07/02/23 IAS Special Daily Current and Mains Answer Writing Practice
सामान्य अध्ययन - 1
विषय: महिलाओं की भूमिका और महिला संगठन, जनसंख्या और संबंधित मुद्दे।
1. जबकि कई रणनीतियों ने खराब मातृ स्वास्थ्य परिणामों और महिलाओं द्वारा मातृ स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं के उपयोग में योगदान देने वाली कुछ बाधाओं को दूर करने का प्रयास किया है। यह अक्सर सामुदायिक स्तर पर और साथ ही बड़े सामाजिक वातावरण के भीतर कथित सामाजिक-सांस्कृतिक और आर्थिक संचालन से प्रभावित होता है। विश्लेषण कीजिए। (250 शब्द)
प्रश्न की मुख्य मांग:
मातृ स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं में आने वाली बाधाओं और उन्हें दूर करने के लिए आवश्यक कदमों के बारे में लिखना।
निर्देशक शब्द:
विश्लेषण करें - जब विश्लेषण करने के लिए कहा जाए, तो आपको विषय की संरचना या प्रकृति को घटक भागों में अलग करके व्यवस्थित रूप से जांचना चाहिए और उन्हें सारांश में प्रस्तुत करना चाहिए।
उत्तर की संरचना:
परिचय:
परिवार नियोजन और मातृ स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं में महिलाओं की पहुंच के संबंध में संदर्भ और आंकड़े देकर प्रारंभ करें।
शरीर:
सबसे पहले, पिछले कुछ वर्षों में सरकार द्वारा परिवार नियोजन और मातृ स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं में महिलाओं की पहुंच में सुधार के लिए किए गए विभिन्न प्रयासों का वर्णन कीजिए।
इसके बाद, उन विभिन्न बाधाओं के बारे में लिखें जो महिलाओं को इन सेवाओं का लाभ उठाने से रोकती हैं और ऐसे अवरोधों के प्रभाव के बारे में लिखें।
इसके बाद, सुरक्षित परिवार नियोजन और मातृ स्वास्थ्य सेवाओं को सुनिश्चित करने के लिए आवश्यक उपायों के बारे में लिखें।
निष्कर्ष:
आगे का रास्ता लिखकर निष्कर्ष निकालें।
विषय: भारतीय समाज की प्रमुख विशेषताएं, भारत की विविधता।
2. चूंकि भेदभाव की एक आर्थिक कीमत होती है, LGBTQIA+ समुदाय के खिलाफ कार्यस्थल पर उत्पीड़न और बहिष्करण को समाप्त करना समाज की मुख्यधारा में उन्हें शामिल करने की दिशा में एक महत्वपूर्ण कदम है। टिप्पणी। (250 शब्द)
निर्देशक शब्द:
टिप्पणी- यहाँ हमें इस मुद्दे के बारे में अपने ज्ञान और समझ को व्यक्त करना चाहिए और उस पर एक समग्र राय बनानी चाहिए।
उत्तर की संरचना:
परिचय:
यह कहते हुए शुरू करें कि भले ही LGBTQIA+ लोगों को धारा 377 को समाप्त करके कानूनी समर्थन दिया गया है, फिर भी जब परिवार और समाज की इकाई के भीतर बुनियादी मानवाधिकारों की बात आती है तो वे पदानुक्रम में सबसे नीचे हैं।
शरीर:
सबसे पहले, बताएं कि LGBTQI+ समुदाय के संबंध में एक समावेशी समाज के लिए सोशल मीडिया अभियान और कॉर्पोरेट विज्ञापन केवल एक सीमित शहरी आबादी के लिए हैं। कई LGBTQI+ व्यक्तियों और उनके परिवारों को अपने यौन रुझान की आर्थिक कीमत चुकानी पड़ती है।
इसके बाद, कार्यस्थल पर उनके उत्पीड़न और बहिष्करण को समाप्त करने के लिए आवश्यक कदमों के बारे में लिखें।
निष्कर्ष:
आगे की राह के साथ समाप्त करें।
सामान्य अध्ययन – 2
विषय: स्वास्थ्य, शिक्षा, मानव संसाधन से संबंधित सामाजिक क्षेत्र/सेवाओं के विकास और प्रबंधन से संबंधित मुद्दे।
3. मिशन पोषण 2.0 महिलाओं, लड़कियों और बच्चों में कुपोषण और एनीमिया के पहलू को मजबूती से एकीकृत करता है। हालांकि, किशोरों के बीच गैर-संचारी रोगों और मोटापे के बढ़ते जोखिम को शामिल करने की आवश्यकता है। चर्चा करना। (250 शब्द)
प्रश्न की मुख्य मांग:
कुपोषण से निपटने में पोषण अभियान 2.0 की उपलब्धियों और इसे और अधिक समग्र बनाने के लिए आवश्यक कदमों के बारे में लिखना।
निर्देशक शब्द:
चर्चा करें - यह एक व्यापक निर्देश है - आपको संबंधित मुद्दों के विवरण के माध्यम से उनमें से प्रत्येक की जांच करके कागज पर बहस करनी चाहिए। आपको तर्क के पक्ष और विपक्ष दोनों के लिए कारण बताना होगा।
