News Kashmir Magazine

Lead Poisoning 

Lead poisoning occurs when lead builds up in the body, often over months or years. Even small amounts of lead can cause serious health problems. Children younger than 6 years are especially vulnerable to lead poisoning, which can severely affect mental and physical development. At very high levels, lead poisoning can be fatal.

Lead poisoning is not a new concern. For more than a century, scientists have been aware that the naturally occurring metal has no biological function that can benefit the human body, but can cause devastating physical and developmental impacts.

However, despite the awareness, lead toxicity continues to be a public health concern. Half the children in India report high blood lead levels, reveals a 2020 report by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and Pure Earth, a US-based environmental health non-profit. The report says 275 million children in India record blood lead levels of beyond the tolerable limit of 5 µg/dL. Of these, 64.3 million children’s blood lead levels exceed 10 µg/dL.

Adults are also affected by lead toxicity. In July 2022, Union government think tank NITI Aayog and the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) conducted a meta analysis of 89 datasets from 36 studies between 1970 and 2014; its results validate the UNICEF-Pure Earth report.

In terms of average blood lead levels among the population, some 23 states exceed the 5 µg/dL margin; levels in the remaining 13 states and Union Territories cannot be determined as there is a lack of research and screening mechanisms to collect data.

We need to bear in mind that Lead in the body is distributed to the brain, liver, kidney and bones. It is stored in the teeth and bones, where it accumulates over time. Human exposure is usually assessed through the measurement of lead in blood.

Lead in bone is released into blood during pregnancy and becomes a source of exposure to the developing fetus.

There is no level of exposure to lead that is known to be without harmful effects.

Historic 2023 Budget 

Hidtoric 2023 Union Budget was announced recently. 

 Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented her fifth Budget today (February 1, 2023). This is the last full-fledged budget of the second Narendra Modi government ahead of the general elections in 2024.

Tabling the Budget 2023, FM Sitharaman said: “This is the first budget in Amrit Kaal, this budget hopes to build on the foundation laid in previous budget and the blueprint laid for India@100, we envision a prosperous and inclusive India in which the fruits of development reach all.”

“The Indian economy is on the right track, heading to a bright future. Our focus on reforms and sound policies resulting in Jan Bhagidari helped us in trying times, our rising global profile is due to several accomplishments,” she added.

The highlights of Budget include : 

The Indian economy is on the right track, heading to a bright future. Our focus on reforms and sound policies resulting in Jan Bhagidari helped us in trying times, our rising global profile is due to several accomplishments,” said FN Nirmala Sitharaman.

“The world has recognized India as a bright star, our growth for current year is estimated at 7.0%, this is the highest among all major economies, in spite of massive global slowdown caused by pandemic and the war”.

7 Priorities of Budget 2023- Inclusive development, Reachinglast mile, Infrastructure and investment, unleashing potential, Green growth,Youth Power, Financial Sector and Finance Minister.

Digital Public Infrastructure for Agriculture to be built as open source, open standard, interoperable public good. Will enable inclusive farmer-centric solutions & help improved access to farm inputs, market intel, support for agri industry, startups.

One hopes that Union Budget 2023 proves a good omen for the country .

India World Leader in Population

India is the largest democracy of world.

According to projections from the World Population Review (WPR), India’s population was 141.7 crore as of the end of 2022. That’s a little more than 50 lakh more than the 141.2 crore declared by China on January 17, when there was the first fall since the 1960s, according to official announcements.

India, a country where 50 percent of the population is under 30, is anticipated to have the world’s fastest-growing major economy. The milestone was supposed to be reached later this year, according to the UN. According to WPR, India’s population increased to 142.3 crore people as of January 18. WPR predicts that, though India’s population growth has slowed, it will still climb until at least 2050.

The most recent figure for India is 142.8 crore, according to a different estimate from the research platform Macrotrends. After postponing population surveys due to pandemic disruptions in 2021, the nation did not release its once-every-ten-year census statistics.

On the otherhand, The country has made huge strides in improving energy access, but needs to continue to develop the energy network and diversify its fuel mix.

