Daily Prelims Notes 12 June 2023

Daily Prelims Notes

12 June 2023

Table Of Contents

1. Russia’s Rupee Problem
2. New Convener of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST rate rationalisation
3. Collapse of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam
4. JATAN virtual museum builder
5. Electrolysis
6. In defence of the annoying fruit fly a test bed for genetic research
7. Mizoram’s Chite Lui River is crying for help
8. Construction of twin tunnels beneath southern ridge: Supreme Court committee recommends approval
9. Where are the world’s water stresses?

1. Russia’s Rupee Problem

Subject: economy

Section: External Sector

• Russia has over $2 billion worth of Rupee reserves earned from India’s payments mainly for defence imports. With the Ukraine war Russia has been under sanctions, and so finds it difficult to take out the money.
• With none of the ways of using the Rupee reserves or taking it out of India working, Russia has no option other than investing in government securities and infrastructure and other projects in India.

Some options that have not worked out:

• Using the money to buy imports from India: Russia finds the quality of Indian exports inadequate, so the solution of a balanced trade is not feasible.
• Dirham route: This route is blocked because of increased Western scrutiny of UAE banks following the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)’s ‘grey-listing’
• Iran-India-Moscow triangular payment arrangement: Russia recently proposed that Iran’s imports from India could be paid using the Rupee reserves, and then Iran and Russia could balance their accounts separately.
  • India has rejected the offer citing diplomatic difficulties (Allegations that Iranian drones are being used by Russia against Ukraine)

The solution:

• SHORT TERM:
  • To invest in government securities, infrastructure and other projects in India.
• MEDIUM TERM:
  • Russian companies could set up operations in India and produce items as per their quality specifications.
  • Joint ventures that produce goods that are of use to Russia or could be exported to other parts of the world

Why situation is concerning for Russia:

• The Rupee reserves are growing fast, and they are not able to utilize the money.
• At present India pays for oil in hard currencies (USD, Pound, Euro etc) because the price was below the price cap fixed by Western nations. If this changes (paying for oil in Rupee) the problem will become even more severe.

Why the situation is critical for India:

• The problem poses as a setback to efforts of internationalization of Rupee.
  • ‘International Settlement of Trade in Indian Rupee’ mechanism was initiated by the RBI in 2022.
• May hurt trade and diplomatic ties with Russia that has been a long term strategic defense partner.

2. New Convener of the Group of Ministers (GoM) on GST rate rationalisation

Subject: economy

Section: Fiscal Policy

In News: Finance Ministry has started the process of deciding on new convener, as the post fell vacant after change of government in Karnataka. (CM Basavraj Bommai was holding the post of convener)

GoM

• The 7 member GoM was set up under GST council in Sep 2021.
• Members of the GoM are: Karnataka, Bihar, Goa, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and West Bengal.
• Generally through consultation the senior-most member in a GoM is named as the convenor of the panel. (member of GST council can be minister of finance or taxation or any other minister)
• GST Council had in September 2021 decided to set up a GoM on rate rationalisation and correction of inverted duty structure. The objective was to:
  • simplify the rate structure,
  • review the GST exemption list and
  • enhance GST revenues.
• GoM submitted an interim report in June 2022, to the GST Council proposing changes in tax rates for some goods and services to rationalise the levy. The GST report, which was accepted by the council, suggested following:
  • 5 per cent GST on ‘pre-packaged and labelled’ curd, lassi, puffed rice, and wheat flour, which are usually produced by large manufacturers,
  • correction in inverted duty for a host of items, including edible oil, coal, LED lamps, printing/drawing ink, finished leather and solar water heater.
• Currently, the GST regime has five broad tax slabs of 0, 5, 12, 18, and 28 per cent. A cess is levied over and above the highest 28 per cent rate on luxury and demerit goods.

