The Maharashtra government gave the go-ahead for fresh tenders in the Dharavi redevelopment project, almost two decades after it was first proposed.
About Dharavi
Dharavi, infamous as one of the world’s largest slums, is located in the heart of India’s financial capital – Mumbai.
A city within a city, it is one unending stretch of narrow dirty lanes, open sewers and cramped huts.
While the land (area of 535 acres) is owned by the government, the houses are maintained by individuals.
The Dharavi slum came into being in 1884. It was originally inhibited by fisherfolk when the area was still creeks, swamps.
It became attractive to migrant workers from South Mumbai and others when the swamp began to fill in due to natural and artificial causes.
The area grew as poor rural Indians migrated to urban Mumbai.
Today, an estimated 600,000 to 1 million people live crammed in Dharavi.
Economic significance of Dharavi
Dharavi stands near to India’s richest business district, the Bandra-Kurla Complex, where commercial office premiums are among the highest in the country.
The slum sprawl, spread over 2.8 sq.km. is home to an informal leather and pottery industry which employs over a lakh people.
What is the Dharavi Redevelopment Project all about?
The state had envisaged this sprawl be transformed into a cluster of high-rises with improved urban infrastructure.
It entailed resettling 68,000 people, including slum dwellers and those with commercial establishments.
The state was to provide 300-sqft houses for free to residents with proof that their slum structure was in existence before January 1, 2000.
The project was initially mooted in 2004, but never got off the ground due to various reasons.
When redevelopment was first proposed?
In 1999, the government first proposed to redevelop Dharavi.
Thereafter, the government of Maharashtra in the year 2003-04 decided to redevelop Dharavi as an integrated planned township.
An action plan for redevelopment was approved by issuing a government resolution.
It was decided to develop Dharavi by using land as a resource to cross-subsidie the cost of development through a sale component on the basis of the Slum Rehabilitation Scheme.
The government also decided to notify the whole of Dharavi as an undeveloped area and to appoint a Special Planning Authority for its development.
In 2011, the government cancelled all tenders and drew up a master plan.
GS-1 Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.
GS-2 Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.
GS-3 Inclusive growth and issues arising from it.
GS-4 Attitude: content, structure, function; its influence and relation with thought and behaviour; moral and political attitudes; social influence and persuasion.
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Union government intends to appoint a national commission to study the status of Dalits (ex “untouchable” castes) belonging to the Muslim and Christian communities. Aim of study to check the socio-economic condition of Muslims and Christian Dalits on par with Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist Dalits.
Current reservation policy
At present, scheduled caste reservation is applicable only to schedule caste (Dalit) belongs to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist. Currently it is unavailable for schedule caste belongs to Muslims and Christians.
Why Muslim and Christian Dalit needs reservation?
In 2008 review-study commissioned by the National Commission of Minorities (NCM) and housed in the Sociology Department of Delhi The remit of the study was to conduct a comprehensive review of already existing social-scientific evidence that might offer answers to three questions.
What is the contemporary status of Dalit Muslims (DMs) and Dalit Christians (DCs) in terms of their material well-being and social status?
How does their situation compare with that of: a) non-Dalits of their own communities, and b) Dalits of other communities?
Do the caste disabilities suffered by these groups justify state intervention?
What were the findings of study?
The study reviewed two main kinds of available evidence, ethnographic-descriptive and macro-statistical, in addition to semi-academic NGO reports and publications.
The survey of ethnographic materials began with the finding that the existence of caste divisions – including the presence of ex-untouchable castes recognised as such – among both Muslims and Christians – was beyond dispute.
DMs and DCs were identified and segregated much like their counterparts in the Hindu or Sikh communities.
Evidence was tabulated on five forms of caste-based social discrimination – the practice untouchability; enforced ban on inter-marriage; occupational segregation; social and cultural segregation and finally, economic discrimination.
The most common instances were separate mosques or churches (or hierarchically segregated seating); separate burial grounds; strict prohibition on inter-marriage with very severe punishments (sometimes extending to murder) for breaking this taboo; and general avoidance of social interaction and cooperation.
The main findings were that DMs are clearly the worst off among all Dalits, while DCs are somewhat better off than other Dalits except Sikh Dalits (who are by far the best off, especially in the rural sector).
Why DMs and DCs doesn’t have reservation?
The courts accept that “caste survives conversion” but complain about the lack of reliable data. No recognition, no data; no data, no recognition.
Informal guesstimates (based on the 2001 Census and the 2004-05 NSSO survey) place the proportion of DMs at 1 per cent or less of the Muslim population, and DCs as anything between 40-50 per cent of the Christian population of India.
