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  • RBI surprises with 40 bps rate increase in Repo Rate

    The Reserve Bank of India (RBI), in a sudden move, raised the repo rate by 40 basis points (bps) to 4.4% citing inflation that was globally rising alarmingly and spreading fast.

    Why in news?

    • The repo rate increase was the first since August 2018.
    • The MPC retained its ‘accommodative’ policy stance even as it focuses on withdrawal of accommodation to keep inflation within the target range while supporting growth.
    • Due to Ukraine War, persistent and spreading inflationary pressures are becoming more acute with every passing day.

    Hues over the REPO spike

    • The move — to have such a meeting and to raise the interest rates — is, at two different levels, both surprising and obvious.
    • It is surprising because the RBI’s MPC meets once every two months — and the meeting this week was not scheduled.

    What is Repo Rate?

    • Repo rate is the rate at which the central bank of a country (Reserve Bank of India in case of India) lends money to commercial banks in the event of any shortfall of funds.
    • It is used by monetary authorities to control inflation.
    • In the event of inflation, central banks increase repo rate as this acts as a disincentive for banks to borrow from the central bank.
    • This ultimately reduces the money supply in the economy and thus helps in arresting inflation.

    How does the repo dynamics work?

    • When there is a shortage of funds, commercial banks borrow money from the central bank which is repaid according to the repo rate applicable.
    • The central bank provides these short terms loans against securities such as treasury bills or government bonds.
    • This monetary policy is used by the central bank to control inflation or increase the liquidity of banks.
    • The government increases the repo rate when they need to control prices and restrict borrowings.
    • An increase in repo rate means commercial banks have to pay more interest for the money lent to them and therefore, a change in repo rate eventually affects public borrowings such as home loan, EMIs, etc.
    • From interest charged by commercial banks on loans to the returns from deposits, various financial and investment instruments are indirectly dependent on the repo rate.

    What is accommodative stance of policy?

    • Accommodative monetary policy is when central banks expand the money supply to boost the economy. Monetary policies that are considered accommodative include lowering the Federal funds rate.
    • These measures are meant to make money less expensive to borrow and encourage more spending.

    What triggered the RBI to take sudden decision?

    • Inflation has been rising for over two years: By law, the RBI is supposed to target retail inflation at 4%. Inflation constantly above 4% since last year.
    • Inflation has not been “transitory”: The reasons for high inflation have tended to change over the months due to wide range of reasons like war, crude oil prices rise, taxes on fuels etc.
    • Spike in crude oil prices is not new: The RBI has pointed to high crude oil prices in the wake of the Ukraine war, as one of the key reasons for high inflation in India.
    • High core inflation: The core inflation which is essentially the inflation rate stripped of the effect of fuel and food prices has been rising up. This is more worrisome for RBI since it cannot be altered overnight.
    • Monetary policy has lags. RBI waited too long: If the RBI wanted to contain inflation in May, it should have acted in February or at least in April. Raising rates right now may not bring down the inflation rate immediately.

    Try this PYQ from CSP 2020:

    Q.If the RBI decides to adopt an expansionist monetary policy, which of the following it would NOT do?

    1. Cut and optimize the statutory liquidity ratio
    2. Increase the Marginal Standing Facility Rate
    3. Cut the Bank Rate and Repo Rate

    Select the correct answer using the code given below:

    (a) 1 and 2 only

    (b) 2 only

    (c) 1 and 3 only

    (d) 1, 2 and 3

     

    [wpdiscuz-feedback id=”u0fhdp0i3d” question=”Please leave a feedback on this” opened=”1″]Post your answers here:

    [/wpdiscuz-feedback]

     

     

     

    Back2Basics: Monetary Policy Committee (MPC)

    • The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) is a committee of the RBI, which is entrusted with the task of fixing the benchmark policy interest rate (repo rate) to contain inflation within the specified target level.
    • The RBI Act, 1934 was amended by Finance Act (India), 2016 to constitute MPC to bring more transparency and accountability in fixing India’s Monetary Policy.
    • The policy is published after every meeting with each member explaining his opinions.
    • The committee is answerable to the Government of India if the inflation exceeds the range prescribed for three consecutive months.
    • Suggestions for setting up a MPC is not new and goes back to 2002 when YV Reddy committee proposed to establish an MPC, then Tarapore committee in 2006, Percy Mistry committee in 2007, Raghuram Rajan committee in 2009 and then Urjit Patel Committee in 2013.

