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Note4Students

BBIN is part of India’s ‘Look East Policy’. This initiative can also solve India’s longstanding problem of locational disadvantage and poor connectivity of its north-eastern states. Recently Bhutan upper house refused to ratify the agreement by citing various reasons. BBIN MVA can change the entire regional trade narrative. India can extend its trade routes with well-connected ASEAN market.

Introduction

1. Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal (BBIN) signed a Motor Vehicles Agreement for the Regulation of Passenger, Personal and Cargo Vehicular Traffic.
2. Aside from facilitating the cross-border movement of passengers and goods, the agreement is expected to “promote safe, economical efficient and environmentally sound road transport in the sub-region
3. It will help to create “an institutional mechanism for regional integration.”
4. It may increase trade within the South Asia region by nearly 60% and trade by the region with outside partners by more than 30% over current levels.
5. But nearly two years after ministers from Bhutan, Bangladesh, India and Nepal signed the BBIN MVA in Thimphu; the Bhutanese government withdrew from the agreement followed Bhutan’s domestic resistance to ratify the agreement.

Analysis

WHY BBIN IS NEEDED.

1. Connectivity: Although countries of South Asia are tied by shared history and culture, they are still not well connected with each other and integration remains one of the poorest in the world.
2. Economic development: Sub regional initiative is envisioned to improve economic cooperation and connectivity among these four South Asian countries.
3. Low trade: In spite of having an overarching regional free trade agreement in the form of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) signed in 2004, and various other bilateral and regional trade agreements forged since then, intra-regional trade among South Asian countries accounts for only about five percent of their total trade.
4. Regional integration: Low level of regional integration in South Asia is manifested by poor intra-regional investment, and even poorer intra-regional factor movements.
5. The lack of regional integration hurts the region’s smaller countries more. Countries such as Nepal is least developed, access to regional and international markets is crucial for their development.
6. Their very lack of economic and physical connectivity leaves them with little opportunity to create productive ties with the rest of the world, rendering them highly disadvantaged in a global economy where such relations help achieve development goals.
7. New literature on trade within South Asia indicates that trade facilitation issues have emerged as key issues blocking the rapid expansion of intra-regional trade.
8. Hurdles in the existing mechanism :Various travel restrictions at the border Land Customs Stations (LCSs), delays due to transhipment issues, poor and sometimes non-existent infrastructure at some LCSs, and other customs documentation and clearance-related problems are significantly adding up to the time and financial costs of conducting trade among these nations. In this context, the BBIN MVA is a welcome step.

Advantages of BBIN

1. Seamless connectivity: The agreement will allow vehicles to enter each other’s territory and eliminate the need for transhipment of goods from one country’s truck to another at the border, thereby eliminating a time-consuming and costly process. This is not only going to reduce trade costs between nations and facilitate smoother transactions and boost trade, but it will also possibly reduce some of the informal trade that happens among these countries.
2. Cargo movement: It will promote support for containerised movement of cargo. Containerisation of trade has lowered the cost of trade across the world significantly and it is likely that high trade costs among South Asian countries will be drastically reduced when containerisation gains more popularity.
3. One of the biggest advantages of containerised trade is that it is multi-modal and therefore, an integrated and seamless road and rail network will further facilitate containerisation in South Asia and help reduce trade costs.
4. Development of north eastern region: The north-eastern region of India will also benefit significantly from the BBIN MVA and rail network programmes. One of the major challenges faced by India’s Northeast has been poor connectivity. The BBIN agreements will reduce distance between the north-eastern states and the Kolkata port by about a thousand kilometres, as well as allow these states to access the Chittagong port in Bangladesh. This has the potential to unlock significant business opportunities in India’s northeast.
5. A study by the ADB has proposed 10 regional road networks as South Asian Corridors, out of which seven have been identified in the BBIN region. These economic corridors will allow landlocked trading centres of Nepal and Bhutan to gain access to ports in India and Bangladesh. For example, Tripura can get access to Bangladesh’s Ashugunjport; Chittagong and Mongla ports can be accessed from Kolkata and the north-eastern state.
6. Cultural contact: The BBIN initiative also promises to facilitate the movement of people across borders. This has huge implications for both business and trade as it can lead to improved people-to-people contact, encourage business travel and most importantly can give a huge boost to trade in various services.
7. Development of trade related services: It is also expected that increased economic and trade integration among these countries will generate demand for supporting services such as logistics, shipping, banking and finance and express delivery. An integrated market will also boost e-commerce services in the region
8. BBIN MVA can be seen as a first step towards a broader integration process. The locational advantage of South Asia implies that it can serve as a gateway for connecting to Southeast and East Asia. The BBIN MVA network has created the first step of this broader integration process.
9. Improved connectivity will imply much tighter economic integration between India and other BBIN countries with ASEAN.

Challenges

1. Attitude of Bhutan: Having unsuccessfully tried to ratify the proposal for more than a year, Bhutan finally declared that it was unable to proceed with the ratification process ‘for now’.
2. The Bhutanese fear that the implementation of the deal would lead to an influx of vehicles from other countries impacting its own transporters and degradation of environment.
3. Non-binding agreement: Being a non-binding agreement, the implementation of BBIN MVA may follow a best endeavour approach.
4. Insufficient infrastructure: A surge in traffic may cause damage to the existing infrastructure in the sub region, since it is not equipped to handle the additional load.
5. Managing cross border corridors is another challenge.
6. Visa regime: A liberalised visa regime and efforts to improve synergy between markets in different countries (such as the pact to bring in sync India and Bangladesh’s product standardisation systems signed during the recent prime ministerial visit to Dhaka) are just some of the other steps that will have to be taken.
7. Technical challenges: Many border crossing points do not have integrated check posts. Poor road conditions, the introduction of double-locking system on Nepalese trucks passing through Indian Territory, technical issues related to customs and tariffs, etc., are pose major challenges in this regard.
8. Synergy between governments: Coordination between inter-ministerial departments as well as between central and state agencies, especially in India, has been a major problem in implementing agreements.

