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  • Railway Reforms

    Fast-tracking Vande Bharat Express

    Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.

    Presenting the Union Budget for 2022-23, Finance Minister said 400 new energy-efficient Vande Bharat trains will be introduced in three years.

    What is Vande Bharat Express?

    • The Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high speed train designed, developed, and built by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF).
    • Presently there are only two Vande Bharat trains that are running — Delhi to Varanasi and Delhi to Katra.

    Key Features 

    • The current Vande Bharat trains have seating only in two classes — chair car and executive chair car. But Railways is planning to upgrade it.
    • The trains have fully sealed gangways for a dust-free environment, modular bio-vacuum toilets, rotating seats in Executive Class, personalized reading lights, automatic entry/exit doors with sliding footsteps, diffused LED lighting, mini pantry, and sensor-based interconnecting doors in each coach.
    • They are self-propelled trains that do not require an engine. This feature is called a distributed traction power system, which is increasingly becoming the norm the world over for passenger operations(Distributed power gives the train higher acceleration and deceleration compared to loco-hauled trains, which take a much longer time to reach top speed or to gradually come to a halt).
    • 400 trains announced by the Finance Minister carry a potential investment of Rs 50,000 crore over the next three years, because of different specifications and also, inflation.
    • The current Vande Bharat’s are being made at Rs 106 crore per trainset of 16 cars, at 2018 pricing.

    Benefits of Vande Bharat Trains

    1) Cuts Travel Time Drastically

    2) Energy Efficient

    3) Reduce Turnaround Time

    4) Faster Acceleration and Deceleration among others.

    Why High-speed rail projects are important for India?

    • Improve India’s GDP: According to a study conducted by the London School of Economics and Political Science and the University of Hamburg in 2008, cities that are connected to HSR systems tend to witness a rise in their gross domestic product (GDP) by at least 2.7 percentage points compared to their neighbors that do not have an HSR station. The reason for the differential was improved market access.
    • Role of the trains in India’s development: Being the third-largest network in the world under single management and
      with over 68,102 route km IR strives to provide a safe, efficient, competitive, and world-class transport system.
    • During FY21, IR carried 1.23 billion tonnes of
      freight and 1.25 billion passengers. In addition, despite COVID -19 pandemic revenue earning freight loading (excluding loading by Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) was 1230.9 million tonnes in 2020-21 as compared to 1208.4 million tonnes during2019-20. Passengers originating were 1250 million in 2020-21 as compared to 8086 million in 2019-20- Economic Survey 2021-22. 
    • Spin-off effect: It is about Rs 40,000 crore business opportunity that would also create 15,000 jobs and several spin-off benefits and act as a stimulus for the development of satellite towns.
    • Boost to ‘Make in India’– it involves only about 15 percent import content which will further go down if production volumes increase.
    • Environmental Benefits: More rail traffic translates to less automobile traffic, and by extension, less highway and city street traffic congestion, reduced air pollution. In addition, less congestion means less wear and tear on the roadways, which means that they require fewer repairs.  According to the International Association of Railways (UIC), high-speed rail is eight times more energy-efficient than airplanes and four times more efficient than automobile use.
    • Social Benefits: High-speed rail can promote a sense of social cohesion among residents, by bringing distant populated areas closer together.
    • Global Experience: The High-Speed Railway has an economic multiplier effect. Since the introduction of the first Shinkansen (literally meaning ‘new main line’) in Japan in 1964, high-speed trains have proven to be an undeniable technological, commercial and popular success. Many countries like the UK, France, Germany, Spain, China, and most recently, the US have adopted the technology.

