Mustard set to be India’s first GM food, gets regulator nod

Mustard set to be India’s first GM food, gets regulator nod
GM mustard gets backing from regulator
The environment ministry has to take a final call after Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee gave a positive recommendation to the commercial use of GM mustard

In a watershed moment India’s regulator for transgenic products, the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC), has approved commercial production of genetically modified (GM) mustard.

Effectively, India is a step away from allowing GM food crops. The recommendation will now have to approved by Union environment minister Anil Madhav Dave.

GM mustard has been developed by Delhi University-based Centre for Genetic Manipulation of Crop Plants (CGMCP).

The lobby backing GM crops believe these crops are superior as they are resistant to pests and diseases—implying lower usage of pesticides. Consequently, they can generate better yields and be more environmentally friendly.

So far, only GM cotton, a non-food crop, has been permitted. If indeed the government does give its go-ahead, it would be for the first time that India will be officially adopting a genetically modified food crop. In 2010, the GEAC had approved the commercialization of Bt brinjal; however in the face of strong protests from civil society the then environment minister Jairam Ramesh declined to sign off on the proposal.

But the road ahead is unlikely to be smooth. Not only is there a case pending before the Supreme Court, GM crops have been opposed by civil society and saffron groups such as Swadeshi Jagran Manch, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, which is the ideological parent of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Deepak Pental, the lead scientist who developed the technology and former vice-chancellor of Delhi University, declined to comment as he had not received an official communication.

“The application was submitted (to GEAC) in 2015 and we have deliberated on it about eight times. A subcommittee was formed by GEAC in February 2016 which was asked to look into all documents submitted by the applicant. The safety documents were put online and over 700 comments were received. Of those, about 440 were scientific. We gave all our comments to the subcommittee to go through it so that whatever concerns are there are addressed,” said Amita Prasad, GEAC’s chairperson and additional secretary in the environment ministry.

“They (the subcommittee) went through safety documents once again and submitted their report today. GEAC considered their report and appraised the application. We have approved it with certain conditions,” Prasad said.

Last month, in its three-year draft action plan, the government think tank NITI Aayog too had backed GM food crops.

“GEAC has proven yet again that it is unscientific and uncaring with regard to citizens’ health and environment. They have failed in their very mandate and purpose for which they have been created, to protect citizens from risks of GMOs (genetically modified organisms),” said Kavitha Kuruganti, convener of the Alliance for Sustainable and Holistic Agriculture, a nationwide informal network of more than 400 organizations drawn from 20 states.

Kuruganti and other organizations are at the forefront of protests against GM mustard.

“We hope and urge minister Anil Madhav Dave to be responsible in his decision-making—this GM mustard should be rejected just a Bt brinjal was, seven years ago. At least he should fulfil the mandate of his Ministry, even if the regulators did not. He should uphold BJP’s election manifesto promise that GM foods will not be allowed without full scientific evaluation,” she added.

The commercialization of GM mustard faces other tests too. During the case in the Supreme Court, the central government had promised that it would not approve GM mustard without the court’s nod.

“The National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had promised that GM food crops will not be allowed till all safety concerns are addressed and a consensus is achieved. If GEAC has cleared it we will go to any extent to stop it and would even come on streets,” said Deepak Sharma, the national media head of the Swadeshi Jagran Manch.

The BJP in its 2014 election manifesto had said GM crops would not be allowed without proper scientific investigation. But GM crops are central to the government’s plans for pushing investment and growth in the biotechnology sector. It is also considered critical by the government for boosting farm productivity in India.

Kuruganti further said that the government should not hide behind the Supreme Court.

“To hide behind SC doesn’t make sense for the government. It should be rejected by Anil Madhav Dave. This is fairly straight decision that they should be taking especially when BJP and Narendra Modi had promised to country in 2014 that it would not be brought without long term scientific evaluation,” she added.

The future of electric vehicles in India

Unless we understand Indian-use cases, limitations and opportunities, we risk ambitious targets that remain aspirational

Electric vehicles (EVs) are growing in popularity and certainly in mind space. They are cleaner and more efficient, and even fun (think Tesla). Their growth, however, is still considered just a market problem: The end user should choose on the basis of what it costs to buy and run, or how it performs, etc. Markets matter, but there is also a need for government and policy inputs. EVs, after all, operate within broader energy and transportation ecosystems with their own distortions. Unless we understand Indian-use cases, drivers (in both senses of the word), limitations and opportunities, we risk ambitious targets that remain aspirational.

