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  • Foreign Policy Watch: India-China

    Rising incidences of Chinese Transgressions

    22 May 2020 | | Internal Security
    Mains Paper 3: Border Area Security Challenges

    As tensions remain high between Indian and Chinese soldiers, the number of recorded Chinese transgressions across the disputed India-China border surged by 75 per cent in Ladakh in 2019, and the Chinese forays into Indian Territory in the first four months of the current year have also witnessed an increase compared to the same period last year.

    Chinese Transgression:

      • The border between India and China is not fully demarcated and the Line of Actual Control (LAC) is neither clarified nor confirmed by the two countries.
      • This leads to different perceptions of the LAC for the two sides while soldiers from either side try to patrol the area.
      • Observation Methods: Use of surveillance equipment, face-offs by patrols, reliable indications by locals, or evidence left by the Chinese in the form of wrappers, biscuit packets etc. in an unmanned area.
      • Official data shows that 80% of Chinese transgressions across the LAC since 2015 have taken place in four locations of which three are in eastern Ladakh in the western sector.
        • These areas of eastern Ladakh are Pangong Tso, Trig Heights and Burtse.
        • The fourth area is the Dichu Area/Madan Ridge area (Arunachal Pradesh) of the Eastern sector.

    •  Implications of Increased Number of Transgressions:

      • It is an indicator of increased Chinese assertiveness.
      • Even if there are no major incidents, it should not be taken lightly.
      • So far, there has been no major standoff between the two sides after the 73-day Doklam standoff on Sikkim-Bhutan border in 2017.

    Concerns

    • India is worried about the tensions at Naku La in Sikkim and at Galwan river and Pangong Tso in Ladakh.
    • The increased transgressions lead to more tensions between both countries which are already struggling to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
    • Nepal’s recent behaviour on the Mansarovar Link Road raising the border map issue also raises Indian concerns.
    • The constant accusations on each other also cause tensions and disrupt the peace on borders.
      • Recently, Chinese media accused India of building defence facilities in the Galwan Valley region of the contested Aksai Chin area.
    • India and China are both nuclear-armed countries with strong militaries and the constant border conflicts are not a desirable thing.

    Way Forward

    • In the Wuhan and Mahabalipuram summits, both China and India had reaffirmed that they will make efforts to ensure peace and tranquility in the border areas.
    • On 1st April, 2020 India and China completed their 70 years of diplomatic relations.
    • Both countries have resolved border issues peacefully in the past four decades which gives the hope that the tensions will subside soon.
    • Establishment of peace between the two big powers of such an important geopolitical region is essential for their own growth and development as well as for maintenance of global peace.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. Clear demarcation of the national borders is the need of the hour. Discuss.

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  • International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

    Demo-2 Mission by SpaceX

    22 May 2020 | | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    NASA’s SpaceX Demo-2 test flight will lift off for International Space Station (ISS) becoming the first crewed flight to launch from American soil since the conclusion of the space shuttle era in 2011.

    We can get a match the pair type question in prelims asking various space missions and their purposes. Make note of similar space missions from here.

    Try this:

    Q. Which of the following pair is/are correctly matched? (CSP 2014)

    Spacecraft Purpose
    1. Cassini-Huygens Orbiting the Venus and transmitting data to the Earth
    2. Messenger Mapping and investigating the Mercury
    3. Voyager 1 and 2 Exploring the outer solar system

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 and 3 only

    c) 1 and 3 only

    d) 1, 2 and 3

    Demo-2: What is the mission?

    • The Demo-2 mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program with the aim of developing reliable and cost-effective access to and from the ISS.
    • Essentially, the lift-off is a flight test to certify if SpaceX’s crew transportation system can be used to ferry crew to and from the space station regularly.
    • After its launch, the Crew Dragon will perform a series of phasing manoeuvres to gradually approach and autonomously dock with the ISS.
    • After docking, the two astronauts will go aboard the ISS. They will perform tests of the Crew Dragon and conduct research with Expedition 63, the space station crew currently in residence at ISS.

