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GS Paper: GS3

  • Science Technology and Innovation Policy (STIP), 2020

    The Department of Science and Technology has published the draft National Science Technology and Innovation Policy and has invited suggestions from the public.

    Q.The STIP, 2020 contains radical and progressive proposals that could be game-changers for not just the scientific research community, but also for the way ordinary Indians interact with Science. Discuss.

    STIP, 2020

    Aim: To identify and address the strengths and weaknesses of the Indian STI ecosystem to catalyse socio-economic development of the country and also make the Indian STI ecosystem globally competitive.

    The philosophy behind

    • Unlike previous STI policies which were largely top-driven in the formulation, this policy follows core principles of being decentralized, evidence-informed, bottom-up, experts-driven, and inclusive.
    • It aims to be dynamic, with a robust policy governance mechanism that includes periodic review, evaluation, feedback, adaptation and, most importantly, a timely exit strategy for policy instruments.
    • The STIP will be guided by the vision of positioning India among the top three scientific superpowers in the decade to come; to attract, nurture, strengthen, and retain critical human capital through a people-centric STI ecosystem

    The Open Science Framework

    Open Science fosters more equitable participation in science through-

    • Increased access to research output;
    • Greater transparency and accountability in research; inclusiveness;
    • Better resource utilization through minimal restrictions on reuse of research output and infrastructure and
    • Ensuring a constant exchange of knowledge between the producers and users of knowledge

    Inclusion principles

    • The STIP proposes that at least 30 per cent representation be ensured for women in all decision-making bodies, as well as “spousal benefits” are provided to partners of scientists belonging to the LGBTQ+ community.
    • Among the proposals in the policy is the removal of bars on married couples being employed in the same department or laboratory.
    • As of now, married couples are not posted in the same department, leading to cases of loss of employment or forced transfers when colleagues decide to get married.
    • The policy says that for age-related cut-offs in matters relating to the selection, promotion, awards or grants, the “academic age” and not the biological age would be considered.

    Funding improvements

    • At 0.6% of GDP, India’s gross domestic expenditure on R&D (GERD) is quite low compared to other major economies that have a GERD-to-GDP ratio of 1.5% to 3%.
    • This can be attributed to inadequate private sector investment (less than 40%) in R&D activities in India; in technologically advanced countries, the private sector contributes close to 70% of GERD.
    • STIP has made some major recommendations in this regard, such as the expansion of the STI funding landscape at the central and state levels.
    • It has enhanced incentivisation mechanisms for leveraging the private sector’s R&D participation through boosting financial support and fiscal incentives for industry.

    Other key Proposals

    • STIP will lead to the establishment of a National STI Observatory that will act as a central repository for all kinds of data related to and generated from the STI ecosystem.
    • The “One nation, one subscription” policy to establish a system whereby all researchers in India can access research published in top international journals for no cost.
    • All data used in and generated from public-funded research will be available to everyone (larger scientific community and public) under FAIR (findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable) terms.
    • Collaborative Research Centres (CRCs) will be established, that bring together industries, MSMEs, startups, R&D institutions and HEIs with the government.
    • Industry clusters will be encouraged and incentivized wherever necessary, to engage in collaborative R&D.
    • Opportunities for foreign MNCs to invest in the country’s STI landscape will be strengthened and made more accessible.
    • It proposes lateral entry of scientists up to 25 per cent of scientists in related ministries.

  • Know the scientist: Dmitri Mendeleev

    Mendeleev was a Russian chemist and inventor who formulated the Periodic Law and the Periodic Table of Elements.

    Chemistry can, no wonder, find their place in exam if core Biology could do in 2020 CSP.

    Q.Which of the following statements is/are correct regarding the general difference between plant cells and animal cells?

    1. Plant cells have cellulose cell walls whilst animal cells do not.
    2. Plant cells do not have plasma membrane unlike animals cells which do
    3. Mature plant cell has one large vacuole whilst animal cell has many small vacuoles

    Select the correct answer using the given code below-

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Dmitri Mendeleev

    • Mendeleev was born in the Siberian town of Tobolsk.
    • In 1861, Mendeleev published a textbook named Organic Chemistry, which won him the Demidov Prize of the Petersburg Academy of Sciences.
    • While explaining the chemical and physical properties of elements, he discovered similarities in the progression of atomic weights.
    • He found that the order of atomic weights could be used to arrange the elements within each group and the groups themselves.
    • Thus, Mendeleev formulated the periodic law. His Osnovy khimii (The Principles of Chemistry) became a classic, running through many editions and many translations.

