19-Feb-2024
#GS1–#GS3 –01. Groundwater
The ground water that makes up 40% of the country’s water supply and is crucial for agriculture has been steadily depleting for years. Researchers estimate that the groundwater level will likely decline at 3.26 times current rates on an average between 2041 and 2080, from 1.62-4.45 times now,depending on climate and other factors. A 2021 study found that the overuse of ground water could cause winter harvests in some regions to fall up to two- thirds by 2025.It could also result in a reduction in food crops by up to 20% nationwide and up to 68% in regions projected to have low future ground water availability in 2025.
A 2022 assessment showed the annual extractable ground water resource at 398 billion cubic meter (BCM). Further,the annual ground water extraction for all use cases was at 239.16BCM,out of which 87% was utilized for agricultural activities. According to the UN World Water Development Report 2022, India was among 10 countries with the highest share in global groundwater withdrawal in 2017.
– Commentary in News
#GS1 — 02. Economic Impacts of War in Ukraine
Recent spending by European governments on US jet fighters and other military hardware represents “a generational type investment. The past few years are equal to the prior 20 years. The US made more than $ 80 billion in major arms deals in the year through September of which about $50 billion went to Europe an allies—more than five times the historical norm. The boost to the US defense industry is just one way the fragmentation of the world economy along geopolitical lines is tightening US-European relations , often to the benefit of the US. The cutoff of Russian gas supplies sent energy prices and inflation up sharply in Europe,while boosting European demand for US liquefied natural gas.
We know that there are tens of billions in potential contracts on the table for US firms based on the direct and indirect effects of the war in Ukraine,but it’s less clear how soon the companies will see those funds. Vietnam War spending in the1960s contributed to an overheating of the US economy and high inflation.
– Commentary in News
Key Terms/Issues : Vietnam War
#GS3 –03. Impact of AI on Web
The web is in crisis, and artificial Intelligence is to blame. For decades, seeking knowledge online has meant googling it and clicking on the links the search engine offered up. Search has so dominated our information-seeking behaviors that few of us ever think to question it anymore. But AI is changing all of that,and fast.A new generation of AI-powered “answer engines” could make finding information easier,by simply giving us the answers to our questions rather than forcing us to wade through pages of links.Mean while,the web is filling up with AI-generated content of dubious quality .It’s polluting search results, and making traditional search less useful.
The implications of this shift could be big. Seeking information using a search engine could be almost completely replaced by this new generation of large language model-powered systems.
– Commentary in News
Key Terms/Issues : LLMs
#GS4 — 04. Regulatory Compliance
Reserve Bank’s regulatory action On Paytm Payments Bank has drawn the attention off in tech firms to the importance of complying with laws. regulatory compliance cannot be “optional” for companies, rather it is an aspect every entrepreneur must pay full attention to. Issue of Paytm Payments Bank is a case where a hard-charging and aggressive entrepreneur has failed to realize the need for regulatory compliance, and that no company can get away if it is non-compliant with law.
-MoS MEiTY Rajeev Chandra Shekhar
#GS3 — 05. Inflation in world
February 2021, 36monthsago, was the last time consumer-price-index inflation in the United States (all items, 12- month percentage change)was at or Below the Federal Reserve’s2%target. thing to do with monetary policy. It was caused by supply shocks: covid-related declines in labour-force participation,supply- chain disruptions and energy shortages. The Federal Reserve reacted slowly but appropriately. Moving faster wouldn’t have enhanced the availability of semi-conductors, or helped to tame inflation stemming from other input shortages. It would have only aggravated the economic down turn underway in 2020 and early 2021.
– UC Berkley Professor Barry Eichengreen
#Essay –06. Corruption?
A system is corrupt when it is strictly profit-driven, not driven to serve the best interests of its people.
-Suzy Kassem
#GS2 –07. Election Funding
The principle of proportionality can act as An enduring anchor for a country that adopted universal adult franchise and a design for robust democratic institutions at its inception as a modern nation-state in 1947.The Supreme Court’s thesis of proportionality rests on calibrating a hierarchy of rights, with greater Weight age assigned to an individual voter’s Right to information on political funding than A corporate donor’s demand for a right to privacy. This has two momentous consequences.One,it makes a clear distinction between a legal corporate entity and its management: while individual bosses deserve the right to privacy in exercising their franchise, a corporate entity’s political donation is a business transaction.Second, it places the citizen front-and-centre in the debate. Over the years, the state has drafted rules that tend to reward corporations over individuals. The aviation industry, for example, is now a duopoly and policy as well as supervisory efforts appear focused on making airlines profitable, rather than improving customer service.Many industrial sectors are oligopolies,sheltered from anti-competition laws by extant legislation. India’s insolvency process was diluted, with the effect that erring corporations got shielded. These aberration scan perhaps
be traced to our flawed system of campaign finance. True, there are no easy options. But election funding can yet become fairer if the interests of voters are kept paramount—over those of political parties and India Inc.
– Commentary in News
Key Terms/Issues : Duopoly, Oligopoly, RTI