5 March 2023

• Sports: The Women's Premier League launched its inaugural T20 season with five BCCI-affiliated teams competing across 22 matches.
• Space: ISRO prepares its second commercial LVM3 launch, carrying OneWeb satellites into low Earth orbit.
• Agriculture: PM-PRANAM rewards states for reducing chemical fertiliser use, backed by a Rs 2.25 trillion annual subsidy context.
• Water: Jal Jeevan Mission reaches about 60% of rural households with tap connections, with the 2024 universal target still pending.
• Diplomacy: India's G20 presidency advances the "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" theme ahead of the September New Delhi summit.

GS Paper 2 (governance/sport) / General Awareness: Women's empowerment, sports administration.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) launched the Women's Premier League as a five-team T20 franchise tournament. It is structured along the same commercial lines as the Indian Premier League.

• Format: five teams, T20 format. The inaugural season ran from 4 to 26 March 2023.
• Teams: Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals, Gujarat Giants, Royal Challengers Bangalore and UP Warriorz.
• Inaugural champion: Mumbai Indians won the first WPL title.
• Governing body: the BCCI governs WPL. It operates alongside the IPL under the same franchise auction and broadcasting model.
• Significance: WPL is the first fully professional women's cricket franchise league in India. It provides contracted income for domestic and international women cricketers at a scale previously unavailable.
• Broadcast and commercial model: teams were auctioned in January 2023 for a combined Rs 4,669.99 crore. Media rights fetched Rs 951 crore for a five-year period.

The WPL's launch signals a structural shift in women's cricket economics in India. For the first time, a domestic women's cricketer can earn at a professional scale comparable to a domestic male cricketer.

GS Paper 3: Science and technology, space, India's space economy.

ISRO prepared the LVM3-M3/OneWeb India-2 mission in March 2023. It was the second commercial launch for UK-based satellite operator OneWeb using India's heaviest operational rocket.

• LVM3 (Launch Vehicle Mark 3): ISRO's largest operational rocket. Originally designated GSLV Mk III, it was renamed LVM3 to reflect its expanded commercial role. It can carry up to 10 tonnes to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or 4 tonnes to Geostationary Transfer Orbit.
• OneWeb: a UK-based broadband satellite operator now known as Eutelsat OneWeb. It is building a constellation of satellites in LEO to provide global broadband internet coverage.
• Previous mission (LVM3-M2): launched 36 OneWeb satellites from Sriharikota in October 2022. That was ISRO's first large commercial satellite batch launch.
• LVM3-M3 mission: planned to carry another batch of OneWeb satellites into LEO orbit from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh.
• Commercial significance: these launches demonstrate ISRO and NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) competing in the global commercial launch market. NSIL is the commercial arm of ISRO.
• LEO constellation context: multiple operators including SpaceX Starlink, OneWeb and Amazon Kuiper are racing to build LEO satellite internet constellations. The market for launch services is growing rapidly.

GS Paper 3: Agriculture, government schemes, environment.

The Union Budget 2023-24 announced PM-PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) to encourage states to reduce their dependence on chemical fertilisers.

• Incentive design: states that reduce their chemical fertiliser consumption below a baseline receive a share of the subsidy savings as capital grants.
• Grant split: 50% of subsidy savings are passed to the state as grants. Of this, 70% must be used for technology adoption of alternative fertilisers and organic inputs. The remaining 30% is for direct farmer incentives and awareness.
• India's fertiliser subsidy: the government spent approximately Rs 2.25 trillion on fertiliser subsidies in FY23. Urea, DAP and MOP are the main subsidised fertilisers.
• Rationale: heavy chemical fertiliser use degrades soil health over time, causes groundwater nitrate contamination and creates a fiscal burden on the central government.
• Alternative inputs: the scheme works alongside the Gobardhan scheme (biogas from organic waste) and the PM Pranam push to use nano-urea and organic fertilisers.
• No separate fund: PM-PRANAM does not create a new fund. The grants come from the existing fertiliser subsidy budget, making it a reallocation rather than an addition.

