12 November 2022

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – ASEAN: GS II – International Relations

Context:

• Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar watched a Mahabharat-based performance on November 11, 2022, while he was in Cambodia for the 17th East Asia Summit and the ASEAN-India Commemorative Summit.

About ASEAN:

• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established as a regional organisation to promote political and social stability in response to escalating tensions among the Asia-Pacific post-colonial powers.
• The motto of ASEAN is “One Vision, One Identity, One Community.”
• On August 8, Asean Day is observed.
• Jakarta, Indonesia is home to the ASEAN Secretariat.

What changes have recently occurred?

• The 24th Senior Officials’ Meeting (SOM) between ASEAN and India was held in Delhi.
• The dialogue cooperation between India and ASEAN was celebrated on its 30th anniversary.
• During the second ASEAN Digital Ministers’ (ADGMIN) Meeting with India, the India-ASEAN Digital Work Plan 2022 was finalised.

Origin of ASEAN:

• With the signing of the ASEAN Declaration in 1967, the ASEAN Organization became fully established (also known as the Bangkok Declaration).
• The founding members of ASEAN are Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
• 1990s – The region’s conditions changed, and membership more than doubled, following the end of the Cold War in 1991 and the Vietnam War in 1975.
• Cambodia joined in 1997, as did Vietnam in 1995, Brunei in 1984, Laos, and Myanmar.
• In 1995, members decided to designate Southeast Asia as a nuclear-free region.
• In 1997, the ASEAN Vision 2020 was approved.
• The ASEAN Community was established as a result of the 2003 signing of Bali Concord II.
• The Cebu Declaration of 2007 states that the ASEAN Community will be established by 2015.
• The ASEAN Charter has been in force since 2008 and is enforceable in court.
• The ASEAN Community is expected to begin operations in 2015.

Source The Hindu

2 – GM Crops: GS III – Biotechnology

Context:

• On October 18, the Environmental Ministry’s Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) granted the proposal for the commercial production of genetically modified (GM) mustard. The Dhara Mustard Hybrid Genetically Modified (GM) Mustard variety was created by the Delhi University Center for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants.

About:

• Genetically modified (GM) foods are made from plants whose genes have undergone artificial gene editing. Usually, to do this, genetic material from another organism is inserted. The plants acquire a new trait as a result of the genetic modification, such as an improvement in yield, tolerance to a herbicide, resistance to disease or drought, or an improvement in nutritional content.
• Golden rice is most likely the GM rice strain with the best reputation.
• In order to create a grain that is high in vitamin A, golden rice entails the insertion of DNA from a plant—both daffodils and maize have been used—and a soil bacterium.
• In India, the production of only one GM crop, Bt cotton, is permitted.
• In this nation, no GM food crop has ever been authorised for commercial production.
• However, authorisation to conduct quick field tests has been given to at least 20 GM crops.
• Hybrid seeds, GM rice cultivars with enhanced pest and disease resistance, and nutritional enhancements like golden rice are being developed in order to do this.
• Due to their changed DNA, GM foods may increase antibiotic resistance and trigger allergic reactions in some consumers.

Exports of genetically modified rice (Impact on India):

• India will continue to be the world’s leading exporter of rice in 2020 with 18 million tonnes, with roughly 25% of that amount being premium basmati.
• Out of the 75 nations that purchase Indian rice, the US and the UK are the two biggest importers of basmati rice, with the majority of non-basmati rice going to African nations as well as India’s neighbours Nepal and Bangladesh.
• The worst-case scenario for Indian farmers may be what transpired in the US in 2006 when traces of a GM rice variety were discovered in shipments intended for export.
• When trading partners like Japan, Russia, and the EU stopped importing rice from that nation, farmers in the US suffered severely.

Source The Hindu

3 – National Heritage Tag: GS I – Indian Culture

Context:

• The Supreme Court expressed disapproval of the Ram Setu decision to designate it as a national historic site on Thursday, but this provided the Centre more time to respond in writing.

About:

• Location: The Ram Setu is a 48-km line of limestone shoals that is also referred to as Adam’s Bridge and Nala Setu.
• It is situated halfway between Mannar Island off the northwest coast of Sri Lanka and Rameswaram on the southeast coast of India.
• Ram Setu is a naturally existing structure that developed as a result of tectonic movements and corals consuming sand, claim scientists.
• But over time, proof that the bridge was constructed by humans has been offered.
• Geological research indicate that the rectangular calcareous rocks helped Sri Lanka separate from the Indian subcontinent some 1,25,000 years ago.
• Hindus think that Lord Ram and his army constructed this bridge so they could travel to Lanka to battle Ravan.
• According to Islamic myth, Adam crossed this bridge to get to Sri Lanka’s Adam’s Peak.

