CDP

Tuesday, November 27, 2018

AUG 18 ECO unconventional hydrocarbons

UNCO NV E NTI ONA L HY D R OCAR BONS

Why in news?

Recently, Union Cabinet approved the policy to permit exploration and exploitation of unconventional hydrocarbons such as Shale oil/ gas, Coal Bed Methane (CBM), etc. under the existing Production Sharing Contracts (PSCs), CBM contract and Nomination fields.

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Background

• Existing contractual regime of PSCs (pre Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy or HELP) did not allow contractors to explore and exploit CBM or other unconventional Hydrocarbons in already allotted/ licensed/ leased areas while CBM contractors were not allowed to exploit any other hydrocarbon except CBM.
• Acreages held at present by various contractors in PSCs (72,027 Sq Km) and CBM blocks (5269 Sq Km) and National Oil Companies (NOCs) in nomination regime constitute a significant part of India’s sedimentary basin.
• India currently has around 100 – 200 Trillion Cubic Feet (TCF) of shale gas reserves in five sedimentary basins and there is a strong

Hydrocarbons Vision – 2025
The Hydrocarbons Vision-2025, presented in the year 2000, laid down the framework which would guide the policies relating to the hydrocarbons sector for the next 25 years. It includes:
• To assure energy security by achieving self-reliance through increased indigenous production and investment in equity oil abroad.
• To enhance quality of life by progressively improving product standards to ensure a cleaner and greener India.
• To develop hydrocarbon sector as a globally competitive industry which could be benchmarked against the best in the world through technology upgradation and capacity building in all facets of the industry.
• To have a free market and promote healthy competition among players and improve the customer service.
• To ensure oil security for the country keeping in view strategic and defence considerations.
possibility of shale reserves in basins such as Cambay, Krishna- Godavari (KG), Cauvery, etc where mature organic rich shale exist. CBM reserves are found in Coal bearing areas in 12 states including Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Assam, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu,
Telangana and West Bengal.

Benefits of the move

• It will encourage the existing contractors in the licensed/ leased area to realize the full potential of Contract Areas and unlock the prospective unconventional hydrocarbons in their existing acreages.
• New investment in Exploration and Production (E&P) activities: it will increase the chances of finding and producing new hydrocarbon which will help to meet energy needs of the economy and hence moving towards energy security as envisaged in Hydrocarbons Vision 2025 (box).
• Exploration and exploitation of additional Hydrocarbon resources will give new impetus to economic activities, additional employment generation and will benefit various sections of society.
• It will lead to induction of new, innovative and cutting edge technology and forging new technological collaborations to exploit unconventional hydrocarbons.
• There will be a complete shift from ‘One Hydrocarbon Resource Type’ to ‘Uniform Licensing Policy’ which is presently applicable in Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) and Discovered Small Field (DSF) Policy.

Some important specific initiatives taken to enhance the
domestic natural gas production, expand the gas pipelines and secondary infrastructure and develop the gas consuming markets include:
• 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in many segments of the hydrocarbon sector.
• Linkage of gas prices to the market/important hub prices under the New Domestic Natural Gas Price Guidelines of
2014.
• Marketing and pricing freedom for new gas production from Deepwater, Ultra Deepwater and High Pressure-High Temperature areas, subject to certain conditions. Also, Marketing and pricing freedom for gas produced from Coal Bed Methane (CBM) fields to incentivize CBM operations in the country.
• Development of 2,650 km-long Jagdishpur-Haldia & Bokaro-Dhamra natural gas pipeline to ensure supply of natural gas to eastern India.
• Reduction of basic customs duty on LNG from 5% to 2.5% in the 2017 budget to boost LNG demand in industrial and commercial sectors, especially power, petrochemical, fertilizer and CGD, and also help in reviving stranded capacity of power and fertilizers plants.
• Gas pooling mechanism for fertilizer sector to encourage utilisation of fertilizer units in the country.
• Priority for allocation of domestic gas accorded to Piped Natural Gas (PNG)/Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) segments to meet 100% of their demand and faster roll out of PNG connections and CNG stations to promote the use of natural gas in the transport sector, households and small industries.

