Oil and gas sector can bring quick climate win by tackling methane emissions - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Oil and gas sector can bring quick climate win by tackling methane emissions.

As September’s UN Climate Summit fast approaches and the mercury rises across Europe and India, the pressure is on to find workable solutions that can quickly turn down the planet’s thermostat.

There is an obvious focus on cutting carbon dioxide emissions, the chief culprit for climate change, but there also lies a huge opportunity in reducing methane emissions from the oil and gas industry.

Methane is responsible for at least a quarter of global warming and is over 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide as a warming gas over a twenty-year timeframe. According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, accelerated reductions in methane emissions must come by 2030 to have any chance of meeting the 1.5°C global temperature target—or even the 2°C target.
Methane also helps to form ground-level ozone, a dangerous air pollutant that is responsible for approximately one million deaths and the loss of up to 110 million tonnes of crops each year—meaning that cutting methane emissions can bring a double benefit.
Even better, actions to reduce emissions now can have a faster impact on the rate of temperature increases than actions on carbon dioxide.
“Methane’s atmospheric lifespan is only around 10 years, much less than carbon dioxide’s. Both require attention as one dictates how fast the planet warms and the other how warm it gets. The leverage of methane emission reductions, however, is that a steep decline in emissions can help to limit temperature increases now,” said Environment Defense Fund’s Chief Scientist Steven Hamburg.
“The oil and gas sector, which is increasingly recognizing the importance to act on climate change, can make a big difference by virtually eliminating methane emissions,” said Mark Radka, Head of UN Environment’s Energy and Climate Branch.
Cutting methane emissions benefits all
The oil and gas sector is one of the largest man-made emission sources of methane, alongside agriculture and waste. It produces about one quarter of global anthropogenic methane emissions.
The International Energy Agency estimates that the industry could reduce its worldwide emissions by 75 per cent—with up to two-thirds of those reductions at zero net cost. And reducing these emissions will benefit the industry too.
Around 3.6 trillion cubic feet of natural gas—which is largely made up of methane—are estimated to have escaped into the atmosphere in 2012 from global oil and gas operations. This wasted gas translated into roughly US$30 billion of lost revenue, and about 3 per cent of global natural gas production.
Depending on local conditions, there are low-cost, technically feasible solutions to reduce methane emissions in oil and gas operations, including recovery and use of escaping gas, and reducing leaks from long-distance pipelines.
During the 2019 United Nations Climate Summit, UN Environment and the Climate & Clean Air Coalition are looking to step up action by calling on governments to enhance ambition in their nationally determined contributions by joining a Global Alliance to Significantly Reduce Methane Emissions from the Oil and Gas Sector (Global Methane Alliance).
Countries that join the Global Methane Alliance will have the option, depending on their actual methane emissions and the level of development of their oil and gas industry, to commit to either absolute methane reduction targets of at least 45 per cent by 2025 and 60–75 per cent by 2030, or to a near zero methane intensity target. These targets are realistic and achievable, especially in a sector where technology and financing are largely available, and innovation supports even larger reductions.
“The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is committed to supporting its countries of operation progressing towards the rapid decarbonization of their economies. The United Nations-led Global Methane Alliance is a crucial platform to catalyse action, as it brings together sector players, governments and financing institutions for a coordinated effort to abate greenhouse gas emissions at scale along the gas infrastructure,” said Nandita Parshad and Jean-Marc Peterschmitt of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
“The Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is working hard with its members to quickly scale up meaningful actions and technologies to better detect, reduce and prevent methane leakage from the oil and gas value chain,” said Jerome Schmitt, Chair of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative Executive Committee. “Our members have already targeted to reduce, by 2025, the collective average methane intensity of their aggregated upstream gas and oil operations to below 0.25 per cent, with the ambition to achieve 0.20 per cent, corresponding to a reduction by one third. We are now focused on delivering against this pledge. The Global Methane Alliance is a unique opportunity to accelerate methane reduction and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative is happy to be providing the technical support and knowledge sharing to make it successful.”
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Environmental Defense Fund, and the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative have already joined the Global Methane Alliance, and discussions are underway with over a dozen countries for them to commit to these targets. A 75 per cent reduction of methane emissions has the potential to reduce global emissions by up to 6 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year.(Source: unenvironment.org)


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Oil and gas sector can bring quick climate win by tackling methane emissions.

Nuclear-capable missile Prithvi II successfully test-fired - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Nuclear-capable missile Prithvi II successfully test-fired.

India successfully test-fired indigenously developed nuclear-capable missile Prithvi-II on Thursday night as part of a user trial by the Army from a test range off the Odisha coast.

The trial of the surface-to-surface missile, which has a strike range of 350km, was carried out from a mobile launcher from Launch Complex-III of the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur, near here, at around 8.30pm, sources said.
"It was a routine trial," a source said.Prithvi-II was also successfully test-fired at night on February 21, 2018 from the ITR at Chandipur.
The missile is capable of carrying 500/100 kg of warheads and is powered by liquid propulsion twin engines. The state-of-the-art missile uses an advanced inertial guidance system with a maneuvering trajectory to hit its target, the sources said.
The missile was randomly chosen from the production stock and the entire launch activity was carried out by the Strategic Forces Command (SFC) of the Army and monitored by the scientists of the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO) as part of a training exercise, they added.
"The missile trajectory was tracked with the help of radars, electro-optical tracking systems and telemetry stations by the DRDO along the coast of Odisha," a source said.
The down range teams on board a ship deployed near the designated impact point in the Bay of Bengal monitored the terminal events and splashed down, he added.
On November 21, 2016, two missiles were successfully test-fired in the salvo mode from the same base.
Inducted into the armory of the Indian defence forces in 2003, the nine-metre-tall, single-stage liquid-fuelled Prithvi is the first missile to have been developed by the DRDO under the Integrated Guided Missile Development Programme (IGMDP).(Source: defencenews.in)


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Nuclear-capable missile Prithvi II successfully test-fired.

India wins solar case against US at WTO - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis

India wins solar case against US at WTO.

• Panel upholds India’s claims that renewable energy subsidies in eight American states violated a core global trade rule
• The renewable energy sector win may help India in settling other disputes with the US
India on Thursday won a major trade dispute against the US at the World Trade Organization, with a dispute settlement panel pronouncing that subsidies and mandatory local content requirements instituted by eight American states breached global trade rules.
In a significant 100-page report, the three-member panel largely upheld India’s claims that subsidies and local content requirement in 11 renewable energy programmes in eight US states violated core global trade rules. The panel also asked the US to ensure that these states are in conformity with trade rules.

