Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

Supreme Court said, “ Legislators, not judges, have to determine whether a cooling-off period is required for government officials before they join politics and contest elections after retirement.”

A Bench stated  in a writ petition seeking a direction to the legislature to frame a law imposing a cooling-off period for retired bureaucrats with political ambitions.

The petitioner, Vivek Krishna, said the need to give time to cool off after retirement was necessary owing to a high probability that civil servants, while in service, may do favours for certain parties with an eye on a political future or a high position.

The Bench, in a recent four-page order, categorically said that civil servants would be liable for stringent action in case of any such breach in ethical standards under the All India Services (Conduct) Rules of 1968.

Work ethic 

The Bench  said, “There can be no doubt that civil servants should maintain the highest ethical standards of integrity and honesty, political neutrality, fairness and impartiality in the discharge of duties, 

A civil servants, “courtesy, accountability and transparency, integrity, impartiality, neutrality, transparency and honesty are non-negotiable”.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

The indigenous Advanced Towed Artillery Gun System (ATAGS) developed by the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) jointly with the private industry successfully completing the validation trials towards meeting the specifications of the Army. 

The week-long Preliminary Service Quality Requirements (PSQR) validation retrials were conducted at the Pokhran field firing ranges.

The ATAGS is a 155mm, 52- calibre heavy artillery gun jointly developed by Armament Research and Development Establishment (ARDE), the Pune-based laboratory of DRDO, in partnership with Bharat Forge and Tata Group. 

In August 2018, the Defence Acquisition Council had accorded approval for the purchase of 150 of these guns at an approximate cost of ₹3,365 crore which would be split between the two companies. The Army has a requirement of 1,580 artillery guns in this category. The ATAGS has demonstrated a range of over 45 km, and an official termed it as the “most consistent and accurate gun in the world”.

At the 39th Conference of Chief Ministers and Chief Justice the matter discussed about early release of 3.5 lakh undertrial prisoners languishing in jails for years,

Need for:

As much as 76% of inmates are undertrials, which is the highest in 25 years. These are poor people, dalits, poverty stricken people who are unable to furnish bail bonds and continue to rot in jails for years without their cases being taken up.

Reasons for the Delay in Justice:

• Overburdened judiciary is a major reason for the delay in justice.

• Police and prison officials often fail to fulfill their roles, leading to long delays in trials.

• Most of the undertrials come from disadvantaged social groups. Lack of resources constricts their ability to seek out lawyers and hostile police and prison authorities are rarely of help — despite a 1980 Supreme Court ruling that Article 21 of the Constitution entitles prisoners to a fair and speedy trial as part of their fundamental right to life and liberty.

• The understaffed judiciary compounds the problem. Section 167 of the Code of Criminal Procedures mandates that judges can extend a detainee’s custody for a period of 15 days at a time. For that to happen, the detainees have to be produced regularly before the courts. This rarely happens; proceedings don’t take place in time and the undertrials are shuttled from court to court.

What needs to be done?

Keeping in view the human rights of the prisoners, it is essential that they are given reasonable space and facilities in jails.

• An undertrial review committee, comprising the District Judge, District Magistrate and Superintendent of Police, should be set up in each district. The onus of constituting such a panel for every district should be put on the National Legal Services Authority, acting in coordination with the State Legal Services Authority.
• The legal services authorities in various States must play a principal role in inculcating awareness among prisoners about their rights, especially provisions that entitle them to freedom.
• The real solution, however, does not lie merely in the early release of prisoners on bail, but in expediting the trial process.

Observations made by the Supreme Court in May 2021:

In its judgement, the Supreme Court (SC) of India had ordered the interim release of eligible prisoners in view of the uncontrolled second surge in the raging Covid-19 pandemic.

Key observations:

• Emphasised the need to adhere to the norms it had laid down in Arnesh Kumar vs State of Bihar (2014) case. Under this case, the police were asked not to effect unnecessary arrests, especially in cases that involve jail terms less than seven years.
• Authorities in all districts in the country to give effect to Section 436A of the Code of Criminal Procedure (Cr.P.C). Under the Section 436A of the Cr.P.C, the undertrials who have completed half of the maximum prison term prescribed for the offence may be released on personal bond.
• Suggested the legislature to consider the idea of placing convicts under house arrest to avoid overcrowding of prisons. The occupancy rate in prisons climbed to 118.5% in 2019. Moreover, a very large sum of the budget is used for the maintenance of prisons.

