Daily Current Affairs Quiz : November 2,2021

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

On the first day of the global climate meet (COP26) in Glasgow, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has proposed a five-fold strategy for India to play its role in helping the world to get closer to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

About:

• Prime minister Modi termed his scheme as ‘Panchamrita’, which means ‘five ambrosia’.
• Traditionally, ‘Panchamrita’ is a method of mixing five natural foods namely, milk, curd, ghee, honey and jaggery.
• Panchmrita is used as a technique in Ayurveda. It is also used in Hindu and Jain worship rituals.

Modi’s Panchamrita

Prime Minister proposed following ‘Panchamrita’:

• India will increase its non-fossil energy capacity to 500 gigawatts by 2030.
• India will meet 50 per cent of its energy requirements, with renewable energy, till 2030.
• India will reduce carbon emission by one billion tonnes by 2030.
• India will reduce its carbon intensity by 45 per cent by 2030.
• India will achieve net zero emissions by 2070.

Where does India stand?

India accounts for 17 per cent of the world’s population. However, it only contributes five per cent of emissions. In terms of renewable energy capacity, India stands at fourth position.

About COP26

COP 26 or 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference is the 26th United Nations Climate Change conference. It started on October 31 in Glasgow, Scotland and will conclude on November 12, 2021. It is being held under the presidency of Alok Sharma. It is the third meeting of the parties of Paris Agreement. During the conference, parties are expected to commit to enhanced ambition since COP21. Parties are required to carry out ratchet mechanism every five years, in accordance with the Paris Agreement.

ANSWER: C

WHY IN NEWS?

Elon Musk-owned SpaceX has incorporated its wholly-owned subsidiary in India on November 1, 2021 to start local broadband operations.

About:

• The satellite broadband arm of SpaceX, Starlink, aims to start broadband services in India from December 2022. It has 2 lakh active terminals subject to permission from the Indian government.
• The subsidiary has been named as SSCPL, that stands for ‘Starlink Satellite Communications Private Limited’. The company was incorporated on November 1, 2021.
• Starlink has already received more than 5,000 pre-orders from India.

Data charges

Starlink is charging a deposit of USD 99 (Rs 7,350) from each customer. It claims to deliver data speeds in the range of 50 to 150 megabit per second in beta stage. Its services will compete with the services provided by Bharti Airtel, Reliance Jio, Vodafone Idea in broadband. It will also be a  direct competitor of Bharti Group-backed OneWeb.

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX)

SpaceX is an American aerospace manufacturer, communications corporation and space transportation services. It is headquartered in Hawthorne, California. The company was founded in 2002 by Elon Musk with the aim of reducing space transportation costs to provide for colonization of Mars. It manufactures the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, Dragon cargo, crew spacecraft, several rocket engines and Starlink communications satellites.

About Starlink

Starlink is a satellite internet constellation operated by SpaceX. It provides satellite Internet access to most part of the Earth. As of now, it comprises of more than 1600 satellites.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

Recently, India announced that it will reach carbon neutrality by 2070 as part of a five-point action plan that included reducing emissions to 50% by 2030.

• India made this pledge at the Conference of the Parties (COP) 26 climate summit in Glasgow, where it also urged developed countries to deliver on their promise of climate financing.
• However, India hasn’t submitted an updated Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) with these commitments to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) yet.

About:

• Net Zero is a state in which a country’s total emissions are offset by absorptions of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, like that done by trees and forests, and physical removal of carbon dioxide through futuristic technologies.
• More than 70 countries have promised to become Net Zero by the middle of the century, and this is being considered vital for meeting the Paris Agreement goal of keeping global temperatures within 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial times.
• India’s Net Zero target of 2070 silences its critics but it is along expected lines.
  • The big thing here is not the target itself but the fact that India finally relented and decided to take up a target, something it had been holding back on for quite some time.
  • In its climate action plan submitted under the Paris Agreement, India had promised to reduce its emissions intensity, or emissions per unit of Gross Domestic Product, by 33 to 35% by the year 2030 compared to 2005 levels.

