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  • Government Budgets

    Budget falls short on green ambitions

    | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Government Budgeting

    Context

    One can analyse the budget from three standpoints: Direct allocations for the environment sector, allocations for environment in non-environment sectors, and allocations for other sectors with environmental impacts.

    Analysing the Budget from an environmental standpoint

    1] Allocation for MoEFCC

    • There is a slight increase in the budget of the Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) from 2021-22’s revised estimate of Rs 2,870 crore to Rs 3,030 crore.
    • This is a meagre 0.08 per cent of the total budgetary outlay.
    • While some sectors like forestry and wildlife have seen a healthy rise in allocation, the outlay for others like the National River Conservation Plan has declined.

    2] Focus on natural and organic farming

    • There is a welcome stated focus on natural and organic farming, and on promoting millets.
    • No details on allocation: There are no details on the allocations, including for linkages necessary to make such farming viable, such as manure and markets.
    • Also, given the major push for food processing in the budget, without making reservations for community-run businesses, there is a danger of big corporations capturing the organic space.
    • Missing focus on rainfed farming: Completely missing is a focus on rainfed farming that involves 60 per cent of the farming population and is ecologically more sustainable than artificially irrigated agriculture.
    • The FM announced the government’s support to “chemical-free farming throughout the country,” but she has also allocated a massive chemical fertiliser subsidy of Rs 1,05,222 crore.
    • A recent announcement that palm plantations are proposed in Northeast India and the Andaman Islands, both ecologically fragile, makes this a worrying prospect.

    3] Positive provisions on the climate front

    • On the climate front, there are several positive provisions — use of biomass for power stations, boost to batteries, energy-efficiency measures in large commercial buildings, and sovereign green bonds.
    • Renewable and “clean” energy has received substantially higher allocations.
    • But the focus remains on mega-parks in solar/wind energy, nuclear power, and large hydro that have serious ecological impacts. 
    • The additional budget for farm-level solar pumps and rooftop solar generation is welcome, but it’s minuscule compared to mega-projects.
    • Missed opportunity for decentralised renewable energy: Another chance to shift towards decentralised renewable energy with less ecological impacts and greater community access has been missed.
    • The budget does promise greater support for public transport, something demanded by citizens’ groups for decades.
    • Unfortunately, most of the allocation in this will go to metros that are extremely carbon-intensive in terms of construction.
    • The National Climate Action Plan gets an abysmally inadequate Rs 30 crore — the same as in 2021-22.
    • And there is no focus on a “just transition” that could help workers in fossil fuel sectors, like coal, to transition to jobs in cleaner, greener sectors.

    4] Concerns with focus on infrastructure in Budget

    • As highlighted by the FM, this is predominantly an “infrastructure budget”.
    • While investments in infrastructure for small towns and villages are urgently needed, much of what is proposed are mega-projects.
    • The proposed 25,000 km increase in highways will further fragment forests, wetlands, mountains, grasslands, agricultural lands and bypass most villages.
    • A shift in paradigm to decentralised, sustainable, and community-oriented infrastructure is missing.
    • Several specific allocations are of further concern. For instance, the Ken-Betwa river-linking project, given over Rs 40,000 crore, will submerge valuable tiger habitat.
    • The Deep Ocean Mission and the Blue Revolution allocations are oriented towards commercial exploitation rather than conservation and sustainable use. 

    5] Missed opportunity on green jobs

    •  The budget misses out on a major shift to “green jobs”.
    • This includes support to decentralised (including handmade) production of textiles, footwear, and other products.
    • Even the MGNREGS, which could have been used for regenerating two-thirds of India’s landmass that is ecologically degraded, has got reduced allocation.

    Conclusion

    Another chance to turn the economy towards real sustainability and equity — a real “Amrit Kaal” as India heads to a centenary of Independence — has been missed.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Russia

    Russian Aggression on Ukraine and International Law

    Prelims Only | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    The Russian annexation of Russia has been condemned widely and raised several questions concerning violation of international law.

    How is Russia violating the UN Charter?

