UPSC Key—8th November, 2023: Sixteenth Finance Commission, National Clean Air Programme and Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe

Stop crop burning now, long-term plan will follow: SC to States around Delhi

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- Reminding the Punjab government that the fight against stubble burning cannot be political, the Supreme Court Tuesday asked the States of Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh to take urgent steps to stop farm fires which it said are a “substantial” contributor to air pollution in Delhi.

• What is Stubble?

• What is Stubble Burning?

• What happens when stubble is burned?

• Why are farmers burning crop residue in Punjab despite an increase in the number of stubble management machines?

• Do You Know- Stubble burning, also known as parali burning, is a prevalent agricultural practise employed to clear paddy crop remnants from fields in order to facilitate the sowing of wheat. This practise often occurs between the last week of September and November. Stubble burning refers to the practise of intentionally igniting the residual straw stubble that remains after the harvest of various grains such as rice and wheat. The practise of leaving agricultural residue behind is typically mandated in regions that employ the combined harvesting method. The combustion of agricultural residue is a prominent contributor to air pollution in certain regions of northern India, resulting in the degradation of air quality.
The practise of burning paddy stubble is predominantly observed in the Indo-Gangetic plains of Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh, with the primary objective of preparing the fields for the cultivation of rabi crops. The harvesting of paddy crop in the regions of Punjab and Haryana typically takes place within the time frame spanning from the initial to the final weeks of October. Subsequently, farmers commence the process of sowing the wheat crop, often commencing in the first week of November and extending until the midpoint of December.
The primary factor contributing to the practise of stubble burning is the limited timeframe between rice harvesting and wheat sowing, as any delay in the latter process can adversely impact the wheat crop. Following the completion of the paddy crop harvest and preceding the commencement of the subsequent crop sowing, a relatively brief time frame of approximately two to three weeks remains. The incidence of rice stubble burning has the highest prevalence in the state of Punjab, with Haryana following closely behind. Farmers engage in the practise of crop residue burning as a means of soil preparation for subsequent agriculture. This approach involves the combustion of crop residues, such as straw, which persist in the field following the completion of the harvesting process. Hence, the practise of stubble burning is widely regarded as a cost-effective approach for field maintenance following the conclusion of the harvesting season.

• ‘The combustion of agricultural residue is a prominent contributor to air pollution in certain regions of northern India’-Explain

• How Stubble burning contributes in air pollution?

• “On December 10, 2015, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had banned crop residue burning in the states of Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Punjab”-Then what happened? Why it is still continued?

• “The complicating factor lies in the significant influence that farmers hold as a pivotal voting base. This is the reason why court rulings, such as bans and substantial fines, sometimes go unenforced”-Do agree with this?

• Ways to Check Stubble Burning (targeted and cluster-based approach)-Know in detail

• What is Central Scheme on Promotion of Agricultural Mechanisation for In-Situ Management of Crop Residue?

• Ex-situ management of crop residue- why it is preferred more by the Farmers?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍More machines to manage stubble, but Punjab farmers still burning it. This is why

📍What is partial stubble burning and why do many farmers resort to this?

A third of families in Bihar live on Rs 6,000 or less per month

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian Polity and Governance-Constitution, Political System, Panchayati Raj, Public Policy, Rights Issues, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Welfare schemes for vulnerable sections of the population by the Centre and States and the performance of these schemes; mechanisms, laws, institutions and Bodies constituted for the protection and betterment of these vulnerable sections.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- MORE THAN a third of Bihar’s families live on around Rs 200 a day, among the Scheduled Castes that number stands as high as 43.93%; only 7% of its population are graduates; and about 96% have no vehicles.

• Highlights of the Bihar caste survey report-Know in detail

• ‘Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) formed the biggest social bloc in the state’-Who Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs)?

