Archives: News

Air Pollution

Recovery of Ozone Layer achieves significant milestone

Prelims Only | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 1: Important Geophysical Phenomena
The concentration of ozone-depleting substances in the atmosphere has reduced to reach a significant milestone this year.

What is Ozone and Ozone Layer?
- An ozone molecule consists of three oxygen atoms instead of the usual two (the oxygen we breathe, O2, makes up 21% of the atmosphere).
- It only exists in the atmosphere in trace quantities (less than 0.001%), but its effects are very important.
- Ozone molecules are created by the interaction of ultra-violet (UV) radiation from the Sun with O2 molecules.
- Because UV radiation is more intense at higher altitudes where the air is thinner, it is in the stratosphere where most of the ozone is produced, giving rise to what is called the ‘ozone layer’.
- The ozone layer, containing over 90% of all atmospheric ozone, extends between about 10 and 40km altitude, peaking at about 25km in Stratosphere.
Why need Ozone Layer?
- The ozone layer is very important for life on Earth because it has the property of absorbing the most damaging form of UV radiation, UV-B radiation which has a wavelength of between 280 and 315 nanometres.
- As UV radiation is absorbed by ozone in the stratosphere, it heats up the surrounding air to produce the stratospheric temperature inversion.
What is Ozone Hole?
- Each year for the past few decades during the Southern Hemisphere spring, chemical reactions involving chlorine and bromine cause ozone in the southern polar region to be destroyed rapidly and severely.
- The Dobson Unit (DU) is the unit of measure for total ozone.
- The chemicals involved ozone depletion are chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs for short), halons, and carbon tetrachloride.
- They are used for a wide range of applications, including refrigeration, air conditioning, foam packaging, and making aerosol spray cans.
- The ozone-depleted region is known as the “ozone hole”.
Tropical Ozone Hole
- According to the study, the ozone hole is located at altitudes of 10-25 km over the tropics.
- This hole is about seven times larger than Antarctica, the study suggested.
- It also appears across all seasons, unlike that of Antarctica, which is visible only in the spring.
- The hole has become significant since the 1980s. But it was not discovered until this study.
What caused an ozone hole in the tropics?
- Studies suggested another mechanism of ozone depletion: Cosmic rays.
- Chlorofluorocarbon’s (CFC) role in depleting the ozone layer is well-documented.
- The tropical stratosphere recorded a low temperature of 190-200 Kelvin (K).
- This can explain why the tropical ozone hole is constantly formed over the seasons.
Significance of the finding
- The tropical ozone hole, which makes up 50 percent of Earth’s surface, could cause a global concern due to the risks associated with it.
- It is likely to cause skin cancer, cataracts and other negative effects on the health and ecosystems in tropical regions.
Try this PYQ

Q.Consider the following statements:

Chlorofluorocarbons, known as ozone-depleting substances are used:
1. In the production of plastic foams
2. In the production of tubeless tyres
3. In cleaning certain electronic components
4. As pressurizing agents in aerosol cans
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1, 2 and 3 only

(b) 4 only

(c) 1, 3 and 4 only

(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

Post your answers here
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Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

Dams in news: Vishnugadh Project

Prelims Only | Economics | Mains Paper 3: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways Etc.
An independent panel of the World Bank is considering a plea by residents of some village to investigate environmental damage from the under-construction Vishnugad Pipalkoti Hydro Electric Project (VPHEP).

Vishnugadh Project
- The 444-MW VPHEP is being built by the Tehri Hydropower Development Corporation (THDC), a partially State-owned enterprise.
- It is being constructed on Dhauliganga River in Chamoli District of Uttarakhand.
- The project is primarily funded by the World Bank and was sanctioned in 2011. It is proposed to be completed in June 2023.
- About 40% of the funds for the $792 million project (₹64,000 crore approx.) has already been disbursed.
Why in news now?
- Residents in their complaint have said muck dumping from the dam threatens the local Lakshmi Narayan Temple, which is deemed to be of historical and cultural importance.
- They also complained about the limited availability of water, saying that 70 of the 92 households received water only for two hours daily.
- Before the project construction, they had ready access to water.
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Health Sector – UHC, National Health Policy, Family Planning, Health Insurance, etc.

