5 January 2023

• Schemes: National Green Hydrogen Mission approved with a target of 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen capacity annually by 2030, backed by 19,744 crore rupees in outlay.
• Polity: Ladakh's tribal communities pressed for Sixth Schedule status, arguing their land, health and agriculture governance needs constitutional protection.
• Governance: ASI found 50 of 3,693 Centrally Protected Monuments untraceable, 42 of the 92 flagged by CAG in 2013 having been recovered.
• Culture: RRR's "Naatu Naatu" won the Golden Globe for Best Original Song, the first Indian film song to win the award.

GS area: Economy (energy), Environment

The Union Cabinet approved the National Green Hydrogen Mission on 4 January 2023. The mission is India's major framework for developing green hydrogen as a clean fuel and an industrial feedstock.

• Financial outlay: 19,744 crore rupees up to 2030, with additional viability-gap funding possible for early projects.
• Production target: 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen capacity annually by 2030.
• Renewable energy addition: An additional 125 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to power electrolysers.
• Employment: An estimated 6 lakh jobs directly and indirectly.
• Export potential: 1 lakh crore rupees in projected fossil-fuel savings and green hydrogen export earnings.
• Components: SIGHT (Strategic Interventions for Green Hydrogen Transition) covers electrolyser manufacturing and domestic green hydrogen production. SHIP (Strategic Hydrogen Innovation Partnership) supports R&D. Green Hydrogen Hubs are industrial clusters for demand aggregation.
• Nodal ministry: Ministry of New and Renewable Energy.
• How green hydrogen is made: Electrolysis of water using renewable electricity. The process splits water into hydrogen and oxygen with zero carbon emission.
• Current demonstration projects: Oil India has a 99 per cent pure green hydrogen plant at Jorhat, Assam. NTPC has blended green hydrogen up to 5 per cent in the PNG pipeline at Kawas in Gujarat.

Static linkage: Energy security, renewable energy (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Polity (tribal administration, constitutional provisions)

Representatives of Ladakh's tribal communities demanded inclusion under the Sixth Schedule of the Constitution. About 90 per cent of Ladakh's population is tribal, comprising the Balti, Bot, Brokpa and Changpa communities.

• Sixth Schedule: Article 244(2) read with the Sixth Schedule applies to tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. It provides for Autonomous District Councils with legislative and judicial powers over land, forests, water, agriculture and customary law.
• Fifth Schedule: Article 244(1) read with the Fifth Schedule applies to Scheduled Areas in most other states with tribal populations. It has a Tribes Advisory Council but no legislative powers.
• Current Ladakh status: Ladakh became a Union Territory without a legislature under Article 239 after the reorganisation of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019. It does not fall under either Schedule currently.
• Government response: The Centre increased Scheduled Tribe reservation in direct recruitment from 10 to 45 per cent and set up a high-powered committee. The National Commission for Scheduled Tribes recommended Sixth Schedule inclusion.
• Core demand: Land protection and local governance over resources without elected legislature oversight.

Static linkage: Tribal governance, Fifth and Sixth Schedules (GS Paper 2).

GS area: Art and Culture

S.S. Rajamouli's Telugu-language film RRR won the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Song for "Naatu Naatu" at the 80th Golden Globe Awards ceremony held in the United States. This is the first time an Indian film song has won the Golden Globe.

• Song details: "Naatu Naatu" was composed by M.M. Keeravani and sung by Kaala Bhairava and Rahul Sipligunj.
• Film: RRR is a Telugu-language period action film set during the British colonial era. It features fictional characters based loosely on two real Telugu freedom fighters.
• Golden Globes: Awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, founded in 1944. 87 members vote on film and television.
• UPSC angle: Cultural diplomacy. Indian cinema's global footprint and the export of soft power.

Static linkage: Culture, soft power (GS Paper 1).

GS area: Economy (banking, consumer protection)

The RBI's Integrated Ombudsman Scheme saw a 9.39 per cent rise in complaints in 2021-22. Digital payment-related grievances accounted for 42 per cent of total complaints.

• RBI Integrated Ombudsman Scheme: Launched in November 2021 to consolidate three separate ombudsman schemes for banks, NBFCs and digital payments into one. Customers can file complaints at a single portal without specifying a scheme.
• Scope: Covers scheduled commercial banks, payment banks, small finance banks, and non-banking financial companies.
• Digital payment share: The 42 per cent share reflects the rapid rise of UPI, mobile banking and debit card transactions and the associated fraud and dispute volumes.
• Resolution: Awards up to 20 lakh rupees. Time limit: 30 days for banks to reply after complaint referral.

Static linkage: Consumer protection, banking (GS Papers 2 and 3).

GS area: Environment (biodiversity)

A survey recorded 175 bird species in Silent Valley National Park in Kerala, including 17 species newly recorded for the park. Several endemic Nilgiri species are among the residents.

• Silent Valley: Located in the Nilgiri Hills of Kerala. One of India's last significant stretches of undisturbed tropical rainforest in the Western Ghats.
• Protection history: A proposed hydroelectric project on the Kunthi River triggered the first major environmental campaign in India in the 1970s. The project was shelved and the area declared a national park in 1980.
• Significance: Part of the Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve, India's first Biosphere Reserve designated in 1986. The Western Ghats is a UNESCO World Heritage biodiversity hotspot.
• Nilgiri endemism: Several bird species found in the Nilgiris are endemic to the Western Ghats, including the Nilgiri flycatcher and the Nilgiri wood pigeon.

Static linkage: Biodiversity conservation, Western Ghats (GS Paper 3).

• India in APPU: India assumed the Secretary General position of the Asia-Pacific Postal Union, a 32-member organisation. The role involves overseeing postal cooperation across the region.
• Cardamom contamination: Samples of Indian cardamom were found to contain pesticide residues above maximum residue limits. The pesticides detected include fipronil, tebuconazole, and imidacloprid.
• Urban forestry: A FAO study found 35 per cent of the world's largest cities are built on drylands. The FAO's Green Urban Oases Programme targets 100 cities to develop urban forests.