Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

• Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida writes: Japan and India renewing a pledge
• Whether in Maharashtra or Jharkhand, governors are unelected – they must stay away from politics
• Moving forward with a newer concept of UHC
• Slow steps to India-China border tranquillity

GS Paper 3

• Our new trade policy must calm fears of rising import restrictions
• Safety in the storm – As the requirement for capital import into India at present is low, the global tornado has modest implications for us
• A sweet export story: How India’s sugar shipments to the world are surging
• Build, But Take Care – Fast-paced highway expansion is being undermined by quality issues. This needs to be addressed

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Radiation exposure: Background radiation high in Kerala, but no risk, says study
• New species of gecko found in Gujarat named after Vindhya hills
• Access to facilities and basic it skills
• Do you know India’s geoheritage sites of Jhamarkotra and Zawar?
• Rush to study abroad: What the numbers say on Indian students, their countries of preference
• Magellan Mission: Venus’ volcanoes may be active, show decades-old radar images
• PM inaugurates the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference
• PM PRANAM scheme: States to get rewards for organic farming
• OilMin accepts all major Kirit Parikh panel recommendations on gas pricing
• Substrate promiscuity of fungi generated enzyme Laccase shows potential in degrading industrial dye effluents
• Raccoon dogs linked to coronavirus pandemic: What are these animals?
• Afghanistan most impacted by terrorism for fourth straight year, India ranks 13th: Global Terrorism Index

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

Japan’s PM Fumio Kishida writes: Japan and India renewing a pledge

News– Japan PM is visiting India for the second time.

What is the importance of the bilateral relationship between India and Japan?

Close coordination between India and Japan as leading democracies of Asia are the cornerstones of peace and prosperity in the region.

The bilateral relationship between our two countries is multi-layered. It is based on shared values and principles of freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law. Both have shared vision of Free and Open Indo-pacific.

Today, the international community is at a historic turning point. Its impact, such as the food crisis and soaring fertiliser prices, are also being felt here in the Indo-Pacific region.

As Japan and India assume the Presidencies of the G7 and the G20 respectively this year, cooperation between them is important for the region.

In the context of the Ukraine war, both have sought a peaceful resolution based on international law.

What are potential areas of cooperation between India and Japan?

Japan-India relations have advanced in various fields. Japan is important partner in the high-speed railway project in India

Japan has the target of 5 trillion Yen of public and private investment and financing from Japan to India in the next five years. This was announced by our two governments last year.

Smart city projects by India, share high compatibility with Japan’s Vision for a Digital Garden City Nation Realisation.

Japan is cooperating in the development of the north-eastern region of India by increasing connectivity with the surrounding regions.

What is the shared vision of Free and Open Indo-Pacific between India and Japan?

FOIP is a vision shared by Japan and India. It has gained support and endorsement of the international community and led to the mainstreaming of the “Indo-Pacific”.

FOIP is even more relevant at a time when Japan and India aim to pursue the shared goal of leading the international community towards cooperation rather than division and confrontation.

Whether in Maharashtra or Jharkhand, governors are unelected – they must stay away from politics

News– In the ongoing disqualification proceedings against Maharashtra MLAs in the Supreme Court, the Chief Justice of India has made hard-hittingremarks about the role and powers of a governor.

CJI severely criticised the Maharashtra governor’s actions and raised questions about the legitimacy and limits of a governor’s role in this case. The CJI observed that the governor should not enter the political arena.

What are recent examples of governors exceeding their authority?

Recently. R N Ravi, the Tamil Nadu governor skipped certain parts of his speech. He omitted words such as secularism, Periyar and B R Ambedkar. He further made denigrating remarks stating that the Dravidian model is regressive politics.

Former Jharkhand governorRamesh Bais withheld the opinion of the Election Commission in Hemant Soren’s office of profit case and did not act on it.

In fact, he violated Article 192(2) of the Constitution, which says that he “shall act” according to such opinion. The Constitution has mandated the word of EC to be final in the matter of disqualification in an office of profit case.

What is the way forward for the office of governor?

As an unelected appointee of the Centre, the governor is expected to not get involved in political controversies or ideological rifts. He must be non-partisan. She should not turn confrontational.

It is also necessary to restrict the discretionary powers of the governor. A politically-active and partisan governor can usurp the power of elected representatives.

A hung mandate becomes a fertile ground for some governors who are puppet in the hands of  Centre. Laying down a clear procedure in cases of a hung mandate is necessary.

The Justice Sarkaria Commission had recommended the following order to be followed by a governor in cases of a hung assembly: 1. An alliance of parties that was formed prior to the elections;

2. The single largest party staking a claim to form the government with the support of others, including independents.
3. A post-electoral coalition of parties, with all the partners in the coalition joining the government;
4. a post-electoral alliance of parties, with some of the parties in the alliance forming a government and the remaining parties, including independents, supporting the government from outside.

