Regenerative Farming

GS Paper-3

Context:Farmers in Madhya Pradesh who practise regenerative agricultural practises have recently discovered a reduced need for regular irrigation, which saves water and energy.

What is Regenerative Agriculture?

• Regenerative agriculture is a way of farming that focuses on soil health.
• Soil health enhances food and nutrition production, carbon storage, and biodiversity.
• Natural inputs, minimum-till, mulching, multi-cropping, and seeding of different and native cultivars are all part of it.
• Natural inputs aid in the improvement of soil structure and organic carbon content.
• Planting water-intensive and water-efficient crops together or in alternating cycles minimises irrigation frequency and intensity.
• They reduce the amount of energy consumed by irrigation devices such as pumps.
• The Union government of India is pushing regenerative agriculture in order to minimise the use of chemical fertilisers and pesticides while also lowering input prices.

Why is Regenerative Agriculture needed?

• Agriculture now contributes to soil deterioration and loss through the use of heavy machinery, fertilisers, and pesticides to enhance food production.
• According to the regenerative agricultural group Regeneration International, there may not be enough soil left to feed the globe in 50 years.
• Intensive farming also releases CO2 that is naturally stored in soil into the atmosphere. This leads to global warming, which is the primary force behind climate change.
• According to the United Nations, agriculture accounts for more than one-third of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions (UN).
• Damaged soil and degraded terrain can render areas more vulnerable to extreme weather events such as floods, which are becoming more often and intense as the Earth warms.

Potential Benefits of Regenerative Agriculture:

• Regenerative farming can improve:
  • Crop yields
  • Volume of crops produced
  • Health of soil
  • Soil’s ability to retain water
  • Reducing soil erosion.
• Improved harvests will aid in feeding the world’s growing population.
• Regenerative farming can also cut agricultural emissions by converting croplands and pastures, which occupy up to 40% of the Earth’s ice-free surface area, into carbon sinks.
• These are natural ecosystems that absorb CO2 from the atmosphere.

Major Challenges associated with Agriculture:

• The Green Revolution of the 1960s saved India from hunger, altered its capacity to feed itself, and made it into a major food exporter. However, the revolution also transformed India into the world’s largest miner of groundwater.
• According to the United Nations’ World Water Development Report 2022, the country draws 251 cubic kilometres of groundwater every year, accounting for more than a quarter of global outflow.
• 90% of this water is utilised in agriculture.
• According to a research conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, over 39 million hectares (ha) of land in the nation planted to wheat, rice, and maize have not improved during the last decade.
• The State of Bio Fertilizers and Organic Fertilizers in India, a 2022 assessment by Delhi-based think group Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), reveals a significant and widespread deficit of organic carbon and micronutrients in Indian soils.
• Long-term research are not feasible for civil society organisations or farmers.

Way Forward:

• According to the United Nations’ State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World, 2022, if agriculture is to continue feeding the country’s 224.5 million undernourished people, it must operate in harmony with nature, not against it.
• Farmers, activists, and agricultural research groups all around the world are creating chemical-free farming systems that rely on natural inputs and cultivation practises including crop rotation and diversity, all of which fall under the banner of regenerative agriculture.
• According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, good soil improves water storage, transport, and filtration while also reducing agricultural run-off.
• According to research, a 1% increase in soil organic matter (an measure of soil health) per 0.4 hectare improves water storage capacity by more than 75,000 litres.
• Latin America, the United States, Canada, Africa, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand all adopt this method.
• Schemes to encourage it have been created in states such as Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Sikkim, and Gujarat.
• To comprehend the function of regenerative agriculture in water conservation, much study is necessary. The scientific findings will serve to shape future governmental actions and activities.
• The National Project on Organic Farming, which has been running since 2004, is the country’s longest experiment in the field. It is run by the ICAR-Indian Institute of Farming System Research to promote organic farming.

