Daily Prelims Notes 21 September 2022
- September 21, 2022
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
21 September 2022
Table Of Contents
- Qutub Minar
- Withdrawal of monsoon
- PUSA Decomposers
- RBI removes Central Bank of India from PCA framework
- Need to be ready to prevent any ‘black swan’ event, says FM
- No spotted deer brought to Kuno as prey
- CBI’s uneasy history
- Lumpy Skin Disease
- Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Act
- Draft regulations for the front-of-the-pack nutritional labelling
- Chola Dynasty
- Dharamshala Declaration
- The ‘triple dip’ La Niña, and its likely impact on India
Subject :Art and Culture
Context: The Saket district court on Tuesday dismissed the intervention plea of Kunwar Mahender Dhwaj Pratap Singh who claimed that the Qutub Minar was built on land that belonged to him and hence he should be made party to the main suit filed in the court that demands worship rights in the temples built inside the ASI-protected monument. Dismissing the plea, Additional District Judge Dinesh Kumar said that he will be hearing the main suit, filed on behalf of Jain deity Tirthankar Lord Rishabh Dev and Hindu deity Lord Vishnu (through their next of friends) that seeks restoration of 27 Hindu and Jain temples at the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque inside the Qutub Minar, next month
Qutab Minar
- Qutab Minaris a soaring, 73 m-high tower of victory, built in 1193 by Qutab-ud-din Aibak immediately after the defeat of Delhi’s last Hindu kingdom.
- The tower has five distinct storeys, each marked by a projecting balcony and tapers from a 15 m diameter at the base to just 2.5 m at the top.
- The first three storeys are made of red sandstone; the fourth and fifth storeys are of marble and sandstone.
- At the foot of the tower is the Quwwat-ul-Islam Mosque, the first mosque to be built in India. An inscription over its eastern gate provocatively informs that it was built with material obtained from demolishing ’27 Hindu temples’.
- A 7 m-high iron pillar stands in the courtyard of the mosque. It is said that if you can encircle it with your hands while standing with your back to it your wish will be fulfilled.
- The origins of Qutab Minar are shrouded in controversy. Some believe it was erected as a tower of victory to signify the beginning of the Muslim rule in India. Others say it served as a minaret to the muezzins to call the faithful to prayer.
- No one can, however, dispute that the tower is not only one of the finest monuments in India, but also in the world. Qutab-ud-din Aibak, the first Muslim rulerof Delhi, commenced the construction of the Qutab Minar in 1200 AD, but could only finish the basement. His successor, Iltutmush, added three more storeys, and in 1368, Firoz Shah Tughlak constructed the fifth and the last storey.
- The development of architectural styles from Aibak to Tughlak is quite evident in the The relief work and even the materials used for construction differ.
- The 238 feet Qutab Minar is 47 feet at the base and tapers to nine feet at the apex. The tower is ornamented by bands of inscriptions and by four projecting balconies supported by elaborately decorated brackets.
- Even though in ruins, the Quwwat Ui Islam (Light of Islam) Mosque in the Qutab complex is one of the most magnificent structures in the world. Qutab-ud-din Aibak started its construction in 1193 and the mosque was completed in 1197.
- Iltutmush in 1230 and Alla-ud-din Khiljiin 1315 made additions to the building. The main mosque comprises of an inner and outer courtyard,decorated with shafts and surrounded by piller. Most of these shafts are from the 27 Hindu temples, which were plundered to construct the mosque. It is, therefore, not surprising that the Muslim mosque has typical Hindu ornamentation. Close to the mosque is one of Delhi’s most curious antiques, the Iron Pillar.
Subject :Geography
Southwest monsoon begins early withdrawal in Rajasthan
Details:
September 30 is considered the final day of the season for the entire country; while India has recorded 7% more rainfall than normal, the southern peninsula and central parts have had the bulk of the excess at 29% and 33%, respectively.
Concept:
- Withdrawal or the retreat of the monsoon is a more gradual process.
- The withdrawal of the monsoon begins in northwestern states of India by early September. By mid-October, it withdraws completely from the northern half of the peninsula.
- The withdrawal from the southern half of the peninsula is fairly rapid.
- By early December, the monsoon has withdrawn from the rest of the country.
- The withdrawal, takes place progressively from north to south from the first week of December to the first week of January. By this time the rest of the country is already under the influence of the winter monsoon.
