Free power for farmers fuelling water crisis
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change, Anil Dave, linked the rampant extraction of groundwater to the free electricity supplied to farmers and mooted a fresh approach towards rivers and water bodies to impose discipline on water consumption.
The Minister backed a call for stronger ground water management regulations made by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant, who said free electricity has made people drill deeper to get water for irrigation and is turning large parts of States such as Punjab, Rajasthan and Haryana barren.
‘Disciplined consumption’
“Shouldn’t the country have a policy on its water and rivers? We think about consumption but we don’t talk about utility and disciplined consumption. If the country’s future water problem has to be tackled, then it needs the Gandhian philosophy that others also have a right on water bodies and one must take only as much as you need,” the Minister said, while addressing a sustainability conference hosted by the Confederation of Indian Industry in the capital.
“Not only do we have to enhance and improve water consumption for irrigation, we need very strong regulations for ground water management. Too much of water is being consumed because we are not charging people for electricity,” said NITI Aayog CEO Mr. Kant, stressing that groundwater consumption for irrigation has gone up from 20 per cent in the 1950s to over 64 per cent now.
“Several parts of States like Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan are becoming deserts as you have gone so deep to drill water that we are leaving nothing for future generations and are actually drilling out poison,” Mr Kant said, adding that the country is not recharging its aquifier.
Water-intensive crops needed
In a country, which has 17% of the world’s population but only four per cent of the fresh water reserves, we are consuming three times more water for agriculture than USA, Brazil or China.
Arguing that soil degradation has resulted from excessive use of inorganic fertilisers like urea, Mr Dave said that India must pursue policies based on its own realities. “India’s decolonisation is still pending. The British had drafted the Indian Penal Code and the Forest Act. Shouldn’t independent India now have its own forest law, where the forests, its dwellers, scheduled tribes and wildlife can live in an integrated manner?” he said.
Babies fall victim to antibiotic resistance
Infected with ‘superbugs’ in birth facilities within 72 hours of being born, thousands of Indian babies are dying due to an ‘alarming degree’ of drug resistance, a major study has found. The researchers found that nearly 26 per cent of babies with sepsis died, as multi drug resistance made the ailment untreatable.
We are now staring at overwhelming evidence of rampant antibiotic resistance, across all ages, all over the country. This worrying epidemic-like situation is a result of overuse of antibiotics in humans, agriculture and livestock.
The DeNIS study (Delhi Neonatal Infection) followed a group of 88,636 newborn infants for 3 years starting July 2011. The doctors tracked babies born in three of Delhi’s largest hospitals- AIIMS, Safdarjung Hospital and Maulana Azad Medical College -as they were subsequently admitted to the Intensive Care Units (ICUs).
‘Superbugs’ kill babies as antibiotic resistance rises
Out of over 88,000 children, 13,530 were ‘enrolled’ in the study – that is, admitted to the ICU.
Three ‘superbugs’ in particular – Klebsiella, Acinetobacter, and E. coli – were associated with more than half (53 per cent) of the infections. Out of this 1,934 babies (14 per cent) were resistant to drugs and 496 babies (26 per cent) died due to causes attributable to drug resistance and formerly curable infections.
Multi drug resistance was the highest with Acinetobacter followed by Klebsiella and E. coli
Study results grim
The study results show that we are exposing newborns to deadly infections even within 72 hours of their being born. Over 80 per cent of Acinetobacter infections were multi drug resistant, confirming a pan-resistant, untreatable problem of high mortality in our neonatal [newborn] nurseries. We are at a breaking point and India needs to clean up its birthing facilities.
Sepsis or meningitis in newborns accounted for 4,21,000 deaths, or about 16 per cent in the category in 2013. Estimates indicate that 56,524 newborn babies die each year from resistance to first line antibiotics.
New single-dose treatment shows promise in anti-malaria battle
Scientists have discovered a series of a novel compound (bicyclic azetidine series) that shows great promise in the battle against malaria.
Four candidate agents were characterised and one compound was found to act on all three life stages of the malaria parasite.
