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Water on Asteroid Bennu

Recent, observations by NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer) spacecraft has...

22 Mar 2019 News Analysis
UN World Happiness Report- 2019

The Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations released the World Happiness Report on March 20, which was designated as the...

22 Mar 2019 News Analysis
Important Facts For Prelims (22nd March 2019)

Super Worm Equinox Moon The last supermoon of the year has coincided with the Spring Equinox. The phenomenon is generally known as ‘Super...

22 Mar 2019 News Analysis
Electric Vehicles (EVs)

Why in News Recently Union Cabinet approved setting up of a ‘National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage' to promote...

22 Mar 2019 Paper 3
On The Learning Curve

(This editorial is based on the article 'On The Learning Curve' which appeared in ‘The Hindu’ on 20th March, 2019. The article talks...

20 Mar 2019 News Editorials
Living Planet Report 2018: Aiming Higher by WWF

Chapter 1- Why Biodiversity matters? The importance of nature in our lives Humans have evolved, grown and thrived, in nature. Modern human...

20 Mar 2019 Summary of Important Reports
Aurora Supercomputer

The United States has decided to build the fastest supercomputer. The supercomputer is named as Aurora. About Aurora It is scheduled to be...

20 Mar 2019 News Analysis
Important Facts For Prelims (20th March 2019)

Ind-Indo CORPAT 2019 The opening ceremony of 33rd Edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (Ind-Indo Corpat) took place at Port Blair,...

20 Mar 2019 News Analysis
International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

Recently an International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) was held in New Delhi. The two-day workshop was organised by the...

20 Mar 2019 News Analysis
Cloud Over Solar Sector

(This editorial is based on the article 'Cloud Over Solar Sector' which appeared in 'The Times of India' on 19th March, 2019. The article talks...

19 Mar 2019 News Editorials
Important Facts For Prelims (19th March 2019)

Vaquita Porpoise Recently a dead Vaquita Porpoise was found in a fishnet off the coast of Mexico. It is critically endangered (IUCN) marine animal...

19 Mar 2019 News Analysis
Solar Tsunami Can Trigger the Sunspot Cycle

The scientists have found that solar tsunamis are responsible for triggering an 11-year cycle of sunspots. It is believed that the “solar...

19 Mar 2019 News Analysis
Hayabusa 2

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) has decided to make a crater on asteroid 1999 JU3 (Ryugu) to collect underground samples. This is part...

19 Mar 2019 News Analysis
ICAI & NFRA

Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) is the national professional accounting...

19 Mar 2019 National Institutions
Septic Tanks Meet Norms: MoDWS

Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS) has said that Septic tanks and single pits are safe sanitation technologies that meet the...

19 Mar 2019 News Analysis
Migration

In the latest terror attack at two mosques in New Zealand, 49 people have lost their lives and scores of people got injured. A majority of the...

19 Mar 2019 Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions
Current Affairs Crash Course - Prelims 2020

Current Affairs Crash Course Programme Register Now Download Drishti App to watch the Current Affairs Crash Course demo video -...

18 Mar 2019 Prelims
A Model Policy for Women in the Police

(This editorial is based on the article ‘A Model Policy for Women in the Police’ which appeared in ‘’The...

18 Mar 2019 News Editorials
Migration in Bengal Delta

Recently an international study titled Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECMA) was published. The study found...

18 Mar 2019 News Analysis
New Hydro Policy

The government, under New Hydroelectricity Policy, has approved ‘renewable energy status’ for large hydel projects. Earlier, only...

