Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• Shock & Awful – Poorly installed & maintained high-power cables kill thousands every year, but official apathy continues
• Why India should cut down on its salt intake
• Economic winds favour an India-UK trade agreement
• We should worry about use of defamation law, beyond Rahul Gandhi case
• Concerns associated with World Happiness Report: Their Blindness To Our Happiness

GS Paper 3

• The case for an inequality boom in India is greatly exaggerated
• Time to put a price on carbon emissions
• Oil production cut: Oil must not get to spoil economic expectations
• Slower pace of state capex raises questions over extent to which public sector can drive economic momentum

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Einstein Tile: New shape answers a 50-year-old geometry mystery
• Sky Canvas Project: Artificial meteor showers could soon be a reality: Report
• Arctic scientists race to preserve ‘ice memory’
• China announces ‘renaming’ of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including one close to Itanagar
• CDC concerned about drug-resistant bacteria strain allegedly linked to eye-drops imported from India
• National Electricity Plan 2022-27: Coal-fired projects back on, mega lithium battery storage push in new power policy blueprint

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

Shock & Awful – Poorly installed & maintained high-power cables kill thousands every year, but official apathy continues

News: A British tourist has died in Himachal Pradesh from electrocution. The low-hanging high-voltage cable was installed by a major public sector undertaking – NHPC. Despite complaints to remove the cable, NHPC has not yet responded.

What are the concerns airing from the low-hanging high-voltage cables?

High power cables are often poorly installed close to houses with improper maintenance, especially in the urban areas.

Discoms hardly take any note of it and they are also little accountable to the death caused by those wires.

As per the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2021 report, electrocution accounted for over 12,500 casualties, including 650 children aged below 14. This implies 34 people dying daily from electrocution.

These deaths are classified as accidents by NCRB. However, these deaths are the result of administrative negligence and apathy.

Further, election promises have led to unauthorized urban growth, making the problem more complex for cities.

What are some of the steps taken to prevent such deaths?

Kerala high court recently directed municipalities to remove such cables. Some towns have undertaken projects to underground electricity lines, but the speed of work has been inconsistent.

Despite these attempts, the issue is worsening due to a lack of planning for cities and towns.

Why India should cut down on its salt intake

News– The article explains the importance of salt reduction to reduce the prevalence of non-communicable diseases in India.

What are some statistics related to salt consumption across the world and in India?

An average Indian’s sodium consumption is more than double the physiological need. It exceeds the WHO recommended daily intake of less than 5 g of salt for adults.

The WHO has recently published the ‘Global Report on Sodium Intake Reduction. It tells about the progress of its member states toward reducing population sodium intake.

Progress has been slow. Only a few countries are making considerable headway towards the objective.

The WHO devised a sodium score. It ranges from 1 (least implementation) to 4 (highest implementation), for each member state. It is based on factors such as the extent of implementation of sodium reduction and other related measures.

India has enacted voluntary measures to decrease sodium in food supply and promote healthier food choices. India’s score of 2 signifies the presence of at least one voluntary policy.

Why is it essential for India to reduce its sodium intake?

Empirical evidence shows that reduced sodium intake is a cost effective approach to decrease blood pressure.

Lowering sodium intake by 1 gram per day leads to a 5 mm Hg reduction in blood pressure for individuals aged 55, and decrease in stroke incidence. High BP is a critical risk factor for cardiovascular disease.

The economic impact of cardiovascular disease on low­ and middle-income countries is staggering. It is estimated at $3.7 trillion between 2011 and 2025. This is equivalent to 2% of the GDP of LMICs.

As per World Economic Forum, the Indian economy lost more than $2 trillion between 2012 and 2030 as a consequence of cardiovascular disease.

How Cardiovascular disease and hypertension pose significant challenges in India?

As per data from the Registrar General of India, WHO, and the Global Burden of Disease Study, cardiovascular diseases have emerged as the primary cause of mortality and morbidity.

Hypertension has been identified as the leading risk factor for such diseases in India.

