Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Soil degradation: Reasons and impact
Mains level: Paper 3- Land degradation and using land reforms to deal with it
Land ceiling laws, enacted to deal with the problems of a bygone era, remains unchanged even in most of the States. This has given rise to different problems. The article suggests the relaxation of the ceiling acts to deal with the problem of land degradation and water depletion.
Background of the ceiling laws
- India implemented land ceiling laws to deal with the ‘zamindars’ and impose landowning limits based on total production value of land—irrigated, grove, orchard, dry, etc.
- Landholdings were scrutinised at individual and family level, and large farms were discouraged.
- For most states, the ceiling ratio of dry-to-irrigated land is 3:1.
Issues with the ceiling laws
- In 2020, State land laws remain unchanged, trapping farm families in a negative ownership trap.
- As with each generation, the average landholding of individuals reduces.
- Dropping farm incomes, higher inputs costs, low sale price, soil degradation and water depletion erode production and farm value.
- A progressive farmer hits production saturation due to limited land.
- Contract farming has been no consolation either.
- The result is that the Indian farm size is very small, 86% under two hectares, and is decreasing as the average size of operational holding has declined to 1.08 hectares in 2015-16 versus 1.15 in 2010-11 (Agricultural Census 2015-16).
- The government is reticent on the Economic Survey’s recommendations to increase land ceiling limits.
- Recently, Karnataka rescinded land limit reforms.
How to deal with soil degradation and water depletion
- 30% of India’s land is degraded, bad agri-practices threaten soil health, and water-guzzling crops like paddy, sugarcane, etc, have resulted in a water crisis in many places.
- States must study soil conservation program of the US, which paid farmers subsidies for soil conservation or allowing land to be fallow.
- States should incentivise farmers for agro-ecological plantations and agro-forestry by relaxing land ceiling limits for them.
- State Acts may include organic plantations under exempt categories similar to tea/rubber plantations.
- Native biodiversity based mixed orchards, from mahua to moringa, can be encouraged and exempted by state governments.
- Policy change will have benefits—soil and water rejuvenation, increase in farmers’ incomes and new products for the free market.
- The return of organic matter and biodiversity will sustain farmland productivity.
- Plus APEDA predicts a $50 billion organic export 2030, but the cherry would be additional carbon credits.
- If 10% of arable land converts to organic grove land, India will mitigate climate change and pollution.
- Each hectare with 0.01% humus can store 80,000 litres of water. We need a central policy to bolster this drive.
- Farmers may take over waste or degraded land, beyond land ceiling limits, and restore land as a carbon sink and produce more nutrition per acre.
- As farmers will care for these lands, the government’s financial burden to restore wastelands will lessen.
Consider the question “Land degradation threatens India’s future if not dealt with in time. In light of this, examine the reasons for soil degradation and suggest the ways to deal with it”
Conclusion
As a nation, we have a choice to steer the bigger farms towards agro-ecology or allow industrial farms to take over rural India. The government needs to bring out a fourth Ordinance to free the land for healing the Earth.
Source:-
https://www.financialexpress.com/opinion/reform-land-ceiling-laws-incentivise-farmers-for-agro-ecological-plantations-and-agro-forestry/2113635/
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: MSP
Mains level: Paper 3- Delay in agri-reforms and politics
Reforms in agriculture have been overdue. But the passage of farm bills by the Parliament has evoked opposition from several stakeholders. However, the passage of bills by the Punjab Assembly is the first from any State Assembly. The article explains how politics dominates agriculture reforms and its implications for economic growth.
States trying the negate the farm bill passed by Parliament
- By passing its farm bills, Punjab has become the first state to legislate to negate impact of legislation enacted by Parliament last month.
- Other states like Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh, could follow suit soon.
- Notwithstanding whether President Ram Nath Kovind gives his assent to the state bills that undermine the central ones, the important issue is to determine how much of this conflict is about economics aimed at helping farmers and how much sheer politics.
Issues with Punjab’s farm bills
- Punjab’s farm bills prohibit private players from buying wheat and paddy below the MSP even outside the APMC markets.
