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  • Seabed 2030 Project

    The Seabed 2030 Project has finished mapping nearly one-fifth of the world’s ocean floor.

    The ocean relief can be divided into various parts such as Continental Shelf, Continental Slope, Continental Rise or Foot, Deep Ocean basins, Abyssal plains & Abyssal Hills, Oceanic Trenches, Seamounts and Guyots.

    Revise these ocean bottom relief features from your basic references.

    Also revise India’s Deep Ocean Mission.

    The Seabed 2030 Project

    • The global initiative is a collaboration between Japan’s non-profit Nippon Foundation and the General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans (GEBCO).
    • It is the only intergovernmental organisation with a mandate to map the entire ocean floor and traces its origins to the GEBCO chart series initiated in 1903 by Prince Albert I of Monaco.
    • The project was launched at the UN Ocean Conference in 2017, and coordinates and oversees the sourcing and compilation of bathymetric data from different parts of the world’s ocean.

    What’s so special about this project?

    • In the past, satellites and planes carrying altimeter instruments have been able to provide large swathes of data about the ocean floor.
    • The Seabed 2030 Project, however, aims to obtain higher quality information that has a minimum resolution of 100 m at all spots.
    • It is using equipment such as deepwater hull-mounted sonar systems, and more advanced options such as Underwater Vehicles (AUVs).
    • For this, the project aims to rope in governments, private companies, and international organisations to acquire data.

    Progress of the project

    • Since the launch of the project in 2017, the surveying of the ocean bed as per modern standards has gone up from around 6 per cent to 19 per cent.
    • The project has added 1.45 crore square kilometres of new bathymetric data to its latest grid.

    Why is the study of the ocean floor important?

    • Ocean topography: The knowledge of bathymetry — the measurement of the shape and depth of the ocean floor, is instrumental in understanding several natural phenomena, including ocean circulation, tides, and biological hotspots.
    • Navigation: It also provides key inputs for navigation, forecasting tsunamis, exploration for oil and gas projects, building offshore wind turbines, fishing resources, and for laying cables and pipelines. This data becomes highly valuable during disaster situations.
    • Climate Change study: Importantly, the maps would also ensure a better understanding of climate change, since floor features including canyons and underwater volcanoes influence phenomena ocean currents. These ocean currents act as conveyor belts of warm and cold water, thus influencing the weather and climate.
    • Marine conservation: A map of the entire global ocean floor would also help further achieve the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal to conserve and sustainably use oceans, seas and marine resources.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2012:

    Q.Consider the following factors:

    1. Rotation of the Earth
    2. Air pressure and wind
    3. Density of ocean water
    4. Revolution of the Earth

    Which of the above factors influence the ocean currents?

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 1, 2 and 3

    (c) 1 and 4

    (d) 2, 3 and 4

  • 100 Years of Malabar Rebellion

    With the 1921 Malabar Rebellion turning 100 next year, several movies have been announced back-to-back.

    Try this question from CSP 2015:

    Q. Which amongst the following provided a common factor for tribal insurrection in India in the 19th century?

    (a.) Introduction of a new system of land revenue and taxation- of tribal products

    (b.) Influence of foreign religious missionaries in tribal areas

    (c.) Rise of a large number of money lenders, traders and revenue farmers as middlemen in tribal areas

    (d.) The complete disruption of the old agrarian order of the tribal communities

    What is the Malabar Rebellion?

    • The Malabar Rebellion in 1921 started as resistance against the British colonial rule and the feudal system in southern Malabar but ended in communal violence between Hindus and Muslims.
    • There were a series of clashes between Mappila peasantry and their landlords, supported by the British, throughout the 19th and early 20th centuries.
    • It began as a reaction against a heavy-handed crackdown on the Khilafat Movement, a campaign in defence of the Ottoman Caliphate by the British authorities in the Eranad and Valluvanad taluks of Malabar.
    • The Mappilas attacked and took control of police stations, British government offices, courts and government treasuries.

    Also in news:

    Variyankunna Kunjahammed Haji

    • He was one of the leaders of the Malabar Rebellion of 1921.
    • He raised 75000 natives, seized control of large territory from the British rule and set up a parallel government.
    • In January 1922, under the guise of a treaty, the British betrayed Haji through his close friend Unyan Musaliyar, arresting him from his hideout and producing him before a British judge.
    • He was sentenced to death along with his compatriots.

