National Current Affairs – UPSC/KAS Exams- 2nd January 2020

The need for a single energy ministry

Topic: Economy

In News: Five different ministries along with a multitude of regulators govern India’s energy sector. This can be cited as one of the reasons for the non-optimal performance of the Sector.

More on the Topic:

• Petroleum and natural gas, coal, renewable energy and nuclear energy have separate ministries or departments.
• We also have a Ministry of Power, along with State-level bodies that regulate electricity distribution companies, or DISCOMS.
• Add to this, the presence of different regulators for each type of fuel and energy source which makes it cumbersome for businesses operating in this sector.
• Further, the petroleum and natural gas sector has two regulators – Directorate General of Hydrocarbons for upstream activities and the Petroleum and Natural Gas Regulatory Board for downstream activities.

Issues related with Data:

• There are also issues with data collection. No single agency collects energy data in a wholesome and integrated manner.
• Data pertaining to consumption are barely available while supply side data collected by agencies of respective ministries are riddled with gaps.
• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation collates data available from various ministries and conducts surveys at sporadic intervals.
• On the energy efficiency front, the Bureau of Energy Efficiency is the sole statutory authority with the mandate to regulate energy efficiency on the consumption side. There is no agency or body for the same purpose on the supply side.

International Practices:

• This stands in stark contrast to most other nations with their varied energy governance models.
• Developed and efficient countries such as the United States, Germany, France and the United Kingdom have their vibrant, diverse and prolific energy sectors administered by a single ministry or department.
• There are also instances where the energy ministry is in conjunction with other portfolios such as environment, climate change, mines and industry.
• For example, the U.K. has the “Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy”, France has the “Ministry of the Environment, Energy and Marine Affairs”, Brazil has the “Ministry of Mines and Energy” and Australia has the ‘Ministry of Environment and Energy’. The predominance of unified energy ministries is evident.

Recommendations:

• In the Draft National Energy Policy (NEP), the NITI Aayog has advocated that a Unified Ministry of Energy be created by merging the Ministries of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoPNG), Coal (MoC), New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) and Power (MoP).
• The Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has been left out since it has implications beyond the scope of energy and involves national security issues.
• The proposed ministry would have six agencies under it to handle various aspects of the energy sector — Energy Regulatory Agency, Energy Data Agency, Energy Efficiency Agency, Energy Planning and Technical Agency, Energy Schemes Implementation Agency and Energy R&D Agency.

Way Ahead:

• A single unified ministry of energy would help India to have an integrated outlook on energy that would enable us optimise our limited resources to meet the goals of energy security, sustainability and accessibility.
• In the fast-changing energy landscape of our country, having a single energy ministry would be beneficial as it would allow for a quicker policy response.
• Formulating an integrated and wholesome energy policy in the current governance structure is a complex and challenging task not only due to lack of coordination among ministries but also due to the absence of good quality consumption data and an inadvertent promotion of their own fuels over other choices, which may not always be the best option.

Source: Hindu

Invasive Specie: Senna spectabilis

Topic: Environment and Ecology

In News: The Kerala Forest Department is planning to adopt steps to arrest the rampant growth of invasive plants, especially Senna spectabilis, in the forest areas of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve (NBR).

More on the Topic:

• The spread is posing a major threat to the forest areas of the reserve, owing to its quick growth and coppicing character.
• It was planted as avenue tree in the marshy lands of Wayanad and the plant has started to invade the adjacent Bandipur and Nagarhole tiger reserves in Karnataka and the Mudumalai tiger reserve in Tamil Nadu.
• Now, it had invaded to more than 50 sq km of the sanctuary Wayanad WLS.
• A recent study of the Ferns Nature Conservation Society recorded the presence of the plant in 78.91 sq km area of the sanctuary.
• An adult tree grows up to 15 to 20 metres in a short period of time and every year distributes thousands of seeds after gregarious flowering.
• The thick foliage arrests the growth of other indigenous tree and grass species and causes food shortage for the wildlife population, especially herbivores.
• Moreover, wildlife will not feed on the leaf of the tree as it is not palatable for them.
• The allelochemicals produced by this plant adversely affect the germination and growth of the native species.

About Invasive Species:

• An invasive species is a species that is not native to a specific location, and that has a tendency to spread to a degree believed to cause damage to the environment, human economy or human health.

Source: Hindu

Gaganyaan Mission

Topic: Science and Technology

In News: India’s space agency ISRO said that four astronauts have been identified for India’s upcoming Gaganyaan mission.

More on the Topic:

• Under the Gaganyaan schedule, three flights will be sent in orbit. Of the three, there will be two unmanned flights and one human spaceflight.
• The human space flight programme, called the Orbital Module will have three Indian astronauts, including a woman.
• It will circle Earth at a low-earth-orbit at an altitude of 300-400 km from earth for 5-7 days.

The payload will consist of:

• Crew module – spacecraft carrying human beings.
• Service module – powered by two liquid propellant engines.
• It will be equipped with emergency escape and emergency mission abort.
• GSLV Mk III, also called the LVM-3 (Launch Vehicle Mark-3) the three-stage heavy lift launch vehicle, will be used to launch Gaganyaan as it has the necessary payload capability.
• The mission is expected to cost around Rs 10,000 crore.
• ISRO has demonstrated a number of technologies that are required for this programme like Space Capsule Recovery Experiment (SRE-2007), Crew module Atmospheric Reentry Experiment (CARE-2014) and Pad Abort Test (2018).