    (1) Principle of Non-Intervention

    • The Russian attack on Ukraine is violative of the non-intervention principle, and amounts to aggression under international law.
    • The principle of non-intervention in domestic affairs is the foundational principle on which existing international order is based.
    • The principle is enshrined in article 2(4) of the UN Charter requiring states to refrain from using force or threat of using force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
    • It prohibits any kind of forcible trespassing in the territory of another state, even if it is for temporary or limited operations such as an ‘in and out’ operation.

    (2) Principle of Non-Aggression

    • The UN General Assembly Resolution 3314 (1974) defines aggression as the use of armed force by a state against the sovereignty, territorial integrity or political independence of another state.
    • Additionally, allowing one’s territory to be used by another state for aggression against a third state, also qualifies as an act of aggression.
    • Accordingly, Belarus can also be held responsible for aggression as it has allowed its territory to be used by Russia for attacking Ukraine.
    • Aggression is also considered an international crime under customary international law and the Rome statute establishing the International Criminal Court.

    (3) Principle of Political Independence

    • Russia’s desire to keep Ukraine out of NATO is a prime reason for its use of force against Ukraine.
    • This is violative of Ukraine’s political independence under article 2(4) as Ukraine being a sovereign state is free to decide which organizations it wants to join.
    • Also, by resorting to use of force, Russia has violated article 2(3) which requires the states to settle their dispute by peaceful means in order to preserve international peace and security.

    (4) Principle of Self-Defence

    • In face of the use of force by Russia, Ukraine has the right to self-defence under international law.
    • The UN Charter under article 51 authorizes a state to resort to an individual or collective self-defense until the Security Council take steps to ensure international peace and security.
    • In this case, it seems implausible for the UNSC to arrive at a decision as Russia is a permanent member and has veto power.

    Russia’s hype:

    (1) Nuclear escalation

    • It has been claimed by Russia that Ukraine may acquire nuclear weapons with the help of western allies.
    • However, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the Legality of Threat of Nuclear Weapons case held that mere possession of nuclear weapons does not necessarily constitute a threat.
    • Thus, even if Ukraine has, or were to acquire nuclear weapons in the future, it does not become a ground for invoking self-defence by Russia.

    (2) Aggression against Russia

    • Further, mere membership in a defence alliance such as NATO cannot necessarily be considered as a threat of aggression against Russia.
    • Thus, here too Russia cannot invoke self-defence.

    (3) Act in self-defence

    • Russia can also not invoke anticipatory self-defence.
    • Such invocation according to the Caroline test would require that the necessity of self-defence was instant, overwhelming, leaving no choice of means, and no moment for deliberation.
    • However, this is not the case with Russia.

    What options is Ukraine left with?

    • Ukraine has a right under international law to request assistance from other states in form of military assistance, supply of weapons etc.
    • On the other hand, Russia has also claimed that it is acting in self-defence.
    • This claim is questionable, as there has been no use of force, or such threats against Russia by Ukraine.

     

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  • Cyber Security – CERTs, Policy, etc

    Cyber warfare

    Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Cyber Security

    Alongside the missiles and bombs slamming down in Ukraine, the country has also been hit by a wave of cyber-attacks targeting critical infrastructure companies.

    What is Cyberwarfare?

    • Cyberwarfare has emerged as a new form of retaliation or passive aggression deployed by nations that do not want to go to actual war but want to send a tough message to their opponents.
    • In June 2020, security experts from Cyfirma uncovered a conspiracy by Gothic Panda and Stone Panda, two China-based hacker groups, to target media and critical infra companies in India.
    • They led large-scale attacks amid the border stand-off between India and China in Ladakh.
    • For many countries, cyberwarfare is a never-ending battle as it allows them to constantly harass and weaken geopolitical rivals.

    What has happened in Ukraine so far?

    • Ukraine  has  been  one  of  the  primary targets of Russia since 2020.
    • The recent spate of attacks started in mid-January and knocked out websites of the ministry of foreign affairs and the ministry of education.
    • Government websites and a number of banks have been hit by another mass distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks.
    • DDoS attacks disrupt online services by overwhelming websites with more traffic than their server can handle.

