📰 Centre not to file counter-affidavit on Article 35A
PIL plea against provision for J&K
•The Centre has decided not to file any “counter-affidavit” on Article 35A, which has been challenged in the Supreme Court through a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) petition.
•Article 35A allows the Jammu and Kashmir legislature to decide the “permanent residents” of the State, prohibits a non-State resident from buying property in the State and ensures reservation in employment for residents.
•The Supreme Court has scheduled further hearing for August 6.
•Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti and the former Chief Minister, Omar Abdullah, had objected to any tinkering with the provision.
Court order
•A senior official explained that Attorney-General K.K. Venugopal informed the court last year of the Centre’s decision not to file any counter-affidavit. The Supreme Court gave an order stating the same. The official said the Centre would stick to the order, though it was an interim one.
•On July 17, 2017, the court recorded: “Learned Attorney General, representing the Union of India, states that a conscious decision has been taken not to file any counter-affidavit in this case because the issues, which are raised for adjudication, are pure questions of law.”
•The State government has filed an affidavit opposing any such move.
•The official said the case was still being heard as similar petitions were bunched together. “This particular provision was included in the Constitution by a Presidential Order. Our stand is clear: this is a matter of interpretation of law and the Supreme Court should decide. Though the hearing is still on, we will continue to abide by the interim order that a conscious decision has been taken not to file any counter-affidavit,” he said.
•Home Minister Rajnath Singh is expected to visit Srinagar and Jammu on June 7 and 8. The visit comes amid the Centre’s decision to suspend security operations during the month of Ramzan.
•In his last visit to the Valley in September, Mr. Singh was non-committal on the Centre’s stand on filing any affidavit.
•Article 35A was incorporated into the Constitution by an order of the then President Rajendra Prasad on the advice of the Jawaharlal Nehru Cabinet in 1954.
•It grants a special status to Jammu and Kashmir.
•The Constitution (Application to Jammu and Kashmir) Order followed the 1952 Delhi Agreement between Nehru and the then Prime Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Sheikh Abdullah, which extended Indian citizenship to the ‘State subjects’ of Jammu and Kashmir. Ms. Mufti said earlier that any attempt to tinker with Article 35(A) would have repercussions, and “India will not get a shoulder to carry its national flag in Jammu and Kashmir.”
‘Class within class’
•The petition, filed by We The Citizens, said Article 35A is against the “very spirit of oneness of India” as it creates a “class within a class of Indian citizens.”
•A second petition, filed by Jammu and Kashmir resident Charu Wali Khanna, has challenged Article 35A for protecting certain provisions of the Jammu and Kashmir Constitution, which restrict the basic right to property if a native woman marries a man not holding a permanent resident certificate.
📰 Familiar moorings: on foreign policy re-orientation
With his Shangri-La Dialogue address, the PM signals a foreign policy re-orientation
•Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore, three of India’s most important partners in Southeast Asia, could not have come at a more important moment in Indian foreign policy positioning. In the past few months, the government has shifted considerably in its signalling, with Mr. Modi visiting China and Russia for informal summits with Presidents Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin, respectively. The fact that these visits have taken place at a time the U.S. administration has sharpened its aim at China and Russia with sanctions and threats of a trade war suggests Mr. Modi is also attempting to moderate India’s strategic posturing on the global stage, and striving for a more balanced approach in what it increasingly sees as an uncertain world. India has also maintained its commitment to relations with the U.S. in order to build a “free and open” Indo-Pacific region, maintain the “international rules-based order”, and work together to combat terrorism and terror financing — as they have done more recently at the UN and the Financial Action Task Force. Meanwhile, India’s membership of both the Quadrilateral(with the U.S., Japan and Australia) and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (the Russia-China-led grouping of Central Asian countries, whose summit Mr. Modi will attend this week) is also an indicator of the new balance that New Delhi seeks.