Under-trial Population:

India’s under-trial population remains among the highest in the world and more than half of all undertrials were detained for less than six months in 2016.

• The 2016 NCRB report highlights that at the end of 2016, there were 4,33,033 people in prison, of whom 68% were undertrials.
• This suggests that the high proportion of undertrials in the overall prison population may be the result of unnecessary arrests and ineffective legal aid during remand hearings.

A recent audit report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has pointed out illegal construction and violations of environmental norms in two Ramsar sites in West Bengal, the East Kolkata Wetlands (EKW) and the Sunderbans.

What’s the issue?

There were illegal constructions in the EKW and Coastal Regulation Zone area in Sunderbans. However, such violations even in these ecologically fragile areas were rarely found to have been penalised; on a couple of rare occasions, (when) they were done, it was in compliance with the Kolkata High Court’s orders.

What do the rules say?

CRZ notification disallows construction of residential buildings in the No Development Zone.

Issues and challenges:

• Small patches of mangroves are being lost gradually and quietly due to their indiscriminate destruction for either coastal development or short-term gains.
• These patches are observed to be enriched habitats of several rare and threatened flora and fauna.
• The continued loss of shoreline mangrove ecosystems has created fragmented and fragile mangrove habitats for rare taxa and framed barriers to their movement and dispersal.
• This irreversible loss of biodiversity is often neglected, which could never be compensated with any ‘cut the established and plant the new’ theory.

About Indian Sundarbans:

• Covers 4,200 sq. km and includes the Sunderbans Tiger Reserve of 2,585 sq. km — home to about 96 royal Bengal tigers (as per the last census in 2020).
• It is a world heritage site and a Ramsar site (a wetland site designated to be of international importance).
• It is also home to a large number of “rare and globally threatened species, such as the critically endangered northern river terrapin (Batagur baska), the endangered Irrawaddy dolphin (Orcaella brevirostris), and the vulnerable fishing cat (Prionailurus viverrinus).”
• Two of the world’s four horseshoe crab species, and eight of India’s 12 species of kingfisher are also found here. Recent studies claim that the Indian Sundarban is home to 2,626 faunal species and 90% of the country’s mangrove varieties.

About EKW:

The EKW, a unique peri-urban ecosystem that lies on the eastern fringes of Kolkata, covers an area of about 12,500 hectares. It is spread over 37 mouzas of the State’s South and North 24 Parganas districts.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 2

The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 25, 2022.  The Bill seeks to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 passed by Parliament.  The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into: 

• North Delhi Municipal Corporation 

• South Delhi Municipal Corporation

• East Delhi Municipal Corporation.  

The Bill seeks to unify the three corporations.

• Unification of Municipal Corporations in Delhi:  The Bill replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
• Powers of the Delhi government: The Act as amended in 2011 empowers the Delhi government to decide various matters under the Act.  These include: 

• Total number of seats of councillors and number of seats reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes.
• Division of the area of corporations into zones and wards 
• Delimitation of wards.
• Matters such as salary and allowances, and leave of absence of the Commissioner.
• Sanctioning of consolidation of loans by a corporation.
• Sanctioning suits for compensation against the Commissioner for loss or waste or misapplication of Municipal Fund or property.  

Similarly, the Act mandates that the Commissioner will exercise his powers regarding building regulations under the general superintendence and directions of Delhi government.The Bill instead empowers the central government to decide these matters.

• Number of councillors: The Act provides that the number of seats in the three corporations taken together should not be more than 272.  The 14th Schedule to the Act specifies 272 wards across the three Corporations.  The Bill states that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250.
• Removal of Director of Local Bodies: The Act provides for a Director of Local Bodies to assist the Delhi government and discharge certain functions which include: 

1. Coordinating between Corporations
2. Framing recruitment Rules for various posts
3. Coordinating the collecting and sharing of toll tax collected by the respective Corporations. 
4. The Bill omits the provision for a Director of Local Bodies. 

• Special officer to be appointed by the central government: The Bill provides that the central government may appoint a Special Officer to exercise powers of the Corporation until the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Bill.  
• E-governance system for citizens: The Bill adds that obligatory functions of the new Corporation will include establishing an e-governance system for citizen services on anytime-anywhere basis for better, accountable, and transparent administration.   
• Conditions of service for sweepers: The Act provides that a sweeper employed for doing house scavenging of a building would be required to give a reasonable cause or a 14 day notice before discontinuing his service.   The Bill seeks to omit this provision.
• Transfer of power and property: All properties, movable and immovable, of or belonging to the erstwhile corporations shall vest in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
• All the rights and liabilities of the erstwhile corporations shall be transferred to and be the rights and liabilities of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

What is Municipal Corporation?