Data from the NFHS-5 reveals that hypertension is more prevalent among men aged 15 and above compared to women.

Hypertension is more common in southern States, particularly Kerala. Punjab and Uttarakhand in the north also report high incidence rates.

The 2020 Report on Medical Certification of the Cause of Death shows that circulatory system diseases account for 32.1% of all documented deaths. Among them, hypertension is a major risk factor.

What are the steps taken by the government to reduce salt intake?

FSSAI has implemented the ‘Eat Right India’ movement. Its aim is to transform the nation’s food system to ensure secure, healthy, and sustainable nutrition for all citizens.

FSSAI launched a social media campaign called Aaj Se Thoda Kam.

What is the way forward to reduce salt intake?

India needs a comprehensive national strategy to curb salt consumption.

A multi-pronged approach is needed. Engaging consumers, industry, and the government is crucial.

Collaboration between State and Union governments is essential to combat hypertension caused by excessive sodium intake.

Economic winds favour an India-UK trade agreement

News– The eighth round of India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) discussions will take place soon.

What is the significance of a trade deal between the India and UK?

Both countries are top exporters and importers of merchandise and services. Through the agreement, the UK wants wider access to the Indian market for its export items such as Scotch whisky premium cars and legal services.

India is the third-largest services exporter to the UK. A trade deal would only widen market access for Indian service firms.

Further, the two countries trade in similar but distinct products. Freer import of luxury cars from the UK does not present any significant threat to domestic car manufacturers. They primarily cater to middle-class buyers.

In 2018, the top export industry between the UK and India was ‘computer programming, consultancy, and related activities’ for both countries. The two countries have different and possibly complementary capabilities within the same industry.

What is the scope of trade deals for India and UK?

India is likely to sign a trade deal that would lower tariffs on key products, subject to compliance with rules of origin. The UK may insist on relaxed regulations on customs procedures and easier regulations on doing business.

This may have wider benefits for India. It will make the country an attractive investment destination for other developed nations too.

A trade deal is likely to boost the drugs and pharmaceutical industries of both. But, it will depend on mutually acceptable recognition of intellectual property rights.

What are the areas in the deal that need greater attention?

The trade deal should look after the Indian economy’s expanding needs.

There is a greater focus on students getting work experience and technical training in the New Education Policy. India should negotiate better terms for students to get such training in the UK.

The two countries need to recognize the educational qualifications of their counterparts. The Skill India programme could benefit from the UK framework of Vocational Technical Courses.

An agreement on the mutual recognition of qualifications would help India-educated workers to become globally competitive. This will allow greater movement of skilled workers between both economies.

Green technology presents another avenue for mutual gains between India and the UK. The Indian government has launched several programmes to boost domestic tourism.

However, with increasing tourism in Indian natural hotspots comes a need for environment-friendly initiatives to reduce waste generation in our rivers and mountains. This presents an opportunity for investment in green technology.

We should worry about use of defamation law, beyond Rahul Gandhi case

News– Recently, Rahul Gandhi was convicted for two years in a defamation case that led to his disqualification from Parliament.

How freedom of speech is under threat in India?

As per a recent report by Common Cause and Lokniti-CSDS, nearly two out of three respondents are scared to post their political or social opinions. They fear legal action.

Political parties continue to use the colonial era law as a weapon against their opponents and journalists.

What are legal aspects related to defamation?

The criminal offence of defamation is contained under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and the civil law that provides for damages.

In 2016, the defamation law was challenged before the Supreme Court. But it held that the right to reputation is no less important than the right to freedom of speech.

What are the issues with legal aspects of defamation?

Civil defamation cases are prone to abuse. These cases are impacted by long case pendency in the judicial system and exaggerated claims for damages.

Civil law is scattered across judgments and not properly codified. This creates more uncertainty and results in the pendency.

Sometimes, a reluctant apology is extracted to achieve a settlement. This does not serve the cause of justice.

What are the reasons behind the continuation of defamation laws in the legal system?

There were no serious or sustained efforts towards the repeal of defamation laws. Sustained political advocacy on issues of free expression is absent.

Political parties across the spectrum have failed to articulate popular narratives. They have not built constituencies of support for the repeal of colonial laws.

Concerns associated with World Happiness Report: Their Blindness To Our Happiness

News: The World Happiness Report was released recently. It has ranked India 126 out of 137 countries.

What are the key highlights of the World Happiness Report?

What are the concerns associated with World Happiness Report and India’s ranking in it?

Sustainable Development Solutions Network’s (SDSN) capacity: SDSN is a relatively small organisation, with an annual revenue of around $11 million, mainly in grants.

Defining happiness is not feasible: Happiness is a big, emotive word, just like hunger.

Note: Global Hunger Index ranked India at 107 out of 121 countries, behind North Korea, Ethiopia, Sudan, Rwanda, Nigeria and Congo.

The criteria are depended more on Gallup World Poll. The poll asks people about where they currently are in life (on a scale of 1 to 10) versus where they could best possibly be (which would be a full 10 score). If the respondent gives a low rating, then the country is considered not happy.

The main issue with this poll is that if the persons have higher aspirations, then they are considered as unhappy.

Limited polling: The poll asks the above questions to 500-2,000 people per country. So, 2,000 people’s view is used to decide the global happiness rank of a nation having 1.4 billion people.

Tilted to rich countries: The report also has factors which favour rich countries. Such as a) per capita income – favouring rich countries and assuming being richer the happier, b) charity – rich countries give more, c) Level of corruption – low in developed countries, d) social welfare benefits – Rich countries have more and e) How independently a person is making decisions – individualistic western societies will score well, and collectivist society like India will not.

Issues with Finland’s ranking: Finland is ranked as the happiest country in the world for six years in a row. However, its ranking has raised certain questions. Such as, a) The country is near the North Pole and parts of which have temperatures below -40 °C in the winter and the sun does not rise for nearly two months during parts of the year. Thus, there is a permanent dark for 50 days and 50 nights, b) Finnish people, at least as per stereotype, are silent and do not talk much.

Despite that, Finland is ranked as the happiest place on Earth.

Does not measure the required aspects: The report does not include a) Celebration of festivals, b) Depression rates around the world, c) Divorce rates, d) Time period in which old people meet their kids, e) The closeness of grandparents to grandchildren, f) The peace people feel due to their relationship with God.

Overall, the report needs some rework, especially with a focus towards developing countries like India.

GS Paper 3

The case for an inequality boom in India is greatly exaggerated

News: Income-tax data has been placed before the Parliament. Data provides that inequality in India has increased due to the pandemic, GST, etc. The article provides a counter argument against it.

What are the views against increasing inequality?

First, Individuals whose taxable income is less than ₹2.5 lakh are not required to file tax returns, unless they need a refund of any tax which may have been deducted at source.

Thus, any changes observed in the pattern of the tax base in the ‘Under ₹5 lakh’ group cannot be used to measure the impact of the pandemic or other policies on the most vulnerable sections of Indian society.

Second, there has been a significant increase (13%) in the number of taxpayers in the lower-income group from 2016-17 to 2018-19. Another 11% increase was witnessed in 2018-19.

This increase was caused due to the use of GST data, a crackdown on black-money post demonetization and the adoption of sophisticated technology by the income tax department.

Therefore, if there would have been impact of GST and demonetization, the taxpayers would have decreased instead of increasing.

Recommendations of the 7th pay commission were also implemented in 2016-17. This caused increase in the number of government employees and pensioners in the overall taxpayer base.

Third, growth in the low-income group of taxpayers declined in 2019-20 and dropped further in 2020-21.

It is argued that decline was caused due to the demonetization and GST. However, it was more due to an economic slowdown caused by stress in non-banking finance companies in 2019-20.

Further, the drop of over 7% in the ‘Under ₹5 lakh’ category in 2019-20 could have also been due to some changes in the individual tax regime. 

For instance, A new provision of tax rebate of 100% tax for those earning below ₹5 lakh with standard deduction of ₹50,000 was introduced in 2018-19.