•It is significant that in Singapore Mr. Modi chose the platform of the Shangri-La Dialogue of defence leaders of the Asia-Pacific region to emphasise Indian “strategic autonomy”. In his speech on the concept of the “Indo-Pacific” he referred to India’s relations with Russia, the U.S. and China. Given his government’s particular distaste for the term in the past, it is telling that Mr. Modi appeared to be channelling some of the “Bandung spirit of 1955” that led to the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement, when he praised Singapore for teaching the world the importance of making “free and fair choices” and “embracing diversity at home”. “When nations stand on the side of principles, not behind one power or the other, they earn the respect of the world,” Mr. Modi said as he unveiled a seven-point vision for the Indo-Pacific region. While warning the world about the possible return of “great power rivalries”, he emphasised the importance and centrality of the ASEAN in the concept of the Indo-Pacific. The “principled” vision Mr. Modi projects is a departure from the transactionalism and pragmatism espoused by many in South Block over the last few years. However, it may also be a return to familiar moorings of Indian foreign policy, necessitated by what the Prime Minister identified as the “shifting plates of global politics and the fault lines of history”.
📰 Army will abide by govt. peace plan, says Nirmala Sitharaman
But no unprovoked attacks will go without response, says Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman
•The decision to suspend military operations in Jammu and Kashmir during the month of Ramzan was a government decision and would be respected by all, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Tuesday.
•“It was the Government of India’s decision, and we all abide by it,” she said when asked whether the Army was consulted before the decision was taken. The Home Ministry had announced the suspension of operations against militants during Ramzan, starting May 17. The Minister was speaking to journalists on the NDA government completing four years in office.
•However, Ms. Sitharaman said while the Defence Ministry respected the announcement made by Home Minister Rajnath Singh, there was room for retaliation, if attacked. “It is our duty to keep our borders safe. We shall be alert and ensure that no unprovoked attacks go without our responding. It is the duty of the Defence Ministry and the forces to keep India safe,” she said.
•However, there has been a sharp rise in ceasefire violations along the Line of Control. Last week, the Directors-General of Military Operations of India and Pakistan agreed to implement the 2003 ceasefire agreement in “letter and spirit.” Yet, there were violations over the weekend.
S-400 buy to go ahead
•As for the purchase of the S-400 Triumf long-range air defence system from Russia, in the backdrop of U.S. pressure, she indicated that India would go ahead with the purchase. “That has been going on for long. We have reached the final stage in the talks.”
•India and Russia have concluded the contract negotiations for the purchase of five S-400 systems worth over $5.5 billion.
•The deal is expected to be signed later this year.
•Answering questions on shortage of ammunition and funds for military modernisation as highlighted by the reports of the parliamentary standing committee on defence, she said there was no shortage of funds now. Listing the allocations over the last few years, she said some procurements had not been made since 2004, so the services were asked to prioritise requirements.
•“We have the highest expenditure, which means payments are made… Now I can tell you there is no ammunition shortage.”
•The Vice-Chief of Army Lt. Gen. Sarath Chand told the standing committee that the budgetary allocation for this year had “dashed” their hopes and it barely accounted for the inflation and did not even cater for the taxes.
📰 It will be a war on single-use plastic
India leads the charge in battling plastic pollution on World Environment Day
•As the global host nation for the 2018 World Environment Day (June 5), and as a country that generates over 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day, India led the charge against plastic on Tuesday, with programmes in different parts of the country focussed on the theme of ‘Beat Plastic Pollution’.
•Speaking on the occasion of World Environment Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi highlighted the need for effective plastic waste management, and said that “an unclean environment hurts the poor and the vulnerable the most”. President Ramnath Kovind put out a tweet urging people to work for a “cleaner and sustainable planet”.
•In the national capital, the Delegation of the European Union (EU) and embassies of the member states adopted a ‘Green Pledge’, under which the 28 EU member-states made a commitment to green their embassies. In a statement, they undertook to “discontinue the use of harmful plastics including plastic straws, stirrers, cups, water bottles in their embassies and residences” and “switch to eco-friendly materials.”
•Meanwhile, the Mumbai International Airport Limited (MIAL), has decided to switch from imposing fines on those who litter, to witty signage aimed at raising environmental awareness. The signs will primarily be in the garden area of Terminal 2. “We find pan stains everywhere. We plan to install signage that will be educative and witty. Through these, we will inform visitors. We will also request them not to spit or litter,” said an MIAL official.
Tamil Nadu ban
•Down south, the Tamil Nadu Government said it would ban the manufacturing, storage, and use of plastic products (except packing material for milk, curd, oil and medical products) from January 1, 2019.
