Today's Headlines

Today's Headlines - 22 April 2023

New space policy unveiled

GS Paper - 3 (Space Technology)

The Indian Space Policy 2023, unveiled by Isro after it was cleared by the Union Cabinet, allows non-government entities (NGEs) or private companies or startups to “establish and operate remote sensing satellite systems within and outside India through self-owned or procured or leased satellites”. Besides their civil applications, remote sensing satellites have normally been used in India for surveillance purposes and used as ‘eyes in the sky’.

What

  1. Isro has launched several remote sensing satellites like Risat and Cartosat over a period of time which was later used by Indian security agencies for keeping an eye on the country’s borders, checking infiltration and planning cross-border operations like the 2016 surgical strikes.
  2. However, it is not clear how much liberty NGEs would get to venture into the strategic field as the new policy also added that “this (permission) would be subject to such guidelines or regulations as prescribed by (space regulator) IN-SPACe.
  3. The new policy also gives more freedom to private companies in setting up their own space assets.
  4. NGEs shall be allowed to undertake end-to-end activities in the space sector through establishment and operation of space objectsground-based assets and related services, such as communicationremote sensingnavigation, etc.
  5. They can establish and operate ground facilities for space object operations, such as telemetry, tracking & commandearth stations and satellite control centres (SCCs).
  6. They can also use Indian orbital resources and/or non-Indian orbital resources to establish space objects for communication services over India and outside India.”
  7. The NSIL, the new policy said, shall be responsible for commercialising space technologies and platforms created through public expenditure.

 

AI and Environment

GS Paper -3 (Technology)

AI-powered technology has already been playing a growing role in our lives and economies. New tools like ChatGPT have generated a huge amount of interest in artificial intelligence in the past few months. It has also been touted as a powerful tool to help tackle global crises, such as climate change.

More about the news:

  • This rapidly improving technology can make in bringing down emissions, and to prevent runaway global heating.
  • One study commissioned by tech giant Microsoft estimated that AI applications in the sectors of agriculture, water, energy and transport could lead to a 4% cut in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, equivalent to the annual emissions of Australia, Canada and Japan combined.

How AI can help in conserving environment:

Saving trees with AI ‘guardians’:

  • A recent report estimated that by empowering authorities to use AI tools to pre-empt the destruction of rainforests, governments could save around 29 gigatons of emissions by 2030. For comparison, energy-related CO2 emissions worldwide amounted to around 37 gigatons in 2022.
  • Deforestation and land use changes cause more than 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Trees absorb carbon dioxide and store it for long periods of time, and when they’re cut down, much of that CO2 escapes into the atmosphere.
  • To curb illegal land clearing, the non-profit Rainforest Connection attaches acoustic monitoring sensors to trees that “eavesdrop” on the surrounding forest and transmit that audio in real-time to the cloud.
  • Almost 600 of these devices, dubbed “guardians,” have been installed in 35 countries, from Brazil to Indonesia, Congo to the Philippines. It says they’ve collected more than 107 million minutes of audio data, covering more than 400,000 hectares of land.

Shrinking the carbon footprint of steel:

  • Materials such as steel and cement are important components in construction, they’re also heavy CO2 emitters, making decarbonizing these industries a priority.
  • Steel production alone accounts for around a quarter of greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing sector. A big part of this share comes from the mining and transportation of ingredients used in the production process.
  • According to a report by the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence, Fero Labs has prevented an estimated 450,000 tons of CO2 emissions per year by skipping the mining, smelting and transporting of these alloys.

Cutting energy waste in buildings:

  • In Hong Kong, energy use in buildings is responsible for about 60% of the city’s carbon emissions. With 7.5 million inhabitants, the finance hub is one of the most densely populated places in the world.
  • Design firm Arup came up with an app called Neuron that uses 5G and Internet of Things sensors to gather real-time data from a building’s energy management system.
  • According to the Global Partnership on Artificial Intelligence report, these tweaks can save 10-30% of the energy used in a typical commercial building.

Fighting poaching with algorithms:

  • Poaching and habitat destruction caused rhino numbers to dwindle throughout the 20th century. Most species are now considered endangered and mainly survive in protected reserves or sanctuaries, but they’re still targeted for their horns.
  • The South Africa-based company Rouxcel Technology has developed AI-enabled bracelets that fit around rhinos’ ankles to help conservation teams easily locate the animals and monitor their behaviour in real time.

Smart farming

  • Agriculture is vulnerable to climate change, with unpredictable temperatures, more frequent extreme weather events and invasive pests all posing a risk to crop yields.
  • At the same time, the farming sector itself contributes to the problem — agriculture, forestry and land use account for around 18% of global CO2 emissions.
  • Germany-based start-up Agvolution has developed an AI system that draws on data from solar-powered sensors monitoring the microclimate around crops.

 

Global Climate Report by WMO

GS Paper -2 (International Organization)

According to a new report by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO), the unusual heat in Europe last year, during which several countries experienced record-breaking temperatures, contributed to the deaths of at least 15,000 people, more than any other single extreme climate event.

More about the news:

  • v  Europe experienced numerous heatwaves, with sig­nificant heatwaves occurring in each of the three summer months.
  • The annual State of Global Climate report by the WMO said about the year 2022during the summer, around 4,600 deaths in Spain, 4,500 in Germany, 2,800 in the United Kingdom (among those aged 65 and older), 2,800 in France and 1,000 in Portugal were associated with the unusual heat.

Events in Europe in 2022:

  • Several parts of Europe had recorded their highest-ever temperatures last year. The United Kingdom, for example, experienced 40-plus degree Celsius heat for the first time ever, while Ireland had its highest temperature since 1887.
  • Hamburg, in Germany, became the most northern part of the country to ever record 40 degree Celsius temperature. Even Sweden, one of the coldest countries, recorded temperatures in excess of 37 degree Celsius last year.
  • The WMO said; this happened despite the prevalence of a strong La Nina event which is known to have an overall cooling impact on the planet.
  • On average, global temperature in 2022 was 1.15 degree Celsius higher than pre-industrial times, which is the average of the 1850-1900 periods. The WMO had said in its provisional report for 2022 last year.

Status in the previous years:

  • The warmest year on record so far has been 2016 when average global temperatures were measured to be 1.28 degree Celsius higher than pre-industrial times, not very far away from the 1.5 degree Celsius milestone.
  • WMO said; the years 2015 to 2022 have been the eight warmest years in the 173 years of direct record keeping. The year 2022 would be fifth or sixth on that list of warmest years.
  • The concentrations of three main greenhouse gases -carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are responsible for global warming were all at record levels in 2021.
  • Carbon dioxide concentrations in atmosphere now exceed 415 parts per million, a few years ago, 400 ppm was considered a danger mark and the effort was to keep the concentrations below that.
  • The WMO said; the concentrations of methane, less prevalent but more damaging than carbon dioxide, increased to 1908 parts per billion in 2021. The increase of 18 ppb between 2020 and 2021 was the highest annual rise ever.
  • The report said 95 million people across the world had already suffered displacement because of climate change reasons.

Way forward:

  • With La Nina phase getting over, and forecasts of El Nino taking over in a few months, this year is predicted to be warmer than 2022, with the likelihood of more intense heatwaves and droughts occurring.
  • In India, heat-wave conditions existed even in February which is not even a summer month. After a relatively cool March, heatwaves were back in April, and more are predicted in the coming months.
  • The India Meteorological Department has predicted a normal monsoon this year, but there are fears that rainfall might be suppressed because of the impact of El Nino.

 

Decriminalizing Homosexuality was A ‘Rainbow Of Hope’

GS Paper - 2 (Polity)

The Chief Justice of India said the moment the Supreme Court gave a “rainbow of hope” to the LGBTQIA+ community by decriminalizing homosexuality in 2018. It had implicitly contemplated that “stable, marriage-like relationships” could exist between same-sex persons who do not treat their bond as “chance encounters' '.

Homosexuality and Marriage

  • “The moment, homosexuality is no longer an offence under Section 377 Indian Penal Code,
  • The government had argued in an affidavit that the court had only decriminalized sexual intercourse between same-sex persons in its 2018 judgment in the Navtej Singh Johar case, and not legitimized this “conduct”.
  • The court, while decriminalizing homosexuality, had never accepted same-sex marriage as part of the fundamental right to life and dignity under Article 21 of the Constitution.
  • The government had said a same-sex marriage cannot be compared to a man and woman living as a family with children born out of the union.

Special Marriage Act

  • The petitioners have sought a broader interpretation of the Special Marriage Act of 1954 by making it gender-neutral and read the term ‘spouses’ into the heterosexual usages of ‘man’ and ‘woman’ in the law.
  • Chief Justice Chandrachud said the Parliament’s intention behind introducing the 1954 Act was to open up an avenue for people who were not falling back or relying on the dictates of their respective personal laws to get married.
  • Justice S. RavindraBhat described the 1954 Act as an “all-enfolding legislation”.

SC and Governmentviews

  • “In the last 69 years, our law has evolved to recognize the fact that when you decriminalize homosexuality, you also realize that these are not just one-off relationships.
  • By decriminalizing homosexuality, It is not just recognized fleeting relationships between consenting adults of the same gender, also recognized implicitly the fact that people who are of the same sex would be in stable relationships,”.
  • The court’s remarks serve as a counter to the arguments of the government that the existing concept of marriage as a heterosexual institution has the sanctity of law and religion. The Centre has warned that legal recognition of same sex marriage would “seriously affect the interests of every citizen”.
  • “The concept of marriage transcends contemporary understanding, used in a constitutional sense, marriage provides a framework, and the framework is evolving and not cast in stone,” Justice Bhat observed.
  • The government, in an affidavit, has argued that any further creation of rights, recognition of same-sex relationships and giving itlegal sanctity could be done only by the competent legislature and not through judicial adjudication.
  • Marriage is considered to be an aspect of social policy of the nation across the world. It is within the remit of the appropriate legislature, as the elected representatives of the people, to define it, recognize it and regulate it and the choice not to recognize same-sex marriage is simply a facet of the legislative policy,”.
  • The Centre had found the idea of same-sex marriage a threat to the “holy union” of marriage between a biological man and a woman in India where the union is a “sacrament and a sanskar”.