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GS Paper: GS3-15.Science and Technology- Developments and their Applications and Effects in Everyday Life.

  • India’s Central bank digital currency (CBDC) in detail

    digital

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    Context

    • The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has launched the first pilot of the retail digital rupee, also known as e₹-R, on December 1, 2022. The digital token that represents legal tender will be issued in the same denominations as paper currency and coins. The RBI’s pilot on the digital rupee will test the robustness of the new system. Let’s understand it in detail.

    digital

    The first pilot project of retail digital rupee

    • Allowed banks: Initially, only four banks- State Bank of India, ICICI Bank, Yes Bank and IDFC First Bank in four cities have been allowed to offer e₹-R. The scope of the pilot will be increased gradually to include more banks, users and locations.
    • Transaction: People will get e₹-R from banks and will be able to make transactions via their digital wallets. The digital rupee can be stored on mobile phones or devices.

    What is a Central bank digital currency (CBDC)?

    • Like fiat currency in digital form: CBDC is a legal tender issued by the central bank in digital form. Like rupee notes or coins, which are in physical form. Like fiat currency, it can also be exchanged between people. Simply, put it’s just like rupee (₹) notes but in digital form (e₹). You can also exchange e₹ for physical currency notes.
    • Unlike fiat currency no need to have account: However, unlike fiat currency that’s usually stored in banks and hence their liability, CBDC is a liability on the RBI’s balance sheet. That’s why you don’t necessarily need to have a bank account to own a digital rupee.

    Why do we need CBDC?

    • Cost efficient management: CBDC will cut the cost related to physical cash management. India spent ₹4,984.80 crore on printing money in FY22 and ₹4,012.10 crore a year before that. These expenses are borne by people, businesses, banks and the RBI. e₹ cuts all kinds of printing, storage, transportation and replacement and settlement costs. Though the RBI will invest a significant amount in building CBDC infrastructure, subsequent marginal operating costs will be very low.
    • Boost to digital economy and financial inclusion: It’ll fulfil the higher cash requirement of the country. The government will be able to make money available in areas where it’s a challenge to provide physical cash. Also, it’ll boost India’s digital economy, enhance financial inclusion, and make the financial system efficient.
    • People will have money in uncertain times: Since e₹ is the central bank money, in any uncertain situation like COVID-19, it’ll save people’s savings. Banks only insure deposits up to Rs 5 lakh. In case of defaults, people could lose their savings.
    • Multiple saving and transaction options: e₹ will provide you with other options like e-wallets, mobile banking, and UPI to make payments.
    • Much safer payment option: e₹ is a safe central bank instrument, with direct access to the RBI money for payment and settlement. It is an electronic version of cash, whose main use case is retail

    digital

    Will CBDC replace UPI?

    • Not expected to substitute but supplement payment option: The CBDC-based payment system is not expected to substitute other modes of existing payment options. It will supplement by providing another payment avenue to people.
    • India already has a sound payment system: UPI uses your money deposited with banks but with CBDC, the money becomes the liability of RBI India already has a sound payment system, with payment products like RTGS, NEFT and UPI, etc., coupled with an exponential increase in digital transactions.

    No interest on e₹? but why?

    • No interest on digital money: According to the RBI, if it starts paying interest on digital money, it could lead to a massive disintermediation in the financial system, in which banks will lose deposits, and thus hurt their credit creation capacity in the economy.
    • Rationale behind No interest on digital rupee: Banks may be compelled to increase deposit rates, which will increase their costs of funding and decrease net interest income. Ultimately, the cost will be passed on to borrowers.
    • CBDC will be attractive payment option without interest: If there is no interest, CBDC can still be attractive as a medium of payment, even while its attractiveness as a savings instrument diminishes. Also, banks would restrain themselves from distributing CBDCs if they find it as a threat to bank deposits, which can hamper credit flows and the adoption of CBDCs.

    digital

    How will CBDC be different from crypto?

    • CBDC is Algorithm based unlike crypto mining: The central bank will be issuing CBDCs based on algorithm-driven processes, rather than mining through competitive reward methods. These algorithms will have energy efficiency and environmental friendliness as their core principles, unlike private crypto mining.
    • Less energy consumption unlike crypto: Therefore, issuance and management of CBDCs are expected to have much lesser energy consumption vis-à-vis more energy-intensive processes normally associated with the mining and distribution of private cryptocurrencies.
    • Legal consumer protection: Unlike private cryptos wherein any individual can compete to mine and create the cryptocurrency, only the central bank can issue the CBDC and can simply opt for conversion of the bank’s existing balances to CBDC balances. So, CBDCs will provide the public with the benefits of virtual currencies, while ensuring consumer protection by avoiding the damaging social and economic consequences of private virtual currencies.

    Why India needs a digital rupee?

    • Online transactions: India is a leader in digital payments, but cash remains dominant for small-value transactions.
    • High currency in circulation: India has a fairly high currency-to-GDP ratio.
    • Cost of currency management: An official digital currency would reduce the cost of currency management while enabling real-time payments without any inter-bank settlement.

