The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 28 July 2023

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis for UPSC

The Hindu Newspaper Analysis 27 July 2023

• The scientific community in India is abuzz with curiosity and excitement after the Union Cabinet’s approval of the National Research Foundation (NRF) Bill 2023 in June this year to “strengthen the research eco-system in the country”.
• The Bill is to be introduced in Parliament. Once passed, it is to establish an apex body to spearhead research and development, foster a culture of innovation, and nurture a research ecosystem across all universities and colleges in the country.

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• Simultaneously, the Bill seeks to repeal the Science and Engineering Research Board (SERB) Act 2008, under which the SERB was established as a statutory body of the Department of Science and Technology (DST) to carry out almost the same or similar functions which the NRF proposes to do.
• The idea of establishing the NRF as an independent foundation to promote and fund research was mooted by the Kasturirangan Committee in 2019 and adopted in the National Education Policy (NEP 2020).
• Highlighting the lack of a conducive research ecosystem and underinvestment in research, the Kasturirangan Committee had said that the NRF would get an ‘annual grant of Rs. 20,000 Crores (Rs 2 Kharab or 0.1% of GDP)’.
• It did not say how long this grant would continue, but it did note that research spending in the country was a meagre 0.65% of GDP compared to 2.8% in the United States, 2.1% in China, 4.3% in Israel and 4.2% in South Korea. It expressed concern that research and innovation spending in the country had declined from 0.84% of GDP in 2008 to 0.69% in 2014.
• The SERB was established as a statutory body of the DST to plan, promote and fund internationally competitive research in emerging areas of science and engineering.

• The Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980, was enacted to prevent large-scale deforestation.
• It requires the central government’s approval for any diversion of forest land for non-forest purposes.
• The Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests (2019) noted that pressure on forest land has increased due to several reasons such as industry demands, agriculture, and demand for forest produce.
• The 1980 Act specifies certain restrictions on diverting forest land for non-forest purposes.

• The Forest (Conservation) Amendment Bill modifies the criteria for including and excluding forest land from the purview of the Act.
• The Bill will significantly restrict the application of the landmark Godavarman judgment of 1996 which had extended the scope of the 1980 Act to the dictionary meaning of ‘forest’ — that is, areas with trees rather than just areas legally notified as forest.
• The present Amendment restricts the Forest Conservation Act to only legally notified forests and forests recorded in government records on or after October 25, 1980. This change could potentially impact around 28% of India’s forest cover, encompassing almost 2,00,000 square kilometres.
• Second, the Bill excludes some of India’s most fragile ecosystems as it removes the need for forest clearances for security-related infrastructure up to 100 km of the international borders. These include globally recognised biodiversity hotspots such as the forests of northeastern India and high-altitude Himalayan forests and meadows.
• Another important concern is that the Bill makes no reference to other relevant forest laws. For instance, the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest-dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 finds no mention.
• Forests and other natural ecosystems cannot be considered a luxury. They are an absolute necessity.

• What is Production-Linked Incentive scheme (PLI)?
• PLI is a scheme introduced by the Indian government in 2020 to promote domestic manufacturing in specific sectors.
• Under the PLI scheme, eligible companies receive financial incentives or subsidies based on their incremental production or sales.
• The objective of the scheme is to boost the competitiveness of Indian manufacturers, attract investment, create employment opportunities, and enhance exports in targeted sectors.
• The scheme aims to encourage both domestic and foreign companies to set up or expand their manufacturing operations in India, thereby strengthening the country’s manufacturing ecosystem and reducing reliance on imports.

• Yamuna River (also known as Jumna), is the major tributary of the Ganges River.
• Origin:It rises in the high Himalaya, in the Yamunotri Glacier, at the height of 4,421 meters.
• Course:
• The 1,376 km long Yamuna flows solely through India, crossing three states: Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana.
• After rising in the high himalayas, it flows in a southerly direction swiftly through the Himalayan foothills and, exiting Uttarakhand, onto the Indo-Gangetic Plain, along the border between Uttar Pradesh and Haryana state to the west. The Eastern and Western Yamuna canals are fed from the river at that point.
• The Yamuna then passes Delhi, where it feeds the Agra Canal.
• South of Delhi, and now wholly within Uttar Pradesh, it turns southeastward.
• Near Prayagraj (Allahabad), after a course of about 855 miles (1,376 km), the Yamuna joins the Ganges (Ganga) River. The confluence of the two rivers is an especially sacred place to Hindus and is the site of annual festivals as well as the Kumbh Mela, which is held every 12 years.
• Tributaries:
• Near Dehradun, the capital city of Uttarakhand, the Yamuna is joined by its biggest tributary, the Tons River.
• The Chambal River is Yamuna’s biggest tributary on the right.
• Other important tributaries of the Yamuna include the Hindon, Sarda and Giri river on the right and Betwa and Sindh on the left.

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