In news

The Indian President, in exercise of the powers conferred under Article 124 of the Constitution of India appointed the 50th Chief Justice of India(CJI).

About Chief Justice of India

• Apart from being an Indian Citizen, a person to be CJI must have been:
  • Judge of a High Court for 5 years
  • An advocate of a High Court for 10 years
  • Distinguished Jurist, in the opinion of the President
• The appointment is done by the President under clause (2) of Article 124 of the Indian Constitution, “after consultation” with judges of the Supreme Court, as the President may “deem necessary''.
• Memorandum of Procedure for selection
  • Seniority is the norm and the Union Minister of Law, Justice and Company Affairs seeks recommendations of the outgoing CJI for the appointment of the next CJI.
• CJI can be removed by an order of the President, passed after an address by each House of Parliament supported by a special majority, on grounds of proven misbehaviour or incapacity.
• Functions of CJI 

• • CJI is the head of the Judiciary in the country and presides over the Supreme Court of India along with thirty other judges.
  • CJI is the ''Master of the Roster'' and has the power to constitute benches to hear cases in the Supreme Court.
  • Swearing in of the President and Governor.
  • President consults CJI for the appointment of judges in the Supreme Court and the High Courts.
  • Appointing an arbitrator to resolve a financial dispute between the Centre and the states.
  • Administrative functions include the appointment of ad-hoc judges (Article 127), officers, and servants (Article 146).
• Challenges that need addressing by CJI
  • Need for transformative actions, to reduce the Pendency of cases to ensure timely justice for India’s citizens.
  • Getting in line with the 'Non-Cooperative Executive' - the executive and legislation should make sincere efforts to fill the judicial vacancies, appoint prosecutors, strengthen infrastructure, and make laws with clear foresight and stakeholder analysis, to implement courts' verdicts.
  • Sustaining public faith, overcoming the language barrier, reforms in practice and procedure, development of infrastructure, and filling up vacancies - to augment the strength of the Judiciary.

Source:

• Explained: How the Chief Justice of India is appointed

Image source:

• https://legodesk.com/legopedia/solutions-speed-indian-judiciary/

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In news:

As per a recent RBI paper, Green GDP is noted to be growing faster (6.34% and 6.71% in the 2000s and 2010s) than traditional GDP (6.27% and 6.61%, respectively), as a result of India taking measures to cut carbon emissions, improve resource use efficiency and boost clean energy capacity.

Beyond News:

The trend had been the opposite in the past three decades of the 20th century, indicating that the growth in that period was more damaging to the environment.

About Green GDP

• The United Nations first proposed the idea of green GDP in 1993.
• A country's "green GDP" measures economic growth by taking into account environmental variables in addition to its traditional GDP.
• It considers the costs associated with climate change as well as losses to biodiversity.
• Green GDP takes into account estimates for environmental degradation, depletion of natural resources, and savings of resources and environment into the national income accounts.

• It involves the subtraction of carbon emission cost, the opportunity cost of waste generated, and adjusted savings of natural resource depletion from GDP.
• It is less than GDP if economic growth is not eco-friendly.
• Norway has been calculating the costs of the environment and resources since 1978.

Significance of measuring Green GDP:

• It puts emphasis on maintaining a balance between the country’s growth aspirations and environmental protection.
• It helps to take a holistic view, as traditional GDP calculation ignores the cost of degradation of the environment.
• Helps in policy engineering to ensure sustainable development.

Challenges:

• Challenging to calculate the resource and environmental costs, as it takes years for the effect of industrial, ecological or health damage caused by industrial pollution to appear.
• Difficult to point out the year in which no environmental costs have been incurred as a result of pollution.
• Does not take into account the geographical factors, where pollution does no harm locally, but gets aggravated by natural factors such as wind or rainfall.

Environmental Kuznets Curve (EKC)

EKC argues that in the initial phases of economic development, there seems to be a positive relationship between the pollution level and per capita income.

India’s attempts to measure Green GDP:

• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation initiated the compilation of environmental accounting under Natural Capital Accounting and Valuation of Ecosystem Services (NCAVES).

• NCAVES project was launched in 2017 by the UN and European Union to enhance knowledge and accounting processes for ecosystem accounting.
• Green Accounting for Indian States & Union Territories Project (GAISP) to build a framework for environmentally adjusted national income accounts.
• Uttarakhand became 1st state in India to measure Gross Environment Product for quantifying ecological growth measurement.

