Daily News Analysis 12 April 2023

Table of Contents

GS-2
• Indian TV, ‘hashtag’ audience fragmentation
Facts for Prelims
• Uranium 241
• Mahatma Jyotiba Phule
• State Energy Efficiency Index Report 2021-22

 

Indian TV, ‘hashtag’ audience fragmentation

Context

Indian TV news shows often use hashtags, both on their channels and during their programs, to engage with viewers on social media. This indicates that Indian TV media is evolving alongside social media, blurring the lines between traditional and modern media.

Theory

Andrew Chadwick, a professor at Loughborough University, has proposed the theory of the \”Hybrid Media System,\” which suggests that we should abandon the dichotomous thinking of old and new media and instead embrace an all-encompassing intermixed and blended media. This blurring of traditional and modern media has both positive and negative outcomes.

Benefits and Concerns of Digital Engagement in TV Media

Benefit:

• Digital platforms offer a constant way to engage with viewers, which may not be possible through traditional TV media.

Concerns:

• The authenticity of engagement with users cannot be guaranteed in the digital space due to the system\’s framework.
• Social media has made it easier to spread disinformation, according to experts Deen Freelon and Chris Wells.
• Even credible media outlets have sometimes fallen prey to the trend of disinformation.

The Farmers\’ Protest in India and the Implications for TV-Digital Engagement

• TV media is increasingly using digital platforms to engage with their audience, leading to increased audience fragmentation.
• The farmers\’ protest in India in 2020-21 provided an interesting case study to understand the evolving aspect of online chatter and its implications for TV media.
• A prominent English news channel proposed a unique hashtag for 21 out of the 22 shows it aired on the topic and we studied these 21 to understand its engagement on Twitter.
• Around 9,700 users participated in these hashtags to create a volume of ~25,900 tweets between mid-January and mid-February 2021.
• The effectiveness of such engagement in creating a democratic and spectrum wide viewer engagement is arguable, and disinformation remains a growing concern in online chatter.

Skewed engagement and implications for media

• 66 users were responsible for 25% of the tweets and 51.4% of retweets related to a news channel\’s hashtag during the farmers\’ protest in India in 2020-21.
• These heavy tweeters engaged exclusively with the news channel\’s hashtag and did not participate in other trending hashtags related to the same issue
• This behavior suggests that engagement with TV media on social media occurs in fragments, rather than democratic and spectrum-wide engagement
• TV media channels promote unique hashtags to position themselves as the definitive channel of India, with a unique persona that differentiates them from competitors
• As a result, media interests may be fragmenting audiences, with viewers aligning with a channel\’s values and attitudes rather than reportage
• Traditional mass media is equally invested in emerging media platforms and seeks to drive agenda-centric engagement as it would traditionally
• The heavily skewed engagement of a narrow group of users raises questions about the democratic nature of viewer engagement on social media.

Appealing to viewers

• Media channels are using different tactics to appeal to Twitter audiences instead of aligning with broader trends that agree with their perspective.
• The media channel in the study created only 18.6% engagement compared to non-media channel anti-farmer protest hashtags.
• Multiplying this engagement with the number of TV channels following similar strategies can have significant effects.
• The messaging supporting farm laws and discrediting protesters is strengthened due to the similarity of content and social media algorithms.

 

Conclusion

TV media should be a facilitator of democratic values, encouraging viewers to engage in meaningful debates. However, it appears that media channels are more focused on promoting their own brand and creating a loyal following. This approach is reinforced by social media, which can be used to build supporter groups around specific styles of reporting. As a result, the media is pushing viewers towards identifying with a particular channel rather than promoting an open and democratic discourse.

Uranium 241

Context

During a study of heavy element atoms, Japanese physicists made a ground breaking discovery of a previously unidentified isotope of uranium – uranium-241.

Discovery of Uranium-241 in Japan

• It has an atomic number of 92 and a mass number of 241.
• The researchers also calculated that uranium-241 likely has a half-life of just 40 minutes.

How Uranium-241 was Found

• The researchers accelerated uranium-238 nuclei into plutonium-198 nuclei at the KEK Isotope Separation System (KISS).
• In a process called multi-nucleon transfer, the two isotopes exchange protons and neutrons.
• The resulting nuclear fragments contained different isotopes.

