El Niño and La Niña

In Context

• India is experiencing a colder winter than normal with the La Niña is going on for a record-breaking third consecutive year also known as the ‘Triple dip’ La Nina.
  • Forecasts for the 2023 fall and winter are predicting that El Niño will occur with more than a 50% probability.

Significance 

• Increase in the planet’s average surface temperature:
  • An El Niño year creates a global-warming crisis in miniature:
    • This is because the warm water spreading across the tropical Pacific and releases a large amount of heat into the atmosphere.
  • An El Niño this year could increase the planet’s average surface temperature by more than 1.5° C from pre-industrial levels.
• Transition of La Niña to El Niño:
  • A transition from a La Niña winter – which we are in currently – to an El Niño summer has historically tended to produce the largest deficit in the monsoon. 
  • This means that pre-monsoon and monsoon circulations tend to be weaker in an El Niño year.
• Weaker vertical shear:
  • The vertical shear, which is the change in intensity of winds from the surface to the upper atmosphere, tends to be weaker as well. 
  • This in turn can favour enhanced cyclogenesis, i.e. cyclone formation.
• Monsoon Deficit & dry events:
  • If an El Niño state does emerge by summer, India is likely to experience a deficit monsoon in 2023. 
  • The monsoon deficit will be accompanied by extreme wet and dry events. 
  • While overall seasonal total could be deficient, there are likely to be isolated pockets of heavy or very heavy rainfall.
• Affecting weather worldwide:
  • Both phenomena affect the weather worldwide and can have drastic effects on economies that depend on rainfall.

More about the El Niño, La Niña & ENSO

• El Niño:
  • About:
    • El Niño is the warming of seawater in the central-east Equatorial Pacific that occurs every few years. 
    • During El Niño, surface temperatures in the equatorial Pacific rise, and trade winds — east-west winds that blow near the Equator — weaken. 
    • Normally, easterly trade winds blow from the Americas towards Asia. Due to El Niño, they falter and change direction to turn into westerlies, bringing warm water from the western Pacific towards the Americas. 
  • Outcomes:
    • Disruptions in the food chain:
      • The phenomena of upwelling, where nutrient-rich waters rise towards the surface, is reduced under El Niño. This in turn reduces phytoplankton. 
      • Thus, fish that eat phytoplankton are affected, followed by other organisms higher up the food chain. 
    • Disruptions in the overall ecosystem:
      • Warm waters also carry tropical species towards colder areas, disrupting multiple ecosystems. 
    • Alterations in wind & weather patterns:
      • Since the Pacific covers almost one-third of the earth, changes in its temperature and subsequent alteration of wind patterns disrupt global weather patterns. 
      • El Niño causes dry, warm winters in Northern U.S. and Canada and increases the risk of flooding in the U.S. gulf coast and southeastern U.S. It also brings drought to Indonesia and Australia.
• La Niña:
  • About:
    • La Niña is the opposite of El Niño. La Niña sees cooler than average sea surface temperature (SST) in the equatorial Pacific region. 
    • Trade winds are stronger than usual, pushing warmer water towards Asia.
  • Outcomes:
    • On the American west coast, upwelling increases, bringing nutrient-rich water to the surface. 
    • Pacific cold waters close to the Americas push jet streams — narrow bands of strong winds in the upper atmosphere — northwards. 
    • This leads to drier conditions in Southern U.S., and heavy rainfall in Canada.
    • La Niña has also been associated with heavy floods in Australia. Two successive La Niña events in the last two years caused intense flooding in Australia, resulting in significant damage.

• ENSO:
  • The combination of El Niño, La Niña, and the neutral state between the two opposite effects is called the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO). 
  • Southern oscillations are large-scale changes in sea level pressure in the tropical Pacific region.
• Effect of El Niño & La Niña on India’s monsoons:
  • In India, El Niño causes weak rainfall and more heat, while La Niña intensifies rainfall across South Asia, particularly in India’s northwest and Bangladesh during the monsoon. 
  • At present, India, like the rest of the globe, is witnessing an extended ‘triple dip’ La Niña. 
  • This is why India saw surplus rain in September, a month that usually sees the monsoon retreat, for the third year in a row.

