February 2021 The Hindu Analysis 8th - Lukmaan IAS

The Hindu Analysis   8 th

   February 2021)

Important articles
                For Mains                   The Hindu                 For Prelims                     The Hindu
                                             Page No.                                                  Page No.
1. 7 killed after ‘glacial burst’ in          1, 9      1. Prelims Pointers
Uttarakhand
2. Experts point to climate change impact
3. Infrastructure     push   now,   fiscal      6
consolidation later

LUKMAAN IAS                                                  DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

UPSC Mains GS-III
                                                                                     (Environment),
                                                                                     GS-I (Geography)
  Key points:
  • Seven persons were killed and over 125 reported missing after a “glacial burst” on Nanda Devi
    triggered an avalanche and caused flash floods in Rishiganga and Dhauliganga rivers in Chamoli
    district of Uttarakhand on 7th February 2021.
  • The Rishiganga hydel project had an installed capacity of 13.2 megawatts (MW), the 520 MW
    NTPC Tapovan-Vishnugad project on the Dhauliganga, a tributary of the Alakananda, was
    much larger. Both sites have been virtually washed away.
  • Officials of the Central Water Commission, meanwhile, said the flooding from the glacial burst
    had been contained.
  • Environmentalists, for decades, have warned against the construction of dams in the eco-
    sensitive Himalayan region.
  Glacial Lake Outburst Flood (GLOF):
  • What happened at Chamoli is being seen as GLOF — a breach in a glacier which is not very
     unusual. When glaciers retreat, they leave a space which becomes a glacial lake being filled with
     water. When such a lake breaches, it is known as glacial lake outburst flood.
LUKMAAN IAS                                              DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

UPSC Mains GS-III
                                                                                (Environment), GS-I
                                                                                (Geography)
 Key points:
 • Environmental experts attributed the Nanda Devi glacial melt to global warming. Glacier
   retreat and permafrost thaw are projected to decrease the stability of the mountain slopes and
   increase the number and area of glacier lakes, according to the latest assessment reports of
   the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
 • There is also high confidence that the number and area of glacier lakes will continue to increase
   in most regions in the coming decades, and new lakes will develop closer to steep and
   potentially unstable mountain walls, where lake outbursts can be more easily triggered.
 • Farooq Azam, assistant professor, Glaciology and Hydrology division, IIT Indore, said such a glacial
   burst was an “extremely rare event”. “Satellite and Google Earth images do not show a glacial
   lake near the region, but there’s a possibility that there may be a water pocket in the region.
   Water pockets are lakes inside glaciers, which may have erupted leading to this event,”.
 • Climate change has driven erratic weather patterns like increased snowfall and rainfall, and
   warmer winters had led to the melting of a lot of snow. The thermal profile of ice, said experts,
   was increasing. Earlier the temperature of ice ranged from -6 to -20 degree Celsius; it is now -2
   making it more susceptible to melting.
LUKMAAN IAS                                              DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

Past natural disasters in the Himalayan region

LUKMAAN IAS                               DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

Pancha Prayag in Uttarakhand

LUKMAAN IAS                           DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

Practice Prelims MCQ
      Q. Which of the following river is not tributary of Alaknanda river?
      a) Dhauli Ganga
      b) Bhagirathi
      c) Nandakini
      d) Mandakini

LUKMAAN IAS                                    DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

UPSC Mains GS-
                                                                                     III: Economy
  Key points:
  • Context- Union Budget 2021-22
  • The Budget, taken as a whole, has provided reasonable stimulus to growth through a change in
    the composition of expenditure and other measures to improve the climate for investment. But
    concerns remain about fiscal deficit.
  Receipts augmentation (revenue):
  • Significant increases are planned in non-tax revenues and non-debt capital receipts. From a
    contraction of 35.6% in 2020-21 (RE), non-tax revenues are budgeted to grow by 15.4% in 2021-
    22. This increase is mainly predicated on higher dividends from non-departmental undertakings
    and spectrum sales.
  • An important initiative pertains to the launching of a National Monetisation Pipeline. This
    would be the first practical step towards asset monetisation. The pipeline may eventually start
    yielding revenues, but the time lags involved remain unpredictable because of various potential
    disputes and claims associated particularly with government-owned land. A transparent auction
    process needs to be set up to facilitate suitable price discovery.

LUKMAAN IAS                                            DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

Infrastructure and iniFaFves:
  • SeIng up of a Development Finance InsFtuFon (DFI) with an ini'al capital of ₹20,000 crore, to
     serve as a catalyst for facilita'ng infrastructure investment.
  • In order to manage non-performing assets of public sector banks, there is a proposal to set up an
     Asset ReconstrucFon Company and an Asset Management Company.
  State’s share in tax pool:
  • In the ac'on taken report, the Union government has accepted the recommended verFcal share
     of 41% for the States in the shareable pool of central taxes.
  • The substanFve issue pertains to the mode of transfers in terms of general-purpose
     uncondiFonal transfers vis-à-vis specific purpose and condiFonal transfers. States had shown a
     preference for the former mode and it is for this reason that the 14th Finance Commission had
     raised the States’ share from 32% to 42%.
  • The increasing resort to the imposiFon of cesses which are almost permanent have reduced
     the shareable pool. In fact, the States’ share in the Centre’s gross tax revenues is only 30% in
     2021-22 (BE).

LUKMAAN IAS                                             DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

Road map for future:
  • The Fifteenth Finance Commission has also proposed a revised fiscal consolidation road map
    for the Centre and States. The Fifteenth Finance Commission has recommended the setting up
    of a High-Powered Intergovernmental Group to re-examine the fiscal responsibility legislations
    of the Centre and States. In the context of COVID-19, some economists have gone to the extent
    of advocating almost giving up the prudential norms. This will be a wrong lesson to learn from
    the crisis. The Centre has indicated taking the fiscal deficit to 4.5% of GDP by 2025-26. The
    Finance Commission has also indicated a similar figure.
  • The issue of debt sustainability can be certainly re-examined by taking into account the
    evolving profiles of debt, interest payments, and primary deficits relative to GDP. Fiscal deficit
    must be related to household savings in financial assets and the interest payments to revenue
    receipts.
  • It should not be forgotten that in fiscal 2021-22, interest payments to total revenue receipts will
    be 45.3%, pre-empting a significant proportion of revenue receipts. We must be conscious of the
    burden of the rising stock of debt.

LUKMAAN IAS                                             DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

Prelims Pointers
 • The unmanned space probe - named “Al-Amal”, Arabic
   for “Hope” – was launched from Japan in 2020. This
   first Arab interplanetary mission is expected to reach
   Mars’ orbit this week.
 • IIT-D researchers have come up with a way to generate
   clean fuel hydrogen from water at a low-cost. The
   researchers have successfully split water by a process
   known as Sulphur-Iodine (SI) thermochemical
   hydrogen cycle to generate low-cost, clean hydrogen
   fuel for industrial consumption.
 • The Kiran helpline (1800- 599-0019) of the Department
   of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (DEPwD)
   of the Social Justice and Empowerment (SJE) Ministry,
   was launched on September 7, 2020.
 • The jaapi or japi is a traditional conical hat
   from Assam, India similar to the Asian conical hat which
   is made from tightly woven bamboo and/or cane
   and tokou paat, a large palm leaf.

LUKMAAN IAS                                     DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)

Thank You

LUKMAAN IAS         DAILY THE HINDU NEWSPAPER ANALYSIS (FEBRUARY 8, 2021)