06 March 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Great Indian Bustard:  GS III – Topic Environmental Conservation

 Context:

• The Central Electricity Authority (CEA), India’s top power regulator, has suggested that only power lines below 33 KV need to be buried and that the remaining ones be fitted with bird-diverters. While this will help solar power projects in Rajasthan, it may also obstruct efforts to make the area safe for the endangered Great Indian Bustard. Environmentalists have criticised the plan, saying that it would cause the “extinction” of the species.

About:

• The Great Indian Bustard (GIB), the state bird of Rajasthan, is regarded to be the most seriously endangered bird in the country.
• It is recognised as the flagship grassland species because it represents the health of the grassland ecology.
• There are only two actual locations where it has a population: Rajasthan and Gujarat. Little populations can be found in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, and Maharashtra.
• The bird is always in danger from things like colliding with or being electrocuted by power transmission lines, hunting, which is still prevalent in Pakistan, habitat loss and change brought on by rapid agricultural expansion, etc.

Plaintiff Status:

• International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List Critically Endangered Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES): Appendix I Convention on Migratory Species (CMS): Appendix I Schedule 1 of the Wildlife (Protection) Act of 1972.

India’s concerns:

• The last known wild population of GIBs is found in Rajasthan’s Desert National Park (DNP), which has a grassland ecosystem that is very similar to that of the Cholistan Desert, where the GIBs were killed.
• DNP is situated in the vast Thar desert, close to the towns of Jaisalmer and Barmer.
• It was established as a national park in 1981 to preserve the habitat of the Great Indian Bustard.
• The gun-toting poachers in Pakistan’s Sindh and Punjab, which have international borders with Rajasthan, would have little trouble getting their hands on the birds.
• The hunt for the threatened bird will have an effect on the desert’s ecosystem in addition to drastically reducing the number of GIBs in India.

 Government initiatives:

• It is kept up as part of the Ministry of Environment, Forests, and Climate Change’s species recovery project, Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats (MoEFCC).
• A programme named “Habitat Improvement and Conservation Breeding of Great Indian Bustard-An Integrated Approach” has also been initiated by the MoEFCC.
• By raising Great Indian Bustards in captivity and releasing the chicks into the wild, the programme aims to boost the population of these birds.
• The Rajasthan government’s “Project Great Indian Bustard” programme intends to provide infrastructure to minimise human pressure on the species’ habitats as well as breeding cages for the species.

 Source The Hindu

2 – UIDF: GS II – Topic Government Policies and Interventions

 Context:

• The Urban Infrastructure Development Fund, created to aid in the growth of Tier II and Tier III cities, should prioritise existing projects, provide for critical services, and promote efforts that minimise carbon footprints in order to make the best use of its resources.
• These are only a handful of the many regulations that will likely be produced to put the UIDF programme into action. This year’s General Budget included an allocation of Rs. 10,000 crore for the effort.

Details on the Urban Infrastructure Development Fund (UIDF):

• The deficit in loans to the prioritised sectors will be used to fund the UIDF.
• Governmental agencies will use the funds to develop urban infrastructure in Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities.
• It will be managed by the National Housing Bank.
• It will be established similarly to how the Rural Infrastructure Development Fund was established (RIDF).
• States will be asked to impose fair user fees for accessing the UIDF by using cash from grants from the 15th Finance Commission and other programmes.

What are tiers two and three cities?

• Tier 3 cities have a population between 20,000 and 50,000, while Tier 2 cities have between 50,000 and 100,000 residents.

About RIDF:

• The RIDF was founded by the government in 1995–1996 to provide money for ongoing rural infrastructure projects.
• The Fund is overseen by the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD).
• Contribution: Domestic commercial banks contribute to the Fund an amount equal to their shortfall in lending to agriculture, which is the sector’s designated priority.
• The main objective is to provide loans to state governments and state-owned companies so they may complete ongoing initiatives for rural infrastructure.
• After a two-year grace period and seven years from the date of withdrawal, the loan must be repaid in equal yearly payments.

