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Mar 04, 2022
UKRAINE, RIGHTS GROUPS SAY RUSSIA USED CLUSTER & VACUUM BOMBS
Recently, Human rights groups Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, accused Russia of using cluster bombs and vacuum bombs in the ongoing war.
What are cluster munitions?
Healthy Ageing
About the Solar-driven System
Highlights of the Study
Highlights of the Report
Red Corridor
Yellowstone National Park
Aircraft Carrier?
What are cluster munitions?
- According to the 2008 Convention on Cluster Munitions, a cluster munition means a “conventional munition that is designed to disperse or release explosive submunitions each weighing less than 20 kilograms, and includes those explosive submunitions”.
- Essentially, cluster munitions are non-precision weapons that are designed to injure or kill human beings indiscriminately over a large area, and to destroy vehicles and infrastructure such as runways, railway or power transmission lines.
- They can be dropped from an aircraft or launched in a projectile that spins in flight, scattering many bomblets as it travels.
- Many of these bomblets end up not exploding, but continue to lie on the ground, often partially or fully hidden and difficult to locate and remove, posing a threat to the civilian population for long after the fighting has ceased.
- The Convention on Cluster Munitions specifically identifies “cluster munition remnants”, which include “failed cluster munitions, abandoned cluster munitions, unexploded submunitions and unexploded bomblets”.
- Thermobaric weapons — also known as aerosol bombs, fuel air explosives, or vaccum bombs — use oxygen from the air for a large, high-temperature blast.
- A thermobaric weapon causes significantly greater devastation than a conventional bomb of comparable size.
- The weapons, which go off in two separate stages, can be fired as rockets from tank-mounted launchers or dropped from aircraft.
- As they hit their target, a first explosion splits open the bomb’s fuel container, releasing a cloud of fuel and metal particles that spreads over a large area.
- A second explosion then occurs, igniting the aerosol cloud into a giant ball of fire and sending out intense blast waves that can destroy even reinforced buildings or equipment and vaporise human beings.
- Thermobaric weapons are generally deployed as rockets or bombs, and they work by releasing fuel and explosive charges. Different fuels can be used, including toxic powdered metals and organic matter containing oxidant.
- Thermobaric bombs are devastating and effective in urban areas or open conditions, and can penetrate bunks and other underground locations, starving the occupants of oxygen. There is very little that can protect humans and other life forms from their blast and incendiary effects.
- The Soviet Union is believed to have used a thermobaric weapon against China during the Sino-Soviet conflict of 1969, and in Afghanistan as part of its takeover of that country in 1979. Moscow also used them in Chechnya, and has reportedly provided them to separatist rebels in eastern Ukraine. The United States has used these weapons in Vietnam and in the mountains of Afghanistan.
- Countries that have ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions are prohibited from using cluster bombs.
- While cluster munitions are banned by international convention, thermobaric munitions – also known as fuel-air explosive devices, or “vacuum bombs” – are not explicitly prohibited for use against military targets.
- These devastating devices, which create an oxygen-eating fireball followed by a deadly shockwave, are far more powerful than most other conventional weapons.
- The use of weapons in indiscriminate attacks – those that cannot distinguish between combatants and civilians – is forbidden by the Geneva Conventions.
- Vacuum bombs are not prohibited by any international law or agreement, but their use against civilian populations in built-up areas, schools or hospitals, could, according to a report in the BBC, attract action under the Hague Conventions of 1899 and 1907.
- Amnesty International said international humanitarian law prohibits the use of inherently indiscriminate weapons such as cluster munitions. Launching indiscriminate attacks that kill or injure civilians constitutes a war crime, the report said.
- As of date, there are 110 state parties to the convention, and 13 other countries have signed up but are yet to ratify it. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are signatories.
- The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) was born out of a collective determination to address the humanitarian consequences and unacceptable harm to civilians caused by cluster munitions.
- States Parties are committed to the full universalisation of the Convention and to promote its norms, as well as to fully implementation it.
- Its implementation contributes to advancing the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, the promotion of international peace and security, human rights and international humanitarian law.
- The Convention prohibits all use, production, transfer and stockpiling of cluster munitions.
- Adopted on 30 May 2008, signed on 3 December 2008 and entered into force on 1 August 2010.
- The Convention provides a comprehensive international response to the suffering caused by the use of cluster munitions and their remnants, to prevent the proliferation and future use of these weapons.
- The Convention on Cluster Munitions (CCM) prohibits under any circumstances the use, development, production, acquisition, stockpiling and transfer of cluster munitions, as well as the assistance or encouragement of anyone to engage in prohibited activities.
- In 1949, an international conference of diplomats built on the earlier treaties for the protection of war victims, revising and updating them into four new conventions comprising 429 articles of law—known as the Geneva Conventions of August 12, 1949. The Additional Protocols of 1977 and 2005 supplement the Geneva Conventions.
- The Geneva Conventions apply in all cases of declared war, or in any other armed conflict between nations.
- They also apply in cases where a nation is partially or totally occupied by soldiers of another nation, even when there is no armed resistance to that occupation.
- Nations that ratify the Geneva Conventions must abide by certain humanitarian principles and impose legal sanctions against those who violate them.
- Ratifying nations must “enact any legislation necessary to provide effective penal sanctions for persons committing or ordering to be committed any of the grave breaches (violations)” of the Conventions.
- The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field of August 12, 1949.
- The First Geneva Convention protects soldiers who are hors de combat (out of the battle).
- The 10 articles of the original 1864 version of the Convention have been expanded in the First Geneva Convention of 1949 to 64 articles that protect the following:
- Wounded and sick soldiers
- Medical personnel, facilities and equipment
- Wounded and sick civilian support personnel accompanying the armed forces
- Military chaplains
- Civilians who spontaneously take up arms to repel an invasion
- The Second Geneva Convention
- The Geneva Convention for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded, Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea of August 12, 1949
- The Second Geneva Convention adapts the protections of the First Geneva Convention to reflect conditions at sea.
