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GS Paper: GS3

  • NGT upholds rights of pastoralists in Banni Grasslands

    The National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered all encroachments to be removed from Gujarat’s Banni grasslands.

    Banni Grasslands

    • Banni Grasslands form a belt of arid grassland ecosystem on the outer southern edge of the desert of the marshy salt flats of Rann of Kutch.
    • They are known for rich wildlife and biodiversity and are spread across an area of 3,847 square kilometers. Two ecosystems, wetlands and grasslands, are juxtaposed in Banni.
    • They are currently legally protected under the status as a protected or reserve forest in India.
    • Wildlife Institute of India (WII) has identified this grassland reserve as one of the last remaining habitats of the cheetah in India and a possible reintroduction site for the species.
    • The region hosts a nomadic pastoralist community, the Maldharis, whose livelihoods depend on this protected shrub-savanna.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Which one of the following is the correct sequence of ecosystems in the order of decreasing productivity?(CSP 2014)

    (a) Oceans, lakes, grasslands, mangroves

    (b) Mangroves, oceans, grasslands, lakes

    (c) Mangroves, grasslands, lakes, oceans

    (d) Oceans, mangroves, lakes, grasslands

    What is the recent NGT verdict?

    • The court also said the Maldharis will continue to hold the right to conserve the community forests in the area, granted to them as per the provisions in Section 3 of Forest Rights Act, 2006.
    • NGT highlighted that the lack of coordination between the forest department and the revenue department lead to the problem of encroachment.
    • The grassland was first declared a “protected forest” in May 1955, using the nomenclature of the Indian Forest Act, 1927.
    • Since then, the actual transfer of the land from the Revenue department to the Forest department has not been completed.

    Back2Basics: National Green Tribunal

    • The NGT has been established in 2010 under the National Green Tribunal Act 2010.
    • It works for:
    1. effective and expeditious disposal of cases relating to environmental protection
    2. conservation of forests and other natural resources including enforcement of any legal right relating to environment and
    3. giving relief and compensation for damages to persons and property and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto
    • It is not be bound by the procedure laid down under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, but shall be guided by principles of natural justice.
    • The Tribunal’s dedicated jurisdiction in environmental matters shall provide speedy environmental justice and help reduce the burden of litigation in the higher courts.
    • The Tribunal is mandated to make and endeavour for disposal of applications or appeals finally within 6 months of filing of the same.
    • Initially, the NGT is proposed to be set up at five places of sittings and will follow circuit procedure for making itself more accessible.
    • New Delhi is the Principal Place of Sitting of the Tribunal and Bhopal, Pune, Kolkata and Chennai shall be the other four place of sitting of the Tribunal.

  • [pib] Recycling Carbon Technology

    A Bangalore-based startup has received the National Award 2021 for developing efficient catalysts and methodologies for the conversion of CO2 to methanol and other chemicals.

    Carbon Recycling

    • It has led to the improvisation of process engineering to enhance the production of chemicals and fuels from anthropogenic CO2.
    • It has integrated multiple components involved in the CCUS (Carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration) to develop a complete solution for the environmental issues due to global warming.
    • The current capacity of CO2 conversion is 300 kg per day, which can be scaled up to several 100 tons on an industrial scale.

    What is CCUS?

    • Carbon Capture, Utilization, and Storage (CCUS) encompass methods and technologies to remove CO2 from the flue gas and from the atmosphere.
    • CCUS involves multiple aspects that need to be in sync for the successful removal or capture of CO2 from the flue gas or the atmosphere, followed by utilization and storage.
    • Carbon capture involves the development of sorbents that can effectively bind to the CO2 present in flue gas or the atmosphere, which is expensive.
    • In addition, there has been a considerable debate about the fate of captured and compressed CO2.

  • Semiconductor chips shortage, and how carmakers are coping

    A shortage of inputs, especially semiconductor chips, has made India-based car manufactures and premium bike makers curtail production across categories.

    Do you know?

    Electronic parts and components today account for 40% of the cost of a new internal combustion engine car, up from less than 20% two decades ago.

