Fall in Global Carbon Emissions

Why in News

Recently, the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO) has evaluated Covid-19’s effect on carbon emissions.

Key Points

• It has predicted that emissions will fall between 4.2 and 7.5% on last year, as against a rise of 1% which was earlier predicted for 2020 before the pandemic outbreak.
• Earlier, the International Energy Agency (IEA) released Global Energy Review: 2020 with details on the effects of the pandemic on global energy demand and carbon emissions.
• In India, the nationwide lockdown led to minimal air pollution and improved the air quality.
• Data Analysis:
  
  • Carbon emissions were 5% lower than during the same time in 2019.
  • Decline was noticed in coal emissions (8%), oil emissions (4.5%) and natural gas emissions (2.3%) as well.
  • Emissions declined the most in regions which were impacted the highest by the disease.
    
    • For example, there was an 8% decline in emissions in China and Europe, and a 9% decline in the USA.
  • Countries in full lockdown are seeing an average decline of 25% in energy demand per week, while in those with a partial lockdown, the fall in energy demand is about 18% per week.
• Reasons:
  
  • Global energy demands have lowered due to the lockdowns and restricted road and air travel.
    
    • In the first quarter of 2020, most carbon-intensive fuels saw the biggest fall in demand.
  • It led to the decline in carbon emissions which was more than the fall in global energy demand.
  • Commercial demand for energy has fallen as people are confined to their homes. However, domestic electricity demand has increased.
• Implications:
  
  • This temporary decline in carbon emissions will not slow down climate change as it is a cumulative problem and a drop from one single year will basically make no difference at all.
  • A 5% drop is equivalent to 0.001 degree Celsius less warming.

Center for International Climate and Environmental Research

• It is Norway’s foremost institute for interdisciplinary climate research.
• It has played an active role in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), since 1992.
• CICERO has a national role in promoting knowledge about climate change and is internationally recognised as a driving force for innovative climate communication.

International Energy Agency

• It is an autonomous organisation which works to ensure reliable, affordable, and clean energy.
• It was established in 1974, in the wake of the oil crisis of 1973 after the OPEC cartel had shocked the world with a steep increase in oil prices.
• It is headquartered in Paris, France.
• It releases the World Energy Outlook report, annually.
• India became its associate member in 2017.

Way Forward

• The reduced emissions are not something to celebrate as it is expected that emissions will soar once economies restart.
• The only way to sustain the reduced emissions is governments taking conscious decisions to change the sources of energy like moving towards renewable energy sources.

Source: IE

Illicit Drug Supply and Covid-19: UNODC

Why in News

Recently, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) released a report on ‘Synthetic Drugs in East and Southeast Asia: Latest Developments and Challenges’.

• According to this report, Covid-19 induced lockdowns and movement restrictions may lead to an initial statistical reduction in drug seizures, but without a real change in terms of supply.
• In other words, Covid-19 is unlikely to have any effect on illicit drug supply.

Key Points

• Shifting of Priorities: Rearrangement of governments’ priorities and resources to tackle the pandemic could threaten the efforts to strengthen drug prevention and treatment programmes.
• No Direct Correlation: Not every fluctuation in terms of drug seizures, prices, drug-related arrests or deaths in the coming months would be a direct or indirect consequence of the outbreak.
• Quick and Flexible Response: Active organised crime groups have shown flexibility to respond to shortages of supplies and have raised risk levels on certain trafficking routes.
• Local Capacities: Main synthetic drug of concern in the region, Methamphetamine (also called meth), was manufactured, trafficked and consumed without the need for globalised supply chains.

Indian Context

• India reported a substantial increase in seizures of amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS), most of which are suspected to be meth.
• The reasons behind the spike are:
  
  • Growth in trafficking of meth from the Golden Triangle overland to Bangladesh, with some routes crossing India.
  • The Golden Triangle represents the region coinciding with the rural mountains of Myanmar, Laos, and Thailand.
  • It is Southeast Asia’s main opium-producing region and one of the oldest narcotics supply routes to Europe and North America.
  • Use of maritime trafficking routes from Myanmar along the Andaman Sea, some of which cross Indian territorial waters.
• India is in the middle of two major illicit opium production regions in the world, the Golden Crescent in the west and the Golden Triangle in the east.

Golden Crescent

• This region of South Asia is a principal global site for opium production and distribution.
• It comprises Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan.

