Daily Prelims Notes 15 June 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

15 June 2023

Table Of Contents

1. World bank Logistics performance Index (LPI): Port and logistics boost
2. Logistics  Performance Index
3. Exit of Rich/report
4. Sharp slide in India’s remittance inflows on OECD slowdown
5. IEA membership of India
6. New chikungunya vaccine
7. The status of transgenic crops in India
8. impose a ceiling on wheat stocks
9. Uttarakhand panel seeks input on Uniform Civil Code
10. RSS’s farmer’s body asks Haryana government to immediately withdraw permission for testing of GM Crops
11. China inks ‘strategic partnership’ with Palestinan Authority
12. Outer space needs a regulatory clean-up
13. Biporjoy: As cyclone nears Kutch & Saurashtra, concern grows over Gir lions, Naliya bustards
14. What are floodplains and how have they been managed in India?
15. The Bonn meet is to end soon; but there is no decision yet about Global Goal on Adaptation
16. Species with ‘objectionable’ scientific names: The naming process, the debate around it
17. Guyana’s oil discovery, a game changer

1. World bank Logistics performance Index (LPI): Port and logistics boost

Subject : Economy

Section: Infrastructure

In News: World Bank has released the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) Report 2023.

Key Points:

• India has earned 38th rank in the overall LPI score (earlier 44th position in 2018)
• India’s has earned 22nd rank in the International Shipments Category (from the 44th position in 2018.)
• The improvement in the port and logistics performance can be attributed to improvement in parameters such as Turn Around Time (TAT) and dwell time (the time a vessel spends at a specific port or terminal), both of which have reduced considerably.
• The improvement is the result of investments made in the ports and upgradation of shipping infrastructure.
• PPP projects have helped through the increased operational efficiencies.
• There has been fourteen-fold increase in the use of renewable energy in Major Ports over the last eight years
• Government policies in the port and shipping that have helped enhance ‘Ease of Doing Business’‘, and take India towards achievement of objectives laid down in the Maritime India Vision, 2030. The policies are namely:
  • Sagar Setu – National Logistic Portal – Marine– It is aSingle Window Digital Platform for all stakeholders including Cargo Services, Carrier Services, Banking and Financial Services and those related to regulatory and participating Government Agencies.
  • Sagar Setu App– The application facilitates seamless movement of goods and services in the Ports
  • Major Port Authorities Act, 2021 which grants greater autonomy to the major Ports thereby enhancing the flexibility in decision making
  • Marine Aids to Navigation Act, 2021 provides for increased safety and efficiency in Vessel Traffic Services, Training and Certification at par with International standards. Similarly, the Indian Vessels Act, 2021 facilitates integrated vessel movement through our waterways, both inland and coastal, by bringing in uniformity in law and having standardised provisions across States.
  • NICDC Logistics Data Services (NLDS) Limited applies radio frequency identification tags to containers and offers consignees end-to-end tracking of their supply chain.
    • NLDS is a joint venture between the Government of India represented by National Industrial Corridor Development and Implementation Trust (NICDIT) and Japanese IT major NEC Corporation, with 50:50 equity participation.
    • Comes under the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP)
  • The Indian Ports Act, 1908 is being considered for repeal and to be replaced by a new act that is aligned with modern day shipping.
• Non shipping logistic initiatives that have improved performance:
  • PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan for multimodal connectivity launched in 2021 to reduce logistics cost and boost the economy
  • National Logistics Policy (NLP) launched in 2022 to ensure quick last-mile delivery, end transport-related challenges, save time and money of the manufacturing sector and ensure desired speed in the logistics sector.

2. Logistics  Performance Index

Subject : International Relations

Section: Indices and Reports

The logistics performance Index

he Logistics Performance Index (LPI), developed by the World Bank Group, is an interactive benchmarking tool created to help countries identify the challenges and opportunities they face in their performance on trade logistics and what they can do to improve their performance.

It measures the overall efficiency of the trade logistics performance of countries. It combines measurements from two components to arrive at a score:

1. Worldwide survey of international logistics operators (from other countries)- They give a score based on the logistics ‘friendliness’ of the other country on the following parameters:
2. Customs
3. Infrastructure
4. International shipments
5. Logistics
6. Tracking and tracing
7. Timeliness

Granular high frequency information on maritime shipping and container tracking, postal and air freight activities.

