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Important National Highways, Waterways and ports in India

07th Sept 2021

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Important National Highways in India

According to the Ministry of Roads, Transport and Highways (MoRTH), there are 599 National Highways in India. Over a period of time, the numbering of National Highways in India has been renewed. The total length of National Highways is 132500 Kms.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) is an autonomous authority to develop, maintain, and manage the National Highways of India. Central Government has the power to notify any highway as the National Highway and such highway will be specified in the Schedule.
The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways is responsible for the development of National Highways.
The government launched the Bharatmala Project for the development of about 26,000 km length of Economic Corridors, which along with Golden Quadrilateral (GQ) and North-South and East-West (NS-EW) Corridors are expected to carry the majority of the Freight Traffic on roads.

National Highway	Length (in kilometers)	Route
NH 44 (old NH 7)	3,745	Srinagar to Kanyakumari
NH 27	3,507	Porbandar in Gujarat to Silchar in Assam
NH 48 (old NH 8)	2,807	Delhi to Chennai
NH 52	2,317	Sangrur, Punjab to Ankola, Karnataka
NH 30 (Old NH 221)	2,040	Sitarganj in Uttarakhand to Ibrahimpatnam in Andhra Pradesh.
NH 6	1,873	Jorabat in Meghalaya and terminates at Selling in Mizoram
NH 53	1,781	Hajira in Gujarat and Pradip port in Odisha.
NH 16 (Old NH 5)	1,711	East coast of West Bengal to Chennai in Tamil Nadu.
NH 66 (Old NH 17)	1,622	Panvel and terminates at Kanyakumari
NH 19 (Old NH 20)	1,435	Delhi to Kolkata
NH 34	1,426	Gangotri Dham in Uttarakhand to Lakhnadon in Madhya Pradesh

Operational National Waterways in India:

Sl. No.	NW Number	River System	Route	Length (in km)	Locations	Established
1	NW – 1	Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly	Prayagraj – Haldia	1620	Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal	1986
2	NW – 2	Brahmaputra	Sadiya-Dhubri	891	Assam	1988
3	NW – 3	West Coast Canal, Champakara Canal, and Udyogamandal Canal	Kottapuram – Kollam	205	Kerala	1993
4	NW – 4	Krishna and Godavari	Kakinada–Puducherry stretch of canals, Kaluvelly Tank, Bhadrachalam – Rajahmundry, Waziraba–Vijayawada	1095	Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry	2008
5	NW – 10	Amba River		45	Maharashtra
6	NW – 83	Rajpuri Creek		31	Maharashtra
7	NW – 85	Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River System		31	Maharashtra
8	NW – 91	Shastri river–Jaigad creek system		52	Maharashtra
9	NW – 68	Mandovi – Usgaon Bridge to the Arabian Sea		41	Goa
10	NW – 111	Zuari– Sanvordem Bridge to Marmugao Port		50	Goa
11	NW – 73	Narmada River		226	Gujarat and Maharashtra
12	NW – 100	Tapi River		436	Gujarat and Maharashtra
13	NW – 97 (Sundarbans Waterways)	Namkhana to AtharaBankiKhal	Indo-Bangladesh Protocol Route	172	West Bengal

List of New Waterways in India

State	No. of rivers/canal	Name of the River / Canal
Andhra Pradesh	2	Pennar and Tungabhadra
Arunachal Pradesh	1	Lohit
Assam	14	Aai, Barak, Beki, Dhansiri / Chathe, Dehing, Dikhu, Doyans, Gangadhar, Jinjiram, Kopili, Lohit, Puthimari, Subansiri and Tlwang (Dhaleswari)
Bihar	6	Gandak, Ghaghra, Karamnasa, Kosi, Punpun and Sone
Delhi	1	Yamuna
Goa	6	Chapora, Cumberjua, Mandovi, Mapusa, Sal and Zuari
Gujarat	5	Jawai-Luni – Rann of Kutch, Mahi, Narmada, Sabarmati and Tapi
Haryana	2	Indira Gandhi Canal and Yamuna
Himachal Pradesh	3	Beas, Ravi and Sutlej
Jammu & Kashmir	4	Chenab, Indus, Jhelum and Ravi
Jharkhand	2	Kherkai and Subarnarekha
Karnataka	11	Bheema, Ghataprabha, Gurupur, Kabini, Kali, Malaprabha, Netravathi, Panchagangavali (Panchagangoli), Sharavati, Tungabhadra and Udayavara
Kerala	4	AVM Canal, Alappuzha- Changanassery Canal, Alappuzha- Kottayam – Athirampuzha Canal and Kottayam-Vaikom Canal
		Amba, Arunawati – Aran, Dabhol Creek – Vashishti River, Kalyan-Thane-Mumbai Waterway – Vasai Creek – Ulhas River, Manjara, Nag, Narmada, Penganga – Wardha, Rajpuri Creek, Revadanda Creek – Kundalika River, Savitri (Bankot Creek), Shastri River – Jaigad Creek, Tapi and Wainganga – Pranahita
Maharashtra	14
Meghalaya	5	Ganol, Jinjiram, Kynshi, Simsang and Umngot (Dawki)
Mizoram	1	Tlwang (Dhaleswari)
Nagaland	1	Tizu – Zungki
Odisha	5	Baitarni, Birupa – Badi Genguti – Brahmani, Budha Balanga, Mahanadi and Subarnarekha
Punjab	3	Beas, Indira Gandhi Canal and Sutlej
Rajasthan	3	Indira Gandhi Canal, Jawai-Luni – Rann of Kutch and Luni
Tamil Nadu	9	AVM Canal, Bhavani, Kaveri – Kollidam, Manimutharu, Palar, Pazhyar, Ponniyar, Tamaraparani and Vaigai
Telangana	5	Bheema, Manjara, Penganga – Wardha, Tungabhadra and Wainganga – Pranahita
Uttar Pradesh	10	Asi, Betwa, Chambal, Gandak, Ghaghra, Gomti, Karamnasa, Tons, Varuna and Yamuna

