Daily Prelims Notes 1 December 2022

December 1, 2022
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

1 December 2022

Table Of Contents

1. Natural Gas pricing regime

Subject: Economy

Context:

The Kirit Parikh committee was appointed to review the gas pricing formula.

Concept:

Natural gas pricing:

The natural gas pricing scenario in India is complex and heterogeneous in nature.

Formula based pricing formula/Administered Price Mechanism (APM)
- Much of the natural gas being produced in the country does not command a market-determined price — that is, it is not determined by buyers and sellers based on demand-supply dynamics in the market.
- The price of natural gas produced from fields awarded to state-owned ONGC and Oil India regulated under the Administered Price Mechanism (APM).APM gas accounts for over 90 per cent of ONGC natural gas output.
- The government sets the price of gas every six months-on April 1 and October 1, each year.It is the weighted average price of four global benchmarks — the US-based Henry Hub, Canada-based Alberta gas, the UK-based NBP, and Russian gas.
  - The domestic price is based on the prices of these international benchmarks in the prior year and applies with a quarter’s lag and applies for six months.
  - So, the price applicable from April 1 to September 30, 2019 is based on benchmark prices from January to December 2018.
  - APM gas has been allocated in priority to power producers and fertilisers
Non-APM or Free Market Gas–two categories–domestically produced gas from Joint Venture fields and imported LNG.
- The pricing of JV gas is governed in terms of the PSC (Production Sharing Contract) provisions.
- While the price of LNG under term contracts is governed by the SPA (Sale and Purchase Agreement) between the LNG seller and the buyer, the spot cargoes are purchased on mutually agreeable commercial terms.
Differential pricing exists for different sectors–Subsidized sectors such as power and fertilizer get relatively less prices as compared to other sectors.
Region specific pricing exists in the country with North Eastern states getting gas at relatively cheaper prices as compared to other parts of the country.

Implication of formula based pricing:

The formula has no mention about gas actually imported into India– gas imported in Asian markets is costlier than many international benchmarks. In effect, the price of domestic gas is lower than that of gas imports.
The time lag of a quarter means that the domestic gas price movement is often out

2. Q2 Data

Subject : Economy

Context:

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released India’s economic growth data for the second quarter of the current financial year (2022-23 or FY23).

Details:

The second quarter or Q2 refers to the months of July, August and September.

Indicators	Q2 on a year-on-year basis
Gross Domestic Product	6.3 per cent
Gross Value Added (or GVA)	5.6 per cent
The GDP (at Rs 38,16,578 crore) is much higher than the GVA (which is at Rs 35,05,599 crore).

Decline in sectors crucial for job creation:
- Contraction in the manufacturing sector – 4.3% in th Q2.
- Growth in services is barely over 2 per cent.
- Mining and quarrying has contracted by almost 3%.

GVA in agriculture (along with forestry and fishing) grew at 4.6%.
On the GDP side
- The biggest engine of growth is private consumption expenditure– 55% of India’s total GDP.
- Expenditures towards investments are the second biggest contributor to the GDP-33 per cent. It has grown by 10.4% over FY21 and by almost 21% between FY20 and FY23.
- There has been a contraction in government final consumption expenditures- 10-11% of the GDP. It contracted by 4.4% per cent in Q2 and is 20% below the pre-Covid level.
- Net exports– since India imports far more than it exports, the NX value is negative. In Q2 it increased by 89 per cent.

Indicates?

The economy has picked up momentum since the pandemic, but the contraction in the manufacturing sector, higher interest rates and no sharp rise in consumption will pose challenges in the second half of the current financial year.

Concept:

What do GDP and GVA mean?

