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  • Need for coordinated database for tracking fugitives

    op-ed snap | Security Issues | Mains Paper 3: External State & Non-State Actors: Challenges To Internal Security.

    Context

    India lacks a domestic tracking system for fugitives. That makes it easier for them to evade the criminal justice system.

    Challenges at investigation and prosecution level

    • Central agencies have developed reasonable expertise in investigation and prosecution because they are focussed only on investigation and prosecution work.
    • On the other hand, State police forces (except specialised wings) are engaged in law-and-order work as well as investigations.
    • The bulk of the investigation and prosecution work happens at police stations in the States.
    • There is a tendency to close investigations once the accused have absconded.
    • Some police stations do initiate proceedings for attachment of property and declaration of the accused as proclaimed offenders, but the number of cases where coordinated efforts are made to pursue fugitives – domestically or internationally – are hardly documented.

    No system for tracking criminals domestically

    • Through Interpol Notices and the sharing of immigration databases of different countries, there exists a system of tracking criminals worldwide.
    • However, there is no coordinated system or database for tracking criminals or wanted persons domestically in India.
    • In the absence of such a system, it is relatively easy for criminals from one police station/jurisdiction to melt into the population in any other area, almost undetected.

    Way forward

    • The creation of a nationwide database of wanted persons, which could be accessible for police agencies, the public and others is needed.
    • A nation-wide system of ‘Wanted Persons Notices’, similar to Interpol Notices, is required, to help track fugitives domestically.
    • The Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems and the National Intelligence Grid are efforts in the right direction/
    • Countries like the U.S. have functional inter-State extradition and fugitive tracking systems.
    • India needs to set up such dedicated ‘fugitive tracking units’.
    • There needs to be enhanced integration between immigration agencies, State police agencies, Interpol-New Delhi, the External Affairs Ministry and Home Ministry and central investigation agencies.
    • Sharing India’s ‘wanted’ database or providing access to it to foreign embassies on a reciprocal basis or through treaties or arrangements would also be helpful.
    • Signing of more bilateral and multilateral conventions on criminal matters would help plug legal infirmities.
    • Signing bilateral agreements on cooperation in policing matters would also help.
    • All relevant legal processes and requirements should be incorporated into one consolidated law on international cooperation.
    • The entire gamut of activities pertaining to fugitives, from investigation to extradition, needs to be incorporated into a specialised set-up.

    Conclusion

    In the absence of a coordinated database, criminals can go undetected. What we need is a watertight system that would deter criminals from hoodwinking the law.

    Back2Basics: Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and Systems (CCTNS)

    • CCTNS aims at creating a comprehensive and integrated system for enhancing the efficiency and effective policing at all levels and especially at the Police Station level.
    • It aism at adoption of principles of e-Governance, and creation of a nationwide networked infrastructure for evolution of IT-enabled state of- the-art tracking system around “investigation of crime and detection of criminals” in real time.
    • It is is a critical requirement in the context of the present day internal security scenario.
    • The scope of CCTNS spans all 35 States and Union Territories and covers all Police Stations (15,000+ in number) and all Higher Police Offices (6,000+ in number) in the country.
    • The CCTNS project includes vertical connectivity of police units (linking police units at various levels within the States – police stations, district police offices, state headquarters, SCRB and other police formations – and States, through state headquarters and SCRB, to NCRB at GOI level) as well as horizontal connectivity, linking police functions at State and Central level to external entities.

    National Intelligence Grid (NATGRID)

    • First conceptualised in 2009, NATGRID seeks to become the one-stop destination for security and intelligence agencies to access database related to immigration entry and exit, banking and telephone details of a suspect on a “secured platform”.
    • All State police are mandated to file First Information Reports (FIR) in the CCTNS.
    • It is only a repository and the data pertaining to FIRs of a particular police station are a State subject.

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  • Judicial Reforms

    Collegium system’s role in protecting democracy

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    Context

    Judiciary is being challenged, from within and outside. It must shield itself from further erosion of its independence and competence by scrupulously following the law, as declared by the Supreme Court (SC) itself.

    How the Collegium helped to secure the independence of judiciary

    • In 1993, the SC held the following:
    • The process of appointment of Judges to the Supreme Court and the High Courts is an integrated ‘participatory consultative process’.
    • The process aims at selecting the best and most suitable persons available for appointment.
    • The Collegium consists of the CJI and the four senior-most judges of the SC and high courts.
    • It was devised to ensure that the opinion of the Chief Justice of India is not merely his individual opinion, but an opinion formed collectively by a body of men at the apex level in the judiciary.
    • By judicial interpretation, the Supreme Court re-interpreting Article 124 and 214 of the Constitution empowered the judiciary to make appointments to the higher judiciary to secure the rule of law.

