Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Article 32
Mains level: Paper 2- Recourse to Article 32 and related issues
The article deals with the issue of recourse to Article 32 for violation of Fundamental Rights. But it is subject to fundamental principles of administration of justice.
Context
- The Chief Justice of India is reported to have stated during the hearing of journalist Siddique Kappan’s bail matter, that the Court was trying to “discourage” recourse to Article 32.
Recourse under Article 32 is not absolute
- The apex judicial process shows clearly that the Court regards Article 32 as a judicial power subject to the fundamental principles of administration of justice.
- The Supreme Court has already extended rules and doctrines such as laches (delays) or res judicata (a matter already decided by a competent court) or any other principle of administration of justice.
- Article 32 keep open “the doors of this court” and requires the state not to “put any hindrance” to a person seeking to approach the Court.
- However, the Court must ignore all laws of procedure, evidence, limitation, res judicata and other provision.
- The Supreme Court has also said that faith “must be inspired in the hierarchy of Courts [ Recourse under Article 226 should be sought before approaching the SC] and the institution as a whole” and not” only in this Court alone”.
- So, even if there is a constitutional right to remedies it remains subject to the discipline of judicial power and process.
New facets of Article 32
- The Supreme Court has also discovered new facets of Article 32.
- As early as 1950, it has ruled that powers under Article 32 are not limited to the exercise of prerogative writs.
- In 1987 the Court ruled that it has powers to rule for compensation of violation of fundamental rights.
- In 1999 it said that this power extended to the rectification of its own mistakes or errors.
Comparing Article 226 and Article 32
- Article 226 is the very dimension; the high court’s vast jurisdiction technically casts no duty on them to enforce fundamental rights.
- They have the discretion to act or not to; in contrast, the Supreme Court must.
- Fourth, Article 32 is not absolute, the Supreme Court decides on what “appropriate proceedings” should be for it to be so moved.
- But the Court may not prescribe any process as it likes but only that process which preserves, protects and promotes the right to constitutional remedies.
Need for effective bail system
- The just demand for an expeditious and effective bail system stems from manifest discrimination in bail .
- In several instances, one case is fast-tracked whereas others are consigned to slow-moving judicial action, even when rights to life and health are endangered.
- Scandalous judicial delays, measures of decongestion and diversion, and a bold resolution of “who watches the watchman” syndrome now demand urgent apex response.
Consider the question “Seeking remedy from the Supreme Court for the violation of fundamental rights under Article 32 is also a fundamental right. However, enforcement of it is not absolute. In light of this, examine the challenges in its enforcement by the Supreme Court.”
Conclusion
Article 32 makes the apex court into a “people’s court”. And future historians should not be able to conclude that the Court deliberately dealt deathblows to this “soul” of the Constitution, as Babasaheb Ambedkar described Article 32.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Indian Monsson : Onset and Withdrawal
Mains level: El Nino and La Nina
Rainfall over the Southern peninsular region has been deficient so far due to prevailing La Nina conditions according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD).
Try this PYQ:
Q.La Nina is suspected to have caused recent floods in Australia. How is La Nina different from El Nino?
- La Nina is characterized by unusually cold ocean temperature in equatorial Indian Ocean whereas El Nino is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean.
- El Nino has an adverse effect on south-west monsoon of India, but La Nina has no effect on monsoon climate.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2
What is the Northeast monsoon?
- India receives rainfall during two seasons.
- About 75 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall is received from the Southwest monsoon between June and September.
- The Northeast monsoon, on the other hand, occurs from October to December and is a comparatively small-scale monsoon, which is confined to the Southern peninsula.
- After the complete withdrawal of the Southwest monsoon from the country takes place by mid-October, the wind pattern rapidly changes from the south-westerly to the north-easterly direction.
- Also called the winter monsoon, the rainfall associated with the Northeast monsoon is important for almost entire South India.
Why it is important?
- Tamil Nadu records about 48 per cent (447.4 mm) of its annual rainfall (943.7 mm) during these months, making it the key factor for undertaking agricultural activities and reservoir management in the state.
- Some South Asian countries such as Maldives, Sri Lanka and Myanmar also record rainfall from October to December.
Why there are distortions?
- The majority of districts in Tamil Nadu remain highly rain-deficient up this time.
- The period after the Southwest monsoon season, from October to December, is the peak time for cyclonic activity in the North Indian Ocean region — covering the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal.
- The winds associated with the formation of low-pressure systems, depressions, or cyclones influence this monsoon, and therefore, the rainfall.
- Officials at IMD have linked it to the prevailing La Niña conditions in the Pacific Ocean.
La Nina link with the NE monsoon
- While La Niña conditions enhance the rainfall associated with the Southwest monsoon, it has a negative impact on rainfall associated with the Northeast monsoon.
- During La Niña years, the synoptic systems — low pressure or cyclones — formed in the Bay of Bengal remain significantly to the north of their normal position.
- Besides, instead of moving westwards, these systems recurve. As they lie to the north of their normal position, not much rainfall occurs over southern regions like Tamil Nadu.
Back2Basics: El Nino and La Nina
- While El Niño (Spanish for ‘little boy’), the more common expression, is the abnormal surface warming observed along the eastern and central regions of the Pacific Ocean (the region between Peru and Papua New Guinea).
