Daily Prelims Notes 24 March 2023

March 24, 2023
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

Daily Prelims Notes

24 March 2023

Table Of Contents

1. U.P.’s ‘missing’ sarus crane that’s stirred up a hornet’s nest in the State’s politics

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context: An injured bird that became a social media sensation when its alleged saviour posted a video about it, may be missing according to SP president Akhilesh Yadav, though the current administration denies it.

More on the News:

On March 21 the Uttar Pradesh (U.P.) Forest Department visited Mohammed Arif Khan to relocate a sarus crane, U.P.’s State bird, from his home in Mandka village in Amethi to Raebareli’s Samaspur Bird Sanctuary.
The bird, which Mr. Khan claims he found injured and lying unconscious in his fields last year had taken a shine to the family after they took care of it for over two months.
A day after the bird was taken to the sanctuary, Yadav in a tweet, claimed that the bird was missing.
However, the administration said this is untrue and that the whereabouts of the bird are clear. The DFO, Mr. Srivastava told local media that the bird was seen in the sanctuary on Thursday morning and is not missing.

Sarus Crane:

The Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) is a large, long-legged crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia.
It is the tallest flying bird in the world, standing up to 1.8 meters tall, and has a wingspan of up to 2.7 meters.
Habitat: The Sarus Crane is found in a range of wetland habitats, including marshes, swamps, and rice fields. It is also found in grasslands, cultivated areas, and dry savannas.
Distribution: The Sarus Crane is found in India, Pakistan, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam.
The Sarus Crane is an omnivore, feeding on a variety of foods, including insects, small mammals, reptiles, seeds, and aquatic plants.
Breeding: The Sarus Crane is a monogamous bird and typically breeds during the rainy season. It constructs large nests made of sticks and reeds in shallow water or on the ground near water bodies. The female lays two eggs, and both parents take turns incubating the eggs.
Cultural significance: The Sarus Crane has cultural significance in many parts of India, where it is considered a symbol of marital fidelity and long life. It is also depicted in Indian mythology and folklore.
Ecological role: The Sarus Crane plays an important ecological role in wetland ecosystems, where it feeds on small animals and plants, and helps to maintain the balance of wetland habitats. It also acts as a bio-indicator of wetland health, as it is sensitive to changes in water quality and habitat conditions.
Migration: While the Sarus Crane is mostly a resident bird, some populations undertake seasonal movements in response to changing water levels and availability of food. In India, for example, Sarus Cranes in the northwestern parts of the country move to southern states during the winter months.
Threats: The Sarus Crane faces a number of threats, including habitat loss and degradation due to conversion of wetlands for agriculture, urbanization, and infrastructure development. It is also hunted for its meat and eggs, and is vulnerable to pollution and disturbance.
Conservation status:
- In India, the Sarus Crane is listed as ‘vulnerable’ under IUCN Red List.
- Listed in Schedule IV of the Wildlife (Protection) Act 1972
Conservation efforts: A number of conservation efforts are being undertaken to protect the Sarus Crane, including the creation of protected areas, community-based conservation initiatives, and wetland management programs. The species has also been included in a number of regional and international conservation programs, such as the South Asian Waterbird Conservation Programme and the International Crane Foundation’s Sarus Crane Conservation Project.

2. India’s disputed compensatory afforestation policy at odds with new IPCC report

Subject : Environment

Section: Ecosystem

Context: The Synthesis Report has found that the climate-mitigating potential of natural ecosystems is second only to solar power.

More on the News:

Not degrading existing ecosystems in the first place will do more to lower the impact of the climate crisis than restoring ecosystems that have been destroyed – a finding that speaks to an increasingly contested policy in India that has allowed forests in one part of the country to be cut down and ‘replaced’ with those elsewhere.
The finding originates in the Synthesis Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), a U.N. expert body that determines the global scientific consensus on the consequences of climate change.
It is extremely significant that the preservation of natural ecosystems is being recognised as an important means to mitigate climate change. Sequestered carbon recovers fastest under fast-growing plantations, but even then, it will take many decades before it approaches the level of carbon sequestered in a natural forest.
In addition to livelihood impacts, biodiversity impacts, and hydrological impacts, the climate impacts of such development projects also cannot adequately be ‘compensated’ by compensatory afforestation.
IPCC report also found that the sole option (among those evaluated) with more mitigating potential than “reducing conversion of natural ecosystems” was solar power and that the third-highest was wind power.
IPCC report also noted that “reducing conversion of natural ecosystems” could be more expensive than wind power, yet still less expensive than “ecosystem restoration, afforestation, [and] restoration”, for every GtCO2e.

CAMPA Funds:

Whenever forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes, it is mandatory under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 that an equivalent area of non-forest land has to be taken up for compensatory afforestation.
In addition to this, funds for raising the forest are also to be imposed on whom so ever is undertaking the diversion. The land chosen for afforestation, if viable, must be in close proximity of reserved or protected forest for ease of management by forest department.
In 2002, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered that a Compensatory Afforestation Fundhad to be created in which all the contributions towards compensatory afforestation and net present value of land had to be deposited.
In April 2004, Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA)to overlook and manage the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) as directed by the SC. The authority was termed as the ‘custodian’ of the fund.
Further in 2009, the government ordered that State CAMPAs had to be set upto boost compensatory afforestation at state level and also manage Green India Fund.
Despite all these efforts, CAG report in 2013 revealed that the CAMPA funds remained unutilised. The report stated that between 2006 and 2012, CAF with ad hoc CAMPA grew from ₹ 1,200 crores to ₹ 23,607 crores.