3. Exit of Rich/report

Subject : Economy

Section: External sector

In News: Henley Private Wealth Migration Report 2023 has estimated that 6,500 high net-worth individuals (HNWIs) may leave India this year

Key Points:

• 7,500 HNWI from India emigrated in 2022.
  • Overall 25 lakh Indians renounced Indian citizenship in 2022, the highest ever since 2011.
• India’s figures are world’s second highest, after China, which is estimated to see 13,500 net exits
• Reasons/ what it indicates:
  • Discontent with the way things are (Present):
    • High level of crime or socio-political unrest
    • Restrictions on personal freedoms, lack of privacy, eg: China, Turkey.
    • Punishingly high taxes beyond a certain level of income
    • constraints on moving money out of the country get tightened (China)
    • Economic volatility (Turkey)
  • Indicator of bad things to come (Future):
    • high-net-worth individuals are often the first people to leave — they have the means to leave unlike middle-class citizens.
    • Factors such as economic uncertainty, social (racial or religious) tensions, geopolitical tensions, environmental concerns.
  • Countries offer various Citizenship/Residence by Investment programmes to attract HNWI to immigrate. Some of the famous programs are:
    • Portugal’s Golden Residence Permit Program
    • Canada’s Start-Up Visa Program
    • Italy’s Residence by Investment Program
    • EB-5 visa programme of the U.S.
  • The top destinations are:
    • Australia– It tops as the most desired destination for immigrants because of its perceived safety, no inheritance tax, and strong business ties to China, Japan and South Korea. It also stands out for its sustained growth, having escaped the financial crisis largely unscathed and avoided recessions for the past 27 years.
    • UAE– It is second on the highest HNI immigration.
    • Singapore-It is third in rank of most desired destination
    • USA- It was the fourth most popular destination in 2023.
  • The report is published by Henley & Partners, a firm specializing in residence and citizenship planning.
    • It also publishes the Quality of Nationality Index.

4. Sharp slide in India’s remittance inflows on OECD slowdown

Subject : Economy

Section: External Sector

Context: Dip in remittances

Details:

• As per the latest Migration and Development Brief released by the World Bank. After growing over 24 per cent to post a record-high level of $111 billion in 2022, remittance flows to India are expected to grow by only 0.2 per cent in 2023, Remittances are likely to get affected by slower growth in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) economies limiting employment and wage gains for migrants along with a diversion of formal remittances toward informal money transfer channels.
• Remittances are likely to get affected by slower growth in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) economies limiting employment and wage gains for migrants along with a diversion of formal remittances toward informal money transfer channels.
• In 2022, India posted an over 24 per cent growth in its inward remittances to reach $111 billion, higher than the World Bank’s earlier estimate of $100 billion.
• This represented 63 per cent of South Asia’s remittance flows, which grew by over 12 per cent in 2022 to reach $176 billion.
• Almost 36 per cent of India’s remittances are attributable to the high-skilled and largely high-tech Indian migrants in three high-income destinations (United States, United Kingdom, and Singapore), where the post-pandemic recovery led to a tight labour market and wage hikes that boosted remittances

5. IEA membership of India

Subject : International Relations

Section: International organization

Context: International Energy Agency (IEA) to review all its membership conditions for India’s inclusion. (Comment by IEA Executive Director)

Key Points:

Why important for IEA:

• India’s entry into IEA is likely to boost global energy security and also increase the IEA’s international leverage in its dealings with the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
• IEA has been trying to get large energy consuming nations, including India, China and Russia, which are not OECD members to act in concert to counter supply disruptions
• Energy and oil demand will increasingly come from non-OECD countries, leading to a shift in geo-political interests, thus making India’s participation important.
• The high oil imports India is getting from Russia after the Russia-Ukraine war are a cause of concern for OECD countries like the USjl., UK.

Significance for India:

• IEA membership will help India present its point of view in international forums.
• With India’s strong economic growth energy demand will also rise.
• Oil price policies have significance for growth of emerging market economies (EMEs) like India.
• US’s Inflation reduction Act is a challenge for India where IEA could prove an appropriate forum to find a solution. (the subsidies are likely to distort capital allocation, and taxes hurt green transition efforts of other countries)

Why membership is a challenge for India?

• There are two pre-conditions for IEA membership that India currently does not fulfill.
  • First is membership in the OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), and
  • Maintaining oil stocks equivalent to at least 90 days of net imports (at present the capacity is around 74 days of reserves)
• Further there will be expectations from the global energy industry that India will implement much-needed reforms in the energy industry in India.
• At present India is a IEA Association country. In 2021 India signed Framework for a Strategic Partnership committing to strengthening collaboration and engagement.

6. New chikungunya vaccine

Subject: Science and technology

Section: Health

Concept:

• A new clinical study shows promising results of a Phase III chikungunya vaccine trial, the first time the shot has been tested in humans.

Chikungunya

• Chikungunya is a mosquito-borne viral disease caused by the chikungunya virus (CHIKV) that causes fever and severe joint pain.
• The disease was first recognized in 1952 during an outbreak in southern Tanzania.
• It is a ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus that belongs to the alphavirus genus of the family Togaviridae.
• The name “chikungunya” derives from a word in the Kimakonde language of southern Tanzania, meaning “to become contorted”, and describes the stooped appearance of sufferers with joint pain (arthralgia).
• Chikungunya is transmitted to humans by the bites of infected female mosquitoes – Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

Treatment and vaccines

• The clinical management includes addressing fever and joint pain.
• There is no specific antiviral drug treatment for CHIKV infections.
• There is no commercial vaccine available to protect against chikungunya virus infection.