    Which countries are behind state-backed cyberattacks?

    • Russia is one of the top perpetrators of state-backed cyberattacks.
    • According to an October 2021 report by Microsoft Corp., Russia accounted for 58% of state-backed attacks worldwide, followed by North Korea (23%), Iran (11%), and China (8%).
    • North Korea is said to have built a cyber-army of 7,000 hackers.

    Which companies are targeted and why?

    • State-backed cyberattacks are usually carried out to steal state secrets, trade deals and weapons blueprint, or target large multinationals to steal their intellectual property (IP) and use it to build local industry.
    • Cryptos are also on the radar now. North Korean hackers reportedly stole cryptos worth $400 million in 2021.
    • However, when states launch cyberattacks on other states as a result of worsening of geopolitical relations, the target is usually critical infrastructure firms to disrupt economic activity.

    How often is India targeted?

    • Such cyberattacks rose 100% between 2017 and 2021, according to a global study by Hewlett-Packard and the University of Surrey.
    • In 2019, the administrative network of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was hit by a malware attack by North Korea-backed Lazarus Group.
    • China-backed hackers were believed to be behind a power outage in Mumbai in 2020.
    • According to Black Lotus Labs, Pakistan-based hackers targeted power firms and one government organization in India in early 2021 using Remote Access Trojans.

     

     

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  • Forest Fires

    Fire Ready Formula by UNEP

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia

    The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has called on global governments to adopt a new ‘Fire Ready Formula,’ as it warned that incidences of wildfires would rise in the future.

    What is the Fire Ready Formula?

    • The new formula envisages that 66 per cent of spending be devoted to planning, prevention, preparedness and recovery.
    • The remaining 34 per cent can be spent on response.

    New “Fire Ready Formula” focuses on Planning and Prevention  

    Serial No Budget item Percentage share of the total on  wildfire management  recommended
    1 Planning 1 %
    2 Prevention 32 %
    3 Preparedness 13 %
    4 Response 34 %
    5 Recovery 20 %

    Why need such a formula?

    • The UNEP report projected that the number of wildfires is likely to increase by up to 14 per cent by 2030.
    • Integrated wildfire management was key to adapting to current and future changes in global wildfire risk, the UNEP.
    • There is a need to invest more in fire risk reduction, work with local communities and strengthen global commitment to fight climate change.
    • Achieving and sustaining adaptive land and fire management requires a combination of policies, a legal framework and incentives that encourage appropriate land and fire use.

    Back2Basics: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

    • UNEP is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system.
    • It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm in June 1972.
    • Its mandate is to provide leadership, deliver science and develop solutions on a wide range of issues, including climate change, the management of marine and terrestrial ecosystems, and green economic development.
    • UNEP hosts the secretariats of several multilateral environmental agreements and research bodies, including:

    1.      Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD),

    2.      Minamata Convention on Mercury,

    3.      Convention on Migratory Species and

    4.      Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)

    • In 1988, the World Meteorological Organization and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
    • UNEP is also one of several Implementing Agencies for the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol.

     

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    Who was Narsinh Mehta?

    Prelims Only | | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture

    Recently Junagadh University discovered a new species of spider and named it Narsinhmehtai in honour of Narsinh Mehta, the 15th-century poet who was a devotee of Lord Krishna.

    Narsinh Mehta

    • Mehta is believed to have been born in Talaja in present-day Bhavnagar district in 1410 and died in Junagadh in 1480s.
    • The family had its origin in Vadnagar in north Gujarat, and the caste name is believed to be Pandya but as members of the family were officers in kingdoms of those days.
    • They were called Mehta (one who keeps books of accounts) which later on became the family name.
    • His father died when Mehta was just 5 and it is believed that Mehta learnt to speak only when he was eight years old, after a holy man asked him to utter the name of Lord Krishna.
    • His elder brother Bansidhar and Bansidhar’s wife raised Mehta and arranged his marriage.

