Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

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India’s ‘Request For Information’ for fighter jets get six bids

News:

• Six global aircraft manufacturers have responded to a Request for Information (RFI) from the Indian Air Force to supply 110 fighter aircraft.

Beyond News

• The deadline for the RFI was July 6. All six manufacturers have earlier bid for the Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA), which was cancelled in 2015.
• Officials confirmed that six bids have been received, of which Lockheed Martin F-16 and SAAB Gripen are single-engine fighters, while Boeing F-18, Dassault Rafale, Eurofighter Typhoon and United Aircraft Corporation MiG-35 are twin-engine ones.
• The RFI, issued on April 6, states that the government plans to buy 110 fighters jets, of which 85% will have to be built in India under the ‘Make in India’ programme in partnership with a “Strategic Partner/Indian Production Agency.”
• The procurement will be processed through the Strategic Partnership (SP) model under the Defense Procurement Procedure. However, the SP model itself needs some clarification which could delay the process.
• Air Force sources expressed confidence that the technical evaluation and trials can be completed very quickly, as all the aircraft have been extensively tested earlier.
• Earlier, the IAF was looking for a single-engine jet to replace the MiG-21s and MiG-27s being phased out of service, but the RFI did not specify it, opening up the contest to both single-and twin-engine jets. Officials said both configurations were equally competent and the final choice would depend on the price and extent of technology transfer.
• According to informal estimates, the entire cost could be worth over $15 billion. Single-engine aircraft will cost lower than the twin-engine jets, both in unit and operational costs.
• The move comes almost two decades after the IAF began the last major effort to acquire fighters in large numbers.
• The effort culminated in the global tender for 126 fighters under the MMRCA deal which was cancelled in 2015 after the Modi government decided to buy 36 Rafale fighters from France under a government-to- government deal.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

Govt. taps RBI to track all financial transactions

News:

• In a move aimed at widening the crackdown on black money and following the money trail flowing in and out of thousands of shell companies, the Centre is planning to set up an information technology (IT)-based mechanism to keep a tab on all non-cash, financial transactions in the country.

Beyond News

• Reserve Bank of India (RBI) had been asked to develop the IT infrastructure for this purpose. There have been a series of interactions over the past one month to discuss the issue, with these parleys attended by top government officials from the Ministries of Finance and Corporate Affairs as well as RBI officials.
• Currently, the idea is to make the RBI the sole repository of such information, which will not be made available to other agencies such as the income tax department and the enforcement directorate as a default. Such agencies may be required to make specific requests to the central bank if they want information on a particular set of entities.
• An official aware of the development said that although the data will be captured for all transactions irrespective of the size of the transactions, the large ones would be relevant for enforcement purposes.
• Under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act, banks and financial institutions are already required to alert the Financial Intelligence Unit, under the Finance Ministry, to any suspicious transactions, cash or otherwise. Cash transactions of more than ₹10 lakh (including a series of transactions integrally connected to each other and exceeding ₹10 lakh in a month), need to be reported to the FIU.
• All suspicious transactions need to reported to the unit within seven days after it is concluded that those are suspicious in nature.
• The move to track all financial transactions is the latest in a series to curb black money and identify shell companies.
• Following the 2016 demonetisation exercise that rendered more than 86% of the currency in circulation invalid, it was found there had been a significant spurt in the operations of shell firms that typically have no assets or active businesses.
• The Centre has shut down more than two lakh such entities. More than two lakh other firms that have not been carrying out operations have been sent notices. Depending on their responses, a decision would be taken on how many would be deregistered.
• In FY17, the FIU had received more than 15.9 million Cash Transaction Reports and 4.73 lakh Suspicious Transaction Reports.

Chuck that plastic for a bamboo sipper

News

• A scientist from the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, has come out with a green alternative to use-and-throw plastic drinking straws, by tapping bamboo.

Beyond News

• The bamboo species Schizostachyum andamanicum, endemic to the islands looks ideal for the purpose.
• Discovered on the island about two decades ago, this bamboo is characterised by thin large hollow erect culm (stem) with long internodes.
• In its natural form, the bamboo species cannot be used as a straw but after observing the plant’s appearance and structure, they found that it was ideal to be turned into a drinking straw.
• First, the sections of the culm between the nodes are cut into small pieces, to the length of a drinking straw. This can be done either by machine or manually, and then the culm sheath and solid nodes are removed.

Importance

• Not only is a bamboo straw biodegradable, it can be reused for years. People can keep one in their homes and use it multiple times like tooth brushes, avoiding plastic straws. And the cost, Just 50 paise per piece. Its longevity makes it cheaper than plastic.
• Invention is timely in the campaign against plastic pollution.
• If the per capita consumption of plastic has to be brought down, it can be done by promoting natural products like bamboo and jute and other such innovations.
• ‘Straw bamboo’ is found all over the islands and can be cultivated by farmers.