18 Mar 2019 News Analysis

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			'title' => 'Water on Asteroid Bennu',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recent, observations by <strong>NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer)&nbsp;</strong>spacecraft has found that the asteroid Bennu has lots of accessible water.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>OSIRIS-REx mission had arrived at asteroid Bennu after a two-year journey in December 2018.</li>
<li>OSIRIS-REx was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 8, 2016.</li>
<li>The OSIRIS-REx mission is not the first to ever visit an asteroid and attempt a sample return &mdash; Japan has done<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hayabusa-2-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(Hayabusa Mission)</a> it before and Europe (Rosetta Mission) has managed to land on a comet.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Rosetta Mission</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Rosetta Mission was launched by the European Space Agency in 2004 to explore&nbsp;Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and to study the nucleus of the comet and its environment.</li>
<li>Rosetta was the first mission ever to orbit a comet&rsquo;s nucleus and land a probe on its surface. It was also the first spacecraft to fly alongside a comet as it head towards the inner Solar System</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Mission</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Mission <strong>aims to study asteroid Bennu, collect a sample and return it to Earth in 2023.</strong></li>
<li>The mission will spend 2.5 years, mapping its surface and studying its composition.</li>
<li>In mid-2020, scientists will direct Osiris-Rex to drop down to the asteroid and grab at least 60g of regolith, or "topsoil".</li>
<li>This will be packed away in a sterile capsule to be returned to earth in 2023.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Mission Objective</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The OSIRIS-REx name is an acronym of the mission objectives, which are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Origins:</strong> Return and analyze a pristine carbon-rich asteroid sample</li>
<li><strong>Spectral Interpretation:</strong> Provide ground truth or direct observations for telescopic data of the entire asteroid population</li>
<li><strong>Resource Identification:</strong> Map the chemistry and mineralogy of a primitive carbon-rich asteroid</li>
<li><strong>Security:</strong> Measure the effect of sunlight on the orbit of a small asteroid, known as the Yarkovsky effect. This effect is the slight push created when the asteroid absorbs sunlight and re-emits that energy as heat, could change the trajectory of asteroids.</li>
<li><strong>Regolith Explorer:</strong> Document the regolith (layer of loose, outer material) at the sampling site at scales down to the sub-centimeter</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance of Mission</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Origins of the Solar System</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In order to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system.</li>
<li>As Earth formed, and afterward, objects like Bennu may have delivered the molecules of carbon and water to our planet. By studying Bennu, we can better understand how life originated on earth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Protecting Earth</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Bennu is one of the most potentially hazardous asteroids currently known to Earth. Bennu has a 1‐in‐2,700 chance of impacting earth during one of its close approaches to Earth in the late 22nd century.</li>
<li>Close observations by OSIRIS-REx will help get more information about Bennu's journey and help scientists working on safeguarding our planet against hazardous asteroids.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mining, LaunchPad, and Future Explorations</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The recent discovery of water will help to explore the possibility of using asteroids as refueling stations for spacecraft on the way to deeper destinations in space.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>As water can be split into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen which can be used as fuel in rockets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Water could also be harvested for providing water to astronauts.</li>
<li>Asteroids contain a range of valuable minerals, there is a possibility of mining asteroids in the future.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>About Bennu</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The asteroid was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey on September 11, 1999.</li>
<li>It was originally named as 1999 RQ36.</li>
<li>The name Bennu comes from an Egyptian deity related to the Sun, often depicted as a gray heron.</li>
<li>Bennu is a 500-meter wide asteroid in an elliptical orbit around the sun. It is a carbonaceous asteroid composition including a large amount of carbon.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Why Bennu?</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>It's close to Earth</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Bennu&rsquo;s orbit is close in proximity to Earth's, even crossing it. The asteroid makes its closest approach to Earth every 6 years.</li>
<li>It also circles the Sun nearly in the same plane as Earth, which makes it simple to launch the spacecraft out of Earth's plane and into Bennu's plane.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>It's the right size</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Small asteroids, with diameters of 200 meters or less, spin very fast. This rapid spinning makes it difficult for a spacecraft to match an asteroid's velocity and collect samples.</li>
<li>Bennu's size makes it approachable and makes landing possible.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		],
		(int) 1 => [
			'title' => 'UN World Happiness Report- 2019',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The<strong> Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations</strong> released the <strong>World Happiness Report on March 20</strong>, which was designated as the <strong>World Happiness Day by the UN General Assembly in 2012.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is UN&rsquo;s <strong>seventh annual World Happiness Report</strong>, which ranks the world&rsquo;s 156 countries on<strong> &ldquo;how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>The focus of report was- "<strong>Happiness and Community: how happiness has been changing over the past dozen years, and how information technology, governance and social norms influence communities"</strong></li>
<li>The report ranks countries on <strong>six key variables</strong> that support well-being:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Income,</li>
<li>Freedom to make life choices,</li>
<li>Trust,</li>
<li>Healthy life expectancy,</li>
<li>Social support and</li>
<li>Generosity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The happiness study ranks the countries of the world on the basis of<strong> questions from the Gallup World Poll.</strong> The results are then correlated with other factors, including GDP and social security.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The overall world happiness has<strong> fallen over the past few years,</strong> which has mostly been fuelled by a sustained drop in India, which came in <strong>140<sup>th</sup> place this year (2019)</strong> compared with <strong>133<sup>rd</sup> in 2018.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There has been an <strong>increase in negative emotions, including worry, sadness and anger.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India featured in the five countries that had the<strong> largest drop since 2008</strong> in the index, along with Yemen, Syria, Botswana and Venezuela.</li>
<li>The list is <strong>topped by Finland for the second year in a row</strong> followed by<strong> Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands.</strong></li>
<li>Among India's neighbouring countries, <strong>Pakistan is ranked 67<sup>th</sup>, Bangladesh 125th, Bhutan 95<sup>th</sup>, Sri Lanka 130<sup>th</sup> and China is placed at 93<sup>rd</sup>.</strong></li>
<li>People in war-torn <strong>South Sudan are the most unhappy</strong> with their lives, followed by <strong>Central African Republic (155), Afghanistan (154), Tanzania (153) and Rwanda (152).</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN),<strong> launched in 2012</strong>, mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical problem solving for the<a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-indias-sustainable-development-goals" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <strong>Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</strong> </a>and the <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/cop24" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Paris Climate Agreement.</strong></a></li>
<li>It was established under the auspices of the <strong>United Nations Secretary-General.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>SDSN and the Bertelsmann Stiftung</strong> have been publishing the annual<strong> SDG Index &amp; Dashboards Global Report since 2016.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		],
		(int) 2 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (22nd March 2019)',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Super Worm Equinox Moon</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> last supermoon of the year has coincided with the Spring Equinox.</strong> The phenomenon is generally known as &lsquo;Super Worm Equinox Moon&rsquo;.</li>
<li><strong>The full moon of the March is the third supermoon of the year,</strong> following a <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-21st-january-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">super blood wolf moon</a> on January 21<sup>st</sup> and a super snow moon on February 19<sup>th</sup>.</li>
<li><strong>The full moon is also known as the worm moon</strong> in some parts of the world. It is called so because, in cold climates, the ground begins to warm up at this point and earthworms appear.</li>
<li>When the moon is at its closest point to the earth, it is called &lsquo;perigee&rsquo; and when a full moon coincides with a perigee, it is called Supermoon.</li>
<li>The<strong> Equinox is the moment</strong> when the <strong>length of day and night become equal</strong> and the <strong>sun&rsquo;s rays fall directly on the earth&rsquo;s equator.</strong> The phenomenon happens <strong>twice a year&ndash; once as autumn equinox in September and the other in March as spring equinox or vernal equinox.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>LightSail2</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>LightSail 2</strong> is a project to demonstrate controlled solar sailing using a miniature CubeSat satellite.</li>
<li>It will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US in April 2019.</li>
<li>LightSail 2 is the<strong> second of three satellites</strong> built to demonstrate the <strong>feasibility of powering a spacecraft using solar radiation.</strong></li>
<li>This mission is designed to see if LightSail can move into higher orbits around the Earth using <strong>only photons from the sun to push it along.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Solar Sailing</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar sails (also called light sails or photon sails) are a proposed method of spacecraft propulsion using radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large mirrors.</li>
</ul>
<h3><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337435_image49.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337435_image49.png" width="458" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></h3>
</div>
<h3>Fall Armyworms</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>&lsquo;Fall armyworms&rsquo;</strong> are <strong>native to the Americas</strong> but they have been moving eastwards since 2016, sweeping across Africa, where they caused $1-3 billion in damage, before arriving in Asia.</li>
<li>The flying insects<strong> arrived in India</strong> in July and have since spread to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and China's Yunnan province.</li>
<li>Farming in several Asian countries is under threat from a type of crop-damaging insects that have munched their way from the Americas and across Africa</li>
<li>They <strong>feed mostly on maize, for which China is the world's second-largest producer,</strong> and can feed on several species of crops, including rice and sugarcane.</li>
<li>FAO meeting in Bangkok with officials from affected countries and experts for discussing ways to limit armyworm infestations amid a <strong>&ldquo;growing sense of alarm&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>FAO is working with local authorities and training farmers to manage the pests by crushing egg masses and using biopesticides.</li>
<li>Chemical pesticides are an option but should be carefully considered due to environmental and health damages.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Food and Agriculture Organization is an <strong>agency of the United Nations</strong> that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.</li>
<li>FAO is also a source of knowledge and information and helps developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.</li>
<li><strong>Formation: 16 October 1945, in Quebec City, Canada</strong></li>
<li><strong>Headquarters: Rome, Italy</strong></li>
<li>Every year, <strong>World Food Day (Theme for 2018- Zero Hunger) is celebrated on October 16</strong> to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of United Nations in the year 1945.</li>
<li>The <strong>Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-2) also aims to &ldquo;End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture&rdquo; by 2030.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
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		],
		(int) 3 => [
			'title' => 'Electric Vehicles (EVs)',
			'catname' => 'Paper 3',
			'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently Union Cabinet approved setting up of a <strong>&lsquo;National Mission on Transformative Mobility</strong> <strong>and Battery Storage'</strong> to promote clean, connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Electric Vehicles (EVs)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>An electric vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion.</li>
<li>An electric vehicle may be powered through self-contained battery, solar panels or an electric generator to convert fuel to electricity.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Need for EVs in India</h3>
<p><strong>Climate change</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Problem of rapid global temperature increase has created the need for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and the associated emissions.</li>
<li>India has committed to cutting its GHG emissions intensity by 33% to 35% percent below 2005 levels by 2030.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Rapid urbanization</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Economic development leads to rapid urbanization in emerging nations as rural populations move non-agricultural sectors in cities creating environmental problems.</li>
<li>According to a recent study by WHO, India is home to 14 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world. EVs will help in tackling this problem by reducing local concentrations of pollutants in cities.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Energy security</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India imports oil to cover over 80 percent of its transport fuel.</li>
<li>EVs can reduce dependence on imported crude oil promoting India&rsquo;s energy security.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Innovation </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It will encourage cutting edge technology in India through adoption, adaptation, and research and development.</li>
<li>EVs manufacturing capacity will promote global scale and competitiveness.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Employment</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Promotion of EVs will facilitate employment growth in a sun-rise sector.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Clean and Low carbon Energy</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The shift towards renewable energy sources has led to cost reduction from better electricity generating technologies. This has introduced the possibility of clean, low-carbon and inexpensive grids.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Cutting edge Battery Technology</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Advances in battery technology have led to higher energy densities, faster charging and reduced battery degradation from charging. Combined with the development of motors with higher rating and reliability, these improvements in battery chemistry have reduced costs and improved the performance and efficiency of electric vehicles.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges for EV Industry in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Lack of a stable policy for EV production:</strong> EV production is capital intensive sector requiring long term planning to break even and profit realization, uncertainty in government policies related to EV production discourages investment in the industry.</li>
<li><strong>Technological challenges:</strong> India is technologically deficient in the production of electronics that form the backbone of EV industry, such as batteries, semiconductors, controllers, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of associated infrastructural support:</strong> The lack of clarity over AC versus DC charging stations, grid stability and range anxiety (fear that battery will soon run out of power) are other factors that hinder the growth of EV industry.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of availability of materials for domestic production:</strong> Battery is single most important component of EVs. India does not have any known reserve of lithium and cobalt which are required for battery production. India is dependent on countries like Japan and China for the import of lithium-ion batteries.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of skilled workers:</strong> EVs have higher servicing costs and higher levels of skills is needed for servicing. India lacks dedicated training courses for such skill development.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Government Initiatives</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government has set a target of electric vehicles making up 30 % of new sales of cars and two-wheelers by 2030 from less than 1% today.</li>
<li>To build a sustainable EV ecosystem initiatives like &ndash; <strong>National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &amp;) Electric vehicles in India (FAME India)</strong> have been launched by India.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>NEMMP:</strong> It was launched in 2013 with an aim to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country. There is an ambitious target to achieve 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards.</li>
<li><strong>FAME:</strong> FAME India Scheme [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &amp;) Electric Vehicles in India] was launched in 2015 with the objective to support hybrid/electric vehicles market development and manufacturing ecosystem. The scheme has 4 focus areas i.e. <strong>Technology Development, Demand Creation, Pilot Projects and Charging Infrastructure</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Organization like Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Department of Heavy Industry, Automotive Research Association of India are devising design and manufacturing standards of EVs, Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSEs) &amp; charging infrastructure to smoothen the advent of in-house production of EVs.</li>
</ul>
<h3>FAME II</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Phase-II of FAME seeks to give a push to EVs in public transport and seeks to encourage adoption of EVs by way of <strong>market creation</strong> and <strong>demand aggregation</strong>.</li>
<li>It envisages the <strong>holistic growth of EV industry,</strong> including providing for charging infrastructure, research and development of EV technologies and push towards greater indigenization.</li>
<li><strong>Establishment of Charging stations</strong> are also proposed on major highways connecting major city clusters on both sides of the road at an interval of about 25 km each.</li>
<li>The scheme with total outlay of Rs 10,000 Crores over the period of three years will be implemented with effect from 1st April 2019.</li>
<li>FAME 2 will offer incentives to manufacturers, who invest in developing electric vehicles and its components, including lithium-ion batteries and electric motors.</li>
<li>The centre has asked states to frame their EV policy and provide additional fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to manufacturers and buyers.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To promote clean, connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.</li>
<li>The Mission will drive mobility solutions that will bring in significant benefits to the industry, economy and country.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Phased Manufacturing Programme </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Valid for 5 years till 2024 to support setting up of a few large-scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell-manufacturing Giga plants in India.</li>
<li>Creation of a PMP valid for 5 years till 2024 to <strong>localize production</strong> across the entire Electric Vehicles value chain.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Education curriculum and skill development plans should be upgraded to match the requirements of the sectors.</li>
<li>Stabilizing policy environment by working on tax incentives, non-fiscal incentives can address the uncertainty of demand helping the industry to achieve economies of scale.</li>
<li>EVs are rapidly growing sunrise sector which can give push to &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo;.</li>
<li>Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with countries rich in materials like Lithium, rare earth materials etc. to deal with lack of availability of these materials.</li>
<li>Establishing the right coordination among three pillars of EV industry i.e. urban planning, transportation and power sectors will assist in systematic adoption of EVs.</li>
<li>Affordable, accessible, inclusive and safe mobility solutions are primary strategic levers for rapid economic development and improving &lsquo;Ease of Living&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/paper3/electric-vehicles-evs'
		],
		(int) 4 => [
			'title' => 'On The Learning Curve',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border-bg">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/on-the-learning-curve/article26583825.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'On The Learning Curve'</a> which appeared in &lsquo;The Hindu&rsquo; on 20th March, 2019. The article talks about the challenges faced by the educational sector and the ways in which education outcomes can be changed in India.)</p>
</div>
<p>Among the lakhs of employees on the payrolls of State governments in India, the education department, unarguably, has the largest share of employees. Besides frontline service providers (teachers), there are a number of other officials and administrators who form an important part of the educational set-up.</p>
<p>However India even after the concerted efforts in the 70 years of independence has not been able to reap out the desired result in the educational field which is affected by institutional problems.</p>
<h3>The Challenges Affecting India&rsquo;s Education Dynamic</h3>
<p>The blatant politicisation of academia has resulted in universities becoming monoliths of political correctness instead of spaces where diverse ideas and genuine contestation can flourish.</p>
<p>Education transformation programmes by States run the risk of falling flat, as they are often unaccompanied by a single transformation change road map and all stakeholders are not taken into consideration while formulating a policy.</p>
<p>The marginalisation of merit has had its own set of consequences where quest for excellence has given way to catering to the lowest common denominator and has bred nepotism in the education sector.</p>
<p>Quality remains a huge challenge in higher education in India. Very few Indian institutions feature in the top 200 world rankings.</p>
<p>Bulk of the enrolment in higher education is handled by state universities and their affiliated colleges. However, these state universities receive very small amounts of grants in comparison. Nearly 65% of the University Grants Commission (UGC) budget is utilised by the central universities and their colleges while state universities and their affiliated colleges get only the remaining 35%.</p>
<p>Education sector suffers from shortage of resources in form of teachers; professors etc. According to UGC, out of the total sanctioned teaching posts, 35% professor posts, 46% associate professor posts and 26% assistant professor posts are vacant.</p>
<p>At present, there is no mechanism for ensuring the accountability and performance of professors in universities and colleges. This is unlike foreign universities where the performance of college faculty is evaluated by their peers and students.</p>
<p>The education sector also suffers from lack of employable skills in students of technical education, has also been observed. Outdated curriculum results in a mismatch between education and job market requirements, dampens students&rsquo; creativity and hampers the development of their analytical abilities.</p>
<p>Accreditation of higher educational institutions needs to be at the core of the regulatory arrangement in higher education. Further, quality assurance agencies should guarantee basic minimum standards of technical education to meet the industry demand for quality manpower. The National Board of Accreditation should act as a catalyst towards quality enhancement and quality assurance of higher technical education.</p>
<h3>The Path To Universal Education</h3>
<p>Any effort to introduce education reforms must ensure that the incentives of all stakeholders are aligned throughout the system to ensure their participation.</p>
<p>Inducing competition among administrative units helps invigorate key stakeholders to work in synchronisation in order to achieve intended outcomes. Competition also makes abstract goals such as &lsquo;learning outcomes&rsquo; more real by defining exact &lsquo;actionable&rsquo; metrics on which improvement is desired.</p>
<p>Political commitment to improving the quality of education backed by strong review and monitoring mechanisms can spur meaningful activity in States.</p>
<p>Most importantly, there should be constant focus on recognising and disseminating best practices of States, which not only act as a reward for well-performing local administrations but also provides impetus to other districts to adopt similar measures.</p>
<p>Most of the state universities suffer from lack of funding and remain in need of resources and therefore mobilisation of funds in state universities should be explored through other means such as endowments, contributions from industry, alumni, etc.</p>
<p>System of performance audit of professors based on the feedback given by their students and colleagues should be set up. Other inputs like research papers, publications by teachers should be added in the performance audit in due course of time.</p>
<h3>Novel Steps Towards Realising The Dream</h3>
<p><strong>Saksham Scheme</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The scheme is a novel step taken by Haryana government.</li>
<li>State officials nominate their block for the &lsquo;Saksham Ghoshna&rsquo; once they are reasonably confident that their block has achieved the 80% target &mdash; as a result of remedial programmes, teacher training and internal assessments.</li>
<li>Self-nomination is then followed by rigorous rounds of third party assessments to vet their claims.</li>
<li>If a block is found to be 'Saksham', the block officials are recognised by no less than the Chief Minister.</li>
<li>When all blocks in a district are declared as &lsquo;Saksham&rsquo;, the entire district is also accorded 'Saksham' status.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>'School Education Quality Index' (SEQI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NITI Ayog has created a state-level<strong> &lsquo;School Education Quality Index&rsquo; (SEQI),</strong> which seeks to make improvements in learning outcomes a focal point of governance.</li>
<li>It gives scores to States based on their educational performance and puts this data out in the public domain.</li>
<li>The ranking not only encourages competition among States but also rewards and motivates other States to consistently improve.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<p>States need to induce competition and give a boost to put all key actors in education in the driver&rsquo;s seat to improve their learning levels. Right incentive structures for stakeholders lead to administrative efficiency, which then improves the quality of service delivery.</p>
<p>Improvement in learning outcomes remains an immediate goal for India to fulfil its aspirations of playing a greater role in the global economy and a systemic transformation is the best solution towards achieving it.</p>',
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			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/on-the-learning-curve'
		],
		(int) 5 => [
			'title' => 'Living Planet Report 2018: Aiming Higher by WWF',
			'catname' => 'Summary of Important Reports',
			'desc' => '<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 1- Why Biodiversity matters?</h1>
<h3></h3>
<h3>The importance of nature in our lives</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Humans have evolved, grown and thrived, in nature. Modern human society needs the resources of nature to thrive. Perception that nature is &lsquo;nice to have&rsquo; and its protection is secondary to the more important tasks of increasing economic growth, creating jobs, enhancing the competitiveness of industry etc is inherently wrong.</li>
<li>However this perception is changing slowly, at global level companies and governments are now signaling their intention to adopt more integrated approaches.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Nature is of incalculable importance to our health, wealth, and security. </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Medical treatments have been inspired by wild species, from painkillers to treatments for heart conditions and from cancer cures to remedies for high blood pressure.</li>
<li>Being in natural areas improves our physical wellbeing, through encouraging outdoor exercise.</li>
<li>Our nutritional requirement rely one way or the other on natural system.</li>
<li>Nature is crucial in replenishing freshwater that underpins all the economic activity.</li>
<li>While it is sometimes easy to assume that water security is assured primarily via dams, reservoirs, treatment works and distribution networks, it is in the end nature that replenishes the freshwater that underpins all economic activity.</li>
<li>Nature will play an essential role in helping human societies cope with the inevitable consequences of rising global temperatures.</li>
<li>Wildlife is increasingly being used for <strong>bio-mimicry,</strong> engineers and designers use solutions honed by natural selection to meet challenges in the human world.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The importance of nature to the world&rsquo;s economies</h3>
<p>Nature is important as it supplies from raw material, water, food, medicines and energy, to the pollination of crops, formation of soils and protection from floods, storms and erosion.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The planet&rsquo;s natural systems provide a range of vital services that underpin production, trade, livelihoods and consumption in every country.</li>
<li>However nature should not only be looked as a supplier of raw materials but its social, cultural, spiritual and religious significance should also be recognized.</li>
<li>IPBES (intergovernmental science policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services) an organization established to assess the state of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides to society in 2018.</li>
<li>According to the several assessments by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), culture plays the central role in defining all links between people and nature.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The IPBES Conceptual Framework &ndash; which underpins all its assessments and syntheses &ndash; calls this much broader notion <strong>Nature&rsquo;s Contribution to People (NCP)</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>All our food, in the end, relies one way or another on natural systems, including the complex ecological relationships that enable soils to support plant growth.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>About 87% of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals 8, and crops that are partially pollinated by animals account for 35% of global food production 9.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Globally it is estimated that nature approximately provides services worth 25 trillion dollars annually.</li>
<li>In every region, biodiversity and nature&rsquo;s capacity to contribute to people is being degraded, reduced and lost due to a number of common pressures &ndash;
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>habitat stress</li>
<li>overexploitation and unsustainable use of natural resources</li>
<li>air, land and water pollution</li>
<li>increasing numbers and impact of invasive alien species</li>
<li>and climate change</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>changing planetary conditions are increasingly linked to major socio-economic disruptions.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/433drishti_ias_image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/433drishti_ias_image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>The Great Acceleration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Great Acceleration is the unique ongoing event with exploding human population and economic growth driving unprecedented planetary change through the increased demand for energy, land and water.</li>
<li>This human being-induced change is being seen as a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene.</li>
<li>There has been an exponential rise in health, knowledge and standard-of-living improvements but all this has come at a huge cost to the stability of the natural systems.</li>
<li>The impact of Great Acceleration now interferes profoundly with Earth&rsquo;s atmosphere, ice sheets, ocean, forests, land and biodiversity.</li>
<li>Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions.</li>
<li>In the last 50 years, global average temperature has risen at 170 times the background rate 31. Ocean acidification may be occurring at a rate not seen in at least 300 million years.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 2 - The threats and pressures wiping out our world</h1>
<p><br /><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/683drishti_ias_image8.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/683drishti_ias_image8.png" width="769" height="651" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>Threats old and new</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The main drivers of biodiversity decline are <strong>overexploitation of species, agriculture and land conversion</strong>. The two factors are driven by spiraling human consumption.</li>
<li><strong>Invasive species</strong> are also a frequent threat, their spread relying heavily on trade-related activities such as shipping.</li>
<li><strong>Pollution and disturbance,</strong> for example through agricultural pollution, dams, fires and mining, are additional sources of pressure.</li>
<li><strong>Climate change</strong> is playing a growing role and is already beginning to have an effect at an ecosystem, species and even genetic level.</li>
<li>Since 1970s our <strong>Ecological Footprint &ndash; a measure of our consumption of natural resources &ndash;</strong> has increased by about 190.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Runaway Consumption </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The ability of ecosystems to renew themselves is called <strong>biocapacity</strong>.</li>
<li>Together <strong>biocapacity and ecological footprint</strong> provide an empirical basis for determining whether humanity is living within the means of our planet.</li>
<li>Biocapacity has increased by 27% due to changed technologies and land management practices.</li>
<li>However it has not kept pace with the human consumption which has increased 190% over the same period.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Ecological Footprint of Consumption</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Prior to the explosive population growth of the 20th century, humanity&rsquo;s rate of consumption was much smaller than the Earth&rsquo;s rate of renewal.</li>
<li>As a result, prevailing economic models are based on growth, very rarely taking resource limitations into account. But this simplification is no longer viable.</li>
<li>Ecological Footprint accounting tracks human demand on nature by quantifying the biologically productive area required to meet all these competing demands, including food, fiber, timber, accommodation of roads and buildings, and sequestration of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><strong>The demand covers six area types</strong><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/342drishti_ias_image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/342drishti_ias_image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Integrating data to connect consumers to their impacts</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To look deeper into production-related impacts on the environment, the mapping and monitoring of supply chains is crucial to identify and understand how global consumption drives environmental impacts.</li>
<li>Supply chains are the link between the driving forces of environmental change, like consumption activities, and the pressures these impose (such as land-use change), the state of the environment and the resulting impacts (for example, species loss).</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Facts and terms</strong></p>
<p><strong>European Commission&rsquo;s Copernicus Satellite Programme,</strong> provide unprecedented capabilities to monitor changes in land cover globally, and at high spatial and temporal resolution. For example, the two Sentinel-2 satellites, launched in 2015 and 2017, survey the entire Earth&rsquo;s land surface (bar the poles) every five days at a resolution of between 10m and 60m.</p>
<p><strong>Global Forest Watch</strong> is an online platform that provides near real-time information about how forests are changing around the world and includes capabilities for companies to assess impacts associated with the production of the commodities they include in their products.</p>
<p><strong>Rotterdam Effect:</strong> Some materials are imported into one country, and then processed or simply transferred from one ship to another, and then exported again. Known as the &lsquo;Rotterdam Effect&rsquo; after the busiest port in Europe, this can lead to errors in accurately linking goods to their true origin.</p>
<p><strong>Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) models</strong> offer one approach to approximating consumer dependence on direct and embedded materials. MRIO datasets describe spending between sectors and economies, and by final consumers.</p>
</div>
<h3>Choice and Change: The impacts of consumption</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The way our supply chains are structured, the materials they use, how these are extracted and manufactured, and the consumption choices we make have a myriad of impacts on the world around us. Using different datasets helps us to map these out and understand the consequences of our choices.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<p>Supply chains are the link between the driving forces of environmental change, like consumption activities, and the pressures these impose (such as land-use change), the state of the environment and the resulting impacts (for example, species loss).</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Human activities associated with the production or harvesting of food, fiber and energy from terrestrial ecosystems have enormous impacts on biodiversity.</li>
<li>Different types of land use affect the balance between wild and domesticated species, the size and quality of habitats, and the non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.</li>
<li><strong>Direct biodiversity loss</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Agriculture accounts for the lion&rsquo;s share of the conversion of forested land.</li>
<li>Decreases in forest area and forest quality both impact the plants and animals living within them.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Disruption of habitats</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The degree of forest fragmentation is a major threat to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision.</li>
<li>It is estimated that in 70% of the forest masses of the world, <strong>a forest edge</strong> can be found within a mean distance of less than 1 km.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Edge effects are changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two or more habitats.</li>
<li>Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge effects that may extend throughout the range.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This has huge implications for habitat structure and quality; forest recolonization and the disruption of corridors for wildlife dispersal; forest microclimate and hydrology</li>
<li>Fragmentation can also make forests more accessible to people, increasing the pressure on forest resources.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Pollution and degradation of the environment</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Excessive use of synthetic agricultural inputs such as pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and fertilizers are associated with declines in soil and aquatic biodiversity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Disruption of ecosystem functions</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Ecosystems such as forests play an important role in reducing disaster risks, mitigating some of the most acute effects of climate change.</li>
<li>When such natural infrastructures are lost, people exposed to natural hazards such as floods, storms and landslides tend to migrate and settle in new areas resulting in further pressure on nature and biodiversity loss.</li>
<li>Pesticide use results in critical reductions in pollinator numbers and performance reducing agricultural productivity.</li>
<li>About 87% of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, and crops that are partially pollinated by animals account for 35% of global food production.</li>
<li>Human activities have important consequences for the abundance and/or richness of soil organisms, particularly through the negative impacts of land-use change and agricultural intensification.</li>
<li>Soil biodiversity is key to sustain food production as it detoxify polluted soils, suppress soil-borne diseases and contribute to the nutritional quality of food.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Land Degradation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Land degradation is the persistent reduction of the capacity of the land to support both biodiversity and human needs.</li>
<li>It includes the loss of soil; loss of habitat and hydrological function; deforestation; overgrazing and shrub encroachment and drainage and eutrophication in wetlands.</li>
<li>In March 2018, the IPBES released its latest Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment (LDRA), finding that only a quarter of land on Earth is substantively free of the impacts of human activities.</li>
<li>By 2050 this fraction is projected to decline to just a tenth. Wetlands are the most impacted category, having lost 87% of their extent in the modern era.</li>
<li>The immediate causes of land degradation are typically local but the key driver is the growing demand for ecosystem-derived products.</li>
<li>The consequences of land degradation are a complex interaction between degradation, poverty, conflict and the migration of people.</li>
<li>Loss of habitat is the key driver of declining terrestrial biodiversity worldwide, and land degradation is a big contributor to global climate change.</li>
</ul>
<p>Preventing degradation is much cheaper in the long run than permitting it, and then later paying for the impacts and restoration.</p>
<h3>Pollinators</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The majority of flowering plants are pollinated by insects and other animals.</li>
<li>Pollinators are a diverse group, including more than 20,000 species of bees, many other types of insects (e.g. flies, butterflies, moths, wasps and beetles) and even vertebrates such as some birds and bats.</li>
<li>More than 75% of the leading global food crops benefit from pollination. Some of these are key sources of human nutrition.</li>
<li>Changing land use due to agricultural intensification and urban expansion is one of a number of key drivers of pollinator loss.</li>
<li>Improving habitat diversity within the landscape, and the inclusion of non-agricultural habitats within land management plans, has been shown to ameliorate pollinator loss, boost pollinator numbers and improve ecosystem services.</li>
<li>The abundance, diversity and health of pollinators is also threatened by a number of other drivers such as changing climate, invasive species and emerging diseases and pathogens.</li>
<li>What&rsquo;s so special in the soil?</li>
