UPSC Key | Landslides, Dementia, Lithium reserves and more

🚨 The Indian Express UPSC Essentials brings to you the July edition of its monthly magazine. Click Here to read. Share your views and suggestions in the comment box or at manas.srivastava@indianexpress.com🚨

Front Page

Wayanad: 122, Counting

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-I, III: Geography, Disaster Management

What’s the ongoing story- The hilly areas of Meppadi in Kerala’s Wayanad district became the site of a calamity as massive landslides swept through several villages, killing at least 144. The tragedy struck past midnight — while the initial landslide took place around 1 am, another followed at 4.30 am — which meant most of the dead were buried in their sleep, with little chance to escape.

Prerequisites:

— What is a landslide?

— What is an eco-sensitive area?

— What are the reasons behind landslides?

Key takeaways: 

— Extremely heavy rainfall, a fragile ecology particularly vulnerable to landslides, and steadily increasing population pressures all combined to trigger multiple landslides in Wayanad district of Kerala.

— Wayanad district received more than 140 mm of rainfall in the 24 hours between the mornings of Monday and Tuesday, about five times more than what is expected, data from India Meteorological Department (IMD) showed.

— Heavy rains during the monsoon season trigger landslides in Kerala almost every year. The whole of western Kerala, which is a hilly terrain with sharp slopes, is susceptible to landslides.

— Nearly 17,000 sq km of area in Kerala, most of it on the western side of the Western Ghats, is mapped as landslide prone.

For Your Information:

— The K Kasturirangan-led high-level working group (HLWG) and a three-member expert committee formed by the Kerala government in 2013 had both recommended that this particular area be included in the larger eco-sensitive zone being demarcated in the state, but the recommendations have not yet been put into effect.

— The HLWG, which was formed to demarcate ecologically sensitive areas (ESA) in the entire Western Ghats region, had included 13 villages in the Wayanad district of Kerala in its recommendations.

— The ESAs are areas in which human activities, including construction and industries, are sought to be regulated because of the fragile ecology and special provisions are invoked to protect the environment.

— The first draft notification on Western Ghats that had demarcated over 57,000 sq km across Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Goa, Maharashtra and Goa in 2013 is yet to be notified as consensus has been elusive.

Points to Ponder: 

— Why are western ghats vulnerable to landslides?

— What are the mitigation measures against landslides?

— What are the landslide-prone areas in India?

Post Read Question:

Prelims

(1). ‘Gadgil Committee Report’ and ‘Kasturirangan Committee Report’, sometimes seen in the news, are related to (UPSC CSE 2016)

(a) constitutional reforms

(b) Ganga Action Plan

(c) linking of rivers

(d) protection of Western Ghats

Mains

Differentiate the causes of landslides in the Himalayan region and Western Ghats. (UPSC CSE 2021)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Wayanad landslides: 2 panels put site in eco-sensitive zone 10 yrs ago, no notification

Behind the Wayanad landslides: Extremely heavy rain, fragile ecology, a steady rise in population

Express Network

Dementia has 2 new risk factors- untreated vision loss, high cholesterol: Lancet study

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General Science

Mains Examination: GS-III: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life.

What’s the ongoing story- Now you have another reason to watch your cholesterol. A new Lancet Commission report has flagged it along with untreated vision loss as significant new risk factors for dementia, a condition characterised by memory problems and disruptions in thinking and social skills. Its most prevalent form is Alzheimer’s Disease, which accounts for about 60-70 per cent of dementia cases.

Prerequisites:

— What is dementia?

— Read about the cholesterol and its types.

Key takeaways: 

— In fact, both these factors have been found to be a trigger for nine per cent of all dementia cases. Seven per cent of cases can be linked to high levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL), commonly known as bad cholesterol, which develops midlife around age 40. Two per cent of dementia cases are linked to untreated vision loss in later life.

— The report, authored by 27 leading dementia experts, highlights the crucial importance of managing cholesterol levels and addressing vision issues to potentially reduce the risk of developing dementia.