‘Triple dip’ La NinaIndia is seeing an extended spell of the La Nina, called a ‘triple dip’ La Nina which is a phenomenon lasting across three winter seasons in the northern hemisphere. This is only the third time since 1950 that a triple-dip La Nina has been observed. Cause: Human-induced climate change amplifies the impacts of naturally occurring events like La Niña and is increasingly influencing our weather patterns.Extreme El Niño and La Niña events may increase in frequency from about one every 20 years to one every 10 years by the end of the 21st century under aggressive greenhouse gas emission scenarios.

Indo-German Relations

In News

• Recently, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz came to India on a bilateral visit.

About

• The German chancellor’s visit assumes significance as it coincides with the completion of one year of the Russia-Ukraine conflict and comes after the recent Chinese spy balloon episode that has created ripples in world geopolitics.
• During the visit  both countries had discussions on  economic cooperation, the Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP) and Indo-Pacific

Key outcomes of the bilateral meeting     

•  Green and Sustainable Development Partnership (GSDP):
  • GSDP is an umbrella partnership that provides political guidance and steer to robust ties in climate action and SDGs.
  • Under this, Germany will place €10 billion in new and additional commitments under their development cooperation portfolio in India.
• India-Germany agreed on a vision statement to Enhance Cooperation in Innovation & Technology.
  • Under the framework of the Inter-Governmental Agreement on ‘Cooperation in Scientific Research and Technological Development’, the two countries share a long history of cooperation in science and technology, research and innovation.
•  Cooperation in Green Hydrogen
  • For this, the Indo-German Green Hydrogen Task Force was constituted in September 2022 
•  Triangular Development Cooperation:
  • India and Germany agreed to work on development projects in third countries.      
• Both sides concluded agreements on “Digital Transformation, FinTech, IT, Telecom and Supply chains’ diversification”.

Indo- German Ties

• About:
  • India- Germany cooperation aims at benefiting humanity and is firmly guided by their shared democratic values and respect.
  • India?Germany relations rest on a very strong pillar of trade and investment linkages.
  • India and Germany have had a ‘Strategic Partnership’ since May 2000. This has been further strengthened with the launch of Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) in 2011 .
  • The G4 nations (Brazil, Germany, India, and Japan) support each other’s bids for permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council.
• Trade and economic relations:
  • Germany is India’s largest trading partner in Europe, with a total trade of USD 21.07 Billion in 2020-21, occupying 17.4% of share in European Market.
  • Germany is the 7th largest foreign direct investor in India since April 2000. Germany’s total FDI in India from 2000 until 2019 amounted to US$ 11.9 billion.
  • Germany has a Bilateral Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA) with India via the EU.
• Institutional Relationship:
  • The Intergovernmental Consultations (IGC) is a unique mechanism which brings together  ministers and officials from both sides, to engage in bilateral discussions on cooperation and partnership across a range of areas. The focus areas for the IGC included global security policy issues and common efforts to tackle the climate crisis.
    • During the last IGC in may 2022 following several agreements were signed
      • Green and Sustainable Energy Partnership
      • Agro-Ecology Cooperation
      • Triangular Development Cooperation Projects in Third Countries
  • A Track 1.5 Strategic Dialogue has also been established to enhance mutual understanding of national, regional and strategic interests.

• Defence co-operation:
  • India-Germany Defence Cooperation Agreement (2006) provides a framework for bilateral defence cooperation.
  • Both the countries signed the Arrangement on Implementation of the Agreement, concerning Bilateral Defence Cooperation which enables both the countries to share classified information with each other
  • Indian and German navy ships  regularly conduct anti piracy operations in the Indian ocean.
  • The first ever Franco-Indian-German military exercise is expected to take place in 2024.
• Science & Technology:
  • Bilateral Science and Technology cooperation is implemented under Inter-Governmental Agreement on ‘Cooperation in Scientific Research and Technological Development’. An apex Indo-German Committee on S&T, coordinates the implementation of activities.
  • The jointly funded Indo-German Science and Technology Centre (IGSTC) was set up in Gurgaon in September 2008.

