NEW DELHI : After the Supreme Court banned the sale of fire-crackers in Delhi-NCR, it was expected that the air pollution in the capital and its vicinity will come down. But the cacophony of crackers and the smoke in the air have mocked the decision of the the Apex court.

SAFAR (System of Air Quality and Weather Forecasting And Research) estimated pollution levels to further increase on Friday with the air quality reaching the ‘very poor’ mark with a predicted AQI of 303. The city’s air quality is expected to remain in the ‘poor’ category till Sunday and improve from Monday onwards. On Thursday, while Delhi recorded ‘very poor’ air quality.

According to the Air Quality Index, the level of pollution in some areas rose up to 12 times higher. RK Puram recorded the highest level of micron as 999 at 11PM, ITO 340, Shadipur 420, New Delhi Embassy 427 and Mandir Marg 427. 

AQI level from 0-50 is considered good, 51-100 is satisfactory, 101-200 is moderate, 201-300 is poor, 301-400 is very poor, and 401 and above is severe.

Delhi has an air pollution problem. It is the 11th worst polluted city in the world, with an annual average PM2.5 measurement of 122. Average air-quality index reading for Delhi in October 2015 was considered “poor” according to the Central Pollution Control Board’s air quality index bulletin.

On the banks of Saryu river in Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Adityanath Yogi celebrated the festival of lights ‘Diwali’ in the most unique manner by lighting up more than 2 lakhs ‘Diyas’ setting a world record.

According to mythological epic, it is believed that Lord Ram, popularly called as ‘Ramlala’ in Ayodhya, was born in the city of Ayodhya and returned to his homeland after the exile of 14 years. The day marked as the festival of Diwali in the country. 

CM Yogi’s decision to celebrate Diwali on the land which has always been in news for no reason other than the disputed ‘Ram Mandir-Babri Masjid’ controversy. Yogi in his speech said, “For 70 years, many have been deprived of food, power connections and (are) without a roof above their heads.The Centre and state governments’ efforts at providing them all this is Ram Rajya for them.” However, it came as a surprise as the saffron donned CM kept himself aside from making any comments on the temple issue, but the background seems to be different.”

Yogi now talks development. After appointed as the CM of UP, taking a cue from the former CM of Gujarat Narendra Modi, there have been instances when he appeared to be dissociating himself from the image of ‘communal-religious commentator’, an image which he has donned during his regime as the ‘Mahanth’ of Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur. In the past he had said, “Agar mai sadak par Eid ke din namaz padhne pe rok nahi laga sakta to mujhe koi adhikar nahi ki main thano mein janmashtami ke parv ko rokun… koi adhikar nahi. (If I cannot stop anyone to reciting Namaaz on on roads then equally I have no rights to stop anyone to celebrate Janmashtmi in Police stations.). Yogi Adityanath is now trying to break his stereotype figure of ‘poster boy’ of BJP agenda in UP to a leader who talks development, and the BJP is looking to capitalise on him under project of ‘Project Yogi’.

Picking Ayodhya to celebrate Diwali underlines many hidden-unhidden agendas of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) which embark the re-establishment of the Ram temple in the wake of ‘reincarnation’ of Ayodhya. Without even mentioning the name of controversial temple issue, Yogi has led the foundation of the temple and carved the way easier. This comes at a time when the BJP government is being criticised for the drop in GDP by 2% this quarter. The Modi government had to face backlash within the party when senior BJP leader and former Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha condemned the move of Demonetisation and criticised the government to be ignorant on the topic of economy downfall. There has been a league of economists which comprises stalwarts like Arun Shourie and Subramaniyan Swami who have been a critique time to time. At this time Ayodhya can be a saving grace for BJP. 

Ahead of Gujarat Assembly elections, Yogi might be a star campaigner for BJP, like he did in Uttar Pradesh. Yogi said, “He can campaign wherever the party wants him to go. I will go to Gujarat also to campaign if the party says so.” 

According to TOI, Yogi reportedly said, “UP should become hub of tourism and we are starting this initiative from Ayodhya. People should stop talking negatively about Ayodhya since this town has taught the world about Ram’s good works. Under the PM’s vision, there will be no homeless in the country by 2022, no family will be without a toilet by 2019, and there will be electrification of all homes. For a person who has never used a gas stove or has not had light at home, when these promises are delivered it will be Ram Rajya. Ayodhya will not be neglected anymore.”

“The government will connect each house, whether it is in village, a city or in remote locations,” Modi said in his speech. “No poor person will have to pay for the connection–this will cost more than Rs 16,000 crore. We have decided that no poor person will bear this burden.”

Recently, the central government launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (or Saubhagya). The scheme seeks to ensure universal household electrification (in both rural and urban areas) by providing last mile connectivity.  The scheme is expected to cover three crore households.  Note that currently about four crore households are un-electrified.  A rural electrification scheme has also been under implementation since 2005.  In light of this, we discuss the current situation of, and key issues related to rural electrification in the country.

