GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

Archaeologists have unearthed two ancient temples dating back to the Badami Chalukyan period, along with a rare inscription, in Mudimanikyam village of Nalgonda district, Telangana. 

What has been found?

• Origin: The temples are estimated to be at least 1,300 years old (8th or 9th century AD).
• Location: on the way to the Krishna river
• Architectural style: They showcase unique architectural styles, blending Badami Chalukyan and Kadamba Nagara influences.
• In one temple, a panavattam (base of a Shiva lingam) in the sanctum sanctorum has been found. In another, a Vishnu idol was recovered.
• The discovery also includes an inscription, labelled as 'Gandaloranru', dating back to the 8th or 9th Century AD, offering clues about the historical context of the region.

Significance of the discovery

• The discovery gives more insight into the religious practices of the Badami Chalukyan period.
• They are significant as they are Badami Chalukyan shrines that adopted the Kadamba nagara style in the Rekha nagara format, making them the only two of their kind in Telangana today.

In light of India's focus on promoting education in mother tongue languages, a proposed linguistic survey by the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts (IGNCA) aims to determine the actual number of "active" languages spoken across the country, highlighting the significance of preserving linguistic diversity.

How diverse is India’s language map?

• India recognises 22 languages officially, which are part of Schedule 8 of the Indian Constitution.
• According to Census data, 97 % of the Indian population speaks one of these languages.
• There are an additional 99 non-scheduled languages included in the Census, and according to the 2011 Census, around 8 million people identify one of these non-Scheduled languages as their mother tongue.
• The native language of 2 million people remains unaccounted for due to the decision to not include languages with less than 10,000 speakers in the Census since 1971.
• Many of these languages not recorded in the official Census records are spoken by tribal communities.

What is the need of Language Atlas of India?

• Mapping the diversity: Given the diversity, there is an urgent need to carry out a comprehensive linguistic survey in order to create the Language Atlas of India.
• Knowing numbers: The survey would help to focus on the number of languages and dialects in India.
• Knowing scrips and dialects: It would also try to know how many languages are spoken in India, and how many scripts and dialects there are.
  • IGNCA has identified the Central Institute of Indian Languages, the National Museum, Centres for Endangered Languages, and the Linguistic Departments of various universities as potential partners and collaborators in carrying out the survey.

The global supply chain turmoil, prompted by the prolonged Red Sea crisis, underscores the urgency of exploring alternative trade routes like the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) introduced during the 2023 G-20 summit.

Why is the Red Sea route important?

• Global trade: The Red Sea owes its strategic importance for global trade to the Bab el-Mandab Strait which lies between Yemen and Djibouti.
• Busiest route: It is one of the world’s busiest cargo and oil transit points with almost 12% of international merchandise trade passing through it.

• Clear impact of re-routing: An immediate consequence of the Red Sea conflict has been that major container and oil carriers have been forced to re-route shipments via the Cape of Good Hope. The re-routing has led to
  • rising ocean freight
  • inflated insurance costs
  • longer voyage times leading to delays and shortage of products
  • increased transportation costs
  • higher shipping costs leading to increased commodity prices

How has this turmoil affected India?

• Drop in shipment: The rising fears among traders have already seen a drop in Indian shipments.
  • Rising threats have prompted Indian exporters to hold back around 25% of their cargo ships transitioning through the Red Sea.
• Opportunity for China to promote BRI: As global supply chains are battling delayed shipments and rising costs, China is actively projecting China-Europe freight trains, which are part of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), as an alternate route.

Why IMEC is not receiving attention?

The India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC), which was announced during the G-20 summit in 2023, is another alternative which is not receiving much attention.

• Lack of investment: Part of the problem is that apart from the MoUs, there have not been any investments or operations regarding the corridor.
• Israel-Palestine conflict: Furthermore, the Israel-Palestine conflict has put a pause on the normalisation of Arab-Israel relations which is a key element of the multi-nation initiative.
• Vulnerability: Another major challenge is the vulnerability of the Strait of Hormuz. The entire trade of the IMEC architecture flows through the Strait of Hormuz and with Iran’s proximity and control over the strait, the risk of disruptions remain very high.

The Supreme Court said one cannot question delay in a pending criminal appeal by filing a writ petition alleging violation of fundamental right.

The issue (petition)

• The Supreme Court dismissed a writ petition filed seeking a direction to the Allahabad High Court to decide his criminal appeal pending since 2016 or grant him bail by suspending his sentence.

Key-points made by the SC

• Accepting the prayer of the petitioner and issuing any direction, as prayed, would amount to inappropriate exercise of discretionary jurisdiction showing disrespect to another constitutional court; hence, no such direction, as prayed by the petitioner, can be issued.
• The bench also said the Constitution does not grant power of superintendence to the Supreme Court over the High Court.

What are Writs?

