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The Union Agriculture Ministry announced that it had set up a committee to monitor the situation arising from the increase in temperatures and its impact, if any, on the current wheat crop.
This comes even as cereal inflation soared to a record 16.12 per cent year-on-year in January – driven primarily by wheat and atta (flour), whose consumer prices registered an annual increase of 25.05 per cent.
The situation has been rendered worse by wheat stocks in government godowns: These, at 154.44 lakh tonnes on February 1, were the lowest in six years for the same date.
However, a bigger source of uncertainty has to do with the wheat now in farmers’ fields, due for harvesting only in April. Last year, a spike in March temperatures singed the crop just when the grains were accumulating starch and proteins, leading to a significant drop in output as well as government procurement.
There are fears of a repeat this time, with both maximum and minimum temperatures already 3-5 degrees Celsius above normal in many wheat-growing areas.
But whether or not March 2022 will happen again, climate change – specifically, the tendency for the early onset of summer with hardly any spring break – has definitely made India’s wheat crop vulnerable to terminal heat stress during the final grain formation and filling stages.
UPI goes global: India, Singapore start instant fund transfer; PM Modi hails new era (Page no. 3)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
India kicked off its first cross-border real-time payments systems connectivity with Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who witnessed the launch event, stating that the linkage of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) and Singapore’s PayNow will benefit migrant workers, professionals, and students and their families in foreign remittances between the two countries.
Stating that the linkage is a “new era in cross-border fintech connectivity”, Modi said it will provide a low-cost, secure and real-time option for cross border remittances between India and Singapore.
Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said the idea of the linkage was first conceived in 2018 when PM Modi had visited Singapore.
He said cross border remittances between India and Singapore amount to over $1 billion annually. Of the total inward remittances to India in 2020-21, the share of Singapore stood at 5.7 per cent, according to the Reserve Bank of India Remittance Survey, 2021.
RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das and the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s (MAS) Managing Director Ravi Menon launched the new linkage in the presence of Modi and Lee Hsien Loong. A live cross-border funds transfer between the two platforms was also carried out.
The UPI-PayNow linkage is a significant milestone in the development of infrastructure for cross-border payments between India and Singapore – which is among the major countries sending remittances to India – and closely aligns with the G20’s financial inclusion priorities of driving faster, cheaper, and more transparent cross-border payments.
Express Network
Report: Over 1,200 pangolins poached, trafficked in 4 years (Page no. 8)
(GS Paper 3, Species in News)
Over 1,200 pangolins, also known as the scaly anteaters, were poached and trafficked in India over the past four years from 2018 to 2022, according to a recent report released jointly by the World Wide Fund for Nature India also called WWF India, and TRAFFIC, a non-governmental organisation which monitors illicit global wildlife trade.
The report says that 1,203 pangolins (both live and dead) were seized in 342 incidents and that the actual numbers of the animal being trafficked are likely to be far higher.
Over 880 kg of pangolin derivatives and 199 live pangolins were reported in the 342 seizure incidents.Pangolins are reported to be among the most trafficked wild mammals globally.
India reports a significant number of pangolin trafficking incidents. They are poached mainly for international markets in China and Southeast Asia for their scales, which are used as an ingredient in traditional medicines and are believed to cure various ailments.
Pangolin meat is also considered a delicacy and consumed for alleged medicinal properties,” said Dr Merwyn Fernandes, coordinator of TRAFFIC’s India Office.
An earlier analysis by TRAFFIC released in 2018 found poaching of nearly 6,000 pangolins between 2009 and 2017. Last year, TRAFFIC found that India recorded the highest number of pangolin seizures in Asia between 2015 and 2021 at 287 seizures. The Directorate of Revenue Intelligence (DRI) was reported to have seized 336.9 kg of pangolin scales between 2019 and 2022.
Twenty-four states and one Union Territory reported seizures of pangolins and their derivatives.
In its latest analysis, WWF-TRAFFIC found that the maximum number of pangolins was seized in Odisha – 154 pangolins in 74 seizures.
Editorial
A Modi-Xi solution (Page no. 12)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
As the first anniversary of Russia’s Ukraine invasion approaches, two contradictory trends are playing out. One, there is renewed military action along a frontline that was largely frozen during the winter weeks.
Russia has already launched a military offensive in the Donbas region and Ukraine’s counter-offensive is said to be around the corner. Amid the military escalation, there is also “talk about talks” between Kyiv and Moscow.
We have entered a new phase in the war, when more intensive fighting will take place along with some high-voltage peace diplomacy.
Beijing has now stepped into this minefield. In a “peace speech” this week, President Xi Jinping is expected to unveil a set of proposals to bring the war to an end.
President Joe Biden, meanwhile, has travelled to Kyiv for the first time since the Russian invasion and is addressing the “Bucharest Nine”— a group of Central European countries that form NATO’s eastern flank and have the greatest stake in the way this war ends.
Members of this group were either part of the Soviet Union or in the Soviet sphere of influence after World War II. The war in Ukraine is no longer just about Europe.
The UN General Assembly is debating a resolution to be adopted this week on a “comprehensive, just, and lasting peace” in Ukraine.