- The months of October and November are known for retreating monsoons. By the end of September, the southwest monsoon becomes weak as the low pressure trough of the Ganga plain starts moving southward in response to the southward march of the sun.
- The monsoon retreats from the western Rajasthan by the first week of September. It withdraws from Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western Ganga plain and the Central Highlands by the end of the month.
- The retreating southwest monsoon season is marked by clear skies and rise in temperature. The land is still moist.
- Owing to the conditions of high temperature and humidity, the weather becomes rather oppressive. This is commonly known as the ‘October heat’.
- In the second half of October, the mercury begins to fall rapidly, particularly in northern India. The weather in the retreating monsoon is dry in north India but it is associated with rain in the eastern part of the Peninsula.
- By the beginning of October, the low pressure covers northern parts of the Bay of Bengal and by early November, it moves over Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Subject :Environment
Context: Decomposers to be used for stubble
Details:
- The decomposers are in the form of capsules made by extracting fungi strains that help the paddy straw to decompose at a much faster rate than usual.
- The fungi help to produce the essential enzymes for the degradation process.
Decomposer Mixture:
- It involves making a liquid formulation using decomposer capsules and fermenting it over 8-10 days and then spraying the mixture on fields with crop stubble to ensure speedy bio-decomposition of the stubble.
- The farmers can prepare 25 litres of the liquid mixture with 4 capsules, jaggery, and chickpea flour. The mixture is sufficient to cover 1 hectare of land.
Time to Decompose:
- It takes around 20 days for the degradation process to be completed.
- Under usual circumstances, shredded and watered paddy straw, which is mixed with soil, takes at least 45 days to decompose.
- It does not give enough time for farmers to prepare fields for the wheat crop on time.
Benefits:
- The decomposer improves the fertility and productivity of the soil as the stubble works as manure and compost for the crops and lesser fertilizer consumption is required in the future.
- The soil loses its richness due to stubble burning and it also destroys the useful bacteria and fungi in the soil, apart from causing harm to the environment.
- It is an efficient and effective, cheaper, doable, and practical technique to stop stubble burning.
- It is an eco-friendly and environmentally useful technology and will contribute to achieving Swachh Bharat Mission.
4. RBI removes Central Bank of India from PCA framework
Subject :Economy
Context: The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) recently removed Central Bank of India from its Prompt Corrective Action Framework (PCAF) after the lender showed improvement in various financial ratios, including minimum regulatory capital and net non-performing asset
Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) Framework
- PCA is a framework under which banks with weak financial metrics are put under watch by the RBI.
- The RBI introduced the PCA framework in 2002 as a structured early-intervention mechanism for banks that become undercapitalized due to poor asset quality, or vulnerable due to loss of profitability.
- It aims to check the problem of Non-Performing Assets (NPAs) in the Indian banking sector.
- The framework was reviewed in 2017 based on the recommendations of the working group of the Financial Stability and Development Council on Resolution Regimes for Financial Institutions in India and the Financial Sector Legislative Reforms Commission.
- PCA is intended to help alert the regulator as well as investors and depositors if a bank is heading for trouble.
- The idea is to head off problems before they attain crisis proportions.
- Essentially PCA helps RBI monitor key performance indicators of banks, and taking corrective measures, to restore the financial health of a bank.
- The PCA framework deems banks as risky if they slip some trigger points – capital to risk weighted assets ratio (CRAR), net NPA, Return on Assets (RoA) and Tier 1 Leverage ratio.
- Certain structured and discretionary actions are initiated in respect of banks hitting such trigger points.
- The PCA framework is applicable only to commercial banks and not to co-operative banks and non-banking financial companies (NBFCs).
What are the recent changes?
- The new provisions will be effective from January 1, 2022, an RBI notification said.
- The revised framework excludes return on assets as a parameter which may trigger action under the framework.
- Payments banks and small finance banks (SFBs) have also been removed from the list of lenders where prompt corrective action can be initiated.
- Capital, asset quality and leverage will be the key areas for monitoring in the revised framework.
- Indicators to be tracked for capital, asset quality and leverage would be CRAR/ common equity tier I ratio, net NPA ratio and tier I leverage ratio, respectively, as per the revised framework.
