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GS Paper: GS3

  • Web 3.0: A vision for the future

    The concept of Web3, also called Web 3.0, used to describe a potential next phase of the internet, created quite a buzz in 2021.

    What is Web3?

    • The model, a decentralized internet to be run on blockchain technology, would be different from the versions in use, Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.
    • In web3, users will have ownership stakes in platforms and applications unlike now where tech giants control the platforms.

    Previous versions of Web

    To understand web3, we should start with Web 1.0 and Web 2.0.

    [1] Web 1

    • Web 1.0 is the world wide web or the internet that was invented in 1989. It became popular from 1993.
    • The internet in the Web 1.0 days was mostly static web pages where users would go to a website and then read and interact with the static information.
    • Even though there were e-commerce websites in the initial days it was still a closed environment and the users themselves could not create any content or post reviews on the internet.
    • Web 1.0 lasted until 1999.

    [2] Web 2

    • Web 2.0 started in some form in the late 1990s itself though 2004 was when most of its features were fully available. It is still the age of Web 2.0 now.
    • The differentiating characteristic of Web 2.0 compared to Web 1.0 is that users can create content.
    • They can interact and contribute in the form of comments, registering likes, sharing and uploading their photos or videos and perform other such activities.
    • Primarily, a social media kind of interaction is the differentiating trait of Web 2.0.

    What are some of the concerns?

    • In Web 2.0, most of the data in the internet and the internet traffic are owned or handled by very few behemoth companies ex. Google.
    • This has created issues related to data privacy, data security and abuse of such data.
    • There is a sense of disappointment that the original purpose of the internet has been distorted.
    • It is in this context that the buzz around Web3 is significant.

    Dawn of Web3

    • Gavin Wood, founder of Ethereum, a block chain technology company, used the term Web3 first in 2014 and in the past few years many others have added to the idea of Web3.
    • In 2021, owing to the popularity of crypto-currency, more discussions happened on Web3.

    How will Web3 address the problems of data monopoly?

    Web3 will deliver decentralized and fair internet where users control their own data.

    • Currently if a seller has to make a business to the buyer, both the buyer and seller need to be registered on a “shop” or “platform” like Amazon or Ebay or any such e-commerce portal.
    • What this “platform” currently does is that it authenticates that the buyer and seller are genuine parties for the transaction.
    • Web3 would try to remove the role of the “platform”.
    • For the buyer to be authenticated, the usual proofs aided by block chain technology will be used. The same goes for the seller.

    How is blockchain technology used here?

    • With block chain, the time and place of the transaction are recorded permanently.
    • Thus, Web3 enables peer to peer (seller to buyer) transaction by eliminating the role of the intermediary. This concept can be extended to other transactions also.
    • Consider a social media application where you want to share pictures with your followers.
    • It could be a broadcast operation from you aided by blockchain and you don’t need social media accounts for all the participants to be able to perform this.

    Another key feature: Decentralized Autonomous Organization

    • The key concepts in Web3 seen so far are peer to peer transaction and block chain.
    • The spirit of Web3 is Decentralized Autonomous Organization (DAO).
    • DAO is all about the business rules and governing rules in any transaction are transparently available for anyone to see and software will be written conforming to these rules.
    • Crypto-currency and block chain are technologies that follow the DAO principle.
    • With DAO, there is no need for a central authority to authenticate or validate.

    Will it take off?

    • We don’t know yet if Web3 will become the dominant mode of handling the internet but the questions it raises are relevant.
    • Web3 is in its very initial days and there is no consensus if it will take off like Web 1.0 or Web 2.0 did.
    • There is much skepticism from top tech brains in the industry and the academic community that Web3 does not solve the problems it purports to solve.

     

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  • Xeno-Transplantation and Related Issues

    Recently, the University Of Maryland School Of Medicine announced that it had successfully transplanted a genetically-modified pig heart into a patient with severe ailments.

    What is Xenotransplantation?

    • Xenotransplantation, or transplanting organs across different species, was first tried in humans in the 1980s.
    • The experiment was abandoned after the famous case of the American Baby Fae who was born with a congenital heart defect and received a baboon heart in 1984.
    • However, pig heart valves have been used for replacing damaged valves in humans for over 50 years now.
    • Nowadays, harvesting organs from genetically engineered pigs is seen as a viable alternative to meet organs shortage.