Challenges

• Easy Borders: The borders are porous and difficult to control in the lower Mekong region so cross-border movements in many places are not significantly hindered by Covid-19 measures.
• Evolving Ways of Trafficking: The methods of containerised trafficking, couriers and body-packing have reduced due to shutting down of borders and trade. However, dealers might come up with other ways limiting the impact of reduced trade.
• Limited Control: There is limited government control in the Golden Triangle, trafficking would continue at high volumes.
• Unaffected Supply: The supply of precursor chemicals is not likely to be disrupted because major organised crime groups source chemicals through direct diversion from industry and not diversion from illicit overseas trade channels.
• Lowest Price Level: The price of meth has dropped to the lowest level in a decade with the surge of supplies. This has in turn increased its affordability and, therefore, use.
• Increased Crime: Changed methods to access drugs and economic hardship might reduce the disposable income of some drug users, and result in increased crime.
  
  • Street dealing of drugs might be significantly impacted and altered due to movement restriction and social distancing.
• Additional Risks: Vulnerable populations of drug users may be exposed to additional risks as funding is re-prioritised, access to programmes and services becomes difficult and activities of treatment providers are hampered as they are dealing with the pandemic.

United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime

• Established in 1997 and was named UNODC in 2002.
• It acts as the Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention by combining the United Nations International Drug Control Program (UNDCP) and the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Division of the United Nations Office at Vienna.
• UNODC publishes the World Drug Report.

Way Forward

• Additional efforts would be required at the national, regional, and international level to carefully analyse methods and trends to understand changes to drug markets in the wake of the pandemic.
• Moreover, methods or procedures to deal with illicit drug supply, their usage must be institutionalised in order to ensure that fight against this menace is not compromised in face of a pandemic or any other crisis.

Source: TH

Hotter Oceans and Supercyclones

Why in News

The supercyclone ‘Amphan’ is likely to make landfall between the Sagar islands of West Bengal and the Hatiya islands of Bangladesh.

• Cyclone Amphan (pronounced as UM-PUN) is a tropical cyclone formed over Bay of Bengal that has turned into a “super cyclonic storm (maximum wind speed is 120 knots)”.
• The higher than normal temperatures in the Bay of Bengal (BoB) with the countrywide lockdown due to Covid-19 pandemic have played a role turning a storm into a super cyclone.
• Additionally, the super cyclone Amphan is the strongest storm to have formed in the BoB since the super cyclone of 1999 that ravaged Paradip in Odisha.

Key Points

• ‘Cyclones’ as a Regular Phenomenon
  
  • The cyclones gain their energy from the heat and moisture generated from warm ocean surfaces.
  • The BoB has higher Sea Surface Temperature (SST) compared to the Arabian Sea. Some of the reasons for higher SST of Bob are:
    
    • Slow Flowing Winds: It keeps temperatures relatively high i.e. around 28 degrees around the year.
    • Higher Rainfall: It provides required humidity for cyclone formation.
    • Constant Inflow of Fresh Water: The inflow from the Ganga and Brahmaputra rivers makes it impossible for the warm water to mix with the cooler water below, making it ideal for a cyclonic depression.
  • On the other hand, the Arabian Sea receives stronger winds that help dissipate the heat, and the lack of constant fresh water supply helps the warm water mix with the cool water, reducing the temperature.
  • Additionally, the tropical cyclones in these seas are a typical feature of the summer months and play a role in aiding the arrival of the monsoon.
• Unusual Higher Temperature in BoB:
  
  • In 2020, the BoB has observed record summer temperatures due to the global warming from fossil fuel emissions that has been heating up oceans.
    
    • The cyclone Fani in 2019 was also fuelled by high temperatures in the BoB.
  • For the first two weeks of May, there were maximum surface temperatures of 32-34°C consecutively. These are record temperatures driven by climate change observed until now.
  • Such unusual warming around India is no longer restricted to just the BoB but also the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean. It makes storm prediction less reliable as well as disrupting monsoon patterns.
• Impact of Lockdown:
  
  • Reduced particulate matter emissions during the lockdown resulted in fewer aerosols, such as black carbon, that are known to reflect sunlight and heat away from the surface.
    
    • Every year, the particulate pollution from the Indo-Gangetic plains is transported towards the BoB which influences the formation of clouds over the ocean.
  • The minimal presence of heat and sunlight reflecting aerosols in BoB resulted in fewer clouds and more heat. Further, it raised the temperature of BoB by 1-3°C higher than normal. Thus, the whole phenomenon has amplified the strength of the cyclone.
• Overall Impact:
  
  • The higher temperatures and minimal presence of aerosols helped the cyclone Amphan to intensify itself from a category-1 cyclone to category-5 in 18 hours that is an unusually quick evolution.