    About the Commercial Crew Program

    • The main objective of this program is to make access to space easier in terms of its cost, so that cargo and crew can be easily transported to and from the ISS, enabling greater scientific research.
    • Secondly, by encouraging private companies such as Boeing and SpaceX to provide crew transportation NASA wants to focus on building spacecraft and rockets meant for deep space exploration missions.
    • Boeing and SpaceX were selected by NASA in September 2014 to develop transportation systems meant to transfer crew from the US to the ISS.

    Back2Basics: SpaceX

    • Space Exploration Technologies Corp., trading as SpaceX, is a private American aerospace manufacturer and space transportation Services Company headquartered in Hawthorne, California.
    • It was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the goal of reducing space transportation costs to enable the colonization of Mars.
    • SpaceX has developed several launch vehicles and the Dragon spacecraft.

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  • Indian Air Force Updates

    What is the ‘Sonic Boom’ that rattled Bengaluru city?

    22 May 2020 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    The ‘loud sound’ heard in Bengaluru a few days back, which puzzled lakhs of city dwellers, was revealed to have emanated from an IAF test flight involving a supersonic profile. The sonic boom was probably heard while the IAF aircraft was decelerating from supersonic to subsonic speed between 36,000 and 40000 feet altitude.

    Note:

    We often get to hear about updates in  India’s missile programme. UPSC may ask a basic physics question asking fundamental differences between various Mach number and its differences.

    What is a ‘sonic boom’?

    • Sound travels in the form of waves which are emitted outwards from its source.
    • In air, the speed of these waves depends on a number of factors, such as the temperature of the air and altitude.
    • When an aircraft travels at supersonic speed – meaning faster than sound (>1225 kmph at sea level) – the field of sound waves moves to the back of the craft.
    • A stationary observer thus hears no sound when a supersonic flight approaches since the sound waves are at the rear of the latter.
    • At such speeds, both newly created as well as old waves, are forced into a region at the aircraft’s rear called a ‘Mach cone’, which extends from the craft and intercepts the Earth in a hyperbola-shaped curve, and leaves a trail called the ‘boom carpet’.
    • The loud sound that is heard on the Earth when this happens is called a ‘sonic boom’ (resembles bomb-blast sound).

    Impacts

    • When such aircraft fly at a low altitude, the sonic boom can become intense enough to cause the glass to crack or cause health hazards.
    • Overland supersonic flights have thus been banned in many countries.

    Supersonic flights

    • In 1947, the American military pilot Chuck Yeager became the first to breach the sound barrier, flying the Bell X-1 aircraft at 1127 kmph.
    • Since then, many supersonic flights have followed, with advanced designs allowing speeds of over Mach 3, or three times the speed of sound.
    • According to the IAF website, India’s fastest jets include the Sukhoi SU-30 MKI (Mach 2.35) and the Mirage-2000 (Mach 2.3).

    Back2Basics: Traverse of sound

    • From a stationary source, such as a television set, sound waves travel outwards in concentric spheres of growing radii.
    • When the source of sound is moving – e.g, a truck– the successive waves in front of the truck get closer together, and the ones behind it spread out.
    • This is also the cause of the Doppler effect– in which bunched waves at the front appear at a higher frequency to a stationary observer, and spread out waves that are behind are observed at a lower frequency.
    • As long as the source of the sound keeps moving slower than the speed of sound itself, this source– say a truck or a plane – remains nested within the sound waves that are travelling in all directions.

    Mach number

    • The ratio of the speed of the aircraft to the speed of sound in the gas determines the magnitude of many of the compressibility effects.
    • Because of the importance of this speed ratio, aerodynamicists have designated it with a special parameter called the Mach number in honour of Ernst Mach, a late 19th-century physicist who studied gas dynamics.
    • Subsonic conditions occur for Mach numbers less than one, M < 1.
    • As the speed of the object approaches the speed of sound, the flight Mach number is nearly equal to one, M = 1, and the flow is said to be transonic.
    • Supersonic conditions occur for Mach numbers greater than one, 1 < M < 3.
    • For speeds greater than five times the speed of sound, M > 5, the flow is said to be hypersonic.
    • The Space Shuttle re-enters the atmosphere at high hypersonic speeds, M ~ 25. Under these conditions, the heated air becomes ionized plasma of gas and the spacecraft must be insulated from the high temperatures.

