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  • Heatwaves and its unusualness this year

    For the past five days, Rajasthan, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Maharashtra have been experiencing severe to very severe heatwave conditions. Here is why this summer is slightly unusual.

    Heatwaves being more frequent phenomena, the UPSC may end up asking a prelim as well as mains question about it.  It may ask Q. What are heat waves and how are they classified? What are the external factors on which it is depended?

    A MCQ may be a statement based question mentioning the criteria for declaring a heatwave.

    What is a heatwave and when is it declared?

    Heatwaves occur over India between March and June.

    • IMD declares a heatwave event when the maximum (day) temperature for a location in the plains crosses 40 degrees Celsius.
    • Over the hills, the threshold temperature is 30 degrees Celsius.

    Following criteria are used to declare heatwave:

    To declare heatwave, the below criteria should be met at least in 2 stations in a Meteorological subdivision for at least two consecutive days and it will be declared on the second day.

    a) Based on Departure from Normal

    • Heat Wave: Departure from normal is 4.5°C to 6.4°C
    • Severe Heat Wave: Departure from normal is >6.4°C

    b) Based on Actual Maximum Temperature (for plains only)

    • Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥ 45°C
    • Severe Heat Wave: When actual maximum temperature ≥47°C

    How long can a heatwave spell last?

    • A heatwave spell generally lasts for a minimum of four days. On some occasions, it can extend up to seven or ten days.
    • The longest recorded heatwave spell, in recent years, was between 18 – 31 May 2015.
    • This spell had severely affected parts of West Bengal along with Odisha, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana.
    • Heatwave conditions occurring in May have been observed to last longer, as the season reaches its peak this month.
    • Whereas those reported in June often die down sooner, often due to the onset of Southwest monsoon over the location or in its neighbourhood.

    Does all of India experience heatwave conditions?

    • Heatwaves are common over the Core Heatwave Zone (CHZ) — Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana, Chandigarh, Delhi, West Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Orissa, Vidarbha in Maharashtra.
    • The CHZ also includes parts of Gangetic West Bengal, Coastal Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, as categorised by IMD.
    • Several recent studies indicate that CHZ experience more than six heatwave days per year during these four months.
    • Many places in the northwest and cities along southeastern coast report eight heatwave days per season.
    • However, the regions in the extreme north, northeast and southwestern India are lesser prone to heatwaves.

    Whats’ so unusual this year?

    • Summer season reaches its peak by May 15 in India when the day temperatures across north, west, and central India cross 40 degrees and hover close to 45 degrees then on.
    • This year, north India did not experience such temperatures till May 21.
    • It was mainly because of the continuous inflow of Western Disturbances that influenced the weather in the north till as late as April.
    • Since last winter, there was frequent passing of Western Disturbances over the north, appearing after every five to seven days.

    What are these Western Disturbances?

    • Originating in the Mediterranean Sea, Western Disturbances are eastward-moving winds that blow in lower atmospheric levels.
    • They affect the local weather of a region during its onward journey.
    • Between January and March this year, there were about 20 Western Disturbances, a record of sorts.
    • When Western Disturbances interact with weather systems heading from the two southern seas, that is, warm winds blowing in from the Bay of Bengal or the Arabian Sea, they cause snowfall or rainfall over the north.
    • A significant influence of Western Disturbances is experienced from December to February. However, this year, its influence persisted until early May.
    • The recent Western Disturbances got support from easterly winds blowing over from the Bay of Bengal.

    Has cyclone Amphan influenced the current heatwave?

    • Since the event of severe heat has emerged immediately after the passing of Cyclone Amphan, experts confirm its role in leading to the present heatwave spell.
    • Cyclone Amphan, which was a massive Super Storm covering 700 km, managed to drag maximum moisture from over the Bay of Bengal to entire Peninsula.
    • All the moisture that was otherwise built during the thunderstorm and rainfall got gradually depleted from over vast areas as the storm advanced towards West Bengal and Bangladesh between May 16 and 20.
    • It has now triggered dry north-westerly winds to blow over Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra causing severe heatwave.

  • Specie in news: Charru mussel (Mytella strigata)

    An invasive mussel native to the South and Central American coasts is spreading quickly in the backwaters of Kerala.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2018:

    Q. Why is a plant called Prosopis juliflora often mentioned in news?

    (a) Its extract is widely used in cosmetics.

