GS Paper 3

Jet Engine Deal between India & USA

Context: During the visit of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to USA there was landmark deal between General Electric of USA and Hindustan Aeronautics Limited of India to co-manufacture fighter jet engines in India. The manufacturing of jet engines will start with technology sharing of over 50% which will further increase over the production cycle. 

About the GE-HAL fighter jet engine deal

  • Under the deal, GE will transfer technology and manufacturing capabilities for F414 jet engine which has been used by US Navy aircraft for more than 30 years.
  • More than 1400 such engines have been deployed and have clocked more than 5 million flight hours.
  • The F414 jet engine currently or in future will power fighter jets in US, Sweden, Australia, Kuwait, Brazil, South Korea, India & Indonesia.
image 8

Current Engines Used in Tejas

  • Currently, HAL's Tejas uses GE's F404 engine which is predecessor of F414. 
  • Tejas Mark 2 which is a more powerful fighter aircraft needs a bigger engine for which HAL plans to use F414 engine of GE.
  • F414 will also be used for India's next generation Advanced Medium Combat Aircraft.

India's efforts to develop jet engines

  • India has made great leaps in indigenous development of defence systems and platforms in developing a world class missiles, aircrafts, submarines and aircraft carriers. 
  • However, India has failed to develop a viable and functional jet engines for its fleet of fighter aircrafts. 
  • Kaveri aero engine was developed by the Gas Turbine Research Establishment (GTRE), under the DRDO, after a 30-year developmental period. This, however, was not found suitable for the indigenous Light Combat Aircraft (LCA), as it was underpowered and overweight to meet the aircraft’s performance requirements.
  • Challenges in developing
    • Development of indigenous jet engines is complex, costly and time consuming process requiring
    • Managing extreme engine temperatures
    • Composites & Alloys: Jet engines use superalloys and composite materials which can withstand temperatures beyond 1800oC. Thus, there is a need to develop high-resistance materials like silicon carbide or ceramic matrix composites

Significance of Jet Engine deal for India

  • Significant step forward in India-USA relations:
    • This is the first instance when US will be sharing a cutting edge technology in its defence capabilities with a non-ally.
    • This deal also marks the first time when there will be a co-production of jet engines of US with a country with which US does not have a treaty. 
    • Under the deal, US will be sharing a substantial share of sensitive jet engine technology with a provision of technology transfer ratio to increase. This is the most technology transfer the US has ever authorised.
    • The deal would reduce India's reliance of defence aircrafts offered by Russia to India and will expand the growing interoperability between US and Indian military.
  • Entry into exclusive club: India will become the fifth country in the world to produce jet engines. Currently, only Russia, USA, France & UK have the capability to produce jet engines.
  • Boost to defence capabilities: This deal is expected to boost and modernise India's fighter jet capabilities as it will allow India to indigenously produce jet engines for its Tejas fleet with one of the most powerful and reliable engines. It will help India's to replace its reliance on ageing Russian fleet which currently power its air force and naval aircrafts.
    • Domestic manufacturing of jet engines will reduce cost of fighter jets in India.
    • Reduce dependence on foreign suppliers for engines for India's fighter aircrafts.
  • Boost to defence manufacturing: 
  • Edge over China: The jet engines offered by US have more power and efficiency, longer life and need lower maintenance compared to jet engines currently manufactured by China. Thus, giving India an edge over China in terms of defence capabilities. 

Concerns over the deal

  • Not complete transfer of technology: Though the deal has a significant transfer of technology component. However, transfer of technology is not complete. 
  • Better jet engines are available as compared to F414 jet engines which is being offered to India. For ex. US has been developing advanced F136 jet engine for its F35 fighter aircrafts. 
  • Importance of Russia: US demands India to shun military ties with Russia to further boost its defence collaboration with Russia for the fear of its defence technology falling in Russian hands. However, India and Russia enjoy unparallel trust and collaboration in defence relations like Brahmos cruise missiles. Thus, India would not want to compromise its defence relations with Russia. 

Way forward for Indigenous Jet Engine Development

  • Focus on indigenous development of jet engines: Despite GE-HAL jet engine deal, India should try and develop its own engines for both civilian and fighter jets. India has a lot of engineering talent which could be harnessed for this. Government and Private sector should collaborate on this. This will result:
    • Increasing India's strategic autonomy.
    • Reduce reliance on other countries.
    • Reduce cost of manufacturing of fighter aircrafts.
    • Increase India's potential as a global supplier and exports of defence aircraft systems.
  • HAL-BHEL Joint Venture for Jet Engines: The technology for development of jet engines and industrial gas turbines is similar with difference in weights and compression ratios, dealing with different levels of heat and oxygen availability. A joint venture can be explored between these to develop indigenous jet engines in India. 

Fiscal Fedralism

According to author the dynamics of the emerging fiscal federalism of India entails significant rethinking especially in the context of the 16th Finance Commission. One Fundamental aspect of our Governance is the fiscal federalism which provides the autonomy of the states to raise revenue and undertake expenditure according to their priorities and needs. Such form of fiscal federalism has been formulated keeping in mind the diverse needs and aspirations of the states across India and hence considered critical for balanced and holistic development of the entire country.

Before going into details of the report which shall be extremely important from the perspective of Mains examination, Let us first understand the need for any such body at the first place? Specially given that states and centre both have been enabled to levy and collect taxes in their domains. 

Now finance commission is body to facilitate fiscal balance in the Indian federal structure and hence enabling Fiscal federalism. 

What is a Fiscal imbalance?

  • Fiscal imbalance occurs when the revenues of a are not appropriate to carry out the responsibilities allocated to it. 

Now there are two kinds of imbalances that can occur in Indian Federalism: 

  • vertical imbalance (between state and centre)
  • horizontal imbalance (among the states)

Finance Commissions – A Historical Perspective

Reason for vertical distribution of resources from centre to state

Vertical and horizontal imbalances are common features of most federations and India is no exception to this.

So why does vertical imbalance (between state and centre) occur? 

  • Because there is a mismatch of responsibilities and revenue sources between the Union and the States? 
  • Now why is that?: mainly because of two reasons
    1. Constitution assigned taxes with a nation-wide base to the Union (which earn higher revenues)
      • Why was this done? 
        • This was done to make the country one common economic space unhindered by internal barriers to the extent possible. 
    2. Constitution assigned functional responsibilities involving high expenditure disproportionate to their assigned sources of revenue
      • Since the expenditures are incurred mainly in the executive branch, let us see the constitutional scheme for the same: 
Legislative responsibility  Executive responsibility  
LIST IUnion Union 
LIST IIState State 
LIST IIIBoth State 
  • So you can see that states take care of both List 1 and List II
  • Why was this done? 
    • States being closer to people and more sensitive to the local needs have been assigned 
  • These two factors have resulted in vertical imbalances.

So why does horizontal imbalance (among the states) occur? 

  • Unlike in most other federations, differences in the developmental levels in Indian States are very sharp. 
  • Horizontal imbalances across States are on account of factors, which include historical backgrounds, differential endowment of resources, and capacity to raise resources. 