• A writ petition can be termed as a formal written order issued by a judicial authority who possesses the authority to do so. 
• In India, writs are issued by the Supreme Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India and by the High Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
• Someone can seek justice through the five types of writs as provided by Article 32 of the Constitution. These are —

The World Trade Organization's 13th Ministerial Conference (MC13) commenced recently in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). 

What are key-priorities for India?

• India's primary task is keeping non-trade issues outside the ambit of the WTO.
• The key priorities for New Delhi at this multi-nation platform.

Food security

• India will maintain its stand of refusing to discuss issues related to agriculture at the ministerial-level meeting of the WTO, unless a permanent solution is found to public stockholding for food security.
  • WTO members have expressed concerns over India's minimum support price (MSP) scheme for key agricultural products and export restrictions on commodities such as rice.

Poor fishermen

• India will continue to bat for a permanent carve-out for nations that practise low-income fishing in a bid to protect the livelihoods of poor fishermen.
• Apart from this, New Delhi will also push for not restricting countries from giving subsidies to fishermen operating within their Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).

Non-trade issues

• In line with its earlier stance, India will oppose any discussion on what the country considers non-trade issues, including discussions on the environment, MSMEs (micro, small, and medium enterprises), and gender matters at the ministerial conference.

Digital trade

• India will push to end a moratorium on customs duties on digital goods at the ministerial conference, saying that such a leeway tends to benefit a few developed nations.
• India believes that a country should be free to levy duties given that developing nations are losing around $10 billion in revenues due to this moratorium.

WTO disputes

• India will pitch for revamping the WTO's appellate body (which settles disputes among member nations), that has been out of action since December 2019 due to a decision by the United States to block appointments of new members to the entity.
• The body was established in 1995 under Article 17 of the Understanding on Rules and Procedures Governing the Settlement of Disputes.
• It is a standing body of seven persons that hears appeals in disputes brought by WTO members.

NITI Aayog CEO has said India's poverty level has fallen to just five per cent, signalling an improvement in the nation's economic landscape.

• Data source: Latest consumer expenditure surveyconducted by the National Sample Survey Office (NSSO).
  • The survey categorised people into 20 different groups, revealing that the average per capita monthly expenditure in rural areas is Rs 3,773, while in urban areas, it stands at Rs 6,459.
• The Survey revealed that per capita monthly household expenditure more than doubled in 2022-23 as compared to 2011-12.

• The data indicates that poverty in India is now below five per cent.

The trends

• The consumption has surged by 2.5 times in both rural and urban areas, indicating progress across the board.
• The gap is narrowing between rural and urban consumption, suggesting a positive trajectory towards economic parity.
• There is the decline in the consumption of cereals and food items, indicating a shift towards a more prosperous lifestyle.
• People are now allocating more income towards non-food items, such as milk, fruits, vegetables, and processed foods, reflecting increased prosperity and evolving consumption patterns.

What is Poverty?

• Poverty can be defined as a condition in which an individual or household lacks the financial resources to afford a basic minimum standard of living.
• The World Bank defines poverty using the International Poverty Line, which designates extreme poverty at $2.15 per person per day, while $3.65 falls under the lower-middle income category, and $6.85 is classified as upper-middle income.

Types of Poverty:

• Absolute Poverty: Lack of basic necessities like food, shelter, and healthcare, threatening survival.
• Relative Poverty: Deprivation in comparison to the broader society, despite meeting basic needs.
• Urban Poverty: Concentrated in urban areas, characterized by slums, unemployment, and inadequate living conditions.
• Rural Poverty: Predominant in rural regions, often linked to agricultural challenges, low income, and limited access to services.
• Cyclical Poverty: Temporary state due to economic fluctuations or personal circumstances.
• Chronic Poverty: Persistent, long-term deprivation often linked to systemic issues and lack of opportunities.
• Income Poverty: Lack of sufficient income to meet basic needs.
• Multidimensional Poverty: Deprivation in various aspects, including education, health, and living standards.

While there is no concrete data on the number of drones being used in the agriculture sector, according to an American consulting firm, agricultural drone usage in India will grow at 38.5% CAGR and reach a value of $121.43 million by 2030.

Drone Application in Agriculture

• Unmanned Aerial Vehicles or drones are increasingly becoming useful in crop and livestock management.
• Application: Drones can help in the
  • analysis of soils and drainage
  • crop health assessment
  • application of liquid pesticides, fertilisers and herbicides
  • to monitor the growth of plants
  • detect disease stress
  • monitor field temperature
  • spray pesticides or fertilizers at desired locations on the field

Why is there this shift?

• The stagnation of the prices of produce, followed by the mass exodus of labourers from agriculture and the consequent rise in labour wages have all made such mechanisation imminent.

Concerns

• One such concern with drone usage has been about the aerial spraying of harmful pesticides. It can result in contamination of soil and water.
• Known as pesticide drift, experts fear that drone-based application of chemicals for farming could spread to non-target areas, contaminating water bodies, soil and even human settlements nearby. 
• With the advent of drones, unemployment can increase.