    Challenges faced by the High-Speed Rail Projects

    • Infrastructure Bottlenecks: India’s railway system is saddled with a two-pronged infrastructure deficit – aging infrastructure and the pace of new project execution struck by unforeseen circumstances related to socio-economic issues on land acquisition for new projects and escalating projects costs.
    • New Technologies: For instance, Hyperloop Transportation Technologies which proposes to make travel as fast as 760 miles per hour, investing a humongous capital on bullet trains seems like an outdated investment.
    • Political Will: The politics of Rail Bhavan and an unwillingness to accept the need for change have derailed the project execution.
    • Short of Investments: For instance, the estimated cost of Mumbai-Ahmedabad HSR is ₹1.1 lakh crore (US$17 billion) which is massively expensive. Though India receives funding from Japan (81%), the power demand and up-gradation of existing infrastructure will be more costly.
    • Social Conflict: Development along the corridor will lead to an increase in urbanization, the fight for resources, and social conflicts due to the labor influx of the workforce.
    • Legal Trouble: While farmers in Maharashtra are protesting on the ground, the farmers in Gujarat led by Gujarat Khedut Samaj (GKS)-  fighting a case in the Gujarat High Court against the land acquisition for the bullet train project.

    Way ahead

    • Stakeholders approach: Politics and Policy have to be in sync for the railway modernization. In order to achieve the target, Railways will have to pool in all resources and multiple stakeholders, including private players to deliver the propulsion system and also carry out the assembling. The Policymakers and administration should give priority to systematic sustainable development work- the convergence of jal, jungle, jameen(water-forest-land is an asset for the Adivasi community). 
    • Regular Monitoring: To ensure the induction of these trains in the shortest time possible, as envisaged by Indian Railways.
    • Technology Transfer: The government has to push for the technology transfer of HSR. This is because there is no mention of the transfer of technology anywhere in the agreement.

    Conclusion

    India aspires to become the third-largest economy in the next 25 years. It has already proven its prowess in the field of space and now is the time for furthering its international stature by joining the exclusive club of nations having a high-speed rail network, however, we should be careful not to confuse leapfrogging technology development with elitism, whether it is mobile phones, satellite launches, regional air connectivity, or high-speed rail. This high-speed rail project will therefore help the Indian Railways to become a global leader in scale, technology, and skill.

     

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  • Internal Security Architecture Shortcomings – Key Forces, NIA, IB, CCTNS, etc.

    What is ‘Z’ Category Security?

    Prelims Only | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    A noted Parliamentarian from Hyderabad has rejected the ‘Z’ category security by the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) accorded to him.

    Security Provisions in India

    • In India, security is provided to high-risk individuals by the police and local government.
    • The level of security needed by any individual is decided by the Ministry of Home Affairs, based on inputs received from intelligence agencies which include the IB and R&AW.
    • Individuals such as PM, home minister, and other officials such as the National Security Advisor generally get security cover because of the positions they occupy.
    • In addition to this, persons who are believed to be under threat also receive security cover.

    What is ‘Z’ Category Security?

    In India, the category covers are X, Y, Y-plus, Z, Z-plus, and SPG (Special Protection Group).

    • X Category: The protectee gets one gunman. Protectees in the Y category have one gunman for mobile security and one (plus four on rotation) for static security.
    • Y Plus category: It receives the cover of two gunmen (plus four on rotation) for mobile security, and one (plus four on rotation) for residence security,
    • Z Category: It has six gunmen for mobile security and two (plus 8) for residence security. They get 10 security personnel for mobile security, and two (plus 8) for residence security.
    • Z Plus Category: It is provided by National Security Guard commandos whereas the other category of security is provided by the Delhi police or the ITBP or CRPF personnel.

    What about Special Protection Group (SPG) Cover?

    • The SPG cover is meant only for the PM and his immediate family.
    • After Indira Gandhi was assassinated by her own security guards in 1984, the Rajiv Gandhi government decided to create a special cadre of security personnel for the PM.
    • In March 1985, following the recommendations of a committee set up by the Home Ministry, a special unit was created for this purpose under the Cabinet Secretariat.
    • This unit, initially called the Special Protection Unit, was renamed as Special Protection Group in April 1985.

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Species in news: Golden Langur

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

    Neighbours of a golden langur habitat in western Assam’s Bongaigaon district have opposed a move by the State government to upgrade it to a wildlife sanctuary.

