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  • What is the SolarWinds Hack?

    The ‘SolarWinds hack’, a cyberattack recently discovered in the US, has emerged as one of the biggest ever targeted against the US government, its agencies and several other private companies.

    Do you know about the ‘Five Eyes’ group of nations?

    Solar-Winds Hack

    • It was first discovered by US cybersecurity company FireEye, and since then more developments continue to come to light each day.
    • The US termed it as a highly sophisticated threat actor calling it a state-sponsored attack, although it did not name Russia.
    • It said the attack was carried out by a nation with top-tier offensive capabilities and the attacker primarily sought information related to certain government customers.

    How dangerous is the attack?

    • This is being called a ‘Supply Chain’ attack.
    • Instead of directly attacking the federal government or a private organization’s network, the hackers target a third-party vendor, which supplies software to them.
    • Once installed, the malware gave a backdoor entry to the hackers to the systems and networks of SolarWinds’ customers.
    • More importantly, the malware was also able to thwart tools such as anti-virus that could detect it.

    The deadliest cyber-attack ever in the US

    • The US Energy department which is responsible for managing America’s nuclear weapons is the latest agency to confirm that it has been breached in the SolarWinds cyber attack.

  • Christmas-Star Conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter

    After nearly 400 years, Saturn and Jupiter – the two largest planets in our solar system – will be brought closest in the night sky by an astronomical event called the “great conjunction” and popularly referred to as the “Christmas Star”.

    Try this PYQ:

    What is a coma, in the context of Astronomy?

    (a) Bright half of material on the comet

    (b) Long tail of dust

    (c) Two asteroids orbiting each other

    (d) Two planets orbiting each other

    What are the Conjunctions?

    • A conjunction is not unique to Saturn and Jupiter however, it is the name given to any event where planets or asteroids appear to be very close together in the sky when viewed from the Earth.
    • In June 2005 for instance, as a result of the “spectacular” conjunction, Mercury, Venus and Saturn appeared so close together in the sky that the patch of sky where the three planets were could be covered by a thumb.
    • Astronomers use the word “great” for the conjunction of Jupiter and Saturn because of the planets’ sizes.

    The “Great Conjunction”

    • It happens once in about 20 years because of the time each of the planets takes to orbit around the Sun.
    • Jupiter takes roughly 12 years to complete one lap around the Sun and Saturn takes 30 years.
    • This is because Saturn has a larger orbit and moves more slowly because it is not as strongly influenced by the Sun’s gravitational force as planets that are closer to the Sun.
    • As the two planets move along their orbits, every two decades, Jupiter catches up with Saturn resulting in what astronomers call the great conjunction.

    A ‘rare alignment’

    • Jupiter and Saturn are bright planets and can be typically seen with the naked eye even from cities.
    • But during conjunction, they appear to be close to each other, which is what makes the event noteworthy.
    • The event will coincide with the winter solstice (shortest day of the year in terms of hours of sunlight received) in the Northern Hemisphere and summer solstice in the Southern Hemisphere.
    • This year, however, the event is rare because the planets will come the closest to each other in nearly four centuries; in what astronomer Henry Throop described is a result of a “rare alignment” of the planets.

  • Gas Production in Krishna-Godavari Basin

    Reliance Industries Ltd and BP (British Petroleum) have announced the start of gas production from the R cluster of the KG Basin, the deepest off-shore gas field in Asia.

    Must read

    [Burning Issue] India’s push for a Gas-based Economy

    Krishna-Godavari Basin

    • The Krishna Godavari Basin is a proven petroliferous basin of continental margin located on the east coast of India.
    • Its onland part covers an area of 15000 sq. km and the offshore part covers an area of 25,000 sq. km up to 1000 m isobath.
    • The basin contains about 5 km thick sediments with several cycles of deposition, ranging in age from Late Carboniferous to Pleistocene.
    • The major geomorphologic units of the Krishna Godavari basin are Upland plains, Coastal plains, Recent Flood and Delta Plains.

    Minerals found

    • KG inland and offshore basins have good prospects of tight oil and tight gas reserves from the conducted field studies.
    • The first gas discovery in the basin was in 1983.
    • Most of the conventional wells drilled and operated have a shorter lifespan than envisaged life and with erratic production.
    • This may be due to drilling of conventional wells in tight oil and gas fields without horizontal drilling in the shale rock formations and hydraulic fracturing.

