Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• Who will regulate the regulators?
• Technology can democratise education
• Building Institutions of Eminence: It requires more than infrastructure
• China renaming places: Beijing’s posture on Arunachal Pradesh borders on intimidation
• Building safeguards – Misuse of detention power renders need to stick to procedure paramount

GS Paper 3

• Ride Globalisation, Again
• Celebrate the rise in tiger population, but look beyond the numbers

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Space militarization: We are seeing militarisation of space, steady progress towards weaponization: CDS
• New Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in Monsoon Session
• The 17th Lok Sabha is likely to be the shortest since 1952
• Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS): New low-cost substrates can enhance sensitivity of analytical tools for detecting toxic pollutant
• NSE Indices rolls out India’s first REITs, InvITs index
• Uranium 241: In pursuit of a ‘magic number’, physicists discover new uranium isotope
• State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI): Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana lead energy efficiency index 2021-22
• Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO): NASA launches device to monitor air pollution from space

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

Who will regulate the regulators?

News– The establishment of statutory regulators constitutes one of the most significant governance reforms of the last century. The Governance of these agencies centers around their governing boards (GB).

What are the issues with the governance of regulators in India?

Structure of the board– The law creates a board governed by a board, an authority by an authority, a council by a council, a commission by a commission. The superintendence, direction, and management of the affairs of this board vests in a board of members.

The former board is an entity, while the latter is its governing body. Most statutes do not distinguish between the two. It leads to mix-up or reversal of roles.

Independence of the board– It is difficult for an entity to take decisions about itself with complete objectivity or hold itself accountable for performance. So, decisions about a company are placed with the board of directors.

The governing board’s primary responsibility is to hold the management accountable. It may be hard for a governing board to hold the management accountable if its members are only managers.

Nominees in the board– the government has a few official nominees on the GBs of regulators. The views of such nominees carry disproportionately more weight in the decision-making process.

The government is often a market participant and subjected to pressures from various interest groups. It may not always be possible for the official nominee to take an objective position in all matters coming up before the GB.

Professionalism of the board– The independence of a regulator depends on the professional strength of the leaders. The whole-time members should be able to handle the influence of interest groups and the pressures of fear and favor. A term of 3-5 years for these positions comes in the way of such strength.

An individual with demonstrated capability would not join a regulator for a 3-5 year tenure. Further, tenure with the retirement age of 65 years leads to selection of individuals who have retired or are near to retirement.

A term of three years is very short for members to acquire the knowledge, expertise, and efficiency. Sixty is not an appropriate age to learn entirely new things and achieve mastery.

What are the steps required to improve the governance of regulators in India?

The GB needs to have appropriate external representation. Most statutes do not provide for this representation.

The presence of a few eminent persons in the governing board as part-time members is one of the more effective options. They are not beholden to the management.

Therefore, the number of part time members should match the number of whole-time members on the governing board. The process of selection of part time members needs to be robust and should inspire confidence.

GB should not have any nominee from the government. Ideally, a regulator may not have any nominee at all. The nominees generally have a conflict of interests. They look at every proposal that comes before the GB from the perspective of the organisations they represent.

Regulators must attract younger individuals, who have demonstrated their capability in the relevant field, for a reasonable period of service.

A regulator in India typically performs three functions, namely, quasi-legislative, executive, and quasi-judicial.

There should be a separate organisational unit responsible for each of the distinct types of functions. These units should maintain distance from one another to act as mutual checks and balances. This will address public law concerns relating to separation of powers.

The statute should mandate the GB only to perform quasi-legislative functions and to provide direction to the organisation. GB should be enabled to delegate executive and administrative tasks to different functionaries in the organisation.

Technology can democratise education

News– The article explains the importance of education to achieve the vision of Amrit Kaal.

What is the potential of the Indian economy?

India is the world’s third-largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity (PPP).

A significant contributing factor to prosperity is India’s young population.

43% of Indians are aged 25 in 2023. The majority of the population expected to remain of working age until at least 2100.

According to the Confederation of Indian Industry, if the country’s working-age population is productively employed, its GDP can grow from $3 trillion to $9 trillion by 2030 and $40 trillion by 2047.

How can India be a global leader in the near future by investing in education?

The key to unlock India’s potential lies in education technology or EdTech.

