A colony of bats was evicted from a Khangkhui Mangsor cave system in Manipur with a Palaeolithic past to make it tourist-friendly.
Khangkhui Mangsor
The Khangkhui, locally called Khangkhui Mangsor, is a natural limestone cave about 15 km from Ukhrul, the headquarters of Ukhrul district.
Excavations carried out by Manipur’s archaeologists had revealed the cave was home to Stone Age communities.
The cave was also used as a shelter by the local people during the Second World War after the Japanese forces advanced to Manipur and the adjoining Nagaland.
Why in news?
The cave housed large roosting populations of bats belonging to the Rhinolophidae and Hipposideridae families.
They were however killed and evicted from the Khangkhui cave after 2016-17 purportedly to make it more tourist-friendly.
Do you know?
The longest is Krem Liat Prah in the Jaintia Hills, which is 30.957 km long. The word “Krem” means cave in the local Khasi language
HOW TO ATTEMPT ANSWERS IN DAILY ANSWER WRITING ENHANCEMENT(AWE)?
Daily 4 questions from General studies 1, 2, 3, and 4 will be provided to you.
A Mentor’s Comment will be available for all answers. This can be used as a guidance tool but we encourage you to write original answers.
You can write your answer on an A4 sheet and scan/click pictures of the same.
Upload the scanned answer in the comment section of the same question.
Along with the scanned answer, please share your Razor payment ID, so that paid members are given priority.
If you upload the answer on the same day like the answer of 11th February is uploaded on 11th February then your answer will be checked within 72 hours. Also, reviews will be in the order of submission- First come first serve basis
If you are writing answers late, for example, 11th February is uploaded on 13th February , then these answers will be evaluated as per the mentor’s schedule.
We encourage you to write answers on the same day. However, if you are uploading an answer late then tag the mentor like @Staff so that the mentor is notified about your answer.
*In case your answer is not reviewed, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*.
To make this a holistic learning experience we have a special FREE preparatory package for you. Details below.
UPSC Prelims 2023 is scheduled for May 28th, 2023. That’s just 7 months away now. As an aspirant, even if you are a beginner you might have already started preparation, some of you are taking a repeat attempt after a failed one in 2022.
You must understand the criticality of time. The next 7 months are crucial. Everything that you do must be under a plan, a strategy.
Time isn’t the main thing, it’s the only thing
For beginners who are going to have 2023 as their first UPSC attempt, we know you are confused and have a lot of questions in your mind. Not only on the best sources, the best strategy but also on how to execute and go about it.
You might have consulted numerous websites on the internet regarding your UPSC 2023 preparation, but even then, you end up confused as they only address skin-deep theories about dos and don’ts, generic advice, and all.
To help you strategize we have planned a Masterclass by senior UPSC Mentor Parth Verma sir.
Key Takeaways of Masterclass with Parth Verma, Senior Mentor and Core faculty of Civilsdaily. Other than those mentioned above we will be discussing the following points:
1. Analysing the trend of UPSC and devising an evolving adaptive strategy.
2. How to cover the syllabus? The syllabus, not the books, must be completed. Focussing on the essentials first.
3. What are the best books to refer to? Based on a last 10-year UPSC-CSE paper analysis.
4. Recognize the UPSC requirement. What kinds of test series are useful? Which mock test series should be avoided?
5. Complete UPSC-CSE Preparation Timeline for a Working Professional
6. The skill of taking notes. What topics necessitate notes and which do not?
7. Working hard in the right direction vs. working hard in the wrong direction Is it possible to be successful solely by studying hard?
8. There are only two consolidated sources for current events. What exactly are they?
9. Revision techniques that are common, standard, and used frequently. What exactly are they?
Our senior most Civilsdaily’s Mentor and core faculty, Parth sir has been mentoring students since 2017. He has an admirable experience of attending UPSC-CSE interviews four times. Parth sir has always scored 400+ in all the 4 GS Mains Subjects. The secret of success according to him is consistency and time-management.
You will get a chance to discuss 1-1 with Parth sir in the Masterclass.
What The Hindu mentioned about Civilsdaily Mentorship
The unveiling of the Hindi editions of the first professional MBBS books by Union Home Minister Amit Shah in Bhopal has stirred anti-Hindi agitations, with the Opposition, especially in the South, contending that the move is nothing more than a poll gimmick.
Example of Non-English countries: Supporters of the move are quoting examples from China, Japan, Ukraine, Russia, and Norway – countries where official languages are the sole medium of instruction in all the technical and non-technical courses.