    Miracles in his life

    • Mehta used to spend time in Krishna-bhakti (devotion to Lord Krishna) even after his marriage to Manekba, paying little attention to family duties.
    • Mehta is believed to have run away from home and done tapashcharya at a Shiva temple in Talaja for seven days.
    • After that, Mehta relocated with his family to Junagadh.
    • Nonetheless, folklore has it that Lord Krishna, by impersonating as Mehta, helped the devout poet organise shraadhha (a ritual performed post death of a family member) of his father, marriage of his son Shamaldas etc.
    • One of his bhajans narrates how Ra Mandlik, the then ruler of Junagadh had imprisoned him, accusing the poet of not having seen Lord Krishna and yet claiming to have done so.

    His poetry

    • Mehta penned more than 750 poems, called padd in Gujarat.
    • They mainly deal with devotion to Lord Krishna, gyan (wisdom) vairagya (detachment from worldly affairs).
    • Others like Shalmshano Vivah, Kunvarbainu Mameru, Hundi and Harmala are believed to be autobiographical accounts of different occasions in his life.
    • Vaishanavajn to tene kahiye, Mahatma Gandhi’s favourite bhajan is Mehta’s creation.

     

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-Russia

    Changing dynamics of Pakistan-Russia Relations

    | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: India & Its Neighborhood – Relations

    The two-day visit to Moscow by Pakistan’s PM Imran Khan comes at a time when President Vladimir Putin is the bad boy of the world for his actions against Ukraine.

    Pakistan–Russia Relations: A backgrounder

    • The Soviet Union and Pakistan first established diplomatic and bilateral relations on 1 May 1948.
    • For most of the Cold War, the Soviet Union’s relations with Pakistan have seen ups and downs during the different periods in the history of Pakistan.
    • Pakistan is credited for playing a key role for allying and supporting the West during this time period of the Cold War.
    • In recent years their ties have warmed as a countermeasure to warming ties between India and the United States.

    Instances of Russia defying India

    • The two countries carried out their first-ever joint military drills in 2016 despite Indian requests to postpone due to the Uri attack.
    • Pakistan and Russia signed an agreement for the Pakistan Stream Gas pipeline from Karachi to Kasur, and reached a price accord by December 2016.
    • Pakistan has also granted Russia access to a warm water port in the Arabian Sea (Gwadar Port).
    • Their mutual partnership with China that has grown in recent years signals the undeniable development of a new axis in South Asia and Central Asia.
    • The two countries take the lead in projecting the Taliban as the rightful claimants to power in Kabul.

    A timeline of relations

    • Cold war era: Pakistan’s relations with Russia have come a long way since the time it was a willing ally and treaty partner of the US bloc against the Soviet Union. It had helped the US repair its relations with China, which sent Beijing and Moscow further apart.
    • Paving way for India: In response, India and USSR solidified their ties with a defense pact and increased economic and people-to-people exchanges.
    • Afghan War: Pakistan saw itself as a frontline state against the spread of communism, and actively aided and assisted in the defeat of the Red Army in the first Afghan war, with the US and Saudi Arabia using the Pak Army.
    • Fall of USSR: The collapse of the Soviet Union led to major shifts in international relations. From their vantage points, Pakistan and Russia watched the US and post-economic-reforms India draw closer.

    Pakistan parted with the US

    • Putin’s Russia began looking for new markets for its military hardware, as well as new international partners, began building ties with Pakistan.
    • By then, serious rifts had emerged between the Obama Administration and Pakistan.
    • The killing of Osama bin Laden in a stealth raid by US marines in Pakistan’s Abbottabad became the turning point.

    Russia-Pakistan-China

    (1) Helping the lonely Pakistan

    • In 2011, to New Delhi’s shock, Russia lifted its four-decade-old arms embargo on Pakistan — and within four years, would sell Pakistan its first MiG attack helicopters.
    • As a US defeat in Afghanistan began to look certain, both countries made common cause on Afghanistan, again to India’s dismay.
    • In September 2016, after the Jaish-e-Mohammed attack in Uri, Russia went ahead with a joint military exercise with Pakistan, ignoring New Delhi’s appeal.
    • In 2017, with Indo-Pak relations at their lowest, Russia sold more helicopters to Pakistan.

