UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice — GS 3 : Questions on global sea ice cover and minimum support price (Week 93)

QUESTION 1

Global sea ice cover has dipped to a record low, raising concerns about climate change and its cascading effects. Discuss the causes and consequences of declining sea ice cover on global climate patterns, biodiversity, and human populations.

QUESTION 2

Discuss the challenges associated with India’s current Minimum Support Price (MSP) framework. Evaluate the need for reforms in the grain management and food subsidy systems to achieve the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

QUESTION 1: Global sea ice cover has dipped to a record low, raising concerns about climate change and its cascading effects. Discuss the causes and consequences of declining sea ice cover on global climate patterns, biodiversity, and human populations.

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— According to a BBC analysis of data from the US National Snow and Ice Data Centre (NSIDC), the combined extent of Arctic and Antarctic sea ice fell to 15.76 million sq km in the five days leading up to February 13, a new five-day record low. The previous five-day record low was 15.93 million sq km in January-February 2023.

— Currently, Arctic sea ice is at its lowest recorded extent for this time of year. Meanwhile, satellite records dating back to the late 1970s show that Antarctic sea ice is on the verge of reaching a new low.

— In the Antarctic, the situation is somewhat different. Until 2015, the region experienced a minor year-on-year increase in sea ice. Between late 2014 and 2017, the Antarctic lost two million square kilometres of sea ice, an area almost four times the size of Spain, according to the Copernicus Marine Service.

— Maximum Antarctic sea ice levels fell to an all-time low by 2023. Sea ice cover was more than two million square kilometres lower than usual, an area almost ten times the size of the United Kingdom.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

Causes of declining sea ice cover

— Experts believe that the 2025 low will be caused by a combination of warm air, warm seas, and winds breaking up the ice.

— Antarctic sea ice is highly susceptible to ice-breaking winds. Unlike Arctic ice, it is surrounded by ocean rather than continents, making it more mobile and thinner. Warmer air and waters around the conclusion of the southern hemisphere summer (December to February) exacerbated the situation this year.

— Higher air temperatures melted the borders of the Antarctic ice sheet, also known as ice shelves, which extend over the ocean.

— In the Arctic, where winter lasts from November to February, sea ice remained thin due to delayed freezing over Hudson Bay, a huge saltwater body in northeastern Canada. The delay occurred because extremely warm oceans required longer to cool down.

— Storms also broke open ice in the Barents Sea, off the northern shores of Norway and Russia, and the Bering Sea, which connects Alaska and Russia. According to experts, Arctic ice has thinned and gotten more fragile over time, making it more vulnerable to storms.

Consequences

— Less sea ice cover means that more water is getting exposed to the Sun and more heat (solar radiation) is getting absorbed, leading to a further rise in temperatures.

— Sea ice keeps temperatures low in the polar areas because its brilliant, white surface reflects more sunlight back into space than liquid water. The reduction of sea ice cover could explain why the polar areas are warming faster than the rest of the world.

— Melting sea ice also slows the flow of water across the world’s oceans. This is happening because freshwater from melting ice enters the ocean and lowers the salinity and density of the top water, reducing the downward flow to the sea’s bottom.

— A slowing in ocean overturning can have serious consequences for the global climate, the marine food chain, and the stability of ice shelves.

Conclusion:

— The term “sea ice” refers to free-floating ice in the polar regions. While most sea ice expands in the winter and melts in the summer, some persists year-round. This differs from icebergs, glaciers, ice sheets, and ice shelves, which form on land.

— Sea ice contributes significantly to global cooling by trapping existing heat in the water and preventing it from warming the atmosphere above. As a result, a loss in sea ice cover has the potential to be disastrous for Earth.

(Source: Why global sea ice cover has dipped to record low — what this means by Alind Chauhan)

Points to Ponder

Read geography of Hudson Bay, Barents Sea, and Bering Sea

Places in news – Arctic and Antarctic

Impact of rise in sea level on marine population

Related Previous Year Questions

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has predicted a global sea level rise of about one metre by AD 2100. What would be its impact in India and the other countries in the Indian Ocean region? (2023)

What are the economic significance of the discovery of oil in the Arctic Sea and its possible environmental consequences? (2015)

QUESTION 2: Discuss the challenges associated with India’s current Minimum Support Price (MSP) framework. Evaluate the need for reforms in the grain management and food subsidy systems to achieve the vision of ‘Viksit Bharat’ by 2047.

Note: This is not a model answer. It only provides you with thought process which you may incorporate into the answers.

Introduction:

— The Minimum Support Price is a central government policy designed to support farmers. Under this plan, the central government sets minimum support prices for specific food grains.

— The Government of India announces minimum support prices for specific crops at the start of the sowing season based on recommendations from the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP).

— MSP is a price set by the Government of India to safeguard producers (farmers) against severe price drops during bumper output years. The minimum support prices are government-guaranteed prices for their produce.

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in your answer:

— In a market economy, demand and supply determine the price of agricultural outputs or inputs. Governments frequently intervene to control pricing, causing significant inefficiencies in the economy.

— The MSP system was implemented by the Centre in 1965 to focus particularly on wheat and rice, as India was severely short on basic necessities.

— In some areas, particularly Punjab and Haryana, the legacy of open-ended wheat and rice procurement continues to this day. It caused an imbalance in the production basket.

— Rice is being grown excessively due to free power pricing and heavily subsidised fertiliser rates. This is resulting in groundwater depletion, soil degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions – an ecological disaster.

— A heavily controlled land market, as well as input and output pricing (rice and wheat), combined with large procurement, are causing massive system inefficiencies.

— India has digitalised much of the food system, both at the consumer and farmer levels; moving to direct cash transfers to designated beneficiaries will be much more frugal and efficient.

Need for reforms

— It is necessary to invest in information symmetry and physical infrastructure.

— Investment in promoting the development of efficient value chains through institutional innovations can help reduce the price differential between farmers and consumers.

— The government should help promote futures markets and options that aim to reduce risk, as well as assist farmers in making planting decisions based on future prices rather than last year’s pricing.

— The efficiency improvements and savings will be significant, which may be reinvested in agri-R&D and extension, education and skills, irrigation and water management, physical infrastructure for roads and markets in rural India, and so on.

Conclusion:

— The poor must get huge subsidies, whereas those above the poverty threshold require less assistance. Similarly, poor farmers should receive aggregate input subsidy support on a per-hectare basis. This should be accompanied by the deregulation of food and input prices such as fertilisers and electricity.

— That is the type of reforms that India requires to realise its dream of Viksit Bharat by 2047.

(Source: The reform and welfare India needs by Ashok Gulati, agriculture.vikaspedia.in)

Points to Ponder

Read more about MSP

Which crops are not covered under MSP?

Related Previous Year Questions

How does e-Technology help farmers in production and marketing of agricultural produce? Explain it. (2023)

What do you mean by Minimum Support Price (MSP)? How will MSP rescue the farmers from the low income trap? (2018)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 92)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 91)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 92)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 91)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 91)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 92)

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