    (b) It tends to reduce the biodiversity in the area in which it grows

    (c) Its extract is used in the pesticides.

    (d) None of the above

    Charru mussel

    • The rapid spread of the Charru mussel (Mytella strigata) may have been triggered by Cyclone Ockhi which struck the region in 2017.
    • With a population as high as 11,384 per sq metre here, it has replaced the Asian green mussel (Perna Viridis) and the edible oyster Magallana bilineata (known locally as muringa).
    • Externally, the Charru mussel resembles the green and brown mussels (kallummekka in Malayalam) but is much smaller in size. Its colour varies from black to brown, purple or dark green.
    • Surveys show the presence of the Charru mussel in the Kadinamkulam, Paravur, Edava-Nadayara, Ashtamudi, Kayamkulam, Vembanad, Chettuva and Ponnani estuaries/backwaters.
    • Ashtamudi Lake, a Ramsar site in Kollam district, remains the worst-hit.

    Threats posed

    • Though this smaller mussel is edible, the overall economic loss and impact on biodiversity are much bigger, it is pointed out.
    • It is throwing out other mussel and clam species and threatening the livelihoods of fishermen engaged in shrimp fisheries.

  • Species in news: Dugong

    The dugong, commonly known as the sea cow, is fighting for its survival in Indian waters experts have said on the eve of ‘World Dugong Day’ on May 28, 2020.

    Try this question from CSP 2015:

    Q) With reference to ‘dugong’, a mammal found in India, which of the following statements is/are correct?

    1) It is a herbivorous marine animal.

    2) It is found along the entire coast of India

    3) It is given legal protection under Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

    Select the correct answer using the code given below.
    (a) 1 and 2
    (b) 2 only
    (c) 1 and 3
    (d) 3 only

    Dugong

    • Dugongs are mammals, which means they give birth to live young and then produce milk and nurse them.
    • It is the flagship animal of Gulf of Mannar Marine National Park.
    • Once the female is pregnant, she will carry the unborn baby, called a foetus for 12-14 months before giving birth.
    • Female dugongs give birth underwater to a single calf at three to seven-year intervals.
    • Dugongs graze on seagrass, especially young shoots and roots in shallow coastal waters. They can consume up to 40 kilograms of seagrass in a day.
    • Dugongs are an IUCN Endangered marine species like sea turtles, seahorses, sea cucumbers and others.
    • They are protected in India under Schedule I of the Wild (Life) Protection Act, 1972.

    Threats to dugongs

    • Human activities such as the destruction and modification of habitat, pollution, rampant illegal fishing activities, vessel strikes, unsustainable hunting or poaching and unplanned tourism are the main threats to dugongs.
    • The loss of seagrass beds due to ocean floor trawling was the most important factor behind dwindling dugong populations in many parts of the world.

    Why needs urgent attention?

    • There were just 250 dugongs in the Gulf of Mannar in Tamil Nadu, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands and the Gulf of Kutch in Gujarat according to the 2013 survey report of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI).
    • Hundreds of dugongs inhabited waters off the Odisha, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh coasts two centuries back. But they are extinct in these areas now, he added.
    • Seagrass in Odisha’s Chilika Lake is a proper habitat for dugongs. However, there is not an extant population in Chilika.

    Other facts:

    • The 13th CoP of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS), an environmental treaty under the aegis of the UNEP, was hosted by India this year at Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
    • India is a signatory to the CMS since 1983.
    • India has signed non-legally binding Memorandums of Understanding with CMS on the conservation and management of Siberian Cranes (1998), Marine Turtles (2007), Dugongs (2008) and Raptors (2016).
    • Proper conservation is the only way to save dugongs from extinction. Conservation in other places like Australia has seen their population crossing 85,000.

  • What is the FAITH’ Trial?

    With the number of COVID-19 patients rising in India, a pharma company has announced a new randomized study to test the combined efficacy of two antiviral drugs under the ‘FAITH Trials’.

    Misleading names: One may get confused over the names given to these clinical trials. The name ‘FAITH’ and ‘Solidarity’ appear more like a judicial trial or some Human Rights violation related trials. UPSC can knock such areas in prelims.