    The Periodic Law

    • Using the Periodic Law, Mendeleev developed a systematic table of all the 63 elements then known.
    • He even predicted the locations of unknown elements together with their properties within the periodic table.
    • When these predicted elements, notably gallium ( 1875), scandium (1879), and germanium (1886) were discovered, Mendeleev Periodic Table began to gain wide acceptance.
    • Incidentally, in 1870, German chemist Julius Lothar Meyer also published a paper describing the same organisation of elements as Mendeleev’s. But the latter is given credit for the table.
    • In all, Mendeleev predicted 10 new elements, of which all but two turned out to exist. Element 101 is named Mendelevium in his honour.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/mendeleev-and-his-periodic-table-of-elements/

  • Agricultural research in India

    The article highlight the need for more emphasis on agricultural R&D as a solution to the woes of the farmers.

    India needs low-input high-output agriculture

    • Amid farmers protest against farm acts, the current debates focus mainly on MSP, reducing farmers’ debt liabilities, reducing post-harvest losses, cash transfers and marketing reforms.
    • India with entrenched poverty requires low-input, high-output agriculture; low input in terms of both natural resources and monetary inputs.
    • Very little attention is being given to reducing the natural resource inputs — most critical being water —and agricultural R&D.
    • This cannot be achieved without science and technology.

    Following are the areas in which Indian agriculture needs R&D to reduce agriculture inputs

    1) Water usage for agriculture

    • India receives around 4,000 billion cubic meters (bcm) of rainfall, but a large part of it falls in the east.
    • Moreover, most of the rain is received within 100 hours of torrential downpour, making water storage and irrigation critical for agriculture.
    • India has one of the highest water usages for agriculture in the world — of the total 761 bcm withdrawals of water, 90.5 per cent goes into agriculture.
    • In comparison, China uses 385.2 bcm (64.4 per cent) out of the total withdrawals of 598.1 bcm for agriculture.
    • China’s per-unit land productivity in terms of crop production is almost two to three times more.
    • The total estimated groundwater depletion in India is in the range of 122-199 bcm .
    • The depletion is highest in Punjab, Haryana, and western UP.

    2) Increasing the yields of coarse-grain crops and oilseed crops

    • Years of intense research on yield increase and yield protection by breeding varieties and hybrids resistant to pests and pathogens have made wheat, rice and maize stable high yielders.
    • Environmentalists suggest replacing rice with coarse grain crops — millets, sorghum etc.
    • However, the yields of these crops are not comparable to those of wheat and rice even when protective irrigation is available.
    • These crops have a serious R&D deficit leading to low yield potential as well as losses to pests and pathogens.
    • This leaves us with pulses and oilseeds.
    • In the 2017-18 fiscal year, India imported around Rs 76,000 crore worth of edible oils.
    • Three oilseed crops (mustard, soybean, and groundnut) are already grown very extensively.
    • Soybean and groundnut are legume crops and fix their nitrogen.
    • All three crops not only provide edible oils but are also an excellent source of protein-rich seed or seed meal for livestock and poultry.
    • Unfortunately, yields of the three crops are stagnating in India at around 1.1 tons per hectare, significantly lower than the global averages.

    3) Genetic improvements of crops

    • Pests and pathogens can be best tackled by agrochemicals or by genetic interventions.
    • A recent global level study on crop losses in the main food security hotspots for five major crops showed significant losses to pests — on average for wheat 21.5 per cent, rice 20 per cent, maize 22.5 per cent, potato 17.2 per cent, and soybean 21.4 per cent.
    • India is one of the lowest users of pesticides.
    • In 2014, comparative use of pesticides in kilograms per hectare in some select countries/regions is as following: Africa 0.30, India 0.36, EU countries 3.09, China 14.82, and Japan 15.93.
    • A more benign method for dealing with pests is through breeding.
    • The Green Revolution technologies were based on the effective use of germplasm and strong phenotypic selections.
    • Recombinant DNA technologies since the 1970s have brought forth unprecedented opportunities for genetic improvement of crops.
    • Since 2000, genomes of all the major crops have been sequenced.
    • The big challenge is in the effective utilisation of the enormous sequence data that is available.
    • India’s efforts in all three areas are half-hearted.

    Way forward

    • Over the last 20 years, India has been spending between 0.7 to 0.8 per cent of its GDP on R&D.
    • This is way below the percentage of GDP spent by the developing countries and Asia’s rapidly growing economies.
    • There are structural issues like lack of competent human resources and lack of policy clarity.
    • However, the biggest impediment to agricultural R&D has been overzealous opposition to the new technologies.

    Consider the question “India needs low-input, high-output agriculture. This cannot be achieved without science and technology. In light of this, examine how R&D could play a role in the advancement of agriculture in India.”