- It doesn’t apply to other crops, say maize, cotton, pulses and oilseeds that are under the ambit of the central MSP system.
- The point is that this pertains only to wheat and paddy.
- The bill could even have been extended to milk and vegetables by declaring local MSPs for them, but it didn’t do that.
- Because the state government knows full well that it will create a fiasco in agri-markets, which might boomerang on it politically.
- Law for wheat and paddy will not help farmers as the Centre already buys more than 95 per cent of Punjab’s wheat and paddy at MSP through the Food Corporation of India (FCI) and state procurement agencies.
Economic roots of politics over MSP: Lessons from the past
- Demand that MSP be made a legal instrument (rather than indicative) actually exhibit deep distrust of the private sector and markets.
- In1972 government announced that the wholesale trade in wheat and rice (paddy) will be taken over by the government as traders were being unscrupulous in not giving farmers their due MSP and manipulating prices.
- The first marketing season of the government takeover of wholesale wheat trade, in 1973-74, saw a major fiasco.
- Market arrivals dropped, and wheat prices shot up by more than 50 per cent. It was a bitter lesson.
Long overdue reforms in agriculture
- Economic reforms in 1991 took some time to yield results, but, by the 2000s, India was taking 7 per cent.
- But even the 1991 economic reforms bypassed agriculture marketing reforms.
- It was only in 2003, a model act on agri-marketing was circulated to the states.
- But that model act did not go far enough.
- From 2004 to 2014 government did not pursue any major agri-marketing reforms.
- In food government enacted the National Food Security Act in 2013, giving 5 kg wheat or rice to 67 per cent of the population at Rs 2/kg and Rs 3/kg.
- A high-level committee (HLC) under Shanta Kumar was formed in 2014 to restructure the grain management system.
- The committee suggested major changes, including cash transfers in the public distribution system, and overhauling the FCI’s operations and free markets to make the system more efficient.
- But the government could not undertake bold reforms, except some marginal tinkering of labour rules in the FCI.
Conclusion
The COVID-19 crisis opened a window of opportunity to reform the agri-marketing system. The government grabbed it — this is somewhat akin to the crisis of 1991 leading to de-licensing of industry. Patience and professionalism will bring rich rewards in due course, not noisy politics.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- US Presidential election and Implications for India
Though it is the election held in the US for the election of the US President, it is closely followed throughout the world given the dominant position of that country in the world and impact of the US Presidents decision on the world. This article analyses the implications for India in both the scenarios re-election of Trump or Joe Biden winning the election.
Implications for India
- Broader foreign policy decisions will have significant implications for India.
- Particularly consequential will be how a second Trump administration or a Biden administration perceive and approach China and, relatedly, the question of America’s role in the world.
- The outcome will depend on the choices that the next American president makes on key personnel and policies.
Analysing Trump administration’s approach to China from India’s perspective
- The Trump administration’s more hawkish view of China broadly converges with Indian concerns about a rising China’s actions and intentions.
- And it has facilitated the Trump administration to assign India an important role in its strategic framework, including through the Free and Open Indo-Pacific concept.
- This has laid the basis for defence and security cooperation, helped to manage differences with Delhi on trade, Russia, Iran, and human rights, and vocal American support for India in the ongoing crisis with China.
- Unlike India’s subtler approach to highlighting Beijing’s malign behaviour, the administration’s more explicit one has put a global spotlight on Chinese assertiveness.
- However, there are aspects of President Trump’s China approach that have caused concerns in Delhi.
- There has been concern about Trump striking a deal with Chinese leader Xi Jinping since summit in April 2017.
- The administration subsequently pivoted to competition with China that summer.
- Concerns have also been raised due to neglect in the Trump administration of developments related to Hong Kong, Xinjiang and Huawei/ZTE.
- The other aspects of Trump’s China approach that have given Delhi pause are its ideological dimensions, as well as responses like tariffs that have hurt India too.
- On the similar lines American withdrawal from international institutions and agreements that has served to benefit Beijing.
- The China prism has had its limits — it has not, for instance, resulted in concessions to India on trade and immigration.