- It protects wounded and sick combatants while on board a ship or at sea. Its 63 articles apply to the following:
- Armed forces members who are wounded, sick or shipwrecked
- Hospital ships and medical personnel
- Civilians who accompany the armed forces
- The Third Geneva Convention
- The Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949
- The Third Geneva Convention sets out specific rules for the treatment of prisoners of war (POWs).
- The Convention’s 143 articles require that POWs be treated humanely, adequately housed and receive sufficient food, clothing and medical care.
- Its provisions also establish guidelines on labor, discipline, recreation and criminal trial. Note that prisoners of war may include the following:
- Members of the armed forces
- Volunteer militia, including resistance movements
- Civilians accompanying the armed forces
- The Fourth Geneva Convention
- The Geneva Convention Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of August 12, 1949Civilians in areas of armed conflict and occupied territories are protected by the 159 articles of the Fourth Geneva Convention.
- Article 3, common to the four Geneva Conventions, covers situations of non-international armed conflicts. They include traditional civil wars, internal armed conflicts that spill over into other States or internal conflicts in which a third State or a multinational force intervenes alongside the government.
- Two Protocols of 1977: Additional to the four 1949 Geneva Conventions were adopted in 1977. They strengthen the protection of victims of international (Protocol I) and non-international (Protocol II) armed conflicts and place limits on the way wars are fought.
- In 2005, a third Additional Protocol was adopted creating an additional emblem, the Red Crystal, which has the same international status as the Red Cross and Red Crescent emblems.
Healthy Ageing
- According to the World Health Organization (WHO), health refers to “a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”.
- In 2015, WHO floated the concept of ‘healthy ageing’ to achieve health and well-being as a lifelong process; not just maintaining physical and mental health but also creating an environment that enables it.
- One must understand as to how many years seniors survive on average so that those years can be converted into healthy years.
- According to the Sample Registration Report (SRS) 2014-18, the average life expectancy at birth in India is 69.4 years. Rural populations have a life expectancy of 68 years while it is 72.6 years for urban populations.
- The average life expectancy at birth in India for women is 70.7 years and men is 68.2 years.
- According to Longitudinal Ageing Study in India (LASI) 2017-18, there are 2 per cent people aged 60 years and above and 12.1 per cent people aged 45-59 years of age who have claimed poor self-rated health conditions.
- The proportion of people aged 45 years and above having poor self-rated health is higher in rural areas than in urban, with 18.7 per cent and 15.2 per cent respectively. It is slightly higher in females (17.9 per cent) than males (17.1 per cent).
- Functional Limitations can be understood through Activities of Daily Living (ADL), which include dressing, putting on slippers or shoes, walking across a room, bathing, eating difficulties, getting in or out of bed and Instrumental Activities of Daily Living (IADL).
- IADL includes preparing a hot meal, shopping for groceries, making telephone calls, taking medications, doing work around the house or garden, managing money and getting around or finding addresses in unfamiliar places.
- In India, there are8 per cent of people aged 60 years and above who have any ADL limitation and 48 per cent have any IADL limitation. The functional limitation is comparatively lower at age 45-59, with 9.3 per cent having any ADL limitation and 25.7 per cent having any IADL limitation.
- LASI has pointed out two domains to understand mental health. One is cognition and the other is depression. In the cognition domain, the mean score for immediate word recall is 5.5 among people aged 45-59 years and 4.7 among people aged 60 years and above.
- There is not much difference among males and females of 45 years and above at 5.2 and 5.1 respectively, but the difference is clearly visible among rural and urban populations of the same age group at 4.9 and 5.6 respectively.
- The prevalence of depression is 2 per cent among people aged 45-59 years and above and 8.3 per cent among people aged 60 years and above.
- There are seven per cent males and 8.2 per cent females afflicted with depression in the 45 years and above age group. Rural populations of the same age group have a much higher prevalence of depression than urban populations at 8.5 per cent and 5.8 per cent respectively.
- Currently working:
- There are nearly 61.9 per cent of people aged 45-59 years and 35.7 per cent of age 60 years and above who are currently working.
- They are mostly engaged in agricultural and allied activities. The percentage of working population aged 45 years and above is higher for male and rural respondents.
- Seeking a job:
- According to LASI, there are 4.4 per cent people aged 45-59 years and 1.5 per cent of age 60 years and above, who are seeking jobs.
- Living arrangement:
- There are around 5.7 per cent of people aged 60 years and above who live alone. This percentage is only 1.4 per cent for people in the 45-59 years of age group. It is higher for females and rural areas.
- Perceived life satisfaction with social status:
- Life satisfaction among the elderly is less than 50 per cent. Only 43.9 per cent of people aged 60 years and above are satisfied with their own life.
- The life satisfaction is higher for males than females. Similarly, it is higher for urban residents than rural areas.
- Substance abuse:
- Substance abuse increases with increase in age according to the LASI findings. It is 13.8 per cent for people aged 60 and above in contrast to 10.8 per cent for 45-59 years of age.
- Tobacco consumption is even higher, reaching 21.5 per cent for the 60 and above age group and 18.3 per cent for 45-59 years. The prevalence of heavy episodic drinking is 2.6 per cent for the above 60 population and 3.1 per cent for 45-49 years age.
- Physically Active:
- Physical activity reduces with age and practicing yoga asanas, meditation and yoga increases.
- Both the indicators are higher for males than females. Practicing yoga, asanas, etc is higher among rural residents.
- Environmental Dimensions
- Environmental factors also influence the health of the older population.
- The household survey reveals that 3 per cent of households have improved sanitation, 27.5 per cent households practice open defection and 94 per cent have improved drinking water sources.
- There are14 per cent households exposed to indoor pollution.
