2 May 2024

• Environment: Alok Shukla of Chhattisgarh won the Goldman Environmental Prize for saving 4 lakh acres of Hasdeo Aranya forest from coal mining.
• Biodiversity: Scientists at CUSAT described a new marine tardigrade species, Batillipes chandrayaani, named after the Chandrayaan-3 mission, from Tamil Nadu's southeastern coast.
• Economy: India's steel sector faces a net-zero transition challenge with the IEA benchmarking India's green steel policy.
• Space: ISRO released the Indian Space Situational Assessment Report (ISSAR) 2023, detailing the country's space debris monitoring mechanisms.

GS area: Environment, Awards

Alok Shukla of the Chhattisgarh Bachao Andolan was awarded the Goldman Environmental Prize 2024 for leading a campaign that saved 1.70 lakh hectares of the Hasdeo Aranya forest from coal mining.

• Goldman Environmental Prize: Often called the "Green Nobel," it is awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists from six continental regions. The prize carries a cash award of USD 200,000.
• Hasdeo Aranya: A dense forest of 1.70 lakh hectares in Chhattisgarh. The forest region harbours 25 endangered species, 92 bird species, and 167 rare plant species. The Hasdeo River, which runs through it, irrigates 7.41 lakh acres of farmland downstream.
• Achievement: Shukla's campaign successfully protected 4 lakh acres from 21 coal mining leases that had been allocated to the region.
• Chhattisgarh context: The state holds 44 per cent forest cover, giving it the third-highest forest coverage among Indian states.
• Adivasi angle: The forests are home to Adivasi communities whose livelihoods and cultural identity depend on them.

Static linkage: Environmental activism, forest conservation, tribal rights.

GS area: Science and Technology, Biodiversity

Researchers at Cochin University of Science and Technology (CUSAT) described a new species of marine tardigrade, Batillipes chandrayaani, from sandy intertidal sediments at Mandapam on Tamil Nadu's southeastern coast.

• Tardigrades: Microscopic animals (usually 0.1 to 1.5 mm) also known as water bears. They are among the most resilient organisms known, surviving extreme temperature, radiation, vacuum, and desiccation. They belong to Phylum Tardigrada.
• New species: Batillipes chandrayaani is the third marine tardigrade species described from Indian waters and the second from the eastern coast. It measures approximately 0.15 mm in length.
• Named after Chandrayaan-3: The species was named in honour of India's successful Chandrayaan-3 lunar mission, which achieved a soft landing near the Moon's south pole in August 2023.
• Previous Indian finds: Stygarctus keralensis (2021, southwestern coast) and Batillipes kalami (2023, southeastern coast) are the earlier recorded species from Indian waters.
• Discovery location: Mandapam, at the southern tip of Tamil Nadu near the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.

Static linkage: Biodiversity, marine life, ISRO missions.

GS area: Polity, Governance, Society

A review of the Street Vendors (Protection of Livelihood and Regulation of Street Vending) Act, 2014 found significant implementation gaps across Indian cities.

• The Act: Passed in 2014, the law recognises street vending as a legitimate livelihood and provides a framework for protecting vendors while regulating their presence in public spaces.
• Scale: Approximately 50 lakh (5 million) street vendors have been identified across India. Uttar Pradesh has the most with over 8 lakh vendors.
• Town Vending Committees (TVCs): The Act mandates TVCs in every urban body. At least 40 per cent of TVC members must be street vendors themselves, and a minimum of 33 per cent of vendor representatives must be women.
• Surveys: The Act requires a survey of all street vendors every five years to identify and certify them.
• PM SVANidhi: PM Street Vendor's AtmaNirbhar Nidhi scheme provides collateral-free working capital loans to urban street vendors. Digital transactions under the scheme carry an annual incentive of up to Rs 1,200.
• Constitutional anchors: Article 19(1)(g) protects the right to practise any trade or profession. Directive Principles under Articles 38, 39(a), and 41 direct the state to protect livelihoods.

Static linkage: Urban governance, Directive Principles, government schemes for urban poor.

GS area: Economy, Environment

The International Energy Agency (IEA) released benchmarks for a net-zero steel transition, with India's position receiving attention given its size in global steel production.

• India's position: India is the world's second-largest steel producer, responsible for approximately 7 per cent of global crude steel output.
• Emissions: The steel industry accounts for around 12 per cent of India's total carbon dioxide emissions. Output is projected to double by 2030 as infrastructure demand grows.
• Policy instruments: India has deployed the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy (2019), the Perform Achieve and Trade (PAT) scheme under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency, and a roadmap for green steel.
• IEA and India: India joined the IEA as an Association country in 2017. It submitted a formal application for full membership in October 2023.
• IEA: The International Energy Agency is a Paris-based autonomous intergovernmental organisation established in 1974. It has 31 full members (all OECD) and 13 association countries.
• Global frameworks: The Steel Breakthrough (COP26, 2021) and Steel Standard Principles (COP28, 2023) are the main international commitments for decarbonising steel.

Static linkage: India's climate commitments, industry decarbonisation, IEA membership.

GS area: Science and Technology

ISRO released the Indian Space Situational Assessment Report (ISSAR) 2023, providing an overview of the space debris environment and India's monitoring capabilities.

• IS4OM: The Indian System for Safe and Sustainable Space Operations Management. Operational since 2022, it is ISRO's integrated platform for tracking space objects and managing collision risks.
• SOPA: Space Object Proximity Analysis. This tool monitors operational Indian satellites for risk of close approaches with other objects.
• COLA: Collision Avoidance Analysis. Applied to launch vehicles during their journey to orbit, it calculates and avoids collision risks.
• NETRA: Network for space object Tracking and Analysis. This is India's dedicated radar network for tracking objects in orbit.
• IADC: The Inter-Agency Space Debris Coordination Committee. It has 13 member space agencies and sets international guidelines for debris mitigation.
• Kessler Syndrome: A theoretical cascade scenario where one collision creates debris that triggers further collisions, eventually rendering a particular orbital zone unusable for future spacecraft.

Static linkage: Space technology, ISRO institutional structure, global space governance.

GS area: Environment, Geography

A study by the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology (IITM) projected a tenfold increase in marine heatwave days in the Indian Ocean by 2100.

• Marine heatwaves: Prolonged periods of anomalously warm sea surface temperatures. They cause coral bleaching, destroy seagrass meadows, collapse kelp forests, and reduce fishery productivity.
• Worst-affected zone: The Arabian Sea is projected to face the most severe increase, from around 20 marine heatwave days per year currently to 220-250 days by 2100 under high-emission scenarios.
• Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD): The IOD is a coupled ocean-atmosphere phenomenon in the Indian Ocean. Positive IOD events (warm west, cool east Indian Ocean) are associated with good monsoon rainfall in India. Increased marine heatwaves are expected to disrupt the IOD's normal pattern.
• Secondary effects: Increased ocean heat content drives sea-level rise. Disrupted IOD patterns can alter the strength and distribution of India's southwest monsoon.

Static linkage: Indian Ocean geography, monsoon system, marine ecology.

• Methane concentrations: A study reported atmospheric methane is now three times its level 300 years ago, with fossil-fuel-sourced methane declining since the 1990s while microbial methane (from agriculture and wetlands) continues rising. Methane's global warming potential is 28 times that of carbon dioxide over a century.
• India's Kalvari-class submarines: Pakistan's unveiling of the Hangor-class submarine drew attention to India's Project 75, under which Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Limited built six Scorpene-design submarines: Kalvari, Khanderi, Karanj, Vela, Vagir, and Vagsheer. An indigenous Air Independent Propulsion system is under development.