Cyclones

• Cyclones are the formation of a very low-pressure system with very high-speed winds revolving around it. Factors like wind speed, wind direction, temperature and humidity contribute to the development of cyclones.
• Before cloud formation, water takes up heat from the atmosphere to change into vapour. When water vapour changes back to liquid form as raindrops, this heat is released to the atmosphere.
• The heat released to the atmosphere warms the air around. The air tends to rise and causes a drop in pressure. More air rushes to the centre of the storm. This cycle is repeated.
• Hurricanes derive their energy from heated seawater which can be prevented by presence of upper-level-winds that disrupt the storm circulation forcing it to lose its strength.

Source: TH

Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities

Why in News

Recently, the Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs (MOHUA) has announced the results of the Star Rating of Garbage Free Cities for the assessment year 2019-2020.

• A total of six cities have been certified as 5-Star, 65 cities as 3-Star and 70 cities as 1-Star.
• The 5-Star cities include Ambikapur (Chattisgarh), Surat and Rajkot (Gujarat), Indore (Madhya Pradesh) and Navi Mumbai (Maharashtra).

Key Points

• Aim:
  
  • The Star Rating Protocol was launched by the Ministry in 2018 to institutionalize a mechanism for cities to achieve Garbage Free status, and to motivate cities to achieve higher degrees of sustainable cleanliness.
  • It is one of the various initiatives which intends to make Swachh Bharat Mission-Urban (SBM-U) as a successful project.
• Basis:
  
  • It is based on 12 parameters which follow a SMART framework – Single metric, Measurable, Achievable, Rigorous verification mechanism and Targeted towards outcomes.
  • It is a comprehensive framework that assesses cities across 24 different components of Solid Waste Management (SWM) and is graded based on overall marks received.
• Procedure:
  
  • The Star Rating is supported by self-assessment and self-verification for achieving a certain star rating. It also ensures the involvement of citizen groups for a transparent system of self-declaration.
  • Further, the self-declaration is further verified through an independent third party agency appointed by MoHUA.
• Significance:
  
  • The performance of cities under the Star Rating Protocol is crucial as it carries significant weightage for their final assessment in Swachh Survekshan.
    
    • Swachh Survekshan is the annual urban cleanliness survey conducted by the government.
  • It also ensures certain minimum standards of sanitation through a set of prerequisites defined in the framework.
  • Since the rating is conducted at a city level, it makes the process easier to implement and helps the cities incrementally improve their overall cleanliness.
  • The rating protocol is an outcome-based tool that helps MoHUA and other stakeholders to evaluate cities on the basis of this single rating.

Source: PIB

GST Waiver will Increase Cost

Why in News

The Ministry of Finance is not in favour of granting Goods and Services Tax (GST) exemption, as has been demanded by various sections of the industry.

Key Points

• Providing GST exemption will have serious adverse implications on state finances, also businesses would suffer and consumers would be hit by price rise.
• Exemption would block Input Tax Credit (ITC) as manufacturers will pay GST on inputs but cannot claim ITC because the final product is tax-free. Thus, it will increase the cost of manufacturing, which will lead to increase in cost of products.
• The GST exemption will also increase compliance burden for manufacturers who would be required to maintain separate accounts for inputs and goods used for the production of the item.
• Further, the GST exemption provides incentive for imports, which do not have input taxes as compared to domestic supplies.
  
  • This makes imported goods cheaper than locally produced goods.
• In the past when the GST exemption on sanitary napkins was allowed, it had led to similar hardship for domestic manufacturers of sanitary napkins.

Goods and Services Tax

• Goods and Service Tax (GST) is an indirect tax levied on the supply of final goods and services. The GST has subsumed indirect taxes like excise duty, Value Added Tax (VAT), service tax, luxury tax etc.
• It is essentially a consumption tax and is levied at the final consumption point.
• It is levied only on the value addition and is collected on goods and services at each point of sale in the supply line.
• The GST that a merchant pays to procure goods or services (i.e. on inputs) can be set off later against the tax applicable on supply of final goods and services. The set off tax is called input tax credit.
• The GST avoids the cascading effect or tax on tax which increases the tax burden on the end consumer.

Benefit of Input Tax Credit

• Imagine a manufacturer of shirts. He buys raw material or inputs — cloth, thread, buttons, tailoring equipment — worth Rs 100, a sum that includes a tax of Rs 10. With these raw materials, he manufactures a shirt.
• In the process of creating the shirt, the manufacturer adds value to the materials he started out with. Let us take this value added by him to be Rs 30. The gross value of his good would, then, be Rs 100 + 30, or Rs 130.
• At a tax rate of 10%, the tax on output (this shirt) will then be Rs 13. But under GST, he can set off this tax (Rs 13) against the tax he has already paid on raw material/inputs (Rs 10).
  