Transportation plays an important role in the development of a country and it is of great significance for a developing country like India. The country is bestowed with a plethora of diverse topography which enables different kinds of transportation. India has about 14500 km of navigable waterways. This includes rivers, backwaters, canals, creeks, and so on.

National Waterways Act came into effect in 2016. It proposed 106 additional National Waterways and merges 5 existing Acts which were declared the 5 National Waterways. As a result, 106 new waterways were identified by IWAI and intimated to MoS. In this regard, the National Waterways Act, 2016 was published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section I dated 26th March, 2016 as an Act No. 17 of 2016
In 1986, the Government of India created the Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) for regulation and development of Inland Waterways for navigation and shipping.
Out of the 111, National Waterways declared under the National Waterways Act, 2016, 13 are operational for shipping and navigation and cargo/passenger vessels are moving on them.

Major Sea Ports in India

Major Sea Ports Currently, there is a total of 13 major seaports in India currently among which 12 are government-controlled and one, Ennore port of Chennai is the corporate one. These are located in the 9 coastal Indian states (Gujarat, Maharashtra, Goa, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, and West Bengal).

S. No.	State	Name of Port	Points to Remember
1.	Kerala	Kochi Port or Cochin Port	located on the Willington island on the South-Western coast of India The port is generally called as the natural gateway for the industrial and agricultural produce markets of South-West India. Exports of spices, tea, and coffee. It is one of the centers for shipbuilding.
2.	Tamil Nadu	Ennore	India’s First corporatized port and 12th major port of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast about 24 km north of the Chennai Port. Trades: Iron Ore, Coal, petroleum products and chemicals
3.	West Bengal	Haldia	Situated on Hugli river Formed to relieve pressure on Kolkata port
4.	West Bengal	Kolkata Port	It is the only riverine major port in India. Known for twin dock systems viz. Kolkata Dock on the eastern bank and Haldia Dock on the western bank of river Hooghly Trade: Jute, tea, Coal, Steel
5.	Gujarat	Kandla	Known as Tidal Port located in the Gulf of Kutch It was constructed after partition when Karachi Port was transferred to Pakistan. It also relieves the congestion of Mumbai Port Largest port by volume of cargo handled. It has been acknowledged as Trade Free Zone
6.	Karnataka	Mangalore	It is deep water, all weathered port. Deals with the iron ore exports It is the only major port of the coastal state of Karnataka.
7.	Goa	Marmagoa	Situated on the estuaries of the river Juari It is a natural harbour It was awarded the status of a major port in the year 1963. It is a leading iron ore exporting port in India.
8.	Maharashtra	Mumbai	Largest Natural Port and harbor In India Earlier, this port location was used by the navies of Shivaji. This port has 3 enclosed wet docks: Prince’s Dock Victoria Dock Indira Dock The busiest Port in India Jawahar Dweep is an island in the harbor, for Crude and petroleum products handling.
9.	Maharashtra	Jawaharlal Nehru Port or Nhava Sheva Port	Largest Artificial Port and also the largest container port of India. The name Nhava Sheva is given because of the names of two villages that existed in that area. It is located on the eastern shore of Mumbai harbor off Elephanta Island and can be accessed via Thane Creek. This port is the terminal point of the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor of Indian Railways. Trade: Textiles, sporting goods, carpets, pharmaceuticals, chemicals etc.
10.	Odisha	Paradip	First Major Port commissioned after Independence. Located at the confluence of Mahanadi river and Bay of Bengal. deals with the export of iron and aluminum and Iron ore is exported to Japan in huge quantity.
11.	Tamil Nadu	Tuticorin	This port has been renamed as V.O.Chidambaranar Port. It is an artificial port located in the Gulf of Mannar. It is famous for pearl fishery in the Bay of Bengal and thus also known as the pearl city. Trade: coal, salt, petroleum products, and fertilizers
12.	Andhra Pradesh	Vishakapatnam	This port is a natural harbor and also is the 2nd largest port by volume of cargo handled. Port is located midway between the Chennai Port and Kolkata Port. Trade: Iron Ore, Coal, Alumina and oil.
13.	Tamil Nadu	Chennai	Chennai Port is the largest port on the East coast i.e. Bay of Bengal and the second largest port of India after JNPT. Artificial port.

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September 7, 2021

Consequences of asset monetisation on ordinary citizens
Context

In the Budget for 2021-22, the Finance Minister had announced the Government’s decision to monetise operating public infrastructure assets. The National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) was unveiled, which shows that the Government intends to raise ₹6-lakh crore over the next four years by monetising several “core assets”.

