In News

The Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2019-20 shows that schools across India performed poorly under the category of digital learning, which threw up the lowest scores compared to the other parameters which were considered while creating the index.

About PGI-D

• The Department of School Education and Literacy, and Ministry of Education (MoE) has released the Performance Grading Index for Districts (PGI-D) for 2018-19 and 2019-20 that grades the States and UTs into grades like Daksh, Utkarsh, Ati-Uttam, Uttam etc according to percentage scores.
• The Performance Grading Index is a tool to provide insights on the status of school education in States and UTs including key levers that drive their performance and critical areas for improvement.
• The purpose of the PGI therefore is to help the States and UTs to pinpoint the gaps and accordingly prioritize areas for intervention to ensure that the school education system is robust at every level.
• The PGI-D structure comprises of total weightage of 600 points across 83 indicators, which are grouped under 6 categories viz., Outcomes, Effective Classroom Transaction, Infrastructure Facilities & Student’s Entitlements, School Safety & Child Protection, Digital Learning and Governance Process.

Findings of the Report

• Overall, 8 districts have improved their PGI score by more than 20 % or upward shift of two grades in 2019-20 over 2018-19.

• In the index, as many as 180 districts scored less than 10 per cent on digital learning, 146 districts scored 11 to 20 per cent, while 125 districts had scores between 21 and 30 per cent.
  • Rural Urban Divide was seen in digital learning. For e.g., while districts in cities like Chandigarh and Delhi scored between 25 and 35 out of 50, places like Bihar’s Araria and Kishanganj scored as low as 2.
  • The domain of Digital learning was considered in PGI-D since the Covid 19 pandemic has highlighted the changes required in our existing system in terms of the adoption of digital learning as part of mainstream learning to continue education at home.
• In terms of learning outcomes, no district scored below 10 per cent, 12 scored between 11 and 20 per cent, while as many as 309 scored between 51 and 60 per cent.
• Effective Classroom Transactions saw 510 districts making improvement in scores while 478 districts made improvements in Infrastructure, Facilities, Student Entitlements from 2018-19 to 2019-2020.
• Under School Safety and Child Protection, 50 districts made score improvement of over 20 % in 2019-20 as compared to 2018-19, another 75 districts made more than 10 % improvement in score resulting into grade level improvement.

Sources:

• Schools poor in digital learning,180 districts score less than 10%
• MoE releases report on Performance Grading Index for Districts for the year 2018-19 and 2019-20
• PERFORMANCE GRADING INDEX FOR DISTRICTS OF INDIA (PGI-D)

In News

The World Gold Council, in its report, ‘Gold refining and recycling’, has recently recorded India as the fourth largest recycler of gold, having recycled 75 tonnes of gold in the previous year.

Highlights of the Report

• As per the report, India’s gold refining landscape has changed significantly in the last 10 years with formal operations increasing from less than 5 in 2013 to 33 in 2021.

Dorés and Bullion:

• • Gold dorés are metal bars with high gold content.
  • They are composed of a mixture of precious metals but majorly containing gold and silver.
  • They require further treatment before they can be used as raw material for producing gold items.
  • Dorés can be created from scrap gold.
  • Bullion refers to gold and silver of high purity kept in the forms of bars, ingots or coins.
•  
• The import duty differential that gold doré has enjoyed over refined bullion has accelerated the growth of organised refining in India.
• Helped by these tax incentives, about half of India’s new refining capacity opened up in Excise Free Zones (EFZs) in Uttarakhand since 2014.
• It states that as India’s demand for gold outpaces its supply from mines, it is being met by imports alongside locally recycled gold.
• China topped the list having recycled about 168 million tonnes of gold in 2021, followed by Italy having recycled 80 million tonnes and United States-78 million tonnes. 

Understanding ‘Gold recycling’

• About the Metal: Gold is a soft and malleable metal. It is alloyed with other metals, such as copper, silver, nickel, palladium and zinc, to make it hard and fit for use. 