    Composition and Working

    • The committee comprises six members – three officials of the RBI and three external members nominated by the Government of India.
    • The meetings of the Monetary Policy Committee are held at least 4 times a year and it publishes its decisions after each such meeting.
    • The Governor of RBI is the chairperson ex officio of the committee.
    • Decisions are taken by a majority with the Governor having the casting vote in case of a tie.
    • They need to observe a “silent period” seven days before and after the rate decision for “utmost confidentiality”.

     

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  • Civil Registration System Report, 2020

    The Civil Registration System (CRS) report 2020 was released at least a month before its schedule.

    What is Civil Registration System (CRS)?

    • The CRS collates data on all births and deaths registered with local authorities across India.
    • The CRS report is released by the Registrar-General of India.
    • It releases its report around 18 months after a year ends.

    Significance of the 2020 Report

    • The 2020 report was released at least a month before schedule.
    • Such data can be of significance during a pandemic as possible covid-19 deaths may not have been categorized as such in official records.
    • The CRS can help us reach an estimate by using the “excess deaths” approach.
    • It is the difference between the total number of deaths registered in a pandemic year and the number of deaths that normally take place in a year.

    Why was the data released ahead of schedule?

    • India and the WHO are locked in a tussle over the latter’s excess death estimates that would give a sense of pandemic-linked fatalities globally in 2020-21.
    • India has reportedly stalled WHO’s efforts to release the data, claiming flawed methodology.
    • WHO is set to release its estimates today, a possible reason that India released CRS data early.

    Why is India contesting the WHO approach?

    • One key objection by India is that WHO has classified it as a Tier 2 country and hence used a different modelling process to estimate excess deaths from that used for Tier 1 countries.
    • WHO says all countries that made available their full all-cause mortality data for the pandemic period were classified as Tier 1.
    • India is in Tier 2 because it didn’t share official data with WHO.
    • Hence, alternative data and modelling methods had to be adopted, adjusting for factors such as income levels, covid-19 reporting rates, and test positivity rates.

    What does the 2020 data show?

    (a) Covid deaths

    • The CRS report for 2020 has recorded deaths of 8.12 million Indians, 6.2% more than 2019.
    • Normally, an unusual increase in deaths would be linked to the pandemic. However, in India, not all deaths are registered.
    • Thus, a rise could simply be because of more families getting deaths registered.
    • The CRS for 2021, which saw more Covid deaths, may not be out until next year.

    (b) Improvements in sex ratio

    • Highest Sex Ratio at Birth (SRB) based on registered events has been reported by Ladakh (1,104) followed by Arunachal Pradesh (1,011), A&N Islands (984), Tripura (974), and Kerala (969).
    • The lowest sex ratio was reported by Manipur (880), followed by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (898), Gujarat (909), Haryana (916) and Madhya Pradesh (921).

     

     

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  • State of (un)employment in India

    Data from the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) shows that India’s labour force participation rate (LFPR) has fallen to just 40% from an already low 47% in 2016.

    What is LFPR?

    • Before understanding LFPR, we need to define the labour force itself.
    • According to the CMIE, the labour force consists of persons who are of age 15 years or older, and belong to either of the following two categories:
    1. are employed
    2. are unemployed and are willing to work and are actively looking for a job
    • There is a crucial commonality between the two categories — they both have people “demanding” jobs.
    • This demand is what LFPR refers to. While those in category 1 succeed in getting a job, those in category 2 fail to do so.
    • Thus, the LFPR essentially is the percentage of the working-age (15 years or older) population that is asking for a job; it represents the “demand” for jobs in an economy.
    • It includes those who are employed and those who are unemployed.
    • The Unemployment Rate (UER), which is routinely quoted in the news, is nothing but the number of unemployed (category 2) as a proportion of the labour force.

    What is the significance of LFPR in India?

