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Rare white-bellied heron spotted in Arunachal Pradesh
About the bird
- The white-bellied heron is categorised as ‘critically endangered’ in International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red Data Book.
- It is listed in Schedule IV in the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972.
- It is one of the rarest birds in the world and is found only in Bhutan, Myanmar and the Namdapha Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh.
- It had also been recorded in the adjacent Kamlang Tiger Reserve in Lohit district in camera trap images.
Significance of recent sighting
- The recent sighting at a height of 1,200 metres above sea level is a first at such a higher elevation in India.
- The presence of nesting sites within this area is a positive sign for the future habitat as the breeding season of the white-bellied heron starts in February and lasts till June.
- It is great news that the critically endangered bird is establishing new habitat beyond its traditional range.
May 3, 2021
Delhi’s air quality deteriorates, again
Air quality to oscillate between poor to very poor
- Delhi’s air quality deteriorated from ‘moderate’ to ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ on April 29.
- It will be oscillating between ‘poor’ and ‘very poor’ for the next three days, according to the SAFAR-System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting and Research.
- Delhi’s air typically worsens in October-November and improves by March-April.
What is the cause
- Current weather conditions are not unfavourable, unlike in winter.
- Hence, apart from local emissions, the deterioration in air quality is being attributed to an increase in fire counts, mostly due to burning of wheat crop stubble in northern India.
- Deteriorating air quality is worrying amid an increasing number of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and deaths.
Quality classification
- An AQI between 0-50 is considered ‘good.
- An AQI between 51-100 is considered satisfactory.
- An AQI between 101-200 is considered moderate.
- An AQI between 201-300 is considered poor.
- An AQI between 301-400 is considered very poor.
- An AQI between 401-500 is considered severe.
- Above 500 is the ‘severe-plus’ or ‘emergency’ category.
May 3, 2021
Key/Important Terms related to Ancient/ Medieval History
3rd May 2021

Important officers and their role in the Maurya Empire
1. Sannidhata – Treasurer and keeper of the stores in Maurya Period. He was in charge of the collection of revenue from various parts of the kingdom and looked after the income and expenditure by supervising the works of akshapataladhyaksha (Accountant-General)
2. Samharta– His function was to collect Revenue both in cash and kind.
3. Amatyas–They were some sort of administrative personnel or civil servants who filled the highest administrative and judicial appointments.
4. Rajukas–Ashoka appointed a class of officers known as the Rajukas, who were vested with the authority of rewarding as well we punishing people.
5. Adhyaksas- The officers who looked after the various departments.
6. Yuktas- They appear to have been the subordinate official whose duties were largely secretarial works and accounting.
7. Gopa and Sthanika- There was an intermediate level of administration between the district level and village level, which was administered by the Gopa and Sthanikas.
8. Gramika- Head of the village. He was not a paid servant and was chosen among village elders.
9. Grambhojaka- Gramika was helped by Grambhojaka.
10. Pramukha- Eighteen chief handicrafts of the time were organised in guilds called as Shrenis, the president of Shrenis was known as Pramukha.
Important officers of the Gupta empire
1. Uparika- He was directly appointed by the king as a provincial governor.
2. Kumaramatyas- A link between the central and the provincial administration under the Guptas was provided by the officers called Kumaramatyas and Ayuktas. Kumaramatyas was a body of top-ranking officials attached not only to the king but also to the crown-prince and sometimes placed in charge of district.
3. Gopasramin- In Samudraguptas period an officer working as akshapataladhikrita. Their function was to enter numerous matters in the accounts register, recover royal dues and to check embezzlement and recover fines.
4. Sandhivigrahika-The foreign minister, minister of war and peace. First appeared under the rule of Samudragupta.
5. Mahabaldikarta-Commander-in-Chief.
6. Mahadandanayaka-
7. Mahapratihara- Chief of palace guards.
8. Pustapala- Record-keeper. Maintained record of land transactions in a district. They were also known as Karanika.
9. Vishaya- Vishayas were divided into smaller parts called Vithis which were the villages and consisted of the lowest unit of administration.
10. Mahattama,Mahattaka and Mahattara- Elder who assisted the Gramika in the village administration.
11. Agharikas- During the reign of Harsha, Agharikas looked after the land given in charity.
12. Samantas- Feudal chiefs.
Important officers of Satvahana Period
1. Uparakshita- In Satvahanas kingdom, their function was building caves for monks.
2. Gaulamika- Administration of the villages was placed under them in the Satvahana period.
3. Valaikkarars- Troops in the royal service and were the bodyguard of the monarch
Medieval India

Amils– Revenue officers

Arz-i-mamalik– Minister in-charge of the army of the whole country.