Issues

• Germany’s low trade: Germany’s trade with India is less than ten percent of its trade with china.
• Restrictive Policies: Germany has an advanced defence manufacturing  comparable to that of france, but the defence exports are less than potential because of restrictive arms export policy
• Lack of a separate bilateral investment treaty between the two countries hampers the commercial potential between two countries. 
• Germany is not confident  about India’s trade liberalization measures, it bats for more liberal labour regulations.

Way Forward

• With more than 20% of German trade conducted in the Indo-Pacific neighbourhood and India’s centrality in the Indo-Pacific, strong ties between the countries are mutually beneficial.

Internet Shutdowns in India and Globally

In Context

• Recently, Digital rights advocacy group Access Now has released a report on global incidences of internet shutdowns in the year 2022.
  • As per the record, nearly 187 internet shutdowns occurred in 2022 of which nearly half of those blackouts happened in India.
  • The government of a country regularly imposes communications restrictions on security grounds.

Major Findings of the Report

Indicators	Findings
Report on India	India imposed the highest number of internet shutdowns in the world in 2022.India has topped the list for the fifth successive year.Out of 187 internet shutdowns globally recorded by Access Now, 84 took place in India, including 49 in Kashmir.
Reasons for Shutdowns in India	Authorities disrupted internet access in Kashmir due to political instability and violence.Militants have battled India’s rule in Kashmir for more than three decades.
Shutdowns in Other Countries	Ukraine was second on the list, with the Russian military cutting access to the internet at least 22 times after Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022.The Russian military intentionally destroyed telecommunications equipment and cut off Internet connectivity during its full-scale invasion of Ukraine.Iran came in third place with 18 internet shutdowns imposed in 2022 in response to demonstrations against the government.

Major reasons for internet shut-downs

• Internet shutdowns in India are often imposed by the government as an administrative or law-and-order measure.
• It is done to curb the spread of misinformation and rumors that can lead to deteriorating law and order situations. 
• Shutting down the internet helps maintain peace among communities in times of crisis. 

Laws governing Shutdowns in India

• Section 69A of the Information Technology Act 2000 (IT Act)  gives the Indian government the power to issue directions to block public access to any information through any computer resource in cases including:
  • Interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognizable offence relating to the above.
• The Indian Telegraph Act, 1885 grants the central government the power to disconnect or intercept communication services in the interest of case including:
  • Public safety, sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order.
• Temporary suspensions can also be ordered under “Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency or Public Safety) Rules, 2017”.

Impact of Internet Shutdowns

• Economic impact: Internet shutdowns have a significant economic impact, as they affect a wide range of sectors including e-commerce, online education, and businesses that rely on the internet for their operations.
• Disruption of public services: Shutdowns disrupt access to essential public services such as healthcare, emergency services, and communication.
• Social impact: Shutdowns impact the ability of citizens to communicate with their loved ones, access information, and exercise their right to free speech. It is also against democratic rights as it curtails freedom of speech and expression which are constitutionally protected under Article 19.
• Political impact: Shutdowns are often used to control the flow of information during political unrest, protests, or elections leading to a lack of transparency and accountability in the democratic process.
• Psychological impact: Internet shutdowns can cause stress, anxiety, and mental health issues, especially for those who rely on the internet for their livelihood or to stay connected with family and friends.
• International reputation: Frequent and prolonged internet shutdowns have a negative impact on India’s international reputation as a democratic and technologically advanced nation.
• Legal implications: Shutdowns can also have legal implications, as they may violate the fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution and international human rights laws.

Adopt a heritage Scheme

In News

• Under the Centre’s ‘adopt a heritage’ scheme, Dalmia Bharat Group has developed the Red Fort and set up a museum as well as a sound and light show inside the 17th-century monument to narrate its history to visitors.

Adopt a Heritage Scheme 

• The ‘Adopt a Heritage: ApniDharohar, ApniPehchaan’ scheme is an initiative of the Ministry of Tourism, in collaboration with the Ministry of Culture and the Archaeological Survey of India.
• The scheme was launched on World Tourism Day, i.e., 27 September 2017. 
• The Adopt a Heritage Scheme allowed public and private sector enterprises to acquire top heritage areas of India and enhance tourism activities there.
• The sites/monuments are selected on the basis of tourist footfall and visibility and can be adopted by private and public sector companies and individuals — known as Monument Mitras— for an initial period of five years.
• As per the latest reports, Adopt a Heritage scheme has covered 106 tourist places with more than 600 Monument Mitras registered and 27 MoUs being signed.
• The Ministry of Tourism has the power of termination of MoU of Monument Mitras in case of noncompliance of guidelines and expression of interest (EoI), or any other reason of non-performance.

