Daily Prelims Notes 11 July 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

11 July 2023

Table Of Contents

1. SC asks Centre to respond on plea to protect 2.31 lakh wetlands mapped in country
2. Import of urea will ease by 2025
3. Delhi HC sets aside order revoking Sweden-based professor Ashok Swain’s OCI status
4. CBIC gets poll-ready, prepares SoP to track freebies movement
5. Chandrayaan-3 mission: Why ISRO wants to explore the Moon’s south pole
6. Strange particle that holds the key to ‘quantum supercomputers’
7. Solomon Islands and China sign deals on police, economy, tech
8. SC gives 4 more weeks to the Centre for assessment of the carrying capacity of the Himalayan Region
9. North India Deluge 2023: Yamuna crosses warning mark in Delhi amid heavy rain in upper catchment
10. North India Deluge 2023
11. Marine heatwaves
12. SEBI rejects expert committee observations on Beneficial Owners

1. SC asks Centre to respond on plea to protect 2.31 lakh wetlands mapped in country

Subject: Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context:

• The Supreme Court on July 10 recorded that the number of wetlands in the country has expanded from 2.01 lakh to 2.31 lakh since 2017, and sought the Centre’s response on a plea to protect the enhanced wetland areas which act as a natural protection from floods.

Details:

• The increased number of wetlands was geo-mapped by Indian Space Research Organisation’s Space Application Centre and recorded in the ‘Indian Wetlands Atlas’ of 2021.
• The wetland identification and conservation had been decentralised after the notification of the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017.

Wetlands:

• Wetlands are defined as: “lands transitional between terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems where the water table is usually at or near the surface or the land is covered by shallow water”.

Status of wetlands in India:

• India has nearly 4.6% of its land as wetlands, covering an area of 15.26 million hectares.
• Wetlands declared as Ramsar sites are protected under strict guidelines of the convention.
  • There are currently over 2400 Ramsar sites in the world covering an area of 2.5 million sq. kilometres.
  • India has 75 Ramsar sites as of July 2023.

Wetland (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017:

• For effective conservation and management of wetlands in the country, the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2017 supersede the Wetlands (Conservation and Management) Rules, 2010.
• The 2017 rules act as the regulatory framework for the conservation and management of wetlands in India.
• It changed the management of wetlands away from a central body and toward state-level organisations.
• The regulations outline the National Wetland Committee’s advisory duty, which includes reviewing the development of integrated management of Ramsar Convention areas as well as advising state agencies on the wise-use concept when it comes to wetlands.
• They offer guidance on a number of different topics, including:
  • identifying wetlands for notification under the Rules
  • delineating wetlands
  • wetland complexes, and zones of influence
  • preparing a Brief Document
  • creating a list of activities to be regulated and permitted
  • addressing the structure and operational issues of the Wetlands Authority.

Salient features of the Rule:

• A State Wetland Authority (SWA) be established in each state and union territory, to be led by the state’s environment minister.
  • A variety of government representatives will be present. Hydrology, socioeconomics, landscape design, fisheries, and wetland ecology each had one specialist.
  • They will choose the “smart use principle” that will control how wetlands are managed.
  • The principles of sustainable use that are acceptable to conservation are referred to as “wise use.” Powers have been decentralised as a result of this.
  • The SWA must compile a thorough list of the activities that must be governed and approved in the notified wetlands and their zone of influence.
  • Add further activities that should be forbidden in some wetlands.
• Develop plans for a more effective use of wetlands.
• Recommend actions to protect wetlands and to increase local communities’ and stakeholders’ knowledge of the significance of wetlands.
• The Central Wetlands Regulatory Authority will be replaced by the National Wetland Committee (NWC), which will be led by the MoEFCC secretary.
• The rules forbid activities like encroachment of any kind, the establishment and growth of industries, waste disposal, and the discharge of untreated wastes and effluents from businesses, cities, towns, villages, and other human settlements.
• State authorities are required to compile a list of all wetlands and a list of wetlands that need to be informed within six months.
• It will serve as the foundation for the creation of an exhaustive digital inventory of all wetlands, which will be updated every 10 years.

National Wetland Committee (NWC)

• NWC (National Wetland Committee) will be established for:
  • Observing how regulations are being applied.
  • Advising the national government on the best policies and strategies to implement in order to conserve and use wetlands wisely.
  • Recommending that wetlands be designated as having international significance under the Ramsar Convention.
  • Advise cooperation with international organisations on wetlands-related concerns.
  • Activity restrictions: The regulations forbid the dumping of solid trash into wetlands as well as the discharge of undesirable material from towns, cities, businesses, and other locations.
  • It is prohibited to use a wetland area for non-wetland uses or to build a permanent structure there.

