17 June 2023

DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS ANALYSIS

1 – Punjab’s area under cotton cultivation is decreasing: GS III – Agriculture related issues:

Context:

• Punjab has had the lowest area under cotton production in more than six decades, despite the state government giving subsidised seeds and punctual water flows in the canals since the beginning of April this year.

Important information:

• This year, Punjab produced the least amount of cotton ever on 1.75 lakh hectares of land, 42% less than the 3 lakh acre target set by the state government.
• The amount of cotton produced in the state has decreased by 45% since last year.
• When whiteflies significantly affected the cotton harvest in 2015, the downturn got underway.
• Phloem from cotton plants, which carries food produced in the leaves (through photosynthesis) to other areas, is eaten by these small white insects. A living tissue is phloem.
• The virus that causes leaf curl is also carried by the bug.
• Due of their stunted growth, ill plants produce less.

The area where cotton is grown is shrinking, and there are various reasons:

• Due to the crop’s poor output in recent years, farmers’ faith in it has decreased.
• For the following three to four years after the whitefly outbreak, farmers were unable to increase their cotton farming.
• In 2021, farmers were powerless to prevent the Pink Bollworm insect from contaminating the crop.
• Many farmers were compelled to move to paddy and Basmati crops as a result of persistent disease assaults that resulted in significant financial losses for them.

How to Continue Ahead:

• The district that formerly had a substantial cotton producing area will see an increase in the area planted in rice of over 30% this year.
• To provide farmers with access to soil and seed testing facilities, the Punjab government should create a cotton research facility in Bathinda.
• Technical information on the crop as well as health data for farmers may be offered.
• State neighbours like Rajasthan and Haryana have made significant progress in this field thanks to their research resources.

Source The Hindu

2 – Anjadeep and Sanshodhak: GS III – Internal Security:

Context:

• Sanshodak and Anjadip were recently freed.

Important information:

Anjadip:

• Out of the eight ships in the Shallow Water Craft (SWC) Project, “Anjadip” is the name of the third one.
• Due to the strategic nautical significance of the island of Anjadip, which is located off the coast of Karwar, Karnataka, the ship was given the name Anjadip.
• The island, which is a part of INS Kadamba, is connected to the mainland by a breakwater.
• The present ‘Abhay’ class of Navy anti-submarine warfare corvettes would be replaced by the ‘Arnala’ class of vessels.
• These are made to carry out many tasks, such as low-intensity maritime operations, subsurface surveillance, anti-submarine operations in coastal waters, and more.
• Eighty percent of the ships would be made in the region.

Sanshodhak:

• The fourth Survey Vessel Large (SVL) of the Indian Navy, the destroyer “Sanshodhak,” has just been launched.
• The name of the ship, Sanshodhak, which means “Researcher,” denotes that it is primarily used as a survey vessel.
• In order to collect oceanographic data, SVL ships will take the place of the Sandhayak Class survey ships now in use.
• Deep coastal and deep-water hydrographic investigations of ports and shipping channels would be the ships’ main task. They can carry both a built-in helicopter and four survey motor boats.
• Additionally, the ships would be utilised to gather oceanographic and geophysical data for both civil and military purposes.
• More than 80% of the information on the SVL will come from native sources.

Source The Hindu

3 – Sankalp Scheme: GS II – Government Policies and Interventions:

Context:

• 98 trainers who participated in the cluster-based Training of Trainers project sponsored by the SANKALP programme received certification from the Ministry of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship.

In relation to the tactic:

• 2018 saw the start of the “Skills Acquisition and Knowledge Awareness for Livelihood Promotion” (SANKALP) project.
• It is a project backed by a World Bank loan.

Aim:

• The primary goal of the initiative is to enhance outcomes by completely overhauling the federal and state organisations that make up India’s skilling ecosystem.
• Through the use of decentralisation as a method, observation of skilling activities, and encouragement of convergence, SANKALP seeks to enhance short-term skill development planning and implementation.

Additionally, SANKALP promotes contemporary best practises locally, which results in:

• improved access.
• a strong and competent skilling ecosystem, and
• better access for female learners and other marginalised groups to and completion of skills training.