GDP and GVA are the two main ways to ascertain the country’s economic performance.
Both are measures of national income.
The GDP measures the monetary measure of all “final” goods and services— those that are bought by the final user— produced in a country in a given period.
The GDP does this by adding up the total expenditures in the economy. That is why GDP captures the total “demand” in the economy.
Components:
- All the money Indians spent for their private consumption –Private Final Consumption Expenditure or PFCE.
- All the money the government spent on its current consumption, such as salaries –Government Final Consumption Expenditure or GFCE.
- All the money spent towards investments to boost the productive capacity of the economy. This includes business firms investing in factories or the governments building roads and bridges-Gross Fixed Capital Expenditure.
- The net effect of exports (what foreigners spent on our goods) and imports (what Indians spent on foreign goods)-Net Exports or NX.
The GDP data is more useful when looking at annual economic growth and when one wants to compare the economic growth of a country either with its growth in the past or with another country.
The GVA calculates the same national income from the supply side.
It does so by adding up all the value added across different sectors.
The GVA of a sector is defined as the value of output minus the value of its intermediary inputs.
This “value added” is shared among the primary factors of production, labour and capital.
By looking at the GVA growth one can understand which sector of the economy is robust and which is struggling. When one is looking at quarterly data, it is best to look at GVA data.

How are the two related?

The GDP is derived by looking at the GVA data.
GDP = (GVA) + (Taxes earned by the government) — (Subsidies provided by the government)

3. Animal spirit

Subject :Economy

Context: Uday Kotak has requested big companies to increase investments

What is animal spirit?

The term animal spirit was innovated by John Maynard Keynes and it indicate the internal urge for action by business people and consumers to engage in more investment and consumption. Hence animal spirit is the psychological urge to get into more economic activities by investors and consumers.

Keynes explains the concept in this book General Theory: “Most, probably, of our decisions to do something positive, the full consequences of which will be drawn out over many days to come, can only be taken as the result of animal spirits – a spontaneous urge to action rather than inaction.”

What is the significance of animal spirit in overcoming recession?

Most important aspect about animal spirits is that it is economic optimism and confidence that drives investors to make more investment even when there is uncertainly. This means that even if the economic environment is not good, if animal spirits is activated, higher investment can occur. In recent years, animal spirit is frequently used because increased investment is necessary to rejuvenate economies from recession.

4. Round tripping

Subject :Economy

Context: Tax havens are used to roundtrip money into India

Context:

A tax haven is a jurisdiction with very low “effective” rates of taxation for foreign investors.
In some traditional definitions, a tax haven also offers financial secrecy.
- However, while countries with high levels of secrecy but also high rates of taxation, most notably the United States and Germany in the Financial Secrecy Index (“FSI”) rankings, can be featured in some tax haven lists, they are not universally considered as tax havens.
A list of some of the most popular tax haven countries includes: Andorra, the Bahamas, Belize, Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, the Channel Islands, the Cook Islands, The Island of Jersey, Hong Kong, The Isle of Man, Mauritius, Lichtenstein, Monaco, Panama, St. Kitts, and Nevis.
Some notable authors on tax havens describe them as “captured states”. The term is particularly used for smaller tax havens, with examples being Antigua, the Seychelles, and Jersey.
Worldwide there is not a comprehensively defined standard for the classification of a tax haven country. However, there are several regulatory bodies that monitor tax haven countries, including the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
Characteristics of tax haven countries generally include:
- no or low income taxes,
- minimal reporting of information,
- lack of transparency obligations,
- lack of local presence requirements, and
- marketing of tax haven vehicles.

Round tripping

Money leaves the country through various channels such as inflated invoices, payments to shell companies overseas, the hawala route and so on. After cooling its heels overseas for a while, this money returns in a freshly laundered form; thus completing a round-trip.
How does the money return to India? It could be invested in offshore funds that in turn invest in Indian assets. The Global Depository Receipts (GDR) and Participatory Notes (P-Notes) are some of the other routes that have been used in the past.

5. All women bench in SC, 3rd time in history

Subject : Polity

Context:

The Supreme Court will have an all-woman bench on Thursday, to hear transfer pleas and bail matters.

More details about the women bench in Supreme Court:

The present bench comprises Justices Hima Kohli and Bela M Trivedi.
This will be the third time ever in the Supreme Court’s history that a bench of women judges will be hearing cases.
The first such instance was in 2013 when Justices Gyan Sudha Misra and Ranjana Prakash Desai sat together temporarily due to the absence of another judge.
The second such instance was in 2018, when Justices R Banumathi and Indira Banerjee adorned a bench.

History of Women representation in the Supreme Court.