    Conclusion

    Maybe the present crisis in agriculture would lead to a greater appreciation of the need for strong public supported R&D in agriculture.

  • India to explore Lithium reserves in Argentina

    India has inked a pact with an Argentine firm to jointly prospect lithium in the South American country.

    Why such a move?

    • Currently, India is heavily dependent on import of these cells and the move to ink sourcing pacts for lithium is seen as another salvo in the front against China, a key source of both the raw material and cells.
    • India is seen as a late mover as it attempts to enter the lithium value chain, coming at a time when EVs are predicted to be a sector ripe for disruption.
    • And 2021 is likely to be an inflexion point for battery technology, with several potential improvements to the Li-ion technology.

    About Lithium

    • Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3.
    • It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the lightest metal and the lightest solid element.
    • Like all alkali metals, lithium is highly reactive and flammable and must be stored in mineral oil.
    • When cut, it exhibits a metallic lustre, but moist air corrodes it quickly to a dull silvery grey, then black tarnish.
    • Lithium metal is isolated electrolytically from a mixture of lithium chloride and potassium chloride.
    • It is a crucial building block of the lithium-ion rechargeable batteries that power electric vehicles (EVs), laptops and mobile phones.

    Global producers of lithium

    • Australia and Chile have swapped positions as the world’s leading lithium-producing country over the past decade. In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium producers were:
    1. Australia – 52.9% of global production
    2. Chile – 21.5%
    3. China – 9.7%
    4. Argentina – 8.3%
    5. Zimbabwe – 2.1%
    • The U.S. ranked 7th with 1.2% of the world’s lithium production.
    • In 2019, the world’s Top 5 lithium reserves by country were:
    1. Chile – 55.5% of the world’s total
    2. Australia – 18.1%
    3. Argentina – 11.0%
    4. China – 6.5%
    5. U.S. – 4.1%

    Lithium-ion batteries

    • A lithium-ion battery or Li-ion battery is a type of rechargeable battery.
    • They are commonly used for portable electronics and electric vehicles and are growing in popularity for military and aerospace applications.
    • A prototype Li-ion battery was developed by Akira Yoshino in 1985, based on earlier research by John Goodenough, M. Stanley Whittingham, Rachid Yazami and Koichi Mizushima during the 1970s–1980s.
    • In 2019, the Nobel Prize in Chemistry was given to this trio “for the development of lithium-ion batteries”.

    How does it work?

    • In the batteries, lithium ions move from the negative electrode through an electrolyte to the positive electrode during discharge, and back when charging.
    • Li-ion batteries use an intercalated lithium compound as the material at the positive electrode and typically graphite at the negative electrode.
    • The batteries have a high energy density, no memory effect and low self-discharge.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.Hydrogen fuel cell vehicles produce one of the following as “exhaust”:

    (a) NH3

    (b) CH4

    (c) H2O

    (d) H2O2

    Limitations

    • Despite the improvements in lithium-ion batteries over the last decade, long charging times and weak energy density are still barriers.
    • The Li-ion batteries are seen as sufficiently efficient for applications such as phones and laptops, in case of EVs.
    • They still lack the range that would make them a viable alternative to internal combustion engines.
    • A number of alternatives are being fostered to achieve more optimal options.

  • [pib] Six successful years of UJALA Scheme

    The Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) Scheme and Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP) marks their sixth anniversary today.

    Do not get confused with PM-UJJWALA Scheme.

    UJALA Scheme

    • Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All (UJALA) was launched by our PM on 1 May 2015, replacing the “Bachat Lamp Yojana”.
    • The project is spearheaded by the Energy Efficiency Services Limited.
    • In non-subsidized LED lamp distribution projects, this program is considered the world’s largest.
    • In May 2017, the Government of India announced that they were expanding the LED distribution project to the United Kingdom.
    • Both the programmes are being implemented by Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of PSUs under the Ministry of Power, Government of India since their inception.

    A roaring success

    • Under UJALA, EESL has distributed over 36.69 crores LED bulbs across India.
    • This has resulted in estimated energy savings of 47.65 billion kWh per year with an avoided peak demand of 9,540 MW and an estimated GHG emission reduction of 38.59 million tonnes CO2 per year.
    • Additionally, over 72 lakh LED tube lights and over 23 lakh energy efficient fans have also been distributed at an affordable price under this programme.

  • Quality gigs, a solution to urban unemployment

    With the lack of NREGA equivalent in the urban area government has to find ways to provide income support and employment. The article suggests ways to do the same.