    FAITH Trials

    • The two drugs: Favipiravir and Umifenovir will be tried as a potential COVID-19 treatment strategy.
    • This new combination clinical trial will be called FAITH – (FA vipiravir plus Um I fenovir (efficacy and safety) Trial in Indian Hospital setting).
    • The two antiviral drugs have different mechanisms of action, and their combination may demonstrate improved treatment efficacy by effectively tackling high viral loads in patients during the early stages of the disease.
    • This trial offers a comprehensive antiviral cover on pre-entry and post-entry life-cycle of the SARS-CoV-2 virus.

    Dosages under the trial

    • Patients taking the drug will receive Faviprivir 1800 mg bid and Umifenovir 800 mg bid on Day 1.
    • Thereafter, they will receive Faviprivir 800mg bid and Unifenovir 800mg bid for the remaining course of treatment.
    • Duration of treatment will be 14 days and patients will be discharged after clinical cure and two consecutive negative tests.
    • While one group will be receiving Favipiravir and Umifenovir (with standard supportive care), the other group will receive Favipiravir along with standard supportive care.

    Other trials in news: The Solidarity Trial

    • “Solidarity” is an international initiative for clinical trials launched by the WHO, along with partners, to help find an effective treatment for Covid-19.
    • It was originally supposed to look at four drugs or drug combinations: Remdesivir, HCQ, Ritonavir/Lopinavir and Lopinavir/Ritonavir/Interferon beta 1a.
    • Now with HCQ trial enrolment stalled for at least the next few weeks, the Solidarity trial will proceed with the other three arms.

  • 28th May 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 447]

  • Civilsdaily’s community: Testimonials

    This page is dedicated to Civilsdaily’s community. It has been an absolute honour to be a part of their UPSC journey.

    1. We’re trusted by Toppers.

    Anudeep Durishetty, AIR 1, UPSC CSE 2017

    Civilsdaily was the primary source of Current Affairs for UPSC 2017 topper.

    Anu Kumari, AIR 2, UPSC CSE 2017

    Rank 2, Anu Kumari also made us proud.

    Abhilash Baranwal, AIR 44, UPSC CSE 2017

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    Namita Sharma, AIR 145, UPSC CSE 2018

    2. These are from some of the answers posted on Quora. 

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    3. Some of our current students- For Prelims Tests.

     

  • R&D: Path to self-reliant India

    What does it take to be self-reliant? (Hint: R&D!) This is the question this article tries to answer.  After independence, we had a good start in R&D. But what went wrong? What was the role played by globalisation? Did the globalisation deliver on its promise of technology transfer? And finally, what lies on the way forward for India? This article answers all such question.

    What went wrong: historical perspective

    • India chose the path of self-reliance in state-run heavy industries and strategic sectors after independence.
    • In the decades following independence, this choice of self-reliance had placed India ahead of most developing countries.
    • In the 1970s and 80s, however, India did not modernise these industries to climb higher up the technological ladder.
    • The private sector, which had backed the state-run core sector approach in its Bombay Plan, stayed content with near-monopoly conditions in non-core sectors in a protected market.
    • Little effort was made to modernise light industries or develop contemporary consumer products.
    • India’s industrial ecosystem was thus characterised by low productivity, poor quality and low technology, and was globally uncompetitive.

    What did India lose in the ‘lost decades’?

    • India completely missed out on the ‘third industrial revolution’.
    • Third industrial revolution comprised electronic goods, microprocessors, personal computers, mobile phones and decentralised manufacturing and global value chains during the so-called lost decade(s).
    • Today, India is the world’s second-largest smartphone market.
    • However, it does not make any of these phones itself.
    • India manufactures only a small fraction of solar photovoltaic cells and modules currently used, with ambitious future targets.

    What happened to ‘self-reliance’ after India embraced globalisation?

    • At the turn of the millennium, when India embarked on liberalisation, privatisation and globalisation.
    • So, the very concept of self-reliance was rubbished.
    • This happened in the belief that it was like reinventing the things already invented and wasting money on it.
    • And when advanced technologies could simply be bought from anywhere at lower costs. 
    • Two related ideas have prevailed since then, and neither delivered the desired results.

    So, what are these two basic ideas?