National Digital Health Mission

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Health & Education
Context
- The covid-19 pandemic has presented a watershed moment, bringing the world’s healthcare systems to a halt, forcing us to rethink existing healthcare delivery models and embrace the digital health transformation of the sector.
Definition of digital health care
- Digital health is a discipline that includes digital care programs, technologies with health, healthcare, living, and society to enhance the efficiency of healthcare delivery and to make medicine more personalized and precise.
Digital Health: A Backgrounder
- The National Health Policy 2017 had envisaged creation of a digital health technology eco-system aiming at developing an integrated health information system.
- A Digital Health ID was proposed to reduce the risk of preventable medical errors and significantly increase the quality of care.
- It recognised the need to establish a specialised ecosystem, called the National Digital Health Mission (NDHM).
The National Digital Health Mission
- The NDHM is a digital health ecosystem under which every Indian citizen will now have unique health IDs, digitized health records with identifiers for doctors and health facilities.
- The mission will significantly improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of health service delivery and will be a major step towards the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goal 3.8 of Universal Health Coverage, including financial risk protection.
Significance of digital health
- Prioritizing patients: Say, mortality from Covid-19 is significantly increased by comorbidities or the presence of other underlying conditions like hypertension or diabetes.With digital health records, doctors can prioritise patients based on their test results.
- Portability of health records: Portability of records fairly eases in a patient with the first hospital visit, or her/his most frequently visited hospital. If she/he wishes to change a healthcare provider for cost or quality reasons, she can access her health records without carrying pieces of paper prescriptions and test reports. People will able to access their lab reports, x-rays and prescriptions irrespective of where they were generated, and share them with doctors or family members — with consent.
- Easy facilitation: This initiative will allow patients to access healthcare facilities remotely through e-pharmacies, online appointments, teleconsultation, and other health benefits. Besides, as all the medical history of the patient is recorded in the Health ID card, it will help the doctor to understand the case better, and improved medication can be offered.
- Technology impetus in policymaking: Meanwhile, it is also not just individuals who could emerge beneficiaries of the scheme. With large swathes of data being made available, the government too can form policies based on geographical, demographical, and risk-factor based monitoring of health.
Critical point to remember

In the case of lung cancer, only 18.5 % of patients survive five or more years once diagnosed. These are threats that data-led technology will help address.

Major privacy issues involved
- Informed Consent:The citizen’s consent is vital for all access. A beneficiary’s consent is vital to ensure that information is released.
- Data leakages issue:Personalised data collected at multiple levels are a “sitting gold mine” for insurance companies, international researchers, and pharma companies.
- Digital divide:Other experts add that lack of access to technology, poverty, and lack of understanding of the language in a vast and diverse country like India are problems that need to be looked into.
- Data Migration:The data migration and inter-State transfer are still faced with multiple errors and shortcomings in addition to concerns of data security.
Other challenges
- Existing digitalization is yet incomplete:India has been unable to standardise the coverage and quality of the existing digital cards like One Nation One Ration card, PM-JAY card, Aadhaar card, etc., for accessibility of services and entitlements.
- Lack of healthcare facilities:The defence of data security by expressed informed consent doesn’t work in a country that is plagued by the acute shortage of healthcare professionals to inform the client fully.
- Lack of finance:With the minuscule spending of 1.3% of the GDP on the healthcare sector, India will be unable to ensure the quality and uniform access to healthcare that it hoped to bring about.
Conclusion
- With an enabling ecosystem, supported by effective policies for digital healthcare and increased innovation, the promise of digital solutions in healthcare is immense. It’s not long before precision healthcare becomes central to the health and well-being of every citizen.
Mains question

Q. The covid-19 pandemic has presented a watershed moment, bringing the world’s healthcare systems to a halt, forcing us to rethink existing healthcare delivery models. In this context discuss challenges and opportunities of digital health ecosystem in India.

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Electoral Reforms In India

Jharkhand CM may face disqualification

| Polity | Mains Paper 2: Representation Of People’s Act
Jharkhand CM’s chair remains uncertain as the Election Commission (EC) is understood to have conveyed its decision in an office-of-profit complaint against him to the Governor.