The country’s path to decarbonization could be a net-positive one if it turns to low- and no-emissions technologies.

Also considering our growing population, The Indian economy is likely to reach the $26 trillion mark by 2047, the 100th year of the country’s independence, according to an EY report. 

It also said that the per capita income is also expected to increase to $15,000, putting the country among the ranks of developed economies.

The hope on ground is that we control rising population and also look into means of giving quality life to entire population.

Historic and appreciable work by PIB Fact Check 

Fake news is a cancer, which has potential to harm our entire society as it creates chaos and commotion.

In a historic and great development, recently the PIB Fact Check Unit (FCU) of the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting busted six YouTube channels which were working in a coordinated manner and spreading false information in India. The Fact Check Unit released six separate Twitter threads having over 100 fact-checks to counter the fake news spread by these channels. This is the second such action from the Unit under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting where entire channels have been busted.

The six YouTube channels were found to be operating as part of a coordinated disinformation network, had nearly 20 lakh subscribers and their videos have been watched over 51 crore times.

The YouTube channels exposed by the PIB Fact Check unit spread fake news about the elections, proceedings in the Supreme Court and Parliament of India, functioning of the Government of India, etc. Examples include false claims regarding ban on Electronic Voting Machines, and false statements attributed to senior Constitutional functionaries including the Hon’ble President of India, Hon’ble Chief Justice of India.

The channels are part of a fake news economy that thrives on monetization of fake news. The channels use fake, clickbait and sensational thumbnails and images of television news anchors of TV Channels to mislead the viewers to believe that the news was authentic and drive traffic to their channels in order to monetize the videos published by them.

This is the second such action by PIB Fact Check Unit. In an earlier major action, on 20th December, 2022, the Unit had exposed three channels peddling fake news. One hopes that Fake news in India would be soon a thing of past. 

Indian textile sector challenges 

Textile sector is key component of global and Indian economy. 

India’s textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy, dating back to several centuries. The industry is extremely varied, with hand-spun and hand-woven textiles sectors at one end of the spectrum, with the capital-intensive sophisticated mills sector at the other end. The fundamental strength of the textile industry in India is its strong production base of a wide range of fibre/yarns from natural fibres like cotton, jute, silk and wool, to synthetic/man-made fibres like polyester, viscose, nylon and acrylic.

As a matter of fact, The textile sector is one of the critical sectors of the Indian economy, accounting for more than two per cent of the total GDP and more than 12 per cent of the manufacturing sector gross domestic product (GDP). The sector is also the second largest provider of employment in India, after agriculture. It provides employment to an estimated 45 million people directly and to another 60 million indirectly through allied activities. Not only is the textile sector highly labour intensive, it also employs unskilled and semi-skilled labour force and is also an important source of employment for women.

But since sometimes the textile  sector in India has been facing challenges. Domestic production has turned sluggish in recent months. While exports have suffered owing to preferential tariff treatment towards countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, cheap imports from China and some other countries in certain segments are hurting the domestic industry.

The government is committed to increasing textile exports from India, from the current USD 44.4 billion to USD 100 billion in the next five years. This will require addressing the challenges faced by the sector to ensure an efficient and dynamic textile sector.

One hopes we give due to our textile sector .

Upgrading Coal for masses

Coal is an important fuel . It’s improved quality is key to national growth.

The Ministry of Coal and the coal companies have taken various measures to achieve the objective of supply of quality coal to all consumers. Coal companies are to endeavour to achieve 100% quality satisfaction. There has been substantial improvement in conformity to declared grade of coal supply from Coal India Ltd  (CIL) sources. The grade conformity has jumped to 69% in 2022-23 (till Nov’ 22) as against 51% in 2017-18.

Steps taken for improvement in quality are periodic re-gradation of coal mines, introduction of improved mining technology like surface miners, supply of washed coal, first mile connectivity for direct conveying of coal on Belt from Coal surface/face to Rapid loading Silo, installation of Auto Analyzers etc. Different officials/agencies are entrusted with the job of ensuring supply of coal in conformity to the declared grades. Primary reason for grade variation is the inherent heterogeneous nature of Indian coal itself meaning, calorific value of coal extracted within the same seam at different points tends to vary.

Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), a subordinate office under the Ministry regularly assess and declare coal mines grades including undertaking annual coal mine/loading points grade declaration exercises. For enhanced customer satisfaction, special emphasis has been given to Quality Management of coal from mine to dispatch point. Now, all the consumers of CIL have the option for quality assessment of the supplies through independent third-party sampling agencies (TPSA). These accredited third-party agencies have been engaged to ascertain Coal Quality from loaded coal wagons/lorries as per prescribed norms under BIS standards. 

One hopes we as a country become global leaders as far as producing quality Coal is concerned.

Upgrading Coal for masses

Coal is an important fuel . It’s improved quality is key to national growth.

The Ministry of Coal and the coal companies have taken various measures to achieve the objective of supply of quality coal to all consumers. Coal companies are to endeavour to achieve 100% quality satisfaction. There has been substantial improvement in conformity to declared grade of coal supply from Coal India Ltd  (CIL) sources. The grade conformity has jumped to 69% in 2022-23 (till Nov’ 22) as against 51% in 2017-18.

Steps taken for improvement in quality are periodic re-gradation of coal mines, introduction of improved mining technology like surface miners, supply of washed coal, first mile connectivity for direct conveying of coal on Belt from Coal surface/face to Rapid loading Silo, installation of Auto Analyzers etc. Different officials/agencies are entrusted with the job of ensuring supply of coal in conformity to the declared grades. Primary reason for grade variation is the inherent heterogeneous nature of Indian coal itself meaning, calorific value of coal extracted within the same seam at different points tends to vary.

Coal Controller Organisation (CCO), a subordinate office under the Ministry regularly assess and declare coal mines grades including undertaking annual coal mine/loading points grade declaration exercises. For enhanced customer satisfaction, special emphasis has been given to Quality Management of coal from mine to dispatch point. Now, all the consumers of CIL have the option for quality assessment of the supplies through independent third-party sampling agencies (TPSA). These accredited third-party agencies have been engaged to ascertain Coal Quality from loaded coal wagons/lorries as per prescribed norms under BIS standards. 

One hopes we as a country become global leaders as far as producing quality Coal is concerned.

Nuclear Power Importance 

Nuclear power is a resource of utmost importance in present era to meet growing energy needs.

Nuclear energy protects air quality by producing massive amounts of carbon-free electricity. It powers communities in different countries of world  and contributes to many non-electric applications, ranging from the medical field to space exploration.

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Science & Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Earth Sciences; MoS PMO, Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh recently  said, Government proposes to set up more nuclear power plants for augmenting production of clean energy.

In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha, Dr Jitendra Singh said, in addition to the eleven (11) reactors (8700 MW) under construction, the Government has accorded administrative approval and financial sanction for construction of ten (10) indigenous 700 MW Pressurized Heavy Water Reactors (PHWRs) to be set up in fleet mode.

The government has also accorded in principle approval for five new sites for setting up nuclear power plants in the future.

Dr Jitendra Singh said, the tariffs of electricity generated by nuclear power are comparable to those of contemporary conventional base load generators like thermal power. The present installed nuclear power capacity comprises of 22 reactors with a total capacity of 6780 MW. In addition, one reactor, KAPP-3 (700 MW) has also been connected to the grid.

Nuclear power is the most low-carbon energy sources. It also has one of the smallest carbon footprints. It’s one of the answers to the energy gap. It’s essential to our response to climate change and greenhouse gas emissions.

One hopes India as a Country would continue to focus on nuclear power .

Natural farming growing in India 

Natural farming also referred to as “the Fukuoka Method”, “the natural way of farming” or “do-nothing farming”, is an ecological farming approach established by Masanobu Fukuoka (1913–2008). Fukuoka, a Japanese farmer and philosopher, introduced the term in his 1975 book The One-Straw Revolution. The title refers not to lack of effort, but to the avoidance of manufactured inputs and equipment. Natural farming is related to fertility farming, organic farming, sustainable agriculture, agroecology, agroforestry, ecoagriculture and permaculture, but should be distinguished from biodynamic agriculture.

