Exam View: Hydrocarbon sector development in India; Lessons to the clean energy sector from the hydrocarbon sector; NELP; HELP; Indian sedimentary basin.

In News: As the transition to clean energy becomes imperative, India’s tryst with hydrocarbons can offer a roadmap of what not to do.

Lessons to the clean energy sector from the hydrocarbon sector

Clean energy sector must not presume that the availability of technical talent and capital will be enough.

• The liberalisation of upstream petroleum widened the gap between the domestic demand for petroleum and indigenous supply. The economic, technical and operating ecosystem must enable their conversion into commercially-useful products.
• The bulk of India’s hydrocarbon resources are located in harsh terrain and complex geology. They are
  • Difficult to locate and even when located,
  • Difficult to produce on a commercial basis.
• This is because of the high cost of drilling and development.

The system will have to minimise the avoidable costs associated with procedural red tape like land acquisition, erratic supplies of water and power and legal redress.

Clean energy sector must not presume that technology is sufficient for manufacturing competitiveness:

• The recovery rate of oil and gas from India’s producing fields has averaged between 25-30 per cent. The recovery rate of fields of comparable geology across the world is between 40-60 per cent.
• The reason for this difference is not access to Enhanced oil recovery (EOR) technologies. The reason is the utilisation of these technologies. These have not been efficiently implemented.
• China’s dominance of the clean energy value chain is because its process engineers have perfected the implementation of the several technological steps required to convert raw material into end product.

India cannot compete on the size of the incentive package:

• Liberalisation triggered the expectation that there would be a flood of investor interest. This did not happen because -
  • International companies regarded our geology as high risk and
  • They did not consider our fiscal and commercial terms as internationally competitive.
• The PLI scheme could also turn out to be the same.
• The endeavour should instead be to lower entry barriers, ease business conditions and remove the perception that India offers a high-cost operating environment.

The country should desist from building a high-cost, domestic, clean energy hub that is forever dependent on subsidies:

• Like oil, clean energy minerals and components are internationally traded. They can be purchased on the international market.

India should continue with its two-track policy with China:

• China is the lowest-cost supplier of clean energy components. One track will put us eye-ball-to-eye-ball on the border, the other should strengthen our trading relationship.

Self-reliance does not have to be built on the bedrock of self-sufficiency:

• India’s dependence on the external market for petroleum does not warrant pricing at a strategic premium to secure self-sufficiency. Oil is tradable and there are multiple sources of supply. The government has in recent years adeptly secured supplies without getting embroiled in domestic or regional politics and conflicts.

Additional Information

There are 26 sedimentary basins in India that can be divided into three categories based on maturity of hydrocarbon resources as under:

• Category-I: Basins, which have reserves and are already producing.
• Category-II: Basins, which have contingent resources pending commercial production.
• Category-III: Basins, which have prospective resources awaiting discovery.

In News: Government has formulated the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF) as a separate and independent scheme from 2023-24 by up-scaling the Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddati to motivate the farmers to adopt chemical free farming and enhance the reach of natural farming.

About Bhartiya Prakritik Krishi Paddati (BPKP):

• BPKP is a sub-mission under the Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY), which falls within the umbrella of the National Mission on Sustainable Agriculture (NMSA).
• It aims at promoting traditional indigenous practices and focuses on on-farm biomass recycling with major stress on biomass mulching; use of cow dung–urine formulations; and exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs either directly or indirectly.
• Under BPKP, financial assistance at Rs 12,200/ha was provided for 3 years.

What is the National Mission on Natural Farming (NMNF)?

NMNF has been launched by up-scaling BPKP. Natural Farming is a way of chemical free farming based on desi cow and locally available resources, with no chemical fertilisers and pesticides