Statutory backing

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 came into force from 2018. The Act established a National Compensatory Afforestation Fundunder the Public Account of India and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state.
The payments made for compensatory afforestation, net present value and others related to the project will be deposited in the fund.
The State Funds will receive 90% of the payments while National Fund will receive remaining 10%. These funds will be regulated by State and National CAMPA.
The Ministry also stressed that the fund had to be used for important needs such as Compensatory Afforestation, Catchment Area Treatment, Wildlife Management, Assisted Natural Regeneration, Forest Fire Prevention and Control Operations, Soil and Moisture Conservation Works in the forest, Improvement of Wildlife Habitat, Management of Biological Diversity and Biological Resources, Research in Forestry and Monitoring of CAMPA works and others.

3. Ibisbill

Context: Ibisbill, the poorly understood Himalayan waterbird faces threats, finds study.

More on the News:

Experts say that unlike other riverine birds, the ibisbill nests in small islands of the third-order streams (waterways in the upper reaches of the watershed) being interrupted with boulders and pebbles.
In India, the bird has been recorded in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, pockets of Uttarakhand and Sikkim, and a few sites in northeast India.
A recent two-year study published in 2022 has documented several threats faced by the species at six sites along the high-altitude Sindh River in Ganderbal district of Central Kashmir.
The findings revealed that sand and boulder mining was the most prevalent disturbance (38%), followed by human presence (37%), livestock grazing (12%).

Ibisbill:

Ibisbill is a medium-sized bird found in mountain streams and rivers in South Asia.
Ibisbill is the only member of the family Ibidorhynchidae and the genus Ibidorhyncha. It is considered to be a “living fossil” because it is the only surviving member of its family, which dates back to the Paleogene period, about 60 million years ago.
Ibisbill has a distinct appearance with a long, down-curved bill, grey-brown plumage, and a white belly. It has a striking black and white pattern on its wings and tail, and its legs are pinkish.
Habitat: Ibisbill is a bird of high-altitude mountain streams and rivers. It is found in the Himalayan region, from Afghanistan to Bhutan, and also in the mountainous areas of central and western China.
Ibisbills have several adaptations that enable them to live in their high-altitude riverine habitat. For example, their long, down-curved bill helps them to forage for food among the rocks and pebbles, while their pinkish legs provide good camouflage against the rocky streambeds.
Feeding habits: Ibisbill feeds on aquatic invertebrates such as insects, snails, and crustaceans, which it picks from the rocks and pebbles in the riverbeds. It is also known to feed on fish and small amphibians.
Ibisbills are solitary birds and are usually seen alone or in pairs. They are active during the day and are known for their distinctive calls, which are loud and far-carrying.
Breeding: Ibisbill breeds in the summer months, and its breeding habitat is usually on small rocky islands or gravel bars in fast-flowing streams. The female lays a clutch of 2-3 eggs, which are incubated by both parents for about 4 weeks.
Cultural significance: In some local cultures, Ibisbill is considered to be a sacred bird and is associated with the Hindu deity Lord Vishnu. It is also mentioned in the traditional folk songs and stories of some Himalayan communities.
Conservation status: they are listed as a species of ‘Least Concern’ in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

4. Great Salt Lake won’t go the Aral Sea and Lake Urmia way

Subject : Environment

Section: Places in news

Context: Down To Earth speaks to Kevin Perry from the University of Utah on the Great Salt Lake in the American West.

More on the News:

United Nations is holding a global water conference in New York City from March 22-24, 2023. Ironically though, the host of the conference, the United States has been witnessing an ecological disaster that now seems to be irreversible. The Great Salt Lake, in the US state of Utah, is the largest saltwater lake in the western hemisphere.
Great Salt Lake (GSL) is a terminal basin lake that has shrunk dramatically in the last 35 years due to a combination of climate change, drought, and unsustainable water diversion from tributary streams.
The lake elevation has decreased by 17 feet and the surface area of GSL has decreased by more than half, exposing more than 800 square miles of the lakebed to the atmosphere.
Strong winds occasionally generate dust plumes from the exposed lakebed which move into the surrounding communities where more than 2.5 million people reside.
Utah has received record snow amounts in the mountains this year and the lake has already risen by 2 feet. The lake will likely rise by an additional two or three feet when the mountain snow melts. The lake typically loses 2.5 feet of water during the summer due to evaporation. Thus, the net result of the record-breaking snow year is likely to be an increase of 2 to 2.5 feet.
The people of Utah have let their leaders know that saving GSL is a priority. Failure to save the lake will lead to significant economic losses and threats to human health.