About:

• Municipal Corporations are local level governments in India. It’s also called as Mahanagar Palika, Nagar Palika, Nagar Nigam, City Corporation, etc. 
• The Municipal Corporation is responsible for the development of any Metropolitan City having a population of more than one million people. 
• The 74th Amendment Act established the types of urban local government formations and operations. 

Constitutional Provisions:

• In the Constitution of India, no provision was made for the establishment of local self-government, except the incorporation of Article 40 in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 has inserted a new Part IX-A into the Constitution which deals with the administration of Municipalities and Nagar Palikas.
• It consists of Article 243P to 243ZG. It also added a new twelfth schedule to the Constitution. The 12th schedule consists of 18 items.

Composition

• Based on the population of that particular city, the city or Municipal Area is divided into certain wards. 
• A representative is chosen for each ward by the people in that ward. A chosen representative of a particular ward is called as councilor or corporator. Corporators are elected for a period of five years.

Elections of MC

• The elections to the Municipal Corporations are conducted under the guidance, direction, superintendence and control of the State Election Commission. 

The Delhi Municipal Corporation (Amendment) Bill, 2022 was introduced in Lok Sabha on March 25, 2022.  The Bill seeks to amend the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act, 1957 passed by Parliament.  The Act was amended in 2011 by Delhi Legislative Assembly to trifurcate the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi into: 

• North Delhi Municipal Corporation 

• South Delhi Municipal Corporation

• East Delhi Municipal Corporation.  

The Bill seeks to unify the three corporations.

• Unification of Municipal Corporations in Delhi:  The Bill replaces the three municipal corporations under the Act with one Corporation named the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
• Powers of the Delhi government: The Act as amended in 2011 empowers the Delhi government to decide various matters under the Act.  These include: 

• Total number of seats of councillors and number of seats reserved for members of the Scheduled Castes.
• Division of the area of corporations into zones and wards 
• Delimitation of wards.
• Matters such as salary and allowances, and leave of absence of the Commissioner.
• Sanctioning of consolidation of loans by a corporation.
• Sanctioning suits for compensation against the Commissioner for loss or waste or misapplication of Municipal Fund or property.  

Similarly, the Act mandates that the Commissioner will exercise his powers regarding building regulations under the general superintendence and directions of Delhi government.The Bill instead empowers the central government to decide these matters.

• Number of councillors: The Act provides that the number of seats in the three corporations taken together should not be more than 272.  The 14th Schedule to the Act specifies 272 wards across the three Corporations.  The Bill states that the total number of seats in the new Corporation should not be more than 250.
• Removal of Director of Local Bodies: The Act provides for a Director of Local Bodies to assist the Delhi government and discharge certain functions which include: 

1. Coordinating between Corporations
2. Framing recruitment Rules for various posts
3. Coordinating the collecting and sharing of toll tax collected by the respective Corporations. 
4. The Bill omits the provision for a Director of Local Bodies. 

• Special officer to be appointed by the central government: The Bill provides that the central government may appoint a Special Officer to exercise powers of the Corporation until the first meeting of the Corporation is held after the commencement of the Bill.  
• E-governance system for citizens: The Bill adds that obligatory functions of the new Corporation will include establishing an e-governance system for citizen services on anytime-anywhere basis for better, accountable, and transparent administration.   
• Conditions of service for sweepers: The Act provides that a sweeper employed for doing house scavenging of a building would be required to give a reasonable cause or a 14 day notice before discontinuing his service.   The Bill seeks to omit this provision.
• Transfer of power and property: All properties, movable and immovable, of or belonging to the erstwhile corporations shall vest in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
• All the rights and liabilities of the erstwhile corporations shall be transferred to and be the rights and liabilities of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

What is Municipal Corporation?

About:

• Municipal Corporations are local level governments in India. It’s also called as Mahanagar Palika, Nagar Palika, Nagar Nigam, City Corporation, etc. 
• The Municipal Corporation is responsible for the development of any Metropolitan City having a population of more than one million people. 
• The 74th Amendment Act established the types of urban local government formations and operations. 