Regulatory and Policy Framework

Under the Electricity Act, 2003, the central and state governments have the joint responsibility of providing electricity to rural areas.  The 2003 Act also mandates that the central government should, in consultation with the state governments, provide for a national policy on (i) stand-alone power systems for rural areas (systems that are not connected to the electricity grid), and (ii) electrification and local distribution in rural areas.  Consequently, the Rural Electrification Policy was notified in August 2006.

The Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), launched in 2005, was the first scheme on rural electrification.  In December 2014, Ministry of Power launched the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), which subsumed the RGGVY. Components of DDUGJY include: (i) separation of agricultural and non-agricultural electricity feeders to improve supply for consumers in rural areas, (ii) improving sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure in rural areas, and (iii) rural electrification by carrying forward targets specified under the RGGVY.

The total financial outlay for DDUGJY over the implementation period (until 2021-22) is Rs 82,300 crore which includes budgetary support of Rs 68,900 crore.  The central government provides 60% of the project cost as grant, the state power distribution companies (discoms) raise 10% of the funds, and 30% is borrowed from financial institutions and banks.

Status of Rural Electrification

As of August 2017, about 1% of the villages in India remain un-electrified (3,146 villages).  However, with regard to households, around 23% (4.1 crore households) are yet to be electrified.  Table 1 at the end of this post shows the status of rural electrification across all states.

Issues with rural electrification

An electrified village is defined as one that has the following: (i) provision of basic infrastructure such as distribution transformers and lines in the inhabited locality, (ii) provision of electricity in public places like schools, panchayat office, health centers, dispensaries, and community centers, and (iii) at least 10% of the total number of households in the village are electrified.

Therefore, a village is considered to be electrified if 10% of the total number of households in the village have been electrified.  This is apart from the basic infrastructure and electrification of certain public centers in the village.  The Standing Committee on Energy (2013) had observed that according to this definition, a village would be called electrified even if up to 90% of households in it do not have an electricity connection.It also noted that the infrastructure being provided under the scheme is highly inadequate, unreliable and unsustainable.  The Committee recommended that the actual electrification requirement of villages must be assessed, and it should be ensured that the state discoms provide electricity to the remaining households in the village.

Supply of Electricity

The Standing Committee had also noted that while the rural electrification scheme looks at creating infrastructure, the actual supply of electricity to households rests with the state discoms. These discoms are already facing huge financial losses and hence are unable to supply electricity to the villages.  Discoms continue to supply subsidised power to agricultural and residential consumers, resulting in revenue losses.  Further, the average technical and commercial losses (theft and pilferage of electricity) (AT&C losses) are at around 25%.  While the Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY) has eased off some of the financial losses of the discoms, it remains to be seen whether discoms are able to reduce the cost-tariff gap and AT&C losses in the future.

It has been recommended that generation capacity should be augmented so that states can meet the additional demand under the rural electrification schemes. Further, the assistance to financially weaker states should be increased so that they can better implement the scheme.

Electricity to below poverty line (BPL) households

Under the rural electrification scheme, the cost for providing free electricity connection per BPL household is Rs 3,000.  It has been observed that this cost per household may be inadequate.Due to the low cost, the quantity and the quality of work has been getting compromised leading to poor implementation of the scheme.  It has been recommended that the Ministry should revisit the cost provided under the scheme.

The new electrification scheme: Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (or Saubhagya)

The new scheme, Saubhagya, seeks to ensure universal household electrification, that is, in both rural and urban areas.  Under Saubhagya, beneficiaries will be identified using the Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data.  The identified poor households will get free electricity connections.  Other households not covered under the SECC, will be provided electricity connections at a cost of Rs 500.  This amount will be collected by the electricity distribution companies in 10 instalments.

The total outlay of the scheme will be Rs 16,320 crore, of which the central government will provide Rs 12,320 crore.  The outlay for the rural households will be Rs 14,025 crore, of which the centre will provide Rs 10,588 crore.  For urban households the outlay will be Rs 2,295 crore of which the centre will provide Rs. 1,733 crore.

The state discoms will execute the electrification works through contractors or other suitable agencies.  Information technology (mobile apps, web portals) will be used to organise camps in villages to identify beneficiaries.  In order to accelerate the process, applications for electricity connections will be completed on the spot.

So far the focus of electrification schemes has been on rural areas, where typically last mile connectivity has been difficult to provide. Saubhagya extends the ambit of electrification projects to urban areas as well.  While DDUGJY has focused on the village as the principal unit to measure electrification, the new scheme shifts the targets to household electrification.  While the target for ensuring electricity connection in each household will be a significant step towards ensuring 24×7 power, the question of continuous and quality supply to these households will still rest on the ability of the discoms to provide electricity.  Further, while the scheme provides for free connections, the ability of these households to pay for the electricity they consume may be a concern.