Great Salt Lake:

The Great Salt Lake is located in northern Utah, surrounded by the Wasatch Mountains to the east and the Great Basin Desert to the west.
The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere, covering an area of approximately 1,700 square miles.
The Great Salt Lake was formed around 10,000 years ago by the drying up of prehistoric Lake Bonneville. The lake’s salt content is due to the fact that it has no natural outlets, causing the water to become concentrated with salt and other minerals.
The lake’s three major tributaries, the Jordan, Weber, and Bear rivers
The Great Salt Lake is extremely salty, with a salinity level of around 12-15%. This makes it one of the saltiest bodies of water in the world, and the high salt content has created unique ecosystems and land formations around the lake.
The Great Salt Lake is an important economic resource for the state of Utah, providing opportunities for mineral extraction, salt production, and recreation. The lake is also a popular tourist destination, with several state parks and wildlife refuges located around its shores.
The Great Salt Lake is home to a diverse range of wildlife, including several species of migratory birds, such as the American avocet and the western sandpiper. The lake also supports a number of brine shrimp and brine fly populations, which are important food sources for birds and other wildlife.
Environmental concerns: The Great Salt Lake is facing several environmental challenges, including water diversions, climate change, and pollution from human activities such as mining and agriculture. These issues have led to declining water levels and ecosystem degradation.

Aral Sea

The Aral Sea was once the fourth-largest lake in the world. But in the 1960s, the Soviet Union diverted two major rivers to irrigate farmland, cutting off the inland sea from its source. The Aral Sea has been slowly disappearing ever since. It was an endorheic lake lying between Kazakhstan (Aktobe and Kyzylorda Regions) in the north and Uzbekistan (Karakalpakstan autonomous region) in the south which began shrinking in the 1960s and had largely dried up by the 2010s. The name roughly translates as “Sea of Islands”, referring to over 1,100 islands that had dotted its waters. In the Mongolic and Turkic languages, Aral means “island, archipelago”. The Aral Sea drainage basin encompasses Uzbekistan and parts of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Afghanistan, and Iran.

Lake Urmia

Lake Urmia in the northwestern corner of Iran is one of the largest permanent hypersaline lakes in the world and the largest lake in the Middle East (1,2,3). It extends as much as 140 km from north to south and is as wide as 85 km east to west during high water periods (4). The lake was declared a Wetland of International Importance by the Ramsar Convention in 1971 and designated a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve in 1976 (5,6). The lake itself is home to a unique brine shrimp species, Artemia urmiana, and along with the surrounding wetlands and upland habitat, it supports many species of reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Lake Urmia provides very important seasonal habitat for many species of migrating birds. Around 200 species of birds have been documented on and surrounding the lake including pelicans, egrets, ducks, and flamingos (7). The watershed of the lake is an important agricultural region with a population of around 6.4 million people; an estimated 76 million people live within a radius of 500 km (8).

5. India rejects J&J’s attempt to extend patent on TB drug

Subject : Science and tech

Section: Health

Concept :

The Indian Patent Office rejected S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson’s (J&J) attempt to extend its monopoly on the manufacturing of the anti-tuberculosis drug Bedaquiline in India beyond July 2023.
This will pave the way for generic drug manufacturers (Lupin and Macleods) to produce Bedaquiline tablets, thus ensuring cheaper (currently priced at $400 per six-month course) and wider access to the drug.

Indian Patent Office Decision

Bedaquiline is a crucial drug in the treatment of multi-drug resistant TB patients for whom the first-line drug treatment (using Isoniazid, Rifampicin, Pyrazinamide and Ethambutol) has stopped working.
According to the latest estimates, over 55,000 patients who had developed multi-drug resistant TB could have benefited from access to Bedaquiline in 2019.
Therefore, it is high time that alternate manufacturers start supplying Bedaquiline at lower prices, especially as TB programmes around the world plan to scale-up the all-oral, shorter, six-month drug-resistant TB regimen.
Since 2007, J&J has indulged in ‘evergreening’ by making multiple claims in its applications for patent extensions.
When the company filed for evergreening of its patent on fumarate salt (a formulation of Bedaquiline), the practice was challenged by two TB survivors in 2019.
The Indian Patent Office, in the order passed, stated that the invention claimed was obvious and does not involve any inventive step (under Section 3(e) of the Patents Act), and is therefore non-patentable.
Section 3(d) of the Patents Act states that salt forms and derivatives of known substances are not patentable.
Hence, the applicant cannot claim a patent on these methods and compositions of salt forms that have been known in the scientific world for more than three decades.
However, J&J will continue to hold the patent on Bedaquiline in other major markets such as South Africa, meaning that Indian generic manufacturers will be unable to export the drug there.

Evergreening of Patents

The evergreening of patents is a practice of tweaking drugs in order to extend their patent term and thus their profitability.
The Indian Patents Act 1970 introduced many provisions [Sections 3(d), 53(4) and 107A] to prevent the mischievous practice of “evergreening” of patents.
This is to aid millions of people who can’t afford the expensive modified drugs, as well as the development of the domestic generic drug market.
However, evergreening patents on drugs (diabetes, cancers, cardiovascular diseases, etc) continue to be granted to pharmaceutical innovator companies by the Indian Patent Office and enforced through courts.

Why is Patent Monopoly/Evergreening Granted?