  • In news: Senkaku Islands

    A local council in southern Japan voted to rename an area covering the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands — known by Taiwan and China as the Diaoyus — from “Tonoshiro” to “Tonoshiro Senkaku”.

    Try this:

    Q. Recently, Senkaku Island was in the news. Where is it located?

    a) South China Sea

    b) Indian Ocean

    c) East China sea

    d) Red sea

    Senkaku Island Dispute

    • The Japanese-administered island chain, formed by five islets and three barren rocks, covers an area of 7 square km.
    • It is located about 200km southwest of Japan’s Okinawa Island and a similar distance northeast of Taiwan.
    • Japan annexed the archipelago following China’s defeat in the first Sino-Japanese war from 1894 to 1895.
    • Yet the islands were left out of the Treaty of San Francisco at the end of the second world war that returned to China most of the territories previously occupied by Japan.
    • Under the terms of Japan’s surrender, the island chain was controlled by the US until 1971, when it was returned to Japan along with Okinawa and other surrounding islands.

    Why are the Islands so coveted?

    • The region appears to have great promise as a future oil province of the world.
    • Japan and China are among the world’s top importers of fossil fuels.
    • Abundant fishing resources are found nearby, as can important shipping lanes used by Japan, South Korea and China for energy imports.
    • The islands have also become a focal point of the broader rivalry between the two countries.

  • 24th June 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Important Announcement:  Topics to be covered on 25th June-

    GS-1 Population and associated issues, poverty, and developmental issues.

    GS-4 Case studies

    Question 1)

    “Female literacy has a direct positive multiplier effect in tackling the problem of malnutrition in the country”. Comment. 10 marks

     

    Question 2)

    The corona pandemic has exposed the inadequacies of our health infrastructure. In light of this examine the issues the health sector of our country faces and suggest the measures to improve it to face the pandemic like situations in the future. 10 marks

    Question 3)

    The economic crisis brought by the corona crisis is not like the ones we faced before. This crisis is about an economic shock turning into the financial crisis. So, what should be fiscal and monetary policy interventions to tackle the crisis? 10 marks

    Question 4)  

    A fresh engineering graduate gets a job in a prestigious chemical industry. She likes the work. The salary is also good. However, after a few months she accidentally discovers that a highly toxic waste is being secretly discharged into a river nearby. This is causing health problems to the villagers downstream who depend on the river for their water needs. She is perturbed and mentions her concern to her colleagues who have been with the company for longer periods. They advise her to keep quite as anyone who mentions the topic is summarily dismissed. She cannot risk losing her job as she is the sole bread-winner for her family and has to support her ailing parents and siblings. At first, she thinks that if her seniors are keeping quiet, why should she stick out her neck. But her conscience pricks her to do something to save the river and the people who depend upon it. At heart she feels that the advice of silence given by her friends is not correct though she cannot give reasons for it. She thinks you are a wise person and seeks your advice. (a) What arguments can you advance to show her that keeping quiet is not morally right? (b) What course of action would you advise her to adopt and why? 10 marks

     

    Reviews will be provided in a week. (In the order of submission- First come first serve basis). In case the answer is submitted late the review period may get extended to two weeks.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed in a week, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. If Parth Sir’s tag is available then tag him.

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment, check  here: Click2Join

  • Faults in our China policy

    This article tracks the faultline in India’s China policy that makes it an enduring tragedy. China never bought into India’s narratives of Asian unity and untied Asian front against the West. Instead, China cultivated its relations with the West and leveraged that for furthering its interests.

    Enduring tragedy: India’s China policy

    • That tragedy is rooted in persistent political fantasies.
    • Refusal to learn from past mistakes.
    • And the belief that the US and the West are at the source of India’s problems with China.
    • The problem predates independence.
    • Each generation has been reluctant to discard the illusions that India’s China policy has nurtured over the last century.

    Historical background

    •  Tagore went to China in 1924 with the ambition of developing a shared Asian spiritual civilisation.
    • He was accused by Chines of diverting Chins’s attention away from the imperatives of modernisation and, yes, westernisation.
    •  Jawaharlal Nehru approached China as a modernist and nationalist.
    • He met a delegation of Chinese nationalists at Brussels in 1927.
    • There he issued a ringing statement on defeating western imperialism and shaping a new Asian and global order.
    •  But in Second World War, Congress was unwilling to join hands with China in defeating Japanese imperialism.
    • Indian and Chinese nationalists could not come together for they were fighting different imperial powers.

