06 December 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – NISAR satellite: GS III – Science and Technology

Context:

• Following a few tests, the NASA-ISRO Synthetic Aperture Radar (NISAR) is scheduled for flight in the first quarter of 2024.

About NISAR:

• NASA and ISRO are working together to construct NISAR, a low-earth orbit observatory.
• Every twelve days for a period of three years, the mission will survey every inch of land and ice on Earth.
• Under a cooperative agreement signed in 2014, the space agencies of the United States and India have been building NISAR.
• Dual-frequency imaging radar satellite, weighing 2,800 kg, it is equipped with both S-band and L-band synthetic aperture radar (SAR) equipment.

NASA offered:

• the radar in the L-band,
• GPS
• a solid-state recorder with a large capacity for storing data, and
• A data subsystem for payloads

ISRO has offered:

• the radar in S-band
• the spacecraft and GSLV launch system.
• The satellite’s massive 39-foot fixed antenna reflector is another crucial part.
• The reflector, consisting of a wire mesh with a gold plating, is intended to concentrate the radar signals that are transmitted and received by the feed that faces upward on the instrument construction.
• In order to comprehend changes in the planet’s ecosystems, ice mass, vegetation, biomass, sea level rise, groundwater, and natural hazards, it will supply consistent data across space and time.
• This would be the first mission to use an improved Sweep SAR technology for dual frequency radar imaging in the L- and S-bands.
• NISAR will generate high-resolution images through the use of synthetic aperture radar (SAR).
• No matter the weather, SAR can gather data day or night and penetrate clouds to get information.

A Synthetic Aperture Radar mission seeks to ascertain changes to the Earth in three areas:

• ecosystems (the carbon cycle and vegetation),
• deformation (study of solid Earth), and
• cryosphere sciences (mostly in relation to sea level effects and climatic causes)

Objectives and reason for the mission:

• NISAR will monitor minute variations in Earth’s surface once it is sent into orbit, assisting scientists in comprehending the origins and effects of these events.
• It can identify early warning indicators of landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions.

Additionally, the satellite will:

• gauge the level of groundwater,
• monitor the ice sheet and glacier flow rates, and
• keep an eye on the planet’s agricultural and forest areas to further our knowledge of carbon exchange.
• NISAR will be used by ISRO for a number of projects, including as mapping agricultural areas and monitoring Himalayan glaciers, landslide-prone areas, and coastal changes.

Source The Hindu

2 – AAINA Dashboard: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions

Context:

• The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has activated the “AAINA Dashboard for Cities” (MoHUA).

Important information:

• Here, using an easy-to-fill data input form on the portal, Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) nationwide can take part in this ground-breaking effort by voluntarily submitting their vital data on a regular basis.

The AAINA Dashboard’s main goals are to assist cities in:

• check their performance in comparison to other cities,
• encourage them by highlighting opportunities and areas for development and
• giving people the chance to interact and learn from leaders.
• The AAINA dashboard would be a useful tool for comparing similarly situated cities and encouraging peer learning between cities, even though it wouldn’t rank the ULBs.

The Dashboard will display the information provided by the ULBs based on indicators from five major pillars, which are as follows:

• Organisational & Political
• Money
• Organising
• Citizen-Centered Administration and
• Provision of Essential Services.
• The “AAINA Dashboard for Cities” seeks to build a solid database of the essential performance indicators of Urban Local Bodies with the active participation of all ULBs.
• It would be open to the public once it is populated and accessible to all parties involved.

Source The Hindu

3 – Mammal extinct for 60 years rediscovered: GS III – Environmental Conservation related issues

Context:

• In a distant Indonesian forest, a mammal that was thought to be extinct and last seen in 1961 has been found again.

Important information:

• A Dutch scientist made the lone prior report of the species in 1961.
• This mammal, an echidna, has the name David Attenborough, after the renowned naturalist and filmmaker.
• Echidnas, also referred to as spiny anteaters, are quill-covered monotremes that are members of the Tachyglossidae family of mammals that lay eggs.
• The only remaining members of the order Monotremata are the platypus and the four current species of echidnas, which are the only living animals that lay eggs.
• The final known habitat of the species, the Cyclops Mountains of Indonesia, is where the discovery was found.
• The species is one of the planet’s five extant monotreme species.

Source The Hindu

4 – Smog Tower: GS III – Environmental Conservation related issues

Context:

• As New Delhi struggles with its yearly environmental problem, there is a renewed discussion about the efficacy of pollution towers in the city, despite emergency efforts.

How do smog towers work?

• Delhi inhabitants frequently keep small fans-equipped air purifiers (also known as HEPA filters) in their homes.
• The air is forced through a filter by the fan, which collects dust, pollen, particulate matter, and other contaminants.
• Similar ideas underlie a smog tower, which is designed to function as a massive air cleaner that is placed outside.
• In heavily populated locations, the tower’s purpose is to enhance air quality by capturing pollutant particles.
• The one that was installed in 2021 and serves Connaught Place, the city’s famous business district, cost roughly $2.5 million.
• The Supreme Court urged the federal government to build similar equipment in New Delhi several years ago, after seeing one in the Chinese city of Xi An.

Issues:

• Smog towers are unable to clear the air quickly enough to have an impact because they are outside.
• Any benefits are negated as soon as the filtered air is discharged since it immediately combines with the ambient pollutants.
• Researchers discovered that the air is cleaned with 50% effectiveness, which decreases to 30% at 50 metres away from the filters and little over 10% at 500 metres away.
• Additionally, the researchers found that the framework holding the filters in place was not properly sealed, which let contaminated air get through.