So you can say that the creation of Finance commission is the recognition of the imbalance which exists in the federalism and hence mechanisms under article 280 and 281 have been created to ensure that these imbalances are minimized. 

Hence let us have a look at the constitutional provisions related to the finance commission as far as constitution of India is concerned:

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So as you read in article 280, the report of the Finance Commission has to be submitted for every five years and you also know that the report of the last FC (14th) was applicable for 2015-2020 period, then why did FC 15 not submit the final report for the period 2020-2025? 

  • At the formation of the 15th FC, It was required to submit the report by October 30, 2019 for five years for the period 2020-21 to 2024-25. 
  • However, due to various political and fiscal developments, its term was extended. 

So what are the reasons behind the extensions? 

  • Speak: the basic reason is that the reports of the FC are based on the projections of various parameters related to taxation, GDP and deficits. the current state of Indian economy makes it difficult for any panel to successfully do a projection. 

So why making medium-term projections in the current scenario would mean serious risks? 

  • Changes in the federal units 
    • the abolition of Statehood to Jammu and Kashmir required the Commission to make an estimation excluding the Union Territory. 
  • Historically low Nominal growth rate 
    • the deceleration in growth and low inflation has substantially slowed down the nominal GDP growth which is the main tax base proxy; making projections of tax revenues and expenditures based on this for the medium term could have posed serious risks. 
  • Issues related to Tax revenues 
    • Poor revenue performance of tax collection more particularly Goods and Services Tax 
    • Also the compensation agreement to the loss of revenue to the States is applicable only till 2022(which means  it will cover only two years of the period covered by the Commission’s recommendations hence posing uncertainties)

So these are the factors which have compelled the extension of the term of 15th FC as well as its submission of interim report. 

Let us now discuss the highlighting features of the report: 

14th FC15 FCRemarks
Vertical distribution 4241the Fifteenth Finance Commission continued with the recommendation of the previous Commission relating to vertical division of taxes, and adjusted the States’ share to 41% to exclude the share of Jammu and Kashmir.
Horizontal Distribution 
Population1971 (17.5%)
2011(10.0%)


  2011(15.0%)


Income Distance50.0%45.0%
Area15.0%15.0%
Forest cover7.50%10.0%
it has used two additional factors — demographic performance and tax effort.
Demographic PerformanceNA12.5%the inverse of fertility rate hence showing sensitivity to the concerns of these States.
Tax Efforts NA2.5%

However, in recent years, the fiscal federalism has become skewed towards the Centre in certain aspects and the same has been opposed by number of states. In this regard, let us understand some important issues which have arisen in the Centre State Fiscal Relations.

Higher Share of Cess and surcharge: Cess and surcharge imposed and collected by the Centre do not form part of Central Divisible pool of taxes. They are not distributable among the States and hence continue to remain with the centre. Over a period, the Centre has been imposing large number of surcharge and Cess to mobilise revenue. A Case in point is the recent introduction of the Agri Infrastructure Cess in the Union Budget 2021-22.

The share of Cess and Surcharge as a percentage of Gross Tax Revenue (GTR) of the centre has increased sharply from 2.3% in 1980-81 to 15% in 2019-20. The States see this as an illegitimate way of depriving resources that are rightfully due to them. 

GST compensation: States agreed to give up the power to impose indirect taxes and adopt GST based on a guaranteed 14 per cent growth in GST revenues per annum. The Centre committed to pay the states for the shortfall in their GST revenue through the imposition of GST Compensation Cess for a period of 5 years.

However, on account of CoVID-19 pandemic, there was GST shortfall of almost around Rs 3 lakh crores. However, money collected under GST compensation Fund was hardly around Rs 65,000 crores. Hence, there was an obligation on the Centre to pay compensation amount of almost Rs 2.35 lakh crores. Initially, the Centre asked the States to borrow this amount from the market. Later on, due to strong opposition, the Centre decided to borrow on behalf of the states and compensate them. This recent issue over GST compensation has led to erosion of trust in the fiscal federalism.

Centrally Sponsored Schemes (CSS): The Centrally Sponsored schemes are the schemes which are financed by both Centre and States in a defined proportion (70:30 or 60:40 or 50:50 etc), but implemented by the respective State Governments. Some of these schemes include MGNREGA, Ayushman Bharat, National Education Mission etc.

The Centre lays down elaborate rules and guidelines with respect to implementation of these schemes. It also lays down purposes for which the funds can be utilised for. The State governments claim that such rules and guidelines do not provide them with enough financial and operational autonomy in executing the schemes.

These Centrally sponsored schemes have also faced political controversy. For instance, some of the States such as West Bengal, Telangana etc. have decided not to implement Ayushman Bharat Scheme. These states claim that their own health insurance schemes are better than centre's Ayushman Bharat Scheme.

Borrowing powers of the States: Under Article 293, the States are allowed to raise loans from the Centre or market. However, a State cannot raise a public loan without the consent of the Centre if there is still outstanding any part of a loan. Since all the State Governments have been and continue to be indebted to the Centre, the Centre effectively controls the amount of public debt raised by State Governments. 

In recent times, particularly in the aftermath of CoVID-19 pandemic, frictions have risen over the Centre’s attempt to perpetually control borrowings by the States. The recent 50-year interest free loan announced by the Centre for the states is a case in point. Any State which avails this facility will need to take Centre’s permission for all future borrowing at least for the next 50 years.

Policies: Several other policies initiated by the Union government in the recent past have also led to the weakening of States’ autonomy. These include the farm laws; the Government of National Capital Territory Amendment Act, 2021; the Dam Safety Bill, 2019; the National Education Policy of 2020 etc. 

Near side and Far side of the moon

Context: The Vikram lander of Chandrayaan-3 made it one of the closest approaches of a lunar mission to the moon’s South Pole. However, like most of the lunar-landing missions before, Vikram too landed on the near side of the moon. 

What are the moon’s ‘near’ and ‘far sides’ and is there a ‘dark’ side?

  • Near side: The near side refers to the portion of the moon — about 60% — that is visible from Earth. This side of the Moon always faces the Earth and it is the side that humans have visited during various lunar missions. 
  • Far side: The far side of the Moon is the side that is not visible from Earth. The reason it is less visible from Earth is due to a phenomenon called "tidal locking”. The phrase "dark side of the Moon" does not refer to "dark" as in the absence of light, but rather "dark" as in the unknown. In reality, both the near and far sides receive (on average) almost equal amounts of light directly from the Sun.
    • The ‘dark side’ was mysterious and its various topographical features were hidden until the Soviet spacecraft Luna 3 in 1959 photographed it and the Soviet Academy of Sciences released an Atlas of these images.
    • Astronauts aboard the Apollo 8 mission of 1968 were the first humans to see the far side of the moon.
    • All crewed and uncrewed soft landings had taken place on the near side of the Moon, until 3 January 2019 when China’s Chang'e 4 spacecraft made the first landing on the far side. This vehicle landed on the Von Karman crater situated within a larger 2,500 km wide crater called the South Pole Aitken basin.