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  • Promoting Science and Technology – Missions,Policies & Schemes

    [pib] Certification of ‘Quantum Entanglement’

    22 May 2020 | PIB | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Indian scientists have developed a novel protocol to find out whether a pair of electrons are in an entangled state so that they can be safely used as resources for facilitating quantum information processing tasks.

    Trending in news this year is the Quantum Technology, (As it used to be until last year were- the Internet of Things (IoT) CSP 2019, Artificial Intelligence (AI) etc.)

    Must read all this news in a loop:

    National Mission on QC

    Quantum Coin

    Quantum Supremacy

    What is Quantum Entanglement (QE)?

    • QE is the name given to a special connection between pairs or groups of quantum systems, or any objects described by quantum mechanics.
    • It is one of the biggest parts of quantum mechanics that makes it hard to understand in terms of the everyday world.
    • When we look at particles, we usually say that each particle has its own quantum state. Sometimes, two particles can act on one another and become an entangled system.
    • When a pair or group of particles can only be described by the quantum state for the system, and not by individual quantum states, we say the particles are “entangled”.

    Going bit technical here-

    • It is the physical phenomenon that occurs when a pair or group of particles is generated; interact, in a way such that the quantum state of each particle of the pair or group cannot be described independently of the state of the others.
    • Entangled states are key resources to facilitate many quantum information processing tasks and quantum cryptographic protocols.

    Why decode the Entanglement?

    • Entanglement is fragile and is easily lost during the transit of photons through the environment.
    • Hence it is extremely important to know whether a pair of photons are entangled, in order to use them as a resource.
    • Verification of entanglement requires the use of measurement devices, but such devices may be hacked or compromised.

    How to secure QE?

    • Device-independent self-testing (DIST) is a method that can be used in order to overcome such a possibility.
    • This method enables the verification of entanglement in an unknown quantum state of two photons without having direct access to the state, or complete trust in the measurement devices.
    • The theory relies on the application of the quantum uncertainty principle while implementing full device independence is a difficult task.

    Back2Basics: Quantum Mechanics

    • Quantum mechanics (QM) is a fundamental theory in physics which describes nature at the smallest scales of energy levels of atoms and subatomic particles.
    • It is the body of scientific laws that describe the wacky behaviour of photons, electrons and the other particles that make up the universe.

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  • Genetically Modified (GM) crops – cotton, mustards, etc.

    [pib] Alternative Dwarfing Genes in Wheat

    22 May 2020 | PIB | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Scientists at Pune based Agharkar Research Institute (ARI) an autonomous institute of the Department of Science and Technology has mapped two dwarfing genes Rht14 and Rht18 in wheat that can reduce stubble volume.

    Note: One may wonder why the name of research institution has not been skipped here!

    Q. With reference to the Genetically Modified mustard (GM mustard) developed in India, consider the following statements:

    1. GM mustard has the genes of a soil bacterium that give the plant the property of pest-resistance to a wide variety of pests.
    2. GM mustard has the genes that allow the plant cross-pollination and hybridization.
    3. GM mustard has been developed jointly by the IARI and Punjab Agricultural University.

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

    (a) 1 and 3 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

    Rht14 and Rht18

    • The researchers have mapped the dwarfing genes on chromosome 6A in durum wheat, and DNA-based markers were developed for a better selection of these genes in wheat breeding lines.
    • These genes are associated with better seedling vigour and longer coleoptiles (sheath protecting the young shoot tip).
    • These DNA based markers are being used at ARI for marker-assisted transfer of these genes in Indian wheat varieties, so as to make them suitable for sowing under rice stubble-retained conditions and dry environments.
    • Wheat lines with these alternative dwarfing genes, apart from reducing crop residue burning, can allow deeper sowing of wheat seeds to avail advantage of residual moisture in the soil under dry environments.
    • Wheat lines with these alternative dwarfing genes, apart from reducing crop residue burning, can allow deeper sowing of wheat seeds to avail advantage of residual moisture in the soil under dry environments.

