3 January 2023

• Polity: The Supreme Court upheld demonetisation 4:1, finding the six-month RBI consultation legally adequate.
• Environment: Forest (Conservation) Rules, 2022 drew fire from tribal rights bodies for removing gram sabha consent at the In-Principle approval stage.
• Economy: RBI exploring a Central Bank Digital Currency via Distributed Ledger Technology; 30 per cent tax on crypto transfers already in effect.
• Science: Lumpi-ProVacind, ICAR's live attenuated vaccine for Lumpy Skin Disease, became the first homologous vaccine to protect cattle against the disease.

GS area: Environment (climate change, glaciology)

Black carbon aerosols from South Asia's combustion sources were found to indirectly accelerate mass loss in Tibetan Plateau glaciers. The findings have direct policy implications for India's climate commitments.

• Black carbon: Produced by incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass. Lifespan in the atmosphere is only a few days to weeks, but during that time it absorbs solar radiation and warms the surrounding air.
• Asian Brown Cloud: A persistent haze over South Asia composed of black carbon, dust and other aerosols. It reduces the amount of sunlight reaching the surface and simultaneously deposits heat in the atmosphere.
• Gangotri glacier: One of India's largest glaciers. It retreated 850 metres between 1996 and 1999. Himalayan glacier retreat threatens long-term water security for the Indo-Gangetic Plain.
• Policy levers: Fuel-efficiency standards for vehicles, phasing out diesel engines in urban centres, promoting electric vehicles, and regional cooperation for emission monitoring.
• Sources in India: Crop stubble burning, forest fires, industrial combustion and old diesel vehicles are the main domestic black carbon sources.

Static linkage: Climate change, Himalayan geography (GS Papers 1 and 3).

GS area: Science and Technology, Agriculture

India developed and deployed the Lumpi-ProVacind vaccine against Lumpy Skin Disease, a viral illness that caused major cattle mortality across Rajasthan, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana in 2022.

• Developer: Indian Council of Agricultural Research in collaboration with the Institute of Veterinary Biological Products in Pune.
• Type: Live attenuated homologous vaccine. "Homologous" means the vaccine uses a weakened version of the same Lumpy Skin Disease virus rather than a related poxvirus.
• Protection duration: Approximately one year.
• Transmission: Blood-feeding insects including flies, mosquitoes and ticks. The disease does not affect humans.
• Disease impact (2022): Over 1.5 lakh cattle deaths and severe production losses in milch animals across northern and western India.
• ICAR mandate: ICAR is India's apex agricultural research body under the Department of Agricultural Research and Education, Ministry of Agriculture.

Static linkage: Livestock health, agricultural economics (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Economy, Governance (technology)

With global cryptocurrency markets in turmoil following the collapse of major exchanges in 2022, India's partial regulatory framework came into focus.

• Tax treatment: A 30 per cent flat tax applies to income from transfer of virtual digital assets, effective from 1 April 2022. A 1 per cent Tax Deducted at Source applies to crypto transactions.
• RBI position: The Reserve Bank recommended a ban on private cryptocurrencies, citing risks to financial stability and the potential to enable capital flight.
• Central Bank Digital Currency: The RBI is exploring a digital rupee using Distributed Ledger Technology. Unlike cryptocurrency, a CBDC is a liability of the central bank and legal tender.
• Nodal responsibilities for related sectors: Online gaming regulation falls under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. E-sports regulation falls under the Department of Sports.
• Data gap: India has no standalone crypto law. Taxation addresses income but not trading platforms, consumer protection, or exchange oversight.

Static linkage: Monetary policy, digital economy (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Disaster Management, Governance

Stampede deaths at political rallies and religious gatherings in India highlighted the need for structured crowd management protocols.

• Integrated crowd management: Three-component framework combining crowd process management (flow design, entry-exit planning), crowd control measures (physical barriers, personnel deployment) and Information and Communication Technology utilisation.
• ICT applications: Real-time crowd density monitoring via CCTV analytics, GPS tracking of key personnel, social media monitoring for early panic detection, and digital communication to redirect crowds.
• National Disaster Management Authority: Apex body under the Disaster Management Act, 2005. Sets guidelines for event safety. State Disaster Management Authorities implement at the field level.
• Common failure modes: Single points of entry at peak hour, poor signage, inadequate lighting, and breakdown of command-and-control communications.

Static linkage: Disaster management, governance (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Society, Economy (rural development)

The Ministry of Rural Development's Prajjwala Challenge was an initiative to transform the rural economy through the Deendayal Antyodaya Yojana National Rural Livelihoods Mission, commonly known as DAY-NRLM.

• Scale: The mission has mobilised over 87 million women into Self-Help Groups across India.
• SHG structure: Groups of 10 to 20 women who pool savings, extend micro-credit to members, and act as channels for government scheme delivery.
• Revolving fund: Each SHG is eligible for a revolving fund grant of up to 15,000 rupees from the mission.
• Bank linkage: SHGs are linked to formal banking, which is the primary mechanism for expanding financial inclusion to rural women.
• Prajjwala Challenge: A competitive grant for district administrations to demonstrate innovative livelihood models within the NRLM framework.

Static linkage: Rural development schemes, women's empowerment (GS Paper 2).

• Wassenaar Arrangement: India assumed the chairmanship on 1 January 2023. The arrangement is one of four multilateral export-control regimes India belongs to. India is not a member of the Nuclear Suppliers Group.
• Kala-azar elimination: India brought reported kala-azar cases from 44,533 in 2007 down to 834 in 2022. Target is less than one case per 10,000 population at block level.
• Novel water filtration: A porous polymer material using photothermal properties can remove 99.9 per cent of microplastics and volatile organic compounds from water using only sunlight for activation.