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  • Explained: What new monsoon dates mean

     

    The India Meteorological Department (IMD) had decided to revise the normal onset and withdrawal dates for the monsoon in some parts of the country from this year.

    Onset of Monsoon

    • The four-month southwest monsoon season, which brings as much as 70 per cent of the country’s annual rainfall, officially begins on June 1, with the onset over Kerala, and ends on September 30.
    • It takes about a month and half after onset on the Kerala coast to cover the entire country; and about a month, beginning from the northwestern parts of the country on Sept. 1 to withdraw completely.
    • Although the June 1 date for the onset of the monsoon on the Kerala coast is unlikely to be changed, the dates for onset in many other parts of the country are expected to be revised.
    • Mumbai, for example, expects to start getting rain from June 10 the revision is likely to push this date back by a few days.
    • Effectively, the monsoon is now expected to have later arrival and withdrawal dates in most parts of the country.

    Why was this revision needed?

    • The main reason for the revision in the normal dates is the changes in precipitation patterns that have been taking place over the last many years.
    • In the last 13 years, for example, only once has the onset over the Kerala coast happened on June 1.
    • While two or three days of earlier or later onset falls within the yearly variability in several years the onset happened five to seven days late.
    • Similarly, the commencement of withdrawal has happened in the first week of September only twice during this period, and last year, the withdrawal started as late as October 9 — and was completed in around just a week.

    Recent peculiarity with the exam

    • One of the significant changes being noticed is that rainfall is getting increasingly concentrated within a narrow band of days within the monsoon season.
    • So, there are extremely wet days followed by prolonged periods of dry days.
    • IMD data show that over several previous years, nearly 95 per cent of monsoon precipitation in 22 major cities of the country had happened over a period of just three to 27 days.
    • Delhi, for example, had received almost 95 per cent of its monsoon rainfall over just 99 hours. And half of Mumbai’s monsoon rain had fallen over just 134 hours, or five and a half days, on average.

    Regional variations

    • Patterns of regional variations in rainfall are also changing
    • Areas that have traditionally received plenty of rainfall are often remaining dry, while places that are not expected to get a lot of monsoon rain have sometimes been getting flooded.
    • Climate change could be one of the factors driving these changes, but there could be other reasons as well.

    What will be the impact of IMD’s move?

    For Farmers

    • The revisions are meant to reflect the changes in precipitation patterns in recent years.
    • New dates will likely nudge farmers in some parts of the country to make slight adjustments in the time of sowing their crops.
    • It would definitely have an impact on our agriculture practices — when to start sowing, when to harvest.
    • So, even if there is a delay in the arrival of monsoon by three to four days over a region, it would not matter much if there is a fairly good rainfall distribution thereafter.
    • The change in dates would affect water management practices as well.

    For Industries

    • The planning that goes to beat the heat — several cities execute heat action plans — just ahead of the monsoon would have to factor in the need to be prepared for longer periods of heat.
    • Rajeevan said many other activities including industrial operations, the power sector, or those using cooling systems, would also need to change their behaviour.
    • The power grid can, for example, have more realistic planning for peak periods of electricity consumption in certain months.

    Way Forward

    • The changed dates are expected to be announced in April, when the IMD makes its first forecast for the monsoon.
    • Agro-meteorologists, however, agree that more than the onset, it is the information about the spatio-temporal distribution of rainfall that will be more helpful for farmers.
    • Ultimately, the change in normal dates of the onset and withdrawal of the monsoon would help people understand when to expect rains, and to plan their activities accordingly.

  • Death Penalty in India (Annual Statistics Report 2019)

    Trial courts in India delivered 102 death sentences in 2019, over 60% fewer than the 162 death sentences passed in 2018.

    Highlights of the Report

    • In 2019, fewer death sentences overall were delivered.
    • 1 out of 2 sentences for sexual violence-murder; in 3 out of 4 sexual violence-murder death sentences, children were the killer’s victims.
    • The courts were, however, especially unforgiving of murders that involved sexual violence — the proportion of death sentences imposed for murders involving sexual offences was at a four-year high in 2019 at 52.94%.
    • 2019 also saw the highest number of confirmations by High Courts in four years; 17 out of the 26 confirmations (65.38%) were in offences of murder involving sexual violence.
    • The Supreme Court, primarily during the tenure of the previous CJI Gogoi, listed and heard 27 capital cases, the most in a year since 2001.

    Project 39A

    • These are the headline findings in the fourth edition of The Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics, published by Project 39A at the National Law University (NLU), Delhi.
    • Project 39A is a research and litigation initiative focussed on the criminal justice system, and especially issues of legal aid, torture, death penalty, and mental health in prisons.
    • The report tracked news of death sentences awarded by trial courts published online by news organisations in English and Hindi.
    • It checked these numbers against judgments uploaded to websites of High Court and district courts.

  • National E-Mobility Mission Plan 2020

     

    The Supreme Court has sought the response of the government on a petition that alleges the non-implementation of the National E-Mobility Mission Plan, 2020 (NEMMP), which came out in 2012.