India had claimed that the “domestic content requirements and subsidies instituted by the governments of the states of Washington, California, Montana, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Michigan, Delaware and Minnesota in the energy sector" violated several provisions of the Trade-Related Investment Measures (TRIMs) Agreement and Subsidies and Countervailing Measures Agreement.
The panel urged the US to bring the eight states in conformity with US obligations under Article III:4 of “national treatment". Under the national treatment provision, foreign producers must be treated on a par with domestic producers.
Among others, New Delhi had challenged the “renewable energy cost recovery incentive payment programme" implemented by the state of Washington, California’s self-generation incentive programme, Montana’s tax incentive for ethanol production, Michigan’s renewable energy credits programme, Delaware’s solar renewable energy credits and the Made in Minnesota renewable incentive programme.
Citing ‘judicial economy’ (limited resources of the panel to go into all the issues raised by India), the panel said, “In the light of Article 3.8 of the DSU [dispute settlement understanding], the panel concludes that, to the extent that the measures at issue are inconsistent with Article III:4 of the GATT (General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade) 1994, they have nullified or impaired benefits accruing to India under that agreement."
The US can still challenge the panel’s ruling before the Appellate Body (AB); however, the AB itself is feared to have become dysfunctional after 11 December because the US has been blocking appointments to it.
The WTO panel was set up last year to examine whether renewable energy programmes in the US states constituted prohibited subsidies and violated national treatment provisions. India also argued that some of the renewable energy programmes administered by the American states violated core provisions in the TRIMs agreement by insisting on mandatory domestic content requirements.
The ruling contains several “systemic implications" and exposed the illegal measures adopted by the US and its states, said a Geneva-based legal analyst, who asked not to be named. Firstly, it would show the US and its federal states maintain WTO-inconsistent programmes in the renewable energy sector. Secondly, it is a lesson to the US that it should not undermine renewable energy programmes in other countries such as India on grounds that they violate global trade rules when Washington and its federal states adopt much bigger programmes worth billions of dollars that violate global trade rules, the analyst said.
In 2014, the US had launched a similar trade dispute against India’s Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Energy Mission, on the grounds that it included incentives for domestically produced solar cells and modules. WTO’s Appellate Body had upheld the US complaint against India in that case. Thursday’s ruling could provide India the much-needed strategic leverage normally open to WTO members in tit-for-tat trade disputes. At a time when the US is pursuing several trade disputes against India, particularly against the nation’s export-related schemes, a victory in the renewable energy sector could help India in settling other disputes with Washington, the analyst said. (Source: Livemint)


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India wins solar case against US at WTO.

Greenland Likely To Lose 4.5% Of Its Ice By End Of Century, Says Study - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Greenland Likely To Lose 4.5% Of Its Ice By End Of Century, Says Study

This research used new data on the landscape under the ice today to make breakthroughs in modelling the future.

Greenland could lose 4.5 per cent of its ice, contributing up to 13 inches of sea level rise, by the end of this century if worldwide greenhouse gas emissions remain on their current trajectory, warns a new study.
The island might be ice-free by the year 3000, said the study published in the journal Science Advances.
"How Greenland will look in the future -- in a couple of hundred years or in 1,000 years -- whether there will be Greenland or at least a Greenland similar to today, it's up to us," said lead author Andy Aschwanden, Research Associate Professor at University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute in the US.

This research used new data on the landscape under the ice today to make breakthroughs in modelling the future.
The findings show a wide range of scenarios for ice loss and sea level rise based on different projections for greenhouse gas concentrations and atmospheric conditions.
Currently, the planet is moving toward the high estimates of greenhouse gas concentrations.
Greenland's ice sheet is huge, spanning over 660,000 square miles. Today, the ice sheet covers 81 per cent of Greenland and contains eight of Earth's fresh water bodies.
If greenhouse gas concentrations remain on the current path, the melting ice from Greenland alone could contribute as much as 24 feet to global sea level rise by the year 3000, which would put much of San Francisco, Los Angeles, New Orleans and other cities under water, said the study.
The team used data from a NASA airborne science campaign called 'Operation IceBridge'.
Operation IceBridge uses aircraft equipped with a full suite of scientific instruments, including three types of radar that can measure the ice surface, the individual layers within the ice and penetrate to the bedrock to collect data about the land beneath the ice.
On average, Greenland's ice sheet is 1.6 miles thick, but there is a lot of variation depending on where you measure.
Between 1991 and 2015, Greenland's ice sheet has added about 0.02 inches per year to sea level, but that could rapidly increase. (Source: ndtvnews)


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Greenland Likely To Lose 4.5% Of Its Ice By End Of Century, Says Study

India eyes permanent UNSC seat - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India eyes permanent UNSC seat.

At present, there are five permanent members of the Security Council — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the US — which all have veto powers to cast aside any resolution which could compromise world stability and security.

