IASbaba's Daily Current Affairs Analysis
Archives
(PRELIMS & MAINS Focus)
Syllabus
- Prelims – Geography
Context: The exact reason behind Joshimath land subsidence is still unknown but experts cite unplanned construction, over-population, obstruction of the natural flow of water, and hydel power activities as possible causes.
About Land Subsidence:
- According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), subsidence is the sinking of the ground because of underground material movement.
- Reasons can be manmade or natural:
- removal of water, oil, or natural resources, along with mining activities
- Earthquakes
- Soil erosion and
- Soil compaction
Reasons behind Joshimath subsidence:
- unplanned construction,
- over-population,
- obstruction of the natural flow of water and hydel power activities.
- the area is a seismic zone, which makes it prone to frequent earthquakes.
- the subsidence in Joshimath might have been triggered by the reactivation of a geographic fault —
- defined as a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock — where the Indian Plate has pushed under the Eurasian Plate along the Himalayas.
Source: Indian Express
Syllabus
- Prelims – Economy
Context: Union Minister for Commerce recently launched many initiatives to improve the quality of standards in India on the occasion of 76th Foundation Day of Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).
About BIS:
- BIS is the National Standard Body of India established under the BIS Act 2016 for the harmonious development of the activities of standardization, marking and quality certification of goods and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.
- BIS has been providing traceability and tangibility benefits to the national economy in a number of ways –
- providing safe reliable quality goods;
- minimizing health hazards to consumers;
- promoting exports and imports substitute;
- control over proliferation of varieties etc. through standardization, certification and testing.
- BIS has its Headquarters at New Delhi and its 05 Regional Offices (ROs) are at Kolkata (Eastern), Chennai (Southern), Mumbai (Western), Chandigarh (Northern) and Delhi (Central).
- Keeping in view, the interest of consumers as well as the industry, BIS is involved in various activities as given below:
- Standards Formulation
- Product Certification Scheme
- Compulsory Registration Scheme
- Foreign Manufacturers Certification Scheme
- Hall Marking Scheme
- Laboratory Services
- Laboratory Recognition Scheme
- Sale of Indian Standards
- Consumer Affairs Activities
- Promotional Activities
- Training Services, National and International level and
- Information Services
New Initiatives launched on the occasion of 76th Foundation Day of BIS:
Portal for mapping of Industrial Units and Laboratories:
- It is centralized platform for information on industrial units and laboratories across the country.
- It will enable analysis of test facilities and help entrepreneurs in accessing information about testing facilities.
Standards National Action Plan (SNAP) 2022- 27:
- It is a document that serve as foundation for standardization to meet emerging technologies and concerns of sustainability and climate change.
- Its implementation will ensure “Quality Culture” in the Nation.
Revision Exercise of National Building Code of India (NBC 2016):
- NBC is a building Code, and a national instrument that provides guidelines to regulate building construction activities across India to be implemented by all
- agencies involved in building construction.
- Revised exercise includes sustainable city planning norms.
Revised National Electrical Code of India 2023:
- It is a national instrument that provides guidelines to regulate Electrical Installations practices across the country.
- It has proposed requirements of electrical installation as per latest International best practices.
Training Courses on National Building Code of India 2016 and National Electrical Code of India:
- Through its training provided by National Institute of Training for Standardization (NITS), BIS has designed training courses for national capacity building.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Questions
Q.1) With reference to Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMS), which of the following statements is/are correct? (2020)
- Quantitative restrictions on imports by foreign investors are prohibited.
- They apply to investment measures related to trade in both goods and services.
- They are not concerned with the regulation of foreign investment.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
- 1 and 2 only
- 2 only
- 1 and 3 only
- 1, 2 and 3
Syllabus
- Prelims – Economy
Context: In the last one year, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) has registered 10 new breeds of livestock species, including cattle, buffalo, goat and pig. This has taken the total number of indigenous breeds to 212 as of January 4, 2023.
About ICAR-NBAGR:
- The ‘National Bureau of Plant Introduction’ was renamed as ‘National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources’ (NBPGR) in January 1977.
- It is one of the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) Institutes.