    Threat to the judicial independence

    • The framers of the Constitution were alive to the likely erosion of judicial independence.
    • On May 23, 1949, K T Shah stated that the Judiciary, which is the main bulwark of civil liberties, should be completely separate from and independent of the Executive, whether by direct or by indirect influence.
    • In  2016, the Supreme Court struck down a constitutional amendment for creating the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC).
    • The SC strongly disapproved of any role for the political executive in the final selection and appointment of judges.
    • The SC said that “reciprocity and feelings of payback to the political executive” would be disastrous to the independence of the judiciary.

    Consider the question “How the Collegium system helped the Judiciary secure its independence? What are the issues with it?”

    Conclusion

    The selection of deserving judges is essential to ensure the independence of the judiciary. The Collegium must do its best in this task.

    Back2Basics: About the National Judicial Appointments Commission

    • The NJAC or National Judicial Appointments Commission sought to change the system, where judges would have been appointed by a commission where the legislative and the executive would have had a role.
    • The NJAC was supposed to comprise of the Chief Justice of India (Chairperson, ex-officio), two other senior judges of the Supreme Court, The Union Minister of Law and Justice, ex-officio and two eminent persons, to be appointed by the Chief Justice of India, Prime Minister of India, and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
    • The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha on 13 August 2014 and by the Rajya Sabha on 14 August 2014, and became an Act.
    • The NJAC replaced the collegium system for the appointment of judges.
    • The NJAC Bill and the Constitutional Amendment Bill, was ratified by 16 of the state legislatures in India, and the President gave his assent on 31 December 2014.
    • The NJAC Act became effective from April 13, 2015.
    • The NJAC enjoyed support from the Supreme Court Bar Association and many legal luminaries but was also challenged by some lawyer associations and groups before the Supreme Court of India through Writ Petitions.
    • A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court referred the matter to a Constitution Bench that heard different arguments for over a month.
    •  Finally, on October 16, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court declared the 99th Constitutional Amendment Act and the NJAC Act 2014 “unconstitutional and void”.

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  • Agricultural Sector and Marketing Reforms – eNAM, Model APMC Act, Eco Survey Reco, etc.

    Cabinet extends Agri Infra Fund loans to APMCs

    Schemes | Agriculture | Mains Paper 3: Agriculture and related issues

    The Centre has decided to allow state-run market yards to access financing facilities through its Agricultural Infrastructure Fund to calm the fears of protesting farmers that such market yards are being weakened.

    Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) Schemes

    • It is a Central Sector Scheme meant for setting up storage and processing facilities, which will help farmers, get higher prices for their crops.
    • The Union Cabinet approved this scheme in July 2020 for a period of 10 years.
    • It will support farmers, PACS, FPOs, Agri-entrepreneurs, etc. in building community farming assets and post-harvest agriculture infrastructure.
    • These assets will enable farmers to get greater value for their produce as they will be able to store and sell at higher prices, reduce wastage and increase processing and value addition.

        Note the following things about AIF:

        1) It is a Central Sector Scheme

        2) Duration of the scheme

        3)Target beneficiaries

    What exactly is the AIF?

    • The AIF is a medium – long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and credit guarantee.
    • Under the scheme, Rs. 1 Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans with an interest subvention of 3% per annum.
    • It will provide credit guarantee coverage under Credit Guarantee Fund Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) for loans up to Rs. 2 Crore.

    Target beneficiaries

    The beneficiaries will include farmers:

    • PACS, Marketing Cooperative Societies, FPOs, SHGs, Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Agri-entrepreneurs, Startups, and Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public-Private Partnership Projects

    What are the new changes?

    • The Union Cabinet decided to extend the AIF to State agencies and Agricultural Produce Marketing Committees (APMCs), as well as federations of cooperative organizations, Farmers Producers Organizations and self-help groups.
    • They will now be eligible for interest subvention for loans up to ₹2 crores, with APMCs allowed to access separate loans for different kinds of infrastructure projects to build cold storage, silos, sorting, grading and assaying units in their market yards.
    • The scheme has also been extended to 2032-33.

    Why such a move?