The compound was found to cure the disease with just a single, low-dose treatment, provide prophylaxis and prevent disease transmission both in the lab and in animals. The prophylactic effect lasted for as long as 30 days in mice
The compound was able to achieve extraordinary results in mice as it targets the parasite’s protein translation machinery (phenylalanine tRNA synthetase), which is the very core of the parasite’s housekeeping function of synthesising about 5,000 proteins. Protein translation is vital at every stage of the Plasmodium life cycle.
Since the target is so essential for the parasite’s functioning, it is quite unlikely that it would undergo mutations. So, there are less chances of the parasite developing resistance against the compounds. “In a standard tool for measuring for generation of resistance, we found a low propensity for resistance,” Dr. Marshall L. Morningstar, a co-author of the paper from Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard said in an email.
Addition of a highly potent drug component to the already very successful artemisinin combination therapy will go a long way in stemming malaria infections, and may present therapeutic options when artemisinin drug-resistance becomes a problem.
Sardar Sarovar dam irrigation project brings migrants back to Saurashtra
An ambitious Rs. 12,000 crore project to bring the water of the Narmada River to Gujarat’s parched Saurashtra region is helping reunite families, but experts caution that such lift-irrigation schemes had failed the world over.
Thousands of men from the region, who had to leave their homes in search of livelihood due to crop failures, are returning home, a visit to the area revealed.
SAUNI, abbreviated in Gujarati from Saurashtra Narmada Avtaran Irrigation Yojna, plans to fill up 115 dams of the region with excess run-off water of the Sardar Sarovar Dam across the Narmada River. The dams will be fed through a network of pipelines and water will be supplied for drinking and irrigation.
Water problem triggered migration
Villagers mostly grow cotton during the kharif season. But now they will also grow oilseeds, sugarcane or wheat during the rabi season (January-April). With the promise of assured water supply in the area, we can grow two crops every year,” Chabariya said.
Villagers also said they had to dig deep to get drinking water and this was often saline.
The SAUNI project promises to provide water to over 900 villages in all the 11 districts of the Saurashtra region and is slated to be completed by 2019.
Independent experts feel that pumping water to the parched region is going to be a tough task for the Gujarat government.
The Sardar Sarovar Dam can accumulate about 28 million acre feet of water in its reservoir but Gujarat has been allocated only nine million acre feet from the tribunal (that adjudicated the issue). No one can guarantee how much water the dam will get every year depending upon the rainfall.
Extension of contract between India and the International Seabed Authority
The Union Cabinet has approved the extension of contract between Ministry of Earth Sciences, Government of India and the International Seabed Authority (ISA) for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules for a further period of 5 years (2017-22). The earlier contract is expiring on 24th March 2017.
By extending the contract, India’s exclusive rights for exploration of Polymetallic Nodules in the allotted Area in the Central Indian Ocean Basin will continue.It would open up new opportunities for resources of commercial and strategic value in area beyond national jurisdiction.
It would also provide strategic importance for India in terms of enhanced presence in Indian Ocean where other international: players are also active.
International Seabed Authority
The International Seabed Authority (ISA) is an intergovernmental body based in Kingston, Jamaica, that was established to organize, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area beyond the limits of national jurisdiction, an area underlying most of the world’s oceans.
It is an organization established by the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention. It was established in 1994.ISA governs non-living resources of seabed lying in international waters.
Cabinet approves establishment of Higher Education Financing Agency
The Union Cabinet has approved the creation of the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) to give a major push for creation of high quality infrastructure in premier educational institutions.
The HEFA would be jointly promoted by the identified Promoter and the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) with an authorised capital of Rs.2,000 crore. The Government equity would be Rs.1,000 crore.
The HEFA would be formed as a SPV within a PSU Bank/ Government-owned-NBFC (Promoter). It would leverage the equity to raise up to Rs. 20,000 crore for funding projects for infrastructure and development of world class Labs in IITs/IIMs/NITs and such other institutions.
