9 PM Daily Current Affairs Brief – March 7th, 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

• Women and Indian society

GS Paper 2

• Economic weakness is a pan-India phenomenon
• Phygital education can prove transformative for the country
• Conflicts and a settings change for social media
• Do economic sanctions work as a deterrent?
• A safety net for students abroad
• Risks Rise Above Earth Too

GS Paper 3

• Pumped storage hydro projects can help meet our energy goals
• How to handle impact of Ukrainian crisis on India’s energy sector
• Strengthen environmental clearances

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

• Northern River Terrapin: Endangered turtles play fast and loose with borders
• Democracy Report 2022: Democracies on the slide
• Brahmaputra (NW2) gets connected with Ganga (NW1) via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route
• Defence Expo 2022 deferred, experts say may hamper India’s image
• Explained: How many tigers are too many
• Snakebite: Researchers purify commercial Indian antivenoms, find them more potent
• How the Kashmir Valley’s ancient mound formations are being levelled
• HANSA-NG successfully completes sea level trials at Puducherry
• Geological Survey of India Pledges to Focus on Augmentation of Mineral Wealth

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 1

Women and Indian society

News: Recently, Pew research Survey highlighted India’s low female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) and few reasons behind that.

FLFPR has worsened with the slowing of the Indian economy before the pandemic came. an FLFPR of 33.1 per cent in 2011-12 slipped to 25.3 in 2017-18, coinciding with a 45-year high in unemployment, and further to 20 per cent now, among the lowest in the world.

What can be the possible reasons behind low FLFPR?

Many theories have been given as a reason behind India’s low female labour force participation rate (FLFPR). Some of those are the following:

First, women typically exit the workplace when unemployment is high, to make way for the male workforce.

Second, many females step out of the workforce to educate themselves.

Third, as per Pew Research study, the deep-seated conservatism of Indian society is the reason behind India’s persistently low FLFPR.

What are the findings on conservatism of Indian society on FLFP?

The Pew Survey showed that more than half the Indians think men should get job preferences when jobs are scarce.

Fully 80 per cent of the Indians with college education believe women must obey their husbands.

As per UN Global Attitudes Survey (2019) a quarter of the Indians surveyed favoured the traditional family dynamic of the wife taking care of the house and children.

What are the effects of conservatism?

Following are the proof of effect of conservatism on the Indian workforce:

• According to the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), women accounted for 10.7 per cent of the workforce in 2019-20. However, they accounted for 13.9 per cent of the job losses in April 2020, during lockdown.
• During the three months ended September 2020, the unemployment rate among women touched 15.8 per cent against 12.6 per cent among men workers.

Some of the employments are considered “suitable” for women, such as tourism, retail, housekeeping services, and so on. These sectors have borne the brunt of pandemic the most.

As a result, on the World Economic Forum’s Gender Gap Index, India has been ranked, 140th among 156 nations. India is third-worst performer in South Asia, ahead of just Pakistan and Afghanistan.

GS Paper 2

Economic weakness is a pan-India phenomenon

News: In 2019, the India’s Govt instituted a 10% education-and-employment quota for Economically Weaker Sections (EWS) ineligible for the 49.5% of most public jobs and seats reserved for SC, ST and OBC applicants.

To qualify as an EWS candidate, the property owned by one’s family had to be below certain size levels, with annual income from all sources under ₹8 lakh (₹66,667/month)

A study by researchers now offers an estimate of the proportion of non-SC/ST/OBC households earning less than that figure.

What are the findings of the study?

The study was put out by Shamika Ravi of Observer Research Foundation and Mudit Kapoor of Indian Statistical Institute. Its major findings:

– With data drawn from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) done in 2018 and 2019, it was found that about 99% of rural and 95% of urban homes earned under ₹66,667 per month.

– About half of rural non-SC/ST/OBC households earned under ₹9,000 per month in rural areas and less than ₹15,000 in urban India.

What is the situation wrt taxpayers and top-earners in India?

According to government records reported last year, India had only 15 million income taxpayers, though many more filed returns.

– About 57% of these individuals had stated incomes of under ₹2.5 lakh per year, some 7% had ₹10-50 lakh and 1% declared earnings above ₹50 lakh.

