10 July 2023 : Daily Current Affairs
DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS
10-July-2023
Daily Current Affairs For UPSC ,Daily Current affairs of The hIndu and Indian Express.
1. Objections overruled, Forest Bill goes to House unchanged.
Topic: GS2.
Context:
- A parliamentary committee has endorsed the proposed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 in its entirety.
More information about the news:
- The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980 aims to prevent the indiscriminate use of forest land for non-forestry purposes and ensures compensation for any diversion of forest land.
- The committee, chaired by BJP MP Rajendra Agrawal, thoroughly analyzed the Bill clause by clause and considered representations from various stakeholders, including Union Ministries and state governments.
- Some objections were raised, alleging that the proposed amendments diluted the Supreme Court’s 1996 judgment in the Godavarman case, which provided protection to forests even if they were not officially classified as such.
- The parliamentary committee’s draft report will be tabled in Parliament during the upcoming Monsoon Session.
- The Ministry of Environment denies any dilution of protections in the proposed amendments to the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980.
The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill, 2023 proposes to amend the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980. The main objectives of the amendments are to:
- Streamline the provisions of the Act to make it more efficient and effective.
- Exempt certain categories of land from the purview of the Act.
- Provide for stricter penalties for violations of the Act.
The proposed amendments include the following:
- The definition of “forest land” would be expanded to include land notified as a forest under the Indian Forest Act, 1927 or in government records after the 1980 Act came into effect.
- Land converted to non-forest use before December 12, 1996 would be excluded from the purview of the Act.
- Certain categories of land would be exempted from the need for prior permission from the Central Government for de-reservation, use for non-forest purposes, or assignment by way of lease to private entities. These categories include land within 100 km of India’s border needed for national security projects, small roadside amenities, and public roads leading to a habitation.
- The penalties for violations of the Act would be increased, with imprisonment of up to five years and a fine of up to Rs. 50 lakhs being proposed for certain offenses.
The proposed amendments have been met with mixed reactions. Some environmental groups have welcomed the amendments, arguing that they will help to streamline the process of obtaining permission for certain activities in forests and provide for stricter penalties for violations of the Act. However, other groups have expressed concerns that the amendments will lead to increased deforestation and damage to the environment.
Source: The Hindu, 10 July 2023, page 1.
2. Bad loans at record low, but write-offs still in the mix.
Topic: GS3.
Important statistics on decreasing bad loans:
- In 2019, Indian banks had a non-performing assets (NPA) ratio of 9.2%, indicating that nearly one in 10 loans had turned bad.
- The NPA ratio started declining after the implementation of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and a shift towards personal loans instead of lending to industries.
- During the pandemic, concerns arose about the impact of loan moratoriums and the ability of customers with personal loans to repay them.
- However, the latest financial stability report from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) shows that GNPAs and net NPAs have continued to decline, reaching the lowest levels since 2015.
- The profitability of the banking sector has improved, with the Return on Assets (RoA) increasing to 1.1% in 2023 from a negative 0.2% in 2018.
- The Capital to Risk-Weighted Assets Ratio (CRAR), which measures a bank’s exposure to riskier loans, reached a record peak of 17.1% in 2023.
- The ratio of write-offs to GNPAs had been declining but increased in 2022-23 due to substantial write-offs by private sector banks.
- The recovery of banks seems consistent, and their health continues to improve, suggesting that the moratoriums during COVID-19 did not result in a significant increase in NPAs as anticipated.
Source: The Hindu, 10 July 2023, page 7.
3. Design education in India: its origin, challenges and opportunities
Topic: GS3.
Design education in India:
- Historically, formal modern design education in India has been limited, with only a few institutions offering degrees in design, such as the National Institute of Design (NID) and the Industrial Design Centre at IIT Bombay.
- The Indian government’s adoption of the National Design Policy in 2007 and the establishment of the India Design Council in 2009 contributed to the growth of design education, particularly in fields like interior design and fashion design.
- Despite the slow growth in the number of institutions offering design programs, there has been a weak demand for design in India, with a limited number of firms considering it a core strategy.
- However, the demand for design is said to be growing, with the design sector estimated to be growing at a rate of 23-25% annually.
- On the supply side, there has been an improvement, but there is still a shortage of qualified designers. Private universities are ahead in offering design education, while public institutions, except for IIT Delhi, have been slower in this regard.
- The shortage of designers is difficult to estimate, but there are concerns about the employability and competencies of design graduates.
- Underutilization of trained design talent and varying demand and supply across different areas of design contribute to the shortage of designers.
- While design education is expected to grow in the coming years, addressing the quality of training and the underutilization of designers will be crucial in mitigating the shortage.
Source: The Hindu, 10 July 2023, page 9.
4. Global tropical primary forest cover continued to decline unabated in 2022
Topic: GS3.
Context:
- Tropical areas lost 4.1 million hectares of forest cover in 2022, equivalent to losing an area of 11 football fields per minute.
Issue of declining area of tropical forests:
- The forest loss in tropical areas produced 2.7 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions, similar to India’s annual emissions from fossil fuels.
- Primary forest cover loss in tropical areas in 2022 was 10% higher than in 2021, according to the University of Maryland.