Justice Punchhi Committee (2007) reiterated the recommendations. There is a need to design institutional safeguards to ensure that governors do not cross the Lakshman Rekha.

Moving forward with a newer concept of UHC

News– The article discusses the new approach needed to ensure healthcare for all and weakness of earlier approaches.

What is the World Health Organization definition of health?

It is the totality of health. It includes mental and social well being and happiness, and an absence of disease and disability. It calls for addressing the health determinants.

This necessitates a need for an intersectoral convergence between departments such as women and child development, food and nutrition, agriculture and animal husbandry, civil supplies, rural water supply and sanitation, social welfare, tribal welfare, education, forestry.

What are some facts related to Universal Health Care?

It was proposed by Halfdan Mahler and endorsed by the World Health Assembly in 1977. It means universalisation of healthcare.

Nobody is denied this. Everybody is eligible without being discriminated against on the basis of financial status, gender, race, place of residence, affordability to pay or any other factors.

India, through its National Health Policy 1983, committed itself to the ‘Health for All’ goal by 2000.

How did partial coverage of the population and partial responsibility of the ruling government to pay for health care come into picture?

The International Conference on Primary Health Care, at Alma Ata in 1978 listed eight components of minimum care for all citizens.

It mandated all health promotion activities, and the prevention of diseases. It includes vaccinations and treatment of minor illnesses and accidents. These should be free for all using government resources, especially for the poor.

Any non­communicable disease, and its treatment were almost excluded from primary health care.

Secondary and tertiary care was left to the individual. They could either seek it from a limited number of public hospitals or from the private sector.

What were the consequences of this approach?

There were not enough government run institutions for the poor. This abdication of responsibility to provide secondary or tertiary care by the state has some consequences.

It ensured the growth of the dominant, unregulated, profit making private sector and also the health insurance sector

This created a dichotomy between peripheral primary and institutional preferred specialist care at the secondary and tertiary levels.

What is the way forward to ensure healthcare for all?

There is a need for a newer concept of UHC. It should encompass primary, secondary and tertiary care for all who need it at affordable cost without discrimination.

The Universal Health Coverage slogan must be avoided. It is neither universal in its implementation nor comprehensive in its coverage of services. It never assures accessibility or affordability.

Every individual has a right to health. That right is guaranteed only by individualism in public health. It is a new global approach to UHC.

The World Health Assembly resolution of 2011 urges countries for timely finance of the health sector to reduce out of pocket expenses. The Astana declaration of 2018 calls for “partnership” with the private sector.

A globally accepted health systems concept has emerged since the Beijing Health Systems Research Conference 2012. It is a multimodal system of varied sectors, professional streams and specialities with a variety of staff to deliver Comprehensive Universal Health Care.

The National Health Mission with concurrent intersectoral thrusts on Poshan Abhiyan, National Food Security, the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act, water

sanitation, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan is a better model of fully tax funded Universal Health Care. But the Ayushman Bharat Jan Arogya Bhima Yojana damages that approach.

Slow steps to India-China border tranquillity

News– India and China appear to be moving towards a new modus vivendi to maintain peace and tranquility along their disputed 4,000 kilometre border.

What are various attempts by two sides to ease the border situation?

The two sides managed to disengage in four of the six points — Galwan, Pangong Tso,

Gogra Post and near Jianan Pass (PP15). But two key areas remain unsettled- the Depsang Bulge and the Charding Ninglung Junction in the Demchok area involving nearly 1,000 square kilometres.

Important discussions took place at the 26th Meeting of the Working Mechanism for Consultation and Coordination (WMCC) on China-­India Border Affairs. The two sides discussed other measures to further ease the border situation.\

Upgrading the border management means to replace the WMCC with a mechanism that will have both military and civilian officers.

What could be other measures that can restore a measure of normality on border areas?

It includes converting other parts of the LAC into similar no­-patrol zones. This could lead to a package settlement in the two remaining areas of Depsang and Charding Nala.

No­patrol zones could be confined to the places where the two sides have overlapping claims. Till 2020, both sides patrolled till the limit of these contending claims.

There was a protocol that if the two patrols met, they would display banners to ask the other side to go back to their area. Thereafter, the issue was dealt with through meetings.

Chinese journalist scholar Qian Feng suggested that the concept of the “zone of actual control” could replace the “line of actual control” in some areas that had no obvious geomorphological features or population.

Other areas, too, could be delimited as a “border belt” if they did not require population adjustment. It will depend on the intentions of the two interlocutors.

The idea was originally proposed by Chinese Premier Zhou Enlai. He proposed to Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that both sides withdraw 20 kilometres from the “so called”

McMahon Line, as well as the “line up to which each side exercises control in the west”.