The HEFA would also mobilise CSR funds from PSUs/Corporates, which would in turn be released for promoting research and innovation in these institutions on grant basis.
The HEFA would finance the civil and lab infrastructure projects through a 10-year loan. The principal portion of the loan will be repaid through the ‘internal accruals’ (earned through the fee receipts, research earnings etc) of the institutions. The Government would service the interest portion through the regular Plan assistance.
All the Centrally Funded Higher Educational Institutions would be eligible for joining as members of the HEFA. For joining as members, the Institution should agree to escrow a specific amount from their internal accruals to HEFA for a period of 10 years. This secured future flows would be securitised by the HEFA for mobilising the funds from the market. Each member institution would be eligible for a credit limit as decided by HEFA based on the amount agreed to be escrowed from the internal accruals.
Cabinet approves creation of GST Council and its Secretariat
The Union Cabinet has approved setting up of GST Council and setting up its Secretariat.
The GST Council has been created as per Article 279A of the amended Constitution.GST Council Secretariat will be set up with its office at New Delhi.
The Secretary (Revenue) will be appointed as the Ex-officio Secretary to the GST Council.
The Chairperson, Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC), will be included as a permanent invitee (non-voting) to all proceedings of the GST Council.
One post of Additional Secretary to the GST Council in the GST Council Secretariat (at the level of Additional Secretary to the Government of India) will be created.
Four posts of Commissioner in the GST Council Secretariat (at the level of Joint Secretary to the Government of India) will also be created.
Background:
The Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-second Amendment) Bill, 2016, for introduction of Goods and Services tax in the country was accorded assent by the President on 8th September, 2016, and the same has been notified as the Constitution (One Hundred and First Amendment) Act, 2016.
As per Article 279A (1) of the amended Constitution, the GST Council has to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of Article 279A. The notification for bringing into force Article 279A with effect from 12th September, 2016 was issued on 10th September, 2016.
As per Article 279A of the amended Constitution, the GST Council which will be a joint forum of the Centre and the States, shall consist of the following members: –
- Union Finance Minister -Chairperson
- The Union Minister of State,in-charge of Revenue of finance -Member
- The Minister In-charge of finance or taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State Government-Member
As per Article 279A (4), the Council will make recommendations to the Union and the States on important issues related to GST, like the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST, model GST Laws, principles that govern Place of Supply, threshold limits, GST rates including the floor rates with bands, special rates for raising additional resources during natural calamities/disasters, special provisions for certain States, etc.
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- Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund.
- LEAF is supported by transnational corporations (TNCs) like Unilever plc, Amazon.com, Inc, Nestle, Airbnb, Inc as well as Emergent, a US-based non-profit.
- The world lost more than 10 million hectares of primary tropical forest cover last year, an area roughly the size of Switzerland.
- Ending tropical and subtropical forest loss by 2030 is a crucial part of meeting global climate, biodiversity and sustainable development goals. Protecting tropical forests offers one of the biggest opportunities for climate action in the coming decade.
- Tropical forests are massive carbon sinks and by investing in their protection, public and private players are likely to stock up on their carbon credits.
- The LEAF coalition initiative is a step towards concretising the aims and objectives of the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) mechanism.
- REDD+ was created by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It monetised the value of carbon locked up in the tropical forests of most developing countries, thereby propelling these countries to help mitigate climate change.
- It is a unique initiative as it seeks to help developing countries in battling the double-edged sword of development versus ecological commitment.
- The initiative comes at a crucial time. The tropics have lost close to 12.2 million hectares (mha) of tree cover last year according to global estimates released by Global Forest Watch.
- Of this, a loss of 4.2 mha occurred within humid tropical primary forests alone. It should come as no surprise that most of these lost forests were located in the developing countries of Latin America, Africa and South Asia.
- Brazil has fared dismally on the parameter of ‘annual primary forest loss’ among all countries. It has lost 1.7 mha of primary forests that are rich storehouse of carbon. India’s estimated loss in 2020 stands at 20.8 kilo hectares.
