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

    What is the Negative Imports List for Defence?

    | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Effects Of Liberalization On The Economy, Changes In Industrial Policy and their effects on Industrial Growth

    The Defence Ministry announced a list of 101 items that it will stop importing.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q.Being one of the top importers of defence equipment India is well placed to enhance its domestic manufacturing capacity of defence equipment. Yet, India lacks it after repeated attempts to achieve it. Examine the reasons for this and suggest measures to overcome this anomaly.

    Negative Imports List

    • The negative list essentially means that the Armed Forces—Army, Navy and Air Force—will only procure all of these 101 items from domestic manufacturers.
    • The manufacturers could be private sector players or Defence Public Sector Undertakings (DPSUs).

    Why such a decision?

    • Reduce imports: As per the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, which tracks defence exports and imports globally, India has been the second-largest importer between 2014 and 2019 with US$ 16.75 billion worth of imports.
    • Boost domestic industry: By denying the possibility of importing the items on the negative list, the domestic industry is given the opportunity to step up and manufacture them for the needs of the forces.
    • Boost exports: The government has been hoping that the defence manufacturing sector can play a leading role in boosting the economy, not just for the domestic market, but to become an exporter as well.

    Items included in the negative list

    The items mentioned in the negative imports list include:

    • water jet fast attack craft to survey vessels, pollution control vessels, light transport aircraft, GSAT-6 terminals, radars, unmanned aerial vehicles, to certain rifles, artillery guns, bulletproof jackets, missile destroyers, etc.

    Impact of the move

    • The items in the list are of proven technologies and do not involve any critical or cutting-edge technology for a next-generation weapon system or platform.
    • Little benefits for domestic players in short-run: Against each of these items are mentioned a year when import embargo would kick in, leading to apprehensions that demands will be placed with foreign vendors until then, leaving very little for domestic producers.
    • The biggest challenge for the government and the armed forces will be to keep this commitment to domestic producers in the event of an operational requirement.

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  • Digital India Initiatives

    Submarine Cable Connectivity to Andaman and Nicobar Islands

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

    PM has launched the submarine Optical Fibre Cable (OFC) connecting Andaman & Nicobar Islands to the mainland.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following statements regarding optical fibres:

    1. A layer called the cladding, which has a refractive index more than that of the core, surrounds the core of the optical fibre.
    2. Light is propagated in an optical fibre by refraction and internal reflection.

    Which of the above statements is/are correct?(CSP 2010)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    What is a submarine communications cable?

    • A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to transmit telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea.
    • The optical fibre elements are typically individually coated with plastic layers and contained in a protective tube suitable for the environment where the cable will be deployed.
    • Compared to satellites, using internet connection through submarine cables is more reliable, cost-efficient and of large capacity.

    About the project

    • About 2,300 km of submarine optical fibre cable (OFC) has been laid at a cost of about Rs 1,224 crore to provide better connectivity in the UT.
    • The project envisages better connectivity from Chennai to Port Blair and seven other Islands — Swaraj Deep (Havelock), Long Island, Rangat, Hutbay (Little Andaman), Kamorta, Car Nicobar and Campbell Bay (Great Nicobar).
    • The project is funded by the government through the Universal Service Obligation Fund under the ministry of communications.
    • The foundation stone for the project was laid by PM Modi in December 2018 at Port Blair.

    Expected outcomes

    • The OFC will enable the delivery of faster and more reliable mobile and landline telecom services to Andaman & Nicobar Islands, at par with other parts of India.
    • The submarine optical fibre cable link will deliver bandwidth of 2 x 200 Gigabits per second (Gbps) between Chennai and Port Blair, and 2 x 100 Gbps between Port Blair and the other islands.
    • 4G mobile services, which were constrained due to limited backhaul bandwidth provided via satellite, will also see a major boost.

    Benefits of the project

    • Better connectivity in the region will facilitate the delivery of e-governance services such as telemedicine and tele-education.
    • E-commerce: Small enterprises will benefit from opportunities in e-commerce, while educational institutions will utilise the enhanced availability of bandwidth for e-learning and knowledge sharing.
    • Business Process Outsourcing services and other medium and large enterprises too also benefit from better connectivity.
    • Low cost internet:The internet bills in Andaman and Nicobar will also come down substantially.

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  • Air Pollution

    [pib] Himalayan Geothermal Springs release huge amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere

    PIB | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    The Himalayas, which hosts about 600 geothermal springs needs to be considered while estimating emissions to the carbon cycle and thereby to global warming says, Indian researchers.

