Article: 10th Feb 2021 Current Affairs Analysis - 10 Feb, 2021

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10th Feb 2021 Current Affairs AnalysisBy IASToppers' Editorial Team | 2021-02-10 17:00:00

Government Schemes & Initiatives

Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar mela in Guwahati

Union Finance Minister recently attended the third phase of Chah Bagicha Dhan Puraskar mela inGuwahati.

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Chah Bagichar Dhan Puraskar Mela Scheme:

The scheme was launched by the Chief Minister of Assam in 2018, at the Chah Bagichar DhanPurashkar Mela 2017-18.Aim: Encourage demonetisation and cashless banking. Benefits: Under this scheme, the workers of the tea community will receive Rs. 2500 in theirbank accounts. In addition to this, tea labourers will get another Rs. 2500 in the next phase.Eligibility:

Residents of Assam and who work on tea gardensWomen belonging to BPL category

Tea cultivation:

It is grown over undulating topography of hilly areas and well drained soils in humid and sub-humid tropics and sub-tropics.It requires a temperature ranging from 21°C to 29°C. Tea grows well in the regions which receive rainfall in between 150-200 cm. The soil should be well drained. However, stagnant water damages the tea crops.In India, it is grown in Brahmaputra valley of Assam, West Bengal (Darjeeling, Jalpaiguri andCooch Behar districts), lower slopes of Nilgiris and Cardamom hills in Western Ghats.

Key Fact:

China is the highest producer of the tea in the world followed by India.

[Ref: News on Air]

Bilateral & International Relations


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India – Ukraine Bilateral Relationship

At the Aero India 2021, Ukraine has signed four agreements worth $70 million. These include sale ofnew weapons as well as maintenance and upgrades of existing ones in service with the Indian armedforces.

India – Ukraine Relations:

With a population of over 40 million, Ukraine is one of the largest countries in Europe.Government of India recognized the Republic of Ukraine as a sovereign country in December 1991and established diplomatic relations in January 1992.India and Ukraine have signed several MOUs/Agreements in different spheres such as: Diplomaticrelations, visa matters, consular matters, trade and commercial matters, space, science andtechnology, defence, etc.Commerce & Trade relations:

Bilateral trade between the two countries was almost US$ 2.8 billion in 2018-19.India is Ukraine’s largest export destination in Asia Pacific & fifth largest overall exportdestination.

Culture:There is a great interest in Indian culture in Ukraine at the public level, covering variousaspects such as dances, yoga, philosophy, Ayurveda and spirituality.


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Indian Diaspora:There are about 18,000 Indian students studying in Ukraine, mainly in the field ofmedicine.‘India Club’ founded by Indian expats in 2001, actively engages the Indian diaspora inUkraine and organizes/supports several events.

[Ref: The Hindu]

U.S. moves to rejoin UN rights council

The US officials recently announced to reengage with the much-maligned U.N. Human Rights Council.

Background:

The former US President pulled out of it in 2018 due to its disproportionate focus on Israel.If rejoined, the US will have only nonvoting observer status on the council through the end of


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2021.

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC):

It is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations system.It was created by the United Nations General Assembly on 15 March 2006.It meets at the UN Office at Geneva, Switzerland.It replaced the former United Nations Commission on Human Rights.The Council’s work is reviewed in every five years by the UN General Assembly.The UNHRC holds regular sessions three times a year, in March, June, and September.Members: The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected bythe UN General Assembly.

Functions:

It investigates allegations of breaches of human rights in United Nations member statesAddresses important thematic human rights issues such as:

Freedom of association and assemblyFreedom of expressionFreedom of belief and religionWomen's rightsLGBT rightsRights of racial and ethnic minorities

Structure:

The members of the General Assembly elect the members who occupy the UNHRC's 47 seats.The term of each seat is three years, and no member may occupy a seat for more than twoconsecutive terms.The seats are distributed along the following lines:

13 for the African Group13 for the Asia-Pacific Group6 for the Eastern European Group8 for the Latin American and Caribbean Group7 for the Western European and Others Group


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[Ref: The Hindu]

Sri Lanka clears Chinese energy project near Tamil Nadu coast

Sri Lanka’s recent decision to pull out of the East Container Terminal (ECT) deal with India and Japan isthe prevailing challenge.

Major highlights about project:

Sri Lanka cleared a Chinese energy project in three islands that are barely 50 km from the Tamil Nadu coast.

The Sri Lanka Cabinet approved a proposal to involve Joint Venture in China to install ‘hybrid renewable energy systems’ in the Palk strait.

The islands are connected to the Jaffna peninsula by a limited ferry service, managed mostly bythe Sri Lankan Navy.