    Kajoijana Bamuni Hill Wildlife Sanctuary

    • The Assam Forest Department has issued a preliminary notification for converting the 19.85 sq. km. patch of forest into the Kajoijana Bamuni Hill Wildlife Sanctuary.
    • It is one of the better-known homes of the golden langur (Trachypithecus geei) found only in Assam and Bhutan.

    About Golden Langur

    • Gee’s golden langur (Trachypithecus geei), also known as simply the golden langur, is an Old World monkey.
    • It is found in a small region of Western Assam and in the neighboring foothills of the Black Mountains of Bhutan.
    • Long considered sacred by many Himalayan people, the golden langur was first brought to the attention of the western world by the naturalist Edward Pritchard Gee in the 1950s.
    • Adult males have a cream to golden coat with darker flanks while the females and juveniles are lighter.
    • It has a black face and a long tail up to 50 cm in length.

    Its habitat

    • It lives in high trees and has a herbivorous diet of ripe and unripe fruits, mature and young leaves, seeds, buds and flowers.
    • The average group size is eight individuals, with a ratio of several females to each adult male.
    • It is one of the most endangered primate species of India and Bhutan.

    Distribution

    • Its habitat is bounded on the south by the Brahmaputra River, on the east by the Manas River, on the west by the Sankosh River, in Assam and on the north by the Black Mountains of Bhutan.

    Conservation status

    • IUCN Red List: Endangered
    • CITES: Appendix I
    • Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

     

    Try this question from CSP 2014:

     

    Q. Which one of the following groups of animals belongs to the category of endangered species?

     

    (a) Great Indian Bustard, Musk Deer, Red Panda, Asiatic Wild Ass

    (b) Kashmir Stag, Cheetah, Blue Bull, Great Indian Bustard

    (c) Snow Leopard, Swamp Deer, Rhesus Monkey, Saras (Crane)

    (d) Lion Tailed Macaque, Blue Bull, Hanuman Langur, Cheetah

     

    Post your answers here.

     

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  • Government Budgets

    Fiscal management during a pandemic

    op-ed snap | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Government Budgeting

    Context

    The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission. However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.

    The budget focuses on capital investment

    • This year’s Union budget projects an increase in capex by Rs 3.14 lakh crore, as compared to the budgeted numbers of the previous fiscal.
    • Given the economy’s savings-investment profile and macroeconomic uncertainties due to the pandemic, private and household investments are likely to be reactive to the general economic environment.
    • Achieving sustainable recovery: For the government, making capital investment in such uncertain times assumes a much higher priority and is equally indispensable for achieving a strong and sustainable recovery from the pandemic.
    • Increasing share of government: As per National Accounts data, gross fixed capital formation by the general government (Centre and states) has shown an increase as a percentage of GDP from 3.48 in 2011-12 to 3.82 in 2019-20, while other sectors, particularly households, the share fell from 15.75 per cent to 11.39 per cent during the same period.
    • The fiscal stance taken in the post-pandemic budgets for higher capital spending, including the budget of 2022-23, is likely to further enhance the general government share in overall capital formation. 
    • Important role of the States: it is also important to recognise that two-thirds of the general government’s capital expenditure is undertaken by states and in this context, the announcement of the Rs 1 lakh crore interest-free loans to the states to increase public investment has been a significant step.
    •  Since states taken together have a higher share in the country’s public capital spending, effective absorption of this additional borrowing facility will be critical for higher public investment.