    National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) 2020

    • The plan was launched by the Government of India in 2013 with the objective of achieving national fuel security by promoting electric and hybrid vehicles.
    • It had set a target of achieving a sale of seven million EVs by 2020 and thereby aimed to cut total carbon dioxide emissions by three per cent from the ‘do nothing’ scenario.
    • The government would provide fiscal and monetary incentives for this industry.
    • The plan had made several recommendations for the adoption of electric vehicles (EVs), including electric-powered government fleets and public transportation and subsidies for those who opt for EVs.

    What was the petition about?

    • The petition contended that the governmental apathy has violated the fundamental rights of citizens to health and clean environment guaranteed under Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution.
    • The government had failed in its obligation to mitigate the impact of climate change and air pollution partly attributable to emissions from vehicles that burn fossil fuels.
    • Government’s failure to suitably implement these recommendations is the direct cause of air pollution levels that have turned our cities into virtual ‘gas chambers’.

  • [pib] Novel Corona Virus (nCoV)

    The Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare has been closely monitoring the situation after the reports of 41 confirmed cases of novel Corona virus (nCoV) including one death from Wuhan, China, 2020.

    About Novel Corona Virus

    • Corona viruses are large family of viruses, which cause illnesses to people and also circulate in animals including camels, cats and bats.
    • They cause illness ranging from the common cold to more severe diseases such as Middle East Respiratory Syndrome and Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome.
    • 2019-nCoV is a new strain that has not been previously identified in humans.
    • Much remains to be understood about the new coronavirus, which was first identified in China earlier this month.
    • Not enough is known about 2019-nCoV to draw definitive conclusions about how it is transmitted, clinical features of disease, or the extent to which it has spread. The source also remains unknown.

  • [pib] APNA UREA – SonaUgle

     

    APNA UREA – SonaUgle

    • The Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilizers launched the “APNA UREA – SonaUgle” brand of Hindustan Urvarak & Rasayan Limited (HURL).
    • HURL is Joint Venture Company promoted by the three Maharatna Companies i.e. Coal India Limited (CIL), NTPC Limited (NTPC) and Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) as the lead promoters with FCIL and HFCL as other two partners.
    • The commissioning of the HURL’s three Units in the states of UP, Bihar and Jharkhand will open forward and backward linkages for business activity in the Eastern part of India.
    • It will be instrumental in opening new avenues for the generation of income and employment in the Eastern part of our country.

  • TrueNat

    The WHO has endorsed TrueNat, an Indian indigenous molecular diagnostic tool for tuberculosis (TB) diagnosis.

    TrueNat

    • The TrueNat TB test is a new molecular test that can diagnosis TB in one hour as well as testing for resistance to the drug rifampicin.
    • The TrueNat MTB and MTB Plus assays also show comparable accuracy to the TB-LAMP assay as replacement tests for sputum smear microscopy.
    • The data for TrueNat MTB-Rif shows similar accuracy to WHO-approved commercial line probe assays.
    • It is developed by the Goa-based Molbio Diagnostics.
    • The company was provided with technical assistance and resources by the Foundation for Innovative New Diagnostics (FIND) to help commercialise Truenat.
    • ICMR had assessed and validated the diagnostic tool. It has high diagnostic accuracy as initial test to diagnose TB.
    • It will be used as an initial test thus replacing sputum smear microscopy.

  • Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund (TCEPF)

    The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has informed that telecom service providers will need to deposit all unclaimed money of consumers, including excess charges and security deposit, in the Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund (TCEPF).

    Telecommunication Consumers Education and Protection Fund (TCEPF)

    • The TCEPF Regulations, 2007 have been amended to provide the basic framework for depositing unclaimed money of consumers by service providers, maintenance of the TCEPF and other related aspects.
    • Any unclaimed / unrefundable amount belonging to consumers in the TCEP fund will be utilized for the welfare measures of the consumers.
    • With this amendment, service providers will deposit any unclaimed consumer money of any form such as excess charges, security deposit, plan charges of failed activations, or any amount belonging to a consumer, which service providers are unable to refund to consumers.

    Why such move?

    • The TRAI observed that there is a need to bring clarity among service providers in depositing money which they are unable to refund to the consumers.
    • While some service providers were depositing money only on account of excess billing revealed in the audit, others were depositing unclaimed money such as security deposits and plan charges of failed activations.

  • Yada Yada Virus

    A new virus detected in Australian mosquitoes has been provisionally named the Yada Yada virus (YYV).

    Yada Yada

    • It is an alphavirus, a group of viruses that the researchers described as small, single-stranded positive-sense RNA viruses.
    • It includes species important to human and animal health, such as Chikungunya virus and Eastern equine encephalitis virus.
    • They are transmitted primarily by mosquitoes and (are) pathogenic in their vertebrate hosts.
    • Unlike some other alphaviruses, Yada Yada does not pose a threat to human beings.

  • 18th January 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 342]

  • [Burning Issue] The Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020

    Context

    • In an attempt to attract investments in coal mining, the Union Cabinet approved the promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020.
    • With this India has opened up the coal sector completely for commercial mining for all local and global firms after easing restrictions on end-use and prior experience in auctions.
    • The move is sought to bring an end to state-run Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) monopoly.