    • Typically, it is expected that the LFPR will remain largely stable.
    • As such, any analysis of unemployment in an economy can be done just by looking at the UER.
    • But, in India, the LFPR is not only lower than in the rest of the world but also falling. This, in turn, affects the UER because LFPR is the base (the denominator) on which UER is calculated.
    • The world over, LFPR is around 60%. In India, it has been sliding over the last 10 years and has shrunk from 47% in 2016 to just 40% as of December 2021.
    • This shrinkage implies that merely looking at UER will under-report the stress of unemployment in India.
    • Recent trend suggests that not only that more than half of India’s population in the working-age group is deciding to sit out of the job market, but also that this proportion of people is increasing.

    How is it under-reported?

    • Imagine that there are just 100 people in the working-age group but only 60 ask for jobs — that is, the LFPR is 60% — and of these 60 people, 6 did not get a job. This would imply a UER of 10%.
    • Now imagine a scenario when the LFPR has fallen to 40% and, as such, only 40 people are demanding work. And of these 40, only 2 people fail to get a job.
    • The UER would have fallen to 5% and it might appear that the economy is doing better on the jobs front but the truth is starkly different.
    • The truth is that beyond the 2 who are unemployed, a total of 20 people have stopped demanding work.
    • Typically, this happens when people in the working-age get disheartened from not finding work.

    So, what is the correct way to assess India’s unemployment stress?

    • When LFPR is falling as steadily and as sharply as it has done in India’s case, it is better to track another variable: the Employment Rate (ER).
    • The ER refers to the total number of employed people as a percentage of the working-age population.
    • By using the working-age population as the base and looking at the number of people with jobs, the ER captures the fall in LFPR to better represent the stress in the labour market.

    ER trends in India

    • If one looks at the ER data (Chart 1), it becomes clear that while India’s working-age population has been increasing each year, the percentage of people with jobs has been coming down sharply.
    • Looking at the absolute numbers makes the stress even more clear.
    • In December 2021, India had 107.9 crore people in the working age group and of these, only 40.4 crore had a job (an ER of 37.4%).
    • Compare this with December 2016 when India had 95.9 crore in the working-age group and 41.2 crore with jobs (ER 43%).
    • In five years, while the total working-age population has gone up by 12 crore, the number of people with jobs has gone down by 80 lakh.

    Why is India’s LFPR so low?

    • The main reason for India’s LFPR being low is the abysmally low level of female LFPR.
    • According to CMIE data, as of December 2021, while the male LFPR was 67.4%, the female LFPR was as low as 9.4%.
    • In other words, less than one in 10 working-age women in India are even demanding work.
    • Even if one sources data from the World Bank, India’s female labour force participation rate is around 25% when the global average is 47%.

    Why do so few women demand work?

    • One reason is essentially about the working conditions — such as law and order, efficient public transportation, violence against women, societal norms etc — being far from conducive for women to seek work.
    • The other has to do with correctly measuring women’s contribution to the economy.
    • There are methodological issues in formally capturing women’s contribution to the economy since a lot of women in India are exclusively involved within their own homes.
    • Lastly, it is also a question of adequate job opportunities for women.

    How do people who leave the labour force survive?

    • Households with more than one working member often witness this phenomenon.
    • The fall in the LFPR since 2016 has been accompanied by a fall in the proportion of households where more than one person is employed.
    • The fall in LFPR has largely been the result of the additional person employed in a typical household losing a job.

     

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  • All-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey

    The All-India Household Consumer Expenditure Survey, usually conducted by the National Statistical Office (NSO) every five years, is set to resume this year after a prolonged break.

    What is the Consumer Expenditure Survey (CES)?

    • The CES is traditionally a quinquennial (recurring every five years) survey conducted by the government’s National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
    • It is designed to collect information on the consumer spending patterns of households across the country, both urban and rural.
    • Typically, the Survey is conducted between July and June and this year’s exercise is expected to be completed by June 2023.

    Utility of the survey

    • The data gathered in this exercise reveals the average expenditure on goods (food and non-food) and services.
    • It helps generate estimates of household Monthly Per Capita Consumer Expenditure (MPCE) as well as the distribution of households and persons over the MPCE classes.
    • It is used to arrive at estimates of poverty levels in different parts of the country and to review economic indicators such as the GDP, since 2011-12.

    Why need this survey?

    • India has not had any official estimates on per capita household spending.
    • It provides separate data sets for rural and urban parts, and also splice spending patterns for each State and Union Territory, as well as different socio-economic groups.