Global scenario

• Tropical regions currently see the highest rates of the virus, with Paraguay, Brazil, Bolivia and Thailand most affected.
• Outbreaks have been ongoing in Congo, Sudan and Kenya since 2018, but cases have been relatively low.
• However, a major 2013 outbreak of chikungunya in South America led to over 1 million infections in just a few months.
• While death rates were low, around 52% of infected people experienced severe joint pain lasting months.
• Studies suggest the disease caused the loss of 150,000 disability-adjusted life-years in 2014 alone.
• The measurement represents the loss of the equivalent of one year of full health.

The new vaccine:

• The vaccine contains a modified, live version of the chikungunya virus that can replicate in the body without causing severe illness.
• Live vaccines closely mimic natural infections, triggering a robust immune response that provides long-lasting and broad protection.
• Other live vaccines:
  • measles, mumps and rubella (MMR combined vaccine), smallpox and yellow fever are all live vaccines.
  • Risks associated with live vaccines:
  • Rare possibility of the weakened virus reverting to a more virulent form.

7. The status of transgenic crops in India

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Biotechnology

Concept :

• Three States, Gujarat, Maharashtra and Telangana, have deferred a proposal, approved by the Centre’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), to test a new kind of transgenic cotton seed that contains a gene, Cry2Ai, that purportedly makes cotton resistant to pink bollworm, a major pest.

What is the status of transgenic crops in India?

• There are an array of crops — brinjal, tomato, maize, chickpea — in various stages of trials that employ transgenic technology.
• However, cotton remains the only transgenic crop that is being commercially cultivated in India.
• Recently, the GEAC approved the environmental release of Mustard hybrid DMH-11 and its parental lines.
• In 2017, the GEAC had accorded a clearance for GM mustard, but went back on its decision and imposed additional tests.
• In 2010, the GEAC had approved GM brinjal, but this was put on an indefinite moratorium by the government.

Process of regulating transgenic crops in India

• There are multiple safety assessments done by committees before they are cleared for further tests in open plots of lands, which are located at either agricultural universities or are plots controlled by the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• A transgenic plant can apply for commercial clearance, only after it has proven to be demonstrably better than comparable non-GM variants on claimed parameters (for instance, drought tolerance or insect resistance) without posing ecological harm to other species that may be being cultivated in the vicinity.
• Open field trials often take place over multiple crop seasons, and types of geographical conditions, to assess its suitability across different States.

About GMO:

• A genetically modified organism (GMO) or living modified organism (LMO) is any organism whose genetic material has been modified using laboratory-based transfer of genetic material from another organism.
• Mass production of GM technology based human insulin, vaccines, growth hormones and other drugs has greatly facilitated the availability and access to life saving pharmaceuticals.
• World over, the use of animal based rennet for cheese production has been replaced to the extent of 80-90% by the enzyme chymosin produced by genetically modified microorganisms.

The science behind crop Genetic modification

• GM technology involves direct manipulation of DNA instead of using controlled pollination to alter the desired characteristics.
• Genetic modification is one the approaches to crop improvement, all of which aim at adding desirable genes and removing undesirable ones to produce better varieties.
• Conventional crop improvement involves selection and cross breeding using control pollination of better types available naturally or produced through breeding.

Developing GM crops

• Development of GM crops starts with the identification of gene of interest and isolating it from the host organism.
• The gene is incorporated into the DNA of crop plant using laboratory based gene gun or agrobacterium approaches.
• The performance of the GM crop is tested under strict laboratory and field conditions.

Global GM crop cultivation

• Major GM crop growing countries:
• USA, Brazil, Argentina, India and Canada are five top GM growing countries, together accounting for approx. 90% area of the GM cultivation.
• Major GM crops grown:
• Soybean, maize, cotton and canola with herbicide tolerance and insect resistance are the major GM crops grown around the world.

Regulating GM crops

• Development, cultivation and transboundary movement of GM crops is regulated so as to ensure the safety of animal health, human health and biodiversity.
• In India, such regulations are provided in the Rules for Manufacture, Use, Import, Export and Storage of Hazardous Microorganisms (HM) Genetically Engineered Organisms or Cells, 1989 under the Environment Protection Act (1986).
• The rules cover:
• All activities involving research and development of products containing GMOs including transgenic crops, pharma products, industrial products, food and foodstuffs.
• Field and clinical trials
• Deliberate or unintentional release
• Import, export and manufacture