Conclusion

1. The BBIN initiative fits well with the new wave of developing massive transnational road and rail connectivity networks. All these will facilitate intra- and inter-regional trade in goods and services.
2. It also integrates well with India’s ‘Look East Policy’. This initiative can also solve India’s longstanding problem of locational disadvantage and poor connectivity of its north-eastern states.
3. But India needs to utilize every possible platform to generate a favourable narrative for BBIN MVA among Bhutan political class as well as people of Bhutan.

Questions

BBIN Motor Vehicle Agreement will help in regional integration. Analyse

“Though BBIN MVA offers a greater regional integration, it has large number of hurdles to overcome”. Comment

BBIN MVA will reduce developmental inequalities of North eastern India ,critically analyse

 

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Note4students

India has projected its soft power for centuries, long before the concept was even defined by political analysts. In the past decade, the country wielded its soft power in a more systematic way in the practice of diplomacy. ISRO has given a new dimension to Indian ‘Soft Power.’ World is watchin how India is helping its neighbours by giving assistance in space field, for example, SAARC satellite. This article will give you a brief description about it.

What is a hard power?

A country that exercises its power, influence, and voercion through the use of military might and economy and clout as a muscle to manipulate itself towards the people can be called as hard power.

What is a soft power?

Soft power is a concept developed by Joseph Nye of Harvard University to describe the ability to attract and co-opt rather than by coercion (hard power), using force or giving money as a means of persuasion. Soft power is the ability to shape the preferences of others through appeal and attraction. A defining feature of soft power is that it is noncoercive; the currency of soft power is culture, political values, and foreign policies. Recently, the term has also been used in changing and influencing social and public opinion through relatively less transparent channels and lobbying through powerful political and non-political organizations.

India becoming a hard power through use of military might, coercion and manipulating public opinion has some inherent limitations

1. Very high Expenditure
2. Diplomatic manipulations are understood
3. Being in centre of conflict generator weans people away and then requires resolution
4. Soviet experience to be a hard power not very productive
5. Forced application of country’s influence doesn’t change people and mindset
6. It  is very difficult to catch up with the developed west in the hard power arena.
7. Can actually drive people away

Soft Power in Space

1. India has a robust space programme and has made some significant progress in this field. A case in point is the recent finding of water on the surface on the moon by Chandrayan 1, which has helped the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) to demonstrate the country’s leadership in the field of science and technology.
2. ISRO could even send a human being to the moon within a few years. What is equally important is for India to use the space programme as a tool for increasing its international influence. This is where India can take a leaf out of the Chinese book.
3. India is already working with a few international partners like NASA, but such partnerships are more from the point of view of technology collaboration. Such collaborations are a must in fields like going to the Moon and Mars. But at the same time there is a need to engage other countries who are novices in this field.
4. Today, there are many countries in the world who wish to collaborate with India in the space arena. India should engage with these countries in their space projects at various levels. Indirectly, this could offer India a form of ‘security’ that is beyond tanks, fighter jets and nuclear deterrence. It would help India increase its influence over other states through non-military means.
5. This is what “Soft-Power” is all about.(described above)
6. India’s success in space is attracting others to emulate it. This is an opportunity that India should not waste.
7. And this opportunity goes much beyond India’s existing commercial space policy.

 

Question

Q.) “India’s choice should be more on becoming a soft power rather than a hard power.” Analyse this statement in the light of relative advantages India enjoys in Science and Technology, especially in Space Technology and suggest ways of leveraging that advantage.

 

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Note4Students

UPSC is known to ask questions on those technologies which can have impact on daily life of Human Beings. They generally ask application based questions. Clearly mentioned in Mains Paper 3 syllabus: “developments and their applications and effects in everyday life”

What is the meaning of IoT?

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a system of interrelated computing devices, mechanical and digital machines, objects, animals or people that are provided with unique identifiers and the ability to transfer data over a network without requiring human-to-human or human-to-computer interaction.

A thing, in the Internet of Things, can be a person with a heart monitor implant, a farm animal with a biochip transponder, an automobile that has built-in sensors to alert the driver when tire pressure is low — or any other natural or man-made object that can be assigned an IP address and provided with the ability to transfer data over a network.

IoT has evolved from the convergence of wireless technologies, micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS), microservices and the internet. The convergence has helped tear down the silo walls between operational technology (OT) and information technology (IT), allowing unstructured machine-generated data to be analyzed for insights that will drive improvements.

Examples of Impact of IoT on day to day life:

Car-Calendar Connection: Say for example you are on your way to a meeting; your car could have access to your calendar and already know the best route to take. If the traffic is heavy your car might send a text to the other party notifying them that you will be late.

Alarm Clock-Coffee Maker Connection: What if your alarm clock wakes up you at 6 a.m. and then notifies your coffee maker to start brewing coffee for you?

