IISER Study Findings on Stubble Burning

Context: The Bhopal-based Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER) collaborated with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) to develop satellite-based technology that offers insights into GHGs emitted from the stubble burning.

• Rise in greenhouse gas emissions: Emissions of carbon monoxide (CO) and greenhouse gasses(GHGs) increased by approximately 75 per cent over the decade.
  • The emissions rise from about 19,340 gigagrams per year in 2011 to roughly 33,834 gigagrams per year in 2020.

• Leading emitter state:  Punjab emerged as the leading emitter, with 27 per cent of its cultivated area subjected to stubble burning in 2020. 
  • It was closely followed by Madhya Pradesh, which accounted for 30 per cent of India’s total burned area in the same year.
• Primary contributing crops to emissions:  Rice, wheat, and maize accounted for 97 per cent of India’s agricultural burning emissions, with rice being the largest contributor at 55 per cent.
• Emission reduction efforts: Although efforts by the Centre and state governments have reduced incidents of crop residue burning, particularly during the kharif harvest season since 2021, the practice has not been completely eradicated. 
  • States like Haryana have successfully reduced paddy stubble burning through a mix of financial incentives, subsidised machinery, penal provisions, and awareness campaigns.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context: Recently, 2 Odisha MLAs  were suspended due to misconduct in the state assemly.

About Suspension of Legislators

Member of Parliament:

• Rules 373, 374, and 374A of the Rules of Procedure and Conduct of Business in Lok Sabha provide for the withdrawal of a member whose conduct is “grossly disorderly”, and suspension of one who abuses the rules of the House or willfully obstructs its business.
• The maximum suspension as per these Rules is “for five consecutive sittings or the remainder of the session, whichever is less”.
• The maximum suspension for Rajya Sabha under Rules 255 and 256 also does not exceed the remainder of the session. Several recent suspensions of members have not continued beyond the session.

Member of Legislative Assembly

• Similar Rules also are in place for state legislative assemblies and councils which prescribe a maximum suspension not exceeding the remainder of the session.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context: The digital world of cookies plays a significant role in any online experience.

What are Cookies?

• Cookies are text files containing small snippets of information such as login details to identify  computer when connected to the internet. 
• They are used to identify and improve web browsing experience by allowing them to identify specific users.
  • For Example: Platforms like Facebook and Google use cookies to track online behavior, ensuring the ads you encounter align with your preferences.
• India’s newly enacted Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 now necessitates websites to acquire explicit consent from users prior to collecting or processing their personal data via cookies. 

Uses

• Helps in Authentication: Cookies act as digital ID cards, aiding in user authentication by allowing websites to recognise and keep you logged in during your visit.
• Personalization Experience: They foster a sense of personalisation, recalling one’s preferences such as language choice or website theme. 
• Analytics: Theyfacilitate website owners in gathering invaluable analytics data about user interactions, enabling them to make enhancements and customize content.
• Marketing: They play a pivotal role in targeted advertising, as advertisers use them to display ads that align with your interests and browsing history, making online shopping more enticing. 

Associated Challenges

• Privacy Concerns: Privacy concerns arise as cookies could track  online behavior, which, while often harmless, can sometimes encroach upon digital privacy. 
• Security risks: Security risks loom when cookies are inadequately secured, opening doors for cybercriminals to pilfer one’s personal information. 
  •  Third-party cookies have sparked debates, prompting many web browsers to curb their usage to safeguard user privacy. 
• Sluggish Web Experience: The data deluge generated by the multitude of cookies can potentially clog your browser, leading to a sluggish web experience.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context:

• India reached out to Australia to procure monoclonal antibody doses to combat the Nipah virus outbreak in Kerala.

What are Monoclonal Antibodies?

• Monoclonal antibodies are laboratory-made proteins that mimic the behaviour of antibodies produced by the immune system to protect against diseases and foreign substances.
• They are produced through a process that involves extracting specific antibodies from human blood and then cloning them.
• They are specifically designed to target certain antigens.
• Niels K. Jerne, Georges J.F. Köhler and César Milstein were awarded the medicine Nobel Prize in 1984 for their work on “the principle for production of monoclonal antibodies”.

Development of Monoclonal Bodies:

• Dr. Köhler and Dr. Milstein, who established a generation of monoclonal antibodies for use in humans in 1975, used this principle to describe the hybridoma.
  • Hybridoma is a fusion cell made up of B cells (white blood cells that produce antibodies) and myeloma cells (abnormal plasma cells).
•  These hybrid cells allowed the researchers to produce a single antibody clone, which came to be known as a monoclonal antibody.

How do monoclonal antibodies work?

