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GS Paper: GS3

  • Animal Discoveries 2020 report by ZSI

    India has added 557 new species to its fauna reveals Animal Discoveries 2020, a document published recently by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).

    Major species discovered

    The number of faunal species in India has climbed to 1,02,718 species. Among the new species, some interesting species discovered in 2020 are:

    • Trimeresurus salazar, a new species of green pit viper discovered from Arunachal Pradesh;
    • Lycodon deccanensis, the Deccan wolf snake discovered from Karnataka; and
    • Sphaerotheca Bengaluru, a new species of burrowing frog named after the city of Bengaluru.
    • Xyrias anjaalai, a new deep-water species of snake eel from Kerala;
    • Glyptothorax giudikyensis, a new species of catfish from Manipur; and
    • Clyster galateansis, a new species of scarab beetles from the Great Nicobar Biosphere.

    Visitor species

    • Myotis cf. frater, a bat species earlier known from China, Taiwan and Russia, has been reported for the first time from Uttarakhand in India
    • Zoothera citrina gibsonhilli, an orange-headed thrush earlier known from southern Myanmar to south Thailand (central Malay peninsula) was reported for the first time from India based on a collection made from the Narcondam island in the Andaman & Nicobar Islands.

    Significance

    • The ZSI publication shows that India is a mega biodiverse country, rich in biodiversity, with 23.39% of its geographical area under forest and tree cover.
    • India is positioned 8th in mega biodiversity countries in the world with 0.46 BioD index which is calculated by its percentage of species in each group relative to the total global number of species in each group.

    About Zoological Survey of India

    • The ZSI was set up by British zoologist Thomas Nelson Annandale, in 1916.
    • It is the premier taxonomic research organization in India.
    • It was established to promote surveys, exploration and research leading to advancement of our knowledge of various aspects of the exceptionally rich animal life of India.
    • The ZSI had its genesis as the Zoological Section of the Indian Museum at Calcutta in 1875.
    • Since its inception, the ZSI has been documenting the diversity and distribution of the fauna of India towards carrying out its mandate of conducting exploration-cum-taxonomic-research programmes.
    • The ZSI has published an extremely large amount of information on all animal taxa, from Protozoa to Mammalia.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to India’s Biodiversity, Ceylon frogmouth, Coppersmith barbet, Gray-chinned minivet and White-throated redstart are: (CSP 2020)

    (a) Birds

    (b) Primates

    (c) Reptiles

    (d) Amphibians

     

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  • Understanding the importance of vultures in our ecosystem

    Context

    India lost more than 95% of its vulture population through the 1990s and by the mid-2000s. Today, the country requires urgent conservation efforts to save vultures from becoming extinct.

    About vultures

    • Vultures belong to the Accipitridae family whose members include eagles, hawks and kites.
    • They are relatively social birds with an average lifespan of 10-30 years in the wild.
    • Vultures are slow breeders and so the survival of every individual is very crucial.
    • Generally, vultures rely on other carnivores to open carcasses.
    • Their powerful bills and long slender necks are designed to help them tear off the meat chunks from inside the carcass.
    • India has nine species of vultures. Many are critically endangered.
    • Vultures have a highly acidic stomach that helps them digest rotting carcass and kill disease-causing bacteria.

    Role played by vultures in ecosystem

    • Removing vultures from the ecosystem leads to inefficient clearing of carcasses and contaminates water systems.
    • If dead animals are left to rot for long durations, it may give rise to disease-causing pathogens.
    • The animals that consume such flesh become further carriers of disease.
    • Thus, they play a crucial role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem.

    Factors responsible for decline in future population

    • India has nine species of vultures. Many are critically endangered.
    • Use of diclofenac: The main reason for the decline in the vulture population is the use of the drug, diclofenac.
    • Diclofenac, which relieves cattle of pain, is toxic to vultures even in small doses and causes kidney failure and death.
    • Hunting: Myths about the medicinal healing powers of vultures’ body parts has led to the hunting of vultures.
    • Quarrying: Quarrying and blasting of stones where vultures nest have also caused their decline.