Four issues with NMP

1) Assets transferred would be performing assets and not idle asset
- Strategic and significant asset: The Government has identified “performing assets” to transfer to private entities and these are both strategic and significant.
- These include over 26,700 kilometres of highways, 400 railway stations, 90 passenger trains etc.
- Moreover, existing public sector infrastructure in telecoms, power transmission and distribution and petroleum, petroleum products and natural gas pipelines are included in the NMP.
- Under the NMP, the Government intends to lease or divest its rights over these assets via long-term leases against a consideration that can be upfront and/or periodic payments.
2) Consequences for ordinary citizens
- There are two dimensions about the impact on common citizens.
- Public as a stakeholder: The assets have all been created through substantial contribution by the tax-paying public, who have stakes in their operation and management.
- Double taxation: These assets have, until now, been managed by the Government and its agencies, which operate in public interest.
- Therefore, charges borne by the public for using these assets have remained reasonable.
- With private companies getting the sole responsibility of running all these assets, prices of these services will go up, as resutl the citizens of this country would be double-taxed.
- First, they paid taxes to create the assets, and would now pay higher user charges.
- Concern: Therefore, as the Government prepares to transfer “performing assets” to the private companies, it has the responsibility to ensure that user charges do not price the consumers out of the market.
3) Are there other avenues to plug the revenue gap?
- Increase tax revenue: One possibility was to increase the tax revenue, for at 17.4% in 2019-20, India’s tax to GDP ratio was relatively low, as compared to most advanced nations.
- Improvements in tax compliance and plugging loopholes have long been emphasised as the surest way to improve tax revenue, but little has been done, as the following example shows.
- Since 2005-06, the Government has been providing data on the profits declared and taxes paid by companies that file their returns electronically.
- Data shows that India’s large companies have been exploiting the loopholes for reporting lower profits and to escape the tax net.
4) Efficiency issue
- According to NITI Aayog, the “strategic objective of the Asset Monetisation programme is to unlock the value of investments in public sector assets by tapping private sector capital and efficiencies”.
- The NITI Aayog objective assumes that public sector enterprises are inefficient, which is contrary to the reality.
- In 2018-19, while 28% of these enterprises were loss-making, the corresponding figure for large companies was 51%.
Consider the question “How asset monetisation is different from the privatisation? What are the issues with the National Manetisation Pipeline that seeks to monetise the assets?”

Conclusion

The government should address the issues mention here associated with the roll out of the National Monetisation Pipeline to make it a success.

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September 7, 2021
Spirit of federalism lies in consultation
Context

Recently, various State governments raised concerns about Central unilateralism in the enactment of critical laws on subjects in the Concurrent List of the Seventh Schedule.

Objection of the state against Centre legislating on the subject in Concurrent List without consulting States
- Unilateral legislation on subjects in Concurrent list: Kerala Chief Minister stated that it is not in the essence of federalism for the Union government to legislate unilaterally, on the subjects in the Concurrent List.
- Encroaching on powers of States: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister raised the issue by calling on other Chief Ministers against the Union government encroaching on powers under the State and Concurrent Lists.
- The Kerala Legislative Assembly unanimously passed a resolution against the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
- The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly passed a resolution against the controversial farm laws.
Background of the Concurrent List
- The Concurrent List gives the Union and the State Legislatures concurrent powers to legislate on the subjects contained in it.
- Purpose of Concurrent List: The fields in the Concurrent List were to be of common interest to the Union and the States, and the power to legislate on these subjects to be shared with the Union so that there would be uniformity in law across the country.
Union government extending its control on subjects in the Concurrent List and State list

1) Farm laws: Encroaching on the powers of States
- Parliament passed the farm laws without consulting the States.
- State List subject: The laws, essentially related to Entry 14 (agriculture clause) belonging to the State List.
- However, Parliament passed the law citing Entry 33 (trade and commerce clause) in the Concurrent List.
- Against legal principle set by the Supreme Court: The Supreme Court, beginning from the State of Bombay vs F.N. Balsara case, said that if an enactment falls within one of the matters assigned to the State List and reconciliation is not possible with an entry in the Concurrent or Union List after employing the doctrine of “pith and substance”, the legislative domain of the State Legislature must prevail.
2) Major Port Authorities Act 2021 and Indian Ports Bill: Centre taking away the power of State
- The Major Ports Authorities Act, 2021, was passed by Parliament earlier this year.
- Goa objected to the law, stating that it would lead to the redundancy of the local laws.
- Concurrent List subject: When it comes to non-major ports, the field for legislation is located in Entry 31 of the Concurrent List.
- The Indian Ports Act, 1908, presently governs the field related to non-major ports.
- As per the Indian Ports Act, 1908, the power to regulate and control the minor ports remained with the State governments.
- The new draft Indian Ports Bill, 2021, proposes the Maritime State Development Council (MSDC), which is overwhelmingly controlled by the Union government.
3) Electricity (Amendment) Bill,2020: Centre taking away powers of State
- Various States like West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Kerala have also come forward against the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2020.
- The field related to electricity is traceable to Entry 38 of the Concurrent List.
- The power to regulate the sector was vested with the State Electricity Regulatory Commissions (SERCs), members of which were appointed by the State government.
- The proposed amendment seeks to establish National Selection Committee, dominated by members nominated by the Union government that will make appointments to the SERCs.
- The amendment also proposes the establishment of a Centrally-appointed Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority (ECEA).
- In effect, the power to regulate the electricity sector would be taken away from the State government.
Way forward
- Consultation with States: The National Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution (NCRWC), or the Venkatachaliah Commission, had recommended that individual and collective consultation with the States should be undertaken through the Inter-State Council established under Article 263 of the Constitution.
- Coordination of policy and action in concurrent jurisdiction: The Sarkaria Commission Report had recommended that there should be a coordination of policy and action in all areas of concurrent or overlapping jurisdiction through a process of mutual consultation.
- Limit powers to ensuring uniformity: The Sarkaria Commission further recommended that the Union government, while exercising powers under the Concurrent List, limit itself to the purpose of ensuring uniformity in basic issues of national policy and not more.
- Responsibility of Centre: The Supreme Court itself had held in the S.R. Bommai vs Union of India case, the States are not mere appendages of the Union.
- The Union government should ensure that the power of the States is not trampled with.
Consider the question “There has been instances of protest by the State government against Centre legislating unilaterally on subjects in Concurrent List. What are the implications of this for the federalism? Suggest the way forward.”