— The World Health Organization (WHO) ranks dementia as the seventh leading cause of death globally.

— Back in 2020, the Lancet Commission had identified 12 risk factors for dementia: lower levels of education, hearing impairment, high blood pressure, smoking, obesity, depression, physical inactivity, diabetes, excessive alcohol consumption, traumatic brain injury [TBI], air pollution and social isolation.

— Researchers explain that the link between bad cholesterol and dementia stems from excess cholesterol raising stroke risk and triggering the buildup of two proteins —amyloid β and tau — that disrupt functioning of brain cells.

— High levels of LDL cholesterol have been associated with greater amyloid burden in the brain.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the difference between Alzheimer’s disease and dementia?

— What initiatives have been taken at the national and international levels to address the challenge of increasing dementia cases?

Post Read Question:

The approval of Donanemab, a new Alzheimer’s disease treatment, has stirred arguments over its efficacy and safety. Discuss.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Dementia cases set to triple by 2050 unless countries address risk factors: Lancet study

The Ideas Page

Not somebody else’s war

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international significance

Mains Examination: GS-II: International Relations

What’s the ongoing story- C. Raja Mohan writes: Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s likely visit to Ukraine next month should mark a reconfiguration of India’s approach to European security. Although political rivalries among European powers have shaped the evolution of modern India and Asia, European geopolitics has fallen off India’s strategic radar in recent decades.

Prerequisites:

— Overview of the Russia-Ukraine War

— Why NATO was formed?

Key takeaways: 

— Europe’s problem of dealing with a changing America is complicated by deep internal divisions on how to deal with the Russian question. Two historically neutral countries — Finland and Sweden — have joined NATO amid their growing sense of threat from Russia. But two NATO members — Hungary and Turkey—have sought to pursue their own paths to dealing with the war in Ukraine.

— Many European political parties on both the left and right are in favour of a compromise with Moscow.

— To make matters worse, Europe is torn between criticising China for its material support of the Russian invasion of Ukraine and pleading with Beijing to restrain Moscow. Put simply, Europe is facing hard geopolitical dilemmas.

— Answers to Europe’s problem lie in building its own defence capacity; but that can only be done over the longer term, assuming there is unity and seriousness of purpose.

— The return of war to Europe has created multiple economic challenges for India. It has also complicated India’s security challenges. If its relationship with Russia has come under the political scanner in the West, Beijing’s growing ties with Moscow and its strategic forays into Europe have introduced new uncertainty into India’s security calculus.

— India, however, has not dismissed the Ukraine conflict as somebody else’s war in a distant land. Although it has not been at the forefront of the global diplomacy on Ukraine, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Moscow and his planned trip to Kyiv next month provide an opportunity to intensify India’s peace diplomacy in Ukraine.

— The conflict in Europe is unlikely to end with a ceasefire in Ukraine. It will be quite a while until a new European security order is constructed. Asian powers like China, Japan and South Korea are now actively involved with European security. India has even higher stakes in European geopolitics.

For Your Information:

— Three weeks after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, India joined the US, Australia and Japan in the Quad grouping Monday to express its “deepest concern” over the “war raging in Ukraine”, and flagged “respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity” — a clear reference to Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Points to Ponder: 

— Why the Russia-Ukraine war has impacted the geopolitics of the World?

— How the Russia-Ukraine war has impacted India’s relationship with the West?

— What are the security concerns for Europe?

Post Read Question:

(2). Which of the following nations joined NATO as the 32nd member country?

(a) Sweden

(b) Norway

(c) Finland

(d) Ukraine

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Tightrope from Moscow to Tokyo: Delhi joins Quad on Ukraine war

The not young

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international significance

Mains Examination: GS-II, III: Social issues, Economy

What’s the ongoing story- Rama V Baru writes: Much of the public discourse on Indian demographics focuses on the youth bulge and the challenge of utilising the “demographic dividend”. What does not get equal attention is that India is also ageing, given rising life expectancy, which has implications for social security for older persons. It is estimated that the proportion of older persons in the total population will increase from 8.6 percent in 2011 to 20.8 percent in 2050. Inter-state variations are reflected in the age structure of the population, including the ageing experience.