    Three broad trends on Fiscal Consolidation

    • 1] Increase in taxes: The increase in taxes by Rs 5.71 lakh crore between 2020-21 (the first year of the pandemic) and 2022-23 shows that the fiscal challenges have eased, but remain present as we navigate economic recovery in uncertain times.
    • 2] Reduction in revenue deficit: Between 2020-21 and 2022-23 (BE), the reduction in revenue deficit has been substantial — from 7.3 per cent to 3.8 per cent of GDP.
    • 3] Revenue deficit dominates fiscal deficit: Compositionally, revenue deficit continues to be more than 55 per cent of the fiscal deficit and the management of such a deficit has few important considerations for revenue expenditure, that is, interest payments and allocation under various centrally sponsored and central sector schemes.
    • Role of CSS in revenue deficit: Aggregate allocation under centrally sponsored and central sector schemes (CSS) as per the 2022-23 (BE) is Rs 3.83 lakh crore and the interest payment cost of the Union government is Rs 9.56 lakh crore.
    • Beyond scheme-wise allocations, it is also important to consider CSS allocation as an issue of macro-fiscal management issue at the Union and state level, especially when it is contributing to the high revenue deficit of the central government and binding state resources for matching contribution, thereby increasing states’ deficit.

    Understanding the direction of fiscal consolidation

    • The fiscal deficit for the year 2022-23 is higher than what was recommended by the Fifteenth Finance Commission.
    • However, if we consider the direction of consolidation, it is towards a reduction in the fiscal deficit.
    • Though in the medium-term, the fiscal story is about supporting recovery, it is also true that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution to fiscal consolidation and debt sustainability. 

    Conclusion

    The direction of fiscal consolidation rather than a specific quantified path in an unprecedented time like this is probably the most appropriate consideration.

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  • Labour, Jobs and Employment – Harmonization of labour laws, gender gap, unemployment, etc.

    What is E-SHRAM Portal?

    | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies

    Over 2 crore people who have signed up for the Centre’s portal for unorganised sector workers hold a Graduate Degree.

    E-Shram

    • On August 26, 2021, the Ministry of Labour and Employment (MOLE) launched the E-Shram, the web portal for creating a National Database of Unorganized Workers (NDUW), which will be seeded with Aadhaar.
    • It seeks to register an estimated 398-400 million unorganized workers and to issue an E-Shram card.

    Issues with E-Shram

    (A) Time constraints

    • Long process: Given the gigantic nature of registering each worker, it will be a long-drawn process.
    • No gestation period: The Government has not mentioned a gestation period to assess its strategy and efficiency.
    • No hasty process: Employers are or required their workers to register even. While the Government can appeal to them, any penal measure will hurt the ease of doing business.

    (B) Pandemic hides

    • Considering the estimated 380 million workers as the universe of registration — debatable as the novel coronavirus pandemic has pushed lakhs of workers into informality.

    (C) Data security

    • Privacy: One of the vital concerns of e-portals is data security, including its potential abuse especially when it is a mega-sized database.
    • No national framework yet: There are also media reports pointing out the absence of a national architecture relating to data security.
    • Local server issues: It has been reported that in some states such as Maharashtra, the server was down for a few days.

    (D) Structural issue

    • Aadhaar seeding: Many workers will not have an Aadhaar-seeded mobile or even a smartphone. Aadhaar-seeding is a controversial issue with political overtones, especially in the North-eastern regions.
    • Eligibility: There are several issues concerning the eligibility of persons to register as well as the definitional issues.
    • Exclusion: By excluding workers covered by EPF and ESI, lakhs of contract and fixed-term contract workers will be excluded from the universe of UW. Hazardous establishments employing even a single worker will have to be covered under the ESI, which means these workers also will be excluded.
    • No benefits for the aged: The NDUW excludes millions of workers aged over 59 from its ambit, which constitutes age discrimination.

    (D) Complex identities of workers

    • Migration: Many are circular migrant workers and they quickly, even unpredictably, move from one trade to another.
    • Mixed work: Many others perform formal and informal work as some during non-office hours may belong to the gig economy, for example as an Uber taxi or a Swiggy employee. They straddle formal and informal sectors.
    • Gig workers: Even though MOLE has included gig workers in this process, it is legally unclear whether the gig/platform worker can be classified first as a worker at all.

    (E) Other impediments

    • Dependence on States: The central government will have to depend on the state governments for this project to be successful.
    • Lack of coordination: In many States, the social dialogue with the stakeholders especially is rather weak or non-existent. The success of the project depends on the involvement of a variety of stakeholders apart from trade unions.
    • Corruption: There is also the concern of corruption as middle-service agencies such as Internet providers might charge exorbitant charges to register and print the E-Shram cards.