 Source The Hindu

3 – Hindu Rate of Growth: GS III – Topic Indian Economy

 Context:

• Former Reserve Bank Governor Raghuram Rajan has cautioned that India is “dangerously close” to the Hindu pace of growth in light of muted private sector investment, high interest rates, and a slowing global economy.
• The most recent estimate of national income from the National Statistical Office (NSO), which was released last month, according to Mr. Rajan, indicated a sequential slowdown in the quarterly increase.

Are we starting to grow at the “Hindu” rate again?

• Due to India’s weak GDP growth of 4.8% in the first quarter of 2013, hopes of achieving a double-digit growth have grown a little fuzzy. Also, it has opened a window into the controversial idea of Hindu rate of progress.

What is the Hindu population growth rate?

• The term “Hindu rate of growth,” coined by Indian economist Professor Rajkrishna in 1978 to explain the slow growth and offer a justification in light of socialistic economic principles. The expression was developed to convey India’s pleasure with the country’s moderate post-independence growth rate. It was proposed that Indian fatalism could be the reason why policymakers were not seeking for ways to improve the economy while other countries clamoured for higher growth.
• The slow growth was attributed by some early economists to the fatalism and contentment of the Hindus, according to the word “Hindu” used by these economists. Nevertheless, as various economists later pointed out, the so-called Hindu rate of development was actually the result of socialist policies implemented at the time by fiercely secular governments and had nothing to do with Hinduism.

Counter-views:

• Contrary to the adage, GDP estimates from Belgian economic historian Paul Bairoch, who was published in 1982, raise questions about this contentment. This research showed that India made up nearly a quarter of the world’s Economy in 1750, and it was later confirmed by British economist Angus Maddisson. Following the start of colonisation, India’s share fell, reaching 20% by 1800 before dropping rapidly to 3% in 1880.

When is it appropriate to describe a country’s growth as Hindu?

• Hindu growth rates are not sufficiently represented by modest growth rates. A consistently low growth rate is insufficient to be recognised as the Hindu rate of growth, even while it is not an economic recession. In addition to being slow and lasting a long time, the phrase also implies a low per-capita GDP when population growth is taken into account.
• For instance, India’s population growth rate in a given year was over 2% in the 1980s, yet the meagre 1% per-capita GDP growth rate, with 3.5% GDP growth, defined Hindu pace of growth.

 Current circumstance:

• With annual population growth currently hovering at 1.4%, it is possible to see stronger per capita income growth. As a result, even while the phrase “Hindu rate of growth” may have applied to a certain time, it cannot be used to define India’s growth rate as a whole. Even if we tried, it would be impossible to return to this era in an open global market. As we entered the neo-Hindu cycle of expansion and became more in sync with the global economy, the expression might have become obsolete within a few years of its coining.

 Source The Hindu

4 – Bio Computers: GS III – Topic Biotechnology

 Context:

• The development of “biocomputers” is the goal of the creative new field of study “organoid intelligence,” which has just been revealed by researchers at Johns Hopkins University (JHU). These “biocomputers” connect real sensors and input/output devices to brain cultures created in the lab. The tool is anticipated to assist researchers in understanding the biological foundations of human cognition, learning, and a variety of neurological disorders.

About:

• The creation of specialised microcomputers known as “biological computers” had the goal of being used in the medical industry.
• An implantable device called a biological computer is mostly utilised for molecular or cellular functions like monitoring bodily activity or producing therapeutic effects.
• This is made up of RNA, DNA, and proteins, and it can also perform simple mathematical computations.
• This would enable the researcher to develop a system or collection of biosensors that can find or focus on specific cell types that may exist in the patient’s body.
• Also, this might be used to execute or carry out target-specific medical operations that could provide prescribed treatments or procedures for ailments.

 Source The Hindu