    Chip famine

    • The trigger point was the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdowns across the world that forced shut crucial chip-making facilities in countries including Japan, South Korea, China and the US.
    • A key feature in a chip shortage is that it almost always causes cascading effects, given that the first one creates pent-up demand that becomes the cause for the follow-up famine.

    Why such famine?

    • The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in supply chains and logistics.
    • This is coupled with a 13% increase in global demand for PCs owing to some countries’ shift to a stay-at-home economy.
    • This has impacted the availability of key chips necessary for the manufacturing of a broad range of electronics being a necessary component of every industry.

    What is the impact of the chip famine?

    • Consumers of semiconductor chips, which are mainly car manufacturers and consumer electronics manufactures, have not been receiving enough of this crucial input to continue production.
    • There were two reasons for this: a steady decline in input prices and improvements in the processing power of chips.
    • The number of transistors mounted in IC circuit chips has doubled every two years.
    • Notably, the increase in chip consumption over the last decade is also partly attributable to the rising contribution of electronic components in a car’s bill of materials.

    How have vehicle makers responded?

    • Supply constraints are learned to have caused some output issues at notable Indian auto firms.
    • In addition to delaying vehicle deliveries, some companies have reportedly started discarding features and high-end electronic capabilities on a temporary basis.

  • [pib] Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery

    Hallmarking of Gold Jewellery is set to begin from 15th June 2021.

    What is Hallmark Gold?

    1. The process of certifying the purity and fineness of gold is called hallmarking.
    2. Bureau of Indian Standards, the National Standards Body of India, is responsible for hallmarking gold as well as silver jewellery under the BIS Act.
    3. If you see the BIS hallmark on the gold jewellery/gold coin, it means it conforms to a set of standards laid by the BIS. Hallmarking gives consumers assurance regarding the purity of the gold they bought.
    4. That is, if you are buying hallmarked 18K gold jewellery, it will actually mean that 18/24 parts are gold and the rest is alloy.
    5. At present, only 30% of Indian Gold Jewellery is hallmarked.

    Here are the four components one must look at the time of buying gold (they are mentioned in the laser engraving of a hallmark seal):

    1. BIS Hallmark: Indicates that its purity is verified in one of its licensed laboratories
    2. Purity in carat and fineness (corresponding to given caratage KT)
    • 22K916 (91.6% Purity)
    • 18K750 (75% Purity)
    • 14K585 (58.5% Purity)
    1. Assaying & Hallmarking Centre’s mark
    2. Jeweler’s unique identification mark

    Answer this PYQ from CSP 2017 in the comment box

    Q.Consider the following statements:

    1. 1. The Standard Mark of the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is mandatory for automotive tyres and tubes.
      2. AGMARK is a quality Certification Mark issued by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    Why need hallmark?

    • Hallmarking will enable Consumers/Jewellery buyers to make the right choice and save them from any unnecessary confusion while buying gold.
    • It will enhance the credibility of gold Jewelry and Customer satisfaction through third-party assurance for the marked purity/fineness of gold, consumer protection.
    • This step will also help to develop India as a leading gold market center in the World.

  • [pib] 3D distribution of Molecular & Atomic Hydrogen in Galaxies

    Indian scientists have estimated the three-dimensional distribution of molecular and atomic hydrogen in a nearby galaxy which can help lead to clues to the star formation processes and the evolution of the galaxy.

    Study on Hydrogen distribution

    • Galaxies like the one we reside in, the Milky Way, consist of discs containing stars, molecular and atomic hydrogen, and helium.
    • The molecular hydrogen gas collapses on itself in distinct pockets, forming stars, its temperature was found to be low –close to 10 kelvin, or -263 ºC, and thickness is about 60 to 240 light-years.
    • The atomic hydrogen extends both above and below the discs.
    • Indian scientists have estimated that molecular hydrogen extends farther from the disc in both directions, up to about 3000 light-years.
    • This gaseous component is warmer than the one straddling the disc and has comparatively lesser densities, thus escaping earlier observations.
    • They called it the ‘diffuse’ component of the molecular disc.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q. Which one of the following sets of elements was primarily responsible for the origin of life on the Earth?