IoT and Google’s Driverless Car: The car has multiple devices which track the movement of objects, captures the images surrounding it and processes the information. It has devices on board that can change the speed and direction of movement depending on the feedback it gets from the external environment. The data is then backed-up on a cloud from which it can receive instructions and behave accordingly, right from throttle accelerator to applying brakes.

Examples of Impact of of IoT on Governance:

On a broader scale, the IoT can be applied to things like transportation networks: “smart cities” which can help us reduce waste and improve efficiency for things such as energy use; this helping us understand and improve how we work and live.

Challenges thrown up by advent of IoT

Data Management: Connected devices are going to produce massive amount of data. Companies need to figure out a way to store, track, analyze and make sense of the vast amounts of data that will be generated.

Privacy & Security: With billions of devices being connected together, what can people do to make sure that their information stays secure? Will someone be able to hack into your toaster and thereby get access to your entire network? The IoT also opens up companies all over the world to more security threats. Then we have the issue of privacy and data sharing.

Government of India and IoT

1. The Union government is coming up with a regulatory framework for Internet-of-Things (IoT) along with policies to promote the sector.
2. Department of Telecom has come out with a machine-to-machine (M2M) roadmap, with an aim to put regulators, industry agencies that develop standards, users and manufacturers on the same page.
3. The Department of Electronics & Information Technology (DeitY), in its draft policy, targets to create an IoT industry in India of $15 billion by 2020.
4. Currently, work is going on in the area of numbering schemes for IoT and KYC norms for SIM-embedded M2M devices.
5. Telecom Standards Society of India too is working on India-relevant standards with respect to the sector.

Indian Industry & IoT

1. IoT and Healthcare Sector: Leading hospitals are discussing how to move to preventative therapy from curative therapy by collecting more data about the condition of the patient. This is clearly a sector where the needle has moved.
2. IoT and other Sectors: The other two sectors where there has been quite a lot of movement are in big production zones — oil rigs, generators and industrial plants — and in the telecommunications world. Both have a lot of embedded devices that are collecting the data on temperature, signal strength, pressure, pH, voltage — all the technical parameters. IoT is being used to detect and predict breakdowns. This is immensely beneficial, especially for corporates, particularly those who have interests in fixed assets/machines.
3. Media: Today, internet advertisers are able to combine data from various seemingly insignificant activities to create potentially significant profiles. This correlated data allows advertisers to send users targeted advertising as they search the internet for that “must-have” new gadget or the latest song. In fact, targeted web-based ads based on correlated user profiles derived from statistical models are just the first generation of anticipatory services. Data mining will only become more accurate over time at determining our desires and needs.
4. Personal Healthcare: Many people today wear sensors when they work out or move through their daily lives to track their heart rate, miles traveled, or steps taken. These activity monitor sensors are connected wirelessly to smart phones and to the internet to enable users to track metrics over time.

What can be done to minimize the adverse impact on labour due to IoT?

We must note that this is not the first time that disruptive technology is going to come into play. It has happened before, and inevitably it will happen again. It is important to make strategies that will help our labour force to adapt to such technologies and take steps that will help mitigate the worst effects of these technologies.

For adaption, Skill India Mission can be geared to either impart higher levels of skills required to operate with IoT; furthermore, SIM can be used to impart existing workforce a diverse set of skills so that their employ-ability is not impacted beyond repair.

There may be some lay-offs temporarily. We need some new solutions to take care of those who will be laid off for no fault of theirs. Companies deploying IoT and consequently reducing workforce in a particular sector, must be encouraged to absorb the workers in another sector.

Question

Q.) What do you understand by ‘internet of things’ (IoT)? How ill digitization help IoT and how will both help India in turn? Examine

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Note4Students

Understand the DNA Profiling and examine the concerns raised against India’s DNA profiling Bill. The topic creates an interesting issue which shows connection among  Science , Law and Order, and Privacy. These kind of interconnected topics are important from the UPSC perspective. Privacy verdict will also have implication on the fate of this bill. A number of op-eds both in favor and against this bill have been written in last few months. This makes this topic important for mains 2017.

Context

1. Centre is about to finalise a fresh version of the DNA Fingerprinting Bill, a draft of which was ready in 2015
2. Law Commission of India released a revised draft of the Bill that is now called The DNA Based Technology (Use and Regulation) Bill, 2017 with some very important changes

What is DNA profiling technology?

1. DNA fingerprinting or DNA profiling is method of isolating and identifying variable elements within the base-pair sequence of DNA.
2. DNA fingerprinting technology is utilised by police all over the world for fool-proof identification of criminals who leave their traces at crime scene while committing crime.
3. The technology plays a crucial role in solving crimes as it has potential to link a series of crimes by placing the suspects by linking them with the crime scene.

Why new bill?

It seeks to establish regulatory institutions and standards for DNA testing, and supervise the activities of all laboratories authorised to carry out such tests.

Significance of DNA analysis?