2. Import of urea will ease by 2025

Subject: Economy

Section: Agriculture

Concept :

• Union Minister for Chemicals and Fertilisers, Manukh Mandaviya, proposed a special package worth ₹3.7 lakh crore for farmers to address unbalanced fertiliser use in the country.
• The nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium ratio should ideally be 4:2:1, but it currently stands at 8:3:1.
• The imbalance in soil health has led to saturated production and interconnected issues of soil, human, animal, and environmental health.
• The scheme aims to promote overall health by addressing the imbalances caused by excessive fertiliser use.
• The balanced use of fertilisers is crucial for steady production, food security, and supporting farmers.
• There are no plans to completely stop the consumption of chemical fertilisers, but the country is gradually transitioning towards natural and organic farming.
• The government aims to end urea import dependence by 2025 and replace it with nano urea and other alternatives.

Conventional Artificial Urea

• Urea is a white crystalline organic chemical compound. It is the most important nitrogenous fertiliser in the country because of its high N content (46%N).
• Urea consists of Nitrogen, Carbon, and Oxygen. Formula: CH₄N₂O
• Besides its use in the crops, it is used as a cattle feed supplement to replace a part of protein requirements.
• It has also numerous industrial uses notably for production of plastics.
• Uses of Urea
  • As fertilizers as it increases the yield of crops
  • As animal feed additive.
  • as a cleaner; hair removal creams and dish soaps
  • in the fermentation industry
  • as a refrigerant
  • neutralize pollutant
  • in textile industries
  • as a fuel for rocket engines
  • manufacture of synthetic fibre like rayon and nylon
  • in creams/ointments
  • manufacturing melamine.

The only regulated Fertilizer

• Urea is the only fertilizer at present with pricing and distribution being controlled statutorily by the Government.
• The Central Govt. pays subsidy on urea to fertiliser manufacturers on the basis of cost of production at each plant and the units are required to sell the fertilizer at the government-set Maximum Retail Price (MRP).
• Thus, no one can sell urea above the MRP declared by the Govt. Under the Concession Scheme, the MRP for each fertilizer is indicative in nature.

Nano Urea

• It is urea in the form of a nanoparticle. It is a nutrient (liquid) to provide nitrogen to plants as an alternative to the conventional urea.
• It is developed to replace conventional urea and it can curtail the requirement of the same by at least 50%.
• It contains 40,000 mg/L of nitrogen in a 500 ml bottle which is equivalent to the impact of nitrogen nutrient provided by one bag of conventional urea.
• It is Indigenous Urea, introduced firstly by the Indian Farmers Fertiliser Cooperative Limited (IFFCO) for farmers across the world.
• The first Liquid Nano Urea (LNU) plant is inaugurated at Kalol, Gujarat.

Significance

• The excess conventional urea causes an environmental pollution, harms soil health, and making plant more susceptible for disease & insect infestation, delayed maturity of the crop & production loss.
• Nano Urea Liquid makes the crops stronger, healthy and protects them from lodging effect.
• It will lead to reduction in Global Warming
• It will improve the quality of underground water by polluting it less.
• It will cut down post harvesting costs and increase farmers’ income.

3. Delhi HC sets aside order revoking Sweden-based professor Ashok Swain’s OCI status

Subject : Polity

Section: Constitution

Concept :

• The Delhi High Court Monday set aside an order passed by the Indian Embassy to Sweden and Latvia revoking Sweden-based Professor Ashok Swain’s Overseas Citizen of India (OCI) status.
• The high court noted that the order stated “that the said exercise of power is under Section 7(D)(e) of Citizenship Act on the ground that the petitioner is indulging in activities which is prejudicial to the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India, security of India, friendly relationship of India with any foreign country”.

Overseas Citizen of India

• In 2000, the Union Ministry of External Affairs under the Chairmanship of L.M. Singhvi set up a High-Level Committee on the Indian Diaspora.
• The Committee was asked to make a comprehensive study of the global Indian Diaspora and to recommend measures for a constructive relationship with them.
• The committee recommended the amendment of the Citizenship Act (1955) to provide for the grant of dual citizenship to Persons of Indian Origin (PIOs) belonging to certain specified countries.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2003, made provision for the acquisition of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) by the PIOs of 16 specified countries other than Pakistan and Bangladesh.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2005 expanded the scope of the grant of OCI for PIOs of all countries except Pakistan and Bangladesh as long as their home countries allow dual citizens under their local laws.
• The OCI is not dual citizenship as the Indian Constitution under Article 9 forbids dual citizenship or dual nationality.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2015, has introduced a new scheme called “Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder” by merging the PIO card scheme and the OCI card scheme.