Source – PRS Legislative Research

New Delhi : The neighbourhoods of hospitals are declared as silence zones so that patients receiving treatment are not disturbed. So are areas around schools, colleges, courts and other such places that need to be noise-free. 

But how silent are so-called silence zones in India? 

A recent study across seven major cities has shown that much is left to be desired. A team of researchers monitored the noise levels at 17 sites declared as silence zones in Delhi, Chennai, Mumbai, Kolkata, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, and Lucknow and found that none of them came anywhere near the national standard. 

As per the standards, the decibel level in silence zones should not exceed 50 dB during the day and 40 dB during the night. But, sound levels at the sites varied from 56 dB to even as high as 77 dB for the day time and from 51 dB to 75 dB for the night. 

The study also covered several residential colonies, commercial centres and industrial areas in the seven big cities. The situation in the residential areas is as bad as in ‘silence zones’.  The sound level was monitored in a total of 16 residential areas. Here too, none met the standards. The day levels varied from 58 dB to 86 dB and the night levels from 52 dB to 81 dB, way off the standard levels of 55 dB and 45 dB respectively.

The story was similar in the commercial centres. The study covered 25 of them. The day sound levels varied from 59.2 dB to 79.7 dB and the night levels from 57 dB to 79 dB against the standards of 65 dB and 55 dB respectively. 

Interestingly, the situation seemed to be much better in industrial areas. A total of 12 industrial areas were monitored and of them as many as 10 passed muster, with the sound levels below the standard of 75 dB for the day time and 70 dB for the night. 

The study was based on the data collected through the National Ambient Noise Monitoring Network of the Central Pollution Control Board. The Board had set up the network in two phases. The first batch of 35 monitoring stations was set up in 2011 and the second, again of 35 stations, in 2014. 

The study was conducted jointly by a group of researchers from National Physical Laboratory (NPL) and Delhi Technology University (DTU) besides the Central Pollution Control Board. A report on their findings has been published journal Current Science.

The researchers have suggested that the noising monitoring network be further expanded so that the authorities could develop detailed noise maps and institute remedial efforts for trouble spots such as installation of noise barriers for hospitals and other sensitive buildings, enforcement of speed limits for heavy vehicles traversing through residential areas, demarcation of no-honking zones and adoption of proper land use plans. 

Noting that several methods are available to cut down noise pollution, researchers said, “the best practical and economical options may be executed for each site after considering all the possible noise abatement alternatives”. 

The research team included N.Garg of NPL, A.K.Sinha, V.Gandhi, R.M.Bharadwaj and A.B. Akolkar of CPCB and M.K.Sharma and R.K.Singh of DTU.

New Delhi/Berlin : Within twenty months after announcement of the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves and within two weeks of the discovery winning the Nobel Prize, the LIGO-Virgo collaboration – that includes 40 odd scientists from 13 Indian institutions – has announced once again a breathtaking discovery – first ever direct observation of gravitational waves emerging from the merger of two neutron stars.  Earlier detections were black hole -black hole mergers. 

The announcement was made in a simultaneous worldwide press conference by the participating institutes coinciding the publication of results in the journal Physical Review Letters. 

David Reitze, executive director, LIGO Laboratory, Caltech announced that the US-based Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) and the Europe-based Virgo have detected the fifth gravitational wave on August 17, 2017, which is a result of a collision of two neutron stars. While the last four discoveries were the result of the merger of two black holes for the first time astronomers have seen the merger of two neutron stars.

Rumours were circulating for more than a month that something huge has been discovered by the LIGO-Virgo collaboration, and finally, the discovery was announced on Monday in the US. In India, Dr. Tarun Souradeep, LIGO-India spokesperson made the announcement at the Inter-University Centre for Astronomy and Astrophysics (IUCAA) in Pune. “Gravitational Wave detection of a binary neutron star merger, together with confirmation and identifying the location of the optical counterpart by conventional telescopes completes the integration of gravitational waves into astronomy,” said Dr.  Souradeep. 

When two black holes collide, we cannot see anything in any type of telescope, but when neutron stars bump into each other, they radiate in almost all wavelengths. “For the first time we were able to observe the afterglow of the event and make many inferences,” says Dr. Dipankar Bhattacharya of IUCAA, Pune, a lead institution from India participating in LIGO collaboration. The collision took place in the modest elliptical galaxy NGC4993 just 130 million light-years away in the Hydra constellation. This was the nearest gravitational source detected so far and hence was also the strongest.  

The event

When massive stars reach the end of their life, they explode spectacularly into a supernova, and the core of the star becomes highly dense neutron star. Massive than Sun, but the size just 20 kilometres across, neutron stars are the densest objects in the universe. A teaspoon of material would weight whole of Mount Everest.

  

Two neutron stars with 1.1 to 1.6 times the mass of the sun, tangoed around each other for about 100 seconds as they spiralled towards each and bumped into each other. The cataclysmic collision resulted in the generation of mighty gravitational waves, and emission of powerful gamma-ray burst, and energy in practically all over the electromagnetic spectrum. In addition to gravitational wave detectors, traditional telescopes could observe the event. 