    Steps to increase numbers

    • India banned diclofenac for veterinary use in 2006.
    • Five States are to get vulture breeding centres under the Action Plan for Vulture Conservation for 2020-2025, approved in October 2020.
    • Vulture ‘restaurants’, which exist in some countries, are also a way of preserving the population.
    •  In these ‘restaurants’, diclofenac-free carcasses of cattle are dumped in designated areas where vultures gather to feed.

    Conclusion

    Awareness and action must go hand in hand. With International Vulture Awareness Day coming up on September 4, it is important for us to spread awareness about the importance of vultures in our ecosystem.

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  • How to read the state of the economy

    Context

    GDP growth estimates range from a high of 11 per cent, as per the government, to 9.5 per cent as per RBI. The variation is stark. So, what should one look at to evaluate the state of the economy?

    Things to consider while evaluating the economy

    • First, since the economy contracted by 7.3 per cent in 2020-21, all numbers will be exaggerated in the upward direction.
    • Second, beware of interpretations based on single-month data.
    • Cumulative numbers are better at times, but can be misleading too.
    • Third, what is more important is how things will play out during September-December as this is the festival-cum-harvest season which engenders spending normally.
    • Several indicators are used as leading signals of the economy, but here, too, we need to be careful.
    • PMIs for manufacturing and services tell us if we are better off than the previous month.
    • But that is not how data is normally presented as we usually talk of year-on-year growth.
    • But it is an early signal for sure. The IIP and core sector numbers will be influenced by base numbers and come with a lag.

    Indicators to look at as signs of recovery

    • Credit growth: Bank credit is a good indicator of whether companies are producing more as all activity requires working capital.
    • Here, the picture is not good as growth is (-) 0.4 per cent as of July end, indicating that activity has not picked up yet.
    •  Therefore, credit growth is in the negative territory.
    • Investment:  Debt issuances are lower in the first four months at around Rs 1.25 lakh crore, which is half of the Rs 2.57 lakh crore mobilised last year.
    • Therefore, the investment scenario is still one where companies are watchful.
    • There is surplus capacity in industry with utilisation rate being at 69.4 per cent in March 2021.
    • Rural demand: Rural demand is an integral part of the story and presently progress on the kharif crop is satisfactory.
    • A good crop is also necessary to generate spending power besides augmenting supplies in the market as well as food processing industry.
    • The second wave has pushed back rural households with more expenditure on health care.
    • Employment generation: Employment generation is a trigger for higher income and spending and while the battle between CMIE and EPFO data remains unresolved, the market will finally reveal if people have more money.

    Inflation concern

    • Inflation is high and though there is a view that it is transient.
    • Several households, who are living on a fixed income have witnessed a double whammy in the form of lower returns on deposits and cumulative inflation of 6 per cent last year, and a similar number this year.

    Conclusion

    Investment will trail consumption and while the Centre has a good capex plan, it is only one piece in the overall puzzle. The private sector must get involved and with the banks being hesitant, the road can get longer.

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  • Liberalized Drone Rules, 2021

    The central government has notified the Drone Rules 2021, a much more liberalised regime for unmanned aircraft systems than what existed previously.

    Key features of Drone Rules 2021

    These rules are built on a premise of trust, self-certification and non-intrusive monitoring. The policy is designed to usher in an era of super-normal growth while balancing safety and security considerations.