Why in news?
- Under Section 9A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, the CM could face disqualification for entering into a government contract.
- The Constitution of India does not define the Office of Profit. It has only mentioned it under Article 102 (1) and Article 191 (1).
What is Office of Profit?
- MPs and MLAs, as members of the legislature, hold the government accountable for its work.
- The essence of disqualification is if legislators hold an ‘office of profit’ under the government, they might be susceptible to government influence, and may not discharge their constitutional mandate fairly.
- The intent is that there should be no conflict between the duties and interests of an elected member.
- Hence, the office of profit law simply seeks to enforce a basic feature of the Constitution- the principle of separation of power between the legislature and the executive.
What governs the term?
- At present, the Parliament (Prevention of Disqualification) Act, 1959, bars an MP, MLA or an MLC from holding any office of profit under the central or state government unless it is exempted.
- However, it does not clearly define what constitutes an office of profit.
- Legislators can face disqualification for holding such positions, which bring them financial or other benefits.
- Under the provisions of Article 102 (1) and Article 191 (1) of the Constitution, an MP or an MLA (or an MLC) is barred from holding any office of profit under the Central or State government.
An undefined term
- The officials of the law ministry are of the view that defining an office of profit could lead to the filing of a number of cases with the Election Commission and the courts.
- Also, once the definition is changed, one will also have to amend various provisions in the Constitution including Article 102 (1) (a) and Article 109 (1) (a) that deal with the office of profit.
- It will have an overarching effect on all the other sections of the Constitution.
Factors constituting an ‘office of profit’
- The 1959 law does not clearly define what constitutes an office of profit but the definition has evolved over the years with interpretations made in various court judgments.
- An office of profit has been interpreted to be a position that brings to the office-holder some financial gain, or advantage, or benefit. The amount of such profit is immaterial.
- In 1964, the Supreme Court ruled that the test for determining whether a person holds an office of profit is the test of appointment.
What is the ‘test of appointment’?

Several factors are considered in this determination including factors such as:
1. whether the government is the appointing authority,
2. whether the government has the power to terminate the appointment,
3. whether the government determines the remuneration,
4. what is the source of remuneration, and
5. the power that comes with the position.
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Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

Arth Ganga Model: New govt model for the River’s Sustainable Development

| Governance | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies
The Director General of the National Mission for Clean Ganga, spoke about the Arth Ganga Model during his virtual keynote address to the Stockholm World Water Week 2022.

What is Arth Ganga Model?
- PM Modi first introduced the concept during the first National Ganga Council meeting in Kanpur in 2019.
- He urged for a shift from Namami Gange, the Union Government’s flagship project to clean the Ganga, to the model of Arth Ganga.
- The latter focuses on the sustainable development of the Ganga and its surrounding areas, by focusing on economic activities related to the river.
- At its core, the Arth Ganga model seeks to use economics to bridge people with the river.
- It strives to contribute at least 3% of the GDP from the Ganga Basin itself.
- The Arth Ganga project’s interventions are in accordance with India’s commitments towards the UN sustainable development goals.
Features

Under Arth Ganga, the government is working on six verticals.
1. Zero Budget Natural Farming that includes chemical-free farming for 10 kms on either side of the river, generating “more income, per drop”, ‘Gobar Dhan’ for farmers,
2. Monetization and Reuse of Sludge &Wastewater that envisages reuse of treated water for irrigation; industrial purposes and revenue generation for ULBs,
3. Livelihood Opportunities Generation such as ‘Ghat Mein Haat’, promotion of local products, Ayurveda, medicinal plants, capacity building of volunteers like Ganga Praharis,
4. Public Participation to ensure increased synergies between stakeholders,
5. Cultural Heritage &Tourism that looks to introduce boat tourism through community jettis, promotion of yoga, adventure tourism etc. and Ganga Artis and
6. Institutional Building by enhancing the local capacities for better decentralized water governance.
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Robust Sport governance for national pride

