August 10, 2021

MOST IMPORTANT ARTICLES OF THE

DAY – 10/08/2021
IPCC report forecasts a future of severe weather
Global warming to trigger extreme rain in South India, it says. The Indian Ocean is warming at a higher
rate than other oceans, said the latest report by the Intergovernmen- tal Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
released on Monday, with scientists warning that India will witness increased heatwaves and flooding,
which will be the irreversible effects of climate change.

The current overall global warming trends are likely to lead to an increase in annual mean precipitation
over India, with more severe rain expected over southern India in the coming decades.

The authors of the IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, “Climate Change 2021: The Physical Science Basis”,
said the warming of the ocean would lead to a rise in sea levels, leading to frequent and severe coastal
flooding in low-level areas. With a 7,517-km coastline, India would face significant threats from the
rising seas. Across the port cities of Chennai, Kochi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Surat and Visakhapatnam, 28.6
million people would be exposed to coastal flooding if sea levels rise by 50 cm.

Monsoon extremes are likely to increase over India and South Asia, while the frequency of short intense
rainy days are expected to rise. Models also indicate a lengthening of the monsoon over India by the end
of the 21st century, with the South Asian monsoon precipitation projected to increase.

Stating that human activities are causing climate change, the report said the planet was irrevocably
headed towards warming by 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial times in the next two decades.
Keeping global warming below 2 degrees Celsius of pre-industrial levels by the turn of century and
endeavouring to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius was at the heart of the 2015 Paris Agreement. Unless
extremely deep emission cuts are undertaken by all countries immediately, these goals are unlikely to
be met. The report recommended that countries strive to achieve net zero emissions — no additional
greenhouse gases are emitted — by 2050. climate since the Fifth Assessment Report of 2014. The
3,000-plus-page report said warming is already accelerating sea level rise and worsening extremes such
as heatwaves, droughts, floods and storms.

Tropical cyclones

Tropical cyclones are getting stronger and wetter, while Arctic Sea ice is dwindling in the summerand
permafrost is thawing. All these trends will get worse, the report said.

India is currently the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter, but per capita emissions are much
lower. The U.S. emitted nearly nine times more greenhouse gases per capita than India in 2018. Based
on existing commitments by countries to curb their emission, the world is on track for global
temperature warming by at least 2.7°C by 2100, predicts the report, calling it ‘Code red for humanity’.

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The latest scientific assessment will influence discussions on the Conference of Parties meeting in
Glasgow later this year where countries are expected to announce plans and steps they have taken to
curb emissions. The report release follows a two-week long plenary session held virtually from July 26 to
August 6, 2021, in which the report was scrutinized line-by-line for approval by government
representatives in dialogue with report authors.

Hot extremes

Alok Sharma, COP26 President, said in a statement: “The science is clear. The impacts of the climate
crisis can be seen around the world and if we don’t act now, we will continue to see the worst effects
impact lives, livelihoods and natural habitats. Our message to every country, government, business and
part of society is simple. The next decade is decisive, follow the science and embrace your responsibility
to keep the goal of 1.5C alive. We can do this together, by coming forward with ambitious 2030 emission
reduction targets and long-term strategies with a pathway to net zero.”

“Developed Countries have usurped far more than their fair share of the global carbon budget. Reaching
net zero alone is not enough, as it is the cumulative emissions up to net zero that determine the
temperature that is reached. This has been amply borne out in the IPCC report. It vindicates India’s
position that historical cumulative emissions are the source of the climate crisis that the World faces
today,” Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav said in a statement.

‘Nation First, Always First’ theme for I-Day events

Olympic medallists invited to Red Fort, ‘Nation First, Always First’ will be the theme of India’s 75th
Independence Day celebrations at the Red Fort from where Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address
the nation on Sunday.

All the Olympians who won medals at the 2020 Tokyo Games have been sent special invites for the
event.

Like 2020, this year’s event will be restricted for the public and no cultural performance will be staged
by children. A group of NCC cadets will attend the event, said an officer. From paintings to floral
arrangements, all aspects of the programme will bear ‘Nation First, Always First’ theme, said Delhi police
sources.

Drone alert

After the recent drone attacks in Jammu, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the Delhi police
to strictly adhere to the Standard Operating Procedures for drone operations.

“We have increased the total number of secured rooftops from which the Red Fort or the potential
route of the Prime Minister’s cavalcade is remotely visible. Personnel have been told to take down
drones or aerial objects in case they see one approaching the Red Fort or to alert higher-ups if they
don’t have the requisite skills,” said a police officer.

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A makeshift wall of containers has been erected at the periphery of the Red Fort to rule out any security
breach owing to the ongoing farmers’ protest. The containers have been painted in hues reflecting the
solemnity of the august occasion.

PM sets out framework for maritime security

Five points outlined at UNSC debate, A week into India’s United Nations Security Council (UNSC) month-
long presidency, Prime Minister Narendra Modi chaired a debate on maritime security.

The debate, titled, ‘Enhancing Maritime Security — A Case for International Cooperation’, had heads of
state or government in attendance, including Russian President Vladimir Putin, President of Kenya
Uhuru Kenyatta and Premier of Vietnam Pham Minh Chinh.