How serious India is to gain UN Permanent Membership would be clear from the fact that the Vice President of India, M. Venkaiah Naidu has called for renewed efforts by India to gain permanent membership of the UN Security Council. India, an important global power with 1.3 billion people has been calling for reform of the UNSC for quite some time, along with Brazil, Germany, and Japan. It argues that the country has earned the right to contribute to the world’s security.
This is what Vice-President of India said “The world needs India because the problems and challenges facing the planet today need a humane, holistic vision,” Naidu stressed. “The world needs India because it needs a voice that speaks of peace, non-violence and peaceful coexistence.”
Yet despite calls to reform the UNSC, any changes to the composition of the chamber would require at least two-thirds approval from members of the General Assembly. Furthermore, all permanent members must consent to any expansion of the council to include new veto-yielding states.
Interacting with the Officer Trainees of the 2018 Batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and Bhutanese Diplomats, the Vice President referred to the growing prominence of India on the world stage and underscored the need for enhancing support from world nations and building a sustained dialogue in favor of UNSC reforms.
The Vice President also stressed the need to build a consensus for expansion and democratization of a number of multilateral fora to ensure representation to a number of other emerging nations. Congratulating the young officers for choosing IFS as a profession, Naidu said that the Service offered a challenging and exciting career and a unique opportunity to take India’s great civilizational and cultural ethos with its developmental aspirations to the rest of the world.
Terming the young diplomats as ‘future spokespersons, interpreters, and narrators of India’s story to the world’, the Vice President said that they would soon work on constructing new bridges of understanding between India and the rest of the world. He told ‘You can play an important role in shaping the geopolitics of the future and in determining the new world order.’ Naidu cautioned that the return of the unwelcome tendency of protectionism would adversely impact the global effort for collective advancement. Despite the acknowledged need for an Integrated World Order, new walls are being to the free flow of goods and services and people as well, he added.
Outlining the challenges the budding diplomats would have to deal with, Naidu expressed his concern over the threat posed by terrorism. Observing that no country was immune to the consequences of terrorism, he called for a united response from world nations to curb the menace of terrorism. Pointing out that India consistently took an unrelenting and uncompromising stand against terrorism, he said, “we must continue to be champions of peace”.
Referring to the unethical acts of financial fugitives, the Vice President expressed his concern over the ease with which they find safe havens in other countries. He suggested the constant updating and overhauling of Extradition Treaties and all bilateral and multilateral agreements to defend and safeguard the integrated global economic order for the collective good.
The Vice President said that the world community would need India’s participation to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, because of the problems faced by the planet today needed a humane and holistic vision. The world needs India because it needs a voice that speaks of peace, non-violence and peaceful co-existence.
Expressing his happiness that India took the lead in building sustainable development solutions, he said the International Solar Alliance launched under India’s initiative in Paris was such an example.
Stating that India was moving on the development path swiftly, Naidu said that the world was looking at India with keen interest. He emphasized the need to take advantage of this momentum by capitalizing on opportunities in areas of trade, services, investments, and infrastructure. “Diplomats must be proactive in enabling Indian industries and business to tap into world markets and must do their best in encouraging foreign investment to flow into India”, he stressed. Describing the Indian Diaspora as an asset, he said they play an important role culturally as well as economically in the countries they live in.
The Vice President urged the young officers to develop a deep understanding of the countries of their posting and explore all opportunities for improving relations between those countries and India. He advised them to uphold the principles of Integrity, Probity, and conscientiousness at all times. He asked them to be India’s articulate voices, proactive catalysts of India’s prosperity and relentless advocates of Indian values of peaceful coexistence, inclusive and sustainable development. The Foreign Service offers you the privilege of being India’s ambassador’s to the world. The Service offers a challenging and exciting career and a truly unique opportunity to take our country’s great civilizational and cultural ethos with its developmental aspirations to the rest of the world.
He said that the IFS officers would soon be given the crucial responsibility of being all the spokespersons, interpreters and narrators of India’s story to the world. They will construct new bridges of understanding, appreciation and collective advancement between India and the rest of the world and build new, forward-looking and stable partnerships between nations. They can play an important role in shaping the geopolitics of the future and in determining the new world order.
Naidu observed that “We are now living in a world that is more connected than ever before. The world is truly a Global Village. It is also swiftly changing in many unprecedented ways. The changing global geopolitical and geo-economic landscape requires a new agile, carefully strategized diplomatic response. I see a number of challenges that budding diplomats such as you would have to deal with and overcome. Despite the acknowledged need for an Integrated World Order, new ‘walls’ are being erected to the free flow of goods and services and people as well. This return of the unwelcome tendency of protectionism has the potential to adversely impact the global effort for collective advancement”.
He impressed upon them the grave nature of the threat that the world community as a whole faces due to terrorism. No country in the world is immune to the consequences of terrorism now and therefore curbing this menace would require a united response from world nations. India has consistently taken an unrelenting and uncompromising stand against terrorism; we must continue to be champions of peace. We are now confronted by the unethical acts of financial fugitives. The ease with which they find safe havens in other countries escaping the long arm of law is a serious global concern. Extradition Treaties and all bilateral and multilateral agreements need to be constantly updated and overhauled to defend and safeguard the integrated global economic order for collective good.
To transform this world into the world we want, in consonance with the United Nations’ transformative, ambitious 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the world needs India. The world needs India not only because we are home to nearly 1.3 billion people comprising one- sixth of humanity. The world needs India because the problems and challenges facing the planet today need a humane, holistic vision.
The world needs India because it needs a voice that speaks of peace, non-violence and peaceful coexistence. The world needs India because it needs to harness the potential of dialogue and discussion, collaboration and cooperation. This vision and voice, this attitude and belief are what India has stood for over the last twenty millennia. This vision and voice of India is more relevant to the world than ever before.
Our core civilizational principle of viewing the world as ‘Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam’ and our prayer of ‘Sarve Jana Sukhino Bhavanthu’ gives us the moral strength and courage to influence global discourse in these testing times of great turbulence. He said that “I am glad to note that India has taken the lead in building sustainable development solutions. International Solar Energy Alliance, launched under India’s initiative at the COP 21 in Paris is one such example. You must continually look for opportunities to provide similar leadership and lead the global agenda setting and implementation in as many fields as possible. Our foreign policy formulation and implementation must be firmly tied to the domestic development agenda. There is a constant need for sustained dialogue and exchange of information between India’s representatives abroad and those who are implementing the development initiatives back home”.
With India moving on the development path swiftly, the world is looking at India with keen interest. The Vice-President said that “We must not hesitate to take advantage of this momentum by capitalizing opportunities in areas of trade, services, investments, and infrastructure. Diplomats must be proactive in enabling Indian industries and business to tap into world markets and must do their best in encouraging foreign investment to flow into India”.
Indian Diaspora is a great strength of our nation. Diplomats must continually engage with Diaspora while also safeguarding their interests and looking after their welfare and ensuring that their efforts and goodwill is appreciated and channelized suitably. Just like the world needs India, India needs the world too. We need to learn and draw benefits from the good practices from all over the world. India is strong and is gaining in strength because we are open to good ideas from all over the globe. This is what the ancient sages had also said when they said: “Aa no bhadrah kratavo yantu vishwathaha” “Let noble thoughts come to us from all over the world”.
India has emerged as the fastest growing economy with global powers acknowledging India’s growth story. We must renew our efforts to gain a permanent membership of the UN Security Council by further enhancing support from world nations and building a sustained dialogue in favor of UNSC reforms. We have to build consensus for the expansion and democratization of a number of other multilateral fora to ensure representation of a number of other emerging nations.
Recently, France too supported India and said that India and nations like Germany, Brazil and Japan is “absolutely needed” as permanent members of a reformed and enlarged UN Security Council these permanent members were needed to better reflect contemporary realities and the addition of these key members to the UN high-table is among France’s “strategic” priorities, the French envoy to the UN has said.
Speaking alongside German envoy to the UN Christoph Heusgen at the end of Germany’s Presidency of the Council for April, Delattre emphasised that France considers that Germany, Japan, India, Brazil and a fair representation of Africa in particular are absolutely needed at the table to get towards fairer representation of the Security Council. This is for us a matter of priority.” He underlined that Paris believes the enlargement of the Security Council with the addition of a few key members is “one of our strategic priorities.”
India is at the forefront of efforts at the UN to push for the long-pending reform of the Security Council, emphasizing that it rightly deserves a place at the UN high table as a permanent member.
India’s Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Syed Akbaruddin, speaking at the informal meeting of the Plenary on the Intergovernmental Negotiations on the question of equitable representation on an increase in the membership of the Security Council earlier this year, had said that on the issue of Categories of Membership’, a total of 113 Member States, out of 122 who submitted their positions in the Framework Document, support expansion in both of the existing categories specified in the Charter. In short, more than 90 per cent of the written submissions in the document are in favour of expansion in both categories of membership specified in the Charter, he had said.(Source: defencenews.in)


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India eyes permanent UNSC seat.

Uptick for India on sanitation in UN report - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Uptick for India on sanitation in UN report.

Major drop seen in open defecation.

India has made great gains in providing basic sanitation facilities since the start of the millennium, accounting for almost two thirds of the 650 million people globally who stopped practising open defecation between 2000 and 2017.
However, a monitoring report by UN organisations released on Tuesday also shows that there has been absolutely no growth in the population with access to piped water facilities over that period, while large inequalities remain between rural and urban areas.
As for drinking water, the Joint Monitoring Programme report by UNICEF and WHO shows that India has increased the percentage of its population with access to a protected drinking water source less than 30 minutes away, from 79% in 2000 to 93% in 2017.
However, the percentage of households getting piped water has remained stagnant at 44% over the 17-year period.
“Drinking water is now the highest priority of the development agenda for this government,” said Drinking Water and Sanitation secretary Parameswaran Iyer. The contours of a new scheme, tentatively called Nal Se Jal, are being drafted this month.
With regard to sanitation, India’s record has been better. The country is responsible for almost single-handedly dragging the world towards achieving Sustainable Development Goal of ending open defecation. The South Asian region, including India, accounted for almost three-fourths of the population who stopped defecating in the open between 2000 and 2017, according to the report. Of the 2.1 billion people who gained access to basic sanitation services over this time period globally, 486 million live in India.
“India’s Swachh Bharat mission has been an example and inspiration to other countries, especially in Africa, but also East and South Asia,” said Mr. Iyer. “Nigeria sent a delegation to study the programme…We believe our programme had four reasons for its success that we can share with the rest of the world: political leadership, public financing, partnerships and people’s participation.”
The millions of new toilets which mark the progress of the Swachh Bharat mission are, however, producing large amounts of solid and liquid waste that India simply does not have the ability to treat and dispose of safely. According to the report, only 30% of the country’s wastewater is treated at plants providing at least secondary treatment, in comparison to an 80% global average.
“Solid and liquid waste management will be the focus of Swachh Bharat phase 2. We will launch the roadmap and strategy for that programme next month,” said Mr. Iyer.
“The human right to sanitation implies that people not only have a right to a hygienic toilet but also have a right not to be negatively affected by unmanaged faecal waste. This is most relevant to poor and marginalized groups who tend to be disproportionately affected by other people’s unmanaged faecal sludge and sewage,” says the report, highlighting inequalities beyond toilet access.(Source: The Hindu)


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Uptick for India on sanitation in UN report.

