Daily Current Affairs : 29th and 30th June 2023

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Daily Current Affairs for UPSC CSE

Topics Covered

  1. PM PRANAM
  2. NRF Bill
  3. Green Credit Scheme
  4. Giant Meter Radiowave Telescope
  5. Discretionary Powers of Governor
  6. Facts for Prelims

1 . PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother – Earth (PMPRANAM)

Context : The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the PM-PRANAM (PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth) scheme, which was a promise made in the last Budget. Union Fertilizer Minister Mansukh Mandaviya told reporters after the meeting that the new scheme would promote use of nutrient-based, biofertilizers for sustainable agriculture and it would have a total outlay of ₹3,70,128.7 crore.

About PM – PRANAM

  • Government has announced “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother Earth” (PM-PRANAM) scheme in Budget 2023-24 with the objective to incentivise the States and UTs to promote usage of alternative fertilizers and balanced use of chemical fertilizers.

Need of PM – PRANAM

  • Mother Earth has always provided plentiful sources of sustenance to mankind. It is the need of the hour to go back to more natural ways of farming and promotion of balanced / sustainable use of chemical fertilizers.
  • Promoting natural / organic farming, alternate fertilizers, innovations like Nano  Fertilizers  and  bio-Fertilizers can help in restoring fertility of our Mother Earth.
  • Thus, it was announced in the Budget that “PM Programme for Restoration, Awareness Generation, Nourishment and Amelioration of Mother – Earth (PMPRANAM)” will be launched to incentivize States/ Union Territories to promote alternate fertilizers and balanced use  of chemical fertilizers.

Importance

  • Due to increased demand for fertiliser in the country over the past 5 years, the overall expenditure by the government on subsidy has also increased. In light of the increased demand, the government has also been increasing the subsidies it provides for chemical fertilisers.
  • PM PRANAM, which seeks to reduce the use of chemical fertiliser, will likely reduce the burden on the exchequer.
  • The proposed scheme is also in line with the government’s focus on promoting the balanced use of fertilisers or alternative fertilisers in the last few years.

Schemes under the Programme

  • Rs. 1451.84 crore have been approved for Market Development Assistance (MDA) for promoting Organic Fertilizers from Gobardhan Plants : Market Development Assistance (MDA) scheme in the form of Rs 1500 per MT to support marketing of organic fertilizers, viz., Fermented Organic Manures (FOM)/Liquid FOM/Phosphate Rich Organic Manures (PROM) produced as by-product from Bio- gas Plants/Compressed Biogas (CBG) Plants set up under umbrella GOBARdhan initiative. Such organic fertilizers would be branded in the names of Bharat Brand FOM, LFOM and PROM.
  • Benefits – It will facilitate in addressing the challenge of management of crop residue and problems of Parali burning, will also help in keeping the environment clean and safe and at the same time provide an additional source of income for farmers. Farmers will get organic fertilizers (FOM/LFOM/ PROM) at affordable prices. This initiative will facilitate implementation of Budget announcement of establishing 500 new waste to wealth plants under GOBARdhan scheme for promoting circular economy, by increasing the viability of these BG/CBG plants.

Introduction of Sulphur coated Urea (Urea Gold); to address sulphur deficiency of soil and save input costs for the farmers

  • Another initiative of the package is that the Sulphur coated Urea (Urea Gold) is being introduced in the country for the first time.
  • It is more economical and efficient than the currently used Neem coated urea. It will address Sulphur deficiency for the soil in the country.
  • It will also save input costs for the farmers and also raise incomes for farmers with enhanced production & productivity.

Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PMKSKs) touches one lakh

  • About one lakh Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samruddhi Kendras (PMKSKs) have already come up in the country. For the convenience of farmers, the farm inputs are being provided as a one stop solution for all needs of farmers.

Benefits:

The approved schemes will help in judicious use of chemical fertilizers, thereby reducing input cost of cultivation for the farmers. Promoting natural/ organic farming, innovative and alternate fertilizers like Nano Fertilizers and organic fertilizers will help in restoring fertility of our Mother Earth.

