Context:

• Chinese research vessel Shi Yan 6 docked at Sri Lanka’s Colombo port despite security concerns raised by India.

More on News

• Shi Yan 6 had been expected to conduct research with Sri Lanka’s National Aquatic Resources Research and Development Agency (NARA), and the permission was granted only for replenishment said Srilankan authorities.
• In August last year, a similar visit by the Chinese ballistic missile and satellite tracking ship ‘Yuan Wang 5’, to the Sri Lankan port of Hambantota triggered strong reactions from India.

Colombo Port

• The Colombo Port is primarily a container port.
• Due to the port’s natural geographic location, it has become a strategic hub which connects South Asia’s Colombo Harbour to the East-West shipping route.

• Cargo originating from and destined for Europe, East and South Asia, the Persian Gulf, and East Africa is conveniently and efficiently connected through the Colombo Port.
• Colombo Port and Hambantota Port are key parts of China’s ‘string of pearls’ strategy to encircle India.

Source: Live Mint

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Context:

• The latest data for August 2023, released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), shows that the number of foreign tourists arriving in India has shrunk by 19.7 per cent compared to August 2019, when 0.8 million visited.

Key Highlights

Foreign Tourist Arrivals:

• Bangladesh remains India’s largest source of foreign tourists, accounting for 23.7 per cent of all arrivals, followed by the US, UK, Canada and Australia.

• The 2019 annual numbers reveal a similar mix. It was 23.6 per cent for Bangladesh, 13.8 per cent for the USA, and similar numbers for the UK (9.15 per cent), Australia (3.4 per cent) and Canada (3.2 per cent).

Indian Travelling Abroad:

• The Gulf is the top destination for Ind­i­ans travelling abroad. The Un­i­ted Arab Emirates (25.2 per cent) and Saudi Arabia (11 per cent) accounted for over one-third of all Indians travelling overseas.

• Overall, the top five destinations — UAE, Saudi Ar­a­bia, USA, Thailand and Singa­pore — comprised over 50 per cent of outbound Indians.
• The top five in 2019 were UAE (23.72 per cent), Sau­di Arabia (10.83 per cent), USA (7.2 per cent), Thailand (6.48 per cent) and Singapore (5.94 per cent).

Foreign Exchange: 

• Foreign exchange earnings from tourism have also fallen below the 2019 figures, registering at $2.3 billion in August 2023 compared to $2.6 billion in August 2019.
• The bulk of foreign tourist arrivals (45.6 per cent) were for leisure, holiday and recreation in 2023, compared to 57.1 per cent in 2019. 

• Business and professional travel share drop­ped to 10.7 per cent from 14.6 per cent earlier. Medical tourism went up to 6.9 per cent from 6.4 per cent. 
• The share of the Indian diaspora rose to 25.4 per cent from 12.6 per cent in 2019.

Source: Business Standard

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Context:

• Consumer Reports, a US-based non-profit consumer group, has detected a “concerning” amount of lead and cadmium in a third of chocolate products it tested recently.

What are the impacts of heavy metals on health?

• Heavy metal exposure can also lead to kidney damage, reproductive toxicity, respiratory problems, liver damage, anemia, and cancer.
• Exposure to heavy metals can also have serious psychological effects, such as depression, anxiety, and irritability.
• Lower IQ scores and cognitive deficits have been linked to exposure, particularly in children and pregnant women. 
• Studies have also associated heavy metal exposure with lowered attention span and increased impulsivity

News Source: livemint

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Context:

• The Asian Development Bank (ADB) approved a $400-million loan to India aimed at bolstering urban services in India under Subprogram 2 of the Sustainable Urban Development and Service Delivery Program. The loan  will help  with urban infrastructure projects under Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation 2.0.

What is Sustainable Urban Development and Service Delivery Program?

Subprogram 1:

• Aim: To improve access to basic urban services in India by accelerating a series of policy actions and reforms that will mainstream performance-linked funding for urban service delivery. 
  • The program reforms will establish and operationalize:
    • national and subnational policies, guidelines, and programs for accelerated achievement of urban reforms; 
    • policies and programs for providing rental housing to urban migrant and industrial workers, working women, and the poor; 
    • policies and guidelines for performance-based central fiscal transfers. 
• Subprogram 2: deepens reforms initiated in subprogram 1, with continued focus in two areas: 
  • Public financial management (PFM);  
  • Access to finance for the underserved market segments, mainly cottage, micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs). 