    Note: Tight gas and tight oil are produced from reservoir rocks with such low permeability that considerable hydraulic fracturing is required to harvest the well at economic rates.

    The KGD6 block

    • Krishna Godavari Dhirubhai 6 (KG-D6) was Reliance’s first offshore gas field development and its first underwater discovery.
    • It was also India’s largest deposit of natural gas and the largest such discovery in the world in 2002.
    • The project takes its name from India’s Krishna-Godavari Basin, which covers more than 19,000 square miles (50,000 square kilometres) in Andhra Pradesh and production block D6 in the Bay of Bengal.

    Why is this important?

    • The R cluster, along with the Satellite Cluster and MJ gas fields in the KG Basin is expected to produce around 30 MMSCMD (million standard cubic metres per day) of natural gas.
    • This is about 15% of India’s projected demand for natural gas by 2023.

    Do they impact India’s energy security efforts?

    • The three projects are a key part of the plan to boost domestic production of natural gas to increase the share of natural gas in India’s energy basket from 6.2% now to 15% by 2030.
    • Increased domestic production of natural gas is an important aspect of reducing India’s dependence on imports and improves energy security.

  • Person in news: Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji

    The Prime Minister has paid tributes to Sri Guru Tegh Bahadur Ji on his Martyrdom Day.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Consider the following Bhakti Saints:

    1. Dadu Dayal
    2. Guru Nanak
    3. Tyagaraja

    Who among the above was/were preaching when the Lodi dynasty fell and Babur took over?

    (a) 1 and 3

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 2 and 3

    (d) 1 and 2

    Guru Tegh Bahadur (1621–1675)

    • Guru Tegh Bahadur was the ninth of ten Gurus of the Sikh religion. He was born at Amritsar in 1621 and was the youngest son of Guru Hargobind.
    • His term as Guru ran from 1665 to 1675. One hundred and fifteen of his hymns are in Guru Granth Sahib.
    • There are several accounts explaining the motive behind the assassination of Guru Tegh Bahadur on Aurangzeb’s orders.
    • He stood up for the rights of Kashmiri Pandits who approached him against religious persecution by Aurangzeb.
    • He was publicly killed in 1675 on the orders of Mughal emperor Aurangzeb in Delhi for himself refusing Mughal rulers and defying them.
    • Gurudwara Sis Ganj Sahib and Gurdwara Rakab Ganj Sahib in Delhi mark the places of execution and cremation of his body.

    Impact of his martyrdom

    • The execution hardened the resolve of Sikhs against religious oppression and persecution.
    • His martyrdom helped all Sikh Panths consolidate to make the protection of human rights central to its Sikh identity.
    • Inspired by him, his nine-year-old son, Guru Gobind Singh Ji, eventually organized the Sikh group into a distinct, formal, symbol-patterned community came to be known as Khalsa (Martial) identity.

  • Koothambalam of Guruvayur Temple

    The renovated Koothambalam of the Sreekrishna temple, Guruvayur, has been selected for the UNESCO Asia-Pacific Award for cultural heritage conservation.

    Try this PYQ:

    Q. Building ‘Kalyana Mandapas’ was a notable feature in the temple construction in the kingdom of-
    (a) Chalukya
    (b) Chandela
    (c) Rashtrakuta
    (d) Vijayanagara

    What is Koothambalam?

    • Koothambalam meaning temple theatre is a closed hall for staging Koothu, Nangiar koothu and Koodiyattam, the ancient ritualistic art forms of Kerala.
    • Koothambalams are said to be constructed according to the guidelines given in chapter 2 of Nātyasāstra of Bharata Muni.
    • The stage within the hall is considered to be as sacred as the temple sanctum.

    Its’ construction

    • It is constructed within the cloister of the Temple; more precisely within the pancaprakaras of the temple. The prescribe location is between the prakaras of bahyahara and maryada.
    • In Kerala tradition, it is considered as one among the panchaprasadas of a temple complex.
    • Its dimension varies from temple to temple.
    • A square platform with a separate pyramidal roof supported by pillars in the centre called natyamandapam is constructed as s separate structure within the large hall of Koothampalam.
    • The floor of the hall is divided into two equal halves and one part is for performance (including stage, instruments, green room etc.) and another half for seating audience.