• Extremely Backward Classes (EBCs) and Other Backward Classes (OBCs)-Compare

• Do You Know-As per the caste survey report, the state is home to about 2.97 crore families, of which more than 94 lakh (34.13%) live on Rs 6,000 or less a month – the cut-off for below poverty line in Bihar. Poverty is highest among the SCs, with 43.93% families qualifying as BPL, while among the EBCs, the number is 33.58%. The OBCs are only marginally better, with 33.16% of the families earning less than Rs 6,000 a month. Even in the general category, a quarter of the population, 25.09%, falls in this category. In comparison, among the Muslims, the share of poor is at 17.26%. Among the SC families, more than half of the Mushahars (54.56%) and Doms (53.10%) are poor. Only 5% of the SC families earn between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000, and just 1% above Rs 50,000 per month. Over 14% of the people in the state live in kuchcha houses, of whom about 15% live in huts and another 26% in tin-shed houses. Those who have studied till Class 8 comprise over 37% of Bihar’s population; of them, 22.67% have studied only up to Class 5. Another 14.71% have studied till Class 10, meaning that more than half the state’s population (about 52%) has studied till Class 10 or below it. Those who have studied till Class 11 account for 9.19%, while those who have cleared Class 12 are over 7%.
Among the OBCs, 3.11% and, among the Yadavs, 1.55% are in government jobs. The Yadavs are the single largest group in the state, at 14.3 per cent. The Banias have slightly higher representation in government jobs, at 1.96%.
Of the EBC families, 32% earn between Rs 6,000 and Rs 10,000; 18% between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000; and only 2% above Rs 50,000 per month.
Among the SCs, more than half the population of the Mushahars (54.56%) and Doms (53.10%) are poor. The Nats follow closely at 49.06%. Besides, 42.06% of the Chamars, 39.36% of the Dusadhs and 38.34% of the Pasis are in the BPL category.
Only 5% of the SCs earn between Rs 20,000 and Rs 50,000, and just 1% above Rs 50,000 per month.
Among the upper castes, the Bhumihars record the maximum poverty (27.58%), followed by the Brahmins (25.3%), the Rajputs (24.89%) and Kayasthas (13.83%).
In the general category, 9% earn above Rs 50,000.
Compared to other groups, much higher numbers among the upper castes are in government jobs – with 6.68% of Kayasthas, 4.99% of Bhumihars, 3.81% of Rajputs and 3.60% of Brahmins among them.
Among the Muslims, 2.5% of the Saiyads are in government jobs.
Just over a quarter of Bihar (26.76%) lives in pucca houses of two or more rooms, while nearly the same number (22.37%) live in one-room pucca houses. Families living in tin-shed houses account for another quarter (25.54%). About 0.24% of people have no houses. They survey also says that 1.22% of Bihar’s people work and 0.39% study outside the state.

• When and how was the survey undertaken?

• Why Bihar conducted caste census?

• What is meant by caste census?

• What is the purpose of caste census?

• What is the importance of caste census?

• Has a caste census ever been conducted?

• What is the significance of the Bihar caste survey findings?

• How can the caste survey findings impact policy decisions?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Bihar data can reopen debate on SC’s 50% quota ceiling in 1992

GOVT & POLITICS

ISRO’s Aditya L1 captures X-ray glimpse of benign solar flare

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- While on its way to the L1 point to get an unobstructed view of the Sun, another scientific instrument on-board India’s first solar observatory Aditya-L1 was turned on at the end of last month. The instrument that detects high energy X-rays emitted by the Sun observed a “benign” solar flare, ISRO said on Tuesday.

• What is solar activity, solar prominence, solar flare and coronal mass ejection or CME?

• How solar activity, solar prominence, solar flare and coronal mass ejection or CME impacts Earth?

• Does all solar activity impact Earth? Why or why not?

• Aditya-L1-Know more in detail

• Aditya-L1-Know its key components

• Aditya-L1-Know the mission objective

• Do You Know-The spacecraft that will travel 1 per cent of the distance to the Sun – the farthest of any India-made satellite – has been on its trajectory towards the L1 point for over six weeks. After exiting the Earth’s orbit in September, the spacecraft was to take around 110 days to reach the L1 point. “The spacecraft will start braking to get into the orbit around the L1 point in the first week of January,” an ISRO scientist said.
The High Energy L1 Orbiting X-ray Spectrometer (HEL1OS) payload was switched on by the space agency on October 27. While it is currently “undergoing fine-tuning of thresholds and calibration operations”, it took the first measurements on October 29. These measurements were found to be consistent with the US Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellites (GOES) satellite, the space agency said. “This was the first observation made by the instrument. During this ten hour observation, it detected a benign C -class solar flare.
Other than the solar flare, the HEL1OS observation also detected evidence of these impulsive events that were seen weakly in the GEOS data.

