Context:

• Himachal Pradesh has been hit by intense rainfall, resulting in cloudbursts and landslides that have obstructed numerous roads and caused houses to collapse. 

More about the news:

• This monsoon season, the state has experienced a total of 170 cloudburst and landslide events, causing damage to around 9,600 houses.
• Cloudbursts occur mostly over the rugged terrains of the Himalayas, Western Ghats, and northeastern hill states of India. 
• The intensity of cloudbursts have increased during the last 10-15 years because of massive urbanisation, increased population and higher temperature.

What Are Cloudbursts?

• Definition: According to the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD), 100mm of rain in an hour is called a cloudburst. 
• Scale of occurrence: The cloudbursts usually occur over a small geographical region of about 20 to 30 sq. km. 
• Occurence in India: In India, cloudbursts are frequently observed during the monsoon season, particularly over regions like the Himalayas, the Western Ghats, and the northeastern hill states. 
• Linkage with Flash floods: Cloudbursts often result in flash floods and have become increasingly common from May-September when the southwest monsoon season prevails in much of the country.

Mechanism behind Cloudburst:

• Role of southwesterly monsoon: It occurs when warm monsoon winds interact with cold winds leading to the formation of massive clouds. During monsoon, the southwesterly monsoon winds carry a lot of moisture inland. 
• Orographic lift: As these moist air masses converge over the land and encounter hills, they rise in altitude. 
• Formation of cumulonimbus clouds: As the air reaches higher altitudes, it becomes saturated and the moisture condenses, it results in the formation of intense cumulonimbus clouds. 
• Violent upward flow of air: In hilly areas, sometimes saturated clouds ready to condense into rain, cannot produce rain, because of the upward movement of the very warm current of air. Instead of falling downwards, the raindrops are carried upwards by the air current.
• Heavy Downpour: After a point, the raindrops become too heavy for the cloud to hold on to, and they drop down together resulting in torrential downpours in the region right below and leads to overflowing of water bodies in a very short duration of time.

Reasons behind frequent Cloudburst in Himalayan region:

• Rugged topography: Mountainous areas offer the terrain for moisture-laden air to rise swiftly along the mountain slopes.
• Warming of oceans: Oceans are warming up fast, as a result of which moisture-rich air reaches the Himalayan region leading to cloudburst. It is likely to occur more with an increase in moisture from the Indian Ocean.

Impact of climate change on cloudbursts: 

• Increase in frequency: Climate change and rise in greenhouse gas emissions is projected to increase the frequency and intensity of cloudbursts worldwide.
• Clausius Clapeyron relationship: As per this, as the air gets warmer, it can hold more moisture and for a longer time. A 1-degree Celsius rise in temperature may correspond to a 7-10% increase in moisture and rainfall. 
• Uneven distribution of rainfall: As the moisture holding capacity of air increases, it results in prolonged dry periods intermittent with short spells of extreme rains. More deeper cumulonimbus clouds form, and the chances of cloudbursts increase.

Challenges with cloudbursts:

• Localized: Due to their highly localized and short occurrence, most of the events go unreported, weakening the ability to understand these events in complete perspective.
• Prediction: Most of the reported cloudbursts are in the interior of the Himalayas and hence predicting the location, amplitude and magnitude of such catastrophic events in advance remains a challenge.
• Inability of satellites: Satellites lack the ability to detect cloudbursts because the resolution of their precipitation radars is considerably smaller than the area covered by each cloudburst event. 
• Cost of Weather radars: Although they can offer timely updates, their cost is quite high.
• Weather uncertainties: The skillful forecasting of rainfall remains challenging due to the uncertainties in the interaction between the moisture convergence and the hilly terrain, the cloud microphysics, and the heating-cooling mechanisms at different atmospheric levels. 
• Environmental Impact: Heavy spells of rain on the fragile steep slopes trigger landslides, debris flows, and flash floods, causing large-scale destruction.
  • Cloudbursts in isolated areas in Himachal PPradeshand Uttarakhand have triggered landslides and flash floods that have disrupted rail and road traffic, and resulted in house and wall collapses.
• Economic Impact: It leads to extensive damage to infrastructure and property as well as  disruption of livelihoods. 
  • Recent cloudburst resulted in a tragic loss of at least 48 lives as well as damaged the Unesco world heritage Shimla-Kalka railway line.
  • Since the onset of monsoon on June 24, about 652 houses have been completely damaged in Himachal Pradesh, while 6,686 were partially damaged besides 236 shops and 2,037 cow sheds, according to the data of the state emergency response centre.
• Agricultural Losses: Excessive rainfall in a short time can flood fields, destroy crops, and result in significant economic losses for farmers.
  • A cloudburst in Rampur subdivision of Shimla district damaged a school, two houses and agricultural land.