• It focuses on exclusion of all synthetic chemical inputs directly or indirectly.
• It emphasises on improving natural nutrient cycling and increase in organic matter in the soil, which can help with climate change resilience and carbon sequestration in soils.
• Organic agriculture as a system of farm design and management to create an ecosystem which can achieve sustainable productivity without use of artificial off farm input such as chemical fertiliser and pesticides.
• Objectives of the Mission
  • Promote alternative system of farming for freedom from external purchased inputs, cost reduction and thereby increasing income of farmers
  • To popularise integrated agriculture-animal husbandry models based on desi cow and local resources.
  • To collect, validate and document Natural Farming practices being practised in various parts of the country and to encourage participatory research with farmers on further up scaling
  • To undertake activities for awareness creation, capacity building, promotion and demonstration of Natural Farming.
  • To create standards, certification procedure and branding for Natural Farming products for national and international markets.
• Benefits to the farmers under the scheme
• A financial assistance of 5000/ per ha/year for three years for one time on-farm manure production infrastructure.
• Training of farmers by Champion farmer and 6 such trainings of one day duration will be organised at village level for all the farmers in a batch of 50 farmers.A sum of Rs. 30,000/- is provided for such training @ Rs. 50 per farmer per training.
• Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO) formation for farmers practising Natural Farming under 10,000 FPO scheme of Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare
• First year of the natural farming mission will be devoted to the awareness creation through Farmer Field School (FFS).

What is Climate Smart Agriculture?

It is a broader concept which includes all environmentally friendly agricultural approaches like integrated farming systems, conservation agriculture, natural farming, organic farming, precision agriculture, regenerative agriculture, reclamation of degraded soils and reduced food loss and waste to achieve sustainable agriculture.

• It is an integrated approach to managing landscapes-cropland, livestock, forests and fisheries-that address the interlinked challenges of food security and climate change.
• It aims to tackle three main objectives:
  • sustainably increasing agricultural productivity and incomes,
  • adapting and building resilience to climate change and
  • reducing greenhouse gas emissions wherever possible and supports FAO strategic framework 2022-2031.

Source: 

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1911558

In News: The World Bank (WB) has published a report titled "Falling Long-Term Growth Prospects: Trends, Expectations, and Policies", which suggests that the global economy could experience a lost decade from 2020 to 2030.

About

• The report uses an extensive database of various indicators of potential growth, the report assesses the patterns and key drivers of potential growth. It also evaluates the worldwide and regional prospects for potential growth and investment during the 2020s, while considering a variety of policy alternatives that could increase potential growth.
• Today nearly all the economic forces that drove economic progress are in retreat. There has been a protracted, broad-based decline in potential growth and its underlying drivers. The slowdown in potential growth is expected to persist for the rest of this decade.
• A decline in long-term growth prospects imperils the ability of Emerging Market and Developing Economies (EMDEs) to combat poverty, tackle climate change, and meet other key development objectives.

Major Findings of the Report:

Reasons for Slowdown:

• The Emerging Market and Developing Economies are experiencing a prolonged period of weakness, which is the primary cause of the economic slowdown. According to the World Bank's analysis of the fundamental drivers of economic growth, all of them have been losing their effectiveness.
• These drivers include capital accumulation through investment growth, labor force growth, and the growth of total factor productivity, which is the result of more efficient use of inputs, often driven by technological advancements.

India Condition:

• Despite losing its growth momentum over the past two decades, India is still a global leader in terms of growth rates and is expected to remain so. It is part of the South Asia Region (SAR), which is predicted to be the fastest-growing among emerging market and developing economies for the rest of this decade.
• South Asia Region encompasses countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh. The region's output is projected to expand by approximately 6.0% annually between 2022 and 2030, surpassing the 5.5% annual average of 2010.

Recommendations to boost Potential Global Growth

• Financial Frameworks – Monetary and Fiscal: Robust macroeconomic and financial policy frameworks can curb the turmoil in business cycles. Policymakers should prioritize taming inflation, ensuring financial-sector stability, reducing debt, and restoring fiscal prudence.
• Scale up Investments: Investments that support key climate goals in transportation and energy, climate-smart agriculture and manufacturing, as well as land and water systems, have the potential to increase growth by up to 0.3% annually in these sectors.
• Reduce Trade Costs: The current trade costs make the price of internationally traded goods almost double. However, countries with the highest shipping and logistics costs can reduce their trade expenses by up to 50% by adopting the trade-facilitation and other best practices of nations with the lowest shipping and logistics costs.
• Capitalize on Services: The services sector could become the new engine of economic growth. Exports of digitally delivered professional services related to information and communications technology climbed to more than 50% of total services exports in 2021, up from 40% in 2019.
• Increase Labor Force: Almost 50% of the projected deceleration in potential economic growth, until 2030, can be attributed to the shift in demographics, which involves a decrease in the number of people of working age and a reduction in labor force participation as populations get older. If we manage to raise the overall labor force participation levels to the highest ten-year growth recorded, it could potentially boost global potential growth rates by up to 0.2% annually by the year 2030.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-economics/global-economy-recession-2020-2030-decade-8524701/

In News: India Ranks 5^th in the study on National contributions to Warming.