- Healthy ageing is a broad concept having a wide range of implications. The empirical analysis of the first countrywide survey on older adults and the elderly ie LASI presents a picture of the various dimensions of healthy ageing achieved in India and where we lag behind.
- Life expectancy has shown considerable improvement. But if these added years are dominated by declines in physical and mental capacities, the implications for the older population and society will be much more negative. Hence, an integrative approach to align the needs of elderly as well as older adults in programmes and policies is the need for hours.
- LASI is a joint effort by the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (HSPH), the International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS) in India, and the University of Southern California (USC).
- It is modelled after the Health and Retirement Study (HRS) and is harmonized with the HRS and its sister studies around the world.
- It is India’s first and the world’s largest survey providing a longitudinal database to design policies and programmes for the older population.
- LASI will provide a foundation for innovative, rigorous, and multidisciplinary studies of aging in India that will inform policy, support the growing elderly Indian community, and advance scientific knowledge on the following key areas:
- Demographics
- Health: Health, health behaviors, cognition, biomarkers, health insurance, healthcare access, utilization and financing
- Economics: Employment, income, assets & debts, consumption, and retirement & pension
- Social: Family, social networks, social activities
- LASI data can improve scientific knowledge and enlighten policymakers in India as well as around the world. The internationally harmonized data are useful for cross-national comparative research studies on aging.
- The LASI is a nationally representative survey over 72,000 older adults age 45 and above across all states and union territories of India.
- LASI is envisioned to be conducted every 3 years for the next 25 years. It is well-positioned to evaluate the effect of changing policies on the behavioural outcomes in India.
About the Solar-driven System
- The system, called WEC2P, is composed of a solar photovoltaic panel placed atop a layer of hydrogel, which is mounted on top of a large metal box to condense and collect water.
- Researchers developed hydrogel in their prior research, and the material can effectively absorb water vapor from ambient air and release the water content when heated.
- The researchers used the waste heat from solar panels when generating electricity to drive absorbed water out of the hydrogel.
- The metal box below collects the vapor and condenses the gas into water. Alternatively, the hydrogel increases the efficiency of solar photovoltaic panels by as much as 9% by absorbing the heat and lowering the panels' temperature.
- They used the water solely collected from air to irrigate 60 water spinach seeds planted in a plastic plant-growing box.
- Over the course of the experiment, the solar panel, with a size similar to the top of a student desk, generated a total of 1,519 watt-hours of electricity, and 57 out of 60 of the water spinach seeds sprouted and grew normally to 18 centimeters. In total, about 2 litres of water were condensed from the hydrogel over the two-week period.
- The ultimate goal is to create an integrated system of clean energy, water, and food production, especially the water-creation part in the design, which sets apart from current agro-photovoltaics.
- Solar energy is clean and renewable, can be produced free of charge (after the initial installation), and will last forever.
- It causes no pollution or noise and requires very little maintenance to keep solar cells running because they have no moving parts.
- In the long term, there can be a high return on investment due to the amount of free energy a solar panel can produce, it is estimated that the average household will see 50% of their energy coming in from solar panels.
- While the black surfaces of solar panels absorb most of the sunlight that reaches them, only a fraction (around 15%) of that incoming energy gets converted to electricity. The rest is returned to the environment as heat.
- Solar power is pollution-free and causes no greenhouse gases to be emitted after installation.
- Creates jobs by employing solar panel manufacturers, solar installers, etc. and in turn helps the economy
- Efficiency is always improving so the same size solar that is available today will become more efficient tomorrow.
- Aesthetics are improving, making solar more versatile compared to older models; i.e., printing, flexible, solar shingles, etc.
- Federal grants, tax incentives, and rebate programs are available to help with initial costs
- Solar panels can be expensive to install, energy is limited by a country's exposure to sunlight, solar power stations can be very expensive to build and don't return huge output currently.
- The batteries used to store solar energy can often be large and heavy, taking up valuable space and prone to replacement from time to time.
- One of the drawbacks is that when the panels get too hot their efficiency drops. Isn’t this ideal in a part of the world where summer temperatures can easily exceed 45? in the shade, and given that demand for energy for air conditioning is strongest during the hottest parts of the day.
- Depending on geographical location the size of the solar panels varies for the same power generation.
- Solar panels are not being massed and produced due to a lack of material and technology to lower the cost enough to be more affordable.
- Making sure everyone on Earth has access to clean water and affordable clean energy is part of the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations. This design can be a decentralized power and water system to light homes and water crops.
- Thus, innovative steps like this can make countries able to walk their talk via achieving their goals in prospective manner as well as it will be able to further reach Saudi Arabia’s Vision2030 soon.
Highlights of the Study
- According to the research, scientists previously believed that a central part of the fault produces less intense earthquakes than other parts of the fault. However, the study authors concluded that large-scale earthquakes may have occurred in the region and have occurred in the past.
- The San Andreas Fault is an 800-mile stretch across California where the Pacific and North American tectonic plates meet. The fault extends from north of San Francisco to San Diego.
- Researchers previously believed that the largest earthquakes formed at the fault ends, where enormous stress can build up over time, kicking off large earthquakes.
- California regularly experiences earthquakes, with Southern California recording 10,000 each year. Most of these earthquakes are minor and imperceptible to the residents of the state. Only about 15 to 20 in the region are greater than 4.0 each year.
- However, major earthquakes have occurred, such as the 7.9-magnitude earthquake that struck San Francisco in 1906, killing more than 3,000 people. Another 57 people were killed in 1994 after a 6.7-magnitude earthquake near Los Angeles.
- According to the researchers, the central part of the fault line, which runs through the central coastal region of California, has not experienced a major earthquake for 2,000 years. However, they found that larger earthquakes occurred in the distant past.
- Scientists’ analysis determined that the rocks in the central fault section had moved more than five feet, in large part due to earthquakes in that area. This is equivalent to earthquakes of magnitude 6.9 in the past.
