Daily Prelims Notes 28 July 2024

July 28, 2024
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

No Comments

Daily Prelims Notes

28 July 2024

Table Of Contents

1. Why Australia has banned mining in one of the world’s largest uranium deposits

Sub: Geo

Sec: Eco geo

Ban on Mining at Jabiluka Site:

Australia announced plans to ban mining at the Jabiluka site, which is surrounded by Kakadu National Park and contains one of the world’s largest high-grade uranium deposits.
The park would be extended to include the Jabiluka site, aligning with the wishes of the Mirarr people, the Indigenous custodians of the land.

Indigenous and Archaeological Significance:

The Mirarr people have long opposed mining at Jabiluka, and in 2017, archaeologists discovered ancient stone tools near the site, dating back tens of thousands of years.

Jabiluka mine:

Jabiluka is a pair of uranium deposits and mine development in the Northern Territory of Australia that was to have been built on land belonging to the Mirarr clan of Aboriginal people.
The mine site is surrounded by, but not part of, the World Heritage–listed Kakadu National Park.

Political Context and Legal History:

The ban comes amid the opposition conservative Coalition‘s proposal to build nuclear power plants, challenging Australia’s 26-year nuclear ban.
The Jabiluka site has been a contentious issue since the discovery of uranium in the early 1970s, with significant protests, including a blockade by the Mirarr people and the band Midnight Oil in the late 1990s.
The decision follows international condemnation of Rio Tinto’s destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters in 2020.

Source: IE

2. Environmentalists alarmed as Himachal witnesses shift in snowfall patterns

Sub: Geo

Sec: Climatology

Context:

Himachal Pradesh is experiencing a reduction in snow cover and a shift in snowfall patterns from winter to early summer, raising concerns about climate variability in the Himalayas.
The decrease in snow during peak winter months (December and January) could affect summer water availability, as winter snow sustains river discharge.

Study Findings on Snow Cover:

A study by the Centre on Climate Change of Himachal Pradesh Council for Science Technology-Environment (HIMCOSTE) shows a 12.72% decrease in snow-covered areas across major river basins (Satluj, Ravi, Chenab, and Beas) in 2023-24 compared to 2022-23.
Early winter months (October-November) saw a decrease in snow cover, except for a slight increase in the Ravi basin. The peak winter months (December-January) showed a negative trend, with the worst affected being January.
However, February and March saw an increase in snow cover in all basins, and April experienced fresh snowfall, increasing the snow-covered area.

Concerns and Implications:

The late snowfall extending into April may not be beneficial, as rising temperatures could accelerate melting, affecting river discharge during peak summer.
Environmentalists and scientists note a worrying trend of reduced snowfall in peak winter months and a shift toward late winter or early summer, impacting hydropower, water sources, and ecosystems.

Source: TH

3. Should India focus on natural farming?

Sub: Env

Sec: Agri

Context:

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced plans to involve one crore farmers in natural farming over the next two years, supported by certification and branding.
Implementation will involve scientific institutions and gram panchayats, with 10,000 bio-input resource centres to be established.

National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF):

NMNF aims to encourage farmers to adopt chemical-free farming using locally-produced, cow-based inputs.
The natural farming scheme, under the ‘Bharatiya Prakritik Krishi Paddhati,’ has a budget of ₹4,645.69 crore for six years (2019-20 to 2024-25).

What is Natural Farming?

Natural farming avoids chemical fertilizers and pesticides, using traditional practices like biomass recycling, cow dung-urine formulations, and on-farm botanical concoctions.
It focuses on natural nutrient cycling and increasing soil organic matter, integrating crops, trees, and livestock.

Natural farming practice:

Natural farming is an ecological farming approach where farming system works with the natural biodiversity, encouraging the soil’s biological activity and managing the complexity of living organisms both plant and animal to thrive along with food production system. Important practices, essential for adoption of natural farming includes:
- No external inputs,
- Local seeds (use of local varieties), .
- On-farm produced microbial formulation for seed treatment (such as bijamrita),
- On-farm made microbial inoculants (Jivamrita) for soil enrichment,
- Cover crops and mulching with green and dry organic matter for nutrient recycling and for creating a suitable micro-climate for maximum beneficial microbial activity in soil.
- Mixed cropping,
- Managing diversity on farm through integration of trees
- Management of pests through diversity and local on-farm made botanical concoctions (such as neemastra, agniastra, neem ark, dashparni ark etc);
- Integration of livestock, especially of native breed for cow dung and cow urine as essential inputs for several practices and
- Water and moisture conservation.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES FOR NATURAL FARMING PROMOTION:

Preserve natural flora and fauna
Restore soil health and fertility and soil’s biological life
Maintain diversity in crop production
Efficient utilization of land and natural resources (light, air, water)
Promote natural beneficial insects, animals and microbes in soil for nutrient recycling and biological control of pests and diseases
Promotion of local breeds forlivestock integration
Use of natural / local resource-based inputs
Reduce input cost of agricultural production
Improve economics of farmers

Challenges and Concerns:

Experts express concerns about transitioning from chemical to natural farming on a large scale in India, given the country’s food security needs.
An academic paper highlights mixed outcomes from different studies on Zero Budget Natural Farming (ZBNF), with Andhra Pradesh showing positive results, while another study notes significant yield declines in key crops like wheat and basmati rice.
Sri Lanka’s complete shift to organic farming led to economic and political turmoil, highlighting the risks of a sudden transition without adequate preparation and study.

Source: TH

4. Current State of Employment in India

Sub: Eco

Sec: Inflation and unemployment

The Union Budget for 2024-25 places a strong emphasis on employment, highlighting several initiatives aimed at addressing job creation and unemployment.

Workforce Composition: As of 2022-23, India’s workforce is approximately 56.5 crore, with 45% in agriculture, 11.4% in manufacturing, 28.9% in services, and 13% in construction.
Unemployment Rate: The official unemployment rate was 3.2%, but this figure may not fully capture underemployment and the large number of people in informal sectors.
Urban and Youth Unemployment: Urban unemployment was 6.7%, and youth unemployment stood at 10%.
Salaried Workers: The proportion of regular salaried workers decreased from 22.8% in 2017-18 to 20.9%, with many lacking formal contracts or social security benefits.

Budget Schemes for Employment Generation

First-Time Employee Subsidy:
- Provides a wage subsidy of up to ₹15,000 for hiring first-time employees, paid in three instalments, covering up to one crore people.
Manufacturing Sector Incentives:
- Offers wage subsidies for hiring in the manufacturing sector, with up to 24% of a ₹25,000 monthly wage covered for four years.
Employer Subsidies for New Hires:
- Reimburses employers up to ₹3,000 of their monthly EPFO contribution for hiring new workers.
Industrial Training and Skilling:
- Plans to upgrade Industrial Training Institutes and enhance skilling efforts, benefiting approximately 20 lakh students.
On-the-Job Skilling:
- Aims to provide internships to one crore youth with a monthly allowance of ₹5,000, with companies bearing training costs and 10% of the allowance.

Expert Opinions and Challenges

Implementation Challenges: Experts point out that the conditions and procedures for these schemes may hinder effective implementation, such as requiring financial literacy courses for employees to receive subsidies.
Structural Constraints: Economists argue that the primary issue isn’t high wage costs but insufficient demand and lack of private investment. They suggest focusing on stimulating demand by raising wages and investing in the MSME sector.
MSME Sector Focus: There is a call for more targeted support for MSMEs and labour-intensive sectors, which can have a multiplier effect on job creation.

Recommendations for Job Creation

Increase Wages in Key Sectors: Raising wages in the MSME sector and labour-intensive industries can stimulate demand and consumption.
Enhance Employment Guarantee Schemes: Expanding schemes like MGNREGA and creating similar programs for urban workers could provide direct support and boost consumption.
Focus on Formalizing Employment: Creating formal jobs and ensuring social security benefits are crucial for absorbing the workforce exiting agriculture and informal sectors.

5. Kerala breaks free from centralized testing, sequencing

Sub: Sci

Sec: Health

Context:

On July 20, the Thiruvananthapuram-based Institute of Advanced Virology tested the Nipah virus sample in four hours and conveyed the result to the State government.

Institute of Advanced Virology, Kerala:

The Institute of Advanced Virology (IAV) has been established by the Government of Kerala through Kerala Biotechnology Commission (KBC) of Kerala State Council for Science Technology and Environment (KSCSTE) in the wake of the 2018 Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala.
The Institute will strengthen epidemic preparedness, rapid response and risk communication to the public apart from the high-end research in the area of basic as well as translational virology.
The Institute shall have the biosafety level measures to handle high-risk viruses (Biosafety Level 3 initially and eventually to Level 4.
The Institute has for the first time carried out partial sequencing of the Nipah virus genome.

What is Genome sequencing?