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Other steps taken towards enhancing the production of unconventional hydrocarbons:

• Oil ministry recently included shale under the definition of petroleum: Earlier, under the Petroleum and Natural Gas Rules, 1959, Petroleum included naturally occurring hydrocarbons, whether in the form of natural gas or in a liquid, viscous or solid form, or a mixture of these, but did not include coal, lignite, and helium occurring in association with petroleum or coal or shale.
• Hydrocarbon Exploration and Licensing Policy (HELP) was introduced in 2016 which has the four main facets:
o uniform license for exploration and production of all forms of hydrocarbon,
o an open acreage policy,
o easy to administer revenue sharing model and
o marketing and pricing freedom for the crude oil and natural gas produced.
• In 2015, the Cabinet had approved the Marginal Field Policy (MFP)/ DSF policy with the objective to bring marginal fields, that could not be monetized for years due to various reasons such as isolated locations, small size, prohibitive development costs, technological constraints, unfavourable fiscal regime, to the production at the earliest so as to augment the domestic production of oil and gas.
• Open Acreage Licensing Policy (OALP): Setting up of National Data Repository. OALP enables upstream companies to bid for any oil and gas block without waiting for the announcement of bidding.
• Shift towards a gas based economy: The Government wants to make India a gas-based economy ‘by boosting domestic production and buying cheap LNG’. India has set a target to raise the share of gas in its primary energy mix to 15% by 2022. GoI has adopted a systematic approach to focus on all aspects of the gas sector:
o Development of gas sources either through domestic gas exploration & production (E&P) activities or through building up facilities to import natural gas in the form of LNG
o Development of adequate gas pipeline infrastructure including nationwide gas grid and Secondary distribution network
o Development of gas consuming markets including fertilizer, power, transport and industries, etc.

AUG 18 ECO UPI 2 CITY LEVEL GDP

. UPI 2.0 LAUN CHE D

Why in news?

Recently, National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI) has upgraded the Unified Payment Interface (UPI) with enhanced features.

New features in UPI 2.0

• Linking of overdraft account – Apart from the savings and current accounts, the UPI users can now link their overdraft account to it and all the facilities and benefits of overdraft account would be made available to the users.

About NPCI
• It is an initiative of Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and Indian Banks’ Association (IBA) under the provisions of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
• It is the umbrella organization for all retail payments and settlement systems in the country.
• It also manages the UPI platform
• It links all the ATMs in India

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• One-time Mandate (account blocking) – It allows customers or merchants to pre-authorize a transaction and pay at a later date. It would also ensure that the customers do not miss the payments.
• Invoice in the inbox – It allows the users to check the invoice sent by merchant in their own inbox prior to making the payments, thus allowing the customers to check the credentials beforehand.
• Security Layer in QR – The app allows the users to scan the QR code and check the authenticity of the merchants through notification to the user to ascertain the information.
• Increased Transaction Limit – The pre-existing transaction limit (1 lakh daily) has been raised to 2 lakh daily.

Challenges

• Even though the transaction limit has been raised to 2 lakh but certain banks still have limits much lower than 1 lakh while individual app such as BHIM, Whatsapp etc. have even lower limits.
• There is also lack of initiatives from banks for penetration of QR Codes for UPI whereas wallets have aggressively placed their stickers.
• The invoice in the inbox may have a deeper security risk as it may be accessible to anyone with the link which could lead to increased and unnecessary data harvesting.
• The overdraft feature of the UPI 2.0 may also lead to over-spending leading to banks charging the account holders.
• UPI 2.0 also doesn’t have a grievance redressal mechanism that would ensure refund of failed transactions in a reasonable time period.
• The ‘standing instruction’ feature that would allow recurring payments from the user’s bank account towards loan payment or bill payment after a specific interval, enabled by a one- time digital mandate need to be included to tap Rs 9 lakh crore worth of bill payments market which is still dominated by cash

3.6. PR OPOSAL FOR CI TY -LE V E L GDP

Why in News?

Recently, Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) commissioned The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) to evaluate methodologies for calculating city-level gross domestic product (GDP), and to assess their applicability to India.

Various Approaches used in calculating City level GDP
• “Top-down” approaches: These are essentially used in city-to-state/region or city-to-country ratios to estimate city-level GDP, using existing national or state-level GDPs. Some of these estimates are for specific regions or metropolitan areas, although the concept remains valid for the smaller city unit. For instance, it uses population data to estimate output generated in a specific region.

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• “Bottom-up” approaches: These mirror the SNA 2008 but are implemented at the city level, necessitating the use of city-level geographic markers during the data collection phase (for example, tagging census data or enterprise returns at the city level). These are rarely adopted due to the extremely high data requirements. For instance, based on the income approach to calculating GDP essentially adds up income generated through the production of goods and services.

The report has recommended top- down approach for calculating City Level GDP.

Significance of the city level GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and how it’s calculated:
• GDP: The GDP of a country provides a measure of the monetary value of all the final goods and services produced within the country in a specific year.
• There are 3 theoretical ways of calculating GDP, which include:
o Expenditure Approach: The total spending on all final goods and services (Consumption goods and services (C) + Gross Investments (I) + Government Purchases (G) + (Exports (X) - Imports (M)) GDP = C + I + G + (X-M). This method is the most commonly used representation of the GDP.
o Income Approach: This approach aims at adding up the incomes received by all the factors of production. Here, GDP=W (wages) + P (Profits) + R (Rents) + CP (Capital Gains)
o Value Added Approach: In this approach, the value/price of final goods and services (including financial goods and services) are added up and the value of the intermediate goods is subtracted.
• Indian GDP is measured by using gross value added (GVA) at market price i.e. all final finished goods and services produced domestically in volume terms multiplied by their market prices give the value of total output.