    Conclusion

    • e₹-R is a digital token that has real value like rupee notes or coins. CBDC will make transactions and currency exchange smoother, and it’ll boost financial inclusion. The RBI’s pilot on the digital rupee will test the robustness of the new system.

    Mains question

    Q. What is central bank digital currency? Why do we need CBDC? It is said that digital rupee is different from crypto currency. Discuss.

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  • Is India a Diabetes capital of the world?

    Diabetes

    Context

    • India is often referred to as the ‘Diabetes Capital of the World as it accounts for 17%percent of the total number of diabetes patients in the world. There are currently close to 80 million people with diabetes in India and this number is expected to increase to 135 million by 2045. World Diabetes day is observed on 14 November.

    What is Diabetes?

    • Diabetes is a chronic (long-lasting) health condition that affects how our body turns food into energy.
    • Diabetes is a metabolic disorder in which the body has high sugar levels for prolonged periods of time.
    • The lack of insulin causes a form of diabetes.
    • Type-I Diabetes: It is a medical condition that is caused due to insufficient production and secretion of insulin from the pancreas. Type 1 diabetes is thought to be caused by an autoimmune reaction (the body attacks itself by mistake). This reaction stops your body from making insulin. Approximately 5-10% of the people who have diabetes have type 1
    • Type-2 diabetes: With type 2 diabetes, your body doesn’t use insulin well and can’t keep blood sugar at normal levels. About 90-95% of people with diabetes have type 2.

    Diabetes

    Type-2 diabetes in brief 

    • Long term Condition: It is long-term (chronic) condition which results in too much sugar circulating in the bloodstreams and poor response of insulin. Eventually, high blood sugar levels can lead to disorders of the circulatory, nervous and immune systems. Type 2 diabetes is an impairment in the way the body regulates and uses sugar (glucose) as a fuel. It is a defective response of Insulin
    • More common in adults: Type 2 is more common in older adults, but the increase in the number of children with obesity has led to more cases of type 2 diabetes in younger people.
    • Slow signs and symptoms: Signs and symptoms of type 2 diabetes often develop slowly. Symptoms include, Increased thirst, Frequent urination, Increased hunger, Unintended weight loss, Fatigue, Blurred vision, Slow-healing sores, Frequent infections etc. It develops over many years and is usually diagnosed in adults (but more and more in children, teens, and young adults).
    • Cure for Type-2: There’s no cure for type 2 diabetes, but losing weight, eating well and exercising can help you manage the disease. If diet and exercise aren’t enough to manage your blood sugar, you may also need diabetes medications or insulin therapy.

    What is insulin?

    • Insulin is a hormone produced by the pancreas.
    • Insulin regulates the movement of sugar into your cells.
    • Blood glucose levels tightly controlled by insulin.
    • When the blood glucose elevates (for example, after eating food), insulin is released from the pancreas to normalize the glucose level

    Diabetes

    The prevalence of diabetes in India

    • People living with Diabetes in India: There are an estimated 77 million people with diabetes in India. Which means one in every 10 adults in India has diabetes. Half of those who have high blood sugar levels are unaware. Even among those who have been diagnosed with diabetes, only half of them have their blood sugar level under control.
    • Rapid increase in younger population: According ICMR report, the prevalence of diabetes in India has increased by 64 percent over the quarter-century. prevalence among the younger population has also increased above 10%.
    • Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.
    • Projected Estimation: About 98 million Indians could have diabetes by 2030, these projections come from the International Diabetes Federation and the Global Burden of Disease project.
    • Children impacting more: Worryingly, in India, a large number of children are also impacted by diabetes. Children are developing obesity and metabolic syndrome early because of the change in diets to more processed and fast foods.

    Why Indians are more prone to diabetes?

    • Lifestyle changes: The current exponential rise of diabetes in India is mainly attributed to lifestyle changes. The rapid change in dietary patterns, physical inactivity, and increased body weight, especially the accumulation of abdominal fat, are some of the primary reasons for increased prevalence.
    • Ethnically more prone: Ethnically, Indians seem to be more prone to diabetes as compared to the Caucasians, although the precise mechanisms are not well known. we Indians have a greater degree of insulin resistance which means our cells do not respond to the hormone insulin. And when compared to Europeans, our blood insulin levels also tend to rise higher and more persistently when we eat carbohydrates.
    • Greater genetic predisposition: The epidemic increase in diabetes in India along with various studies on migrant and native Indians clearly indicate that Indians have an increased predilection to diabetes which could well be due to a greater genetic predisposition to diabetes in Indians.
    • Decrease in traditional diets: At the same time, the increased ‘westernization’, especially in the metros and the larger cities, has led to a drastic change in our dietary pattens. Indian diets have always been carbohydrate-heavy and now the reliance on refined sugars, processed food in the form of quick bites and fuss-free cooking and trans fatty acids are creating havoc.
    • Mechanization of day-to-day work: With the increasing availability of machines to do our work, there’s also a substantial drop in day-to-day activities.
    • Consumption of high calorie food and lack of physical activities: Obesity, especially central obesity and increased visceral fat due to physical inactivity, and consumption of a high-calorie/high-fat and high sugar diets, thus become major contributing factors.
    • Rapid urbanization: Currently, India is undergoing a rapid epidemiological transition with increased urbanization. The current urbanization rate is 35% compared to 15% in the 1950’s and this could have major implications on the present and future disease patterns in India with particular reference to diabetes and coronary artery disease.
    • Rural-urban migration: The rural migration to urban areas and associated stress plays a significant role in lifestyle change.

