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GS Paper: GS3

  • [pib] Bharat Series (BH-series) for Vehicles

    The Ministry of Road Transport & Highways has rolled out a new series for vehicles registration ‘BH’ to avoid re-registration of vehicles while moving to another state.

    Bharat series (BH-series)

    • There was a procedure of re-registration of a vehicle while moving to another state.
    • A vehicle bearing BH registration mark shall not require assignment of a new registration mark when the owner of the vehicle shifts from one State to another.
    • Format of Bharat series (BH-series) Registration Mark –

    Registration Mark Format:

    1. YY BH #### XX
    2. YY – Year of first registration
    3. BH- Code for Bharat Series
    4. ####- 0000 to 9999 (randomized)
    5. XX- Alphabets (AA to ZZ)

    Why such move?

    • Station relocation occurs with both Government and private sector employees.
    • Such movements create a sense of unease in the minds of such employees with regard to transfer of registration from the parent state to another state.
    • Under section 47 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988, a person is allowed to keep the vehicle for not more than 12 months in any state other than the state where the vehicle is registered.

    Who can get this BH series?

    • BH-series will be available on voluntary basis to Defense personnel, employees of Central Government/ State Government/ Central/ State PSUs and private sector companies/organizations.
    • The motor vehicle tax will be levied for two years or in multiple of two.
    • This scheme will facilitate free movement of personal vehicles across States/UTs of India upon relocation to a new State/UT.
    • After completion of the fourteenth year, the motor vehicle tax shall be levied annually which shall be half of the amount which was charged earlier for that vehicle.

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  • Places in news: Pantanal Wetlands

    Pantanal, the world’s largest tropical wetlands is facing a severe crisis due to wildfires and climate change.

    Pantanal Wetlands

    • The Pantanal is a natural region encompassing the world’s largest tropical wetland area, and the world’s largest flooded grasslands.
    • It is located mostly within the Brazilian and extends to some portions of Bolivia and Paraguay.
    • It sprawls over an area estimated at between 140,000 and 195,000 square kilometer.
    • Roughly 80% of the Pantanal floodplains are submerged during the rainy seasons, nurturing a biologically diverse collection of aquatic plants and helping to support a dense array of animal species.

    Risks faced

    • Unlike the Amazon rainforest, vegetation in the Pantanal has evolved to coexist with fire — many plant species there require the heat from fires to germinate.
    • Often caused by lightning strikes, those natural fires spring up at the end of the dry season, but the surrounding floodplains prevent them from spreading.
    • What’s different now is the drought, contributing further to the unusually dry conditions and exacerbating the fire risk.

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  • Places in news: Deepar Beel Wildlife Sanctuary

    The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has notified the eco-sensitive zone of the Deepar Beel Wildlife Sanctuary on the south-western edge of Guwahati.

    Deepar Beel

    • Deepar Beel is one of the largest freshwater lakes in Assam and the State’s only Ramsar site besides being an Important Bird Area.
    • It is located to the south-west of Guwahati city, in Kamrup Metropolitan district.
    • It is a permanent freshwater lake, in a former channel of the Brahmaputra River, to the south of the main river.
    • It is also called a wetland under the Ramsar Convention which has listed the lake in November 2002, as a Ramsar Site for undertaking conservation measures on the basis of its biological and environmental importance.

    Major threats

    • Deepar Beel has long been used as a sponge for Guwahati’s sewage via a couple of streams.
    • The wetland has also suffered from seepage of toxins from a garbage dump at Boragaon adjoining it.
    • It has for decades been threatened by a railway track — set to be doubled and electrified — on its southern rim, a garbage dump, and encroachment from human habitation and commercial units.
    • The water has become toxic and it has lost many of its aquatic plants that elephants would feed on.

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  • 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)

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”vm4ti120of” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

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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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