- “Ultimately, the work indicates the potential for earthquakes of greater strength in central California and highlights the importance of including the center [San Andreas Fault] and other creeping flaws in seismic hazard analysis”.
- An earthquake is the sudden release of strain energy in the Earth’s crust, resulting in waves of shaking that radiate outwards from the earthquake source.
- When stresses in the crust exceed the strength of the rock, it breaks along lines of weakness, either a pre-existing or new fault plane.
- The release of energy occurs along a fault. A fault is a sharp break in the crustal rocks.
- Rocks along a fault tend to move in opposite directions. As the overlying rock strata presses them, the friction locks them together.
- However, their tendency to move apart at some point in time overcomes friction.
- As a result, the blocks get deformed and eventually, they slide past one another abruptly.
- This causes a release of energy, and the energy waves travel in all directions.
- The point where the energy is released is called the focus of an earthquake, alternatively, it is called the hypocenter.
- The energy waves travelling in different directions reach the surface.
- The point on the surface, nearest to the focus, is called epicenter. It is the first one to experience the waves. It is a point directly above the focus.
- The most common ones are tectonic earthquakes. These are generated due to sliding of rocks along a fault plane. A special class of tectonic earthquakes is sometimes recognised as volcanic earthquakes. However, these are confined to areas of active volcanoes.
- In the areas of intense mining activity, sometimes the roofs of underground mines collapse causing minor tremors. These are called collapse earthquakes.
- Ground shaking may also occur due to the explosion of chemical or nuclear devices. Such tremors are called explosion earthquakes.
- The earthquakes that occur in the areas of large reservoirs are referred to as reservoir induced earthquakes.
- The earthquake events are scaled either according to the magnitude or intensity of the shock.
- The magnitude scale is known as the Richter scale. The magnitude relates to the energy released during the quake. The magnitude is expressed in numbers, 0-10.
- The intensity scale is named after Mercalli, an Italian seismologist. The intensity scale takes into account the visible damage caused by the event. The range of intensity scale is from 1-12.
- A fault is a fracture or zone of fractures between two blocks of rock. Faults allow the blocks to move relative to each other.
- This movement may occur rapidly, in the form of an earthquake - or may occur slowly, in the form of creep.
- Faults may range in length from a few millimeters to thousands of kilometers. Most faults produce repeated displacements over geologic time.
- During an earthquake, the rock on one side of the fault suddenly slips with respect to the other.
- The fault surface can be horizontal or vertical or some arbitrary angle in between.
- Normal fault - a dip-slip fault in which the block above the fault has moved downward relative to the block below. This type of faulting occurs in response to extension and is often observed in the Western United States Basin and Range Province and along oceanic ridge systems.
- Reverse (thrust) fault - a dip-slip fault in which the upper block, above the fault plane, moves up and over the lower block. This type of faulting is common in areas of compression, such as regions where one plate is being subducted under another as in Japan. When the dip angle is shallow, a reverse fault is often described as a thrust fault.
- Strike-slip fault - Also known as Transcurrent Fault, a fault on which the two blocks slide past one another. The San Andreas Fault is an example of a right lateral fault.
- A left-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the far block is to the left when viewed from either side.
- A right-lateral strike-slip fault is one on which the displacement of the far block is to the right when viewed from either side.
Highlights of the Report
- Its estimates suggest that the gross global production of all cereals in 2021-22 will be 2,800 million tonnes, 12.1 million tonnes more than in 2020-21. The total production of wheat is estimated at 776.7 million tonnes or 7.2 million tonnes more than that for 2020-21.
- This year’s production of rice is estimated at 519 million tonnes (0.6 million tonnes more than last year), while maize production at 1,192 million tonnes will be 3 per cent more than last year.
- An analysis of these figures suggests that maize accounts for 42.5 per cent, wheat 27.7 per cent and rice 18.5 per cent of global cereal production — around 89 per cent of the total.
- According to the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the European Union accounts for 18 per cent of the total global wheat production, China accounts for 17 per cent, India 14 per cent.
- However, Russia is the world’s largest wheat exporter; it exported 32.5 million tonnes in 2018-19 as per market research firm Export Genius. For rice, China (24 per cent), India (19 per cent), Bangladesh (7 per cent), Indonesia (6 per cent) and Vietnam (5 per cent) top the world in production, says USDA. India is the world’s largest rice exporter; in 2020 it exported rice worth $7.9 billion (around Rs 59,930).
- The US, China and Brazil account for 32 per cent, 22 per cent and 10 per cent, respectively, of the world’s total maize production, with the former being the largest exporter. Hence, we see billions of people rely on these crops to survive and to boost the economy. Any disruption in their production will have tragic consequences.
- However, a 2019 report by the World Wild Fund for Nature (WWF) and food major Knorr, Future 50 Foods: 50 Foods for Healthier People and a Healthier Planet, reveals that agriculture dominated by wheat, rice and maize wreaks havoc on wildlife conservation.
- Repeated planting of the same crop on the same land area leads to depletion of soil nutrients.
- Successive crop generations then require excessive use of fertilisers and pesticides, which are detrimental to the environment and the consumers of the crops.
- Insects that live on farmland and feed on grass and other crops have seen a massive decline in populations over the last 50 years. This in turn has an effect on pollination. If insects continue to disappear, millions of plants will soon become extinct, putting agricultural production, and consequently food security, in jeopardy.
- These three crops also threaten the world’s food security, by destroying global agricultural biodiversity.
- Dependence of just a few crops leaves the vulnerable to disaster in the face of famines, plant diseases, pest infestation, climate change or any other unforeseen event.
- The rising popularity of these three crops is homogenizing human diet.
- It will lead to soil erosion.