Reducing India’s Emissions:

• India has the lowest per capita emissions of the world’s major economies — emitting 5% of the total, despite accounting for 17% of the world’s population.
• According to the World Resources Institute, India’s total greenhouse gas emissions were about 3.3 billion tonnes in 2018.
  • It’s projected to rise above 4 billion tonnes per year by 2030.
• That would mean between now and 2030, India could be emitting anywhere between 35 to 40 billion tonnes at the current rates of growth.
• Cutting 1 billion tonnes would, therefore, represent a reduction of 2.5 to 3% in its absolute emissions in the business-as-usual scenario in the next nine years.

India’s New Renewables Target:

• In 2019 India announced that it would take up its installed capacity of renewable energy to 450 GW by 2030.
  • At that time, India’s publicly stated target was 175 GW by the year 2022.
• The installed renewable capacity has been growing rapidly in the last few years, and the enhancement as per its pledge from 450 GW to 500 GW is not likely to be very challenging.
• The increase in the proportion of non-fossil fuel energy in the energy mix, to 50% is a natural corollary of this.
• Most of the new capacity additions in the energy sector are being done in the renewable and non-fossil fuel space.
  • In fact, India has already said it does not plan to start any new coal power plants after 2022.
  • As of now, India was already targeting 40% electricity production through non-fossil fuel sources by 2030.

Climate Finance:

• India’s efforts though will have to be supported by the availability of climate finance from developed countries. Without foreign capital, on concessional terms, this transition will prove to be difficult.
• India demands USD 1 trillion of climate finance as soon as possible and will monitor not just climate action, but deliver climate finance.
• Most importantly, India has called, once again, for a change in lifestyles.

Steps Needed to Achieve Net Zero:

• According to the Council on Energy, Environment and Waters implications of a Net-zero Target for India’s Sectoral Energy Transitions and Climate Policy’ study, India’s total installed solar power capacity would need to increase to over 5,600 gigawatts to achieve net-zero by 2070.
• The usage of coal, especially for power generation, would need to drop by 99% by 2060, for India to achieve net-zero by 2070.
• Consumption of crude oil, across sectors, would need to peak by 2050 and fall substantially by 90% between 2050 and 2070.
  • Green hydrogen could contribute 19% of the total energy needs of the industrial sector.

ANSWER: A

WHY IN NEWS?

In the recently concluded G20 summit, the leaders made a commitment to reach carbon neutrality by or around mid-century.

• They have adopted the Rome Declaration (the current presidency of G20 countries is being held by Italy).
• Earlier, the G20 Climate Risk Atlas was released which provides climate scenarios, information, data and future changes in climate across the G20 countries.

Highlights of the Declaration:

• Roadmap for COP 26: It urged leaders of the world’s biggest economies to put their action plans to tackle the global climate change crisis.
  • This is a significant step in the context of the upcoming UN climate conference (COP 26) in Glasgow, Scotland.
• Restricting Aid to Coal Based Plants: It included a pledge to halt financing of overseas coal-fired power generation by the end of this year (2021).
• PPP Model of Finance Mobilisation: Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are the only way to achieve the trillions of dollars in annual investment needed to transition to clean, sustainable energy sources that will mitigate the warming of global temperatures.

Declaration by India:

• Addressing Vaccine Inequality: Underlining the need to address vaccine inequity across the world, India is ready to produce over 5 billion vaccine doses by the end of next year (2022).
  • India also emphasised on vaccine research, manufacturing and innovation.
• One Earth One Health: The vision of “One Earth One Health”, or the need for a collaborative approach in the international domain in the fight against the pandemic.
• Resilient Global Supply Chains: India highlighted the need for resilient global supply chains and invited G-20 countries to make India their partner in economic recovery and supply chain diversification.
• Support for Global Minimum Tax: India also lauded the G-20’s decision to come up with a 15-percent minimum corporate tax to make the global financial architecture “more just and fair”.
• Welcoming Indo-Pacific Strategy: India welcomed the European Union’s Indo-Pacific strategy and French leadership in it.

