Current Affairs Compilations for UPSC IAS Prelims 2022

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

GS Paper 3

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Mains Oriented Articles

GS Paper 2

G7’s climate wishlist, and the realities of efforts to cap warming

News: Recently, Hiroshima G7 Summit occurred. At the summit, the G7 countries listed a set of milestones that need to be achieved for a realistic chance of containing the global rise in temperatures to within 1.5 degrees Celsius.

What are the key observations taken on the economic decoupling of China?

Dealing with China’s growing economic power: The grouping agreed on “cooperation” to “support a more significant role for low and middle-income countries in supply chains”. So, they would “address non-market policies and practices designed to reinforce dependencies, and will counter-economic coercion”.

What are the climate-related decisions taken at the Hiroshima G7 Summit?

About peak greenhouse gas emissions: The G7 stressed the need for a global peak in emissions by 2025. As the G7 countries already achieved peak emissions, the summit asked all “major economies” to ensure that their individual emissions do not continue to rise beyond 2025.

Note: The 2025 peak year is not mandated under the Paris Agreement or any other international decision. India has long made it clear that its emissions might grow in the next decade. China, the world’s largest emitter, has also indicated that it would peak only towards the end of this decade.

The biggest emissions year so far has been 2019 — about 55 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.

About reaching Net-zero by 2050: The G7 reiterated its commitment to turn net zero by 2050, and asked all ‘major economies’ to attain net-zero status by that year. The recent WMO’s State of the Global Climate 2022 highlights that the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold was likely to be breached, at least temporarily.

Note: Scientists said that the world must become net zero by mid-century to meet the 1.5 degree Celsius target. China, Russia and Saudi Arabia have said that they would turn net-zero only in 2060, while India has set 2070 as the target.

About ending fossil fuels: The G7 countries did not mention the deadline for fossil fuels. Instead, they were committed to accelerating the phase-out of “unabated fossil fuels” in line with 1.5 degree Celsius trajectories.

How Europe, Japan and others have diluted their decoupling with China?

European Union: Europe sees decoupling being used by the US for inward-looking controls, subsidies and protectionism.

Earlier, Europe was worried about dependence on China. But now, they recognise that the globalised European economy benefits more than most from trade ties. So, they are now trying to identify the specific areas where they need to insulate their economies from possible coercion or dependence,

Japan: Japan is far more careful about its criticism of China. This is because a) It is a neighbour of China, b) Japanese companies were the first targets of Beijing’s economic coercion. For instance, Chinese rare earths exports to Japan were curtailed following a standoff at the disputed Senkaku Islands.

But now, they isolated their “US” and “China” supply chains and decoupled their businesses in Chinese supply chains. Both Japan and Korea are of this similar view. This is because North-east Asian nations think that their powerful conglomerates are being disadvantaged in the implementation of decoupling.

What are the implications of this shift towards a milder version of economic containment of China?

Integration with China is a clear path to prosperity: All the fast-growing economies have benefited from building supply chains that pass through China. Vietnam, Brazil, Indonesia and India have supply chains linked with China.

For example, China is Brazil’s largest market, absorbing over a quarter of its exports. Similarly, over half of the value of Vietnamese exports now comes as foreign value-added and China is the largest single contributor to that.

So, India’s demand for the multi-sectoral global decoupling of China might not yield adequate results.

Judging jallikattu – Verdict upholds cultural sentiment, but animal rights, human safety matter too

News: The Supreme Court has recently upheld amendments made by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra to the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, to allow the traditional bull-taming sports of Jallikattu and Kambala, and bullock-cart racing.

About the case

A 2014 Supreme Court judgment banned the sport Jalli Kattu and upheld the activists’ statement that any sport involving a physical contest between man and bull violates animal rights. But the State government amended the central Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960, in its application to the State, and obtained the President’s assent.

A Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court has now settled the issue, ruling in favour of jallikattu as a cultural event.

About the SC’s decision to permit traditional bull-taming sports

What led to the SC’s decision to permit traditional bull-taming sports?