Steps taken to detect cloudbursts:

• Expansion of doppler radar footprints: To prevent damage to life and property caused by extreme rainfall events, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has planned massive expansion of its doppler radar footprints to improve forecast of cloudbursts. 
• Automatic weather stations: IMD has come up with a plan to set up automatic weather stations in every block and automatic rain gauge in each panchayat of the country. 
• Augmented weather observation systems: States like Odisha are augmenting their weather observation systems. The plan is to have an integrated observation system which IMD will monitor and provide the forecasts.

Way Forward:

• Multiple doppler weather radar: It can be used to monitor moving cloud droplets and help to provide nowcasts (forecasts for the next 3 hours). 
  • This can be a quick measure for providing warnings, but radars are an expensive affair, and installing them across the country may not be practically feasible. 
• Mapping the cloudburst-prone regions: A long-term measure would be mapping the cloudburst-prone regions using automatic rain gauges.
• Designation of site as hazardous: If Cloudburst-prone regions are co-located with landslide-prone regions, these locations can be designated as hazardous. 
  • The risk at these locations would be huge, and people should be moved, and construction and mining in nearby regions should be restricted as it can aggravate the landslides and flash flood impacts.
• Preventive Policies: Urgent action and policies are needed to protect lives and property from extreme events that will amplify as the global temperature change doubles.
• Implementing Cloudburst management techniques: It implements a combination of methods that absorb, store, and transfer stormwater to minimize flooding from cloudburst events.
  • Using grey infrastructure, like sewer pipes and underground storage tanks, and green Infrastructure, like trees and rain Gardens, cloudburst management can minimize damage to property and infrastructure by reducing strain on the Sewer System.

News Source: Indian Express 

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Context:

The 182nd report on ‘Ecosystem of Startups to benefit India’ was tabled by the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Commerce. 

More on News:

• Despite potential, only 5.18% of startups are agri-focused. Parliamentary Panel has raised concerns and calls to push funding & mentoring. 
• Only 10,165, or 10.4%, of the 98,119 recognised start-ups have even applied for the tax sops.
• Just 1% of the more than 98,000 start-ups recognised by the Commerce and Industry Ministry have been able to avail Income Tax exemptions six years after the sop was announced.
• Financial assistance to the tune of Rs. 75.25 crore has been extended to nearly 1,176 agri-startups under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) initiative, focusing on a spectrum of domains including precision agriculture, agro-processing, post-harvest technologies, and more. 

About Start Up:

• In India, A startup is defined as an entity that is headquartered in India, which was opened less than 10 years ago, and has an annual turnover less than ₹100 crore.
• It is typically characterized by its innovative ideas, products, or services. 
• Startups often rely on a combination of personal savings, crowdfunding, angel investors, and venture capital to finance their growth. 
• They are typically funded through bootstrapping, venture capital, or other means.

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Overview of India’s Startup ecosystem:

• As  per the Startup Ecosystem Report 2023, In 2021, India minted a record 36 unicorns while raising a total of $72 billion in exits. 
  • In 2022, the number of unicorns was down 33 per cent to 24, and exits declined to $5.5 billion. 
• The Indian startup ecosystem is ranked 20th in the world according to the Global Startup Ecosystem Index ranking (Startup Genome, 2021)
• Three Indian cities feature in the top 20 city ecosystems of the world— Bengaluru (10th), New Delhi (14th), and Mumbai (16th).
• In terms of the number of unicorns (startups with a valuation of $1 billion or more) produced, India is the third-largest startup ecosystem in the world behind China and the United States (US) (Sarkar, 2021). 
  • Unicorns: Start-ups founded after the year 2000 with a valuation of USD 1 billion.
• India has the 3rd largest startup ecosystem in the world; expected to witness YoY growth of a consistent annual growth of 12-15%.
• India has about 50,000 startups in India in 2018; around 8,900 – 9,300 of these are technology led startups 1300 new tech startups were born in 2019 alone implying there are 2-3 tech startups born every day.