op-ed snap | Governance | Mains Paper 2: Governance, Transparency & Accountability, Citizens Charters
Context
- The judicial push for reforms in sport governance of various sporting bodies, football, hockey, table tennis and the Indian Olympic Association has understandably received mixed reactions.
Why in news?
- The national sports federation’s usual governance practices do not place either the sport or the athlete front and centre; that space is reserved for official egos, whims and political clout.
What is sport governance?
- Sport governance refers to the power a government has over institutions and allows their decisions to be made with due consideration to their influence, authority, and organizational structure.
Sports in India
- Physical activity is fundamental to human beings: The report states that having a fundamental right to literacy would mean identifying the intrinsic value of physical activity to human living.
- Part of elementary education: It would mean not seeing physical activity as an end in itself, and the establishment of physical activity/ physical education as a core component of the education curriculum.
- Supportive to other FRs: A fundamental right to physical literacy would actualise and enhance the enjoyment of other fundamental rights. It would go a long way in enhancing the opportunities and freedom to express oneself.
- Enhancing life quality: A physically literate individual would have a more fulfilling life of higher quality than one who is not. Physical literacy, as a building block, would go a long way in the promotion and realisation of the right to health and the right to education.
Issues with the Current Sports governance
- Lack of check and balance: The biggest concern regarding these bodies so far has been a complete lack of checks and balances.
- Excessive autonomy: In the pretext of autonomy, they have been allowed to function in any manner.
- Less people centric approach: The federations have generally fallen short of public expressions and have failed to carry out their jobs. It has been largely attributed to the way they are governed.
- Accountability: The current sports model faces accountability issues such as that of having unlimited discretionary powers and also there is no transparency in the decision-making.
Sport governance in India is administered by
- Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports (MYAS)
- National Sports Federation (NSF)
- Indian Olympic Association (IOA)
- State Olympic Association (SOA)
- Sports Authority of India (SAI)
Positive Suggestions
- Legislation: There must be presence of powerful and defined sports legislation in India covering all the nuances of sports and giving no arbiter powers to any authority.
- Transparency-: To maintain transparency with expenditure and fund utilization, Information like a board of members, administrative officials, and remuneration information must be in public domain.
- Women Representation: It is very important to have sufficient women representation in sports as well as in the administrative bodies, and it is the responsibility of these admin bodies to ensure sufficient representation from women in the board too, to maintain the diversity within the board.
- Plans: There should be fix timelines disclosed which are to be adopted by sports bodies for the purpose of growth and development of sports in future, which is to be achieved in a given specific period of time. These kinds of timelines and plans would be motivational for players and bodies to. Goals to be targeted in future must be predecided, which can be well monitored and regulated by the authorities. Effective implementation would bring positive results in future.
- Committees: To set up specific committees for specific activities relating to sports activities, like for planning, financing, research and development purposes. These committees would look after the particular task, which would bring transparency in work and achieving the common objective.
- Rules and Regulations: like other fields, sports also have conflicts regarding disciplinary, administrative and management issues, to solve this issues governing bodies must set up a common judicial system (tribunal) to deal with sports-related conflicts.
Conclusion
- There is a close association of sports with national pride and the kind of influence it has on the psyche of the nation, a role for the State is urgent in sports reforms.
Mains question

Q. The national sports federation’s usual governance practices do not place either the sport or the athlete front and centre; that space is reserved for official egos what do you think on this ? Explain the term sport governance with some dynamic changes needed in it.

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Historical and Archaeological Findings in News

Manusmriti: the controversial ancient Sanskrit text

Prelims Only | History | Mains Paper 1: Arts & Culture
The Vice Chancellor of a renowned university recently criticized the Manusmriti, the ancient Sanskrit text, over its gender bias.

What is the news?
- The VC said that the Manusmriti has categorised all women as shudras, which is extraordinarily regressive.
What is Manusmriti?
- The Mānavadharmaśāstra, also known as Manusmriti or the Laws of Manu, is a Sanskrit text belonging to the Dharmaśāstra literary tradition of Hinduism.
- Composed sometime between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, the Manusmriti is written in sloka verses, containing two non-rhyming lines of 16 syllabus each.
- The text is attributed to the mythical figure of Manu, considered to be ancestor of the human race in Hinduism.
- There has been considerable debate between scholars on the authorship of the text.
- Many have argued that it was compiled by many Brahmin scholars over a period of time.
- However, Indologist Patrick Olivelle argues that Manusmṛiti’s “unique and symmetrical structure,” means that it was composed by a “single gifted individual,” or by a “strong chairman of a committee” with the aid of others.
What is the text about?