Justice M Fatima Beevi was the first woman to be appointed as a judge of the Supreme Court in 1989.
The apex court currently has only three women judges: Justices Kohli, B V Nagarathna, and Trivedi..
In the history of the SC, there have been only 11 women judges.
Justice B V Nagarthana will become Chief Justice of India in 2027 for 36 days.

Present status of Women’s share in Indian judiciary:

In high courts, the percentage of women judges is a mere 11.5%, while in the Supreme Court there are three sitting women judges out of 33 in office.
Out of a total of 37 women candidates recommended by the Supreme Court Collegium for appointment as high court judges, only 17 have been appointed so far, while the rest of the names are pending with the central government.
For the high courts, Collegium has recommended 192 candidates so far.
Out of these, 37, that is 19 per cent, were women.
There is an abysmally low number of 83 women judges out of 680 judges in the high courts and about 30 per cent women judicial officers in the subordinate courts.
Nearly 17 lakh lawyers practice in the country, only 15% are women.

6. Patna: a fading city once loved by age-old rulers and travelers:

Subject : History

History of Patna:

The original name of Patna was Pataliputra or Patalipattan.
The name Patna has undergone many changes at its earliest stages like Pataligram, Kusumpur, Patliputra, Azimabad, ultimately terminating to the present one.
It has been said that Pataliputra was founded by Ajatashatru
Chandragupta Maurya made it his capital in the 4th century B.C.
There existed a village namedPattan or Patthan, which later turned into Patna.
The ancient village was named ‘Patali’ and the word ‘Pattan’ was added to it.
Greek history mentions ‘Palibothra’ which perhaps is Pataliputra
Aurangzeb who briefly named itAzimabadafter his grandson Mohammed Azim
Prince Azim-us-Shan, the grandson of Aurangzeb came as the Governor of Patna in 1703
For people following the Sikh religion, Patna is a sacred city as the tenth Sikh guru, Guru Gobind Singh, was born

Patna a favourite place of travellers

This city was the fountainhead of the spring of knowledge and wisdom in ancient times
Greek ambassador Megasthenes stayed in Patliputra during the reign of Chandragupta Maurya.
The famous traveler Fa-Hien in the 3rd century and Hiuen-Tsang in the 7th century inspected the city.
FaHien wrote about it in A Record of Buddhist Kingdoms wherein he called Patna, ‘the city of flowers’,
Many noted scholars like Kautilya stayed here and works like ‘Arthashastra’ were written from this place.
British traveler Ralph Fitch came to Patna in 1586 and described it as “a very long and great town with a flourishing trade in cotton, sugar and opium”.
Scottish physician Francis Buchanan described it in unflattering expression, “difficult to imagine a more disgusting place”.
M. Forster who made Bankipore a residential area within Patna the model for Chandrapore, the fictional town in A Passage of India
Patna also got a fleeting reference in Jhumpa Lahiri’s novel The Namesake.

7. Why constitutional validity of J&K Reorganisation Act clause went unchallenged

Subject :Polity

Context:

The Supreme Court on Wednesday quizzed petitioners about the reason for not challenging the constitutional validity of a specific provision in the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act which gives the Delimitation Commission the power to “carry out” the readjustment of constituencies in the Union Territory formed after the dilution of Article 370 in the erstwhile State

What was the issue:

A Bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and A.S.Oka was hearing over the petition filed by Srinagar residents Haji Abdul Gani Khan and Mohammad Ayub Mattoo on challenging the notification issued by the Centre in March 2020 establishing the Jammu and Kashmir Delimitation Commission and a second one in March 2021 extending its term for the purpose of conducting delimitation only for Jammu and Kashmir.
The Petitioners argued that only the Election Commission under Section 60 of the 2019 Act, was empowered to conduct the delimitation exercise.
They further argued that Article 170 of the Constitution barred delimitation exercise on the basis of the 2011 census. It had to either happen on the basis of the 2001 census or await the first census after the year 2026.
The petitioners alleged that Sections 60 and 61 of the 2019 Act, which defined the role of the EC in the process of delimitation, were in contradiction to Section 62

What was the judgement by the court:

The court asked why the petitioners without challenging the source of the government’s notifications, that is Section 62(2), had confined their challenge solely to the notifications

What was government response:

The government has countered that there were two alternative mechanisms to carry out delimitation for J&K. By virtue of Sections 60 and 61, while the power to determine delimitation was conferred on the EC, Section 62(2) and 62(3) conferred powers to carry out delimitation on the Commission

Some important points of the J&K Reorganisation Act, 2019 regarding delimitation.

