Shore temple facing severe sea erosion

Syllabus subtopic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Prelims and mains focus: the Shore Temple at Mahabalipuram, Pallava architecture, effects of climate change on ancient monuments in India

News: The shoreline on the northern side of the Shore Temple in Mamallapuram, Tamil Nadu is facing severe sea erosion. The Public Works Department is awaiting funds to construct groynes for coastal protection at a cost of 95.95 crores. According to PWD, every year, nearly 4­5 m of the shoreline near the temple is declining.

About the Shore temple

Location: Mahabalipuram, Tamil Nadu

Built-in: the 7th century

Dedicated to: Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu

Attraction: One of the earliest structural temples in South India

Significance: Listed as a World Heritage Site

Built-in the 7th century, Shore Temple depicts the royal taste of the Pallava dynasty. During the reign of Rajasimha, the temple saw its construction when Pallava art was at its apex. Ravaged by wind and sea, the temple has witnessed the historical events of India. This work of genius was recognized and listed among the World Heritage Sites by UNESCO.

Shore Temple comprises three shrines, and the prominent ones are dedicated to Lord Shiva and Lord Vishnu. In the garbhagriha (sanctum sanctorum), an image of Shivalinga embraces the site. At the rear end, one can find two shrines facing each other. Here, one shrine is dedicated to Ksatriyasimnesvara and the other to Lord Vishnu. In the shrine, Lord Vishnu is imaged reclining on the 'Seshanag', which is a symbol of consciousness in Hinduism.

The exterior wall of the shrine to Lord Vishnu and the internal side of the boundary wall are elaborately carved and sculptured. The images on the sculpted panels depict scenes from everyday life. However, the sculptures are incredibly real and artistic. The exterior walls of the temple are segregated by plasters into bays, where the lower part has been impressed into a series of nurturing lions. The archaeological department has excavated certain other figures from the site.

Shore Temple is no more a living temple. The structure of the temple makes one to contemplate and perhaps, it was erected basically as a work of art. The Pallavas were known to be the great patrons of art and were keen to create their own style of temple architecture. In the present day, Shore Temple makes the background of Mahabalipuram Dance Festival that is held in Jan /Feb every year. The festival is organized to promote the traditional dance as well as tourism in Mahabalipuram.

Architecture

Shore Temple is also acknowledged for being the first stone structure made by Pallavas. Before this, monuments used to be carved out of rocks or stones. Unlike other monuments of the region, Shore Temple is a five-storied rock-cut structural temple more willingly than monolithically. In southern India, this is one of the earliest and most important structural temples. The spire is extensively decorated with carvings and sculptures. In recent years, a stone wall has been constructed to protect the shrine from further sea erosion.

Perched on a 50 feet square plinth, the pyramidal structure raises to the extent of 60 feet. Presenting a typical specimen of Dravidian temple architecture, Shore Temple generates an exclusive combination of history and natural splendour. The temple was designed to grasp the first rays of the rising sun and to spotlight the waters after sunset. In the words of Percy Brown, Shore Temple served as "a landmark by day and a beacon by night"

The link between NPAs and frauds at govt-run banks

Syllabus subtopic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Prelims and Mains focus: Why rising incidence of bank frauds is a cause of concern for RBI, the Centre and people with savings and deposits in these banks.

News: The finance minister informed Parliament last month that state-run banks reported frauds of over 95,760 crore in April-September.

Are frauds rising at state-owned banks?

Public sector banks (PSBs) reported frauds of over 95,760 crore from April to September this year. According to the Reserve Bank of India’s latest annual report, all banks, including PSBs, reported frauds involving losses of 71,542.93 crore over the 12- month period of FY19. RBI data shows that the bulk of the frauds relate to loans and take place at PSBs. The incidence and cost of fraud is increasing year after year, posing threats to financial stability and eroding the credibility of PSBs, auditors, credit rating agencies and the regulator RBI, as well as the trust of savers and depositors.

Why is the incidence of fraud increasing?