The economic assumption behind the Patent Bargain (private risk is rewarded and incentivised in return for a limited private monopoly right) is to have a trickle-down impact that benefits the general population.
Therefore, patent monopolies are granted to innovators in the hope that they disclose something new, inventive and of industrial value to the public.
However, the Patent Bargain becomes a Faustian bargain (in which a person abandons his or her moral principles to obtain benefits),
Undermining competition in the market and
Enables patentees to extract more from the society than permitted.

Supreme Court’s Verdict in this Regard

In Novartis AG v. Union of India & Others (2013), the apex court held that the legislative intent is to prevent evergreening of a patent monopoly that in no way enhances the drug’s therapeutic efficacy.
However, the SC’s verdict has not yielded any positive outcomes both from the Patent Office and subordinate courts, rather it delayed entry of generic versions, adversely affecting the availability of affordable medicines.

6. India’s push for semiconductors

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Awareness in computers and IT

Concept :

As part of its efforts to encourage the electronics supply chain to India, the Union Government has disbursed close to ₹1,645 crores through performance-linked incentives (PLI) for electronics manufacturers.
There is a growing need for semiconductors as they are used in almost all modern electronics.
Many countries are moving away from China’s dominance in the sector due to supply chain vulnerabilities and geopolitical pressures.

Semiconductor manufacturing

Semiconductor fabrication units or fabs are manufacturing plants that help turn raw materials such as silicon into integrated circuits which are a part of almost all electronic hardware.
Semiconductor fabrication units or fabs are highly capital-intensive undertakings and require billions of dollars in the case of large facilities.
Fabs also require a highly reliable and high-quality supply of water, electricity, and insulation from the elements and a high degree of precision, cost and capital are required to make the sophisticated circuits.
Countries across the world have now realised strategic value associated with the segments of the value chain for fabs.
As per a report by the Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA), in 2022 China surpassed Taiwan in terms of share of global sales from fabs.
The U.S. enacted the CHIPS Act in August 2022, which extends about $280 billion in subsidies and investments to encourage manufacturers to set up fabs and make semiconductors in the U.S.
The government’s Invest India agency says that electronics manufacturing as a whole sector would be worth $300 billion by FY 25–26.
Further, facilities for assembling finished products have been steadily increasing in number in India.
However, the number of fabs for making chipsets and displays, which are essential parts of the manufacturing process for electronic devices in the country, is a cause of concern.
According to the Minister of Electronics and Information Technology, the first semiconductor manufacturing fab will be announced in the coming future.

Opportunities for India

The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has said that India must rely on its strengths in the electronics manufacturing value chain.
A significant portion of semiconductor manufacturing involves design and intellectual labour. India is said to have an advantage as a large share of semiconductor design engineers working across the world are either Indians or of Indian origin.
Further, top chipmaking firms like Intel and NVIDIA have already established large facilities in India and have provided the required exposure to Indian talent.
Experts feel that China is losing control over such an advantage on account of sanctions and an ageing population.

India Semiconductor Mission

The ISM was launched in 2021 with a total financial outlay of Rs76,000 crore under the aegis of the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY).
It is part of the comprehensive program for the development of sustainable semiconductor and display ecosystem in the country.
The programme aims to provide financial support to companies investing in semiconductors, display manufacturing and design ecosystem.
Envisioned to be led by global experts in the Semiconductor and Display industry, ISM will serve as the nodal agency for efficient, coherent and smooth implementation of the schemes.

Components:

Scheme for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs in India:
It provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Semiconductor Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up semiconductor wafer fabrication facilities in the country.
The Scheme extends a fiscal support of 50% of the project cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Silicon CMOS based Semiconductor Fab in India.
Scheme for setting up of Display Fabs in India:
It provides fiscal support to eligible applicants for setting up of Display Fabs which is aimed at attracting large investments for setting up TFT LCD / AMOLED based display fabrication facilities in the country.
Scheme extends fiscal support of 50% of Project Cost on pari-passu basis for setting up of Display Fabs in India.
Scheme for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics / Sensors Fab and Semiconductor Assembly, Testing, Marking and Packaging (ATMP) / OSAT facilities in India:
The Scheme provides a fiscal support of 30% of the Capital Expenditure to the eligible applicants for setting up of Compound Semiconductors / Silicon Photonics (SiPh) / Sensors (including MEMS) Fab and Semiconductor ATMP / OSAT(Outsourced Semiconductor Assembly and Test) facilities in India.
Design Linked Incentive (DLI) Scheme:
It offers financial incentives, design infrastructure support across various stages of development and deployment of semiconductor design for Integrated Circuits (ICs), Chipsets, System on Chips (SoCs), Systems & IP Cores and semiconductor linked design.
The scheme provides “Product Design Linked Incentive” of up to 50% of the eligible expenditure subject to a ceiling of ₹15 Crore per application and “Deployment Linked Incentive” of 6% to 4% of net sales turnover over 5 years subject to a ceiling of ₹30 Crore per application.

7. India’s CAMPA is at odds with IPCC Report

Subject :Environment

Section: Environment Acts

Concept :

The Synthesis Report of the IPCC has said that safeguarding and conserving the existing ecosystems in the first place will play a better role in mitigating the impact of the climate crisis rather than efforts to restore ecosystems that have already been degraded.
These findings of the report by the IPCC have shed focus on CAMPA Law, which has been a controversial policy in India.
CAMPA allows for the cutting down of forests in one part of the country which can be replaced or compensated with afforestation elsewhere.

