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IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

Cabinet approves Ratification of seven Persistent Organic Pollutants listed under Stockholm Convention and delegate its powers for future ratifications for streamlining the procedure

Source: PIB

News

• The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister has approved the Ratification of seven (7) chemicals listed under Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs).

Ratification of seven chemicals

• The Cabinet further delegated its powers to ratify chemicals under the Stockholm Convention to Union Ministers of External Affairs (MEA) and Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MEFCC) in respect of POPs already regulated under the domestic regulations thereby streamlining the procedure.
• The Stockholm Convention is a global treaty to protect human health and environment from POPs, which are identified chemical substances that persist in the environment, bio-accumulate in living organisms, adversely affect human health/ environment and have the property of long-range environmental transport (LRET).
• Exposure to POPs can lead to cancer, damage to central & peripheral nervous systems, diseases of immune system, reproductive disorders and interference with normal infant and child development. POPs are listed in various Annexes to the Stockholm Convention after thorough scientific research, deliberations and negotiations among member countries.
• India had ratified the Stockholm Convention on January 13, 2006 as per Article 25(4), which enabled it to keep itself in a default “opt-out” position such that amendments in various Annexes of the convention cannot be enforced on it unless an instrument of ratification/ acceptance/ approval or accession is explicitly deposited with UN depositary.
• Considering its commitment towards providing safe environment and addressing human health risks, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) had notified the ‘Regulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants Rules, on 2018 under the provisions of Environment (Protection) Act, 1986.

Cabinet approves ‘Natural Gas Marketing Reforms’

Source: PIB

News

• The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has approved ‘Natural Gas Marketing Reforms’, taking another significant step to move towards gas based economy.

Aim: The policy aims to provide standard procedure for sale of natural gas in a transparent and competitive manner to discover market price by issuing guidelines for sale by contractor through e-bidding.

• This will bring uniformity in the bidding process across the various contractual regimes and policies to avoid ambiguity and contribute towards ease of doing business.

Natural Gas Marketing Reforms

• The objective of the policy is to prescribe standard procedure to discover market price of gas to be sold in the market by gas producers, through a transparent and competitive process, permit Affiliates to participate in bidding process for sale of gas and allow marketing freedom to certain Field Development Plans (FDPs) where Production Sharing Contracts already provide pricing freedom.
• These reforms will build on a series of transformative reforms rolled out by the Government in last several years.

Economic activities

• The whole eco-system of policies relating to production, infrastructure and marketing of natural gas has been made more transparent with a focus on ease of doing business.
• These reforms will prove very significant for Atmanirbhar Bharat by encouraging investments in the domestic production of natural gas and reducing import dependence.
• These reforms will prove to be another milestone in moving towards a gas based economy by encouraging investments.
• The increased gas production consumption will help in improvement of environment.
• These reforms will also help in creating employment opportunities in the gas consuming sectors including MSMEs.
• The domestic production will further help in increasing investment in the downstream industries such as City Gas Distribution and related industries.

India, Japan finalise landmark pact to enhance cooperation on 5G tech, AI, critical information infrastructure

News

• India and Japan have finalised a landmark cyber-security agreement providing for enhancing cooperation on 5G technology, artificial intelligence and critical information infrastructure as the two strategic partners vowed to further broad-base their joint efforts in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific.

 Cyber-security agreement

• The two sides have firmed up the pact which will promote cooperation in 5G technology, internet of things (IoT), artificial intelligence (AI) and key areas of cyberspace among others.
• The firming up of the deal comes in the midst of growing concerns in India over cyberattacks from China, particularly after India banned over 100 mobile apps with Chinese links following the bitter border standoff between the two countries in eastern Ladakh.
• It was also announced that Japan agreed to be the lead partner in the connectivity pillar of the Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI).
• The IPOI is an India-backed framework aimed at making meaningful efforts to create a safe and secure maritime domain in the Indo-Pacific, a region where China has been expanding its military assertiveness triggering global concerns.
• The cooperation between India and Japan on 5G technology comes in the backdrop of growing reluctance by a significant number of countries globally to allow Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei to roll out 5G services in their territories.
• The US has already banned Huawei over concerns of security, and Washington has been pressuring other countries to restrict the operations of the Chinese telecom major.
• The 5G is the next-generation cellular technology with download speeds stated to be 10 to 100 times faster than the current 4G LTE networks.
• The cyber-security pact will also provide for sharing strategies and best practices to promote the integrity of the supply chain of information and communication technology (ICT) products.
• The pact will enhance cooperation in the area of cyberspace and emerging technologies and provide for the protection of critical infrastructure and sharing of information on cybersecurity threats and malicious cyber activities as well as on best practices to counter them.
• In course of the 13th India-Japan foreign ministers’ strategic dialogue, deliberated on a broad range of areas including maritime security, trade and investment, manufacturing, connectivity and infrastructure and reform of the United Nations.
• One of the key priority areas was Indo-Pacific.
• It said the two ministers also concurred that the Indo-Pacific has acquired greater salience in recent times and underscored the need for India and Japan to work together for the benefit of the region.
• The two ministers affirmed that the two countries will cooperate toward realising UN Security Council reforms as early as possible.

Donald Trump moves to tighten H-1B visa access for foreign workers

News

• The Trump administration announced significant changes to the H-1B visa program for high-skilled workers, substantially raising the wages that U.S. companies must pay foreign hires and narrowing eligibility criteria for applicants.