• Recycled Gold: The World Gold Council defines recycled gold as gold that is sold for cash either by consumers or others who are part of the supply chain (such as jewellery manufacturers who may sell old stock).
  • It does not include the exchange of gold for gold, such as when retail customers exchange old jewellery for new. 
• Derivation of Gold: ‘Recyclable’ gold may either be derived from old jewellery, referred to as high-valued scrap, which roughly accounts for 90% of the total supply of recycled gold globally or industrial scrap material – primarily consisting of waste electrical and electronic equipment such as computers, tablets and mobile phones (although in small amounts, gold is used in printed circuit boards, etc).
• Non-decayable: Since gold does not tarnish or decay, all the gold that was ever mined still exists and can be recycled.
• Process involved: To obtain higher levels of purity that can be deemed industry-ready, refiners dissolve the alloy in strong acids before recovering the gold through electrolysis.

Gold Recycling in India

• India accounts for 8% of the global scrap supply. 
  • Old jewellery is the most recycled gold product in India (85%).
  • The industrial segment accounts for less than 5 per cent of the total Indian scrap supply. 
• Factors such as current price movements of gold, future price expectations, overall macroeconomic scenario and financial crises primarily determine the level of recycling activity.
• Jewellers derive their ‘recyclable gold’ from individual customers or collect scraps from moneylenders (or pawnbrokers) and gold loan companies.
• The share of gold exchanges for cash has remained broadly steady, despite the slowdown in 2012-14 and the COVID-19 pandemic that exhibits the vibrance of the gold loan industry in the country.
• Challenges:
  • Much of the problems in the recycling industry stem from its unorganised nature.
  • Moreover, gold is considered to have a sentimental and religious value, and is deemed to be an inter-generational asset.
  • Further, there is a lack of awareness of the value of gold in electronic gadgets.
  • These factors mean that much of the stock is unlikely to come back into the market.
  • As for the consumer, current GST regulations do not provide for them to recover the 3% tax they would have paid when they had initially bought their jewellery.

 Source:

• Explained | What is gold recycling?
• India ranks 4th in global gold recycling; recycled 75 tonnes in 2021: WGC

Image source:

• India now the fourth largest gold recycling country: World Gold Council

In News

India, along with G7 countries and four invited countries have recently signed the ‘2022 Resilient Democracies Statement.’

About the News

• The signatories include Germany, Argentina, Canada, France, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Senegal, South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and the European Union.

Oath and Commitments:

• Protecting the freedom of expression and opinion online and offline and ensuring a free and independent media landscape through their work with relevant international initiatives.
• Ensuring an open, free, global, interoperable, reliable and secure internet.

• Increasing the cyber resilience of digital infrastructure, including by improving and sharing awareness of cyber threats and expanding cyber response cooperation.
• Countering hybrid threats, in particular information manipulation and interference, including disinformation.
• Cooperating to counter information manipulation, promote accurate information, and advocate for our shared democratic values worldwide.
• Promoting affordable access to diverse sources of reliable and trustworthy information and data, online and offline, including through a multi-stakeholder approach, and by strengthening digital skills and digital literacy.
• Enhancing transparency about the actions of online platforms to combat violent, extremist and inciting content online.

Commitment to promote solidarity

The Nations committed to promote solidarity and non-discriminatory, diverse, and inclusive environments, for fair representation and political participation through:

• Guarding the freedom, independence and diversity of civil society actors, speaking out against threats to civic space, and respecting freedom of association and peaceful assembly.
• Building resilience against malign foreign interference and acts of transnational repression that seek to undermine trust in government, society and media, reduce civic space and silence critical voices.
• Advancing programmes for the protection of human rights defenders and all those exposing corruption.

