E. Editorials

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Innovations for cleaner air.

Background:

• According to the 2019 World Air Quality Report released by the pollution tracker IQAir and Greenpeace, India accounts for two-thirds of the world’s most polluted cities — 21 of the most polluted 30 cities.

Context:

• India has invested significantly in monitoring air pollution, however, it is important to move ahead in the direction of finding context-specific solutions to solve the problem.

Details:

1. Optimistic picture
   • India’s progress in tackling air pollution deserves praise, this progress starts from identifying the perils of air pollution and taking measures to tackle it. Air pollution for long was not considered a health hazard and this has changed.
   • In terms of infrastructure to monitor the air pollution, India has set up more than 250 continuous ambient air quality monitoring stations and in excess of 800 ambient air quality monitoring stations.
   • The data from the monitoring infrastructure has been central to our understanding of the malaise of air pollution in terms of its magnitude and spatial coverage.
   • The data has not just been pivotal to policy-making but also very important in educating the people about air pollution problems, creating awareness will go a long way in tackling air pollution.
2. Public policy
   • Air pollution has been tackled by numerous public policy initiatives, and for policy initiatives to be effective it needs to be backed by an adequate financial outlay.
     1. Budgetary allocation: The budget allocation towards air pollution has seen a significant rise in 2020-21 in comparison to the 2018-19 figures.
     2. Commission for Air Quality Management: It is a statutory body with powers to impose fine, powers to restrict setting up of industries in certain vulnerable areas. It has powers to penalize polluters in the National Capital Region and the adjoining areas.
     3. Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana: LPG coverage was expanded to hitherto untouched areas and has gone a long way in curbing indoor air pollution in rural areas.
     4. Transportation sector: This sector is one of the chief contributors to air pollution. The move to shift from BS-IV to BS-VI has been a brave move, along with encouraging e-mobility with schemes like FAME India scheme has been encouraging.
     5. National Clean Air Programme (NCAP): It is as a long-term, time-bound, national-level strategy to tackle the air pollution problem across the country in a comprehensive manner with targets to achieve 20% to 30% reduction in Particulate Matter concentrations by 2024 keeping 2017 as the base year for the comparison of concentration. Under NCAP, 122 non-attainment cities have been identified across the country based on the Air Quality data from 2014-2018.
3. Research and Development
   • Air pollution to be tackled at the policy level needs to be backed up by proper data, analysis and solutions.
   • Indian Agriculture Research Institute’s PUSA Bio Decomposer converts crop residue to manure in two to three weeks, this has the potential to dissuade the farmers to opt for stubble burning and instead convert it into a valuable resource.
   • India tested Swedish technology to reduce stubble burning, a process called Torrefaction converts stubble to green coal or energy pellets that can be used as an input fuel.
   • UNDP’s efforts to encourage start-ups that can come up with innovative solutions to tackle the problem, an example being the retrofitting of devices to curb particulate matter at source in industries and vehicles.
4. Leveraging technology.
   • Digital technology such as Artificial Intelligence and geospatial technology has the potential to identify, monitor, regulate and mitigate air pollution hotspots in an efficient manner.
   • A case in point being the collaboration between United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the University of Nottingham have come up with the GeoAI platform for monitoring brick kilns from space.
   • The GeoAI platform maps the brick kilns in the Indo-Gangetic plains, it has already done so by mapping 37,000 of such kilns.
   • Measures like this will help contextually tackle air pollution rather than adopting ‘one-size fits all’
   • There is a need to put in place a single-window online platform for exhibiting innovations to identify, monitor, regulate and mitigate air pollution challenges.

Way ahead

• There needs to be a shift in approach when it comes to tackling air pollution, there is a need to come up with situation-specific solutions to tackle air pollution, for example, the NCAP, which provides a city-specific solution.
• The private sector has the potential to be an important cog in the wheel in tackling air pollution, it has dual responsibility, while it can be the source of providing technologies that provide innovative solutions to help solve air pollution, the private sector also has the responsibility to control its carbon footprint, emissions etc.
• The overall economic cost of air pollution is estimated at around 7% of GDP or 14 lakh crores, which is almost twice the fiscal deficit of our nation. Therefore, it’s a health, economical and ecological concern.
• Government policy support, adequate financial outlay, robust institutions, an innovative eco-system, citizen awareness needs to be in synergy to confront air pollution at multiple levels.

