Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Data privacy and digital governance in India
Context
- 2023 promises to be a landmark year for technology and digitisation in India. The Union Budget indicates growing prioritisation of these areas. For instance, the Digital India programme has been allotted Rs 4,795.24 crore, the allocation to the Ministry of Electronics and IT has nearly doubled, and there is a 1,000 per cent increase in the funding for the Artificial Intelligence and Digital Intelligence Unit. But something crucial is amiss.
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What is the issue?
- Budget has deep discord between pace of the digitisation and legal policy: Many of the initiatives announced with the budget reinforce the deep discord between the pace of digitisation efforts, and the implementation of effective legal frameworks to strengthen privacy and cybersecurity.
What is Anonymised data?
- Anonymised data includes data that does not contain Personally Identifiable Information (PII) like name, age, phone number, address, etc., or data from which PII has been removed.
Analysis: Privacy deficit in India
- New National Data Governance Policy: A new National Data Governance Policy is going to be introduced to enable access to anonymised data. However, several studies have demonstrated the ease with which anonymised data can be reverse-engineered to identify individuals. Current anonymisation techniques are inadequate and do not guarantee privacy protection.
- For instance: A study in 2019 was able to accurately reidentify 99.98 per cent of Americans in an anonymised dataset, including information held by the US government on more than 11 million people.
- Shortfall in Draft Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022: The current Draft Digital Data Protection Bill, 2022, falls short and fails to incorporate safeguards from previous rounds of consultations and even earlier iterations of the Bill.
- For instance: The 2021 draft imposed a penalty for the intentional reidentification of an individual’s anonymized personal information. This provision has been done away with, amplifying concerns around insufficient limitations and safeguards for privacy.
- No effective legislative safeguards to prevent access to personal information: The budget also proposes privacy-invasive changes to the Income Tax search and seizure provisions in view of the increased use of technology and digitization. IT officials could seek the assistance of experts to access digital devices and encrypted data. Such broad authorizations are bound to increase the scope for arbitrariness and misuse.
What issues need to be addressed for expanding the scope of DigiLocker?
- The budget proposes expanding the scope of DigiLocker. For this measure to truly serve the objective of “Trust Based Governance”, two issues need to be addressed:
- Strengthening of the cybersecurity infrastructure: Strengthening of the cybersecurity infrastructure, including implementation of the long-awaited National Cyber Security Strategy, to inspire people’s trust, and potentially avert situations like the one in 2020 where 3.8 crore DigiLocker accounts were compromised.
- Preventing scope creep of Aadhaar: Prevent the continuing scope creep of Aadhaar, which is increasingly being made mandatory not only to avail services and benefits but also to exercise fundamental rights such as voting. The negative human rights impact of the forced, widespread use of Aadhaar has been well-documented.
- DigiLocker, a government-run cloud-based platform for storing, sharing, and verifying documents and certificates, to make it a one-stop solution of reconciliation and updating of identity and addresses with Aadhaar as foundational identity.
Conclusion
- The World Economic Forum’s Global Cybersecurity Outlook 2023 finds that data privacy and cybersecurity regulations are effective for reducing cyber risks. Many new laws have been assured this year on data protection, telecom, internet governance and cybersecurity. As the country kickstarts its G20 presidency and prepares to be a leader in this space, we would do well to prioritise the development of exemplary, rights-respecting privacy and cybersecurity regimes.
Mains question
Q. For the potential of anonymised data to be unleashed without jeopardising people’s privacy, India first needs a robust data protection law. Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Digital public goods
Mains level: DPI ecosystem in India
Context
- Public infrastructure has been a cornerstone of human progress. The monopolisation of public infrastructure, which plagued previous generations, has manifested itself in the centralised nature of today’s digital infrastructure. Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) can fulfil this need, though it faces several challenges.
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What is the issue?
- There is a disturbing trend of the weaponization of data and technology or Digital Colonisation (Hicks, 2019) resulting in a loss of agency, sovereignty and privacy.
- Therefore, proactively deliberating on how to build good DPI is key to avoiding such challenges.
What Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is and what it does?
- Three foundational sets DPIs mediate the flow of people, money and information.
- First, the flow of people through a digital ID System.
- Second, the flow of money through a real-time fast payment system.
- Third, the flow of personal information through a consent-based data sharing system to actualise the benefits of DPIs and to empower the citizen with a real ability to control data.
- These three sets become the foundation for developing an effective DPI ecosystem.
- India, first country to develop all three foundational DPIs: India through India Stack became the first country to develop all three foundational DPIs digital identity (Aadhar), real-time fast payment (UPI) and a platform to safely share personal data without compromising privacy (Account Aggregator built on the Data Empowerment Protection Architecture or DEPA)
- Techno-legal regulatory frameworks in India: Techno-legal regulatory frameworks are used to achieve policy objectives through public-technology design.
- For example: India’s DEPA offers technological tools for people to invoke the rights made available to them under applicable privacy laws. Framed differently, this techno-legal governance regime embeds data protection principles into a public-technology stack.
- DPI most feasible model: DPI has emerged as the most feasible model due to its low cost, interoperability and scalable design, and because of its safeguards against monopolies and digital colonisation.
Do you know “India Stack”?
- India Stack is a set of (application programming interface) APIs that allows governments, businesses, startups and developers to utilize a unique digital Infrastructure to solve India’s hard problems towards presence-less, paperless, and cashless service delivery.
- The Open API team at iSPIRT has been a pro-bono partner in the development, evolution, and evangelization of these APIs and systems.
How DPIs constitute the backbone of a country’s digital infrastructure?
- Facilitate seamless public service delivery: These layers interface with each other to create an ecosystem that facilitates seamless public service delivery and allows businesses to design novel solutions on top of the DPI layers.
- Enables the creation of Open Networks as not seen before: India is now developing such open networks for credit (Open Credit Enablement Network), commerce (Open Network for Digital Commerce), Open Health Services Network (UHI) and many more.
- Generate network effects: When DPIs are integrated, they can generate network effects to create these open networks for various sectors.
For India’s DPI success to become a worldwide revolution, three types of institutions must be built
- An independent DPI steward institution: It is important to have a governance structure that is agile and responsive. A multiparty governance process through independent DPI institutions will be accountable to a broad range of stakeholders rather than be controlled by a single entity or group. This can build trust and confidence in DPI. India has created the Modular Open-Source Identity Platform (MOSIP), adopted by nine nations and with already more than 76 million active users.
- Need to develop global standards through a multilateral dialogue led by India: If standards originating from developed nations were transplanted to an emerging economies’ context without deferring to their developmental concerns, smaller countries would simply be captive to dominant technology players. Additionally, without these standards, Big Tech would likely engage in regulatory arbitrage to concentrate power.
- Sustainable financing models: Finally, we need to develop sustainable financing models for developing DPI for the world. Currently backed by philanthropic funding, such models are at risk of becoming a tool of philanthropic competition and positioning.
Notes for answer writing
- In the twenty-first-century, technological innovation has created a tempest of ideological, geographical and economic implications that pose new challenges.
- The monopolisation of public infrastructure, which plagued previous generations, has manifested itself in the centralised nature of today’s digital infrastructure.
- It is increasingly evident that the world needs a third type of public infrastructure, following modes of transport such as ports and roads, and lines of communication such as telegraph or telecom but with open, democratic principles built in.
- Built on top of public infrastructure, democratic countries with largely free markets have fostered public and private innovation and, therefore, generated considerable value creation in societies.
- However, like in the case of physical infrastructure, it is important that DPIs not succumb to monopolisation, authoritarianism and digital colonisation.
Conclusion
- The world needs a new playbook for digital infrastructure that mediates the flow of people, money and information. This will facilitate countries looking to digitally empower their citizens. They can then rapidly build platforms that address the specific needs of people, while ensuring people are able to trust and use the platform – without fear of exclusion or exploitation.
