Typhoon Phanfone batters the Philippines

Syllabus subtopic: Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, tsunamis, Volcanic activity, cyclones etc., geographical features and their location- changes in critical geographical features (including water bodies and ice-caps) and in flora and fauna and the effects of such changes.

Prelims and Mains focus: About typhoon Phanfone; about tropical cyclones and their types

News: Typhoon Phanfone pummelled the central Philippines on Christmas Day, bringing a wet, miserable and terrifying holiday to millions in the mainly Catholic nation.

• Though weaker, Phanfone was tracking a similar path to Super Typhoon Haiyan, the country’s deadliest cyclone on record which left more than 7,300 people dead or missing in 2013.

About Tropical cyclones

• Tropical cyclones are violent storms that originate over oceans in tropical areas and move over to the coastal areas bringing about large scale destruction due to violent winds (squalls), very heavy rainfall (torrential rainfall) and storm surge.
• They are irregular wind movements involving the closed circulation of air around a low-pressure centre. This closed air circulation (whirling motion) is a result of rapid upward movement of the hot air which is subjected to Coriolis force. The low pressure at the centre is responsible for the wind speeds.
• The cyclonic wind movements are anti-clockwise in the northern hemisphere and clockwise in the southern hemisphere (This is due to Coriolis force).

The earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India was found in A.P

Syllabus subtopic: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, Literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

Prelims and Mains focus: on the recent discovery by ASI and its significance; about Saptamatrikas; the need for conservation of our culture and heritage

News: In a significant find, the Epigraphy Branch of the Archaeological Survey of India has discovered the earliest epigraphic evidence so far for the Saptamatrika cult. It is also the earliest Sanskrit inscription to have been discovered in South India as on date.

Background

So far the Nagarjunakonda inscription of Ikshavaku king Ehavala Chantamula issued in his 11th regnal year corresponding to the 4^th century A.D. was considered the earliest Sanskrit inscription in South India

About Saptamatrikas

• Saptamatrikas are a group of seven female deities worshipped in Hinduism as personifying the energy of their respective consorts.

About the discovered inscription

• It was discovered in Chebrolu village in Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh earlier this month.
• The inscription was first copied and studied and it transpired that it records the construction of a prasada (temple), a mandapa and consecration of images on the southern side of the temple by a person named Kartika for the merit of the king at the temple of Bhagavathi (Goddess) Saktimatruka (Saptamatrika) at Tambrape; Tambrape being the ancient name of Chebrolou.
• The inscription is in Sanskrit and in Brahmi characters and was issued by Satavahana king Vijaya in 207 A.D.
• The inscription came to light when some local villagers informed the authorities of the presence of a pillar with some engravings when they were restoring and repairing the local Bheemeshwara temple.
• There are references of Saptamatrika worship in the early Kadamba copper plates and the early Chalukyas and Eastern Chalukya copper plates. But the new discovery predates them by almost 200 years.
• The verification of all the available records proved that the Chebrolu inscription of Satavahana king Vijaya issued in his 5th regnal year – 207 A.D. — is also the earliest datable Sanskrit inscription from South India so far.
• According to Matsya Purana, Vijaya is the 28th king of the Satavahana dynasty and ruled for 6 years.

Conservation

Calling for conservation and preservation of the pillar given its historical importance, the ASI pointed out that there were many such ancient monuments and structures across the country that lacked protection but could contain a treasure trove of information.

About the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI)

• The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) is the premier organization for the archaeological researches and protection of the cultural heritage of India. It was established in 1861. It works under Ministry of culture.

• The major functions of Archaeological Survey of India include maintenance of ancient monuments and archaeological sites and remains of national importance.

• Under the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act of 1958, the ASI has declared 3656 monuments to be of national importance in the country.

• ASI has also undertaken major conservation works abroad besides carrying out excavations, explorations, images and other studies in countries like Afghanistan, Nepal, Cambodia and Egypt.

The strong case for and against fiscal expansion

Syllabus subtopic: Indian Economy and issues relating to planning, mobilization of resources, growth, development and employment.

Prelims and Mains focus: About fiscal deficit and its significance in determining economic status of a country; types of deficits

Context: Several economists have called for a proactive fiscal response to the current slowdown. However, others, such as Gita Gopinath and Arvind Subramanian, have advised against fiscal expansion.

Why is the fiscal deficit so important?

One of the reasons fiscal deficit is so important is that it gives us the extent of government borrowings required to meet its expenditure commitments in a financial year. It is an important indicator of macroeconomic stability. The 1991 balance of payments crisis came against the backdrop of a sustained high fiscal deficit. Several countries have seen economic or debt crises due to high deficits over the years. A sustained macroeconomic imbalance could lead to a recession.

What is its impact in a closed economy?