Hence, both the near and far sides experience sunlight and darkness as they orbit the Sun, but the far side has historically been less explored and observed from Earth due to the Moon's tidally locked rotation.

image 7

Is the dark side very different from the near side?

  • The major difference between the two sides is that the near side is relatively smoother and has many more ‘maria’ or large volcanic plains compared to the far side. 
  • On the far side, there are huge craters, thousands of kilometres wide, which have likely resulted from collisions with asteroids.
  • While both sides of the moon in its formative phase were similarly bombarded, the crust on the near side is thinner because of which, over millions of years, the volcanic lava in the lunar crust has flowed more extensively into the thinner side and filled up its craters. The resulting plains that have thus formed are far more conducive to space missions because they provide a relatively flat terrain for landers and rovers. 

What is special about the Chandrayaan-3’s landing?

  • The Chandrayaan-3 mission, while still on the near side, has managed to land Vikram the closest ever to the lunar South Pole . The coordinates of Chandrayaan-3 at 69.36 S and 32.34 E make it about 600 km away from the South Pole. 
  • The choice of being as close as possible to the South Pole was to get closer to a “permanently shadowed region” or where no sunlight ever reaches. This would mean increasing the chances of encountering frozen water-ice along with several “interesting deposits” that can reveal more about the moon and its harvestable resources. 
image 117

Tidal locking:

  • Tidal locking, also known as gravitational locking or synchronous rotation, is a phenomenon that occurs when a celestial body's rotation period matches its orbital period around another body. This phenomenon is most commonly observed in natural satellites like moons, but it can also occur between planets and their stars.
  • In the case of the Moon, its rotation period is nearly the same as its orbital period around the Earth, which is about 27.3 days as well. This tidal locking has resulted in the Moon always showing the same face, the near side, to the Earth. 

BRICS Grouping

Context: Increasing its membership from five to eleven, the BRICS alliance has significantly bolstered its status as a noteworthy global coalition.

More about the news:

  • The selection of countries to join the BRICS coalition has notable significance, as it introduces four major Western Asian players—Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE—alongside Ethiopia and Argentina from Africa and South America.
  • This marks a shift in the foundational principles of this non-Western economic alliance, aiming to transform it into a more politically pertinent bloc.
  • The fact that the summit and the expansion of BRICS proceeded despite efforts by the U.S. and Europe to isolate Russia due to its Ukraine invasion, holds substantial implications for the Western bloc.
  • Although India might not have been enthusiastic about such swift expansion, the inclusion of Iran in BRICS conveys a clear message against U.S. sanctions, mirroring Iran's recent entry into the SCO.
  • The admission of both Iran and Saudi Arabia, as well as the UAE, into the same grouping has primarily been facilitated by Beijing's mediation in a peace agreement.
  • India's endeavours for UN reform, increased representation from the Global South, and the expansion of the UN Security Council continue to remain important factors.
image 114

What is 'BRICS'? 

  • Initially termed BRIC in 2001, the acronym BRICS was coined by Jim O’Neill, a Goldman Sachs economist, to encompass Brazil, China, India, and Russia.
  • The BRIC grouping's first formal summit was held in Yekaterinburg, Russia, commenced in 2009. During this summit, BRIC Leaders issued a Joint Statement elucidating the objectives of the BRIC collaboration. This comprehensive document also provided a detailed framework for addressing the global financial and economic crisis.
  • South Africa officially became a member nation in 2010. The group was renamed BRICS – with the "S" standing for South Africa – to reflect the group's expanded membership. 
  • It was anticipated by Goldman Sachs that the four BRIC economies—China, India, Brazil, Russia—alongside South Africa, would dominate the global economy by 2050. 
  • The foundation for this assertion lay in the sustained presence of China, India, Brazil, Russia, and South Africa among the world's swiftest expanding and emerging market economies. 
  • These nations possessed a notable competitive advantage owing to their economical labor costs, advantageous demographics, and copious natural resources, particularly during the era of the global commodities upswing.
  • By the year 2013, the BRICS collective accounted for approximately 27% of the global GDP in terms of purchasing power parity.
  • These five nations constituted around 42% of the global populace. In geographical terms, the BRICS countries spanned 26% of the Earth's total land area.
Objective of BRICS

Role of the BRICS

  • From 2009 to 2014, the BRICS member countries reached a consensus on matters concerning economics and finance, which encompassed reforms within institutions such as the World Bank and IMF.
  • A collective commitment was made to implement strategies aimed at mobilizing adequate resources to enhance the IMF's capacity to effectively manage various forms of crises. 
  • Additionally, during this period, they established the BRICS Interbank Cooperation Mechanism, facilitating the provision of credit facilities denominated in local currencies, along with the formation of the BRICS Exchanges Alliance.
  • Furthermore, their attention extended to regional challenges, encompassing issues related to countries like Libya, Syria, Afghanistan, and Iran.  
  • BRICS also coordinated together in resolving:
    • Conflicts
    • IMF reform
    • The struggle against illicit drug trafficking
    • The need, use, and development of technologies in information and communication
    • The BRICS countries also sought to create favourable conditions for barrier-free trade.

Operation of BRICS:

  • On the basis of UN Charter, BRICS partners’ relations are built.
  • They follow the recognized principles as well as international law’s norms.
  • All the member countries agreed to the following principles during 2011 Summit.
  • Principles
    • Solidarity
    • Openness
    • Pragmatism
    • Neutrality (regarding third parties)
    • Non-bloc nature

New Development Bank:

  • A multilateral development institution formerly known as the BRICS Development Bank, was founded by the collaborative efforts of the BRICS member nations: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
  • The bank's inception involved an initial authorized capital of $100 billion. 
  • The distribution of this subscribed capital was executed equitably among the founding members—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa.
  • The NDB Agreement assures uniform voting rights for all member countries and excludes the presence of veto powers.
  • Shanghai, China, is the bank's headquarters and it stands as principal operational hub.
  • To supplement this, regional offices were set up, commencing with Johannesburg, South Africa, and subsequently expanded to São Paulo, Brazil, GIFT City, India, and Moscow, Russia.
  • The origin of this bank traces back to a proposal by India during the 4th BRICS summit held in Delhi in 2012, where the focus revolved around conceptualizing a new development bank. 
  • A formal consensus on this initiative was solidified at the 5th BRICS summit in Durban, South Africa, in 2013.
  • The pivotal Agreement establishing the New Development Bank was officially signed in 2014, during the 6th BRICS summit in Fortaleza, Brazil.

Key Agendas of recently held 15th BRICS summit in Johannesburg: 

1.Active Engagement in Dialogues:

  • BRICS-Africa Outreach Conversations
  • BRICS Plus Dialogue Interactions

2.Cultivating Partnerships:

  • Enabling an equitable and just transition, which addresses the risks posed by climate change.
  • Facilitating the transformation of education and skill development for the evolving future.
  • Strengthening post-pandemic socioeconomic recovery measures.
  • Achieving the goals outlined in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

3.Addressing Political Issues:

  • Deliberation on the Russia-Ukraine conflict.
  • Examination of the post-coup situation in Niger.
  • Assessment of heightened tensions between the Western bloc and Russia.

