Shikher Goyal

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Biodiversity: Importance, Types, and Distribution | UPSC – IAS

The Importance and Types of Biodiversity: Understanding the Diversity of Life on Earth

The Importance and Types of Biodiversity: Understanding the Diversity of Life on Earth

The Importance and Types of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is a term that refers to the diversity or variety of plants, animals, and other living things in a specific region or area. It is vital to maintain a wide range of species in each ecosystem to preserve the web of life that sustains all living things, including humans. Biodiversity is also essential for humans, as it provides ecosystem services and goods.

The Origin of the Term

Wildlife scientist and conservationist Raymond F. Dasmann first used the term “biological diversity” in the 1968 lay book “A Different Kind of Country.” It was not until the 1980s that the term became widely adopted in science and environmental policy. Edward O Wilson is widely known as the “Father of Biodiversity,” and the term’s contracted form “biodiversity” may have been coined by W.G. Rosen in 1985.

Evolution of Global Biodiversity

Biodiversity is the result of 3.5 billion years of evolution. Until approximately 600 million years ago, all life consisted of archaea, bacteria, protozoans, and similar single-celled organisms. The history of biodiversity during the Phanerozoic (the last 540 million years) starts with rapid growth during the Cambrian explosion. The fossil record suggests that the last few million years featured the greatest biodiversity in history. Estimates of the present global macroscopic species diversity vary from 2 million to 100 million, with a best estimate of somewhere near 9 million, the vast majority arthropods.

Types of Biodiversity

Biodiversity is classified into three fundamental and hierarchically-related levels in terms of genes, species, and ecosystems.

  1. Genetic diversity: This represents the heritable variation within and between populations of organisms. Ultimately, this resides in variations in the sequence of the four base-pairs which, as components of nucleic acids, constitute the genetic code.
  2. Species diversity: Biodiversity is very commonly used as a synonym of species diversity, in particular of “species richness.” Discussion of global biodiversity is typically presented in terms of global numbers of species in different taxonomic groups. Around 2 million species have been described to date, and estimates for the total number of species existing on earth at present vary from 5 million to nearly 100 million.
  3. Ecosystem diversity: Hierarchically, this is the highest level of biodiversity. The quantitative assessment of diversity at the ecosystem, habitat, or community level remains problematic. Instead of considering the diversity within and between species, the entire ecosystem is considered for analyzing biodiversity.

Distribution of Global Biodiversity

Biodiversity is not evenly distributed across the globe, and it varies greatly within regions. The diversity of all living things depends on temperature, precipitation, altitude, soils, geography, and the presence of other species. The science of biogeography studies the spatial distribution of organisms, species, and ecosystems.

Conclusion

Biodiversity is a vital aspect of life on Earth. The diversity of plants, animals, and other living things in an ecosystem is essential to sustain all living things, including humans. Understanding the types and distribution of biodiversity is essential to preserve and protect the web of life that sustains us all.

Water Resources | UPSC – IAS

Water Resources

Water is called Universal Solvent necessary for human civilization, living organisms and natural habitat. It is used for drinking, industry, agriculture, transportation, recreation and animal husbandry producing electricity for domestic, commercial and industrial use. Water, as a resource and river water, surface ponds, lakes, groundwater are all part of one system. Water is an important part of ecological system. Underground aquifers and rivers often cut across the state boundaries. Drought and flood affect vast areas of the country. Hydrogen cycle moves enormous quantity of water around the globe. 97.5% of all water on earth is saline water and remaining 2.5% is fresh water, most of which lies deep and frozen in Antarctica and Greenland and only about 0.25% in rivers, lakes and in soils are readily usable for mankind.

Precipitation is the basic source of water for both surface water and groundwater. Precipitation in the rainfall varies across the regions of the country and it is found to be 100 mm in western part of Rajasthan and 10000 mm at Cherrapunji in Meghalaya. Therefore, it is need of the hour to conserve the profile of soil, ponds, lakes, rivers and reservoirs for use during dry seasons. Reports indicated that out of total geographical area of 329 million hectare, 263 million people live in drought prone area.

Surface water

Animal surface runoff generated by rainfall and snowmelt is estimated to be about 1869 billion cubic meters (BCM) in India. It is estimated that only 690 BCM (37%) of surface water resources can actually be mobilized. Over 90% of annual flow of the Himalayan Rivers occurs over a four months period and capacity to capture such resources is complicated by suitable storage sites.

Rainfall
The average annual rainfall in India is about 1170 mm. Possible changes in rainfall patterns in the coming years, global warming and climate change could affect India’s water resources. About 10 million rainwater harvesting structures are to be constructed within a limited time period, to store the 400 BCM of river flows discharged into the sea without being utilized (Menon, 2001). This results in the acquisition of lakhs of hectares of land, mostly small land holders, displacing millions of poor farmers.

Ground water
It is estimated that about 30% of groundwater potential has been tapped for irrigation and domestic use and India’s rechargeable annual ground water potential has been assessed at around 431 BCM in aggregate. Large parts of the country have already exploited dynamic recharge. It is reported that Punjab and Haryana exploited about 97% ground water. States like Rajasthan, Gujarat, Western Uttar Pradesh and all Deccan states have depleting ground water. In India, fragile water resources are stressed and depleting while various sectoral demands are growing rapidly. In the ancient times, maximum water resources have been used for agriculture irrigation but with the growth in Indian economy and industrial activities, share of water is changing rapidly. Also, increased population and urbanization put an additional demand on water resources. Various reports revealed that annual demand of water may increase from 552 BCM in 1997 to 1050 BCM by 2025.

Physical resources

Physiographic factors play a very important role in the origin, distribution and utilization of water resources. India is divided into following regions

  • a) The northern mountains
  • b) The great plain
  • c) The central highlands
  • d) The peninsular plateau
  • e) The east coast belt
  • f) The west coast belts
  • g) The islands. Entire country has been divided into 6 major river resource regions, 35 basins, 112 catchments, 550 subcatchments and 3237 (major) watersheds.

Water use in Agricultural Production

Development of water resources has been undertaken for specific purposes like irrigation, flood control, hydro-power generation, industrial and drinking water supply. Due to this reason, a large number of projects comprising dams, barrages, hydropower structures, canal network etc., have come up all over the country in successive five year plans.

In a span of five decades, food grain production which was only 51 M.Tons in 1950-51, crossed 208 M.Tons during 1999-2000. India is self sufficient in food grain production and also has 50 M.Tons of buffer stock to meet any shortages which may occur due to bad climatic conditions. India has become second largest producer of wheat, rice and sorghum, the third largest producer of sugarcane and fourth largest producer of cotton. In fruits and vegetables, India shares first position with China. In the animal husbandry and dairy sector too, progress has been quite impressive. India has witnessed developments in inland fish production and has the distinction of being the seventh largest producer of fish in the world and second largest producer of inland fish after China. Among the states, West Bengal is the highest producer followed by Andhra Pradesh and Bihar. These three states together produce 50% of the total inland fish production in the country, while the state of West Bengal alone accounts for 1/3 of this production.

The country’s population which is over 1.22 billion and is expected to reach around 1.39 billion by 2025. The food grain production will have to be raised to around 350 M.Tons by the year 2025. This therefore requires “development of water resources” so as to meet the food and fiber of our growing population. Irrigation constitutes the main component of water use in rural areas. The land holdings of India are predominantly of small size. Marginal size holdings (< 1 hectare) with an average size of 0.4 hectare constitute 59%, small holdings of 1 to 2 hectare size constitute 19% of the total land holdings. Semi-medium holdings of 2 to 4 hectare account for 13.2% and rest are medium (7.2%) and large (1.6%).

Drinking water supply in India

Rural water supply in India is largest of its kind in the world and remarkable achievement has been made due to the combined effect of state and central governments. There is considerable depletion of ground water due to inadequate recharging efforts, heavy dependence of ground water for irrigation and drinking water supply and neglect of traditional practices such as rain water harvesting resulted in the depletion of ground water which has fallen short of 20 cms/year. Our country is facing three major challenges in water sector namely a) slippage of covered habitations, b) water quality problems, c) sustainability of sources and systems as reported by Meenakshi Sundaram, in the year 2002. Despite improved coverage and access to drinking water supply in rural India, about 217, 211 habitations are facing water quality problems. Meenakshi Sundaram also emphasized the need to take up remote sensing techniques to identify the location of water bodies like ponds, lakes, tanks, etc., under the project ‘SWAJALDHARA’.

Quality of fresh water is declining year after year. Water distress is commonly seen in desert and drought prone areas. In addition, improper utilization of water resources and neglect of traditional water resources environment have further aggravated the situation. Due to this reason, degradation of quality and incidence water related diseases, water scarcity and falling water levels in several parts of the country. To solve this perennial problem, Government of India proposed a plan in 2003 for “Interlinking of various rivers of India”. This programme has certain objectives such as augmentation of irrigation agriculture (35 M.ha i.e., from 140 M.ha. to 175 M.ha.), clean and potable water for urban and industrial areas, to generate cost effective hydropower (35,000 to 40,000 MW), inland navigation, employment generation, ecological up-gradation due to regular supply of water, utilization of flood and drought and afforestation. “Interlinking of rivers” should become social and economic programme for distribution of water for domestic and other purposes and main issues concerning environment, ecology and displacement of people, etc.

Although, the availability of water decreasing year after year, yet in India water continues to be used inefficiently. If India were to succeed in social, economic and environment fronts, fundamental changes in how water is captured, allocated, managed and planning must occur. Therefore there is urgent need to evolve “water accounting and budgeting” at national, regional, sub-regional and grass root level (i.e., village or block level) so as to ensure utilization of water more judiciously. This also provides water scarcity, food security, health security, ecological security and livelihood security for the people.

Management of water resources

Judicious management of groundwater is very much necessary through scientific resources management and conservation. In India, utilization of ground water potential is limited and requires proper management. In many developed countries, law does not permit to use the groundwater indiscriminately. This requires thorough understanding of hydrology, GW system, SW systems, availability of energy from pumping and social dynamics.

Water demand trends
At independence, population was less than 400 million and per capita water availability over 5000 cubic meter per year. With the population crossed 1 billion mark, water availability has fallen to about 2000 m3/year per capita. By the year 2025 capita availability is projected at only 1500 m3/year or 30% of availability levels at independence.

Population and water availability trends
Indian economy depends on availability of ground water as an important component of water. 80% of groundwater is used for domestic purpose and an important source of drinking water and security of food in India. 50% groundwater is used for urban and industrial uses. Very significant percentage of water is used for irrigation and contributed to India’s agriculture and economic development. The per capita water availability of natural runoff is at least 1100 cu.m. Per year. Due to water pollution and inappropriate waste disposal, water availability of ground and surface water is further reduced. Though India is facing various serious water constraints to-day, India is not on the whole a water scarce country. The present water availability in India is approximately 2200 m3 per annum, actually compares quite favourably with a number of other countries.

Water sharing issues

More than 1.3 billion people live in south Asia. Almost half of these depend on river system for water needs. Many of those major rivers, some of which are amongst the world’s largest, flow across national borders and have been source of tension in the region.

In western part of sub continent, water of the Indian basin are shared and by Pakistan and India. In north and north-east, the basins of Ganges, Brahmaputra and Meghna are shared by India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and some areas in China. Even within the country, there are plenty problems pertaining to water sharing between the states. In south India, Cauvery water is shared by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry and Kerala and Krishna River is shared by Karnataka, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Cauvery tribunal was formed by Government of India in 1990 to look into the matter. Tribunal has allocated 419 billion sq ft of water annually to Tamil Nadu, 270 billion ft2 to Karnataka and 7 billion sq ft to Pondicherry and 30 billion sq ft Kerala. Sharing of Krishna River was referred to Bachawat commission which has agreed to allocate 560TMC to Maharashtra, 700TMC to Karnataka and 800 TMC to Andhra Pradesh.

Water sector investment
India is giving top priority for the investment in water sector for sustained economic growth since independence. Huge amount is invested for irrigation of Rs.576 billion the gross irrigated area, increased four-fold from 23 million hectares in 1951 to about 90 million hectare in 1997, substantially increasing and stabilizing the income of millions of farmers throughout the country. Considerable achievement has been made in drinking water coverage. About 85% of Indian urban population has access to public water supplies and over 75% of the rural population is now provided with public water supply.

Reforms in the water sector
Various reforms in the management of water resources are necessary but by its nature water is multi-dimensional. It involves users from different sectors with widely different needs. Due to federal administrative structure and enormous population, India’s task is made all the more difficult. Government should allocate sufficient amount in the budget and stringent environment laws are to be enacted. Implementation of reforms needs to be made through public debate and participatory process.

National water policy

This policy mainly addressed to vital issues related to develop, conserve, utilize and manage water resources in 21st Century. The major aspect is that “Integrated water resources development plan in the country and cautioned the timely action in respect of

  • a) water efficiency should be improved,
  • b) taking necessary steps for demand and supply,
  • c) to protect the surface water flow through major, medium and minor storages.

The All India Soil and Land Use Survey (AISLUS) reported that the entire country has 3,237 major watersheds. Each watershed contains a complex mixture of land use characteristics, climatic conditions, landscapes, soil types and agricultural systems. Cropping pattern of an area is determined by many factors which include rainfall, soil types, climate, characteristics and farmer’s requirements of food grains for self consumption as well as market supply and net rate of financial gain, resulting in various alternative crops that can be grown in that area. Every state of the country should concentrate on its agro-ecological and agro-climatic conditions.

Precipitation: ‎Types of Rainfall | ‎Convectional Rainfall | ‎Orographic Rainfall

Hydrological cycle: Types of Rainfall UPSC

Hydrological cycle: Types of Rainfall UPSC

Precipitation is an important step concerned with hydrological cycle. So it is very interesting to know how water moves upward to the sky and how we get the rain. As such precipitation is an interesting topic, and today we are going to discuss this topic under the following captions. They are:-

  • Definition of precipitation
  • Formation, Size and Rate of Precipitation
  • Different classes of precipitation
  • Precipitation measurement
  • Effects of Climate Change on precipitation

Concept of precipitation | UPSC – IAS

Precipitation in meteorology refers to all forms of liquid or solid water particles that form in the atmosphere and then fall to the earth’s surface. Precipitation is defined as liquid or solid condensation of water vapor falling from clouds or deposited from air onto the ground. It is the primary connection in the water cycle that provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth.

  • It includes rain, sleet, snow, hail and drizzle plus a few less common occurrences such as ice pellets, diamond dust and freezing rain. Frost and dew are not classified as precipitation because they form directly on solid surfaces.

There are two types of precipitation, liquid and solid types.

  • Solid precipitation: Precipitation in the form of ice flakes, such as snow, is called solid precipitation, and that in the form of water drops is sometimes called liquid precipitation.
  • Liquid precipitation: Liquid forms of precipitation include rain and drizzle. Rain or drizzle that freezes on contact within a subfreezing air mass is called “freezing rain” or “freezing drizzle”. Frozen forms of precipitation include snow, ice needles, ice pellets, hail, and graupel.

Types of precipitation or rainfall UPSC - IAS

So, what is rain?

  • Rain is drops of liquid water falling from the sky. In order for the raindrops to become heavy enough to fall, droplets of water in the cloud collide together with other droplets and other particles in the air – like soot and dust – to become larger. Once the drops become too heavy to stay in the cloud, it falls as rain.

Raindrops can be up to 6 mm in diameter, but anything less than 0.5 mm is considered as drizzle. Drizzle consists of very small droplets of water falling from low level stratus clouds. Drizzle droplets are less than 0.5 mm in diameter – larger than the droplets in clouds, but smaller than raindrops.

  • Freezing rain is rain droplets which fall in supercooled liquid form, but freeze on contact with the ground or another object to form clear ice – also known as glaze. Supercooling occurs in clouds where droplets remain in a liquid form in temperatures below the normal freezing point. In order for the super-cooled droplets to freeze on contact, the ground temperature is normally close to or below 0 °C. Freezing rain can fall as rain droplets or drizzle.

Solid precipitation: Hail is solid precipitation in the form of balls or pieces of ice known as hailstones. Hail only forms in cumulonimbus clouds – more commonly known as thunder clouds.

  • In thunderclouds, drops of water are continuously taken up and down through the cloud. When they go to the top of the cloud, it is very cold and they freeze. As the up draughts in thunderclouds are very big, they can keep these hailstones for a long time, so they get larger and larger by becoming coated with more and more ice. Then, when they get really big, the up draughts in the cloud cannot hold them up anymore and they fall to earth, and by this time they are big balls of ice, and so don’t have time to melt before they reach the ground. Hail can only be formed in this way, unlike snow which can be formed in fronts, and orographically too, just like rain. Hailstones can vary in size from 5 mm to 150 mm in diameter, however most hailstones are smaller than 25 mm.
  • Another form of solid precipitation is Ice pellets. Ice pellets are snowflakes which have started to melt, and then re-frozen as they fall through colder air. The result is a grainy snow pellet encased in ice. Ice pellets are generally smaller than hailstones and bounce when they hit the ground.
  • Snow is tiny ice crystals stuck together to become snowflakes. If enough ice crystals stick together, they’ll become heavy enough to fall to the ground.
  • When coming to sleet, it has no internationally agreed definition but is reported in meteorological observations as “rain and snow mixed”. Sleet, which is sometimes known as ice pellets, is basically snow which has begun the melting process before it reaches the ground.

So, next question is what is diamond dust? | UPSC – IAS

Diamond dust, sometimes just called ice crystals, consists of extremely small ice crystals, usually formed at low levels at temperatures below -30° C. The name diamond dust comes from the sparkling effect created when light reflects on the ice crystals in the air.

Formation, Size and Rate of Precipitation | UPSC – IAS

  • The clouds floating overhead contain water vapor and cloud droplets, which are small drops of condensed water. These droplets are very too small to fall as precipitation, but they are large enough to form visible clouds. Water is continually evaporating and condensing in the sky. If you look closely at a cloud you can see some parts disappearing (evaporating) while other parts are growing (condensation).
  • Most of the condensed water in clouds does not fall as precipitation because their fall speed is not large enough to overcome updrafts which support the clouds. For precipitation to happen, first tiny water droplets must condense on even tinier dust, salt, or smoke particles, which act as a nucleus. Water droplets may grow as a result of additional condensation of water vapor when the particles collide. If enough collisions occur to produce a droplet with a fall velocity which exceeds the cloud updraft speed, then it will fall out of the cloud as precipitation. This is not a trivial task since millions of cloud droplets are required to produce a single raindrop. A more efficient mechanism (known as the Bergeron-Findeisen process) for producing a precipitation-sized drop is through a process which leads to the rapid growth of ice crystals at the expense of the water vapor present in a cloud. These crystals may fall as snow, or melt and fall as rain.
  • Rain is the liquid form of precipitation on Earth. It is part of the hydrologic cycle that begins when water evaporates and forms clouds in the atmosphere. The water that forms these clouds is frozen and vaporized. Once enough water has evaporated, it is then released in the form of droplets of rain back to the surface of the Earth.
  • A stationary raindrop initially experiences acceleration due to gravity as would any falling body. As gravity increases the speed of the raindrop in its descent, drag retards the downward acceleration of the raindrop. Usually, air resistance that comes in contact with the water molecules as they fall causes the drag. The combination of these two forces causes a raindrop to reach a terminal velocity when the drag force is approximately equal to the weight of the raindrop. At this point, a raindrop experiences no further acceleration and therefore falls at a constant velocity.
  • The magnitude of the terminal velocity of an object is also affected by its orientation. A common misconception is the shape of the raindrop. It is often depicted as pointy and lopsided.
  • Precipitation rates vary geographically and over time. Precipitation does not fall in the same amounts throughout the world, in a country, or even in a city.
  • The Global Precipitation Measurement Core Observatory (GPM) surveys Earth’s weather from 65 degrees north to 65 degrees south latitude. GPM works along with a constellation of other satellites to provide worldwide coverage.
  • On the ground, precipitation can be measured by an array of rain gauges scattered around the world. From its 253-mile-high (407 kilometers) orbit, the GPM satellite passes over almost the entire world. GPM circles the globe every 93 minutes, completing 16 orbits per day. GPM is one of a constellation of weather satellites.
  • The satellite carries a microwave imager. Its scanning antenna rotates 32 times per minute, while a downward pointing detector reads microwaves reflected from the atmosphere below. As it orbits, GPM scans the Earth’s atmosphere with its Dual-Frequency Precipitation Radar.

Different kinds of precipitation or Rainfall | UPSC – IAS

 There are three types of rainfall explain with suitable diagram:-

  1. Convectional rainfall
  2. Orographic rainfall
  3. Cyclonic rainfall.

Orographic Precipitation or Rainfall | UPSC – IAS

Orographic precipitation results when warm moist air moving across the ocean is forced to rise by large mountains. As the air rises, it cools; this is because a higher elevation results in cooler temperatures.

Orographic rainfall diagram upsc

Cold air cannot hold as much moisture as warm air. As air cools, the water vapor in the air condenses and water droplets form. Cloud forms and precipitation (rain or snow) occurs on the windward side of the mountain. Then the air is dry and rises over the top of mountain. As the air moves back down the mountain, it collects moisture from the ground via evaporation. This side of the mountain is called the leeward side. It receives very little precipitation.

  • In orographic rainfall, the leeward side of the mountain gets less rainfall.
  • Orographic precipitation occurs due to air masses being lifted to higher altitudes by a mountain.

Convectional Precipitation or Rainfall | UPSC – IAS

  • Convective precipitation is also known as thermodynamic precipitation. Convectional precipitation results from the heating of the earth’s surface. The warm ground heats the air over it. As the air warms, the air molecules begin to move further apart. With increased distance between molecules, the molecules are less densely packed.

Convectional rainfall diagram upsc

  • Thus, the air becomes “lighter” and rises rapidly into the atmosphere. As the air rises, it cools. Water vapor in the air condenses into clouds and precipitation. This type of precipitation is common in the Prairies and Ontario.

Characteristics of convectional rainfall:-

  • Heavy rainfall with lightning and thunder takes place which does not last long.
  • This type of rainfall generally takes place in the equatorial regions and internal parts of the continents, predominantly in the northern hemisphere.
  • Such rain is usually in the summer or the hotter part of the day.
  • This rainfall is usually associated with hail and graupel,

Cyclonic or Frontal precipitation or Rainfall | UPSC – IAS

  • Cyclonic or Frontal precipitation results when the leading edge of a warm, moist air mass meets a cool and dry air mass. The molecules in the cold air are more tightly packed together, and thus, the cold air is heavier than the warm air. The warmer air mass is forced up over the cool air. As it rises, the warm air cools, the water vapor in the air condenses, clouds and precipitation results. This kind of precipitation is common in Atlantic Canada.
  • This type of system is called Frontal Precipitation because the moisture tends to occur along the front of the air mass.

Cyclonic rainfall diagram upsc

  • A cyclonic storm is a large, low pressure system that forms when a warm air mass and a cold air mass collide. This collision often occurs under the polar-front jet stream which spreads cold, dry arctic air near warm, moist tropical air. The rotation of the earth causes the air to circulate in a counterclockwise direction around an area of low pressure.

Other Types of Rainfall | UPSC – IAS

Dynamic precipitation or stratiform precipitation | UPSC – IAS

  • Dynamic precipitation is also known as stratiform precipitation. Dynamic precipitation results from a forced lifting of air. These forcing mechanisms include processes that cause low level convergence and upper level divergence.
  • As unsaturated air rises the relative humidity of the air will increase. Once the air saturates, continued lifting will produce clouds and eventually precipitation. Dynamic precipitation tends to have a less intense rain rate than convective precipitation and also tends to last longer.

Monsoonal Rainfall Characteristics | UPSC – IAS

This type of precipitation is characterized by seasonal reversal of winds that carry oceanic moisture (especially the south-west monsoon) with them and cause extensive rainfall in the south and southeast Asia.

  • The duration of the monsoon is between 100 to 120 days from early June to mid-September.
  • A monsoon arises due to a difference in temperatures between a land mass and the adjacent ocean.
  • Around the time of its arrival, the normal rainfall increases suddenly and continues for several days. This is known as the ‘burst’ of the monsoon.
  • A wind from the southwest or south that brings heavy rainfall to southern Asia in the summer.

Effects of Climate Change on precipitation | UPSC – IAS

  • As temperatures rise and the air becomes warmer, more moisture evaporates from land and water into the atmosphere. More moisture in the air generally means we can expect more rain and snow (called precipitation) and more heavy downpours. But this extra precipitation is not spread evenly around the globe, and some places might actually get less precipitation than they used to get. That is because climate change causes shifts in air and ocean currents, which can change weather patterns.
  • On average, the world is already getting more precipitation now than it did 100 years ago: nearly 2 percent more worldwide. The effects vary by region.
  • In future precipitation is expected to increase in higher latitudes and decrease in areas closer to the Equator.
  • This is the matter of concern, because too little or too much water can be a problem. In many places, people depend on rain and snowmelt to fill lakes and streams and provide a source of water for drinking, watering crops, and other uses. However, heavy rain can cause flooding.

Effects on agriculture due to Precipitation:

  • The crops that we grow for food need specific conditions to thrive, including the right temperature and enough water. A changing climate could have both positive and negative effects on crops. Global climate change will also affect agriculture and food supply in many other ways.
  • Climate change could make it too hot to grow certain crops, and droughts caused by climate change could reduce the amount of water available for irrigation. Climate change is also likely to cause stronger storms and more floods, which can damage crops. Higher temperatures and changing rainfall patterns could help some kinds of weeds and pests to spread to new areas.

Effects on water supply due to Precipitation:

  • Climate change is affecting where, when, and how much water is available for people to use. Many parts of the world already have very little water, and climate change could make this problem worse. Rising temperatures, changing precipitation patterns, and increasing droughts will affect the amount of water in lakes, rivers, and streams, as well as the amount of water that seeps into the ground to replenish ground water.

Effects on forests due to Precipitation:

  • Forests provide homes for many kinds of plants and animals. They also protect water quality, offer opportunities for recreation, and provide people with wood. Forests are sensitive to many effects of climate change, including shifting weather patterns, drought, wildfires, and the spread of pests like the mountain pine beetle. Unlike some animals, trees can’t just get up and move when the temperature gets too hot or other conditions change!
  • As the Earth gets warmer and droughts increase, wildfires are expected to occur more often and be more destructive. Wildfires do occur naturally, but the extremely dry conditions resulting from droughts allow fires to start more easily, spread faster, and burn longer. Fires don’t just change the landscape; they also threaten people’s homes and lives.
  • Directly or indirectly global climate change affecting precipitation pattern and there by threatening human beings.

Conclusion | UPSC – IAS

  • All of the precipitation that falls originated as water vapor that was evaporated from the surface of the Earth. It is always raining somewhere on the Earth, just as evaporation is always occurring over most of the Earth’s surface. So, a cloudy day with no precipitation indicates that there is either
    • Not enough water vapor available to the cloud for precipitation to form, or
    • That the rising motion creating the cloud is not strong enough — or there may be both the reasons.

Types of Clouds and their Origin | UPSC – IAS

Hydrological cycle in detail description | UPSC

Types of clouds and their characteristics upsc

Types of Clouds and their Origin | UPSC – IAS

We all know the sky can be full of water. But most of the time we can’t witness the water. The drops of water are too small to see. Clouds are visible accumulations of water droplets or solid ice crystals that float in the Earth’s troposphere moving with the wind. From space, clouds are visible as a white blanket surrounding the planet. So in this session we are going to discuss the origin, types and also importance of clouds.

Origin of clouds | UPSC – IAS

  • As defined by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), it’s primarily “a hydrometeor consisting of a visible aggregate of minute particles of liquid water or ice, or both, suspended in the free air and usually not touching the Earth’s surface.” Thus, clouds are the visible sign of ongoing atmospheric processes and as such they are a useful diagnostic tool.
  • Clouds are made of tiny drops of water or ice crystals that settle on dust particles in the atmosphere. The droplets are so small – i.e., a diameter of about a hundredth of a millimeter – in which each cubic meter of air contain 100 million droplets.

Formation of clouds | UPSC – IAS

  • Clouds form when the invisible water vapor in the air condenses into visible water droplets or ice crystals. There is water around us all the time in the form of tiny gas particles, also known as water vapor. There are some tiny particles floating around in the air – such as salt and dust – these are called aerosols.
  • The water vapor and the aerosols are constantly bumping into each other. When the air is cooled, some of the water vapor sticks to the aerosols when they collide – this is like condensation. Eventually, bigger water droplets form around the aerosol particles, and these water droplets start sticking together with other droplets, forming clouds.
  • The warmer the air is, the more water vapor it can hold. Clouds are usually produced through condensation – as the air rises, it will cool and reduced temperature of the air, decreases its ability to hold water vapor so that condensation occurs. The height at which dew point is reached and clouds are formed that point is called as condensation level.

Required elements for cloud formation

Clouds consist of many tiny droplets resulting from the condensation of water vapor (gaseous state) into liquid water or ice (solid state). They form when the air is cooled to its dew point. This is considered its condensation or saturation point.

  • The first requirement for cloud formation is moisture. This moisture is constantly recycled through the earth-atmosphere system by means of the hydrologic cycle. Moisture in this cycle exists normally in the 3 states of water: solid, liquid, and vapor.
  • The primary way to cool the atmosphere is through upward vertical motion or lifting of air. Thus the second requirement for cloud formation is a source of lift, through the following processes:

Fronts associated with low pressure systems Orographic or mountain barriers

  • Convection
  • Convergence (forced coming together of airflow)

While vertical motion is the primary method of cooling that leads to cloud formation, there are two other atmospheric cooling processes. These processes are advection and radiation, and they can lead to cooling of the lower layers of the atmosphere.

  • Advection refers to the horizontal movement of air or moisture across the earth’s surface. For example, if mild moist air moves (advects) over a snow pack or other cold surface (land or water), the air may be cooled to its saturation point from below. This may lead to fog formation.
  • Radiational cooling can also cool the lower layers of the atmosphere on clear, calm and dry nights. As the earth’s surface cools, it will cool the air in contact with it. This air may be cooled to its saturation point resulting in the formation of late night or early morning fog or ground fog. This type of fog occurs frequently in river valleys.

Thus, moisture and lift are required for cloud formation. This lift must cool the atmosphere sufficiently so it approaches its dew point or saturation point.

Types of Clouds | UPSC – IAS

Clouds are an important part of Earth’s weather. There are many kinds of clouds. The meteorologist classifies clouds mainly by their appearance.

Types of Clouds | UPSC - IAS

After World War II, the World Meteorological Organization published a new International Cloud Atlas (1956) in two volumes. It contains 224 plates, describing 10 main cloud genera (families) subdivided into 14 species based on cloud shape and structure. Nine general varieties, based on transparency and geometric arrangement are also described. The genera, listed according to their height, are as follows:

High clouds: These clouds are high up in the sky, mean heights from 5 to 13 km, or 3 to 8 miles. The important high cloud types are,

  • Cirrus
  • Cirrocumulus
  • Cirrostratus

Middle clouds: Middle clouds are found between low and high clouds, mean heights 2 to 7 km, or 1 to 4 miles. The following are some important middle clouds,

  • Altocumulus
  • Altostratus

Low clouds: Low clouds form closer to Earth’s surface. Low clouds can even touch the ground, mean heights 0 to 2 km, or 0 to 1.2 miles.. These clouds are called as fog. They are,

  • Nimbostratus
  • Stratocumulus
  • Stratus
  • Cumulus
  • Cumulonimbus

Another way the clouds are named is by their shape. Cirrus clouds are high clouds. They look like feathers. Cumulus clouds are middle clouds. These clouds look like giant cotton balls in the sky. Stratus clouds are low clouds. They cover the sky like bed sheets.

  • Heights given are approximate averages for temperate latitudes. Clouds of each genus are generally lower in the Polar Regions and higher in the tropics.

types of clouds in detail overview | UPSC

Four principal classes are recognized when clouds are classified according to the kind of air motions that produce them:

  • Layer clouds formed by the widespread regular ascent of air,
  • Layer clouds formed by widespread irregular stirring or turbulence,
  • Cumuliform clouds formed by penetrative convection, and
  • Orographic clouds formed by the ascent of air over hills and mountains.

So what are the causes for cloud formation?

There are five factors which can lead to air rising, cooling and clouds formation

  • Surface heating – This happens when the ground is heated by the sun which heats the air in contact with it causing it to rise. The rising columns are often called thermals. Surface heating tends to produce cumulus clouds.
  • Topography forcing – The topography – or shape and features of the area – can cause clouds to be formed. When air is forced to rise over a barrier of mountains or hills it cools as it rises. Layered clouds are often produced by this way.
  • Frontal – Clouds are formed when a mass of warm air rises up over a mass of cold, dense air over large areas along fronts. A ‘front’ is the boundary between warm, moist air and cooler, drier air.
  • Convergence – Streams of air flowing from different directions are forced to rise where they flow together, or converge. This can cause cumulus cloud and showery conditions.
  • Turbulence – A sudden change in wind speed with height creating turbulent dynamics in the air.

The range of ways in which clouds can be formed and the variable nature of the atmosphere results in an enormous variety of shapes, sizes and textures of clouds.

Atmospheric processes creating lift and clouds | UPSC – IAS

  • Since cold air (dense) sinks and warm air (less dense) rises, clouds that form in an unstable environment (warm below and cold aloft) tend to be lumpy or globular in appearance. These clouds will resemble bubbles in a pot of boiling water.
  • These are the cumuliform or convective clouds that we are all familiar with and are due to the localized nature of the sudden updrafts and downdrafts of convection.

On the other hand, a stable environment (cold surface and warm aloft) is characterized by a more gradual lifting process resulting in extensive areas of layered or stratiform type clouds. These clouds last longer than those involved in convective processes.

Clouds due to lift by fronts

  • For over three-quarters of the 20th century, the low pressure/cyclone conceptual model developed by the Norwegian School of meteorologists has dominated weather analysis techniques. With the advances in satellite and radar technology, this concept continues to evolve, but the conceptual model still forms the foundation for understanding frontal lift and cloud formation.
  • In the case of a warm front, both the warm advancing air and the cold retreating air are moving in the same direction. As warm air glides up and over cold surface air (warm front), the clouds tend to be layered.
  • In contrast, cold fronts cause more abrupt lifting with more intense localized vertical motion as the cold and warm air masses collide. This generally results in cumuliform clouds with showery conditions as the cold air undercuts and forces the warm air up.

Frontal lift Clouds are generally of the stratiform layered type (stable) when associated with warm fronts. Cold fronts are generally associated with cumuliform clouds (unstable). Thunderstorms are most likely with cold fronts but can accompany warm fronts.

Orographic lift clouds

Air flow perpendicular to a range of hills or mountains is forced to rise up and over the mountains (i.e. the orographic barrier). As the air rises on the windward side of the mountain range (or hills), it cools (expansion) and may eventually reach its saturation point with clouds forming. The reverse is true as the air descends down the leeward side of the mountains. This subsiding air is warmed through compression.

  • Subsiding, warming air can hold more moisture before reaching saturation. As a result, clouds tend to break up to the lee of mountains.

This process frequently happens during a winter snowstorm, with heavy snow along the windward side and lesser amounts to the lee of the mountains. It is referred to as the umbrella or shadowing effect of mountains.

Lift due to convection

  • We are all familiar with the white cotton ball (cumulus) type clouds on a warm summer afternoon. This is the process of convection.
  • The earth’s atmosphere is transparent to incoming solar radiation. Once this radiation hits the ground, it will convert to heat energy. As the ground warms, the air in contact with the ground is also warmed through conduction.
  • As the air is warmed, it becomes less dense, thus it rises (convection). However, as air rises it cools, with clouds ultimately forming over the updraft. The spacing of these up and down drafts results in the observed distribution of cumulus clouds. On the edges of the clouds, cool air sinks to replace the warm air rising, thereby completing the convection cell.

Lift due to Convection results in clouds and may occur in combination with other forms of lift (frontal or orographic) with showers or thunderstorms ultimately developing.

Convergence and lift

Another source of lift, which is really a combination of the above processes, is convergence. When air is forced to converge or come together, it can only go upward (can’t go into the ground). An example would be the air flowing inward toward the center of low pressure which is forced to rise.

Colors of clouds | UPSC – IAS

Before going to cloud color, we must understand why the sky is blue? The rays from the sun have all of the colors in the visible color spectrum in them, so the rays appear to be white. This “white” sunlight passes through the Earth’s atmosphere, and the tiny airborne molecules, such as nitrogen particles, scatter the light from the blue part of the color spectrum. The molecules scatter the blue light until it is evenly distributed. The other colors in the spectrum reach the Earth’s surface with no interference, so their color isn’t distributed throughout the sky. Therefore, the sky appears to be blue.