    (a) Hydrogen, Oxygen, Sodium

    (b) Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen

    (c) Oxygen, Calcium, Phosphorous

    (d) Carbon, Hydrogen, Potassium

    Why does this study matter?

    • The molecular hydrogen gas converts to individual stars under the pull of gravity, thus holding clues to the star formation processes and the evolution of the galaxy.
    • If a significant part of the gas extends beyond the thin disc of a few hundred light-years, it may explain why astronomers also observe stars at a few thousand light-years perpendicular to the galactic disc.

  • [pib] Shahi Litchi from Bihar exported to the UK

    In a major boost to the export of GI-certified products, the season’s first consignment of Shahi Litchi from Bihar was exported to the United Kingdom by the air route.

    Tap here to read about all GI-tagged products in news.

    Shahi Litchi

    • India is the second-largest producer of litchi (Litchi chin) in the world, after China.
    • The translucent, flavored aril or edible flesh of the litchi is popular as a table fruit in India, while in China and Japan it is preferred in dried or canned form.
    • Shahi litchi was the fourth agricultural product to get GI certification from Bihar in 2018, after Jardalu mango, Katarni rice, and Magahi paan.
    • GI registration for Shahi Litchi is held with the Muzaffarpur-based Litchi Growers Association of Bihar.
    • Muzzafarpur, Vaishali, Samastipur, Champaran, Begusarai districts and adjoining areas of Bihar have favorable climate for growing Shahi Litchi.

    Back2Basics: Geographical Indication (GI)

    • The World Intellectual Property Organisation defines a GI as “a sign used on products that have a specific geographical origin and possess qualities or a reputation that are due to that origin”.
    • GIs are typically used for agricultural products, foodstuffs, handicrafts, industrial products, wines and spirit drinks.
    • Internationally, GIs are covered as an element of intellectual property rights under the Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property.
    • They have also covered under the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) Agreement.

  • COVID & Economic Inequality

    Pandemic hit hard the lives, livelihood and the economy. It has also worsened income inequality. The article deals with the issues of impacts of pandemic and suggests ways to revive growth the deal with income inequality.

    Need to address growth and inequality issue

    • The second wave of the pandemic is spreading to rural areas also.
    • It is known that rural areas have poor health infrastructure.
    • Similar to the first wave, inequalities are also increasing during the second wave.
    • The country has to address the issue of rising inequalities for achieving higher sustainable growth and the well-being of a larger population.
    • According to the State of Working in India 2021 report of the Azim Premji University, the pandemic would push 230 million people into poverty.
    • CMIE data shows a decline in incomes and rising unemployment during the second wave.
    • U-shaped impact: The recent RBI Bulletin says that the impact of the second wave appears to be U-shaped.
    • In the well of the U are the most vulnerable — blue collar groups who have to risk exposure for a living and for rest of society to survive.

    K-shaped recovery and rising inequality

    • The recovery seemed to be K-shaped during the first wave.
    • The share of wages declined as compared to that of profits.
    • A large part of the corporate sector managed the pandemic with many listed companies recording higher profits.
    • On the other hand, the informal workers including daily wage labourers, migrants, MSMEs etc. suffered a lot with loss of incomes and employment.
    • The recovery post the second wave is also likely to be K-shaped with rising inequalities.

    Policies needed for higher growth and reduction in inequality

    1) Vaccination and healthcare facilities

    • An aggressive vaccination programme and improving the healthcare facilities in both rural and urban areas is needed.
    • Reducing the health crisis can lead to an economic revival.
    • Vaccine inequality between urban and rural areas has to be reduced.
    • The crisis can be used as an opportunity to create universal healthcare facilities for all, particularly rural areas.
    • Other states can learn from Kerala on building health infrastructure.

    2) Investment in infrastructure

    • The budget offered some good announcements relating to capital investment in infrastructure.
    • The Development Financial Institution (DFI) for funding long-term infrastructure projects is being established.
    • This can revive employment and reduce inequalities.
    • The government has to fast track infra investment.