Statutory bodies on GM crop regulation in India

• Recombinant DNA Advisory Committee (RDAC):
• Monitors the developments in biotechnology at national and international levels.
• Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBSC):
• Approves low-risk experiments and ensures adherence to prescribed safety guidelines.
• Recommends high-risk experiments to Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM) for approval.
• Review Committee on Genetic Manipulation (RCGM):
• Reviews all ongoing projects involving high-risk and controlled field experiments.
• Approves applications for generating research information on GM plants.
• Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC):
• Approves activities involving large- scale use of GMOs in research and production.
• State Biotechnology Coordination Committee (SBCC):
• Reviews the safety and control measures in various institutions handling GMOs.
• Acts as State level nodal agency to assess the damage, if any, due to release of GMOs and to take on-site control measures.
• District Level Committee (DLC):
• Inspects, investigates and reports to the SBCC or the GEAC about compliance or non-compliance of regulatory guidelines.
• Acts as nodal agency at District level to assess the damage, if any, due to release of GMOs and to take on site control measures.

8. Govt. impose a ceiling on wheat stocks

Subject : Schemes

Concept :

• Recently, the Union Government has imposed limits on stock of wheat that can be held by traders, wholesalers, retailers, big chain retailers and processors, in a move endeavouring to manage the “overall food security and to prevent hoarding and unscrupulous speculation.”

About the imposed limits:

• The objective is to stabilise the price of the essential commodity by steadying supply.
• The imposed limits include:
• The permissible stock that traders/wholesalers can hold is 3,000 metric tonnes.
• Retailers and big chain retailers can hold up to 10 metric tonnes at each of their outlets, while the latter can hold up to 3,000 metric tonnes at all their depots combined.
• Processors would be able to stock 75% of the annual installed capacity.
• If the stock held by them is higher than the limit, they will have 30 days from the day of issue of notification to bring the same under the prescribed limits.

Additional Orders:

• The government has also decided to offload 15 lakh tonnes of wheat from the central pool via the Open Market Sale Scheme (OMSS) to flour mills, private traders, bulk buyers, manufacturers of wheat products through e-auction.
• Aim: The idea is to control retail prices of wheat.
• They would be sold in lot sizes of 10 to 100 metric tonnes.

Need for the move:

• Due to high heat and Climate affecting crops:
• Major wheat producers as Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Haryana experiencing strong thunderstorms with lightning and gusty winds alongside hailstorms., which is affecting production and quality of wheat crops.
• To withstand the potential effects of Upcoming EL Nino year:
• As the year 2023-24 has expected to be an EL Nino year, there may be chances of drought and reduced rainfall, affecting agriculture in India.

Challenges:

• The damaging combination (Heat+ Rain)
• Unnaturally high temperature: Before the downpour began in March, India had already experienced the hottest February in over a hundred years. That was critically damning to the wheat crop.
• Heavy downpour: The high temperature immediately preceded unseasonal downpour.

Wheat cultivation in India:

• Type of Crop: Wheat is a Rabi Crop.
• Temperature requirements: Between 10-15°C (Sowing time) and 21-26°C (Ripening & Harvesting) with bright sunlight.
• Rainfall or water requirement: Around 75-100 cm.
• Soil type: Well-drained fertile loamy and clayey loamy.
• Major producers: Uttar Pradesh > Punjab > Madhya Pradesh > Haryana > Rajasthan.

Current Framework for Food Security in India:

• Constitutional Provision: The fundamental right to life enshrined in Article 21 of the Constitution can be interpreted to include the right to live with human dignity, which may include the right to food and other necessities.
• Buffer Stock: Food Corporation of India (FCI) has the responsibility of procuring food grains at minimum support price (MSP) and maintaining a buffer stock.
• Public Distribution System (PDS): Over the years, the Public Distribution System has become an important part of the Government’s policy for the management of the food economy in the country.
• PDS is supplemental in nature and is not intended to make available the entire requirement of any of the commodities.
• National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA): It marks a paradigm shift in the approach to food security from welfare to a rights-based approach.
• Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Anna Yojana (PM-GKAY): PMGKAY is a part of the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Package (PMGKP) to help the poor fight the battle against Covid-19.

9. Uttarakhand panel seeks input on Uniform Civil Code

Subject : Polity

Section: Constitution

Concept :

• Recently, the expert committee formed by the government of Uttarakhand to look into the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) has launched a website to gather feedback from the general public.
• The committee, which is led by retired judge Ranjana Prakash Desai, has asked residents for their ideas and comments on the issue.

Uttarakhand Expert Committee on Uniform Civil Code

• The Uttarakhand government formed an expert committee in May 2022 under the head of a former Supreme Court (SC) judge, Justice Ranjana Desai, to implement the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) and to review all pertinent legislation that governs personal laws for residents of Uttarakhand.
• In 2021, the Allahabad High Court also directed the Central government to initiate the process for implementation of the UCC.