    • The modifications in the Scheme will help to achieve a multiplier effect in generating investments while ensuring that the benefits reach small and marginal farmers.
    • The APMC markets are set up to provide market linkages and create an ecosystem of post-harvest public infrastructure open to all farmers.
    • This is also proof that APMC will not end as the farmers’ concern since the three farm laws.

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  • Judicial Pendency

    What is Tele-Law Scheme?

    Schemes | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    The Law Ministry recently commemorated an event to mark the coverage of more than nine lakh beneficiaries of the government’s tele-law scheme, using common service centres (CSCs) to provide justice across the country.

    Tele-Law Scheme

    • The concept of Tele-Law is to facilitate the delivery of legal advice through a panel of lawyers stationed at the State Legal Services Authorities (SALSA) and CSC.
    • Tele-Law means the use of communications and information technology for the delivery of legal information and advice.
    • The project initiates to connect citizens with lawyers through video conferencing facilities by the Para-Legal Volunteers stationed at identified 50,000 CSCs.
    • This e-interaction between lawyers and people would be through the video-conferencing infrastructure available at the CSCs.

    Features of the program

    • Under this programme, smart technology of video conferencing, telephone/instant calling facilities available at the vast network of CSC.
    • It enables anyone to seek legal advice without wasting precious time and money.
    • The service is free for those who are eligible for free legal Aid as mentioned under Section 12 of the Legal Services Authority Act, 1987.
    • For all others, a nominal fee is charged.

    Back2Basics: Free legal aid in India

    • Article 21 of the Constitution of India states, “No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law”.
    • Hence ensuring legal aid to everyone is necessary for ensuring substantive equality.
    • Article 39A of the Constitution of India provides for free legal aid to the poor and weaker sections of the society, to promote justice on the basis of equal opportunity.
    • Articles 14 and 22(1) also make it obligatory for the State to ensure equality before the law and a legal system that promotes justice on a basis of equal opportunity to all.

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    Possibility of life on Saturn’s Moon

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

    NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has detected an unusually high concentration of methane, along with carbon dioxide and dihydrogen, in the moons of Saturn by flying through their plumes.

    What is the new observation?

    • The spacecraft has found that Titan has methane in its atmosphere and Enceladus has a liquid ocean with erupting plumes of gas and water.

    Are there methane-producing organisms on Earth?

    • Most of the methane on Earth has a biological origin.
    • Microorganisms called methanogens are capable of generating methane as a metabolic byproduct.
    • They do not require oxygen to live and are widely distributed in nature.
    • They are found in swamps, dead organic matter, and even in the human gut.
    • They are known to survive in high temperatures and simulation studies have shown that they can live in Martian conditions.
    • Methanogens have been widely studied to understand if they can be a contributor to global warming.

    Could there be methanogens on Enceladus?

    • We cannot conclude that life exists in the Enceladus ocean.
    • It is the probability that Enceladus’ hydrothermal vents could be habitable to Earth-like microorganisms.
    • There can be life hypotheses.

    What other processes could have produced the methane?

    • Methane could be formed by the chemical breakdown of organic matter present in Enceladus’ core.
    • Hydrothermal processes could help the formation of carbon dioxide and methane.
    • On Earth, hydrothermal vents on seafloors are known to release methane, but this happens at a very slow rate.
    • This hypothesis is plausible but only if Enceladus was formed through the accretion of organic-rich material from comets.
    • The results suggest that methane production from hydrothermal vents is not sufficient to explain the high methane concentration detected by Cassini in the plumes.
    • An additional amount of methane produced via biological methanogenesis could match Cassini’s observations.

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  • Centre must step up cash flow to states

    op-ed snap | | Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Context

    The states are borrowing less than expected in the first quarter of FY 2021-22 despite the negative impact of state-level restrictions, amidst the second Covid wave, on economic activity.

    An overview of borrowing by States

    • In 2020-21, the gross amount raised through state development loans (SDLs) or bonds had jumped to Rs 8 trillion, up from Rs 6.3 trillion in the previous year.
    • The increase was a fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic on state finances.
    • In the first quarter of the current financial year i.e. 2021-22, gross issuances of bonds stood at Rs 1.4 trillion.
    • This amount is 14 per cent lower than the bonds issued last year (Rs 1.7 trillion).
    • This is also around 20 per cent lower than what states had initially indicated they would borrow (Rs 1.8 trillion) through the indicative calendar of market borrowings released by the RBI.
    • As a result, state bond issuances have undershot expectations in the first quarter.