Associated Concerns:

• Half-Hearted Steps: The statement contained few concrete actions and made no reference to a specific 2050 date to achieve net-zero carbon emission.
  • Moreover, the statement removed references in a previous draft to the target to “reduce emissions significantly”.
• No target for Phasing Out Coal: It set no target for phasing out coal domestically, a clear nod to top carbon polluters China and India.
  • For example, China has not set an end date for building domestic coal plants at home.
  • Coal is still China’s main source of power generation, and both China and India have resisted attempts for a G-20 declaration on phasing out domestic coal consumption.
• No resolution on Vaccine Patent Waiver: It did not touch upon the dispute over vaccine patent waivers.
• Pressing India’s developmental Imperative: Climate negotiators from the US, EU and UK had made a number of visits to India over the past few months, pressing for India to update its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to include its target of 450 GW of renewable energy by 2030.

ANSWER: D

WHY IN NEWS?

Recently, the 5^th edition of Ganga Utsav-The River Festival 2021 has begun which celebrates the glory of the National river Ganga.

• Ganga was declared as the National River of India on 4^thNovember 2008.
• The event will also comprise, launch of the Ganga Tarang Portal, curtain raiser on Ganga Knowledge Portal and many more.

About:

• The National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) celebrates the festival every year to strengthen the Public – River Connection.
  • NMCG is the implementation wing of National Ganga Council, set up in 2016, which replaced the National Ganga River Basin Authority (NRGBA).
  • The NMCG has been registered in the Guinness Book of World Records on the first day of Ganga Utsav 2021 for the highest number of photos of handwritten notes that were uploaded on Facebook in an hour.
• The Utsav celebrates the mystical and cultural river Ganga through storytelling, folklore, dialogues with eminent personalities, quizzes, displaying traditional artforms, dance and music performances by renowned artists, photo galleries and exhibitions and much more.
• It highlights the significance of Jan Bhagidari (People’s Participation) in the revival of Ganga, with a focus on encouraging stakeholder engagement and public participation towards the rejuvenation of river Ganga.

Programmes Held during the Festival:

• Continuous Learning and Activity Portal:
  • Continuous Learning and Activity Portal (CLAP) is a learning portal that will be buzzing with activities, quizzes, crosswords, discussion forums to keep children engaged throughout the year.
  • The objective of all the activities will be to sensitize and motivate the children and youth for action to protect and restore our rivers.

Ganga Mashal:

• It is an expedition led by the Ganga Task Force (GTF) that will travel the route including 23 stations along the river Ganga which will help sensitization of the local people and bodies like Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan) and Voluntary groups such as Ganga Mitras, Ganga Praharis, Ganga Doots.
  • Ganga Mitras, Ganga Praharis, Ganga Doots are dedicated voluntary groups formed at the grassroot level, whose resources are channelized for engagement of the community and public at large.
  • GTF is a unit of battalion of ex-servicemen deployed in the services of the Ganga with the approval of the Ministry of Defence for the period of four years till December 2020.

Ganga Quest:

• It is a national online quiz on Ganga, rivers, and environment that was first conceptualized in 2019 as an educational program to sensitize children and youth towards River Ganga to strengthen the Namami Gange program.

Government Initiatives on River Ganga:

• Ganga Action Plan: It was the first river action plan to improve the water quality by the interception, diversion and treatment of domestic sewage.
  • The National River Conservation Plan is an extension to this plan, which aims at cleaning the Ganga river under Ganga Action Plan phase-2.
• National River Ganga Basin Authority: It was formed in the year 2009 under Section-3 of the Environment Protection Act 1986.
• Clean Ganga Fund: In 2014, it was formed for cleaning up of the Ganga, setting up of waste treatment plants and conservation of biotic diversity of the river.
• Bhuvan-Ganga Web App: It ensures the involvement of the public in the monitoring of pollution entering into the river Ganga.
• Ban on Waste Disposal: In 2017, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) banned the disposal of any waste in the Ganga.