Category: ECONOMY

1. The roots of the agricultural crisis run deep

Context:

• The stalemate between the farmers and the government over the recently passed farm acts have not yet been resolved.
• The recent proposals made by the government on issues like private traders registration, levy of taxes on trade outside the APMC Mandis, amendments that empower the states to enact rules on these issues, allowing judiciary for dispute resolution and continuation of MSP has not been accepted by the farmer unions who want a complete rollback of the acts.

Details:

1. Farmer protests
   • A close look at the last four years reveals that the farmer protests are not something new, several instances like a group of farmers from Tamil Nadu camping outside Delhi for cover 100 days. The ‘Kisan Long March’ in Maharashtra is another such example, and incidences like these were seen in states like Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Karnataka and Chattisgarh.
   • The police firing on farmers at Mandasaur in Madhya Pradesh killing five farmers is another example of farmer grievances not being dealt with appropriately.
   • The takeaway from the above incidences is that the farmer protest is not new and limited to the opposition of the farm acts.
   • The above examples may indicate that the farm protests differ in issues and are fragmented in nature, however, this is not the accurate depiction.
   • Agricultural incomes have been declining, wages have plateaued, state support to agriculture has been withdrawn.
   • NABARD released the results of its All India Rural Financial Inclusion Survey (NAFIS). It shows the vulnerability of Indian agriculture households.
   • Apart from a paltry income, farmers are facing rising indebtedness, lesser financial inclusion, and absence of insurance facility.
2. Times of pandemic
   • The post lockdown has had several challenges, like falling incomes, loss of jobs, erosion of savings, a slump in demand and economy in recession.
   • The three acts have acted as a trigger in the pandemic phase, whereas even an immediate rollback of the three acts will not be a panacea to the ailing agriculture sector.
   • The elements ailing agriculture sector goes deeper than the farm acts.
3. Agricultural prices.
   • The prices of agricultural commodities have not been remunerative and there have been large scale fluctuations in prices.
   • The lack of returns from agriculture has been aggravated by unforeseen and whimsical government policies.
   • The agriculture has been transforming, the sector is increasingly becoming market-driven, this has led to rendering farmers vulnerable to market forces.
   • The market induced vulnerability can be offset if not softened by the Government’s MSP-led procurement. The MSP led procurement protects farmer income and stabilizes prices.
   • However, MSP led procurement hasn’t been uniform across all the crops, it has largely been Rice and wheat dominant, closely followed by pulses. The rest of the MSP covered crops do not receive the same level of MSP operations.
4. Is increasing the MSP umbrella an answer?
   • The falling agricultural prices may not be arrested by increasing the MSP coverage because the demand has been slugging in a slowing economy. This argument can be seen in the falling prices of wheat.
   • The unceasing decline in the year-on-year inflation based on Wholesale Price Index (WPI) in the last three months despite procurement driven by MSP is an example of how MSP procurement will not bring about an increase in farm income.
   • The MSP procurement has had regional imbalances, procurement is in full swing in states of Haryana and Punjab, but in states of eastern India, wheat has been sold at 20%-40% lower prices compared to MSP prices.
   • Paddy has witnessed lower market prices than MSP in several states, maize is another example of lower market prices than MSP.
   • Inflation in the last three of the five years has been negative for cereals.
   • The above-mentioned argument indicates that it there needs to be a substantial procurement of majority of the 23 crops for which MSP is declared and this procurement should not be concentrated in few pockets, it has to be widespread covering large parts of the country.
5. Factors behind vulnerability

• The output prices have displayed high fluctuations with frequent spells of low prices., along with investment in mechanization have led to an increase in their cash requirement.
• According to the NAFIS report, about 43.5 per cent borrowed money, more than 60 per cent of these households borrowed from institutional sources, 30.3 per cent from non-institutional and more than half of the agri-households was found to be indebted.
• The rise in input costs have been a bane to farmers, evidences suggest that post the introduction of the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS) for fertilizers, the cost of fertilizers, a key input to agriculture has risen.
• Diesel subsidy withdrawal and a rise in electricity prices have made agriculture unviable.
• State governments have spent more on-farm loan waiver, which benefits only a fraction of farmers than on building durable assets for agriculture.
• The inflation-targeting framework and steps taken to contain fiscal deficit will likely to lead to lower financial outlay towards agriculture in protecting the farmers from price fluctuation or by reducing the cost of cultivation.

