Comprehensive News Analysis 23-06-2022

A. GS 1 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

B. GS 2 Related

Nothing here for today!!!

C. GS 3 Related

Category: ECONOMY

1. Understanding bird strikes and aviation safety

Syllabus: Infrastructure: Airports

Prelims: About International Civil Aviation Organisation

Mains: The impact of bird strikes and the ways to mitigate the incidents of bird strikes

Context

Recently two bird hit incidents were reported with two different aircraft on a single day.

Details

• A SpiceJet Boeing aircraft operating between Patna and Delhi with 185 passengers on board suffered a bird hit in its left engine during its climb-out phase (the phase immediately after take-off during which the aircraft climbs to a predetermined cruising altitude). 
• Another incident involving Indigo Airbus operating between Guwahati and Delhi was reported on the same day when the aircraft experienced a bird hit in the left engine during take-off. 
• In both incidents, some of the engine blades were damaged or had fractures. 
• The Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), which is the country’s civil aviation regulatory body, has ordered an inquiry and has directed all airport operators to “review their wildlife hazard management plans” both “within and outside the airfield”.

Data on bird strikes

• The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has collected bird strike data since 1965 and in 1979 it urged the member states to start reporting bird strike incidents into a data entry and retrieval system. 
• The ICAO Bird Strike Information System has been in place since 1980 and an analysis of about 62,416 verified records highlighted that most of the incidents of bird strikes were reported in or near airports during the take-off and approach phases of flight. 
  • Nearly 60% of the incidents were reported at or below 30 metres. 
• A report named “Bird strikes at commercial airports explained by citizen science and weather radar data”, shows that in 2017, “over 14,000 bird strikes were reported only in the United States; for that year alone, the cost was $142 million”.
• A paper named “The costs of bird strikes and bird strike prevention”, points out that the annual costs of bird strikes are an estimated $1.2 billion globally.
• A report highlights that in India in 2021, DGCA data has recorded over 1,400 suspected and confirmed wildlife incidents compared to 840 cases in 2016.
  • Most of these incidents were reported from Delhi and Mumbai airports.
• In India’s National Aviation Safety Plan (2018-2022), which is in line with ICAO’s Global Aviation Safety Plan, the DGCA named monitoring “wildlife and bird strikes” as one of the major safety priorities. 

Impact of bird strikes on the aircraft

Image source: The Hindu

• Considering the fact that bird strikes usually take place during the take-offs and landings, they might distract the pilots during highly critical phases of a flight which require the complete attention of the crew.
• Bird strikes can damage the power plants of the aircraft thereby resulting in the loss of thrust for the engine and cause manoeuvrability issues for the crew.
• Bird strikes can damage the engines by causing twisted fan blades, blade separation and vibrations. This can cause an engine imbalance.
• Bird strikes can also damage the wing surfaces such as the flaps, spoilers, slats and the airframe which results in huge losses for the airline operator.
  • While most airframe bird strikes are not that critical to air safety, the cracking of windows or a windscreen requires pilots to land the plane as early as possible.

Image Source: The Hindu

Solutions to reduce the incidents of bird strikes

• The areas around an airport should be clear of slaughterhouses and garbage dumping which are the key factors that attract wildlife and increase risks.
  • Airports are expected to have incinerators (an apparatus for burning waste material) to dispose of garbage removed from aircraft.
• Airlines must have some standard operating procedures for bird strike prevention. 
• Adherence to wildlife management rules within and around the airport and its vicinity is also important to prevent wildlife and bird strikes.
• It is also important for the pilots to constantly monitor the instruments and the pilot not flying has to keep an eye outside to look out for birds. 
• This has to be emphasised during training as well.
• A comprehensive database must be maintained to collect important information like the bird species, the height of occurrence and exact geospatial coordinates.
• Further, efforts must be made by the crew and operators to understand the behaviour of birds.
  • Close to the ground, the instinctive behaviour of the birds is to move away from the aircraft’s path. 
  • During the initial take-off, bird strikes happen when pilots try to climb over them. As a result, birds get sucked into an engine as an aircraft engine’s field of ingestion is quite high with take-off thrust. 
  • Over 100ft, birds tend to dive to avoid an aircraft. 

Interventions by Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON)

• Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History (SACON) in Coimbatore, which is a Centre of Excellence under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change has associated with the Airports Authority of India (AAI) and the Indian Air Force (IAF) as bird hits affect both organisations.
• SACON has also worked on engineering solutions at airports and surroundings to keep problematic birds at bay.
• Between 2017-2020, SACON undertook a study of air hazard challenges at three airports namely Coimbatore (Tamil Nadu), Ahmedabad (Gujarat) and Kannur (Kerala).
  • It has now been expanded to 12 airports across India.
• SACON will initiate training programmes that involve airport bird hazard management teams. 
• Experts point out that each airport in India has a unique ecological setting and hence even the solutions must be different. 
  • Example: if there are 60 bird species around an airport, only five to six are potential threats to aircraft, hence a study of birds over a year would lead to a specific list of recommendations. 
  • In Coimbatore, 90% of bird hits involved the Lapwing which is a ground-nesting bird. It was discovered that Lapwings were using the open soil stretches near the runway species as a nesting ground.
    • SACON recommended reintroducing grass at these places as it was an instance of habitat management. 
• SACON is reaching out to Indian airports emphasising the need to ensure proper forensics and a data reporting and management system.
  • SACON’s National Avian Forensic Laboratory can identify the bird species with just blood samples, tissue and feathers.

Nut Graf As there would be an increase in the wildlife activity with the onset of the monsoon season, there is a need to ensure comprehensive wildlife hazard management to prevent the instances of wildlife and bird strikes with the aircraft which pose a significant threat to the lives of both humans as well as wildlife.