1. It is extremely useful and accurate technology in ascertaining the identity of a person from his/her DNA sample, or establishing biological relationships between individuals.
2. As a result, DNA technology is being increasingly relied upon in investigations of crime, identification of unidentified bodies, or in determining parentage.
3. But information from DNA samples can reveal intrusive information like their allergies, or susceptibility to diseases. As a result, there is a greater risk of information from DNA analysis getting misused

Bill provisions

1. It prohibits the collection of any “bodily substance” from an arrested individual (for the purposes of a DNA test) without his/her consent, except if the individual is arrested for certain specific offences.
2. However, if the consent “is refused without good cause”, and a magistrate is satisfied of the need for a DNA test, he/she can order the arrested person to give a sample.
3. The new Bill has also removed a provision that allowed DNA profiles in the databank to be used for “creation and maintenance of population statistics databank”.
4. While the penalty for misuse of data remains a prison term of up to three years and a fine up to Rs 1 lakh, a reference to a minimum prison term of one month has been removed.
5. The Bill seeks to set up two new institutions — a DNA Profiling Board and a DNA Data Bank.

DNA Profiling Board

1. The Board, with 11 members, is supposed to be the regulatory authority that will grant accreditation to DNA laboratories and lay down guidelines, standards and procedures for their functioning.
2. It will advise central and state governments on “all issues relating to DNA laboratories”.
3. It will also be the authority to make recommendations on ethical and human rights, including privacy, issues related to DNA testing.

DNA Data Bank

1. A national databank of DNA profiles is proposed to be set up, along with regional databanks in every state
2. The new draft does not specify the location of the national databank. All regional DNA databanks will be mandated to share their information with the national databank.
3. Certain DNA Profiling Board-accredited labs would be authorised to carry out DNA testing and analysis. These are the only places to which DNA samples, picked up from a crime scene can be referred for analysis
4. Data from the analyses will need to be shared with the nearest regional DNA databank which will store it and share it with the national databank.
5. The databanks will maintain five sets of databases — for DNA samples picked up from crime scenes, for suspects or undertrials, and for offenders, missing persons, and unidentified dead bodies.

Issues involved?

1. There are chances that a wrong match is generated.
2. If the DNA result is taken as the ultimate evidence, no recourse will be available to an individual who has been wrongly matched.
3. Privacy-related objections-main concerns are whose DNA can be collected and under what circumstances, who can access the database etc.
4. Information like ancestry or susceptibility to a disease, or other genetic traits, is liable to be misused.
5. DNA tests have not led to an improvement in conviction rates in countries where it is already being followed.

Question

Q.) The 2015 draft DNA Fingerprinting Bill is back in a new version, and includes some important additions and deletions. What are they? What is the need for such a law in the first place, and what are the problems with having one? Critically analyse.

 

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Note4students

Due to its possible positive impact on Indian Transportation System, it is much needed technology for India. UPSC is known to ask questions on the applications of Science and Technology, this topic is one of them.

Hyperloop for India

Hyperloop one, the US based startup that plans to revolutionize the current modes of transportation, showcased its vision for India at an event in Delhi.

What is hyperloop?

1. A proposed mode of freight and passenger transportation in which a pod like vehicle will be propelled through a near vacuum tube at airline speed for the price of a bus ticket.
2. These pods essentially are autonomous which would enable high speed travel inside the tube. This will also ensure that the vehicles glide silently for miles without any turbulence.
3. As we start the next revolution on Internet of things and digitize physical things we look towards a futuristic transportation infrastructure.

Proposals from India

1. Hyperloop one plans to build networks around the world for which they need local partners, manufacturing companies and firms that innovate around the system. This is important to create common standards across the world.
2. Hyperloop one held a global competition in 2016 asking contestants to submit proposals on were the network should be built.
3. As per the company, highest number of registrations were from India and proposals from five Indian companies even made to the semi-final round. Each of these teams had proposed various routes for the network.
4. These include Delhi to Mumbai, Bengaluru to Chennai, Bengaluru to Thiruvananthapuram among others.

Possible Advantages for India

1. To transform urbanization and our current modes of transportation we need disruptive technology
2. Remarkable shift in which we perceive urbanization as a person can stay in Chennai and work in Bengaluru
3. It will be environmentally sustainable with no direct emissions
4. It will be cost efficient
5. Co- development will essentially mean access to technology
6. It is in line with the government’s aim to Make in India, which will create local manufacturing jobs

Concerns

1. Concerns whether a developing country like India should invest in a technology which is still at experimental stage
2. There exist regulatory challenges, whether hyperloop will come under railways or civil aviation or an entirely new body
3. Safety concerns are yet to be addressed

 

Questions

Q.) What is the science involved in Hyperloop? Can it transform how Indians Transportation System? Examine

 

Note4students

Recently, Gravitational waves, the cosmic ripples that distort space-time itself, have been directly detected for the first time. It is an important discovery and India is also doing research in this area. This makes it more important for the exam. The article presents a comprehensive view of the discovery.

What are Gravitational waves?

1. Gravitational waves are distortions or ‘ripples’ in the fabric of space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe
2. These ripples would travel at the speed of light through the Universe, carrying with them information about their cataclysmic origins, as well as invaluable clues to the nature of gravity itself

What are the Sources of Gravitational Waves?

1. Any object with mass that accelerates (which in science means changes position at a variable rate, and includes spinning and orbiting objects) produces gravitational waves, including humans and cars and airplanes etc.
2. But the gravitational waves made by us here on Earth are much too small to detect
3. The strongest gravitational waves are produced by catastrophic events such as colliding black holes, the collapse of stellar cores (supernovae), coalescing neutron stars or white dwarf stars, the slightly wobbly rotation of neutron stars that are not perfect spheres, and the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the birth of the Universe itself

Not one but four types of Gravitational Waves!