Significance:

• The success of the mission will rekindle public imagination and get the young generation interested in space in particular and science in general.
• The astronauts would carry out a series of experiments, particularly microgravity experiments.
• India’s quest to undertake human space flight and its earlier Moon and Mars missions proves the growing sophistication of India’s space program and ensures a seat at the high table of global governance of outer space.
• The mission would create 15,000 new employment opportunities, 13,000 of them in private industry.
• If India does launch the Gaganyaan mission, it will be the fourth nation to do so after the United States, Russia and China.
• ISRO and Russian federal space agency (ROSCOSMOS) have signed a memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to work together for India’s 1st manned space mission.
• ROSCOSMOS has also offered ride to Indian astronaut short visit to International Space Station on board Soyuz spacecraft for short training mission.
• Recently, a Gaganyaan National Advisory Council has been created with members from different institutions and industries like Secretaries of Department of Space, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Defense Research and Development, Department of Scientific and Industrial Research, Principal Scientific Advisor to PM, Senior Officials from Armed Forces, Indian Coast Guard etc.

Source: Hindu

Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY)

Topic: Government Policies

In News: According to the Ministry of Rural Development, only 252 Members of Parliament (MPs) have adopted gram panchayats under phase-4 of Saansad Adarsh Gram Yojana (SAGY).

More on the Topic:

• Under the SAGY, each MP was required to identify one gram panchayat of his or her choice for developing it as an Adarsh Gram (Model Village) every year.
• Under the Yojana, MPs are responsible for developing the socio-economic and physical infrastructure of three villages each by 2019, and a total of eight villages each by 2024. The first Adarsh Gram (Model Village) was to be developed by 2016, and two more by 2019.
• From 2019 to 2024, five more Adarsh Grams must be developed by each MP, one each year. This implies that a total of 6,433 Adarsh Grams, of the 2,65,000 gram panchayats, will be created by 2024.

Process:

• The basic unit for development is ‘Gram Panchayat’.
• Lok Sabha MP: chooses a Gram Panchayat from within his/her constituency.
• Rajya Sabha MP: chooses Gram Panchayat from the rural area of a district of his/her choice in the State from which he/she is elected.
• Nominated MPs: choose a Gram Panchayat from the rural area of any district in the country.

Mode of Operation:

• The MPs engages with the community, facilitate the Village Development Plan and mobilise the necessary resources particularly from Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and philanthropies.
• The planning process in each village is a participatory exercise coordinated by the District Collector.
• MPs also fill up critical gaps in the plan using the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADs) funds.

Source: Financial Express

Satellite Communication Technology for Learning Outcomes

Topic: e-Governance

In News: The Rajasthan government has started using satellite communication technology on a broader scale to enhance the learning outcomes in educational institutions and generate awareness about social welfare schemes.

More on the Topic:

• The initiative has been taken to provide the facility of Receive Only Terminals (ROT) and Satellite Interactive Terminals (SIT) for getting the services of subject experts in the government schools and colleges. It will propagate various schemes in remote areas with no internet connectivity.
• At present, there are over hundred SITs and ROTs under CEC EDUSAT network, installed at various colleges, and Universities across the country.
• It will be used in approximately 2,000 institutions coming under various departments, such as education, higher education, social welfare, minority welfare, women and child development and tribal area development.

Source: Hindu

MANI Mobile App RBI

Topic: e-Governance

In News: The Reserve Bank of India has launched ‘MANI’ mobile app to help the visually challenged identify the denomination of currency notes.

More on the Topic:

• The application can scan the currency notes using the camera of the mobile phone. However, the app does not authenticate a note as either genuine or counterfeit.
• It also gives audio output in Hindi and English.
• The application will work on Android and iOS operating systems. It will work in offline mode once installed.

Source: PIB

Bhima Koregaon

Topic: Modern Indian History

In News: The people of Dalit communities gather in Bhima Koregaon in large numbers on 1 January every year to pay tribute to the Dalit heroes who died in the war between the British and the Peshwas on 1 January 1818.

More on the Topic:

• A battle was fought in Bhima Koregaon, a district in Pune with a strong historical Dalit connection, between the Peshwa forces and the British on January 1, 1818. The British army, which comprised mainly of Dalit soldiers, fought the upper caste-dominated Peshwa army. The British troops defeated the Peshwa army.
• The victory was seen as a win against caste-based discrimination and oppression. Peshwas were notorious for their oppression and persecution of Mahar dalits. The victory in the battle over Peshwas gave dalits a moral victory a victory against caste-based discrimination and oppression and sense of identity.

Why Bhima Koregaon is seen as a Dalit symbol?

• The battle has come to be seen as a symbol of Dalit pride because a large number of soldiers in the Company force were the Mahar Dalits. Since the Peshwas, who were Brahmins, were seen as oppressors of Dalits, the victory of the Mahar soldiers over the the Peshwa force is seen as Dalit assertion.
• On 1 January 1927, R. Ambedkar visited the memorial obelisk erected on the spot which bears the names of the dead including nearly two dozen Mahar soldiers. The men who fought in the battle of Koregaon were the Mahars, and the Mahars are Untouchables.

Source: Hindu