उत्तर की संरचना:
परिचय:
पोषण अभियान 2.0, इसके लक्ष्यों और उद्देश्यों के बारे में लिखना शुरू करें।
शरीर:
सबसे पहले, भुखमरी और कुपोषण के मुद्दे से निपटने में पोषण अभियान 1.0 और 2.0 के बारे में लिखकर बिगिन की सफलताओं के बारे में लिखें।
इसके बाद, इसके डिज़ाइन में और बदलावों के बारे में लिखें जो यह सुनिश्चित करने के लिए आवश्यक हैं कि यह समग्र स्वास्थ्य में सुधार करने के लिए बहुत समग्र हो।
अगला, उपरोक्त पर काबू पाने के लिए पोषण अभियान 2.0 को और कारगर बनाने के लिए सुझाव दें।
निष्कर्ष:
इस तथ्य पर जोर देते हुए निष्कर्ष निकालें कि पोषण अभियान 2.0 को जबरदस्त सफलता दिलाकर भारत ने एसडीजी-2 हासिल करने की दिशा में एक कदम बढ़ाया है।
सामान्य अध्ययन - 3
विषय: देश के विभिन्न भागों में प्रमुख फसलें-फसल पैटर्न, - विभिन्न प्रकार की सिंचाई और सिंचाई प्रणाली कृषि उपज का भंडारण, परिवहन और विपणन और मुद्दे और संबंधित बाधाएं; किसानों की सहायता में ई-तकनीक
4. जलवायु-स्मार्ट कृषि (CSA) से आप क्या समझते हैं? कृषि पर जलवायु परिवर्तन के प्रभाव को कम करते हुए, यह दृष्टिकोण खाद्य सुरक्षा को बनाए रखने में कैसे हमारी मदद कर सकता है? (250 शब्द)
प्रश्न की मुख्य मांग:
भारत में जलवायु परिवर्तन, खेती, गरीबी उन्मूलन और खाद्य सुरक्षा के बीच अंतर्संबंध को सामने लाना और इस संबंध में जलवायु स्मार्ट कृषि की भूमिका निभाना।
उत्तर की संरचना:
परिचय:
जलवायु स्मार्ट कृषि को परिभाषित करके शुरू करें।
शरीर:
सबसे पहले, जलवायु परिवर्तन से उत्पन्न कृषि की अनिश्चितताओं का वर्णन करने के बारे में लिखें, जैसे उच्च परिवेश के तापमान, कम अनुमानित बारिश, बार-बार सूखा और चक्रवात।
इसके बाद, जलवायु स्मार्ट कृषि की प्रमुख विशेषताओं और जलवायु स्मार्ट कृषि द्वारा प्रदान किए जाने वाले लाभों के बारे में लिखें - स्थायी उत्पादकता में वृद्धि, किसानों की सहनशीलता को मजबूत करना, कृषि के ग्रीनहाउस गैस उत्सर्जन को कम करना और कार्बन प्रच्छादन में वृद्धि करना। उदाहरणों के साथ सिद्ध कीजिए।
इसके बाद, जलवायु स्मार्ट कृषि से जुड़ी सीमाओं और इसे दूर करने के तरीकों का उल्लेख करें।
निष्कर्ष:
आगे का रास्ता लिखकर निष्कर्ष निकालें।
विषय: विज्ञान और प्रौद्योगिकी- विकास और उनके अनुप्रयोग और रोजमर्रा की जिंदगी में प्रभाव।
5. 2070 तक शुद्ध शून्य की ओर बढ़ने के लिए भारत के ऊर्जा सुरक्षा परिदृश्य के साथ-साथ स्वच्छ ऊर्जा उत्पादन के संदर्भ में परमाणु ऊर्जा के दायरे का आकलन करें। (250 शब्द)
प्रश्न की मुख्य मांग:
नाभिकीय ऊर्जा के विकास के दायरे और सीमित करने वाले कारकों के बारे में लिखना।
निर्देशक शब्द:
जांच करें - जब 'जांच' करने के लिए कहा जाता है, तो हमें विषय (सामग्री शब्द) की विस्तार से जांच करनी चाहिए, उसका निरीक्षण करना चाहिए, उसकी जांच करनी चाहिए और संबंधित विषय से संबंधित प्रमुख तथ्यों और मुद्दों को स्थापित करना चाहिए। ऐसा करते समय हमें यह स्पष्ट करना चाहिए कि ये तथ्य और मुद्दे क्यों महत्वपूर्ण हैं और उनके निहितार्थ क्या हैं।
उत्तर की संरचना:
परिचय:भारत में परमाणु ऊर्जा के विकास के संबंध में संदर्भ देते हुए प्रारंभ करें।शरीर:
सबसे पहले, पवन और सौर ऊर्जा के विपरीत विकास की विशाल क्षमता, उत्सर्जन-मुक्त प्रकृति और परमाणु ऊर्जा उत्पादन की सुसंगत प्रकृति के बारे में उल्लेख करें।
अगला, चल रहे परमाणु ऊर्जा संयंत्र के लिए विभिन्न कारकों का मूल्यांकन करें जैसे कि भूमि की आवश्यकता, मानव शक्ति, वित्तपोषण, ईंधन संवर्धन और निर्माण की ज़रूरतें आदि।