    Benefits: No immediate carrot

    • Workers stand to gain by registration in the medium to long run.
    • But the instant benefit of accident insurance up to ₹0.2 million to registered workers is surely not an attractive carrot.
    • The main point of attraction is the benefits they stand to gain during normal and crisis-ridden periods such as the novel coronavirus pandemic now which the Government needs to disseminate properly.

    Way forward

    • E-Shram is a vital system to provide hitherto invisible workers much-needed visibility.
    • It will provide the Labour Market Citizenship Document to them.
    • The govt should go one step further for triple linkage for efficient and leakage-less delivery of all kinds of benefits and voices to workers/citizens: One-Nation-One-Ration Card (ONOR), E-Shram Card (especially bank account seeded), and the Election Commission Card.
    • Last but not least, registrations cannot be a source of exclusion of a person from receiving social assistance and benefits.

     

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    Delinking Depsang from the ongoing Ladakh border crisis is worrying

    op-ed snap | International Relations | Mains Paper 2: Bilateral, Regional and Global Groupings and agreements involving India

    Context

    In a recent television interview, the Indian Army Chief, General M.M. Naravane, argued that “out of the five or six friction points (in Ladakh), five have been solved”.

    Friction points in Ladakh

    • ‘Friction point’ are the points of Chinese ingress into hitherto India-controlled territory in Ladakh, where this control is exercised by the Army and the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP) through regular patrols to the claimed areas.
    • These ‘friction points’ are Depsang, Galwan, Hot Springs, Gogra, North bank of Pangong Tso, Kailash Range and Demchok.
    • By asserting that only one of the friction points is remaining to be resolved —  Hot Springs or PP15, Army Chief implicitly ruled out Depsang as an area to be resolved.
    • This attempt to delink the strategically important area of Depsang from the ongoing Ladakh border crisis is worrying.

    Significance of Depsang

    • Depsang is an enclave of flat terrain located in an area the Army classifies as Sub-Sector North (SSN), which provides land access to Central Asia through the Karakoram Pass.
    • The Army has always identified Depsang plains as where it finds itself most vulnerable in Ladakh, devising plans to tackle the major Chinese challenge.
    • SSN’s flat terrain of Depsang, Trig Heights and DBO — which provides direct access to Aksai Chin — is suited for mechanised warfare but is located at the end of only one very long and tenuous communication axis for India.
    • China, in turn, has multiple roads that provide easy access to the area.
    • This leaves SSN highly vulnerable to capture by the PLA, with a few thousands of square kilometres from the Karakoram Pass to Burtse, likely to be lost.
    • Nowhere else in Ladakh is the PLA likely to gain so much territory in a single swoop.
    • SSN lies to the east of Siachen, located between the Saltoro ridge on the Pakistani border and the Saser ridge close to the Chinese border.
    • On paper, it is the only place where a physical military collusion can take place between Pakistan and China — and the challenge of a two-front war can become real in the worst-case scenario.
    • If India loses this area, it will be nearly impossible to launch a military operation to wrest back Gilgit-Baltistan from Pakistan.

    Dangers of delinking Depsang

    • Invalidation of Indian claims: The biggest danger of delinking Depsang from the current border crisis in Ladakh, however, is of corroborating the Chinese argument, which invalidates the rightful Indian claim over a large swathe of territory. 
    • In sparsely populated areas like Ladakh, with limited forward deployment of troops, the only assertion of territorial claims is by regular patrolling. 
    • By arguing that the blockade at Y-junction predates the current stand-off — a ‘legacy issue’ that goes back years — the Chinese side can affirm that Indian patrols never had access to this area and thus India has no valid claim on the territory.

    Conclusion

    As was demonstrated by China in the aftermath of the 1962 War, there should be no holding back in painstakingly asserting one’s claims when it comes to safeguarding the territory.

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  • ISRO Missions and Discoveries

    Chandrayaan-3 set for launch in August

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

    ISRO plans to execute the Chandrayaan-3 mission in August this year.

