GS Analyst
Daily Current Affairs

Recently, the French government announced that the practice of wearing abaya would be banned in state-run schools as it violated the principle of Laïcité, which is the French idea of secularism. 

What is the meaning of Laïcité?

• Coined in the 19th century, Laïcité is a complicated and politically charged term. It is understood as a formal separation of the State and Church.
• It involves the complete removal of religious values from the public sphere and their replacement with secular values such as liberty, equality, and fraternity.
• Underlying goal: to implant tolerance and assimilate people.
• As per the principle, religion is to be confined to the private sphere. It is important to note here that the state plays an important role in ensuring that affairs are run according to the principle of Laïcité.

How Secularism is managed in a nation of 1.25 billion people?

• Like the French, Indians tend to consider secularism as part of their national identity. 
• But while the foundation of French laïcité is to keep the government neutral in religious affairs, the Indian version of secularism “allows state intervention in the dominant religion”— and recognizes minority rights.

Secularism in India vs. the Western World: A Comparative Exploration

• Secularism, a crucial component of contemporary governance, takes on distinct forms in India compared to Western nations.

The Centre proposed before the Supreme Court forming a 13-member technical committee to evaluate the “carrying capacity” of 13 Himalayan States.

What is the need?

• Frequent landslips leading to deaths and destruction had led the Supreme Court to moot a re-evaluation of the load-carrying capacity of hill towns and cities.
• Significantly, these states have faced flash floods, landslides, and acute water shortages in the past, especially in popular tourist destinations. 
• In March 2021, the National Green Tribunal had directed all state governments to undertake carrying capacity studies of ecologically sensitive areas.

What is carrying capacity?

• The carrying capacity of an area can be defined as the “maximum number of population that can be supported by the environment of that area through optimum utilisation of the available resources”. 
• Factors Influencing Carrying Capacity:
  • Terrain
  • Water availability
  • Waste management
  • Resilience of local communities

Are hill stations not prepared?

• Master plans for most Indian cities — including hill stations —are not prepared based on their carrying capacity.
  • Master plan finds mention in the Urban and Regional Development Plans Formulation and Implementation (URDPFI) guidelines notified by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in 2015.
• It should be an integral part of city and town planning, especially in hill states.  

Why carrying capacity is out of focus?

Although carrying capacity has been taught in planning schools, it has rarely been used by urban planners while planning for cities’ development. It is due to:

• Economic Imperatives: Tourism generates substantial revenue for these regions, making policymakers hesitant to limit tourist numbers or impose stringent regulations.
• Lack of Planning: Hill stations often lack comprehensive development plans that consider environmental sustainability and carrying capacity. This lack of foresight exacerbates the problem.
• Lack of manpower: There is an acute shortage of experienced urban planners in the states.
• Political Considerations: Political interests and pressure from the tourism industry can sideline discussions about carrying capacity and environmental concerns.

Toyota recently unveiled a prototype of the Innova Hycross with a flex-fuel hybrid powertrain, its first car in India with this option, and one that the Japanese carmaker claims is the world’s first BS6 Stage II-compliant flex-fuel vehicle.

What is flex fuel technology?

• A flex fuel, or flexible fuel, vehicle has an internal combustion engine (ICE), but unlike a regular petrol or diesel vehicle, this can run on more than one type of fuel, or even a mixture of fuels.
• The most common versions use a blend of petrol and ethanol or methanol, but these engines are also equipped to run on 100 per cent petrol or ethanol as well.
• This is made possible by equipping the engine with a fuel mix sensor and an engine control module (ECM) programming that senses and automatically adjusts for any ratio of designated fuels.
• It was first developed in the early 1990sand used in the mass-produced 1994 Ford Taurus, according to Car Bibles. By 2017, there were approximately 21 million flex-fuel vehicles on the road.

Key Components of a Flex Fuel Car

• Battery: The battery provides electricity to start the engine and power vehicle electronics/accessories.
• Electronic control module (ECM): The ECM controls the fuel mixture, ignition timing, and emissions system; monitors the operation of the vehicle; safeguards the engine from abuse; and detects and troubleshoots problems.
• Exhaust system: The exhaust system channels the exhaust gases from the engine out through the tailpipe. A three-way catalyst is designed to reduce engine-out emissions within the exhaust system.
• Fuel filler: A nozzle from a fuel dispenser attaches to the receptacle on the vehicle to fill the tank.
• Fuel injection system: This system introduces fuel into the engine's combustion chambers for ignition.
• Fuel line: A metal tube or flexible hose (or a combination of these) transfers fuel from the tank to the engine's fuel injection system.
• Fuel pump: A pump that transfers fuel from the tank to the engine's fuel injection system via the fuel line.
• Fuel tank (ethanol/gasoline blend): Stores fuel on board the vehicle to power the engine.
• Internal combustion engine (spark-ignited): In this configuration, fuel is injected into either the intake manifold or the combustion chamber, where it is combined with air, and the air/fuel mixture is ignited by the spark from a spark plug.
• Transmission: The transmission transfers mechanical power from the engine and/or electric traction motor to drive the wheels.
  
