TOPIC 1 : WATER CRISIS [ GS 3 ]
- The NITI Aayog has warned that India is facing its “worst” water crisis in history and that the demand for potable water will outstrip supply by 2030, if steps are not taken.
- Twenty-one cities will run out of groundwater by 2020, affecting 100 million people, the study noted.
- If matters are to continue, there will be a 6% loss in the country’s Gross Domestic Product by 2050.
- The observations are part of a study that ranked 24 States on how well they managed their water.
- About 60% of the States were marked as “low performers,” and this was cause for “alarm.”
TOPIC 2 : CHILD ADOPTION [ Prelims, GS 1, GS 2 ]
- The nodal body for adoption in the country has barred partners in live-in relationships from adopting a child on the ground that cohabitation without marriage is not considered a stable family in India.
- The Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) permits a single woman to adopt a child of any gender, while single men can adopt only boys.
- In case an applicant is married, both spouses must give their consent for adoption and should be in a stable marriage for at least two years.
- Candidates must be physically fit, financially sound, mentally alert and highly motivated to adopt a child, as per the Adoption Regulations 2017. Foreign agency approval.
TOPIC 3 : PULSE IMPORT [ Prelims, GS 2, GS 3 ]
- The Union government is enforcing an import agreement on pulses with Mozambique at a time when domestic stocks are at their highest.
- In 2016, in the wake of soaring pulse prices, India signed an MoU to double pulses imports from the east African nation over a five-year period. This obligates India to buy 1.5 lakh tonnes from Mozambique this year.
- This year, for the first time, the government has allowed millers — as opposed to traders — to import pulses.
TOPIC 4 : MONSOON [ Prelims, GS 1, GS 3 ]
- Other than being an essential source of water for Indian agriculture, the monsoon plays a critical role in flushing out pollutants over Asia.
- However, increased pollution — particularly from coal burning — could potentially weaken this ability of the monsoon.
- In winter, when atmospheric moisture is low, fumes from unburnt particles disperse toward the Indian Ocean, creating a vast pollution haze.
- The monsoon sustained a remarkably efficient cleansing mechanism in which contaminants are rapidly oxidised and deposited on the Earth’s surface.
- However, some pollutants were lifted above the monsoon clouds, and chemically processed in a reactive reservoir before being redistributed globally, including to the stratosphere.
- Pollution particles can cool the sea surface temperature, mostly in winter. When the circulation reverses in summer, the cooler sea surface evaporates less, which can reduce the moisture flux into the monsoon convection, i.e. weaken the monsoon.
TOPIC 5 : SWAJAL [ Prelims, GS 2]
- Govt announced Swajal schemes in 115 aspirational districts of the country.
- These schemes will aim to provide villages with piped water supply powered by solar energy.
- The scheme will train hundreds of rural technicians for operation and maintenance of Swajal units. The Minister spoke about the relevance of Swajal in remote rural areas in the aspirational districts of the country.
TOPIC 6 : Mt DEOTIBBA [ Prelims ]
Mt Deotibba is the second highest peak in the Pir-Panjal range in Himachal Pradesh.