📰 State to remain on public health alert
No new Nipah cases in second wave: Minister
•Health Minister K.K. Shylaja reassured the Assembly on Tuesday that no new Nipah cases were reported so far in the much dreaded “second wave” of the viral flare-up in north Kerala.
•Replying to an adjournment motion moved by Deputy Leader of the Opposition M.K. Muneer (Indian Union Muslim League), Ms. Shylaja said none of the second set of patients had tested positive for the virus. It was a heartening indication that the contagion could be abating.
Incubation period
•Nipah has an incubation period of 21 days and the State would continue to remain on the public health emergency alert at least until the end of June.
•Patients tested positive for Nipah only when the infection peaked and doctors have factored it in to their treatment protocol.
•The government has imported anti-Nipah drugs from Australia.
•Currently, no patient required the administration of the untested medicine. However, the government has stored it in -80-degrees Celsius cold chamber for use if needed.
•It has also supplied anti-contamination suits, masks, and gloves to caregivers and medical personnel who run the highest risk of contracting the infection.
The Hindu’s editorial
•The Minister quoted The Hindu’s editorial titled The Nipah Test on May 23 as a testimony to the government response to the outbreak which claimed 16 lives in Kozhikode and Malappuram.
•It said “Kerala’s public health systems have acted with extraordinary efficiency so far. Doctors identified the virus in the very second patient, a diagnostic speed unrivalled in developing countries. This must be commended.”
•Ms. Shylaja paid tribute to Lini Puthussery, contract nurse at the Perambra taluk hospital, who succumbed to Nipah after coming into close contact with her patients.
•She also thanked Kozhikode Baby Memorial Hospital doctors Anoop Kumar A.S. and Ramakrishnan for recognising the infection as Nipah.
•Ms. Shylaja thanked IUML leaders for convincing the community to forego taking the bodies home to reduce the risk of the contagion. She lauded health officer Gopan, Kozhikode, who dared to handle the dead when many dithered. Later, Dr. Muneer withdrew his motion with the permission of the House.
📰 A failure of governance
Why we need to go through the timeline of the uncalled-for drama at ICICI Bank
•Finally, finally, the board of ICICI Bank has ordered a probe into allegations levelled against its CEO, Chanda Kochhar. Does this call for a celebration? No, it doesn’t. The probe comes rather late in the day. And the board is having to refer the matter to an outsider only because of its own inadequate response to the initial set of charges made nearly two years ago. These constitute lapses in governance at a bank that has been characterised as “systemically important” by the regulator.
•On May 30, the board of directors of ICICI Bank announced that it had ordered an inquiry by an outsider into allegations made by a whistle-blower. These allegations are not to be confused with the ones made by an investor, Arvind Gupta, in 2016. Mr. Gupta had then written to the Prime Minister, with copies to the Governor of the Reserve Bank of India and the Chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), among others.
•The publication of Mr. Gupta’s allegations in a newspaper in March this year raised a storm. On March 28, the Chairman of ICICI Bank’s Board, M.K. Sharma, issued a statement expressing the board’s full confidence in Ms. Kochhar. In April, media reports said that Mr. Sharma had carried out an internal inquiry in 2016 itself and had found no evidence of wrongdoing on Ms. Kochhar’s part. End of story, or so the ICICI Bank board would have liked.
•However, the controversy would not die down. Investors and media analysts have been relentlessly pressing the board for a better response. Following charges made by a whistle-blower, the board has now authorised the chairman of the Audit Committee to select an appropriate person to head an independent probe.
Sharp questions
•Three questions arise. First, after having stood steadfastly by its CEO for over two months, why has the board opted for a probe now? Second, is a probe by an outsider required at all? Third, should Ms. Kochhar continue in office during the period of the inquiry?
•The decision to go in for a probe is clearly prompted by widespread dissatisfaction with the clean chit given by the Chairman last March. It is also possible that the board has been rattled by show-cause notices issued by SEBI on May 24. According to media reports, the notices relate to alleged violation of disclosure requirements on the part of both Ms. Kochhar and ICICI Bank. If the violations are established, the bank could be subject to monetary penalties and the associated reputational damage.
