GS Analyst: Daily Current Affairs

Context:

India's ongoing efforts to revamp its science establishment, particularly with the establishment of the National Research Foundation (NRF) and the restructuring of the Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO), raise questions about the administrative efficiency and resilience of the country's scientific endeavors.

1.  Low Research and Development Expenditure:

• Expenditure Discrepancy: India's low research and development expenditure, around 0.7% of GDP, contrasts starkly with global leaders like the United States (3.5%) and China (2.4%).
• Need for Strategic Allocation: Given the limited funding, there is a crucial need to allocate resources wisely and prioritize high-impact projects for sustained scientific outcomes.
• Shortcomings in Key Areas: Despite achievements in the space program, India lags in critical technologies such as reusable rockets, nuclear energy, genomics, robotics, and artificial intelligence.

2.  Dominance of Public Sector and Role of Scientists:

• Scientific Administration Challenges: The public sector dominance in India's science is coupled with challenges like bureaucratic delays, inadequate long-term funding commitment, and an outsized role for senior scientists in administrative tasks.
• Faulty Assumption: The assumption that a good scientist will be an effective science administrator is questioned, highlighting the mismatch between the skill sets required for scientific research and administrative duties.
• Conflicts of Interest: The present system allows for significant conflicts of interest, with academics holding administrative roles within the same institutions, leading to issues like red tape and compromised quality control.

3.  Need for Administrative Overhaul:

• Separation of Roles: A comparison with the U.S. model suggests the separation of administrators and scientists, with early selection and training for administrative roles, ensuring a focus on specific skill sets.
• All-India Science Administration Pool: Proposes an American middle-way arrangement, suggesting the creation of an all-India pool for science administration central service, where scientists receive training and are selected for administrative roles.
• Administrative Training: Advocates for a realization similar to the business world in 1908 when the Master of Business Administration (MBA) course was established, emphasizing the need to teach and practice administration separately from scientific research for the effective functioning of science establishments.

Context:

The urgent need for an indigenous, science-based air quality resource framework in India to address the complex challenges posed by air pollution and its impact on climate change, health, and overall environmental well-being.

1.  Diverse Climatic Conditions and Micro-Environments:

• Need for Understanding: India's diverse micro-environments and varying climatic conditions necessitate a comprehensive understanding of natural and scientific processes influencing air quality.
• Three-Level Approach: Air quality management must address rural, urban, and industrial agglomeration levels, emphasizing the importance of developing strategies tailored to each context.
• Geographical Diversity: India's geographically diverse cities, each with different climatic zones, air-sheds, and dominant emission sources, pose a unique challenge in developing an effective pollution prediction system.

2.  Complexity in Pollution Prediction System:

• Baseline Levels and Adaptation: Consideration of baseline pollution levels, the ambient air naturally present, is crucial, along with recognizing the adaptability and immunity of the local population to these levels.
• Lack of Systematic Inventories: India faces a major shortfall in its air quality management framework due to the absence of periodic updates in systematic emission inventories.
• Technological Advancements: Utilizing ground-based data, satellite-driven data, artificial intelligence, drones, and emerging technologies like CubeSats is imperative for accurate forecasting and monitoring.

3.  Proposed Indigenous Science-Based Framework:

• Consortium Leadership: Advocates for a consortium led by domain experts, health scientists, policy specialists, communicators, and an outreach group to guide air quality science and management.
• Integrated Mechanism: Calls for an integrated mechanism translating data into actionable information, framing communication strategies, issuing health advisories, alerts, and planning mitigation strategies.
• Standardization and Centralization: Emphasizes the need for standardized reporting protocols, a central emissions dataset as per international norms, and robust application of data from Indian satellites.

Context:

The significance of region-specific climate analyses in the context of the India Meteorological Department's (IMD) 150th year and its contemporary relevance for climate resilience planning.

1.  Monsoon Trends and Agriculture Impact:

• Historical Context: IMD's origin in colonial times focused on understanding the southwest monsoon's impact on harvests, reflecting the British administration's concern for revenues tied to agricultural outcomes.
• Data Analysis: Analysis of IMD's meteorological data from 1982-2022 reveals that 55% of India's tehsils experience increasing monsoon rainfall, with 11% witnessing a decrease.
• Agricultural Hotspots: Tehsils in the Indo-Gangetic plains, northeastern India, and the Indian Himalayan region are crucial, contributing to over half of India's agricultural production.

2.  Districts and Rainfall Extremes:

• Rainfall Variability: 30% of India's districts face deficient rainfall, while 38% witness excessive rainfall over several years, impacting agriculture and water management.
• Changing Patterns: Regions like Rajasthan, Gujarat, central Maharashtra, and parts of Tamil Nadu, traditionally dry, are experiencing increased rainfall, requiring adaptive measures.
• Changing Dynamics: The northeast monsoon, affecting peninsular India, has seen a 10% increase in rainfall in the past decade in significant percentages of tehsils in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, and Andhra Pradesh.

3.  Climate Resilience Planning:

• Contemporary Relevance: The increasing vulnerability of India's monsoons to dry spells and intense wet spells is acknowledged, with ongoing research exploring the role of natural variability and global warming.
• Policy Implications: The article underscores the contemporary relevance of regional weather analyses for climate resilience planning, advocating for prioritizing regional and sub-district forecasts over national ones.
• Overall Contribution: The southwest monsoon contributes 76% to India's annual rainfall, while the northeast monsoon accounts for 11%, emphasizing their combined influence on the climate.