    Relations after independence

    • As India’s first PM, Nehru campaigned against the western attempt to isolate China.
    • Afro-Asian conference in Bandung, Indonesia in 1955 was attended by both.
    • Within five years war broke out in 1962.
    • Atal Bihari Vajpayee travelled to China in February 1979 to re-engage Beijing.
    • Before he could head home, Beijing had launched a war against a fellow communist regime in Vietnam.
    • That was an end of hope for Asian solidarity.
    • Rajiv Gandhi in 1988 sought to normalise relations with China while continuing to negotiate on the boundary dispute.

    Other issues: Trade entanglement

    • Amid border dispute, other issues have taken a life of their own.
    • For example, the massive annual trade deficits.
    • India’s hope that economic cooperation will improve mutual trust will help resolve other issues was also dashed.
    • India’s massive trade deficit with China is now a little over half of its total trade deficit.
    • India is finding it hard to disentangle the deep economic dependence on imports from China.

    Story of political cooperation: From unipolar to bipolar world

    • As the Cold War ended, India began political cooperation with China on global issues.
    • It was hoped that such cooperation will provide the basis for better bilateral relations.
    • It could not have been more wrong.
    • P V Narasimha Rao and his successors joined China and Russia in promoting a “multipolar world” [remember the US dominance].
    • Delhi is now struggling to cope with the emergence of a “unipolar Asia” — with Beijing as its dominant centre.
    • China’s rapid rise has also paved the way for the potential emergence of a “bipolar world” dominated by Washington and Beijing.

    Engagement with West

    • China never worked with Indian on the ideas of building coalitions against the West.
    • While India never stopped arguing with the West, China developed a sustained engagement with the US, Europe and Japan.
    • Mao broke with Communist Russia to join forces with the US in the early 1970s.
    • Deng Xiaoping promoted massive economic cooperation with the US to transform China and lay the foundations for its rise.

    Will staying away from West lead to good relations with China

    • China has leveraged the deep relationship with the West to elevate itself in the international system.
    • Delhi continues to think that staying away from America is the answer for good relations with Beijing.
    • Beijing sees the world through the lens of power.
    • Delhi tends to resist that realist prism.
    • India has consistently misread China’s interests and ambitions.
    • The longer India takes to shed that strategic lassitude, the greater will be its China trouble.

    Facts that India needs to come to terms with

    • India must also recognise that China, like the great powers before it, wants to redeem its territorial claims.
    • China also has the ambition to bend the neighbourhood to its will, reshape the global order to suit its interests.
    • China has not hidden these goals and interests, but India has refused to see what is in plain sight.

    Consider the question “Acknowledging Beijing’s rise, scale of challenge it presents, are first steps in crafting a new China policy” Comment.

    Conclusion

    Acknowledging China’s dramatic rise and recognising the scale of the challenge it presents is essential for Delhi in crafting a new China policy.

  • Why trade openness and national security go together

    Protectionism involves the use of one or more restrictions on free trade between countries. What are the main reasons why this should be avoided?

    The main arguments against protectionism are outlined below:

    Market Distortion and loss of Economic Efficiency

    Protectionism can be an ineffective and costly means of sustaining jobs and supporting domestic economic growth:

    Higher Prices for Consumers

    Import tariffs in particular push up prices for consumers and insulate inefficient domestic sectors from genuine competition. They penalise foreign producers and encourage an inefficient allocation of resources both domestically and globally.

    Reduction in Market Access for Producers

    Export subsidies depress world prices and damage output, profits, investment and jobs in many lower and middle-income developing countries that rely heavily on exporting primary and manufactured goods for their growth.

    Extra Costs for Exporters

    For goods that are produced globally, high tariffs and other barriers on imports act as a tax on exports, damaging economies, and jobs, rather than protecting them. For example, a tariff on imported steel can lead to higher costs and lower profits for car manufacturers and the construction industry.

    Adverse Effects on Poverty

    Higher prices from tariffs tend to hit those on lower incomes hardest, because the tariffs (e.g. on foodstuffs, tobacco, and clothing) fall on products that lower income families spend a higher share of their income. Tariffs can therefore lead to a rise in relative poverty.