Education in mother tongue is effective: If they can do so, why can’t we, they argue, especially as it is an established fact that imparting education in a student’s mother tongue is effective for learning.
Why English is best medium of English education?
Teaching in local plus English language: Fifty-two medical colleges, out of the total 170 colleges on mainland China, whose graduates can attempt the USMLE (the entrance exam to practice in the US), teach in both Chinese and English. There has been a steep rise in the number of parents interested in enrolling their children – at just three years old – in ESL (English as a Second Language) courses.
Less resources in Hindi: It is unwise to compare the status of Hindi to Chinese or German, given India’s diversity. Moreover, Hindi, or any other vernacular language, for that matter, offers far fewer resources to support the job-seeking young populace. Learning English, therefore, comes with a promise of roti, kapda, makaan (food, clothes, shelter.)
Higher demand for English Medium: A few years ago, when newspapers reported on the closing down of government schools in Tamil Nadu, one of the major reasons cited was parents’ preoccupation with English-medium schools – leading them to deny free cash and food and admit their kids to low-end, mediocre English schools, instead.
English is a great leveller: When it comes to higher education, English is a great leveller, allowing dialogue to continue with the rest of the world. Medicine, as evidence-based as it is, is constantly evolving with the introduction of novel research. Treating cases sometimes requires consulting multiple books, research papers, and journal articles, for which a sound system of translation needs to be established before we can even begin thinking about phasing out English.
Issue of Translation: The people involved in the translation process spoke of two things, First, instead of “translation”, the books have been transliterated. The medical terminology remains the same; sentences have only been translated for easier reading. That too, in the most mainstream dialect of Hindi. Second, these books are to be used as “bridge books”, and not as replacements for the English ones, designed to address the initial hiccups students are bound to face.
No clarity on roadmap: The initial announcement also fails to account for the necessary infrastructure. There has been no clarity on whether or how these translations will be incorporated as reading materials, and how they will evolve or change with time. Whether standard books like Harrison and Robbins would also be translated is anyone’s guess. Translating these tomes only once would not suffice as newer editions every three to five years incorporate significant changes.
Training of teachers and conferences: Professors and other teaching staff would also need to be trained. Most of all, what about medical conferences, the staple of a medical student? Would they be organised in Hindi moving forward?
Our medical industry is yet to develop: While basing our argument only on language, we often forget that Chinese healthcare is self-sufficient when it comes to research and protocols, or that Germany has primary resources available in their own language. Our focus right now should be to develop primary resources. Our medical industry is at way too nascent a stage to be speaking of language.
Conclusion
Offering extra evening classes as done by AIIMS, Delhi could have been a better substitute given that the strength of students who struggle with English makes up about one to two per cent of the entire batch. Besides, no strict distinction exists between Hindi and non-Hindi-speaking states as most institutions have a portion of seats that are filled up by a pan-India entrance exam. Our focus should be on quality of education instead of medium of instruction.
Mains Question
Q. Medical education in English is more viable than local language. Explain. Why Government of India Supports the Medical education in Hindi?
The two major irritants for India this year have been oil and the dollar. The two are a heady cocktail that has distorted all economic forecasts creating volatility that has never been witnessed earlier. Their impact is being felt across bond and stock markets, affecting the entire system. As a result, the RBI and the government have had to work overtime to mitigate the adverse effects on the economy.
Unpredictable Prices: When the Ukraine war broke out, oil crossed the $120 mark (in April and again in June). It was expected that $150 was not far off. However, the range of $100-110 was restored and soon enough the price was back to the Nineties as all global commodity prices cooled off, even as the Ukraine war continued.
Rising requirement of Europe: With the winter months approaching and Europe dependent on natural gas for heating, which now appears to be in jeopardy due to Russia turning off the taps, oil has received a boost even though the continent is looking more at coal.
Reduction in production by OPEC: Add to this the fact that OPEC and its allies have decided to lower production by 2 million barrels a day and there is panic again. This shock is external over which neither the government nor RBI have any control.
Growing Import Bills: High oil prices mean many things. Crude has a share of 30-33 per cent in total imports and any hike in prices increases the import bill. With exports declining due to the slowdown in global growth and imports increasing due to oil, the trade deficit and current account deficit will widen further. The trade deficit for the first half is $150 billion and can touch $300 billion this year at this strike rate.