(A) Social aspects
- The Manusmriti is encyclopaedic in scope, covering subjects such as the social obligations and duties of the various castes and of individuals in different stages of life.
- It seeks to govern the suitable social and sexual relations of men and women of different castes, on taxes, the rules for kingship, on maintaining marital harmony and the procedures for settling everyday disputes.
- At its core, the Manusmriti discusses life in the world, how it is lived in reality, as well as how it ought to be.
(B) Political aspects
- They argue that the text is about dharma, which means duty, religion, law and practice.
- It also discusses aspects of the Arthashashtra, such as issues relating to statecraft and legal procedures.
- The aim of the text is to present a blueprint for a properly ordered society under the sovereignty of the king and the guidance of Brahmins.
- It was meant to be read by the priestly caste and Olivelle argues that it would likely have been part of the curriculum for young Brahmin scholars at colleges.
What is its significance?
- By the early centuries of the Common Era, Manu had become, and remained, the standard source of authority in the orthodox tradition for that centrepiece of Hinduism, varṇāśrama-dharma (social and religious duties tied to class and stage of life)”.
- Indologists argue that it was a very significant text for Brahmin scholars — it attracted 9 commentaries by other writers of the tradition, and was cited by other ancient Indian texts far more frequently than other dharmaśāstra.
How did colonists consider this text?
- European Orientalists considered the Manusmṛiti to be of great historical and religious significance as well. It was the first Sanskrit text to be translated into a European language, by the British philologist Sir William Jones in 1794.
- Subsequently, it was translated into French, German, Portuguese and Russian, before being included in Max Muller’s edited volume, Sacred Books of the East in 1886.
- For colonial officials in British India, the translation of the book served a practical purpose.
- In 1772, Governor-General Warren Hastings decided to implement laws of Hindus and Muslims that they believed to be “continued, unchanged from remotest antiquity.
- For Hindus, the dharmasastras were to play a crucial role, as they were seen by the British as ‘laws,’ whether or not it was even used that way in India.
Why is it controversial?
- The ancient text has 4 major divisions: 1) Creation of the world. 2) Sources of dharma. 3) The dharma of the four social classes. 4) Law of karma, rebirth, and final liberation.
- The third section is the longest and most important section.
- The text is deeply concerned with maintaining the hierarchy of the four-fold varna system and the rules that each caste has to follow.
- Then, the Brahmin is assumed to be the perfect representative of the human race.
- While Shudras, who are relegated to the bottom of the order, are given the sole duty of serving the ‘upper’ castes.
- Some verses also contain highly prejudicial sentiments against women on the basis of their birth.
- There are many verses in the text that are considered highly controversial.
Dr. Ambedkar and Manusmriti
- On December 25, 1927, Dr B R Ambedkar had famously burned the Manusmṛiti, which he saw as a source of gender and caste oppression.
- However, he widely acknowledged that Manusmriti is NOT a religious decree but a social doctrine, manipulated since centuries to normalize oppression of the population.
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Forest Fires

Forest fire management for positive sustainable forest growth

op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 3: Conservation, Environmental Pollution & Degradation, Eia
Context
- Forest fires are becoming more common and wildfires are destroying nearly twice as much tree cover globally as they did in 2001.
Why in news?
- Climate change is driving more intense and widespread forest fire by fuelling more extreme heat and deepening drought, which dries out forests.
How to define forest fire?
- A wildfire, forest fire, bushfire, wildland fire or rural fire is an unplanned, uncontrolled and unpredictable fire in an area of combustible vegetation starting in rural and urban areas.
What causes forest fires?
- Human activities: Forest fires can be caused by a number of natural causes, but officials say many major fires in India are triggered mainly by human activities.
- Climate change: Emerging studies link climate change to rising instances of fires globally, especially the massive fires of the Amazon forests in Brazil and in Australia in the last two years. Fires of longer duration, increasing intensity, higher frequency and highly inflammable nature are all being linked to climate change.
- Season: In India, wildfires are most commonly reported during March and April, when the ground has large quantities of dry wood, logs, dead leaves, stumps, dry grass and weeds that can make forests easily go up in flames if there is a trigger.
- Natural reasons: Under natural circumstances, extreme heat and dryness, friction created by rubbing of branches with each other also have been known to initiate fire.
Key fact

7.4 million acres of forest are getting burnt annually now an area roughly the size of Belgium.