Key Facts about Uranium

• Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Klaproth, a German chemist.
• It is a silvery-white metallic chemical element in the periodic table, with atomic number 92.
• It has the highest atomic weight of all naturally occurring elements.
• It occurs naturally in low concentrations in soil, rock and water, and is commercially extracted from uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite.
• Uranium ore can be mined from open pits or underground excavations.
• The ore can then be crushed and treated at a mill to separate the valuable uranium from the ore.
• Uranium may also be dissolved directly from the ore deposits in the ground (in-situ leaching) and pumped to the surface.

 

Uranium in India

• India is responsible for producing about 2% of the world\’s uranium.
• However, India has no significant reserves of uranium and relies on imports to meet all of its needs.
• Thousands of tonnes of uranium are imported from countries like Russia, Kazakhstan, and France.
• India has 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6,780 megawatts, and only eight of these reactors use indigenous uranium.
• The rest are under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and use imported uranium.

Mining Uranium in India

• Jaduguda in Singhbhum Thrust Belt was the first uranium deposit discovered in India in 1951.
• In addition to the discoveries in the Singhbhum Thrust Belt, uranium has also been found in the Cuddapah basin of Andhra Pradesh.
• Recently, significant quantities of uranium reserves were discovered in parts of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana between Seshachalam forest and Sresailam.
• Uranium mining in India started with the formation of Uranium Corporation of India Ltd. in 1967 under the Department of Atomic Energy.

 

Mahatma Jyotiba Phule

Context

On the birth anniversary of Mahatma Jyotiba Phule, the Prime Minister of India, paid homage to the great social reformer. He spoke about Mahatma Phule\’s significant contribution to social justice and the empowerment of the underprivileged and shared his thoughts on Mahatma Phule through a video clip.

Jyotiba Phule

• Fought for the abolition of untouchability and the caste system.
• Worked towards educating women and underprivileged caste people.
• Established schools for children from the untouchable castes.
• Established a home for pregnant Brahmin widows and an orphanage to avoid infanticide.
• Built a common bathing tank outside his house to demonstrate his embracing attitude toward all humans.
• Founded the Satyashodhak Samaj (Society of Truth Seekers) for equal rights and upliftment of the oppressed classes.

Work on Women\’s Education

• Jyotiba Phule and his wife, Savitribai Phule, were pioneers in Indian women\’s education.
• They established the first school for girls in India in Pune in 1848, despite facing social ostracism and being forced to leave their parental home.
• Savitribai supported Jyotiba\’s efforts to provide women and girls with the right to an education and was one of the few literate women of her time.
• Jyotiba founded a total of three girls\’ schools and an indigenous school for the lower castes, particularly the Mahars and Mangs.
• He was moved by the plight of women who were victims of patriarchal society, including female infanticide, child marriage, and early widowhood.
• In 1854, Jyotiba founded an orphanage to protect these unfortunate souls from the cruel hands of society.

Literary works

• Jyotiba Phule was a famous author, as well as a social reformer.
• Two of his most well-known works were Gulamgiri (Slavery) and Shetkarayacha Aasud (Cultivator\’s Whipcord).
• He wrote Tritiya Ratna in 1855 and Brahmananche Kasab in 1869.
• He also wrote two Powadas: Chatrapati Shivajiraje Bhosle Yancha and Vidyakhatyatil Brahman Pantoji in 1869.
• He composed an Abhang (devotional poetry) called Manav Mahammand (Muhammad).
• Gulamgiri was published in 1873.

State Energy Efficiency Index Report 2021-22

Context                

Recently, the Union Minister of Power and New & Renewable Energy released the report of the State Energy Efficiency Index (SEEI) 2021-22 in New Delhi.

About State Energy Efficiency Index Report:

• Developed by the Bureau of Energy Efficiency (BEE) in association with Alliance for an Energy-Efficient Economy (AEEE).
• SEEI 2021-22 has an updated framework of 50 indicators aligned with national priorities.
• Programme-specific indicators have been included this year to track outcomes and impacts of state-level energy efficiency initiatives.
• 5 states – Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Rajasthan and Telangana – are in the Front Runner category (>60 points).
• 4 states – Assam, Haryana, Maharashtra, and Punjab – are in the Achiever category (50-60 points).
• Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and Chandigarh are the top-performing states in their respective state groups.
• Telangana and Andhra Pradesh showed the most improvement since the last index.

Key points about the Bureau of Energy Efficiency:

• It was set up on 1st March 2002 under the provisions of the Energy Conservation Act, 2001.
• The primary objective is to reduce the energy intensity of the Indian economy.
• It coordinates with designated consumers, designated agencies, and other organizations.
• It recognizes, identifies, and utilizes the existing resources and infrastructure to perform the functions assigned to it under the Energy Conservation Act.

 

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