- The La Niña (Spanish for ‘little girl’) is an abnormal cooling of these surface waters.
- Together, the El Niño and La Niña phenomena are termed as El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO).
- These are large-scale ocean phenomena which influence the global weather — winds, temperature and rainfall. They have the ability to trigger extreme weather events like droughts, floods, hot and cold conditions, globally.
- Each cycle can last anywhere between 9 to 12 months, at times extendable to 18 months — and re-occur after every three to five years.
- Meteorologists record the sea surface temperatures for four different regions, known as Niño regions, along this equatorial belt.
- Depending on the temperatures, they forecast either as an El Niño, an ENSO neutral phase, or a La Niña.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Desalination plants
Mains level: Drinking water scarcity in Urban India
Maharashtra state govt. has announced the setting up of a desalination plant in Mumbai, becoming the fourth state in the country to experiment with the idea.
Try this PYQ:
Q.What is the role of ultraviolet (UV) radiation in the water purification systems?
- It inactivates/kills the harmful microorganisms in water.
- It removes the entire undesirable odour from the water.
- It quickens the sedimentation of solid particles, removes turbidity and improves the clarity of water.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
What are Desalination Plants?
- A desalination plant turns salt water into water that is fit to drink.
- The most commonly used techniques used for the process is reverse osmosis where external pressure is applied to push solvents from an area of high-solute concentration to an area of low-solute concentration through a membrane.
- The microscopic pores in the membranes allow water molecules through but leave salt and most other impurities behind, releasing clean water from the other side.
- These plants are mostly set up in areas that have access to seawater.
How widely is this technology used in India?
- Desalination has largely been limited to affluent countries in the Middle East and has recently started making inroads in parts of the United States and Australia.
- In India, Tamil Nadu has been the pioneer in using this technology, setting up two desalination plants near Chennai in 2010 and then 2013, while there are two more to come.
Need for such plant
- According to the projections, the population of Mumbai is anticipated to touch 1.72 crores by 2041 and accordingly, the projected water demand would be 6424 MLD by then.
- Currently, BMC supplies 3850 MLD as against the requirement of 4200 MLD each day.
Is it ecologically safe?
- The high cost of setting up and running a desalination plant is one reason why the Maharashtra government has over the last decade been hesitant in building such a plant.
- Desalination is an expensive way of generating drinking water as it requires a high amount of energy.
- The other problem is the disposal of the byproduct — highly concentrated brine (saltwater) — of the desalination process.
- While in most places brine is pumped back into the sea, there have been rising complaints that it ends up severely damaging the local ecology around the plant.
Back2Basics: Osmosis and Reverse Osmosis
- Osmosis is a phenomenon where pure water flows from a dilute solution through a semi-permeable membrane to a higher concentrated solution.
- Semi-permeable means that the membrane will allow small molecules and ions to pass through it but acts as a barrier to larger molecules or dissolved substances.
- As water passes through the membrane to the salt solution, the level of liquid in the saltwater compartment will rise until enough pressure, caused by the difference in levels between the two compartments, is generated to stop the osmosis.
- This pressure, equivalent to a force that the osmosis seems to exert in trying to equalize concentrations on both sides of the membrane, is called osmotic pressure.
- If pressure greater than the osmotic pressure is applied to the high concentration the direction of water flow through the membrane can be reversed.
- This is called reverse osmosis. Note that this reversed flow produces pure water from the salt solution since the membrane is not permeable to salt.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Miyawaki Forests
Mains level: Various afforestation measures
Japan-inspired Miyawaki forests are emerging as a popular solution to restoring degraded habitats in the country.
Try this question:
Q.The Miyawaki Forests technique has to potential to revolutionize the concept of urban afforestation in India. Discuss.
Miyawaki Forests
- Doctor Akira Miyawaki, botanist and professor, is the inventor of the technique since 1980.
- He is a recipient of the 2006 Blue Planet Prize, which is the equivalent of a Nobel Prize in ecology.
- The approach is supposed to ensure that plant growth is 10 times faster and the resulting plantation is 30 times denser than usual.
- It involves planting dozens of native species in the same area and becomes maintenance-free after the first three years.
The technique
- The method takes its inspiration directly from processes and diversity in nature: 15 to 30 different species of trees and shrubs are planted together.
- This plant community works very well together and is perfectly adapted to local weather conditions.
- The habitat thus created will get more complex over time and attract much biodiversity.
- Vegetation becomes much denser than conventional plantations, and it has the structure of a mature natural forest. It is a multi-storey structure, where different levels of vegetation appear.
- The forest thus structured delivers many benefits in the form of ecosystem services.
- It would take about 200 years to let a forest recover on its own. With the Miyawaki method, a similar result is achieved in 20 years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: South Asian University
Mains level: SAARC and its fading relevance
The Delhi-based South Asian University, established by all eight SAARC countries, has not had a president for over a year, while its executive council and governing board have not met for almost two and three years respectively.
Note the features of SAARC, ASEAN and East Asia Summit.
South Asian University
- South Asian University (SAU) is an International University sponsored by the eight Member States of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC).
- The eight countries are Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- India, as the host and the largest country in the SAARC group, bore the entire capital cost for setting up the university, and also pays 50% of the operational costs.