<li>Soil biodiversity encompasses microorganisms (those only visible under microscopes, such as fungi and bacteria).</li>
<li>These organisms influence the physical structure and chemical composition of soils.</li>
<li>They are essential for enabling and regulating critical ecosystem processes such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, and the uptake of nutrients by plants.</li>
<li>They represent a storehouse for potential medical applications as well as new biological controls on pathogens and pests.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The recently published <strong>Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas mapped</strong> for the first time potential threats to soil biodiversity across the globe.</li>
<li>It generated a risk index combining eight potential stressors to soil organisms: <strong>loss of above-ground diversity, pollution and nutrient overloading, overgrazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil erosion, desertification and climate change</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Valuing forests for people and nature</h3>
<p>Forests are among the richest ecosystems. Tropical, temperate and boreal forests cover nearly 30% of the Earth&rsquo;s land area, and yet they are home to more than 80% of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The rate of forest area net loss has slowed due to reforestation and the establishment of new plantations, as well as policy and regulatory efforts to reduce forest conversion.</li>
<li>However it remains very high in tropical forests, particularly in some frontier areas in South America, sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. They are cleared for agriculture, subsistence farming and urban growth.</li>
<li>Using proximity to forest edges as a way of measuring forests&rsquo; vulnerability shows that 60-70% of the world&rsquo;s forests are at risk from the negative effects of human activities, altered microclimate and invasive species.</li>
<li>The pressure on forests from both small- and large-scale agriculture is likely to continue in order to growing demand for fibre and fuel as well as for food.</li>
<li>While part of the increased food supply will originate from growing yields in existing agricultural lands, additional land will be needed.</li>
<li>This will further increase the pressure on tropical forests, thus continuing to threaten priority areas for biodiversity conservation, unless there is a fundamental shift in how forests are valued for the many benefits they provide.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For example, in addition to providing habitats for animals and livelihoods for people, forests also offer watershed protection, prevent soil erosion and mitigate climate change.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Living Forests report series</h3>
<p>In a series of five <strong>Living Forests Reports,</strong> WWF highlighted areas of forest most vulnerable to deforestation between 2010 and 2030; the report identified 11 deforestation fronts.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Living Forests Report is part of an ongoing conversation with partners, policymakers, and businesses about how to protect, conserve, sustainably use, and govern the world&rsquo;s forests in the 21st century.</li>
<li>It is prepared by WWF.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>These are places where the largest concentrations of forest loss or severe degradation are projected to occur between 2010 and 2030 under business-as-usual scenarios and without interventions to prevent losses.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/397drishti_ias_image2.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/397drishti_ias_image2.png" width="992" height="318" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>Ocean habitats vital to humanity in steep decline</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The rapid loss of some of the ocean&rsquo;s most productive and species rich habitats like coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses threatens the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people.</li>
<li><strong>Plastic pollution</strong> is also a growing global problem. <strong>Plastic debris</strong> has been detected in all major marine environments worldwide, from shorelines and surface waters down to the deepest parts of the ocean, even at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.</li>
<li>Billions of people rely on healthy oceans to provide livelihoods, jobs and food and the range of goods and services that flow from coastal and marine environments. Nearly 200 million people depend on coral reefs to protect them from storm surges and waves.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Key habitats that underpin ocean health and productivity are in steep decline:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Coral reefs</strong> support more than a quarter of marine life but the world has already lost about half of its shallow water corals in only 30 years. If current trends continue, up to 90% of the world&rsquo;s coral reefs might be gone by mid-century.</li>
<li><strong>Tropical seas</strong> overheated by climate change have bleached, damaged and killed coral at unprecedented levels. Prolonged heat led to catastrophic die-off of fast-growing coral species and these were replaced by slower-growing groups that shelter fewer sea creatures.</li>
<li>Other threats to coral reefs include <strong>overfishing, selective fishing and destructive fishing practices,</strong> and <strong>pollution from runoff</strong> which sullies reef waters, compromising coral health.</li>
<li><strong>Mangroves</strong> are a key natural asset for many tropical and subtropical coastlines, providing livelihoods to many millions of coastal families and protecting them from violent storms and coastal erosion.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They sequester nearly five times more carbon than tropical forests and provide nurseries to innumerable juvenile fish species that grow to join wider ocean ecosystems.</li>
<li>Clearing for development as well as <strong>over-exploitation and aquaculture</strong> have contributed to a decline in the extent of mangroves by 30% to 50% over the past 50 years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Seagrasses</strong> represent important coastal ecosystems that provide critical human benefits including habitat that supports commercial and subsistence fisheries, nutrient cycling, sediment stabilization, and globally significant sequestration of carbon.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They are threatened directly by <strong>destructive fishing practices, boat propellers, coastal engineering, cyclones, tsunamis and climate change, and indirectly by changes</strong> in water quality due to land run-off. Seagrasses have been disappearing at a rate of 110 km2 per year since 1980.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Plastics in the ocean</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Plastic marine debris ranges from microscopic pieces to larger waste items such as bags, cigarette filters, etc which are the most visible form of plastic pollution.</li>
<li>Plastic debris has been detected in all major marine environments worldwide, from shorelines and surface water down to the deepest parts of the ocean, even at the bottom of the Mariana Trench</li>
<li>Today 90% of the world&rsquo;s seabirds have fragments of plastic in their stomachs compared to only 5% in 1960.</li>
<li>Impacts were found to be greatest at the southern boundary of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, a region thought to be relatively pristine.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Threats and pressures on our source of life</h3>
<p>Freshwater ecosystems contain disproportionately more species per unit area than marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Although they cover less than 1% of the Earth&rsquo;s surface, freshwater habitats are home to more than 10% of known animals and about one-third of all known vertebrate species</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater habitats such as lakes, rivers and wetlands are the source of life for all humans and command high economic value.</li>
<li>They are affected by factors such as <strong>habitat modification, fragmentation and destruction; invasive species; overfishing; pollution; forestry practices; disease; and climate change</strong>.</li>
<li>In many cases, these combined threats have led to catastrophic declines in freshwater biodiversity.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Globally, wetland extent is estimated to have declined by more than 50% since 1900.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>The importance of healthy freshwater ecosystems</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater ecosystems are under increasing levels of threat and the trend for freshwater species is alarming.</li>
<li>Freshwater ecosystem health is defined by its water quality and quantity, connectivity to other parts of the system and landscape, habitat condition, and diversity of plant and animal species.</li>
<li>Eutrophication (an enrichment by or excess of nutrients to the water) and toxic pollution are major sources of water quality degradation.</li>
<li>Climate change is exacerbating existing stressors and causing changes in the timing, availability and temperature of waters, affecting the condition of freshwater habitats and the life history of freshwater species.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Connected, flowing rivers: critical for freshwater ecosystems</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>River systems, their floodplains and deltas, are among the most biologically diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet.</li>
<li>They provide the primary source of protein for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. For these economic and ecosystem benefits to be realized, rivers must retain key characteristics and processes.</li>
<li>When natural connectivity and flow are retained the river is called &lsquo;free-flowing&rsquo;.</li>
<li>Infrastructure development &ndash; especially dams &ndash; has caused a dramatic decline in the number of free flowing rivers.</li>
<li>Rivers can both be prevented by the construction of poorly planned dams and ensuring that any dams that are constructed are located and designed to mitigate environmental damage as much as possible.</li>
<li>River protection can also occur via various legal and policy mechanisms.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows,</strong> published in 2018, is a clarion call to governments and stakeholders to build on previous successes through widespread implementation of environmental flows through legislation and regulation, water management programmes and research, linked by partnership arrangements involving diverse stakeholders.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Threats through the lens of the Living Planet Index (LPI)</h3>
<p><strong>LPI &ndash; Threats to biodiversity </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Habitat loss and degradation</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This refers to the modification of the environment where a species lives, by complete removal, fragmentation or reduction in quality of key habitat. Common causes are unsustainable agriculture, logging, transportation, fragmentation of rivers and streams etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Species Overexploitation:</strong> There are both direct and indirect forms of overexploitation-
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Direct overexploitation refers to unsustainable hunting and poaching or harvesting.</li>
<li>Indirect overexploitation occurs when non-target species are killed unintentionally, for example as by-catch in fisheries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pollution</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pollution can directly affect a species by making the environment unsuitable for its survival. It can also affect a species indirectly, by affecting food availability or reproductive performance.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Invasive species and disease</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Invasive species can compete with native species for space, food and other resources, can turn out to be a predator or spread diseases that were not previously present in the environment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Climate change</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The effects of climate change on species are often indirect. Changes in temperature can confound the signals that trigger seasonal events such as migration and reproduction, causing these events to happen at the wrong time.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Threats to LPI populations around the world</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>All freshwater and terrestrial populations in the global LPI are assigned to one of <strong>five major biogeographic realms,</strong> regions characterized by distinct assemblages of species.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/347drishti_ias_image4.png" width="668" height="178" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This gives us a better understanding of how biodiversity is changing in different parts of the world and helps us to identify whether different local threat processes are driving these changes.</li>
</ul>
<p>Information about threats is available for just under a quarter &ndash; or 3,789 populations &ndash; in the global LPI. Each population can be associated with up to three different threats. Habitat degradation and loss is consistently the most reported threat in all realms; but there is some variation between realms and taxonomic groups.</p>
<h3>Planetary Boundaries</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Field studies, models, Earth observations and geological evidence have all been used to build an understanding of global change, the capacity of living organisms to adapt to change and the systemic risks when adaptation fails.</li>
<li>The Planetary Boundaries concept is an effort to use this Earth system perspective to provide information on human-driven changes. The concept suggests that the world&rsquo;s societies need to set limits on human-caused disturbances to tightly linked Earth system processes.</li>
<li>It is already a useful integrating framework for illustrating the risks of human interference with the Earth system through our patterns of consumption and production. It presents the idea of a safe zone for critical Earth system processes.</li>
<li>The Planetary Boundaries framework highlights nine critical issues where human activities are reducing the safe operating space:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Loss of biosphere integrity (the destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity)</li>
<li>Climate change</li>
<li>Ocean acidification</li>
<li>Land-system change</li>
<li>Unsustainable freshwater use</li>
<li>Perturbation of biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the biosphere)</li>
<li>Alteration of atmospheric aerosols,</li>
<li>Pollution by novel entities,</li>
<li>Stratospheric ozone depletion</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>People have already pushed at least four of these systems beyond the limit of a safe operating space-biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows and land-system change. Freshwater use has also passed beyond a safe threshold.</li>
<li>Biosphere integrity plays a critical role in determining the state of the Earth system, regulating its material flows, energy balance, climate, and responses to abrupt and gradual change. It not only interacts with the other planetary boundary categories, but also maintains the overall resilience of the Earth system.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/541drishti_ias_image5.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Our changing climate will impact the Earth system in many ways because climate influences the ways that ecosystems on land and below water function and interact with each other.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 3 - Biodiversity in a Changing World</h1>
<p></p>
<h3>Population Indicator: The Living Planet Index</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Living Planet Index (LPI) is an indicator of the state of global biodiversity and the health of our planet.</li>
<li>Published since 1998, it tracks the population abundance of thousands of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians around the world.</li>
<li>The species population data that is collected goes into a global index, as well as indices for more specific bio-geographic areas, referred to as realms, based upon distinct groupings of species.</li>
<li>The 2018 indices include data from 1970 to 2014.</li>
<li>The global index, calculated using available data for all species and regions, shows an overall decline of 60% in the population sizes of vertebrates between 1970 and 2014&ndash; in other words, an average drop of well over half in less than 50 years.</li>
<li>Living Planet Indices &ndash; whether the Global Index or those for a specific realm or species group &ndash; show the average rate of change over time across a set of species populations.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Realm Living Planet Indices</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Populations are in decline in all realms, but declines are especially pronounced in the three tropical realms. The LPI indicates that the Neotropical realm, covering South and Central America, and the Caribbean, has suffered the most dramatic decline at 89% loss compared to 1970. Nearctic and Palearctic populations are faring slightly better with declines of 23% and 31%.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Freshwater Living Planet Index</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater ecosystems provide habitat for around 1 in 10 known species of fishes, mollusks, reptiles, insects, plants and mammals despite covering less than 1% of the Earth&rsquo;s surface.</li>
<li>These ecosystems are strongly affected by habitat modification, fragmentation and destruction; invasive species; overfishing; pollution; forestry practices; disease; and climate change.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/368drishti_ias_image7.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/368drishti_ias_image7.png" width="519" height="380" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater LPI shows 83% decline, equivalent to 4% per year since 1970. The largest declines are seen in the Neotropics (-94%), the Indo-Pacific (-82%) and the Afrotropics (-75%), especially in reptiles and amphibians, and in fishes.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Different Biodiversity Indicators, Same Story</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biodiversity is often referred to as the &lsquo;web of life&rsquo;. It is the variety of all living things &ndash; plants, animals and micro-organisms &ndash; and the ecosystems of which they are a part.</li>
<li>It includes diversity within species and between species and can refer to any geographic scale &ndash; from a small study plot to the entire planet.</li>
<li>The biodiversity is shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans.</li>
<li>Species and the natural systems around us, respond to human pressures and conservation interventions in a variety of ways and there is no single measure to capture all these changes.</li>
<li>Therefore different metrics and indicators are needed to understand biodiversity change as well as to track progress towards biodiversity targets and to devise effective conservation programs.</li>
</ul>
<p>To complement the population-based Living Planet Index and put the trends that it measures in a broader context, the report include an overview of three other biodiversity indicators: <strong>the Species Habitat Index, the IUCN Red List Index,</strong> and the <strong>Biodiversity Intactness Index</strong>.</p>
<h3>Distribution: the Species Habitat Index</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Species Habitat Index, is an aggregate measure of the extent of suitable habitat available for each species to help provide a richer picture of both past and projected future biodiversity change.</li>
<li>This index captures changes in species range and incorporates information about species habitat preferences, habitat fragmentation and climate change.</li>
<li>When used together, species distribution and habitat suitability models can estimate the combined impact of habitat loss and climate change on species, in both the past and the future.</li>
<li>The overall trends in the Species Habitat Index for mammals declined by 22% from 1970 to 2010, with the greatest declines in the Caribbean (&gt;60%).</li>
<li>Other regions with declines of more than 25% were Central America, North-East Asia and North Africa.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Extinction risk: the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Information on life-history traits, population and distribution size and structure, and their change over time is used which is used by Red List assessors to classify species into one of eight categories.</li>
<li>Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Least Concern or Data Deficient.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/954drishti_ias_image6.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/954drishti_ias_image6.png" width="679" height="315" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A Red List Index value of 1.0 equates to all species within a group qualifying as Least Concern. An index value of 0 equates to all species having gone Extinct.</li>
<li>Currently, the Red List Index is available for five taxonomic groups in which all species have been assessed at least twice: birds, mammals, amphibians, corals and cycads.</li>
<li>Current index values for all groups show declines, indicating that species are moving towards extinction more rapidly.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Composition: the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) estimates how much of a region&rsquo;s originally present biodiversity remains, relative to if the region were still covered with primary vegetation and facing minimal human pressures.</li>
<li>The Index ranges from 100&ndash;0% with 100 representing an undisturbed or pristine natural environment with little to no human footprint.</li>
<li>The most recent global estimates suggest that the BII fell from 81.6% in 1970 to 78.6% in 2014.</li>
<li>Models that focus on tropical and subtropical forest biomes, using finer-scale land-use data, suggest their BII is both lower and declining more rapidly &ndash; from 57.3% in 2001 to 54.9% in 2012.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 4 - Aiming higher: what future do we want?</h1>
<h3>Bending the curve of biodiversity loss</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biodiversity has been described as the &lsquo;infrastructure&rsquo; that supports all life on Earth.</li>
<li>The natural systems and biochemical cycles that biological diversity generates allow the stable functioning of our atmosphere, oceans, forests, landscapes and waterways.</li>
<li>The global community in 1992 came together and collectively agreed on the importance of the natural world and their responsibility to protect it.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Aichi Targets</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Initiated - 1992 Rio Earth Summit</li>
<li>First global agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity</li>
<li>Came into force in 1993</li>
<li>The CBD sets overall goals and policies with general obligations; the responsibility for achieving these goals rests largely with countries themselves.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Long-term vision:</strong> &ldquo;By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.</p>
<p>To meet this vision the CBD, there are a set of five medium-term strategic goals with 20 targets &ndash; called the <strong>Aichi Targets</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>Goal C - &ldquo;To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity&rdquo; and includes three targets.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Target 11 concerns the global coverage of protected areas</li>
<li>Target 12 is directed at the conservation of species</li>
<li>Target 13 concerns the conservation of genetic diversity of cultivated plants, farmed and domesticated animals, and their wild relatives</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>However, the continued decline in species shows that we have failed the natural world.</li>
<li>These changes are triggered by spiraling increase in our consumption which interferes profoundly with biodiversity and all the other natural systems.</li>
<li>Today world requires bold and well-defined goals and a credible set of actions to restore the abundance of nature to levels that enable both people and nature to thrive.</li>
<li>Without these changes it is impossible to achieve the targets of SDG 2030s which includes mitigating climate change, adapting to climate impacts, maintaining the quality of soil, air and water, and supporting a resilient basis for the food, fuel etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>A roadmap for 2020 to 2050</h3>
<p>There are three necessary steps in a roadmap for the post-2020 agenda:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Clearly specify the goal for biodiversity recovery,</li>
<li>Develop a set of measurable and relevant indicators of progress,</li>
<li>Agree a suite of actions that can collectively achieve the goal in the required timeframe.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Translate the aspirational vision to an ambitious goal</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Current goals of CBD aims at 2050 and are aspirational in nature but this vision is concrete and achievable enough to be the basis of the goal of a post-2020 agreement on biodiversity.</li>
<li>This will require a new set of targets that aim higher and are effective beyond 2020.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Identify ways to measure progress towards the goal</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Since the current targets were set, almost a decade ago, so the second step is to identify the best metrics to measure true progress towards the chosen goal.</li>
<li>Measuring progress towards biodiversity targets is very complicated. Biodiversity assessment requires multiple measures at different spatial scales and across different ecological dimensions.</li>
<li>There is a need for indicators that can track three key dimensions of biodiversity necessary for the vision and the goals described here, and in the CBD and SDG targets:-
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Changes in population abundance &ndash;Living Planet Index</li>
<li>Extinction rate on a global scale - Red List Index (RLI)</li>
<li>Changes to local biodiversity using indicators such as the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>If they are to be used to support concrete global action, there is a need to improve taxonomic representativeness, integration and data coverage.</p>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">The Path Ahead</h1>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It has been established beyond doubt that humanity&rsquo;s survival depends on our natural systems yet we continue to destroy the health of nature at an alarming rate.</li>
<li>It is important that a new global deal for nature and people should be made &ndash; to bend the curve of biodiversity loss.</li>
<li>It is important to politically escalate political relevance of nature and galvanize a cohesive movement across state and non-state actors to drive change.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>A global deal for nature and people</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2017, scientists published a paper proposing a new &lsquo;Global Deal for Nature&rsquo; as a companion to the Paris Climate Agreement.</li>
<li>It talked about promoting increased habitat protection and restoration, national and eco-region scale conservation strategies, and the empowerment of indigenous peoples to protect their sovereign lands.</li>
<li>Such a deal is essential in addressing the decline in natural systems to achieving the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Imagining the future: Scenarios and leadership for the future we want</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>WWF is collaborating with a consortium of almost 40 universities, conservation organizations and intergovernmental organizations to launch the research initiative <strong>Bending the Curve of Biodiversity Loss</strong>.</li>
<li>The initiative will help in identifying potential win-win solutions for both nature and people.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/summary-of-important-reports/living-planet-report-2018-aiming-higher-by-wwf'
		],
		(int) 6 => [
			'title' => 'Aurora Supercomputer',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The United States has decided to build the fastest supercomputer.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The supercomputer is<strong> named as Aurora.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>About Aurora</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is scheduled to be delivered to the <strong>Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago in 2021. </strong></li>
<li>It will be the first machine<strong> to reach a milestone called &ldquo;exascale&rdquo; performance, i.e. one billion billion calculations per second.</strong></li>
<li>This <strong>speed is around seven times the speed of the most powerful system built to date, or 1,000 times faster than the first &ldquo;petascale&rdquo; systems built in 2008. </strong></li>
<li>The new machines will let researchers create significantly <strong>more accurate simulations of</strong> phenomena such as<strong> drug responses, climate changes, the inner workings of combustion engines and solar panels.</strong></li>
<li>An <strong>International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation</strong> system called<strong> Summit(OLCF-4)</strong>, built for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA is the<strong> fastest supercomputer in the world with a clocked speed of 143.5 petaflops.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Supercomputer in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India&rsquo;s first supercomputer called <strong>PARAM 8000 was launched in 1991.</strong></li>
<li>At present, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has<strong> Pratyush supercomputer, which is the fastest supercomputer in India,</strong> it has a speed of 4.0 Petaflops.</li>
<li>National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting has <strong>Mihir</strong>, which has a speed of 2.8 petaflops.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Unit of Computing Speed</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Teraflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to <strong>one million million (10^12)</strong> <strong>floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</strong></li>
<li><strong>Petaflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to<strong> one thousand million million (10^15)</strong> floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
<li><strong>Exaflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to <strong>one billion billion (10^18)</strong> floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/aurora-super-computer'
		],
		(int) 7 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (20th March 2019)	',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Ind-Indo CORPAT 2019<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337136_image36.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337136_image36.jpg" width="399" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The opening ceremony of <strong>33rd Edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (Ind-Indo Corpat)</strong> took place at <strong>Port Blair, Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, India.</strong></li>
<li>The 33rd IND-INDO CORPAT, also coinciding with<strong> 70 of the establishment of India-Indonesia diplomatic ties.</strong></li>
<li>Under this exercise, <strong>the ship and aircraft from both the countries would undertake to patrol on the respective sides of 236 nautical miles long International Maritime Boundary line.</strong></li>
<li>As part of the Indian Government&rsquo;s vision of <strong>SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region),</strong> the Indian Navy has also been involved in<strong> assisting countries in the Indian Ocean Region with Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Surveillance, Search and Rescue, and other capacity-building and capability-enhancement activities.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> vision of SAGAR was enunciated by Prime Minister in March 2015.</strong> It is an articulation of <strong>India&rsquo;s vision for the Indian Ocean.</strong></li>
<li>SAGAR has inter-related elements and underscores India&rsquo;s engagement in the Indian Ocean. These are<strong> enhancing capacities to safeguard land and maritime territories &amp; interests;</strong> deepening <strong>economic and security cooperation</strong> in the littoral; action to <strong>deal with natural disasters and maritime threats like piracy, terrorism.</strong></li>
<li>It also includes <strong>engaging with countries beyond our shores</strong> with the aim of <strong>building greater trust and promoting respect for maritime rules, norms and peaceful resolution of disputes</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Mitra-Shakti VI</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Annual joint military exercise <strong>Mitra-Shakti 2019 between India India-Sri Lanka</strong> will be conducted in Sri Lanka.</li>
<li>The<strong> aim of the exercise is to build and promote close relations between armies of both the countries</strong> and to enhance the ability of joint exercise commander to take military contingents of both nations under command.</li>
<li>This exercise is one of the <strong>major bilateral defense cooperation initiatives between India and Sri Lanka since 2013.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Copyright License for Google</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Google has been granted a copyright license by the <strong>Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS).</strong></li>
<li>The copyright license will <strong>enable Google to use IPRS members&rsquo; work and material in India on YouTube and other services.</strong></li>
<li>Google recently launched<strong> YouTube Music,</strong> a paid music streaming service, in the country.</li>
<li><strong>IPRS is the country&rsquo;s only copyright society, authorized to carry out the copyright business for musical works and literary works (lyrics), associated with its members.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Members of IPRS comprises of the author (lyricists), music composers and music publishers.</strong></li>
<li>The IPRS was founded on 23rd August 1969.</li>
<li>The IPRS is a representative body of Owners of Music, viz. The Composers, Lyricists (or Authors) and the Publishers of Music and<strong> is also the sole Authorised Body to issue Licences for usage of Musical Works &amp; Literary Music within India by any person.</strong></li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-20th-march-2019'
		],
		(int) 8 => [
			'title' => 'International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently an International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) was held in New Delhi.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The two-day workshop was organised by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/what-is-a-national-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)</strong></a> in collaboration with <strong>United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)</strong>, and in partnership with the <strong>Global Commission on Adaptation</strong>, <strong>United Nations Development Programme</strong> and the<strong> <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Bank</a></strong>.</li>
<li>The objective of workshop were to:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Identify good practices</strong> of disaster risk management in key infrastructure sectors,</li>
<li><strong>Identify specific areas and pathways</strong> for collaborative research on DRI (Transport, Energy, Telecom and Water),</li>
<li>Discuss and co-create the <strong>broad contours of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)</strong> as well as a notional roll-out plan for the next three years, and</li>
<li>Build a forum for members to work on areas of common interest and make specific commitments.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The UNISDR was <strong>established in 1999</strong> as a dedicated secretariat to facilitate the implementation of the <strong>International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).</strong></li>
<li>It is headquartered in<strong> Geneva, Switzerland.</strong></li>
<li>It is mandated to serve as the focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities.</li>
<li>It is an <strong>organisational unit of the UN Secretariat</strong> and is led by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG).</li>
<li>UNISDR's Strategic Framework 2016-2021 has a vision to substantially reduce disaster risk and losses for a sustainable future with the<strong> mandate to act as the custodian of the Sendai Framework</strong>, supporting countries and societies in its implementation, monitoring and review of progress.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>first</strong> International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure <strong>(IWDRI 2018)</strong> was held in <strong>January 2018 in India.</strong></li>
<li>India announced the <strong>creation of a Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)</strong> soon after the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which was held in New Delhi in 2016.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The CDRI is envisaged as a <strong>knowledge exchange and capacity development partnership.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Various international agreements</strong> have also reiterated the importance and long-term benefits of investing in resilient infrastructure.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030,</strong> identifies investing in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) for resilience and to build back better in reconstruction as priorities for action towards reducing disaster risk.</li>
<li>Similarly, <strong>Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</strong> recognizes disaster resilient infrastructure as a crucial driver of economic growth and development.</li>
<li>Besides reducing infrastructure losses, disaster resilient infrastructure will also help achieve targets pertaining to<strong> reduction in mortality,</strong> number of affected people and economic losses due to disasters.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The SFDRR 2015-2030 outlines <strong>seven clear targets</strong> and <strong>four priorities for action</strong> to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Understanding</strong> disaster risk;</li>
<li><strong>Strengthening disaster risk governance</strong> to manage disaster risk;</li>
<li><strong>Investing in disaster reduction</strong> for resilience and;</li>
<li><strong>Enhancing disaster preparedness</strong> for effective response, and to<strong> "Build Back Better"</strong> in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Sendai Framework is a<strong> 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement</strong> which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.</li>
<li>It aims to achieve the <strong>substantial reduction of disaster risk</strong> and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries over the next 15 years.</li>
<li>The Framework was adopted at the<strong> third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/international-workshop-on-disaster-resilient-infrastructure'
		],
		(int) 9 => [
			'title' => 'Cloud Over Solar Sector',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/cloud-over-solar-sector-curbing-tender-cancellation-and-a-couple-other-moves-can-bring-sunshine-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Cloud Over Solar Sector'</a> which appeared in 'The Times of India' on 19th March, 2019. The article talks about the challenges faced by solar sector and the potential ways to overcome them.)</p>
</div>
<p>With 300 clear sunny days, over a dozen perennial rivers and a coastline of more than 7,500 KMs, India since the age of Puranas, had realised the importance of the sun and other sources of renewable energy and the power they possess for the benefit of its inhabitants.</p>
<p>Growing Indian energy requirement and the need to adopt greener and cleaner modes of energy has reinforced India&rsquo;s attempt at making a transitional change from traditional modes of energy to renewable sources of energy.</p>
<p>However capacity additions have slowed in the recent past, which means the 175 GW renewable generation &ndash; including 100 GW solar &ndash; target set for 2022 could become difficult to achieve.</p>
<h3>Answer to Climatic Woes</h3>
<p>Human-induced climate change is considered one of the most prominent challenges of our time, with a warming planet being a present-day reality, rather than a potential future threat.</p>
<p>The Climate Change concern across the Globe has propelled the Government and Decision Makers to develop a detailed blueprint for clean and sustainable power for all.</p>
<p>Shifting to renewable energy offers an opportunity to save the environment as renewable energy resources produce little to no global warming emissions. <strong>Renewable energy can aid in the reduction of emissions in the electricity sector by 81 percent.</strong></p>
<p>Pollution produced by coal and natural gas plants also leads to several health problems such as cancer, neurological damage, heart attacks and other serious problems. The shift to renewable and cleaner sources will drastically result in improving the health of the general public.</p>
<p>As part of the initial commitments to the Paris Climate Accord, India too plans to reduce its carbon emission intensity - emission per unit of GDP - by 33-35% from 2005 levels over 15 years. It is working towards producing 40% of its installed electricity capacity by 2030 from non-fossil fuels.</p>
<p>India is the third largest energy consumer of the world and any change in the energy matrix of India is bound to reflect in the world&rsquo;s attempt to curb the menace of global warming.</p>
<h3>Indian Potential</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s energy mix is dominated by coal with a 49.6% share followed by oil- 28%, biomass- 11.6%, gas - 7.3%, renewable and clean energy 2.2% and nuclear energy 1.2%.</strong></li>
<li>The potential for solar energy capacity in India is enormous. The majority of the country&rsquo;s tropical landmass is located optimally for peak solar radiation. <strong>According to World Bank India has the best conditions in the world to capture and use solar energy.</strong></li>
<li>According to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the country&rsquo;s total solar power potential is pegged at nearly 750GW, with 142GW of solar resource available in the state of Rajasthan alone.</li>
<li>India is one of the most attractive markets in the world because of its sheer size: 10-12GW annually. This is even more relevant when one considers that the largest market, China, is virtually closed to foreign investors.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Bottlenecks in the sector</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar sector suffers from infrastructural problems such as development of access roads, land acquisition for parks, and demarcation of land areas within solar park remains incomplete, even after bids for projects are completed, which affects project costs and profitability.</li>
<li>Lenders and equity investors find it risky to invest in renewable energy because of uncertainty regarding the potential buyers of the electricity.</li>
<li><strong>Further, electricity distribution companies (i.e. DISCOMS) do not always pay for electricity on time, with payment delays being common in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.</strong></li>
<li>Power from sources such as wind and solar is intermittent, and forecasting of energy levels is weak which makes it an unattractive venture for power distribution companies to connect to renewable sources.</li>
<li><strong>India faces the challenge of moving 21% of its population out of poverty. No country has been able to achieve a Human Development Index of 0.9 &ndash; which suggests high life expectancy, income and education &ndash;without an annual energy availability of four tonnes of oil equivalent per capita.</strong></li>
<li>Solar energy is a capital-intensive industry and if the initial cost of setting up the plant is high, the cost of solar energy is pushed up. Overall cost of imported solar modules has gone up as the government has raised the duty for solar imports.</li>
<li>A majority of India&rsquo;s solar module imports are from China and Malaysia, steep duty has resulted in cranking up the overall cost for solar project developers.</li>
<li>Higher proportion of renewable in a grid leads to greater grid instability and makes controlling electricity flows a challenge making discoms chary of increasing their renewable including solar energy sourcing.</li>
<li>The grid should also have the capacity to carry power from regions where power is generated to the regions where power is needed.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government need to speed up the execution of Green Energy Corridor and encourage massive investments in up gradation and creation of new transmission and grid infrastructure.</li>
<li>One way out would be to store energy when excess is produced, but storage equipment for solar energy is expensive.</li>
<li><strong>The primary problem of the solar sector can be resolved only if the government adopts an integrated approach, such as by bundling renewable with conventional energy.</strong></li>
<li>Also, the tariffs discovered during competitive bidding should be considered and adopted rather than artificially capping them.</li>
</ul>