“In this event named GW170817, the binary neutron stars have merged most likely into a black hole as the conserved mass after the collision is perhaps greater than the upper limit for a neutron star,” says Dr.  Bhattacharya. “Unlike the collision of a black hole, which leaves practically no afterglow, when neutron stars collide, they emit radiation at all electromagnetic wavelengths that helps us investigate how matter behaves in extreme conditions such as neutron stars,” says Samir Dhurde, Science Educator and Astronomer from IUCAA. “This is precisely the kind of signal that can significantly improve our understanding of the true nature of gravity and can provide new insights into the physics of ultra-dense matter”, says Dr. C K Mishra from IIT Madras.

Indian contribution

“AstroSAT was occulted by Earth and hence could not pinpoint the gamma-ray burst, but Indian telescopic assets like Himalayan Chandra Telescope and GMRT Pune played a significant role in the discovery,” says Dr. Bhattacharya. However, in the classical Sherlock Holmes style, ‘why the dog did not bark’, the non-detection of gamma rays by AstroSAT and the non-detection of gravitational waves by the third detector, Virgo, at Europe meant they were in the blind spots. Using this information, astronomers were able to infer that the location of the source of the gravitational wave was in the blind spots of both these detectors and hence they could easily pinpoint the location in the sky. 

Along with Fermi space telescope, Chandra X-ray Telescope, the Hubble Space Telescope and the Gemini South optical/infrared telescope, Indian astronomical assets were swung into action. “The Himalayan Chandra Telescope at Hanle, Ladakh, quickly ruled out any connection between the neutrinos observed from the same direction of the sky by the Ice Cube observatory in Antarctica. Further, observations with the GMRT radio telescope in Pune found that the emission from the GRB jet is weaker than normal, suggesting a wider spread of material” says Dr. Bhattacharya. 

“The Indian instruments significantly contributed to understanding the event” added Dr Tarun Souradeep. He is hopeful that that planned LIGO-India detector, jointly funded by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science & Technology (DST), “will increase the sensitivity of the international gravitational-wave network and help pinpoint the exact location of the gravitational wave event”.  

“This discovery so fundamental that it is definitely a strong candidate for another Nobel prize!” says Dr. Arun,Chennai Mathematical Institute, who was part of the team that studied the astrophysical implications of the joint detection. “The prospects for future is even more exciting. During next observation runs, these events may become routine and we may be up for many surprises. This is the true power of multi-messenger astronomy” he adds.

What does this discovery tell us?

Initially, gamma ray telescopes were sent in spacecraft to identify clandestine nuclear weapons tests, but the scientists were puzzled by the sudden high energetic burst of gamma rays from deep space. Each of these gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) spewed energy equal to energy radiated by the sun in 10 billion years which in a matter of seconds. Convinced that these GRBs could not be the telltale signature of atomic bomb explosions, astronomers looked for a different explanation. It was speculated that GRBs were results of collision of two neutron stars, but until now lacked direct evidence. The present discovery offers “first conclusive evidence that short gamma-ray bursts, often seen by orbiting satellites, are indeed created by colliding neutron stars” says Niruj Ramanujam, chairperson of POEC, Astronomical Society of India.

While Hydrogen, Helium with a small amount of lithium were created from the process of big-bang, elements such as oxygen, carbon were formed in the nucleosynthesis in ordinary stars like our Sun. It is the process of the conversion of one element into another, through nuclear fusion that generates energy in stars and makes it glow. However, computations showed that only elements up to Iron in the periodic table could be cooked inside the stellar core. How does gold, platinum, and other higher elements are formed was a mystery. Astronomers claimed that higher elements were created in the cataclysmic events like ‘kilonova,’ a collision of two neutron stars. Spectral study of the afterglow of this event has shown that gold, platinum, and other higher elements were indeed formed, as computed, as an after effect of the collision. “We may have just discovered the source of the cosmic gold that adorns every piece of jewellery and ornament on Earth” said Dibyendu Nandi IISER Kolkata, a member of the team. 

Near-simultaneous detection of the gravitational waves and gamma rays indicate that gravitational waves travel at the speed of light as predicted by Einstein. Until now there was no direct evidence. 

Measurements from this event also has provided an entirely new measurement of the rate at which the universe is expanding. Called Hubble constant this number is important to determine the age of the universe, make sense of dark matter and dark energy. Until now other means off determining this constant has been dogged in controversy and the rate was thought to be anywhere between 67 to 72 kilometres per second per megaparsec.  Gravitational waves is one of the cleanest way to compute the number and preliminary computation from LIGO data yields a value of 70 kilometres per second per megaparsec.

