9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – February 25th, 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• Facing the job problem
• Real cost of data
• Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is marked by a big Chinese failure
• The Russia effect: Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has bleak implications diplomatically & economically. India won’t escape them
• Russia-Ukraine crisis underscores lack of integrated energy policy in India
• Why lakhs of Indians go abroad to study
• Green Hydrogen Policy is great, but we need more

GS Paper 3

• Ploughing a new channel for India’s food systems
• Despite its stated aim, budget falls short on green ambitions

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Minister of Electronics and IT release “National Strategy on Additive Manufacturing”
• Union Minister launches Ombudsperson App for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA
• World Economic Forum and the National Institute of Urban Affairs sign a MoU to collaborate on a jointly designed ‘Sustainable Cities India program’
• CORBEVAX receives DCGI approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for 12-18 years age group
• How the saltwater crocodile once lorded over Vietnam’s waterways and then died out
• Cyberwarfare: Everything you need to know
• Explained: How does wireless charging work and the effect it has on phone’s battery
• Iraq’s second largest lake drying up, turning up dead fish
• Draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022: Centre proposes law to control distribution, price, quality of fertilizers

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

Facing the job problem

News: The government of Rajasthan has decided to introduce an urban job guarantee scheme similar to MGNREGA, which will offer 100 days of demand-based employment.

What are the concerns associated with the scheme?

State economy: First concern is whether 800cr  allocation will be enough for the open-ended program? Rajasthan’s government debt is already at 1/3rd of state GDP, as reported by CRISIL. So government move towards defined pension instead of defined contributions can be problematic.

Employment rate has not picked pace even in the informal sector. The periodic labor force survey revealed that the agricultural workforce has increased for the first time in decades. This is a worrying sign for the urban employment scenario. The parliamentary standing committee has called for a national urban guarantee scheme, but that was rejected by the central government.

Availability of work: The scheme will be more complex to implement as compared to MGNREGA. There are fewer locations for unskilled labor in the public sector in urban areas. Work may not be available in the neighborhood in which migrants reside.

Applicability: Who will be eligible for the scheme? Will migrants with an out-of-state domicile be able to benefit from state-based urban employment guarantee systems? Can employment rights be considered transferable across geographies? These questions need to be addressed.

Real cost of data

News: The Government of India has released a  policy document called “Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy 2022”.

About the Draft India Data Accessibility & Use Policy, 2022

What are the challenges associated with the policy?

Privacy:  Proposed draft legislation gives the government sweeping powers to collect data for broad purposes. If government departments share data with each other, government’s surveillance power increases. Monetization of data gives further incentive to collect more data.

Although this law deals with government departments only, the data protection bill provides the government with the power to request private data. This could lead to issues as private businesses run on IP and secrecy of technology and data.

Anonymous data:  The issue with anonymous data is that though identifiers have been removed, anonymous data can be de-anonymized. This is more possible where there are multiple data sets with metadata that are connected to each other. E.g. one may combine data from the clinic, diagnostic center, and medical store to form a complete picture.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is marked by a big Chinese failure

News: Russia invades Ukraine.

The author of this article argues that the war in Ukraine is a failure of Xi Jinping’s foreign policy, and a big setback for China’s geopolitical ambitions. Putin has cleverly dragged Xi Jinping into a position that the Chinese president surely did not desire.

The author has enumerated the following reasons that state why the invasion of Ukraine by Russia is not in China’s interest. And why he sees it as a failure of China’s foreign policy.

Why invasion of Ukraine by Russia is not in China’s Interest?

First, China has recently acknowledged its “great importance” to the China-Ukraine strategic partnership. Recently, China declared support for Ukraine’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Second, China was in support of the Minsk agreements. Until the invasion, they had called for de-escalation through dialogue and negotiation.

Third, China is Ukraine’s biggest trade partner and Kyiv had signed up to Xi’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI).