Mains question
Q. What Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) is and what it does? What can be done for India’s DPI success to become a worldwide revolution?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NISAR
Mains level: US- India space collaboration
Context
- India and the United States agreeing to advance space collaboration in several areas, under the ‘initiative on critical and emerging technology’ umbrella, including human space exploration and commercial space partnership, comes at a crucial time for both countries. This follows from the eighth meeting of the U.S.-India Civil Space Joint Working Group (CSJWG), that was held on January 30-31, 2023.
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Limiting factors in India-U.S. space cooperation
- Mismatch in the two nations interests in outer space: The first structural factor that limits long-term India-U.S. space cooperation is the mismatch in the two nations interests in outer space.
- American ambitions beyond earth orbits: Although the U.S. and its partners stress the importance of maintaining capabilities in low-earth orbit, their ambitions are firmly set on the moon.
- India’s current focus is on increasing its satellite launch capabilities: India’s scientific community focuses on building the nation’s capability in and under earth orbits. The Gaganyaan human space flight programme hopes to sustain India’s human presence in space for the long term. This is not to say that India does not aim for the moon, Mars or beyond. But India’s top priority is to substantially increase its satellite and launch capabilities in earth orbits and catch up with other spacefaring nations such as China.
- The asymmetry in capabilities: The U.S. has the highest number of registered satellites in space. It also has a range of launch vehicles serving both commercial and national-security needs.
- Private sector, for instance: Private entity SpaceX, for example, managed to achieve a record 61 launches in 2022, far higher than the number of launches undertaken by any other commercial entity or country. The American private sector has also assumed the challenge of replacing the International Space Station by 2030 with many smaller stations.
- The greatest challenge for India here is lack of capacity: The country has just over 60 satellites in orbit and cannot undertake double-digit launches annually. The Indian government also opened the space industry to the private sector only in 2020. Since the U.S. already has an extensive network of partners for space cooperation, it has few technical incentives to cooperate with India.
- Disagreements on govern space activities: Compounding these problems are disagreements on how best to govern space activities on the moon and other celestial bodies. Even though countries have a mindset to collaborate, the structural factors overpower diplomatic incentives to pursue long-term cooperation.
- NISAR has been built by space agencies of the US and India under a partnership agreement signed in 2014.
- The 2,800 kilograms satellite consists of both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, which makes it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite.
- While NASA has provided the L-band radar, GPS, a high-capacity solid-state recorder to store data, and a payload data subsystem, ISRO has provided the S-band radar, the GSLV launch system and spacecraft.
- Another important component of the satellite is its large 39-foot stationary antenna reflector.
- Made of a gold-plated wire mesh, the reflector will be used to focus the radar signals emitted and received by the upward-facing feed on the instrument structure.
Some novel solutions
- Sustained engagement: The standard solution to induce long-term cooperation is to sustain the engagement between academics, the private sector and state-led entities in the two countries. Sustained engagement could also take the form of collaborating on highly specialised projects such as the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) mission.
- Cooperation and collaboration between state and private entities: One form of cooperation is a partnership between state and private entities; or, as agreed in the most recent meeting, a convention of American and Indian aerospace companies to advance collaboration under the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) programme. Such an arrangement could be taken further.
- Reducing dependence: India could send its astronauts to train at American private companies. This could help India reduce its dependence on Russia while ISRO builds its own astronaut training centre.
- Government-owned New Space India Limited: Another novel arrangement could be a consortium led by the government-owned New Space India Limited which involves private companies in the U.S. This setup could accelerate India’s human spaceflight programme and give the U.S. an opportunity to accommodate Indian interests in earth orbits.
Conclusion
- The US and India have taken significant strides in advancing the private space sector. Together, these endeavors have the capability to shape and impact U.S. and Indian space policies and programmes over the next decade.
Mains question
Q. The US and India have taken significant strides in space cooperation. Discuss the limiting factors and suggest probable solutions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Major farm export/import commodities
Mains level: Read the attached story
India’s agricultural exports are poised to scale a new peak in the financial year ending March 31, 2023. But so are imports, bringing down the overall farm trade surplus.
Agriculture trade in a nutshell
- India’s agricultural exports are expected to reach a new high in FY 2022-23.
- The value of farm exports from April-December 2022 was 7.9% higher than the same period of the previous year, totalling $39 billion.
- Imports of agricultural produce have also grown 15.4% from $24.1 billion in April-December 2021 to $27.8 billion in April-December 2022, resulting in a shrinking of the overall farm trade surplus.
- As a result, there has been a further shrinking of the surplus on the farm trade account.
Note: This newscard provides useful insights regarding agricultural exports-import balance. Aspirants are not advised to memorize the numbers but imbibe the trend.
Drivers of Exports
The two big contributors to India’s agri-export growth have been rice and sugar.
(1) Rice
- India in 2021-22 shipped out an all-time-high 21.21 million tonnes (mt) of rice valued at $9.66 billion.
- That included 17.26 mt of non-basmati (worth $6.12 billion) and 3.95 mt ($3.54 billion) of basmati rice.
- In the current fiscal, the growth has been primarily led by basmati rice.
- Its exports have gone up by 40.3% in value (from $2.38 billion in April-December 2021 to $3.34 billion in April-December 2022).
- The corresponding increases have been less for non-basmati exports: 3.3% in value ($4.51 billion to $4.66 billion) and 4.6% in quantity (12.60 mt to 13.17 mt).
(2) Sugars
- Sugar exports hit a record value of $4.60 billion in 2021-22, as against $2.79 billion, $1.97 billion, $1.36 billion, and $810.90 million in the preceding four fiscals.
- This fiscal has seen a further surge of 43.6%, from $2.78 billion in April-December 2021 to $3.99 billion in April-December 2022.
- India exports of rice and sugar are well on course to touch, if not top, $11 billion and $6 billion respectively in 2022-23.
Key imports
More than a general export slowdown, it’s the growth in imports that should be cause for concern. This has come mainly from three commodities-
(1) Edible oils
- The first is vegetable oils, whose imports shot up from $11.09 bn in 2020-21 to $18.99 bn in 2021-22.
- Imports now account for over 60% of the country’s estimated 22.5-23 mt annual oil consumption.
(2) Cotton
- India has turned from a net exporter to a net importer of cotton.
- India’s cotton exports reached an all-time-high of $4.33 bn back in 2011-12.
- It remained at reasonably high levels until 2013-14 ($3.64 bn), before plunging to $1.62 bn by 2016-17 and $1.06 bn in 2019-20.
- There was a recovery thereafter to $1.90 bn in 2020-21 and $2.82 bn in 2021-22.
- But during this fiscal, imports have also soared from $414.59 million to $1.32 billion for the same period.
Policy implications
- It can be seen how closely India’s farm performance is linked to international commodity prices.
- The UN Food and Agriculture Organization’s (FAO) Food Price Index — having a base value of 100 for the 2014-16 period — averaged 122.5 points in 2012-13 and 119.1 points in 2013-14.
- Those were the years when India’s agri-exports were at $42-43 billion. As the index crashed to 90-95 points in 2015-16 and 2016-17, so did exports to $33-34 billion.
- The exports recovery in 2020-21 and 2021-22 happened along with — rather, on the back of — rising global prices and the FAO index averaging 102.5 points and 133 points in the two years.
Inferences from this trend
Ans. India’s farm exports will slow down in the months ahead.
- Moreover, this could be accompanied by increased imports, as was the case from 2014-15 to 2017-18.
- In the event, the focus of policymakers too, may have to shift from being pro-consumer (to the extent of banning/ restricting exports) to pro-producer (providing tariff protection against unbridled imports).
Way forward
- The government needs to do something about cotton and edible oils.
- India’s cotton production has declined from the high of 398 lakh bales in 2013-14 to a 12-year low of 307.05 lakh bales in 2021-22.
- Clearly, the effects of not allowing new genetic modification (GM) technologies after the first-generation Bt cotton are showing, and impacting exports as well.