    Note the following hot springs in India:

    1) Panamik in Nubra valley

    2) Kheer Ganga in Kullu, Himachal

    3) Manikaran Sahib, Himachal

    4) Tattapani, Chhattisgarh

    5) Gaurikund, Uttarakhand

    6) Yumthang, Sikkim

    7) Reshi, Sikkim

    Geothermal springs

    • Geothermal or Hot springs are heated by shallow intrusions of magma (molten rock) in volcanic areas. Some thermal springs, however, are not related to volcanic activity.
    • The water is heated by convective circulation: groundwater percolates downward & reaches depths of a kilometre or more where the temperature of rocks is high because of the normal temperature gradient of the Earth’s crust.

    Why consider the Himalayas?

    • The Himalayan geothermal springs which cover about 10,000 square km in the Garhwal region of Himalaya show a significant discharge of CO2 rich water.
    • The estimated carbon dioxide degassing (removal of dissolved gases from liquids, especially water or aqueous solutions) flux is nearly 7.2 ×106 mol/year to the atmosphere.
    • Such CO2 degassing should be taken into account to assess global carbon outflux in the earth’s atmosphere.

    Where does this CO2 come from?

    • Carbon outflux from Earth’s interior to the exosphere through volcanic eruptions, fault zones, and geothermal systems contribute to the global carbon cycle that effects short and long term climate of the Earth.
    • The CO2 in the thermal springs are sourced from metamorphic decarbonation of carbonate rocks present deep in the Himalayan core along with magmatism and oxidation of graphite.
    • Most of the geothermal water is dominated by evaporation followed by weathering of silicate rocks.
    • Isotopic analyses further point towards a meteoric source for geothermal water.

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  • Global Geological And Climatic Events

    In news: Mount Sinabung

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    The Mount Sinabung volcano in Indonesia has erupted spouting ash at least 5,000 metres high into the sky.

    In the Philippines, a volcano called Taal on the island of Luzon; 50 km from Manila has recently erupted in January. Note all such recent eruption in news.

    Also, try this PYQ:

    Consider the following statements:

    1. The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
    2. Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar
    3. The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.

    Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2018)

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 and 3 only

    (c) 3 only

    (d) 1 and 3

    Mount Sinabung

    • It is a Pleistocene-to-Holocene stratovolcano in the Karo plateau of Karo Regency, North Sumatra, Indonesia.
    • It is created by the subduction of the Indo-Australian Plate under the Eurasian Plate.
    • It erupted in 2010 after a 400-year-long hiatus and has been continuously active since September 2013.

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  • Important Judgements In News

    Issue of contempt of court

    | Polity | Mains Paper 2: Executive & Judiciary

    The concept of contempt of court has been in the news recently. This article analyses the issue and draws on the approach adopted by the British judiciary.

    Issues with the concept of contempt

    • The concept of contempt is a centuries-old British law abolished in 2013.
    • At the time the British Law Commission said that one of the intentions for contempt of court was to hide judicial corruption.
    • The concept, therefore, clashed with the need for transparency but also freedom of speech.

    Let’s look into some comment’s from judges

    • In1968, a British judge, had this to say of the Law of Contempt “We will not use it to suppress those who speak against us. We do not fear criticism, nor do we resent it. For there is something far more important at stake. It is no less than freedom of speech itself. “
    • In a 2008 lecture by Justice Markandey Katju noted that “The test to determine whether an act amounts to contempt of court or not is this: Does it make the functioning of judges impossible or extremely difficult? If it does not, then it does not amount to contempt of court even if it’s harsh criticism”.

    Way forward

    • Whilst justice is important, judges must not take themselves too seriously.
    • Even if their amour propre is offended, it does not mean the institution has been questioned or justice brought into disrepute.
    • Judges deliver justice, they do not embody it.
    • They should never forget their Court is supreme because it’s final not because it’s infallible.
    • When they lapse they can be criticised, but of course, politely and fairly.

    Conclusion

    Indian Supreme Court hopefully pay attention to this aspect while delivering the judgement on the contempt cases.

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  • Economic Indicators and Various Reports On It- GDP, FD, EODB, WIR etc

    The new consumer

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

    The focus of this article is on the behavioural changes in the consumer post Covid. It also suggest the ways to deal with these changes.

    Context

    • The consumer during and post-COVID is showing remarkable flexibility, bringing about a paradigm shift in her consumption pattern.

