, including Telangana, the Ministry has no plan to procure parboiled rice.
    • In the coming days, the total parboiled rice stock will increase to 47.76 LMT.

    How high is the demand?

    • The Food Ministry pegs the parboiled rice demand at 20 LMT per annum for distribution under the National Food Security Act, 2013.
    • According to the Ministry, the demand for parboiled rice has come down in recent years.
    • In the last few years, production in parboiled rice-consuming states such as Jharkhand, Kerala and Tamil Nadu has increased, resulting in less movement to the deficit states.
    • Earlier, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) used to procure parboiled rice from states such as Telangana to supply to these states.
    • But in recent years, parboiled rice production has increased in these states.
    • The current stock is sufficient to meet the demand for the next two years.

     

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  • Places in news: Gulf of Gabes

    A Fuel Ship with 750 tons of diesel sinks off the Gulf Of Gabes in Tunisia.

    Gulf of Gabes

    • The Gulf of Gabes also known as Lesser Syrtis contrasting with the Greater Syrtis in Libya, is a gulf on Tunisia’s east coast in the Mediterranean Sea, off North Africa.
    • The gulf roughly spans the coast from Sfax to Djerba.
    • At the head of the gulf is the city of Gabès (Ghannouche) where the tides have a large range of up to 2.1 m at spring tides.
    • Both Gabès and Sfax are major ports on the gulf, supporting sponge and tuna fisheries, with Gabès being the economic and administrative centre.
    • It is 60 miles (100 km) long and 60 miles wide and is bounded by the Qarqannah (Kerkena) Islands on the northeast and by Jarbah (Djerba) Island on the southeast.

    Regional economy of the gulf

    • Except for the Strait of Gibraltar and the Gulf of Venice, it is the only part of the Mediterranean with a substantial tidal range, causing the uncovering of extensive sandbanks at low water.
    • Sponge and tuna fisheries are located at the main ports of Qābis (Gabès) and Ṣafāqis (Sfax).
    • Oil and natural-gas deposits have been found in the gulf, east of Ṣafāqis.

     

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  • What are Oil Bonds?

    Over the last one year, as retail prices of petrol, diesel and other petroleum products have surged, the government has attracted criticism.

    Finance Minister has sought to counter such criticism by claiming that the current government cannot bring down taxes (and, as a consequence, prices) because it has to pay for the oil bonds issued by the previous regime.

    What are oil bonds?

    • An oil bond is an IOU (I owe you), or a promissory note issued by the government to the OMCs, in lieu of cash that the government would have given them so that these companies don’t charge the public the full price of fuel.
    • An oil bond says the government will pay the oil marketing company the sum of, say, Rs 1,000 crore in 10 years.
    • And to compensate the OMC for not having this money straightaway, the government will pay it, say, 8% (or Rs 80 crore) each year until the bond matures.
    • Thus, by issuing such oil bonds, the government of the day is able to protect/ subsidise the consumers without either ruining the profitability of the OMC or running a huge budget deficit itself.

    Why were they issued?

    • When fuel prices were too high for domestic consumers, governments in the past often asked oil marketing companies (OMCs) to avoid charging consumers the full price.
    • But if oil companies don’t get paid, they would become unprofitable.
    • To address this, the government said it would pay the difference.
    • But again, if the government paid that amount in cash, it would have been pointless, because then the government would have had to tax the same people to collect the money to pay the OMCs.
    • This is where oil bonds come in.

    How much of fuel prices is tax?

    • There are two components to the domestic retail price — the price of crude oil itself, and the taxes levied on this basic price.
    • Together they make up the retail price.
    • The taxes vary from one product to another. For instance, as of now, taxes account for 50% of the total retail price for a litre of petrol, and 44% for a litre of diesel.

    How much of the UPA-era oil bonds has the NDA government paid back?

    • There are two components of oil bonds that need to be paid off: the annual interest payment, and the final payment at the end of the bond’s tenure.
    • By issuing such bonds, a government can defer the full payment by 5 or 10 or 20 years, and in the interim just pay the interest costs.
    • Table 1 shows that between 2015 and 2021, the NDA government has fully paid off four sets of oil bonds — a total of Rs 13,500 crore.
    • Each year, the BJP government had also had to pay the interest rate on all bonds that have not matured. Chart 1 shows the amount paid towards interest payment each year.
    • Between 2014 and 2022, the government has had to spend a total of Rs 93,686 crore towards interest as well as the principal.

    Still, isn’t it a bad idea to issue such bonds?

    • Former PM Manmohan Singh was correct in noting that issuing bonds just pushed the liability to a future generation.
    • But to a great extent, most of the government’s borrowing is in the form of bonds.
    • This is why each year the fiscal deficit (which is essentially the level of government’s borrowing from the market) is so keenly tracked.
    • Further, in a relatively country like India, all governments are forced to resort to the use of bonds of some kind.
    • Take the current NDA government itself, which has issued bonds worth Rs 2.79 lakh crore (twice the amount of oil bonds) to recapitalise public sector banks.
    • These bonds will be paid by governments till 2036.