Fourth, China has also long been seeking technologies like advanced aircraft engines that Ukraine controls. Russia’s invasion has shown that being a BRI member only gets you Chinese loans and infrastructure, and you can’t rely on China for survival.

Fifth, in the recently concluded Russia-China joint statement, there was no reference to Ukraine. There was only a small reference to the complaint against NATO’s expansion.

Sixth, China prefers a world where the US, UK, and the EU are divided and wants to attract developing countries to itself and its vision of a new global order.

Finally, to the extent that Western sanctions affect Russia’s global trade, Chinese financial institutions and firms will be affected. China cannot afford to lose access to European technology ecosystems and markets too.

The Russia effect: Putin’s invasion of Ukraine has bleak implications diplomatically & economically. India won’t escape them

News: Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and possible sanctions by the US will impact India adversely.

What are the probable adverse impacts on other countries?

Implications for Europe: If the US supports Ukrainian resistance groups, Europe will see a conflict that can drag out for months, or more, with all kinds of possible consequences.

Implications for the US: The Ukrainian crisis has again shown the limitations of the world’s most powerful country, the US, whose reputation had already taken a hit following its chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.

Implications for India

India’s foreign Diplomacy is at a crossroads: India’s relationship with the US-led West is more important than ever before, both diplomatically and trade and investment-wise. Now, India might require a recalibration of its current diplomatic stance related to the Ukrainian crisis.

Impact on Indian Economy: Owing to Sanctions on Russia, the rupee will weaken and the global capital’s flight to safety may hit already affected India’s stock markets even more.

Read more here: https://forumias.com/blog/flashpoint-ukraine/

Russia-Ukraine crisis underscores lack of integrated energy policy in India

News: The conflict between Russia and the Western powers over Ukraine will have adverse impacts on India’s energy security.

The crisis is a wake-up call for India to address its energy policies in totality, by energy price reforms, prioritizing resources to sectors, such as energy storage, and stopping vote banks from hijacking fuel pricing.

Why India’s Energy security is at stake?

India depends on imports to meet 85 percent of its crude needs, 60 percent of LPG use, and nearly half of its LNG consumption.

Russia is the second-largest exporter of crude oil with a 12 percent market share, and has a 25 percent share of total gas exports, according to Crisil.

First, though the Supply of Crude oil is not an issue, the cost of petroleum products is likely to surge. For instance, India may spend $140-$145 billion this fiscal for petroleum imports, equivalent to around 5 percent of GDP. Further, higher fuel prices will increase household expenditure.

Second, the impact of high prices will have a deleterious effect on a budding gas economy. Indian companies are investing billions of dollars in city gas networks, CNG outlets, and gas pipelines as India aim to increase the role of gas to 15 percent of its energy mix by 2030 from six percent. Imported LNG is a critical component to achieve India’s target.

Third, India’s LNG needs will be at stake. The sanctions on Russia will further force Europe to diversify its supplies and reduce dependence on Russian pipeline gas. Earlier, India had to compete with China, Japan, and South Korea for fuel; now it has to compete with Europe for scarce LNG. High demand might force Indian importers to exit the market.

For instance, the US and Qatar are the key supplier of LNG to India. If Russian exports to Europe are disrupted, under such circumstances, the US will prioritize LNG supplies to Europe and may persuade its ally Qatar to do the same. That would definitely leave India in a bind.

What are the issues in India’s energy policies?

Oil Pricing is not decontrolled yet. For instance, oil companies kept fuel rates unchanged despite wide variations in the oil market.

Indian state oil companies, which control over 85 percent of the domestic fuel market, are merely refining and distribution entities rather than price-setters. Pump rates are controlled by the center.

The announcement of a 20 percent ethanol-blending target with petrol has further reduced the role of oil companies in fuel pricing because ethanol prices are fixed by the government in an opaque manner.

What needs to be done?

If India has to partially insulate itself from the impact of international conflicts, then oil companies must be given leeway to manage oil price risks.