    Significance

    • In India, close to twenty-three million tonnes of leftover rice residues are annually burnt by farmers to get rid of the straw and prepare their fields for sowing wheat, which is the next crop, resulting in air pollution.
    • Burning of leftover rice crop residue has serious implications for the environment, soil, and human health.
    • Therefore, there is a need to include alternative dwarfing genes in wheat improvement programs.
    • The dwarfing genes Rht14 and Rht18 in wheat conferred a plant height reduction comparable to the Rht1 alleles while retaining early vigour in wheat seedlings, but do not affect coleoptile length and seedling shoot length.
    • These can, therefore, be utilized as an alternative dwarfing gene to Rht1 for deep sowing conditions or in fields with retained stubble.
    • The improved wheat lines which are being developed at ARI will help reducing stubble burning incidences under the rice-wheat cropping system.
    • These lines will also allow deeper sowing of wheat seeds to avail advantage of residual moisture in the soil, therefore, saving valuable water resources and reduce the cost of cultivation to farmers.

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  • Zoonotic Diseases: Medical Sciences Involved & Preventive Measures

    ‘Agappe Chitra Magna’ kit for COVID diagnosis

    22 May 2020 | Prelims Only | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    Agappe Chitra Magna, a magnetic nanoparticles-based RNA extraction kit has been commercially launched.

    The peculiarity of the name ‘Agappe Chitra Magna’ creates a possibility of a prelims question. One may confuse it with any sort of Artform.

    Agappe Chitra Magna (ACM) Kit

    • The ACM kit is developed by the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) and manufactured by Kochi-based Agappe Diagnostics Ltd.,
    • It uses innovative technology for isolating RNA using magnetic nanoparticles to capture the RNA from the patient sample.
    • The magnetic nanoparticles beads bind to the viral RNA and, when exposed to a magnetic field, give a highly purified and concentrated RNA.
    • As the sensitivity of the detection method is dependent on getting an adequate quantity of viral RNA, this innovation enhances the chances of identifying positive cases.
    • The commercial launch of the kit is a major step to make India self-reliant in detecting COVID-19 and can help increase the rate of testing and bring down its costs, a crucial step for combating the pandemic.

    Significance of the kit

    • The commercial launch of the kit is a major step to make India self-reliant in detecting COVID-19 and can help increase the rate of testing and bring down its costs, a crucial step for combating the pandemic.
    • The RNA isolation kit will reduce the dependence on imported kits and make COVID testing more cost-effective.

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

    Towards self-reliance in defence manufacturing

    21 May 2020 | | Internal Security
    Mains Paper 3: Various Security Forces, Agencies & Their Mandates

    External dependence for defence equipment could turn out to be the chink in the armour of any country, literally. As one of the major importer of defence equipment, India has been struggling to wean itself away from this vulnerability. This article discusses the recent changes announced by the finance minister in defence procurement and manufacturing policy. So, what are the changes and how will these changes benefit us? Read to know more…

    Promoting self-reliance: Addressing strategic and national security concern

    • Recently the Finance Minister announced measures to promote self-reliance in defence production.
    • This address long-standing strategic and national security concerns about the extent of India’s external dependence for its defence-preparedness.
    • For most of the past decade, India had the dubious distinction of being the world’s largest arms importer.
    • India accounted for about 12% of global arms imports.
    • Saudi Arabia jumped to first place in 2018 and 2019, but India still takes over 9% of global imports.
    • This external dependence for weapons, spares and, in some cases, even ammunition creates vulnerabilities during military crises.
    • COVID-19 has, once again, focused minds on the impact of supply chain disruptions on both civil and defence sectors.
    • With its security environment, its great power ambitions and its technological capacities, India should have a robust defence manufacturing capacity.
    • New Defence Procurement Procedures (DPP) 2020 are under formulation.
    • We now have a Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) tasked with promoting indigenous equipment in the armed forces.