The latest Hurun India Wealth Report, shows a count of homes with net worth above ₹7 crore (‘dollar millionaires’) up 11% in 2021 at 458,000.

What do the findings reflect?

There is a vast disparity in earnings among Indian homes that cannot claim benefits designed to uplift the socially-disadvantaged.

Prosperity across the country remains sharply skewed, and so concerns of a ‘K-shaped’ recovery from covid are likely to persist.

What are the pending issues with the EWS quota?

Confusion may prevail in some cases of recruitment/admission over whether an EWS applicant might face worse odds of success than a ‘general’ job/seat-seeker.

– There have been so few EWS applicants for the civil services that in 2020, they made the cut with lower test grades than OBC job-seekers. This also stirred up a controversy.

As the 10% quota faces legal challenges, our judiciary is looking at issues like:

– Whether it’s okay to reserve over half of all jobs/seats;

– Whether economic criteria is a valid basis for reservation; and, if so, whether the exclusion of SCs, STs and OBCs as beneficiaries defined this way violates their assurance of equality under the Constitution.

Recently, the Supreme Court asked the Centre to explain how the ₹8 lakh EWS limit was arrived at.

Phygital education can prove transformative for the country

News: Government’s vision of a digital university to reach all students across the country is a landmark step.

However, there are many challenges associated with these digital only courses.

What are the challenges of teaching students in a digital only mode? 

Students hardly complete their ‘digital only’ courses. This has been the case with many top global universities.

Students struggle in their transition to online learning, feel demotivated in the absence of a mentor or peer group, and also struggle with tests and assignments. 

Teachers, on the other hand, struggle with producing online content and find it difficult to keep children engaged. 

Are there any better alternatives? 

Phygital model of learning that combines online course instruction with weekly or fortnightly in-person educational sessions can be a better alternative. 

It makes it easier for students to transition to learning online and also helps teachers keep students engaged, read behaviour patterns among them that may be of relevance, and tailor their delivery accordingly. 

What is the way forward? 

Apart from the Phygital approach, there is need for some foundational steps. 

– Making Learning more accessible: Language barriers are a key challenge to online learning in our country, as videos and frequently asked questions (FAQs) are primarily in English. 

– Content for digital learning need to be made available in prominent regional languages. There is also the need for making these courses accessible for people with disabilities. 

– Helping in adapting to e-learning: Students should be helped to build their digital literacy. This can be done through simple, concise learning modules on how to operate a device or by providing on-call support with minimum wait time via call centres. 

– Create engaging, immersive learning experiences: Teaching-learning experiences that have dipped because of the use of a virtual interface can be rebuilt by promoting a spirit of competition. This can be done by holding periodic contests and weekly in person interaction between teachers and students. 

Peer Network: One of the big challenges in digital education is the absence of a peer network. Students cope with the difficulty of studying alone, coupled with the boredom of online education, which can lead to discontinuity and drop-outs. This can be overcome by creating peer learning communities which will lead to healthy competition and cross-learning. 

Improve the quality of instruction on digital platforms: Teachers face unique challenges with infrastructure required to teach online. There is need to support educators to create quality content. 

Conflicts and a settings change for social media

News: Armed conflicts within and between states like the current Ukraine-Russian conflict have also have had some influence on cyberspace over the years. 

Social media platforms have gone by the mantra of “tech neutrality” to avoid taking decisions that may be considered political for too long. However, there is need for some norms for social media as they have a huge amount of influence on our daily lives. 

What is the need for a framework of conduct for social media platforms wrt global conflicts? 

There is need for content moderation on these platforms. Information here can be operationalised and used to exacerbate conflicts. However, most social media giants are yet to create institutional capacity to deal with such situations. 

They act as conduit for further amplification of content on other platforms. Major social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter also provide space for extremist views from smaller platforms, which makes the identification of original user of content difficult. 

There is a huge issue of Misinformation and disinformation on these platforms. Although, algorithmic solutions are widely put to use to address them, these algorithmic solutions sometimes have harming the already resource-scarce party.  

What role can India play? 