    How the pigs are genetically engineered?

    • The donor pig underwent 10 genetic modifications, by which the genes responsible for the rapid rejection of foreign organs by the human body were inactivated or knocked out.
    • Four pig genes were removed, and six human genes were added.
    • “GalSafe” pigs, or pigs that had undergone editing to knock out a gene that codes for Alpha-gal (a sugar molecule) were used.
    • Alpha-gal can elicit a devastating immune response in humans.
    • GalSafe pigs have been well studied, and are approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in pharmacology.

    Why pursue xenotransplantation?

    • Modern scientific supporters of xenotransplantation argue that the potential benefits to society outweigh the risks, making pursuing xenotransplantation the moral choice.
    • None of the major religions object to the use of genetically modified pig organs for life-saving transplantation.

    A crucial case in India

    • Harvesting organs from genetically engineered pigs is seen as a viable alternative to meet organs shortage.
    • According to the health ministry, around 0.18 million people in India are estimated to suffer from renal failure every year, but only about 6,000 renal transplants are carried out in the country.
    • About 25,000-30,000 liver transplants are needed annually in India but only about 1,500 are being performed.
    • In the case of the heart, 50,000 people suffer from heart failure and are in need of a heart transplant.
    • Yet, only 10-15 heart transplants are carried out in India each year.

    Issues with Xenotransplantation

    Besides scientific challenges, there are several ethical challenges to overcome:

    • Animal rights: Many, including animal rights groups, strongly oppose killing animals to harvest their organs for human use.
    • Decreased life expectancy: In the 1960s, many organs came from the chimpanzees, and were transferred into people that were deathly ill, and in turn, did not live much longer afterwards.
    • Religious violations: Certain animals such as pork are strictly forbidden in Islam and many other religions.
    • Informed consent: Autonomy and informed consent are important when considering the future uses of xenotransplantation.
    • Threats of zoonosis: The safety of public health is a factor to be considered. We are already battling the biggest zoonotic disease threat.

     

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  • India-China trade crossed $125 bn in 2021

    India’s trade with China in 2021 crossed $125 billion, with imports from China nearing a record $100 billion, underlining continued demand for a range of Chinese goods, particularly machinery.

    Note: India-China trade has always been an all-time contested issue. This newscard presents crucial stats which is essential to substantiate your answers in Mains as well as in Interviews.

    Highlights of the bilateral trade

    • Bilateral trade reached $125.6 billion in 2021, with India’s imports from China accounting for $97.5 billion.
    • Trade fell from $92.8 billion in 2019 to $87.6 billion in 2020 on account of the pandemic.
    • Trade has boomed in 2021 thanks to a recovery in demand as well as rising imports of new categories of goods such as medical supplies.
    • Also, note that these figures exclude bilateral trade between India and Hong Kong.

    Imports-Exports imbalance

    • Imports were higher by 30% from 2019 while India’s exports to China, amounting to $28.1 billion, were up by as much as 56% from two years earlier.
    • The trade deficit last year reached $69.4 billion, up by 22% from the pre-pandemic figure in 2019.
    • While a break-up of imports and exports wasn’t immediately available, India’s biggest exports to China in recent years were iron ore, cotton, and other raw material-based commodities.
    • India has imported large quantities of electrical and mechanical machinery, active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs), auto components, and over the past two years, a range of medical supplies from oxygen concentrators to PPEs.

    A global comparison

    • The 43% year-on-year growth in bilateral trade with India was among the highest that China recorded with its major trading partners.
    • Trade figures with China’s top three trading partners showed growth of 28.1% with ASEAN (to $878.2 billion), 27.5% with the EU (to $828.1 billion), and 28.7% with the US, (to $755.6 billion).

    Back2Basics: India-China Bilateral Trade

    • China is India’s largest trading partner.
    • Major commodities exported from India to China were: cotton; gems, precious metals, coins; copper; ores, slag, ash; organic chemicals; salt, sulphur, stone, cement; machines, engines, pumps.
    • Major commodities imported from China into India were: electronic equipment; machines, engines, pumps; organic chemicals; fertilizers; iron and steel; plastics; iron or steel products; gems, precious metals, coins; ships, boats; medical, technical equipment.