Role of Startups in the growth of the Indian economy:

• Employment Creation: India has 112 million working-age people between the ages of 20 and 24, compared to China’s 94 million. 
  • In the absence of government jobs, this demographic dividend is accelerating the country’s startup culture.
• New Investments: Not only Indian venture capitalists but also many multinational corporations are closely monitoring the progress of Indian start-ups to invest their money. 
  • For example: Accenture gave 1.35 million dollars worth of business to startups within the last year, giving startups an opportunity to make a significant impact on both the Indian and global markets.
• Research and Development: Start-ups heavily subsidize Research and Development (R&D) in countries like India as they frequently have to deal with high-tech and knowledge-based services.
• Democratizing the Technology Benefits: Fintech startups are now reaching out to remote areas with their solutions and making financial solutions easily accessible in tier 2 and tier 3 cities. 
  • For Example: Hesa, a Fintech and Agritech startup is one solution for all rural problems by bridging the rural-urban divide with technology and labor.

Startup Business:

Government Initiatives to strengthen the Startup ecosystem:

• “Startup India”: It was launched in 2016 which  intends to catalyze the startup culture and build a strong and inclusive ecosystem for innovation and entrepreneurship.
• Faster Exit for Startups: The Government has notified Startups as ‘fast track firms’ enabling them to wind up operations within 90 days vis-a-vis 180 days for other companies.
• Startup India Hub: It is one of its kind online platforms for all stakeholders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem in India to discover, connect and engage with each other. 
• Startup India Seed Fund Scheme (SISFS): The Scheme aims to provide financial assistance to startups for proof of concept, prototype development, product trials, market entry and commercialization. 
• Credit Guarantee Scheme for Startups (CGSS): CGSS is aimed at providing credit guarantee up to a specified limit against loans extended by Member Institutions (MIs) to finance eligible borrowers viz. DPIIT recognised startups.
• Support for Intellectual Property Protection: The Government launched Start-ups Intellectual Property Protection (SIPP) which facilitates the startups to file applications for patents, designs and trademarks through registered facilitators in appropriate IP offices by paying only the statutory fees.
• States’ Startup Ranking: The States’ Startup Ranking is a yearly capacity building exercise created and released by Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade( DPIIT) that evaluates all of India’s states and UTs on their efforts to build an ecosystem conducive to startup growth.

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Challenges of India’s Startup Ecosystem: 

• Heavily Concentrated Funding: The three clusters Bengaluru, Delhi NCR, and Mumbai accounted for 92% of all the funds raised between 2018 and 2020, 1% higher than their share in 2015–18.
• Lack of Women Participation: The lack of representation of women in venture capital firms is also a reality in India. For Example: 
  • Only three of the top 20 Indian venture capital firms had a woman partner as of February 2020  (Dalal & Sriram, 2020).
  • As per a recent report by Innoven Capital, less than 50% of the surveyed startups had more than 10% women in leadership positions (InnoVen Capital India, 2020).
• Limited Geographical Spread: India has three main startup clusters—Bengaluru, Delhi National Capital Region (NCR), and Mumbai. 
  • For Example: As of 13 September 2021, India had 75 unicorns , 83% of which (62) were from these three clusters.
• Regulatory Hurdles: Complex and arachaic regulations can create obstacles for startups, making it difficult to navigate legal processes, compliance requirements, and approvals.
• Access to Funding: At times, securing adequate funding can be challenging for startups, especially those in early stages. Access to venture capital, angel investments, and other funding sources can be limited.
• Market Readiness: Startups need to understand local consumer behavior, preferences, and cultural nuances to succeed.
• Lack of Mentorship: Startups often lack experienced mentors who can provide guidance, insights, and connections to help navigate challenges and make informed decisions.
• Intellectual Property Protection: Intellectual property rights enforcement can be complex and time-consuming, which can discourage startups from investing in research and development.