    Slowdown in employment recovery

    • The Indian economy has been gradually recovering from historic contraction of negative 23.9%.
    • This recovery has shifted focus away from the employment question, considered resolved after a sharp rally following the collapse in employment numbers in April.
    • More recent data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy, however, point to a gradual slowdown in employment recovery.

    NREGA: employment support in rural area

    • For labour coming back to rural India, employment support came in the form of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (NREGA), which witnessed a 243% increase in person workdays.
    • This increased dependency on NREGA, has seen the Rural Development Ministry spend nearly 90% of its increased â‚č86,4000 crore allocation by the month of November.
    • In several Indian cities, however, closed businesses have meant that millions of workers have either had to leave or have had to take up new forms of work.

    Supporting gig workers

    With no urban equivalent to the NREGA on the horizon, there must be an increased impetus on evaluating, regulating and supporting new forms of employment.

    1) Evaluation

    •  Our current understanding of gig work is based on the limited disclosures made by the platforms themselves.
    • Furthermore, most regulators continue to remain in the dark on basic questions surrounding platform labour.
    • As of now, there exists no authoritative estimate on the total number of gig workers in India.
    • The centralised nature of the platforms and the larger platform labour market should make the collating of this data relatively straightforward for the Labour Ministry.

    2) Regulation

    • The next step is significantly more sensitive and involves regulation.
    • The reason for the sensitivity primarily revolves around the varied nature of gig work.
    • While some workers use these platforms as a “side hustle”, for others it continues to serve as a primary source of employment.
    • This dynamic is further complicated by the risk of a one-size-fits-all regulatory strategy.
    • Such regulatory strategies are unintentionally hurting the similar, yet distinct, market for highly skilled (and highly paid) freelancers.

    Way forward

    • A more viable strategy then would involve conditional government partnerships with platforms under some of its flagship schemes.
    • The successful pilot of Swiggy’s Street Food Vendors programme under the PM SVANidhi, or PM Street Vendor’s Atma Nirbhar Nidhi scheme, may prove to be an illustrative example.
    •  Creation of jobs, alongside the voluntary adoption of quality standards, is an example of a mutually beneficial partnership between the state and platforms.
    • Similar collaborations on urban employment, that require labour platforms to comply with disclosure norms and worker compensation standards to access government support, could create jobs while ensuring compliance.
    • Collaborating with platforms to employ workers, would bring down costs significantly (for both the state and their partners)  it would also create an environment where firms would be more likely to cooperate with the state.

    Conclusion

    Limited fiscal space and a growing need to fuel the country’s consumption base, must push the government to build symbiotic relationships with new partners.

  • Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient

    To understand if a coastal city is more prone to floods caused by tidal events or extreme rainfall, a team from the IIT Bombay devised a new metric or measure called the Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient.

    Try this PYQ:

    The 2004 Tsunami made people realize that mangroves can serve as a reliable safety hedge against coastal calamities. How do mangroves function as a safety hedge?

    (a) The mangrove swamps separate the human settlements from the sea by a wide zone in which people neither live nor venture out

    (b) The mangroves provide both food and medicines which people are in need of after any natural disaster

    (c) The mangrove trees are tall with dense canopies and serve as art excellent shelter during a cyclone or tsunami

    (d) The mangrove trees do not get uprooted by storms and tides because of their extensive roots

    Tide–Rainfall Flood Quotient

    • Using the past rainfall data, tidal data, and topography of the region one can apply this framework to pinpoint the major factor at play.
    • This quotient helps understand the main driver of the flooding events for effective disaster management.
    • It considers three geographically diverse flood-prone coastal regions – Mithi Catchment in Mumbai, , Jagatsinghpur District in Odisha, and Greater Chennai to test their new metric.
    • The new method helped classify these regions into ‘storm-tide dominated’ or ‘pluvial (rainfall) dominated’ regions.
    • In Mithi, they found a devastating impact of storm-tide reaching even up to a distance of 7 km from the coastal boundary.
    • It concluded that Mithi catchment was ‘storm-tide dominated’, while Jagatsinghpur and Chennai were ‘pluvial dominated’

    A tool for flood management

    • This metric can help disaster management experts in framing better flood risk management systems directed towards long term planning.
    • For storm-tide dominated regions, severe flood hazard can be alleviated by building coastal defence structures such as closure dams, tide breakers, and storm-surge barriers at appropriate locations.
    • The tide and surge forecasting systems in these regions should be equipped with state-of-the-art ocean circulation models.
    • On the other hand, for pluvial dominated regions, structural measures such as rainwater storage structures, lakes, and detention basins should be prioritized in the flood management plans.

  • Bird Flu Outbreak

    An outbreak of bird flu was confirmed in Kerala, Rajasthan and Himachal.