This is because a) Fresh regulations minimise the game’s potential for cruelty and pain which formed the basis for the 2014 judgment, b) The Court accepted the legislature’s view that jallikattu is a sport conducted every year to follow tradition and culture.

What should be done?

The organisers as well as the respective governments should bear the burden to prevent the infliction of pain and cruelty on animals.

These traditional bull-taming sports pose a danger to both participants and spectators. So, the organisers have to mandate protective gear for the participants and strictly enforce rules for proper barricades to keep spectators safe.

GS Paper 3

Understanding a human pangenome map

News: A pangenome reference map has been built using genomes from 47 anonymous individuals from Africa, the Caribbean, Americas, East Asia, and Europe. The article explains its relevance.

What is genome and genome sequencing?

Read Here: Explained: The complete human genome, and what it tells us and Genome sequencing

The genome is an identity card like Aadhaar, which is unique for every individual.

What is a reference genome?

When genomes are newly sequenced, they are compared to a reference map called a reference genome. This helps to understand the regions of differences between the newly sequenced genome and the reference genome.

Reference genome was first built in 2001. It helped scientists discover thousands of genes linked to various diseases and better understand diseases like cancer at the genetic level and design novel diagnostic tests.

However, the reference genome had many gaps and errors. It was also not representative of all human beings as it was built using mostly the genome of a single individual of mixed African and European ancestry.

Therefore, to address these gaps and errors, scientists have developed the pangenome map.

What is a pangenome map?

The pangenome is a graph unlike the earlier reference genome which was a linear sequence. 

The graph of each chromosome resembles a bamboo stem, with nodes where sequences from all 47 individuals come together, indicating similarity.

The internodes, which have different lengths, represent genetic variations among individuals from different ancestries.

The researchers used long-read DNA sequencing technologies to create complete and contiguous chromosome maps in the pangenome project.

Longer reads technology helps to assemble the sequences with minimum errors and read through the repetitive regions of the chromosomes which are hard to sequence with short-read technologies used earlier.

However, even though pangenome map is error free, it does not represent all of human diversity.

Why is a pangenome map important?

Even though two humans are more than 99% similar in their DNA, there is still about a 0.4% difference between them.

Hence, a complete and error-free human pangenome map will help understand these differences and explain human diversity better.

It will also help understand genetic variants in some populations, which result in underlying health conditions.

The present map does not contain Indian genome sequences. However, it will help in mapping Indian genomes against the error-free and full reference genomes known till date.

Future pangenome maps incorporating high-quality genomes from diverse Indian populations, including endogamous and isolated groups, will provide insights into disease prevalence, facilitate the identification of new genes associated with rare diseases, and aid in the discovery of novel drugs to combat these diseases.

These ‘forests’ are disturbing balance

News: The article explains concerns associated with forest development corporations (FDCs) and measures needed to address them.

What are Forest Development Corporations (FDCs)?

FDCs were established by states with the aim to raise industrial plantations of teak, eucalyptus, bamboo etc., to enhance the production of forest produce, to restore the productivity of degraded forest areas, etc.

However, FDCs are using these monoculture plantations for financial exploitation.

Monoculture plantations are not only harmful to tiger conservation, but also play no role in climate change.

What are the concerns with FDCs in different states?

Maharashtra: Maharashtra has leased out 6% of the total forest area to the Forest Development Corporation of Maharashtra (FDCM). FDCM commercially extracts about 50,000 cubic metres of timber annually, causing substantial environmental damage.

Moreover, FDCM takes high-quality miscellaneous forests, which act as food security and habitat for tigers, and removes these for teak plantations.

However, the monoculture practice of FDCM has become outdated because dense mixed forests are more important to maintain biodiversity and ecological balance. 

Monoculture practice harms biodiversity in the long run while miscellaneous forests provide maximum food availability for wildlife in fruits, leaves and grass, and shrubby canopy throughout the year.