What are gravitational waves

The universe painted by the Newtonian gravity is placid;  two perfectly stable masses could orbit their center of gravity for eternity. But General Relativity tells us that slight amount of energy would be lost when each of the masses is accelerated as they pass through the respective gravitational field. This energy is radiated into space as gravitational wave predicted Einstein about a century ago. Slowly and steadily, over a period of time, the system will decay, and both masses will come closer and closer, finally swirl rapidly, close to the speed of light,  and end in a collision. The gravitational waves generated during the death dance would be stronger and would have detectable disturbances in the space-time fabric millions of light years away. 

As the oscillation of electric charge in the magnetic field produce electromagnetic waves, oscillation of masses in a gravitational field, Einstein said, would produce gravitational waves. The energy carried by the gravitation wave is so small, Einstein was skeptical if ever we could detect them. Physicists Rainer Weiss, Kip Thorne, and Barry Barish were awarded this year’s Noble prize was designing, constructing and demonstrating a viable gravitational detector that is so sensitive that even a change of length of one atom size between Earth and Sun could be detected using sophisticated interferometry and complex computer programmes to detect the true fingerprint of gravitational wave from astounding background noise. 

NEW DELHI: You  don’t have to travel to Japan or the U.S. to witness the Cherry Blossom Festival. It’s here in India’s North-East. The grandeur of Cherry Blossoms in Autumn this November will be up for a visual treat in Meghalaya as the picturesque North-Eastern State is hosting the 2nd Cherry Blossom Festival from November 8 to 11. 

The Cherry Blossom Festival in Shillong will celebrate the flowering in this International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development with several cultural events. Travellers can join night walks under the illuminated cherry blossoms led by volunteers at Ward’s Lake. Alongside, there will be stalls showcasing the region’s food, wind and crafts and Japan Higher Education Fair. 

Organised by the Government of Meghalaya in asosciation with Institute of Bioresources and Sustainable Development (IBSD) and Indian Council For Cultural Relations (ICCR), the Cherry Blossom Festival was initiated in May 2015. Talking to mediapersons here, Meghalaya Chief Minister Dr. Mukul Sangma said the festival is aimed at giving a boost to the tourism in the State and the North-East region and generate employment for the youth in the tourism sector. 

Cherry Blossom festivals have generated huge employment and revenues for various cities and countries as a large number of visitors from different parts of the world throng Japan, New Zealand and parts of South Korea to witness the Cherry Blossom. In Washington DC alone, festival typically brings more than 1.5 million visitors and brings in 400 million dollars worth of revenue every year. 

“Tourism is one sector which holds great potential for the youth to get employment, India’s diversity and picturesque regions can certainly promote tourism in a big way which in turn can provide jobs to the youth. Government jobs are limited and competition is very stiff, young people have to look for opportunities in other sectors as well,” said Dr. Sangma. 

New Delhi : A group of researchers have concluded that there has been no increase in the levels of methane emissions in India between 2010 and 2015.

This is the first time that an independent assessment of India’s methane emissions has been carried out. 

The study used a combination of satellite, aircraft and surface observations to find out the actual amount of methane emissions from India between 2010 and 2015. The average emissions over the period were found to be similar to what India has officially reported to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Ruminants or cud-chewing animals (such as cows, buffaloes), waste and fossil fuels were found to contribute equally to India’s methane emissions. 

Ruminants digest their food through the process of fermentation, producing methane gas which escapes into the atmosphere. Other sources of methane include rice fields and biomass burning. Wetlands and rice paddies have water-logged soils and unique communities of plant and animal species that have evolved and adapted to constant presence of water. Due to this high level of water required as well as warm weather, they are one of the largest sources of methane. In winters, people burn more fossil fuels to keep themselves warm, resulting in a rise in methane emissions. 

The study has also revealed an increase in methane emissions in June-September followed by February–March which matches the signature of rice and winter heating. 

While India has the world’s largest ruminant population, the Ministry of Agriculture has reported 3% decrease in ruminant population between 2006 and 2014, which means that emissions from this sector are lesser. In the same way, changes in rice growing practices such as draining rice paddies in mid-season and using different fertilizers can reduce methane emissions. The use of alternate methods of keeping warm in winters too may have also helped. The net result of all this could be no increase in methane emissions. The results of the study were published in journal Nature Communications.

Methane is the second most potent greenhouse gas after carbon dioxide. In contrast to carbon dioxide which stays in the atmosphere for about 100 years, methane has greater per molecule contribution to global warming, but only for about 9 years. It is for this reason methane has been identified as a target for greenhouse gas emission reduction schemes. Greenhouses gases trap heat leading to increase in temperatures on Earth.

The research team included Anita L. Ganesan (University of Bristol); Abhijit Chatterjee (Bose Institute, Kolkata); Yogesh K. Tiwari (Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune); Matt Rigby, Mark F. Lunt, Robert J. Parker, Hartmut Boesch, N. Goulding from UK; Taku Umezawa from Japan; Andreas Zahn from Germany, Ronald G. Prinn from US, Marcel van der Schoot and Paul B. Krummel from Australia.