    • Several approvals abolished: Unique authorisation number, unique prototype identification number, certificate of manufacturing and airworthiness, certificate of conformance, certificate of maintenance, import clearance, acceptance of existing drones, operator permit, authorisation of R&D organisation, student remote pilot licence, remote pilot instructor authorisation, drone port authorisation etc.
    • Number of forms reduced: from 25 to 5.
    • Types of fees: reduced from 72 to 4.
    • Quantum of fee: reduced to nominal levels and delinked with size of drone. For instance, the fee for a remote pilot license fee has been reduced from INR 3000 (for large drone) to INR 100 for all categories of drones; and is valid for 10 years.
    • Digital sky platform: It shall be developed as a user-friendly single-window system. There will be minimal human interface and most permissions will be self-generated.
    • Interactive airspace map: with green, yellow and red zones shall be displayed on the digital sky platform within 30 days of publication of these rules.
    • No permission required in green zones: Green zone means the airspace upto a vertical distance of 400 feet or 120 metre that has not been designated as a red zone or yellow zone in the airspace map; and the airspace upto a vertical distance of 200 feet or 60 metre above the area located between a lateral distance of 8 and 12 kilometre from the perimeter of an operational airport.
    • De-licensing: No remote pilot licence required for micro drones (for non-commercial use) and nano drones. No requirement for security clearance before issuance of any registration or licence. Nano and model drones (made for research or recreation purposes) are exempt from type certification.
    • Foreign ownership: No restriction on foreign ownership in Indian drone companies.
    • Import: Import of drones to be regulated by DGFT. Requirement of import clearance from DGCA abolished.
    • Size of drones: Coverage of drones under Drone Rules, 2021 increased from 300 kg to 500 kg. This will cover drone taxis also.
    • Testing of drones: for issuance of Type Certificate to be carried out by Quality Council of India or authorised testing entities.
    • UID: Manufacturers and importers may generate their drones’ unique identification number on the digital sky platform through the self-certification route. Drones present in India on or before 30 Nov 2021 will be issued a unique identification number through the digital sky platform provided, they have a DAN, a GST-paid invoice and are part of the list of DGCA-approved drones.
    • Penalties: Maximum penalty for violations reduced to INR 1 lakh.
    • Permission: Safety and security features like ‘No permission – no takeoff’ (NPNT), real-time tracking beacon, geo-fencing etc. to be notified in future. A six-month lead time will be provided to the industry for compliance.
    • Drone corridors: will be developed for cargo deliveries.
    • Drone promotion council: to be set up by Government with participation from academia, startups and other stakeholders to facilitate a growth-oriented regulatory regime.

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  • [pib] Merging of three Supermassive Black Holes

    Indian researchers have discovered three supermassive black holes from three galaxies merging together to form a triple active galactic nucleus, a compact region at the centre of a newly discovered galaxy that has a much-higher-than-normal luminosity.

    What are Supermassive black holes?

    • A supermassive black hole is the largest type of black hole, with mass on the order of millions to billions of times the mass of the Sun.
    • Black holes are a class of astronomical objects that have undergone gravitational collapse, leaving behind spheroidal regions of space from which nothing can escape, not even light.
    • They are difficult to detect because they do not emit any light. But they can reveal their presence by interacting with their surroundings.

    Active galactic nuclei (AGN) from such black holes

    • When the dust and gas from the surroundings fall onto a supermassive black hole, some of the mass is swallowed by the black hole, but some of it is converted into energy.
    • This is emitted back as electromagnetic radiation that makes the black hole appear very luminous.
    • They are called active galactic nuclei (AGN) and release huge amounts of ionized particles and energy into the galaxy and its environment.
    • Both of these ultimately contribute to the growth of the medium around the galaxy and ultimately the evolution of the galaxy itself.

    How does merger of black holes occur?

    • A major factor impacting galaxy evolution is galaxy interactions, which happen when galaxies move close by each other and exert tremendous gravitational forces on each other.
    • During such galaxy interactions, the respective supermassive black holes can get near each other.
    • The dual black holes start consuming gas from their surroundings and become dual AGN.

    What happens when galaxies collide?

    • If two galaxies collide, their black hole will also come closer by transferring the kinetic energy to the surrounding gas.
    • The distance between the blackholes decreases with time until the separation is around a parsec (3.26 light-years).
    • The two black holes are then unable to lose any further kinetic energy in order to get even closer and merge.
    • This is known as the final parsec problem.

    Here comes the third black hole

    • Many AGN pairs have been detected in the past, but triple AGN are extremely rare, and only a handful has been detected before using X-ray observations.
    • The presence of a third black hole can solve this problem.
    • The dual merging blackholes can transfer their energy to the third blackhole and merge with each other.

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  • Places in news: Sambhar Lake

    The world-famous Sambhar Salt Lake in Rajasthan is constantly shrinking with the degradation of soil and water quality and a decline in the population of migratory birds.