What factors make forest fires a concern?
- Carbon emission: They act as a sink, reservoir and source of carbon.
- Livelihood loss: In India, with 1.70 lakh villages in close proximity to forests (Census 2011), the livelihood of several crores of people is dependent on fuelwood, bamboo, fodder, and small timber.
- Destruction of animals’ habitat: Heat generated during the fire destroys animal habitats. Soil quality decreases with the alteration in their compositions.
- Soil degradation: Soil moisture and fertility, too, is affected. Thus forests can shrink in size. The trees that survive fire often remain stunted and growth is severely affected.
Measures to curb Forest fires

1) National Action Plan on wild fires
- The MoEFCC has prepared a National Action Plan on wild fire in 2018 after several rounds of consultation with all states and UTs.
- The objective of this plan is to minimize forest fires by informing, enabling and empowering forest fringe communities and incentivizing them to work in tandem with the State Forest Departments.
- The plan also intends to substantially reduce the vulnerability of forests across diverse forest ecosystems in the country against fire hazards, enhance capabilities of forest personnel and institutions in fighting fires and swift recovery subsequent to fire incidents.
2) Forest Fire Prevention and Management scheme
- The MoEFCC provides wildfire prevention and management measures under the Centrally Sponsored Forest Fire Prevention and Management (FPM) scheme.
- The FPM is the only centrally funded program specifically dedicated to assist the states in dealing with forest fires.
- The FPM replaced the Intensification of Forest Management Scheme (IFMS) in 2017. By revamping the IFMS, the FPM has increased the amount dedicated for forest fire work.
- Funds allocated under the FPM are according to the 90:10 ratio of central to state funding in the Northeast and Western Himalayan regions and 60:40 ratio for all other states.
- Nodal officers for forest fire prevention and control have been appointed in each state.
Way forward
- Awareness should be created among the villagers residing near the forests with respect to the long-term ill effects of forest fires.
- Measures to prevent wildfires have to be taken before summer season when fires are prevalent.
- Local people should be given skills to use online portals or mobile apps in order to monitor the forests for fires and inform forest authorities regarding the same.
Mains question

Q. Climate change is driving more intense and widespread forest fires by fueling more extreme heat and deepening drought. Why forest fires are cause of concern? Discuss our preparedness level for the same in the above context.

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Water Management – Institutional Reforms, Conservation Efforts, etc.

Dam safety bill for sustainable water management

op-ed snap | Enviro & Biodiversity | Mains Paper 2: Government Scheme/Policies,Statutory, Regulatory & Various Quasi-Judicial Bodies
Context
- Integrated risk assessment of dam safety required to prevent human-made disasters: Experts
Why in news?
- The recent floods in the Mahanadi basin in Odisha have brought to the fore, the faulty management of dam safety, which were built to mitigate floods and not be the cause of them.
What is a dam?
- A dam is a barrier that stops the flow of water and results in the creation of a reservoir. Dams are mainly built in order to produce electricity by using water. This form of electricity is known as hydroelectricity.
- Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aquaculture, and navigability.
Key facts

India has 5,745 large dams according to the National Register of Large Dams, 2019, prepared by the Central Water Commission. Some 5,334 of them are operational and the remaining 411 are under construction.

What is the Dam Safety Act, 2021?
- The Act comprehensively postulates for surveillance, inspection, operation and maintenance of dams to prevent disasters.
Features
- National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS): It will be constituted and will be chaired by the chairperson, Central Water Commission. Its’ functions will include formulating policies and regulations regarding dam safety standards and prevention of dam failures, analyzing the causes of major dam failures, and suggesting changes in dam safety practices.
- National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA): It will be headed by an officer, not below the rank of an Additional Secretary, to be appointed by the central government. The main task of this authority includes implementing the policies formulated by the NCD, resolving issues between State Dam Safety Organisations (SDSOs), or between an SDSO and any dam owner in that state, specifying regulations for inspection and investigation of dams.
- State Dam Safety Organisation (SDSO): Its functions will be to keep perpetual surveillance, inspection, monitoring the operation and maintenance of dams, keeping a database of all dams, and recommending safety measures to owners of dams.
- Dam Safety Unit: The owners of the specified dams are required to provide a dam safety unit in each dam. This unit will inspect the dams before and after the monsoon session, and during and after any calamity or sign of distress.
- Emergency Action Plan: Dam owners will be required to prepare an emergency action plan, and carry out risk assessment studies for each dam at specified regular intervals.
- Certain offences: The act provides for two types of offences – obstructing a person in the discharge of his functions, and refusing to comply with directions issued under the proposed law.
Dam rehabilitation and improvement programme DRIP
- Government of India, with financial assistance from the World Bank initiated Dam Rehabilitation and Improvement Project (DRIP) in April 2012 with an objective to improve the safety and operational performance of selected existing dams along with dam safety institutional strengthening with system wide management approach. It was a State Sector Scheme with Central component.
Do you know?

Four dams — Mullaperiyar, Parambikulam, Thunakkadavu and Peruvaripallam — located in Kerala but owned, operated and maintained by the Tamil Nadu Government.