Conclusion

The essence of cooperative federalism lies in consultation and dialogue, and unilateral legislation without taking the States into confidence will lead to more protests on the streets.

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September 7, 2021
ESCAPE THE SNOOZE MODE IN YOUR UPSC-CSE PREPARATION

We talked to 8000+ aspirants in the last one year and their answers will surprise you.

Inconsistency in UPSC preparation is like getting up at 5 am. A night before you set up your alarm. The motivation to get up is high at this point. But in the morning, when the alarm rings, we swipe it to the right with a thought “IN 5 MINUTES…FOR SURE!!”. This snooze cycle usually continues for some time till we realize it is 8 am. Already a bad start to the day! To add to it, you will spend the whole day repenting upon not being able to get up early, instead of focusing upon the time we have. The same goes for UPSC preparation. You set your targets but one slight glitch and your whole preparation go off track. Till the time you yourself realize this mismanagement, it is a bit too late. Anxiety builds up, performance levels fall. You are not able to achieve even 10% OF YOUR TRUE POTENTIAL on the D-day.

WE ASKED 8000+ STUDENTS ONE SIMPLE QUESTION –

“WHAT IS THE BIGGEST OBSTACLE THAT YOU ARE FACING IN YOUR UPSC PREPARATION?”

YOU WILL BE ASTOUNDED THAT ONE ANSWER WAS COMMON IN REPLIES – INCONSISTENCY.

They are Consistently Inconsistent. Meaning, they go through these highs and lows in their preparation. They are able to study for days, week but they hit a sudden gap in preparation. Then, they find it very hard to come back. The good news is that we have the solution.

Click here to register for personalised guidance

Our philosophy behind MENTORSHIP is to get you out of this Snooze cycle. This ensures that you are the BEST VERSION of yourself in this journey. If you are under the impression that mentorship is weekly calls you attend, then you are mistaken, my friend. Trust us, your mentor will be your ‘FRIEND, PHILOSOPHER AND GUIDE’.

How Mentorship can fight inconsistency in preparation?

TO EACH THEIR OWN – Every aspirant is different. Their strengths and weaknesses are different. Their time availability is also different. Identifying this is important so you don’t end up making unrealistic targets and lose momentum. Your mentor will make sure you start slow but remain consistent to build your confidence. Making your schedule structured based on our experience of working with 2500+ students is our first priority.

TRACK YOUR PROGRESS – When you see yourself grow, it becomes easier to motivate yourself to push boundaries. Tracking your progress can happen in many ways like mentorship calls or chat sessions or by regular tests. The idea is to ensure that you don’t go off track in your preparation, and even if you do, we have your back.

Get 1-1 mentorship now, register here

EVOLUTION – A constant guidance is important to bring consistency to your UPSC preparation. Guidance is not about clearing your doubts or asking you to study when you don’t. It is also about the evolution of your preparation. This is where you and your mentor work as a team. A constant effort to PLAN AND BUILD UP YOUR ABILITY to learn in a faster and more efficient way.

Receive personal guidance for upsc (register here)

TALK IT OUT – The biggest hurdle in achieving your highest level of consistency is the emotional part. Every now and then, you. surround yourself with negative thoughts, you feel scared and depressed. Instead of resolving these emotional issues, you avoid them as it seems like a waste of your precious time. You have to understand that ignoring emotional troubles does not solve them. What your doing is building an emotional time bomb that may burst a week before your mains or prelims! This is where your MENTOR AS A FRIEND comes in. All our mentors have been through this journey. We understand your fears and anxieties. So, TALK IT OUT.

Don’t let inconsistency keep you away from your dreams.

Fill up the SAMANVAYA form given below. Let us know your problems and we will find a solution to it, just like our students say ” TOGETHER WE CAN AND WE WILL”.

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September 7, 2021
New Code for Creditors (CoC) under IBC
The insolvency regulator has called for public comments on a proposal to introduce a code of conduct for Committees of Creditors (CoC), of companies undergoing insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Before proceeding, try this PYQ first:

Q. Which of the following statements best describes the term ‘Scheme for Sustainable Structuring of Stressed Assets (S4A)’, recently seen in the news? (CSP 2017)

(a) It is a procedure for considering the ecological costs of developmental schemes formulated by the Government.

(b) It is a scheme of RBI for reworking the financial structure of big corporate entities facing genuine difficulties.

(c) It is a disinvestment plan of the Government regarding Central Public Sector Undertakings.

(d) It is an important provision in ‘The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code’ recently implemented by the Government.