As per the 2011 Census, Muslims are 14.2 per cent and Christians 2.3 per cent of our population. Taken together, DMs and DCs are likely to form less than 2 per cent of the total Dalit population of India, more than 90 per cent of which is Hindu.
According to experts Adding DMs and DCs will not rock the boat of reservation, since the increment will be roughly one-fifth of the 10 per cent reservation readily granted to the upper castes as the Economically Weaker Sections.
What efforts have been made to include Muslims and Christians of Dalit origin among SCs?
After 1990, a number of Private Member’s Bills were brought in Parliament for this purpose.
In 1996, a government Bill called The Constitution (Scheduled Castes) Orders (Amendment) Bill was drafted, but in view of a divergence of opinions, the Bill was not introduced in Parliament.
Then government headed by PM Manmohan Singh set up two important panels:
Ranganath Misra Commission: The National Commission for Religious and Linguistic Minorities, popularly known as the Ranganath Misra Commission, in October 2004 and
Sachar Committee: A seven-member high-level committee headed by former Chief Justice of Delhi High Court Rajinder Sachar to study the social, economic, and educational condition of Muslims in March 2005.
What did they recommend?
The Sachar Committee Report observed that the social and economic situation of Dalit Muslims and Dalit Christians did not improve after conversion.
The Ranganath Misra Commission, which submitted its report in May 2007, recommended that SC status should be completely de-linked from religion and Scheduled Castes should be made fully religion-neutral like Scheduled Tribes.
Reception to these recommendations
The report was tabled in Parliament in 2009, but its recommendation was not accepted in view of inadequate field data and corroboration with the actual situation on the ground.
Few studies, commissioned by the National Commission for Minorities, was also not considered reliable due to insufficient data.
Conclusion
Schedule caste community from all religion India suffers from same fate of untouchability. Change of religion unfortunately, have change their social status. If 70+ year of reservation of Dalit in Hindu haven’t substantially change their social destiny, we have to think beyond reservation for social dignity and economic empowerment of schedule castes in India.
Mains question
Q. Reservation policy in India is religion based and not based on overall social discrimination. Comment in the context of demand for Dalit reservation extension to Christians and Muslims Dalits.
The recent events of heavy downpours in short period of time and the recent example of Banglore flood, highlights how cities in India and elsewhere need to adapt to climate change as it brings more extreme rainfall in the future.
What is heavy downpour?
A downpour or cloudburst is a sudden and unexpected heavy fall of rain.
It is usually local in nature and of brief duration. Most so-called cloudbursts occur in connection with thunderstorms.
Heavy downpour in short period causes flood, damage to buildings and infrastructure can disrupt transport, communications and connectivity, loss of crops and livestock.
Rise in built up area: Lakes and natural depressions may not always fill up during many monsoons so the people who are unaware of hydrology tempts to build and buy in the catchment areas of water-bodies, which will be disastrous when it rains heavily as there is rise in the quantity.
Water-logging: rainwater and sewage water are forced to build up, which results in water-logging. The highway acts as a dam for the water ,Garbage frequently clogs drains, which limits the flow of sewage, and they are too small to support the weight of the expanding population.
Physical shrinkage of water-bodies: Destruction of lakes is a major issue .lakes can store the excess water and regulate the flow of water however the pollution of natural water bodies and converting them for development purposes has increased the risks of floods. Unplanned growth, Rise in population, rise in the built up areas along streams, canals, around the lakes, leaving no storage capacity.
Compromised runoff potential and health hazards: Choked and encroached drains and lakes, ill designed infrastructure and missing pipes compromising run off potential. Not only the physical quantity of the runoff that poses a hazard. When polluted drains and lakes overflow, the flood can pose a health hazard especially to vulnerable and exposed marginal communities living in informal settlements.
Zero or limited ability to allow infiltration of water: Encroachments in and around wetlands and green lands harming the natural way of water infiltration and ground water recharge.
Lack of vision in rain water harvesting: Ignorance towards the tradition rain water harvesting techniques and no or limited vision for creating new systems of rain water harvesting. Exceptionally heavy monsoon rains have been exacerbated by poor urban planning in the Indian tech hub, showing the need for improved water systems.
What are the reasons behind the frequent floods in urban areas?
Meteorological factors: change in the weather patterns, increase in the temperature leading to heavy rainfall, sudden downpour, cloudburst, thunderstorms, hailstorms etc.
Hydrological factors: Natural surface infiltration rate, soil moisture level, presence or absence of Overbank flows, Presence of impervious cover, the occurrence of high tides impeding the drainage in coastal cities.
