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GS Paper: GS3

  • Challenges facing Indian Air Force

    Context

    A host of challenges greets India’s new Air Chief.

    Challenges

    • The challenges include the rewiring of India’s military into new theatre commands, the reservations expressed by the IAF about its “support” role and the visible depletion in operational air assets due to obsolescence and lack of new platforms.
    • The decline in platforms is stark and from a strength of 42 combat squadrons in 2002, the IAF now operates barely 30.
    • This shortfall in numbers would remain through this decade.
    • Even as there are plans to create new theatre commands and allocate existing air assets to the new formations, the depletion in numbers merits urgent review.

    Steps taken

    • The purchase of 83 Tejas Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) will be a fillip even as the sturdy MIGs are finally phased out.
    • In the next decade, the IAF hopes to induct the indigenous fifth-generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft (AMCA) and the Multi-Role Fighter Aircraft (MRFA) — a new platform that would be built in India with a foreign entity, the “original equipment manufacturer” (OEM), and thereby move up to 35 squadrons.
    • Issues: The AMCA is “under design” and India’s track record in the design and manufacture of indigenous fighter aircraft is cost- and time-intensive.
    • As regards the MRFA, the request for information for 114 jets has just been issued.
    • The Rafale experience and the long delays associated with it would suggest that speedy selection of an OEM will be elusive.

    Way forward

    • Air power is becoming technologically more refined with unmanned platforms, cyber-space linkages and AI advances.
    • The inherent trans-border nature of this military capability needs astute professional and political husbanding.
    • Acquiring credible aerospace power with a meaningful degree of indigenisation will need a greater degree of national resolve, professional integrity and resource allocation than is the case now.
    • China has demonstrated the degree of suasion and intimidation that airpower can bring to bear in relation to Taiwan.

    Conclusion

    A reality check about the quantity and quality of India’s air power and the roles it can undertake should precede its disaggregation to theatre commands in the run-up to India@75.

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  • Seeding a data revolution in Indian Agriculture

    In June this year, two significant documents relating to the Indian agriculture sector were released.

    What are the reports about?

    • The first is a consultation paper on the India Digital Ecosystem of Agriculture (IDEA) and the second on Indian Agriculture: Ripe for Disruption from a private organisation, Bain and Company.
    • Through their work, these reports have depicted the agriculture reforms announced by the union government as a game-changer in the agriculture sector.

    Challenges highlighted

    The major challenges of the agriculture sector are:

    1. Food Sufficiency but Nutrition Deficiency
    2. High import of edible oil and oilseeds
    3. Yield plateaus
    4. Degrading soil, Water stress
    5. Inadequate market infra/linkages
    6. Unpredictable, volatile prices
    7. Post-harvest losses, wastages
    8. Lack of crop planning due to information asymmetry

    Key takeaway: Way for doubling farmers income

    • These reports in short argues that benefiting from the huge investments into the agri-ecosystem, doubling farmers’ income targets can be achieved in near future.
    • The Indian agriculture sector in future will encompass farm to fork and pave the way for a single national market with a national platform with better connection between producer and consumers.

    The forecast

    • The Bain report is a data-based prediction on agri-business scenarios, anchored to the agricultural set-up at present and predicting its future trajectories in another 20 years.
    • It includes targeting the production of alternative proteins, and food cell-based food/ingredients and initiating ocean farming, etc.
    • The report has a ‘today forward– future back approach’ and predicts a drastic investment opportunity development by 2025.
    • The agriculture sector (currently worth $370 billion), is estimated to receive an additional $35 billion investment.

    The two enabling conditions for such investment opportunities are:

    1. Changes in the regulatory framework, especially recent changes in the Farm Acts and
    2. Digital disruption

    The IDEA of integration

    • Digital disruption: The blueprint of “digital agriculture” is similar to the digital disruption mentioned in the Bain report.
    • Integration: Eventually, the farmer and the improvement of farmers’ livelihood is the aim of the IDEA concept and it is proposed to happen through tight integration of agri-tech innovation and the agriculture industry.
    • Enabling conditions: To be precise, the IDEA concept profounds the creation of second enabling conditions (which is described in the Bain report).
    • Openness of data: The IDEA principles explicitly talk about openness of data, which means open to businesses and farmers, indicating the kind of integration it aims at.
    • Value-added innovative services: by agri-tech industries and start-ups are an integral part of the IDEA architecture.
    • Data architecture: The services listed in the document (to be available on the platform) are equally important data for farmers and businesses.