Sections 60 to 64 of the J&K Reorganisation Act 2019, states that the initial division of the UT of J&K into Assembly seats is the job of the EC under Section 60.
It further appears from Section 62 that any readjustment in the constituencies drawn up by the EC should be taken up by a Delimitation Commission only after the first Census done after the year 2026.

What is Delimitation:

Delimitation is the act of redrawing boundaries of Lok Sabha and Assembly constituencies to represent changes in population and is done on the basis of the preceding Census.
This exercise is carried out by a Delimitation Commission, whose orders have the force of law and cannot be questioned before any court.
Constitutional provisions:
Article 82: This provides the Parliament with the authority to enact a Delimitation Act after every Census.
Article 170: This provides for the States to get divided into territorial constituencies as per the Delimitation Act after every Census.
The Union government sets up a Delimitation Commission once the Act is in force.

What is Delimitation Commission:

It is appointed by the President of India and works in collaboration with the Election Commission of India.
Its members are a serving or retired Supreme Court judge, Chief Election Commissioner or an Election Commissioner nominated by CEC and Election Commissioners of the respective state.
Its function is to determine the number and boundaries of constituencies, to identify seats reserved for SC/ST.
It is a high power body whose orders have the force of law and cannot be called in question before any court.
Delimitation Commissions have been set up four times — 1952, 1963, 1973 and 2002 under the Acts of 1952, 1962, 1972 and 2002.

8. One step closer to a universal flue vaccine: what the new study says

Subject : Science and Technology

Context–

A new study describes successful animal tests of the Universal flu vaccine, which can prepare one’s body to fight every known strain of influenza. The vaccines rely on mRNA.

About the universal vaccine-

The vaccine is in its early stages and being tested on mice and ferrets only.
The vaccine provides hope that a single shot can be used against an entire family of viruses. Also, similar vaccines can be developed for another family of viruses like SARS-CoV-2.
The vaccine would not replace annual flu shots but would provide a shield against severe disease and death from potential pandemic threats.

Need for a universal flu vaccine-

Current influenza vaccines protect against seasonal flu but would provide little protection against a new strain that may emerge as a pandemic threat.
During the 2009 H1N1 swine flu pandemic the conventional vaccine offered little defence against the virus.
The main constraint in developing such a vaccine was technical hurdles and the diversity of the flu virus. As there are 20 subgroups of influenza that each representing thousands of viruses.
Current vaccines can target four subgroups at most.
But the experimental vaccine contains all 20, and it would be faster to produce.
The vaccine elicited high levels of antibodies to all 20 flu subtypes in ferrets and mice.

Challenges in developing such a vaccine-

The antibodies in test animals were lower when given the vaccines, but still high enough to fight influenza.
Designing a universal vaccine for all age groups is challenging.
It is not known yet how long protection from such a vaccine lasts.

Way ahead-

The vaccine provided strong protection against viruses outside of those 20 subgroups.
Conventional flu vaccines target only the specific viruses they are designed for. But mRNA vaccines seem to produce antibodies that defend the body against a broader range of viruses than those included.
The next step for the vaccine would be to test it in monkeys and in people.

9. Supreme Court floats idea of ‘Project GIB’: What is this endangered bird

Subject :Environment

Context-

Hearing a plea to protect the endangered bird Great Indian Bustard (GIB), the Supreme Court asked if a ‘Project GIB’, on the lines of ‘Project Tiger’, could be launched.

What is the Great Indian Bustard?

One of the heaviest flying birds endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
State Bird of Rajasthan.