News Source: Economic Times

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Context:

• The Prime Minister chaired the meeting of the 43rd edition of the PRAGATI portal.

43rd Edition of PRAGATI Portal – Key Highlights

• Projects  related  to water supply and irrigation, expansion of  National highways and connectivity were discussed.
• During the interaction, the Prime Minister also reviewed ‘Mobile Towers and 4G Coverage under Universal Service Obligation Fund (USOF) Projects’.

What is the Pragati portal of PMO?

• PRAGATI Portal is the ICT-based multi-modal platform for Pro-Active Governance and Timely Implementation, involving Centre and State governments.
• It uses three latest technologies: Digital data management, video-conferencing and geo-spatial technology.
• Objective:
  • To monitor and review important programs and projects of the Government of India and projects flagged by State Governments.
• It is a three-tier system (PMO, Union Government Secretaries, and Chief Secretaries of the States).
• The PMO team designed the system in-house with the help of the National Informatics Center (NIC). 
• Significance:
• • Enables cooperative federalism: It brings on one stage the Secretaries of Government of India and the Chief Secretaries of the States.
  • Promotes e- Governance: It is a robust system for bringing e-transparency and e-accountability with real-time presence and exchange among the key stakeholders.

News Source: Press Information Bureau

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Context:

• The Union Cabinet approved the nutrient based fertilizer subsidy rates for the 2023-24 Rabi season at Rs 22,303 crore to the government on Phosphatic and Potassic (P&K) fertilizers.

Nutrient Based Subsidy Data: 78% Spent by August

• The government will provide subsidies of Rs 47.02 per kg for nitrogen, Rs 20.82 per kg for phosphorus, Rs 2.38 per kg for potash and Rs 1.89 per kg for sulfur-based fertilizers. 
• For the current financial year, the central government has earmarked Rs 44,000 crore for nutrient based subsidy.
• As per the latest available data, Rs 34,111 crore was spent on nutrient based subsidy April-August period, which is 78% of the full year.

What is the Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS)?

• Under  Nutrient Based Subsidy (NBS), the government fixed a per-kg subsidy for each fertilizer nutrient: Nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potash (K) and sulfur (S).
• NBS policy intends to increase the consumption of P&K fertilizers so that optimum balance (N:P:K= 4:2:1) of NPK fertilization is achieved.
• Nodal Ministry: Ministry of Chemicals & Fertilizers.

What are the benefits of based fertilizer subsidy?

• The availability of fertilizers to farmers at subsidized, affordable and reasonable prices will be ensured.
• Rationalization of subsidy on P&K fertilizers in view of recent trends in the international prices of fertilizers and inputs.

News Source: Deccan Herald

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Context:

• The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) has approved an indigenously  EV charging standard ISI7017 (Part 2 / Sec 7): 2023.

What is ISI7017 (Part 2 / Sec 7): 2023?

• It is developed through collaboration among NITI Aayog, the Department of Science and Technology, electric two-wheeler maker Ather Energy.
• The indigenously developed EV charging standard is the first in the world that combines alternating current (AC) and direct current (DC) for light electric vehicles (LEVs). 
• Although the new approved standard fixes the problem of different standards for AC and DC charging by creating a combined standard, it does not mandate EV makers to use a uniform standard which can help in faster adoption of EVs.

Why is a national EV charging standard needed for India?

• In India, EV makers are not mandated to follow a specific standard for charging connectors. 
  • For Example: Electric two-wheeler makers such as Ola Electric, Ather Energy, and Ultraviolette Automotive, all use different charging standards for their EVs.
• Thus, too many charging standards for EVs makes it difficult for public charging stations to cater to each individual type.

News Source: Indian Express

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Context:

• This article is based on the news “India’s demand for electricity for ACs to exceed total power consumption of Africa: International Energy Agency” Which was published in the DownToEarth. According to the International Energy Agency’s (IEA) latest World Energy Outlook (WEO), India will see the largest energy demand growth of any country or region in the world over the next three decades. 