    Diabetes

    Ways to manage Increasing Diabetes in India

    • Aggressive Screening procedures: Indians need an upstream approach or prioritizing protection of the population as a whole, beginning with women and children. This can be done with aggressive screening procedures. “Anybody above 18, with a clear-cut risk like family history, weight issues and young women with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) should be tested. All Indians above 30 should be screened.
    • Timely diagnosis and right management: Medical experts feel that timely detection and right management can go a long way in helping patients lead a normal life.
    • Diet discipline for children: For children, Doctors recommends a serious diet discipline. “Only healthy meals are the option that remains. Tutor the tastebuds of the young and stop their access to fast foods. There can be supportive policy measures making healthy fruits and vegetables accessible in a cost-effective manner to all instead of plain carbs. The mid-day meal or tiffin needs to be looked at thoughtfully and to make it healthy.
    • Promoting physical activities: “The overall decline in physical activity has had devastating impacts on our metabolism,” while agreeing with the 30-minute a day exercise and activity schedule, sounds a note of caution. The recent scientific evidence suggests even five minutes of walk after any meal provides some protection.
    • Adopting healthy Lifestyle: Though a chronic medical condition, Diabetes can be curbed at the initial level by introducing lifestyle changes. Experts suggests, reduce stress; sleep on time and for minimum of seven hours, maintaining ideal body weight, regular physical activity stop smoking, stopping/ minimum alcohol intake and get early treatment for any pre-existing or co-morbid health condition such as hypertension.
    • Regular check-ups: Regular visits to the doctor are important to assess sugar control and assessment/ prevention of complications related to the disease.

    Conclusion

    • With the country having the highest number of diabetic patients in the world, the sugar disease is posing an enormous health problem to our country today. According to a World Health Organization (WHO) fact sheet on diabetes, an estimated 3.4 million deaths are caused due to high blood sugar in the world.

    Mains Question

    Q. Diabetes is increasing alarmingly across all age groups in India. Discuss the reasons and suggest measures to manage epidemic of diabetes if it is not curable?

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  • Countering Chinese monopoly in Electric vehicle market

    Electric vehicle

    Context

    • The start of COP27 in Egypt has renewed the world’s focus on climate change. Electric vehicles (EVs) are key in the global quest to decarbonizing. In India, which also faces serious air pollution issues, the transition to EVs is critical. However, there is a China-size risk in the supply chain for electric vehicles. The recent saber-rattling across the Taiwan Straits ought to be a warning for the world. Given India’s troubled relationship with China, the risk may be even more acute.

    What are Electrical vehicles (EV’s)?

    • Electric vehicles (EV) are a part of the new normal as the global transportation sector undergoes a paradigm shift, with a clear preference towards cleaner and greener vehicles.
    • The electric vehicle is a vehicle that runs on electricity alone. Such a vehicle does not contain an internal combustion engine like the other conventional vehicles. Instead, it employs an electric motor to run the wheels.

    Electric vehicle

    The global status of EVs production and supply chain.

    • 50% of global EV’s production comes from China: EVs themselves, China has a share of around 50 per cent in global production.
    • 25% from Europe: Europe is a distant and stands at second position with 25 per cent.
    • 10% from US: Surprisingly, the US is a small player in the EV supply chain, producing only 10 per cent of vehicles and containing just 7 per cent of battery production capacity.
    • India’s position is still not noteworthy: India does not feature as a player of note.

    What makes China a dominant player in EVs supply chain?

    • Every part of EV concentrated in China: According to a recent report by the International Energy Association, every part of the EV supply chain is highly concentrated, mostly in China.
    • High global mining output of Key minerals, specifically graphite: The first stage of the supply chain is the key minerals required for batteries, namely lithium, nickel, cobalt and graphite, In graphite, China has an 80 per cent share of global mining output.
    • Chinese control over Politically unstable DRC’ Mines of cobalt: In Cobalt, the politically highly unstable Democratic Republic of Congo mines two-thirds of the global supply and Chinese companies control a big share of that country’s mining.
    • China dominates the processing of ore/minerals: Globally, over 60 per cent of lithium processing, over 70 per cent of cobalt processing, 80 per cent of graphite processing and about 40 per cent of nickel processing takes place in China.
    • China’s heavy production of cell components: Other than Japan and south korea, China produces two-thirds of global anodes and three-fourths of cathodes.
    • Same case with the battery cells: China has a 70 per cent share in the production of battery cells.

