2 September 2024

• Environment: Methane's role in climate change dominated GS3 coverage; India's non-membership of the Global Methane Pledge highlighted.
• Ethics: The Supreme Court's 2023 ruling on LGBTQ+ entitlements prompted new government clarifications on joint bank accounts and ration cards.
• Polity: Cyclone Asna formed over the Kutch coast and moved toward Oman without major casualties.
• Science: The Aravalli helicopter engine programme (HAL-SAFHAL) advanced for the Indian Multi-Role Helicopter project.

GS area: Environment, International Relations

The International Energy Agency's data for 2023 showed global energy-sector methane emissions remaining near record highs at around 120 million tonnes. The figure re-opened the debate on India's choice to stay outside the Global Methane Pledge.

• Potency: Methane traps 84 times more heat than CO2 over a 20-year horizon. Its atmospheric lifetime is approximately 12 years.
• Warming share: Methane accounts for roughly one-third of observed warming since the Industrial Revolution.
• Top emitters: The United States leads in oil and gas methane; Russia is second. China leads in coal-sector methane.
• Global Methane Pledge: Launched at COP26 in November 2021, targeting a 30 per cent reduction in methane from 2020 levels by 2030. India has not signed.
• India's measures: The GobarDhan scheme converts cattle and municipal organic waste into biogas and compost. The National Biogas Programme supports household biogas plants.
• Cost of action: Meeting the 2030 target globally requires roughly $170 billion in investment. MethaneSAT, a satellite by the Environmental Defense Fund, was launched in 2024 to monitor oil-and-gas methane from orbit.
• International Methane Emissions Observatory: A UN Environment Programme initiative that tracks and reports methane from all major sectors globally.

Static linkage: Climate change, India's international commitments (Environment).

GS area: Polity (rights), Governance

Following the Supreme Court's October 2023 ruling that stopped short of recognising same-sex marriage but upheld the right to equal entitlements, the government issued clarifications that queer couples may open joint bank accounts and nominate partners as beneficiaries. Key context:

• The 2023 ruling: The five-judge bench in Supriyo vs. Union of India held that there is no fundamental right to marry under the Constitution. However, it directed the government to set up a Cabinet Secretary-led committee to define specific entitlements for LGBTQ+ persons.
• Committee outcomes: The committee cleared joint bank accounts, ration card nominations and access to survivor benefits for registered partners.
• Conversion therapy: The committee also recommended a ban on conversion therapy, the discredited practice of attempting to change sexual orientation.
• What remains unresolved: Marriage equality, adoption rights and succession rights require legislative action that the Court declined to order directly.

Static linkage: Fundamental rights (Part III), judicial review, social justice.

GS area: Geography (weather systems), Disaster management

Cyclone Asna formed over the Kutch coast in Gujarat and was the first cyclone over the Arabian Sea in this zone in several decades. It moved toward Oman without causing major casualties on the Indian coast.

• Formation significance: Cyclones in the Arabian Sea are generally less frequent and less intense than those in the Bay of Bengal due to colder sea-surface temperatures and stronger wind shear. An Arabian Sea cyclone making landfall near Kutch in the monsoon month of August-September is meteorologically unusual.
• Track: After forming near Kutch, the system intensified and tracked northwest toward Oman.
• Disaster management relevance: NDMA classifies cyclone preparedness under its national disaster management plan. The India Meteorological Department issues cyclone warnings through the regional Cyclone Warning Centres at Mumbai (for the Arabian Sea) and Chennai (for the Bay of Bengal).

Static linkage: Tropical cyclones, Arabian Sea vs Bay of Bengal frequency, Disaster Management Act 2005.

GS area: Economy (public sector enterprises)

The government elevated four Central Public Sector Enterprises to Navratna status, raising the total to 25. The four are SJVN (Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam), NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation), RailTel and SECI (Solar Energy Corporation of India).

• Autonomy under Navratna: A Navratna CPSE may invest up to Rs 1,000 crore per project, or 15 per cent of its net worth (whichever is lower), without seeking government approval. This is higher than the Miniratna Category I limit.
• SECI: The nodal agency for large solar parks and the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) scheme. Its Navratna status gives it greater flexibility as India scales renewable capacity toward 500 GW by 2030.
• NHPC: India's primary hydropower generator. Navratna status accelerates its ability to invest in new projects independently.
• Three categories: Maharatna (highest autonomy, e.g. ONGC, NTPC, Coal India), Navratna, Miniratna (Categories I and II).

Static linkage: Public sector enterprises, disinvestment and economic governance.

GS area: Science and Technology, Security

Hindustan Aeronautics Limited and SAFHAL Helicopter Engines Pvt. Ltd. announced a partnership to develop engines for India's helicopter programmes. Key facts:

• Engine class: The Aravalli engine is in the 13-tonne medium-lift category.
• Applications: The Indian Multi-Role Helicopter (IMRH) and the Deck-Based Multi-Role Helicopter (DBMRH) for the Navy.
• Make in India context: India depends heavily on foreign engines for its helicopter fleet. Domestic engine development under HAL is part of the broader Atmanirbhar Bharat push in defence.
• HAL's role: HAL is India's primary aerospace manufacturer. It produces the Advanced Light Helicopter (Dhruv), Light Combat Helicopter and under-development LUH.

Static linkage: Defence indigenisation, Atmanirbhar Bharat, aerospace manufacturing.

GS area: Economy (taxation)

The e-DRS 2022 under the Income Tax Act allows taxpayers to resolve disputes electronically without approaching the appellate system. Key facts:

• Eligibility: Disputes where aggregate tax variations do not exceed Rs 10 lakh and the returned income does not exceed Rs 50 lakh.
• Process: Electronic filing through the Income Tax portal using Form 34BC.
• Decision timeline: The Dispute Resolution Committee must decide within six months from the end of the admission period.
• Coverage: 18 regional Dispute Resolution Committee jurisdictions.
• Policy purpose: Reducing the pendency of tax disputes in appellate tribunals and courts.

Static linkage: Direct taxation, Income Tax Act, grievance redressal.

• International Energy Agency: Headquartered in Paris, founded in 1974 with 31 member countries. Publishes the World Energy Outlook annually. Its founding was a response to the 1973 oil crisis.
• Colombo Security Conclave secretariat: India, Sri Lanka, Maldives and Mauritius formalised the establishment. Bangladesh holds observer status. Focus areas are maritime safety, counter-terrorism, cyber security and disaster relief.