     

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  • Species in news: Asiatic Lions in Kuno National Park

    Experts have argued that the introduction of African cheetahs to Kuno National Park could endanger the Asiatic lion which has also been identified for re-introduction.

    Do you know?

    Cheetahs had a more extensive distribution than lions — there are no records of lions occurring south of the Narmada River, but Asiatic cheetahs roamed most of India until they were hunted to extinction by 1947.

    About Asiatic Cheetah

    • Cheetah, the world’s fastest land animal was declared extinct in India in 1952.
    • The Asiatic cheetah is classified as a “critically endangered” species by the IUCN Red List, and is believed to survive only in Iran.
    • It was expected to be re-introduced into the country after the Supreme Court lifted curbs for its re-introduction.
    • From 400 in the 1990s, their numbers are estimated to have reached to 50-70 today, because of poaching, hunting of their main prey (gazelles) and encroachment on their habitat.

    Why reintroduce Cheetahs?

    • Reintroductions of large carnivores have increasingly been recognized as a strategy to conserve threatened species and restore ecosystem functions.
    • The cheetah is the only large carnivore that has been extirpated, mainly by over-hunting in India in historical times.
    • India now has the economic ability to consider restoring its lost natural heritage for ethical as well as ecological reasons.

    Why was the project halted?

    • The court was worried whether the African cheetahs would find the sanctuary a favorable climate as far as the abundance of prey is concerned.
    • Those who challenged the plan argued that the habitat of cheetahs needed to support a genetically viable population.

    Issues with cheetah re-introduction

    • Since 2018, dozens of lions have died from diseases, including canine distemper, opening up a frightening possibility of loss when confined to a single location.
    • Establishing an additional free-ranging wild lion population in Kuno is of paramount importance and roadblocks, if any, must be transparently addressed.
    • Clearly, the introduction of African cheetahs cannot take precedence over translocating Asiatic lions from Gujarat to Kuno National Park as ordered by none other than the apex court in 2013.
    • However, simultaneous re-introduction can create a conflict for prey between these two wild cats.

     

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  • Taxing cryptocurrency transactions

    Context

    Notwithstanding the eventual introduction of the Cryptocurrency and Regulation of Official Digital Currency Bill in Parliament, cryptocurrencies continue to proliferate.

    Provisions in Income Tax Act 1961 to tax cryptocurrencies

    • Cryptocurrencies not mentioned in Income Tax Act, 1961: Although the Income Tax Act, 1961 (“IT Act”) does not specifically mention cryptocurrencies, it does cast a wide enough net to bring crypto transactions under its ambit.
    • Capital asset: Trading in cryptocurrency may be classified as transfer of a ‘capital asset’, taxable under the head ‘capital gains.
    • Business income: If such cryptocurrencies are held as stock-in trade and the taxpayer is trading in them frequently, the same will attract tax under the head ‘business income’.
    • Even if one argues that crypto transactions do not fall under the above heads, Section 56 of the IT Act shall come into play, making them taxable under the head ‘Other sources of income’.

    Challenges in taxing cryptocurrencies

    • The above provisions in themselves are not sufficient in order to put in place a simple yet effective taxation regime for cryptocurrencies.

    [1] Varied interpretations:

    • First, the absence of explicit tax provisions has led to uncertainty and varied interpretations being adopted in relation to mode of computation, applicable tax head and tax rates, loss and carry forward, etc.
    • For instance, the head of income under which trading of self generated cryptocurrency (currencies which are created by mining, acquired by air drop, etc.) is to be taxed is unclear.
    • Since there is no consistency in the rates provided by the crypto-exchanges, it is difficult to arrive at a fair market value.
    • Similarly, when a person receives cryptocurrency as payment for rendering goods or services, how should one arrive at the value of the said currency and how should such a transaction be taxed?

    [2] Identifying tax jurisdiction

    • It is often tricky to identify the tax jurisdiction for crypto transactions as taxpayers may have engaged in multiple transfers across various countries and the cryptocurrencies may have been stored in online wallets, on servers outside India.