Important projects under SANKALP include:

• the programme known as the Mahatma Gandhi National Fellowship (MGNF).
• The District Skill Committees (DSCs) for skill planning and management are to be strengthened as a result of the two-year academic curriculum offered by the MGNF. It combines rigorous field immersion at the district level with classroom education at IIMs.
• the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR) in dialogue
• Planning for skill development has been incorporated into Gramme Panchayats (GPs) by MSDE and MoPR.
• In 2020, an MoU for “Skill Development Planning at Gramme Panchayat” will be signed by the MSDE and the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR).
• Awards for District Skill Development Planning (DSDP) Excellence
• The District Administration’s efforts in developing creative and useful DSDPs were recognised with the creation of these prizes by SANKALP.
• augmentation initiatives for the state and district levels
• To increase the ability of the state and district levels, the MSDE is organising seminars that are narrowly focused on certain concerns.

Source The Hindu

4 – What is El Nino and how it impacts the monsoon: GS I – Geography related issues:

Context:

• The development of the monsoon is being hampered by this year’s El Nino in the Pacific Ocean.

The three stages of ENSO are:

El Nio:

• In the equatorial Pacific Ocean, the term “El Nino” describes an extraordinary warming of the surface waters.
• It is said to reduce monsoon precipitation.

La Nin:

• La Nina, the opposing phase that occurs when sea surface temperatures in the same region decline unusually, is predicted to bring more rain to India.

The reverse phase:

• The sea surface temperature is broadly in line with long-term norms during the third phase, which is neutral.
• The El Nino Southern Oscillation, or ENSO, is the collective name for these three phases of the Pacific Ocean.

Ocean and atmospheric system:

• Keep in mind that ENSO is more than just an ocean system, even though sea surface water temperature anomalies are typically the major point of discussion.
• ENSO is actually brought on by the interaction of the ocean and atmosphere.
• The “southern oscillation” of ENSO is a particular atmospheric phenomenon that measures the difference in sea-level air pressure across the western and eastern sides of the Pacific Ocean.
• The direction and speed of the winds are another aspect of the atmosphere that is crucial to ENSO.
• An El Nino or La Nina event is not solely brought on by exceptionally warm or cold surface waters in the Pacific Ocean.

Additionally, it is necessary to synchronise the pertinent atmospheric conditions:

• The Oceanic Nino Index, or ONI, is used to calculate the oceanic component of the ENSO.
• The Southern Oscillation Index, or SOI, tracks the atmospheric component.
• During El Nino or La Nina occurrences, the ocean and atmospheric conditions have a propensity to reinforce one another, resulting in a cyclical pattern.
• This demonstrates how the atmospheric conditions are affected by the warming of the sea surface waters during an El Nino event, which in turn causes the waters to warm even more.
• Similar mechanisms also happen during La Nina.
• The equatorial Pacific Ocean serves as the system’s playing field.
• The northwest of South America is bordered to the east by Ecuador and Peru.
• The islands of Indonesia and the Philippines are to the west.
• They are separated by approximately 17,000 kilometres of nonstop ocean travel.
• The sun shines brightest here on Earth, and the ocean absorbs the majority of that energy as heat.

Condition Neutral for ENSO:

• The tropical regions are home to a persistent wind system known as the trade winds that flow from east to west at relatively low altitudes throughout the course of an average year when ENSO neutral conditions prevail.
• The Pacific Ocean’s sea surface is warm as a result of exposure to the sun.
• These generally warm, becoming lighter seas are driven westward when the trade winds blow over the Pacific Ocean.
• The surface waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean, which are close to the coast of South America, are consequently pushed towards the west.
• The generally colder waters from below take their place.
• The warmer surface waters are continue moving till they reach landmasses in the islands of Indonesia and the Philippines.
• The Western Pacific Warm Pool, a collection of the comparatively warm waters surrounding Indonesia and the relatively cold seas between Ecuador and Peru, is the result of this phenomenon.
• Due to the accumulation of surface water, this sweeping also leads to a little rise in sea levels close to Indonesia.
• The warmer surface waters near Indonesia cause a low pressure area, which causes the air to rise.
• Additionally, this has a role in the development of clouds and severe rainfall.
• The monsoon system, which brings rain to India, is also strengthened by the air movement.
• This air begins to move in the opposite direction of the trade winds, which are blowing towards the eastern Pacific Ocean at lower altitudes, as it ascends.
• This wind pattern creates a loop and widens the temperature gap between the east and west Pacific Oceans. It blows from east to west near the surface and from west to east at higher altitudes.