    (2) Enters the old dragon

    • After its 2014 annexation of Crimea, Russia found a friend in China, the long-time friend of Pakistan, triangulating the relationship.
    • Both Pakistan and Russia are participants in China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
    • After the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, the world has seen the three take common positions and in tacit acknowledgment of each other’s interests in that country.

    Impact on ties with India

    • The Russia-India relationship is not what it used to be in the Soviet days, both sides recognise its continued mutual benefits. However-
    1. Russia is hardly starry-eyed about its relations with Pakistan.
    2. It has clear views against Pakistan’s patronage of terrorists.
    3. While it is supportive of the Taliban regime, Russia is concerned about radical terrorism expansion from Afghanistan.
    • Russia remains India’s biggest arms supplier, and India took the risk of being sanctioned by the US when it bought the Russian S 400 missile defence system.
    • New Delhi has not yet allowed its close ties with the US to tilt its delicate balance on the Ukraine issue.

    Significance of Pak Visit

    • IK is visiting Russia on the Kremlin’s invitation sides to convey their own messages to the West about building partnerships in a changing world.
    • He will become the first foreign leader to visit Russia after Putin recognized two breakaway regions of Ukraine as independent republics.
    • He is also the first Pakistani PM to travel to that country since the landmark visit by Nawaz Sharif in 1999.

    What does Pakistan seeks to have?

    • Pakistan wants Russia to invest in, and construct a $2.5 billion gas pipeline from the seaport in Karachi to Kasur in the Punjab hinterland, even though this pipeline is unlikely to transport Russian gas.
    • Moscow, however, appears to be more interested in the possibility of building the 1,800-km Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) pipeline.

     

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    NASA to decommission the International Space Station

    | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has announced plans to retire and decommission the International Space Station (ISS) by 2031.

    What is the ISS?

    • The ISS was launched in 1998 as part of joint efforts by the U.S., Russia, Japan, Canada and Europe.
    • The idea of a space station originated in the 1984 State of the Union address by former U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
    • The space station was assembled over many years, and it operates in low-earth orbit.
    • Since its inception, it has served as a laboratory suspended in space and has aided multiple scientific and technological developments.
    • The ISS was originally built to operate for 15 years.

    Why was ISS launched?

    • A space station permits quantum leaps in research in science, communications, and in metals and lifesaving medicines which could be manufactured only in space.
    • ISS has consistently maintained human presence for the past 21 years, providing astronauts with sophisticated technologies for scientific research.

    Why is NASA planning to decommission the ISS?

    • The space station has already surpassed that checkpoint by being active for 21 years, with plans to continue operations till 2030.
    • The ISS goes through 16 rotations of the earth per day, causing extreme temperature changes on the exterior.
    • The side facing the sun can get heated up to 121°C while the temperature on the opposite, darker side can fall to –157°C, causing intense expansion and contraction of the building material.
    • This orbital thermal cycling, coupled with dynamic loading, affects the longevity of the primary structure of the space station.
    • The technical lifetime is also limited by parts like radiators, modules and truss structures that tend to degrade over time.

    What is the procedure to de-orbit the ISS?

    • NASA plans to remove the ISS from its orbit around the earth and eventually plunge it into the ocean at a point farthest from human civilisation.
    • The space agency will use the dual method of natural orbit decay and a re-entry manoeuvre to bring an end to the ISS as we know it.
    • According to the plan, the earth’s natural atmospheric drag will be used in lowering the altitude of the ISS while setting up the de-orbit.
    • The space station operators will then provide the final push to it to lower the structure to the maximum possible height and ensure safe re-entry into the earth’s atmosphere.
    • It would then lead to Point Nemo over the South Pacific Oceanic Uninhabited Area (SPOUA).
    • Dissembling process would have posed huge logistical and financial challenges.

    How big is it?