    About Guruvayur Temple

    • It is a Hindu temple dedicated to the Hindu lord, Guruvayurappan (a four-armed form of the Lord Vishnu), located in the town of Guruvayur in Kerala.
    • It is one of the most important places of worship for Hindus in Kerala and is often referred to as Bhuloka Vaikunta (Holy Abode of Vishnu on Earth).

  • [Burning Issue] Substance Abuse in India

    The rising abuse of narcotic drugs in India has come to limelight after the alleged suicide of a notable actor due to depression induced by chronic drug abuse. Since then, the Narcotics Control Bureau has been making high profile arrests over drugs possession (notably the cannabis).

    And again in a contrary move, India surprisingly voted in favour of a highly divided resolution in the UN Commission for National Drugs to remove Cannabis from the category of most dangerous drugs.

    This arguably has led to mixed opinion whether to legalize cannabis in India, which has been long slated demand.

    Films like ‘Udta Punjab’ have graphically portrayed the crisis faced by the society and its youth with regard to the drug menace. While the film highlighted the drug menace in a bordering state, the rest of the country can by no means be complacent.

    Substance abuse in India: A deep malaise

    There is a worldwide consensus that misuse of narcotics and psychoactive substances is on the rise, and India is no exception to this. Look at this data:

    A 2019 national study conducted by AIIMS-Delhi on the prevalence of drug abuse in the country, establishes that:

    • A substantial percentage of people use psychoactive substances (alcohol, cannabis and opioids), and adult men top the list of drugs users.
    • Alcohol is the most commonly abused psychoactive substance followed by cannabis, opioids (heroin, opium) and inhalers.
    • Addiction generally begins with alcohol, moves towards nicotine and cannabis – considered as gateways to hard drugs – and then hard substances.

    National Crime Records Bureau’s (NCRB) annual Accidental Death & Suicides in India (ADSI) reports:

    • In the year 2019, 7719 out of the total 7860 suicide victims due to drug abuse/alcohol addiction were male.
    • Even in the data relating to deaths due to road accidents, drugs & alcohol are one of the most causative factors. 

    India’s vulnerability to Psychotropic substances

    The estimate of the global drug trade is of the order of $360 billion contributed by Heroin – $100-110 billion, Cocaine $110-130 billion, Cannabis $75 billion and synthetic drugs $60 billion.

    [A] Proximity to Drug Heavens

    India is unfortunately sandwiched between a few of the countries who are the biggest producers of illicit opium, while itself being known to be the largest manufacturer of licit opium.

    (1)  Golden Crescent

    • The Golden Crescent is the name given to one of Asia’s two principal areas of illicit opium production, located at the crossroads of Central, South, and Western Asia.
    • This space overlaps three nations, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan, whose mountainous peripheries define the crescent.

    (2) Golden Triangle

    • The Golden Triangle is the area where the borders of Thailand, Laos, and Myanmar meet at the confluence of the Ruak and Mekong rivers.
    • It has been one of the largest opium-producing areas of the world since the 1950s.

    [B] Social Factors

    (1) Experimentation

    Youth are often motivated to seek new experiences, particularly those they perceive as thrilling or daring.  

    (2) Neurotic Pleasure and recreation

    Abused drugs interact with the neurochemistry of the brain to produce feelings of pleasure. The intensity of this euphoria differs by the type of drug and how it is used.

    (3) To bust mental stress

    Some adolescents suffer from depression, social anxiety, stress-related disorders, and physical pain. Using drugs may be an attempt to lessen these feelings of distress.

    [C] Cultural factors

    (1) Folk examples

    Many culture and religiosity in India moralize the use of Ganja, Bhang through Chillam and Hookahs. We can find many adults and the old-age population still practising such habits.

    (2) Peer-pressure

    Many teens use drugs “because others are doing it”—or they think others are doing it—and they fear not being accepted in a social circle that includes drug-using peers.

