Daily Mains Practice Questions 02-03-2023

KEY POINTS

·        India Meteorological Department (IMD) recently said, had been the warmest since 1901 with the average maximum temperature at nearly 29.54°C.

·        Average maximum temperatures were 1.73°C above normal and minimum, 0.81°C above what is usual.

·        In its latest assessment, the IMD has said that these trends are likely to spill over into summer.

·        A ‘heat wave’ is when actual maximum temperatures are over 45°C or if temperatures are 4.5°C over what is normal for the region.

·        Climate change, studies have reported, has exacerbated the impact of heatwaves in India.

·        A Lancet study reported a 55% rise in deaths due to extreme heat and that excessive heat also led to a loss of 167.2 billion potential labour hours among Indians in 2021.

·        Three of the last four years saw above normal rainfall in India primarily due to a La Niña, or cooler than usual temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific.

·        While this is expected to subside, whether it will eventually swing to an El Niño and draw moisture away from India’s coasts remains to be seen.

·        Along with promoting newer crop varieties that mature early, there should be greater stress on aiding farmers to tweak soil and water management practices to adapt to these changes.

KEY POINTS

·        Constitutional functionaries cannot let rancour prevail over propriety. This is the substance and import of the Supreme Court’s advice to the Governor.

·        The position regarding the Governor’s power to summon the House under Article 174 of the Constitution is now well-known.

·        Even though it says the Governor shall summon the House from time to time “to meet at such time and place as he thinks fit”, a Constitution Bench had, in Nabam Rebia (2016), ruled that the Governor can summon, prorogue and dissolve the House only on the aid and advice of the Council of Ministers.

·        Article 167 that it is the Chief Minister’s duty “to furnish such information relating to the administration of the affairs of the State and proposals for legislation as the Governor may call for...”.

·        It is unfortunate that such instances of one-upmanship between Governors and Chief Ministers are becoming more frequent in various States.

·        Both should be mindful of constitutional boundaries. Some Governors seem to believe that they can stretch their discretion to areas not specifically mentioned in the Constitution.

·        The more germane reason for this is that incumbents in Raj Bhavan tend to take their role as the eyes and ears of the Union government too literally, and often get into the political domain.

KEY POINTS

·        The cotton productivity estimate was reported to be at its lowest in the North zone comprising of Punjab, Haryana and Rajasthan at 518.4 kg lint per hectare.

·        The losses are mounting due to the rising cost of cultivation, climate induced change in pest dynamics and rampant sale of unauthorised seeds and unchecked pesticides sprays.

·        The white fly transmitted severe cotton leaf curl virus and sudden outbreak of para wilt have worsened the situation for North zone farmers.

·        HDPS cotton must be brought in soon which requires a coherent approach driven by robust public-private partnership.    

·        Enforcement of IPR on new varieties suitable for HDPS while ensuring farmers’ rights must be strengthened to attract investment in R&D and breeding of high-density suitable genotypes.

·        Exchange of pre-breeding germplasm under material transfer agreement (MTA) and access and benefit sharing (ABS) mechanism for cross border material transfer must be prioritised.

·        India is traditionally deficit in ELS cotton production and the textile industry imports around one million bales annually.

·        The cotton and textile industry was hoping that the Budget would launch an ambitious TMC 2.0 to transform ailing cotton sector, but even that would have been like clutching at the straws for the cotton and textile industry.

Q. 1) health and heat waves