EVs IN THE INDIAN CONTEXT

Indians are famously value conscious. This is why consumers love diesel cars, despite their higher MRP and pollution relative to petrol counterparts. Even at today’s low oil prices, running a diesel sedan can cost about Rs3.8 per kilometre versus petrol’s Rs5.5. In contrast, CNG costs roughly Rs1.9/km, but it’s not widely available. The cost of EVs depends on electricity price, which varies significantly. At Rs7/kWh (kilowatt hour) of power, they cost only about Rs1.1/km This saves consumers driving 5,000km per year over Rs20,000 annually, and taxis much more as they drive 10-15 times as much.

The catch is the upfront cost. EVs are expensive, primarily because of the battery. A single kWh of electricity is enough to go about 6km, so a 200km “full tank” range requires about 35 kWh of battery. Today’s prices for lithium ion batteries are about $250/kWh globally, which comes to Rs5.7 lakh in battery costs, excluding import duties. Even with an eight-year lifespan and a 12% interest rate, justifying the battery costs on per kilometre savings alone means one would have to drive over 25,000km per year. Doable, but not for everyone. However, when battery prices fall to $100/kWh, as projected a few years out, EVs can become a game changer.

Range turns out to be key: 5,000km per year is only about 15km per day on average, while an urban taxi may do 300km daily. Higher range means not only more battery cost but weight as well. In an ideal world, we would have a smaller battery pack and simply recharge periodically. In practice, taxi and fleet vehicles can only charge overnight, and even private users may have limits on charging options. Without fast-charging infrastructure—fast-charging an EV requires much more power than household 15 amp sockets, which can only offer about 3 kW of power, so 35 kWh takes almost 12 hours to charge—one inevitably has “range anxiety”. Unlike the US, most Indians don’t have a personal garage. Hence, widespread and company-agnostic public charging infrastructure becomes a key policy choice.

EVs SHOULD BE A WIN-WIN FOR STAKEHOLDERS

The power grid is also a key stakeholder in the ecosystem. Not just where but when does someone charge? The worst-case scenario is consumers coming home after work and plugging in at the same time, which also happens to be the grid’s demand peak. One solution is charging consumers a variable rate based on time of day, but that isn’t yet the norm for most users in India, and certainly not households.

Done right, EVs and the grid can have enormous synergy. Not only can EVs charge whenever there is “surplus” power, they have a battery useful for absorbing variable renewable energy. They can even offer backup power for the grid. This is one reason we should create a new electricity consumer category for EVs, one that includes aggressive time-of-day pricing (cheap charging when power is surplus). Otherwise, we risk commercial users attempting to charge EVs on subsidized residential power prices. Or worse, utilities disliking EVs if they hurt their viability, to the extent that they don’t provide essential support (this already happens with renewables).

Not only are EVs efficient—with regenerative braking capturing energy otherwise wasted and also due to the inherent efficiency of motors, especially at low speeds—they pollute less. We should value such environmental co-benefits, not just carbon reductions (which are roughly a wash, but avoided local air pollution. We could compensate cleaner vehicles through reduced registration charges, or even aim for mandating EVs for taxis and selected (urban) public transport vehicles. These are often diesel, and thus far worse polluters.

There are other distortions to consider. Over half of petrol’s pump prices are for taxes. Petrol taxes are 1% of GDP (gross domestic product) and diesel, 2%. Fully switching to EVs means affecting some 2% of GDP. Of course, oil is predominantly imported, so moving to EVs should be a worthwhile trade-off. Plus, over time, more and more electricity will come from renewable sources.

There are other ways to spur EVs, including dedicated charging spots, and discounted or free parking. The long-run goal isn’t just to make vehicles electric but to reduce personal driving. This means urban redesign for walking/biking, more shared services, and more and better public transport (convenient and fast enough that the rich will also choose it). Instead of trying to pick technology winners, the government mainly needs to create the right frameworks and help overcome “network effect” problems, covering both the grid and charging infrastructure. Innovation is already happening in these areas.