Why the OCI and PIO merged?

• The PIO card scheme was introduced in 2002 and thereafter the OCI card scheme was introduced in 2005. Both the schemes were running in parallel even though the OCI card scheme had become more popular.
• This was causing unnecessary confusion in the minds of applicants. The government accepted the problems being faced by applicants and to provide enhanced facilities to them, the Indian Government formulated one single scheme after merging the PIO and OCI schemes, containing positive attributes of both.
• For achieving the above objective, the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, of 2015, was enacted.
• The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, of 2015, replaced the nomenclature of “Overseas Citizen of India” with that of “Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder”.

Rights of Overseas Citizens of India Cardholder

• An overseas citizen of India cardholder shall be entitled to such rights, as the Central Government may specify.
• OCI cardholders can enter India multiple times, get a multipurpose lifelong visa to visit India, and are exempt from registering with Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO).
• If an individual is registered as an OCI for a period of five years, he/she is eligible to apply for Indian citizenship.
• At all Indian international airports, OCI cardholders are provided with special immigration counters.
• OCI cardholders can open special bank accounts in India, buy the non-farm property and exercise ownership rights and can also apply for a Permanent Account Number (PAN) card.
• On par with the Indian nationals in the matter of domestic air fares, entry fees to monuments and public places.
• Parity with Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) in adoption of children, appearing in competitive exams, purchase or sale of immovable property barring agricultural land and farmhouses, and pursuing professions such as doctors, lawyers, architects, and chartered accountants

Limitations of OCI

• An overseas citizen of India cardholder shall not be entitled to the following rights (which are conferred on a citizen of India);
• He shall not be entitled to the right to equality of opportunity in matters of public employment.
• He shall not be eligible for election as President.
• He shall not be eligible for election as Vice-President.
• He shall not be eligible for appointment as a Judge of the Supreme Court.
• He shall not be eligible for appointment as a Judge of the High Court.
• He shall not be entitled to register as a voter.
• He shall not be eligible for being a member of the House of the People or the Council of States.
• He shall not be eligible for being a member of the State Legislative Assembly or the State Legislative Council.
• He shall not be eligible for appointment to public services and posts in connection with affairs of the Union or of any State except for appointment in such services and posts as the Central Government may specify.

Renunciation of Overseas Citizen of India Card

• If any overseas citizen of India cardholder makes a declaration renouncing the Card registering him as an overseas citizen of India cardholder, the declaration shall be registered by the Central Government, and upon such registration, that person shall cease to be an overseas citizen of India cardholder.
• Where a person ceases to be an overseas citizen of India cardholder, the spouse of foreign origin of that person, who has obtained an overseas citizen of India card and every minor child of that person registered as an overseas citizen of India cardholder shall subsequently cease to be an overseas citizen of India cardholder.

Cancellation of Registration as an Overseas Citizen of India Cardholder

• The Union Government may cancel the registration of a person as an overseas citizen of India cardholder if it is satisfied that;
• The registration as an overseas citizen of India cardholder was obtained through fraud, false representation or the concealment of any material fact; or
• The overseas citizen of India cardholder has shown disaffection towards the Constitution of India; or
• The overseas citizen of India cardholder has, during any war in which India may be engaged, unlawfully traded or communicated with an enemy; or
• The overseas citizen of India cardholder has, within five years after registration, been sentenced to imprisonment for a term of not less than two years; or
• It is necessary so to do in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of India, friendly relations of India with any foreign country, or in the interests of the general public.

4. CBIC gets poll-ready, prepares SoP to track freebies movement

Subject : Polity

Section: Elections

Concept :

• Movement of saris, shirts, caps, masks, scarves, party flags associated with the candidates or the political party in a poll without an e-way bill may be confiscated, a Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) prepared by the Central Board of Indirect Taxes & Custom (CBIC) to track poll expenditure.
• The SoP aims at stepping up of preventive vigilance mechanism by the CBIC field formations and to prevent flow of suspicious cash, illicit liquor, drugs/narcotics, freebies and smuggled goods during elections.
• This information has been made public at a time when elections are scheduled to take place in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Telangana within the next five months, followed by the general election in the first half of the next fiscal year.

