India Ranks 176th in the Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) 2024

 India ranks 176th in the Global Nature Conservation Index (NCI) 2024, with a score of 45.5 out of 100. This places India among the five worst performers globally, alongside Kiribati, Turkey, Iraq, and Micronesia. The NCI was released on October 24, 2024, and assesses conservation efforts across 180 countries.

About the Nature Conservation Index

The NCI is a new tool that evaluates conservation efforts using four key markers:

1. Land Management
2. Threats to Biodiversity
3. Capacity and Governance
4. Future Trends

Developed by the Goldman Sonnenfeldt School of Sustainability and Climate Change at Ben-Gurion University and BioDB.com, the index aims to provide a clear analysis of each country’s conservation strategies. It helps governments and organizations identify issues and improve their conservation policies.

India’s Conservation Challenges

India’s low ranking is primarily due to poor land management and increasing threats to biodiversity. The country has converted 53% of its land for urban, industrial, and agricultural use. The NCI marks several problems:

• High Pesticide Use: This contributes to soil pollution.
• Sustainable Nitrogen Index: Currently at 0.77, indicating a need for improvement in soil health.

Marine Conservation Deficiencies

Marine conservation is another critical area of concern. Only 0.2% of India’s national waterways are protected. There are no protected areas within its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), despite 7.5% of terrestrial land being safeguarded.

Threats to Biodiversity

India faces threats to its biodiversity:

• Habitat Loss and Fragmentation: Caused by agriculture, urbanization, and infrastructure development.
• Climate Change: This adds pressure on sensitive ecosystems, like alpine regions and coral reefs.

From 2001 to 2019 lost 23,300 sq. km of tree cover due to deforestation. Although 40% of marine species and 65% of terrestrial species are in Protected Areas, many continue to decline. The index reports that 67.5% of marine species and 46.9% of terrestrial species are experiencing population decreases.

Global Sustainable Development Goals

India’s NCI findings align with issues raised in the latest global progress report on Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The country struggles with SDG 14 (Life below water) and SDG 15 (Life on land).

Future Trends and Opportunities

The index notes both challenges and opportunities for India’s biodiversity. With one of the highest population densities globally and a population that has doubled since the late 1970s, ecological wealth is under threat. India is also the fourth-largest illegal wildlife trader, with annual sales of around £15 billion. The index calls for stronger enforcement and international cooperation to combat this issue. Strong political will is crucial for effective conservation. This includes passing laws that promote sustainable development and securing funding for environmental initiatives. With commitment and action can address its conservation challenges and work towards a sustainable future.

India Ranks 79th place in Rule of Law Index Ranking 2024

 India ranks 79 out of 142 countries in the 2024 Rule of Law Index published by the World Justice Project. This ranking reflects the current state of governance, fundamental rights, and the business environment in India.

Governance Indicators

India’s performance on governance indicators is mixed. It ranks 60th in constraints on government powers and 44th in open government. These scores indicate some progress in governance frameworks. However, they also highlight lapses and a lack of coordination in efforts to improve governance.

Fundamental Rights

India’s score in the protection of fundamental rights is concerning. It ranks 102nd out of 142 countries. This poor performance suggests ongoing issues with the enforcement and respect for citizens’ rights.

In terms of order and security ranks 98th. This low ranking points to challenges in maintaining public safety and effective law enforcement. The effectiveness of policing systems is questioned, impacting citizens’ trust in security agencies.

Criminal Justice Efficiency

India’s criminal justice system is rated 82nd. The system is often slow and inefficient, leading to delays in justice delivery. This inefficiency contributes to a lack of public confidence in the legal framework.

India’s rank also reflects a poor business climate. It scores 97th in the absence of corruption, 78th in regulatory enforcement, and 107th in civil justice delivery. These factors are critical for attracting investment and nurturing businesses.

International Comparisons

In comparison, Singapore ranks 3rd for both the absence of corruption and regulatory enforcement, and 8th in civil justice delivery. This stark contrast marks the challenges India faces in creating a conducive business environment.

Regional Rankings

Within South Asia ranks third, following Nepal (69) and Sri Lanka (75). Bangladesh (127), Pakistan (129), and Afghanistan (140) rank lower. This positioning indicates that India is performing better than some of its regional counterparts, yet still faces challenges.

What is National Agriculture Code?

 What is National Agriculture Code?