World Energy Outlook 2023: Key Findings

• Global Geopolitics: Energy markets, geopolitics, and the global economy are unsettled and the risk of further disruption is present. 
  • The risk of protracted conflict in the Middle East now accompanies continued fighting in Ukraine. 
• Global Average Surface Temperature: It is already around 1.2 °C above pre-industrial levels, prompting heatwaves and other extreme weather events, and greenhouse gas emissions have not yet peaked.
• The Energy Sector: It is also the primary cause of the polluted air linked to more than 6 million premature deaths yearly. 
  • Positive trends in improving access to electricity and clean cooking have slowed or even reversed in some countries.

What is the World Energy Outlook?

• The IEA releases the WEO annually which provides in-depth analysis and strategic insights into every aspect of the global energy system. 
• The analysis explores different scenarios that reflect current real-world conditions and starting points:
  • Stated Policies Scenario (STEPS): It depicts the current direction for the energy economy. 
  • Announced Pledges Scenario (APS): It depicts future directions (if all countries were to hit their aspirational targets on time and in full). 
  • Updated Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) Scenario: Illustrates what is required to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (°C).

India’s Clean Energy Status 

• India’s Energy Landscape: It is marked by a long-term net zero emissions ambition, increased regulatory sophistication, a focus on clean energy deployment, and the creation of domestic clean energy technology supply chains.
• Energy Access: Since 2000, India has brought electricity to 810 million people, larger than the population of the European Union and the United States combined. India has also brought clean cooking access to 655 million people over the same period. 
• Energy Efficiency: India has had the single largest light-emitting diode (LED) adoption campaign globally, with around 370 million LEDs distributed through the UJALA scheme by 2023. 
• Investment: While clean energy investment in India will more than double in the STEPS by 2030 from around USD 60 billion in 2022, investment needs to nearly triple by the end of this decade to be on a trajectory to meet its net zero emissions target. 

Also read: Growth Needs More Electricity: Strengthening of Power Sector

New Clean Energy Economy: Opportunities for India and the World

• Emergence of a New Clean Energy Economy: Led by solar PV and electric vehicles (EVs). Investment in clean energy has risen by 40% since 2020. 
• Energy Security: This is important, particularly for fuel-importing countries, as are industrial strategies and the desire to create clean energy jobs. For instance, India’s oil import dependency was 84.4% in 2020-21.
• Thriving Clean Technologies: In 2020, one in 25 cars sold was electric; in 2023, this is now one in 5 leading to more than 500 gigawatts (GW) of renewable generation capacity to be added in 2023.
• Clean Energy Growth: India is recognized as a clean energy powerhouse, accounting for a significant portion of wind and solar additions and EV sales. This indicates that India has the potential to lead in clean energy adoption and manufacturing. 
  • For instance, solar and wind drove 92% of india’s electricity capacity additions in 2022
• Other Measures: 
  • Renewable Energy: Renewables are expected to contribute to global new power capacity which allows India to reduce fossil fuel dependence.
  • Improvements in Efficiency: India can make significant strides in improving energy efficiency, which can contribute to meeting energy and climate targets.

What are the current critical challenges of the energy sector for India & World?

• Changing Demography: There are aging populations in the European Union, Russia, Japan, and China whereas there is an increasing population in India and Africa. 
  • India’s urban population will increase by 74% and per capita income will triple by 2050, increasing demand for oil and natural gas and leading to a rise in India’s annual CO2 emissions by nearly 30% by 2050, one of the world’s largest increases.
• High Technology Costs: Higher input prices for critical minerals, semiconductors and bulk materials such as steel and cement have negatively affected the financial performance of some major clean technology suppliers and project developers in the short term. 
  • For example, Hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) projects show that more than 400 GW of electrolysis for hydrogen and over 400 million tonnes of CO2 capture capacity are vying to be operational by 2030.
• Increasing Investment in Fossil Fuel Dependence: The share of coal, oil and natural gas in global energy supply starts to go downwards and reaches 73% in the STEPS by 2030 whereas investment in oil and gas today is almost double the level required in the NZE Scenario in 2030.
• Energy Poverty: The importance of ensuring cost-effective and clean technologies are deployed, especially in poorer households and communities and affordability is a concern in India’s transition to cleaner energy sources.
• Impact of Air Conditioners (ACs) on Electricity Demand: India’s demand for electricity for running household ACs is estimated to expand nine-fold by 2050 and will exceed total power consumption in Africa today. 
  • Although solar PV matches well with daytime cooling needs, cooling demand is also significant in India during the late evening and at night.
• Import Dependence: India is an importer of modern clean energy technologies as it scales up solar and wind power generation capacity. 
  • For example, its imports of solar PV modules in 2021-2022 were valued at USD 3.4 billion. 