    Retaliation & Trade Wars

    There is the danger that one country imposing import controls will lead to retaliatory action by another.

  • Celebrating the contributors to agriculture

    This article introduces us to the Indian winners of the prize that is considered as the Nobel for research in food. Their contribution has benefited agriculture immensely.Here, we’ll get a brief idea about their work.

    Word Food Prize

    • The World Food Prize is often described as the Nobel for research in food.
    • It was set up by Ñorman Borlaug.
    • Borlaug won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1972 for his work on hybridisation of wheat and rice.
    • His work led to the Green Revolution in the mid-1960s.

    Indian winners of the award

    • The awards to eight Indians of the total of 50 given so far are a tribute to the country’s agricultural university education and research system.
    • The country should celebrate their achievements unabashedly when 7-10 million new productive jobs need to be created annually.
    • And when it accounts for a third of global undernourished.
    • The COVID-19 pandemic has made job creation and improved nutrition and health more urgent than ever.

    Let’s look at the contributions made by these personalities

     Rattan Lal

    • Rattan Lal was awarded for developing and mainstreaming a soil-centric approach to increasing food production.
    • This approach also restores and conserves natural resources and mitigates climate change.
    • His research has shown that growing crops on healthy soils produces more food from less land area, less use of agrochemicals, less tillage, less water, and less energy.

    M S Swaminathan

    • Swaminathan’s vision transformed India from a “begging bowl” to a “breadbasket” almost overnight.
    • His work helped bringing the total crop yield of wheat from 12 million tonnes to 23 million tonnes in four crop seasons.
    • Which helped in ending India’s dependence on grain imports.

    Verghese Kurien

    • Kurien, received the prize in 1989 for India’s white revolution.
    • Under his leadership, milk production increased from 23.3 million tonnes (1968-69) to 100.9 million tonnes (2006-07).
    • And now it is projected to reach 187 million tonnes for 2019-20.
    • This helped in bringing millions of small and marginal farmers, including women into the marketplace.

     Ramlal Barwale

    • Barwale, a small farmer and entrepreneur, received the award in 1996.
    • He made selling seeds of okra and sorghum “hip” and founded the Maharashtra Hybrid Seeds Company.
    • The Crop Science Society of America has called him father of the seed industry in India.
    • He introduced hybrid rice from China to India.

    Surinder Vasal

    • Vasal was given the prize in 2000 for developing quality protein maize (QPM).
    • Integrating cereal chemistry and plant breeding techniques, Vasal and Villegas of Mexico collaborated to work on “opaque-2” maize variety using molecular biology techniques.
    • In the mid-1980s, they produced a QPM germplasm with hard kernel characteristics and taste like that of the traditional grain.
    • But it has much higher quality levels of lysine and tryptophan, thereby enhancing the nutrition value.

    Mododugu Gupta

    • Gupta received the award in 2005 for starting a blue revolution.
    • He developed two exceptional approaches for increasing fish harvests among the very poor.
    • This helped in increasing the protein and mineral content in the diets of over one million of the world’s most impoverished families.
    •  Gupta’s aquaculture technologies boosted Bangladesh’s fish yields from 304 kg per hectare to over 2,500 kg per hectare in less than a year — including 1,000 kg per hectare harvests in the dry season.

    Sanjaya Rajaram

    • Rajaram, who won the prize in 2014.
    • He succeeded Borlaug in leading CIMMYT’s wheat breeding programme.
    • There he went on to develop an astounding 480 varieties that have been widely adopted by both small and large-scale farmers.
    • Rajaram was born near a small farming village in Uttar Pradesh and received his master’s degree from IARI.

    Decreasing government support

    • The awardees all come from the time of the green and rainbow revolutions (of dairy and aqua-culture).
    • It was also the time when India invested heavily in agricultural science education and research and Indian scientists shone brightly in the global galaxy of science.
    • Government support for state agricultural universities, and research conducted by the ICAR and the departments of science and technology and biotechnology has slipped in recent years.
    • Today, not a single Indian university is counted among the top 100 in the world.
    Consider the question asked by the UPSC in 2019 “How was India benefitted from the contributions of Sir M.Visvesvaraya and Dr M. S. Swaminathan in the fields of water engineering and agricultural science respectively?”

    Conclusion

    Students and faculty at ICAR and state agricultural universities can follow in their footsteps and achieve scientific excellence, if they receive the resources and their work is supported with incentives.