    What about the previous survey?

    • The survey was last held in 2017-2018.
    • The government announced that it had data quality issues.
    • Hence the results were not released.

     

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  • Need for one common language

    Last week, Home Minister Amit Shah suggested that states should communicate with each other in Hindi rather than English, while stressing that Hindi should not be an alternative to local languages.

    This again sparked the debate of “Hindi imposition”.

    How widely is Hindi spoken in India?

    • The 2011 linguistic census accounts for 121 mother tongues, including 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution.
    • Hindi is the most widely spoken, with 52.8 crore individuals, or 43.6% of the population, declaring it as their mother tongue.
    • The next highest is Bengali, mother tongue for 97 lakh (8%) — less than one-fifth of Hindi’s count (Chart 2).
    • In terms of the number of people who know Hindi, the count crosses more than half the country.
    • Nearly 13.9 crore (over 11%) reported Hindi as their second language, which makes it either the mother tongue or second language for nearly 55% of the population.

    Has it always been this widespread?

    • Hindi has been India’s predominant mother tongue over the decades, its share in the population rising in every succeeding census.
    • In 1971, 37% Indians had reported Hindi as their mother tongue, a share that has grown over the next four censuses to 38.7%, 39.2%, 41% and 43.6% at last count (Chart 1).
    • This begs the question as to which mother tongues have declined as Hindi’s share has risen.
    • A number of mother tongues other than Hindi have faced a decline in terms of share, although the dip has been marginal in many cases.
    • For example, Bengali’s share in the population declined by just 0.14 percentage points from 1971 (8.17%) to 2011 (8.03%).
    • In comparison, Malayalam (1.12 percentage points) and Urdu (1.03 points) had higher declines among the mother tongues with at least 1 crore speakers in 2011.
    • Punjabi’s share, on the other hand, rose from 2.57% to 2.74%.
    • At the other end of the scale (among the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution) were Malayalam, whose numbers rose by under 59% in four decades, and Assamese, rising just over 71% (Chart 3).

    What explains Hindi’s high numbers?

    • One obvious explanation is that Hindi is the predominant language in some of India’s most populous states, including Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Bihar.
    • Another reason is that a number of languages are bracketed under Hindi by census enumerators.
    • In 2011, there were 1,383 mother tongues reported by people, and hundreds were knocked out.
    • These mother tongues were then grouped into languages.
    • You will find that under Hindi, they have listed nearly 65 mother tongues.
    • Among them is Bhojpuri, and 5 crore people have reported Bhojpuri as their mother tongue, but the census has decided that Bhojpuri is Hindi.
    • If one were to knock out the other languages merged with Hindi, the total figure goes down to 38 crore.

    And how widely is English spoken?

    • Although English, alongside Hindi, is one of the two official languages of the central government, it is not among the 22 languages in the 8th Schedule; it is one of the 99 non-scheduled languages.
    • In terms of mother tongue, India had just 2.6 lakh English speakers in 2011 — a tiny fraction of the 121 crore people counted in that census.
    • That does not reflect the extent to which English is spoken.
    • It was the second language of 8.3 crore respondents in 2011, second only to Hindi’s 13.9 crore.
    • If third language is added, then English was spoken — as mother tongue, second language or third language — by over 10% of the population in 2011, behind only Hindi’s 57%.
    • It is still not a scheduled language in India, when it should be.

    Where is English most prevalent?

    • As mother tongue, Maharashtra accounted for over 1 lakh of the 2.6 lakh English speakers.
    • As second language, English is preferred over Hindi in parts of the Northeast.
    • Among the 17.6 lakh with Manipuri (an 8th Schedule language) as their mother tongue in 2011, 4.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 1.8 lakh for Hindi.
    • Among the non-scheduled languages spoken in the Northeast, Khasi, predominant in Meghalaya, was the mother tongue of 14.3 lakh, of whom 2.4 lakh declared their second language as English, and 54,000 as Hindi.
    • The trends were similar for Mizo, and for various languages spoken in Nagaland, including Ao, Angami and Rengma.
    • Beyond the Northeastern languages, among 68 lakh with Kashmiri as their mother tongue, 2.8 lakh declared their second language as English, compared to 2.2 lakh who declared Hindi.