 Content Source Link:

• https://www.livemint.com/economy/indias-gdp-growth-makes-the-switch-to-eco-friendly-path-11666544161738.html

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In news

A report of a joint committee, formed on orders of the National Green Tribunal(NGT) to ascertain the extent of illegal mining in the Aravalli region of Haryana, has reported mining activity at several locations in the region despite prohibitory orders.

Mining Laws in India

• Mine as per 'The Mines Act 1954' means any excavation where any operation for the purpose of searching for or obtaining minerals has been or is being carried from the earth by means of tunnelling and shafting as well as it includes open working or quarries.
• Recent related Developments:

• Mineral Laws (Amendment) Act 2020 aimed at boosting coal production, reducing dependencies on imports, allowing for wider participation in the auction of coal mines.
• National Mineral Policy 2019: introduced with the aim to increase transparency and enforcement, and implement sustainable mining practices.
• Mineral Conservation and Development (Amendment) Rules 2018, which aim to ensure that mineral production is not affected by the expiry of existing mining leases.
• Mineral (Auction) Amendment Rules 2017, to expedite the auction process for major minerals (other than coal, petroleum and natural gas).
• Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive and Virtuous Environmental Single-window Hub (PARIVESH) seeks to automate the process of submitting and tracking applications for various types of clearances (such as environmental, forest, wildlife and coastal regulation zone clearances) submitted by project proponents to the MOEFCC, as well as to the State Level Environmental Impact Assessment Authorities.

Illegal Mining in India

• Mining is considered illegal when it is done without a license or outside the licensed area and when more than the permissible amount is extracted.
• Reasons for Illegal Mining in India
  • Lack of coordination from concerned Ministries, resulting in consequential ecological damage.
  • Lack of timely checks by the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM).
  • The attractiveness of the overseas market, which pay much higher price than the government exchequer.
  • Lack of effective enforcement, inadequate staff, lack of necessary infrastructure, unclearly defined boundary area, and lack of timely renewals are also some of the reasons.
• Way forward to tackle Illegal Mining
  • Easing the process for renewal application, much prior to the due date, to take regulatory actions and ensure mine owner compliance.
  • Computerised weighbridges, Check Posts at transit points, Maintenance of roads and toll tax are some of the effective measures needed to ensure administrative transparency in the mining process.
  • Advanced technology such as drones, the internet of things (IoT) and blockchain technology, Satellite Imagery can be leveraged to ensure better regulation.

Source:

It’s official: Illegal mining is rampant in Aravallis

• https://indianexpress.com/article/cities/delhi/its-official-illegal-mining-is-rampant-in-aravallis-8203375/#:~:text=A%20report%20of%20a%20joint,the%20region%20despite%20prohibitory%20orders

Image source:

• https://www.mapsofindia.com/maps/minerals/mineral-india-map.jpg

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In News

• India has the potential to become the world's leading producer of organic fertilizers with the necessary policy changes.

Present Status of Organic Fertilizer Industry

• Currently, India produces a little over 110,000 tonnes of bio-fertilizer. Additionally, 34 million tonnes of organic manure is produced.
• In recent years, the domestic market has seen an increase in the popularity of organic farming. By 2021, the market for packaged organic foods in India is projected to reach a growth rate of 17%.
• The use of organic fertilizers is not widely spread. For 2019–20, the share of organic fertilizers in total fertilizer use was 29 per cent for  2018-19 and 0.34 per cent for 2019-20. 

Potential of Organic Fertilizer

• Utilizing Municipal Solid Waste:
  • India produces more than 150,000 tonnes of municipal solid waste (MSW).
  • Considering collection efficiency of 80% and the organic part of MSW to be 50%, the total organic waste generated per day in India comes to around 65,000 tonnes per day.
  • Even if half of this is diverted to the biogas industry, the government can leverage this by reducing in import of fossils and fertilisers.
• Utilizing Biogas Effluents:
  • There is also great value in the organic fertiliser also known as digestate, which is the biogas plant's effluent.
  • Biogas can be utilised for heating, electricity and even vehicular purposes (after upgrading), whereas digestatecan help realise the vision to have a second green revolution.
• Increase Soil Fertility:
  • Digestate can provide organic carbon to the continuously depleting soil, apart from its standard nutrition value.
  • In India at present, bio-fertiliser production is just over 110,000 tonnes (carrier-based 79,000 tonnes and liquid-based 30,000 tonnes) and 34 million tonnes of organic manure, composed of farmyard manure, city compost and vermicompost, among others.
• The popularity of Organic Farming:
  • The market size for Indian organic packaged food is expected to grow at a rate of 17%.
  • The significant rise of this sector is linked to growing awareness about the harmful effects of synthetic fertiliser on soil, rising health concerns, expanding urban population base and increased consumer expenditure on food goods.