What would be Joe Biden’s to approach towards China and implications for India
- And there is recognition among most Democrats that the US-China relationship today is different from what it was in 2009, 2012 or 2016.
- An Obama administration China hand noted that opinion in the US on approach to China has “moved from balancing co-operation and competition, to competition and confrontation”.
- But what a Biden administration sees as the terms of strategic competition with China and how it might choose to blend in cooperation will have implications for India.
- Its outcome will depend in part on the president’s views, who holds key foreign and economic policy positions, as well as Beijing’s approach.
- India will closely watch how Biden might respond to any overtures from Beijing.
- It will particularly worry about any signs that Washington would be willing to limit competition or criticism in return for Chinese cooperation on certain administration priorities.
- More broadly, it will look at whether Biden administration’s Asia policy derives from its China policy or vice versa.
- Other aspects of Biden’s preferred approach might suit India, for instance:
- 1) acting collectively with allies and partners rather than unilaterally,
- 2) Not imposing tariffs that hit allies and partners along with China,
- 3) Recommitting to international organisations in ways that could blunt Chinese influence.
- India might also broadly approve of — and could benefit from — the 3Ds of a Biden foreign policy: Domestic (renewal), deterrence, and democracy.
- If a Biden administration sees engagement with China on climate change, global health security and non-proliferation as a priority that will complicate the Indian government’s options and require adjustments.
- Moreover, with either Trump or Biden, foreign economic policy choices and budgetary ones for example, spending at home versus abroad will have crucial implications for India.
Conclusion
India will need to consider what America’s choice on November 3 will mean for American power and purpose — because assessments of that could determine how Beijing decides to act in the region and globally.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Kisan Suryodaya Yojana
Mains level: Not Much
PM has launched the ‘Kisan Suryodaya Yojana’ aimed at providing day-time electricity to farmers in the State of Gujarat for irrigation and farming purposes.
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
Kisan Suryodaya Yojana
- Under the scheme, farmers will be able to avail power supply from 5am to 9pm for irrigation purposes.
- Around 234 transmission lines are to be installed under the scheme. Each line is to carry the power of 66 KW. They are to be erected to a total length of 3,490 km.
- Dahod, Patan, Mahisagar, Panchmahal, Chhota Udepur, Kheda, Tapi, Valsad, Anand and Gir-Somnath have been included under the Scheme for 2020-21.
- The remaining districts will be covered in a phase-wise manner by 2022-23.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Superconductivity
Mains level: Not Much
A study has shown that a new material superconducts at 15 degrees Celsius but at extremely high pressure.
In India, we often get to hear about the transmission losses in DISCOMS. Such losses can be zeroed with the application of superconducting cables (which is practically impossible unless we find a normal working one). The phenomena, superconductivity, however, is not new to us, UPSC may end up asking some tricky statements in the prelims regarding it.
What is Superconductivity?
- A superconductor is a material, such as a pure metal like aluminium or lead, that when cooled to ultra-low temperatures allows electricity to move through it with absolutely zero resistance.
- Kamerlingh Onnes was the first scientist who figured out exactly how superconductor works in 1911.
- Simply put, superconductivity occurs when two electrons bind together at low temperatures.
- They form the building block of superconductors, the Cooper pair.
- This holds true even for a potential superconductor like lead when it is above a certain temperature.
What is the new material?
- A new material composed of carbon, hydrogen and sulphur superconducts at 15 degrees Celsius.
- However, it needs ultrahigh pressure of about 2 million atmospheres to achieve this transition, putting off any thoughts of application to the future.
- The pressure they needed was 267 Gigapascals (GPa), or 2.6 million atmospheres.
- The pressure at the centre of the Earth is 360 GPa, so it is 75% of the pressure at the centre of the Earth.
What are Superconductors?
- Superconductors are materials that address this problem by allowing energy to flow efficiently through them without generating unwanted heat.
- They have great potential and many cost-effective applications.
- They operate magnetically levitated trains, generate magnetic fields for MRI machines and recently have been used to build quantum computers, though a fully operating one does not yet exist.