    Sambhar Lake

    • The lake, situated 80 km south-west of Jaipur, is the country’s largest inland saline water body which attracts thousands of migratory birds every year.
    • The death of more than 20,000 birds belonging to about 10 species which migrate annually to the lake had made international headlines in 2019.
    • The lake receives water from six rivers: Mantha, Rupangarh, Khari, Khandela, Medtha and Samod.
    • Sambhar has been designated as a Ramsar site because the wetland is a key wintering area for tens of thousands of pink flamingos and other birds that migrate from northern Asia and Siberia.

    Threats: Illegal mining

    • 30% of the Sambhar Lake’s area had been lost to mining and other activities, including the illegal salt pan encroachments.
    • It has also threatened the livelihoods of local people who have always lived in harmony with the lake and its ecology.

    Try answering this:

    Which one of the following is an artificial lake? (CSP 2014)

    (a) Kodaikanal (Tamil Nadu)

    (b) Kolleru (Andhra Pradesh)

    (c) Nainital (Uttarakhand)

    (d) Renuka (Himachal Pradesh)

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  • A way of diluting credit discipline

    Context

    Some bank borrowers have gone to court demanding that it quash the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) circular dated August 6, 2020 on opening current accounts.

    Background

    • Current accounts with non-lending banks are an important channel for diversion.
    • Diversion of funds is a major reason for large non-performing assets (NPAs).
    • Internal diversion is for non-priority purposes and funds can also be diverted to other firms, owned or controlled by the same group, friends or relatives.
    • To prevent this, the RBI mandates a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) from lending banks before opening such accounts.
    • Banks should verify with CRILC, the RBI credit database, and inform lenders. Banks should also obtain a NOC from the drawee bank when an account is opened through cheques.
    • Widespread non-compliance with mandated safeguards forced the RBI to bar non-lending banks from opening current accounts for large borrowers.
    • Thus, if borrowing is through a cash credit or overdraft account, no bank can open a current account.

    What are the current regulations?

    • If a borrower has no cash credit or overdraft account, a current account can be opened subject to restrictions.
    • If the bank’s exposure is less than 10% of total borrowings, debits to the account can only be for transfers to accounts with a designated bank.
    • If total borrowing is ₹50 crore or more, there should be an escrow mechanism managed by one bank which alone can open a current account.
    • Other lending banks can open ‘collection accounts’ from which funds will be periodically transferred to the escrow account.
    • If the borrowing is between ₹5 crore and ₹50 crore, lending banks can open current accounts.
    • Non-lending banks can open collection accounts.
    • If borrowing is below ₹5 crore, even non-lending banks can open current accounts.
    • The working capital credit should be bifurcated into loan and cash credit components at individual bank levels.

    Issues with regulations

    • If a borrower has an overdraft, how can there not be a current account?
    • An overdraft is the right to overdraw in a current account up to a limit.
    • The second issue is that the circular forecloses such operational flexibility.
    • Third, why should a bank with low exposure transfer funds to another bank when it can use it to adjust other dues with it?
    • Fourth, share in borrowing is not static. Crossing the threshold both ways could happen often.
    • Fifth, there is a mismatch between what a borrower needs and the regulations allow.
    • Support of non-lending banks through current accounts in other banks is required for large accounts.
    • Sixth, transactions in an active current account enables a bank to monitor a borrower’s account, however small.
    • The lack of such control was why large development financial institutions of yesteryear built up huge NPAs.
    • Seventh, the regulation mandates splitting working capital into loan and cash credit components across all banks.
    • Such a one-size-fits-all regulation does not factor in the purpose of the different facilities.
    • A large company might avail itself of loans in Mumbai, but require current accounts with another bank in Assam where it might have a factory.
    • Lack of flexibility: Rules are not flexible, do not provide for unforeseen circumstances, and can be easily circumvented.
    • Use more generic terms: Regulation needs to use more generic terms. Terms such as Working Capital Term Loan might mean different things in different banks.
    • Diversion of fund is risk better dealt by banks: Is it not better to leave management of exceptional risks such as diversion of funds to the banks?
    • The cost of regulation: the costs of regulation be justified by the benefits.