अगला, परमाणु ईंधन कार्यक्रम के दूसरे चरण को शुरू करने में देरी पर प्रकाश डालें। प्रेशराइज्ड फास्ट ब्रीडर रिएक्टर को चालू करने की प्रक्रिया में उत्पन्न होने वाली तकनीकी समस्याएं और संबंधित समय और लागत में वृद्धि।
निष्कर्ष:
आगे की राह के साथ समाप्त करें।
सामान्य अध्ययन – 4
विषय: कार्य संस्कृति, सेवा वितरण की गुणवत्ता।
6. मूल मूल्य गहन रूप से निहित सिद्धांत हैं जो संगठन के सभी कार्यों का मार्गदर्शन करते हैं; तथा इसके सांस्कृतिक आधार के रूप में काम करते हैं। विस्तार में बताएं। (150 शब्द)
प्रश्न की प्रमुख मांग:
बदलते परिवेश में नैतिकता और मूल मूल्यों के महत्व के बारे में लिखना।
निर्देशक शब्द:
विस्तृत करें - एक विस्तृत विवरण दें कि यह कैसे और क्यों हुआ, या संदर्भ क्या है। जहां भी उपयुक्त हो, आपको प्रमुख शब्दों को परिभाषित करना चाहिए और संबंधित तथ्यों के साथ उनकी पुष्टि करनी चाहिए।
उत्तर की संरचना:
परिचय:
मूल मूल्यों को परिभाषित करते हुए उत्तर की शुरुआत करें।
शरीर:
कोर वैल्यू सिस्टम के महत्व के बारे में विस्तार से बताएं - वह नींव जिस पर एक संगठन काम करता है, मिशन पूरा करता है, कैसे पुरस्कृत करें, निर्णय लेने में हमारा मार्गदर्शन करें, व्यक्तिगत संबंधों को नियंत्रित करें और स्पष्ट करें कि हम किसके लिए खड़े हैं आदि।
निष्कर्ष:
कोर वैल्यू सिस्टम के महत्व पर जोर देते हुए निष्कर्ष निकालें।
GS Paper 1
Our growth needs deep analysis more than constant trumpeting
Syllabus: GS1- Indian economy and growth
Relevance– Growth trends of Indian economy
News– A close look at trends of economy in global comparison raises some questions
Why is there confusion about India’s growth numbers?
There is controversy over the revised series at 2011-12 prices. There is a widely held view that GDP numbers in the revised series are overestimated.
The data from the informal sector accounts for a larger share of Indian GDP is available only with a time leg. Consequently, trends from the formal sector are projected into the informal sector while making provisional GDP estimates. These are subsequently revised once data from the informal sector is available.
The public debates in India revolve around headline figures of CSO. The international practice in analysing growth data is to look at output loss/gain relative to trend growth rate.
What can be analysed from comparison of average growth rate of 2014-22 of India with other Asian economies?
The fastest growing economy over the past seven years was neither China nor India. It was Bangladesh.
Global attention is focussed on China deceleration due to Xi Jinping policies. He privileges security over economic growth. However, growth deceleration over this period is more for India as compared to China.
There is talk of an economic crisis in Pakistan. However, its average growth rate during the past four years was more than India.
During this period, Bangladesh overtook India in per capita income. India’s neighbours to the east and west had better average economic growth over the last four years.
Output loss of 18.2% of GDP over the last four years in India is very high. This is a substantial loss. It is significantly higher than China and other South Asian neighbours.
What needs to be done by economic policymakers?
There is a need for assessment of large output loss.
Corrections are required in the GDP numbers based on the 2011-12 series.
There is a need to assess the output loss that can not be recovered.