    1. Unsuitability of PSUs in the globalised world

    • The first idea was that public sector undertakings (PSUs) are, by definition, inefficient and sluggish for the competitive globalised scenario.
    • No effort was made to engender either real autonomy or a transition to new technological directions.
    • Instead, PSUs with capability and scale were undermined or abandoned, along with many nascent research and development (R&D) efforts, for instance, in photovoltaics, semiconductors and advanced materials.

    So, what was the result of this attitude towards PSUs?

    • The private sector displayed little interest in these heavy industries and showed no appetite for technology upgradation.
    • With entry of foreign corporations, most Indian private companies retreated into technology imports or collaborations.
    • Even today, most R&D in India is conducted by PSUs.
    • And much of the smaller but rising proportion of private sector R&D is by foreign corporations in information technology and biotechnology/pharma.
    • Conclusion: Given the disinclination of most of the private sector towards R&D and high-tech manufacturing, significant government reinvestment in PSUs and R&D is essential for self-reliance.

    2. Foreign companies were expected to bring new technologies in India

    • The second idea was that inviting foreign direct investment and manufacturing by foreign majors would bring new technologies into India’s industrial ecosystem.
    • This was thought to obviate the need for indigenous efforts towards self-reliance.

    So, what happened on the ground?

    • But mere setting up of manufacturing facilities in India is no guarantee of absorption of technologies.
    • There is no evidence from any sector that this has taken place or has even been attempted.
    • The fact is, foreign majors jealously guard commercially significant or strategic technologies in off-shore manufacturing bases.
    • Conclusion: The key problem of self-reliance is therefore neither external finance nor domestic off-shore manufacturing, but resolute indigenous endeavour including R&D.

    Let’s look at experience of other Asian countries towards self-reliance

    Three models emerge from Asian countries.

    1. Focus on technology and industries

    •  Japan’s post-war success, was seen as a template by some countries to follow.
    • These include countries like South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong
    • These countries took huge technological and industrial strides in the 1970s and 80s.
    • South Korea emerged as a global powerhouse in manufacturing, but also in indigenously developed technologies.
    • Taiwan developed technologies and manufacturing capacities in robotics and micro-processors.
    • While Singapore and Hong Kong adapted advanced technologies in niche areas.
    • These self-reliant capabilities were enabled, among other factors, by planned state investments in R&D including basic research (3-5% of GDP), technology and policy support to private corporations, infrastructure and, importantly, education and skill development (4-6% of GDP).

    2. Focus on off-shore manufacturing and not on self-reliance

    • Countries like Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam have focused on off-shore manufacturing lower down the value chain and without the thrust on self-reliance.
    • This is useful for job creation but is an unsuitable model for a country of India’s size and aspirations.

    3. China: Transition from low-end manufacturing to dominant role in supply chains

    • China is, of course, unique in scale and in its determination to become a superpower not just geopolitically but also in self-reliant S&T and industrial capability.
    • China advanced purposefully from low-end mass manufacturing to a dominant role in global supply chains.
    • It has now decided on shifting to advanced manufacturing.
    • It has set itself a target of becoming a world leader by 2035 in 5G, supercomputing, Internet of Things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI), autonomous vehicles, biotech/pharma and other technologies of the ‘fourth industrial revolution’.

    Way forward for India

    • India may well have missed the bus in many of technologies in which the U.S., Europe and China have established perhaps insurmountable leads.
    • Yet, self-reliant capabilities in electric and fuel cell vehicles, electricity storage systems, solar cells and modules, aircraft including UAVs, AI, robotics and automation, biotech/pharma and others are well within reach.
    • Large-scale concerted endeavours would, however, be required, since self-reliance will not happen by itself.
    • State-funded R&D, including in basic research, by PSUs and research institutions and universities needs to be scaled-up significantly, well above the dismal 1% of GDP currently.
    • Upgraded and reoriented PSUs would also be crucial given their distinctive place in the ecosystem.
    • Private sector delivery-oriented R&D could also be supported, linked to meaningful participation in manufacturing at appropriate levels of the supply chain.
    • India’s meagre public expenditure on education needs to be substantially ramped up including in skill development.

    Consider the question “The path to the self-reliance of any country goes through robust capabilities in the R&D. Comment”

    Conclusion

    Self-reliance would need a paradigm shift in our approach toward many things. First and foremost is the R&D. Potential of the PSUs has to be tapped to their fullest in the realms of R&D. The second area of focus should be education. These two areas are the key to achieve self-reliance and should be the focus of policymakers.