Rationalisation of GST rate slabs:

• Government may consider a move to a twin-tax structure under the GST regime.
• This is likely to help correct the inverted duty structure that leads to difficulties in claiming the net input tax credit.
  • An inverted duty structure is a situation where inputs or raw materials are taxed higher than the output or finished products for sale
• The two rates of 5% and 18% are likely to be adopted

3. Collapse of Ukraine’s Kakhovka dam

Subject : International Relations

Concept : Places in news 

Nova Kakhovka Dam

• The 3.2-kilometre (two-mile) long and 30-metre (98-foot) high Kakhovka Dam was constructed in 1956 as a component of the Khakhovka Hydroelectric Power Project.
• The Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant is in the city of Nova Kakhovka in the Kherson region, which is currently under Russian control.
• The dam’s reservoir provides water to the Zaporizhzhia nuclear reactor, which is also under Russian control, as well as the Crimean peninsula, which Russia has claimed as its own since 2014. For details on the Russian annexation of Crimea, check the link.
• The reservoir has a capacity of 18 cubic km, which is equivalent to the size of Utah’s Great Salt Lake.

Ongoing Issue:

• The floodwaters inundated (cover land with water) dozens of towns and villages on both sides of the river, displacing thousands of people and damaging infrastructure, crops and livestock.
• The water level also rose in the Dniprovska Gulf, a bay of the Black Sea near Kherson city, threatening coastal areas with erosion and salinization.
• The explosion also cut off electricity to millions of people and disrupted water supplies to Crimea and Zaporizhzhia.

Ecololgical Impacts of the collapse

• Being billed as an ‘ecocide’, the damage from the dam collapse is multifold.
• Not only are the areas around the Dnipro River inundated with at least 18 feet of water, but the flooding also runs the risk of contaminating freshwater sources and the Black Sea basin and spreading diseases.
• The dwindling water level of the Kakhovka reservoir also threatens the agricultural lands of southern Ukraine that depend on the reservoir to feed into the canals used for irrigation.

Floods and destruction

• Ukrainian officials estimate that about 42,000 people are at risk on both sides of the river. While the left bank of the Dnipro River remains under Ukrainian control, the right side is controlled by the Russians.
• Animals are most vulnerable to the fast-moving water, as rescue efforts are largely focused on people. The 300 animals residing at Kazkova Dibrova Zoo on the Russian-held riverbank have died after the region was flooded.
• Downstream, the flooding will also impact territorial flora and fauna. The rise in water will increase soil salinity, making it unfit for vegetation.

Pollution

• Around 600-800 tons of oil may be floating in the floodwaters, creating a toxic environment for wildlife.
• Moreover, as water moves along, it will collect large amounts of pollutants from sewage, industries, gas stations and agricultural lands, and deposit them into freshwater resources.
• The pollutants are likely to cause microbes and algae to spread over the surface of the water. This also leads to an increase in diseases, with the most common ones being diarrhoea or skin infection.
• Eventually, the water will flow into the Black Sea. The entry of freshwater and pollutants is likely to disturb the marine ecosystem.

Impact on Agriculture

• The flooding is likely to make arable lands unfit for agriculture for years to come due to increased salinity in the soil, as well as contamination of irrigation canals.
• This might be a setback for Ukraine’s grain production, as the southeastern belt around the Dnipro River is cultivated for wheat and millet.
• Kherson on its accounts for eight per cent of soybean production, according to data provided by the US Department of Agriculture. Besides, barley and sunflower are also produced in the region.
• Often called the “bread basket” of the world, 64 per cent of Ukraine’s wheat is exported to developing countries, including many in Africa.
• The onset of war has in fact raised concerns over global food security and in July 2022, a grain deal was signed between the warring countries to allow the passage of grains through the Black Sea.

4. JATAN virtual museum builder

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Awareness in IT

Concept :

• The Central government plans to complete 3D digitisation of all museums under its administrative control by the year-end for better conservation of artefacts.

About JATAN virtual museum builder:

• It is a digital collection management system for Indian museums.
• It has been designed and developed by the Human Centres Design and Computing Group, Centre for Development of Smart Computing, Pune.
• It is a client-server application with features such as image cropping, watermarking, unique numbering, and management of digital objects with multimedia representations.
• It can create 3D virtual galleries and provide public access through web, mobile or touchscreen kiosks.

What is 3D scanning?

• It means analysing a real-world object or environment to collect three-dimensional data on its shape and possibly its appearance.
• The collected data is then used to construct digital 3D models.