• What is the L1 point of the Earth Sun system?

• Which Launch Vehicle is used for Aditya-L1?

• For Your Information- Solar activity associated with Space Weather can be divided into four main components: solar flares, coronal mass ejections, high-speed solar wind, and solar energetic particles. Solar flares impact Earth only when they occur on the side of the sun facing Earth. Because flares are made of photons, they travel out directly from the flare site, so if we can see the flare, we can be impacted by it.
Coronal mass ejections, also called CMEs, are large clouds of plasma and magnetic field that erupt from the sun. These clouds can erupt in any direction, and then continue on in that direction, plowing right through the solar wind. Only when the cloud is aimed at Earth will the CME hit Earth and therefore cause impacts. High-speed solar wind streams come from areas on the sun known as coronal holes. These holes can form anywhere on the sun and usually, only when they are closer to the solar equator, do the winds they produce impact Earth.
Solar energetic particles are high-energy charged particles, primarily thought to be released by shocks formed at the front of coronal mass ejections and solar flares. When a CME cloud plows through the solar wind, high velocity solar energetic particles can be produced and because they are charged, they must follow the magnetic field lines that pervade the space between the Sun and the Earth. Therefore, only the charged particles that follow magnetic field lines that intersect the Earth will result in impacts.

• What are coronal holes?

• What is a geomagnetic storm?

• What is a sunspot?

• What is solar maximum and solar minimum?

• What is the solar cycle?

• Do space weather effects / solar storms affect Earth?

• What are some real-world examples of space weather impacts?

• In what ways will the Aditya L1 Mission contribute to our understanding of the Sun and its phenomena?

• What are the other solar missions by different countries?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Solar Storm and Space Weather

📍The Sun up close: Aditya-L1 mission and its objectives

THE IDEAS PAGE

The sickness in the air

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-Rajib Dasgupta Writes: Delhi’s Air Quality Index (AQI) is touching 500. The prevailing air pollution crisis in India in general and the National Capital Region (NCR) in particular is a concern for everyone — and AQI has firmly established itself in the household vocabulary. A range of restrictions including the odd-even scheme have been enforced in Delhi by the local administration while the Bombay High Court has taken suo motu cognisance of the poor air quality in Mumbai.

• “Recognising a growing global concern about deteriorating air pollution, the World Health Assembly Resolution 68.8, ‘Health and the environment: Addressing the health impact of air pollution’, was endorsed by 194 member states in 2015”-Can you recall this?

• ‘An estimated eight million deaths globally were attributed by the WHO to air pollution’-Analyse the magnitude of Air pollution on Human life

• Do You Know-Delhi was flagged as the most polluted city with an annual mean of fine particulate matter of 153 μg/m3 compared to 17 μg/m3 in Paris and 8 μg/m3 in Toronto. India featured among the top 15 countries with the highest annual mean of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, and Pakistan also figured in this list, highlighting the vulnerability in this part of the world.
Measurement of AQI is done by air monitors and air pollutant concentration over a specified averaging period. The results are then grouped into ranges; each range is assigned a descriptor, a colour code, and a standardised public health advisory. Multiple pollutants may be measured at a monitoring site, in which case the biggest AQI value in one hour on average is reported for that location. The US-EPA AQI is divided into six categories — 0-50 (green) represents “good” air quality and 301 and higher (maroon) represents “hazardous”. India’s National Air Quality Index Standard (NAQI) has a range of six categories with “severe” representing values of 430 and above. PM2.5 levels in Delhi are about 15 times higher than the prescribed WHO guidelines.

• What is National Clean Air Programme (NCAP)?

• What is the target of National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) in 2024?

• Do You Know-India’s National Clean Air Programme (NCAP) was launched in 2019 to achieve a 20-30 per cent reduction in concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 by 2024 (base year, 2017). It encompasses a wide range of specific interventions including reduction of vehicular pollution through regulatory norms, promotion of public transport and improvements in roads and bridges; tackling industrial emissions; notification of eight waste management rules; monitoring of ambient air quality; and prevention and control of paddy stubble burning.

