Daily Prelims Notes 16 December 2023

December 16, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

16 December 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Maldives will not renew agreement for joint hydrographic survey with India

Subject: IR

Section: India’s neighbours

Context:

The Maldives cabinet has decided against renewing a 2019 MoU with India for hydrographic surveying.
India had “agreed” to Maldivian demand that Indian troops be withdrawn from the Indian Ocean Island nation.
Maldives considers it is an infringement on Maldivian sovereignty.

Details:

So far, three joint hydrographic surveys have been undertaken – in 2021, 2022, and 2023.
The Indian Naval Ship (INS) Darshak carried out the first Joint Hydrographic survey in February and March of 2021, second by INS Sutlej and third by INS Investigator.

Hydrographic surveys:

Following the 2019 agreement, the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) and the Indian Navy have carried out three joint hydrographic surveys.
Hydrographic surveys are carried out by ships, which use methods such as sonar to understand the various features of a water body.
These surveys help “map out water depth, the shape of the seafloor and coastline, the location of possible obstructions, and physical features of water bodies”, to ensure the efficiency and safety of maritime transportation.
The surveys will generate updated navigational charts/electronic navigational charts that would enhance the navigational safety of ships and enhance the Blue Economy of Maldives.

Does India have such water survey pacts with other countries as well?

In 2021, India’s oldest Hydrographic Survey ship, INS Sandhayak, was decommissioned.
It undertook more than 200 major hydrographic surveys along the Western and Eastern coasts of the Indian peninsula, and the Andaman Sea, as well as surveys in neighbouring countries including Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Bangladesh.
A UN study says that approximately 50 per cent of coastal states have no hydrographic capability and another 25 per cent have only limited capabilities. Only the remaining 25 per cent, including India, have adequate hydrographic capabilities.

Source: The Hindu

2. Ambitious coal transport plans may test Railways

Subject: Geography

Section: Economic geography

Context:

Indian Railways’ plan to raise the quantum of coal to be transported by rail by at least 400 million tonne (mt) in the next eight years face congestion and logistical challenges, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA) said in a report.

Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC):

EDFC with a route length of 1856 km consists of two distinct segments: an electrified double-track segment of 1409 km between Dankuni in West Bengal & Khurja in Uttar Pradesh & an electrified single-track segment of 447 km between Ludhiana (Dhandarikalan) – Khurja – Dadri in the state of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh.
It traverses through 6 states viz. Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
Eastern Corridor is projected to cater to a number of traffic streams-coal for the power plants in the northern region of U.P., Delhi, Haryana, Punjab and parts of Rajasthan from the Eastern coal fields, finished steel, food grains, cement, fertilizers, limestone from Rajasthan to steel plants in the east and general goods.

Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC):

It is a broad gauge corridor that extends for 1,504 kilometers, starting at Dadri in Uttar Pradesh and concluding at Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust near Mumbai.
The project is being funded through a soft loan of $4 billion from the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) under special terms for economic partnership (STEP).
Key Locations: The corridor passes through Vadodara, Ahmedabad, Palanpur, Phulera, and Rewari, traversing through the states of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra.

Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Ltd. (DFCCIL):

DFCCIL under the Ministry of Railways is a special purpose vehicle tasked with planning and completion of 3,306 kms of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), consisting of western freight corridor and eastern freight corridor (1,856 kms). The total project cost is estimated at over ₹81,000 crore.
The construction of DFCs project would enable the decongestion of existing over-saturated paths which, thereby, will effectively improve punctuality of passenger trains.

Source: The Hindu

3. If inflation is not tamed, there is risk to consumption and growth

Subject: Economy

Section: Inflation and unemployment

Context:

November’s resurgence in headline retail inflation, while clearly not unexpected after the RBI just last week predicted a likely ‘uptick’, is a stark reminder of the risks volatile food prices pose.

More about News

Rise in Consumer price index
- While the National Statistical Office’s provisional reading of headline inflation shows the Consumer Price Index rose by 5.55% year-on-year to a three-month high, from October’s 4.87%, food price gains measured by the Consumer Food Price Index accelerated by a steep 209 basis points to 8.7% last month.

Why inflation is dangerous?

Reduces the purchasing power leading to low consumption
Fall in savings
Fall in demand
Fall in investments

What caused the rise?

Propelling the upsurge in food prices were cereals and vegetables, constituents of the ‘food and beverages’ subgroup, that logged 10.3% and 17.7% inflation, respectively.
Cereals, that account for almost one-tenth of the CPI and logged double-digit inflation for a 15th straight month, also saw a month-on-month acceleration in inflation with rice, wheat, and the coarse cereal of jowar, a rural hinterland staple, all registering palpable sequential price gains.
Vegetable prices were back on a boil with the year-on-year inflation rate surging by almost 15 percentage points from October’s 2.8%.
While price gains in the perishable tomato swung from two straight months of sizeable deflation to a more than 11% year-on-year rate of inflation last month, the extent of increase could be truly gauged from the fact that prices surged a steep 41% from the preceding month’s levels, as per data aggregated on the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy’s website.
And the key masala essentials of ginger and garlic registered more than 100% rates of inflation for the seventh and third months, respectively.

Major concern

From the TOP or tomato, onion and potato triumvirate of India’s most widely consumed vegetables, onion prices remained the biggest source of concern as year-on-year inflation ballooned to 86%, from October’s 42% pace, and the sequential pace swelled to 48%.
With reports that inclement weather and depleting groundwater are likely to cause a near 25% shortfall in onion output during the key rabi season, the outlook for prices of the nutrient-dense bulb moderating in the near future appears bleak, the government’s move to impose a ban on its exports notwithstanding.

Key Concept For Prelims

Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- A comprehensive tool for estimating price changes in abasket of goods and services that is representative of consumption expenditure in an economy is the Consumer Price Index.
- One of the most significant economic statistics, it provides an estimate of the cost of living and is typically based on the weighted average of commodity prices.
- The amount of inflation during a given period, or the rise in the prices of a representative basket of consumed goods, is indicated by the percentage change in this index over time.
- Four kinds of CPI are as follows: CPI for Industrial Workers (IW),CPI for Agricultural Labourer (AL),CPI for Rural Labourer (RL),CPI (Rural/Urban/Combined).
- The first three are compiled by the Labour Bureau in the Ministry of Labour and Employment. Fourth is compiled by the NSO in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
- Consumer Food Price Inflation is a specific measure of inflation that focuses exclusively on the price changes of food items in a consumer’s basket of goods and services.
- It calculates the rate at which the prices of food products consumed by the average household are increasing over time.
- CFPI is a sub-component of the broader Consumer Price Index (CPI).

4. Govt. allows use of cane juice, B molasses to make ethanol

Subject : Economy

Section: Infrastructure

Context:

In a U turn, the Centre reversed its decision to ban the use of sugarcane juice for making ethanol as it allowed utilisation of the juice as well as B-heavy molasses to produce the green fuel but capped the diversion of sugar at 17 lakh tonnes.

About Ethanol:

Ethanol, also known as ethyl alcohol, is a biofuel produced from various sources such as sugarcane, corn, rice, wheat, and biomass.
The production process involves the fermentation of sugars by yeasts or via petrochemical processes such as ethylene hydration.
Ethanol is 99.9% pure alcohol that can be blended with petrol to create a cleaner fuel alternative.
Apart from being a fuel additive, ethanol production yields valuable byproducts like Distillers’ Dried Grain with Solubles, and Potash from Incineration Boiler Ash that find applications across various industries.

Ethanol production in India:

Ethanol production in India was mainly based on ‘C-heavy’ molasses, with a sugar content of 40-45%, yielding 220–225 liters of ethanol per tonne.
India explored direct sugarcane juice for ethanol production, increasing yield and efficiency.
The country diversified its feedstocks by including rice, damaged grains, maize, jowar, bajra, and millets.
Ethanol yields from grains are higher compared to molasses, with rice producing 450-480 liters and other grains 380-460 liters per tonne.
Sugar mills diversified to use rice, damaged grains, maize, and millet as feedstocks.
Leading sugar companies installed distilleries that can operate on multiple feedstocks throughout the year.

Types of Molasses:

A Molasses (First Molasses): An intermediate by-product from initial sugar crystal extraction, containing 80-85% dry matter (DM). Should be inverted to prevent crystallization if stored.
B Molasses (Second Molasses): Similar DM content as A molasses but with less sugar and no spontaneous crystallization.
C Molasses (Final Molasses, Blackstrap Molasses, Treacle): The end by-product of sugar processing, containing significant amounts of sucrose (about 32 to 42%). It does not crystallize and is used as a commercial feed ingredient in liquid or dried form.

Government Initiatives to Promote Ethanol Blending in India:

National Policy on Biofuels 2018
E100 Pilot project
Pradhan Mantri JI-VAN Yojana 2019
Repurpose Used Cooking Oil (RUCO)