    Back2Basics: Eighth Schedule to the Indian Constitution

    • The Eighth Schedule lists the official languages of the Republic of India.
    • At the time when the Constitution was enacted, inclusion in this list meant that the language was entitled to representation on the Official Languages Commission.
    • This language would be one of the bases that would be drawn upon to enrich Hindi and English, the official languages of the Union.
    • The list has since, however, acquired further significance.
    • In addition, a candidate appearing in an examination conducted for public service is entitled to use any of these languages as the medium in which he or she answers the paper.
    • As per Articles 344(1) and 351 of the Indian Constitution, the eighth schedule includes the recognition of the 22 languages.

    ‘Classical’ languages in India

    Currently, six languages enjoy the ‘Classical’ status: Tamil (declared in 2004), Sanskrit (2005), Kannada (2008), Telugu (2008), Malayalam (2013), and Odia (2014).

    How are they classified?

    According to information provided by the Ministry of Culture in the Rajya Sabha in February 2014, the guidelines for declaring a language as ‘Classical’ are:

    • High antiquity of its early texts/recorded history over a period of 1500-2000 years;
    • A body of ancient literature/texts, which is considered a valuable heritage by generations of speakers;
    • The literary tradition be original and not borrowed from another speech community;
    • The classical language and literature being distinct from modern, there may also be a discontinuity between the classical language and its later forms o

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  • NITI Aayog publishes Energy and Climate Index List

    Gujarat has topped the list for larger States in the NITI Aayog’s State Energy and Climate Index–Round 1 that has ranked States and Union Territories (UTs) on certain parameters.

    State Energy and Climate Index

    • The States have been categorized based on size and geographical differences as larger and smaller States and UTs.
    • The index is based on 2019-20 data.
    • It ranks the states’ performance on 6 parameters, namely
    1. DISCOM’s Performance
    2. Access, Affordability and Reliability of Energy
    3. Clean Energy Initiatives
    4. Energy Efficiency
    5. Environmental Sustainability; and
    6. New Initiatives
    • The parameters are further divided into 27 indicators. Based on the composite SECI Round I score.
    • The states and UTs are categorized into three groups: Front Runners, Achievers, and Aspirants.

    Performance by the states

    • Gujarat, Kerala and Punjab have been ranked as the top three performers in the category of larger States, while Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh were the bottom three States.
    • Goa emerged as the top performer in the smaller States category followed by Tripura and Manipur.
    • Among UTs, Chandigarh, Delhi and Daman & Diu/Dadra & Nagar Haveli are the top performers.
    • Punjab was the best performer in discom performance, while Kerala topped in access, affordability and reliability category.
    • Haryana was the best performer in clean energy initiative among larger States and Tamil Nadu in the energy efficiency category.

     

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  • What is Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI)?

    Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) has carried out coastal vulnerability assessment for entire Indian coast at states level.

    Coastal Vulnerability Index (CVI)

    • Under the CVI, INCOIS has brought out an Atlas comprising 156 maps on 1:1,00,000 scales to prepare a CVI.
    • These maps determine the coastal risks due to future sea-level rise based on the physical and geological parameters for the Indian coast.
    • The CVI uses the relative risk that physical changes will occur as sea-level rises are quantified based on parameters like:
    1. Tidal range
    2. Wave height
    3. Coastal slope
    4. Coastal elevation
    5. Shoreline change rate
    6. Geomorphology
    7. Historical rate of relative sea-level change

    Other components: MHVM

    • A coastal Multi-Hazard Vulnerability Mapping (MHVM) was also carried out using above mentioned parameters.
    • These parameters were synthesized to derive the composite hazard zones that can be inundated along the coastal low-lying areas due to extreme flooding events.
    • This MHVM mapping was carried for the entire mainland of India on a 1:25000 scale.
    • These maps depict the coastal low-lying areas exposed to the coastal inundation.

    Significance of CVI

    • India has a coastline of 7516.6 Km i.e. 6100 km of mainland coastline plus coastline of 1197 Indian islands touching 13 States and Union Territories (UTs).
    • Coastal vulnerability assessments can be useful information for coastal disaster management and building resilient coastal communities.

    What is Coastal Security?