  • Therefore, the effective GST incidence on the manufacturer is only Rs 3 (13 – 10).
  • Rs. 10 is the input tax credit for the manufacturer.

Source: IE

United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Why in News

Recently, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), has applauded India’s financial support to keep its basic services operating, under the Covid-19 crisis.

Key Points

• The Government of India provided USD 2 million to the UNRWA in support of its core programmes and services, including education and health.
• India had increased its annual contribution to the UNRWA from USD 1.25 million in 2016 to USD 5 million in 2019.
• It pledged another USD 5 million for 2020 which opens its way to become a member of the agency’s advisory commission.
• It is also preparing medical supplies for the Palestinians.

United Nations Relief and Works Agency

• It is a United Nations agency established by the General Assembly in 1949.
• It supports the relief and human development of Palestinian refugees across its five fields of operation.
  
  • Its services encompass education, health care, relief and social services, camp infrastructure and improvement, protection and microfinance.
• Its mission is to help Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, West Bank, including East Jerusalem and the Gaza Strip.
• It is funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions and financial support
• Palestine refugees are defined as persons whose normal place of residence was Palestine during the period 1 June 1946 to 15 May 1948, and who lost both home and means of livelihood as a result of the 1948 conflict.

Background

• 17 agreements have been signed under an India-Palestine development partnership between the two sides in the fields of agriculture, health care, information technology, youth affairs, consular affairs, women empowerment and media.
  
  • India would provide an assistance of around USD 72 million through these agreements in projects like the post-2014 war reconstruction efforts in Gaza, construction of schools, setting up a centre of excellence for information and communication technologies at Al-Quds University and developing a satellite centre in Ramallah.
• In March 2020, a delegation of United Nations Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People (CEIRPP) visited india intended to engage India in the settling of the question of Palestine.
  
  • India has reiterated its stand and supported the Two-State solution for the Israel-Palestine issue.
• In June 2019, India voted in favour of a decision introduced by Israel in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) that objected to granting consultative status to a Palestinian non-governmental organization.
• In June 2018, India had voted in favour of Palestine on the UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution to investigate an indiscriminate force usage by Israeli forces against Palestinian civilians.
• As a part of Link West Policy, India has de-hyphenated its relationship with Israel and Palestine in 2018 to treat both the countries mutually independent and exclusive.
• In December 2017, India had criticised the United States vote for recognising Jerusalem as the Israeli capital at the UNGA vote.
• In 2014, India favoured UNHRC’s resolution to probe Israel’s human rights violations in Gaza. Despite supporting the probe, India abstained from voting against Israel in UNHRC in 2015.

Source: IE

Malicious Software Cerberus

Why in News

Recently, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sent alerts to all the States, Union Territories and the central agencies on a malicious software (cerberus) threat that is taking advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic.

• The cyber alert related to Cerberus has been sent on the basis of inputs received from the Interpol.

Key Points

• Cerberus: It is a Banking Trojan. It is primarily used to steal financial data, such as credit card numbers.
• Trojan:
  
  • Trojan is a type of malicious code or software to damage, disrupt, steal, or inflict harmful action on data or network.
  • The Trojan can also use overlay attacks to trick victims into providing personal information and can capture two-factor authentication details.
    
    • Overlay attacks: An overlay attack happens when an attacker places a window over a legitimate application on the device. When the target application is running, the overlay opens messages or data input forms identical to the real ones. Victims enter information (E.g. login credentials or bank card numbers), believing that they are dealing with the original program.
    • Two-factor authentication: It is a two step verification security process in which users go through two authentication processes to verify themselves.
  • Banking Trojan is a malicious program used in an attempt to obtain confidential information about customers and clients using online banking and payment systems.
• Working of Cerberus
  
  • It takes advantage of the Covid-19 pandemic and sends SMS to lure a user to download the link containing the malicious software.
  • It deploys its malicious application usually spread via phishing campaigns to trick users into installing it on their smartphones.
  • Phishing: The email or text message carrying a link appears to come from a trusted source like a bank.
    
    • The link takes to a fake website and once details like login name and passwords are entered, the login credentials reach the hacker.

Source:TH

India to Chair WHO Executive Board

Why in News

Recently, India has been elected to the World Health Organisation (WHO)’s Executive Board. It will also be holding a Chairmanship of the Executive Board for the next one year (from May 2020- May 2021)

• Currently, the chairmanship of the WHO Executive Board is being held by Japan.