Miscellaneous/mixed forests have the highest capacity to hold herbivore populations and carnivores.

Kerala: Kerala Forest Development Corporation (KFDC) used to focus on community-based ecotourism and earned revenue through pulpwood and teak. However, it had to discontinue pulpwood plantations after the Forest Conservation Act, 1980.

Therefore, for KFDC, it would be better to focus on carefully planned ecotourism and impart proper training to the dependent community.

Along with these initiatives, riverine vegetation must be promoted near the water bodies, and trees must be replaced with timber.

Telangana: In Telangana, eucalyptus dominates most of the plantations. Out of 33,000 hectares of forests leased out to Telangana State Forest Development Corporation (TSFDC), eucalyptus is spread over 22,000 hectares.

This monoculture practice has depleted the soil health. Therefore, to overcome the issue, KFDC has opted for other plantations like red sanders and sandalwood.

TSFDC is also focusing on ecotourism including botanical gardens in Hyderabad, resorts in backwaters and national parks.

What can be the way ahead?

Various state Forest Development Corporation (FDCs) are focusing on monoculture practices which are harmful for both the ecosystem and the environment.

According to the experts, deadly monoculture plantations act as ‘green deserts’ that have the least capability of mitigating climate change.

Therefore, FDCs should focus on growing trees on wastelands to increase forests area along with opting diversification of plantations. It should also plant those trees which can be economically as well as environmentally useful for the state.

India as a Quad-led biomanufacturing hub

News: The Quad (Australia, India, Japan, and the United States) created a Critical and Emerging Technology Working Group in March 2021. However, the potential for Quad cooperation in biotechnology is not yet fully utilized.

The creation of a Quad-led biomanufacturing hub in India could bolster this cooperation​.

What is Bio-manufacturing?

Biomanufacturing involves the use of living systems, especially microorganisms and cell cultures, to generate molecules and materials on a commercial scale.

This technology can revolutionize the global industrial system. An estimated 60% of the physical inputs to the global economy are potentially producible by this method.

Challenges in creation of Quad-led biomanufacturing hub in India?

Dominance of China in small-molecule active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) is a concern.

Scaling up the biomanufacturing sector in India necessitates improving the quality of its workforce.

While India has many life science professionals, they often lack access to cutting-edge technology and training.

What is the potential of creation of Quad-led biomanufacturing hub in India?

India aims to become a leading biomanufacturing hub and has plans to increase its fermentation capacity tenfold to 10 million litres in the next three to five years.

India’s National Biotechnology Development Strategy envisions the country as a “Global Biomanufacturing Hub” by 2025.

The U.S. has significant funding capability, while all three (Japan, Australia, and the U.S.) have advanced biotechnology innovation ecosystems and intellectual property. India, on the other hand, has skilled manpower and the potential to provide affordable scale.

India is also an ideal choice to host the biomanufacturing hub due to its existing infrastructure, low-cost pharmaceutical manufacturing expertise, and available workforce.

The proposed hub can facilitate technology transfer, connect investors, and establish a biomanufacturing fund administered through the Quad.

The hub can also harmonize language, regulations, and data-sharing regarding biomanufacturing to secure supply chains for Quad nations and facilitate international collaboration.

Adopt a single-window e-portal to ease land acquisition in India

Context: The global shift towards a China-plus-one strategy and the Indian government’s push for industry diversification align well with the current economic landscape.

Progressive schemes like the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) and the construction of state-of-the-art infrastructure are accelerating industrial growth.

With India being one of the fastest growing major economies, the domestic demand is booming, and the economy appears to be on solid ground.

What is the Role of Manufacturing in Economic Transformation?

Manufacturing is key to India’s prosperity. Experience from every advanced economy in the world clearly shows that manufacturing delivers high quality, well-paying jobs for large numbers of people.

Currently, about 40% of India’s workforce is engaged in agriculture, which contributes only around 16% of the total GDP. It’s essential to transition this excess labour into the expanding manufacturing sector.