Constitutional Provisions:

• In the Constitution of India, no provision was made for the establishment of local self-government, except the incorporation of Article 40 in the Directive Principles of State Policy.
• The 74th Amendment Act, 1992 has inserted a new Part IX-A into the Constitution which deals with the administration of Municipalities and Nagar Palikas.
• It consists of Article 243P to 243ZG. It also added a new twelfth schedule to the Constitution. The 12th schedule consists of 18 items.

Composition

• Based on the population of that particular city, the city or Municipal Area is divided into certain wards. 
• A representative is chosen for each ward by the people in that ward. A chosen representative of a particular ward is called as councilor or corporator. Corporators are elected for a period of five years.

Elections of MC

• The elections to the Municipal Corporations are conducted under the guidance, direction, superintendence and control of the State Election Commission. 

• Mills are procuring raw jute at prices higher than what they are selling them at after processing. A September 30, 2021, notification mandated that no entity would be allowed to purchase or sell raw jute at a price exceeding ₹6,500 per quintal.

• The cyclone Amphan in May 2020 and the subsequent rains in major jute producing States aggravated the crisis.
• Bangladesh provides cash subsidies for varied semi-finished and finished jute products. Hence, the competitiveness emerges as a challenge for India to explore export options in order to compensate for the domestic scenario

What is the problem? 

• Mills are procuring raw jute at prices higher than what they are selling them at after processing. 
• Mills do not acquire their raw material directly from the farmers, but instead through intermediaries. 
• As a standard practice, the middlemen charge mills for their services, which involves procuring jute from farmers, grading, bailing and then bringing the bales to the mills. 
• The government has a fixed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw jute procurement from farmers, which is ₹ 4,750 per quintal for the 2022-23 season.
• This reached his mill at ₹ 7,200 per quintal, that is, ₹ 700 more than the ₹6,500 per quintal cap for the final product. 
• Though the Union government has come up with several schemes to prevent de-hoarding, the executive believes the mechanism requires a certain “systematic regulation”. 

What happened to supply? 

• The situation particularly worrisome recently was the occurrence of Cyclone Amphan in May 2020 and the subsequent rains in major jute producing States. 
• These events led to lower acreage, which in turn led to lower production and yield compared to previous years. 
• Additionally, as the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) stated in its report, this led to production of a lower quality of jute fibre in 2020-21 as water-logging in large fields resulted in farmers harvesting the crop prematurely.
• Acreage issues were accompanied by hoarding at all levels – right from the farmers to the traders. 

Where is jute used? 

• Bulk of the final jute produced is used for packaging purposes. 
• The provisions of the Jute Packaging Material (Compulsory use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987 or the JPM Act mandate that 100% production of foodgrains and 20% sugar production must be packaged in jute bags. 
• The share of jute used for sacks, therefore, increased from 67.9% for the 2010-11 to 78.3% in 2020-21. 
• On the other hand, jute used for manufacturing other products (such as furnishing materials, fashion accessories, floor coverings or varied applications in paper and textile industries) has declined from 15.5% to 9.7% during the same period. 
• As per the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), India is the largest producer of jute followed by Bangladesh and China. However, in terms of acreage and trade, Bangladesh takes the lead accounting for three-fourth of the global jute exports in comparison to India’s 7%. 
• This can be attributed to the fact that India lags behind Bangladesh in producing superior quality jute fibre due to 
• Infrastructural constraints related to retting, 
• Farm mechanisation, 
• Lack of availability of certified seeds and varieties suitable for the country’s agro-climate. 
• The increased availability of synthetic substitutes is further bothering the demand for jute domestically. 
• Further, as the CACP report stated, Bangladesh provides cash subsidies for varied semi-finished and finished jute products. Hence, the competitiveness emerges as a challenge for India to explore export options in order to compensate for the domestic scenario. 

What is at stake? 

As the jute sector provides direct employment to 3.70 lakh workers in the country and supports the livelihood of around 40 lakh farm families, closure of the mills is a direct blow to workers and indirectly, to the farmers whose production is used in the mills. West Bengal, Bihar and Assam account for almost 99% of India’s total production.

Climatic Conditions for Jute Cultivation

For jute cultivation, a warm and humid climate, plenty of rainfall, and well-drained, loamy soils are required. The interesting thing about the growth of jute is that fertilizers and pesticides are hardly needed.

• For good cultivation, temperatures ranging from 25-30 °C and relative humidity of 70 percent-90 percent are favourable.
• For jute cultivation, river basins or alluvial or loamy soils are best.
• Jute cultivation in red soils which includes a greater dose of manure, and it is best for cultivation in the PH range between 4.8-5.8.
• Known as the ‘golden fibre’ jute is one of the longest and most used natural fibre for various textile applications.
• Retting of Jute is a process in which the tied bundles of jute stalks are immersed in water by which fibres get loosened and separated from the woody stalk.
• World’s leading jute producing countries are India , Bangladesh , China and Thailand . India is the world’s largest producer of raw jute and jute goods , contributing to over 50% and 40% respectively of global production.
• The cultivation of jute in India is mainly confined to the eastern region of the country . The jute crop is grown in seven states – West Bengal , Assam , Odissa , Bihar , Uttar Pradesh , Tripura and Meghalaya . West Bengal alone accounts for over 50% of the total raw jute production.
• To promote and popularize jute diversification work, National Jute Board, Ministry of Textiles, acts as the apex body for promotion of the products in India and abroad.
• The first jute mill was established at Rishra (Bengal – now in West Bengal), on the river Hooghly near Calcutta in the year 1855, by Mr. George Aclend. In 1959, the first power driven weaving factory was set up.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

• Mills are procuring raw jute at prices higher than what they are selling them at after processing. A September 30, 2021, notification mandated that no entity would be allowed to purchase or sell raw jute at a price exceeding ₹6,500 per quintal.

• The cyclone Amphan in May 2020 and the subsequent rains in major jute producing States aggravated the crisis.
• Bangladesh provides cash subsidies for varied semi-finished and finished jute products. Hence, the competitiveness emerges as a challenge for India to explore export options in order to compensate for the domestic scenario

What is the problem? 

• Mills are procuring raw jute at prices higher than what they are selling them at after processing. 
• Mills do not acquire their raw material directly from the farmers, but instead through intermediaries. 
• As a standard practice, the middlemen charge mills for their services, which involves procuring jute from farmers, grading, bailing and then bringing the bales to the mills. 
• The government has a fixed Minimum Support Price (MSP) for raw jute procurement from farmers, which is ₹ 4,750 per quintal for the 2022-23 season.
• This reached his mill at ₹ 7,200 per quintal, that is, ₹ 700 more than the ₹6,500 per quintal cap for the final product. 
• Though the Union government has come up with several schemes to prevent de-hoarding, the executive believes the mechanism requires a certain “systematic regulation”. 

What happened to supply? 

• The situation particularly worrisome recently was the occurrence of Cyclone Amphan in May 2020 and the subsequent rains in major jute producing States. 
• These events led to lower acreage, which in turn led to lower production and yield compared to previous years. 
• Additionally, as the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP) stated in its report, this led to production of a lower quality of jute fibre in 2020-21 as water-logging in large fields resulted in farmers harvesting the crop prematurely.
• Acreage issues were accompanied by hoarding at all levels – right from the farmers to the traders. 

Where is jute used? 

• Bulk of the final jute produced is used for packaging purposes. 
• The provisions of the Jute Packaging Material (Compulsory use in Packing Commodities) Act, 1987 or the JPM Act mandate that 100% production of foodgrains and 20% sugar production must be packaged in jute bags. 
• The share of jute used for sacks, therefore, increased from 67.9% for the 2010-11 to 78.3% in 2020-21. 
• On the other hand, jute used for manufacturing other products (such as furnishing materials, fashion accessories, floor coverings or varied applications in paper and textile industries) has declined from 15.5% to 9.7% during the same period. 
• As per the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), India is the largest producer of jute followed by Bangladesh and China. However, in terms of acreage and trade, Bangladesh takes the lead accounting for three-fourth of the global jute exports in comparison to India’s 7%. 
• This can be attributed to the fact that India lags behind Bangladesh in producing superior quality jute fibre due to 
• Infrastructural constraints related to retting, 
• Farm mechanisation, 
• Lack of availability of certified seeds and varieties suitable for the country’s agro-climate. 
• The increased availability of synthetic substitutes is further bothering the demand for jute domestically. 
• Further, as the CACP report stated, Bangladesh provides cash subsidies for varied semi-finished and finished jute products. Hence, the competitiveness emerges as a challenge for India to explore export options in order to compensate for the domestic scenario. 

What is at stake? 

As the jute sector provides direct employment to 3.70 lakh workers in the country and supports the livelihood of around 40 lakh farm families, closure of the mills is a direct blow to workers and indirectly, to the farmers whose production is used in the mills. West Bengal, Bihar and Assam account for almost 99% of India’s total production.

Climatic Conditions for Jute Cultivation

For jute cultivation, a warm and humid climate, plenty of rainfall, and well-drained, loamy soils are required. The interesting thing about the growth of jute is that fertilizers and pesticides are hardly needed.

• For good cultivation, temperatures ranging from 25-30 °C and relative humidity of 70 percent-90 percent are favourable.
• For jute cultivation, river basins or alluvial or loamy soils are best.
• Jute cultivation in red soils which includes a greater dose of manure, and it is best for cultivation in the PH range between 4.8-5.8.
• Known as the ‘golden fibre’ jute is one of the longest and most used natural fibre for various textile applications.
• Retting of Jute is a process in which the tied bundles of jute stalks are immersed in water by which fibres get loosened and separated from the woody stalk.
• World’s leading jute producing countries are India , Bangladesh , China and Thailand . India is the world’s largest producer of raw jute and jute goods , contributing to over 50% and 40% respectively of global production.
• The cultivation of jute in India is mainly confined to the eastern region of the country . The jute crop is grown in seven states – West Bengal , Assam , Odissa , Bihar , Uttar Pradesh , Tripura and Meghalaya . West Bengal alone accounts for over 50% of the total raw jute production.
• To promote and popularize jute diversification work, National Jute Board, Ministry of Textiles, acts as the apex body for promotion of the products in India and abroad.
• The first jute mill was established at Rishra (Bengal – now in West Bengal), on the river Hooghly near Calcutta in the year 1855, by Mr. George Aclend. In 1959, the first power driven weaving factory was set up.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• The Government of India has announced that it is currently proposals for setting up electronic chip and display manufacturing units with a total investment of ₹1.53 lakh crore.

About the Programme

• In order to widen and deepen electronic manufacturing and ensure development of a robust and sustainable Semiconductor and Display ecosystem in the country, the Union Cabinet had approved the Semicon India Programme in December last year.
• The initiative will position the country as a global hub for electronic system design and manufacturing.
• Through the program’s scope, the government hopes to attract large global chip makers to make India their production base. India wants to achieve technological leadership in these areas of strategic importance – also key to the security of the country’s critical information infrastructure.
• The programme has been approved with an outlay of 76 thousand crore rupees.

Implementation

• India Semiconductor Mission (ISM) has been set up as a dedicated institution for the Semicon India Programme.
• ISM will coordinate with the applicant companies who have also reached out to states to provide access to world class infrastructure.
• It will work closely with the state governments to establish high-tech clusters with 300 to 500 acres of developed land, 100 Kilo Volt Ampere Power, 50 Million Litre Per Day  Water, availability of natural gases and common facility centres for testing and certification.

Syllabus: General Studies Paper 3

Context

• India is in the midst of a lengthy period of heatwaves, with overwhelming evidence that a large chunk of it is related to human-caused climate change.
• If carbon emissions continue unabated, half of the world will be under severe drought by the end of the century.
• There has already been a threefold increase in severe precipitation occurrences in India, with rainfall decreasing in North India and increasing in South India.
• Pollution from biomass burning, along with carbon dioxide emissions, resulted in 1.5 million fatalities in India per year. By giving clean cooking fuel to rural households in the Indo-Gangetic plains, India might decrease pollution in half.
• To mitigate climate change, societal transformation, carbon dioxide emission reductions, and adaptation were all required.

What exactly are Heat Waves?

• A heat wave is defined by the World Meteorological Organizationas five or more consecutive days of sustained heat in which the daily maximum temperature is 5 °C (9 °F) or higher than the average maximum temperature. Some countries, however, have developed their own criteria for defining a heat wave.
• Heatwaves occur when high pressure aloft (3,000–7,600 metres) increases and persists over an area for many days to several weeks.
• This is typical in the summer (both in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres) since the jet stream ‘follows the sun.’
• The high-pressure region is located on the equator side of the jet stream, in the upper layers of the atmosphere.
• Weather patterns vary more slowly in the summer than in the winter. As a result, this upper-level high pressure is moving slowly as well.