E-way Bill

• The E-way bill, short form for electronic way bill, is a document to be generated online under the GST system, when goods of the value of more than ₹50,000 are shipped inter-State or intra-State.
• The E-way bill must be raised before the goods are shipped and should include details of the goods, their consignor, recipient and transporter.
• The transporter has to carry the invoice and the copy of E-way bill as support documents for the movement of goods.
• Though check-posts have been abolished under GST, a consignment can be intercepted at any point for the verification of its E-way bill, for all inter-State and intra-State movement of goods. If a consignment is found without an E-way bill, a penalty of ₹10,000 or tax sought to be evaded, whichever is greater, can be levied.
• An e-way bill is valid for 1 day for distance less than 100 Kms and additional 1 day for every additional 100 Kms or part thereof.

Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC):

• The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC), formerly known as the Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), is a one of the Statutory Boards constituted under the statute the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963).
• It is subordinate to the Department of Revenue under the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
• It deals mainly with the tasks of formulation and implementation of policy concerning to the levy and collection of Customs duties, Central Excise duties and Goods & Services tax, prevention of smuggling and administration of matters relating to Customs, Central Excise, Central Goods and Service Tax (CGST) and Narcotics to the extent under CBIC’s purview.
• The Board is the administrative authority for its subordinate organizations, including Custom Houses, Central Goods and Services Commissionerate’s and the Central Revenues Control Laboratory.
• The CBIC is headed by a chairman and has 6 members in addition to the Chairman.
• In the performance of its administrative and executive functions, the CBIC is assisted by Principal Chief Commissioners/Chief Commissioners and Principal Director Generals/Director Generals.
• The Principal Commissioners/ Commissioners working under the Principal Chief Commissioner/ Chief Commissioner’s supervision also discharge executive functions.

5. Chandrayaan-3 mission: Why ISRO wants to explore the Moon’s south pole

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Concept :

• Chandrayaan-3 is India’s upcoming lunar mission, which aims to be the world’s first mission to soft-land near the lunar south pole.
• Chandrayaan-3 is India’s third moon mission and is a follow-up of Chandrayaan-2 (2019) which aimed to land a rover on the lunar South Pole. The Mission will have three major modules- the
• Propulsion module ( will carry the lander and rover configuration till 100 km lunar orbit)
• Lander module (capability to soft land and deploy Rover)
• Rover (will carry out in-situ chemical analysis of the lunar surface)

Challenges of landing on the South Pole:

• Previous spacecraft have mostly landed near the equatorial region of the Moon, a few degrees latitude north or south of the lunar equator.
• Landing near the equator is easier and safer due to the hospitable terrain, smooth surface, absence of steep slopes, and ample sunlight for solar-powered instruments.
• The lunar south pole, on the other hand, presents a challenging terrain with extreme temperatures and areas that are in permanent shadow, receiving no sunlight.

Why ISRO wants to explore the Moon’s south pole?

• Water Resources: The south pole region is believed to have water molecules in substantial amounts, possibly trapped as ice in the permanently shadowed craters.
• Exploring and confirming the presence of water is essential for future human missions and the potential utilization of lunar resources.
• Scientific Discoveries: The extreme environment and the presence of permanently shadowed regions provide a preserved record of the Moon’s history and the early Solar System.
• Clues to Earth’s History: The Moon is thought to have formed from debris generated by a giant impact between a Mars-sized object and the early Earth.
• By studying the lunar south pole, scientists can gain insights into the materials and conditions that existed during the formation of the Earth-Moon system.
• Global Collaborations: ISRO-NASA successfully confirmed the presence of water from the data taken by Chandrayaan-1. Indo-Japan collaboration, LUPEX aims to send a lander and rover to the Moon’s south pole around 2024.
• Technological Advancements: By undertaking missions to this region, ISRO can develop and demonstrate innovative technologies for soft landing, navigation, resource utilization, and long-duration operations that can be applied in future space missions.

About LVM3:

• Launch Vehicle Mark 3 (LVM3) (previously known as GSLV-MK III) is a three-stage launch vehicle consisting of two solid propellants S200 strap-ons on its sides and a core stage comprising L110 liquid stage and C25 cryogenic stage.
• The vehicle is also dubbed as one of the heaviest for its ability to carry satellites up to 8,000 kg.