  • Clouds are white because the water droplets are bigger than the particles that scatter the blue light in the sky. The clouds scatter and reflect all the visible colors of light that strike them. Since the visible colors of the sun appear to be white, the clouds that reflect that light must be white too. So clouds are white because they reflect the white light from the sun.
  • In some cases, if the cloud is super thick or filled with a lot of water molecules; sunlight cannot pass through the cloud. Therefore, clouds can appear very dark because of the lack of sunlight shining through.
  • The white colors of clouds come from the condensed water vapor having a high reflective quality. When all wavelengths of light are reflected back we can see white color. The grey color comes from seeing clouds from beneath. White clouds are white if we notice, on sunny days. This is because we can see the sunlight directly hitting them and see that light almost completely reflected back. On cloudy days most sunlight is blocked by the translucent and refractive quality of cloud cover. This makes clouds appear darker in color as part of the light has been uniformly absorbed.
  • The color of a cloud also depends on the color of the light that illuminates it. When sunlight passes through thick layer of atmosphere and dust particles at sunset, blue color is scattered by Rayleigh scattering and only red-to-orange color remains. The clouds reflect these unscattered red/orange rays and appear in that color. The effect is much like shining a red spotlight on a white sheet.
  • Since the Earth is spherical, the clouds at different heights turn red at different time when the sun crosses the horizon. Just before the sunset, the color of low clouds (e.g. stratus) will turn red first. Shortly after the sunset, the high clouds (e.g. cirrus) would be gradually stained in deep red and become apparent under the darken background. A viewer on the ground can distinguish the clouds at different heights according to the relative timing of their color change during sunset.
  • Clouds at night are visible only when there is a source of light. Thin clouds will generally appear white under the white moonlight. For the bottom of dense low clouds, the main light source is the light from the ground originated from street lamps and other light sources in cities. Such light shines on the cloud aloft and is scattered by the base of a low cloud, making the low cloud appears yellowish orange or white when observed in urban area. The phenomena will be more obvious if the cloud is lower or denser.
  • Finally, clouds have color. Some are white, some are grey, and in special circumstances such as major storms can have weird colors like green or red. This goes back to refraction. Most color that we can see is visible, because our eyes perceive how objects absorb or reflect certain wavelengths of light

Importance of clouds | UPSC – IAS

Clouds are essential to the earth-atmosphere system. Clouds complete the following functions:

  • Clouds help to regulate Earth’s energy balance by reflecting and scattering solar radiation and by absorbing Earth’s infrared energy.
  • They are required for precipitation to occur and, hence are an essential part of the hydrologic cycle.
  • Clouds indicate what type of atmospheric processes are occurring (e.g., cumulus clouds indicate surface heating and atmospheric turbulence).
  • Clouds help to redistribute the extra heat from the equator toward the poles.
  • Clouds are important for many reasons. Rain and snow are two of those reasons. At night, clouds reflect heat and keep the ground warmer. During the day, clouds make shade that can keep us cooler.

Hydrological cycle in detail description | UPSC

Clouds are an important part of our atmosphere and they have a critical role in controlling the amount of the sun’s energy that reaches the earth’s surface. Clouds can have a cooling effect on the atmosphere, which counteract increases in temperature caused by climate change. Understanding exactly how clouds impact on our climate and ensuring that we can accurately model the current role and extent of clouds is critical to determine how any changes in climate will affect clouds and how clouds will affect climate in the future.

  • In order to predict the climate several decades into the future, we need to understand many aspects of the climate system, one being the role of clouds in determining the climate’s sensitivity to change. Clouds affect the climate but changes in the climate, in turn, affect the clouds. This relationship creates a complicated system of climate feedbacks, in which clouds modulate Earth’s radiation and water balances.
  • Clouds are an important part of the water cycle. The water cycle is the movement of water from the Earth into the sky and then back down to Earth again.
  • The sun heats water on the surface of the Earth, and causes it to evaporate. Evaporation is the process when water moves from liquid to vapor form. Water vapor is made up of tiny water droplets in the air. Water can also move into the air through transpiration.
  • The greenhouse effect is not only produced by the greenhouse gases, clouds absorb long wavelength (infrared) radiation from the surface of the Earth and radiate some of it back down. In addition to this absorption and re-radiation of infrared radiation from the Earth’s surface they may simply reflect it back to the surface.
  • Clouds also have a major role in reflecting some of the Sun’s short wavelength (visible light) radiation back into space. Thus clouds share a role with the greenhouse gases and also share a role with the ice and snow fields of the high latitudes.

Conclusion | UPSC – IAS

  • A cloud is a large collection of very tiny droplets of water or ice crystals. The droplets are so small and light that they can float in the air. All air contains water, but near the ground it is usually in the form of an invisible gas called water vapor.
  • When warm air rises, it expands and cools. Cool air can’t hold as much water vapor as warm air, so some of the vapor condenses into tiny pieces of dust that are floating in the air and forms a tiny droplet around each dust particle. When billions of these droplets come together they become a visible cloud.
  • Clouds are important in weather forecasting and also play an important role in hydrological cycle.

All about Mid-Ocean Ridge | Physical Geography | UPSC

Mid ocean ridge image description UPSC

Mid ocean ridge image description UPSC

All about Mid-Ocean Ridge | Physical Geography | UPSC

The study of ocean floor has been made through various underwater expeditions and explorations. These underwater explorations have shown very contrasting and spectacular features inside the seas and oceans. When there is a Tsunami, everyone will say that it is due to the origin of earthquake below the sea floors. It is also a fact that the Earth’s tectonic processes are happening along the plate boundaries. These boundaries are very distinct lithological portions existing below the seas and oceans. The modern ocean floor maps have provided enormous opportunities to understand these underwater features. They also helped us to know the theories behind the earth’s ongoing tectonic processes.

Ocean’s morphological features vary with reference to their site, location, origin, morphology, lithology and dynamics of the water masses.

  • The general profile of oceans include the Continental Shelf, Continental Slope and the Deep Ocean basins. Each one of these have their own variations in spread, depth, slope and hydrodynamics.
  • The life in the marine waters depend on the depth, air-sea interactions, radiation, hydrodynamics, morphology and the physico-chemical conditions of the oceans.
  • The Circulation of ocean waters, as waves and currents, and the interaction of oceans with the atmosphere, have very significant effects on the weather and climate of the entire globe.
  • There are several kinds of distinct and most striking features observed on the ocean bottoms.
  • These underwater relief features are very essential to our human understanding about the earth, oceans, oceanic crusts, tectonic processes and their impacts.

Among them, the Mid Ocean ridges are very unique structures.

The Mid Ocean Ridges, as the name implies, exist mostly in the middle of the ocean basins, where the divergent plate boundaries are located. The theory of Plate Tectonics has indicated many major tectonic processes which also include:

  • the release of convection currents along Divergent Plate Boundaries,
  • the origin of Mid Ocean ridges and
  • the spreading of the sea floor.

All these processes are everlasting phenomena on the Planet Earth.

A basic understanding of the Mid Ocean Ridges is necessary not only for oceanographic point of view, but also for general knowledge point of view.

In this post, the following aspects of the Geological Oceanography are highlighted:

  1. Ocean Relief features
  2. Mid Oceanic Ridges
  3. Formation of Oceanic Ridges
  4. Distribution of Oceanic Ridges
  5. Importance of Ridges.

Major Oceanic Relief features | UPSC – IAS

The painstaking ocean floor mapping Project of Bruce Heezen and Marie Tharp after the Second World War has shown the distinguishing underwater features of the world’s oceans. It is really a thought provoking highly heterogeneous relief system seen below the seas and oceans.

The profile of the oceans has shown innumerable curves, dips, ridges, valleys, mountains, plateaus, trenches, fractures and canyons.

Major and Minor Ocean Relief Features upsc

The following major kinds of features have been observed based on the ocean floor expeditions and explorations made during the last 100 years.

They are: – Oceanic abyssal plains,  Oceanic trenches, Oceanic plateaus, Oceanic fracture zones, Seamounts and Mid ocean ridges

  • An Abyssal Plain is an underwater plain located on the deep ocean floor. It is usually found at depths between 3000 m and 6000 m. These are the flattest, smoothest and least explored regions on the planet earth. Abyssal plains lie generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge.
  • Oceanic Trenches are long, narrow topographic depressions of the sea bed. They are the boundary zones of lithospheric plates. An oceanic trench is a type of convergent boundary at which two lithospheric slabs meet. Trenches are generally parallel to the volcanic arcs. Oceanic Trenches extend 3 to 4 km deeper below the level of the surrounding ocean floor. The greatest depth is seen at the Challenger Deep of the Marianas Trench in the northwest Pacific Ocean. It extends upto a depth of 10911 m below the sea level. There are about 30 notable trenches existing in different oceans of the globe.
  • An Oceanic Plateau is a large relatively flat region under the marine waters. They rise well above the average level of the seabed. There are about 16 oceanic plateaus existing in different regions of the oceans.
  • A seamount is an underwater mountain rising from the ocean floor. It does not reach the water surface. Hence, it is not an island. Some of them are formed from extinct volcanoes. A seamount rises from 1000 m to 4000 m depth of water. There are about 100,000 seamounts existing across the globe.
  • Submarine Canyons are long narrow and deep valleys cutting across the continental shelves and slopes. The depth of these Canyons may range from 600m to 3000m.

Among these, the Mid Oceanic Ridges are the most remarkable features existing along the Divergent plate boundaries. These are underwater mountain chains. They are not similar to the mountains of continents. The Mid Oceanic ridges cover about 23% of the earth’s surface. Their origin, extent and distribution are essential aspects to be studied in oceanography and physical geography.

Mid-ocean ridge | UPSC – IAS

One of the most striking features of the ocean floor is the distribution of mid oceanic ridges. These ridges are mountain-like structures standing well above the deep ocean floors. The mid oceanic ridges are, in total, 65,000 km long and cover almost 23% of the earth’s surface. These are considered as the world’s largest mountain ranges existing below marine waters. They exist as chains, in the centre of the oceanic basins. These are rugged features. They stand 1 to 3 km above the deep ocean floors. The most prominent feature of a ridge is its steep-sided central valley called rift valley. A rift valley may be 25 to 50 km wide and 1 to 2 km deep in its profile. The rift valley of a mid oceanic ridge is bordered by rugged mountains with the tallest peaks. These peaks may rise upto 2 km above the sea surface also as seen in some locations. Upwelling of molten mantle rock has created these rift zones.

Mid oceanic Features - Oceanic abyssal plains, Oceanic trenches ,Oceanic plateaus, Oceanic fracture zones, Seamounts and Mid ocean ridges upsc

The mid oceanic ridges are formed along the boundary between two divergent tectonic plates. These zones are tectonically active regions. Hence, small earthquakes occur frequently on crests of mid ocean ridges. These earthquakes coincide with the location of the central rift valleys. They are the most active volcanic regions on the earth.

At the mid oceanic ridges, two plates move away from each other. This process is called as sea-floor spreading and it creates a new seafloor. Ocean basins were formed through such breakup of continents and movement of plates. Thick continental crust was subjected to heat flow from earth’s interior. When the warm mantle expands, the continental crust is domed and stretched away from each other thereby forming the rift valleys. Some form of thermal convection within the asthenosphere appears to create

  • New lithosphere at the oceanic ridges and rises. This simultaneously made the old lithosphere back into the mantle to be subducted beneath oceanic trench systems.
  • The spreading rates of mid ocean ridges may be 2-3 cm per year. A mid ocean ridge has a steeper and more irregular topography as a result of a low spreading rate. The ridge consists of a high central axial zone, with a narrow crest.
  • The mid ocean ridges and rises are offset by rugged fault scars called fracture zones. These linear bands of mountains and troughs intersect all oceanic ridges at intervals in right angles.
  • The system of mid-ocean ridges ranks with the continents and ocean basins as one of the three main units exposed at the earth’s surface. They are – the topography, structure, areal extent and geological importance.
  • The Mid-Atlantic ridge is the best known example in the world.
  • It is 40,000 miles long encircling the whole world.
  • The mid-Atlantic Ridge is centrally located between the eastern and western margins of the Atlantic Ocean. It is also about 2000 km wide.
  • It is elongated in a general North-South direction and follows a sinuous course roughly parallel to the present coastlines. With reference to areal extent, it is one-third of the entire Atlantic ocean.

Formation of Oceanic ridges | UPSC – IAS

Mid ocean ridges are characteristic of sea floor spreading processes. These are very active zones wherein a new magma is expected to emerge on the ocean floor regularly. There are two processes responsible for the ocean floor spreading

  • Mechanism – One is ridge-push and slab-pull process. Ridge-push occurs when the ridge pushes the tectonic plate away from the ridge, often towards the subduction zone. At the subduction zone, slab -pull come into effect. The other process is the mantle conveyor mechanism.

Mid oceanic ridges form new oceanic crusts.

Convection currents from the mantle moves up as magma and leaves through weak zones as volcanic eruptions creating new crust upon cooling. These are called as mid ocean ridge basalts. The rocks making up the crust below the seafloor are youngest at the axis of the ridge. Most oceanic crust in the ocean basins is less than 200 million years old. The crust is in a state of constant renewal at the ocean ridges .

formation of oceanic ridges upsc

Moving away from the ridges, the depth of the ocean increases progressively. The greatest depths are in the ocean trenches.

Alfred Wegener while proposing the old theory of continental drift in 1912, specified that mid oceanic ridges are continuously tearing open the ocean floors and make the magma to erupt from the deep interior. Later the theory of Plate Tectonics provided a better understanding of the movements of plates, spreading of ocean floors, underwater volcanic eruptions and formation of mid oceanic ridges.

It is also found that 20 volcanic eruptions occur every year along the se mid oceanic ridges. It is also seen that every year about 2.5 sq.km of new sea floor is formed by this process. With a crustal thickness of 1 to 2 km, this amounts to about 4 Cu .Km of new oceanic crust formed every year.

Distribution of Mid-Ocean Ridges in the World | UPSC – IAS

Mid oceanic Ridges are distributed in almost all major oceans of the world. They range from the longest mid Atlantic Ridge of one ocean floor to a small ridge of another ocean.

Map of Distribution of mid oceanic ridge in the world

The Atlantic Ocean has the following notable ridges.

  • The Mid Atlantic Ridge is a world famous ridge. It is the longest one in the world. It divides the Atlantic in the middle along the plate boundary. Its alignment is broken near the equator. It starts from Iceland in the north and ends near the Rouvet Island near the Antarctica. The Mid Atlantic Ridge is exactly following the boundary of coastlines and continental margins on both sides of the ocean. It is flanked by many ocean basins.
  • The Reykjanes Ridge – The Reykjanes Ridge exists in the Reykjanes Basin near Iceland as the starting point of Mid Atlantic Ridge. Its continuity has been broken by a fracture zone.
  • The Madeira Ridge is a small oceanic ridge located near Madeira, west of Morocco.
  • The Atlantic Indian Ridge – The Atlantic Indian Ridge is existing at the Southern end of Mid Atlantic Ridge. It is about 2000 km long. It is located along the northern boundary of the Atlantic – Indian Basin.
  • The South Scotia Ridge – The South Scotia Ridge is located near the southern tip of south America in the Scotia Sea.
  • The Zapiola Ridge – The Zapiola Ridge is a small ridge in the Argentine Basin east of Argentina.
  • The America – Antarctica Ridge. The America – Antarctica Ridge is located in the Southern Ocean, North of Antarctica. It has a North East – South West alignment. It is 1500 km long.
  • The Astrid Ridge – The Astrid Ridge is a small ridge located in the Lazarev sea of Antarctica. It is at the southern part of Atlantic-Indian Basin.
  • The Parnaiba Ridge – The Parnaiba Ridge is a minor ridge located near the equator in the west Atlantic and east of Amazon delta.
  • Belem Ridge is yet another one in the Atlantic Ocean.
  • The Ceard Ridge –The Ceard Ridge is located in the western end of Atlantic Ocean near the equator.
  • The Barracuda Ridge -The Barracuda Ridge is located North of Barbados.
  • The Blake Bahama Ridge – The Blake Bahama Ridge is located closer to Bahamas in the West Atlantic.
  • The Eirik Ridge – The Eirik Ridge is a minor oceanic ridge located in the North Atlantic existing near the south of Greenland.
  • The West Scotia Ridge – The West Scotia Ridge is located in the western parts of Scotia Sea.
  • The Newfoundland Ridge – The Newfoundland Ridge is located in the north west Atlantic ocean near Newfoundland.
  • The Walvis Ridge –The Walvis Ridge is located in the Southern Atlantic west of Namibia of South Africa.
  • The Hatton Ridge – The Hatton Ridge is parallel to Reykjanes Ridge in the Iceland Basin.

The Pacific ocean has the following notable ridges:

  • Gorda Ridges are located west of north America near Cascade mountain ranges.
  • Kyushu – Palau Ridge is located in the middle of Philippine Sea.
  • South Honshu Ridge
  • West Norfolk Ridge and Norfolk Ridge are located near the Norfolk Island of Australia.
  • Kermadec Ridge is located along the western parts of Southwest Pacific basin.
  • Robbie Ridge is located to the southwest of Phoenix islands. It is a north-south trending ridge. It is parallel to the Kermadec trench.
  • Hawaiian Ridge is located Northwest of Hawaii.
  • Christmas Ridge and Necker Ridge are in the Central Pacific basin southwest of Hawaii.
  • Tehuantepec Ridge is located in the Guatemala Basin South of Salina Cruz.
  • Colon Ridge exists in southern parts of Guatemala Basin between north and south America in the east pacific.
  • Pacific Antarctic Ridge is in the middle of the Southern ocean. It is an east-west trending ridge.
  • Nazca Ridge is located west of South America near Peru-Chile trench.
  • Society Ridge and Tuamotu Ridge are in the middle of the Pacific ocean near Society islands. It is in the southern Hemisphere.
  • Macquarie Ridge is along the boundary between Southern Ocean and the Tasman Sea and South of New Zealand.
  • Caroline Ridge is located near the Challenger Deep of Marianas Trench.
  • Galapagos Ridge is located west of South America near Andes.

The Ridges of Indian Ocean are the following:

  • Ninety East Ridge. It is a north-south trending ridge located in the middle of Cocos Basin and Mid-Indian Basin. It starts from the Andaman Sea in the North and extends upto the Broken Ridge in the South. It runs parallel to the longitude 90 degrees E.
  • Investigator Ridge is located in the southeastern parts of Cocos basin and east of Cocos islands.
  • Chain Ridge is located northeast of Somali Basin and North of Seychelles.
  • Amirantle Ridge is near the Seychelles, south of Somali basin.
  • Davie Ridge is located in the Mozambique Channel between Mozambique and Madagascar.
  • Murray Ridge is in the Arabian Sea, east of Oman.
  • Carlsberg Ridge is located south of Arabian Sea and northeast of Somali basin.
  • Sheba Ridge is located in the Gulf of Aden extending from the red Sea.
  • Atlantic Indian Ridge is in the south of Africa in the Atlantic-Indian basin.
  • Southwest Indian Ridge is located in the southwest parts of Indian ocean. It is trending along NE-SW direction.
  • Mid Indian Ridge is a Northwest to Southeast trending ridge in the middle of Indian Ocean.
  • Broken Ridge is an east-west trending ridge located to the west of Perth basin.
  • Southeast Indian Ridge is an east-west trending ridge located in the southeast parts of Indian Ocean.
  • Hartog Ridge is in the western parts of Perth basin west of Australia.
  • East Indiaman Ridge is near the Broken Ridge west of the Perth Basin.

Significance of Oceanic Ridge | UPSC – IAS

The alignments of the ridges have some common trends. The ridges are structurally displaced due to transform faults. Their alignments are cut across by a series of transform faults. The horizontal displacement along these zones bring more opportunities to expose the crustal weaknesses. The length of volcanic vents or pipes may be shortened and due to this more convection currents may emanate rapidly. Due to this, the rising of magma could be more easy.

  • When there is subduction along the convergent boundaries, we get ocean trenches. Below the zones of subduction, the materials get crushed and may be melted. This zone of crushing is known as benioff zone. The scientists believe that the volcanic island arcs are formed from magmas produced by the partial melting of the descending and/or the overriding plate. Considerable volcanic activity worldwide is the result of subduction.
  • Benioff is the zone which normally creates the focus for earthquakes and subsequently generate tsunamis from the oceans. Ocean ridges are the spreading centers. The ocean floor is mountainous and uneven, much like Earth’s surface.
  • Sea-floor spreading is driven by the crust formation along these mid-ocean ridges. They are like meandering undersea mountain ranges. They span on the Earth like the seams of a baseball. Oceanic crust is continually produced by magma welling up along the centerlines of the mid-ocean ridges. This new crust flows away from the ridgeline in two symmetric sheets, one on each side. The rate of sea-floor spreading resulting from this process is from 1–20 cm/yr, depending on the particular mid-ocean ridge.
  • Oceanography is one of the interesting subjects of earth sciences. Studying the underwater features are challenging tasks. The processes behind these features are challenging us though we are far away from them. Let us see the other important ones in the forthcoming modules.

FAQs about Oceanic floor and Mid – Oceanic Ridge

What are the features of continental shelf?

  • Continental shelf is the broad, relatively shallow submarine platform that forms a border to a continent. It extends from the coast to depths of 100 – 200 m. Continental shelves average about 65 km in width. They exists almost everywhere. They are simply a continuation of the continental landmass. Continental shelves are usually covered with a layer of sand, silts, and silty muds. Their surfaces feature small hills and ridges that alternate with shallow depressions and valley-like troughs. In a few cases, steep-walled V-shaped submarine canyons cut deeply into both the shelf and the slope below.

what is continental shelf upsc

What are abyssal plains?

  • An Abyssal Plain is an underwater plain located on the deep ocean floor. It is usually found at depths between 3000 m and 6000 m. These are the flattest, smoothest and least explored regions on the planet earth. Abyssal plains lie generally between the foot of a continental rise and a mid-ocean ridge.
  • The abyssal plains lying at depths of 5000- 6000 m are nearly flat. This is mainly due to sedimentation. They are found mostly in the Atlantic and are absent in the eastern Indian and most of the Pacific ocean floors. If there are no plains, then there may be oceanic trenches. Trenches are long narrow depressions in the ocean floor. They reach a depth of about 7000m to 11000 m below sea level. they occupy 1% of the surface of the earth

abyssal plains upsc

What is meant by a continental rise?

  • A continental rise is merely a general region where the floor of the deep ocean basin rises to a greater and steeper slope. At the base of continental slope, the topographic gradient decreases to 1° (or) less and the ocean enters into the abyssal plains or hills.
  • This portion of the sea floor is known as continental rise. This is a product of deposition by turbidity current, underwater landslides and many other processes. The lower portion of continental slopes normally grade into the continental rise. They do not have any sharply defined boundaries.

What are mid-ocean ridges?

  • One of the most striking features of the ocean floor is the distribution of mid oceanic ridges. These ridges are mountain-like structures standing well above the deep ocean floors. The mid oceanic ridges are, in total, 65,000 km long and cover almost 23% of the earth’s surface.
  • These are considered as the world’s largest mountain ranges existing below marine waters. They exist as chains, in the centre of the oceanic basins. These are rugged features. They stand 1 to 3 km above the deep ocean floors.
  • The mid-ocean ridges and rises are formed in zones of tension where plates diverge. The mountains of ocean ridges are not similar to the mountains of continents. The ocean
  • ridges are composed entirely of basalts and are not deformed by any folding. The ridges are of two types as active spreading centre ridge and rise and inactive, aseismic ridge. The active spreading ridges are about 1000 km wide and 1 to 2 km high. Oceanic ridges are traversed by series of fractures with steep sides running perpendicular to ridges (or) rises.

What are oceanic trenches?

  • Oceans have three more important features like Oceanic Trenches, Plains, and Ridges. The deepest part of the oceans have shown V-shaped trenches running for thousands of kilometers in length with a width of hundreds of kilometers and extend upto a depth of 3 to 4 km.
  • There are numerous Ocean Trenches inside the water masses, beyond continental rise. The greatest depths of oceans can be seen only in the form of ocean trenches. These are steep sided, long narrow and hollow portions. They may be 300-500 km in length and 30-100 km wide with a depth of 6 km.
  • Initially, their sides slope at 4 to 8° and then goes upto 16° to depths more than 10 km. For those parts of a depression which exceed 6000 m in depth, the term Ocean deep is used. Ocean trenches are formed due to subduction of the oceanic crust. The faults which transect these ridges are called as Transform faults.

oceanic trenches and volcanic arc

What are island arcs?

  • Island arcs are curved chain of volcanic islands. They are generally convex towards the open sea. Due to this nature, they are called as Arcs. There are hundred and thousands of extinct volcanoes in the ocean floors.
  • These regions are seismically active zones. Island arcs are topographically and structurally continuous features. These are formed when two oceanic plates converge and collide. The melting of the descending plate rises upwards as an extended magma, to form the islands. Most of these eruptions are unnoticed.

What are seamounts?

  • Seamounts and Guyots are some more unique features of the ocean basins. Seamounts are isolated steep sided submarine volcanic mounts. The base of the seamount is on the seafloor and its summit doesn’t reach the water surface (if it did, it would be an island). There are thousands of seamounts located throughout the world’s oceans.
  • They may be 2-100 km wide and < 1 km high above the sea floor. Very rarely, they rise above the sea level as seen in Hawaii islands. Seamounts are made by extrusion of lavas piped upward in stages. Seamounts provide evidences and data on the movements of tectonic plates on which they ride.
  • The trend of a seamount chain traces the direction of motion of the lithospheric plate over a more or less fixed heat source in the underlying asthenosphere part of the Earth’s mantle.

Seamounts and guyots upsc

What are Guyots?

  • Guyots are flat-topped seamounts. Guyot is a truncated seafloor volcano occurring as a flat-topped mountain which does not reach the sea surface. Guyots are thought to be associated with hot spots.
  • The flat-top is created due to wave action. They are named after the Swiss-American geographer and geologist Arnold Henry Guyot.
  • A guyot is also known as a tablemount. It occurs as a flat top mountain over 200 meters below the surface of the sea. The diameters of these flat summits can exceed 10 km. Guyots are most commonly found in the Pacific Ocean. Their flatness is due to erosion by waves, winds, and atmospheric processes. The steepness gradient of most guyots is about 20 degrees.

What are submarine canyons?

  • As the name implies Submarine Canyons are deep narrow valleys of the continents extending inside the oceans. A submarine canyon is a steep-sided valley on the sea floor of the continental slope. Many submarine canyons are found as extensions to large rivers; however there are some that have no such association. Canyons cutting the continental slopes have been found at depths greater than 2 km below sea level.
  • They are formed by powerful turbidity currents, volcanic and earthquake activity. Many submarine canyons continue as submarine channels across continental rise areas and may extend for hundreds of kilometers. Submarine canyons serve as major conduits for transporting sediment from land and the shelf to the deep-sea floor.
  • Undersea canyons are prominent erosional features along both the U.S. Pacific and Atlantic continental margins. Similarly, the distinction between submarine canyons and submarine erosional channels is not straightforward. Thus, alternative terms, such as gullies, channels, troughs, trenches, fault valleys, and sea valleys, have been used for submarine canyons.
  • A submarine canyon may begin as a river pours into the ocean, eroding a channel in the shallow continental shelf. But much of the carving may be done by torrents of muddy water stirred up by storms, earthquakes, or other big events.

What are the characteristics of Mid-Atlantic Ridge?

  • The Mid Atlantic Ridge is a world famous ridge. It is the longest one in the world. It divides the Atlantic in the middle along the plate boundary. Its alignment is broken near the equator. It starts from Iceland in the north and ends near the Rouvet Island near the Antarctica.
  • The Mid Atlantic Ridge is exactly following the boundary of coastlines and continental margins on both sides of the ocean. It is flanked by many ocean basins. The Reykjanes Ridge exists in the Reykjanes Basin near Iceland as the starting point of Mid Atlantic Ridge. Its continuity has been broken by a fracture zone.

What is meant by Seafloor spreading?

  • Seafloor spreading is a process that occurs at mid-ocean ridges, where new oceanic crust is formed through volcanic activity and then gradually moves away from the ridge. Seafloor spreading helps explain continental drift in the theory of plate tectonics. At the mid oceanic ridges, two plates move away from each other. This process is called as sea-floor spreading and it creates a new sea floor.
  • Ocean basins were formed through such breakup of continents and movement of plates. Thick continental crust was subjected to heat flow from earth’s interior. When the warm mantle expands, the continental crust is domed and stretched away from each other thereby forming the rift valleys.
  • Some form of thermal convection within the asthenosphere appears to create new lithosphere at the oceanic ridges and rises. This simultaneously made the old lithosphere back into the mantle to be subducted beneath oceanic trench systems.

Seafloor Spreading Theory Theory of Plate Tectonics and Seafloor Spreading Evidence UPSC - IAS Quizlet

What are rift valleys?

  • A rift valley is a long valley formed along a rift in the earth’s crust due to the gradual sinking of land between two parallel series of faults.
  • A rift valley may be 25 to 50 km wide and 1 to 2 km deep in its profile. The rift valley of a mid oceanic ridge is bordered by rugged mountains with the tallest peaks. These peaks may raise upto 2 km above the sea surface also as seen in some locations. Upwelling of molten mantle rock has created these rift zones.

Distribution of Salinity, Density and Temperature of Sea Water | UPSC

salinity describe the general distribution of salinity in the oceans UPSC IAS factors affecting salinity of ocean water

salinity describe the general distribution of salinity in the oceans UPSC IAS factors affecting salinity of ocean water

Distribution of Salinity, Density and Temperature of Sea Water | UPSC

The world ocean meaning the combined oceans of the earth, occupying about 71% of the earth’s surface & has a mean depth of about 3800m including shallow seas in addition to the main basins. The round figure of 4000m applies quite well to the average depth of the main portions of the Atlantic, Pacific 7 Indian Oceans. Volume of the world ocean is about 1.4 billion cubic kilometers (1.37×10 to the power of 9 cu km) which constitutes 97.2 % of the world’s free water most of the remaining 2.8% is locked up in glaciers.

Physio-chemical characteristics of seawater

Physical characteristics of sea water-

  • Water is the sole natural compound which exists in 3 statuses in the conditions of temperature & pressure which are found on earth. The liquid state being the most common.
  • Water has high specific heat, linked on the one hand, to the fact that one its constituents hydrogen has the highest specific heat of all the elements & on the other hand to the presence of hydrogen bonds.
  • The freezing of water is accompanied by an increase in volume of about 105 & because of this ice floats on water, freezing splits the partitions of cells in animal or plant & porous.
  • The surface tension of water is the highest of all liquids. This characteristic influences the formation of drops of water as well as waves.
  • The surface water in a liquid state reflects only a small part of luminous radiation & absorbs much solar heat.
  • The transmission of light is unaffected by salinity temperature or pressure. However suspended particle may scatter the light. Is more penetrating & they are subjected to molecular scattering & hence the blue color of the ocean. Different colors of the ocean like green or brownish particularly along coast due to green planktonic species & due to detritus suspended the water.
  • Sound waves propagation is easily affected by factors like salinity, temperature or pressure. The speed of waves increases with increase in salinity, temperature or pressure.

The chemical composition of sea-water

Ocean water contains variety of substances dissolved in water & as suspended particles. The composition of sea water vary from place to place 7 is primarily depends on the abundance of life forms, presence of rivers & other geological & meteorological conditions. Thus different substances are dissolved in sea water. The dissolved substances of seawater is therefore can be into 2 categories namely

Dissolved gases in sea-water

  • The major gases found in sea water in the order of their relative abundances are Nitrogen, Oxygen & Carbon dioxide. Apart from these the presence of hydrogen sulphide gas is significant as it indicate bacterial activity, decay of organic material & stagnation of water.

The mineral constituents of water

  • The sea contains a large number of dissolved compounds & elements. The seawater contains about 10 major elements & at least about 49 minor & trace elements.

The ten major elements of the sea water & their concentrations are listed below.

Elements Cl Na Mg S Ca K Br C Sr B
% 19.35 10.79 1.29 0.88 0.41 0.38 0.06 0.03 0.01 0.005

Most of the dissolved elements in the sea are found in ionic form constituting ionic sea salts. Majority of ionic sea salts result from the following compounds.

Sodium chloride‐NaCl, Magnesium Chloride‐MgCl2, Potassium Sulphate‐MgSO4, Calcium Sulphate‐ CaSO4, Potassium Sulphate‐K2SO4, Magnesium bromide‐MgBr2, & Potassium Chloride‐KCl.

The ocean is a dimensional body & so the distribution of physical properties like salinity, temperature 7 density is represented in a space by the help of coordinates of latitudes & longitudes with the additional factor of depth.

Salinity of Ocean water:

  • Salinity is the total amount of solid material in a kilogram of sea water expressed in parts per thousand. The average salinity of seawater is 3.5% 7 is generally expressed as 35 parts per thousands.

The list of salts & there weight & percentage is given in the table.

Salts Weight (g) %
Sodium Chloride 27.213 77.8
Magnesium Chloride 3.809 10.9
Magnesium Sulphate 1.658 4.7
Calcium Sulphate 1.260 3.6
Potassium Sulphate 0.863 2.5
Calcium Carbonate 0.123 0.3
Magnesium Bromide 0.076 0.2

Change in salinity distribution

  • Salinity changes due to winds resulting from differing in atmospheric pressure. The strong wind blowing throughout the year carry much of the warm & saline water from the western shore of the land in the
  • lower middle latitudes & from the eastern shore in the higher latitudes resulting in changes in salinity distribution. The variations in salinity are according to the nature of the atmosphere i.e. the difference between precipitation 7 evaporation.

Distribution of Sea water | UPSC – IAS

Horizontal distribution

  • Salinity is primarily controlled by latitude, & consequently decreases from the equator towards the pole. It is not maximum at the equator due to excess of rain over evaporation but the region of 20‐40 degree N records the highest average salinity of 36 % as a result of higher evaporation. In the southern hemisphere between 10‐30 degree S, 36% salinity is found. After obtaining maximum in the lower middle latitude, it again decreases between 40‐60 degree N & S & is 31% in northern hemisphere & 33% in southern hemisphere. Still lesser salinity is found in the polar areas due to the melting of ice. However, for the whole of northern hemisphere the average salinity observed is 34% 7 in southern hemisphere it is 35%. The different in these 2 is attributed to the abundance of ocean water in the Southern Hemisphere.

Vertical Distribution

  • Salinity in the ocean decreases or increases in bottom according to the nature of the water mass. Those who attribute salinity to the atmospheric reaction conclude that due to the greater depth & less radius of influence of the greater depth & less radius of influence of the atmosphere salinity decreases at the bottom. This variation in salinity shows large difference with the latitude unless there is an occurrence of some cold or warm water mass which may result in drastic changes. At the southern boundary of the Atlantic salinity is 33.0, but; at 200 fathoms it reaches up to 34% increases to 34.50 still deeper at the bottom. Just at the equator the surface salinity of 34% increases with the depth to 35% due to greater mixture of fresh water at the surface.
  • The saltiest water occurs in the Red Sea & the Persian Gulf where rates of evaporation are very high of the major oceans the North Atlantic is the saltiest its salinity averages about 37.9%.
  • Generally it can be said that in high latitude salinity increases with depth due to dense water found at the bottom. Whereas in the middle latitude salinity increases with the depth up to 200 bottoms & then it starts decreasing. At equator due to a mixture of fresh water by rainfall surface salinity is low; just below this greater salinity is found which again decreases at the bottom due to the presence of cold water.

Density of Ocean water | UPSC – IAS

  • The density of any substances is the mass per unit volume stated in grams per cubic centimeter. Commonly the word density is used for specific gravity which is the ratio of the density to that of distilled water at a given temperature & under atmospheric pressure.
  • Pure water has maximum density of one unit at temperature 4 degree Celsius, whereas for the sea it changes according to the salinity content.
  • Density of pure water depends upon temperature & pressure only.
  • Whereas that of sea water depends upon temperature, pressure 7 salinity.
  • This diagram shows the role of salinity on changes in density & freezing point.
  • From the figure clear that pure clear that pure water freezes at 0 degree Celsius & has maximum density at 4 degree Celsius. The freezing point of ocean water decreases with increasing salinity so also the temperature of maximum density of.