    A thread of digital disruption

    • The IT industry has opposition to IDEA mainly due to the ethics of creating a Unique Farmer ID based on one’s Aadhaar number and also the potential for data misuse.
    • Beyond the news coverage about the prospects of achieving the goal of Doubling Farmers Income on which the present government has almost lost its hope.

    Issues with these reports

    • The Bain report has not been widely discussed — at least in the public domain.
    • The assumptions used by authors especially for its ‘future back approach’, need more or less focusing on widespread food production in controlled environments.
    • The emission, energy, and other resource footprints and sustainability issues around these techniques are not adequately studied.

    Yet these reports are important

    • The report has convincingly demonstrated the business opportunity available in supply chains between farm to APMC mandi and mandi to the customer.
    • This can be realised with the support of digital disruption and the latest agriculture reforms.
    • Both these reports heavily rely on digital disruption to improve farmers’ livelihoods, without discussing how much farmers will be prepared to benefit from the emerging business.

    An unconvincing ‘how’

    • Digital divide: The fact is that a majority of small and marginal farmers are not technology-savvy.
    • No capacity building: That most of them are under-educated for capacity building is ignored amidst these ambitious developments.
    • Unrealistic assumptions: The Bain report relies on the general assumption that more investments into the agriculture sector will benefit farmers; ‘but how’ has not been convincingly answered.
    • Overemphasis on technology: Similarly, how the technology fix will help resolve all the issues of Indian agriculture listed at the beginning of the report is unclear in the IDEA concept.
    • Reluctance by farmers: These reports ignore the protest of farmers against the reforms without considering it as a barrier or risk factor resulting in a repealing of these new farm laws.

    Way ahead: Focus on the farmer

    • A data revolution is inevitable in the agriculture sector, given its socio-political complexities.
    • However, we cannot just count on technology fixes and agri-business investments for improving farmers’ livelihoods.
    • There need to be immense efforts to improve the capacities of the farmers in India – at least until the educated young farmers replace the existing under-educated small and medium farmers.
    • This capacity building can be done through a mixed approach through FPOs and other farmers’ associations where technical support is available for farmers.

    Conclusion

    • Considering the size of the agriculture sector of the country this is not going to be an easy task but would need a separate program across the country with considerable investment.

     

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  • Coal Crisis in India

    More than half of the country’s 135 coal-fired power plants are running on fumes – as coal stocks run critically low.  They have fuel stocks of less than four days, government data shows.

    Coal shortage in India

    • In a country where 70% of the electricity is generated using coal, this is a major cause for concern as it threatens to derail India’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
    • Utilities are scrambling to secure coal supplies as inventories hit critical lows after a surge in power demand from industries and sluggish imports due to record global prices push power plants to the brink.

    How did the crisis escalate?

    • As India’s economy picked up after a deadly second wave of Covid-19, demand for power rose sharply.
    • Power consumption in the last two months alone jumped by almost 17%, compared to the same period in 2019.
    • At the same time global coal prices increased by 40% and India’s imports fell to a two-year low.
    • India is the world’s second largest importer of coal despite also being home to the fourth largest coal reserves in the world.
    • Power plants that usually rely on imports are now heavily dependent on Indian coal, adding further pressure to already stretched domestic supplies.

    What is the likely impact?

    • Experts say importing more coal to make up for domestic shortages is not an option at present.
    • India has seen shortages in the past, but what’s unprecedented this time is coal is really expensive now.
    • Businesses at the end of the day pass on these costs to consumers, so there is an inflationary impact – both direct and indirect that could potentially come from this.
    • If the crisis continues, a surge in the cost of electricity will be felt by consumers.
    • Retail inflation is already high as everything from oil to food has become more expensive.