<p><em><strong>The solar energy sector has a clear social impact and the potential to grow at a fast pace. All it needs is policy and infrastructure support from the government and a pragmatic approach from industry players.</strong></em></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/cloud-over-solar-sector'
		],
		(int) 10 => [
			'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (19th March 2019)	',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<h3>Vaquita Porpoise</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently a dead <strong>Vaquita Porpoise</strong> was found in a fishnet off the <strong>coast of Mexico.</strong></li>
<li>It is<strong> critically endangered (IUCN) marine animal</strong> of which only about 10 remain in the world.</li>
<li>It is also known as <strong>"the panda of the sea"</strong> for the <strong>distinctive black circles around its eyes.</strong></li>
<li>Vaquita Porpoises are among the <strong>ocean&rsquo;s smallest cetaceans</strong> and they only <strong>reside in the northern Gulf of California.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Cetaceans are one of the most <strong>distinctive and highly specialized aquatic mammals.</strong> They include <strong>blue whale, dolphins, blind river dolphins, Porpoise, etc.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The vaquitas are threatened primarily by <strong>gillnet fishing for the totoaba fish</strong>, another endangered species in the area that is hunted for its swim bladder, considered a delicacy in China. Dried totoaba bladders are often smuggled through the United States to China.</li>
<li>Therefore, the <strong>conservation of Vaquita primarily rests with US, China and Mexico.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577336846_image42.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577336846_image42.jpg" width="554" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>Dongria Kondh Tribe</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Dongria Kondh tribe live in <strong>Niyamgiri hill range of Odisha state.</strong></li>
<li>They derive their <strong>name from dongar,</strong> meaning <strong>&lsquo;hill&rsquo; and worship the mountain god Niyam Raja.</strong></li>
<li>The Dongria have <strong>distinctive jewellery, tattoos and hairstyles.</strong> Women wear many rings through their ears and three through their noses, while boys wear two nose rings. Dongria girls wear clips in their hair and rings and beads around their necks.</li>
<li>The Dongria Kondh have <strong>no overarching political or religious leader;</strong> clans and villages have their own leaders and individuals with specific ceremonial functions.</li>
<li>The Dongria believe that animals, plants, mountains and other specific sites and streams have a<strong> life-force or soul, jela,</strong> which comes from the mother goddess.</li>
</ul>
<h3>AFINDEX-19</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 called AFINDEX-19</strong> started at Aundh Military Station<strong>, Pune. </strong></li>
<li>India and contingents of the<strong> 17 African Nations</strong> i.e. Benin, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are participating in the exercise.</li>
<li>The aim of the exercise is to <strong>practice the participating nations in planning and conduct of Humanitarian Mine Assistance and Peacekeeping Operations.</strong></li>
<li>It is a positive step towards <strong>growing political and military ties</strong> between India and African nations and will boost the already strong strategic cooperation between the countries.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-19th-march-2019'
		],
		(int) 11 => [
			'title' => 'Solar Tsunami Can Trigger the Sunspot Cycle',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The scientists have found that solar tsunamis are responsible for triggering an 11-year cycle of sunspots.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is believed that the &ldquo;solar dynamo&rdquo; is linked to the production of sunspots.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Solar Dynamo</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar Dynamo is a naturally occurring generator which produces electric and magnetic fields in the sun.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Sun Spot</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun&rsquo;s surface.</li>
<li>The temperature of a sunspot is still high around 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit.</li>
<li>Sunspots are relatively cool. It&rsquo;s because they form at areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong. These magnetic fields are so strong that they keep some of the heat within the Sun from reaching the surface.</li>
<li>The amount of magnetic flux that rises up to the Sun's surface varies with time in a cycle called the solar cycle. This cycle lasts 11 years on average. This cycle is sometimes referred to as the sunspot cycle.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Solar Tsunami</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar tsunami is the waves of the magnetic field and hot, ionized gas moving across the Sun at about 400 km per second.</li>
<li>Tsunamis are generated after a release of matter into space called a coronal mass ejection (CME).</li>
<li>Solar tsunamis were discovered in 1997 by the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) of Europen Space Agency.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Coronal Mass Ejection</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona. They are often followed by solar flares.</li>
<li>Solar Flares on reaching earth causes spectacular light shows by interacting with the earth&rsquo;s magnetic field called Aurora&rsquo;s.</li>
<li>Solar Flares can also disrupt radio transmission and harm satellites in orbit.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>How Solar Tsunami leads to Sunspot?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The extreme temperature and pressure conditions that prevail some 20,000 km below the sun&rsquo;s surface cause its material to form a plasma consisting primarily of hydrogen and helium in a highly ionized state.</li>
<li>The plasma is confined with huge magnetic fields inside the sun. Holding these fields in their place requires that there is extra mass (plasma mass) pushing at the bands from higher latitudes.</li>
<li>Thus, a magnetic dam is formed which is storing a big mass of plasma. At the end of a solar cycle, this magnetic dam can break, releasing huge amounts of plasma cascading like a tsunami towards the poles.</li>
<li>These tsunami waves travel at high speeds of about 1,000 km per hour carrying excess plasma to the mid-latitudes. There they give rise to magnetic flux eruptions. These are seen as the bright patches that signal the start of the next cycle of sunspots.</li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/solar-tsunami-can-trigger-the-sunspot-cycle'
		],
		(int) 12 => [
			'title' => 'Hayabusa 2',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p><strong>Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)</strong> has decided to make a<strong> crater on asteroid 1999 JU3 (Ryugu)</strong> to collect underground samples.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is part of the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hayabusa-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Hayabusa 2 mission,</strong></a> launched in December 2014, to explore asteroid 1999 JU3 (Ryugu).</li>
<li>The purpose of drilling is to collect samples for possible clues to the origin of the solar system.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Asteroids</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Asteroids are actually minor planets</strong> which can neither be classified either as a planet or as a comet.</li>
<li>These are generally in the <strong>direct orbit around the Sun.</strong></li>
<li>The larger forms of asteroids are also known as <strong>planetoids</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Hayabusa 2</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Hayabusa 2 was launched in December 2014 and is planned to complete a mission of six years.</strong></li>
<li>It arrived at Ryugu in July 2018 and<strong> will spend 18 months studying the asteroid before making its return to Earth in December 2020.</strong></li>
<li>The mission builds on the original Hayabusa mission that was launched in 2003 and successfully linked up with asteroid Itokawa in 2005.</li>
<li>It returned samples to Earth in 2010 marking the first time sample materials from an asteroid were brought back to Earth.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why Study Asteroids?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Asteroids, like comets, are primitive bodies that can be considered to be the<strong> building blocks of the early solar system.</strong> They hold a record of the birth and initial evolution of the solar system.</li>
<li>Larger planets like Earth went through a more complex evolution over which the pristine materials were melted and altered significantly. Due to this change, the materials found on large planets do not hold information into their early stages of formation.</li>
<li><strong>Comets and asteroids, formed early in the evolution of the Solar System, retain a record of when, where and in what conditions they were formed. Exploration of these primitive bodies is essential in gaining insight into the formation of the Solar System.</strong></li>
</ul>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hayabusa-2-1'
		],
		(int) 13 => [
			'title' => 'ICAI & NFRA',
			'catname' => 'National Institutions',
			'desc' => '<h2><strong>Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)</strong></h2>
<p><strong>The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)</strong> is the national professional accounting body of India. It was established to regulate the profession of Accountancy. It is the only licensing cum regulating body of the financial audit and accountancy profession in India. It recommends the accounting standards to be followed by companies in India to National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards (NACAS).</p>
<h3>ICAI History</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Companies Act, 1913 passed in pre-independent India prescribed various books which had to be maintained by a Company registered under that Act.</li>
<li>It also provided for the appointment of a formal Auditor with prescribed qualifications to audit such records. In order to act as an auditor a person had to acquire a restricted certificate from the local government upon such conditions as may be prescribed.</li>
<li>In 1932, an Accountancy board was developed called as <strong>Indian Accountancy Board</strong> to <strong>advise the Governor General in Council of India</strong> on the points of Accountancy and the required conduct along with qualification standards of the auditors.</li>
<li>The expert committee appointed in 1947, recommended that a separate autonomous association of accountants should be formed to regulate the profession.</li>
<li>Government of India accepted the recommendation and passed the <strong>Chartered Accountants Act in 1949</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Under Section 3 of the said Act,</strong> ICAI is established as a statutory body.</li>
<li>It functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.</li>
<li>Affairs of the ICAI are managed with the provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and the <strong>Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988</strong>.</li>
<li>ICAI is one of the founder members of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC, 1977), South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA, 1984), and Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA, 1957).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Functions</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>ICAI Council:</strong> Affairs of the Institute is undertaken by a Council constituted under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Council consists of 32 elected fellow members and up to 8 members nominated by the Government of India.</li>
<li>The elected members of the council are elected under the single transferable vote system by the members of the institute.</li>
<li>The Council functions through its <strong>4 Standing Committees and 37 Non-Standing Committees</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Membership:</strong> Members of the Institute are known as <strong>Chartered Accountants (CA)</strong>. Becoming a member requires passing the prescribed examinations, three years of practical training and meeting other requirements under the Act and Regulations. Functions of CA are following:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Chartered Accountants enjoy a statutory monopoly in audit of financial statements under the Companies Act, 2013, Income Tax Act, 1961</li>
<li><strong>Areas of expertise</strong> include Financial Reporting, Auditing and Assurance, Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, Financial Modelling, Equity Research. Fund Management, Credit Analysis, Capital Markets, Arbitration, Risk Management, Economics, Strategic/Management Consultancy, Management Accounting, Information Systems Audit, Corporate Law, Direct Tax, Indirect Tax and valuation of businesses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Accounting Research Foundation (ARF):</strong> ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF) has undertaken and completed various basic and applied research projects. It also provides financial assistance to researchers / scholars for undertaking basic research projects of contemporary national/ international significance in the aforesaid areas.</li>
<li>ICAI provides technical advice and necessary inputs on matters of economic relevance and alike to various Ministries such as Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Commerce &amp; Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Railways etc.</li>
<li>ICAI also provides technical advice to various bodies such as &ndash; Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Controller General of Accounts, Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Excise &amp; Customs, GST Council, Insurance Regulatory &amp; Development Authority etc.</li>
<li>It has provided comprehensive suggestions at <strong>each stage of GST implementation,</strong> be it Constitutional Amendment Bill, Model GST Law, Revised Model GST Law, Draft GST Rule or Post implementation of GST.</li>
<li><strong>Indian Institute of Insolvency Professionals of ICAI (IIIPI),</strong> a wholly owned subsidiary of the ICAI, is a <strong>Section 8 Public Company</strong> established to enrol and regulate insolvency professionals as its members in accordance with the <strong>Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016</strong> read with regulations and rules incidental thereto.</li>
<li><strong>Quality Review Board:</strong> Under <strong>Section 28A</strong> of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, as inserted by the <strong>Chartered Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2006,</strong> the Central Government is empowered to constitute a Quality Review Board consisting of a Chairperson and ten other members. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Board reviews and recommends to the Council of the ICAI with regard to the quality of services provided by the members of Institute including audit services.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Disciplinary Mechanism:</strong> <strong>The Disciplinary Directorate,</strong> the <strong>Board of Discipline,</strong> and the <strong>Disciplinary Committee</strong> form the foundation of the disciplinary process of the ICAI. These entities are quasi-judicial and have substantial powers like that of a Civil Court to summon and enforce attendance or require discovery and production of documents on affidavit or otherwise.</li>
<li><strong>International Affairs:</strong> The <strong>International Affairs Committee of ICAI</strong> has the multi fold objective of positioning brand Indian CA at the global level by establishing Qualification Recognition Arrangements with accounting bodies (like The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales(ICAEW), Certified Public Accountants of Australia(CPA Australia) etc.).</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>National Financial Regulatory Authority (NFRA)</strong></h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>NFRA</strong> is an Indian body provided in Companies Act 2013 for the establishment and enforcement of accounting and auditing standards and oversight of the work of auditors.</li>
<li>As per the Companies Act, 2013 the NFRA is tasked with the job of recommending accounting and auditing standards, ensuring compliance with them and overseeing the quality of service of the accounting and audit professions.</li>
<li>It has also been given the power to investigate matters of professional misconduct by chartered accountants or CA firms, impose penalty and debar the CA or firm for up to 10 years.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Evolution of NFRA</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The world over more than 50 countries have moved away from <strong>self-regulatory professional accountant bodies</strong> (like ICAI) and created independent audit regulators (like NFRA).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In India, the move to set up a new oversight body for the accounting and audit professions was approved by a parliamentary panel. <strong>After the Satyam scandal</strong> took place in 2009, the <strong>Standing Committee on Finance</strong> proposed the concept of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) for the first time.</li>
<li>Indian Parliament passed The Company Act 2013 (amendment) with inclusion of NFRA (section 132).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Act states that &ldquo;no other institute or body shall initiate or continue any proceedings in such matters of misconduct where the NFRA has initiated an investigation.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>ICAI,</strong> a self-regulatory body, has <strong>had the monopoly</strong> on training and qualifying chartered accountants, giving them license to practice and regulating them including scrutinising audit quality. <strong>Establishment of NFRA was a case of departing of powers from ICAI.</strong></li>
<li>Opposition by the ICAI has been a key reason why the government has delayed notifying the NFRA rules.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Constitution of NFRA (As per section 132 of Companies Act 2013)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Central Government may, by notification, constitute a National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) to provide for matters relating to accounting and auditing standards under this Act.</li>
<li>Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the National Financial Reporting Authority shall<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Make recommendations to the Central Government on the formulation and laying down of accounting and auditing policies and standards for adoption by companies or class of companies or their auditors.</li>
<li>Monitor and enforce the compliance with accounting standards and auditing standards in such manner as may be prescribed;</li>
<li>Oversee the quality of service of the professions associated with ensuring compliance with such standards, and suggest measures required for improvement in quality of service.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It shall consist of a <strong>chairperson,</strong> who shall be a person of eminence and having expertise in accountancy, auditing, finance or law to be appointed by the Central Government and such other <strong>members not exceeding fifteen</strong> consisting of part-time and full-time members.</li>
<li>It shall have the <strong>power to investigate, either suo motu or on a reference made to it by the Central Government,</strong> for such class of bodies corporate or persons, into the matters of professional or other misconduct committed by any member or firm of chartered accountants, registered under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided that no other institute or body shall initiate or continue any proceedings in such matters of misconduct where the NFRA has initiated an investigation under this section.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It shall have the <strong>same powers as are vested in a civil court</strong> under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while trying a suit in matters of: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>discovery and production of books of account and other documents;</li>
<li>summoning and enforcing the attendance of persons and examining them on oath;</li>
<li>Inspection of any books, registers and other documents.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Any person aggrieved by any order of the NFRA, may prefer an appeal before the Appellate Authority constituted under section 132(6) of Companies Act 2013.</li>
<li>The Central Government may, by notification, constitute, an <strong>Appellate Authority</strong> consisting of a chairperson and not more than two other members, for hearing appeals arising out of the orders of the NFRA.</li>
<li>The qualifications for appointment of the chairperson and members of the Appellate Authority, the manner of selection, the terms and conditions of their service and the requirement of the supporting staff and procedure to be followed by the Appellate Authority shall be such as may be prescribed by Parliament.</li>
<li>NFRA shall <strong>prepare its annual report</strong> giving a full account of its activities during the financial year and forward a copy thereof to the Central Government and the Central Government shall cause the annual report to be laid before each House of Parliament.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Standing Committee on Finance (2014-15)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It noted that Constitution of NFRA (section 132 of Companies Act 2013) is a result of the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance which examined the Companies Bill, 2009.</li>
<li>Committee desires that the Ministry may ensure that in the process of constituting NFRA, it does not create two parallel jurisdictions, governing the same issue. So it favours ICAI on function overlapping.</li>
<li>This aspect may be addressed, when the rules governing NFRA are finalised by the Ministry.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The arguments put forth by ICAI:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NFRA shall result in Multiple regulatory bodies,</li>
<li>ICAI is a world-class regulator,</li>
<li>NFRA will be a costly affair,</li>
<li>Unavailability of adequate competent personnel.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) countered ICAI in favour of creation of NFRA.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In many countries outside auditors perform the important gatekeeper function.</li>
<li>Number of independent audit regulators worldwide is up from 18 in 2006 to 51 in 2018.</li>
<li><strong>NITI Aayog,</strong> in a separate matter, <strong>criticised the self-regulatory structure</strong> of such professional bodies.</li>
<li>An international consultant engaged by SEBI said &ldquo;the ICAI&rsquo;s oversight is passive in nature and with limited focus on active investigations&rdquo;.</li>
<li><strong>ICAI&rsquo;s disciplinary mechanism:</strong> Of the 1,972 cases taken up by the Disciplinary Committee/Board of Discipline of the ICAI, only in the matter relating to Satyam Computers have the members been permanently removed. Penalties of one year or more have been imposed on members in only 14 of these cases.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>SC Judgement (S. Sukumar v/s The Secretary, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India), 2018</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>SC ordered the Government of India to constitute a committee to look and deliberate into the aspects of audit system in India in Feb, 2018.</li>
<li>The Committee was formed in April 2018 by MCA and thereafter submitted its report in October, 2018.</li>
</ul>
<p>Within a span of a little over two weeks from the submission of the Report, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on November 13, 2018, notified the <strong>National Financial Reporting Authority Rules, 2018 (Rules)</strong> to lay down the powers, jurisdiction, roles, and duties of the NFRA.</p>
<p><strong>NFRA as the regulator to curb the audit mishaps and to bring in stronger audit framework in India is analysed along with recommendations of committee:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>As a middle path,</strong> the ICAI recommended setting up an independent quality review board under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 to refine the quality of attestation of audits.</li>
<li>Section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013 has given the NFRA the <strong>over-riding powers to establish its supremacy over other laws,</strong> with respect accounting and auditing standards, compliance with accounting and auditing standards, investigation into professional misconducts by chartered accountants, empowered with powers of civil court similar to trying a suit, and for imposing penalties and debarment. <strong>This indicates that there is intent to overhaul the regulatory regime in India for the audit and auditors.</strong></li>
<li>NFRA is also empowered to impose heavy monetary penalties and debarring. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Debarring the member or the firm from engaging himself or itself from practice as member of the ICAI for a minimum period of <strong>six months or for such higher period not exceeding ten years</strong> as may be decided by the National Financial Reporting Authority.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Absence of network liability in the Rules:</strong> Committee has acknowledged the concept of auditor and audit firm operating in India as a member/part of an international network, and in view of the same, it made two noteworthy recommendations, as listed below, however, these recommendations have not found <strong>any place in the Rules</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Monetary penalties on international network/entity:</strong> The Committee recommended imposition of civil liability in the form of <strong>monetary penalties on the international network/entity</strong> with whom/which the Indian audit firm has entered into networking/membership, if any audit failure or fraud is found to have been caused due to any faulty methodology being followed by that particular network.</li>
<li><strong>Jurisdiction of the NFRA:</strong> Primarily, the NFRA&rsquo;s jurisdiction encompasses public companies (with certain prescribed thresholds) and listed companies; however, the reach of the NFRA seems very wide and intends to also cover entities outside India as well. The Rules have also left the discretion with the Central Government to refer any entity to the NFRA in public interest.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Private companies irrespective of their turnover,</strong> or net worth or income, have been <strong>left outside</strong> the jurisdiction of the NFRA along <strong>with public unlisted companies below the prescribed thresholds</strong>.</li>
<li>The Central Government seems to have been given the discretion to make a referral to the NFRA of even private companies or such unlisted public companies, in public interest.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Publication of findings of non-compliances in public domain:</strong> The &ldquo;name shame&rdquo; approach has <strong>found its way in the Rules</strong>. This is one of the key powers given to the NFRA to publish its findings on its website which are available in public domain regarding the non-compliances with accounting and auditing standards.</li>
<li><strong>Suo moto review of financial statements:</strong> NFRA is empowered to review the financial statements of the companies or body corporate falling within its jurisdiction for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing compliance with accounting standards.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>As an independent audit regulator, it will be expected that the NFRA enhances an investor's confidence and bring more transparency and accountability in the auditing profession. As we see more complex and multi-layered structures and increased corporate governance, it will be interesting to see whether the NFRA will be able to act as the watchdog to protect the public interest and the interests of investors, creditors and others associated with the companies or bodies corporate falling within its purview.</p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/icai-nfra'
		],
		(int) 14 => [
			'title' => 'Septic Tanks Meet Norms: MoDWS',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS) has said that Septic tanks and single pits are safe sanitation technologies that meet the standards prescribed by the Sustainable Development Goals.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Union Ministry was responding to a report on National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19 on use of Septic Tanks.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings of the Survey</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19 has concluded that Only 26% of rural toilets use twin-leach pits and rural toilets [that do not use twin-leach pits] could create a new &ldquo;sanitation nightmare.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Not using twin pit can be harmful to health and the environment, and can push a new generation into manual scavenging.</li>
<li>Septic tanks are the most popular option, with 28% of toilets connected to a septic tank with a soak pit and 6% to a tank without a soak pit.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Union Ministry&rsquo;s Response</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Ministry responded that Septic tanks and single pits are safe sanitation technologies that meet the standards prescribed by the Sustainable Development Goals(SDG).</li>
<li>The twin-leach pit toilet is among the most economical and safe sanitation technologies, and has been promoted and extensively adopted.</li>
<li>Ministry accepted, there is a manpower challenge to empty and clean such tanks, given the social context of the country and caste prejudices against such cleaning work.</li>
<li>It is preparing technological and entrepreneurial solutions to the problem.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was conducted by an Independent Verification Agency under the World Bank support project&nbsp; to the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Twin-pit and Single-pit system</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Two pits are dug with honeycombed walls and earthen floors which allow liquid to percolate into the surrounding soil.</li>
<li>When one pit is filled and closed off, waste flow is transferred to the second pit, allowing waste in the first pit to be converted into manure after a year or two.</li>
<li>It is an in-situ sanitation system which claims to bypass thorny issues such as caste purity, as owners will be dealing with manure, not excreta.</li>
<li>In case of single pit system, once this single pit is filled, there is an immediate emergency to empty excreta not manure(it needs long time for conversion of excreta into manure).</li>
</ul>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/septic-tanks-meet-norms-modws'
		],
		(int) 15 => [
			'title' => 'Migration',
			'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
			'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/37aZp4TNmNQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>In the latest terror attack at two mosques in New Zealand, 49 people have lost their lives and scores of people got injured. A majority of the deceased have been identified as migrants and refugees. An Australian national has claimed the responsibility by posting a manifesto stating his racist and anti-immigrant ideologies.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Drishti Input:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Human Migration:</strong> It is the movement by people from one place to another with the intention of settling, permanently or temporarily in a new location (within or outside the home country). Such people are called <strong>migrants</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>Immigration</strong> is coming to a foreign country with the intention of permanently living there whereas <strong>Emigration</strong> is leaving a resident country with the intent to settle elsewhere.</p>
<p><strong>Refugees:</strong> These are the people who have been forced to flee their resident country because of war, violence or persecution. Such people are protected by international law, specifically the 1951 Refugee Convention.</p>
<p><strong>1951 Refugee Convention</strong> deals with the rights of the displaced as well as the legal obligations of states to protect them. <strong>India, despite having a large population of refugees, is not a signatory to this convention.</strong></p>
<p><strong>An asylum seeker</strong> is someone who claims to be a refugee but whose claim hasn&rsquo;t been evaluated yet. This person has applied for the asylum on the grounds that returning to his or her country would lead to persecution on account of race, religion, nationality or political beliefs.</p>
<p><strong>World Migration Report:</strong> It is International Organisation for Migration&rsquo;s (IOM) flagship publication that features the latest trends in international migration, discusses emerging policy issues and provides regional recent developments in Africa, America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.</p>
<p><strong>International Organisation for Migration (IOM)</strong> is a leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. It was established in 1951 and has its head office at Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland.</p>
<p><strong>International Migration Day-18<sup>th</sup> December</strong></p>
</div>
<h3>World Migration Report 2018 Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There are 244 million international migrants globally, accounting 3.3% of the world&rsquo;s total population.</li>
<li>In the year 2015, Europe and Asia hosted around 75 million migrants each, 62% of the total global international migrants.</li>
<li>Europe and Asia was followed by North America with 54 million international migrants in 2015, 22% of the global migrant stock.</li>
<li>Africa and Oceania had 9% and 3% of the total migrant population respectively in 2015.</li>
<li>Latin America and Caribbean had 4% of total migrants in 2015.</li>
<li>U.S.A has been the main country of destination for international migrants since 1970. The number has quadrupled since 1970, from less than 12 million migrants in 1970 to 46.6 million in 2015.</li>
<li>Germany is the second most preferred country with over 12 million international migrants residing in the country in 2015.</li>
<li>Nearly half of all international migrants worldwide in the year 2015 were born in Asia, primarily originating from India, China and other South Asian Countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.</li>
<li>Mexico was the second largest country of origin followed by number of European countries.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings Related to Displacement</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There are over 68 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, out of which 40.3 million are internally displaced and 25.4 million are refugees.</li>
<li>Over 3 million people are seeking asylum around the world.</li>
<li>24 people per minute per day worldwide were forced to flee their home in the year 2015.</li>
<li>About 1 out of every 113 people worldwide were either asylum seekers, refugees or internally displaced in 2015.</li>
<li>About half of the world&rsquo;s refugee population was under 18 in the year 2015.</li>
<li>The reason for the displacement is mainly civil and transnational conflict which also includes acts of violence, extremism etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Cases of Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Syria is focal point of 'global refugee crises'. Lot of people migrate from the country.</li>
<li>People crossing Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy.</li>
<li>Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar fleeing to Bangladesh and India.</li>
<li>Thousands of Dominicans and Stateless in Caribbean.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Benefits of Immigration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Immigrants generally take up that job which people in the host country (the country to which people have fled) will not or cannot do.</li>
<li><strong>Migrant workers often work longer hours and for lower salaries</strong> which benefits host nations.</li>
<li>Immigrants <strong>contribute to the diversity</strong> of the host country and thus also increase tolerance and understanding in the society.</li>
<li>For the host country&rsquo;s economy, Immigrants offer<strong> increased talent pool</strong> provided they have been well educated in their original country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Drawbacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is often seen that immigrants are <strong>exploited for their cheap labour</strong>.</li>
<li>Developing countries may suffer <strong>'Brain Drain'</strong> as the limited resources they spend in educating their students would amount to very little if that talent gets enticed to another country.</li>
<li>Immigration also <strong>attracts criminal elements</strong> from drug and people traffickers to other forms of crime and corruption.</li>
<li><strong>Immigration sometimes also becomes social or political issue;</strong> racism is used to exploit feelings or as an excuse for current woes of the local population.</li>
<li>When there is a perception that immigrants and refugees get more benefits than local poor population, <strong>tensions and hostilities</strong> rise.</li>
<li>Concerns about illegal migration spill over to ill feelings towards the majority of immigrants who may be law-abiding and contributing to the economy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Steps taken by Countries to regulate Irregular Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Strategies adopted by European Union (EU):</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Divergent national approaches to accepting Asylum Seekers.</li>
<li>Using EU budgets to support refugee integration.</li>
<li>Strengthening external borders.</li>
<li>Collaborating with third countries to cut off transit routes.</li>
<li>Tying Foreign Assistance to stemming migration</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Hungary has restricted illegal immigration by suspending the acceptance of asylum seekers sent back to it by other EU states.</li>
<li>U.S. has also made some changes in its Immigration policy.</li>
<li>Italy has called for detention and deportation of migrants, who it blames for the instability and threats in the country.</li>
<li>Dutch has adopted a zero tolerance approach towards those immigrants who are unwilling to sign up to the country&rsquo;s way of life.</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Migration will likely remain a long term challenge for the countries&rsquo; politics, institutions, governments and values. Even with the drop in numbers and the development of institutional capabilities to manage it, its pros and cons will always remain attached to it.</em></p>
<p><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/migration-in-bengal-delta" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For further reading click on the link below.</em></a></p>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/migration-4'
		],
		(int) 16 => [
			'title' => 'Current Affairs Crash Course - Prelims 2020',
			'catname' => 'Prelims',
			'desc' => '<!--<div class="border-bg">
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Important Notice regarding Current Affairs Crash Course Prelims 2020</strong>.</span><br /><br />Dear Students,<br /><br />In light of the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Current Affairs Crash Course 2020 classes will be held only in the online mode.<br /><br />Regards,<br />Drishti Management</p>
</div>-->
<h3><span style="font-size: 18px;"><strong>Current Affairs Crash Course Programme</strong></span></h3>
<p><a href="/crash-course-registration" class="btn-blue" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Register Now</a></p>
<p></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Download Drishti App to watch the Current Affairs Crash Course demo video -</strong> <br /><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.drishti.academy.app" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.drishti.academy.app</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;<strong>Programme Details:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Available only in&nbsp;<strong>Online</strong> <strong>mode</strong>.</li>
<li>Starts 7th August 2020 for both English &amp; Hindi medium students.</li>
<li>Coverage of Current Affairs till June 2020.</li>
<li><strong>Number of Classes</strong> &ndash; approx 40; approx 2.5 hours per class.</li>
<li>
<p><b>Number of Tests</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> &ndash; 2 full-length Mock Tests for GS &amp; CSAT each.</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>
<p><b>Who can join?</b></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Any aspirant preparing for UPSC Civil Service Examination.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Any aspirant preparing for State Civil Service Examinations like UPPCS, MPPCS, BPCS etc.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Any student appearing in exams held by the UPSC like the IES &amp; ISS or any other competitive exam that requires a comprehensive Current Affairs preparation.</span></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;"></ul>
<!--<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #d14747; font-size: 18px; color: #ffffff;">  For more details about the course or if you need assistance regarding admission, please call us on <strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><a href="tel:8010440440" style="color: #ffff00;">8010440440</a></span></strong> or <span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><a href="tel:8750187501" style="color: #ffff00;">8750187501</a></strong> </span>(Monday to Saturday – 10 am to 6.30 pm)<ca eng="">.  </ca></span></p>-->
<p style="text-align: center; background-color: #d14747; padding: 20px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; color: #ffffff;">&nbsp; For more details about the course or if you need assistance regarding admission, please call us on <strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><a href="tel:8010440440" style="color: #ffff00;">8010440440</a></span></strong> or <span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><a href="tel:8750187501" style="color: #ffff00;">8750187501</a></strong> </span>(Monday to Saturday &ndash; 10 am to 6.30 pm)<ca eng="">.&nbsp;&nbsp;</ca></span></p>
<div class="border-bg" style="padding: 15px 20px 15px;">
<h3 style="text-align: left; font-family: 'roboto'; margin-bottom: 0;">More Information:</h3>
<div style="padding-top: 20px;">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">This course will be conducted by </span><b>Nishant Shrivastav</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Current Affairs faculty at Drishti IAS.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Classes will be in </span><b>video format</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and will be available only via our app. Also, our app is currently available only on </span><b>Android</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (Google Play Store)</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Link to the app, Login ID and password credentials, etc. will be sent via SMS after registration.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Please note that login credentials for this course will work only on one device at any given point of time. If you want to transfer your login to a new device, you will have to call us at any of the numbers mentioned below</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From August 7th onwards, video classes will be regularly updated in your app-account.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You will be able to watch each class video for up to 3 times, at your own convenience. There is no fixed time to watch the class videos, you can watch it whenever you wish.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Course validity is for&nbsp;6 months or upto Prelims, whichever is later.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><b>For Help &amp; Support, please call us at</b>&nbsp;<a href="tel:8448485521">8448485521</a> <b>or email us at</b>&nbsp;<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="/crash-course-registration" class="btn-blue" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Register Now</a></p>
<!--<h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 36px;"><a href="/crash-course-registration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="color: #ffffff; background-color: #de2323;">  Register Now  </span></strong></a></span></h4>-->
<p></p>
</div>',
			'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
			'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/prelims/current-affairs-crash-course'
		],
		(int) 17 => [
			'title' => 'A Model Policy for Women in the Police',
			'catname' => 'News Editorials',
			'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(This editorial is based on the article </span></i><b><i>&lsquo;<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-model-policy-for-women-in-the-police/article26524978.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Model Policy for Women in the Police</a>&rsquo;</i></b> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">which appeared in &lsquo;&rsquo;The Hindu&rsquo;&rsquo; on 14</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">th</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> March, 2019. The article talks about participation of women in the Police departments and the challenges faced by them.)</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>