Distribution of density of sea water | UPSC – IAS

  • In general there is a latitudinal difference in the density distribution, depending on the character of the water changing from equator to the poles. The density of the upper layer commonly increases from the tropics towards the poles.
  • The nature of the comparatively dense water in to sink down below the lighter water when 2 water masses having different density more dense water sinks down & then spreads out from the place where the similar density is found. It is observed that in the middle latitude, denser water sinks at lesser depths than the water that sinks at convergence in higher latitudes.

Vertical Distribution

The vertical distribution of density would reveal that generally at surface water of low density are found which increase in density towards the bottom. It is so because any amount of water which finds itself among less dense water would sink automatically below the surface up to that depth where water of similar density is found. Hence at places of convergences dense water mass sinks below the lighter one & forms bottom water. Nevertheless contrary to the surface current from the equator towards the pole there is bottom 7 this brings denser water under the surface of the sea.

Temperature of Ocean water | UPSC – IAS

  • The study of temperatures of oceans is the subject matter of massive meteorology which deals with that portion of the atmosphere which overspreads the great water masses.
  • The temperature of the sea & its accurate measurements has been one of the chief tasks of oceanographs, as it helps in the determination of the movements of large masses of ocean water.

There are various process of heating the ocean water

  1. By absorption of radiation from the sun
  2. Convection of heat through the ocean bottom from the interior of the earth.
  3. Transformation of kinetic energy into heat.
  4. Heating due to chemical processes.
  5. Convection of sensible heat from the atmosphere
  6. And condensations of water vapour.

Distribution of Temperature

The temperature & its distribution are determined by the following factors.

  1. The intensity & daily duration of solar radiated energy received.
  2. The depletion of this energy in this atmosphere by reflection, scattering & absorption.
  3. The albedo of the surface & its changes according to the angle of rays.
  4. Heat balance.
  5. Heat transfer through evaporation condensation.
  6. Important physical characteristics of the surface.

Ex – If the salinity of the ocean is greater the boiling point is raised & hence the temperature is high. Similarly if the density is lower than the temperature would be higher vice versa. But a combination of high temperature the amount of evaporation also determines the temperature.

Surface temperature of Ocean water | UPSC – IAS

A number of features which regard to the surface temperature of the ocean in relation to the latitudes are clearly brought out when we study the data given in the table below. The temperature decreases with the increasing distance from the equator. The decrease is about ½ per latitude though in actual observation it is slightly different. As a general rule the temperature decreases as the latitude increases but in all the oceans the higher values of the surface temperature are found to the north of equator.

North Atlantic Indian Pacific Southern Atlantic Indian Pacific
latitude Ocean Ocean Ocean latitude in Ocean Ocean Ocean
in degree degree
70 60‐ 5.60 ‐ ‐ 70 – 60 ‐1.30 ‐1.50 ‐1`.30
60 50‐ 8.66 ‐ 5.74 60 – 50 1.76 1.63 5.00
50 40‐ 13.16 ‐ 9.99 50 – 40 8.68 8.67 11.16
40 30‐ 20.40 ‐ 18.62 40 – 30 16.90 17.00 16.98
30 20‐ 24.16 26.14 23.38 30 – 20 21.20 22.53 21.53
10 0‐ 25.81 27.23 26.42 20 – 10 23.16 25.85 25.11
26.66 27.85 27.20 10  0‐ 25.18 27.41 26.01

Average surface temperature of the oceans between parallels of latitudes [temperature in degree centigrade].

Temperature beneath the surface

The sun rays have no direct effect below 600 feet & in spite of movement of water a vast bulk of sea is relatively cold. In general the complete stratification may appear in sea as lighter water of high salinity is found above the dense cold bottom water.

The following facts are marked as the characteristics of the vertical distribution of temperature of the sea.

  • Firstly in spite of a general decrease of temperature towards the bottom the rate of fall is not equal at all depths up to 2000m the fall is rapid whereas it is almost stagnant below it.
  • Secondly the surface temperature decreases with the increasing latitudes. Whereas the bottom temperature remains almost the same thus the rate of fall at equator is greater than at poles.
  • The surface temperature & its decrease may be found to be influenced by the factor of upwelling of bottom water.
  • In equatorial region an almost reversal of average conditions is found. At the surface the temperature & salinity is slightly lower due to abundant rainfall but just below it a layer exhibits high temperature & high salinity. Further at greater depth the usual decrease is found.
  • Higher temperature is found at the bottom is due to insulation, anticyclonic circulation of currents around it & lesser mixing of cold waters.

Conclusion | UPSC – IAS

  • In ocean the distribution of physical properties like salinity, density & temperature is represented with the help of coordinates of latitudes & longitudes with the additional factor of depths.
  • Variations in salinity are according to the atmosphere i.e. the difference between precipitation and evaporation.
  • Density of seawater depends upon the temperature, pressure and salinity.
  • If the salinity is greater than the boiling point is raised & hence the temperature is high & also combination of high salinity & high density also produces high temperature.
  • Temperature, density & salinity of sea water are inter‐related with each other.

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes | UPSC – IAS

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes | UPSC - IAS

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes | UPSC - IAS

Thunderstorms and Tornadoes | UPSC – IAS

Thunder and tornadoes are the violent storms represent external events and atmospheric hazards. They discharge large amount of energy in an extremely short time. Tornadoes are the most violent of all such storms and wreak great havoc. They are too small in horizontal extent and hardly appear in weather charts. Because of the destruction and death they leave, they have always been an important subject for investigation.

  • The most amazing feature of these storms is the fact that they are too small and short lives as to make their prediction very difficult. They strike with lightning speed so that within few minutes they destroy buildings and damage standing crops, make human life miserable.
  • Thunderstorms have been defined as “storms produced by cumulonimbus clouds and always accompanied by lightning and thunder, followed by heavy rain and sometimes hail.”

Origin and structure of Thunderstorms | UPSC – IAS

  • Thunderstorms originate from cumulonimbus clouds. According to Trewartha thunderstorms is like a thermodynamic machine in which the potential energy of the latent heat of indentation is rapidly converted in to the kinetic energy of ascending air currents. Thunderstorms represent the weather phenomenon which combines strong wind, thunder, lightning and torrential rains.
  • The vertical extent of a thunderstorm depends on the intensity of ascending air currents. The height of thunderstorms ranges from 4 to 20 kms. Besides there is a marked seasonal and latitudinal variation in the heights usually thunderstorms develop in summer in tropical and the middle latitude regions due to the adequate supplies of moisture.
  • Thunderstorms form when moist, unstable air is lifted vertically into the atmosphere, lifting of this air results in condensation and the release of latent heat. Immediately after lifting begins, the rising warm moist air begins to cool because of the adiabatic expansion. At certain height the dew point is reached resulting in condensation and formation of a cumulus cloud. The cumulus clouds grow into cumulonimbus cloud. When these clouds reaches a height of 20 kms, they create thunder, lightning, intense rain and tornadoes.

Two types of thunderstorms are common

  • Air mass thunderstorms of the mid latitudes in summer and at the equator all year along
  • Thunderstorms associated with mid latitude cyclones

life Cycle of Thunderstorms | UPSC – IAS

Air mass thunderstorms normally develop in the late afternoon. The life cycle of these thunderstorms have three stages: 1) Cumulus stage, 2) Mature stage 3) Dissipating stage.

  • Cumulus stage: In this stage, the parcel of humid warm air rises and cools to form cumulus clouds. When the updraft reaches maximum altitude of 12 to 14 kms, they change their direction 1800 and become downdrafts
  • Mature stage: With the downdrafts, precipitation begins to form and becomes cumulonimbus cloud. In this stage the thunderstorms is several kms in diameter. The mature air mass thunderstorm creates heavy rain, thunder and lightning.
  • Dissipating stage: In this stage the thunderstorms begins to decrease in intensity and the convective storms move downward. Within 1 hour the storm is finished and precipitation has stopped.

Distribution:

In the N & S hemisphere from latitude 600 pole ward the frequency of thunderstorms is least. They are most frequent in humid regions of the tropics. According in Blair, in Panama, Java and equatorial Africa, the average number of thunderstorms is about 200 per year. The rocky mountain regions of US will have a maximum of 73 thunderstorms per year.

About Tornadoes | UPSC – IAS

A tornado is a dark funnel-shaped cloud made up of violently rotating winds that can reach the speeds of up to 450 kms per hour. The diameter of a tornado can vary between few meters and a kilometer, and its track can extend from less than a kilometer to several hundred kilometers. Tornadoes generally travel in a northeast direction (depending on the prevailing winds) at speeds ranging from 40-100 kms per hour.

  • A Tornado is a vortex of rapidly moving air associated with severe thunderstorms. Winds within the tornado tunnel may exceed 900 kms per hr. High velocity of winds cause most of the damage associated with these weather events. The air pressure at the tornado center is approximately 800 mbs. The destructive path of the tornado is usually about half a km wide and no more than 25 kms long. The velocity of the tornado is measured by Fujita ado Intensity Scale also called as F-scale. According to the F scale strong tornado can have a wind speed between 182 and 332 kms per hour. The F4 & F5 [333 to 513 km] tornados are very destructive and violent, but they are very rare.
  • Tornadoes occur in many parts of the world, notably South Africa, Australia, Europe, New Zealand, Northern India, Canada, Argentina and the United States. In US about 40,000 tornadoes have occurred in the last 50 years. Oklahoma receives more tornadoes than any other part of the world.
  • On the other hand tornadoes are dark, funnel-shaped clouds containing violently rotating air that develops below a heavy cumulonimbus cloud mass and extends toward the earth. In comparison with a cyclone, a tornado covers a much smaller area but is much more violent and destructive. The atmospheric conditions required for the formation of a tornado include great thermal instability, high humidity, and the convergence of warm, moist air at low levels with cooler, drier air above.

Tropical Cyclones its Characteristics, Origin and Significance | UPSC- IAS

hurricane structure diagram upsc

hurricane structure diagram

Tropical Cyclones its Characteristics, Origin and Significance | UPSC- IAS

Geographically tropical atmosphere lies between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn. But in meteorology, the boundaries of the tropical atmosphere are determined on the high pressure cells of the subtropics. There are various kinds of weather disturbances exist within the tropics. Great deals of variations are observed in weather elements like temperature, precipitation and pressure etc. It is due to the amount of insolation received in the tropics. Ocean currents also contributes a lot to the transfer of heat to the higher latitudes. The rate of exchange of energy between the oceans and sphere is greater in the tropics.

Tropical disturbances are classified in to four categories:

  • Easterly waves
  • Tropical depressions
  • Tropical storms
  • Hurricane and Typhoons

Easterly waves:

  • These are the migratory waves which move from east to west at a lower speed. The source of the occurrence lies between 5°-30° latitudes in both the hemisphere. These waves travel in east to west direction at the rate at 32°-48° kms per day.

Tropical depressions:

  • Petterssen defines the tropical depressions as the center of low pressure around which the wind velocity hardly exceeds 40 km/hr. The depressions can occur anywhere, but they are quite frequent in the vicinity of Inter Tropical Convergence Zone (lTCZ). These depressions never grow in to storms of hurricane intensity; rather they die out as weak disturbances.

Tropical storms:

  • Most favorable atmospheric conditions for their occurrence exist during summer Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea offer ideal conditions for the origin of these storms. These storms produce heavy precipitation and bring about change in Weather. They are more violent and destructive type of tropical storms.

Tropical cyclones (Hurricane or Typhoons)

  • Hurricane is a severe tropical cyclone having a maximum speed of 119 kms/hr. the name ‘hurricane’ is given to the tropical cyclone in N. Atlantic and eastern N. Pacific Ocean. In the western N. pacific they are known as typhoons. In Australia they call it as Willy-Willy, where as in the Indian Ocean they are called cyclones. In Philippines it is called ‘bagnio’. Japanese call these storms as ‘taifu.’. Elsewhere they are just called as ‘tropical cyclones’.
  • Hurricanes present the most violent, most awesome, and most feared of all the atmospheric disturbances. According to Byers the tropical cyclones differ from the mid latitude cyclones. The tropical cyclones are found at certain seasons in well defined areas it the tropics. They form only over ocean having a high surface temperature (27°c). They to have fronts nor are they associate with moving cyclones. They derive their energy the latent heat of condensations.

vertical structure of tropical cyclone upsc

Characteristics of Tropical Storms | UPSC – IAS

  • The chief characteristics of these violent tropical storms are low pressure at the center d high wind velocity. Tropical hurricanes are nearly circular measuring 500 to 600 kms in diameter. It extends almost 12,000 mts. above MSL. They last for many days, in certain cases more than a week. According to Trewartha, there is a spiralling inflow of air at lower levels, a rapid movement at intermediate levels and a spiraling out wand flow aloft.
  • From the central low pressure core of the cyclone, winds converging from all directions are whirled upward. As a result of the lifting of air, condensation starts producing cumulonimbus clouds.
  • Structure: At the center the pressure is lowest. This is called the hurricane eye. The diameter ranges from 20 to 40 kms. In this central zone the winds are light & variable.
  • The temperature is abnormally high. The hurricane eye is undoubtedly the warmest part of the storms. Heaviest precipitation is also recorded in the vicinity of this region.
  • In a well developed hurricane the movement of the wind in the Northern hemisphere in an anticlockwise and clockwise in the southern hemisphere. The pressure gradients are always steep. The velocity of the wind will be around 120 to 200 kms.hr. They produce large waves on the oceans. Near the core of the hurricane, there is a thick mass of clouds yields heavy rainfall. In extreme cares more than 50 cms of precipitation may accumulate in one place. Rainfall diminishes towards the center where there is no rain at all.

Origin of Tropical Cyclones (Hurricanes) | UPSC – IAS

  • Tropical cyclone is like a heat engine that is energized by the latent heat of condensation.
  • The amount of energy released in a hurricane is estimated to be equal to the total amount of electricity consumed in the US over 6 months period. The energy liberated within a hurricane in one day is almost ten thousand times the daily power consumptions in the entire US. The energy released within a hurricane is equal to about 1,000 bombs of megaton strength.

Movement and tracks of Hurricanes:

  • Hurricanes after their formation usually move towards the west and always from the equator. Their average speed is about 15 to 30 kms/hr. They also move along the trade winds and westerlies. Warm ocean currents also affect the path of cyclones. After reaching the western part of the tropical oceans, the cyclones curve towards the pole. When they –meet westerlies, the hurricane move with a speed of 100 kms/hr. whenever a tropical cyclone moves on land, the severity is reduced due to the absence of moisture. In other words no energy is available on land to maintain a cyclone. Therefore tropical cyclones always originate over oceans than land.
  • On Indian Ocean the movement of the tropical cyclones is different because these storms are influenced by monsoon circulation, and they move in northerly direction along with the monsoon currents.
  • Storms originating over Caribbean Sea regions move westward towards Texas and Mexico. The storms that develop in the western part of the north pacific region move through the Philippines and north and toward China and Japan. In north Atlantic region high frequencies of tropical cyclones are fond in the months of Aug. Sept & Oct. The period from December to May is free from cyclones in the south western north pacific. Greatest frequencies are seen from July to October. There are no cyclones from February to April in these regions. There are no hurricanes in south Atlantic regions due to the fact that the tropical convergence zone remains to the north of the equator so that no weak tropical disturbance develops over this ocean.

Regional Distribution of Tropical Cyclones

There are six regions of tropical cyclones

  • Tropical North Atlantic – West Indies, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean sea, –
  • Western part of the tropical North Pacific- Philippines, the China Sea and areas around Japan Eastern part of the tropical North pacific- western coastal areas of Mexico and central America The Bay of Bengal and Arabian sea
  • The South Indian oceans – Fiji Islands and east coast of Australia

Environmental Importance of Tropical Cyclones | UPSC – IAS

Tropical cyclones are the most destructive and violent type of storms. Islands and coastal settlements are the targets of there cyclones.

  • Cyclones are associated with high pressure gradients and consequent strong winds, these in term generate storm surge. A storms surge is an abnormal rise of sea level near the cost caused by severe tropical cyclones, as a result sea water enters in to the low lying areas of coastal regions drowning human beings and live stocks, eroding beaches and destroying vegetation. Very strong winds may damage installations, dwellings, communication systems, trees, etc. resulting in loss of life and property. Heavy and prolonged rains may cause river floods, pollute drinking water sources causing outbreak of epidemics.
  • It may be mentioned that all the factors mentioned above occur simultaneously and, therefore, relief operations for distress mitigation become difficult. So it is imperative that advance action is taken for relief measures before the commencement of adverse weather conditions due to cyclones.
  • The most destructive element associated with an intense cyclone is storm surge. Past history indicates that loss of life is significant when surge magnitude is 3 metres or more and catastrophic when 5 meters and above.

Difference between Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar and Khadar | UPSC – IAS

Difference between Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar and Khadar | UPSC - IAS

Difference between Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar and Khadar | UPSC - IAS

Difference between Bhabar, Terai, Bhangar and Khadar |UPSC – IAS

BHABAR:

Bhabar or Bhabhar is a region south of the Lower Himalayas and the Sivalik Hills in Uttarakhand state of India. It is the alluvial apron of sediments washed down from the Sivaliks along the northern edge of the Indo-Gangetic Plain.

  • It lies along the foot of the Shiwaliks from the Indus to the Tista.
  • It is 8 to 16 kms wide.
  • It comprises of pebble- studded rocks in the shape of porus beds.
  • Due to porosity of the rocks, the streams disappear and flow underground.
  • This region is not much suitable for agriculture.
  • It is made up of porous and rocky soils that get made of the debris washed down from the higher ranges.
  • The climate here is subtropical and vegetation is Himalayan subtropical pine forests and Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests.
  • The Himalayan subtropical pine forests are dominated by Chir trees and Himalayan subtropical broadleaf forests are dominated by the sal tree (Shorea robusta).

TARAI:

Tarai, also spelled Terai, region of northern India and southern Nepal running parallel to the lower ranges of the Himalayas. A strip of undulating former marshland, it stretches from the Yamuna River in the west to the Brahmaputra River in the east.

  • It lies to the south of the Bhabar and run parallel to it.
  • It is 20 to 30 kms wide.
  • It is composed of compara­tively finer alluvium and is covered by forests.
  • The underground streams of the Bhabar re-emerge on the surface and give birth to marshy area.
  • Most parts of the Tarai area are reclaimed for agriculture.
  • The speed of the Himalayan Rivers is slowed down in the Terai region and these rivers deposit fertile silt during the monsoons.

BHANGAR:

Bhangar soils are less fertile as they are above flood level whereas Khadar soils are more fertile as they are below flood level. Bhangar is full of kankers (lime nodules) while khadar soil is composed of fine silt and clay.

  • It is the largest part of Northern plain.
  • It is made up of alluvium.
  • The soil in this region is not renewed frequently, it is old alluvial soil.
  • It is not very fertile.
  • It contains calcareous deposits locally known as ‘Kankar ‘.
  • The Bhangar is the older alluvium along the river beds forming terraces higher than the floodplain.
  • ‘The Barind plains’ in the deltaic region of Bengal and the ‘bhur formations’ in the middle Ganga and Yamuna doab are regional variations of Bhangar.

KHADAR:

New alluvium found on much of the Indo-Gangetic floodplain is called khadar and is extremely fertile and uniform in texture.

  • It is not the largest part of Northern plain.
  • It is made up of new alluvium and fine granules.
  • The soil is frequently renewed due to frequent flooding.
  • It does not contain calcareous deposits of calcium.
  • Suitable for extensive cultivation

About land holding in India | UPSC – IAS

land holding in India | UPSC - IAS

land holding in India | UPSC - IAS

About Land Holding in India | UPSC – IAS

Land is the basic means of production in an agrarian society without which no agricultural production can take place. Two aspects of land that affect the agriculture efficiency are:-

  • Size and distribution of land holdings, and
  • Land tenure system.

Landholding is defined as the area of land which a person or a family owns. It could be one piece of land or a number of small scattered pieces of land. At the time of independence, what prevailed were division, subdivision, and fragmentation of landholdings. In every country, the land tenure system is very important for the development of agriculture. According to the Vera Anstey, “The position of agriculture and agricultural production in any country is dependent, to a large extent, upon the relationship between the land-holding and land ownership in that country.”

Hence this post includes the following aspects:-

  • Land Tenancy
  • Size of Land Holdings and Fragmentation of Fields
  • Consolidation of Land Holdings
  • Ceiling on Land Holdings
  • Land Holdings Distribution in India

Land Tenancy | UPSC – IAS

  • Land Tenancy is an institutional factor which affects agriculture development. Land Tenancy means temporary possession of ownership of land by a tenant. The ownership of agricultural land is determined by the law of Land tenure and Land Tenancy.
  • The main problem in relation of farming in India is the relationship between the landlord, the cultivator and the government. The landlord and the cultivator may be two separate persons, or the same person may own and cultivate the land. The landlord is also related to the government and is responsible for the payment of land revenue. Therefore, the relationship between the landlord, the cultivator, and the government is known as the “Land tenure system” or as the ‘Cultivation Tenure system’.
  • A land or cultivation tenure system refers to the possession of rights for the use of land. There may be many different situations in which the cultivator has rights over the land. At one extreme of such situation is ownership, where the farmer himself is the owner or the landlord. On the other extreme is the landless agricultural labourer. There are many intermediate system between these two, such as cropping tenant cultivators, non tenant cultivators, sub-cultivator, etc.
  • The land tenure system has a major effect on the efficiency of the farmer, and also on the insecurity involved in the cultivation of land. Before the advent of British rule, the land tenure system in India was static. The system implemented by the British also did not encourage economic development in any way. So, during the period of the British rule, the main aim of the land tenure system was to generate income. But, under this system, no efforts were made towards any economic development and the upliftment of the farmers. In India at the time of independence, there were three main land tenure systems. They are, –
    • The Ryotwari system,
    • The Mahalwari System and
    • The Zamindari system.

Size of Land Holdings and Fragmentation of Fields | UPSC – IAS

  • In India the size of land holdings is too small. This is due to overpopulation. Due to the rapid growth of population and the existing law of inheritance, the agricultural land is divided equally among the male children of the deceased farmer.
  • At present, the per capita available land is only about 0.10 hectare. This is much below the world average of about 4.50 hectares. Over 75% of the land holding are less than one hectare. Such small holdings are not economically viable. In fact, small holdings cannot produce enough to meet the costs of irrigation, improved seeds, chemical fertilizers, insecticides, pesticides and farm machinery.
  • Another important feature of land holdings is that each of the 105 million holdings comprises 4 to 8 plots scattered far away from each other around the farmer’s village. The average size of each plot is not more than one-fifth of a hectare. This type of fragmentation of land poses one of the most serious obstacles to any efforts to increase agricultural productivity in India.
  • Here fragmentation refers to division, and in agricultural point of view it can be defined as, a situation under which a cultivator owns an operational holding consisting of more than one plot of land. Therefore, the fragmented land has been considered as comprising of two or more plots of land which may be separated from one another. These repeated subdivision and fragmentation of land are major problems affecting agriculture. Division of land into equal lots among settlers is followed by further subdivision. Continuous growth of population has further forced the problem as it became necessary to break up and distribute common lands. Hence this system of inheritance made such problems still more worse.

Effects of Fragmentation

There are lots of disadvantages from fragmentation of land. They are,

  • Most of the labour of the farmer and his animals is exhausted in journey from one plot to another.
  • Most of the time of the farmer is lost in shifting animals, fertilizers, seeds and other equipments.
  • A good proportion of cultivated land is wasted in boundaries, hedges, ditches, footpaths, etc.
  • the use of modern farm machinery in small fragments is virtually impossible in the fragmented land.
  • It is responsible for increased overhead costs, including even the cost of production resulting in low returns from agriculture.

Consolidation of Land Holdings | UPSC – IAS

It is important to know that farms in India are not only small in size but also distributed in a scattered way. Unless the farm-land is of reasonable size, farmers cannot make proper use of their resources. In the interest of progressive farming, it is essential that the farmer be given one consolidated piece of land. Hence, the conversion of many small and fragmented holdings in to one or two big farms is called Consolidation of Land Holdings.

Methods of Consolidation

Two methods of consolidation have been adopted in India. They are,

  • Voluntary consolidation: If the farmer agrees voluntarily to get his holdings consolidated, it is called voluntary consolidation. The process of voluntary consolidation in India was first initiated in 1921 in Punjab. It is found to be the best method, as no pressure is exerted on anybody. The work of co-operative consolidation society does not lead to any dispute, but its progress is very slow. Zamindars usually create hurdles in its progress. Laws of favoring voluntary consolidation have been passed in Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Bengal.
  • Compulsory Consolidation: When consolidation is made compulsory by law, it is called compulsory consolidation. It may be of two types:

Partial Compulsion: Under this, if a majority of farmers in a village agree to get their holdings get consolidated, then the rest of the farmers too will have to get their holdings consolidated, according to the law.

Complete Compulsion: In this case, the government by legislative enactment introduces an element of compulsion in the process of consolidation. Maharashtra was the first state to enact compulsory consolidation. Now in many states have also passed laws to this effect.

Advantages and Disadvantages of land Consolidation | UPSC – IAS

Advantages of consolidation

  • Scientific methods of cultivation become possible on consolidated land.
  • Time, effort and money wasted in moving from one farm to the other are saved.
  • The farmer feels encouraged to spend money on the improvement of his land.
  • No land is wasted in making boundaries.
  • Irrigation can be done efficiently.

Disadvantages of Consolidation

There are many difficulties in consolidation. The notable ones are:

  • Lack of records: In many areas records showing title to the land are not available.
  • Lack of trained staff: Consolidation work is a technical work, it requires trained persons. Such trained staff is lacking.
  • Expenditure: It is an expensive operation. It is a problem to meet this expenditure.
  • Differences in the Land value: One of the main difficulties pointed out by the Fourth Five Year Plan was variation in the price of land in the villages. This variation is chiefly due to irrigation facilities. In brief, consolidation of land holdings reduces the problem of fragmentation of holdings. While doing so, the size of the farms is enlarged. Hence, it t helps in increasing agricultural production.

Ceiling on Land Holdings | UPSC – IAS

Ceiling on land holdings mean fixation of maximum size of holdings and to take away surplus land, if any, for distribution among others. Land over and above the ceiling limit is called as surplus land, and such surplus land is taken from the landlord on payment of compensation. This surplus land is distributed among small farmers, tenants, landless labourers. The objectives of ceiling on land holdings are;-

  • To minimize inequality in the ownership and use of land so as to provide social benefit to all.
  • To reduce inequality of income from agriculture.
  • To provide self-employment opportunities to agricultural labourers.
  • To satisfy the desire to own land.

Ceiling on land holdings is of two kinds. They are:-

  • Ceilings on Existing Holdings: In this case ceiling is imposed on the present holdings. Land above the ceiling limit is declared surplus and taken by the government.
  • Ceilings on Future Acquisition of Land: Under this, ceiling is fixed on the land that an individual or a family may acquire in future with a view to enlarging their existing holdings.

Progress of Ceilings on Land Holdings: In almost all states of the country ceiling on land has been fixed. In case of irrigated land, land ceiling varies from 4 to 7 hectares; while in case of dry land ceiling varies from 8 to 70 hectares. So far 73.36 lakh hectares of land has been declared surplus.

Advantages of Ceilings on land holdings | UPSC – IAS

  • Reduction in Inequality: Supply of land being limited and its demand being unlimited, it becomes essential that land should be divided among larger number of people. When all farmers get some land, inequality in the distribution of land gets reduced. Agriculture being the main source of income in villages, there will be reduction in income inequality and social inequality as well.
  • Development of Cooperation: It will promote spirit of cooperation among villagers because the land available after imposition of ceiling, can be cultivated on cooperative basis.
  • Increase in cultivated area: Large tracts of land belonging to big zamindars remain uncultivated. When these lands handed over to landless labourers, it may bring them under cultivation. As a result, total cultivated area in the country will increase.
  • More Production: Equal distribution of land may also encourage intensive cultivation resulting in increased agricultural production. Farm management studies conducted in India testified that small farms yielded more production per hectare. It is so because family members themselves cultivate small farms.
  • Increase in Employment: Fixation of ceiling on land holdings is expected to increase employment. On one side, landless farmers get some land for cultivation. On the other, there will be more demand for goods owing to increase in the income of the farmers. To meet the increased demand, more labourers are to be employed.
  • Economic size of holding: Land declared surplus consequent upon ceiling on land holdings could be distributed among small farmers turning their holdings in to economic holdings.
  • Decrease in Class Struggle: With reduction in inequality among the villagers, possibility of class struggle will be minimized. They will live with perfect peace and harmony.
  • Advantages to landless labourers: If ceiling on land holdings is fixed at lower levels in all states, then huge surplus land will be available. It will provide basic holdings to most of the landless labourers. Evaluation: As a result of ceiling on land holdings, roughly 160 lakh hectares of land was likely to be made available as surplus land. However, only 73.36 lakh hectares of land has been declared as surplus. Thus, progress in this direction is very slow.

Land Holdings Distribution in India | UPSC – IAS

  • India is a big country and also called as sub continent. The government of India categorizes farmers with less than 1 ha of land as “marginal” and those with 1-2 ha as “small” farmers. Almost 20% of the survey households were landless and 42.7% had marginal or sub marginal landholding, thus fragmentation of landholdings was high.
  • Data from land and livestock surveys conducted by the National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) are the most important source of information on distribution of landholdings in India. As part of these surveys, detailed data are collected on ownership and operational holdings, tenancy, nature of land use, status of irrigation, and cropping pattern.
  • The distribution of ownership holding of land in India is extremely unequal. In many states of India, a substantial share of land continues to be in the hands of large landowners (having more than say five hectares of land). States that are particularly noteworthy in this context are Punjab, Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh. Clearly, a substantial potential for land redistribution exists in these states. It may be noted that large landholding sizes in Rajasthan and in parts of some other states in central and western India are also associated with poor quality of land. In contrast, in Kerala, West Bengal and Tripura, three states where substantial land reforms have been implemented, a very small amount of land is now under large holdings.
  • Since independence, in India, a number of steps have been taken to make structural changes in the agrarian societies and land reforms. The Kumarappa Committee, also known as the Congress Committee of Agrarian Reforms, recommended:-
    • Comprehensive measures for land distribution,
    • Creation of basic holdings,
    • Tenancy reforms,
    • Organization of small cooperative reforms and
    • minimum agricultural wages.

But so powerful was the lobby of the big and middle class peasants that the recommendations were shelved. The enthusiasm for land ceiling is much greater now, but it is doubtful whether the results will be encouraging. We all know that, what is socially justified may not be economically efficient and politically acceptable.

About Bardoli Satyagraha | UPSC – IAS

Bardoli Satyagraha upsc

About Bardoli Satyagraha | UPSC – IAS

Bardoli Satyagraha has been the most organized, comprehensive and successful movement of ‘Indian National Movement’. This movement was run in protest against the 22 percent tax raised by the government.
  • The ‘Merta Bandhus‘ (Kalyan Ji and Kunwar Ji) and Dayal Ji of Bardoli started the movement from 1922 AD in support of the farmers. Later it was headed by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel.
  • In 1920 Bardoli taluka of Surat (Gujarat), the movement of ‘Lagaan’ nor payment was started by the farmers. Not only the land-owning peasants of the ‘Kunbi-Patidar‘ castes participated in this movement, but also the people of the ‘Kaliparaj’ (Black skinned people ) tribe.

About the Crisis | UPSC – IAS

  • In 1925, the taluka of Bardoli in Gujarat did not suffer financial troubles. However, the government of the Bombay Presidency had raised the tax rate by 22% that year, and he despite petitions from civic groups, refused to cancel the rise in the face of the calamities.
  • The situation for the farmers was grave enough that they barely had enough property and crops to pay off the tax, let alone for feeding themselves afterwards.

Gandhi ji’s Contribution

The main caste of farmers ‘Kunbi-Patidar’ in Bardoli with 137 villages and 87,000 population started to organize under the leadership of Kunwar Ji and Kalyan Ji Mehta from 1908 AD. This organization published magazines called ‘Patidar Yuvak Mandal’ and ‘Patel Bandhu’.

Explaining the inter-relationship between the peasant struggle and the national independence struggle, in reference to the Bardoli peasant struggle, Gandhiji said that :-

Whatever the Bardoli struggle may be, it clearly is not a struggle for the direct attainment of swaraj. That every such awakening, every such effort as that of Bardoli will bring swaraj nearer and may bring it nearer even then any direct effort is undoubtedly true.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel’s leadership

Sardar Vallabhai Patel was the star attraction of the Bardoli Satyagraha in Gujarat, held to defy the exorbitant indigo land tax. On February 4, 1928, Vallabhbhai Patel took the leadership of the Bardoli peasant satyagraha. First a letter was written to the government against the increased revenue, but there was no positive response from the government.

  • As a result, Patel organized the farmers and told them not to pay the their taxes.
  • Then, He divided Bardoli into several zones – each with a leader and volunteers specifically assigned. Patel also placed some activists close to the government, to act as informers on the movements of government officials.
  • Above all, Patel instructed the farmers to remain completely non-violent, and not respond physically to any incitements or aggressive actions from officials.
  • He reassured them that the struggle would not end until not only the cancellation of all taxes for the year, but also when all the seized property and lands were returned to their rightful owners.

On the other hand , the moderate faction of Congress, through the ‘Surveillance of India Society’, requested the government to check the demand of farmers. A daily magazine called ‘Bardoli Satyagraha‘ was released. The Indian leaders of the Bombay Legislative Council resigned. It was also debated in the UK Parliament. Viceroy Lord Irwin. Also directed Governor Wilson of Bombay to expedite the matter. On the other hand, seeing the possibility of arrest of Patel , Gandhiji reached Bardoli on 2 August 1928 for alternative leadership.

Features of Bardoli Satyagraha | UPSC – IAS

In 1928, an agreement was finally brokered by a Parsi member of the Bombay government. The Government agreed to restore the confiscated lands and properties, as well as cancel revenue payment not only for the year, but cancel the 22% raise until after the succeeding year.

  • Fearing things could go out of hand, the government set up the Maxwell-Broomfield commission to look into the matter.
  • The revenue was reduced to 6.03%.
  • The peasants were returned their confiscated land.
  • Its success gave rise to Sardar Patel, becoming one of the main leaders of the indian independence movement.

Bardoli Satyagraha Criticism | UPSC – IAS

  • The movement was focused on the conditions of the rich and middle-class farmers and largely neglected the poor farmers.
  • It did not raise the problem of agricultural bonded laborer. The Kaliparaj tribe had to work as ancestral laborers of the upper castes under the ‘Hali system’.
  • It is said that the movement was an experiment on Satyagraha as a method of freedom struggle. The basic problems of the peasants were not addressed and bonded labour continued.

Success of Bardoli Satyagraha  | UPSC – IAS

The farmers celebrated their victory, but Patel continued to work to ensure that all lands and properties were returned to every farmer, and that no one was left out.

  • Women also played an important role in this movement, with notable names of Bombay Parsi women Mithuben Petit, Bhaktiva, Maniben Patel, daughter Shardaben Shah and Shadra Shah. People of Bardoli were impressed by Patel.
  • It was women of bardoli who bestowed the title Sardar for the first time, which in Gujarati and most Indian languages means Chief or Leader. It was after Bardoli that Sardar Patel became one of India’s most important leaders.
  • The government had appointed Maxwell-Broomfield Commission to look in to the matter. After a rigorous survey, the raise in taxes was decided to be just 6.03%. But the basic problems of the peasants were left unsolved and bonded labour continued.

Hence the government reduced the rent to 6.03 percent. In this way, the Bardoli peasant movement was successfully completed under the leadership of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel. Gandhiji said on this success, “Whatever the Bardoli struggle, it is not a struggle for the attainment of Swaraj, but every such struggle is trying to bring us closer to Swaraj”.

About Flag Movement or Jhanda Satyagraha in India | UPSC – IAS

Learn About Flag Movement or jhanda Satyagraha | UPSC

Though the participants of the 1857 Revolt carried a flag, it was Sister Nivedita, Vivekananda’s Irish disciple, who first thought of designing a national flag. The flag which was displayed at the 1906 Calcutta session of the Congress was square-shaped with 108 oil lamps along its borders and Indra’s thunderbolt (Vajra) in the centre. The words ‘Vande Mataram’ appeared on it in Bengali.

In 1916, Pingali Venkayya, a youth from Masulipatnam in Andhra Pradesh, started the Indian National Flag Mission and authored a book called “A National Flag for India.” He approached Gandhiji with his design – a tricolour in white, green and red with a blue charkha in the middle. Thus was born the first truly ‘national’ flag. The British of course, saw it as a symbol of revolution and prohibited it from being flown in public places.

The Jabalpur and Nagpur jhanda Satyagraha was organised to protest against this repression in 1923. Thousands of people courted arrest after taking the flag in procession. The flag became a symbol of India’s aspiration for freedom.