How India’s Compensatory Afforestation Policy is at odds with IPCC’s Synthesis Report?

Afforestation is codified in the Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA).
CAMPA is meant to promote afforestation and regeneration activities as a way of compensating for forest land diverted to non-forest uses.
It was established on the Supreme Court’s orders in 2002.
Afforestation is also a part of India’s climate pledges –
The government has committed to adding “an additional (cumulative) carbon sink of 2.5-3 GtCO2e through additional forest and tree cover by 2030”.
‘GtCO2e’ stands for gigatonnes of carbon-dioxide-equivalent.
However, the IPCC’s latest Synthesis Report has pointed out that not degrading existing ecosystems in the first place will do more to lower the impact of the climate crisis than restoring ecosystems (through afforestation) that have been destroyed.
When forest land is diverted to non-forest use, such as a dam or a mine, that land can longer provide its historical ecosystem services nor host biodiversity.
The report also highlights that climate action, such as technologies to combat climate change, renewable energy farms, etc. should not come at the cost of natural ecosystems.

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) :

Whenever forest land is diverted for non-forest purposes, it is mandatory under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 that an equivalent area of non-forest land has to be taken up for compensatory afforestation.
In addition to this, funds for raising the forest are also to be imposed on whomsoever is undertaking the diversion. The land chosen for afforestation, if viable, must be in close proximity of reserved or protected forest for ease of management by forest department.
In 2002, the Supreme Court (SC) ordered that a Compensatory Afforestation Fund had to be created in which all the contributions towards compensatory afforestation and net present value of land had to be deposited.
In April 2004, Ministry of Environment and Forests constituted Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) to overlook and manage the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF) as directed by the SC. The authority was termed as the ‘custodian’ of the fund.
Further in 2009, the government ordered that State CAMPAs had to be set up to boost compensatory afforestation at state level and also manage Green India Fund.

Statutory backing

Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016 came into force from 2018. The Act established a National Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of India and State Compensatory Afforestation Fund under the Public Account of each state.
The payments made for compensatory afforestation, net present value and others related to the project will be deposited in the fund.
The State Funds will receive 90% of the payments while National Fund will receive remaining 10%. These funds will be regulated by State and National CAMPA.
The Ministry also stressed that the fund had to be used for important needs such as Compensatory Afforestation, Catchment Area Treatment, Wildlife Management, Assisted Natural Regeneration, Forest Fire Prevention and Control Operations, Soil and Moisture Conservation Works in the forest, Improvement of Wildlife Habitat, Management of Biological Diversity and Biological Resources, Research in Forestry and Monitoring of CAMPA works and others.

Criticism of CAMPA:

The money paid sits in a fund overseen by the CAMPA. As of 2019, the fund had ₹47,000 crore.
The CAMPA has come under fire for facilitating the destruction of natural ecosystems in exchange for forests to be set up in faraway places.
Research has found that nature ecosystems sequester more carbon.

About IPCC Assessment Reports:

The IPCC prepares comprehensive Assessment Reports about knowledge on climate change, its causes, potential impacts and response options.
Since its inception in 1988, the IPCC has had six assessment cycles and delivered six Assessment Reports, the most comprehensive scientific reports about climate change produced worldwide.
The current report, 6th Assessment Report, is divided into three segments e. its three Working Groups and a Synthesis Report.
The three working group reports have already been published.
This Synthesis Report of the IPCC Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) summarises the state of knowledge of climate change, its widespread impacts and risks, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.
It integrates the main findings of the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) based on contributions from the three Working Groups, and the three Special Reports.

8. Disqualification of MPs and MLAs

Subject: Polity

Section: Elections

Concept:

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was held guilty and sentenced to two years in jail in a 2019 defamation case over his remarks about the “Modi surname” by a court in Gujarat’s Surat.
The court, which held Gandhi guilty, also granted him bail and suspended the sentence for 30 days to allow him to appeal in a higher court.
Gandhi’s conviction has led to questions over his status as a Member of Parliament from Wayanad, Kerala.
A conviction which carries a sentence of two years or more will automatically result in disqualification.

Legal provisions regarding the disqualification of MPs/MLAs

Disqualification of a lawmaker is prescribed in three situations.
First is through the Articles 102(1) and 191(1) for disqualification of a member of Parliament and a member of the Legislative Assembly respectively.
The grounds here include holding an office of profit, being of unsound mind or insolvent or not having valid citizenship.
The second prescription of disqualification is in the Tenth Schedule of the Constitution.
This provides for the disqualification of the members on grounds of defection.
The third prescription is under The Representation of The People Act (RPA), 1951.
This law provides for disqualification for conviction in criminal cases.