- Between 2002-2020, Brazil’s total area of humid primary forest reduced by 7.7 per cent while India’s reduced by 3.4 per cent.
- Although the loss in India is not as drastic as in Brazil, its position is nevertheless precarious. For India, this loss is equivalent to 951 metric tonnes worth carbon dioxide emissions released in the atmosphere.
- It is important to draw comparisons between Brazil and India as both countries have adopted a rather lackadaisical attitude towards deforestation-induced climate change. The Brazilian government hardly did anything to control the massive fires that gutted the Amazon rainforest in 2019.
- It is mostly around May that forest fires peak in India. However, this year India, witnessed massive forest fires in early March in states like Odisha, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh and Mizoram among others.
- The European Union’s Copernicus Atmospheric Monitoring Service claimed that 0.2 metric tonnes of carbon was emitted in the Uttarakhand forest fires.
- Implementation of the LEAF Coalition plan will help pump in fresh rigour among developing countries like India, that are reluctant to recognise the contributions of their forest dwelling populations in mitigating climate change.
- With the deadline for proposal submission fast approaching, India needs to act swiftly on a revised strategy.
- Although India has pledged to carry out its REDD+ commitments, it is impossible to do so without seeking knowledge from its forest dwelling population.
Context:-
At the recently concluded Leaders’ Summit on Climate in April 2021, Lowering Emissions by Accelerating Forest Finance (LEAF) Coalition, a collective of the United States, United Kingdom and Norway governments, came up with a $1 billion fund plan that shall be offered to countries committed to arrest the decline of their tropical forests by 2030.
[wptelegram-join-channel link=”https://t.me/s/upsctree” text=”Join @upsctree on Telegram”]What is LEAF Coalition?
Why LEAF Coalition?
Brazil & India
According to the UN-REDD programme, after the energy sector, deforestation accounts for massive carbon emissions — close to 11 per cent — in the atmosphere. Rapid urbanisation and commercialisation of forest produce are the main causes behind rampant deforestation across tropical forests.
Tribes, Forests and Government
Disregarding climate change as a valid excuse for the fires, Indian government officials were quick to lay the blame for deforestation on activities of forest dwellers and even labelled them “mischievous elements” and “unwanted elements”.
Policy makers around the world have emphasised the role of indigenous tribes and local communities in checking deforestation. These communities depend on forests for their survival as well as livelihood. Hence, they understand the need to protect forests. However, by posing legitimate environmental concerns as obstacles to real development, governments of developing countries swiftly avoid protection of forests and rights of forest dwellers.
For instance, the Government of India has not been forthcoming in recognising the socio-economic, civil, political or even cultural rights of forest dwellers. According to data from the Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs in December, 2020 over 55 per cent of this population has still not been granted either individual or community ownership of their lands.
To make matters worse, the government has undertaken systematic and sustained measures to render the landmark Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 ineffective in its implementation. The Act had sought to legitimise claims of forest dwellers on occupied forest land.
Various government decisions have seriously undermined the position of indigenous people within India. These include proposing amendments to the obsolete Indian Forest Act, 1927 that give forest officials the power to take away forest dwellers’ rights and to even use firearms with impunity.
There is also the Supreme Court’s order of February, 2019 directing state governments to evict illegal encroachers of forest land or millions of forest dwellers inhabiting forests since generations as a measure to conserve wildlife. Finally, there is the lack of data on novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) deaths among the forest dwelling population;
Tardy administration, insufficient supervision, apathetic attitude and a lack of political intent defeat the cause of forest dwelling populations in India, thereby directly affecting efforts at arresting deforestation.
Way Forward
Tuntiak Katan, a global indigenous leader from Ecuador and general coordinator of the Global Alliance of Territorial Communities, aptly indicated the next steps at the Climate Summit:
“The first step is recognition of land rights. The second step is the recognition of the contributions of local communities and indigenous communities, meaning the contributions of indigenous peoples.We also need recognition of traditional knowledge practices in order to fight climate change”
Perhaps India can begin by taking the first step.