- SAU attracts students predominantly from all the eight SAARC countries, although students from other continents also attend.
- There is a country quota system for admission of students. Every year SAU conducts admission test at multiple centres in all the eight countries.
- The degrees of the university is recognised by all the member nations of the SAARC according to an inter-governmental agreement signed by the foreign ministers of the eight-member states.
Institution on failure
- After a decade of existence, the university has yet to appoint a non-Indian president, despite rules stipulating a rotation among the member countries.
- At a time when the Union government is trying to encourage international education in India, an existing international institution is facing a crisis of leadership.
A matter of reluctance
- According to the agreement signed by all the SAARC countries, the first president should have been from India, and then rotated among the other countries in alphabetical order.
- So the next president should be from the Maldives.
- But the MEA has put an advertisement calling only for Indian applicants, but there has been no appointment after one year.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Negative-Yield Bonds
Mains level: Not Much
China recently sold negative-yield debt for the first time, and this saw high demand from investors across Europe.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Which of the following is issued by registered foreign portfolio investors to overseas investors who want to be part of the Indian stock market without registering themselves directly?
(a) Certificate of Deposit
(b) Commercial Paper
(c) Promissory Note
(d) Participatory Note
What are Negative-Yield Bonds?
- These are debt instruments that offer to pay the investor a maturity amount lower than the purchase price of the bond.
- These are generally issued by central banks or governments, and investors pay interest to the borrower to keep their money with them.
Why do investors buy them?
- Negative-yield bonds attract investments during times of stress and uncertainty as investors look to protect their capital from significant erosion.
- At a time when the world is battling the Covid-19 pandemic and interest rates in developed markets across Europe are much lower.
- Hence, investors are looking for relatively better-yielding debt instruments to safeguard their interests.
Why is there a huge demand?
- While Europe, the US and other parts of the world are facing a second wave of Covid-19 cases, China has demonstrated that it has controlled the spread of the pandemic and is therefore seen as a more stable region.
- Many feel that European investors are also looking to increase their exposure in China, and hence there is a huge demand for these bonds.
- The fact that the 10-year and 15-year bonds are offering positive returns is a big attraction at a time when interest rates in Europe have dropped significantly.
- As against minus —0.15% yield on the 5-year bond issued by China, the yields offered in safe European bonds are much lower, between –0.5% and —0.75%.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Lachit Borphukan
Mains level: Not Much
The Prime Minister has paid tribute to Lachit Borphukan on Lachit Diwas.
Try this PYQ:
Q.What was the immediate cause for Ahmad Shah Abdali to invade and fight the Third Battle of Panipat:
(a) He wanted to avenge the expulsion by Marathas of his viceroy Timur Shah from Lahore
(b) The frustrated governor of Jullundhar Adina Beg khan invited him to invade Punjab
(c) He wanted to punish Mughal administration for non-payment of the revenues of the Chahar Mahal (Gujrat Aurangabad, Sialkot and Pasrur)
(d) He wanted to annex all the fertile plains of Punjab upto borders of Delhi to his kingdom
Who was Lachit Borphukan?
- The year was 1671 and the decisive Battle of Saraighat was fought on the raging waters of the Brahmaputra.
- On one side was Mughal Emperor Aurangzeb’s army headed by Ram Singh of Amer (Jaipur) and on the other was the Ahom General Lachit Borphukan.
- He was a commander in the Ahom kingdom, located in present-day Assam.
- Ram Singh failed to make any advance against the Assamese army during the first phase of the war.
- Lachit Borphukan emerged victorious in the war and the Mughals were forced to retreat from Guwahati.
Lachit Diwas
- On 24 November each year, Lachit Divas is celebrated statewide in Assam to commemorate the heroism of Lachit Borphukan.
- On this day, Borphukan has defeated the Mughal army on the banks of the Brahmaputra in the Battle of Saraighat in 1671.
- The best passing out cadet of National Defence Academy has conferred the Lachit gold medal every year since 1999 commemorating his valour.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 2- Challenges in securing RCEP
Asian centrality
- China’s response is a ‘dual circulation’ strategy for self-reliance and military-technological prowess to surpass the U.S.
- The global governance role of the U.S. is already reduced.
- The U.S. now exercises power with others, not over them.
- Despite its military ‘pivot’ to Asia, the U.S. needs India in the Quad, to counterbalance the spread of China’s influence through land-based trade links.
- India, like others in the Quad, has not targeted China and also has deeper security ties with Russia.
- With the ASEAN ‘code of conduct’ in the South China Sea, both the security and prosperity pillars of the U.S.-led Indo-Pacific construct will be adversely impacted.
- Leveraging proven digital prowess to complement the infrastructure of China’s Belt and Road Initiative will win friends as countries value multi-polarity.
Atmanirbhar Bharat and Challenges
- ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’ will leverage endogenous technological strength, data and population.
- With the Rafale aircraft purchase, India has recognised that there will be no technology transfer for capital equipment.
- Military Theatre Commands should be tasked with border defence giving the offensive role to cyber, missile and special forces based on endogenous capacity, effectively linking economic and military strength.
- The overriding priority should be infrastructure including electricity and fibre optic connectivity; self-reliance in semiconductors, electric batteries and solar panels; and skill development.