    Following are some of the moves declared by the government and their significance for the country

    1. Encouraging  private manufacturers

    • The decision i) to notify a list of weapons systems for sourcing entirely from Indian manufacturers, ii) the promise to progressively expand this list iii) a separate Budget provision for domestic capital procurement- will encourage our private defence manufacturers.
    • The research capacities, technological skills and quality commitment of our private defence manufacturer are often better appreciated by foreign clients for whom they are subcontractors.
    • There is a range of platforms and subsystems, developed in India and qualified in trials, some of which face hurdles to their induction by our armed forces because of foreign competition.
    • These include missile systems such as Akash and Nag, the Light Combat Aircraft and the Light Combat Helicopter, artillery guns, radars, electronic warfare systems and armoured vehicles.

    2. Time-bound procurement

    • The government has promised i) a time-bound defence procurement process, ii) overhauling trial and testing procedures iii) establishing a professional project management unit.
    • To understand the significance of the above measures consider the fact below-
    • Over the past five years, the Indian government has approved over 200 defence acquisition proposals, valued at over ₹4 trillion.
    • But most are still in relatively early stages of processing.
    • Of course, this delay now provides the opportunity to re-examine them and to prioritise those with indigenous research and development.
    • The CDS could also examine them from a tri-service angle, to avoid redundancy of capacities across the services.

    3. Corporatisation of Ordnance Factory Board

    • Over the decades, our ordnance factories have been the backbone of indigenous supplies to our armed forces.
    • Their structure, work culture and product range now need to be responsive to technology and quality demands of modern armed forces.
    • Corporatisation, including public listing of some units, ensures a more efficient interface of the manufacturer with the designer and end-user.
    • The factories would be better integrated into the larger defence manufacturing ecosystem.

    4. Realistic specifications of desired weapon platforms

    • Our defence planners will frame “realistic” specifications for their desired weapons platforms.
    • These specifications should be based on the requirements of India’s defence strategy, rather than on aspirational considerations which, the Finance Minister said, may lead to a single foreign vendor.
    • It is also imperative that when we import weapon systems, we should plan for the ammunitions and spares for them to be eventually manufactured in India.
    • This will ensure that we are not driven to seek urgent replenishments from abroad during crises.
    • The same goes for repair, maintenance and overhaul facilities and, at the next level, the upgrade of weapons platforms.

    5. FDI limit increased to 74% by automatic route

    • The liberalisation of foreign direct investment in defence manufacturing, raising the limit under the automatic route to 74%, should open the door to more joint ventures of foreign and Indian companies for defence manufacturing in India.
    • It would also sustain domestic industrial activity in the research, design and manufacture of systems and sub-systems.
    • Our companies would now get the opportunity to directly contribute to Indian defence manufacturing.

    Way forward

    • The development of a thriving indigenous defence industry needs an overhaul of existing regulations and practices.
    • A long-term integrated perspective plan of the requirements of the armed forces should give industry a clear picture of future requirements.
    • DPP 2020 should incorporate guidelines to promote forward-looking strategic partnerships between Indian and foreign companies.
    • This partnership should be with a view to achieving indigenisation over a period of time for even sophisticated platforms.
    • Cost evaluation has to evolve from mechanical application of the L1 (lowest financial bid) principle to prioritising indigenous content.
    • The definition of indigenisation itself needs to privilege technology over value or volume.
    • Investment, Indian or foreign, will be viable only if the door to defence exports is opened, with a transparent policy.
    • To give private industry a level playing field for developing defence technologies, conflicts of interest, created by the role of our Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) as the government’s sole adviser, developer and evaluator of technologies have to be addressed.

    Consider the question, “India has been aspiring to reduce its external dependence for defence equipment but has not succeeded in doing so. Examine the challenges in the way of self-sufficiency in this area. How effective will be the recent policy changes made in meeting the goal?”

