Current Affairs 22 October 2024

CONTENTS

1. 94 Years Since India’s Sole Home-Grown Nobel Laureate in Sciences
2. Pressing Need for Indian Railways’ Safety Reforms
3. The $1 Trillion Challenge for India’s Just Transition from Coal
4. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act
5. Marine Heat Wave
6. Moonlight Programme
7. Coelogyne tripurensis

 94 Years Since India’s Sole Home-Grown Nobel Laureate in Sciences

Context:

It has been 94 years since an Indian won a Nobel Prize in the sciences — Physics, Chemistry or Medicine — while working in India. CV Raman’s Nobel Prize in Physics in 1930 remains the only such honour. Three more Indian-origin scientists have won — Hargovind Khorana in Medicine in 1968, Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar in Physics in 1983, and Venkatraman Ramakrishnan in Chemistry 2009 — but they did their work outside India and were not Indian citizens when they were honoured.

Relevance:

GS III: Science and Technology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Reasons for India’s Poor Performance in Nobel Prizes in Science
2. What to do Next with India’s Science Nobel Prizes Performance?

Reasons for India’s Poor Performance in Nobel Prizes in Science

Lack of Adequate Funding and Investment

• Government Support: The government of India provides miserably poor funding in terms of scientific research as compared to the other BRICS countries, with only 0.6-0.8% of GDP funding for basic research over the last decade.
• Decline in R&D Spending: R&D spending declined between 2005 and 2023 from 0.82% to 0.64% of the GDP

Bureaucratic Challenges

• Bureaucratic Hurdles: Bureaucratic delays in research centers hamper innovation and productivity. The procurement of equipment at IIT Delhi may take as long as 11 months.
• Taxation and Procurement Burden: Information such as the GST notice amounting to Rs 150 crores issued to IIT Delhi and compulsion for procurement through Government e-Marketplace (GeM) gives rise to financial and operational burdens.

Shortage of Researcher-end

• Few Researchers Population: India has very few researchers compared to the population, five times less compared to the world average, which reduces the possibilities of Nobel laureates.

Institutional Mal-governance

• Lack of Right Priorities: The discretion given by the heads often works in the favor of individual gains rather than promoting breakthrough research.
• Irrelevant Research Concentration: A trend of operating over obsoleted or archaic research topics drastically limits the scope of the scientific miracles to be achieved.

Lack of Innovation

• Publication Counts Over Innovation : Most of the publically funded research is focussed on the number of publications over the quality and innovation.
• Foreign technology duplication or adaptation instead of developing indigenous solutions is the trend.

Private Sector vs. Public Institutions

• Private Sector Success Story: Any notable success story-think of vaccine development during the Covid-19 pandemic-are generally attributed to the private sector and almost to nothing with government-sponsored research efforts.

Unhealthy Institutional Environment

• Challenges for returning scientists to India: Foreign-trained Indian scientists are unable to work in an institutional environment that does not encourage anything pioneering and is more focused on administrative promotion rather than scientific excellence.

Historical Overlooks and Nominations

• Foregone Opportunities: Various chief Indian scientists, such as Jagadish Chandra Bose, K S Krishnan, and ECG Sudarshan, are said to have tremendous contributions toward originality though they were not well-known during the Nobel nominations.
• Nobel Nominations: A number of top scientists from India, such as Meghnad Saha, Homi Bhabha, are on the list who visited for the nominations but did not win awards, perhaps due to biasness or unawareness of complete work done by them

Western Influence

• Global Disparity: It is quite stark that the country groups dominating Nobel Prizes are those powerful Western nations, who have strong scientific infrastructures and ecosystems working very much in support of them and both lacking in India.

What to do Next with India’s Science Nobel Prizes Performance?

• India’s government should promise at an early stage to raise the share of research and development in GDP and commit in the near term to at least 1.5% per cent.
• Support and fund high-risk, high-reward programs that lead to revolutionary technologies.
• Use multidisciplinary review panels with backgrounds relevant to the field of research being proposed.
• This will reduce the risk of missing valuable ideas based on bias or a lack of understanding.
• Improving access to STEM education and investing in tertiary education will also improve the scope and quality of the researcher pool.
• Merit- or potential-social-impact-based distribution rather than personal ambition
• Coordination between research institutes under the government and private sector firms to enhance research capabilities and innovation
• National-level awards and recognitions to encourage significant efforts leading to path-breaking work.
• Advise Indian scientists to join hands with the international research communities, share knowledge and resources that will leverage Indian research to an international level.

