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GS Paper: GS3

  • Kuaizhou-11 Rocket

    China’s 19th launch of 2020, the Kuaizhou-11 rocket, failed in its mission.

    Try this question from CSP 2014:

    Q.Which of the following pair is/are correctly matched?

    Spacecraft Purpose
    1. Cassini-Huygens Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth
    2. Messenger Mapping and investigating the Mercury
    3. Voyager 1 and 2 Exploring the outer solar system

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 and 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3

    The Kuaizhou-11

    • Kuaizhou, meaning “fast ship” in Chinese, was operated by the commercial launch firm Expace and was originally scheduled for 2018 after being developed three years earlier.
    • Also known as KZ-11, it had a lift-off mass of 70.8 tonnes, and was designed to launch low-Earth and Sun-synchronous orbit satellites.
    • It was carrying two satellites — the first being a remote sensing satellite that would provide data to clients on a commercial basis for forecasting and managing geological disasters.
    • It would also provide the information required for natural resource exploration. The second was part of a series of satellites for low-Earth orbit navigation.
    • Both satellites were built by Changguang Satellite Co. Ltd., a commercial entity born out of the state-owned firms.

  • Rare Comet ‘C/2020 F3 Neowise’

    The C/2020 F3 comet also dubbed NEOWISE will be visible with the naked eye for around 20 minutes every day for 20 days across India.

    Try this question from CSP 2014:

    Q.What is a coma, in the content of astronomy?

    (a) Bright half of material on the comet

    (b) Long tail of dust

    (c) Two asteroids orbiting each other

    (d) Two planets orbiting each other

    What are Comets?

    • Comets or “dirty snowballs” are mostly made of dust, rocks and ice, the remnants from the time the solar system was formed over 4.6 billion years ago.
    • The word comet comes from the Latin word “Cometa” which means “long-haired” and the earliest known record of a comet sighting was made by an astrologer in 1059 BC.
    • Comets can range in their width from a few miles to tens of miles wide.
    • While there are millions of comets orbiting the sun, there are more than 3,650 known comets as of now, according to NASA.

    How do they illuminate?

    • Comets do not have the light of their own and what humans are able to see from Earth is the reflection of the sun’s light off the comet as well as the energy released by the gas molecules after it is absorbed from the sun.
    • The visibility cannot be precisely predicted since a lot depends on the way the “outbursts” of gas and dust play out determining how much of a “good show” the comet will put out for observers.
    • As they orbit closer to the sun, they heat up and release debris of dust and gases that form into a “glowing head” that can often be larger than a planet.

    Why do they get close to the sun?

    • Comets may be occasionally pushed into orbits closer to the sun and the Earth’s neighbourhood due to forces of gravity of other planets.
    • The appearance of some comets, like those that take less than 200 years to orbit around the sun is predictable since they have passed by before.
    • These may be referred to as short-period comets and can be found in the Kuiper belt, where many comets orbit the sun in the realm of Pluto, occasionally getting pushed into orbits that bring them closer to the sun.
    • One of the most famous short-period comets is called Halley’s Comet that reappears every 76 years. Halley’s will be sighted next in 2062.
    • Comets in this cloud can take as long as 30 million years to complete one rotation around the sun.

    Significance of the comets

    • NASA tracks all Near Earth Objects (NEOs) that includes comets and asteroids using telescopes placed all around the Earth, as part of its NEO Observation Program.
    • Comets hold important clues about the formation of the solar system and it is possible that comets brought water and other organic compounds, which are the building blocks of life to Earth.

    Back2Basics

  • [pib] India’s Tiger Census sets a New Guinness Record

    The fourth cycle of the All India Tiger Estimation 2018, results of which were declared to the nation on Global Tiger Day last year has entered the Guinness World Record for being the world’s largest camera trap wildlife survey.