4.Advancing Economic Reforms:

  • Fostering increased participation and influence of Emerging Markets and Developing Countries (EMDCs) within international economic decision-making.
  • Advocating for reforms within Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) and measures to alleviate debt-related stress.
  • Exploring potential opportunities through the African Continental Free Trade Area.

5.Enlarging the Scope of BRICS:

  • Emerging as an appealing alternative to the developed countries' "club" of the G-7 nations.
  • Witnessing interest from over 40 countries in joining BRICS, with at least 19 countries formally applying for membership.

6.Broadened Participation:

  • South Africa has extended invitations to leaders representing the Global South and the African Union (AU) for parallel sessions on the sidelines of the summit.

Significance of 15th BRICS summit for India:

  • Multi-dimensional Alignment: Entails a strategy of alignment based on specific issues, wherein India simultaneously participates in and pursues its interests within various strategic and economic coalitions, such as the Quad and BRICS.
  • Poly directional Foreign Policy: Bolsters economic growth, technological advancements, research and innovation, norm-setting influence, and security enhancement.
  • Diplomatic Advantages: Enables a diplomacy centred around developmental engagement, with a goal of expanding BRICS membership.
  • Comprehensive Agenda:
    • Ensuring Energy Security
    • Combating Terrorism
    • Financing Efforts for Climate Change Mitigation
  • Geopolitical Influence: Within the BRICS framework, emphasis is placed on addressing non-traditional security threats and enhancing economic security.
  • Political Assertion: Serves as a political countermeasure against unjust coercive practices, including instances such as the European Union's Carbon Border Tax, unilateral sanctions, and biased economic transactions.
  • Strategic Consideration: Marks a significant milestone as it is the first in-person meeting following the military standoff with China along the Line of Actual Control in 2020.
  • Positive Developments: Ahead of the summit, the 19th round of the India-China Corps Commander Level Meeting resulted in a joint statement, signifying a favourable step forward.

Astra Missile

Context: Recently, Tejas, Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) LSP-7 successfully fired the ASTRA off the coast of Goa in August. Officials said that the successful launch of the ASTRA from Tejas fighters would significantly enhance the combat prowess of Tejas and reduce the dependency on imported weapons.

image 6

About Astra

  • It is an indigenous all-weather Beyond Visual Range (BVR) air-to-air missile to engage and destroy highly manoeuvring supersonic aerial targets.
  • It is designed and developed by the Defence Research and Development Laboratory (DRDL), Research Centre Imarat (RCI) and other laboratories of DRDO.
  • Different missiles of this family are capable of engaging targets at varying distances of 500 m up to 340 km.
  • It boasts advanced air combat capabilities and its ability to simultaneously engage multiple high-performance targets.
  • It is integrated with various aircraft platforms, including the Su-30MKI fighter jet, Mirage 2000, Tejas light combat aircraft (LCA), MiG-29 and MiG-21 Bison fighter jets.

About Tejas

  • It is a weather and multi-role fighter aircraft. 
  • The aircraft is designed to be a multi-role aircraft to carry a range of air-to-air, air-to-surface, precision-guided weapons.
  • It is also designed to undertake Ground Maritime Operations. 
  • The maximum payload capacity of Tejas is 4000 kg and the Speed upto Mach 1.8.

What next for ISRO after Chandrayaan-3 mission?

Context: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has a packed schedule after Chandrayaan-3 as it is working on various missions. 

Upcoming missions of ISRO: 

  1. ADITYA-L1 Mission: Aditya-L1 is the first Indian space mission to observe the Sun and the solar corona. It would observe:

  i. Sun’s Photosphere
  ii. Chromosphere and
  iii. Corona

  • The mission will be launched to the L1 orbit (which is the first Lagrangian point of the Sun-Earth system), which is 1.5 million km from the Earth towards the Sun.
  • Aditya-L1 has seven payloads in total, of which the primary payload is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC).
    • VELC is designed and fabricated by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics, Bengaluru.
    • It is a solar coronagraph that can image the solar corona as close to the solar disk (It can image it as close as 1.05 times the solar radius).
    • It can also do imaging, spectroscopy, and polarimetry at the same time, and can take observations at a very high resolution, or level of detail, and many times a second.
image 110
  • Significance:
    • Aditya-L1 would help in understanding the effect of the Sun on the Earth and its surroundings.
    • It would study solar upper atmosphericdynamics (chromosphere and corona) and understand the physics of the solar corona and its heating mechanism.
      • The temperature of the Sun's corona is extremely high, ranging from 1 to 3 million kelvins (K). This is much hotter than the Sun's surface, which has a temperature of about 5,500 K.
      • To understand this issue, it will capture near-simultaneous photos of the many layers of the Sun's atmosphere, revealing how energy is routed and transported from one layer to the next.
    • It would help in understanding the phenomenon of coronal mass ejection, pre-flare and flare activities, dynamics of space weather, propagation of particles and fields etc. This would help in tracking Earth-directed storms and predicting their impact through solar observations. 
  1. X-ray Polarimeter Satellite: XpoSat is an ISRO-planned space observatory to study the polarisation of cosmic X-rays. It is India’s first dedicated polarimetry mission to study the dynamics of bright astronomical X-ray sources under extreme conditions. 
image 111
  • Payloads: The spacecraft will carry two scientific payloads – an X-Ray Polarimeter (POLIX) and X-ray SPECtroscopy and Timing (XSPECT) in a low earth orbit. 
  • POLIX will measure the polarimetry parameters (degree and angle of polarization) in the medium X-ray energy range of 8-30 keV photons of astronomical origin. POLIX is expected to observe about 40 bright astronomical sources of different categories during the planned lifetime of the XPoSat mission of about 5 years. 
  • XSPECT payload will give spectroscopic information in the energy range of 0.8-15 keV. It would observe several types of sources viz. X-ray pulsars, blackhole binaries, low-magnetic field neutron stars in Low-mass X-ray binaries, Active galactic nuclei and Magnetars. 
  • Significance: 
    • By measuring the polarisation of X-rays, astronomers can better understand the geometry and physical processes responsible for X-ray emission in a variety of astrophysical sources to gain insight into their inner dynamics (like emission processes).
      • Astronomical sources, including black holes, neutron stars, active galactic nuclei, and pulsar wind nebulae, present complex emission mechanisms that challenge their current understanding. 
      • By combining polarimetric observations along with spectroscopic and timing measurements, researchers can overcome the limitations of the present understanding of astronomical emission processes. 
  1. NISAR: NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar is an Earth-observation satellite expected to be launched in January 2024 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Andhra Pradesh into a sun-synchronous orbit. 
  • The 2,800 kilograms satellite consists of both L-band and S-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) instruments, which makes it a dual-frequency imaging radar satellite. SAR is capable of penetrating clouds and can collect data day and night regardless of the weather conditions. 
  • L-band SAR operates at a frequency of around 1 to 2 GHz. The lower frequency (higher wavelength) of L-band SAR allows it to penetrate through vegetation and soil, making it useful for monitoring changes in forest cover, soil moisture etc.
  • S-band SAR operates at a frequency of around 2 to 4 GHz. S-band SAR has a higher resolution than L-band SAR and is typically used for applications where higher detail is required, such as monitoring changes in urban areas or coastal zones. 
  • It has a large 39-foot stationary antenna reflector made of a gold-plated wire mesh which will be used to focus the radar signals emitted and received by the upward-facing feed on the instrument structure. The instrument’s imaging swath allows it to image the entire Earth in 12 days.
  • Jointly developed by: ISRO and NASA
image 112