In order to understand the types of gravitational waves, Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory (LIGO) scientists have defined 4 categories of gravitational waves

These categories are: Continuous Gravitational Waves, Compact Binary Inspiral Gravitational Waves, Stochastic Gravitational Waves, and Burst Gravitational Waves

But, Why Detect Them?

1. This will open up a new window of study on the Universe, giving us a deeper understanding of these cataclysmic events, and usher in brand new cutting-edge studies in physics, astronomy, and astrophysics
2. More importantly, since gravitational waves don’t interact with matter (unlike electromagnetic radiation), they travel through the Universe completely unimpeded giving us a crystal clear view of the gravitational wave
3. This will provide astronomers and other scientists, first glimpses of previously unseen and unseeable wonders, and greatly adding to our understanding of the nature of space and time itself

So, How does LIGO come into the Picture?

1. LIGO( Laser Interferometer Gravitational Wave Observatory) is the world’s largest gravitational wave observatory and a cutting edge physics experiment
2. LIGO exploits the physical properties of light and of space itself to detect and understand the origins of gravitational waves
3. LIGO has 2 widely separated identical detector sites working in unison as a single “observatory”: one in Hanford, southeastern Washington State and the other in rural Livingston, Louisiana
4. LIGO has a very close collaboration with the VIRGO collaboration that analyzes data from VIRGO, a 3 km gravitational wave interferometer located near Pisa, Italy
5. Data from LIGO and Virgo are combined and analyzed together by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations
6. Thus significantly increasing the capability of combined data for detecting and using gravitational waves to learn about nature

Is there any Way ahead for India?

1. Yes, because Union cabinet has approved a proposal to establish a state-of-the-art gravitational wave observatory in India in collaboration with LIGO in the US
2. The project will bring unprecedented opportunities for scientists and engineers to dig deeper into the realm of gravitational wave and take global leadership in this new astronomical frontier
3. This will also bring considerable opportunities in cutting-edge technology for the Indian industry which will be engaged in the construction of the 8-km long beam tube at ultra-high vacuum on a leveled terrain
4. With its establishment, India will join the global network of gravitational wave detectors
5. The establishment of an observatory in India assumes importance because the further the distance between the observatories, the greater will be the accuracy in locating gravity waves
6. Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh are among the states shortlisted for the experiment

Q.) Recently, Union cabinet has approved a proposal to establish a gravitational wave observatory, one of the mega science projects in India. Discuss, how will this project help India if it becomes a reality.

Note4students

The article explains the problems associated with the GM crops and they can be tackled. Important for Mains Paper 3.

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What is GMO?

1. GMOs can be defined as organisms (i.e. plants, animals or microorganisms) in which the genetic material (DNA) has been altered in a way that does not occur naturally by mating and/or natural recombination
2. It allows selected individual genes to be transferred from one organism into another, also between non related species
3. Foods produced from or using GM organisms are often referred to as GM foods
4. Recently in India, GM mustard crop was introduced, which was later withdrawn. There is a raging debate going on advantages and disadvantages of GMOs
5. For a long time, further study was requested by farmers, environmentalist on GMO crops

 

Why are GM foods produced?

1. GM foods are developed – and marketed – because there is some perceived advantage either to the producer or consumer of these foods
2. This is meant to translate into a product with a lower price, greater benefit (in terms of durability or nutritional value) or both
3. Initially GM seed developers wanted their products to be accepted by producers and have concentrated on innovations that bring direct benefit to farmers (and food industry generally)
4. One of the objectives for developing plants based on GM organisms is to improve crop protection

What really is India’s recently developed GM mustard?

1. A team of scientists at Delhi University led by former vice-chancellor Deepak Pental has bred DMH-11, a genetically modified (GM) mustard hybrid
2. Hybrids are normally obtained by crossing two genetically diverse plants from the same species
3. The first-generation offspring resulting from it has higher yields than what either of the parents is individually capable of giving
4. But there is no natural hybridisation system in mustard, unlike in, say, cotton, maize or tomato
5. What team has done is, that they have created a viable hybridisation system in mustard using GM technology
6. The resulting GM mustard hybrid, it is claimed, gives 25-30% more yield than the best varieties such as ‘Varuna’ currently grown in the country

Is there a need, in the first place, for developing a mustard hybrid?

In 2014-15, India imported 14.5 million tonnes of edible oils valued at $10.5 billion

With the country’s own annual edible oil production stuck at below 7.5 million tonnes, of which mustard’s share is roughly a quarter

So, there is need to raise domestic crop yields and cut dependence on imports

Hybrid technology is a potential technique to boost yields, as has been successfully demonstrated in a host of crops

What are the environmental risks?

1. GMOs contaminate forever. GMOs cross pollinate and their seeds can travel far and wide
2. It is impossible to fully clean up our contaminated gene pool
3. Genetic engineering allows plants to survive high doses of weed killers, resulting in higher herbicide residues in our food
4. GMO crops are creating ‘super weeds’ and ‘super bugs,’ which can only be killed with more toxic poisons

Are there any advantages?

Insect Resistance:

Some GMO foods have been modified to make them more resistant to insects and other pests

This means the amount of pesticide chemicals used on the plants are reduced, so their exposure to dangerous pesticides are also reduced

Stronger Crops:

Another benefit that GM technology is believed to bring about is that crops can be engineered to withstand weather extremes and fluctuations, This means that there will be good quality and sufficient yields even under a poor or severe weather condition

Environment Protection:

GM crops often requires less time, tools and chemicals, and may help with reducing greenhouse gas emissions, soil erosion and environmental pollution

More Nutritious Foods:

According to the UN Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), some GM foods have been engineered to become more nutritious in terms of vitamin or mineral content.