    • The ISS is a huge structure — almost the size of a football field — and it was not designed to be disassembled easily in space.
    • The station currently operates in low-earth orbit above 400 km in altitude, at a point where it still experiences atmospheric drag and requires re-boosts to continue in its orbit.
    • The station also has a mass of over 4,30,000 kg.
    • Existing propulsion systems do not have the capacity to raise the station’s altitude to a high target and escape low-earth orbit.
    • The random re-entry method was discarded since it carries a huge risk for the human population on the ground.

    What is the future of space stations?

    • As the ISS plans to end operations in space, new players are already lining up to replace it.
    • In January 2022, China announced that its space station will be ready for operations this year.
    • Blue Origin, the aerospace company founded by Jeff Bezos, has also announced its plans to build Orbital Reef, a commercially developed, owned, and operated space station in low-earth orbit.
    • Blue Origin is working alongside Sierra Space on the project.

     

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  • Who is a Chess Grandmaster?

    Prelims Only | Trivia | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education

    India’s teenage chess grandmaster Rameshbabu Praggnanandhaa has won praise for a stunning victory over world number one Magnus Carlsen in an online championship.

    Why are we reading this?

    • UPSC had asked three questions on sports in CSP 2021. They were based on Laureus World Sports Award, Summer Olympics, and ICC World Test Championship.
    • Try to ace uncertainties. No one can memorize such facts.

    Grandmaster: Behind the Title

    • Grandmaster is the highest title or ranking that a chess player can achieve.
    • The Grandmaster title — and other chess titles — is awarded by the International Chess Federation, FIDE (acronym for its French name Fédération Internationale des Échecs).
    • It is the Lausanne-Switzerland-based governing body of the international game.
    • The title is the badge of the game’s super elite, a recognition of the greatest chess talent on the planet, which has been tested and proven against a peer group of other similarly talented players.

    Other (lesser) titles

    Besides Grandmaster, the Qualification Commission of FIDE recognises and awards seven other titles:

    1. International Master (IM)
    2. FIDE Master (FM)
    3. Candidate Master (CM)
    4. Woman Grandmaster (WGM), Woman International Master (WIM), Woman FIDE Master (WFM), and Woman Candidate Master (WCM) and so on .

    Titles are for life

    • All the titles, including that of Grandmaster, are valid for life, unless a player is stripped of the title for a proven offence such as cheating.

    Qualifications for Grandmaster

    • The qualifications for Grandmaster were changed several times, including in 1957, 1965, and 1970.
    • Currently, FIDE awards chess’s highest honour to a player who is able to achieve a FIDE Classical or Standard rating of 2,500, plus three Grandmaster norms.
    • Grandmaster norms are defined by a set of complex and rigorous rules regarding tournaments, games, and players, that are set out in the FIDE Title Regulations.
    • The current regulations were approved by the FIDE Council on October 27, 2021, and came into effect on January 1, 2022.
    • Each norm is very difficult to attain.
    • Broadly, a player must have a performance rating of 2,600 or higher in a FIDE tournament that has nine rounds.

    Who holds maximum titles?

    • FIDE has so far recognized fewer than 2,000 Grandmasters out of the millions who play the game around the world.
    • A vast majority of Grandmasters have been male. Russia (and the erstwhile USSR) has produced the most Grandmasters in the world, followed by the United States and Germany.

    Grandmasters in India

    • India became a chess powerhouse in the 2000s, and now has more than 70 Grandmasters.
    • In 2016, Praggnanandhaa had become the world’s youngest IM at age 10 years, 10 months, and 19 days.

    Try this question from CSP 2021:

    Q. Consider the following statements in respect of the Laureus World Sports Award which was instituted in the year 2000:

    1. American golfer Tiger Woods was the first winner of this award.
    2. The award was received mostly by ‘Formula One’ players so far.
    3. Roger Federer received this award maximum number of times compared to others.

    Which of the above statements are correct?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    Post your answers here.

     

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  • Defence Sector – DPP, Missions, Schemes, Security Forces, etc.