Under Representation of The People Act, 1951

There are several provisions that deal with disqualification under the RPA.
Section 8 of the RPA deals with disqualification for conviction of offences.
Section 8(1) of the act includes specific offences such as promoting enmity between two groups, bribery, and undue influence or personation at an election.
Section 8(2) lists offences that deal with hoarding or profiteering, adulteration of food or drugs and for conviction and sentence of at least six months for an offence under any provisions of the Dowry Prohibition Act.
Section 8(3) disqualifies a convicted person who has been sentenced to imprisonment for not less than two years.
He is disqualified from the date of such conviction and shall continue to be disqualified for a further period of six years since his release.
Section 9 deals with disqualification for dismissal for corruption or disloyalty, and for entering into government contracts while being a lawmaker.
Section 10 deals with disqualification for failure to lodge an account of election expenses.
Section 11 of the act deals with disqualification for corrupt practices.

How does the disqualification operate?

The disqualification can be reversed if a higher court grants a stay on the conviction or decides the appeal in favour of the convicted
In 2018, in ‘Lok Prahari v Union of India’ case, the SC clarified that the disqualification will not operate from the date of the stay of conviction by the appellate court.
Here, it should be noted that the stay cannot merely be a suspension of sentence, but a stay of conviction.
Under Section 389 of the CrPC, an Appellate Court can suspend the sentence of a convict while the appeal is pending.
This is akin to releasing the appellant on bail.

How does an appeal against the conviction impact disqualification?

Section 8(4) of the RPA stated that the disqualification takes effect only after three months have elapsed from the date of conviction.
Within that period, a person can file an appeal against the sentence before the higher Court.
Earlier, the law had provided for a pause on disqualification if an appeal against the conviction was filed before a higher court.
However, in the landmark 2013 ruling in ‘Lily Thomas v Union of India’, the Supreme Court struck down Section 8(4) of the RPA as unconstitutional.
This means that simply filing an appeal will not be enough to prevent disqualification.
The convicted MP must secure a specific order of stay against the conviction of the trial court.

9. The road to ending tuberculosis

Subject : Science and technology

Section :Health

Concept :

The existing target of ending tuberculosis (TB) by 2030 lacks implementation and clarity about definitions of “end”.

Tuberculosis (TB)

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis.
TB commonly affects the lungs (pulmonary TB) but can also affect other parts (extrapulmonary TB)
Tuberculosis spreads from person to person through the air, when people who are infected with TB infection cough, sneeze or otherwise transmit respiratory fluids through the air.
The most common risk factor associated with TB is HIV & other conditions that impair the immune system.
Common symptoms of tuberculosis are Chronic cough with blood-tinged sputum, Loss of weight, Loss of appetite, Fever and night sweats, Fatigue , etc.

TB Treatment: consists of four drugs:

Isoniazid (INH)
Rifampicin
Pyrazinamide
Ethambutol

Multidrug-Resistant TB (MDR-TB)

In MDR-TB, the bacteria that cause TB develop resistance to antimicrobial drugs used to cure the disease.
MDR-TB does not respond to at least isoniazid and rifampicin, the 2 most powerful anti-TB drugs.
Treatment options for MDR-TB are limited and expensive. CBNAAT (Cartridges Based Nucleic Acid Amplification Test) is used for early diagnosis of MDR-TB.

Extensively Drug-Resistant TB (XDR-TB)

XDR-TB is a form of multidrug-resistant TB with additional resistance to more anti-TB drugs.
People who are resistant to isoniazid and rifampicin, plus any fluoroquinolone and at least one of three injectable second-line drugs (amikacin, kanamycin, capreomycin) are said to have XDR-TB.
To achieve goal: To end TB by 2025

Background:

In 1993, the World Health Organisation (WHO) declared TB a global health emergency.
Founded in 2001, the Stop TB Partnership (a UN-hosted organisation) takes bold and smart risks to serve the needs and amplify the voices of the people, communities, and countries affected by TB.
The Stop TB board meets in Varanasi, India, and will coincide with World TB Day 2023 (March 24).
The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, TB and Malaria (2002) began disbursing money directed towards the global TB epidemic in 2003.
However,the response has been short on urgency and long on processes.
For example, The Global Fund remains hostage to the zero-sum games imposed by donors and the champions of the three diseases.

Key areas that remain under-served:

Development and wide use of an adult TB vaccine: The current vaccine is delivered at birth.
Getting newer therapeutic agents for TB.
Moving to an injection-free and shorter all-oral pills regimen for TB (the current standard is for at least six months) will improve compliance and reduce patient fatigue.
The space of diagnostics:
There are exciting developments for use of AI-assisted handheld radiology with 90-second reporting and 95% plus accuracy for diagnosing TB.
This is a mature technology and should be rolled out universally immediately.

Best practices in India:

The COVID-19 vaccine development process shows what can be done with the help of collective will and action.
India convened the InDx diagnostics coalition in Bengaluru for COVID-19.
TN-KET (Tamil Nadu KasanoiErappilaThittam/TB death-free project)