    Other reasons for this crisis

    • In recent years, India’s production has lagged as the country tried to reduce its dependence on coal to meet climate targets.
    • Prices of power-generation fuels are surging globally as electricity demand rebounds with industrial growth, tightening supplies of coal and liquefied natural gas.
    • India is competing against buyers such as China, the world’s largest coal consumer, which is under pressure to ramp up imports amid a severe power crunch.
    • Rising oil, gas, coal and power prices are feeding inflationary pressures worldwide and slowing the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

    Challenges posed

    • The desire to cut its reliance on heavily polluting coal burning power plants has been a major challenge for the government in recent years.
    • The question of how India can achieve a balance between meeting demand for electricity from its almost 1.4bn people has to be answered.

    What can the government do?

    • Experts advocate a mix of coal and clean sources of energy as a possible long-term solution.
    • It’s not completely possible to transition and it’s never a good strategy to transition 100% to renewables without a backup.
    • Long term investment in multiple power sources aside a crisis like the current one can be averted with better planning.
    • There is need for closer coordination between Coal India Limited – the largest supplier of coal in the country and other stakeholders.
    • For now, the government is working with state-run enterprises to ramp up production and mining to reduce the gap between supply and demand.

    Way forward

    • This is a global phenomenon, one not specifically restricted to India.
    • It is unclear how long the current situation will last.
    • With the monsoon on its way out and winter approaching, the demand for power usually falls.
    • So, the mismatch between demand and supply may iron out to some extent.

    Try answering this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

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

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”5ef1rodf6x” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

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  • [pib] River Ranching Programme

    The Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, is set to launch the River Ranching Programme in Uttar Pradesh under the Namami Gange Programme.

    What is River Ranching?

    • River Ranching is a form of aquaculture in which a population of a fish species (such as salmon) is held in captivity for the first stage of their lives.
    • They are then released, and later harvested as adults when they return from the sea to their freshwater birthplace to spawn.

    Objective

    The key objectives of the program are:

    • To sustain and conserve the biodiversity in the river.
    • Facilitate regular stocking of fingerlings of cultivable carps to enhance productivity
    • Increase fish production
    • Enhance income and livelihood opportunities to communities’ dependent on these resources

    Why need such a program?

    • River ranching helps in achieving sustainable fisheries, reducing habitat degradation, conserving biodiversity, maximising social-economic benefits and would also remove factors causing pollution.
    • In this activity, different species of fish are released in the river, which destroy factors that increase the level of nitrogen.
    • These fishes will also aid in maintaining the cleanliness of the river as they feed on organic remnants.

    Where is the scheme being launched?

    • In Uttar Pradesh, about 15 lakh fish fingerlings of native carp species shall be simultaneously released into the river in 12 districts by the department.
    • These districts include Bulandshahr/Hapur, Hardoi, Bijnor, Amroha, Fatehpur, Kanpur, Badayun, Kaushambi, Prayagraj, Mirzapur, Varanasi and Ghazipur.
    • Four other states namely Uttarakhand, Orissa, Tripura and Chhattisgarh will also witness the launching of nationwide River Ranching program.

     

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  • [pib] National Digital Livestock Mission

    The Union Minister of State Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying unveiled the National Digital Livestock Mission Blueprint.

    National Digital Livestock Mission

    • The NDLM would be a digital platform developed by Dept. of Dairy and Animal Husbandry on the foundation of the existing Information Network for Animal Productivity and Health (INAPH).
    • It aims to create a farmer-centric, technology-enabled ecosystem where the farmers are able to realize better income through livestock activities with the right information.
    • The bedrock of NDLM will be the unique identification of all livestock, which will be the foundation for all the state and national level programmes including domestic and international trade.
    • The farmers will be able to effortlessly access the markets, irrespective of their location or holdings through this digital platform as a wide-range of stake-holders will be connected in this ecosystem.
    • This system will also include robust animal breeding systems, nutrition, disease surveillance, disease control programmes and a traceability mechanism for animals and animal products.

    Why need such mission?