High energy prices cannot be avoided, but there are always options to manage the risks. Hedging is the only way out.

Why lakhs of Indians go abroad to study

News: The report estimates that there has been an increase in students traveling abroad for higher education every year.

What does the data suggest?

About 8 lakh students travel abroad for higher education every year and spend $28 billion, or 1% of the country’s GDP, on this. About $6 billion in fees, out of this, go to foreign universities. This is about Rs 45,000 crore, which is adequate capital to start and run 10 new IITs, IISERs or JNUs, or any such elite institution every year.

The recent CAG report, said that the eight new IITs started in the period 2008-2009 are not doing well at all. The clutch of new private universities has also not managed to halt the exodus of students and wealth.

What are the reasons behind the increase in students going abroad for studies?

Jobs: Income tax department data shows that there are about 3 crore taxpayers and about 10 lakh fresh jobs available each year. There are only about 3 lakh “good” jobs which pay Rs 5 lakh per annum (LPA) or more, and 30,000 “posh” jobs which pay a starting salary of Rs 10 lakh-plus per annum. Of the 3 lakh good jobs, about 1 lakh come from the IT majors.

Unemployment: As per MHRD data, about 45,000 colleges in India graduated about 30 lakh students last year. In total, there are around 1 crore unemployed graduates seeking jobs. This is 10 times the number of salaried jobs, 30 times the good jobs, and 300 times the number of posh jobs available every year.

Job Concentration: Good jobs are concentrated to top colleges like IITs and IIMs, and emerging elite private universities. Companies go to these branded colleges, universities to recruit students. It leads to a race of competitive exams, coaching, and placement.

This explains the reason why most of the students chose to study abroad.

What are the reasons behind a few jobs in the public sector in India?

-Outdated labor laws, inadequate investments, and bureaucratic control.

-Most job descriptions in the public sector have remained stagnant since independence.

-Also, there is a huge difference between student studies and their practical implementation. For example;

an ICMR study estimates that air pollution caused about 1.7 million deaths and Rs 2.6 lakh crore worth of lost output. If there was professional know-how and business models, this problem could have been converted into a Rs 26,000 crore industry of measuring, mitigating, and managing air pollution and employing 26,000 people in posh jobs.

What should be done?

Elite central institutions, the IITs, the IISERs, JNU should look at the problems of the day, formalize them, and convert them into business models and job definitions which offer valuable solutions.

They should then have supported local institutions and entrepreneurs in the deployment of these solutions. But, all this is missing. Instead, they have chosen to become a highly unequal system of delivering the benefits of science to the people.

Green Hydrogen Policy is great, but we need more

News

The government has recently announced the n hydrogen policy that bolsters India’s image as the leader in the clean energy transition. It will help India to achieve its climate goals which include reducing the economy’s carbon intensity by 45% by 2030.

Why India needs a green hydrogen policy?

Currently, the industrial sector, including the manufacturing, refining, and fertilizer industries, contributes over a quarter of India’s total carbon emissions. A green alternative in the form of green hydrogen will accelerate the process of lowering emissions from these sectors.

What are the enabling features of the New Green Hydrogen Policy that will help India to reduce its carbon emissions?

Inter-state transmission charges – Policy has a provision for removal of inter-state transmission charges for 25 years for projects commissioned before June 2025. Using this incentive, industries such as fertilizer and refining sectors which are the key users of hydrogen and ammonia can cut the production cost of green hydrogen by sourcing cheaper renewable energy (RE).

Unconsumed renewable power – New policy allows for the banking of unconsumed renewable power with distribution companies for 30 days. This essentially will mean that an RE producer can sell surplus to discoms.

Bunkers near port- Allowing GH producers and manufacturers to set up bunkers near ports to store green hydrogen will help boost exports, which is essential for India’s ambitions of becoming a global green hydrogen hub.

Although these are welcome steps, currently 98% of the hydrogen produced in India is ‘grey’ (produced from fossil fuels). So, there is a need for additional reforms to tackle India’s clean energy transition.

