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GS Paper: GS3

  • India’s investment in research unsatisfactory: UNESCO report

    While India has made ‘solid progress’ towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets concerning the industry, infrastructure, and innovation, the country’s investment in research remains unsatisfactory, the UNESCO Science Report has observed. UNESCO Science Report.

    This newscard provides useful data about India’s expenditure on R&D and its adequacy.

    UNESCO Science Report

    • The UNESCO Science Report is a global monitoring report published regularly by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
    • Every five years, this report maps the latest trends and developments in national and regional policy landscapes, against the backdrop of shifting socio-economic, geopolitical and environmental realities.

    Data on research funding in India

    • India has one of the lowest GERD/GDP ratios among the BRICS nations, according to the report.
    • The gross domestic expenditure on research (GERD) has been stagnant at 0.7% of the GDP for years, although, in absolute terms, research expenditure has increased.

    Why flag such slowdown?

    • India’s research intensity has been declining since 2014.
    • The Science and Technology Policy of 2003 fixed the threshold of devoting 2% of GDP to research and development (R&D) by 2007.
    • This target date was set back to 2018 in the new Science, Technology and Innovation Policy (2013) then again to 2022 by the Economic Advisory Council of the Prime Minister.
    • In 2020, the task force drafting the country’s new Science and Technology Policy recommended pushing back the target date to a more realistic 2030.

    Rise of private enterprises

    • R&D in the government sector has been in steady decline since 2015, whereas the share of private business enterprises in it has shot up to 42%.
    • While in theory this is a positive trend, the R&D is focused primarily on sectors such as pharmaceuticals, automotive, and information technology.
    • Even in these industries, it is concentrated in a small number of firms, the report said.
    • It further noted that investment in R&D by foreign multinationals is on the rise, accounting for as much as 16% of private-sector investment in R&D in 2019.
    • The report noted that the majority of the software-related patents were being bagged by MNCs operating from Indian soil, while pharma patents were obtained mostly by domestic firms.

    Few successes to count

    • On the bright side is the encouraging increase in scientific publications by Indian researchers on cutting-edge technologies.
    • Total publications have risen from 80,458 in 2011 to 1.61 lakh in 2019.
    • Indian researchers are publishing between 1.5 and 1.8 times the global average on green technologies, complementing the government’s push to expand green energy sources.
    • But then again, patenting by domestic corporations, research institutes, universities, and individuals remain low in India.

    Key suggestions

    • The UNESCO Science Report underscores the need for ‘policy bridges’ for fostering a more effective interaction between foreign and local research firms.
    • Given the large number of multinational corporations now engaged in R&D, it is imperative that the host economy benefits from this activity the report said.
    • It also called for improved linkages between the start-up ecosystem and manufacturers to push technological development in sectors where India enjoys a global presence.

  • Mustard oil blending is now banned

    The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India had decided this on March 31. This would end the practice to add other edible oil (like palms, rice bran, etc) to mustard oil.

    Why such move?

    • This is good news for mustard farmers whose fortunes were adversely hit as up to a fifth of mustard oil volume could earlier be blends of other oils.
    • But why did India start the practice in the first place? And how has it affected consumer health?

    Answer this question from CSP 2018:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The quantity of imported edible oils is more than the domestic production of edible oils in the last five years.
    2. The Government does not impose any customs duty on all the imported edible oils as a special case.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Why did the blending begin?

    • The Union health ministry had allowed blending in edible vegetable oil in a notification in 1990.
    • In 1998, Delhi and other north Indian states witnessed the dropsy epidemic — a disease that caused swelling in the body due to the build-up of fluid in tissues.
    • At least 60 people died and 3,000 were hospitalized in the national capital.
    • Researchers believed the consumption of mustard oil caused the disease.

    Adulteration is hazardous

    • Upon investigation, it was found to be adulterated with Argemone Mexicana, a kind of weed that grows with yellow flowers.
    • The adulteration, however, was highly suspicious: While mustard is a rabi crop that is cultivated in the winters, Argemone Mexicana grows in April-May.
    • This meant that the possibility of mixing mustard seeds with that Argemone mexicana was rare.
    • The suspicious adulteration stoked fear among the masses.  It started a campaign against the consumption of oil.
    • Several studies have found mustard oil unsafe for consumption.