Source:

• the ‘2022 Resilient Democracies Statement.’
• India joins G7, 4 others to protect free speech, ‘online and offline’
• G7, India and 4 other countries pledge to protect free speech

Image source:

• https://pilr.blogs.pace.edu/2014/09/23/protection-of-desirable-free-speech/

On June 28, 1995 Madhya Pradesh in central India was designated a `tiger state' to protect the animal from poachers and settlers. MP consists of 19% of India's Tiger Population and 10% of the world's tiger population.

Kanha National Park was one of the first nine Protected Areas selected under Project Tiger (1973) in the country. M.P. has successfully managed to safeguard its most critical tiger habitats over the past 45 years and is an exemplar for other states wishing to secure the future of its tiger-bearing forests. Of India’s existing 50 tiger reserves, the six within M.P. have some of the most secure tiger populations on the planet. Kanha, Pench, Panna and Satpura now feature in the list of India’s 15 finest tiger reserves. Three tiger reserves in Madhya Pradesh – Kanha, Pench and Satpura – have implemented MSTrIPES – a GIS-based monitoring system that records real-time patrolling data, direct and indirect evidences of large carnivores and, more importantly, human disturbances.

Sources:

• Protecting Madhya Pradesh:
• 'Tiger state' Madhya Pradesh lost 290 big cats in 19 years:

• Context: Earth Trust Organization in West Bengal has been making use of Water Hyacinth stems in preparing environmentally friendly daily-use products.
• Water hyacinth, scientifically known as Eichhornia crassipesMart. (Pontederiaceae), is an aquatic weed common in waterbodies across South Asia, including India. 
• It is a simple, floating aquatic plant, that is not an indigenous species but was introduced to India during the British colonial rule as an ornamental aquatic plant from South America.

• The plant produces beautiful purple flowers that have high aesthetic value.
• However, it is an obnoxious weed that suffocates surface freshwater sources like rivers, rivulets, streams, ponds, dams, lakes and bogs, making the waterbodies unsuitable for commercial fishery, transportation and recreation.
• The plant is a prolific vegetable matter-producer and has the ability to choke any closed waterbody at a quick rate which cuts off sunlight and reduces oxygen level in the water, thereby harmful to the ecosystem.
• The plant has been used as a bio-fertiliser in some organic agriculture practises and has recently found application in preparing biodegradable paper, cups, plates, boxes, and other environmentally friendly daily-use products.
• These products are cheaper and can serve as an alternative for plastic and thermocol products.

 Source:

• How a noxious aquatic weed was used to make eco-friendly products, generate employment in rural Bengal
• How a noxious aquatic weed was used to make eco-friendly merchandise, generate employment in rural Bengal

Image source:

• Water Hyacinth

• Context: Recognised as the “bird village” following community-driven conservation efforts, Menar in Udaipur district is set to be notified as Rajasthan's new wetland. 
• The two lakes in the Menar village- the Brahma and Dhandhplay host to a large number of migratory birds every year that visit the location from Central Asia, Europe and Mongolia.

• With the status of wetlands, the two lakes will be strengthened forincreasing the vegetation of aquatic plants and protecting biodiversity. 
• More than150 species of local and migratory birds inhabit the two lakes in the winter season which include Greater Flamingo, White-tailed Lapwing, Pelican, Marsh Harrier, Bar-headed Goose, Common Teal, Greenshank, Pintail, Wagtail, Green Sandpiper and Red-wattled Lapwing.
• The two wetlands currently recognised as Ramsar sites in Rajasthan include Keoladeo Ghanain Bharatpur district and Sambhar Salt Lake in Jaipur district.

Source:

• Udaipur’s ‘bird village’ set to be declared wetland
• Menar bird village to be developed as wetland

Image source:

• Udaipur’s ‘bird village’ set to be declared wetland

• Context: The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has recently published the “Performance standards for electric vehicle batteries.”
• Electric vehicles operate on an electric motor and rechargeable batteries.
• Most of them use lithium-ion batteries because of their high power-to-weight ratio.
• However, recent fire incidents with electric vehicles have raised concerns about their safety, in the backdrop of which certain performance standards for EV Batteries have been issued.