Trends of downward shifts need to be studied. True extent of long term damage will be known once the data on the informal sector is finalised.
Steps needed to reverse the growth trend should be finalised.
GS Paper 2
The discrepancies in the latest AISHE report
Syllabus: GS2- Issues related to development and management of education
Relevance– Statistics about higher education in India
News– The All-India Survey on Higher Education 2020-21 report was released recently.
What is the basic difference of the current report with previous reports?
It had revised the Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education retrospectively for the previous four years, by recalculating it based on population projections as per the 2011 Census. Previous reports had used projections based on the 2001 Census.
What are the discrepancies in the latest AISHE report?
A comparison of the population projections used in the AISHE 2020-21 report with the Census of India Report released in July 2020, shows variations.
There are sharp deviations in Tamil Nadu’s population projection used in the AISHE 2020-21 report between 2016 and 2020 and the population projection based on the CoI report.
The figures based on the CoI report show a gradual decline between 2016 and 2020. AISHE 2020-21 shows an increase for the first four years and a sharp drop in 2020.
In Himachal Pradesh, the projected population in the 18-23 age group for 2019 was revised upwards by 6% in the AISHE 2020-21 report compared to the AISHE 2019-20 report. However, the State’s GER for 2019 remained the same in both the reports.
Spy In The Sky – China’s espionage balloons or espionage ships are part of an aggressive strategy that can target India too
Syllabus: GS 2 – India and its neighbourhood- relations.
Relevance: About Chinese espionage capabilities.
News: Recently, the US forces shot down a Chinese spy balloon off the US coast. There are reports that a second spy balloon is already flying over Central and South America. This has strained relations between the US and China and has larger implications for India-China relations.
Why Chinese espionage capabilities is a cause of worry for Global nations, particularly India?
a) The recent one wasn’t the first Chinese surveillance balloon to be detected but was the most sophisticated one. Hence, Chinese spy tech is getting increasingly sophisticated.
b) Last year’s docking of a Chinese spy ship masquerading as a research vessel at Sri Lanka’s Hambantota port was another example of Beijing’s growing espionage capabilities.
c) Chinese definitions of government and civilian assets are superficial. For instance, the Chinese mentioned the balloon as a weather-monitoring device and the 2020 investigation revealed a Chinese technology firm was harvesting data on more than 10,000 influential individuals in India.
What should be done to address Chinese espionage capabilities?
a) All cooperation with Chinese civilian agencies and businesses needs to be seen with the security of the state, b) India needs to upgrade its hi-tech counter-espionage measures, and c) the Indian government is in urgent need to step up counter-intelligence cooperation with the US and other likeminded democracies to counter China’s plans.
GS Paper 3
Certainly, uncertainty has declined – on world economy
Syllabus: GS3- Economy
Relevance– Global economic prospects and impact on India
News– Over the past year, global macroeconomic stability has improved, which sets the stage for good growth from 2024.
What was the situation of the world economy one year ago?
The World economy was in trouble. The foundations of price stability were under question and central banks globally raised rates.
Sharp global tightening triggered difficulties for the world economy.
Russia attacked Ukraine. China followed the policy of zero Covid through repression.
What are the prospects of the global economy in current times and near future?
Inflation targeting regime of developed countries has worked well. Monetary tightening caused some trouble. Higher interest rates led to difficulties of cryptocurrencies, start-ups in India, and the price corrections in tech giants like Amazon and Google.
There is restoration of macroeconomic stability in the global economy. Supply chains have significantly corrected, assisted by China’s return to production.
The workforce in developed markets is getting back to work. By 2024, we can expect normal values of inflation, interest rates, and asset prices.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine looked dangerous initially. The Russian success would have led to other wars, like Chinese attacks on Taiwan.
The radical uncertainty has subsided as the weakness of the Russian state has been revealed. Russia’s failure in Ukraine has improved deterrence against future invasions by big powers.
President Xi Jinping has stepped back from aggressive behaviour and stepped away from the lockdowns that attempted zero covid. China’s vaccine nationalism has harmed the legitimacy of the regime.
Things are very difficult in China right now, but there are signs of restoration of normalcy. The Xi regime would continue to play the nationalism card in overcoming domestic unpopularity. But, the experience of Russia in Ukraine will shape its behaviour.
These three factors have helped calm financial markets. The volatility today is lower than last year. This restoration of macroeconomic stability can create conditions for a period of sustained growth starting from 2024.
What is the way forward for businesses in India?
It is more feasible to make business plans because things are looking stable now.
India has a workforce that is more tech-savvy. This is a good time for business building.