    What is Chandrayaan-3 Mission?

    • The Chandrayaan-3 mission is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-2 of July 2019, which aimed to land a rover on the lunar South Pole.

    Chandrayaan-2: A quick recap

    • Chandrayaan-2 consisted of an Orbiter, Lander and Rover, all equipped with scientific instruments to study the moon.
    • The Orbiter would watch the moon from a 100-km orbit, while the Lander and Rover modules were to be separated to make a soft landing on the moon’s surface.
    • ISRO had named the Lander module as Vikram, after Vikram Sarabhai, the pioneer of India’s space programme, and the Rover module as Pragyaan, meaning wisdom.

    Utility of the Orbiter

    • The Orbiter part of the mission has been functioning normally. It is carrying eight instruments.
    • Each of these instruments has produced a handsome amount of data that sheds new light on the moon and offers insights that could be used in further exploration.

    Inception of Chandrayaan 3

    • The subsequent failure of the Vikram lander led to the pursuit of another mission to demonstrate the landing capabilities needed for the Lunar Polar Exploration Mission proposed in partnership with Japan for 2024.

    Its design

    • The lander for Chandrayaan-3 will have only four throttle-able engines.
    • Unlike Vikram on Chandrayaan-2 which had five 800N engines with a fifth one being centrally mounted with a fixed thrust.
    • Additionally, the Chandrayaan-3 lander will be equipped with a Laser Doppler Velocimeter (LDV).

    Back2Basics: Chandrayaan-1 Mission

    • The Chandrayaan-1 mission was launched in October 2008 was ISRO’s first exploratory mission to the moon, in fact to any heavenly body in space.
    • The mission was designed to just orbit around the moon and make observations with the help of the instruments onboard.
    • The closest that Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft came to the moon was in an orbit 100 km from its surface.

     

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  • Forest Conservation Efforts – NFP, Western Ghats, etc.

    [pib] Definition of Forest in India

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

    The Union Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has informed about the criteria used to define forest in India.

    Defining Forests universally

    • As per the Conference of Parties (CoP) 9-Kyoto Protocol, the forest can be defined by any country depending upon the capacities and capabilities of the country.
    • Forest- Forest is defined structurally on the basis of
    1. Crown cover percentage: Tree crown cover- 10 to 30% (India 10%)
    2. Minimum area of stand: area between 0.05 and 1 hectare (India 1.0 hectare) and
    3. Minimum height of trees: Potential to reach a minimum height at maturity in situ of 2 to 5 m (India 2m)

    India’s definition of Forests

    The definition of forest cover has clearly been defined in all the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) and in all the International communications of India.

    • The forest cover is defined as ‘all land, more than one hectare in area, with a tree canopy density of more than 10 percent irrespective of ownership and legal status.
    • Such land may not necessarily be a recorded forest area. It also includes orchards, bamboo and palm’.

    Classification of forest cover

    In ISFR 2021 recently published has divided the forest cover as:

    1. Inside Recorded Forest Area: These are basically natural forests and plantations of Forest Department.
    2. Outside Recorded Forest Area: These cover mango orchards, coconut plantations, block plantations of agroforestry.

    Back2Basics: Forest Classification in India

    The Forest Survey of India (FSI) classifies forest cover in 4 classes.

    • Very Dense forest: All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density of 70% and above.
    • Moderately dense forest: All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density between 40% and 70%.
    • Open forests: All lands with tree cover (including mangrove cover) of canopy density between 10% and 40%.
    • Scrubs: All forest lands with poor tree growth mainly of small or stunted trees having canopy density less than 10%.

     

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  • Wildlife Conservation Efforts

    Places in news: Godavari Estuary in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS)

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

    Godavari Estuary in Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS) is facing due ignorance despite meeting all nine criteria of Ramsar Convention.