    (3) Hype and glorification

    Setting other national issues of importance apart, the mass media often creates hype and curiosity among the youth by audio-visuals, undue exaggerated reporting and media trials of the accused persons.

    Impacts of Drug Abuse

    (1) Psychological Impact

    Overt abuse of drugs causes chronic mental disorders and habit forming tendencies. I can have numerous long-term health effects. These include- depression, anxiety, panic disorders, increased aggression, increased aggression, paranoia and hallucinations.

    (2) Physiological impact

    Abusing a drug, or misusing a substance can produce other short-term effects, such as: changes in appetite, sleeplessness or insomnia,  increased heart rate, slurred speech, changes in cognitive ability, a temporary sense of euphoria and loss of coordination.

    (3) Social impact

    Not only impact drug abusers’ lives but equally affect their families and the community at large. Problems such as criminal activity, alienation, domestic violence, and child abuse or neglect may also be present in families experiencing substance abuse.

    (4) Economic Impact

    Studies show that drug abuse leads to poverty and family breakdown.  In families disrupted by drug abuse, poverty is often transmitted from parents to children.

    (5) Public hazards

    Injection drug use is the leading risk factor for new human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infections. Tuberculosis (TB) rates have increased significantly among drug-using populations, especially drug-resistant TB in HIV-infected drug users.

    Drug abuse also results in numerous road accidents.

    Legal mechanisms in India

    (1) Indian Constitution

    • Article 47 of the Indian Constitution is one of the DPSP which directs the State to raise the level of nutrition and the standard of living and to improve public health as among its primary duties.
    • It states that the State shall endeavour to bring about prohibition of intoxicating drinks and drugs which are injurious to health.

     (2) NDPS Act

    • On November 14, 1985, the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act was enacted, banning all narcotic drugs. This was amended in 1987.
    • Under the Act, it is illicit for a person to produce or manufacture/cultivate, possess, sell, purchase, transport, store, and/or consume any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance.

    (3) Nasha Mukt Bharat campaign

    • This campaign launched this year in 2020, is run for 272 Most Affected Districts’ by the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.
    • It focuses on a three-pronged strategy combining- efforts of Narcotics Bureau, Outreach/Awareness by Social Justice and Treatment through the Health Dept.

    #Global initiatives: UN-CND

    • The UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs is one of the functional commissions of the UN Economic and Social Council.
    • It is the central drug policy-making body within the UN system and has important functions under the international drug control conventions.

    Challenges in curbing drug abuse

    (1) Local availability

    • Ephedrine is a banned drug that is quite shockingly, being sold in the country openly. It is manufactured in private labs in India, albeit under Government regulations, and it is suspected that these labs have been leaking it to the International drug.
    • Methamphetamine is the ‘baap’ of all drugs in the market. Youth disheartened by the costly drugs choose to switch over to crystal Meth, which can be easily manufactured in a laboratory.

    (2) Other sin goods are allowed

    • Alcohol and tobacco can be more harmful to individuals and society than recreational drugs like cannabis and ecstasy that are governed by disproportionately strict regulations.
    • This skewed regulatory framework leads to economic losses with a high number of people incarcerated and people in need not having access to opioids.

    (3) Flawed regulations

    • There is a loophole in the NDPS Act that it only bans the usage of buds and resins.
    • It is believed that the government intentionally kept this loophole to leave bhang, which is made out of leaves, out of the coverage under the law that would have prohibited its use even for religious purposes.

    (4) Illicit and large-scale Smuggling

    • The NCB has started a campaign to crack down on drug smuggling networks across the country and has identified several syndicates which operate from different parts of the country.
    • In fact, the agency has estimated that heroin business in India is worth around Rs1,44,000 crore (approximately 19 billion US dollars) and there are around 20 lakh dependent users of this high drug in the country.

    (5) Lack of rehab centres

    • Most of the de-addiction centres in India are run by NGOs and there is not even one exclusive government rehabilitation centre as they are either merged with public health centres (PHC) or major government hospitals.
    • The private rehabilitation centres charge at least Rs 10,000 – Rs 15,000 a month and only government hospitals are affordable for many people

    Centre-stage of the Debate: De-stigmatizing / Legalizing Cannabis

    The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND) voted to remove cannabis and cannabis resin from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs, decades after they were first placed on the list. India was part of the voting majority.