Key facts about C-DAC

• It is the apex research and development wing of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.
• It was established in the year 1988.
• Its main purpose was to carry out research and development in Electronics, IT and other associated areas.
• It was setup to build Supercomputers in the context of the denial of the import of Supercomputers by the USA.
• C-DAC build India’s first indigenously built supercomputer Param 8000in 1991.
• Applications of Param 8000: long-range weather forecasting, remote sensing, drug design and molecular modelling.

5. Electrolysis

Subject : Science and technology

Section: Miscellaneous

Concept :

• Electrolysis is defined as a process of decomposing ionic compounds into their elements by passing a direct electric current through the compound in a fluid form.
• The cations are reduced at the cathode, and anions are oxidized at the anode. The main components that are required to conduct electrolysis are an electrolyte, electrodes, and some form of external power source is also needed.
• Additionally, a partition, such as an ion-exchange membrane or a salt bridge, is also used, but this is optional. They are used mainly to keep the products from diffusing near the opposite electrode.
• An acidified or salt-containing water can be decomposed by passing an electric current to its original elements, hydrogen and oxygen. Molten sodium chloride can be decomposed into sodium and chlorine atoms.

Electrolysis Process

• Electrolysis is usually done in a vessel named ‘electrolytic cell’ containing two electrodes (cathode and anode), connected to a direct current source and an electrolyte which is an ionic compound undergoing decomposition, in either molten form or in a dissolves state in a suitable solvent.
• Generally, electrodes that are made from metal, graphite and semiconductor materials are used.
• However, the choice of a suitable electrode is done based on the chemical reactivity between the electrode and electrolyte as well as the manufacturing cost.

Electrolysis Applications

• Electrolysis, as stated above, is a process of converting the ions of a compound in a liquid state into their reduced or oxidized state by passing an electric current through the compound.
• Thus, electrolysis finds many applications, both in experimental and industrial products. Some of the important ones are given below:

1) Determination of equivalent weight of substances.

2) Metallurgy of alkali and alkaline earth metals.

3) Purification of metals.

4) Manufacture of pure gases.

5) Manufacture of compounds like sodium hydroxide, sodium carbonate, potassium chlorate etc.

6) Electroplating for corrosion resistance, ornaments etc.

6. In defence of the annoying fruit fly a test bed for genetic research

Subject : Science and tech

Section: Biotechnology

Concept :

• Thousands of neuroscientists use fruit flies to study learning, memory, sleep, aggression, addiction and neural disorders – not to mention cancer and ageing, processes of development, the gut microbiome, stem cells, muscles and the heart

Diptera

• Flies and mosquitoes both belong to Diptera, the group of insects that have only two wings.
• The Order Diptera (true flies) includes many common insects such as mosquitoes, midges, sand flies, blowflies and the House Fly.
• Most of the insects we see flying around do so with four wings (two pairs), but dipterans (meaning ‘two wings’) use only one pair. The other pair of wings is reduced to club-like structures known as ‘halteres’ that they use for balance.
• Common characteristics of the order include:
  • One pair of wings (forewings)
  • Hindwings reduced to club-like halteres
  • A large and moveable head
  • Compound eyes that are often very large
  • Sucking, piercing and sucking or sponge-like mouthparts (all adapted for a liquid diet)
  • The mesothorax (middle segment of the thorax or mid-body) is enlarged, with the prothorax and metathorax small
  • Complete metamorphosis, with larvae (maggots) that are always legless, with chewing mouthparts or mouth-hooks, and that often pupate within a hardened case (puparium)

The fruit fly or vinegar fly (Drosophila melanogaster)

• The species Drosophila was first mentioned by German entomologist Johann Meigen in 1830 and has since earned a celebrity status among scientists.
• It has become the best-understood animal organism on the planet and a powerhouse of modern medical research.
• Drosophila melanogaster has been used as a model organism for over a century.
• Mutant-based analyses have been used extensively to understand the genetic basis of different cellular processes, including development, neuronal function and diseases.