- Adoption of crop diversification helps in conservation of natural resources like introduction of legume in rice-wheat cropping system, which has the ability to fix atmospheric Nitrogen to help sustain soil fertility.
- Most of the Indian population suffers from malnutrition. Most of the girl children have anaemia. Including crops like pulses, oilseed, horticulture, and vegetable crops can improve socio economic status by adding quality to the food basket and also improve soil health with the aim of food safety and nutritional security.
- Suddenly adverse weather conditions like erratic rainfall, drought, hail, incidence of insect and pest disease. Under this situation, crop diversification through mixed cropping may be useful.
- Crop diversification can better tolerate the ups and downs in price of various farm products and it may ensure economic stability of farming products.
- At present, 70-80% farmers have land below 2 hectares. To overcome this, existing cropping patterns must be diversified with high value crops such as maize, pulses, etc.
- It can help in Doubling Farmer's Income.
- Zero Tillage and Organic Farming techniques can be adopted.
- Breeding new and improved crop varieties enhances the resistance of plants to a variety of stresses that could result from climate change. These potential stresses include water and heat stress, water salinity, water stress and the emergence of new pests.
- In order to ensure adequate food security for the future, we need to adapt our agricultural practices according to the principles of environmental protection and to the socio-cultural objectives of physical, intellectual, moral, emotional and psychological development.
- The discovery of nutrient-rich plants has prompted us to return to ancient cereals and heritage plant varieties. We can once again try to find some forgotten plants again and reintroduce them to the ecosystem. This will help us wean off our potentially dangerous food dependence.
- The Green Revolution was a period that began in the 1960s during which agriculture in India was converted into a modern industrial system by the adoption of technology, such as the use of high yielding variety (HYV) seeds, mechanised farm tools, irrigation facilities, pesticides and fertilizers.
- Mainly led by agricultural scientist M. S. Swaminathan in India, this period was part of the larger Green Revolution endeavour initiated by Norman E Borlaug, which leveraged agricultural research and technology to increase agricultural productivity in the developing world.
- Under premiership of Congress leader Indira Gandhi, the Green Revolution within India commenced in 1968, leading to an increase in food grain production, especially in Punjab, Haryana, and Uttar Pradesh.
- Major milestones in this undertaking were the development of high-yielding varieties of wheat, and rust resistant strains of wheat.
- However, the long-term effects of the green revolution have been analysed that it caused greater environmental, financial and sociological problems for the country like droughts, rural indebtedness and farmer suicides.
- Reports have shown soil deterioration from the use of chemicals bringing ruin to farmers, the land, food and water supply. This caused a collapse of agricultural systems in many regions.
Red Corridor
- The Red Corridor comprises of the central, eastern and southern part of India that experience Maoist insurgency. It is spread over 11 states with the concentration in Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Odisha.
- This area is highly undeveloped with people deprived of even the basic amenities. The government has successfully been able to reduce the number of districts included in this corridor from 180 to 90, in the year 2019.
- Though there has been a reduction in the number of the districts under Maoist influence, the issue has not been completely controlled. These places still reel under extreme economic, social and political exigencies which are not dealt with. These districts are amongst the poorest in the country with staggering impoverishment and inequality.
- Furthermore, the social setup is also stratified in nature with caste and feudal divisions. The social group distinction is extreme in tribal societies and is characterised by violence at places. The severity of this corridor can be gauged by the number of casualties inflicted on the tribal people.
- The birth of Naxalism is pinpointed to the Naxalbari uprising of spring 1967. Naxalbari, the village that gave its name to the movement, was the site of a peasant revolt, instigated by communist leaders against land owners of the State.
- While at this point, India had been independent from the British for 20 years, the country had retained the colonial land tenancy system. Under the British imperial system, indigenous landlords were granted pieces of land in return for their collection of tax revenue and as in Medieval European feudal systems, these landlords subleased their land to peasants for half their yield.
- The ideological basis for the violent movements was provided by the writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. This ideology is commonly called Communism/Marxism. This was later supported by Vladimir Lenin and Mao Tse-tung.
- Maoism is a doctrine that teaches to capture state power through a combination of armed insurgency, mass mobilisation and strategic alliances. Mao called this process, the “Protracted Peoples War”.
- Maoism’s political orientation emphasises the ‘revolutionary struggle of the vast majority of people against the exploiting classes and their state structures.’ Its military strategies have involved guerrilla war tactics focussed on surrounding the cities from the countryside, with heavy emphasis on political transformation through mass involvement of the lower classes of society.
- Their aim is to capture political power through armed struggle to install the so called ‘People’s Government’.
- Preparatory Phase: Detailed survey of new areas identifying important people, important public issues on which masses can be mobilised.
- Perspective Phase: Mobilisation through frontal organisations- staging demonstration against government/administration based on local public grievances.
- Guerrilla Phase: Converting the public movement into violent guerrilla warfare.
- Base Phase: Here the Maoists try to establish their base and change the guerrilla zone into a liberated zone.
- Liberated Phase: Establishment of People’s Government.
- The Naxalite Movement began in May1967 in the three police station areas, Naxalbari, Khoribari and Phansidewa, of Darjeeling district in West Bengal.
- In November 1967, left wing extremists from the whole country founded the “All India Coordination Committee" in Kolkata, renamed as “All India Coordination Committee of Communist Revolutionaries”.
- AICCR founded the revolutionary party Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) in 1969, based on Maoist ideology.
- From1970 to mid-1971 was the peak period of violent activities by Naxalites. A joint operation of police and army in 1971 in the worst affected areas in West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha led to arrest and death of almost all the top leaders of the movement, for example Charu Majumdar.
- The movement faced a severe blow during an emergency when around 40,000 cadres were imprisoned in 1975.
- The movement arose again in a more violent form after the Emergency. It was continued to widen its base as per the strategy of ‘protracted war’. Their base grew from West Bengal to Bihar to Odisha and also to Andhra Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
- CPI-M was converted into People’s War Group (PWG) in 1980 which had its base in Andhra Pradesh and struck heavy casualties among police personnel.
- Maoist Communist Centre of India (MCCI) grew in strength in Bihar and carried out large scale attacks on landlord and other upper caste outfits.
- The Naxal Movement continued to grow at a steady pace across many parts of the country.
- In a significant development in2004, the PWG operating in Andhra Pradesh and MCCI in Bihar and adjoining areas, merged to form CPI-M.
- CPI-M is the major left-wing extremist outfit responsible for most of incidents of violence and killing of civilians and security forces, and has been included in the Schedule of Terrorist Organisation along with all its formations and front organisations under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
- After the formation of CPI-M, Naxal violence has been on the rise since 2005. Estimated to be 40,000 strong, the Naxalites have been a strain on the country’s security forces and a barrier to development in the vast mineral rich region in eastern India known as the ‘Red Corridor’.
- Naxal influence was seen to be spreading from ‘Tirupati to Pashupati’. The worst affected areas of the Maoist influence include approximately 30 districts of seven states namely Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal.
- Most of these areas fall in the Dandakaranya Region, including areas of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh. Local Panchayats are often forced to resign and Maoists hold regular Jan Adalat. They have been running a Parallel Government and Parallel Judiciary in these areas.
- Later on, they spread their presence to other states such as Kerala, Arunachal Pradesh and districts of Kaimur and Rohtas of Bihar.
- In 2013, the left-wing extremist movement made international headlines when they killed 27 people, including some high-level politicians, in Sukuma district of Chhattisgarh.
- Mismanagement of Forests:
- It is one of the main reasons for the spread of Naxalism.
- It started with the British government. The monopolization of the forest started with the enactment of various forest laws.
- The integration with the wider world led to an influx of a new class like moneylenders.
- The administrative machinery became more exploitative and extortionate at functional level.
- Tribal policies not implemented well:
- Even during the post-Independence era, the government was not able to stop the process of tribal alienation and their displacement caused by large projects.
- Even the issues of food security were not fully sorted out. Consequently, Naxalism made inroads in Orissa and other states.
- The Growing inter and intra-regional disparities:
- Naxalism attract people who have poor livelihood like fishermen, farmers, daily labourers and bamboo cutters.
- The government policies have failed to stem the growing inter and intra-regional disparities.
- The poor people think that Naxalism can provide solutions to their problems.
- Absence of proper Industrialisation and lack of land reforms:
- The half-hearted implementation of land reforms by the government has yielded negative results.
- The agrarian set up has not been defined in the absence of proper implementation of survey and settlement.
- This further damaged agriculture productionand the rural economy.
- Absence of proper industrialization has failed to generate employment for rural people leading to dissatisfaction with the government.
- It is also one of the causes behind Naxalism.
- Geographical Terrain:
- Naxalism thrives in areas covered with forests. It helps them fight against the police and the army by waging Guerrilla warfare.
- Middle Class Youth:
- The educated youths have been the largest supporters of the Naxalist movement as the maximum of the youth involved in the movement are medical and engineering graduates.
- Universities have turned out to be a pitch for the creation of radical ideologies.
- Absence of Good Governance:
- The main reason behind the growing spread of naxalism in the country is the increasing awareness among the tribals about their social and economic deprivations.
- They have understood that, in the absence of good governance, no development is taking place for that segment of the society, which is socio-economically underdeveloped though crores of rupees are being spent every year for implementing the schemes and programmes meant for the development of these people.
- Lack of Employment:
- Most tribals live in remote rural areas, hills and forest areas. Earlier, they used to depend on forest produce and products for their livelihood.
- But after the accession of forests by the Indian government and due to lack of employment tribals are facing difficulties in earning their livings.
- As per the 11th five-year plan (phase 1), 47.30 per cent of tribals in rural areas and 33.30 per cent tribals in urban areas were living below the poverty line during the year 2004-05.
- Apart from this, it has also been found that 56 per cent among the tribals living in India are farmers or work as agricultural labourers.
- In 1971, a joint operation was launched by the Army, CRPF and local Police, named Operation Steeplechase. This operation played a major role in ending the first phase of Naxalism.
- Operation Green Hunt was launched by the Central Government in 2009, and Commando Battalion for Resolute Actions (COBRA) was deployed in the Naxal affected areas. Before 2010, 223 districts were affected by the Naxalism. The number dropped down to 90 districts after Operation Green Hunt.
- A unified command was set up by the government in 2010 for inter-state coordination. This command made states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal share the intelligence information among themselves and made ways for unified police response.
- The Ministry of Home Affairs initiated ‘Operation SAMADHAN’ to solve the problems of people living in Naxal affected regions. SAMADHAN stands for Smart leadership, Aggressive strategy, Motivation and Training, Actionable Intelligence, Dashboard based key performance indicators (KPI), Harnessing technology, Action Plan for each theatre and No access to financing.
- Andhra Pradesh deployed ‘Greyhounds’, a team of local police familiar with the language and topography of the region.
- The problem of Naxalism exposes the gaps in the Indian law and order and poses a question mark on the Indian Judicial System. Economic Disparity was one of the main contributors to the growth of naxalism. The gap between rich and poor needs to be filled up soon to stop people falling into these traps. The socio-economic development of backward tribal areas should be the sole aim of the government, to enhance the living standards of the people.
- Statutory minimum wages, development of basic infrastructure like schools, roads, hospitals and access to water and land resources should be ensured by the government. The Naxals should be encouraged to surrender. Government should look after their rehabilitation and bring them back to mainstream society.
- The government of India keeps on formulating various programmes and schemes for socio-economic development of the poor, downtrodden and the people who are subjected to exploitation in the society; and gets these programmes and schemes implemented through its various concerned ministries.