    3) Safety net for vulnerable

    • The informal workers and other vulnerable sections including MSMEs have been dealt back-to-back blows due to the first and second waves.
    • A majority of workers have experienced a loss of earnings.
    • Therefore, the government has to provide safety nets in the form of free food grains for six more months, expand work offered under MGNREGA in both rural and urban areas.
    • The government also need to undertake a cash transfer to provide minimum basic income.

    Policies for growth

    • Focus on demand: On economic growth, the RBI Bulletin says that the biggest toll of the second wave is in terms of a demand shock as aggregate supply is less impacted.
    • Investment: In the medium term, the investment rate has to be increased from the present 30 per cent of GDP to 35 per cent and 40 per cent of GDP for higher growth and job creation.
    • Export: It is one of the main engines of growth and employment creation.
    • There is positive news on exports as the global economy is reviving.
    • Protectionist trade policy: In recent years India’s trade policy has become more protectionist and the country has to reduce import tariff rates.
    • Role of fiscal policy: In the near term, fiscal policy has to play a more important role in achieving the objectives of growth, jobs and equity by expanding the fiscal space by restructuring expenditure, widening the tax base and increasing non-tax revenue.

    Consider the question “Two waves of the Covid pandemic have worsened the inequality. India has to address the issue of rising inequalities for achieving higher sustainable growth and the well-being of a larger population. Suggest the policies that India should follow for higher growth and reduction in inequality.”

    Conclusion

    Vaccination, expansion in rural healthcare and cash transfers should be part of the strategy to boost demand and address inequalities.

  • challenges the second Covid wave poses to India’s path to fiscal consolidation.

    The article highlights the challenges the second Covid wave poses to India’s path to fiscal consolidation.

    Recalibration to growth projection due to second Covid wave

    • The growth projections of different national and international agencies and the fiscal projections of Centre’s 2021-22 Budget require recalibration.
    • The International Monetary Fund (IMF) had forecast real GDP growth for 2021-22 at 12.5%.
    • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had forecast real GDP growth for 2021-22 at 10.5%.
    • The Ministry of Finance’s Economic Survey had forecast real GDP growth for 2021-22 at 11.0%.

    Growth rate of 8.7% to keep GDP at same level as in 2019-20

    • Moody’s has recently projected India’s GDP growth in 2021-22 at 9.3%.
    • Benchmark growth rate: 9.3% is close to the benchmark growth rate of 8.7% which would keep India’s GDP at 2011-12 prices at the same level as in 2019-20.
    • This level of growth may be achieved based on the assumption that the economy normalises in the second half of the fiscal year.
    • The 2019-20 real GDP was ₹145.7-lakh crore at 2011-12 prices.
    • It fell to ₹134.1-lakh crore in 2020-21, implying a contraction of minus 8.0%.
    •  At 8.7% real growth, the nominal GDP growth would be close to 13.5%, assuming an inflation rate of 4.5%.
    • This would be lower than the nominal growth of 14.4% assumed in the Union Budget.
    • At 13.5% growth, the estimated GDP for 2021-22 is ₹222.4-lakh crore at current prices.
    • Impact: This will lead to a lowering of tax and non-tax revenues and an increase in the fiscal deficit as compared to the budgeted magnitudes.

    How much the gross tax revenue would be impacted?

    • The budgeted gross and net tax revenues for 2021-22 were ₹22.2-lakh crore and ₹15.4-lakh crore, respectively.
    • The assumed buoyancy for the Centre’s gross tax revenues (GTR) was 1.2.
    • If, however, the buoyancy of 1.2 proves optimistic and instead a buoyancy of 0.9, which is the average buoyancy of the five years preceding the COVID-19 year, is applied, the nominal growth of GTR would be 12.2%.
    • This would lead to the Centre’s GTR of about ₹21.3-lakh crore.
    • The corresponding shortfall in the Centre’s net tax revenues is estimated to be about ₹0.6 lakh crore.
    • The budgeted magnitudes for non-tax revenues and non-debt capital receipts at ₹2.4-lakh crore and ₹1.9-lakh crore, respectively, may also prove to be optimistic.
    • In these cases, the budgeted growth rates were 15.4% and 304.3%, respectively.
    •  The excessively high growth for the non-debt capital receipts was premised on implementing an ambitious asset monetisation and disinvestment programme.
    • Together with the tax revenue shortfall of nearly 0.6 lakh crore, the total shortfall on the receipts side may be about ₹2.1-lakh crore.