Measures taken by India to eradicate TB

The National Tuberculosis Elimination Programme(NTEP) – Aims to strategically reduce TB burden in India by 2025.
It was previously known as Revised National Tuberculosis Control Programme (RNTCP).
The government reached over a billion people in 632 districts/reporting units.
The National Strategic Plan for TB Elimination – It was launched to achieve the target of ending TB by 2025 in a mission mode.
It is a multi-pronged approach which aims to detect all TB patients with an emphasis on reaching TB patients seeking care from private providers and undiagnosed TB in high-risk populations
Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana(NPY)(Nutritional Support to TB) – It helps to meet the nutritional requirements of TB patients, especially the underserved
From 2018 till present, around Rs. 1,707 crore has been disbursed to more than 65 lakh people on TB treatment across the country
Patient Provider Support Agencies (PPSA) – To engage the private sector, Patient Provider Support Agencies (PPSA) have been rolled out across 250 districts through the domestic setup and JEET initiative
Universal Drug Susceptibility Testing (UDST) – To ensure every diagnosed TB patient is tested to rule out drug resistance before or at the time of treatment initiation itself.
Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyaan – To bring together all community stakeholders to support those on TB treatment and accelerate the country’s progress towards TB elimination.
Ayushman Bharat – Health and Wellness Centres – To decentralize comprehensive primary healthcare including TB care services at the grassroots level.
Bedaquiline and Delamanid -Newer drugs like Bedaquiline and Delamanid have also been made available for management of DRTB.

What are the global measures to eradicate TB?

End TB Strategy – by World Health Organization (WHO)
It serves as a blueprint for countries to reduce TB incidence by 80%, TB deaths by 90%, and to eliminate catastrophic costs for TB-affected households by 2030.
World Development Report (1993) – Published by the World Health Organization (WHO).
The 1993 World Development Report labelled TB treatment for adults as the best buy among all developmental interventions.
The Global Fund – A worldwide movement to defeat HIV, TB and malaria and ensure a healthier, safer, more equitable future for all.
The Stop TB Partnership – Brings together expertise from a broad spectrum of country, regional, and global partners in our shared mission to revolutionize the TB space and end TB by 2030
Sustainable Development Goal 3 – To end TB epidemic by 2030

For further notes on Tuberculosis, refer – https://optimizeias.com/global-tb-report-2022/

10. SC to hear pleas against polygamy and nikah halala

Subject :Polity

Section: Msc

Concept :

The Supreme Court said it will set up a fresh five-judge Constitution bench at an “appropriate stage” to hear pleas challenging the constitutional validity of polygamy and ‘nikah halala’ among Muslims.
A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices PS Narasimha and JB Pardiwala was urged by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay, who has filed a PIL on the issue, that section 494 of the Indian Penal Code allows ploygamy, halala etc. and needs to be struck down.
Polygamy– It allows a Muslim man to have four wives.

Nikah halala

The Koran allows a man to divorce his wife a maximum of two times.
If the man divorces his wife for the third time, he is not allowed to marry her again.
This bar was laid down in order to save women from temperamental husbands who divorce in a fit of anger, then cancel it, then divorce again, unleashing an endless cycle of marriage and divorce.
After the third talaq, the woman becomes an independent being with full choice over her life and it empowers them to take independent decisions.
Nikah halala- It deals with the process in which a Muslim woman, who wants to re-marry her husband after divorce, has to first marry another person and get a divorce from him after consummation.
Prevalence- No cases of halala have been reported from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Yemen.
In India, the Muslim Women’s Protection of Rights on Marriage, passed after invalidation of triple talaq by the Supreme Court, is silent on nikah halala.

What procedures are followed by Muslims for divorce?

Instant triple talaq (Talaq-e-biddat)- In instant triple talaq a man pronounces multiple divorce in one go.
It has no scope for reconciliation between the couple, and often ends a marriage instantly.
It is not mentioned anywhere in the Quran which prescribes a code of divorce.
Instant triple talaq has been banned in many Muslim countries, including Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Kuwait, Iraq and Malaysia.
Instant triple talaq is banned in India.

Talaq-e-Hasan-

Talaq-e-Hasan is pronounced with a gap of at least one month or one menstrual cycle.
Only a single revocable divorce takes place through the first pronouncement of Talaq-e-Hasan and the couples are supposed to live together after this pronouncement and have the option of rapprochement.
At the end of this month, the husband has to pronounce divorce for the second time which is revocable, and the couple may resume their conjugal relationship anytime they desire.
If the third pronouncement is made after at least one menstrual cycle, then irrevocable divorce takes place.
No divorce can be administered when the woman is undergoing her menstrual cycle or pregnancy.
Unlike instant triple talaq, the Quran clearly mentions the process of Talaq-e-Hasan.
Talaq-e-Ahsan- Under this form, a single pronouncement is made following which a woman has to go through iddat or a waiting period of three months.
During this period the divorce can be cancelled and the failure to annul divorce during this period results in divorce.
Khula- In Khula, a woman gives something to the man in return for annulling the marriage.
For men the procedure given by Quran to divorce is Talaq-e-Hasan; for women the procedure to give divorce is called khula.
Mubarat- In Mubarat, both the parties desire divorce.

11. GST Appellate Tribunal

Subject :Polity

Section: National Body

Concept :

A four-member appellate tribunal is likely to be set up in each state in order to streamline and expedite the dispute resolution process with regard to Goods and Services Tax (GST).

Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal (GSTAT)

The Central Goods and Service Tax Act, 2017 (CGST Act) mandates the constitution of a Goods and Service Tax Appellate Tribunal(GSTAT) and its Benches.
GSTAT would be a specialized appellate authority for resolving disputes.
The GSTAT is envisaged as the body that will help adjudicate and resolve disputes around the indirect tax scheme and protect the rights of taxpayers and the revenue interests of the union and state governments.