What is the purpose of the Sethusamudram project?

• that the sea floor there varies in depth from three to thirty feet, it is difficult for seaworthy vessels to navigate the area near the bridge.
• Ships must now circumnavigate Sri Lanka in order to access ports on India’s eastern coast like Tuticorin, Chennai, Vizag, and Paradip.
• After then, the Indian government suggested the Sethusamudram Shipping Canal Project.
• The project was started by the government in 1997, but it wasn’t completed until 2005.
• If the plan is implemented, the journey will be reduced by about 350 nautical miles, saving 10 to 30 hours of sailing time.
• Sri Lanka is also planning 13 minor ports, fishing harbours, and other infrastructure projects.
• What obstacles did you have to overcome to finish the project?
• legal challenges The Archaeological Survey of India denied the Ram Setu’s existence in a court affidavit.
• It has been maintained that details from legendary books cannot establish the veracity of any historical persons or occurrences.
• After the affidavit was ultimately disregarded, two ASI workers were fired.
• A variety of opinions and counterarguments were generated by the project’s greater socioeconomic setting.
• environmental problems The project is said to have an impact on the local fauna and aquatic vegetation.
• The coast of India may be more susceptible to tsunamis as a result of the dredging of the line of shoals.
• monetary security For ships arriving from Europe, Africa, or West Asia, which make up 65% of ships travelling through these oceans, the project should reduce trip times by 8 hours.
• Furthermore, the restriction on ships less than 30,000 tonnes entering the canal has come under fire.

Source The Hindu

4 – Greenhouse Gases: GS III – Environmental Conservation

Context:

• According to experts who track emissions, burning coal, oil, and natural gas results in 1% more heat-trapping carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere globally than it did last year. This is bad news for the fight against climate change, notwithstanding the unexpected flip.
• China’s carbon pollution was down 0.9% this year compared to 2021, a study by researchers at the Global Carbon Project found. The study was released early on Friday during international climate negotiations in Egypt, in contrast to the United States, where emissions increased 1.5%. Both of the long-term, contradictory trends exist. While Chinese emissions had been rising until last year, American emissions had been steadily down.

Changing Climate:

• A change in the weather that could be brought on by human activity and that modifies both the natural climate variability that has been seen over similar time periods and the composition of the earth’s atmosphere is known as a “climatic change” (100 years).
• It is customary to use large changes in temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns that last several decades or longer to gauge climate change.
• Climate change is a result of human activity like deforestation and excessive usage of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) (when forests are cut down or burned, they can no longer store carbon, and the carbon is released to the atmosphere).

Deterioration of the environment and climate change:

• In greenhouses, plants that require precisely controlled temperature conditions are grown. Glass and other translucent materials make up the majority of the walls and ceiling.
• The floor, ground, and contents of a greenhouse absorb incident solar light from the visible, near-infrared, and ultraviolet spectrums, which are then reemitted as longer-wavelength infrared radiation through the glass walls and roof.
• Infrared radiation cannot leave a greenhouse by radiative transfer because glass and other wall materials used in greenhouses are unable to transmit infrared energy.
• Since the greenhouse is not exposed to the atmosphere, heat cannot escape through convection, causing the interior to warm up. The “greenhouse effect” is the name given to this phenomena.

A Natural Greenhouse Effect’s Importance:

• The green house effect has happened naturally on Earth for millions of years.
• Because of the natural greenhouse effect that the atmosphere produces due to the existence of water vapour and small water particles, life is conceivable on earth.
• More than 95% of the causes of global warming are these two factors together.
• The average global temperature is kept at around 15°C by the natural greenhouse effect.
• The world’s average temperature might have fallen to -17°C without this incident, a temperature below which no life can exist.

About GHGs:

• The greenhouse effect is caused by atmospheric gases like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide (N2O), water vapor, and chlorofluorocarbons absorbing infrared radiation that is emitted from the surface of the earth.
• As a result, these gases and the associated heating impact are referred to as “greenhouse gases” and “greenhouse effect,” respectively.
• Nitrous oxide (N2O), on the other hand, is a greenhouse gas. Nitrogen oxides, which have the general formulas NOx – NO, NO2 – Nitrogen oxide, Nitrogen dioxide, etc., are among the gases responsible for global cooling.
• If greenhouse gas emissions are not reduced, temperatures may increase by 5°C by the turn of the century.
• The polar ice caps and ice caps in other regions, like the Himalayas, are expected to melt more quickly as a result of this temperature rise, according to scientists, who also predict that it will cause unusual climatic changes.

Source The Hindu