Highlights
- Disaster management: IIT Delhi released India's first high-resolution landslide susceptibility map, covering the country at 100 square metre resolution.
- Economy: an SBI Research report showed the Gini coefficient improving from 0.472 in 2014-15 to 0.402 in 2022-23, with over 36 per cent of those in the lowest income bracket moving upward.
- Energy: India holds the world's largest thorium reserves at 1.07 million tonnes. A new ANEEL fuel combining thorium and HALEU uranium could work in existing pressurised heavy-water reactors.
- Defence: DRDO's D4 anti-drone system using laser-based "hard kill" and GNSS-jamming "soft kill" was highlighted for border deployment.
1. India's first high-resolution landslide susceptibility map
GS area: Disaster management, Geography
IIT Delhi's HydroSense Lab released India's first high-resolution landslide susceptibility map using machine learning analysis of 1.5 lakh known landslide events from the Geological Survey of India.
- Resolution: 100 square metres. This is significantly finer than any previous national-level mapping.
- Factors considered: 16 conditioning factors including soil cover, tree density, road proximity, slope steepness, and rainfall patterns.
- Vulnerable zones: Himalayan foothills, the Assam-Meghalaya region, the Western Ghats, and parts of the Eastern Ghats.
- India's vulnerability: over 12 per cent of India's geographical area is susceptible to landslides. India ranks among the top five landslide-prone countries globally. Rudraprayag and Tehri Garhwal in Uttarakhand have the highest landslide density.
- Distribution: 66 per cent of landslides occur in the north-western Himalayas; 19 per cent in the north-eastern Himalayas; 14 per cent in the Western Ghats.
Static linkage: disaster management, physical geography.
2. Income inequality declining: SBI Research findings
GS area: Economy (inequality, taxation)
An SBI Research report challenged the prevailing "K-shaped recovery" narrative, arguing that income inequality in India has been declining since 2014.
- Gini coefficient: fell from 0.472 in 2014-15 to 0.402 in 2022-23. A lower Gini value indicates less inequality. A score of 0 is perfect equality; 1 is maximum inequality.
- Income tax filers: increased from 70 million in 2021-22 to 74 million in 2022-23, indicating a broadening tax base.
- Mobility: over 36 per cent of individuals in the lowest income bracket in FY14 had moved to higher income levels by FY21.
- Caveat: the report relied on income tax data, which does not capture the informal sector where the majority of India's workforce operates.
Static linkage: poverty and inequality, economic data, taxation.
3. ANEEL thorium fuel: a boost for Stage 3
GS area: Science and Technology (nuclear energy)
An American company developed ANEEL fuel, which combines thorium with High Assay Low Enriched Uranium. The fuel can run in India's existing Pressurised Heavy-Water Reactors.
- Why this matters for India: India holds the world's largest thorium reserves at 1.07 million tonnes. India's three-stage nuclear programme has always aimed to reach a thorium-based fuel cycle in Stage 3.
- PHWRs: India's existing fleet of pressurised heavy-water reactors uses natural uranium as fuel. Adapting them to ANEEL fuel would bring thorium utilisation decades earlier than the original Stage 3 timeline.
- Benefits claimed: reduced nuclear waste, lower operating costs, extended reactor efficiency.
Static linkage: nuclear energy, India's three-stage programme, energy security.
4. Krishnarajasagar Dam: mining ban upheld
GS area: Environment, Geography (rivers, dams)
The Karnataka High Court upheld its ban on mining within a 20-km radius of the Krishnarajasagar Dam on the Kaveri river.
- KRS Dam: built in 1932 during the rule of Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV of Mysore. The chief engineer was Sir M. Visvesvaraya, a Bharat Ratna recipient.
- Location: on the river Kaveri at the junction of Mysore and Mandya districts, Karnataka.
- Purpose: irrigation for Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, and water supply to Mysuru and Bengaluru.
- Kaveri river: a perennial river rising at Talakaveri in the Kodagu district of Karnataka. It drains into the Bay of Bengal. Its tributaries include the Arkavathi, Hemavathi, Kabini, and Harangi.
Static linkage: rivers of India, dam facts, environmental litigation.
5. Briefly noted
- D4 anti-drone system (DRDO): detects, identifies, and neutralises micro-drones. Soft kill uses GNSS jamming to disrupt navigation. Hard kill uses a laser to destroy the drone. Designed for land border deployment.
- NASA Lunar Gateway: a multi-national space station planned in lunar orbit. Partners include the USA, Japan, Canada, the EU, and the UAE. The UAE will develop the crew and science airlock module. The Gateway will function as a staging post for lunar surface missions, with a minimum 15-year operational lifespan.
Practice MCQs