Habitat:

Untamed, Arid grasslands.
Among the heaviest birds with flight, GIBs prefer grasslands as their habitats
A Maximum number of GIBs were found in Jaisalmer and the Indian Army-controlled field firing range near Pokhran, Rajasthan.
Other areas: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Population:

As per the studies conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India, there are around 150 Great Indian Bustards left across the country which includes about 128 birds in Rajasthan and less than 10 birds each in the States of Gujarat, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka.
While the GIBs’ historic range included much of the Indian sub-continent, it has now shrunk to just 10 per cent of that.

Protection Status:

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered.
Listed in Wildlife Protection Act’s Schedule 1.

Significance of GIBs in the ecosystem-

Terrestrial birds spend most of their time on the ground, feeding on insects, lizards, grass seeds, etc. GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland and hence barometers of the health of grassland ecosystems.

Why is the Great Indian Bustard endangered?

Among the biggest threats to the GIBs are overhead power transmission lines.
Due to their poor frontal vision, the birds can’t spot the power lines from a distance, and are too heavy to change course when close. Thus, they collide with the cables and die.
According to the Wildlife Institute of India (WII), in Rajasthan, 18 GIBs die every year after colliding with overhead power lines.

Great Indian Bustard: Conservation efforts

The Supreme Court in April 2021 ordered that all overhead power transmission lines in coreand potential GIB habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat should be made underground.
Supreme court has suggested the installation of bird diverters (reflector-like structures strung on power cables) in priority areas.
It also asked them to assess the total length of transmission lines that need to go underground in the two states.
In 2015, the Centre launched the GIB species recovery programme. Under this, the WII and Rajasthan forest department jointly set up breeding centres where GIB eggs harvested from the wild were incubated artificially.

10. Life of Plastic: Uruguay talks inch towards last two days; final decision still awaited

Subject : Environment

In the news-

Representatives from 175 countries endorsed a landmark resolution on plastic pollution at the United Nations Environment Assembly.
As a result, an intergovernmental negotiating committee (INC-1) was formed for the negotiations and the first round of negotiations on a global treaty to end plastic pollution in Uruguay’s Punta Del Este is about to end.

Breakout groups were formed and their respective discussions were:

Eliminating and designing for circularity (SG1 and SG2)
Circularity in practice (SG3)
Waste minimisation and remediation (SG4)

The eliminating and designing for circularity (SG1 and SG2) group demanded-
- The definition of terms like ‘toxic’, ‘circularity’ and other frequently used terminologies.
- Standardisation in product design and the need for financing through schemes similar to extended producer responsibility.
- The need for capacity-building.

The circularity in practice (SG3) group demanded-
- The role of the private sector on plastic pollution issues be defined
- The establishment of infrastructure for sound plastic waste management.
The waste minimisation and remediation (SG4) group said compostable plasticsshould not be regulated.

The online forum discussions laid emphasis on:

The importance of monitoring and tracking, with clear, numerical, and verifiable targets.
The need for behavioural changes of consumers.
The need for a holistic approach to plastic pollution.
Participation in small island developing states, coastal communities, the Global South, and children and youth.
The need for transparency and accountability.
Closed loops and caps on production.
Controls on waste exports.
Fit-for-purpose infrastructure.
Taxation on virgin plastics and burning.
Extended Producer Responsibility.
Bans on unrecyclable and single-use plastics.
Harmonised design and reuse of plastics.

Major successes are-

Focus on the precautionary principle and polluter pays principle
Just transition for waste pickers.
A group of friends of waste-pickers, a voluntary body made up of representatives of member states worldwide, was formed to ensure that waste-pickers are heard at the INC.

Major drawbacks-

National action plans should not have had mandatory obligations.
Chemical recycling was still being pushed as a viable solution despite the high failure rate.
Industry was inclined towards voluntary action instead of mandates. Governments and industries focus on technology as a solution to the crisis.

Lack of representation-

The stakeholder forum was attended by 1,800 participants.
Dominated by Europe (24 per cent), followed by Asia-Pacific (21 per cent).
Non-profits and governments formed almost three-fourths of the stakeholder groups while there was an eight per cent representation from the industries involved across the plastic value chain.
Some groups opposed the presence of companies majorly responsible for plastic pollution.

