11 September 2024

• Technology: PM Modi inaugurated Semicon India 2024 in Greater Noida and expressed confidence in India's semiconductor industry ambitions.
• Polity: The Inner Line Permit extension to Dimapur, Nagaland's commercial capital, drew national attention for its tribal protection significance.
• Economy: The National Biopharma Mission and Bio-RIDE scheme coverage dominated the biotech policy discussion.
• Environment: The Arctic sea ice-monsoon linkage study circulated across UPSC prep forums, connecting climate science to Indian rainfall patterns.

GS area: Economy (technology), Governance

PM Modi inaugurated Semicon India 2024, the national semiconductor industry conclave, at India Expo Mart in Greater Noida (September 11-13, 2024).

Key policy details:

• India Semiconductor Mission (ISM): Launched in 2021 as a specialised division within the Digital India Corporation. The government provides up to 50 per cent capital expenditure subsidy for fabrication units.
• Approved plants:
  • Tata Electronics: Fabrication plant in Dholera, Gujarat.
  • Tata-PSMC Joint Venture: Second Dholera fab.
  • CG Power-Renesas joint venture: Sanand, Gujarat.
  • Kaynes Semicon: Sanand, Gujarat.
• Design strength: India has approximately 20 per cent of the world's semiconductor design engineers. Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Pune are the primary design hubs.
• Market size: India's semiconductor market is projected at $64 billion by 2026.
• Strategic vulnerability: India depends almost entirely on imported chips. The 2020-21 global chip shortage created supply disruptions for automobiles, electronics and defence equipment.
• Semiconductor basics: A semiconductor is a material (silicon being the dominant one) whose electrical conductivity lies between a conductor and an insulator. Chips are made by etching circuits onto silicon wafers.

Static linkage: Digital India, technology manufacturing, Atmanirbhar Bharat.

GS area: Geography (climate), Environment

A study on the relationship between Central Arctic sea ice reduction and Indian rainfall patterns entered UPSC coverage.

Key findings:

• Mechanism: Reduced Arctic sea ice strengthens Rossby waves (planetary-scale atmospheric waves). These waves alter the position and intensity of the Asian jet stream.
• Indian monsoon impact: The altered jet stream creates high pressure over northwest India and low pressure over the Mediterranean. This increases rainfall in northern and central India while reducing precipitation in western and peninsular India.
• Rossby waves: Large-scale meanders in atmospheric flow driven by temperature differences. Named after Carl-Gustaf Rossby. They influence weather systems over thousands of kilometres.
• Jet stream: A narrow band of fast-moving air at high altitudes (around 9-12 km above Earth's surface). The subtropical jet stream directly influences the Indian summer monsoon.
• Arctic amplification: The Arctic is warming roughly four times faster than the global average. This reduces the temperature gradient between the poles and tropics, weakening the jet stream.

Static linkage: Indian monsoon system, climate change, atmospheric science.

GS area: Environment (biodiversity)

Researchers reported a sighting of the Elongated Tortoise in the Damdama area of the Aravallis near Delhi.

Key facts:

• IUCN status: Critically Endangered.
• Range: Native to South and Southeast Asia. Rare in India; mostly found in eastern regions near Bangladesh and Myanmar borders.
• Threats: Illegal wildlife trade (the tortoise is harvested for meat and traditional medicine) and habitat destruction.
• Aravalli significance: The Aravalli Range acts as an ecotone between the arid Thar Desert and the fertile Gangetic Plain. Its forests support biodiversity despite being fragmented and degraded near urban areas.
• Ecotone: A transition zone between two ecological communities (biomes or ecosystems). Ecotones typically have higher species diversity (edge effect) than either adjacent community.

Static linkage: Biodiversity hotspots, IUCN Red List, Aravalli ecology.

GS area: Geography (physical), Environment

The Aravalli Range spans approximately 692 km across Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and Delhi.

• Direction: Generally northeast-southwest. The range runs from Gujarat (north of Ahmedabad) to Delhi (Raisina Hill, on which Rashtrapati Bhavan is built, is part of the Aravalli).
• Age: Among the oldest fold mountain ranges in the world, formed during the Precambrian era.
• Ecological function: Acts as a natural green wall. Controls dust movement from the Thar Desert toward the Gangetic Plain. Recharges the Aravalli groundwater belt.
• Deforestation crisis: Large sections of the Aravallis have been encroached upon for mining, real estate and agriculture. The Supreme Court has repeatedly intervened to prevent further deforestation.
• Highest peak: Guru Peak (also called Gurushikhar) in Rajasthan at 1,722 metres.

Static linkage: Peninsular plateau, physical geography of India.

GS area: Polity

The Parliamentary Committee on Official Language, chaired by Amit Shah after his re-election, focuses on promoting Hindi for official purposes.

• Official Languages Act 1963: Under Section 4, the committee reviews the progress of Hindi use in central government offices.
• Eight Schedule languages: The Eighth Schedule of the Constitution lists 22 scheduled languages. This is frequently tested.
• Article 343-351 (Part XVII): Deals with official language policy. Article 343 designates Hindi in Devanagari script as the official language. Article 351 directs the Union to promote and develop Hindi.
• Three-language formula: NEP 2020 retains the three-language formula (mother tongue, Hindi, English) while allowing states flexibility.
• Classical Languages: Tamil (2004), Sanskrit (2005), Telugu (2008), Kannada (2008), Malayalam (2013), Odia (2014), Marathi (2024) and Pali, Prakrit, Assamese (2024) have received classical language status.

Static linkage: Language policy, Eighth Schedule, Article 343.

GS area: Security, Defence

India's Armed Forces have a dedicated Amphibious Operations Doctrine. Amphibious operations involve coordinated action by land, naval and air forces, where troops are launched from the sea to establish a presence on a hostile shore.

• India's amphibious fleet: Includes INS Jalashwa (formerly USS Trenton, the largest amphibious ship in the Indian Navy), INS Airavat and several landing ship tanks.
• TROPEX: Theatre-level Readiness and Operational Exercise, the Indian military's largest annual joint exercise, has amphibious components.
• Island territories: The Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Lakshadweep require specialised amphibious logistics. The Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC) is India's only tri-services command.
• Strategic relevance: As India's maritime posture in the Indian Ocean strengthens, amphibious capability becomes important for protecting island territories and projecting influence in the Indo-Pacific.

Static linkage: Indian Ocean security, island territories, Andaman and Nicobar Command.

• CO2-to-Methanol pilot plant: India's first such facility, a public-private partnership between IIT Delhi and Thermax Limited, is in Pune. The plant advances carbon capture and utilisation (CCU) technology, supporting India's goal to blend 15 per cent methanol in diesel.
• Typhoon Yagi: Asia's strongest cyclone of 2024, struck Vietnam, Laos and Myanmar in early September, displacing millions. India launched Operation Sadbhav providing humanitarian assistance ($1 million to Vietnam, $100,000 to Laos).