DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

More recently, the Kambala Samithi hosts weekly events from the end of November till the 1^st half of April across Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts in Karnataka.

• A folk sport practised in coastal Karnataka districts, especially in regions where Tulu speakers form a majority.
• Harvest festival – It will be organised in the slushy paddy fields, in the days after the harvest from November to March.
• Pairs of buffaloes are groomed by Bunt community in the coastal regions around the year.
• 4 categories
  • Negilu (plough) – Lighter ploughs are used to tie buffaloes which is for entry-level buffalo pairs.
  • Hagga (rope) – Buffaloes are raced by jockeys with just a rope tied to both buffaloes.
  • Adda Halage – Participants stand over a horizontal plank which is dragged by buffaloes.
  • Kane Halage – Participants stand over a wooden plank which has 2 holes through which water gushes out.
• Ban – Supreme Court ruled to ban Jallikattu, Kambala and bullock cart racing in 2014.
• Later, the Environment Ministry and State governments made provisions to exempt these events in recognition of the customs and cultural heritage of various communities, which was upheld by the Supreme Court bench in 2023.

Article 29 (1) of Indian constitution is a fundamental right guaranteed under Part III to protect the educational and cultural rights of citizens.

The Basic Animal Husbandry Statistics 2023 was released during National Milk Day in 2023.

• It is a survey of milk, egg, meat and wool production in India based on Animal Integrated Sample Survey (ISS) conducted between March 2022-February 2023.
• The survey is conducted in 3 seasons - summer (March-June), monsoon (July-October) and winter (November-February).

Key finding - Production of milk, egg and meat has significantly gone up in 2022-23 over the past five years, although wool output in the same period has witnessed a negative growth.

India celebrates National Milk Day on November 26^th, to commemorate the efforts of Dr Verghese Kurien, the father of White Revolution.

Recently, astronomers have detected a rare and extremely high-energy particle falling to Earth.

• It is one of the most powerful cosmic rays slamming into Earth and has been named "Amaterasu" after the Japanese sun goddess.
• These ultra-high energy particle passes atmosphere smoothly without any deflection by magnetic fields.
• Spotted by – Telescope Array observatory in Utah, a collaboration of the United States, Japan, Korea, Russia, and Belgium to observe cosmic rays.
• Energy – It exceeds 240 exa-electron volts (EeV), millions of times more powerful than the particles produced by the Large Hadron Collider, which is the most powerful accelerator ever built.
• It is 2^nd only to the ‘Oh-My-God’ particle, another high-energy cosmic ray at 320 EeV that was detected in 1991.
• Source – Only the most powerful cosmic events, on scales far exceeding the explosion of a star, are thought to be capable of producing such energetic particles.
• But Amaterasu appears to have emerged from the Local Void, an empty area of space bordering the Milky Way galaxy.

• Reasons for non-detection
  • It could be from a source that we have not yet identified.
  • It might have been magnetically deflected much higher than current models predict.

Scientists might need to rewrite their incomplete understanding of high-energy particle physics

Volunteers in Chargheri village of Sunderbans help in planting lakhs of mangroves which offer a dense forest cover and a rich carbon sink.

The Sunderbans is a complex network of islands set in the delta on the Bay of Bengal and spread across West Bengal and Bangladesh.

• Blue carbon – It is coined in 2009, a term for carbon captured by and stored in the world’s ocean and coastal ecosystems.
• Key ecosystems of blue carbon - Mangroves, salt marshes and seagrass meadows
• These ecosystems sequester and store more carbon per unit area than terrestrial forests.

Mangroves as carbon sink – After seagrass, mangroves are the most efficient carbon trapping systems which can remove 10 times more carbon from the air than other forests.

• While other trees release the stored carbon back to atmosphere when they die, mangroves transfer the carbon to the soil, where it stays unaffected even if the tree is destroyed.

The National Biofuels Coordination Committee (NBCC) gave its nod to mandatory blending of compressed biogas (CBG) with compressed natural gas (CNG) and piped natural gas (PNG) from 2025-26.

• Biogas - It is an energy-rich gas produced by anaerobic decomposition of biomass.
• Sources include Agriculture residue, cattle dung, sugarcane press mud, municipal solid waste, and sewage treatment plant waste, among others.
• It can be burnt directly as a fuel, or purified and upgraded by removing carbon dioxide, hydrogen sulfide, and then compressed to make compressed Biogas (CBG).
• CBG – It has more than 90% of methane, which is similar to commercially available natural gas in composition and energy potential.

Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation (SATAT) scheme was launched in 2018, under which 5,000 CBG plants were envisaged by 2023 to produce 15 million tonnes of CBG.

• Compulsory blending obligation – It will be
  • 1 % of total CNG and domestic PNG consumption for FY26
  • 3 % for FY27
  • 4 % for FY28
  • 5 % blending from FY29
• A Central Repository Body (CRB) will be responsible for monitoring and implementing the blending mandate.

Objectives – It aims to

• • Stimulate demand for CBG in city gas distribution sector
  • Import substitution for liquefied natural gas (LNG) thus saving forex
  • Promote circular economy for achieving the target of net-zero emission, etc

Climate resilient agriculture has the potential to assure food security, empower farmers, and protect our delicate ecosystems.

What is Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)?

• It is a comprehensive strategy for managing farmlands, crops, livestock, and forests that counteracts the negative impacts of climate change on agricultural productivity.
• FAO in 2019 said that CSA is an approach for transforming food and agriculture systems to support sustainable development and safeguard food security under climate change.

Why India needs Climate Smart Agriculture (CSA)?

• Climate change- The world’s southern continent are reportedly experiencing severe drought due to climate change, which negatively impacts agricultural production and farmers’ livelihoods.
• Low crop yield- In India, crop yield is declining due to climate change. Between 2010 and 2039 it could be as high as 9%.
• Climate disparity- The ongoing effects of climate change such as heat waves, flash floods, droughts and cyclones are negatively influencing lives and livelihoods.
• Pressure on land- India has a large and growing population, but limited land area thereby putting pressure on the small and marginal farmers, who produce most of the country’s food and are vulnerable to climate shocks.
• Impetus to Paris Agreement- The goal of limiting global warming by reducing GHG emissions is tied directly to the success of the CSA.
• High GHG emission- Agricultural sector produces a large amount of Green House Gas (GHG) emissions which is around 17% in 2018.
• Food insecurity- Both population expansion and dietary changes are contributing to increase in demand for food.
• Radical reform- The farming industry needs a major reform to deal with global warming and improve food output and revenue in an eco-friendly manner.
• Innovative approach- It charts development pathways that can make the agriculture sectors more productive and sustainable and to contribute to climate change adaptation and mitigation.

The study of Northwest Indo-Gangetic Plain for wheat production shows that site-specific no-tillage is advantageous for fertilizer management and can boost yield, nutrient usage efficiency, and profitability while lowering GHG emissions.

What are the challenges in adopting CSA?

• High cost- CSA may adopt expensive agricultural technology or infrastructure which are out of reach for marginal farmers.
• Market barriers- The market for CSA products is still small, which makes it unprofitable.
• Policy paralysis- Farmers find it challenging to embrace CSA strategies due to governmental and regulatory obstacles.
• Lack of awareness- Farmers may not be aware of the information and access to established approaches of CSA.
• Cultural resistance- Inexperience or conflicts with the established farming norms acts as a barrier.
• Lack of definition- CSA does not have a clear and agreed-upon definition, which allows for different interpretations and applications of the concept.
• Monopoly- CSA is influenced by the interests of the fertilizer industry (Greenwashing), which is a major source of GHG emissions and environmental degradation.

What is the need for fiscal prudence?

• Stable fiscal policy- It helps to maintain fiscal sustainability and macroeconomic stability as well as promotes economic growth and social welfare.
• Safety net- It can help avoid fiscal crises, reduce public debt and improve the quality of public spending.
• Effective resource mobilization- The government should not spend more than it earns, and should use its resources efficiently and effectively to promote the economic and social well-being of its citizens.
• Future recovery plan- The government should also plan for the future and be prepared for any shocks or uncertainties that may affect its fiscal position.
• Long term goals- It involves making sound decisions regarding revenue generation, expenditure allocation and debt management.
• Realistic strategy- The government should have a clear strategy for raising revenues such as taxes, fees or grants and for allocating expenditures such as public goods, services or transfers according to its priorities and needs.
• Balanced fiscal deficit- It will indicate that the government is living within its means and not relying too much on borrowing.
• Low debt-GDP ratio- It indicates that the government’s debt is manageable and not crowding out private investments or consumption.
• Quality of expenditure- A high quality indicates that the government is getting value for money and delivering results for its citizens.