Man-Made factors:
Unplanned urbanization: Unplanned settlement is one of the main cause of urban flooding. Blocking of natural drainage pathways through construction activity and encroachment on catchment areas, streams, rivers, lakebeds. Reduced infiltration and ground water recharge of water, destruction of lakes, Land-use changes (e.g. surface sealing due to urbanization, deforestation) increase runoff and sedimentation. Inefficiency or non-maintenance of infrastructure etc.
Outdated Drainage systems: The old and ill-maintained drainage system is one of the main factor making cities in India vulnerable to flooding
Encroachments on and around water-bodies: Illegal Habitations started growing into towns and cities alongside rivers and watercourses. As a result of this, the capacity of the natural drains has decreased, resulting in flooding.
Climate Change: Climate change due to various anthropogenic events has led to extreme weather events, increasing temperature which resulting in heavy rainfall in one part while drought and dry spells in other.
Poor Solid Waste Management System: Indiscriminate disposal of solid waste, poor waste management system, clogging drains because of accumulation of non-biodegradable wastes are major concerns. Domestic, commercial and industrial waste and dumping of it into the drains also contribute significantly to reducing their capacities.
Reduced Seepage: use of hard and non-porous construction material making the soil impervious, reducing the seepage capability in no of cities in India.
Weak Implementation and lack of awareness:Even with provisions of rainwater harvesting, sustainable urban drainage systems, etc, in regulatory mechanisms like the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), adoption at user end as well as enforcement agencies remains weak.
No Community Participation:Flood control measures planned without participation of the affected community are unsustainable as they do not meet the needs of relevant stakeholders.
What can be done to prevent the urban floods and prevent losses?
Developing climate Resilient Infrastructure: using permeable material for roads and pavement, green roofs and harvesting systems in buildings. To reduce the burden of road infrastructure in cities Outer Ring Road should be explored. Innovative approaches like Sponge Cities wetland restoration, flushing systems using collected rooftop water, public spaces as flexible water retention facilities can be applied to Indian urban areas.
Use of technology in Early Warning Systems and Communication: Early-warning systems using sensors across waterbodies and drains, and a network of communication for hotspots of emerging flood risk in the wet-season should be put in place. Providing real-time data where traditional systems fail. Tools such as predictive precipitation modelingcan help do that and are also able to link it with the adaptive capacity of urban land use.
Proper management and regular upgrade of Urban Drainage System: drains need to be cleaned on a regular basis to permit the free flow of water .Proper management of the drainage system is necessary to ensure that the water does not get stored in one place. Watershed management and emergency drainage plan should be clearly enunciated in policy.
Rainwater Harvesting: It will serve the twin purposes of lowering the peak runoff and raising the groundwater table. Many municipal corporations in India have already made rainwater harvesting compulsory.
Conservation of Water Bodies: Urban water bodies like lakes, tanks, and ponds also play a very important role in the management of urban flooding by reducing the flood water run-off by capturing it.
Holistic approach: Improved monitoring, forecasting, and decision-support systems. Find out the different method for improving the preparedness for urban flooding.
Responsibility on every stakeholder: Locally, citizens, local ward officials and staff will need to work together to minimize dumping of solid waste and garbage in storm-water drains. As this is a socio –political problem, public participation awareness and responsibility of citizen is the need of the hour. To develop a long-lasting solution, all parties must acknowledge the issues and adopt a thorough strategy.
What we as citizens can do on a personal level to prevent the urban environment?
Raising voice at all available forums and platforms
Making politicians and bureaucrats accountable
Refuse to buy a house in the encroached lands.
Applying methods of rain water harvesting on individual level.
Way ahead
Exceptionally heavy monsoon rains have been exacerbated by poor urban planning in the Indian tech hub, showing the need for improved water systems.
Urbanization is a global and inevitable process, and with cities as engines of the economy, built-up areas will continue to grow. But we need to draw upon these experiences and the growing perils of climate change and extreme rain events and change course.
According to UN projections, by 2050 more than 68% of the world’s population could be concentrated in urban areas.
In this context, resilience-based strategies should be adopted to improve the capacity to handle the crisis arising out of climate change.
Wetlands are the kidneys of the earth, let’s keep it healthy.
Mains Question
Q. What are the factors causing flood in the urban cities? What are the measures to prevent the urban flooding keeping in mind the sustainable development? Discuss.
The Election Commission’s ongoing drive to clean up the electoral space has now gone beyond RUPPs (registered unrecognised political parties) to cover recognised national and State parties.
What is Political Funding?
Political Funding implies the methods that political parties use to raise funds to finance their campaign and routine activities.