-Source: Indian Express

Pressing Need for Indian Railways’ Safety Reforms

Context:

Recently, eight coaches of the Agartala-Lokmanya Tilak Express derailed in Assam with no casualties and a passenger train rear-ended a stationary goods train near Chennai, also with no casualties. Indian trains have been involved in multiple accidents of late. The Balasore accident on June 2, 2023, had the greatest death toll, more than 275, yet pressure on the Railways to improve safety competes with pressures straining its subsistence.

Relevance:

GS III: Infrastructure

Dimensions of the Article:

1. How common are accidents?
2. What is Kavach? 
3. Indian Railways’ Operational and Financial Challenges

How common are accidents?

• The number of railway accidents dropped from 1,390 per year in the 1960s to 80 per year in the last decade.
• There were still 34 consequential accidents in 2021-2022, 48 in 2022-23, and 40 in 2023-2024.
• A consequential accident injures and/or kills people, damages railway infrastructure, and disrupts rail traffic.
• According to public records, 55.8% of all accidents involving trains have been due to the failure of Railway staff and another 28.4% due to failures on the part of non-staff people. Equipment failure accounted for 6.2%. In both the Balasore and the Kavaraipettai accidents, officials blamed the signalling system.

What is Kavach? 

• It is India’s very own automatic protection system in development since 2012, under the name Train Collision Avoidance System (TCAS), which got rechristened to Kavach or “armour”.
• In other words, it is a set of electronic devices and Radio Frequency Identification devices installed in locomotives, in the signalling system as well the tracks, that talk to each other using ultra high radio frequencies to control the brakes of trains and also alert drivers, all based on the logic programmed into them.
•  One of its features is that by continuously refreshing the movement information of a train, it is able to send out triggers when a loco pilot jumps signal, called Signal Passed at Danger (SPAD), a grave offence in railway operations with respect to safety, and the key to accidents like collision.
• The devices also continuously relay the signals ahead to the locomotive, making it useful for loco pilots in low visibility, especially during dense fog.
• TCAS or Kavach includes the key elements from already existing, and tried and tested systems like the European Train Protection and Warning System, and the indigenous Anti Collison Device.
• It will also carry features of the high-tech European Train Control System Level-2 in future. The current form of Kavach adheres to the highest level of safety and reliability standard called Safety Integrity Level 4.
• By February 2024, the Railways had installed ‘Kavach’ on 1,465 route km, or 2% of its total route length.
• Since 1990-1991, the Railways has classified nearly 70% of all major accidents as derailments, but only 2% of them were due to collisions. ‘Kavach’ also may not have prevented the Kavaraipettai accident because the relevant error happened beyond the minimum margins ‘Kavach’ requires to assist.

Indian Railways’ Operational and Financial Challenges

• In the fiscal year 2024-2025, the Indian Railways’ operating ratio (OR) is slightly improved at ₹98.2 per ₹100 earned compared to previous years but remains high, limiting capital expenditure and increasing reliance on government and extra-budgetary funding.
• Despite incorporating the railway budget into the general budget in 2016 for better financial support, challenges persist with high operating costs and a heavy debt load from Extra-Budgetary Resources (EBRs).
• Freight services, contributing 65% of internal revenue, face inefficiencies with slow speeds and incomplete dedicated freight corridors, impacting revenue growth. The shift towards renewable energy and reduced reliance on coal freight also affects revenue streams.
• Passenger services continue to operate at a loss, exacerbated by the pandemic and high operational costs, despite attempts to boost revenue through upgraded services and fare adjustments.
• Safety and operational efficiency are compromised by high network congestion and outdated safety systems, stressing the urgent need for substantial investments to improve the Railways’ infrastructure and financial health.

-Source: The Hindu

The $1 Trillion Challenge for India’s Just Transition from Coal

Context:

A recent study by iForest (International Forum for Environment, Sustainability and Technology) reveals that India will need over $1 trillion (Rs 84 lakh crore) over the next 30 years for a just transition away from coal. The study, the first of its kind, estimates the costs of phasing down coal mines and plants while ensuring socio-economic stability in coal-dependent regions. 