Way Forward

• Meeting National Energy and Climate Targets: Clean electrification, improvements in energy efficiency and switching to lower- and zero-carbon fuels are key levers available to emerging and developing economies to reach their national energy and climate targets. 
  • In India, it means every dollar of value added by India’s industry results in 30% less carbon dioxide (CO2) by 2030, and each kilometer driven by a passenger car, on average, emits 25% less CO2.
• Diversification and Innovation: These are the best strategies to manage supply chain dependencies for clean energy technologies and critical minerals and to strengthen the resilience of clean energy supply chains and reduce high levels of concentration.
• Ensuring Affordability: India, Africa and other low-income countries need to work on policies to ensure the affordability of clean energy technologies, especially for low-income households.
• Meeting Energy Demand of Increasing Population: Finding and financing low-emissions ways to meet rising energy demand in these economies is a vital determinant of the speed at which global fossil fuel use eventually falls.
• Reducing Peak Electricity Demand: By implementing building codes, using more efficient appliances and adopting demand response measures that enable the same cooling needs to be met with less energy. 
• Lowering Cooling Demand: Energy efficiency policies reduce the need for investment in batteries or expensive standby generation capacity, and thus help to integrate renewables more cost-effectively.

Conclusion:

India can lead in the transition to clean energy, given its growth in renewable energy, clean electrification, and efforts to improve energy efficiency to achieve a sustainable and inclusive energy future. 

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Context:

• This article is based on the news “100 million hectares of arable land lost yearly to degradation, shows UN report” Which was published in the DownToEarth. The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) has launched its first-ever Data Dashboard, aggregating national reporting figures from 126 countries.
• The data indicates that land degradation is rapidly increasing in severity across all regions, underscoring the pressing need for global action. 

What are the key findings of UNCCD on land degradation?

• Extent of Land Degradation: Between 2015 and 2019, the world lost at least 100 million hectares of healthy and productive land each year, which is twice the size of Greenland. 
• Regional Disparities: Eastern and Central Asia, as well as Latin America and the Caribbean, witness the most severe land degradation, impacting over 20% of their total land area.
• Faster Degradation: Sub-Saharan Africa, Western and Southern Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean experience land-degradation at rates exceeding the global average.
• Notable Loss: Sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean have lost 163 million and 108 million hectares, respectively, to land degradation since 2015.
• Land Restoration “Bright spots”:
  • Botswana: Reduced land degradation from 36% to 17% of its territory. Committed 45.3 million hectares to land-degradation neutrality and reported 1.42 million hectares as “bright spot” areas.
  • Dominican Republic: Decreased degraded land from 49% to 31% between 2015 and 2019. Ongoing efforts to restore 240,000 hectares.
  • Uzbekistan: Reported the highest proportion of degraded land (26.1%) in Central Asia but reduced it from 30% to 26% compared to 2015. Conducted saxaul planting on 1.6 million hectares to combat the drying of the Aral Sea.
• Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN) Goal Achievability: To achieve Sustainable Development Goals, the world must restore 1.5 billion hectares of degraded land by 2030 if current land-degradation trends continue.
• Sustainable Development Goal 15: Life on Land calls for protecting, restoring, and sustaining land-based ecosystems. 
  • In doing so target 15.3 specifically aims to achieve a land degradation-neutral world by 2030.

What is land degradation?

• Land degradation results from human-induced actions that exploit land, causing its utility, biodiversity, soil fertility, and overall health to decline.​
• Land-degradation is caused by multiple forces, including extreme weather conditions, particularly drought. 
• Desertification is a form of land-degradation by which fertile land becomes desert.
• Land-degradation within dry land regions (arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid regions) is termed as ‘desertification’.
• Status of Land degradation in India (refer to Image).

What are the causes of land degradation?