    [3] The anonymity of taxpayer

    • The identities of taxpayers who transact with cryptocurrencies remain anonymous.
    • Exploiting this, tax evaders have been using crypto transactions to park their black money abroad and fund criminal activities, terrorism, etc.

    [4] Lack of third party information on crypto transaction

    • The lack of third party information on crypto transactions makes it difficult to scrutinise and identify instances of tax evasion.
    • One of the most efficient enforcement tools in the hands of Income Tax Department is CASS or ‘computer aided scrutiny selection’ of assessments, where returns of taxpayers are selected inter alia based on information gathered from third party intermediaries such as banks.
    • However, crypto-market intermediaries like the exchanges, wallet providers, network operators, miners, administrators are unregulated and collecting information from them is very difficult.

    [5]  Physical goods/services may change hand in return for cryptocurrencies

    • Even if the crypto-market intermediaries are regulated and follow Know Your Customer (KYC) norms, there remains a scenario, where physical cash or other goods/services may change hands in return for cryptocurrencies.
    • Such transactions are hard to trace and only voluntary disclosures from the parties involved or a search/survey operation may reveal the tax evaders.

    Steps need to be taken

    • Statutory provision: The income-tax laws pertaining to the crypto transactions need to be made clear by incorporating detailed statutory provisions.
    • Awareness generation: This should be followed by extensive awareness generation among the taxpayers regarding the same.
    • Separate mandatory disclosure: The practice of having separate mandatory disclosure requirements in tax returns (as is the case in the United States) should be placed on the taxpayers as well as all the intermediaries involved, so that crypto transactions do not go unreported.
    • Strengthen international legal framework: Additionally, the existing international legal framework for exchange of information should be strengthened to enable collecting and sharing of information on crypto-transactions.
    • This will go a long way in linking the digital profiles of cryptocurrency holders with their real identities.
    • Training tax officers: the Government must impart training to its officers in blockchain technology.
    • The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime’s ‘Cybercrime and Anti-Money Laundering’ Section (UNODC CMLS) has developed a unique cryptocurrency training module, which can aid in equipping tax officers with requisite understanding of the underlying technologies.

    Consider the question “What are the provision in Income Tax Act 1961 to tax the cryptocurrencies? What are the challenges in taxing cryptocurrencies? “

    Conclusion

    It is certain that cryptocurrencies are here to stay. A streamlined tax regime will be essential in the formulation of a clear, constructive and adaptive regulatory environment for cryptocurrencies.

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  • Carbon Footprints of Cryptocurrencies

    Bitcoin prices are rising these days and so will be its mining. As cryptocurrency will become mainstream, its carbon footprint cannot be ignored.

    What are Cryptocurrencies?

    Cryptocurrency

    Global crypto market

    • In 2019, the global cryptocurrency market was approximately $793 million.
    • It’s now expected to reach nearly $5.2 billion by 2026, according to a report by the market research organization Facts and Factors.
    • In just one year—between July 2020 and June 2021—the global adoption of cryptocurrency surged by more than 880 percent.

    Carbon footprints of Bitcoins

    • Increasing popularity of cryptocurrency has environmentalists on edge, as the digital “mining” of it creates a massive carbon footprint due to the staggering amount of energy it requires.
    • A/c to the Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index, the carbon footprint of Bitcoin is equivalent to that of New Zealand.
    • Both emit nearly 37 megatons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere every year.

    What is Mining?

    • Mining is a process in which computational puzzles are solved in order to verify transactions between users, which are then added to the blockchain.
    • In simpler terms, the works are created, or “minted,” through a process called proof-of-work (PoW), which establishes its unique identity.

    How do cryptocurrencies create such a footprint?

    • Unlike mainstream traditional currencies, bitcoin is virtual and not made from paper or plastic, or even metal.
    • Bitcoin is virtual but power-hungry as it is created using high-powered computers around the globe.
    • Bitcoin is created when high-powered computers compete against other machines to solve complex mathematical puzzles.
    • This is an energy-intensive process that often relies on fossil fuels, particularly coal, the dirtiest of them all.

