Daily Prelims Notes 30 March 2024

March 30, 2024
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN

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Daily Prelims Notes

30 March 2024

Table Of Contents

1. What Is Kuttanad Farming?

Subject: Environment

Section: Protected Area

Concept:

What is Kuttanad Wetland Agriculture System?

Kuttanad Wetland Agriculture System is unique, as it is the only system in India that favours rice cultivation below sea level in the land created by draining delta swamps in brackish waters. As an approach to cope with the imminent climate impacts in coastal areas and evolve efficient methods it aims to deal with soil availability and floods issues in agriculture.

More details:

There are only two regions in the world where paddy is cultivated below the mean sea level. These places are in Holland and Kerala’s Kuttanad. It has been an age-old practice for the farmers of Kuttanad as the region lies two to three feet below the sea level. Kuttanad largely spans through three districts — Alappuzha, Kottayam and Pathanamthitta. While 65 per cent of the sub-sea-level farming is done in Alappuzha district, 30 per cent is done in Kottayam district and 5 per cent in Pathanamthitta district.
This region of the Alappuzha district in Kerala lies more than two metres below sea level and has the lowest altitude in India. It is serviced by the state’s significant rivers Pampa, Meenachil, Achan Kovil and Manimala in addition to Vembanad-Kol wetland, India’s second-largest wetland ecosystem. Luxury houseboats occupy the lake and several canals link it with the rivers, while numerous cottages and eateries dot the islands.
The Kuttanad area of Kerala was declared by FAO as a GIAHS (Globally important Agricultural Heritage System) on the basis of a proposal prepared by M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation MSSRF. Kuttanad is also a Ramsar site and a reputed destination for water tourism. Over the years, the Kuttanad ecosystem has deteriorated considerably due to human interventions, flooding and other ecological disasters.
The Kuttanad system is a complex mosaic of fragmented agricultural landscapes divided in three structures: wetlands used for paddy activities and fish catching, garden lands used for coconut, tubers and food crops plantation and water areas used as inland fishing and shells. Wetlands are created thanks to the construction of polders with bunds and its dewatering.

Challenges:

Facing a severe pollution of waters due to the tourism
Use of chemicals

Vembanad

Vembanad, also known as Punnamada is the longest lake in India, as well as the largest lake in the state of Kerala.
It is the second largest Ramsar site in India only after the Sunderbans in West Bengal.
Spanning several districts in the state of Kerala, it is known as Vembanadu Lakein Kottayam, Vaikom, Changanassery, Punnamada Lake in Alappuzha, Punnappra, Kuttanadu and Kochi Lake in Kochi.
Kuttanad,also known as The Rice Bowl of Kerala, has the lowest altitude in India, and is also one of the few places in world where cultivation takes place below sea level. Kuttanad lies on the southern portion of Vembanad.
The Nehru Trophy Boat Raceis conducted in a portion of the lake.
The lake has its source in four rivers, Meenachil, Achankovil, Pampa and Manimala.
It is separated from the Arabian Sea by a narrow barrier island and is a popular backwater stretch in Kerala.
The Government of India has identified the Vembanad wetland under the National Wetlands Conservation Programme.
In 2019, Willingdon Island, a seaport located in the city of Kochi, was carved out of Vembanad Lake.
One of the most outstanding features of this lake is the 1252 m long saltwater barrier, Thanneermukkom, which was built to stop saltwater intrusion into Kuttanad.

2. Power threat to the bustard

Subject: Environment

Section: Species in news

Context:

The Supreme Court will review its April 2021 order to bury underground all power lines in the habitat of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), after the Centre found the order “practically impossible to implement” over long distances.

Details:

The court created a seven-member committee that will suggest steps to protect and conserve the GIB, identifying critical areas where power lines may have to go underground.

Why do windmills and powerlines kill bustards?

GIBs have a narrow frontal vision and large size.
Unlike some birds that have panoramic vision around their head, species like raptors and bustards have extensive blind areas above their head forward to scan the ground below, they fly blind in the direction of travel.
Other threats to GIBs:
- Free-ranging dogs, ferals and Chinkaras
- Widespread use of pesticides in farmlands

What is the Great Indian Bustard?