What are the reasons for frequent border clashes between India and China?

The entire range of confidence building measures since 1993 was premised on the belief

that both sides largely accepted the LAC. But, there were differences related to some 18­20 points on it.

The 1993 and 1996 agreements specifically spoke about the importance of identifying and resolving these differences. The Chinese did not help in defining a clear LAC without providing any good reasons.

Chinese have not shared detailed maps of their areas of control. That has been at the root of

the problem.

Over the years, the Chinese have been able to shift goalposts at will, especially in relation to the Ladakh border.

What is the Indian stand on border dispute?

Foreign minister Mr. Jaishankar has emphasised that there could be no normality in India­-China ties until the eastern Ladakh situation was resolved.

In 2014 and 2015, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tried his level best to persuade the Chinese

to clarify the LAC at the points where there were differences.

GS Paper 3

Our new trade policy must calm fears of rising import restrictions

News: “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it” – George Santayana.

This quote holds significance in the upcoming foreign trade policy in which the Commerce Ministry has said that they are working to identify “inessential imports”.

What are inessential imports?

The concept of inessential imports was used in the 1970s when the Chief Controller of Imports and Exports used to decide whether imports needed by businessmen should be allowed.

Imports were denied if they were deemed “inessential”. They were also denied if they were accepted as essential, but were indigenously available.

These decisions were made based on the recommendations of Directorate of Technical Development (DGTD) officials, who lacked private sector expertise and inadequate technical understanding.

What are the concerns associated with categorizing imports as inessential imports?

Lowers Competition:This classification was one of the factors that protected Indian industry from competition and produced a high-cost economy that could not compete internationally and developed slowly.

Can Affect Foreign Trade Agreements (FTAs): This categorization might send wrong impressions to the countries signing FTAs with India.

The FTAs are designed to convince business partners that India aims to cut tariffs to promote trade. However, the FTA partners could be concerned if imports can be limited by non-tariff measures.

It is because of this that the World Trade Organization prohibits quantitative import restrictions, except in circumstances of a balance-of-payments crisis.

Can Have Impact On Foreign Invest in India:India is encouraging foreign firms to invest in India and make goods for international markets. This would enable India to take advantage of the China-plus-one plan and integrate with global value chains.

It will also support India’s “Make in India for the World” effort. However, such arbitrary import restrictions won’t encourage foreign manufacturers to invest in India.

Therefore, our foreign trade policy should unequivocally state that it will not utilise quantitative import restrictions to restrict access to imports.

Must Read: Non-essential curbs – Policy focus must shift from imports to exports

Why India shouldn’t be concerned about restricting imports?

Import restrictions are being urged because of large trade deficit. However, India also has a large surplus on the ‘invisibles’ account due to the booming service exports and remittances.

Further, the combined deficit is expected to be about 2.5% of GDP and so there is no case for imposing controls on imports.

Moreover, India should also not be concerned about its Current Account Deficit because – a) India has a good amount of foreign exchange reserves that can take care of sudden temporary pressures, b) the policy of a floating exchange rate gives the Reserve Bank of India the flexibility to allow the exchange rate to adjust in a way that will help contain imports and simultaneously stimulate exports and c) if our balance of payments is being impacted by an excess of aggregate demand over supply, then tightening fiscal and monetary policy would be the optimal approach that can be adopted.

Safety in the storm – As the requirement for capital import into India at present is low, the global tornado has modest implications for us

News:Volatility in global financial markets has increased. However, the Indian economy has not been much affected by it because the requirement for capital import, i.e., the gap between investment and savings is modest.

What are the reasons behind modest investments and savings in India?

The aggregate domestic savings come down when there is a larger deficit. Therefore, changes in the deficit are modest due to which there is a moderate investment/savings gap in India.

Further, the weak pace of investment within India is within reach of the supply of savings in the economy. The requirement for foreign capital inflows is hence relatively small.

Moreover, even if the capital import need had been larger, the markets would still have supported it given the need for operating the accounting identity.

However, when the global financing environment is more stressed, Indian asset prices have to drop to a point where buying them looks attractive. 

There are two ways in which this can happen – a) Either the exchange rate can act as a shock absorber and cheaper Indian assets are achieved through INR depreciation or b) the authorities hold up the exchange rate and local asset prices drop to a point where they are sufficiently attractive to global investors.

Moreover, a combination of USD/INR adjustment and real estate price adjustment can also help in making the price fall for Indian real estate globally.

What can be done to prevent the impact of falling real estate on the Indian economy?

There is a need to have a large number of well-established Indian asset classes globally along with a diversified engagement with global finance, well-established information flows and middlemen operating in public and private equity, etc.

This would make disruptions in any one asset class to not pose a threat to the whole Indian macroeconomy because this would be compensated by making small devolution in rupee while making other asset classes more appealing.