- A proactive approach is required in edible oils as well, where planting of GM hybrid mustard has been permitted with great reluctance — and which is now a matter before the Supreme Court.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bhashini Initiaitive
Mains level: Promoting education in vernacular languages
Bhashini, a small team at the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY), is currently building a WhatsApp-based chatbot that relies on information generated by ChatGPT to return appropriate responses to queries.
What is Bhashini Initiative?
- ‘Bhashini,’ one of these initiatives, is a local language translation mission that aims to break the barrier between various Indian tongues by using available technology.
- This government platform aims to make Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources available in the public domain to be used by – Indian MSMEs, startups and individual innovators.
- This will help developers to offer all Indians easy access to the internet and digital services in their native languages.
How does it work?
- The project is available on this website: https://www.bhashini.gov.in/en/.
- It is aimed to build and develop an ecosystem where various stakeholders can unite to maintain an ‘ever-evolving repository of data, training and benchmark datasets, open models, tools and technologies.’
- This online platform also has a separate ‘Bhashadaan’ section which allows individuals to contribute to multiple crowdsourcing initiatives and it is also accessible via respective Android and iOS apps.
- The contribution can be done in four ways — Suno India, Likho India, Bolo India and Dekho India – where users have to type what they hear or have to validate texts transcribed by others.
Importance of Bhashini
- Bhashini hopes of breaking the massive Indian language barrier and wants developers to offer Indians digital services in their local languages.
- The project not only has a massive size and magnitude but also has several benefits.
- India has a chance to create a roadmap to allow internet access for local languages.
- Moreover, this is important considering the increased availability of smartphones and cheaper data rates are allowing the internet to penetrate the remote and rural areas of the country.
Key initiatives in this regard
- The National Language Translation Mission (NLTM) was announced in the 2021-22 budget by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
- The reason behind introducing this mission was a survey that concluded that 53% of Indians who don’t access the internet have said that they would start using the web if it had content available in their native languages.
- This is where Bhashini comes in with the sole purpose of developing a national digital public platform for languages to provide universal access to content.
- This is expected to improve the delivery of digital content in all Indian languages.
- Finally, it will help in creating a knowledge-based society where information is freely and readily available which will make the ecosystem and citizens “Atmanirbhar.”
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP)
Mains level: Irrigation woes of India
Rajasthan has brought up the issue of the Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project or ERCP before the Prime Minister.
Why in news?
- The Chief Minister has said that it is not possible for the state government to bear the estimated project cost of around Rs 40,000 crore by itself.
- The state wants the Centre to declare this as a national project so that the cost-sharing ratio between the Centre and the state becomes 90:10.
Eastern Rajasthan Canal Project (ERCP)
- ERCP was incepted with the aim of providing water to the drought-prone areas of the state.
- It aims to harvest surplus water available during the rainy season in rivers in southern Rajasthan, such as the Chambal and its tributaries Kunnu, Parvati, and Kalisindh.
- The project consists of the construction of two canals:
- Chambal Canal (which originates from the Chambal River)
- East Rajasthan Canal (which originates from the Mahi River)
- The ERCP is expected to irrigate about 3.4 million hectares of agricultural land in Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh states.
- It is estimated to cost about Rs 51,000 crore and was expected to be completed by 2021.
- The project was expected to benefit about 2.6 million farmers in Rajasthan and an additional 2.4 million in Madhya Pradesh.
When was the ERCP conceived?
- In the state Budget for 2017-18, then Rajasthan government had said that the ERCP will help fulfil the long-term irrigation and drinking water needs of 13 districts: Jhalawar, Baran, Kota, Bundi, Sawai Madhopur, Ajmer, Tonk, Jaipur, Karauli, Alwar, Bharatpur, Dausa, and Dholpur.
- The project was approved by the Central Water Commission in 2017.
- The state government had sent a proposal to the central government to declare ERCP as a project having national importance.
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https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/ercp-rajasthan-rivers-project-ashok-gehlot-narendra-modi-8440734/
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati
Mains level: Not Much
PM inaugurated celebrations commemorating Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati’s 200th birth anniversary.
Dayanand Saraswati (1824-1883)
- Dayanand Saraswati (born Mool Shankar Tiwari) was a religious leader and founder of the Arya Samaj, a reform movement in the nineteenth century.
- He was a profound scholar of the Vedic lore and Sanskrit language.
- Dayanand was a great scholar, and was well-versed in the Vedas and the Upanishads.
- He was also proficient in Sanskrit grammar, philosophy, religion, politics and other sciences.
Notable works
(1) Literary works
- He wrote several books, including the Satyarth Prakash, which became the moral and spiritual foundation of the Arya Samaj.
- This book was translated into many languages, including Hindi, English and Urdu.
(2) Freedom movement
- He was the first to give the call for Swaraj as “Indian for India” – in 1876, a call later taken up by Lokmanya Tilak.
- Subsequently, the philosopher and President of India, S. Radhakrishnan, called him one of the “makers of Modern India”, as did Sri Aurobindo.
(3) Religious reform
- Denouncing the idolatry and ritualistic worship prevalent in Hinduism at the time, he worked towards reviving Vedic ideologies.
- He believed that the Vedas should be interpreted in the light of reason and not of blind faith.
- He also campaigned against animal sacrifice and the worship of idols.
(4) Social reform
- Dayanand was a staunch advocate of women’s rights.
- He believed in the equality of all human beings and advocated the abolition of the caste system.
(5) Education
- Dayanand was an ardent believer in the power of knowledge and education.
- He established the Gurukul system of education, which provided free education to all, irrespective of caste or gender.
- Based on his teachings, in 1885 the first DAV School was established at Lahore which was subsequently upgraded to become the first DAV College.
- In 1886 the DAV College Trust and Management Society was established and registered.
Try this PYQ:
Which among the following event happened earliest?
(a) Swami Dayanand established Arya Samaj
(b) Dinabandhu Mitra wrote Neeldarpan
(c) Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay wrote Anandmath
(d) Satyendranath Tagore became the first India to succeed in the Indian Civil Services Examination.
Post your answers here.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Quasicrystals
Mains level: NA
Scientists have discovered a new type of quasicrystal, one with 12-fold symmetry, in the Sand Hills of north central Nebraska, USA.
What is a Quasicrystal?
- Quasicrystal is essentially a crystal-like substance.
- However, unlike a crystal, in which atoms are arranged in a repeating pattern, a quasicrystal consists of atoms that are arranged in a pattern that doesn’t repeat itself regularly.
- For the longest time, physicists believed every crystalline arrangement of atoms must have a pattern that repeats itself perfectly over and over again.
- However, this changed in 1982, when material scientist Dan Shechtman discovered crystal structures that are mathematically regular, but that do not repeat themselves.
How are they formed?
- Electrical discharge triggered quasicrystal formation in the recent finding.
- It’s also the first time that researchers have found a quasicrystal somewhere other than meteorites or the debris from nuclear blasts.
Applications of quasicrystals
- There is no major commercial applications yet exploit properties of the quasicrystalline state directly.
- Quasicrystals form in compounds noted for their high strength and light weight, suggesting potential applications in aerospace and other industries.
- They can be used in surgical instruments, LED lights and non-stick frying pans.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Agasthyarkoodam Observatory
Mains level: NA
Agasthyarkoodam was once home to a forgotten and long-lost 19th-century observatory established by Scottish meteorologist John Allan Broun.
Agasthyarkoodam Observatory
- The Agasthyarkoodam Observatory is an astronomical research observatory located in the state of Kerala.
- The observatory is situated at an altitude of 1600 meters above sea level and is owned and operated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics (IIA).
- The observatory is equipped with a 1-meter optical telescope and various other instruments for studying the night sky.
- The observatory is used for research and educational purposes and is open to the public for viewing night-sky objects.
Why in news?
- Agasthyarkoodam in the Western Ghats once housed a magnetic observatory that was established by Scottish meteorologist John Allan Broun.