Delay in setting up of GSTAT

GSTAT has not yet been applied even after 5 years of GST execution.
Multiple reasons exist for the late GSTAT creation such as the qualification and experience criteria of technical members, the number and constitution of Benches, and the figure of a search and selection committee.

Proposed composition of GSTAT

A four-member appellate tribunal is likely to be set up in each state.
Each state appellate tribunal would have two technical members (one officer each from the centre and states) and two judicial members.
The judicial members will be selected from a panel of serving or retired High Court and District Court judges.
Division Bench
A division bench comprising two members — one technical and one judicial — will decide the appeals brought before it.
As per the proposal, each state appellate tribunal will have two division benches and thus will be able to deal with more appeals.

National Appellate Tribunal

There will also be a National Appellate Tribunal, which would be set up in Delhi. It will comprise one judicial member and one technical member.
The national appellate bench will mainly look into appeal cases on disputes between the department and assessee over the ‘place of supply’ under the GST regime. It, however, will not take up any appeal with regard to divergent rulings by state appellate tribunals.
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) Appellate Tribunal is likely to be headed by a former Supreme Court judge or a former Chief Justice of a High Court.
Framework of GST Tribunal is likely to permit the resolution of disputes involving dues or fines of less than Rs. 50 lakh by a single-member bench.

12. Nuclear fusion

Subject : Science and Technology

Section: Nuclear energy

Context: Three major developments are behind this optimism about nuclear fusion

Concept:

What is a fusion reaction-

In a fusion reaction, two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. The process releases energy because the total mass of the resulting single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei.
Fusion is a different but more powerful way of harnessing the immense energy trapped in the nucleus of an atom.
The nuclear fusion reaction occurs in the sun and other stars, which makes it able to shine and radiate energy.

Nuclear fission process-

In this process, the nucleus of a heavier element is split into those of lighter elements in a controlled manner.
Currently, the nuclear energy in use across the world comes from the fission process.

Energy from nuclear fusion reaction-

A large amount of energy is released in both these processes, but substantially more in fusion than fission reaction.
The fusion of two nuclei of a heavier isotope of hydrogen, called tritium, produces at least four times as much energy as the fission of a uranium atom which is the normal process of generating electricity in a nuclear reactor.
Attempts to master this process begins in the 1950s, but it is incredibly difficult and is still at an experimental stage.
Besides greater energy yield, fusion is also a carbon-free source of energy and has negligible radiation risks.

Challenges in harnessing energy from fusion reaction-

These reactions happen only at very high temperatures, 10 times the temperature that exists at the core of the sun, and creating such an extreme environment in a laboratory requires huge amounts of energy.

What the U.S scientists have achieved-

So, far, the energy released in such experimental fusion reaction has been lower than what is consumed to create the enabling high temperatures.
At best, some of these reactions have produced ‘near-break-even’ energies.
But in the latest experiment conducted at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California, the scientist has gained the net positive energy i.e. produced more energy from fission reaction than what is consumed to produce that energy.
Scientists use high-energy laser beams to achieve those temperatures, also called ‘inertial fusion’.
But producing it on a commercial scale is still two to three decades away.

Previous achievements-

In december last year, UK-based JET laboratory, which uses magnetic fusion, had improved its previous record for the amount of energy produced from a fusion reaction.
The reaction had run for five seconds and produced 59 megajoules of energy, more than double the previous record.

Experiments in other countries-

The International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project is going on in southern France, in which France, India and USA are partners. They are using very strong magnetic fields to enable very high temperatures.
India joined the ITER project in The Institute for Plasma Research in Ahmedabad, a laboratory under the Department of Atomic energy, is the lead institution from the Indian side participating in the project.
As a member country, India is building several components of the ITER reactor, while also carrying out a number of experiments and R&D activities related to the project.
ITER, when operational, would become the biggest machine anywhere in the world, more complex than the Large Hadron Collider at CERN or the LIGO project to detect gravitational waves.
Several countries like China, Japan, South Korea and the UK are working on this technology separately.

Joint European Torus and Tokamak

The Joint European Torus (JET – pictured), located at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy, is the largest and most powerful tokamak experiment currently operating. MAST Upgrade, also located at Culham, is a more compact and efficient type of device known as a ‘spherical tokamak’.
The tokamak uses powerful external magnetic fields to confine and control the hot plasma of fusion fuels in a ring-shaped container called a ‘torus’.
It was first developed in the Soviet Union in the 1960s and was soon adopted by researchers around the world due to its enhanced performance compared with other approaches.

US National Ignition Facility

The ‘breakthrough’ announced by the US National Ignition Facility has focused the spotlight on nuclear fusion. NIF reported a net energy gain (more output than input), which is deduced to have come from two nuclei of hydrogen atoms fusing to form a helium nucleus.
Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) is building the world’s first fusion device that produces plasmas which generate more energy than they consume, becoming the world’s first net-energy fusion machine. The device, named SPARC, is for demonstration but a commercial plant is expected to follow.
- Headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA, Commonwealth Fusion Systems (CFS) was set up in 2018.
CFS aims to build the demonstration plant, SPARC, by 2025 and the commercial plant by 2030.