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This energy project is not the first instance of a Chinese role in northern infrastructure in SriLanka.Funding:

The project is backed by the Asian Development Bank, which has its own procurementguidelines.

Concerns for India:

Delft, the largest of the three islands, is the closest to Tamil Nadu, which lies to the island’s southwest.

Kachchativu is between the two, Delft Island and Rameshwaram, that India ceded to Sri Lankain 1974.

The waters around these islands are an area of contest and rivalry between Tamil Naduand Jaffna fishers.The matter has been on the bilateral agenda for decades.

Previous similar issues:

In 2018, India raised concern over China’s $300 million housing project for war-affected areas inSri Lanka, accusing the Resettlement Ministry of holding an “opaque” bidding process.

[Ref: The Hindu]

Social Issues

Massive rally in Bengaluru by Kuruba community members

A massive rally was held by members of the Kuruba community in Bengaluru highlighting their demand fora Scheduled Tribe (ST) tag.


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Kuruba Community

Kuruba, (also known as Kuruba Gowda, Kuruma and Kurumbar) is a Hindu caste native to theIndian states of Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.They are the fourth-largest caste group in Karnataka.Traditionally, they were shepherds, militiamen from the hills, armed vassals, or postmen.From Independence, the community enjoyed the ST status. In 1977, Kurubas were moved to the ‘most backward classes’ category from ST list.

Scheduled Tribe (ST):

Article 366 (25) of the Constitution refers to Scheduled Tribes as those communities, who arescheduled in accordance with Article 342 of the Constitution.Article 342 says that only those communities who have been declared as such by the Presidentthrough an initial public notification or through a subsequent amending Act of Parliament will beconsidered to be Scheduled Tribes.The list of Scheduled Tribes is State/UT specific and a community declared as a Scheduled


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Tribe in a State need not be so in another State.Essential Characteristics:

The Constitution is silent about the criteria for specification of a community as a ScheduledTribe. However, following are the traits that distinguish Scheduled Tribe communities from othercommunities:

PrimitivenessGeographical isolationSocial, educational and economic backwardness

Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups:There are certain Scheduled Tribes, 75 in number, known as Particularly Vulnerable TribalGroups (PVTGs), who are characterized by:

Pre-agriculture level of technologyStagnant or declining populationExtremely low literacySubsistence level of economy

[Ref: The Hindu]

Environment, Ecology & Disaster Management

Kerala CM takes up sanctuary zone issue

Kerala Chief Minister recently sought the intervention of Prime Minister over the recent draft notificationof the Ministry of Environment, Forest, and Climate Change that envisages a buffer zone around the Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary (WWS).

What is the issue?

The present draft notifies 118.59 sq km around the WWS as ESZ. However, Kerala wants ESZmeasuring 88.2 sq km around the WWS. Reason: Kerala government is of the view that densely populated areas should be excluded whilenotifying ESZs.Implication of notifying 118.59 sq km around the WWS as ESZ: Many villages border thesanctuary would fall within ESZ. All development in ESZ, including construction of roads andhouses, would be affected and farmers would not be able to cut trees they had planted on theirland without the permission of forest officials.


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Wayanad Wildlife Sanctuary:

It is located in Wayanad, Kerala.It is part of the Deccan Plateau and extends across four ranges namely Sulthan Bathery,Muthanga, Kurichiat and Tholpetty. It is the second largest wildlife sanctuary in Kerala.It was formed in 1973 and was brought under the Project Elephant in 1991–92.

Features:

It is home to the largest number of tigers in the State.It is an integral part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve. It is bounded by protected area network of Nagarhole and Bandipur of Karnataka in theNortheast, and on the Southeast by Mudumalai of Tamil Nadu.Vegetation: South Indian moist deciduous teak forests and pastures of West-coast semi-evergreen trees. Fauna: Elephants, tigers, panthers, jungle cats, civet cats, monkeys, wild dogs, bisons, deer,bears, monitor lizards and a variety of snakes are seen.Avian species: White-rumped Vultures and the Red-headed Vultures, etc.Tribes: Paniyas, Kurumas, Adiyans, Kurichiyas, Ooralis and Kattunaikkans.

Eco Sensitive Zones (ESZ):

They are areas in India notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change(MoEFCC) around Protected Areas, National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries. It drives its power from the Environment (Protection) Act, 1986 which does not mention the word"Eco-Sensitive Zones".


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Purpose: They act as a transition zone from areas of high protection to areas involving lesserprotection. Aim: Regulate certain activities around National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries so as to minimisethe negative impacts of such activities on the fragile ecosystem encompassing the protectedareas.

Extent of ESZ:

An ESZ could go up to 10 kilometers around a protected area as provided in the WildlifeConservation Strategy, 2002. The sensitive corridors, connectivity and ecologically important patches, crucial for landscapelinkage, beyond 10 kilometers width, are included in the Eco-Sensitive Zones. The distribution of an area of ESZ and the extent of regulation may not be uniform all aroundand it could be of variable width and extent.


