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GS Paper: GS3

  • Enabling financial inclusion

    The article takes an overview of the progress made by India in the financial inclusion and role played by JAM trinity in it.

    What is financial inclusion?

    Financial inclusion is defined as the availability and equality of opportunities to access financial services. It refers to a process by which individuals and businesses can access appropriate, affordable, and timely financial products and services. These include banking, loan, equity, and insurance products.

    Growing adoption of digital payment in India

    • India overtook China to register the highest number of countrywide digital payments.
    • Real-time transactions crossed 25 billion, much higher than China’s 15 billion in 2020, as per the report of ACI Worldwide.
    • The report also stated that digital payments in India are set to account for 71.7 per cent of all payments by volume by the year 2025.
    • The digital payment boom is indicative of a larger paradigm shift in the ease of access to financial services.

    What are the contributing factors

    • More and more people, across all strata, are adopting digital payments as it is convenient, safe and limits exposure.
    • It is also a result of the nudges and diligent policy and technology frameworks created by the central government in the last few years.
    • By building the Jan-Dhan-Aadhar-Mobile (JAM) and Universal Payment Interface (UPI) platform, the government has been creating the ground for greater financial inclusion.

    Significance of JAM trinity

    • While Jan Dhan was the first pillar of the ambitious JAM trinity, Aadhaar card seeding and bank account linkages to mobile numbers have empowered people in hitherto unimagined ways.
    • The JAM trinity has helped people know their account status, receive scholarships and fellowships, get fertiliser and LPG subsidy, disability pensions and farm income support — directly into their accounts.
    • The trinity also helped eliminate middlemen, frauds, and leakages due to corruption.
    • In the past one year alone, Rs 4.3 lakh crore was transferred, in over 477 crore transactions under 319 schemes.
    • With an estimated saving of Rs 1.8 lakh crore, the success of DBT is a big thumbs up for the central government.
    • The aid that reached people during the pandemic under the PM Garib Kalyan package is indicative of the success of the government’s financial inclusion and digitisation efforts.

    Conclusion

    The unmissable digital and financial revolution that has been unleashed is hard to miss for anyone. The digital journey, however, is long and one hopes to see the positive trends sustaining given their transformative impact on the lives of Indians.

  • Government Securities Acquisition Programme (GSAP 2.0)

    In a bid to infuse more liquidity in the market, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has announced undertake Government Securities Acquisition Program (G-SAP) 2.0 during the second quarter of FY22 and conduct secondary market purchase operations of Rs 1.20 lakh crore.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. The Reserve Bank of India manages and services the Government of India Securities but not any State Government Securities.
    2. Treasury bills are issued by the Government of India and there are no treasury bills issued by the State Governments.
    3. Treasury bills offer are issued at a discount from the par value.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 3 Only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    What are Government Securities?

    • These are debt instruments issued by the government to borrow money.
    • The two key categories are:
    1. Treasury bills (T-Bills) – short-term instruments which mature in 91 days, 182 days, or 364 days, and
    2. Dated securities – long-term instruments, which mature anywhere between 5 years and 40 years

    Note: T-Bills are issued only by the central government, and the interest on them is determined by market forces.

    Why G-Secs?

    • Like bank fixed deposits, g-secs are not tax-free.
    • They are generally considered the safest form of investment because they are backed by the government. So, the risk of default is almost nil.
    • However, they are not completely risk-free, since they are subject to fluctuations in interest rates.
    • Bank fixed deposits, on the other hand, are guaranteed only to the extent of Rs 5 lakh by the Deposit Insurance and Credit Guarantee Corporation (DICGC).

  • How blind people can navigate better using Echolocation

    A technique used by animals such as dolphins, whales, and bats to navigate their surroundings can also be used by blind people to get around better and have greater independence and well-being, researchers at Durham University in the UK have shown.

    What is Echolocation?

    • Echolocation, also called biosonar, is a biological sonar used by several animal species.
    • Echolocating animals emit calls out to the environment and listen to the echoes of those calls that return from various objects near them.
    • They use these echoes to locate and identify the objects.

    What has the new study found?

    • The same technique can help blind people locate still objects by producing clicking sounds from their mouth and hands.
    • The researchers organized a 10-week training programme, in which 12 blind and 14 sighted volunteers aged between 21 and 79 were taught click-based echolocation.
    • The volunteers were trained in distinguishing between the size of objects, orientation perception and virtual navigation.
    • At the end of the training, the participants had been able to improve their ability to navigate using clicking noises either from one’s mouth, walking cane taps or footsteps.

