DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS IAS | UPSC Prelims and Mains Exam – 17th December 2024

Syllabus:

• Prelims & Mains – CURRENT EVENT

Context: India said that its double taxation treaty with Switzerland may require renegotiation in view of its trade pact with the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA).

Background: –

• The remarks from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) came after the Swiss government suspended the most favoured nation status (MFN) clause in the India-Switzerland Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA).

About European Free Trade Association (EFTA)

• EFTA is an intergovernmental organization of four member countries that are not part of the European Union (EU): Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
• The organization operates in parallel with the European Union (EU), and all four member states participate in the European single market and are part of the Schengen Area.
• EFTA vs. EU:
  • While EFTA countries are not part of the EU, three of them (Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway) are part of the European Economic Area (EEA), which gives them access to the EU’s single market.
  • Switzerland has bilateral agreements with the EU but is not in the EEA.
• India and EFTA recently signed a landmark trade agreement, the Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement (TEPA), on March 10, 2024. This agreement aims to boost trade and investment between the two sides.  

Key Features of the TEPA:

• Tariff Reductions: EFTA will eliminate tariffs on 92.2% of its tariff lines, covering 99.6% of India’s exports. India will eliminate tariffs on 82.7% of its tariff lines, covering 95.3% of EFTA exports.  
  
• Investment Promotion: EFTA is unique for its inclusion of a binding $100 billion investment commitment by companies in those countries into India over the next 15 years, with one million direct jobs to be created.
• Market Access: The agreement improves market access for both sides in various sectors, including industrial products, fish and marine products, processed agricultural products, and services.   
• Intellectual Property Rights: The agreement includes provisions for the protection and enforcement of intellectual property rights.   
• Sustainable Development: The agreement also addresses issues related to sustainable development, including environmental protection and labor rights.

Source: Indian Express

Syllabus:

• Prelims &  Mains – GEOGRAPHY

Context: La Nina conditions are likely to develop in the next three months but the phase is expected to be relatively weak and short-lived, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) said recently.

Background: –

• Latest forecasts from WMO indicate a 55% likelihood of a transition from the current neutral conditions (neither El Niño nor La Niña) to La Nina conditions during December 2024 to February 2025.

Key takeaways

• La Niña, a phase of the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), occurs when the region of the Pacific Ocean between Indonesia and South America is cooler than usual. Its counterpart, El Niño, represents a warming of the same region. 
• This decade began with three consecutive La Niña events (2020-2022), a rare occurrence known as Triple Dip La Niña, followed by an El Niño in 2023.
• Historically, the La Niña has usually formed during the monsoon or the pre-monsoon period, and it has formed only twice between October and December since 1950.

La Niña and its affect on India’s climate and environment

• North India experiences  colder winter than usual during La Niña.
• Analysis of meteorological data by researchers at the Council on Energy Environment and Water, New Delhi, has revealed that while La Niña winters feature colder nights compared to El Niño, daytime temperatures tend to be higher. 
• Meteorological parameters like wind speed and planetary boundary layer height (PBLH) — the lowest atmospheric layer directly influenced by land-atmosphere interactions — also vary during ENSO phases, affecting air quality.
• The researchers found the average wind speed is higher throughout the day during La Niña winters. Faster winds help reduce air pollution by transporting pollutants away. They also found that the average PBLH is slightly lower during La Niña winters.
• If La Niña sets in, lower temperatures in north India may lead people to burn more biomass for heating, worsening pollution. A lower PBLH could also trap more pollutants near the ground. But higher wind speeds could disperse the pollutants, potentially leading to better air quality.
• A La Niña promotes robust monsoons as evidenced by the “normal” or “above-normal” rainfall in the La Niña years of 2020, 2021, and 2022. 

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus:

• Prelims – CURRENT EVENT

Context: The Andhra Pradesh government has prepared an action plan and set a broad milestones for various works, including completing the first phase of the Polavaram Irrigation Project by October 2026.

Background:

• The Polavaram project, considered the lifeline of Andhra Pradesh, has witnessed multiple delays over the last few years.

Key takeaways:

• The Polavaram Project is a significant multi-purpose irrigation project on the Godavari River in the Eluru District and East Godavari District of Andhra Pradesh.
• Also known as the Indira Sagar Project.
• The project aims to provide irrigation, drinking water, and hydroelectric power.
• Project was approved initially in 2004 and declared a national project under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Key Features

• Dam Type: Earth-cum-rock fill dam.
• Reservoir Capacity: Gross storage capacity of 194.6 TMC.
• Irrigation Potential: 4.36 lakh hectares in Andhra Pradesh.
• Hydroelectric Power: Generation of 960 MW.
• In this project, Godavari-Krishna inter-linking will be implemented under the inter-linking of rivers project. The project envisages transfer of 80 TMC of surplus water of Godavari river to Krishna river. 