The first public flag hoisting ceremony was held on the afternoon of August 15, 1947 at India Gate. According to Lord Mountbatten, when Pandit Nehru unfurled the flag, a rainbow magically appeared in the cloudless summer sky. Surely, a heavenly salute for a hard-won flag.

 Jhanda Satyagraha in India | UPSC – IAS

Jhanda satyagraha (also known as flag movement) were one of the most common acts of defiance during the nationalist rebellions led by Gandhi and the Indian National Congress throughout the struggle. The nationalist flag was regularly heralded by large processions and nationalist crowds.

In India, Jhanda Satyagraha is a campaign of peaceful civil disobedience during the Indian independence movement that focused on exercising the right and freedom to hoist the nationalist flag and challenge the legitimacy of the British Rule in India through the defiance of laws prohibiting the hoisting of nationalist flags and restricting civil freedoms.

The hoisting of nationalist flags over private and public buildings or government buildings had been a common nationalist act of defiance, especially with the Revolutionary movement for Indian independence and the members of the revolutionary Gadar Party. Such acts of defiance gained popularity across India with the rise of nationalist leaders such, Bipin Chandra Pal and Lala Lajpat Rai.

Jhanda Satyagrahas were conducted most notably in the city of Jabalpur and Nagpur in 1923 but also in many other parts of India.

  • Proliferating during the Non-cooperation movement (1920-1922) and a prominent element of the Salt Satyagraha (1930) and the Quit India movement (1942), this means of revolt combined the hoisting of the nationalist flag with the technique of Satyagraha – non-violent civil disobedience – as pioneered by Mahatma Gandhi.
  • Nationalists were encouraged to violate the law and hoist the flag without resisting arrest or retaliating against police.

Jhanda satyagraha in Jabalpur (1923) | UPSC – IAS

The spark of the jhanda satyagraha (flag movement) in the country spread from Jabalpur. After this the movement spread throughout the country. The jhanda satyagraha was started in March 1923 in Jabalpur – for the tricolor flag hoisting of local authorities. It was a time of political examination for the local leadership.
  • The tussle began when Congress members On 8 March 1923, when the flag was waved at the municipal building, the European Deputy Commissioner was enraged and ordered to take down the flag. This resulted in the flag movement . In violation of the government ban, some volunteers along with Subhadra Kumari Chauhan, Nathuram Modi, took out a procession with a flag.

Jhanda satyagraha in Nagpur (1923) | UPSC – IAS

The nationwide movement was led by Sardar Vallabhai Patel. To suppress this movement, the British government started imprisoning the agitators. Historians say that the British government left no stone unturned to suppress the movement. By August 15, 1923, About 17 hundred agitators were jailed in the four-month-long agitation. The movement finally ended in Nagpur on 17 August.

  • This movement was significant because instead of the British flag, the agitators hoisted the country’s flag in this movement.
  • In the end, the British negotiated an agreement with Vallabhbhai Patel and other Congress leaders permitting the protestors to conduct their march unhindered and obtaining the release of all those arrested.

Jhanda satyagraha in Karnataka (1938) | UPSC – IAS

Other notable jhanda satyagrahas were organised in Mysore (now in Karnataka) in 1938 known as Shivapur Dhwaja Satyagraha. Under leadership of T.Siddalingaya president of Mysore Congress.

  • The first conference of Mysore congress was conducted in 1938 at Shivapura. The conference has decided to organize a great satyagraha in Shivapura. T. Siddalingaya was elected as the president of the committee for the satyagraha.
  • Realising the trouble, the Mysore administration banned any meeting within three kilometers from the city and prohibited the hoisting of tricolour flag.
  • On 8th April 1938, T. Siddalingaya was taken in procession in a bullock cart in which around 10000 people participated.
  • The participants proclaimed their faith in the leadership of Gandhiji. The flag was hoisted on 9th April 1938 by T. Siddalingaya. He was then arrested by the police. This incident is known as the Shivapura Dhwaja Satyagraha.
  • As a part of state-wide Satyagraha, the flag was hoisted at Vidurashwatha in Kolar district of Mysore state, 33 people were killed in open police firing.

Fake news in India and its Countermeasures | UPSC – IAS

Recent Examples of Fake News in India | UPSC - IAS

Recent Examples of Fake News in India | UPSC - IAS

Fake news in India and its Countermeasures | UPSC – IAS

Fake news in India refers to misinformation or disinformation in the country which is spread through word of mouth and traditional media and more recently through digital forms of communication such as – morphed images or edited videos, click-baits, motivated stories, hate speech,  memes, unverified advertisements and social media propagated rumours etc.

Misinformation and fake news in India:-

  • In India – Fake news, rumours, morphed images, click-baits, motivated stories, hate speech etc. spread virally through platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter etc among 35 crore internet users in India. They target not only political figures, but also religious minorities and dissenting individuals, with propaganda rooted in domestic divisions and prejudices.

Consequences of fake news in India:-

  • The consequences of such targeted misinformation range from riots, death threats to actual murders. In the past year, more than two dozen people have been lynched by mobs spurred by nothing more than rumours sent over WhatsApp. More recently, during the COVID-19 pandemic, closed messaging services were used to spread inaccurate information.
  • Fake news spread through social media in the country has become a serious problem, with the potential of it resulting in mob violence, as was the case where at least 20 people were killed in 2018 as a result of misinformation circulated on social media.

Use of Deep fake:- 

  • The introduction and evolution of AI technology that is now capable of creating “deep fake” video content, using bots to micro-target populations with ads, and participate in human-like conversations, presents imminent future dangers of exponentially multiplying the current threats. Threats to democratic institutions and security landscape.
  • Unregulated social media has empowered state and non-state actors with the means and know how to co-opt the media landscape in pursuance of illegal and terrorist activities, such as – radicalization, child pornography, human trafficking, selling narcotics etc. It has also allowed foreign and domestic actors to interfere in democratic functioning of nations through unidentified use of political advertisements during elections, spreading disinformation about government bodies etc.

Fake news in india | UPSC – IAS

Rasmus Kleis Nielsen, director at Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, thinks that “the problems of disinformation in a society like India might be more sophisticated and more challenging than they are in the West”.

The damage caused due to fake news on social media has increased due to the growth of the internet penetration in India, which has risen from 137 million internet users in 2012 to over 600 million in 2019.

WhatsApp Messenger

  • India is the largest market for WhatsApp, with over 230 million users, and as a result it is one of the main platforms on which fake news is spread. One of the principal problems is that receivers believe anything sent to them over social media due to lack of awareness.

Recent Examples of Fake News in India | UPSC – IAS

Coronavirus

  • Misinformation related to coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic is in the form of social media messages related to home remedies that have not been verified, fake advisories and conspiracy theories. At least two people have been arrested for spreading fake news about the coronavirus pandemic.
  • The Press Information Bureau brought out a fact check on 24 March 2020 that stories about a financial emergency being imposed in India are fake. To counteract this, over 400 Indian Scientists are working together to debunk false information about the virus, as of 14 April.

Citizenship (Amendment) Act 2019

  • The Supreme Court of India asked the central government of India to consider “a plea for publicising aims, objectives and the benefits of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) to weed out fake news that was being circulated on the issue.” The plea lawyer stated “I visited Jamia and Seelampur yesterday. 95% protesters do not know about the CAA. They feel the law will take back their citizenship. Miscreants are circulating fake news”.
  • Around 5000 social media handles from Pakistan were part of “actively spreading fake and false propaganda” on CAA, some using “deep fake videos” in the process. 15,000 social media mediators worked overtime to identify fake news related to CAA from platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, TikTok and Helo.
  • The Indian Ministry of External Affairs called out the Prime Minister of Malaysia for “factually inaccurate remarks” on the CAA. Bangalore Police Commissioner called for people not to believe fake news related to CAA while the Assam Police cautioned people to be careful while posting on the social media. Delhi Police was reported to be monitoring the social media for misinformation being spread related to violence at Jamia Millia Islamia in relation to CAA.

Kashmir

  • Misinformation and disinformation related to Kashmir is widely prevalent. There have been multiple instances of pictures from the Syrian and the Iraqi civil wars being passed off as from the Kashmir conflict with the intention of fuelling unrest and backing insurgencies.

Other examples

  • Imposters posing as army personnel on the social media have been called out by the Indian Army as false news and disinformation.
  • 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots, which claimed over 60 lives and displaced thousands, was fueled by videos circulated on WhatsApp.
  • As part of the 2016 Indian banknote demonetisation, India introduced a new 2,000-rupee currency note. Following this, multiple fake news reports about “spying technology” added in the banknotes went viral on WhatsApp and had to be dismissed by the government.

Countermeasures against Fake news | UPSC – IAS

Self-Regulation by the platforms: A self regulatory framework can help social media platforms fulfil their obligation to the public to limit spread of misinformation, extremism, hate speech, etc. and build trust with community members. Some steps that can be taken in this direction are- Following a set of Human Rights Principles for Content Moderation based on international human rights law: legality, necessity and proportionality, legitimacy, equality and non discrimination.

  • Implementing measures that limit theCountermeasures Fighting Fake News upsc virality of misleading content through limitations of some functionalities; opt-in features to receive group messages etc.
  • Give users the alternative option, in an easy and intelligible manner, to decide on such issues as what information they want to see, and how they are targeted.
  • Ensuring that automated tools, such as algorithmic ranking, do not intentionally, or unintentionally, unduly hinder access to election-related content and the availability of a diversity of viewpoints to users.
  • Expanding the number of moderators and investing to improve quality of content review, particularly in at-risk countries, through development of sophisticated tools and technologies. For instance, YouTube, which along with the usage of AI , employs 10,000 people globally for monitoring and removal of objectionable content, took down 8 million videos in 2018 during a three-month period, 81% of which were removed automatically, and three-quarters of those clips never received a single view.
  • Redefining the role of the Government: Governments should strive to protect the rights and freedoms of its citizens and mitigate the social costs of the social media by providing a strong democratic oversight.

Initiatives to Counter Fake News in India | UPSC – IAS

Various initiatives and practices have been started and adopted to curb the spread and impact of fake news. Some o them are as follows:-

  • In November 2019, the Indian ministry of information and broadcasting planned to set up a FACT checking module to counter the circulation of fake news by continuous monitoring of online news sources and publicly visible social media posts.
    • The module will work on the four principles of “Find, Assess, Create and Target” (FACT). The module will initially will be run by information service officers. Near the end of 2019, the Press Information Bureau (which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting) set up a fact-checking unit which would focus on verifying news related to the government.
  • In some parts of India like Kannur in Kerala, the government conducted fake news classes in government schools. Some say the government should conduct more public-education initiatives to make the population more aware of fake news.
  • Following over 30 killings linked to rumours spread over WhatsApp, WhatsApp introduced various measures to curb the spread of misinformation, which included limiting the number of people a message could be forwarded to as well as introducing a tip-line among other measures such as suspending accounts and sending cease-and-desist letters.
  • WhatsApp also added a small tag, forwarded, to relevant messages. They also started a course for digital literacy and came out with full page advertisements in newspapers in multiple languages.
  • Twitter has also taken action to curb the spread of fake news such as deleting accounts.
  • In 2018, Google News launched a program to train 8000 journalists in seven official Indian languages including English. The program, Google’s largest training initiative in the world, would spread awareness of fake news and anti-misinformation practices such as fact-checking.
  • Internet shutdowns are used by the government as a way to control social media rumours from spreading. Ideas such as linking Aadhaar to social media accounts has been suggested to the Supreme Court of India by the Attorney General.

Fact-checking in India has become a business, spurning the creation of fact-checking websites such as Boomlive, Alt News, Factly and SMHoaxSlayer.

Solutions that can stop fake news from spreading | UPSC – IAS

  • Encouraging social media companies to define and periodically update content standards and enforcement guidelines: Participation from the different stakeholders, including civil society and law enforcement should be ensured while framing those guidelines and finalised standards and guidelines should be made public for transparency.
  • Making social media platforms liable for obviously illegal content, if it is not removed within a certain period of being reported. There should also be a transparent and rapid redressal mechanism to be used in case of disagreements.
  • Formulating Transparency requirements related to all platform’s core functions in the public information ecosystem: content moderation, content ranking, content targeting, and social influence building.
  • Societal capacity building for better usage: Social media does not operate in a vacuum but in an already prevailing socio-economic context. Efforts to address prevailing issues in this context will increase the potential benefits from social media usage.
  • Addressing the systemic issues in society: Online discussions simply mirror what is already happening in the society. There is thus a need to focus on addressing the prevalent issues of communalism, casteism, sexism, extremism, poor law and order etc. A strong enforcement of rule of law will allow greater freedom of expression online and weaken the need for regulation.
  • Increasing accessibility for disadvantaged sections of society: Advantages of social media are restricted for many people to due illiteracy, language barriers and the digital divide in infrastructure between rural and urban areas. This must be addressed to promote inclusion and participation of all.
  • Digital Literacy and Awareness: Responsibility for media literacy and appropriate and safe use of technology exists at several levels – family, school, community and government. Parents, carers and those working with young people are aware of the benefits and potential problems associated with media use. They should be encouraged to educate themselves about these topics and should be empowered to help young people set reasonable limits around media usage in a way that enhances their development & minimizes problematic use.

About alcohol prohibition in India & its Socio-Economic effects | UPSC

About alcohol prohibition in India & its Socio-Economic effects | UPSC

About alcohol prohibition in India & its Socio-Economic effects | UPSC - IAS

Alcohol prohibition and directive principles of state policy (DPSP) | UPSC -IAS

  • The directive principles of state policy (DPSP) in the constitution of India (article 47) state that “the State shall endeavor to bring about prohibition of the consumption except for medicinal purposes of intoxicating drinks and of drugs which are injurious to health”.
  • The Directive Principles are not-justiciable rights of the people but fundamental in the governance of the country. It shall be the duty of the State to apply these principles in making policy laws per Article 47.
  • As Per Article 38, state and union governments, as duty, shall make further detailed policies and laws for implementation considering DPSPs as fundamental policy. In contrary to Article 37, many policies have been implemented by states and union government which go against the DPSPs such as using intoxicating drinks as source of major tax revenue instead of implementing prohibition for better health of people.
  • When the union government feels that alcohol prohibition is no longer useful to the nation, it shall be deleted from DPSPs by bringing a constitutional amendment to remove ambiguity in policy making / direction.
  • Judiciary can repeal any policy/law devised by the government which is diametrically opposite to any DPSP. An existing policy in line with DPSP can not be reversed, however it can be expanded further in line with DPSP. The policy changes applicable under DPSP shall not be reversible unless the applicable DPSP is deleted by constitutional amendment.
  • Many states imposed prohibition of alcohol and later prohibition lifted to collect more revenue/taxes by the states. Lifting / relaxing prohibition of alcohol is unconstitutional which is reversing the earlier implemented policy as per Article 37 as long as alcohol prohibition is part of DPSP.

National Prohibition was advocated by Mahatma Gandhi, as well as by many Indian women. Prohibition, in the states of India that have implemented the policy, has led to lower rates of drinking among men, as well as a decreased incidence of violence against women.

Temperance movement in India | UPSC – IAS

  • The temperance movement in India aims at curbing the use of alcohol in that country. In some places, the temperance movement has led to alcohol prohibition in India, with many temperance organisations continuing their work today.
  • The temperance movement in India often led to the prohibition of alcohol in various states, as with Manipur. In British India, many Indian temperance activists agitated for prohibition in the country.
  • Mahatma Gandhi was a champion of the temperance movement and viewed foreign rule as an obstacle to national prohibition. When India gained independence in 1947, prohibition was included in the Directive Principles of the Constitution of India and the government of several states such as Gujarat introduced it.

What are Dry days ? | UPSC – IAS

Dry Days are specific days when the sale of alcohol is prohibited. Dry Days are fixed by the respective state government. Most Indian states observe dry days on major religious festivals/occasions depending on the popularity of the festival in that region.

  • National holidays such as Republic Day (26 January),
  • Independence Day (15 August) and
  • Gandhi Jayanti (2 October) are usually dry days throughout India.
  • National dry days also occur during Election Commission of India-ordained voting and result days.

Dry days also depend on the establishment selling alcohol. For example, generally 5-star hotels do not have to observe all the dry days that liquor stores and small bars may have to. Dry days are also observed on and around voting days.

States practicing prohibition | UPSC – IAS

Alcohol prohibition in India is in force in the states of Bihar, Gujarat, Mizoram, Nagaland as well as in the union territory of Lakshadweep. All other Indian states and union territories permit the sale of alcohol.

Alcohol prohibition in Bihar | UPSC – IAS

  • Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar officially declared the total ban on 5 April 2016, and said in a press conference, “All type of liquor will be banned in the state from today. Sale [and consumption] of any type of alcohol in hotels, bars, clubs and any other place will be illegal from today onwards.”

Violation of law 

  • Violating the law carries a penalty of 5 years to 10 years imprisonment. On 30 September 2016 Patna High Court ruled that the ban is “illegal, impractical and unconstitutional”.
  • Although even before the High Court order came, the Bihar government had announced that it would enforce a new stringent law from 2 October 2016, only to stay adamant on it after the order. The government had drafted a new law to keep from withdrawing the ban.
  • As per the new liquor law, those found indulging in unlawful import, export, transport, manufacture, possession, sale, intoxicant or liquor could attract a minimum 10 years of jail term which may extend to imprisonment for life besides a minimum fine of Rs 1 lakh which may extend to Rs 10 lakh.

Historic Human Chain

  • On 21 January 2017, more than 3 crore people of Bihar joined hands to form a historic human chain along 12,760 km of roads to support ban on alcohol by Bihar C.M Nitish Kumar. This unprecedented and massive human chain was supported by people from all walks of life and political parties.

Social and Economic effects of alcohol Prohibition in Bihar | UPSC – IAS

Prohibition, in the states of India that have implemented the policy, has led to lower rates of drinking among men, as well as a decreased incidence of violence against women. In the state of Bihar it is observed that:-

  • Within a year of prohibition, the number of murders and gang robberies decreased by 20%.
  • The number of riots fell by 13% and traffic accidents were reduced by 10%.
  • For the economy – spending per household rose: increase in sales of milk by 10%, cheese by 200%, two-wheeled vehicles by 30%, and electrical appliances by 50%.
  • In villages, brick houses are gradually taking the place of more rudimentary cottages since state Prohibition came into effect.
  • At the same time, substance abuse has increased significantly due to liquor being hard to access.

Alcohol prohibition in Gujarat | UPSC – IAS

  • Bombay State had prohibition between 1948 and 1950, and again from 1958. Gujarat has a sumptuary law (laws that try to regulate consumption.) in force that proscribes the manufacture, storage, sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages.
  • The legislation has been in force since 1 May 1960 when Bombay State was bifurcated into the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
  • Bombay Prohibition Act, 1949 is still in force in Gujarat state, however there is licensing regime in Maharashtra with granting licenses to vendors and traders.
  • Gujarat is the only Indian state with a death penalty for the manufacture and sale of homemade liquor that results in fatalities. The legislation is titled the Bombay Prohibition (Gujarat Amendment) Act, 2009. The legislation was prompted by numerous deaths resulting from the consumption of methyl alcohol.
  • Predictably, smuggling and illicit sale of alcohol are very common. “Folder” is a slang term of unknown origin, used in Gujarat to refer to a bootlegger who delivers alcohol on-demand.

Online Permits

  • Foreigners and visitors from other parts of India can apply online for a permit. There are 35 stores across the state including nine in Ahmedabad that sell liquor on production of a physical copy of the permit. Once the permit expires, users are to hand-over the unconsumed liquor to the district collector.

Public Interest Litigation

  • Five petitions, including Public Interest Litigation (PIL), have been filed before the Gujarat High Court challenging the prohibition law in the state. Most petitioners have raised concern that prohibition law violates Right to Privacy and are seeking relaxation on consumption in privacy.

Alcohol prohibition in Mizoram | UPSC – IAS

  • The Mizoram Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1995 banned sale and consumption of alcohol effective from 20 February 1997. In 2007, the MLTP Act was amended to allow wine to be made from guavas and grapes, but with restrictions on the alcohol content and the volume possessed. It is illegal to transport these products out of the state.
  • Mizoram repealed prohibition on 10 July 2014, a period of 17 years after it had been imposed. On that date, the state Legislative Assembly passed the Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition and Control) Act, 2014 (MLPC Act), replacing the MLTP Act. The Presbyterian Church had organised mass prayers in all member churches across the state twice that year opposing the repeal of prohibition.
  • The Mizoram Liquor (Prohibition and Control) Act, 2014 was repealed on 20 March 2019 with the Mizoram Liquor Prohibition Act, 2019, it was a legislation promised by the Mizo National Front. Rules are yet to be notified for the ban in the state.

Alcohol prohibition in Nagaland | UPSC- IAS

The Nagaland Liquor Total Prohibition Act, 1989 (NLTP Act) banned the sale and consumption of alcohol in 1989. Enforcement of the ban is lax and Indian Made Foreign Liquor is readily available. Authorities generally turn a blind eye towards illegal sales. Reports have stated that some police officials themselves engage in bootlegging. The Congress party has termed prohibition a “total failure” and has pleaded for it to be revoked.

  • The excise department had earned around ₹600 lakh (equivalent to ₹47 crore or US$6.6 million in 2019) prior to prohibition.
  • It earned about ₹10 lakh (US$14,000) annually in NLTP Act related fines as of June 2014. The Morung Express estimated that were about 500 illegal liquor bars in Dimapur, the largest city in the state, as of August 2014. Alcohol is also smuggled in from neighbouring Assam.

Alcohol prohibition in Lakshadweep | UPSC – IAS

Lakshadweep is the only union territory that bans the sale and consumption of alcohol. Consumption is permitted only on the island of Bangaram. Bangaram is an uninhabited island, but the Bangaram Island Resort has a bar.

States no longer practicing prohibition | UPSC – IAS

There are five States that no longer practicing prohibition. These states have previously enforced, but later repealed prohibition.

  • Andhra Pradesh
  • Haryana
  • Kerala
  • Manipur
  • Tamil Nadu

Alcohol prohibition in Andhra Pradesh

  • The total prohibition was introduced in Madras State (which included Coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema) when C. Rajagopalachari became Chief Minister in 1952. The ban was re-introduced by N. T. Rama Rao in 1994. N. Chandrababu Naidu repealed the prohibition in 1997, claiming that it was “not successful or feasible because of the leakages within the state and from across the borders”.

Alcohol prohibition in Haryana

  • Bansi Lal led Haryana Vikas Party lift the prohibition on 1 April 1998. The total prohibition was in force in the state from July 1996.

Alcohol prohibition in Kerala

  • Kerala currently allows alcohol to be served in most hotels, bars and airports. A ban imposed by the United Democratic Front government in 2014 was reversed by the Left Democratic Front government in 2017 when they came to power citing heavy losses in state revenue and sharp decrease in tourism industry.
  • On 24 August 2014, Chief Minister Oommen Chandy announced that Kerala would implement prohibition in a phased manner. The decision was a result of factional conflict within the UDF, led by KPCC President V. M. Sudheeran. The decision was supported by the Catholic Church, Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) and the Kerala Congress. Liquor bars in Kerala are required to renew their licenses every year. The state government did not license any bars on 31 March 2014, resulting in the closure of 418 bars.
  • The state government also declared its intention not to renew the licenses of the remaining 313 bars in the state. The state owned Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) had 338 shops, and Bevco would shut down 10% of them every year. Consumerfed, which has 46 shops, would also be closed. However, sale of alcohol would continue to be permitted in 5-star hotels, and there were fourteen 5-star hotels in the state as of August 2014. Toddy would also continue to be legally sold, and toddy shops would be permitted to operate as before. The state incurred heavy losses due to its tourism-based economy being severely affected by prohibition.
  • However, after the 2016 Elections where the UDF was defeated by the LDF, the newly elected Chief Minister, Pinarayi Vijayan, reversed the policy of prohibition. The Chief Minister stated that the state’s policy would move from prohibition to regulation. In June 2017 the ban was revoked, allowing three stars hotels and above to openly serve alcohol to its customers.The restrictions on bars were also eased with bars being allowed to remain open till 2300 instead of previous 2200 with new bars being allowed to apply for license. Airport lounges were also allowed to start serving alcohol again.

Alcohol prohibition in Manipur

  • Prohibition is enforced in the Imphal East, Imphal West, Thoubal and Bishnupur districts of Manipur. Prohibition was enforced statewide by the Raj Kumar Ranbir Singh government with effect from 1 April 1991. Local brews called ashaba and atingba are available in most areas, and authorities usually ignore their sale and consumption.
  • In 2002, the Okram Ibobi Singh government lifted prohibition in the five hill districts of Manipur. The state Legislative Assemble passed the Manipur Liquor Prohibition (Amendment) Act, 2002 on 31 July 2002 lifting prohibition in the districts of Chandel, Churachandpur, Senapati, Tamenglong and Ukhrul.
    In 2015, Chief Minister Okram Ibobi Singh stated in the Manipur state assembly that the state government was looking at the option of lifting prohibition in the state, but liquor ban still continues in the state.

Alcohol prohibition in Tamil Nadu

  • The total prohibition was introduced in Madras State when C. Rajagopalachari became Chief Minister in 1952. In 1971, the DMK government led by M. Karunanidhi suspended it on 30 August 1971 and allowed the sale of arrack and toddy.
  • In 1983, after previous serial introduction of prohibition and its revocation the state owned liquor distribution company TASMAC was established by the then Chief Minister M. G. Ramachandran. The TASMAC has a monopoly over wholesale and retail vending of alcoholic beverages. Since then, various prohibitions were installed in form of reduction of TASMAC shops, however, the alcohol selling is still legal.

Malnutrition in India its types, causes and effects | UPSC – IAS

Types of Malnutrition | UPSC - IAS

Malnutrition in India its types, causes and effects | UPSC – IAS

Malnutrition is a term that refers to any deficiency, excess or imbalance in somebody’s intake of energy and/or nutrients. It can either be due to inadequate intake or an excess intake of calories. The term malnutrition covers two broad groups of conditions are as follows:-

  • Undernutrition – This includes stunting (low height for age), wasting (low weight for height), underweight (low weight for age) and micronutrient deficiencies or insufficiencies (a lack of important vitamins and minerals)
  • Overnutrition – This includes overweight, obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases (such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, cancer, and type-2 diabetes.).

Types of Malnutrition | UPSC – IAS

  • Marasmus – It is a form of severe malnutrition. Nutrient deficiency is the main cause of marasmus. It occurs in children that don’t ingest enough protein, calories, carbohydrates, and other important nutrients. This is usually due to poverty and a scarcity of food.
  • Kwashiorkor – It is a form of severe protein malnutrition. In this type malnutrition produced by a severely inadequate amount of protein in the diet.

Fundamental Causes behind Malnutrition in India | UPSC – IAS

The causes and consequences of malnutrition are complex, and it will require the concerted efforts of all social institutions, including the social work profession, to combat malnutrition effectively.

  • Barriers to health services include – High cost of care. Inadequate or no insurance coverage. Lack of availability of services.
  • Poverty – It hinders the accessibility of adequate food. (Poverty is the single most common cause of food insecurity)
  • Social strains on Women – Early marriages of girls leads to teenage pregnancies resulting in low birth weight of the newborns, poor breastfeeding practices and poor complementary feeding practices.
  • Lack of availability of safe drinking water hinders proper digestion and assimilation of food and also cause water and food borne diseases.
  • Poor sanitation – It is linked to transmission of diseases such as cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid and polio and exacerbate stunting. It reduces human well-being, social and economic development. Poor sanitation and environmental conditions lead to spread of many diseases that sap children’s energy and stunts their growth.
  • illiteracy in women and large household size.
  • Lack of Awareness: about nutritional needs of infants and young children.

Malnutrition In India | UPSC – IAS

Despite India’s 50 percent increase in GDP since year 2013, more than one third of the world’s malnourished children live in India. Among these, half of the children under 3 years old are underweight.

  • An approximate 23.6% of the population of India live below a purchasing power of 92 INR a day. This poverty does not directly lead to malnutrition but it leaves a large piece of the population without sufficient amounts of food.

The World Bank (WB) estimates that India is one of the highest-ranking countries in the whole world for the number of children suffering from malnutrition. The prevalence of underweight children in India is among the highest in the world and is nearly double that of Sub Saharan Africa with dire consequences for mobility, mortality, productivity, and economic growth.

  • One of the major causes for malnutrition in India is economic inequality. On account of the low social status of the population, their diet often lacks in both quality and quantity. Mostly Women who suffer from malnutrition are less likely to have healthy babies.
  • Nutrition deficiencies inflict long-term damage to both individuals and society. Compared with their better-fed peers, nutrition-deficient individuals are more likely to have infectious diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, which lead to a higher mortality rate.

Effects of Malnutrition in India | UPSC – IAS

Poverty increases the risk of, and risks from, malnutrition. Low income families are more likely to be affected by different forms of malnutrition. Moreover, malnutrition increases health care costs, reduces productivity & morale, and slows economic growth, which can perpetuate a cycle of poverty and ill-health.

  • Increased vulnerability to diseases: Undernutrition increases the risk of infectious diseases like diarrhoea, measles, malaria and pneumonia.
  • Developmental delays: Chronic malnutrition can impair a young child’s physical and mental development. Cognitive impairment resulting from malnutrition may result in diminished productivity in academic performance.
  • Low productivity later in life: As per estimates of World Bank, childhood stunting may result in a loss of height among adults by 1%, which may further lead to a reduction in individuals economic productivity by 1.4%
  • Poor maternity health: Undernutrition puts women at a greater risk of pregnancy-related complications and death (obstructed labour and hemorrhage).
  • Barrier to socio-economic development: Widespread child undernutrition greatly impedes a country’s socioeconomic development and potential to reduce poverty.

Why malnutrition is a problem ? | UPSC – IAS

Underlying causes of malnutrition – The lack of money for food; and insufficiency of food production. It is stressed that much agricultural land is employed for purposes other than the production of food. Other causes of malnutrition include changes in local food habits and in food technology.

  • Reduced household incomes: In recent years slowdown in economic growth, stagnant rural wages and high levels of unemployment have affected household incomes and limited their ability to invest in nutritional food.
  • Underfunding: For instance, in a response to a parliamentary question in December 2019, the Minister for Women and Child Development presented data which showed that only about 32.5% of the funds released for Poshan Abhiyaan from 2017-18 onwards had been utilised.
  • Poor implementation of schemes: Anganwadi centres were established under ICDS to provide basic healthcare education and services across the country. Many workers are unable to play an effective role in attending to the problem of malnutrition because of low wages and inadequate training.
  • lack of access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene, ignorance and lack of education, social and cultural factors like child marriage, caste barriers etc.

Solution to the problem of malnutrition (In brief) – Increasing yields by organic manuring and mixed cropping; devoting more land to staple food production; changes in food habits and in food technology.

Steps taken by Government for nutritional well being | UPSC – IAS

  • POSHAN Abhiyaan or National Nutrition Mission: It is Government of India’s flagship programme to improve nutritional outcomes for children, pregnant women and lactating mothers.
    • Under it the Anemia Mukt Bharat (AMB) Strategy was launched in 2018 with efforts to improve Iron and Folic Acid (IFA) supplementation, behaviour change and anaemia-related care and treatment across six target groups including pregnant women, lactating mothers, and children.
  • Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS): It aims to improve the nutritional and health status of children in the age-group 0-6 years and reduce the incidence of mortality, morbidity, malnutrition and school dropout.
  • Public Distribution System: It provides coverage to upto 75% of rural population and upto 50% of urban population for receiving highly subsidized food grains under Targeted Public Distribution System.
  • Midday meal scheme: The scheme provides meals for all school children studying in Classes I-VIII of Government, Government-Aided Schools.

Eradicating Hunger poverty and Malnutrition together in India | UPSC – IAS

In today’s world, eradicating hunger, food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition calls not only for reduced rural poverty and improved resilience of the most vulnerable people, but also for efficient food systems which are able to deliver sufficient and nutritious food for everyone. However, to make this happen, strong political commitment at global, regional and especially national levels is necessary.

To Enhance the effectiveness of the POSHAN Abhiyaan in India:-

  • Implement POSHAN-plus strategy which apart from continued strengthening the four pillars (technology, convergence, behavioural change and capacity building) of the Abhiyaan also requires addressing the governance challenges of National Health Mission (NHM)/ ICDS delivery mechanism and renewed focus on
    • Complementary feeding (usually targeted at the age range of 6-24 months)
    • Investments in education of girls and women, reduce early marriage and early pregnancy, improving care during and after pregnancy etc.
  • Availability of regional food items and cultural preferences may also be integrated with this abhiyaan to make it inclusive.
  • Enhance the reach of the POSHAN Abhiyaan: Since the Anganwadi centres (AWCs) are at the heart of POSHAN Abhiyaan, it is imperative to enhance their reach. Therefore, mini Anganwadi centres should be set up so that children, pregnant and lactating women who may not be able to travel longer distances, have easier access to them.
  • Institutionalise Capacity Building: Regular trainings for Anganwadi; availability of basic amenities such as electricity, growth monitors, supplies are imperative for proper functioning of the AWCs and the effective provision of services.
  • Strengthen Coordination: All the programmes of the government having direct or indirect impact on the nutrition must be brought under the POSHAN Abhiyaan.
  • Nurture Community Approach: Despite strong efforts, community involvement in POSHAN Abhiyaan has been substandard. State specific efforts should be made (keeping in view the diversity and intersectionality of the society) for ensuring community participation.

Conclusion and A way forward  | UPSC – IAS

  • Developing an employment-centred growth strategy: which includes universal provision of basic services for education, health, food and social security.
  • Strengthening present initiatives: Direct interventions such as supplementary nutrition (of good quality including eggs, fruits, etc.), growth monitoring, and behaviour change communication through the ICDS and school meals must be strengthened and given more resources.
  • Need of Data initiative: A modern data initiative leveraging and combining aspects of the NFHS, the National Nutrition Monitoring Bureau and the National Sample Surveys that collected data on detailed household-level consumption and expenditure on various food items should be considered.
  • Improve dietary pattern by promoting production and increasing per capita availability of nutritionally rich food.
  • Targeted approach: The government agencies in India need to adopt a comprehensive and coordinated multisectoral approach which is formulated by taking into account the varied nature of local-level challenges.
  • Food fortification: A proposed policy would provide for adding essential vitamins and minerals (iron, folic acid, vitamin, iodine) to food items (rice, wheat flour, salt, edible oil, milk) sold in markets. The Centrally Sponsored Pilot Scheme on Fortification of Rice & its distribution through Public Distribution System is a step in the right direction.

All Types of satellite orbits and their features

All Types of satellite orbits and their features | UPSC - IAS

All Types of satellite orbits and their features | UPSC - IAS

Types of satellite orbits and their features | UPSC – IAS

When the satellite is moving in the orbits, it stays in position because the centripetal force on the satellite balances the gravitational attractive force of the earth. This balance depends on the following:

  • Distance from the earth
  • Tangential speed of the satellite
  • Earth’s radius
  • Gravitational force of the earth. But it does not depend upon:
  • Mass of the satellite
  • Size of the Satellite

There are three major types of orbits viz. :-

  • Polar orbit – A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the body’s equator.
  • Inclined orbit- A satellite is said to occupy an inclined orbit around Earth if the orbit exhibits an angle other than 0° to the equatorial plane.
  • Near-Equatorial orbit- A near-equatorial orbit is an orbit that lies close to the equatorial plane of the object orbited. Such an orbit has an inclination near 0°.

About Geostationary Orbit (GEO) | UPSC – IAS

A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit (GEO), is a circular geosynchronous orbit 35,786 kilometres (22,236 miles) above Earth’s equator and following the direction of Earth’s rotation.
  • If we need a satellite for the purpose which needs this satellites to remain at a particular distance from earth at all the time, then we need circular orbits so all the points on circular orbit are at equal distance from earth’s surface. The circular equatorial orbit is exactly in the plane of equator on the earth.
  • If the satellite is moving in the circular-equatorial orbit and its angular velocity is equal to earth’s angular velocity, the satellite is said to be moving along with the earth. This satellite would appear stationary from the earth and this orbit would be called Geostationary Orbit.

About Geostationary Orbit (GEO) | UPSC - IAS

Features of Geostationary Orbits

  • The orbit is circular
  • The orbit is in equatorial plane i.e. directly above the equator and thus inclination is zero.
  • The angular velocity of the satellite is equal to angular velocity of earth
  • Period of revolution is equal to period of rotation of earth.
  • Finish one revolution around the earth in exactly one day i.e. 23 hours, 56 Minutes and 4.1 seconds
  • There is ONLY one geostationary orbit.