  1. Improved soil health leads to increased nutrient efficiency and safe environment due to reduction in soil and water pollution. Safe and clean environment helps in improvement in human health.
  2. Better utilization of crop residue like parali will help resolve the issue of air pollution and improve the cleanliness and betterment of living environment and also help to convert waste into wealth.
  3. Farmers will reap more benefits – they need not pay anything extra for urea as it continues to be available at the same affordable statutory price. Organic fertilizers (FOM/ PROM) will also be available at cheaper prices. With low-cost Nano urea and reduced use of chemical fertilizers and increased use of organic fertilizers, the input cost for the farmers will come down. Low input cost coupled with healthy soil and water will enhance the production and productivity of the crops. Farmers will get good returns for their produce.

2 . National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023

Context : The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, today approved the introduction of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill, 2023 in the Parliament.  

About the Bill

  • The approved Bill will pave the way to  establish NRF that will seed, grow and promote Research and Development (R&D) and foster a culture of research and innovation throughout India’s universities, colleges, research institutions, and R&D laboratories.

Key Features

  • The bill, after approval in the Parliament, will establish NRF, an apex body to provide high-level strategic direction of scientific research in the country as per recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP), at a total estimated cost of Rs. 50,000 crore during five years (2023-28).
  • The Department of Science and Technology (DST) will be the administrative Department of NRF which will be governed by a Governing Board consisting of eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines.
  • Since the scope of the NRF is wide-ranging – impacting all ministries – the Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the Board and the Union Minister of Science & Technology & Union Minister of Education will be the ex-officio Vice-Presidents. NRF’s functioning will be governed by an Executive Council chaired by the Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India.
  • The bill will also repeal the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) established by an act of Parliament in 2008 and subsume it into NRF which has an expanded mandate and covers activities over and above the activities of SERB.

Objectives

  • NRF will forge collaborations among the industry, academia, and government departments and research institutions, and create an interface mechanism for participation and contribution of industries and State governments in addition to the scientific and line ministries.
  • It will focus on creating a policy framework and putting in place regulatory processes that can encourage collaboration and increased spending by the industry on R&D.
  • The core objective of the NRF would be to sharply increase the funding available to scientific research in the country, both from government and private sources.

3 . Green Credit Scheme

Context : The Environment Ministry has issued a draft notification detailing a proposed ‘Green Credit Scheme’ that will incentivise a host of activities including afforestation programmes, water conservation, waste management and remedying air pollution by allowing individuals and organisations to generate ‘Green Credits.’ These credits, through a yet to be specified mechanism, can also be traded for money.

About Green Credit Scheme

  • “A Green Credit Programme is proposed to be launched at national level to leverage a competitive market-based approach for Green Credits thereby incentivising voluntary environmental actions of various stakeholders.
  • It will incentivising individual/community behaviour alongwith that the Green Credit Programme will encourage private sector industries and companies as well as other entities to meet their existing obligations, stemming from other legal frameworks, by taking actions which are able to converge with activities relevant for generating or buying Green Credits.”
  • Eight sectors, or activities, that can qualify for generating credits:
    • Tree plantation-based Green Credit to promote activities for increasing green cover across the country through tree plantation and related activities; water-based Green Credit to promote water conservation, water harvesting and water use efficiency/savings, including treatment and reuse of wastewater;
    • Sustainable agriculture-based Green Credit to promote natural and regenerative agricultural practices and land restoration to improve productivity, soil health and nutritional value of food produced;
    • Waste management-based Green Credit to promote sustainable and improved practices for waste management, including collection, segregation and treatment;
    • Air pollution reduction-based Green Credit to promote measures for reducing air pollution and other pollution-abatement activities;
    • Mangrove conservation and restoration-based Green Credit to promote measures for conservation and restoration of mangroves;
    • Ecomark-based Green Credit to encourage manufacturers to obtain ecomark label for their goods and services
    • Sustainable building and infrastructure-based Green Credit to encourage the construction of buildings and other infrastructure using sustainable technologies and materials.
  • There will also be a system that will measure how many units of water conserved or land restored will be worth one Green Credit.
  • The Green Credit Scheme follows the principle of LiFE, often articulated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to “encourage sustainable lifestyles by driving consumer/community towards behavioural changes to incentivise environment-friendly practices.”
  • A ‘steering committee,’ of government and private sector representatives will specify the details of implementing the programme and overall administration of the scheme will be under the Indian Council for Forestry Research and Education.