Significance:

  • NISAR satellite with two frequency bands: L-band and S-band will image the seismically active Himalayan region that will create a “deformation map” every 12 days and provide high-resolution all-weather data. 
  • Study Earth’s dynamic land and ice surfaces in greater detail and observe subtle changes in Earth’s surfaces. E.g., Track flow rates of glaciers and ice sheets, landslide-prone areas and changes in the coastline etc.
  • Spot warning signs of natural disasters, such as volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and landslides. 
  • Measure groundwater levels, map agricultural and natural resources and monitor Earth’s forest and agricultural regions to improve understanding of carbon exchange. 
  1. INSAT-3DS: ISRO has also lined up the launch of INSAT-3DS, an earth-observation satellite. INSAT–3DS will be placed in the geostationary orbit with coarse resolution and daily multiple imaging capability. It will provide meteorological services to India, as well as search and rescue information and message relays for terrestrial data collection platforms. The satellite will be a follow-up to INSAT-3DR.
  1. Test vehicle mission: Before undertaking the Gaganyaan human spaceflight mission, ISRO had planned for two uncrewed missions. The launch of a test vehicle mission, for the validation of the crew escape system for Gaganyaan, the country’s maiden human space flight mission, is planned for the beginning of 2024. 

Protecting the Biodiversity of Northeast 

Context: In the recent case of Re: Cleanliness of Umiam Lake versus State of Meghalaya (2023), the division Bench in its order, stated that “In the absence of any other employment opportunities and in the name of promoting tourism, the natural beauty of the State should not be destroyed”.

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About 

  • The Northeast India comprises of eight states namely Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim and Tripura.
  • The region shares its international border with Bhutan in the north, Myanmar in the east and Bangladesh in the west.
  • The region is the transition zone between Indo-Malayan and Indo-Chinese geographical regions and a meeting point of the Himalayan Mountains and Peninsular India. 
  • The Northeast Zone receives one of the highest rainfalls in the world and is a top humid region of the country which makes this biogeographic region rich in flora and fauna with unique features and endemism.
  • Most of the states in the Northeast has an indigenous ethnic group and depends very much on forest resources for life sustenance. Food, shelter, and medicine are mostly acquired from the forests.
  • The altitudinal variations and climate variability determine the pattern of vegetation in the region
  • The major forest types in the region are Tropical Evergreen Forests, Tropical Semi-Evergreen Forests, Tropical Moist Deciduous Forests.

Biodiversity Hotspot To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria: Endemism: It must have at least 1,500 vascular plants as endemics — which is to say, it must have a high percentage of plant life found nowhere else on the planet. A hotspot, in other words, is irreplaceable. Threatened: It must have 30% or less of its original natural vegetation. In other words, it must be threatened.

Northeast a Biodiversity Hotspot

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North-eastern India (except Brahmaputra Valley) along with Andaman group of Islands is a part of Indo Burma biodiversity hotspot along with three more such biodiversity hotspots in India, i.e., Indian Himalaya (excluding Trans Himalaya) in the Himalayan biodiversity hotspot.

Challenges to Conservation of Biodiversity in Northeast 

  • Land tenure issues: Land tenure systems vary widely among different North-Eastern states. The complexity in land ownership and tenurial rights makes it difficult for survey, demarcation and consolidation of land. Therefore, cadastral survey and land demarcation are completely absent in the hill areas of northeast.
  • Dichotomy in Forest Administration:
    • Forests in Arunachal Pradesh, Manipur, Meghalaya, and Nagaland mainly belong to private individuals, communities, and clans. 
    • Their ownership is safeguarded by the sixth schedule of the Indian Constitution, making state and national regulations inapplicable.
    • Due to inadequate enforcement personnel, district council acts have limited efficacy. 
    • Consequently, many northeast community forests lack management and law enforcement. 
  • Equity issues in natural resources and diversity management: Unequal distribution of land resources is responsible for increasing dependence on forests by certain sections of society leading to degradation of biodiversity in the region. 
  • Inter-departmental coordination: lack of a comprehensive and holistic approach which addresses the interdependent threats to biodiversity. E.g., use of diclofenac leading to death of Vultures.
  • Smuggling across the international border: The illicit felling of trees and timber smuggling across the international borders has been the most important cause of forest degradation in border areas of northeast.
  • Shifting cultivation: Unregulated shifting cultivation by the local tribal populations has been a major threat to sustainable diversity management.
  • Inter-state border dispute: Most of the border areas in northeast are forest lands and because of boundary disputes, such lands are often declared as ‘no man’s land’ and hence, do not come under any form of management. This leads to the degradation of diversity in such areas.
  • Insurgency: The long insurgency problem in some states such as Assam and Tripura have considerable impact on diversity conservation. 
  • Deforestation and Degradation: Cutting down trees is the primary issue faced by various wildlife resources. With deforestation, the forest cover is disappearing gradually.
  • Encroachment: Encroachment of forestland for the developmental purposes and creation of infrastructure e.g., tourism infrastructure is a serious threat to forests and their conservation. This is not only leading to the loss of the forest areas, but also of wildlife.
  • Forest Fire: Forest fires are now common and have a terrible impact on the forest cover of the Northeast. Wildlife is also affected negatively by this issue.
  • Commercial Plantation: This is leading to the homogenisation of biodiversity landscape.
  • Human-Wildlife Conflict: Natural corridors of movement for the animals are not well made and protected which leads to regular encounters and conflict between humans and wildlife.
  • Replacement of Indigenous Species with Exotic Species: Due to increasing demand of food and other products exotic species are bought in. These species give high yield thus eradicate the use of local species. E.g., in Tripura more than 280 plants have been introduced to increase the yield, In Mizoram exotic fish species have been introduced.
  • Bad Policy Making in Infrastructure Development: Due to lack of proper information, coordination and planning the construction of infrastructure has become a great threat to biodiversity.
    • Mining in these areas for coal, minerals and oils has also caused a reduction of the species richness.
    • e.g.,
      • In Arunachal Pradesh a species called Sapria himalayana has become extinct due to the development of roads. 
      • Construction near Eagle nest foothill is causing the extinction of some species of plants. A rare species of epiphytic plant called Agapetes is also in danger.
  • Immigration and Unintended Consequences: Immigrants from outside are changing the beliefs and customs of the native people. E.g., The sacred grooves of Meghalaya and Manipur are decreasing due to the reducing beliefs of people