• Natural Cause:
  • Loss of Soil Cover: Soil erosion significantly contributes to land degradation in the country, primarily due to rainfall and surface runoff. This factor was responsible for 11.01% of desertification in the country.
  • Water Erosion: Water erosion contributed to 10.98% of desertification in India during 2011-13.
  • Wind Erosion: Wind erosion, where the wind carries away soil, accounted for 5.46% of desertification in India.
• Anthropogenic Causes:
  • Poor Agricultural Practices: Land degradation in India is exacerbated by poor agricultural practices, including improper crop rotations and the overuse of agrochemicals.
  • Deforestation: Activities such as deforestation and shifting cultivation contribute to the degradation of vegetation, which is essential for maintaining soil health.
    • The degradation of vegetation was found to be responsible for 9.15% of desertification in the country.
  • Increasing Urbanization: The increasing population pressure in India has led to higher urbanization rates. This has resulted in the diversion of land from agriculture to urban development.
  • Overgrazing: India has one of the largest cattle populations in the world. However, unsustainable grazing practices contribute to land degradation.
• Climate Change: Climate change intensifies desertification as rising temperatures and frequent droughts become prominent. Forest fires, a consequence of this, devastate forests and contribute to desertification.

What are the impacts of land degradtion?

• Economic Impact: Land degradation resulted in the country losing more than 2% of the GDP for 2014-15, as per the Energy and Resources Institute (TERI).
• Environmental Impact
  • Soil Erosion: The process by which topsoil is detached from land and carried away by water, ice, sea waves, or wind.
  • Loss of Fertility: Resulting from the use of scientific inputs like irrigation, fertilizers, and pesticides, as well as unscientific cropping practices.
  • Salinity/Alkalinity: Occurs in areas with temporary water surplus and high temperatures due to over-irrigation or excessive rainfall, affecting soil fertility.
  • ​​Water Scarcity: The dryland population vulnerable to water stress and increased drought intensity is projected to reach 178 million under ideal conditions of 1.5 degrees Celsius warming by 2050.
• Potential Impacts on Human Health
  • Reduced food and water supplies can lead to higher threats of malnutrition.
  • Increased risk of water- and food-borne diseases due to poor hygiene and a lack of clean water.
  • Respiratory diseases can result from atmospheric dust caused by wind erosion and air pollutants.
  • The spread of infectious diseases may occur as populations migrate, impacting public health.
• Rights of Indigenous People: Insecure land tenure affects the ability of people and communities, including indigenous groups, to combat climate change. Land degradation further endangers their rights and livelihoods.

Also read: World Food Day: Date, Theme, Significance and Solution

What are the measures taken by the Government to prevent land degradation?

• Desertification and Land-Degradation Atlas
  • Published by Space Applications Centre (SAC) of the Indian Space Research Organisation.
  • Provides data on the extent of land-degradation and desertification in India.
  • Estimated land degradation and desertification in India: 97.84 million hectares in 2018-19. Offers state-wise information on degraded land to aid restoration planning.
• Online Portal for Visualization
  • Developed in collaboration with Space Application Center (SAC), Ahmedabad.
  • Allows visualization of degraded land areas and the processes causing degradation.
• Centre of Excellence at ICFRE Dehradun
  • Envisioned at the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE), Dehradun.
  • Focuses on South-South Cooperation for knowledge sharing and best practices.
  • Aims to share India’s experiences in sustainable land management.
  • Supports transformative projects, capacity building, and program development.

Way forward

• Integrated Land Use Planning: Implementing integrated land use planning is vital. This approach involves identifying optimal land use combinations to meet the needs of stakeholders while preserving land resources. 
• Identifying Global Restoration Hotspots: A cost-effective strategy involves pinpointing global restoration hotspots within landscapes to maximize benefits and focus restoration efforts efficiently.
• Regenerative Agricultural Practices: Promoting regenerative agricultural practices, such as terrace farming and rainwater harvesting, plays a crucial role in land restoration. 
  • These practices not only restore land but also have the potential to increase crop yields, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and sequester atmospheric carbon. 
• Convergence with the MGNREGS and PMKSY: The government is now planning to bring convergence between the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) and the Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchayee Yojana (PMKSY).
  • It could help treat about 30% more land than feasible with the current scheme size.
• China Experience: 
  • Great Green Wall (Three-North Shelterbelt Program): China has been implementing this afforestation program since the late 1970s. It involves planting large-scale monoculture forest strips of non-native species to combat desertification and dust storms in the Gobi Desert region. 

Also read: Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)

Conclusion:

UNCCD data reveals alarming global trends, with 100 million hectares of arable land lost annually due to land degradation, underscoring the urgent need for collaborative international efforts to address and reverse this concerning phenomenon.

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