Government Initiatives

SATAT Scheme:

• Under the SATAT scheme, substantial amounts of solid organic manure and bio-compressed natural gas can be produced.

Other Schemes:

1. Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana
2. Sub-mission on Agro-Forestry
3. National Mission on sustainable Agriculture
4. Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana

Content Source Link:

• https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/agriculture/organic-fertiliser-a-must-for-the-next-green-revolution-85470

Image Source Link:

• https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Frainwaterrunoff.com%2Forganic-fertilisers%2F&psig=AOvVaw25hpvAabU40aNMaEqWpDQR&ust=1666418676756000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CA4QjhxqFwoTCLi91bzT8PoCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAV

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• Context: The technology called semi-confined unreinforced brick masonry (SC-URBM) can resolve the problem of the spread of settlements in earthquake-prone areas with constructions that have been built without following earthquake-preventive building codes.

• Researchers from the Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, have found that SC-URBM can significantly enhance the energy dissipation capacity and ductility of the retrofitted building without compromising its strength.
• The idea of the technology emerged from confined masonry, an earthquake-resistant construction system where the masonry walls are built first, and the concrete columns and beams are poured in afterwards to enclose (confine) the wall.
• SC-URBM technology involves embedding reinforced concrete (RC) bands through the partial thickness of the wall and can be implemented or retrofitted in old buildings.

Source:

• https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1870985

Image source:

• New technology for retrofitting non-earthquake-resistant buildings can prevent major damage in old settlements | Department Of Science & Technology (dst.gov.in)

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• Context: The Delhi Government has appealed to the Centre to print pictures of Hindu deities Lakshmi and Ganesh on currency notes.
• Section 22 of The Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, gives RBI the “sole right” to issue banknotes in India.
• Section 25 states that “the design, form, and material of bank notes shall be such as may be approved by the Central Government after consideration of the recommendations made by the [RBI’s] Central Board”.

• The Coinage Act, of 2011 gives the central government the power to design and mint coins in various denominations and the role of the RBI is limited to the distribution of coins that are supplied by the central government.
• Two of India’s currency note printing presses (in Nasik and Dewas) are owned by the Government of India; two others (in Mysore and Salboni) are owned by the RBI through its wholly owned subsidiary, Bharatiya Reserve Bank Note Mudran Ltd (BRBNML).

Source:

• AAP wants Gods on currency: who designs rupee notes, and how? | Explained News,The Indian Express

Image source:

• How likely is a digital rupee? | Technology News,The Indian Express

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• Context: Recently the first formal African Union-led peace talks between an Ethiopian government team and Tigray forces took place in South Africa.

• Geographical location: It is an east African country with its capital at Addis Ababa. It is a part of the Horn of Africa which comprises Somalia, Djibouti and Eritrea along with it.
• Relief Features:
• It is a landlocked country (with the 1993 secession of Eritrea) located south of the Gulf of Aden.
• Ethiopia is bounded by Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Kenya to the south, and South Sudan and Sudan to the west.
• Mount Ras Dejen is the highest peak (14^th in Africa)
• Lake Tana—Ethiopia’s largest inland lake and the main reservoir for the Blue Nile River—is located in this region.
• The two major rift valley systems of the East African Rift are the Gregory Rift and the Western Rift which indicates divergent plate boundaries.

Source:

• https://www.britannica.com/place/Ethiopia
• https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/rift-valley
• https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/ethiopia-its-past-and-current-challenges/article66054632.ece

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• Context: All states to have NIA offices by 2024 to counter-terrorism.
• The NIA is a central agency that functions under the aegis of the ministry of home affairs. It is empowered to deal with terror-related crimes across India without special permission from the states.

• NIA came into being on December 31, 2008, with the passage of the NIA Act of 2008.
• At present, NIA is functioning as the Central Counter Terrorism Law Enforcement Agency in India.
• The NIA investigates all offences affecting the sovereignty, security and integrity of India, friendly relations with foreign states, and the offences under the statutory laws enacted to implement international treaties.
• The law under which the agency operates extends to the whole of India and also applies to Indian citizens outside the country.
• Headquartered in Delhi, the NIA has its branches in Hyderabad, Guwahati, Kochi, Lucknow, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur, Jammu, Chandigarh, Ranchi, Chennai, Imphal, Bengaluru and Patna.