A political party needs money to pitch itself, its objectives, and its intended actions to get votes for itself. (Reference)
Why need political funding?
Across the world, political parties need access to money in order to reach out to the electorate, explain their policies and receive inputs from people.
And in order to do the same, parties resort to political party funding.
Generally who makes these funding?
Individuals: One of the primary sources of this funding is voluntary contributions made by individuals.
Corporates: Besides this, corporates pay hefty donations to parties in different forms.
Foreign aid: This is yet another source but highly controversial.
Statutory Provisions
Section 29B of the Representation of the People Act (RPA) entitles parties to accept voluntary contributions by any person or company, except a Government Company.
Section 29C of the RPA mandates political parties to declare donations that exceed 20,000 rupees. Such a declaration is made by making a report and submitting the same to the EC. Failure to do so on time disentitles a party from tax relief under the Income Tax Act, 1961.
Methods used by Indian Political Parties
Individual Persons: Section 29B of RPA allows political parties to receive donations from individual persons.
State/Public Funding: Here, the government provides funds to parties for election related purposes. State Funding is of two types:
Direct Funding: The government provides funds directly to the political parties. Direct funding by tax is prohibited in India.
Indirect Funding: It includes other methods except direct funding, like free access to media, free access to public places for rallies, free or subsidized transport facilities. It is allowed in India in a regulated manner.
Corporate Funding: In India, donations by corporate bodies are governed under the Companies Act, 2013. Section 182 of the Act provides that:
A company needs to be at least three years old to be able to donate to a political party.
Companies can donate up to 7.5% of average net profits made during three simultaneous preceding financial years. (Now removed after Finance Act, 2017)
Such contributions must be disclosed in the company’s profit and loss account. (Removed)
Electoral Trusts: A non-profit company created in India for orderly receipt of voluntary contributions from any person like an individual or a domestic company.
According to the Election Commission Guidelines, all electoral trusts formed after January 2013 are required to declare details of the money received and disbursed.
The Central Government rules mandate these firms to donate 95% of their total income to registered political parties in a financial year.
Issues with Political Funding
Money laundering: One of the biggest disadvantages of the corporate funding is the use of fake companies to route black money.
Influence of contributor: Influence of people and companies over political parties to which they provide funds.
Election malpractices: There are various gaps in Indian rules, the benefit of which political parties take to avoid any kind of reporting.
Money politics: Hidden sources of funding lead to more spending of funds in election campaigns, thus impacting the economy of the country.
Recent steps taken
FCRA Reforms: In March, 2018, the government passed a key amendment to the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 allowing foreign companies to fund political parties in India.
Electoral Bonds Schemes: The government notified the Electoral Bond Scheme on 2nd January, 2018 to establish and cleanse the system of political funding in the country.
What is Electoral Bond Scheme?
An electoral bond is a bearer instrument like a Promissory Note.
It can be purchased by any citizen of India or a body incorporated in India to donate to the political party of their choice.
Donor’s name is not there on the bond.
These bonds can be used for making donations to the political parties registered under Section 29A of the RP Act, 1951.
The party should have secured not less than one per cent of the votes polled in the last general election to the Lok Sabha or a Legislative Assembly.
Issues with the scheme
Opaque funding: While the identity of the donor is captured, it is not revealed to the party or public. So transparency is not enhanced for the voter.
No IT break: Also income tax breaks may not be available for donations through electoral bonds. This pushes the donor to choose between remaining anonymous and saving on taxes.
No anonymity for donors: The privacy of the donor is compromised as the bank will know their identity.
Differential benefits: These bonds will help any party that is in power because the government can know who donated what money and to whom.
Way forward
Former Chief Election Commissioner SY Quraishi has suggested an alternative worth exploring:
A National Electoral Fund to which all donors can contribute.
The funds would be allocated to political parties in proportion to the votes they get.
Not only would this protect the identity of donors, it would also weed out black money from political funding.
There can be a tax benefit for those who donate to the fund.
India introduced the pre-packaged insolvency resolution process (PPIRP) in April 2021, as an alternative resolution process for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). However, it has only two cases admitted under it so far.
What is the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC)?
The IBC was enacted in 2016 to simplify insolvency and bankruptcy proceedings, safeguard interests of all stakeholders (the firm, employees, debtors and especially creditors), and resolve non-performing assets.
From a ‘debtor in possession’ regime, it was a shift to a ‘creditor in control’ one.
IBC provides for a time-bound process for resolving insolvencies.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) is the regulator implementing the code and overseeing the functioning of stakeholders.
The IBBI last week allowed payment of performance-linked incentives to resolution professionals.
What are Pre-packs?