</div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women in Independent India have evolved with the flow of history, but it has only been over the last 35 years that they have experienced the post-industrial revolution and subsequent positives of globalisation. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These developments have radically transformed their gender relations at home, the workplace, with peers, and possibly in society at large, quite similar to the kind of social transformations women in the US experienced in the 1960s.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Indian woman ever since has come a long way in being part of the active workforce and has possibly broken all barriers in most professional fields, including that of donning the uniform of the </span><b>Police and the Para-Military.</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, this is not enough. The discourse on mainstreaming women in the police by making policing inclusive, non-discriminatory and efficient in India is missing in policy circles.</span></p>
<h3>Unwomanly Police Department: the case in point<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the number of women in the police forces nationally has grown in India, it remains just over 7 per cent of the total strength of the police department.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li>There is a wide variation between the States, with 12 per cent of Tamil Nadu&rsquo;s police force being women as against less than 1 per cent in Assam. This is despite the fact that 12 States have over the years passed rules setting a quota of 30 per cent or more for women in the police force.</li>
<li>The chronicle of women in Indian police started in the early 70s when woman began joining the uniformed force. During those decades, thousands of women joined the force from the ranks of constable all the way across the spectrum.</li>
<li>The Police in India have recruited a decent number of women over the last twenty years, but acceptability and assimilation as &ldquo;equal partners&rdquo; to men within the professional core has left much to be desired.</li>
<li>The meagre representation highlights the fact that women in uniform are still perceived as <b>&ldquo;they&rdquo; versus &ldquo;us&rdquo; in all ranks and files of the uniformed profession</b><span>.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges Grappling the System<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Decisions on deployment of women are not free of gender stereotyping restricting women from leading operational positions. This biasness is not limited only from male colleague sometimes female superiors too consider them weak, less willing to work and less tough.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">There appears to be a tendency to sideline women, or give them policing tasks that are physically less demanding, or relegate them to desk duty, or make them work on crimes against women alone.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women police persons are relegated to dealing with crimes against women and accompanying women prisoners the concept works against the interests of women as it segregates them.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Current data reveal that most women in the police are concentrated in the lower ranks reflecting the dearth of females at key operational positions.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The police department suffers from gender apathy as evident through the absence of separate toilets, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">changing rooms for women, and separate accommodation for women</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and other facilities and child-care support, in addition to persistent and widespread gender bias.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Gender Neutral Policing<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">The very presence of women could create an environment for women to access police stations with less diffidence and difficulty.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li>International research illustrates that women police and enforcement officers utilise a different feminine policing style &mdash; relying less on physical force and more on communications skills &mdash; to control potentially violent or conflict situations, and which are therefore less likely to escalate into excessive force or uncontrolled situations.</li>
<li>The under-representation of women at all levels in any progressive and modern police agency negatively impacts the culture and operational efficiency of law enforcement agencies and throughout that community or country in which it prevails.</li>
<li>Today, in India, crime against women is at an all-time high, and socially-destructive and exploitative practices such as dowry, molestation, sexual assault, and coercion are common. &nbsp;The cases often go unreported as the victim at times suffers from the insensitivity perpetrated by male officials who lacks sensitization. More women in the system can help address this problem.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/563drishti_ias_number%20of women in police force.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/563drishti_ias_number of women in police force.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>The Impetus Required<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is a need to have more women in the field in executive postings &ndash; from constables to inspectors and higher ranks. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Departments should undertake special recruitment drives in every district to ensure geographical diversity.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The police should reach out to the media and educational institutions to spread awareness about opportunities for women in the police.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women in the constabulary must get the training, support and confidence needed to put them on a par in every sense with their male counterparts.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A common gender-neutral cadre needs to be created for all ranks so that promotional opportunities are evenly available.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Resource centres for mentoring, creating awareness about opportunities and prospects, and helping with career planning and training and coping with workplace challenges are essential.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">While women have a role in making up for the lack of training and sensitisation of the force in general in dealing with crimes against women they should not be ghettoised into dealing only with such crimes.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women do have some special needs, like during and post pregnancies, which need to be catered to. They shouldn&rsquo;t be shunted to non-executive postings. The force needs to encourage more women to be in the field.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most State police departments have received funds under the Modernisation of State Police Forces Scheme for providing separate toilets and changing rooms for women, and for constructing separate accommodation for women with attached toilets in all police stations and units. Police departments must ensure the best use of this fund.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police departments must also ensure safe working spaces for women and adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination and harassment, in order to make policing a viable career option for women.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Departments must operationalise the </span><b>Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013.</b></li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward<br /><b></b></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">While more women are urgently needed in the police forces, the numbers alone will not be enough without equity.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li>To counter the prevalence of sexist attitudes within the bureaucracy and police, an organisational response from the force is needed to enable women to realise their full potential.</li>
<li>Integrating women in the force should become an essential component of the process of police reform in India, enabling them to become <b>Real Agents of Change</b><span>.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li><b>More women in the force is not only an expression of the formal fulfilment of sexual equality but it is also about achieving a true Lebensraum- a space conducive for natural development.</b></li>
</ul>
<p><i></i></p>',
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		(int) 18 => [
			'title' => 'Migration in Bengal Delta ',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>Recently an international study titled <strong>Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECMA)</strong> was published.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The study found that the economic reasons are the precipitating factor for migration in the Indian Bengal Delta and most migrants are in the age group of 20-30 years.</li>
<li>The study, held between 2014 and 2018 focusing on three deltas Ganga Brahmaputra Meghna Delta (India and Bangladesh) Volta (Ghana) and Mahanadi (India) looks into the aspect of climate change, adaptation, and migration in these deltas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings of The Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons for Migration in Delta</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The study which covers the district of South and North 24 Parganas reveals that 64% of people migrate because of economic reasons, unsustainable agriculture, lack of economic opportunities and debt.</li>
<li>28 % of the migration from the region is for social reasons and about 7% for environmental reasons like cyclones and flooding.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Gender Disparity in Migration</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The study finds a huge gender disparity in the migration out of Indian Bengal Delta, with men outnumbering women by almost five times.</li>
<li>It shows that of the people migrating 83% are men and only 17 % are women.</li>
<li>While most of the men migrate due to economic reasons, women do so, driven by mostly social factors.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Destination of Migration</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In terms of the destination of migrations, the study finds that 51% of migration from the Indian Bengal Delta is to other areas of the State particularly to the city of Kolkata, 10% to Maharashtra, 9% to Tamil Nadu, 7% Kerala and 6% to Gujarat.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Type of Migration in Delta</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>57% of migration is seasonal, where people move once or twice a year.</li>
<li>19% is circular where those migrating move thrice a year irrespective of reasons.</li>
<li>24% of migration is permanent where people intend to stay for at least six months in the place they are migrating to.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>What is Migration?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. It can be over a short or long distance, be short-term or permanent, voluntary or forced, intranational or international.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Pull Factors</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A pull factor is a feature or event that attracts a person to move to another area.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Push Factors</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Push factors are those that drive people away from their place of origins.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Causes of Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Economic factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Push factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Unemployment or lack of employment opportunities</li>
<li>Rural poverty</li>
<li>Unsustainable livelihood</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pull factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Job opportunities</li>
<li>Better income and prospects for wealth creation</li>
<li>Industrial innovation and technical know-how for a new industry</li>
<li>The pursuit of specialized education</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Sociopolitical factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Push factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Political instability</li>
<li>Safety and security concerns (ethnic, religious, racial or cultural persecution)</li>
<li>Conflicts or threat of a conflict</li>
<li>Inadequate or limited urban services and infrastructure (including healthcare, education, utilities, transport and water</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pull factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Family reunification</li>
<li>Independence and freedom</li>
<li>Integration and social cohesion</li>
<li>Food security</li>
<li>Affordable and accessible urban services (including healthcare, education, utilities, and transport)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ecological factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Push factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Climate change (including extreme weather events)</li>
<li>Crop failure and scarcity of food</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pull factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The abundance of natural resources and minerals (e.g. water, oil)</li>
<li>Favorable climate</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Types of migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Migration can be classified in several ways. It is usually categorized:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>By political boundaries</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Internal migration &ndash;</strong> Migration occurring within a country from crossing political boundaries, either within a state or between states, whether urban to rural, urban to urban, rural to rural, or rural to urban.</li>
<li><strong>International migration &ndash;</strong> Migration occurring across country boundaries. Such migrants are known as immigrants (coming into a foreign country) and emigrants (leaving their own country)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>By movement pattern</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Step migration:</strong> Migration initiating from a small settlement and moving to a larger one in the urban hierarchy over the years.Such as movement from a farm to a village, then to a town and subsequently to a suburb (if applicable) and finally into a city.</li>
<li><strong>Circular migration:</strong> Cyclical migration experiences between an origin and a destination with at least one migration and return.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Seasonal migration</strong> is a very common form of circular migration, driven by seasonal peaks in labor demand, mostly in agriculture.</li>
<li><strong>Return migration&nbsp;</strong>refers to a one-time emigration and returns after an extended stay outside the host territory.</li>
<li><strong>Chain migration:</strong> Migration of families at different stages of the life cycle from one location to the next, who subsequently bring people from their home location to this new place.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>By decision-making approach</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Voluntary migration:</strong> Based on a person&rsquo;s free will, initiative and desire to live in a better place and to improve their financial status, among other factors.</li>
<li><strong>Involuntary migration:</strong> Based on a person&rsquo;s being forced out of their home due to certain unfavorable environmental and political situations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Benefits of Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The areas of destinations benefit due to the reduction in the cost of production, availability of the human resource, rising productivity, size of consumer and capital market.</li>
<li>At the same time, areas of origin also benefit through the flow of remittances, information, and innovations influencing the households and people left behind.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues Related to Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Low-quality jobs:</strong> Migrants mostly dominate the low-paying, hazardous and informal market jobs in key sectors in urban destinations, such as construction, hotel, textile, manufacturing, transportation, services, domestic work etc.</li>
<li><strong>Access to employment:</strong> Certain states have introduced domicile requirements with regard to employment. This puts migrants at a disadvantage.</li>
<li><strong> Housing and sanitation:</strong> One of the key issues with regard to housing is poor supply, for both ownership and rental. Short-term migrants do not have access to short-duration accommodation. So migrants live in overcrowded colonies in unhygienic conditions.</li>
<li><strong> Exploitation and intimidation:</strong> Usually migrants are exploited at the behest of the majoritarian native population, they are the target of social profiling, stereotyping, abuse and are made to work under exploitative conditions with no social security cover. e.g. Gujarat migrant crisis.</li>
</ul>',
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		(int) 19 => [
			'title' => 'New Hydro Policy',
			'catname' => 'News Analysis',
			'desc' => '<p>The government, under<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-fact-for-prelims-8th-march-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> New Hydroelectricity Policy,</strong> </a>has approved &lsquo;renewable energy status&rsquo; for<strong> large hydel projects.</strong></p>
<p>Earlier, <strong>only smaller projects of less than 25 Megawatt (</strong>MW) in capacity were categorised as renewable energy. Large hydro projects were treated as a separate source of energy.</p>
<h3>Renewable Energy Sector</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India&rsquo;s renewable energy sector had an installed capacity of 75,055.92 MW as of February 2019, according to data with the Central Electricity Authority.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This made up <strong>about 21.4% of the overall energy mix</strong>, with the rest coming from thermal, nuclear and large hydro sources.</li>
<li>However, with the inclusion of large hydro in renewable energy, the energy mix will change drastically.</li>
<li>Renewable energy capacity would now be 1,20,455.14 MW or 34.4% of the overall energy mix.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This policy will also drastically change the <strong>renewable energy mix as well.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Before February 2019, the wind energy contributed nearly 50% of all renewable energy capacity, it will now make up only 29.3%.</li>
<li>Similarly, solar energy&rsquo;s share will fall from 34.68% to 21.61%.</li>
<li>The hydro sector, however, will see its share grow from just over 6% to over 41%.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Hydroelectric energy provides grid stability which a renewable source like wind and solar do not. The key reasoning seems to be providing grid stability and a <strong>better energy mix.</strong></li>
<li>There has been a huge imbalance in the thermal-hydro mix for the last few years because of a sharp growth in thermal and complete stagnation in hydro.</li>
<li>This reclassification will<strong> immediately help India</strong> achieve its target of <strong>175 GW by 2022.</strong></li>
<li>Another benefit from the policy could be the <strong>positive impact on the stock prices</strong> of State-run hydroelectric companies such as Sutlej Jal Vikas Nigam (SJVN)</li>
<li>This will help large hydel projects avail cheaper credit and increase demand from distribution companies for cleaner energy.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>State distribution companies will be obliged to purchase a certain percentage of hydropower&mdash;similar to renewable purchase obligations. This will create a market for hydropower, making the sector competitive.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>These projects will not only get the budgetary support for infrastructure, but will also be able to access &ldquo;green finance&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>',
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		'title' => 'Water on Asteroid Bennu',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recent, observations by <strong>NASA's OSIRIS-REx (Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer)&nbsp;</strong>spacecraft has found that the asteroid Bennu has lots of accessible water.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>OSIRIS-REx mission had arrived at asteroid Bennu after a two-year journey in December 2018.</li>
<li>OSIRIS-REx was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on September 8, 2016.</li>
<li>The OSIRIS-REx mission is not the first to ever visit an asteroid and attempt a sample return &mdash; Japan has done<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hayabusa-2-1" target="_blank" rel="noopener">(Hayabusa Mission)</a> it before and Europe (Rosetta Mission) has managed to land on a comet.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Rosetta Mission</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Rosetta Mission was launched by the European Space Agency in 2004 to explore&nbsp;Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko and to study the nucleus of the comet and its environment.</li>
<li>Rosetta was the first mission ever to orbit a comet&rsquo;s nucleus and land a probe on its surface. It was also the first spacecraft to fly alongside a comet as it head towards the inner Solar System</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Mission</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Mission <strong>aims to study asteroid Bennu, collect a sample and return it to Earth in 2023.</strong></li>
<li>The mission will spend 2.5 years, mapping its surface and studying its composition.</li>
<li>In mid-2020, scientists will direct Osiris-Rex to drop down to the asteroid and grab at least 60g of regolith, or "topsoil".</li>
<li>This will be packed away in a sterile capsule to be returned to earth in 2023.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Mission Objective</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The OSIRIS-REx name is an acronym of the mission objectives, which are:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Origins:</strong> Return and analyze a pristine carbon-rich asteroid sample</li>
<li><strong>Spectral Interpretation:</strong> Provide ground truth or direct observations for telescopic data of the entire asteroid population</li>
<li><strong>Resource Identification:</strong> Map the chemistry and mineralogy of a primitive carbon-rich asteroid</li>
<li><strong>Security:</strong> Measure the effect of sunlight on the orbit of a small asteroid, known as the Yarkovsky effect. This effect is the slight push created when the asteroid absorbs sunlight and re-emits that energy as heat, could change the trajectory of asteroids.</li>
<li><strong>Regolith Explorer:</strong> Document the regolith (layer of loose, outer material) at the sampling site at scales down to the sub-centimeter</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Significance of Mission</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Origins of the Solar System</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In order to understand the origin and evolution of the solar system.</li>
<li>As Earth formed, and afterward, objects like Bennu may have delivered the molecules of carbon and water to our planet. By studying Bennu, we can better understand how life originated on earth.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Protecting Earth</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Bennu is one of the most potentially hazardous asteroids currently known to Earth. Bennu has a 1‐in‐2,700 chance of impacting earth during one of its close approaches to Earth in the late 22nd century.</li>
<li>Close observations by OSIRIS-REx will help get more information about Bennu's journey and help scientists working on safeguarding our planet against hazardous asteroids.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mining, LaunchPad, and Future Explorations</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The recent discovery of water will help to explore the possibility of using asteroids as refueling stations for spacecraft on the way to deeper destinations in space.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>As water can be split into its constituent hydrogen and oxygen which can be used as fuel in rockets.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Water could also be harvested for providing water to astronauts.</li>
<li>Asteroids contain a range of valuable minerals, there is a possibility of mining asteroids in the future.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>About Bennu</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The asteroid was discovered by the Lincoln Near-Earth Asteroid Research (LINEAR) survey on September 11, 1999.</li>
<li>It was originally named as 1999 RQ36.</li>
<li>The name Bennu comes from an Egyptian deity related to the Sun, often depicted as a gray heron.</li>
<li>Bennu is a 500-meter wide asteroid in an elliptical orbit around the sun. It is a carbonaceous asteroid composition including a large amount of carbon.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Why Bennu?</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>It's close to Earth</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Bennu&rsquo;s orbit is close in proximity to Earth's, even crossing it. The asteroid makes its closest approach to Earth every 6 years.</li>
<li>It also circles the Sun nearly in the same plane as Earth, which makes it simple to launch the spacecraft out of Earth's plane and into Bennu's plane.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>It's the right size</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Small asteroids, with diameters of 200 meters or less, spin very fast. This rapid spinning makes it difficult for a spacecraft to match an asteroid's velocity and collect samples.</li>
<li>Bennu's size makes it approachable and makes landing possible.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/water-on-asteroid-bennu'
	],
	(int) 1 => [
		'title' => 'UN World Happiness Report- 2019',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The<strong> Sustainable Development Solutions Network for the United Nations</strong> released the <strong>World Happiness Report on March 20</strong>, which was designated as the <strong>World Happiness Day by the UN General Assembly in 2012.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is UN&rsquo;s <strong>seventh annual World Happiness Report</strong>, which ranks the world&rsquo;s 156 countries on<strong> &ldquo;how happy their citizens perceive themselves to be&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>The focus of report was- "<strong>Happiness and Community: how happiness has been changing over the past dozen years, and how information technology, governance and social norms influence communities"</strong></li>
<li>The report ranks countries on <strong>six key variables</strong> that support well-being:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Income,</li>
<li>Freedom to make life choices,</li>
<li>Trust,</li>
<li>Healthy life expectancy,</li>
<li>Social support and</li>
<li>Generosity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The happiness study ranks the countries of the world on the basis of<strong> questions from the Gallup World Poll.</strong> The results are then correlated with other factors, including GDP and social security.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The overall world happiness has<strong> fallen over the past few years,</strong> which has mostly been fuelled by a sustained drop in India, which came in <strong>140<sup>th</sup> place this year (2019)</strong> compared with <strong>133<sup>rd</sup> in 2018.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>There has been an <strong>increase in negative emotions, including worry, sadness and anger.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>India featured in the five countries that had the<strong> largest drop since 2008</strong> in the index, along with Yemen, Syria, Botswana and Venezuela.</li>
<li>The list is <strong>topped by Finland for the second year in a row</strong> followed by<strong> Denmark, Norway, Iceland and the Netherlands.</strong></li>
<li>Among India's neighbouring countries, <strong>Pakistan is ranked 67<sup>th</sup>, Bangladesh 125th, Bhutan 95<sup>th</sup>, Sri Lanka 130<sup>th</sup> and China is placed at 93<sup>rd</sup>.</strong></li>
<li>People in war-torn <strong>South Sudan are the most unhappy</strong> with their lives, followed by <strong>Central African Republic (155), Afghanistan (154), Tanzania (153) and Rwanda (152).</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN),<strong> launched in 2012</strong>, mobilizes global scientific and technological expertise to promote practical problem solving for the<a href="/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/in-depth-indias-sustainable-development-goals" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> <strong>Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</strong> </a>and the <a href="/to-the-points/paper3/cop24" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>Paris Climate Agreement.</strong></a></li>
<li>It was established under the auspices of the <strong>United Nations Secretary-General.</strong></li>
<li>The <strong>SDSN and the Bertelsmann Stiftung</strong> have been publishing the annual<strong> SDG Index &amp; Dashboards Global Report since 2016.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/un-world-happiness-report-2019'
	],
	(int) 2 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (22nd March 2019)',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Super Worm Equinox Moon</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> last supermoon of the year has coincided with the Spring Equinox.</strong> The phenomenon is generally known as &lsquo;Super Worm Equinox Moon&rsquo;.</li>
<li><strong>The full moon of the March is the third supermoon of the year,</strong> following a <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-21st-january-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener">super blood wolf moon</a> on January 21<sup>st</sup> and a super snow moon on February 19<sup>th</sup>.</li>
<li><strong>The full moon is also known as the worm moon</strong> in some parts of the world. It is called so because, in cold climates, the ground begins to warm up at this point and earthworms appear.</li>
<li>When the moon is at its closest point to the earth, it is called &lsquo;perigee&rsquo; and when a full moon coincides with a perigee, it is called Supermoon.</li>
<li>The<strong> Equinox is the moment</strong> when the <strong>length of day and night become equal</strong> and the <strong>sun&rsquo;s rays fall directly on the earth&rsquo;s equator.</strong> The phenomenon happens <strong>twice a year&ndash; once as autumn equinox in September and the other in March as spring equinox or vernal equinox.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>LightSail2</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>LightSail 2</strong> is a project to demonstrate controlled solar sailing using a miniature CubeSat satellite.</li>
<li>It will be launched from the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, US in April 2019.</li>
<li>LightSail 2 is the<strong> second of three satellites</strong> built to demonstrate the <strong>feasibility of powering a spacecraft using solar radiation.</strong></li>
<li>This mission is designed to see if LightSail can move into higher orbits around the Earth using <strong>only photons from the sun to push it along.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Solar Sailing</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar sails (also called light sails or photon sails) are a proposed method of spacecraft propulsion using radiation pressure exerted by sunlight on large mirrors.</li>
</ul>
<h3><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337435_image49.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337435_image49.png" width="458" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></h3>
</div>
<h3>Fall Armyworms</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>&lsquo;Fall armyworms&rsquo;</strong> are <strong>native to the Americas</strong> but they have been moving eastwards since 2016, sweeping across Africa, where they caused $1-3 billion in damage, before arriving in Asia.</li>
<li>The flying insects<strong> arrived in India</strong> in July and have since spread to Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand and China's Yunnan province.</li>
<li>Farming in several Asian countries is under threat from a type of crop-damaging insects that have munched their way from the Americas and across Africa</li>
<li>They <strong>feed mostly on maize, for which China is the world's second-largest producer,</strong> and can feed on several species of crops, including rice and sugarcane.</li>
<li>FAO meeting in Bangkok with officials from affected countries and experts for discussing ways to limit armyworm infestations amid a <strong>&ldquo;growing sense of alarm&rdquo;.</strong></li>
<li>FAO is working with local authorities and training farmers to manage the pests by crushing egg masses and using biopesticides.</li>
<li>Chemical pesticides are an option but should be carefully considered due to environmental and health damages.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Food and Agriculture Organization is an <strong>agency of the United Nations</strong> that leads international efforts to defeat hunger.</li>
<li>FAO is also a source of knowledge and information and helps developing countries and countries in transition modernize and improve agriculture, forestry and fisheries practices, ensuring good nutrition and food security for all.</li>
<li><strong>Formation: 16 October 1945, in Quebec City, Canada</strong></li>
<li><strong>Headquarters: Rome, Italy</strong></li>
<li>Every year, <strong>World Food Day (Theme for 2018- Zero Hunger) is celebrated on October 16</strong> to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) of United Nations in the year 1945.</li>
<li>The <strong>Sustainable Development Goal (SDG-2) also aims to &ldquo;End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture&rdquo; by 2030.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-22nd-march-2019'
	],
	(int) 3 => [
		'title' => 'Electric Vehicles (EVs)',
		'catname' => 'Paper 3',
		'desc' => '<h3>Why in News</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently Union Cabinet approved setting up of a <strong>&lsquo;National Mission on Transformative Mobility</strong> <strong>and Battery Storage'</strong> to promote clean, connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Electric Vehicles (EVs)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>An electric vehicle, uses one or more electric motors or traction motors for propulsion.</li>
<li>An electric vehicle may be powered through self-contained battery, solar panels or an electric generator to convert fuel to electricity.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Need for EVs in India</h3>
<p><strong>Climate change</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Problem of rapid global temperature increase has created the need for a reduction in the use of fossil fuels and the associated emissions.</li>
<li>India has committed to cutting its GHG emissions intensity by 33% to 35% percent below 2005 levels by 2030.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Rapid urbanization</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Economic development leads to rapid urbanization in emerging nations as rural populations move non-agricultural sectors in cities creating environmental problems.</li>
<li>According to a recent study by WHO, India is home to 14 out of 20 most polluted cities in the world. EVs will help in tackling this problem by reducing local concentrations of pollutants in cities.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Energy security</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India imports oil to cover over 80 percent of its transport fuel.</li>
<li>EVs can reduce dependence on imported crude oil promoting India&rsquo;s energy security.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Innovation </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It will encourage cutting edge technology in India through adoption, adaptation, and research and development.</li>
<li>EVs manufacturing capacity will promote global scale and competitiveness.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Employment</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Promotion of EVs will facilitate employment growth in a sun-rise sector.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Clean and Low carbon Energy</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The shift towards renewable energy sources has led to cost reduction from better electricity generating technologies. This has introduced the possibility of clean, low-carbon and inexpensive grids.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Cutting edge Battery Technology</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Advances in battery technology have led to higher energy densities, faster charging and reduced battery degradation from charging. Combined with the development of motors with higher rating and reliability, these improvements in battery chemistry have reduced costs and improved the performance and efficiency of electric vehicles.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges for EV Industry in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Lack of a stable policy for EV production:</strong> EV production is capital intensive sector requiring long term planning to break even and profit realization, uncertainty in government policies related to EV production discourages investment in the industry.</li>
<li><strong>Technological challenges:</strong> India is technologically deficient in the production of electronics that form the backbone of EV industry, such as batteries, semiconductors, controllers, etc.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of associated infrastructural support:</strong> The lack of clarity over AC versus DC charging stations, grid stability and range anxiety (fear that battery will soon run out of power) are other factors that hinder the growth of EV industry.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of availability of materials for domestic production:</strong> Battery is single most important component of EVs. India does not have any known reserve of lithium and cobalt which are required for battery production. India is dependent on countries like Japan and China for the import of lithium-ion batteries.</li>
<li><strong>Lack of skilled workers:</strong> EVs have higher servicing costs and higher levels of skills is needed for servicing. India lacks dedicated training courses for such skill development.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Government Initiatives</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Government has set a target of electric vehicles making up 30 % of new sales of cars and two-wheelers by 2030 from less than 1% today.</li>
<li>To build a sustainable EV ecosystem initiatives like &ndash; <strong>National Electric Mobility Mission Plan (NEMMP) and Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &amp;) Electric vehicles in India (FAME India)</strong> have been launched by India.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>NEMMP:</strong> It was launched in 2013 with an aim to achieve national fuel security by promoting hybrid and electric vehicles in the country. There is an ambitious target to achieve 6-7 million sales of hybrid and electric vehicles year on year from 2020 onwards.</li>
<li><strong>FAME:</strong> FAME India Scheme [Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid &amp;) Electric Vehicles in India] was launched in 2015 with the objective to support hybrid/electric vehicles market development and manufacturing ecosystem. The scheme has 4 focus areas i.e. <strong>Technology Development, Demand Creation, Pilot Projects and Charging Infrastructure</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Organization like Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS), Department of Heavy Industry, Automotive Research Association of India are devising design and manufacturing standards of EVs, Electric Vehicle Supply Equipment (EVSEs) &amp; charging infrastructure to smoothen the advent of in-house production of EVs.</li>
</ul>
<h3>FAME II</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Phase-II of FAME seeks to give a push to EVs in public transport and seeks to encourage adoption of EVs by way of <strong>market creation</strong> and <strong>demand aggregation</strong>.</li>
<li>It envisages the <strong>holistic growth of EV industry,</strong> including providing for charging infrastructure, research and development of EV technologies and push towards greater indigenization.</li>
<li><strong>Establishment of Charging stations</strong> are also proposed on major highways connecting major city clusters on both sides of the road at an interval of about 25 km each.</li>
<li>The scheme with total outlay of Rs 10,000 Crores over the period of three years will be implemented with effect from 1st April 2019.</li>
<li>FAME 2 will offer incentives to manufacturers, who invest in developing electric vehicles and its components, including lithium-ion batteries and electric motors.</li>
<li>The centre has asked states to frame their EV policy and provide additional fiscal and non-fiscal incentives to manufacturers and buyers.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>National Mission on Transformative Mobility and Battery Storage</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To promote clean, connected, shared, sustainable and holistic mobility initiatives.</li>
<li>The Mission will drive mobility solutions that will bring in significant benefits to the industry, economy and country.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Phased Manufacturing Programme </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Valid for 5 years till 2024 to support setting up of a few large-scale, export-competitive integrated batteries and cell-manufacturing Giga plants in India.</li>
<li>Creation of a PMP valid for 5 years till 2024 to <strong>localize production</strong> across the entire Electric Vehicles value chain.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Education curriculum and skill development plans should be upgraded to match the requirements of the sectors.</li>
<li>Stabilizing policy environment by working on tax incentives, non-fiscal incentives can address the uncertainty of demand helping the industry to achieve economies of scale.</li>
<li>EVs are rapidly growing sunrise sector which can give push to &lsquo;Make in India&rsquo;.</li>
<li>Signing of Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with countries rich in materials like Lithium, rare earth materials etc. to deal with lack of availability of these materials.</li>
<li>Establishing the right coordination among three pillars of EV industry i.e. urban planning, transportation and power sectors will assist in systematic adoption of EVs.</li>
<li>Affordable, accessible, inclusive and safe mobility solutions are primary strategic levers for rapid economic development and improving &lsquo;Ease of Living&rsquo;.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/to-the-points/paper3/electric-vehicles-evs'
	],
	(int) 4 => [
		'title' => 'On The Learning Curve',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border-bg">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/on-the-learning-curve/article26583825.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'On The Learning Curve'</a> which appeared in &lsquo;The Hindu&rsquo; on 20th March, 2019. The article talks about the challenges faced by the educational sector and the ways in which education outcomes can be changed in India.)</p>
</div>
<p>Among the lakhs of employees on the payrolls of State governments in India, the education department, unarguably, has the largest share of employees. Besides frontline service providers (teachers), there are a number of other officials and administrators who form an important part of the educational set-up.</p>
<p>However India even after the concerted efforts in the 70 years of independence has not been able to reap out the desired result in the educational field which is affected by institutional problems.</p>
<h3>The Challenges Affecting India&rsquo;s Education Dynamic</h3>
<p>The blatant politicisation of academia has resulted in universities becoming monoliths of political correctness instead of spaces where diverse ideas and genuine contestation can flourish.</p>
<p>Education transformation programmes by States run the risk of falling flat, as they are often unaccompanied by a single transformation change road map and all stakeholders are not taken into consideration while formulating a policy.</p>
<p>The marginalisation of merit has had its own set of consequences where quest for excellence has given way to catering to the lowest common denominator and has bred nepotism in the education sector.</p>
<p>Quality remains a huge challenge in higher education in India. Very few Indian institutions feature in the top 200 world rankings.</p>
<p>Bulk of the enrolment in higher education is handled by state universities and their affiliated colleges. However, these state universities receive very small amounts of grants in comparison. Nearly 65% of the University Grants Commission (UGC) budget is utilised by the central universities and their colleges while state universities and their affiliated colleges get only the remaining 35%.</p>
<p>Education sector suffers from shortage of resources in form of teachers; professors etc. According to UGC, out of the total sanctioned teaching posts, 35% professor posts, 46% associate professor posts and 26% assistant professor posts are vacant.</p>
<p>At present, there is no mechanism for ensuring the accountability and performance of professors in universities and colleges. This is unlike foreign universities where the performance of college faculty is evaluated by their peers and students.</p>