    [pib] Quantum Key Distribution

    PIB | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Achievements Of Indians In S&T

    A joint team of scientists from DRDO and IIT Delhi, for the first time in the country successfully demonstrated Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) link between Prayagraj and Vindhyachal in Uttar Pradesh, a distance of more than 100 kilometers.

    What is QKD Technology?

    • Quantum key distribution (QKD) is a secure communication method that implements a cryptographic protocol involving components of quantum mechanics.
    • It enables two parties to produce a shared random secret key known only to them, which can then be used to encrypt and decrypt messages.
    • It gives the ability of the two communicating users to detect the presence of any third party trying to gain knowledge of the key.
    • This is a result of a fundamental aspect of quantum mechanics: the process of measuring a quantum system, in general, disturbs the system.
    • By using quantum superposition or quantum entanglement and transmitting information in quantum states, a communication system can be implemented that detects data leak.

    How does it work?

    • QKD works by transmitting many light particles, or photons, over fiber optic cables between parties.
    • Each photon has a random quantum state, and collectively, the photons sent make up a stream of ones and zeros.
    • This stream of quantum states that make up ones and zeros are called qubits — the equivalent of bits in a binary system.
    • When a photon reaches its receiving end, it will travel through a beam splitter, which forces the photon to randomly take one path or another into a photon collector.
    • The receiver will then respond to the original sender with data regarding the sequence of the photons sent, and the sender will then compare that with the emitter, which would have sent each photon.

    Benefits offered

    • It allows the detection of data leak or hacking because it can detect any such attempt.
    • It also allows the process of setting the error level between the intercepted data in dependence.

     

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  • WTO and India

    India risks being left out of TRIPS waiver

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    When the Covid-19 pandemic pounded the globe, India, with South Africa, piloted a proposal to waive key provisions of the Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) agreement on Covid-19 vaccines.

    Significance of TRIPS waiver for Covid-19 related  medical products

    • The TRIPS agreement is part of the international legal order on trade enshrined in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
    •  The core idea behind the proposal is that intellectual property (IP) rights such as patents should not become a barrier in scaling up the production of medical products like vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics essential to combat Covid-19.
    •  However, the WTO has failed to adopt a TRIPS waiver to date.
    • Geographically limited waiver: The developed world is talking of a TRIPS waiver that would be geographically limited and exclude India.
    • This is a failure of India’s economic diplomacy.
    • There are also attempts at limiting the waiver to vaccines alone, leaving out diagnostics and therapeutics.

    Domestic factors that affected India’s global campaign for TRIPS waiver

    1] India failed to use provisions under Indian Patent Act

    • During the entire pandemic, India rarely made use of the existing flexibilities under the Indian Patent Act, such as compulsory licences (CL), which are consistent with the TRIPS agreement, to increase the supply of Covid-19 medical products despite being nudged by the judiciary to do so.
    • On the contrary, during the peak of the second Covid wave, the central government filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court stating that the main constraint in boosting the production of key drugs is the unavailability of raw materials, not IP-related legal hurdles.
    • .This stand completely contradicted India’s argument internationally that views IP as an obstacle to augmenting the supply of Covid-19 medical products.

    2] Lack of national strategy

    • India did not proactively develop a national strategy to implement the TRIPS waiver as and when it is adopted.
    • In other words, a TRIPS waiver at the WTO would only be an enabling framework.
    • It would then require member countries to amend their domestic IP laws to implement the waiver.

    3] Failure to involve Indian pharma industry

    • The government failed to get the Indian pharmaceutical industry on board.
    • Pharmaceutical bodies are a divided lot with many Indian companies speaking against the waiver, thus denting India’s global campaign.

    4] Failure to walk the talk on indigenously developed Covaxin

    • India should have unlocked the technical know-how of Covaxin to the world.
    • While technology transfer agreements for Covaxin have been inked with domestic companies, making the vaccine technology available to anyone interested globally, at a minimal price.
    • This would have exhibited India’s resolve to walk the talk on the TRIPS waiver.

    Conclusion

    While India would oppose the attempted exclusion, the lesson is that for economic diplomacy to flourish, it should be backed by concrete actions on the domestic front.

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