• Rapid growth of urban sector in India: Urban areas are considered as engine of economic growth for India
with the sector contributing more than 60% of India’s GDP in
2011 and are likely to contribute around 75% by 2020.
• Wise fiscal decisions by municipal bodies and investors: It would ensure better decisions on needed infrastructure & investment and leveraging their economic strength to raise funds to finance their needs.
• Provide vital indicators for Urban development: It would help in formulating the economic indicators needed to ensure improved quality of life, job creation and sustainability, which are also the three main components of Smart City mission.
• Would highlight Indian cities at global level: According to
Global Metro Monitor Report, 2018 by Brookings Institution,

About System of National Accounts 2008
(SNA 2008)
• The SNA 2008 is the latest version of the international statistical standard for the national accounts, adopted by the United Nations Statistical Commission (UNSC).
• The aim of SNA is to provide an integrated, complete system of accounts enabling international comparisons of all significant economic activity. However, adherence to it is entirely voluntary, and cannot be rigidly enforced.
several Indian cities rank in the 300 global cities with the fastest GDP growth rates, with GDP of Hyderabad growing at 8.7% followed by Surat at 7.9% which are comparable to the fastest growing Chinese cities.

Challenges in city level GDP calculations

• Complex exercise: Calculating city level GDP is more of data intensive exercise and much of the required data is not tracked at the city level, such as inter-city trade, whereas, data on country level GDP is readily available and is codified based on the System of National Accounts (latest version of 2008).
• Current data collection focus on state level estimates: In India, MoSPI calculates national GDP and sets the methodology for estimating GDP at the state level. Sampling and data collection is thus currently focused on state level estimates.
• Requires clear definition of city boundaries: As GDP is defined as the output generated in a specific area within a specific time, a clear definition of city boundaries is mandatory.

Monday, November 26, 2018

AUG 18 ENV State Energy Efficiency Preparednes BIO FUEL

State E. STATE E NE R GY E FFI CI E NCY PR E PAR E DNE SS I ND E X 2018

Why in news?

The Alliance for an Energy Efficient Economy (AEEE) under the leadership of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency(BEE)
and NITI Ayog has recently released the first Nationwide ‘State Energy Efficiency Preparedness Index’ .

Background

• In 2001 the Energy Conservation Act was introduced which was instrumental in the formation of the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) and the State Designated Agencies (SDA) in the states. It also put in place the much- needed institutional framework for formulating energy efficiency policies and implementing them.
• National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE) is one of the eight national missions under the
National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC). NMEEE aims to strengthen the market for energy efficiency by creating conducive regulatory and policy regime and has envisaged fostering innovative and sustainable business models to the energy efficiency sector. The Mission is implemented since 2011.
• To compliment such efforts the index was recently released considering energy consumption, energy saving potential and states’ influence in implementing energy efficiency in buildings, industry, municipalities, transport, agriculture and DISCOMs.

About State Energy Efficiency Index

• Its 4 main objectives are-
o Help drive EE policies and program implementation at state and local level
o Highlight best practices and encourage healthy competition among states

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o Track progress in managing states’ and India’s energy footprint
o Set a baseline for EE efforts to date and provide a
foundation to set state-specific EE targets
• It examines states’ policies and regulations, financing mechanisms, institutional capacity, adoption of energy efficiency and energy savings. The Index has 63 indicators in all - 59 across buildings, industry, municipalities, transport, agriculture and DISCOMs; and 4 cross-cutting indicators.
• In each sector, energy efficiency indicators have been
developed to measure the impact of state initiatives in driving energy efficiency in states. The indicators are both qualitative and quantitative, which include outcome-based indicators as well to signify realisation of the intended performance outcomes, to the extent possible, for various energy efficiency policies and programs.
• The ‘Front runner’ states in the inaugural edition of the State Energy Efficiency Index are Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and Rajasthan.

Conclusion

• Periodic release of the State Energy Efficiency Index shall help track progress in managing states’ energy footprint and provide guidance in formulating data- driven, evidence-based policies and programmes at the state level.