Relevance:

GS III: Energy

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Coal Resource in India
2. Ensuring Just Energy Transition in India
3. International Support for Coal Phase-Down – Case Studies
4. Findings from the Study of Coal-Dependent Districts in India

Coal Resource in India

• The total estimated coal reserve (resource) of India is 378.21 billion tonnes as on 01.04.2023, as per the National Coal Inventory 2023.
• All India Production of coal during 2023-24 was 997.83 MT with a positive growth of 11.71%.
• According to the existing Import policy, coal can be imported freely by the consumers themselves based on the assessment of their needs coming out of their commercial consideration (under Open General Licence).
• Coking Coal is being imported by the Steel sector mainly to bridge the gap between requirement and Indigenous availability and to improve the quality.
• Other sectors like Power sector, cement etc. and coal traders are importing non-coking coal.
• The total import of coal during 2023-24 was 261 million tonnes.

Ensuring Just Energy Transition in India

What is “just” energy transition?

• A “just” energy transition refers to an equitable and inclusive shift toward a low-carbon economy, keeping in mind the needs of the workforce and the communities that depend on fossil fuels.
• India is the world’s second-largest coal producer and employs thousands of people in coal mines, thermal power plants, logistics, and others.
• Public sector coal companies alone employ over 3.6 lakh workers, and the private sector comprises hundreds of thousands more.
• As India sets itself the net-zero target by 2070, adding to renewable energy is essential.
• It poses an enormous financial and social cost to repair when it has to change in terms of workers dependent on coal and regions that are coal-dependent
• Economic stability versus climate goals would require massive investments.

Transition costs

• The study of just transition from coal in India that is based on an appraisal of districts coal dependent and international examples from South Africa, Germany, and Poland identifies the eight main cost areas
• These are:
  • mine closures and site repurposing,  ,
  • retiring coal plants and converting them to clean energy,  ,
  • skilling workers for green jobs,  ,
  • promotion of new businesses,  ,
  • community support,
  • green energy investments,
  • compensation of states for revenue loss, and
  • planning costs.
• Close to 48% of the estimated $1 trillion needed over the next three decades will go for green investments to substitute the coal-based energy infrastructure with cleaner alternatives.

Source of funding for this transition

• Funding India’s just transition away from coal will require a mix of public and private investments.
• Grants and subsidies will be the main source of public funding, which will cover the “non-energy” expenditure, including community support, skilling coal workers for green jobs, and supporting new businesses.
• The $4 billion District Mineral Foundation fund collected from miners in the country can be used to support new businesses and coal-dependent communities, which can supplement CSR funding.
• Private investment will be expected to assume the majority of “energy costs,” such as those involved in developing clean energy projects and green infrastructure.

International Support for Coal Phase-Down – Case Studies

South Africa’s Just Energy Transition

• Partnerships and Funding: The Just Energy Transition Investment Plan (JET-IP) of South Africa is bolstered by international support from the UK, France, Germany, the US, the EU, the Netherlands, and Denmark.
• Financial Plan: The initiative needs $98 billion over twenty years, with an initial $8.5 billion planned for 2023-2027.
• Allocation of Funds: A significant portion of the funding is allocated towards investments in green energy, utilizing concessional loans, grants, and collaborations between public and private sectors.

Germany’s Legislative Measures on Coal Phase-Out

• Legislation and Timeline: Germany has legislated the termination of coal power by 2038 and has earmarked over $55 billion for closing coal mines and power plants.
• Regional Support: These funds are also designated to aid economic development in coal-dependent regions, ensuring a smoother transition from coal-based economies.

Findings from the Study of Coal-Dependent Districts in India

• Study Focus: An analysis was conducted on four coal-reliant districts: Korba (Chhattisgarh), Bokaro and Ramgarh (Jharkhand), and Angul (Odisha), evaluating their dependency on coal and the financial implications of transitioning away from it.
• Economic Impact in Bokaro:
  • Economic Contribution: In Bokaro, coal-based industries account for 54% of the district’s domestic product.
  • Employment: The sector employs approximately 139,000 workers in coal mining, power generation, and related industries such as steel and cement.
• Transition Costs and Timeline:
  • Phase-Down Projection: The full phase-down of coal in Bokaro is projected to commence post-2040.
  • Transition Budget: An estimated Rs 1.01 lakh crore will be required over 30 years to facilitate worker rehabilitation, repurposing of coal sites, and the development of green energy infrastructure.