11. COP15 Montreal: Asia must speed up its protected area coverage 6 times to meet the 30X30 goal

Subject : Environment

Context-

Asia is not likely to meet the ambitious 30X30 goal proposed under the Post 2020 Global Biodiversity Framework of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), according to new research released November 29, 2022.

Research findings-

Countries have to commit to protecting 30 per cent of the land and sea by 2030 under this goal.
Most Asian countries have failed to achieve even the global minimum target of protecting at least 17 per cent of land by 2020.
Only 40 per cent of Asian countries achieved the target of a minimum of 17 per cent coverage for protected areas by 2020.
Asian countries managed to protect barely 13.2 per cent of land in 2020, compared with a global average of 15.2 per cent protection.
The target of 17 per cent is part of the 20 Aichi Targets set at the 2010 UN CBD.
Countries in Asia also have a slower year-on-year increase in the amount of land protected for conservation, at just 0.4 per cent per year on average.
Some countries showed no change while others showed a decrease in protected area coverage.
Countries with larger areas under agricultural land in 2015 had a lower protected area coverage in 2020.
Only 7 per cent of protected areas in Asia had any kind of assessment for their management effectiveness.
Under the current trajectory, Asia as a whole would only achieve 18 per cent coverage by 2030.
Within Asia, west and south Asia are likely to achieve only 11 per cent and 10 per cent coverage respectively by 2030.

About 30X30 target-

The 30X30 target was first floated in 2019 in an article AGlobal Deal for Nature: Guiding principles, milestones, and targets published in Science Advances.
This then became the global call of the High Ambition Coalition for Nature and People in 2020 and as of October 2022, more than 100 countries are part of it.

Challenges in achieving the target-

The target has been dubbed ‘the biggest land grab in history’ which will take away land and livelihood from 300 million people, many of them tribal and indigenous peoples.
Human rights experts fear that if the world pushes the proposed target, indigenous communities would have lower access to the areas.
The indigenous peoples’ lands accounted for 30 per cent of the primate range, and 71 per cent of primate species inhabited these lands.

Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)-

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), a legally binding treaty to conserve biodiversity has been in force since 1993.
It has 3 main objectives:

The conservation of biological diversity.
The sustainable use of the components of biological diversity.
The fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the utilization of genetic resources.

Nearly all countries have ratified it (notably, the US has signed but not ratified).
The CBD Secretariat is based in Montreal, Canada and it operates under the United Nations Environment Programme.
The Parties (Countries) under Convention of Biodiversity (CBD), meet at regular intervals and these meetings are called Conference of Parties (COP).
In 2000, a supplementary agreement to the Convention known as the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety was adopted. It came into force on 11th September 2003.
- The Protocol seeks to protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified organisms resulting from modern biotechnology.
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization (ABS) was adopted in 2010 in Nagoya, Japan at COP10. It entered into force on 12th October 2014.
- It not only applies to genetic resources that are covered by the CBD, and to the benefits arising from their utilization but also covers traditional knowledge (TK) associated with genetic resources that are covered by the CBD and the benefits arising from its utilization.
Along with the Nagoya Protocol on Genetic Resources, the COP-10 also adopted a ten-year framework for action by all countries to save biodiversity.
Officially known as the “Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020”, it provided a set of 20 ambitious yet achievable targets collectively known as the Aichi Targets for biodiversity.
Aichi Biodiversity Targets-
- Strategic Goal A: Address the underlying causes of biodiversity loss by mainstreaming biodiversity across government and society
- Strategic Goal B: Reduce the direct pressures on biodiversity and promote sustainable use
- Strategic Goal C: To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity
- Strategic Goal D: Enhance the benefits to all from biodiversity and ecosystem services
- Strategic Goal E: Enhance implementation through participatory planning, knowledge management and capacity building
India enacted Biological Diversity Act in 2002 for giving effect to the provisions of the CBD.

12. India improves maternal mortality ratio, but poorer states yet to make progress

Subject : Environment

In the news-

India has improved its maternal mortality ratio (MMR) — number of deaths per 100,000 live births — to 97 deaths per lakh in 2018-2020 from 103 deaths per lakh in 2017-2019.
This is a considerable improvement from the 130 deaths per lakh in 2014-2016.