What are some additional reforms that are required?

Cost differential – currently there is near 100% cost differential between grey and green hydrogen. If this is narrowed down it will help bring more companies into the decarbonization fold. Government can do this by introducing special mandates for different industries, till the ecosystem achieves scale.

Clarity of rules– States who will be executing the policy should provide clarity on the applicability of the cross-subsidy and additional cross-subsidy, on the type and quantum of financial support to GH manufacturers.

PLI scheme for the sector– On the lines of the additional ₹19,500 crore for the PLI scheme for manufacturing solar modules, a similar announcement for electrolysers would be hugely beneficial for green hydrogen.

India to meet its 5-million-tonne annual target for green hydrogen production by 2030, it will require 10GW of electrolyser capacity. India cannot depend on imports for this huge size of demand.

Government’s Support– Given that GH’s current cost is significantly higher than grey hydrogen, government support to industries like fertilizers, chemicals and steel through viability-gap funding and grants will help accelerate adoption.

Cutting GST- Reducing GST and customs duties on electrolyser equipment, currently at 18% and 7.5% respectively, till the point that domestic manufacturing capabilities are built, will act as an enabler.

GS Paper 3

Ploughing a new channel for India’s food systems

News: UN Food Systems Summit emphasizes the need to achieve the United Nations-mandated 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). To achieve this, India needs to enhance interfaces between the spheres of science, society, and policy, focusing on sustainability, resource efficiency, and circularity.

How the mix of science and policy can help people?

India’s Green Revolution in the 1960s is a classic example of it. It enabled food security, addressed widespread hunger and poverty, developed improved high-yielding varieties of rice and wheat. This is possible because of the S&T and the right policy at that time which included a vast agricultural research and technology transfer system at the national, regional, state, and local levels.

The Training & Visit (T&V) system introduced in the 1970s with World Bank assistance was key to the science-society interface, as it established a cadre of agriculture extension specialists at the local level.

What is the present status of food security in India?

Although India is now self-sufficient in food grains production, it has about a quarter of the world’s food-insecure people. National Family Health Survey (2019-2021) shows that 18.7% of women and 16.2% of men are unable to access enough food to meet basic nutritional needs, and over 32% of children below five years are still underweight.

India is ranked 101 out of 116 countries in the Global Hunger Index, 2021. India faces the dual challenge of achieving nutrition security, as well as addressing declining land productivity, land degradation, and loss of ecological services with change in land use.

How to bring up-gradation in the Indian agriculture system?

Adopt best practices: Thus, there is a need to adopt the principles of sustainability, resource efficiency, and circularity to correct the consequences of the Green Revolution.

Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the erstwhile Planning Commission of India reveal the enormous potential for crop diversification and precision for enhanced crop productivity based on soil type, climate (temperature and rainfall), and captive water resources.

Infrastructure: Efficient technologies and policies should be adopted to understand the stress status of the natural resource base in different agro-climatic zones. This will help to understand the micro and meso-level interventions required in this area.

Prioritize the policies: There is a need to prioritize the national and State policy priorities, such as the National Policy guidelines 2012 of the Ministry of Agriculture for the promotion of farmer producer organizations.

Another is the National Resource Efficiency Policy of 2019 of the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change. It would encourage a resource-efficient and circular economy for production, processing, and storage techniques of food products through renewable energy solutions, reduction of supply chains and inputs (materials, water, and energy). It would also ensure the efficient use of by-products, thereby creating value while using fewer inputs and generating less waste for long-term and large-scale impact.

Despite its stated aim, budget falls short on green ambitions

News

The recent budget has Climate action as one of its prime objectives, still, there has been a massive rise in allocation for infrastructure projects which may have huge environmental implications.

What are the limitations due to which the current budget may fail on its green agenda?