Major Parameters
• Building sector: implementing UJALA for energy efficient lighting; incorporating Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in municipal building bye-laws; Making mandatory energy audits for certain category of buildings and provide financial incentives for EE building construction and retrofits.
• Industry sector: BEE’s PAT programme; Programmes for driving energy efficiency in MSMEs and other non-PAT industries are few and far between.
• Municipal sector: (Energy Efficiency Service Limited) EESL’s Street Lighting National Programme (SLNP); EESL’s Municipal Energy Efficiency Programme (MEEP) for public water works and sewerage system retrofits. Other state-level municipal energy efficiency initiatives.
• Energy efficient transportation: tracking the fuel efficiency of State Road Transport Undertakings (SRTU) which is published by MoRTH, Use of FAME scheme to purchase hybrid/electric vehicles.
• DISCOMs: reducing Transmission and
Distribution (T&D) losses.
• It will also contribute towards national energy data management by helping streamline energy efficiency data collection in states.
• The energy efficiency indicators shall be continuously revised and updated based upon the evolving EE
landscape in India.

5.13. BI O-JE T FUE L F LI GH T

Why in news?

Recently, India’s first ever bio-jet fuel flight taken off by using the fuel developed by the CSIR-Indian Institute of
Petroleum (IIP).

About the initiative

• Aircraft was powered with a blend of 75% air turbine fuel (ATF) and 25% bio-jet fuel made from jatropha crop.
• The bio-jet fuel developed by CSIR-IIP was recognised by American Standard for Testing and Material and received a patent by 2011.
• International standards permit a blend rate of up-to
50% bio fuel with ATF.

Significance

• Reduce Dependency: The large-scale production of bio-jet fuels would reduce dependence on traditional aviation fuel by up to 50 per cent on every flight and bring down fares.

About Bio-Jet Fuel
• It is a type of Biofuel which are produced from biomass resources and used in place of, or blended with ATF.
• Bio jet fuel can be produced from animal fat, used cooking oil, waste dairy fat, sewage sludge, etc.
Characteristics
• The oil needs to have a freezing point below -47 degrees so it doesn’t freeze at altitudes at which planes fly.
• It should not catch fire on ground when being transferred into a plane.
• It must have the same density as ATF, have a certain calorific value and should not choke the filters.
• It has lower sulphur content which causes less wear and tear.

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• Cleaner Environment: The move will be a step toward cleaner environment, because a flight completely powered by bio-jet fuel has the potential to reduce carbon emissions by up to 80 per cent.
• Meeting Global agency target: It will help in meeting the International Air Transport Association (IATA) target for one billion passengers to fly on aircraft using a mix of clean energy and fossil fuels by 2025.
• Employment Generation: Growth of bio-jet fuel and related infrastructure such as plant operations, village level entrepreneurs and supply chain management, will generate employment.
• Additional Income to Farmers: Nearly, 70% of the cost of the bio fuel constitutes the feed cost, if the production of these crops scaled up by demand side factors, there will be increase in famer income.

Challenges

• High Cost: It has noted that given the current immaturity of the supply chain of the aviation biofuel industry, these fuels have lower economies of scale and can cost almost two to three times higher than conventional ATF.
• Agricultural Influence: The availability of bio-fuel is highly depended on condition of agricultural production in the country. For instance, production of Jatropha and other bio-fuel crop varies seasonally and does not assure optimum supply levels needed to meet the demand at any given time.
• Ambiguity regarding greenhouse gas emission: Study by Yale university has found that use of plant jatropha (source of bio-jet fuel) could either reduce greenhouse gas emission by up to 85%, or increase them by 60%, depending on the circumstances in which it is produced.

Step Can be taken

• Infrastructure: The infrastructure to mass-produce bio-jet fuel, and to deliver it at airports, is in growing stage, therefore, bio-jet fuel capable infrastructure as developed in Los Angeles Air-Port should be adopted by other countries.
• Balancing the production: There is a need of balancing the production of raw material for food security and energy security, because production of the first generation of biofuels had shown the displacement of other agricultural activity
nergy Efficiency Preparedness Index’ .

AUG 18 ENV reintroduce Cheetah Elephant Reserve 3D-printed reef

CHE E TAH R E I NTR O DUCTI ON PR OJE CT

Why in news?

Madhya Pradesh forest department seeks to revive the plan to reintroduce Cheetahs in Nauradehi sanctuary.

About the Plan

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA), is nodal agency for the Cheetahs reintroduction plan.
• In 2009 Project Cheetah was launched and Kuno Wildlife Sanctuary (MP) and Shahgarh area in Rajasthan were also identified as other two sites for cheetah reintroduction plan.
• Nauradehi was found to be the most suitable area for the cheetahs as its forests are not very dense to restrict the fast movement of Cheetahs.

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Significance of the move

• It will make India the only country in the world to host six of the world's eight large cats, including lions, tigers, jaguars, panthers and leopards.
• Cheetah is the flagship species of the grasslands. This will help dryland ecosystems of India to return to their natural state.

Issue Involved

• Earlier plans for reintroduction of Cheetah have been stalled due to insufficient funds and inadequacy of field assessment.
• Some wild life experts are on the view that the introduction of African cheetah may act as an alien species to the native ecosystem which might generate negative effects on indigenous wild life species.