Natural farming is growing in India.

To promote natural farming, the central government has approved the National Mission on Natural Farming as a separate scheme with an expenditure of Rs 1,584 crore, said Union agriculture minister Narendra Singh Tomar while addressing the National Conference on Soil Health Management for Sustainable Farming some days back.

Under the Namami Gange Programme, the project of natural farming is going on along the banks of the river Ganges, while the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR) and all Krishi Vigyan Kendras (KVKs), Central and State Agricultural Universities and Colleges are making all-round efforts to promote natural farming, a statement from the agriculture ministry said.

Speaking at the Conference, Tomar said that due to chemical farming, soil fertility is getting eroded and climate change in days to come is going to be a big concern for the country and the world across. The lack of organic carbon in the soil is a serious concern.

To expand the area under natural farming, the government will soon announce a substantial increase in the financial assistance provided for promotion of traditional indigenous practices which do not recommend use of chemical fertilisers.

Natural farming is undoubtedly growing in.India .

Making India a Green Hydrogen Economy

The Green hydrogen (GH2 or GH2) is hydrogen generated by renewable energy or from low-carbon power. Green hydrogen has significantly lower carbon emissions than grey hydrogen, which is produced by steam reforming of natural gas, which makes up the bulk of the hydrogen market. Green hydrogen produced by the electrolysis of water is less than 0.1% of total hydrogen production.It may be used to decarbonize sectors which are hard to electrify, such as steel and cement production, and thus help to limit climate change.

It is a matter of great fortune that India is in the process of finalizing the roadmap to a “green hydrogen economy” which will require an investment of ₹30 trillion by 2030, said Vivek Kumar Dewangan, chairman and managing director, REC.

The country’s green hydrogen plans would play a major role in achieving its goal of net zero emissions and becoming a developed nation by 2047.

“India has launched green hydrogen project. Now, we are in the progress of finalizing a roadmap for becoming green hydrogen economy which would require ₹15 trillion and another ₹15 trillion is required to meet our middle-term goal by 2030. So in all, these initiatives would require an investment of ₹30 trillion by 2030,” Dewangan said.

It is worth mentioning here that The high cost of production is the main factor behind the low use of green hydrogen. Nonetheless, the hydrogen market is expected to grow, with some forecasts of the cost of hydrogen production falling from $6/kg in 2015 to around $2/kg by 2025. In 2020, major European companies announced plans to switch their truck fleets to hydrogen power.

In this era of grim climate changes, the need of the hour is we increase the pace of Including Green Hydrogen in our economy. 

India taking Global lead in Agriculture Sector 

Agriculture sector is the backbone of Indian economy. Post pandemic Coronavirus the importance of Agriculture is growing in significance. India is now taking a role of Global Leader in Agriculture developments.

Recently, India hosted the Second Agriculture Ministerial-level meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) here today under the chairmanship of the Union Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Shri Narendra Singh Tomar. Agriculture ministers of Bhutan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand participated in the meeting.

While addressing the meeting through video conference, Shri Tomar urged the member countries to cooperate in developing a comprehensive regional strategy to strengthen cooperation for the transformation of agriculture. Referring to the importance of millet as a nutritious food and the efforts made by India to promote millet and its products during the International Year of Millets – 2023, he urged the member countries to adopt a conducive agricultural food system and a healthy diet for all. He asked participating countries to actively participate in India’s initiative to promote millet as a food. Shri Tomar said that natural and ecological farming should be promoted to conserve agricultural biodiversity and reduce the use of chemicals.

Shri Tomar said that along with digital farming and precision farming, initiatives under the ‘One Health’ approach are also taking shape in India. He emphasized the importance of cooperation in agriculture and allied sectors to ensure food security, nutrition, environmental sustainability and livelihood support, for which it is required to increase technical and economic cooperation to deal with the challenges of climate change, agro-biodiversity, microbial preventive resistance under the ‘One Health’ approach and other programmes.

It is hoped that India would continue to be strengthening its role as Global leader in Agriculture.