About Geosynchronous Orbit | UPSC – IAS

There is a difference between the geostationary and geosynchronous orbits. We should note that while other orbits may be many, there is ONLY ONE Equatorial orbit, i.e. the orbit which is directly above the earth’s equator. Sometimes we send a satellite in the space which though has a period of revolution is equal to period of rotation of earth, but its orbit is neither equatorial nor Circular.

  • So, this satellite will finish one revolution around the earth in exactly one day i.e. 23 hours, 56 Minutes and 4.1 seconds, yet it does NOT appear stationary from the earth.
  • It looks oscillating but NOT stationary and that is why it is called Geosynchronous. So, the main features of a geosynchronous satellite are as follows:-

Features of Geosynchronous Orbits-

  • The orbit is NOT circular
  • The orbit is NOT in equatorial plane i.e. directly above the equator, it’s in inclined orbit
  • The angular velocity of the satellite is equal to angular velocity of earth
  • Period of revolution is equal to period of rotation of earth.
  • Finish one revolution around the earth in exactly one day i.e. 23 hours, 56 Minutes and 4.1 seconds
  • There are many geosynchronous orbits.

Note – that it is practically NOT possible to achieve an absolute geostationary orbit. So, the terms geostationary and geosynchronous are used alternatively.

Advantages of GEO satellites

  • Most communications satellites in use today for commercial purposes are placed in the geostationary orbit, because one satellite can cover almost 1/3 of Earth’s surface, offering a reach far more extensive than what any terrestrial network can achieve.
  • The geosynchronous satellites remain stationary over the same orbital location, users can point their satellite dishes in the right direction, without costly tracking activities, making communications reliable and secure
  • Because of their capacity and configuration, GEOs are often more cost-effective for carrying high-volume traffic, especially over long-term contract arrangements. For example, excess capacity on GEO systems often is reserved in the form of leased circuits for use as a backup to other communications methods.
  • GEO systems have significantly greater available bandwidth than the Low Earth Orbit -LEO and Medium Earth Orbit – MEO systems. This permits them to provide two-way data, voice and broadband services that may be impractical for other types of systems.
  • GEO satellites are proven, reliable and secure – with a lifespan of 10-15 years.

Altitude of Geostationary Orbit

  • In Geostationary Orbit, the satellite moves with an orbital speed of 11068 km per hours.
  • A minimum of three satellites are needed to cover the entire earth.
  • Super synchronous orbit is a disposal / storage orbit above GSO. From earth, they would seem drifting in westerly direction.
  • Sub synchronous orbit is a orbit close to but below GSO and is used for satellites undergoing station, changes in an eastern direction.

About Low Earth Orbits | UPSC – IAS

A low Earth orbit is an Earth-centred orbit with an altitude of 2,000 km or less, or with at least 11.25 periods per day and an eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial objects in outer space are in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). The International Space Station is in a LEO that varies from 320 km to 410 km above the Earth’s surface.

  • A satellite can also be placed in orbits below the Geostationary orbit, however, it will require higher orbital velocity. For example, a satellite which is placed in an orbit at altitude of 200 kilometers will need an orbital velocity of approximately 29,000 kilometer per hour.
  • Similarly, a satellite placed in an orbit at around 1730 kilometers will need a speed of 25,400 kilometers per hour.
  • LEO systems fly about 1,000 kilometers above the Earth (between 400 miles and 1,600 miles) and, unlike GEOs, they appear travelling across the sky from earth.
  • A typical LEO satellite takes 1 and half hours to orbit the Earth, which means that a single satellite is “in view” of ground equipment for a only a few minutes. As a consequence, if a transmission takes more than the few minutes that any one satellite is in view, a LEO system must “hand off” between satellites in order to complete the transmission.
  • In general, this can be accomplished by constantly relaying signals between the satellite and various ground stations, or by communicating between the satellites themselves using “inter-satellite links.”
  • LEO systems are designed to have more than one satellite in view from any spot on Earth at any given time, minimizing the possibility that the network will lose the transmission. Because of the fast-flying satellites, LEO systems must incorporate sophisticated tracking and switching equipment to maintain consistent service coverage.
  • The need for complex tracking schemes is minimized, but not obviated, in LEO systems designed to handle only short-burst transmissions.
  • The advantage of the LEO system is that the satellites’ proximity to the ground enables them to transmit signals with no or very little delay, unlike GEO systems. LEO satellites rotate the earth and currently deliver significant voice quality over the Geosynchronous (GEO) satellite systems.
  • Now a days, LEO Satellites are used in constellations such as Globalstar and Iridium constellations. In addition, because the signals to and from the satellites need to travel a relatively short distance, LEOs can operate with much smaller user equipment (e.g., antennae) than can systems using a higher orbit.
  • In addition, a system of LEO satellites is designed to maximize the ability of ground equipment to “see” a satellite at any time, which can overcome the difficulties caused by obstructions such as trees and buildings.

Advantages and disadvantages of Low Earth Orbit (LEO)

  • It requires less energy to place a satellite into a LEO and the LEO satellite needs less powerful amplifiers for successful transmission, LEO is still used for many communication applications.
  • However, since these LEO orbits are not geostationary, a network (or “constellation”) of satellites is required to provide continuous coverage.
  • The transmission delay associated with LEO systems is the lowest of all of the systems.
  • Because of the relatively small size of the satellites deployed and the smaller size of the ground equipment required, the LEO systems are expected to cost less to implement than the other satellite systems.
  • The small coverage area of a LEO satellite means that a LEO system must coordinate the flight paths and
    communications handoffs a large number of satellites at once, making the LEOs dependent on highly complex and sophisticated control and switching systems.
  • LEO satellites have a shorter life span than other systems. There are two reasons for this:
    • First, the lower LEO orbit is more subject to the gravitational pull of the Earth and
    • Second, the frequent transmission rates necessary in LEO systems mean that LEO satellites generally have a shorter battery life than others.

Issue of Orbital Decay in Low Earth Orbits

Decay is a gradual decrease of the distance between two orbiting bodies at their closest approach over many orbital periods. These orbiting bodies can be a planet and its satellite, a star and any object orbiting.

  • The satellites particularly in the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) are subject to a drag produced by an atmosphere due to frequent collisions between the satellite and surrounding air molecules.
  • The amount of this drag keeps increasing or decreasing depending upon several factors including the solar activity. The more activity heats of the upper atmosphere and can increase the drag.
  • This drag in a long duration causes a reduction in the altitude of a satellite’s orbit, which is called orbital decay. So, the major cause of the orbital decay is Earth’s atmosphere.
  • The result of the drag is increased heat and possible reentry of satellite in atmosphere causing it to burn. Lower its altitude drops, and the lower the altitude, the faster the decay.
  • Apart from Atmosphere, the Tides can also cause orbital decay, when the orbiting body is large enough to raise a significant tidal bulge on the body it is orbiting and is either in a retrograde orbit or is below the synchronous orbit. Mars’s moon Phobos is one of the best examples of this.

About Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) | UPSC – IAS

Medium Earth orbit (MEO), sometimes called intermediate circular orbit, is the region of space around Earth above low Earth orbit and below geosynchronous orbit. Unlike the circular orbit of the geostationary satellites, MEO’s are placed in an elliptical (oval-shaped) orbit.

  • Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) systems operate at about 8,000-20,000 km above the Earth, which is lower than the GEO orbit and higher than most LEO orbits.
  • The MEO orbit is a compromise between the LEO and GEO orbits. Compared to LEOs, the more distant orbit requires fewer satellites to provide coverage than LEOs because each satellite may be in view of any particular location for several hours.
  • Compared to GEOs, MEOs can operate effectively with smaller, mobile equipment and with less latency (signal delay). These orbits are primarily reserved for communications satellites that cover the North and South Pole.
  • Although MEO satellites are in view longer than LEOs, they may not always be at an optimal elevation. To combat this difficulty, MEO systems often feature significant coverage overlap from satellite to satellite, which in turn requires more sophisticated tracking and switching schemes than GEOs.
  • Typically, MEO constellations have 10 to 17 satellites distributed over two or three orbital planes. Most planned MEO systems will offer phone services similar to the Big LEOs. In fact, before the MEO designation came into wide use,
  • MEO systems were considered Big LEOs. Examples of MEO systems include – ICO Global Communications and the proposed Orblink from Orbital Sciences.
  • The orbit is home to a number of artificial satellites – the most common uses include navigation, communication, and geodetic/space environment science.

About Polar Orbits | UPSC – IAS

A polar orbit is one in which a satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the body being orbited on each revolution. It therefore has an inclination of 90 degrees to the body’s equator

The Polar Orbit is not much suitable for communication purposes because it moved in a different direction than that of direction of earth’s rotation. So, the use of Polar satellites depends upon their arrival at a particular point on earth at a particular point. The Polar orbits are used for special applications like navigational satellites.

Features of Polar Orbits

  • Except for polar geosynchronous orbit, a satellite in a polar orbit will pass over the equator at a different longitude on each of its orbits.
  • No one spot on the Earth’s surface can be sensed continuously from a satellite in a polar orbit, this is its biggest drawback.
  • The polar orbit can be manipulated also. If we want a satellite in polar orbit to remain hovering over a certain area for larger time, it can be placed in a highly elliptical orbit with its apogee over that area.
  • In a polar orbit, the satellite passes above or nearly above both poles of the earth being orbited on each revolution. So, we can say that the inclination of such orbit is almost 90 degrees to the equator.

The Polar orbits are used for – earth-mapping, earth observation, and reconnaissance satellites, as well as for some weather satellites. However, Iridium satellite constellation also uses a polar orbit to provide telecommunications services.

Why Polar orbits are used for earth-mapping ?

Polar orbits are in a plane that is almost perpendicular to the plane of the equator and so passes over the poles of the Earth and then also, Earth rotates from East to West under the satellite. For instance, if the period of satellite is 6 hours then in one polar revolution, earth will rotate around 90° westwards. Thus, in a couple of days the whole earth can be mapped.

About Inclined Orbit | UPSC – IAS

  • An inclined orbit is used to cover the Polar Regions. It’s not a very popular orbit and used not very frequently. The height of the inclined orbit is kept such that it covers the required area of the region of interest. The time for which the satellite is visible to the point on the earth is also controlled.
  • Satellite cannot remain in continuous contact with the point on the earth if rotating in inclined orbit. Sometimes the inclined orbit is also called elliptical inclined orbit.

About Sun-synchronous orbit | UPSC – IAS

A Sun-synchronous orbit, also called a heliosynchronous orbit, is a nearly polar orbit around a planet, in which the satellite passes over any given point of the planet’s surface at the same local mean solar time.

  • Sun-synchronous orbit or a heliosynchronous orbit very important because of its particular importance to satellites intended for remote sensing and military applications.
  • A sun-synchronous orbit is one that lies in a plane that maintains a fixed angle with respect to the Earth-sun direction. In other words, it combines altitude and inclination in such a way that an object on that orbit ascends or descends over any given point of the Earth’s surface at the same local mean solar time.
  • We can say that the orbital plane in such a case has a fixed orientation with respect to the Earth-sun direction and the angle between the orbital plane and the Earth-sun line remains constant throughout the year.

Features of Sun Synchronous Orbits

  • The satellite passes over a given location on Earth every time at the same local solar time.
  • Thus, it guarantees the same illumination condition, which varies only with seasons.
  • The orbit is Quasi-polar in nature and so ensures coverage of the whole surface of the Earth
  • Every time a sun-synchronous satellite completes one revolution around earth, it traverses a thin strip on the surface of the Earth. During the next revolution it traverses another strip.

About Frozen Orbits | UPSC – IAS

A frozen orbit is an orbit for an artificial satellite in which natural drifting due to the central body’s shape has been minimized by careful selection of the orbital parameters. Typically, this is an orbit in which, over a long period of time, the satellite’s altitude remains constant at the same point in each orbit.

  • We all know that Earth is not perfectly round. This means the gravitation is not exactly same at all the places. Apart from that there is gravitational pull from Sun and Moon too, followed by the solar radiation pressure, air drag and so many other forces.
  • In other words, most satellites experience noticeable variations in orbital eccentricity (orbit’s eccentricity is a way of measuring how much the orbit deviates from a perfect circle).
  • But, fortunately, the distorting impacts of these issues can be induced to cancel each other by expert satellite planners. They choose optimum Orbital altitude, inclination, eccentricity and argument of perigee. The satellites whose orbital parameters are controlled by such techniques is said to be in Frozen Orbits.
  • Thus we can say that:- Frozen orbit is a Sun-synchronous orbit in which the precession of the orbital plane around the polar axis of the Earth caused by the oblateness of the Earth is utilized to the benefit of the mission by choosing correct orbital parameters.
  • The Earth observation satellites European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS) -1, European Remote Sensing satellite (ERS) -2 and Envisat are all operated in Sun-synchronous “frozen” orbits.

About Clarke Orbit | UPSC – IAS

A single geostationary satellite can view approximately one third of the Earth’s surface. If three satellites are placed at the proper longitude, the height of this orbit allows almost the Earth’s entire surface to be covered by the satellites. It was first of all conceptualized by world famous science fiction writer Arthur C. Clarke.

The stations would be arranged approximately equidistantly around the earth and the following longitudes appear suitable:

  • 30°E – Africa & Europe
  • 150°E – China & Oceania
  • 90° W– The Americas

The station chain would be linked by radio or optical beams and thus any broadcast service could be provided. The geostationary orbit is now sometimes referred as the Clarke Orbit or the Clarke Belt in his honor.

About Highly elliptical orbit (HEO) | UPSC – IAS

About Highly elliptical orbit (HEO) | UPSC - IAS

  • A highly elliptical orbit is an elliptic orbit with high eccentricity, usually referring to one around Earth. Examples of inclined HEO orbits include Molniya orbits, named after the Molniya Soviet communication satellites which used them, and Tundra orbits.
  • Highly Elliptical Orbits (HEOs) about the Earth are often selected for astrophysics and astronomy missions, as well as for Earth missions, such as Molniya or Tundra orbits, as they offer vantage point for the observation of the Earth and the Universe.

Other types of Orbit | UPSC – IAS

  • Super synchronous orbit is a disposal / storage orbit above GSO. From earth, they would seem drifting in westerly direction.
  • Sub synchronous orbit is a orbit close to but below GSO and is used for satellites undergoing station, changes in an eastern direction.
  • Graveyard orbit is a Supersynchronous orbit where spacecraft are intentionally placed at the end of their operational life.

About the White Revolution or Operation Flood in India | UPSC – IAS

Features of Operation Flood or White revolution in india upsc

Features of Operation Flood or White revolution in india upsc

White Revolution in India its Objectives, Phases and Achievements | UPSC – IAS

Operation Flood is the program that led to “The White Revolution.“ White revolution is associated with the package programme adopted to increase the production of milk is known as White Revolution in India.

  • Behind Amul products lies a successful history of cooperative dairy farming in India. Verghese Kurien, nicknamed the ‘Milkman of India’ & father of “White Revolution in India”, played a crucial role in the story of Gujarat Cooperative Milk and Marketing Federation Ltd that launched Amul. Based in Anand, a town in Gujarat,
  • Amul is a dairy cooperative movement joined by about 2 and half million milk producers in Gujarat. The Amul pattern became a uniquely appropriate model for rural development and poverty alleviation ,spurring what has come to be known as the White Revolution.

Operation Flood 1970 as a rural development programme

Operation Flood organised:- Cooperatives of milk producers into a nationwide milk grid, with the purpose of increasing milk production, bringing the producer and consumer closer by eliminating middlemen, and assuring the producers a regular income throughout the year.

  • Operation Flood was, however, not just a dairy programme. It saw dairying as a path to development, for generating employment and income for rural households and alleviating poverty.
  • The number of members of the cooperative has continued to increase with the numbers of women members and Women’s Dairy Cooperative Societies also increasing significantly.

Objectives of the Operation Flood | UPSC – IAS

  • The main objectives of the co-operative society is the procurement, transportation, storage of milk at the chilling plants.
  • To provide cattle feed.
  • The production of wide varieties of milk products and their marketing management.
  • The societies also provide superior breeds of cattle (cows and buffaloes), health service, veterinary treatment, and artificial insemination facilities.
  • To provide extension service.

Note – The program was so successful that by 1998, It made India the world’s largest milk producer, doubled the milk available for each person, and increased milk output four-fold in 30 years

Phases of the Operation Flood from 1970 – 2000

Phase one from 1970-81

  • During this period, the dairy development programme was set up in ten states to provide milk to the cosmopolitan cities, i.e. Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, and Chennai. The important step in this phase was the setting up of 4 Mother Dairies in Mumbai, Kolkata, Delhi, and Chennai.

Phase second from 1981-85

  • During this phase, the dairy development programme was extended in the states of Karmataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan. In this phase, within 25 contiguous milk-shed areas (in 155 districts) a cluster of milk producers’ union was established.
  • The Research Institute at Hyderabad developed a vaccine called ‘Raksha’ to control cattle diseases. The programme also involved the improvement in milk marketing in 144 more cities o f the country. The Dairy Co-operative societies were set up in 35,000 villages and the membership exceeded 36 lakhs.

Phase third from 1985-2000

  • A number of co-operative societies were set up in most of the major states of the country and the number of co-operatives went up by 1,35,439 with a membership of 14 million . The following table 9.16 shows the spurt in milk production in India

Achievements of Operation Flood or White Revolution | UPSC – IAS

  • The White Revolution made a sound impact on rural masses and encouraged them to take up dairying as a subsidiary occupation.
  • The per capita availability of milk per day at present is about 263 gm as against 125 grams before the White Revolution.
  • The import of milk and milk production has been reduced substantially.
  • India has become the leading producer of milk in the world.
  • To improve the quality of livestock, extensive cross breeding has been launched.
  • For ensuring the maintenance of disease-free status, major health schemes have been initiated.
  • The government implemented livestock insurance on pilot basis in 2005-06.
  • The number of members of the cooperative has continued to increase with the numbers of women members and Women’s Dairy Cooperative Societies also increasing significantly.

Problems and Prospects of Operation Flood or White Revolution | UPSC – IAS

Some of the important problems of the White Revolution are as under:-

  • Collection of milk from the remote areas is expensive, time consuming, and not viable economically.
  • In most of the villages the cattle are kept under unhygienic conditions.
  • There are inadequate marketing facilities. The marketing infrastructure needs much improvement.
  • The breeds of cattle is generally inferior.
  • The extension service programme is not effective.

Blue revolution in india its features, objectives and outcomes | UPSC – IAS

defining blue revolution, explain the problems and strategies for pisciculture development in india upsc

defining blue revolution, explain the problems and strategies for pisciculture development in india upsc

Blue revolution in India its features, objectives, outcomes, significance and impact

Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission in India is associated with the adoption of a package programme (to increase the production of fish and marine products) started in 1970. Subsequently, the Brackish Water Fish Farms Development Agency were set up to develop aquaculture. Hiralal Chaudhuri and Dr. Arun Krishnan known as Father of Blue revolution.

The Blue Revolution has brought significant improvement in aquaculture by embracing new techniques of:-

  • fish breeding,
  • fish rearing,
  • fish marketing, and
  • fish export.

Question:-  Defining blue revolution, explain the problems and strategies for pisciculture development in india ?

Impact of blue revolution in india | UPSC – IAS

  • The fish production in the country has increased from 0.75 million tonnes in 1950-51 to 68.69 million tonnes in 2006-2007 under Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission. Fishing, aquaculture and a host of allied activities, a source of livelihood to over 14 million people as well as a major foreign exchange earner, in 2005-06 contributed about one per cent of the total GDP and 5.3 per cent of the GDP from agriculture sector.
  • In Nellore district (Shrimp Capital of India), About 70 percent of the total work force is dependent upon agriculture either as farmers or as agricultural labour. Because of the Environment  and Temperature (The maximum temperature is 36-46C0 during summer and the minimum temperature is 23-25C0 during winter) the climate suits well for Shrimp Cultivation There had been a tremendous increase in the production of shrimp. Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu have developed shrimp in a big way. The Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh is known as the ‘Shrimp Capital of India’.

Problems and Strategies of Blue revolution in India | UPSC – IAS

Despite tremendous success in the development of fisheries in the country during the last four decades (under Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission) , pisciculture is facing a number of problems.

  • Most of the fishermen are poor. They are not able to purchase good equipment to improve the harvest of fish .
  • The water bodies (rivers, lakes, ponds, and coastal areas of the seas) are increasingly polluted.
  • The area of paddy fields in which fisheries used to be kept is also decreasing under the impact of fast growth of population, industrialisation, and urbanisation.
  • Adequate information about the environment of water-bodies (ponds, lakes, rivers, and sea is not available).
  • Unpredictable nature of monsoon as a result of which the inland fisheries suffer adversely.
  • Problem of marketing, cold storage, poor infrastructure and transportation.
  • Inadequacy of research and extension service facilities.
  • There is need of Pink Revolution (Prawns) in the coastal regions of the country and also need a new blue revolution scheme (2.0).

Objectives of Blue revolution in India | UPSC – IAS

  • To fully tap the total fish potential of the country both in the inland and the marine sector and triple the production by 2020 under Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission.
  • To transform the fisheries sector as a modern industry with special focus on new technologies and processes.
  • To double the income of the fishers and fish farmers with special focus on increasing productivity and better marketing post-harvest infrastructure including e-commerce and other technologies and global best innovations.
  • To ensure inclusive participation of the fishers and fish farmers in the income enhancement under Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission.
  • To triple the export earnings by 2020 with focus on benefits flow to the fishers and fish farmers including through institutional mechanisms in the cooperative, producer companies and other structures.
  • To enhance food and nutritional security of the country.

Features and importance of the Blue Revolution in india | UPSC – IAS

Some of the salient features of the Blue Revolution Scheme are as follows:-

  • Providing suitable linkages and convergence with the ‘Sagarmala Project’ of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), Ministry of Shipping, National Rural Livelihoods Mission (NRLM), Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) etc.
  • The Blue Revolution scheme concentrates mainly on enhancing the production and productivity of aquaculture and fisheries (Fish farming or pisciculture)  both from the inland and marine sources.
  • Promoting and encouraging the economically backward sections like the Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Women and their co-operatives to take up fishing.
  • The Blue Revolution Scheme also encourages entrepreneurship development, private investment, Public-Private Partnership (PPP) and better leveraging of institutional finance.

Outcomes and Effects of Blue Revolution in India | UPSC – IAS

The Blue Revolution in India brought an significant improvement in the aquaculture and fisheries sector with the introduction of new techniques of rearing, marketing, exporting and fish breeding. Some of the major outcomes of the Blue Revolution in India are mentioned below:-

  • Indian Fisheries Sector reached a production of 4.7 million tonnes of fish from a limit of 60,000 tonnes including 1.6 million tonnes of fish from freshwater aquaculture.
  • India is recorded to achieve an average annual growth of 14.8% as compared to the global average percentage of 7.5 in the production of fish and fish products (Fish farming or pisciculture).
  • The fishery has become India’s largest agricultural export over the last five years with a growth rate of 6% – 10%.
  • India has become the world’s second-largest producer of fish with exports worth more than 47,000 crore rupees.
  • The fisheries and aquaculture production contributes 1% and 5% to India’s GDP and Agricultural GDP respectively.

Blue Revolution 2.0 and Unutilized Potential in India | UPSC – IAS

  • It is a matter of great concern that India is able to exploit only a fraction of the aquaculture potential available to it.
  • India uses only about 40% of the available ponds, tanks and other water bodies for freshwater aquaculture and 15% of total potential of brackish water resources.

Blue Revolution 2.0 or Neel Kranti Mission:-

  • The focus of the Blue Revolution 2.0/Neel kranti mission is on development and management of fisheries. This covers inland fisheries, aquaculture, marine fisheries including deep sea fishing, mariculture and all activities undertaken by the National Fisheries Development Board.
  • The National Fisheries Development Board (NFDB) was established to enhance fish production and productivity in the country and to coordinate fishery development in an integrated and holistic manner.
  • Now, the Board works under the Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying.
    • It aims to achieve economic prosperity of fishers and fish farmers. The same will be done by developing fisheries in a sustainable manner keeping in view bio-security and environmental concerns.

The blue revolution 2.0 has certain objectives and new dimensions which includes:-

  • It’s aim is to augment fish production (Fish farming or pisciculture) to achieve its target of 15 million tonnes by 2020 under the Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission and raise it thereafter to about 20 million tonnes by 2022-23.
  • Ensuring inclusive participation of fishers and fish farmers in the income enhancement.
  • Transforming the fisheries sector as a modern industry with special focus on new technologies and processes.
  • Doubling the income of fishers and fish farmers with special focus on increasing productivity and better post harvest marketing infrastructure.
  • Enhancing food and nutritional security of the country.

Inland vs Marine Fisheries in India | UPSC – IAS

  • Inland fishery is the rearing of fish in freshwater and brackish water whereas marine fishery is the rearing of fish in sea water.
  • About 50 percent of the country’s total fish production comes from the inland fisheries including the freshwater fisheries like ponds, tanks, canals, rivers, reservoirs, and freshwater lakes
  • Marine Fisheries contributes to food security and provides direct employment to over 1.5 million fisher people besides others indirectly dependent on the sector.
  • Koyilandy harbour in Kerala is the largest fishing harbour in Asia. It has the longest breakwater. India has 7,500 kilometres (4,700 mi) of marine coastline, 3,827 fishing villages and 1,914 traditional fish landing centers.
  • Marine fisheries in India  carried out majorly in these states – Kerala, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Goa.

East coast vs West coast of India | UPSC – IAS

  • The higher fish production (Fish farming or pisciculture) in the Arabian Sea is due to the broader continental shelf.
  • East Coast contributes about 28 per cent of the total production of marine fish in the country. The fishing activity along the East coast is mainly carried on from Rameswaram in the south to Ganjam in the north, with fishing season from September to April along the Coromandel Coast
  • The National Fisheries Development Board has been set up to realise the untapped potential of fishery sector with the application of modern tools of research and development including biotechnology.

List of Commercially important fishes | UPSC – IAS

The catch of almost all commercially important marine fin fishes and shell fishes is on the decline trend and result in severe resource depletion and unemployment.

List of Sea fish

  • Catfish,
  • Herring,
  • Mackerels,
  • Perches,
  • Mullets,
  • Indian salmon,
  • Shellfish,
  • Eels,
  • Anchovies,
  • and Dorab

List of freshwater fish

  • Catfish,
  • Loaches,
  • Perches,
  • Eels,
  • Herrings,
  • Feather backs,
  • Mullets,
  • Carps,
  • Prawns,
  • Murrells,
  • and Anchovies.

Note – Decline in marine capture fishery affects the availability of cheap protein for the public and also affects the GDP growth of the country.

Way Forward | UPSC – IAS

  • Under Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission – An integrated effort is needed by linking up the entrepreneurs, fisheries development agencies, State/UT Fisheries Departments and Marine and Brackish water Fisheries Research Institutions with regard to financial, technical and marketing aspects.
  • India’s long coastline has the potential of becoming the strength of the economy particularly through the exploitation of the Blue Revolution or Neel kranti mission.
  • A coordinated and synchronised action by empowering the entrepreneurs in the available business opportunities together can create a farmed seafood production sector in the country in the near future.
  • India can grow to the extent of 10 trillion dollar economy as against 2.7 trillion dollar today with the help of the Blue Economy.
  • India needs to develop more scientifically its fishing system and other related aspects such as freezing, packaging, etc.
  • Effective hand-holding is needed for the entrepreneurs to get themselves established in the sector.

Why we celebrate diwali its Story, Reason and Importance

why is diwali called the festival of lights for class 2

why is diwali called the festival of lights for class 2

Why we celebrate diwali its Reason, Story and Importance ?

One of the most popular festival in India, Diwali symbolizes the spiritual “victory of light over darkness, good over evil, and knowledge over ignorance”. Diwali is the Indian festival of lights, usually lasting five days and celebrated during the Hindu Lunisolar month Kartika (between mid-October and mid-November).

  • The festival is widely associated with Lakshmi, goddess of prosperity, with many other regional traditions connecting the holiday to Sita and Rama, Vishnu, Krishna, Yama, Yami, Durga, Kali, Dhanvantari, or Vishvakarman.
  • Furthermore, it is, in some regions, a celebration of the day Lord Rama returned to his kingdom Ayodhya after defeating the demon-king Ravana.
  • Diwali is also marked with fireworks and the decoration of floors with rangoli designs.
  • During the Diwali people wear their finest clothes, illuminate the interior and exterior of their homes with diyas and rangoli,
  • Food is a major focus with families partaking in feasts and sharing mithai. The festival is an annual homecoming and bonding period not only for families, but also for communities and associations, particularly those in urban areas, which will organise activities, events and gatherings.

Diwali is a five-day festival

  • First days is Dhanteras or the day of fortune
  • Second day is Naraka chaturdasi or the days of knowledge
  • Third day is Diwali or the day of light
  • Fourth day is Annakut or the beginning of the new year for Hindus
  • Fifth day is Bhai Duj or the day of affection between siblings.

The height of which is celebrated on the third day coinciding with the darkest night of the lunar month. Dhanteras starts off the Diwali celebrations with the lighting of Diya or Panati lamp rows, house cleaning and floor rangoli

Why diwali is celebrated its story and for what reasons ?

Ramayana is the story of Lord Rama who is the incarnation of god Vishnu and his wife Sita. There are various legends that refer to the festival. They traditionally involve the Hindu gods Rama, Lakshmi or Krishna. They all celebrate the victory of the good over the evil and this festival is a celebration of hope, happiness and peace.

  • When Lord Rama his brother Lakshmana and Rama’s wife Sita were in exile Demon king Ravana abducted Sita and took her to his island Lanka. Then Lord Rama along with his brother Lakshmana and amazing monkey holding unparalleled powers- Hanuman ranged a war against Lanka King Ravana and defeated him.
  • On return of Lord Rama after fourteen year exile to his kingdom earthen lamps were lit throughout the kingdom and was celebrated as Diwali for the first time.

Diwali is a post-harvest festival celebrating the bounty following the arrival of the monsoon in the subcontinent. Depending on the region, celebrations include prayers before one or more Hindu deities, the most common being Lakshmi.

  • Lakshmi symbolises three virtues:- wealth and prosperity, fertility and abundant crops, as well as good fortune.
  • Merchants seek Lakshmi’s blessings in their ventures and will ritually close their accounting year during Diwali.
  • Fertility motifs appear in agricultural offerings brought before Lakshmi by farming families, who give thanks for the recent harvests and seek her blessings for prosperous future crops.
  • A symbolic piece of traditional fertiliser, a dried piece of cow dung, is included in the ensemble in Odisha and Deccan region villages, an agricultural motif according to Kinsley. Another aspect of the festival is remembering the ancestors.
  • Rituals and preparations for Diwali begin days or weeks in advance, typically after the festival of Dussehra that precedes Diwali by about 20 days. The festival formally begins two days before the night of Diwali, and ends two days thereafter. Each day has the following rituals and significance

Why is diwali called the festival of lights?

  • The festival gets its name from the row (avali) of clay lamps (deepa) that Indians light outside their homes to symbolize the inner light that protects from spiritual darkness.
  • On return of Lord Rama after fourteen year exile to his kingdom earthen lamps were lit throughout the kingdom and was celebrated as Diwali for the first time.

Religious significance of Diwali

Diwali is celebrated by Hindus, Jains, Sikhs, and Newar Buddhists, although for each faith it marks different historical events and stories, but nonetheless the festival represents the same symbolic victory of light over darkness, knowledge over ignorance, and good over evil.

  • The religious significance of Diwali varies regionally within India. The festival is associated with a diversity of deities, traditions, and symbolism. These variations, states Constance Jones, may reflect diverse local autumn harvest festivals that fused into one pan-Hindu festival with a shared spiritual significance and ritual grammar while retaining local traditions.
  • Lakshmi symbolises three virtues:- wealth and prosperity, fertility and abundant crops, as well as good fortune.
  • One tradition links the festival to legends in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where Diwali is the day Rama, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman reached Ayodhya after a period of 14 years in exile after Rama’s army of good defeated demon king Ravana’s army of evil.

Other similar festival around the world 

  • Kali Puja – Diwali is most commonly known as Kali Puja in West Bengal or in Bengali dominated areas
  • Karthikai Deepam – the festival of lights observed by Tamils of Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala, Sri Lanka and elsewhere
  • Galungan – the Balinese Hindu festival of dharma’s victory over adharma
  • Hanukkah – the Jewish festival of lights
  • Lantern Festival – the Chinese festival of lanterns
  • Saint Lucy’s Day – the Christian festival of lights
  • Walpurgis Night – the German festival of bonfires.
Happy Diwali 2020 !!

Other Service Providers (OSP) | UPSC – IAS

Other Service Providers (OSP) | UPSC - IAS

Other Service Providers (OSP) | UPSC - IAS

Other Service Providers (OSP) | UPSC – IAS

Recently Department of Telecom eased rules for other service providers (OSP) in the business process outsourcing (BPO) and information technology-enabled services (ITes).

  • Who are OSPs or other service providers are:– OSPs refer to firms providing services like voice based and data based outsourcing and other services popularly known as BPOs. Companies or firms which provide secondary or tertiary services such as telemarketing, telebanking or telemedicine for various companies, banks or hospital chains, respectively.

General Guidelines for OSPs are as follows:- 

  • No registration certificate will be required for OSP centres in India.
  • Special dispensations for OSPs:
    • For the OSPs the collection, conversion, carriage and exchange of the PSTN/PLMN/ISDN traffic over the Virtual Private network (NPLC, MPLS VPN) interconnecting the different OSP Centres is permissible.
    • The International OSPs are allowed to carry the aggregated switched voice traffic from their POP in a foreign country to their OSP centre in India over leased line/MPLS VPN.
    • Interconnectivity of two or more Domestic OSP Centres of the same Company or group of companies is permitted. Similarly, interconnectivity among International OSP Centres is permitted.
    • Interconnection of Remote Agent to the OSP centre/resources is permitted.
    • An OSP having multiple centres may obtain internet connection at a centralised location and this internet can be accessed from other OSP centres using leased circuits/ MPLS VPN.
  • The OSPs may also operate as under:
    • Work From Home (WFH)
    • Work From Anywhere (WFA) in India
    • Infrastructure sharing
    • Centralized EPABX (i.e., Distributed Architecture of EPABX)
  • NO Bank Guarantee whatsoever will be required for any facility or dispensation under these Guidelines.
  • The concept of Work-From-Home/ Work-From-Anywhere shall be treated as Extended Agent Position/ Remote Agent of the OSP.
  • Interconnectivity between OSP centres belonging to different OSP companies shall be permitted.
  • Bypass of licensed International Long Distance Operator (ILDO) and National Long Distance Operator (NLDO) jurisdiction should not take place.
  • EPABX at foreign location in case of international OSP will be allowed. However, the OSP will take all the necessary measures to comply with the requirements of relevant provisions of Indian laws including applicable data privacy laws. In addition, the OSP shall maintain a copy of CDR and System logs in storage at any of its OSP centres in India.

Significant analysis of the eased rules are:- 

  • With the government recognising OSP employees as extended or remote agent, companies providing such services will no longer have to carry the additional compliance burden of providing the details of all such employees to the DoT.
  • It has done away with many compliance requirements that these firms were subject to. These include reporting obligations, furnishing of bank guarantees and publication of network diagrams or a diagrammatic representation of how the computers of the firms are linked to each other.
  • The doing away of registration norms will also mean that there will be no renewal of such licenses and therefore will invite foreign companies to set up or expand their other service providing units in India.
  • An important change, which takes data-based OSPs completely out of the ambit of BPOs would mean that such firms can function like any other service firm without the strict and cumbersome guidelines such as presence of agent on location.