Source: Indian Express

Dark Patterns on the Internet

GS Paper-3  

Context:Some Internet-based businesses have duped customers into agreeing to particular terms or clicking a few links.

About Dark Patterns:

• These are unethical user interface designs that purposefully make consumers’ Internet experiences difficult or even abuse them.
• As a result, they benefit the firm or platform that uses the designs.
• By employing dark patterns, digital platforms deny users the right to complete information about the services they use, as well as control over their browsing experience.
• Since roughly 2010, UI/UX (user interface/user experience) researcher and designer Harry Brignull has been attempting to catalogue such patterns and the organisations who utilise them.

Use of Dark patterns:

• Social media corporations and Big Tech giants like Apple, Amazon, Skype, Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, and Google exploit dark or deceptive patterns to their advantage.
• LinkedIn users frequently get unsolicited, paid messages from influencers on social media.

Concerns:

• Dark patterns jeopardise Internet users’ experiences and make them more vulnerable to financial and data abuse by Big Tech businesses.
• Disabling this feature is a time-consuming operation that requires users to be conversant with the platform controls.
• Them are confused by dark patterns, which add online hurdles, make routine operations take longer, and force users to sign up for undesired services/products.

Way Forward:

• Internet users who can discover and recognise dark trends in their everyday life might opt for more user-friendly platforms that respect their freedom of choice and privacy.

Source: Indian Express

Sacred Groves of Rajasthan

GS Paper-3

Context:A one-of-a-kind yatrawas recently conducted through isolated villages and hamlets in western Rajasthan to raise awareness about the need of protecting orans, or holy trees.

In Detail:

• The marchers marched over 225 kilometres, vowing to protect the holy trees as lifelines for the desert.
• Tradition demands that no tree or plant in the groves be removed, and only periodic cattle grazing is permitted.

Significance of Orans:

• As little forest patches in the centre of the vast Thar desert, orans, named after local deities and historical heroes, retain religious and social importance.
• The orans feature a diverse range of traditional flora and wildlife, as well as water sources, which are revered and protected by the residents.
• The native habitat of India’s most severely endangered bird, the Great Indian Bustard, is likewise formed by orans.

Concerns:

• The negative effects of rapid industrialization and grazing land encroachment on trees, animals, people’s livelihoods, and the local ecology.
• The orans, or holy groves, face extinction when their territory is allocated for renewable energy infrastructure and high-tension power lines.
• Great Indian Bustard have perished in recent years as a result of accidents with electricity wires.
• The area was also redirected for agricultural and other government purposes.

Way Forward:

• The oran land allocation for solar plant construction might be halted if it is designated as protected territory under the gairmumkin category.

Source: Indian Express

Investment in Research and Development and Research Intensity

GS Paper-3

Context:Since World War I, the United States has maintained worldwide leadership owing to an innovative culture supported by a strong research and development foundation (R&D). Based on technology and innovation, China is challenging US leadership. If India wants to be a Vishwa guru, it must invest in research and development.

Innovation and underinvestment in Research and Development:

• Innovation is widely acknowledged as a driver of economic progress.
• The government announced the Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) in 2016 to foster innovation and entrepreneurship in the country.
• All of these are positive moves, but the foundation of all of this is how much India really spends on Research and Development, both in absolute terms and as a proportion of GDP, in comparison to other G20 countries.
• SDG Target 9.5 encourages governments to support innovation and significantly expand the number of researchers, as well as public and corporate Research and Development investment. The recommended aggregate to assess a country’s commitment to Research and Development is Gross Domestic Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD).

What is the global R&D investment scenario?

• According to the latest data from UNESCO’s Institute for Statistics (UIS), the G20 nations accounted for 90.6 percent of worldwide GERD (current, PPP$) in 2018.
• Global R&D expenditure hit a new high of over 2.2 trillion current PPP$ (2018), while Research Intensity (R&D expenditure as a proportion of GDP) grew progressively from 1.43 percent in 1998 to 1.72 percent in 2018.
• Though expenditure in PPP terms is a valid metric for gauging economic wellbeing, when it comes to technological competence in high-end R&D activities, it ultimately comes down to measuring hard cash in US dollars.

Investment in Research and Development by G20 countries:

• The G20 countries, which will account for 86.2 percent of world GDP and more than 60 percent of global population in 2021, are the leaders in every aspect.
• In 2018, the United States led the G20 in Research and Development spending, spending $581.6 billion, followed by the European Union ($323 billion) and China ($297.3 billion).
• India trails far behind, spending about $17.6 billion on Research and Development in 2018. In terms of their proportional percentages of G20 Research and Development investment, the US leads with 36%, followed by the EU (20%), and China (3%). (18 per cent). In financial terms, India accounts for less than 1% of G20 Research and Development expenditure.

Linkages between Research Intensity and Expenditure on Research and Development:

• While absolute Research and Development spending offers a sense of magnitude, their proportion of GDP provides a sense of research intensity (RI).
• It is worth noting that, according to the most recent data, South Korea has the highest RI at 4.43 percent, followed by Japan (3.21 percent), Germany (3.09 percent), the United States (2.83 percent), France (2.19 percent), China (2.14 percent), and the European Union (2.14 percent) (2.02 per cent). With a RI of 0.65%, India is placed 17th in the G20 (see infographics).
• Israel is a non-G20 country with the highest RI of more than 5% despite having anResearch and Development spend of only $18.6 billion, a population of only 9.3 million, and a per capita income of roughly $51,430. It’s no surprise that Israel is famed for its advancements, whether in defence or agriculture.

What can India learn from Israel?

• The Israeli innovation system is a key engine of the country’s economic growth and competitiveness.
• The government has played a significant role in funding innovation, notably in SMEs, as well as in establishing well-functioning frameworks for innovation, such as venture capital (VC), incubators, strong science-industry ties, and high-quality university education.
• Israel makes a compelling case that, despite its modest size, sustainable growth can be attained by prioritising Research and Development spending. A lesson that India can take.

Conclusion:

• India has demonstrated worldwide leadership in the information technology and digital worlds. If it can demonstrate comparable advances in other domains, it will be able to realise its dream of becoming a Vishwa guru.

Source: The Hindu

India- European Union: Free Trade Agreement

GS Paper-2

Context:The third round of free trade discussions between India and the European Union (EU) just finished. The two parties are also developing an Investment Protection Agreement (IPA), which will include investment protection norms and an impartial dispute resolution process under international law.

Why is the EU pursuing an Investor Protection Agreement?

• Despite the government’s admirable desire to welcome them, international investors in India have frequently encountered severe regulatory issues with the government.
• Several international firms, including Vodafone, Cairn Energy, Nissan, White Industries, Telenor, Nokia, and Vedanta, have filed lawsuits against India to enforce their rights under bilateral investment treaties (BITs). This is the primary reason why the EU is pursuing an IPA with India.
• EU investments are protected by Indian law. However, Indian legislation can be modified unilaterally to the prejudice of the investor.
• The Indian judiciary is excruciatingly slow to resolve conflicts. As a result, the desire for worldwide legal protection.

What are the roadblocks to completion?

• India wishes to extend the scope of the treaty by making tax-related regulatory actions unjusticiable. Given India’s recent history of tax-related investment conflicts with Vodafone, Cairn Energy, and Nissan, the EU finds this notion difficult to accept.
• To address treaty issues between investors and the state, the EU’s investment plan to India calls for the establishment of a two-tier court-like structure with an appellate process and tenured justices.
• This idea is linked to the EU’s international position in favour of establishing a multilateral investment court (MIC), for which deliberations are now underway at the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The MIC aims to address the shortcomings of the present arbitration-based system for resolving investor-state conflicts.
• India’s stance on establishing an investment court-like structure is unknown. India has not officially participated to the ongoing UNCITRAL discussions to form a MIC.

Why is IPA so important right now?

• Over the last decade, overall FDI to India has been stable at roughly 2% of GDP. While the EU’s share of foreign investment stock in India climbed from €63.7 billion in 2017 to €87.3 billion in 2020, it remains much lower than the EU’s foreign investment stocks in China (€201.2 billion) and Brazil (€263.4 billion).
• According to recent research, India’s unilateral move to discontinue BITs has had a detrimental influence on FDI inflows to the country.
• India requires the IPA with the EU to attract FDI in order to reach the aspirational target of becoming a $10 trillion economy by 2030.

Conclusion:

• India must first clean up its own house. The Parliament’s standing committee on foreign affairs has also urged that India reconsider the 2016 Model BIT.

Source: The Hindu

‘Right to Repair’ Portal

GS Paper-3

Context:The Food and Consumer Affairs Minister unveiled a slew of new measures, including a site for the right to repair.

Portal for Repairing Rights:

• Manufacturers would provide the manual of product data with consumers on the ‘right to repair’ site so that they could fix themselves or by third parties rather than rely on original manufacturers.
• Mobile phones, electronics, consumer durables, automobiles, and farming equipment would be first covered.

What is Right to Repair?

• It refers to proposed government laws allowing customers to repair and alter their own consumer items (e.g. electronic, automotive devices).
• The word “right to repair” encapsulates the concept: if you own something, you should be able to repair it yourself or take it to a professional of your choosing.
• When it comes to older automobiles and appliances, people are acclimated to this notion, but right-to-repair activists claim that current technology, particularly anything with a computer chip inside, is seldom repairable.

The Right to Repair movement aims for:

• The equipment should be built and designed in a way that allows for simple maintenance.
• End users and independent repair providers should be able to get original spare parts and tools (both software and physical equipment) required to fix the device at reasonable market prices.
• Repairs should be designed to be possible and should not be hampered by software programming.
• The manufacturer should properly describe the repairability of a product.

How did it came to existence?

• The normal user buys an electronic device expecting that it will shortly become obsolete when the maker introduces a newer, more powerful version.
• As your gadget ages, problems begin to emerge – your smartphone may slow down to the point of being useless, or your game console may require one too many hard resets.
• When this occurs, you are frequently left at the mercy of manufacturers, who make fixes unavailable and prohibitively expensive.

Why is such right significant?

• Producers frequently degrade product durability, forcing users to either repurchase the product or have it repaired at excessive fees set by the manufacturers.
• The movement’s purpose is to extend the life of things and protect them from ending up in landfills.
• Electronic producers are supporting this mentality, such that equipment are meant to survive for a limited period and then be replaced.
• Obsolescence puts enormous strain on the ecosystem and wastes natural resources.
• The production of an electrical item is a highly polluting process. It relies on polluting energy sources such as fossil fuel.
• Right to repair supporters claim that this will benefit small repair shops, which are an essential element of local economies.

Problems with outdated gadgets:

• Manufacturers benefit from both of these alternatives since high-priced repairs and fresh sales result in higher profits.
• This frequently resulted in greater consumer expenses or drove users to replace equipment rather than fix them.
• The worldwide society is concerned about the ever-increasing quantity of the e-waste stream.
• Because of the greater cost, up to 95% of raw materials used to manufacture electronic devices can be recycled, but the vast majority of newly manufactured gadgets utilise little to no recycled material.

Why are electrical manufacturers opposed to this trend?

• Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, and Tesla, among others, have been campaigning against the right to repair.
• Their point is that exposing their intellectual property to third-party repair providers is a bad idea.
• Amateur repairers may expose their gadgets to exploitation and jeopardise their safety and security.
• Tesla, for example, has fought against right-to-repair campaigns, claiming that such initiatives endanger data and cyber security.
• The tech giant only allows authorised specialists to repair its gadgets and does not provide replacement parts or DIY repair guides.
• In India, the right to repair exists.
• The ‘right to repair’ is not recognised as a legislative right in India, although many antitrust declarations have implicitly accepted the right.
• Monopoly over repair techniques violates the “freedom to choice” recognised by the Consumer Protection Act of 2019.
• The right to repair has also been partially recognised in the country’s consumer dispute jurisprudence.
• For example, in ShamsherKataria vs Honda Siel Cars India Ltd (2017), the Competition Commission of India determined that restricting independent automotive repair facilities’ access to spare parts was anti-competitive.
• The CCI found that the practise was harmful to consumer welfare.
• The e-waste (management and handling) laws cover not only how to handle garbage in an ecologically sustainable manner, but also how it is transported, stored, and recycled.

Way Forward:

• While required restrictions to ensure product quality can be included, a blanket waiver should be avoided.
• The quality assurance provision, for example, might be added for the use of company-recommended replacement parts and approved repair shops.
• Making repair instructions available to qualified company owners might help to balance consumer and manufacturer rights.
• Manufacturers can safeguard their intellectual property by signing a non-disclosure agreement with approved repairers/businesses.
• Furthermore, repair employees’ lack of certification/licensing is viewed as a reflection of their lack of competence.
• The ‘right to repair’ is implied in Section 2(9) of the Consumer Protection Act of 2019.
• Section 84’s product liability provision can be altered and enlarged to impose product liability for various reparability aspects of the product.
• The length of time required to impose product responsibility may vary based on the product and its lifespan.

Source: The Hindu

Facts For Prelims

1. Patriot Missiles

The United States recently declared that it will deploy the Patriot, its most powerful ground-based air defence system, to Ukraine.

Patriot Missile Defense System:

• The American Patriot (Phased Array Tracking Radar to Intercept on Target).
• Raytheon Technologies Corp. designed the system initially as a system to intercept high-flying aeroplanes.
• The Patriot system’s radar has a range of more than 150 kilometres and can track up to 50 potential targets at once.

Usage:

• Currently, Patriot batteries can defend against ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, drones, planes and “other threats”.
• It has been used in 18 nations, including the United States.
• It is functioning throughout NATO’s territory.
• It is in considerable demand in West Asia, where it is used by America’s allies like as Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel.
• It does not provide protection against low-flying tiny drones.

• Scientists freeze Great Barrier Reef coral in a world-first trial

• Scientists at the Australian Institute of Marine Sciences utilised cryomesh to freeze coral larvae in the newest lab trial, the world’s first using Great Barrier Reef coral (AIMS).
• The coral was taken from the reef for the trial, which took place during the yearly spawning season.
• A novel material known as “cryomesh” is assisting the scientists in their efforts. Coral is frozen using a technique known as cryogenics. This allows the young animals to be kept frozen until they can be released into the wild.
• Coral reefs may be cryogenically preserved and then released into the wild to safeguard them from rising ocean temperatures.
• The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s biggest coral reef system, covering over 2,300 kilometres and 900 islands across an area of around 344,400 square kilometres.

• Antarctica’s emperor penguins

The most threatened species in Antarctica is the emperor penguin, which breeds on ice.

• A recent research found that more efforts are needed to maintain Antarctic ecosystems, and that populations of up to 97% of land-based Antarctic species may collapse by 2100 if the detrimental effects of climate change are not addressed.
• Limiting global warming to less than 2 degrees Celsius, controlling non-native species and illnesses, and managing and safeguarding species are among the mitigation techniques.
• Such conservation is remarkably inexpensive in Antarctica, where applying all techniques combined might cost as low as USD 23 million per year until 2100. (or about USD 2 billion in total).
• The following is information on the emperor penguin (Aptenodytes forsteri): It is the tallest and heaviest extant penguin species, and it is only found in Antarctica.