    • Coastal Security is understood as a subset of maritime security. It
      involves the security of the coastal water zone against any threat or challenge that originates from the sea. Coastal water zone refers to the water area seawards of the Indian coast up to the limit of India’s contiguous zone, or the International Maritime Boundary Line (IMBL) whichever is less.
    • Coastal security has a wide connotation encompassing maritime border management, island security, maintenance of peace, stability and good order in coastal areas and enforcement of laws therein, security of ports, coastal installations, and other structures
      including Vital Areas and Vital Points (VAs/VPs) and vessels and personnel operating in coastal areas. An effective
      organization for coastal security also facilitates coastal defense.

    Why is coastal security considered indispensable for India?

    • National Security: The elaborate security arrangements on land forced the terrorists and illegal migrants to look towards the sea where security measures are comparatively lax, enabling them to ‘move, hide and strike’ with relative ease. Plugging this loophole is imperative to enable a holistic national security architecture.
    • Economic development: Coastal region plays an important part in India’s economic development. Security of the region will have a direct bearing on the following areas:
      a) Trade: India’s sea dependence on oil is about 93% which includes India’s offshore oil production and petroleum exports. Further, 95% of India’s trade by volume and 68% of trade by value comes via the Indian Ocean.
      b) Fish production: India is the second-largest fish producer in the world with a total production of 13.7 million metric tonnes in 2018-19 of which 35% was from the maritime sector. In the same period, India had exported Rs 46,589.37 crore worth of marine products.
      c) Strategic minerals: India hosts some of the largest and richest shoreline placers. The beach and dune sands in India contain heavy minerals (HMs) like ilmenite, rutile, garnet, zircon, monazite and sillimanite.
      d) Geostrategic interests: The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) has become a pivotal zone of global strategic competition.
      e) Dealing with climate-induced crises: Coastal zones are already under threat from environmental degradation. At the same time, the sinking of islands due to the rising sea levels in the Indian Ocean may result in the rise of climate refugees.

    How India’s Coastal Security Architecture has evolved over the years?

    • Customs Marine Organisation (CMO), 1974: Created on the recommendation of Nag Chaudhari Committee, it was mandated to conduct anti-smuggling operations. However, since the CMO was temporary in nature, not much attention was paid to strengthening this organisation. In 1982, it was merged with the ICG to avoid the duplication of efforts.
    • Indian Coast Guard (ICG), 1977: With the enactment of the Indian Coast Guard Act, 1978, the organization formally
      came into being as the fourth armed force of India. Its mandates include thwarting smuggling activities, safeguarding and protecting artificial islands, offshore terminals, installations, and other devices in the maritime zone, protecting and assisting fishermen in distress and preserving and protecting the marine environment, including
      controlling marine pollution.
    • Coastal Security Scheme (CSS), 2005: Instituted originally in 2005 and implemented by the Department of Border
      Management, Ministry of Home Affairs. The aim of the CSS was to strengthen infrastructure for patrolling and the surveillance of the coastal areas, particularly the shallow areas close to the coast.
    • Coastal Security Architecture Post ‘26/11’: Since then, the physical assets were built up and human resource capability was
      also enhanced to strengthen the coastal security. These
      efforts include:
      Strengthening the Multilayered Surveillance System: Before 2008, the existing multilayered surveillance system under the CSS was functioning only along the Gujarat and Maharashtra coasts.
      Indian Navy(IN): It was designated as the authority responsible for overall maritime security which includes coastal as well as offshore security. It was also made responsible for the coastal defense of the nation assisted by the ICG, the marine police, and
      other central and state agencies.
      ICG: The Director-General Coast Guard has been designated as the Commander Coastal Command, and is responsible for the overall coordination between central and state agencies in all matters relating to coastal security.
      Border Security Force (BSF): The water wing of the BSF have been deployed along with eight floating border outposts (BOPs), for the security and surveillance of the creeks in Gujarat and the Sunderbans.
      Central Industrial Security Force (CISF): It was entrusted with the responsibility of the physical security of India’s major ports. Vessel Traffic Management Systems (VTMS) are also being installed in all the major and a few non-major ports to monitor and regulate maritime traffic as well as to detect potentially dangerous ships.
      Sagar Suraksha Dal: An informal layer of surveillance, comprising the fishermen community- created following the 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blasts – has also been formalized and activated in all coastal states.
    • National Maritime Domain Awareness (NMDA) Project: It includes an integrated intelligence grid to detect and tackle threats emanating from the sea in real-time. Post 26/11, it has been strengthened by establishing NC3I network and IMAC that generate a common operational picture of activities at sea
      through an institutionalized mechanism.
    • Maritime Theatre Command (MTC): MTC structure is
      proposed to integrate the assets of the Indian Navy, Army, IAF
      and Coast Guard to achieve the goals detailed out in the Joint
      Forces Doctrine (JFD), 2017. It will enable the security forces
      to form a ‘Net-centric’ Warfare model so as to gain an
      an advantage over the adversary using a flexible force structure
      to match the varied geographic domains.
    • Inter-agency maritime exercises: Such exercises help
      build inter-service synergy, interoperability, and
      jointness. These include ‘Sagar Kavach’, ‘Sea Vigil’, TROPEX.
    • Increased cooperation with littoral countries: India
      interacts more actively with littoral states of the Indian Ocean Region and employs maritime security engagement as a cornerstone of her regional foreign policy initiatives.

