13 June 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Goldilocks Moment: GS III – Indian Economy

Context:

• The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the RBI made the decision to keep things as they are in its most recent policy review, which was recently released.

A goldilocks scenario is what?

• In terms of the economy, a “Goldilocks scenario” is a condition where growth is stable and optimal.
• Neither the rate of economic growth is too low to cause a slowdown or too high to cause inflation.
• In a “Goldilocks” situation, the economy is neither growing rapidly with inflation nor contracting into a recession.

Features:

• The economy has a very low unemployment rate.
• The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) statistics are increasing steadily, and businesses report higher profits.
• Interest rates and retail inflation are both rather low.

Benefits:

• The “Goldilocks” scenario benefits investors because businesses perform well and equities increase.
• There will be lucrative corporate growth if the economy is stable and does not experience sudden shocks.
• The central bankers may not need to pursue aggressive interest rate increases due to low inflation levels.
• There is a good possibility of steady policymaking and achieving price stability in a goldilocks environment.

Limitations:

• The goldilocks stage is transient in character.
• It often begins during the period of economic recovery and expansion after an unfavourable shock to the system.
• Any nation cannot sustain steady economic growth over the long term.
• Depending on the situation, growth may eventually accelerate or slow down.

Source The Hindu

2 – Tropical Cyclones in Indian Ocean: GS I – Geography

Context:

• The Arabian Sea is now home to the cyclone known as Biparjoy.

How are cyclones named and how did Cyclone Biparjoy receive its name?

• Bangladesh proposed the name “Biparjoy,” which is Bengali for “disaster” or “calamity.”
• On a rotating basis, countries choose the names of cyclones while adhering to predetermined rules.
• Five regional Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs) and six regional Specialised Regional Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) are responsible for issuing advisories and naming tropical storms globally.
• Bangladesh, India, Iran, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen are among the 13 members of the WMO/Economic and Social Commission for Asia-Pacific (ESCAP) Panel that receive tropical cyclone and storm surge advisories from the Indian Meteorological Department, one of the six RSMCs.
• It is also required that the RSMC, New Delhi, give names to tropical cyclones that are forming across the north Indian Ocean (NIO), including the Bay of Bengal and the Arabian Sea.
• As a result, the concerned RSMCs & TCWCs give names to tropical cyclones that are developing over various Ocean basins.

The method:

• Tropical cyclone naming in these seas was approved in principle by the WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones in 2000.

This list included names that were suggested by the eight WMO/ESCAP PTC member nations at the time, namely:

• Thailand, Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka.
• In 2018, it was extended to encompass Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen.
• These 13 names, one from each of the 13 nations, were included in the list of 169 cyclone names that IMD announced in 2020.
• Following Bangladesh, the cyclone will be given the name “Tej” at the proposal of India.

The laws:

The suggested name ought to be unaffected by:

• Politics and public officials
• cultural norms, gender, and religion.
• The selection of a name should take into account that it might offend some people around the world.
• It shouldn’t be very crude and harsh.
• It should be brief, simple to say, and not hurt anyone’s feelings.
• The name can only have a maximum of eight letters.

Cyclone formation in the Arabian Sea:

• In comparison to the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea experiences less cyclones.
• One of the best months for the development of cyclones in the Arabian Sea is June.

What is a cyclone:

• A cyclone is a system with low pressure that develops over warm oceans.
• Typically, high temperatures anywhere indicate the presence of low pressure, and low temperatures indicate the presence of high pressure wind.
• In fact, that is one of the key causes of the Bay of Bengal’s higher cyclone frequency than the Arabian Sea.
• Little bit warmer is the Bay of Bengal.
• The Arabian Sea side is becoming warmer due to climate change, and as a result, the number of cyclones in the Arabian Sea has been on the rise recently.

How are cyclones created?

• Air rises as it heat over hotter areas, causing low pressure to develop at the surface it is covering.
• High pressure is created at the surface as a result of air cooling in colder regions and descending.
• In a depression or low-pressure situation, air is rising and blows around the low in the northern hemisphere anticlockwise and in the southern hemisphere clockwise.
• The earth’s rotation on its axis causes the Coriolis effect, which is the reason behind this.
• Rain can result from the condensation of water vapour into clouds when warm air rises and cools.

Cyclones in the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal are compared:

• One of the strongest weather systems in the North Indian Ocean region formed over the Bay of Bengal during the height of summer in May.
• Warm waters create ideal circumstances for the growth and intensification of cyclones and support these systems over the water.
• Tropical cyclones have historically been common in the Bay of Bengal.
• However, the Arabian Sea has also seen an increase in cyclone formation over time.
• According to a study of historical data on cyclones over the North Indian Ocean from 1891 to 2020, the frequency of extremely severe cyclonic storms over the Arabian Sea has been rising since 1990 while remaining stable over the Bay of Bengal.
• According to a 2021 study, the strength, frequency, and duration of cyclonic storms and very severe CS increased significantly over the Arabian Sea between 1982 and 2019.

Source The Hindu

3 – Beginning of Monsoon: GS I – Geography

Context:

• After a few days of delay, the southwest monsoon has arrived over the coast of Kerala.