    Why?

    Banning the production of the cannabis, and associated products, has not had any benefit whatsoever for India. As a youth, we all know some or other in our friend circle who consumes it immensely.

    India has the least priced cannabis available in the world that too after regulations. This causes more possibility of abuses.

    (1) Health benefits

    • The cannabinoids found in Cannabis is a great healer and has found mention in the Ayurveda.
    • It can be used to treat a number of medical conditions like multiple sclerosis, arthritis, epilepsy, insomnia, HIV/AIDS treatment, cancer.

    (2) Ecological benefits

    • The cannabis plant and seeds apart from being labeled a ‘super-foods’ as per studies, is also a super-industrial carbon negative raw material.
    • Each part of the plant can be used for some industry. Hemp currently is also being used to make bio-fuel, bio-plastics and even construction material in certain countries. Cosmetic industry has also embraced Hemp seeds.

     (3) Marijuana is addiction-free

    • An epidemiological study showed that only 9%  of those who use marijuana end up being clinically dependent on it.
    • The ‘comparable rates’ for tobacco, alcohol and cocaine stood at 32%, 15% and 16% respectively.

    (4) Good source of Revenue

    • By legalizing and taxing marijuana, the government will stand to earn huge amounts of revenue that will otherwise go to the Italian and Israeli drug cartels.
    • In an open letter to US President George Bush, around 500 economists, led by Nobel Prize winner Milton Friedman, called for marijuana to be “legal but taxed and regulated like other goods”.

    (5) A potential cash crop

    • The cannabis plant is something natural to India, especially the northern hilly regions. It has the potential of becoming a cash crop for poor marginal farmers.
    • If proper research is done and cultivation of marijuana encouraged at an official level, it can gradually become a source of income for poor people with small landholdings.

    (6) Prohibition was ineffective

    • In India, the consumption of synthetic drugs like cocaine has increased since marijuana was banned, while it has decreased in the US since it was legalized in certain states.
    • Moreover, these days, it is pretty easy to buy marijuana in India and its consumption is widespread among the youth. So it is fair to say that prohibition has failed to curb the ‘problem’.

     (7) Marijuana is less harmful

    • Marijuana consumption was never regarded as a socially deviant behaviour any more than drinking alcohol was. In fact, keeping it legal was considered as an ‘enlightened view’.
    • It is now medically proven that marijuana is less harmful than alcohol.

    Risks of Legalizing Cannabis

    (1) Health risks continue to persist

    • There are many misconceptions about cannabis. First, it is not accurate that cannabis is harmless.
    • Its immediate effects include impairments in memory and in mental processes, including ones that are critical for driving.
    • Long-term use of cannabis may lead to the development of addiction of the substance, persistent cognitive deficits, and of mental health problems like schizophrenia, depression and anxiety.
    • Exposure to cannabis in adolescence can alter brain development.

    (2) A new ‘tobacco’ under casualization

    • A second myth is that if cannabis is legalized and regulated, its harms can be minimized.
    • With legalization comes commercialization. Cannabis is often incorrectly advertised as being “natural” and “healthier than alcohol and tobacco”.
    • Tobacco, too, was initially touted as a natural and harmless plant that had been “safely” used in religious ceremonies for centuries.

    (3) Unconvincing Advocacy

    • Advocates for legalization rarely make a convincing case. To hear some supporters tell it, the drug cures all diseases while promoting creativity, open-mindedness, moral progression.
    • Too much trivialization of Cannabis use could lead to its mass cultivation and a silent economy wreaking havoc through a new culture of substance abuse in India.

    Way forward

    • Scaling up enforcement within and strict surveillance along our porous borders, airports and sea ports are the only way to check drug abuse for India.
    • For Cannabis/ Marijuana, it’s important to make a distinction between legalization, decriminalization and commercialization.   
    • As with alcohol and tobacco products, the use of cannabis must be regulated, taxed and monitored. Its threats must be conveyed through proper mechanism as we do in case of Tobacco.
    • We must ensure that there are enough protections for children, the young, and those with severe mental illnesses, who are most vulnerable to its effects.