Yellowstone National Park
- Yellowstone National Park in the United States spans 2.2 million acres and three states — Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana.
- The national park has a total of five entrances — three in Montana and two in Wyoming.
- The park’s major attractions and developed regions lie in the Grand Loop Road which is 142 miles. The Grand Loop, also known as the “Figure Eight” owing to its shape, connects all the five entrances.
- The most famous attraction of the national park is this geyser that reliably erupts every 60-120 minutes, 20 times a day. Sometimes, the water plume and steam can be as high as 180 feet.
- Home to gorgeous hot springs and small geysers, the Biscuit Basin and its crystal-clear pools with a spectacular mix of colours and textures in the rocks is truly mesmerising.
- Formed by the Yellowstone River, the Grand Canyon of Yellowstone has many view points, and looks different every season.
- The Artist Point has been touched by many visitors as the best spot to look at the canyon from.
- The Lower Falls, which is the park’s tallest waterfall at 308 feet, almost twice Niagara Falls' height.
- The dramatic Mammoth Hot Springs is another tourist hotspot. People can have a good look at the many steaming hydrothermal pools and the travertine terraces (like the Minerva Terrace) by taking the boardwalks that encircle the hot springs.
- Drive or walk to the Upper Terraces or take the hiking trail circling the pool and the falls and visit Old Canary Spring and New Blue Spring. Look out to be greeted by grizzly bears and elks (and take proper caution).
- The Bunson Peak Trailhead, named after chemist Robert Bunsen who invented the Bunsen burner, ascends through gorgeous meadows for 7.4 kms to lead to an 8,654-foot-high peak with views of the Swan Lake Flats.
- Yellowstone’s largest hot spring is wildly popular due to its vivid natural colours. Measuring 200-330 meters in diameter and more than 121 feet deep, it is one the spots in the park people shouldn’t miss.
- Morning Glory Thermal Spring, Belgian Pool, Rainbow Pool in black sand basic have striking yellow, blue, and rainbow colours, respectively.
- Hot springs and geysers also are manifestations of volcanic activity. They result from the interaction of groundwater with magma or with solidified but still-hot igneous rocks at shallow depths.
- Groundwater percolates through porous rock into fractures deep underground, where heat from a nearby magma chamber superheats the pressurized water to a temperature above the boiling point of water at surface pressure.
- The total heat flux from these thermal features is estimated to be 300 megawatts (300 million watts).
- Geysers are hot springs that intermittently spout a column of hot water and steam into the air. This action is caused by the water in deep conduits beneath a geyser approaching or reaching the boiling point.
- At 300 meters (about 1,000 feet) below the surface, the boiling point of water increases to approximately 230 °C (450 °F) because of the increased pressure of the overlying water.
- As bubbles of steam or dissolved gas begin to form, rise, and expand, hot water spills from the geyser’s vent, lowering the pressure on the water column below.
- In hot springs the rising superheated water is cooled below the boiling point by groundwater before reaching the surface.
- In geysers the superheated water collects in underground pockets. There is a small drop in pressure caused by the release of water at the surface flashes the superheated water into steam, which expands and ejects a column of steam and water into the air.
- When the supply of steam and hot water is exhausted, the spouting stops and the cycle begins again.
Aircraft Carrier?
- An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft.
- Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a naval force to project air power worldwide without depending on local bases for staging aircraft operations.
- Carriers have evolved since their inception in the early twentieth century from wooden vessels used to deploy balloons to nuclear-powered warships that carry numerous fighters, strike aircraft, helicopters, and other types of aircraft.
- While heavier aircraft such as fixed-wing gunships and bombers have been launched from aircraft carriers, one has yet to successfully land on one.
- By its diplomatic and tactical power, its mobility, its autonomy and the variety of its means, the aircraft carrier is often the centrepiece of modern combat fleets. Tactically or even strategically, it replaced the battleship in the role of flagship of a fleet.
- One of its great advantages is that, by sailing in international waters, it does not interfere with any territorial sovereignty and thus obviates the need for overflight authorizations from third-party countries, reduces the times and transit distances of aircraft and therefore significantly increase the time of availability on the combat zone.
- An aircraft carrier holds a position of strategic and technological eminence amongst ships, and is rightly considered the pinnacle in the domain of warship design and construction.
- Currently, India has operationalised only one conventional aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, a modified Kiev-class carrier, on its western seaboard.
- INS Vikrant, India’s second aircraft carrier is undergoing sea trials since August 2021 and is set to be commissioned this year. This is to be deployed on India’s eastern seaboard after one year of infrastructural completion alongside INS Vikramaditya on the western coast.
- While INS Vikramaditya was purchased from Russia for a price of US$ 2.35 billion in 2004, INS Vikrant is indigenously developed (IAC-1), the cost of the project has been estimated to be US$ 3.1-3.5 Billion.
- For India, its aircraft carriers are more than just a tool for military muscle flexing in the Indo-Pacific–they act as cheaper alternatives to overseas military bases and guarantee that in conflict situations, fighter aircrafts and long-range surveillance would be available on-ground.
- As per the Indian Maritime Security Doctrine developed by the Indian Navy in 2015, when developed into Carrier Battle Groups (CBGs), naval fleets headed by aircraft carriers form part of the country’s larger battle-readiness and tactical maritime doctrine that have the capacity to potentially destabilize command control and counter-strike capabilities of enemy forces.
- CBGs centered around aircraft carriers shall further the Indian naval “Sea Control” doctrine and make use of composite task forces to create mobile airfields at sea.
- The carriers’ own mobility, as well as the protection provided to them by escort vessels (including frigates, corvettes, destroyers, and even supply ships) make them a highly secure wartime investment. Indian carriers are also equipped with the BrahMos supersonic anti-ship missile (with a 292-km range), enabling them to carry out sophisticated sea-to-land precision attacks.