    • The livestock sector has a unique combination of being the backbone of rural livelihood.
    • The growth would have been a lot better if there were concerted efforts to harmonise programmes across the country in order to create an ecosystem that is conducive for growth of the sector.
    • This has been the main idea behind the deployment of NDLM, keeping the welfare of the farmer at the core.

    Back2Basics: National Livestock Mission

    • National Livestock Mission is an initiative of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare.
    • The mission, which commenced from 2014-15, has the objective of sustainable development of the livestock sector.
    • NABARD is the subsidy channelising agency for following schemes, under Entrepreneurship Development & Employment Generation (EDEG) component of National Livestock Mission.
    1. Poultry Venture Capital Fund (PVCF)
    2. Integrated Development of Small Ruminants and Rabbit (IDSRR)
    3. Pig Development (PD)
    4. Salvaging and Rearing of Male Buffalo Calves (SRMBC)
    5. Effective Animal Waste Management
    6. Construction of Storage Facility for Feed and Fodder

     

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  • WTO & Related issues

    Context

    Created in 1995, during the heyday of neoliberalism, the World Trade Organization (WTO) became a shining example of triumphant free-market capitalism. Now, the WTO is facing a serious existential crisis.

    Challenges facing WTO

    1) Disfunctional appellate body

    • The United States, which played a pivotal role in establishing the WTO, seems to have lost interest in it.
    • The feeling in the US is that the WTO hasn’t served the American national interest by failing to stem China’s rise and regularly indicting the U.S. in several trade disputes.
    • The continuation of the U.S. policy on the WTO is most evident in the sustained crippling of the Appellate Body (AB).
    • Three out of seven AB members serve on any one case.
    • However, since December 2019, the AB has stopped functioning due to rising vacancies.
    • Countries now have an easy option not to comply with the WTO panel decisions by appealing into the void.
    • If no solution is found soon, the WTO’s rules-based order will start crumbling.

    2) Public stockholding for food security purposes

    • No solution has been found to the public stockholding for food security purposes despite a clear mandate to do so in the 2015 Nairobi ministerial meeting.
    • This is of paramount concern for countries like India that use Minimum Support Price (MSP)-backed mechanisms to procure foodgrains.
    • With rising prices and the need to do higher procurement to support farmers and provide food to the poor at subsidised prices, India might breach the cap.
    •  Although countries have agreed that legal suits will not be brought if countries breach the cap (the so-called ‘peace clause’), it is imperative to find a permanent solution such as not counting MSP-provided budgetary support as trade-distorting.

    3) Disagreement on TRIPS waiver for Covid-19

    • The WTO member countries continue to disagree on the need of waiving the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement for COVID-19 related medical products.
    • It was exactly a year back when India and South Africa proposed a TRIPS waiver to overcome intellectual property (IP)-related obstacles in increasing accessibility of COVID-19 medical products, including vaccines.

    4)  Regulating irrational subsidies provided for fishing

    • Irrational subsidies provided for fishing that has led to the overexploitation of marine resources by countries like China, which is the largest catcher and exporter of fish.
    • The WTO is close to signing a deal on regulating irrational subsidies
    • This agreement should strike a balance between conserving ocean resources and the livelihood concerns of millions of small and marginal fishermen in countries like India.

    5) Fragmentation of global governance due to plurilateral trade agreements

    • The gridlock at the WTO has led to the emergence of mega plurilateral trade agreements like the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement.
    • These mega plurilateral agreements not only fragment the global governance on international trade but also push the multilateral order to the margin, converting the WTO to what some call an “institutional zombie”.

    Conclusion

    Notwithstanding its flaws, the WTO is the only forum where developing countries like India, not party to any mega plurilateral trade agreements, can push for evolving an inclusive global trading order that responds to the systemic imbalances of extant globalisation. What is at stake is the future of trade multilateralism and not just an institution, in which India has a huge interest.

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  • Nobel Prize 2021

    (1) Nobel Prize for Economic Sciences, 2021

    The 2021 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences has been awarded in one half to Canadian-born David Card and the other half jointly to Israeli-American Joshua D Angrist and Dutch-American Guido W Imbens.