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) is developing a new set of guidelines called the National Agriculture Code (NAC). This is similar to the existing national codes used for buildings and electrical systems, but specifically for agriculture. The goal is to create a set of standards that can help improve the quality and efficiency of farming practices in India, which currently lack detailed regulations.

Understanding NAC

The NAC is a plan to create rules and guidelines that will cover various agricultural practices across the country. These guidelines will aim to standardize farming methods to ensure that they are efficient, safe, and of high quality. This is important because, while there are already standards for things like farming machinery, fertilizers, and pesticides, many other areas of farming do not have clear rules.

Why is the NAC needed?

Although the BIS has already set standards for specific items like machinery and fertilizers, many other parts of farming do not follow a standard process. These areas include:

• Land preparation (getting the field ready for planting)
• Irrigation (how water is used for crops)
• Sustainable farming practices

This lack of clear rules is a problem that policymakers have recognized for a long time. They believe that having a strong framework like the NAC will help make farming more organized and efficient.

What will the NAC cover?

The NAC will focus on:

Agricultural Processes: This includes choosing the right crops, preparing the land, planting, watering, and harvesting.

Post-Harvest Operations: Once crops are harvested, the NAC will provide guidelines for things like initial processing, storing the produce, and making sure everything can be traced back to its source.

Input Management: This covers the standards for using chemical fertilizers, pesticides, and promoting organic farming.

New Farming Methods: The NAC will also include modern technologies like the Internet of Things (IoT) for farming and sustainable farming methods.

What are the objectives of the NAC?

The NAC has several main goals:

• Create a national framework to guide various farming methods across India.
• Promote a culture of quality in Indian agriculture that policymakers and regulators can follow.
• Act as a guide for farmers to help them make better decisions in their farming practices.
• Encourage the use of modern agricultural techniques, including smart farming and sustainability initiatives.

When will the NAC be ready?

The BIS is working on drafting the NAC, and the goal is to finish it by October 2025. Once it’s ready, farmers will be trained to understand and apply the new standards in their everyday work.

What are Standardized Agriculture Demonstration Farms (SADF)?

To help test and promote the NAC, the BIS is also setting up Standardized Agriculture Demonstration Farms (SADF). These farms will be created with the help of major agricultural institutes and will serve as experimental sites. Farmers and others in the agricultural industry will be able to learn hands-on from these farms, where they can see the standardized practices in action and understand how to apply them in their fields.

What is BharatGen?

 haratGen is a major new project in generative  AI, which is a type of  artificial intelligence that can create text, images, or even sound. The goal of BharatGen is to improve public services and increase citizen participation in India using AI. This project was officially launched in New Delhi by Dr. Jitendra Singh, the Union Minister of State. BharatGen is part of India’s efforts to develop its advanced technologies and aims to make India a global leader in AI.

Key Goals of BharatGen

The main purpose of BharatGen is to create AI models that can work with language, speech, and visual information. These models will help solve different social challenges. Some of the key goals include:

Promoting social equality: Making AI accessible to all parts of society.

Preserving cultural heritage: Ensuring that India’s diverse cultures and languages are represented.

Accessibility: Making AI technology available to everyone, especially in different regional languages.

Who is Managing BharatGen?

The project is being led by IIT Bombay under the National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems (NM-ICPS). It is managed by the TIH Foundation for IoT and IOE, which will work with many top universities and research institutions to develop the project.

Four Important Features of BharatGen

BharatGen is special for several reasons:

Multilingual and Multimodal Models: It will focus on developing AI that works across many Indian languages and forms of communication, like text and speech.

Bhartiya Data Set: It will use Indian data to train its AI models, making them more relevant to local needs.

Open-Source: BharatGen will be an open-source platform, meaning its technology will be available to everyone, encouraging collaboration.

AI Ecosystem: The project will support the growth of AI research in India, helping more researchers and developers work on generative AI.

Project Timeline

BharatGen is expected to be completed in two years, with key milestones, including developing important AI models, set to be achieved by July 2026.

Focus on Indian Data and Efficiency

A unique feature of BharatGen is its focus on data sovereignty, meaning that it will use data collected from India, ensuring that India’s languages, dialects, and cultures are accurately represented. This is especially important for languages with fewer digital resources.