Key Points

• The proposal to appoint India’s nominee to the executive board was signed by the 194-nation at the 73^rd World Health Assembly between 18-19 May, 2020.
• In 2019, WHO’s South-East Asia group had unanimously decided that India would be elected to the executive board for a three-year-term beginning from May, 2020.
  
  • WHO Member States are grouped into 6 WHO regions namely, African Region, Region of the Americas, South-East Asia Region, European Region, Eastern Mediterranean Region, and Western Pacific Region.
• India has been elected along with 10 other countries including Botswana, Colombia, Ghana, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Oman, Republic of Korea, Russia, and the United Kingdom.

WHO Executive Board

• Composition: The Executive Board is composed of 34 individuals technically qualified in the field of health, each one designated by a member state elected to do so by the World Health Assembly.
  
  • Member States are elected for three-year terms.
• Chairman: The chairman’s post is held by rotation for one year among regional groups.
  • It is not a full time assignment and the chairman is just required to chair the Executive Board’s meetings.
• Meeting: The Board meets at least twice a year.
• Functions: The main functions of the Executive Board are to give effect to the decisions and policies of the World Health Assembly, to advise it and generally to facilitate its work.

World Health Assembly

• The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO.
• It is attended by delegations from all WHO Member States and focuses on a specific health agenda prepared by the Executive Board.
• The main functions of the World Health Assembly are to determine the policies of the Organization, appoint the Director-General, supervise financial policies, and review and approve the proposed programme budget.
• The Health Assembly is held annually in Geneva, Switzerland.

Source: IE

India, U.S. to Collaborate on Covid-19 Vaccine Trials

Why in News

India and the U.S. plan to work together on vaccine research and testing for Covid-19.

Key Points

• Vaccine Action Programme (VAP):
  
  • In the context of the current pandemic, partners under the Vaccine Action Programme (VAP) are planning to collaborate on the development and testing of vaccine candidates and diagnostics for Covid-19.
  • The Indo-U.S. Vaccine Action Program, is a 33-year collaboration between the U.S. National Institutes of Health, the Indian Department of Biotechnology (DBT) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) along with other partners.
  • Focus is on safe, cost-effective vaccines against a range of infectious diseases.
• Other Initiatives:
  
  • 50 ventilators from the U.S. are expected in India shortly, as part of the donation of 200 ventilators announced by the US President.
    
    • It will be paid for by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), as part of $5.9 million funding announced to date for India.
  • The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it would separately fund the Government of India (GoI) $3.6 million to support “prevention, preparedness, and response activities in India, in collaboration with and concurrence from the GoI.”
  • India has exported antimalarial drug Hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) to the U.S. and several other countries.

Source: TH

Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve

Why in News

Recently, a new prey and predator estimation in Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve (TATR) in Maharashtra found the presence of 115 tigers and 151 leopards.

Key Points

• The estimation was done as part of the long-term monitoring of tigers, co-predators and prey species in TATR inside the core and buffer areas of the reserve.
  
  • The tiger reserves are constituted on a core/buffer strategy.
  • The Project Tiger aims to foster an exclusive tiger agenda in the core areas of tiger reserves, with an inclusive people oriented agenda in the buffer.
  • The core areas have the legal status of a national park or a sanctuary, whereas the buffer or peripheral areas are a mix of forest and non-forest land, managed as a multiple use area.
• The tiger numbers appear to be up but the population density shows a decline
  
  • Population Density represents the number of animals residing in per unit area.
• Tadoba Andhari Tiger Reserve
  
  • It is located in Chandrapur district in Maharashtra.
  • It is Maharashtra's oldest and largest national park.
  • It is one of India's 50 "Project Tiger" reserves.
    
    • Tadoba-Andhari Tiger Reserve was established as the second Tiger Reserve in Maharashtra in 1993-94.
    • The first Tiger Reserve established in the State is Melghat Tiger Reserve (1973-74).
  • It represents Southern Tropical Dry Deciduous Teak Forests in the Tiger habitat and has a viable tiger population

Source:IE

Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana

Why in News

Chhattisgarh is set to launch the Rajiv Gandhi Kisan Nyay Yojana to encourage farmers to produce more crops and help them get the right price.

• The scheme will formally be launched in the state on May 21, the death anniversary of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Key Points

• Under the scheme, based on registered area and area under cultivation during Kharif crop season 2019, Rs. 10,000 per acre will be deposited in the bank accounts of farmers as agriculture assistance grant for sowing crops such as paddy, maize and sugarcane.
• According to the government, at least 19 lakh farmers will benefit from the scheme, for which the state government had allocated Rs 5,756 crore in the budget 2020-21.
• The money will be given to the farmers in four instalments.

Source: ToI