31 December 2023

• Year in review: 2023 was confirmed as the world's hottest year on record by WMO, with global average temperatures reaching about 1.45°C above pre-industrial levels.
• Criminal laws: The new BNS, BNSS, and BSA received presidential assent on 25 December and awaited their 1 July 2024 implementation date.
• India-Russia trade: The Russia-India bilateral trade for 2023 was on course to exceed $50 billion, driven by discounted Russian crude oil imports after the Ukraine war sanctions.
• Space year: India's achievements in 2023 included Chandrayaan-3 (first lunar south pole landing), Aditya-L1 (solar observation mission), and the PSLV-C56 commercial launch.

GS area: Environment

The World Meteorological Organisation confirmed that 2023 set records for global temperature:

• Annual average: Global average surface temperature in 2023 reached approximately 1.45°C above the pre-industrial (1850-1900) average. This is the highest single-year temperature on record.
• 1.5°C threshold: The Paris Agreement aims to limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels over the long term. A single year above 1.45°C does not constitute a breach of the Paris target (which refers to sustained multi-decadal warming) but shows how close the climate system is to the threshold.
• El Nino contribution: A moderate-to-strong El Nino event from mid-2023 added additional warming on top of the underlying human-caused trend.
• Ocean warming: 2023 saw record ocean heat content and sea surface temperatures. The North Atlantic's record temperatures in 2023 were particularly striking.
• WMO role: Releases annual State of the Global Climate reports and co-chairs the Global Atmosphere Watch programme.

Static linkage: Climate change, Paris Agreement, WMO.

GS area: Science and Technology

India's space year 2023 included three landmark achievements:

Chandrayaan-3 (23 August 2023):

• India landed the Vikram lander and Pragyan rover on the Moon's south pole. India became the first country to achieve a south pole landing.
• Pragyan gathered data on elemental composition and seismic activity near the south pole before a planned sleep for the lunar night (Vikram did not wake after the lunar night).

Aditya-L1 (launched 2 September 2023):

• India's first solar observation mission. Named after Aditya (the Sun).
• Destination: Lagrange Point 1 (L1) between Earth and the Sun, 1.5 million km from Earth.
• Instruments: VELC (Visible Emission Line Coronagraph) for solar corona observation, plus six other payloads.
• Significance: L1 is a point of gravitational balance where a spacecraft can continuously observe the Sun without eclipses.

PSLV-C56 (26 July 2023):

• Launched seven Singaporean satellites in a commercial mission demonstrating India's growing role in the international launch services market.

Static linkage: Science and technology, ISRO, India's space programme.

GS area: Economy, International Relations

India-Russia bilateral trade reached a record high in 2023:

• Level: Bilateral trade was on course to exceed $50 billion in 2023, far above the $30 billion target set earlier.
• Driver: India imported large volumes of discounted Russian crude oil after Western sanctions pushed Russian oil buyers to seek Asian customers. Russia became India's largest single source of crude oil imports in 2023.
• Price cap: The G7 imposed a $60-per-barrel price cap on Russian crude. India consistently bought Russian crude at prices that stayed within or near the cap but often at discounts to global benchmarks.
• Trade imbalance: The trade is heavily skewed toward Indian imports from Russia. Expanding Indian exports to Russia is a stated priority.

Static linkage: Economy, energy security, India's foreign trade.

GS area: Science and Technology

Aditya-L1's destination, the L1 Lagrange Point, deserves its own entry:

• Five Lagrange Points (L1-L5): Positions in the Earth-Sun system where the gravitational pull of Earth and Sun and the centrifugal force exactly balance, allowing a satellite to maintain a stable relative position with minimal fuel.
• L1: Between Earth and Sun, about 1.5 million km from Earth. A satellite at L1 can continuously observe the Sun.
• L2: On the far side of Earth from the Sun. Home to the James Webb Space Telescope. L2 is preferred for deep space observations because Earth shields the telescope from the Sun.
• L4 and L5: Stable points that collect "Trojan" asteroids in the Jupiter-Sun system.

Static linkage: Science and technology, orbital mechanics.

GS area: Polity

As 2023 closed, the three new criminal laws were in a transition state:

• Passed: Lok Sabha (20 December) and Rajya Sabha (21 December).
• Presidential assent: 25 December 2023.
• Coming into force: 1 July 2024.
• Preparatory work needed: Law enforcement agencies need to update FIR formats. Court management systems need updating. Legal education must incorporate the new codes.
• Key conceptual shift: The government positioned the new laws as de-colonisation. Critics argued the actual provisions (especially on sedition-equivalent offences and custody) were substantively continuous with colonial-era law.

Static linkage: Criminal law, Polity, legislative process.

GS area: Environment, Agriculture

The El Nino event of 2023 had specific consequences for India:

• What is El Nino: A periodic warming of the central and eastern Pacific Ocean's surface temperatures. It alters global atmospheric circulation, affecting monsoons.
• Impact on Indian monsoon: El Nino years typically bring below-normal or erratic monsoon rainfall to India. The 2023 southwest monsoon (June-September) was below normal in many parts, though the deficit was unevenly distributed.
• Agricultural consequence: Below-normal rainfall in key kharif sowing months reduced rice, pulses, and oilseed output estimates.
• La Nina contrast: La Nina (the opposite cooling) is associated with above-normal Indian monsoon rainfall.

Static linkage: Physical geography, agriculture, climate variability.

• Chandrayaan-3 legacy: The Chandrayaan-3 landing site has been named Shiv Shakti Point by the PM. It is located at about 70° south latitude. The landing made India the first and (as of end-2023) only country to reach the south pole of the Moon.
• Aditya-L1 instruments: The primary instrument, VELC (Visible Emission Line Coronagraph), was developed by the Indian Institute of Astrophysics in Bengaluru. It will observe the solar corona, the outermost layer of the Sun's atmosphere, to study solar wind and flares.