Manama (Bahrain). Bahrain is buying 16 latest variants of Lockheed Martin F-16 Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCAs) as part of a $3.8billion deal which also includes upgrade of the Royal Bahraini Air Force’s existing fleet of some 20-plus older F-16 jets.

The Government-to-Government deal was announced October 17 on the second day of the three-day Bahrain International Defence Exhibition and Conference (BIDEC’17) by Royal Bahraini Air Force (RBAF) Commander Maj Gen Shaikh Hamad bin Abdulla Al Khalifa. It includes an option for three more aircraft at the same price.

The new aircraft is designated F-16 Block 70, the same variant which is being offered to India for indigenous production under the Government’s Make in India programme. Lockheed Martin has promised to shift its factory from Forth Worth in Texas to India if the Indian Air Force (IAF) selects it, and then make India the hub for its production and supply chain.

The aircraft for Bahrain are to be delivered from 2021 onwards, should be made in the US only, and will have the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) combat radar, conformal fuel tanks for longer range, and some new sensors. It should also be capable of firing Boeing’s Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAM). Details have not been disclosed.

Every country decides its own requirements, but still, while there should be some differences in details regarding onboard sensors, the Block 70, being the latest variant will be mostly common to India, Bahrain and any other country which buys it in the coming years. It will be the most advanced version to date of the F-16, a 4th generation aircraft made for about 40 years but with everything new except its aerodynamic design and shell.

Company officials told India Strategic that the new variant will have the most formidable of the contemporary weapon systems, and share a few technologies from the F-35, Lockheed Martin’s 5th generation combat jet being made for the US Air Force, Navy and Marines, and several countries.

Notably, Lockheed Martin, the manufacturer, had offered F 16s for the Indian Air Force’s Medium Multi Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) competition in 2007 to match IAF’s specifications. It was not selected in that but the company is back in the fray to sell 114 of what it now calls F-16 Block 70 under the Indian Government’s Make in India programme, stipulating acquisition of 18 combat jets in flyaway condition and the rest to be progressively made in India in collaboration with the Tata Group.

Sweden’s Saab Gripen is the only aircraft in competition for IAF, and a Request for Information (RFI) on what capabilities and technologies they are offering is just about to be issued to the two companies.

As for the Bahraini deal, RBAF would have factored its own requirements and appropriate modifications. But the platform being the same, there are bound to be many similarities between the onboard technologies of what is being offered to Bahrain and what is being offered India.

Details will differ though, and accordingly, so will their capabilities.IAF is likely to ask for the passive Infra red Combat Search and Track (IRST), a system mentioned in the 2007 MMRCA tender. AESA has a much longer range, but being active, indicates the presence of its own aircraft also in the vicinity.

Bahrain was the first country in the Gulf region to buy about 20 F-16s in 1990 and an additional 10 in 2000. It has been wanting more F-16s, but the US State Department cleared their sale only in September this year after some five years of wait. RBAF pilots have combat experience, first in the 1991 Kuwait Liberation War against Iraq

Bahrain was accused of human rights violations and the Obama administration had declined to accede to the BRAF request. President Donald Trump cleared it in September 2017, and in diplomatic terms, Bahraini leaders have literally heaved a sigh of relief now with the removal of the restrictions.

Shaikh Hamad stated that the new, and upgraded F-16s, would contribute effectively to developing the Royal Bahraini Air Force with powerful, new technologies.

Dr. Shaikh Abdulla bin Ahmed Al Khalifa, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Bahrain Centre for Strategic, International and Energy Studies (DERASAT) – the state run think tank – and BIDEC’s Official Spokesman, and Richard Ambrose, Executive Vice President of Lockheed Martin Company, attended the press conference where India Strategic was also present at the invitation of the Bahraini Government.

Mr Ambrose affirmed that Bahrain is the first country in the region to sign such a deal with the company, highlighting the great developments witnessed by RBAF, and that the new aircraft will be the most modern in the region.

So far, the distinction of having the most modern F-16 has been held by the UAE Air Force, whose 60 F-16 Block 60 aircraft acquired in 2004 were the first to integrate an AESA combat radar, developed and built by war-tech giant Northrop Grumman.

As some details of the deal are yet to be filled in, company officials say that Lockheed Martin “would continue to support the government-to-government talks between the US and the Kingdom of Bahrain.”

BIDEC 2017 is being held under the auspices of His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, the Supreme Commander and the deal apparently has the necessary approvals.

The F-16 is the largest selling military aircraft in the world, and although its aerodynamic frame was designed some 40 years ago, everything inside from a nut and bolt to engines and avionics are contemporary, and of cutting edge technologies, company officials say.

The United Nations celebrates October 16 as the World Food Day every year, with an aim to spread awareness about eradicating hunger and ensuring food security for all. In this context, we examine the status of food and public distribution in India, and some challenges in ensuring food security for all.