6. Strange particle that holds the key to ‘quantum supercomputers’

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Awareness in IT

Concept :

• Microsoft researchers have made significant strides in the creation of Majorana zero modes, a type of particle that could revolutionize quantum computing.
• Majorana zero modes, which are their own antiparticles, possess unique properties that could make quantum computers more robust and computationally superior.

Majorana Fermions: A conceptual backgrounder

• Fermions and Antiparticles: All subatomic particles that constitute matter are known as fermions, with each fermion having an associated antiparticle that annihilates upon interaction.
• Majorana Fermions: In 1937, Italian physicist Ettore Majorana discovered that certain particles, known as Majorana fermions, can satisfy specific conditions and be their own antiparticles.
• Neutrinos as Potential Majorana Fermions: Neutrinos are one type of subatomic particle that scientists speculate may exhibit Majorana fermion behavior, although experimental confirmation is still pending.

Understanding Majorana Zero Modes

• Quantum Numbers and Spin: All particles have four quantum numbers, with one called the quantum spin having half-integer values for fermions. This property allows any fermion, even a large entity like an atom, to be classified as a fermion.
• Bound States and Fermions: Bound states composed of two particles can also be classified as fermions if their total quantum spin possesses a half-integer value.
• Majorana Zero Modes: When these bound states are their own antiparticles and do not readily de-cohere, they are known as Majorana zero modes, which have been sought after by physicists for many years.

Explanation

• In the world of physics, particles can have interesting properties and behave in strange ways. One type of particle that scientists have been studying is called a Majorana particle.
• Majorana particles have a special property called “non-Abelian statistics.”
• This property means that when two Majorana particles come close together, something interesting happens.
• Instead of behaving like normal particles, they can combine in a special way to form a new kind of particle called a Majorana zero mode.
• A Majorana zero mode is a very peculiar particle because it is its own antiparticle. Normally, particles have antiparticles with opposite properties, like an electron and a positron. But Majorana zero modes are special because they don’t have separate antiparticles. They are their own antiparticles.
• Potential Benefits for Computing
• Enhanced Stability: Majorana zero modes offer increased stability for qubits, the fundamental units of information in quantum computing. Even if one entity within the bound state is disturbed, the qubit as a whole can remain protected and retain encoded information.
• Topological Quantum Computing: Majorana zero modes can enable topological quantum computing, which takes advantage of non-Abelian statistics. These statistics introduce an additional degree of freedom, allowing algorithms to produce different outcomes based on the order in which steps are performed.

Potential Benefits for Computing

• Enhanced Stability: Majorana zero modes offer increased stability for qubits, the fundamental units of information in quantum computing. Even if one entity within the bound state is disturbed, the qubit as a whole can remain protected and retain encoded information.
• Topological Quantum Computing: Majorana zero modes can enable topological quantum computing, which takes advantage of non-Abelian statistics. These statistics introduce an additional degree of freedom, allowing algorithms to produce different outcomes based on the order in which steps are performed.

Challenges and Future Prospects

• Creating Majorana Zero Modes: Scientists have been exploring various setups, such as topological superconductors, to generate Majorana zero modes. However, confirming their existence remains a challenge, as their effects on surrounding materials must be inferred indirectly.
• Recent Advances by Microsoft Researchers: Microsoft researchers recently engineered a topological superconductor using an aluminium superconductor and an indium arsenide semiconductor. Their device passed a stringent protocol, suggesting a high probability of hosting Majorana zero modes.

7. Solomon Islands and China sign deals on police, economy, tech

Subject : International Relations

Section: Places in news

Concept :

• China and the Solomon Islands signed a deal on police cooperation as part of an upgrade of their relations to a “comprehensive strategic partnership“, four years after the Pacific nation switched ties from Taiwan to China.
• The police cooperation pact was among nine deals signed after Solomon Islands Prime Minister Manasseh Sogavare met with Chinese Premier Li Qiang in Beijing, underlining his nation’s foreign policy shift.

Solomon Islands

• Solomon Islands is a nation in Melanesia, lies east of Papua New Guinea and northwest of Vanuatu.
• Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania in the southwestern Pacific Ocean.
• The country’s islands lie between latitudes 5° and 13°S.
• It consists of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands.
• Its capital, Honiara, is located on the largest island, Guadalcanal.
• The Solomon Islands archipelago, includes Choiseul, the Shortland Islands, the New Georgia Islands, Santa Isabel, the Russell Islands, the Florida Islands etc.
• It consists of a double chain of volcanic islands and coral atolls in Melanesia.
• The islands’ ocean-equatorial climate is extremely humid throughout the year.
• The island is a constitutional monarchy, with the British monarch, represented by a governor-general, serving as the formal head of state.
• Still, the country, a member of the Commonwealth, is independent, and the governor-general is appointed on the advice of the unicameral National Parliament.