    Issue of generating demand

    • Some state governments are busy demanding the opening up of the economy.
    • However, the issue is that the economy does not merely need opening up, but it requires urgent generation of basic demand.
    • That is why consumer behaviour needs to be closely watched.
    • Since the lockdown, the priorities of consumers have seen a drastic shift.

    Factors to consider to increase demand

    • 1) The decrease in the purchasing power to buy products needs to be addressed.
    • The government must look at ways like a reduction in taxes which will help the common man.
    • 2) The current scenario has also made all of us go back to the basic needs.
    • Luxury products hold little value. But renting will increase.
    • 3) The emphasis will be on saving for a rainy day, whether in the case of banks or households
    • 4) Aviation, tourism and hospitality sectors have been hit and continue to remain so even after the restrictions are lifted.
    • 5)  e-commerce has shown exponential growth and will continue to do so.
    • 6) With “Vocal for Local” gaining momentum, there’s a huge increase in local apps, local kirana stores, local artisans and brands.
    • 7) Schools and colleges have taken a hit as e-learning and online courses are being preferred.
    • 8) The entertainment industry has been drastically hit. The media and entertainment industry needs to pay heed to this and curate content accordingly.
    • 9) With a lot of people laying emphasis on their health and immunity, there’s been a substantial rise in the consumption of organic, ayurvedic, and immunity-boosting products.
    • Apart from the obvious products, financial and medical insurance will play an important role.
    • 10) Real estate will suffer as no long-term, high investment purchases will be favoured, but renting will increase.

    Role of the government

    • 1) People need to be provided with their daily needs — basic essentials such as food, water, housing, and electricity.
    • The government is already taking care of that, but money also needs to be given.
    • 2) Jobs need to be provided through development of infrastructure projects.
    • 3) Farmers need to have insurance for their crops and the infrastructure to sell at the right price.
    • 4) Migrant workers with their livelihoods being disrupted are looking for support,and many are focusing on agriculture as a means of income.

    Way forward

    • The government should focus on generating demand for products, and create jobs by improving infrastructure.
    • The government must incentivise spending by offering tax benefits on the amount spent.
    • Government must forget about fiscal prudence this year.
    • Consumers in rural areas are buying more than before.Companies should focus on tapping the rural demand

    Consider the question “Demand has been the driver of India’s growth. But the pandemic has dampened it with devastating effect. Agaist this backdrop suggest the measures to be taken by the government to revive the demand.”

    Conclusion

    With focus on these emerging trends and changing behaviour of the consumers, the government must take steps to bring the economy fast on the tracks.

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  • Coronavirus – Health and Governance Issues

    What are Immunity Passports?

    | Ethics | Mains Paper 4: Ethics

    There is a growing debate for a rethink on “immunity passport” to be handed out to those who have recovered from COVID-19 for the purpose of travel or work without restrictions of quarantine.

    Try this question form mains:

    Q.Discuss various ethical issues evolved during the outbreaks of pandemics (of the scale of COVID-19).

    Immunity Passports

    • They are the recovery or release certificate or a document attesting that its bearer is immune to a contagious disease.
    • The concept has drawn much attention during the COVID-19 pandemic as a potential way to contain the pandemic and permit faster economic recovery.
    • The can be used as a legal document granted by a testing authority following a serology test demonstrating that the bearer has antibodies making them immune to a disease.

    What is the ongoing debate?

    • Experts argue that if reinfections were a significant problem, by now, there would have been hundreds or at least thousands of cases of reinfections at the global level.
    • Till such time effective vaccines become available people who have recovered from COVID-19 should be permitted to travel without restrictions.

    A case for consideration

    • Immune protection after infection/disease is always much more robust than most vaccines, and definitely than most COVID-19 vaccines in development.
    • Some of the vaccines undergoing clinical trials are mostly directed at a single or a couple of proteins (spike) of the virus.
    • But vaccines under trial that use the inactivated coronaviruses would expose the immune system to a whole range of viral proteins, much like natural infection and can produce immune responses.
    • However, it is not known if people who have experienced asymptomatic infection would show robust immune responses like those who have recovered from moderate or severe disease.

    Ethical issues involved

    • Issuing ‘immunity certificates’ to people who have recovered can be an ethical minefield.
    • Doctors do not generally prefer immunity to be induced by natural infection compared with vaccines. It seems logical, but there are multiple challenges.
    • There might be long-term health complications in those who had COVID-19, whereas the vaccine will have minimal or no adverse health consequences.
    • There is a danger that similar arguments will be made for other vaccine-preventable diseases for which we have a universal immunisation programme.