    Godavari Estuary

    • The estuary, including 235.70 sq. km Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (CWS), is one of the rarest eco-regions on the earth.
    • It is also home to India’s second-largest mangrove cover after the Sundarbans.
    • The CWS is inhabited by 115 endangered fishing cats (Prionailurus viverrinus), Olive Ridley turtles, Indian smooth-coated otter, and saltwater crocodiles.

    What are the nine criteria laid out by Ramsar Convention?

    • Criterion 1: “it contains a representative, rare, or unique example of a natural or near-natural wetland type found within the appropriate biogeographic region.”
    • Criterion 2: “it supports vulnerable, endangered, or critically endangered species or threatened ecological communities.”
    • Criterion 3: “it supports populations of plant and/or animal species important for maintaining the biological diversity of a particular biogeographic region.”
    • Criterion 4: “it supports plant and/or animal species at a critical stage in their life cycles, or provides refuge during adverse conditions.”
    • Criterion 5: “it regularly supports 20,000 or more waterbirds.”
    • Criterion 6: “it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of waterbird.”
    • Criterion 7: “it supports a significant proportion of indigenous fish subspecies, species or families, life-history stages, species interactions and/or populations that are representative of wetland benefits and/or values and thereby contributes to global biological diversity.”
    • Criterion 8: “it is an important source of food for fishes, spawning ground, nursery and/or migration path on which fish stocks, either within the wetland or elsewhere, depend.”
    • Criterion 9: “it regularly supports 1% of the individuals in a population of one species or subspecies of wetland-dependent non-avian animal species.”

    Back2Basics: Ramsar Convention

    • The Convention on Wetlands of International Importance (better known as the Ramsar Convention) is an international agreement promoting the conservation and wise use of wetlands.
    • It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem.
    • The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into force in 1975.
    • Traditionally viewed as a wasteland or breeding ground of disease, wetlands actually provide fresh water and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.
    • Wetlands, critical for biodiversity, are disappearing rapidly, with recent estimates showing that 64% or more of the world’s wetlands have vanished since 1900.
    • Major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing, water diversion for dams and canals, and infrastructure development are considered to be some of the main causes of loss and degradation of wetlands.

     

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  • Artificial intelligence technologies have a climate cost

    op-ed snap | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Context

    While there is an allure to national dreams of economic prosperity and global competitiveness, underwritten by AI, there is an environmental cost.

    Issues with AI

    • Unfair race for dominance in AI:  A few developed economies possess certain material advantages right from the start, they also set the rules.
    • They have an advantage in research and development, and possess a skilled workforce as well as wealth to invest in AI.
    • Inequality in terms of governance: We can also look at the state of inequity in AI in terms of governance: How “tech fluent” are policymakers in developing and underdeveloped countries?
    • What barriers do they face in crafting regulations and industrial policy?
    • At the same time, there is an emerging challenge at the nexus of AI and climate change that could deepen this inequity.

    Climate impact of AI

    • The climate impact of AI comes in a few forms: The energy use of training and operating large AI models is one.
    •  In 2020, digital technologies accounted for between 1.8 per cent and 6.3 per cent of global emissions.
    •  In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the  In November 2021, UNESCO adopted the Recommendation on the Ethics of Artificial Intelligence, calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.” , calling on actors to “reduce the environmental impact of AI systems, including but not limited to its carbon footprint.”

    Inequitable access to resources

    • Both global AI governance and climate change policy (historically) are contentious, being rooted in inequitable access to resources.
    • Developing and underdeveloped countries face a challenge on two fronts:
    • 1] AI’s social and economic benefits are accruing to a few countries.
    • 2] Most of the current efforts and narratives on the relationship between AI and climate impact are being driven by the developed West.

    Way forward

    • Assess technology-led priorities: Governments of developing countries, India included, should also assess their technology-led growth priorities in the context of AI’s climate costs.
    •  It is argued that as developing nations are not plagued by legacy infrastructure it would be easier for them to “build up better”.

    Consider the question “How Artificial Intelligence technologies could transform the world as we know it? What are the concerns with it?

    Conclusion

    It may be worth thinking through what “solutions” would truly work for the unique social and economic contexts of the communities in our global village.

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