A pre-pack is the resolution of the debt of a distressed company through an agreement between secured creditors and investors instead of a public bidding process.
This system of insolvency proceedings has become an increasingly popular mechanism for insolvency resolution in the UK and Europe over the past decade.
Under the pre-pack system, financial creditors will agree to terms with a potential investor and seek approval of the resolution plan from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
The approval of a minimum of 66 percent of financial creditors that are unrelated to the corporate debtor would be required before a resolution plan is submitted to the NCLT.
Further NCLTs are also required to either accept or reject any application for a pre-pack insolvency proceeding before considering a petition for a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).
How does it work?
Unlike the CIRP, an informal understanding is reached with creditors before the application is filed.
PPIRP begins only after 66% of financial creditors approve the proposal and the name of resolution professional.
Debt resolution agreement between financial creditor and a potential investor is arrived at in consultation with the corporate debtor for which subsequent approval of the resolution plan is sought from the NCLT.
What were the objectives behind introducing PPIRP?
MSMEs greatly contribute to the economy, and employ a wide section of the population.
The pandemic severely impacted their operations.
This alternative insolvency resolution process was designed to ensure quicker, cost-effective and value-maximizing outcomes for all.
What is the progress in PPIRP so far?
Only two insolvency cases have been initiated under PPIRP since it was introduced.
The poor response has been attributed to the hesitancy on the part of financial institutions.
In the case of CIRP, the haircut involved is a last resort, against a voluntary one in case of PPIRP.
Data shows that between December 2016 and June 2022, a total of 5,636 CIRPs commenced, of which 3,637 have been closed.
Does PPIRP defeat the purpose of IBC?
The IBC’s objective is to facilitate exit from failed units so that capital can be reallocated to better ones.
However, banks are not comfortable initiating PPIRP due to voluntary haircuts.
There is a fear that such a decision might be scrutinized later.
This means capital will remain locked up in failed units, defeating the purpose of IBC.
Voluntary haircuts mean fewer resources from the winding-up process and greater scope for corrupt practices.
The Mumbai Police have ordered the prohibition of cattle transportation in the city to prevent the spread of the lumpy skin disease (LSD).
What is the Lumpy Skin Disease?
Lumpy skin disease is caused by the lumpy skin disease virus (LSDV), which belongs to the genus capripoxvirus, a part of the poxviridae family.
Smallpox and monkeypox viruses are also a part of the same family.
The LSDV shares antigenic similarities with the sheeppox virus (SPPV) and the goatpox virus (GTPV) or is similar in the immune response to those viruses.
How does it spread?
It is not a zoonotic virus, meaning the disease cannot spread to humans.
It is a contagious vector-borne disease spread by vectors like mosquitoes, some biting flies, and ticks and usually affects host animals like cows and water buffaloes.
Infected animals shed the virus through oral and nasal secretions which may contaminate common feeding and water troughs.
Thus, the disease can either spread through direct contact with the vectors or through contaminated fodder and water.
Studies have also shown that it can spread through animal semen during artificial insemination.
How does it affect the animal?
LSD affects the lymph nodes of the infected animal, causing the nodes to enlarge and appear like lumps on the skin, which is where it derives its name from.
The cutaneous nodules, 2–5 cm in diameter, appear on the infected cattle’s head, neck, limbs, udder, genitalia, and perineum.
The nodules may later turn into ulcers and eventually develop scabs over the skin.
The other symptoms include high fever, sharp drop in milk yield, discharge from the eyes and nose, salivation, loss of appetite, depression, damaged hides, wasting of animals, infertility and abortions.
Do it kills the animal?
The incubation period or the time between infection and symptoms is about 28 days according to the FAO, and 4 to 14 days according to some other estimates.
The morbidity of the disease varies between two to 45% and mortality or rate of date is less than 10%.
However, the reported mortality of the current outbreak in India is up to 15%, particularly in cases being reported in the western part (Rajasthan) of the country.
What is the geographical distribution and how did it spread to India?
The disease was first observed in Zambia in 1929.
Subsequently it got spread to most African countries, followed by West Asia, Southeastern Europe, and Central Asia, and more recently spreading to South Asia and China in 2019.
As per the FAO, the LSD disease is currently endemic in several countries across Africa, parts of the West Asia (Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syrian Arab Republic), and Turkey.
Lumpy in India
The spread in South Asia first affected Bangladesh in July 2019 and then reached India in August that year, with initial cases being detected in Odisha and West Bengal.
The long porous borders between India, Nepal and Bangladesh allow for a significant amount of bilateral and informal animal trade, including cattle and buffaloes.
This may have contributed to the spread of LSD in July-August 2019 between Bangladesh and India.