The lack of coherent norms on state behaviour in cyberspace as well as the intersection of business, cyberspace, and state activity is an opportunity for India.

– India can initiate a new track of conversations here which can benefit the international community at large.  

– Ultimately, this will contribute to maintaining a rule-based word order that can greatly benefit India. 

What is the way forward? 

There is a need

– for a protocol that outlines the norms of behaviour on social media during such situations that can help in addressing the multitude of evolving factors. 

– to create a balance between the business interests of social media platforms and their intersection with global public life in critical situations.  

Do economic sanctions work as a deterrent?

News: The US, UK, and the EU have imposed several types of sanctions on Russia for going to war against Ukraine. This could prove to be detrimental to the country.

What do you mean by economic sanctions?

Economic sanctions are penalties or bans that are levied against a country to push it to modify its strategic decisions. Sanctions can be of the following types:

1) Full sanctions: It includes withdrawal of customary trade and financial relations. It could result in cutting economic ties in every respect including terms of trade, financial assistance, transit support, travel bans, asset freezes, and trade restrictions.

2) Targeted sanctions: It includes restricting transactions with certain businesses, groups, or individuals.

How do sanctions impact an economy?

Supply chain disruptions due to import restrictions. It can cripple the economy which is dependent upon imports of critical raw material.

It becomes very difficult to reach out to the export markets.

What are the economic sanctions against Russia?

Assets of some major Russian banks have been frozen and they have been banned from the SWIFT financial messaging service.

Sanctions have been levied on the Russian Direct Investment Fund and some Russian wealthiest people.

How India managed curbs after Pokhran-II?

The government appealed to Non-Resident Indians for assistance to replace India’s external assistance of more than $100 billion. As a result, NRIs’ subscription to government bonds was more than double the annual foreign assistance.

Furthermore, none of the scientists involved were trained abroad, thus India was able to show its scientific and economic independence.

A safety net for students abroad

News: Recently, the issue of higher education as under discussion due to evacuation of students from Ukraine.

Before the pandemic, more than 7,50,000 Indian students were studying abroad, spending $24 billion in foreign economies. It is around 1% of India’s GDP. The number is expected to rise to around 1.8 million students, spending nearly $80 billion outside India.

Why Indian students are going abroad for education?

Around half of the population of India is under the age of 25. Thus, demand for quality education is increasing. None of Indian universities come in the world’s top 100. Demand- supply gap of quality education in India is on increase.

What are the challenges facing Indian students in abroad?

Armed conflict: The most recent example is the Ukraine in this category. After Russian invasion of Ukraine, around 20,000 Indian students were stranded.

Crackdown on bogus colleges: In Canada, recently, some colleges were abruptly closed, due to bankruptcy. It led to protest by 1000s of students.

Similar thing happened in UK, when hundreds of ‘bogus’ colleges being closed.

Closure of borders can result in stranded students in or outside the host country. Most recently, borders were closed due to covid pandemic.

A considerable number of students who study abroad are not from wealthy families. They take expensive loans from institutional and non-institutional sources to finance their education. Thus, all these difficulties endanger the future of students.

Why must students studying abroad be supported by the government?

India can be benefitted by Indian students abroad in terms of soft power, knowledge transfer and remittances.

Former External Affairs Minister, Sushma Swaraj referred to Indians abroad as “brand ambassadors”. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson call Indians in the U.K. the “living bridge” between both countries.

Achievements of Indians like Sundar Pichai and Satya Nadella abroad has increased the country’s goodwill manifolds.

Indian students can significantly contribute to India’s development by transferring advanced knowledge and best practices, if a proper ecosystem is given to them by the government.

What steps can the government take to ensure the welfare of students abroad?

India is currently negotiating many international agreements. These agreements must include some provisions that oblige host countries to ensure the welfare of Indian students during times of crises and contingencies.

Provisions should include a mandatory student insurance scheme as well as the responsibility of foreign countries for the welfare of students in their country. It is possible because higher education is an attractive export for many countries. For example; the U.K. is generating £28.8 billion in revenue from education export.

Risks Rise Above Earth Too

News: The Ukraine crisis will have affects for space programmes globally, and also harsh lessons for India.