Conclusion
There are compelling geopolitical and economic reasons for shaping the building blocks of the Asia-led order, which is not yet China-led, to secure an ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’, and place in the emerging triumvirate.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Gulf countries
Mains level: Paper 2- New possibilities in cooperation with the Gulf countries
The Gulf region offers new possibilities of cooperation to India. The article explains these possibilities.
Context
- External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar’s visit to Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recently is a good moment to reflect on the structural changes taking place in the Gulf and the region’s growing influence in the Indian Ocean.
Issues in approach towards the region
- For decades, India’s mercantilism saw the Gulf as a source of oil and a destination for labour exports.
- India’s bureaucratic approach to the Gulf was incapable of a political engagement with the region’s interests.
- The Indian elite has long viewed the Gulf as a collection of extractive petro-states run by conservative feudatories.
- Although the Gulf kingdoms were eager to build strong and independent political ties with India without a reference to Islamabad, India viewed them through the prism of Pakistan.
Influence in the Indian Ocean
- Delhi’s traditional focus in the Indian Ocean was riveted on Mauritius and the large Indian diaspora there.
- P.M.s visit to Mauritius and Seychelles in March 2015 saw the articulation of a long-overdue Indian Ocean policy and an acknowledgement of the strategic significance of the island states.
- Since then, India has brought Madagascar and Comoros along with Mauritius and Seychelles into the Indian Ocean Division.
- India also unveiled a maritime strategic partnership with France, a resident and influential power in the Western Indian Ocean.
- Earlier this year, Delhi became an observer at the Indian Ocean Commission — the regional grouping that brings France’s island territory of Reunion together with Comoros, Madagascar, Mauritius, and Seychelles.
- India has also become an observer to the Djibouti Code of Conduct — a regional framework for cooperation against piracy between the states of the Gulf, the Horn of Africa and East Africa.
5 Areas of new possibilities with the Gulf
1) Protecting India’s interests
- First is the immediate need to shield India’s interests in the post-pandemic turbulence that is enveloping the region.
- As the Gulf considers cutting back on foreign labour, Delhi would want to make sure its workers in the region are insulated.
- Delhi is also eager to improve the working conditions of its large labour force — close to eight million — in the Gulf.
2) New and long-term economic cooperation
- As the Gulf looks at a future beyond oil, they have embarked on massive economic diversification and are investing in a variety of new projects including renewable energy, higher education.
- India must get its businesses to focus on the range of new opportunities in the Gulf.
- India also needs to tap into the full possibilities of Gulf capital for its own economic development.
3) Financial power translating into political influence
- The Gulf’s financial power is increasingly translating into political influence shaping political narrative in the Middle East.
- The influence has been manifest in their successful transformation of the debate on Arab relations with Israel.
4) Influence on regional conflicts
- The Gulf’s ability to influence regional conflicts from Afghanistan to Lebanon and from Libya to Somalia has increased.
- The Gulf today delivers economic and security assistance to friendly states.
- The UAE currently chairs the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) and has been eager to work with India in developing joint infrastructure projects.
- India needs to bring scale and depth to its regional initiatives on connectivity and security in the Indian Ocean.
5) Reforms taking place in the region
- The Gulf seek to reduce the heavy hand of religion on social life, expand the rights of women, widen religious freedoms, promote tolerance, and develop a national identity that is not tied exclusively to religion.
- The UAE has been the leader in this regard.
Consider the question “India’s engagement with the Gulf countries has been limited in several aspects. However, the region offers new possibilities of strategic and cooperation to India. Evaluate these possibilities.”
Conclusion
As India seeks to recalibrate it’s ties with the Gulf, the real challenge for South Block is to get the rest of the Indian establishment to discard outdated perceptions of the Gulf and seize the new strategic possibilities with the region.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chang E probe
Mains level: Various lunar missions and their success
China is preparing to launch an unmanned spacecraft to bring back lunar rocks, the first attempt by any nation to retrieve samples from the moon in four decades.
Try this PYQ:
Q.What do you understand by the term Aitken basin:
(a) It is a desert in the southern Chile which is known to be the only location on earth where no rainfall takes place
(b) It is an impact crater on the far side of the Moon
(c) It is a Pacific coast basin, which is known to house large amounts of oil and gas
(d) It is a deep hyper saline anoxic basin where no aquatic animals are found
Chang’e-5 Probe
- The Chang’e-5 probe, named after the mythical Chinese moon goddess, aims to shovel up lunar rocks and soil to help scientists learn about the moon’s origins, formation and volcanic activity on its surface.
- The goal of the mission is to land in the Mons Rumker region of the moon, where it will operate for one lunar day, which is two weeks long.
- It will collect 2 kg of surface material from a previously unexplored area known as Oceanus Procellarum — or “Ocean of Storms” — which consist of vast lava plain.
- The original mission, planned for 2017, was delayed due to an engine failure in China’s Long March 5 launch rocket.
- If successful, China will be only the third country to have retrieved samples from the moon, following the U.S. and the Soviet Union in the 1960s and 1970s.
Significance of the mission
- As per the Lunar and Planetary Institute, rocks found on the Moon are older than any that have been found on Earth and therefore they are valuable in providing information about the Earth and the Moon’s shared history.