Ahl-i-qalam– Reporter

Baqqal– Trader, grain-dealer

Batai– Division of crop between the cultivator and landlord or the government, payments may be in

kind or cash

Barid- An intelligence officer appointed by the state to collect information

Chachar– Land out of cultivation for 3-4 years.

Chaauth or Chauthaai– One-fourth of the land revenue, originally a Zamindari charge in Gujrat demanded by Shivaji as a war expense.

Charai– A tax on cattle.

Dagh System– A system of branding of horses and animal.

Dam- A copper coin considered as 1/40* the silver rupee for the official purposes.

Dastur-al-amal- Rule book

Dhimmi- A non-Muslim client or subject

Darul Mulk- Capital

Gumashta- An agent or representative

Hamam– A room for the bath of hot and cold water

Hundi- A bill of exchange

Jamabandi– Settlement of the amount of revenue assessed upon an estate or district

Jarib– A measurement, land measurement or survey

Jihat– Extra cesses

Jizya– (a) In the literature of Delhi sultanate, any tax which is not kharaj or land tax

(b) In the Shariat, a personal and yearly tax on non-Muslims.

Kankut– Estimation of land revenue

Karori– A revenue officer.

Khiraj– Land revenue

Mahal- A group of land regarded as a unit for land revenue purposes.

Mansab– A military rank conferred by the Mughal emperor.

Mauza- Revenue term for village

Mokasa- Grant of land for military service, rent-free land.

Nabud– Remission of land revenue on account of natural disasters.

Paibaqi- Land reserved for allotment in jagir

Polaj- Land continuously in cultivation

Sarrafs– Money Chargers, bankers

Saurghal-Rent-free land

Taqavi- Advance of money for sowing or extending cultivation

Upari- Temporary occupant; tenant at will.

Usar- Barren land

Zawabit- Secular laws

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May 3, 2021
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May 3, 2021
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May 3, 2021
A WTO waiver on patents won’t help us against covid
There has been growing clamour across the world for waiver of intellectual property protection for Covid-19 vaccines under TRIPS. The article suggests alternatives to achieve the desired production of vaccines without setting the precedent for a waiver.

Waiver from TRIPS
- Last October, India and South Africa moved a motion at the WTO asking its council on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS) to provide a waiver on intellectual property protection for pharmaceutical patents.
- Many developing countries have since supported the joint move.
- While most advanced countries, home to the world’s major pharmaceutical companies, have opposed it.
- Nobel economist Joseph Stiglitz, along with activist Lori Wallach, penned an opinion piece making a case for such a waiver.
Voluntary licensing
- Alternative to waiver could be voluntary licensing arrangements between pharmaceutical companies and countries that wish to make vaccine doses for their own use.
- This is exactly what has occurred in India’s case, with a licensing agreement between AstraZeneca and Serum Institute of India.
- The recent difficulties with this arrangement are a result of India diverting some doses intended for export (or for Covax) to its domestic vaccination drive.
- But India will soon begin making other important global vaccines under similar licence arrangements, and a waiver would do nothing to speed up this process.
Compulsory licensing
- In the event that India needs to ramp up production more than is feasible via licences from global manufacturers, there is another alternative available, which is ‘compulsory licensing’.
- Such an approach would not permit the export of vaccine doses made under a compulsory licence.
- This approach should be taken by any developing country, if, for some reason, global pharmaceutical companies are unwilling to license a life-saving vaccine for domestic manufacture and distribution in that nation.
Why TRIPS waiver won’t help
- India’s limiting factors are a shortage of raw materials and low production capacity, neither of which would be cured with the supposed magic bullet of a WTO waiver.
- Not only would a WTO waiver not do anything to address the real bottlenecks that constrain the global production and distribution of vaccines, it would also set a bad precedent.
- It is true that governments, including the US and others, have significantly subsidized or incentivized in other ways the research and development activities of private pharmaceutical companies that now hold patents for major covid vaccines.
- Yet, these governments required the ingenuity of private enterprise to invent these vaccines.
Consider the question “What are the legal provisions to ensure the accessibility of life-saving drugs in the country?”