    Back2Basics: Bombay Plan

    • The Bombay plan was a set of proposal of a small group of influential business leaders in Bombay for the development of the post-independence economy of India.
    • This plan was published in two parts or volume- first in 1944 and second in 1945.
    • The prime objectives of the plan were to achieve a balanced economy and to raise the standard of living of the masses of the population rapidly by doubling the present per capita income within a period of 15 years from the time the plan goes into operation.

     

  • Applying the lessons learned from GST to One Nation One Ration Card (ON-ORC)

    Never before we felt the necessity of portable benefit schemes as we did in the wake of the pandemic. Portable ration card could have mitigated the suffering of migrant workers to some extent. But it was not to be. This article examines the challenges in implementing the idea of ON-ORC and offers the solution to these challenges by drawing on the lessons learned from GST. At the same time, the shortcoming of GST can also be avoided in the ON-ORC.

    What is One Ration Card (ON-ORC)?

    • In the present system, a ration cardholder can buy foodgrains only from an Fair   Price Shop that has been assigned to her in the locality in which she lives.
    • However, this will change once the ONORC system becomes operational nationally.
    • Under the ONORC system, the beneficiary will be able to buy subsidised foodgrains from any FPS across the country.
    • The new system, based on a technological solution, will identify a beneficiary through biometric authentication on electronic Point of Sale (ePoS) devices installed at the FPSs.
    • This would enable that person to purchase the number of foodgrains to which she is entitled under the NFSA.

    Portable welfare benefit and attempts so far to achieve it

    •  The idea of portable welfare benefits means a citizen should be able to access welfare benefits irrespective of where she is in the country.
    • In the case of food rations, the idea was first mooted under the UPA government by a Nandan Nilekani-led task force in 2011.
    • The current government had committed to a national rollout of One Nation, One Ration Card (ON-ORC) by June 2020, and had initiated pilots in 12 states.

    Progress on intra-state and inter-state portability

    • While intra-state portability of benefits has seen good initial uptake, inter-state portability has lagged.
    • The finance minister has now announced the deadline of March 2021 to roll out ON-ORC.

    So, to ensure a smooth rollout, let’s review the challenges thus far

    1) The fiscal implications:

    • ON-ORC will affect how the financial burden is shared between states.

    2) The larger issues of federalism and inter-state coordination:

    • Many states are not convinced about a “one size fits all” regime because i) they have customised the PDS through higher subsidies, ii) higher entitlement limits, and iii) supply of additional items.

    3) The technology aspect:

    • ON-ORC requires a complex technology backbone that brings over 750 million beneficiaries, 5,33,000 ration shops and 54 million tonnes of food-grain annually on a single platform.

    How the lessons learned from GST can be applied to deal with the above 3 challenges?

    1. Fiscal challenge

    • Just like with ON-ORC, fiscal concerns had troubled GST from the start.
    • States like Tamil Nadu and Gujarat that are “net exporters” were concerned they would lose out on tax revenues to “net consumer” states like UP and Bihar.
    • Finally, the Centre had to step in and provide guaranteed compensation for lost tax revenues for the first five years.
    • The Centre could provide a similar assurance to “net inbound migration” states such as Maharashtra and Kerala that any additional costs on account of migrants will be covered by it for the five years.

    2. We could have a National council for ON-ORC

    • GST also saw similar challenges with broader issues of inter-state coordination.
    • In a noteworthy example of cooperative federalism, the central government created a GST council consisting of the finance ministers of the central and state governments to address these issues.
    • The government could consider a similar national council for ON-ORC.
    • To be effective, this council should meet regularly, have specific decision-making authority, and should operate in a problem-solving mode based on consensus building.

    3. Technological aspect: PDS Network

    • GST is supported by a sophisticated tech backbone, housed by the GST Network (GSTN), an entity jointly owned by the Centre and states.
    • A similar system would be needed for ON-ORC.
    • The Nilekani-led task force recommended setting up of a PDS network (PDSN).
    • PDSN would track the movement of rations, register beneficiaries, issue ration cards, handle grievances and generate analytics.
    • Since food rations are a crucial lifeline for millions, such a platform should incorporate principles such as inclusion, privacy, security, transparency, and accountability.
    • The IM-PDS portal provides a good starting point.

