22 February 2023

• Climate: El Nino forecast for 2023 with more than 50 per cent probability. La Nina was in its third consecutive year before ending. A 15 per cent monsoon deficit in the northern Indian Ocean is projected.
• International relations: Russia suspended the New START Treaty (21 February). China presented a 12-point position paper on Ukraine.
• Currency: Special Rupee Vostro Accounts (SRVAs) mechanism reviewed. 20 Russian banks had opened SRVAs with Indian partner banks.
• Language: International Mother Language Day (21 February). 40 per cent of speakers of 6,700 global languages lack access to education in their mother tongue.

GS area: Geography (climate), Economy (agriculture)

The weather science community was forecasting El Nino for 2023 with growing probability:

• La Nina ending: La Nina was in its third consecutive year as of early 2023. La Nina brings above-normal rainfall to India and is generally favourable for Indian agriculture.
• El Nino forecast: the Australian Bureau of Meteorology and other agencies gave El Nino a greater than 50 per cent probability for the second half of 2023.
• El Nino: warming of surface waters in the central and eastern equatorial Pacific. This shifts convective activity away from the Indian Ocean, weakening the monsoon over India.
• Spring Predictability Barrier: El Nino forecasts made before April-May are less reliable because the coupled ocean-atmosphere system is most unpredictable during boreal spring.
• Projected impact on India: approximately 15 per cent deficit in rainfall over the northern Indian Ocean compared to normal. This would affect kharif crop production.
• Historical correlation: El Nino years (1987, 2002, 2009, 2015) have typically been drought or below-normal monsoon years for India, though not a guaranteed one-to-one relationship.

Static linkage: Physical Geography (El Nino, monsoon, Indian Ocean Dipole).

GS area: Economy (monetary policy, international trade)

India's mechanism for settling trade with Russia in Indian rupees gained attention:

• Vostro account: a bank account held by a foreign bank in an Indian bank, denominated in Indian rupees. The term "vostro" is Latin for "yours." It is the mirror of a "Nostro" account (Indian bank's account abroad).
• SRVA mechanism: the RBI permitted Indian banks to open Special Rupee Vostro Accounts for Russian banks in 2022. As of February 2023, 20 Russian banks had opened such accounts.
• How it works: Russian exporters receive rupees in the SRVA. Indian importers pay in rupees. The accumulated rupee balance can be used by Russia to pay for Indian exports, investments in Indian securities, or remittances.
• Benefits: reduces the dollar demand for India-Russia trade. Supports the internationalisation of the rupee.
• Challenges: Western sanctions against Russia mean that Indian banks facilitating the mechanism face potential secondary sanctions. Several private banks declined to open SRVAs for this reason.
• Wider context: India is also developing rupee trade settlement with UAE, Sri Lanka and other countries.

Static linkage: Economy (monetary policy, rupee internationalisation, India-Russia trade).

GS area: Society, Governance (education)

UNESCO declared 21 February as International Mother Language Day in 1999:

• 2023 theme: "Multilingual education: a necessity to transform education."
• Global language diversity: approximately 6,700 living languages globally. 40 per cent of speakers cannot access education in their mother tongue.
• India's language policy: the NEP 2020 strongly advocates mother-tongue instruction at least through the primary level (Grades 1 to 5). The "three-language formula" has been in national education policy since 1968.
• AICTE: the All India Council for Technical Education now permits Bachelor of Technology programmes to be taught in 11 Indian languages, expanding technical education access.
• Supreme Court: translated its verdicts and orders into multiple Indian languages to improve access to justice.
• Constitutional framework: Article 350A mandates facilities for instruction in the mother tongue at the primary stage for linguistic minority children.

Static linkage: Society (language policy, NEP 2020, minority rights, education).

GS area: Economy (digital payments)

India and Singapore launched a cross-border peer-to-peer payment linkage between UPI and Singapore's PayNow system:

• Nature of the linkage: the first cross-border retail payment linkage for India's UPI. Person-to-person transfers between India and Singapore can be made directly using UPI ID (India) or mobile number (Singapore).
• Benefits: low-cost remittances for the Indian diaspora in Singapore (approximately 6.5 lakh people). Faster settlement compared to traditional wire transfers.
• Broader significance: the UPI-PayNow linkage is a model for India's international payment expansion. India is in discussions with several countries (including UAE, UK, and some Southeast Asian nations) to replicate this.
• India's UPI statistics (early 2023): UPI processes over 800 crore transactions a month. It accounts for a dominant share of India's digital payment volume.
• NPCI International: the international arm of the National Payments Corporation of India, responsible for expanding UPI globally.

Static linkage: Economy (digital payments, UPI, fintech, India-Singapore relations).

GS area: Environment

A FAO study assessed soil organic carbon (SOC) in global grasslands:

• Grasslands and SOC: semi-natural and managed grasslands contain approximately 20 per cent of the world's soil organic carbon. Carbon locked in soil is a vital climate regulator.
• Findings: East Asia, Central and South America, and sub-Saharan Africa showed a negative carbon balance in grasslands (releasing more carbon than they store).
• Cause: overgrazing, conversion of grassland to cropland, and land degradation deplete SOC.
• India's grasslands: India's extensive grazing lands (particularly in Rajasthan, Gujarat and the Deccan) are under pressure from overgrazing. These also overlap with habitats for threatened species like the Great Indian Bustard.
• Recommendations: rotational grazing, improved land management practices, and grassland restoration.

Static linkage: Environment (soil carbon, grasslands, climate change).

GS area: Economy (industrial policy, health)

The first tranche of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for pharmaceuticals was released:

• PLI for Pharma: supports manufacturing of biopharmaceuticals, complex generics, bulk drugs (Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients or APIs) and orphan drugs.
• Strategic rationale: India imports approximately 65 to 70 per cent of its API needs from China. The PLI scheme aims to rebuild domestic API manufacturing capacity.
• India's pharma industry: the world's largest generic medicine manufacturer by volume. Supplies 25 to 30 per cent of global generic medicine needs.
• Three PLI categories for pharma: Category 1 (complex products and biopharmaceuticals), Category 2 (APIs), and Category 3 (repurposed drugs and other generics).

Static linkage: Economy (PLI, pharmaceutical policy, API self-reliance).

• Coal India eco-tourism: Coal India converted 30 abandoned mining areas into eco-parks and eco-tourism destinations using Miyawaki plantation, seed balls and drone seeding methods. Demonstrates land reclamation and livelihood creation from post-mining landscapes.
• Heat-resistant wheat (HD-3385): IARI developed HD-3385, a wheat variety achieving 7.5 tonnes per hectare with high heat and lodging resistance. Registered under the Plant Varieties Protection and Farmers' Rights Authority (PPVFRA).
• Four-day workweek: 2022 trials in several countries showed improved employee productivity, lower turnover, and higher satisfaction without proportional output decline.