• Monoclonal antibodies are specifically engineered and generated to target a disease. 
• They are meant to attach themselves to the specific disease-causing antigen. An antigen is most likely to be a protein.
  • For Example: 
    • REGEN-COV2 is a cocktail of two monoclonal antibodies developed to target the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. 
    • The monoclonal antibodies bind to specific parts of the spike protein, blocking its ability to infect healthy cells.

What is m102.4?

• According to research published in The Lancet journal of Infectious Diseases, m102.4 is a “potent, fully human” monoclonal antibody.

• It neutralizes Hendra and Nipah viruses, both outside and inside of living organisms. 
• The m102.4 monoclonal antibody was first developed by Dr. Christopher Broder and his team at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences (USU) in Bethesda, Maryland.
• Present Clinical Status: As of now, the drug is used on a ‘compassionate use’ basis.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context:

• This article is based on a news “There was no humanity’: Man who helped MP rape victim who went door to door seeking help” which was published in the Indian Express. Recently, a minor girl was raped in Madhya Pradesh’s Ujjain district and was in search of help while no one came to her aid. The icident highlighting the urgent need for enhanced women safety measures.

Dark Realities of Women Safety in India

• Similar instances were seen in other places in India as well. For instance, two tribal women were paraded naked in Manipur, a teen girl stabbed on the streets of Delhi etc.
• ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are State subjects under the Seventh Schedule to the Constitution of India. State Governments are thus responsible for safety and security of the citizens including women and girls.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

About Women Safety

• According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2021 data, India saw a total of 4,28,278 instances of crimes against women in 2021.
• As per the National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5), around 30% of women in India between the ages of 15-49 have experienced physical, sexual or domestic violence. 
• Women safety involves strategies, practices and policies which aim to reduce violence against women, including women’s fear of crime.
• The most common forms of gender-based violence includes: 
  • Domestic violence including partner violence.
  • Sexual violence including rape, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation and trafficking.
  • Women safety in public spaces including public transportation.
• Other recurrent forms of violence are forced evictions from property, femicide, missing women, honor crimes, harmful traditional practices, violence against women in times of war, murder and gun violence.

Issues Associated with Women Safety in India:

• Pre-Birth:
  • Female Foeticide: It is the intentional killing of baby girls in a fetus by undergoing abortion, due to the son-meta preference and from the low value associated with the birth of females.
• Infancy and Childhood:
  • Deep-Rooted Gender Inequality: Traditional gender roles and patriarchal norms contribute to the perpetuation of unequal power dynamics. Gender Disparities in Education: Limited access to quality education can perpetuate cycles of inequality and limit women’s economic and social mobility.
  • Child Marriage: According to the UNICEF, one in three of the world’s child brides live in India. Despite legislations prohibiting child marriages, it is still carried openly in several regions. For instance, Akshay tritiya (Hindu festival) is popular for mass child marriages in India.
• Adolescence and Adulthood:
  • Online abuse: Online harassment, abuse, and trolling is a common practice making the internet unsafe for women. New challenges related to the women safety are cyberbullying, online harassment, and revenge porn are also rising. 
    • For instance, Sulli deals is a website which auctioned muslim women pictures and had more than 100 twitter accounts of women.
  • Domestic Violence: Cruelty by husband is amongst the top crimes against women. Cultural norms and stigma often deter victims from reporting incidents, and inadequate legal frameworks contribute to a lack of justice. 
  • Sexual Violence: 
    • Nearly one-third of women in India have experienced physical or sexual violence, finds the NFHS-5 report. 
    • According to the NCRB, India lodged average 86 rapes daily, 49 offences against women per hour in 2021.
  • Honor Killings: Act of murder committed by male family members against female family members who are perceived to have brought dishonor upon the family.
• Elderly:
  • Lack of Access to Healthcare: Limited access to healthcare facilities and cultural taboos surrounding women’s health contribute to health disparities. 

Also read: UN Guidance call to protect Children’s Rights

What are the legal measures for women safety?

• The Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018: It was enacted to prescribe more stringent penal provisions including death penalty for rape of a girl below the age of 12 years. The Act also mandates completion of investigation and trials within 2 months each.

• The Maharashtra Assembly passed the Shakti Criminal Laws (Maharashtra Amendment) Act to approve death penalty for heinous offences of rape and gangrape. 
• Movements and campaigns like #CallItOut because #ItsNotOK campaign, #MeToo movement, facilitate knowledge transfer and coordinate efforts towards the prevention of harassment against women. 
• Justice Verma Committee: It was formed days after the horrific Nirbhaya gangrape case in Delhi. It recommended enhanced punishment, including imprisoning one for the remainder of his life in grave cases like rape. 
  • The Commission had argued against executions, viewing it as a regressive step even in rarest of rare cases.  
• Preventing Online Abuse: New IT Rules to deal with Cyber-violence, Cyber Crime Prevention against Women and Children (CCPWC) Scheme.
• Railway Protection Force: Meri Saheli initiative ensures security of lady passengers that are traveling by train by a dedicated Mahila officers team.
• Pink booths: They have been established in areas of Delhi with high footfall to provide women with safe public zones.