Read – US not ready for a solo space ride

Other than the International Space Station Program, the risks to space cooperation could come in three ways: First, due to sanctions. Second, due to physical destruction or control of aerospace facilities in Ukraine. Third, potential attempts by either side to disrupt the other’s use of space for military purposes.

How the present developments hinder India’s space program?

Due to sanctions: Sanctions are likely to place limitations on India’s ability to work simultaneously with Russia, the EU, and the US. India’s Gaganyaan human spaceflight project, which relies on Russian cooperation, will probably experience delays. For example, in 2014, the US placed restrictions on two Russian military-linked outfits that work on space technologies.

However, this situation can turn positive for India, as Russia may offer more favorable terms of cooperation to India. India can also jump into the business of launching satellites stranded due to sanctions.

Due to destruction in Ukraine: India’s own collaborative projects with Ukraine are under threat. For example the development of semi-cryogenic engines that could have allowed ISRO to launch heavier payloads into geostationary orbit.

Furthermore, even if Ukrainian capacity is not destroyed, it will be subject to political equations.

Warfare in space: Present crisis may lead to conflict among powers in space because they will be able to deny other parties the intelligence and power space provides.

What should be done by India?

First, India should start making its own efforts to defend its assets in space. The Tri services Defense Space Agency was formally set up in Bengaluru in 2019 but it has made little progress.

Second, Besides capacity building, India should publish a military space doctrine that clears the air on how it will respond to any attempts to contest its use of space.

Third, India must reduce risks to itself by diversifying its space partnerships and encouraging foreign direct investment into its private space sector.

Finally, India must develop the capacity to defend its ability to use space for its own prosperity and security.

GS Paper 3

Pumped storage hydro projects can help meet our energy goals

News: As per a study done by the Central Electricity Authority (CEA), our storage requirement by 2030 is forecast at 41GW. So, there is a need for adopting grid-scale energy storage technologies to complement India’s energy sources and achieve India’s nationally-determined contributions (NDC).

About the status of India’s electricity production and consumption

India is the third-largest producer and consumer of electricity globally, with annual electricity production of around 1,200-1,300TWh and one of the largest synchronous power grids.

As of December 2021, the installed generation capacity of the country stood at 393GW, comprising 235GW of thermal, 151GW of renewable (wind, solar, hydro and biomass) and 6.78GW of nuclear.

What is pumped storage hydro (PSH) plants?

Pumped storage hydro (PSH) plants are storage systems based on hydropower operations between two or more reservoirs (upper and lower) with an elevation difference. At the time of demand, downward water flow generates electricity with a hydraulic turbine, and water is pumped back to the upper reservoir using power from grid or RE sources, with an overall efficiency of 75-80%.

PSH Plants in India

The country has 5,745 large dams, which provide an excellent opportunity for developing PSH plants by placing them in between two large dams or by using one dam and a second reservoir on a hill-top in a manner.

In India, the PSH potential of about 120GW has been identified at about 120 sites. Only nine plants with an installed capacity of 4,785MW have been commissioned so far, and three with a capacity of 2.7GW are under construction.

Significance of Pumped storage hydro (PSH) plants

-PSH plants are highly useful options for the integration of Renewable Energy power with the power system.

-The PSH plants will have a very low impact on biodiversity and involve very few resettlements and rehabilitation (R&R) challenges.

-Promote Atmanirbhar Bharat: PSH plants use domestically produced material and even the electrical mechanical parts are made in India.

What are the challenges associated with the PSH plants?

1) PSH plants have to obtain land, forest and environmental clearances, 2) Users like discoms find them too costly and less attractive as a storage option. 3) With High investment costs and long gestation for a PSH project, private participation has been low, 4) Hydro and PSH projects are a state government legislative subject, and require the support of many policymakers and electricity regulators, apart from state governments.

How to promote PSH Plants in India?

Power storage is a major part of India’s clean-energy mission, and India must enable the setting up of PSH plants through steps like,

1) There is a need to adopt the sustainability guidelines of the International Hydropower Association and to carry out an ex-post analysis of a few operational storage projects, which might help to dispel some apprehensions related to energy storage projects, 2) States should decide and announce a basis for PSH-project allotments through a process that is transparent but different from that for conventional hydro projects, 3)  PSH projects should be delinked from a per-unit energy cost basis for speedy development.