- In governance related actions, the RBI can supersede the board under Section 36ACA of the BR Act, 1949.
- The breach of any risk threshold may result in invocation of the PCA.
- The framework will apply to all banks operating in India, including foreign banks operating through branches or subsidiaries based on breach of risk thresholds of identified indicators.
- A bank will generally be placed under PCA framework based on the audited annual financial results and the ongoing supervisory assessment made by the RBI.
- The RBI may impose PCA on any bank during the course of a year (including migration from one threshold to another) in case the circumstances so warrant.
Exit from PCA
Once a bank is placed under PCA, taking the bank out of PCA Framework and/or withdrawal of restrictions imposed under the PCA Framework will be considered:
- a) if no breaches in risk thresholds in any of the parameters are observed as per four continuous quarterly financial statements, one of which should be Audited Annual Financial Statement (subject to assessment by RBI)
- b) based on Supervisory comfort of the RBI, including an assessment on sustainability of profitability of the bank.
The corrective actions that may be prescribed to the bank that is placed under PCA are:
- Risk Threshold 1
- Restriction on dividend distribution/remittance of profits.
- Promoters/Owners/Parent (in the case of foreign banks) to bring in capital
- Risk Threshold 2
- In addition to mandatory actions of Threshold 1
- Restriction on branch expansion; domestic and/or overseas
- Risk Threshold 3
- In addition to mandatory actions of Thresholds 1 & 2.
- Appropriate restrictions on capital expenditure, other than for technological upgradation within Board approved limits.
The common menu for discretionary actions includes special supervisory actions, strategy related, governance-related, capital-related, credit risk related, market risk related, HR-related, profitability related and operations/business-related among others.
5. Need to be ready to prevent any ‘black swan’ event, says FM
Subject : Economy
Context:
The FM recently referred to the future of finance as VUCA-volatile, uncertain, complex and totally ambiguous, she also said that one has to think within the available parameters and “be ready to prevent any black swan event”.
Concept:
Black Swan event?
Nassim Nicholas Taleb, a former Wall Street trader, in his book ‘The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable’ formulated the black swan theory.
A black swan is an unpredictable event that is beyond what is normally expected of a situation and has potentially severe consequences.
Black swan events are characterized by their extreme rarity, severe impact, and the widespread insistence they were obvious in hindsight.
- Is so rare that even the possibility that it might occur is unknown
- Has a catastrophic impact when it does occur.
- Is explained in hindsight as if it were actually predictable
There are no limitations in the way a Black Swan event can manifest itself. It could be anything from a natural disaster to a war, a financial crash or the outbreak of a virus.
6. No spotted deer brought to Kuno as prey
Subject: Environment
Context: Madhya Pradesh Forest Department has denied reports that chital, or spotted deer, from Rajasthan are being ferried to the Kuno National Park as prey for cheetah.
Concept :
About Chital
- Chital deer, also known as spotted deer, graze in large herds in forest clearings.
- It is native to the Indian Subcontinent.
- They have a rust brown body with white spots that help them blend in with the environment. The tines are three branches on each antler.
- They are included in Schedule 3 of the Wildlife protection act, 1972.
- It is classified as Least Concern in the IUCN red list.
Kuno National Park
- Kuno is a National park in Madhya Pradesh, India.
- It was established, in 1981, as a wildlife sanctuary in the Sheopur and Morena districts. It was also known as Kuno-Palpur and Palpur-Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary.
- In 2018, it was given the status of a National Park.
- It is part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
- The protected area is largely dry, deciduous forest.
Subject : Governance
Concept :
About Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI)
- The CBI is the premier investigating agency of India.
- Ministry: Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions.
- Role: It was originally set up to investigate bribery and governmental corruption. In 1965, it received expanded jurisdiction to investigate breaches of central laws enforceable by the Government of India, multi-state organised crime, multi-agency or international cases.
- CBI is exempted from the provisions of the Right to Information Act.
- CBI is India’s officially designated single point of contact for liaison with the Interpol.
- The CBI headquarter: New Delhi.
About Enforcement Directorate (ED)
- It is a law enforcement agency and economic intelligence agency responsible for enforcing economic laws and fighting economic crime in India.