    The 1990 decision

    • Experts have claimed that the blending of mustard oil was not only dangerous to health but also adversely impacted mustard farming.
    • Some groups have also flagged the blending of refined oil.
    • Following the Union health ministry’s 1990 notification allowing for the blending of edible vegetable oil, the FSSAI rolled out regulations in the regard in 2006.
    • Producers and other companies involved in blending were regularised through the Agriculture Produce (Grading and Marking) Act (AGMARK).
    • It also made it mandatory to write the kind of oil used for blending over the packet.
    • The companies involved in blending strongly advocated for the cause, despite reports about its excess and unregulated use. The governments over the years have been tight-lipped about it.

    Has blending led to dependence over the import of oil?

    • In 1990-91, India was self-reliant in mustard oil production and produced 98 percent of the oil needed.
    • Blending mustard oil with other edible oils considered to bolster nutritional profile, taste, and quality.
    • Despite the harmful effects, the processing industry took advantage of blending.
    • Cheap palm oil would be blended up to 80 percent in mustard oil sometimes.
    • As a result, profits of mustard farmers dried up, which discouraged them from cultivating the crop.
    • This could be one of the reasons behind India’s increasing dependency on oil imports over the last two decades.

  • Polar-Areas Stellar-Imaging in Polarisation High-Accuracy Experiment (PASIPHAE)

    The development of a vital instrument PASIPHAE, which will be used in upcoming sky surveys to study stars, is being led by an Indian astronomer.

    What is PASIPHAE?

    • PASIPHAE stands for Polar-Areas Stellar-Imaging in Polarisation High-Accuracy Experiment.
    • It is an international collaborative sky surveying project. Scientists aim to study the polarisation in the light coming from millions of stars.
    • The name is inspired by Pasiphae, the daughter of Greek Sun God Helios.
    • The survey will use two high-tech optical polarimeters to observe the northern and southern skies, simultaneously.
    • It will focus on capturing starlight polarisation of very faint stars that are so far away that polarisation signals from there have not been systematically studied.
    • By combining the data, astronomers will perform a maiden magnetic field tomography mapping of the interstellar medium of very large areas of the sky using a novel polarimeter instrument known as WALOP.

    Why is PASIPHAE important?

    • Since its birth about 14 billion years ago, the universe has been constantly expanding, as evidenced by the presence of Cosmic Microwave Background (CMB) radiation which fills the universe.
    • Immediately after its birth, the universe went through a short inflationary phase during which it expanded at a very high rate before it slowed down and reached the current rate.
    • However, so far, there have only been theories and indirect evidence of expansion associated with the early universe.
    • A definitive consequence of the inflationary phase is that a tiny fraction of the CMB radiation should have its imprints in the form of a specific kind of polarisation (known scientifically as a B-mode signal).
    • All previous attempts to detect this signal met with failure mainly due to the difficulty posed by our galaxy, the Milky Way, which emits copious amounts of polarized radiation.
    • Besides, it contains a lot of dust clouds that are present in the form of clusters. When starlight passes through these dust clouds, they get scattered and polarized.

    What will PASIPHAE do?

    • The PASIPHAE survey will measure starlight polarisation over large areas of the sky.
    • This data along with distances to the stars will help create a 3-Dimensional model of the distribution of the dust and magnetic field structure of the galaxy.
    • Such data can help remove the galactic polarized foreground light and enable astronomers to look for the elusive B-mode signal.

    What is WALOP?

    • Wide Area Linear Optical Polarimeter (WALOP) is an instrument when mounted on two small optical telescopes, that will be used to detect polarized light signals emerging from the stars along high galactic latitudes.
    • The images will simultaneously have the finest of details of a star along with its panoramic background.
    • WALOP will operate on the principle that at any given time, the data from a portion of the sky under observation will be split into four different channels.
    • Depending on the manner in which light passes through the four channels, the polarisation value from the star is obtained.
    • That is, each star will have four corresponding images which when stitched together will help calculate the desired polarisation value of a star.

  • Operation Olivia to protect Olive Ridley Turtles

    Every year, the Indian Coast Guard’s “Operation Olivia”, initiated in the early 1980s, helps protect Olive Ridley turtles as they congregate along the Odisha coast for breeding and nesting from November to December.