    Impact on fiscal deficit estimates

    • Two factors will affect the fiscal deficit estimate of 6.76% of GDP in 2021-22.
    • First, there would be a change in the budgeted nominal GDP growth.
    • Second, there would be a shortfall in the receipts from tax, non-tax and non-debt sources.
    • Together, these two factors may lead to a slippage in fiscal deficit which may be close to 7.7% of GDP in 2021-22 if total expenditures are kept at the budgeted levels.
    • This would call for revising the fiscal road map again.
    • Protecting total expenditures at the budgeted level is, however, important given the need to support the economy in these challenging time.

    Vaccination policy and role of Central government

    • Positive externalities: COVID-19 vaccination is characterised by strong inter-State positive externalities, making it primarily the responsibility of the central government.
    • The entire vaccination bill should be borne by the central government.
    • If the central government is the single agency for vaccine procurement, the economies of scale and the Centre’s bargaining power would keep the average vaccine price low.
    • The central government may transfer the vaccines rather than the money that it has budgeted for transfer.
    • Some of the smaller States may find procuring vaccines through a global tender to be quite challenging.

    Conclusion

    Protecting total expenditures at the budgeted level and mass vaccination are important in India’s pandemic situation.

    Back2basics: Tax buoyancy

    • There is a strong connection between the government’s tax revenue earnings and economic growth.
    • Tax buoyancy explains this relationship between the changes in government’s tax revenue growth and the changes in GDP.
    • It refers to the responsiveness of tax revenue growth to changes in GDP.
    • When a tax is buoyant, its revenue increases without increasing the tax rate.
    •  In 2007-08, everything was fine for the economy, GDP growth rate was nearly 9 per cent.
    • Tax revenue of the government, especially, that of direct taxes registered a growth rate of 45 per cent in 2007-08.
    • We can say that the tax buoyancy was five (45/9).

    What is tax elasticity?

    • It refers to changes in tax revenue in response to changes in tax rate.
    • For example, how tax revenue changes if the government reduces corporate income tax from 30 per cent to 25 per cent indicate tax elasticity.

  • Deep Sea Faunal Diversity in India

    India is home to 4,371 species of deep-sea fauna, including 1,032 species under the kingdom Protista and 3,339 species under the kingdom Animalia, a recent publication by the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) has revealed.

    Highlights of the Survey

    • India is surrounded by the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, the Andaman Sea, and the Laccadive Sea (Lakshadweep Sea).
    • Of the 4,371 species, a maximum of 2,766 species has been reported from deep-sea areas of the Arabian Sea, followed by 1,964 species from the Bay of Bengal, 1,396 species from the Andaman Sea, and only 253 species from the Laccadive Sea.

    RIMS ship investigator

    • India is one of the countries that made a pioneering exploration in the deep Indian Ocean region in 1874 by commissioning a RIMS (Royal Indian Marine Survey) ship investigator.
    • This conducted enormous studies in seas around India and continued to work till 1926.

    Components of the exploration

    • The deep-sea ecosystem was the most unexplored ecosystem across the world. It included hydrothermal vents, submarine canyons, deep-sea trenches, seamounts, cold seeps, and mud volcanoes.
    • This publication, the first of its kind, provides baseline information on all groups of fauna and biological organisms in the Indian deep seas.
    • Not only will this support our knowledge on conserving and managing deep-sea faunal resources, but it will also pave way for their sustainable utilization.