Way Forward:

• Focusing more on the ease of doing business; a lot has been done but more support is needed so that founders can concentrate on core business rather than the bureaucracy around it.
• Upgrading the R&D infrastructure and curriculums in education institutions to make students ready for the digital world.
• Strengthening the domestic financing ecosystem — banks, VCs, institutions, use of pension funds, etc.
• Allowing the listing of domestic companies overseas
• Reducing the compliance burden under domestic tax regulations, labour laws, corporate laws, etc.

News Source: The Hindu

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Context: Recently, a report summarizing the first phase of implementation of the Inclusive Conservation Initiative (ICI) was released.

About Inclusive Conservation Initiative (ICI):

• Aim: It is a global project that aims to support Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in their efforts to protect and manage their lands, territories and resources that are rich in biodiversity and ecosystems. 
• Funding: The ICI is funded by the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and implemented by Conservation International (CI) and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as joint GEF Implementing Agencies.
• Duration: The ICI project was endorsed by the GEF in January 2022 and is expected to run for five years until 2027. 
• Objectives: To support IPLCs to secure and enhance their stewardship over an estimated area of 7.5 million hectares of landscapes, seascapes and territories with high biodiversity and irreplaceable ecosystems. 
  • It recognizes and respects the rights, cultures, knowledge, practices and governance systems of IPLCs as essential for effective and equitable conservation outcomes.
• The ICI has four main components:

1. Local Action to deliver Global Environmental Benefits: This component provides direct financial support to IPLC-led initiatives in ten priority areas across the world that achieve global environmental benefits through improved large-scale management of IPLC lands, territories and resources.
2. Global IPLC Capacity Building: This component establishes the platforms, peer learning networks and knowledge resources for enhanced IPLCs capacity, project and financial management skills, and design of sustainable financing mechanisms.
3. Global Policy Influence: This component supports IPLCs to engage in global policy processes and dialogues that affect their rights, roles and responsibilities in conservation and sustainable development.
4. Global Knowledge Management and Learning: This component facilitates the generation, exchange and dissemination of knowledge and lessons learned from the ICI project and other relevant sources to inform and influence conservation practice and policy at all levels.

News Source: DTE

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Context: Recently, National Green Tribunal (NGT) ordered the Assam government to disburse interim compensation to the victims of Baghjan oil and gas leak that displaced close to 9,000 people in 2020 in Tinsukia district of Assam. 

More on News:

• About: Baghjan 5 well is a purely gas-producing well in Tinsukia district, and is at an aerial distance of 900 metres from the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park. 
  • It was drilled by Oil India Limited (OIL) in 2006. 
  • It produces around 80,000 standard cubic metres per day (SCMD) of gas from a depth of 3,870 metres. 
  • Baghjan oil and gas leak is considered as the longest running oil spill in the country. 
• National Green Tribunal (NGT) appointed a committee led by Justice (retired) BP Katakey to investigate the leak, which revealed many violations of environmental laws deeming the entire Baghjan oil and gas field as illegal in November 2020. 
  • The committee submitted that one-time compensation should be given to the affected villagers from Baghjan based on the quantum of losses faced by the affected villages. 

About Oil Spill:

• About: An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially the marine ecosystem, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. 
  • Oil spills can have disastrous consequences for society, economically, environmentally, and socially. 
  • Oil spills can harm aquatic life, contaminate drinking water, damage shorelines and beaches, affect tourism and commerce, and pose fire hazards.

Prevention of Oil Spill: 

• Indian Coast Guard is the Central Coordinating Authority in India for matters related to Oil Spill.  
• National Oil Spill Disaster Contingency Plan (NOSDCP) promulgated by Indian Coast Guard (ICG) is the apex plan for responding to oil spill disasters in Indian waters and is applicable to shipping, ports, and oil industries.
  • It outlines the roles and responsibilities of various agencies and stakeholders in preventing and combating oil spills in different maritime zones, except in the waters of ports and within 500m of offshore platforms, refineries and associated facilities. 
  • It encompasses preparedness and response for hazardous and noxious substances (HNS) incidents.