Source The Hindu

5 – Plight of paddy sector in Kerala: GS III – Environmental Conservation related issues

Context:

• A farmer at Kuttanad in Alappuzha, a well-known paddy-growing region in the state, committed suicide, drawing attention to the dire situation of Kerala’s paddy industry.

Important information:

MSP for Kerala’s paddy:

• The Minimum Support Price (MSP) in Kerala consists of two parts:
• the sum that the Union government sets as a minimum payment for buying farmers’ produce, and
• an extra reward provided by the state government.
• The MSP for each kilogramme of paddy was Rs 28.20 last year.
• The part of the Union government was Rs 20.40, while the Kerala government’s portion was Rs 7.80.
• The Union government increased their portion to Rs 21.83 this season.
• The entire procurement price came to Rs 28.20 when the state government lowered its portion from Rs 7.80 to Rs 6.37.
• The procurement price is regarded as among the best in the nation, even at this cost.

Government of Kerala’s subsidies for paddy farming:

• The state government has introduced incentives to stimulate cultivation and discourage farmers from leaving the paddy fields fallow, as a result of the state’s paddy cultivation area declining.
• The state initiatives provide input assistance of Rs 5,500 per hectare to promote paddy growing.
• Paddy farming is supported by the local self-government authorities (mostly panchayats) at a cost of Rs 25,000 per hectare for seeds, fertilisers, pesticides, and land preparation.
• Kerala implemented a royalty programme in 2020 for farmers who cultivate paddy for three years in a row.
• As a result, a farmer would receive royalty of Rs 2,000 per hectare (assistance limited to a hectare) per year.
• The royalty was raised to three thousand rupees per hectare.
• Farmers around the state, however, argue that these advantages haven’t always been the same.

Impact on paddy farming and cultivation costs:

• Kerala’s paddy industry is viewed as unprofitable despite the incentives, mostly because cultivation costs are skyrocketing.
• The cost of cultivation per acre in 2021–2022 increased from Rs 69,344 to Rs 75,430, according to the state’s Economic and Statistics Department.

Regarding the overall expense:

• Employed workers made up 41.78 percent.
• 25% of labour was mechanised, and
• 19 percent for chemicals and manure.

This excluded:

• the importance of domestic labour, which small and medium-sized farmers utilise to work their land, and
• interest related to the value of land.
• One quintal of paddy will only bring in Rs 2,820 at such rate.
• When cost and revenue are compared, it becomes clear that farmers barely make ends meet.
• Other elements causing the paddy sector’s problems include:

Lack of labour:

• The primary issue facing Kerala is the lack of labourers, who are mostly needed for planting saplings.
• In the paddy industry, women made up the majority of the labour force.
• Since the MGNREGS were implemented, the majority of older women have left the paddy industry.
• The majority of migrant workers employed by farmers these days are from West Bengal.
• But in Kerala, they are mostly accessible in the autumn during the paddy season.
• Due to the lack of migrant labour during the winter harvest, producers are forced to look for local labour, which is scarce.

Dispersed rice tracts:

• In many sections of the state, mechanisation is practically impossible due to dispersed paddy tracts and competing interests among local farmers (some are anxious to continue farming, while others are not).
• Tractors and tillers can be found in Kerala, but harvesters need to be imported from Tamil Nadu.
• Once more, this has increased the cost of production.
• Due to a shortage of harvesters, paddy had died in the fields on numerous occasions.

Inaccurate monsoons:

• The state’s paddy calendar has also been thrown off balance in previous years by unpredictable downpours during harvest and unpredictable monsoons during planting days.

Wildlife hazard:

• The threat of wild animals, particularly wild boars that prey on paddy fields, exists in almost all of Kerala’s paddy tracts.
• These attacks tear a large gash through the paddy tracts, significantly lowering yield and lengthening the harvesting process.

Drawbacks of the PRS system in Kerala:

The issue:

• The Public Distribution System (PDS) in Kerala distributes rice that has been converted from paddy by private mills after the state-run Supplyco purchases the crop from farmers.
• This rice would be part of the portion that the government’s Food Corporation of India (FCI) lifts for Kerala.
• Only once the rice enters the PDS network for distribution does the central government begin to distribute its portion of the MSP.
• It takes at least four to six months to complete this procedure from the fields to the ration shops.

The resolution:

• In order to get over this delay, the Keralan government launched a lending programme in 2015.
• Paddy Receipt Sheets (PRS) for the quantity purchased must be delivered to farmers by Supplyco when they collect their paddy.
• Supplyco used to pay the farmers directly in the past.
• Nevertheless, a group of banks came together to support the farmers as a result of the state government’s financial difficulties.
• In light of this, farmers will receive their share of the paddy selling proceeds from the relevant banks upon production of these PRS.

Issue with the resolution:

• However, the money would only be credited to farmers’ accounts by banks as a loan, with interest set by the banks, that would be repaid by Supplyco or the government.
• The government frequently fails to make PRS loan payments on time, citing the Union government’s hold-up in releasing MSP.
• The farmers’ credit score is impacted when the government defaults on the PRS loan on time.
• In addition to new agriculture loans, this has an impact on their other loan transactions. Currently, farmers are calling for the PRS loan system to be eliminated.

Source The Hindu