• “Associated with oxidative stress and inflammation in human cells, air pollution plays a key role in the genesis of chronic diseases and cancer”-Analyse

• What are the Berlin principles on One Health?

• Sustainable Development Goals and air pollution-Connect the dots

• What is the One Health concept?

• India and Berlin principles on One Health-Connect the dots

• What are the other reasons for Air pollution in Delhi?

• Why Delhi pollution is always in News?

• Know the Supreme Courts Judgments on Delhi Air Pollutions

• Know the National Green Tribunal and Various Decisions given by NGT like modification in National Clean Air Programme

• Air Quality Management in NCR Region-Role and Steps Taken so Far

• What is Graded Response Action Plan (GRAP)?

• What are the Steps taken By Central and Delhi Government to Curb Pollution like Car Rationing (Odd-Even Policy)

• Know the best International Practices to Curb Air Pollution in Urban Areas

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍PM 2.5, Sulphur Dioxide, and more: What are the pollutants in our air, and how they impact health

An important punctuation

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-C. Uday Bhaskar Writes: India will host the next 2+2 ministerial dialogue with the US tomorrow (November 9) wherein the Indian Defence and External Affairs ministers Rajnath Singh and S Jaishankar will receive their American counterparts Lloyd J Austin and Antony J Blinken.

• What you know about 2+2 talks between India and allies?

• What is the 2+2 ministerial dialogue?

• 2+2 ministerial dialogue and China-connect the dots

• Do You Know-The 2+2 dialogue is a format of meeting of the foreign and defence ministers of India and its allies on strategic and security issues. A 2+2 ministerial dialogue enables the partners to better understand and appreciate each other’s strategic concerns and sensitivities taking into account political factors on both sides, in order to build a stronger, more integrated strategic relationship in a rapidly changing global environment.
India has 2+2 dialogues with four key strategic partners: the US, Australia, Japan, and Russia. Besides Russia, the other three countries are also India’s partners in the Quad.
India held its first 2+2 dialogue with Russia in December last year, when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu visited India.
The first India-Japan talks in the 2+2 format were held between Jaishankar and Singh and their Japanese counterparts Foreign Affairs Minister Motegi Toshimitsu and Minister of Defense Kono Taro on November 30, 2019 in New Delhi.
The US is India’s oldest and most important 2+2 talks partner.
The first 2+2 dialogue between the two countries was held during the Trump Administration, when then Secretary of State Michael Pompeo and then Secretary of Defence James Mattis met the late Sushma Swaraj and then Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in New Delhi in September 2018.
The launch of the dialogue was seen as a “reflection of the shared commitment” by India and the US to provide “a positive, forward-looking vision for the India-US strategic partnership and to promote synergy in their diplomatic and security efforts”. The second and third editions of the 2+2 dialogues were held in Washington DC and New Delhi in 2019 and 2020 respectively.

• “Over the years, the strategic bilateral relationship with its partners, including the dialogues held in the 2+2 format, have produced tangible and far-reaching results for India”-Analyse

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Blinken and Austin to visit India next week for 2+2 meet

EXPRESS NETWORK

India had highest number of TB cases globally in 2022: WHO

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development

Main Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-India accounted for the highest number of tuberculosis (TB) cases in the world in 2022, representing a staggering 27 percent of the global burden, as revealed by the new World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Global TB report released on Tuesday.

• Health Sector in India-Pre and Post Pandemic

• Tuberculosis (TB) and India-Impact

• World Health Organization (WHO) 2023 Global TB report-key Highlights and who publishes?

• Know the term-BCG (Bacillus Calmette-Guerin)

• Health Sector in India-Pre and Post Pandemic

• What will be the global impact?