While the 2019 outbreak later subsided, the recent spread in India began in June this year.
Is it safe to consume the milk of affected cattle?
Studies say that it has not been possible to ascertain the presence of viable and infectious LSDV virus in milk derived from the infected animal.
However, that a large portion of the milk in Asia is processed after collection and is either pasteurised or boiled or dried in order to make milk powder.
This process ensures that the virus is inactivated or destroyed.
Economic implications of Lumpy on Dairy Sector
Milk reduction: Lumpy leads to reduced milk production as the animal becomes weak and also loses appetite due to mouth ulceration.
Animal wasting: The income losses can also be due to poor growth, reduced draught power capacity and reproductive problems associated with abortions, infertility and lack of semen for artificial insemination.
Impact of trade ban: Movement and trade bans after infection also put an economic strain on the whole value chain.
In Rajasthan, which is witnessing the worst impact of LSD, it has led to reduced milk production, which lessened by about three to six lakh litres a day.
Reports indicate that milk production has also gone down in Punjab owing to the spread of the disease.
According to FAO, the disease threatens the livelihoods of smaller poultry farmers significantly.
Notably, farmers in Uttar Pradesh and Punjab have incurred losses due to cattle deaths and are seeking compensation from their State governments.
How bad is the current spread in India?
Lumpy has infected over 16 lakh cattle in 197 districts as of September 11.
Of the nearly 75,000 cattle that the disease has killed, more than 50,000 deaths, mostly cows, have been reported from Rajasthan.
Remedies available in India
The Union Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying informed that the ‘Goat Pox Vaccine’ is very effective against LSD.
It is being used across affected States to contain the spread.
Way forward
The FAO has suggested a set of spread-control measures for LSD, which involves:
Vaccination of susceptible populations with more than 80% coverage
Movement control of bovine animals and quarantining
Implementing biosecurity through vector control by sanitising sheds and spraying insecticides
Strengthening active and passive surveillance
Spreading awareness on risk mitigation among all stakeholders involved, and
Creating large protection and surveillance zones and vaccination zones
The southwest monsoon rainfall, 7% more than normal, has started to withdraw.
What is Monsoon Withdrawal/Retreat?
In India, retreating monsoon is the withdrawal of south-west monsoon winds from North India.
The withdrawal is gradual and takes about three months.
With the retreat of the monsoons, the clouds disappear and the sky becomes clear. The day temperature starts falling steeply.
Monsoon rains weaken all over India except few southeastern states.
It is helpful in Rabi crop cultivation.
Factors affecting the retreat
Two predominant factors cause the phenomenon:
(1) Land topography
First, the low mountain range in each region runs from north to south, shielding it from west-bound winds that trigger summer monsoon.
After summer, the range aids in the ‘orographic lift’ or rising of east-bound air mass from a lower to higher elevation, forming clouds and resulting in rain.
(2) Atmospheric convection
The second factor is atmospheric convection or vertical movement of air.
As the earth is heated by the sun, different surfaces absorb different amounts of energy and convection may occur where the surface heats up very rapidly.
As the surface warms, it heats the overlying air, which gradually becomes less dense than the surrounding air and begins to rise.
This condition is more favorable from September to February because of the role played by sea surface temperature or water temperature.
Immediate factors influencing withdrawal
The withdrawal of the monsoon is based on meteorological conditions such as-
Anti-cyclonic circulation (dry air that is the opposite of a cyclone)
Absence of rain in the past five days and
Dry weather conditions over the region
When does it occur?
The monsoon withdrawal is a long-drawn process and extends into mid-October, though the IMD considers September 30 to be the final day of the season over India.
The rain after that is categorised as “post-monsoon” rainfall.
Try this PYQ:
Q.The seasonal reversal of winds is the typical characteristic of:
Parts of the world are expected to experience severe weather for the rest of the year and into 2023, as part of a rare “triple dip La Nina” event, according to the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
What is the “Triple-Dip” La Nina?
A “triple-dip” La Nina is a multiyear cooling of the surface temperature of the equatorial Pacific Ocean, which can cause droughts, fierce winds and heavy rainfall.
According to WMO, the current La Nina is projected to span three consecutive northern hemisphere winters. It began in September 2020.
If it continues for the next six months, it will be the first “triple-dip” La Nina event of the 21st century, WMO says.
How rare is this triple-dip?
It is exceptional to have three consecutive years with a la Nina event.
Its cooling influence is temporarily slowing the rise in global temperatures – but it will not halt or reverse the long-term warming trend.
La Nina’s are usually preceded by El Nino, a weather pattern that warms the surface of the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean.