    Conclusion

    • What this means is that, unlike traditional currency or gold, Bitcoin is not solely a settlement layer, not solely a store of value, and not solely a medium of exchange.
    • This makes Bitcoin’s relative energy consumption productive in comparison to comparative sectors, given its robust potential uses.
    • The promise of such an endeavor offers hope for a more sustainable cryptocurrency future.
    • Whether this will make much difference to the climate crisis in light of government and industrial inaction remains to be seen.

    Back2Basics: Bitcoin Energy Consumption Index

     

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  • How women cadets benefit the army

    Context

    Last year, the Supreme Court threw open the hallowed portals of the National Defence Academy for women. Something to truly celebrate on January 15, Army Day, this year.

    Background

    • The first batch of women officers was inducted into the Indian Army in non-medical roles via the Short Service Commission in 1992.
    • Since 2008, women were inducted as permanent commissioned officers in the legal and education corps  and as permanent commissioned officers in eight more non-combative corps in 2020.

    The low number of women in Army

    • As recent as 2020, women officers in the Indian army (excluding the medical corps) numbered just about three per cent.
    • Compare this to 16 per cent in the US, 15 per cent in France and 10 per cent in both Russia and the UK.

    Significance of allowing women to NDA

    • When in February 2020, the Supreme Court decreed that women officers should get command positions on par with male officers, it also effectively dismissed the military’s earlier objection that it would lead to “operational, practical and cultural problems”.
    • The SC went on to say that denying women commands based on the above argument was discriminatory and reinforced stereotypes.
    • Last year, the Supreme Court threw open the National Defence Academy for women to compete for the seats and subsequent permanent commission in the Indian army in any corps they desire, including the combat ones.
    • Addressing the shortage of officers: This may effectively address the long-standing shortage of officers in the Indian army in general. In response to a question in Rajya Sabha a month ago, the Minister of State for Defence said the Army has a shortage of 7,476 officers.
    • This torch may also help confront the chauvinism, often misspelt as chivalry, that indisputably exists in the Army.

    Conclusion

    The move promises to change the composition of this arm of the defence force not just quantitatively, but also qualitatively — both dire requirements of the force at present.

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    Back2Basics: Permanent Commission (PC) Vs. Short Service Commission (SSC)

    • SSC means an officer’s career will be of a limited period in the Indian Armed Forces whereas a PC means they shall continue to serve in the Indian Armed Forces, till they retire.
    • The officers inducted through the SSC usually serve for a period of 14 years.
    • At the end of 10 years, the officers have three options.
    • A PC entitles an officer to serve in the Navy till he/she retires unlike SSC, which is currently for 10 years and can be extended by four more years, or a total of 14 years.
    • They can either select for a PC or opt-out or have the option of a 4-years extension.
    • They can resign at any time during this period of 4 years extension.

  • MSP is necessary to make farming viable

    Context

    There has been debate on the issue of MSP with some arguing against it while some favouring it.

    The issues with MSP

    • The broad strands of argument against MSP are:
    • MSP hinders the price discovery: Providing MSP does not allow the market to discover the prices; if market cleared prices are less than MSP, then the only buyer would be the government; this would render the government bankrupt.
    • FPO as a mechanism to deal with markets: If markets have any distortions, the way to negotiate it is through Farmer Producer Organisations (FPOs) — as demonstrated by Amul.
    • Provide income support through DBT: A better way to address the possible income gap is to give an income support-based direct benefit transfer (DBT).

    Why MSP is necessary?

    1] Barriers in agri-markets

    • Through tariffs and other measures, we have built a national barrier on markets, where gates are opened on the basis of strategic intent.
    • If we were to open our borders for free movement of grains from elsewhere, we may even argue for unlocking agricultural land for more lucrative purposes without worrying about food self-sufficiency, buffer stocking and domestic food safety.
    • We may have to accept a national food safety for at least the essential foodgrains and pulses.

