News: PM Modi criticized the decision made by the Congress in 1974 to give Katchatheevu island to Sri Lanka, calling it careless.
Location:
Katchatheevu is a tiny uninhabited island spanning 285 acres in the Palk Strait between India and Sri Lanka.
It is situated northeast of Rameswaram and lies around 62 km southwest of Jaffna, Sri Lanka’s northernmost point.
Location and Structure:
The island’s only structure is St. Anthony’s Church, which was constructed in the early 20th century.
Each year, an annual festival takes place on Katchatheevu, drawing pilgrims from both India and Sri Lanka.
Unsuitability for Permanent Habitation:
Despite occasional influxes of visitors, Katchatheevu is unsuitable for permanent habitation.
One significant reason for this is the absence of a freshwater source on the island, making it difficult for sustained living.
History of Katchatheevu Negotiations:
British Administration: During the early medieval period, Katchatheevu was controlled by Sri Lanka’s Jaffna kingdom.
By the 17th century, it came under the authority of the Ramnad kingdom based in Ramanathapuram, India.
Under British rule, Katchatheevu was administered as part of the Madras Presidency.
Territorial Claims and Negotiations:
Beginning as early as 1921, both India and Sri Lanka asserted their claims over Katchatheevu to establish maritime fishing boundaries.
1974 Agreement:
In June 1974, then-Prime Ministers of India and Sri Lanka, Indira Gandhi and Sirima R D Bandaranaike signed the ‘Indo-Sri Lankan Maritime agreement’.
As a part of this settlement, Indira Gandhi ‘ceded’ Katchatheevu to Sri Lanka.
According to the agreement, the boundary was set one mile off the west coast of the uninhabited Katchatheevu.
Controversy:
Sri Lanka asserted its sovereignty over Katchatheevu by pointing to the period of Portuguese occupation from 1505 to 1658 CE as evidence of jurisdiction.
India argued that the former Raja of Ramnad (Ramanathapuram) held possession of Katchatheevu as part of his estate.
As per the 1974 agreement, Indian fishermen were still allowed to access Katchatheevu “hitherto”.
Unfortunately, the issue of fishing rights was not settled by the agreement. Sri Lanka interpreted Indian fishermens’ right to access Katchatheevu to be limited to rest, drying nets and for visit to the Catholic shrine without visa.
In 1976, an agreement between India and Sri Lanka prohibited fishing in each other’s Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs). However, Katchatheevu’s location on the edge of both EEZs led to uncertainty about fishing rights for both countries.
Vaikom Satyagraha
News: On March 30, 1924, Vaikom Satyagraha began in Vaikom, a temple town in Travancore.
Origin: The movement emerged in Vaikom, part of the princely state of Travancore, near the Mahadev temple in Kottayam district, during 1924-1925.
The Vaikom Satyagraha in Travancore (Kerala), is called as the first anti-caste movement.
Background: The issue of temple entry was first raised by Ezhava leader T K Madhavan in a 1917 editorial in his paper Deshabhimani.
T. K. Madhavan, Sardar Panikkar, and KP Kesava Menon presented a petition during the AICC meeting in Kakinada in 1923, advocating for temple entry rights for all members of society.
Aim: The Vaikom Satyagraha was launched in opposition to caste discrimination and untouchability that was rife across India.
Launch and Key Figures:
The movement commenced on March 30, 1924.
Prominent Satyagrahis included Kunjappy, Venniyll Govinda Panicker, and Bahuleyan.
‘Periyar’ E.V. Ramasamy was called upon to lead the campaign.
Sikhs from Punjab (Akalis) supported by opening langars (community kitchens) for volunteers.
Chattampi Swamikal and Sree Narayana Guru also backed the movement.
Mahatma Gandhi intervened in March 1925 to negotiate a resolution.
Significance:
It led to the Temple Entry Proclamation (1936), abolishing temple entry restrictions in Travancore.
This Satyagraha affirmed Gandhian principles of Satyagraha, proving its effectiveness.
It also contributed to establishing equal rights and reducing discrimination against Scheduled Castes in Indian society.