5.9. NE W E LE PHANT R E SE R VE

Related Information
About Cheetahs
• It was declared extinct in India in 1952 and last spotted in Chhattisgarh 1947.
• The only mammal to become extinct in
India in last 1,000 years.
• IUCN status: Vulnerable
National Tiger Conservation Authority
• It is a statutory body and has overarching supervisory/coordination role as provided in the Wildlife (Protection) Act,
1972.
• It approves the Tiger Conservation Plan prepared by the State Governments.

Why in News?

Recently, Nagaland government declared the Singphan Wildlife Sanctuary as an Elephant Reserve, with the approval of central government.

About the Singhphan Elephant Reserve

• It is located in Mon district of Nagaland and spreads over an area of 5825 acres.
• It has huge tracts of forest, strategically located in contiguity with the Abhaypur Reserve Forest of Assam.
• Presently, elephant distribution habitat in Nagaland is highly fragmented, this move will give better protection and conservation of elephants in the state.

Related Information
Status of elephant conservation;
• Elephant is National Heritage Animal and categorised as Endangered under IUCN list.
• It is under schedule I of the Indian Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 and in Appendix I of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Flora and Fauna (CITES).
• Singhbhum Elephant Reserve in Jharkhand is the first Elephant Reserve of the Country.
• Karnataka has the highest number of elephants followed by Assam and Kerala respectively.
• After the declaration it became the 30th Elephant Reserve in the country.

Other Protected areas in Nagaland

• Intanki National Park, Puliebadze Wildlife Sanctuary, Fakim Wildlife Sanctuary and Rangapahar Wildlife
Sanctuary.

5.10. THE NATI ONA L WI LD L I FE GE NE TI C R E SOUR CE BANK

Why in news?

Union Science and Technology Minister dedicated the National Wildlife Genetic Resource Bank (NWGRB) in Hyderabad.

More on News

• It is established at Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species (LaCONES) and can store 17,000 vials worth of samples.
• So far, genetic resources from 23 species of Indian wild animals have been collected and preserved. However, it is planned to contain genetic resources from 250 species in the beginning.

Related Information
Wildlife Genetic Resource Banking (GRB) is a systematic collection and preservation of tissues, sperm, eggs and embryos, genetic material (DNA/RNA) of living beings.
Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species
• It is a dedicated laboratory of the CSIR-Centre for Cellular and Molecular Biology (CCMB), Hyderabad.
• It is the only institute in the country working towards conservation of endangered wildlife using modern biotechnologies to save endangered wildlife species of India.

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Utility of the institute

• This facility would increase the collection of genetic resources from wildlife by facilitating exchange of genetic material between Indian zoos for maintaining genetic diversity.
• It would also facilitate research work.

5.11. 3D-PR I NTE D AR TI FI CI A L R E E F

Why in news?

Recently, World's largest 3D-printed reef installed in Maldives, for coral reefs survive due to threat posed by climate change and warming waters.

About the 3D-Printed Artificial Reef

• It was developed using computer modelling and a 3D printer, which resemble reef structures typically found in the Maldives.
• The reef structure is cast in ceramic, an inert material similar to the calcium carbonate found in coral reefs.
• Live coral was then transplanted within the artificial reef, where it will grow and colonize the structure.

Significance

• Rising temperatures across the reefs have led to coral bleaching thus the initiative is vital to ensure the survival of marine habitats.
• Traditionally, coral reefs take hundreds of years to form. However, given the speed of ongoing man-made habitat destruction, reefs wouldn’t have time to recover.

Related Information
What is an Artificial Reef?
• It is a human made structure, similar to natural coral reef, built with the specific aim of promoting the marine life of an area.
• Most common forms of artificial reefs are submerged shipwrecks, bridges, lighthouses, etc, which often start functioning as marine habitat after a period of time.
Similar Initiatives
• In 2017, Tamil Nadu govt in collaboration with IIT Madras have been restoring Vaan Island in Gulf of Mannar by deploying artificial reefs.
What is 3D-Printing Technology?
• It is an additive process wherein an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the object is created. Each of these layers can be seen as a thinly sliced horizontal cross-section of the eventual object.
• Artificial reefs helps in generating marine ecosystem and boosting commercial activities by providing fishing grounds.

AUG 18 ENV PEST BAN AZIRANGA NPAR

PE STI CI DE S BAN

Why in News?

The Government of India has decided to ban the use of 18 pesticides following the recommendations of the
Anupam Verma Committee.

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More about the news

• The complete ban of 12 pesticides would come into effect immediately while the rest 6 would be banned from December 31, 2020.
• The decision is based on Anupam Verma committee which
was constituted in 2013 to review the use of 66 pesticides (which are either banned or restricted in other countries.) recommended a ban on 13 ‘extremely hazardous’ pesticides
, phasing out of six ‘moderately hazardous’ ones by 2020,
and review of 27 pesticides in 2018.

Significance of the Ban

• The pesticides proposed to be banned are harmful not just to humans and animals but also leech into the soil and water bodies and harm the aquatic ecosystem.They also lead to bioaccumulation.
• India is likely to improve its reputation in countries (where
the concerned pesticides are banned) which imports food
related products (both manufactured and raw) from India.

Concerns surrounding pesticide ban

• It is estimated that at least 104 pesticides licenced for use in India have been banned in other parts of the world, whereas Verma Committee only reviewed 66. For example Glyphosate was not among the pesticides reviewed by the Verma committee even though it is banned in several countries.
• There are also concerns that Committee left out certain deadly pesticides like Monocrotophos and had asked the industry to come up with safety data on these pesticides.
• Once registered, safety information about pesticide molecules is not legally required to be reviewed periodically to keep pace with toxicological research. Further, only the Centre can ban pesticide molecules. States can only either refuse licences for their sale and manufacture or impose temporary bans no longer than
90 days.
• This means Indians are regularly exposed to a deadly cocktail of pesticides, through direct application or in
their food chain, with little updated information about the safety of the chemicals to humans or the environment.

Regulations for pesticide in India

• Insecticide Act 1968, was enacted to regulate imports, manufacture, storage, transport, sale, distribution and use of insecticides with a view to prevent risk to human beings and animals.
• The Central Insecticide Board and Registration Committee (CIBRC) approves the use of pesticides in India.
• The health and family welfare ministry monitors and regulates pesticide levels in food, and sets limits for residues in food commodities.
• Department of Agriculture, Co-Operation & Farmers Welfare (DAC&FW) has launched a scheme “Strengthening and Modernization of Pest Management Approach in India” to promote Integrated Pest Management (IPM).
• “Grow Safe food” Campaign has been initiated to create awareness about the safe and judicious use of
pesticides among the various stakeholders
• India is signatory to UNEP led Stockholm Convention for persistent organic pollutants and Rotterdam
convention which promotes open exchange of information and calls on exporters of hazardous chemicals to
use proper labelling, include directions on safe handling, and inform purchasers of any known restrictions or
bans.
• Draft Pesticides Management Bill 2017 aims to regulate the manufacture, imports, storage, transportation,
inspection, testing and distribution of pesticides.

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5.7. K AZI R ANGA N ATI ONA L P AR K

Why in news?

The Kaziranga National Park (KNP) had been split into two divisions — the existing Eastern Assam Wildlife and the new Biswanath Wildlife park with Brahmputra flowing in between.

More on news

• The Kaziranga South Division will cover all areas of Kaziranga situated on the south bank of the Brahmaputra with existing four Ranges viz. Kaziranga (Kohora), Eastern Range (Agaratoli), Western Range (Bagori) and Burhapahar Range.
• The headquarters of the North division will be at Biswanath with three ranges under this division at Biswanath, Panpur and Gohpur (Gomeri). The Panpur Range and the Gohpur Range (Gomeri) will be newly created under the proposed Kaziranga North division.

Reason for Bifurcation

Due to expansion of area under the KNP, it

About the Kaziranga National Park
• Kaziranga protected area was established in 1904 and is located on the edge of the Eastern Himalayan biodiversity hotspot. It is a UNESCO world heritage site.
• The park is home to large breeding populations of elephants, wild water buffalo, and swamp deer other than the one-horned rhino.
• Kaziranga is recognized as an ‘Important Bird Area’ by Birdlife International for the conservation of avifaunal species.
• There are five ranges in the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division.
These are Kaziranga (Kohora), Eastern Range (Agaratoli), Western Range (Bagori), Burhapahar Range and Northern Range with headquarters at Biswanath. Of these ranges, four are located on the southern bank of the Brahmaputra, while the Northern Range is located on the north bank of the river.
became difficult for one division to manage the National Park and because of this these areas did not get the desired attention. Specific issues faced are-

• Poachers remained un-convicted due to large area of the park, which can now be curbed better as it mostly happened in the northern region, and officers from the southern side were unable to prevent it.
• The funds allocated were not only under-utilised but were largely unused, with bifurcation separate authorities will be more accountable.
• It will also ease overcoming staff shortage as northern region can now recruit from northern Assam separately and so with the southern region.

Tourism was also suffering largely due to above mentioned reasons, bifurcation will lead to better management and increased visitation and hence, the revenue.

Criticism

It is predicted that this decision may have benefits in the short run, but in the long run it may-

• come at the cost of the ecology, road and river network.
• result in increased noise an air pollution due to increased footfall.
• make the animals more ‘zoo-like’, and hence tamer, taking away the sense of adventure that attracts tourists
to the Kaziranga National Park.