- Broun used it to record magnetic and meteorological observations in tandem with the Thiruvananthapuram astronomical observatory.
- Broun’s astronomical research in India began after he was invited by the ruler of the erstwhile Travancore Uthram Tirunal Marthanda Varma to helm the Thiruvananthapuram observatory following the death of its first director John Caldecott in 1849.
- The observatory started recording observations in July 1855.
- However, it was closed in 1881 by the then Madras Governor Sir William Denison.
What are magnetic observatories?
- Magnetic observatories continuously measure and record Earth’s magnetic field at a number of locations.
- In an observatory of this sort, magnetized needles with reflecting mirrors are suspended by quartz fibres.
- Light beams reflected from the mirrors are imaged on a photographic negative mounted on a rotating drum.
- Variations in the field cause corresponding deflections on the negative.
- Their magnetograms are photographed on microfilm and submitted to world data centres, where they are available for scientific or practical use.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Solar Prominence
Mains level: Not Much
Recently, the sun puzzled many scientists with a large prominence near its north pole.
What is Solar Prominence?
- A solar prominence (also known as a filament when viewed against the solar disk) is a large, bright feature extending outward from the Sun’s surface.
- Prominences are anchored to the Sun’s surface in the photosphere, and extend outwards into the Sun’s hot outer atmosphere, called the corona.
- A prominence forms over timescales of about a day, and stable prominences may persist in the corona for several months, looping hundreds of thousands of miles into space.
How are they formed?
- Scientists are still researching how and why prominences are formed.
- The red-glowing looped material is plasma, a hot gas comprised of electrically charged hydrogen and helium.
- The prominence plasma flows along a tangled and twisted structure of magnetic fields generated by the sun’s internal dynamo.
- An erupting prominence occurs when such a structure becomes unstable and bursts outward, releasing the plasma.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Single use plastic and Plastic waste to marine environment
Context
- A significant portion of single-use plastic gets piled up on coastlines and contributes to the growing burden of marine litter, endangering aquatic biodiversity. In India, anthropogenic activities add approximately eight million tonnes of plastic waste to the marine environment.
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- The demand for plastic products has grown drastically in the last few decades: The possible reasons for this dramatic surge can be attributed to its durability, flexibility, lightness and affordability.
- Plastic production and generation: Globally, the annual production of plastic reached 460 million tonnes in 2019 and 353 million tonnes of plastic waste were also generated in the same year.
- Approximately 50% is dumped in landfills: Approximately 50 per cent of plastic waste generated in the same year was dumped in landfills, according to the Organization for Economic Corporation and Development.
- First use plastic: In 2021-22, India’s plastic demand was 20.89 million tonnes. About 40 per cent of this gets added to plastic waste after the first use, a Delhi-based non-profit Centre for Science and Environment had found.
Key sources of Marine pollution
- Land based sources: Land-based sources such as dumpsites located near the coastlines or banks of a river, flood waters, industrial outfalls, discharge from storm water drains, untreated municipal sewerage, beach litter, tourism, fishing, ship breaking yards, defence-related facilities, automobiles, industrial wastes, natural events, etc are the main factors contributing to the menace of marine litter.
- Sea based sources: In addition to this, sea-based sources such as waste from ships, fishing vessels and other public transport and research facilities; offshore mining and extraction; legal and illegal waste dumping; ghost nets, natural events, etc add to it.
Alarming situation
- There may be more plastic than fish in oceans by 2050: Tributaries of major Indian rivers also carry around 15-20 per cent of plastic waste into the marine environment. If this trend continues, there may be more plastic than fish in oceans by 2050, warned many recent researchers on this front.
- Microplastics in food chain: Marine debris can transcend international borders and disperse to faraway locations from its place of origin. Since marine species consume microplastics, they can eventually sweep into our food chain.
- Bioaccumulation of chemicals endangers Human health: Additionally, leached chemicals may also bioaccumulate in these species and endanger human health.
Government efforts so far
- Banned single use plastic: From July 1, 2022, the Union government banned the manufacturing, selling, use and storage of 19 identified single-use plastic items. Still, the ban is not effective as prohibited items have been found in use in almost every Indian city.
- Swachh Bharat Mission (SBM): The central and state governments have already allocated a SBM and disbursed more than Rs 3,000 crore on public awareness campaigns and coastal area cleaning drives.
- Coastal cleaning programme: The National Centre for Coastal Research, a body under the Ministry of Earth Sciences, led a coastal cleaning programme covering 7,500 kilometres.
Did you know?
- Swachh Sagar, Surakshit Sagar, a 75-day citizen-led campaign for improving ocean health through collective action, was launched on July 5, 2022.
- It has three strategic underlying goals that target transformation and environmental protection through behaviour change.
- The three underlying goals of the campaign are, consume responsibly, segregate waste at home and dispose of it responsibly.
Way forward
- Enlisting multi-layered plastic packaging in banned list: The government needs to enlist multi-layered plastic packaging items in the list of banned items; only 19 plastic items have been considered as of now.
- Effective enforcement: Effective enforcement and penalty against defaulters is required as the government has already spent a lot on public awareness campaigns in the last six year.
- Strict monitoring of CRZ: There should be strict implementation and monitoring of Coastal Regulation Zone and Special Area Planning guidelines in order to curb haphazard constructions along the coastlines. A National Marine Litter Policy needs to be formulated as early as possible.
Conclusion
- A long-term vision plan should be developed for promoting partnerships among coastal towns, cities and urban administration for the reduction of marine litter and the creation of sustainable waste management ecosystems. Marine litter is complicated and a multi-layered problem has to be arrested at the earliest to safeguard the health of humans as well as the environment.
Mains question
Q. Marine litter is complicated and a multi-layered problem has to be arrested at the earliest to safeguard the health of humans as well as the environment. Discuss.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Use of AI in medical field and challenges
Context
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) was regarded as a revolutionary technology around the early 21st century. Although it has encountered its rise and fall, currently its rapid and pervasive applications have been termed the second coming of AI. It is employed in a variety of sectors, and there is a drive to create practical applications that may improve our daily lives and society. Healthcare is a highly promising, but also a challenging domain for AI.
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ChatGPT: The latest model
- While still in its early stages, AI applications are rapidly evolving.
- For instance, ChatGPT is a large language model (LLM) that utilizes deep learning techniques that are trained on text data.
- This model has been used in a variety of applications, including language translation, text summarisation, conversation generation, text-to-text generation and others.
What is Artificial Intelligence?
- AI is a constellation of technologies that enable machines to act with higher levels of intelligence and emulate the human capabilities of sense, comprehend and act.
- The natural language processing and inference engines can enable AI systems to analyze and understand the information collected.
- An AI system can also take action through technologies such as expert systems and inference engines or undertake actions in the physical world.
- These human-like capabilities are augmented by the ability to learn from experience and keep adapting over time.
- AI systems are finding ever-wider application to supplement these capabilities across various sectors.
Concerns of Using AI tools in medical field
- The potential for misinformation to be generated: As the model is trained on a large volume of data, it may inadvertently include misinformation in its responses. This could lead to patients receiving incorrect or harmful medical advice, potentially leading to serious health consequences.
- The potential for bias to be introduced into the results: As the model is trained on data, it may perpetuate existing biases and stereotypes, leading to inaccurate or unfair conclusions in research studies as well as in routine care.
- Ethical concerns: In addition, AI tools’ ability to generate human-like text can also raise ethical concerns in various sectors such as in the research field, education, journalism, law, etc.
- For example: The model can be used to generate fake scientific papers and articles, which can potentially deceive researchers and mislead the scientific community.
AI tools should be used with caution considering the context
- Governance framework: The governance framework can help manage the potential risks and harms by setting standards, monitoring and enforcing policies and regulations, providing feedback and reports on their performance, and ensuring development and deployment with respect to ethical principles, human rights, and safety considerations.