•However, the key question, as one veteran banker pointed out to me, is whether an inquiry conducted by an outsider is at all necessary in such a case. Let us recount the salient facts in brief. In April 2012, ICICI Bank made a loan of ₹3,250 crore to the Videocon group. Ms. Kochhar was the bank’s CEO at the time. Mr. Gupta’s letter to the PM had said that Ms. Kochhar’s husband had had a business partnership with the Videocon group prior to the sanction of the ICICI loan. There would thus be a clear conflict of interest in Ms. Kochhar being party to the sanction of a loan to Videocon.
•The issue at the heart of the controversy is simple enough: did Ms. Kochhar disclose the conflict of interest to the board and recuse herself from all matters concerning Videocon? If she did not do so, it is sufficient ground for the board to ask Ms. Kochhar to step down as CEO.
A lapse
•It is not necessary to establish a quid pro quo in the relationship for the board to decide whether Ms. Kochhar should step down. That is a separate matter to be pursued by the law enforcement authorities. Non-disclosure of conflict of interest and non-recusal are grave enough lapses. The line that various people, including government officials, have been putting out — “let us await the outcome of investigations” — is sheer evasion.
•No deep probe, no forensic analysis, no great legal expertise is required to answer the elementary question posed above. The board of directors is perfectly competent to answer it by having the relevant documents placed before it. That is what the board should have done in March when the controversy erupted. The drama that has unfolded since is uncalled for and could have been avoided if only the board had done the right thing earlier.
•Some of the other arguments made in defence of the CEO amount to a red herring drawn by interested parties. For instance, Mr. Sharma has defended Ms. Kochhar on the ground that ICICI Bank had assumed a share of only 10% of the total loan given by a consortium of banks and the loan itself had been made in accordance with the bank’s norms. This does not wash. It is not that a conflict of interest arises only when a loan is made in violation of norms; the conflict does not go away even when the loan decision is in conformity with norms.
•The conflict of interest does not end with the sanction of a loan. It extends to post-loan monitoring and the readiness of the lender to exit a relationship where problems are brewing. It applies also to recognition of a loan as a non-performing asset and steps taken to effect recovery. It was incumbent on Ms. Kochhar to have distanced herself from all matters related to Videocon.
•When a fresh set of allegations surfaced this month, the board must have been in a bind. Since it had solidly backed its CEO thus far, any probe it chose to conduct by itself would have lacked credibility. Perhaps, that is why the board has opted to entrust the probe to an outsider. It may well be that the whistle-blower has raised issues other than the loan to Videocon. However, it’s hard to believe that any issue of impropriety is beyond the competence of a board. The board can always seek the assistance of outside experts where required. The resort to an outsider is a situation of the board’s own making.
•Now that the board has decided to have a comprehensive probe, one that could stretch over several weeks or months, Ms. Kochhar’s status during the period is an important issue. The board has denied having asked Ms. Kochhar to go on leave. It has said that her current leave had been planned in the normal course.
Tenuous arrangement
•Does this mean that she will continue to helm the company on her return from leave? If yes, it is a highly unsatisfactory state of affairs. Just think of the plight of those reporting to Ms. Kochhar and the morale in the organisation in general when its CEO is the subject of an extended probe. The correct and proper course would be to ask Ms. Kochhar to step down as CEO until the probe is completed.
•The board has also denied that it has set up a search committee to find a successor to Ms. Kochhar. It is free not to set up one. But the board is certainly bound by regulations to have a succession plan in place. The board must ensure that it has a choice of candidates it can turn to in the event that Ms. Kochhar is required to step down.
•It is not merely the Chairman and independent directors of ICICI Bank who have been found wanting in the controversy. The nominee of the government and the LIC nominee on the board too have been coy about getting a straight answer to the question of conflict of interest involved in this case. They have chosen to stay away from meetings where they had a fiduciary obligation to attend and pose the hard questions. Such behaviour is strange, to say the least, and it completes the story of a breakdown in governance at the bank. As one distinguished banker put it to me, “Would the government have shown the same indulgence to the CEO of a public sector bank?”
📰 Preventing the next health crisis
A range of policy responses is crucial to tackle the rising incidence of obesity
•In March, the government announced that it would release an annual “state of nutrition” report, detailing India’s level of stunting, malnutrition and feature best practices for States to scale up nutrition interventions.
•It is clear that India has a lot to do to tackle nutrition challenges — 26 million children suffer from wasting (a low weight-for-height ratio), more than in any other country. Yet, the country has the second highest number of obese children in the world — 15.3 million in China and 14.4 million in India. While tackling undernutrition through assurance of adequate nutrition (usually interpreted as dietary calories), we need to ensure that it is also about appropriate nutrition (the right balance of nutrients). Our policy response has to move from “food security” to “nutrition security”.