Conclusion.

• The Indian agricultural sector needs a major overhaul, this requires a proper in-depth understanding of the agrarian setup.
• The structural issues cannot be solved with the same mindset that was present when the problem was created, agriculture thus requires a fresh set of ideas, innovative solutions to infuse dynamism into the sector, which it is lacking in large quantities.
• The support of financial resources, policy initiatives cannot be understated, agriculture supports provide employment to close to half of India’s population, thus agriculture as an economic activity must become viable and profitable.

Category: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

1. Breaking up

Context:

The Federal Trade Commission(FTC), the U.S agency which is mandated to protect consumers and promote competition, along with Attorneys General of 46 states, the territory of Guam and the district of Columbia have filed a lawsuit against the social media giant Facebook

Details:

1. What is the case against Facebook?
   • The core of the lawsuit is the “anti-competitive” conduct and its actions to maintain dominance in the market for social networking services.
   • The lawsuit has brought the focus of attention to two broad areas, Facebook’s acquisition
2. Acquisition policy
   • The Facebook acquisition policy of buying the competitors like the photo-sharing app of Instagram and the instant messaging application of WhatApp has been called into question.
   • It was highlighted that despite the passing of six years since the acquisition of WhatsApp, Facebook hasn’t monetized it, signalling intentions of nipping the competition in the bud.
3. The policy of Retribution.
   • If attempts at take-over fail due to resistance mounted by the other party, Facebook has been accused of intimidating them with their follow-up actions.
   • The recent example of what happened to Twitter’s Vine, Path, Circle, where Facebook ensured that it closed its platform to its competitors.
4. Facebook’s response
   • Facebook claims that the acquisition of WhatsApp and Instagram was made to provide better products to people and the fact that these takeovers complied with the relevant anti-trust regulators.
   • Facebook also rejected the accusation of retribution towards fellow competitors, in defence of its actions Facebook said that it was merely protecting the duplication of its core functions and mentioned this policy was a norm and cited examples of Uber, LinkedIn, Pinterest etc who follow similar policies.
5. It’s a case against the ‘Big Tech’ companies and not just singling out Facebook.
   • There has been an increasing reprisal against the ‘Big Tech’ companies, just recently U.S Department of Justice sued Google for alleged abuse of its market dominance in the search services market.
   • Anti-trust charges have been accompanied by allegations of a data privacy breach, concerns over the influence wielded by these big technology firms have been raised, how these firms have been successful in utilizing their position to further their dominance.

Way Forward

• The calls for breaking up technology firms are growing, increasing internet penetration and indispensability of smartphones have made internet monopolies a feature of today’s world.
• Facebook has so far been able to skirt regulators, activists by their impressive, overambitious plans of new digital currency, free limited version of the internet.
• It is imperative that the Government and the regulators get their act together to prevent monopolies that can be detrimental in the long run.

F. Tidbits

1. U.K. and EU ditch deadline to pursue Brexit negotiations

What’s in News?

Prime Minister of U.K Boris Johnson and EU chief Ursula von der Leyen have agreed to abandon their supposed make-or-break deadline for the Brexit agreement.

Way Forward:

• While the UK has agreed the terms of its EU departure, both sides still need to decide what their future relationship will look like.
• Without a trade deal, cross-Channel trade will revert to WTO rules.
• This would result in tariffs driving up prices and generating paperwork for importers.
• The failed negotiation could worsen relations between London and Brussels for years to come.

Read more on this topic covered in 9^th December 2020 Comprehensive News Analysis.

2. Invest in vaccine literacy, say experts

What’s in News?

With a COVID-19 vaccine seemingly just round the corner in India, experts opine that vaccine literacy is the key to building public trust.

• Vaccine literacy is an important aspect in vaccine roll-out which often does not get the attention it deserves.
• Before a new vaccine is introduced it is essential to build the confidence of people which is only possible by openness and transparency in sharing critical data.
• It is suggested that it is essential to engage civil society organisations in a dialogue. They could be instrumental in disseminating information to the people at large.