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Declaration of ESA:

Below two clauses have been used by the government to declare ESA. The same criteria have been used by the government to declare No Development Zones.Central Government can restrict areas in which any industries, operations or processes shallnot be carried out or shall be carried out subject to certain safeguards.Central government can prohibit or restrict the location of industries and carrying on certainoperations on the basis of considerations like:

The biological diversity of an area, maximum allowable limits of concentration of pollutantsfor an area, environmentally compatible land use, and proximity to protected areas.

Criteria:

The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has a set of guidelines laying downparameters and criteria for declaring ESAs.These include Species Based (Endemism, Rarity etc), Ecosystem Based (sacred groves, frontierforests etc) and Geomorphologic feature based (uninhabited islands, origins of rivers etc).

Key Facts:

Gadgil Committee: Defined the boundaries of the Western Ghats for the purposes of ecologicalmanagement.

It proposed that this entire area be designated as ecologically sensitive area (ESA).Kasturirangan Committee: To examine the Gadgil Committee report in the light ofresponses received from states, central ministries and others.

[Ref: The Hindu]

Over 30% deaths in ’18 caused by fossil fuels: Study

According to the Environmental Research journal, more than 8 million people are killed each year by airpollution from burning fossil fuels like coal and diesel.

They used more advanced technology of GEOS-Chem (global 3-D model of atmosphericchemistry) which has a high spatial resolution.


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Key findings:

Over 30% of deaths in India in 2018 were caused by air pollution from the burning of fossilfuels.18% of total global deaths (around one out of five) in 2018 were due to exposure to particulatematter from fossil fuel emissions. India and China accounted for maximum among them:

China had the highest premature mortality with 3.91 million deaths and India accountedfor 2.46 million deaths.In India, Uttar Pradesh reported the maximum number of deaths, followed by Bihar andWest Bengal.Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu also reported over 1 lakh


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(each) such deaths.

[Ref: Hindustan Times]

Mission Innovation Senior Official Gathering 2021

Union Minister of Science & Technology, reiterated India's pledge to pursue a sustainable future throughresearch-led innovations at Mission Innovation event.

About the Mission Innovation:

Mission Innovation was announced on 30th November 2015, as world leaders came together in Paris to undertake ambitious measures to combat climate changes.Mission Innovation (MI) is a global initiative of 24 countries and the European Union toaccelerate global clean energy innovation dramatically.The first phase has shown that work done under Innovation Challenges (ICs) have mobilized in arelatively short period, relying on members' leadership and voluntary efforts to advance ICobjectives.These resources have dramatically accelerated the availability of the advanced technologies thatwill define a future global energy mix which is clean, affordable, and reliable.


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As part of the launch statement, members committed to:

Double their governmental and/or state-directed clean energy research, development anddemonstration (RD&D) investments over five years.Work closely with the private sector as it increases its investment in the earlier-stage cleanenergy companies that emerge from government programs.Build and improve technology innovation roadmaps and other tools to help in our innovationefforts, to understand where RD&D is already happening, and to identify gaps and opportunitiesfor new kinds of innovation.Provide, on an annual basis, transparent, easily-accessible information on their respectiveclean energy RD&D efforts.


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[Ref: PIB]

The India Energy Outlook 2021

The India Energy Outlook 2021– a special report in the IEA’s World Energy Outlook was releasedrecently.

Report highlights:

The report examines the opportunities and challenges faced by the country as it seeks torecover from the Covid-19 crisis.India to see largest increase in energy demand in upcoming 20 years.Emerging economies such as India are at the forefront of the global energy transition.At present India offers one of the largest renewable energy markets operating on marketprinciples.The rapid expansion of solar power combined with smart policy-making is transforming India’selectricity sector, enabling it to provide clean, affordable and reliable power to a growing numberof households and businesses.India is the fourth largest global energy consumer now after China, the United States and theEuropean Union.

At current rates of growth, India will overtake the European Union by 2030 to move up tothird position.

India’s rate of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth will add the equivalent of another Japan tothe world economy by 2040.Presently, solar energy accounts for less than 4% of India’s electricity generation, and coal closeto 70%.


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By 2040, they are likely to converge in the 30% driven by India’s target to reach 450 GW ofrenewable energy capacity by 2030.

India will overachieve one of its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) under the Parisclimate change agreement of reducing the emission intensity of GDP by 33 to 35% compared to 2005 levels. India is likely to achieve this under current policies with a CO2 emissions intensity reduction ofover 40% by 2030.


