28 January 2023

• International: India issued a notice to Pakistan seeking renegotiation of the Indus Waters Treaty under Article XII(3), citing the Kishanganga and Ratle project disputes.
• Economy: Cheetah reintroduction: India signed an agreement with South Africa for 12 cheetahs (7 male, 5 female) for Kuno National Park.
• Technology: Aditya-L1, India's first solar observation mission, was on track for launch in June-July 2023 to the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point.
• Society: Jharkhand's first migrant worker survey found 8.5 lakh workers returned home during COVID.

GS area: International Relations, Geography

India issued a formal notice to Pakistan under Article XII(3) of the Indus Waters Treaty seeking to modify the treaty. This is the first time India has invoked the treaty's modification provision.

• Indus Waters Treaty (1960): Signed by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru and President Ayub Khan of Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank. Divides the six Indus tributaries: India gets the three eastern rivers (Beas, Ravi, Sutlej); Pakistan gets the three western rivers (Chenab, Jhelum, Indus).
• Water allocation: India receives about 20 per cent of the Indus system's total water. Pakistan receives about 80 per cent.
• India's permitted use: Non-consumptive uses (run-of-river hydropower) on the western rivers are allowed for India. The Kishanganga and Ratle hydroelectric projects are on the western rivers.
• Dispute mechanism: Three tiers: Permanent Indus Commission (annual meetings) → Neutral Expert (technical disputes) → Court of Arbitration (legal disputes). Pakistan had invoked arbitration.
• India's complaint: The arbitration court set up by Pakistan is not constituted correctly under the treaty, which allows only one dispute mechanism at a time. India boycotted the arbitration proceedings.

Static linkage: International rivers, India-Pakistan relations (GS Papers 1 and 2).

GS area: Environment (biodiversity)

India signed an MoU with South Africa for the transfer of 12 cheetahs (7 male, 5 female) to Kuno Palpur National Park in Madhya Pradesh as part of Project Cheetah.

• Extinction in India: The cheetah was declared extinct in India in 1952. The last confirmed sighting was in 1947 in Chhattisgarh (then Central Provinces).
• First batch (September 2022): 8 cheetahs were brought from Namibia. This South Africa agreement brings the second batch.
• Target: 50 wild cheetahs over 5 years.
• Kuno Palpur National Park (KNP): Located in Sheopur district, Madhya Pradesh. Estimated carrying capacity of about 21 cheetahs.
• Why African cheetahs: African cheetah populations have the highest genetic diversity, making them more disease-resistant and adaptable. The Asian cheetah (nearly extinct, confined to Iran) is too endangered to translocate.
• Etymology: "Cheetah" comes from Sanskrit "chitraka" or "chita," meaning "spotted one."

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

GS area: Science and Technology

India's first dedicated solar observation mission, Aditya-L1, was being finalised for launch in mid-2023. It will study the sun from the Sun-Earth L1 Lagrangian point.

• L1 Lagrangian point: One of five gravitational equilibrium points in the Sun-Earth system where a spacecraft can remain in a fixed position relative to both bodies with minimal fuel expenditure. L1 is about 1.5 million km from Earth, between Earth and the Sun.
• Advantage of L1: Continuous, uninterrupted view of the Sun without eclipses. Important for real-time space weather monitoring.
• Payload: Seven scientific instruments. The primary is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), which can image the solar corona as close as 1.05 solar radii from the Sun's surface.
• Launch vehicle: PSLV-XL (Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, extended version).
• Mission objectives: Study solar corona, chromosphere, solar wind, and flare dynamics.

Static linkage: Space technology (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Society, Economy

Jharkhand conducted its first comprehensive migrant worker survey across all 24 districts. The data illuminated the scale of internal migration in India.

• COVID reverse migration: 8.5 lakh migrant workers returned to Jharkhand during the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020. This was one of the largest reverse migrations in India's recent history.
• National scale: The 2011 Census recorded 6 crore internal migrants. 99 per cent of migration is internal; 1 per cent international.
• Migration patterns: Rural to rural: 54 per cent of total internal migration. Rural to urban: next largest category. Urban migration is disproportionately visible in media but rural to rural is the majority.
• Vulnerabilities: Lack of social security portability across states. PDS benefits not transferable. Inadequate affordable housing at destinations.
• Government initiatives: Safe and Responsible Migration Initiative (SRMI), launched 2021. The four Labour Codes (pending notification) include provisions for inter-state migrant worker registration.

Static linkage: Society, labour policy (GS Papers 1 and 3).

GS area: Governance, Economy

The Supreme Court upheld the Competition Commission of India's ruling imposing a 1,337 crore rupee fine on Google for abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile ecosystem.

• Violation: Google required Android phone manufacturers to pre-install the Google Mobile Suite (Gmail, YouTube, Chrome, Maps, Play Store) as a bundle condition to access the Android operating system. This blocked rival apps.
• CCI: Competition Commission of India is a statutory body under the Competition Act, 2002. Comprises one Chairperson and up to six members.
• Remedy imposed: Individual app licensing to replace the bundled requirement. Google Search should no longer be a mandatory default.
• Context: European regulators had earlier fined Google 4.34 billion euros for similar practices in 2018. India's case followed similar reasoning.

Static linkage: Competition law, regulatory bodies (GS Paper 3).

• Pashmina: Wool from Changthangi goats raised by the Changpa nomadic community in Ladakh. GI-certified. Distinguished by its fineness (12 to 16 microns). The goats are herded at altitudes above 14,000 feet.
• Ramcharitmanas: 16th-century Awadhi-language epic poem by Tulsidas. Retells the story of Rama in seven chapters (kandas). Different from Valmiki's Sanskrit Ramayana.
• World Economic Report 2023: Slowed global growth to 1.9 per cent in 2023 (World Bank) against South Asia's relatively stronger 4.8 per cent.