    Before reading this newscard, try these PYQs:

    Q. The term ‘M-STrIPES’ is sometimes seen in the news in the context of: (CSP 2017)

    (a) Captive breeding of Wild Fauna

    (b) Maintenance of Tiger Reserves

    (c) Indigenous Satellite Navigation System

    (d) Security of National Highways

    Q.Consider the following protected areas: (CSP 2012)

    1. Bandipur
    2. Bhitarkanika
    3. Manas
    4. Sunderbans

    Which of the above are declared Tiger Reserves?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 1, 3 and 4 only

    (c) 2, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    About All India Tiger Estimation

    • The tiger count is prepared after every four years by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) provides details on the number of tigers in the 18 tiger reign states with 50 tiger reserves.
    • However, this time, the census also included data collected from the rough terrains of north-eastern states which were not possible due to logistic constraints before.
    • The entire exercise spanned over four years is considered to be the world’s largest wildlife survey effort in terms of coverage and intensity of sampling.
    • Over 15, 000 cameras were installed at various strategic points to capture the movement of tigers. This was supported by extensive data collected by field personnel and satellite mapping.

    Highlights of the 2018 estimation

    • India has 2,967 tigers, a third more than in 2014, according to results of a tiger census.
    • India has achieved the target of doubling tiger population four years before the 2022 deadline.
    • According to the census, Madhya Pradesh saw the highest number of tigers at 526, closely followed by Karnataka at 524 and Uttarakhand at number 3 with 442 tigers.
    • While Pench Tiger Reserve in Madhya Pradesh recorded the highest number of tigers, Sathyamangalam Tiger Reserve in Tamil Nadu registered the “maximum improvement” since 2014.
    • Chhattisgarh and Mizoram saw a decline in their tiger numbers while tiger numbers in Odisha remained constant. All other states witnessed a positive trend.

    Back2Basics: Project Tiger

    • Project Tiger is a tiger conservation programme launched in April 1973 during PM Indira Gandhi’s tenure.
    • In 1970 India had only 1800 tigers and Project Tiger was launched in Jim Corbett National Park.
    • The project is administrated by the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA).
    • It aims at ensuring a viable population of Bengal tigers in their natural habitats, protecting them from extinction etc.
    • Under this project the govt. has set up a Tiger Protection Force to combat poachers and funded relocation of villagers to minimize human-tiger conflicts.

  • How friendly government policies can boost Indian steel industry

    The steel industry forms the backbone of the economy. This article highlights the difficulties of the industry magnified the pandemic. Ans suggest ways to revive demand.

    BAT could help

    • Introduction of a Border Adjustment Tax, known as BAT could help India’s steel industry.
    • Many countries use BAT to protect local steel manufacturers.
    • With economic pain unleashed by the pandemic and threat posed by Chinese state-subsidised steel imports, India hardly affords not to BAT.
    • BAT would create a level playing field.

    Why Indian steel industry is non-competitive

    • Indian steel manufacturers bear multiple local taxes – electricity and cross-subsidy duties, clean energy cess and royalties on ore and there are more.
    • These taxes make up 12% of the price of steel.
    • In rival markets, these levies either do not exist or are comparatively lower.
    • So Indian steel is non-competitive even before it leaves our plants.

    Impact of Covid

    • Impact of Covid on India’s biggest steel mills, which make up 65% of the country’s annual output of about 110 MT, was calamitous.
    • During the pandemic, the mills’ massive blast furnaces continued to burn.
    • Closure and reopening of furnaces can take up to 12 weeks; the process is complex, and maintenance costs are high.
    • So, the furnaces were burning during the lockdown.
    • India’s mills have continued to bear high fixed costs: firing furnaces but without making much steel.
    • Because of this, smaller mills, which account for about a third of national output, lack the strengths to survive a trough, and many have capitulated.

    Significance of Steel Industry

    • Steel is front and centre in India’s recovery.
    • The industry rests on mutual support – investment is made by entrepreneurs, the government offers supportive policies.
    • Government will lend weight to India’s competitive and comparative advantages, especially in manufacturing, in a post covid-19 economic order.
    • Indian steel’s guiding light is a steel ministry vision of 300MT of capacity by 2030, currently at about 138 MT.
    • The pandemic will put pressure on this target.

    Short term hurdles faced by Steel industry

    • Government capital expenditure is diverted to public health.
    • Real estate builders have an interest in large scale construction.
    • Car manufacturing will not see upturn until the second half of the year.
    • The pandemic has also hurt demand for capital utilisation, weighing heavily on capex.