All these changes may have had a spillover effect in 2020-21.

Fourth, the decline in the number of taxpayers in the lower-income group in 2020-21 should not be seen in isolation, i.e., all the changes need not mean taxpayers fell below the taxable income threshold.

They may have shifted to the next slab of ₹5-10 lakh which saw a 20% growth to 3 million despite the pandemic.

Fifth, the Gini coefficient for Brazil falls when fiscal transfers such as health and education assistance are taken into consideration. Similarly, it also falls for the US when federal taxes and transfers are included.

Therefore, India’s social security net is vast and expanding. When the Gini coefficient for India is calculated, it is likely to yield a lower estimate of income inequality.

Must Read: Tackle The Four Trojan Horses Of Inequality

                                                           Source: Mint

Time to put a price on carbon emissions

News– The article explains the pricing carbon strategy to fight climate change.

What are the different ways of pricing carbon?

The establishment of a carbon tax domestically. Examples are Korea and Singapore.

The use of an emissions trading system. It is prevalent in the European Union and China.

The application of an import tariff on the carbon content. The EU is proposing it.

Why has the carbon tax not been successful in fighting climate change?

Around 46 countries price carbon at an average price of only $6 a ton of carbon. It covers only 30% of global greenhouse gas emissions, and a fraction of the estimated harm from the pollution.

The IMF has proposed price floors of $75, $50, and $25 a ton of carbon for the United States, China, and India, respectively. It believes this could help achieve a 23% reduction in global emissions by 2030.

What are the benefits of carbon pricing?

The economy­wide benefits of carbon pricing generally are more than the cost it imposed on individual industries in the EU, British Columbia, Canada, and Sweden.

Carbon pricing makes investment in renewable energy such as solar and wind more attractive.

What is the scenario of implementation of carbon tax in India?

Carbon tax is a good option for India. It can directly discourage fossil fuels. It will lead to generation of more revenue which can be invested in cleaner sources of energy.

It can replace the petroleum taxes which are not directly aimed at emissions.

In India, fiscal policy has established the basic structures needed to implement a carbon tax. For example, they can be integrated into road fuel taxes. India could start with the IMF figure of $25 a ton.

What are challenges in implementation of carbon tax and how to manage them?

Industrial firms can lose their competitive advantage to exporters from countries with a lower carbon price.

Therefore, Companies can be allowed to use high-quality international carbon credits to offset up to a certain percentage of their taxable emissions. The EU excludes transport. Singapore provides vouchers for consumers hit by the utility price rise.

Enterprises that emit high emissions can be exempted from the carbon tax. But output ­based exemptions will be the right strategy for doing the same.

Carbon pricing will face political opposition. Australia repealed the 2012 carbon tax just two years after it was instituted.

Recent months have revealed the political pressures on decarbonization in the EU. It had to sell millions of emission permits, causing a 10% drop in carbon prices.

Therefore, communicating the idea of its advantages at the societal level will be important. It will manage the political opposition.

What is the way forward for a carbon tax to fight climate change?

A high enough carbon tax across China, the U.S, India, Russia, and Japan alone could have a notable effect on global warming. it will lead to the establishment of decarbonization as a winning development formula.

India, as president at the G­20 summit this September, can play a lead role by advocating global carbon pricing in the fight against climate change.

Oil production cut: Oil must not get to spoil economic expectations

News: Recently, the OPEC+ members declared a plan to cut an oil production output of over 1 million barrels per day. Though this is just about 1% of global demand, this would suffice to push up global oil prices.

Note: Ever since the Russia-Ukraine war, oil prices are on downhill. It resulted in large parts of the world facing inflation and growth slowdowns.

How oil production has impacted the global economy?

Oil volatility has been a geopolitical threat ever since the price increase in 1973. This was caused by a Saudi-led embargo in protest against US support for Israel. At that time, a) Importers suffered a shock, b) OPEC countries generated plenty of oil wealth and made them powerful to handle economic outcomes around the planet, c) Since oil is a vital commodity, its shortage has made it difficult for free-trade theory to demonstrate its benefits. 