Initiatives taken for Conservation 

  • Protected areas: Under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 government has made provision for national parks, wildlife sanctuaries, and other types of reserve, through which many parks and sanctuaries have been established in Northeast region. E.g., Kaziranga National Park.
  • International Cooperation: India has signed or became part of many international initiative that conserve the biodiversity in northeast region e.g., UN Convention on Biodiversity.
  • Role Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA): MHA has taken many initiatives to resolve the border dispute between the state and reduce the insurgency in the region which in turn created the available space for the conservation of biodiversity. E.g., resolution of dispute between Assam and Mizoram.
  • Role of Non-Government Organisations (NGOs): Many NGOs in northeastern region has promoted the conservation of biodiversity in the region e.g., “Hargila army”, a group of rural women in the Indian state of Assam worked for the protection of the greater adjutant (Leptoptilos dubius) locally known as Hargila.
  • Promotion of Organic: States like Sikkim which became completely organic by reducing the use of chemicals in agriculture have also decreased the associated negative effects on biodiversity. 
  • Institutional Measures: Botanical Survey of India, Zoological Survey of India, Indian Council of Agricultural Research, National Bureau of Plant Genetic Resources and many other central government organizations are directly involved in inventorization, conservation and propagation of biodiversity.
  • Role of Judiciary: Judiciary in many cases took the initiative for the conservation of biodiversity e.g., National Green Tribunal (NGT), took cognizance of the environmental degradation caused by coal mining in Meghalaya and issued several orders to address the issue.
  • Community Efforts: Sacred forests of Meghalaya i.e., Law Lyngdoh, Law Niam and Law Kyntang and sacred groves of Manipur, including Nag Vans are the examples of forest management practices based on the traditional religious beliefs. 
  • Notified Forest Areas: The government owned forests have been classified into Reserved Forests (RF), Protected Forests (PF) and Proposed Reserve Forests (PRF) to protect and control their management and rational exploitation. Activities harmful to forest flora and fauna have been prohibited in these areas.
  • Policies and Legislation: 
    • For forest areas, the National Forest Policy of 1988 has been adopted in the region. To ensure policy implementation, appropriate forest legislation and instructions have been brought in. 
    • The central legislations such as Indian Forest Act, 1927; the Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972; the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; and the Environment (Protection) Act, 1972 have been enacted in the region. 
    • Besides, many state legislations are in force in each state for regulation of forest extraction.
  • Education for Biodiversity Conservation: Apart from in-situ conservation efforts, each state has tried for ex-situ conservation such as Captive breeding programme on selected animals such as leopard cat, binturong, spotted deer and primates.
  • Conservation Hot Spots: Many projects with specific objectives of biodiversity survey and conservation were undertaken in different north-eastern states to survey and identify biodiversity rich locations referred as “Conservation Hot Spots (CHS)” in the region with funding support from WWF – India and other funding agencies.  
  • Joint Forest Management (JFM): The programme of JFM has been adopted in 7 states (except Meghalaya) of the ecoregion to regenerate, protect and manage the degraded forest lands with the involvement of local communities with or without the help of NGOs.
  • Afforestation Programmes: There are state specific programmes for bringing the vacant and Jhum fallow lands belonging to small and marginal farmers under vegetation cover. E.g., the “Apna van scheme” in Arunachal Pradesh and “Angan Ban Prakalpa” in Tripura.

The Northeastern biodiversity hotspot, rich in species diversity, draws significant tourism due to its natural beauty, boosting the economy. However, human activities are rapidly depleting this precious area's biodiversity. Without conservation efforts, this natural treasure will vanish quickly. So, the government, while increasing the development efforts in these areas, should also consider conservation of biodiversity leading to sustainable development in the region. 

Global Financial Safety Net

When counties face financial crisis due to domestic or external factors, they often take recourse from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). IMF provides lending support to countries facing Balance of payment problems, fiscal crisis due to debts or financial crisis stemming from insolvent financial instituions. 

IMF lending gives countries breathing room to adjust policies in an orderly manner, paving the way for a stable economy and sustainable growth. In the process, the fund offers various types of loans that are tailored to countries' different needs and specific circumstances. Some of the lending tools of IMF are:

  • Rapid Credit Facility (RCF): To deal with the urgent BoP Crisis on account of price rise, disasters etc.
  • Stand-by Credit Facility: Short-term loans for less than 3 years. It is the main lending tool of the IMF.
  • Extended Credit Facility: Long term loans for more than 3 years and less than 5 years.

However, 

  • Many of the economic reforms the IMF required as conditions for its lending—fiscal austerity, high interest rates, trade liberalization, privatization, and open capital markets—have often been counterproductive for target economies. 
  • With the increasing growth and economic size of EMDEs, there has been a growing dissatisfaction with the distribution of quotas and voice in IMF governance.

As a result, most of the emerging economies are making alternative arrangements like:

  • Accumulation of forex reserves: Most of the emerging economies have started accumulating huge forex reserves to insulate themselves from any global financial crisis. 
  • Bilateral Currency Swap agreements: A bilateral currency swap agreement is an exchange of currencies between two countries at a fixed exchange rate. India has signed bilateral swap agreements with Japan and Sri Lanka. 

Mechanism of Currency Swap agreements: As per the India-Japan agreement,India will be able to borrow in US Dollars or Japanese Yen up to the limit of $75 billion whenever it wants from JapanJapan will be able to borrow in US Dollars or Indian Rupees up to the limit of $75 billion from India.The countries will have to pay interest on the amount actually borrowed.The repayment will be done at an exchange rate which will be fixed at the time of borrowing.

This will eliminate the risk caused due to fluctuations in the exchange rate (also known as FOREX or Foreign exchange risk).

  • Regional swap agreements: Regional swap agreements are similar to bilateral agreements but involves multiple countries. They pool their forex resources and use it tide over any BoP crisis of the members. E.g., The European Stability Mechanism of EU countries; Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization of ASEAN countries. 

The bilateral and regional swap agreements have emerged as a significant alterative to the IMF to provide global financial safety net. 

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On smartphone manufacturing in India

Context: Around five years ago, the Government of India decided it wanted more companies to make things in India. It has therefore introduced a key set of incentives through the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme. Here, the government gives money to foreign or domestic companies that manufacture goods here.

The industry that has shown the most enthusiasm for the PLI scheme is smartphone manufacturing. And with the scheme, mobile phone exports jumped from $300 million in FY2018 to an astounding $11 billion in FY23.

However, the former RBI governor contends that while imports of fully put-together mobile phones have come down, the imports of mobile phone components have shot up between FY21 and FY23.