Studies have shown that fraudsters, big and small, are able to take undue advantage of a number of well-documented weaknesses in the system. The central bank has an early warning signals system but, as had happened in the Nirav Modi case, PSBs do not always take advantage of it. Former RBI governor Urjit Patel made a presentation at Stanford University in June that showed most of the frauds are related to loans and occur due to poor operational risk management and ineffective internal audits at state-owned banks. These banks apply little risk analysis or due diligence.

Are frauds related to non-performing assets (NPAs)?

A 2016 study by the Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore, found a correlation between rising frauds and NPAs, which indicates lack of requisite standards of corporate governance, leading to more instances of loan defaults involving over ?1 crore. The study said this is suggestive of collusion between corporate entities and top PSB officials.

Why do frauds take place more at PSBs?

The study found that big loan advance frauds happen as bank officials collude with borrowers and sometimes even with officials of third parties such as advocates and chartered accountants. Post loan sanction, the monitoring is weaker than at private banks due to lack of expertise and modern tech resources. Officers retire before they can be booked for fraud. Weak selection process and lower pay than at private banks are among key reasons. PSB staff are not offered appropriate incentives to prevent or detect frauds early.

What should be done to prevent fraud?

There is little deterrence for fraudsters as conviction rates are low due to the lack of specialized financial sleuths. PSBs should set up an internal rating agency for the stringent evaluation of big-ticket projects before sanctioning loans. Banks must evaluate projects on the basis of the business model and not get influenced by the brand name or creditworthiness of the parent firm. Strict punitive steps for bank staff and others who collude with fraudsters can help.

GST rate rationalisation should lead to gain in revenue, not inconvenience people: States

Syllabus subtopic: Government policies and interventions for development in various sectors and issues arising out of their design and implementation

Prelims focus: about GST, GST Council

Mains Focus: About various challenges in implementing GSt, Concerns raised by the states and govt’s efforts to address them.

News: As talks of a hike in goods and services tax (GST) rates gain momentum, there is a sense of disquiet among states regarding any major tinkering of the slabs, especially the lower tax slab and exempted items. The Council meeting of December 18, coming in the backdrop of the Centre’s struggles on the revenue side sets the stage to reverse the direction of rate cuts.

About the issue

The emerging view is that revenue gain from any such rate hike has to be substantial and not cause inconvenience to the common man, though they are of the view that ways need to be found to narrow the widening revenue gap.

Concerns raised and Suggestions by the States

• Knee-jerk reactions such as a cut in GST rates before elections and a hike in rates in times of revenue slowdown are not needed and GST needs to be looked afresh and a “holistic overview” needs to be taken.

• The scope to increase rates is very “limited”, especially of exempted items and 5 per cent slab. Making changes in the lower slab of 5 per cent is not going to yield much revenue. This is a sensitive issue and all states need to be on board. It is to be seen what will help in raising revenues without hurting the sentiment of the common man. Every state would want that revenues should also go up, tax compliance improves and cess pool also improves.

• Raising tax rates in times of slowdown has a repercussion and maybe the states could consider bringing in more items under the ambit of cess or increase cess rates for existing items. Not much scope to raise cess on automobiles, but maybe it can be increased for aerated drinks, tobacco.

• The revenue gap has to be filled; it’s not related to one state, every state wants compensation at 14 per cent. How to do it, what can be done, this is a difficult exercise.

• Any such rate change exercise needs to be done slowly, with due inputs from officers and ministers of all states and after a thorough perusal by the fitment committee.

• States are of the view that hardly any luxurious or high-end items are there in the list of exempted items at present, so taking out items from that list may not be feasible.

• Also, a merger of 12 per cent and 18 per cent slabs may not result in revenue gain on a net basis.

• Kerala FM Thomas Isaac has spoken against tweaking rates for lower slabs and suggested tinkering with items in the higher slabs of 18 per cent and 28 per cent. “In the last GST Council meeting Union FC (Finance Commission) Chairman suggested states should revisit the compensation package in the context of decline in tax collection. All state ministers irrespective of politics rejected it. Now Centre is bringing it back to the agenda by forcing a dispute,” he tweeted.