    Conclusion

    • The debate on the legalization of marijuana in India has started on social media and other noted platforms.
    • It is to be noted that India’s tryst with cannabis is centuries old and even ancient texts mention the plant being used by both nobility and common folk.
    • Even today, we come across ‘holy men’ smoking marijuana in public and photographs of them blowing clouds of smoke are almost symbolic.
    • Hence, laws should be made to suit people so that they do not break the law to maintain their lifestyle.  Laws should weave around an existing lifestyle, not obstruct it. Or else laws will be broken.

    References

    https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK64258/

    https://www.thehindu.com/todays-paper/tp-opinion/should-marijuana-be-legalised/article19468527.ece

    https://www.scoopwhoop.com/inothernews/legalize-marijuana/

    https://www.business-standard.com/article/opinion/the-economics-of-cannabis-120120401549_1.html

    https://indianexpress.com/article/opinion/editorials/clear-the-smoke-cannabis-decriminalisation-7094364/

  • India-UK Relations

    India and the U.K. must not allow concerns of the moment to dominate their relationship.

    Practice Question: Discuss the opportunities and the challenges in the India-UK relationships. What is the prospectus of India-UK relations after Brexit and Coronavirus pandemic?

    Secretary’s Delhi visit

    • British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab’s Delhi visit came with a declaration of immediate and longer-term goals for the India-U.K. relationship.
    • It prepares the way for PM Johnson’s India visit, as the chief guest at Republic Day and to invite PM Modi to the U.K. to the G-7 and the Climate Change (COP26) summits next year.
    • Johnson will be the first head of government to visit India after the spread of COVID-19; this will also be his first bilateral visit anywhere after Brexit signalling the importance of ties with India.

    A new page in ties

    • Upgrading the ties – Both countries up for upgrading of the 2004 India-U.K. Strategic Partnership to a “Comprehensive” Strategic Partnership.
    • This will help to envision closer military ties, cooperation in Indo-Pacific strategies, counter-terrorism and fighting climate change.
    • Hoping for FTA – Britain is on a mission to secure free trade partners after Brexit. It has wrapped up nearly 20 trade deals, including most recently with the U.S., Japan, and Vietnam and is hoping for India to sign the same.
    • Corona pandemic and cooperation for vaccine manufacturing – The highlight of India’s relations will be closer cooperation on the coronavirus vaccine.
    • India’s Serum Institute set to produce and distribute the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine in India, and then as part of the COVAX project to other developing countries.

    Challenges in India-UK relations

    • Stagnancy in the relations – India-UK relations are stagnant for the past five years due to Britain’s Brexit preoccupation.
    • The relationship has failed to progress in this time, despite visits by Mr Modi and former British Prime Minister Theresa May.
    • Other less important issues gained the narrative – Issues such as visas and the fate of fugitive Indian businessmen in the U.K. have been allowed to dominate the narrative.
    • The MEA had responded sharply to protests at the Indian High Commission in London over the Article 370 move in Jammu and Kashmir, and the Citizenship (Amendment) Act.
    • Britain’s concerns about the farmers’ protests that sparked responses in New Delhi about interference in India’s internal matters.
    • Sometimes, intense interest from the British Indian diaspora makes Indian politics a factor in British politics is a reminder of how closely linked the two countries remain.
    • A new chapter in India-UK relationship would necessarily entail the K. to be more sensitive to India’s concerns, and for India to be less sensitive when Britain expresses its concerns.

  • In agri-reforms, go back to the drawing board

    The intended beneficiaries often understand the realities of the systems better; policymakers need to build trust.

    Practice Question: The farmers protest against the new farm laws rises the serious concerns about the policymaking and involvement of citizen in the process by experts. What can be done to improve the trust of the public and how the challenge of agricultural income be solved?

    Reassessment is needed

    • The purpose of agriculture reforms is to increase farmers’ incomes. Farmers want the laws repealed.
    • The Supreme Court of India has called for discussions between the government and farmers around the country.
    • It is time to go back to the drawing board about the purpose and the process of agriculture reforms.
    • According to economists, fewer people must work on farms for farm productivity and incomes to be improved. Which begs the question of how the millions displaced from farms will earn incomes.
    • Indian industry is not growing much. There too, according to economists, humans should be replaced by technology for improving productivity.