- ICAR is an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers’ Welfare.
- It is a nodal organisation in India for management of Plant Genetic Resources (PGR).
- It has played a pivotal role in the improvement of various crop plants and diversification and development of agriculture in India through germplasm introduction from various institutes/organizations located in foreign countries and germplasm collection from within the country and abroad and conservation thereof.
- Germplasm is a live information source for all the genes present in the respective plant, which can be conserved for long periods and regenerated whenever it is required in the future.
- The NBPGR has linkage with National Active Germplasm Sites (NAGS) for the management of active germplasm of field and horticultural crops.
- NAGS are located at NBPGR regional stations, other crop-based ICAR institutes or State Agricultural Universities.
- It is headquartered in Karnal, Haryana.
Registration of new breeds:
- ICAR-National Bureau of Animal Genetic Resources, Karnal (NBAGR) is the nodal agency for the registration of breeds of the country.
- Total number of indigenous breeds is 212 as of January 2023.
- The identification and registration of indigenous breeds started only after 2010.
- Those breeds which are not registered or identified are called ‘non-descript’.
- Since 2010, this is the third highest increase in registration of indigenous breeds, after 15 in 2018-19 and 13 in 2019-20 were recorded.
- In 2010, there were only 129 indigenous breeds registered, called ‘extant breeds.’
Newly registered breeds:
Cattle breeds:
- Kathani: It is dual-purpose cattle, is also distributed in the region. It possesses good draft ability and is suited to marshy land for paddy cultivation.
- Masilum: It is a small-sized but well-built and sturdy cattle of Meghalaya.
- It is reared by the Khasi and Jaintia communities for sports, manure and socio-cultural festivals.
- Sanchori: It is found in the Jalore district of Rajasthan.
Pig breeds:
- Manipuri Black: It is native to Manipur.
- Banda: It belongs to Jharkhand.
- Wak Chambil: It is from Garo hills of Meghalaya.
Buffalo breed:
- Purnathadi buffalo: It is found in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra.
Goat breeds:
- Sojat, Karauli, Gujari – All three new breeds belong to different regions of Rajasthan.
Source: DownToEarth
Syllabus
- Prelims – Environment and Ecology
Context: Deepor Beel, Assam’s only Ramsar site, which is troubled by development projects and urban waste, has 30 more waterfowl species than the total counted in 2022, a bird survey has found.
About Deepor Beel:
- Deepor Beel (Beel means wetland or large aquatic body in Assamese) is located Southwest of Guwahati.
- It is considered one of the largest and important riverine wetlands in the Brahmaputra Valley of lower Assam, India.
- Due to the richness of avian fauna, it has been selected as one of the Important Bird Area (IBA) sites by Birdlife International.
- It was designated a Ramsar site in 2002 for sustaining a range of aquatic life forms besides 219 species of birds.
- A Ramsar Site is a wetland designated to be of international importance under the Convention on Wetlands, held at the Iranian city of Ramsar in February 1971.
Source: The Hindu
Previous Year Questions
Q.1) Consider the following pairs:
Wetland/Lake: Location
- Hokera Wetland Punjab
- Renuka Wetland Himachal Pradesh
- Rudrasagar Lake Tripura
- Sasthamkotta Tamil Nadu
How many pairs given above are correctly matched? (2022)
- Only one pair
- Only two pairs
- Only three pairs
- All four pairs
Q.2) Which one of the following has been constituted under the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986? (2022)
- Central Water Commission
- Central Ground Water Board
- Central Ground Water Authority
- National Water Development Agency
Syllabus
- Prelims – Environment and Ecology
Context: A farmer takes forward the State’s traditional practice of building root bridges and connects two areas across Umkar river in Cherrapunji.
About Root bridges:
- Locally known as ‘ jingkieng jri ’ the living Root bridges are one of Meghalaya’s most beautiful tangible heritage sites.
- These sites have recently been added to the tentative UNESCO world heritage site list.
- Some of the most popular of these living root bridges are in Nongriat, Cherrapunji, Nongbareh and other nearby locations.
- These are naturally built bridges mainly built by firstly planting two rubber trees of the Ficus elastica on either side of a river.