    The status of Governmental spending’s of energy transition

    • China the biggest spender on energy transition: According to a report by Bloomberg’s New Energy Fund (NEF), in 2021, out of a total global spend of $750 billion in climate-related investments (90 per cent of which went into renewable energy and electric transport), China alone spent $266 billion.
    • US stands at second: The US was a distant second with $114 billion. The major countries of Europe combined would equal the US. In Europe, about 75-80 per cent of the spending is on EVs, which is why it leads the US in this sector.
    • India holds 7th rank but needs a focused approach: India was in 7th place not a bad rank to occupy with $14 billion invested. However, almost 40 per cent of Chinese and US spending was on EVs, while more than 95 per cent of India’s spending is on renewable energy. In India, despite intent, EVs have not received sufficient investment.

    Electric vehicle

    What Strategy India can follow?

    • Accelerating the mechanism of acquiring overseas mines of critical minerals: A recently formed government venture, KABIL, which is a JV between three minerals and metals PSUs, is tasked with the job of identifying and acquiring overseas mines
    • Liberalizing the domestic exploration policies: An alternate option is to liberalize exploration policies domestically, benchmark them with global best practices and invite global investors to find and mine in India.
    • Stitching up the supply alliances: It is important to stitch up supply alliances with countries ex-China, as has been done with Australia. At higher ends of the value chain, from battery cells onwards, there is a need to invest much more in R&D.
    • Making vibrant start up ecosystem and public private partnership: A public-private partnership is vital. The vibrant startup ecosystem must be leveraged because it is more likely to be innovative than legacy firms.

    Electric vehicle

    Do you know The Khanij Bidesh India Limited (KABIL)?

    • A joint venture company namely Khanij Bidesh India Ltd. (KABIL)  set up with the participation of three Central Public Sector Enterprises namely, National aluminium Company Ltd.(NALCO), Hindustan Copper Ltd.(HCL) and Mineral Exploration Company Ltd. (MECL).
    • The objective of constituting KABIL is to ensure a consistent supply of critical and strategic minerals to Indian domestic market. While KABIL would ensure mineral security of the Nation, it would also help in realizing the overall objective of import substitution

    Conclusion

    • The dragon has showed its evil side during the pandemic. China is weaponizing the trade to counter its adversaries. Excessive reliance on China for critical mineral resources is like falling into China’s trap. India and world need to restrain China to have monopoly over Electric Vehicle market.

     

  • Balancing the Free Speech and Social Media Regulation

    Social Media

    Context

    • Recently Facebook, one of the social media giant set up the Oversight Board, an independent body, which scrutinizes its ‘content moderation’ practices.

    What are the IT rules of 2021?

    • Regulating social media intermediaries (SMIs): World over, governments are grappling with the issue of regulating social media intermediaries (SMIs).
    • Addressing the issues of SMI controlling the free speech: Given the multitudinous nature of the problem the centrality of SMIs in shaping public discourse, the impact of their governance on the right to freedom of speech and expression, the magnitude of information they host and the constant technological innovations that impact their governance it is important for governments to update their regulatory framework to face emergent challenges.
    • Placing obligations on SMI: In a bid to keep up with these issues, India in 2021, replaced its decade old regulations on SMIs with the IT Rules, 2021 that were primarily aimed at placing obligations on SMIs to ensure an open, safe and trusted internet.

    Social Media

    What are the recent amendments?

    • Draft amendments in June 2022, the stated objectives of the amendments were threefold.
    1. Protecting the constitutional rights: There was a need to ensure that the interests and constitutional rights of netizens are not being contravened by big tech platforms,
    2. Grievance redressal: To strengthen the grievance redressal framework in the Rules,
    3. To avoid the dominance: That compliance with these should not impact early-stage Indian start-ups.
    • This translated into a set of proposed amendments that can be broadly classified into two categories.
    1. Additional obligation on SMI: The first category involved placing additional obligations on the SMIs to ensure better protection of user interests.
    2. Appellate mechanism: The second category involved the institution of an appellate mechanism for grievance redressal.

    Social Media

    Why social media is said to be double-edged sword?

    • Moderation of content by platforms: Social media platforms regularly manage user content on their website. They remove, priorities or suspend user accounts that violate the terms and conditions of their platforms.
    • Excessive power in government’s hands: In today’s online environment, however, the existing government control on online speech is unsustainable. Social media now has millions of users. Platforms have democratized public participation, and shape public discourse.
    • Platforms of democratic freedom: As such, large platforms have a substantial bearing on core democratic freedoms.
    • Hate speech on internet: Further, with the increasing reach of the Internet, its potential harms have also increased. There is more illegal and harmful content online today.
    • Disinformation campaigns: On social media during COVID19 and hate speech against the Rohingya in Myanmar are recent examples.

    What could be the balanced approach between free speech and regulation?

