UPSC Daily Current Affairs- 22nd November 2022 | Current Affairs & Hindu Analysis: Daily, Weekly & Monthly PDF Download

GS-I

Context

The Geographical Indications Registry has received an application from the Tribal Development Council, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, seeking the Geographical Indication (GI) tag for the Nicobari Hodi craft. This is the first application from the Union Territory seeking a tag for one of its products.

About Nicobari Hodi Craft:

• The hodi is the Nicobari tribe’s traditional craft.
• It is an outrigger canoe, very commonly operated in the Nicobar group of islands.
• The technical skills for building a hodi are based on indigenous knowledge inherited by the Nicobarese from their forefathers.
• The hodi is built using either locally available trees or from nearby islands, and its design varies slightly from island to island.
• The tuhet, a group of families under a headman, consider the hodi an asset. Hodi races are held between islands and villages.

Source: The Hindu 

Context

On November 10, the Supreme Court gave the Centre four weeks’ time to file a response clarifying its stand on a plea seeking national heritage status for the ‘Ram Setu’.

Ram Setu

• Also known as Adam’s bridge, Ram Setu is a 48-km long bridge-like structure between India and Sri Lanka.
• It finds mention in the Ramayana but little about its formation is known or proven, scientifically.

Interesting Research on “Ram Setu”

• Conclusion by the researchers that Ram Setu is not man-made:
  • In 2003, space-based investigations, using satellite remote sensing imagery, by researchers at the Space Applications Centre in Ahmedabad concluded that Ram Setu is not man-made, but comprises 103 small patch reefs lying in a linear pattern with reef crest, sand cays and intermittent deep channels.
  • Cays, also known as keys, refer to low-elevation islands situated on surfaces made of coral reef.
• Reasoning behind the conclusion:
  • It is reasonable to assume that Ram Setu is a linear ridge made of coral reefs and forms a shallow part of the ocean that is being constantly impacted by sedimentation processes.
  • Like the Great Barrier Reef, the Ram Setu is also a continuous stretch of limestone shoals that runs from Pamban Island near Rameswaram to the Mannar Island on the northern coast of Sri Lanka.
• During glaciation period: During a global glaciation period that began around 2.6 million years ago and ended 11,700 years ago, the Indian coast, including parts of the Sethusamudram, may have been raised above water.
• Post glaciation: The post-glaciation period witnessed a steady rise in sea levels around the world and coral polyps could once again have grown higher on the newly submerged platforms. And in time, the platforms may have been used by migrants to cross oceans.
• Ramayana belief: The Ramayana refers to a putative land bridge in this region; believers hold it as the structure that Lord Rama and his army built to reach Lanka. This ridge may have been used in the distant past as a migratory route.

Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP)

• Sethusamudram Ship Channel Project (SSCP) can be traced back to the British, who Proposed as channel to link the Palk Strait with the Gulf of Mannar.
• It was only in 2005 that the project was inaugurated.
• Separating the shallow sea consisting of the Gulf of Mannar in the south and Palk Bay in the north is a somewhat linear coral ridge called Adam’s Bridge or Ram Setu.
• This runs between Rameswaram in Tamil Nadu and Thalaimannar in Sri Lanka.
• The SSCP, if completed, is expected to considerably reduce the navigation time between the east and west coasts of India.

What are the Concerns raised about the project?

• High energy waves may bring sediments: Computer models suggest that the central, eastern and north-eastern parts of the Palk Bay may be impacted by waves of higher energy. This means that these areas also receive more sediment, rendering them more turbid.
• Alignment is not easy: The models also indicate that waves enter the Bay from its north and south, corresponding to how the channel is aligned.
• High frequency of cyclonic storms: The area is also vulnerable to cyclonic storms. A cyclone in 1964 was so powerful that it wiped out the town of Dhanushkodi. Such storms can cause the local sedimentary dynamics to go haywire.
• Dumping of dredged material may harm marine ecosystem: Finding safe places for dumping dredged material without harming terrestrial or marine ecosystems is therefore a big challenge.
• Air and water pollution by the ships: Emissions from ships traversing the narrow channel will pollute the air and water. And if a rogue ship carrying oil or coal is grounded or strays from its course within the canal, it could cause an ecological disaster.
• Religious belief of Significant Ram Setu: While environmental groups have been protesting against the project for the huge environmental cost it would entail, religious groups have been opposing it as they believe that the structure, which is mentioned in the Ramayana, is of religious significance.

What is the need of protection?