- Lunar samples can help to unravel some important questions in lunar science and astronomy, including the Moon’s age, its formation, the similarities and differences between the Earth and the Moon’s geologic features.
- For instance, the shape, size, arrangement and composition of individual grains and crystals in a rock can tell scientists about its history, while the radioactive clock can tell them the rock’s age.
- Further, tiny cracks in rocks can tell them about the radiation history of the Sun in the last 100,000 years.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Tropical cyclones
Mains level: Frequent landfalls of tropical cyclones in India
A developing cyclonic disturbance in the Bay of Bengal is expected to become a ‘severe cyclonic storm’ and make landfall in Tamil Nadu.
Cyclone Nivar
- The IMD has forecasted the development of a cyclone in the Southwest region of the Bay of Bengal, off Tamil Nadu coast.
- It has said that it will strengthen into a cyclone. Once intensified, it would acquire its name ‘Nivar’, proposed by Iran.
- After cyclone Gaja in 2018, this will be the second cyclone to cross Tamil Nadu in the last two years.
Try this PYQ:
In the South Atlantic and South-Eastern Pacific regions in tropical latitudes, cyclone does not originate. What is the reason?
(a) Sea surface temperatures are low
(b) Inter-Tropical Convergence Zone seldom occurs
(c) Coriolis force is too weak
(d) Absence of land in those regions
Tropical Cyclone
- A Tropical cyclone is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
- Cyclones are formed over slightly warm ocean waters. The temperature of the top layer of the sea, up to a depth of about 60 meters, need to be at least 28°C to support the formation of a cyclone.
- This explains why the April-May and October-December periods are conducive for cyclones.
- Then, the low level of air above the waters needs to have an ‘anticlockwise’ rotation (in the northern hemisphere; clockwise in the southern hemisphere).
- During these periods, there is an ITCZ in the Bay of Bengal whose southern boundary experiences winds from west to east, while the northern boundary has winds flowing east to west.
- Once formed, cyclones in this area usually move northwest. As it travels over the sea, the cyclone gathers more moist air from the warm sea which adds to its heft.
Must read:
[Burning Issue] Tropical Cyclones and India
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Mt. Vesuvious, volacanic landforms
Mains level: Not Much
The Italian Culture Ministry announced the discovery of well-preserved remains of two men, who perished during the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following statements:
- The Barren Island volcano is an active volcano located in the Indian Territory.
- Barren Island lies about 140 km east of Great Nicobar.
- The last time the Barren Island volcano erupted was in 1991 and it has remained inactive since then.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1 and 3 only
Mount Vesuvius
- Located in southern Italy near the coastal city of Naples, the 4,203-ft (1,281 metres) tall Vesuvius is the only active volcano in mainland Europe.
- Vesuvius has been classified as a complex volcano (also called a compound volcano), one that consists of a complex of two or more vents.
- It typically has explosive eruptions and pyroclastic flows –– defined as a high-density mix of hot lava blocks, pumice, ash and volcanic gas.
- It has erupted more than 50 times and is considered among the most dangerous volcanoes in the world due to its proximity to Naples and surrounding towns.
- Its last serious eruption, lasting two weeks, was in 1944 during World War II, which left 26 Italian civilians dead and around 12,000 displaced.
The eruption of 79 AD
- In 79 AD, the Roman Empire-era sister cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum were destroyed and buried during a catastrophic eruption of Vesuvius.
- It was a catastrophic event that destroyed the ancient Roman city of Pompeii and killed around 16,000 people.
- Pompeii, 8 km away from Vesuvius, served as a resort town on the Bay of Naples for Rome’s elite citizens, consisting of villas, cafes, marketplaces and a 20,000-seat arena.
- In 63 AD, a major earthquake rattled the city, serving as a warning for the eruption to come. However, few residents bothered to abandon the region, known for its volatility.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Guru Teg Bahadur
Mains level: NA
The President of India’s has delivered a special message on the eve of ‘Martyrdom Day’ of Guru Teg Bahadur.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Consider the following Bhakti Saints:
- Dadu Dayal
- Guru Nanak
- Tyagaraja
Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?
(a) 1 and 3
(b) 2 only
(c) 2 and 3
(d) 1 and 2
Guru Teg Bahadur (1621-1675)
- Guru Teg Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion.
- One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
- He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against the imposition jizya tax.
- He was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for refusing to convert.
- In the words of Noel King of the University of California, “Guru Teg Bahadur’s martyrdom was the first-ever martyrdom for human rights in the world.
- He is fondly remembered as ‘Hind di Chaadar’.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Not much
Mains level: Paper 3- Construction of dams Brahmaputra river by China
Scarcity of water in India and China
- As India and China continue to grow demographically as well as economically amid increased consumption among its citizenry, both nations face water constraints.
- China, which is home to close to 20 per cent of the world’s population, has only 7 per cent of its water resources.
- Severe pollution of its surface and groundwater caused by rapid industrialisation is a source of concern for Chinese planners.
- China’s southern regions are water-rich in comparison to the water-stressed northern part.
- The southern region is a major food producer and has significant industrial capacity as a consequence of more people living there.
- India is severely water-stressed as well.
- Similar to China, India has 17 per cent of the world’s population and 4 per cent of water.
- As in China, an equally ambitious north-south river-linking project has been proposed in India.
Impact on downstream states
- The construction of several dams along the Yarlung (Brahmaputra) river on the Chinese side has been a repeated cause for concern for Indian officials and the local people.
- China has an ambitious plan to link its south and north through canals, aqueducts and linking of major rivers to ensure water security.
- In pursuit of these goals, China, being an upper riparian state in Asia, has been blocking rivers like the Mekong and its tributaries, affecting Southeast Asian countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.
- It has caused immense damage to the environment and altered river flows in the region.
- China sees these projects as a continuation of their historic tributary system as the smaller states have no means of effectively resisting or even significant leverage in negotiations.
Challenges for India
- There are now multiple operational dams in the Yarlung Tsangpo basin with more dams commissioned and under construction. These constructions present a unique challenge for Indian planners.
- 1) Dams will eventually lead to degradation of the entire basin:
- Silt carried by the river would get blocked by dams leading to a fall in the quality of soil and eventual reduction in agricultural productivity.
- 2) The Brahmaputra basin is one of the world’s most ecologically sensitive zones.
- It is identified as one of the world’s 34 biological hotspots.
- This region sees several species of flora and fauna that are endemic to only this part of the world.
- The river itself is home to the Gangetic river dolphin, which is listed as critically endangered.
- 3) The location of the dams in the Himalayas pose a risk.
- Seismologists consider the Himalayas as most vulnerable to earthquakes and seismic activity.
- The sheer size of the infrastructure projects undertaken by China, and increasingly by India, poses a significant threat to the populations living downstream.
- Close to a million people live in the Brahmaputra basin in India and tens of millions further downstream in Bangladesh.
- 4) Damming Brahmaputra would result in water security in an era of unprecedented shifting climate patterns.
- This security extends beyond water, as there is the potential to significantly change the flow rate during times of standoffs and high tensions.
Way forward
- Both sides must cease new constructions on the river and commit to potentially less destructive solutions.
- Building a decentralised network of check dams, rain-capturing lakes and using traditional means of water capture have shown effective results in restoring the ecological balance while supporting the populations of the regions in a sustainable manner.
Conclusion
There are alternate solutions to solving the water crisis. It is in the interest of all stakeholders to neutralise this ticking water bomb.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Ground level pollution and its impact on agriculture
Mains level: Paper 3- Interplay between agri-subsidies and pollution
Agriculture’s contribution to air pollution
- Agriculture’s contribution to air pollution runs deeper than what happens between crop seasons.
- The Indo-Gangetic plain is also one of the world’s largest and rapidly-growing ammonia hotspots.
- Atmospheric ammonia, which comes from fertiliser use, animal husbandry, and other agricultural practices, combines with emissions from power plants, transportation and other fossil-fuel burning to form fine particles.
Impact of pollution on agriculture
- It is important to note that agriculture is a victim of pollution as well as its perpetrator.
- Particulate matter and ground-level ozone formed from industrial, power plant, and transportation emissions among other ingredients cause double-digit losses in crop yields.
- Ozone damages plant cells, handicapping photosynthesis, while particulate matter dims the sunlight that reaches crops.
- Agriculture scientist Tony Fischer’s 2019 estimates of the two pollutants’ combined effect suggest that as much as 30 per cent of India’s wheat yield is missing (Sage Journals, Outlook on Agriculture).
- Earlier, B Sinha et al (2015), in Atmospheric Chemistry and Physics Discussions, found that high ozone levels in parts of Haryana and Punjab could diminish rice yields by a quarter and cotton by half.
Role played by subsidies
- The current system of subsidies is a big reason that there is stubble on these fields in the first place.
- Free power — and consequently, “free” water, pumped from the ground — is a big part of what makes growing rice in these areas attractive.
- Open-ended procurement of paddy, despite the bulging stocks of grains with the Food Corporation of India, adds to the incentives.
- Subsidies account for almost 15 per cent of the value of rice being produced in Punjab-Haryana belt.
- Fertiliser, particularly urea in granular form, is highly subsidised.
- It is one of the cheapest forms of nitrogen-based fertiliser, easy to store and easy to transport, but it is also one of the first to “volatilise,” or release ammonia into the air.
- This loss of nitrogen then leads to a cycle of more and more fertiliser being applied to get the intended benefits for crops.
Way forward
- We need to shift the nature of support to farmers from input subsidies to investment subsidies.
- This could involve the conversion of paddy areas in this belt to orchards with drip irrigation, vegetables, corn, cotton, pulses and oilseeds.
- All of the above consume much less water, much less power and fertilisers and don’t create stubble to burn.
- A diversification package of, say, Rs 10,000 crore spread over the next five years, equally contributed by the Centre and states, may be the best way to move forward in reducing agriculture-related pollution.
- The approach to diversification has to be demand-led, with a holistic framework of the value chain, from farm to fork and not just focused on production.
- On the fertiliser front, it would be better to give farmers input subsidy in cash on per hectare basis, and free up the prices of fertilisers completely.