Xi’s initiative is well-timed. There is also interest in India’s potential contribution to peacemaking. When German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Italian Prime Minister GiorgiaMeloni arrive in Delhi in the coming days, the question of ending the war in Ukraine will be at the top of their discussions with Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The gathering of G20 foreign ministers in Delhi next week will also provide the broader international context for an Indian reflection on the challenge of peace in Ukraine.
Both Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will be in Delhi. India will also host a round of consultations between the foreign ministers of the Quadrilateral forum on the margins of the G20 ministerial.
If there was ever a good diplomatic moment for India to step out more boldly on Ukraine it might well be now. Although Delhi does not overestimate its role in promoting peace, there are opportunities for making important contributions on the margin.
Ideas Page
Missing in parliament (Page no. 13)
(GS Paper 2, Polity and Governance)
The present Lok Sabha first met after the election on June 17, 2019. Under Article 83(2) of the Constitution, the term of the Lok Sabha begins from the day of its first meeting and ends on the day it completes five years from that date unless it is dissolved earlier. So, the term of the present Lok Sabha will end on June 16, 2024.
It has completed three years and seven months of its term. In June 2024, the 18th Lok Sabha is expected to be elected.
There are two presiding officers for the Lok Sabha, namely the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker, who are elected by the members of the House.
Under Article 93 of the Constitution, as soon as the House meets after the election these two presiding officers are elected one after the other.
The practice followed so far has been to elect the Speaker after the oath-taking. Thereafter, within a few days, the Deputy Speaker is also elected.
However, in the present Lok Sabha, the House has not elected a Deputy Speaker even after three years and seven months of its term are over.
The non-election of the Deputy Speaker has now reached the Supreme Court, which has reportedly sent notice to the Union government.
The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker are described in the Constitution as officers of Parliament, which signifies their importance in the parliamentary system.
There may be an impression in some quarters that the Deputy Speaker is not an indispensable office and the House can be run even without one.
Considering the history of this office, it can be said surely that a Deputy Speaker is as important as the Speaker for the House. The history of the office of Deputy Speaker goes back to the government of India Act of 1919 when he was called Deputy President as the Speaker was known as the president of the central legislative assembly.
Although the main functions of a Deputy Speaker were to preside over the sittings of the assembly in the absence of the Speaker and chair the select committees etc., the position was considered necessary to share the responsibility of running the House with the Speaker and guide the nascent committees.
Explained
Hard lines on Ukraine (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 2, International Relations)
Days before the first anniversary of the beginning of the war in Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin announced in an address to his nation that Russia is suspending its participation in the New START, the last remaining major military agreement with the United States.
Putin said the fact that the US wants to inspect Russia’s military facilities — a requirement under the treaty — while at the same time saying openly that its goal is Russia’s strategic defeat, was the “theatre of the absurd”.
The name START comes from the original “Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty”, known as START-I, which was signed between the US and the erstwhile USSR in 1991, and came into force in 1994.
START-I, which capped the numbers of nuclear warheads and intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) that each side could deploy at 6,000 and 1,600 respectively, lapsed in 2009, and was replaced first by the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty (SORT, also known as the Treaty of Moscow), and then by the New START treaty.
The New START, officially, the “Treaty between the United States of America and the Russian Federation on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms”, entered into force on February 5, 2011, and placed new verifiable limits on intercontinental-range nuclear weapons.
Whale stranding on beaches: factors that could be driving this (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
Earlier in February, 14 pilot whales were stranded near the shore of Kalpitiya, a town located on Sri Lanka’s west coast. With the help of a navy team and local fishermen, 11 of them were rescued but three died.
Speaking to the news agency, wildlife officer Eranda Gamage said, They (the stranded pilot whales) had to be taken into the deeper seas so that they would not come back to the shore. The navy took them in their boats and dropped them.
Whale strandings aren’t uncommon in Sri Lanka. In 2020, the country witnessed one of the biggest whale strandings in recent history when more than 100 pilot whales beached on the western coast of Panadura.
Three of them died during the rescue operations. In 2017, around 20 pilot whales were stranded on the eastern coast before being saved by the navy and local fishermen.
Apart from Sri Lanka, Australia’s Tasmania has also seen mass beaching of whales. Last year in September, more than 230 pilot whales were stranded on the west coast of the region. Around 170 of them died even before the rescuers arrived at the spot.
Whale stranding is a phenomenon in which whales are stuck on land, usually on a beach. Other aquatic animals like dolphins and porpoises are also known to beach.
Most of the stranding events involve single animals but sometimes, mass strandings, consisting of hundreds of marine animals at a time, can happen.
Although mass strandings have been occurring since the times of Aristotle — back then, they were considered a gift from the gods as the stranded whales and dolphins were a rich source of food and oil — experts don’t know exactly why they take place.
Speaking to The Indian Express, Vanessa Pirotta, a wildlife scientist specialising in marine mammals at Macquarie University (Australia), said, “Whale strandings are a mystery.
We don’t know why they happen.” The reasons for mass strandings are several, including the topography of the region, illness, human activities and increasing noise pollution in the oceans.