    2] Role of MSP as price signalling and why it needs to be given as legal guarantee

    • Disproportionate risk: If we were to look at farming, we realise that this exposes itself to disproportionate risks. 
    •  First, there is no stop-loss mechanism after sowing the seed, except for destroying the crop for the season.
    • This enterprise not only has the usual business risks but also has the enhanced risk of the force majeure elements that destroy the enterprise — a sudden hail storm, drought, unseasonal showers, a pest attack, a locust attack — there are too many things that the farmer cannot control.
    • Therefore, an MSP provides a powerful signal to the farmer to exercise the choice of sowing a particular crop because the farmer can back-calculate the expected margin.
    •  If MSP is a signal that helps the farmer to choose a crop, then it must remain a choice at the harvest time as well.
    • The significance of MSP is only when the markets do not clear the price.
    • In such a situation, the farmer gets a return less than the MSP and by this argument we are escorting the farm fraternity towards bankruptcy.
    • A legal guarantee is, therefore, needed.
    • The argument that the state will have to procure all the floating stock in the market and may become bankrupt is fallacious.
    • The intervention of the state in the markets usually covers information asymmetry, arbitrage and cools the markets when they get overheated.

    3] Why not opt for income support instead of MSP?

    •  Income support does not address the issue of viability of the farming operations.
    • There is no doubt that we need to make farming viable.
    •  It is important to address the prices of each crop as a strategic signalling mechanism: For crops that would be encouraged and those that would be discouraged.

    4] Issues with drawing parallels with AMUL

    •  While the Amul model recognised the inherent power of markets, it took about five decades to make the system competitive — the investments were made in breed improvement, free veterinary services, better cattle feed, capital subsidy for processing plants, and return-free capital as investments.
    • The nature of subsidies was smart and innovative.
    • Dairying was the last bit to be liberalised, and it enjoyed protection even when we opened up in 1991.

    Way forward

    • Modernise the markets: We need to modernise the markets and storage and processing facilities.
    • There is no point in conflating modernisation with liberalisation.
    • Investment: If we need to take Indian agriculture on the path of Amul, we need to start making those investments now.

    Consider the question “What are the objectives of providing MSP? How legal basis to MSP could help in making agriculture viable in India?”

    Conclusion

    Let us use the MSP framework smartly on diversified crops, on a decentralised basis while we develop the markets. A legal guarantee will only assure the farmers that they will not be bankrupted.

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  • A new form of socialism powered by cooperative economic enterprises is required

    Context

    Inequalities of wealth have increased around the world and India is becoming one of the world’s most unequal countries.

    Role of globalisation and privatisation in increasing economic distress

    • Economic despair is feeding the rise of authoritarianism, nationalism, and identity politics.
    • Role of Globalisation: Opening national borders to free trade became an ideology in economics in the last 30 years.
    • Taxes of incomes and wealth at the top were also reduced.
    • The ideological justification was that the animal spirits of ‘wealth creators’ must not be dampened.
    • With higher taxes until the 1970s, the U.S. and many countries in Europe had built up their public health and education infrastructure and strengthened social security systems.
    • The rich are now being taxed much less than they were.
    • The pie has grown larger but the richest few have been eating, and hoarding, most of it themselves.
    • Role of privatisation: ‘Privatisation’ of everything became another ideological imperative in economics by the turn of the century.
    • Selling off public enterprises raises resources for funds-starved governments.
    • Another justification is efficiency in delivery of services, setting aside ethical questions of equity.
    • When ‘public’ is converted to ‘private’, rich people can buy what they need.
    • The gaps between the haves and the have-nots become larger.

    How liberal economic policies are creating illiberal societies

    • Liberal economists, promoting free markets, free trade, and privatisation, are worried by nationalism and authoritarian governments.
    • They rail against “populist” policies of governments that subsidise the poor and adopt industrial strategies for self-reliance and jobs for their citizens.
    • Liberals must re-examine their ideas of economics, to understand their own culpability in creating authoritarian and identitarian politics.

    The failure of capitalism and communism

    • While communism had lifted living standards, and the health and education of masses of poorer people faster than capitalism could, communism’s solution to the “property” question — that there should be no private property — was a failure.
    • It deprived people of personal liberties.
    • Capitalism’s solution to the property problem — replacing all publicly owned enterprises with privately owned ones (and reducing taxes on wealth and high incomes) has not worked either.
    • It has denied many of their basic human needs of health, education and social security, and equal opportunities for their children.
    • The private property solution has also harmed the natural environment.