AUG 18 ENV PET COKE GM FOOD PARIVESH

BAN O N PE TCOK E

Why in News?

India recently banned the import of petcoke for use as fuel.

Background

• Environment Protection (Prevention and Control) Authority (EPCA) in April 2017 had asked for the ban on use of furnace oil and pet-coke in NCR region.
• Supreme Court had banned its use in
Delhi and NCR in October, 2017.
• Following which the Central government decided to ban pet coke nationwide.
• Though the Import of petcoke for fuel purpose is prohibited. It is allowed only

About Pet Coke
• Petroleum coke or pet coke, is a solid carbon rich (90% carbon and 3% to 6% sulfur) material derived from oil refining.
• It is categorized as a “bottom of the barrel” fuel.
• It is a dirtier alternative to coal and emits 11% more greenhouse gases than coal and nearly 17 times more sulphur than coal.
• Petcoke is a source of fine dust which can get lodged in the lungs.
• Petroleum coke can contain vanadium which is a toxic metal.
• Sulphur-heavy petcoke and other polluting fuels such as furnace oil are widely used by cement factories, dyeing units, paper mills, brick kilns and ceramics businesses.
• India is the world’s largest consumer of petcoke. Its consumption has grown at a compound annual growth rate of
16 per cent over the past 10 years.
• India had been becoming a dumping ground of pet-coke from the US, which has banned its internal use because of pollution.
for cement, lime kiln, calcium carbide and gasification industries, when used as the feedstock or in the manufacturing process on actual user condition.

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Reasons for use of Pet Coke

• Cheaper alternative: Per-unit delivered energy for petcoke is much cheaper compared to coal making it attractive for buyers.
• Favourable tax regime: Though both these fuels are taxed at 18% under GST but the industries, which used these fuels for manufacturing, got entire tax on the fuels credited back. On the other hand on natural gas, which is not included in GST, the VAT is as high as 26 per cent in certain states.
• Clean energy cess of Rs. 400 per tonne levied on coal, further promote shift to pet-coke.
• Zero Ash Content in Pet coke is a big advantage over coal which has significant ash content. It also allows cement firms can use low grade limestone. This is a big advantage as almost 60 per cent of India’s limestone reserves are low grade in nature.

Impact of the ban

• This decision gives a boost to the cement industry as it accounts for about three-fourth of the country’s
petcoke use. Cement companies were impacted by the recent petcoke-related policy flip-flops.
• The ban would benefit LNG importers, city gas distribution (CGD) etc. as other industrial units would shift from petcoke to alternate fuels such as natural gas.
• Import of pet coke costs about Rs 15,000 crore annually and hence the ban would save precious foreign exchange.

5.4. PAR I V E SH

Why in News?

Recently, government launched an integrated environmental management system named; PARIVESH (Pro-Active and Responsive facilitation by Interactive, Virtuous and Environmental Single-window Hub).

About PARIVESH

• It is a web based, role-based workflow application which has been developed for online submission and monitoring of the proposals submitted by the proponents for seeking Environment, Forest, Wildlife and CRZ Clearances from Central, State and district level authorities.
• It automates the entire tracking of proposals which includes online submission of a new proposal, editing/updating the details of proposals and displays status of the proposals at each stage of the workflow.
• The system includes monitoring of compliance reports including geo-tagged images of the site by regulatory body or inspecting officers even through the Mobile App for enhanced compliance monitoring
• It also provides access to previous Environment Impact Assessment Reports, which is a valuable r eservoir of information.

Significance of PARIVESH

• It will improve the entire process of appraisal and environmental clearance because delay in environment clearance can cause a huge monetary loss and negatively impact business prospect of that region.
• It will ensure transparency and expedite the process of granting clearance by enabling project proponent and citizen to track and interact with scrutiny officers, generate online clearance letters.
• The Project Proponent can also track the movement of their application at different stages and can see the findings of the Expert Appraisal Committee on their project proposal.
• It has been developed in pursuance of the spirit of 'Digital India' and capturing the essence of "minimum government and maximum governance".

5.5. GE NE TI CALLY MODI FI E D (GM) FOO D

Why in News?

Recently, a Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) study found the wide presence of GM ingredients in packaged food items sold in India.

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What are GM foods?

GM foods involve taking genes (DNA) from different organisms and inserting them in food crops for the purpose of enhancing its productivity or increasing its immune power or nutritional and aesthetic values. There is a concern that this ‘foreign’ DNA can lead to risks such as toxicity, allergic reactions, and nutritional and unintended impacts.

Safety of GM Foods

• Safety of GM crops and products has been a matter of concern for human health. Risk assessment on a case- by-case basis is critical for a country-level decision to allow or restrict GM foods because various GMOs have different genes, which are inserted in multiple ways. Also, studies used to evaluate the risk must take into account different populations and geographies.