  • 23rd June 2020| Daily Answer Writing Enhancement

    Important Announcement:  Topics to be covered on 24th June-

    GS-1 Role of women and women’s organization.

    GS-4 Case studies

    Question 1)

    What are the reasons for persistence of patriarchy in our society? What is the difference between public and private patriarchy? Explain.10 Marks

     

    Question 2)

    India has been heading the World Health Organisation’s executive board. What should be India’s policy approach while heading the board as WHO is facing the credibility crisis amid Covid pandemic?10 Marks

    Question 3)

    The BSF, which is often hailed as India’s ‘first line of defence’ has been tasked with wartime and peacetime roles. Though it is quite adept at its peacetime role, its wartime preparedness needs an overhaul. Comment.10 marks

    Question 4)  

    A Pandemic has broken out and the only key in sight is a drug developed by a group of doctors and scientists. The issue, however, is that the drug is not yet tested. If the standard testing protocol is adhered to, it would take at least a year to get the final approval for human consumption. By that time, the pandemic would have taken millions of lives already. The only possible way to expedite trials is to test the drug directly on human beings. It effectively means replacing animals with humans for trial. Furthermore, there would hardly be any volunteer for such trials. In the meantime, there is an idea floating around the countries. Why not choose the convicts of murders and rapes serving capital punishment for the trials? Even if they die during the trials, it would hardly be a loss to the society and if they survive, their lives would be of some worth for the society after-all. What do you think? Should prisoners be forced to undergo the trial? Examine and Substantiate your choice.10 Marks

     

    Reviews will be provided in a week. (In the order of submission- First come first serve basis). In case the answer is submitted late the review period may get extended to two weeks.

    *In case your answer is not reviewed in a week, reply to your answer saying *NOT CHECKED*. If Parth Sir’s tag is available then tag him.

    For the philosophy of AWE and payment, check  here: Click2Join

  • Explained: In India-China, the Russia role

    Russia has emerged, all of a sudden, as a key diplomatic player amid the tension between India and China. It is set to host the Russia-India-China (RIC) trilateral foreign ministers’ meeting.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q. In pursuit of a ‘Special Strategic Partnership’ with the US, India has compromised its ties with Russia. Discuss.

    Raksha Mantri stepping in at RIC

    • Tensions being at the peak, India will discuss supply and purchase of new defence systems — like the S-400 missile defence system — with the Russian top brass in the military and government.
    • India has made this decision to reach out to Russia not just out of choice, but also out of necessity.
    • Moscow has leverage and influence to shape and change Beijing’s hard stance on the border issue.

    Russia: A mediator for both

    • While India and China have been talking at each other — and not to each other — the outreach to Moscow is noteworthy.
    • It is widely known that Russia and China have grown their relationship in the past few years.
    • The Moscow-Beijing axis is crucial, especially since Washington has been at loggerheads with China in recent months and Russia much more calibrated, even in its response on the Covid-19 outbreak.

    Sino-Russian ties: A response to US

    • Russia and China have had a rocky start to their relationship after Mao Zedong founded the People’s Republic of China.
    • When Mao made his first visit to Moscow after winning control of China, in 1949, he was made to wait for weeks for a meeting with the Soviet leader.
    • During the Cold War, China and the USSR were rivals after the Sino-Soviet split in 1961, competing for control of the worldwide Communist movement.
    • There was a serious possibility of a major war in the early 1960s and a brief border war took place in 1969.
    • This enmity began to reduce following Mao’s death in 1976, but relations were not very good until the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991.

    India and Russia

    • India has a historical relationship with Russia, spanning over seven decades.
    • While the relationship has grown in some areas and atrophied in some others, the strongest pillar of the strategic partnership is of the defence basket.
    • Although New Delhi has consciously diversified its new purchases from other countries, the bulk of its defence equipment is from Russia.
    • Estimates say 60 to 70 per cent of India’s supplies are from Russia, and New Delhi needs a regular and reliable supply of spare parts from the Russian defence industry.
    • In fact, Prime Minister Modi has held informal summits with only two leaders — Xi and Putin.