    There is also a public health risk of issuing immunity certificates:

    • People whose livelihood has have been affected would be encouraged to adopt risky behaviour so as to get infected rather than taking precautions to stay protected from the virus.
    • This would lead to a sharp increase in cases across the country with huge numbers requiring hospitalization.
    • Such a situation would lead to testing capabilities getting overwhelmed, crumbling of the health-care systems and increased deaths.

    Threats over malpractices:

    • Immunity certification will include a system for identification and monitoring, thus compromising privacy.
    • Other contentious issues would be profiteering by private labs performing tests, and the menace of fake certificates which we have already seen in some Indian states.
    • In the end, an immunity passport will further divide the society with different ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.

    Way forward

    • We need to look at COVID-19 with a sense of balance and not hysteria.
    • Terms such as immunity passports may not have relevance as we do not know anything about specific kinds of immune responses and the duration of protection in people.
    • There is currently not enough evidence about the effectiveness of antibody-mediated immunity to guarantee the accuracy of an ‘immunity passport’ or ‘risk-free certificate’.
    • The permission to travel or work should be decided on a case by case basis, according to the principles of ethics while dealing with a pandemic.

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  • Modern Indian History-Events and Personalities

    How Quit India movement gave a new direction to India’s freedom struggle?

    | | Mains Paper 1: Modern Indian History

    On August 8, 78 years ago, Mahatma Gandhi gave the call for British colonizers to “Quit India” and for the Indians to “do or die” to make this happen.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to the Indian freedom struggle, consider the following events:

    1. Mutiny in Royal Indian Navy
    2. Quit India Movement launched
    3. Second Round Table Conference

    What is the correct chronological sequence of the above events?(CSP 2017)

    (a) 1-2-3

    (b) 2-1-3

    (c) 3-2-1

    (d) 3-1-2

    What led to the events of August 1942?

    • While factors leading to such a movement had been building up, matters came to a head with the failure of the Cripps Mission.
    • World War II was raging, and a beleaguered British needed the cooperation of their colonial subjects in India.
    • To this end, in March 1942, a mission led by Sir Stafford Cripps arrived in India to meet leaders of the Congress and the Muslim League.
    • The idea was to secure India’s whole-hearted support in the war, in return for self-governance.
    • However, despite the promise of “the earliest possible realization of self-government in India”, the offer Cripps made was of dominion status, and not freedom.

    A final blow

    • The failures of the Cripps Mission made Mahatma Gandhi realize that freedom would be had only by fighting tooth and nail for it.
    • Though initially reluctant to launch a movement that could hamper Britain’s efforts to defeat Fascist forces in the World War, Congress eventually decided to launch a mass civil disobedience.
    • At the Working Committee meeting in Wardha in July 1942, it was decided the time had come for the movement to move into an active phase.

    The Gowalia Tank address and Gandhiji’s arrest

    • On August 8, Gandhiji addressed the people from Mumbai’s Gowalia Tank maidan with the ‘Do or Die’ mantra.
    • By August 9, Gandhi and all other senior Congress leaders had been jailed.
    • He was kept at the Aga Khan Palace in Pune, and later in the Yerawada jail.
    • It was during this time that Kasturba Gandhi died at the Aga Khan Palace.

    The slogan ‘Quit India’

    • While Gandhi gave the clarion call of Quit India, the slogan was coined by Yusuf Meherally, a socialist and trade unionist who also served as Mayor of Mumbai.
    • A few years ago, in 1928, it was Meherally who had coined the slogan “Simon Go Back”.

    Outcome: A people’s movement

    • The arrest of the leaders, however, failed to deter the masses. With no one to give directions, people took the movement into their own hands.
    • In Bombay, Poona and Ahmedabad, lakhs of people clashed with the police on August 9. On August 10, protests erupted in Delhi, UP and Bihar.
    • There were strikes, demonstrations and people’s marches in defiance of prohibitory orders in Kanpur, Patna, Varanasi, and Allahabad.
    • The protests spread rapidly into smaller towns and villages.
    • Till mid-September, police stations, courts, post offices and other symbols of government authority were attacked.
    • Railway tracks were blocked, students went on strike in schools and colleges across India, and distributed illegal nationalist literature.
    • Mill and factory workers in Bombay, Ahmedabad, Poona, Ahmednagar, and Jamshedpur stayed away for weeks.
    • In some places, the protests were violent, with bridges blown up, telegraph wires cut, and railway lines taken apart.