In 2017-18, over Rs 1,50,000 crore, or 7.6% of the government’s total expenditure has been allocated for providing food subsidy under the Targeted Public Distribution System (TPDS). This allocation is made to the Department of Food and Public Distribution under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs.

Food subsidy has been the largest component of the Department’s expenditure (94% in 2017-18), and has increased six-fold over the past 10 years.  This subsidy is used for the implementation of the National Food Security Act, 2013 (NFSA), which provides subsidised food grains (wheat and rice) to 80 crore people in the country. The NFSA seeks to ensure improved nutritional intake for people in the country.

One of the reasons for the six-fold increase in food subsidy is the non-revision of the price at which food grains are given to beneficiaries since 2002. For example, rice is given to families under the Antyodaya Anna Yojana at Rs 3/Kg since 2002, while the cost of providing this has increased from Rs 11/Kg in 2001-02 to Rs 33/Kg in 2017-18.

Provision of food subsidy

TPDS provides food security to people below the poverty line.  Over the years, the expenditure on food subsidy has increased, while the ratio of people below poverty line has reduced.  A similar trend can also be seen in the proportion of undernourished persons in India, which reduced from 24% in 1990 to 15% in 2014. These trends may indicate that the share of people needing subsidised food has declined.

Nutritional balance:  The NFSA guarantees food grains i.e. wheat and rice to beneficiaries, to ensure nutritious food intake.Over the last two decades, the share of cereals or food grains as a percentage of food consumption has reduced from 13% to 8% in the country, whereas that of milk, eggs, fish and meat has increased (see Figure 1).  This indicates a reduced preference for wheat and rice, and a rise in preference towards other protein rich food items. 

Food subsidy is provided majorly using two methods.

TPDS assures beneficiaries that they will receive food grains, and insulates them against price volatility. Food grains are delivered through fair price shops in villages, which are easy to access.

However, high leakages have been observed in the system, both during transportation and distribution.  These include pilferage and errors of inclusion and exclusion from the beneficiary list.  In addition, it has also been argued that the distribution of wheat and rice may cause an imbalance in the nutritional intake as discussed earlier.Beneficiaries have also reported receiving poor quality food grains as part of the system.

Cash Transfers seek to increase the choices available with a beneficiary, and provide financial assistance. It has been argued that the costs of DBT may be lesser than TPDS, owing to lesser costs incurred on transport and storage.  These transfers may also be undertaken electronically.^6,7

However, it has also been argued that cash received as part of DBT may be spent on non-food items.  Such a system may also expose beneficiaries to inflation.  In this regard, one may also consider the low penetration and access to banking in rural areas.

In 2017-18, 52% of the centre’s total subsidy expenditure will be on providing food subsidy under TPDS. The NFSA states that the centre and states should introduce schemes for cash transfers to beneficiaries.  Other experts have also suggested replacing TPDS with a Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) system.

The central government introduced cash subsidy to TPDS beneficiaries in September 2015. As of March 2016, this was being implemented on a pilot basis in a few union territories.  In 2015, a Committee on Restructuring of Food Corporation of India had also recommended introducing Aadhaar to plug leakages in PDS, and indexing it to inflation.  The Committee estimated that a switch to DBT would reduce the food subsidy bill of the government by more than Rs 30,000 crore.

Current challenges in PDS

Leakages in PDS:  Leakages refer to food grains not reaching intended beneficiaries.  According to 2011 data, leakages in PDS were estimated to be 46.7%.Leakages may be of three types: (i) pilferage during transportation of food grains, (ii) diversion at fair price shops to non-beneficiaries, and (iii) exclusion of entitled beneficiaries from the list.

In 2016, the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) found that states had not completed the process of identifying beneficiaries, and 49% of the beneficiaries were yet to be identified.  It also noted that inclusion and exclusion errors had been reported in the beneficiary lists.

In February 2017, the Ministry made it mandatory for beneficiaries under NFSA to use Aadhaar as proof of identification for receiving food grains.  Through this, the government aims to remove bogus ration cards, check leakages and ensure better delivery of food grains.As of January 2017, while 100% ration cards had been digitised, the seeding of these cards with Aadhaar was at 73%.

Storage:  As of 2016-17, the total storage capacity in the country is 788 lakh tonnes, of which 354 lakh tonnes is with the Food Corporation of India and 424 lakh tonnes is with the state agencies.

The CAG in its performance audit found that the available storage capacity in states was inadequate for the allocated quantity of food grains. For example, as of October 2015, of the 233 godowns sanctioned for construction in Maharashtra, only 93 had been completed.  It also noted that in four of the last five years, the stock of food grains with the centre had been higher than the storage capacity available with Food Corporation of India.

Quality of food grains:  A survey conducted in 2011 had noted that people complained about receiving poor quality food grain which had to be mixed with other grains to be edible.There have also been complaints about people receiving food grains containing alien substances such as pebbles.  Poor quality of food may impact the willingness of people to buy food from fair price shops, and may have an adverse impact on their health.