GS Paper 3
Presence of Ozone on Jupiter
News: An international team of scientists, including from India, has discovered strong evidence indicating the presence of ozone on Jupiter’s moon, Callisto.
Ozone: Ozone is a gas present naturally within Earth’s atmosphere.
Most atmospheric ozone is concentrated in a layer in the stratosphere, about 9 to 18 miles (15 to 30 km) above the Earth’s surface.
The ozone layer in the stratosphere shields the Earth by absorbing sunlight, particularly UVB radiation.
UVB exposure is associated with skin cancers, cataracts, and damage to crops and marine ecosystems.
Callisto: Callisto, outermost of the four large moons (Galilean satellites) discovered around Jupiter by the Italian astronomer Galileo in 1610.
Callisto is Jupiter’s second largest moon after Ganymede and it’s the third largest moon in our solar system.
Callisto is primarily composed of water ice, rocky materials, sulphur dioxide, and some organic compounds. These substances make the moon a potential candidate for supporting life in the solar system beyond the earth.
Unlike some of Jupiter’s moons such as Europa, Callisto experiences minimal seismic activity and exhibits few geological features, indicating long-term geological stability. This stability is crucial for safeguarding potential subsurface oceans and habitats beneath its icy crust.
The Experiment:
Scientists simulated Callisto’s icy surface conditions in a lab at Taiwan’s National Synchrotron Radiation Research Centre (NSRRC), using vacuum ultraviolet photons to mimic sunlight.
They deposited sulphur dioxide ice onto a lithium fluoride substrate, recreating outer space conditions, then observed the absorption spectrum to analyze composition and properties.
Irradiating the ice revealed ozone formation, consistent with observations from the Hubble Space Telescope in 1997, suggesting sulphur dioxide and ozone presence on Callisto’s surface.
Importance of Discovery:
The detection of ozone on Callisto implies the presence of oxygen, crucial for forming life-sustaining molecules like amino acids.
Studying the chemical evolution of SO2 astrochemical ice under ultraviolet radiation can reveal Callisto’s surface composition and processes, aiding in understanding its environment and the habitability of icy moons in our Solar System.
Nuclear Energy As Climate Solution
News: Brussels recently hosted a groundbreaking Nuclear Energy Summit, hailed as the most significant international gathering on nuclear energy to date.
India’s Position on Nuclear Energy:
India, with 23 operational nuclear reactors, recognizes nuclear energy’s role in its decarbonization plan.
The currently operational reactors have a combined installed electricity generating capacity of 7,480 MW (about 7.5 GW).
At least ten more reactors are under construction, and the capacity is supposed to triple to 22,480 MW by 2031-32.
The share of nuclear energy in total electricity generation capacity is just about 3.1% among the lowest in countries that do use nuclear energy.
India does acknowledge the role of nuclear energy in its decarbonisation plan and is planning for a rapid expansion in the coming years, even though the share of nuclear energy in electricity generation is likely to remain extremely modest in future.
Global Nuclear Energy Installation:
Only 31 countries in the world use nuclear energy for generating electricity while only seven more are working towards joining this club.
The number of operational nuclear reactors has also reduced in the last 20 years, from 437 in 2003 to 411 now as per the International Atomic Energy Agency(IAEA) data .
IAEA is an intergovernmental organisation that works for the safe and peaceful use of nuclear science and technology.
The average life of these reactors is more than 31 years, which highlights the fact that few new reactors have come onboard in the last decade.
The total installed electricity generation capacity has shown only a marginal increase during this period, from about 360 GW in 2003 to 371 GW now.
Nuclear energy accounts for less than 10% of global commercial electricity generation, and its share has been declining for almost three decades now.
Importance of Nuclear Energy:
Nuclear energy is a clean source with minimal carbon footprint, making it a potential substitute for fossil fuels in electricity generation.
Throughout its life cycle, including reactor construction, uranium mining, waste disposal, and other processes, nuclear energy emits only 5 to 6 grams of greenhouse gases per kilowatt-hour, according to IAEA.
This emission rate is over 100 times lower than coal-fired electricity and approximately half that of solar and wind generation.