However, an El Nino event did not occur before the current La Nina.
Has it happened before? Will it happen again?
La Nina’s occurred several times between 1903 to 2010 and 2010 to 2012.
This would be the first “triple-dip” La Nina this century.
However, it is not unprecedented for the weather pattern to last more than nine months to a year, which is typical for a La Nina.
Evaluating the likely impact
In the Indian context, La Nina is associated with good rainfall during the monsoon season.
This is the opposite of El Nino which is known to suppress monsoon rainfall.
Thus, a continued spell of La Nina could lead to expectation of another year of good, or normal, rainfall during the monsoon.
Until now, the monsoon season this year has produced 7% more rain compared to normal. Last year, the seasonal rainfall was almost 100%.
But, even though powerful, ENSO condition is only one of the several factors affecting monsoon rainfall in India.
Impact on rainfall
There is no one-on-one correlation between the ENSO condition and the amount of rainfall.
Also, the influence of ENSO is at a macro level.
There are wide variations in rainfall at the local level, which are getting exacerbated by climate change.
Differential impacts of this triple-dip event
The continuance of La Nina further into 2023 is not bad news from the Indian standpoint. But it is not the same for many other regions where La Nina has very different impacts.
In most parts of the United States, for example, La Nina is associated with very dry winters.
In Australia and Indonesia, and generally in the tropical region, La Nina is expected to bring more rainfall.
The excessive rainfall in Pakistan, which is experiencing its worst flooding disaster, can also be blamed in part on La Nina.
It said that the persistence of La Nina was most likely to result in a worsening of the drought in Africa.
What is its climate change link?
Everyunusual weather event these days is attributed to climate change, but science is not conclusive right now.
The occurrences of El Nino or La Nina are not very regular.
Sometimes they emerge every two years, at other times there has been a gap of even seven years.
Historical records do not go very far in the past.
As a result, the natural variability of ENSO is not understood very clearly.
And when the natural variability itself is not clear, the influence of global warming is difficult to quantify.
But there is clearer evidence of another kind of linkage with global warming.
During La Nina years, the colder surfaces allow the oceans to absorb more heat from the atmosphere.
Consequently, the air temperatures tend to go down, producing a cooling effect.
The life of a UPSC aspirant is challenging and demanding. Add to that the pressure from family, job, life, college, etc. it can get pretty overwhelming. In the part conversation with aspirants and even our mentorship students, these issues have been highlighted. But you must understand that every single aspirant even toppers feel or used to feel stressed and overwhelmed by expectations, responsibilities, lack of time, etc.
At times this feeling is for a short burst of time but when you can’t shake that perpetual state of overwhelm, it can lead to chronic stress, anxiety, guilt, failure, inefficiency in preparation, wastage of attempts, and a host of associated physical and emotional symptoms that can seriously affect your well-being.
You need to deal with this feeling. But before that understanding the root cause behind your stress is important.
Work-UPSC Preparation: Working aspirants at times have too much to do, they are engaged in stressful, demanding jobs. End up routinely working evenings and weekends leaving no or very less time for preparation. Results in mismanaged or poor UPSC preparation.
Life-UPSC Preparation: Aspirants have a life, family, and friends and there might be life changes such as moving house, starting a new job, relationships/marriage, or taking care of family/baby. It has a direct impact on UPSC prep.
Traumatic experience. Such as bereavement, relationship breakup, illness, etc.
No prior experience in UPSC preparation or no one to guide leads to a perpetual feeling of getting lost in the vast syllabus and complex preparation cycle.
Perfectionism. If everything always has to be perfect, you’re giving yourself a greater burden. Sometimes just getting through the day is a win. You don’t have to do it all perfectly too – you’re only human!
Pushing yourself too hard all in the wrong direction where results are not visible, and you don’t seem to be moving forward in your UPSC preparation.
We must understand that there are reasons that we can’t control but pinpointing the exact source of overwhelm is necessary which might not be possible on your own.
Below is the 7-step strategy to gain control of your UPSC Preparation.
1. Pinpoint the primary source of overwhelm.
It will tell you what you can control and what you can’t.
This is the first step. Ask yourself important questions like: “What one or two things, if taken off my plate would alleviate 80% of the stress that I feel right now?” It will at least give a sense of awareness as to what is causing you stress. Then only we can move towards solving the issue. At times finding the root cause on your own is difficult. You can reach out to senior UPSC mentors from CivilsDaily and have an open heart 1-1 FREE discussion.
Let us get our hands dirty. Start by writing down everything on your mind about your UPSC preparation status, mock tests and marks you have scored, tasks, and things you have to do including non-UPSC prep stuff. Next, check everything under your control and capture any to-dos, appointments, etc. on one hand and your status of UPSC preparation, on the other.