    Conclusion

    When regulation ignores market practices, it lacks legitimacy, a construct from neo-institutionalist literature. When legitimacy is wanting, compliance suffers.

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  • Mandatory rice fortification policy should be re-examined

    Context

    To deal with the high prevalence of anaemia, the government has been pursuing the policy of food fortification with iron. This policy needs a rethink.

    Rice-fortification policy

    • There are high levels of anaemia in India, affecting women and children equally.
    • This is despite the corrective measures like mandatory supplementation of iron tablets through Anaemia Mukt Bharat programme of pharmaceutical iron supplementation.
    • To deal with the issue, the government has decided on compulsory rice fortification in safety-net feeding programmes like the ICDS, PDS and school mid-day meals.
    • This was announced by the Prime Minister in his recent Independence Day address to the nation.
    • The mandatory rice fortification programme is being piloted in some districts already.
    • Food fortification is considered attractive as it requires no behavioural modification by the beneficiary.

    Why iron fortification policy needs re-examination?

    1) Over-estimation of anaemia burden

    • High WHO cutoff for Hg levels: WHO haemoglobin cut-offs are used to diagnose anaemia in India.
    • There is a growing global consensus that these may be too high.
    • A recent Lancet paper suggested a lower haemoglobin cut-off level to diagnose anaemia in Indian children.
    • Using this will actually reduce the anaemia burden by two-thirds.
    • Capillary Vs venous blood sample: Haemoglobin level can be falsely low when a capillary blood sample (taken by finger-prick) is used for measurement, instead of the more reliable venous blood sample (taken with a syringe from an arm vein). The anaemia burden in India is estimated from capillary blood, which inflates the anaemia burden substantially.
    • If the recommended venous blood sample is used, it would halve this burden.
    • There is, thus, a significant overestimation of anaemia burden.

    2) Other nutrients and protein intake

    • A MoHFW national survey (Comprehensive National Nutrition Survey) of Indian children showed that iron deficiency was related to less than half the anaemia cases.
    • Many other nutrients and adequate protein intake are also important, for which a good diverse diet is required.

    3) Iron requirement over-estimated

    • The idea for iron fortification comes from the premise that a normal Indian diet cannot possibly meet an individual’s daily iron requirement.
    • This is wrong thinking, and is based on older iron requirements (as per National Institute of Nutrition [NIN] 2010), which were much too high.
    • The latest corrected iron requirements (NIN 2020) are 30-40 per cent lower.
    • The iron density of the Indian vegetarian diet, about 9 mg/1000 kCal, can thus meet most requirements.

    4) Challenges in rice fortification

    • Rice fortification is very complex.
    • It requires a fortified rice “kernel” or grain that is composed of rice flour paste, along with the required concentration of micronutrients and binders, extruded into a grain that exactly matches the shape of the rice it is intended to fortify.
    • The problem lies in making “matching” kernels for each rice cultivar that is distributed in the food safety-net programmes from year to year and state to state.
    • If it does not match, the instinct of a home cook will be to pick out and discard the odd grains, thereby defeating the purpose of fortification.

    Risks involved

    • Ingesting fortified salt (two teaspoons, 10 g/day) or rice (quarter kilo/day) will deliver an additional 10 mg iron/day each to the diet.
    • When the iron intake exceeds 40 mg/day, the risk of toxicity goes up.
    • The unabsorbed iron that remains in the gut can wreak havoc among the beneficial bacteria in the large intestine.
    • Iron causes oxidative stress, and more seriously, is implicated in diabetes and cancer risk. Men will also be more at risk.

    Way forward

    • We just need to absorb the existing dietary iron better and complement this with all the other nutrients that are required, by eating a diverse diet (with fruits and vegetables, for example), and improving our environment.
    • Indeed, it is well-known that the benefits derived from the nutrients in whole foods are greater than the sum of their parts.

     Conclusion

    We need to rethink our reductionist strategies if we are to deliver food and nutrition security to our people.

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  • The dangers of India’s palm oil push

    Context

    On August 15, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced a support of Rs 11,000 crore to incentivise oil palm production.