Himalayan glaciers melting far faster this century: Study - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Himalayan glaciers melting far faster this century: Study.

• The accelerated melting appears to be swelling rivers during warm seasons.
• The new analysis, spanning 40 years of satellite observations across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan.

Himalayan glaciers have been melting twice as fast since the start of this century, underscoring the threat the climate crisis poses to water supplies for hundreds of millions of people across Asia, according to a study published on Wednesday.
Scientists have long been trying to establish how quickly rising global temperatures caused by the burning of coal, oil and gas are eating away at the region's icebound landscapes, sometimes referred to as Earth's third pole.
The new analysis, spanning 40 years of satellite observations across India, China, Nepal and Bhutan, showed glaciers have been losing the equivalent of more than a vertical foot-and-a-half of ice each year since 2000. That represents double the rate between 1975 and 2000.
"This is the clearest picture yet of how fast Himalayan glaciers are melting over this time interval, and why," lead author Joshua Maurer, a PhD candidate at Columbia University's Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, said in a statement.
Although the study, published in Science Advances, did not attempt to ascertain precisely how much ice had melted, Maurer said the glaciers may have lost as much as a quarter of their mass over the last 40 years.
The accelerated melting appears to be swelling rivers during warm seasons, but scientists are concerned about the long-term impact on irrigation, hydropower and drinking water supplies that support some 800 million people.
Joseph Shea, a glacial geographer at the University of Northern British Columbia, who was not involved in the study, said the findings demonstrated that even glaciers in the world's highest mountains were being affected by higher temperatures.
"In the long term, this will lead to changes in the timing and magnitude of streamflow in a heavily populated region," Shea said. (Source: Livemint)


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Himalayan glaciers melting far faster this century: Study

How to improve nutrition outcomes in India - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

How to improve nutrition outcomes in India.

Only a handful of households in India have access to all nutrition-related schemes and interventions that the government provides suggests a new study.

To comprehensively tackle India’s persistent nutrition challenge, last March, the government launched an ambitious program. The ‘POSHAN Abhiyaan’ envisages complete elimination of malnutrition by 2020 and seeks to align several existing nutrition schemes that aim to, directly or indirectly, improve the nutritional status of pregnant women, mothers and children. In theory, this “convergence" of schemes sounds promising but in practice, POSHAN Abhiyaan may not be succeeding in bringing different schemes together to tackle malnutrition, suggests a new study.

In the study, published in the Economic and Political Weekly, Purnima Menon and others argue that there is little on-the-ground operational guidance for the Poshan Abhiyaan to ensure that multiple programmes effectively reach the same mother-child duo within the period of the first 1,000 days of a child’s birth—the critical period for nutrition for both child and mother.
The authors calculate that, across schemes, there are 19 nutrition-related interventions that target mother-child duos. These include access to clean drinking water, possession of a ration card and institutional delivery. The authors then, using data from a survey of 1,417 households in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and West Bengal, check if mother-child duos are actually receiving these interventions. They find that while some interventions have reached as much as 75% of households, only two households received all 19 interventions.
According to the authors, a multisectoral approach to nutrition, like the one promoted by the POSHAN Abhiyaan, has worked in other countries in addressing malnutrition. However for POSHAN Abhiyaan to succeed in effectively delivering multiple nutrition interventions, there needs to be a greater focus on outcome-based success metrics.(Source: Livemint)


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How to improve nutrition outcomes in India.

India to cross China's population by 2027: United Nations - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India to cross China's population by 2027: United Nations.

UN report says India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050. Previous UN projections had estimated that India will surpass China as the world's most populous country as early as 2022.

India is projected to surpass China as the world's most populous country in the next eight years. As per a United Nations report, released on Monday, India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050 and remain the most populated country through the end of the current century.

"India is expected to add nearly 273 million people between 2019 and 2050, while the population of Nigeria is projected to grow by 200 million. Together, these two countries could account for 23 per cent of the global population increase to 2050," the report has said.
Previous UN projections had estimated that India will surpass China as the world's most populous country as early as 2022.
The 2017 world population report, released by the UN two years ago, had estimated that the population of India will surpass that of China's by around 2024.
China, with 1.43 billion people in 2019, and India, with 1.37 billion, have long been the two most populous countries of the world, comprising 19 and 18 per cent, respectively, of the global total in 2019. They are followed by the United States of America.
WORLD POPULATION TO INCREASE BY 2 BILLION IN 30 YEARS
The UN report 'The World Population Prospects 2019' added that the world's population is expected to increase by two billion people in the next 30 years -- from 7.7 billion currently to 9.7 billion in 2050.
The report said more than half of the projected increase in the global population up to 2050 will be concentrated in just nine countries, led by India and followed by Nigeria, Pakistan, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Indonesia, Egypt and the US.
POPULATION GROWING OLDER
The report also confirmed that the world's population is growing older due to increasing life expectancy and falling fertility levels, and that the number of countries experiencing a reduction in population size is growing.
By 2050, one in six people in the world will be over age 65 (16 per cent), up from one in 11 in 2019 (9 per cent). The number of persons aged 80 years or over is projected to triple, from 143 million in 2019 to 426 million in 2050.
UN Under-Secretary-General for Economic and Social Affairs Liu Zhenmin said the report offers a roadmap indicating where to target action and interventions.
"Many of the fastest growing populations are in the poorest countries, where population growth brings additional challenges in the effort to eradicate poverty, achieve greater equality, combat hunger and malnutrition and strengthen the coverage and quality of health and education systems to ensure that no one is left behind."
A growing number of countries are experiencing a reduction in population size. Since 2010, 27 countries or areas have experienced a reduction of one per cent or more in the size of their populations, caused by sustained low levels of fertility.
In China, the population is projected to decrease by 31.4 million, or around 2.2 per cent, between 2019 and 2050. (Source: The Indian Express)


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India to cross China's population by 2027: United Nations.

India to get NASAMS-II from US and more Missile Defence Systems from Israel and Russia - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India to get NASAMS-II from US and more Missile Defence Systems from Israel and Russia.

Two places in Rajasthan will be the epicentres for launching the National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System II (NASAMS-II) which will be used to create the ambitious multi-layered shield over Delhi and Mumbai.

India is in the process of acquiring the NASAMS-II from the US along with the Israeli, Russian and home-made systems. Once the deal is signed off, the missile system would cost Rs 6000 crore.

Two places in the state will going to be important for the NASAMS-II. These locations are in two little known villages in Alwar and Pali districts will soon gain strategic importance as they have been selected by the Defence Ministry’s Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) for setting up radars to track enemy missiles.
The forest department has cleared the acquisition of 850 hectares of land in Khoa in Kishangarhbas tehsil of Alwar district and 350 hectares in Roopnagar, near Beawar in Pali district for installing ballistic missile defence grid that will protect the western and northern parts of the country.
This was done after the union ministry of environment and forest in 2014 cleared the DRDO proposal on the conditions laid down by the ministry. The ballistic missile defence grid will help guard New Delhi and Mumbai.
The state government has also allotted 80 hectares of land in Pilani for setting up the Bramhos missile assembly line.
These two sites in Khoa and Rupnagar have been strategically chosen by UDRDO and has a stealth feature. The ballistic missile defence system can be put in place at short notice.
To counter air-borne threats, DRDO will put a mixture of counter-attack missiles which will be able to shoot down enemy missiles both within the earth''s atmosphere (endo-atmospheric) and outside it (exo-atmospheric). (Source: defencenews.in)


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India to get NASAMS-II from US and more Missile Defence Systems from Israel and Russia.

How a deficient monsoon impacts the economy - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

How a deficient monsoon impacts the economy.