New problem
•India must step up its efforts to fight overweight and obesity just as it has been doing with wasting and stunting. Between 1980and 2015, obesity doubled for children and tripled for adults; an additional 2.6 million children will be obese in India by 2025, a trend that will not reverse without action.
•Rising obesity is putting pressure on already fragile health systems in India by posing a high risk of chronic diseases such as cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and some cancers (clubbed together as non-communicable diseases, or NCDs). Research shows that Indians have higher levels of body fat and lower levels of lean muscle when compared to many other populations. Therefore, the risk of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes operates even below global thresholds for defining overweight and obesity. Hence the urgency to take public health measures. Apart from a high burden of premature mortality, these threats are something that India can ill-afford to ignore as it looks ambitiously toward a universal health coverage system where everyone can access quality health services that are free of financial burden.
•The rise in obesity is deeply concerning because just as growing up underweight gives that person a lifetime of health problems so does a childhood of being overweight. The potent combination of Indian children eating more junk food while becoming increasingly sedentary puts them at an even greater risk. Research has shown that early warning signs for fatty liver disease can be found in children as young as eight if they had larger-than-advised waistlines when they were three.
•Fortunately, this year is an ideal opportunity to tackle obesity as global health decision-makers are focussing on how to garner the political will to drive “best buys” such as sugar taxes and mass media campaigns on healthy diets (proven ways of bringing down obesity) while continuing to vigorously pursue efforts to prevent undernutrition. A high-level commission and a UN General Assembly meeting on NCDs are giving new life to existing evidence-based yet largely unimplemented plans of action.
Appropriate responses
•Policy responses should include agricultural systems that promote crop diversity (to enable dietary diversity) as well as regulatory and fiscal measures (to decrease the availability, affordability and promotion of unhealthy foods, while making healthy foods more accessible). For example, taking the lead from a directive by the Delhi High Court, India should ban the sale of junk food in and around schools. Legislators should also put into practice the results of a recent Lancet study on India. It showed that higher taxes on junk food can actually lead those on lower incomes to live healthier lives.
•Even in clinical settings, counselling and care are needed. Instead of being downgraded as ways of managing “poor lifestyle choices”, obesity management, prevention and treatment should be provided as essential health services targeted at a condition that undermines health in many ways. This would help reverse the stigma attached to obesity even by health professionals (which has also undermined the response to it).
•Further, India should link obesity and undernutrition and treat them as twinned challenges to be jointly addressed under the universal health coverage umbrella. Universal health coverage is encapsulated in the idea that no one should have to suffer financial hardship in order to access essential health care. By tackling obesity through prevention and early care, financially debilitating NCDs can be avoided.
•India will be in a better position to fulfil the promise of universal health coverage if it disrupts the cycle whereby poverty leads to NCDs and vice versa. There is compelling evidence that heart disease and diabetes impose high burdens of catastrophic health expenditure, result in a loss of livelihoods and crush people into poverty. With no insurance or personal savings, a heart disease diagnosis can compromise a person’s wealth as well as health.
•By making connections to both under- and over-nutrition, health advocates should make economic and social arguments to spur a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to these ‘whole-of-society’ problems. Tackling obesity benefits the economy and the environment, as healthy and sustainable diets are good for productivity levels and the planet. It is now time to get ahead of this unfolding health crisis and save lives and money in the process.
📰 Life in plastic: on waste management framework
It’s far from fantastic India’s framework on discouraging its use is in disarray
•As a major producer of plastic waste that ends up in the oceans, India is arguably the best place to host World Environment Day. Union Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan has said the government means business, and the UN theme, “Beat Plastic Pollution”, will not remain an empty slogan. His claim would have inspired greater confidence had India taken its own rules on waste management seriously. Both the Solid Waste Management Rules and the Plastic Waste Management Rules of 2016, which built on previous regulations, mostly remain on paper. State governments have simply not given them the necessary momentum, and the producers of plastic articles that are invariably used just for a few minutes have shown little concern about their negative environmental impact. The Centre’s somewhat liberal estimate shows over 60% of about 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste generated daily is collected. That essentially means a staggering 10,000 tonnes of trash is being released into the environment, a lot of it going into the sea. Also, not every piece of plastic collected by the system is scientifically processed. It is no surprise, therefore, that the Ganga-Brahmaputra-Meghna river system is on the UN map of 10 rivers worldwide that collectively carry the bulk of the plastic waste into the oceans. The effects are evident: they threaten marine life and the well-being of people, as microplastics are now found even in drinking water.