Economic Benefits

Larger production leading to increased farm income, reduced poverty, low food prices and thus reduced hunger and malnutrition.

Besides new food products are also included, diversifying food varieties

Then, Why has there been so much concern about GM foods among some public interest groups, activists and consumers?

Since the first introduction on the market in the mid-1990s of a major GM food (herbicide-resistant soybeans), there has been concern about such food among activists and consumers, especially in Europe

In fact, public attention has focused on the risk side of the risk-benefit equation, often without distinguishing between potential environmental impacts and public health effects of GMOs Consumers have questioned the validity of risk assessments, both with regard to consumer health and environmental risks, focusing particulary on long-term effects

Consumer concerns have triggered a discussion on the desirability of labeling GM foods, allowing for an informed choice of consumers

What further developments can be expected in the area of GMOs?

1. GM organisms are likely to include plants with improved resistance against plant disease or drought, crops with increased nutrient levels, fish species with enhanced growth characteristics
2. For non-food use, they may include plants or animals producing pharmaceutically important proteins such as new vaccines

Q.) “GM mustard exposes our double standards when it comes to technology for farmers.” Critically comment.

Source:

Civilsdaily

 

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Particulars of the ICAR

1. The Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) is an autonomous organisation under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education (DARE), Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare.
2. The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country. With 97 ICAR institutes and 45 agricultural universities spread across the country this is one of the largest national agricultural systems in the world.
3. Formerly known as Imperial Council of Agricultural Research, it was established on 16 July 1929 as a registered society under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 in pursuance of the report of the Royal Commission on Agriculture.
4. The ICAR has its headquarters at New Delhi.
5. The Council is the apex body for coordinating, guiding and managing research and education in agriculture including horticulture, fisheries and animal sciences in the entire country.
6. Union Minister of Agriculture is the ex-officio President of the ICAR Society

Role of ICAR in Indian Agriculture

1. The ICAR has played a pioneering role in ushering Green Revolution and subsequen developments in agriculture in India through its research and technology development that has enabled the country to increase the production of foodgrains by 4 times, horticultural crops by 6 times, fish by 9 times (marine 5 times and inland 17 times), milk 6 times and eggs 27 times since 1950-51, thus making a visible impact on the national food and nutritional security. It has played a major role in promoting excellence in higher education in agriculture. It is engaged in cutting edge areas of science and technology development and its scientists are internationally acknowledged in their fields.
2. The mandate of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is: To plan, undertake, aid, promote and coordinate education, research and its application in agriculture, agroforestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, home science and allied sciences.
3. To act as a clearing house of research and general information relating to agriculture, animal husbandry, home science and allied sciences, and fisheries through its publications and information system; and instituting and promoting transfer of technology programmes.
4. To provide, undertake and promote consultancy services in the fields of education, research, training and dissemination of information in agriculture, agroforestry, animal husbandry, fisheries, home science and allied sciences.
5. To look into the problems relating to broader areas of rural development concerning agriculture, including postharvest technology by developing co-operative programmes with other organizations such as the Indian Council of Social Science Research, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research, Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and the universities.
6. To do other things considered necessary to attain the objectives of the Society

Issue of Agri Research and extension

1. Agricultural extension is the application of scientific research and new knowledge to agricultural practices through farmer education. Basically educating farmers about the latest technologies being developed in the labs i.e. lab to land linkage.
2. While Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) with agriculture research universities played a key role in the Green revolution. Of late agriculture research has been plagued by severe under investment and neglect.

Three key weaknesses

Agri education is weak in states due to (i) resource crunch, (ii) difficulty in attracting talented faculty, (iii) limited linkages and collaborations with international counterparts, (iv) weakening of the lab-to-land connect; and, (v) lack of innovation

Low investment in public agricultural research in India. As share of agriculture GDP, it is even less than that of Bangladesh and Indonesia

Majority (63.5 per cent) of scientists have low to very low level of productivity

Solution

1. There is need of instituting performance indicators in universities.
2. Improve investment as a proportion of agri GDP
3. securing participation from the private sector
4. instituting a system in which the winner is offered a proportionately large enough award for innovating desirable agricultural traits (such as improving pules productivity considerably) but the intellectual property rights of the innovation are transferred to the government
5. Leverage mobile phones to provide timely information to farmers
6. Leverage the potential of drones (UAVs) to provide crucial information on crop health, irrigation problems, soil variation and even pest and fungal infestations that are not apparent at eye level to farmers
7. Improve regulatory process to address concerns against GM crops while adapting high yielding technologies

Q.) The Indian Council of Agriculture Research (ICAR) mandate is agriculture education, research and farm extension. Critically evaluate its performance over the years and how it must be revamped?

Note4Students:

Government decision to construct 10 more PHWR Reflects the government’s commitment to prioritise the use of clean power in India’s energy mix.  It is the part of low-carbon growth strategy and to ensure long-term base load requirement for the nation’s industrialisation. So this topic is important.

Introduction

Pressurized heavy-water reactor (PHWR) is a nuclear reactor

1. Using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel,
2. This uses heavy water (deuterium oxide D2O) as its coolant and neutron moderator.
3. While heavy water is significantly more expensive than ordinary light water, it creates greatly enhanced neutron economy, allowing the reactor to operate without fuel-enrichment facilities (offsetting the additional expense of the heavy water) and enhancing the ability of the reactor to make use of alternate fuel cycles.

Advantages of PHWR

1. The use of heavy water as the moderator is the key to the PHWR (pressurized heavy water reactor) system, enabling the use of natural uranium as the fuel (in the form of ceramic UO2), which means that it can be operated without expensive uranium enrichment facilities.
2. The mechanical arrangement of the PHWR, which places most of the moderator at lower temperatures, is particularly efficient because the resulting thermal neutrons are “more thermal” than in traditional designs, where the moderator normally is much hotter. These features mean that a PHWR can use natural uranium and other fuels, and does so more efficiently than light water reactors (LWRs).

Pressurised heavy-water reactors do have some drawbacks.

1. Heavy water generally costs hundreds of dollars per kilogram, though this is a trade-off against reduced fuel costs.
2. The reduced energy content of natural uranium as compared to enriched uranium necessitates more frequent replacement of fuel; this is normally accomplished by use of an on-power refuelling system.
3. The increased rate of fuel movement through the reactor also results in higher volumes of spent fuel than in LWRs employing enriched uranium.
4. since unenriched uranium fuel accumulates a lower density of fission products than enriched uranium fuel, it generates less heat, allowing more compact storage.

Recent Developements

1. Union Cabinet gave its approval for the construction of 10 units of the new indigenous 700 MWe (mega watt electric) pressurised heavy water reactors (PHWRs).
2. The new reactors are of significantly higher capacities compared to the PHWRs currently under operation
3. The standard PHWR being used in India is of 220 MWe though two 540 MWe reactors were installed in Tarapur in 2005 and 2006. The ten reactors will be installed in Kaiga in Karnataka (Unit 5 and 6), Chutka in Madhya Pradesh (Unit 1 and 2), Gorakhpur in Haryana (Unit 3 and 4) and Mahi Banswara in Rajasthan (Unit 1, 2, 3 and 4).

Analysis

Why PHWR

1. The main reasons for selecting PHWRs in the 1960s for the First Stage of the Indian nuclear power programme have been the use of natural uranium oxide as the fuel, the best utilisation of mined uranium in energy production and the prospect of establishing a completely self-reliant technology.
2. The government’s measure seeks to fast track its three-pronged program—developed largely during the country’s almost 30-year-long isolation from international nuclear trade—and also factors in India’s abundant thorium resources, which constitute 25% of the world’s total reserves.
3. The first step of the three-stage program involves building indigenously engineered PHWRs and light-water reactors to produce plutonium. The second stage uses fast-neutron reactors fueled by plutonium to breed U-233 from thorium. In the third stage, using wholly indigenous technology, the country will use advanced heavy-water reactors fueled with U-233 obtained from the irradiation of thorium in PHWRs and fast reactors.
4. India wants to ramp up production of power from low-carbon sources and has outlined plans to install a total of 175 GW of renewables by 2022.
5. As of March 2016, about 61% of the country’s installed capacity was coal-fired, 14% came from hydropower, 14% came from other renewables (mostly wind, followed by small hydro and biomass), 8% from natural gas, 2% from nuclear, and 1% from diesel.
6. 100% of all their components are manufactured by the Indian industry.
7. As far as the safety is concerned, the PHWR technology scores well in terms of its several inherent safety features.
8. The biggest advantage of the PHWR design is the use of thin walled pressure tubes instead of large pressure vessels used in pressure vessel type reactors.
9. This results in a distribution of pressure boundaries to large number of small diameter pressure tubes.
10. The consequence of an accidental rupture of the pressure boundary in such a design will have a much less severity than that in a pressure vessel type reactor
11. In addition, the Indian 700 MWe PHWR design has enhanced safety through dedicated Passive Decay Heat Removal System which has the capability of removing decay heat from core without requiring any operator actions similar with the technology adopted for Generation III+ plants to address the Fukushima type accident.
12. The 700 MWe Indian PHWR has steel-lined containment to reduce the leakages and containment spray system to reduce the containment pressure in case of a loss of coolant accident and for scrubbing radio nuclides in case of their release beyond the design limit.

Research and development

1. Over four decades of relentless research, design and development work in Bhabha Atomic Research Centre and Nuclear Power Corporation and the matching contributions of some of their industry partners who had shown the courage in taking up the challenging manufacturing and construction work have enabled India in establishing the technology in totality.
2. Mastering the entire fuel cycle including prospecting of minerals, mining, processing and manufacturing of fuel and structural materials, reprocessing of spent nuclear fuel and immobilization of radioactive waste has given India a unique position of self-reliance in the atomic energy domain.
3. The constraint of a limited reserve of uranium in the country which earlier impeded a rapid growth in nuclear power has now been eased by augmented production of indigenous uranium and import of uranium under the civil nuclear co-operation agreements with several countries

Clean Energy

1. India is now poised for a rapid growth in the nuclear power capacity which is essential for meeting the demand of clean electricity.
2. The per-capita electricity consumption in India (now close to 1000 KWh) is nearly one-third of the world average and there is an obvious need for a substantial enhancement of non-carbon electricity production to improve the quality of life of our people.
3. The impressive growth in the solar and wind power has made a visible impact in increased availability of electricity in many areas. However, it needs to be emphasized that the distributed and intermittent sources of energy such as solar and wind cannot meet the base load demand very effectively.
4. The nuclear energy source is concentrated, continuous and reliable and, therefore, can be complemented by solar and wind energy in meeting the overall demand of electricity with practically zero carbon foot-print.