    Background: India’s Coal Sector

    • Coal is the most important and abundant fossil fuel in India. It accounts for 55% of the country’s energy need.
    • India has the fifth-largest coal reserves in the world producing 662.79 million metric tons (730.60 million short tons) in 2016–17.
    • The Coal resources of India are available in older Gondwana Formations of peninsular India and younger Tertiary formations of north-eastern region.
    • Due to high demand and poor average quality, India is forced to import high quality coal to meet the requirements of steel plants.

    Types of Coal found in India

    • Anthracite: It is the highest grade of coal containing a high percentage of fixed carbon. It is hard, brittle, black and lustrous. It is found in smaller quantity in regions of Jammu and Kashmir.
    • Bituminous: It is a medium grade of coal having high heating capacity. It is the most commonly used type of coal for electricity generation in India. Most of bituminous coal is found in Jharkhand, Odisha, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh.
    • Subbituminous: It is black in colour, dull (not shiny) and has a higher heating value than lignite.
    • Lignite: It is the lowest grade coal with the least carbon content. It is found in the regions of Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, and Jammu & Kashmir.

    About the Ordinance

    • The Union Cabinet approved promulgation of Mineral Laws (Amendment) Ordinance 2020 to amend the Coal Mines (Special Provisions) Act, 2015, as well as the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.

    Key Provisions

    • The ordinance democratizes the coal industry and makes it attractive for merchant mining companies, including multinationals to look at India.
    • The ordinance allows any India-registered company to bid and develop coal blocks.
    • It would allow any companies that do not have coal mine operations in India to also participate in coal block auctions.
    • The end-use restrictions – meaning coal produced from them could be used only for the designated captive purpose only and not traded in the market has now been lifted.
    • The central government can auction coal and lignite mining licences only to companies engaged in iron and steel, power and coal washing sectors.
    • The companies also needed prior experience of mining in India to bid for the blocks.

    How it worked earlier?

    • Until now there were restrictions on who could bid for coal mines.
    • Only those in power, iron and steel, and coal washery business could bid for mines and the bidders needed prior experience of mining in India.
    • This effectively limited the potential bidders to a select circle of players and thus limited the value that the government could extract from the bidding.

    Other provisions of the Ordinance

    • The Centre has set a mining target of 1.5 billion tonnes of coal by 2020.
    • Of this, 1 billion tonnes were to be from CIL and 500 million tonnes from non-CIL sources, in line with the government’s push to raise natural resources production to kickstart economic growth.
    • This has now been revised down to 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2023-24.

    Why was such Ordinance promulgated?

    Attracting FDIs

    • The government plans to promote FDI in the coal sector by removing restrictions and eligibility criteria for participation in coal block auctions.

    Curbing import

    • Despite having the world’s fourth-largest coal reserves, India imported 235 million tonnes (mt) of coal last in 2019 of which 135mt valued at ₹171,000 crore.
    • With these amendments the government aims to curb imports of coal through and encourage the use of the country’s coal reserves, which had earlier been available only for the captive use of the steel and power industry.

    Boosting economic growth

    • Till now, FDI was only allowed in coal mines allotted for captive use, meaning for use by the companies themselves.
    • But now with the slowing economy the centre New is trying to attract foreign investment to get economic growth back on track.

    Benefits of the move

    • The move will help India gain access to sophisticated technology for underground mining used by global miners.
    • It will ease rules for auctioning coal mines to open up to all sectors.
    • Large investment in mining will create jobs and set off demand in critical sectors such as mining equipment and heavy commercial vehicles.

    Consequences on CIL

    • Coal India Limited (CIL) is a Maharatna PSU and tremendous public resources have been invested in the company over the years. It contributes to around 82% of the coal production in India.
    • The company employs about 3 lakh people and is a national asset. Opening up of coal mining effectively ends CIL’s monopoly status.
    • However CIL will be “supported and strengthened” and adequate blocks will be allocated to it to meet the target of producing 1 billion tonnes of coal by 2023.

     Conclusion

    • The move comes at a time when the window for fossil fuels is rapidly closing, and the global energy landscape evolving, with fundamental changes to the investment culture amid growing climate concerns.
    • As a responsible global player, India must put in place stringent norms to limit pollution and carbon emissions, even if fresh coal is being mined.
    • Getting access to new and environment-friendly technologies could be a precondition to allowing foreign players in mining coal.

     

    References

    https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/editorial/mining-deep/article30526562.ece

    https://www.livemint.com/industry/energy/india-opens-up-coal-mining-further-11578477090179.html

    https://indianexpress.com/article/business/cabinet-clears-ordinance-to-remove-restrictions-on-coal-block-bidding-6206950/

    https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/indl-goods/svs/metals-mining/govt-approves-ordinance-to-auction-coal-mines/articleshow/73153778.cms?from=mdr

    http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/content/466643/mineral-laws-amendment-ordinance-2020/

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