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Upcoming Challenges:

Nearly 60 per cent of CO2 emissions in the late 2030s will be from infrastructure and machines.This represents a huge opening for policies to steer India onto a more secure andsustainable course.

India needs to adopt transformational changes in its energy mix to be able to transition to netzero emissions by the mid-2060s.India’s energy consumption has at least doubled since 2000, propelled by a growing population and rapid economic growth. Over 900 million citizens have gained an electrical connection in less than two decades. At least 80% of India’s energy needs are still primarily met by three fuels: coal, oil and solidbiomass.Oil consumption and imports have grown rapidly due to rising vehicle ownership and roadtransport use.

Despite expanding coverage of liquified petroleum gas (LPG) in rural areas, 660 millionIndians have not fully switched to clean cooking fuels.

The Covid-19 pandemic led to fall of about 5% in the country’s energy demand in 2020 due tolockdowns with coal and oil use suffering the biggest falls.

The pandemic also hit investment in the energy sector, which fell by an estimated 15% in2020.

Fore-coming Implications:

For India to achieve net zero emissions, energy demand in 2040 should fall nearly 30% belowthe projected level, based on current policies, with a complete switch from traditional biomass-based energy. India will have to shift away from coal, and solar photovoltaic cells will have to take up coal’sshare of electricity generation a full decade ahead of what current policies envisage.The transport and industrial sectors, areas like road freight, steel and cement, will prove far


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more challenging to develop in a sustainable manner.To achieve net zero emissions by the 2060s, India’s energy sector will need profoundtransformation.A climate resilient and low carbon development strategy can be achieved by looking at sectoraltransitions (particularly in energy, transport and industry sectors). Green hydrogen and biomass-based fuels will predominate in applications where electrification is not viable.Oil demand will have to plateau by the end of the 2020s while the share of alternative fuels inroad transport – electricity, gas and bioenergy -- will have to rise. Together these alternative fuels will have to meet 35% of road transport demand by 2040.Fossil fuels will have to account for less than 60% of primary energy demand by 2040 and use oftraditional biomass falls need to drop to zero by 2030.

Key facts:

India is world’s third-largest energy-consuming country.

[Ref: Hindustan Times]

Key Facts for Prelims

National Capital Territory of Delhi Laws (Special Provisions) Second (Amendment)Bill, 2021

The Bill replaced an ordinance brought by the Government in December 2020.It provides protection from sealing and demolition of illegal constructions, includingcolonies.

Scientists develop new marigold variety


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Scientists from Bengaluru-based Indian Institute of Horticultural Research (IIHR) have developed ‘Arka Vibha’ and ‘Arka Shubha’ hybrid marigold varieties.All marigolds have carotene content that ranges up to a maximum of 1.4%.

However, the Arka Shubha variety of marigold has high carotene content of 2.8%which is the highest content from plant source.

These flowers could be sold for ornamental purpose like other marigold varieties.Arka Shubha variety is used in the poultry sector. Its petals could be used as poultry feed to getquality yolk.What are Carotenes?

Carotenes are photosynthetic pigments important for photosynthesis.They absorb ultraviolet, violet, and blue light and scatter orange or red light, and (in lowconcentrations) yellow light.They are mainly used in pharmaceutical sector.Presently, India imports most of its carotene from other countries, including China.

National Research Centre for Makhana

The Indian Council of Agricultural Research has developed a technique for its field cultivation.


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Key Highlights:

ICAR-National Research Centre (NRC) for Makhana was sanctioned by the Department ofAgricultural Research & Education, Govt. of India, as a new scheme during the IX Five YearPlan period (1997–2002) for Conservation, Research & Development of the Makhana crop.However, during 10th plan period (2002-2007), the NRC for Makhana was merged and broughtunder the administrative control of ICAR-Research Complex for Eastern Region (RCER), Patna,without changing the mandate.Darbhanga in particular and Mithila in general is major Makhana producing region in thecountry.

About Makhana:

Makhana is basically seeds grow on the leaf of lotus flower.The leaves are large and round, often more than a meter across, with a leaf stalk attached in thecentre of the lower surface.

Production & Distribution:

Makhana is a perennial plant native to eastern Asia and southern Asia, and is found from India -Bihar in nine districts of Mithila and some hilly areas of Manipur to Korea and Japan, as well asparts of eastern Russia. Bihar produces 90% of the world production of fox nut.

In India, Makhana normally grows in ponds, wetlands etc.


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Nutritional value:

Makhanas are low in cholesterol, sodium and saturated fats and are good for heart.They are a good source of magnesium, potassium, manganese, phosphorous and protein.

The leaves have a quilted texture, although the stems, flowers, and leaves which float on thesurface are covered in sharp prickles.

Key Facts:

The collection and harvest of makhanas done by Mallah community in Bihar.

[Ref: PIB]

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