Employment

1. Manufacturing orders of close to Rs 70,000 crore are expected to come through to the domestic industry on account of the projects and are expected to generate more than 33,400 jobs in direct and indirect employment.

The merit of the closed fuel cycle

1. Which has been adopted right from the beginning of the Indian programme is not only in multiplying the fuel resource but also in reducing the radio-active burden of the nuclear waste dramatically.
2. In this context, the successful development of separation of minor actinides from the nuclear waste in India, deployed in pilot plant scale, has drawn world-wide attention. Plutonium recovered by reprocessing of spent fuel from operating PHWRs has been used in making the plutonium-uranium mixed oxide fuel for the full core of the Prototype Fast Breeder Reactor (PFBR) which has initiated the commissioning activities before commencing operation.

Challenges

1. The decision to step up the indigenous civil nuclear reactor programme comes amid festering concerns over the deployment of imported light water reactor-based projects in collaboration with global vendors such as Toshiba-Westinghouse and Areva
2. The speed at which we can grow our nuclear power capacity
3. In this context one can examine the experience of France and USA in nineteen seventies and of China in the recent years.
4. They all have achieved very impressive rapid growth by adopting a convoy or a serial mode of installation of nuclear power plants of a few standardised designs. In such a strategy, the industry can gear up their dedicated production lines for sophisticated nuclear components and construction companies can deploy their manpower and skill-set most effectively.

Conclusion

1. With the entry of India in her Second Stage of nuclear power programme in which Fast Breeder Reactors will not only enable the growth of the installed nuclear capacity, but also generate more fissile materials, plutonium-239 and uranium-233 by conversion of fertile isotopes, uranium-238 and thorium-232 respectively
2. An enhanced scope and an accelerated implementation of the First Stage of the programme will make a far- reaching impact on securing the energy self-reliance of the country.
3. By operating multiple recycles in the uranium-plutonium fuel cycle the supply of fissile material is expected to be enhanced by a factor of 60 and by using the huge reserve of thorium, the current estimate being four times that of uranium, India can sustain the supply of clean nuclear energy for several centuries.

Question:

Q.) PHWR will help India to achieve its Paris climate change conference commitments. analyse

 

Image Source

Note4student

INO project since its inception is mired with controversies.A number of op-eds have been written on this issue.

Context

1. India’s wait to join the elite club of countries undertaking neutrino research suffered a procedural delay
2. The National Green Tribunal (NGT) suspended the environmental clearance (EC) granted to the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO)
3. It was ordered it to file a fresh application for clearance

INO project:

• 1. The proposed INO project primarily aims to study atmospheric neutrinos in a 1,300-m deep cavern in the
  2. Bodi West Hills in Theni district, Tamil Nadu
  3. If completed, the INO would house the largest magnet in the world
  4. It will be four times more massive than the European Organization for Nuclear Research, CERN’s Compact
  5. Muon Solenoid (CMS) detector’s magnet

Neutrinos:

• 1. Neutrinos are tiny particles. They are almost massless. They travel at near light speeds.
  2. They are born from violent astrophysical events such as exploding stars and gamma ray bursts
  3. Therefore, they are abundant in the universe and can move as easily through matter as we move through air
  4. They are notoriously difficult to track down. If you hold your hand towards the sunlight for one second, about a billion neutrinos from the sun will pass through it
  5. This is because they are the by-products of nuclear fusion in the sun

Aim of the INO project:

• 1. It aims to use to understand some of the unsolved mysteries of the universe Setback of delayed project
  2. The suspension of INO’s environmental clearance is a setback
  3. The scientific community hopes these procedural lapses will be addressed in an earnest and time-bound manner

Environmental issues

1. After initially denying permission to the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) to locate the India-based Neutrino Observatory (INO) at Singara in Nilgris District in TamilNadu, Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), Government of India accorded both environmental and forest clearance for locating the project in the Bodi West Hills (BWH) in Theni District in TamilNadu.
2. However, Southern Bench of the National Green Tribunal has recently suspended the environmental clearance granted to the neutrino observatory by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forest (MoEF), due to some objections such as the proposed location being just about 4.9 kilometers from the Madhikettan Shola National Park in Idukki district of Kerala.
3. The Southern Bench of National Green Tribunal has asked the project promoters to submit a fresh application with more details.
4. The project has also been objected by local people on safety consideration. The project is suffering prolonged delay.

Criticism of INO Project:

• 1. The explosives used in construction are a threat to the highly sensitive ecology of the Western Ghats
  2. The relevant radiation safety studies for carrying out the long baseline neutrino experiment in the second phase of INO have not been done
  3. There are further allegations that neutrinos are radioactive particles
  4. The INO will double up the storage of nuclear waste

The better side of the story:

• 1. The proposed excavation is planned to be carried out by a controlled blast, limiting the impact of vibrations with the help of computer simulations
  2. Additionally, building the INO involves constructing an underground lab accessed by a 2 km-long horizontal access tunnel, resembling a road tunnel
  3. Such tunnels have been built extensively in India and the relevant studies show that the environmental impact (mainly dust and noise in the initial phase) have been managed

Q.) Critically examine the uses of understanding of neutrinos, and significance of its research for India. Also critically comment why set-up of neutrino research facility in India is being opposed.

Source:

http://southasiajournal.net/why-is-neutrino-observatory-project-facing-issues-in-india/