1. Where tech giants stand on use of controversial facial

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1. Where tech giants stand on use of controversial facial recognition tech Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Science & Technology

Facial recognition technology as the name suggests can identify a person by capturing his

face from a photo or video. (File)

Facebook is phasing out its ‘facial recognition tool’, the company announced in a blogpost written by Jerome Pesenti, VP of Artificial Intelligence. Facebook claims while over one-third of its daily active users had the feature turned on and found it useful, it was moving away from the technology given regulatory uncertainty. But Facebook’s step back comes at a time when there is growing scrutiny of the use of facial recognition technology, especially by the police in many countries. We take a look at why facial recognition technology is viewed as controversial and where other tech companies and policy makers stand on it. What is facial recognition technology? How does it work? Facial recognition technology as the name suggests can identify a person by capturing his face from a photo or video. The technology can work in real-time as well and relies on advanced machine learning algorithms powered by deep neural networks to identify faces and map them to an existing data base. For example, in Google Photos or even Apple Photos, the app will try and bucket photos of a person and ask users to identify the face. All of this is possible due to a form of facial recognition technology being used by these services. On Facebook too, it was possible to turn on the feature and have the service automatically identify oneself if they were part of any photos or videos uploaded by friends or family. But companies such as Amazon, Microsoft have made it possible to use the technology at a much bigger scale and to analyse more than just images from your phone’s library. The

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technology is also outsourced to governments and law enforcement agencies, which has sparked concerns on its use. Why has Facebook removed it? While Facebook’s facial recognition tool was only being used on the platform, the company is stopping the use of the tech given its controversial nature. There are several privacy concerns around the deployment of such tools, especially since Facebook is such a big social network with billions of users and many photos and videos being uploaded. In the post, Facebook asaid it needs to “weigh the positive use cases for facial recognition against growing societal concerns, especially as regulators have yet to provide clear rules,” and it has taken this decision after “careful consideration”. The company has already settled a lawsuit in the state of Illinois in the US, where it paid nearly $550 million to a group of users who had argued that the facial recognition tool violated the state’s privacy laws. What about Amazon? The other bigger more controversial name around this is Amazon, which offers its Rekognition Software as a service (Saas) as part of its cloud services. But Rekognition has faced criticism because Amazon has offered the tool to law enforcement services as well. Police enforcement groups prefer Rekognition because it can track and analyse people in real time and even identify up to 100 people in one single image. But the technology is not exactly accurate as it has been shown in the past by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU). However, in a statement last year, Amazon said it was “implementing a one-year moratorium on police use of Amazon’s facial recognition technology.” But it will continue to offer it to organisations such as a “Thorn, the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Marinus Analytics” in order to help “rescue human trafficking victims and reunite missing children with their families.” The statement also called for governments to “put in place stronger regulations to govern the ethical use of facial recognition technology,” and hoped the US Congress would take a stand on the issue and put in place “appropriate rules,” around the use of the technology. A major criticism of Amazon’s Rekognition tool in the past was around its accuracy, especially when identifying people of colour, and African-Americans in particular. The use of the technology by law enforcement could lead to wrongful arrests and more discrimination, according to experts. Regarding criticism from rights groups about inaccuracy with the software, Amazon had responded saying they were using an outdated version. What about other tech companies?








In June 2020, Microsoft also joined Amazon in saying it would not sell the technology to law enforcement until there was a federal law regulating this in the US. Microsoft President Brad Smith had told the Washington Post that the company had not sold its technology called Face API, part of its Azure Cloud services, to police departments in the US. Smith was quoted as saying, “We will not sell facial-recognition technology to police departments in the United States until we have a national law in place, grounded in human rights, that will govern this technology.” In the past, Microsoft’s Azure cloud services, which included “facial recognition and identification”, have been offered to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for which it faced criticism. IBM, on the other hand, announced it was exiting the business of facial recognition entirely in June 2020. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna wrote a letter to the US Congress calling for regulations on the US of the technology. “IBM firmly opposes and will not condone uses of any technology, including facial recognition technology offered by other vendors, for mass surveillance, racial profiling, violations of basic human rights and freedoms, or any purpose which is not consistent with our values and Principles of Trust and Transparency,” he wrote in a letter, according to CNBC. What has Google said on the use of facial recognition? In January 2020, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai hailed the European Union for its temporary ban on the use of the technology. Google has been outspoken about the problematic nature of the technology for a while. For instance, in a 2018 blog post, Google SVP of Global Affairs Kent Walker explained why Google Cloud does not offer “general-purpose facial recognition APIs”, adding that policy questions around its use need to be answered. working through important technology and policy questions.” As part of its AI responsibilities declaration, Google has also raised questions about the use of facial recognition saying, the technology’s implementation needs to be “fair, so it doesn’t reinforce or amplify existing biases, especially where this might impact underrepresented groups.” It has also said that the technology should not be used in “surveillance that violates internationally accepted norms.” and that it needs to “protect people’s privacy, providing the right level of transparency and control.” What have governments said about the use of facial recognition? The big problem with facial recognition is that as the technology gets faster and more accurate there are worries that it will be used for mass surveillance. There are also worries the technology could get so good, it could deduce intent and expressions, leading to real-time surveillance.