A sweet export story: How India’s sugar shipments to the world are surging

News: India’s sugar shipments in 2016-17 and 2017-18 sugar years (Oct-Sept) were a mere 0.46 lakh tonnes (lt) and 6.2 lt respectively. At present, they had increased to 110 lt by 2021-22.

About India’s sugar shipments

According to the International Sugar Organization, India has become the world’s No. 2 in sugar shipments, next only to Brazil (255.40 lt) and way ahead of Thailand (79.86 lt) and Australia (25.67 lt). The biggest importers of Indian raw sugar were Indonesia (16.73 lt), Bangladesh (12.10 lt), Saudi Arabia (6.83 lt), Iraq (4.78 lt) and Malaysia (4.15 lt). 

What are the various types of India’s sugar shipments?

India exports both raw and white sugar. International Commission for Uniform Methods of Sugar Analysis is a measure of the purity of sugar based on colour. The lower the value, the more the whiteness.

Raw sugar: Raw sugar is what mills produce after the first crystallisation of juice obtained from the crushing of cane. This sugar is rough and brownish in colour. It has an ICUMSA value of 600-1,200 or higher.

Much of the world’s sugar trade is in ‘raws’ and they can be transported in bulk vessels. This is because the raw sugar requires no bagging or containerisation and can be loaded in bulk. The buyer of raw sugar is the refiner, not the end-consumer.

Refined sugar: Raw sugar is processed in refineries for the removal of impurities and de-colourisation. The end product is refined white cane sugar having a standard ICUMSA value of 45. The sugar used by industries such as pharmaceuticals has ICUMSA of less than 20.

Whites sugars are usually packed in 50-kg polypropylene bags and shipped in container cargoes over shorter distances.

Note: Till 2017-18, India hardly exported any raw sugar. It mainly shipped plantation white sugar with 100-150 ICUMSA value. This was referred to as low-quality whites or LQW in international markets. 

What are the advantages of Indian raw sugar?

A joint committee visited Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, China and Bangladesh in 2018. Their mission is to promote exports of raw sugar from India. The committee found the following advantages of Indian raw sugar. These are,

The time window of Indian production: The refineries in Indonesia, Malaysia, South Korea, China and Bangladesh import raw sugar from Brazil. Brazilian mills operate from April to November, whereas India’s crushing is from October to April. Hence, they are utilising Indian raw sugar during Brazil’s off-season.

Freight cost savings: The voyage time from Kandla, Mundra or JNPT to Ciwandan Port of Indonesia is 13-15 days, compared to 43-45 days from Brazil’s Port of Santos.

Indian sugar is free of dextran: Dextran is a bacterial compound formed when sugarcane stays in the sun for too long after harvesting. Indian raw sugar has no dextran, as it is produced from fresh cane crushed within 12-24 hours of harvesting. On the other hand, the cut-to-crush time is 48 hours or more in Brazil.

India can supply raw sugar with high polarisation: Polarisation is the percentage of sucrose present in a raw sugar mass. The more the polarisation the easier and cheaper it is to refine.

Indian mills could supply raw sugar with a very high polarisation of 98.5-99.5%. But it is only 96-98.5% in raw sugar from Brazil, Thailand and Australia.

How did Indian raw sugar advantages increase in India’s sugar shipments?

Awareness created by the committee: The committee created awareness about the quality of Indian raw sugar. So much so that Indian raw sugar today fetches a 4% premium over the global benchmark price.

Measures by Indonesia: In 2019, Indonesia agreed to tweak its ICUMSA norms and reduced its import duty on Indian raw sugar from 15% to 5% to enable imports from India.

Lower stocks, production dipping and concerns about domestic availability and food inflation have led the government to cap India’s exports in the current sugar year to 61 lt. Of that, 50 lt have already been dispatched. The government should understand that overseas markets lost aren’t easy to regain.

Build, But Take Care – Fast-paced highway expansion is being undermined by quality issues. This needs to be addressed

News: The government’s commitment to upgrading road infrastructure has resulted in the expansion of the National Highway (NH) stock from 91,287 km on March 31, 2014, to 1. 45 lakh km at the end of February 2023.

The government spent in 2021-22 about Rs 2. 2 lakh crore on roads, with the centre contributing over 90%. Though, the prioritisation and investment into roads are widely acknowledged, the NH programme has an unaddressed issue.

What is the challenge associated with India’s fast-paced highway expansion?

