27 March 2023

• Economy: The IMF's Extended Fund Facility for Sri Lanka (USD 2.9 billion) is approved, with Pakistan's programme suspended over compliance failures.
• Industry: The PM MITRA scheme targets USD 100 billion in textile exports by 2030 through seven integrated mega textile parks.
• Governance: Parliament passes the Finance Bill 2023, establishing the GST Appellate Tribunal.
• Environment: The Aravalli Green Wall project plans a 5-km-wide belt of native vegetation along the entire Aravalli range to arrest Thar Desert expansion.
• Defence: The United Kingdom's announcement that it will supply depleted uranium rounds to Ukraine triggers debate on radiological risk in conflict zones.

GS Paper II / III: International institutions; economy.

The International Monetary Fund approved a USD 2.9 billion Extended Fund Facility for Sri Lanka in March 2023, ending a period of uncertainty following the country's unprecedented sovereign default in 2022. Pakistan's IMF programme remained suspended over fiscal compliance.

• IMF establishment: Founded in July 1944 at the Bretton Woods Conference in New Hampshire, USA, alongside the World Bank. The IMF's founding mandate is to promote international monetary cooperation, facilitate international trade and support exchange rate stability.
• Core function: The IMF provides financial assistance to member countries facing balance of payments crises. Loans come with conditionalities, typically requiring fiscal consolidation, exchange rate adjustment and structural reforms.
• Extended Fund Facility (EFF): The EFF is an IMF lending window for countries with medium-term balance of payments problems rooted in structural weaknesses. Repayment is over 4.5 to 10 years. Sri Lanka's programme requires revenue mobilisation, state-owned enterprise reform and debt restructuring negotiations with creditors.
• Special Drawing Rights (SDR): The SDR is an international reserve asset created by the IMF. Its value is calculated from a basket of five currencies: US dollar (43.38%), euro (29.31%), Chinese yuan (12.28%), Japanese yen (7.59%) and British pound (7.44%) as of the last 2021 review.
• India's 1991 crisis: India pledged 67 tonnes of gold as collateral to secure a USD 2.2 billion emergency IMF loan in 1991 during a balance of payments crisis that left India with barely two weeks of import cover. The episode catalysed the 1991 liberalisation reforms under Finance Minister Manmohan Singh.
• Pakistan situation: Pakistan's 9th review under its USD 6.5 billion Extended Fund Facility was held up in March 2023 over the government's failure to meet agreed fiscal targets. The delay created acute foreign exchange stress.

Revises: International institutions; Indian economy (1991 reforms).

GS Paper III: Industry; government schemes.

The PM MITRA (Prime Minister Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel) scheme gained attention as seven locations were shortlisted for Phase 1 development.

• Scheme overview: PM MITRA is a Rs 4,445 crore central sector scheme launched in 2021. It funds the creation of integrated textile parks that bring together spinning, weaving, processing, dyeing and apparel manufacturing in a single location, reducing logistics costs and attracting foreign direct investment.
• Land requirement: Each park requires a minimum of 1,000 acres. The state government provides the land, and both state and central governments hold equity in the Special Purpose Vehicle that manages the park.
• Equity structure: State governments hold 51 per cent equity and the central government holds 49 per cent in each park's SPV.
• Phase 1 parks: Seven parks will be set up in Phase 1. States selected include Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra (subject to final notification).
• Targets: Expected investment in each park: approximately Rs 10,000 crore. Total employment target: approximately 20 lakh jobs across seven parks. Export target for India's textile sector: USD 100 billion by 2030.
• Strategic rationale: India's textile exports (USD 44 billion in 2021-22) lag behind China's (approximately USD 340 billion). PM MITRA aims to build the supply-chain density needed to compete for orders that are moving out of China.

Revises: Industrial policy; Government schemes; Trade.

GS Paper III: Science and technology; ISRO.

The LVM3-M3 mission launched on 26 March 2023 provided an opportunity to understand the rocket's architecture more precisely.

• Stage 1 (Solid): Two S200 solid-fuel strap-on boosters provide initial thrust at liftoff. Each burns hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB) propellant. The S200 is one of the world's largest solid-fuel rocket motors.
• Stage 2 (Liquid): The L110 core stage burns liquid unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH) with nitrogen tetroxide as oxidiser. Two Vikas engines power this stage.
• Stage 3 (Cryogenic): The C25 upper stage burns liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Cryogenic propulsion delivers high specific impulse, essential for efficiently placing large payloads into GTO. ISRO developed indigenous cryogenic engine technology after technology transfer was denied in the 1990s.
• Commercial future: NewSpace India Limited is the commercial interface for ISRO launches. LVM3's demonstrated LEO capacity of 8 tonnes places it in the same category as the SpaceX Falcon 9 and the planned Ariane 6, making it commercially competitive for mega-constellation deployment missions.

Revises: ISRO; Space technology.

GS Paper II / III: Polity; taxation.

Parliament passed the Finance Bill 2023 incorporating provisions to establish the GST Appellate Tribunal, filling a critical gap in the GST dispute resolution framework that has existed since GST's launch in 2017.

• What GSTAT does: The GST Appellate Tribunal is the quasi-judicial body that will hear appeals against orders issued by the GST Appellate Authority (the first appellate tier after the assessing officer). It sits between the GST authorities and the High Courts.
• Why it mattered: Since July 2017, taxpayers who lost at the first appellate level had to approach the High Court directly. High Courts hear GST cases on questions of law only, not on findings of fact. GSTAT will hear both fact and law appeals, providing an appropriate intermediate forum.
• Structure: GSTAT will have a Principal Bench at New Delhi and State Benches. Each bench consists of a judicial member and a technical member.
• Finance Bill route: Provisions for GSTAT were incorporated into the Finance Bill 2023 (a money bill), allowing passage through the Lok Sabha alone with the Rajya Sabha's recommendations non-binding.