    • Government orders must be respected: Government orders to remove content must not only be necessary and proportionate, but must also comply with due process.
    • Example of DSA: The recent European Union (EU) Digital Services Act (DSA) is a good reference point. The DSA regulates intermediary liability in the EU. It requires government takedown orders to be proportionate and reasoned.
    • Platforms can challenge the governments order: The DSA also gives intermediaries an opportunity to challenge the government’s decision to block content and defend themselves. These processes will strongly secure free speech of online users. Most importantly, an intermediary law must devolve crucial social media content moderation decisions at the platform level.
    • An idea of co-regulation: Platforms must have the responsibility to regulate content under broad government guidelines. Instituting such a coregulatory framework will serve three functions.
    1. Platforms will retain reasonable autonomy over their terms of service: Coregulation will give them the flexibility to define the evolving standards of harmful content, thereby obviating the need for strict government mandates. This will promote free speech online because government oversight incentivizes platforms to engage in private censorship. Private censorship creates a chilling effect on user speech. In turn, it also scuttles online innovation, which is the backbone of the digital economy.
    2. Coregulation aligns government and platform interests: Online platforms themselves seek to promote platform speech and security so that their users have a free and safe experience. For instance, during the pandemic, platforms took varied measures to tackle disinformation. Incentivizing platforms to act as Good Samaritans will build healthy online environments.
    3. Outsourcing the content regulation: instituting coregulatory mechanisms allows the state to outsource content regulation to platforms, which are better equipped to tackle modern content moderation challenges.
    • Platforms must follow the due process of law: Platforms as content moderators have substantial control over the free speech rights of users. Whenever platforms remove content, or redress user grievance, their decisions must follow due process and be proportionate. They must adopt processes such as notice, hearing and reasoned orders while addressing user grievances.
    • Transparency in algorithm: Platform accountability can be increased through algorithmic transparency.

    Conclusion

    • The GACs must be re-looked because they concentrate censorship powers in the hands of government. A Digital India Act is expected to be the successor law to the IT Act. This is a perfect opportunity for the government to adopt a coregulatory model of speech regulation of online speech.

    Mains Question

    Q. Social media is a double-edged sword in the realm of free speech. Substantiate. Explain in detail the Idea of coregulation of social media.

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  • An Indian Pioneer of ORT

    ORT

    Context

    • In the demise of Dilip Mahalabnis on October 16 we lost a pioneering public health physician the ORS pioneer who helped save millions of lives. In 1978, a Lancet editorial termed ORS the most important medical advance in this century.

    Background

    • ORT was first introduced worldwide in the 1970s to treat millions of children suffering from severe dehydration in crisis-stricken and impoverished areas. At the time, the world’s leading general medical journal The Lancet called ORT “potentially the most important medical advance since penicillin.”
    • A Lancet editorial in 1978 termed it “potentially the most important medical advance this century”.

    Interesting story of Dilip Mahalabnis and invention of ORT

    • Mahalanabis was trained as a paediatrician and joined the Cholera Research Programme of the Johns Hopkins University Center for Medical Research and Training (JHCMRT) in Calcutta in 1966.
    • His team was treating cases of the cholera epidemic in a camp in Bangaon, West Bengal that housed 3,50,000 refugees but ran out of intravenous fluids. He thought that it would be opportune to use ORS. As no ORS packets were available, they mixed salt and sugar solution (ORS) in drums and administered it to the cholera patients in the camps.
    • The library of the JHCMRT was converted into a factory. This was not a mandated mode of treatment and at great personal risk, Mahalanabis chose to respond to the humanitarian crisis in this manner.
    • It was evident in two to three weeks’ time that not only was the therapy working but that it was possible to administer ORT through volunteers (in the absence of a sufficient number of trained workers).
    • It was subsequently analyzed that ORS reduced mortality due to cholera or acute diarrhoeal diseases in these camps from 40 per cent to 5 per cent. They coined the term “oral saline” and rest is the story.

    ORT

    What is Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT)?

    • A fluid to correct dehydration: Oral Rehydration Therapy (ORT) entails drinking water with modest amounts of sugar and salts, specifically sodium and potassium to correct dehydration due to fluid losses from diarrhoea.
    • ORT ingredients: ORT combines three ingredients such as salts, sugars and water to quickly reverse the signs of dehydration. Through the process of osmosis, the salts and sugars pull water into your bloodstream and speed up rehydration.
    • Essential electrolytes which replenish Blood: ORT also replenishes your blood with essential electrolytes (minerals) that are lost due to intense exercise, exposure to extreme weather conditions, or diarrhea and other illnesses. Water doesn’t contain electrolytes and so, ironically, water alone cannot cure dehydration like ORT.
    • An effective electrolyte: Administration of fluids through the intravenous route used to be the mainstay of management of cholera till the results of a study demonstrated that an oral solution of glucose and electrolytes was effective for replacing water and electrolyte losses.
    • Quick and efficient: The translation of the basic science concept to quick and efficient practice was, however, not easy. And that is the fascinating story and sterling contribution of Mahalanabis and his co-workers on ORT.

    What is Dehydration?

    • Dehydration occurs when you use or lose more fluid than you take in, and your body doesn’t have enough water and other fluids to carry out its normal functions. If you don’t replace lost fluids, you will get dehydrated.

    ORT

    What is Disease Cholera?

    • Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae that can kill within hours if left untreated.
    • Most of those infected will have no or mild symptoms and can be successfully treated with oral rehydration solution. Cholera affects both children and adults.
    • Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical to prevent and control the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
    • Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development.

    Recent outbreak of cholera In India

    • Cholera is said to be endemic in India. However, the reported cases in India tend to be much lesser than the actual numbers, say doctors and experts.
    • The number of cases is rising in India because we still lack the basic sanitation, hygiene and access to clean water in many communities,
    • The country reports nearly 20,000 to 30,000 cases of cholera every year, usually during the monsoon season of July to September.
    • Climate change adds up another layer to the cholera outbreak.