- In peacetime, they act as providers of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, complementing the roles of amphibious and other air and sealift mechanisms. This has been evidenced by the use of US’s Nimitz class aircraft carriers in the Indo-Pacific region to provide disaster relief to Japan, Indonesia, and the Philippines during events like earthquakes, super typhoons, and tsunamis.
- Aircraft carriers powered by nuclear energy and assisted by logistical escort vessels to sustain the needs of crew on deck, can truly transform the narrative of establishing a blue water navy by functionalising a renewable, long-lasting, and self-sustainable source of energy to keep the carrier moving for over 10-20 years, with a 50-year lifespan in total.
- In an economy strapped by joblessness, the approval for a third, nuclear-powered carrier would provide much-needed job opportunities to work in the carrier project both on-board and at home.
- India needs to decisively convince itself that operationally and doctrinally the navy needs a third carrier.
- The country is enriched with island territories having runways which can be operationalised, some of these islands are strategically and favourably located on both sides of the coast suited for “blocking” and “dominating” the ingress routes provided runways there are made operational.
- “The proposal is worthwhile and prioritising investment for development of various island territories as provisional aircraft carrier shall be contemplated by Ministry and decisions on the same shall be furnished to the Committee.”
- In response, the government said overall infrastructure development in these territories is being progressed in tandem with the “threat perception and long-term strategic vision.” Investment is being prioritised to develop Operational Turn-Around (OTR) ports and extension of existing runways in Andaman and Nicobar Islands to support forward deployment of ships and aircraft.
- Enhancing India’s naval strength in carrying out diverse operations ranging from providing regional Humanitarian Aid and Disaster Relief (HADR) to engaging in counterpiracy operations in the Gulf of Aden.
- India’s blue water navy vision would be to acquire and incorporate into the forces, key emerging technologies that can support diverse naval operations and enable greater efficiency in performance.
- These technologies must manifest themselves in both conventional developments such as destroyers, frigates, submarines, and aircraft carriers, as well as in relatively novel developments such as unmanned marine systems and Artificial Intelligence (AI).
- Heavy focus is being given to the incorporation of technologies such as the Electromagnetic Air Lift System (EMALS), which was disseminated to India by the US defence company, General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Inc. in 2017, as well as the Catapult Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery (CATOBAR) system used in advanced aircraft carriers for the purpose of ‘catapulting’ aircrafts (especially heavy-weight fighters) and ‘assisting’ their landing back on the carrier using arrestor wires.
- The technological sophistication and investment required in the development of IAC-2 will naturally have to be multiple steps ahead of the current level of indigenous capabilities.
- Amid the belligerent behaviour of China in the maritime continuum of the Indo-Pacific and growing trust and comfort between the four democracies it is only prudent that niche defence technology be shared to the Indian Navy, which is acting as a shield.
- The overuse of our carriers will have to be addressed—it is being witnessed amongst American aircraft carriers like USS Henry S. Truman and USS Dwight Eisenhower. Overuse causes burnout and necessitates frequent refurbishment and maintenance.
- Steadily declining domestic military budgets and vacillation by the ministry of defence (MoD) in approving the programme too had collectively thwarted the carrier project.
- The debate over IAC-2 has been plagued not only by its astronomical cost but also its overall operational efficacy in an environment of burgeoning anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) capability via long-range ballistic and cruise missiles.
- Correspondingly, equally critical surface combatants, like corvettes, nine-sweepers, destroyers, and frigates, have been in short supply like naval utility helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and other assorted missiles and ordnance.
- A nuclear-powered carrier for India would bear upon the exchequer the added costs of updated technicalities and of designing and fitting in a nuclear reactor that can meet the space and size demands of IAC-2.
- From a techno-logistical perspective, and taking into account the INR 46,323 crore budgetary allocation made to the Indian Navy for fiscal year 2022-23, the naval forces can first consider investing in bridging critical security gaps across existent platforms.
- In the long run, however, the operationalisation of a third aircraft carrier will be useful. Enhancing indigenous development capabilities can help lower acquisition costs, while installation of a hybrid Electric propulsion-CATOBAR system can provide an edge largely as significant as that provided by a nuclear-powered carrier.
- Finally, India-US partnership, especially through the Joint Working Group on Aircraft Carrier Technology under the Defence and Technology Trade Initiative, can present bright prospects for modernisation of carrier-based capabilities, especially in the field of unmanned systems. In the long-run, carrier-based drones can provide Indian aircraft carriers significant advantages in the fields of Sea Control and Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR).
- For Eons it has been a proven fact that a maritime state enjoys greater economic benefits as compared to a land-locked one. A coastline offers a window—to trade with the world, create maritime industries, harvest fish and minerals from its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and exercise what is called ‘maritime power’.
- India’s geography, economic engagement with the rest of the world, her development and security, are all intimately connected to the maritime domain.
- With seas on three sides and high mountains on the fourth, it has been said that India lies in the very lap of the Indian Ocean. Few Indians realise that we possess the second largest peninsula in the world.
- While that translates into a coastline of 5422 Km, India’s outlying island territories add another 2094 Km, making up a total coastline length of 7516Km.
- This is just as well because our foreign trade is almost entirely dependent on the seas since land frontiers cannot permit viable trade due to contemporary history and geography.
- New Delhi has been growing uneasy about Beijing’s perceived ‘String of Pearls’ strategy in the Indian Ocean. Some see this as encirclement by China’s strategic alliances and building of maritime facilities in Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Myanmar.
- With China developing its own blue water navy, India aims to not only secure its own territory but also be able to project power farther than its shores.
- Both countries aim to have presence in the strategically located Malacca Straits, where 40 percent of the world’s trade and more than 80 percent of China’s oil imports pass through.
- While most of its wars have been fought on land and air, a strong navy with nuclear deployment capabilities gives India a much-needed strategic edge.
POSTED ON 04-03-2022 BY ADMIN
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