Post your answers here.

About IBC
- The IBC, 2016 is the bankruptcy law of India that seeks to consolidate the existing framework by creating a single law for insolvency and bankruptcy.
- It is a one-stop solution for resolving insolvencies which previously was a long process that did not offer an economically viable arrangement.
- The code aims to protect the interests of small investors and make the process of doing business less cumbersome.
Key features

Insolvency Resolution: The Code outlines separate insolvency resolution processes for individuals, companies, and partnership firms. The process may be initiated by either the debtor or the creditors. A maximum time limit, for completion of the insolvency resolution process, has been set for corporates and individuals.
1. For companies, the process will have to be completed in 180 days, which may be extended by 90 days, if a majority of the creditors agree.
2. For startups (other than partnership firms), small companies, and other companies (with assets less than Rs. 1 crore), the resolution process would be completed within 90 days of initiation of request which may be extended by 45 days.
Insolvency regulator: The Code establishes the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, to oversee the insolvency proceedings in the country and regulate the entities registered under it. The Board will have 10 members, including representatives from the Ministries of Finance and Law, and the RBI.

Insolvency professionals: The insolvency process will be managed by licensed professionals. These professionals will also control the assets of the debtor during the insolvency process.

Bankruptcy and Insolvency Adjudicator: The Code proposes two separate tribunals to oversee the process of insolvency resolution, for individuals and companies:
1. National Company Law Tribunal: for Companies and Limited Liability Partnership firms; and
2. Debt Recovery Tribunal: for individuals and partnerships
What is the recent development?

Ans. Code of conduct for Committees of Creditors (CoC)
- A CoC is to be composed of financial creditors to the Corporate Debtor (CD) — or operational creditors in the absence of unrelated financial creditors.
- Under the IBC, CoC is empowered to take key decisions, including decisions on haircuts for creditors, that are binding on all stakeholders, including those dissenting.
- The CoC is also empowered to seek and choose the best resolution plan for a corporate debtor from the market, and its role is vital for a timely and successful resolution for a CD.
- The IBBI noted that a code of conduct for CoCs would promote transparent and fair working on the part of CoCs.
What are the issues that the code of conduct is seeking to address?
- Several cases in which certain lenders have withdrawn funds from a CD undergoing insolvency proceeding and contributed to delays in the insolvency process.
- Delays in resolution are seen as contributing to the loss of value in corporate debtors and have become a key criticism of the IBC, with over 75 percent of proceedings having crossed the 270-day timeline.
- The IBBI highlighted cases in which representatives of lenders have had to seek approval from seniors for decisions such as an appointment of resolution professionals.
- IBBI has recommended that a code of conduct require that members of the CoC nominate representatives with sufficient authorization to participate in meetings and make decisions during the process.
- The regulator also highlighted cases where lenders have withdrawn funds from a corporate debtor during insolvency or liquidation proceedings.
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September 7, 2021
Govt must constitute GST tribunal: SC
The Supreme Court has warned that the government had no option but to constitute the Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal.

What is GST Appellate Tribunal?
- The GST Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT) is the second appeal forum under GST for any dissatisfactory order passed by the First Appellate Authorities.
- The National Appellate Tribunal is also the first common forum to resolve disputes between the centre and the states.
- Being a common forum, it is the duty of the GST Appellate Tribunal to ensure uniformity in the redressal of disputes arising under GST.
- It holds the same powers as the court and is deemed Civil Court for trying a case.
Constitution of the GST Appellate Tribunal

The GSTAT has the following structure:
1. National Bench: The National Appellate Tribunal is situated in New Delhi, constitutes a National President (Head) along with 2 Technical Members (1 from Centre and State each)
2. Regional Benches: On the recommendations of the GST Council, the government can constitute (by notification) Regional Benches, as required. As of now, there are 3 Regional Benches (situated in Mumbai, Kolkata and Hyderabad) in India.
3. State Bench and Area Bench
Why in news now?
- The GST tribunal has not been constituted even four years after the central GST law was passed in 2016.
- Section 109 of the GST Act mandates the constitution of the Tribunal.
- Citizens aggrieved are constrained to approach respective High Court and the same was overburdening the work of the High Courts.
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Back2Basics: Goods and Services Tax
- The GST is a value-added tax levied on most goods and services sold for domestic consumption.
- It was launched into operation on the midnight of 1st July 2017.
- It subsumed almost all domestic indirect taxes (petroleum, alcoholic beverages, and stamp duty are the major exceptions) under one head.
- The GST is paid by consumers, but it is remitted to the government by the businesses selling the goods and services.
- GST is levied at four rates viz. 5%, 12%, 18% and 28%. The schedule or list of items that would fall under these multiple slabs is worked out by the GST council.
Types
- The GST to be levied by the Centre is called Central GST (CGST) and that to be levied by the States is called State GST (SGST).
- Import of goods or services would be treated as inter-state supplies and would be subject to Integrated Goods & Services Tax (IGST) in addition to the applicable customs duties.
The GST Council
- It is a constitutional body (Article 279A) for making recommendations to the Union and State Government on issues related to GST.
- The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and other members are the Union State Minister of Revenue or Finance and Ministers in charge of Finance or Taxation of all the States.
- It is considered as a federal body where both the centre and the states get due representation.
September 7, 2021
Right to Sit to be mandated in Tamil Nadu
The Tamil Nadu government has tabled a Bill in the Legislative Assembly making it mandatory for establishments to provide seating facilities for employees.

Right to Sit
- The Right to Sit is aimed to benefit thousands of employees of large and small establishments, particularly those working in textile and jewelry showrooms.
- Persons employed in shops and establishments in the State are made to stand throughout their duty time resulting in varied health issues.
- The bill mandates for every premises of establishments to have suitable seating arrangements for all employees so that they may take advantage of any opportunity to sit in the course of their work.
- This would avoid the ‘on their toes’ situation throughout the working hours.
Inspired from Kerala
- A few years ago, workers of textile showrooms in Kerala had gone on a protest demanding the ‘Right to Sit’, prompting the government there to amend the Kerala Shops and Establishments Act in 2018.
- This in turn provided seating arrangements for them.
A move for women
- Most owners of shops and other retail outlets forbid women, the bulk of the shop workforce, to sit.
- Even leaning against a wall was punished. They have varicose veins and joint pain from standing.
- Toilet breaks were strictly limited. This has led to urinary infections, kidney problems.
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September 7, 2021
Inspiration4: SpaceX’s first all-civilian space mission
SpaceX has announced its ‘Inspiration4’ mission, the first all-civilian, non-governmental spaceflight, for launch.

What is Inspiration4?
- Inspiraton4 is a part of an effort to raise funds for pediatric treatment and research facility that focuses on children’s catastrophic diseases, particularly leukemia and other cancers.
- The mission involves circling the Earth for three days and then splashing down into the Atlantic Ocean.
- Inspiration4 will orbit the Earth at 575km, higher than the International Space Station (408km) and the Hubble space telescope (547km).
- This will be the farthest distance travelled by a crewed mission since 2009, when astronauts last went to repair the Hubble.
- The Dragon module that the group will be using has also been modified for the mission.
- Usually, the SpaceX module is used for travelling to the ISS, where it has to dock or join the floating laboratory.
UPSC may ask an MCQ asking: Which of the following is/are the space missions related to human flights? It may throw up 4-5 options (which we all get confused at after few months) like Cassini , InSight , Messanger, Voyager etc.

Key feature: Dome window
- Since Inspiration4 is not going to the ISS, the docking port has been removed and has been replaced with a dome window instead.
- This dome window will offer breath-taking views of the Earth for the four travellers.
- The window has been inspired by the Cupola, a module on the ISS used to make observations about our planet.
Why is the mission significant?
- According to a report in the Independent, the journey will present an opportunity for collecting large amounts of health data that will aid in planning future crewed space missions.
- As per the report, they will collect data on ECG (electrocardiograph) activity, movement, sleep, heart rate, and rhythm, blood oxygen saturation, cabin noise and light intensity, which will help in assessing behavioral and cognitive changes over the journey.
- The travelers will undergo balance and prescription tests just before and after their journey to assess their response to the change in gravity.
- The immune system function will also be monitored by collecting blood. Their organ systems will also be monitored by an AI-powered ultrasound device.
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September 7, 2021
Odisha’s Manda buffalo gets unique, indigenous tag
The National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources (NBAGR) has recognized the Manda buffalo, found in the Eastern Ghats and plateau of Koraput region of Odisha, as the 19th unique breed of buffaloes found in India.

Manda Buffalo
- The Manda are resistant to parasitic infections, less prone to diseases and can live, produce and reproduce at low or nil input systems.
- These buffaloes have ash grey and grey coat with copper-coloured hair.
- The lower part of the legs up to the elbow is light in colour with copper colour hair at the knee. Some animals are silver-white in colour.
- Four breeds of cattle — Binjharpuri, Motu, Ghumusari and Khariar — and two breeds of buffalo — Chilika and Kalahandi — and one breed of sheep, Kendrapada, have already received NBAGR recognition.
Their economic significance
- The small, sturdy buffaloes are used for ploughing in their native habitat of the Koraput, Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts.
- There are around 1,00,000 buffaloes of this breed in the native tract mostly contributing to the family nutrition of households and assisting in all the agricultural operations in the undulated hilly terrain for generations.
- The average milk yield of these buffaloes is 2 to 2.5 litres in single milking with more than 8% fat. However, a few of those yield up to 4 litres.
- After going through the findings, the NBAGR made an assessment and recognised it as an indigenous and unique buffalo.
Now pls do not ignore this PYQ:

Q.What is/are unique about ‘Kharai Camel’, a breed found in India?
1. It is capable of swimming up to three kilometres in seawater.
2. It survives by grazing on mangroves.
3. It lives in the wild and cannot be domesticated.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 and 2 only

(b) 3 only

(c) 1 and 3 only

(d) 1, 2 and 3

Post your answers here.
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September 7, 2021
[Burning Issue] National Hydrogen Mission: A step toward developing a Hydrogen Economy
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India recently announced the launch of the National Hydrogen Mission (NHM) with an aim to cut down carbon emissions and increase the use of renewable sources of energy. The broad objective of the mission is to scale up Green Hydrogen production and utilization and to align India’s efforts with global best practices in technology, policy and regulation. Accordingly, the Government of India has allotted Rs 25 crore in the Union Budget 2021–22 for the research and development in hydrogen energy.

The NHM aims to leverage the country’s landmass and low solar and wind tariffs to produce low-cost green hydrogen and ammonia for export to Japan, South Korea, and Europe. In this regard, there are immense possibilities for India to collaborate with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries that have also invested significantly in developing hydrogen as a future source of energy.

What is National Hydrogen Energy Mission?
- Focus: The main aim of the mission is on generation of hydrogen from green power resources and to link India’s growing renewable capacity with the hydrogen economy.
- Goal: India’s ambitious goal of 175 GW by 2022 got an impetus in the 2021-22 budget which allocated Rs. 1500 crore for renewable energy development and NHM.
- Sustainable energy and help in reduce import: The usage of hydrogen will not only help India in achieving its emission goals under the Paris Agreement, but will also reduce import dependency on fossil fuels.
- The mission will include all aspects including research and exploration of areas where hydrogen can be used.
Green Hydrogen Mission is not only essential to decarbonise heavy industries like steel and cement but it will equally clean electric mobility that doesn’t depend on rare minerals to be explored.

What is Hydrogen Energy?
- Hydrogen is an important source of energy since it has zero carbon content and is a non-polluting source of energy in contrast to hydrocarbons that have net carbon content in the range of 75–85 per cent.
- Hydrogen energy is expected to reduce carbon emissions that are set to jump by 1.5 billion tons in 2021.
- It has the highest energy content by weight and lowest energy content by volume.
- As per International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), Hydrogen shall make up 6 per cent of total energy consumption by 2050.
- Hydrogen energy is currently at a nascent stage of development, but has considerable potential for aiding the process of energy transition from hydrocarbons to renewable.
Hydrogen as an energy source:
- Hydrogen is the lightest (travels up in the atmosphere and rarely found in purity) and first element on the periodic table.
- Most hydrogen on Earth is bonded to oxygen in water and to carbon in live or dead and/or fossilized biomass. It can be created by splitting water into hydrogen and oxygen.
- At standard temperature and pressure, hydrogen is a nontoxic, nonmetallic, odorless, tasteless, colorless, and highly combustible diatomic gas.
- Hydrogen fuel is a zero-emission fuel when burned with oxygen. It can be used in fuel cells or internal combustion engines. It is also used as a fuel for spacecraft propulsion.
- Hydrogen can be sourced from natural gas, nuclear power, biomass, and renewable power like solar and wind.
Why is India focusing on Hydrogen to fulfill its energy demands?
- The enthusiasm about hydrogen has a simple reason: whether it’s used in a fuel cell or burned to create heat, wherever hydrogen replaces fossil fuels, it slows global warming.
- Inclusion of “Hydrogen” as an energy carrier in the future energy portfolio presents a unique opportunity to address emerging energy vectors, including power to gas, power to power, and power to mobility and even vehicle to grid applications.
- India remains committed to environmental and climate causes with a massive thrust on deploying renewable energy and energy efficiency measures.
- In the past six years, India has increased its renewable power portfolio from 32 GW to almost 100 GW and is well on track to achieve 450 GW target of renewable energy generating capacity by 2030.
- Diversification of our energy basket would be the key lever enabling this transition. That’s why the emergence of hydrogen at the centre stage is a welcome development.
How Hydrogen can be produced?
- Commercially viable Hydrogen can be produced from –
1. Hydrocarbons including natural gas, oil and coal through processes like steam methane reforming, partial oxidation and coal gasification

2. Renewables like water, sunlight and wind through electrolysis and photolysis and other thermo-chemical processes.
- The current global demand for hydrogen is 70 million metric tons per year, more than 76 per cent of which is being produced from natural gas, 23 per cent comes from coal and the remaining is produced from electrolysis of water.
- Storage: Hydrogen can be stored in cryo-compressed tanks in gaseous form apart from being kept in liquefied and solid state.
Primarily uses
- Presently, Hydrogen is mostly used in industry sector including those dealing with oil refining, ammonia production, methanol production and steel production.
- It has huge potential in transportation sector as a direct replacement to fossil fuels.
- Shipping and aviation have limited low-carbon fuel options available and represent an opportunity for hydrogen-based fuels.
What Is Grey, Blue, And Green Of Hydrogen?
- Hydrogen has been color-coded based on the source of production and the emphasis is on the use of Green Hydrogen as it helps in reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases and increases the share of renewables in total energy consumption.
Grey Hydrogen
- The most common form of hydrogen, it’s created from fossil fuels and the process releases carbon dioxide which is not captured.
- There is also a gasification process which uses coal as a feedstock, creating brown hydrogen, which also releases carbon dioxide and can be put in the same category as grey.
Blue Hydrogen
- Blue hydrogen uses the same process as grey, except this time the carbon is captured and stored. This makes it much more environmentally friendly, but comes with added technical challenges and a big increase in cost.
- Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has been around a while, with the technology being used by heavy industry and power generation companies burning fossil fuels.
- The technology can capture up to 90% of the CO2 produced, so it isn’t perfect but clearly a massive improvement.
Green Hydrogen

Green hydrogen will be a unique energy vector that can enable deep decarbonization of many sectors such as transportation, industry, and power. One of the most common methods of generating green hydrogen is by electrolysis of pure water through electrolyzers.

We will discuss it in detail as it is very important for today’s world to rely on such a source of energy which can redefine the GHGs emission and sustainable use of energy resources while keeping global warming in check.