Prerequisites:

— What is demographic dividend?

— What is the status of the elderly population in India?

Key takeaways: 

— Most states in the southern region and select northern states such as Himachal Pradesh and Punjab reported a higher share of elderly population than the national average in 2021. This gap is expected to widen by 2036.

— A significant feature of East and South Asian societies is the rapidity of ageing compared to the experience of Western countries. The magnitude of the increase in the proportion of older persons witnessed over a hundred years in the West has occurred in a mere 20-30 years in South and East Asia.

— The rapidity of this movement in middle and low-middle-income countries is especially challenging given the inadequate social protection for the elderly, including pensions, access to health and social-care services.

— The needs of older persons do not have a similar level of visibility or policy priority in India. Unlike the East and South East Asian countries, India does not have a universal public pension scheme, health insurance or social-care provisioning, with some health insurance and social welfare schemes targeted only at older persons below the poverty line.

— There is a need to understand older persons’ felt needs from the demand side of the equation. Based on this, one would have to assess the supply side in terms of social protection, insurance schemes, and health and social-care institutions.

— According to the Longitudinal Ageing Survey in India (LASI), those above 60 years suffer from multiple morbidities due to non-communicable diseases that include diabetes, hypertension and cardiovascular conditions…

— The Helpage India Report 2024, ‘Ageing in India: Exploring Preparedness and Response to Care Challenges’, carried out across 10 states and 20 cities, highlights the gaps in access to financial security, health and social care. The cross-sectional survey covered Tier I and Tier II cities. Its findings highlight the poor coverage of social pensions, which were largely skewed to the middle classes in government service.

— At this stage, the elderly require both physical and emotional support that is mostly provided by family members. Given the changes in family structure in urban areas, the stress of caregiving falls on women in the household. In households where adult children have migrated for work, older persons often live on their own.

— Public policy must unpackage the multiple axes of inequalities in access to financial security, health and social care of older persons. As India becomes an ageing society there are significant gaps in access to pensions, health services and social care for older persons that need to be addressed.

For Your Information:

— The number of persons above 60 years is set to more than double from 100 million in 2011 to 230 million in 2036, making up nearly 15 per cent of the total population. This is projected to further rise to 319 million by 2050, nearly one-fifth of the total population.

— Households with smaller families and a growing number of older people, who may suffer from chronic illnesses, call for a reset of the health and social care system. Care for seniors at home is a growing concern as it oscillates between social care and health care, often blurring lines between the two. The changing family structure is paving the way for external assistance in caring for older people at home.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the challenges faced by the older population?

— What are the constitutional provisions for the welfare of elderly people?

— What is the recent initiative taken by the government for the welfare of the elderly population?

(Thought Process: NITI Aayog released a position paper titled “Senior Care Reforms in India: Reimagining the Senior Care Paradigm” on 16th February 2024.)

Post Read Question:

The performance of welfare schemes that are implemented for vulnerable sections is not so effective due to the absence of their awareness and active involvement at all stages of the policy process – Discuss. (UPSC CSE 2019)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

How to care for an ageing population

Economy

Index derivatives: Sebi proposes measures to curb speculative trading 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance

Mains Examination: GS-III: Economy

What’s the ongoing story- Markets regulator, the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), on Tuesday proposed a series of short-term measures to curb speculative trading in index derivatives (futures & options), including restricting multiple option contract expires, raising the size of options contracts and intraday monitoring of position limits.

Prerequisites:

— What is speculative trading?

— What is the role of SEBI?

— What is futures and options (F&O) trading?