  • CIBER-2 Mission to count the stars in the Universe

    A NASA-funded rocket’s launch window will open at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, USA. The aim of this mission is to count the number of stars that exist in the Universe.

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2020 in the comment box:

    Q.“The experiment will employ a trio of spacecraft flying in formation in the shape of an equilateral triangle that has sides one million kilometers long, with lasers shining between the craft.” The experiment in question refers to

    (a) Voyager-2

    (b) New horizons

    (c) Lisa Pathfinder

    (d) Evolved LISA

    What is CIBER-2?

    • In order to roughly estimate the number of stars in the Universe, scientists have estimated that on average each galaxy consists of about 100 million stars, but this figure is not exact.
    • The figure of 100 million could easily be an underestimation, probably by a factor of 10 or more.
    • To put this into perspective, an average of 100 million stars in each galaxy (there an estimated 2 trillion of them as per NASA), would give a total figure of one hundred quintillion stars or 1 with 21 zeroes after it.
    • NASA notes that if this figure is accurate, it would mean that for every grain of sand on Earth, there are more than ten stars.
    • But this calculation assumes that all stars are inside galaxies, which might not be true and this is what the CIBER-2 instrument will try to find out.

    How will CIBER-2 count stars?

    • NASA notes that the instrument will not actually count individual stars but it will instead detect the extragalactic background light
    • It is all of the light that has been emitted throughout the history of the Universe.
    • From all of this extragalactic background light, the CIBER-2 will focus on a portion of this called cosmic infrared background, which is emitted by some of the most common stars.
    • Essentially, this approach is aiming to look at how bright this light is to give scientists an estimate of how many of these stars are out there.
    • The ESA infrared space observatory Herschel also counted the number of galaxies in infrared and measured their luminosity previously.

  • [pib] India’s First Indigenous Tumour Antigen SPAG9

    The National Institute of Immunology (NII) has received a trademark for India’s First Indigenous Tumor Antigen SPAG9.

    About SPAG9

    • India’s first indigenous tumor antigen SPAG9 was discovered by Dr Anil Suri in 1998 who is heading the Cancer Research Program at NII.
    • In a recent development, the SPAG9 antigen has received the trademark ASPAGNII-TM.
    • Currently, ASPAGNIITM is being used in dendritic cell (DC) based immunotherapy in cervical, ovarian cancer and will also be used in breast cancer.

    What is immunotherapy?

    • Immunotherapy is a new approach that exploits the body’s inner capability to put up a fight against cancer.
    • With this approach, either the immune system is given a boost, or the T cells are “trained’’ to identify recalcitrant cancer cells and kill them.
    • In this personalized intervention, those patients expressing SPAG9 protein can be treated with DC-based vaccine approach.
    • In DC-based vaccine, patient’s cells called monocytes from their blood are collected and modified into what are called dendritic cells.
    • These dendritic cells are primed with ASPAGNIITM and are injected back to the patient to help the ‘fighter’ cells, or T-cells, in the body to kill the cancer cells.

    Why need such therapy?

    • DC-based immunotherapy is safe, affordable and can promote antitumor immune responses and prolonged survival of cancer patients.
    • The ASPAGNIITM is a true example of translational cancer research and the Atmanirbhar Bharat spirit.
    • This will be a real morale boost in affordable, personalized, and indigenous products for cancer treatment.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.‘RNA Interference (RNAi)’ technology has gained popularity in the last few years. why?

    1. It is used in developing gene silencing therapies
    2. It can be used in developing therapies for the treatment of cancer
    3. It can be used to developer hormone replacement therapies
    4. It can be used to produce crop plants that are resistant to viral pathogens

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    a) 1, 2 and 4

    b) 2 and 3

    c) 1 and 3

    d) 1 and 4 only

    The burden of cancer in India

    • Cancer kills 8.51 lakh people in India every year (International Agency for Research on Cancer, 2020).
    • As per World Health Organization (WHO), one in 10 Indians will develop cancer during their lifetime, and one in 15 will die of cancer.

  • RBI supervision of Cooperative Banks

    Maharashtra government has approved a plan to set up a task force to prepare an action plan against a recent change in the law that has brought cooperative banks under the supervision of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

    What are Cooperative Banks?