History Prelims MCQ | UPSC – IAS

Hinduism | Origin, History, Beliefs, & Facts | UPSC IAS quizlet reddit

Q1. With reference to the decline of the Mughal Empire which of the followings was the prominent causes?
1. Aurangzeb’s Deccan expedition and religious policies.
2. War of Succession.
3. Greed and incompetence of the nobility.
Select the correct answers from the below given codes:
(a) 1 only (b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only (d) All of the above

Q2. Consider the following statements regarding the import and export of good after British conquest in India:-
I. The high import duties and other restrictions imposed on the import of Indian goods into Britain and Europe during the 18th and 19th centuries, combined with the development of modern manufacturing industries in Britain, led to the virtual closing of the European markets to Indian manufacturers after 1820.
II. The British policy of exporting raw materials also injured Indian handicrafts by raising the prices of raw materials like cotton and leather.
III. The gradual disappearance of Indian rulers and their courts who were the main customers of town handicrafts also gave a big blow to these industries.
Which of the following statement(s) is/are correct?
a. Only I
b. I and II
c. II and III
d. All of the above

Q3. Consider the following statements regarding Jawaharlal Nehru
1. He was the president of the Lahore session of INC which called for Complete Independence
2. He was instrumental in the formation of Indian Independence League, a political organization that operated outside India for the removal of British colonialism
Which of the given statement(s) is/ are not true?
a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both 1 and 2
d. Neither 1 nor 2

Q4. Which of the following is true about August Offer?
1. It was an effort to win over the support of the Indian political leadership for the British War effort.
2. It was rejected by both the Congress and the Muslim League.
3. It was delivered by Lord Willington.
Select the correct answer using the codes given below.
a. 1 and 2 only
b. 2 only
c. 1 and 3 only
d. 3 only

Geography MCQ Prelims | UPSC – IAS

Physical Geography Dictionary and Glossary | A to Z | UPSC

1. Depending upon the mode of formation, sedimentary rocks are classified into three major groups. Consider the following statements in this context.
1. Sandstone, conglomerate, shale, loess etc. are mechanically formed sedimentary rocks.
2. Geyserites, chalk, limestone, are organically formed sedimentary rocks.
3. Chert, halite, potash etc. are some examples of chemically formed sedimentary rocks.
Which of the above statements are correct?
(a) Only 1 & 2
(b) Only 1 & 3
(c) Only 2 & 3
(d) All of the above

2. Consider the following statements about diastrophism processes.
1. Diastrophism processes move, elevate or build up portions of the earth’s crust.
2. Orogenic and epeirogenic processes are the only example of diastrophism processes.
Which of the above statement(s) is/are correct?
(a) Only 1
(b) Only 2
(c) Both 1 & 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2

3. Correctly match the following
A. Umbra                       1. Situation of moon when it is nearest to the earth.
B. Penumbra                  2. Total solar eclipse occurs.
C. Aphelion                    3. Position of earth when it is at the greatest distance from the sun.
D. Perigee                      4. Partial solar eclipse occurs.
5. Position of earth when it is nearest to the sun.
Select the correct code:
(a) A – 1, B – 3, C – 5, D – 4
(b) A – 2, B – 4, C – 3, D – 1
(c) A – 5, B – 2, C – 4, D – 3
(d) A – 2, B – 4, C – 1, D – 3

Swamitva Scheme Objectives | UPSC – IAS

Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) | UPSC - IAS

Pradhan Mantri Annadata Aay SanraksHan Abhiyan (PM-AASHA) | UPSC - IAS

SVAMITVA Scheme is a Central Sector scheme launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister of India on National Panchayat Day i.e 24th April 2020.

Aim: To provide an integrated property validation solution for rural India.

The demarcation of rural abadi areas using Drone Surveying technology. and Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS).

This would provide the ‘record of rights’ to village household owners possessing houses in inhabited rural areas in villages which, in turn, would enable them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits from Bank

Swamitva Scheme Objectives | UPSC – IAS

  • To bring financial stability to the citizens in rural India by enabling them to use their property as a financial asset for taking loans and other financial benefits.
  • Creation of accurate land records for rural planning.
  • Determination of property tax, which would accrue to the GPs directly in States where it is devolved or else, add to the State exchequer.
  • Creation of survey infrastructure and GIS maps that can be leveraged by any department for their use.
  • To support in preparation of better-quality Gram Panchayat Development Plan (GPDP) by making use of GIS maps.
  • To reduce property related disputes and legal cases

RUDRAM – India’s first Indigenous Anti-Radiation Missile | UPSC – IAS

DRDO Anti-Radiation Missile Rudram upsc

DRDO Anti-Radiation Missile Rudram upsc

RUDRAM – Anti-Radiation Missile by DRDO | UPSC – IAS

(Type of missile – Air-to-surface anti-radiation missile)

The Rudram-1 previously known as DRDO Anti-Radiation missile (ARM) is an air-to-surface, new generation anti-radiation missile (NGARM) under development by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to provide an air superiority, tactical capability for the Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter aircraft.

New generation Anti Radiation Missile (RUDRAM) was successfully Flight tested on 9 October 2020 – onto a radiation target located on Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha.

  • The RUDRAM is first indigenous anti-radiation missile of the country for Indian Air Force (IAF), being developed by Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO).
  • The missile is integrated on SU-30 Mk1 fighter aircraft as the launch platform, having capability of varying ranges based on launch conditions.
  • It has INS-GPS navigation with Passive Homing Head for the final attack. (Passive Homing Head can detect, classify and engage targets over a wide band of frequencies as programmed.)
  • The RUDRAM hit the radiation target with pinpoint accuracy.

Significance of RUDRAM (anti – radiation missile) | UPSC – IAS

This state-of-the-art high speed missile developed in India is first-of-its-kind in the IAF arsenal. The missile will be jointly produced by Bharat Dynamics Limited (BDL) and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

  • The missile is a potent weapon for Indian air Force for Suppression of Enemy Air Defence effectively from large standoff ranges.
  • With this, the country has established indigenous capability to develop long range air launched anti-radiation missiles for neutralising enemy Radars, communication sites and other RF emitting targets.
  • It is designed primarily for suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD), that can be launched from a range of altitudes for destroying enemy surveillance radars, tracking and communication systems. 
Specifications – RUDRAM Anti-Radiation missile
Mass 140 kg (310 lb)
Length 5.5 m (18 ft)
Warhead Pre-fragmented warhead
Detonation
mechanism
 Optical proximity fuze
Engine Dual-pulsed rocket motor
Propellant Solid fuel
Operational
range
 100 km to 250 km
Flight altitude 15 km to 500 m
Maximum speed Mach 2 (speed of sound)
Guidance
system
 Mid-course: Inertial navigation system with GPS/NavIC satellite guidance and passive homing Terminal: Millimeter-wave active radar homing
Accuracy 10 m CEP
Launch
platform
  • Dassault Mirage 2000
  • HAL Tejas
  • HAL Tejas Mk.2/MWF
  • SEPECAT Jaguar
  • Sukhoi Su-30MKI

Nobel prize in Chemistry 2020 (CRISPR/Cas9) | UPSC – IAS

Nobel prize in Physics 2020 | UPSC - IAS

Nobel prize in Physics 2020 | UPSC - IAS

Nobel prize in Chemistry 2020 (CRISPR/Cas9) | UPSC – IAS

The Nobel Prize in Chemistry 2020 was awarded jointly to Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna “for the development of a method for genome editing.“

Significance – Emmanuelle Charpentier and Jennifer A. Doudna  – have discovered one of gene technology’s sharpest tools: the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors. Using these, researchers can change the DNA of animals, plants and microorganisms with extremely high precision. This technology has had a revolutionary impact on the life sciences, is contributing to new cancer therapies and may make the dream of curing inherited diseases come true.

  • Researchers need to modify genes in cells if they are to find out about life’s inner workings. This used to be time-consuming, difficult and sometimes impossible work. Using the CRISPR/Cas9 genetic scissors, it is now possible to change the code of life over the course of a few weeks.

Backstory – Since Charpentier and Doudna discovered the CRISPR/ Cas9 genetic scissors in 2012 their use has exploded. This tool has contributed to many important discoveries in basic research, and plant researchers have been able to develop crops that withstand mould, pests and drought. In medicine, clinical trials of new cancer therapies are underway, and the dream of being able to cure inherited diseases is about to come true. These genetic scissors have taken the life sciences into a new epoch and, in many ways, are bringing the greatest benefit to humankind.

What is CRISPR ? –  “CRISPR” stands for “clusters of regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats.” It is a specialized region of DNA with two distinct characteristics: the presence of nucleotide repeats and spacers. Repeated sequences of nucleotides — the building blocks of DNA — are distributed throughout a CRISPR region.

What is Bio-bubble environment concept in IPL ?

Bio-Bubble Technology Concept In IPL UPSC

Bio-Bubble Technology Concept In IPL UPSC

A bio-bubble is a safe and secure environment isolated from the outside world to minimise the risk of COVID-19 infection.

  • The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will provide ‘bio secure bubbles’ in hotels, training sessions, matches and transportation.
  • Different zones will be created for franchise team members, match officials, cricket operations teams, ground staff, broadcast teams, hotel staff and security personnel. All must remain in their allotted zones.
  • Medical teams — including physio and masseurs units — are mandated to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits while coming in contact with the players.
  • IPL teams staying in different hotels are advised to order food to their individual rooms and avoid common areas.
  • Physical distancing and masks are a must, even while interacting with others within their bubble.

Minimizing the risk of covid 19 by creating a Secure Bubble

The IPL Council has clarified that wilful break of biosecure air bubble will invite strict action as it can put all players in grave danger. Should a player ignore the code in IPL, he will be separated and be approached to test negative twice before entering the bio-bubble once more.

  • The bio-bubble does not just limit itself to the pitch or field; it is, of course, mandatory that all entities partake in this new form of quarantine.
  • Teams are allowed to hold meetings outdoors to adhere to physical distancing norms. In fact, players will not be allowed to meet their families or friends until the tournament is over
  • It permits only authorised sports persons, support staff and match officials to enter the protected area after testing negative for COVID-19.

 Bio-bubble environment concept in IPL | UPSC – IAS

IPL’s secure bio-bubble has been created by a UK-based safety and technology firm, Restrata. To maintain no transmission risks, a great deal of tech on a large scale is required.

  • Its software is COVID-19 regulations compliant, comprising a trio of tech we have seen mentioned on a quotidian basis: testing, contact tracing and Artificial Intelligence.
  • Restrata had installed Bluetooth technology in stadiums to accurately track and trace any suspected COVID-19 outbreaks in real time.
  • Contact tracing is broken down into three stages:- Contact identification, Contact listing and Contact follow-up.
  • An accreditation card will carry a chip-enabled GPS device, IPL authorities and franchises detailed and live capability to track and trace individuals at all times.

All (8) Classical dance forms of India in Brief | UPSC – IAS

different dance forms of india with states upsc

All different classical dance forms of india with states upsc

All Classical Dance forms of India | UPSC – IAS

Dance in India has a rich and vital tradition dating back to ancient times. Excavations, inscriptions, chronicles, genealogies of kings and artists, literary sources, sculpture and painting of different periods provide extensive evidence on dance.

Myths and legends also support the view that dance had a significant place in the religious and social life of the Indian people. However, it is not easy to trace the precise history and evolution of the various dances known as the ‘art’ or ‘classical’ forms popular today.

  • Each form represents the culture and ethos of a particular region or a group of people. Classical dances recognized by the Government of India are: Bharatnatyam, Kathakali, Kuchipudi, Kathak, Manipuri, Odissi and Sattriya.

Indian classical dances are dances of the mind and soul and are extremely traditional. It is very sensuous but the experience of ananda (bliss) it evokes is very spiritual.

  • Rasa (mood or flavour) as the cause of ananda (bliss) is considered fundamental essence of beauty and harmony in Indian aesthetics.
  • Vibhava (cause of emotion), anubhava (effect of emotion) and sanchari or vyabhichari bhava (subordinate emotions) constitute the state of rasa.
  • These in their respective order change the Sthayi Bhava (primary emotion) into rasa or bliss.

All dance forms are thus structured around the nine rasas or emotions:

  • Adbhuta (wonder)
  • Shanta (serenity)
  • Bhaya (fear)
  • Hasya (happiness)
  • Karuna (compassion)
  • Shoka (sorrow)
  • Viram (courage)
  • Krodha (anger)
  • Bhibasta (disgust)

Classical dances of india state wise | UPSC – IAS

All dance forms follow the same hand gestures or hasta mudras for each of these rasas. Indian dance is divided into nritta – the rhythmic elements, nritya – the combination of rhythm with expression and natya – the dramatic element (also Rules of classical dance in india).

The three aspects – the Nritta, the Nritya and the Natya lay at the heart of each of these forms.

  • The Nritta is a rhythmic sequence that ends in either singing or in lyrics reciting.
  • The Nritya is a sum of rhythmic patterns each following a certain pantomimic interpretation (or abhinaya)
  • The Natya is a complete dance drama with a storyline and various characters.

India offers different types of classical dances in India, each of which can be traced to different parts of the country. The Sangeet Natak Akademi currently confers classical status on eight Indian classical dance styles:

Short note on Bharatanatyam dance upsc

Bharatanatyam Dance from Tamil Nadu | UPSC – IAS

  • Bharatanatyam is a classical Indian dance form originating in Tamil Nadu.
  • Bharatanatyam is considered to be over 2000 years old. In Bharata Muni’s Natya Shastra Bharatanatyam is described as ekaharya in which one dancer depicts many roles. Siva as Nataraja, the Lord of Dance is depicted in various dance forms.
  • Bharatnatyam leans heavily on the abhinaya or mime aspect of dance – the nritya, where the dancer
    expresses the sahitya through movement and mime (gestures and facial expression).
  • Bharatanatyam is usually accompanied by the classical music.
  • BHA- Bhava (Expression), RA- Raga (Music) and TA- Tala (Rhythm) Bharatanatyam is a traditional dance form known for its grace, purity, tenderness, and sculpturesque poses.
  • It is practiced by male and female dancers.

Noted Bharatanatyam exponents are: Rukmini Devi Arundale, Mallika Sarabhai, Yamini Krishnamurthy

short note on kuchipudi dance upsc

Kuchipudi Dance from Andhra Pradesh | UPSC – IAS

  • Kuchipudi is originally from Andhra Pradesh.
  • Its evolution can be traced to traditional dance – drama, known under the generic name of Yakshagaana.
  • It originated in the seventh century AD.
  • In 17th century A.D. Siddhendra Yogi, a talented Vaishnava poet, conceived Kuchipudi style of Yakshagaana. It begins with an invocation to Lord Ganesha followed by nritta (non-narrative and abstract dancing);
    shabdam (narrative dancing) and natya.
  • The dance is accompanied by song which is typically Carnatic music. The singer is accompanied by mridangam (a classical South Indian percussion instrument), violin, fluteand the tambura.
  • Like other classical dances, Kuchipudi also comprises pure dance, mime and histrionics but it is the use of speech that distinguishes Kuchipudi’s presentation as dance drama.

Noted Kuchipudi exponents are: Raja Reddy and Radha reddy, Sonal Mansingh, Yamini Krishnamurthy

short note on kathak dance upsc

Kathak Dance  from Uttar Pradesh | UPSC – IAS

  • Kathak dance is originally from Uttar Pradesh. It is a combination of music, dance and narrative.
  • The name Kathak is derived from the Sanskrit word katha meaning story. This dance form traces its origins to the nomadic bards of ancient northern India, known as Kathaks, or storytellers.
  • The present day Kathak dance mainly depends on the medieval period Ras Lila, a local dance in the Braj region of Uttar Pradesh.
  • Eventually popular Kathak became highly stylised in both Hindu and Muslim courts and came to be regarded as a sophisticated form of entertainment.
  • There are three major schools or gharanas of Kathak from which performers today generally draw their lineage

Lucknow Gharana:

  • It came into existence mainly in the court of Nawab Wajid Ali Shah the ruler of Awadh in the early
    19th century.
  • It is characterized by graceful movements, elegance and natural poise with dance. Artistically
    designed dance compositions, emotive vocal compositions like thumri-s, dadra-s, hori-s along
    with abhinaya (expressional acting) and creative improvisions are the hallmarks of this style.
  • Pandit Briju Maharaj is considered the chief representative of this gharana.

Jaipur Gharana:

  • The Jaipur Gharana developed in the courts of the Kachchwaha kings of Jaipur in Rajasthan.
  • Importance is placed on the more technical aspects of dance, such as complex and powerful
    footwork, multiple spins, and complicated compositions in different talas.
  • There is also a greater incorporation of compositions from the pakhawaj, such as parans.

Benares Gharana:

  • The Benares Gharana was developed by Janakiprasad.
  • It is characterized by the exclusive use of the natwari or dance bols, which are different from the
    tabla and the pakhawaj bols.
  • There are differences in the thaat and tatkaar, and chakkars are kept at a minimum but are often
    taken from both the right- and the left-hand sides with equal confidence.
  • There is also a greater use of the floor, for example, in the taking of sam.

Noted Kathak exponents are: Shambhu Maharaj, Sitara Devi, Pandit Birju Maharaj

short note on manipuri dance upsc

Manipuri Dance from Manipur | UPSC – IAS

  • Manipuri, one of the classical dances of India, originated in Manipur, the north-eastern state of India.
  • The people of Manipur have been protected from outside influences, and able to retain their unique traditional culture. Manipuri dance is associated with rituals and traditional festivals.
  • The cult of Radha and Krishna, particularly the raslila, is central to its themes but the dances, unusually, incorporate the characteristic symbols (kartal or manjira) and double-headed drum (pung or Manipuri mridang) of sankirtan into the visual performance.
  • The most popular forms of Manipuri dance are the Ras, the Sankirtana and the Thang-Ta.
  • In Manipuri Ras, the main characters are Radha, Krishna and the gopis.The themes often depict the pangs of separation of the gopis and Radha from Krishna.
  • The Kirtan form of congregational singing accompanies the dance which is known as Sankirtana in Manipur. The male dancers play the Pung and Kartal while dancing. The masculine aspect of dance – the Choloms is a part of the Sankirtana tradition.
  • The martial dancers of Manipur – the Thang-ta – have their origins in the days when man’s survival depended on his ability to defend himself from wild animals.Today, Manipur has an evolved and sophisticated repertoire of martial dances, the dancers use swords, spears and shields. Real fight scenes between the dancers show an extensive training and control of the body.

Noted exponents:- of Manipuri are: L Bino Devi, Darshana Zhaveri

short note on kathakali dance upsc

Kathakali Dance from Kerala | UPSC – IAS

  • Kathakali has evolved from many social and religious theatrical forms of Kerala.
  • It is a blend of dance, music and acting and dramatizes stories, which are mostly adapted from the Indian epics. Poet Vallathol, composed the classical Kathakali dance form.
  • It is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive makeup of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion.

Kathakali is considered to be a combination of five elements of fine art:

  • Expressions (Natyam, the component with emphasis on facial expressions)
  • Dance (Nritham, the component of dance with emphasis on rhythm and movement of hands, legs and body)
  • Enactment (Nrithyam, the element of drama with emphasis on “mudras”, which are hand gestures)
  • Song/vocal accompaniment (Geetha)
  • Instrument accompaniment (Vadyam)

Noted Kathakali exponents are: Kalamandalam Ramankutty Nair, Kalamandalam Gopi, Madavoor Vasudevan Nair

short note on odissi dance upsc

Odissi Dance from Odisha | UPSC – IAS

  • Odissi, originally from Orissa, is a dance of love and passion touching on the divine and the human, the sublime and the mundane.
  • It is the oldest surviving dance form of India on the basis of archaeological evidences.
  • This dance is characterized by various Bhangas (Stance), which involves stamping of the foot and striking various postures as seen in Indian sculptures. The common Bhangas are Bhanga, Abanga, Atibhanga and Tribhanga.
  • The techniques of movement are built around the two basic postures of the Chowk and the Tribhanga. The chowk is a position imitating a square – a very masculine stance with the weight of the body equally balanced. The tribhanga is a very feminine stance where the body is deflected at the neck, torso and the knees.
  • The Odissi tradition existed in three schools:

A. Mahari

  • – Maharis were Oriya devadasis or temple girls, their name deriving from Maha (great) and Nari or
    Mahri (chosen) particularly those at the temple of Jagganath at Puri.
  • – Early Maharis performed mainly Nritta (pure dance) and Abhinaya (interpretation of poetry) based
    on Mantras and Slokas. Later, Maharis especially performed dance sequences based on the lyrics
    of Jayadev’s Gita Govinda.

B. Gotipua

  • – Gotipuas were boys dressed up as girls and taught the dance by the Maharis.
  • – During this period, Vaishnava poets composed innumerable lyrics in Oriya dedicated to Radha and
    Krishna.

C. Nartaki

  • – Nartaki dance took place in the royal courts.
  • – During the British time the misuse of devadasis came under strong attack, so that Odissi dance withered in the temples and became unfashionable at court. Only the remnants of the Gotipua school remained.

Noted Odissi exponents are: Kelucharan Mohapatra, Sonal Mansingh

short note on mohiniyattam dance upsc

Mohiniyattam Dance from Kerala | UPSC – IAS

  • It is a classical dance form from Kerala.
  • It is considered a very graceful form of dance meant to be performed as solo recitals by women.
  • The term Mohiniyattam comes from the words “Mohini” meaning a woman who enchants onlookers and “aattam” meaning graceful and sensuous body movements. The word “Mohiniyattam” literally means “dance of the enchantress”.
  • There are two stories of the Lord Vishnu disguised as a Mohini. In one, he appears as Mohini to lure the asuras (demons) away from the amrita (nectar of immortality) obtained during the churning of the palazhi or Ocean of Milk. In the second story Vishnu appears as Mohini to save Lord Shiva from the demon Bhasmasura.
  • The dance involves the swaying of broad hips and the gentle movements of erect posture from side to side. This is reminiscent of the swinging of the palm leaves and the gently flowing rivers which abound Kerala.
  • There are approximately 40 basic movements, known as atavukal.
  • The vocal music of Mohiniyattam involves variations in rhythmic structure known as chollu.

Noted exponents of Mohiniyattam are: T. Chinnammu Amma, Kalamandalam Sugandhi

short note on sattriya dance upsc

Sattriya Dance  from Assam | UPSC – IAS

  • The Sattriya dance form was introduced in the 15th century A.D by the great Vaishnava saint and reformer of Assam, Mahapurusha Sankaradeva as a powerful medium for propagation of the Vaishnava faith.
  • Sankaradeva introduced this dance form by incorporating different elements from various treatises,then prevalent dance forms and local folk dances combined with his own rare outlook.
  • Sattriya dance is a clear indication of the influence of the former on the latter. Other visible influences on Sattriya dance are those from Assamese folk dances namely Bihu, Bodos etc
  • Many hand gestures and rhythmic syllables are strikingly similar in these dance forms.

Noted Sattriya exponents are: Indira PP Bora, Maniram Datta Moktar

Types of Contempt of Court and its related Article | UPSC – IAS

contempt of court in india upsc

contempt of court in india and its related Acts

About Contempt of Court | UPSC – IAS

Contempt jurisdiction is exercised to uphold the dignity of the judicial system which includes within itself the dignity of courts and tribunals as well and to ensure the majesty of judicial institutions so that it may not be lowered.

  • Contempt of court is a concept that seeks to protect judicial institutions from motivated attacks and unwarranted criticism, and as a legal mechanism to punish those who lower its authority.
  • Contempt of court – Article 129 and Article 215 empowers the Supreme Court and the High Courts respectively, to punish people for their contempt.
  • Article 129, states that “The Supreme Court shall be a court or record and shall have all the powers of such a court including the power to punish for contempt of itself”.
  • It is one of the restrictions on freedom of speech and expression under Indian Constitution
  • The punishment for contempt of court is simple imprisonment for a term up to six months and/or a fine of up to Rs. 2,000.

Types of Contempt of Court | UPSC – IAS

Contempt of court may be civil or criminal.

  • Civil contempt is committed when someone willfully disobeys a court order, or willfully breaches an undertaking given to court.
  • Criminal contempt consists of three forms:
    • Words, signs and actions that “scandalize” or “lower” the authority of any court.
    • Prejudices or interferes with any judicial proceeding.
    • Interferes with or obstructs the administration of justice.
  • However, innocent publication and distribution of some matter, fair and accurate report of judicial proceedings, fair and reasonable criticism of judicial acts and comment on the administrative side of the judiciary do not amount to contempt of court.
  • The Contempt of Courts Act, 1971 was amended in 2006 to introduce truth as a valid defence against a charge of contempt, if it was in public interest and was invoked in a bona fide manner.

Power of Supreme Court | UPSC – IAS

As a Court of Record, the Supreme Court has two powers:-

  • The judgements, proceedings and acts of the Supreme Court are recorded for perpetual memory and testimony. These records are admitted to be of evidentiary value and cannot be questioned when produced before any court. They are recognised as legal precedents and legal references.
  • It has power to punish for contempt of court, either with simple imprisonment for a term up to six months or with fine up to Rs 2,000/- or with both. In 1991, the Supreme Court has ruled that it has power to punish for contempt not only of itself but also of high courts, subordinate courts and tribunals functioning in the entire country.

NOTE:- The power of contempt is often invoked to ensure compliance with the orders given by the courts and in their execution, and for punishing those who are responsible for the lapses in the manner of compliance.

Kashmir Saffron gets GI Tag and its Significance | UPSC – IAS

kashmiri saffron gi tag upsc

kashmiri saffron gi tag upsc

Significance of Geographical Tag of – Kashmir saffron

Kashmir saffron is a very precious and costly product. With the GI tag, Kashmir saffron would gain more prominence in the export market and also stop adulteration prevalent in the trade of Kashmir saffron.

As Iran is responsible for 90–93% of global production, with much of their produce exported. High-grade Kashmiri saffron is often sold and mixed with cheaper Iranian imports; these mixes are then marketed as pure Kashmiri saffron, a development that has cost Kashmiri growers much of their income.

Uses of Kashmir Saffron | UPSC – IAS

  • Kashmir saffron is renowned globally as a spice (Saffron is the most expensive spice in the world). It has been associated with traditional Kashmiri cuisine and represents the rich cultural heritage of the region.
  • The unique characteristics of Kashmir saffron are its longer and thicker stigmas (thread-like structures, or stigma), natural deep-red colour, high aroma, bitter flavour, chemical-free processing.

Uniqueness of Kashmir Saffron

  • It is the only saffron in the world grown at an altitude of 1,600 m to 1,800 m AMSL (above mean sea level), which adds to its uniqueness and differentiates it from other saffron varieties available the world over.
  • Location – It is cultivated and harvested in the Karewa (highlands) of Jammu and Kashmir.
  • It is used in cosmetics and for medicinal purposes.

Types of Kashmir Saffron | UPSC – IAS

The saffron available in Kashmir is of three types —

  • Lachha Saffron – with stigmas just separated from the flowers and dried without further processing;
  • Mongra Saffron – in which stigmas are detached from the flower, dried in the sun and processed traditionally; and
  • Guchhi Saffron – which is the same as Lachha, except that the latter’s dried stigmas are packed loosely in airtight containers while the former has stigmas joined together in a bundle tied with a cloth thread.

Benefits of Kashmiri Saffron

  • Kashmir saffron rejuvenates health and is used in cosmetics and for medicinal purposes.
  • There is also growing evidence that saffron may help improve mood and be a useful addition to treatment for depression.
  • Saffron is high in antioxidants, which may help kill cancer cells while leaving normal cells unharmed. However, more human research is needed.
  • Both eating and smelling saffron appears to help treat PMS symptoms, such as irritability, headaches, cravings, pain, and anxiety.
  • Improved heart disease risk, blood sugar levels, eyesight, and memory. However, more studies are needed to draw stronger conclusions.
  • Antioxidants help fight against oxidative stress and free radicals in the body. The main active antioxidants include:
    • Crocin
    • Picrocrocin
    • Safranal

Women Empowerment and its Process | UPSC – IAS

Women Empowerment in India | UPSC - IAS

Women Empowerment in India | UPSC - IAS

Women Empowerment in India

Most countries today consider gender equality and women’s empowerment to be essential for the development and well-being of families, communities and nations. No nation, society, and family can flourish and be happy if fifty per cent of its population. i.e. women and girls, are not respected, free and happy.

Not just in India, but in most countries of the world, women have been discriminated against, excluded from decision making at all levels, marginalised and disempowered. This is so because of the prevalence of patriarchy, a social system in which men are considered to be superior to women and io which, men have more control over resources, decision making and ideology.

It is indeed difficult to generalise about women in India because of the vast differences between them. They belong to different classes, castes, religions, communities. Yet, one can say that most women suffer from patriarchal structures and ideologies; they experience gender inequalities and subordination. Women lag behind their men in all indicators of social and human development.

  • India has the most adverse sex-ratio for women in the world.
  • Life expectancy for women is lower than that of men,
  • women’s health, nutritional and educational levels arc significantly lower than that of men
  • Women are Concentrated in low skilled and low paid jobs, they gel lower wages and lower income than men
  • They hardly own and/or control property and means of production.
  • The participation of women in political and social decision-making is abysmally low
  • Women’s participation in the Parliament has never been higher than 10 percent
  • They are excluded from jural authority.
  • They have little say in the formulation of social, economic, legal. political rules which govern their lives and keep them subjugated.

Not in all, but in large parts of India, girls live with disadvantages, burdens and fears. They carry the burden of neglect, of discrimination. The burden of household work, the burden of looking after siblings, the burden of work outside the home. Girls live with fears – fear of being aborted, fear of being poisoned, fear of being neglected and allowed to die, fear of not getting adequate affection, care, nourishment, medical attention, education.

Our daughters also live with the fear of sexual abuse ranging from playful manhandling to rape. Even after the passing of s1ricter and better laws. !he number of brutal gang rapes bas been increasing. After marriage, they face the fear of loneliness, maladjustment, mental and physical torture.

Necessary steps for women’s empowerment in india

Women’s empowerment is a process, which is both ongoing and dynamic and which enhances women’s ability to change those structures and ideologies which keep, them subordinate. This process enables them to gain more access to add control over resources and decision making; gain more control over their own lives. gain more autonomy. It is a process which enables women to have self-respect and dignity, which improves their self image and social image.

In order to move towards gender equality, we have to empower that gender which is disempowered, i.e., women and girls. One needs to understand POWER in order to empower anyone. Power is the capacity or ability to take actions freely and independently, it is the capacity-to control or influence others. Power means autonomy, freedom, making your own choices, having a voice.

The process of empowerment is a political process, because it aims at changing existing power relationships between women and men. The goal of women’s empowerment cannot and should not just be ,to be change hierarchical gender relations, but to change all hierarchical relations in society i.e. class, caste, race, ethnic, and North-South relations.

  • Because gender relations do not operate in a vacuum, because they are related to and influenced by all other economic, social and political systems, one cannot change gender hierarchies without changing other systems and hierarchies.
  • Women’s empowerment is not and cannot be separate from the empowerment nature, empowerment of all the marginalised people and countries.
  • Women’s struggles and movements therefore, need to be closely linked to peace movements, ecology movements, workers’ and peasants’ movements, human rights movements and movements for democratisation and decentralisation of society. These different movements are different aspects of the same struggle, different segments of the same dream; therefore, there need to be strong connections and alliances between them.

I believe that while talking of empowerment of women, we must also talk about empowerment of feminist thinking and ideology, empowerment of principles like equality, justice, democracy and sustainability. This means, we do not support all women irrespective of what they stand for. We do not empower women dictators, women patriarchs, women who promote caste and patriarchy, just because they are women.

We recognize that women can also be patriarchal aud dominating and that some men can be and are our partners in fighting patriarchy and other hierarchical systems. Our struggle is for certain principles and for a society where all men and women have equal opportunities to live, to grow, to participate.

Constitutional Provisions for women in Indian constitution

  • Article 14 – Men and women to have equal rights and opportunities in the political, economic and social spheres.
  • Article 15(1) – Prohibits discrimination against any citizen on the grounds of religion, race, caste, sex etc.
  • Article 15(3)- Special provision enabling the State to make affirmative discriminations in favor of women.
  • Article 16- Equality of opportunities in matter of public appointments for all citizens.
  • Article 23- Bans trafficking in human and forced labor
  • Article 39(a)– The State shall direct its policy towards securing all citizens men and women, equally,the right to means of livelihood.
  • Article 39(d)- Equal pay for equal work for both men and women.
  • Article 42– The State to make provision for ensuring just and humane conditions of work and maternity relief.
  • Article 51 (A)(e)- To renounce the practices derogatory to the dignity of women
  • Article 300 (A)– Right of property to women
  • 73rd & 74th Amendment Act 1992- Reservation of 1/3rd of seats in local bodies of panchayats and municipalities for women.

Subduction zone and Importance of Studying Them | UPSC – IAS

Subduction Zones UPSC - IAS

Subduction Zones UPSC - IAS

Subduction Zone- are the regions where tectonic plates converge and one plate slips/subsides beneath the other. It results in formation of trenches for Example:- Aleutian Trench. At these regions, magma finds its way to the surface resulting in volcanic eruptions.

Importance of studying Subduction zones them:

  • Climate change – Aerosols released during volcano can slow down climate change.
  • Aviation industry – Flight schedule gets disrupted as a result of volcanic ash n smoke.
  • Island formation – magma solidification results in island formation.
  • Seismic activity – 90% of earthquakes occur in the Pacific ring of fire which is a region of subduction
  • Population density – Around 10 crore people live, within 100 kilometer of subduction zone.
  • Disaster management – Recovery and response can be better arranged.

List of Important International Organizations and Reports for UPSC – IAS

List of Important International Reports for UPSC - IAS
No. Organizations Reports
1 The Energy Report & Living Planet Report WWF (World Wildlife Fund)
3 World Intellectual Property Report (WIPR) WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
4 Global Competitiveness Report (GCR) WEF (World Economic Forum)
5 Global Energy Architecture Performance Index Report WEF (World Economic Forum)
6 Global Environment Performance Index 2016 WEF (World Economic Forum)
7 Global Gender Gap Report WEF (World Economic Forum)
8 Global Information Technology Report WEF (World Economic Forum)
9 Global Risks Report WEF (World Economic Forum)
10 Human Capital Index WEF (World Economic Forum)
11 Network Readiness Index WEF (World Economic Forum)
12 Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Report WEF (World Economic Forum)
13 World Power Language Index WEF (World Economic Forum)
Inclusive Development Index WEF (World Economic Forum)
14 Global Slavery Report Walk Free Foundation ( Australia-based human rights group )
15 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
16 World Drug Report UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
17 World Wildlife Crime Report UNODC (United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime)
18 World Happiness Report United Nations Sustainable Development Solutions Network
19 World Risk Index United Nations University Institute for Environment and Human Security (UNU-EHS) and Bündnis Entwicklung Hilft in cooperation with the University of Stuttgart in Germany.
20 e-government readiness index(EGDI) United Nations Public Administration Programme (UNPAP)
21 E-Participation Index United Nations Public Administration Programme (UNPAP)
22 Global Assessment Report UNISDR (United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction)
23 Industrial Development Report UNIDO(United Nations Industrial Development Organization)
24 Reports on Counterfeiting and Organized Crime UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute)
25 Report on Regular Resources UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund )
26 The State of the World’s Children report UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund )
27 The Global Report/Global trends Report UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees )
28 World Cities Report UN-Habitat
29 State of world population UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund)
30 Global education monitoring Report UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization)
31 Actions on Air Quality UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme )
32 Global Environment Outlook UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme )
33 The Rise of Environmental Crime UNEP & INTERPOL
34 Education Development Index UNDP(United Nations Development Programme)
35 Gender Inequality Index UNDP(United Nations Development Programme)
36 World human development report UNDP(United Nations Development Programme)
37 World Investment Report UNCTAD (United Nations Conference on Trade and Development)
38 Levels and Trends in Child Mortality Report UN Inter-agency Group
39 Global Corruption Report (GCR) (Both C. Barometer and Perception Index) Transparency International
40 World Press Freedom Index Reporters Without Borders
41 Report card of Swachh Bharath Mission Quality Council of India- also conducts Swachta Pakhwara
42 OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries )
43 World Oil Outlook OPEC (Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries )
44 Agricultural Marketing and Farmer Friendly Reforms Index NITI Aayog
45 School Education Quality Index (SEQI) NITI Aayog
National Index for performance on Health Outcomes NITI Aayog
India Innovation Index NITI Aayog with WIPO, Cornell University, World Bank, DIPP etc
46 Southeast Asia Energy Outlook International Energy Agency
47 World Energy Outlook (WEO) International Energy Agency
49 Global talent competitiveness Index INSEAD business school in partnership with Adecco Group and the Human Capital Leadership Institute of Singapore
70 Global Innovation Index Cornell University INSEAD and the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO)
50 Global Financial Stability Report, Since 2009 one new report started called Fiscal monitor IMF (International Monetary Fund)
51 World Economic Outlook IMF (International Monetary Fund)
52 Global Wage Report
ILO (International Labour Organization)
53 World Employment and Social Outlook ILO (International Labour Organization)
54 World of Work Report ILO (International Labour Organization)
55 World Social Protection Report ILO (International Labour Organization)
56 Global Hunger Index report IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute)
Global Food Policy Report IFPRI (International Food Policy Research Institute)
57 Safety Reports ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization)- CORSIA
58 Ease of Doing Business IBRD (World Bank)
2 World Logistics Performance Index (every 2 years) IBRD (world bank )
59 Ease of Living Report IBRD (World Bank)
60 World Development Report IBRD (World Bank)
61 Global Economic Prospect (GEP) report IBRD (World Bank)
62 Remittance report IBRD (World Bank)
Service trade restriction Index IBRD (World Bank)
63 Technical Cooperation Report IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
64 Nuclear Technology Review IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency)
65 State of Global Air 2017 Report Health Effects Institute, Boston
66 Global Wind Power Installed Capacity Index Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC).
67 Change the World List Data Fortune
68 India State of Forest Report Forest Survey of India
69 Global Money Laundering Report FATF (Financial Action Task Force)
71 National Air Quality Indices (AQI) Central Pollution Control Board
72 Global Financial System Report BIS (Bank for International Settlements)
73 Asian Development Outlook ADB (Asian Development bank)
74 Status of the Global Climate in 2016 report World Meteorological Organisation

India’s First Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor | UPSC – IAS

India’s First 700 MWe Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor at Kakrapar, Gujarat Attains Criticality | UPSC - IAS

Recently, India’s First Pressurized Heavy Water Reactor at Kakrapar, Gujarat Attains Criticality. KAPP-3 is India’s first 700 MWe (megawatt electric) unit, and biggest indigenously developed variant of Pressurised Heavy Water Reactor (PHWR). Until now, biggest reactor size of indigenous design was 540 MWe PHWR (Tarapur). KAPP-3 is located at Kakrapar Site, Gujarat, where already two 220 MWe PHWRs (KAPS-1 & KAPS-2) are in operation and another 700 MWe PHWR (KAPP-4) is under advanced stage of construction.