<p>The education sector also suffers from lack of employable skills in students of technical education, has also been observed. Outdated curriculum results in a mismatch between education and job market requirements, dampens students&rsquo; creativity and hampers the development of their analytical abilities.</p>
<p>Accreditation of higher educational institutions needs to be at the core of the regulatory arrangement in higher education. Further, quality assurance agencies should guarantee basic minimum standards of technical education to meet the industry demand for quality manpower. The National Board of Accreditation should act as a catalyst towards quality enhancement and quality assurance of higher technical education.</p>
<h3>The Path To Universal Education</h3>
<p>Any effort to introduce education reforms must ensure that the incentives of all stakeholders are aligned throughout the system to ensure their participation.</p>
<p>Inducing competition among administrative units helps invigorate key stakeholders to work in synchronisation in order to achieve intended outcomes. Competition also makes abstract goals such as &lsquo;learning outcomes&rsquo; more real by defining exact &lsquo;actionable&rsquo; metrics on which improvement is desired.</p>
<p>Political commitment to improving the quality of education backed by strong review and monitoring mechanisms can spur meaningful activity in States.</p>
<p>Most importantly, there should be constant focus on recognising and disseminating best practices of States, which not only act as a reward for well-performing local administrations but also provides impetus to other districts to adopt similar measures.</p>
<p>Most of the state universities suffer from lack of funding and remain in need of resources and therefore mobilisation of funds in state universities should be explored through other means such as endowments, contributions from industry, alumni, etc.</p>
<p>System of performance audit of professors based on the feedback given by their students and colleagues should be set up. Other inputs like research papers, publications by teachers should be added in the performance audit in due course of time.</p>
<h3>Novel Steps Towards Realising The Dream</h3>
<p><strong>Saksham Scheme</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The scheme is a novel step taken by Haryana government.</li>
<li>State officials nominate their block for the &lsquo;Saksham Ghoshna&rsquo; once they are reasonably confident that their block has achieved the 80% target &mdash; as a result of remedial programmes, teacher training and internal assessments.</li>
<li>Self-nomination is then followed by rigorous rounds of third party assessments to vet their claims.</li>
<li>If a block is found to be 'Saksham', the block officials are recognised by no less than the Chief Minister.</li>
<li>When all blocks in a district are declared as &lsquo;Saksham&rsquo;, the entire district is also accorded 'Saksham' status.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>'School Education Quality Index' (SEQI)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NITI Ayog has created a state-level<strong> &lsquo;School Education Quality Index&rsquo; (SEQI),</strong> which seeks to make improvements in learning outcomes a focal point of governance.</li>
<li>It gives scores to States based on their educational performance and puts this data out in the public domain.</li>
<li>The ranking not only encourages competition among States but also rewards and motivates other States to consistently improve.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<p>States need to induce competition and give a boost to put all key actors in education in the driver&rsquo;s seat to improve their learning levels. Right incentive structures for stakeholders lead to administrative efficiency, which then improves the quality of service delivery.</p>
<p>Improvement in learning outcomes remains an immediate goal for India to fulfil its aspirations of playing a greater role in the global economy and a systemic transformation is the best solution towards achieving it.</p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/on-the-learning-curve'
	],
	(int) 5 => [
		'title' => 'Living Planet Report 2018: Aiming Higher by WWF',
		'catname' => 'Summary of Important Reports',
		'desc' => '<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 1- Why Biodiversity matters?</h1>
<h3></h3>
<h3>The importance of nature in our lives</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Humans have evolved, grown and thrived, in nature. Modern human society needs the resources of nature to thrive. Perception that nature is &lsquo;nice to have&rsquo; and its protection is secondary to the more important tasks of increasing economic growth, creating jobs, enhancing the competitiveness of industry etc is inherently wrong.</li>
<li>However this perception is changing slowly, at global level companies and governments are now signaling their intention to adopt more integrated approaches.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Nature is of incalculable importance to our health, wealth, and security. </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Medical treatments have been inspired by wild species, from painkillers to treatments for heart conditions and from cancer cures to remedies for high blood pressure.</li>
<li>Being in natural areas improves our physical wellbeing, through encouraging outdoor exercise.</li>
<li>Our nutritional requirement rely one way or the other on natural system.</li>
<li>Nature is crucial in replenishing freshwater that underpins all the economic activity.</li>
<li>While it is sometimes easy to assume that water security is assured primarily via dams, reservoirs, treatment works and distribution networks, it is in the end nature that replenishes the freshwater that underpins all economic activity.</li>
<li>Nature will play an essential role in helping human societies cope with the inevitable consequences of rising global temperatures.</li>
<li>Wildlife is increasingly being used for <strong>bio-mimicry,</strong> engineers and designers use solutions honed by natural selection to meet challenges in the human world.</li>
</ul>
<h3>The importance of nature to the world&rsquo;s economies</h3>
<p>Nature is important as it supplies from raw material, water, food, medicines and energy, to the pollination of crops, formation of soils and protection from floods, storms and erosion.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The planet&rsquo;s natural systems provide a range of vital services that underpin production, trade, livelihoods and consumption in every country.</li>
<li>However nature should not only be looked as a supplier of raw materials but its social, cultural, spiritual and religious significance should also be recognized.</li>
<li>IPBES (intergovernmental science policy platform on biodiversity and ecosystem services) an organization established to assess the state of biodiversity and the ecosystem services it provides to society in 2018.</li>
<li>According to the several assessments by the Intergovernmental Science Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), culture plays the central role in defining all links between people and nature.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The IPBES Conceptual Framework &ndash; which underpins all its assessments and syntheses &ndash; calls this much broader notion <strong>Nature&rsquo;s Contribution to People (NCP)</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>All our food, in the end, relies one way or another on natural systems, including the complex ecological relationships that enable soils to support plant growth.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>About 87% of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals 8, and crops that are partially pollinated by animals account for 35% of global food production 9.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Globally it is estimated that nature approximately provides services worth 25 trillion dollars annually.</li>
<li>In every region, biodiversity and nature&rsquo;s capacity to contribute to people is being degraded, reduced and lost due to a number of common pressures &ndash;
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>habitat stress</li>
<li>overexploitation and unsustainable use of natural resources</li>
<li>air, land and water pollution</li>
<li>increasing numbers and impact of invasive alien species</li>
<li>and climate change</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>changing planetary conditions are increasingly linked to major socio-economic disruptions.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/433drishti_ias_image1.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/433drishti_ias_image1.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>The Great Acceleration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Great Acceleration is the unique ongoing event with exploding human population and economic growth driving unprecedented planetary change through the increased demand for energy, land and water.</li>
<li>This human being-induced change is being seen as a new geological epoch, the Anthropocene.</li>
<li>There has been an exponential rise in health, knowledge and standard-of-living improvements but all this has come at a huge cost to the stability of the natural systems.</li>
<li>The impact of Great Acceleration now interferes profoundly with Earth&rsquo;s atmosphere, ice sheets, ocean, forests, land and biodiversity.</li>
<li>Earth is losing biodiversity at a rate seen only during mass extinctions.</li>
<li>In the last 50 years, global average temperature has risen at 170 times the background rate 31. Ocean acidification may be occurring at a rate not seen in at least 300 million years.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 2 - The threats and pressures wiping out our world</h1>
<p><br /><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/683drishti_ias_image8.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/683drishti_ias_image8.png" width="769" height="651" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>Threats old and new</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The main drivers of biodiversity decline are <strong>overexploitation of species, agriculture and land conversion</strong>. The two factors are driven by spiraling human consumption.</li>
<li><strong>Invasive species</strong> are also a frequent threat, their spread relying heavily on trade-related activities such as shipping.</li>
<li><strong>Pollution and disturbance,</strong> for example through agricultural pollution, dams, fires and mining, are additional sources of pressure.</li>
<li><strong>Climate change</strong> is playing a growing role and is already beginning to have an effect at an ecosystem, species and even genetic level.</li>
<li>Since 1970s our <strong>Ecological Footprint &ndash; a measure of our consumption of natural resources &ndash;</strong> has increased by about 190.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Runaway Consumption </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The ability of ecosystems to renew themselves is called <strong>biocapacity</strong>.</li>
<li>Together <strong>biocapacity and ecological footprint</strong> provide an empirical basis for determining whether humanity is living within the means of our planet.</li>
<li>Biocapacity has increased by 27% due to changed technologies and land management practices.</li>
<li>However it has not kept pace with the human consumption which has increased 190% over the same period.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Ecological Footprint of Consumption</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Prior to the explosive population growth of the 20th century, humanity&rsquo;s rate of consumption was much smaller than the Earth&rsquo;s rate of renewal.</li>
<li>As a result, prevailing economic models are based on growth, very rarely taking resource limitations into account. But this simplification is no longer viable.</li>
<li>Ecological Footprint accounting tracks human demand on nature by quantifying the biologically productive area required to meet all these competing demands, including food, fiber, timber, accommodation of roads and buildings, and sequestration of carbon dioxide from fossil fuel burning.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p><strong>The demand covers six area types</strong><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/342drishti_ias_image3.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/342drishti_ias_image3.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<p><strong>Integrating data to connect consumers to their impacts</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>To look deeper into production-related impacts on the environment, the mapping and monitoring of supply chains is crucial to identify and understand how global consumption drives environmental impacts.</li>
<li>Supply chains are the link between the driving forces of environmental change, like consumption activities, and the pressures these impose (such as land-use change), the state of the environment and the resulting impacts (for example, species loss).</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Facts and terms</strong></p>
<p><strong>European Commission&rsquo;s Copernicus Satellite Programme,</strong> provide unprecedented capabilities to monitor changes in land cover globally, and at high spatial and temporal resolution. For example, the two Sentinel-2 satellites, launched in 2015 and 2017, survey the entire Earth&rsquo;s land surface (bar the poles) every five days at a resolution of between 10m and 60m.</p>
<p><strong>Global Forest Watch</strong> is an online platform that provides near real-time information about how forests are changing around the world and includes capabilities for companies to assess impacts associated with the production of the commodities they include in their products.</p>
<p><strong>Rotterdam Effect:</strong> Some materials are imported into one country, and then processed or simply transferred from one ship to another, and then exported again. Known as the &lsquo;Rotterdam Effect&rsquo; after the busiest port in Europe, this can lead to errors in accurately linking goods to their true origin.</p>
<p><strong>Multi-Regional Input-Output (MRIO) models</strong> offer one approach to approximating consumer dependence on direct and embedded materials. MRIO datasets describe spending between sectors and economies, and by final consumers.</p>
</div>
<h3>Choice and Change: The impacts of consumption</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The way our supply chains are structured, the materials they use, how these are extracted and manufactured, and the consumption choices we make have a myriad of impacts on the world around us. Using different datasets helps us to map these out and understand the consequences of our choices.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<p>Supply chains are the link between the driving forces of environmental change, like consumption activities, and the pressures these impose (such as land-use change), the state of the environment and the resulting impacts (for example, species loss).</p>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Human activities associated with the production or harvesting of food, fiber and energy from terrestrial ecosystems have enormous impacts on biodiversity.</li>
<li>Different types of land use affect the balance between wild and domesticated species, the size and quality of habitats, and the non-living chemical and physical parts of the environment that affect living organisms and the functioning of ecosystems.</li>
<li><strong>Direct biodiversity loss</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Agriculture accounts for the lion&rsquo;s share of the conversion of forested land.</li>
<li>Decreases in forest area and forest quality both impact the plants and animals living within them.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Disruption of habitats</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The degree of forest fragmentation is a major threat to biodiversity conservation and ecosystem service provision.</li>
<li>It is estimated that in 70% of the forest masses of the world, <strong>a forest edge</strong> can be found within a mean distance of less than 1 km.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Note:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Edge effects are changes in population or community structures that occur at the boundary of two or more habitats.</li>
<li>Areas with small habitat fragments exhibit especially pronounced edge effects that may extend throughout the range.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This has huge implications for habitat structure and quality; forest recolonization and the disruption of corridors for wildlife dispersal; forest microclimate and hydrology</li>
<li>Fragmentation can also make forests more accessible to people, increasing the pressure on forest resources.</li>
</ul>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Pollution and degradation of the environment</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Excessive use of synthetic agricultural inputs such as pesticides, antibiotics, hormones and fertilizers are associated with declines in soil and aquatic biodiversity.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Disruption of ecosystem functions</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Ecosystems such as forests play an important role in reducing disaster risks, mitigating some of the most acute effects of climate change.</li>
<li>When such natural infrastructures are lost, people exposed to natural hazards such as floods, storms and landslides tend to migrate and settle in new areas resulting in further pressure on nature and biodiversity loss.</li>
<li>Pesticide use results in critical reductions in pollinator numbers and performance reducing agricultural productivity.</li>
<li>About 87% of all flowering plant species are pollinated by animals, and crops that are partially pollinated by animals account for 35% of global food production.</li>
<li>Human activities have important consequences for the abundance and/or richness of soil organisms, particularly through the negative impacts of land-use change and agricultural intensification.</li>
<li>Soil biodiversity is key to sustain food production as it detoxify polluted soils, suppress soil-borne diseases and contribute to the nutritional quality of food.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Land Degradation</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Land degradation is the persistent reduction of the capacity of the land to support both biodiversity and human needs.</li>
<li>It includes the loss of soil; loss of habitat and hydrological function; deforestation; overgrazing and shrub encroachment and drainage and eutrophication in wetlands.</li>
<li>In March 2018, the IPBES released its latest Land Degradation and Restoration Assessment (LDRA), finding that only a quarter of land on Earth is substantively free of the impacts of human activities.</li>
<li>By 2050 this fraction is projected to decline to just a tenth. Wetlands are the most impacted category, having lost 87% of their extent in the modern era.</li>
<li>The immediate causes of land degradation are typically local but the key driver is the growing demand for ecosystem-derived products.</li>
<li>The consequences of land degradation are a complex interaction between degradation, poverty, conflict and the migration of people.</li>
<li>Loss of habitat is the key driver of declining terrestrial biodiversity worldwide, and land degradation is a big contributor to global climate change.</li>
</ul>
<p>Preventing degradation is much cheaper in the long run than permitting it, and then later paying for the impacts and restoration.</p>
<h3>Pollinators</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The majority of flowering plants are pollinated by insects and other animals.</li>
<li>Pollinators are a diverse group, including more than 20,000 species of bees, many other types of insects (e.g. flies, butterflies, moths, wasps and beetles) and even vertebrates such as some birds and bats.</li>
<li>More than 75% of the leading global food crops benefit from pollination. Some of these are key sources of human nutrition.</li>
<li>Changing land use due to agricultural intensification and urban expansion is one of a number of key drivers of pollinator loss.</li>
<li>Improving habitat diversity within the landscape, and the inclusion of non-agricultural habitats within land management plans, has been shown to ameliorate pollinator loss, boost pollinator numbers and improve ecosystem services.</li>
<li>The abundance, diversity and health of pollinators is also threatened by a number of other drivers such as changing climate, invasive species and emerging diseases and pathogens.</li>
<li>What&rsquo;s so special in the soil?</li>
<li>Soil biodiversity encompasses microorganisms (those only visible under microscopes, such as fungi and bacteria).</li>
<li>These organisms influence the physical structure and chemical composition of soils.</li>
<li>They are essential for enabling and regulating critical ecosystem processes such as carbon sequestration, greenhouse gas emissions, and the uptake of nutrients by plants.</li>
<li>They represent a storehouse for potential medical applications as well as new biological controls on pathogens and pests.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The recently published <strong>Global Soil Biodiversity Atlas mapped</strong> for the first time potential threats to soil biodiversity across the globe.</li>
<li>It generated a risk index combining eight potential stressors to soil organisms: <strong>loss of above-ground diversity, pollution and nutrient overloading, overgrazing, intensive agriculture, fire, soil erosion, desertification and climate change</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Valuing forests for people and nature</h3>
<p>Forests are among the richest ecosystems. Tropical, temperate and boreal forests cover nearly 30% of the Earth&rsquo;s land area, and yet they are home to more than 80% of all terrestrial species of animals, plants and insects.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The rate of forest area net loss has slowed due to reforestation and the establishment of new plantations, as well as policy and regulatory efforts to reduce forest conversion.</li>
<li>However it remains very high in tropical forests, particularly in some frontier areas in South America, sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia. They are cleared for agriculture, subsistence farming and urban growth.</li>
<li>Using proximity to forest edges as a way of measuring forests&rsquo; vulnerability shows that 60-70% of the world&rsquo;s forests are at risk from the negative effects of human activities, altered microclimate and invasive species.</li>
<li>The pressure on forests from both small- and large-scale agriculture is likely to continue in order to growing demand for fibre and fuel as well as for food.</li>
<li>While part of the increased food supply will originate from growing yields in existing agricultural lands, additional land will be needed.</li>
<li>This will further increase the pressure on tropical forests, thus continuing to threaten priority areas for biodiversity conservation, unless there is a fundamental shift in how forests are valued for the many benefits they provide.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>For example, in addition to providing habitats for animals and livelihoods for people, forests also offer watershed protection, prevent soil erosion and mitigate climate change.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Living Forests report series</h3>
<p>In a series of five <strong>Living Forests Reports,</strong> WWF highlighted areas of forest most vulnerable to deforestation between 2010 and 2030; the report identified 11 deforestation fronts.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Living Forests Report is part of an ongoing conversation with partners, policymakers, and businesses about how to protect, conserve, sustainably use, and govern the world&rsquo;s forests in the 21st century.</li>
<li>It is prepared by WWF.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>These are places where the largest concentrations of forest loss or severe degradation are projected to occur between 2010 and 2030 under business-as-usual scenarios and without interventions to prevent losses.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/397drishti_ias_image2.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/397drishti_ias_image2.png" width="992" height="318" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>Ocean habitats vital to humanity in steep decline</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The rapid loss of some of the ocean&rsquo;s most productive and species rich habitats like coral reefs, mangroves and seagrasses threatens the wellbeing of hundreds of millions of people.</li>
<li><strong>Plastic pollution</strong> is also a growing global problem. <strong>Plastic debris</strong> has been detected in all major marine environments worldwide, from shorelines and surface waters down to the deepest parts of the ocean, even at the bottom of the Mariana Trench.</li>
<li>Billions of people rely on healthy oceans to provide livelihoods, jobs and food and the range of goods and services that flow from coastal and marine environments. Nearly 200 million people depend on coral reefs to protect them from storm surges and waves.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Key habitats that underpin ocean health and productivity are in steep decline:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Coral reefs</strong> support more than a quarter of marine life but the world has already lost about half of its shallow water corals in only 30 years. If current trends continue, up to 90% of the world&rsquo;s coral reefs might be gone by mid-century.</li>
<li><strong>Tropical seas</strong> overheated by climate change have bleached, damaged and killed coral at unprecedented levels. Prolonged heat led to catastrophic die-off of fast-growing coral species and these were replaced by slower-growing groups that shelter fewer sea creatures.</li>
<li>Other threats to coral reefs include <strong>overfishing, selective fishing and destructive fishing practices,</strong> and <strong>pollution from runoff</strong> which sullies reef waters, compromising coral health.</li>
<li><strong>Mangroves</strong> are a key natural asset for many tropical and subtropical coastlines, providing livelihoods to many millions of coastal families and protecting them from violent storms and coastal erosion.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They sequester nearly five times more carbon than tropical forests and provide nurseries to innumerable juvenile fish species that grow to join wider ocean ecosystems.</li>
<li>Clearing for development as well as <strong>over-exploitation and aquaculture</strong> have contributed to a decline in the extent of mangroves by 30% to 50% over the past 50 years.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Seagrasses</strong> represent important coastal ecosystems that provide critical human benefits including habitat that supports commercial and subsistence fisheries, nutrient cycling, sediment stabilization, and globally significant sequestration of carbon.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>They are threatened directly by <strong>destructive fishing practices, boat propellers, coastal engineering, cyclones, tsunamis and climate change, and indirectly by changes</strong> in water quality due to land run-off. Seagrasses have been disappearing at a rate of 110 km2 per year since 1980.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Plastics in the ocean</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Plastic marine debris ranges from microscopic pieces to larger waste items such as bags, cigarette filters, etc which are the most visible form of plastic pollution.</li>
<li>Plastic debris has been detected in all major marine environments worldwide, from shorelines and surface water down to the deepest parts of the ocean, even at the bottom of the Mariana Trench</li>
<li>Today 90% of the world&rsquo;s seabirds have fragments of plastic in their stomachs compared to only 5% in 1960.</li>
<li>Impacts were found to be greatest at the southern boundary of the Indian, Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, a region thought to be relatively pristine.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Threats and pressures on our source of life</h3>
<p>Freshwater ecosystems contain disproportionately more species per unit area than marine and terrestrial ecosystems. Although they cover less than 1% of the Earth&rsquo;s surface, freshwater habitats are home to more than 10% of known animals and about one-third of all known vertebrate species</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater habitats such as lakes, rivers and wetlands are the source of life for all humans and command high economic value.</li>
<li>They are affected by factors such as <strong>habitat modification, fragmentation and destruction; invasive species; overfishing; pollution; forestry practices; disease; and climate change</strong>.</li>
<li>In many cases, these combined threats have led to catastrophic declines in freshwater biodiversity.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Globally, wetland extent is estimated to have declined by more than 50% since 1900.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>The importance of healthy freshwater ecosystems</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater ecosystems are under increasing levels of threat and the trend for freshwater species is alarming.</li>
<li>Freshwater ecosystem health is defined by its water quality and quantity, connectivity to other parts of the system and landscape, habitat condition, and diversity of plant and animal species.</li>
<li>Eutrophication (an enrichment by or excess of nutrients to the water) and toxic pollution are major sources of water quality degradation.</li>
<li>Climate change is exacerbating existing stressors and causing changes in the timing, availability and temperature of waters, affecting the condition of freshwater habitats and the life history of freshwater species.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Connected, flowing rivers: critical for freshwater ecosystems</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>River systems, their floodplains and deltas, are among the most biologically diverse and productive ecosystems on the planet.</li>
<li>They provide the primary source of protein for hundreds of millions of people worldwide. For these economic and ecosystem benefits to be realized, rivers must retain key characteristics and processes.</li>
<li>When natural connectivity and flow are retained the river is called &lsquo;free-flowing&rsquo;.</li>
<li>Infrastructure development &ndash; especially dams &ndash; has caused a dramatic decline in the number of free flowing rivers.</li>
<li>Rivers can both be prevented by the construction of poorly planned dams and ensuring that any dams that are constructed are located and designed to mitigate environmental damage as much as possible.</li>
<li>River protection can also occur via various legal and policy mechanisms.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>The Brisbane Declaration and Global Action Agenda on Environmental Flows,</strong> published in 2018, is a clarion call to governments and stakeholders to build on previous successes through widespread implementation of environmental flows through legislation and regulation, water management programmes and research, linked by partnership arrangements involving diverse stakeholders.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Threats through the lens of the Living Planet Index (LPI)</h3>
<p><strong>LPI &ndash; Threats to biodiversity </strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Habitat loss and degradation</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This refers to the modification of the environment where a species lives, by complete removal, fragmentation or reduction in quality of key habitat. Common causes are unsustainable agriculture, logging, transportation, fragmentation of rivers and streams etc.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Species Overexploitation:</strong> There are both direct and indirect forms of overexploitation-
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Direct overexploitation refers to unsustainable hunting and poaching or harvesting.</li>
<li>Indirect overexploitation occurs when non-target species are killed unintentionally, for example as by-catch in fisheries.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pollution</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Pollution can directly affect a species by making the environment unsuitable for its survival. It can also affect a species indirectly, by affecting food availability or reproductive performance.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Invasive species and disease</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Invasive species can compete with native species for space, food and other resources, can turn out to be a predator or spread diseases that were not previously present in the environment.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Climate change</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The effects of climate change on species are often indirect. Changes in temperature can confound the signals that trigger seasonal events such as migration and reproduction, causing these events to happen at the wrong time.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Threats to LPI populations around the world</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>All freshwater and terrestrial populations in the global LPI are assigned to one of <strong>five major biogeographic realms,</strong> regions characterized by distinct assemblages of species.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/347drishti_ias_image4.png" width="668" height="178" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This gives us a better understanding of how biodiversity is changing in different parts of the world and helps us to identify whether different local threat processes are driving these changes.</li>
</ul>
<p>Information about threats is available for just under a quarter &ndash; or 3,789 populations &ndash; in the global LPI. Each population can be associated with up to three different threats. Habitat degradation and loss is consistently the most reported threat in all realms; but there is some variation between realms and taxonomic groups.</p>
<h3>Planetary Boundaries</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Field studies, models, Earth observations and geological evidence have all been used to build an understanding of global change, the capacity of living organisms to adapt to change and the systemic risks when adaptation fails.</li>
<li>The Planetary Boundaries concept is an effort to use this Earth system perspective to provide information on human-driven changes. The concept suggests that the world&rsquo;s societies need to set limits on human-caused disturbances to tightly linked Earth system processes.</li>
<li>It is already a useful integrating framework for illustrating the risks of human interference with the Earth system through our patterns of consumption and production. It presents the idea of a safe zone for critical Earth system processes.</li>
<li>The Planetary Boundaries framework highlights nine critical issues where human activities are reducing the safe operating space:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Loss of biosphere integrity (the destruction of ecosystems and biodiversity)</li>
<li>Climate change</li>
<li>Ocean acidification</li>
<li>Land-system change</li>
<li>Unsustainable freshwater use</li>
<li>Perturbation of biogeochemical flows (nitrogen and phosphorus inputs to the biosphere)</li>
<li>Alteration of atmospheric aerosols,</li>
<li>Pollution by novel entities,</li>
<li>Stratospheric ozone depletion</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>People have already pushed at least four of these systems beyond the limit of a safe operating space-biosphere integrity, biogeochemical flows and land-system change. Freshwater use has also passed beyond a safe threshold.</li>
<li>Biosphere integrity plays a critical role in determining the state of the Earth system, regulating its material flows, energy balance, climate, and responses to abrupt and gradual change. It not only interacts with the other planetary boundary categories, but also maintains the overall resilience of the Earth system.</li>
</ul>
<p><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/541drishti_ias_image5.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Our changing climate will impact the Earth system in many ways because climate influences the ways that ecosystems on land and below water function and interact with each other.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 3 - Biodiversity in a Changing World</h1>
<p></p>
<h3>Population Indicator: The Living Planet Index</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Living Planet Index (LPI) is an indicator of the state of global biodiversity and the health of our planet.</li>
<li>Published since 1998, it tracks the population abundance of thousands of mammals, birds, fish, reptiles and amphibians around the world.</li>
<li>The species population data that is collected goes into a global index, as well as indices for more specific bio-geographic areas, referred to as realms, based upon distinct groupings of species.</li>
<li>The 2018 indices include data from 1970 to 2014.</li>
<li>The global index, calculated using available data for all species and regions, shows an overall decline of 60% in the population sizes of vertebrates between 1970 and 2014&ndash; in other words, an average drop of well over half in less than 50 years.</li>
<li>Living Planet Indices &ndash; whether the Global Index or those for a specific realm or species group &ndash; show the average rate of change over time across a set of species populations.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Realm Living Planet Indices</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Populations are in decline in all realms, but declines are especially pronounced in the three tropical realms. The LPI indicates that the Neotropical realm, covering South and Central America, and the Caribbean, has suffered the most dramatic decline at 89% loss compared to 1970. Nearctic and Palearctic populations are faring slightly better with declines of 23% and 31%.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Freshwater Living Planet Index</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater ecosystems provide habitat for around 1 in 10 known species of fishes, mollusks, reptiles, insects, plants and mammals despite covering less than 1% of the Earth&rsquo;s surface.</li>
<li>These ecosystems are strongly affected by habitat modification, fragmentation and destruction; invasive species; overfishing; pollution; forestry practices; disease; and climate change.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/368drishti_ias_image7.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/368drishti_ias_image7.png" width="519" height="380" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Freshwater LPI shows 83% decline, equivalent to 4% per year since 1970. The largest declines are seen in the Neotropics (-94%), the Indo-Pacific (-82%) and the Afrotropics (-75%), especially in reptiles and amphibians, and in fishes.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Different Biodiversity Indicators, Same Story</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biodiversity is often referred to as the &lsquo;web of life&rsquo;. It is the variety of all living things &ndash; plants, animals and micro-organisms &ndash; and the ecosystems of which they are a part.</li>
<li>It includes diversity within species and between species and can refer to any geographic scale &ndash; from a small study plot to the entire planet.</li>
<li>The biodiversity is shaped by natural processes and, increasingly, by the influence of humans.</li>
<li>Species and the natural systems around us, respond to human pressures and conservation interventions in a variety of ways and there is no single measure to capture all these changes.</li>
<li>Therefore different metrics and indicators are needed to understand biodiversity change as well as to track progress towards biodiversity targets and to devise effective conservation programs.</li>
</ul>
<p>To complement the population-based Living Planet Index and put the trends that it measures in a broader context, the report include an overview of three other biodiversity indicators: <strong>the Species Habitat Index, the IUCN Red List Index,</strong> and the <strong>Biodiversity Intactness Index</strong>.</p>
<h3>Distribution: the Species Habitat Index</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Species Habitat Index, is an aggregate measure of the extent of suitable habitat available for each species to help provide a richer picture of both past and projected future biodiversity change.</li>
<li>This index captures changes in species range and incorporates information about species habitat preferences, habitat fragmentation and climate change.</li>
<li>When used together, species distribution and habitat suitability models can estimate the combined impact of habitat loss and climate change on species, in both the past and the future.</li>
<li>The overall trends in the Species Habitat Index for mammals declined by 22% from 1970 to 2010, with the greatest declines in the Caribbean (&gt;60%).</li>
<li>Other regions with declines of more than 25% were Central America, North-East Asia and North Africa.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Extinction risk: the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Information on life-history traits, population and distribution size and structure, and their change over time is used which is used by Red List assessors to classify species into one of eight categories.</li>
<li>Extinct, Extinct in the Wild, Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, Near Threatened, Least Concern or Data Deficient.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/954drishti_ias_image6.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/954drishti_ias_image6.png" width="679" height="315" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A Red List Index value of 1.0 equates to all species within a group qualifying as Least Concern. An index value of 0 equates to all species having gone Extinct.</li>
<li>Currently, the Red List Index is available for five taxonomic groups in which all species have been assessed at least twice: birds, mammals, amphibians, corals and cycads.</li>
<li>Current index values for all groups show declines, indicating that species are moving towards extinction more rapidly.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Composition: the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII) estimates how much of a region&rsquo;s originally present biodiversity remains, relative to if the region were still covered with primary vegetation and facing minimal human pressures.</li>
<li>The Index ranges from 100&ndash;0% with 100 representing an undisturbed or pristine natural environment with little to no human footprint.</li>
<li>The most recent global estimates suggest that the BII fell from 81.6% in 1970 to 78.6% in 2014.</li>
<li>Models that focus on tropical and subtropical forest biomes, using finer-scale land-use data, suggest their BII is both lower and declining more rapidly &ndash; from 57.3% in 2001 to 54.9% in 2012.</li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">Chapter 4 - Aiming higher: what future do we want?</h1>
<h3>Bending the curve of biodiversity loss</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Biodiversity has been described as the &lsquo;infrastructure&rsquo; that supports all life on Earth.</li>
<li>The natural systems and biochemical cycles that biological diversity generates allow the stable functioning of our atmosphere, oceans, forests, landscapes and waterways.</li>
<li>The global community in 1992 came together and collectively agreed on the importance of the natural world and their responsibility to protect it.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Aichi Targets</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Initiated - 1992 Rio Earth Summit</li>
<li>First global agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity</li>
<li>Came into force in 1993</li>
<li>The CBD sets overall goals and policies with general obligations; the responsibility for achieving these goals rests largely with countries themselves.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Long-term vision:</strong> &ldquo;By 2050, biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for all people.</p>
<p>To meet this vision the CBD, there are a set of five medium-term strategic goals with 20 targets &ndash; called the <strong>Aichi Targets</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>Goal C - &ldquo;To improve the status of biodiversity by safeguarding ecosystems, species and genetic diversity&rdquo; and includes three targets.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Target 11 concerns the global coverage of protected areas</li>
<li>Target 12 is directed at the conservation of species</li>
<li>Target 13 concerns the conservation of genetic diversity of cultivated plants, farmed and domesticated animals, and their wild relatives</li>
</ul>
</div>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>However, the continued decline in species shows that we have failed the natural world.</li>
<li>These changes are triggered by spiraling increase in our consumption which interferes profoundly with biodiversity and all the other natural systems.</li>
<li>Today world requires bold and well-defined goals and a credible set of actions to restore the abundance of nature to levels that enable both people and nature to thrive.</li>
<li>Without these changes it is impossible to achieve the targets of SDG 2030s which includes mitigating climate change, adapting to climate impacts, maintaining the quality of soil, air and water, and supporting a resilient basis for the food, fuel etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>A roadmap for 2020 to 2050</h3>
<p>There are three necessary steps in a roadmap for the post-2020 agenda:</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Clearly specify the goal for biodiversity recovery,</li>
<li>Develop a set of measurable and relevant indicators of progress,</li>