    • Co-operative banks are financial entities established on a cooperative basis and belonging to their members.
    • This means that the customers of a cooperative bank are also its owners.
    • These banks provide a wide range of regular banking and financial services. However, there are some points where they differ from other banks.
    • They came into being with the aim to promote saving and investment habits among people, especially in rural parts of the country.

    Structure of co-operative banks in India

    • Broadly, cooperative banks in India are divided into two categories – urban and rural.
    • Rural cooperative credit institutions could either be short-term or long-term in nature.
    • Further, short-term cooperative credit institutions are further sub-divided into State Co-operative Banks, District Central Co-operative Banks, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.
    • Meanwhile, the long-term institutions are either State Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (SCARDBs) or Primary Cooperative Agriculture and Rural Development Banks (PCARDBs).
    • On the other hand, Urban Co-operative Banks (UBBs) are either scheduled or non-scheduled.

    Who oversees these banks?

    • In India, cooperative banks are registered under the States Cooperative Societies Act.
    • They also come under the regulatory ambit of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) under two laws, namely, the Banking Regulations Act, 1949, and the Banking Laws (Co-operative Societies) Act, 1955.
    • They were brought under the RBI’s watch in 1966, a move that brought the problem of dual regulation along with it.

    Now answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. In terms of short-term credit delivery to the agriculture sector, District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCB) delivers more credit in comparison to Scheduled Commercial Banks and Regional Rural Banks.
    2. One of the most important functions of DCCBs is to provide funds to the Primary Agricultural Credit Societies.

    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

    How has The Banking Regulation Act been amended?

    • Cooperative banks have long been under dual regulation by the state Registrar of Societies and the RBI.
    • As a result, these banks have escaped scrutiny despite failures and frauds.
    • The changes to The Banking Regulation Act approved by Parliament in September 2020, brought cooperative banks under the direct supervision of the RBI.

    Changes brought

    • The amended law has given RBI the power to supersede the board of directors of cooperative banks after consultations with the concerned state government.
    • Earlier, it could issue such directions only to multi-state cooperative banks.
    • Also, urban cooperative banks will now be treated on a par with commercial banks.
    • And a cooperative bank can, with prior approval of the RBI, issue equity shares, preference shares, or special shares to its members or to any other person residing within its area of operation, by way of public issue or private placements.
    • It can also issue unsecured debentures or bonds with a maturity of not less than 10 years.
    • This essentially means non-members can become shareholders of the bank, and this will allow the RBI to merge failing banks quickly.

    What triggered the need for the changes in the law?

    • India has some 1,540 urban cooperative banks, with a depositor base of 8.6 crore and deposits of at least Rs 5 lakh crore.
    • Finance Minister told Lok Sabha last year that the financial status of at least 277 urban cooperative banks was weak, and around 105 cooperative banks were unable to meet the minimum regulatory capital requirement.
    • According to RBI’s latest financial stability report, the gross non-performing asset ratio of urban cooperative banks deteriorated from 9.89 percent in March 2020 to 10.36 percent in September 2020.
    • Not only do these banks have high levels of bad loans, they also have a small capital base — something that the changes in the law have tried to address by allowing these banks to issue shares with RBI’s approval.
    • Political interference in staff appointments is also a problem with these banks, which has added to inefficiencies.

  • World Employment and Social Outlook: Trends 2021

    The report titled World Employment and Social Outlook was recently released by the International Labour Organization (ILO).

    About the report

    • The report analyses the impact of the crisis on the labour market across the world.
    • It offers projections for recovery and gives details of the unequal impact of the crisis on different groups of workers and enterprises and calls for a broad-based human-centred recovery.

    Findings of the report

    • There has been an unprecedented disruption to labour markets worldwide due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has affected the lives of the younger generation and brought about disruption to their education.
    • Also made it more difficult for them to enter the labour market and hold on to their jobs.
    • The pandemic worsened long-standing inequalities with many women workers dropping out of the labour force.
    • For informal and low-skilled workers, working from home was not an option.
    • Many had to face huge health risks to keep their jobs, often with no access to social security benefits.

    Major highlights of the report

    • Global unemployment is expected to be at 205 million in 2022, surpassing the 2019 level of 187 million.
    • The jobs shortfall induced by the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was 75 million in 2021 and is expected to be 23 million in 2022.
    • An estimated additional 108 million workers and their family members now live in poverty.

