Archives
(PRELIMS & MAINS Focus)
SHANGRI LA DIALOGUE
Syllabus
Prelims – Current Event
Context: The 2024 Shangri-La Dialogue took place in Singapore from 31 May to 2 June.
Background:-
The Shangri-La Dialogue is Asia’s premier defence summit. It’s a unique meeting where ministers debate the region’s most pressing security challenges, engage in important bilateral talks and come up with fresh approaches together.
About Shangri La Dialogue
The Shangri-La Dialogue (SLD) is an annual “Track One” inter-governmental security conference held in Singapore.
It’s organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), an independent think tank. The forum is named after the Shangri-La Hotel in Singapore, where it has been held since 2002.
The dialogue is attended by defense ministers, permanent heads of ministries, and military chiefs of mostly Asia-Pacific states. It serves to cultivate a sense of community among the most important policymakers in the defense and security community in the region.
Besides government delegations, the summit is also attended by legislators, academic experts, distinguished journalists, and business delegates.
The 2024 Shangri-La Dialogue took place in Singapore from 31 May to 2 June. The Keynote Address was delivered by Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr., President of the Philippines.
Some of the highlights from the 2024 dialogue include:
The Philippines made a statement regarding the South China Sea conflict, suggesting that China and the Philippines would be ‘crossing the Rubicon’ should a Filipino citizen be killed by Beijing’s ongoing actions in the South China Sea4.
Canada announced the deployment of a Harry DeWolf-class Arctic patrol vessel to the Indo-Pacific as part of the country’s effort to deepen its naval presence.
The Shangri-La Dialogue has become one of the most important independent forums for the exchange of views by international security policy decision-makers. It provides a unique platform for debate among government ministers and senior officials, as well as business leaders and security experts, on Asia’s developing security challenges.
Source: IISS
INDIA’S RUSSIAN OIL IMPORTS
Syllabus
Mains – GS 2
Context: India’s Russian oil imports climbed to a 10-month high in May as low Russian refinery capacity use due to Ukrainian drone strikes made more of Moscow’s oil available for the export market, as per oil tanker tracking data and industry experts.
Background:
The rise in India’s import of discounted Russian oil over the past few months has hit flows from Saudi Arabia the most, the data shows.
Key takeaways?
Indian refiners imported a total of 1.96 million barrels per day (bpd) of Russian crude oil in May, the highest since July of last year, and nearly 3 per cent higher than volumes imported in April.
Oil imports from Saudi Arabia—India’s third-biggest source market for crude—declined almost 13 percent sequentially to 0.55 million bpd. The primary reason for the decline is seen as the ample availability of Russian crude, which continues to maintain a price advantage over Riyadh’s oil.
Supply of the medium-sour Urals crude—Russia’s flagship crude grade and the mainstay of India’s Russian oil purchases—to Indian refiners touched a record high in May at 1.53 million bpd, accounting for over 78 percent of India’s Russian oil imports.
May also marked a 10-month high in India’s oil imports from the United States (US)—New Delhi’s fifth-largest source of crude oil. Indian refiners imported a total of 0.21 million bpd of crude from the US in May and the highest since July of last year.
In terms of market share, Russia accounted for almost 41 percent of the total 4.79 million bpd of crude oil imported into India in May.
India’s second-largest source of crude—Iraq—accounted for a fifth of New Delhi’s oil imports in May, while Saudi Arabia’s share was 11.4 percent.
As the world’s third-largest consumer of crude oil with a high import dependency level of over 85 percent, India is extremely sensitive to oil prices.
Although trade sources have indicated that discounts on Russian crude have shrunk considerably over the past months, Indian refiners have evidently remained keen on buying Russian oil as given the high import volumes, even lower discount levels lead to significant savings.
Additional Information:
Prior to the war in Ukraine, Iraq and Saudi Arabia were the top two suppliers of crude oil to India. But as the West started weaning itself off Russian energy supplies following Moscow’s February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Russia started offering discounts on its crude and Indian refiners started snapping up the discounted barrels.
Source: Indian Express
INDIA METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT (IMD)
Syllabus
Prelims – Current Event
Context: When Delhi’s Mungeshpur weather station recorded a maximum temperature of 52.9 degrees Celsius on May 29, it was on account of “malfunctioning of the sensor,” the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has said.