8. SC gives 4 more weeks to the Centre for assessment of the carrying capacity of the Himalayan Region

Subject: Environment

Section: Ecosystem 

Context:

• The Supreme Court on Monday gave four additional weeks to the Centre to respond to a petition seeking an assessment of the carrying capacity and master plans of the Indian Himalayan Region across 13 states and union territories.

Details:

• Due to non-existent Carrying/Bearing Capacity studies, grave geological hazards in the form of landslides, land subsidence, land cracking and sinking issues such as that in Joshimath are being witnessed and serious ecological and environmental depredation are taking place in the hills.
• Almost all hill stations, pilgrimage places and other tourism destinations spread over the Dhauladhar Circuit, Satluj Circuit, Beas Circuit and Tribal Circuit in Himachal Pradesh also remain hugely burdened and are almost on the brink of collapse with no carrying capacities assessed for any of the places in the state.

Carrying capacity:

• Carrying capacity is the maximum population size that a region can sustain without degrading the ecosystem.

National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem: 

• National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Ecosystem is among the eight national missions in India’s first-ever National Action Plan on Climate Change.
• Ecological significance of the Himalayas, as stated in the mission document:
  • The Himalayan ecosystem is vital to the ecological security of the Indian landmass, which includes:
    • Preservation of rich biodiversity,
    • Providing water security as the world’s third ice pole after the Arctic and Antarctica and
    • Influencing weather patterns throughout the sub-continent.
• The mission attempts to address some important issues concerning:
  • Himalayan Glaciers and the associated hydrological consequences,
  • Biodiversity conservation and protection,
  • Wild life conservation and protection,
  • Traditional knowledge societies and their livelihood and
  • Planning for sustaining of the Himalayan Ecosystem.
• Regulation of tourist inflows:
  • The mission proposed measures to “regulate tourist inflows into mountain regions to ensure that these remain within the carrying capacity of the mountain ecology.”

9. North India Deluge 2023: Yamuna crosses warning mark in Delhi amid heavy rain in upper catchment

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical geography 

Context:

• The Yamuna River in Delhi crossed the warning mark in Delhi on July 10, 2023, as its level reached 204.63 metres.

Why river Yamuna crossed the warning mark in Delhi?

• Heavy rainfall in the upper catchment of the Yamuna River.
• Release of more water into the Yamuna from the Hathnikund barrage upstream in Haryana.

The water level in Yamuna River:

• The level of 204.63 metres was recorded at the Old Railway Bridge in Delhi.
• The warning level is 204.5 metres.
• The evacuation of people from low-lying areas around the Yamuna will be initiated once the river touches the 206-metre mark.
• The danger level is 205.5 metres as per the Central Water Commission.
• The Delhi government has set up 16 control rooms that include a central control room.
• Its aim will be to monitor the flood-prone areas and the water level of the Yamuna.

Disaster Preparedness Plan:

• A comprehensive flood management plan is needed to include Disaster preparedness.
• This may require strengthening of the following:
  • Flood Hotspot Mapping at a local and regional scale.
  • Management and regulation of riparian zones to prevent spilling and erosion.
  • River flood modelling to prepare for incidences like reservoir breaches and emergency water release from dams.
  • Advanced techniques such as mapping based on satellite imagery and Geographic Information Systems will help in the development of flood early warning systems.

Yamuna river:

• The Yamuna originates at the Yamunotri glacier (near Banderpoonch peaks) in Uttarakhand.
• It flows in a southerly direction through the Himalayan foothills and after exiting Uttarakhand, enters the Indo-Gangetic plain, along the border between Uttar Pradesh and Haryana states. The Eastern and Western Yamuna canals are fed from the river at that point.
• It then passes Delhi, where it feeds the Agra Canal.
• South of Delhi, and within Uttar Pradesh, it turns south-eastward near Mathura and passes Agra, Firozabad, and Etawah.
• Below Etawah, it receives a number of southern tributaries, the largest of which are the Chambal, the Sindh, the Betwa and the Ken.
• The Yamuna joins the Ganga near Prayagraj in Uttar Pradesh, after a course of about 855 miles (1,376 km).