- The world is not on track to meet its forest-related commitments, including ending deforestation by 2030 and restoring 350 million hectares of lost and degraded forests by 2030.
- Brazil and the Democratic Republic of Congo experienced significant losses of primary forest cover in 2022, while Indonesia and Malaysia managed to keep their losses low.
- Forest loss in the Amazon basin can impact regional rainfall and may lead to a tipping point that converts the ecosystem into a savanna.
- Increased demand for food and agriculture expansion are major drivers of forest loss, particularly in countries like the Democratic Republic of Congo.
- India lost 43.9 thousand hectares of humid primary forest between 2021 and 2022, accounting for 17% of the country’s total tree cover loss in the period.
- The global tree cover loss in 2022 decreased by 10%, primarily due to a decrease in fire-related forest losses. Non-fire losses increased slightly.
Source: The Hindu, 10 July 2023, page 18.
5. LVM-3: the other ISRO rocket
Topic: GS3.
Why in the news:
- ISRO has three classes of launch vehicles: PSLV, GSLV, and SSLV.
- PSLV is known as a “workhorse” with a low failure rate and can lift up to 3.8 tonnes to low-earth orbit.
- GSLV is used for heavier payloads and higher orbits. It has multiple configurations, including the powerful LVM-3.
- LVM-3 has three stages: two S200 boosters, two Vikas engines, and a cryogenic engine.
- The cryogenic engine uses liquefied hydrogen and oxygen as propellants, requiring special storage and transport systems.
- ISRO will launch its Chandrayaan 3 mission on July 14 using an LVM-3 launch vehicle.
Source: The Hindu, 10 July 2023, page 18.
6. PAU develops new wheat variety to keep blood sugar, obesity in check
Syllabus – GS III
Recent Context – PAU has developed a new wheat variety.
PAU
- From “Quantity” to “quality” and from “food security” to “nutritional security”, — this seems to be the new research focus of the Punjab Agricultural University (PAU).
- The Ludhiana-based institution, which played a pivotal role during the Green Revolution to make India surplus in food grains by developing high-yielding strains, has bred a new wheat variety with high amylose starch content, known to reduce risks of type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular diseases.
PBW RS1
- Eating chapatis made from this wheat — called PBW RS1, with RS being short for resistant starch—won’t cause an immediate and rapid rise in glucose levels.
- The high amylose and resistant starch ensure that glucose is released more slowly into the bloodstream.
- Being slower to digest also increases a feeling of satiety; a person consuming 4 chapatis from normal wheat would now feel full after having just two.
- PBW RS1 has 67.42 per cent total starch content, almost the same as the 66-70 per cent in other wheat varieties. But it has 30.3 per cent resistant starch content against only 7.5-10 per cent for other varieties.
- Earlier, PAU had released two varieties – PBW Zn1 with high zinc content and PBW1 Chapati, whose flour had premium chapati quality that remained fresh for long — on nutritional lines, but none had features as PBWRS1.
- But PBWRS1 has a significant drawback that might come in the way of its cultivation by farmers.
- The average grain yield from the variety at PAU’s field trials has been recorded at 43.18 quintals per hectare.
- This is below Punjab’s average yield of 48 quintals, which has touched 52 quintals in some years, with many farmers harvesting 60 quintals or more.
7. Ambergris worth Rs 4 crore found in dead whale: what is this rare substance, what it is used for
Syllabus – GS III
Recent Context – Days after the carcass of a sperm whale washed up at the shore of the Canary Island of La Palma, a pathologist, who carried out the animal’s post-mortem, found Ambergris, also known as ‘floating gold’, stuck in its colon. The lump retrieved from the sperm whale is estimated to be worth about €500,000 (Rs 4,47,62,500).
What is Ambergris?
- Ambergris is a waxy substance meaning grey amber in French that originates from the digestive system of protected sperm whales.
Uses of Ambergris and reason for being expensive
- Ambergris is a rare substance, contributing to its high price and high demand in the international market.
- Traditionally, it is used to produce perfumes having notes of musk.
While there are records of it being used to flavour food, tobacco and alcoholic beverages in some cultures, it is rarely used for these purposes presently.
- While it is not correctly referred to as ‘whale vomit,’ one theory about its formation is that it is produced in the gastrointestinal tract of some sperm whales for the passage of sharp, hard objects that are ingested when the whale eats large quantities of marine animals.
- It is said to be passed like faeces and has a very strong faecal and marine odour.
- The freshly passed Ambergris is light yellowish and fatty, but as it starts ageing, it turns waxy and gets red-brownish, sometimes with shades of grey and black and attains a mild, sweet, earthy smell but still with notes of mild marine odour.
Legalities in India
- While there is a ban on the possession and trade of Ambergris in countries like the USA, Australia and India, in several other countries, it is a tradable commodity, though with limitations in some of them.
- In the Indian context, sperm whales are a protected species under Schedule II of the Wildlife Protection Act, and possessing or trading any of its by-products, including Ambergris and its by-products, is illegal under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972 provisions.
- It has been observed that the gangs smuggling the Ambergris procure it from coastal areas and ship it to destination countries via some other countries with whom India has comparatively less stringent sea trade.
For Enquiry
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