Challenges

  • Establishing the equivalence between various actions is challenging. In some countries, social services generate credits – taking care of the elderly for a certain number of hours, for instance, gets you some credit that you can exchange in a salon. However reducing environmental protection to money is a slippery slope. Monitoring, reporting and verification for even carbon dioxide is already challenging. So determining, for instance, how much water you saved is equivalent to a tonne of CO2 prevented from emissions, is much more difficult.

4 . Giant Meter Radiowave Telescope

Context :In a major breakthrough, an international team of astronomers Thursday announced scientific evidence confirming the presence of gravitational waves using pulsar observations. Operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), India’s Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) located in Pune was among the six of the world’s largest radio telescopes that paved the way for this discovery of nano-hertz gravitational waves.

Key Findings

  • In two different studies published, radio astronomers representing the Indian Pulsar Timing Array (InPTA) and European Pulsar Timing Array (EPTA) shared that a time aberration was observed in the signals emerging from these pulsars.
  • Along with scientists from NCRA, the InPTA comprises experts from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research, Bhopal, Raman Research Institute (RRI), Bengaluru, IIT-Roorkee, IIT-Hyderabad, Institute of Mathematical Sciences, Chennai.
  • Even though the Laser Interferometer Gravitational Observatory (LIGO) captured these waves lasting over a few seconds, PTAs observed these signals in a different frequency range.
  • In all, six of the world’s most powerful and large radio telescopes – uGMRT, Westerbork Synthesis Radio Telescope, Effelsberg Radio Telescope, Lovell Telescope, Nançay Radio Telescope and Sardinia Radio Telescope — were deployed to study 25 pulsars over a period of 15 years. In addition to data from these facilities, highly sensitive uGMRT data of more than three years were analysed too. It has been concluded that radio flashes from these pulsars were affected by the nano-hertz gravitational waves believed to emerge from ‘monster’ black holes.

About Pulsars / Cosmic Clocks

  • Nicknamed as cosmic clocks, pulsars are rapidly spinning neutron stars that send out radio signals at regular intervals which are seen as bright flashes from the Earth. As these signals are accurately timed, there is a great interest in studying these pulsars and to unravel the mysteries of the Universe.
  • In order to detect gravitational wave signals, scientists explore several ultra-stable pulsar clocks randomly distributed across our Milky Way galaxy and create an ‘imaginary’ galactic-scale gravitational wave detector.
  • There are several signals travelling through spacetime of the Universe. But, the presence of gravitational waves influences the arrival of these signals when detected from Earth. It was noticed that some signals arrive early while others, with a slight delay (less than a millionth of a second).These nano-hertz signals were heard as humming from the Universe.
  • These were caused due to the presence of gravitational waves and due to signal irregularities emerging from pulsars, said the scientists.

Nano hertz Gravitational Waves

  • It is expected that ultra-low frequency gravitational waves, also known as nano-hertz gravitational waves, emerge from a colliding pair of very large ‘monster’ black holes, many crores of times heavier than our Sun.
  • Such ‘monster’ black holes are believed to be located in the centre of colliding galaxies. The signals or ripples that emerge from within these blackholes are known as nano-hertz gravitational waves.
  • Their wavelengths can be many lakhs of crores of kilometres and oscillate with a periodicity anywhere between a 1 year to 10 years. When there is continuous arrival of these nano-hertz gravitational waves, it creates a consistent humming in our Universe, which gets detected using powerful radio telescopes from the Earth.

About Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) Observatory

  • The Giant Metrewave Radio Telescope (GMRT) Observatory, located near Pune, Junnar, Narayangaon in India, is an array of thirty fully steerable parabolic radio telescopes of 45 metre diameter, observing at metre wavelengths.
  • It is operated by the National Centre for Radio Astrophysics (NCRA), a part of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, Mumbai. It was conceived and built during 1984 to 1996.
  •  At the time it was built, it was the world’s largest interferometric array offering a baseline of up to 25 kilometres (16 mi).
  • Why metre wavelengths : The metre wavelength part of the radio spectrum has been particularly chosen for study with GMRT because man-made radio interference is considerably lower in this part of the spectrum in India. Although there are many outstanding astrophysics problems which are best studied at metre wavelengths, there has, so far, been no large facility anywhere in the world to exploit this part of the spectrum for astrophysical research.
  • One of the aims for the telescope during its development was to search for the highly redshifted 21-cm line radiation from primordial neutral hydrogen clouds in order to determine the epoch of galaxy formation in the universe
  • In August 2018, the most distant galaxy ever known, located at a distance of 12 billion light years, was discovered by GMRT.
  • The GMRT has produced important discoveries in domains such as pulsars, supernovae, galaxies, quasars, and cosmology, greatly enhancing our understanding of the Universe.”