Key takeaways: 

— The Sebi’s consultation paper comes days after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Union Budget for 2024-25, proposed to double the Securities Transaction Tax (STT) on the futures & options (F&O) segment of securities effective October 1, 2024 to check the exponential rise in trading volume in the derivative segment.

— The paper noted that in 2023-24, 92.50 lakh unique individuals and proprietorship firms traded in index derivatives segment of NSE and cumulatively incurred a trading loss of Rs 51,689 crore.

— In order to enhance investor protection and promote market stability in derivative markets, the consultation paper proposed that the weekly options contracts should be provided on a single benchmark index of an exchange.

For Your Information:

— The worries for policymakers are twin-pronged: (i) the most traded equity-index options in India are risky short-dated contracts

(ii) retail investors now make up over 35 percent of options trades, undeterred by the fact that 9 out of 10 individual traders in the equity futures and options (F&O) segment are recorded to have incurred losses.

—  Index options, for instance, are generally used to wager bets on the future direction of a benchmark index, such as the NSE, for a small fee. Equity-index options give the holder the right to buy an index at a specified price, called the strike price, when the contract expires at a future data.

Points to Ponder: 

— What are the components and structure of the Capital market?

— What is the role of SEBI in regulating stock exchanges in India?

— Why is the government trying to curb speculative trading in index derivatives (futures & options)?

Post Read Question:

(3). With reference to the expenditure made by an organisation or a company, which of the following statements is/are correct? (UPSC CSE 2022)

1. Acquiring new technology is capital expenditure.

2. Debt financing is considered capital expenditure, while equity financing is considered revenue expenditure.

Select the correct answer using the code given below:

(a) 1 only

(b) 2 only

(c) Both 1 and 2

(d) Neither 1 nor 2

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Equity options boom: Retail frenzy a growing concern

Explained

No buyers for J&K’s lithium 

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national importance and economic development

Mains Examination: GS-II, GS-III: Government policies and interventions, Economy, Science and Technology

What’s the ongoing story- The Ministry of Mines was forced to scrap the auction for the lithium block in Jammu and Kashmir’s (J&K’s) Reasi district for the second time, following weak investor response.

Prerequisites:

— What is lithium?

— What is the significance of lithium?

— Map work: Check the top 5 lithium-producing countries worldwide and sites in India where lithium blocks have been found. (Refer Atlas)

Key takeaways: 

— This comes nearly 18 months after then Mines Secretary Vivek Bharadwaj announced the discovery of an inferred deposit of 5.9 million tonnes of lithium ore, pitched as among the largest deposits in the world, in Reasi last February.

— Mining industry experts told The Indian Express that difficulties around extracting and processing lithium from hard rock pegmatite deposits — like the ones found in Reasi — combined with underdeveloped mineral reporting standards used in tender documents played a significant role in deterring investors.

— According to experts, India’s current resource classification rules largely based on the United Nations Framework Classification for Resources (UNFC) do not provide sufficient information to determine the economic viability of mining a mineral block.

— Clarity on the economic viability of mining lithium is especially important as the extraction process is expensive, and with global lithium prices falling significantly over the past few months, miners are increasingly eager to maintain their margins.

— Most mining companies, stock exchanges, and regulatory bodies across the world adhere to the Committee for Mineral Reserves International Reporting Standards (CRIRSCO) template, instead of the UNFC one, which requires the reporting of economically viable reserves with high geological confidence confirmed through studies to at least a pre-feasibility level.

— Mining experts say that to attract private investment in the sector, India should adopt CRIRSCO-aligned internationally-compliant mineral reporting standards.

— National Committee for Reporting Mineral Resources and Reserves in India (NACRI) has developed and maintained the Indian Mineral Industry Code (IMIC) since 2019, which CRIRSCO recognises as a compliant code.

For Your Information:

— Lithium is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal, which is a vital ingredient of rechargeable lithium-ion batteries that power electric vehicles, laptops, and mobile phones. India currently imports all the lithium it needs.