• The delayed onset of the crucial southwest monsoon, followed by its slow progress, will likely aggravate the agrarian distress in India.
• Rainfall during the June-September season accounts for about 70% of India’s annual rainfall and is key for the country’s $2.5 trillion economy
What is the latest update on monsoon?

The southwest monsoon has started advancing to more parts of eastern India. The advance is slow and the strong winds that typically accompany the monsoon current are missing. A low pressure area is likely to form in the Bay of Bengal in 4-5 days and this may accelerate the current, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). Private forecaster Skymet expects rainfall in June to be about 40% below normal. Rainfall is likely to be below normal for the third year in a row, with rains seen at 93% of the long-period average, according to Skymet. IMD has forecast a better monsoon with rainfall seen at 96% of the long-period average.

What is the state of summer crop sowing?
As of 14 June, farmers had planted kharif crops across 8.22 million hectares, down 9% from the year-ago figure, according to agriculture ministry data. The difference can be largely attributed to the slow progress of the southwest monsoon in key regions. Rainfall, so far this season, has been 43% below normal. Most kharif crops, largely grown in non-irrigated regions, depend heavily on the monsoon. Paddy, the key kharif crop, has been planted across 426,000 hectares, down from 547,000 hectares a year ago. It is early yet, but the trends are concerning because most crops have a limited sowing window.
Will foodgrain and vegetable prices rise?
A fall in crop output does not necessarily mean a rise in prices of essential commodities. Prices of farm commodities have declined over the past two years, largely because of successive bumper harvests. So much so that the food ministry has this year proposed an additional allocation of 2kg each of rice and wheat per month to beneficiaries of the National Food Security Plan for six months to trim central pool stocks. Till a few months back, open market prices of most farm commodities were hovering below their respective minimum support prices. The situation is only a little better now. There is concern over rising prices of vegetables, not so much over cereals. In May, retail inflation rose to a seven-month high of 3.05% on the back of rising vegetable prices.
How are the states responding?
The agriculture ministry has directed state governments to prepare for any eventuality. Also, there will be no help from reservoirs, which are holding only 18% of their live storage capacity as of June 13. While the Telangana government has asked farmers to defer kharif sowing, governments in Punjab and Haryana are giving financial aid to farmers for looking at alternatives to paddy sowing.
Will a weak monsoon hurt growth?
The share of agriculture in India’s GDP has been falling, but the rural economy’s buying power has never been more crucial. Automakers, already in a tight spot after regulatory and structural changes in the sector, could be the worst hit. FMCG firms such as Hindustan Unilever and Dabur, and tractor makers like M&M and Escorts rely heavily on rural areas for sales. Weak farm incomes will hurt them. This impact could also trickle down to cement and paint makers.(Source: Livemint)

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How a deficient monsoon impacts the economy

DRDO conducts maiden test of hypersonic technology demonstrator - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

DRDO conducts maiden test of hypersonic technology demonstrator.

Some technologies have been validated, says Defence source.

The Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) on Wednesday conducted the maiden test of an indigenously developed Hypersonic Technology Demonstrator Vehicle (HSTDV) along with several technologies on Wednesday morning.

“The DRDO launched a technology demonstrator vehicle to prove a number of critical technologies for futuristic missions from Dr Abdul Kalam Island off the coast of Odisha,” the Ministry of Defence (MoD) said without identifying what the technology demonstrator was or if it met the objectives. Defence Minister Rajnath Singh witnessed the launch.
The missile was successfully launched at 1127 hours and it was tracked by various radars, telemetry stations and electro optical tracking sensors through its course, the MoD added.
The test was undertaken to validate several technologies including the HSTDV, a Defence source said. “Some technologies have been validated while some remained inconclusive of which the data is being analysed,” the source added.
In the test, a missile with the technology demonstrator vehicle mounted on it is launched and the vehicle is released only after the missile reaches a certain altitude and velocity, one official explained.
Former DRDO Chief V.K. Saraswat had said in 2008, as the Chief Controller, R and D (Missiles and Strategic Systems), that through the HSTDV project the idea was to demonstrate the “performance of a scram-jet engine at an altitude of 15 km to 20 km, is on”.
“Under this project, we are developing a hypersonic vehicle that will be powered by a scram-jet engine. This is dual-use technology, which when developed, will have multiple civilian applications. It can be used for launching satellites at low cost. It will also be available for long-range cruise missiles of the future,” he had stated.
In scram-jet technology, combustion of fuel takes place in a chamber in the missile at supersonic speeds. This is different from a ram jet system where the system collects the air it needs from the atmosphere during the flight at subsonic speeds and the propellants burn in the combustion chamber. (Source: The Hindu)


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DRDO conducts maiden test of hypersonic technology demonstrator

Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill cleared - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill cleared.

In an effort to make the Dental Council of India more effective, the Union Cabinet also approved the introduction of a Bill to amend the Dentists Act, 1948

The Cabinet has approved the Indian Medical Council (Amendment Bill), 2019, and the Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment Bill), 2019, both of which had lapsed in the 16th Lok Sabha session. Both the Bills are now set to be reintroduced in the upcoming Parliament session beginning next week.
The Indian Medical Council (Amendment Bill), 2019, is aimed at bringing in transparency, accountability and quality in the governance of medical education in the country and would provide for supersession of the Medical Council of India (MCI) for a period of two years from August 26, 2018, the Centre said.

“During this period, the Board of Governors shall exercise the powers and functions of the MCI as assigned under the IMC Act, 1956. The number of members in the Board of Governors will be increased from existing 7 to 12,” it added.
The Homoeopathy Central Council (Amendment Bill), 2019, meanwhile, seeks to extend the period for reconstitution of the Central Council from an existing period of one year to two years so that the tenure of the Board of Governors may be extended for a further period of one year with effect from May 17, 2019.
In an effort to make the Dental Council of India more effective, the Union Cabinet also approved the introduction of a Bill to amend the Dentists Act, 1948. The Bill would help restructure the Dental Councils and the representation of Central government members and elected members would no longer be made mandatory in the Dental Councils. (Source: The Hindu)


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Indian Medical Council Amendment Bill cleared.

India to be among top 20 countries for FDI inflows this year: UN body - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

India to be among top 20 countries for FDI inflows this year: UN body.

• In 2018, foreign investment by India was flat at $11 billion
• IPAs rank the US and China as the most likely sources of foreign investment to their countries
Once a small player, India may break into the league of top 20 countries for outbound foreign direct investment (FDI) as early as the end 2019, according to a survey of investment promotion agencies (IPAs) by United Nations Conference on Trade and Investment (UNCTAD). In 2018, foreign investment by India was flat at $11 billion.

"India and the United Arab Emirates, not traditionally in the top 20 outward investor countries, were also considered among the top 10 most important sources of FDI for the 2019 to 2021 period," UNCTAD said in its latest World Investment Report.
India’s FDI outflows more than doubled in 2017 to $11.3 billion, mostly led by public sector enterprise Oil and Natural Gas Corp. Ltd (ONGC) which bought a 15% stake in an offshore field in Namibia from Tullow Oil - founded in Ireland and headquartered in the United Kingdom.
IPAs rank the US and China – in a joint first place – as the most likely sources of foreign investment to their countries. Three large European economies – the UK, Germany and France – were considered the next most important sources of FDI.
After declining 9% in 2017, FDI inflows into India rose 6% in 2018 to $42 billion, according to the report. However, India’s rank as a source country for FDI fell one notch to 10th position, as Spain raced ahead of India.
Notable megadeals in 2018 included the acquisition of Flipkart, India’s biggest e-commerce platform, by US-headquartered Walmart. In addition, telecommunication deals involving Vodafone (United Kingdom) and American Tower (United States) amounted to $2 billion.
Announced greenfield investment into India doubled to $56 billion in 2018, with projects in a number of manufacturing industries, including automotive. (Source: Livemint)


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India to be among top 20 countries for FDI inflows this year: UN body

‘Hoping to find water’: 10 things to know about Chandrayaan - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

‘Hoping to find water’: 10 things to know about Chandrayaan.