The potential for India to become a global manufacturing hub is high, however, challenges like land acquisition are hurdles.

What are the steps taken for land reforms in India?

1. The Indian government has made significant strides in digitizing land records and related documentation, which provides a strong foundation for further improvements.
2. A unified online portal for land transactions, minimizing the role of intermediaries, can simplify the process significantly.
3. Speeding up the land acquisition process is also crucial for operationalizing auctioned mines, thereby ensuring a domestic supply of raw materials for the manufacturing sector.
4. The implementation of a digital land sale system, appreciating the importance of speed and scale, would be a significant step forward for the nation.

Undo The Un-Liberalised Remittance Policy

News: The Centre has amended rules under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to bring international credit card spending outside India under the Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS).

What is Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS)?

About Tax on international credit card transactions and its advantages

A 20% (presumptive) tax deducted at source will only be levied on credit and debit credit card purchases of non-medical and non-educational purchases of over ₹7 lakh per person per year.

Note: The LRS allows for each individual to send (spend) abroad ₹205 lahks ($250,000) per year.

What are the expert’s opinions about imposing Tax on international credit card transactions?

What are the concerns associated with the tax on international credit card transactions?

Revenue to government and loss to citizens: If one spends ₹1,000 on travel, then this expenditure is deemed income. The government collects ₹200 immediately as the presumptive tax on the person’s presumed income.

As per the fixed deposit rate of 7%, the government gained(₹200 x 0. 07 = ₹14) certain amount prior to the tax return. Indians spent close to ₹1. 1 lakh crore on foreign travel in 2022-23. For the extra 0. 7% tax, that is a revenue gain of ₹770 crore.

Not the only way to track individuals: Not help in The government said that the taxation of foreign travel expenses would help track individuals with “expenditures disproportionate to income”. But among the global leaders in fintech, the government already has the expenditure information on foreign card travel, from which they can compute and assess whether expenditures are disproportionate to income.

No need to save forex: India’s reserves to imports ratio is at around nine months of imports. This is among the top 5% of non-oil economies in the world. In other words, there is a zero case for a TDS policy on LRS for “saving” foreign exchange.

What should be done?

The LRS policy was first introduced in 2004 with the short-term goal of decreasing the pressure of exchange rate over-valuation by creating a demand for dollars, and the longer-term goal of capital account convertibility.

But the proposed amendment to LRS is an ultra-regressive policy change and is against India’s goals and ambitions as a society and the economy. So, the government should revert the modified LRS policy.

Why2k Question – Will withdrawing ₹2,000 notes smoke out the crooked? Unlikely. The crooked economy’s much more inventive

News: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has decided to withdraw the Rs 2000 denomination banknotes from circulation.

Why has the RBI withdrawn Rs 2,000 notes?

What are the concerns highlighted by experts on RBI’s decision?

Creates confusion: The circular said the notes “will continue to be legal tender” while also telling the public to “utilise the time up to September 30 to deposit and/or exchange”.

Does not reduce the black market: People who play with very large sums of money does not depend only on bundles of currency notes. Gold is enjoying a superior premium ever since the pandemic. Further, black marketers also prefer dollars.

Does not address unaccounted cash: The recent SBI circular has said that none of its branches will ask for documents and there are reports that deposits/ exchanges by one person can happen several times a day, and any number of times till the deadline. This is not addressing the unaccounted cash holding.

Prelims Oriented Articles (Factly)

Banks request RBI for more time to implement new ECL-based loan loss provisioning norms

Source: The post is based on the article “Banks request RBI for more time to implement new ECL-based loan loss provisioning norms” published in Indian Express on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

Lenders in India have approached the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) seeking a one-year extension for the implementation of the Expected Credit Loss (ECL)-based loan loss provisioning framework.

What is a loan-loss provision?

The RBI defines a loan loss provision as an expense that banks set aside for defaulted loans. 

Banks set aside a portion of the expected loan repayments from all loans in their portfolio to cover the losses either completely or partially. 

In the event of a loss, instead of taking a loss in its cash flows, the bank can use its loan loss reserves to cover the loss.

What is the current approach followed for loan-loss provision?

The current “incurred loss approach” requires banks to provide for losses that have already occurred or been incurred.

This delay in recognising expected losses under this approach was found to exacerbate the downswing during the financial crisis of 2007-09. 

Faced with a systemic increase in defaults, the delay in recognising loan losses resulted in banks having to make higher levels of provisions which reduced the capital maintained precisely at a time when banks needed to shore up their capital. This affected banks’ resilience and posed systemic risks.

What is Expected Credit Loss (ECL)-based loan loss provisioning framework?

Under this approach, banks are mandated to forecast anticipated credit losses through forward-looking estimations, rather than waiting for credit losses to materialize before making corresponding provisions for those losses.

Banks will be required to classify financial assets (primarily loans, including irrevocable loan commitments, and investments classified as held-to-maturity or available-for-sale) into three categories: Stage 1, Stage 2 and Stage 3 based on the assessed credit losses at the time of recognition and subsequent reporting dates.

What are the benefits of this approach?

The forward-looking expected credit losses approach will further enhance the resilience of the banking system in line with globally accepted norms. 

It is also likely to result in excess provisions as compared to the shortfall in provisions as seen in the incurred loss approach.

What is the ‘Open Network for Digital Commerce’?

Source: The post is based on the article “What is the ‘Open Network for Digital Commerce’?” published in The Hindu on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

The Union government is looking to formally launch the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) in 2023 to “democratize e-commerce” and “to provide alternatives to proprietary e-commerce sites”. 

What is Open Network for Digital Commerce(ONDC)?

What is the purpose of launching ONDC?

What is the criticism against ONDC?

Critics argue that the purported benefits of an ONDC are far from certain at the moment. 

For one, sellers are already free to list their products across various e-commerce platforms even in today’s platform-centric e-commerce model. Buyers also routinely shop across platforms. 

Then there are also services such as price comparison that are offered by various private websites that bridge the information gap and help buyers make better decisions. 

Hence, the domination of the e-commerce market by platforms such as Amazon and Flipkart may not be due to any captive hold that these platforms have over buyers and sellers. 

Ganga Praharis Initiative: Guardians of the Ganga: task force keeps a watchful eye on the river

Source: The post is based on the article “Guardians of the Ganga: task force keeps a watchful eye on the river” published in The Hindu on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

Over 4,000 Ganga Praharis under the Namami Gange initiative have been keeping a check on littering and poaching in the Ganga River to make sure that its flora, fauna are intact. In return, the Wildlife Institute of India has helped them with livelihood training.

What is Ganga Praharis Initiative?

Ganga Praharis are motivated and trained volunteers from among the local communities working for biodiversity conservation and cleanliness of the Ganga River with the ultimate objectives of restoring the Nirmal and Aviral Dhara.

These volunteers have been constituted by the National Mission for Clean Ganga and the Wildlife Institute of India (NMCG-WII) under the Namami Gange programme.

Aim of the initiative: To establish a motivated cadre of “Ganga Prahari” to support the local level institutions and monitor the quality of the natural resources of the river by mobilizing local communities at the grassroots level. 

Eligibility: Ganga Praharis have been identified through a series of site level consultative meetings and workshops held in villages located on the bank of the Ganga River and its select tributaries. 

– The primary criterion for identification is their passion and zeal to serve the river and to maintain its integrity in terms of cleanliness and biodiversity value. 

– These ‘Praharis’ have to be above 18 years of age on the date of joining the project and preferably from the riverside villages. Children below 18 years of age are enrolled under the Bal Ganga Praharis programme.

WHO Launches Global Network to Detect Infectious Disease Threat

Source: The post is based on the article “WHO Launches Global Network to Detect Infectious Disease Threat” published in The Hindu on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

The World Health Organization has launched the International Pathogen Surveillance Network(IPSN).