The “onset of the monsoon” is defined as what?

• The four-month (June-September) southwest monsoon season officially begins with the onset of the monsoon over Kerala.
• India receives more than 70% of its annual rainfall at this time.
• The start of the season does not necessarily signify the first rain.
• Even before the commencement is officially declared, that may already be happening in some regions.
• The IMD does not formally announce the onset of a condition unless a series of predetermined conditions are met. Onset is a technical term with a defined meaning.

What are these factors that decide when monsoon season begins?

• When there is a dramatic change in the Indo-Pacific region’s large-scale atmospheric and oceanic circulations, the monsoon season begins.
• Only when a series of clearly specified and measurable criteria are met can IMD declare the start of the monsoon.

RAINFALL:

• At least 60% of the 14 approved meteorological stations in Kerala and Lakshadweep must report at least 2.5 mm of rain for two straight days at any time after May 10 in order to proclaim the beginning.
• According to the IMD, the depth of westerlies in the region bounded by the equator to 10oN latitude and from longitude 55oE to 80oE should be up to 600 hectopascal.
• The 55th and 80th meridians East divide the region from the centre of Iran to around Chennai; the 10th parallel North runs through Kochi.

HEAT:

• In the region between the latitudes of 5oN and 10oN and the longitudes of 70oE and 75oE, the Outgoing Longwave Radiation (OLR) value determined by INSAT, which is a measure of the energy sent to space by the Earth’s surface, seas, and atmosphere, should be less than 200 watt per sq m (wm2).

Source The Hindu

4 – First Maritime Partnership between France, UAE and India: GS II – International Relations

Context:

• In the Gulf of Oman, the first iteration of the India, France, and UAE Maritime Partnership Exercise recently began.

Key information:

• Participating in the drill are the French Ship Surcouf, the UAE Navy Maritime Patrol Aircraft, the French Rafale aircraft, and the INS Tarkash, both of which have integrated helicopters.
• The first exercise aims to improve trilateral collaboration among the three navies and pave the path for formulating policies to counter both conventional and unconventional maritime threats.
• The exercise will also improve cooperation in ensuring the region’s high seas freedom of navigation and commercial traffic safety.

INS Tarkash:

• Second Talwar-class frigate is INS Tarkash (F50).
• It was constructed in Russia’s Kaliningrad.
• In 2012, it was commissioned by the Indian Navy.

Source The Hindu

5 – Monsoon Onset and Cyclone Impact: GS I – Geography

Context:

• The monsoon’s start, withdrawal, seasonal total rainfall, and extremes all reflect the effects of global warming on the weather pattern. Typhoons over the northwest Pacific Ocean and cyclones over the Indian Ocean are both impacted by global warming.

Key information:

• Closer to the beginning of the monsoon, during the pre-monsoon cyclone season, cyclones can form, possibly as a result of the warmer Arctic Ocean’s impact on the winds over the Arabian Sea.
• Of course, the three tropical oceans—the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific—also have an impact on the monsoon.
• The atmospheric bridge from the Southern Ocean (also known as the Antarctic Ocean), the oceanic tunnel, and the “atmospheric bridge” from the Arctic.
• A “tunnel” is a connection between two far marine zones, whereas a “bridge” is the interaction of two distant locations in the atmosphere.

Why is the location of a cyclone important?                                                           

• The onset of the monsoon has been impacted by a few cyclones in the North Indian Ocean in both good and bad ways.
• The location of the cyclone is crucial in terms of the storm’s impact on the transition of the monsoon trough since the winds around cyclones circulate anticlockwise.
• A low-pressure area that is distinctive to the monsoons is called the monsoon trough.
• For instance, backwinds flowing from the southwest to the northeast can drag the monsoon trough ahead and help the monsoon begin if a cyclone is located further north in the Bay of Bengal.
• The Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal have both warmed by more than 1o C during the pre-monsoon season, which is a serious effect of the abnormal anticyclones since March.

Source The Hindu

6 – Agni Prime: GS III – Internal Security

Context:

• Off the coast of Odisha, the DRDO successfully tested the Agni Prime ballistic missile in flight.

Key information:

• After three productive missile development tests, this was the first pre-induction night launch carried out by the users, proving the precision and dependability of the system.
• In the arsenal, which also includes the Prithvi-II (350 km), Agni-II (2,000 km), Agni-III (3,000 km), and Agni-4 (4,000 km) ballistic missiles, the Agni-Prime will progressively replace the Agni-I (700 km) missiles.

New capabilities:

• Agni-Prime features modern navigation and guiding systems as well as composite rocket motor casings and innovative propulsion technologies.
• The nation’s first intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM), the over 5,000-km Agni-V, also used a canister-launch method.
• Armed forces have the necessary operational flexibility when using a canister-launch missile (with the warhead already attached to the missile), which may be stored for extended periods, transported quickly by rail or road when necessary, and fired from any location.

Significance:

• The new missile would give India more deterrence against China and Pakistan in addition to Agni-V.
• Agni-P appears to have been designed with Pakistan in mind, but Agni-V puts the entirety of China within its strike range.

Source The Hindu