• Marine biosphere reserves: The coral reef platforms between Thoothukudi and Rameswaram in the Gulf of Mannar were notified as a marine biosphere reserve in 1989.
• Biodiversity rich area:
  • More than 36,000 species of flora and fauna reportedly live there, flanked by mangroves and sandy shores which are considered conducive for turtles to nest.
  • This is also a breeding ground for fish, lobsters, shrimps and crabs.
  • Of the 600 recorded varieties of fish in the region, 70 are said to be commercially important.
• Area is already under stress:
  • This area is already threatened by discharge from thermal plants, brine run-off from salt pans, and illegal mining of corals.
  • The SSCP, if it becomes a reality, will be the final blow to this sensitive environment and to the livelihoods of the people there.

Perspective: Area is not only a religious belief but also a “Geo heritage site”.

• While considering this issue from a believer’s point of view, it is also important to consider this feature from a ‘geoheritage’ perspective.
• The geoheritage paradigm is used in nature conservation to preserve the natural diversity of significant geological features.
• The value of abiotic factors like geology, soils and landforms is also recognised for their roles in supporting habitats for biodiversity.
• Geodiversity here consists of varied landforms and features representative of dynamical natural processes, is under threat from human activities and needs protection.

Do you Know Underwater archaeological project at Ram Setu?

• The National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) will undertake a three-year scientific project.
• The idea is to see whether Ram Setu is a man-made structure or not.
• The most important aspect of the project is to establish its age, scientifically.
• The explorers will apply a number of scientific techniques while attempting to date the Ram Setu, study its material composition, outline the sub-surface structure along with attempting to excavate remnants or artefacts, if any, from the site.
• Once it is known, the information can be verified and co-related with its mention in the Ramayana and similar scriptures.

Conclusion

The Ram Setu carries the unique geological imprints of an eventful past. Therefore, it needs to be preserved not just as a national heritage monument, but also as a Geoheritage structure as defined from a scientific perspective.

Source: The Hindu

GS-II

Context

 India is the only country to have received the Leadership in Family Planning (EXCELL) Awards-2022 in the ‘country category’ at the International Conference on Family Planning (ICFP).

About EXCELL Awards:

• The EXCELL Awards have been bestowed by the ICFP since the inception of the conference in 2009, as a way to publicly recognize extraordinary individuals, organizations and countries who have made significant contributions to the family planning field, and whose work deserves to be highlighted and used to inspire meaningful dialogue within the community.
• The ICFP has served as a strategic inflection point for the global reproductive health community, providing a global stage for more than 120 countries worldwide, organisations, and individuals to make important commitments and celebrate achievements as the world’s largest scientific conclave on family planning and reproductive health.
• The award is a recognition of India’s efforts towards ensuring access to quality family planning choices based on right information & reliable services.
• India has made outstanding progress not only in improving access but also adoption of modern contraceptive methods enabling couples to make informed choices about family planning.

Source: PIB

Context

An Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) concept note on Constitution Day has been criticised as an attempt to negate the country’s challenge of “caste-based social hierarchy”

• The themes chosen by the UGC for the Constitution Day lectures range from “Harappans: the pioneering architects of the democratic system in the world” to “Ancient Indian value system and concept of Kingship” and “Khap Panchayats and Democratic Traditions in Haryana”.

About the note:

• The note, circulated among Union ministries, underlines that the ancient democratic traditions explain the “survival of the Hindu culture and the civilisation in the face of the 2,000 years of invasions by alien ethnicities and cultures”.
• Recent archaeological excavations at Rakhigarhi and Sanauli reveal that the roots of people’s self-governance date back to at least 5,000 BCE.
• India has been practising democratic traditions since the “Vedic times” when villages developed a hierarchy of self-governing institutions such as panchayats and khaps
• Whether the existence of two kinds of states janapada and rajya or the two assemblies called sabha and samiti forming essential features of the government – all indicate that the ancient form of governance in India was democratic, contrary to the general belief that it was monarchical.
• In India, there was no concentration of the prestige of birth, influence of wealth and political office which made social organisations autocratic and aristocratic, like in Greece.
• The Hindu state rarely presented that high degree of centralisation associated with the Roman empire
• The survival of Hindu culture has become possible because the Hindu mind from the beginning addressed the central question of how to weld this vast multiplicity that is India into a single larger community and from ancient times a geo-cultural definition has been given to this entity, rashtra, Bharata.

Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR):

• It is an autonomous organization under the Ministry of Education, Government of India
• It was established in 1972.
• ICHR was registered under Societies Registration Act being an Act for registration of Literary, Scientific and Charitable Societies in India.
• The primary aim and objective is to promote and give directions to scientific research in history and to encourage and foster objective and scientific writing of history.
• Council advises the Government of India on all such matters pertaining to historical research and training in history methodology.
• It consists mainly of eminent historians of the country.

Source: Indian Express

GS-III

Context

 The death toll from the earthquake in Indonesia has risen to 162 with hundreds injured and over 13,000 displaced.

