10 February 2023

• Environment: India's Himalayan glacial lakes have grown 9 per cent in number and 14 per cent in area in 20 years. Three million Indians live in zones vulnerable to glacial lake outburst floods.
• Polity: Article 356 (President's Rule) and the Bommai judgment were analysed. The 44th Amendment's restriction on extensions beyond one year was discussed.
• Health: antimicrobial resistance projected to cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050. A One Health approach recommended.
• Climate equity: top 10 per cent of emitters produce 48 per cent of global emissions while suffering only 3 per cent of climate losses.

GS area: Geography, Disaster Management

A study confirmed that Himalayan glacial lakes have grown rapidly as glaciers melt:

• Extent of growth: glacial lake numbers in the Himalayas increased by approximately 9 per cent and their area by approximately 14 per cent over 20 years of satellite observation.
• Chhota Shigri glacier: a reference glacier in Himachal Pradesh that has lost three times its mass in recent decades due to warming.
• Vulnerable population: 3 million Indians live in areas at risk from glacial lake outburst floods (GLOFs). GLOFs occur when a glacial lake's natural dam (of ice, moraine or debris) fails suddenly, releasing a destructive torrent downstream.
• India's risk zones: valleys in Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh are most exposed.
• 2021 Chamoli disaster: a GLOF-triggered flood in the Rishiganga and Dhauliganga river valleys killed over 200 people and destroyed two hydro projects. A reminder of the stakes.
• Recommended measures: satellite-based monitoring systems, local early warning networks connected to downstream communities, and regular evacuation drills.

Static linkage: Physical Geography (Himalayas, glaciers, rivers), Disaster Management.

GS area: Polity

Article 356 was discussed in the context of delays in calling state assembly elections:

• Article 356: allows the President to assume the functions of a state government if the constitutional machinery has broken down in the state. Proclaimed on the advice of the Governor's report.
• Duration: a Presidential Proclamation under Article 356 lasts six months initially. Each extension requires Parliamentary approval. Maximum duration is three years.
• 44th Amendment (1978): tightened Article 356 use. An extension beyond one year requires either (a) a National Emergency to be in operation in the state, or (b) the Election Commission's certification that elections cannot be held.
• Sarkaria Commission (1983): recommended that Article 356 be used only as a last resort, after all other possibilities of forming a government have been exhausted.
• S.R. Bommai v. Union of India (1994): nine-judge Constitution Bench established firm limits on Article 356. Key rulings:
  • The proclamation is subject to judicial review.
  • The floor test must be held before dismissing a government. Governors cannot singlehandedly conclude that a government has lost majority.
  • States have the right to demonstrate majority on the floor of the House.

Static linkage: Polity (Centre-state relations, Article 356, constitutional provisions).

GS area: Science and Technology (health policy)

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was flagged as one of the top public health threats of the coming decades:

• Projection: AMR could cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050 if unchecked. This would exceed current annual deaths from cancer.
• Economic loss: GDP losses estimated at $3.4 trillion annually by 2030 due to AMR-related healthcare burden and productivity loss.
• Three key sectors: pharmaceuticals manufacturing (discharge of antibiotics into water), agriculture and food production (overuse of antibiotics in livestock), and healthcare (inappropriate prescription and infection control failures).
• India's challenge: India is one of the world's largest users of antibiotics in both humans and livestock. Drug-resistant tuberculosis is a particular concern.
• One Health approach: recognises that human health, animal health and ecosystem health are interconnected. Antibiotic use in animals creates resistant strains that transfer to humans. Treating AMR requires coordinated action across all three sectors.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (health, biotechnology, One Health).

GS area: Environment, International Relations

A Climate Inequality Report released in early 2023 quantified the distribution of emissions and climate losses:

• Top 10 per cent of emitters: produce 48 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. Face only 3 per cent of climate-related economic losses.
• Bottom 50 per cent of emitters: produce 12 per cent of emissions. Face 75 per cent of relative climate losses. This is the core equity argument.
• Proposal: a progressive tax of 1.5 to 3 per cent on fortunes above $100 million. Revenue directed to climate adaptation in vulnerable countries.
• CBDR: Common But Differentiated Responsibilities, the foundational principle of the UNFCCC. Acknowledges that developed nations bear historically greater responsibility. The inequality report provides updated numerical grounding for this principle.
• India's position: India consistently argues for developed nations to fulfil their historical commitments on finance and technology transfer before demanding equivalent mitigation from developing countries.

Static linkage: Environment (climate change, UNFCCC, climate equity, COP).

GS area: Economy, Governance

The Adani-Hindenburg controversy raised the broader issue of crony capitalism and corporate governance:

• Crony capitalism: a system where business success depends on close political connections rather than competitive merit. Characterised by preferential access to licences, contracts, credit and regulatory forbearance.
• Uday Kotak Committee: SEBI's committee on corporate governance (2017). Key recommendations: at least 50 per cent independent directors on listed company boards, strengthened audit committees, and enhanced disclosure of related-party transactions.
• India's related-party transaction problem: large business conglomerates with promoter families in control tend to engage in transactions between group entities that may not be at arm's length. SEBI rules on related-party transactions were tightened in 2021.
• Transparency requirement: listed companies must disclose all related-party transactions above a threshold to stock exchanges and shareholders.

Static linkage: Indian Economy (corporate governance, SEBI, securities regulation).

GS area: International Relations

The Nord Stream pipeline sabotage (September 2022) continued to generate geopolitical commentary:

• Nord Stream 1 and 2: offshore natural gas pipelines running under the Baltic Sea from Russia to Germany. Nord Stream 1 was operational; Nord Stream 2 was completed but never received German regulatory approval before the Ukraine invasion.
• Sabotage: in September 2022, underwater explosions damaged both pipelines. Attribution remained disputed as of February 2023 among Russia, US, UK and Ukraine.
• India's interest: the pipelines illustrate the geopolitics of energy infrastructure as a strategic asset and vulnerability. Similar dynamics apply to undersea cables that carry internet traffic, and to pipelines through which India imports gas.

Static linkage: International Relations (Russia-Europe energy, geopolitics of infrastructure).

• CAR T-cell therapy: a cancer treatment using a patient's own T-cells, genetically modified to target cancer cells. Advanced immunotherapy with high remission rates in blood cancers. India is developing domestic CAR T-cell therapy capability.
• Dwarf planet Quaoar: a Kuiper Belt object discovered to have a ring system outside the Roche limit (the distance beyond which tidal forces cannot form a ring from debris). This challenges existing ring-formation theory.
• Vivad se Vishwas 2: the Budget scheme for one-time settlement of government contractual disputes. Separate from the 2020 Vivad se Vishwas for income tax disputes.