The challenges include a) tolls are being levied when the NH work hadn’t entirely been completed, b) the NH being inundated with rains suggesting the lack of drainage facilities entitled to NH projects, c) greenfield projects like the Bengaluru-Mysuru expressway faces few other challenges, d) Underspending on maintenance of NH projects: This is due to overwhelming emphasis is on expansion of NH projects. This will downgrade their quality and decrease India’s economic competitiveness. For example, the government has said that annual budgetary outlay for maintenance and repairs is only about 40% of the estimated need as per its own norms, and e) Most of the expansion has come by reclassifying or upgrading state roads as NH. For example, from 2017-18 to January 31, 2023, about 28,517 km of state roads have been brought under the NH portfolio.

What should be done along with fast-pacing highway expansion?

The user charges from toll collections from NHs in 2021-22 amount to around Rs 35,000 crores. The amount should be prioritised for effective maintainence of NH stock.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Radiation exposure: Background radiation high in Kerala, but no risk, says study

Source: The post is based on the article “Background radiation high in Kerala, but no risk, says study” published in The Hindu on 20th March 2023.

What is the News?

A pan India survey of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on background radiation levels has been released recently.

What are the sources of radiation?

Radiation results from the disintegrating nucleus of an unstable element. These can be from anywhere, including inside human bodies, constituents of matter, natural sources such as rocks, sand or mountains. Gamma rays are a kind of radiation that can pass unobstructed through matter. Though extremely energetic, they are harmless unless present in large concentrated doses.

What is the prescribed amount of radiation exposure?

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) specifies maximum radiation exposure levels. Accordingly, Public radiation exposure should not exceed 1 milli­Sievert every year. For those who work in plants or are by virtue of their occupation, the exposure shouldn’t be over 30 milli­Sievert every year.

Note: Sievert, Gray, and Rem are different scales to measure radiation exposure. Gray refers to radiation emitted. Sievert and rem refer to biological exposure to radiation. 1 Gray is equivalent to 1 Sievert and 1 rem is equivalent to one-hundredth of a sievert.

The IAEA level has also been adopted in India. Accordingly, gamma radiation levels are monitored around nuclear plants and also the average quantity of radiation that plant workers are exposed.

What are the findings of BARC study on radiation exposure?

The average natural background level of gamma radiation in India was 94 nGy/hr (nano Gray per hour) (or roughly 0.8 milli sievert/year). The last such study was conducted in 1986 and computed such radiation to be 89 nGy/hr.

High radiation exposure in Kerala: The 1986 study measured the highest radiation exposure at Chavara, Kerala (3002 nGy/hr). The present study found that the levels in Kollam district (where Chavara is situated) were 9,562 nGy/hr, or about three times more. This is about 70 milliGray a year, or a little more than what a worker in a nuclear plant is exposed to.

Reason for high exposure: The presence of granite and basaltic, volcanic rock have led to higher levels of radiation from uranium deposits in southern India.

The higher radiation levels in Kollam are attributed to monazite sands that are high in thorium.

No harm with high exposure in Kerala: Extensive studies in the past have checked for higher rates of cancer or mortality in Kerala but found no evidence associated with high radiation levels.

New species of gecko found in Gujarat named after Vindhya hills

Source: The post is based on the article “New species of gecko found in Gujarat named after Vindhya hills” published in the Hindustan Times on 20th March 2023.

What is the News?

Recently, a new species of naked-toed gecko (Cyrtopodion Vindhya) has been discovered in Gujarat.

About Cyrtopodion Vindhya

The newly discovered naked-toed gecko has been named ‘Cyrtopodion Vindhya’ and it is the fifth endemic species of reptile described in the last fifteen years from the state of Gujarat.

Distribution: The Palearctic naked-toed geckos of the genus Cyrtopodion are a group of gekkonid lizards distributed across the arid regions of north Africa, Arabia, and Central Asia to northwestern India.

Note: The taxonomic history of the genus Cyrtopodion has been unstable, and 23 species are currently recognized, with the diversity concentrated in Pakistan and Iran.

Named after: Vindhya hill ranges.

Characteristics: The newly discovered reptile is a nocturnal species, associated with granite boulders. Mostly rupicolous( living among rocks) in its habits but can be found on the ground as well.

Access to facilities and basic it skills

Source: The post is based on the article “Access to facilities and basic it skills” published in The Hindu on 19th March 2023

What is the News?

The National Sample Survey Office(NSSO) has released the findings of the Multiple Indicator Survey(MIS).

What are the key findings of the survey?

Distance to water: Over a third of households in India had their principal source of drinking outside their premises. 

– In rural India, fetching water is a task almost exclusively performed by women. The greater the distance to the primary source of water, the more they will be exposed to heat stress on a hot day. 

– In seven States more than 50% of households reported that their drinking water source was located outside the premise with Odisha having the Largest share (66.9%) of such households followed by Jharkhand (63.8%) 

Unclean fuel: Over 33% of households in India used firewood, chips and crop —-residue as the primary source of fuel for cooking. 

– Many southern States reported the lowest share of such households, while many eastern and central States reported the highest share. 