<li>Agree a suite of actions that can collectively achieve the goal in the required timeframe.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Translate the aspirational vision to an ambitious goal</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Current goals of CBD aims at 2050 and are aspirational in nature but this vision is concrete and achievable enough to be the basis of the goal of a post-2020 agreement on biodiversity.</li>
<li>This will require a new set of targets that aim higher and are effective beyond 2020.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Identify ways to measure progress towards the goal</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Since the current targets were set, almost a decade ago, so the second step is to identify the best metrics to measure true progress towards the chosen goal.</li>
<li>Measuring progress towards biodiversity targets is very complicated. Biodiversity assessment requires multiple measures at different spatial scales and across different ecological dimensions.</li>
<li>There is a need for indicators that can track three key dimensions of biodiversity necessary for the vision and the goals described here, and in the CBD and SDG targets:-
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Changes in population abundance &ndash;Living Planet Index</li>
<li>Extinction rate on a global scale - Red List Index (RLI)</li>
<li>Changes to local biodiversity using indicators such as the Biodiversity Intactness Index (BII)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<p>If they are to be used to support concrete global action, there is a need to improve taxonomic representativeness, integration and data coverage.</p>
<p></p>
<h1 style="text-align: center;">The Path Ahead</h1>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It has been established beyond doubt that humanity&rsquo;s survival depends on our natural systems yet we continue to destroy the health of nature at an alarming rate.</li>
<li>It is important that a new global deal for nature and people should be made &ndash; to bend the curve of biodiversity loss.</li>
<li>It is important to politically escalate political relevance of nature and galvanize a cohesive movement across state and non-state actors to drive change.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>A global deal for nature and people</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In 2017, scientists published a paper proposing a new &lsquo;Global Deal for Nature&rsquo; as a companion to the Paris Climate Agreement.</li>
<li>It talked about promoting increased habitat protection and restoration, national and eco-region scale conservation strategies, and the empowerment of indigenous peoples to protect their sovereign lands.</li>
<li>Such a deal is essential in addressing the decline in natural systems to achieving the 2030 agenda for Sustainable Development and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Imagining the future: Scenarios and leadership for the future we want</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>WWF is collaborating with a consortium of almost 40 universities, conservation organizations and intergovernmental organizations to launch the research initiative <strong>Bending the Curve of Biodiversity Loss</strong>.</li>
<li>The initiative will help in identifying potential win-win solutions for both nature and people.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/summary-of-important-reports/living-planet-report-2018-aiming-higher-by-wwf'
	],
	(int) 6 => [
		'title' => 'Aurora Supercomputer',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The United States has decided to build the fastest supercomputer.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The supercomputer is<strong> named as Aurora.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>About Aurora</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is scheduled to be delivered to the <strong>Argonne National Laboratory near Chicago in 2021. </strong></li>
<li>It will be the first machine<strong> to reach a milestone called &ldquo;exascale&rdquo; performance, i.e. one billion billion calculations per second.</strong></li>
<li>This <strong>speed is around seven times the speed of the most powerful system built to date, or 1,000 times faster than the first &ldquo;petascale&rdquo; systems built in 2008. </strong></li>
<li>The new machines will let researchers create significantly <strong>more accurate simulations of</strong> phenomena such as<strong> drug responses, climate changes, the inner workings of combustion engines and solar panels.</strong></li>
<li>An <strong>International Business Machines (IBM) Corporation</strong> system called<strong> Summit(OLCF-4)</strong>, built for the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in the USA is the<strong> fastest supercomputer in the world with a clocked speed of 143.5 petaflops.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Supercomputer in India</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India&rsquo;s first supercomputer called <strong>PARAM 8000 was launched in 1991.</strong></li>
<li>At present, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology has<strong> Pratyush supercomputer, which is the fastest supercomputer in India,</strong> it has a speed of 4.0 Petaflops.</li>
<li>National Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasting has <strong>Mihir</strong>, which has a speed of 2.8 petaflops.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Unit of Computing Speed</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Teraflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to <strong>one million million (10^12)</strong> <strong>floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</strong></li>
<li><strong>Petaflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to<strong> one thousand million million (10^15)</strong> floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
<li><strong>Exaflops:</strong> It is a unit of computing speed equal to <strong>one billion billion (10^18)</strong> floating-point operations per second (FLOPS).</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/aurora-super-computer'
	],
	(int) 7 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (20th March 2019)	',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Ind-Indo CORPAT 2019<a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337136_image36.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577337136_image36.jpg" width="399" caption="false" style="float: right;" /></a></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The opening ceremony of <strong>33rd Edition of India-Indonesia Coordinated Patrol (Ind-Indo Corpat)</strong> took place at <strong>Port Blair, Andaman &amp; Nicobar Islands, India.</strong></li>
<li>The 33rd IND-INDO CORPAT, also coinciding with<strong> 70 of the establishment of India-Indonesia diplomatic ties.</strong></li>
<li>Under this exercise, <strong>the ship and aircraft from both the countries would undertake to patrol on the respective sides of 236 nautical miles long International Maritime Boundary line.</strong></li>
<li>As part of the Indian Government&rsquo;s vision of <strong>SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region),</strong> the Indian Navy has also been involved in<strong> assisting countries in the Indian Ocean Region with Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Surveillance, Search and Rescue, and other capacity-building and capability-enhancement activities.</strong></li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The<strong> vision of SAGAR was enunciated by Prime Minister in March 2015.</strong> It is an articulation of <strong>India&rsquo;s vision for the Indian Ocean.</strong></li>
<li>SAGAR has inter-related elements and underscores India&rsquo;s engagement in the Indian Ocean. These are<strong> enhancing capacities to safeguard land and maritime territories &amp; interests;</strong> deepening <strong>economic and security cooperation</strong> in the littoral; action to <strong>deal with natural disasters and maritime threats like piracy, terrorism.</strong></li>
<li>It also includes <strong>engaging with countries beyond our shores</strong> with the aim of <strong>building greater trust and promoting respect for maritime rules, norms and peaceful resolution of disputes</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Mitra-Shakti VI</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Annual joint military exercise <strong>Mitra-Shakti 2019 between India India-Sri Lanka</strong> will be conducted in Sri Lanka.</li>
<li>The<strong> aim of the exercise is to build and promote close relations between armies of both the countries</strong> and to enhance the ability of joint exercise commander to take military contingents of both nations under command.</li>
<li>This exercise is one of the <strong>major bilateral defense cooperation initiatives between India and Sri Lanka since 2013.</strong></li>
</ul>
<h3>Copyright License for Google</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Google has been granted a copyright license by the <strong>Indian Performing Right Society Limited (IPRS).</strong></li>
<li>The copyright license will <strong>enable Google to use IPRS members&rsquo; work and material in India on YouTube and other services.</strong></li>
<li>Google recently launched<strong> YouTube Music,</strong> a paid music streaming service, in the country.</li>
<li><strong>IPRS is the country&rsquo;s only copyright society, authorized to carry out the copyright business for musical works and literary works (lyrics), associated with its members.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Members of IPRS comprises of the author (lyricists), music composers and music publishers.</strong></li>
<li>The IPRS was founded on 23rd August 1969.</li>
<li>The IPRS is a representative body of Owners of Music, viz. The Composers, Lyricists (or Authors) and the Publishers of Music and<strong> is also the sole Authorised Body to issue Licences for usage of Musical Works &amp; Literary Music within India by any person.</strong></li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-20th-march-2019'
	],
	(int) 8 => [
		'title' => 'International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently an International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (IWDRI) was held in New Delhi.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The two-day workshop was organised by the <a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/what-is-a-national-disaster" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong>National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)</strong></a> in collaboration with <strong>United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)</strong>, and in partnership with the <strong>Global Commission on Adaptation</strong>, <strong>United Nations Development Programme</strong> and the<strong> <a href="/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-international-institution/world-bank-group" target="_blank" rel="noopener">World Bank</a></strong>.</li>
<li>The objective of workshop were to:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Identify good practices</strong> of disaster risk management in key infrastructure sectors,</li>
<li><strong>Identify specific areas and pathways</strong> for collaborative research on DRI (Transport, Energy, Telecom and Water),</li>
<li>Discuss and co-create the <strong>broad contours of the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)</strong> as well as a notional roll-out plan for the next three years, and</li>
<li>Build a forum for members to work on areas of common interest and make specific commitments.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR)</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The UNISDR was <strong>established in 1999</strong> as a dedicated secretariat to facilitate the implementation of the <strong>International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (ISDR).</strong></li>
<li>It is headquartered in<strong> Geneva, Switzerland.</strong></li>
<li>It is mandated to serve as the focal point in the United Nations system for the coordination of disaster reduction and to ensure synergies among the disaster reduction activities.</li>
<li>It is an <strong>organisational unit of the UN Secretariat</strong> and is led by the UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Disaster Risk Reduction (SRSG).</li>
<li>UNISDR's Strategic Framework 2016-2021 has a vision to substantially reduce disaster risk and losses for a sustainable future with the<strong> mandate to act as the custodian of the Sendai Framework</strong>, supporting countries and societies in its implementation, monitoring and review of progress.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Background</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>first</strong> International Workshop on Disaster Resilient Infrastructure <strong>(IWDRI 2018)</strong> was held in <strong>January 2018 in India.</strong></li>
<li>India announced the <strong>creation of a Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI)</strong> soon after the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, which was held in New Delhi in 2016.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The CDRI is envisaged as a <strong>knowledge exchange and capacity development partnership.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Various international agreements</strong> have also reiterated the importance and long-term benefits of investing in resilient infrastructure.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The <strong>Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (SFDRR), 2015-2030,</strong> identifies investing in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) for resilience and to build back better in reconstruction as priorities for action towards reducing disaster risk.</li>
<li>Similarly, <strong>Goal 9 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)</strong> recognizes disaster resilient infrastructure as a crucial driver of economic growth and development.</li>
<li>Besides reducing infrastructure losses, disaster resilient infrastructure will also help achieve targets pertaining to<strong> reduction in mortality,</strong> number of affected people and economic losses due to disasters.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction&nbsp;</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The SFDRR 2015-2030 outlines <strong>seven clear targets</strong> and <strong>four priorities for action</strong> to prevent new and reduce existing disaster risks:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Understanding</strong> disaster risk;</li>
<li><strong>Strengthening disaster risk governance</strong> to manage disaster risk;</li>
<li><strong>Investing in disaster reduction</strong> for resilience and;</li>
<li><strong>Enhancing disaster preparedness</strong> for effective response, and to<strong> "Build Back Better"</strong> in recovery, rehabilitation and reconstruction.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The Sendai Framework is a<strong> 15-year, voluntary, non-binding agreement</strong> which recognizes that the State has the primary role to reduce disaster risk but that responsibility should be shared with other stakeholders including local government, the private sector and other stakeholders.</li>
<li>It aims to achieve the <strong>substantial reduction of disaster risk</strong> and losses in lives, livelihoods and health and in the economic, physical, social, cultural and environmental assets of persons, businesses, communities and countries over the next 15 years.</li>
<li>The Framework was adopted at the<strong> third UN World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in Sendai, Japan, on March 18, 2015.</strong></li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/international-workshop-on-disaster-resilient-infrastructure'
	],
	(int) 9 => [
		'title' => 'Cloud Over Solar Sector',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p>(This editorial is based on the article <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/blogs/toi-edit-page/cloud-over-solar-sector-curbing-tender-cancellation-and-a-couple-other-moves-can-bring-sunshine-back/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">'Cloud Over Solar Sector'</a> which appeared in 'The Times of India' on 19th March, 2019. The article talks about the challenges faced by solar sector and the potential ways to overcome them.)</p>
</div>
<p>With 300 clear sunny days, over a dozen perennial rivers and a coastline of more than 7,500 KMs, India since the age of Puranas, had realised the importance of the sun and other sources of renewable energy and the power they possess for the benefit of its inhabitants.</p>
<p>Growing Indian energy requirement and the need to adopt greener and cleaner modes of energy has reinforced India&rsquo;s attempt at making a transitional change from traditional modes of energy to renewable sources of energy.</p>
<p>However capacity additions have slowed in the recent past, which means the 175 GW renewable generation &ndash; including 100 GW solar &ndash; target set for 2022 could become difficult to achieve.</p>
<h3>Answer to Climatic Woes</h3>
<p>Human-induced climate change is considered one of the most prominent challenges of our time, with a warming planet being a present-day reality, rather than a potential future threat.</p>
<p>The Climate Change concern across the Globe has propelled the Government and Decision Makers to develop a detailed blueprint for clean and sustainable power for all.</p>
<p>Shifting to renewable energy offers an opportunity to save the environment as renewable energy resources produce little to no global warming emissions. <strong>Renewable energy can aid in the reduction of emissions in the electricity sector by 81 percent.</strong></p>
<p>Pollution produced by coal and natural gas plants also leads to several health problems such as cancer, neurological damage, heart attacks and other serious problems. The shift to renewable and cleaner sources will drastically result in improving the health of the general public.</p>
<p>As part of the initial commitments to the Paris Climate Accord, India too plans to reduce its carbon emission intensity - emission per unit of GDP - by 33-35% from 2005 levels over 15 years. It is working towards producing 40% of its installed electricity capacity by 2030 from non-fossil fuels.</p>
<p>India is the third largest energy consumer of the world and any change in the energy matrix of India is bound to reflect in the world&rsquo;s attempt to curb the menace of global warming.</p>
<h3>Indian Potential</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>India&rsquo;s energy mix is dominated by coal with a 49.6% share followed by oil- 28%, biomass- 11.6%, gas - 7.3%, renewable and clean energy 2.2% and nuclear energy 1.2%.</strong></li>
<li>The potential for solar energy capacity in India is enormous. The majority of the country&rsquo;s tropical landmass is located optimally for peak solar radiation. <strong>According to World Bank India has the best conditions in the world to capture and use solar energy.</strong></li>
<li>According to Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, the country&rsquo;s total solar power potential is pegged at nearly 750GW, with 142GW of solar resource available in the state of Rajasthan alone.</li>
<li>India is one of the most attractive markets in the world because of its sheer size: 10-12GW annually. This is even more relevant when one considers that the largest market, China, is virtually closed to foreign investors.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Bottlenecks in the sector</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar sector suffers from infrastructural problems such as development of access roads, land acquisition for parks, and demarcation of land areas within solar park remains incomplete, even after bids for projects are completed, which affects project costs and profitability.</li>
<li>Lenders and equity investors find it risky to invest in renewable energy because of uncertainty regarding the potential buyers of the electricity.</li>
<li><strong>Further, electricity distribution companies (i.e. DISCOMS) do not always pay for electricity on time, with payment delays being common in Tamil Nadu, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.</strong></li>
<li>Power from sources such as wind and solar is intermittent, and forecasting of energy levels is weak which makes it an unattractive venture for power distribution companies to connect to renewable sources.</li>
<li><strong>India faces the challenge of moving 21% of its population out of poverty. No country has been able to achieve a Human Development Index of 0.9 &ndash; which suggests high life expectancy, income and education &ndash;without an annual energy availability of four tonnes of oil equivalent per capita.</strong></li>
<li>Solar energy is a capital-intensive industry and if the initial cost of setting up the plant is high, the cost of solar energy is pushed up. Overall cost of imported solar modules has gone up as the government has raised the duty for solar imports.</li>
<li>A majority of India&rsquo;s solar module imports are from China and Malaysia, steep duty has resulted in cranking up the overall cost for solar project developers.</li>
<li>Higher proportion of renewable in a grid leads to greater grid instability and makes controlling electricity flows a challenge making discoms chary of increasing their renewable including solar energy sourcing.</li>
<li>The grid should also have the capacity to carry power from regions where power is generated to the regions where power is needed.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The government need to speed up the execution of Green Energy Corridor and encourage massive investments in up gradation and creation of new transmission and grid infrastructure.</li>
<li>One way out would be to store energy when excess is produced, but storage equipment for solar energy is expensive.</li>
<li><strong>The primary problem of the solar sector can be resolved only if the government adopts an integrated approach, such as by bundling renewable with conventional energy.</strong></li>
<li>Also, the tariffs discovered during competitive bidding should be considered and adopted rather than artificially capping them.</li>
</ul>
<p><em><strong>The solar energy sector has a clear social impact and the potential to grow at a fast pace. All it needs is policy and infrastructure support from the government and a pragmatic approach from industry players.</strong></em></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/cloud-over-solar-sector'
	],
	(int) 10 => [
		'title' => 'Important Facts For Prelims (19th March 2019)	',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<h3>Vaquita Porpoise</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Recently a dead <strong>Vaquita Porpoise</strong> was found in a fishnet off the <strong>coast of Mexico.</strong></li>
<li>It is<strong> critically endangered (IUCN) marine animal</strong> of which only about 10 remain in the world.</li>
<li>It is also known as <strong>"the panda of the sea"</strong> for the <strong>distinctive black circles around its eyes.</strong></li>
<li>Vaquita Porpoises are among the <strong>ocean&rsquo;s smallest cetaceans</strong> and they only <strong>reside in the northern Gulf of California.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Cetaceans are one of the most <strong>distinctive and highly specialized aquatic mammals.</strong> They include <strong>blue whale, dolphins, blind river dolphins, Porpoise, etc.</strong></li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>The vaquitas are threatened primarily by <strong>gillnet fishing for the totoaba fish</strong>, another endangered species in the area that is hunted for its swim bladder, considered a delicacy in China. Dried totoaba bladders are often smuggled through the United States to China.</li>
<li>Therefore, the <strong>conservation of Vaquita primarily rests with US, China and Mexico.</strong></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577336846_image42.jpg" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/1577336846_image42.jpg" width="554" caption="false" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>Dongria Kondh Tribe</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The Dongria Kondh tribe live in <strong>Niyamgiri hill range of Odisha state.</strong></li>
<li>They derive their <strong>name from dongar,</strong> meaning <strong>&lsquo;hill&rsquo; and worship the mountain god Niyam Raja.</strong></li>
<li>The Dongria have <strong>distinctive jewellery, tattoos and hairstyles.</strong> Women wear many rings through their ears and three through their noses, while boys wear two nose rings. Dongria girls wear clips in their hair and rings and beads around their necks.</li>
<li>The Dongria Kondh have <strong>no overarching political or religious leader;</strong> clans and villages have their own leaders and individuals with specific ceremonial functions.</li>
<li>The Dongria believe that animals, plants, mountains and other specific sites and streams have a<strong> life-force or soul, jela,</strong> which comes from the mother goddess.</li>
</ul>
<h3>AFINDEX-19</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The <strong>Africa-India Field Training Exercise-2019 called AFINDEX-19</strong> started at Aundh Military Station<strong>, Pune. </strong></li>
<li>India and contingents of the<strong> 17 African Nations</strong> i.e. Benin, Botswana, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe are participating in the exercise.</li>
<li>The aim of the exercise is to <strong>practice the participating nations in planning and conduct of Humanitarian Mine Assistance and Peacekeeping Operations.</strong></li>
<li>It is a positive step towards <strong>growing political and military ties</strong> between India and African nations and will boost the already strong strategic cooperation between the countries.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-facts-for-prelims-19th-march-2019'
	],
	(int) 11 => [
		'title' => 'Solar Tsunami Can Trigger the Sunspot Cycle',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The scientists have found that solar tsunamis are responsible for triggering an 11-year cycle of sunspots.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is believed that the &ldquo;solar dynamo&rdquo; is linked to the production of sunspots.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Solar Dynamo</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar Dynamo is a naturally occurring generator which produces electric and magnetic fields in the sun.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Sun Spot</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Sunspots are areas that appear dark on the surface of the Sun. They appear dark because they are cooler than other parts of the Sun&rsquo;s surface.</li>
<li>The temperature of a sunspot is still high around 6,500 degrees Fahrenheit.</li>
<li>Sunspots are relatively cool. It&rsquo;s because they form at areas where magnetic fields are particularly strong. These magnetic fields are so strong that they keep some of the heat within the Sun from reaching the surface.</li>
<li>The amount of magnetic flux that rises up to the Sun's surface varies with time in a cycle called the solar cycle. This cycle lasts 11 years on average. This cycle is sometimes referred to as the sunspot cycle.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Solar Tsunami</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Solar tsunami is the waves of the magnetic field and hot, ionized gas moving across the Sun at about 400 km per second.</li>
<li>Tsunamis are generated after a release of matter into space called a coronal mass ejection (CME).</li>
<li>Solar tsunamis were discovered in 1997 by the SOHO (Solar and Heliospheric Observatory) of Europen Space Agency.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Coronal Mass Ejection</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A coronal mass ejection (CME) is a significant release of plasma and accompanying magnetic field from the solar corona. They are often followed by solar flares.</li>
<li>Solar Flares on reaching earth causes spectacular light shows by interacting with the earth&rsquo;s magnetic field called Aurora&rsquo;s.</li>
<li>Solar Flares can also disrupt radio transmission and harm satellites in orbit.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>How Solar Tsunami leads to Sunspot?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The extreme temperature and pressure conditions that prevail some 20,000 km below the sun&rsquo;s surface cause its material to form a plasma consisting primarily of hydrogen and helium in a highly ionized state.</li>
<li>The plasma is confined with huge magnetic fields inside the sun. Holding these fields in their place requires that there is extra mass (plasma mass) pushing at the bands from higher latitudes.</li>
<li>Thus, a magnetic dam is formed which is storing a big mass of plasma. At the end of a solar cycle, this magnetic dam can break, releasing huge amounts of plasma cascading like a tsunami towards the poles.</li>
<li>These tsunami waves travel at high speeds of about 1,000 km per hour carrying excess plasma to the mid-latitudes. There they give rise to magnetic flux eruptions. These are seen as the bright patches that signal the start of the next cycle of sunspots.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/solar-tsunami-can-trigger-the-sunspot-cycle'
	],
	(int) 12 => [
		'title' => 'Hayabusa 2',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p><strong>Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)</strong> has decided to make a<strong> crater on asteroid 1999 JU3 (Ryugu)</strong> to collect underground samples.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>This is part of the<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hayabusa-2" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> Hayabusa 2 mission,</strong></a> launched in December 2014, to explore asteroid 1999 JU3 (Ryugu).</li>
<li>The purpose of drilling is to collect samples for possible clues to the origin of the solar system.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Asteroids</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Asteroids are actually minor planets</strong> which can neither be classified either as a planet or as a comet.</li>
<li>These are generally in the <strong>direct orbit around the Sun.</strong></li>
<li>The larger forms of asteroids are also known as <strong>planetoids</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Hayabusa 2</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Hayabusa 2 was launched in December 2014 and is planned to complete a mission of six years.</strong></li>
<li>It arrived at Ryugu in July 2018 and<strong> will spend 18 months studying the asteroid before making its return to Earth in December 2020.</strong></li>
<li>The mission builds on the original Hayabusa mission that was launched in 2003 and successfully linked up with asteroid Itokawa in 2005.</li>
<li>It returned samples to Earth in 2010 marking the first time sample materials from an asteroid were brought back to Earth.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Why Study Asteroids?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Asteroids, like comets, are primitive bodies that can be considered to be the<strong> building blocks of the early solar system.</strong> They hold a record of the birth and initial evolution of the solar system.</li>
<li>Larger planets like Earth went through a more complex evolution over which the pristine materials were melted and altered significantly. Due to this change, the materials found on large planets do not hold information into their early stages of formation.</li>
<li><strong>Comets and asteroids, formed early in the evolution of the Solar System, retain a record of when, where and in what conditions they were formed. Exploration of these primitive bodies is essential in gaining insight into the formation of the Solar System.</strong></li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/hayabusa-2-1'
	],
	(int) 13 => [
		'title' => 'ICAI & NFRA',
		'catname' => 'National Institutions',
		'desc' => '<h2><strong>Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)</strong></h2>
<p><strong>The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI)</strong> is the national professional accounting body of India. It was established to regulate the profession of Accountancy. It is the only licensing cum regulating body of the financial audit and accountancy profession in India. It recommends the accounting standards to be followed by companies in India to National Advisory Committee on Accounting Standards (NACAS).</p>
<h3>ICAI History</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Companies Act, 1913 passed in pre-independent India prescribed various books which had to be maintained by a Company registered under that Act.</li>
<li>It also provided for the appointment of a formal Auditor with prescribed qualifications to audit such records. In order to act as an auditor a person had to acquire a restricted certificate from the local government upon such conditions as may be prescribed.</li>
<li>In 1932, an Accountancy board was developed called as <strong>Indian Accountancy Board</strong> to <strong>advise the Governor General in Council of India</strong> on the points of Accountancy and the required conduct along with qualification standards of the auditors.</li>
<li>The expert committee appointed in 1947, recommended that a separate autonomous association of accountants should be formed to regulate the profession.</li>
<li>Government of India accepted the recommendation and passed the <strong>Chartered Accountants Act in 1949</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Under Section 3 of the said Act,</strong> ICAI is established as a statutory body.</li>
<li>It functions under the administrative control of the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Government of India.</li>
<li>Affairs of the ICAI are managed with the provisions of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 and the <strong>Chartered Accountants Regulations, 1988</strong>.</li>
<li>ICAI is one of the founder members of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC, 1977), South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA, 1984), and Confederation of Asian and Pacific Accountants (CAPA, 1957).</li>
</ul>
<h3>Functions</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>ICAI Council:</strong> Affairs of the Institute is undertaken by a Council constituted under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Council consists of 32 elected fellow members and up to 8 members nominated by the Government of India.</li>
<li>The elected members of the council are elected under the single transferable vote system by the members of the institute.</li>
<li>The Council functions through its <strong>4 Standing Committees and 37 Non-Standing Committees</strong>.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Membership:</strong> Members of the Institute are known as <strong>Chartered Accountants (CA)</strong>. Becoming a member requires passing the prescribed examinations, three years of practical training and meeting other requirements under the Act and Regulations. Functions of CA are following:<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Chartered Accountants enjoy a statutory monopoly in audit of financial statements under the Companies Act, 2013, Income Tax Act, 1961</li>
<li><strong>Areas of expertise</strong> include Financial Reporting, Auditing and Assurance, Corporate Finance, Investment Banking, Financial Modelling, Equity Research. Fund Management, Credit Analysis, Capital Markets, Arbitration, Risk Management, Economics, Strategic/Management Consultancy, Management Accounting, Information Systems Audit, Corporate Law, Direct Tax, Indirect Tax and valuation of businesses.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Accounting Research Foundation (ARF):</strong> ICAI Accounting Research Foundation (ICAI ARF) has undertaken and completed various basic and applied research projects. It also provides financial assistance to researchers / scholars for undertaking basic research projects of contemporary national/ international significance in the aforesaid areas.</li>
<li>ICAI provides technical advice and necessary inputs on matters of economic relevance and alike to various Ministries such as Ministry of Corporate Affairs, Ministry of Commerce &amp; Industry, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Railways etc.</li>
<li>ICAI also provides technical advice to various bodies such as &ndash; Comptroller and Auditor General of India, Controller General of Accounts, Reserve Bank of India, Securities and Exchange Board of India, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Central Board of Excise &amp; Customs, GST Council, Insurance Regulatory &amp; Development Authority etc.</li>
<li>It has provided comprehensive suggestions at <strong>each stage of GST implementation,</strong> be it Constitutional Amendment Bill, Model GST Law, Revised Model GST Law, Draft GST Rule or Post implementation of GST.</li>
<li><strong>Indian Institute of Insolvency Professionals of ICAI (IIIPI),</strong> a wholly owned subsidiary of the ICAI, is a <strong>Section 8 Public Company</strong> established to enrol and regulate insolvency professionals as its members in accordance with the <strong>Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016</strong> read with regulations and rules incidental thereto.</li>
<li><strong>Quality Review Board:</strong> Under <strong>Section 28A</strong> of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, as inserted by the <strong>Chartered Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2006,</strong> the Central Government is empowered to constitute a Quality Review Board consisting of a Chairperson and ten other members. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The Board reviews and recommends to the Council of the ICAI with regard to the quality of services provided by the members of Institute including audit services.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Disciplinary Mechanism:</strong> <strong>The Disciplinary Directorate,</strong> the <strong>Board of Discipline,</strong> and the <strong>Disciplinary Committee</strong> form the foundation of the disciplinary process of the ICAI. These entities are quasi-judicial and have substantial powers like that of a Civil Court to summon and enforce attendance or require discovery and production of documents on affidavit or otherwise.</li>
<li><strong>International Affairs:</strong> The <strong>International Affairs Committee of ICAI</strong> has the multi fold objective of positioning brand Indian CA at the global level by establishing Qualification Recognition Arrangements with accounting bodies (like The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales(ICAEW), Certified Public Accountants of Australia(CPA Australia) etc.).</li>
</ul>
<h2><strong>National Financial Regulatory Authority (NFRA)</strong></h2>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>NFRA</strong> is an Indian body provided in Companies Act 2013 for the establishment and enforcement of accounting and auditing standards and oversight of the work of auditors.</li>
<li>As per the Companies Act, 2013 the NFRA is tasked with the job of recommending accounting and auditing standards, ensuring compliance with them and overseeing the quality of service of the accounting and audit professions.</li>
<li>It has also been given the power to investigate matters of professional misconduct by chartered accountants or CA firms, impose penalty and debar the CA or firm for up to 10 years.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Evolution of NFRA</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The world over more than 50 countries have moved away from <strong>self-regulatory professional accountant bodies</strong> (like ICAI) and created independent audit regulators (like NFRA).<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In India, the move to set up a new oversight body for the accounting and audit professions was approved by a parliamentary panel. <strong>After the Satyam scandal</strong> took place in 2009, the <strong>Standing Committee on Finance</strong> proposed the concept of the National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) for the first time.</li>
<li>Indian Parliament passed The Company Act 2013 (amendment) with inclusion of NFRA (section 132).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Act states that &ldquo;no other institute or body shall initiate or continue any proceedings in such matters of misconduct where the NFRA has initiated an investigation.&rdquo;</li>
<li><strong>ICAI,</strong> a self-regulatory body, has <strong>had the monopoly</strong> on training and qualifying chartered accountants, giving them license to practice and regulating them including scrutinising audit quality. <strong>Establishment of NFRA was a case of departing of powers from ICAI.</strong></li>
<li>Opposition by the ICAI has been a key reason why the government has delayed notifying the NFRA rules.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Constitution of NFRA (As per section 132 of Companies Act 2013)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Central Government may, by notification, constitute a National Financial Reporting Authority (NFRA) to provide for matters relating to accounting and auditing standards under this Act.</li>
<li>Notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the National Financial Reporting Authority shall<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Make recommendations to the Central Government on the formulation and laying down of accounting and auditing policies and standards for adoption by companies or class of companies or their auditors.</li>
<li>Monitor and enforce the compliance with accounting standards and auditing standards in such manner as may be prescribed;</li>
<li>Oversee the quality of service of the professions associated with ensuring compliance with such standards, and suggest measures required for improvement in quality of service.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It shall consist of a <strong>chairperson,</strong> who shall be a person of eminence and having expertise in accountancy, auditing, finance or law to be appointed by the Central Government and such other <strong>members not exceeding fifteen</strong> consisting of part-time and full-time members.</li>
<li>It shall have the <strong>power to investigate, either suo motu or on a reference made to it by the Central Government,</strong> for such class of bodies corporate or persons, into the matters of professional or other misconduct committed by any member or firm of chartered accountants, registered under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Provided that no other institute or body shall initiate or continue any proceedings in such matters of misconduct where the NFRA has initiated an investigation under this section.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>It shall have the <strong>same powers as are vested in a civil court</strong> under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, while trying a suit in matters of: <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>discovery and production of books of account and other documents;</li>
<li>summoning and enforcing the attendance of persons and examining them on oath;</li>
<li>Inspection of any books, registers and other documents.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Any person aggrieved by any order of the NFRA, may prefer an appeal before the Appellate Authority constituted under section 132(6) of Companies Act 2013.</li>
<li>The Central Government may, by notification, constitute, an <strong>Appellate Authority</strong> consisting of a chairperson and not more than two other members, for hearing appeals arising out of the orders of the NFRA.</li>
<li>The qualifications for appointment of the chairperson and members of the Appellate Authority, the manner of selection, the terms and conditions of their service and the requirement of the supporting staff and procedure to be followed by the Appellate Authority shall be such as may be prescribed by Parliament.</li>
<li>NFRA shall <strong>prepare its annual report</strong> giving a full account of its activities during the financial year and forward a copy thereof to the Central Government and the Central Government shall cause the annual report to be laid before each House of Parliament.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Standing Committee on Finance (2014-15)</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It noted that Constitution of NFRA (section 132 of Companies Act 2013) is a result of the recommendation of the Standing Committee on Finance which examined the Companies Bill, 2009.</li>
<li>Committee desires that the Ministry may ensure that in the process of constituting NFRA, it does not create two parallel jurisdictions, governing the same issue. So it favours ICAI on function overlapping.</li>
<li>This aspect may be addressed, when the rules governing NFRA are finalised by the Ministry.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>The arguments put forth by ICAI:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>NFRA shall result in Multiple regulatory bodies,</li>
<li>ICAI is a world-class regulator,</li>
<li>NFRA will be a costly affair,</li>
<li>Unavailability of adequate competent personnel.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>MCA (Ministry of Corporate Affairs) countered ICAI in favour of creation of NFRA.</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>In many countries outside auditors perform the important gatekeeper function.</li>
<li>Number of independent audit regulators worldwide is up from 18 in 2006 to 51 in 2018.</li>
<li><strong>NITI Aayog,</strong> in a separate matter, <strong>criticised the self-regulatory structure</strong> of such professional bodies.</li>
<li>An international consultant engaged by SEBI said &ldquo;the ICAI&rsquo;s oversight is passive in nature and with limited focus on active investigations&rdquo;.</li>
<li><strong>ICAI&rsquo;s disciplinary mechanism:</strong> Of the 1,972 cases taken up by the Disciplinary Committee/Board of Discipline of the ICAI, only in the matter relating to Satyam Computers have the members been permanently removed. Penalties of one year or more have been imposed on members in only 14 of these cases.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>SC Judgement (S. Sukumar v/s The Secretary, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India), 2018</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>SC ordered the Government of India to constitute a committee to look and deliberate into the aspects of audit system in India in Feb, 2018.</li>