    Answer this question from CSP 2012 in the comment box:

    Q.Which one of the following is the national aquatic animal of India?

    (a) Saltwater crocodile

    (b) Olive ridley turtle

    (c) Gangetic dolphin

    (d) Gharial

    Olive Ridley Turtles

    • The Olive Ridley (Lepidochelys olivacea) is listed as vulnerable under the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red list.
    • All five species of sea turtles found in India are included in Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and in the Appendix I of the CITES, which prohibits trade in turtle products by signatory countries.
    • Odisha has also formulated laws for protecting Olive Ridley turtles, and the Orissa Marine Fisheries Act empowers the Coast Guard as one of its enforcement agencies.
    • Studies have found three main factors that damage Olive Ridley turtles and their eggs — heavy predation of eggs by dogs and wild animals, indiscriminate fishing with trawlers and gill nets, and beach soil erosion.
    • Dense fishing activity along the coasts of Andhra Pradesh, Odisha and West Bengal, especially ocean-going trawlers, mechanized fishing boats, and gill-netters pose a severe threat to turtles.

    Their habitats

    • The Olive Ridley has one of the most extraordinary nesting habits in the natural world, including mass nesting called arribadas.
    • The 480-km-long Odisha coast has three arribada beaches at Gahirmatha, the mouth of the Devi river, and in Rushikulya, where about 1 lakh nests are found annually.
    • They generally return to their natal beach, or where they were born, to lay eggs as adults.
    • Mating occurs in the offshore waters of the breeding grounds and females then come ashore to nest, usually several times during a season.
    • They crawl ashore, dig a flask-shaped nest about 1.5 to 2 foot deep, and lay 100 to 150 eggs in each clutch.
    • Hatchlings emerge from their nests together in about seven to 10 weeks.

  • Species in news: Bharitalasuchus Tapani

    In the mid 20th century, researchers from the Indian Statistical Institute, Kolkata, carried out extensive studies on rocks of the Yerrapalli Formation in what is now Telangana, uncovering several fossils of Bharitalasuchus Tapani.

    Bharitalasuchus Tapani

    • This reptile belongs to a genus and species previously unknown to science. It is named Bharitalasuchus tapani considering Telugu etymology.
    • In the Telugu language, Bhari means huge, Tala means head, and Suchus is the name of the Egyptian crocodile-headed deity.
    • The species is named after paleontologist Tapan Roy Chowdhury in honour of his contribution to Indian vertebrate paleontology and especially his extensive work on the Yerrapalli Formation tetrapod fauna.

    Details of the reptile

    • The reptile belonged to a family of extinct reptiles named Erythrosuchidae.
    • A precise identification had not been possible earlier because the family was not known from other examples in India.
    • It was neglected because the fossil specimen was not as complete as those of other erythrosuchids from other countries.
    • The team notes that tapani were robust animals with big heads and large teeth, and these probably predated other smaller reptiles.
    • They were approximately the size of an adult male lion and might have been the largest predators in their ecosystems.

  • Species in news: Pyrostria Laljii

    A 15-meter-tall tree that belongs to the genus of the coffee family has recently been discovered from the Andaman Islands by a team of researchers from India and the Philippines.

    Observe this PYQ from CSP 2016:

    Q.Recently, our scientists have discovered a new and distinct species of banana plant which attains a height of about 11 metres and has orange-coloured fruit pulp. In which part of India has it been discovered?

    (a) Andaman Islands

    (b) Anamalai Forests

    (c) Maikala Hills

    (d) Tropical rain forests of northeast

    Pyrostria Laljii

    • The new species, Pyrostria laljii, is also the first record of the genus Pyrostria in India.
    • Plants belonging to the genus Pyrostria are usually found in Madagascar but the recently discovered species is new to science.
    • The tree is distinguished by a long stem with a whitish coating on the trunk, and oblong-obovate leaves with a cuneate base, and was first reported from South Andaman’s Wandoor forest.
    • Pyrostria laljii has been assessed as ‘Critically Endangered’ based on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List criteria.

  • Protection of ‘Heritage Trees’ in Maharashtra

    The Maharashtra government will make amendments to the Maharashtra (Urban Areas) Protection and Preservation of Trees Act of 1975, to introduce provisions for the protection of ‘heritage trees’.

    What are Heritage Trees?