About the disaster:

• The US Geological Survey said the magnitude 5.6 quake was centered in the Cianjur region in West Java province at a depth of 10 kilometres (6.2 miles).
• Indonesia’s Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency recorded at least 25 aftershocks.
• Several landslides were reported around Cianjur.
• Indonesia, the country of more than 270 million people is frequently struck by earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and tsunamis because of its location on the “Ring of Fire,”
• It also caused panic in the greater Jakarta area, where high-rises swayed and some were evacuated. Earthquakes occur frequently across the sprawling archipelago nation, but it is uncommon for them to be felt in Jakarta.
• Other earthquakes in Indonesia:
• In February 2022, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed at least 25 people and injured more than 460 in West Sumatra
• In January 2021, a magnitude 6.2 earthquake killed more than 100 people and injured nearly 6,500 in West Sulawesi

About Ring of Fire:

• The Ring of Fire, also referred to as the Circum-Pacific Belt, is a path along the Pacific Ocean characterized by active volcanoes and frequent earthquakes.
• It is a horseshoe-shaped belt about 40,000km long and about 500 km wide that contains two-thirds of the world’s total volcanoes and 90% of Earth’s earthquakes.
• It traces boundaries between several tectonic plates—including the Pacific, Juan de Fuca, Cocos, Indian-Australian, Nazca, North American, and Philippine Plates.
• The Ring of Fire is a direct result of plate tectonics:
• Along much of the Ring of Fire, plates overlap at convergent boundaries called subduction zones. That is, the plate that is underneath is pushed down, or subducted, by the plate above. As rock is subducted, it melts and becomes magma. The abundance of magma so near to Earth’s surface gives rise to conditions ripe for volcanic activity.
• Transform boundary: The border between the Pacific and North American Plates is a transform boundary, where plates move sideways past one another and generates many earthquakes as tension in Earth’s crust builds up and is released.
• Consumption of oceanic lithosphere at these convergent plate boundaries has formed oceanic trenches, volcanic arcs, back-arc basins, and volcanic belts.

Source: The Hindu

Context

Unveiling yet another mystery of avian migrations, a great knot from Russia, belonging to the endangered Calidris tenuirostris (Horsfield, 1821), has found its way to Kerala’s coast, flying over 9,000 km for a winter sojourn.

About Great Knot:

• It is a small wader.
• It is the largest of the Calidris species
• It is listed as an ‘endangered’ species by the IUCN.
• It is listed in Appendix I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals.
• Habitat: Grassland, Marine Neritic, Marine Intertidal, Marine Coastal/Supratidal.
  • This species breeds in northeast Siberia, Russia, wintering mainly in Australia, but also throughout the coastline of South-East Asia and on the coasts of India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and the eastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula.
• Threats: Loss of intertidal stopover habitats in the Yellow Sea region is thought to be a key driver in the population declines of shorebirds
  • It is also potentially threatened by climate change.
  • Recent evidence shows a very rapid population decline caused by the reclamation of non-breeding stopover grounds, and under the assumption that further proposed reclamation projects will cause additional declines in the future.

Source: The Hindu

Context

 Recently India submitted its Long-Term Low Emission Development Strategy to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the 27th Conference of Parties (COP27) which was held in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. 

About  27^th Conference of Parties (CoP27):

• Conference of Parties(COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC.
  • The agreement seeks to limit global warming to well below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industry levels.
• COP27 was labelled as an “implementation” conference, in the sense that countries were determined to solve outstanding questions on climate finance.
• This refers to money that developed countries had committed to developing countries to help them turn their economies away from fossil fuels, build resilient infrastructure to climate shocks and access technologies to enable widespread use of renewable energy.

About Long-Term Low Emissions Development Strategy:

• The 2015 Paris Agreement requires all parties to create a long-term low greenhouse gas emissions development strategies (LT-LEDS) based on their various responsibilities and capabilities as per the different national-level circumstances.
• The COP26, held in Glasgow in November 2021, required the parties who have not yet communicated their LT-LEDS to submit them by COP27.
• India’s LT-LEDS was prepared after extensive consultations with various government entities, state governments, research institutes and civil society organizations.

Key Pillars of the India’s strategy: The 7 key pillars of the strategy are

• Low-carbon electricity systems consistent with development
• Integrated, efficient and inclusive low-carbon transport systems,
• Energy and material-efficiency in buildings,
• Decoupling growth from emissions and developing an efficient, low-emission industrial system,
• CO2 removal and related engineering solutions,
• Enhancing forest cover consistent with socioeconomic and ecological considerations
• Increasing climate resilience in poverty eradication and employment creation.