- It is a type of simple suspension bridge formed by the method of tree shaping to form living plant roots across a stream or river.
- These are very common in the southern part of Meghalaya grown by the Khasi and Jaintia tribes
- These bridges can also be found in the state of Nagaland.
- The earliest written record of Cherrapunji’s bridges can be found in the 1844 Journal of the Asiatic Society of Bengal.
Source: The Hindu
Syllabus
- Prelims – Governance
Project Sambandh:
Aim:
- To connect the Next of Kin (NoK) of ‘physical casualties’ in the Army.
- To bring awareness about the challenges the NoK faced and assist them in connecting them to the Directorate of Indian Army Veterans, which provided several educational and social schemes to children and the widows of slain army personnel.
About the project:
- It is a one-man philanthropic initiative by Retired army officer and Shaurya Chakra awardee Colonel Vembu Shankar.
- Initially started as a 1,000-day endeavour to reach out to families of army officers who lost their lives under ‘non-operational circumstances’ such as physical ailments, accidents, and suicides.
- If there are about 100 army personnel killed in the battlefield every year, over a thousand die due to non-operational reasons and for these families entitlements, grants and schemes are vastly different from those of the battle casualties.
- Project Sambandh has identified that the NoKs, particularly young widows and children of the army personnel, face three kinds of challenges – financial, emotional, and social.
- Over the last five years, he mapped over 15,000 NoKs and connected them to authorities.
- This had helped in delivery of more than ₹1 crore financial assistance. Moreover, many families had also been put in touch with the units and regiments their husband, son, or father had served.
Source: The hindu
Syllabus
- Prelims – Science and Technology
In News: Furthering air defence cooperation, Veer Guardian 2023 will be held between the Indian Air Force (IAF) and Japan Air Self Defence Force (JASDF) as the first bilateral air exercise at Hyakuri Air Base in Japan
Exercise Veer Guardian:
- It is a maiden joint air exercise between India and Japan
- It will also be the first time when an Indian Air Force woman fighter pilot would be part of the Indian contingent for aerial wargames in a foreign land.
- The participating IAF contingent will include four Su-30 MKI, two C-17 & one IL-78 aircraft. On the other hand, the JASDF contingent will consist of four F-2 & four F-15 aircraft
- The first edition of the bilateral air exercise will see the conduct of various aerial combat drills between the Air Forces of India and Japan.
- The joint exercise will also include multi-domain air combat missions in a complex environment allowing the air warriors to exchange their best practices.
- The conduct of exercise Veer Guardian 2023 is a decision taken to step up the defence cooperation between the two nations which was taken during the second 2+2 Foreign and Defence Ministerial meeting held in Tokyo, Japan in 2022.
- Exercise Veer Guardian will be another step in deepening strategic ties and closer defence cooperation between India and Japan, reflecting the growing security cooperation between the two sides. The joint exercise will fortify the long-standing bond of friendship between the two Air Forces.
Source: News on air
Previous Year Question
Q.1) Recently, India signed a deal known as ‘Action Plan for Prioritization and Implementation of Cooperation Areas in the Nuclear Field’ with which of the following countries? (2019)
- Japan
- Russia
- The United Kingdom
- The United States of America
Syllabus
- Prelims – International relations
In News: On Friday, Union Minister for Youth Affairs and Sports Anurag Thakur launched the themes of the Y20 summit, along with its logo and website in New Delhi.
Y20 summit:
- The first ever Y20 (Youth 20) Summit is to be held in India on the sidelines of the G20 Summit.
- The Y20 Summit is likely to be held in Guwahati.
- It will focus on themes of future of work; climate change and disaster risk reduction; peacebuilding and reconciliation; and youth in democracy.
- The Y20 Summit is a unique opportunity to allow the youth to provide constructive policy inputs and to utilise the platform to voice their opinions for the world audience.
- Y20 will focus on global youth leadership and partnership.
- These priority areas of the summit point to the urgency with which the world has to reconcile with the reality of the changing times in our quest to survive and thrive.