•In their response to the crisis, communities and environmentally minded individuals are ahead of governments and municipal authorities. They segregate waste, compost at home, conduct “plastic free” social events and help recover materials that would otherwise just be dumped in the suburbs and wetlands. But, valuable as they are, voluntary efforts cannot achieve what systemic reform can. It is the Centre’s responsibility to ensure that the Environment (Protection) Act, the overarching law that enables anti-pollution rules to be issued, is implemented in letter and spirit. Ideally, regulation should help stop the manufacture of single-use plastic articles such as carry bags and cutlery, and encourage the use of biodegradable materials. There is a challenge here, though. The provisions of the Plastic Waste Management Rules require manufacturers of compostable bags to get a certificate from the Central Pollution Control Board, but this has not stopped counterfeit products from entering the market. Local bodies mandated under rules to ensure segregation, collection and transfer of waste to registered recyclers have spectacularly failed to fulfil their responsibilities. The State Level Monitoring Committees provided for under the rules have not been made accountable. The waste management framework is dysfunctional, and Mr. Vardhan’s assertions on beating plastic pollution alone will not inspire confidence. India and the world face a plastics crisis. Solving it will take more than slogans.
📰 Eco-day bouquet: 539 species discovered in India in 2017
Publications from the Zoological and Botanical Surveys of the country record several new species discovered in the past year
•As many as 539 new species of plants and animals were discovered by scientists and taxonomists in the country in 2017, say publications from two major survey organisations: the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) and the Botanical Survey of India (BSI).
•Released on Tuesday, World Environment Day, Animal Discoveries, 2017 from the ZSI lists 300 new species of fauna. Plant Discoveries, 2017 lists 239 new flora species.
•Besides these discoveries, the biodiversity in the country recorded another 263 species with 174 new records of animals and 89 of plants found. The number of discoveries of sub-species and varieties takes the number of floral discoveries to 352.
•Among the animal discoveries are 241 invertebrates. The number of vertebrates discovered includes 27 species of fish, 18 of amphibians and 12 of reptiles.
New fossils
•The highlight of the animal discoveries was a new fossil reptilian species — Shringasaurus indicus — recorded by scientists of the Kolkata-based Indian Statistical Institute. The important discoveries include a frog species, Nasikabatrachus bhupathi, with snout-shaped nose like a pig and named after Indian herpetologist S. Bhupathy; and a snake, Rhabdops aquaticus, discovered from the northern Western Ghats and deriving its name from the Latin word for water in reference to its presence in freshwater bodies.
•With these discoveries, the number of animal species in India stands at 1,01,167, which is 6.45% of the faunal species found in the world. The number of plant species has increased to 49,003, which is 11.4 % of the world flora.
•Among the 352 species and sub-species and varieties of plants, there are 148 flowering plants, 108 macro and micro fungi, four pteridophytes, six bryophytes, 17 lichens, 39 algae and 30 microbes.
•In 2017, scientists discovered some 20 species of balsams and three species each of wild musa (banana) and jamun.
•The BSI publication lists 18 species of grasses discovered under the family Poaceae and two gymnosperms particularly cycads. In terms of names for the discoveries, Tupistra khasiana, named after the Khasi tribe of the Khasi hills, and Drypetes kalami, named after former President A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, stand out.
Riches among hills
•The Western Ghats and the Himalayas are home to most of the plant and animal discoveries. While the Western Ghats contributed 19% of the discoveries of species and sub-species of plants, the number was 37% in terms of animal discoveries.
•The Himalayas contributed to 35% of all plant discoveries (18% of the plant discoveries from the western Himalayas and 17% from the eastern Himalayas). In terms of animal discoveries, over 18% of the new species were discovered from both the eastern and western Himalayas.
•Among the States, Kerala recorded the highest number of discoveries — 66 species, sub-species and varieties of plants and 52 species of animals. Tamil Nadu recorded 31 new species of animals and 24 species, sub-species and varieties of plants.