    Conclusion

    The government has rightly clarified that self-reliance would not be taken to overzealous extremes. The thrust for indigenous research and development will coexist with the import of cutting-edge military technologies to obviate near-term defence vulnerabilities. Of the key components of any major reform — money, method and mindset — mindset is the most critical and the most intractable. It takes a crisis to change it.

     

     

     

     

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  • Coronavirus – Economic Issues

    Stimulus package aims to turn the crisis into opportunity

    21 May 2020 | op-ed snap | Economics
    Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    Economic disruption caused by the corona crisis stems from both-demand side and supply side. So, the stimulus package announced was expected to address the issues on both sides. This article breaks downs the various elements of the package in demand-side as well as supply-side measures. We also know aggregate demand is not just consumption demand. So, this fact was also considered while deciding the demand-side measures.

    Twin mantra of stimulus package

    • 1) To ensure that human cost of the crisis is minimised, especially for those at the bottom of the pyramid.
    • 2) To convert this crisis into an opportunity by implementing bold structural reforms.
    • Such reforms will go beyond repairing the damage to the production capacities and enhance the overall supply response capabilities of the economy.

    Impact on demand side as well as supply side

    • The present crisis is far worse than both the Asian financial crisis of the late Nineties as well as the global financial crisis of 2008-09.
    • It has seriously impacted both the supply and demand side of the economy.
    • The government’s response has been to effectively address both these aspects.

    Government’s four-fold response to address supply-side problems

    1. Ensuring food security

    • To ensure that the government declared agriculture and all related activities as essential services.
    • This permitted the successful harvesting and efficient procurement of the critical Rabi crop.
    • It also implied pumping in Rs 78,000 crore as new purchasing power in the hands of the farmers.

    2. Preventing cash/liquidity crunch

    • Preventing the pressing cash/liquidity crunch was necessary to avoid insolvencies and bankruptcies.
    • An immediate moratorium was announced on their debt servicing obligations to commercial banks.
    • This measure was reinforced for MSMEs, for whom an additional credit line of Rs 3 trillion without any fresh collateral was extended.
    • MSMEs could also avail of new equity from the Rs 50,000 crore fund of funds and take advantage of the subsidiary debt facility announced by the FM.
    • These measures provided succour to a large number of businesses, especially those in the services sectors like hospitality, entertainment and retail.
    • The Rs 90,000 crore credit package made available to state discoms should also be included in this set of measures.
    • It will prevent bankruptcies of state electricity utilities and the power producers, which would have had disastrous results.

    3. Reforms in agriculture and manufacturing sector

    • The third set of measures were directed to significantly improve the ecosystem for private producers, both in agriculture and manufacturing.
    • Long-pending reforms to give farmers the much-needed freedom to choose their clients and for traders and exporters of agro-products to maintain necessary stocks have now been announced.
    • Defence production and exports will get a new fillip with the liberalisation measures.
    • Greater space will be given to private businesses in sectors in which public sector enterprises hitherto had either a monopoly or a predominant presence.

    4. Credit to street vendors

    • Finally, this is a measure that does not have a large fiscal footprint, but touches the lives and livelihoods of more than 50 lakh families.
    • Under which street vendors all over the country have been given a credit of Rs 10,000 each for re-stocking and use as working capital.

    Understanding the aggregate demand

    •  It is important to point out that aggregate demand is made up of- i) consumption, ii) investment iii) demand for intermediate goods.
    • So,  the cash-in-hand of consumers is not the only means for reversing the declining demand in the economy.
    • Therefore, additional credit lines provided to MSMEs, vendors or farmers will contribute to the strengthening of aggregate demand.

    Government’s response to address demand-side problems

    • A significant number of measures were announced to hike consumption demand directly as well.
    • Among these are:
    • Rs 1.73 lakh crore for improving the incomes and welfare of the most vulnerable, including the 20 crore female Jan Dhan account holders who will receive monies directly into their bank accounts.
    • Rs 50,000 additional incomes in the hands of those whose TDS and TCS were reduced by 25 per cent.
    • Rs 40,000 crore additional allocation for MNREGA, which will provide jobs and succour to those returning to their villages from metros and cities.
    • Rs 30,000 crore for construction workers.
    • Rs 17,800 crore transferred to 12 crore farmers and Rs 13,000 crore transferred to states to finance the costs of running quarantine homes and shelters for migrant workers.
    • These measures, which will directly benefit different categories of individuals, will surely raise the flagging demand — the necessary condition for triggering a fast-paced recovery in economic activity.

    Consider the question “The stimulus package announced by the government in the wake of pandemic sought to address both the demand side as well as supply-side problems. Examine the various components of package and other reforms announced in the economy.”

    Conclusion

    Combined with the significant number of bold structural reform measures, which hold the potential to make Indian firms attain global scales and competitiveness and give the much-needed freedoms, flexibility and financial strength to our beleaguered farmers, “the package” promises to promote India’s economic recovery in the post-COVID-19 period.

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  • Coronavirus – Economic Issues

    India and China after pandemic

    21 May 2020 | op-ed snap | Economics
    Mains Paper 3: Indian Economy

    The article broadly discusses the impact of the pandemic on the Indian economy. While the package has been declared to alleviate the economic pain, the government faces the challenge of finding the resources to plug the gaps. Though pandemic erupted from China, it successfully controlled it. This along with the its calibrated approach towards strategic progression is going to stand China in good stead.

    Grappling with the “unknown unknowns”

    • Several weeks before the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, India’s Minister for External Affairs delivered a lecture.
    • In the lecture, he had observed that “what defines power and determines national standing is also no longer the same. Technology, connectivity and trade are at the heart of the new contestations.”
    • He did mention a point about “known unknowns”.
    • But the pandemic has forced us to face the “unknown unknowns”.
    • Within a few weeks, his prediction would be overtaken by a tectonic shift in the global situation thanks to a virus and a pandemic.

    Impact on India’s economy

    • What distinguishes the present pandemic from earlier ones is its economic impact.
    • The economic impact is perhaps even more threatening than the human costs involved.
    • In the case of India, all forecasts have had to be shredded.
    • Job losses have been massive, specially in urban areas.
    • India’s exports in the month of April, for instance, were the worst in the past 30 years.

    Finding resources for the stimulus package

    • Well before pandemic India had been witnessing a persistent economic downward slide.
    • Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement of a ₹20-lakh crore stimulus package was, hence, timely.
    • Even though economists now believe that in real terms it amounts to around 2% of GDP rather than 10% .
    • Finding resources for even this stimulus package will, however, not be easy.
    • The Centre’s finances are not in the best of health. It has already had to resort to a second tranche of $1 billion loan from the World Bank to support COVID-19 relief measures.
    • The finances of States are, to say the least, in a perilous state.
    • Questions are, thus, bound to be raised as to whether adequate funds would be forthcoming for relief purposes.

    China’s calibrated approach: Strategic progression

    • Since its early recovery, China has followed a calibrated approach — one that stems from a policy of deliberate strategic progression conceived over the years.
    • It may be worthwhile to understand the facts so as to underscore the gap that currently exists between China and India.
    • In 2015, China’s President, Xi Jinping, had floated the idea of “a Community of Common Destiny of Mankind”.
    • In this, he outlined China’s viewpoint on aspects such as economic globalisation and the information technology revolution.
    • The Belt and Road Initiative — which encompasses policy, infrastructure, trade, financial, and people-to-people connectivity, and, implicitly also, security ties — was an adjunct to it.
    • The 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (2017), thereafter, gave its assent, considering it essential to enable China to achieve pre-eminence status within the global order.
    • Ever since, China has focused on-
    • i) attaining economic and technological progress.
    • ii) defining how power would be determined in the new globalised era through devising new international norms in many emerging domains such as cyber, space, artificial intelligence, etc.
    • China also set about rewriting international rules, premised not so much on governing where global goods are made, but on setting standards that define production, exchange and consumption.
    • China Standards 2035 plans to set new standards with regard to the Industrial Internet of Things (IoT) and define next-generation information technology and biotechnology infrastructure.
    • China is hoping, to reap the “early bird” advantage, even as other industrial nations struggle to recover from the devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
    • Internationalisation of Chinese standards would provide China a clear advantage by providing it an opportunity to set the standards in emerging industries such as high-end equipment manufacturing, unmanned vehicles, new materials, cybersecurity and the like.
    • This would enable it gain a dominant position in the global economy.