It is suggested that it could be done in three ways:

• By maintaining absolute transparency in vaccine trial data results and adverse events.
• Rigorous surveillance through smart testing and tracing strategies as they form the bedrock for a vaccination campaign.
• By ensuring that the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) and the regulator are composed of independent persons with significant technical experience who do not have relation with the vaccine company or anyone who can influence.

3. Virus RNA found in sewage samples, says ICMR study

What’s in News?

Presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage samples has been detected.

Significance:

• The detection of the presence of SARS-CoV-2 RNA in sewage samples has raised the possibility of using environmental water surveillance to monitor virus activity in infected areas.
• It may provide evidence of the presence or absence of SARS-CoV-2-infected populations and confirmation of COVID-19-free zones.
• Similar environmental surveillance for the polio virus had played a critical role in the eradication of wild polio virus globally.

4. Pandemic, poverty spur child marriages in Madhya Pradesh

What’s in News?

The COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown have proved to be new drivers of child marriages in rural Madhya Pradesh.

• Despite the official vigilance, child marriages remain a challenge in Madhya Pradesh.
• Increased economic pressures due to the pandemic has pushed parents to marry off girls early.
• According to ChildLine India, across India, more than five thousand child marriages were reported in the first four months of the lockdown between March and June 2020.

Related UPSC Article – Child Marriage Restraint Act, 1929. Click to know more.

5. More females per 1,000 males in Assam, reveals survey report

What’s in News?

The National Family Health Survey for the 2019-20 fiscal (NFHS-5) has revealed that the sex ratio in Assam is now skewed in favour of females.

Key findings:

• According to NFHS-5, Assam saw 1,012 females born during 2019-2020 per 1,000 males. The sex ratio in 2015-16 was 993 females per a thousand males.
• The data collected shows improvement in neonatal and infant mortality rates, birth and death registrations, maternity care, delivery care and child vaccination, access to electricity, sanitation, drinking water and clean fuel for cooking.
• The State recorded a jump in insurance coverage and children attending schools too.
• The total fertility rate, however, dipped from 2.2 children per woman in NFHS-4 to 1.9.
• The survey found more children aged 6-59 months were anaemic or with low haemoglobin count than five years ago.

G. Prelims Facts

1. Kaziranga National Park

What’s in News?

In the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve, billed as the best-conserved home of the one-horned Rhinos, new modes of regulated transport have been introduced to explore the park.

Kaziranga National Park:

• Kaziranga National Park is located in the state of Assam.
• It is a World Heritage Site designated by UNESCO.
• It is more popular as the world’s best address for the one-horned rhino. The sanctuary hosts two-thirds of the world’s great one-horned rhinoceroses.
• It is also a major tiger reserve.
• It is also recognized as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International for the conservation of avifaunal species.
• Kaziranga National Park is divided into four ranges:
  • Burapahar range,
  • Bagori range,
  • Kohora range,
  • Agoratoli range.

Burachapori Wildlife Sanctuary:

• It is a protected area located in the state of Assam.
• It is a paradise for many migratory birds.
• It is considered to be an ideal habitat for the Bengal florican.

Click on the link get UNESCO World Heritage Sites in India– UPSC Notes.

2. Rare Myristica swamp treefrog found in Thrissur

What’s in News?

Myristica swamp treefrog (Mercurana myristicapalustris) has been recorded for the first time north of the Shencottah gap in the Vazhachal Reserve Forest in Kerala.

Myristica swamp treefrog:

• It is a rare arboreal species. These frogs are rare and elusive for the reason that they are arboreal and active only for a few weeks during their breeding season.
• The frog is endemic to the Western Ghats.
• They exhibit unique breeding behaviour. The breeding season, unlike for other frogs, starts in the pre-monsoon season (May) and ends before the monsoon becomes fully active in June.
• After breeding and egg-laying, they retreat back to the high canopies of the tree and remain elusive till next breeding season.

Note:

• The frog was first spotted in 2013 in the Myristica swamps of Arippa, near the Kulathupuzha Reserve Forest, in the western foothills of Agasthyamalai.

Q1. Which is the western most range in the Kaziranga National Park?

 Q2. Consider the following statements with respect to Myristica swamp treefrog:

Q3. Consider the following statements with respect to River Teesta:

Q4. Consider the following statements with respect to Jhum cultivation: