Essential key terms from the last week’s news categorised as per the relevance in the UPSC-CSE syllabus. Solve the MCQs below. Cloudbursts Why in news? —Sudden “highly-localised rains” in Amarnath, Jammu and Kashmir, on Friday evening (July 8) caused flooding which led to the deaths of at least 16 people and injuries to more than 20 others. Those who died were in a camp near the cave, a pilgrimage site. —Many politicians tweeted out messages of condolence and mentioned cloudburst-induced floods, as was earlier stated by officials. However, the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) later said on July 9 that a cloudburst may not have actually occurred. Key takeaways —A cloudburst refers to an extreme amount of rain that happens in a short period, sometimes accompanied by hail and thunder, and this has a precise definition. The India Meteorological Department (IMD) defines it as unexpected precipitation exceeding 100 mm (or 10 cm) per hour over a geographical region of approximately 20 to 30 square km. Significant amounts of rainfall such as this can result in floods. —Basically, all instances of cloudbursts involve heavy rain in a short period, but all instances of heavy rain in a short period are not cloudbursts if they do not fit this criterion. —According to weather scientists, the shrine reported 31 mm of rainfall between 4:30 pm and 6:30 pm on Friday, which does not fit the definition. “The flash floods could have been triggered due to rainfall in the higher reaches of the mountains near the Amarnath cave shrine,” IMD Director General Mrutyunjay Mohapatra told PTI. —Experts have said it is difficult to predict when exactly a cloudburst will occur, and there is little definitive data on the exact number of cloudbursts that occur in India. Due to their definition dealing with a very small area, it is difficult to accurately predict and identify cloudbursts immediately. However, they are more likely to occur in mountainous zones mainly because of terrain and elevation. —This is because, in hilly areas, sometimes saturated clouds ready to condense into rain cannot produce rain, due to the upward movement of the very warm current of air. Instead of falling downwards, raindrops are carried upwards by the air current. New drops are formed and existing raindrops increase in size. After a point, the raindrops become too heavy for the cloud to hold on to, and they drop down together in a quick flash. —A study published in 2020 examined the meteorological factors behind the cloudburst over the Kedarnath region, where a cloudburst aided the devastating 2013 floods. It found that during a cloudburst, the relative humidity and cloud cover was at the maximum level with low temperature and slow winds. “It is expected that because of this situation a high amount of clouds may get condensed at a very rapid rate and result in a cloudburst,” wrote the team. —Last year, a cloudburst occurred in the Amarnath region around the same time. However, as the Amarnath yatra had been previously closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it did not lead to loss of life there. Point to ponder: Why do cloudbursts frequently occur in hilly areas? Digital nomads Why in news? —As Indonesia deals with the economic impacts of Covid-19, the country has announced “Digital Nomad Visas” for travellers, to attract more foreign tourists. —While Bali is one of the most famous locations in the country for beaches and bars, Indonesia is looking to promote another element through these visas — the spiritual element. Key takeaways —Digital Nomads are people who work remotely while travelling to different places and spending their earned income in the country they are travelling to. —According to the 2020 State of Independence in America Report by MBO Partners, “Digital nomads are defined as people who choose to embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle that allows them to travel and work remotely, anywhere in the Internet-connected world. Unlike regular remote workers, who tend to stay in one geographic area, digital nomads travel and explore while working.” —As the pandemic took place most of the workspaces were shifted online, while some offices have begun to open, most organisations have declared remote work. —Now as the world has moved towards getting vaccinated and international borders have opened up, people can continue doing their regular jobs remotely from anywhere in the world. —The study also found that 10.9 million American workers described themselves as digital nomads in 2020, which was an increase of 49 per cent from 2019. —The Digital Nomad Visa would allow remote workers to stay in Indonesia, including Bali, tax-free. —Announced by Indonesia’s Tourism Minister Sandiaga Uno to boost tourism in the country, the visa will be applicable for five years. This would make Indonesia’s visa one of the longest digital nomad visas compared to other countries. —Through the visa, Indonesia aims to bring in over 3.6 million overseas travellers into the country over the next year to explore spiritual retreats as well as the eco-tourism of Indonesia. —As reported by Bloomberg, Uno said that eco-tourism along with sporting events and the five-year visa should bring in millions of travellers and create over a million jobs for Indonesians as the borders have now opened for foreign tourists. —Through easy processing of visas and frequent flights, Indonesia aims to attract employees of organisations like Airbnb, Twitter and others who have allowed remote working for all. —Other countries offering nomad visas are Italy, Antigua, Barbuda, Barbados, Croatia, Costa Rica, Georgia, Hungary, Iceland, Mauritius, Norway, and Spain among many others. Point to ponder: COVID times have given rise to a new lifestyle which should be selectively adopted forever. Comment. LANCE system Why in news? — US aviation company Lockheed Martin has reportedly delivered a compact directed energy weapon to the Air Force Research Laboratory of the US Air Force (USAF) for operational testing. —Lockheed Martin delivered a LANCE system in compact form to the Air Force Research Laboratory of USAF in February this year. Key takeaways —The LANCE system is one-sixth the size of the other laser energy systems being developed by the company. The development is significant as it is an acknowledgement that efforts to reduce the size of the laser energy weapon have been successful, and it is now ready to be tested after being mounted on an aircraft. —The fact that the size of the energy weapon has been reduced to that of a pod which can be mounted on a fighter aircraft, or any aircraft for that matter, is an important development. —While LANCE has been reduced in size for operational use on aircraft, the system can definitely be put to use on a variety of platforms on land and at sea. —Apart from the US, several other countries have robust laser energy weapon development programmes. This includes China, Russia, Israel, Germany, France and India. —Israel recently tested its laser weapon to shoot down a drone from the ground. —Russia, meanwhile, said it had tested a laser weapon — Zadira — in Ukraine recently, a claim dismissed by western powers. —India, too, is developing a directed energy weapon named DURGA II, which stands for Directed Unrestricted Ray-Gun Array. It is said to be a light energy weapon of 100 kilowatt capacity. Point to ponder: The defence industry in India is an important sector strategy-wise. Discuss some latest progress in this sector? Nord Stream 1 gas link Why in news? —The Nord Stream 1, Germany’s main source of gas from Russia, was shut down on July 11 for 10 days of scheduled maintenance work. Key takeaways —Nord Stream 1 is a 1,224 km underwater gas pipeline that runs from Vyborg in northwest Russia to Lubmin in northeastern Germany via the Baltic Sea. —Majority owned by the Russian energy giant Gazprom, the pipeline is the primary route through which its gas enters Germany, as reported by Reuters. —During its inauguration in November 2011, the former German chancellor Angela Merkel said the pipeline, which cost 7.4 billion euros, paved the way for a “safe, sustainable partnership with Russia in the future”. —Germany is Russia’s biggest European gas consumer, and most of it comes through the Nord Stream Pipeline. —Its share of Russian gas supplies was 55% in 2021, and currently lies at 35%, according to Deutsche Welle. —It transports 55 billion cubic meters of gas a year, of which most goes directly to Germany, while the rest travels west and southwards through onshore links to other countries and into storage caverns, according to Reuters. —There are growing concerns in European countries that Russia would extend the temporary suspension of gas supplies in retaliation against the current sanctions leveled against Moscow. —While there have been attempts to reduce the dependence on Russian gas, Germany, which is Europe’s biggest economy, continues to heavily rely on it. —The Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which was completed in September 2021 and would double the flow of direct Russian gas to Germany, was suspended in February, in response to the invasion of Ukraine. —The Nord Stream 1, however, continued to be used, whose flow of gas was slashed by 60% in mid-June by Moscow. —Russia had blamed the reduction of supplies on the delayed return of a turbine, which was being serviced by Germany’s Siemens Energy in Canada, as reported by Reuters. Point to ponder: Ukraine war is not just a politico-geographical war, its economic cost is huge. Discuss. Sarfaesi Act Why in news? —Banks have invoked the Securitisation and Reconstruction of Financial Assets and Enforcement of Security Interest (Sarfaesi) Act against telecom infrastructure provider GTL to recover their pending dues. Key takeaways — The Sarfaesi Act of 2002 was brought in to guard financial institutions against loan defaulters. To recover their bad debts, the banks under this law can take control of securities pledged against the loan, manage or sell them to recover dues without court intervention. — The law is applicable throughout the country and covers all assets, movable or immovable, promised as security to the lender. — Before the law was enacted in December 2002, banks and other financial institutions were forced to take a lengthy route to recover their bad debts. — The lenders would appeal in civil courts or designated tribunals to get hold of ‘security interests’ to recovery of defaulting loans, which in turn made the recovery slow and added to the growing list of lender’s non-performing assets. — The Act comes into play if a borrower defaults on his or her payments for more than six months. The lender then can send a notice to the borrower to clear the dues within 60 days. — In case that doesn’t happen, the financial institution has the right to take possession of the secured assets and sell, transfer