    • David Card has been awarded for his empirical contributions to labor economics. Joshua D Angrist and Guido W Imbens won the award “for their methodological contributions to the analysis of causal relationships.”
    • The 2020 Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences was awarded to Paul R Milgrom and Robert B Wilson “for improvements to auction theory and inventions of new auction formats”.

    Contributions

    • David Card: He has analyzed how minimum wages, immigration and education impact the labor market.
      • One of the significant findings of this research was that“increasing the minimum wage does not necessarily lead to fewer jobs”.
      • It also led to the understanding that“people who were born in a country can benefit from new immigration, while people who immigrated at an earlier time risk being negatively affected”.
      • It also illuminated the role of resources available in school in shaping the future of students in the labor market.
    • Joshua Angrist and Guido Imbens: They were rewarded for their “methodological contributions” to the research tool.
      • Their work demonstrated “how precise conclusions about cause and effect can be drawn from natural experiments”.

     (2) Nobel Prize for Chemistry, 2021

    The 2021 Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to Benjamin List and David MacMillan for the development of asymmetric organocatalysis.

    • Last year, the honour went to Frenchwoman Emmanuelle Charpentier and American Jennifer Doudna, for developing the gene-editing technique known as CRISPR-Cas9 – DNA snipping “scissors”.

    About the Development

    • They have developed a new and ingenious tool for molecule building: organocatalysis.
      • Many research areas and industries are dependent on chemists’ ability to construct molecules that can form elastic and durable materials, store energy in batteries or inhibit the progression of diseases. This work requires catalysts.
      • According to researchers, there were just two types of catalysts available: metals and enzymes. Catalysts are any substance that increases the rate of a reaction without itself being consumed.
    • In 2000, they, independent of each other, developed a third type of catalysis. It is called asymmetric organocatalysis and builds upon small organic molecules.
    • Significance:
      • Its uses include research into new pharmaceuticals and it has also helped make chemistry greener.
      • Both these sets of catalysts (metals and enzymes) had limitations.
      • Heavier metals are expensive, difficult to mine, and toxic to humans and the environment.
        • Despite the best processes, traces remained in the end product; this posed problems in situations where compounds of very high purity were required, like in the manufacture of medicines.
        • Also, metals required an environment free of water and oxygen, which was difficult to ensure on an industrial scale.
      • Enzymes on the other hand, work best when water is used as a medium for the chemical reaction. But that is not an environment suitable for all kinds of chemical reactions.

    Organocatalysis

      • Organic compounds are mostly naturally-occurring substances, built around a framework of carbon atoms and usually containing hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulphur, or phosphorus.
      • Life-supporting chemicals like proteins, which are long chains of amino acids (carbon compounds containing nitrogen and oxygen) are organic.
      • Enzymes are also proteins, and therefore, organic compounds. These are responsible for many essential biochemical reactions.
      • Organocatalysts allow several steps in a production process to be performed in an unbroken sequence, considerably reducing waste in chemical manufacturing.
      • Organocatalysis has developed at an astounding speed since 2000. Benjamin List and David MacMillan remain leaders in the field, and have shown that organic catalysts can be used to drive multitudes of chemical reactions.
        • Using these reactions, researchers can now more efficiently construct anything from new pharmaceuticals to molecules that can capture light in solar cells.

    Asymmetric Organocatalysis

      • The process called asymmetric organocatalysis has made it much easier to produce asymmetric molecules – chemicals that exist in two versions, where one is a mirror image of the other.
      • Chemists often just want one of these mirror images – particularly when producing medicines – but it has been difficult to find efficient methods for doing this.
      • Some molecules with mirror versions have different properties. An example is the chemical called carvone, which has one form that smells like spearmint and a counterpart that smells like the herb, dill.
      • Different versions of the same molecule might have different effects when ingested. Then it becomes important to be able to make only the mirror image of a drug that has the desired physiological effect.

    (3) Nobel Prize in Physics, 2021

    The 2021 Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded with one half jointly to Syukuro Manabe, Klaus Hasselmann and the other half to Giorgio Parisi “for groundbreaking contributions to our understanding of complex physical systems.”