    Factor’s responsible for lower state borrowing

    •  Lower state borrowings were a consequence of three major factors.
    • First, an additional tax devolution of Rs 450 billion from the Centre in late March.
    • This amount was in excess of the Rs 5.5 trillion tax devolution that had been included in the revised estimates for 2020-21.
    • Second, record-high GST collections in April which doubled to Rs 1.3 trillion in the first quarter of this year, up from Rs 0.6 trillion in the same period last year.
    • Third, receipt of substantial grants from the Centre adding up to Rs 436 billion in April-May related to the recommendations of the Fifteenth Finance Commission.

    Factors that could influence the borrowing pattern in the next three quarters

    • First, the varying pace of unlocking and the consequent economic revival in states from June onwards may crucially affect state borrowings in the second quarter.
    • A faster ramp-up of vaccine administration may help some states, reducing the need to borrow.
    • Second, the eventual calendar for raising back-to-back loans by the GoI to compensate states for the loss in their GST revenues could also result in a change in the states’ borrowing schedule.
    • Third, the quantum, and timing of tax devolution will also play a role.

    Why timing of the Central tax devolution matters for States

    • Central tax devolution forms a quarter of states’ combined revenue receipts.
    • This revenue stream has contracted by 15 per cent in the first two months of the year, falling to Rs 392 billion each in April-May this year, from Rs 460 billion last year.
    • If the Centre continues to devolve to states this amount till February 2022, then a massive Rs 2.4 trillion (36 per cent of the budgeted amount) will be left for devolution in March 2022 — assuming that the devolution for the full year is not revised below the budgeted level.
    • From the states’ point of view, this would be rather inefficient from a cash flow perspective.

    Conclusion

    An early step-up in tax devolution by the central government may provide comfort to the states to accelerate expenditure during another uncertain year, without borrowings being pushed up in the next two quarters.

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  • Important Judgements In News

    Issues with the UAPA and role of judiciary

    op-ed snap | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    Context

    Father Stan Swamy passed away at a private hospital in Mumbai on July 5. Fr. Swamy was arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

    How Supreme Court judgment leaves the scope for misuse of UAPA

    • The Supreme Court’s April 2019 decision in National Investigation Agency vs Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali on the interpretation of the UAPA has affected all downstream decisions involving the statute.
    • This decision has created a new doctrine.
    • According to the decision, in considering bail applications under the UAPA, courts must presume every allegation made in the First Information Report to be correct.
    • Further, bail can now be obtained only if the accused produces material to contradict the prosecution.
    • In other words, the burden rests on the accused to disprove the allegations, which is virtually impossible in most cases.
    • The decision has essentially excluded the admissibility of evidence at the stage of bail.
    • By doing so, it has effectively excluded the Evidence Act itself, which arguably makes the decision unconstitutional.
    • Due to the Supreme Court judgment, High Courts have their hands tied, and must perforce refuse bail, as disproving the case is virtually impossible.
    • The Delhi High Court recently granted bail to three young activists arrested under UAPA in a conspiracy relating to the 2020 riots in Delhi.
    • The Supreme Court reportedly expressed surprise and gave the direction that the decision will “not to be treated as precedent by any court” to give similar reliefs.

    Misuse of the UAPA

    • With such high barriers of proof, it is now impossible for an accused to obtain bail, and is in fact a convenient tool to put a person behind bars indefinitely.
    • This is being abused by the government, police and prosecution liberally: now, all dissenters are routinely implicated under charges of sedition or criminal conspiracy and under the UAPA.
    •  In multiple instances, evidence is untenable, sometimes even arguably planted, and generally weak overall.
    • But as a consequence of UAPA being applied, the accused cannot even get bail.

    Way forward

    • If we want to prevent the misuse, the decision in the Watali case must be urgently reversed or diluted, otherwise, we run the risk of personal liberties being compromised very easily.

    Conclusion

    The provision of the act leaves the scope for misuse and therefore judiciary and legislature need to take steps to provide safeguards to prevent the misuse.

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  • Coronavirus – Health and Governance Issues

    Guidelines by the Supreme Court in the migrant labourers case

    op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters

    Context

    The Supreme Court on June 29 pronounced its judgment in the migrant labourers case. The case was initiated last year after the national lockdown was announced on March 24.

    Guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court

    • Two of the most important components to protect the migrants during this time were the food and travel arrangements insisted on by the court.
    • In the orders pronounced in May this year, it laid down that dry ration be provided to migrants who want to return to their homes.
    • Further, the court said that identity proof should not be insisted upon by the governments since the labourers might not be able to furnish it.
    • Secondly, the court called upon the State governments to arrange transportation for workers who need to return to their homes.
    • The Supreme Court fixed July 31 as the deadline for the States to implement the ‘One nation One Ration Card’ scheme.
    • Apart from dry ration, the top court also directed the State governments to run community kitchens for migrant workers.
    • In the order passed on June 29, the court affirmed the Right to Food under Article 21 of the Constitution.
    • In furtherance of this, the court asked the States to formulate their own schemes and issue food grains to migrants.
    • The top court recognised the need for direct cash benefit transfer to workers in the unorganised sector.
    • But it did not issue any guidelines for the same.

    Challenges

    • The Supreme Court has given a purposive declaration in the case but the bulk of the judgment seems declaratory rather than mandatory. 
    • Under the ‘One nation One Ration Card’ scheme, the States are to complete the registration of migrant workers in order to provide dry ration to them.
    • But it is unlikely that a standardised system can be developed within the deadline prescribed by the court.
    • There are administrative problems in running community kitchens for migrant workers.
    • First, migrant workers keep moving in search of employment and it is difficult to cover them all under the scheme.
    • Second, many States do not have the necessary infrastructure to run and maintain community kitchens on such a large scale.
    • The court asked the States to formulate their own schemes and issue food grains to migrants, but there are no normative data that would allow the States to identify eligible migrants.

    Conclusion

    In order to efficaciously implement the orders of the court, the State governments need to work with the Centre closely. It is imperative to ensure that government machinery works to its full potential and robust systems are developed to withstand the challenges of the looming third covid wave.

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  • Animal Husbandry, Dairy & Fisheries Sector – Pashudhan Sanjivani, E- Pashudhan Haat, etc

    Anti-methanogenic feed supplement ‘Harit Dhara’

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

    An Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) institute has developed an anti-methanogenic feed supplement ‘Harit Dhara’.

    Harit Dhara

    • Harit Dhara is prepared using condensed and hydrolysable tannin-rich plant-based sources abundantly available in the country.
    • It changes the composition of the volatile fatty acids that are the end-products of rumen fermentation (along with hydrogen and CO2).
    • It roughly costs Rs 6/kg and it is to be fed only to animals aged above three months having fully functional rumen.
    • When given to bovines and sheep, it not only cuts down their methane emissions by 17-20%.
    • It also results in higher milk production and body weight gain.

    Why it is significant?

    • Belching cattle, buffaloes, sheep and goats in India emit an estimated 9.25 million tonnes (mt) to 14.2 mt of methane annually, out of a global total of 90 mt-plus from livestock.
    • And given methane’s global warming potential – 25 times of carbon dioxide (CO2) over 100 years, making it a more potent greenhouse gas – that’s cause for concern.
    • An average lactating cow or buffalo in India emits around 200 litres of methane per day, while it is 85-95 litres for young growing heifers and 20-25 litres for adult sheep.
    • Feeding Harit Dhara can reduce these by a fifth.

    How is methane produced by the cattles?

    • Methane is produced by animals having rumen, the first of their four stomachs where the plant material they eat – cellulose, fibre, starch and sugars – gets fermented or broken down by microorganisms prior to further digestion and nutrient absorption.
    • Carbohydrate fermentation leads to the production of CO2 and hydrogen.
    • These are used as substrate by archaea – microbes in the rumen with structure similar to bacteria – to produce methane, which the animals then expel through burping.
    • Harit Dhara acts by decreasing the population of protozoa microbes in the rumen, responsible for hydrogen production and making it available to the archaea for reduction of CO2 to methane.
    • Tropical plants containing tannins – bitter and astringent chemical compounds – are known to suppress or remove protozoa from the rumen.