Issues with superconductors
- They have an essential problem when it comes to other practical applications: They operate at ultra-low temperatures.
- There are no room-temperature superconductors. That “room-temperature” part is what scientists have been working on for more than a century.
- The amount of energy needed to cool a material down to its superconducting state is too expensive for daily applications.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: IVC
Mains level: Dairy production in IVC
A new study has shown that dairy products were being produced by the Harappans as far back as 2500 BCE.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which one of the following is not a Harappan site?
(a) Chanhudaro
(b) Kot Diji
(c) Sohgaura
(d) Desalpur
Dairy production in IVC
- By analysing residues on ancient pots, researchers show the earliest direct evidence of dairy product processing, thus throwing fresh light on the rural economy of the civilization.
- The studies were carried out on 59 shards of pottery from Kotada Bhadli, a small archaeological site in present-day Gujarat.
How did they find it?
- The team used molecular analysis techniques to study the residues from ancient pottery.
- Pots are porous. The pot preserves the molecules of food such as fats and proteins. Using techniques like C16 and C18 analysis we can identify the source of lipids.
- Traces were seen in cooking vessels indicating that milk may have been boiled and consumed.
Significant outcome of the study
- The study has found residues in a bowl showing that either heated milk or curd could have been served.
- There are also remains of a perforated vessel, and similar vessels were used in Europe to make cheese.
- The Harappans did not just use dairy for their household.
- The large herd indicates that milk was produced in surplus so that it could be exchanged and there could have been some kind of trade between settlements.
- This could have given rise to an industrial level of dairy exploitation.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Yellow dust
Mains level: Air pollution
North Korean authorities have urged citizens to remain indoors to avoid contact with a mysterious cloud of ‘yellow dust’ blowing in from China, which they have warned could bring Covid-19 with it.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following
- Birds
- Dustblowing
- Rain
- Windblowing
Which of the above spread plant diseases?
(a) 1 and 3 only
(b) 3 and 4 only
(c) 1, 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4
What is yellow dust?
- Yellow dust is actually sand from deserts in China and Mongolia that high-speed surface winds carry into both North and South Korea during specific periods every year.
- The sand particles tend to mix with other toxic substances such as industrial pollutants, as a result of which the ‘yellow dust’ is known to cause a number of respiratory ailments.
- Usually, when the dust reaches unhealthy levels in the atmosphere, authorities urge people to remain indoors and limit physical activity, particularly heavy exercise and sport.
- Sometimes, when the concentration of yellow dust in the atmosphere crosses around 800 micrograms/cubic meter, schools are shut and outdoor events cancelled in the affected areas.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Himalayan Brown Bear
Mains level: Not Much
A recent study has predicted massive habitat decline for the Himalayan brown bear (Ursus arctos isabellinus) by 2050 due to climate change.
Try this PYQ:
Q. The Himalayan Range is very rich in species diversity. Which one among the following is the most appropriate reason for this phenomenon?
(a) It has a high rainfall that supports luxuriant vegetative growth.
(b) It is a confluence of different bio-geographical zones.
(c) Exotic and invasive species have not been invasive species have not been introduced in this region.
(d) It has less human interference.
Himalayan Brown Bear
- The Himalayan brown bear is one of the largest carnivores in the highlands of Himalayas.
- It occupies the higher reaches of the Himalayas in remote, mountainous areas of Pakistan and India, in small and isolated populations, and is extremely rare in many of its ranges.
- While the brown bear as a species is classified as Least Concern by the IUCN, this subspecies is highly endangered and populations are dwindling.
- It is ‘Endangered’ in the Himalayas and Critically Endangered in the Hindu Kush.
What did the study say?
- The study carried out in the western Himalayas by scientists of Zoological Survey of India, predicted a massive decline of about 73% of the bear’s habitat by the year 2050.
- These losses in habitat will also result in loss of habitat from 13 protected areas (PAs), and eight of them will become completely uninhabitable by the year 2050, followed by loss of connectivity in the majority of PAs.
- The study highlights for the need to adopt preemptive spatial planning of PAs in the Himalayan region for the long-term viability of the species.
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