– Even as fuel prices increased, the government withdrew support for LPG subsidies, likely forcing more households to revert to biomass-fuelled stoves called chuthas, which expose women who cook to soot and other harmful particulate matter.

Persons in debt In India: Over 15,000 persons per lakh were indebted to some institutional /non-institutional agency as of 2020-21. 

– Southern States stood out when it came to indebtedness with Andhra Pradesh having the highest number of indebted persons per lakh (46,330), followed by Telangana (39,358), Kerala (31,510) and Tamil Nadu (31,085). 

– Northeastern States such as Meghalaya, Mizoram and Nagaland had the lowest number of persons indebted per lakh.

Piped water: Just over 35% of persons in India had access to piped water in their dwellings. 

– Among States, access to piped water inside dwelling/yard/plot ranged from over 90% in Goa to close to 6% in Assam. 

– In as many as 12 States less than 30% of persons had access to piped water and most of them were in the eastern and northeastern regions. 

In search of jobs: For about 13.7% of the persons who were willing to move out from their present place of residence in India, the main reason was the “search for employment”. 

– Uttarakhand, Chhattisgarh, Nagaland and Bihar had the highest share of persons who were willing to move out in search of employment. 

– Nine States including Maharashtra, West Bengal, Kerala and Gujarat had less than 10% of persons willing to move out to search for employment.

Do you know India’s geoheritage sites of Jhamarkotra and Zawar?

Source: The post is based on the article “Do you know India’s geoheritage sites of Jhamarkotra and Zawar?” published in The Hindu on 20th March 2023

What is the News?

Society of Earth Scientists (SES), a group of independent researchers bridging the gap between earth science and society, organized the International Geodiversity Day in October 2022. 

As part of this, the researchers visited Geo-heritage sites namely: the fossil park at Jhamarkotra and metallurgical remains at Zawar.

What is a fossil park at Jhamarkotra?

The fossil park at Jhamarkotra is located in the state of Rajasthan.

It hosts stromatolites dating back 1.8 billion years, exhibiting a variety of textures and sizes.

Jhamarkotra’s fossils are phosphate-rich because the trapped sediments were mainly phosphate minerals.

What are stromatolites?

A stromatolite is a layered sedimentary rock formed by microorganisms. 

As such, stromatolite fossils preserve the record of cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae – the earliest life on the planet. 

These organisms developed the ability to photosynthesize and make their own food. By doing so, they pumped vast amounts of oxygen into the atmosphere of primordial Earth, allowing most other life to develop and flourish.

Stromatolites are sometimes called ‘alligator-skin rocks’ because of their unusual texture. 

What is Zawar?

Zawar is an interesting geo-heritage site that lies some 40 km south of Udaipur. It is the world’s oldest known zinc-smelting site.

The discovery here of earthen retorts – brinjal-shaped, long-necked vessels – is particularly significant. Their presence here suggests Zawar had a unique zinc-smelting legacy.

Note: Zawar’s zinc-smelting operations date back 2,000 years.

Rush to study abroad: What the numbers say on Indian students, their countries of preference

Source: The post is based on the article “Rush to study abroad: What the numbers say on Indian students, their countries of preference” published in Indian Express on 20th March 2023

What is the News?

Some 700 Indian students are facing deportation from Canada after admission offer letters provided by an immigration agency were established as fake.

About Indians studying abroad

Indians now study in 240 countries around the world. Canada, Australia, the UK, and the US remain the top choices.

The number of Indians choosing to study abroad rose from 4.5 lakhs in 2017 to 5.2 lakhs in 2018 to around 5.86 lakhs in 2019. The pandemic resulted in this number crashing to 2.6 lakhs in 2020.

In 2022, Indians going abroad for higher education have touched a six-year high of over 7.5 lakhs.

About Indian students’ choice of countries for studying abroad

US: India has surpassed China to become the country with the most international students in the US in 2022.

UK: Britain granted 1.4 lakh sponsored study visas to Indians in 2022, a major increase from the 34,261 visas in 2019.

– In 2019, the UK announced a post-study work visa called the “graduate route”. This allowed international students, including those from India, to work, or look for work, in any career or position for two years after successfully completing their studies.

Canada: As of 2019, there were over 2.2 lakh Indian study permit holders in Canada, constituting 34% of Canada’s foreign student population.

France: In 2019, there were 10,000 Indian students in France; the country aims to attract 20,000 Indian students by 2025.

Greece: It plans to increase its outreach to Indian academic institutions through the official “Study in Greece” platform. The two countries have signed a Cultural and Educational Exchange Programme for 2022-2026.

Other countries: Several countries are now making specific efforts to liberalize student visas for Indians.

Magellan Mission: Venus’ volcanoes may be active, show decades-old radar images

Source: The post is based on the article “Venus’ volcanoes may be active, show decades-old radar images” published in Down To Earth on 19th March 2023

What is the News?