After that, almost every big recession of the past half-century in the West has been preceded by an oil upshoot (including the Great Recession).

What will be the impact of the oil production cut in India?

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) estimates 6.5% retail inflation in 2022-23. This is a failure of RBI’s inflation target mandate. This is because the Indian basket of oil was assumed at an average $95 per barrel.

To avert another miss of its target, RBI’s policy approach may need to assume almost similarly adverse conditions. Regardless of special oil supply deals with Russia, India cannot count on a return to cheap oil.

What will be the future of oil production?

Earlier the US came to rescue the oil prices. But ever since the US shale revolution, the US itself has turned it into an oil major. But that does not result in reduced oil consumption. But a) The world’s shift away from fossil fuels will not reduce the demand for oil at an immediate pace. Further, a push for clean energy has reduced investment in oil projects, leaving existing suppliers with an advantage, b) Russia’s invasion of Ukraine might force the Western countries to weaponize not just oil trade, but also its financial enablers, and c) China’s influence in oil-rich West Asia has risen, and US retreat from free trade is lowering the globalization. All these might lead to Cold War II.

What should be done to avert the impact of Oil production on the global economy?

The world needs to embrace globalization based on open-market principles and global peace. As the G20 president, India must remind the world that oil production is in everybody’s interest.

Slower pace of state capex raises questions over extent to which public sector can drive economic momentum

News: Recently, the Controller General of Accounts released a report on the data on government finances.

What are the key highlights in the data on government finances?

Fiscal deficit of Centre: The Centre’s fiscal deficit for 2022-23 is supposed to significantly exceed the revised estimates presented in the recent Union budget.

Data on tax collection: The Centre’s gross tax collections have touched Rs 25.4 lakh crore. This is about a 12% increase over the same period last year. This is only marginally lower than the growth assumed in the revised estimates for the full financial year.

Some other data mentioned include a) Direct tax collections have grown at a considerably faster pace than indirect taxes, b) Provisional direct tax collections (net of the refunds) have exceeded the revised estimates by 0.69%, c) Growth in income tax has so far (April-February) outpaced corporate tax collections, d) Overall tax collections have grown at a slower pace than nominal GDP growth.

Data on disinvestment: The data highlighted disinvestment as a matter of concern. This is because, against a target of Rs 60,000 crore, collections at the end of February stood at Rs 38,640 (including the proceeds from the monetisation of national highways).

Data on the expenditure side: Overall central government spending for the year (April-February) grew by around 11%, marginally higher than what was factored in the revised estimates.

Capital expenditure: This received a significantly higher pace of 21% increase so far. However, to achieve the target for the full year the spending will have to grow by 28% in March.

Capital expenditure by state governments: As per a report, 15 states had spent only 54% of their capital expenditure targets for 2022-23 during the first 10 months. So, to meet their targets, states would have to raise their spending by 76% in February and March.

Why Capital expenditure of state governments is essential?

States’ slower pace on capex raises questions about the public sector’s ability to drive economic momentum. Further, their failure to meet this year’s targets will also raise questions over their ability to achieve the scaled-up targets in 2023-24.

States account for a significant share of overall public sector investments. Hence, their spending is critical for driving investment activity and it should be speeded up.

Prelims-Oriented Articles (Factly)

Einstein Tile: New shape answers a 50-year-old geometry mystery

Source: The post is based on the article “New shape answers a 50-year-old geometry mystery” published in The Hindu on 2nd April 2023

What is the News?

A group of four scientists have discovered an entirely new shape which has 13 sides and has named it “the hat”. It is the first ‘Einstein’ tile to have been found.

What is Einstein Tile?

It is a shape that could be singularly used to create a non-repeating (aperiodic) pattern on an infinitely large plane.

A set of tile types is considered to be aperiodic if copies of these tiles can only form patterns without repetition.

Note: The name bears no connection to Albert Einstein but means ‘one stone’ in German.

What is the significance of this discovery?