Revises: GST; Tribunals; Parliamentary procedure.

GS Paper I / III: Physical geography; science and technology.

The South Atlantic Anomaly came under discussion in the context of satellite mission planning and GPS reliability over the South American-African region.

• What it is: The South Atlantic Anomaly (SAA) is a region centred roughly over South America and the South Atlantic Ocean where Earth's magnetic field is significantly weaker than the global average at the same altitude. It extends from roughly 50°S to 20°N latitude and 90°W to 40°E longitude.
• Cause: Earth's magnetic field is generated by convective movements of molten iron in the outer core. The SAA arises because the magnetic axis is tilted and offset from the geographic axis. In the SAA region, the inner Van Allen radiation belt dips to altitudes as low as 200 km, exposing low-Earth-orbit spacecraft to elevated levels of charged particle radiation.
• Satellite impact: Satellites passing through the SAA experience increased bit-flip errors in memory, radiation damage to sensors and temporary instrument anomalies. The Hubble Space Telescope, International Space Station and most LEO satellites temporarily shut down sensitive instruments when passing through the SAA.
• GPS impact: Charged particles in the SAA can cause ionospheric scintillation, disrupting GPS and communication satellite signals over the region.
• Growing anomaly: The SAA appears to be widening and splitting into two lobes. Geophysicists link this to movements in the liquid outer core, possibly foreshadowing a long-term shift or reversal of the magnetic poles.

Revises: Physical geography; Space science; Geomagnetism.

GS Paper III: Environment; land degradation; government schemes.

The Aravalli Green Wall project, modelled on the African Great Green Wall initiative, was advanced by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change as a tool for combating desertification and dust storms in northwest India.

• Scope: A contiguous green belt approximately 5 km wide and 1,400 km long along the full extent of the Aravalli mountain range, passing through Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Delhi.
• Ecological rationale: The Aravalli range historically acted as a natural barrier preventing Thar Desert sand from advancing eastward. Degradation of the Aravalli forests has allowed dust storms to reach Delhi and the National Capital Region.
• African model: The African Great Green Wall is an 8,000 km initiative across the Sahel to stop Sahara Desert expansion southward. The Aravalli Green Wall is India's analogue.
• Implementation: The project will use native species rather than fast-growing exotic plantations. Native species support local biodiversity, build organic soil carbon and are more drought-resilient. Districts along the Aravalli range will be covered under CAMPA and MGNREGS funding.
• Desertification threat: According to MoEFCC data, approximately 30 per cent of India's land area is affected by degradation or desertification, with Rajasthan the most severely affected state.

Revises: Environment; Land use; Government schemes.

GS Paper II / III: International relations; science.

The United Kingdom's announcement of depleted uranium tank rounds for Ukraine prompted debate about the radiological and environmental consequences of their use in conflict zones.

• What depleted uranium (DU) is: Depleted uranium is the byproduct of uranium enrichment. Natural uranium is 99.3 per cent U-238 and 0.7 per cent fissile U-235. Enrichment increases the U-235 concentration; the remaining U-238-rich material is depleted uranium. It retains low-level radioactivity (primarily alpha radiation).
• Military use: DU is approximately 1.7 times denser than lead, giving armour-piercing rounds using DU exceptional penetrating power against armoured vehicles. It is also used as ballistic shielding on tank hulls. DU penetrators were used extensively by the US and UK in the 1991 Gulf War and the 2003 Iraq invasion.
• Health concerns: On impact, DU oxidises into fine aerosol particles. Inhaled DU dust causes heavy metal toxicity (kidney and liver damage) and carries a low-level radiation hazard. Studies from post-conflict Iraq found elevated uranium in soil and water near battle sites.
• Russia's response: Russia described the UK decision as an escalation. Scientists and disarmament groups called for an international moratorium on DU use in populated areas.

Revises: International relations; Arms and disarmament.

GS Paper II / III: Public health; government schemes.

India's National Rabies Control Programme (NRCP) received attention as India continued to hold the global record for the highest number of human rabies deaths.

• Burden: India accounts for approximately 36 per cent of global human rabies deaths, estimated at 20,000 deaths per year. Rabies is almost 100 per cent fatal once clinical symptoms appear.
• Transmission: More than 95 per cent of human rabies cases are transmitted by the bite of an infected dog. India has the world's largest population of free-roaming dogs, estimated at 35 million.
• NRCP provisions: The programme provides free anti-rabies vaccine (ARV) and rabies immunoglobulin (RIG) at government health facilities. RIG, which provides immediate passive immunity, is expensive and often unavailable in peripheral facilities.
• Challenges: Animal birth control coverage is insufficient; vaccination coverage of the dog population is below the 70 per cent threshold needed for herd immunity; cold-chain maintenance for vaccine storage is uneven across states.
• One Health approach: The WHO advocates a One Health strategy: simultaneous vaccination of dogs and humans, animal birth control and public awareness. India's programme operates primarily on the human health side without adequate coordination with animal husbandry departments.

Revises: Public health; Government schemes; One Health.

• Biotransformation (plastics): Biotransformation uses microbes or enzymes to break down plastics into harmless compounds. Research is at early stages; no commercial-scale bioprocessing of mixed plastic waste exists yet.
• CRISP platform: The Comprehensive Rubber Information System Platform is developed by the Rubber Research Institute of India and gives rubber farmers real-time market prices, disease alerts and agronomic guidance.