  • First two units at Kakrapar were based on Canadian technology.
  • PHWR is a nuclear power reactor commonly using unenriched natural uranium as its fuel, that uses heavy water (deuterium oxide) as its coolant and moderator.

A reactor achieves criticality (and is said to be critical) when each fission event releases a sufficient number of neutrons to sustain an ongoing series of reactions.

  •  Fission is a process in which the nucleus of an atom splits into two or more smaller nuclei. This produces heat, which is used to generate electricity.

Indian Nuclear Power Generation envisages a Three Stage Programme.

  • Stage 1: Use natural uranium to fuel pressurized heavy water reactors (PHWRs). The byproduct is Plutonium-239 (Pu-239).
  • Stage 2: Fast Breeder Reactor envisages the use of Pu-239 obtained from the first stage reactor operation, as the fuel core.
  • Stage-3: Build thorium-based reactors that can be refuelled using India’s thorium reserves, which are converted to Uranium-233 inside the reactor.

Nuclear power in India | UPSC – IAS

Nuclear power is the fifth-largest source of electricity in India after coal, gas, hydroelectricity and wind power. As of March 2018, India has 22 nuclear reactors in operation in 7 nuclear power plants, with a total installed capacity of 6,780 MW.  Nuclear power produced a total of 35 TWh and supplied 3.22% of Indian electricity in 2017. 7 more reactors are under construction with a combined generation capacity of 4,300 MW.

  • India plans to put 21 new nuclear power reactors – including 10 indigenously designed PHWRs – with a combined generating capacity of 15,700 MWe into operation by 2031, the Department of Atomic Energy announced in January 2019.

Role of Science & Technology in development of India | UPSC – IAS

role of science and technology in development of india upsc

role of science and technology in development of india upsc

India’s development in the fields of science and technology

Science and technology are widely acknowledged to be essential components of social and economic development. Scientific knowledge and new technologies can help tackle many of the problems that affect countries. Some of the global challenges science and technology could solve are as follows:-

  • Providing Safe drinking-water and food supplies
  • Grid-scale energy storage
  • Energy-efficient desalination
  • Cleaning up of Ocean
  • Embodied Artificial Intelligence
  • Universal flu vaccine
  • Earthquake prediction
  • Carbon sequestration

The World Bank’s World Development Report states that “Today’s most technologically advanced economics are truly knowledge – based  creating millions of knowledge related jobs in an array of disciplines that have emerged overnight,” and also says that ” the need for developing countries to increase their capacity to use knowledge cannot be overstated.”

  • Scientific and technological knowledge,
  • Physical capital,
  • Human capital,
  • Technological progress,
  • Increase in labour force,
  • Foreign investment and foreign trade.

Of these – Scientific and technological knowledge is the most important factor in economic development. And also considered as a critical determinant of economic growth. It is in this perspective that improving this capacity has become a prerequisite for sustained economic growth and improved quality of life. In the present context, the most important aspect of knowledge, of course is scientific and technological knowledge.

Developed vs Developing countries in science and technology | UPSC – IAS

While it is clear that the ability of a society to produce, select, adapt, and commercialise knowledge is critical for sustained economic growth and improved quality of life, in this respect the developing countries are in a disadvantageous situation.

  • Today, a handful of the world’s richest countries produce the overwhelming majority of new scientific and technological knowledge, and they derive great benefit from its use.
  • Countries in this exclusive group enjoy the fruits or a virtuous circle, in which the concrete benefits or research help produce the wealth and public support needed to continue the investigation of science’s “endless frontiers.”
  • Their technological edge is the key to the continued dominance of the developed countries in the world economy. Whether it is Nobel Prizes in scientific areas or patents and new products, it is the developed countries that are dominant.

Meanwhile most other nations struggle with varying degrees of success, to establish scientific and technological research systems that can invigorate their economies and provide solutions to their social needs.

  • Unfortunately for developing countries the logic of S&T research system favours the scientifically strong to become stronger. Countries that want to improve their S&T capacity have lo make extra efforts to gain and maintain the “critical mass” beyond which benefits can start to accrue. Another difficulty is that this process is long term and full of uncertainty, and scarce resources arc under pressure from a variety of competing needs.

There are other problem as well. Within developed countries, there is a widespread consensus that government policies should support R&D activities, whether in the public or the private sector. In many developing countries, however, doubts remain over whether such policies are needed. Several countries feel that they can’t afford to fritter away scarce resources on exotic research.

Nature of technological knowledge base needed for development

Role of science and technology in development of a country needs two types of knowledge; These knowledge Considered critical for development of countries.

  • Firstly, knowledge about technology, which we also call technical knowledge or simply know-how. Examples are nutrition, agriculture,chemical  or software engineering, and medicine.
    • Typically developing countries have less of this know-bow than industrial countries, and within developing countries the poor have less than the non-poor. These unequal distributions across and within countries are called knowledge gaps.
  • Secondly, knowledge about attributes, such as the quality of a product, the diligence of a worker, or the credit-worthiness of a firm-all crucial to effective markets.
    • We call the difficulties posed by incomplete knowledge of attributes as information problems. Mechanisms to alleviate infonnation problems, such as product standards, training certificates, and credit reports, are fewer and weaker in developing countries. Information problems and the resulting market failures especially hurt the poor.

Despite the difficulties that we have mentioned earlier, there are some reasons to hope that aspiring countries can make progress in closing the gaps that separate them from scientifically-advanced countries.

  • First, new information and communications technologies are providing unprecedented access to existing knowledge, and are virtually erasing the disadvantages of physical distance as a factor for research collaboration.
  • Second, more is being learned about the process of innovation, and the policies and practices that make investments in S&T effective.
  • Third, the international scientific community is by nature open, and marked by a culture of freely sharing basic knowledge. Within the community, tremendous goodwill exists to help strengthen science throughout the world. Among the developing countries, India with its tremendous manpower and institutional resources is in a good position to close the technological gap and emerge as a S&T power with a developed economy.

Significance of domestic technology base | UPSC – IAS

On another level, domestic technology recognizes the use of applied science to construct homes to achieve a particular goal, such as energy efficiency or self-sufficiency.

  • Technological know-how can to some extent be bought or transferred from the developed countries. But this is not always either feasible or even desirable.
  • Countries also need to develop their own technological base especially if they are large countries like India. At the same time, it also has to be appreciated that the most important technological breakthroughs occur because scientists are investigating nature-not because they are looking for applications of their research [e.g., Faraday’s and Maxwell’s work was pure science, but it facilitated Marconi’s and others’ work on wireless communication].
  • However, because it is increasingly true that new technologies often give rise to new sciences and disciplines [e.g., chemical engineering]. it is most accurate to view science and technology as intertwined. According to many experts, this intertwining is the principal reason why technology is advanced through the work of academic researchers.
  • It is also the principal reason why, in many fields, university research is an important contributor to technological advance, and universities as well as corporate labs are essential parts of the innovation system. Thus the problems that originate in industry are not explored only by industrial scientists. They feed into, and stimulate, the entire scientific community.”
  • This provides the rationale for developing countries like india to emphasise basic science along with technology. India is too big a country to absent itself from any field of Science and Technology.
  • Recognising that basic research is the foundation on which all technologies stand, that basic research is also a cultural necessity in any civilised country and that scientists must have the freedom to work on important problems of their choice, support to basic research needs to be substantially stepped up.

Role of Science and Technology in India | UPSC – IAS

Science and technology (S&T) is widely recognised as an important tool for fostering and strengthening the economic and social development of the country. India has made significant progress in various spheres of science and technology over the years and now has a strong network of S&T institutions, trained manpower and-an innovative knowledge base. The twenty first century marks the beginning of the knowledge era.

  • Given the rapid pace of globalization, fast-depleting material resources, increasing competition among nations and the growing need to protect intellectual property, the importance of strengthening the knowledge base is an important issue that has been recognised in India.
  • Major scientific discoveries in quick succession, new technologies arising out of these discoveries, a range of products and services based on these technologies. A technology driven economy across the world, all characterise this knowledge era.
  • Scientific knowledge and expertise, high technology industrial infrastructure and skilled work force are the strengths of a country in the knowledge era. Following sustained efforts over period since independence and a more focused thrust during the recent period in higher education, scientific research, and technology development, the country has now attained a recognised potential lo emerge as a Global player in the knowledge era.
  • At the same time modem technology development is increasingly becoming dependent on research inputs from a large number of disciplines. A seamless and multi-sectoral now of technologies and inputs from scientists and engineers from various disciplines is essential for making a visible societal impact and economic prosperity.

Efforts are being made to identify those S&T area, cutting across the traditional divides of sciences, engineering and medicine, where investments can pay rich dividends.

  • One of the areas of weakness of Indian science in the past has been the lack of effective technology transfer mechanisms. Although we have a few success stories in Atomic Energy, Space, CSIR, etc. where there was successful interaction between academia (including both the university system and the national laboratory system) and industry, in general this has been lacking. Even in these cases the driving force for these interactions came from mission-oriented agencies.
  • Globalisation and liberalisation have thrown up immense opportunities as well as some new challenges for S&T. ln an increasingly competitive world, Indian industry needs the support of indigenous S&T in a big way. Technology transfer to domestic companies from abroad is becoming more difficult because foreign companies can set up industries here and are, therefore, less willing to share technologies.
  • Even in joint ventures, foreign companies are often trying to buy out the Indian partners. Secondly, Indian companies are becoming more and more globally competitive.
  • Indian industry in the future will, therefore, have no option but to invest more and more in Indian R&D for new technology development.
  • lt is against this background that it is being increasingly recognised that greater coordination and cooperation between industry on the one hand and the R&D/academic institutions on the other, is necessary for facing emerging challenges and taking advantage of the opportunities offered.
  • If industry begins to interact actively with academia, it can also play a greater role in guiding academic activities in the direction of industry interests, be it human resource development, R&D prioritisation, or the choice of areas of international cooperation.

S&T Role at the macro level 

S&T management should focus on meeting the needs of the nation (including industry) and encompass a wide spectrum of activities, namely:-

  • Basic research,
  • Applied research,
  • Technology transfer,
  • design, development, fabrication, tests and trials,
  • Manufacturing, marketing, maintenance and product support during tile life cycle.

S&T Role at the micro level 

R&D institutions and the academia must move to couple R&D and Engineering so that the indigenous technology can meet the specific requirements of the Indian industry. In order to strengthen the interface between industry, R&D and academia and to enhance the level of industry participation, appropriate steps need to be taken at various levels by all concerned – Government, industry associations, R&D institutions and universities.

  • Given the range of problems involved with the development of S&T in the nation, it is important to take stock of the situation and develop strategies and plan to address them.
  • It is important to find ways and means of strengthening the S&T system and also make efforts to provide synergy between S&T infrastructure and industry to tackle key issues affecting S&T including the education and research systems.

Society aspects of science & technology in india

Science and technology (S&T) is widely recognised as an important tool for fostering and strengthening the economic and social development of the country. There is an urgent need to make efforts to ensure that appropriate research outputs, which can be pot to use for the benefit of society, are generated and reach the people. It is, therefore, essential to evolve a mechanism and identify programmes for application of Science & Technology for .

  • Improving the quality of life of the people (particularly the weaker sections and women).
  • For the development of rural areas to reduce regional imbalances and
  • For inculcating scientific awareness among the masses.

CSIR Milestones and Key Achievements  | UPSC  – IAS

CSIR was established by the Government of India in September 1942 as an autonomous body that has emerged as the largest research and development organisation in India . The research and development activities of CSIR include:- Aerospace engineering, Structural engineering, Environmental science, Ocean sciences, Life sciences, Metallurgy, Petroleum, Chemicals, Leather, Food and Mining.

  • Developed India’s first synthetic drug, methaqualone in 1950.
  • Developed Optical Glass at CGCRI for defence purposes.
  • Developed first Indian tractor Swaraj in 1967 completely based on indigenous know-how.
  • Achieved the first breakthrough of flowering of Bamboo within weeks as against twenty years in nature.
  • First to analyse genetic diversity of the indigenous Andamanese tribes and to establish their origin out of Africa 60,000 years ago.
  • Developed the first transgenic Drosophila model for drug screening for cancer in humans.
  • Invented, once a week non-steroidal family planning pill Saheli and non-steroidal herbal pill for asthma called Asmon.
  • Designed India’s first ever parallel processing computer, Flosolver.
  • Rejuvenated India’s one-hundred-year-old refinery at Digboi using the most modern molecular distillation technology.
  • With TCS, developed a versatile portable PC-based software ‘Bio-Suite’ for bioinformatics.
  • Design of 14 seater plane ‘SARAS‘.
  • Established first ever in the world ‘Traditional Knowledge Digital Library’ accessible in five international languages, English, German, French, Japanese and Spanish.
  • Successfully challenged the grant of patent in the US for use of haldi (turmeric) for wound healing and neem as insecticide.
  • In 2007, under the NMITLI program, began the study of Sepsivac, a drug for gram-negative sepsis.
  • In 2009, completed the sequencing of the Human Genome.
  • In 2011, successfully tested India’s 1st indigenous civilian aircraft, NAL NM5 made in association with National Aerospace Laboratories and Mahindra Aerospace.
  • In 2020, initiated clinical trials to evaluate Sepsivac’s efficacy to reduce mortality rate in COVID–19 patients.

Conclusion and A Way forward | UPSC – IAS

India must try to become “Global innovation Leader” across the board in all S&T areas. India will certainly become a ”Developed Country” sooner or later, but we can achieve this much faster if we use ‘technology foresight’ to make the right technology choices and introduce ‘coherent synergy’ in our S&T efforts. Technology Foresight helps in the selection of critical technologies for development at any point of time. india is a large country and its technology requirements also correspondingly span a wide range from nuclear to rural. It has to continue to develop strategic technologies- in nuclear, space and defence related areas.

  • The sustained efforts over years since independence and a more focused thrust during the recent period in higher education, scientific research, and technology development, India has now attained a recognised potential to emerge as a Global player in the knowledge era.
  • We now need to focus on enlarging the pool of scientific manpower and strengthening the S&T infrastructure and converting our potential into reality, pushing india into the knowledge era as a global player and raising the Indian economy to the level of developed nations.

Technologies related to energy security, food and nutritional security, health and water security, environmental security, advanced manufacturing and processing, advanced materials, etc., are all important for us. So are the so-called “knowledge based” technologies (Information Technology, particularly hardware, Nanotechnology. particularly Nanoelectronics; Biotechnology; and convergence of these technologies like Nanobiotechnology for drug delivery.

  • Scientific knowledge and expertise,
  • High technology industrial infrastructure and
  • A technically skilled workforce are the currencies of the knowledge era.

NPA in India and its impact on Indian Economy | UPSC – IAS

NPA in India and its impact on Indian Economy UPSC - IAS

NPA in India and its impact on Indian Economy UPSC - IAS

NPA in India and its impact on Indian Economy | UPSC – IAS

According to Reserve Bank of India (RBI) explains the definition of NPAs, “An asset makes non-performing when it stops to generate income for the bank.” According to the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), the gross non-performing assets in Indian banks, specifically in public sector banks, are valued at around Rs 400,000 crore (~US$61.5 billion), which represents 90% of the total NPA in India, with private sector banks accounting for the remainder.

Reasons for the Rise in NPA levels | UPSC – IAS

2004-05 to 2008-09 – In that period, commercial credit (or what is called ‘non-food credit’) doubled. It was a period in which the world economy as well as the Indian economy were booming. Indian firms borrowed furiously in order to avail of the growth opportunities they saw coming.

  • Most of the investment went into infrastructure and related areas — telecom, power, roads, aviation, steel.
  • Businessmen were overcome with exuberance and they believed, as many others did, that India had entered an era of 9% growth.
  • From 2000-2008, the Indian economy was in a boom phase and banks, especially public sector banks, started lending extensively to companies.
  • However, with the financial crisis in 2008-09, corporate profits decreased and the Government banned mining projects. The situation became serious with the substantial delay in environmental permits, affecting the infrastructure sector – power, iron, and steel – and resulting in volatility in prices of raw materials and a shortage of supply.
  • Another reason is the relaxed lending norms adopted by banks, especially to the big corporate houses, foregoing analysis of their financials and their credit ratings.

Recent Developments and Ways to Tackle NPA | UPSC – IAS

  • The Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs) – To decrease the time required for settling cases. They are governed by the provisions of the Recovery of Debt Due to Banks and Financial Institutions Act, 1993. However, their number is not sufficient therefore they also suffer from time lag and cases are pending for more than 2-3 years in many areas.  The original aim of the Debts Recovery Tribunal was to receive claim applications from Banks and Financial Institutions against their defaulting borrowers
  • Using unclaimed deposits – Similar to provisions for unclaimed dividends, the government may also create a provision and transfer unclaimed deposits to its account. These funds in return can be transferred to banks as capital.
  • Monetization of assets held by Banks – In this case, banks with retail franchisees should create value by auctioning a bank assurance association rather than running it themselves as an insurance company. The current set-up blocks capital inflows and doesn’t generate much wealth for the owners.
  • Make Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR) attractive – At present, the RBI asks Indian banks to maintain a certain limit on CRR on which the RBI doesn’t pay interest and hence, banks lose out a lot on interest earnings. If the CRR is made more financially rewarding for banks, it can reduce capital requirements.
  • Refinancing from the Central Bank – The US Federal Reserve spent $700 billion to purchase stressed assets in 2008-09 under the “Troubled Asset Relief Program.” Indian banks can adopt a similar arrangement by involving the RBI directly or through the creation of a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). 
  • Structural change to involve private capital – The compensation structure and accountability of banks create a problem for the market. Banks should be governed by a board while aiming to reduce the government’s stake and making the financial institutions attractive to private investors.
  • Credit Information Bureau – A good information system is required to prevent loan falling into bad hands and therefore prevention of NPAs. It helps banks by maintaining and sharing data of individual defaulters and willful defaulters.
  • Lok Adalats – They are helpful in tackling and recovery of small loans however they are limited up to 5 lakh rupees loans only by the RBI guidelines issued in 2001. They are positive in the sense that they avoid more cases into the legal system.
  • Compromise Settlement – It provides a simple mechanism for recovery of NPA for the advances below Rs. 10 Crores. It covers lawsuits with courts and DRTs (Debt Recovery Tribunals) however willful default and fraud cases are excluded.
  • SARFAESI Act – The Securitization and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (SARFAESI) Act, 2002 – The Act permits Banks / Financial Institutions to recover their NPAs without the involvement of the Court, through acquiring and disposing of the secured assets in NPA accounts with an outstanding amount of Rs. 1 lakh and above. The banks have to first issue a notice. Then, on the borrower’s failure to repay, they can:
    • Securitization – It refers to the process of converting loans and other financial assets into marketable securities worth selling to the investors.
    • Asset Reconstruction – It refers to conversion of non-performing assets into performing assets.
    • Enforcement of Security without the intervention of the Court.

Further, this act has been amended last year to make its enforcement faster.

  • ARC (Asset Reconstruction Companies) – The RBI gave license to 14 new ARCs recently after the amendment of the SARFAESI Act of 2002. These companies are created to unlock value from stressed loans. Before this law came, lenders could enforce their security interests only through courts, which was a time-consuming process.
  • Corporate Debt Restructuring – It is for reducing the burden of the debts on the company by decreasing the rates paid and increasing the time the company has to pay the obligation back.
  • 5:25 rule – Also known as, Flexible Structuring of Long Term Project Loans to Infrastructure and Core Industries. It was proposed to maintain the cash flow of such companies since the project timeline is long and they do not get the money back into their books for a long time, therefore, the requirement of loans at every 5-7 years and thus refinancing for long term projects.
  • Joint Lenders Forum – It was created by the inclusion of all PSBs whose loans have become stressed. It is present so as to avoid loan to the same individual or company from different banks. It is formulated to prevent the instances where one person takes a loan from one bank to give a loan of the other bank.
  • Mission Indradhanush – The Indradhanush framework for transforming the PSBs represents the most comprehensive reform effort undertaken since banking nationalization in the year 1970 to revamp the Public Sector Banks (PSBs) and improve their overall performance by ABCDEFG.
  • Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) – With the RBI’s push for the IBC, the resolution process is expected to quicken while continuing to exercise control over the quality of the assets. There will be changes in the provision requirement, with the requirement for the higher proportion for provisions going to make the books better.
  • Credit Risk Management – This involves credit appraisal and monitoring accountability and credit by performing various analysis on profit and loss accounts. While conducting these analyses, banks should also do a sensitivity analysis and should build safeguards against external factors.
  • Tightening Credit Monitoring – A proper and effective Management Information System (MIS) needs to be implemented to monitor warnings. The MIS should ideally detect issues and set off timely alerts to management so that necessary actions can be taken.
  • Amendments to Banking Law to give RBI more power – The present scenario allows the RBI just to conduct an inspection of a lender but doesn’t give them the power to set up an oversight committee. With the amendment to the law, the RBI will be able to monitor large big accounts and create oversight committees.
  • More “Hair-cut” for Banks – For quite some time, PSU lenders have started putting aside a large portion of their profits for provisions and losses because of NPA. The situation is so serious that the RBI may ask them to create a bigger reserve and thus, report lower profits.  
  • Stricter NPA recovery – It is also discussed that the Government needs to amend the laws and give more power to banks to recover NPA rather than play the game of “wait-and-watch.”
  • Corporate Governance Issues – Banks, especially the public sector ones, need to come up with proper guidance and framework for appointments to senior level positions.
  • Accountability – Lower level executives are often made accountable today; however, major decisions are made by senior level executives. Hence, it becomes very important to make senior executives accountable if Indian banks are to tackle the problem of NPAs.

With the potential solutions above, the problem of NPA in Indian banks can be effectively monitored and controlled, thus allowing the banks to achieve a clean balance sheet

Impact of NPA on Indian Economy | UPSC – IAS

NPA plays an important role in every economic condition and also the main cause of the increase in the current account deficit. Interest rates, Loan, Housing Loans, CRR, SLR all are directly affected by the system. The Corporates also affect the impact of higher NPA.
  • Stress in banking sector causes less money available to fund other projects, therefore, negative impact on the larger national economy.
  • Higher interest rates by the banks to maintain the profit margin.
  • Redirecting funds from the good projects to the bad ones.
  • As investments got stuck, it may result in it may result in unemployment.
  • In the case of public sector banks, the bad health of banks means a bad return for a shareholder which means that the government of India gets less money as a dividend. Therefore it may impact easy deployment of money for social and infrastructure development and results in social and political cost.
  • Balance sheet syndrome of Indian characteristics that is both the banks and the corporate sector have stressed balance sheet and causes halting of the investment-led development process.
  • NPAs related cases add more pressure to already pending cases with the judiciary.
  • Increase in Current Account Deficit: It is the main cause of the increase in current account deficit and interest rates, CRR, SLR are directly affected by the system.
  • Confidence in shareholders: Higher NPA loses the confidence of shareholders.
  • Effect on Borrowers: High NPA not only affect the serious borrowers but also affect borrowers with good credit scores.

ATL App Development Module for School Children | UPSC – IAS

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission launches ATL App Development Module for school students nationwide

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission launches ATL App Development Module for school students nationwide

NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) launched the  ‘ATL App Development Module’ for school children all across the country. Aims at transforming school students from App users to innovative App Developers

The vision is to foster creativity and innovation nationwide through its various integrated initiatives including incubators, Startups, community innovation Centers and Atal New India challenges for product and service innovations enabling socio economic growth of the country .

  • The ATL App Development modules have been launched in collaboration with Indian homegrown startup Plezmo with an aim to hone the skills of school students and transforming them from App users to App makers in the times to come under AIM’s flagship Atal Tinkering Labs initiative.
  • The ATL App Development module is an online course is completely Free. Through 6 project-based learning modules and online mentoring sessions, young innovators can learn to build mobile Apps in various Indian languages and showcase their talent. Additionally, to build capacities and acumen for App Development within school teachers, periodic Teacher Training sessions will be conducted on the AIM App Development course.
  • ATLs can be established in schools (minimum Grade VI – X) managed by State/ Central Government, Local body (Municipality / Nagar Nigam), Private trusts/society or Tribal/Social welfare department etc.
  • The applicant schools would be provided financial support in the form of Grant-in-aid for a maximum period of 5 years.
  • Till date, more than 5100 ATLs are established in more than 660 districts across the country by Atal Innovation Mission with more than 2 million students having access to the Tinkering Labs.

5G technology in India – Advantages and Challenges | UPSC – IAS

5G technology in India - Advantages and Challenges | UPSC - IAS

5G technology in India - Advantages and Challenges | UPSC - IAS

5G technology in India – Advantages and Challenges | UPSC – IAS

Fifth Generation (5G) technology is generally seen as the 5th generation cellular network technology that provides broadband access. The industry association 3GPP defines any system using “5G NR” software as “5G”, a definition that came into general use by late 2018

Fifth Generation (5G) technology is a wireless communication technology using radio waves or radio frequency (RF) energy to transmit and receive data. fifth generation is the next generation mobile networks technology after 4G LTE networks. 5G technologies will enter services gradually, beginning in 2019 and advance to a full range of services by 2024. 5G connections in India are forecasted to reach 88 million by 2025, equivalent to around 7% of the total connections base in the country.

Fifth Generation (5G) technology will underwrite USD 12.3 trillion of worldwide economic output by 2035, with investment within the value chain expected to get an extra USD 3.5 trillion in output and supply support for 22 million jobs by 2035.

Difference between  5G and other Generation | UPSC – IAS

  • 2G and 3G mobile networks relied on microwave wireless backhaul to connect cell sites with the nearest switching centre.
  • 4G LTE introduced IP-based connectivity, replacing copper- or microwave-based cell sites with optical fibre.
  • 5G deployment is based on optical fibre infrastructure.
Generation 2G 3G 3G HSPA+ 4G 4G LTE-A 5G
Max speed 0.3Mbps 7.2Mbps 42Mbps 150Mbps 300Mbps-1Gbps 1-10Gbps
Average speed 0.1Mbps 1.5Mbps 5Mbps 10Mbps 15Mbps-50Mbps 50Mbps and up

Advantages of 5G Technology | UPSC – IAS

  • Faster Data Speed – Currently 4G networks are capable of achieving the peak download speed of one gigabit per second. With Fifth Generation (5G) the speed could be increased upto 10Gbps.
  • Ultra-low latency – Latency refers to the time it takes for one device to send a packet of data to another device. In 4G the latency rate is around 50 milliseconds but 5G will reduce that to about 1 millisecond.
  • A more Connected World – 5G will provide the capacity and bandwidth as per the need of the user to accommodate technologies such as Internet of Things. Thus, will help to incorporate Artificial Intelligence in our lives. It can also support Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality services.

As per the OECD (Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development) Committee on Digital Economic Policy, 5G technologies rollout will help in increasing GDP, creating employment and digitizing the economy.

  • In agriculture, Fifth Generation (5G) can enable improvement in the entire value-chain, from precision farming, smart irrigation, improved soil and crop monitoring, to livestock management.
  • In manufacturing, 5G will enable use of robotics for precision manufacturing, particularly where humans cannot perform these functions safely or accurately.
  • In the energy sector, ‘smart grids’ and ‘smart metering’ can be efficiently supported. With the rise of renewable and storage technologies, low latency communications will be critical to manage these grids.
  • In health-care, Fifth Generation (5G) can enable more effective tele-medicine delivery, tele-control of surgical robotics and wireless monitoring of vital statistics.

Challenges of 5G Technology in India | UPSC – IAS

  • Huge Investment Required: India needs a massive Rs 5 lakh crore ($70 billion) investment to bring in 5G.
  • Expensive spectrum: Indian spectrum prices are some of the highest in the world and the allocated quantity is well below global best practices, while 40% of the spectrum is lying unsold.
  • Lack of uniform policy framework: Delays due to complex procedures across states, non-uniformity of levies along with administrative approvals have impacted telecom service providers in rolling-out Optical Fibre Cables (OFC) and telecom towers.
  • Local Regulatory Issues: Many of the local rules and regulations are prohibiting the rapid and cost effective roll-out of small cells in city centres where Fifth Generation (5G) is initially expected to be most in demand.
  • Debt scenario in the industry: According to ICRA, the collective debt of telecommunications service providers (TSPs) stands at Rs 4.2 lakh crore.
  • Low optical fibre penetration: India lacks a strong backhaul to transition to 5G. Backhaul is a network that connects cells sites to central exchange. As of now 80% of cell sites are connected through microwave backhaul, while under 20% sites are connected through fibre.
  • High Import of Equipments: Imports account for a 90 per cent of India’s telecom equipment market. However due to lack of local manufacturing and R&D, Indian telecom providers have no option other than to procure and deploy 5G technologies from foreign suppliers.
  • Security: According to the Global Cyber Security Index released by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), only about half of all the countries had a cybersecurity strategy or are in the process of developing one. The index, which was topped by Singapore at 0.925 saw India at 23rd position.
  • Possibility of increased digital divide: Initial deployment of 5G networks in dense urban areas could left
    behind rural areas due to commercial viability, may led to increase the digital divide.
  • Human exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields: There has been concern about the said impact of these frequencies on health of human as well as on animals.

A Way Forward | UPSC – IAS

  • Spectrum Policy: India’s spectrum allocation for public wireless services should be enhanced significantly. Also, the cost of spectrum relative to per capita GDP is high and should come down.
  • Create a Fifth Generation (5G) Program Office within Department of Telecommunications and an Oversight Committee.
  • New civil infrastructure like highways, roads, canals and utilities(gas, electricity, water) lines should be mandated to provide Common Telecom Infrastructure resources such as ducting and power junction boxes to support 5G infrastructure.
  • Security audits, a prerequisite for importing of equipment before deploying in Indian networks, needs to be simplified.
  • Favorable Taxation Policy: Reducing taxation and regulatory fees on revenues could contribute to further evolution of the tax framework.
  • Fifth Generation (5G) Pilot: Policy-makers may consider encouraging 5G pilots and test beds to test 5G technologies and use cases and to stimulate market engagement.
  • Support Fifth Generation (5G) investment: Indian government and regulators should ensure the long-term sustainability of the industry and its ability to fund the significant investment required for 5G network deployments.
  • Policy-makers may consider the use of licensed, unlicensed and shared spectrum to create a balanced spectrum ecosystem – one that encourages investment, makes efficient use of spectrum and promotes competition.
  • Where market failure has occurred, governments may consider stimulating investment in fibre networks and passive assets through setting up PPPs, investment funds and offering grant funds, etc.

Formalization of micro food processing enterprises | UPSC – IAS

Food processing and related Industries in India UPSC - IAS GS3 Economic Development

Food processing and related Industries in India UPSC - IAS GS3 Economic Development

Formalization of micro food processing enterprises

Food processing is the transformation of agricultural products into food, or of one form of food into other forms.

Recently, Ministries of Food Processing Industries launched the PM Formalization of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme on 29th June 2020 as a part of “Atma Nirbhar Bharat Abhiyan”.

Scheme would generate total investment of Rs 35,000 crore and generate 9 lakh skilled and semi-skilled employment and benefit 8 lakh units through:-

  • Access to information,
  • Training,
  • Better exposure and formalization. 

Food products manufactured by the rural entrepreneurs in the villages have a long tradition of supplying Indian food products to the local population.

Challenges faced by food processing sector | UPSC – IAS

Challenges faced by food processing sector Unorganised food processing sector faces a number of challenges which limit their performance and their growth.

These challenges include:-

  • Availability of raw materials: Agricultural produce is an important factor for sustaining food processing activities,
  • High competition and Training,
  • Lack of access to modern technology & equipment,
  • Storage Constraints,
  • Access institutional credit,
  • lack of basic awareness on quality control of products; and
  • Lack of branding & marketing skills etc.

Owing to these challenges, the unorganised food processing sector contributes much less in terms of value addition and output despite its huge potential.

  • Unorganized food processing sector comprising nearly 25 lakh units contribute to 74% of employment in food processing sector.
  • Nearly 66% of these units are located in rural areas and about 80% of them are family-based enterprises supporting livelihood rural household and minimizing their migration to urban areas. These units largely fall within the category of micro enterprises.

Objectives of the micro food processing enterprises  | UPSC – IAS

  • Increase in access to finance by micro food processing units.
  • Increase in revenues of target enterprises.
  • Enhanced compliance with food quality and safety standards.
  • Strengthening capacities of support systems.
  • Transition from the unorganized sector to the formal sector.
  • Special focus on women entrepreneurs and Aspirational districts.
  • Focus on minor forest produce in Tribal Districts.

Details of the PM Formalization of micro food processing enterprises | UPSC – IAS

With a view to providing financial, technical and business support for upgradation of existing micro food processing enterprises, the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MoFPI) has launched an all India “Centrally Sponsored PM Formalisation of Micro food processing Enterprises (PM FME) scheme” to be implemented over a period of five years from 2020-21 to 2024-25 with an outlay of Rs 10,000 crore.

The expenditure under the scheme would to be shared in 60:40 ratio between Central and State Governments, in 90:10 ratio with North Eastern and Himalayan States, 60:40 ratio with UTs with legislature and 100% by Centre for other UTs.

One District One Product (ODODP) | UPSC – IAS

  • The Scheme adopts One District One Product (ODODP) approach to reap benefit of scale in terms of procurement of inputs, availing common services and marketing of products.
  • The States would identify food product for a district keeping in view the existing clusters and availability of raw material.
  • The ODOP product could be a perishable produce based product or cereal based products or a food product widely produced in a district and their allied sectors.
  • Illustrative list of such products includes mango, potato, litchi, tomato, tapioca, kinnu, bhujia, petha, papad, pickle, millet based products, fisheries, poultry, meat as well as animal feed among others.
  • Preference would be given to those producing ODOP products. However, units producing other products would also be supported. Support for common infrastructure and branding & marketing would be for ODOP products.
  • The Scheme also place focus on waste to wealth products, minor forest products and Aspirational Districts.
  • Existing Individual micro food processing units desirous of upgradation of their unit can avail credit-linked capital subsidy @35% of the eligible project cost with a maximum ceiling of Rs.10 lakh per unit. Seed capital @ Rs. 40,000/- per SHG member would be provided for working capital and purchase of small tools.
  • FPOs/ SHGs/ producer cooperatives would be provided credit linked grant of 35% for capital investment along the value chain.
  • Support would be provided through credit linked grant @ 35% for development of common infrastructure including common processing facility, lab, warehouse, cold storage, packaging and incubation center through FPOs/SHGs/cooperatives or state owned agencies or private enterprise to use by micro units in the cluster.
  • Support for marketing & branding would be provided to develop brands for micro units and groups with 50% grant at State or regional level which could benefit large number of micro units in clusters.

The Scheme places special focus on capacity building and research. NIFTEM and IIFPT, two academic and research institutions under MOFPI along with State Level Technical Institutions selected by the States would be provided support for training of units, product development, appropriate packaging and machinery for micro units.

