10 April 2024

MAINS DAILY QUESTIONS & MODEL ANSWERS

Q1. What are the ‘Saptarishi’ initiatives for Amrit Kaal announced in the Union Budget 2023-24? Discuss the ways in which the country can achieve ‘Green Growth’ as it moves towards net zero emissions?

GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Introduction:

• The Union Budget 2023-24 presented by Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs in the Parliament recently outlined the vision of Amrit Kaal which shall reflect an empowered and inclusive economy.  The Budget has laid emphasis on the government’s commitment to move towards net-zero carbon emission by 2070.
• Union Finance Minister announced the first budget in Amrit Kaal will be guided by seven priorities that complement each other and act as the ‘Saptarishi’.

1) Inclusive Development

2) Reaching the Last Mile

3) Infrastructure and Investment

4) Unleashing the Potential

5) Green Growth

6) Youth Power

7) Financial Sector

Green growth:

• It is one of the 7 priorities (Saptarishiof Amrit Kaal) the Budget. India is implementing many programmes for –
• Green fuel, green energy, green farming, green mobility, green buildings, green equipment and policies for efficient use of energy across various economic sectors.
• These green growth efforts help in reducing the carbon intensity of the economy and provide for large-scale green job opportunities.

Ways to achieve Green Growth:

• Green Hydrogen Mission: The recently launched National Green Hydrogen Mission, with an outlay of Rs 19,700 crores, will facilitate transition of the economy to low carbon intensity, reduce dependence on fossil fuel imports, and make the country assume technology and market leadership in this sunrise sector. India aims to reach a target of an annual production of 5 MMT of green hydrogen by 2030, the FM said.
• Energy Transition: The Budget has provided Rs 35,000 crore for priority capital investments towards energy transition and net zero objectives, and energy security by Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas.
• Energy Storage Projects: To steer the economy on the sustainable development path, Battery Energy Storage Systems with capacity of 4,000 MWH will be supported with Viability Gap Funding. A detailed framework for Pumped Storage Projects will also be formulated.
• Renewable Energy Evacuation: The Inter-state transmission system for evacuation and grid integration of 13 GW renewable energy from Ladakh will be constructed with investment of Rs 20,700 crore including central support of ` 8,300 crore.
• Green Credit Programme: For encouraging behavioural change, a Green Credit Programme will be notified under the Environment (Protection) Act. This will incentivize environmentally sustainable and responsive actions by companies, individuals and local bodies, and help mobilize additional resources for such activities.
• PM-PRANAM: A new “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth” will be launched to incentivize States and Union Territories to promote alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.
• GOBARdhan scheme: 500 new ‘waste to wealth’ plants under GOBARdhan (Galvanizing Organic Bio-Agro Resources Dhan) scheme will be established for promoting circular economy. These will include 200 compressed biogas (CBG) plants, including 75 plants in urban areas, and 300 community or cluster-based plants at total investment of Rs 10,000 crore, the FM said.
• Bhartiya Prakritik Kheti Bio-Input Resource Centres: The FM has proposed to facilitate over the next three years 1 crore farmers to adopt natural farming. For this, 10,000 Bio-Input Resource Centres will be set-up, creating a national-level distributed micro-fertilizer and pesticide manufacturing network.
• MISHTI: Building on India’s success in afforestation, ‘Mangrove Initiative for Shoreline Habitats & Tangible Incomes’, MISHTI, will be taken up for mangrove plantation along the coastline and on salt pan lands, wherever feasible, through convergence between MGNREGS, CAMPA Fund and other sources.
• Amrit Dharohar: Wetlands are vital ecosystems which sustain biological diversity, the FM said. The government will promote their unique conservation values through Amrit Dharohar, a scheme that will be implemented over the next three years to encourage optimal use of wetlands, and enhance bio-diversity, carbon stock, eco-tourism opportunities and income generation for local communities.
• Coastal Shipping: Coastal shipping will be promoted as the energy efficient and lower cost mode of transport, both for passengers and freight, through PPP mode with viability gap funding.
• Vehicle Replacement: Replacing old polluting vehicles is an important part of greening our economy. In furtherance of the vehicle scrapping policy mentioned in Budget 2021-22, I have allocated adequate funds to scrap old vehicles of the Central Government. States will also be supported in replacing old vehicles and ambulances.