In China, the government has used the technology to track Uighurs, the Muslim minority in the country. It was also used in the UK to monitor football fans arriving for a match in 2020. In India too there have been concerns over the use of facial recognition technology by police, especially during protests. In the US, the Facial Recognition and Biometric Technology Moratorium Act has been proposed by some members of Congress, which would ban the use of the technology by federal entities. It would also ban other biometrics such as voice recognition, gate recognition, and recognition of other immutable physical characteristics, from being used by federal entities. The bill has been sent to House Committees for further consideration. Meanwhile, the European Union has passed a resolution banning the use of facial recognition technology by the police. This is a non-binding resolution. However, the use of the technology is a major concern of the EU’s upcoming AI Act, which will be debated and voted upon by the EU Parliament. The bill states that AI systems which are meant for real-time and post remote identification of people are “high-level risk systems” and would require compliance before the company can get access to the EU market. It also imposes restrictions on how “real-time” remote biometric identification systems can be used in public spaces for the purpose of law enforcement. Source: The Indian Express

2. Why Taliban has banned foreign currency; what it means for Afghanistan economy Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper II; International Issues Even as Afghanistan grapples with a crippling financial crisis, the Taliban on Tuesday banned the use of foreign currency in the country — a move that is bound to cause further disruption to the economy. “The economic situation and national interests in the country require that all Afghans use Afghan currency in their every trade,” the Taliban said in a statement, Reuters reported. Since the terrorist group seized control of the country nearly three months ago, the national currency, the Afghani, has depreciated heavily. This comes at a time when the withdrawal of international financial support has severely strained the economy. What has the Taliban said about the use of foreign currency? On Tuesday, the Taliban made a surprise announcement, banning the use of all foreign currency across the country. The terrorist organisation urged everyone — from shopkeepers to business owners — to conduct all transactions using the national currency, the Afghani.








“The Islamic Emirate instructs all citizens, shopkeepers, traders, businessmen and the general public to … conduct all transactions in Afghanis and strictly refrain from using foreign currency,” the Taliban said in a statement, posted online by spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid. But why has the Taliban imposed this ban? The Taliban’s latest move comes at a time when the country is facing a drying up of foreign aid. The terrorist group has been pushing for the release of billions of dollars of overseas reserves, which have been frozen by the United States and other countries ever since it violently seized power in Afghanistan over two months ago. In fact, earlier, overseas grants financed about three quarters of the country’s public spending, according to the BBC. Since then, the value of the Afghani has drastically depreciated. Mujahid said that the use of foreign currencies “has negative effects on the country’s economy”, and thus, trade must be conducted using afghani currency in national interest. According to the Taliban, anyone who is found violating this order will face legal action. What does this mean for Afghanistan’s economy? It is still unclear how the Taliban will enforce this new rule, particularly as the country has relied heavily on US dollars for conducting trade for over two decades now. According to a Bloomberg report, two-thirds of Afghan banks’ deposits and half of the country’s national loans are in US dollars. In some parts of the country, especially near the international border, Pakistani rupees are also used for trade. Business owners and traders have preferred using dollars to pay for imported goods and services as well as larger transactions, such as purchasing a home. The ban is also likely to further complicate the process of receiving humanitarian aid from overseas. Some fear that there just isn’t enough Afghan currency to go around. Those working in the Finance Ministry and central bank told AP that the previous government failed to print enough local currency before Kabul’s fall in August. The country is currently dealing with a severe drought, which has destroyed most of its wheat crop and caused a spike in prices. Afghanistan’s healthcare system is also struggling to stay afloat amid cutbacks in international aid. About 22.8 million people, which accounts for more than half of the country’s population, is “marching to starvation” due to acute food insecurity, the World Food Programme said. The situation is likely to get worse with winter inching closer. The United Nations predicts 95 per cent of Afghan population will go hungry and about 97 per cent is likely to sink below the poverty line, AP reported.