10. North India Deluge 2023

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical geography 

Context:

• Ladakh, a cold desert, received over 10,000% of its normal rain on July 8-9.
• The entire state of Himachal Pradesh received 1,193 per cent excess rainfall on July 9, 2023. The district of Lahaul-Spiti received 3,640 per cent excess rainfall.

Details:

• The occurrence was part of the extreme rainfall events all over north and northwest India due to a rare interaction of a western disturbance with the monsoon system, currently in an active mode over the country.
• There are also small landslides around Leh City.
• An extremely unlikely cloudburst event occurred in the Ladakh region in August 2010 which was attributed to global warming.
• Socio-economic impact of increased precipitation:
  • In recent years, more precipitation is happening in the cold desert region in the form of rain rather than snow.
  • This has created problems for the people of Ladakh who now have to adapt to the rains.
  • More houses are being built with cement which creates frigid conditions inside the houses, making it difficult to warm up the interiors.
  • Earlier people of this region used sun-baked mud bricks for the construction of houses which used to keep the interiors warm.
• Lahaul-Spiti is one of three cold deserts in India.
  • Losar village in the Lahul-Spiti district received snowfall for the first time in July.
  • This area is very sensitive to excessive rainfall. Situated at an average of 4,270 metres above sea level, this district receives snowfall for about four months in winter.
  • Due to snow, the vegetation in the district, especially in the Spiti area, is negligible and this entire area is known as a cold desert.
  • Since a large part of the district is nestled in the debris of melted glaciers (moraines), heavy rains become a nuisance for the region.
  • May-August is the only cropping season in this district. After the snow melts in March-April, pea sowing begins in the higher reaches of Spiti. They are harvested in September-October.
  • Crops require average rainfall in June for post-sowing irrigation.

What are Cold deserts?

• A cold desert is an arid habitat with an annual rainfall of less than 25 cm. They have a temperate climate with scorching summers and chilly winters because they are situated at a high latitude in the interior of the continent.
• Here weather and soil are not suitable for plant growth. Hence land is bereft of vegetation except for isolated, scattered and overgrazed herbaceous shrubs.
• The grazing period is less than 3-4 months and it is mainly during the hot season only.
• It generally occurs in Ladakh, Leh and Kargil areas of Kashmir and the Spiti valley of Himachal Pradesh.

Classifications

• Dry temperate zone: Vegetation includes – Betula utilis, Salix spp, Juniperus recurva
• Alpine Zone: Vegetation includes – Junipers, Birch, and Rhododendron with grass
• Perpetual snow zone: No vegetation due to permanently frozen soil

Global distribution of cold desert:

• North America – Great Basin
• South America – Atacama Desert, Patagonian desert
• Eurasia – Iranian desert, Gobi desert, Turkestan
• Africa – Namib Desert

Characteristics of Cold Deserts:

• Most of the time, the temperature is below zero degrees Celsius, which prevents plants from absorbing water.
• Due to the extremely dry atmosphere and low mean annual rainfall (less than 400 mm), the area has a desert-like characteristic.
• Snowfall is heavy and occurs between late November and early April.
• Wind erosion is more common.
• Soil is sandy to sandy loam and neutral to sight alkaline in nature.
• Soil has poor organic matter content and low water retention capacity.
• The growing period is narrow which is mostly during the summer season.

11. Marine heatwaves

Subject: Geography

Section: Physical geography 

• A marine heatwave is defined as when seawater temperatures exceed a seasonally-varying threshold (usually the 90th percentile) for at least 5 consecutive days. Successive heatwaves with gaps of 2 days or less are considered part of the same event.
• Due to increased greenhouse gas emissions, extended periods of extreme warming in seas and oceans have increased in frequency by 50% in the past 10 years and are becoming more severe.

SUMMER MARINE HEATWAVES VS. WINTER WARM SPELLS

• Heatwaves can happen in summer and also in winter, where they are known as “winter warm spells”.
• These winter events can have important impacts, such as in the southeast of Australia where the spiny sea urchin can only colonise further south when winter temperatures are above 12 °C. A winter warm spell there can help promote colonisation.

WHAT CAUSES MARINE HEAT WAVES?

• Marine heat waves can be caused by a whole range of factors, and not all factors are important for each event.
• The most common drivers of marine heatwaves include ocean currents which can build up areas of warm water and air-sea heat flux, or warming through the ocean surface from the atmosphere.
• Winds can enhance or suppress the warming in a marine heatwave, and climate modes like El Niño can change the likelihood of events occurring in certain regions.