    Outcome

    • The Quit India movement was violently suppressed by the British – people were shot, lathi-charged, villages burnt and enormous fines imposed.
    • In the five months up to December 1942, an estimated 60,000 people had been thrown in jail.

    Significance

    • Soon after, Gandhi and almost the entire top Congress leadership was arrested and thus began a truly people-led movement in our freedom struggle.
    • Eventually dispersed violently by the British, it left behind a clear message that the British would have to leave India, and no other solution would be acceptable to its masses.

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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    What are Confucius Institutes, and why are they under the scanner in India?

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

    • The Ministry of Education (previously HRD) had sent a letter to several institutions seeking information about the activities of their Confucius Institutes (CIs) and Chinese language training centres.
    • This has brought the spotlight to China’s CI programme, a key pillar of Beijing’s global soft power effort, and raised questions about the future of India-China cooperation in the education space.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q.“It cannot be business as usual with China after the border clash.” Critically comment.

    What are the Confucius Institutes (CI)?

    • Starting with a CI in Seoul in 2004, China’s National Office for Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (NOCFL) known as Hanban establishes CI.
    • China has established 550 CIs and 1,172 Confucius Classrooms (CCs) housed in foreign institutions, in 162 countries.
    • As the Hanban explains on its website, following the experience of the British Council, Alliance Française and Germany’s Goethe-Institut, China began “establishing non-profit public institutions which aim to promote Chinese language and culture in foreign countries”.

    What is the presence of CIs in India?

    • India is reviewing the presence of CIs in seven universities, in addition to 54 MoUs on inter-school cooperation involving China, which is not connected to the CI programme.

    How have CIs been viewed around the world?

    • The CI arrangement has generated debate in the West, where some universities have closed the institutes amid concern over the influence of the Chinese government and it’s funding on host institutions.
    • Closures of some CIs have been reported in the United States, Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Sweden.
    • While the closures in the West have made news, these cases still represent a minority. Faced with this backlash, China is now rebranding the programme.
    • Most of the 550 CIs and more than 1,000 CCs around the world are still active, with a presence spanning Africa, Central Asia, Latin America, and across Asia.

    What does it mean for India-China relations?

    • CIs and CCs had already been in India for more than 10 years.
    • Even prior to the border skirmishes, Indian authorities had viewed the CI arrangement somewhat warily.
    • Along with the new move to review CIs, Mandarin has been dropped from the list of foreign languages that can be taught in schools in the new National Education Policy.

    Not a perfect move

    • Recent moves by India shows that it cannot be business as usual with China after the border clash.
    • However, India’s long-term objectives are not clear.
    • De-emphasizing learning Mandarin is neither likely to impact China’s stance on the border nor help India in developing the expertise and resources it needs in dealing with China.

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  • Monsoon Updates

    Boreal Summer Intra-Seasonal Oscillation (BSISO)

    Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Geographical Features & Their Location

    Researchers at the Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS), Hyderabad have reportedly found a way to better forecast the Boreal Summer Intra-Seasonal Oscillation (BSISO).

    Try this PYQ:

    Q.With reference to ‘Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD)’ sometimes mentioned in the news while forecasting Indian monsoon, which of the following statements is/are correct? (CSP 2017)

    1. IOD phenomenon is characterized by a difference in sea surface temperature between tropical Western Indian Ocean and tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean.
    2. An IOD phenomenon can influence an El Nino’s impact on the monsoon.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) Both 1 and 2

    (d) Neither 1 nor 2

    What is BSISO?

    • The BSISO of the Asian summer monsoon (ASM) is one of the most prominent sources of short-term climate variability in the global monsoon system.
    • It is the movement of convection (heat) from the Indian Ocean to the western Pacific Ocean roughly every 10-50 days during the monsoon (June-September).
    • Compared with the related Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) it is more complex in nature, with prominent northward propagation and variability extending much further from the equator.
    • It represents the monsoon’s ‘active’ and ‘break’ periods, in which weeks of heavy rainfall give way to brilliant sunshine before starting all over again.
    • The active phase also enhances monsoon winds and hence the surface waves.

    Why predict BSISO behaviour?

    • Some phases of boreal summer intraseasonal oscillation or BSISO induce high wave activity in the north Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea, the researchers claimed.
    • Wave forecast advisories based on the BSISO would be more useful for efficient coastal and marine management.
    • This finding has a great significance in developing seasonal and climate forecast service for waves and coastal erosion for India.

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