The Need for PLI Scheme

  • Manufacturing is a key ingredient to economic growth and also has a multiplier effect. It means that every job created and every rupee invested in manufacturing has a positive cascading effect on other sectors in the economy.
  • However, India has a recurring problem of insufficient infrastructure, archaic labour laws and the lack of skilled labour force. 
  • To solve this, the government used, and uses, a carrot-and-stick approach.
    • The ‘stick’ is raising import duties, thus making it more expensive for companies to import stuff from somewhere else and sell it in India. 
    • The ‘carrot’ is to provide subsidies and incentives. 
  • One key set of incentives is the production-linked incentives (PLI) scheme. Here, the government gives money to foreign or domestic companies that manufacture goods here. The annual payout is based on a percentage of revenue generated for up to five years.
  • The industry that has shown the most enthusiasm for the scheme is smartphone manufacturing. Companies like Micromax, Samsung, and Foxconn (which makes phones for Apple) can get up to 6% of their incremental sales income through the PLI programme.

Arguments in Support of the Scheme

The PLI scheme was conceived to scale up domestic manufacturing capability, accompanied by higher import substitution and employment generation. 

  • Enhance Digital Economy: With PLI, India aims to reach US$300 billion worth of electronics manufacturing and US$ 120 billion in exports by FY26, supported by the vision of a US$ 1 trillion digital economy by 2025. Improvement in manufacturing and export over the past five years ensures that India is on the right trajectory to achieve this target. 
  • Growth in Electronic Goods Exports: The major drivers of growth in this industry are mobile phones, consumer electronics, and industrial electronics. Mobile phone exports jumped from $300 million in FY2018 to an astounding $11 billion in FY23. 
  • Reduction in Imports: And while India imported mobile phones worth $3.6 billion in FY2018, it dropped to $1.6 billion in FY23. 
  • Import Substitution: The success of the PLI Scheme for manufacturing of mobile phones led to 97% of mobile phones sold in India now being made in India.
  • Meeting Global Demand: In the mobile phone segment, India has become the second-largest mobile phone manufacturer globally, with the production of handsets going up from six crore units in FY15 to 31 crore units in FY22. These numbers are expected to improve as more domestic and global players set up and expand their bases in India.
  • Increased Foreign Investments: As of September 2022, the PLI scheme for LSEM attracted investments of ₹4,784 crore, with a total production of ₹2,03,952 crore, while also generating 41,000 additional jobs. 
  • Job Creation: In the medium-term, the scheme is expected to bring in additional production to the tune of ₹10.69 lakh crore and generate 700,000 jobs. 
  • Improve Export Competitiveness: Participation in the PLI scheme will help many more domestic players to attain economies of scale in production through localising. Hence, this will further enhance export competitiveness and increase India’s participation in the global value chain. 

Counter Arguments

  • Mr. Rajan, along with two other economists, released a brief discussion paper arguing that the programme is not really pushing India towards becoming a self-sufficient manufacturing powerhouse. Instead, the government is using taxpayer money to create an ecosystem of low-level assembly jobs that will still depend heavily on imports.
  • They have raised concerns on the performance of PLI in adding value to the manufacturing ecosystem in India. According to a World Bank Report, value addition as a percentage of GDP of the manufacturing sector was the lowest in 10 years at the end of 2022.
  • Imports of parts such as printed circuit boards, semiconductors, displays, cameras, batteries etc used in the mobile phones have increased substantially between FY21 and FY23. This suggests that companies are mostly assembling the product.
  • Hence, India has become more dependent on the products used for assembling the mobile phones after the PLI Scheme.
  • Further, it also highlights the absence of localisation in key products in smartphone manufacturing.

Conclusion

  • This is important as low-level assembly work does not produce well-paying jobs and does not nearly have anywhere the same multiplier effect that actual manufacturing might provide.

Gene-edited mustard: Less pungent, more useful

Context: Indian scientists have developed the first-ever low-pungent mustard that is pest and disease-resistant. It is based on CRISPR/Cas9 gene editing, and the crop is non-GM and transgene-free.

Brief background on Oilseed production in India:

  • Oilseeds yield oil for cooking, and also their meal – the residual cake after extraction of oil from the seeds – is a protein-rich ingredient used in livestock, poultry and aqua feed. 
  • Mustard and Soyabean are India’s most widely-cultivated oilseed crops, planted annually on 9 million and 12.5 million hectares area respectively.
    • As per the US Department of Agriculture’s data for the marketing year ending September 2023, the share of rapeseed-mustard in India’s production of vegetable oils has been estimated at 42.6% (more than soyabean’s 19.2%) and in that of the meal is 30.3% (next to soyabean’s 38.9%).
    • Mustard’s higher average oil extractable content (38% versus 18% for Soyabean) makes it the most significant domestically-grown oilseed crop, while a source of both fats for humans and protein for animals.
  • India is a huge importer of edible oils. These imports were valued at $20.84 billion (Rs 167,270 crore) during the fiscal year ended March 2023, while meeting over 60% of the country’s consumption requirement.

Hence, given the massive foreign exchange outgo on account of imports, there is a dire need to boost domestic oilseeds production through focused breeding for improving crop yields, pest and disease resistance, and product quality.

Issue with Mustard: 

  • Mustard seeds have high levels of glucosinolates, a group of sulphur and nitrogen-containing compoundscontributing to the characteristic pungency of their oil and meal.
    • This characteristic pungency limits the oil’s acceptability among consumers due to its strong flavour and odour.
    • Also, Rapeseed meal is unpalatable to poultry and pigs, while having to be mixed with fodder grass and water for giving to cattle and buffaloes. High glucosinolates are also known to cause goitre and internal organ abnormalities in livestock.

Breeding GE Canola-quality Mustard (GE low-seed high-leaf glucosinolate Mustard):

1. Brief Background: 

  • For the past two decades, the scientists at Delhi University’s Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP) and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research have been putting efforts into the breeding of rapeseed-mustard lines of so-called Canola quality.
    • The dry seeds from the normal mustard (Brassica juncea) cultivated in India contain 120-130 parts per million (ppm or mg/kg) of glucosinolates. 
    • Whereas the canola quality mustard has below 30 ppm levels of glucosinolates, hence, they are less pungent. 
  • By lowering the glucosinolate content to the same dry seed weight concentration, the scientists have bred mustard lines whose oil and meal match the standard of canola-quality rapeseed (Brassica napus) in terms of pungency.
  • Challenges: However, large-scale cultivation of these canola-quality low-glucosinolate mustard lines has not taken place, because of their vulnerability to pests and diseases. This is because the glucosinolates act as the key arsenal of the Brassicaceae family crops (mustard and canola to cabbage, cauliflower and broccoli) against invading pests, pathogens and termites.

Hence, while the lowering of glucosinolate levels in the seed is desirable for oil and meal, the reduction of its levels in the plant weakens its defence. 