    Gaps in existing architecture

    • Lackadaisical approach of the State governments resulting in the slow pace of construction of coastal infrastructure.
    • Multiplicity of agencies results in poor coordination.
    • Disproportionate focus on terrorism results in less emphasis on non-traditional threats.
    • Lack of professionalism and capacity constraints in marine police forces.
    • Technological backwardnessPort security remains neglected in most of the minor ports.

    Ways to fill gaps in the existing architecture

    • Enacting the proposed Coastal Security Bill that will facilitate the creation of NMA.
    • Strengthening the surveillance system
    • Creation of Central Marine Police Force (CMPF)
    • Promulgate the National commercial maritime security policy document for efficient, coordinated, and effective actions.
    • Effective involvement of Coastal communities such as fishermen.
    • Reinforcing Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulations
      Recalibrate the defense expenditure to increase capacity and resources.

     

    Back2Basics: INCOIS

    • Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) is an autonomous body under Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES).
    • It has been issuing alerts on Potential Fishing Zone, Ocean State Forecast, Tsunami Early Warning, Storm Surge Early Warning, High Wave Alerts, etc.
    • It works through a dedicated ocean modeling, observations, computation facilities and the marine data center.

     

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  • India Press Freedom Report, 2021

    The India Press Freedom Report, 2021was recently released by the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG).

    India Press Freedom Report, 2021: Key Highlights

    • Jammu and Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Tripura topped the list of States and Union Territories where journalists and media houses were targeted in 2021.
    • It is followed by Delhi (8), Bihar (6), Assam (5), Haryana and Maharashtra (4 each), Goa and Manipur (3 each), Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal (2 each), and Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Kerala (1each).
    • While J&K recorded the maximum attacks by State actors, Tripura had the most cases of attacks by non-State actors, the analysis of data showed.

    Significance of the report

    • The widespread attacks on the press freedom are an indicator of the continuing deterioration of civic space in the country.
    • It represents the status of free speech exercised in our country.

     

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  • Highlights of the India State of Forest Report, 2021

    The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has released the India State of Forest Report (ISFR) 2021.

    About India State of Forest Report

    • ISFR is an assessment of India’s forest and tree cover, published every two years by the Forest Survey of India under the MoEFCC.
    • The first survey was published in 1987, and ISFR 2021 is the 17th.
    • It compiles data computed through wall-to-wall mapping of India’s forest cover through remote sensing techniques.

    Why need ISFR?

    • It is used in planning and formulation of policies in forest management as well as forestry and agroforestry sectors.

    How are forests categorized?

    The Forest Survey of India has listed four categories of forests. They are:

    1. Very Dense Forest (with tree canopy density of 70 per cent or above)
    2. Moderately Dense Forest (tree canopy density of 40 per cent or above but less than 70 per cent)
    3. Open Forest (tree canopy density of 10 per cent or above but less than 40 per cent)
    4. Scrub (tree canopy density less than 10 per cent)

    Highlights of the ISFR, 2021

    [1] Forest cover is increasing

    • ISFR 2021 has found that the forest and tree cover in the country continues to increase with an additional cover of 1,540 square kilometres over the past two years.
    • India’s forest cover is now 7,13,789 square kilometres, 21.71% of the country’s geographical area, an increase from 21.67% in 2019.
    • Tree cover has increased by 721 sq km.
    • Bamboo forests have grown from 13,882 million culms (stems) in 2019 to 53,336 million culms in 2021.

