8 November 2024

• Economy: Gujarat's Semiconductor Policy 2022-2027 named Dholera as the site for India's first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facility, backed by a 91,000 crore rupee investment.
• Governance: The Commission for Air Quality Management doubled fines for stubble burning across Delhi-NCR, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• History: The Shanan Hydropower Project on the Uhl River in Himachal Pradesh whose 99-year lease to Punjab expired in March 2024 became a state-level dispute.
• Polity: The Supreme Court examined CSR compliance rules including the mandatory 2 per cent net profit allocation.

GS area: Economy, Science and Technology

India's first AI-enabled semiconductor fabrication facility is being set up in Dholera, Gujarat.

• Investors: Tata Electronics Private Limited and Taiwan's Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC).
• Investment: Exceeding 91,000 crore rupees, making it one of the largest manufacturing investments in Indian history.
• Dholera: A Special Investment Region in Gujarat, part of the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor.
• India Semiconductor Mission: The central programme with a budget of 76,000 crore rupees, supporting fabrication plants, display manufacturing and chip design.
• Gujarat Semiconductor Policy 2022-2027: India's first state-level dedicated semiconductor policy. It provides incentives including capital subsidies, land at concessional rates and power tariff support.
• Strategic context: India aims to reduce dependence on Taiwan and South Korea for chips. The Russia-Ukraine and US-China tensions exposed supply chain risks in semiconductors.

Static linkage: Manufacturing, technology policy, India Semiconductor Mission.

GS area: Environment, Governance

The Commission for Air Quality Management doubled fines for stubble burning to deter the practice ahead of the winter pollution season.

• CAQM: Commission for Air Quality Management in National Capital Region and Adjoining Areas. Set up by statute. Its jurisdiction covers Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• New fines:
  • Less than 2 acres: 5,000 rupees (up from 2,500).
  • 2 to 5 acres: 10,000 rupees (up from 5,000).
  • More than 5 acres: 30,000 rupees (up from 15,000).
• Why stubble burning persists: The gap between the harvest of paddy and the sowing of wheat is too short for farmers to use slower mechanical methods. Economic constraints on mechanisation reinforce the practice.
• Health impact: Stubble smoke is a major contributor to Delhi's winter PM2.5 spikes. PM2.5 particles penetrate the lungs and bloodstream.

Static linkage: Air pollution, environmental governance, agriculture.

GS area: Polity, Water resources

The 99-year lease of the Shanan Hydropower Project to Punjab expired in March 2024. Himachal Pradesh sought ownership.

• Location: Joginder Nagar, Mandi district, Himachal Pradesh. On the Uhl River, a tributary of the Beas.
• Commissioned: 1932. It was India's first megawatt-scale hydroelectric project.
• Lease history: Granted to Punjab (then undivided Punjab under British India) for 99 years. At independence and reorganisation, the project remained with Punjab.
• Himachal's claim: The project stands on Himachal's land and draws water from Himachal rivers. After lease expiry, ownership should revert.
• Punjab's position: Continued operation and financial stake.
• Legal route: The matter is before the courts and may go to the Inter-State River Water Disputes Act framework.

Static linkage: Centre-state and inter-state disputes, water resources, federalism.

GS area: Economy, Governance

The CSR provisions under the Companies Act, 2013 were being applied and tested.

• Mandatory threshold: Companies with a net worth of 500 crore rupees or more, a turnover of 1,000 crore rupees or more, or a net profit of 5 crore rupees or more must spend 2 per cent of their average net profit over the preceding three years on CSR.
• Total invested: 1.84 lakh crore rupees through CSR activities from 2014 to 2023.
• Penalty: Companies that fail to spend face fines between 50,000 and 25 lakh rupees. Officers can face up to three years in prison.
• Unspent funds: Must be transferred within the fiscal year to a Schedule VII fund (PM CARES, Swachh Bharat Kosh, etc.).
• 2019 amendment: Made non-spending a criminal offence rather than just a disclosure failure.

Static linkage: Corporate law, governance, public finance.

GS area: Polity, Defence

The OROP policy framework was again in discussion as its implementation continued.

• OROP: One Rank One Pension. Ensures that defence personnel who retire at the same rank and with the same length of service receive the same pension regardless of when they retired.
• Approved: 2015. Effective retroactively from 1 July 2014.
• Revision cycle: Pensions are re-fixed every five years based on the pension of those who retired in 2013.
• Nodal agency: Department of Ex-Servicemen Welfare under the Ministry of Defence.
• Controversy: Ex-servicemen's associations argued the five-year gap is too long and the 2013 base year disadvantaged many retirees.

Static linkage: Defence policy, veteran welfare, public finance.

• Processing-in-Memory technology: Israeli innovation allowing data to be processed directly in memory chips, bypassing the CPU-memory bottleneck known as the "memory wall." The PyPIM platform allows Python-based operations in-memory. The technology reduces data transfer energy consumption significantly.
• Namibia offshore oil: Estimated reserves of 2.6 billion barrels in the Orange, Luderitz, Kavango and Walvis basins. High gas-to-oil ratios complicate development. Namibia borders South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Zambia and Angola, with an Atlantic Ocean coastline.