     

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  • Inter-State collaboration to deal with air pollution

    Context

    With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) governing both Delhi and Punjab, collaboration for clean air should be the mantra for both State governments.

    Impact of air pollution on Delhi and Punjab

    • Punjab is home to nine of the 132 most polluted cities in the country identified by the Central Pollution Control Board.
    • In 2019, Delhi and Punjab together faced economic losses estimated to be approximately ₹18,000 crore due to worsening air pollution.
    • Therefore, by collaborating for clean air, both States can ensure improvements in citizen well-being and labour productivity.

     How can the two States collaborate?

    1] Arrive at a common understanding of sources

    • Those in charge of the two States must talk.
    • Setting aside their disagreements on the contribution of stubble burning to Delhi’s air pollution, the States should arrive at a common understanding of sources polluting the region.

    2] Create platforms for knowledge exchange

    • Cross-learning on possible solutions: A common knowledge centre should be set up to facilitate cross-learning on possible solutions to developmental challenges in both States.
    • Such a centre would especially benefit Punjab given the host of measures that the Delhi government has already taken to improve air quality in Delhi.
    • Information on air quality levels and source assessment studies are critical in developing long-term strategies for pollution mitigation.

    3] Collaborate to execute proven solutions

    • Co-design solutions: The two States could co-design solutions that would improve air quality.
    • Institutionalise a task force: They could jointly institutionalise a task force comprising experts from State-run institutions to pilot these solutions and assess their impact.
    • This would ensure wider acceptance of the proposed solution, which has not been the case in the past.
    • For instance, the PUSA bio-decomposer (developed by the Indian Agricultural Research Institute), has received mixed reviews from farmers.
    • The decomposer only makes sense for early maturing varieties of paddy, as even with the decomposer, stubble would take between 25 to 30 days to decompose.
    • Therefore, it is of little use in high burn districts such as Sangrur, Punjab, where late-maturing paddy varieties are dominant.

    4] Create a market for diversified crop products

    • Moving away from paddy-wheat cycle: Shifting away from the ‘paddy-wheat cycle’ through crop diversification is a sure shot solution to stubble burning.
    • But, the lack of an assured market for agricultural products, other than wheat and paddy, has acted as a deterrent.
    • For years now, the Delhi government has toyed with the idea of introducing ‘Aam Aadmi kitchens’ in Delhi.
    • These community kitchens could potentially incorporate crops other than wheat and paddy in meals offered.

    5] Extending inter-State cooperation to other States in Indo-Gangetic plains

    • Both State governments should assert the need for extending inter-State cooperation to other States in the Indo-Gangetic plains in different inter-State forums.
    • One such forum is the Northern Zonal Council which has representation from Chandigarh, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.
    • Both Delhi and Punjab must use this platform to highlight the need for coordination with neighbouring States to alleviate the pollution crisis.

    Conclusion

    With a collaborative plan of action, we can be optimistic about cleaner air in the years to come.

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  • Hits and misses: India’s Solar Power Energy Targets

    India is likely to miss its 2022 target of installing 100 gigawatts (GW) of solar power capacity a/c to a report. This is because of rooftop solar lagging behind, the authors say.

    India’s Solar Policy

    • Since 2011, India’s solar sector has grown at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of around 59% from 0.5GW in 2011 to 55GW in 2021.
    • The Jawaharlal Nehru National Solar Mission (JNNSM), also known as the National Solar Mission (NSM), was commenced in January 2010.
    • It marked the first time the government focussed on promoting and developing solar power in India.
    • Under the scheme, the total installed capacity target was set as 20GW by 2022.
    • In 2015, the target was revised to 100GW and in August 2021, the government set a solar target of 300GW by 2030.

    Solar energy: India among the peers

    • India currently ranks fifth after China, U.S., Japan and Germany in terms of installed solar power capacity.
    • As of December 2021, the cumulative solar installed capacity of India is 55GW, which is roughly half the renewable energy (RE) capacity (excluding large hydro power) and 14% of the overall power generation capacity of India.
    • Within the 55GW, grid-connected utility-scale projects contribute 77% and the rest comes from grid-connected rooftop and off-grid projects.

    What does the new report say?

    • As of April, only about 50% of the 100GW target, consisting of 60GW of utility-scale and 40GW of rooftop solar capacity, has been met.
    • Nearly 19 GW of solar capacity is expected to be added in 2022 — 15.8GW from utility-scale and 3.5GW from rooftop solar.
    • Even accounting for this capacity would mean about 27% of India’s 100GW solar target would remain unmet.
    • A 25GW shortfall in the 40GW rooftop solar target, is expected compared to 1.8GW in the utility-scale solar target by December 2022.
    • Thus, it is in rooftop solar that the challenges of India’s solar-adoption policy stick out.