Uniform Civil Code (UCC)

• UCC would provide one law for the entire nation (including all religious communities) in their personal matters such as marriage, divorce, inheritance, adoption etc.
• Article 44 of the Constitution lays down that the state shall endeavour to secure a UCC for the citizens throughout the Indian territory.
• Article 44 is one of the Directive Principles of State Policy (DPSP).
• DPSP as defined in Article 37, are not justiciable (not enforceable by any court). However, the principles laid down therein are fundamental in governance.

Status of UCC in India:

• In most civil matters, India follows UCC such as Indian Contract Act 1872, Civil Procedure Code, Transfer of Property Act 1882, Partnership Act 1932, Evidence Act, 1872 etc.
• In certain matters, however, there is diversity even under these civil laws as states have made hundreds of amendments to these.
• Several states refused to be governed by the uniform Motor Vehicles Act, 2019.
• At present, Goa is the only India state that has implemented UCC.

Origin:

• UCC’s origin dates back to British India when a report was submitted in 1835.
• This report stressed on the need for uniformity in the codification of Indian law relating to crimes, evidence, and contracts, specifically recommending that personal laws of Hindus and Muslims be kept outside such codification.
• Legislation dealing with personal issues increased. This forced the government to form the B N Rau Committee to codify Hindu law in 1941.
• Hindu Succession Act, 1956:
• Based on B.N. Rau Committee’s recommendations, the Hindu Succession Act (1956) was adopted to amend and codify the law relating to intestate or unwilled succession, among Hindus, Buddhists, Jains, and Sikhs.
• However, there were separate personal laws for muslim, christian and Parsis.

SC Judgements:

• In order to bring uniformity, the courts have often said in their judgements that the government should move towards a UCC.
• The judgement in the Shah Bano case (1985) is well known.
• Another case was the Sarla Mudgal Case (1995), which dealt with issue of bigamy and conflict between the personal laws existing on matters of marriage.
• The Supreme Court in Shayara Bano case (2017) had declared the practice of Triple Talaq (talaq-e-biddat) as unconstitutional.
• By arguing that practices such as triple talaq and polygamy adversely affect the right of a woman to a life of dignity, the Centre has raised the question whether constitutional protection given to religious practices should extend even to those that are not in compliance with fundamental rights.

10. RSS’s farmer’s body asks Haryana government to immediately withdraw permission for testing of GM Crops

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Biotechnology

Concept :

• Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS)-affiliated farmers’ body, Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS) wrote a letter to Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, demanding immediately the withdrawal of the permission given by the Haryana government for any kind of testing and cultivation of Genetically Modified (GM) crops.

GM Crops:

• GM foods are derived from plants whose genes are artificially modified, usually by inserting genetic material from another organism, in order to give it a new property, such as increased yield, tolerance to a herbicide, resistance to disease or drought, or to improve its nutritional value.
• Probably the best known variety of GM rice is golden rice.
• Golden rice involves the insertion of genes from a plant — both daffodils and maize have been used — and a soil bacterium to create a grain that is enriched with Vitamin A.
• India has approved commercial cultivation of only one GM crop, Bt cotton.
• No GM food crop has ever been approved for commercial cultivation in the country.
• However, confined field trials have been allowed for at least 20 GM crops.
• That includes varieties of GM rice which would have improved resistance to insects and diseases, as well as hybrid seed production and nutritional enhancements such as golden rice.
• The cons of GM foods are that they may cause allergic reactions because of their altered DNA and they may increase antibiotic resistance.

11. China inks ‘strategic partnership’ with Palestinan Authority

Subject: International Relations

Section: Places in news

Concept :

• China said Wednesday that it established a “strategic partnership” with the Palestinian Authority during a visit to Beijing by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.
• The announcement marked another step in China’s campaign to gain political and economic influence in the Middle East, where it is competing with the United States.
• China is seeking energy resources and markets for its military and civilian exports while also promoting its version of authoritarian government as part of joint challenge with Russia to the Western-led democratic world order.

State of Palestine

• Palestine is a state located in the Southern Levant region of Western Asia.
• Officially governed by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), it claims the West Bank (including East Jerusalem) and the Gaza Strip as its territory, though the entirety of that territory has been under Israeli occupation since the 1967 Six-Day War.
• As a result of the Oslo Accords of 1993–1995, the West Bank is currently divided into 165 Palestinian enclaves that are under partial Palestinian National Authority (PNA) rule; the remainder, including 200 Israeli settlements, is under full Israeli control.
• The Gaza Strip has been ruled by the militant Islamic group Hamas and has been subject to a long-term blockade by Egypt and Israel since 2007.

12. Outer space needs a regulatory clean-up

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Space technology

Concept :

• The recently announced Indian Space Policy, 2023 is bound to revolutionise the space sector. The policy redefines the role of primary government agency, ISRO, and opens the sector for private entities. These developments are signs of the global shift from solely government-directed space sector to one shared by privately funded space activities.
• Given the extra-sovereign nature of space, international treaties largely provide the legal framework concerning space activiti Unfortunately, the five key multilateral international space treaties are still stuck in a time capsule from the Cold War era.
• Higher the traffic flow and greater debris on the path, the bigger the likelihood of accidents. And where there is an accident, someone needs to be held responsible and pay compensation.
• Despite the global space sector increasingly getting privatised, the current international law solely governs and holds the signatory states liable for any mishap.