  

 How flex fuel cars work?

• Flex fuel vehicles have one fuel system, and most components are the same as those found in a conventional petrol-only car.
• Some special ethanol-compatible components are required to adjust to the different chemical properties and energy content in ethanol or methanol, such as modifications to the fuel pump and fuel injection system.
• The ECM is also calibrated to accommodate the higher oxygen content of ethanol.

Invasive species are costing the world at least $423bn every year and have become a leading threat to the diversity of life on Earth, according to a UN assessment.

• The assessment, produced by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), was produced over four and a half years.
• The findings follow a 2019 reportthat warned 1m species were at risk of going extinct, threatened by pollution, climate change, invasive species, the direct exploitation of organisms, and land-use change.
  • Invasive species have contributed to 40% of all known animal extinctions.

Key-highlights of the Report

• Invasive alien species are a major threat to biodiversity and can cause irreversible damage to nature, including local and global species extinctions, and also threaten human wellbeing.
• Top species: The top three invasive species include
  • Water hyacinth, an aquatic plant native to tropical South America that blocks waterways and damages fisheries, the flowering shrub lantana, and the black rat
  • Aedes albopictus(spread West Nile virus)
  • Aedes aegypti (spread Zika virus)
• Dominant areas: Most invasive species reports were noted in the Americas with 34% of all reports, followed by Europe and Central Asia (31%), the Asia Pacific (25%) and Africa (7%).

What is invasive species?

• An invasive species is an organism that is not indigenous, or native, to a particular area.
• Pathways:An invasive species can be introduced to a new area via the ballast water of oceangoing ships, intentional and accidental releases of aquaculture species, aquarium specimens or bait, and other means.
• Not all non-native species are invasive.
  • For example,most of the food crops grown in the United States, including popular varieties of wheat, tomatoes, and rice, are not native to the region.
• Features:To be invasive, a species must 
  • It must adapt to the new area easily.
  • It must reproduce quickly.
  • It must harm property, the economy, or the native plants and animals of the region.

List of invasive flora and fauna in India

Additional examples:

• Cogongrass is an Asian plant that arrived in the United States as seeds in packing material.
• Feral pigs will eat almost anything, including native birds. They compete with native wildlife for food sources such as acorns.
  • Feral pigs spread diseases, such as brucellosis, to people and livestock. E. coli from their feces was implicated in the E. coli contamination of baby spinach in 2006.
• European green crabs found their way into the San Francisco Bay area in 1989. They out-compete native species for food and habitat and eat huge quantities of native shellfish, threatening commercial fisheries.
• Dutch elm disease (caused by the fungus Ophiostoma ulmi) is transmitted to trees by elm bark beetles. Since 1930, the disease has spread from Ohio through most of the country, killing over half of the elm trees in the northern United States.
• Emerald ash borer beetles: Emerald ash borer beetles are invasive insects first discovered in Michigan in 2002 and most likely brought over on packing material from East Asia.

In a recent study published in the journal Science, an international team of scientists has shed new light on the “Atlantification” of the Arctic Ocean. This phenomenon explains the trend in Arctic Ocean sea ice loss that seems to have plateaued since 2007.

Key-highlights of the Study

• The study delves into the multifaceted influence of the Arctic dipole on the Arctic Ocean climate.
• The researchers discovered that the Arctic dipole follows an approximately 15-year cycle. They surmise that we’re nearing the end of the present regime.
• When broken down, the current “positive” regime of the Arctic dipole, which has persisted since 2007, is characterized by high pressure centered over the Canadian sector of the Arctic producing clockwise winds, and low pressure over the Siberian Arctic, with counterclockwise winds. 
• This specific wind configuration affects upper ocean currents and has a wide-ranging influence, from air temperatures to sea-ice drift, heat exchanges, and even ecological implications.
• Switchgear mechanism: The research also unveils a “switchgear mechanism” responsible for the alternating changes in the Fram Strait and the Barents Sea. These alterations, triggered by the Arctic dipole mechanisms, have profound effects. 
• An influx of warmer Atlantic water to the Arctic is changing the makeup of this ocean stratification. 
• Driven by climate change, the Arctic Ocean is seeing
  • sea ice reductions
  • weakening of the halocline
  • reduction in the depth of the Atlantic warm waters
  • Atlantic water is having an increasing influence on the Arctic Ocean

Major Layers of the Arctic Ocean

• The Arctic Ocean is formed of numerous water layers that remain in place due to the differences in salt concentration, which affect the buoyancy of the water.
  • Top Layer: The top layer is freshwater with a low salinity, held at near freezing point, which comes from the melting of sea ice and from Arctic rivers that release into the ocean.
  • Layer of Salt: Beneath this layer comes a layer of saltier and warmer water from the Atlantic.
  • Arctic halocline: In between these two layers, there is an intermediate layer known as the Arctic halocline where the warm, salty water mixes with the cold, fresh surface layer above.
  • Arctic deep water: Beyond the warm and salty Atlantic layer, there is another water mass of cold and slightly saltier water, known as Arctic deep water.

What factor is responsible for maintaining the layered structure?

• Thermohaline circulation, also known as the "Great Ocean Conveyor Belt," is a key factor in maintaining the layered structure of the Arctic Ocean.
• It involves the movement of ocean water based on differences in temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline).
• In the Arctic Ocean, cold and dense water sinks beneath warmer and less dense water, creating a layered structure that helps in retaining the various water layers in place.

Polity & Governance (GS-II)

Deemed University

The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has been bestowed with the status of a deemed-to-be university.

What is a deemed university?

• A deemed university is recognised under Section 3 of the University Grants Commission (UGC) Act, 1956.
• The Centre can on the recommendation of the University Grants Commission declare an institute of higher learning (other than universities) as a ‘Deemed-to-be-university’.
• The tag allows such institutes that work at an extremely high level in a specific area – the same academic status and privileges as a university.

Polity & Governance (GS-II)

Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY)

The PMJDY has completed nine years recently.

About PMJDY

• Pradhan Mantri Jan-Dhan Yojana (PMJDY) is a national mission for financial inclusion to ensure access to financial services, namely, banking/ savings and deposit accounts, remittance, credit, insurance, pension in an affordable manner.
• Account can be opened in any bank branch or business correspondent (Bank Mitr) outlet.
• PMJDY accounts are being opened with zero balance.
• All citizens of Indian nationality are eligible.

Polity & Governance (GS-II)

Gramodyog Vikas Yojana (GVY)

The Chairman of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC), recently, distributed toolkits and machinery to artisans in Bhubaneshwar, Odisha, as part of the Gramodyog Vikas Yojana.

About Gramodyog Vikas Yojana:

• Launched in: 2020
• Gramodyog VikasYojana (GVY) scheme is for promotion and development of village industries through common facilities, technological modernization, training etc. & other support and services for promotion of village Industries.
• It is one of the two components of theKhadi Gramodyog Vikas Yojana which is a Central Sector Scheme (CSS).
• GVY has the following components/ verticals from the activities under Village Industries:
  • Wellness & Cosmetics Industry (WCI)
  • Handmade Paper, Leather & Plastic Industry (HPLPI)
  • Agro Based & Food Processing Industry (ABFPI)
  • Mineral Based Industry (MBI)
  • Rural Engineering & New Technology Industry (RENTI)
  • Service Industry

Economy (GS-III)

Agriculture Infrastructure Development cess (AIDC)

The finance ministry notifed that imports of LPG, liquified propane and liquified butane have been fully exempted from Agriculture Infrastructure Development cess (AIDC).

What is AIDC?

• AIDC is a tax that the government of India levies on commercial agricultural production in the country.
• The production capacity determines the charge rates.
• The government of India uses the amount collected through the Agriculture Infrastructure and Development Cess for infrastructure building all over the country.

Science & Technology (GS-III)

IAF’s annual training exercise- Trishul

The annual training exercise, Trishul, of the Indian Air Force’s (IAF) Western Air Command (WAC) began. 

Key-highlights

• Organised by: IAF's Western Command
• Aim: to test the combat capabilities of the force and assess various operational dimensions.
• It is said to be one of the largest air exercises to be carried out by the Indian Air Force (IAF)in recent times.
• The fighter jets to be part of the drills include Rafales, Su-30 MKIs, Jaguars, Mirage-2000s, MiG-29s and MiG-21 Bisons.

Environment (GS-III)

Stump-tailed macaque

The Delhi zoo now houses a new animal species – the stump-tailed macaque.

• Scientific name: Macaca arctoides 
• The stump-tailed macaque, also called the bear macaque, is a species of macaquenative to South Asia and Southeast Asia.
• In India, it occurs south of the Brahmaputra River, in the northeastern part of the country.
  • Its range in India extends from Assamand Meghalaya to eastern Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur, Mizoram and Tripura.
• IUCN Red List: Vulnerable