Also read: Child, law, and Consensual Sex

Way Forward related to Women safety in India:

• Leadership and Income Generating Skills:  Assist women in the sustainable establishment of income generating activities to be undertaken in or near the home. 
  • For instance, Self Help Groups (SHG) such as Mahila Arthik Vikas MahilaMandal, UMED Abhiyan under Maharashtra’s have proven beneficial in the development of women entrepreneurship.
• Women’s Role in Decision-Making: There is evidence that having more women in public and private decision making increases the general level of public sector effectiveness and accountability in a country. 
• Women’s Access to Health Services: Address issues related to reproductive health, maternal deaths, malnutrition and noncommunicable diseases through quality and affordable health services under universal health coverage. 
  • For instance, access to contraception can help in ensuring good sexual and reproductive health. Involving Men in Women Safety: Men have their share of responsibility in creating a safe and inclusive environment for all, including women. 

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

• • For this, gender sensitization programmes should be organised at schools, colleges and public places. 
• Empowering Women Sex Workers: Although sex work is technically legal in India, several aspects of the work (such as offering prostitute services) are criminalised and female sex workers are still heavily stigmatised in society which creates a culture of silence around sex work. 
  • The Taaras coalition  is a national platform in India for marginalised women aims to break this silence by creating a nation-wide platform for women in sex work.
• Raising Awareness: Sistren Theater Collective in Jamaica uses performing arts as a way of engaging the community to confront violence against women.

Conclusion

Ensuring women safety in India in line with SDG Goal 5 (Gender Equality) which specifically targets achieving gender equality and empowering all women and girls, addressing issues like violence and discrimination can help in ensuring the prosperity of nations and progress of societies.

DOWNLOAD PDF

Context:

• This article is based on a news “MS Swaminathan’s farsightedness for Punjab: Discouraged free power to tackle groundwater crisis, wanted ‘evergreen revolution’ without harming ecology”which was published in the Indian Express. MS Swaminathan, the Father of the Green Revolution in India, who transformed India’s image from a begging bowl to a bread basket passed away recently.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

An Introduction to the Green Revolution in India:

During the 1960s, when the country was on the brink of a mass famine and faced severe food shortages, Swaminathan collaborated with fellow scientist Norman Borlaug and others to develop high-yielding varieties of wheat and rice. 

• His efforts helped the country to double the total crop yield of wheat from 12 million tons to 23 million tons in four crop seasons and ended our dependence on grain imports.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes  

What are the achievements of the Green Revolution in India?

• India has achieved self-reliance in the production of food grains in the last several decades and is inching towards self-reliance in pulse production.
• Today, India is the world’s largest sugar-producing country and holds the second position in rice production only after China. India is also the second largest producer of wheat with a share of around 14.14 percent of the world’s total production in 2020. 
• As per the 4th Advance Estimates, the production of food grains in the country is estimated at 315.72 million tonnes which is higher by 4.98 million tonnes than the production of food grains during 2020-21.
• Though the green revolution in India helped the country move out of a ship-to-mouth situation, since the mid-1980s, its second-generation environmental impact and the intensive farming it promoted started showing its impact.

What are the positive Impacts of the Green Revolution in India?

• Increase in production and productivity of food grains (Refer Image): Increased cereal production due to:
  • Increase in net area under cultivation
  • Growing two or more crops in a year on the same piece of land
  • Use of HYV seeds
• Increase in farmer’s income:
  • Since farmers and agricultural labour comprise a sizeable proportion of the rural population, a rise in their income is due to agricultural development.
  • The per capita income of Punjab stands at Rs.1,73,873 in 2022-23 (Advance Estimates) which is higher than Rs. 1,70,620 at National level.
• Rural Expansion of demand for farm inputs, repairs & maintenance of farm tools and machines, transportation and marketing services, agro-processing, etc.
• Reduction in poverty: Due to increased income for farmers and agricultural labor.
• Bullock capitalism: Emergence of a new class of wealthy farmers and their subsequent impact on economic and agricultural policy evident post-Green Revolution especially Green Revolution belt.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Coaching

What are the Negative Impacts Of the Green Revolution in India?