Safety of GM foods in India

In 2017, a Parliamentary Committee report that examined the impact of GM crops on environment and human and animal health identified huge gaps with respect to the safety of GM crops. It noted the following key issues:

• There has been no Indian scientific study carried out so far to study the impact of GM crops on human health.
• The government should reconsider its decision to commercialize GM crops in the country as it has not been scientifically proven that GM crops have no adverse impact on

Codex Alimentarius guidelines for assessing risks associated with GM
foods:
• Typically, the following parameters are considered for risk assessment:
o Toxicity—acute, sub-chronic and chronic
o Allergenicity, i.e. the potential to provoke allergic reaction due to
cross reaction with other allergens or from new unknown GM
proteins
o Composition analysis of major and minor nutrients
o Nutritional effects associated with genetic modification that could
arise if GM DNA is inserted into the crop genome at a location
where it modifies the existing DNA such that the nutritional content of the crop alters.
o Stability of inserted gene to avoid its unintended escape into cells of the body or to bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract. This is particularly relevant if antibiotic-resistant genes, used as markers while creating GMOs, were to be transferred.
o Unintended effects that could result from the gene insertion leading to formation of new or changed patterns of metabolites.
human health. It is relying solely on studies that have not been done in India rather than on our own population
and in the context of our climate and environment.
• It is very late in the day for the FSSAI to take a decision to label GM foods imported into the country. However, the committee strongly recommends that labeling on GM foods must be done with immediate effect.

Draft notification on labeling of GM foods

• It was issued by FSSAI in May this year which mandates that any food that has 5 per cent or more GM ingredients, shall be labeled, provided this GM ingredient constitutes the top three ingredients in terms of percentage in the product.
• Despite these, most GM foods studied did not disclose the fact on the label. A few also made false claims of being GM free. Nearly 65% of the samples that were found GM positive did not disclose its genetically modified ingredients.

Criticisms against FSSAI

• Against draft labeling regulations: The exemption limit of 5 per cent in the draft notification of labeling is very relaxed compared to other countries such as the EU, Australia and Brazil, which have limits at or below 1 per cent. Also it is very difficult for government to quantify the GM content in all foods as the tests are prohibitively expensive and technically cumbersome.
• FSSAI has not allowed any GM food on paper but has failed to curb its illegal sales: Since 2007, GM soybean and canola oils are being imported in India without the approval of FSSAI though GEAC had permitted its import.

Regulatory issues in the approval process for GM processed foods:

• Since 1989, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has been responsible for approving commercial cultivation of GM crops as

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well as the manufacture, import and selling of processed foods made from GM ingredients. So far, Bt cotton has been approved for cultivation.
• After the enactment of the Food Safety and Standards Act in 2006, the GEAC wanted to restrict itself to approval of living modified organisms (LMOs) and shift the task of approval of processed foods to the FSSAI for which a notification was also issued in 2007.
• In response, the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) requested the MoEF&CC to continue regulating processed foods until the FSSAI was ready to do so in a scientific manner. The notification was kept in abeyance until 2016, making the GEAC responsible for approvals of processed foods, with no accountability of the FSSAI in practice despite Section 22 of the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 (FSS Act) stating that GM foods shall not be manufactured, sold, distributed or imported until the FSSAI approves them.
• Meanwhile, in 2013, the Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 were amended to mandate that packages containing genetically modified foods bear the words ‘GM’ on its principal display panel.
• This rule was inconsistent with the fact that GM foods are not allowed in India and in fact created the false perception that GM food was allowed.
• The FSSAI’s new draft labeling regulation of April 2018 aims to address the issue through labeling of GM foods. (For Draft labeling norms refer May 2018 VisionIAS current affairs)

Way Forward

• The FSSAI must identify all GM products being sold in the market and prosecute companies and traders responsible.
• It must set up a safety assessment system for approval of both domestic and imported GM foods.
• India’s GM labeling regulations must be based on stringent exemption limit and qualitative screening as an enforcement tool meaning that all products wherein GM
ingredients are used must be labeled even if the final product does not contain GM DNA or protein. The
threshold limit for GM labeling exemption should be set at one per cent GM DNA and not on the weight of the
ingredient.
• The FSSAI should adopt qualitative screening (such as through quantitative polymerase chain reaction - qPCR) as an enforcement tool and the onus of proving unintentional presence should be on the food manufacturer. It must set up laboratories to screen GM foods for effective monitoring.
• A symbol-based label such as ‘GM’ should be displayed on the front of packs which carry GM food -- just like
the green “tick” along with the words “Jaivik Bharat” proposed for organic food.

(For Draft labeling norms refer May 2018 VisionIAS current affairs)