Conclusion
Taken together, these measures could double farmers’ incomes, promote efficiency in resource use, and reduce pollution — a win-win solution for all.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Deep Ocean Mission
Mains level: India's deep ocean mission
India will soon launch an ambitious ‘Deep Ocean Mission’ that envisages exploration of minerals, energy and marine diversity of the underwater world, a vast part of which still remains unexplored.
Deep Ocean Mission (DOM)
Nodal Agency: Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES)
- The mission proposes to explore the deep ocean similar to the space exploration started by ISRO.
- Underwater robotics and ‘manned’ submersibles are key components of the Mission which will help India harness various living and non-living (water, mineral and energy) resources from the seabed and deep water.
- The tasks that will be undertaken over this period include deep-sea mining, survey, energy exploration and the offshore-based desalination.
- These technological developments are funded under an umbrella scheme of the government – called Ocean Services, Technology, Observations, Resources Modelling and Science (O-SMART).
Mining PMN
- One of the main aims of the mission is to explore and extract polymetallic nodules (PMN).
- These are small potato-like rounded accretions composed of minerals such as manganese, nickel, cobalt, copper and iron hydroxide.
- They lie scattered on the Indian Ocean floor at depths of about 6,000 m and the size can vary from a few millimetres to centimetres.
- These metals can be extracted and used in electronic devices, smartphones, batteries and even for solar panels.
Where will the team mine?
- The International Seabed Authority (ISA), an autonomous international organisation established under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, allots the ‘area’ for deep-sea mining.
- India was the first country to receive the status of a ‘Pioneer Investor ‘ in 1987 and was given an area of about 1.5 lakh sq km in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) for nodule exploration.
- In 2002, India signed a contract with the ISA and after complete resource analysis of the seabed 50% was surrendered and the country retained an area of 75,000 sq km.
Which are the other countries that are in the race to mine the deep sea?
- Apart from the CIOB, polymetallic nodules have been identified from the central Pacific Ocean. It is known as the Clarion-Clipperton Zone.
- According to the ISA’s website, it has entered into 15-year contracts for exploration for polymetallic nodules, polymetallic sulphides and cobalt-rich ferromanganese crusts in the deep seabed with 29 contractors.
- Later it was extended for five more years till 2022.
- China, France, Germany, Japan, South Korea, Russia and also some small islands such as the Cook Islands, Kiribati have joined the race for deep-sea mining.
- Most of the countries have tested their technologies in shallow waters and are yet to start deep-sea extraction.
India’s preparedness
- India’s mining site is at about a depth of 5,500 metres, where there is a high pressure and extremely low temperature.
- We have also deployed Remotely Operated Vehicle and In-situ Soil Tester in the depth of 6,000 metres and have a thorough understanding of the mining area at the Central Indian Ocean Basin.
- The mining machine newly developed for 6000 metres depth was able to move about 900 metres and will be deployed soon at 5,500 metres.
- Weather conditions and the availability of ships also play a role.
- More tests are being conducted to understand how to bring the nodules up to the surface. A riser system comprising an umbilical cable or electromechanical cable and a hose is being developed.
What will be the environmental impact?
- According to the IUCN, these deep remote locations can be home to unique species that have adapted themselves to conditions such as poor oxygen and sunlight, high pressure and extremely low temperatures.
- Such mining expeditions can make them go extinct even before they are known to science.
- The deep sea’s biodiversity and ecology remain poorly understood, making it difficult to assess the environmental impact and frame adequate guidelines.
- Though strict guidelines have been framed, they are only exploration guidelines. A new set of exploitation guidelines are being worked out and discussions are on with the ISA.
- Environmentalists are also worried about the sediment plumes that will be generated as the suspended particles can rise to the surface harming the filter feeders in the upper ocean layers.
- Additional concerns have been raised about the noise and light pollution from the mining vehicles and oil spills from the operating vessels.
Is deep-sea mining economically viable?
- The latest estimate from the ISA says it will be commercially viable only if about three million tonnes are mined per year.
- More studies are being carried out to understand how the technology can be scaled up and used efficiently.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bru Tribals
Mains level: Bru-Reang Repatriation Agreement
People erupted in violent protests against the planned resettlement of thousands of Bru migrants permanently at Kanchanpur sub-division of North Tripura.
Try this PYQ:
Q. With reference to ‘Changpa’ community of India, consider the following statement:
- They live mainly in the State of Uttarakhand.
- They rear the Pashmina goats that yield fine wool.
- They are kept in the category of Scheduled Tribes.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct? (CSP 2014)
(a) 1 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3
Who are the Brus?
- Reangs or Brus are the second largest ethnic group in Mizoram.
- Their exodus in 1997 was spurred by violent clashes in Mamith subdivision, a Reang-dominated area when they demanded the creation of an autonomous council that was vehemently opposed by Mizo groups.
- Around 34,000 people were forced to live in sub-human conditions in tents in Tripura. No solution could be reached all these years.
- These people were housed in temporary camps at Kanchanpur, in North Tripura.
Why have there been violent protests?
- Twenty-three years after ethnic clashes in Mizoram forced 37,000 people of the Bru (or Reang) community to flee their homes to neighbouring Tripura.
- The news was not welcomed by the Bengali and Mizo communities in Tripura.
- They fear a demographic imbalance, which would exert pressure on local resources and potentially lead to law and order problems.