    [2] State-wise gain/losses

    • The states that have shown the highest increase in forest cover are Telangana (3.07%), Andhra Pradesh (2.22%) and Odisha (1.04%).
    • The Northeast states account for 7.98% of total geographical area but 23.75% of total forest cover.
    • Five states in the Northeast – Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland have all shown loss in forest cover.
    • The report has attributed the decline in the NE states to a spate of natural calamities, particularly landslides and heavy rains, in the region as well as to anthropogenic activities.

    [3] Increase in Mangrove cover

    • Mangroves have shown an increase of 17 sq km. India’s total mangrove cover is now 4,992 sq km.

    [4] Increase in carbon stock

    • The total carbon stock in country’s forests is estimated at 7,204 million tonnes, an increase of 79.4 million tonnes since 2019.

    [5] Big cats population

    • ISFR 2021 has some new features. It has for the first time assessed forest cover in tiger reserves, tiger corridors and the Gir forest which houses the Asiatic lion.
    • The forest cover in tiger corridors has increased by 37.15 sq km (0.32%) between 2011-2021, but decreased by 22.6 sq km (0.04%) in tiger reserves.
    • Buxa, Anamalai and Indravati reserves have shown an increase in forest cover while the highest losses have been found in Kawal, Bhadra and the Sunderbans reserves.
    • Pakke Tiger Reserve in Arunachal Pradesh has the highest forest cover, at nearly 97%.

     [6] Impact of climate change

    • The report estimates that by 2030, 45-64% of forests in India will experience the effects of climate change and rising temperatures, and forests in all states will be highly vulnerable climate hot spots.
    • Ladakh (forest cover 0.1-0.2%) is likely to be the most affected.
    • India’s forests are already showing shifting trends of vegetation types, such as Sikkim which has shown a shift in its vegetation pattern for 124 endemic species.

    [7] Forest fires

    • The survey has found that 35.46 % of the forest cover is prone to forest fires.
    • Out of this, 2.81 % is extremely prone, 7.85% is very highly prone and 11.51 % is highly prone
    • The highest numbers of fires were detected in Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.

    Concerns with the declining trends

    • It is worrying that a 1,582 sq km decline was in moderately dense forests, or “natural forests”.
    • This decline shows a degradation of forests in the country, say experts, with natural forests degrading to less dense open forests.
    • Also, scrub area has increased by 5,320 sq km – indicating the complete degradation of forests in these areas.

     

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  • Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA), 2021

    Atal Ranking of Institutions on Innovation Achievements (ARIIA) 2021 has been recently released.

    About ARIIA

    • ARIIA is an initiative of erstwhile Ministry of HRD, implemented by AICTE and Ministry’s Innovation Cell.
    • It systematically ranks all major higher educational institutions and universities in India on indicators related to “Innovation and Entrepreneurship Development” amongst students and faculties.
    • ARIIA 2020 will have six categories which also includes special category for women only higher educational institutions to encourage women and bringing gender parity in the areas of innovation and entrepreneurship.
    • The other five categories are 1) Centrally Funded Institutions 2) State-funded universities 3) State-funded autonomous institutions 4) Private/Deemed Universities and 5) Private Institutions.

    Major Indicators for consideration

    • Budget & Funding Support.
    • Infrastructure & Facilities.
    • Awareness, Promotions & support for Idea Generation & Innovation.
    • Promotion & Support for Entrepreneurship Development.
    • Innovative Learning Methods & Courses.
    • Intellectual Property Generation, Technology Transfer & Commercialization.
    • Innovation in Governance of the Institution.

    Key highlights of 2021 report

    • Seven IITs and the IISc, Bengaluru, are among the top 10 central institutions in promotion and support of innovation and entrepreneurship development.
    • The top rank has been bagged by the IIT, Madras followed by the IITs in Bombay, Delhi, Kanpur and Roorkee.
    • The IISc has bagged the sixth position in the ranking followed by the IITs in Hyderabad and Kharagpur, the NIT, Calicut.

     

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