What the news data shows-

The latest data released by the office of the Registrar General of India.
On the regional level, Assam continues to have the highest MMR (195) but has improved its own performance over the years.
In 2014-2016, the northeastern state’s MMR was at a dangerously high 237 deaths per one lakh live births.
This has improved significantly over the years to 229 in 2015-2017, 215 in 2016-2018 and 205 in 2017-2019.
In the same vein, Kerala continues to remain the best performer, with a low MMR of 19 per one lakh live births.
The southern state was always performing better than the national average and has almost consistently brought down even that figure — from 46 in 2014-2016, 42 in 2015-2017, 43 in 2016-2018 and 30 in 2017-2019.

States with high MMR	Better performing states
Madhya Pradesh (173)	Kerala (19)
Uttar Pradesh (167)	Maharashtra (33)
Chhattisgarh (137)	Telangana (43)
Odisha (119)	Andhra Pradesh (45)
Bihar (118)	Gujarat (57)
Rajasthan (113)
Haryana (110)
Punjab (105)
West Bengal (105)

Most of high MMR states belong to the Empowered Action Group (EAG) — a classification of socioeconomically poor regions — on whom the country’s development depends.

Maternal mortality rate and lifetime risk-

The bulletin also includes statistics on maternal mortality rate and lifetime risk.
Maternal mortality rate is the maternal deaths of women in the ages 15-49 per lakh of women in that age group.
The Registrar General of India defines the latter as “the probability that at least one woman of reproductive age (15-49 years) will die due to childbirth or puerperium (postpartum period), assuming that chance of death is uniformly distributed across the entire reproductive span.”
India’s maternal mortality rate is six, while poor-performing states include Madhya Pradesh (15.3), Uttar Pradesh (14.3), Assam (12.1), Bihar (11) and Chhattisgarh (9.9).
Kerala is the only state to achieve a maternal mortality rate of less than one, at 0.9.
Other states in the leading category include Maharashtra (1.8), Telangana (2.3), Andhra Pradesh (2.4) and Tamil Nadu (2.7).
The lifetime risk figures also show a similar trend, with Madhya Pradesh leading the way at 0.53 per cent, followed by Uttar Pradesh (0.50 per cent), Assam (0.42 per cent), Bihar (0.39 per cent) and Chhattisgarh (0.35 per cent).

MMR as a Sustainable development goal-

At the national level, the lifetime risk of maternal mortality stands at 0.21 per cent.
The country achieves its national target of reducing MMR to below 100.
It lags behind the UN-mandated Sustainable Development Goals target.
Target 3.1 of SDG is reducing the MMR equivalent to 70 deaths per 100,000 live births.

Scenario of Anaemia in the country-

Anaemia levels among women between the ages of 19 and 49 have increased to 57 per cent in 2019-2021 from 53.1 per cent in 2015-2016.

Other health aspects-

Only 58.1 per cent mothers had at least four antenatal care checkups and 26 per cent of mothers consumed iron folic acid for 180 days or more during pregnancy.
Institutional births across the country have increased to 88.6 per cent in 2019-2021 from 78.9 per cent in 2014-2016.

13. Man-animal conflict mitigation team selected for the Wildlife Trust of India award

Subject : Environment

In the news-

An eight-member team from Chinnakkanal that comes under the Munnar forest division, which has been instrumental in bringing down the incidents of man-animal conflict in the region, has won the Wildlife Trust of India award.

Their work-

Bringing down the incidents of man-animal conflict
Ensuring the protection of the wild elephants and people in the region.

Human-animal Conflict

It refers to the interaction between wild animals and humans which results in a negative impact on people, animals, resources, and habitats.
It occurs when growing human populations overlap with established wildlife territory which creates competition for space and resources.

Causes of Man-animal conflict:

In modern times rapid urbanization and industrialisation have led to the diversion of forest land to non-forest purposes, as a result, the wildlife habitat is shrinking.
The expansion of road and rail network through forest ranges has resulted in animals getting killed or injured in accidents on roads or railway tracks.
The increasing population has also led to many human settlements coming up near the peripheries of protected areas and encroachment in the forest lands by local people for cultivation and collection of food and fodder etc. therefore increasing pressure on limited natural resources in the forests.