India’s just energy transition is more than a coal story
Syllabus: GS3- Infrastructure: Energy
Relevance– Issues related to clean energy transition
News– Just Energy Transition Partnership (JET-P) is emerging as the key mechanism for multilateral financing by developed countries to support an energy transition in developing countries.
India is considered the next candidate for a JET-Partnership.
What are the issues with Just Energy Transition Partnership?
Energy transitions could give rise to intra-generational, intergenerational, and spatial equity concerns. Transitions affect fossil-dependent jobs, disrupt forms of future energy access.
It shrinks the State’s capacity to spend on welfare programmes. Thus, it increases the existing economic inequities between coal and other regions.
Existing JET-P deals pay limited attention to intra-generational inequity, such as job losses. Among the three JET-P deals signed so far, only South Africa’s deal mentions a ‘just’ component.
What are the difficulties faced by India in JET-P negotiations?
These have remained stalled over coal ‘phase-down’ and how to operationalise India’s just transition. The emphasis on coal phase-down disregards the crucial difference in energy transition between industrialised and emerging economies.
India’s transition requires significant simultaneous growth in energy demand. The Central Electricity Authority projects a near doubling of electricity demand by 2030. India cannot afford to put its development on hold while decarbonising.
What are the steps taken by India for clean energy?
India has set the goal of 450 GW renewable energy capacity addition and 43% RE purchase obligation by 2030. These targets are supported through complementary policy and legislative mandates like Energy Conservation (Amendment) Act and missions like National Green Hydrogen Mission.
Fiscal incentives through production-linked incentives are provided. Market mechanisms like the upcoming national carbon market supports these efforts.
What is the basic requirement for clean energy transition in India?
Accelerating the pace of Renewable Energy deployment is needed to match the pace of demand growth. In 2021-22, coal power served one-third of the new demand.
Meeting India’s 2030 target requires accelerating non-fossil capacity addition from 16 GW a year in 2022 to 75 GW a year by 2030.
What is the way forward to achieve it?
Shifting energy demand patterns– This is low hanging fruit. It will enable faster RE capacity addition.
Solarisation of agricultural electricity demand; electrification of diesel-powered MSMEs and decentralised RE for residential cooking and heating are some of the steps needed for shift in energy demand patterns.
Components of clean energy– Domestic manufacturing of clean energy components is critical to sustain JET, build energy self-sufficiency. Indian components are 20% costlier than Chinese components.
Giving preference to domestic components without addressing cost competitiveness may slow down the pace of deployment.
The way around this is to look for markets outside India as part of a JET-Partnership and to reduce the cost gap through economies of scale.
Optimal use of coal power– There is a need to have a relook at the current use of coal resources to enhance efficiencies until the period of phase-down. One option is to optimise use of coal-fired power plants closer to coal mining areas rather than based on energy demands.
This would enable coal to be used more efficiently because transportation of coal is more energy-intensive . It would also lead to cheaper power and indirectly reduce emissions due to more efficient use of coal.
The investment requirements for this transition are beyond the means of domestic capacity of developing countries. Any future JET-P deal must consider this broader framework for financing and supporting an energy transition.
India’s G-20 presidency is an opportunity at hand to negotiate a deal for itself while also shaping international cooperation on just energy transitions.
Scientists’ take on the Union Budget 2023-24
Syllabus: GS 3 – Budget
Relevance: announcement made in the Budget 2023-24 for science and technologies.
News: The article discusses how various science and tech organizations can play the role on the announcement made in the Budget 2023-24 and concerns associated with it.
How can different organizations help in the applications of measures announced in the Budget 2023-24?
Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) – CSIR has a presence on all focus areas of this year’s budget. For example, it plays an important role in green hydrogen research and development (R&D) under the National Hydrogen Mission.
It focuses on National Mission to eliminate Sickle Cell Anaemia Mission by 2047 announced in the budget.
It also has an ongoing AI programme to augment AI application in several areas. A new programme has been launched to promote innovation in pharmaceuticals.
Ministry of Science and Technology – The budget allocated ₹2,000 crore more to the Ministry of Science and Technology than the previous budget. This is an added advantage for the development in the field of science and tech.
Department of Biotechnology (DBT) – The budget focuses on green growth and biotechnology plays a major role in finding sustainable solutions for this.
DBT is developing a policy framework for ‘high-performance biomanufacturing’ to have world-class facilities and workforce in synthetic biology-based manufacturing practices.
It will bring improvements in healthcare’s S&T with a focus on ‘One Health’.
It will operationalise the Tuberculosis Genomic Surveillance for drug-resistance. It is also developing a programme to genetically characterise minor millets.
However, there are also issues with this year’s budget.
What are the issues with the budget?
The current level of S&T expenditure is inadequate if India wants to compete at the international level in knowledge generation. Only 0.36% of the budget has been allocated to the Ministry of S&T.