Possibility of Balance of Payment: This creates a problem for the current account deficit with components like software and remittances slowing down due to the recession in the west. Therefore, a balance of payments problem will surface. Ultimately it depends on how high oil will go. The RBI has assumed a $100/barrel. This looks reasonable at this point, but anything higher can create problems on the currency front.
Increasing Inflation: Inflation per se will be an issue when prices are left to the market like ATF or LPG. But in the case of petrol and diesel, it will be a conundrum for the government. If the status quo prevails on price transmission, then oil marketing companies will have to bear the losses. If the government allows the market to correct, inflation will increase as it will also feed into intermediary costs such as freight.
Higher input cost: User industries of oil like chemicals, plastics and fertilizers will face a problem again. Higher input costs will put pressure on profit margins and any pass through will be inflationary.
Windfall tax may increase: The government would probably once again revisit the windfall tax on crude (as has been recently done) to examine if there is any additional revenue to be garnered. Such an environment always tends to spook markets.
Rising bond yields: Bond yields move up every time oil prices rise while stock markets turn volatile normally in the downward direction.
How rising dollar prices affects India?
Rupee is weakening: There is the dollar conundrum which should be seen in conjunction with the oil. The dollar has been strengthening against all currencies. As the Fed tightens rates, which will carry on through 2023, the dollar will become stronger. Other countries are already in a weak economic zone and are tightening rates with a lag. The rupee is bearing the brunt of this development. There is no escape as the RBI intervention in any form can only temporarily support the decline in the rupee. In the last month or so, since the rupee crossed the 80 mark and gone past 83.
Negative sentiment of market: Another factor that will complicate matters is expectations. The recent news, for example, of global players deciding not to include Indian bonds in global indices might add to the negative sentiment in the market and exert pressure on the rupee.
Imported inflation: The rupee depreciation also leads to importing inflation. All goods imported will come in at a higher rupee cost which will in turn push the RBI to act further.
Less possibility of high export: The weak rupee may not quite help exports because the competitive advantage that normally comes along with such depreciation would be low given that other currencies are also declining.
Trade deficit will rise: Imports are unlikely to slow down as a growing economy requires inputs and raw materials. This will mean further pressure on the trade deficit. The government will gain at the margin as customs collections increase.
Volatile investors: The critical reaction will be that of investors. If foreign portfolio investors withdraw then there will be further pressure on the rupee while inflows would help to cushion the rupee.
Centre may lose on revenue: State governments will be better off as their VAT collections would increase automatically. However, the Centre may not gain as the excise duty is a fixed rate.
Conclusion
One can never tell as almost all forecasters have been proved wrong this year. The theory that RBI can intervene and protect certain levels of currency has its limitations. These travails have to be responded to as they cannot be controlled.
Mains Question
Q. How rising dollar and oil prices affects the macroeconomic stability in India? What are the steps taken by RBI and GOI to manage the macroeconomic stability?
The beginnings of a renewable energy revolution rooted in agriculture are taking shape in India with the first bio-energy plant of a private company in Sangrur district of Punjab having commenced commercial operations on October 18. It will produce Compressed Biogas (CBG) from paddy straw, thus converting agricultural waste into wealth.
Background
Stubble burning every year in north and northwest: It has become common practice among farmers in Punjab, Haryana and western Uttar Pradesh to dispose of paddy stubble and the biomass by setting it on fire to prepare fields for the next crop, which has to be sown in a window of three to four weeks. This is spread over millions of hectares.
Resultant smog polluting environment: The resultant clouds of smoke engulf the entire National Capital Territory of Delhi and neighbouring States for several weeks between October to December. This plays havoc with the environment and affects human and livestock health.
Stubble burning practice spreading rapidly across the country: Though paddy stubble burning in northwest India has received a lot of attention because of its severity of pollution, the reality is that crop residue burning is spreading even to rabi crops and the rest of the country. Unless these practices are stopped, the problem will assume catastrophic proportions.
What is Stubble Burning?
Stubble (parali) burning is a method of removing paddy crop residues from the field to sow wheat from the last week of September to November.
It is usually required in areas that use the combined harvesting method which leaves crop residue behind.
This practice mostly carried out in Punjab, Haryana and UP contributes solely to the grave winter pollution in the national capital.
How stubble burning impacts environment and Human health?
Deteriorates air quality: The process of burning farm residue is one of the major causes of air pollution in parts of north India, deteriorating the air quality.