Background:
The maximum temperature of 52.9 degrees at Mungeshpur was an all-time high for any location in India and this had prompted the IMD to verify the recording at the station.
About IMD
It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting, and seismology.
It functions under Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) with its headquarter at Mausam Bhawan, Lodhi Road, New Delhi.
IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organisation. It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.
Here are some key details about IMD:
Established in 1875, IMD is the National Meteorological Service of the country.
IMD is headquartered in Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica.
It deals with all matters relating to meteorology, seismology, and associated subjects.
IMD provides a variety of services such as rainfall information, monsoon information, cyclone information, agromet advisory services, climate services, urban meteorological services, aviation services, climate hazard & vulnerability atlas, geospatial services, and forecasts.
IMD plays a crucial role in providing weather updates and warnings, which are vital for various sectors including agriculture, aviation, and disaster management.
It also provides specialized forecasts and conducts research in meteorology and allied subjects.
Additional Information – History of meteorology in India:
The beginnings of meteorology in India can be traced to ancient times.
Early philosophical writings of the 3000 B.C. era, such as the Upanishadas, contain serious discussion about the processes of cloud formation and rain and the seasonal cycles caused by the movement of earth round the sun.
Varahamihira’s classical work, the Brihatsamhita, written around 500 A.D., provides a clear evidence that a deep knowledge of atmospheric processes existed even in those times.
Kautilya’s Arthashastra contains records of scientific measurements of rainfall and its application to the country’s revenue and relief work.
Kalidasa in his epic, ‘Meghdoot’, written around the seventh century, even mentions the date of onset of the monsoon over central India and traces the path of the monsoon clouds.
Meteorology, as we perceive it now, may be said to have had its firm scientific foundation in the 17th century after the invention of the thermometer and the barometer and the formulation of laws governing the behaviour of atmospheric gases.
It was in 1686 that Edmond Halley, a British scientist, published his treatise on the Indian summer monsoon, which he attributed to a seasonal reversal of winds due to the differential heating of the Asian land mass and the Indian Ocean.
India is fortunate to have some of the oldest meteorological observatories of the world. The British East India Company established several such stations, for example, those at Calcutta in 1785 and Madras (now Chennai) in 1796 for studying the weather and climate of India.
The Asiatic Society of Bengal founded in 1784 at Calcutta, and in 1804 at Bombay (now Mumbai), promoted scientific studies in meteorology in India. In the first half of the 19th century, several observatories began functioning in India under the provincial governments.
A disastrous tropical cyclone struck Calcutta in 1864 and this was followed by failures of the monsoon rains in 1866 and 1871. In the year 1875, the Government of India established the India Meteorological Department, bringing all meteorological work in the country under a central authority. The first Director General of Observatories was Sir John Eliot who was appointed in May 1889 at Calcutta headquarters. The headquarters of IMD were later shifted to Shimla, then to Poona (now Pune) and finally to New Delhi.
Source: IMD
HEAT STROKE
Syllabus
Prelims – Current Event
Context: Odisha reported at least 99 suspected heatstroke deaths over the past 72 hours as intense heatwave conditions gripped the state.
Background:
According to the IMD, heatwave conditions are likely to prevail in the western region of the state, while the coastal and interior districts will witness hot and humid weather conditions.
About Heat Stroke:
Heat stroke is the most serious heat-related illness. It occurs when the body can no longer control its temperature: the body’s temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails, and the body is unable to cool down.
If untreated, heatstroke can quickly damage your brain, heart, kidneys, and muscles. The damage worsens the longer treatment is delayed, increasing your risk of serious complications or death.
Here are some key details about heat stroke:
Symptoms: The symptoms of heat stroke include a high body temperature of 104°F or higher, altered mental state or behavior (such as confusion, agitation, slurred speech, irritability, delirium, seizures, and coma), alteration in sweating, nausea and/or vomiting, flushed or reddened skin, rapid breathing, fast heartbeat, headache, and muscle weakness or cramps.
Causes: Heatstroke can occur due to prolonged exposure to a hot environment or intense physical activity in hot weather. Other factors that could lead to heatstroke include wearing excess clothing, drinking too much alcohol, not drinking an adequate amount of water or being dehydrated, aging (as the ability to cope with hot weather decreases with age), lack of proper air conditioning, certain medications that lead to dehydration, and medical conditions such as heart and lung diseases.