Salient features of India’s (LT-LEDS):

• Forest Cover: India has a strong record of enhancing forest and tree cover in the last three decades alongside high economic growth.
  • India’s forest fire incidence is well below global levels, while its forest and tree cover are a net sink absorbing 15% of CO2 emissions in 2016.
  • India is on track to fulfilling its NDC commitment of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of additional carbon sequestration in forest and tree cover by 2030.
• Transition from fossil fuels: The transition from fossil fuels will be undertaken in a just, smooth, sustainable and all-inclusive manner.
• Transportation sector: Increased use of biofuels, especially ethanol blending in petrol, the drive to increase electric vehicle penetration and the increased use of green hydrogen fuel is expected to drive the low carbon development of the transport sector.
• Sustainable Urbanization: Future sustainable and climate-resilient urban development will be driven by smart city initiatives, integrated planning of cities, effective green building codes and rapid developments in innovative solid and liquid waste management.
• Industrial Sector: India’s industrial sector will continue on a strong growth path in the perspective of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ and ‘Make in India’.
  • The focus will be on improving energy efficiency by initiatives such as Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme, high levels of electrification, enhancing material efficiency and recycling leading to the expansion of the circular economy.
• Transition to low-carbon development: The transition to the low carbon development pathway will entail several costs pertaining to the development of new technologies, new infrastructure, and other transaction costs.
  • The provision of climate finance by developed countries will play a very significant role in this.

India’s NDCs:

• The NDCs, which India must periodically update, are voluntary commitments by countries to reduce emissions by a fixed number relative to a date in the past to achieve the long-term goal of climate agreements of preventing global temperature rising beyond 1.5°C or 2°C by the end of the century.
• Thus, India’s most updated NDC commits to ensuring that half its electricity is derived from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030 and reducing the emissions intensity by 45% below 2005 levels by 2030.
• They are concrete targets unlike the low-carbon strategy which is qualitative and describes a pathway.

Issues associated with climate resilient strategies:

• Funding: Of nearly $100 billion annually committed in 2009, which was to have been arranged for by 2020, less than a third has come in.
  • Much of this, and this has been pointed out by several countries including India, is in the form of loans or come with conditions that increase the economic burden on developing countries.
• Clear delivery: There is a demand that developed countries must come up with a new target, described in negotiations as a New Collective Quantified Goal, with a clear path of delivery and a higher amount, to the tune of “trillions of dollars” to account for increased costs of energy transition.
• Loss and Damage: This is a proposal to compensate the most vulnerable countries and developing countries who are facing the brunt of climate change for the damage that has already incurred.
  • The European Union was resistant to announcing a fund this year, on the grounds that it would take years to materialise and there were other options to get money flowing where it was most needed.
• Action plans falling short: It’s been at least two-and-a-half decades since the world decided to restrain its greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Latest assessments suggest that current action plans of countries to meet climate goals are falling woefully short.
• Rising emissions: In absolute terms, the annual global emissions are still rising, now touching almost 50 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent.
  • In the decade between 2010 and 2019, the global emissions grew by over one percent on average.
  • This is significantly slower than the growth in the previous decade, of about 2.6 percent, but for meeting climate targets, it is not good enough.
• Ukraine war: The energy and economic crisis caused by the Ukraine war is threatening to undo even the small gains made.
• Inadequate & unfair response: The response in terms of emission cuts has been inadequate.
• The rich and industrialised countries:
  • These were the main polluters and hence mainly responsible to bring down emissions, have not met their collective targets.
• Developing countries: Countries like China or India, which were not major emitters till sometime back, have seen their emissions rise steeply.

Global picture

• EU: As a bloc, the European Union has done relatively better on climate goals, with the United Kingdom, which is struggling with an economic downturn right now, halving its emissions from 1990 levels, UN data shows.
• USA: The United States, the world’s leading emitter until it was overtaken by China in the mid-2000s, has been a major laggard, cutting its emissions by only about 7 percent from 1990 levels.
• India & China: China’s emissions have risen by almost four times, and India’s by about three times, during this period.

Way Forward:

• Climate change is a global problem and it requires cooperation between all nations along with adopting rules that are fair and just, for the poor and the rich alike.
• Science is clear that humans are responsible for the global temperature rise and that this increase will lead to more and more variable and extreme weather events, much like what we are seeing now.
• it is possible to estimate each country’s responsibility for the stock of emissions already in the atmosphere — the historical cumulative emissions that have “forced” climate change impacts.
• Countries that have not yet contributed to the emissions will do so in the future, simply because the world has reneged on the need to make global rules that would apply fairly to all.

For a realistic chance to keep global warming within 1.5 degree Celsius, annual emissions would need to drop from the current level of about 50 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent to about 33 billion tonnes by 2030 and 8 billion tonnes by 2050, according to the newest Emissions Gap Report. Even for meet the 2-degree target, emissions have to come down to about 41 billion tonnes by 2030 and 20 billion tonnes by 2050.This would require drastic action from all the major emitters.

Source: PIB