- Ensuring the awareness about possible negative consequences: Additionally, governance frameworks can promote accountability and transparency by ensuring that researchers and practitioners are aware of the possible negative consequences of implementing this paradigm and encouraging them to employ it responsibly.
- A platform for dialogue and exchange of information: The deployment of a governance framework can provide a structured approach for dialogue and facilitate the exchange of information and perspectives among stakeholders, leading to the development of more effective solutions to the problem.
- Relational governance model into the AI governance framework: Relational governance is a model that considers the relationships between various stakeholders in the governance of AI.
- Establishing international agreements and standards: At the international level, relational governance in AI in healthcare (AI-H) can be facilitated through the establishment of international agreements and standards. This includes agreements on data privacy and security, as well as ethical and transparent AI development.
- Use of AI in responsible manner across borders: By establishing a common understanding of the responsibilities of each stakeholder in AI governance, international collaboration can help to ensure that AI is used in a consistent and responsible manner across borders.
- Government regulations at national level: At the national level, relational governance in AI-H can be implemented through government regulations and policies that reflect the roles and responsibilities of each stakeholder. This includes laws and regulations on data privacy and security, as well as policies that encourage the ethical and transparent use of AI-H.
- Regular monitoring and strict compliance mechanism: Setting up periodic monitoring/auditing systems and enforcement mechanisms, and imposing sanctions on the industry for noncompliance with the legislation can all help to promote the appropriate use of AI.
- Education and awareness at the user level: Patients and healthcare providers should be informed about the benefits and risks of AI, as well as their rights and responsibilities in relation to AI use. This can help to build trust and confidence in AI systems, and encourage the responsible use of AI-H.
- Industry-led initiatives and standards at the industry level: The relational governance in AI-H can be promoted through industry-led initiatives and standards. This includes establishing industry standards and norms (for example, International Organization for Standardization) based on user requirements (healthcare providers, patients, and governments), as well as implementing data privacy and security measures in AI systems.
Conclusion
- India’s presidency of the G20 summit provides a platform to initiate dialogue on AI regulation and highlight the need for the implementation of AI regulations in healthcare. The G20 members can collaborate to create AI regulation, considering the unique needs and challenges of the healthcare sector. The set of measures, carried out at various levels, need to assure that AI systems are regularly reviewed and updated and ensure that they remain effective and safe for patients.
Mains question
Q. Use of AI in Healthcare is highly promising but also a challenging domain. Discuss. Suggest what should be the right approach for AI regulation in Healthcare?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: NA
Mains level: Challenges to Menstrual health hygiene and sexual and reproductive health
Context
- Maternal mortality rates remain high in low- and middle-income countries, where 94 percent of all cases are recorded. In India, maternal mortality ratio stands at 113 per 100,000 live births; the government is aiming to reduce the incidence to below 70 by 2030. Experts agree that the promotion of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is among the keys to addressing this massive challenge. Achieving global targets on SRH, in turn, greatly depends on a collective commitment to improve menstrual health and hygiene (MHH).
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- Lack adequate access to information and service: The stark reality is that individuals who menstruate lack adequate access to information and services around SRH and are unable to exercise their SRH rights throughout their life cycle. Among the factors for this lack of access are poor economic and educational outcomes.
- For instance: Multiple studies in different developing countries have shown that those with fewer number of schooling years tend to experience early sexual initiation and early marriage, have higher fertility rates, and suffer poor maternal outcomes.
- Multiple barriers hinder the promotion of menstrual health and hygiene: Barriers that include socio-cultural norms that regard menstruation as taboo, and biological and medical issues such as urinary tract infections, and abnormal urinary bleeding that can be caused by fibroids.
- Vicious circle of poor SRH: These issues diminish the agency of menstruating individuals in making decisions related to sex, relationships, family planning, and contraceptive use. This sets them back into the vicious circle of poor SRH.
- Lack of privacy and dignity: Menstruation-related challenges are seen in schools, work places, and communities where menstruating individuals cannot safely manage their needs with privacy and dignity.
- Taboos and myths: In certain communities, restrictive social norms do not allow menstruating individuals to pray, bathe, sleep in the same bed as others, or make food. In India, taboos and myths hinder the optimal use of the more than 8,000 Adolescents-Friendly Health Clinics (AFHCs) set up by the government across the country.
Global Outlook
- Menstrual health is often neglected in SRH agendas: Despite strong evidence that one of the anchors of sexual and reproductive health is menstrual health, governments, policymakers, and NGOs rarely include menstrual health in their SRH agendas.
- Little attention had been paid: Although SRH was the focus of both the World Population Day and Gender Equality Forum in 2021, little attention has been paid, if at all, to menstrual health.
- For example during the vaccination, menstrual health was not taken into account: Early studies also suggest that during the production of COVID-19 vaccines, menstrual health was not taken into account while conducting the pilot studies on understanding the efficacy of the vaccine.
- The education aspect is also lacking: A study of education policy documents across 21 developing countries found little attention to menstrual health. Of those countries that appeared to have MHH in their health and education agenda in the last decade, the focus was on the distribution of disposable sanitary pads, largely for schoolgirls; they tended to ignore the other issues related to menstrual health and hygiene including safety, disposal, right to dignity and providing choices to people who menstruate.
A Framework for mainstreaming menstrual health and hygiene in India
- Promoting Menstrual Health and Hygiene Education: Conversations around menstruation should be started in schools and local communities by including menstrual health and hygiene in sessions on reproductive health.
- For instance: In 2007, the Indian government introduced the Adolescent Education Program to promote discussions around sexual education, but it received backlash from teachers and parents. Sociocultural issues are equally important and should be given attention by stakeholders.
- Knowledge about the products they use: Programmes should be initiated that will focus on distributing disposable sanitary pads to girls and women, and not only those who are in school. As the discourse on menstruation is now shifting toward sustainable menstruation, it is crucial to equip individuals who menstruate with knowledge about the potential harm of the period products they use.
- Sensitizing gatekeepers: Organising sensitisation workshops for gatekeepers such as teachers, healthcare workers, and women in local communities would go a long way in helping young people who menstruate. Recent studies, suggest that mothers, teachers, and healthcare workers are the first sources of information for adolescent girls about menstruation in India.
- Creating supportive space: Adolescent boys, and men, need to be involved in the conversation around MHH to create supportive spaces. These conversations will help them understand the importance of MHH and prompt changes in societal norms, including removing the stigma around menstruation.
- Conversations around menstruation need to include trans and non-binary individuals: Menstruation is a variable concept, such that many women do not menstruate, while some transmen, non-binary individuals, and people with masculine gender identities do. The feminisation of menstruation has led to the exclusion of transgender and non-binary people from the discourse.
- Improving MHH infrastructure and WASH facilities: Workplace policies for individuals who menstruate should be laid out, including the provision of adequate WASH facilities. There need to engage with the multi-sector stakeholders who can work in improving MHH infrastructure and WASH facilities.
Way ahead
- Raising awareness about the menstrual cycle should be among the priorities of communities and policymakers.
- There is a need to make SRH programming gender-transformative, first by recognising the link between MHH and SRH.
- The task is urgent, given the economic case to sexual and reproductive health: i.e., promoting SRH helps improve a country’s economic, educational and development outcomes.
- The UN High-Level Meeting (UNHLM), 2023 Action Plan, which underlines the need to “leave no one behind” in global goals on universal health care, must bring menstrual health and hygiene to the forefront of the SRH agenda.
- As per 2011 Census data, around 0.5 million individuals self-identify as third gender[b] in India. There is a need to engage communities and educate them about the LGBTQIA+ population and enhance their SRH knowledge by looking at the menstrual health discourse with the core principle of inclusivity.
Conclusion
- Global and national agendas on sexual and reproductive health continue to give little attention to its link with menstrual health. Integrated attention to the links between MHH and SRH can advance the mutual goals of both sectors, and improve the health and well-being of individuals who menstruate, throughout their entire life cycle.