    National Mission on Edible Oils and Oil Palm (NMEO-OP)

    • Under NMEO-OP, the government intends to bring an additional 6.5 lakh hectares under oil palm cultivation.
    • The agro-business industry has said the move will help its growth and reduce the country’s dependence on palm oil imports, especially from Indonesia and Malaysia.
    • Indonesia has emerged as a significant palm oil hub in the last decade and has overtaken Malaysia.
    • The two countries produce 80 per cent of global oil palm.
    • Indonesia exports more than 80 per cent of its production.

    Reducing the import dependence

    • India imported 18.41 million tonnes of vegetable oil in 2018.
    • The National Mission on Oilseeds and Oil Palm are part of the government’s efforts to reduce the dependence on vegetable oil production.
    • The Yellow Revolution of the 1990s led to a rise in oilseeds production.
    • Though there has been a continuous increase in the production of diverse oilseeds — groundnut, rapeseed and mustard, soybean — that has not matched the increasing demand.
    • Most of these oilseeds are grown in rain-fed agriculture areas of Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh.

    Issues with oil palm cultivation in India

    • Impact on biodiversity: Studies on agrarian change in Southeast Asia have shown that increasing oil palm plantations is a major reason for the region’s declining biodiversity. 
    • The Northeast is recognised as the home of around 850 bird species, it is also home to citrus fruits, it is rich in medicinal plants and harbours rare plants and herbs.
    • Above all, it has 51 types of forests.
    • Studies conducted by the government have also highlighted the Northeast’s rich biodiversity.
    • The palm oil policy could destroy this richness of the region.
    • To preserve the environment and biodiversity, Indonesia and Sri Lanka have already started putting restrictions on palm tree plantation.
    • Water pollution: Along with adversely impacting the country’s biodiversity, it has led to increasing water pollution.
    • Climate change: The decreasing forest cover has significant implications with respect to increasing carbon emission levels and contributing to climate change.
    • Against the notion of self-reliance: Such initiatives are also against the notion of community self-reliance:
    • The initial state support for such a crop results in a major and quick shift in the existing cropping pattern that are not always in sync with the agro-ecological conditions and food requirements of the region.
    • Against commitment to sustainable agriculture: The policy also contradicts the government’s commitments under the National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture.
    • The mission aims at “Making agriculture more productive, sustainable, remunerative and climate resilient by promoting location specific integrated/composite farming systems.”
    • The palm oil mission, instead, aims at achieving complete transformation of the farming system of Northeast India.
    • Studies also show that in case of variations in global palm oil prices, households dependent on palm oil cultivation become vulnerable.

    Consider the question “India depend on import for its vegetable oil requirements to a larger extent. What are the steps taken by the government to reduce the dependence? Can oil palm cultivation in India be a solution?”

    Conclusion

    Similar environmental and political outcomes cannot be ruled out in India. Apart from the possible hazardous impacts in Northeast India, such trends could have negative implications on farmer incomes, health, and food security in other parts of the country in the long run.

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  • SUJALAM Campaign

    The Ministry of Jal Shakti began ‘SUJALAM’, a ‘100 days campaign’ to create more and more ODF Plus villages by undertaking wastewater management at the village level.

    SUJALAM Campaign

    The key activities that will be organized in the villages under this campaign include:

    • Organizing Community consultations, Khuli Baithaks and Gram Sabha meetings to analyze the current situation
    • Pass resolution to maintain ODF sustainability and achieve a needed number of soak pits to manage the greywater
    • Develop a 100 days’ plan to undertake sustainability and soak pit construction-related activities
    • Construct a requisite number of soak pits
    • Retrofit toilets where needed through IEC and community mobilization and
    • Ensure all newly emerging Households in the village have access to toilets

    Objectives of the campaign

    • The effort of the campaign would be directed towards achieving the ODF plus status for villages across the country in an accelerated manner in a short time.
    • The campaign will not only build desired infrastructure soak pit for management of greywater in villages but will also aid in sustainable management of water bodies.
    • The disposal of wastewater and clogging of water bodies in the villages or on the outskirts of the villages remain one of the major problems.
    • The Campaign would help in the management of the wastewater and in turn, would help to revive the water bodies.

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