Lately, fiscal deficit hasn’t affected inflation much. However, it does have an impact on investments as it results in an increase in the cost of capital in a closed economy. When the government increases its borrowings, the savings left in the economy to finance private sector investment comes down. Therefore, the cost of capital goes up. This, in effect, dampens investments and is termed as “crowding out” of investment. This is precisely why several commentators have cautioned against increasing government borrowings at a time when investment by the private sector is low.

Do government borrowings ’crowd out’ investments?

Evidence from India reveals that government investment actually “crowds in” investment as these are made for the development of physical infrastructure. Investors need basic infrastructure in place before risking capital. Therefore, government investments to put in place this infrastructure are critical in crowding in private investment.

What’s the case for a fiscal expansion?

Lower demand results in unutilized capacities, which results in low investments. This leads to lower growth, thereby reducing demand. This vicious cycle should be broken by a proactive fiscal policy. Weak demand can be addressed only by a revival of private investment, improvement of private demand, or expansion in government demand. Only the third is in the government’s control. The Centre can increase the fiscal deficit to 3.8% of GDP. However, it should not shy away from going beyond this if needed.

What about bond yields, and cost of capital?

Higher borrowings can raise the cost of capital. Thus, many welcomed the move to opt for sovereign issuance, which would have led to the easing of rates locally. India can undertake fiscal expansion along with monetary easing. Muted non-food inflation along with external conditions make it the right time to cut rates for lower government borrowings cost. Our fiscal deficit is 80% interest. So a reduction in the cost of borrowing would create space for further expenditure.

About Deficit Financing

Deficit financing is the budgetary situation where expenditure is higher than the revenue. It is a practice adopted for financing the excess expenditure with outside resources. The expenditure revenue gap is financed by either printing of currency or borrowing.

Nowadays most governments both in the developed and developing world are having deficit budgets and these deficits are often financed through borrowing. Hence the fiscal deficit is the ideal indicator of deficit financing.

Deficit financing is very useful in developing countries like India because of revenue scarcity and development expenditure needs.

Various indicators of deficit in the budget are:

1. Budget deficit = total expenditure – total receipts

2. Revenue deficit = revenue expenditure – revenue receipts

3. Fiscal Deficit = total expenditure – total receipts except for borrowings

4. Primary Deficit = Fiscal deficit- interest payments

5. Effective revenue Deficit = Revenue Deficit – grants for the creation of capital assets

6. Monetized Fiscal Deficit = that part of the fiscal deficit covered by borrowing from the RBI.

Syllabus subtopic: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

Prelims and Mains focus: About the recent status of elephant conservation in India; Elephants reserves in India; Efforts and challenges in their conservation

News: For the first time, Bandhavgarh reserve forest in Madhya Pradesh has a colony of elephants – the same herd of about 40 animals that arrived at the sanctuary around this time last year, and has stayed on.

What’s unique about it?

• This, experts say, is an unusual occurrence in Bandhavgarh, which has, over the years, played host to herds of elephants that arrive to graze and forage and subsequently travel back to neighbouring Chhattisgarh.
• Elephant experts now say the development is a sign not only of a rise in elephant numbers in the country, and the fact that they are travelling, but also that they can thrive at a place given the right conditions.

Why Bandhavgarh is an ideal place for elephants to thrive

• Bandhavgarh is a large reserve forest – they have plenty of food and water here, and may be this is why they stayed on.
• While the reserve has received no new funds for the elephants, certain measures have been taken, such as:

1. Elephant experts and wildlife officials from West Bengal and Chattisgarh have come to train the staff.
2. Patrolling teams have been deputed to monitor the elephants round the clock
3. Conducting awareness and sensitisation campaigns in surrounding villages so that the locals are aware in order to prevent man-elephant conflict, if there arises any.

Measure taken by Union govt.

• In October this year, the Union Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change constituted a technical committee to develop a National Elephant Action Plan.

Significance

• It is now obvious that if given a healthy habitat, elephants will stay put at a place. This is something that needs to be replicated in Chhattisgarh and other elephant areas.
• Migrating elephants is now a country-wide trend, with the animals moving from South India to North India, and from the country’s east towards the west. The source population is increasing, so the animals are migrating. Tiger and elephant ranges in the country are also expanding.

Elephants in Chattisgarh

• Within Chhattisgarh, elephants keep travelling from one place to another, before being hounded out by villagers who are trying to save their crops. Although there is extensive forest cover, it is often patchy and elephants in Chhattisgarh rely on crops a lot, so the human-elephant conflict here becomes inevitable.
• Surguja, in north Chhattisgarh, not far from the MP boundary, there were elephants in that area earlier. There are records of this, and even records of elephants being either hunted or captured and presented to Mughal emperors from Surguja. But in the 1920s, they disappeared entirely for unknown reasons. Then they reappeared in the late-1990s and early-2000s.
• Today, there are 250 elephants in north Chhattisgarh that have mostly come from Odisha and Jharkhand

Elephants in India