• For Your Information-Overall, 30 high burden TB countries accounted for 87 per cent of the world’s TB cases in 2022. Among the top eight high burden countries, Indonesia (10 per cent), China (7.1 per cent), the Philippines (7.0 per cent), Pakistan (5.7 per cent), Nigeria (4.5 per cent), Bangladesh (3.6 per cent), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (3.0 per cent) are included.
According to the report, India recorded 2.8 million (28.2 lakh) TB cases in 2022, with a case fatality ratio of 12 per cent. Officials stated that “The best estimate of the number of deaths in India from TB was 3,42,000 (3,31,000 among HIV-negative people and 11,000 among those with HIV).”
The report highlights that multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) remains a public health crisis, with 1.1 lakh cases recorded in India in 2022. Dr Tereza Kasaeva, Director of WHO’s Global TB Programme, pointed out a major global recovery in the number of people diagnosed with TB and treated in 2022, after two years of COVID-related disruptions.
“The increase is attributed to a good recovery in access to and the provision of health services in many countries. India, Indonesia, and the Philippines, which together accounted for over 60 per cent of the global reductions in the number of people newly diagnosed with TB in 2020 and 2021, all recovered to beyond pre-pandemic levels in 2022,” she said.
The report underscores a significant worldwide recovery in the scale-up of TB diagnosis and treatment services in 2022. It shows an encouraging trend starting to reverse the detrimental effects of COVID-19 disruptions on TB services.
Featuring data from 192 countries and areas, the report reveals that 7.5 million people were diagnosed with TB in 2022, marking the highest figure recorded since WHO began global TB monitoring in 1995. The TB incidence rate (new cases per 100,000 population per year) rose by 3.9 per cent between 2020 and 2022, reversing declines of about 2 per cent per year for most of the past two decades.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India’s TB problem and the right to treatment

THE WORLD

NATO formally suspends Cold War-era security treaty as Russia pulls out

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Main Examination: General Studies II: Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story-NATO on Tuesday announced the formal suspension of a key Cold War-era security treaty in response to Russia’s pull-out from the deal.

The alliance said its members who signed the treaty are now freezing their participation in the pact.

• What was the Treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe?

• What is the agreement on adaptation of the Treaty on conventional armed forces in Europe?

• Why Russia formally pulls out of Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe?

• For Your Information-Signed in 1990, just a year after the fall of the Berlin Wall, the CFE set constraints on conventional arms and equipment. Its purpose was to stop Cold War rivals from building up forces that could be used in a swift assault. The pact was unpopular at the time in Moscow, which had the upper hand in conventional weaponry.
NATO says Russia has not respected the terms of the treaty for many years, pointing to suspending participation in 2007 and halting active participation in 2015.
More than a year after its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Putin in May signed a decree denouncing the pact.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍The Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) Treaty and the Adapted CFE Treaty at a Glance

ECONOMY

Govt begins process of constituting Sixteenth FC

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Economic and Social Development-Sustainable Development, Poverty, Inclusion, Demographics, Social Sector Initiatives, etc.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Appointment to various Constitutional posts, powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- The government has started the process of constitution of the Sixteenth Finance Commission, appointing the officer on special duty for the advance cell on Monday. The Finance Commission, which mainly decides the tax sharing formula between Centre and states, is scheduled to be formed before the end of this year.

Terms of Reference and members are also expected to be announced soon after state elections. States have already given their suggestions for terms of reference.

• What is the Finance Commission?

• What are the functions of the Finance Commission?

• Who appoints the Finance Commission and what are the qualifications for Members?

• Article 280 of the Constitution says what?

• How are the recommendations of Finance Commission implemented?

• What is the tenure of the Fifteenth Finance Commission?

• Sixteenth Finance Commission-What you know about this?

• Do You Know-The Sixteenth Finance Commission will cover the five-year period beginning 2026-27, the report for which is expected to be taken up by the government at the time of presentation of Budget 2026-27.
The Finance Commission is constituted by the President under article 280 of the Constitution, mainly to give its recommendations on distribution of tax revenues between the Union and the States and amongst the states themselves. The Commission’s work involves redressing the vertical imbalances between the taxation powers and expenditure responsibilities of the Centre and the States respectively and equalisation of all public services across the states.
The 15th Finance Commission, chaired by NK Singh, had submitted two reports. The first report, consisting of recommendations for the financial year 2020-21, was tabled in Parliament in February 2020. The final report with recommendations for the 2021-26 period was tabled in Parliament on February 1, 2021. The share of states in the central taxes for the 2021-26 period was recommended to be 41 per cent same as that for 2020-21. This was less than the 42 per cent share recommended by the 14th Finance Commission for 2015-20 period, with the 1 per cent adjusted to factor in the new union territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.