Source: Indian express
Syllabus
- Prelims – Science and Technology
In News: The district administration of Damoh in Madhya Pradesh has killed 700 pigs in the last two days amid fear of African Swine Fever in the area, news agency ANI reported.
- Hundreds of animals including cows, bulls and pigs were found dead in the district’s Banawar area within a week.
- In 2021, the northeaster states of Nagaland, Mizoram and Manipur were swept by the disease.
- In December 2022, cases were confirmed in Kerala, Assam and Manipur.
African Swine Fever:
- It is a highly contagious viral disease that attacks pigs and boars
- It is endemic to sub-Saharan Africa but has spread to many other regions of the world, including Asia and Europe.
- It has a high mortality rate.
- It is not known to affect human beings.
- There is no cure or precaution available for the infection yet.
- It can interfere with various cellular signalling pathways resulting in immunomodulation, thus making the development of an efficacious vaccine very challenging.
- In the acute form pigs develop a high temperature (40.5 degrees C or 105 degrees F), then become dull and go off their food. Other symptoms may include vomiting, diarrhoea (sometimes bloody), laboured breathing and coughing, abortion, still births and weak litters and unwillingness to stand.
Miscellaneous:
- Humans can be infected with avian, swine and other zoonotic influenza viruses, such as avian influenza virus subtypes A(H5N1), A(H7N9), and A(H9N2) and swine influenza virus subtypes A(H1N1), A(H1N2) and A(H3N2).
- Human infections are primarily acquired through direct contact with infected animals or contaminated environments, these viruses have not acquired the ability of sustained transmission among humans.
Source DTE
Previous Year Question
Q.1) H1N1 virus is sometimes mentioned in the news with reference to which one of the following diseases? (2015)
- AIDS
- Bird flu
- Dengue
- Swine flu
Syllabus
- Mains – GS 3 (Economy)
Context: According to recent data, the Centre’s ambitious National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) may miss the goal in FY23 by a wide margin.
- After achieving the target for the first year rather comfortably, the Centre’s National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) may miss the goal as railways, telecom and petroleum sector slip on their goals.
About National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP):
- The pipeline has been developed by NITI Aayog, in consultation with infrastructure line ministries, based on the mandate for ‘Asset Monetisation’ under Union Budget 2021-22.
- NMP estimates aggregate monetisation potential of Rs 6.0 lakh crores through core assets of the Central Government, over a four-year period, from FY 2022 to FY 2025.
- It aims to unlock value in brownfield projects by engaging the private sector, transferring to them revenue rights and not ownership in the projects, and using the funds generated for infrastructure creation across the country.
- Framework of NMP:
- The pipeline has been prepared based on inputs and consultations from respective line ministries and departments, along with the assessment of total asset base available therein.
- Monetization through disinvestment and monetization of non-core assets have not been included in the NMP.
- The framework for monetisation of core asset monetisation has three key imperatives:
- Monetization of rights and not the ownership, assets headed back at the end of transaction life.
- Brownfield de-risked assets, stable revenue streams.
- Structured partnerships under defined contractual frameworks with strict KPIs and performance standards.
Sector specific data and associated challenges
Telecom:
- As against the target of Rs 20,180 crore, the department of telecom has not been able to monetise any of telecom assets so far and doubts have emerged if it could achieve anything.
- The original plan was to mobilise Rs 15,780 crore by inviting private investors to bid for Bharat Broadband Network’s 300,000 km of optical fibre networks to upgrade, operate and maintain across the country, including states.
- Another Rs 4,400 crore was estimated from BSNL/MTNL tower monetisation through rent-operate-transfer (ROT) concession model, but bids are yet to be called for these.
Mining sector:
- Previous year, a sum of about Rs 1 trillion was raised through the monetisation route as against the target of Rs 88,200 crore due to the mining sector.
Natural gas and petroleum product pipelines:
- Monetisation of natural gas and petroleum product pipelines were projected to fetch Rs 9,176 crore in FY23.
- However, oil and gas companies have proposed alternate assets such as monetisation of oil fields (on the lines of mines monetisation) through private participation in exploration and with the inflow of technology.
Road Transport and Highways:
- Monetisation by other sectors including road assets by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) are on track.