5 . Discretionary Power of Governor

Context – In an unprecedented move, Tamil Nadu Governor R.N. Ravi on Thursday evening unilaterally “dismissed with immediate effect” arrested Minister V. Senthilbalaji from the Council of Ministers, only to hurriedly backtrack his decision late in the night.

How did the post of Governor come about?

  • Since 1858, when India was administered by the British Crown, provincial Governors were agents of the Crown, functioning under the supervision of the Governor-General.
  • Over the following decades, the Indian nationalist movement sought various reforms from British rule, aiming for better governance.
  • These efforts culminated in the Government of India Act, 1935, which came into force in 1937, bringing provincial autonomy. Post this, the Indian National Congress commanded a majority in six provinces.
  • With the 1935 law, the Governor was now to act in accordance with the advice of Ministers of a province’s legislature but retained special responsibilities and discretionary power.
  • Upon Independence, when the Provisional Constitution of 1947 was adapted from the 1935 Act, the post of Governor was retained but the phrases ‘in his discretion, ‘acting in his discretion, and ‘exercising his individual judgement’, were omitted.
  • The post of the Governor was extensively debated in the Constituent Assembly, which too decided to retain it while re-orienting its role from the British era.
  • Under the parliamentary and cabinet systems of governance adopted by India, the Governor was envisaged to be the Constitutional Head of a State.

Constitutional provisions about Governor’s role

  • State executive consists of Governor and Council of Ministers with Chief Minister as its head.
  • The Governor of a State is appointed by the President for a term of five years and holds office during his pleasure.
  • Only Indian citizens above 35 years of age are eligible for appointment to this office. Executive power of the State is vested in Governor.
  • The important provisions defining the Governor’s role state that the Governor appoints the Chief Minister after an election and the Council of Ministers on the advice of the CM (Article 164).
  • The Governor can also summon, prorogue, and dissolve the Legislative Assembly (Article 174).
  • By convention, he does this on the advice of the Council of Ministers while they enjoy the confidence of the Assembly.
  • The M.M Punchhi Commission’s report on Centre-State relations points out that the exercise of his discretion happens only when following the Council’s advice would be unconstitutional or if the Council has lost the confidence of the Assembly.
  • Every Bill passed in an Assembly has to be sent to the Governor (Article 200), after which he has four options
    • To assent to the Bill
    • Withhold assent
    • Reserve the Bill for the consideration of the President, or
    • Return the Bill to the legislature, asking it to reconsider the Bill or an aspect of it.
  • The Governor can also suggest an amendment to the Bill.
  • The legislature is supposed to quickly consider the recommendations but if it chooses to pass the Bill in the same form again, “the Governor shall not withhold assent therefrom”.
  • Council of Ministers with the Chief Minister as head aids and advises Governor in exercise of his functions except in so far as he is by or under the Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.
  • In respect of Nagaland, Governor has special responsibility under Article 371 A of the Constitution with respect to law and order and even though it is necessary for him to consult Council of Ministers in matters relating to law and order, he can exercise his individual judgement as to the action to be taken.
  • Similarly, in respect of Arunachal Pradesh, Governor has special responsibility under Article 371H of the Constitution with respect to law and order and in discharge of his functions in relation thereto.
    • Governor shall, after consulting the Council of Ministers, exercise his individual judgement as to the action to be taken.
    • These are, however, temporary provisions if President, on receipt of a report from Governor or otherwise is satisfied that it is no longer necessary for Governor to have special responsibility with respect to law and order, he may so direct by an order.
  • Likewise, in the Sixth Schedule which applies to tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram as specified in para 20 of that Schedule, discretionary powers are given to Governor in matters relating to sharing of royalties between district council and state government.
  • All Governors while discharging such constitutional functions as appointment of Chief Minister of a State or sending a report to President about failure of constitutional machinery in a State or in respect of matters relating to assent to a Bill passed by legislature, exercise their own judgement.

