Hindu Notes from General Studies-01

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Fifteen of the 20 most polluted cities in the world are in India

News

• Fifteen of the top 20 most polluted cities in the world are located in India, according to an analysis of air quality in several cities around the world.

Findings

• Gurugram, in Haryana,topped the list with an average annual particulate matter (PM 2.5) quality of 135 g/m3 (micrograms/cubic metre), in 2018. Delhi a frequent fixture on global pollution hotspots was only the 11th most noxious city behind Lahore, Pakistan (10th) and Hotan, China (8th).
• The other cities in India that made the list of 20 were Ghaziabad, Faridabad, Bhiwadi, Noida, Patna, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Muzaffarpur, Varanasi, Moradabad, Agra, Gaya and Jind.
• When ranked by country, Bangladesh emerged as the most polluted followed by Pakistan and India respectively.
• Of the cities analysed, 64% exceeded the WHO’s annual exposure guideline (10g/m3) for fine particulate matter, also known as PM2.5. India’s annual guidelines range from 40-60 g/m3, depending on whether they are residential or industrial areas.
• Every single one of measured cities with data in the Middle East and Africa exceeded the WHO guideline, while 99% of cities in South Asia, 95% of cities in Southeast Asia and 89% of cities in East Asia breached this level.
• The ranking a one of its kind study that relies on ground-based sensors located in 3,000 cities from 73 countries.
• Jakarta and Hanoi emerged as Southeast Asia’s two most polluted cities and average concentrations in the cities in China fell by 12% from 2017 to 2018. Beijing ranks now as the 122nd most polluted city in the world in 2018 and China, the 12th most polluted country in the world. Of the countries analysed, Iceland emerged as the one with the cleanest air.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-02

Donald Trump plans to end preferential trade terms for India under GSP

News

• United States President Donald Trump has intends to end the preferential trade terms for India under the U.S.’s Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program.

Beyond News

• The program, which sets zero tariffs for certain goods from a set of 120 developing countries in order to foster trade and economic development, accounts for some $5.6 billion of India’s exports to the U.S, making India the largest GSP beneficiary.
• The Trump administration, which periodically reviews the GSP eligibility launched a review last April of India’s compliance with GSP market eligibility criteria.
• India’s new e-commerce rules, price controls on medical devices and tariffs on ICT (information and communications technolog) products are among the issues that have caused trade frictions between the two countries. Mr. Trump has repeatedly taken shots at India’s tariffs, which he views as unreasonable.
• One of the discretionary criteria the President must (as per the GSP statute) take into account while determining the GSP eligibility is the “extent to which such country has assured the United States that it will provide equitable and reasonable access to its markets and basic commodity resources and the extent to which it has assured the United States it will refrain from engaging in unreasonable export practices.”
• A mandatory 60 days must now pass after notice has been given to the beneficiary countries and to Congress, during which time there is, at least technically, the possibility of negotiation. After the 60-day period, a beneficiary country can be taken off the GSP list by a presidential proclamation. 

Kerala floods: Government prohibits banks from recovering loans from farmers till December 31

News

• The Kerala Government temporarily prohibited banks from recovering loans from farmers plagued by the loss of livelihood caused by the catastrophic floods that ravaged the State last year.

Beyond News

• The cabinet decision has effectively put a brake on the controversial move by banks to recover loans from impoverished farmers by invoking the provisions of the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Securities Interest Act.
• The banks had initiated their recovery process, which entailed attachment and auction of assets of debtors, by sending notices to thousands of farmers already burdened by the loss of income due to the floods.
• The situation was most grim in Idukki district, which lost nearly 12,000 hectares of arable land to mudslides and floodwaters.
• The monsoon havoc had reduced an estimated 35,000 farmers to penury in Idukki alone. More than 15,000 them had recently received recovery notices, prompting at least six farmers to commit suicide. The situation of farmers in Wayanad was equally bleak. Saddled with debt, they had been at the receiving end of aggressive moves by banks to recover loans.
• The cabinet has also decided to allocate ₹ 85 crores to compensate farmers who suffered crop losses in the recent floods.
• The cabinet also decided to use the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund to underwrite the interest (up to 9%) on recently availed agriculture loans for long-term cash crops such as rubber, coconut, coffee, cocoa and arecanut.
• The cabinet also tasked the Agriculture and Planning Departments to examine whether commercial banks could be brought under the Commission.

Hindu Notes from General Studies-03

First evidence of large water resources on ancient Mars

News

• Scientists have found the first geological evidence of a system of ancient interconnected lakes that once lay deep beneath the surface of Mars, five of which may contain minerals essential for life.

Findings

• According to researchers, Mars appears to be an arid world, but its surface shows compelling signs that large amounts of water once existed across the planet.
• Last year European Space Agency’s Mars Express mission detected a pool of liquid water beneath the planet’s south pole.
• Planets , reveals the extent of underground water on ancient Mars that was previously only predicted by models.
• The researchers explored 24 deep, enclosed craters in the northern hemisphere of Mars, with floors lying about 4000 metres below martian ‘sea level’ a level that, given the planet’s lack of seas, is arbitrarily defined on Mars based on elevation and atmospheric pressure.
• They found features on the floors of these craters that could only have formed in the presence of water.
• Many craters contain multiple features, all at depths of 4000 to 4500 metres — indicating that these craters once contained pools and flows of water that changed and receded over time.
• The finding adds weight to the idea that these basins on Mars may once have had the ingredients to host life, according to the researchers.

Masood Azhar’s brother, son among 44 of proscribed organisations detained

News

• Pakistan has taken 44 members of banned organisations, including Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar’s son and brother, into preventive detention, the Ministry of Interior said.

Beyond News

• In order to implement [the] National Action Plan (NAP), a high-level meeting was held in the Ministry of Interior , which was attended by representatives of all provincial governments.
• It was decided to speed up action against all proscribed organisations.
• The action plan was announced by the Pakistani government to crack down on terrorism.
• Indian dossiers after Mumbai and Pathankot attacks were quite powerful and contained evidence, which is why cases were lodged in Pakistani courts against those allegedly involved in those attacks.
• The FATF, the multilateral body on terror financing, has placed Pakistan on its ‘grey list’, which makes it difficult for Pakistan to get international loans.

Pak. drone shot down over Bikaner

News

• An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) of Pakistan was shot down by the Indian Air Force (IAF) near the International Border over Bikaner in Rajasthan .

Beyond News

• An aerial intrusion was detected from across the International Border over Bikaner. Su-30MKIs [fighter jets] were scrambled, and the Pakistani UAV was shot down with an air-to-air missile.
• The UAV fell on the other side of the border, sources said.
• Both India and Pakistan routinely operate UAVs along the border for surveillance.
• The IAF has been on high operational alert since the air strike on a terrorist training camp in Balakot in Pakistan last Tuesday.
• The Pakistani drone was detected by a ground-based radar station and minutes later one of the Sukhoi-30 jets deployed in the area to keep an eye on Indian air space shot it down, sources said.
• It was the second unsuccessful attempt by Pakistan to send a drone inside India in the past six days. A drone was shot down by India on February 27 along the border in Kutch.

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