    Try this question from our AWE initiative:

    There is been an increase in occurance of zoonotic human infectious diseases are zoonotic . Give reasons for this. Also suggest ways to contain and decrease the frequency of such events.(250 Words)

    What is Bird Flu?

    • Bird flu is an infection caused by avian influenza viruses, which are of different types A, B and C.
    • Type A avian influenza viruses are the most frequently associated with avian influenza epidemics and pandemics.
    • There are 16 hemagglutinin (H1 to H16) and 9 neuraminidase types (N1 to N9) identified till date.
    • There are various modes of transmission of human influenza including inhalation, direct or indirect contact etc. can have manifestations ranging from mild to severe or fatal disease.
    • Avian influenza A (H5N1) results in a high death rate amongst infants and young children.
    • The first outbreak of human infection by avian influenza viruses (H5N1) was observed in 1997 in Hong Kong. Since then a large number of outbreaks have been reported in different parts of the world.

    The H5N8 strain

    • The presence of the H5N8 subtype of the Influenza A virus was reported in ducks in parts of Kerala.
    • While it can prove lethal for birds, the H5N8 strain of avian influenza has a lower likelihood of spreading to humans compared to H5N1.
    • While the source of infection is yet to be pinpointed, the role of migratory birds in passing on the virus is suspected.

  • [pib] 40th Indian Scientific Expedition to Antarctica (ISEA)

    40th Indian Scientific Expedition is set to depart for Antarctica from Mormugao Port, Goa.

    Try this question:

    Q.How does the cryosphere affect global climate? (150W, CSM 2018)

    Indian mission on the Antarctic

    • The Indian Antarctic Program is a multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional program under the control of the National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research, Ministry of Earth Sciences.
    • It was initiated in 1981 with the first Indian expedition to Antarctica.
    • The program gained global acceptance with India’s signing of the Antarctic Treaty and subsequent construction of the Dakshin Gangotri Antarctic research base in 1983, superseded by the Maitri base from 1990.
    • The newest base commissioned in 2015 is Bharati, constructed out of 134 shipping containers.

    Its significance

    • This 40th expedition is procuring fuel from India after about 22 years. Till the last expedition, fuel was being obtained from outside the country.
    • Indian Oil Co. Ltd. has supplied aviation fuel, Jet A1 in bulk and packed form to a non-aviation customer and is delivered to an ocean-going vessel for the first time.

    Why need such a mission?

    • Polar Regions are crucially important in answering key questions about global climate change.
    • It contributes towards the global sea-level rise, the background aerosol properties, variability in the sea ice cover and phenomena like Antarctic haze and ozone concentrations.
    • Attempts to address some of these issues are helping in mitigating several important problems concerning human life and well-being.

    Back2Basics: India’s polar missions

    • The first Indian expedition to Antarctica sailed from Goa on December 6, 1981, and reached the shores of this polar continent on January 9, 1982.
    • India has two stations in the polar continent of Antarctica – Maitri and Bharati, which are being operated under NCPOR, Ministry of Earth Sciences.

    Indian mission on the Arctic

    • Himadri Station is India’s first Arctic research station located at Spitsbergen, Svalbard, Norway. It is located at the International Arctic Research base, Ny-Ålesund.
    • It was inaugurated on the 1st of July, 2008 by the Minister of Earth Sciences. It is followed by IndARC.
    • The United States Geological Survey estimates that 22% of the world’s oil and natural gas could be located beneath the Arctic.
    • ONGC Videsh has signed joint-venture with Russia for oil exploration there.

  • Faceless Tax Scheme

    The government’s faceless tax assessment scheme has managed to deliver about 24,000 final orders since its introduction in August 2020.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. With reference to India’s decision to levy an equalization tax of 6% on online advertisement services offered by non-resident entities, which of the following statements is/are correct?

    1. It is introduced as a part of the Income Tax Act.
    2. Non-resident entities that offer advertisement services in India can claim a tax credit in their home country under the “Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements”.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Faceless Tax Scheme

    • The Central Government introduced the Faceless Assessment Scheme to provide greater transparency, efficiency and accountability in Income Tax assessments.
    • It is an attempt to remove individual tax officials’ discretion and potential harassment for income taxpayers.
    • All provisions introduced under Faceless Assessment, under the Income Tax Act, 1961, are introduced to-
    1. Eliminate the interface between the Assessing Officer and the assesses during the course of proceedings, to the extent that is technologically feasible
    2. Optimize the utilization of resources through the economies of scale and functional specialization and
    3. Introduce a team-based determination of arm’s length price with dynamic jurisdiction.