Category: ECONOMY

1. Towards a single low tax regime

Syllabus: Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

Mains: Concerns with the current GST system and recommendations to improve it

Background:

• The introduction of the Goods and Services Tax system has been able to remove the barriers to free trade and economic growth and avenues for corruption as observed in the earlier regime of taxes and cesses.
• However, many proposed reforms in the GST system to streamline it are yet to materialize. The proposal to end the multiple slabs and bring in a single standard rate under the GST system made as back as December 2018 is yet to be realized.

Concerns with the current GST system:

Complex and confusing:

• The GST system is still a complicated tax regime with different slabs. It is not easy to comprehend or comply with.
• Also, the addition of more categories every day and the need to categorize them under the differential tax slabs in the GST regime is open to interpretation, harassment and avoidable litigation. This goes against the spirit of improving the ease of doing business in India.

Higher taxes on some segments:

• The imposition of high GST rates (often referred to as ‘Sin’ taxes) in some areas is not in the interest of sustainable economic growth and development.
• The higher taxes on five-star hotels, automobiles, etc. fail to comprehend the effect that these segments could have on employment generation both direct and indirect and the economic ripple effect downstream, in a complex web of businesses that have symbiotic relationships.
• Hence such taxes might be contradictory to the government’s policy of generating growth and creating jobs under ‘Make in India’.
• A more moderate tax rate for these segments can spur their demand in the economy and result in a virtuous impact on economic growth and development.

Exemptions from GST:

• Some items continue to remain exempt from GST. Petrol, diesel, and aviation turbine fuel are not under the purview of GST, but come under Central excise and State taxes.
• This is not in line with the principle of simplifying the tax system in India as these goods account for a substantial share of taxes in India.

Recommendation:

• The article calls for doing away with the multiple tax slabs and bringing in a single low tax regime along with a limited list of exempt items as observed in other countries with similar systems.

2. Crypto came tumbling after

Syllabus: Issues relating to Mobilization of Resources, Growth and Development- Cryptocurrencies

Mains: Factors affecting the price of cryptocurrencies

Context:

• Bitcoin has witnessed a steep fall in its price from a record high of $69,000 in November 2021 to around $20,000 in recent weeks. There has been a significant correction in the prices of Bitcoin in particular and cryptocurrencies in general in the recent past. This has resulted in huge losses to investors around the world and has raised questions over the financial viability of such cryptocurrencies.
• In this context, the article analyzes the factors affecting the price volatility of cryptocurrencies.

Factors affecting the price of cryptocurrencies:

• Cryptocurrencies are basically a form of asset that allows people to keep their money outside the formal financial system and make it accessible so that it can be used anywhere in the world. Hence their prices which depend on the demand for them are open to the influence of many factors including changes in the global liquidity conditions.
• Most of the fluctuations in the price of Bitcoin are brought about by changes in the demand side as the asset’s supply is almost stagnant or moves very slowly given the enormous cost of mining an additional Bitcoin.
• The boom in the price of crypto assets during the onset of the pandemic was because investors were looking to invest their funds in crypto assets in the absence of other reliable investment opportunities. With the pandemic slowing down and economies opening up, investors are looking to move their funds out of crypto assets into more profitable investment opportunities. This is leading to a decline in prices.
• Recently, there have been changes in the price of an important class of assets: government bonds issued by the governments of developed countries. The policy interest rates on these bonds have been rising in recent times. These are considered safer investment options and the higher interest rates on them are adding to the investors’ interest in these assets. As a result, investors in crypto assets are shifting their investments out from crypto assets into government bonds. This has resulted in a fall in demand for crypto-assets and consequently has had a downward impact on the price of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin.

2. Santhal tribe

Syllabus: GS1; Indian Society; Salient features of Indian Society, Diversity of India.

Prelims: Santhal Tribe

Context

• As the National Democratic Alliance has nominated Droupadi Murmu for the Presidential election, the Santhal community has come under the spotlight.
• If elected, Droupadi Murmu will be the first tribal person to become the President.

Santhal Tribe

• Santhal is the third-largest Scheduled Tribe community in the country after Gond and Bhil.
• According to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Research and Training Institute (SCSTRTI), Bhubaneswar, the word Santhal is derived from two words: 
  • Santha which means calm and peaceful 
  • Ala which means man
• Earlier the Santhals led a nomadic life and eventually they settled down in the Chhotanagpur plateau.
• Santhals speak “Santhali” which has its own script called “Ol Chiki” which was invented by Pandit Raghunath Murmu. 
  • Santhali in the Ol Chiki script has been included in the Eighth Schedule to the Constitution.
• The Santhal population is mostly distributed in Odisha, Jharkhand and West Bengal.
• In Odisha, Santhals are seen in Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar and Balasore.
  • Mayurbhanj has one of the largest concentrations of the tribe.
  • The literacy rate of the Santhals is very high as compared to other tribes in Odisha.

2. Digital wearables can expose users to cyberattacks: IEEE

• The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) warned that digital wearables such as smartwatches and fitness trackers pose threats to the security and privacy of customer data by connecting a wearable to an extended ecosystem.
• Cybersecurity experts look at this as a supply chain that includes a data generator, an analytics engine and a service provider. Each link in the chain, including the connecting networks, presents a potential risk.
• According to the IEEE experts, most criminal intrusions of computer networks have a financial motive as stolen health data can be valuable because it includes personally identifiable information such as birthdays, email addresses and other login information that can be used for theft purposes.
• In recent years, India has been experiencing a massive adoption of wearable technology with shipments crossing 13.9 million devices in the first quarter of 2022.