GS Paper 2: Government schemes, rural development, water security.

Jal Jeevan Mission (JJM) aims to provide every rural household with a functional household tap connection (FHTC) for safe drinking water.

• Launch year: 2019 under the Ministry of Jal Shakti.
• Target: functional tap connections to all rural households by 2024.
• Total outlay: Rs 3.60 lakh crore. This is a centrally sponsored scheme with cost sharing between the Centre and states.
• Progress as of early 2023: approximately 60% of rural households had received tap connections. This translates to roughly 12 crore of the targeted 19 crore households.
• Har Ghar Jal: JJM is also known as "Har Ghar Jal" (water to every home). States achieving 100% coverage are designated "Har Ghar Jal certified."
• Water quality: the mission focuses on potable water and mandates water quality testing through community-based institutions and district labs. Fluoride and arsenic contamination are key concerns in several states.
• Village Water and Sanitation Committees (VWSCs): local bodies that manage infrastructure once it is handed over, ensuring community ownership of the scheme.

GS Paper 2: International relations, multilateral institutions.

India holds the G20 presidency from 1 December 2022 to 30 November 2023. It is the most significant multilateral chair India has held and will culminate in the New Delhi Summit.

• Theme: "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" (One Earth, One Family, One Future). The phrase is drawn from the Maha Upanishad and reflects India's framing of global interdependence.
• G20 composition: 19 countries plus the European Union. Together they account for about 85% of global GDP, 75% of world trade and two-thirds of the world's population.
• New Delhi Summit: scheduled for 9 to 10 September 2023. India invited the African Union as a permanent G20 member during its presidency.
• India's priorities: inclusive growth, climate finance, digital public infrastructure, food and energy security, and reform of multilateral development banks.
• Working Groups: India established over 200 G20 meetings across 55 cities during its presidency, spreading diplomatic engagement beyond Delhi.
• Diplomatic complexity: the presidency coincided with the Russia-Ukraine war. India's position as a bridge between Western nations and the Global South became central to its G20 diplomacy.

GS Paper 3: Agriculture, food security, India's soft power.

The United Nations declared 2023 the International Year of Millets (IYoM) at India's initiative. The UNGA resolution was co-sponsored by 72 countries.

• India's proposal: India moved the resolution in the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) which then recommended it to the UNGA. UNGA adopted the resolution in March 2021 for the 2023 observance.
• Millets covered: sorghum (jowar), pearl millet (bajra), finger millet (ragi), foxtail millet, kodo millet, barnyard millet and little millet are the primary cultivated species.
• India's position: India is the largest producer of millets globally, accounting for about 20% of world millet production. Rajasthan, Karnataka and Maharashtra are the top producing states.
• Rebranding as "Shree Anna": the Union Budget 2023-24 rebranded millets as "Shree Anna" to elevate their cultural and nutritional status. IIMR (Indian Institute of Millets Research) in Hyderabad was designated the global centre of excellence.
• Global Millets Conference: planned for 18 to 19 March 2023 in New Delhi to showcase Indian millets to international buyers, researchers and policymakers.
• Nutritional argument: millets are rich in fibre, minerals and protein. They are drought-resistant and require fewer inputs than rice or wheat, making them climate-resilient crops.

• National Green Hydrogen Mission (weekend context): the SIGHT fund of Rs 13,000 crore and the electrolyser PLI of Rs 4,500 crore attracted commentary from energy economists over the weekend. Debate focused on whether the 4 MT target by 2030 is achievable given current renewable electricity costs in India.
• WPL media rights: the WPL media rights deal worth Rs 951 crore for five years drew comparison to the IPL's Rs 48,390 crore media rights cycle. The gap reflects market scale but also an expectation of rapid growth in women's cricket viewership.