Kosmos-Iridium collision

• Let’s consider the example of the collision between a defunct Russian military satellite, Kosmos 2252, and an operational commercial American satellite, Iridium 33, in 2009.
• The relevant treaty here is the Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects, 1971.
• The Convention attaches liability on ‘launching states’ (and not the private sector) for the payment of compensation for damage to the earth or other space objects from space activities.
• It defines the launching state to be: (1) one which launches a space object; (2) which procures the launching of a space object; (3) whose territory has been used for a launch; and (4) from whose facility a space object is launched.

Challenges

• This demonstrates how the definition of a ‘launching state’ is incompatible with the realities of modern space operations. The fact that most commercial space operators are multinational corporations further exacerbates the problem.
• Secondly, the Convention lacks a binding framework for liability procedures, such as debris mitigation measures, pre-flight tests, monitoring own space debris, timely intimation to affected parties of possible collision, etc.
• If such frameworks are left to individual nations, the consequent variation in national space legislation could result in the growth of ‘space-havens’ akin to ‘tax-havens.’

Indian Space Policy – April DPN

13. Biporjoy: As cyclone nears Kutch & Saurashtra, concern grows over Gir lions, Naliya bustards

Subject :Environment

Section: Physical Geography

Context:

• Cyclone Biporjoy is expected to make landfall near the port of Jakhau in Kutch along the Pakistan border. Conservationists are worried about the Great Indian Bustards (GIB) of Naliya near Jakhau as well as the famous Asiatic lions of the Gir forest.

Details:

• There are nearly 700 lions in the Asiatic Lion Landscape (ALL) spread across the Gir-Somnath, Amreli, Junagadh and Bhavnagar districts of Gujarat’s Saurashtra region.
• The area is the last bastion of the Asiatic Lion (Panthera leo leo) in the world.
• Earlier in 2018 an epidemic swept the Gir forest named Babesiosis.
  • It repeated the next year when Cyclone Tauktae hit Saurashtra.

Supreme Court directions over translocation of Gir lions:

• The Supreme Court had directed in 2013 that Asiatic lions be shifted from Gujarat’s Gir forest to Madhya Pradesh’s KNP. It had rejected the Gujarat government’s plea against the translocation of lions as Gujarat held that these animals were the pride of the state.

Great Indian Bustard (GIB):

• There is a concern for the four Great Indian Bustards in the grasslands of Naliya.
• All are females and the last of the GIB population in Gujarat.
• The Great Indian Bustard is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.
• Scientific Name: Ardeotis nigriceps
• Habitat: Dry grasslands and scrublands on the Indian subcontinent; its largest populations are found in the Indian state of Rajasthan.
• Distribution:
  • India, effectively the only home of the bustards, now harbours less than 150 individuals in five States.
  • Today, its population is confined mostly to Rajasthan and Gujarat. Small population also occur in Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.
  • It is the State bird of Rajasthan.
• Protection Status
  • Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List
  • In Appendix I of CITES,
  • In Schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972.

Lala Bustard Wildlife Sanctuary or Naliya grasslands:

• The sanctuary is located near Jakhau village in Taluka Abdasa, Gujarat, India
•  This sanctuary is one of the two great Indian bustard sanctuaries in Gujarat; the other one is in Jamnagar.
• It was declared as a sanctuary in July 1992, specifically for the conservation of the great Indian bustard.

14. What are floodplains and how have they been managed in India?

Subject :Geography

Section: Physical Geography

Context:

• In recent times, encroachment on the riverbed and floodplains, both legal and illegal, are a regular occurrence in India. This has worsened the effects of floods in several states such as Maharashtra in 2005, Chennai in 2015, and Kerala in 2018.

What are floodplains?

• Floodplains are the lands, adjacent to both sides of a river, that are submerged under water when a river swells.
• The shape and size of a floodplain depend on the side slopes of the river.
  • If they are steep, the floodplain area is less, but if they are flat, the floodplain can span across kilometres.
• India’s Model Bill for Flood Plain Zoning, 1975, defines “floodplain” to include the “water channel, flood channel, and that area of nearby lowland susceptible to flood inundation.”
  • This definition was subsequently incorporated in the Rajasthan, Manipur, Uttarakhand, and Jammu and Kashmir floodplain zoning acts.

Types:

• Geomorphologically, the floodplains in India are of two types:

1. Peninsular (found in the Deccan plateau) where there are rock terraces (step-like structures created by lava flows), and
2. Those found in the Himalayan region, which are old, wide and depositional (created by the deposition of sediment).