    Russia position: then & now

    • During the Doklam crisis in 2017, Russian diplomats in Beijing were among the few briefed by the Chinese government.
    • While Russia’s position during the 1962 war was not particularly supportive of India, New Delhi takes comfort in Moscow’s support during the 1971 war.
    • On the events in Galwan, Moscow responded in a much-calibrated manner.
    • Kremlin has expressed its concerns over a clash between the military on the border between China and India but believes that the two countries could resolve this conflict themselves.

  • Why high-altitude warfare is challenging, how soldiers are trained

    The violent standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in Galwan Valley of Ladakh region has thrown the spotlight on high-altitude warfare and the challenges that troops face, particularly when advantageous positions on the heights are occupied by the other side.

    In the clouds of war, one may recall the huge amount of casualties faced by the Indian Army compared to the Pakistani side (being at advantageous positions) during the Kargil War.

    Try this question for mains:

    Q. Discuss why high-altitude warfare is challenging. Also discuss about India’s preparedness for a long-term war.

    How is high-altitude warfare fought?

    • High-altitude warfare is fought keeping the terrain and weather in mind.
    • The kind of infrastructure and training that the troops require for high-altitude warfare are key factors.
    • The evolution of such warfare goes back a long way: European countries had mountain brigades in view of the kind of terrain prevalent in those countries.
    • The harshness of the terrain calls for a specialised kind of training to prepare soldiers in terms of mindset and acclimatization.

    How is India equipped in such warfare?

    • Generally, India is considered a hub of mountain warfare skills since most of the country’s north and northeast requires such skills.
    • Ladakh Scouts are considered the best in this kind of warfare.
    • Mountain chop, a tactic involved in such warfare, evolved in India where the mountainous terrain is very difficult to scale.
    • To begin with, the troops are imparted training in basic and advance training in mountaineering to make them equipped for mountain warfare.

    Actual tactics involved

    • The mindsets of the enemy sitting above are assessed. Taking stock of the entire situation, one needs to find out the easiest approaches.
    • Especially when there are vertical cliffs, it is generally perceived that the enemy that has taken defensive positions will be less guarded from the side of difficult approaches.
    • Basically, the most difficult approaches where the enemy is likely to give the least resistance need to be used efficiently.

    What are the challenges involved in warfare in a high-altitude place like Galwan Valley?

    • A big factor is who has taken defensive positions and who is sitting on higher ground.
    • Once troops are sitting on high ground, it becomes very difficult to dislodge them from there.
    • In a place like Galwan Valley, which is absolutely barren, there is not much hiding place.
    • The soldier on high ground is absolutely stationary, which makes those on lower terrain easy targets; the enemy can pick them up one by one.
    • Normally in mountain warfare, troops on lower ground use a combat ratio of 1:6, but in circumstances as in Galwan, it may go up to 1:10.

    How to approach such situations?

    • Generally, mountain warfare is fought using the period of darkness to reach the opposing army, engage and overpower them before the first light of day.
    • In case troops do not have the capabilities, fitness or strategies to do so before dawn, then it is a lost cause.
    • But without adequate trained troops who are well-versed with the terrain and are properly acclimatized, it is not an easy game.

    What are the other challenges faced by soldiers in high altitudes?

    • The first major factor is acclimatization since the oxygen supply reduces drastically.
    • Next, the load-carrying capacity of individuals reduces drastically.
    • Things move very slowly in the mountains and mobilization of troops consumes time.
    • Thus, time and place need to be kept on top priority when deciding where the troops have to be stationed and how they have to be mobilized.

    What are the logistical challenges in this kind of warfare?

    • One major challenge is that weapons jam, particularly in high-altitude areas.
    • When a soldier is at a height of 17,000 ft or above, it is very cold, and he needs to grease the weapons and clean the barrels at least once a week to ensure they function efficiently.
    • But at the time of combat, this becomes difficult.
    • Vehicles do not start when fuel jams. If the fuel is diesel, it won’t ignite unless it is mixed with thinners or other chemicals to make them thin enough to fire the engine.

    Ensuring proper reinforcement

    • In Galwan, which is an extremely tactical area and strategically important, reinforcement plays a vital role, particularly when the Indian troops are not in a position of advantage.
    • For communication equipment, troops need to carry more batteries because they drain very quickly at high altitude.
    • While a battery tends to last for 24 hours in the plains, it will drain in 1-2 hours in these severely cold areas.
    • Transport animals such as mules need to be used to maintain adequate supplies, which is not an easy task. Weather constraints play a major factor.

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