    Also, there are certain shortcomings in GST which we could avoid in ON-ORC

    We should learn from the shortcomings and challenges of the GST rollout. For example:

    1) Delay in GST refunds led to cash-flow issues.

    • Similar delays in receiving food rations could be catastrophic.
    • Therefore, ON-ORC should create, publish and adhere to time-bound processes.
    • The time-bound processes could be in the form of right to public services legislation that have been adopted by 15 states, and rapid grievance redress mechanisms.

    2)  Increase in compliance burden for MSMEs, especially for those who had to digitise overnight.

    • Similar challenges could arise in ON-ORC.
    • PDS dealers will need to be brought on board, and not assumed to be compliant.
    • Citizens will need to be shielded from the inevitable teething issues by keeping the system lenient at first.
    • This can be done by providing different ways of authenticating oneself and publicising a helpline widely.

    Consider the question “One Nation-One Ration Card(ON-ORC) could solve many problems faced by the beneficiaries when they move across the country. Examine the challenges the ON-ORC could face. Suggest ways to deal with these challenges.”

    Conclusion

    If done well, ON-ORC could lay the foundation of a truly national and portable benefits system that includes other welfare programmes like LPG subsidy and social pensions. It is an opportunity to provide a reliable social protection backbone to migrants, who are the backbone of our economy.

  • Online education must supplement, not replace, physical sites of learning

    Left with no choice, many education institutions turned to online mode. But could that be a new normal? This article analyses the indispensable role of online education. However, online education cannot be a substitute for traditional education institutes. WHY? Read the article to know about the vital role of traditional educational institutions…

    Online education (OE): Supplement not the substitute

    • The incredible synergy unleashed by information and communications technology (ICT) is the best thing to have happened to education since the printing press.
    • Indeed, higher education today is unthinkable without some form of the computer and some mode of digitised data transmission.
    • OE can use content and methods that are hard to include in the normal curriculum.
    • OE can put pressure on lazy or incompetent teachers.
    • OE can provide hands-on experience in many technical fields where simulations are possible.
    • And OE can, of course, be a powerful accessory for affluent students able to afford expensive aids.
    • As products of this revolution, online methods of teaching and learning deserve our highest praise — but only when cast in their proper role.
    • This proper role is to supplement, support and amplify the techniques of face-to-face education.
    • The moment they are proposed as a substitute for the physical sites of learning we have long known — brick-and-cement schools, colleges, and universities — online modes must be resolutely resisted.

    So, what are the vested interests involved?

    • Resistance to OE is often dismissed as the self-serving response of vested interests, notably obstructive, technophobic teachers unwilling to upgrade their skills.
    • But these are not the only vested interests involved.
    • Authoritarian administrators are attracted by the centralised control and scaling-at-will that OE offers.
    • Educational entrepreneurs have been trying to harvest the billions promised by massive open online courses (MOOCs) — think of Udacity, Coursera, or EdX.
    • Pundits are now predicting post-pandemic tie-ups between ICT giants like Google and Amazon and premium education brands like Harvard and Oxford that will launch a new era of vertically-integrated hybrid OE platforms.

    Is OE a viable alternative to traditional educational institutions (TEI) for the typical Indian student?

    • No one with access to an elite TEI chooses OE.
    • Instead, we know that OE always loses in best-to-best comparisons.
    • Favourable impressions about OE are created mostly by comparing the best of OE with average or worse TEIs.

    But is it true that the best OE is better than the average college or university?

    • OE claims that neither the campus nor face-to-face interaction are integral to education.
    • Since the comparative evaluation of virtual versus face-to-face pedagogic interaction needs more space, the campus question is considered here.
    • How does the typical student’s home compare with a typical TEI campus?
    • Census 2011 tells us that 71 per cent of households with three or more members have dwellings with two rooms or less.
    • According to National Sample Survey data for 2017-18, only 42 per cent of urban and 15 per cent of rural households had internet access.
    • Only 34 per cent of urban and 11 per cent of rural persons had used the internet in the past 30 days.
    • It is true that many TEIs (both public and private) have substandard infrastructure.
    • But these data suggest that the majority (roughly two-thirds) of students are likely to be worse off at home compared to any campus.
    • The impact of smartphone capabilities and stability of net connectivity on OE pedagogy also needs to be examined.