    India must plan well to cope with the China challenge

    • Mounting an effective challenge to China at this time would require a well-conceived and carefully calibrated plan of action by India.
    • As of now, this is not evident.
    • India and China will certainly emerge from the pandemic more diminished than previously, but to varying extents.
    • Each country will, no doubt, suffer an economic setback.
    • But while both nations would be among the very few that would still have a positive growth rate in the near future.
    • Which is 1% in the case of China and 1.8% in the case of India, according to the International Monetary Fund.
    • Given the size of China’s economy, it does not translate into a massive shift in India’s favour.

    Consider the question “Economies across the world have been bruised by the corona pandemic. There have also been talks of India being the beneficiary of changes in the global supply chains. In light of this, examine the issues and challenges that India may face in this regard.”

    Conclusion

    India would more than welcome some of the entities exiting China, but there are no “green shoots” to suggest that such a shift has, or is, about to take place. Many alternatives are available to these companies and it would be excessively optimistic on our part to hold on to the belief that India is the only alternative choice for most of them.

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  • Global Geological And Climatic Events

    What is Solar Minimum?

    21 May 2020 | | Science and Technology
    Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields

    The sun is said to have gone into a state called the ‘solar minimum’ and is about to enter the deepest period of ‘sunshine recession’ as sunspots are virtually not visibly at all.

    Practice question for Mains:

    Q. What are Solar minima and maxima? Discuss its impact on space weather and the Earth.

    What is a solar minimum and why is it happening now?

    • Sun has a cycle that lasts on average 11 years, and right now we are at the peak of that cycle.
    • Every 11 years or so, sunspots fade away, bringing a period of relative calm.
    • This is called the solar minimum. And it’s a regular part of the sunspot cycle.
    • While intense activity such as sunspots and solar flares subside during solar minimum, that doesn’t mean the sun becomes dull. Solar activity simply changes form.

    What about Solar Maximum?

    • Solar minima and maxima are the two extremes of the Sun’s 11-year and 400-year activity cycle.
    • At a maximum, the Sun is peppered with sunspots, solar flares erupt, and the Sun hurls billion-ton clouds of electrified gas into space.
    • Sky watchers may see more auroras, and space agencies must monitor radiation storms for astronaut protection.
    • Power outages, satellite malfunctions, communication disruptions, and GPS receiver malfunctions are just a few of the things that can happen during a solar maximum.

    What are its effects on Earth?

    a) On space weather

    • The Solar wind from coronal holes will temporarily create disturbances in the Earth’s magnetosphere, called geomagnetic storms, auroras, and disruptions to communications and navigation systems.
    • The space weather during solar minimum will also affect Earth’s upper atmosphere on satellites in low Earth orbit changes.
    • This means that the Earth’s upper atmosphere will cool down which is generally heated and puffed up by ultraviolet radiation from the sun.
    • However, the heat at the upper atmosphere of our planet helps Earth to drag debris and keep the low Earth orbit clear of manmade space junk.
    • Apart from this, the solar minimum will change the space weather significantly which will lead to an increase in the number of galactic cosmic rays that reach Earth’s upper atmosphere.
    • These Galactic cosmic rays are high energy particles which are a result of distant supernova explosions and other violent events in the galaxy.

    b) On astronauts

    • According to NASA the sun’s magnetic field weakens and provides less shielding from these cosmic rays during a solar minimum which will directly increase the threat to astronauts travelling through space.
    • This may cause health risks to astronauts travelling through space as the sun’s magnetic field weakens and provides less shielding from these cosmic rays.

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