- Ministry: Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance
- The prime objective is the enforcement of two key Acts:
- The Foreign Exchange Management Act 1999 (FEMA)
- The Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002 (PMLA)
- Headquarters: New Delhi
- Five regional offices: Mumbai, Chennai, Chandigarh, Kolkata and Delhi headed by Special Directors of Enforcement.
CBI vs ED:
- Despite the common factors, there are major differences in terms of sole jurisdiction between the ED and the CBI.
- The CBI primarily possesses the responsibility to investigate cases where corruption is outlined. Contrarily, the ED is mostly allocated with tasks like investigation operations against money laundering.
- Further, the ED possesses the sole jurisdiction of the cases that are legally allocated to them whereas the CBI has to share their legal space with other concerning bodies while investigating any corruption cases.
Subject :Science and Technology
Context: Mumbai Police ban the transportation of cattle, and fodder to prevent the spread of lumpy skin disease
Concept :
Lumpy Skin Disease
- LSD is caused by infection of cattle or water buffalo with the Capri poxvirus Lumpy Skin Disease Virus (LSDV).
- It is genetically related to the goatpox and sheeppox virus family.
- Lumpy skin disease was first seen as an epidemic in Zambia in 1929. Initially, it was thought to be the result of either poisoning or hypersensitivity to insect bites.
- According to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the mortality rate is less than 10%.
Transmission:
- Lumpy skin disease is primarily spread between animals by biting insects (vectors), such as mosquitoes and biting flies.
Symptoms:
- It primarily consists of fever, fluid excretion from eyes and nose, dribbling of saliva from the mouth and blisters on the body.
- The animal stops eating and faces problems while chewing or eating, resulting in reduced milk production.
Prevention and Treatment:
- Vaccination against these diseases is covered under the Livestock Health and Disease Control Programme of India.
- There are no specific antiviral drugs available for the treatment of lumpy skin disease. The only treatment available is supportive care of cattle. This can include treatment of skin lesions using wound care sprays and the use of antibiotics to prevent secondary skin infections and pneumonia.
- Anti-inflammatory painkillers can be used to keep up the appetite of affected animals.
Subject : Polity
Context: Supreme Court upholds validity of Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Act.
Concept :
- The Supreme Court upheld the validity of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara (Management) Act, 2014, under which a separate committee was formed to manage the affairs of gurdwaras in the state, saying affairs of the religious minority in the state i.e. Sikhs were left in the hands of the Sikhs alone.
- SC stated that it cannot be said to be violative of any of the fundamental rights conferred under Articles 25 and 26 of the Constitution.
- There were two petitions against the Haryana Act by Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC).
- SGPC challenged the 2014 Act on the ground that it’s against the constitutional provisions, the statutory provisions of the Punjab Reorganisation Act, 1966 and was also divisive in its intention to create dissension among Sikhs.
- The petitioners also challenged the 2014 Act on the ground that it violated the fundamental right to religion of Sikhs.
Article 25:
- Article 25 says that all persons are equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess, practice and propagate
- Article 25 covers religious beliefs (doctrines) as well as religious practices (rituals).
- Moreover, these rights are available to all persons—citizens as well as non-citizens.
Restrictions:
- These rights are subject to public order, morality, health, and other provisions relating to fundamental rights.
- The State is permitted to regulate or restrict any economic, financial, political or other secular activity associated with religious practice.
Article 26 (Freedom to manage religious affairs)
- This Article provides that every religious denomination has the following rights, subject to morality, health, and public order.
- The right to form and maintain institutions for religious and charitable intents.
- The right to manage its own affairs in the matter of religion.
- The right to acquire the immovable and movable property.
- The right to administer such property according to the law.
10. Draft regulations for the front-of-the-pack nutritional labelling
Subject : Economy
Context: The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) has released draft regulations for the front-of-the-pack nutritional labelling (FOPNL) for packaged food companies.
Details:
- It will be voluntary in nature for four years.
- It proposes to bring in five star ratings on the front labels of the packed food products to give consumers more information about the nutritional profile of the packaged food products.
- It proposed the mathematical formula on which star ratings
- It has defined baseline reference values for energy, total sugars, saturated fats and sodium that contribute to health risk factors.
- It has also prescribed the minimum percentage of positive nutrients such as fruit and vegetables, nuts, legumes, fibres and protein.
- Based on these two, food products will obtain Indian Nutrition Rating (INR) scores which will determine the number of stars for the food product.