    Flipside of productivity

    • Landholdings are too small for mechanization to improve farm productivity. Their solution is to ‘scale-up’ farms.
    • Mechanization requires standardization of work, hence mechanized farming on scale requires monocropping.
    • Large-scale specialization upsets the ecological balance. Reduced diversity of flora enables pests to spread more easily; soil quality is reduced; water resources get depleted.
    • Solutions to these new problems require more industrial inputs, with more costs for farmers.
    • The harmful side-effects of this approach to improve agriculture productivity are very visible in Punjab nowhere farm incomes have grown at the cost of water resources.

    Nature’s self-adaptive system

    • The ecological imbalance out of monocropping made the trees more vulnerable to pests.
    • Nature is a complex ‘self-adaptive’ system. It knows how to take care of itself.
    • When Man tries to overpower Nature with his science and industry, without understanding how Nature functions, he harms Nature — and ultimately himself.
    • Challenges of environmental degradation and increasing inequalities require that the economic calculus shifts from ‘economies of scale with standardization’ to ‘economies of scope for sustainability’.
    • This will make large-scale mechanization more difficult. It will require the use of more ‘flexible’ human labour.
    • In the long run, not only will this be good for the ecology, but it will also increase employment and incomes for people in the lower half of the economic pyramid.

    Market access

    • Farm incomes can increase with access to wider markets for farm produce, which is an objective of the agricultural reforms.
    • Indian farmers fear that they will not have adequate pricing power when pushed into large supply systems and less regulated markets.
    • Connections into global supply chains can increase volumes of sales which always favour the larger players in the supply chains who have easier access to capital.
    • Studies show that farmers in developed countries formed collectives which enable their voice to be heard by politicians and they could set the rules of global trade.

    Strengthen cooperatives

    • Institutions for cooperative ownership and collective bargaining must be strengthened to give power to small farmers before opening markets to large corporations.
    • A very good example is the Indian dairy sector. It’s ‘per person productivity is much lower than in New Zealand and Australian dairy producers’.
    • Still, it provides millions of tiny producers with reasonable incomes which large-scale industrial dairy producers do not.
    • Moreover, with its cooperative aggregation, the Indian dairy sector has also acquired political clout.
    • It has compelled the Indian government not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership to connect the Indian economy with larger supply chains.

    Low agriculture income

    • The problem of low incomes in India’s agriculture sector is a complex systems problem which cannot be solved by agriculture experts alone.
    • Experts from many disciplines must collaborate to find systemic solutions.
    • The intended beneficiaries of the new policies must be included in the designing of the new policies right at the beginning as they understand the realities of systems better than experts.
    • When policymakers say ‘the people don’t get it’ after the policy is announced and the intended beneficiaries protest, it is an indication that the experts didn’t get it.

    The reforms of the 1990s

    • The stand-off in agriculture reforms has caused a flurry of discussions about democracy, consultation, and processes for economic reforms.
    • The immediate beneficiaries of the 1991 reforms were all Indian consumers, rich and poor, who would benefit from access to better quality products from around the world.
    • The principal opponents of the reforms were a few large industrialists whose products citizens were not satisfied with.
    • Governments have more power over a few industrialists than they have over the masses.
    • The 1991 reforms changed industrial licensing and trade policies — both subjects of the Union government.
    • ‘Factor market’ reforms, inland, agriculture, and labour regulations, which are necessary to realize the full benefits of the 1991 reforms are State subjects.
    • They affect the lives of people on the ground, and differently, around the country. Therefore, the central government, no matter how strong it is, must not force these reforms onto the States.

    Conclusion:

    Silo experts cannot help

    • India’s policymakers must improve their expertise in solving complex, multi-disciplinary problems.
    • They must apply the discipline of systems thinking, and not rely on siloed domain experts.
    • Citizens around the country must be involved in the policymaking throughout the evolution of policies.
    • The policies of the government should create public value and it satisfies the desire of citizens for a well-ordered society, in which fair, efficient, and accountable public institutions exist.
    • Trust is essential for a well-governed society. The lesson for India’s leaders is- good processes for making public policies build trust between citizens and their governments.