One of the heaviest flying birds endemic to the Indian subcontinent.
State Bird of Rajasthan.

Habitat:

Arid grasslands.
A Maximum number of GIBs were found in Jaisalmer and the Indian Army-controlled field firing range near Pokhran, Rajasthan.
Other areas: Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh.

Protection Status:

IUCN Status: Critically Endangered.
Listed in Wildlife Protection Act’s Schedule 1.

Significance of GIBs in the ecosystem-

Terrestrial birds spend most of their time on the ground, feeding on insects, lizards, grass seeds, etc. GIBs are considered the flagship bird species of grassland and hence barometers of the health of grassland ecosystems.

Great Indian Bustard: Conservation efforts

The Supreme Court in April 2021 ordered that all overhead power transmission lines in core and potential GIB habitats in Rajasthan and Gujarat should be made underground.
- The Great Indian Bustard is listed in Schedule-I of the Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972, thereby, according it highest degree of legal protection from hunting.
- Important habitats of Great Indian Bustards are designated as National Parks/Sanctuaries for their better protection.
- The species has been identified for conservation efforts under the component ‘Species Recovery Programme’ of the Centrally Sponsored Scheme (CSS)-Development of Wildlife Habitat. Financial and technical assistance is provided to the State/Union Territory Governments under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme of Development of Wildlife Habitat for providing better protection to Great Indian Bustard and its habitat.
Ministry has taken up an initiative on conservation breeding of the Great Indian Bustard in collaboration with Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra Forest Departments and technical support from Wildlife Institute of India, Dehradun. The Ministry with financial support from National Authority for Compensatory Afforestation Funds has sanctioned an outlay of Rs. 33.85 crores for the duration of five years for the programme titled ‘Habitat Improvement and Conservation Breeding of Great Indian Bustard-an integrated approach’. The objective of this programme is to build up captive population of Great Indian Bustard and to release the chicks in the wild for increasing the population and also to promote in-situ conservation of the species.
The Great Indian Bustard has been included in the Appendix I of Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) of the basis of proposal submitted by India. It was also the mascot of the prestigious 13^thCMS Conference of Parties held in Gandhinagar giving wider publicity for the conservation of the species

3. US court asks India to pay $132 million to Deutsche Telekom in Devas Antrix case

Subject: IR

Section: Int organisation

The United States District Court for the District of Columbia confirmed a $132-million award awarded to Deutsche Telekom against the Republic of India. The German company had petitioned the court to confirm this award even as India countered this petition to get the award dismissed.
This was awarded by the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law arbitration, after it found that India was in violation of the bilateral investment treaty signed between Germany and India. The reason that India was found to be in violation of the treaty was the fact that it had the Indian government terminate a spectrum deal between state-owned Antrix and Devas in 2011. Deutsche Telekom was a shareholder in Devas.

United Nations Commission on International Trade Law

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law is the core legal body of the United Nations system in the field of international trade law. A legal body with universal membership specializing in commercial law reform worldwide for over 50 years, UNCITRAL’s business is the modernization and harmonization of rules on international business.

4. Target of 25-cr. Smart meters by 2025 to be missed by long mile

Subject: Science and tech

Section: Msc

Context: The government’s aim to install 25 crore smart meters by 2025 is unlikely to be met on account of slow progress in implementation, with expectations of only up to half the numbers will be installed.

What are Smart Meters?

Smart meters are next-generation digital electricity meters that measure energy consumption and communicate this information back to the utility company in near real-time.
Unlike traditional electric meters that require manual reading, smart meters automatically send readings to the utility company, enabling a two-way communication between the meter and the utility.

The Smart Meter National Programme (SMNP) is an initiative by the government of India aimed at promoting the adoption and installation of smart meters across the country to improve the billing and collection efficiencies of distribution companies (DISCOMs).
The programme aims to replace 25 crore conventional meters with smart meters in India, thereby facilitating the transition to a modern, efficient, and digitally enabled power distribution system.
The implementation of the SMNP is entrusted to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL), a joint venture of four National Public Sector Enterprises: NTPC Limited, PFC, REC, and POWERGRID, established under the Ministry of Power.