Context: Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. (ISPRL) has invited bids for constructing 2.5 million tonnes of underground storage.

Gist:

• India plans to build its first commercial crude oil strategic storage.
• It is part of efforts to shore up stockpiles as insurance against any supply disruption.

Strategic petroleum reserves (SPRs)

• SPRs are essentially stockpiles of crude oil that governments maintain for price stabilisation and energy security.
• India’s existing SPR facilities have a combined storage capacity of 5.33 million Metric Tonnes (MMT) of crude oil.
• Storage Locations: These underground storage facilities are spread across two states:
  • Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh (1.33 MMT capacity)
  • Mangalore, Karnataka (1.5 MMT capacity)
  • Padur, Karnataka (2.5 MMT capacity)

Prelims Connect:

Context: India dismisses allegations of human rights and environmental abuses at shrimp farms.

Concerns C. Mechans is Gist:

• India is the largest shrimp exporter to the US, with $2.4 billion worth of shipments in 2022-23.
• Entire shrimp export value chain is certified by Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA).
• Ministry aims to scale up seafood exports to ₹1 lakh crore by 2025-26.

Marine Products Export Development Authority (MPEDA) :

• It was established in 1972 under the Marine Products Export Development Authority Act, 1972.
• MPEDA operates under the Union Ministry of Commerce and Industry.
• Headquarters: Kochi, Kerala.
• The mandate of MPEDA includes increasing seafood exports, setting standards, marketing, processing, extension, and training.

Context: Tamil Nadu government argued against compulsory 10% EWS quota implementation.

Synopsis:

• Tamil Nadu government tells Madras High Court that 89% of the population already covered by existing reservations.
• State highlights constitutional provisions and pending challenges to 103rd constitutional amendment.

Context: A study by IIM Ahmedabad suggests prioritizing nuclear energy for India’s development.

Highlights Of the Report:

• Nuclear energy currently only 1.6% of India’s energy mix.
• Best-case scenario: Nuclear power increases fivefold by 2030, contributing 30% by 2050.
• Challenges include doubling investments and ensuring uranium availability.

Context: Archaeologists discovered a 5,200-year-old Harappan settlement near a mass burial ground in Gujarat’s Kutch district.

Findings:

Products PSyS:

• Excavation uncovered pottery, animal bones, and flexed skeleton, offering insights into early Harappan life.
• Discovery suggests burial site served multiple settlements, revealing community connections.

Harappan civilisation:

• Also known as the Indus Valley Civilization, thrived in the Indus River valley around 3300 to 1300 BCE.
• Remarkable features:
  1. Advanced urban planning
  2. Standardized weights and measures
  3. Sophisticated craftwork: Bearded priest, Mother goddess
  4. Undeciphered script

Source: Indian Express

Context: Indians are turning to commercial surrogacy abroad due to restrictive laws in India.

Gist:

• The Surrogacy Regulation Act of 2021 only allows altruistic surrogacy under specific conditions.
• Increasing numbers of privileged Indians are opting for surrogacy in the US, Canada, and Latin American countries.

Surrogacy (Regulation) Act, 2021:

• Objective: Regulation of surrogacy practices and protection of rights for surrogate mothers and children.

Key provisions:

• Establishment of Boards: The Act sets up
  • National Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board (NATSRB) and
  • State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Boards (StART Boards)
• Only altruistic surrogacy is allowed, meaning no commercial transactions can take place.
• Intended couples must be:
  • A legally married Indian man and woman.
  • The woman should be between 25-50 years old and the man between 26-55 years old.
  • Not have any biological, adopted or previously surrogate children.
• Alternatively, a single Indian woman between 35-45 years old (widow or divorcee) can also avail surrogacy if medically necessary.

Source: Indian Express

Context: Uttarakhand government has constituted two teams of experts to evaluate the risk posed by potentially hazardous glacial lakes in the region.

Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs):

• Refers to sudden discharge of water from glacial lakes caused by glacier melting.
• Melting glaciers leave depressions filled with meltwater, forming potentially hazardous lakes.
• Receding glaciers enlarge these lakes, which are often dammed by unstable ice or sediment.
• GLOFs occur when boundaries of these lakes break, leading to rapid water discharge.

Triggers:

• Glacial calving, avalanches, or landslides destabilizing lake boundaries.

Consequences:

• Release large volumes of water, sediment, and debris downstream, causing floods and destruction.
• Submerge valleys, destroy infrastructure, and cause loss of life and livelihoods.

Source: Indian Express

Context: Several reports including Lancet and UN population division predicts a decline in Total Fertility Rate (TFR) and overall population in India.

• Total Fertility Rate reflects the average number of children a woman might give birth to in her lifetime.

Factors driving demographic transition:

• Rapid economic development, lower infant mortality rates, increased women’s education and work participation,
• Improved housing conditions and old-age security systems.

Significance of demographic transition:

• Rapid decline in TFR leads to a fall in dependency rate and larger share of working adults, boosting economic growth.
• Demographic transition increases labour productivity through capital resources, education investment, and age distribution changes.
• Declining TFR affects education outcomes, shifting focus to middle and higher education and skill development.
• With less childcare responsibility, more women are expected to join the workforce, especially in southern states.

The way ahead:

• Improvement in life expectancy brings challenges of aging population and increased healthcare demand.
• India must prepare to seize opportunities ahead of predicted time.

Source: The Hindu

Living Will:

• Legal in India since 2018, allow terminally ill patients to withhold or withdraw treatment and die with dignity.

Key concerns in implementation:

• Implementation of the Supreme Court’s process is scarce due to bureaucratic complexities and lack of state guidance.
• Local governments lag in designating custodians for living wills.
• Pending protocol from the National Health Authority hinders authentication through digital health records.
• Treatment decisions require certification by medical boards, complicating patient autonomy.
• Ambiguities in guidelines and lack of clear legal definitions contribute to officials’ reluctance to implement without detailed state directives.

The way ahead:

• Central government can support states by developing and publishing model orders and protocols.
• Effective guidance and persistent action from all levels of government are crucial for doctors to act in patients’ best interests.

Source: The Hindu

Context: Supreme Court referred Kerala’s suit on borrowing limits to Constitution Bench

Key issues in the dispute:

• Litigation delves into constitutional aspects of Centre-State relations.
• Kerala challenges Article 293’s interpretation, arguing for limited Centre control over State borrowings.
• Article 293 of the Indian Constitution deals with the borrowing powers of state governments.
• Kerala disputes Union’s inclusion of off-budget borrowings in ‘Net Borrowing Ceiling’.
• Union seeks to curb off-budget borrowings to maintain fiscal discipline for national interest.

Conclusion:

• With GST subsuming major revenue sources, fiscal space for states has become crucial.
• The Supreme Court must decide the extent of Centre’s control over borrowing limits while respecting federal norms.

Source: The Hindu

Context: Contempt notice issued to Patanjali Ayurveda in Coronil false advertisement case.

Key concerns:

• Patanjali’s ads breached the Drugs and Magic Remedies Act, 1954.
• Despite court warnings, Patanjali kept promoting products as cures, ignoring evidence-based medicine.
• Government’s failure to act against Patanjali hints at complicity, risking public health.

Conclusion:

• Government favoritism in health and medicine is highly dangerous.
• Commercial interests should not override public health and safety.

Source: The Hindu