    Contribution of ORT to the world.

    • As a perfect alternative over the prevailing doctrine: ORT was in marked contrast to the then prevailing doctrine of patients being given only sips of water without food, euphemistically called “resting the stomach”, often worsening the underlying malnutrition.
    • For Diarrhoea: An estimated 54 million diarrhoeal deaths were averted by ORT alone between 1978 and 2008, such was the magnitude of its beneficial impacts. ORT for the management of severe diarrhea was developed in the latter half 1960s. WHO launched a worldwide campaign in 1978 to reduce mortality related to diarrhea, with ORT as one of the key elements.
    • For cholera: Administration of fluids through the intravenous route used to be the mainstay of management of cholera till the results of a study demonstrated that an oral solution of glucose and electrolytes was effective for replacing water and electrolyte losses
    • Cholera pandemic: This period coincided with the seventh cholera pandemic (El Tor biotype) that started in Indonesia in 1961 and spread to East Pakistan (Bangladesh) by 1963 and to India in 1964. Though experiments with ORS were underway, the WHO responded in 1970 by distributing large amounts of intravenous fluids – a move marked by high transportation costs and limited utilization on account of a shortage of a trained health workforce. The focus of the Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO), through the Cholera Research Laboratory in Dhaka, was to find a vaccine to protect the US troops from cholera attacks in Southeast Asia.
    • One solution for everyone: Athletes; people with illnesses, especially babies and toddlers; seniors; military personnel stationed in extreme climates; air travelers who lose electrolytes every time they fly: They all stand to dramatically improve their health and well-being with ORT.

    ORT

    Conclusion

    • Dilip Mahalanabis pioneered a simple and effective solution for diarrhoea that saves millions of lives which can be considered as one of the greatest contributions of Indian in medical sciences. To carry the carry legacy forward young scientists should step in.

    Mains Question

    Q. What do you Understand by Oral Rehydration Therapy? How it could be effective in tackling the yearly outbreaks of Cholera in India and the world. Discuss.

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  • Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022

    The Lok Sabha deferred the consideration and passing of the Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022 as the Opposition benches were empty due to the ongoing protests outside of Parliament.

    Indian Antarctic Bill, 2022

    Aims and objectives:

    • To provide for national measures to protect the Antarctic environment and associated ecosystems and to give effect to the Antarctic Treaty
    • To provide a harmonious policy framework for India’s Antarctic activities through a well-established legal mechanism
    • Facilitate activities of the Indian Antarctic programme, including management of Antarctic tourism and sustainable development of fisheries
    • To prohibit carrying of certain activities without a permit or the written authorisation of another party to the protocol
    • To provide for inspection in India by an officer designated by the Central government as an Inspector and to constitute an inspection team to carry out inspections in Antarctica
    • To prohibit drilling, dredging, excavation or collection of mineral resources or even doing anything to identify where such mineral deposits occur.

    Key feature: Committee on Antarctic governance

    • It will empower the government to establish a committee on Antarctic governance and environmental protection to monitor, implement and ensure compliance with the relevant international laws, emissions standards and rules of protection.
    • The panel is to be headed by the secretary of the Ministry of Earth Sciences, as ex officio chairperson.
    • Among other roles, he/she has also been the vice-president of the Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research of the International Science Council since 2018.
    • The committee will have ten members from various ministries, departments and organizations of the Union government, plus two experts on the Antarctic environment or other relevant areas.

    Prohibited activities

    The Bill prohibits certain activities in Antarctica including:

    • Nuclear explosion or disposal of radioactive wastes,
    • Introduction of non-sterile soil, and
    • Discharge of garbage, plastic or other substance into the sea which is harmful to the marine environment

    About Antarctica Treaty

    • Antarctica has a geographical area of 14 million sq. km and has had no indigenous population (i.e. “Antarcticans” don’t exist).
    • However, a few thousand people reside there, in some 40 research stations spread across the continent, throughout the year.
    • In 1959, 12 countries – Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Chile, France, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, South Africa, the USSR, the UK and the US signed the Antarctic Treaty.
    • Their aim was to prevent the continent from being militarised and to establish it as a center of peaceful activities.
    • Later, more countries, including India, have become party to the treaty, and today it counts more than 54 members.

    Significance of the treaty

    • The treaty requires each party to take appropriate measures within its competence, including the adoption of laws and regulations, administrative actions, and enforcement measures, to ensure compliance with the protocol.
    • Countries also signed the ‘Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty in 1991, which designates Antarctica as a “natural reserve, devoted to peace and science”.

    Need for the Antarctic Legislation

    • The growing presence of Indian scientists in Antarctica and the commitment to Antarctic research and protection prompted the government to adopt domestic legislation consistent with its obligations as a member of the Antarctic Treaty system.
    • These laws will enable India’s courts to deal with disputes or crimes committed in parts of Antarctica, and help build credibility vis-à-vis India’s participation.