Helping science

• Morgan was not the first to work with Drosophila. But his idea to harness the fly’s cheap husbandry (pieces of banana kept in milk bottles), and rapid reproduction (one generation in about ten days; about 100 eggs per female per day) would make it possible to study evolution in the laboratory.
• His mass-breeding experiments with hundreds of thousands of flies led to the discovery of a single fly with white eyes, instead of the red eyes fruit flies normally have. Morgan and his team’s subsequent studies of its white-eyed progeny revealed that genes can mutate and are arranged into orderly and reproducible maps on chromosomes (a long DNA molecule).
• It led to an understanding of how genetic disease is inherited.
• In the 1940s, scientists, including George Beadle and Edward Tatum, established that some gene codes for proteins can facilitate chemical reactions and produce the molecules needed in cells.
• Scientists can study mutant defects, even if the eggs never hatch, which can then inform us about the normal function of the affected gene.
• These kinds of genetic studies of Drosophila, combined with emerging technologies, such as gene cloning, helped us understand how gene networks can determine the development of a body and how they can sometimes cause inherited disorders.

A startling likeness

• The common ancestor that founded the evolutionary lines of flies and humans, half a billion years ago, appears to have been equipped with biology so well-designed that many of its aspects are still maintained, such as mechanisms of growth or neuronal function.
• Because we are so alike genetically, many aspects of human biology and disease have been explored first in Drosophila. Meanwhile, research on fruit flies is fast, cost-effective and extremely versatile. It’s ideal for scientific discoveries.
• It is used by neuroscientists for studying learning, memory, sleep, aggression, addiction and neural disorders. Not to mention cancer and ageing, processes of development, the gut microbiome, stem cells, muscles and the heart.

7. Mizoram’s Chite Lui River is crying for help

Subject: Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

• The Chite Lui river is getting polluted due to waste generated from the eateries and garages.

Chite Lui River:

• Situated in an alluvial valley at an altitude of about 1,000 metres, the river originates from the Bawngkawn ranges in north Aizawl and flows for around 20 km in eastern Aizawl before joining River Tuirial at the southern end of the city.

The river has turned into a dumping ground due to:

• Unplanned urbanisation and encroachments
• Business establishments situated close to the river
• The river serves as a dumping ground for several houses and shops located nearby.

Efforts to save Chite Lui:

• Zoram Research Foundation, a non-profit organisation working for traditional water management in Mizoram, began an initiative to save the river in 2007.
• A plastic road- the first in the state– was also constructed last year from the polythene waste retrieved from the river at Reiek village.
• In Mann ki Bat, the Prime minister praised the Save Chite Lui action plan to save the river that had been turned into a landfill.

8. Construction of twin tunnels beneath southern ridge: Supreme Court committee recommends approval

Subject: Geography

Section: Places in news

Context:

• The Central Empowered Committee (CEC) of the Supreme Court has recommended for approval the construction of underground twin tunnels beneath the southern ridge in Delhi, a protected forest area.

Details:

• The project will involve the felling of around 685 trees on non-forest land, and trees in the ridge area are not expected to be affected, according to the National Highways Authority of India’s (NHAI) proposal for the tunnels.
• The twin tunnels are expected to be around 4.3 km long, and around 30 m wide.
• It will cover an area of 5.82 hectares under the southern ridge, which is notified as a reserved forest, and one hectare under what is ‘deemed’ forest, or an area that has not been notified but is recorded as forest.
• The tunnels will cover a length of around 2.03 km under the ridge.
• The Ridge is an extension of the Aravallis, and parts of it have been notified as a reserved forest.

About Delhi ridge:

• Delhi Ridge, sometimes simply called The Ridge, is a ridge in the Northern Aravalli leopard wildlife corridor in the National Capital Territory of Delhi in India.
• It is a northern extension of the ancient Aravalli Range, some 1.5 billion years old (by comparison, the Himalayas are “only” 50 million years old).
• The ridge consists of quartzite rocks and extends from the southeast at Tughlaqabad, near the Bhatti mines, branching out in places and tapering off in the north near Wazirabad on the west bank of the river Yamuna, covering about 35 kilometres.
• The Ridge acts as the “green lungs” for the city, and protects Delhi from the hot winds of the deserts of Rajasthan to the west.
• It has also enabled Delhi to be the world’s second most bird-rich capital city, after Kenya’s Nairobi.
• Though modest in height, the ridge acts as a watershed dividing the Indus Plain to the west from the Gangetic Plain to the east, within the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
• Southern ridge:
  • Southern Ridge sprawls across 6200 hectares and includes the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary, Bandhwari and Mangar Bani forests.
  • This is the least urban of the 4 segments of the Ridge, but a lot of it is village-owned or privately owned farmland.