The budget for Departments of Biotechnology and of Scientific & Industrial Research have been reduced, adjusting for inflation. The budget for the Department of Space has also been cut by 8%.
Moreover, the New Education Policy 2020 recommends increasing the education spending to 6% of GDP. However, education has only received 2.5% of this budget.
What can be the course of action?
The government needs to have better implementation procedure for the measures announced in the budget.
Along with those, there is also need to – a) push agritech, millet research to get nutritional benefits in the long run, b) open up select Indian Council of Medical Research labs for research to the public and private sector, c) support education and research on biomedical devices, pharma and AI interdisciplinary.
Hydropower projects in the Himalaya should be reconsidered given recent crisis
Syllabus: GS 3 – Environment
Relevance: environmental impact of hydropower project and alternative to it.
News: Joshimath land subsidence has raised concerns over the hydropower projects in Himalayas. This article discusses the impact and alternatives to hydropower.
What is a hydropower?
It is a renewable source of energy. It is often considered green energy because it generates electricity from the natural flow of water without releasing any emissions. It does not rely on fossil fuels.
However, it also brings concerns and threats to the environment, especially in the Himalayan region.
What are the concerns with the Hydropower projects?
Most countries in the Himalayan region, including India have built or are planning to build hydropower projects in the Himalaya. The Indian government has identified hydropower as a key renewable energy source.
However, the construction of the hydropower in Himalayas brings various concerns.
The concerns are – a) can bring conflicts over water resources in the region, b) can disrupt the flow of rivers, leading to changes in water temperature and chemistry, c) dams can also cause erosion, landslides, and sedimentation which can have a negative impact on the local environment, d) Dams also disrupt the migration patterns of fish and other aquatic species and impact the local wildlife, e) large-scale dams displace local communities, affecting their livelihoods and cultural heritage and impacting the overall well-being of the local population.
Therefore, it is beneficial to look for alternatives to hydropower projects.
What can be the alternative to hydropower?
Micro hydro is a small-scale hydroelectric power generation system that generates up to 100 kilowatts (kW) of electricity.
These systems use the energy of falling water to generate electricity. They can be used for various applications such as powering homes, businesses, and small communities.
They are less expensive to build and maintain than large hydroelectric dams and have a smaller environmental footprint.
They can be located even in inaccessible areas where it is difficult to transmit electricity from larger power stations and can provide a reliable source of energy to communities that are not connected to the grid.
They can be used to minimise the ecosystem’s negative impact and provide sustainable energy solutions. However, even they have some impact on the environment but the impacts are less when compared to large hydropower dams.
The tax gambit – Government should not stop nudging people towards safe, long-term savings
Syllabus: GS 3 – Government Budgeting.
Relevance: About new income tax system.
News: During the budget speech, the government introduced the new income tax system.
The new system was based on the thought that the individual is the best judge of his/her income.
Why new income tax system’s idea of the individual is the best judge of his/her income is flawed?
Though, the statement is individually valid the lower income earners will not benefit a lot from the system. This is because, a) Lower income earners do not save enough to avail of the tax exemptions and end up paying higher rates, b) India’s low literacy and financial literacy levels will make taxpayers’ mix of consumption and savings complicated, c) Adult humans do not behave as rationally as economists and invest in inflation-beating investments, d) Financial products are routinely mis-sold to those not equipped to understand market nuances and the risks embedded, e) India’s retail participation in stocks may have risen in recent years, but not everyone can handle the risks of equity markets or avoid being tricked by influencer-operators.
Above all, there are no universal social security and health benefits in India. The old exemption-based regime helps guide families towards some level of prudent asset allocation to cope with life’s uncertainties.
What should be done to make the new income tax system comprehensive?
Before taking away the old tax regime the government must ensure adequate financial literacy efforts and crack down on unethical selling practices of stocks, insurance and other financial products. Further, if such a state is achieved then the government should revisit the idea of mandatory contributions to provident funds and pensions.
Bajra Boosters – Policies promoting millets will not work unless governments address farmers’ incentives
Syllabus: GS 3 – Major crops-cropping patterns in various parts of the country.
Relevance: About promotion of millets.
News: In the recent budget speech, Finance Minister praised millets as noble food and mentioned the government’s initiatives for the promotion of millets.
Why promotion of millets deserves a special push?
The modern world is a slave to sugary foods: Glucose is a simple form of sugar. The faster food becomes sugar, the more appealing it is to consumers. Hence, rice and wheat succeeded faster. They have killed or diminished the lives of hundreds of millions of people by injecting them with too much sugar.
On the other hand, millets turn into glucose inside body slowly. This is also why they are considered healthy.
Millets, like rice and wheat, have a high ratio of carbohydrates. But they also have fibre. The amount of fibre present in millet slows the conversion of food into glucose.
Note: After the stomach converts food into glucose and releases it into the bloodstream, the pancreas release insulin, which sends glucose to the cells for energy, reducing the sugar level in the blood. But when a person releases a high amount of glucose into the bloodstream for several years, the cells begin to defy the hormone and do not absorb as much glucose as they are supposed to.
As a result, many destructive things occur. Organs marinate in high blood sugar for hours, which damages them; the excess sugar is eventually converted into fatty acids and stored in the fat cells of various body parts.
How government is promoting millets?
-In 2013, the government launched a crop diversification programme to shift acreage away from paddy in the original Green Revolution regions, Punjab, Haryana and western UP. Later, the Haryana government even offered a cash subsidy of Rs 7,000/acre to shift cultivation to alternate crops.
What should be done to promote millets?
Inclusion of millets in Public Distribution System and MSP: The government has to guarantee a floor price for millets. This will disincentivise rice and wheat cultivation.
The world’s largest food security scheme covering about 800 million people is giving more attention to rice and wheat. This has to shift in favour of the promotion of millets.
Green growth push – New initiatives have long-term potential
Syllabus: GS 3 – Environment and Bio-diversity Conservation.
Relevance: About the green growth push in the Budget 2023-24.
News: The Union Budget has focussed on many green growth push initiatives that can lead to an environmentally conscious lifestyle.
What are the initiatives in the budget that focus on the green growth push?
Green growth has been listed among the seven priorities of the Budget for 2023-24.
The other initiatives include a) incentivising the use of green hydrogen and biofuels; b) conserving natural ecological safeguards like mangroves and wetlands; c) introducing concepts like green credit; and d) striving for an appreciable reduction in sources of pollution through measures like replacing polluting vehicles with non-polluting ones and chemical fertilisers with organic manures.
-The bulk of the Energy Transition Fund would be at the disposal of the oil-marketing companies to enable them to switch to new and renewable sources of energy.
-The allocation of funds for the National Green Hydrogen Mission is expected to make India a net exporter of green hydrogen.
What are the advantages of the government’s green growth push?
The government’s heavy expenses will be paid back sooner and have the potential to pay lasting dividends. For instance, in the solar-energy sector, the payback time in the case of alternative sources of energy is rapidly shrinking due to the constant inflow of cost-effective and more efficient technologies.
Prelims स्पेशल Articles
Amorphous ice – With frigid innovation, scientists make a new form of ice
What is the News?
Scientists have created a new type of ice called “medium-density amorphous ice”.
What is Amorphous Ice?
Amorphous ice consists of water molecules arranged in a disordered state, with no large-scale regularity to their orientations or positions. This kind of ice is most often found in space.
Almost all ice in the universe is amorphous and in a form called low-density amorphous ice. This forms when water condenses onto dust grains in space. Comets are amorphous ice as well.
How is Amorphous Ice different from Ordinary Ice?
Ordinary ice is crystalline in nature, with water molecules – two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom, or H2O – arranged in a regular pattern. Amorphous ice’s water molecules are in a disorganized form resembling a liquid.
HAmorphous ice – With frigid innovation, scientists make a new form of ics medium-density amorphous ice created?
Researchers employed a process called ball milling to vigorously shake ordinary ice together with steel balls in a container cooled to minus-328 degrees Fahrenheit (minus-200 degrees Celsius).
This yielded what they called “medium-density amorphous ice,” or MDA, which looked like a fine white powder.
Significance of this discovery: The key significance of the discovery of a new form of ice with a density similar to liquid water is that it could serve as an ideal model for understanding the properties of water without the complexities introduced by its fluid motion.
Union Minister launches ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’ as a “whole of society” approach for wetlands conservation
What is the News?
The Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change has launched the ‘Save Wetlands Campaign’.
What is the Save Wetlands Campaign?
The Save Wetlands Campaign is structured on a “whole of society” approach for wetlands conservation, enabling affirmative actions for wetlands conservation at all levels of society.
This campaign over the next year will include sensitizing people of the value of wetlands, increasing the coverage of wetland mitras and building citizen partnerships for wetlands conservation.
What is Mission Sahbhagita?
It was launched by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) in 2022.
Aim: To healthy and effectively manage the network of 75 wetlands of national and international significance.
What is World Wetlands Day?
World Wetlands Day is observed on 2nd February every year worldwide to commemorate the signing of the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands of International Importance in 1971.
India has been a party to the Convention since 1982 and has so far declared 75 wetlands as Ramsar sites covering 23 states and Union Territories.
Theme for 2023: ‘Wetland Restoration’ which highlights the urgent need to prioritize wetland restoration.