In October, the IMF had warned that the country’s economy runs the risk of shrinking by 30 per cent this year, which could potentially cause widespread poverty and a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Source: The Indian Express

3. How India-UK ‘green grids’ initiative can boost transition to clean energy Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Environment & Biodiversity Prime Minister Narendra Modi and UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson have launched a ‘green grids’ initiative—the One Sun One World One Grid (OSOWOG) project—on the sidelines of the COP26 summit. The project aims to connect energy grids across borders to facilitate a faster transition to the use of renewable energy. What is the One Sun One World One Grid project? India had first proposed connecting solar energy supply across borders at the International Solar Alliance in 2018 to allow parts of the world with excess renewable power to send power to other countries. “If the world has to move to a clean and green future, these interconnected transnational grids are going to be critical solutions,” Modi said in Glasgow on Tuesday. The proposal is aimed at addressing the issue of reliability of supply from solar power plants, which do not generate electricity after the sun has set. A transnational grid would allow countries to source solar power from regions where it is daytime to meet their green energy needs even when their own installed solar capacity is not generating energy. OSOWOG is also aimed at addressing the issue of high cost of energy storage. Power and renewable energy minister RK Singh has underscored the point that the high cost of energy storage is a key challenge to boosting the use of renewable energy and that the OSOWOG initiative is a possible solution for driving down the need for storage, which in effect will reduce the costs of the energy transition. What are the challenges to the OSOWOG project? The transmission of power across vast distances would require large capital investment to set up long transmission lines. Experts have pointed out that transmission across great distances can potentially be very expensive. They have, however, noted that the first step of OSWOG would be solar power transfer between neighbouring countries.








India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar and Nepal already share transmission capacity for energy transfer across borders which can be expanded further and utilised for the transfer of solar power between these countries. The International Solar Alliance has commissioned a study the feasibility of the OSOWOG project. The study will make an assessment on a country-by-country basis, examining projected power demand and supply as well as the renewable energy resource potential. Source: The Indian Express

4. Climate change in 11 charts Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Environment & Biodiversity World leaders are meeting for the 26th time to address the causes and effects of climate change. These five questions and answers show how much our planet has already changed. 1) Which regions emit the most CO2? Governments are increasingly pledging to transform their economies to become carbon neutral within the next 10 to 30 years. With emissions stabilizing in Europe and the Americas and rising in Asia and Africa, the following chart shows how much of an economic turnaround carbon neutrality would need. Absolute emissions, however, only tell half the story. Countries in Asia have seen immense population growth over the last decades, and more people leads to greater consumption of resources.








Seen from a CO2 per capita perspective, the picture is very different. Factoring in population size puts the spotlight on both Western countries like the US and Australia, as well as nations in other parts of the world, including Russia, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Mongolia. In the discussion about who should contribute most to emissions reductions, experts argue that not all nations can be held equally responsible, and that economic power and wealth should be taken into account.








Clustering countries in terms of income groups (see below) shows a connection between higher levels of income and higher median emissions per capita. It also reveals how countries within each group vary widely, and that the higher the income group, the wider the spread across the emissions spectrum.








High income countries with elevated emissions, such as Qatar, emit much more CO2 per capita than countries like Germany and France, although they are in the same income group. And although countries like India and China rank low on per capita emissions, their decisions still have a big impact, given their huge population numbers (bubble size). 2) What are the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions? Given the correlation between economic strength and CO2 emissions, it’s no surprise that the industrial sector is responsible for the lion’s share (35%) of overall greenhouse gases (GHG) — including methane and nitrous oxide — released into the atmosphere.








At 20%, agriculture, forestry and change in land use collectively account for the second greatest source of GHG emissions.

Over the last two decades, the annual amount of tree cover lost has gradually increased. Russia, Brazil and the United States were the world’s biggest drivers of deforestation in 2020.








Compared to the decade from 1990-2000, however, the rate of deforestation has slowed.

Deforestation is not only problematic because the CO2 previously stored in the ground and the trees themselves is released into the atmosphere, but also because forests and soils are “carbon sinks” that absorb atmospheric CO2 — making them a valuable tool in the fight against climate change. 3) How have CO2 emissions developed over the last centuries? CO2 emissions from burning fossil fuels have been on the rise since the early days of industrialization. However, as humans produced higher levels of carbon dioxide, Earth absorbed it in natural “carbon sinks,” such as forests and oceans.