BharatGen is aligned with India’s vision of Atmanirbhar Bharat, which means self-reliant India. The project will help India develop its own AI capabilities, reduce dependence on foreign technology, and build a stronger AI ecosystem that benefits startups, businesses, and government agencies.

India Jumps to 39th in Global Innovation Index 2024

 India has moved up to 39th place out of 133 countries in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2024. This shows a big improvement in how India supports innovation. Union Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal announced this news, highlighting that India is the leader in innovation in Central and Southern Asia.

Key Rankings

• Global Position: 39th out of 133 countries
• Regional Leadership: 1st in Central and Southern Asia
• Economic Category: 1st among lower-middle-income countries
• WIPO S&T Cluster Ranking: 4th place

Innovative Cities

Four Indian cities—Mumbai, Delhi, Bengaluru, and Chennai—are recognized among the World’s Top 100 Science & Technology clusters. This shows that these cities are strong centers for innovation.

India’s rise in the GII is impressive, moving up from 81st place in 2015. This significant progress shows India’s dedication to improving its innovation environment.

What is the GII?

The Global Innovation Index (GII) ranks countries by how well they can innovate. It was started in 2007 by WIPO, INSEAD, and Cornell University and looks at 81 different factors. Switzerland has often been at the top of the list because it invests a lot in research and development (R&D).

The GII is published every year and provides valuable information about different economies. It focuses on key areas like education and skills (human capital), infrastructure (like roads and buildings), and how advanced the market is. The 2021 report noted that India is becoming an important place for innovation. The GII also helps countries work together on innovation strategies, which can influence policies worldwide.

Global Leaders in Innovation

According to the GII 2024, the top five innovative countries are Switzerland, Sweden, the US, Singapore, and the UK. China, Turkey, India, Vietnam, and the Philippines are noted as the fastest-growing countries in innovation over the past ten years.

What is helium and why is it used in rockets?

 Two NASA astronauts aboard Boeing’s Starliner will stay on the International Space Station for months because of a faulty propulsion system whose problems included helium leaks.

Back on Earth, SpaceX’s Polaris Dawn mission, which finally launched on Tuesday, was delayed because of helium issues on ground equipment.

Past missions that have been affected by pesky helium leaks include ISRO’s Chandrayaan 2 and ESA’s Ariane 5.

Why do spacecraft and rockets use helium?

Helium is inert — it does not react with other substances or combust — and its atomic number is 2, making it the second lightest element after hydrogen. Rockets need to achieve specific speeds and altitude to reach and maintain orbit. A heavier rocket requires more energy, not only increasing fuel consumption but also needing more powerful engines, which are more expensive to develop, test, and maintain. Helium has a very low boiling point (– 268.9 degree Celsius), allowing it to remain a gas even in super-cold environments, an important feature because many rocket fuels are stored in that temperature range.

How is helium used in spacecraft?

Helium is used to pressurise fuel tanks, ensuring fuel flows to the rocket’s engines without interruption; and for cooling systems. As fuel and oxidiser are burned in the rocket’s engines, helium fills the resulting empty space in the tanks, maintaining the overall pressure inside.

Because it is non-reactive, it can safely mingle with the tanks’ residual contents.

Is it prone to leaks?

Helium’s small atomic size and low molecular weight mean its atoms can escape through small gaps or seals in storage tanks and fuel systems.

But because there is very little helium in the Earth’s atmosphere, leaks can be easily detected — making the gas important for spotting potential faults in a rocket or spacecraft’s fuel systems. The frequency of helium leaks across space-related systems, some engineers say, have highlighted an industry-wide need for innovation in valve design and more precise valve-tightening mechanisms.

Source: Indian Express, 14/09/24

What is Whitetopping Technology?

 The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) in India is proposing a new policy to repair and upgrade old national highways using a method called Whitetopping Technology. MoRTH is asking for feedback on this idea from stakeholders by September 7. This policy is needed because many parts of India’s national highways, which cover about 1.46 lakh km, are aging and require improvement.

Definition of Whitetopping Technology

Whitetopping is a process where a layer of Portland Cement  Concrete (PCC) is placed on top of existing bituminous ( asphalt) roads. This technique is especially useful for roads that have ongoing problems due to poor drainage. Whitetopping has already been used successfully in various government projects, such as the Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), and cities like Bengaluru.

Benefits of Whitetopping

Whitetopping offers several advantages compared to traditional asphalt overlays:

Longer Lifespan: It can extend the life of a road by 20-25 years.