Also read
[Burning Issue] Bru– Reang Repatriation Agreement
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Chandigarh
Mains level: Interstate boundary disputes in India
Earlier this month, Haryana Dy. CM said it would be better if both Haryana and Punjab agreed on Chandigarh as a Union Territory and make their independent capitals and Benches of High Courts.
Try answering this
Q.The linguistic re-organization of Indian states in the post-Independence period has prevented its balkanization, unlike our neighbourhood. Comment.
Why was Chandigarh created?
- Chandigarh was planned to replace Lahore, the capital of erstwhile Punjab, which became part of Pakistan during the Partition.
- In March 1948, the Government of (India’s) Punjab, in consultation with the Centre, approved the area of the foothills of the Shivaliks as the site for the new capital.
- From 1952 to 1966 (till Haryana was carved out of Punjab), Chandigarh remained the capital of Punjab.
How did it become a shared capital?
- At the time of reorganization of Punjab in 1966, the city assumed the unique distinction of being the capital of both Punjab and Haryana.
- Even as it was declared a union territory and was placed under the direct control of the Centre.
- The properties in Chandigarh were to be divided into 60:40 ratio in favour of Punjab.
Punjab’s claim
- The-then PM Indira Gandhi had announced that Haryana, in due course, would have its own capital and Chandigarh would go to Punjab.
- As per documents submitted in the Lok Sabha, the Centre had even issued a formal communication is this regard on January 29, 1970, almost three years after Haryana came into being.
- Again, in 1985, under the Rajiv-Longowal accord, Chandigarh was to be handed over to Punjab on January 26, 1986, but the Rajiv Gandhi government withdrew at the last minute.
Haryana’s counter-claim
- As per the 1970 documents, the Centre had considered various alternatives for settling the matter, including dividing the city.
- But that wasn’t feasible since Chandigarh was built as a planned city to serve as the capital of one state.
- Haryana was told to use the office and residential accommodation in Chandigarh only for five years till it shifts to its own new capital.
- The Centre had offered Rs 10 crore grant to Haryana and an equal amount of loan for setting up the new capital.
- In 2018, Haryana CM suggested setting up a special body for the development of Chandigarh, but the Punjab CM rejected it, saying the city “indisputably belonged to Punjab”.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Bioluminescence
Mains level: Eastern Himalayas and its biodiversity
A mushroom documentation project in the forests of Northeast India has discovered a bioluminescent — or light-emitting — variety of mushroom.
Try this PYQ:
Q.Lichens, which are capable of initiating ecological succession even on a bare rock, are actually a symbiotic association of:
(a) Algae and bacteria
(b) Algae and fungi
(c) Bacteria and fungi
(d) Fungi and mosses
Roridomyces phyllostachydis
- The new species was first sighted near a stream in Meghalaya’s Mawlynnong in East Khasi Hills district and later at Krang Shuri in West Jaintia Hills district.
- It is now one among the 97 known species of bioluminescent fungi in the world.
Bioluminescence in fungi
- Bioluminescence is the property of a living organism to produce and emit light.
- Bioluminescent organisms are usually found in ocean environments, but they are also found in terrestrial environments.
- The colour of the light emitted by the organism depends on its chemical properties.
- In the case of fungi, the luminescence comes from the enzyme, luciferase.
- The green light emits when luciferans is catalysed by the enzyme luciferase, in the presence of oxygen.
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Note4Students
From UPSC perspective, the following things are important :
Prelims level: Sentinel 6
Mains level: Sea level rise and climate change
The Copernicus Sentinel-6 Michael Freilich satellite, designed to monitor oceans, was launched from the in California.
Try this MCQ:
The Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) Mission recently seen in news is aimed at observing:
(a)Microgravity changes
(b)Sea level rise
(c)Cosmic radiation
(d)Space debris
Sentinel-6 Satellite
- This is a part of the next mission dedicated to measuring changes in the global sea level.
- It has been named after Dr Michael Freilich, who was the Director of NASA’s Earth Science Division from 2006-2019 and passed away in August this year.
What is the mission?
- The mission, called the Jason Continuity of Service (Jason-CS) mission, is designed to measure the height of the ocean, which is a key component in understanding how the Earth’s climate is changing.
- The spacecraft consists of two satellites, the other, called Sentinel-6B, to be launched in 2025.
- It has been developed jointly by the European Space Agency (ESA), NASA, and France’s National Centre for Space Studies (CNES).
What will the satellite do?
- The satellite will ensure the continuity of sea-level observations into the fourth decade and will provide measurements of global sea-level rise.
- Since 1992, high-precision satellite altimeters have helped scientists understand how the ocean stores and distributes heat, water and carbon in the climate system.
- Essentially, the satellite will send pulses to the Earth’s surface and measure how long they take to return to it, which will help scientists measure the sea surface height.
- It will also measure water vapour along this path and find its position using GPS and ground-based lasers.
Significance of the mission
- As per NASA, it is possible to observe the height of the oceans on a global scale and monitor critical changes in ocean currents and heat storage only from space.
- Data from satellites such as Sentinel-6 help scientists foresee the effects of the changing oceans on the climate.
- Further, in order to measure and track changes in the oceanic heat budget, scientists need to know the ocean currents and heat storage of the oceans, which can be determined from the height of the sea surface.
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