But as humanity began to produce more CO2 and other greenhouse gases than the planet’s ecosystem could naturally absorb, more of those emissions became trapped in the atmosphere (red area in the following chart). 4) How much has the world warmed already? An increasing volume of CO2 particles traps the sunlight’s warmth in the atmosphere, acting like a greenhouse in which it gets warmer and warmer. Compared to the 20th century — and the past five years in particular — the average global temperature has increased by almost 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit).








This change is measured by calculating the difference between temperatures observed at a specific time and place and the historical average for that same spot. The 1 degree increase in temperature is the global average of those variations. The difference can be much greater on a local level. In a more concrete example, the average August temperature in the northwestern US city of Portland was around 20 C from 1991 to 2020. With global warming, Portland is seeing hotter-than-average days. On August 13, for example, the daily average reached 30 C, which was an extreme temperature anomaly. In the same week, unusual temperatures were recorded in Spain, Tunisia, Russia, India, Cambodia, Australia and Argentina, to name just a few countries.








Such temperature increases push Earth’s temperature anomaly up and will have potentially wide-ranging effects — from pockets of impossible heat to failing harvests and an increase in dangerous events like storms and floods. A rise in sea levels is among the most noticeable impacts. Hotter temperatures are melting ice caps and glaciers and increasing the total amount of water in the oceans. 5) How much sea level rise do we already have? According to data compiled by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States government climate research agency, sea levels have risen nearly 25 centimeters (9.8 inches) in the last 140 years. Around one third of that increase happened in the last 25 years alone.








Sea levels are rising worldwide, but the trend is accentuated in the Arctic, which is heating faster than other regions. The thermal property of water that allows it to expand when warmer is also contributing to rising sea levels.








As usual, there is a caveat to the absolute numbers. While most of the world’s oceans and seas are indeed higher their historical levels, some areas are more affected than others. Tide gauges in western Canada and northern Chile, for example, detect steady or even receding seas, whereas island countries in the southern Pacific and Indian oceans are witnessing alarming increases in levels — threats that could lead to them literally disappearing beneath the waves. Source: The Indian Express

5. Why is Facebook shutting down its face recognition system? Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Science & Technology Newly rebranded internet giant Meta Platforms Inc announced late Tuesday that it plans to shut down the Face Recognition system — a technology it had introduced back in 2010 — on its social media site Facebook. What did the Face Recognition system do? This facial recognition software identified people in pictures uploaded on Facebook and suggested users to tag these people in the photos, thereby linking them to the tagged person’s profile. According to a blog post by Jerome Pesenti, VP of Artificial Intelligence at Meta, Facebook had given people the option to be automatically notified when they appear in photos or videos posted by others, and provided recommendations for who to tag in photos. These features are also powered by the Face Recognition system which the company is shutting down. What happens as a part of this shutdown? Pesenti wrote that more than a third of Facebook’s daily active users have opted in for the Face Recognition setting and are able to be recognised, and its removal will result in the deletion of more than a billion people’s individual facial recognition templates. Further, the people who have opted in for the Face Recognition setting will no longer be automatically recognised in photos and videos, and Facebook will delete the facial recognition template used to identify them. Why is Facebook shutting down the Face Recognition system? Over the years Facebook has faced a slew of lawsuits, federal investigations in the US and general privacy concerns over issues with facial recognition being at the centre of it. Pesenti pointed out in the blog post: “Making this change required careful consideration, because we have seen a number of places where face recognition can be highly valued by people using platforms”. “But the many specific instances where facial recognition can be helpful need to be weighed against growing concerns about the use of this technology as a whole. There are many concerns about the place of facial recognition technology in society, and regulators are still in the process of providing a clear set of rules governing its use.








Amid this ongoing uncertainty, we believe that limiting the use of facial recognition to a narrow set of use cases is appropriate,” he added. Is Facebook completely eliminating facial recognition technology from its platform? A report by The New York Times says that while Facebook plans to delete facial recognition templates by December this year, it is not eliminating DeepFace — an advanced algorithm that powers the system. It cites a Meta spokesperson to say that the company has also not ruled out incorporating facial recognition technology into future products. Where is India placed in the facial recognition technology ecosystem? Across some of India’s busiest airports and train stations, facial recognition technology software systems are being hooked up with a progressively spreading network of closed-circuit cameras by multiple state-owned agencies to pan though databases of photos to identify people on a real-time basis. In a recent interview with The Indian Express, CEO of leading facial recognition technology provider NtechLab, Andrei Telenkov, said the company sees India as one of the priority markets for video surveillance and facial recognition technology. Source: The Indian Express

6. What is the Global Methane Pledge, and why is methane significant for climate change? Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Environment & Biodiversity The Global Methane Pledge was launched on Tuesday at the ongoing UN COP26 climate conference in Glasgow. So far, over 90 countries have signed this pledge, which is an effort led jointly by the United States and the European Union. Methane is the second-most abundant greenhouse gas in the atmosphere, after carbon dioxide, and, therefore, pledges related to cutting down its emissions are significant. What is the Global Methane Pledge? The pledge was first announced in September by the US and EU, and is essentially an agreement to reduce global methane emissions. One of the central aims of this agreement is to cut down methane emissions by up to 30 per cent from 2020 levels by the year 2030. According to the latest Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report, methane accounts for about half of the 1.0 degrees Celsius net rise in global average temperature since the pre-industrial era. “Rapidly reducing methane emissions is complementary to action on carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases, and is regarded as the single most effective strategy to reduce








global warming in the near term and keep the goal of limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius within reach,” a joint EU-US press release stated in September. What is methane? According to the UN, 25 per cent of the warming that the world is experiencing today is because of methane, a greenhouse gas, which is also a component of natural gas. Because it is a greenhouse gas, its presence in the atmosphere increases Earth’s temperature. There are various sources of methane including human and natural sources. Human sources of methane include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities, coal mining, wastewater treatment, and certain industrial processes, the US Environmental Protection Agency notes. The oil and gas sectors are among the largest contributors to human sources of methane. NASA notes that human sources (also referred to as anthropogenic sources) of methane are responsible for 60 per cent of global methane emissions. These emissions come primarily from the burning of fossil fuels, decomposition in landfills and the agriculture sector. In India, for instance, in 2019, the Ministry of Coal asked state-run coal miner Coal India Limited (CIL) to produce 2 MMSCB (million metric standard cubic metres) per day of coalbed methane (CBM) gas in the next 2 to 3 years. CBM, like shale gas, is extracted from what are known as unconventional gas reservoirs — where gas is extracted directly from the rock that is the source of the gas (shale in case of shale gas and coal in case of CBM). The methane is held underground within the coal and is extracted by drilling into the coal seam and removing the groundwater. The resulting drop in pressure causes the methane to be released from the coal. Why is dealing with methane important for climate change? According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), while methane has a much shorter atmospheric lifetime (12 years as compared to centuries for CO2), it is a much more potent greenhouse gas simply because it absorbs more energy while it is in the atmosphere. In its factsheet on methane, the UN notes that methane is a powerful pollutant and has a global warming potential that is 80 times greater than carbon dioxide, about 20 years after it has been released into the atmosphere. Significantly, the average methane leak rate of 2.3 per cent “erodes much of the climate advantage gas has over coal”, the UN notes. The IEA has also said that more than 75 per cent of methane emissions can be mitigated with the technology that exists today, and that up to 40 per cent of this can be done at no additional costs.








Source: The Indian Express

7. Tesla joins elite $1 trillion club Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Miscellaneous As Tesla’s market capitalisation surged past the $1 trillion mark this week, it became the first carmaker to reach the milestone. As the company’s shares surged 13 per cent, its largest shareholder and CEO Elon Musk’s net worth jumped to nearly $300 billion. Take a look at how the company has grown, Elon Musk’s journey to becoming the richest person, and Tesla’s challengers in India and the world:

Tesla joins elite trillion club








Tesla transformer: Elon Musk








Bumpy ride








Challengers

Source: The Indian Express








8. Who are the Vanniyars, and why did Madras HC quash TN govt’s quota to them? Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper II; Polity & Governance The Madras High Court on Monday quashed the 10.5 per cent special internal reservation provided by the Tamil Nadu government to Vanniyars, a most backward caste (MBC). The court said the quota was ultra vires to the Constitution and noted how the state government – both the previous AIADMK that made the first move and DMK that implemented it – went ahead without any “quantifiable data” to support the decision. Why did these two parties go ahead with the move without backing of a caste census? Both the AIADMK and DMK decided to go ahead with the special quota for Vanniyars with an eye on two elections – the last assembly polls for the then ruling party AIADMK, and the recent local body polls for the current DMK government. Even as both the parties have had strong legal and political opinions internally against going in favour of a particular community without the backing of a justifiable data or caste census, leaders from both parties who spoke to The Indian Express suggested that there is no need to take it too seriously. A senior AIADMK leader said the legal opinions were there, warning that it will be struck down, but the ‘more important thing for us was to do something for them’. For DMK too, a party that is carefully handling all communities including minorities and Dalits, a senior leader said there was nothing to lose by implementing it as an order because a denial approach would have turned the community against the ruling party. “Everyone knows that we need a caste census to proceed with such a special quota implementation. But, in public perception, it is all about what we did. Now the blame falls on the court, not DMK or AIADMK,” the leader said. Interestingly, S Ramadoss’ PMK, which is seen as a party backed by the Vanniyar community and was at the forefront of demanding the special quota, did not make major gains in spite of the favours they gained from the government. This is because the changing political scenario is making it tough for smaller parties to leave a mark with or without community support. It is almost a necessity that one needs a banner of the powerful party like the DMK or the AIADMK to win elections, and it also becomes a necessity of these two parties to make it appear that they did something for Vanniyars even as they knew that it was bound to fail before the court. How powerful are Vanniyars? Even as backward communities such as Thevars and Gounders are largely seen as Tamil Nadu’s socially and politically powerful communities, Vanniyars were one of the largest








and most consolidated backward communities that had a consistency in retaining political representation from 1940s and 1950s. In the political act of bargaining for community representation too, Vanniyars had been far ahead of other backward and Most Backward Communities (MBC) for decades, which includes their organised state-wide agitations in the mid-1980s demanding an exclusive 20 per cent reservation in the state and 20 per cent in central services. Even before these agitations, Vanniyars weren’t at the receiving end but a numerically strong party, enjoying political powers for several years, thanks to Vanniyar leaders such as S S Ramaswami Padayachiyar and M A Manickavelu Naicker, whose outfits had 10 MLAs each in the state assembly, in 1950s. Even as Kallars and Nadars are seen as communities that deserve much more attention than Vanniyars when it comes to their socio-economic conditions in rural Tamil Nadu, those organised agitations in the 1980s and the demands raised often in the later years have benefited Vanniyars, may be much more than other communities. Why the special quota decision was detrimental to state’s social justice values If the political decision favouring special quota by DMK and AIADMK were eyeing at mere electoral gains, they were actually derailing the state’s envious track record in ensuring reservation for the underprivileged. When Tamil Nadu had 25 per cent reservation for OBCs and 16 per cent for SCs and STs in 1951, it was the first M Karunanidhi government that increased OBC reservation to 30 per cent and SC, ST reservation to 18 per cent in 1971. Later, an exclusive 20 per cent reservation was carved out for MBCs in 1989. The current reservation breakup of the state comprises 69 per cent – which includes 30 per cent for BCs (including Christians and Muslims), 20 per cent for MBCs, 18 per cent for SCs and 1 per cent for the ST community. When the state’s two powerful political parties decided to go against this unique social justice system by favouring one community alone with 10.5 percent reservation within the MBC quota of 20%, there were 115 communities in MBC category who were left to share the remaining 9.5% reservation. As per the first Tamil Nadu Backward Classes Commission report submitted before the then CM Karunanidhi in 1970 by the Sattanathan Commission, the population of Vanniyars was higher in northern districts of Chengalpattu, South Arcot, North Arcot, Salem, Dharmapuri, Trichirappalli and Thanjavur districts. Their population was very thin in the southern districts.








As the community population was very less and in most of the districts, the Madras High court, while quashing the quota on Monday said, “If 10.5 per cent reservation is given to the Vanniyar caste all over the state, it would prevent the other MBCs in getting admissions in the educational institutions and posts in the government employments.” There are 38 districts in the state now. “In other words, the candidates from Vanniyars would automatically get selected in the educational institutions or in the government employment without there being any competition. On the other hand, the candidates of other Most Backward Communities would find it difficult to get admission in the Educational Institutions and in the government employment for the reason that their reservation would be decreased from 20 per cent to 9.5 per cent,” the court order said. Source: The Indian Express