India achieved fiscal prudence by enacting the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act in 2003, which set targets for reducing its fiscal deficit and debt-GDP ratio.

What is the picture of Indian economy with respect to fiscal prudence?

• Fiscal deficit - Fiscal deficit target is at 5.9% for 2024 and aims to reduce it to 4.5% by 2026.
• This is still higher than the 3% target specified in the FRBM Act, 2013.
• Debt-GDP ratio- NK Singh Committee recommended a debt-GDP ratio of 60% to be achieved by 2023, but the current ratio is about 81%.
• This indicates high level of public debt and low revenues.
• Cost of debt servicing- India spends about 5.5% of its GDP on servicing public debt which is more than the combined spending on health and education.
• Investment- Most of the debt is financed by household savings which curtails private investment.
• Expenditure profile- Majority of the government spending is on interest payments, subsidies and pensions which leaves little room for fiscal policy flexibility.
• The government has increased its capital expenditure from 12% to 22% of the total expenditure which is considered to be productive and growth-enhancing spending.
• Revenue- Tax collection especially GST has been increasing over the years, still tax buoyancy is low.

India’s subsidies as a % of GDP were 1.4% in 2020, which was higher than the global average of 0.9%

What lies ahead?

• Tax reforms- Utilise technologies like Artificial Intelligence- Machine Learning to widen the tax base and ensure compliance.
• Rationalise GST slabs- This can be done to simplify the tax system and reduce tax exemptions and rates to improve the tax efficiency.
• Revisit expenditure composition- As per Economic Survey 2020-21, the quality of expenditure can be improved by rationalising subsidies, increasing capital expenditure, and adopting outcome-based budgeting.
• Sectoral reforms- The government has to initiate sectoral reforms, especially in the power and informal sectors, to improve the efficiency and performance of these sectors.
• Formalisation- As per World Bank, the informal sector reforms include enhancing access to finance, social protection and digital platforms.

• India and the European Union has recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding on semiconductors.

It will help in building a “robust supply chain” and support innovation between the two countries.

• India is looking at sealing a landmark deal to procure 31 MQ-9B Predator armed drones from the U.S. under a government-to-government framework by March next year.
• The General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV, one component of an unmanned aircraft system (UAS)).

It is capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), U.S.

• Irish writer Paul Lynch wins Booker Prize with dystopian novel 'Prophet Song' recently.
• Prophet Song - It is about a woman’s struggle to protect her family as Ireland collapses into totalitarianism and war.

Booker Prize – It is founded in 1969, is open to English-language novels from any country published in the U.K. and Ireland, and has a reputation for transforming writers’ careers.

• Malaysia will grant a 30-day visa-free entry for Indian and Chinese citizens.
• Thailand and Sri Lanka has already announced free visas to foreigners including India to promote tourism.

The 30-day visa-free entry is also currently enjoyed by 8 ASEAN countries for the purpose of social visits, tourism and business.

• Russia was intensely attacking the eastern town of Avdiivka and the southern village of Robotyne in Ukraine recently.
• Avdiivka is an industrial hub in Donetsk region. The city is a former coal hub and is home to the large Avdiivka Coke Plant.

Robotyne is a village in Ukraine. It's located in Polohy Raion, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Robotyne was the 1^st Ukrainian breach in Russian lines of defense.

• Coinciding with the onset of the Northeast monsoon the butterflies from the subfamily Danainae migrate from the Eastern Ghats and plains towards the Western Ghats was below par this year.
• Butterflies -Blue Tiger, Dark Blue Tiger, Double-branded Crow, and Common Crow (commonly known as ‘Tigers and Crows’).
• Blue Tiger - Tirumala limniace is a Nymohalidae butterfly popularly known as Blue Tiger. It is commonly seen in villages, cities and forests.
• Dark Blue Tiger - Tirumala septentrionis is a Danaid butterfly found in South and Southeast Asia. It is known as Dark Blue Tiger.
• Double-branded Crow – Euploea sylvester, the double-branded crow, or two-brand crow in Australia, is a butterfly found in South Asia, Southeast Asia and parts of Australia.

Common Crow - The common crow butterfly (Euploea core) is found in South Asia and Australia. In India, it is also known as the common Indian crow. In Australia, it is called the Australian crow.