To avoid procrastination and wasting time you need to connect with your purpose. Make the link between your tasks and your bigger mission.
What’s your purpose in life? Who do you want to be?
Clarifying this will destroy the urge to procrastinate
You know your purpose, now identify the targets to get you there.
3. Set targets
Our mentorship students have their more than a year-long preparation broken down into small, measurable, and manageable chunks through Weekly and Monthly targets. You need to do the same. Break down those goals into smaller manageable targets or tasks. When a task is too big, you won’t know how to start. Break out the smallest next step.
Eg. You are yet to cover Laxmikant for Polity. Don’t aim for the full book. Set a target for just two chapters for the next three days.
Recheck your list, do all the to-dos you captured align with your goals and mission?
4. Prioritize ruthlessly: your tasks according to their importance and urgency
Not all the tasks you have listed and targeted will be UPSC preparation related. Even the targets under UPSC preparation might look equally important and urgent.
“Should I start with Ethics or Optional? Should I make notes now or write answers from current affairs?” Almost all of them look important.
Well, don’t get confused. If you are planning for UPSC 2023 this priority list will be different compared to the one planning for UPSC 2024.
For non-UPSC tasks basic rule is Time-sensitive items first. Next, rank for impact and value.
5. Plan out: make a timetable and a strategy
Talking about UPSC specifically your strategy should be unique to you. No two aspirants have the same set of problems, challenges, or learning styles. Your strategy or timetable will work for you as some past rankers’ timetables or strategies worked for them.
Moreover, this is something that requires expertise and skill. Don’t feel shy to ask for help in this. If you don’t have anyone to help you in this, let us get it done for you.
Spending time with your family and friends nourishes you. Keeping fit ensures you can enjoy life. Don’t neglect it.
6. Execute
Execution is far better and more effective when it is under the supervision of a mentor. Under an accountability system.
The hardest part of tackling overwhelm is to make time to organize yourself. So make it easy for yourself, follow the steps above, and create clarity for yourself. Connect your actions with your purpose and go execute.
Your execution will be far more effective and on track, if there is some supervising figure, a mentor, teacher keeping a check on the targets achieved, tasks completed, etc.
7. Analyze and evaluate your progress. Make necessary course corrections on a regular basis.
Situational awareness is a must when you want to achieve something big. It is very easy to get lost in execution. At regular intervals, you need to evaluate your progress. For UPSC aspirants it might take the form of prelims mocks tests, mains tests, essay writing, or maybe discussions.
Marks scored will give you an indication on your preparation level. Because self-evaluation is mostly ineffective it is advised to get someone experienced to help you. A mentor or UPSC ranker can easily evaluate your UPSC prep status, highlight the mistakes and suggest remedies.
Stressing and feeling guilty about past UPSC attempts or wasted preparation time is of no use. What matters is how well you can learn from the past, analyze and make changes in the present to make the future better.
How does Samanvaya Mentorship work? Introducing 3 layers of mentorship: Get IAS or UPSC ranker as your mentor
1. 1st step starts with this Samanvayacall: Once you fill in the form, we get on a 30-40 minute call with you to understand your prep level, working/ study constraints, and current strategies and create a step-by-step plan for the next week, next month and so on.
2. You are directed and given access to relevant resources and invite-only platform, Habitat where you can ask your daily doubts, discuss your test-prep questions and have real-time, live sessions on news and op-eds, and find your optional groups.
Daily target monitoring.
3. The third and the most personalized tier is the 1 on 1 mentor allotment who stays with you through the course of your UPSC preparation – always-on chat and on scheduled calls to help you assess, evaluate, and chart the next milestone of your IAS 2023-23 journey.
We will also connect you to a UPSC ranker or IAS, who will mentor you in this journey.
Layer 1: You will be assigned a dedicated in-house mentor who will keep track of our progress from start till your final interview.
Layer 2: Sajal Singh sir and the team will be constantly with you through various programs like Samachar Manthan, Prelims, Essay, etc.
Layer 3: A UPSC IAS ranker (one who has cleared this exam) will be supervising your progress as your super mentor.
Who are you?
Working Junta? If you are preparing for IAS 2023-24 and working simultaneously, we can help you design a timetable that fits right in your hectic schedule.
First-time prep? If you are in the last year of college or thinking of dropping a year and preparing for IAS 2023-24 full-time, we can help you pick the right books and craft a practical & personal strategy.
Context
What were the findings of study?
Reception to these recommendations
Context
What are the reasons behind the frequent floods in urban areas?