4) The benefits of PSH projects can be shared across state and national boundaries. 5) India must develop market mechanisms and innovative economic models that let energy-storage technologies be evaluated on the basis of merit, 6) Prioritizing projects based on location, duration of storage, availability of a pre-feasibility report, detailed surveys, investigations and project reports, etc.

How to handle impact of Ukrainian crisis on India’s energy sector

News: Ukrainian crisis will result in negative effects on Indian energy sector. The article explains how would it effect the Indian economy.

Read – How high oil prices will affect the Indian economy?

In addition to the factors mentioned in the previous articles, uncontrolled increase in crude oil prices will have following impacts on Indian economy:

Exports: It will negatively impact our earnings from petroleum products (diesel, petrol, naphtha). In 2021, these products accounted for the highest share of export earnings.

India’s assets in Russia: ONGC has stakes in many holdings in Russia. After the Ukraine conflict, the value of these assets has eroded sig significantly. Similarly, in India, Rosneft (the Russian national oil company) operates the 20 mtpa refinery in Vadinar through Nayara Energy. Now, Indian traders will face difficulties in looking for alternatives.

What are the significant factors that are changing global energy scenarios?

First, Energy cooperation between Russia and China is increasing after conflict. Only in the last week, an agreement has been signed to build a second gas pipeline to China christened “Power of Siberia 2”.

Second, the US, as the largest producer of oil in the world, will be able to make up for the shortfall, however, the energy sector in the US is controlled by profit-maximising private corporations. Supplies will head towards the highest bidder.

Third, Saudi Arabia (SA) has significant spares, low cost, producible capacity (approx 3 mbd) of crude oil. However, the US, even after pressurizing SA, has not been able to get this done.

Fourth, China is holding significant amount of rare earths, minerals and components that are required to make the transition to clean energy possible.

What are the lessons for India from the current energy crisis?

India needs to understand the supply, demand and geopolitical trends to understand the trajectory of the energy market. The following points can be taken into account while framing the energy policy:

1. India should frame its policies with the expectation of energy market volatility in the future.
2. Strategic reserves should be built to safeguard against the unexpected.
3. Reviving the negotiations with Turkmenistan and Iran about a transnational gas pipeline.
4. Strong efforts are required to decouple the supply chain dependence on China for the minerals and components required for the clean energy transition.

Strengthen environmental clearances

News: A robust system of Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) is required to find the balance between the environment and development, and to mitigate harm.

Many projects are being given environmental clearance, without paying attention to how many should be allowed and in what conditions.

What are the changes present EIA process required?

First, credible baseline data about the proposed project should be made available and easily accessible to the public.

Second, Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) system has been unnecessarily made difficult. All clearances – i.e. – environment, forests, wildlife, and coastal, should be streamlined and consolidated. In the Budget 2022-23, a single-window clearance system has been announced, however, it is solely aimed at the ease of doing business.

Third, Public assessment process is not useful as of now. Public hearings are held, not heard. Risks from projects can be mitigated if the community concerns are heeded.

Thus, mandatory videography of any public hearing should be live-streamed. The committee assessing the project must be made accountable for taking those concerns into account.

Fourth, the role of the environmental assessment committees must be revised properly. At present these committees are not responsible for the compliance or monitoring of the project. Furthermore, they make the government less accountable for the decisions that are taken during the scrutiny of the project. Thus, these committees should be should either be made accountable or disbanded.

Fifth, at present, there are many monitoring agencies after clearance and yet enforcement is weak. there is a need to integrate the functioning of all agencies — from state pollution control boards to coastal- and forest-related institutions.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Northern River Terrapin: Endangered turtles play fast and loose with borders

Source: This post is based on the article “Endangered turtles play fast and loose with borders” published in The Hindu on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

Forest officials had installed GPS transmitters on Northern River Terrapin in Indian Sundarbans. After just six weeks, at least three of these turtles have travelled hundreds of kilometres and are now in Bangladesh. 

What is Northern River Terrapin?