    Importance of college as a social space

    • It is as a social rather than physical space that the college or university campus plays a critical role.
    • Public educational institutions play a vital role as exemplary sites of social inclusion and relative equality.
    • In Indian conditions, this role is arguably even more important than the scholastic role.
    • The public educational institution is still the only space where people of all genders, classes, castes, and communities can meet without one group being forced to bow to others.
    • Whatever its impact on academics, this is critical learning for life.
    • Women students, in particular, will be much worse off if confined to their homes by OE.

    Consider the question- “Covid-19 pandemic forced many educational institute to explore the online more of education. And this also brought to the fore the potential of the online mode of education. In light of this, examine the issues with substituting the online mode of education for the traditional educational mode.”

    Conclusion

    Though an indispensable supplement for traditional education, there are certain aspects of education and a social life that online learning cannot substitute. So, the government should not divert its attention from the traditional educational institution and look at online education as its substitute.

  • What is South Atlantic Anomaly?

    New data obtained by the European Space Agency (ESA) Swarm satellites has revealed the existence of a mysterious anomaly weakening the Earth’s magnetic field. Termed as ‘South Atlantic Anomaly’, it extends all the way from South America to southwest Africa.

    The term ‘South Atlantic Anomaly’ at its first sight looks similar to any climate/oceanic current related phenomena. But it’s not! This is where you can end up losing 2.66 marks in the prelims!

    What is South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA)?

    • The SAA is referred to the behaviour of Earth’s Geo-Magnetic field in an area between Africa and South America.
    • The SAA is an area where the Earth’s inner Van Allen radiation belt comes closest to the Earth’s surface, dipping down to an altitude of 200 kilometres.
    • This leads to an increased flux of energetic particles in this region and exposes orbiting satellites to higher-than-usual levels of radiation.
    • The effect is caused by the non-concentricity of the Earth and its magnetic dipole.
    • The SAA is the near-Earth region where the Earth’s magnetic field is weakest relative to an idealized Earth-centered dipole field.

    Weakening of the magnetic field

    • Over the last 200 years, the magnetic field has lost around 9% of its strength on a global average.
    • A large and rapid shrink has been observed in the SAA region over the past 50 years just as the area itself has grown and moved westward.
    • The weakening of the magnetic field is also causing technical difficulties for the satellites and spacecraft orbiting the planet.
    • The study conducted between 1970 and 2020, said that the magnetic field weakened considerably in a large region stretching from Africa to South America, known as the ‘SAA’.
    • This area has grown and moved westward at a rate of around 20 km per year.

    Its impact

    • The magnetic shield has an important role to play in keeping unwanted radiation away as well as helping determine the location of magnetic poles.
    • Even though unlike global warming or any weather change, this anomaly doesn’t directly impact human lives, it could actually bring on a change in the way we access technology.
    • The reversal and apparent shift, which could keep extending could actually impact satellite and telecommunication system, which means that some of the internet and mobile phone functioning which depend on satellite signals can possibly get disrupted.
    • It could also affect the mapping and navigation systems in smartphones.
    • The weakening of earth’s magnetic field could also impact migratory movement.
    • Birds, animals- all those who migrate with the change in season depend on the earth’s mapping to move about can find it a little difficult.
    • This is only a possibility, but we don’t know the extent of the damage till now.

    About the Van Allen Radiation Belt

    • A Van Allen radiation belt is a zone of energetic charged particles, most of which originate from the solar wind, that are captured by and held around a planet by that planet’s magnetic field.
    • The belts are located in the inner region of Earth’s magnetosphere. The belts trap energetic electrons and protons.
    • Earth has two such belts and sometimes others may be temporarily created.
    • Most of the particles that form the belts are thought to come from solar wind and other particles by cosmic rays.
    • By trapping the solar wind, the magnetic field deflects those energetic particles and protects the atmosphere from destruction.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/shifting-north-magnetic-pole-forces-urgent-navigation-fix/

    Back2Basics: Swarm  Constellation

    • Swarm is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission to study the Earth’s magnetic field.
    • It is ESA’s first constellation of satellites for Earth observation.
    • The Swarm constellation consists of three satellites (Alpha, Bravo and Charlie) placed in two different polar orbits, two flying side by side at an altitude of 450 km and a third at an altitude of 530 km.

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