Less Maintenance: Roads require fewer repairs and less frequent lane closures.

Cost-Effective: Although the initial cost is higher, the long-term savings from reduced maintenance make it a smart investment.

Environmental Benefits: The lighter color of concrete reflects more light, helping to cool urban areas and reduce the heat island effect.

Better Performance: Whitetopping is more resistant to common road issues like deformation, rutting, and cracking, especially in hot climates.

Improved Fuel Efficiency: Vehicles use less fuel when driving on concrete roads compared to asphalt roads.

MoRTH is actively seeking input from various stakeholders to fine-tune the proposed policy and ensure it is implemented effectively. Gathering feedback is important to address any practical challenges and make this innovative approach to highway maintenance successful.

What is Medical Devices Information System(MeDevIS)?

 The Medical Devices Information System (MeDevIS), which was just released by the World Health Organization (WHO), is a major step forward in healthcare around the world. This online tool, which anyone can use, aims to improve how medical devices are given out and used around the world.

Objective of MeDevIS

The main reason MeDevIS was created was to help governments, healthcare officials, and end users. This directory has a lot of information to help people make smart choices about buying, choosing, and using different medical equipment.

Scope of Medical Devices Covered

The site has a list of 2,301 different kinds of medical equipment. These cover a wide range of health issues, from reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health to important infectious diseases like Covid-19 and infectious diseases that don’t spread.

Global Impact and Necessity

Over 10,000 different types of medical devices are sold around the world. These range from simple tools to high-tech devices like heart stents and radiotherapy machines. MeDevIS wants to organize this huge amount of data so that healthcare systems around the world can make better decisions more easily. Medical device information used to be spread out among many different foreign and regulatory body databases before MeDevIS came along. Users often had a harder time getting accurate information because of this segmentation.

Features of MeDevIS

MeDevIS has a central, complete database that has important information about every medical gadget. It tells users what kind of technology they need, what level of healthcare system they need, how big it’s supposed to be, and what kind of infrastructure it needs to work with. WHO has made a big step toward making knowledge about medical devices easier to find and accessible to everyone with MeDevIS. This will improve public health and healthcare around the world. This platform not only helps people make better decisions, but it also helps fill in the gaps in healthcare knowledge around the world.

What is Teesta Treaty?

 In June 2023, when Sheikh Hasina, the Prime Minister of Bangladesh, paid a state visit to India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that a technical team would go to Bangladesh to talk about how to protect and control the Teesta River. The Teesta water-sharing pact has been a point of contention between India and Bangladesh for over a decade. This brought it back to the public’s attention.

India’s Stand on Teesta Water Sharing

After Modi’s speech, India’s Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra made it clear that the talks were more about controlling the flow of water in the Teesta than making deals to share water. While the central government agreed with this position, West Bengal’s Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, disagreed. She said that talks about the Teesta waters should not continue without the state’s participation. She was worried that sharing Teesta’s water would have bad effects on the people in north Bengal.

Background of the Teesta Dispute

The Teesta River is a big river that starts in Sikkim and flows into Bangladesh. It is important for farming and the environment. As part of the planned treaty from 2011, which was almost agreed upon by India’s UPA-II government, India would get 42.5% of the water and Bangladesh would get 37.5%. But the deal didn’t go through because Mamata Banerjee was against it, saying that it could be bad for West Bengal.

Political and Environmental Considerations

There are also political and environmental issues at play in the argument over the Teesta water-sharing plan. India’s hydroelectric projects and barrages in the river’s top catchment areas are thought to have slowed it down, which has hurt the environment and the people in Bangladesh who depend on it for their livelihoods. There are pressures on Bangladesh’s Awami League government to complete the treaty from within the country as well as from outside, such as China’s plans for large-scale dredging and infrastructure projects along the Teesta River.

Broader Implications and Future Perspectives

Managing and sharing Teesta’s waters is connected to problems of sustainability and working together in the region as a whole. Environmentalists and political leaders in India and Bangladesh are still trying to figure out how to handle resources, follow international law (The Helsinki Rules), and deal with the unique social and economic situations in their countries. The current talks, along with the need to renew the Ganga water sharing treaty, show how difficult it is to manage transboundary rivers in a way that is fair, long-lasting, and takes into account everyone’s needs.