Education will play a pivotal role in ushering the nation into the Knowledge Age. In Amrit Kaal, every child, regardless of socio-economic background, will have access to quality education. The next 25 years will be defined by how well we can educate our people.

There is a need to democratise technology and unleash its full potential. It will propel the nation towards its Amrit Kaal goals.

The key to unlock India’s potential lies in education technology or EdTech. Digital technology is the foundation of the modern ecosystem. The Digital India initiative and National Education Policy is a massive leap in the right direction.

Intelligence-embedded virtual classrooms, multi-disciplinary institutions, simulated field visits, and schools that digitally disseminate knowledge to students will decide the success. Investments in tech-driven education will convert students into competent, compassionate, and transformative future leaders.

What are the challenges before India’s education system?

UNESCO data shows that one out of four children aged five has never had any form of pre-primary education. This represents 35 million out of 137 million five-year-old children worldwide.

The pandemic further exacerbated challenges to education. It has widened the learning gaps and led to generational learning loss.

Data shows that children with disabilities, from migrant families, those living in remote areas, from marginalised communities, and girls in particular are impacted the most.

Building Institutions of Eminence: It requires more than infrastructure

News– The article explains the issues related to Institute of Eminence Scheme of Indian government

What are the issues related to the higher education system in India?

Most of the higher education institutions in India have remained teaching institutions. They are imparting knowledge. They are not creating new knowledge. They are followers, not leaders at the global level.

The approach has always been to invest in building more classrooms, buying more furniture, and making bigger campuses. The funding for research has always been meagre.

The regulations for ranking and rating have yielded some results in focusing on academic outcomes. Despite these efforts, India has not achieved the goal of being a global destination for quality higher education.

What are the different UGC regulations for the Institute of Eminence scheme?

The UGC (Institutions of Eminence Deemed to be Universities) Regulation 2017 has been crafted with the express intent to develop world-class universities. This was further amended in 2021 to permit the setting up of off-shore and off-campus centres by these institutions.

The UGC (Government Institutions declared as Institutions of Eminence) Guidelines 2017 were issued to provide funding support to the selected government institutions. The idea behind the regulation is to develop both public and private institutions equally.

What is the way forward for successful implementation of the IoE scheme?

Most of the ranking systems give close to 50% weightage to the research productivity. The IoE scheme should have been combined with the other crucial initiative of the National Research Foundation. The IoE scheme will not be successful without investments in research.

The IITs are still the only bet for the country to produce global-best institutions. A concerted focus on these institutions combined with greater autonomy would help in placing them in the top 100 ranks in the world.

There are private universities that aim to provide liberal arts and wholesome education. These have the chance of providing the best education globally and becoming widely known.

Three factors — size, age and funding — would determine the global best universities. Regulatory processes are impeding institutional autonomy. There is a need for a liberal regulatory regime.

The real solution lies in having inspired faculty and students. Inspiration doesn’t come merely from better facilities or better terms of appointment or better training. Inspiration has to come from academic leadership.

The creation of new knowledge needs critical thinking, problem-solving, innovative outlook of the faculty and collaborative research.

China renaming places: Beijing’s posture on Arunachal Pradesh borders on intimidation

News: Recently, China renamed some places in Arunachal Pradesh.

About China renaming places in Arunachal Pradesh

What are the factors behind China renaming places?

China does not want to solve the border dispute: China has little interest in resolving the border tussle with India as it enjoys considerable natural military advantages along the LAC. For example, since the 2020 Galwan clashes China build fresh construction of roads, bridges and helipads on the Chinese side.

Instead, China wants India to normalise relations and compartmentalise the border dispute. This was further reinforced

China wants to have leverage over India: As China prepares for an intensification of the strategic competition with the US and the Quad, it wants to have leverage on the border dispute with India. Thus, India has will be in a position to rapidly reduce the border infra gap to prevent further Chinese salami slicing tactics.

About Chinese cartographic deceptions and China’s historical claim over Arunachal Pradesh

What India should do as a reaction to China renaming places?

Faster implementation of Vibrant Villages Programme: The scheme is a well-intentioned attempt at preventing out-migration from remote border villages to make them natural defences. But its success depends on speed and quality of implementation.

Work on a multidimensional approach: Arunachal assumes salience for China’s Tibet question. So, India must start preparing a multidimensional approach for future tussles over the declaration of the next Dalai Lama.