-Source: Indian Express

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act

Context:

The Supreme Court has rejected the government’s plea to enforce the Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA) over personal laws, urging Parliament to consider banning child betrothals.

Relevance:

GS II: Polity and Governance

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006
2. Why should the minimum age of marriage for women be raised?
3. Schemes/Policies to stop girl child marriage

Prohibition of Child Marriage Act (PCMA), 2006

• The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act was implemented in 2006, replacing the older Child Marriage Restraint Act of 1929.
• The primary goal of the PCMA is to prevent the solemnization of child marriages and to eradicate this practice entirely.

Key Provisions

• The legal minimum age for marriage under this act is set at 21 years for boys and 18 years for girls. Marriages below these ages are considered illegal and punishable.
• The act allows anyone to report incidents of child marriage, whether they have already occurred or are about to be solemnized.

Implementation and Enforcement

• District Collectors act as Nodal Officers at the district level, tasked with reviewing and ensuring the effective implementation of the act.
• Child Marriage Prohibition Officers (CMPO): Appointed in every state, CMPOs work to prevent child marriages and protect victims, as well as to prosecute offenders. They are also empowered to provide legal aid to victims and to present cases before the Child Welfare Committee or a First-Class Judicial Magistrate.

Legal Remedies and Petitions

• Annulment of Marriage: A petition to nullify a child marriage can be filed by the married individuals themselves if they are below 18 at the time of marriage, or by a guardian in conjunction with the CMPO if they are still minors.
• Jurisdiction: The District Court, including the Family Court and other specified civil courts, has the authority to grant nullity of marriages.

Punishments and Legal Consequences

• Child marriage is a punishable offence, potentially leading to rigorous imprisonment, fines, or both. Courts are also authorized to issue injunctions to prevent the occurrence of child marriages.
• Offences under this act are cognizable and non-bailable, ensuring serious legal proceedings against violators.

Protection and Support for Victims

• Support Services: The act ensures comprehensive support for rescued children, including medical and legal aid, counselling, and rehabilitation.
• Rights of Children from Child Marriages: It safeguards the legal status of children born from such unions, providing for their custody and maintenance.
• Women’s Rights: Provisions are made for the residence and maintenance of the female contracting party involved in a child marriage.

Why should the minimum age of marriage for women be raised?

• Lack of access to education and jobs: Because women get married at a younger age, they have less access to education and jobs than men.
• Women who get married at a young age often can’t go to school or get a job.
• If the minimum age for marriage goes up, more women will go to college and work instead of getting married.
• Effects of early marriage on the health of women and children: o Getting married and having children at a young age has a big effect on how well mothers and their children eat and on their overall health and mental health.
• Young mothers have a higher chance of having problems with their reproductive health, being malnourished, bleeding after giving birth, and getting sexually transmitted diseases.

Schemes/Policies to stop girl child marriage:

• Sukanya Samriddhi Yojana (SSY) – SSY was started in 2015 to help girls. It encourages parents to invest and save money for their daughter’s future education and wedding costs.
• Balika Samriddhi Yojana – The Balika Samriddhi Yojana is another programme run by the central government to help girls from poor families. This plan makes sure that girls get into and stay in elementary and secondary schools. It tries to help a girl’s child do well in life and gives them a better education.
• Beti Bachao Beti Padhao is the most popular programme for helping girls. This plan is a way to honour girls. Its name, Save the Girl Child, Educate the Girl Child, means exactly what it says. It believes in empowering women and making an environment where everyone can do that. The goal of this plan is to keep girls safe before and after they are born.

-Source: Indian Express

Marine Heat Wave

Context:

Researchers found that marine heat waves (MHWs) deep in oceans may be “significantly under-reported” and caused by ocean currents.

Relevance:

GS III: Environment and Ecology

Dimensions of the Article:

1. Marine Heatwave
2. Impact of Marine Heatwave on Rainfall in Northwest India
3. Impacts of Marine Heatwaves

Marine Heatwave:

• Marine heatwaves are prolonged periods of abnormally high Sea Surface Temperature (SST).
• These events can lead to coral bleaching, seagrass destruction, and loss of kelp forests, impacting the fisheries sector negatively.
• Common drivers of marine heatwaves include ocean currents that accumulate warm water and air-sea heat flux, which is warming from the atmosphere through the ocean surface.
• Winds can amplify or dampen the warming effects of a marine heatwave, and climate modes like El Niño can influence the occurrence of these events in specific regions.