Source:

• All states to have NIA offices by 2024 to counter terrorism: Amit Shah | India News,The Indian Express
• https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/explained-the-functioning-of-the-national-investigation-agency/article65596033.ece

Image source:

• https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/do-we-need-the-national-investigation-agency/articleshow/18768223.cms

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Bhargav Krishna

Exam View: Air Pollution, Climate Change, Issues Associated with Stubble Burning in India, Recycling and Reusing Stubble.

In News: Crop stubble burning is a serious environmental issue in north India. As with every year, discussions have begun about how bad this year's stubble-burning season will be and what potential ad hoc technological fixes could solve the problem — in the short term.

Stubble burning begins around October and peaks in November, coinciding with the withdrawal of the southwest monsoon. The Green Revolution transformed the way agriculture was practised in India, the economics of high-yielding varieties of paddy and wheat, supported by the government as a guaranteed buyer and minimum support prices led to a crop duopoly, and vitalised the practice of stubble burning.

A recent report shows that more than 500 million tonnes of crop residues (Parali) are produced annually in the country, cereal crops (rice, wheat, maize and millets) account for 70% of the total crop residue.

Issues Associated with Stubble Burning:

• Environmental Degradation: Stubble burning emits toxic pollutants in the atmosphere containing harmful gases like Carbon Monoxide (CO), methane (CH4), carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and volatile organic compounds (VOC). This is one of the primary causes of Delhi's air pollution.
• Soil fertility problem: Soil becomes less fertile, and its nutrients are destroyed when the husk is burned on the ground. It generates heat that penetrates into the soil, causing an increase in erosion, and loss of useful microbes and moisture. Due to the loss of ‘friendly’ pests, the wrath of ‘enemy’ pests has increased and as a result, crops are more prone to disease. The solubility capacity of the upper layers of soil has also been reduced.

• Stubble Burning induced by Climate Change: The shortened harvesting season due to climate change has forced the farmers to rapidly clear their fields between the Kharif and rabi crops, and the quickest of these ways is to burn off the remaining stubble post-harvest.
• Supportive Government Policy, Increased Burning: Policy moves in subsequent decades have included the introduction of subsidies for electricity and fertilisers, and ease of access for credit in agriculture has significantly increased crop yields and agricultural productivity, which has in turn cemented the issue of stubble burning.

Steps Required for controlling Stubble Burning

At a policy level, it also requires recognising that agriculture, nutrition, water, the environment, and the economy are all deeply intertwined in the era of the Anthropocene. One cannot be addressed in a silo without having second and third-order effects on the other.

Therefore, taking the long view on this would also mean establishing a mechanism for intersectoral policymaking that aligns our goals for sectoral policy within the broad frame of sustainable development we wish to follow. A transition at this scale has not been witnessed since the Green Revolution, but it is what is required if we are to address stubble burning in the long run. Fostering the conditions necessary for such a transition is complex. Whether our institutions have the right mix of political will and professional skills to do so remains to be seen.

Previous Year Question:

What are the major factors responsible for making the rice-wheat system a success? In spite of this success, how has this system become a bane in India? (2020).

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Why in news? 

Astronomers have observed the brightest flash of light ever seen.

About

• It was a GRB called GRB221009A. This type of GRB is thought to occur when a massive star explodes in a supernova, leaving behind a black hole.
• They are the most powerful events in the universe, detectable across billions of light-years.
  • A light-year is the distance a beam of light travels in a single Earth year or 9.5 trillion kilometres.
• They are the most powerful explosion that the universe has seen since the Big Bang.
• They are brief, but intense, flashes of gamma radiation.
• They produce as much energy as Sun will emit during its entire 10-billion-year existence.
• Astronomers classify them as long or short based on whether the event lasts for more or less than two seconds.

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Why in news?

The Chinese continued with their relentless bombardment of the Indian Posts, heralding the start of the Sino-Indian war.

About:

• Namka Chu was the site of the battle during the Sino-Indian War in 1962.
• The battle began on 10 October 1962 with an attack on Indian posts on the banks of Namka Chu River, lying South of Thagla Ridge in Arunachal Pradesh.
• India set its post (Dhola Post) in Namka Chu as part of Forward Policy to circumvent the Chinese expansion into the disputed areas.
• The Indian defeat at the Nam Ka Chu was the first in the India-China border war of 1962, which ended with a unilateral Chinese ceasefire and withdrawal after capturing almost the entire disputed territory of NEFA (now Arunachal Pradesh).

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Why in news?