- NHAI is expected to meet its target of Rs 32,855 crore from the securitisation of toll receivables from expressways, Infrastructure Investment Trusts (InvITs) and Transfer-Operate-Transfer (ToT) models.
Railways:
- Railways is the biggest component of the Rs 6 trillion NMP in the four years through FY25.
- Railways collected just Rs 800 crore via monetisation through redevelopment of one railway station and some railway colonies in the last fiscal year as against the target of Rs 17,810 crore.
- According to the NMP, railways need to monetise 120 stations, 30 trains and 1,400 km track, among others in FY23.
Significance of NMP:
- Innovative way of Private Participation:
- Private sector is well known for its efficiency and technology.
- NMP will provide a way to exploit the strength of the Private sector for infrastructure creation without transfer of ownership.
- Ensure Further investment in Infrastructure Building:
- It will help to properly monetise underutilised brownfield projects
- Revival of the economy and create sustainable demand.
- Spillover effect of infrastructure is high on cycle of demand
- It will create further value for infrastructure creation in the country
- It will enable high economic growth and seamlessly integrating the rural and semi-urban areas for overall public welfare.
Challenges associated with NMP:
- Level of capacity utilisation in gas and petroleum pipeline networks.
- Lack of identifiable revenue streams in various assets.
- Absence of Dispute resolution mechanism.
- Analysts also point to issues such as the lack of independent sectoral regulators as potential impediments.
Way Forward:
Thus, the Asset Monetisation needs to be viewed not just as a funding mechanism, but as an overall paradigm shift in infrastructure operations, augmentation and maintenance considering the private sector’s resource efficiencies and its ability to dynamically adapt to the evolving global and economic reality.
Therefore, New models like Infrastructure Investment Trusts and Real Estate Investment Trusts will enable not just financial and strategic investors but also common people to participate in this asset class thereby opening new avenues for investment.
Source: Financial Express
Syllabus
- Mains – GS 3 Environment
Context:
- Forest is the second largest land use in India next to agriculture
- In 2021, the total forest and tree cover in India is 80.9 million hectares, which is 24.62% of the geographical area of the country, ranging from the Himalayan Temperate to Dry Zone forests.
- Being a mega-bio diversity country, the nation possesses high level of endemism.
Carbon Sequestration:
- There are two types:
- Geologic
- Biologic
- Carbon capture from power plants and industrial facilities is called Geologic Carbon sequestration.
- It is pressurized into liquid and then stored in porous rock formations underground.
- Atmospheric carbon is captured by natural processes like photosynthesis.
- It is stored in soil, plants and trees or the entire forest ecosystem.
Role of forests in carbon sequestration:
- Create carbon pools – Forests absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in different repositories, called carbon pools, which include trees (both living and dead), root systems, undergrowth, the forest floor and soils.
- Currently existing forests store ~45% of the organic carbon on land in their biomass and soils
- Live trees have the highest carbon density, followed by soils and the forest floor. Harvested wood products and landfills also store carbon.
- Prevent Global warming – When a carbon pool decomposes or is burned, it releases carbon as carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere and causes Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions.
- In past 40 years, forests have absorbed 25% of human carbon emissions. This slows the rate of climate change.
- Regulate rate of carbon sequestration and storage – However, invasive insects and diseases, drought, wildfires and urban development can affect this regulation.
Other significant benefits:
- Purifies air and water – One tree can take 10 pounds of pollution and produce enough oxygen for two people.
- Flood control – it moderates river run offs and reduces erosion
- Protection of ecosystem services – resources such as medicinal plants, herbs, timber, Minor forest produce and landscaping materials is found in forests.
- Prevents desertification – too few trees can increase severity of sun exposure.
- This can lead to dry soil, dead organisms and more release of carbon
Carbon trading mechanisms:
- Carbon trading – Carbon trading is the process of buying and selling permits and credits in the market that allow the permit holder to emit carbon dioxide.
- The right to emit a tonne of CO2 is often referred to as a carbon ‘credit’ or carbon ‘allowance’.
- Clean development mechanism under Kyoto protocol – Financially-reliant nations offer incentives towards developing countries to put into place projects which reduce greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, while at their own expense, they earn what are called CER credits or Emission Reduction Units that are equivalent to 1 tonne of CO2.
- European Union’s Emissions Trading System(ETS) – is the key tool for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), from electricity generation and industry.
Challenges in current system:
- Additionality
- It refers to carbon sequestration that can happen even in the absence of targeted action.
- Forests can grow back on agricultural land abandoned by households moving to industrial jobs. This is known as the Forest Transition.
- This transition has been underway in India since the mid-90s, with steady net-positive growth.
- Leakage
- While protecting one forest, emission generating activities that can be deflected to other neighbouring forests.
- Counting negative emissions from this forest will be fraudulent.
- For example, in rural India, the fuelwood has to come from somewhere, and all that changes is that the women have to walk farther, spend more time, and face more harassment but total emissions remain the same.
- Permanence
- With climate change, we can expect more heat waves, dry spells, and more frequent and intense forest fires.
- Example – The Bootleg fire in Oregon burned through 90,000 acres of forest set aside as carbon offsets for Microsoft and BP. This forest, and the carbon it holds, were expected to live for at least 100 years.
- Cost and logistical challenges and biophysical limitations (e.g., poor water availability constrains growth and increases mortality
Suggestions:
- To protect and restore, our forests, we must create incentives and build equity for local communities to reap a fair share of benefits.
- Forests will be protected and restored when communities living near these forests expect to derive direct material benefits.
- India’s Forest Rights Act 2006 allows communities to own and manage their forests. Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Jharkhand have already recognised this opportunity to create jobs and wealth. But this opportunity requires the private sector to step up and support the process.
- By engaging directly with communities, the informal forest economy can be transformed into business transactions that are fair and transparent and incentivise sustainable protection, management, and restoration of India’s forests.
- If communities protect forests because they get better prices for Sal seeds, Mahua flowers, or Tendu leaves, they will protect them from fires as well as any other threats that come along. Carbon sequestration will be a side benefit.
- The rising demand for forest based products and resultant deforestation and encroachment has led to a severe loss of natural resources and destruction of habitat
Way forward:
- The Living Planet Report 2006 ranked India as the third highest gross foot print nation, followed by US and China.
- India is presently 4th largest economy in terms of purchasing power parity and is growing at 8-9 per cent per annum. This fast growth coupled with the needs and aspirations of more than one billion people is a challenge for conservation of forests unless environmentally responsible policies are in place.
- In this regard, the new initiative apart from cabin sequestration such as Payment for Forest Ecosystem Services (PES), Ecological Footprint Analysis and Forest Certification, must be explored.
Source The hindubusinessline
Baba’s Explainer – Foreign Universities in India
Syllabus
- GS-2: Issues related to Education
- GS-2: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation.
Context: Foreign universities and educational institutions could soon be allowed to set up campuses in India as per the draft regulations made public by the University Grants Commission.
Read Complete Details on Foreign Universities in India
Practice MCQs
Q.1) Recently in news, ‘Project Sambadh’ is related to which of the following?
- Improving defence cooperation between India and Japan.
- Providing pensions to widowers of soldiers who died during battle.
- Improving Sino-Indian relations at the Line of Actual Control (LAC).
- To connect next of kin of physical casualties in the Army.
Q.2) With reference to ‘African Swine fever’, consider the following statements?
- It is endemic to Sub-Saharan Africa and is not found in other countries
- It is known to be highly contagious in human beings.
Which of the following statements are correct?
- 1 only
- 2 only
- Both 1 and 2
- Neither 1 nor 2
Q.3) Consider the following pairs:
Indigenous Cattle/buffalo breeds and States
- Masilum – Manipur
- Sanchori – Rajasthan
- Purnathadi – Karnataka
How many pairs given above is/are correctly matched?
- None
- One pairs only
- Two pairs only
- All three pairs
Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!
ANSWERS FOR ’ 10th January 2023 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st
ANSWERS FOR 9th January – Daily Practice MCQs
Q.1) – d
Q.2) – d
Q.3) – c