The discovery has answered a long-standing question in the field of plane geometry where one tries to tile a plane in different ways. While several ways tiling exists in nature and the real world (think bathroom tiles or the hexagons of honeycomb), these are periodic and have a translation symmetry–the size, shape and angle remain the same, only the location changes.

What are the applications of this discovery?

First, aperiodic tiling will help physicists and chemists understand the structure and behaviour of quasicrystals, structures in which the atoms are ordered but do not have a repeating pattern.

Second, the newly discovered tile might be a springboard for innovative art. 

Sky Canvas Project: Artificial meteor showers could soon be a reality: Report

Source: The post is based on the article “ Artificial meteor showers could soon be a reality: Report” published in Indian Express on 2nd April 2023

What is the News?

A Japanese company plans to launch satellites that will trigger an artificial meteor shower. The project will be called Sky Canvas.

What is the Sky Canvas Project?

Launched by: ALE, a Japanese company

Aim: To give people all over the world the opportunity to view the world’s first live human-made meteor shower.

Working of the project: ALE plans to use a pressure-driven system of gas tanks that will shoot pellets at a speed of 8 kilometers per second to trigger the artificial meteor shower.

– The metal “shooting star” particles will be taken to a low-Earth orbit by small satellites.

– Once the orbit stabilizes, the particles will be released, and they will travel around part of the planet before entering the atmosphere at an altitude of 60 to 80 kilometres.

– The company also hopes to collect atmospheric data in the mesosphere (the third layer of the atmosphere) to a further scientific understanding of climate change.

Note: The Mesosphere is too low to be observed by satellites and too high for weather balloons or aircraft.

What is a Natural Meteor Shower?

Meteors are chunks of rocks and ice that are ejected from comets as they orbit the Sun.

A natural meteor shower happens when our planet passes through the trail of debris left by a comet or an asteroid.

Around 30 meteor showers that are visible to observers on Earth occur every year and some of them have been observed for centuries. 

For example, the Perseids meteor shower, which usually happens every year in August, was first observed about 2,000 years ago and was recorded in Chinese annals.

Arctic scientists race to preserve ‘ice memory’

Source: The post is based on the article “Arctic scientists race to preserve ‘ice memory” published in The Hindu on 3rd April 2023

What is the News?

Arctic scientists are set to start drilling to save samples of ancient ice for analysis before the frozen layers melt away due to climate change.

What is the project Arctic scientists are planning to launch?

Italian, French and Norwegian researchers have set up camp in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago to preserve crucial ice records for analyzing past environmental conditions.

They will extract ice in a series of tubes from as far as 125 meters below the surface, containing frozen geochemical traces dating back three centuries.

One set of ice tubes will be used for immediate analysis while a second set will be sent to Antarctica for storage in an “ice memory sanctuary” under the snow. Here the samples will be preserved for future generations of scientists.

About the melting of Arctic Ice

Human-caused carbon emissions have warmed the planet by 1.1 degrees Celsius since the 19th century.

Studies indicate that the Arctic is warming between two and four times faster than the global average.

The Arctic amplification phenomenon is responsible for warming the Arctic region much faster than the rest of the planet.

What is Arctic Amplification?

Click Here to read

China announces ‘renaming’ of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including one close to Itanagar

Source: The post is based on the article “China announces ‘renaming’ of 11 places in Arunachal Pradesh, including one close to Itanagar” published in The Hindu on 4th April 2023

What is the News?

China has announced new names of another 11 locations in Arunachal Pradesh. This is the third set of names announced by China.

What is China’s so-called claim on Arunachal Pradesh?

China claims some 90,000 sq km of Arunachal Pradesh — the entire state — as its territory. 

It calls the area “Zangnan” in the Chinese language and makes repeated references to “South Tibet”. 

Chinese maps show Arunachal Pradesh as part of China and sometimes parenthetically refer to it as “so-called Arunachal Pradesh”.

China makes periodic efforts to underline this unilateral claim to Indian territory. As part of this strategy, it has tried to give Chinese names to places in Arunachal Pradesh — it published a list of six such names in 2017, and another 15 names in 2021.