Demonetisation effect: 9.1 million new taxpayers

Govt may use increase in taxpayers to justify demonetisation, which critics claim did not help in original objective of curbing black money, terror financing or counterfeit notes

The government added 9.1 million new taxpayers in 2016-17, an 80% increase over the typical yearly rise, highlighting the impact of India’s November demonetisation of high-value currencies.

This is expected to significantly boost the government’s tax revenue. India had only 55.9 million individual taxpayers at the end of 2015-16.

The Economic Times, citing two top government officials, reported on 3 May that the number of people who filed tax returns surged by 9.5 million.

Not everyone who pays tax files returns. Many are salaried employees whose tax is deducted and paid by the employers. In 2015-16, only 37 million individuals filed tax returns.

The increase in taxpayers may be used by the government to justify demonetisation, which critics have claimed did not help in its original objective of curbing black money, terror financing or counterfeit notes.

“About 9.1 million new taxpayers have been found, significantly expanding the taxpayer base,” a senior government functionary said on condition of anonymity.

The person, who is in a position to be aware of data and thinking at the highest levels of the government, added that this was partly on account of demonetisation.

It is estimated that a substantial part of the invalidated currency has returned to the banking system—official data on this is yet to be released—but the government has insisted, and rightly so, that the mere act of depositing money in a bank account doesn’t convert black money into white money.

A second person, a government official familiar with the matter who asked not to be identified, confirmed this number. He said that every year, typically, India adds around 6 million taxpayers, and around 1 million stop paying taxes (on account of death, retirement, etc). That would mean India added around 4.1 million more taxpayers in 2016-17 than it otherwise would have.

The second person said India ended the year with 65 million taxpayers. In June 2016, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked the income-tax department to work towards increasing India’s tax base to 100 million individuals.

A low taxpayer base has for long been a key drag on the government’s finances. India’s tax revenue, including indirect taxes, as a percentage of its gross domestic product (GDP) was 16.7% in 2016, compared with 25.4% in the US and 30.3% in Japan.

Among the 37 million individuals who filed tax returns in 2015-16, 9.9 million showed income below the exemption limit of Rs2.5 lakh; 19.5 million, income between Rs2.5 lakh and Rs5 lakh; 5.2 million, between Rs5 lakh and Rs10 lakh; and only 2.4 million people showed income over Rs10 lakh. Of the 7.6 million individual assesses who declared income above Rs5 lakh, 5.6 million were in the salaried class. Only 172,000 people declared income exceeding Rs50 lakh in the entire country.

In comparison, in the last five years, more than 12.5 million cars have been sold and, in 2015, 20 million Indians travelled overseas, either for business or pleasure.

In his budget speech on 1 February, finance minister Arun Jaitley quoted these figures and said India is largely a tax non-compliant society. “The predominance of cash in the economy makes it possible for the people to evade their taxes,” he said.

Jaitley added in his speech that after demonetisation, the preliminary analysis of data received in respect of deposits made by people in old currency presented a revealing picture. “During the period 8 November to 30 December 2016, deposits between Rs2 lakh and Rs80 lakh were made in about 10.9 million accounts with an average deposit size of Rs5.03 lakh. Deposits of more than Rs80 lakh were made in 1.48 lakh accounts with average deposit size of Rs3.31 crore. This data mining will help us immensely in expanding the tax net as well as increasing the revenues, which was one of the objectives of demonetisation,” he said then.

This year’s Economic Survey said that perhaps the most important marker of the success of demonetisation would be tax collections.

“The number of new income tax payers as well as the magnitude of reported and taxable income should go up over time. That will be the surest sign of success.”

The International Monetary Fund, in its latest Asia Pacific Economic Outlook, said that after demonetisation, bank deposits of large amounts were expected to attract high scrutiny by tax authorities and the information obtained as a result of income verification could lead to a durable impact on the tax revenue base. “With only about 1% of the Indian population paying personal income taxes, the scope for broadening the tax base is clearly large,” it said.

CPCB releases draft guidelines for bio-remediation of hazardous oily wastes

Bio-remediation of hazardous waste shall be carried out only after obtaining authorization from state-level pollution control boards, says CPCB draft guidelines

Soil and water contaminated by oil could soon be returned to their natural state using bio-remediation, a process in which micro-organisms break down oil to less harmful substances.

The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) last week released draft guidelines for bio-remediation, minimizing the need to dispose waste at landfill sites.

CPPB has invited comments and suggestions for the guidelines to be submitted latest by 10 May.

The guidelines are in line with the Hazardous and Other Wastes (Management and Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 notified by the Union environment ministry in April 2016.

As per the proposed guidelines, the types of hazardous oily wastes that can be bio-remediated are, “oil contamination on land or stagnant water due to accidental oil spill, residual oily sludge lying in old dumping pits, crude oily sludge generated during processing, oil contaminated drill cuttings/synthetic oil based mud waste, crude oily sludge from marketing installation/ depots/ tap off points/retail outlets of petroleum refineries and oil contaminated wastes from other allied industries”.

CPCB said bio-remediation of hazardous waste shall be carried out only after obtaining authorization from state-level pollution control boards.

It also specified that in-situ bio-remediation will only be used in cases where contamination has occurred deep below the ground level or where residual oily sludge is already lying in old dumping pits and their excavation is extremely costly and difficult and in cases where stagnant water is contaminated due to oil spillage.

Another important requirement before starting in-situ bio-remediation would be that, “geological data supports that surrounding environment/population is not affected because of possible migration of pollutants till the desired level of bio-remediation is achieved”.

“In rest of the cases, ex-situ bio-remediation shall be considered,” the guidelines added.

In-situ bio-remediation involves treating the contaminated material without removing it from its original place at the site while ex-situ involves the removal of the contaminated material from the original place to be treated above-ground or elsewhere.

The draft guidelines said that one of the main advantages of bio-remediation is that in hydrocarbon spills remediation can be achieved at much deeper depths that cannot be reached easily without excavation and it is a less expensive than excavation.

“Bio-remediation may subsequently enable appropriate reuse of treated soil and minimizing disposal of waste to landfill thereby providing sufficient protection of human health and the environment,” it added.

four Clean Himalaya Expeditions

four Clean Himalaya Expeditions

Expeditions an Effort to extend Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to Himalayas

Minister of State (Independent Charge) of Youth Affairs & Sports, Shri Vijay Goel flagged off four Clean Himalaya expeditions and a Medical Mountaineering expedition to Mt Satopanth (7075 Mtrs) at the Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF), here today. Appreciating the IMF for its efforts to promote mountaineering and allied adventure sports, Shri Goel said that such initiatives will not only help in ensuring safe practices during the conduct of adventure activities, but will also add to the skill levels of the youth, enhancing their employability, as well as instil discipline and courage in youngsters.

Interacting with the team members, the Minister stressed upon the need to address environmental concerns while promoting adventure tourism. He added that adventure tourism not only contributes in transforming the youth, but also holds a lot of potential in helping in the economic growth of the country. Shri Goel also wished the team a safe and successful climb.

Making a presentation on the cleaning expeditions, President IMF, Col HS Chauhan pointed out that in an effort to extend the Prime Minister’s Swachh Bharat Abhiyan to the Himalayas, IMF is launching four Himalaya Cleaning expeditions to popular destinations in Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand & Arunachal, which have been sponsored by ONGC as a part of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) programme.

The Medical Mountaineering Expedition is a Certification course on Expedition Medicine for Mountaineers & Trekkers approved by the Medical Commission of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA). The core mission of the expedition is to create an expanding pool of Holistic Mountain Leaders, capable of providing integrated basic health care, life support and rescue logistics to expeditions and the remote mountain communities until the arrival of definitive medical care.

A team of 25 non-medical mountaineers and 25 trekkers led by Dr Anil Gurtoo, an experienced mountaineer and Professor, Medicine at Lady Hardinge Medical College will participate in this expedition from May 8 to June 10, 2017. The expedition will also include lectures by specialists from leading teaching hospitals of Delhi on various medical issues faced by mountaineers at high altitudes.

Secretary, Ministry of Youth Affairs, Dr. A.K Dubey, President, Indian Mountaineering Foundation, Col H.S Chauhan and renowned mountaineer Major H.P.S Ahluwalia, as well as school children and young mountaineers were among those present on the occasion.

Indian Mountaineering Foundation (IMF) is recognized by the Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports as the National Apex Body to regulate mountaineering, trekking, sport climbing and allied adventure activities in the country. IMF conducts activities under the National Programme for Youth and Adolescent Development (NPYAD) scheme of the Ministry to promote mountaineering and land-based adventure sports among the youth of the country.