Direct allocations for the environment sector– The share of Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is just 0.08 per cent of the total budgetary outlay. The allocation for tackling air pollution has been reduced although it has now been widely acknowledged as a national emergency.

Allocations for environment in non-environment sectors-Although there is a focus on natural and organic farming, and on promoting millets in the budget but there are no details on the allocations, manure and markets.

Rainfed farming involves 60 percent of the farming population and is ecologically more sustainable but the budget has not focused on this front.

Although the government has been promoting chemical-free farming throughout the country, the budget has allotted a massive amount as a chemical fertilizer subsidy instead of shifting this subsidy to organics.

The positive provisions in the budget like the use of biomass for power stations, boost to batteries, energy efficiency, etc. will be overshadowed by the budgetary support to climate-unfriendly investments.

Budget allocated higher allocations for Renewable and “clean” energy but it is in the form of support for mega-parks in solar/wind energy, nuclear power, and large hydro that have serious ecological impacts. Instead of this, the government may focus on farm-level solar pumps and rooftop solar that have less ecological impacts and greater community access.

Allocation for National Climate Action Plan is also low and there is no focus on a “just transition” that could help workers in fossil fuel sectors, like coal, to transition to jobs in cleaner, greener sectors.

Budget does promise greater support for public transport but it is mostly for the metros, which are extremely carbon-intensive to construct. Instead, there could have been a focus on a full bus system, cycling and walking ecosystem.

Allocations for other sectors with environmental impacts– Much of the support for the Infrastructure sector is for the mega-projects. A focus on decentralised, sustainable, and community-oriented infrastructure is missing.

Finally, the budget misses out on a major shift to “green jobs”. This includes support to decentralised (including handmade) production of textiles, footwear, and other products.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Minister of Electronics and IT release “National Strategy on Additive Manufacturing”

Source: This post is based on the following articles

“Minister of Electronics and IT release National Strategy on Additive Manufacturing” published in PIB on 24th February 2022.

“India rolls out national strategy to build ecosystem necessary for 3-D printing” published in Livemint on 25th February 2022

“Minister of Electronics and IT and Minister of State in Electronics and IT to release “National Strategy on Additive Manufacturing” tomorrow” published in PIB on 22th February 2022

What is the News?

The Minister of State for Electronics & Information Technology has released a “National Strategy on Additive Manufacturing”.

What is Additive Manufacturing?

Additive Manufacturing(AM) is defined as the technology that constructs a three-dimensional object from a digital 3D model or a CAD model by adding material layer by layer. The addition of material can happen in multiple ways, namely power deposition, resin curing and filament fusing. The deposition and solidification are controlled by a computer to create a three-dimensional object.

AM has immense potential to revolutionise  India’s manufacturing and industrial production landscape through digital processes, communication, imaging, architecture and engineering.

About the National Strategy on Additive manufacturing(AM)

Released by: Ministry of Electronics & IT

Aim:

– To position India as a global hub for Additive Manufacturing development and deployment

– To create and protect the integrity of India’s AM intellectual properties. 

– To create a conducive ecosystem for Global AM leaders to set up their operations in India

Target: 

To achieve 5% of Global AM market share and thereto add nearly US$ 1Bn to the GDP by 2025. 

To develop 50 India specific technologies, 100 new start-ups, 500 products, 10 existing & new manufacturing sectors & 1 Lakh new skilled manpower in Additive Manufacturing(AM) sector by 2025.

Key Features of the Strategy:

Innovation and R&D ecosystem will be encouraged in PPP mode to transform the existing research knowledge base to develop Additive Manufacturing materials.

Awareness will be created for the adoption of AM products.

A dedicated National Centre will be established to act as an aggregator of knowledge and resources to accelerate technology adoption and advancement.

Sector-specific Centres will also be created to infuse indigenous AM technology.

Union Minister launches Ombudsperson App for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA

Source: This post is based on the article “Union Minister launches Ombudsperson App for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA” published in PIB on 25th February 2022.

What is the News?