NASA Magellan spacecraft has captured images of Venus’ surface from different orbits. It found new evidence of active volcanoes on Venus.

What is the Magellan Mission?

NASA’s Magellan mission to Venus was one of the most successful deep space missions. 

It was the first spacecraft to image the entire surface of Venus and made several discoveries about the plane.

In 1994, communication with Magellan was lost when it was instructed to descend into the atmosphere of Venus to gather aerodynamic data. 

What did Magellan observe at Venus?

Magellan used radar to image Venus’ surface from different orbits. A few locations, including those suspected to have volcanic activity, were observed two or three times over two years.

The study found new evidence of active volcanoes on Venus. A 2.2 square kilometre volcanic vent on Venus changed shape in eight months, indicating volcanic activity.

It showed signs of drained lava, the radar images indicated that the same vent had doubled in size and the lava lake seemed to have reached the rim. The vent is associated with Maat Mons.

Note: Maat Mons is Venus ‘second-highest’ volcano. It sits in the Atla Regio, a vast highland region near Venus’ equator. These changes were likely due to lava flow escaping the vent, hinting at a possible volcanic activity.

What are the upcoming missions to Venus?

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PM inaugurates the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference

Source: The post is based on the article “PM inaugurates the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference” published in PIB on 19th March 2023

What is the News?

The Prime Minister has inaugurated the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference.

What is the Global Millets (Shree Anna) Conference?

Organized by: Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA)

Purpose: The conference will have sessions on all important issues related to millets (Shree Anna) like promotion and awareness of millets among producers, consumers and other stakeholders; millets’ value chain development; health and nutritional aspects of millets etc.

About Millets Production in India

India is the largest producer of millets.It is enriched with a wide range of millets produced in major millet-growing states like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh etc.

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What are the steps taken by the government to promote Millets production in India?

Millets were declared nutri-cereals in 2018. Thus making the farmers aware of its benefits, and generating interest in the market.

Millets have been selected in 19 districts of the country under the ‘One District, One Product’ scheme.

The National Food Security Mission (NFSM) as NFSM-Coarse Cereals is implemented in 14 States.

In 2021, the PM POSHAN (earlier known as the mid-day meal scheme) was approved to include millet to enhance the nutritional outcome.

India is planning to launch a global initiative – Millet International Initiative for Research and Awareness (MIIRA), to encourage the consumption and production of millets.

APEDA in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Millets Research and respective State Agricultural universities has incubated more than 200 start-ups to develop a range of millet-based value-added products.

PM PRANAM scheme: States to get rewards for organic farming

Source: The post is based on the article “States to get rewards for organic farming” published in Livemint on 20th March 2023

What is the News?

The Union government intends to launch a scheme — named PM PRANAM — to reduce the use of chemical fertilizers by incentivising states.

How will the PM PRANAM scheme reduce the use of chemical fertilizers?

The scheme will be launched to check the excessive and indiscriminate use of chemical fertilizers as part of the government’s efforts to make farming more sustainable.

As part of the scheme, if the promotion of organic farming by a state leads to a decline in the use of chemical fertilizers, then half the subsidy saved on that account will be transferred to the state.

There will be some conditions attached to how some of the funds have to be utilized by the state, but the rest can be used as per the state’s own choice.

How much is the fertilizer subsidy burden of India?

The fertilizer subsidy burden has shot up sharply in the current financial year on account of the supply disruptions and price escalation in global markets following the Russia-Ukraine war.

The government had originally estimated only about ₹1 trillion for making plant nutrients available to farmers at affordable prices in FY23 but later sought additional spending permission from Parliament. The revised fertilizer subsidy estimate for this fiscal is around ₹2.25 trillion.

OilMin accepts all major Kirit Parikh panel recommendations on gas pricing

Source: The post is based on the article “OilMin accepts all major Kirit Parikh panel recommendations on gas pricing” published in Business Standard on 20th March 2023

What is the News?

The Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry has accepted the main recommendations of the Kirit Parikh committee on natural gas pricing.

What is the Kirit Parikh committee?

The Kirit Parikh committee was constituted to review the existing pricing formula for domestically produced natural gas in the country.

At present, the government fixes the prices of gas produced from the old fields of state-run ONGC and OIL which account for about 80% of the annual gas output of about 91 billion cubic metres.

What are the major recommendations given by the Kirit Parikh committee?

Firstly, move to a purely market-determined natural gas pricing system by 2027. Till then, institute a ceiling price of $6.5 MMBtu (metric million British thermal units) and a float price of $4 per MMBtu for domestic natural gas prices.

Secondly, domestic gas prices should be linked to 10% of the cost of crude oil imported into India.