Genome sequencing is the process of determining the entirety, or nearly the entirety, of the DNA sequence of an organism’s genome at a single time.
The first virus to have its complete genome sequenced was the Bacteriophage MS2 by 1976.
Genome sequencing is performed through 4 main steps:
- DNA shearing: Scientists begin by using molecular scissors to cut the DNA, which is composed of millions of bases (A, C, T, and G), into pieces that are small enough for the sequencing machine to read.
- DNA barcoding: Scientists add small pieces of DNA tags, or bar codes, to identify which piece of sheared DNA belongs to which bacteria. This is similar to how a bar code identifies a product at a grocery store.
- DNA sequencing: The bar-coded DNA from multiple bacteria is combined and put in a DNA sequences. The sequencer identifies the A, C, T, and G, or bases, that make up each bacterial sequence. The sequencer uses the bar code to keep track of which bases belong to which bacteria.
- Data analysis: Scientists use computer analysis tools to compare sequences from multiple bacteria and identify differences. The number of differences can tell the scientists how closely related the bacteria are, and how likely it is that they are part of the same outbreak.

Whole genome sequencing should not be confused with DNA profiling, which only determines the likelihood that genetic material came from a particular individual or group, and does not contain additional information on genetic relationships, origin or susceptibility to specific diseases

6. Why and when are puberty blockers prescribed

Sub: Sci

Sec: Health

Context:

Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has alleged that his transgender child was (figuratively) “killed by the woke mind virus” after he was “tricked” into consenting to the use of “puberty blockers.

What are puberty blockers?

Puberty blockers are drugs that can delay the changes of puberty in transgender and gender-diverse teens.
During puberty, a child’s body goes through physical changes in the process of becoming an adult capable of sexual reproduction.
When a teen has gender dysphoria, a condition in which they are conflicted between the gender assigned at birth and the gender they want to assume, then the puberty blockers are prescribed to pause sex hormones.
Puberty blockers are administered in a dose given monthly, or every three months, or every six months.
The most common puberty blockers include: Goserelin (Zoladex) Histrelin (Supprelin LA) Leuprolide (Lupron Depot-Ped, Fensolvi)

How do these drugs work?

The medicines are called gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, which stop the body from making sex hormones.
In people assigned male at birth, these slow the growth of facial and body hair, prevent voice deepening, and limit the growth of the penis, scrotum, and testicles.
In people assigned female at birth, the drugs limit or stop breast development, and stop menstruation.
Puberty blockers are also used in cases of precocious puberty, a condition in which a child’s body begins changing too soon, before the age of eight for girls and before the age of nine in boys
In India puberty blockers are prescribed mostly for precocious puberty in India.

What are side effects associated with Puberty blockers?

Side effects include insomnia, weight gain, muscle aches, fatigue, mood shifts, changes in breast tissue, and irregular periods or spotting in women.
They may also cause depression or self-harm tendencies.

7. Ship carrying 1.4 million litres of oil sinks near Philippines: How oil spills impact the environment

Subject: Env

Sec: Pollution

Context:

Major oil spills from the past point to the complex challenges of recovery and a devastating impact on marine life.

Anatomy of an oil spill:

The environmental consequences are influenced by factors such as the type of oil, the volume of the spill, weather conditions, and proximity to sensitive ecosystems.
Due to its lighter density compared to water, it forms a layer that obstructs sunlight and disrupts photosynthesis in marine plants and phytoplankton, which are crucial for oxygen production. The microscopic algae are consumed by fish and other marine animals, and form the base of multiple food chains.
Marine animals, especially those near the surface, face immediate dangers from toxic exposure. With oil coating the feathers of birds, they may lose their insulation abilities, leading to hypothermia and drowning.
Oil-Spill:
- An oil spill refers toany uncontrolled release of crude oil, gasoline, fuels, or other oil by-products into the environment.
- Oil spills can pollute land, air, or water.
Major Causes:
- Chiefly as a result of intensified petroleum exploration and productionon continental shelves and the transport of large amounts of oils in vessels.
- Oil spills that happen in rivers, bays and the ocean most often are caused by accidentsinvolving tankers, barges, pipelines, refineries, drilling rigs and storage facilities, but also occur from recreational boats and natural disasters.
Environmental Impacts:
- Threat to Indigenous people:
  - Oil pollution poses health hazards for the indigenous population who depend on seafood.
- Harmful to aquatic life:
  - Oil on ocean surfaces is harmful to many forms of aquatic life because it prevents sufficient amounts of sunlight from penetrating the surface,and it also reduces the level of dissolved oxygen.
- Hypothermia:
  - Crude oil ruins the insulating and waterproofing properties of feathers and fur of birds, and thus oil-coated birds and marine mammals may die from hypothermia (decrease in body temperature to below-normal levels).
- Toxic:
  - Moreover,ingested oil can be toxic to affected animals, and damage their habitat and reproductive rate.
- Threat to Mangroves:
  - Saltwater marshes and Mangroves frequently suffer from oil spills.
- Economic Impacts:
  - Tourism:
    - If beaches and populated shorelines are fouled, tourism and commerce may be severely affected.
  - Power Plants:
    - The power plants and other utilities that depend on drawing or discharging sea water are severely affectedby oil spills.
  - Fishing
    - Major oil spills are frequently followed by the immediate suspension of commercial fishing.
  - Remedies:
    - Bioremediation:
      - Bacteria can be used to clean up oil spills in the oceanthrough bioremediation. Specific bacteria can be used to bioremediate specific contaminants, such as hydrocarbons, which are present in oil and gasoline.
      - Using bacteria such asParaperlucidibaca, Cycloclasticus, Oleispira, Thalassolituus Zhongshania and some others can help remove several classes of contaminants.
    - Containment Booms:
      - Floating barriers, called booms, are used to restrict the spread of oil and to allow for its recovery, removal, or dispersal.
    - Skimmers:
      - They are devices used for physically separating spilled oil from the water’s surface.
    - Sorbents:
      - Various sorbents (e.g., straw, volcanic ash, and shavings of polyester-derived plastic) that absorb the oil from the water are used.
    - Dispersing agents:
      - These arechemicals that contain surfactants, or compounds that act to break liquid substances such as oil into small droplets. They accelerate its natural dispersion into the sea.
    - Related Laws in India:
      - Presently, there is no law covering oil spill as such and its consequential environmental damage in India but India has “the National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan of 1996 (NOS-DCP)”to handle such situations.
        The document was issued by the Ministry of Defense in 1996; it was last updated in March 2006.
        It gives the Indian Coast Guard the mandate to coordinate with state departments, ministries, port authorities and environmental agencies to assist in oil spill cleaning operations.
      - In 2015 India ratified the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage, 2001(Bunker Convention). Convention ensures adequate, prompt and effective compensation for damage caused by oil spills.
        It was administered by the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