    Key findings

    (1) Mammals

    • There are 31 species of sea mammals that are found in the deep-sea ecosystem of Indian waters, including the Critically Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphin.
    • Two other species, the Indo-Pacific Finless Porpoise and the Sperm Whale are recorded as ‘Vulnerable’ in the IUCN classification.
    • The list of mammals includes Cuvier’s Beaked Whale and Short-beaked Common Dolphin, which dive as deep as 8,000 meters below the Earth’s surface.

    (2) Marine turtles

    • Out of the seven species of marine turtles found across the world, five species have been recorded from Indian waters.
    • India is known as one of the best and largest breeding grounds for sea turtles, especially for Olive Ridley and Leatherback Turtles, across the world.

  • Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG)

    In early March, members of the Indian SARS-CoV-2 Genomic Consortia (INSACOG), an advisory group to the Central government, warned of a new and contagious form of the novel coronavirus.

    What is INSACOG?

    • INSACOG is a consortium of 10 labs across the country tasked with scanning COVID-19 samples from swathes of patients and flagging the presence of variants that were known to have spiked transmission internationally.
    • It has also been tasked with checking whether certain combinations of mutations were becoming more widespread in India.
    • Some of these labs had begun scanning for mutations in April 2020 itself, but it was not a pan-India effort.
    • The institutes involved were laboratories of the Department of Biotechnology, the CSIR, the ICMR, and the Ministry of Health & Family Welfare (MoHFW).
    • The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) under the MoHFW was tasked with coordinating the collection of samples from the States as well correlating disease with the mutations.
    • The work began in January by sequencing samples of people who had a history of travel from the United Kingdom and a proportion of positive samples in the community.

    What are the findings?

    • The “foreign” variants identified were primarily the B.1.1.7 (first identified in the United Kingdom) and the B.1.351 (first found in South Africa) and a small number of P2 variants (from Brazil).
    • However, some labs flagged the growing presence of variants identified in India that were clubbed into a family of inter-related variants called B.1.617, also known as the ‘double mutant’ variant.
    • It was primarily due to two mutations — E484Q and L452R — on the spike protein.
    • The B.1.617 family was marked as an international ‘variant of concern’ after it was linked to a recent spike in cases in the UK.
    • INSACOG labs also found that the B.1.1.7 variant, which is marked by increased infectivity, is distinctly more prevalent in several northern and central Indian States in comparison to southern States.

    Beyond identifying patterns, why is genome sequencing useful?

    • The purpose of genome sequencing is to understand the role of certain mutations in increasing the virus’s infectivity.
    • Some mutations have also been linked to immune escape, or the virus’s ability to evade antibodies, and this has consequences for vaccines.
    • Labs across the world, including many in India, have been studying if the vaccines developed so far are effective against such mutant strains of the virus.
    • They do this by extracting the virus from COVID-19-positive samples and growing enough of it. Then, blood serum from people who are vaccinated, and thereby have antibodies, is drawn.
    • Using different probes, scientists determine how much of the antibodies thus extracted are required to kill a portion of the cultured virus.
    • In general, the antibodies generated after vaccination — and this was true of Covaxin, Covishield, Pfizer and Moderna jabs — were able to neutralize variants.
    • Antibody levels are not the only markers of protection and there is a parallel network of cellular immunity that plays a critical role in how vaccines activate immunity.
    • The current evidence for most COVID-19 vaccines is that they have almost 75% to 90% efficacy in protecting against disease but less so in preventing re-infection and transmission.

    Challenges faced by INSACOG

    • Given that the novel coronavirus is spreading, mutating, and showing geographical variations, the aim of the group was to sequence at least 5% of the samples.
    • For many reasons, this has so far been only around 1%, primarily due to a shortage of funds and insufficient reagents and tools necessary to scale up the process.
    • While some of these issues, the INSACOG, in spite of being peopled by expert scientists, is ultimately an advisory group to the Central government and part of its communication structure.
    • Warnings about emerging variants were not made public with sufficient urgency and the sharing of datasets, even within constituent groups of the INSACOG, was less than ideal.