<li>The Committee was formed in April 2018 by MCA and thereafter submitted its report in October, 2018.</li>
</ul>
<p>Within a span of a little over two weeks from the submission of the Report, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, on November 13, 2018, notified the <strong>National Financial Reporting Authority Rules, 2018 (Rules)</strong> to lay down the powers, jurisdiction, roles, and duties of the NFRA.</p>
<p><strong>NFRA as the regulator to curb the audit mishaps and to bring in stronger audit framework in India is analysed along with recommendations of committee:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>As a middle path,</strong> the ICAI recommended setting up an independent quality review board under the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 to refine the quality of attestation of audits.</li>
<li>Section 132 of the Companies Act, 2013 has given the NFRA the <strong>over-riding powers to establish its supremacy over other laws,</strong> with respect accounting and auditing standards, compliance with accounting and auditing standards, investigation into professional misconducts by chartered accountants, empowered with powers of civil court similar to trying a suit, and for imposing penalties and debarment. <strong>This indicates that there is intent to overhaul the regulatory regime in India for the audit and auditors.</strong></li>
<li>NFRA is also empowered to impose heavy monetary penalties and debarring. <br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Debarring the member or the firm from engaging himself or itself from practice as member of the ICAI for a minimum period of <strong>six months or for such higher period not exceeding ten years</strong> as may be decided by the National Financial Reporting Authority.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Absence of network liability in the Rules:</strong> Committee has acknowledged the concept of auditor and audit firm operating in India as a member/part of an international network, and in view of the same, it made two noteworthy recommendations, as listed below, however, these recommendations have not found <strong>any place in the Rules</strong>.</li>
<li><strong>Monetary penalties on international network/entity:</strong> The Committee recommended imposition of civil liability in the form of <strong>monetary penalties on the international network/entity</strong> with whom/which the Indian audit firm has entered into networking/membership, if any audit failure or fraud is found to have been caused due to any faulty methodology being followed by that particular network.</li>
<li><strong>Jurisdiction of the NFRA:</strong> Primarily, the NFRA&rsquo;s jurisdiction encompasses public companies (with certain prescribed thresholds) and listed companies; however, the reach of the NFRA seems very wide and intends to also cover entities outside India as well. The Rules have also left the discretion with the Central Government to refer any entity to the NFRA in public interest.<br />
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Private companies irrespective of their turnover,</strong> or net worth or income, have been <strong>left outside</strong> the jurisdiction of the NFRA along <strong>with public unlisted companies below the prescribed thresholds</strong>.</li>
<li>The Central Government seems to have been given the discretion to make a referral to the NFRA of even private companies or such unlisted public companies, in public interest.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Publication of findings of non-compliances in public domain:</strong> The &ldquo;name shame&rdquo; approach has <strong>found its way in the Rules</strong>. This is one of the key powers given to the NFRA to publish its findings on its website which are available in public domain regarding the non-compliances with accounting and auditing standards.</li>
<li><strong>Suo moto review of financial statements:</strong> NFRA is empowered to review the financial statements of the companies or body corporate falling within its jurisdiction for the purpose of monitoring and enforcing compliance with accounting standards.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Conclusion</h3>
<p>As an independent audit regulator, it will be expected that the NFRA enhances an investor's confidence and bring more transparency and accountability in the auditing profession. As we see more complex and multi-layered structures and increased corporate governance, it will be interesting to see whether the NFRA will be able to act as the watchdog to protect the public interest and the interests of investors, creditors and others associated with the companies or bodies corporate falling within its purview.</p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/important-institutions/drishti-specials-important-institutions-national-institutions/icai-nfra'
	],
	(int) 14 => [
		'title' => 'Septic Tanks Meet Norms: MoDWS',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Union Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation (MoDWS) has said that Septic tanks and single pits are safe sanitation technologies that meet the standards prescribed by the Sustainable Development Goals.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Union Ministry was responding to a report on National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19 on use of Septic Tanks.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings of the Survey</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19 has concluded that Only 26% of rural toilets use twin-leach pits and rural toilets [that do not use twin-leach pits] could create a new &ldquo;sanitation nightmare.&rdquo;</li>
<li>Not using twin pit can be harmful to health and the environment, and can push a new generation into manual scavenging.</li>
<li>Septic tanks are the most popular option, with 28% of toilets connected to a septic tank with a soak pit and 6% to a tank without a soak pit.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Union Ministry&rsquo;s Response</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Ministry responded that Septic tanks and single pits are safe sanitation technologies that meet the standards prescribed by the Sustainable Development Goals(SDG).</li>
<li>The twin-leach pit toilet is among the most economical and safe sanitation technologies, and has been promoted and extensively adopted.</li>
<li>Ministry accepted, there is a manpower challenge to empty and clean such tanks, given the social context of the country and caste prejudices against such cleaning work.</li>
<li>It is preparing technological and entrepreneurial solutions to the problem.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>National Annual Rural Sanitation Survey (NARSS) 2018-19</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It was conducted by an Independent Verification Agency under the World Bank support project&nbsp; to the Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen).</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Twin-pit and Single-pit system</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Two pits are dug with honeycombed walls and earthen floors which allow liquid to percolate into the surrounding soil.</li>
<li>When one pit is filled and closed off, waste flow is transferred to the second pit, allowing waste in the first pit to be converted into manure after a year or two.</li>
<li>It is an in-situ sanitation system which claims to bypass thorny issues such as caste purity, as owners will be dealing with manure, not excreta.</li>
<li>In case of single pit system, once this single pit is filled, there is an immediate emergency to empty excreta not manure(it needs long time for conversion of excreta into manure).</li>
</ul>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/septic-tanks-meet-norms-modws'
	],
	(int) 15 => [
		'title' => 'Migration',
		'catname' => 'Lok Sabha & Rajya Sabha Discussions',
		'desc' => '<p style="text-align: center;"><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/37aZp4TNmNQ" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe></p>
<p>In the latest terror attack at two mosques in New Zealand, 49 people have lost their lives and scores of people got injured. A majority of the deceased have been identified as migrants and refugees. An Australian national has claimed the responsibility by posting a manifesto stating his racist and anti-immigrant ideologies.</p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Drishti Input:</strong></p>
<p><strong>Human Migration:</strong> It is the movement by people from one place to another with the intention of settling, permanently or temporarily in a new location (within or outside the home country). Such people are called <strong>migrants</strong>.</p>
<p><strong>Immigration</strong> is coming to a foreign country with the intention of permanently living there whereas <strong>Emigration</strong> is leaving a resident country with the intent to settle elsewhere.</p>
<p><strong>Refugees:</strong> These are the people who have been forced to flee their resident country because of war, violence or persecution. Such people are protected by international law, specifically the 1951 Refugee Convention.</p>
<p><strong>1951 Refugee Convention</strong> deals with the rights of the displaced as well as the legal obligations of states to protect them. <strong>India, despite having a large population of refugees, is not a signatory to this convention.</strong></p>
<p><strong>An asylum seeker</strong> is someone who claims to be a refugee but whose claim hasn&rsquo;t been evaluated yet. This person has applied for the asylum on the grounds that returning to his or her country would lead to persecution on account of race, religion, nationality or political beliefs.</p>
<p><strong>World Migration Report:</strong> It is International Organisation for Migration&rsquo;s (IOM) flagship publication that features the latest trends in international migration, discusses emerging policy issues and provides regional recent developments in Africa, America, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Oceania.</p>
<p><strong>International Organisation for Migration (IOM)</strong> is a leading inter-governmental organization in the field of migration and works closely with governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental partners. It was established in 1951 and has its head office at Le Grand-Saconnex, Switzerland.</p>
<p><strong>International Migration Day-18<sup>th</sup> December</strong></p>
</div>
<h3>World Migration Report 2018 Key Findings</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There are 244 million international migrants globally, accounting 3.3% of the world&rsquo;s total population.</li>
<li>In the year 2015, Europe and Asia hosted around 75 million migrants each, 62% of the total global international migrants.</li>
<li>Europe and Asia was followed by North America with 54 million international migrants in 2015, 22% of the global migrant stock.</li>
<li>Africa and Oceania had 9% and 3% of the total migrant population respectively in 2015.</li>
<li>Latin America and Caribbean had 4% of total migrants in 2015.</li>
<li>U.S.A has been the main country of destination for international migrants since 1970. The number has quadrupled since 1970, from less than 12 million migrants in 1970 to 46.6 million in 2015.</li>
<li>Germany is the second most preferred country with over 12 million international migrants residing in the country in 2015.</li>
<li>Nearly half of all international migrants worldwide in the year 2015 were born in Asia, primarily originating from India, China and other South Asian Countries like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan.</li>
<li>Mexico was the second largest country of origin followed by number of European countries.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings Related to Displacement</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>There are over 68 million forcibly displaced people worldwide, out of which 40.3 million are internally displaced and 25.4 million are refugees.</li>
<li>Over 3 million people are seeking asylum around the world.</li>
<li>24 people per minute per day worldwide were forced to flee their home in the year 2015.</li>
<li>About 1 out of every 113 people worldwide were either asylum seekers, refugees or internally displaced in 2015.</li>
<li>About half of the world&rsquo;s refugee population was under 18 in the year 2015.</li>
<li>The reason for the displacement is mainly civil and transnational conflict which also includes acts of violence, extremism etc.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Cases of Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Syria is focal point of 'global refugee crises'. Lot of people migrate from the country.</li>
<li>People crossing Mediterranean Sea from Libya to Italy.</li>
<li>Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar fleeing to Bangladesh and India.</li>
<li>Thousands of Dominicans and Stateless in Caribbean.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Benefits of Immigration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Immigrants generally take up that job which people in the host country (the country to which people have fled) will not or cannot do.</li>
<li><strong>Migrant workers often work longer hours and for lower salaries</strong> which benefits host nations.</li>
<li>Immigrants <strong>contribute to the diversity</strong> of the host country and thus also increase tolerance and understanding in the society.</li>
<li>For the host country&rsquo;s economy, Immigrants offer<strong> increased talent pool</strong> provided they have been well educated in their original country.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Drawbacks</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>It is often seen that immigrants are <strong>exploited for their cheap labour</strong>.</li>
<li>Developing countries may suffer <strong>'Brain Drain'</strong> as the limited resources they spend in educating their students would amount to very little if that talent gets enticed to another country.</li>
<li>Immigration also <strong>attracts criminal elements</strong> from drug and people traffickers to other forms of crime and corruption.</li>
<li><strong>Immigration sometimes also becomes social or political issue;</strong> racism is used to exploit feelings or as an excuse for current woes of the local population.</li>
<li>When there is a perception that immigrants and refugees get more benefits than local poor population, <strong>tensions and hostilities</strong> rise.</li>
<li>Concerns about illegal migration spill over to ill feelings towards the majority of immigrants who may be law-abiding and contributing to the economy.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Recent Steps taken by Countries to regulate Irregular Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Strategies adopted by European Union (EU):</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Divergent national approaches to accepting Asylum Seekers.</li>
<li>Using EU budgets to support refugee integration.</li>
<li>Strengthening external borders.</li>
<li>Collaborating with third countries to cut off transit routes.</li>
<li>Tying Foreign Assistance to stemming migration</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>Hungary has restricted illegal immigration by suspending the acceptance of asylum seekers sent back to it by other EU states.</li>
<li>U.S. has also made some changes in its Immigration policy.</li>
<li>Italy has called for detention and deportation of migrants, who it blames for the instability and threats in the country.</li>
<li>Dutch has adopted a zero tolerance approach towards those immigrants who are unwilling to sign up to the country&rsquo;s way of life.</li>
</ul>
<p><em>Migration will likely remain a long term challenge for the countries&rsquo; politics, institutions, governments and values. Even with the drop in numbers and the development of institutional capabilities to manage it, its pros and cons will always remain attached to it.</em></p>
<p><a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/migration-in-bengal-delta" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><em>For further reading click on the link below.</em></a></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/loksabha-rajyasabha-discussions/migration-4'
	],
	(int) 16 => [
		'title' => 'Current Affairs Crash Course - Prelims 2020',
		'catname' => 'Prelims',
		'desc' => '<!--<div class="border-bg">
<p><span style="color: #ff0000;"><strong>Important Notice regarding Current Affairs Crash Course Prelims 2020</strong>.</span><br /><br />Dear Students,<br /><br />In light of the ongoing nationwide lockdown due to the novel coronavirus pandemic, Current Affairs Crash Course 2020 classes will be held only in the online mode.<br /><br />Regards,<br />Drishti Management</p>
</div>-->
<h3><span style="font-size: 18px;"><strong>Current Affairs Crash Course Programme</strong></span></h3>
<p><a href="/crash-course-registration" class="btn-blue" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Register Now</a></p>
<p></p>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Download Drishti App to watch the Current Affairs Crash Course demo video -</strong> <br /><a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.drishti.academy.app" target="_blank" rel="noopener">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.drishti.academy.app</a></p>
<p>&nbsp;<strong>Programme Details:</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Available only in&nbsp;<strong>Online</strong> <strong>mode</strong>.</li>
<li>Starts 7th August 2020 for both English &amp; Hindi medium students.</li>
<li>Coverage of Current Affairs till June 2020.</li>
<li><strong>Number of Classes</strong> &ndash; approx 40; approx 2.5 hours per class.</li>
<li>
<p><b>Number of Tests</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> &ndash; 2 full-length Mock Tests for GS &amp; CSAT each.</span></p>
</li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>
<p><b>Who can join?</b></p>
<ul>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Any aspirant preparing for UPSC Civil Service Examination.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Any aspirant preparing for State Civil Service Examinations like UPPCS, MPPCS, BPCS etc.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;"> Any student appearing in exams held by the UPSC like the IES &amp; ISS or any other competitive exam that requires a comprehensive Current Affairs preparation.</span></li>
</ul>
<p></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;"></ul>
<!--<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="background-color: #d14747; font-size: 18px; color: #ffffff;">  For more details about the course or if you need assistance regarding admission, please call us on <strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><a href="tel:8010440440" style="color: #ffff00;">8010440440</a></span></strong> or <span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><a href="tel:8750187501" style="color: #ffff00;">8750187501</a></strong> </span>(Monday to Saturday – 10 am to 6.30 pm)<ca eng="">.  </ca></span></p>-->
<p style="text-align: center; background-color: #d14747; padding: 20px;"><span style="font-size: 18px; color: #ffffff;">&nbsp; For more details about the course or if you need assistance regarding admission, please call us on <strong><span style="color: #ffff00;"><a href="tel:8010440440" style="color: #ffff00;">8010440440</a></span></strong> or <span style="color: #ffff00;"><strong><a href="tel:8750187501" style="color: #ffff00;">8750187501</a></strong> </span>(Monday to Saturday &ndash; 10 am to 6.30 pm)<ca eng="">.&nbsp;&nbsp;</ca></span></p>
<div class="border-bg" style="padding: 15px 20px 15px;">
<h3 style="text-align: left; font-family: 'roboto'; margin-bottom: 0;">More Information:</h3>
<div style="padding-top: 20px;">
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">This course will be conducted by </span><b>Nishant Shrivastav</b><span style="font-weight: 400;">, Current Affairs faculty at Drishti IAS.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Classes will be in </span><b>video format</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> and will be available only via our app. Also, our app is currently available only on </span><b>Android</b><span style="font-weight: 400;"> (Google Play Store)</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Link to the app, Login ID and password credentials, etc. will be sent via SMS after registration.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Please note that login credentials for this course will work only on one device at any given point of time. If you want to transfer your login to a new device, you will have to call us at any of the numbers mentioned below</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">From August 7th onwards, video classes will be regularly updated in your app-account.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">You will be able to watch each class video for up to 3 times, at your own convenience. There is no fixed time to watch the class videos, you can watch it whenever you wish.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Course validity is for&nbsp;6 months or upto Prelims, whichever is later.</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;"><b>For Help &amp; Support, please call us at</b>&nbsp;<a href="tel:8448485521">8448485521</a> <b>or email us at</b>&nbsp;<a href="mailto:[email protected]">[email protected]</a> </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">&nbsp;</span></p>
</div>
</div>
<p><a href="/crash-course-registration" class="btn-blue" target="_blank" rel="noopener"> Register Now</a></p>
<!--<h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: 36px;"><a href="/crash-course-registration" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong><span style="color: #ffffff; background-color: #de2323;">  Register Now  </span></strong></a></span></h4>-->
<p></p>
</div>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/prelims/current-affairs-crash-course'
	],
	(int) 17 => [
		'title' => 'A Model Policy for Women in the Police',
		'catname' => 'News Editorials',
		'desc' => '<div class="border">
<p><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">(This editorial is based on the article </span></i><b><i>&lsquo;<a href="https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-model-policy-for-women-in-the-police/article26524978.ece" target="_blank" rel="noopener">A Model Policy for Women in the Police</a>&rsquo;</i></b> <i><span style="font-weight: 400;">which appeared in &lsquo;&rsquo;The Hindu&rsquo;&rsquo; on 14</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">th</span></i><i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> March, 2019. The article talks about participation of women in the Police departments and the challenges faced by them.)</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></p>
</div>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women in Independent India have evolved with the flow of history, but it has only been over the last 35 years that they have experienced the post-industrial revolution and subsequent positives of globalisation. </span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">These developments have radically transformed their gender relations at home, the workplace, with peers, and possibly in society at large, quite similar to the kind of social transformations women in the US experienced in the 1960s.</span></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Indian woman ever since has come a long way in being part of the active workforce and has possibly broken all barriers in most professional fields, including that of donning the uniform of the </span><b>Police and the Para-Military.</b></p>
<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">However, this is not enough. The discourse on mainstreaming women in the police by making policing inclusive, non-discriminatory and efficient in India is missing in policy circles.</span></p>
<h3>Unwomanly Police Department: the case in point<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">While the number of women in the police forces nationally has grown in India, it remains just over 7 per cent of the total strength of the police department.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li>There is a wide variation between the States, with 12 per cent of Tamil Nadu&rsquo;s police force being women as against less than 1 per cent in Assam. This is despite the fact that 12 States have over the years passed rules setting a quota of 30 per cent or more for women in the police force.</li>
<li>The chronicle of women in Indian police started in the early 70s when woman began joining the uniformed force. During those decades, thousands of women joined the force from the ranks of constable all the way across the spectrum.</li>
<li>The Police in India have recruited a decent number of women over the last twenty years, but acceptability and assimilation as &ldquo;equal partners&rdquo; to men within the professional core has left much to be desired.</li>
<li>The meagre representation highlights the fact that women in uniform are still perceived as <b>&ldquo;they&rdquo; versus &ldquo;us&rdquo; in all ranks and files of the uniformed profession</b><span>.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Challenges Grappling the System<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Decisions on deployment of women are not free of gender stereotyping restricting women from leading operational positions. This biasness is not limited only from male colleague sometimes female superiors too consider them weak, less willing to work and less tough.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">There appears to be a tendency to sideline women, or give them policing tasks that are physically less demanding, or relegate them to desk duty, or make them work on crimes against women alone.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women police persons are relegated to dealing with crimes against women and accompanying women prisoners the concept works against the interests of women as it segregates them.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Current data reveal that most women in the police are concentrated in the lower ranks reflecting the dearth of females at key operational positions.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The police department suffers from gender apathy as evident through the absence of separate toilets, </span><span style="font-weight: 400;">changing rooms for women, and separate accommodation for women</span><span style="font-weight: 400;">, and other facilities and child-care support, in addition to persistent and widespread gender bias.</span></li>
</ul>
<h3>Gender Neutral Policing<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">The very presence of women could create an environment for women to access police stations with less diffidence and difficulty.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li>International research illustrates that women police and enforcement officers utilise a different feminine policing style &mdash; relying less on physical force and more on communications skills &mdash; to control potentially violent or conflict situations, and which are therefore less likely to escalate into excessive force or uncontrolled situations.</li>
<li>The under-representation of women at all levels in any progressive and modern police agency negatively impacts the culture and operational efficiency of law enforcement agencies and throughout that community or country in which it prevails.</li>
<li>Today, in India, crime against women is at an all-time high, and socially-destructive and exploitative practices such as dowry, molestation, sexual assault, and coercion are common. &nbsp;The cases often go unreported as the victim at times suffers from the insensitivity perpetrated by male officials who lacks sensitization. More women in the system can help address this problem.</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/563drishti_ias_number%20of women in police force.png" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img class="content-img" src="http://www.drishtiias.com/images/uploads/563drishti_ias_number of women in police force.png" style="display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" /></a></p>
<h3>The Impetus Required<br /><span style="font-weight: 400;"></span></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">There is a need to have more women in the field in executive postings &ndash; from constables to inspectors and higher ranks. </span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Departments should undertake special recruitment drives in every district to ensure geographical diversity.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">The police should reach out to the media and educational institutions to spread awareness about opportunities for women in the police.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women in the constabulary must get the training, support and confidence needed to put them on a par in every sense with their male counterparts.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">A common gender-neutral cadre needs to be created for all ranks so that promotional opportunities are evenly available.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Resource centres for mentoring, creating awareness about opportunities and prospects, and helping with career planning and training and coping with workplace challenges are essential.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">While women have a role in making up for the lack of training and sensitisation of the force in general in dealing with crimes against women they should not be ghettoised into dealing only with such crimes.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Women do have some special needs, like during and post pregnancies, which need to be catered to. They shouldn&rsquo;t be shunted to non-executive postings. The force needs to encourage more women to be in the field.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Most State police departments have received funds under the Modernisation of State Police Forces Scheme for providing separate toilets and changing rooms for women, and for constructing separate accommodation for women with attached toilets in all police stations and units. Police departments must ensure the best use of this fund.</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Police departments must also ensure safe working spaces for women and adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards discrimination and harassment, in order to make policing a viable career option for women.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;"><span style="font-weight: 400;">Departments must operationalise the </span><b>Sexual Harassment of Women at Workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal) Act of 2013.</b></li>
</ul>
<h3>Way Forward<br /><b></b></h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><span style="font-weight: 400;">While more women are urgently needed in the police forces, the numbers alone will not be enough without equity.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li>To counter the prevalence of sexist attitudes within the bureaucracy and police, an organisational response from the force is needed to enable women to realise their full potential.</li>
<li>Integrating women in the force should become an essential component of the process of police reform in India, enabling them to become <b>Real Agents of Change</b><span>.&nbsp;</span></li>
<li><b>More women in the force is not only an expression of the formal fulfilment of sexual equality but it is also about achieving a true Lebensraum- a space conducive for natural development.</b></li>
</ul>
<p><i></i></p>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-editorials/a-model-policy-for-women-in-the-police'
	],
	(int) 18 => [
		'title' => 'Migration in Bengal Delta ',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>Recently an international study titled <strong>Deltas, Vulnerability and Climate Change: Migration and Adaptation (DECMA)</strong> was published.</p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The study found that the economic reasons are the precipitating factor for migration in the Indian Bengal Delta and most migrants are in the age group of 20-30 years.</li>
<li>The study, held between 2014 and 2018 focusing on three deltas Ganga Brahmaputra Meghna Delta (India and Bangladesh) Volta (Ghana) and Mahanadi (India) looks into the aspect of climate change, adaptation, and migration in these deltas.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Findings of The Report</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Reasons for Migration in Delta</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The study which covers the district of South and North 24 Parganas reveals that 64% of people migrate because of economic reasons, unsustainable agriculture, lack of economic opportunities and debt.</li>
<li>28 % of the migration from the region is for social reasons and about 7% for environmental reasons like cyclones and flooding.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Gender Disparity in Migration</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>The study finds a huge gender disparity in the migration out of Indian Bengal Delta, with men outnumbering women by almost five times.</li>
<li>It shows that of the people migrating 83% are men and only 17 % are women.</li>
<li>While most of the men migrate due to economic reasons, women do so, driven by mostly social factors.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Destination of Migration</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>In terms of the destination of migrations, the study finds that 51% of migration from the Indian Bengal Delta is to other areas of the State particularly to the city of Kolkata, 10% to Maharashtra, 9% to Tamil Nadu, 7% Kerala and 6% to Gujarat.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Type of Migration in Delta</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>57% of migration is seasonal, where people move once or twice a year.</li>
<li>19% is circular where those migrating move thrice a year irrespective of reasons.</li>
<li>24% of migration is permanent where people intend to stay for at least six months in the place they are migrating to.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>What is Migration?</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Migration is the movement of people from one place to another. It can be over a short or long distance, be short-term or permanent, voluntary or forced, intranational or international.</li>
</ul>
<div class="border-bg">
<p><strong>Pull Factors</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>A pull factor is a feature or event that attracts a person to move to another area.</li>
</ul>
<p><strong>Push Factors</strong></p>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Push factors are those that drive people away from their place of origins.</li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Causes of Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Economic factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Push factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Unemployment or lack of employment opportunities</li>
<li>Rural poverty</li>
<li>Unsustainable livelihood</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pull factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Job opportunities</li>
<li>Better income and prospects for wealth creation</li>
<li>Industrial innovation and technical know-how for a new industry</li>
<li>The pursuit of specialized education</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Sociopolitical factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Push factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Political instability</li>
<li>Safety and security concerns (ethnic, religious, racial or cultural persecution)</li>
<li>Conflicts or threat of a conflict</li>
<li>Inadequate or limited urban services and infrastructure (including healthcare, education, utilities, transport and water</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pull factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Family reunification</li>
<li>Independence and freedom</li>
<li>Integration and social cohesion</li>
<li>Food security</li>
<li>Affordable and accessible urban services (including healthcare, education, utilities, and transport)</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Ecological factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>Push factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>Climate change (including extreme weather events)</li>
<li>Crop failure and scarcity of food</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Pull factors</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>The abundance of natural resources and minerals (e.g. water, oil)</li>
<li>Favorable climate</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Types of migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Migration can be classified in several ways. It is usually categorized:
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li><strong>By political boundaries</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Internal migration &ndash;</strong> Migration occurring within a country from crossing political boundaries, either within a state or between states, whether urban to rural, urban to urban, rural to rural, or rural to urban.</li>
<li><strong>International migration &ndash;</strong> Migration occurring across country boundaries. Such migrants are known as immigrants (coming into a foreign country) and emigrants (leaving their own country)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>By movement pattern</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Step migration:</strong> Migration initiating from a small settlement and moving to a larger one in the urban hierarchy over the years.Such as movement from a farm to a village, then to a town and subsequently to a suburb (if applicable) and finally into a city.</li>
<li><strong>Circular migration:</strong> Cyclical migration experiences between an origin and a destination with at least one migration and return.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Seasonal migration</strong> is a very common form of circular migration, driven by seasonal peaks in labor demand, mostly in agriculture.</li>
<li><strong>Return migration&nbsp;</strong>refers to a one-time emigration and returns after an extended stay outside the host territory.</li>
<li><strong>Chain migration:</strong> Migration of families at different stages of the life cycle from one location to the next, who subsequently bring people from their home location to this new place.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>By decision-making approach</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li><strong>Voluntary migration:</strong> Based on a person&rsquo;s free will, initiative and desire to live in a better place and to improve their financial status, among other factors.</li>
<li><strong>Involuntary migration:</strong> Based on a person&rsquo;s being forced out of their home due to certain unfavorable environmental and political situations.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Benefits of Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>The areas of destinations benefit due to the reduction in the cost of production, availability of the human resource, rising productivity, size of consumer and capital market.</li>
<li>At the same time, areas of origin also benefit through the flow of remittances, information, and innovations influencing the households and people left behind.</li>
</ul>
<h3>Issues Related to Migration</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li><strong>Low-quality jobs:</strong> Migrants mostly dominate the low-paying, hazardous and informal market jobs in key sectors in urban destinations, such as construction, hotel, textile, manufacturing, transportation, services, domestic work etc.</li>
<li><strong>Access to employment:</strong> Certain states have introduced domicile requirements with regard to employment. This puts migrants at a disadvantage.</li>
<li><strong> Housing and sanitation:</strong> One of the key issues with regard to housing is poor supply, for both ownership and rental. Short-term migrants do not have access to short-duration accommodation. So migrants live in overcrowded colonies in unhygienic conditions.</li>
<li><strong> Exploitation and intimidation:</strong> Usually migrants are exploited at the behest of the majoritarian native population, they are the target of social profiling, stereotyping, abuse and are made to work under exploitative conditions with no social security cover. e.g. Gujarat migrant crisis.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/migration-in-bengal-delta'
	],
	(int) 19 => [
		'title' => 'New Hydro Policy',
		'catname' => 'News Analysis',
		'desc' => '<p>The government, under<a href="/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/important-fact-for-prelims-8th-march-2019" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><strong> New Hydroelectricity Policy,</strong> </a>has approved &lsquo;renewable energy status&rsquo; for<strong> large hydel projects.</strong></p>
<p>Earlier, <strong>only smaller projects of less than 25 Megawatt (</strong>MW) in capacity were categorised as renewable energy. Large hydro projects were treated as a separate source of energy.</p>
<h3>Renewable Energy Sector</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>India&rsquo;s renewable energy sector had an installed capacity of 75,055.92 MW as of February 2019, according to data with the Central Electricity Authority.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>This made up <strong>about 21.4% of the overall energy mix</strong>, with the rest coming from thermal, nuclear and large hydro sources.</li>
<li>However, with the inclusion of large hydro in renewable energy, the energy mix will change drastically.</li>
<li>Renewable energy capacity would now be 1,20,455.14 MW or 34.4% of the overall energy mix.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>This policy will also drastically change the <strong>renewable energy mix as well.</strong>
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>Before February 2019, the wind energy contributed nearly 50% of all renewable energy capacity, it will now make up only 29.3%.</li>
<li>Similarly, solar energy&rsquo;s share will fall from 34.68% to 21.61%.</li>
<li>The hydro sector, however, will see its share grow from just over 6% to over 41%.</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
<h3>Impact</h3>
<ul style="list-style-type: square;">
<li>Hydroelectric energy provides grid stability which a renewable source like wind and solar do not. The key reasoning seems to be providing grid stability and a <strong>better energy mix.</strong></li>
<li>There has been a huge imbalance in the thermal-hydro mix for the last few years because of a sharp growth in thermal and complete stagnation in hydro.</li>
<li>This reclassification will<strong> immediately help India</strong> achieve its target of <strong>175 GW by 2022.</strong></li>
<li>Another benefit from the policy could be the <strong>positive impact on the stock prices</strong> of State-run hydroelectric companies such as Sutlej Jal Vikas Nigam (SJVN)</li>
<li>This will help large hydel projects avail cheaper credit and increase demand from distribution companies for cleaner energy.
<ul style="list-style-type: circle;">
<li>State distribution companies will be obliged to purchase a certain percentage of hydropower&mdash;similar to renewable purchase obligations. This will create a market for hydropower, making the sector competitive.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li>These projects will not only get the budgetary support for infrastructure, but will also be able to access &ldquo;green finance&rdquo;.</li>
</ul>',
		'postdate' => object(Cake\I18n\FrozenTime) {},
		'url' => 'https://www.drishtiias.com/daily-updates/daily-news-analysis/new-hydro-policy'
	]
]
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	'(help)' => 'This is a Query object, to get the results execute or iterate it.',
	'sql' => 'SELECT articles.article_id AS `articles__article_id`, articles.category_id AS `articles__category_id`, articles.title AS `articles__title`, articles.description AS `articles__description`, articles.shortdescription AS `articles__shortdescription`, articles.featuredimage AS `articles__featuredimage`, articles.tag_id AS `articles__tag_id`, articles.secondary_tag AS `articles__secondary_tag`, articles.type AS `articles__type`, articles.publishon AS `articles__publishon`, articles.posturl AS `articles__posturl`, articles.metatitle AS `articles__metatitle`, articles.metadescription AS `articles__metadescription`, articles.metakeyword AS `articles__metakeyword`, articles.status AS `articles__status`, articles.sort_order AS `articles__sort_order`, articles.addedby AS `articles__addedby`, articles.updatedby AS `articles__updatedby`, articles.added AS `articles__added`, articles.modified AS `articles__modified`, articles.whatsnewid AS `articles__whatsnewid`, articles.display_printpdf AS `articles__display_printpdf`, articles.display_comments AS `articles__display_comments`, articles.pdf_name AS `articles__pdf_name`, articles.display_archive AS `articles__display_archive` FROM articles articles WHERE status = :c0 ORDER BY publishon desc LIMIT 10',
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$page = (int) 219
$search = 'class'
$totalPages = (float) 287
$title = 'Search'
$lastyear = (int) 2018
$year = '2021'
$i = (int) 2017
$selected = ''
$m = (int) 13
$month = 'December'

include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Element/rightsection.ctp, line 100
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::_renderElement() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1554
Cake\View\View::element() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 668
include - ROOT/plugins/Drishti/src/Template/Element/articlebox.ctp, line 5
Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::_renderElement() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1554
Cake\View\View::element() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 668
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Cake\View\View::_evaluate() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1196
Cake\View\View::_render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 1157
Cake\View\View::render() - CORE/src/View/View.php, line 765
Cake\Controller\Controller::render() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 623
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Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 93

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