The Union Minister for Rural Development has launched the Ombudsperson App for Mahatma Gandhi NREGA.

What is an Ombudsman?

The word “ombudsman” is derived from the Swedish word ombudsman which in turn is based on the Old Norse “umboosmaor” meaning representative. 

Ombudsman are appointed to investigate complaints (usually lodged by private citizens) against a service or an administrative authority.Though they are usually appointed by governments, private companies can also have them.

Ombudsman for  MGNREGA

As per the MGNREGA act, the states are mandated to appoint Ombudsperson in districts with the objective of receiving grievances, enquiring and passing awards related to implementation of MGNREGA.

However, appointment of Ombudsperson has not yet been made in many districts.

Why has the Ombudsperson App been developed for the MGNREGA Act?

The app has been developed to enable smooth reporting and categorization of grievances by Ombudsperson based on complaints he received from various sources related to the implementation of the MGNREGA. 

Moreover, the app can also be used for tracking the awards passed by Ombudsperson on each case as per the guidelines. 

Ombudsperson can also easily upload the quarterly and annual reports on the website through the app.

World Economic Forum and the National Institute of Urban Affairs sign a MoU to collaborate on a jointly designed ‘Sustainable Cities India program’

Source: This post is based on the article “World Economic Forum and the National Institute of Urban Affairs sign a MoU to collaborate on a jointly designed Sustainable Cities India program” published in PIB on 24th February 2022.

What is the News?

The World Economic Forum(WF) and the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on a jointly designed ‘Sustainable Cities India program’.

What is the Sustainable Cities India program?

Aim: To enable cities to decarbonize in a systematic and sustainable way that will reduce emissions and deliver resilient and equitable urban ecosystems.

How will the NIUA and WEF collaborate for this Sustainable Cities India program?

WEF and NIUA will adapt the WEF’s City Sprint process and Toolbox of Solutions for decarbonization in the context of five to seven Indian cities across two years.

City Sprint process: It is a series of multi-sectoral, multi-stakeholder workshops involving business, government, and civil society leaders to enable decarbonization, especially through clean electrification and circularity.

Toolbox of Solutions: This sprint process uses the Toolbox of Solutions. It is a digital platform containing over 200 examples of clean electrification, efficiency and smart infrastructure best practices and case studies across buildings, energy systems and mobility from over 110 cities around the world.

The outcome of the workshop series will be a shortlist of relevant policies and business models, which not only reduce emissions but also maximize System Value such as improved air quality or job creation. These shortlisted models will also be included in Toolbox of Solutions to showcase to the world.

What is the significance of the Sustainable Cities India program?

Firstly, as per the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2022, densely populated countries that are highly dependent on agriculture, such as India, are especially vulnerable to climate insecurity. Hence, decarbonization in cities is a real opportunity to keep global warming well below 2 °C and cities in India can make an enormous contribution in reaching this goal.

Secondly, this initiative is particularly noteworthy as it comes after the Prime Minister of India stated India’s commitment to turn net-zero by 2070 as a climate mitigation response at COP26.

Net Zero Carbon Cities Mission

Launched by: World Economic Forum

Aim: To create an enabling environment for clean electrification and circularity, resulting in urban decarbonization and resilience. The program aims to do this by fostering public-private collaboration to bridge the gap across the energy, built environment and transport sectors.

CORBEVAX receives DCGI approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for 12-18 years age group

Source: This post is based on the article “CORBEVAX receives DCGI approval for Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) for 12-18 years age group” published in PIB on 25th February 2022

What is the News?

Drugs Controller General of India(DGCI) has given emergency use authorisation to Corbevax vaccine for use in children between 12 and 18 years of age.

What is Corbevax Vaccine?

Corbevax is India’s first indigenously developed Receptor Binding Domain (RBD) protein subunit vaccine.

Manufactured by: Hyderabad-based Biological E.

Click Here to read more about Corbevax

Is this the first vaccine approved for use in Children?

No, Corbevax is the third vaccine approved by the DCGI for children’s use after Covaxin and Zydus Cadila’s ZyCoV-D. 

But currently, only Covaxin is used in the inoculation drive for children in the 15-18 age group. 

How the saltwater crocodile once lorded over Vietnam’s waterways and then died out

Source: This post is based on the article “How the saltwater crocodile once lorded over Vietnam’s waterways and then died out” published in Down To Earth on 18th February 2022

What is the News?

Saltwater Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) which was once used to be found in Vietnam and southern China has become extinct in these areas due to human activity.

What is a Saltwater Crocodile?

Saltwater Crocodile is the largest of the 23 species of ‘extant’ or living crocodilians. This includes ‘true crocodiles’, alligators and caimans.

It is also called the ‘estuarine crocodile’ as it is typically found in the brackish water of estuaries.

It can also tolerate saltwater in the oceans and can travel long distances over the open ocean, making use of tidal currents.

Conservation Status:

IUCN Red List: Least Concern

CITES: Appendix I (except the populations of Australia, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea, which are included in Appendix II).

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I

Habitat: Saltwater Crocodile is found in Bangladesh, Malaysia, Indonesia, Brunei, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Australia and the Solomon Islands.

It is also one of the three crocodiles native to the Indian Subcontinent, along with the mugger crocodile (Crocodylus palustris) and the gharial (Gavialis gangeticus).

In India, it is found in three locations— the Sundarbans, Bhitarkanika National Park and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

Threats: Illegal hunting, habitat loss, fishing activities, use of crocodile parts for medicinal purposes and antipathy toward the species because of its reputation as a man-eater.

Cyberwarfare: Everything you need to know

Source: This post is based on the article “Cyberwarfare: Everything you need to know” published in Livemint on 25th February 2022.

What is the News?

Ukraine has been hit by a wave of cyberattacks targeting critical infrastructure companies. The timing and scale of the attacks point towards hackers working at the behest of Russia.

What is Cyber Warfare?

Cyberwarfare has emerged as a new form of retaliation or passive aggression deployed by nations that do not want to go to actual war but want to send a tough message to their opponents.

In these types of warfare, nation-state actors ​​attack and attempt to damage another nation’s computers or information networks through computer viruses or denial-of-service attacks, especially for strategic or military purposes.

Why are Cyber attacks carried out? 

State-backed cyber attacks are usually carried out to steal state secrets, trade deals and weapons blueprints, or target large multinationals to steal their intellectual property (IP) and use it to build local industry.

However, when states launch cyberattacks on other states as a result of worsening of geopolitical relations, the target is usually critical infrastructure firms to disrupt economic activity.

Which countries are behind state-backed cyber attacks?

Russia is one of the top perpetrators of state-backed cyberattacks. According to a report by Microsoft, Russia accounted for 58% of state-backed attacks worldwide, followed by North Korea (23%), Iran (11%), and China (8%). 

How often is India targeted?

According to a study, cyberattacks rose 100% between 2017 and 2021. For example: 

– In 2019. The administrative network of the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant was hit by a malware attack by North Korea-backed Lazarus Group. 

– China-backed hackers were believed to be behind a power outage in Mumbai in 2020. 

– Pakistan-based hackers targeted power firms and one government organization in India in early 2021.

Explained: How does wireless charging work and the effect it has on phone’s battery

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: How does wireless charging work and the effect it has on phone’s battery” published in Indian Express on 25th February 2022.

What is the News?

Most consumers who are investing in flagship smartphones are opting for wireless chargers. However, there are some people who are still wary of adopting this tech, despite its convenience. 

What is Wireless Charging?

Wireless charging is the transfer of power from a power outlet to the device, without the need for a connecting cable.

How does wireless charging work?

Wireless charging uses electromagnetic induction to transfer electric energy from the charger to the smartphone.  For wireless charging to work, one needs a phone that supports wireless charging and a compatible wireless charger.