    How the demand can be improved

    • Steel needs more infrastructure projects. Also, the fillip would be for the government to pay on time. Expedite the work.
    • An initiative to consign old cars to the scrap heap would significantly lift demand for steel to build replacement cars.
    • Improving the logistics chain would help transport finished goods and materials more quickly and less expensively.
    • Make steel the material of choice in the construction of flyovers, roads bridges and crash barriers, improving their safety, durability and, as a result, their life-cycle cost.
    • Indian mills possess world-class infrastructure and capacities and have integrated backwards by acquiring mining rights, partly to mitigate costs. As mentioned, one is high taxes on input materials such as energy.

    Consider the question “Examine the issues Indian steel industry faces. Suggest the ways to make it more competitive.”

    Conclusion

    A revived economy means a revived steel industry. The government should provide the wider and deeper support to the government to bring this vital sector back on the track and make help achieve global competitiveness.

  • Do we need Fiscal Council

    Why there is a need for Fiscal Council?

    • With a complex polity and manifold development challenges, India need institutional mechanisms for prudent fiscal practices.
    • An independent fiscal council can bring about much needed transparency and accountability in fiscal processes across the federal polity.
    • International experience suggests that a fiscal council improves the quality of debate on public finance, and that, in turn, helps build public opinion favourable to fiscal discipline.
    • In a globalised world of enormous capital flows, market volatility across the world and especially in emerging markets, in response to monetary policy changes in major economies, and geopolitical tensions that ebb and flow, causing currencies and commodity prices to swing, countries like India need macroeconomic management as an active function round the year.
    • Also, it is supposed to report to the parliament regarding the practicability of government forecasts in the budget. This will make executive more responsible in budget preparation.
    • For the last eight years the projections of the government has fallen short by a consistent 10 percent, leading to fund cuts in the middle of the year. Thus, an independent Fiscal council would evaluate budget proposals and forecasts using objective criteria.
    • This would also boost confidence in global credit rating agencies about government’s fiscal commitment.

  • Carbon enrichment of the Universe

    A recent study has provided new insights on the origins of the carbon in our galaxy.

    Try this question from CSP 2016:

    Q.Consider the following:

    1. Photosynthesis
    2. Respiration
    3. Decay of organic matter
    4. Volcanic action

    Which of the above add carbon dioxide to the carbon cycle on earth?

    (a) 1 and 4 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 2, 3 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Why study Carbon?

    • Carbon is essential for life: It is the simple building block of all the complex organic molecules that organisms need.
    • It is known that all the carbon in the Milky Way came from dying stars that ejected the element into their surroundings.
    • What has remained debated, however, is what kind of stars made the major contribution.
    • The study shows the analysis of white dwarfs — the dense remnants of a star after its death.

    How does carbon come from stars?

    • Most stars — except the most massive ones — are doomed to turn into white dwarfs.
    • When the massive ones die, they go with a spectacular bang known as the supernova.
    • Both low-mass and massive stars eject their ashes into the surroundings before they end their lives.
    • And these ashes contain many different chemical elements, including carbon.

    How is it synthesized?

    • Both in low-mass stars and in massive stars carbon is synthesized in their deep and hot interiors through the triple-alpha reaction that is the fusion of three helium nuclei.
    • In low-mass stars, the newly synthesized carbon is transported to the surface [from the interiors] via gigantic bubbles of gas and from there injected into the cosmos through stellar winds.
    • Massive stars enrich the interstellar medium with carbon mostly before the supernova explosion, when they also experience powerful stellar winds.

    Findings of the news research

    • It was earlier debated that whether the carbon in the Milky Way originated from low-mass stars before they became white dwarfs or from the winds of massive stars before they exploded as supernovae.
    • The new research suggests that white dwarfs may shed more light on carbon’s origin in the Milky Way.
    • The researchers measured the masses of the white dwarfs, derived their masses at birth, and from there calculated the “initial-final mass relation”.
    • The IFMR is a key astrophysical measure that integrates information of the entire life cycles of stars.
    • They found that the relationship bucked a trend — that the more massive the star at birth, the more massive the white dwarf left at its death.
    • So far, stars born roughly 1.5 billion years ago in our galaxy were thought to have produced white dwarfs about 60-65% the mass of our Sun.