About

• Researchers from Europe and the United States have calculated national contributions to warming due to greenhouse gases such as CO2, CH4 and N2O since the 1850s.
• The study estimates that India is responsible for 0.08 degrees Celsius of warming from the 1850s through 2021.
• Since 1992, the additional warming caused by global fossil fuel emissions has been over four times greater than the additional warming caused by land-use change.

Major Findings of the study:

• The United States tops the list of countries, with a contribution of 0.28°C (17.3 percent) of rise in temperature.
• China stands second with 0.20°C (12.3 per cent) of warming, followed by Russia’s 0.10°C (6.1 percent), Brazil’s 0.08°C (4.9 per cent), and India’s 0.08°C (4.8 per cent).
• Indonesia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada each contributed 0.03-0.05°C of warming.

India's Contribution to Global Warming:

• India’s emissions of CO2, CH4, and N2O from 1851-2021 have resulted in 0.04°C, 0.03°C, and 0.006°C of global warming over pre-industrial levels, respectively.
• CO2 is responsible for 1.11°C of warming compared to methane’s 0.41°C and nitrous oxide’s 0.08°C.
• Since 2005, India climbed to the fifth spot from the 10^th while China, too, rose to the second position after overtaking Russia.

Role of different sectors:

• The land-use and forestry sector is a significant contributor in half the countries with CO2 emissions from land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF) in Brazil leading to 0.04°C of warming.
• The contribution of India, China, and Brazil towards warming due to CH4 and N2O increased by 110 percent 56 per cent, and 55 percent, respectively, compared to CO2-related warming alone.
• The LULUCF sector accounted for 38 percent of the total warming from CH4 emissions and 72 percent from N2O emissions between 1851-2021.

Importance:

• Tracking national contributions to climate change can help understand the burden of responsibility carried by each country.
• It can also further inform the design of international policies that pursue equitable decarbonization pathways.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/climate-change/india-ranks-fifth-in-national-contribution-to-warming-study-88529

In News: Australian renewable-energy company Green Gravity has recently proposed to use gravity to generate electricity in Kolar Gold Fields (KGF), Karnataka.

About

• KGF is an iconic but defunct gold mine and Green Gravity’s idea of using gravity as fuel may help address the challenge of renewable energy.
• The use of weighted blocks in defunct mines can generate reliable power while avoiding environmental costs and challenges.
• Green Gravity plans to find defunct mines, which often go hundreds or even thousands of metres deep.
• These mines haul a 'weighted block' as much as 40 tonnes up to the top of the mine shaft using renewable power during the day when such power is available.
• When backup power is required, the heavy block will fall, under gravity, and the ensuing momentum will power a generator via a connected shaft (or rotor).
• The depth to which the block can slip can be determined via a braking system, thus giving control on the amount of power that can be produced.

Advantages:

• Green Gravity's approach is similar to the established "pumped hydropower" storage method where water is pumped upstream electrically into a reservoir and released downhill to move a turbine and produce electricity when needed.
• The use of weighted blocks instead of water means that decommissioned mines can be put to use, and the environmental costs and challenges of moving water up can be avoided.
• The KGF mines, which have yielded nearly 800 tonnes of gold for 51 million tonnes of mined rock, have also been used in particle physics experiments.
• India currently has 4,746 MW of pumped-storage and the using weighted blocks can help in putting use the decommissioned mines besides avoiding environmental costs and challenges of moving water.
• At present, renewable energy has downtime during nights or windless days and thus charging batteries are required for backup power which hikes power prices.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/science/gravity-tech-may-revive-lustre-of-faded-kolar-gold-mine/article66671640.ece

In News: A new black hole roughly 30 billion times the mass of Sun has been detected recently due to its light-bending gravity or gravitational lensing.

About:

• Gravitational lensing is a phenomenon where a foreground object bends light from a more distant object behind it.
• It is one of the biggest ever detected and on the upper limit of how large the black holes can theoretically become.
• The results of the research have been published in the journal Monthly Notices of the Royal Astronomical Society.

