27 September 2023

• Economy: 5th World Coffee Conference opened in Bengaluru, the first in an Asian coffee-producing nation. Organised by the International Coffee Organisation.
• Economy: India's GDP measurement concerns: the base year (2011-12) is overdue for revision. GDP does not capture employment distribution or environmental costs.
• Science: India's green hydrogen push: Indian Oil Corporation launched a green hydrogen-powered bus in Delhi.
• Defence: Bharat Drone Shakti 2023, the first drone exhibition at Hindan Air Force Station, featured over 75 drone startups.

GS area: Economy (agriculture, trade), International Organisations

The 5th World Coffee Conference was held in Bengaluru on 27-29 September 2023, the first time this conference was held in an Asian coffee-producing country.

• International Coffee Organisation: an intergovernmental body that brings together coffee-producing and consuming nations. The ICO's coffee agreements aim to stabilise coffee prices and improve market access.
• India's coffee profile: India is the sixth-largest coffee producer globally. Karnataka accounts for approximately 70 per cent of India's coffee production, followed by Kerala and Tamil Nadu. Indian coffee is known for wet-processing and shade-growing traditions.
• Key themes in 2023: regenerative agriculture (improving soil health and biodiversity in coffee farms), climate resilience (higher temperatures are shifting coffee cultivation zones upward) and smallholder farmer livelihoods.
• Coffee Board: India's Coffee Board under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry promotes coffee research, cultivation and exports. Headquartered in Bengaluru.
• GI-tagged varieties: Coorg Arabica, Chikmagalur Arabica, Bababudan Giris Coffee and Wayanad Robusta are GI-tagged Indian coffee varieties.

Static linkage: economy (agriculture, trade, coffee), international organisations (ICO).

GS area: Economy (national accounts, measurement)

India's GDP base year of 2011-12 is considered outdated by economists. A revision to 2022-23 is planned.

• Base year significance: GDP is measured in constant prices to remove inflation effects. The base year is the reference year. An outdated base year means the sectoral composition of the economy in the index does not reflect current realities.
• New sectors underrepresented: the gig economy, platform services, digital transactions and new manufacturing sub-sectors are poorly captured by a 2011-12 base.
• Alternative measurement proposals: using GST data and digital payment transaction flows to complement survey-based estimates. These provide more timely and granular data.
• GDP limitations: GDP does not measure welfare distribution, environmental degradation, unpaid work (care economy) or income inequality. Proposals include a green GDP that subtracts natural resource depletion.
• GDP-employment gap: India's GDP growth has been above 6-7 per cent in recent years, but job creation has not kept pace. This disconnect is a governance concern.

Static linkage: economy (national accounts, GDP measurement, statistics).

GS area: Economy (energy, green hydrogen)

Indian Oil Corporation launched a green hydrogen-powered fuel cell bus in Delhi, a demonstration of the National Green Hydrogen Mission.

• Green hydrogen: produced by electrolysis of water using electricity from renewable sources (solar or wind). The only byproduct is water vapour. This distinguishes it from grey hydrogen (from natural gas, emitting CO2) and blue hydrogen (grey with carbon capture).
• National Green Hydrogen Mission: approved by the government in January 2023 with an outlay of 19,744 crore rupees. Target: produce 5 million tonnes of green hydrogen per year by 2030.
• Fuel cell technology: the bus uses a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell that converts hydrogen and oxygen to electricity. Range and refuelling time are competitive with diesel buses.
• Cost challenge: green hydrogen costs approximately $4-6 per kg globally in 2023. The mission targets $1 per kg by 2030 to make it competitive with fossil fuels.
• Electrolyser manufacturing: India has launched incentives under the Production Linked Incentive scheme for electrolyser manufacturing.

Static linkage: economy (green energy, hydrogen), government schemes.

GS area: Economy (defence, technology), Governance

Bharat Drone Shakti 2023, India's first dedicated drone exhibition, was held at Hindan Air Force Station in Ghaziabad, featuring over 75 drone startups and the IAF as host.

• Purpose: to showcase India's drone manufacturing ecosystem and attract defence procurement.
• Government target: India aims to become a global drone hub by 2030, with a drone market projected at 900 billion rupees.
• PLI for drones: the Production Linked Incentive scheme for drones and drone components was launched in 2021 with an outlay of 120 crore rupees.
• C-295 MW and drones: the exhibition coincided with discussion of the C-295 MW transport aircraft induction, reflecting a broader defence indigenous manufacturing push.
• Drone regulations: the Drone Rules, 2021 replaced earlier regulations and liberalised commercial drone use while maintaining no-fly zones near sensitive areas.

Static linkage: economy (defence manufacturing, drone technology), governance.

GS area: Environment (wildlife, endemic species)

A census of the Nilgiri Tahr using drones was being planned by the Tamil Nadu government, the first technology-assisted tahr count.

• Nilgiri Tahr (Nilgiritragus hylocrius): an endangered mountain ungulate endemic to the Nilgiri Hills and Western Ghats. It is the state animal of Tamil Nadu.
• IUCN status: Endangered. Population estimated at approximately 2,500, with the Nilgiri Hills (Eravikulam National Park and Anamalai Tiger Reserve) holding the largest populations.
• Drone advantage: traditional ground-based counts in steep terrain miss individuals in inaccessible areas. Drones can photograph and identify individual animals by coat patterns.
• Conservation pressure: habitat loss, invasive plants (Lantana, Eucalyptus, Wattle) and climate change shrinking montane grasslands threaten the species.

Static linkage: environment (endemic species, Western Ghats wildlife).

GS area: Environment (wetlands, invasive species)

The Kole wetlands in Thrissur, Kerala, a Ramsar-listed site, faced threat from the aquatic invasive plant Cabomba furcata.

• Kole wetlands: a network of paddy fields and wetlands in Thrissur district. Listed as a Ramsar site (Wetland of International Importance). It supports significant migratory bird populations and provides natural flood retention.
• Ramsar Convention: the international treaty for wetland conservation. India has 75 Ramsar sites (as of 2023), one of the highest globally.
• Cabomba furcata (Red Cabomba): an aquatic invasive plant from South America. It forms dense mats blocking light and oxygen. It is used as an aquarium plant that escapes into waterways.
• Invasive species threat: IPBES considers invasive alien species one of five major drivers of biodiversity loss. The Kole case illustrates how ornamental trade spreads invasives.

Static linkage: environment (wetlands, Ramsar sites, invasive species).

• Parliamentary panel on NEP 2020: a sub-recommendation emerged for "Design Your Degree" programmes allowing students to customise their coursework across departments, building on the MEME system's flexibility.
• Maharashtra ephemeral plants: a brief event in which rare plant species bloom in Maharashtra's basalt plateaus during the monsoon was documented by botanists. These species are endemic to the Deccan Plateau and bloom for a narrow window.
• World Coffee and India's plantation sector: the Kerala and Karnataka plantation economies depend significantly on coffee. Plantation workers' welfare, particularly their housing and education, is a labour rights concern under the Plantation Labour Act, 1951.