Note: Electromagnetic induction is a phenomenon by which a rapidly changing magnetic field produces electric energy in a closed loop that interacts with that magnetic field.

What are the various types of wireless charging?

Tightly-coupled electromagnetic inductive charging: Two copper coils need to be placed in close proximity for this technology to function. In this case, both the charger and the phone will have copper coils. The copper coils need to align for this type of wireless charging to work.

When one place a compatible smartphone on a wireless charger, a rapidly changing magnetic field interacts with the copper coil present inside the smartphone, inducing an electric current. The electric current produced is then used to charge the battery.

Radio Frequency (RF)-based charging: This aims to solve the proximity issue. This type charges gadgets wirelessly at a few feet of distance.

Users will be able to charge their phones without going near a charger in the near future using RF charging.

Loosely-coupled resonance charging can deliver a charge up to a few centimetres away.

What is the impact of Wireless Charging on phones?

Firstly, wireless Charging does produce more heat than conventional wired charging. However, wireless charging standards like Qi have strict guidelines to deal with such problems. When Qi-certified wireless chargers detect excessive heat, it reduces the charging speeds.

Secondly, wireless charging doesn’t affect battery charge cycles.

Thirdly, wireless charging averagely uses 47% more power than wired charging. But the extra power consumption by a single wireless charger won’t significantly increase the energy bill. However, all smartphone users in the world switching to wireless charging would have an impact on the environment.

Iraq’s second largest lake drying up, turning up dead fish

Source: This post is based on the article “Iraq’s second largest lake drying up, turning up dead fish” published in Indian Express on 25th February 2022.

What is the News?

Iraq’s Razzaza Lake was once a tourist attraction known for its beautiful scenery and an abundance of fish that locals depended on. Now, dead fish litter its shores and the once-fertile lands around it have turned into a barren desert.

Where is Razzaza Lake?

Razzaza Lake, also known as Lake Milh, Arabic for Salt Lake, is located in Iraq. 

It is the second-largest lake in Iraq and is part of a wide valley that includes the lakes of Habbaniyah, Tharthar and Bahr al-Najaf.

The lake was constructed as a measure to control floods in the Euphrates and to be used as a huge reservoir for irrigation purposes. 

Note: Euphrates River is the longest river in southwest Asia. The river rises in Turkey and flows southeast across Syria and through Iraq.

Iraqis and tourists frequented the lake as a recreational spot to cool down during Iraq’s hot summers.

However, in recent years, the lake has been affected not only by the water shortage but by drought, neglect, pollution and increased evaporation during Iraq’s hot summers. 

Draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022: Centre proposes law to control distribution, price, quality of fertilizers

Source: This post is based on the article “Centre proposes law to control distribution, price, quality of fertilizers” published in The Hindu on 23rd February 2022

What is the News?

The Department of Fertilizers has sought comments from all stakeholders on the draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022. 

About the Draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022

Aim

– To promote the development and sustainable use of balanced fertilizers, including bio-fertilisers, bio-stimulates, nano-fertilizers and organic fertilizers.

– To simplify the process for the manufacture, production, distribution and price management of fertilizers in India, which will, in turn, improve the ease of doing business.

Salient provisions of the Draft Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Bill, 2022

Integrated Plant Nutrition Management Authority to be established and tasked with regulating the registration of fertilizer manufacturers, set out technical standards with respect to the quality of fertilizers etc.

The Central Government may fix the maximum prices of fertilizers to regulate the equitable distribution of fertilizers and their availability at fair prices.

No person can manufacture, sell, import for sale, or market fertilizers without obtaining the appropriate registration.

States have been empowered to appoint State Controllers of Fertilizers and Fertilizer Inspectors, who can conduct impromptu inspections on industry and trade armed with overarching powers to search, seize and confiscate. 

The Central Government may prescribe the manner in which fertilizers may be moved from one state to another.