    The long road to recovery

    • The recovery would remain fragile in many countries due to the uneven rollout of vaccination campaigns and higher levels of public debt and deficits that would make it difficult to tackle the effects of the pandemic.
    • There is an urgent need to build back better — create productive employment opportunities and foster long-term labour market prospects for the most vulnerable.
    • There is a need to strengthen social protection schemes like the MGNREGS in India and make sure nobody is left behind.
    • This would require strong institutions and social dialogue and strong international cooperation to fight global disparities.

  • DAVINCI+ and VERITAS missions for exploration of Venus

    NASA has selected two missions to the planet Venus, Earth’s nearest neighbor. The missions are called DAVINCI+ and VERITAS.

    DAVINCI+ and VERITAS

    (1) DAVINCI+

    • DAVINCI+ is short for ‘Deep Atmosphere Venus Investigation of Noble gases, Chemistry, and Imaging’ and is the first US-led mission to the planet’s atmosphere since 1978.
    • It will try to understand Venus’ composition to see how the planet formed and evolved.
    • This mission also consists of a decent sphere that will pass through the planet’s thick atmosphere and make observations and take measurements of noble gases and other elements.
    • Significantly, this mission will also try to return the first high-resolution photographs of a geological feature that is unique to Venus.
    • This feature, which is called “tesserae” may be comparable to Earth’s continents.
    • The presence of tesseraes may suggest that Venus has tectonic plates like Earth.

    (2) VERITAS

    • The second mission called VERITAS is short for ‘Venus Emissivity, Radio Science, InSAR, Topography, and Spectroscopy’.
    • It will map the planet’s surface to determine its geologic history and understand the reasons why it developed so differently from Earth.
    • VERITAS will orbit Venus with a radar that will help to create a 3D reconstruction of its topography which might be able to tell scientists if processes such as plate tectonics and volcanism are still active there.
    • This mission will also map the emissions from Venus’s surface that may help in determining the type of rocks that exist on Venus–a piece of information that is not exactly known yet.
    • It will also determine if active volcanoes are releasing water vapor into the atmosphere.

    Why study Venus?

    • The results from DAVINCI+ are expected to reshape the understanding of terrestrial planet formation in the solar system and beyond.
    • Taken together, both missions are expected to tell scientists more about the planet’s thick cloud cover and the volcanoes on its surface.
    • Further, scientists speculate about the existence of life on Venus in its distant past and the possibility that life may exist in the top layers of its clouds where temperatures are less extreme.

    Have humans visited Venus?

    • Because of the planet’s harsh environment, no humans have visited it and even the spacecraft that have been sent to the planet have not survived for a very long time.
    • Venus’ high surface temperatures overheat electronics in spacecraft in a short time, so it seems unlikely that a person could survive for long on the Venusian surface.
    • So far, spacecraft from several nations have visited the planet.
    • The first such spacecraft was the Soviet Union’s Venera series (the spacecraft, however, could not survive for long because of the planet’s harsh conditions).
    • It was followed by NASA’s Magellan Mission that studied Venus from 1990-1994. As of now, Japan’s Akatsuki mission is studying the planet from Orbit.

    Back2Basics: Venus

    • 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.
    • Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes. Surface temperatures on Venus can go up to 471 degrees Celsius, which is hot enough to melt lead, NASA notes.

    Some unknown facts

    • 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.
    • 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.

  • OneWeb constellation for Internet from the Skies

    Following the successful launch of 36 satellites, OneWeb’s Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellation reached 218 in-orbit satellites.

    What is OneWeb?

    • OneWeb is a global communications company that aims to deliver broadband satellite Internet around the world through its fleet of LEO satellites.
    • OneWeb satellites are built at a OneWeb and Airbus joint venture facility in Florida that can produce up to two satellites a day.
    • The launch roll-out of the satellites is facilitated by French company Arianespace using Russian-made Soyuz rockets.
    • The company has announced plans to enter the Indian market by 2022.

    About its constellation

    • The company has one more launch to complete before it obtains the capacity to enable its ‘Five to 50’ service of offering internet connectivity to all regions north of 50 degrees latitude.
    • The Five to 50 service is expected to be switched on by June 2021 with global services powered by 648 satellites available in 2022.

    What are LEO satellites?