• Environmental challenges:
  • Decline in Soil fertility: Due to the overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, making it less fertile and more susceptible to erosion. For example there had been a decline of 16 percent in the production of wheat and 17 percent in per acre wheat with increasing use of chemical fertilizers in Punjab.
  • Depletion of groundwater resources: It led to a significant increase in water consumption for irrigation, which has depleted groundwater resources in many areas. Punjab has 76% groundwater blocks which are overexploited, Rajasthan has 72% and Haryana has 61%. (Ground Water Resources Assessment for 2022).
  • Biodiversity and ecosystem: The Green Revolution’s focus on a few high-yielding varieties of crops (Especially Monocroping of wheat and rice) has reduced biodiversity and made agricultural ecosystems more vulnerable to pests and diseases.
• Economy challenges of Green Revolution in India:
  • Debt trap: The high cost of inputs such as seeds, fertilizers, and pesticides has led many farmers to fall into debt. According to the 2019 National Sample Survey, more than 50% of India’s farmers are debt-ridden and often seek alternatives outside of agriculture, or tragically, end their own lives.
  • High production costs: The Green Revolution in India has made agriculture more capital-intensive, increasing the production costs for farmers.
  • Regional disparities:  The benefits of the Green Revolution have been unevenly distributed, with some regions benefiting more than others ( benefits concentrated in Punjab, Haryana and Western UP regions).
  • Big farmers: Small and marginal farmers have been disproportionately affected by the Green Revolution, as they have not been able to compete with large farmers who have access to more resources.
• Social challenges of Green Revolution in India
  • Health: The overuse of chemical fertilizers and pesticides has led to health problems for farmers and consumers. For example, exposure to pesticides has been linked to cancer and other diseases. For example: The Malwa region in Punjab is known as the Cancer Belt with 14,682 of the 33,318 deaths.
  • Farmers’ suicide: The debt burden and other challenges faced by farmers have led to a high rate of suicide in many areas. A written reply in Parliament revealed that a total of 1,056 farmers committed suicide over the past five years (2017-21) in Punjab.
  • Drug abuse in Punjab: The Green Revolution in India led to a problem of drug abuse in Punjab, as many farmers turned to drugs to cope with the stress and challenges of modern agriculture.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Course

Post challenges of Green Revolution in India: Shrinking Land holdings: At present, the per capita available land is only about 0.10 hectares. This is much below the world average of about 4.50 hectares. Over 75% of the landholding are less than one hectare.

• Water Scarcity: It shows that India has much lower levels of water per capita than Brazil, one of the world’s leading agricultural countries. India uses a little over 90 percent of water resources for cultivation.
• Minimum Support Price (MSP): MSP aims to provide guaranteed remunerative prices to farm produce. Against this background, farmers have been demanding a ‘legal status’ to the MSP. 
  • A survey by the government showed that less than 6%, or over nine crore agricultural households, are the direct beneficiaries. Further, only 19% of farmer families sold paddy under MSP, whereas only 9.7% of wheat farmers benefited from MSP.
• Climate Change: Agriculture in India is highly vulnerable to climate change and variability and the frequency of climatic extremes has increased in recent years resulting in increased risks to agricultural production and food security. 
  • In the absence of the adoption of adaptation measures, rainfed rice yields in India are projected to reduce by 20% in 2050 and 47% in 2080 scenarios while irrigated rice yields are projected to reduce by 3.5% in 2050 and 5% in 2080 scenarios.

ALSO READ: POVERTY AND DEVELOPMENT ISSUES

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Way Forward

• Need for Evergreen Revolution in India: According to most estimates, farming is no longer remunerative and over 40 percent of farmers would like to quit if they have an option. The evergreen revolution is based on an appropriate blend of different approaches to sustainable agriculture such as organic farming, green agriculture, eco-agriculture and agriculture based on effective micro-organisms.
• Green Revolution in India 2.0:  We need to improve productivity in dry-farming areas, which can grow pulses, oilseeds and other high-value crops that require less water, but many of which we continue to import.
• Natural Farming:  Agroecological practices like Natural Farming are a cost-effective and ecologically compatible alternative that can help achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. They can reduce input costs, improve income and financial stability, alleviate poverty, promote gender equality, and ensure sustainable production and consumption patterns.
• Cooperative Farming: It was, therefore, necessary to make cost-effective usage of new technology on small and marginal-size holdings through some institution-building measures like the formation of group farming.
• Green Revolution to Gene Revolution: GM seeds are considered to be more productive, more pest-resistant and more suitable to all categories of farms and all the agricultural regions. 
  • However, the adoption of gene technology in Indian agriculture is subject to debate and discussion, as its positive and negative effects on plants, animals and human lives have not yet been fully examined.

Enroll now for UPSC Online Classes

Conclusion

Green Revolution in India, spearheaded by visionaries like MS Swaminathan, brought about unprecedented increases in agricultural productivity and self-sufficiency, its legacy reveals a nuanced tapestry of successes and challenges. However, the green revolution technology, in spite of its severe criticism on the issues related to equity, ecology and environment, thus made a remarkable contribution in transforming the Indian economy from its notorious ship-to-mouth food-deficit status to that of not only a food-self-sufficient country but even a food-surplus country.

DOWNLOAD PDF