or manage them. — The defaulter, meanwhile, has a recourse to move an appellate authority set up under the law within 30 days of receiving a notice from the lender. — According to a 2020 Supreme Court judgment, co-operative banks can also invoke Sarfaesi Act. — According to the Finance Ministry, the non-banking financial companies (NBFCs) can initiate recovery in Rs 20 lakh loan default cases. Point to ponder: The Sarfaesi Act of 2002 is a guard for financial institutions of our country. Discuss. Cervavac Why in news? — The Serum Institute of India (SII)’s vaccine Cervavac recently received the Drugs Controller General of India’s (DGCI) approval for market authorisation. — Cervavac is India’s first quadrivalent human papillomavirus vaccine (qHPV) vaccine, and is intended to protect women against cervical cancer. Key takeaways — Experts see this as a real opportunity to eliminate cervical cancer, and have expressed the hope that it will be rolled out in national HPV vaccination strategies, and be available a cost more affordable than existing vaccines. — Cervical cancer is preventable, but kills one woman every eight minutes in the country. It is preventable as long as it is detected early and managed effectively. — Cervical cancer is a common sexually transmitted infection. Long-lasting infection with certain types of HPV is the main cause of cervical cancer. — Two existing vaccines licensed globally are available in India — a quadrivalent vaccine (Gardasil, from Merck) and a bivalent vaccine (Cervarix, from GlaxoSmithKline). Each dose costs Rs 2,800 per dose (Gradasil) or Rs 3,299 (Cervarix). — Although HPV vaccination was introduced in 2008, it has yet to be included in the national immunisation programme. — The new vaccine is based on VLP (virus like particles), similar to the hepatitis B vaccine, and provides protection by generating antibodies against the HPV virus’s L1 protein. Point to ponder: The model of public-private partnership in the health sector has many successes but challenges too. Discuss. PMFBY Why in news? — The Union Agriculture Ministry announced on Tuesday that Andhra Pradesh has decided to rejoin the crop insurance scheme Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) from the ongoing kharif season. — Andhra Pradesh was one of six states that have stopped the implementation of the scheme over the last four years. The other five, which remain out, are Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Telangana. Key takeaways — PMFBY launched in 2016 and replaced the National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS) and Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme (MNAIS). It is being administered by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare. — Farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers growing notified crops in the notified areas are eligible for coverage. — It aims to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases. Other objectives include stabilizing the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming, encouraging farmers to adopt innovative agricultural practices and ensuring the flow of credit to the agriculture sector. — There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 1.5% for all Rabi crops. The premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%, in the case of annual commercial and horticultural crops. On account of natural calamities, the premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and the balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide the full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss. — There is no upper limit on Government subsidies. Even if the balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government. — Earlier, there was a provision of capping the premium rate which resulted in low claims being paid to farmers. Now, this capping has now been removed and farmers will get a claim against the full sum insured without any reduction. — Also, the scheme was once mandatory for loanee farmers, but in 2020, the Centre changed it to make it optional for all farmers. — Earlier, the central subsidy had no upper limit. The Centre decided in February 2020 to limit its premium subsidy to 30% for unirrigated areas and 25% for irrigated ones. Point to ponder: What have been some recent issues with PMFBY highlighted by states? MCQs 1. Which of the following pairs is not correctly matched? 1) Dunagiri- fourth ship of Project 17A Frigates 2) Baduy- community in Indonesia 3) Lavender Scare- NASA's James Webb 4) Pasmanda- depressed classes among muslims a) 2 and 3 b) 1 and 4 c) only 3 d) all are correctly matched. 2. Which of the following statements are incorrect? a) Under PMFBY there is no upper limit on Government subsidies. b) PMFBY aims to provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crops as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases. c) The scheme is mandatory for loanee farmers. d) Farmers including sharecroppers and tenant farmers growing notified crops in the notified areas are eligible for coverage under PMFBY. 3. Which of the following pair is not correctly matched a) Starship rocket system - SpaceX b) Galaxy Zoo -citizen science project c) "Cosmic Cliffs" - Carina Nebula d) Ingenuity Helicopter - Roscosmos Answer to MCQs : 1 (d) , 2 (c) , 3 (d) Answer to the previous MCQ: Get inspired — Why did Pranab Mukherjee feel bureaucracy was both relevant and a hurdle for India? - (c)