How is green hydrogen produced?
- In a world struggling to address the issue of climate change and growing carbon footprint, green hydrogen is being heralded as the future of energy.
- Unlike gray hydrogen, green hydrogen is fully renewable in both its source material and its energy supply. 
- For source material, green hydrogen today is typically generated from water through a process known as electrolysis, which uses an electric current to split water into its component molecules of hydrogen and oxygen. 
- This is done using a device called an electrolyzer, which utilizes a cathode and an anode (positively and negatively charged electrodes). 
- This process produces only oxygen – or steam – as a byproduct. 
- As for energy supply, to qualify as “green hydrogen,” the source of electricity used for electrolysis must derive from renewable power, such as wind or solar energy.
- Currently the production of green hydrogen is two or three times more expensive than blue hydrogen.
How can green hydrogen be used?

Hydrogen can be used in broadly two ways. It can be burnt to produce heat or fed into a fuel cell to make electricity.
- fuel-cell hydrogen electric cars and trucks
- container ships powered by liquid ammonia made from hydrogen
- “green steel” refineries burning hydrogen as a heat source rather than coal
- hydrogen-powered electricity turbines that can generate electricity at times of peak demand to help firm the electricity grid
- H-CNG can be used as a as a substitute for natural gas for cooking and heating in homes and automotive.
What makes Hydrogen one of the best options in disguise?

1. Its availability

2. Its efficiency: The energy in 2.2 pounds (1 kilogram) of hydrogen gas contains about the same as the energy in 1 gallon (6.2 pounds, 2.8 kilograms) of gasoline.

3. Its characteristics of a clean fuel: The only byproduct or emission that results from the usage of hydrogen fuel is water.

2H2 (g) + O2 (g) → 2H2O (g) + energy

With a wide range of methods to produce and use Hydrogen as a fuel, it thereby allows the impetus to a circular economy.

What are the challenges in producing Green Hydrogen?

India’s transition towards a green hydrogen economy (GHE) can only happen once certain key issues are addressed.
1. Supply chain issues: GHE hinges upon the creation of a supply chain, starting from the manufacture of electrolysers to the production of green hydrogen, using electricity from a renewable energy source.
2. Technology: Green hydrogen needs electrolysers to be built on a scale larger than we’ve yet seen.
3. Transportation and Storage: Either very high pressures or very high temperatures are required, both with their own technical difficulties. It is hazardous because of its low ignition energy and high combustion energy.
4. Risk to use as a fuel: Automotive fuels are highly inflammable, but a vehicle laden with hydrogen is likely to be more vulnerable in case of a major accident.
5. Cost: To become competitive, the price per kilogram of green hydrogen has to reduce to a benchmark of $2/kg. At these prices, green hydrogen can compete with natural gas.
6. Electricity: Creating green hydrogen needs a huge amount of electricity, which means an enormous increase in the amount of wind and solar power to meet global targets.
7. Lack of proper infrastructure, only 500 Hydrogen stations exist globally.
8. Only countable manufacturers are involved as market players in this technology.
9. Integration with other energy vectors using information and communication infrastructure.
10. Low user acceptance and social awareness.
11. Developing after-sales service for hydrogen technology.
Hydrogen Energy in India
- At present, bulk of the global energy consumption comes from hydrocarbons.
- Government as well as non-government funding agencies are engaged in R&D projects pertaining to hydrogen production, storage, utilisation, power generation and for transport applications.
- National Hydrogen Energy Board formed in 2003and in 2006 the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy laid out the National Hydrogen Energy Road Map identifying transport and power generation as two major green energy initiatives.
- By 2050 India intends to produce three-fourths of its hydrogen from renewable resources.
- R&D projects in India focus on improving the efficiency of water-splitting reaction, and finding newer materials, catalysts and electrodes to accelerate the reaction.
What are the policy challenges?
- Economic sustainability: One of the biggest challenges faced by the industry for using hydrogen commercially is the economic sustainability of extracting green or blue hydrogen.
- Technological challenges: The technology used in production and use of hydrogen like Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) and hydrogen fuel cell technology are at nascent stage.
- Cost Factor: These technologies are expensive which in turn increases the cost of production of hydrogen and will require a lot of investment which in turn add fiscal pressure on government.
- Higher Maintenance costs: Maintenance costs for fuel cells post-completion of a plant can be costly.
- Commercial sector’s role is crucial: The commercial usage of hydrogen as a fuel and in industries requires mammoth investment in R&D of such technology and infrastructure for production, storage, transportation and demand creation for hydrogen.
- Need for legal and administrative adherence, certification mechanisms, recommendations, and regulations for different components of the system.
Way forward
- India’s National Hydrogen Mission is a futuristic vision that can help the country not only cut down its carbon emissions but also diversify its energy basket and reduce external reliance.
- Hydrogen energy is at a nascent stage of development but has significant potential for realizing the energy transition in India.
- Having missed out on many technology-led innovations in the past, hydrogen presents India with the opportunity to lead the change. The parts of the puzzle just need to be put together.
- Green hydrogen has the potential to decarbonise the sectors, which currently have the largest carbon footprint in the world.
- With the capability to provide a zero-emission fuel, green hydrogen is well placed to be integrated into the transport sector and replace the use of coal and coke in the industrial sector.
- India’s transition towards a green hydrogen economy can be a testament to the world on the achievement of energy security, without compromising the goal of sustainable development.
- The GoI, therefore, must strongly pursue the objective of creating a GHE to make India a global manufacturing hub of green hydrogen and place itself at the top of the green hydrogen export market.
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September 7, 2021