Do not take China for granted: India should know that nothing can be taken for granted in an atmosphere on the Line of Actual Control. So, India has to act with the aim of building deterrence even while making serious attempts to find peace with China.

Building safeguards – Misuse of detention power renders need to stick to procedure paramount

News: Recently, the Supreme Court said that preventive detention laws are a colonial legacy and confer arbitrary powers on the state. This once again mentioned the threats to personal liberty posed by such laws.

What is Preventive Detention?

About preventive detention cases in India

Across the country, the tendency to detain suspects for a year to prevent them from obtaining bail is a pervasive phenomenon. This is leading to widespread misuse of preventive detention provisions.

Tamil Nadu government topped the country (2011-21) in preventive detentions. This is because its ‘Goondas Act’ covers offenders who range from bootleggers, slum grabbers, forest offenders to video pirates, sex offenders and cyber-criminals.

What are the observations of the court on preventive detention cases?

Both the apex court and High Courts have observed a) executives’ failure to adhere to procedural safeguards while dealing with the rights of detainees, b) detention orders are quashed by courts only after several months of detainment. In some cases, the orders are quashed after the full detention period.

What are the various reasons behind the court setting aside preventive detention cases?

Most detentions are ultimately set aside. The most common reason for setting aside detention is that there is an unexplained delay in the disposal of representations.

The other reasons are a) failure to provide proper grounds for detention, b) delay in furnishing them, c) sometimes giving illegible copies of documents and d) invocation of preventive detention laws for trivial reasons from the government.

What should be done to limit preventive detention?

-The court said that “every procedural rigidity, must be followed in entirety by the Government in cases of preventive detention, and every lapse in procedure must give rise to a benefit to the case of the detenu”.

-Though preventive detention is allowed by the Constitution, the government should understand that curbing crime needs efficient policing and speedy trials, and not unfettered power and discretion.

GS Paper 3

Ride Globalisation, Again

News: Services exports in India have risen remarkably. This has made India recover from the pandemic loss and focus on other aspects of the economy.

What are some of the findings on services exports?

After the pandemic, net services exports have risen to $9 billion per month in the last financial year, 2021-2022. This financial year there has been a steep rise and it has gone up to $16 billion per month.

India’s net exports in services have been positive while its net exports in goods are negative. In the two years since the pandemic, India’s net export in services has boomed.

What has caused a boom in the services exports?

The big IT firms of India have played a major role in services exports.

It has also risen due to the Global Capability Centres (GCC). GCC refers to offices set up by large multinational firms that provide IT, research, and analytical support to the parent companies.

India currently hosts 40% of the world’s GCCs and this number is expected to rise.

Moreover, there is more potential in India to increase its services exports in the sectors such as finance, medicine, education and law. These sectors have not yet been utilized in services exports.

These sectors along with IT exports and a strong privacy and data protection law will position India at the centre of new wave of globalization of services.

However, this doesn’t mean India should abandon manufacturing.

Must Read: Services Sector in India – Explained

How can India create job in its manufacturing sector?

India has a strong presence in skilled manufacturing such as two-wheelers and pharmaceuticals.

However, India has not been successful in creating low skilled jobs in manufacturing and there is a need to create more jobs in the manufacturing sector.

Moreover, jobs cannot be created by selectively focusing on industries through industrial policy, protecting some areas with tariffs and subsidising others with the production-linked incentive scheme.

This is because these schemes typically benefit large firms in capital intensive industries and not act as a mass job creator.

For instance, according to government data, with 15% of the proposed investment in PLI schemes, only 3% of the proposed jobs have been created.

Therefore, there is a need for building infrastructure, producing a better educated and healthier workforce, and promoting easing doing business to create jobs.

Moreover, well-paying jobs created through skilled service exports will create other associated low-skilled service jobs.

What can be the way ahead?

India should work to persuade the world to open up to the possibilities of services exports in sectors that are traditionally regarded as non-tradable, such as health, education, legal and accounting services. 

For example, an Indian doctor cannot diagnose patients in the UK because their Indian qualifications are not recognised.

Hence, India’s G20 presidency is an opportunity for India to push for lowering barriers to the globalisation of services.

Celebrate the rise in tiger population, but look beyond the numbers

News: Recently, the government released the 5th cycle of India’s Tiger Census. Based on the survey, the tiger population in India has grown from 1,411 in 1972 to 3,167 in 2022.

What are the key findings of India’s tiger census?

