17 June 2021: UPSC Exam Comprehensive News Analysis

CNA 17th June 2021:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

A. GS 1 Related
B. GS 2 Related
HEALTH
1. Soon, drones might ferry vaccines
C. GS 3 Related
ECONOMY
1. Inland Vessels Bill receives Cabinet nod
2. Cabinet panel approves additional fertilizer subsidy
SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
1. India to launch deep ocean mission
D. GS 4 Related
E. Editorials
ECONOMY
1. ‘Record’ FDI inflows, yes, cause for celebration, no
ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY
1. Energy inefficiency can short circuit cooling India
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
1. Closure, compensation
F. Prelims Facts
1. Cabinet approval for OFB corporatisation
G. Tidbits
1. India extends $100 mn loan to Sri Lanka
2. Acquitted but not forgotten
H. UPSC Prelims Practice Questions
I. UPSC Mains Practice Questions

2. Cabinet panel approves additional fertilizer subsidy

Context:

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved the proposal to hike subsidy rates for phosphorus and potassium-based fertilizers by 140%.

Details:

• The move is aimed at providing relief to farmers as the Kharif sowing season begins.
• It is a one-time measure as part of COVID-19 relief.

Fertilizer Subsidy:

• For urea, the Centre sets a fixed maximum retail price.
• For non-urea fertilizers, prices are decontrolled and the Centre fixes nutrient-based subsidy rates.

Note:

• Fertilisers supply one or more plant nutrients essential to the growth of plants.
• Diammonium phosphate (DAP) is the main source of Phosphorous.
• Essential plant nutrients based on the amounts of nutrients that are required by plants are distinguished as macronutrients and micronutrients.
• Phosphorus is a macronutrient.
• Other frequently used fertilizers are muriate of potash (MOP) and urea.

Read more on NBS – Nutrient Based Subsidy Scheme
Category: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

1. India to launch deep ocean mission

Context:

The Union Cabinet has approved the deep ocean mission.

Details:

• The mission is expected to cost ₹4,077 crore over the next five years.
• The Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) will be the nodal Ministry implementing this multi-institutional mission.
• India has been allotted a site of 75,000 square kilometres in the Central Indian Ocean Basin (CIOB) by the UN International Sea Bed Authority for the exploitation of polymetallic nodules (PMN). These are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt.
• There are six components to the programme.
  1. A manned submersible vehicle will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6,000 metres with a suite of scientific sensors and tools. An integrated mining system will be also developed for mining polymetallic nodules at those depths in the central Indian Ocean.
  2. Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services will be developed. It would entail developing a suite of observations and models to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales.
  3. Deep sea flora and fauna, including microbes, will be searched. Studies would be carried out to sustainably utilise them.
  4. Potential sources of hydrothermal minerals that are sources of precious metals formed from the earth’s crust along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges would be explored and identified.
  5. A detailed engineering design would be prepared for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plants.
  6. The final component is aimed at grooming experts in the field of ocean biology and engineering.

Significance:

• With its success, India will be among a handful of countries able to launch an underwater mission at such depths.
• It aims to translate research into industrial applications and product development through on-site business incubator facilities.
• Polymetallic nodules (PMN) are rocks scattered on the seabed containing iron, manganese, nickel and cobalt.
  • Being able to lay hands on a fraction of that reserve can meet the energy requirement of India for the next 100 years.

Category: ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

1. Energy inefficiency can short circuit cooling India

Background:

Threat posed by heat waves:

• Rising temperatures and heat waves are a growing threat to India as climate change accelerates.
  • As per the Union Ministry of Earth Sciences’ first national climate change report, ‘Assessment of Climate Change over the Indian Region’, India’s average temperature had risen by 0.7 degrees Celsius from 1901-2018.
• Global warming will lead to more frequent and intense heat waves.
  • In the last three decades alone, there have been 660 heat waves across India causing 12,273 deaths.

Cooling as an indispensable adaptation to climate change:

• Substantial cooling services to keep citizens healthy and productive may as well become a necessity in the coming years. Cooling will constitute an important part of India’s adaptation measure to climate change.
  • The India Cooling Action Plan projects the number of room air conditioners to become about four times in the next 10 years, and about 10 times in the next 20 years, making India the world’s largest energy user for cooling.

Concerns:

• The current low penetration level of air conditioners (ACs) in India is a major cause of concern. A recent survey conducted in New Delhi notes that the desired levels of cooling appliances vary greatly even among relatively homogenous communities.
• The use of inefficient ACs to meet the cooling needs could severely dent India’s climate change mitigation efforts as these inefficient ACs will lead to high GHG emissions.
  • As per the survey conducted in New Delhi, energy efficiency does not feature as a priority in the purchase of cooling appliances. Only 7% of the households have an energy-efficient (star-rated) fan, and most people prefer to buy a three-star AC, and less than 20% of AC-owning households bought the highest rated five-star AC.
• There is a lack of credible data on important factors like AC ownership and usage which can help frame appropriate policies and interventions to address residential cooling demand.

Factors leading to the use of inefficient cooling options:

Lack of awareness:

• The low level of energy efficiency awareness is a major bottleneck that hinders the purchase of more efficient appliances.
• There is a lack of knowledge of the Star Labelling programme among the general populace.
  • The Star labelling Programme has been formulated by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency, under the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
  • Presently, the program covers a star rating for 26 appliances/equipment including refrigerators and air conditioners.
  • The objectives of the labelling program are to provide the consumer with an informed choice about energy-saving and thereby the cost-saving potential of the marketed household and other equipment.
  • Energy labelling is one of the most cost-effective policy tools for improving energy efficiency and lowering the energy cost of appliances.

Higher upfront cost:

• The higher upfront cost of the higher star rated appliances serves as a disincentive to buy such products upfront.

Low market availability:

• Given the relatively price-sensitive market in India and the currently low level of demand for energy-efficient appliances, there is very little output of higher-rated appliances leading to very low market availability of efficient appliances like air conditioners (four-star and five-star).

Recommendations:

• Large-scale adoption of efficient cooling appliances will be essential to providing the required thermal comfort in a low carbon manner.
• The following measures might be taken to encourage the adoption of more efficient appliances.

Awareness generation:

• Awareness campaigns on the benefits of energy efficiency must constitute a major aspect of the outreach program. The prospective customers must be made to realize that the more expensive price tag would be offset by quantifiable savings on energy costs.

Incentivize adoption of efficient appliances:

• Subsidies and financial incentives like rebate programs that can help offset the higher initial cost can help drive up the adoption of more efficient technologies.

Promote passive cooling:

• Encouraging the use of passive cooling alternatives including energy-efficient building designs can help provide the desired thermal comfort with reduced dependence on energy-intensive cooling technologies.
  • Passive cooling is a building design approach that focuses on heat gain control and heat dissipation in a building in order to improve indoor thermal comfort with low or no energy consumption. This approach works either by preventing heat from entering the interior or by removing heat from the building.
  • Passive cooling options include augmenting natural ventilation and employing evaporative, thermal insulation and shading methods.

Category: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. Closure, compensation

Context:

• The Supreme Court has ordered the closure of criminal court proceedings in India against the two Italian marines who in 2012 allegedly killed two fishermen off the Kerala coast after mistaking them for pirates.

Background:

Complexity of the case and its implications:

• The Enrica Lexie case had generated complex legal questions over jurisdiction, the lawfulness of their arrest and the location of their trial, as well as the provisions of law under which they should be tried. This had resulted in considerable diplomatic turbulence between India and Italy.
  • The Supreme Court of India in 2013 had ruled that prosecuting the marines was solely in the Union government’s jurisdiction which Italy had challenged.
  • The invoking of the stringent anti-piracy law — the Suppression of Unlawful Acts against Safety of Maritime Navigation and Fixed Platforms on Continental Shelf Act, 2002 — had been criticized and contested by Italy.

For detailed information on this issue refer to:

UPSC Comprehensive News Analysis 4th July 202

UN tribunal ruling:

• The Permanent Court of Arbitration, a tribunal under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, had in 2020 ruled that even though India and Italy had concurrent jurisdiction to try the case, the marines enjoyed immunity from Indian jurisdiction as they were acting on behalf of a state.
• It had also ruled that the Indian fishing boat and the victims were entitled to compensation, as the boat’s right of navigation under the Law of the Sea had been violated.

Details:

• The Supreme Court order came after Italy deposited compensation of ₹10 crores which would be divided between the two fishermen families and the owner of the fishing vessel.
• The two marines are likely to face trial in Italy.

Conclusion:

• A valuable lesson from this episode is that such incidents should be dealt with a combination of legally sustainable steps and diplomatic efforts to find early resolution and avoid an Enrica Lexie like repeat.

2. Acquitted but not forgotten

Right to be forgotten:

• ‘Right to be forgotten’ is the right to have publicly available personal information removed from internet search, databases, websites or other public platforms from public access.
• In 2017, the Supreme Court recognised the right to be forgotten as being under the ambit of the right to privacy under the Constitution.

Context:

• The Delhi High Court recently ordered the removal of one of its own judgments from easy access.

Q.1 Which of the following statements is/are INCORRECT?

Q.2 Which of the following connects the South China Sea with the Pacific Ocean?

Q.3 Which of the following statements is/are correct?

Q.4 ‘Vivad Se Vishwas’ scheme is related to 

Q5. Recently, which of the following States has explored the possibility of constructing an 
artificial inland port to be connected to sea by a long navigational channel? (2016)

Read the previous CNA here.

CNA 17th June 2021:- Download PDF Here