Emerging Agriculture Technologies

• Agriculture Sensors: These sensors can detect moisture and nitrogen levels. This information can be used to determine when to water and fertilize rather than rely on a predetermined schedule.
• Weather Tracking: Drones, remote sensors, and satellites gather 24/7 data on weather patterns in and around the fields. This provides farmers with vital information on temperature, rainfall, soil, humidity.
• Satellite Imaging:It allows for real-time crop imagery. It lets a farmer examine crops as if he or she were standing there without actually standing there. Reviewing images on a weekly basis can save a farm a considerable amount of time and money.
• Pervasive Automation: It refer to any technology that reduces operator workload.
• Minichromosomal Technology:Using minichromosomes, agricultural geneticists can add dozens and perhaps even hundreds of traits to a plant.
• Radio-frequency identification (RFID) Technology: RFID based sensors provide information that can be associated with farming yields.
• Vertical Farming: Vertical farm technology Vertical farming a component of urban agriculture is the practice of producing food in vertically stacked layers.
  • Farmers in all areas can use it to make better use of available land and to grow crops that wouldn’t normally be viable in those locations.
• Blockchain in Agriculture: Blockchain technologies can track all types of information about plants, such as seed quality, and crop growth, and even generate a record of the journey of the plant after it leaves the farm.
• Internet of Things (IOT): The buzz word in precision farming lately has been IOT. In IoT-based smart farming, a system is built for monitoring the crop field with the help of sensors (light, humidity, temperature, soil moisture, etc.) and automating the irrigation system.

Recent advancements in science and technology, particularly augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), are revolutionizing education by offering immersive learning experiences. These innovations, fostering problem-solving skills, are garnering attention for their transformative potential in both traditional and continuing education settings.

What is AR, VR?

• Augmented reality (AR): In AR, the digital content is overlayed onto the real-world scenarios, and this provides an immersive experience of virtual objects in the real world.
  • For example, a teacher can use an AR app to demonstrate a volcanic eruption while teaching geography or geology or even to teach how volcanic eruptions can impact air routes. Such AR technologies promote active learning.
• Virtual reality (VR): VR technology, on the other hand, offers a completely virtual environment.
  • For example, virtual field trips, foreign language acquisition or virtual laboratories. These technologies when adopted in educational domain offers an enhanced hands-on experience which were never witnessed within the traditional classroom.

Benefits of the technology

• It enhances problem-solving skills in students. It also facilitates opportunities to think critically, collaborate with peers, and to develop innovative solutions.
• Fostering immersive learning experiences: Traditional learning methods often struggle to capture the attention of today’s digital-native students. AR and VR technologies offer a solution by providing immersive learning experiences that cater to their learning styles.
• Promoting collaborative learning: Collaboration is a vital skill in the modern workforce, and AR and VR technologies facilitate collaborative learning experiences within the classroom.

Challenges and considerations

• Limited access to technology
• Concerns about cost
• The need for teacher training
• Issues related to data privacy, digital citizenship, and screen time management

Art & Culture (GS-I)

Attukal Pongala

Lakhs of women arrived in Thiruvananthapuram district of Kerala, to observe ‘Attukal Pongala’.

About Attukal Pongala

• Attukal Pongala is a ten day annual Malayalam event.
• Time: Malayalam month of Makaram-Kumbham (Feb-March) on Karthika star.
• The ‘Attukal Pongala’ is dubbed as one of the biggest gatherings of women in the world.
• It is attended by women from different parts of Kerala and neighbouring states such as Tamil Nadu. 
• The goddess at the centuries-old Attukal Devi temple is worshipped by the devotees in the form of ‘Bhadrakali’ or ‘Kannaki’ to whom the ‘pongal’ offering is made on the ninth day of the 10-day festival at the temple.
• Ritual: Women gather around the premises of temple and cook ‘pongala payasam’.
  • The pongala payasam is a rice pudding made with red rice, jaggery, banana, ghee, and coconut, boiled over in earthen pots as part of the ritual.
  • It is offered to the presiding deity, Attukal Amma (Goddess Bhagwati).

Polity & Governance (GS-II)

Amrit Bharat Station Scheme

Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation for over 550 Amrit Bharat stations across the country, with an allocated budget of Rs 40,000 crore.

What is Amrit Bharat Stations Scheme?

• Objective: To enhance station facilities with modern infrastructure, including roof plazas and city centers, fostering a more convenient and comfortable experience for passengers.
• The initiative underscores a commitment to bolstering India's transportation infrastructure.
• As part of the scheme, Indian Railways is crafting comprehensive Master Plans, integrating urban development around railway stations.
• This integrated approach signifies a holistic vision aimed at fostering overall urban development centered on these pivotal transport hubs.