• The depth of the sediment in the Himalayan floodplains is considerable; at some places, it can be as deep as 300-400 metres
• Another classification of floodplains is based on the definitions of “floods” and “rivers”.
• If a river means a waterbody that flows within its naturally defined banks, then instances of water entering structures built within these naturally defined banks cannot be called “floods”.

1. With this definition of floods in mind, inner floodplains are the land within the river channel, which is exposed when the river wanes during the summer.
2. The outer floodplains are the land that is susceptible to flooding when the river overflows its banks.

• In the peninsular rivers, the land in the river’s channel should be protected.

Floodplain protection:

• If we factor in the floodplains outside the river banks, then it is unending. Cities and towns have always been built on floodplains.
• In north India, the course of the rivers shifts because the floodplains are created by alluvial soil.
• The floodplain zoning policy for the Himalayan rivers must be developed after studying the patterns in the changing course of the rivers.
• The peninsular rivers, on the other hand, flow through Deccan trap rock, and so there is less alluvial soil in this region.
• The river’s space between its naturally defined banks has to be protected.

Laws and regulations to cover these issues:

• Floodplain zoning laws aim to prevent or restrict development on floodplains in order to prevent loss of life and property and to reduce the impact of floods.
• The Central Water Commission prepared floodplain zoning guidelines and the Model Bill for Floodplain Zoning was circulated by the Government of India in 1975.
  • Four states followed this up by passing floodplain zoning acts: Manipur in 1978, Rajasthan in 1990, Jammu and Kashmir in 2005 and Uttarakhand in 2012.
  • These acts provide for the establishment of a “Flood Zoning Authority” who is authorised to conduct surveys to determine the nature of extent of floodplains, prohibit or restrict the use of land in the floodplains, and impose penalties for non-compliance.
• Floodplain zoning has been recognised as a “non-structural measure” to mitigate flood disasters as development in the floodplains reduces the carrying capacity of rivers and exacerbates the effects of floods.

How are the states that have passed floodplain zoning laws faring?

Manipur:

• Delimitation of flood zones, prohibiting construction activities, was performed by the state government through a notification in 1988.
• In 2018, the Manipur government enforced the act by demolishing structures built metres away from the Imphal river.

Uttarakhand:

• Passed its floodplain zoning act in 2012.
• The Uttarakhand government started demarcating floodlines in 2020.
• A study that surveyed the survivors of the 2013 flash floods in Uttarakhand found that the survivors are aware of the fragile environment they live in but do not prefer to relocate.
• Instead, they prefer improved emergency planning systems, strict enforcement of the floodplain zoning act, and better communication with the state disaster management agency.

Other states:

• Demarcation of floodlines and enforcement of floodplain zoning has not been done in the other two states where floodplain zoning laws have been passed, i.e., Rajasthan and Jammu and Kashmir. 

Who is responsible for floodplain zoning?

• The irrigation departments of respective states are responsible for the enforcement of floodplain zoning laws.
• The irrigation department notifies rivers and has the power to remove the encroachment.
• The responsibility for floodplain protection falls on the urban local bodies as well.

15. The Bonn meet is to end soon; but there is no decision yet about Global Goal on Adaptation

Subject : Environment

Section: International convention

Context: The informal consultations on the Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) have hit major roadblocks even after a decently successful sixth workshop under the Glasgow Sharm El Sheikh (GlaSS) Work Programme for GGA.

Details:

• The GGA is being framed as a global target for countries and communities to aspire and take guidance from, similar to the temperature target of 1.5 degrees Celsius under the 2015 Paris Agreement.

The main contentions within the negotiations for GGA that still remain are:

• Finance for adaptation which has been a sticky issue for many years now and necessitated the developing countries’ demand for the doubling of adaptation finance
• The wider New Collective Quantified Goal which includes finance for mitigation and should include finance for loss and damage as well

Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA):

• Article 7 of the Paris Agreement establishes a Global Goal on Adaptation of “enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability to climate change”.
• The core components of the goal are interconnected and overlapping.
• Their progress will be assessed every five years under the Paris Agreement’s Article 14, Global Stocktake.
• Under the Global Goal on Adaptation, countries have to develop National Adaptation Plans (NAPS), which would identify activities that need support. These are then recorded in a public registry by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
• The fact is there is no clear definition of what the world means by “adaptation” and perhaps there can never be.
• The Adaptation Gap Report 2020, released by the United Nations Environment Programme (unep) earlier this year, states that the adaptation finance gap is not closing—not by a long shot.
• The Adaptation Fund, which was set up 2001, to fund projects in developing countries was financed with a share of the proceeds from the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), established under the Kyoto Protocol.
• With CDM now dormant and defunct, the fund, though little, continues to be in operation under the Paris Agreement. It’s a game of shells.