Quarrying doom foreseen in Kaziranga

News

• A report by the divisional forest officer has underlined the imminent threat that Kaziranga National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site and prime one-horned rhino habitat, faces from unscientific stone quarrying in its vicinity.

Beyond News

• The 884 sq. km. Kaziranga is also a tiger reserve with one of the highest population densities of the striped cat.
• The National Tiger Conservation Authority asked the Assam government to immediately stop all mining, quarrying and stone crushing activities in the Kaziranga-Karbi Anglong landscape.
• The southern edge of Kaziranga adjoins the hilly Karbi Anglong the park’s animals flee there during high floods.
• There are numerous waterbodies and streams flowing down the Karbi Anglong hills and joining larger streams, including the Diffolu river, to flow into the Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve area. The stone quarrying process is affecting the water quality and thereby affecting the wildlife habitat in and around Kaziranga, and the environment as a whole.
• The report further said the unscientific quarries were blocking natural springs originating from the hills and physically changing the course of water flow. There is also a higher degree of siltation and increase in turbidity of water due to the carrying of unfertile soil from the quarrying sites by the rains during monsoon season.
• The quarrying process is also causing noise pollution in and around the southern boundary of the Bagori, Kohora and Burapahar ranges [of the KazirangaNational Park]. Noise pollution is adversely affecting animal behaviour and their movement in these areas.

Biodegradable plastic made from tree glue

News:

• Scientists have found that a natural ‘tree glue’ which stiffens plant cells can be turned into a strong, biodegradable plastic.

Beyond News:

• The natural glue called lignin holds cellulose fibres together.
• Researchers genetically modified a bacteria called Rhodococcus jostii to turn lignin into useful chemicals.
• There are only a small number of organisms that can break down lignin.
• Normally the bacteria uses it for growth, and breaks it down into small molecules which it uses as food to grow.
• So they are trying to intercept that process so it still can grow but it can do something for us at the same time.
• Because lignin is complex, as you break it down you get a complex mixture but what’s nice is with these bacteria they are able to funnel all this.
• Plastic is notoriously difficult to recycle and only 12 per cent of household waste is reprocessed. The rest is either burnt or goes to landfill.Lignin is a byproduct of the paper making process.

Human population, roads reduce effectiveness of protected areas

Designated protected areas such as wildlife parks and sanctuaries are effective at preventing forest loss  except when there are roads or more populous areas nearby, find scientists.

Findings:

• Loss of forests is a worry in most tropical countries including India which is home to the Western Ghats, one of the world’s major biodiversity hotspots.
• To assess trends of forest loss in the Ghats, a team, analysed high-resolution Landsat satellite imagery from 2000 to 2016.
• The teamexamined whether the forest loss correlates with factors including protection status of an area (protected area PA, versus non-PA) and proximity to roads and towns. They collected biophysical (slope, elevation etc, which play a role in patterns of forest loss), demographic (human population densities from census data) and administrative (protection status of an area) data from multiple sources, incorporating this into their spatial analysis.
• The results, show that forest loss though confined to only small patches  is higher in wetter areas, higher altitudes and near rivers and lakes across 89,681 sqkm of forests in the Ghats. Protected areas were 30% less likely to lose forest than non-protected areas, especially when forests were closer to roads and towns. However, the advantage of protection declined by 32% when local population densities increased.
• However, the results varied when the team analysed two smaller landscapes in Karnataka, hinting that local factors are important mediators of forest loss patterns. This could include how locals use forests in their vicinity and working with communities could improve long-term forest conservation.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-04

Fish samples in Chennai test positive for formalin

News:

• As many as 11 out of 30 samples of fish species purchased from Chinthadripet and Kasimedu, the two major fish markets in Chennai, on two different days, have tested positive for formalin, a cancer-inducing chemical used illegally to preserve fish.

Beyond News:

• Formalin causes irritation in the eyes, throat, skin and stomach. In the long run continued exposure causes harm to the kidneys, liver and can even cause cancers.
• This is the first time samples of fish in Tamil Naduhave tested positive for formalin.
• Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) officials have been undertaking tests at fish markets and harbours across the State to test for formalin following a scare in neighbouring Keralathat fish sourced from here were chemically contaminated.
• Fish industry experts said that formalin or formaldehyde is sprayed on the fish or injected into the fish or the fish is dipped into the solution.
• This helps keep the fish fresh for a longer time. Usually people who buy fish check the gills for freshness, if it is red it denotes freshness, when formalin is used the gills remain red for longer periods. In some cases, fishermen also apply kumkum to retain redness.

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