1 March 2024

• Space: The Union Cabinet approved three semiconductor manufacturing units in Gujarat and Assam. India named its four Gaganyaan astronauts publicly for the first time.
• Environment: The UNEP-ISWA Global Waste Management Outlook 2024 projected municipal solid waste to rise from 2.3 billion to 3.8 billion tonnes by 2050.
• Security: The Centre renewed the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir for five years under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
• Ports: The Harit Nauka initiative designated V.O. Chidambaranar Port as India's first Green Hydrogen Hub Port.

GS area: Economy, Science and Technology

The Union Cabinet cleared three semiconductor manufacturing projects under the scheme for development of semiconductors and display manufacturing ecosystems in India. The three units:

• Fab at Dholera, Gujarat: a wafer fabrication plant, the most upstream stage of the semiconductor supply chain where silicon wafers are turned into chips.
• ATMP unit at Morigaon, Assam: an assembly, testing, marking and packaging facility where finished chips are packaged for use.
• ATMP unit at Sanand, Gujarat: a second packaging facility, also in Gujarat, which already hosts significant electronics manufacturing.

Semiconductor fabrication requires extremely precise conditions. India has no existing fab-scale facility. These approvals mark the first time the government has committed public funds at this scale to create one.

Static linkage: Indian economy (manufacturing), science and technology.

GS area: Science and Technology

Prime Minister Narendra Modi publicly named the four astronauts selected for India's human spaceflight programme at ISRO's Vikram Sarabhai Space Centre in Thiruvananthapuram. The four:

• Group Captain Prashanth Balakrishnan Nair
• Group Captain Ajit Krishnan
• Group Captain Angad Pratap
• Wing Commander Subhanshu Shukla

All four are Indian Air Force test pilots trained in Russia. Three new facilities at ISRO were also inaugurated:

• PSLV Integration Facility: doubles the number of rockets ISRO can assemble at once, raising the annual launch rate from 6 to 15.
• Semi-cryogenic propulsion facility: enables engines producing up to 200 tonnes of thrust, needed for heavier payloads.
• Trisonic Wind Tunnel: tests aerodynamic behaviour of launch vehicles at subsonic, transonic and supersonic speeds.

Vyomitra is the humanoid robot that will fly on an uncrewed Gaganyaan mission before the crewed flight to test life-support and experiment systems.

Static linkage: Space technology, ISRO.

GS area: Environment, International institutions

UNEP and the International Solid Waste Association published the Global Waste Management Outlook 2024. Key numbers that examiners use:

• Current generation: 2.3 billion tonnes of municipal solid waste annually.
• Projected 2050: 3.8 billion tonnes, a rise of more than 60 per cent.
• Cost of management: USD 252 billion in 2020, projected to double by 2050.
• Circular economy gain: adopting circular economy models could yield USD 108 billion in annual benefits by 2050.

India's response framework includes:

• Swachh Bharat Mission: targets garbage-free cities through door-to-door collection and source segregation.
• Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR): holds manufacturers liable for the waste their products generate. The Plastic Waste Management Rules 2022 set EPR targets of 35 per cent collection by 2024 and 70 per cent by 2025.
• Waste-to-Energy: India has 554 MW of installed capacity.

Static linkage: Environment (solid waste, circular economy).

GS area: Internal security, Polity

The Centre renewed the ban on Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu Kashmir under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967. The organisation was first declared unlawful on 28 February 2019. The UAPA:

• Scope: applies to both Indian nationals and foreign nationals.
• Designation power: the Central Government can declare any association unlawful if it threatens national security or sovereignty.
• 2019 amendment: empowered the Director General of the National Investigation Agency to approve attachment and seizure of property linked to terrorism.
• Maximum punishment: the Act provides for the death penalty in certain terror-related offences and life imprisonment in others.

Static linkage: Internal security, polity (fundamental rights and their limits).

GS area: Economy (energy), Environment

The Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways launched the Harit Nauka initiative to promote green technologies in inland waterways vessels. The flagship action is designating V.O. Chidambaranar Port Trust in Thoothukudi, Tamil Nadu as India's first Green Hydrogen Hub Port. The port will host a desalination plant and a hydrogen production facility. The initiative sits within:

• National Green Hydrogen Mission (2023): targets production of 5 million metric tonnes of green hydrogen annually by 2030 with an associated investment of roughly Rs 8 lakh crore.

Static linkage: Environment (green hydrogen), ports and shipping.

• Mudumalai Tiger Reserve herpetofaunal survey: located in Nilgiri District, Tamil Nadu at the tri-junction of Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The first-ever herpetofaunal survey recorded 82 reptile and amphibian species, including the Indian rock python and mugger crocodile. The reserve is part of India's first biosphere reserve.
• Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF): the UN allocated USD 100 million for underfunded humanitarian crises. CERF was established in 2005 by the UN General Assembly for rapid life-saving assistance. It is managed by the Emergency Relief Coordinator.