Key Points:

• Researchers used supercomputer simulations to simulate light from a faraway galaxy travelling through the Universe.
• Each simulation had a black hole of a different mass, changing the light's journey to Earth.
• When an ultra-massive black hole was included in one of the simulations, the path taken by the light matched the path seen in images captured by the Hubble Space Telescope.
• This helped discover the ultra-massive black hole in the foreground galaxy.
• Most black holes known to humans are in an active state and the new approach can make it possible to study inactive black holes in distant galaxies.

https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/science/biggest-ultramassive-black-hole-gravity-lens-8528704/

In News: Recently, A cosmic explosion in 2022 was the brightest ever – and may overturn decades-long theory on gamma-ray bursts(GRBs).

About

• The theory on GRBs suggests that they are the result of the formation of a black hole when the core of a massive star collapses under its own weight.
• This process releases powerful plasma jets traveling almost at the speed of light that produce gamma rays.
• As the jets interact with gas surrounding the dying star, a bright afterglow is produced across the electromagnetic spectrum, including X-rays and visible light.

Key Points:

• The radiation was caused by the birth of a black hole which released powerful plasma jets almost of the speed of light shooting gamma rays.
• The radio signals from the afterglow were brighter than expected, indicating a new emission component or a poorly understood reverse shock.
• The observation was conducted jointly by:
  • Center for Astrophysics, Harvard
  • Smithsonian’s Submillimeter Array (SMA) in Hawaii
  • MeerKAT Array in South Africa,
  • US National Science Foundation’s Karl G Jansky Very Large Array (VLA) in New Mexico (USA),
  • Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA), Chile
  • Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope of National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), Pune (India).
• The data observed helped to calculate the outflow, which may consist of a small mass shooting at 99.4% at the speed of light.
• There is a possibility of a very fast-moving jet that is producing the X-ray and visible light in the afterglow.
• The findings challenge the decades-old theory on GRB jets and need reassessment to help in deriving a better understanding.

https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/science-technology/a-cosmic-explosion-in-2022-was-the-brightest-ever-and-may-overturn-decades-long-theory-on-gamma-ray-bursts-88530#:~:text=Now%2C%20data%20from%20the%20radiation,cutting%20across%20our%20solar%20system

Why in news? Recently, National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) clarified that there are no charges for bank account - to - bank account-based UPI payments.

About:

• NPCI stated that an interchange charge of 1.1% has been introduced on UPI transactions made through PPI instruments above Rs 2,000, and there is no charge to customers.
• Also, NPCI has permitted the PPI wallets to be part of interoperable UPI ecosystem.

Prepaid Payment Instruments (PPI)

• PPIs are instruments that facilitate purchase of goods and services, conduct of financial services, enable remittance facilities,, against the value stored therein.
• PPIs are in the form of payment wallets (like Paytm Wallet, Amazon Pay Wallet, PhonePe Wallet, etc.), smart cards, mobile wallets, magnetic chips, vouchers, etc.
• A PPI payment done via UPI refers to a transaction done via such a wallet through a UPI QR code.
• As per the regulations, banks and NBFCs can issue PPIs after obtaining approval from RBI.

NPCI

• NPCI is an umbrella organisation for all retail payments systems in India. Its primary objective is to provide safe, secure, and efficient retail payment systems in India.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/new-upi-payment-rules-8526058/#:~:text=National%20Payments%20Corporation%20of%20India%20(NPCI)%2C%20the%20retail%20payments,UPI%20payments%20for%20most%20people

Why in news? Recently, Prime Minister of India has paid tributes to freedom fighter Shyamji Krishna Varma on his death anniversary.

About:

• Shyamji Krishna Varma was born in Mandvi town of Kachchh district of Gujarat.
• He completed his education in India and taught Sanskrit at the Oxford University.
• In 1905 he founded the “India House” acted as one of the most prominent centres for revolutionary Indian nationalism outside India.
• He also found monthly journal “The Indian Sociologist” which became an outlet for nationalist ideas and through the Indian Home Rule Society, he criticised the British rule in India.
• On 18 February 1905, Shyamji inaugurated a new organisation called “The Indian Home Rule Society” with the object of securing Home Rule for India.
• He became the first President of Bombay Arya Samaj.
• He was an admirer of Dayanand Saraswati, and he inspired Veer Savarkar who was a member of India House in London.
• A memorial called Kranti Teerth dedicated to him was inaugurated in 2010 near Mandvi, Kutch, Gujarat.

https://newsonair.com/2023/03/30/pm-narendra-modi-pays-tribute-to-freedom-fighter-shyamji-krishna-varma-on-his-death-anniversary/

Why in news? Yangli Festival of Tiwa people which is also known as’ Lakshmi Puja’, concluded recently at Guva, Jagiroad in Morigaon district in Assam.