Australia joined GMP

About Global Methane Pledge

• GMP was launched at COP26 in 2021 to catalyse action to reduce methane emissions.
• It is led by the US and European Union.
• It has more than 100 country participants who together are responsible for 45% of global human-caused methane emissions.
• Members of GMP commit to collectively reducing methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.
• India has not signed the pledge because of its concerns over the impact on trade, the country's large farm sector and the role of livestock in the rural economy.
• If adopted around the world, this would reduce global heating by 0.2C by the 2040s, compared with likely temperature rises by then.
• Methane is a powerful but short-lived climate pollutant that accounts for about half of the net rise in global average temperature since the pre-industrial era.

India Initiatives

1. ‘Harit Dhara’
2. India Greenhouse Gas Program
3. National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)
4. Bharat Stage-VI Norms

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Why in news?

Indian envoy to Kenya has met its President in relation to the disappearance of two Indian nationals.

About

• India and Kenya have a long history of political, economic and cultural relationships and Kenya serves as a gateway to the wider Indian Ocean Region.
• Kenya is an East African nation situated in the Great Rift Valley.

• Political Boundaries: It shares its land borders with Ethiopia, South Sudan, Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia. The Indian Ocean lies southeast of Kenya.
• Geographical Features:
  1. Highest Point: Mount Kenya, the Second Highest Peak of Africa after Mount Kilimanjaro of Tanzania.
  2. Main Rivers: White Nile and Tana.
  3. Lakes: Lake Turkana (World's largest permanent desert lake and largest alkaline lake); Lake Victoria (Africa’s Largest Lake, shared with Uganda and Tanzania).
  4. Port of Mombasa, Port of Lamu, Kisumu Port.

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Why in news?

Recently UN State Climate Action Report 2022 Shows that the world’s Climate Commitments Won't Be Enough to Limit Global Warming to 1.5°C.

About

• Released by: Climate Action Tracker (an independent analytic group comprising Climate Analytics and New Climate Institute), the United Nations High-Level Climate Change Champions, World Resources Institute and others.

• The State of Climate Action 2022 provides a comprehensive assessment of the gap in climate action by highlighting where recent progress must accelerate over the next decade across power, buildings, industry, transport, forests and land, food and agriculture, technological carbon removal, and finance.
• Highlights:
  1. Total global greenhouse gas emission in 2019 was 58.5 gigatonnes of CO2 equivalent.
  2. Getting on track to achieve 2030 targets will require an enormous acceleration in effort like Phasing out coal power generation 6 times faster.

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Why in news?

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has released the Greenhouse Gas Bulletin 2022.

About

• WMO is the specialised agency of the UN for meteorology (weather and climate), operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.
• Key Highlights:
  1. Atmospheric levels of the 3 main greenhouse gases warming our planet - carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide- all reached new record highs in 2021.
  2. This is the result of both biological and human-induced processes.
  3. Emissions will also increase by 10.6% by 2030 from 2010 levels.
  4. The biggest year-on-year jump was observed in methane concentrations.
• The Bulletin also provides a change in radiative forcing by long-lived GHGs (LLGHGs) and the contribution of individual gases to this increase.

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Background:

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) recently announced a “pay equity policy”, saying that its centrally-contracted men and women players would get the same match fees.

About:

The step is a significant move towards bringing gender pay parity as, per the Global Gender Gap Index 2022, at the current rate of progress, it will take 132 years to reach full parity.

• The women players will now get Rs 15 lakh per Test match, Rs 6 lakh for aOne-Day International (ODI), and Rs 3 lakh for a T20 International. Till now, they were paid Rs 1 lakh for a white-ball match, and Rs 4 lakh for a Test.
• India ranked 135, out of a total of 146 countries and its overall score has improved from 625 (in 2021) to 0.629,which is its seventh-highest score in the last 16 years.
• In 2021, India was ranked 140 out of 156 countries.
• Economic Participation and Opportunity (Percentage of women in the labour force, Wage Equality for similar work, Earned income):
  • In 2021, India was pegged at 151 out of 156 countries.
  • India’s score is much lower than the global average,and only Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan are behind India on this metric.

Indian Initiatives to reduce Gender Gap

(1) Economic Participation and Health and Survival:

(a) Beti Bachao Beti Padhao

(b) Mahila Shakti Kendra

(c) Sukanya Samriddhi yojana

(2) Political reservation:

1. 1. The government has reserved 33% of the seats in Panchayati Raj Institutions for women.
   2. Capacity Building of Elected Women Representatives: It is conducted with a view to empowering women to participate effectively in the governance processes.

Source:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/bcci-announces-pay-equality-for-women-internationals-8232746/

Image source:

• https://indianexpress.com/article/sports/cricket/bcci-announces-pay-equality-for-women-internationals-8232746/

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