    • This is the first time climate scientists (Manabe and Hasselmann) have been awarded the Physics Nobel. Last year, the award was given for the research into black holes.

    Manabe and Hasselmann

    • Awarded for work in physical modelling of Earth’s climate, quantifying variability and reliably predicting global warming.
    • Demonstrated how increases in the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would increase global temperatures, laying the foundations for current climate models.

    Parisi

    • Awarded for “the discovery of the interplay of disorder and fluctuations in physical systems from atomic to planetary scales.”
    • He “built a deep physical and mathematical model” that made it possible to understand complex systems in fields such as mathematics, biology, neuroscience and machine learning.

    (4) Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine, 2021

    Recently, two United States-based scientists, David Julius and Ardem Patapoutian have been awarded the 2021 Nobel Prize for Physiology/Medicine for their discoveries of receptors for temperature and touch.

    • They have focused their work on the field of somatosensation, that is the ability of specialized organs such as eyes, ears and skin to see, hear and feel.

    About the Discoveries

    David Julius:

    • He discovered TRPV1, a heat-sensing receptor.
    • His findings on the skin’s sense of temperature was based on how certain cells react to capsaicin, the molecule that makes chili peppers spicy, by simulating a false sensation of heat.

    Ardem Patapoutian

    • He discovered two mechanosensitive ion channels known as the Piezo channels.
      • The Piezo1 is named after the Greek word for pressure, ‘píesi’.
    • He is credited for finding the cellular mechanism and the underlying gene that translates a mechanical force on our skin into an electric nerve signal.

    Significance of Discoveries

      • The findings have allowed us to understand how heat, cold and mechanical force can initiate the nerve impulses that allow us to perceive and adapt to the world around us.
      • This knowledge is being used to develop treatments for a wide range of disease conditions, including chronic pain.

    Back To Basics: About Nobel Prizes

    • The will of the Swedish scientist Alfred Nobel established the five Nobel prizes in 1895.
    • The Nobel Prizes are a set of recognition given to fields of Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine by The Nobel Foundation.
      • The Nobel Foundation is a private institution established in 1900, has ultimate responsibility for fulfilling the intentions in Alfred Nobel’s will.
    • The prizes in Chemistry, Literature, Peace, Physics, and Physiology or Medicine were first awarded in 1901.
    • In 1968, Sveriges Riksbank established the Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel.

     

  • Mosquirix: First malaria vaccine to get WHO nod

    In a historic move, the World Health Organization (WHO) has endorsed the first anti-malarial vaccine, as mankind enters a key turning point in a battle waged relentlessly over decades between man and mosquito, the vector.

    Mosquirix

    • RTS,S/ASO1 (RTS.S), trade name Mosquirix acts against P. falciparum, the most deadly malaria parasite globally, and the most prevalent in Africa.
    • The vaccine was able to prevent approximately 4 in 10 cases of malaria over a 4-year period in Africa.
    • This is the first malaria vaccine that has completed the clinical development process.
    • It is also the first malaria vaccine to be introduced by three national ministries of health through their childhood immunization programs — more than 800,000 children in Ghana, Kenya, and Malawi.
    • have been vaccinated, and are benefiting from the added protection provided by the vaccine as part of a pilot program.

    How the vaccine can help?

    • WHO’s recommendation is based on the advice of its two global advisory bodies, one for immunization and the other for malaria.
    • WHO has recommended that in the context of comprehensive malaria control, the RTS,S/AS01 malaria vaccine be used for the prevention of P. falciparum malaria in children living in regions with moderate to high transmission as defined by it.
    • The malaria vaccine should be provided in a schedule of 4 doses in children from 5 months of age for the reduction of malaria disease and burden.

    Back2Basics: Malaria

    • Malaria is caused by the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito if the mosquito itself is infected with a malarial parasite.
    • There are five kinds of malarial parasites — Plasmodium falciparum, Plasmodium vivax (the commonest ones), Plasmodium malariae, Plasmodium ovale and Plasmodium knowlesi.
    • Therefore, to say that someone has contracted the Plasmodium ovale type of malaria means that the person has been infected by that particular parasite.
    • Malaria is treated with prescription drugs to kill the parasite. Chloroquine is the preferred treatment for any parasite that is sensitive to the drug.

    Countries that have eliminated malaria

    • Globally, the elimination net is widening, with more countries moving towards the goal of zero malaria.
    • In 2019, 27 countries reported fewer than 100 indigenous cases of the disease, up from 6 countries in 2000.
    • Countries that have achieved at least 3 consecutive years of zero indigenous cases of malaria are eligible to apply for the WHO certification of malaria elimination.
    • 11 countries have been certified as malaria-free: United Arab Emirates (2007), Morocco (2010), Turkmenistan (2010), Armenia (2011), Sri Lanka (2016), Kyrgyzstan (2016), Paraguay (2018), Uzbekistan (2018), Algeria (2019), Argentina (2019), and El Salvador (2021).

    Burden of Malaria in India

    • In 2018, the National Vector-borne Disease Control Programme (NVBDCP) estimated that approximately 5 lakh people suffered from malaria.
    • 63% of the cases were of Plasmodium falciparum.
    • The recent World Malaria Report 2020 said cases in India dropped from about 20 million in 2000 to about 5.6 million in 2019.

     

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  • Renaming of the Jim Corbett National Park

    The Union Minister of State for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has recently proposed to change the name of Corbett National Park to Ramganga National Park.

    Who was Jim Corbett?

    • Born in Nainital in 1875, Edward James Corbett lived in India till Independence, after which he left for Kenya where he died in 1955.
    • India’s best known hunter, Corbett earned fame after he tracked down and killed a number of man-eating tigers and leopards (he is said to have killed over a dozen).
    • An ace shot, Corbett was called upon regularly by the government to track and shoot man-eaters in the villages of Garhwal and Kumaon in Uttarakhand.

    Corbett National Park

    • Jim Corbett National Park is a national park in India located in the Nainital district of Uttarakhand state.
    • The first national park in India, it was established in 1936 during the British Raj and named Haily National Park after a governor of the United Provinces in which it was then located.
    • It was renamed Ramganga National Park, named after the river that flows through it, shortly after Independence and was rechristened yet again as Corbett National Park in 1956.
    • Jim Corbett had played a leading role in its establishment and had died the year before.
    • The park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative.

    The tiger reserve

    • The national park along with the neighbouring 301-sq km-Sonanadi Wildlife Sanctuary together make the critical tiger habitat of the Corbett Tiger Reserve.
    • With its hills, grasslands and streams, it is ideal tiger territory.
    • The place from where Project Tiger was launched in 1973, with its tiger population at 163, it boasts of a single largest tiger population in a tiger reserve and one of the highest tiger densities in the country.

     

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  • Bhoramdeo Tiger Reserve: Fourth TR in Chhattisgarh

    The National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) approved the Chhattisgarh government’s proposal to declare the combined areas of the Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary as a Tiger Reserve.

    Bhoramdeo Tiger Reserve

    • The new Reserve is located in the northern part of the state, bordering Madhya Pradesh and Jharkhand.
    • This will be the fourth Tiger Reserve in Chhattisgarh, after the Udanti-Sitanadi, Achanakmar, and Indravati Reserves.
    • The proposal was considered under Section 38V(1) of The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.
    • This section says that the State Government shall, on the recommendation of the Tiger Conservation Authority, notify an area as a tiger reserve.

    A decade in making

    • The Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary was identified as part of the Sarguja Jashpur Elephant Reserve in 2011.
    • The Guru Ghasidas National Park used to be part of the Sanjay National Park in undivided Madhya Pradesh.
    • Both were identified as reserve forests, and had been in line to be notified as Tiger Reserve since 2011.

    Medium-sized reserve

    • The constituent units of the new Tiger Reserve, Guru Ghasidas National Park and Tamor Pingla Wildlife Sanctuary, are spread over 1,44,000 hectares (1,440 sq km) and 60,850 hectares (608.5 sq km) respectively.
    • Guru Ghasidas National Park is in Koriya district; Tamor Pingla is in Surajpur district in the northwestern corner of Chhattisgarh.

     

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