The strange behaviour:

a manifestation of El Nio:

• The trade winds occasionally weaken.
• The trade winds struggle to push warmer surface waters towards the Indonesian coast.
• The western Pacific Ocean isn’t getting enough of the warmer water to clean it.
• As a result, temperatures will be warmer than typical along the shores of Ecuador and Peru as well as the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
• El Nino has in its final phase.
• Some of the warm water that has gathered there starts to move backwards towards the South American coastline due to gravity because the sea level is higher along the Indonesian coast and the trade winds are not strong enough to stop the motion.
• The eastern Pacific Ocean thus continues to warm.
• As a result, the air circulation loop is also impacted.
• As a result, Indonesia and its adjacent countries experience less precipitation, which has an impact on the Indian monsoon.

The La Nina Event:

• Stronger than usual trade winds cause more warm water to travel towards the Indonesian shore, causing the eastern Pacific Ocean to be cooler than usual.

Impact:

• When the oceans and winds pass through the many phases of the ENSO system, a tremendous amount of energy is transmitted.
• Despite the fact that tropical regions are most impacted, ENSO events also affect global weather patterns.
• El Nino and La Nina typically start to form in the months of March to June, peak in the winter, and then start to weaken in the months that follow the winter.
• While La Nina frequently lasts longer than El Nino, both of these periods normally last a year.
• It is conceivable to experience two consecutive El Nino or La Nina experiences, despite the fact that these phases rotate over a period of two to seven years with the neutral phase sandwiched in between.

Climate change and ENSO:

• In general, La Nina cools the earth and El Nino warms it.

Nicolo Los:

• Deep water that is substantially colder rises to the surface on the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
• Thus, colder water covers a substantial portion of the eastern Pacific Ocean.
• This has the capacity to absorb heat from the environment, somewhat cooling it.
• This is how La Nina cools the planet.

El Nio:

• The El Nino years are usually the hottest years in a decade.
• The Godzilla El Nino, one of the longest and strongest El Nino episodes ever, contributed to 2016 becoming the warmest year on record.
• Only the temperatures near to the surface are impacted by the warming over the earth.
• The enormous heat held in the oceans is not taken into account.
• El Nino operates entirely differently, having a warming effect.
• El Nino influences climate change by causing the earth to warm more quickly.
• El Nino or La Nina years have little effect on the overall quantity of heat in the system, but they do have an impact on the amount of heat that sinks into the ocean.

Source The Hindu

5 – Hiroshima AI Process: GS II – International Relations

Context:

• The annual Group of Seven (G-7) Summit, which Japan hosted, featured the G-7 Hiroshima Leaders’ Communiqué, which acted as the impetus for the development of the Hiroshima AI Process (HAP).

What is the operation of the AI in Hiroshima?

• The goal of this group is to comprehend how to control artificial intelligence (AI).
• In a situation like this, the communiqué accorded AI greater consideration than it had previously experienced.
• Reiterated in both the communiqué and the ministerial declaration is the requirement that AI development and application adhere to principles of liberty, democracy, and human rights.
• Values and the principles that underpin legislation must be related.
• The communiqué also emphasises justice, responsibility, openness, and safety with this goal in mind.

Significance:

• It can assist these nations in reaching consensus on some important regulatory issues while preventing total anarchy in the event of a disagreement.

Currently, the HAP can progress in one of three ways:

• The G-7 nations may be able to shift to a new regulatory framework based on common norms, precepts, and guiding principles as a result.
• It may be overwhelmed by the diverse perspectives of the G-7 nations, preventing it from developing any useful concepts; alternatively
• It might lead to a mixed outcome, where there is some convergence on some subjects while there is also a lack of agreement on many others.
• The procedure may make it clearer how the “fair use” rule is applied when various AI applications are used.
• Generally speaking, the “fair use” exception is utilised to permit the continuation of activities like teaching, research, and criticism without the necessity for the copyright owner’s consent.
• For instance, the HAP can create a standard policy for the G-7 nations that allows, with some restrictions, the use of copyrighted works in datasets for machine learning.
• Additionally, it may discriminate between various applications of AI and the general use of copyrighted information in machine learning.
• This could therefore have an effect on how this subject is used and discussed globally.

Moving forward:

• The HAP was founded by the G-7, but it still needs to address the problems brought up by other country groups and others looking to set global technical standards for AI.
• It’s also conceivable that countries outside of the G-7 would want to influence how AI is governed internationally and launch their own initiative like to the HAP.
• Overall, the development of the HAP shows that AI governance has developed into a really global issue that will undoubtedly remain divisive in the future.

Source The Hindu