2. The Gene Editing breakthrough: 

  • The scientists have “edited” 10 out of the 12 GTR genes in ‘Varuna’, the high-yielding Indian mustard variety, using CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing tool.
    • CRISPR/Cas9 is a gene-editing tool deploying an enzyme, which acts as a “molecular scissors” to cut the DNA at precisely targeted locations of the gene, and then letting the natural DNA repair process take over.
      • In CRISPR genome editing, the first step is the identification of the DNA sequence to be edited. 
      • Once identified, a guide RNA molecule brings Cas9 protein to the specific spot in the DNA.
      • Cas9 protein acts like pair of molecular scissors and cuts the DNA at that spot, and then DNA can be added/removed or edited to correct any mistakes in its sequence. 
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  • In mustard plants, Glucosinolates are synthesised in the leaves and pod walls of the plants. Their translocation and accumulation in the seeds happens through the action of glucosinolate transporter or GTR genes. There are 12 such genes under two distinct classes of GTR1 and GTR2 with six copies each.
  • Hence, CRISPR/Cas9 editing was used to create mutations and change the nucleotide sequence of the DNA in the 10 target GTR genes. By doing this, their encoded proteins, responsible for the transport of the glucosinolates to the seeds, were rendered non-functional. 
  • Results: 
    • The seeds of the resultant targeted genes-edited Varuna mustard variety had glucosinolate content well below the 30 ppm canola-quality threshold. 
    • At the same time, the other plant parts, especially the leaves and pod walls enclosing the seeds, had significantly higher glucosinolate accumulation, and hence, the defence response was at par with or better than that of the wild-type mustard.

Genetically-modified crops vs Genetically-engineered crops:

  • The low-seed high-leaf glucosinolate mustard lines developed are genome edited or GE, as opposed to GM or transgenic plants.
    • The new GTR genes-edited mustard lines are transgene-free or non-genetically modified (GM). 
    • They contain no foreign genes like those of the Bacillus thuringiensis bacteria in cotton or Bar-Barnase-Barstar (isolated from other soil bacteria) in the GM hybrid mustard (DMH-11). 

GM vs GE: 

1. Process: 

  1. Genetically-Modified Crops (GMOs): Often abbreviated as GMOs (genetically modified organisms), the genetic material of such crops has been altered through a process of genetic engineering. This modification can involve the introduction of genes from other organisms to confer specific traits, such as resistance to pests, tolerance to herbicides, improved nutritional content, or longer shelf life. GMOs can be created using various techniques, including transgenesis (the insertion of genes from one species into another) and cisgenesis (transfer of genes within the same species or a closely related one). E.g., DMH-11 
  2. Genetically-Engineered Crops: Genetically-engineered crops encompass a broader category that includes both GMOs and those created through genome editing. The Genome editing techniques, such as CRISPR-Cas9, allow for more precise modifications to the DNA of an organism. This technique can involve adding, deleting, or modifying specific DNA sequences within an organism's genome. 

2. Clearance:

  • GM crops are currently subjected to stringent “environmental release” regulations in India, not just for commercial cultivation but even for field trials and seed production. Such release is contingent upon clearance from a special Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC). The GEAC’s green signal is itself not binding on the Union Government, which gives the final nod.
  • On March 30, 2022, an office memorandum from the MoEFCC exempted GE plants “free of exogenous introduced DNA” from the requirement of GEAC approval for open field trials leading to commercial release. Such clearance is now necessary only at the level of an Institutional Bio-safety Committee (IBSC), comprising scientists from the institutions engaged in the GE crop development and from the DBT.

Hence, the scientists are hopeful of conducting open field trials of the new GE mustard line in the coming rabi planting season (October-November). 

The new GE low-seed high-leaf glucosinolate lines and GM hybrid mustard (like DMH-11) are major plant breeding advancements – from Indian scientists – that can go some way towards bringing down the dependence on imported vegetable oils.

PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme

Context: Union Cabinet has approved scheme known as PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme for augmenting city bus operation by 10,000 e-buses on PPP model.

About PM e-Bus Sewa Scheme

pm e-bus sewa scheme

Components of the scheme: The scheme has two broad components:

  • Component I: Augmenting City bus services (169 cities): This component will augment city bus operations with 10,000 e-buses on PPP basis. Associated infrastructure will provide support for development/upgradation of depot infrastructure and creation of behind-the-meter power infrastructure (substation etc) for e-buses.
  • Component II: Green Urban Mobility Initiatives (GUMI) (181 cities): Focuses on green initiatives like bus priority, infrastructure, multimodal interchange facilities, NCMC based Automated Fare Collection Systems, charging etc. Promote e-mobility and full support will be provided for behind-the-meter power infrastructure. Cities will be supported for development of charging infrastructure under Green Urban Mobility Initiatives.

Coverage: The scheme will cover cities with population of 3 lakhs and above as per census 2011 including all capital cities of UTs, North-Eastern & Hill States. Priority will be given to cities having no organised bus service.

Operation of e-buses: States/Cities shall be responsible for running the bus services and making payments to bus operators. 

Timeline: Bus operation will be supported for a period of 10 years. 

Financing of the scheme: The scheme would have an estimated cost of Rs 57613 crore. Of this Rs 20,000 crores will be provided by Central Government as subsidy to the State Governments.

Significance of the scheme

  • Support to bus priority infrastructure will accelerate the proliferation of state of the art energy efficient electric buses
  • Foster innovation in e-mobility sector
  • Lead to development of resilient supply chains for electric vehicles.
  • Bring economies of scale for procurement of electric buses through aggregation for e-buses.
  • E-mobility will reduce noise and air pollution and curb carbon emissions.
  • Modal shift due to increased share of bus-based public transportation will lead to GHG reduction.
  • Buses lead to democratisation of roads as more people particularly from poorer sections of society use them more.
  • Women are particularly more inclined to use buses and helps increase their employment opportunities.
  • Buses are essential for last mile connectivity.

Green Hydrogen Standard

Context: Ministry of New & Renewable Energy has notified the Green Hydrogen Standard which outlines the emission thresholds that must be met for hydrogen produced to be classified as 'Green', i.e., from renewable sources. This move is expected to bring a clarity to Green Hydrogen community in India and contribute to the progress of National Green Hydrogen Mission. India has become one of the first few countries in the world to announce a definition of Green Hydrogen.

Green Hydrogen Standard

  • Green Hydrogen shall mean Hydrogen produced using renewable energy, including production through electrolysis or conversion of biomass. Renewable energy also includes such electricity generated from renewable sources which is stored in an energy storage system or banked with grid in accordance with applicable regulations.
  • Green Hydrogen produced through electrolysis: Non-biogenic greenhouse gas emissions arising from water treatment, electrolysis, gas purification and drying and compression of hydrogen shall not be greater than 2 kg of CO2 equivalent per kg of Hydrogen, taken as an average over last 12 month period. 
  • Green Hydrogen produced through conversion of biomass: Non-biogenic greenhouse gas emissions arising from biomass processing, heat/steam generation, conversion of biomass to hydrogen, gas purification and drying and compression of hydrogen shall not be greater than 2 kg of CO2 equivalent per kg of Hydrogen taken as an average over last 12 month period.
  • Bureau of Energy Efficiency shall be the Nodal Authority for accreditation of agencies for monitoring, verification and certification of Green Hydrogen production projects. 
  • A detailed methodology for measurement, reporting, monitoring, on-site verification and certification of green hydrogen and its derivatives shall be specified by Ministry of New & Renewable Energy.