Thirdly, prices of gas produced by state-owned firms should be linked to imported crude prices instead of benchmarking them to gas rates in international hubs.

Fourthly, no change in the pricing mechanism for gas produced from new and difficult fields. New and difficult fields enjoy pricing freedom to compensate for the greater risk and cost involved in these projects, but they have a pricing cap. The report suggests that the upper cap should be removed from January 1, 2026.

Lastly, City Gas Distribution (CGD) and fertilizer sectors will continue to get priority in gas allocation. Currently, CGD firms get about 90 percent of the gas allotted to priority sectors (CNG + PNG domestic).

What is the significance of Kirit Parikh committee recommendations?

The new pricing mechanism is expected to benefit domestic producers of natural gas in India, as they will now be able to receive a higher price for their products. This is expected to incentivize domestic production and lead to an increase in domestic supply.

It is also expected to make the pricing of natural gas more transparent and efficient, which will benefit consumers. As a result, the government would get a chance to raise the share of gas in India’s energy mix to 15% by 2030 from around 6.4% at present.

Substrate promiscuity of fungi generated enzyme Laccase shows potential in degrading industrial dye effluents

Source: The post is based on the article “Substrate promiscuity of fungi generated enzyme Laccase shows potential in degrading industrial dye effluents” published in PIB on 20th March 2023

What is the News?

Researchers from S. N. Bose National Center for Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata have tested the efficacy of the laccase enzyme in degrading some standard dye molecules.

What is Laccase?

Laccase is an enzyme generated by a group of fungi. It is known for its capacity to degrade various organic molecules.

It contains 4 copper atoms in two different oxidation states. It degrades substrates through redox reactions, producing only water and the simplest non-virulent or less virulent oxides of carbon, nitrogen and sulphur.  

What have the researchers found about Laccase?

Laccase has been found capable of degrading a variety of hazardous organic dye molecules that are regularly drained into water bodies after dying clothes in the textile industry. 

This observed characteristic which the scientists termed substrate promiscuity can have deep implications in designing enzyme-coated cassettes for treating heavily dye-polluted water through a natural solution to make the environment greener.

What is Enzyme promiscuity?

Enzyme promiscuity is defined as the capability of an enzyme to catalyze a reaction other than the reaction for which it has been specialized.

Although the enzyme is known for its specificity, many enzymes are reported to be promiscuous.

Raccoon dogs linked to coronavirus pandemic: What are these animals?

Source: The post is based on the article “Raccoon dogs linked to coronavirus pandemic: What are these animals?” published in Indian Express on 20th March 2023

What is the News?

A report has suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 virus could have originated in raccoon dogs which were sold illegally at the Wuhan wet market.

What are Racoon Dogs?

Raccoon dogs are neither dogs nor raccoons. They belong to the canid family and are closely related to foxes. 

They are the only canids that hibernate during the winter.

They are omnivores and relish food sources such as rodents and berries

Where are Racoon dogs found?

Raccoon dogs are originally from East Asia and are commonly found in parts of China, Korea and Japan, where they are known as tanuki. 

They are also found in Europe, where they were first brought in by fur traders in the 1920s. Today, raccoon dogs are considered to be a threat to the local ecosystem in Europe and an EU report declared them “one of the most successful alien carnivores in Europe”.

How are Racoon dogs linked to coronavirus?

A report has said that raccoon dogs and related mammals sold for food at a live animal market in China in 2003 were found to carry a coronavirus similar to the virus found in humans during a SARS coronavirus outbreak at the time.

But this doesn’t mean they are the natural reservoir for coronaviruses. Scientists believe there is a possibility the tested raccoon dogs, including those in the Wuhan market, might have picked up the virus from bats or another species.

Afghanistan most impacted by terrorism for fourth straight year, India ranks 13th: Global Terrorism Index

Source: The post is based on the article “Afghanistan most impacted by terrorism for fourth straight year, India ranks 13th: Global Terrorism Index” published in Indian Express on 19th March 2023

What is the News?

The Global Terrorism Index (GTI) report 2022 has been released.

What is the Global Terrorism Index(GTI)?

Global Terrorism Index(GTI) is a comprehensive study analyzing the impact of terrorism for 163 countries.

Published by: Institute for Economics & Peace(IEP) using data from Terrorism Tracker and other sources. 

What are the key findings of the GTI 2022?

Globally, deaths from terrorism fell by nine per cent to 6,701 deaths, marking a 38% decrease from its peak in 2015. 

Afghanistan remains the country most impacted by terrorism for the fourth consecutive year though violence has declined.

The report does not include acts of state repression and violence by state actors such as acts committed by the Taliban.

South Asia remains the region with the worst average GTI score.

India: India ranked 13th on the index, marking only a marginal decrease from the previous year. India was among the 25 worst-hit nations on the index.