AI transcribing SC proceedings: How is it happening and why (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Science and Technology)
The Supreme Court started a first-of-its-kind project to transcribe its proceedings live using Artificial Intelligence (AI).
The AI transcript is seen on the live-streaming screen of courtroom number 1, which is the CJI’s court. The five-judge Bench headed by the CJI is hearing the case related to the political crisis in Maharashtra.
The Bench had on Friday deferred the decision on the question of whether to reconsider the 2016 verdict of the court in Nabam Rebia vs Deputy Speaker, which had held that the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly cannot decide on disqualification petitions when a motion seeking his own removal is pending.
The SC transcription is using Teres, which is a platform used often for transcribing arbitration proceedings. The platform is run by Nomology Technology Private Limited, a Bengaluru based company.
If there are two or more voices at the same time that causes a little bit of a problem,” CJI Chandrachud said. “But they have personnel who will clean up the errors by the evening.
The transcript will also be shared with lawyers who argued cases for verification, and is likely to be uploaded on the SC website every evening.
The transcribing is the second major decision towards making the court more transparent after the SC’s decision to livestream its proceedings before Constitution Benches.
The suggestion to transcribe hearings was made by senior advocate Indira Jaising in the plea she had filed seeking live telecast of court proceedings.
Spain introduces period leave (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 1, Social Issues)
Spain has become the first European country to introduce paid menstrual or period leaves, with a law passed on February 16. The government would foot the bill for the monthly paid leaves of three to five days, after a doctor’s note is shown.
Also included in the law are provisions for free menstrual hygiene products that would be made available in educational centres, prisons, and social centres.
The Bill was supported by a “wide-ranging left-wing coalition”, while the conservative Popular Party and far-right Vox voted against, Politico reported.
Paid menstrual leave has been slow to take hold as national policy in most countries. In India’s Supreme Court, a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been filed seeking menstrual leave for female students and working women across India, LiveLaw reported. Where does the leave apply, and what are the arguments for and against it? We explain.
Allowing women (as well as transgender people and those of other gender identities who experience menstruation) to avail the option of taking a few days’ leaves in a month has been advocated as a step towards better working conditions.
It also recognises the different needs of those making up the workforce, particularly as multiple barriers already exist to women’s employment – such as workplace safety, problems in commuting to a workplace, etc.
While this is not a new idea, the concept has gained traction within the last decade. In 2017, a Bill was introduced by NinongEring, a Congress MP from Arunachal Pradesh, in the Lok Sabha for the purpose.
It stated that women employed in a government-registered establishment and students of Class VIII and above would be entitled to paid leave or leave from the school, “as the case may be”, for four days during her menstruation.
Further, it stated that if a woman employee undergoing menstruation opts to work instead of taking leave, she shall be paid overtime allowance. However, the Bill never became law.
It has to do with recognising the biological changes experienced because of menstruation. Usually happening over four to seven days every month, menstruation can often be accompanied by pain, cramps, vomiting, nausea and irritability, etc.
The intensity of these changes varies from person to person, though even that can change over months. Many women take pain medication, as a result.
Multiple reports and surveys point to how this impacts the productivity of women. In a study published in the British Medical Association, it was found over 80.7 per cent of around 32,000 Netherlands-based respondents reported decreased productivity for an average of 23.2 days a year. In India, a lack of information and access to sanitary products has led to many girls dropping out of school at puberty.
Unusual February heat, and the ‘normal abnormal’ in global weather (Page no. 17)
(GS Paper 3, Environment)
It is still February, technically a winter month, and temperatures in some parts of the country are touching 40 degrees Celsius. There are already concerns over the possibility of an intensely hot summer and extended heat waves this year.
While this can’t be ruled out, the current spell of abnormally high temperatures, mainly in northern and western India, is no indicator of how hot the summer, or the rest of the year will be.
The prevailing hot conditions are expected to subside in another two days, according to the India Meteorological Department (IMD). But it is still likely to still remain above the normal temperatures.
The maximum temperature in February, averaged over the country as a whole, is expected to be around 28 degrees C based on the record of the 30-year period from 1981 to 2010. This is taken to be the “normal”. The minimum temperature is expected to be around 15 degrees C.
Of course, this varies across regions, with states in northwestern, western, central, and eastern India having higher normal temperatures.
Over the past week, however, maximum temperatures have been 5-11 degrees C higher than normal in most parts of northern and western India.
Rajasthan, Gujarat, and Maharashtra have been the most conspicuously hot, with temperatures in a few places reaching almost 40 degrees C.
However, the biggest deviation from the normal has been seen in the relatively cool states of Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh, where it has been 10-11 degrees C warmer in some places.
If temperatures in the plains exceed 40 degree C, or are about 4.5 degree C higher than the normal, these areas are said to be experiencing a heatwave. For the mountains, this threshold is 30 degrees C, and for the coastal areas, 37 degrees C.
By these definitions, several places have been experiencing heat wave conditions for the last few days. However, heat wave declarations by the IMD, which trigger follow-up action by the local administration, are meant only for the April-July period, not for February or March.