Chandrayaan 2, India’s second moon-mission, will be launched early morning at 2:51 am on Friday. It is expected to land on the Moon on September 6. The total mass of the mission is 3.8 tonnes and has cost Rs 978 crore.

Here are 10 most important facts on Chandrayaan-2
1. ISRO has confirmed that it is hoping to find water on the lunar surface on the back of ‘the thousands of tests’ conducted by the agency.
2. Landing of Chandrayaan-2 is ISRO’s biggest challenge till now, the 15 minutes when the lander separates and before it soft lands on the moon have been called “terrifying moments” by the agency that has never undertaken such a flight.
3. Chandrayaan-2 consists of an orbiter, a lander (Vikram), a rover (Pragyan) and will land near Moon’s south pole, a feat not achieved before by any other mission.
4. Ample solar light for solar power, the near flat surface with good visibility for a safe landing and expected higher presence of water and minerals are the main reasons why ISRO chose Moon’s south-pole for landing.
5. The first landing pictures may be available within 15 minutes of the lander touching down. However, it will take four hours from the time of landing to the time the Rover comes out from the lander.
6. A NASA instrument for LASER ranging will be carried by the mission as a mark of cooperation between the two space agencies. India will use the Deep Space Network of NASA on payment basis for navigation and guidance.
7. The Rover and the Lander will have a life of one lunar day (14 earth days) and for that lunar day, it will conduct scientific experiments. The orbiter however has life of one year.
8. The mission carries 13 Indian scientific instruments for experiments. Imaging of rock will be done to find elements like magnesium, calcium and iron and also for signs of water. Mission will also study the exosphere of the moon.
9. The ISRO is following the same launch strategy followed for Chandrayaan-1. However, Chandrayaan 1 was just an orbiter while Chandrayaan-2 has Lander and Rover components adding complexity to the mission.
10. One rover-wheel will have the Ashoka Chakra and the lander will have the tricolor on it.(Source: Defencenews.in)


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‘Hoping to find water’: 10 things to know about Chandrayaan.

Polar bears inspire novel heat insulating material - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Polar bears inspire novel heat insulating material .

For polar bears, the insulation provided by their fat, skin, and fur is a matter of survival in the frigid Arctic.

Scientists have developed an insulator that mimics the structure of individual polar bear hairs and may have many real world applications in the architecture and aerospace sectors.
For polar bears, the insulation provided by their fat, skin, and fur is a matter of survival in the frigid Arctic.
For engineers, polar bear hair is a dream template for synthetic materials that might lock in heat just as well as the natural version.
"Polar bear hair has been evolutionarily optimised to help prevent heat loss in cold and humid conditions, which makes it an excellent model for a synthetic heat insulator," said Shu-Hong Yu, a professor at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC).
"By making tube aerogel out of carbon tubes, we can design an analogous elastic and lightweight material that traps heat without degrading noticeably over its lifetime," said Yu.
Unlike the hairs of humans or other mammals, polar bear hairs are hollow. Zoomed in under a microscope, each one has a long, cylindrical core punched straight through its centre.

The shapes and spacing of these cavities have long been known to be responsible for their distinctive white coats. However, they also are the source of remarkable heat-holding capacity, water resistance, and stretchiness, all desirable properties to imitate in a thermal insulator.
"The hollow centres limit the movement of heat and also make the individual hairs lightweight, which is one of the most outstanding advantages in materials science," said Jian-Wei Liu, an associate professor at USTC.
To emulate this structure and scale it to a practical size, the research team manufactured millions of hollowed-out carbon tubes, each equivalent to a single strand of hair, and wound them into a spaghetti-like aerogel block.
Compared to other aerogels and insulation components, they found that the polar-bear-inspired hollow-tube design was lighter in weight and more resistant to heat flow.
It was also hardly affected by water -- a handy feature both for keeping polar bears warm while swimming and for maintaining insulation performance in humid conditions.
As a bonus, the new material was extraordinarily stretchy, even more so than the hairs themselves, further boosting its engineering applicability.
Scaling up the manufacturing process to build insulators on the metre scale rather than the centimeter one will be the next challenge for the researchers as they aim for relevant industrial uses.
"While our carbon-tube material cannot easily be mass produced at the moment, we expect to overcome these size limitations as we work toward extreme aerospace applications," said Yu. (Source: The Economic Times)


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Polar bears inspire novel heat insulating material

Clarification regarding the Statistical reforms and the existing GDP series - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

Clarification regarding the Statistical reforms and the existing GDP series .

1.Reports have appeared in a section of media regarding the statistical reforms being undertaken in the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MOSPI) and on the existing GDP series.
2.In so far as the statistical reforms are concerned, it is important to note that system reforms are an ongoing process and are necessary for ensuring responsiveness to the changing needs of society. Over a period of time, there have been increasing demands on the statistical system for production of relevant and quality statistics. The Ministry has been accommodating these demands by optimising the available resources and use of technology. As in any system, the advent of technology necessitates reforms in statistical processes and products with an aim to synergise the existing resources so that the system remains responsive. The recent step for the merger of CSO and NSSO was aimed at leveraging the strengths of the two organisations so that it can meet the increasing demands.