Objectives of the Scheme

• Development of basic tourism infrastructure in and around historic sites, monuments, natural sites, and tourist attractions.
• Enhancing tourism experience by developing facilities and amenities at historic sites, monuments, natural sites, and tourist attractions.
• Promote the cultural and heritage significance of the country and create awareness about them.

Advantages of Adopt a Heritage Scheme

• Corporate control of some monuments and heritage sites ensure that their maintenance and operations could be handled more professionally.
• Facilitate sustainable tourism infrastructure and ensure proper operation and maintenance within it.
• An agency with the best vision for the heritage site will be given an opportunity to associate pride with their CSR activities.
• The company would also get limited visibility on the premises and the Incredible India website.
• Create employment opportunities and support community livelihoods in and around historic, natural, and tourist destinations.

Challenges Involved

• It may undermine local communities and their relationships with historical sites.
• Retaining the ethical values of the monuments while doing the beautification and conservation.
  • There are some monuments selected for the scheme that are not protected by the ASI and are in States without Archaeology Directorates, in this case  businesses that sign agreements with the Union Ministry of Culture to adopt these monuments will be able to alter their historical character without much opposition.
• Monitoring of progress on various development initiatives undertaken by adopters.

Suggestions

• Conservation activities must be ensured to be carried out by professionals only.
• Industrial houses can support the meaningful conservation of heritage buildings, ex: CSR funds can be used to purchase new equipment that release fewer noxious gases that darken and corrode marble buildings and discharge fewer effluents into rivers.
• Monument mitras can help citizens understand why monuments matter by earmarking CSR funds for grants for researching, writing, and publishing high quality textbooks, and developing imaginative ideas.

Windsor Framework

In News

• Recently, the UK government reached a landmark deal with the European Union (EU) on post-Brexit trade rules that will govern Northern Ireland.

About ‘Windsor Framework’

• The ‘Windsor Framework’ will replace the Northern Ireland Protocol, which had proved to be among the thorniest of Brexit fall-outs, creating problems both economic and political.

Crucial aspects

• the introduction of a Green lane and Red lane system for goods
  • Green lane: British goods meant for Northern Ireland will use the green lane at the ports and will be allowed to pass with minimal paperwork and checks.
    • Physical checks will be conducted if the goods are deemed suspicious, in place of the routine checks now.
    • Also, people in Northern Ireland can order goods online from Britain easily now. 
  • Red lane: Goods destined for Ireland or the rest of the EU will have to take the red lane, with the attendant customs and other checks.
• the ‘Stormont Brake’: It allows Northern Ireland lawmakers and London to veto any EU regulation they believe affects the region adversely.
  • It means the democratically elected Northern Ireland Assembly can oppose new EU goods rules that would have significant and lasting effects on everyday lives in Northern Ireland.
  • For this, they will need the support of 30 members from at least two parties.
    • The British government can then veto the law.

Objectives and Need

• The checks made trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland cumbersome, with food products, especially, losing out on shelf life while they waited for clearance.
•  Some taxation and spending policies of the UK government could not be implemented in Northern Ireland because of EU rules. 
• The sale of medicines, too, was caught between different British and EU rules.
• With the Windsor Framework, PM Sunak hopes to improve trade and other ties with the EU, while keeping the hard Brexiter faction of his Conservative Party happy. 

Response of stakeholders 

• Reactions to the new deal in political circles has been cautious, but not negative.
• Most leaders have said the agreement on the face of it looks promising, though they would properly comment only after studying it in detail.
• Industry associations have openly welcomed the deal. 
• The US has also welcomed the deal. 