9. Where are the world’s water stresses?

Subject: Geography

Section: Hydrology

Context:

• There is a contentious domestic debate over water supplies. Disruptions to water supply or perceived misuse can cause immediate social unrest, and countries like U.S., Australia, Iran and France have seen violent protests regarding water recently.

Details:

• Constant and affordable access to fresh water is recognised as a basic human right by the UN.
• Freshwater provides a foundation for life and is also crucial for industry and manufacturing, energy production, agriculture, sanitation, and other essential societal functions.

Threat to water availability:

• Desertification, climate change, man-made water diversion, dam building, pollution, and overuse have seen rivers, lakes, and aquifers dry up.
• Poor water management and infrastructure:
  • In Iraq, up to 14.5 per cent of the country’s water is lost to evaporation and two-thirds of its treated water is lost due to leaks and poor infrastructure.
  • Up to 25 to 30 per cent of South Africa’s water is lost to leaks, while even in many industrialised countries, up to 15 to 20 per cent of water supply is lost.
• Water inequality:
  • In South Africa, 14 per cent of the population has been found to be responsible for more than half of the freshwater use.
  • Across Africa, one in three people already faces water scarcity, where “the availability of natural hygienic water falls below 1,000 m3 per person per year.”
• Water privatization:
  • Monetisation has even seen countries like Fiji, the world’s 4th-largest water exporter in 2021, face water supply shortages over the last few years.
• Water contamination:
  • Contamination can lead to longer-term damage to public faith in water infrastructure.
• Water security:
  • The US and Mexico have historically competed over water rights to both the Colorado River and the Rio Grande.
  • Tension between Iran and Iraq over Tigris and Euphrates rivers and their tributaries.
  • Relations between Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia have similarly deteriorated since the latter began construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) in 2011.

Water desalination:

• A desalination plant turns salt water into water that is fit to drink.
• Desalination is the process of removing salts from water to produce water that meets the quality (salinity) requirements of different human uses.
• The most commonly used technology for the process is reverse osmosis.
  • External pressure is applied to push solvents from an area of high-solute concentration to an area of low-solute concentration through a semi-permeable membrane.
  • The microscopic pores in the membranes allow water molecules through but leave salt and most other impurities behind, releasing clean water from the other side.
• These plants are mostly set up in areas that have access to seawater.
• Although seawater desalination remains expensive and energy-intensive, it is becoming more efficient and widespread.
• In Saudi Arabia, 50 per cent of the country’s water needs are met by desalination, while Egypt plans to open dozens of new desalination plants in the coming years.
• Currently, 70 per cent of the world’s desalination plants are found in the Middle East.

Advantages of Desalination Plants:

• It can extend water supplies beyond what is available from the hydrological cycle, providing an “unlimited”, climate-independent and steady supply of high-quality water.
• It can provide drinking water in areas where no natural supply of potable water exists.
• As it generally meets or exceeds standards for water quality, water desalination plants can also reduce pressure on freshwater supplies that come from areas (over-exploited water resources) that need protection.

Disadvantages of Desalination Plants:

• Costly to build and operate desalination plants as the plants require huge amounts of energy.
• Energy costs account for one-third to one-half of the total cost of producing desalinated water.
• Because energy is such a large portion of the total cost, the cost is also greatly affected by changes in the price of energy.
• The environmental impact is another disadvantage to water desalination plants. Disposal of the salt removed from the water is a major issue.
• This discharge, known as brine, can change the salinity and lower the amount of oxygen (Hypoxia) in the water at the disposal site, stressing or killing animals not used to the higher levels of salt.
• In addition, the desalination process uses or produces numerous chemicals including chlorine, carbon dioxide, hydrochloric acid and anti-scalents that can be harmful in high concentrations.