UPSC Essentials: Quotes of the week

Syllabus: 

Prelims- Environment 

Mains- GS III- Environment and Ecology

— On the occasion of World Environment Day, June 5, PM Modi said that the target of 10 per cent ethanol blending in petrol has been achieved five months ahead of the November 2022 target. This is a major accomplishment, given that blending was hardly 1.5 per cent in 2013-14 and 5 per cent in 2019-20.

— India launched ‘Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE) Movement’. The idea of LiFE was introduced by India during the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow in 2021. It promotes an environmentally conscious lifestyle that focuses on ‘mindful and deliberate utilisation’ instead of ‘mindless and wasteful consumption’. The Mission plans to create and nurture a global network of individuals, namely ‘Pro-Planet People’ (P3).

— India’s other achievements in environment conservation can be assessed by the following-

1) India’s forest cover is increasing and so is the population of lions, tigers, leopards, elephants and rhinos. The total forest cover is 21.71 per cent of the total geographical area in 2021, compared with 21.67 per cent in 2019 and 21.54 per cent in 2017.

2) India’s commitment to reach 40 per cent of installed electric capacity from non-fossil fuel-based sources has been achieved, nine years ahead of schedule.

3) The country’s installed Renewable Energy (RE) capacity stands at 150.54 GW (solar: 48.55 GW, wind: 40.03 GW, Small hydro Power: 4.83, Bio-power: 10.62, Large Hydro: 46.51 GW) as on 30th Nov. 2021 while its nuclear energy-based installed electricity capacity stands at 6.78 GW. India has the 4th largest wind power capacity in the world.

2. ” 27% of Delhi students left out of midday meal in 2nd pandemic year “~Centre

Syllabus:

Prelims- Government Schemes

 Mains- GS II- Polity and Goveranance

— Amid a huge jump in the enrolment of students in government schools in the second pandemic year (2021-22), an estimated 4.88 lakh children — adding up to 27 per cent of the total enrolment — were left out of the midday meal scheme in Delhi “due to shortage of foodgrains”, according to a Union government document.

— An increase in the enrolment of students in government schools is seen as an indicator of economic hardship.

— The midday meal or PM-POSHAN scheme, under which hot cooked meals are served to address the nutritional needs of children, covers government and government-aided school students of classes I-VIII, as well as pre-primary classes. During closure of schools due to the pandemic, the food security allowance was continued through the distribution of dry ration kits.

— The Programme Approval Board (PAB), which decides the work plan and budget for the midday meal scheme annually.

3. “One day, cancer will be like any other chronic disease. Like people with diabetes go to work after taking a tablet, cancer patients would too.” ~ Dr P K Julka, former professor of radiotherapy at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi and the current chairman for Max Oncology Daycare Centre. Dr Julka did the first immunotherapy treatment in India while at AIIMS in 2015.

Syllabus:

Prelims- Science and Technology

 Mains- GS III- Science and Technology

—  In a medical trial in the USA, 12 patients were completely cured of rectal cancer without requiring any surgery or chemotherapy. The trial used a monoclonal antibody dostarlimab every three weeks for six months for the treatment of a particular kind of stage two or three rectal cancer.

— The trial showed that immunotherapy alone – without any chemotherapy, radiotherapy, or surgery that have been staples of cancer treatment – could completely cure the patients with a particular kind of rectal cancer called ‘mismatch repair cancer’.

— Immunotherapy belongs to a category called PD1 blockades that are now recommended for the treatment of such cancers rather than chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

— PD1 is a type of protein that regulates certain functions of the immune system, including by suppressing T cell activity, and PD1 blockade therapy looks to release the T cells from this suppression.

4. “Some of these indicators used for assessing performance are extrapolated and based on surmises and unscientific methods.” ~Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change

Syllabus:

Prelims- Environment

Mains- GS III- Environment and Ecology

—  India has questioned its bottom ranking among 180 nations on the recently released Environmental Performance Index.

— Ministry officials cited two major concerns – that baseline data does not seem to have been used, and that there has been no explanation for the weightages assigned to certain indicators.

— The Ministry said the shifting of weightage on many indicators has resulted in India’s low ranking. For example, for black carbon growth, India’s score actually improved from 32 in 2020 to 100 (the top score) in 2022, but the weightage of this indicator has been reduced to 0.0038 in 2022 from 0.018 in 2020.

— The government has objected to calculations of greenhouse gas projections for 2050, which ties into countries’ net zero goals. India has set a net zero target for 2070, unlike developed nations that have set 2050. It said crucial carbon sinks that mitigate GHG, such as forests and wetlands, have not been taken into account. India’s low emissions trajectory, unlike high historical trajectories of developed countries, has been ignored, it said.

— The government has objected to the low weightage given to per-capita GHG emissions (2.6%). “No indicator talks about the renewable energy, energy efficiency and process optimization,” it said.

— Among other objections raised: the index emphasises the extent of protected areas rather than the quality of protection that they afford; the computation of biodiversity indices does not factor in management effectiveness evaluation of protected areas the index computes the extent of ecosystems but not their condition or productivity; indicators such as agro biodiversity, soil health, food loss and waste are not included even though they are important for developing countries with large agrarian populations.

5. “We agree on need to respect religions”~ Iran FM after Delhi talks

Syllabus: 

Prelims- Current Issues of national and international importance

Mains- GS II – International Relations

— Iran was among the Islamic countries which condemned the remarks against the Prophet by the now-suspended and expelled BJP spokespersons.

— Iran holds a very important place in India’s foreign policy. For example, from an economic perspective, Iran is the second-largest supplier of crude oil to India, supplying more than 425,000 barrels per day; consequently, India is one of the largest foreign investors in Iran’s oil and gas industry. A highway between Zaranj and Delaram (Zaranj-Delaram Highway) is being built with financial support from India. The Chabahar port has also been jointly financed by Iran and India.