• As per the IS 17855:2022 standard,
  • The EV batteries will have to go through tests for basic performance characteristics, reliability and electrical functionality for the battery packs.
  • These tests have been formulated considering real-life scenarios for an electric vehicle such as a vehicle in parking (battery is not used for an extended period of time), the battery system being shipped (stored), operating battery at low and high temperatures
• BIS is the National Standards Body of India, working under Department of Consumer affairs of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
• It was established by Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 2016.

Source:

• BIS formulates performance standards for electric vehicle batteries
• BIS formulates standard for EV batteries following spate of fire incidents

Image source:

• “Performance Standards for Electric Vehicle Batteries” issued by BIS

• Context: The Vertical Launch Short Range Surface to Air Missile (VL-SRSAM), has been recently flight tested by the DRDO and Indian Navy off the coast of Chandipur in Odisha.
• VL-SRSAM is an indigenously developed shipborne weapon system designed and developed jointly by three facilities of the DRDO for deployment of Indian Naval warships.

• The missile has thecapability of neutralizing various aerial threats at close ranges including sea-skimming targets (technique used by anti-ship missiles to avoid radar and infrared detection).
• The missile has been designed to strike high-speed airborne targets at the range of 40 to 50 km and at an altitude of around 15 km.
• Its design is based on Astra missile which is a Beyond Visual Range Air to Air missile.
  • Astra is India's first air-to-air all weather beyond-visual-range active radar homing air-to-air missile (is an air-to-air missile that is capable of engaging at ranges of 20 nautical milesor beyond) developed by the 

Source:

• Indian Navy and DRDO conduct flight test of VL-SRSAM
• Ship-borne weapon system VL-SRSAM successfully flight-tested off Odisha coast

Image source:

• Ship-borne weapon system VL-SRSAM successfully flight-tested off Odisha coast

Essence: By reversing the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, which guaranteed every American's right to an abortion, the US Supreme Court (SCOTUS) dealt a blow to American women's control over their bodies. It will impact the developing 21st-century American understanding liberty and self-determination. The court's removal of a right has created a risky precedent with international repercussions.

Why should you read this article?

• To know the background and development of America's abortion rights.
• To comprehend the current controversy surrounding America's right to an abortion and its potential consequences.

Source:

• Upending of Roe v Wade reverses progress made on women’s rights in America, and possibly elsewhere:

Essence: As the fifth anniversary of the rollout of GST is approaching, this editorial takes a look at its promises and factors responsible for its partial success. While a part of lack of complete success of GST’s target can be attributed to things outside our control like covid and Ukrainian war, faulty initial design of GST and implementation glitches must also be held responsible. Exclusion of some products like some petroleum products, electricity etc., multiple tweaking of multiple slabs and inadequate telecom infrastructure are among the factors which need to be looked at to reap maximum benefit of GST. Authors are of the opinion that the design of GST is in need of reform.

Why should you read this article?

• To understand promises of GST.
• To understand factors responsible for the limited success of GST.

Source:

• The grand promise of India’s GST is yet to be redeemed:

Background:

• The crisis of water shortage nudged a couple to design water harvesting system.
• Veeramani from Pudukkottai, Tamil Nadu set up a rainwater harvesting system in his house, to fight water scarcity.

About the Water Harvesting system

• In Pudukkottai, people travel at least 1 km to fetch water.
• In early 2018, Veeramani decided to restore a well in his house to harvest rainwater. Veeramani then devised a system where the rainwater landing on the roof of his house would get collected in the well through pipes.
• He uses the water to irrigate the cultivation on his four-acre farm, and for household purposes.
• The system helped him during cyclone Gaja, when motors for water fetching could not work due to power cut.
• Inspired by Veeramani, other houses have started harvesting rainwater in the village in their plastic water tanks, if they do not have wells.

Quote: “ Where there is will, there is a way”

Source:

• Rainwater Harvesting System in TN Man’s Home Helped His Entire Village During Cyclone: