5 November 2023

• Economy: The World Food India 2023 expo concluded, highlighting India's processed food sector and its 50,000 crore rupees in FDI over nine years.
• Environment: The Production Gap Report 2023 found governments plan to produce 110 per cent more fossil fuels by 2030 than the 1.5-degree Celsius pathway allows.
• Defence: India's Project Kusha programme aims to develop an indigenous long-range air defence system with three interceptor missiles and a deployment target of 2028-29.
• Science: NASA's Lucy spacecraft confirmed a binary asteroid system called Dinkinesh in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.
• Governance: India announced the opening of a sixth consulate in Seattle, USA, adding to existing consulates in Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco.

GS area: Economy (Agriculture, Food Processing)

The second edition of World Food India concluded this week, inaugurated by the Prime Minister. The theme centred on India as a food basket for the world, coinciding with 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Key numbers:

• FDI in food processing: 50,000 crore rupees invested over nine years.
• Processed food share: 23 per cent of total agri-exports.
• Export growth: 150 per cent increase over the period.
• Processing capacity: over 200 lakh metric tonnes.
• Self Help Groups: nine crore women organised in SHGs support rural food processing.
• Farmer Producer Organisations: scaling up micro-enterprise linkages.
• Supporting schemes: PM Kisan SAMPADA Yojana (agri-marine processing clusters), One District One Product (promotes regional specialities), PLI scheme for food processing (Production Linked Incentive), Eat Right India (FSSAI-led campaign).

The millet connection: India is the world's largest millet producer and the UN designated 2023 as the International Year of Millets on India's proposal.

Static linkage: Economy (Agriculture, Food Processing industry).

GS area: Environment (Climate Change)

The Production Gap Report 2023, authored by SEI, Climate Analytics, E3G, IISD and UNEP, found that governments globally plan to produce 110 per cent more fossil fuels by 2030 than is consistent with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. Near-total coal phase-out by 2040 and a 75 per cent reduction in oil and gas by 2050 are recommended.

• Production Gap: the gap between governments' planned fossil fuel production and the production levels consistent with the Paris Agreement's temperature goals.
• Who publishes it: an annual report by a consortium of research institutions supported by UNEP.
• Why it matters: even as governments sign climate pledges, their production plans point in the opposite direction. The gap is the central credibility problem for climate diplomacy ahead of COP28.

Static linkage: Environment (Climate change, international negotiations).

GS area: Science and Technology (Defence)

India's Project Kusha aims to develop an indigenous long-range surface-to-air missile system with capabilities comparable to Russia's S-400. The Defence Research and Development Organisation leads the programme.

• Three interceptor missiles: ranges of 150 km, 250 km and 350 km.
• Kill probability: 85 per cent single-shot kill probability and 98.5 per cent with sequential dual-missile launch.
• Deployment target: 2028-29.
• S-400 context: India's S-400 Triumf systems (imported from Russia) have a 400 km operational range and 600 km surveillance range. Project Kusha is the path to reducing dependence on imported long-range air defence.

Static linkage: Defence (Science and Technology, Internal Security).

GS area: Science and Technology (Space)

NASA's Lucy spacecraft, en route to the Trojan asteroids near Jupiter, discovered that the main belt asteroid Dinkinesh is in fact a binary system: two asteroids gravitationally bound together. The larger body is approximately 790 metres across and the smaller about 220 metres.

• Main belt: the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter where most asteroids reside.
• Trojan asteroids: groups of asteroids that share Jupiter's orbit, preceding and following the planet by 60 degrees. Lucy's primary mission is to study six of these.
• Asteroids generally: rocky, metallic or icy minor planets formed about 4.6 billion years ago from solar system debris. They range from one metre to about 1,000 km in diameter.

Static linkage: Space (Science and Technology).

GS area: International Relations (India-US Relations)

India will open its sixth consulate in the United States in Seattle, joining Atlanta, Chicago, Houston, New York and San Francisco. The decision comes after seven years of planning. Seattle is headquarters to major technology companies including Microsoft, Amazon and Boeing, making it an important city for Indian professionals and businesses.

• Embassy versus consulate: an embassy is located in the capital city and headed by an ambassador, representing the government. A consulate operates in other major cities and provides consular services: visas, passports, emergency assistance and legal aid to citizens.
• India-US diaspora: approximately 4.4 million Indian-Americans. A significant concentration works in the technology industry in the Pacific Northwest.

Static linkage: India-USA relations (International Relations).

GS area: Science and Technology (Railways Safety)

Kavach is an indigenously developed cab signalling and train protection system created over ten years by the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) of Indian Railways. It uses radio frequency identification technology.

• Function: prevents train collisions and overspeeding. Automatically applies emergency brakes if a driver ignores a red signal.
• Components: RFID tags in tracks at stations, RFID readers, onboard computer and brake interface in the locomotive, radio infrastructure with towers and modems.
• High-visibility conditions: works in fog, haze and mountainous terrain where line-of-sight signalling fails.
• Deployment status in November 2023: approximately 1,500 km of tracks covered. The government targets 34,000 route-km coverage.

Static linkage: Science and Technology (Railways, Disaster Management).

• Small Modular Reactors: the government is considering a PLI scheme for SMR manufacturing. SMRs produce up to 300 MW per unit, about one-third of a conventional reactor. They are factory-built for modular deployment.
• Prisoner's dilemma in diplomacy: a game-theory concept where individual rational decisions lead to collectively suboptimal outcomes. Applied to international cooperation on arms control and climate where mutual defection is individually rational but collectively harmful.