    What explains this?

    • From an analysis of the initial-final mass relation around the little kink, the researchers drew their conclusions about the size range for the stars that contributed carbon to the Milky Way.
    • Stars more massive than 2 solar masses, too, contributed to the galactic enrichment of carbon.
    • Stars less massive than 1.65 solar masses did not. In other words 1.65-Msun [1.65 times the mass of the Sun] represents the minimum mass for a star to spread its carbon-rich ashes upon death.

  • Malabar Naval Exercise to include Australia

    India has finally planned to invite Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise that has so far included just Japan and the U.S., in a move that could risk China’s ire.

    Go through the list for once. UPSC may ask a match the pair type question asking exercise name and countries involved.

    [Prelims Spotlight] Defence Exercises

    About Ex. Malabar

    • Exercise Malabar is a trilateral naval exercise involving the United States, Japan and India as permanent partners.
    • Originally begun in 1992 as a bilateral exercise between India and the United States, Japan became a permanent partner in 2015.
    • Past non-permanent participants are Australia and Singapore.
    • The annual Malabar series began in 1992 and includes diverse activities, ranging from fighter combat operations from aircraft carriers through Maritime Interdiction Operations Exercises.

    Significance of Australia’s inclusion

    • Earlier, India had concerns that it would give the appearance of a “quadrilateral military alliance” aimed at China.
    • Now both look forward to the cooperation in the ‘Indo-Pacific’ and the strengthening of defence ties.
    • This has led to a convergence of mutual interest in many areas for a better understanding of regional and global issues.
    • Both are expected to conclude the long-pending Mutual Logistics Support Agreement (MLSA) as part of measures to elevate the strategic partnership.

    Back2Basics: Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (QSD)

    • The QSD is an informal strategic forum between the United States, Japan, Australia and India that is maintained by semi-regular summits, information exchanges and military drills between member countries.
    • The forum was initiated as a dialogue in 2007 by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, with the support of Vice President Dick Cheney of the US, PM John Howard of Australia and PM Manmohan Singh of India.
    • The dialogue was paralleled by joint military exercises of an unprecedented scale, titled Exercise Malabar.
    • The diplomatic and military arrangement was widely viewed as a response to increased Chinese economic and military power, and the Chinese government responded to it by issuing formal diplomatic protest.
    • The QSD was recently revived considering the tensions in the South China Sea caused primarily by China and its territorial ambitions.

  • [pib] Rewa Solar Project

    The PM has inaugurated the 750 MW Solar Project set up at Rewa, Madhya Pradesh.

    Try this question from CSP 2017:

    Q. The term ‘Domestic Content Requirement’ is sometimes seen in the news with reference to-

    (a) Developing solar power production in our country

    (b) Granting licences to foreign T.V. channels in our country

    (c) Exporting our food products to other countries

    (d) Permitting foreign educational institutions to set up their campuses in our country

    Rewa Solar Project

    • This project comprises of three solar generating units of 250 MW each located on a 500-hectare plot of land situated inside a Solar Park (total area 1500 hectare).
    • The Solar Park was developed by the Rewa Ultra Mega Solar Limited (RUMSL), a Joint Venture Company of Madhya Pradesh Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (MPUVN), and Solar Energy Corporation of India (SECI), a PSU.
    • The Project was the first solar project in the country to break the grid parity barrier.
    • This project will reduce carbon emission equivalent to approx. 15 lakh ton of CO2 per year.

    Tariff management

    • Compared to prevailing solar project tariffs of approx. Rs. 4.50/unit in early 2017, the Rewa project achieved historic results.
    • It has a first-year tariff of Rs. 2.97/unit with a tariff escalation of Rs. 0.05/unit over 15 years and a levelized rate of Rs. 3.30/unit over the term of 25 years.

    Significance of the project

    • The project is also the first renewable energy project to supply to an institutional customer outside the State.
    • The Delhi Metro will get 24% of energy from the project with the remaining 76% being supplied to the State DISCOMs of Madhya Pradesh.
    • The Project also exemplifies India’s commitment to attaining the target of 175 GW of installed renewable energy capacity by the year 2022; including 100 GW of solar installed capacity.

  • Who was Herbert Kleber?