     

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  • EU’s Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) Law

    The Markets in Crypto-Assets (MiCA) law of European Parliament is the first comprehensive regulation for cryptos, and some expect it to become a trendsetter for crypto regulation globally.

    What is MiCA Legislation?

    • The MiCA law seeks to address concerns like money-laundering, protection of consumers and investors, accountability of crypto firms, stablecoins and the environmental footprint of crypto mining.
    • It would regulate the “wild west” of crypto assets and provide legal certainty for those issuing crypto assets, while ensuring high standards for investors and consumers.
    • It also excludes non-fungible tokens, but the EU may make a horizontal legislation for NFTs in 18 months, after a separate assessment.

    How will MiCA regulate stablecoins?

    • The efficacy of stablecoins, which claim to be less volatile that other cryptos, came into question after the crash of some crypto-currencies.
    • The MiCA would mandate that stablecoin issuers maintain minimum liquidity to provide for sudden large withdrawals by users, and the reserves must also be protected from insolvency.
    • The European Banking Authority (EBA) has been brought in to supervise stablecoins, and the law asks stablecoin issuers to provide claims to investors free of charge.
    • In addition, large coins which are used as a means of payment will be capped at €200 million worth of transactions per day.

    How will the new law regulate money laundering?

    • MiCA requires the EBA to maintain a public register of non-compliant crypto asset service providers (CASPs).
    • Additional checks will be required, in line with the EU Anti-Money-Laundering (AML) framework.

    How does it address green concerns?

    • Under MiCA, crypto companies will be required to declare their environmental and climate footprint.
    • The European Securities and Markets Authority will develop regulatory technical standards on methodologies, content and presentation of such information.
    • The EC will also have to provide a report on the impact of crypto assets on environment.
    • It would introduce mandatory minimum sustainability standards for mining mechanisms, especially the proof-of-work system which raises overall computing power.

    Will it affect Indian regulations?

    • India’s crypto regulations seem to have taken a back seat at the moment.
    • Industry executives and experts say the government and industry are more concerned about taxation.
    • India levied a 30% tax on income from transfer of cryptos from April, and added a 1% tax deduction at source from 1 July.
    • This, along with the overall bear market, has depressed trading volumes, and revenues of crypto exchanges.
    • Indian regulators are also expected to consider rules being developed in the US before taking concrete decisions.

    Back2Basics: Stablecoins

    • Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies where the price is designed to be pegged to a cryptocurrency, fiat money, or to exchange-traded commodities (such as precious metals or industrial metals).
    • Advantages of asset-backed cryptocurrencies are that coins are stabilized by assets that fluctuate outside of the cryptocurrency space, that is, the underlying asset is not correlated, reducing financial risk.
    • Bitcoin and altcoins are highly correlated, so that cryptocurrency holders cannot escape widespread price falls without exiting the market or taking refuge in asset backed stablecoins.
    • Furthermore, such coins, assuming they are managed in good faith, and have a mechanism for redeeming the asset(s) backing them, are unlikely to drop below the value of the underlying physical asset, due to arbitrage.

     

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  • Norms eased for GM Crop Research

    The Department of Biotechnology (DBT) has issued guidelines easing norms for research into genetically modified (GM) crops and circumventing challenges of using foreign genes to change crops profile.

    Guidelines for Safety Assessment of Genome Edited Plants, 2022: Key Highlights

    • It exempt researchers who use gene-editing technology to modify the genome of the plant from seeking approvals from the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC).
    • The environment ministry in March 2022 exempted SDN 1 and SDN 2 genomes from Rules 7-11 of the Environment Protection Act.
    • Conventional breeding technique takes 8- 10 years for development of new crop varieties; genome-editing can do this faster.
    • The Environment Ministry too has sanctioned this exemption.

    What are the SDNs?

    The genome edited plants derived from the use of genome editing techniques employing site- directed nucleases (SDNs) such ZFNs, TALENs, CRISPR and other nucleases with similar functions are generally classified under three categories as

    1. Site-Directed Nuclease (SDN)-1, a site-directed mutagenesis without using a DNA sequence template;
    2. SDN-2, a site-directed mutagenesis using a DNA sequence template; and
    3. SDN-3, site-directed insertion of gene/large DNA sequence using a DNA sequence template.

    What are GM crops?

    • The GM plants involve transgenic technology or introducing a gene from a different species into a plant, for instance BT-cotton, where a gene from soil bacterium is used to protect a plant from pest attack.
    • The worry around this method is that these genes may spread to neighboring plants, where such effects are not intended and so their applications have been controversial.
    • Genome editing involves the use of technologies that allow genetic material to be added, removed, or altered at particular locations in the genome. Several approaches to genome editing have been developed.
    • A well-known one is called CRISPR-Cas9, which is short for clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats and CRISPR-associated protein 9.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee is constituted under the:

    (a) Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006

    (b) Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999

    (c) Environment (Protection) Act, 1986

    (d) Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”af42wsrckz” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here.[/wpdiscuz-feedback]

    About Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC)

    • The Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) is a statutory body conotified under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.
    • It was formed as the Genetic Engineering Approval Committee and was renamed to its current name in 2010.
    • It functions under the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change.
    • The body regulates the use, manufacture, storage, import and export of hazardous microorganisms or genetically-engineered organisms and cells in India.