  • Converting waste to energy

    The new plant at Bidadi has several advantages but also some operational challenges.

    Practice Question: Discuss the various benefits of waste to energy plants and challenges in running them successfully.

    The prospectus of new plant

    • The new 5 MW waste-to-energy plant is going to set up near Bidadi, Karnataka.
    • This plant is expected to process 600 tonnes per day of inorganic waste.
    • The inorganic waste, which consists of bad quality plastics and used cloth pieces, can be processed as Refuse Derived Fuel (RDF). This material has a calorific value of more than 2,500 kJ/kg.
    • This can be used to generate steam energy, which can be converted into electric energy.

    A well-planned plant

    • The waste-to-energy plants usually accept the RDF material generated in organic composting plants.
    • They also segregate the wet and inorganic material near the plant, convert organic waste to compost, and inorganic waste to energy.
    • About 50 tonnes of RDF generate 1 MW of power, which indicates that the plant at Bidadi has been appropriately designed.

    A permanent solution

    • Handling inorganic waste that is not fit for recycling has always been a challenge.
    • At present, these high-calorific materials are landfilled or left unhandled in waste plants and cause fire accidents.
    • Attempts to send this material to cement kilns have not fructified.
    • The proposed plant can source 600 tonnes per day of this RDF and generate 11.5 MW of power equivalent to 2.4 lakh units of power per day.
    • This will reduce the dependence on unscientific landfills, reduce fire accidents, and provide a permanent solution to recover value from inorganic waste.

    Challenges

    • Needed a good demonstration model – Over the last decade, several Indian cities have been trying to set up such plants but a good demonstration model is yet to be established.
    • Nature of waste – Technology suppliers are international organizations who struggle with the change in quality and nature of waste generated in Indian cities. A few plants in India have stopped operations for this reason.
    • The plants require fine inorganic material with less than 5% moisture and less than 5% silt and soil contents, whereas the moisture and inert content in the mixed waste generated is more than 15%-20%.
    • The sticky silt and soil particles can also reduce the calorific value.
    • Economic cost per unit of electricity – The other big challenge for this plant is the power tariff which is around ₹7-8 KwH which is higher than the ₹3-4 per KwH generated through coal and other means.

    Way forward

    • For the successful running, the plant needs to ease the challenge of handling inorganic waste, the efficiency of organic waste processing/ composting plants.
    • With the increasing waste generation in the coming years, there is a need for more such plants which are environment friendly. 

    Back2Basics: Refuse-derived fuel (RDF)

    • Refuse-derived fuel (RDF) is a fuel produced from various types of waste such as municipal solid waste (MSW), industrial waste or commercial waste.
    • It is selected waste and by-products with recoverable calorific value can be used as fuels in a cement kiln, replacing a portion of conventional fossil fuels, like coal, if they meet strict specifications.
    • Sometimes they can only be used after pre-processing to provide ‘tailor-made’ fuels for the cement process.
    • RDF consists largely of combustible components of such waste, as non-recyclable plastics (not including PVC), paper cardboard, labels, and other corrugated materials.
    • These fractions are separated by different processing steps, such as screening, air classification, ballistic separation, separation of ferrous and non-ferrous materials, glass, stones and other foreign materials and shredding into a uniform grain size, or also pelletized.
    • This produces a homogeneous material which can be used as a substitute for fossil fuels in e.g. cement plants, lime plants, coal-fired power plants or as a reduction agent in steel furnaces.

  • 18th December 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Important Announcement:  Topics to be covered on 21st December

    GS-1 Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

    GS-4 Case Studies.

    Question 1)

    Examine the factors leading to the drying up of the Aral sea. Can you cite some other examples of water bodies being dried up? Why is this happening? Discuss. 10 marks

    Question 2)

    What are the challenges facing healthcare in India? How digital solutions can help in plugging the gaps in the healthcare infrastructure? 10 marks

    Question 3)

    Generating power from waste generated in the cities could provide a solution to multiple problems. Discuss the advantages of generating power from the waste and what are the problems in realising this. 10 marks

    Question 4)  

    Who is your favourite contemporary moral thinker/ philosopher? How do his/ her ideas impact you? Explain. 10 marks

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