Scientists use outer space particles to examine the fortress wall of Xi’an city: What are muons and how are they used to analyze large structures
What is the News?
As per a new study, researchers are examining the fortress wall of Xi’an, an ancient city in China, by using tiny outer space particles called muons that can penetrate hundreds of metres of stone surfaces.
What are Muons?
Muons are subatomic particles raining from space. They are created when the particles in Earth’s atmosphere collide with cosmic rays — clusters of high-energy particles that move through space at just below the speed of light.
According to Scientific American magazine, about 10,000 muons reach every square metre of the Earth’s surface a minute.
Features: Muons resemble electrons but are 207 times as massive. Therefore, they are sometimes called “fat electrons”.
Because muons are so heavy, they can travel through hundreds of metres of rock or other matter before getting absorbed or decaying into electrons and neutrinos. In comparison, electrons can penetrate through only a few centimetres.
Muons are also highly unstable and exist for just 2.2 microseconds.
What is muon tomography or muography?
Muography is conceptually similar to X-ray but capable of scanning much larger and wider structures, owing to the penetration power of muons.
As these high-energy particles are naturally produced and ubiquitous, all one needs to do is place a muon detector underneath, within or near the object of interest.
The detector then tracks the number of muons going through the object from different directions, to form a three-dimensional image.
The image is then compared with a muon image of the “free sky”. This indicates how many muons have been blocked. The final picture is essentially a shadow of the object in the light of cosmic muons.
What are the uses of Muon Topography?
Muon tomography was first used in the 1960s, it has only recently gained widespread use among researchers, particularly in archaeology.
Apart from archaeology, muography has also found use in customs security, internal imaging of volcanoes and others. Around 2015, scientists used the technique to look inside the Fukushima nuclear reactors after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami in Japan.
WHO publishes zero-draft of pandemic treaty: Equity, IPR take centre stage
What is the News?
The World Health Organization’s (WHO) has published a ‘Zero-Draft’ of the Pandemic Treaty, aiming to bring in Global and National-Level Pandemic Preparedness.
Why was the zero-draft pandemic treaty prepared?
The zero-draft of the pandemic treaty was prepared based on recognising the catastrophic failure of the international community in showing solidarity and equity in response to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic.
The draft recognizes common but differentiated responsibilities and capabilities in pandemic prevention, preparedness, response and recovery of health systems as one of its guiding principles.
What are the key provisions of the treaty?
Definition of Pandemic: An outbreak is considered a pandemic when an infection spreads quickly globally — with high morbidity and mortality.
– Other factors are — infecting immunologically naive human populations, pushing health systems to their capacity and beyond, and triggering social and economic disruptions, where mitigation measures require coordinated efforts across the geographical spectrum.
Intellectual Property Rights(IPR): The draft calls for intellectual property rights to be waived off during pandemics which advocates say would allow for wider access to life-saving drugs and vaccines more quickly.
Allocation of pandemic products to WHO: The draft proposes that 20% of pandemic-related products – vaccines, diagnostics, personal protective equipment and therapeutics – should be allocated to the WHO which will then ensure their equitable distribution.
– Half of these pandemic products allocated to WHO (10% of total global production) should be donated while the other half would be bought for an “accessible” price.
Constitution of a Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing system (PABS): PABS is another key element of the draft. Under this, genomic sequences of all pathogens with pandemic potential — and the benefits that come with such information — are to be shared on an “equal footing” in the system. The information is to be shared on a publicly accessible platform and in a time-bound manner.
The draft calls for setting up WHO Global Pandemic Supply Chain and Logistics Network to ensure a better and fairer distribution of counter-measures as well as a global compensation scheme for vaccine injuries.
What could be the govt’s calculations behind the slashing of the MGNREGA budget
What is the News?
The Central Government has slashed the budget for the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) scheme to Rs 60,000 crore in 2023-24. This is the lowest since 2017-18.
Background
Over the last three years, India’s economy suffered massive disruptions 1) initially from the Covid-induced lockdowns and then 2) war in Ukraine that gave a shock to global commodity markets comparable to the oil and food price hikes of the 1970s and 2008-09.
The Government of India deployed two major social safety measures against these disruptions: The first was the public distribution system and the second was MGNREGA which generated an all-time-high 389 crore person-days of employment in 2020-21 and 363 crores in 2021-22.
What is the rationale behind the reduction in funds for MGNREGA?
-According to the government, the Indian economy has fully emerged from the ravages of Covid and even adjusted to the disruptions of the Russia-Ukraine war. For instance, the opening chapter of this year’s economic survey is also titled “Recovery Complete”.
-The normalisation of economic activity means no need for special safety nets that helped protect the most vulnerable households from significant loss of income during the pandemic and after