How India responded to these Chinese inventions?

India has dismissed the Chinese “invention” of these names. The Ministry of External Affairs had said in a statement: “Arunachal Pradesh has always been, and will always be, an integral part of India. Assigning invented names to places in Arunachal Pradesh does not alter this fact”.

CDC concerned about drug-resistant bacteria strain allegedly linked to eye-drops imported from India

Source: The post is based on the article “CDC concerned about drug-resistant bacteria strain allegedly linked to eye-drops imported from India” published in The Hindu on 4th April 2023

What is the News?

The Centers for Disease Control(CDC) has warned people to stop using “artificial tear” eye drops sold by EzriCare.

What are EzriCare Eye Drops?

The eye-drops were manufactured by Chennai-based Global Pharma Healthcare and distributed in the U.S. market by EzriCare and Delsam Pharma.

CDC has found an “extensively” antibiotic-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria in multiple open containers of eye drops. 

Hence, CDC has cautioned that patients should stop using the eye-drops pending additional Information and guidance.

Note: Recently, World Health Organisation(WHO) issued two medical product alerts on cough syrups manufactured in India which were exported to Gambia and Uzbekistan.

How are the medicines exported from India?

Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers in its response to a question on the export of “substandard medicines” said that manufacturers were required to obtain a license for manufacturing of drugs for export from the concerned State Licensing Authority (SLA) under the provisions of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act,1940 and the rules made thereunder. 

Further, all manufacturers were required to meet the requirements of the importing country.

National Electricity Plan 2022-27: Coal-fired projects back on, mega lithium battery storage push in new power policy blueprint

Source: The post is based on the article “Coal-fired projects back on, mega lithium battery storage push in new power policy blueprint” published in Indian Express on 3rd April 2023

What is the News?

The National Electricity Plan (NEP) 2022-27 has been rolled out which marks a discernible reversal in the policy thrust from its last edition.

What is the National Electricity Plan?

The Electricity Act 2003 stipulates that the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) shall prepare a National Electricity Plan in accordance with the National Electricity Policy and notify such plan once in 5 years.

The first plan was notified in 2007, 2nd in 2013 and the third National Electricity Plan (notified in 2018) covers the detailed Plan for 2017-22 and the prospective Plan for 2022-27.

What are the key highlights of the National Electricity Plan 2022-27?

Coal Energy Thrust: The fresh draft, in a tacit admission of the ground realities, cites the need for fresh coal-based capacity ranging from 17 GW to nearly 28 GW till 2031-32.

Renewable energy thrust: There is a projected battery storage requirement in 2031-32 of between 51 GW to 84 GW with a daily usage rate of 5 hours.

Battery Energy Storage systems(BESS) especially based on Lithium-ion batteries are one of the storage options. The cost of the BESS is reducing in an unprecedented way making it one of the preferred options for deployment.

– BESS has various advantages of balancing the grid against load fluctuations, intermittency in generation etc.

Hybrid generation models blended with off-stream pumped storage projects, where every day, after the sun rises and solar output is more than the absorbing capacity of the grid, the rest of the solar generation can be diverted to water-based energy storage or pump storage plants (PSP). This will basically perform solar energy shifts and provide backup power. 

What are the challenges ahead in implementing National Electricity Plan 2022-27?

Firstly, the continued reliance on old, inflexible coal-fired plants for base load capacity. India’s vast fleet of coal-fired thermal power plants of 200 MW series is more than 25 years old, run-on old technology and does not promise robust reliability.

Secondly, there is a lack of clarity on how the renewables-dominated grid will be actually managed, despite a pronounced reliance on renewable generation for meeting capacity additions.

Thirdly, there is also no assessment of ramping rate for thermal plants under various scenarios of a solar generation going out.

Fourthly, if the battery storage is to be relied on, the total fund requirement for the period 2022-27 is estimated to be 30 lakh crore. However, the CEA report has given a budget of 8 lakhs crore for BESS for a 10-year period.