    Way forward

    • Climate change and political rumblings around the world are both warnings that capitalism needs reform.
    • Economic policies must be based on new ideas.
    • Thought leaders and policymakers in India must lead the world out of the rut of ideas in which it seems to be trapped.
    • Principles of human rights must not be overpowered by property rights.
    • A new form of “Gandhian” democratic socialism, powered by cooperative economic enterprises, is required in the 21st century, to create wealth at the bottom, not only at the top, and save humanity and the planet.

    Conclusion

    A new form of ‘Gandhian’ democratic socialism powered by cooperative economic enterprises is required.

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  • Highlights of the India State of Forest Report, 2021

    The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021.

    About India State of Forest Report

    • ISFR is an assessment of India’s forest and tree cover, published every two years by the Forest Survey of India under the MoEFCC.
    • The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2021 is the 17th.
    • It compiles data computed through wall-to-wall mapping of India’s forest cover through remote sensing techniques.

    Why need ISFR?

    • It is used in planning and formulation of policies in forest management as well as forestry and agroforestry sectors.

    How are forests categorized?

    The Forest Survey of India has listed four categories of forests. They are:

    1. Very Dense Forest (with tree canopy density of 70 per cent or above)
    2. Moderately Dense Forest (tree canopy density of 40 per cent or above but less than 70 per cent)
    3. Open Forest (tree canopy density of 10 per cent or above but less than 40 per cent)
    4. Scrub (tree canopy density less than 10 per cent)

    Highlights of the ISFR, 2021

    [1] Forest cover is increasing

    • ISFR 2021 has found that the forest and tree cover in the country continues to increase with an additional cover of 1,540 square kilometres over the past two years.
    • India’s forest cover is now 7,13,789 square kilometres, 21.71% of the country’s geographical area, an increase from 21.67% in 2019.
    • Tree cover has increased by 721 sq km.
    • Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.

    [2] State-wise gain/losses

    • The states that have shown the highest increase in forest cover are Telangana (3.07%), Andhra Pradesh (2.22%) and Odisha (1.04%).
    • The Northeast states account for 7.98% of total geographical area but 23.75% of total forest cover.
    • Five states in the Northeast – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have all shown loss in forest cover.
    • The report has attributed the decline in the NE states to a spate of natural calamities, particularly landslides and heavy rains, in the region as well as to anthropogenic activities.

    [3] Increase in Mangrove cover

    • Mangroves have shown an increase of 17 sq km. India’s total mangrove cover is now 4,992 sq km.

    [4] Increase in carbon stock

    • The total carbon stock in country’s forests is estimated at 7,204 million tonnes, an increase of 79.4 million tonnes since 2019.

    [5] Big cats population

    • ISFR 2021 has some new features. It has for the first time assessed forest cover in tiger reserves, tiger corridors and the Gir forest which houses the Asiatic lion.
    • The forest cover in tiger corridors has increased by 37.15 sq km (0.32%) between 2011-2021, but decreased by 22.6 sq km (0.04%) in tiger reserves.
    • Buxa, Anamalai and Indravati reserves have shown an increase in forest cover while the highest losses have been found in Kawal, Bhadra and the Sunderbans reserves.
    • Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest forest cover, at nearly 97%.

     [6] Impact of climate change

    • The report estimates that by 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures, and forests in all states will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots.
    • Ladakh (forest cover 0.1-0.2%) is likely to be the most affected.
    • India’s forests are already showing shifting trends of vegetation types, such as Sikkim which has shown a shift in its vegetation pattern for 124 endemic species.

    [7] Forest fires

    • The survey has found that 35.46 % of the forest cover is prone to forest fires.
    • Out of this, 2.81 % is extremely prone, 7.85% is very highly prone and 11.51 % is highly prone
    • The highest numbers of fires were detected in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

    Concerns with the declining trends

    • It is worrying that a 1,582 sq km decline was in moderately dense forests, or “natural forests”.
    • This decline shows a degradation of forests in the country, say experts, with natural forests degrading to less dense open forests.
    • Also, scrub area has increased by 5,320 sq km – indicating the complete degradation of forests in these areas.

     

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