Prelim Bits 22-03-2024 | UPSC Daily Current Affairs

Brucethoa isro

New species of deep-sea isopod discovered off Kollam, Kerala named after ISRO.

• Genus – The tiny fish-parasitic crustacean, belonging to the genus Brucethoa, was recovered from the base of the gill cavity of the Spinyjaw greeneye, a marine fish.

The new species has been named Brucethoa isro in honour of the Indian space agency’s successful space missions, including the successful lunar mission titled Chandrayaan-3.

• The new species was identified by the same team that had in 2020 described Brucethoa as a new genus from India.

• Features – Females of the Brucethoa isro species tend to be larger than the males.
• Females grow to about 19 mm in length and 6 mm in width, while males are smaller at around half the size.
• The distinctive morphology and behaviour of deep-sea parasitic isopods have long intrigued taxonomists.

Brucethoa isro is the second species within this genus to be documented in India.

References

1. The Hindu – New species of deep-sea isopod discovered off Kollam
2. NCBI – Brucethoa isro
3. Research Gate – New species of parasitic deep-sea isopod discovered

Impeachment of the President in the USA and India

The impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden has hit crossroads, lacking the political support.

• The term impeachment is derived from old French empeechier meaning to hinder or impede.
• Impeachment refers to the act of formally accusing a public official of a serious offence in connection with their job.

The first recognised case of impeachment dates back to 1376 in England.

• In India, Impeachment itself results in removal of the President from his office while an impeachment is regarded as an indictment in the US.

The Impeachment Procedure of President in the US and India is both borrowed from the fundamental idea of impeachment of Great Britain. However, they differ from each other, both procedurally as well as substantially.

References

1. The Indian Express – Biden impeachment inquiry is at a crossroads
2. The Guardian – Biden to testify on impeachment

Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023

Data on India for a century has revealed income and wealth inequality now as being worse than during British colonial rule, according to the World Inequality Lab.

• The WIL has released a paper out on the state of inequality in India, titled, Income and Wealth Inequality in India, 1922-2023: The Rise of the Billionaire Raj.
• The report has analysed the data between 1922 and 2022, a century of data on incomes and wealth.
• Findings – By 2022-23, top 1% income and wealth shares (22.6% and 40.1%) are at their highest historical levels.
• India’s top 1% income share is among the very highest in the world, higher than even South Africa, Brazil and US.
• Billionaire raj – It says the ‘billionaire raj’ is now more unequal than the British colonial raj.
• Billionaire raj is the term used to define the post – 2010s rapid rise of billionaires in the country.
• It makes two other observations, one on income tax being regressive, and the other being the poor economic data, which has seen a decline recently.
• Inequality has been rising sharply in India since the 1980s, between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration.

Key Takeaways

• Inequality – Inequality declined post-independence till the early 1980s, after which it began rising and has skyrocketed since the early 2000s.
• Trends of top income and wealth shares track each other over the entire period of the study.
• 2014-15 & 2022-23 – Between 2014-15 and 2022-23, the rise of top-end inequality has been particularly pronounced in terms of wealth concentration.
• By 2022-23, top 1% income and wealth shares (22.6% and 40.1%) are at their highest historical levels.
• India’s top 1% income share is among the very highest in the world, higher than even South Africa, Brazil and US.

• Income Tax – In line with earlier work, the paper finds suggestive evidence that the Indian income tax system might be regressive when viewed from the lens of net wealth.
• A restructuring of the tax code to account for both income and wealth, and broad-based public investments in health, education and nutrition are needed to enable the average Indian.
• Super Tax – A super tax of 2% on the net wealth of the 167 wealthiest families in 2022-23 would yield 0.5% of national income in revenues and create valuable fiscal space to facilitate such investments.
• Super tax serves as a tool to fight inequality.

References

1. The Wire – India's Inequality at Historic High
2. The Indian Express – Takeaways from World Inequality Lab paper
3. Deccan Herald – India's richest 1% holds 40% of wealth
4. WID – Income and wealth inequality in India, 1922-2023

Reverse Osmosis

Water purifiers that use reverse osmosis (RO) are emerging as a popular choice for safe and clean drinking water in India, however, experts warn that RO water with dangerously low levels of mineral content can have adverse impact on health.

• Reverse Osmosis (RO) – It is a water purification process that uses a partially permeable membrane to remove ions, unwanted molecules and larger particles from drinking water.
• Reverse osmosis works by reversing the principle of osmosis. 
• The salt solution is subjected to pressure and pressed against the semi-permeable membrane.
• Here, the applied pressure is greater than the osmotic pressure.
• Thus, the molecules move from a highly concentrated solution to a less concentrated solution.
• Diffusion – Diffusion is a process by which the molecules move from the region of higher concentration to lower concentration.
• There is a net movement meaning more molecules moving in one direction than in the opposite direction.
• In osmosis, the water molecules and the concentration gradient occurs over the semipermeable membrane which allows the entry of water and blocks the passage of ions and other larger molecules including sodium, chlorine, bacteria, glucose, etc.
• Reverse osmosis is the process or the technology which is used to remove ions, mineral chemicals, and other impurities from drinking water.
• In this process, greater pressure is applied, forcing the water to travel through the semipermeable membrane in opposite to natural osmosis.
• TDS – In RO, the total dissolved solids (TDS), a major determinant of water quality - in water are reduced to meet potable water standards.
• TDS comprise inorganic salts like calcium, magnesium, etc and some small amounts of organic matter that are dissolved in water.
• Home filters waste nearly 80% of the water during treatment.
• The resort to restrict home filters may cause consumer to worry but it is unlikely that they will be taken to task for using such water filters.
• Various methods, technologies to remove impurities from water:

Reference

Down To Earth – Are water purifiers safe?

Great Indian Bustard (GIB)

The Supreme Court constituted an expert committee to determine the scope, extent and feasibility of electric lines in priority spots of Great Indian Bustard.

• Scientific Name – Ardeotis nigric
• Locally called Godawan, GIB is a large bird of the bustard family (Otididae) and one of the heaviest flying birds in the world.
• They are not great fliers but have wide sideways vision to maximise predator detection.
• Great Indian Bustard is the state bird of Rajasthan.

The mascot for CMS COP13, which was held in Gandhinagar, India in 2020 was “Gibi - The Great Indian Bustard”.

• Habitat – Dry grasslands and scrublands on the Indian subcontinent.
• Its largest populations are found in Rajasthan in the arid grasslands of Thar Desert National Park and Pokhran Field Firing Range.
• It is considered as an indicator of the health of grassland ecosystem.
• Feed – They are omnivores.
• Reproduction – They are a slow-reproducing species and lay few eggs and have almost a year-long parental care of chicks.
• Threat – Habitat loss, Hunting and poaching.
• Conservation Efforts – In 2012, Project Bustard, a national conservation program was launched to protect the GIB along with Bengal florican (Critically endangered) and lesser florican (Critically endangered).
• GIB has also been identified as one of the species for the recovery programme under the Integrated Development of Wildlife Habitats of Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change.

References

1. The Hindu | SC forms expert panel for Bustard
2. WWF India | Great Indian Bustard
3. Britannica | GIB