Northern River Terrapin (Batagur baska) is a species of riverine turtle native to Southeast Asia. It is one of Asia’s largest freshwater and breakwater turtles. 

Conservation status:

IUCN Red List: Critically Endangered

CITES: Appendix I

Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972: Schedule I

Found in: The species is currently found in Bangladesh and India(in the Sunderbans), Cambodia, Indonesia and Malaysia. It is regionally extinct in Myanmar, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Habitat: They spend most of their time in water and only come on land to lay eggs. They are even known to undertake long seasonal migrations to the sandbanks where they were hatched.

Diet: They have an omnivorous diet, taking waterside plants and small animals such as clams.

Threats: Hunting and harvesting of eggs, Pollution and loss of habitat, Incidental drowning by getting trapped in fishing nets and Destructive fishing practices.

Democracy Report 2022: Democracies on the slide

Source: This post is based on the article “Democracies on the slide” published in The Hindu on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

V-Dem Institute at the Sweden’s University of Gothenburg has released the ‘Democracy Report 2022: Autocratisation Changing Nature?’. 

What is the Democracy Report 2022?

Released by: Varieties of Democracy(V-Dem) Institute at Sweden’s University of Gothenburg

Purpose: The report measures hundreds of different attributes of democracy. It enables new ways to study the nature, causes and consequences of democracy embracing its multiple meanings.

Parameters: The report is based on the score in the Liberal Democracy Index(LDI). LDI captures both liberal and electoral aspects of democracy, based on the 71 indicators included in the Liberal Component Index (LCI) and the Electoral Democracy Index (EDI). 

– The EDI reflects a relatively ambitious idea of electoral democracy where a number of institutional features guarantee free and fair elections such as freedom of association and freedom of expression. 

– The LCI goes even further and captures the limits placed on governments in terms of two key aspects: The protection of individual liberties, and the checks and balances between institutions.

In addition, the LDI also uses Egalitarian Component Index (to what extent different social groups are equal), Participatory Component Index (health of  citizen groups, civil society organisations) and Deliberative Component Index (whether political decisions are taken through public reasoning.

Categorization: Based on the score in the LDI, the report classifies countries into four regime types: Liberal Democracy, Electoral Democracy, Electoral Autocracy and Closed Autocracy.

What are the key findings of the report?

India: India has been categorised as an autocracy (‘electoral autocracy’) rather than a democracy. It is ranked 93rd on the index out of 179 countries.

India has figured in the top 10 autocratising countries of the world along with El Salvador, Turkey and Hungary.

In South Asia, India is ranked below Sri Lanka (88), Nepal (71), Bhutan (65) and above Pakistan (117).

Globally: Sweden has topped the LDI index. Other Scandinavian countries such as Denmark and Norway along with Costa Rica and New Zealand make up the top five in liberal democracy rankings.

The level of democracy enjoyed by the average global citizen in 2021 is down to 1989 levels. The last 30 years of democratic advances are now eradicated.

Dictatorships are on the rise and harbour 70% of the world population – 5.4 billion people. 

Electoral autocracy remains the most common regime type and harbours 44% of the world’s population or 3.4 billion people.

Autocratisation is spreading rapidly with a record of 33 countries autocratising.

What does the report say on the changing nature of autocratisation?

One of the biggest drivers of autocratisation is “toxic polarisation” — defined as a phenomenon that erodes respect of counter-arguments and associated aspects of the deliberative component of democracy.

The report identified Misinformation, Repression of civil society and Censorship of media were the favoured tools of autocratic regimes. 

Significantly, the report also found that decisive autonomy for the electoral management body (EMB) deteriorated in 25 countries.

Brahmaputra (NW2) gets connected with Ganga (NW1) via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route

Source: This post is based on the article “Brahmaputra (NW2) gets connected with Ganga (NW1) via Indo Bangladesh Protocol Route” published in PIB on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

India has successfully conducted the maiden voyage of foodgrains via inland waterways from Patna to Pandu through Bangladesh in Guwahati.  

What has happened?

A self propelled vessel MV Lal Bahadur Shastri carrying foodgrains for Food Corporation of India (FCI) has completed the maiden pilot run from Patna to Pandu via Bangladesh.

The vessel started from Patna on National Waterway(NW-1) (river Ganga) and passed through Indo-Bangladesh Protocol(IBP) route and through National Waterway(NW-2) (river Brahmaputra).

Must Read: Inland Waterways in India- Issues and Challenges

This has allowed India to successfully cut through the landlocked access which has been crippling development in the Northeast region for long. 

What is the Indo-Bangladesh Protocol(IBP) route?

The Indo-Bangladesh Protocol(IBP) route was signed between India and Bangladesh in 1972 to provide inland waterways’ connectivity between the two countries, particularly with the North Eastern Region of India, and also to enhance bilateral trade.

Under this Protocol, Inland vessels of both the countries can ply on the designated protocol route and dock at Ports of Call in each country notified for loading/unloading of cargo.

The Standing Committee on the Protocol and the Shipping Secretary level Talks are the institutional arrangements between the two countries to discuss and make the Protocol more effective.

Some of the existing protocol routes include Kolkata-Pandu-Kolkata, Kolkata-Karimganj – Kolkata, Rajshahi-Dhulian-Rajshahi and Pandu-Karimganj-Pandu among others.

Defence Expo 2022 deferred, experts say may hamper India’s image

Source: This post is based on the article “Defence Expo 2022 deferred, experts say may hamper India’s image” published in Indian Express on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

The government of India has informed that the 12th edition of Defence Expo 2022 has been postponed.

What is Defence Expo 2022?

DefExpo is a flagship biennial event of the Ministry of Defence.

Objective: To showcase India as a major destination of land, naval, air & homeland security systems and defence engineering.

Aim: To build upon the vision of ‘Atma Nirbharta’ in defence and reach USD five billion defence exports target by 2024. 

This was the 12th edition of DefExpo that was to be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. The 11th edition was held at Lucknow in 2020.

Why has DefExpo 2022 been cancelled?

The Government has said that Defence Expo 2022 has been postponed due to logistics problems being experienced by participants.

However, defence experts have linked the decision to the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.

Explained: How many tigers are too many

Source: This post is based on the article “Explained: How many tigers are too many” published in Indian Express on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

Preliminary findings of a study by the Wildlife Institute of India(WII) suggest that the density of tigers in the Sunderbans may have reached the carrying capacity of the mangrove forests, leading to frequent dispersals and a surge in human-wildlife conflict.

Tiger Density in India

In Terai and Shivalik hills habitat — Corbett tiger reserve, for example — 10-16 tigers can survive in 100 sq km.

This comes down to 7-11 tigers per 100 sq km in the reserves of north-central Western Ghats such as Bandipur.

According to the 2018 All-India Tiger report, the carrying capacity in the Sunderbans is at around 4 tigers per 100 sq km.

What factors determine tiger density?

Availability of food and space is the primary factor that determines how many tigers a forest can hold. 

Moreover, what also plays a  crucial role is how the dispersal of wildlife is tolerated by people — from the locals who live around them to policymakers who decide management strategies. This is more important when a good number of people depend on forest resources for livelihood.

What is the way ahead to avoid conflict in tiger density areas?

Artificially boosting the prey base in a reserve is one of the solutions, but it can be counter-productive. 

Hence, experts have said that it is more beneficial to increase areas occupied by tigers. For instance, India can create safe connectivity among forests and allow tigers to disperse safely to new areas. But the tiger corridors may not be the one-stop solution for the conflict.

Snakebite: Researchers purify commercial Indian antivenoms, find them more potent

Source: This post is based on the article “Snakebite: Researchers purify commercial Indian antivenoms, find them more potent” published in Down To Earth on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

Researchers from the Serum Institute of India (SII), Pune and the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), Bengaluru have shown that purifying commercial antivenoms available in Indian markets can make them more potent and thus save more lives of snakebite victims.

Snakebite Deaths in India

India is home to over 300 species of snakes. Of these, only around 60 described snake species are capable of causing harm to humans. 

But, over 58,000 people die in India every year and three times the number suffer permanent disabilities due to snakebites.

Note: In 2017, the World Health Organization(WHO) included snakebite into the list of ‘Neglected Tropical Diseases’ — a diverse group of tropical infections affecting poor communities in Africa, Asia and the Americas.

What is the problem with the treatment available against snakebite in India?

There are a number of problems with the antivenoms available currently in the Indian market. These are:

Firstly, the current antivenoms are very ineffective.

Secondly, the existing Indian antivenoms are produced exclusively against the so-called ‘big four’ Indian snakes: the spectacled cobra (Naja naja), common krait (Bungarus caeruleus), Russell’s viper (Daboia russelii) and saw-scaled viper (Echis carinatus).

What has been done by the researchers to overcome this problem?

Researchers have purified antivenoms at the production stage through a purification process known as chromatographic purification. This has made antivenoms more potent and thus save more lives of snakebite victims.

How the Kashmir Valley’s ancient mound formations are being levelled

Source: This post is based on the article “How the Kashmir Valley’s ancient mound formations are being levelled” published in Down To Earth on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

Kashmir’s highly fertile alluvial soil deposits called ‘karewas’ are being destroyed in the name of development.

What are Karewas?

Karewas are lacustrine deposits (deposits in lake) in the Valley of Kashmir and in Bhadarwah Valley of the Jammu Division. These are the flat topped mounds that border the Kashmir Valley on all sides. 

How are Karewas formed?

Karewas were formed during the Pleistocene Period (1 million years ago) when the entire Valley of Kashmir was underwater. 

Due to the rise of Pir Panjal, the drainage was impounded and a lake of about 5000 sq. km area was developed and thus a basin was formed. 

Subsequently, the lake was drained through Bramulla gorge. The deposits left in the process are known as karewas. 

What is the significance of Karewas?

Karewas are 13,000-18,000 metre-thick deposits of alluvial soil and sediments like sandstone and mudstone. 

This makes them ideal for the cultivation of saffron, almonds, apples and several other cash crops.

Kashmir saffron, which received a Geographical Indication (GI) tag in 2020 for its longer and thicker stigmas, deep-red colour, high aroma and bitter flavour, is grown on these karewas.

However, despite its agricultural and archaeological importance, karewas are now being excavated to be used in construction.

Between 1995 and 2005, massive portions of karewas were razed to the ground for clay for the Qazigund-Baramulla rail line. The Srinagar airport is built on the Damodar karewa.

HANSA-NG successfully completes sea level trials at Puducherry

Source: This post is based on the article “HANSA-NG successfully completes sea level trials at Puducherry” published in PIB on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

HANSA-NG aircraft has successfully completed the sea level trials at Puducherry.

What is HANSA-NG?

HANSA-NG is India’s first indigenous Flying Trainer aircraft.

Developed by: CSIR-National Aerospace Laboratories,Bangalore under the aegis of Council of Scientific and Industrial Research

Features: The aircraft is powered by Rotax Digital Control Engine with unique features like Just-In-Time Prepreg (JIPREG) Composite lightweight Airframe, Glass Cockpit, Bubble Canopy with wide panoramic view, electrically operated flap among others.

Significance: The aircraft is designed to meet the Indian flying club needs, and it is an ideal aircraft for Commercial Pilot Licensing(CPL) due to its low cost and low fuel consumption.

Geological Survey of India Pledges to Focus on Augmentation of Mineral Wealth

Source: This post is based on the article “Geological Survey of India Pledges to Focus on Augmentation of Mineral Wealth” published in PIB on 7th Mar 2022.

What is the News?

Geological Survey of India(GSI) has celebrated its 172nd Foundation Day.

What is the Geological Survey of India(GSI)?

The Geological Survey of India (GSI) was set up in 1851. Currently, it is an attached office to the Ministry of Mines.

Purpose: It was primarily set up to find coal deposits for the Railways. Over the years, GSI has grown into a repository of geo-science information required in various fields in the country.

Functions: To create and update national geoscientific information and mineral resource assessment. These functions are achieved through ground surveys, air-borne and marine surveys, mineral prospecting,  seismotectonic study and carrying out fundamental research.

Significance: It is the second-oldest survey organization in India, after Survey of India (founded in 1767).

Headquarters: GSI is headquartered in Kolkata. It has six regional offices located in Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Hyderabad, Shillong and Kolkata.