Mains question
Q. The link between Menstrual health and hygiene with sexual reproductive health is often neglected in policymaking. Highlight the challenges for promoting menstrual health and give suggestions.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lithium
Mains level: Read the attached story
The Geological Survey of India found “inferred resources” of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium in the Salal-Haimana area of Reasi district in Jammu and Kashmir.
What is Lithium?
- Lithium is a chemical element with the symbol Li and atomic number 3.
- It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal and is the lightest metal on the periodic table.
- It is used in a variety of applications, including batteries, lubricants, pharmaceuticals, and nuclear weapons.
What are Inferred Resources?
- According to the mines and minerals act, the exploration for any mineral deposit involves four stages: reconnaissance survey (G4), preliminary exploration (G3), general exploration (G2) and detailed exploration (G1).
- Resources identified after G4 are called ‘reconnaissance mineral resource”, those identified after G3 are “inferred mineral resource”, G2 leads to “indicated mineral resource” and G4 precedes “measured mineral resource.”
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Applications of Lithium
- Lithium-ion batteries: Lithium-ion batteries are widely used in consumer electronics such as laptops, cellphones, and portable music players due to their high energy density and low self-discharge rate.
- Pharmaceuticals: Lithium is used in the treatment of bipolar disorder and other mental health disorders. It can be used to treat symptoms such as depression, anxiety, and aggression.
- Heat transfer fluids: Lithium is used as a heat transfer fluid in nuclear power plants, as it can absorb and store large amounts of heat.
- Air conditioning: Lithium-based compounds are used in air conditioning systems to absorb and store heat, which helps to cool air.
- Alloy production: Lithium is used to produce lightweight alloys for aircraft and spacecraft, as well as components for other vehicles.
- Grease lubricants: Lithium-based grease lubricants are used in automotive and industrial applications due to their high temperature and pressure tolerance.
Significance of this discovery
- Clean energy goals: This has raised hopes of India possibly developing its own source of a metal key to its clean energy goals.
- Import cuts: It would reduce the need for imports. The government was taking several measures to secure minerals, including lithium, from Australia and Argentina.
- Enhance battery production: The find is a major boost to the manufacture of rechargeable batteries for smartphones, laptops and electric cars.
Back2Basics: Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957
- It is an Act of the Parliament enacted to regulate the mining sector in India.
- It regulates all activities related to the prospecting for, extraction and disposal of minerals in India.
- The Act was amended in 2015 to incorporate the changes brought about by the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015.
- The amendment Act has been enacted to ensure that the mining sector is developed in a sustainable and efficient manner, taking into account the interests of stakeholders including the local communities.
- The Act also provides for the sharing of revenues between the Union and the States.
Types of Minerals Covered
- Metallic Minerals: Iron ore, manganese ore, chrome ore, bauxite, copper ore, gold ore, lead ore, zinc ore, etc.
- Non-Metallic Minerals: Mica, limestone, dolomite, gypsum, phosphorite, graphite, quartz, sandstone, etc.
- Atomic Minerals: Uranium, thorium, and other radioactive minerals.
- Fossil Fuels: Oil, natural gas, coal, etc.
- Minor Minerals: Building stones, gravel, ordinary clay, ordinary sand, etc.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 21, 25, 26
Mains level: Not Much
A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court referred to a larger Bench of nine judges a series of petitions challenging the authority of minority community leaders to excommunicate their members.
Excommunication case: A quick backgrounder
- On November 1, 1949, the Bombay Prevention of Excommunication Act (now repealed) was enacted, which sought to prevent the practice of excommunication prevalent in certain communities.
- Excommunication has led to the deprivation of legitimate rights and privileges of its members and in “keeping with the spirit of changing times and in public interest”.
What is Excommunication?
- The law defined excommunication as the “expulsion of a person from any community of which he is a member, depriving him of rights and privileges which are legally enforceable by a suit of civil nature”.
- It invalidated excommunication of any member, “notwithstanding anything contained in law, custom, usage” for the time being in force.
Issues with Excommunication
- Discriminatory: Excommunication is a serious and permanent punishment that can have a negative impact on a person’s life.
- Loss of identity: It can lead to a person feeling isolated, ostracized and excluded from the religion and community.
- Social boycott: It may also lead to feelings of guilt, shame and alienation. Furthermore, it can lead to a loss of faith and a sense of mental despair.
How did the matter reach the Supreme Court?
- A cleric of the community challenged the constitutional validity of the Act, stating it violated fundamental rights guaranteed by the Constitution under:
- Article 25 (Freedom of conscience and free profession, practice and propagation of religion) and
- Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs)
- It was submitted that the power of excommunication was part of the management of community affairs in matters of religion.
- The cleric also held that the power to excommunicate is not absolute or arbitrary.
What has been happening in the matter more recently?
- A Constitution Bench of the SC held in 1962 that the cleric’s position is an essential part of the community and the power to excommunicate is to enforce discipline and preserve the denomination, not to punish.
- A challenge to the 1962 judgment was filed in 1986.
- While that petition was still pending, the Maharashtra Protection of People from Social Boycott (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act, 2016, was passed.
- The 2016 Act prohibits the social boycott of a person or a group of persons, and terms it a violation of fundamental rights.
- The Act describes a social boycott as “inhuman”, and defines 16 types of social boycott — including preventing members of a community from having access to facilities including community halls, burial grounds, etc.
What exactly did the Supreme Court say now?
- A Constitution Bench said that the 1962 judgment needed a relook.
- The court held that the consideration was needed mainly on two grounds: Balancing the rights under-
- Article 26(b) — right of religious denominations to manage their own affairs in matters of religion — and
- Article 21 — whether the practice can be protected under Article 26(b) when tested on the touchstone of constitutional morality.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
Mains level: Road infrastructure
Photos of the soon-to-be-inaugurated Delhi-Mumbai Expressway have gone viral, receiving widespread appreciation online.
Delhi-Mumbai Expressway
- The Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is a proposed 1380 km expressway that will link the capital city of Delhi to Mumbai, India.
- The expressway is being planned as a six-lane expressway and will pass through the states of Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.
- Started in 2018, the project is set to be completed by the end of 2023.
- The expressway is expected to reduce the travel time between Delhi and Mumbai by up to 12 hours.
- The expressway will also have several rest stops and will be equipped with advanced technology such as electronic toll collection, smart traffic management and surveillance systems.
- The expressway will be built in a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model.
Some basic details
- The expressway is being constructed with an initial budget of INR 98,000 crore.
- According to claims by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, it will reduce the distance between Delhi and Mumbai by 180 km (from 1424 km to 1242 km).
- Depending on the volume of traffic the expressway sees, there are plans in place to expand it to a 12-lane expressway in the future.
- The reduction in distance and travel time is set to result in annual fuel savings of more than 320 million litres and reduce CO2 emissions by 850 million kg.
Some unique features
- Importantly, the Delhi-Mumbai Expressway is set to introduce certain features seldom seen in road construction in India.
- According to claims from the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, the expressway will boast of a state-of-art traffic management system.
- There will also be a dedicated three metre wide corridor for laying utility lines including fibre optic cables, pipelines as well as solar power generation.
- The expressway will also have provisions for rain water harvesting at intervals of 500 m, with over 2000+ water recharge points.
Provisions for wildlife conservation
- A crucial feature of the project will be its provisions for “wildlife conservation”.
- The expressway is the first in Asia and only the second in the world to feature animal overpasses and underpasses to facilitate unrestricted movement of wildlife.
- Furthermore, the expressway has been aligned in a way to minimize the destruction of protected forests.
- Two iconic 8-lane tunnels will also be built, one through Mukundra sanctuary without disturbing the endangered fauna in the region and the second through the Matheran eco-sensitive zone.
- A 3 ft tall boundary wall and sound barriers will also be constructed in sections prone to wildlife.