Conclusion:

• With a vision for a Lifestyle for the Environment (LiFE), India is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2070, catalyzing a green industrial and economic transformation.

Q2. How does salinity vary as the ocean gets deeper and wider? Discuss the factors that determine the concentration of salts in the ocean water.

GS I – Geography related issues

Introduction:

• Salinity refers to the total content of dissolved salts in sea water. It is calculated as the amount of salt (in gm) dissolved in 1,000 gm (1 kg) of seawater. The salinity of ocean water is usually around 35 parts per thousand on an average at zero degrees Celsius. This implies that in the total weight of ocean water, dissolved salts amount to 3.5 percent. Sodium chloride or the common salt is the most common among all the dissolved salts in the sea.

Variation in salinity:

Horizontal distribution:

• On an average, salinity decreases from equator towards the poles. However, it is important to note that the highest salinity is seldom recorded near the equator though this zone records high temperature and evaporation but high rainfall reduces the relative proportion of salt. Thus, the equator accounts for only 35‰ salinity
• The highest salinity is observed between 20° N and 40° N (36‰) because this zone is characterized by high temperature, high evaporation but relatively low rainfall
• The average salinity of 35‰ is recorded between 100 -300 latitudes in the southern hemisphere
• The zone between 40 deg -60 deg latitudes in both the hemispheres records low salinity where it is 31‰ and 33‰ in the northern and the southern hemispheres respectively.
• Salinity further decreases in the polar zones because of influx of Glacial melt-water. On an average, the northern and the southern hemispheres record average salinity of 35‰ and 34‰ respectively.

Vertical distribution of salinity:

• Salinity changes with depth, but the way it changes depends upon the location of the sea.
• Salinity at the surface increases by the loss of water to ice or evaporation, or decreased by the input of fresh waters, such as from the rivers.
• Salinity at depth is very much fixed, because there is no way that water is ‘lost’, or the salt is ‘added.’ There is a marked difference in the salinity between the surface zones and the deep zones of the oceans.
• The lower salinity water rests above the higher salinity dense water.
• Salinity, generally, increases with depth and there is a distinct zone called the halocline (compare this with thermocline), where salinity increases sharply.
• Other factors being constant, increasing salinity of seawater causes its density to increase. High salinity seawater, generally, sinks below the lower salinity water. This leads to stratification by salinity.
• Factors influencing salinity are: Factors affecting the amount of salt in different oceans and seas are called as controlling factors of oceanic salinity.
• Evaporation: The salinity of water in the surface layer of oceans depend mainly on evaporation. Where the evaporation is greater, the salinity is higher, for example, Mediterranean sea.
• Freshwater flow influx: Surface salinity is greatly influenced in coastal regions by the freshwater flow from rivers, and in polar regions by the processes of freezing and thawing of ice.
• Where the freshwater flow into the oceans is greater, the salinity is lower.
• For instance, at the mouths of rivers such as Amazon, Congo, Ganga etc., the ocean surface salinity is found to be lower than the average surface salinity.
• Temperature and density: Salinity, temperature and density of water are interrelated. Hence, any change in the temperature or density influences the salinity of an area.
• In general, regions with high temperatures are also, regions with high salinity.
• Ocean Currents: They play an important role in the spatial distribution of dissolved salts in ocean waters.
• The warm currents near the equatorial region push away the salts from the eastern margins of the oceans and accumulate them near the western margins.
• Similarly, ocean currents in the temperate regions increase the salinity of ocean waters near the eastern margins. For instance, Gulf Stream in the North Atlantic Ocean increases the salinity of ocean waters along the western margins of the Atlantic Ocean.
• Precipitation: Precipitation and salinity share an inverse relationship.
• In general, regions with higher levels of precipitation have lower levels of salinity. This is the reason why though the equatorial region is as hot as the sub-tropics; it records lower salinity than the sub-tropics since the former receives heavy precipitation in a day.
• Atmospheric pressure and Wind direction: anti-cyclonic conditions with stable air and high temperature increase salinity of the surface water of oceans
• winds help is redistribution of salinity, as they drive away saline waters to fewer saline areas resulting into decrease of salinity in the former and increase in the latter
• However, the effect is greater if the salty water gets cold, as temperature has a greater effect on density than salinity does. A combination of high salinity and low temperature makes seawater so dense that it sinks to the bottom of the ocean and flows across ocean basins as deep, slow currents.