     

     

  • Beyond the hype of blockchain, a look at its reality

    Context

    Blockchain is a fascinating data structure that generates great curiosity. However, there is a lot of hype around the concept and its adoption in diverse fields seems to be faith-based, driven by unsubstantiated vendor and consultant claims.

    Two main functional properties of blockchain

    • A blockchain is a sequential append-only public bulletin board of transaction records with two main functional properties. 
    • 1] Verification by peers: What can get added is reconciled by multiple participating  peers following a pre-decided consensus protocol.
    • This process cannot be gamed under the assumption that a majority of the unrestricted number of peers are honest.
    • 2] Immutable record: recryptographically ensured that it  cannot be altered.
    • Each participating peer normally has their own copy of the entire bulletin board, with identical content, and they can read and further copy at will.

    Applications and their limits

    • Private blockchain: A “permissioned” or private blockchain has only pre-identified participating peers.
    • Hence, collusion is possible and integrity can only be ensured through regulations.
    • Without political decentralisation, consensus does not imply safety, and this is no different from centralisation in its threat model.
    • Privacy concern is not addressed: Despite many claims to the contrary, the blockchain structure has nothing to do with the highly-nuanced notion of privacy, or even the limited secrecy aspect of it.
    • To ensure secrecy of the bulletin board records, one has to fall back on traditional and well-established notions from cryptography — like encryption, key management and zero-knowledge proofs.
    • “Consensus” is inapplicable when there is only one authority responsible for the integrity of the transactions, for example, the Election Commission of India when a vote is cast in the privacy of a polling booth or a person is added or removed from a voters’ list.
    • Issues with use for voting purpose: Also, voting is not the only example of the inadequate analysis of the applicability of blockchain, and there are proposals for using them for land records, asset registers, etc.
    • Most such proposals do not pass muster for reasons similar to voting.
    • The role of blockchain in RBI’s digital currency proposal is similarly doubtful, and convincing methods independent of “consensus” need to be developed to ensure the correctness and verifiability of transactions while protecting user privacy.

    Issues with application for cyrptocurrencies

    • Macroeconomic implications not clear: Currency properties and monetary policies have evolved over thousands of years of bartering, and it is not clear that cryptocurrencies are consistent with them or that the larger macroeconomic implications of cryptocurrencies are well understood.
    • Crypto assets derive their values from their potential to be exchanged for other currencies.
    • Uncertain price determination: Since only a limited set of commodities are traded with crypto assets,  their price determinations with respect to sovereign fiat currencies are uncertain.
    • Potential to increase inequality: Apart from the crucial price stabilisation issues, their potential to further inequality is also considerable.
    • Environmental impact: The total carbon footprint of cryptocurrencies is equivalent to that of a few megacities, and it does seem ungainly, energy-inefficient and unsustainable to mine assets this way.

    Way forward

    • What may help in many of these applications is just the immutable public bulletin board part of a blockchain, with or without encryption and zero-knowledge proofs.
    • This may be simply achieved by the concerned authority periodically publishing the bulletin board in a publicly downloadable forum, and using hash chains verifiable by all to make alterations impossible.
    • Given the carbon footprint associated with cryptocurrencies, it requires regulation and taxation, especially for the potential environmental impacts and because only a few participate.

    Consider the question “What is blockchain technology? What are its potential applications and concerns with these applications?” 

    Conclusion

    Blockchain is certainly an elegant concept whose properties and potential require careful research. The hype of treating them as solutions for everything with not-so-thoughtful use cases is perhaps techno-determinism at its worst.

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  • What are Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs)?

    A French luxury fashion brand is suing American digital artist who created a series of NFTs (Non-Fungible Tokens), a rapidly growing part of the cryptoworld.

    Non-Fungible Tokens

    • An NFT is a unique, irreplaceable token that can be used to prove ownership of digital assets such as music, artwork, even tweets and memes.
    • The term ‘non-fungible’ simply means that each token is different as opposed to a fungible currency such as money (a ten-rupee note can be exchanged for another and so on).
    • Cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin and Ethereum are also fungible, which means that one Bitcoin can be exchanged for another.
    • But an NFT cannot be exchanged for another NFT because the two are different and therefore unique.
    • Each token has a different value, depending on which asset it represents.

    How does NFT transaction take place?

    • NFT transactions are recorded on blockchains, which is a digital public ledger, with most NFTs being a part of the Ethereum blockchain.
    • NFTs became popular in 2021, when they were beginning to be seen by artists as a convenient way to monetize their work.

    Why are they in high demand?

    • One of the other attractions is that NFTs are a part of a new kind of financial system called decentralized finance (DeFi), which does away with the involvement of institutions such as banks.
    • For this reason, decentralized finance is seen as a more democratic financial system because it makes access to capital easier for lay people by essentially eliminating the role of banks and other associated institutions.
    • Even so, because NFTs operate in a decentralized system, any person can sell a digital asset as one.
    • This can sometimes create problems. For instance, if you were to sell someone else’s artwork as an NFT, you could essentially be infringing on a copyright.

     

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