The UNSC adopted a ‘Presidential [India’s] Statement’ which reaffirmed that the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) establishes the legal framework for maritime activities.
Prime Minister Modi outlined a five-principle framework for the debate. The first was removing barriers
to maritime trade. In this context, Mr. Modi highlighted SAGAR (‘Security and Growth for all in the
Region’) — a 2015 Indian framework for regional maritime security.

Second, Mr. Modi said, maritime disputes “should be resolved peacefully and in accordance with
international law,” adding that this was “extremely important for promoting mutual trust and
confidence, and ensuring global peace and stability”,

“It was with this understanding, and maturity, that India resolved its maritime boundary with its
neighbour Bangladesh,” the Prime Minister said.

Mr. Modi underlining the need for maritime disputes to be resolved peacefully is presumably aimed at
China’s actions in the South China Sea, where it has militarised islands and unilaterally enforced its
claims over disputed waters.

The third principle Mr. Modi proposed at Monday’s debate was that countries jointly tackle maritime
threats from non-state actors and natural disasters.

Fourth, he said the maritime environment and marine resources needed to be conserved, highlighting
pollution from plastic waste and oil spills.

Fifth, Mr. Modi called for responsible maritime connectivity, saying a structure was required to boost
maritime trade, with the development of global norms and standards.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar chaired the meeting after Mr. Modi.

Blinken-Putin spat

Mr. Putin was the only Head of State/ Government of the Permanent-5 members of the UNSC who
participated in the discussion.

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“Russia has always played an important role in global maritime security. It is an important player in
global security, safety and prosperity,” Mr. Modi said after Mr. Putin’s remarks.

This was in sharp contrast to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s comments on Russia later in the
debate.

“In the Black Sea, Kerch Strait, the Sea of Azov, we see continued aggressive actions against Ukraine with
dangerous incursions on the sea and in the air, and the harassment of vessels, which are disrupting
commerce, and energy access,” Mr. Blinken said, in a reference to Russia.

He suggested China was violating maritime laws and he held Iran responsible for the attack on MV
Mercer Street. The U.S. has not ratified UNCLOS but recognises it as international law.

China was represented by its Deputy Representative to the UN, Dai Bing, who said, “The UNSC is not the
right platform for a discussion on the South China Sea.”

Glaciers will keep shrinking: IPCC report

‘Fall in snow cover in Hindu Kush Himalayan region’, Glaciers in the Hindu Kush Himalayan (HKH) region
will keep shrinking and the snow cover will retreat to higher altitudes, the latest IPCC report said on
Monday.

The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), approved
by 195 member-countries, warned that extreme precipitation is projected to increase in major
mountainous regions with potential cascading consequences of floods, landslides and lake outbursts in
all scenarios.

One of the authors of the report, Krishna Achuta Rao, said that in the HKH region, the snow cover had
reduced since the early 21st century and glaciers had thinned, retreated and lost mass since the 1970s.
However, he said, the Karakoram glaciers had either slightly gained mass or were in an approximately
balanced state.

“Snow-covered areas and snow volumes will decrease during the 21st century, snowline elevations will
rise and glacier mass is likely to decline with greater mass loss in higher greenhouse gas emission
scenarios. Rising temperatures and precipitation can increase the occurrence of glacial lake outburst
floods and landslides over moraine-dammed lakes,” Mr. Rao said.

Permafrost thaw

According to the report, mountain glaciers will continue to shrink and permafrost to thaw in all regions
where they are present.

Another author of the report, Swapna Panickal, who is a scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical
Meteorology, said human influence was responsible for the retreat of glaciers since the 20th century
and that was not only the case in the two poles, but also for mountain glaciers.

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LS passes three Bills in 20 minutes
Opposition members question government’s commitment to democratic norms, The Lok Sabha on
Monday passed three Bills in 20 minutes as disruption by Opposition members over the Pegasus
snooping controversy and the farms continued into the last week of the monsoon session of Parliament.

The government also introduced three Bills in the din, prompting Congress leaders Adhir Ranjan
Chowdhury and Manish Tewari to question the government’s commitment to democratic norms.

RSP’s N.K. Premachandran had also objected to the manner in which Bills were being passed in the
House without a debate. The exact expressions used by the members, however, were later expunged by
the Chair.

The three Bills passed are the Limited Liability Partnership (Amendment) Bill 2021, The Insurance and
Credit Guarantee Corporation (Amendment) Bill 2021 and The Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order
(Amendment) Bill 2021.

However, following a meeting of 15 parties, Opposition leaders agreed that they would cooperate in the
passage of the Constitution (One Hundred and Twenty-Seventh Amendment) Bill, 2021 that is slated for
debate on Tuesday.

The Bill seeks to restore the power of State governments to identify Other Backward Classes (OBC) that
are socially and economically backward after the Supreme Court, in a May 2021 order, had empowered
only the Centre for such identification.

The amendment has been necessitated after the Supreme Court in its Maratha reservation ruling upheld
the 102nd Constitutional Amendment Act that inserted Articles 338B and Article 342A (with two
clauses) after Article 342.

Though there were protests right from the beginning of the day’s proceedings started at 11 a.m., at the
time of the introduction of the Bill, Opposition MPs briefly stopped sloganeering and returned to their
seats, allowing the Minister for Social Justice Virender Kumar as well as the Congress leader Adhir
Ranjan Chowdhury to speak on it.

Sonia attends

For the first time since the pandemic, Congress president Sonia Gandhi attended Parliament and was
seen exchanging greetings with fellow parliamentarians.

When the House met for the day in the morning, Opposition members sought to raise various issues,
including the Pegasus spyware controversy and started shouting slogans. Speaker Om Birla first paid
tributes to those who had participated in the Quit India Movement and then congratulated the medal
winners for India at the just-concluded Olympic games in Tokyo. When the name of Neeraj Chopra, who
won the gold medal in the javelin throw at the Olympics, was mentioned, members were seen thumping
their desks.

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Parliament passes Bills on tribunal reforms, taxation
Bill to set up new Central university in Ladakh also cleared, Parliament on Monday cleared three Bills to
abolish several appellate tribunals, to end retrospective tax on indirect transfer of Indian assets, and
create a new Central university in Ladakh. . The three Bills were cleared by the Rajya Sabha, having been
passed by the Lok Sabha earlier in the ongoing Monsoon Session of Parliament.

The first of the three Bills to be cleared, the Tribunals Reforms (Rationalisation and Conditions of
Service) Bill, 2021, will replace an ordinance. During the discussion on the Bill, Biju Janata Dal’s Sujeet
Kumar, who was the first speaker, said that the legislation would help in removing an extra layer of
adjudication. He, however, pointed out that there were still some key flaws in the Bill, including the fact
that short tenures of the members would ensure executive hold on the tribunals. Also age criterion set
in the Bill was meaningless. “If you can become a High Court Judge at 40 years, it is not logical that to be
a member of tribunals as per the Bill you have to be 50 years old,” he said.

The Opposition utilised the opportunity to speak on the Bill to raise the Pegasus cyber attack issue. DMK
MP N.R Elango said, “I oppose the Bill. The government wants to remove certain tribunals, which will
increase the burden of the High Courts. Rather, I would demand that the government establish a
tribunal to investigate Pegasus cyber attack.”

In her response, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman questioned the Congress for raising concerns
about judicial independence, being a party that curtailed the same during the Emergency. She said the
government fully respected the independence of the judiciary, but also respected the power of the
legislature.

The House then took up and returned the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2021, after the Opposition
staged a walkout over what they termed was the last-minutes inclusion of the Bill in the day’s list of
business.

Ms. Sitharaman said the amendment would undo the 2012 amendment that brought in retrospective
taxation. India’s sovereign right would not be diluted by the Bill, she said.

CPI(M) plans age limit for Central Committee

Party congress has to endorse it, In a bid to revamp its ageing leadership, the Central Committee of the
Communist Party of India (Marxist) has decided to set a retirement age of 75 for all its members. Once
the proposal is endorsed at the party’s 23rd Congress, scheduled to be held in Kannur, Kerala in April
2022, the age limit will become applicable.

The Central Committee is the highest decision-making body of the party which, in turn, elects the Polit
Bureau (PB) from its members. “Our decision is that those who have crossed 75 years will be relieved
from the Central Committee. The State Committee normally has a lower age ceiling but we have left it to
them to decide it,” party general secretary Sitaram Yechury said at a press conference on the conclusion
of the Central Committee meeting from August 6 to 8.

A few exceptions

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If the rule is scrupulously applied, then 76-year-old Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan who is also a
member of the Polit Bureau, will have to step down. “Last time also, we made exceptions for certain
people. The party will decide for those holding key positions. But in principle, the decision is to fix 75
years as the retirement age,” Mr. Yechury added.

An exception was made in 2018 Party Congress for Polit Bureau member S. Ramachandran Pillai. The
retirement age was 80. But Mr. Pillai, who was 81 at that time, was retained. In the current 17-member
Polit Bureau, Mr. Ramachandran is the oldest member and 64-year old Mohammed Salim and Nilotpal
Basu are the youngest.

First step

The first step towards reducing the average age of members in the decision-making bodies was taken by
the West Bengal State Committee. Currently, the State Committee has decided not to induct any
member over the age of 60.

The age-ceiling will be applied in a two pronged way. First, the retirement age will be fixed at 75 for
members in all the CPI(M)’s bodies including the Polit Bureau; second no new member above a certain
age will be inducted in any of these forums.

₹11,000 crore for self-sufficiency in edible oil production: PM

The Centre will spend ₹11,000 crore on a new mission to ensure self-sufficiency in edible oil production
at a time when India’s dependence on expensive imports has driven retail oil prices to new highs, Prime
Minister Narendra Modi said on Monday.

This financial outlay for the National Mission on Edible Oil-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) will be over a five-year
period, Agriculture Ministry officials later said. The Prime Minister was speaking at a virtual event to
release the ninth instalment of income support worth ₹19,500 crore to 9.75 crore farmers under the PM
Kisan scheme.

“Today, when India is being recognised as a major agricultural exporting country, then it is not
appropriate for us to depend on imports for our edible oil needs,” Mr. Modi said noting that the share of
imported palm oil is more than 55%. “We have to change this situation. The thousands of crores that we
have to give to others abroad to buy edible oil should be given to the farmers of the country only,” he
added, naming north-eastern India and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands as prime locations for oil palm
cultivation.

In response to a Rajya Sabha query in February 2020, Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal had said the
NMEO proposal would aim to reduce import dependence from 60% to 45% by 2024-25, by increasing
domestic edible oil production from 10.5 million tonnes to 18 million tonnes, a 70% growth target.

It projected a 55% growth in oilseed production, to 47.8 million tonnes. It is not clear whether these
targets have changed under the final version of the mission.

Rise in yield

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The NMEO-OP’s predecessor was the National Mission on Oil Seeds and Oil Palm, which was launched at
the fag end of the UPA government’s tenure and later merged with the National Food Security Mission.
Laying out its achievements in May 2020, the Agriculture Ministry said oilseed production had grown
35% from 27.5 million tonnes in 2014-15 to 37.3 million tonnes by 2020-21. Although oilseed acreage
rose only 8.6% over that six year period, yields rose more than 20%.

At the PM-Kisan event, Mr. Modi noted that although the country’s granaries were full of cereals such as
rice and wheat, with the government making record purchases from farmers at MSP rates, self-
sufficiency was yet to be attained in pulses and oil. Previous efforts to boost the production of pulses in
the country had resulted in a 50% growth over the last six years, he said. “The work we did in pulses, or
in the past with wheat and paddy, now we have to take the same resolution for the production of edible
oil also. For our country to be self-sufficient in this edible oil, we have to work fast,” he added.

“Through this mission, more than ₹11,000 crore will be invested in the edible oil ecosystem. The
government will ensure that farmers get all needed facilities, from quality seeds to technology. Along
with promoting the cultivation of oil palm, this mission will also expand the cultivation of our other
traditional oilseed crops,” he said.

Economic activity nears level seen pre-pandemic: Nomura

‘Prospect of surge in people mobility triggering third wave is a key risk’

India’s economic activity reached its highest level, in the first week of August, since the onset of the
COVID-19 pandemic last year, as per a business resumption index.

The Nomura India Business Resumption Index (NIBRI) rose to a record high of 99.4 for the week ended
August 8, from 94.0 in the previous week, near the pre-pandemic level of 100, and surpassing the pre-
second wave peak of 99.3 in February 2021. The Nomura index is compiled using mobility data from
Google and Apple, power demand and the labour force participation rate, with February 2020 as the
base. While the latest index estimate suggests a swifter-than-expected recovery from the second wave
continues, Nomura said the prospect of a surge in mobility triggering a third wave is the key risk to be
monitored.

“After briefly plateauing, mobility picked up sharply, with Google workplace, retail & recreation and
Apple driving index rising… Power demand also rose 5.3% week on week, after contracting for three
consecutive weeks, while the labour participation rate rose to 41.5% from 39.8% previously, pushing up
the unemployment rate to 8.1%,” the firm noted.

‘Varied impact’

While COVID-19 cases remain flat at about 40,000 per day, Nomura economists Sonal Varma and
Aurodeep Nandi noted that there are State-wide divergences on the sero-prevalence rate, infection
cases, vaccinations and the lockdown situation.

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“Some States are doubling down on restrictions (like Karnataka and Tamil Nadu), while others like
Maharashtra are easing further,” they pointed out.

In IPCC report, message for India: Need to agree on net-zero emissions target
India, the third largest emitter in the world, has been holding out against the target, arguing that it was
already doing much more than it was required to do and that any further burden would jeopardise its
efforts to pull its millions out of poverty.

With a warning that a 1.5 degree warming was likely even before 2040, the Inter-governmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) has tried to make a case, much stronger than before, for immediate cuts on
global greenhouse gas emissions. For India, it is likely to translate into increased pressure to agree to a
net-zero target, a deadline by which it should be able to bring down its emissions to a level that equals
the absorptions made by its carbon sinks, like forests.

IPCC assessment reports — the sixth edition of which was released on Monday — are not policy
prescriptive. They do not tell countries what to do. But their science forms the basis for climate action
across the globe, and foundation for international climate negotiations. In the case of the Sixth
Assessment Report, the fact that the 1.5 degree Celsius warming has been shown to be closer than
thought is likely to trigger widespread calls for stronger, more wide-ranging emission cuts from all
countries.

Not that the 1.5 degree deadline has not been discussed earlier. But this is the first time that the IPCC
has said that the 1.5 degree warming was inevitable even in the best case scenario. The most ambitious
emission pathways would lead to the warming be achieved in the 2030s, overshoot to 1.6 degree C,
before the temperatures drop back again to 1.4 degree C by the end of the century.

Several countries, more than 100, have already announced their intentions to achieve net-zero
emissions by the middle of the century. These include major emitters like the United States, China and
the European Union.

India, the third largest emitter in the world, has been holding out, arguing that it was already doing
much more than it was required to do, performing better, in relative terms, than other countries, and
that any further burden would jeopardise its continuing efforts to pull its millions out of poverty.

The IPCC on Monday said that a global net-zero by 2050 was the minimum required to keep the
temperature rise to 1.5 degree Celsius. Without India, this would not be possible. Even China, the
world’s biggest emitter, has a net-zero goal for 2060.

But other countries would feel the heat as well. For the purposes of global warming and its impacts, the
pathways are as important as the destination. Immediate emission cuts and a steady pathway to net-
zero is expected to bring better benefits than a business-as-usual scenario and a sudden drop in
emissions towards the end to meet the target.

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Even for the countries that have pledged a net-zero target, the substantial part of their emission cuts is
planned only for 2035 and beyond. The new evidence in the IPCC report is likely to put pressure on them
as well to reconsider their pathways.

“The science is clear, the impacts of the climate crisis can be seen around the world and if we don’t act
now, we will continue to see the worst effects impact lives, livelihoods and natural habitats,” said Alok
Sharma, the UK minister who will preside over the climate change talks in Glasgow in November this
year.

Sharma emphasised on the need to keep the hopes alive for a 1.5 degree world, as did all the speakers
from IPCC at the release of the report on Monday.

“Our message to every country, government, business and part of society is simple. The next decade is
decisive, follow the science and embrace your responsibility to keep the goal of 1.5C alive. We can do
this together, by coming forward with ambitious 2030 emission reduction targets, and long-term
strategies with a pathway to net zero by the middle of the century, and taking action now to end coal
power, accelerate the roll out of electric vehicles, tackle deforestation and reduce methane emissions,”
he said.

The IPCC report could also lead to renewed demands that all countries update their climate action plans,
called nationally-determined contributions or NDCs in official language. Under the Paris Agreement,
every country has submitted an NDC, listing the climate actions they intend to take by 2025 or 2030.
These NDCs have to be updated with stronger action, mandatorily, every five years from 2025. But the
Paris Agreement also “requested” countries’ NDCs by 2020. Because of the pandemic, the deadline was
extended to 2021, and expired at the end of July.

About 110 countries have updated their NDCs, but not China or India, or South Africa. On Monday, after
the release of the IPCC report, several scientists and officials, including executive secretary of UN
Climate Change Patricia Espinosa, lamented the fact that only half the countries had updated their NDCs
with stronger action.

“All nations that have not yet done so, still have the opportunity to submit ambitious NDCs. Nations that
have already submitted new or updated NDCs still have the opportunity to review and enhance their
level of ambition,” the UN Climate Change said in a statement on Monday.

Explained: Understand what the new Inland Vessels Bill is setting out to
achieve
The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 replaces the century-old Inland Vessels Act, 1917. One of the key things the
new Bill seeks to do is bring all inland waterways in India and movement of vessels on them for any
purpose under a central regulatory regime.

Parliament passed a new law last week that will bring in uniformity in the rules and regulation governing
the inland waterways and navigation on them in India. The new law is aimed at developing India’s inland
waterways as viable, thriving mode of transport, especially for cargo.

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The Inland Vessels Bill, 2021 replaces the century-old Inland Vessels Act, 1917. One of the key things the
new legislation seeks to do is bring all inland waterways in India and movement of vessels on them for
any purpose under a central regulatory regime.

India has close to 15,000 km of inland waterways network comprising rivers, channels, backwaters,
creeks etc.

The Inland Vessels Act of 1917, which got replaced by the new legislation, was conceived to be a pure
consolidating legislation having limited applicability and purposes, the government says. The Act had
undergone several amendments with the last major amendments enacted in 1977 and 2007.

“This Act had provisions for restrictive movement of mechanically propelled vessels within the
jurisdiction of the state government, requirement of endorsements, limited applicability and validity of
certificates, non-uniform standards and regulations that varied from one state to another led to
hindrances and hurdles in seamless navigation across states and development of the sector,” says an
official statement. The new law defines mechanically propelled vessels as ships, boats, sailing vessels,
container vessels, and ferries. The Centre will, empowered by the new law, frame classification,
standards of design, construction, and crew accommodation, and the type and periodicity of surveys, for
these vessels.

Construction or modification of such vessels will require prior approval of a designated authority, as
prescribed by the central government. All such vessels are to be registered with respective states or
Union Territories. The movement and the identities of the vessels will be logged in a central database.

The NDA government in 2016 notified 111 inland waterways as National Waterways of India under the
National Waterways Act, 2016. Of these, 13 National Waterways are operational for shipping and
navigation and cargo/passenger vessels are moving on them, according to the government (see box).

The Inland Waterways Authority of India under the Ministry of Shipping is developing the National
Waterways for commercial navigation, including with assistance from World Bank.

One of the criticisms from the opposition that the Bill has received is that it takes away a lot of rights of
the states and vests them with the Centre.

The new law passed now prescribes certain dos and don’ts. For example the rules of operations. To
operate in inland waters, vessels must have a certificate of survey, and registration. Those with Indian
ownership must be registered with the Registrar of Inland Vessels (appointed by the state government).
Once registered, it will be valid across India.

While the state government will issue the certificate, the form will be prescribed by the Centre, much
like in the case of motor vehicles. Like motor vehicles, the vessels must be insured. The certificate will
also mention the inland water zones (areas of operation to be demarcated by states) for such vessels.

The mechanical vessels must adhere to certain specifications for signals and equipment to ensure
navigation safety, as specified by the central government. The new Act mandates that in case of any

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distress or SOS signal sent out by the master of a vessel, any other vessel nearby must respond to the
it— much like maritime custom and rules on sea. If the master of a nearby vessel fails to come for help,
he or she will be penalised with a fine up to Rs 10,000 unless they failed to provide such assistance on
some specified grounds.

In case of accidents, the nearest police station is to be involved for inquiry and action. The local District
Magistrate may also hold a probe and recommend action.

The Act says that the Centre will prescribe the minimum number of people that vessels must carry for
various roles and what the qualification of the personnel must be. Non-compliance of this will attract a
penalty of up to Rs 10,000 for the first offence, and Rs 25,000 for subsequent offences.

The Act empowers the Central government to prescribe what kind of pollutants and sewage vessels and
can discharge and how much. Like in the case of motor vehicles, the Act empowers the Centre to
prescribe the format in which states can issue pollution-under-control certificates.

Looking at future development of inland waterways, since this is a new sector, the Bill also envisages
maintaining a fund, which will be used for emergency preparedness, checking of pollution and boosting
navigation. The fund will source from schemes of the state governments, sale of cargo and wreck and
contribution from stakeholders.

The new law also covers the future developments and technological advancements in vessel
construction and usage. Regulating the technologically advanced vessels of the present and future
identified as ‘Special Category Vessels’.

The government wants to promote inland waterways especially as a supplement to movement of freight
across India. This is because the mode has been recognised across the world as environmentally friendly
and economical, especially for cargo that do not depend on speed of delivery.

According to a government study conducted by RITES, one litre of fuel moves 24 tonne-km on road; 95
tonne-km on rail and 215 tonne-km on inland waterways.

On railways it takes about Rs 1.36 to move a tonne of cargo over a km, on highways it takes Rs 2.50,
whereas the same takes Rs 1.06 on inland waterways.

Highly under-utilised right now, the inland waterways of India move about 55 million tonnes of cargo
every year. The movement is currently restricted to a Ganga-Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers, the
Brahmaputra, the Barak, the rivers in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the
deltaic regions of the Godavari – Krishna rivers.

Explained: Why the Atlantic Ocean current system is slowing down, and its
implications
A recent study notes that the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) is losing its stability.
Modelling studies have shown that an AMOC shutdown would cool the northern hemisphere and
decrease rainfall over Europe.

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If you have watched the 2004 movie, The Day After Tomorrow, you might remember that a disruption in
the North Atlantic Ocean circulation made the planet enter another ice age. A study published last week
in Nature Climate Change notes that this circulation, known officially as the Atlantic Meridional
Overturning Circulation (AMOC), is losing its stability. According to the IPCC’s Report (AR6) released on
August 9, it is very likely that AMOC will decline over the 21st century.

The author of the paper Niklas Boers explains in a release: “The findings support the assessment that
the AMOC decline is not just a fluctuation or a linear response to increasing temperatures but likely
means the approaching of a critical threshold beyond which the circulation system could collapse.”

What is AMOC?

The AMOC is a large system of ocean currents. It is the Atlantic branch of the ocean conveyor belt or
Thermohaline circulation (THC), and distributes heat and nutrients throughout the world’s ocean basins.

AMOC carries warm surface waters from the tropics towards the Northern Hemisphere, where it cools
and sinks. It then returns to the tropics and then to the South Atlantic as a bottom current. From there it
is distributed to all ocean basins via the Antarctic circumpolar current.

What happens if AMOC collapses?

Gulf Stream, a part of the AMOC, is a warm current responsible for mild climate at the Eastern coast of
North America as well as Europe. Without a proper AMOC and Gulf Stream, Europe will be very cold.

Modelling studies have shown that an AMOC shutdown would cool the northern hemisphere and
decrease rainfall over Europe. It can also have an effect on the El Nino.

A 2016 paper in Science Advances noted: “AMOC collapse brings about large, markedly different climate
responses: a prominent cooling over the northern North Atlantic and neighbouring areas, sea ice
increases over the Greenland-Iceland-Norwegian seas and to the south of Greenland, and a significant
southward rain-belt migration over the tropical Atlantic.”

The study team suspected that the previous models overestimated the AMOC’s stability as they did not
look at freshwater influence. Freshwater from melting Greenland ice sheets and the Arctic region can
make circulation weaker as it is not as dense as saltwater and doesn’t sink to the bottom.

Has the AMOC weakened before?

“AMOC and THC strength has always been fluctuating, mainly if you look at the late Pleistocene time
period (last 1 million years). The extreme glacial stages have seen weaker circulation and slowdown in
AMOC, while the glacial terminations have shown a stronger AMOC and circulation,” explains Nirmal B,
a Ph.D. scholar from Geoscience Research Lab, VIT Chennai, who has been studying Atlantic
Paleoclimate.

“We know about these past fluctuations by studying paleoclimate proxies such as sea surface
temperatures (SST), salinity, and isotope signatures from single-celled organisms called foraminifera. But

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the changes we experience in the last 100-200 years are anthropogenic, and these abrupt changes are
destabilising the AMOC, which could collapse the system,” he adds.

In February, researchers noted that AMOC is at its weakest in over a millennium. The team studied the
evolution of AMOC over the past 1600 years. Stefan Rahmstorf, one of the authors of the study
published in Nature Geoscience explained in a release: “The study results suggest that it [AMOC] has
been relatively stable until the late 19th century. With the end of the little ice age in about 1850, the
ocean currents began to decline, with a second, more drastic decline following since the mid-20th
century.”

Why is the AMOC slowing down?

Climate models have long predicted that global warming can cause a weakening of the major ocean
systems of the world.

Last month researchers noted that a part of the Arctic’s ice called “Last Ice Area” has also melted. The
freshwater from the melting ice reduces the salinity and density of the water. Now, the water is unable
to sink as it used to and weakens the AMOC flow.

A 2019 study suggested that the Indian Ocean may also be helping the slowing down of AMOC. The
researchers said: As the Indian Ocean warms faster and faster, it generates additional precipitation.
With so much precipitation in the Indian Ocean, there will be less precipitation in the Atlantic Ocean,
leading to higher salinity in the waters of the tropical portion of the Atlantic. This saltier water in the
Atlantic, as it comes north via AMOC, will get cold much quicker than usual and sink faster.

“This would act as a jump start for AMOC, intensifying the circulation,” author Alexey Fedorov said in a
release. “On the other hand, we don’t know how long this enhanced Indian Ocean warming will
continue. If other tropical oceans’ warming, especially the Pacific, catches up with the Indian Ocean, the
advantage for AMOC will stop.”

“If we continue to drive global warming, the Gulf Stream System will weaken further – by 34 to 45
percent by 2100 according to the latest generation of climate models,“ notes Rahmstorf. “This could
bring us dangerously close to the tipping point at which the flow becomes unstable.”

Niklas Boers added: “We urgently need to reconcile our models with the presented observational
evidence to assess how far or how close the AMOC really is to its critical threshold.”

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Aging Thermal Power Plants: Way Forward-

EXPLAINED
As part of the Union Budget address for 2020-21, the Union Finance Minister said that the shutting
down of old coal power plants, which are major contributors to emissions, will aid the achievement of
India’s Nationally Determined Contributions.

Since plants older than 25 years make up around 20% of the total installed thermal capacity in the
country and play a significant role in the country’s power supply, decisions regarding their retirement
merit finer scrutiny to see if the claimed benefits really accrue.

Advantages of Shutting Down

▪ Economic Advantage: It is argued that the availability of under-utilised newer (and presumably
more efficient) coal-based capacity means that shutting down older inefficient plants would lead
to improved efficiencies, reduced coal usage, and hence, cost savings.

▪ Difficulty in Pollution Control mechanism: It would be uneconomical for old plants to

install pollution control equipment required to meet the emission standards announced by the
Ministry of Environment, Climate change and Forest and hence it would be better to retire them.

▪ Decline in Land Degradation: Untreated air and water pollutants from coal power plants,
especially older ones affect the water and the flora and fauna of adjoining areas making them
unfit for living or livelihood activities.

▪ Shutting down old coal-based power plants and freezing those under construction can save over
Rs. 1.45 lakh crore at a time when electricity demand has been hit due to Covid-19.

o The savings will accrue from avoiding retrofitting old plants to reduce the toxicity from
their emissions.

▪ Replacing electricity from older coal plants with cheaper renewable sources will reduce the gap
between cost of supply and revenue generation for discoms.

Risks Associated with Shutting Down

▪ Not Much Saving: Analysis suggests that the total savings in generation cost from shutting down
plants older than 25 years would be less than Rs. 5,000 crore annually, which is just 2% of the
total power generation cost.

o These savings may not be sufficient to even pay for the fixed costs (such as debt
repayment) that would have to be paid anyway, even if the plants are prematurely
retired.

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o Similarly, savings in coal consumption by replacing generation from plants older than 25
years with newer coal plants are also likely to be only in the 1%-2% range.

▪ Environmental Benefits of Some Old Plants: There are some old plants that may continue to be
economically viable even if they install pollution control equipment, as their current fixed costs
(which would increase with pollution control equipment installation) are very low.

o Moreover, about half the coal capacity older than 25 years has already issued tenders for
pollution control equipment installation.

▪ Need of Power Sector: There is lack of power availability in India, and the limited savings
associated with early retirement of coal plants may not be worth the risks.

o To support the growing intermittent renewable generation in the sector, there is an

increasing need for capacity that can provide flexibility, balancing, and ancillary services.

o Old thermal capacity, with lower fixed costs, is a prime candidate to play this role until
other technologies (such as storage) can replace them at scale.

o Further, the capacity value of the old capacity is critical to meet instantaneous peak load,
and to meet load when renewable energy is unavailable.

▪ Political Economic Risk: Aggressive early retirement of coal-based capacity, without detailed
analyses, could result in real or perceived electricity shortage in some States, leading to calls for
investments in coal-based base-load capacity by State-owned entities.

o About 65 gigawatts (GW) of thermal capacity is already in the pipeline, of which about 35
GW is in various stages of construction.

o This is likely in excess of what the country needs, and further addition to it, driven by State
political economy considerations, will lead to stranded assets and locked-in resources.

▪ More Analysis and Research Required Before Final Decision: Using age as the only lever to drive
these decisions is too blunt an instrument, and can prove counterproductive.

o Instead, a more disaggregated and nuanced analysis, considering the various technical,
economic and operating characteristics of individual plants and units, while also
accounting for aspects such as intermittency of renewables, growing demand, and need
to meet emission norms, would be appropriate to make retirement-related decisions.

o E.g. For instance, plants such as Rihand, Singrauli (both Uttar Pradesh),
and Vindhyanchal (Madhya Pradesh), are all over 30 years old and have very low
generation costs of around ₹1.7/kWh, which is lower than the national average. This may
be due to locational advantage rather than efficiency, as older plants are likely to be
located closer to the coal source, reducing coal transport costs. However, this just
highlights the complexity of the issue, since efficiency does not naturally translate to
savings.

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Way Forward

▪ Strategic Decommissioning of Old and Inefficient Power Plants: It may be prudent to let old
capacity fade away in due course and saving some of them as they are efficient, while focusing on
such detailed analysis and weeding out the needless capacity in the pipeline, to derive long-term
economic and environmental benefits.

▪ Cost Effective Solar Plants: The average cost of coal-fired projects is Rs.4 per unit and generally
sees an upward escalation, whereas new solar power plants are being bid out at less than Rs.3
per unit.

▪ Encourage Private Sector: New private competition can bring new capital and more innovation.

o New coal-fired power plants are still being financed so that the private sector is not
building any coal-based power plants at all; only the public sector power companies are
doing so. These PSU thermal plants are financed by public sector banks and largely on
taxpayers’ money.

▪ UDAY 2.0: Government's announcement of the launch of UDAY 2.0 which seeks installation of
smart prepaid meters, prompt payment by discoms, making coal available for short term and
reviving gas-based plants is a step in the right direction.

▪ Flexible Contracts: Long-term supply contracts need flexibility for public utilities to adapt to
unforeseen situations such as a Covid collapse in demand.

Conclusion

We need an energy transformation through which we would realise the co-benefits of local and global
emission reduction. We also need the right to energy for all, as energy poverty and inequity is not
acceptable.

Diversified energy mix is what India needs to focus on, no doubt solar and wind have a lot of potential,
Hydrogen would also be a game changer in Indian energy transition space.

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NEWS IN SHORT
1. Online nominations or recommendations for Padma Awards comprising of Padma Vibhushan,
Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri has started and the last date of nomination is September 15,
2021. Padma awards will be announced on the occasion of Republic Day, 2022. Nominations or
recommendations for Padma Awards will be received online only on Padma Award portal.
Recommendations will be considered by Government in line with its commitment of transforming
Padma Awards into “People’s Padma”. Citizens are requested to identify talented persons whose
excellence and achievements deserve to be recognized. Padma Awards are the highest civilian
honours in India which is announced annually on the eve of Republic Day.
2. Border Roads Organisation (BRO) has started its celebrations of ‘Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav’ to
commemorate 75 years of Independence of India. To mark this momentous occasion, BRO will
organise nationwide welfare and patriotic activities and events. Event also comprises of 75
medical camps, plantation drives across 75 locations and 75 School Samvad in order to motivate
children through interactions & lectures. Main event will be unfurling of National Flag on August
15 (Independence Day) at 75 Highest Passes of India.
3. India is to get its sixth Covid-19 vaccine soon as drug firm Zydus Cadila’s needle-free Covid-19
vaccine called ‘ZyCoV-D’ is all set to get emergency use authorisation (EUA) approval. Presently,
Indian government has authorised five vaccines for Covid-19 namely, Covaxin, Covishield, Sputnik
V, Moderna’s vaccine, and J&J’s single-dose vaccine. In the interim analysis, Zydus Cadila is found
to be 66.6 percent efficient for symptomatic RT-PCR positive cases. No moderate case of COVID-
19 disease was observed after administering third dose. It suggests, 100 percent efficacy against
moderate disease. Further, no severe cases or deaths due to occurred after second dose of this
vaccine.
4. According to official statistics, less than 300,000 Indians have died due to covid-19 infection in
2021. However, according to latest data of YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey, this is a colossal
underestimation of actual deaths. YouGov-Mint-CPR Millennial Survey was conducted online in
between June-July 2021. It covered 10,285 respondents from households across 203 cities and
towns. According to the survey, 17% of the respondents lost someone in their household because
of covid-19 since the start of 2021. This equal to 13.9 million deaths among urban netizens of
India.
5. Department of Posts is conducting a drawing competition for children aged between six to 15.
Drawing contest is being conducted for designing special covers under the theme ‘COVID-19
vaccination’. Contest is being organised with the aimed of introducing philately as a hobby among
youngsters. Participants are required to send applications with details like name, address, school
name, phone number, email id, cheque or demand draft number, philately account number and
age proof. Children are required to draw on given theme of need for vaccination and preventive
measures on an A4 size paper.

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