About:

• The Yangli festival, which is related to agriculture, is a significant event for the Tiwas as farming is the main source of income for their community.
• During the festival, the Tiwas perform dances and offer prayers for a successful harvest, seeking protection for their crops from pests and natural calamities.
• The festival is celebrated once in every five years. Sowing of paddy starts immediately after celebration of this festival.
• This time the Yangli Festival was celebrated with funfare in presence of Guva king Deep Singh Deuraja.
• The Tiwa people sacrificed duck, cock and goat for welcoming their ‘Lakshmi’ to the ‘NoBaro’ (granary).

https://www.sentinelassam.com/north-east-india-news/assam-news/yangli-festival-of-tiwa-people-concludes-in-morigaon-district-643602

Why in news? Recently, The BRS has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) not to derecognise the party in AP as it plans to contest the 2024 elections.

About:

Derecognition pertains to the ECI's action of withdrawing a political party's recognition, leading to its classification as a registered-unrecognized party. The ECI is authorized to derecognize a political party if it violates the provisions of the Indian Constitution or the Representation of the People Act, 1951.

Grounds for Derecognition of a Political Party as National party (as per ECI):

• If the party fails to secure at least 6% of the total votes polled in the general election to the Lok Sabha or the legislative assembly of the state concerned, and if it fails to have at least 4 MPs elected in the last Lok Sabha polls (also, it doesn't win 1 seat in the LS from the same state.); or
• If it has won at least 2% of the total seats in the LS from at least 3 states.
• If it fails to secure 8% of the total valid votes polled in the state at a General Election to the LS from the state or to the State LA.
• If the party fails to submit its audited accounts to the ECI on time.
• If the party fails to hold its organizational elections on time.

Deregistration of Political Party: It refers to the cancellation of the registration of a political party. However, the ECI is not empowered to de-register parties. Once a political party is deregistered, it cannot contest elections.

Grounds for Deregistration of a Political Party: A party can only be de-registered if:

• Its registration was obtained by fraud;
• It is declared illegal by the Central Government; or
• A party amends its internal Constitution and notifies the ECI that it can no longer abide by the Indian Constitution.

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/hyderabad/do-not-derecognise-party-in-ap-brs-to-eci/articleshow/98926599.cms?from=mdr 

Why in news? Recently, the coronal hole was discovered by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) near the Sun's South Pole, which is 20 times larger than our Earth.

About

• Coronal holes appear as dark areas in the solar corona in extreme ultraviolet (EUV) and soft X-ray solar images. They appear dark because they are cooler, less dense regions than the surrounding plasma.
• In these regions, the magnetic field is open to interplanetary space, sending solar material out in a high-speed stream of solar wind i.e., geomagnetic storm.
• These holes can develop at any time and location on the Sun but are most prevalent and stable at the solar North and South poles.
• Coronal holes can last between a few weeks to months. The holes are not a unique phenomenon, appearing throughout the sun’s approximately 11-year solar cycle.
• They can last much longer during solar minimum, a period of time when activity on the Sun is substantially diminished.

Significance:

• Coronal Holes are important in understanding the space environment around the earth through which our technology and astronauts’ travel.

Source:

https://www.ndtv.com/science/massive-hole-spotted-on-suns-surface-know-what-it-means-for-earth-3903273

Why in news? Kerala Chief Minister and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister will jointly inaugurate the centenary celebrations of the historic anti-untouchability movement at a ceremony in Vaikom.

About Ezhava community:

• The Ezhavas were Kerala's most populous lower castes, accounting for 26% of the total population.
• Ezhavas were considered polluting and various rules were in place to distance them from upper castes. These included a prohibition, not just on temple entry, but even on walking on the roads surrounding temples.
• During this time, the Ezhavas emerged as “the most educated and organised untouchable community in Travancore”.
• The issue of temple entry was first raised by Ezhava leader TK Madhavan in a 1917 editorial in his paper Deshabhimani.
• On Sivaratri in 1888, Narayana Guru, himself of the Ezhava caste, took a stone from the Neyyar river and installed it as a Sivalinga at Aruvippuram.

Source:

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-history/remembering-vaikom-satyagraha-8531232/