Source: The Hindu

Syllabus:

• Prelims – GEOGRAPHY

Context: Rescuers raced against time to reach survivors and supply urgent aid after the devastating cyclone Chido ripped through the French Indian Ocean territory of Mayotte.

Background: –

• Mayotte is France’s poorest region with an estimated third of the population living in shanty towns.

About Mayotte

• Mayotte is an overseas department and region and single territorial collectivity of France. 
• It is located in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Southeastern Africa, between Northwestern Madagascar and Northeastern Mozambique.
• Mayotte consists of a main island, Grande-Terre (or Maore), a smaller island, Petite-Terre (or Pamanzi), as well as several islets around these two.
• It is an outermost region of the European Union and, as an overseas department of France, part of the eurozone.
• Mayotte is the oldest of the four large islands of the Comoros archipelago (The Comoro Islands are a group of volcanic islands in the Mozambique Channel).

Source: BBC

Syllabus:

• Mains – GS 3

Context: As India charts its path to net-zero emissions by 2070, green hydrogen offers a crucial pathway to decarbonise its industrial sectors

Background: –

• India’s success in green hydrogen will depend on leveraging its abundant renewable resources through efficient project execution, access to low-cost capital, and strategic investments.

Key takeaways

• India aims to produce 5 million metric tonnes (MMT) of green hydrogen annually by 2030.
• Based on a recent analysis by BloombergNEF, India is on track to meet only 10% of its stated goal. 
• The sluggish progress is attributable to the substantial disparity between green hydrogen production costs ($5.30-$6.70 per kg) and traditional grey/blue production costs ($1.9-$2.4 per kg). This wide price differential makes it challenging to drive domestic offtake and attract private investment.
• The economics of green hydrogen production hinge on two factors — the levelised cost of electricity (LCOE) and electrolyzer costs, both driven by the cost of capital. 
• In emerging markets like India, perceived higher risks push up borrowing costs, leading to a high weighted average cost of capital (WACC). As investment costs make up 50-80% of LCOE in renewable energy projects, WACC significantly impacts overall costs.
• India needs to adopt innovative financing mechanisms and policy frameworks to effectively de-risk investments and attract capital to scale its green hydrogen sector.

Policy Reforms

• The U.K.’s Low Carbon Hydrogen Standard Certification provides a model for building market confidence. 
• Strategic hydrogen hubs in the U.S., Japan, and Australia reflect a shift from traditional industrial development approaches — rather than letting infrastructure follow demand, these nations are fostering integrated ecosystems where infrastructure, production, innovation, and consumption co-evolve. Adapting this approach, with localised industrial clusters linked to renewable energy sources, could create self-sustaining hydrogen corridors in India that attract investment.

How to de-risk investments

• First, the government must implement a policy framework that extends beyond production incentives to address fundamental financing barriers. This includes establishing long-term hydrogen purchase agreements and partial loan guarantees. It should also create “regulatory sandboxes” that allow for experimentation with novel business models while maintaining safety standards, similar to how fintech innovation was accelerated in India.
• Second, India’s financial sector must move beyond traditional project finance paradigms. Indian financial institutions must develop products that address hydrogen’s distinctive challenges — long development timelines, uncertain demand, and complex value chains.
• Third, India’s international collaboration should aim to tackle practical market-making challenges. Key trade corridors, such as the Hydrogen Energy Supply Chain Project between Australia and Japan, show how cross-border partnerships can provide the demand certainty needed for large-scale investments.

Source: The Hindu

Q1.) Consider the following statements regarding La Niña and its impact on India:

1. La Niña conditions are associated with colder winters in North India.
2. During La Niña winters, wind speeds tend to decrease, leading to increased air pollution.
3. La Niña generally promotes above-normal monsoons in India.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A) 1 and 2 only
B) 1 and 3 only
C) 2 and 3 only
D) 1, 2, and 3

Q2.) With reference to the Polavaram Project, consider the following statements:

1. The Polavaram Project is constructed on the Krishna River.
2. It involves the transfer of 80 TMC of surplus water from the Godavari River to the Krishna River.
3. The project was declared a national project under the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
A) 1 only
B) 2 and 3 only
C) 1 and 2 only
D) 2 only

Q3.) Mayotte, often in the news, is geographically located:

A) Between Madagascar and Mozambique in the Indian Ocean.
B) Near the eastern coast of Australia in the Pacific Ocean.
C) Between Sri Lanka and the Maldives in the Indian Ocean.
D) Off the west coast of South America in the Atlantic Ocean.

Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!

ANSWERS FOR ’  Today’s – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs

Q.1) – c

Q.2) – b

Q.3) – b