Conclusion
- The bill aims to help all States and Union Territories to adopt uniform dam safety procedures which will ensure safety of dams and safeguard benefits from such dams. In order to iron out the differences and issues in the bill, central government should take the state governments into consideration and hold talks with all the stakeholders. This will go a long way in ensuring the safety of dams in India, which ranks third in the world in terms of number of large dams.
Mains question

Q. India, which ranks third in the world in terms of number of large dams. Ageing dams poses several challenges for India. In this context discuss the importance of dam safety bill 2021.

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International Space Agencies – Missions and Discoveries

In news: James Webb Space Telescope

Prelims Only | Science Tech | Mains Paper 3: Awareness in various sc and tech fields
The James Webb Space Telescope, NASA’s latest and most powerful telescope, has captured new images of our solar system’s largest planet, Jupiter, presenting it in a never before seen light.

What is so special about snapping Jupiter?
- The photographs have captured a new view of the planet, presenting in detail its massive storms, colourful auroras, faint rings and two small moons — Amalthea and Adrastea.
- While most of us are familiar with the yellow and reddish-brown gas giant.
- The JSWT’s Near-Infrared Camera, with its specialized infrared filters, has shown Jupiter encompassed in blue, green, white, yellow and orange hues.
- Jupiter’s famous Great Red Spot, a storm so big that it could swallow Earth, appeared bright white in the image, since it was reflecting a lot of sunlight.
- The brightness here indicates high altitude — so the Great Red Spot has high-altitude hazes, as does the equatorial region.
- The numerous bright white ‘spots’ and ‘streaks’ are likely very high-altitude cloud tops of condensed convective storms.
About James Webb Space Telescope
- JWST is a space telescope jointly developed by NASA, the European Space Agency (ESA), and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA).
- It is planned to succeed the Hubble Space Telescope as NASA’s flagship astrophysics mission.
- It will conduct a broad range of investigations across the fields of astronomy and cosmology, including:
1. Observing some of the most distant events and objects in the universe such as the formation of the first galaxies
2. Detailed atmospheric characterization of potentially habitable exoplanets
How is it different from other telescopes?
- JWST is much more powerful and has the ability to look in the infrared spectrum, which will allow it to peer through much deeper into the universe, and see through obstructions such as gas clouds.
- As electromagnetic waves travel for long distances, they lose energy, resulting in an increase in their wavelength.
- An ultraviolet wave, for example, can slowly move into the visible light spectrum and the infrared spectrum, and further weaken to microwaves or radio waves, as it loses energy.
- Hubble was designed to look mainly into the ultraviolet and visible regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
- JWST is primarily an infrared telescope, the first of its kind.
Special features of JWST

(1) Time machine in space
- Powerful space telescopes, like JWST or the Hubble Telescope, are often called time machines because of their ability to view very faraway objects.
- The light coming from those objects, stars or galaxies, which is captured by these telescopes, began its journey millions of years earlier.
- Essentially, what these telescopes see are images of these stars or galaxies as they were millions of years ago.
- The more distant the planet or star, the farther back in time are the telescopes able to see.
(2) Farthest from Earth
- JWST will also be positioned much deeper into space, about a million miles from Earth, at a spot known as L2.
- It is one of the five points, known as Lagrange’s points, in any revolving two-body system like Earth and Sun, where the gravitational forces of the two large bodies cancel each other out.
- Objects placed at these positions are relatively stable and require minimal external energy to keep them there. L2 is a position directly behind Earth in the line joining the Sun and the Earth.
- It would be shielded from the Sun by the Earth as it goes around the Sun, in sync with the Earth.
(3) Engineering marvel
- JWST has one large mirror, with a diameter of 21 feet (the height of a typical two-storey building), that will capture the infra-red light coming in from the deep universe while facing away from the Sun.
- It will be shielded by a five-layer, tennis court-sized, kite-shaped sunscreen that is designed to block the heat from Sun and ensure the extremely cool temperatures that the instruments are built to operate at.
- Temperatures on the sun-facing side can get as high as 110°C, while the other side would be maintained at –200° to –230°C.
- The extremely cold temperatures are needed to detect the extremely faint heat signals from distant galaxies.
- The mirror as well as the sunscreen is so large they could not have fit into any rocket. They have been built as foldable items and would be unravelled in space.
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