— Last month, the Mines Ministry successfully auctioned off India’s first lithium block in Chhattisgarh’s Korba district. The bid was won by Kolkata-based Maiki South Mining Pvt Ltd on June 24 for an auction premium (a percentage additional charge on the hammer price) of 76.05%.

Points to Ponder: 

— How do underdeveloped mineral reporting standards in India hinder direct investment in the mining sector?

— What is the status of lithium deposits in India?

— What measures should be taken to boost private investment in lithium exploration?

Post Read Question:

(4) Regarding Lithium, consider the following statements:

1. The lithium Triangle comprises Argentina along with Brazil and Ecuador.

2. India and Argentina have signed for the first ever lithium exploration and mining project.

3. India is the third highest producer of lithium.

How many of the statements given above are correct?

(a) Only one

(b) Only two

(c) All three

(d) None

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

Lithium ‘inferred’ in J&K — how significant is this find, what next?

Behind Leh flight cancellations: High temperature low air density

UPSC Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international significance

Mains Examination: GS-III: Environment

What’s the ongoing story- Sizzling day-time temperatures in Leh, Ladakh, led to many flight cancellations on Sunday and Monday. While the mercury peaked at 33.5 degree Celsius on Sunday, it touched 31.8 degree Celsius on Monday (July 29).

Prerequisites:

— What is global warming?

— What is the impact of global warming?

Key takeaways: 

— Aircraft wings are shaped such that their top is slightly more curved than the bottom. So when an aircraft begins to move, the air over the top of the wings moves faster than that under the bottom.

— This faster-moving air then creates a lower pressure above the wing (as per Bernoulli’s principle) , when compared to the pressure under it. This difference in the pressure generates a force (called lift) underneath the wings that helps the aircraft take off.

— Higher temperatures expand the air, making it less dense or thinner. In other words, they create more space between the air molecules which means that fewer molecules are available underneath the aircraft’s wings to create enough lift to push the plane into the sky.

— Thin air also affects the performance of an aircraft’s engine. For instance, the combustion that creates an engine’s power is severely impacted as there are fewer molecules of oxygen to mix with the fuel.

— The extreme heat which is affecting take-offs and landing of aircraft is a consequence of global warming. The global average temperature has increased by at least 1.1 degree Celsius since 1880. In India, annual mean temperatures have risen by about 0.7 degree Celsius compared to 1900 levels.

— The study revealed that with a warming of 0.75 degree Celsius per decade since the 1970s, the maximum take-off weight for Airbus A320 was reduced by 127 kg each year, roughly equivalent to the weight of one passenger and their suitcase.

— As a result, in the short term, airports will need to schedule flights in cooler times, increase the runway lengths, and decrease the take-off weight to deal with climate change-induced disruptions.

For Your Information:

— The world GDP would be 37 per cent higher today had no global warming occurred between 1960 and 2019, says a new working paper by economists at the US’s National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

—  This follows another research paper, published last month in the journal Nature, which concluded that average incomes will fall by almost a fifth in the next 26 years compared to what they would have been without climate change.

— A new report of the UN Convention on Combating Desertification has flagged the fallouts of climate change on rangelands — these include desert shrublands, mountain pastures, tundra and plateaus. More than 50 per cent of these ecosystems have degraded, according to the report.

Points to Ponder: 

— What is the economic cost of global warming?

— How does global warming impact the aviation industry?

— What are the initiatives taken at the national and global levels to fight climate change?

Post Read Question:

Discuss global warming and mention its effects on the global climate. Explain the control measures to bring down the level of greenhouse gases which cause global warming, in light of the Kyoto Protocol, 1997. (UPSC CSE 2022)

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

The growing cost of climate change

Subscribe to our UPSC newsletter and stay updated with the news cues from the past week.

Stay updated with the latest UPSC articles by joining our Telegram channel – Indian Express UPSC Hub, and follow us on Instagram and X.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJLhPd8bUaQ?si=KmaTSDkc_ZiRUfp4