9. Lung function hit by stubble burning: study Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Environment Pollution from stubble burning significantly reduced lung function and was particularly harmful to women in rural Punjab, says one of the largest studies of its kind in India, correlating the effect of air pollution on health. The study was conducted in six villages of Patiala, Punjab and spanned two phases: The first was in October 2018 and again the following summer from March to April 2019 and the second phase was undertaken in the same villages during late Oct-Nov, 2018. The latter is the period when crop burning peaks and the two timeframes were considered to measure the change in air quality during both periods. Close to 3,600 participants, from 10-60 years of age were included in the study. While the links between particulate matter pollution and respiratory health are widely documented, there have been limited studies in India that have clearly linked the impact of poor air on lung health. High PM2.5 levels It emerged from the study that the concentrations of PM2.5, the category of unburnt carbon particles considered most harmful to respiratory health, was found to increase more than twice between the two phases, from 100 g/m3 to 250 g/m3. Incidentally these are around 10-15 times the WHO prescribed air quality standards though the permissible standards by India’s Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) are higher. More symptoms During the crop residue burning period, a two to three-fold increase was noted in most of the respiratory symptoms including wheezing, breathlessness on exertion, cough in








morning, cough at night, skin rashes, runny nose or itchiness of eyes etc. across all age groups (10-60 years). The highest number of respiratory complaints were reported by the elderly population (>40-60) and the lowest in the younger age group(>10-18) during crop burning period, the study’s authors note. There was decline in lung function with increase in PM2.5 concentration across all age groups even after controlling for several other exposure variables, such the influence of cooking fuel, ventilation, distance from road etc. The authors reported a 10-14% decline in lung function in men and nearly 15-18% decline in women across all age categories. The study, authored by researchers at The Energy Resources Institute (TERI), Delhi has contributions from experts from All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi, and the Punjab Agricultural University. The findings, which have not been peer reviewed as yet, appear on the website of the CPCB, which has supported the study. Source: The Hindu

10. Where does India stand on methane emissions?

Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper III; Environment At the ongoing UN Climate Change Conference (the 26th Conference of Parties-COP26) in Glasgow, the United States and the European Union have jointly pledged to cut emissions of the greenhouse gas methane by 2030. They plan to cut down emissions by 30% compared with the 2020 levels. At least 90 countries have signed the Global Methane Pledge, with India and China abstaining so far. Separately, 133 countries have signed a Glasgow Leaders’ Declaration on Forests and Land Use — a declaration initiated by the United Kingdom to “halt deforestation” and land degradation by 2030. China, too, is a signatory to this but India has stayed out. Why is methane potent as a greenhouse gas? Methane accounts for about a fifth of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and is about 25 times as potent as carbon dioxide in trapping heat in the atmosphere. In the last two centuries, methane concentrations in the atmosphere have more than doubled, mainly due to human-related activities. Because methane is short-lived, compared with carbon dioxide, but at the same time potent, the logic is that removing it would have a significant positive impact. Methane is emitted from a variety of anthropogenic (human-influenced) and natural sources. The human sources include landfills, oil and natural gas systems, agricultural activities as well as livestock rearing, coal mining, stationary and mobile combustion, wastewater treatment, and certain industrial processes. Sources of methane can be harnessed for energy and in principle reduce dependence on energy sources that emit high carbon dioxide but the lack of incentives and efficient energy markets to realise this is an impediment to curtailing methane emissions.








Why hasn’t India signed the pledge? India is the third largest emitter of methane, primarily because of the size of its rural economy and by virtue of having the largest cattle population. India has stated earlier that it plans to deploy technology and capture methane that can be used as a source of energy. In a communication to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, India said approximately 20% of its anthropogenic methane emissions come from agriculture (manure management), coal mines, municipal solid waste, and natural gas and oil systems. To tap into this “potential,” the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) claims to have invested heavily in a national strategy to increase biogas production and reduce methane emissions. “The biogas strategy includes many policy initiatives, capacity-building, and public-private partnerships. In addition to promoting biogas development, the strategy supports goals for sustainable development, sanitation improvements, and increased generation of renewable energy,” the MNRE notes. What does the Glasgow Declaration on forest and land use entail? The Glasgow Declaration was signed by 133 countries, which represent 90% of the globe’s forested land. The declaration is also backed by a $19-billion commitment, though whether this translates into legally binding flows remains to be seen. The Glasgow Declaration is a successor to a failed 2014 New York Declaration for Forests — that for a while saw significant global traction — and promised to reduce emissions from deforestation by 15%-20% by 2020 and end it by 2030. However, deforestation has only increased, and is responsible for about 20% of the total carbon emissions. One of the goals of the pledge, to halt deforestation, is to ensure that natural forests aren’t cleared out for commercial plantations. It also aims to halt industrial logging, though several independent estimates say the demand for wood pellets, which stokes deforestation, is only expected to increase. Finally, the declaration seeks to strengthen the rights of indigenous tribes and communities to forestland. Why hasn’t India signed up? There is again no official reason accorded but reports suggest that Indian officials are unhappy with the wording that suggests meeting the obligations under the pledge could also mean restrictions in international trade. That is unacceptable, they say, as trade falls under the ambit of the World Trade Organization, of which India is a member. India is also mulling changes to its forest conservation laws that seek to encourage commercial tree plantation as well as infrastructure development in forestland. India’s long-term target is to have a third of its area under forest and tree cover, but it is so far 22%. It also proposes to create a carbon sink, via forests and plantations, to absorb 2.5-3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide. Source: The Hindu