8. Kargil Vijay Diwas: How India conquered Kargil’s inclement conditions, 25 years ago

Subject: Sci

Sec: Defence

Context:

The Kargil War officially ended 25 years ago, on July 26, 1999. The Kargil Vijay Diwas, observed annually on this day, commemorates India’s victory against Pakistan, and the sacrifices of her soldiers, who braved much more than just the Pakistani infiltrators to emerge victorious in Kargil.

The Kargil War

The conflict was triggered when infiltrators from Pakistan crossed the LoC and occupied high positions in Ladakh’s Kargil district.
First reported to the Indian Army on May 3, the infiltrators were initially thought to be jihadis.
Between mid-May and July, the Indian forces slowly recaptured critical positions from the Pakistanis, in the face of heavy casualties.
The Army announcing the complete withdrawal of all Pakistani regular and irregular troops from Kargil on July 26.

Trial by altitude

Kargil is located at the northern edge of the LoC, some 200 km northeast of Srinagar and 230 km west of Leh.
Kargil town lies at an altitude of 2,676 m (8,780 ft), Dras lies at a height of 3,300 m (10,800 ft), and the surrounding peaks rise to altitudes of 4,800 m (16,000 ft) to 5,500 m (18,000 ft).
These extreme heights cause severe physiological effects on the one’s body— and equipment. “The combination of thin air, cold weather and rugged mountains has dramatic effects on men and their equipment,”.
Challenge number one was the crippling cold. The battlefield in Kargil lay in a cold desert where winter temperatures dropped to as low as -30 degrees Celsius.
While the summers were more pleasant, frigid winds and the barren landscape still made the battlefield
The cold impacted both the men and the machines – guns jammed while their operators expended great amounts of energy to keep the body warm.
Problem number two was the thin air, and reduced oxygen levels. This led to a wide range of physiological effects among soldiers including acute mountain sickness (AMS), which can cause headaches, nausea, appetite loss, muscular weakness, and general fatigue.
Low air pressure impacted the performance of both weapons and aircraft. While it increased the range of the projectiles fired, accuracy and predictability suffered. Aircraft engines produced less power, and helicopters lost rotor efficiency.
Lastly, the terrain imposed significant restrictions on soldiers. It reduced mobility, provided cover to the enemy, and limited the scope of operations.

Victory against all odds

Units initiated acclimatisation and training programs to better prepare the soldiers for the conditions.
Better cold-weather equipment was procured (although the Army remained lacking in this regard throughout the War).
Techniques for high-altitude assault were further honed.
Instead of daytime frontal attacks, assaults increasingly featured small groups scaling near-vertical terrain.
With limitations of providing air cover to the ground forces due to the altitude and the terrain, the Army eventually leaned heavily on artillery, especially the controversial Bofors gun whose range nearly doubled in the thin air of Kargil.
India’s hard-fought victory in the Kargil War illustrated the timeless challenges posed by combat at high altitude – challenges which are as deadly, if not more, than the enemy itself.