    • Under the proposed amendment, a tree with an estimated age of 50 years or more shall be defined as a heritage tree.
    • It may belong to specific species, which will be notified from time to time.
    • Experts believe that in addition to the age, the state climate change department should also consider a tree’s rarity, its botanical, historical, religious, mythological and cultural importance in defining a heritage tree.
    • The local Tree Authority will have to ensure tree census to be carried out every five years along with counting of heritage trees

    How is the age of the tree determined?

    • The most common method of determining the age of the tree is Dendrochronology – or tree-ring dating also called growth rings.
    • Each year, roughly a tree adds to its girth, the new growth is called a tree ring. By counting the rings of a tree, the age can be determined.
    • However, the process is invasive. To analyse the rings, core samples are extracted using a borer that’s screwed into the tree and pulled out, bringing with it a straw-size sample of wood.
    • The hole in the tree is then sealed to prevent disease.

    Why was the concept of heritage tree introduced?

    • A heritage tree will get special protection.
    • Crucially, the tree’s age will determine the number of trees to be planted as part of the compensatory plantation – that is anyone cutting a heritage tree will need to plant trees in the same numbers as the cut tree’s age.
    • According to the current Compensatory Plantation in the state, one sapling has to be planted for each tree that is cut.
    • In Mumbai, as per the Tree Authority set up in 1976, to help in regulating the felling of trees and providing for the planting of an adequate number of new trees, the compensation ratios are 1:3.

    Changes with the amendment

    • As per the amendment, the number of trees planted will be equal to the age of the heritage tree that is cut.
    • For instance, if a 52-year-old tree is to be felled, then the party felling the tree will have to plant 52 trees in compensation, with each compensatory tree at least 6-8 ft in height at the time of planting.
    • The organization planting the compensation trees will also have to ensure the survival of the plantation for seven years and geo-tag the trees.
    • Such plantations can be carried out either in the same plot or a common amenity plot.
    • Through the introduction of a heritage tree, the state environment wants to discourage the cutting of heritage trees.
    • The amendment has the fine for illegal felling of trees from a maximum of Rs 5,000 to Rs 1 lakh per tree.

    What is the economic value of the tree?

    • In case compensatory plantation is not possible, the tree feller has to pay compensation for the economic valuation of the trees being felled.
    • While the state government has not defined the economic value of the tree, experts say that the amount of oxygen that a tree releases into the environment should determine its economic value.
    • A realistic assessment of the economic value of a tree, which may be permitted to fell, concerning its value to the environment and its longevity, about factors such as:

    the production of oxygen and carbon sequestration, soil conservation, protection of flora/fauna, its role in habitat and ecosystem integrity and any other ecologically relevant factor, distinct from timber/wood

    Tree Authority formation

    • The amendments also make room for the formation of the Maharashtra State Tree Authority and also tree authority in local civic bodies and councils.
    • The Tree Authority is tasked with “increasing the tree cover in urban areas and protecting the existing ones.” Experts shall be a part of the local tree authority.
    • Their knowledge and expertise will form the basis of decisions taken up by the authority.
    • A proposal to cut more than 200 trees of age 5 years or more, will be referred to the state tree authority.
    • The local TA will have to ensure that the project is not sub-divided into smaller parts to keep the number of trees below the defined threshold.
    • Ensure preparation of a tree plan and should aspire over the years to have 33 percent green belt in their area.

  • EnVision Mission to Venus

    Following NASA’s footsteps, the European Space Agency (ESA) announced that it has selected EnVision as its next orbiter that will visit Venus sometime in the 2030s.

    Last week, NASA selected two missions to the planet Venus, Earth’s nearest neighbour. The missions called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS have been selected based on their potential for scientific value and the feasibility of their development plans.

    What is EnVision?

    • EnVision is an ESA-led mission with contributions from NASA. It is likely to be launched sometime in the 2030s.
    • The earliest launch opportunity for EnVision is 2031, followed by 2032 and 2033.
    • Once launched on an Ariane 6 rocket, the spacecraft will take about 15 months to reach Venus and will take 16 more months to achieve orbit circularization.
    • The spacecraft will carry a range of instruments to study the planet’s atmosphere and surface, monitor trace gases in the atmosphere and analyses its surface composition.

    What are other such missions?