    Need for India

    • The 2019 Livestock Census showed India’s cattle population at 193.46 million, along with 109.85 million buffaloes, 148.88 million goats and 74.26 million sheep.
    • Being largely fed on agricultural residues – wheat/paddy straw and maize, sorghum or bajra stover – ruminants in India tend to produce 50-100% higher methane than their industrialized country counterparts.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Consider the following:

    1. Carbon monoxide
    2. Methane
    3. Ozone
    4. Sulphur dioxide

    Which of the above are released into atmosphere due to the burning of crop/biomass residue?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2, 3 and 4 only

    (c) 1 and 4 only

    (d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

    Back2Basics: CO2 equivalents

    • Each greenhouse gas (GHG) has a different global warming potential (GWP) and persists for a different length of time in the atmosphere.
    • The three main greenhouse gases (along with water vapour) and their 100-year global warming potential (GWP) compared to carbon dioxide are:

    1 x – carbon dioxide (CO2)

    25 x – methane (CH4) – I.e. Releasing 1 kg of CH4into the atmosphere is about equivalent to releasing 25 kg of CO2

    298 x – nitrous oxide (N2O)

    • Water vapour is not considered to be a cause of man-made global warming because it does not persist in the atmosphere for more than a few days.
    • There are other greenhouse gases which have far greater global warming potential (GWP) but are much less prevalent. These are sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and perfluorocarbons (PFCs).
    • There are a wide variety of uses for SF6, HFCs, and PFCs but they have been most commonly used as refrigerants and for fire suppression.
    • Many of these compounds also have a depleting effect on ozone in the upper atmosphere.

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    Discrete Auroras on Mars

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

    The UAE’s Hope spacecraft, which is orbiting Mars since February this year, has captured images of glowing atmospheric lights in the Red Planet’s night sky, known as discrete auroras.

    What causes an Aurora on Earth?

    • Auroras are caused when charged particles ejected from the Sun’s surface — called the solar wind — enter the Earth’s atmosphere.
    • These particles are harmful, and our planet is protected by the geomagnetic field, which preserves life by shielding us from the solar wind.
    • However, at the north and south poles, some of these solar wind particles are able to continuously stream down, and interact with different gases in the atmosphere to cause a display of light in the night sky.
    • This display, known as an aurora, is seen from the Earth’s high latitude regions (called the auroral oval), and is active all year round.

    Where are they observed on Earth?

    • In the northern part of our globe, the polar lights are called aurora borealis or Northern Lights and are seen from the US (Alaska), Canada, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, Sweden and Finland.
    • In the south, they are called aurora australis or southern lights and are visible from high latitudes in Antarctica, Chile, Argentina, New Zealand and Australia.

    So, how are Martian auroras different?

    • Unlike auroras on Earth, which are seen only near the north and south poles, discrete auroras on Mars are seen all around the planet at night time.
    • Unlike Earth, which has a strong magnetic field, the Martian magnetic field has largely died out.
    • This is because the molten iron at the interior of the planet– which produces magnetism– has cooled.
    • However, the Martian crust, which hardened billions of years ago when the magnetic field still existed, retains some magnetism.
    • So, in contrast with Earth, which acts like one single bar magnet, magnetism on Mars is unevenly distributed, with fields strewn across the planet and differing in direction and strength.
    • These disjointed fields channel the solar wind to different parts of the Martian atmosphere, creating “discrete” auroras over the entire surface of the planet as charged particles interact with atoms and molecules in the sky– as they do on Earth.

    Why is it important to study them?

    • Studying Martian auroras is important for scientists, for it can offer clues as to why the Red Planet lost its magnetic field and thick atmosphere– among the essential requirements for sustaining life.

    Answer this PYQ in the comment box:

    Q.Which region of Mars has a densely packed river deposit indicating this planet had water 3.5 billion years ago?

    (a) Aeolis Dorsa

    (b) Tharsis

    (c) Olympus Mons

    (d) Hellas

    Back2Basics:

    Hope Orbiter

    • The Hope Probe, the Arab world’s first mission to Mars, took off from Earth in July last year, and has been orbiting the Red Planet since February.
    • The primary objective of the mission is to study Martian weather dynamics.
    • By correlating the lower atmosphere and upper atmosphere conditions, the probe will look into how weather changes the escape of hydrogen and oxygen into space.
    • By measuring how much hydrogen and oxygen is spilling into space, scientists will be able to look into why Mars lost so much of its early atmosphere and liquid water.
    • It is expected to create the first complete portrait of the planet’s atmosphere.
    • With the information gathered during the mission, scientists will have a better understanding of the climate dynamics of different layers of Mars’ atmosphere.

    Mars

    • Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, being larger than only Mercury.
    • In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the “Red Planet”.
    • The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars’s surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye.
    • Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, with surface features reminiscent of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts and polar ice caps of Earth.
    • The days and seasons are comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period, as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane, is similar.
    • Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System, and of Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System.

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