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Treaty of Alinagar
Mains level: Not Much
Signed on February 9, 1757, the Treaty of Alinagar between the Nawab of Bengal and the East India Company raised the curtains for British colonial expansion in India.
Treaty of Alinagar, 1757
- Signed on February 9, 1757, the Treaty of Alinagar was signed between Robert Clive of the East India Company and Mirza Muhammad Siraj Ud Daula, then Nawab of Bengal.
- It is said to be one of the key events leading up to the Battle of Plassey later that year.
- Plassey was where the English laid a significant blow, defeating the nawab. It paved the way for the East India Company’s takeover of Bengal.
- The name Alinagar was a short-lived reference to modern-day Kolkata, and the treaty came about after the nawab was faced with both the British and Afghan forces.
- He compromised with the former; however, the peace was short-lived.
British advent in India: A quick backgrounder
- After the Anglo-Mughal War which took place between 1686 and 1690, the British began consolidating their presence in the subcontinent.
- It had established the Fort St. George in what was Madras, Fort William in then Calcutta and Bombay Castle by the beginning of the 18th century.
- The British initially helped local princes and nawabs quell uprisings or revolts and they, in turn, gave them concessions.
Course of the treaty
- In January 1757, the British attacked the town of Hooghly, close to then Calcutta, with over 700 men.
- The Nawab of Bengal, Siraj-ud-daulah, who had just come to power a year earlier in his early 20s, mobilised forces.
- His troops would overpower the British and reach Calcutta on January 10, 1757, having lost over 600 men.
- However, the losses sustained in the war had resulted in the nawab losing confidence.
- He signed what came to be known as the Treaty of Alinagar with Robert Clive – who became the first British Governor of the Bengal Presidency – on February 9, 1757.
- Siraj-ud-daulah agreed to the restoration of the company’s factories and allowed for the fortification of Calcutta.
Aftermath of the battle
- The British then moved on to wrest the remaining territories in Bengal from the French, laying siege to Chandannagar.
- However, the move did not go down well with the nawab.
- But, Daulah was also wary of Afghan forces under Ahmad Shah Durrani and the Marathas.
- Traders in his kingdom were already wary of him and there was a conspiracy led by the likes of his military general, Mir Jafar.
- Events would later culminate in the Battle of Plassey on June 23, 1757.
- It resulted in the East India Company gaining hold of Bengal and was a significant event in its rise to power in the subcontinent.
Try this question.
Q.For most Indians, the history of British colonial rule in India begins in Plassey. However, the roots of it were sown long back. Discuss. (250W)
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From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Pulses, cropping patterns and characteristics
Mains level: Pulses production and consumption In India
Context
- The United Nations General Assembly endorsed the request made by the Government of Burkina Faso regarding the annual observance of World Pulses Day on 10 February at its 73rd session in December 2018, building on the success of the 2016 International Year of Pulses, with Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) playing a leading role in the campaign.
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Theme for World pulses day 2023
- The 2023 World Pulses Day’s theme is Pulses for a Sustainable Future, which underlines the significance of pulses in fostering equity and generating chances for livelihood, both of which are essential elements of sustainable agrifood systems.
In short: All you need to know about Pulses
- Major pulses that are grown in India: Tur, urad, moong, masur, peas and gram.
- Chief Characteristics:
- Pulses are the major sources of protein in a vegetarian diet.
- Being leguminous crops, all the above-mentioned pulses (except tur) help in restoring soil fertility by fixing nitrogen from the air.
- These crops are mostly grown in rotation with other crops.
- Pulses need less moisture and survive even in dry conditions.
- Important Producing Areas: The major pulse producing areas are Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and Karnataka. It is grown on about 11% of the total sown area in India.
- India is largest producer and consumer: India is the largest producer as well as consumer of pulses in the world. About 25% of the pulses of the world are produced here.
In Depth: Why pulses are important?
- Pulses withstand drought: Pulses have a lower water footprint than other food crops and are better able to withstand drought and climate-related calamities making them a crucial tool for adjusting to and reducing climate change.
- Help farmers in water scarce region: They also help farmers in water-scarce regions have a better quality of lives.
- Can help to increase productivity and livelihood: In a number of farming systems, including agroforestry, intercropping, and integrated farming systems, pulses can help to increase productivity and improve the resilience of agricultural livelihoods.
- Pulses ensures wholesome food and sustainable use of natural resources: The global pulses industry which deals with the production and trade of pulses also demonstrates to be a beneficial force in ensuring the stability of regional and global supply chains, enabling consumers to access wholesome foods, and promoting the sustainable use of natural resources.
- Most Valuable Player for Health: Pulse grains have been acknowledged as being a “Most Valuable Player” in preventing obesity, lowering chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease, and fostering a varied microbiome in children who are at risk of stunting during the first 1,000 days of their life.
- Two to three times as much protein as cereals: Pulses are a great choice for populations with diets low in protein because they contain two to three times as much protein as cereals.
- Pulses provide a number of other assets to the climate change battle: They lessen the requirement for fertiliser throughout the entire crop cycle and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by fixing atmospheric nitrogen.
- Help to achieve SDG’s: A significant advantage in a changing climate is that many pulse crops are evolved to grow in arid circumstances and can withstand drought stress better than most other crops. Thus, achieving Sustainable Development Goals 2, 3, and 13 which call for improved human health, sustainable agriculture, food security, and climate action.
- Imports are necessary because of insufficient production: India is currently the world’s largest producer and consumer of pulses, but because production is insufficient to meet demand, imports are necessary.
- India’s demand for pulses has steadily increased: In keeping with the government’s measures to expand pulse production to meet domestic demand, the volume of imports has consistently decreased since 2014-15.
- National Food Security Mission-Pulses programme: To increase the production of pulses, the Government of India is implementing National Food Security Mission-Pulses programme across 644 districts of 28 States and Union Territories (UTs) of Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh.
- In Indian diets, pulses are a crucial source of protein: Children, adolescent girls, and pregnant and lactating women receive half of the recommended dietary requirement of protein through the Government of India’s food security programmes.
Way ahead
- Pulses to combat malnutrition: Pulses can be included to cereal-based meals to help combat malnutrition. There is evidence to support the fact that people who eat pulses more frequently are more nutrient-secure.
- For example: During the pandemic, 5 kg of rice/wheat and 1 kg of selected pulses were provided to the poor under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana.
- PDS can be utilised for better accessibility and affordability: As a matter of policy, the PDS should offer pulses at discounted prices to increase their accessibility and affordability to vulnerable population.
- For instance: Some states, including Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Haryana, and Himachal Pradesh, have been successful in distributing pulses under the Public Distribution System (PDS).
Conclusion
- India is moving closer to Aatmnirbharta on pulses with consistent efforts by the government. It is vital to raise awareness about the benefits of eating pulses that are high in macronutrients for both sustainability and dietary needs.
Mains question
Q. India is expanding its pulse production to meet domestic demand. In this light discuss what makes pulses a significant crop?
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Air pollution
Mains level: La Nina and Climate change attributed air pollution
Context
- Anthropogenic emissions are central to environmental issues, whether climate change or air quality. During the peak winter months of November to January in 2022-23, air quality in India’s financial hub, Mumbai, noticeably deteriorated, a taste of what Delhi encounters frequently.
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Mumbai’s deteriorated air quality
- Out of the past 92 winter days, Mumbai observed 66 poor and very poor air quality days in 2022-23 as compared to just 28 in the past three years’ average. More so, it had just one day in the permissible limit (NAAQS) this year as against the average of 15 days in the recent past.
- Good days declined, but foul days have increased by a whopping 135 per cent, leaving residents more choked and breathless than they have been in years.
- On many days during these months, the air quality in Mumbai sank lower than in Delhi.
- These findings are from India’s first indigenously-developed forecasting framework, SAFAR.
What caused this unusual development in Mumbai?