Significant changes to the H-1B visa program

• Top administration officials framed the changes as a way to protect American jobs during the coronavirus pandemic, even though the Trump administration first committed to overhauling the program in 2017 as part of its efforts to reduce the number of foreign nationals employed in the United States.
• The rules will directly affect foreign workers and employers, especially tech companies that have long supported the H-1B program and pushed hard for its expansion.
• The government issues 85,000 H-1B visas each year, often resorting to a lottery to award them because the number of workers sought by companies almost always surpasses the number of available visas.
• Many workers are eventually sponsored by their employers for green cards to remain permanently in the United States.
• The largest share of H-1B visa holders are employed by the tech sector, where they work as computer engineers and software developers. However, the visas are also issued to architects, accountants and physicians, among a variety of professionals.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Earth saw its warmest September on record: European Union

News

• The Earth has experienced its warmest September since record-keeping began, according to a European Union agency’s report published.

Warmest on record

• 2020 is, so far, tying with 2016 for the warmest calendar year. Global temperatures in January, May and September exceeded those in 2016 and tied in April and June.
• The report showed that temperatures in Europe were particularly warm, with the cooling La Nina weather event in the eastern Pacific cooling parts of the southern hemisphere.
• Arctic sea ice saw its second-lowest September average extent on record, more than 40% below the 1981-2020 average. Temperatures in Siberia were “especially high.”
• Monitors of the Paris Climate Agreement will view the figures with particular alarm: for the 12-month period through to September 2020, the planet was nearly 1.3 degrees Celsius (2.4 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer than pre-industrial levels.
• This is close to the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold for severe impacts to the planet detailed in a 2018 UN climate report.
• The Paris Agreement, of which many UN nations are signatories, has nations aim to cap global warming “well below” 2 degrees Celsius and at 1.5 degrees if possible.
• Overall, September 2020 was 0.05 degrees Celsius warmer than September 2019.

Scientists discover two dozen planets which are suitable for life than the Earth

News

• The research found out that there are at least 24 Superhabitable planets which may support life better than the Earth.

Superhabitable planets

• Scientists went through observing over 4,500 exoplanets and were able to find out 24 planets based on certain parameters that gave evidences of a conducive environment for life-supporting conditions although no life has yet been confirmed on those planets.
• All these planets are 100 light-years away from the Earth located outside the Solar System.
• The scope of life on any planet significantly depends upon the star it orbits. Earth which is 4.5 billion years old, orbits around the Sun that has relatively shorter lifespan of less than 10 billion years while complex life appeared on the Earth only after 4 billion years.
• The research also suggests that there may be the origin of better life on those planets which are 5 to 8 billion years old and are revolving changing stars with longer lifespan than the Sun at a lower speed.
• Scientists classified these stars into G-stars which have lifespan less than that of 10 billion years and K-stars that are comparatively cooler, dwarf stars with lifespan of 20 to 70 billion years.
• As a consequence, appearance of complex life may not take place in conducive manner on those planets which are revolving around a G-star as their star may run out of fuel before any substantial form of complex life develops on them.
• On the contrary, those planets orbiting K-stars may have favourable outcomes pertaining to the appearance of intricate life processes due to longer lifespan of its star.
• Mass of the planet was also one of the promising factors to determine evidence regarding life-formation.
• Apart from these, Surface temperature also play a crucial role in indicating any life-supporting evidences as it would decide the formation of water, moisture and clouds.
• Planets having comparatively 5 degree-Celsius higher temperature than the Earth might be suitable for better conditions of life as overall higher temperature with greater moisture can lead to emanation of diverse forms of life as it is also corroborated by Earth’s biodiversity.

A proposed road tunnel beneath Western Ghats in Kerala

News

• Kerala Chief Minister “launched” a tunnel road project that would connect Kozhikode with Wayanad.

Kozhikode-Wayanad tunnel road

• The 7-km tunnel, being described as the third-longest in the country, is part of an 8-km road cutting through sensitive forests and hills of the Western Ghats.
• The tunnel road is an outcome of a decades-long campaign for an alternative road as the Thamarassery Ghat Road is congested and gets blocked by landslides during heavy monsoon.

Impact on ecology

• The Forest Department has identified the proposed route as a highly sensitive patch comprising evergreen and semi-evergreen forests, marsh lands and shola tracts.
• This region is part of an elephant corridor spread between Wayanad and Nilgiri Hills in Tamil Nadu. Two major rivers, Chaliyar and Kabani that flows to Karnataka, originate from these hills in Wayanad.
• Eruvazhanjipuzha, a tributary of Chaliyar and the lifeline of settlements in Malappuram and Kozhikode, begins in the other side of the hills.
• The region, known for torrential rain during monsoon, has witnessed several landslides, including in 2019 at Kavalappura near Nilambur and at Puthumala, Meppadi in Wayanad.

India may close its dirtiest coal plants as green focus grows

News

• India is considering a proposal that may force some of its dirtiest coal plants to close, as policy makers in one of the world’s top polluters increasingly focus on climate change.

Focus on climate change

• The plan under consideration by the power ministry would cap plants’ so-called heat rate, which is a measure of how much coal energy is needed to produce each unit of electricity.
• Power stations totaling 10 gigawatts have been identified as breaching the proposed benchmark and more could be added, said the people, who asked not to be named as the discussions are ongoing and no policy has been finalized.
• That would account for roughly 5% of the coal power capacity in India, the world’s second-biggest consumer of the fuel after China.
• The proposal would cap the heat rate for coal plants at 2,600 kilocalories per kilowatt-hour of electricity, according to the people.
• India has nearly 200 gigawatts of coal-fired capacity, nearly 54% of the nation’s total.
• India’s coal fleet is already facing requirements to add pollution control equipment by 2022 to help fight smog.