    With today’s doodle, Google is remembering Dr Herbert David Kleber, who reframed the field of addiction treatment.

    Try this question from CSP 2016:

    A recent movie titled The Man Who Knew Infinity is based on the biography of-

    (a) S. Ramanujan
    (b) S. Chandrasekhar
    (c) S. N. Bose
    (d) C. V. Raman

    Herbert Kleber

    • Born on June 19, 1934, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Dr Kleber studied medicine, where he discovered that psychology was his calling.
    • He viewed addiction as a medical condition rather than a moral failure.
    • He spent years treating people with drug addiction and realized that the treatment needed a new approach backed by scientific research.
    • His new methods of treatment gained an appreciation and he was appointed as the deputy director for demand reduction at the Office of National Drug Control Policy by the then U.S. President George H. W. Bush.
    • He headed many projects on developing new methods to treat individuals with alcohol, cocaine, heroin and alcohol addictions.

  • Digitising the state

    This article examines the issues with governments account problems and their implications. It also suggests the ways to deal with the problems with data management in India.It is is line with the suggestions made by the CAG in this regard.

    Problem with government account keeping

    • The Union budget grew from Rs 197 crore in 1947 to Rs 30 lakh crore last year.
    • Total government expenditure may be higher than Rs 70 lakh crore. (states+union)
    • But the form and manner of keeping accounts have more or less remained unchanged since Independence.
    • Manual transactions and manual payments often lead to manually entered data at different stages in different databases on different systems.
    • This makes data unreliable, violates the principle of “single source of truth”.
    • This also sabotages transparency and good governance.

    Issues with computerisation by government

    • Government “computerisation” has often mechanised manual processes rather than “re-engineered processes”.
    • This has created siloed IT systems.
    • It has created various separate databases that lack modern data sharing protocols for organic linking like APIs (Application Programming Interfaces).
    • It leaves fiscal data being incomparable as basic as salary expenditure across states.
    • It creates the problem of obscurity in which large expenditures are booked under omnibus head called other.
    • Non-traceable actual expenditure against temporary advances drawn or funds drawn on contingent bills.
    • It creates the problem of misclassification so that grants in aid is classified as capital expenditure and bookings under suspense heads.

    3 Steps to deal with the issues

    1)  100% end-to-end data capture

    • All receipts and expenditure transactions including demands, assessment, and invoices should be received, processed, and paid electronically.

    2)  Data governance for standards

    •  Data standards are rules for describing and recording data elements with precise meanings that enable integration, sharing, and interoperability.
    • Prescribing data elements for all transactions will ensure standardisation.
    • This standardisation will clarify ambiguity, minimise redundant data, and create protocols for integration across different databases across entities receiving government funds.
    • It will also integrate entities collecting revenues on behalf of the government, and those discharging core functions on behalf of the government.
    • Government-wide data standards coupled with real-time data captured end-to-end will enable the use of cognitive intelligence tools like analytics, artificial intelligence, machine learning.
    • These tools, will support the establishment of budget baselines, detecting anomalies, data-driven project/activity costing, performance comparisons across departments and agencies, and benchmarking.

    3) Technology architecture

    • The element of technology architecture must ensure that all IT government systems should conform to a prescribed open architecture framework.
    • This framework should ensure robust security and maintaining privacy.

    How will these 3 steps help

    • It will help in recognising off-budget transactions, the last Union budget took steps towards this fiscal transparency and consolidation.
    • These steps will ensure business continuity: electronic records cannot be lost or misplaced like files or paper records.
    • It will also provide an incontrovertible audit trail.
    • It will enable Parliament and legislatures to draw “assurance” that each rupee due to the government has been collected, and each rupee has been spent for the purpose it was allocated.

    Consider the question “Government expenditure has increased manifold since 1947 but the form and manner of keeping data have remained more or less the same. In light of this examine the issues with payments, accounting and transactions data system of the government. Suggest the measures to improve it.”

    Conclusion

    A citizen-centric view of a single source of truth encompassing every rupee of public money would make the 299 remarkable people who wrote India’s Constitution proud of this 21st-century citizen empowerment innovation.

    Original Op-ed

    https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/columns/digitising-the-state-6496692/