The Northern Ireland Protocol Northern Ireland is the only part of the U.K. that shares a land border with the EU, as the Republic of Ireland (or Ireland) is an EU member-state. Since the EU and the UK have different product standards, border checks would be necessary before goods could move from Northern Ireland to IrelandHowever, the two Irelands have had a long history of conflict, with a hard-fought peace secured only in 1998 under the Belfast Agreement, also called the Good Friday agreement. It was decided the checks would be conducted between Great Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland (which together with Great Britain forms the United Kingdom). This was called the Northern Ireland Protocol.Under the protocol, Northern Ireland remained in the EU single market, and trade-and-customs inspections of goods coming from Great Britain took place at its ports along the Irish Sea.

Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) portal

In News

1. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology launched the Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) portal under the IT Rules, 2021.

About the portal 

• It will be a virtual digital platform that will operate online – wherein the entire appeal process, from the filing of an appeal to the decision thereof, shall be conducted digitally.
• It is developed by the National Informatics Centre (NIC).
• It will allow people who are dissatisfied with complaints to social media companies on content takedown requests, to be heard by one of three Committees constituted by the government.

The Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC)In January 2023, the Centre announced the establishment of three GACs based on the recently amended Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.The GAC is an online dispute resolution mechanism. The entire appeal process, from filing to a decision, is in digital mode. GAC endeavors to resolve appeals within 30 days.Composition: It consists of a chairperson and two whole-time members appointed by the Central Government, of which one will be a member ex-officio and two will be independent members.Roles and Responsibilities The GAC deals with the appeals of users (Digital Nagriks) aggrieved by decisions of Grievance Officers of social media intermediaries and other intermediaries on complaints of users or victims against violation of the IT Rules and any other matters pertaining to the computer resources made available by the intermediaries.

Front Running

In News

• SEBI recently barred 21 entities in the Axis mutual fund front-running case.

About

• Front running is the illegal practice of purchasing a security based on advanced private information so as to benefit from the subsequent price movement.
• Example: 
  • Every mutual fund has fund managers who make decisions about buying stocks.
  • Once the fund manager decides what he wants to buy or sell, he informs his dealer, whose responsibility it is then to execute the trades on behalf of the fund house.
  • If the dealer wants to profit, he enters the market minutes before he places the order of the fund house. Mutual funds usually place large orders in the stock market. Such orders can sharply move the price of a stock.
  • Here, the dealer buys or sells the stock minutes before a mutual fund places its trades, buying or selling the stock.
  • The idea is to profit from the big investor’s moves, either by buying or selling shares.
• Differences with Insider Trading
  • Insider trading is when a company insider, an official, employee or a senior executive, takes advantage of unpublished price-sensitive information (UPSI) to trade in the company’s stock and make profits from such transactions.

Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI)SEBI is a statutory body established in accordance with the provisions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992.The basic functions of the Securities and Exchange Board of India is to protect the interests of investors in securities and to promote and regulate the securities market.SEBI Board consists of a Chairman , full time and part time members.SEBI is a quasi-legislative and quasi-judicial body which can draft regulations, conduct inquiries, pass rulings and impose penalties.

PEN/Nabokov Award

In Context

• Recently, Acclaimed Hindi writer Vinod Kumar Shukla won the 2023 PEN/Nabokov Award for achievement in international literature.

About 

• He won the PEN America award for lifetime achievement in literature, after decades of composing acclaimed novels like Naukar Ki Kameez (1979) and poetry collections like Sab Kuch Hona Bacha Rahega (1992).
• His first published work was a poetry collection Lagbhag Jai Hind (1971), followed by Vah Aadmi Chala Gaya Naya Garam Coat Pehankar Vichar Ki Tarah (1981). Naukar Ki Kameez was his first novel.
• He has also won the Sahitya Akademi award and the Atta Galatta–Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize.

PEN/Nabokov Award

• The PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature is awarded biennially by PEN America (formerly PEN American Center) to writers, principally novelists, “whose works evoke to some measure Nabokov’s brilliant versatility and commitment to literature as a search for the deepest truth and the highest pleasure— what Nabokov called the ‘indescribable tingle of the spine’.”
• It is one of the most coveted literary prizes worldwide. The winner is awarded $50,000. 
• The award is financed by the Vladimir Nabokov Foundation, founded by Dmitri Nabokov. It has been called one of the most prestigious PEN prizes.
• The PEN American Center awards have been characterized as being among the “major” American literary prizes.