- Mainly due to emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources: Air quality deteriorates mainly due to emissions from anthropogenic and natural sources, and weather manoeuvres.
- La Nina, attributed to climate change, has played an unusual role: The reason for the sudden spike in the current pollution cycle in Mumbai is part of a larger meteorological phenomenon that needs to be studied further. Research suggests that the unprecedented triple dip in La Nina, attributed to climate change, has played an unusual role.
- Extreme weathers due to climate change but linkage with air quality remains elusive: Scientists have discovered that climate change is leading to extreme weather, changes in the ecosystem, and human displacements, but linkages with air quality remain elusive.
Value addition
- The weather or climate cannot generate emissions.
- Some cities like Delhi have a disadvantage due to their geographical location, being landlocked.
- But coastal cities like Mumbai enjoys a natural cleansing advantage.
- Stronger surface winds favour faster dispersion and wind reversal cycles of strong sea breezes that sweep away air pollutants from the land.
- Change in wind patterns: This phenomenon has led to the change in wind patterns affecting Mumbai, with frequent calmer wind spells, and delayed cleaner sea wind reversal around the region.
- Reducing dispersal rate of pollutants: This, in turn, affects the natural cleansing mechanism of the city by reducing the dispersal rate of pollutants and trapping the newly generated high-flying dust emissions.
- Import of transboundary pollution: The import of transboundary pollution from more polluted regions due to wind pattern changes is also adding to the misery. An increase in all sizes of particles (coarser and finer) has been observed.
- Dust emission is the major reason: It is scientifically prudent to conclude that the major share in the current worsening of air quality is from dust emissions. Many redevelopment and construction projects are operational across the city. So, the increase is due to intensifying emissions at the source, which usually consist of PM 2.5 made up of transport (31 per cent), industries (20 per cent), and resuspended dust (15 per cent), besides other smaller sources.
All you need to know about “SAFAR”
- SAFAR stands for System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
- It is an initiative of the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences for greater metropolitan cities of India to provide location-specific information on air quality in near real time and its forecast 1-3 days in advance.
- It was started under the plan scheme Metropolitan Advisories for Cities for Sports, Tourism (Metropolitan Air Quality and Weather Services)
- The SAFAR system is developed by Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune, along with ESSO partner institutions namely India Meteorological Department (IMD) and National Centre for Medium Range Weather Forecasting (NCMRWF)
- The implementation of SAFAR is done with an active collaboration with local municipal corporations and various local educational institutions and governmental agencies in that Metro city.
- It was started on a Pilot basis in the cities of Pune, Ahmadabad, New Delhi and Mumbai.
Way ahead
- The battle against air pollution is long and difficult, but success is achievable beyond doubt.
- Putting green curtains around construction sites, regularly sprinkling water on truck tyres and debris before loading and unloading material, and ensuring smooth traffic flow to overcome snarls are some of the immediate remedies.
- In the medium term, transitioning to electric vehicles, addressing solid waste management, dumping grounds, and industrial toxin management are some actions that will help us achieve better air quality.
Conclusion
- Before we start to address the problem, we need to recognise it. Acting together and strengthening the fight against air pollution should be the order of the day. The situation is not currently urgent, but it is a clear early sign of the impact climate change can have. Hence, we must address the root cause of the problem anthropogenic emissions instead of looking for shortcuts.
Mains question
Q. Anthropogenic emissions are central to environmental issues, whether climate change or air quality. Give examples to support your arguments.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: India- France joint exercises
Mains level: India- France relations and strategic partnership
Context
- The celebration by India and France of 25 years of their strategic partnership (January 26) presents an important opportunity for both to introspect on their relations. Signed in 1998, the time-tested strategic partnership has continued to gain momentum over shared values and aspirations of peace, stability and, most importantly, their desire for strategic autonomy. There are no real substantive disagreements between the two nations.
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France a largest foreign investor in India
- France has emerged as a key trading partner of India with annual trade of $12.42 billion in 2021-22.
- It is the 11th largest foreign investor in India with a cumulative investment of $10.31 billion from April 2000 to June 2022, which represents 1.70% of the total foreign direct investment inflows into India.
France a key defence trading partner of India
- Second largest defence supplier in 2017-2021: France has emerged as a key defence partner for India, becoming the second largest defence supplier in 2017- 2021. France has emerged as a major strategic partner for India with crucial defence deals and increased military to military engagement.
- For example: A key example of this is the inducting of the French Scorpene conventional submarines, being built in India under technology transfer agreement of 2005, and the Indian Air Force having received 36 Rafale fighter jets.
- Joint venture for aircraft manufacturing: The Tata group has also tied up with Airbus to manufacture C-295 tactical transport aircraft in Vadodara, Gujarat. This line is expected to be expanded into other civilian and military aircraft manufacturing in a joint venture with France.
- Regular joint exercises: These relations are further fortified with the robust network of military dialogues and regularly held joint exercises Varuna (navy), Garuda (air force), and Shakti (army).
- France is a willing partner for India: The importance of the defence partnership was further underscored in the recent statement by the French Ambassador to India, Emmanuel Lenain that France is a willing partner for India as it builds its national industrial base for the defence industry and for critical strategic defence projects.
Maritime ties
- Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region: India and France are resident powers of the Indian Ocean and in the Indo-Pacific. The importance of the Indian Ocean Region was visible during the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron’s visit to New Delhi in 2018 when the leadership of both countries welcomed the Joint Strategic Vision of India-France Cooperation in the Indian Ocean Region which presented a blueprint for a strengthening of ties.
- Like-minded partners: In operational terms, Franco-Indian joint patrolling in the Indian Ocean signals New Delhi’s intent to engage with like-minded partners in expanding its footprint in the Indian Ocean.
- Common vision for open Indo-Pacific: Maritime security has further gained momentum as both countries have articulated their common vision for a free, fair and open Indo-Pacific. Both countries seeks to provide comprehensive solutions for maritime security, regional cooperation, climate change adaptation.
- Common concerns over China’s aggressive behaviour: Both countries share concerns over the rise of China and its aggressive behaviour, regionally and globally, and have committed to working together to ensure that there is no imbalance in the Indo-Pacific
- Indo-Pacific Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund: India and France in September 2022 agreed to set up an Indo-Pacific Trilateral Development Cooperation Fund that will support sustainable innovative solutions for countries in the region. The two partners have formed a trilateral grouping with the United Arab Emirates to ensure maritime domain awareness and security from the east coast of Africa to the far Pacific.
- Nuclear cooperation: France was among the first countries with which India signed a civil nuclear deal. Paris also played a critical role in limiting India’s isolation in the non-proliferation order after the 1998 nuclear tests.
- Support for India’s bid for permanent membership of UNSC: In a sign of expanding cooperation, France supports India’s bid for permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council as well as its entry into the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
- India supported France in the Paris Agreement: An area of importance for both is climate change, where India has supported France in the Paris Agreement expressing its strong commitment towards mitigating climate change impact. New Delhi and Paris, as part of their joint efforts on climate change, launched the International Solar Alliance in 2015.
- Deepening cooperation in complex geological order: As the complexities in the international geopolitical order have emerged, both countries have worked towards a deepening and broadening of their cooperation.
Way ahead
- India’s partnership with France is built on common values and goals.
- Both have underlined the importance of maintaining strategic autonomy with a shared understanding of global risks in many domains.
- There is a high-level India-France political dialogue that is ongoing in defence, maritime, counterterrorism and the Indo-Pacific.
- They are now forging ahead with cooperation in issues such as digitisation, cyber, green energy, a blue economy, ocean sciences, and space.
Conclusion
- India and France understand each other’s interests and dependencies, be it in relation to China or Russia. In the marking of a long strategic partnership, a common interest in enhancing strategic autonomy and improving resilience, there is much ground ahead for further collaboration.
Mains question
Q. India’s partnership with France is built on common values and goals. In recent times, France has emerged as a key defence trading partner of India. Discuss.
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