29 August 2023

• Economy: PMJDY completed nine years on 28 August 2023. The scheme had 50 crore accounts; 55 per cent of account holders are women. Total deposits exceeded 2 lakh crore rupees.
• Space: Aditya-L1, India's first solar observation mission, was confirmed for launch on 2 September 2023 on PSLV-C57 from Sriharikota.
• Governance: The SVAMITVA scheme, which issues property cards to rural households using drone surveys, won an e-Governance Gold Award at the National e-Governance Conference 2023.
• Environment: Emperor Penguin colonies in Antarctica showed unprecedented breeding failure in 2023, linked to sea ice collapse due to warming.

GS area: Economy, Governance

The Pradhan Mantri Jan Dhan Yojana completed nine years on 28 August 2023, with a total of 50 crore (500 million) accounts opened.

• Launch: PMJDY was launched on 28 August 2014. Its tagline is "Mera Khata Bhagya Vidhata."
• Coverage: 50 crore accounts as of August 2023. A remarkable 55 per cent of all accounts are held by women.
• Deposits: Total deposits in PMJDY accounts had crossed 2 lakh crore rupees. Average balance per account rose from 857 rupees in 2014 to over 4,200 rupees in 2023.
• Zero balance accounts: The proportion of zero-balance accounts fell from 77 per cent at launch to about 8 per cent in 2023, indicating active usage.
• Rupay debit cards: Over 34 crore RuPay debit cards have been issued to PMJDY account holders.
• DBT conduit: PMJDY accounts are the primary conduit for Direct Benefit Transfers. Approximately 315 crore DBT transactions worth 7.33 lakh crore rupees have been routed through PMJDY accounts.
• PMJDY + PMSBY + PMJJBY: The three-component framework (savings + accident insurance + life insurance) aims at full financial protection for the poor.

Static linkage: Financial inclusion, banking policy, government schemes (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Science and Technology (Space)

India confirmed the launch of Aditya-L1 on 2 September 2023, making it India's first dedicated solar observation spacecraft.

• Lagrange Point 1 (L1): The spacecraft will be placed in a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth Lagrange Point 1 (L1), approximately 1.5 million km from Earth. At L1, gravitational forces of the Sun and Earth balance, keeping the spacecraft in a stable position with an unobstructed view of the Sun.
• Payloads: Aditya-L1 carries seven scientific payloads. The primary payload is the Visible Emission Line Coronagraph (VELC), built by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics. Other instruments study solar wind, X-ray flares, and the interplanetary magnetic field.
• Mission objectives: Study the solar corona (which is hotter than the surface), understand coronal heating, and study solar wind dynamics.
• PSLV-C57: The launch vehicle is the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle in its XL configuration.
• Solar storms: The mission will provide early warning capability for solar storms (Coronal Mass Ejections) that can disrupt satellite communication and power grids.

Static linkage: ISRO missions, space technology (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Disaster Management, Polity

The concept of flood plain zoning re-emerged in policy discussions as India faced severe floods in multiple states in August 2023.

• Flood plain: The area adjacent to a river that is naturally subject to flooding during high-flow events. Floodplains are important ecosystems but are also high-risk zones.
• National Flood Commission (1980): The Rashtriya Barh Ayog recommended flood plain zoning legislation, which most states have not enacted.
• Zoning scheme: Identifies zones by flood frequency. The most flood-prone areas are restricted from permanent construction. Less flood-prone areas allow limited development.
• States that enacted legislation: Manipur (1978) and Rajasthan (1990) enacted flood plain zoning acts, but implementation is weak.
• NDMA guidelines: The National Disaster Management Authority has issued guidelines on flood plain zoning but these are advisory, not mandatory.
• Encroachment problem: Unplanned encroachment of flood plains by urban sprawl is the primary driver of flood losses in Indian cities.

Static linkage: Disaster management, urban planning, river ecology (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Science and Technology, Polity

The Government of India declared 23 August as National Space Day to commemorate the Chandrayaan-3 landing.

• Announcement: The declaration was made by PM Modi on his return from the BRICS Summit, when he also named the landing site "Shiv Shakti Point" and the Chandrayaan-2 crash site "Tiranga Point."
• Significance: National Space Day will be an annual celebration of India's space achievements. The date 23 August was chosen as the exact date of the Chandrayaan-3 Vikram lander's touchdown at 18:04 IST.
• ISRO's achievements: As of 2023, ISRO has successfully launched over 400 satellites from 34 countries. India became the first country to land near the lunar south pole.
• Space Vision 2047: ISRO announced its vision document targeting Indian astronauts on the Moon by 2040 and setting up an Indian Space Station (Bharatiya Antriksh Station) by 2035.

Static linkage: Space policy, national days, ISRO (GS Paper 3).

GS area: Environment, Biodiversity

A study published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that four of five known Emperor Penguin colonies in the Bellingshausen Sea region of Antarctica failed to raise any chicks in 2022.

• Sea ice dependence: Emperor Penguins breed on sea ice. They need stable sea ice from April through January (the full breeding and chick-rearing season). Chicks cannot survive if ice breaks up before they develop waterproof plumage.
• 2022 sea ice loss: The Bellingshausen Sea experienced record sea ice loss in 2022. Ice broke up before chicks had fledged. 10,000 chicks are estimated to have drowned.
• Long-term risk: Under current climate trajectories, 90 per cent of Emperor Penguin colonies will be virtually extinct by 2100. They were added to the US Endangered Species List in 2022.
• IUCN status: Emperor Penguins are classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN Red List.
• Antarctica Treaty: India's two Antarctic research stations are Maitri and Bharati. India acceded to the Antarctic Treaty in 1983.

Static linkage: Climate change, biodiversity, polar regions (GS Paper 3).

• B20 RAISE theme: The B20 (Business 20, the business engagement group of G20) taskforce on "RAISE" (Responsible, Accelerated, Innovative, Sustainable, Equitable") recommended AI governance frameworks for responsible digital transformation.
• UGC foreign degree recognition: UGC released draft regulations to streamline the recognition of foreign university degrees in India, including online degrees, which were previously not recognised.
• Debt trap diplomacy debate: Western academics and policymakers continued debating whether China's BRI infrastructure lending constituted "debt trap diplomacy." A Johns Hopkins research group study found little evidence of deliberate debt entrapment but acknowledged opacity in loan terms.