    What is Solar Rooftop?

    • A solar photovoltaic (PV) system mounted on a rooftop of a building is a mini-power requirement or feed into the grid.
    • The size of the installation varies significantly depending on the availability of space, amount of electricity consumed by the property and the ability or willingness of the owner to invest the capital required.
    • In December 2015, the government launched the first phase of the grid-connected rooftop solar programme to incentivise its use in residential, institutional and social areas.
    • The second phase, approved in February 2019, had a target of 40GW of cumulative rooftop solar capacity by 2022, with incentives in the form of central financial assistance (CFA).
    • As of November 2021, of the phase 2 target of 4GW set for the residential sector, only 1.1GW had been installed.

    Reasons for rooftop solar adoption not meeting targets

    • In its early years, India’s rooftop solar market struggled to grow, held back by lack of consumer awareness, inconsistent policy frameworks of the Centre/ State governments and financing.
    • Factors impeding rooftop-solar installation include:
    1. Pandemic-induced supply chain disruption to policy restrictions
    2. Regulatory roadblocks
    3. Limits to net-metering (or paying users who give back surplus electricity to the grid)
    4. Taxes on imported cells and modules
    5. Unsigned power supply agreements (PSAs) and banking restrictions
    6. Financing issues plus delays in or rejection of open access approval grants and
    7. The unpredictability of future open access charges

    Other issues: India’s storage capacity

    • About 34 GW / 136 GWh of battery storage is expected to be installed by 2030, according to the Central Electricity Authority of India.
    • This capacity would be used for RE integration, demand-side and peak load management services.

    Present state of progress

    • Recently, there has been a sharp rise in rooftop solar installations due to falling technology costs, increasing grid tariffs, rising consumer awareness and the growing need for cutting energy costs.
    • These factors are expected to persist giving a much-needed boost to this segment.
    • Going ahead, rooftop solar adoption is expected to proportionally increase as land and grid-connectivity for utility solar projects are expected to be hard to come by.

    Significance of solar power to India’s commitment

    • Solar power is a major prong of India’s commitment to address global warming according to the terms of the Paris Agreement, as well as achieving net zero, or no net carbon emissions, by 2070.
    • PM at the COP Glasgow, in November 2021, said India would be reaching a non-fossil fuel energy capacity of 500 GW by 2030 and meet half its energy requirements via renewable energy by 2030.
    • To boost the renewable energy installation drive in the long term, the Centre in 2020 set a target of 450GW of RE capacity to be achieved by 2030, within which the target for solar was 300GW.
    • Given the challenge of integrating variable renewable energy into the grid, most of the RE capacity installed in the latter half of this decade is likely to be based on wind solar hybrid (WSH).

    Way forward

    • Supportive policies and innovative technological approaches are needed for the sector to achieve its potential.
    • Indian policymakers need to plan for rooftop solar plus storage, rather than rooftop solar alone with the grid as storage (net / gross metering).
    • The declining cost of storage solutions, along with that of rooftop solar solutions, is likely to change the future of the Indian power sector.
    • Several countries such as Australia, the United States, Germany, among others have already endorsed solar power with battery storage.
    • Energy storage, therefore, represents a huge economic opportunity for India.
    • The creation of a conducive battery manufacturing ecosystem on a fast track could cement India’s opportunity for radical economic and industrial transformation in a critical and fast-growing global market.

    Also read:

    [Sansad TV] Global Solar Grid

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  • Looming Power Crisis in India

    Temperatures have shot up across many parts of the country with the early onset of summer, leading to a rise in the demand for power. Instances of power outages have been reported in several states.

    Why is there a concern around power supply?

    • The demand for power has soared.
    • Several states, including Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana, Telangana, and Maharashtra, are facing power outages.
    • The coal stock with power generation companies (gencos) is not adequate to meet the rising demand.

    How bad is the coal shortage?

    • Normally, a power plant must maintain 26 days of coal stock.
    • However, at present, several power plants are reporting critical levels of coal stock.
    • Data from the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shows that 97 power plants out of the 173 that the CEA tracks have critical levels of coal inventory.
    • Of the 173, there are 155 non-pithead plants or power plants that are not near coal mines.
    • These have an average of 28% of the stock compared to the normal scenario.
    • The 18 plants that are near coal mines have an average stock of 81% of the normal requirement.

    Note: Non-pithead plants are power plants where the coal mine is more than 1,500 kilometres away.

    Is coal shortage the only reason for a power crisis?