11. Why is Delhi holding an NSA meet on Afghanistan? Relevant for GS Prelims & Mains Paper II; Bilateral Relations








Nearly three months after the Taliban takeover of Kabul, National Security Adviser Ajit Doval will host a meeting of NSAs in the neighbourhood (including Russia) on November 10 to discuss Afghanistan’s future and how to deal with threats to security emanating from developments there. The exercise is to reaffirm the consensus that after the pull-out of the U.S. and NATO troops from Afghanistan, solutions to the crisis in Afghanistan must come from the region itself. Who all have been invited? Invitations went out to Mr. Doval’s counterparts in China, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Confirmations have been received from all but China and Pakistan, and while Indian officials are still hopeful of Chinese Minister for State Security Chen Wenqing or another security official attending the conference virtually, Pakistan’s NSA Moeed Yusuf has said he will not attend the conference, a decision that government sources have called “unfortunate”. What is on the agenda? The conference, which is part of a format held in Iran in September 2018 and December 2019, is expected to seek a common understanding of how to approach the Taliban regime, especially on seeking an inclusive government in Afghanistan, with rights for women and minorities. While no country has yet recognised the acting Taliban regime headed by “Prime Minister” Hasan Akhund, all of the nations involved, including India, are engaging Taliban officials at different levels. China, Iran, Pakistan and Russia have even kept their embassies in Kabul open, while Central Asian countries have exchanged delegations for official meetings with the Taliban regime. India also hopes to focus on the triple common threats to neighbours emanating from the Taliban takeover: an uptick in terror groups operating within Afghanistan, an increase in drug-trafficking, and an inflow of refugees due to the humanitarian crisis unfolding there. India has also been involved in projects of connectivity to Afghanistan and Central Asia, including the Chabahar port project in Iran and the Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India gas pipeline, and the conference will be closely watched for any outcome on taking these projects further with the new regime in Kabul. Finally, New Delhi wants to establish that despite its opposition to the Taliban regime supplanting the democratically elected Ashraf Ghani government, it remains an important figure in Afghanistan’s future as a development, aid and trade partner and a historical builder of connectivity infrastructure. In the past, many discussion formats on Afghanistan have not included India, ostensibly at Pakistan’s behest, like the ‘Troika Plus’ talks of China-Russia-U.S.-Pakistan held over two years, Iran’s Neighbourhood Foreign Ministers’ track on Afghanistan held on October 27 and regional meetings held by Pakistan’s Foreign Minister and NSA in the past few months. The meeting in Delhi will seek to project India as a necessary part of these dialogues. In doing so, New Delhi also re-enforces its claims as a “boundary neighbour”, given that Afghanistan abuts Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Why was Pakistan invited?








Relations between New Delhi and Islamabad have been on a downward spiral for some years now, and formal contacts have broken down after 2019 events, including the Pulwama attack, the Balakot strikes and the government’s restructuring of Jammu and Kashmir. India has long held that it is Pakistan’s “pernicious” influence and support to terror groups that are the real reason for Afghanistan’s instability and violence, and at the UNGA in September accused Pakistan of being an “arsonist disguised as a firefighter” in Afghanistan. However, Mr. Doval has reportedly been involved in back-channel talks with Pakistani security and military officials over the past two years, which led to the Line of Control ceasefire in February 2021. It was perhaps thought that a security conference of neighbours on Afghanistan should see Pakistani participation as well. The Narendra Modi government has attended several conferences on regional security and Afghanistan in particular where Pakistani officials have been present, including at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation meet, Moscow Format, and Central Asia-South Asia dialogue in Tashkent. Earlier this year, India sent a three-member team to the SCO-Regional Anti-Terrorism Structure (RATS) meeting in Pakistan. Rejecting the invitation, Mr. Yusuf accused India of being a “spoiler” in Afghanistan, adding that a “spoiler cannot play peacemaker”. However, it is Pakistan that appears to have played spoiler at the NSA conference, according to Indian officials, by rejecting the invitation and refusing to respond to an Indian request to allow humanitarian aid of wheat and medicines by road from Wagah to Torkham to help Afghans in dire need. Source: The Hindu






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