    • LEO satellites have been orbiting the planet since the 1990s, providing companies and individuals with various communication services.
    • They are positioned around 500km-2000km from earth, compared to stationary orbit satellites which are approximately 36,000km away.
    • Latency, or the time needed for data to be sent and received, is contingent on proximity.
    • As LEO satellites orbit closer to the earth, they are able to provide stronger signals and faster speeds than traditional fixed-satellite systems.
    • Additionally, because signals travel faster through space than through fiber-optic cables, they also have the potential to rival if not exceed existing ground-based networks.
    • However, LEO satellites travel at a speed of 27,000 kph and complete a full circuit of the planet in 90-120 minutes.
    • As a result, individual satellites can only make direct contact with a land transmitter for a short period of time thus requiring massive LEO satellite fleets and consequently, a significant capital investment.

    Criticisms of LEO satellites

    • During the days of the Sputnik and Apollo missions, governments dominated and regulated space-based activities.
    • There are logistical challenges with launching thousands of satellites into space as well.
    • Satellites can sometimes be seen in the night skies which creates difficulties for astronomers as the satellites reflect sunlight to earth, leaving streaks across images.
    • Satellites traveling at a lower orbit can also interrupt the frequency of those orbiting above them, an accusation that has been leveled against Starlink satellites already.
    • Another worry is that there are already almost 1 million objects larger than 1cm in diameter in orbit, a byproduct of decades of space activities.
    • Those objects, colloquially referred to as ‘space junk,’ have the potential to damage spacecraft or collide with other satellites.

  • China’s EAST Tokamak Device

    China’s Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST), which mimics the energy generation process of the sun, set a new record.

    What is China’s ‘artificial sun’ EAST?

    • The Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST) reactor is an advanced nuclear fusion experimental research device.
    • The purpose of the artificial sun is to replicate the process of nuclear fusion, which is the same reaction that powers the sun.
    • The EAST is one of three major domestic tokamaks that are presently being operated across the country.
    • Apart from the EAST, China is currently operating the HL-2A reactor as well as J-TEXT.
    • Since it first became operational in 2006, the EAST has set several records for the duration of confinement of exceedingly hot plasma.
    • The EAST project is part of the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) facility, which will become the world’s largest nuclear fusion reactor when it becomes operational in 2035.
    • The project includes the contributions of several countries, including India, South Korea, Japan, Russia and the United States.

    How does the ‘artificial sun’ EAST work?

    • The EAST Tokamak device is designed to replicate the nuclear fusion process carried out by the sun and stars.
    • Nuclear fusion is a process through which high levels of energy are produced without generating large quantities of waste.
    • Previously, energy was produced through nuclear fission — a process in which the nucleus of a heavy atom was split into two or more nuclei of lighter atoms.

    Fission vs. Fusion

    • While fission is an easier process to carry out, it generates far more nuclear waste.
    • Unlike fission, fusion also does not emit greenhouse gases and is considered a safer process with a lower risk of accidents.
    • Once mastered, nuclear fusion could potentially provide unlimited clean energy and very low costs.

    But what is Fusion?

    • For nuclear fusion to occur, tremendous heat and pressure are applied on hydrogen atoms so that they fuse together. `
    • The nuclei of deuterium and tritium — both found in hydrogen — are made to fuse together to create a helium nucleus, a neutron along with a whole lot of energy.
    • Fuel is heated to temperatures of over 150 million degrees C so that it forms a hot plasma “soup” of subatomic particles.
    • With the help of a strong magnetic field, the plasma is kept away from the walls of the reactor to ensure it does not cool down and lose its potential to generate large amounts of energy.
    • The plasma is confined for long durations for fusion to take place.

    What is the latest record and why does it matter?

    • The EAST reactor set a new record on Friday when it achieved a plasma temperature of 216 million degrees Fahrenheit and also managed to run for 20 seconds at 288 million degrees Fahrenheit.
    • To put this in perspective, the sun’s core only reaches about 15 million degrees Celsius, which means the reactor was able to touch temperatures that are 10 times hotter than that.
    • The next goal for the scientists behind the experimental reactor is to maintain the high temperature for a long period of time. Previously, the EAST had reached a record temperature of 100 million degrees Celsius in 2018.

    China is not the only

    • But China is not the only country that has achieved high plasma temperatures.
    • In 2020, South Korea’s KSTAR reactor set a new record by maintaining a plasma temperature of over 100 million degrees Celsius for 20 seconds.