    • The lack of railway rakes to transport coal is also a major problem.
    • The state power distribution companies (discoms) have also not been able to clear their dues to power generation companies.
    • The covid-19 pandemic has now weakened the finances of many states, raising doubts about the ability of state-owned discoms to clear their dues.

    What has led to the coal shortage?

    • Several factors have led to the shortage, including the stagnation of production by Coal India Ltd (CIL) after the bumper production in FY15 and FY16.
    • There seems to be a tussle between the Centre and coal-rich states, which delay environment and land acquisition clearances.
    • High dues of discoms towards gencos and the eventual delay in gencos paying CIL has complicated the scenario.

    How has the Centre responded?

    • CIL has made efforts to raise supply to the power sector by reducing its dispatch to other industries.
    • The power ministry said that to avoid long-distance transport, a ‘tolling’ facility would be allowed.
    • In this system, state gencos can allow other thermal power plants near a coal mine to utilize their coal linkages to generate and transmit power back.
    • This is an easier alternative compared to transportation.
    • Further, the states need to ensure that imported coal-based plants operate at reasonable tariffs.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. Coal sector was nationalized by the Government of India under Indira Gandhi.
    2. Now, coal blocks are allocated on lottery basis.
    3. Till recently, India imported coal to meet the shortages of domestic supply, but now India is self- sufficient in coal production.

    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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  • Why are vaccines administered into the upper arm?

    Almost everyone vaccinated for Covid-19 over the last 16 months will remember that he or she received a quick prick in the upper arm.

    Why vaccines are generally administered into muscle?

    • This is because most vaccines, including those for Covid-19, are most effective when administered through the intramuscular route into the upper arm muscle, known as the deltoid.
    • There are several reasons, but the most important one is that the muscles have a rich blood supply network.
    • This means whenever a vaccine carrying an antigen is injected into it, the muscle releases the antigen, which gets dispersed by the muscular vasculature, or the arrangement of blood vessels in the muscle.
    • The antigen then gets picked up by a type of immune cells called dendritic cells, which function by showing antigens on their surface to other cells of the immune system.
    • The dendritic cells carry the antigen through the lymphatic fluid to the lymph node.

    Role of T Cells

    • T Cells also called T lymphocyte, type of leukocyte (white blood cell) that is an essential part of the immune system.
    • T cells are one of two primary types of lymphocytes—B cells being the second type—that determine the specificity of the immune response to antigens (foreign substances) in the body.
    • Through the course of research over the years, it is understood that the lymph nodes have T cells and B cells — the body’s primary protector cells.
    • Once this antigen gets flagged and is given to the T cells and B cells that is how we start developing an immune response against a particular virus.
    • It could be any of the new viruses like SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes Covid-19, or the previous viruses which we have been running vaccination programs for.

    Other options for vaccination

    • Conversely, if the vaccine is administered into the subcutaneous fat tissue [between the skin and the muscle], which has a poor blood supply, absorption of the antigen vaccine is poor and therefore one may have failed immune response.
    • Similarly, the additives which could be toxic, could cause a local reaction.
    • The same thing could happen when the vaccine is administered intradermally (just below the outermost skin layer, the epidermis).
    • Hence, the route chosen now for most vaccines is intramuscular.
    • Also, compared to the skin or subcutaneous tissue, the muscles have fewer pain receptors, and so an intramuscular injection does not hurt as much as a subcutaneous or an intradermal injection.

    But why the upper arm muscle in particular?

    • In some vaccines, such as that for rabies, the immunogenicity — the ability of any cell or tissue to provoke an immune response — increases when it is administered in the arm.
    • If administered in subcutaneous fat tissues located at the thigh or hips, these vaccines show a lower immunogenicity and thus there is a chance of vaccine failure.

    Why not administer the vaccine directly into the vein?

    • This is to ensure the ‘depot effect’, or release of medication slowly over time to enable longer effectiveness.
    • When given intravenously, the vaccine is quickly absorbed into the circulation.
    • The intramuscular method takes some time to absorb the vaccine.
    • Wherever a vaccination programme is carried out, it is carried out for the masses.
    • To deposit the vaccine, the easiest route would be the oral route (like the polio vaccine).
    • However, for other vaccines that need to be administered intravenously or intramuscularly (enabling wider field-based administration), the intramuscular route is chosen from a public health perspective over the intravenous route.

    Which vaccines are administered through other routes?

    • One of the oldest vaccines that for smallpox, was given by scarification of the skin.
    • However, with time, doctors realised there are better ways to vaccinate beneficiaries.
    • These included the intradermal route, the subcutaneous route, the intramuscular route, oral, and nasal routes.
    • There are only two exceptions that continue to be administered through the intradermal route.
    • These are the vaccines for BCG (Bacillus Calmette–Guérin) and for tuberculosis because these two vaccines continue to work empirically well when administered through the intradermal route.

     

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