Repercussions of this conflict:

Injury and loss of life of humans and wildlife, crop damage, livestock depredation, predation of managed wildlife stock, damage to human property, destruction of habitat, the collapse of wildlife populations and reduction of geographic range.

Preventive Measures

Increased vigilance and protection of identified locations using hi-tech surveillance tools like sensors can help in tracking the movement of animals and warn the local population.
In-situ and ex-situ habitat conservation measures will help in securing animals their survival.
Re-locating of animal habitats away from residential and commercial centres will serve to minimize animal-man conflict for illegal and self-interested motives
Awareness Programmes
The construction of boundary walls and solar fences around the sensitive areas to prevent the wild animal attacks.
Safeguarding Tiger corridors, building eco-bridges and such conservation measures can be part of corporate social responsibility.

14. ‘India will keep importing fertilizers from Russia as long as possible’

Subject : Environment

PM Promotion of Alternate Nutrients for Agriculture Management Yojana (PM PRANAM)-

Objectives: To encourage the balanced use of fertilisers in conjunction with biofertilisers and organic fertilisers.
Aim: To bring down the subsidy burden on chemical fertilisers, which is estimated to reach Rs 2.25 lakh crore in 2022-23 — 39% higher than 2021 figure of Rs 1.62 lakh crore.

Features of the Proposed Scheme:

The scheme will have no separate budget and will be financed through the “savings of existing fertiliser subsidy” under schemes run by the Department of Fertilizers.
50% of subsidy savings will be passed on as a grant to the state that saves the money.
70% of the grant provided under the scheme can be used for asset creation related to the technological adoption of alternate fertilisers and alternate fertiliser production units at the village, block and district levels.
The remaining 30% grant money can be used for rewarding and encouraging farmers, panchayats, farmer producer organisations and self-help groups that are involved in the reduction of fertiliser use and awareness generation.
The calculation of reducing chemical fertiliser use of urea in a year will be compared to the average consumption of urea during the last three years.
For this purpose, data available on a Fertilizer Ministry dashboard, IFMS (Integrated Fertilizers Management System) will be used.

Shortage of fertilizers-

As per the central government, overall availability of fertilizers is very good. But there are some reports of shortages of DAP in Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh.
There is requirement of 55 lakh tonnes DAP for the current rabi season, while the supply is 39.10 lakh metric tonnes.

Promoting nano-urea-

Nano urea is a liquid fertilizer developed by IFFCO. It is an alternative to conventional urea.
- It is essentially urea in the form of a nanoparticle.
- Urea is a chemical nitrogen fertilizer, white in colour, which artificially provides nitrogen, a major nutrient required by plants.
Aim: It aims to reduce farmers’ dependence on packaged urea.
Fertiliser Control Order (FCO) 1985: It is based on existing rules that provisionally allow fertilizers to be used based on data from only two cropping seasons.
The usual practice for recommending or rejecting a new fertilizer for commercial use required three seasons of independent assessment by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR), but in the case of nano urea this was reduced to two.
Currently India have only one operational nano urea plant, which manufactures 5 crore bottles a year.
By 2025, we will have up to 44 crore bottles in 10 plants.

What is the Present Status of Fertilizer Usage in India?

The expenditure on fertiliser subsidy was 1.62 lakh crore in 2020-21 and could cross Rs 2.25 lakh crore during 2022.
The total requirement of four fertilisers — Urea, DAP (Di-ammonium Phosphate), MOP (Muriate of potash), NPKS (Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium) — in the country increased by 21% to 640.27 lakh metric tonnes (LMT) in 2021-22 from 528.86 lakh metric tonnes in 2017-18.
The maximum increase — 25.44% — has been recorded in the requirement of DAP. It went up from 98.77 LMT in 2017-18 to 123.9 LMT in 2021-22.
Urea, the most used chemical fertiliser in the country, recorded an increase of 19.64 per cent — from 298 LMT in 2017-18 to 356.53 in 2021-22 — in the last five years.