Nuclear power plants are known to have substantially lower carbon footprint than solar or wind projects over their entire life cycle.
Nuclear energy offers continuous availability, unlike wind or solar, making it suitable for baseload electricity generation.
It is prominently featured in decarbonization pathways suggested by IPCC and others due to its ability to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Reasons for Low Installation:
Safety concerns, particularly heightened after the Fukushima accident, are significant obstacles to nuclear energy adoption.
Nuclear power is currently the costliest electricity option due to high investments, lengthy construction times, and stringent regulations.
Unlike solar and wind, nuclear technology has not seen breakthroughs that drive down costs and enable rapid adoption.
Small modular reactor technology, often discussed as a solution, is still in early stages of development.
Initiatives for Promoting Nuclear Energy:
In the last five years, nuclear energy has gained prominence at international conferences, with IAEA participating and organizing events.
IAEA initiated the ‘Atoms4Climate’ initiative to promote nuclear energy’s role in addressing climate change.
IAEA has also organized the first-of-its-kind Nuclear Energy Summit in Brussels recently.
At COP28 in Dubai, 20 countries committed to tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, demonstrating growing recognition of nuclear energy’s potential in decarbonization efforts.
At the Dubai meeting in 2023, representatives from 22 countries committed to tripling global nuclear energy capacity by 2050.
This goal aligns with pathways projected by IPCC for achieving global net-zero emissions by 2050.
Nuclear energy was formally acknowledged as a zero or low-emission technology for rapid decarbonization, a first in COP outcomes.
Genetic Profiling
News: Genetic profiling of captive elephants of Kerala will begin shortly. The Wildlife Institute of India (WII), responsible for elephant profiling, has supplied forensic kits to the Kerala Forest Department to input elephant details into a national database.
Genetic Profiling: It is also known as genetic testing. It involves analyzing an individual’s DNA to identify variations or mutations associated with traits, diseases, or conditions.
This examination provides valuable information about an individual’s genetic makeup, serving various purposes such as determining disease risk, understanding ancestry, and guiding personalized medical treatment.
Use of Genetic Profiling: It is being utilized in response to Kerala’s declining captive elephant population, previously the largest in the region.
Gaja Suchana Mobile App:
The Wildlife Institute of India has introduced the Gaja Suchana app, enabling all state forest department officials to access relevant data.
The app’s purpose is to track movement of captive elephant across states and within territories.
Its database assists in identifying elephants without valid ownership certificates.
Wildlife Institute of India (WII):
Established in 1982 under the Ministry of Environment and Forests, the Wildlife Institute of India (WII) is a renowned institution recognized internationally.
It was granted autonomous status in 1986.
It provides training programs, academic courses, and advisory services in wildlife research and management.
The institute conducts research on biodiversity-related issues across India, covering a wide range of topics.
Water Crisis in South India
News: Lack of water has made life harder for poor people in South India.
Present Water Situation In South India:
Currently, reservoirs in South India are experiencing a water crisis, with levels at only 23% capacity, well below the 10-year average.
This year’s levels are 9% lower than the rolling decadal average, indicating a worsening situation.
A similar water crisis was observed in 2017. The situation has been exacerbated by the record warmth of 2023, intensifying water scarcity.
Factors Contributing to Water Crisis In South India:
Monsoon Influence: Erratic monsoon patterns, partly due to one of the strongest El Niño events on record, contribute to the water scarcity.
Climate Change: 2023 was recorded as the warmest year, with predictions of 2024 being even hotter, impacting water availability.
Election Impact: The general election means increased outdoor activity, potentially raising water usage.
Past Lessons Ignored: Despite previous crises, there’s a noticeable lack of effective policy implementation and preparation.
Other Contributing Factors: Issues like unplanned urbanization, excessive groundwater extraction, and low water reuse efficiency worsen the situation.
Climate Change Aggravating the Water Crisis:
Climate change makes it more likely for multiple crises to happen at the same time, like droughts and disease outbreaks.
These harsher conditions hit low- and middle-income countries like India the hardest.
It makes socio-economic conditions worse, especially for marginalized groups who are most affected by these climate-related crises.