Source of various harmful gases: Stubble burning is a significant source of carbon dioxide (CO2), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), nitrogen oxides (NOx) and hydrocarbons (HC).
Air Pollution: Stubble burning emits toxic pollutants in the atmosphere containing harmful gases like Carbon Monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, volatile organic compounds (VOC). These pollutants disperse in the surroundings and eventually affect air quality and people’s health by forming a thick blanket of smog. Along with vehicular emissions, it affects the Air Quality Index (AQI) in the national capital and NCR.
Soil degradation: Soil becomes less fertile and its nutrients are destroyed when the husk is burned on the ground. Organic content of soil is completely destroyed. Stubble burning generates heat that penetrates into the soil, causing an increase in erosion, loss of useful microbes and moisture.
Some of the measures taken by Government for the effective prevention and control of stubble burning
The Commission for Air Quality Management: The Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas (CAQM) had developed a framework and action plan for the effective prevention and control of stubble burning,
In-situ management: The framework/action plan includes in-situ management, i.e., incorporation of paddy straw and stubble in the soil using heavily subsidized machinery (supported by crop residue management (CRM) Scheme of the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare).
Ex-situ management: Ex-situ CRM efforts include the use of paddy straw for biomass power projects and co-firing in thermal power plants, and as feedstock for 2G ethanol plants, feed stock in CBG plants, fuel in industrial boilers, waste-to-energy (WTE) plants, and in packaging materials, etc.
Awareness generation programme: Additionally, measures are in place to ban stubble burning, to monitor and enforce this, and initiating awareness generation.
Project by NITI Aayog along with FAO: NITI Aayog approached FAO India in 2019 to explore converting paddy straw and stubble into energy and identify possible ex-situ uses of rice straw to complement the in-situ programme.
Rice straw for producing CBG: A techno-economic assessment of energy technologies suggested that rice straw can be cost-effective for producing CBG and pellets. Pellets can be used in thermal power plants as a substitute of coal and CBG as a transport fuel.
SATAT initiative: With 30% of the rice straw produced in Punjab, a 5% CBG production target set by the Government of India scheme, “Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT)” can be met. It could also increase local entrepreneurship, increase farmers’ income and reduce open burning of rice straw.
Encouraging private players to produce CBG more and reduce CO2 emissions: Verbio India Private Limited, a 100% subsidiary of the German Verbio AG, got approval from the Punjab government in April 2018 to set up a bio-CNG project that will utilise about 2.1 lakh tonnes of a total of 18.32 million tonnes of paddy straw annually. The plant will use one lakh tonnes of paddy straw produced from approximately 16,000 hectares of paddy fields. Paddy residue will be collected from this year to produce 33 tons of CBG and 600-650 tonnes of fermented organic manure/slurry per day this will reduce up to 1.5 lakh tonnes of CO2 emissions per year.
FAO Study on developing crop residue supply chain
Use of Rice straw: In technical consultations with the public and private sectors, the FAO published its study on developing a crop residue supply chain in Punjab that can allow the collection, storage and final use of rice straw for other productive services, specifically for the production of renewable energy.
Required Investment and benefits farmers: The results suggest that to mobilise 30% of the rice straw produced in Punjab, an investment of around ₹2,201 crore ($309 million) would be needed to collect, transport and store it within a 20-day period. This would reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by about 9.7 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent and around 66,000 tonnes of PM2.5. Further, depending on market conditions, farmers can expect to earn between ₹550 and ₹1,500 per ton of rice straw sold, depending on market conditions.
Interesting to read: Compressed Bio Gas (CBG)
Biogas is produced naturally through a process of anaerobic decomposition from waste / bio-mass sources like agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, sewage treatment plant waste, etc.
After purification, it is compressed and called CBG, which has a pure methane content of over 95%.
CBG is exactly similar to the commercially available natural gas in its composition and energy potential.
With calorific value (~52,000 KJ/kg) and other properties similar to CNG, CBG can be used as an alternative, renewable automotive fuel.
Given the abundance of biomass in the country, CBG has the potential to replace CNG in automotive, industrial and commercial uses in the coming years.
Conclusion
Encouraging private players for producing CBG appears to be a first win-win initiative in the form of environmental benefits, renewable energy, value addition to the economy, farmers’ income and sustainability. This initiative is replicable and scalable across the country and can be a game changer for the rural economy.
Mains Question
Q. What is Stubble burning? Discuss the measures taken by Government for the effective prevention and control of stubble burning and producing CBG could be a win-win situation.