What is the International Pathogen Surveillance Network(IPSN)?

Purpose: IPSN is a global network to help protect people from infectious disease threats through the power of pathogen genomics.

– The platform will help connect countries and regions by improving systems for collecting and analyzing samples and using these data to drive public health decision-making and sharing that information more broadly.

Goal: To detect and respond to disease threats before they become epidemics and pandemics and to optimize routine disease surveillance.

Secretariat: It is hosted by the WHO Hub for Pandemic and Epidemic Intelligence.

What is Pathogen Genomics?

Pathogen genomics analyzes the genetic code of viruses, bacteria and other disease-causing organisms to understand how infectious they are, how deadly they are, and how they spread. 

With this information, scientists and public health officials can identify and track diseases to prevent and respond to outbreaks as part of a broader disease surveillance system, and to develop treatments and vaccines.

SBI’s u-turn: No slip, ID proof needed to swap ₹2,000 notes

Source: The post is based on the article “SBI’s u-turn: No slip, ID proof needed to swap ₹2,000 notes” published in The Hindu on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

State Bank of India(SBI) has withdrawn its decision on the mandatory filing of a slip for the exchange of ₹2,000 banknotes at its branches.

What is the issue?

The Reserve Bank of India had recently withdrawn ₹2,000 notes from circulation and has asked people to deposit these notes into their accounts or exchange them at the nearest bank branches till September 30, 2023.

After this SBI said that it is mandatory to fill out a slip for the exchange of ₹2,000 banknotes at its branches. However, this condition has now been withdrawn.

How can one exchange Rs 2000 notes at banks now?

State Bank of India(SBI) has clarified that no requisition form and identity proof are required to exchange Rs 2,000 notes.

This means any member of the public can exchange Rs 2,000 notes across the counter in any branch without any identity proof or slip.

However, if an SBI customer wants to deposit the notes surrendered in his account, he may have to submit the requisition slip which is the normal practice.

Moreover, if a person is holding more than 10 pieces of Rs 2,000 notes, he will be able to exchange it on different days without any hassles as the exchange is not being recorded.

New metric can help quantify image quality of the Sun taken from ground-based telescopes

Source: The post is based on the article “New metric can help quantify image quality of the Sun taken from ground-based telescopes” published in PIB on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

A new metric has been proposed by scientists that can help quantify the image quality of the Sun taken from ground-based telescopes.

What is the drawback currently with ground-based solar telescopes?

Dynamic events like flares, prominences and Coronal Mass Ejections take place on the surface of the Sun.

This has made the Sun the focus of interest of our astronomers. The Sun is also the closest star which means it can be studied in great detail and properties of other stars may be extrapolated by the understanding of the Sun. 

To resolve even the smallest features in greater detail, large telescopes are built.

However, there is a major disadvantage when the telescopes are on the ground. The light from the Sun passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, which is not a homogenous medium. 

There are random temperature fluctuations that lead to refractive index fluctuations. This causes the light to bend randomly and can be observed as the variation of intensity and position of the image on the detector. 

One way to overcome this is to use an adaptive optics (AO) system to measure and correct for the distortions introduced by the atmosphere in real-time.

But there is no way one can quantify the performance of the AO system or quantitatively evaluate the quality of images from ground-based telescopes.

What have scientists developed to overcome this drawback?

Scientists have proposed to use a novel metric called the root-mean-square (rms) granulation contrast to quantify the image quality of ground-based solar telescopes.

Return of ₹2,000 currency notes to bolster bank coffers, money market liquidity: report

Source: The post is based on the article “Return of ₹2,000 currency notes to bolster bank coffers, money market liquidity: report” published in The Hindu on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

According to a report, the Reserve Bank of India’s(RBI) decision to withdraw ₹2,000 notes from circulation is likely to improve banking system liquidity.

What will be the impact of the withdrawal of Rs 2000 notes?

The value of 2000-rupee notes in circulation is ₹3.7 lakh crore or 1.3% of GDP — equivalent to 10.8% of the cash in circulation.