- It proposed the mathematical formula on which star ratings
- For instance, a solid food product with INR scores in the range of 21-24 will be eligible for only one star (higher the number of stars better fulfills better nutrient needs).
- It for the first time defines High Fat Sugar and Salt (HFSS) food
- HFSS food means a processed food product which has high levels of saturated fat or total sugar or sodium.
- Products exceptions-fresh meat, poultry, eggs , herbs, spices, masalas, honey, natural mineral water, buttermilk, infant formula and single-ingredient products such as table-top salt, white sugar, vinegar and mustard.
Concept:
Front-of-Pack (FoP) Labelling System:
- FoP labelling system has long been listed as one of the global best practices to nudge consumers into healthy food choices.
- The front of pack nutritional labelling has been introduced in various countries where obesity and other lifestyle diseases pose a significant health risk.
- The World Health Organization (WHO) defines FoP labels as nutrition labelling systems that are presented on the front of food packages in the principal field of vision; and present simple, often graphic information on the nutrient content or nutritional quality of products.
- The Codex Alimentarius Commission mentions that “FoP labelling is designed to assist in interpreting nutrient declarations”.
Codex Alimentarius Commission (CAC):
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Subject : Art and Culture
Context:
Inspired by the grandeur of the mighty Chola Dynasty, Tanishq on Tuesday unveiled The Chozha, an exclusive jewellery collection to celebrate the thalassocratic empire and to unravel the treasure trove of divine splendour.
About the medieval Chola Dynasty:
- The Chola Dynasty was a Tamil thalassocratic empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in world history.
- The medieval Chola Empire was founded by Vijayalaya. He took over the Tanjore kingdom in the 8th century and led to the rise of the mighty Cholas by defeating the Pallavas.
- Aditya I succeeded Vijayalaya to become the ruler of the empire. He defeated kingAparajita and the empire gained massive power under his reign. He conquered the Pandya Kings along with the Vadumbas and established control over the Pallavas’ power in the region.
- Rajendra Cholasucceeded the mighty Rajaraja Chola. Rajendra I was the first to venture to the banks of Ganges. He was popularly called the Victor of the Ganges. His new empire capital was called the Gangaikondacholapuram where he received the title of ‘Gangaikonda’. This period is referred to as the golden age of the Cholas. After his rule, the kingdom witnessed a widespread downfall.
Society and culture:
- The medieval Cholas under Rajaraja and his successors developed a highly organized administrative structure with central control and autonomous village assemblies.
- For the purpose of administration, the empire was divided into convenient areas such as valanadu, mandalam, nadu,
- Chola rule saw the maturity of the Tamil Temple architecture.
- Rajaraja built the great Brihadisvara Temple in Thanjavur. His son Rajendra imitated this effort by building the temple at his new capital Brihadisvara temple, the Gangaikondacholisvaram and the Airavatesvara temples.
- Sculpting and art were also at an all-time high in this reign. Sculptures of gods and goddesses like Shiva, Vishnu and Lakshmi have been carved out of bronze and serve as a golden reminder of this period.
Subject :Government
Context:
The ‘Dharamshala Declaration 2022’ was released at the end of the three-day national conference on tourism attended by ministers from 12 states, besides Governors, UT administrators and central government officials which affirms commitment towards developing sustainable and responsible tourism and positions India as a global leader in the tourism sector by 2047.
Prospects of tourism sector in India:
- The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism in India generated US$210 billion or 9.2% of India’s GDP in 2018 and supported 42.673 million jobs, 8.1% of its total employment.
- The World Economic Forum’s Travel and Tourism Development Index 2021, which replaced its previous Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report, ranks India 54th out of 117 countries overall.
- According to the central government, the country’s tourism sector will strive to recover to the pre-pandemic level by mid-2024 and contribute USD 250 billion to the country’s GDP by 2030. India intends to achieve USD 1 trillion through the sector by 2047.
Dharamshala Declaration:
- Position India as a major tourism destination as it chairs the G20 in 2023.
- Ensure due rigour and dedication, and showcase our cultural richness while welcoming the world to India.
- Bring in necessary interventions, including visa reforms, ease of travel, traveller-friendly immigration facilities at airports and openness to international travel.
- National Tourism Policy drafted with a holistic vision and strategy to revive India’s tourism and targets to contribute USD 1 trillion to the GDP by 2047.