The Ministry has stated that while regular surveillance, monitoring, inspection and random sampling of all food items is under-taken by State Food Safety Officers, separate data for food grains distributed under PDS is unavailable. In the absence of data with regard to quality testing results of food grains supplied under PDS, it may be difficult to ascertain whether these food items meet the prescribed quality and safety standards.

Source – PRS Legislative Research

Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders India has filed a petition before the High Court of Delhi to overturn the patent granted on the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) to the US pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer.

Earlier this year, the Indian Patent Office had granted patent to Pfizer for its PCV 13 product, marketed as Prevnar13, which will expire only in 2026. MSF had challenged Pfizer’s unmerited patent claims on the vaccine in India last year to enable and accelerate the availability of more affordable versions of PCV.

Globally, pneumonia causes more than a quarter of deaths in children under the age of five – nearly one million young lives lost per year. India carries the world’s highest burden of pneumonia, accounting for nearly 20% of these global infant pneumonia deaths. The PCV13, which safeguards against 13 types of pneumococcal bacteria, also lowers the likelihood of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) by significantly reducing common childhood infections and decreasing the need for antibiotic use among infants and children.

In a petition filed at the Delhi High Court last week, MSF India has argued that in August 2017, the Delhi Patent Office erroneously granted a patent to Pfizer by disregarding the evidence MSF produced indicating that the pharmaceutical giant’s claim to a patent was spurious. MSF argued that the mere addition of serotypes to the already established 7-valent vaccine did not involve a technical advancement – it was merely a tactic to preserve Pfizer’s monopoly for many more years.

“A public health perspective used for scrutinizing pharmaceutical patent applications is an essential bulwark to ensure wider access to essential medicines and vaccines. Examiners in the Indian Patent Office must be aware that the decision they take to grant a patent can directly affect access to life-saving medicines and vaccines in India and across the developing world,”said Leena Menghaney, the petitioner who is representing the medical aid organization in court.“MSF is appealing to the court to annul the decision to grant the patent and the patent office to hear the matter afresh,’’ she added.

The pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV) is currently available from only two pharmaceutical corporations: Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK). Unfortunately, this vaccine is priced out of reach of many parents, governments and treatment providers, due to a duopoly market and a lack of sufficient competition from developing country vaccine manufacturers (DCVM). Approximately one-third of the world’s countries have not been able to introduce PCV, largely because of high prices. Those who have introduced the vaccine are struggling with its costs. South Africa spends more than 50% of its vaccination budget on purchasing PCV13 alone and this is set to continue for another decade unless patent barriers are removed to bring in more competition.

Pfizer and GSK have both been building `so-called’ patent thickets restricting development and competition in the area of PCV. One study identified 106 applications potentially relevant to the manufacturing of pneumococcal vaccines. GSK, which markets PCV10 (Synflorix), and Pfizer (previously Wyeth), have filed the most number of patents in India, China, and Brazil, in an attempt to create barriers to the development of less-expensive versions of PCV, a statement issued by MSF said.

The patent granted to Pfizer involves the method of conjugating (assembling) together serotypes of streptococcus pneumonia into a single carrier and is essential for PCV developers. The patent is a mere addition of serotypes to the already established 7-valent vaccine and does not meet the inventive step requirement; it ought to have been rejected, the statement added.

Outside of India, this application was granted and subsequently revoked by the European Patent Office (EPO) following opposition by other major pharmaceutical companies. In the US, a recent inter parties review (IPR) and post-grant opposition or ‘post-grant review (PGR)’ has been filed on this application.

Pfizer and GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) presently control a duopoly market for PCV that has brought in a whopping $39 billion in sales in the last 8 years. At the lowest global prices, the pneumococcal vaccine accounts for about 45% of the total cost to vaccinate a child today. About one third of countries around the world (60 countries), predominantly low-and-middle-income countries where millions of children risk getting pneumonia, have not yet been able to introduce the PCV in their national immunization systems largely due to the exorbitant prices the two corporations charge – despite a 2007 World Health Organization (WHO) recommendation. Over 50 governments have already voiced their concerns regarding inflated vaccine prices at the WHO’s annual World Health Assembly in 2015.

In India, Pfizer’s PCV had until recently been available solely in the private market with an out-of-pocket price tag of over INR 10,000, reducing the impact of the vaccine as it fails to reach the most vulnerable children.  The high price tag and absence of competition has allowed these corporations to quickly capture over 50% of the private vaccine market in India. To enable a broader dissemination, the vaccine is now being introduced into India’s Universal Immunization Program (UIP) with financial support from GAVI, the Vaccine Alliance. Despite GAVI funding, the roll-out remains limited to just three states: Himachal Pradesh, Bihar, and Uttar Pradesh, due to the high price and limited availability of the vaccine.