•West Bengal, which has both Himalayan and coastal ecosystems, recorded 27 discoveries in categories of plants and 45 discoveries of animal species.
📰 Nitrogen emissions going up: study
Make up largest fraction of PM2.5; fertilizers, agriculture and untreated sewage causing the rise
•Nitrogen particles make up the largest fraction of PM2.5, the class of pollutants closely linked to cardiovascular and respiratory illness, says the first-ever quantitative assessment of nitrogen pollution in India.
•While the burning of crop residue is said to be a key contributor to winter smog in many parts of North India, it contributes over 240 million kg of nitrogen oxides (NOx: a generic term for the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution, namely nitric oxide and nitrogen dioxide) and about 7 million kg of nitrous oxide (N2O) per year.
•The Indian Nitrogen Assessment assesses the sources, impacts, trends and future scenarios of reactive nitrogen in the Indian environment, says N. Raghuram, Dean, School of Biotechnology, GGS Indraprastha University, who is one of the authors of the report.
•Though agriculture remains the largest contributor to nitrogen emissions, the non-agricultural emissions of nitrogen oxides and nitrous oxide are growing rapidly, with sewage and fossil-fuel burning — for power, transport and industry — leading the trend.
•Indian NOx emissions grew at 52% from 1991 to 2001 and 69% from 2001 to 2011.
•Annual NOx emissions from coal, diesel and other fuel combustion sources are growing at 6.5% a year currently, the report says.
•“As fertilizer, nitrogen is one of the main inputs for agriculture, but inefficiencies along the food chain mean about 80% of nitrogen is wasted, contributing to air and water pollution plus greenhouse gas emissions, thereby causing threats for human health, ecosystems and livelihoods,” Dr. Raghuram said at a conference to mark World Environment Day.
•Agricultural soils contributed to over 70% of N2O emissions from India in 2010, followed by waste water (12%) and residential and commercial activities (6%). Since 2002, N2O has replaced methane as the second largest Greenhouse Gas (GHG) from Indian agriculture.
•Chemical fertilizers (over 82% of it is urea) account for over 77% of all agricultural N2O emissions in India, while manure, compost and so on make up the rest. Most of the fertilizers consumed (over 70%) go into the production of cereals, especially rice and wheat, which accounts for the bulk of N2O emissions from India.
Cattle emissions
•Cattle account for 80% of the ammonia production, though their annual growth rate is 1%, due to a stable population.
•India is globally the biggest source of ammonia emission, nearly double that of NOx emissions.
•But at the current rate of growth, NOx emissions will exceed ammonia emissions and touch 8.8 tonnes by 2055, the report says.
•The poultry industry, on the other hand, with an annual growth rate of 6%, recorded an excretion of reactive nitrogen compounds of 0.415 tonnes in 2016.
•That is anticipated to increase to 1.089 tonnes by 2030.
•The authors suggest that nutrient recovery/recycling from waste water for agriculture could cut down N2O emissions from sewage and waste water by up to 40%.
📰 Fly less and eat healthy to cut warming
•Global warming can be limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius by improving the energy efficiency of our everyday activities such as travel, indoor heating and device use, according to a study.
•Published in the journal Nature Energy, the study shows that dramatic improvements in the energy efficiency of everyday activities can raise living standards in the global South to meet UN Sustainable Development Goals while also remaining within the 1.5 degrees Celsius target set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.
•Improved living standards for all need not come with a large increase in energy demand at the expense of the global environment, said researchers from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA) in Austria.
•The study is also the first ever to show how the 1.5 degrees Celsius target can be reached without relying on unproven technologies such as bioenergy with carbon capture and storage (CCS) which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and bury it.
•“Our analysis shows how new social, behavioural and technological innovations, combined with strong policy support for energy efficiency and low-carbon development, can help reverse the historical trajectory of ever-rising energy demand,” said Arnulf Grubler, lead author of the study.
•Drawing on detailed studies of energy used in transport, in homes and offices, and in the manufacture of consumer goods, they found evidence of two-to four-fold reductions in the amount of energy required to move people and goods around, to provide comfort in buildings, and to meet the material needs of growing populations, particularly in the global South.