News Source: DTE

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Context: India in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) will launch the Global Initiative on Digital Health on August 19 as part of the ongoing G-20 summit in Gandhinagar, Gujarat. 

About Global Initiative for Digital Health (GIDH):

• Aim: The first-of-its-kind global initiative is aimed at data convergence, the interface of health platforms and investments in the digital health space around the globe.
• Significance of Global Initiative for Digital Health (GIDH):
  • It has been envisaged to have a convergent approach that breaks the silos and ensures that existing and ongoing digital health efforts can be made accessible under one umbrella.
  • It will include an investment tracker, an ask tracker (to understand who needs what kind of products and services) and a library of existing digital health platforms.
  • It will aid in  universal health convergence and improve healthcare service delivery. The initiative has also found funding from global partners.

News Source: The Hindu

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Context: Supreme Court will hear petitions challenging the Patna High Court’s verdict upholding the Bihar government’s ongoing caste survey. 

About Caste Survey in Bihar:

• Aim: To collect demographic data like the number of households, the number of people in each household, their socio-economic conditions, and their castes. 
• It is a survey, not a census, as the Indian Constitution does not empower state governments to conduct census-gathering exercises.

About Census:

• The decennial Census of India measures demographic data like age, marital status, religion, whether Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe, mother tongue, education level, disability, economic activity, migration, and fertility.
• Thus, there is readily available data on the number of individuals belonging to SCs or STs and to different religious groups. 
• However, since 1931, no census in India has measured the number of OBCs in the country. 

Caste Census and Reservation:

• Mandal Commission made its recommendation for bringing 27 percent reservation for OBCs based on the data of the census of 1931. 
• The commission used extrapolated data and determined that 52 percent of the total population of India, outside of ST and SC, belonged to OBCs. 
• While the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC) was conducted in 2011, its result was never published by the central government.

About Socio-Economic and Caste Census (SECC):

• It is conducted through a comprehensive program involving the Ministry of Rural Development, Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, The Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India and the State Governments. 
• Aim: Collecting data on the socio-economic and caste status of households and individuals living in rural areas of India. 
• Significance: Tool for the government to identify and target social welfare schemes and programs to those who are most in need.
• Indicators used to determine socio-economic status in the census:
  1. Ownership of assets such as land, house, and vehicle
  2. Type of house (pucca, semi-pucca, or kaccha)
  3. Access to basic amenities such as electricity, water, and sanitation
  4. Occupation and education level of household members
  5. Income levels of household members

News Source: The Hindu

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Context: 

Recently, the Standing Committee of Parliament on Chemicals and Fertilizers headed by MP Shashi Tharoor, tabled its report in Parliament.

Highlight from the Report:

• Reducing Import: Committee called for ending the import dependency on fertilizers such as urea, diammonium phosphate (DAP), muriate of potash (MOP), nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (NPK). 
  • Worrisome Deficit: The production of these fertilizers up to November, 2022 was 281.83 lakh metric tonnes but the consumption was 401.46 LMT.
• Ensuring Availability: It has asked the Department of Fertilizers to ascertain the reasons for shortage of fertilizers being reported in some of the States in the country and ensure availability of fertilizers in every State by taking corrective steps. 
• Review of Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) Policy: To remove the disincentives for farmers to use other fertilizers.
  • Urea is left out of the scheme and hence it remains under price control whereas technically there is no price control in other fertilizers.
  • Earlier, the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices, had also recommended to the government that steps should be taken to bring urea under the Nutrient-Based Subsidy (NBS) regime to address the problem of imbalanced use of nutrients.
• Rationalizing GST: Committee has asked the Centre to lower the GST on raw materials in the interest of fertilizer manufacturing companies and farmers. 
  • GST for fertilizers is at 5% and while GST on raw materials like sulphuric acid and ammonia are at 18%.
  • To include natural gas under the GST net as there are instances of double levying of VAT on natural gas.
• Improve Supply Chain: Centre introduce purchase policy reforms and enter into long term contracts for import of various types of fertilizers and raw materials so as to offset the effects of international price rise in the short/medium term

News Source: The Hindu

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