Constitutional Provisions Regarding Discretionary Powers

  • Article 163 provides there shall be a council of ministers with the chief minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, “except in so far as he is by or under this Constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.”
  • Article 163 (2) clothes a governor with authority to use his discretion in deciding whether he needs to act on any specific matter. “The decision of the governor in his discretion shall be final, and the validity of anything done by the governor shall not be called in question on the ground that he ought or ought not to have acted in his discretion,” adds this provision.
  • Article 164 (1) provides that the “ministers shall hold office during the pleasure of the governor”, apart from the fact the chief minister shall be appointed by the governor and the other ministers shall be appointed by the governor on the advice of the chief minister.

Constitutional Assembly debates on Article 163

  • Notably, the draft Constitution in Article 144(6) said that the functions of the governor under that article with respect to the appointment and dismissal of ministers shall be exercised by him in his discretion. But draft Article 144(6) was totally omitted when Article 144 became Article 164 in the Constitution.
  • There was an extensive debate on whether or not governors should be endowed with discretionary powers after HV Kamath moved for deletion of the part that empowered governors to override the council of ministers in certain exceptional circumstances. But TT Krishnamachari, PS Deshmukh, Alladi Krishnaswami Ayyar and HV Pataskar, among others, supported the draft provision.
  • The architect of the Constitution, BR Ambedkar, elucidated the scope of such discretionary powers in unequivocal terms. “It is not a general clause giving governor power to disregard the advice of his ministers in any matter in which he finds he ought to disregard,” said Ambedkar. He further clarified: “Governor under the Constitution has no functions which he can discharge by himself; no functions at all. While he has no functions, he has certain duties to perform.” Ambedkar added that the provision on governor’s discretionary powers must be read in conjunction with such other articles which specifically reserve the power to governor.
  • Ambedkar also informed the Constituent assembly regarding the ambit of Article 167, which provides that it would be the duty of CM to communicate to governor all decisions of the council of ministers relating to administration of affairs of the state. He clarified that this provision nowhere provides that the governor, in any particular circumstances, may overrule the ministry. “Therefore, the criticism that has been made that this Article somehow enables the governor to interfere or to upset the decision of the cabinet is entirely beside the point, and completely mistaken,” Ambedkar emphasised.

When can a Governor use his discretion?

  • Article 163(1) of the Constitution says that “there shall be a council of Ministers with the Chief Minister at the head to aid and advise the Governor in the exercise of his functions, except in so far as he is by or under this constitution required to exercise his functions or any of them in his discretion.”
  • When the chief minister has lost the support of the House and his strength is debatable, then the Governor need not wait for the advice of the council of ministers to hold a floor test. Generally, when doubts are cast on the chief minister that he has lost the majority, the opposition and the Governor would rally for a floor test and the ruling party would attempt to stall the process to buy time and keep its flock together.
  • The court in Paragraph 153 the 2016 Arunachal Pradesh ruling, clarifies that : “In ordinary circumstances during the period when the CM and his council of ministers enjoy the confidence of the majority of the House, the power vested with the Governor under Article 174 to summon, prorogue and dissolve the house(s) must be exercised in consonance with the aid and advice of the chief minister and his council of ministers. In the above situation, he is precluded [from taking] an individual call on the issue at his own will, or in his own discretion. Only in a situation where the government in power – on holding of such floor test – is seen to have lost the confidence of the majority, would it be open to the Governor to exercise the powers vested with him under Article 174 at his own, and without any aid and advice,” the court said.
  • “So naturally, the governor cannot remove a minister without the recommendation or advice of the chief minister. This is actually the prerogative of the chief minister. It is a political decision as to who should be a minister and who should not be a minister, or who should remain in the cabinet,”. Government of India Act of 1935 gave governors the discretion to choose a minister and also dismiss him/her but these powers were omitted in the Constitution.  

6 . Facts for Prelims

What is Euclid Space Telescope

  • European Space Agency is all set to launch a new mission aimed at exploring the composition and evolution of the dark universe, a part of the cosmos we are unable to see.
  • The Euclid space telescope will launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday to create the most accurate map of the large-scale structures of the universe across space and time.
  • The telescope will observe billions of galaxies out to 10 billion light-years, across more than a third of the sky, and try to reveal how the Universe has expanded and how the structure has formed over cosmic history.
  • Scientists hope to better understand the role of gravity and the nature of dark energy and dark matter with the new flying observatory.
  • Euclid is designed to observe the large-scale structure of the universe and create a 3D map to reveal how the universe has expanded and how large-scale structure has evolved over cosmic history.
  • The spacecraft will provide imagery, visible, spectroscopy and photometry data in the near-infrared spectrum of light that cannot be seen with the eyes. The nearly 2-tonne spacecraft is equipped with a 1.2-meter diameter primary mirror, a Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer.
  • A sunshield will keep the telescopes and instruments shaded from the Sun to ensure thermal stability and highly sensitive measurements as the VISible instrument (VIS) will have to operate at -120 degrees Celsius and the Near Infrared Spectrometer and Photometer (NISP) at -180 degrees Celsius.
  • 4.7-meters tall and 3.7 metres in diameter, Euclid will be launched to the Second Lagrange point (L2), 1.5 million kilometers from Earth, where it could pair up with the James Webb Space Telescope for joint observations. The spacecraft will be in a 3-month commissioning period after arriving at L2.
  • 95% of the Universe appears to be made up of unknown ‘dark’ matter and energy. Dark matter and energy affect the motion and distribution of visible sources, but do not emit or absorb any light, and scientists do not know yet what these entities actually are. Euclid could uncover these secrets.

Dark Universe

  • The dark universe is the mysterious part of the universe that we cannot see. It is composed of two main components: dark matter and dark energy. While dark matter makes up about 85% of the matter in the universe, dark energy makes up about 70% of the energy in the universe.
  • It is, in fact, dark matter that holds galaxies together and prevents them from flying apart. According to the European Space Agency, without dark matter, galaxies would not be able to form. Meanwhile, dark energy causes the universe to expand at an accelerating rate.
  • ESA has said that Euclid’s precise measurements of cosmic structure could uncover the total mass of neutrinos in our Universe, and with this how much of dark matter they can make up.

Bastille Day

  • Bastille Day is the common name given in English-speaking countries to the national day of France, which is celebrated on 14 July each year. In French, it is formally called the Fête nationale française “French National Celebration” legally it is known as le 14 juillet 
  • The French National Day is the anniversary of the Storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789, a major event of the French Revolution, as well as the Fête de la Fédération that celebrated the unity of the French people on 14 July 1790.

Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary

  • The Debrigarh wildlife sanctuary is located in the Bargarh district in the Indian state of Odisha.
  • It is situated near the city of Sambalpur’s Hirakud Dam.
  • The Debrigarh Wildlife Sanctuary is an important location for the conservation of various local wildlife and their habitat.

Nalabana Bird Sanctuary

  • Nalbana Bird Sanctuary or Nalbana Island is the core area of the Ramsar designated wetlands of Chilika Lake. It was declared a bird sanctuary under the Wildlife Protection Act in 1972.
  • Nalbana means a weed covered island In the Odia language. It is a major island in the center of the lake 
  • Large flocks of greater flamingos from Iran and the Rann of Kutch in Gujarat, feed in the shallow waters of the lake. Other-long legged waders seen around Nalbana Island are the lesser flamingos, Goliath heron, grey herons, purple herons, egrets, spoonbills,  storks and black-headed ibis.
  • Rare birds reported in the lake are Asiatic dowitchers, Dalmatian pelican, Pallas’s fish-eagles (VU), the very rare migrant spoon-billed sandpiper  and spot-billed pelican.
  • The white-bellied sea eagle, pariah kite, brahminy kites, kestrel, marsh harriers, and the world’s most widespread bird of prey, peregrine falcon, are among the raptors seen here

Greedflation

  • Greedflation simply means (corporate) greed is fuelling inflation. In other words, instead of the wage-price spiral, it is the profit-price spiral that is in play.
  • In essence, greedflation implies that companies exploited the inflation that people were experiencing by putting up their prices way beyond just covering their increased costs and then used that to maximise their profit margins. That, in turn, further fuelled inflation.
  • In the developed countries — in Europe and the US — there is a growing consensus that greedflation is the real culprit.

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