Avoid five things courtsy :mrunal must read about what to avoid

Avoid five things

courtsy :mrunal

must read about what to avoid

must read about what to avoid.i used to tell same thing in class.future and current aspirants should think about this

 

1. Superman “Topper”: “I skipped Freedom-struggle and science for prelim, yet I cleared prelim!”. “For Mains, I did not study anything for GS. I only practiced mains-answer writing! And yet I cleared”. “For Polity, I did not touch any book, I only saw Rajya Sabha TV“…. While it’s possible, because cut-off is 107 / 200, and may be because he has given 2-3 attempts, so even without reading he could recall many theoretical points for GS-mains. But the first attempt-walla youngsters in the impressionable age group, tend to take everything literally without understanding the nuances of this exam.  In statistics, we focus on the aggregates rather than outliers. Therefore, what constitutes the ‘standard strategy’ [derived from the statistical interpretation of the number of questions vs. sources of questions in previous 5 years exams] should be followed at minimum. One should not burn his zhonpdaa (hut) by looking at Topper’s Palace. One swallow doesn’t make a summer. One Cinderella doesn’t mean all will get ruby slippers.
2. Whatsapp & FaceBook “UPDATES”: because of the Dopamine neurotransmitter, a human brain feels compulsion to seek new information. This is important for survival of a caveman, because he must always search new sources for food, foraging and water. But the same chemical, makes you restless to seek new updates on whatsapp / FB- how many people liked my post and profile picture? who said what against my prediction of cut-off and result date etc. A Microsoft study said, Human brain’s span of attention has become less than a gold fish. For example, you’re reading a history book and highlighting lines with orange color. Suddenly, you get impulsive thought “will it’ll be better to use any different color highlighter!?” Then, you spend half hour just browsing e-commerce sites for reviews of Luxor vs Faber Castle markers! At this stage, no point in trying to find ‘better tools and techniques of preparation’. Whatever you’ve, use it and prepare.
3. Telegram “SCAVANGERS”: Constantly 500 different channels uploading 5000 types of current affairs material. You’ve sufficient material already. If, even at this stage (when 2 months left), if you’re still doing ‘haay-haay mere pass material nahi hai‘, [as if UPSC is as semester exam!], Then perhaps you’re not cut out for this year’s attempt.
4. “SCAREMONGERS”: As I had pointed in last mains’ last video– there some ‘chanchal-tatva‘ (restless elements) who release list of 500 “Most IMP.” topics, containing terms, which even our forefathers have not heard in their lifetime. And that too, just two weeks before the exam! If at last minute you start digging net for such new things, you’ll even forget the things you’ve prepared already. Mock tests: should be given to maintain regularity in the pace of preparation. But, there is no direct correlation, that a person getting less marks in mocks, will definitely fail in prelims. So don’t get scared and don’t scare others. You’ll also gain more from solving the recent CDS and CAPF papers [conducted by UPSC itself] than from mock test from random institute.
5. “ROTU-RAM” (Crybabies): “It’s better to secure job first through clerical exam, only then give UPSC”,  “I’ve not prepared this time, so I’ll skip this attempt and give statePSC first.” ,”this year, as such vacancies are less, so competition will be higher, better we give attempt next year!“….all these are example of crybaby talk, you keep company of such defeatist people, they’ll drag you to their own level. For the whole year, they spend more time in “day-dreaming” [about what they’ll do after becoming IAS/IPS] rather than doing actual study. And at last-phase before Prelims, they start all the negative and pessimistic talk. So must avoid their company. If you skip one year, you’ll get rusted. Then it becomes even more difficult to get back into that ‘fitness-zone’, and UPSC is “no country for old men.”

 

analysis of success of candidate attempt wise

From the 65th annual report of UPSC, we find following data about the success rate of aspirants in civil services exam:

15%	Of the toppers have cleared in their first attempt.
26%	In second attempt
26%	In third attempt. So cumulatively 67% OR 2/3rd of the toppers have cleared within first three attempts.
18%	In fourth attempt. So, cumulatively 85% of the toppers have cleared within first four attempts.
15%	In fifth or above attempt.