Conclusion

While it may seem appealing, a WTO waiver on intellectual property protection is an inappropriate priority. It’s a distraction from the heavy lifting needed to create the capacity to fight the scourge of covid.
May 1, 2021
Hottest planet in the known universe discovered
About the plane
- TOI-1431b, also known as MASCARA-5b, was found 490 light-years from Earth and could be the hottest planet in the known universe.
- Researchers at the University of Southern Queensland’s Centre for Astrophysics in Toowoomba led the global team that made the discovery.
- NASA’s Training Exoplanet Survey Satellite first flagged TOI-1431b as a possible planet in late 2019.
- Dayside temperature reaches approximately 2700 degrees celcius and nightside temperature approaches approximately 2300 degrees celcius – no life could survive in its atmosphere.
- This temperature is significantly greater than the melting point of most metals, many of which will turn to liquid at under 2000 degrees celcius.
- Titanium melts at 1670 degrees, platinum at 1770 degrees, and stainless steel at between 1375 and 1530 degrees.
Planet with a retrograde orbit
- These types of planets, known as ultra-hot Jupiters, are rarely discovered but this particular one is even more unusual due to its retrograde orbit.
- In our Solar System, all the planets orbit in the same direction that the Sun rotates and they’re all along the same plane.
- This new planet’s orbit is tilted so much that it is actually going in the opposite direction to the rotation of its host star.
May 1, 2021
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May 1, 2021
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May 1, 2021
India-Japan relations
The article discusses the areas in which India-Japan are cooperating and also highlight the areas in which both countries can expand cooperation.

Issues discussed in US-Japan summit
- The discussion focused on their joint security partnership given the need to address China’s recent belligerence in territorial disputes in the South and East China Seas as well as in the Taiwan Strait.
- Both sides affirmed the centrality of their treaty alliance, for long a source of stability in East Asia, and pledged to stand up to China in key regional flashpoints such as the disputed Senkaku Islands and Taiwan.
- Both sides acknowledged the importance of extended deterrence vis-à-vis China through cooperation on cybersecurity and space technology.
- Discussions also touched upon Chinese ambitions to dominate the development of new age technologies such as 5G and quantum computing.
- Given China’s recent pledge to invest a mammoth $1.4 trillion in emerging technologies, Washington and Tokyo scrambled to close the gap by announcing a Competitiveness and Resilience Partnership, or CoRe.
- Both sides have also signalled their intent to pressure on China on violations of intellectual property rights, forced technology transfer, excess capacity issues, and the use of trade-distorting industrial subsidies.
- Both powers repeatedly emphasised their vision of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific.
Issues that need to be discussed in Japan PM’s visit to India

1) Continuation of balancing security policy
- First, one can expect a continuation of the balancing security policy against China that began in 2014.
- Crucially, India’s clashes with China in Galwan have turned public opinion in favour of a more confrontational China policy.
- In just a decade, New Delhi and Tokyo have expanded high-level ministerial and bureaucratic contacts, conducted joint military exercises and concluded military pacts such as the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA) logistics agreement.
- Both countries need to affirm support for a Free and Open Indo-Pacific and continued willingness to work with the Quad.
- Both countries need to take stock of the state of play in the security relationship while also pushing the envelope on the still nascent cooperation on defence technology and exports.
2) Expanding cooperation in various sectors
- The two powers will look to expand cooperation in sectors such as cybersecurity and emerging technologies.
- Digital research and innovation partnership in technologies from AI and 5G to the Internet of Things and space research has increased between the two countries in the recent past.
- There is a need to deepen cooperation between research institutes and expand funding in light of China’s aforementioned technology investment programme.
- Issues of India’s insistence on data localisation and reluctance to accede to global cybersecurity agreements such as the Budapest Convention may be discussed in the summit.
3) Economic ties
- Economic ties and infrastructure development are likely to be top drawer items on the agendas of New Delhi and Tokyo.
- Though Japan has poured in around $34 billion in investments into the Indian economy, Japan is only India’s 12th largest trading partner.
- Trade volumes between the two stand at just a fifth of the value of India-China bilateral trade.
- India-Japan summit will likely reaffirm Japan’s support for key manufacturing initiatives such as ‘Make in India’ and the Japan Industrial Townships.
- Further, India will be keen to secure continued infrastructure investments in the strategically vital connectivity projects currently under way in the Northeast and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.
4) Joint strategy toward key third countries
- In years past, India and Japan have collaborated to build infrastructure in Iran and Africa.
- Both countries have provided vital aid to Myanmar and Sri Lanka and hammer out a common Association of Southeast Asian Nations outreach policy in an attempt to counter China’s growing influence in these corners of the globe.
- However, unlike previous summits, the time has come for India and Japan to take a hard look at reports suggesting that joint infrastructure projects in Africa and Iran have stalled with substantial cost overruns.
- Tokyo will also likely try to get New Delhi to reverse its decision not to join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
Consider the question “Changes on the geopolitical horizon offers India-Japan relations multiple avenues to deepen their ties. In light of this, discuss the areas of cooperation and shared concerns for India and Japan.”

Conclusion

Writing in 2006, Shinzo Abe, expressed his hope in his book that “it would not be a surprise if in another 10 years, Japan-India relations overtake Japan-U.S. and Japan-China relations”. Thus far, India has every reason to believe that Japan’s new Prime Minister is willing to make that dream a reality.
May 1, 2021

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