This withdrawal will not create any big disruption as the increased adoption of digital transactions and the availability of 100 and 500 rupee denominations will help minimize disruptions for individuals heavily reliant on cash transactions.

But small businesses and cash-oriented sectors such as agriculture and construction could see inconvenience in the near term.

How will this decision impact banks?

This decision could boost banks’ deposit base and liquidity in the money markets by anywhere between ₹40,000 crore to ₹1.1 lakh crore, even if just about a third of 2000 rupees notes are flushed out by the exercise.

A part of these notes which are being hoarded to avoid taxes on unaccounted-for incomes could be funneled into assets such as real estate and jewellery.

After sugar, it is time to regulate how much salt is being consumed

Source: The post is based on the article “After sugar, it is time to regulate how much salt is being consumed” published in The Hindu on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

Indian Council for Medical Research has recommended ways to reduce salt intake by avoiding the addition of salt while cooking rice or preparing the dough, skipping pickles and table salt and going in for salt substitutes. 

What is the impact on health due to excess salt intake?

Salt is needed by our body in small amounts but many of us inadvertently consume way higher amounts of salt than needed. 

A high-salt diet over a period of time can silently damage many of our organs and body functions.

A study from Sweden has shown a connection between salt consumption and atherosclerosis, even in the absence of hypertension. Atherosclerosis is a disease which blocks the blood vessels.

What is the WHO’s target for reducing salt intake?

The World Health Organization had cautioned that the world is off track to achieving its global target of reducing salt intake by 30% by 2025. 

The report shows that only 5% of the WHO member states have mandatory and comprehensive sodium-reducing policies. 

Additionally, 73% of the WHO member states lack the full range implementation of the policies.

For instance, India does not have a national policy but it does have voluntary measures to reduce sodium (salt). Sodium labelling is also not mandatory in India so far.

Note: Implementing highly cost-effective sodium-reducing policies could save an estimated seven million lives globally by 2030.

How are other countries reducing salt consumption?

The U.K. has been the leading country in the world to have reduced salt consumption in the population. Over the last decade, the salt content of bread has been brought down by 30% gradually, without people being aware. This has resulted in preventing thousands of strokes and cardiovascular events. 

What are the recommendations given by WHO to reduce salt intake?

WHO has suggested the following measures to reduce salt intake: 1) reformulation of food to contain less salt, 2) controlled procurement of high sodium food in public institutions like schools, workplaces and hospitals, and 3) labelled promotion of packed foods with low sodium choices and achieving behavioural changes in the population through campaigning in media.

Govt cuts subsidy on electric 2-wheelers

Source: The post is based on the article “Govt cuts subsidy on electric 2-wheelers” published in Livemint on 22nd May 2023

What is the News?

Ministry of Heavy Industries has cut the subsidy on electric two-wheelers in an effort to overhaul the financial incentives given to this growing industry.

What has been announced by the government related to subsidies on electric two-wheelers?

The government has announced that the subsidy for electric two-wheelers would be reduced to ₹10,000 per kilowatt hour (kWh) effective 1 June from ₹15,000 currently.

The lower subsidy would be applicable to all electric two-wheelers registered on or after 1 June 2023.

Further, the cap on incentives for such vehicles has been lowered to 15% of the ex-factory price of vehicles from the earlier 40%.

But the total amount allocated toward providing incentives for these vehicles will be raised from the current ₹2,000 crores.

Why has the government reduced subsidies on electric two-wheelers?

The intention behind lowering the subsidy and increasing the funds for electric two-wheelers is to support more consumers through the FAME scheme with the available funds.

What is a FAME Scheme?

The FAME Scheme was launched in 2019 for a three-year period. The scheme has now been extended until 31 March 2024.

The scheme provides incentives for electric vehicles in the segments of electric three-wheelers, electric four-wheelers, and electric buses. Privately owned registered electric two-wheelers are also eligible for subsidies.

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