 

Extension of Operation Greens from TOP (Tomato-Onion-Potato) crops to all Perishable Fruits & Vegetables (TOP to Total)

  • Operation Greens Scheme, being implemented by MoFPI has been extended from tomato, onion and potato (TOP) crops to other notified horticulture crops for providing subsidy for their transportation and storage from surplus production area to major consumption centres.
  • The objective of intervention is to protect the growers of fruits and vegetables from making distress sale due to lockdown and reduce the post -harvest losses.

Eligible Crops:-

Fruits– Mango, Banana, Guava, Kiwi, Lichi, Papaya, Citrus, Pineapple, Pomegranate, Jackfruit; Vegetables: – French beans, Bitter Gourd, Brinjal, Capsicum, Carrot, Cauliflower, Chillies (Green), Okra, Onion, Potato and Tomato. Any other fruit/vegetable can be added in future on the basis of recommendation by Ministry of Agriculture or State Government

Eligible entities:-

Food Processors, FPO/FPC, Co-operative Societies, Individual farmers, Licensed Commission Agent, Exporters, State Marketing/Co-operative Federation, Retailers etc. engaged in processing/ marketing of fruits and vegetables.

Pattern of Assistance:-

Ministry will provide subsidy @ 50% of the cost of the following two components, subject to the cost norms:

  • Transportation of eligible crops from surplus production cluster to consumption centre; and/or
  • Hiring of appropriate storage facilities for eligible crops (for maximum period of 3 months);

Sankalp Parva by MOC | Planting of Trees | UPSC – IAS

Sankalp Parva by MOC | Planting of Trees | UPSC - IAS

Sankalp Parva by MOC | Planting of Trees | UPSC - IAS

Sankalp Parva – To ensure Healthy Environment

Trees contribute to their environment by providing oxygen, improving air quality, climate amelioration, conserving water, preserving soil, and supporting wildlife.

As the  monsoon season has started, which is right time for plantation. We have seen the importance of clean and healthy environment during this Pandemic and we are proud of our Herbal Wealth which has enough strength to enable us to sail through safely in the period of Pandemic.

MOC urge everybody to participate in this Sankalp Parv and plant and take care of at least one plant, so we can create healthy environment and a flourishing “Bharat”

  • Objective of the  Sankalp Parva – To ensure clean and healthy environment of the country. 
  • Culture Ministry to celebrate “Sankalp Parva” to plant trees from 28th June to 12 July 2020

MOC Recommends Five Types of Trees | UPSC – IAS

Ministry of Culture recommends to plants five trees which have been identified by our Prime Minister and which represent the herbal heritage of our country.

These trees are as follows:-

  • Bargad
  • Awla
  • Pepal
  • Ashok
  • Bel

The Ministry has asked for the participation of all and that the organizations must ensure that each employee should plant at least one tree of his/her choice and over and above these five trees which should be planted as per the call of the Prime Minister.The Institutions must also ensure that the employee takes care of plant planted by them during the year so that it survives and flourishes .

NavRakshak breathable PPE by Indian Navy | UPSC – IAS

NavRakshak breathable PPE by Indian Navy | UPSC – IAS

NavRakshak breathable PPE by Indian Navy | UPSC - IAS | UPPCS

NavRakshak – Breathable PPE Kit | UPSC – IAS

COVID 19 Pandemic has posed unprecedented challenges at the global level. The Healthcare professionals are leading this war against the pandemic and they need to be safeguarded from acute risk of infection, while providing care to the victims.

  • What is NavRakshak? – A resource improvised optimisation of personal protective equipment – Titled as NavRakshak. This innovative solution developed by a young Doctor of Indian Navy (Dr. Arnab Ghosh, a Naval Doctor).
  • The Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) is the most essential defensive tool for protection of the Corona Warriors.

However, availability of reliable, cost effective and comfortable PPEs is a huge challenge. The Indian Council of Medical Research and Ministry of Health & Family Welfare have promulgated benchmarks standards for PPE, based on international standards promulgated by WHO.

To overcome these challenges, a Naval Medical Specialist of Innovation Cell, Institute of Naval Medicine Mumbai has developed –

  • A high quality PPE which provides full protection as per promulgated standards, is made of ‘breathable’ fabric, gives comfort to the wearer enhancing the user comfort even under prolonged use in hot and humid conditions and is extremely economical. This innovative solution developed by a young Doctor of Indian Navy is being steered for licensed production and IP management by the Intellectual Property Facilitation Cell (IPFC) of MoD in association with NRDC.
  • It incorporates superior quality breathable fabric to make the PPE suit while its design innovation eliminates the need of costly taping and sealing of the seam which is otherwise needed in other PPEs available in the market.
  • It meets the standard criteria set by ICMR and MoHFW for PPEs

While many PPEs compliant to the standards are available in the local market, however their cost effectiveness and suitability for the hot and humid weather conditions prevalent in India remain suboptimal.

The PPE kit offers a suite of products including:-

  • Head gear, NavRakshak face mask and NavRakshak Cover-all and Shoe Covers.
  • The Fabric material used is non-woven SSMMS (Spunbound-Spunbond Meltbound- Meltbound-Spunbound) of 51 GSM density and available in two variants (single-ply or two-ply for different exposure situations including intense aerosol generating surgical procedures having higher viral loads).
  • It offer aims to meet the shortfall in the availability of standard quality PPE in the country.

Salient Technical Features including Competing Features of NavRakshak

  • NavRakshak consists of headgear (1 ply 51 GSM SSMMS fabric), 2 plies protective mask of the same material and Coveralls (1 ply =51 GSM) -The innovative hood has a 360 degree wrapping with tuckable base. There is a provision of inserting stethoscope or headphone earpieces (named Phone pouch) through a closed end pouch in the hood.
  • Two ply face mask (10 layered, 102 GSM density) which is almost two times denser than the N-95 respirator mask.
  • Face mask creates tight air sealing generating negative pressure inside (without expiratory valve) and has cup-shaped design with a nose fix.
  • Of fers fluid resistance due to zigzag patterned non-woven fabric, not letting fluid to settle on its surface.
  • Testing of the Fabric has been done by INMAS (DRDO) and passed by 6/6 SBPR test –Coverall exceeds ISO 16603 class 3 exposure pressure, or equivalent

NavRakshak PPE gown | UPSC -IAS

Advantages of NavRakshak PPE kit | UPSC – IAS

  • Low cost, optimal pathogen protection and easily adaptable design.
  • Provides optimal breathing comfort to the user while preventing viral exposure. – Innovative Provision for securely inserting stethoscope earpiece or mobile headphones into hood.
  • Easily available raw material in Indian market, 60-80% (anticipated) cost reduction compared to imported PPEs
  • Low capital investment, easily adaptable by existing Gown manufacturing units
  • Surgical procedures can also be done wearing the PPE

Innovation Cell – Institute of Naval Medicine (IC-INM)

  • The Indian Navy has established its first ever innovation cell, in January 2020, inside the premises of the Institute of Naval Medicine, Mumbai to recognise and promote Innovations from serving personnel. The innovation cell nurtures and inspires ideas and facilitates Prototyping and Product Formulation.

Update – Recently, Agra-based company bags NRDC license for manufacturing NavRakshak PPEs

Prime Minister’s Roles, Functions and Powers | UPSC – IAS

Prime Minister's Powers, Functions and Roles | UPSC - IAS

Prime Minister's Powers, Functions and Roles | UPSC - IAS and PCS

Prime Minister’s Powers, Functions and Roles | UPSC – IAS

Prime Minister is the senior-most member of cabinet in the executive of government in a parliamentary system. He is the real executive authority. In other words, president is the head of the State while Prime Minister is the head of the government. The prime minister selects and can dismiss members of the cabinet; allocates posts to members within the government; and is the presiding member and chairperson of the cabinet.

How does a prime minister is elected/appointed/selected in india?

  • The Constitution does not contain any specific procedure for the selection and appointment of the Prime Minister.
  • According to Article 75 – Only that the Prime Minister shall be appointed by the president. However, this does not imply that the president is free to appoint anyone as the Prime Minister. In accordance with the conventions of the parliamentary system of government, the President has to appoint the leader of the majority party in the Lok Sabha as the Prime Minister

Eligibility – According  to Article 84 of The Constitution of India qualification for membership of Parliament. A prime minister must:-

  • Be a citizen of India.
  • Be a member of the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha. If the person chosen as the prime minister is neither a member of the Lok Sabha nor the Rajya Sabha at the time of selection, they must become a member of either of the houses within six months.
  • Be above 25 years of age if they are a member of the Lok Sabha, or, above 30 years of age if they are a member of the Rajya Sabha.
  • Not hold any office of profit under the government of India or the government of any state or under any local or other authority subject to the control of any of the said governments.

Roles, Functions and powers of the Prime minister | UPSC – IAS

These are the powers of the prime minister as a chairperson of the cabinet:-

  • The prime minister is responsible for aiding and advising the president in distribution of work of the government to various ministries and offices and in terms of the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961.
  • PM allocates and reshuffles various portfolios among the ministers.
  • He plays a significant role in shaping the foreign policy of the country.
  • He is the chief spokesman of the Union government.
  • He is the crisis manager-in-chief at the political level during emergencies
  • PM can recommend dissolution of the Lok Sabha to President at any time.
  • PM can ask a minister to resign or advise the President to dismiss him in case of difference of
    opinion.
  • PM presides over the meeting of council of ministers and influences its decisions.
  • PM guides, directs, controls, and coordinates the activities of all the ministers.
  • PM can bring about the collapse of the council of ministers by resigning from office.
  • The resignation or death of an incumbent Prime Minister automatically dissolves the council of ministers and thereby generates a vacuum.
  • The prime minister—on the non-binding advice of the Cabinet Secretary of India led-Senior Selection Board (decides the postings of top civil servants, such as, secretaries, additional secretaries and joint secretaries in the government of India.
  • Further, in the same capacity, the PM decides the assignments of top military personnel such as the Chief of the Army Staff, Chief of the Air Staff, Chief of the Naval Staff and commanders of operational and training commands
  • Also decides the posting of Indian Police Service officers – the All India Service for policing. PM also exercises control over the Indian Administrative Service (IAS)  the country’s premier civil service.

The prime minister is usually always in charge/head of:

  • Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions (as Minister of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions)
  • Cabinet Secretariat
  • Appointments Committee of the Cabinet
  • Cabinet Committee on Security
  • Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs
  • NITI Aayog
  • Department of Atomic Energy
  • Department of Space
  • Nuclear Command Authority

Frequently asked Questions FAQ

what is the position of the prime minister under the parliamentary system of government?

  • The Constitution envisions a scheme of affairs in which the president of India is the head of state; in terms of Article 53 with office of the prime minister being the head of Council of Ministers (real executive authority) to assist and advise the president in the discharge of his/her constitutional functions.

Minimum educational qualification for prime minister of india?

  • There is no minimum Educational Qualification is prescribe under the Indian Constitution of 1949.

Emergency Provisions in Indian Constitution under article 356, 352 and 360

Emergency Provisions in Indian Constitution under article 356, 352 and 360 | UPSC - IAS

Emergency Provisions in Indian Constitution under article 356, 352 and 360 | UPSC - IAS

Emergency Provisions in Indian Constitution | UPSC – IAS

Emergency Provisions are contained in Part Eighteen (18) from Articles 352 to 360 of the Constitution of India. It converts the federal structure into a unitary one without a formal amendment of the Constitution. Emergency provisions enable the Central government to meet any abnormal situation effectively. Emergency provisions taken from Weimar Constitution of Germany.

Rationality behind the incorporation of Emergency Provisions

Under what circumstances can the president of india declare emergency in the country? – The President of India (with the aid and advice of council of ministers) has the power to impose emergency rule in any or all the Indian states if the security of part or all of India is threatened by “war or external aggression or armed rebellion”. or to meet any abnormal situation effectively.

Emergency provisions in the Constitution is also incorporate to safeguard the:-

  • Sovereignty, Unity, Integrity and security of the country,
  • The democratic political system, and
  • The Constitution.

The Indian Constitution prescribe three types of emergencies:

  • National Emergency (Article 352).
  • President’s Rule (Article 356).
  • Financial Emergency (Article 360).

Let’s Discuss each emergency one by one:-

National Emergency under article 352 | UPSC – IAS

Under Article 352, the President can declare a national emergency when the security of India or a part of it is threatened by war or external aggression or armed rebellion.

  • The President can declare such an emergency only on the basis of a written request by the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister.
  • When a national emergency is declared on the ground of ‘war’ or ‘external aggression’, it is known as ‘External Emergency’. When it is declared on the ground of ‘armed rebellion’, it is known as ‘Internal Emergency’.
  • Such an emergency was declared in India in 1962 war (China war), 1971 war (Pakistan war), and 1975 internal disturbance (declared by Indira Gandhi).
  • There is no maximum period prescribed for its operation. It can be continued indefinitely with the approval of Parliament for every six months.

What are the implications of national emergency?

  • Fundamental rights will become meaningless – The six freedoms under Right to Freedom are automatically suspended. By contrast, the Right to Life and Personal Liberty cannot be suspended according to the original Constitution.
    • Article 20 gives protection in respect of conviction for offences. Article 21 gives the right to life, personal liberty and the right to die with dignity (passive euthanasia).
  • The term of the Lok Sabha can be successively extended by intervals of up to one year, but not beyond six months
  • The Parliament becomes empowered to make laws on any subject mentioned in the State List. Although the legislative power of a state legislature is not suspended.
  • The federal character of the Constitution will be destroyed and the Union will become all powerful.

President’s Rule under Article 356 and 365 | UPSC – IAS

If the President is satisfied, based on the report of the Governor of the concerned state or from other sources, that the governance in a state cannot be carried out according to the provisions in the Constitution, he/she may declare an emergency in the state. Such an emergency must be approved by the Parliament within a period of two months. It is also known as ‘Constitutional Emergency’

  • Article 356 empowers the President to issue a President’s Rule, if he/she is satisfied that a situation has arisen in which the government of a state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. Notably, the president can act either on a report of the governor of the state or otherwise too (ie, even without the governor’s report).
  • Article 365 says that whenever a state fails to comply with or to give effect to any direction from the Centre, it will be lawful for the president to hold that a situation has arisen in which the government of the state cannot be carried on in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution.
  • There is a maximum period prescribed for its operation, that is, three years. Thereafter, it must come to an end and the normal constitutional machinery must be restored in the state.
  • It has no effect on Fundamental Rights of the citizens

Consequences of President’s Rule

  • During such an emergency, the President can take over the entire work of the executive, and the Governor administers the state in the name of the President.
  • Parliament can delegate the power to make laws for the state to the President or to any other authority specified by him.
  • All money bills have to be referred to the Parliament for approval.
  • Ministers of state legislature do not perform official actions in their state.

Financial Emergency under Article 360 | UPSC – IAS

Article 360 empowers the president to proclaim a Financial Emergency if he is satisfied that a situation has arisen due to which the financial stability or credit of India or any part of its territory is threatened.

  • Under article 360 of the constitution, the president can proclaim a financial emergency when the financial stability or credit of the nation or of any part of its territory is threatened
  • The president can reduce the salaries of all government officials, including judges of the supreme court and high courts, in cases of a financial emergency

The Financial Emergency continues indefinitely till it is revoked. This implies two things:

  • There is no maximum period prescribed for its operation; and
  • Repeated parliamentary approval is not required for its continuation.

Implications of financial emergency

  • The financial autonomy of the state will be nullified.

How many times the president has declared the financial emergency in India?

  • No Financial Emergency has been declared so far, though there was a financial crisis in 1991.

Dr B R Ambedkar (father of indian constitution) observed in the Constituent Assembly

In the context emergency provision that: – “All federal systems including American are placed in a tight mould of federalism. No matter what the circumstances, it cannot change its form and shape. It can never be unitary. On the other hand, the Constitution of India can be both unitary as well as federal according to the requirements of time and circumstances. In normal times, it is framed to work as a federal system. But in times of Emergency, it is so designed as to make it work as though it was a unitary system.”

Powers and Functions of Governor | UPSC – IAS

Governor's Powers and Functions | UPSC - IAS and PCS

Governor's Powers and Functions | UPSC - IAS and PCS

Governor’s Powers and Functions | UPSC – IAS

The governor is the chief executive head of the state. The governor acts as the nominal head whereas the real power lies with the Chief ministers of the states and his/her councils of ministers.

The governor also acts as an agent of the central government. Therefore, the office of governor has a dual role. Usually, there is a governor for each state, but the 7th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1956 facilitated the appointment of the same person as a governor for two or more states.

  • Governors exist in the states while lieutenant governors exist in union territories and in the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
  • The Governors and Lieutenant Governors/Administrators of the states and union territories of India have similar powers and functions at the state level as that of the President of India at Union level.
  • A governor possesses executive, legislative, financial and judicial powers more or less analogous to the President of India. However, he has no diplomatic, military or emergency powers like the president.

Powers and functions of the governor of state

The primary function of the governor is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law as incorporated in his/her oath of office under Article 159 of the Indian constitution in the administration of the State affairs.

Executive Powers of Indian Governor | UPSC – IAS

The Council of Ministers remain in power during the ‘pleasure’ of the governor, but in the real sense it means the pleasure of obtaining majority in the Legislative Assembly. As long as the majority in the State Legislative Assembly supports the government, the Council of Ministers cannot be dismissed.

  • All executive actions of the government of a state are formally taken in his name. He can make rules specifying the manner in which the Orders and other instruments made and executed in his name shall be authenticated.
  • He can make rules for more convenient transaction of the business of a state government and for the allocation among the ministers of the said business.
  • He can make the rules for more convenient transaction of business of the state government are made by
  • He can recommend the imposition of constitutional emergency in a state to the president. During the period of President’s rule in a state, the governor enjoys extensive executive powers as an agent of the President.
  • He acts as the chancellor of universities in the state. He also appoints the vice-chancellors of universities in the state.

Governor Appoints the following:-

  • The chief minister and other ministers. They also hold office during his pleasure.
  • Tribal Welfare minister in the states of Chattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh and Odisha.
  • Advocate general of a state and determines his remuneration. The advocate general holds office during the pleasure of the governor.
  • The state election commissioner and determines his conditions of service and tenure of office.
  • The chairman and members of the state public service commission. However, they can be removed only by the president and not by a governor.
  • He also appoints persons to the judicial service of the state (other than district judges) in consultation with the state high court and the State Public Service Commission.
  • He can appoint any member of the State legislative assembly to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant.
  • Governor can appoint any member of the state legislature council to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both Chairman and Deputy Chairman fall vacant.

Legislative Powers of Indian Governor | UPSC – IAS

The Governor summons the sessions of both houses of the state legislature and prorogues them. The governor can even dissolve the State Legislative Assembly. These powers are formal and the governor while using these powers must act according to the advice of the Council of Ministers headed by the Chief Minister.

  • He can address the state legislature at the commencement of the first session after each general election and the first session of each year.
  • He can send messages to the house or houses of the state legislature, with respect to a bill pending in the legislature or otherwise.
  • When the state legislature is not in session and the governor considers it necessary to have a law, then the governor can promulgate ordinances. These ordinances are submitted to the state legislature at its next session. They remain valid for no more than six weeks from the date the state legislature is reconvened unless approved by it earlier.
  • He nominates one-sixth of the members of the state legislative council from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art, cooperative movement and social service.
  • He can nominate one member to the state legislature assembly from the Anglo-Indian Community.
  • He decides on the question of disqualification of members of the state legislature in consultation with the Election Commission.
  • Governor can ask the Advocate General to attend the proceedings of both houses of the state legislature and report to him any unlawful functioning if any.
  • Governor is empowered under Article 192 to disqualify a member of a House of the State legislature when the election commission recommends that the legislator is no longer complying with provisions of Article 191.

Financial Powers of Indian Governor | UPSC – IAS

The governor causes to be laid before the State Legislature the annual financial statement which is the State Budget.

  • Money bills can be introduced in the state legislature only with his prior recommendation.
  • No demand for a grant can be made except on his recommendation.
  • He can make advances out of the Contingency Fund of the state to meet any unforeseen expenditure.
  • He constitutes a finance commission after every five years to review the financial position of the panchayats and the municipalities.

Judicial Powers of Indian Governor | UPSC – IAS

The judicial powers and functions of the governor are:-

  • He is consulted by the president while appointing the judges of the concerned state high court.
  • He makes appointments, postings and promotions of the district judges in consultation with the state high court.

Discretionary powers of Indian Governor | UPSC – IAS

  • When no party gets a clear majority, the governor has discretion to choose a candidate for chief minister who will put together a majority coalition as soon as possible.
  • He submits reports on his own to the president or on the direction of the president regarding the affairs of the state.
  • Reservation of a bill for the consideration of the President.
  • Recommendation for the imposition of the President’s Rule in the state.
  • He can withhold his assent to a bill and send it to the president for his approval.
  • During emergency rule per Article 353, he can override the advice of the council of ministers if specifically permitted by the president.
  • Seeking information from the chief minister with regard to the administrative and legislative matters of the state.
  • Determining the amount payable by the Government of – Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to an autonomous Tribal District Council as royalty accruing from licenses for mineral exploration

Pardoning powers of Indian Governor | UPSC – IAS

  • He can pardon, reprieve, respite, remit, suspend or commute the punishment or sentence of any person convicted of any offence against a state law only.
  • He cannot pardon a death sentence. Even if a state law prescribes for death sentence, the power to grant pardon lies with the President and not the governor. But, the governor can suspend, remit or commute a death sentence.
  • He cannot grant pardon, reprieve, respite, suspension, remission or commutation in respect to punishment or sentence by a court-martial.

Veto powers of Indian Governor | UPSC – IAS

In relation to ordinary bill – After it is passed by the legislative assembly in case of a unicameral legislature or by both the Houses in case of a bicameral legislature either in the first instance or in the second instance, is presented to the governor for his assent. He has four alternatives:

  • Governor may give his assent to the bill, the bill then becomes an act.
  • He may withhold his assent to the bill, the bill then ends and does not become an act.
  • Governor may return the bill for reconsideration of the House or Houses. If the bill is passed by the House or Houses again with or without amendments and presented to the governor for his assent, the governor must give his assent to the bill. Thus, the governor enjoys only a ‘suspensive veto’.
  • He may reserve the bill for the consideration of the President.

In relation to Money Bill –  The governor cannot return a money bill for the reconsideration of the state legislature.

Note:- Normally, the governor gives his assent to a money bill as it is introduced in the state legislature with his previous permission.

Vice President of India – Everything you need to know

Vice President of India | UPSC - IAS and PCS

Vice President of India | UPSC - IAS and PCS

Vice President of India | Powers and Functions | UPSC – IAS

The Vice President of India is the second-highest constitutional office in India after the President. This office was created with a view to maintain the political continuity of the Indian State.

Powers and Functions of the Vice – President | UPSC – IAS

  • He acts as the ex-officio Chairman of Rajya Sabha. In this capacity, his powers and functions are similar to those of the Speaker of Lok Sabha. In this respect, he resembles the American vice-president who also acts as the Chairman of the Senate – the Upper House of the American legislature.
  • When a bill is introduced in Rajya Sabha, the vice president decides whether it is a financial bill or not. If he is of the opinion, a bill introduced in the Rajya Sabha is a money bill, he would refer the case to the Speaker of the Lok Sabha for deciding it.
  • He acts as President when a vacancy occurs in the office of the President due to his resignation, removal, death or otherwise.
  • He can act as President only for a maximum period of six months within which a new President has to be elected.
  • Further, when the sitting President is unable to discharge his functions due to absence, illness or any other cause, the Vice-President discharges his functions until the President resumes his office.
  • While acting as President or discharging the functions of President, the Vice-President does not perform the duties of the office of the chairman of Rajya Sabha. During this period, those duties are performed by the Deputy Chairman of Rajya Sabha.

Indian vs American Vice-Presidents | UPSC – IAS

  • The American Vice-President succeeds to the presidency when it falls vacant, and remains President for the unexpired term of his predecessor.
  • The Indian Vice- President, on the other hand, does not assume the office of the President when it falls vacant for the unexpired term. He merely serves as an acting President until the new President assumes charge.

From the above it is clear that the Constitution has not assigned any significant function to the Vice- President in that capacity. Hence, some scholars call him ‘His Superfluous Highness’.

Election of vice president of India | UPSC – IAS

The Vice-President’s election, like that of the President’s election, is held in accordance with the system of proportional representation by means of the single transferable vote and the voting is by secret ballot conducted by election commission.

  • Vice President of India also acts as the Honourable Chancellor of Panjab University, Chandigarh
  • Vice President holds office for five years. The Vice President can be re-elected any number of times.

Frequently Asked Question (FAQ)

Question 1: Is vice president part of parliament?

Under the Constitution, the Parliament of India consists of three parts:-

  • The President.
  • The Council of States or (Rajya Sabha is the Upper House (Second Chamber or House of Elders).
    • Represents the states and union territories of the Indian Union
  • The House of the People or Lok Sabha is the Lower House (First Chamber or Popular House).
    • Represents the people of India as a whole.

Question 2: Who administers oath of office to the Vice – President? 

  • The Oath of office to the Vice-President is administered by the President or some person appointed in that behalf by him.

List of vice presidents of India | UPSC – IAS

NO Name Portrait Elected
(% votes)		 Took office Left office Term
1 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)		 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1952
(Unopposed)		 13 May 1952 12 May 1957 10
1 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan
(1888–1975)		 Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan 1957
(Unopposed)		 13 May 1957 12 May 1962 10
2 Zakir Husain
(1897–1969)		 Zakir Hussain 1962
(97.59)		 13 May 1962 12 May 1967 5
3 V. V. Giri
(1894–1980)		 V.V. Giri 1967
(71.45)		 13 May 1967 3 May 1969 2
4 Gopal Swarup Pathak
(1896–1982)		 1969
(49.9)		 31 August 1969 30 August 1974 5
5 B. D. Jatti
(1912–2002)		 1974
(78.70)		 31 August 1974 30 August 1979 5
6 Mohammad Hidayatullah
(1905–1992)		 Justice M. Hidayatullah.jpg 1979
(Unopposed)		 31 August 1979 30 August 1984 5
7 R. Venkataraman
(1910–2009)		 R Venkataraman 1984
(71.05)		 31 August 1984 24 July 1987 3
8 Shankar Dayal Sharma
(1918–1999)		 Shankar Dayal Sharma 1987
(Unopposed)		 3 September 1987 24 July 1992 5
9 K. R. Narayanan
(1921–2005)		 K.R. Narayanan 1992
(99.86)		 21 August 1992 24 July 1997 5
10 Krishan Kantdagger
(1927–2002)		 Krishna Kant 1997
(61.76)		 21 August 1997 27 July 2002 5
11 Bhairon Singh Shekhawat
(1924–2010)		 Bhairon Singh Shekhawat 2002
(59.82)		 19 August 2002 21 July 2007 5
12 Mohammad Hamid Ansari
(1937–)		 Hamid Ansari 2007
(60.51)		 11 August 2007 11 August 2012 10
12 Mohammad Hamid Ansari
(1937–)		 Hamid Ansari 2012
(67.31)		 11 August 2012 11 August 2017 10
13 Venkaiah Naidu
(1949–)		 Venkaiah Naidu 2017
(67.89)		 11 August 2017 Incumbent —

President powers and functions in india | UPSC – IAS and PCS

President's - Powers and Functions | UPSC - IAS

President's - Powers and Functions | UPSC - IAS

President’s – Powers and Functions | UPSC – IAS

The President of India, is the ceremonial head of state of India and the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. The primary duty of the president is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India as made part of his oath (Article 60 of Indian constitution). The president is the common head of all independent constitutional entities. He is the first citizen of India and acts as the symbol of:-

  • Unity
  • Integrity and
  • Solidarity of the nation.

Powers and Functions of the Indian President

Constitutional position of president of India is similar to the position as the King under the English Constitution.

  • He is the head of the state but not of the Executive.
  • He represents the Nation but does not rule the Nation.
  • He is the symbol of the Nation.
  • His place in the administration is that of a ceremonial device on a seal by which the nation’s decisions are made known.

Executive Powers of Indian President | UPSC – IAS

The president is responsible for making a wide variety of appointments. These include:-

  • The chief justice and other judges of the Supreme Court of India and state/union territory high courts.
  • The Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi.
  • The Comptroller and Auditor General.(CAG)
  • The Chief Election Commissioner and other Election Commissioners.
  • The chairman and other Members of the Union Public Service Commission.
  • The Attorney General.
  • Governors of states are also appointed by the president
  • Ambassadors and High Commissioners to other countries (only through the list of names given by the prime minister).
  • Officers of the All India Services (IAS, IPS and IFoS), and other Central Civil Services in Group ‘A’.

The executive powers and functions of the President are as follows:-

  • All executive actions of the Government of India are formally taken in his name.
  • He can make rules specifying the manner in which the orders and other instruments made and executed in his name shall be authenticated.
  • President can make the rules for more convenient transaction of business of the state government.
  • He can make rules for more convenient transaction of business of the Union government, and for allocation of the said business among the ministers.
  • He can seek any information relating to the administration of affairs of the Union, and proposals for legislation from the prime minister.
  • He can require the Prime Minister to submit, for consideration of the council of ministers, any matter on which a decision has been taken by a minister but, which has not been considered by the council.
  • He directly administers the union territories through administrators appointed by him.
  • He can declare any area as scheduled area and has powers with respect to the administration of scheduled areas and tribal areas.

Legislative Powers of Indian President | UPSC – IAS

The President is an integral part of the Parliament of India, and enjoys the following legislative powers.

  • The president inaugurates parliament by addressing it after the general elections and also at the beginning of the first session every year per Article 87(1). The presidential address on these occasions is generally meant to outline the new policies of the government
  • All bills passed by the parliament can become laws only after receiving the assent of the president per Article 111.
  • He can summon or prorogue the Parliament and dissolve the Lok – Sabha.
  • He can also summon a joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament, which is presided over by the Speaker of the Lok – Sabha.
  • He can send messages to the Houses of Parliament, whether with respect to a bill pending in the Parliament or otherwise.
  • He can appoint any member of the Lok – Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker fall vacant. Similarly, he can also appoint any member of the Rajya Sabha to preside over its proceedings when the offices of both the Chairman and the Deputy Chairman fall vacant.
  • He nominates 12 members of the Rajya Sabha from amongst persons having special knowledge or practical experience in literature, science, art and social service.
  • He can nominate two members to the Lok Sabha from the Anglo-Indian Community.
  • He decides on questions as to disqualifications of members of the Parliament, in consultation with the Election Commission.
  • His prior recommendation or permission is needed to introduce certain types of bills in the Parliament. For example,
    • A bill involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, or
    • A bill for the alteration of boundaries of states or creation of a new state.

However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament, with or without amendments, the President has to give his assent to the bill.

  • He can promulgate ordinances when the Parliament is not in session. These ordinances must be approved by the Parliament within six weeks from its reassembly. He can also withdraw an ordinance at any time.
  • He can make regulations for the peace, progress and good government of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. In the case of Puducherry also, the President can legislate by making regulations but only when the assembly is suspended or dissolved.

Financial Powers of Indian president | UPSC – IAS

The financial powers and functions of the President are:

  • Money bills can be introduced in the Parliament only with his prior recommendation.
  • President lays the Annual Financial Statement, i.e. the Union budget, before the parliament.
  • President demand for a grant can be made except on his recommendation.
  • President can make advances out of the contingency fund of India to meet any unforeseen expenses.
  • President constitutes a finance commission after every five years to recommend the distribution of revenues between the Centre and the states.

Judicial Powers of Indian president | UPSC – IAS

The primary duty of the president is to preserve, protect and defend the constitution and the law of India per Article 60.

  • He appoints the Chief Justice and the judges of Supreme Court and high courts.
  • He can seek advice from the Supreme Court on any question of law or fact. However, the advice tendered by the Supreme Court is not binding on the President.
  • The Indian government’s chief legal adviser, Attorney General of India, is appointed by the president of India under Article 76(1) and holds office during the pleasure of the president.

Pardoning powers of President of India | UPSC – IAS

He can grant pardon, reprieve, respite and remission of punishment, or suspend, remit or commute the sentence of any person convicted of any offence: In all cases where the punishment or sentence is –

  • By a court martial;
  • For an offence against a Union law;
  • or a sentence of death.

Note:- Power of pardon shall be exercised by the President on the advice of Council of Ministers. So pardoning power of president is not discretionary in nature.

Discretionary power of president | UPSC – IAS

Though the President has no constitutional discretion, he has some situational discretion. In other words, the President can act on his discretion (that is, without the advice of the ministers) under the following situations:

  • Appointment of Prime Minister when no party has a clear majority in the Lok Sabha or when the Prime Minister in office dies suddenly and there is no obvious successor.
  • Dismissal of the council of ministers when it cannot prove the confidence of the Lok Sabha.
  • Dissolution of the Lok Sabha if the council of ministers has lost its majority.

Diplomatic Powers of Indian President | UPSC – IAS

  • All international treaties and agreements are negotiated and concluded on behalf of the President.
  • However, they are subject to the approval of the Parliament. In practice, such negotiations are usually carried out by the prime minister along with his Cabinet (especially the Foreign Minister).
  • President represents India in international forums and affairs and sends and receives diplomats like ambassadors, high commissioners, and so on.

Military Powers of Indian president | UPSC – IAS

  • He is the supreme commander of the defence forces of India. In that capacity, he appoints the chiefs of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.
  • President can declare war or conclude peace, subject to the approval of the Parliament.
  • All important treaties and contracts are made in the president’s name.

Emergency Powers of Indian president | UPSC – IAS

The president can declare three types of emergencies:-

  • National Emergency (Article 352)
    • A national emergency can be declared in the whole of India or a part of its territory for causes of war or armed rebellion or an external aggression.
    • Such an emergency was declared in India in 1962 (Indo-China war), 1971 (Indo-Pakistan war), and 1975 to 1977 (declared by Indira Gandhi).
  • President’s Rule (Article 356 & 365) –
    • If the president is not fully satisfied, on the basis of the report of the governor of the concerned state or from other sources that the governance in a state cannot be carried out according to the provisions in the constitution, he can proclaim under Article 356 a state of emergency in the state. Such an emergency must be approved by the parliament within a period of 2 months.
  • Financial Emergency (Article 360)
    • Under article 360 of the constitution, the president can proclaim a financial emergency when the financial stability or credit of the nation or of any part of its territory is threatened
    • The president can reduce the salaries of all government officials, including judges of the supreme court and high courts, in cases of a financial emergency

Veto Power of the Indian President | UPSC – IAS

A bill passed by the Parliament can become an act only if it receives the assent of the President. Since the Indian constitution does not provide any time limit within which the president is to declare his assent or refusal, the president could exercise a “pocket veto” by not taking any action for an indefinite time.

The object of conferring this power on the President is two-fold:-

  • To prevent hasty and ill-considered legislation by the Parliament; and
  • To prevent a legislation which may be unconstitutional.

The veto power enjoyed by the executive in modern states can be classified into the following four types:

  • Absolute veto, that is, withholding of assent to the bill passed by the legislature.
  • Qualified veto, which can be overridden by the legislature with a higher majority.
  • Suspensive veto, which can be overridden by the legislature with an ordinary majority.
  • Pocket veto, that is, taking no action on the bill passed by the legislature. Of the above four, the President of India is vested with three—absolute veto, suspensive veto and pocket veto. There is no qualified veto in the case of Indian President; it is possessed by the American President. The three vetoes of the President of India are explained below:

Absolute Veto

  • It refers to the power of the President to withhold his assent to a bill passed by the Parliament. The bill then ends and does not become an act.

Suspensive Veto

  • The President exercises this veto when he returns a bill for reconsideration of the Parliament. However, if the bill is passed again by the Parliament with or without amendments and again presented to the President, it is obligatory for the President to give his assent to the bill.
  • The President does not possess this veto in the case of money bills. The President can either give his assent to a money bill or withhold his assent to a money bill but cannot return it for the reconsideration of the Parliament.

Pocket Veto

  • In this case, the President neither ratifies nor rejects nor returns the bill, but simply keeps the bill pending for an indefinite period.
  • This power of the President not to take any action (either positive or negative) on the bill is known as the pocket veto.
  • The President can exercise this veto power as the Constitution does not prescribe any time-limit within which he has to take the decision with respect to a bill presented to him for his assent.
  • Example:- In 1986, President Zail Singh exercised the pocket veto with respect to the Indian Post Office (Amendment) Bill.
  • Exception:- President has no veto power in respect of a constitutional amendment bill. The 24th Constitutional Amendment Act of 1971 made it obligatory for the President to give his assent to a constitutional amendment bill.