Impact of Marine Heat Waves (MHW):

• Higher water temperatures associated with MHWs can cause extreme weather events such as tropical storms and hurricanes, and disrupt the water cycle; making floods, droughts and wildfires on land more likely.
• Impact on monsoon:
  • The heating of the land in summer creates low pressure over the Indian subcontinent.
  • Therefore, the winds blow from the Indian Ocean to the land, carrying the moisture for the monsoon rains.
  • When marine heatwaves occur, the winds are pulled to these regions over the ocean (instead of land), reducing the rainfall over land.
  • The marine heatwaves in the western Indian Ocean and the Bay of Bengal are found to result in dry conditions over the central Indian subcontinent.
  • At the same time, there is a significant increase in rainfall over south peninsular India in response to the heatwaves in the north Bay of Bengal. These changes are in response to the modulation of the monsoon winds by the heat waves.

12. SEBI rejects expert committee observations on Beneficial Owners

Subject: Economy

Section: Capital Market

Context: SEBI has submitted its response to the report of the Supreme Court appointed expert committee to probe the Adani-Hindenburg controversy. The response denies that changes to the law governing disclosure of Beneficial Owners (BO), made identification of the beneficial owners (party whose economic interest is involved) of FPI difficult.

Key Points:

• The SC appointed committee was constituted to provide an overall assessment of the situation as well as suggesting measures to strengthen investor awareness, the statutory architecture and secure compliance with the existing framework.
• A part of the committee’s study dealt with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)’s probe into allegations against the Adani Group made by US-based short seller Hindenburg Research.
• Three issues (see Box) were being investigated by SEBI, as ordered by the Supreme Court. The first of which required ascertaining whether the requirement of minimum public holding of 25% was being fulfilled in case of Adani.
• Doubts over this were cast by allegations that family members of Adani are using the foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) as a front for investing in Adani, thus the actual free float status (percentage of shares held by public) of Adani comes under question.
• Who owns the FPI ?
  • FPI 2014 Regulations: Required the FPIs to provide beneficial ownership (BO) information only when sought by Sebi, and FPIs were prohibited from having opaque structures.
  • FPI Regulations amended in 2018 and 2019: Sebi tweaked FPI rules making it mandatory for all FPIs, excluding sovereign funds, to submit BO information upfront. Hence, the opaque structure prohibition clause became redundant and was removed.
• The expert committee views these changes (removal of opaque structure prohibition) as the reason for inability to get to the beneficial owners of the FPIs under scrutiny.
• SEBI response:
  • The difficulty of identifying beneficial owners is not because of the law change, but because of the existence of thresholds for the determination of BOs. In fact the thresholds were only lowered between 2014 and 2019. The threshold limit as per the Master Circular is 25%.
  • Further there never was any requirement to disclose the last natural person above every person owning any economic interest in the FPI.
  • SEBI holds that while in the 2019, FPI Regulations, reference of opaque structure was deleted, the mandating up-front BO in 2018 in fact tightened the 2014 FPI regulations further. The reference to opaque structures was removed, to end redundancy and ambiguity (while the 2014 required disclosure of BO only when sought, the 2018 rules made it mandatory).
• Control vs ownership:
  • SEBI also held that the upfront BO disclosure norm was in compliance with the PMLA guidelines which require BO identification only on the basis of control or ownership, leaving ambiguity regarding entities that have economic interest but no ostensible control.
  • The investment manager/ trustee acting through arrangements such as voting shares/ management shares, is then identified as the BO of the FPI.
  • So while the control may be with the FPI management or trustee agency, the actual investor of the FPI is the matter of interest. And as per the present laws it is only the control that is being disclosed.
  • This issue of final ownership is also complicated by investors investing through multiple FPIs.
  • To address these gaps, SEBI now3 requires FPIs with more than 50 per cent of their total assets under management invested into a single group to disclose the actual beneficiaries.
• Other observations:
  • SEBI has also rejected the expert committee’s recommendations on other issues including setting a firm timeline for the regulator to complete its investigation. SEBI said prescribing such limits may compromise the quality of investigation, create constraints and increase litigation
  • SEBI also dismissed the observations made by the expert panel saying the number of cases where Sebi initiated regulatory actions has skyrocketed in the last two years. Sebi said the increase in number of cases increased due to illiquid stock options probe which resulted in Sebi filing 13,000 cases for non-genuine trades.