Treatment: Treatments for heatstroke aim at reducing the body temperature and preventing damage to the internal organs. Immediate actions to cool the overheated person include moving them to a cool place, removing excess clothing, getting them to drink a sports or rehydration drink, or cool water, and cooling their skin by spraying or sponging them with cool water.
Prevention: To prevent heat stroke, it’s recommended to remain indoors during hot weather, wear loose-fitting, lightweight clothing in high temperatures, drink plenty of fluids, protect yourself from sunburn, do not leave anyone in a parked car, especially during hot weather, rest adequately during long working hours, and be cautious in hot temperatures if you suffer from any heart or lung diseases.
Source: Mayo Clinic
COAL
Syllabus
Prelims & Mains – Geography
Context: A recent report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, furnished new documents to allege that in 2014, the Adani Group claimed ‘low grade’ coal, imported from Indonesia, to be ‘high-quality’ coal, inflated its value and sold it to Tamil Nadu’s power generation company, TANGEDCO (Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Company).
Background:
Due to this, not only did the Adani Group make a huge profit, but it also harmed the environment due to the burning of low-grade coal by the power-generating company, alleged the report.
What is ‘high grade’ and ‘low grade’ coal?
High and low quality are relative terms and only meaningful in the context of where the coal is used and how they are processed.
The Gross Calorific Value (GCV), or the amount of heat or energy that can be generated from burning the coal, determines the gradation of coal.
Coal being a fossil fuel is a mixture of carbon, ash, moisture and a host of other impurities. The higher the available carbon in a unit of coal, the greater is its quality or ‘grade.’
There are 17 grades of coal by this metric from grade 1, or top quality coal, with a kilo of it yielding higher than 7,000 kcal, and the lowest producing anywhere between 2,200-2,500 kcal, as per a classification by the Coal Ministry.
However, the calorific value is not a useful metric on its own. The most important uses of coal are in running thermal power plants or powering a blast furnace to produce steel and both require different kinds of coal.
‘Coking’ coal is the kind needed to produce coke — an essential component of steel making — and thus requires minimal ash content. Non-coking coal, despite its ash content, can be used to generate enough useful heat to run a boiler and turbine.
What are the characteristics of Indian coal?
Indian coal has historically been evaluated as being high in ash content and low in calorific value compared to imported coal.
The average GCV of domestic thermal coal ranges from 3,500-4,000 kcal/kg compared to imported thermal coals of +6,000 kcal/kg of GCV.
Also the average ash content of Indian coals is more than 40% compared to imported coal which has less than 10% ash content. The consequence of this is that high-ash coal when burnt results in higher particulate matter, nitrogen and sulphur dioxide.
What is clean coal?
Broadly, we get clean coal when the carbon content has been increased by reducing its ash content.
Coal plants have ‘washing plants’ on site which can process the coal in ways that reduce ash and moisture content. They employ huge blowers or a ‘bath’ to remove fine, coarse ash. However, deploying such equipment is expensive and adds to the cost of power.
The other method to clean coal — again requiring significant investment — is coal gasification. Here, the need to directly burn coal is bypassed by converting it into gas. By relying on an integrated gasification combined cycle (IGCC) system, steam and hot pressurised air or oxygen combine with coal in a reaction that forces carbon molecules apart. The resulting syngas, a mixture of carbon monoxide, hydrogen, CO2 and water vapour, is then cleaned and burned in a gas turbine to make electricity. Since IGCC power plants create two forms of energy (steam from the gasification process apart from syngas as fuel), they increase efficiency of the coal used.
What is the future of coal in India?
Official data says that India in 2023-24 produced 997 million tonnes of coal, an 11% growth over the previous year. Most of this was produced by the state-owned Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries.
Despite stated commitments to transition India’s electricity sector away from fossil fuel, coal is the mainstay of India’s energy economy.
Change, however, is in the air as for the first time this year, renewable energy accounted for 71.5% of the record 13.6 GW power generation capacity added by India in the first quarter of this year, while coal’s share (including lignite) of total power capacity dropped below 50% for the first time since the 1960s.
Source: Hindu
RED LIST OF MANGROVE ECOSYSTEMS
Syllabus
Mains – GS 3
Context: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has issued a “Red List of Mangrove Ecosystems” cautioning that half of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapsing. This marks the first comprehensive global assessment of mangroves by IUCN.
Background:
The world’s mangrove ecosystems cover about 150 thousand km2 along mainly tropical, sub-tropical and some warm temperate coasts of the world. About 15% of the world’s coastlines are covered by mangroves.
Mangrove ecosystems are important for biodiversity conservation, provision of essential goods and services to local communities, and reducing the impact of climate change. For this reason, understanding risk of ecosystem collapse has serious socioeconomic implications.
Key Findings of the Report:
It classified the world’s mangrove ecosystems into 36 different regions called provinces and assessed the threats and risk of collapse in each region.
Over 50% of the world’s mangrove ecosystems are at risk of collapse (classified as either vulnerable, endangered or critically endangered), with nearly 1 in 5 facing severe risk.
One-third of the world’s mangrove ecosystem provinces will be severely affected by sea-level rise, with 25% of the global mangrove area predicted to be submerged in the next 50 years.
The mangrove ecosystem in South India shared with Sri Lanka and Maldives, is categorized as “critically endangered”. In contrast, mangrove ecosystems in the Bay of Bengal region (shared with Bangladesh) and the western coast (shared with Pakistan) are classified as “least concerned”.
A study found that globally, climate change is the major threat to mangrove ecosystems, affecting 33% of mangroves. It is followed by deforestation, development, pollution, and dam construction.
Increased frequency and intensity of cyclones, typhoons, hurricanes, and tropical storms are impacting mangroves on certain coastlines.
Coasts along the Northwest Atlantic, North Indian Ocean, Red Sea, South China Sea, and Gulf of Aden are predicted to be significantly impacted. Without increased conservation, about 7,065 sq km (5%) more mangroves could be lost, and 23,672 sq km (16%) will be submerged by 2050.
Status of Mangroves Cover in India:
Mangroves are a unique type of coastal ecosystem found in tropical and subtropical regions. They are dense forests of salt-tolerant trees and shrubs that thrive in intertidal zones, where land meets the sea. These ecosystems are characterized by their ability to withstand harsh conditions, such as saline water, tidal fluctuations, and muddy, oxygen-poor soils.
About 40% of the world’s mangrove cover is found in Southeast Asia and South Asia. India has about 3% of the total mangrove cover in South Asia.
India’s mangrove cover has increased by 54 sq. km (1.10%) compared to the previous assessment.
The current mangrove cover in India is 4,975 sq. km, which is 0.15% of the country’s total geographical area.
West Bengal (42.45%) has the largest share of India’s mangrove cover, followed by Gujarat at 23.66% and Andaman & Nicobar Islands at 12.39%. The South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal alone accounts for 41.85% of India’s mangrove cover. This region includes the Sundarbans National Park, one of the largest mangrove forests in the world.
Gujarat has shown a maximum increase of 37 sq. km in mangrove cover.
Source: IUCN
Practice MCQs
Daily Practice MCQs
Q1.) Consider the following statements about India Meteorological Department (IMD) :
IMD is headquartered in Delhi and operates observation stations across India and Antarctica.
It functions under Ministry of Science & Technology.
IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres of the World Meteorological Organisation.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Only one
Only two
All three
None
Q2.) Consider the following statements:
Indian coal has historically been evaluated as being high in ash content and low in calorific value compared to imported coal.
The higher the available carbon in a unit of coal, the greater is its quality or ‘grade.’
Non-coking coal, despite its ash content, can be used to generate enough useful heat to run a boiler and turbine.
How many of the statements given above are correct?
Only one
Only two
All three
None
Q3.) Consider the following statements about Shangri La Dialogue:
It’s organized by the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), an independent think tank.
The 2024 Shangri-La Dialogue took place in Malaysia.
Which of the statements given above is/are not correct?
1 only
2 only
Both 1 and 2
Neither 1 nor 2
Comment the answers to the above questions in the comment section below!!
ANSWERS FOR ’ 3rd June 2024 – Daily Practice MCQs’ will be updated along with tomorrow’s Daily Current Affairs.st
ANSWERS FOR 1st June – Daily Practice MCQs
Answers- Daily Practice MCQs
Q.1) – c
Q.2) – d
Q.3) – c