3.In 2018, the Cabinet had approved several new activities including the conduct of new surveys on the Annual Survey of Services Sector (for a more elaborate coverage of the services sector), Annual Survey of Unincorporated Enterprises (to get a better understanding of these enterprises, primarily in the informal sector), Time Use Survey (for assessing the time disposition of household members) and the Economic Census of all establishments. All these activities require significant financial and human resources which take time to become available. The immediate requirement of manpower can be addressed through a judicious mix of redeployment of existing manpower resources and outsourcing to professional manpower agencies. The outsourced field staff has also to be rigorously trained before deployment and thereafter effectively monitored. This model is being implemented in the Economic Census and other NSS Surveys. In the last Economic Census conducted in 2013, the State Governments were requested to arrange for staff to conduct the field work, which led to delays in finalising and releasing the results. In the ongoing Economic Census, 2019, MoSPI has partnered with the Common Service Centres (CSC) SPV to undertake the field work, and the officers of National Sample Survey (NSS), State Governments and line Ministries will be involved in close monitoring and supervision of the field work to ensure data quality and good coverage. This is the first time that the rigours of monitoring and supervision of field work exercised in NSS will be leveraged for the Economic Census so that results of better quality would be available for creation of a National Statistical Business Register. This process has been catalysed by the establishment of a unified National Statistical Office (NSO).
4.In the various media reports regarding the restructuring, what has been missed out, in particular, is the fact that MoSPI is giving an increased focus on Data Quality and Assurance by repositioning the existing data processing personnel. The traditional data processing activity required transformation in light of the adoption of Computer Assisted Personal Interviewing (CAPI) and e-schedule technology in NSS. The latter facilitates better and more reliable data capture with in-built validation checks. These changes require re-skilling of the existing data processing personnel so that they can perform the data quality assurance functions. An emphasis is also being given to more use of administrative data sets that have evolved or are evolving, after ensuring their quality and usability in the statistical system
5.In so far as the credibility of data is concerned, the Government of India adopted the United Nations Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics (FPOS) in May, 2016. The Government is thus committed to ensure and secure the autonomy and independence of the statistical system to produce appropriate and reliable data by adhering to internationally agreed professional and scientific standards. In the Indian context, there have been a series of expert committees constituted in the past, which made several recommendations for improving the functioning of the national statistical system. The reforms being undertaken in MoSPI are in consonance with these principles as also the various recommendations of the National Statistical Commission (NSC). In fact, the Ministry had drafted the National Policy on Official Statistics (NPOS) and placed the same in the public domain. Based on the comments received, this policy is being redrafted.
6.The order issued on 23rd May, 2019 aimed at a unified NSO, as prevailing in most other countries, that produces reliable and quality statistical products by leveraging the synergies available within MoSPI. It may also be mentioned that the Government had merged the post of Chief Statistician of India (CSI) and Secretary, MoSPI to head the NSO and order of 23 May, 2019 on restructuring has since been accordingly clarified.
7.The Chairman and Members of the NSC are senior functionaries and are entrusted with the responsibility of improving the national statistical system, and the Ministry duly takes into consideration their recommendations and inputs. The status, role and functions of NSC continue as earlier (Press Release of 31 May, 2019 refers). Efforts are also on to evolve a legislative framework under which the NSC may function with independence and give holistic guidance for improving the national statistical system encompassing MoSPI, the line Ministries and the State Governments.
8.In so far as the GDP series are concerned, the Ministry had issued several clarifications, which need to be duly considered for an informed and balanced view to emerge. In fact, the detailed methodology and approach for the GDP series (new series and back series), are available in the public domain. The detailed Press Release of 30th May, 2019 explained the coverage of the MCA corporate data in the GDP estimates vis-à-vis the NSS (74th Round) Technical Report on services sector with a view to address issues raised in the media on the usage of MCA data. It was explained that the NSS had been conducted this survey to understand the challenges likely to emerge when the Annual Survey of Services Sector is undertaken. The findings were analysed at the macro level and it was noted that majority of the companies had filed their statutory on-line returns with MCA and were not missed out in the GDP estimation. The issue of misclassification was also explained in that the Corporate Identification Number (CIN) has the National Industrial Classification Code embedded which is usually not updated even if a company changes its activity declared at the time of its registration. Before MoSPI undertakes the Annual Survey on Services Sector, these limitations will be duly factored and incorporated in the survey design methodology. These findings will also be used when the GDP series is revised to a new base.
9.It needs to be appreciated that GDP estimation is a complex exercise and is undertaken in an ecosystem of incomplete data. This necessitates complex simulations and statistical assumptions before a methodological approach is finalised in consultation with subject experts. In fact, many of the critics of the current GDP series were involved in the various Committees that deliberated and finalised the 2011-12base revision methodology. It may be noted that the decisions of these Committees were unanimous and collective, and were arrived at after taking into consideration the data availability and methodological aspects before being recommended as the most appropriate approach. The Ministry has conventionally involved a wide range of professional experts in its deliberations and the national statistical system has immensely benefitted from their contributions. In addition, India has subscribed to the Special Data Dissemination Standard (SDDS) of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and an Advance Release Calendar is decided for release of estimates. The IMF had raised certain issues on the usage of double deflation in the Indian GDP series and India has informed IMF that the existing data availability does not permit its application in India at present. In fact, the media reports, while citing the changes in GDP growth likely to result from adopting the double deflation, realise the varying outcomes obtained by different authors from their own distinct assumptions. It was because of such views that the Advisory Committee on National Accounts Statistics (ACNAS) had not agreed to the use of the double deflation at present stage. Moreover, double deflation is used in only a few countries that have a Producers Price Index (PPI) to deflate the inputs. MoSPI is working closely with Ministry of Commerce and Industry to have the methodology for the PPI finalised.
10.Further, revision in GDP estimates occur when data coverage from administrative sources improves over time and these improvement get well documented. Consequently, the initial estimates of GDP tend to be conservative. To improve this, it would require concomitant changes in the sectoral data flows and associated regulatory framework in the data source agencies to facilitate use of more macro modelling techniques. The Ministry is also proposing to establish a National Data Warehouse on Official Statistics, where technology will be leveraged for using Big Data Analytical tools for further improving the quality of macro-economic aggregates. As all these reforms are an ongoing process, it is important that the readers and users understand and appreciate the limitations of data and the challenges in estimation. While undertaking these reforms, it is important to realise that newer data sets and survey results will invariably be used and it would be incorrect to comment that old processes were better than the new. The reforms being undertaken in MoSPI will lead to better data sets and better estimates in future, and will be duly deliberated on by the ACNAS during the Base Year revision.
11.This is also to clarify on the apparent misconception that in the current GDP series the informal manufacturing sector grew at the same rate as the formal manufacturing sector measured by the Annual Survey of Industries (ASI). In fact, it is only the growth of appropriate type of enterprises in ASI (i.e. proprietary, partnership, HUF) that is used to move the bench mark estimates of the informal/unorganized manufacturing segment, and not the growth of the entire ASI. Moreover, while using the Paid-Up-Capital based scaling up of sample results, MOSPI now uses the much larger MCA database (about 7 lakh active corporates) whereas the results from a sample of only 2,500 corporates analysed by RBI were used in the earlier GDP series.
12.The national statistical system works in an ecosystem of independence and autonomy in its statistical processes. Allusions to any external influence are altogether unwarranted. It has been the endeavour of the Ministry to continue educating users on the various statistical products and processes, which are essentially public goods. In this direction, the Ministry is now making available all primary data collected to the public free of cost. In so far as sharing the external secondary and administrative datasets are concerned, these are governed by various legislations and the researchers may approach the concerned custodian source agencies for more granular data.


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Clarification regarding the Statistical reforms and the existing GDP series

What is the three-language formula? - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

What is the three-language formula?.

Why is there opposition to the teaching of Hindi which crystallised into a policy in an official document in 1968?.

The story so far: A 50-year-old controversy got a new lease of life recently when a paragraph in the Draft New Education Policy 2019 referred to the mandatory teaching of Hindi in States where Hindi is not spoken. This was a reiteration of the Central government’s three-language formula, but it set off a storm in Tamil Nadu, which stoutly opposes any attempt to impose Hindi and adheres to a two-language formula. The Union government sought to neutralize the hostile reaction by dropping the controversial reference to Hindi.

What is the formula?
It is commonly understood that the three languages referred to are Hindi, English and the regional language of the respective States. Though the teaching of Hindi across the country was part of a long-standing system, it was crystallised into a policy in an official document only in the National Policy on Education, 1968. This document said regional languages were already in use as the media of education in the primary and secondary stages. In addition, it said, “At the secondary stage, State governments should adopt and vigorously implement the three-language formula, which includes the study of a modern Indian language, preferably one of the southern languages, apart from Hindi and English in the Hindi-speaking States.” In the ‘non-Hindi speaking States’, Hindi should be studied along with the regional language and English. It added: “Suitable courses in Hindi and/or English should also be available in universities and colleges with a view to improving the proficiency of students in these languages up to the prescribed university standards.”
On promotion of Hindi, the NPE 1968 said every effort should be made to promote the language and that “in developing Hindi as the link language, due care should be taken to ensure that it will serve, as provided for in Article 351 of the Constitution, as a medium of expression for all the elements of the composite culture of India. The establishment, in non-Hindi States, of colleges and other institutions of higher education which use Hindi, as the medium of education should be encouraged”.
Incidentally, the NPE 1986 made no change in the 1968 policy on the three-language formula and the promotion of Hindi and repeated it verbatim.
Why is it in the news now?
The Central government released a draft NPE, a report prepared by a committee headed by space scientist K. Kasturirangan. Its reference to mandatory teaching of Hindi in non-Hindi speaking States set off a political storm in Tamil Nadu, which is traditionally opposed to the compulsory study of Hindi. The draft had a sentence on flexibility on choice of language for school students. Those who wished to change the three languages may do so in Grade 6, it said, “so long as the study of three languages by students in Hindi-speaking States would continue to include Hindi and English, and one of the modern Indian languages from other parts of India, while the study of languages by students in the non-Hindi-speaking states would include the regional language, Hindi and English.”
How did Tamil Nadu react, and what was the Centre’s response?
The draft evoked a hostile response from political leaders in Tamil Nadu, who were quick to dub the proposal as an attempt to impose Hindi on the unwilling State. Dravida Munnetra Kazhgam president M.K. Stalin warned that his party would be forced to launch another agitation against Hindi imposition. The State had witnessed massive protests against earlier attempts to impose Hindi in 1937 and 1965. The Centre sought to defuse the situation by first reminding them that it was only a draft, and that the policy was yet to be finalised. Subsequently, the reference to Hindi was dropped by the committee.
It reworked the sentence to the effect that students could change their language preference in Grades 6 or 7, “so long as they are able to still demonstrate proficiency in three languages (one at the literature level) in their modular Board examination some time during secondary school”.
What is the backdrop to the Hindi imposition row?
The State has been traditionally opposed to any attempt to introduce Hindi as a compulsory language of learning or administration. The origin of the linguistic row, however, goes back to the debate on official language. In the Constituent Assembly, Hindi was voted as the official language by a single vote. However, it added that English would continue to be used as an associate official language for 15 years. The Official Languages Act came into effect on the expiry of this 15-year period in 1965. This was the background in which the anti-Hindi agitation took place. However, as early as in 1959, Jawaharlal Nehru had given an assurance in Parliament that English would continue to be in use as long as non-Hindi speaking people wanted it.
What is Tamil Nadu’s stand on this?
Leaders in Tamil Nadu are often at pains to emphasise that they do not oppose the voluntary learning of Hindi and cite the unhindered work of the Dakshina Bharat Hindi Prachar Sabha, established in Chennai by Mahatma Gandhi in 1918. The institution imparts Hindi teaching at various levels to anyone who enrols for its programme. Also, there is no bar on private schools, most of them affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education, offering Hindi.
The State has been following the two-language formula for many decades, under which only English and one regional language are compulsory in schools. In 2006, facing criticism that many manage to avoid learning Tamil by opting for Hindi or Sanskrit in private schools, the State government enacted The Tamil Nadu Tamil Learning Act under which Tamil has to be compulsorily learnt in schools operating in the State.
The State is also opposed to the establishment of Navodaya schools by the Centre in any part of Tamil Nadu.
An important aspect of the opposition to Hindi imposition is that many in Tamil Nadu see it as a fight to retain English. English is seen as a bulwark against Hindi as well as the language of empowerment and knowledge. There is an entrenched belief that the continued attempts to impose Hindi are essentially driven by those who want to eliminate English as the country’s link language. (Source: The Hindu)


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What is the three-language formula?.

After 3rd repo rate cut, will banks lower lending rates? - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

After 3rd repo rate cut, will banks lower lending rates?.

• RBI has cut the repo rate thrice since February, with the latest reduction on 6 June.
• Despite the repo rate—the interest rate at which RBI lends to banks—dropping from 6.5% to 5.75%, banks haven’t cut their lending and deposit rates. Mint looks at whether RBI will be lucky the third time around.
1) How do interest rates of banks look since the beginning of 2019?
Two different interest rates need to be considered. First, the rate at which banks have been borrowing and second, the rate at which they have been lending. The weighted average interest rate on term deposits of banks was 6.91% in January. By April, it had fallen by six basis points to 6.85%. One basis point is equal to 0.01. During the same period, the weighted average lending rate of banks has risen by four basis points from 10.38% to 10.42%. What this tells us is that in terms of outstanding loans of banks, the interest rates of both borrowing and lending have barely moved.

2) Why is that the case with banks?
Since January, the credit to deposit ratio of banks has been 77% or more, except on one occasion—the fortnight ending 10 May—when it stood at 76.9%. Banks need to maintain a cash reserve ratio of 4% with the central bank. They also need to maintain a statutory liquidity ratio of 19% by investing in approved government securities. After adjusting for cash reserve ratio and statutory liquidity ratio, it is clear that banks are lending out almost all the deposits they have. Hence, they are not in a position to reduce interest rates on their deposits as they need fresh deposits to keep funding their loans.
3) What does this mean?
With banks not being in a position to cut interest rates on their deposits, the question of reducing interest rates on their lending does not arise. Deposit growth stood at 15.3% in 2016-17 due to demonetization. It fell to a more than five-decade low of 6.2% in 2017-18. Deposits gathered in 2016-17 helped banks for a while. After that, the deposit growth slowdown started to hurt and that has primarily led to a situation where banks have not been able to cut down their borrowing and lending rates despite RBI’s repo rate cuts. To enable banks to cut rates, deposits need to grow faster, so as to bring down the credit-deposit ratio.
4) How has deposit growth fared in the recent past?
In 2019, deposit growth of banks has been close to 10%, much better than in 2018. The annual deposit growth needs to increase a little more and reach around 12-13% before banks feel confident about cutting interest rates. In 2017-18, interest rates on deposits had crashed in the aftermath of demonetization, leading investors to look at other avenues.
5) Are lending rates likely to be reduced?
One impact of the crisis at non-banks is that more money will now move into banks. This should help in faster deposit growth. But this will take time. Banks need to hold on to the interest rates on their deposits for the next few months, so that their deposit growth is robust enough to get the credit-deposit ratio below 75% and help them cut interest rates after that. (Source: Livemint)


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After 3rd repo rate cut, will banks lower lending rates?.

G20 agrees to wrap up digital tax by 2020 - Pragnya IAS Academy - News Analysis.

G20 agrees to wrap up digital tax by 2020.

• G20 finance ministers agreed to compile common rules to close loopholes used by global tech giants to reduce their corporate taxes
• The new rules would also make it harder for countries like Ireland to attract FDI with the promise of ultra-low corporate tax rates
Group of 20 finance ministers agreed on Sunday to compile common rules to close loopholes used by global tech giants such as Facebook to reduce their corporate taxes, a final version of the bloc's communique obtained by Reuters showed.
Facebook, Google, Amazon, and other large technology firms face criticism for cutting their tax bills by booking profits in low-tax countries regardless of the location of the end customer. Such practices are seen by many as unfair.
The new rules would mean higher tax burdens for large multinational firms but would also make it harder for countries like Ireland to attract foreign direct investment with the promise of ultra-low corporate tax rates.

"We welcome the recent progress on addressing the tax challenges arising from digitization and endorse the ambitious program that consists of a two-pillar approach," the final version of the communique showed on Sunday.
"We will redouble our efforts for a consensus-based solution with a final report by 2020."
Britain and France have been among the most vocal proponents of proposals to tax big tech companies that focus on making it more difficult to shift profits to low-tax jurisdictions, and to introduce a minimum corporate tax.
This has put the two countries at loggerheads with the United States, which has expressed concern that US Internet companies are being unfairly targeted in a broad push to update the global corporate tax code.
Big Internet companies say they follow tax rules but they pay little tax in Europe, typically by channelling sales via countries such as Ireland and Luxembourg, which have light-touch tax regimes.
The G20's debate on changes to the tax code focus on two pillars that could be a double whammy for some companies. (Source: Livemint)


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G20 agrees to wrap up digital tax by 2020.