Present scenario

• Over 50 per cent of the total items are under the 18 per cent slab under GST, around 20 per cent are in the 12 per cent slab and about 23 per cent of the items are in the lower slab of 5 per cent. 25 per cent of the items are in the peak 28 per cent slab, while 13 per cent of the items are in the zero category.

• So far, the GST Council, since the GST rollout from July 1, 2017, has held 19 meetings in which it has undertaken around 10 rounds of rate cuts. Any rate hike decision would be the first such move under the indirect tax regime.

About GST Council

The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is governed by the GST Council. Article 279 (1) of the amended Indian Constitution states that the GST Council has to be constituted by the President within 60 days of the commencement of the Article 279A.

According to the article, GST Council will be a joint forum for the Centre and the States. It consists of the following members:

1. The Union Finance Minister will be the Chairperson
2. As a member, the Union Minister of State will be in charge of Revenue of Finance
3. The Minister in charge of finance or taxation or any other Minister nominated by each State government, as members.

Note: For an in-depth analysis about GST and other issues related to it, click on the link below:

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/economy/policy/gst-the-challenges-before-indias-largest-indirect-tax-reform/articleshow/71353710.cms

Syllabus subtopic: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life Achievements of Indians in science & technology; indigenization of technology and developing new technology.

Prelims and Mains focus: About the recent launch by PSLV, its achievements so far and their significance in making India a prominent player in satellite launching industry

News: India’s Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) marked its ‘Golden Jubilee’ launch on Wednesday by injecting India’s advanced radar imaging satellite RISAT­2BR1 and nine other customer satellites from Japan, Italy, Israel and the U.S. into their intended orbits.

Objective of RISAT­2BR1 satellite

It will be used for agriculture, forestry, disaster management support and national security. ISRO will launch the next version of RISAT within the next two months.

Other achievements of PSLV

The PSLV, which has a history of successful launches of payloads that include Chandrayaan­1, Mars Orbiter Mission and the space recovery mission, soared into clear blue skies at 3.25 p.m. from the refurbished first launchpad, marking the 50th launch for the vehicle.

Initially, the PSLV had a carrying capacity of 850 kg, and over the years it has been enhanced to 1.9 tonnes. The PSLV is very versatile, having various mission options.

The PSLV had helped take payloads into almost all the orbits in space, including the the Geo­Stationary Transfer Orbit (GTO), the moon and mars, and would soon be launching a mission to the Sun.

In the last 26 years, the PSLV had lifted more than 52 tonnes into space, of which about 17% were for commercial customers.

The PSLV has failed only twice — the maiden flight of the PSLV D1 in September 1993 and the PSLV C­39 in August 2017. While it had taken ISRO 26 years to achieve 50 launches, the next 50 would likely be done in the coming five years.

What is the difference between GSLV and PSLV

Both PSLV (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle) and GSLV (Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle) are the satellite-launch vehicles (rockets) developed by ISRO. PSLV is designed mainly to deliver the “earth-observation” or “remote-sensing” satellites with lift-off mass of up to about 1750 Kg to Sun-Synchronous circular polar orbits of 600-900 Km altitude.

The remote sensing satellites orbit the earth from pole-to-pole (at about 98 deg orbital-plane inclination). An orbit is called sun-synchronous when the angle between the line joining the centre of the Earth and the satellite and the Sun is constant throughout the orbit.

Due to their sun-synchronism nature, these orbits are also referred to as “Low Earth Orbit (LEO)” which enables the on-board camera to take images of the earth under the same sun-illumination conditions during each of the repeated visits, the satellite makes over the same area on ground thus making the satellite useful for earth resources monitoring.

Apart from launching the remote sensing satellites to Sun-synchronous polar orbits, the PSLV is also used to launch the satellites of lower lift-off mass of up to about 1400 Kg to the elliptical Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO).

PSLV is a four-staged launch vehicle with first and third stage using solid rocket motors and second and fourth stages using liquid rocket engines. It also uses strap-on motors to augment the thrust provided by the first stage, and depending on the number of these strap-on boosters, the PSLV is classified into its various versions like core-alone version (PSLV-CA), PSLV-G or PSLV-XL variants.

The GSLV is designed mainly to deliver the communication-satellites to the highly elliptical (typically 250 x 36000 Km) Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). The satellite in GTO is further raised to its final destination, viz., Geo-synchronous Earth orbit (GEO) of about 36000 Km altitude (and zero deg inclination on equatorial plane) by firing its in-built on-board engines.

Due to their geo-synchronous nature, the satellites in these orbits appear to remain permanently fixed in the same position in the sky, as viewed from a particular location on Earth, thus avoiding the need of a tracking ground antenna and hence are useful for the communication applications.

Syllabus subtopic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

Prelims focus: about heavy metals, Central water commission, Bureau of Indian Standards

Mains focus: impact of water pollution on human health, govt. efforts to check pollution

News: Samples taken from two-thirds of the water quality stations spanning India’s major rivers showed contamination by one or more heavy metals, exceeding safe limits set by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS).

About the findings of the report

The findings are part of a report, which is the third edition of an exercise conducted by the Central Water Commission (CWC) from May 2014 to April 2018.

Samples from only one-third of water quality stations were safe. The rest, or 287 (65%) of the 442 sampled, were polluted by heavy metals. Samples from 101 stations had contamination by two metals, six stations saw contamination by three metals.

Iron emerged as the most common contaminant with 156 of the sampled sites registering levels of the metal above safe limits. None of the sites registered arsenic levels above the safe limit.

“Arsenic and zinc are the two toxic metals whose concentration was always obtained within the limits throughout the study period,” the report noted.

Not all the rivers are equally sampled. Several rivers have only been sampled at a single site whereas others such as the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Godavari are sampled at multiple sites. Marked variation was found in contamination levels depending on the season.

Samples were collected in three different seasons: pre-monsoon, monsoon and post­monsoon.

Sources and impact of heavy metals contaminated water

The main sources of heavy metal pollution are mining, milling, plating and surface finishing industries that discharge a variety of toxic metals into the environment.

The presence of metals in drinking water is to some extent unavoidable and certain metals, in trace amounts, required for good health. However, when present above safe limits, they are associated with a range of disorders.

Long­term exposure to the above­mentioned heavy metals may result in slowly progressing physical, muscular, and neurological degenerative processes that mimic Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, muscular dystrophy and multiple sclerosis.

Other heavy metals found

The other major contaminants found in the samples were lead, nickel, chromium, cadmium and copper. The study spanned 67 rivers in 20 river basins. Lead, cadmium, nickel, chromium and copper contamination were more common in non-monsoon periods while iron, lead, chromium and copper exceeded ‘tolerance limits’ in monsoon periods most of the time.

Not all the rivers are equally sampled. Several rivers have only been sampled at a single site whereas others such as the Ganga, the Yamuna and the Godavari are sampled at multiple sites. Marked variation was found in contamination levels depending on the season.

The main sources of heavy metal pollution are mining, milling, plating and surface finishing industries that discharge a variety of toxic metals into the environment.

About Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS)

1. The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is the national Standards Body of India working under the aegis of Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution.
2. It is established by the Bureau of Indian Standards Act, 1986.
3. The Minister in charge of the Ministry or Department having administrative control of the BIS is the ex-officio President of the BIS.
4. Composition: As a corporate body, it has 25 members drawn from Central or State Governments, industry, scientific and research institutions, and consumer organisations.
5. It also works as WTO-TBT (Technical Barriers to Trade Agreement) enquiry point for India.

About Central Water Commission (CWC)

• CWC is apex Technical Organization of India in the field of Water Resources.

• It is presently functioning as an attached office of Union Ministry of Water Resources, River Development and Ganga Rejuvenation.

• It is charged with the general responsibilities of initiating and coordinating schemes of control, utilization and conservation of water resources throughout the country.

• These schemes are meant for purpose of Flood Control, Irrigation, Navigation, Drinking Water Supply and Water Power Development.

• It also undertakes the investigations, construction and execution of any such schemes as required.

• The work of the Commission is divided among 3 wings namely :
  1. River Management Wing (RM),
  2. Designs and Research Wing (D&R) and
  3. Water Planning and Projects Wing (WP&P).

Heavy metals