- By 2024, the tourism is estimated to contribute USD 150 billion to the GDP, USD 30 billion in Foreign Exchange earnings and get 15 million foreign arrivals.
Major schemes for tourism promotion in India:
- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)
- Integrated Development of Tourist Circuits around Specific Themes – (SWADESH DARSHAN)
- Adopt A Heritage Project
- Development of Iconic Tourist Site
13. The ‘triple dip’ La Niña, and its likely impact on India
Subject : Geography
Context:
Introduction–
- La Niña refers to the ENSO phase in which sea-surface temperatures are cooler than normal. The warmer phase is known as El Niño.
- A result of interactions between ocean and wind systems, El Niño and La Niña have almost opposite impacts on weather events.
- The ongoing La Niña phase of the equatorial Pacific Ocean has just been predicted to persist for at least another six months, making it one of the longest-ever La Niña episodes in recorded history.
- It is also only the third episode since 1950 to stretch into the third year.
‘Triple dip’ La Niña–
- El Niño and La Niña episodes typically last for about nine months to a year.
- They usually develop in the March-June period, and are the strongest during winter (November-January in the northern hemisphere), before weakening or dissipating by March or April of next year.
- Occasionally, however, they continue for much longer periods. In recent years, the El Niño of 2015-16, spread over 19 months, was one of the longest on record and was dubbed ‘Godzilla’ due to its sustained high intensity.
- The current La Niña episode has already surpassed that in length. Having started in September 2020, it has prevailed for the last 24 months, looks set to continue for another six months, and has thus been classified as a ‘triple dip’ La Niña.
Why the current prolonged La Niña event is different from the previous events?
- Both the earlier events — one between 1973 and 1976, and the other between 1998 and 2001 — were preceded by a strong El Niño.
- Prolonged La Niña events in those instances could be explained by the fact that the amount of accumulated heat in the oceans was higher, and therefore took a longer time to dissipate.
- In the absence of a strong El Niño preceding it, the reason for the current La Niña episode is not very clear at the moment.
Duration of ENSO (El- Nino La-Nina Southern Oscillation) cycle-
- El Niño and La Niña events are not mirror images of each other. They differ in length and strength.
- El Niño episodes occur more frequently and are usually associated with more impactful weather events.
- La Niña, on the other hand, has a longer run.
- That is why multi-year La Niña events, those that continue for more than 12 months, are quite common.
- An El Niño is more likely to be a single-year event.
- According to a recent paper published by Chinese researchers, almost half (six out of 13) of all La Niña events since 1950 have stretched for two years, while three, including the current one, have continued for three years.
- In contrast, over 75% of El Niño events (15 out of 20) ended within a year.
- No El Niño has ever stretched into the third year.
Evaluating the likely impact on India–
- In the Indian context, La Niña is associated with good rainfall during the monsoon season.
- This is the opposite of El Niño which is known to suppress monsoon rainfall.
- Thus, a continued spell of La Niña could lead to an expectation of another year of good, or normal, rainfall during the monsoon.
- Until now, the monsoon season this year has produced 7% more rain compared to normal. Last year, the seasonal rainfall was almost 100%.
- But, even though powerful, the ENSO condition is only one of the several factors affecting monsoon rainfall in India.
- There is no one-on-one correlation between the ENSO condition and the amount of rainfall.
Facts for prelims–
- The ongoing (year 2022) La Niña phase is one of the longest-ever La Niña episodes in recorded history.
- It is also only the third episode since 1950 to stretch into the third year.
- This is called “Triple-Dip” La-Nina event because it has surpassed 24 months and predicted to be continue for another 6 months. Thus Expected to be continue for 3rd year in a row (Thats why the term- Triple-Dip).
- The triple dip hanned two times in the past i.e.1973-1976 and 1998-2001.
- This La-Nina episode differs from the previous two, because the earlier two were preceded by a strong El-Nino events which is not the case with this La-Nina event.
- In the Indian context, La Niña is associated with good rainfall during the monsoon season.
- This event is causing drought conditions to the USA and Horn of Africa, while causing excess rainfall to South Asia (India, Pakistan, Indonasiaetc) and Australia.
La Niña’s cooling influence is temporarily slowing the rise in global temperatures but it will not halt or reverse the long-term warming trend.