Impact of Marine Heatwave on Rainfall in Northwest India:

• The marine heatwave in the Bay of Bengal elevated sea surface temperatures, resulting in increased evaporation rates and a higher supply of moisture in the atmosphere.
• This surplus moisture contributed to above-average rainfall in northwest India.
• The marine heatwave likely influenced the formation and behavior of low-pressure systems called depressions in the Bay of Bengal.
• These depressions play a significant role in monsoon and rainfall patterns.
• The marine heatwave, along with changing timescales of depressions, affected the path and trajectory of these weather systems.
• Depressions were more inclined to move towards northwest India rather than north-central India, leading to a concentration of rainfall in the northwest region and resulting in above-average rainfall in that area.

Impacts of Marine Heatwaves:

• Ecosystem Structure: Marine heatwaves can alter ecosystem structure by favoring certain species while suppressing others.
• Mass Mortality: Marine heatwaves have been associated with mass mortality events in marine invertebrates, leading to significant ecological disruptions.
• Behavioral Changes: Species may be forced to change their behavior in response to marine heatwaves, putting them at increased risk of harm.
• Habitat Range Shifts: Marine heatwaves can cause shifts in the habitat ranges of species, resulting in changes to ecosystem dynamics. For example, the expansion of spiny sea urchins into new areas can negatively impact kelp forests.
• Economic Losses: Marine heatwaves can have significant economic impacts, particularly on fisheries and aquaculture industries.
• Biodiversity Loss: Marine heatwaves can lead to drastic declines in biodiversity, affecting the overall health and functioning of marine ecosystems.
• Corals and Bleaching: Marine heatwaves can cause widespread coral bleaching, leading to coral mortality and ecosystem degradation.
• Interaction with Other Stressors: Marine heatwaves often occur alongside other stressors such as ocean acidification, deoxygenation, and overfishing. These combined stressors can further damage habitats and increase the risks of deoxygenation and acidification in affected areas.

-Source: Down To Earth

Moonlight Programme

Context:

Recently, the European Space Agency (ESA) at the International Astronautical Congress, launched its Moonlight Lunar Communications and Navigation Services (LCNS) programme.

Relevance:

GS III: Science and Technology

About Moonlight Programme:

• The program will consist of about five lunar satellites, one for high data rate communications and four for navigation that will enable precise autonomous landings, high-speed communications and surface mobility.
• It is Europe’s first-ever dedicated satellite constellation for telecommunication and navigation services for the Moon.
• The distance between the Earth and the Moon, claimed to be more than 2,50,000 miles or 4,00,000 kilometres will apparently be covered by such satellites.
• The primary coverage at the South Pole of the Moon will be provided by the Moonlight program.
•  South Pole of the moon is an area of prime interest for many missions due to lighting conditions and the presence of water ice within permanently shaded craters.
• The program is scheduled for its launch with a communications relay satellite named the Lunar Pathfinder, built by Surrey Satellite Technology LTD, at the start of 2026.
• The first operational services of the programme will be started by the end of 2028 and is fully prepared to be commercially manufactured by 2030.
• The ESA is collaborating with NASA and Japan’s space agency JAXA on LunaNet, which in essence is a framework in standardizing communication and navigation for the Moon.

-Source: Indian Express

Coelogyne tripurensis

Context:

A new species of orchid named Coelogyne tripurensis was recently discovered in Jampui Hills, in Tripura’s North District.

Relevance:

GS III: Environment and Ecology

Coelogyne tripurensis

• It is a new species of orchid.
• It comes from the wet broad-leaved forests of Jampui Hills of Tripura, situated at the western periphery of Indo-Myanmar Biodiversity Hotspot.
• This genus accounts for about 600 species native to the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and the Southwest Pacific Islands.
• This genus consists of mainly epiphytic (though rarely lithophytic and terrestrial species) species, all of which are widely used among horticulturists because of their high ornamental value and few requirements for growing. .
• In the present study, the new species is included in the section Fuliginosae, which is characterised by its outstanding features, including larger showy flowers with a distinctive labellum and keels.
• Species belonging to this group show a high degree of phenotypic plasticity, rendering them challenging to delineate.

-Source: The Hindu