16. Species with ‘objectionable’ scientific names: The naming process, the debate around it

Subject : Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

• There is a debate raging over taxonomy: the classifying and naming of all living being.

Details:

• Some names are largely taken from problematic people, such as those linked to slavery and racism, or are linked to derogatory terms and racial slurs.
• Moreover, many want to entirely do away with the practice of naming animals and plants after a person.

What are some of the species with problematic names?

• Anophthalmus hitleri:
  • Named after the former German Führer, Adolf Hitler, this rare blind beetle, popularly known as the Hitler beetle, was discovered in 1933 by “Oscar Scheibel, a German amateur entomologist and ardent Hitler fan, and is found in only around 15 caves in central Slovenia.
• common small-blotched lizard:
  • Scientific name: Uta stansburiana
  • The reptile, in 1852, was named after Howard Stansbury, who led a famous expedition to study the flora and fauna in the USA’s Utah region and collected this lizard’s type specimens.
  • He was a vocal supporter of and played a key role in a locally-infamous massacre of Timpanogos Native Americans in which more than 100 were killed.
• flowering shrub Hibbertia scandens:
  • The plant has the moniker after George Hibbert, an English amateur botanist, who was one of the leading members of the pro-slavery and anti-abolition lobby during the late 1700s.
• Hottentotta tamulus scorpion:
  • Colonialists in the 17th century used “Hottentot” as a derogatory term for Indigenous Black people in Africa.
• Rauvolfia caffra, commonly known as the quinine tree:
  • Gets its moniker from another offensive term regarded as hate speech against Black communities in South Africa.

How are species given their scientific names?

• Every species of animal or plant has two scientific names.
  • The first name denotes the genus to which the species belongs. It is a generic name and is always capitalised.
  • The second name identifies the species within the genus and is never capitalised. Both names are italicised.
• A genus may comprise several closely related species.
• These names are usually of Latin or Greek origin.
• Often, species are named based on their distinctive features.
  • the Sonoran mountain kingsnake, a beautiful red-, white-, and black-ringed creature, is called Lampropeltis pyromelana. The genus name means “beautiful shield” in Greek, and the species epithet means “black fire”.

Who makes the rules regarding giving scientific names to organisms?

• Although anybody can propose a name for a type of organism they think hasn’t been formally identified by anyone else, there are certain rules, or nomenclature codes, that they have to follow.
• A new name is considered to be valid only when it is published in an “openly distributed publication, and it must be accompanied by a detailed description of the specimens the author claims are typical for the group.”
• These nomenclature codes are governed by international bodies such as the
  • International Commission of Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN) which governs the naming of animals,
  • The International Code of Nomenclature for algae, fungi, and plants (ICNafp) that sees the naming of plants (including cyanobacteria), and
  • The International Code of Nomenclature of Bacteria (ICNB) that governs the naming of bacteria (including Archaea) and
  • The International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV) that governs virus names.

Can a species’ offensive scientific name be changed?

• Doing away with a species’ offensive scientific name is unlikely.
• The primary reason is that “international committees show little appetite to be drawn into debates on what is and isn’t potentially offensive”.
• According to the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature (ICBN), “The only proper reasons for changing a name are either a more profound knowledge of the facts resulting from adequate taxonomic study or the necessity of giving up a nomenclature that is contrary to the rules.”

17. Guyana’s oil discovery, a game changer

Subject :Geography

Section: Economic Geography

Context:

• In December 2019, into the Floating Production Storage and Offload vessel (FPSO), aptly named as Liza “Destiny “. It is on course to become one of the largest per capita oil producers in the world by 2030.

Details:

• Guyana with its 800,000, population and spread over an area of 215,000 sq.km, is among the least densely populated countries.
• A 2017 economic survey categorised over 40 per cent of its population to be living below the poverty line.
• Cut to 2022, it is ranked as the fastest growing economies in the world.
• Guyana’s dominant economic activity was plantation which required labour from India during the colonial period.
• Today people of Indian origin are the single largest ethnic group forming 40 per cent of its population.

Major oil fields in the world:

Major Oil fields in India:

• On-shore fields in India:
  • Brahmaputra Valley: Dehang basin, Surma valley, Dibrugarh and Sibsagar.
    • Digboi oilfield
    • Naharkatiya oilfield
  • Barmer region of Rajasthan: Ankleshwar, Cambay basin, Khambat- luni, Ahmedabad-kalol, Barkol, Kathrina, and Sanand.
  • Gujrat coast: Mangala, Saraswati and Rajeshwari oilfields
• Off-shore oilfields:
  • Western coast oilfields: Bombay high, Bassein and Aliabet
  • Eastern coast oilfields: Rava fields in Godavari-Krishna basin, Narimanam and kovilappal oilfields of the Kaveri delta.
• In addition to this Andaman & Nicobar, Gulf of Mannar, Baleshwar coast have possibilities of oil fields in India.