What are the government initiatives that led to an increase in the tiger population?

What are the challenges India faces with the increased tiger population?

What are the challenges highlighted in the tiger census?

These include a) There is a decline of the genetically unique varieties of the animal in Odisha and parts of Northeast India, b) Simlipal tiger is known for their unusually broad and fused stripe. But the numbers of the Simlipal tiger have been coming down steadily in the last decade. This is because the reserve in Odisha is unable to provide its tiger population with an adequate prey base, c) Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh has become one of the hotspots of human-tiger conflict — villagers in the vicinity of the reserve allegedly beat up tigers to death in 2019 and 2020 and d) Understaffed forest departments find themselves ill-equipped to deal with many challenges.

Overall, better protection and augmentation of prey in protected areas “could help increase the tiger population”.

Prelims-Oriented Articles (Factly)

Space militarization: We are seeing militarisation of space, steady progress towards weaponization: CDS

Source: The post is based on the article “We are seeing militarisation of space, steady progress towards weaponization: CDS” published in The Hindu on 12th April 2023

What is the News?

Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) has said that the very nature of warfare is on the cusp of major transformation and what is being witnessed is militarisation of space and steady progress towards weaponization.

What is space militarization?

Space militarisation refers to using space-based assets for military purposes such as for spying or communication by the militaries. 

What are steps taken by the UN to prevent space militarization?

The overwhelming majority of UN member states are concerned that the weaponization of outer space will lead to an arms race and insist that a multilateral treaty is the only way to prevent this. 

Towards this, an Outer Space Treaty was conceptualized by the United Nations in 1967. The treaty emphasizes the fact that the exploration of outer space should be beneficial to all mankind and nations and it should be for peaceful purposes. It claims that one nation cannot claim national sovereignty in outer space. 

Over 100 nations have signed and ratified this treaty and 26 nations have signed the treaty but have yet to ratify it. 

The UN is further striving to improve and facilitate the inhibition of an arms race in outer space by strengthening the 1967 Outer Space Treaty through various committees on the prevention of an arms race in outer space and resolutions on the establishment of transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space.

What are the steps taken by India to overcome the challenges of space militarization?

-In 2019, India successfully conducted an Anti-Satellite (ASAT) missile test, named Mission Shakti, becoming the fourth country in the world to demonstrate the capability to shoot down satellites in orbit.

-In 2019, India conducted its first-ever simulated space warfare exercise titled ‘IndSpaceEx’. The exercise aims to assess the requisite space and counter-space capabilities that are needed by India. The exercise will also help India better grasp the strategic challenges in space that need to be handled.

-Establishment of the new tri-service Defence Space Agency(DSA)

-Mission DefSpace was launched to develop innovative solutions for the three Services (Indian airforce, Navy and Army) in the space domain through the Indian industry and start-ups.

-Indian Space Association (ISpA) organized the ‘Indian DefSpace Symposium 2023’ in association with DRDO. The Symposium is intended to create a platform for all stakeholders who have a keen interest in boosting India’s military space capability and plans.

New Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in Monsoon Session

Source: The post is based on the article “New Digital Personal Data Protection Bill in Monsoon Session” published in The Hindu on 12th April 2023

What is the News?

The Government of India has told the Supreme Court that the new Data Protection Bill will be introduced in the monsoon session of Parliament.

What is the purpose of the Data Protection Bill?

Purpose: To provide for the processing of digital personal data in a manner that recognises both the right of individuals to protect their personal data and the need to process personal data for lawful purposes.

To be replaced by: The bill would replace the current Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules which was notified in 2011. 

– Note: The Supreme Court recognised privacy as a fundamental right in 2017 and highlighted the need to protect online personal data from prying eyes.

Applicability: The Bill will apply to the processing of digital personal data within India where such data is collected online, or collected offline and is digitized. It will also apply to such processing outside India if it is for offering goods or services or profiling individuals in India.

Definitions: The Bill defines data as a representation of information, facts, concepts, opinions or instructions in a manner suitable for communication, interpretation or processing by humans or by automated means”.

– The Bill separately defines 1) data fiduciary as persons who determined the purpose and means of processing personal data, 2) data principal as the individual to whom the personal data is related to and 3) data processor as any person who processes personal data on behalf of a data fiduciary.

What are the key Provisions of the bill?

Personal data may be processed only for a lawful purpose for which an individual has given consent. Consent may be deemed in certain cases.

Data fiduciaries will be obligated to maintain the accuracy of data, keep data secure, and delete data once its purpose has been met.

The Bill grants certain rights to individuals including the right to obtain information, seek correction and erasure, and grievance redressal.

The central government may exempt government agencies from the application of provisions of the Bill in the interest of specified grounds such as security of the state, public order, and prevention of offences.

The central government will establish the Data Protection Board of India to adjudicate non-compliance with the provisions of the Bill.

The 17th Lok Sabha is likely to be the shortest since 1952

Source: The post is based on the article “The 17th Lok Sabha is likely to be the shortest since 1952” published in The Hindu on 12th April 2023

What is the News?

The 17th Lok Sabha which is entering its final year will likely become the shortest full-term Lok Sabha since 1952.

How much has the 17th Lok Sabha functioned so far?

The 17th Lok Sabha has functioned for 230 sitting days so far.Of all the Lok Sabhas that completed the full five-year term, the 16th Lok Sabha had the lowest number of sitting days (331). 

With one more year remaining, and 58 average sitting days a year, the 17th Lok Sabha is unlikely to sit for more than 331 days. This could make it the shortest full-term Lok Sabha since 1952.

About the Latest Budget session of the 17th Lok Sabha

The latest Budget session was the sixth shortest Budget session since 1952. The Lok Sabha spent 18 hours on financial business, of which 16 hours were spent on the general discussion of the Budget. 

In the previous Budget sessions of the 17th Lok Sabha, financial business was discussed for 55 hours on average. 

Debates in Parliament reducing in the 17th Lok Sabha

The Motion of Thanks on the President’s Address was the only item discussed in this session. It was discussed for about 28 hours in both Houses, with 150 members participating in total.

The Rules of Procedure of both Houses of Parliament provide for various devices which can be used to draw attention to matters of public importance and hold the government accountable. 

These include half-an-hour discussions, short-duration discussions, and adjournment motions. In the 17th Lok Sabha, only 11 short-duration discussions and one half-an-hour discussion have been held so far. None of these was held in the latest session. 

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS): New low-cost substrates can enhance sensitivity of analytical tools for detecting toxic pollutant

Source: The post is based on the article “New low-cost substrates can enhance sensitivity of analytical tools for detecting toxic pollutant” published in PIB on 11th April 2023

What is the News?

Scientists have developed a new low-cost substrate that can increase the sensitivity of Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy(SERS).

What is Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS)?

Surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) has emerged as a vital analytical and sensing tool for detecting molecules. It can aid rapid detection of toxic pollutants present in water, food, etc.

When molecules are near the noble metal nanoparticles of gold, silver, platinum, etc, their Raman signals will substantially increase, which can help detect trace amounts of analyte molecules. 

However, as noble metals are expensive, have poor uniformity, and cannot be reused, there is a quest for alternative SERS active substrates involving non-noble metals.

What have the researchers developed?

Researchers have developed an efficient SERS substrate based on the unique sea urchin morphology of molybdenum trioxide for the rapid detection of industrial pollutants.

The substrate will help in the detection of toxic dyes and chemicals.

NSE Indices rolls out India’s first REITs, InvITs index

Source: The post is based on the article “NSE Indices rolls out India’s first REITs, InvITs index” published in Livemint on 12th April 2023

What is the News?

NSE Indices Ltd has launched the country’s first-ever Real Estate Investment Trusts and Infrastructure Investment Trusts index—Nifty REITs and InvITs Index.

The index aims to track the performance of REITs and InvITs that are publicly listed and traded on the NSE.

What are real estate investment trusts (REIT) and Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs)?

A real estate investment trust (REIT) is a company that owns, operates, or finances income-generating real estate.

Modeled after mutual funds, REITs pool the capital of numerous investors. This makes it possible for individual investors to earn dividends from real estate investments—without having to buy, manage, or finance any properties themselves.

Most REITs are publicly traded like stocks, which makes them highly liquid (unlike physical real estate investments).

InvITs are similar to REITs except that they use the pooled money to own and run functional infrastructure assets like highways, roads, pipelines, warehouses and power plants.

What are NSE Indices?

NSE Indices Limited was set up in 1998. It is a subsidiary of the National Stock Exchange of India.

It provides a variety of indices and index-related products and services to Indian capital markets.

It is based in Mumbai, Maharashtra.

Uranium 241: In pursuit of a ‘magic number’, physicists discover new uranium isotope

Source: The post is based on the article “In pursuit of a ‘magic number’, physicists discover new uranium isotope” published in The Hindu on 12th April 2023

What is the News?

While searching for a magic number, physicists in Japan have recently discovered a new isotope of uranium with atomic number 92 and mass number 241.

What is Uranium?

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What is Uranium 241?

Uranium 241 is a new isotope of Uranium. It has an atomic number of 92 and a mass number of 241.

Theoretical calculations suggest that this new isotope could have a half-life of 40 minutes.

How was Uranium 241 found?

To find uranium-241, the researchers accelerated uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium-198 nuclei using the KEK Isotope Separation System (KISS).

In a process called multinucleon transfer, the two isotopes exchanged protons and neutrons, resulting in nuclear fragments with different isotopes.

What is the significance of the Uranium 241 finding?

This finding is significant in refining our understanding of nuclear physics and has implications for designing nuclear power plants and models of exploding stars.

Measuring the mass of uranium and its neighbourhood elements yields essential nuclear information to understand the synthesis of such heavy elements in explosive astronomical events.

What are Magic Numbers’?

In nuclear physics, “magic numbers” are specific numbers of nucleons (protons or neutrons) that correspond to particularly stable configurations within atomic nuclei.

These numbers are believed to arise from the underlying shell structure of atomic nuclei. The heaviest known ‘magic’ nucleus is lead (82 protons).

State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI): Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana lead energy efficiency index 2021-22

Source: The post is based on the article “Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan, Telangana lead energy efficiency index 2021-22” published in Livemint on 12th April 2023

What is the News?

The Ministry of Power has released the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2021-22.

What is the State Energy Efficiency Index(SEEI)?

Developed by: ​​Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE), a statutory body under the Ministry of Power, in association with Alliance for an Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE).

Aim: To assess the annual progress of states and UTs in energy efficiency implementation, for the financial year 2020-21 and 2021-22.

Parameters: The index assesses the energy efficiency (EE) progress of the 36 states and UTs for FY 2020-21 and 2021-22 using 50 indicators across 7 sectors namely: buildings, industry, municipal services, transport, agriculture, distribution companies (DISCOMs), and cross-sector initiatives.

– Programme-specific indicators have been included this year to track outcomes and impacts of state-level energy efficiency initiatives.

Categories: There are four categories in the index i.e. Front Runner, Achiever, Contender and Aspirant. The maximum score for the index is 100.

Significance: The index improves data collection, enables cross-state collaboration, and develops energy efficiency program ideas. 

– It helps states identify areas for improvement, learn from best practices, and adopt an economy-wide approach to energy efficiency implementation.By prioritizing energy efficiency, it aims at driving decarbonisation efforts and achieving a more sustainable future.

What are the key findings of the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI)?

5 states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and Telangana – are in the Front Runner category (>60 points).

4 states – Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab – are in the Achiever category (50-60 points).

Further, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh are the top-performing states in their respective state groups.

Telangana and Andhra Pradesh showed the most improvement since the last index.

Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO): NASA launches device to monitor air pollution from space

Source: The post is based on the article “NASA launches device to monitor air pollution from space” published in Indian Express on 10th April 2023

What is the News?

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched the Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument from Florida, USA.

What is Tropospheric Emissions Monitoring of Pollution(TEMPO)?

TEMPO is a NASA device that can track air pollution over North America from space. 

It will allow scientists to monitor air pollutants and their emission sources down to the neighbourhood level.

What is special about TEMPO?

A unique feature of TEMPO is that it will be hosted on an Intelsat communications satellite in a geostationary orbit.

Existing pollution-monitoring satellites are in low Earth orbit, which means they can only provide observations once a day at a fixed time.

Why is the TEMPO mission important?

More than 40%of the US population, 137 million people, live in places with unhealthy levels of particle pollution or ozone. Air pollution is blamed for some 60,000 premature deaths a year.

What is a Geostationary orbit?

The geostationary orbit is a special case of the geosynchronous orbit, which is any orbit with a period equal to Earth’s rotation period. 

The height of a geostationary orbit is approximately 35,786 kilometers (22,236 miles) above the Earth’s equator.

It is a common orbit for weather satellites and communications satellites.