    • EnVision will follow another ESA-led mission to Venus called ‘Venus Express’ (2005-2014) that focused on atmospheric research and pointed to volcanic hotspots on the planet’s surface.
    • Other than this, Japan’s Akatsuki spacecraft has also been studying the planet’s atmosphere since 2015.

    Why are scientists interested in studying Venus?

    • At the core of the ESA’s mission is the question of how Earth and Venus evolved so differently from each other considering that they are roughly of the same size and composition.
    • Venus is the hottest planet in the solar system because of the heat that is trapped by its thick cloud cover.
    • Last year, a team of scientists reported that they had found phosphine gas (a chemical produced only through biological processes) in the atmosphere of Venus.
    • This triggered excitement in the scientific community that some life forms might be supported by the planet.
    • But the existence of life on the planet is nearly impossible given the high temperatures of Venus and its acidic atmosphere.

    Back2Basics: Venus Planet

    • For those on Earth, Venus is the second-brightest object in the sky after the moon.
    • It appears bright because of its thick cloud cover that reflects and scatters light.
    • But while Venus, which is the second closest planet to the Sun, is called the Earth’s twin because of their similar sizes, the two planets have significant differences between them.
    • For one, the planet’s thick atmosphere traps heat and is the reason that it is the hottest planet in the solar system, despite coming after Mercury, the closest planet to the Sun.
    • Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead.
    • Further, Venus moves forward on its orbit around the Sun but spins backwards around its axis slowly.
    • This means on Venus the Sun rises in the west and sets in the East.
    • One day on Venus is equivalent to 243 Earth days because of its backward spinning, opposite to that of the Earth’s and most other planets.
    • Venus also does not have a moon and no rings.

  • What is Fastly Internet Outage?

    Several big websites around the world went down for about half an hour because of a major issue with the content delivery network (CDN) of American cloud computing services provider Fastly.

    Global internet outage: Which websites were affected?

    • com, Reddit, Twitch, Spotify, Pinterest, Stack Overflow, GitHub, gov.uk, Hulu, HBO Max, Quora, PayPal, Vimeo and Shopify are some of the big names.
    • Prominent news websites impacted were the Financial Times, the Guardian, the New York Times, CNN, and Verge, to name some.
    • Most users would have seen a 503 error when trying to access these websites, indicating that the browser was not able to access the server.

    What is Fastly?

    • Fastly is a cloud computing services provider, which offers CDN, edge computing, cloud storage services.
    • All of its geographies, including the three stations it has in India — Chennai, Mumbai and New Delhi — were suffering from “Degraded Performance”.

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2018:

    Q.The terms ‘WannaCry, Petya, Eternal Blue’ sometimes mentioned news recently are related to

    (a) Exoplanets

    (b) Crypto currency

    (c) Cyber attacks

    (d) Mini satellites

    What is a CDN?

    • A CDN refers to a geographically distributed group of servers that work together to provide fast delivery of Internet content.
    • They house content close to the telecom service providers’ networks.
    • Majority of web traffic across the world today is routed through CDNs.
    • Platforms such as Netflix, Facebook, Amazon — ones with large quantities of data held in global libraries — host their geographically relevant content closer to where that content is to be consumed.
    • This ensures the end customer is able to access the content faster.
    • Another reason companies rely on these CDNs is to help protect their sites against traffic spikes, distributed denial of service (DDOS) attacks, etc.

  • [pib] Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)

    To empower the farmers through the Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) scheme, the government has released funds for various activities of Farm Mechanization.

    Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM)

    • The Agri ministry has launched this mission in 2014-15 with the objectives of increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions & difficult areas where farm power availability is low.
    • Under this scheme, it has been proposed to established Village Level farm Machinery Bank (VLFMB), Custom Hiring Centres (CHC) and High Tech Hubs (HTH) in order to facilitate easy availability of farm implements and machinery for hire by farmers.

    Why need such a scheme?

    • Agricultural Mechanization plays a vital role in optimizing the use of land, water energy resources, manpower and other inputs like seeds, fertilizers, pesticides etc to maximize the productivity of the available cultivable area and make agriculture a more profitable and attractive profession for rural youth.
    • It is one of the key drivers for the sustainable development of the agriculture sector.
    • Sustainable Agriculture mechanization growth will require appropriate and precision agricultural machinery adequately supported by the latest technology.