• What are the changes in fiscal federalism in India subsequent to the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST)?

• “The 122nd Constitutional Amendment of 2016 giving the Union and states concurrent powers of indirect taxation has been the most far-reaching change from a fiscal standpoint, since the setting up of the First Finance Commission in 1951”-Analyse the statement

• “The 16th Finance Commission (SFC), due to be constituted soon, must be mandated to re-examine the tax-sharing principles in light of the altered landscape of fiscal federalism in India”-why?

• What do you understand by both vertical and horizontal sharing?

• What changes should the 16th Finance Commission implement?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Report of the 15th Finance Commission for 2021-26

EXPLAINED

How ignored landslide alert led to Subansiri running dry

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Indian and World Geography-Physical, Social, Economic Geography of India and the World.

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc., geographical features and their location-changes in critical geographical features (including water-bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- On October 27, the long delayed Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project on the border of Arunachal Pradesh and Assam suffered its latest setback after a large part of the hill on the left side of the dam collapsed into its reservoir. The deposits blocked the only functional diversion tunnel and stopped the flow of water downstream of the dam into the Subansiri river, a major tributary of the Brahmaputra.

Construction of the project, which when complete will be India’s largest, began in 2005, but suffered a long stoppage between December 2011 and September 2019 due to local opposition and major changes in the design of the dam.
After work resumed, the deadline for commissioning the first two of the project’s eight 250-MW units has been extended five times: to March 2021, August 2022, March 2023, June 2023, and now March 2024.

• How a dammed river flows?

• Map Work- Subansiri Lower Hydroelectric Project

• What happened at Subansiri?

• The ‘mistake’ NHPC committed-Know in detail

• The site’s history of landslides-Know the background

• What happens here onward?

• What Are the Landslide Prone States in India?

• What is Landslide?

• What causes Landslides?

• What are the types of landslides?

• The Geological Survey of India (GSI) and national landslide susceptibility mapping-connect the dots

• In April 2022, referring to a recent collapse of the project’s guard wall, a field inspection report by the CEA warned that “significantly higher flow predicted during monsoons would result in higher pressure” and “advised… that the adequacy of powerhouse protection wall’s strength” be “vetted by a specialised agency before the coming monsoons.”-what is the environmental impact of Subansiri Lower hydroelectric project?

• Do You Know-Conceived to be the largest hydropower project of the country, the 2,000 MW Lower Subansiri project has been repeatedly red-flagged by experts and activists for its weak sandstone base, shallow foundation, inadequate quake resistance, absence of flood-control capacity, downstream impact on ecology and livelihood etc. Observing that these safety issues could not be resolved despite numerous committees and that several modifications made to the original dam plan indicated serious problems with the project, the NGT in 2017 asked for yet another expert panel to consider the recommendations of all the previous panels as well as an alternative dam design.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Landslide hits Subansiri dam project; ‘Nothing to panic’, assures NHPC

📍Subansiri dam: Work on despite assurance to NGT that it won’t

📍Subansiri landslides: CEA sought safety audits; NHPC said not needed

India’s hypertension map

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Issues relating to development and management of Social Sector/Services relating to Health, Education, Human Resources.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What’s the ongoing story- There is a significant variation in the level of prevalence, diagnosis, treatment, and control of hypertension within Indian states, and even within districts in states, an analysis of the recent National Family Health Survey data published in the journal JAMA said.

The researchers said that the national mean values of hypertension “hide considerable” variation at the district level, and recommended “targeted, decentralised solutions.”

• What is hypertension?

• What does the study tell us about hypertension care in India?

• What are the primary triggers for hypertension in India?

• What are the red flags highlighted by the report?

• Why do doctors insist on screening and pills to control hypertension?

• Why is it important for a person with hypertension to start and continue treatment?

• What the report means for the young population?

• What WHO says about preventive protocols in India?

• How has the India Hypertension Control Initiative helped?

• What’s the impact of age, gender, and education?

• Why look at inter-state and inter-district variability?

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India’s first dist-level study on hypertension flags disparities in care

For any queries and feedback, contact priya.shukla@indianexpress.com
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