•They identified a number of key innovations, for example, shared and ‘on-demand’ fleets of more energy efficient electric vehicles with increased occupancy can reduce global energy demand for transport by 60% by 2050 while reducing the number of vehicles on the road.
•Single digital devices such as smartphones serving a wide range of functions combined with younger generations’ preferences for accessing services instead of owning goods can limit the otherwise explosive growth in global energy demand to a mere 15% by 2050 for a digital economy with over twice the number of devices than are in use today.
Cut on red meat
•Strict standards for the energy performance of new buildings as well as renovations of existing buildings can reduce energy demand from heating and cooling by 75% by 2050, researchers said. In addition, shifting to a healthier diet with less red meat but similar calorific intake can reduce emissions from agriculture, while increasing forest cover by 2050 equivalent to the size of Italy and Bangladesh combined, they said.
•“Changes in the ways that we as the final users of energy go about our daily lives have knock-on effects on the ways that goods are manufactured and transported around, offices and malls are built, and food is grown. It is us as energy users who ultimately define the potential for transforming our energy system to meet climate targets,” said Mr. Grubler.
•The study found that if the total global energy demand is reduced by 40% by 2050, with a strong emphasis on electrification, current rates of renewable energy deployment projected on into the future could more than meet the world’s energy needs without having to rely on unproven technologies to capture and store greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels or plant matter.
📰 India’s per capita plastic use among lowest: Modi
Committed to joining the Clean Seas programme, says PM
•India has among the lowest per capita consumption of plastic in the world, “much lower” than that of many developed countries, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the World Environment Day celebrations here on Tuesday. He, however, said India was committed to reducing the use of plastic and would join the Clean Seas programme — a Sweden-led initiative to reduce littering of marine ecosystems.
•The theme for this year’s Environment Day, organised in partnership with the United Nations Environmental Programme, is “Beat plastic pollution”. India is the global host nation for the 43rd edition of this event. Environment Ministers, representatives from the United Nations and members from various industry bodies were among the officials who attended the event.
•“Plastic threatens to be a menace to humanity … it is already having a deadly impact on our marine ecosystem. Scientists as well as fishermen speak of declining fish catches, warming oceans, vanishing habitats and the major trans-boundary problem of micro-plastics,” Mr. Modi said.
•Noting that India was the fastest growing economy in the world today, he said, “We are committed to raising the standards of living of our people” and “to ensure that we do so in a way that is sustainable and green”.
•He said that as part of Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), India was committed to reducing 33-35% of emission intensity of its GDP during 2005-2030.
•According to the Central Pollution Control Board, India generates about 15,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day, of which about 40% remains uncollected. About 70% of the plastic packaging products become “waste” in a short span of time. While plastics have a wide variety of applications, the global rally is against the so-called “single use” or disposable plastic — used in bottles, cups, wrapping paper and bags. Together, they account for over half the plastic produced.
•The Environment Ministry, two years ago, notified plastic waste management rules that sought to control the manufacture of the particular kind of plastics. However, several States and city corporations have been unable to effectively enforce the rules — particularly the provision that bans the use of bags less than 50 microns thick.
📰 Green, hygienic and cheaper sanitary pads
Biodegradable napkins at ₹10 for a pack of four
•The Union government launched biodegradable sanitary napkins to mark World Environment Day on Tuesday.
•At a press conference here, Union Chemicals and Fertilizers and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar called it an important step in ensuring menstrual health among women.
•The ecofriendly sanitary napkin, priced at ₹10 for a pack of four, has an additive that makes it biodegradable when it comes in contact with oxygen after being discarded.
•These pads will be available in 103 generic medicine stores across the country on a pilot basis.
•Of these, five are in Karnataka, with four in Bengaluru.
In phases
•In the first phase after the pilot, the napkins will be made available in all 3,603 generic medicine stores across the country.
•“In the second phase, we will meet the Chief Ministers and Health Ministers of all States and sign a memorandum of understanding. Following this, we will ensure that the pads are available in all primary health centres and government hospitals in the respective States,” Mr. Kumar said.
•Every year, 12.3 million pads are discarded, amounting to 1.13 lakh tonnes of waste.
•“This agent in the new pad ensures that it decomposes in three to six months,” he said, adding that the Ministry was now pushing for research in green polymers and biodegradable plastics.
•The sanitary pads were later distributed to students from four schools.
