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Google’s alleged abuse of its dominant market position, Nitrogen Use Efficiency, Perseid Meteor Shower

Table of Contents

(General Studies II – Governance Section – Government Policies and Interventions for Development in various sectors and Issues arising out of their Design and Implementation.)

  • The recent ruling by the U.S. District Court against Google marks a significant milestone in global antitrust enforcement.
  • The case, brought forth by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), accused Google of monopolistic practices in the web search and advertising sectors, resulting in a landmark decision that has implications far beyond the United States.

The Issue in Discussion –

  • The court found that Google maintained its monopoly in the general search services and search text ads markets through exclusive distribution agreements with browser developers, mobile device manufacturers, and wireless carriers.
  • This practice effectively elbowed out competitors and cemented Google’s dominance, allowing it to charge supra-competitive prices for its services.
  • The ruling, however, did not find Google monopolistic in the search advertising market, nor did it sanction the company for its failure to preserve employee correspondence.

Positive aspects of the U.S. Court’s Ruling Against Google –

  1. Promotion of Fair Competition: The ruling reinforces the importance of maintaining a competitive market environment, ensuring that no single company can dominate to the detriment of others.
  2. Consumer Protection: By addressing monopolistic practices, the ruling helps protect consumers from potential exploitation, such as being forced to use inferior products or pay higher prices due to lack of alternatives.
  3. Encouragement of Innovation: With reduced barriers to entry for new competitors, the ruling could foster greater innovation in the search engine and digital advertising markets, leading to improved products and services.
  4. Global Precedent: The decision sets a precedent that could influence antitrust enforcement globally, encouraging other countries, including India, to take similar actions against monopolistic practices in their own markets.
  5. Accountability for Tech Giants: The ruling demonstrates that even the largest and most influential companies are subject to legal scrutiny and can be held accountable for practices that harm competition and consumers.

Drawbacks of the ruling –

  1. Potential Market Disruption: Breaking up Google or forcing it to end exclusive deals could disrupt the digital economy, affecting not only Google but also businesses and consumers who rely on its services.
  2. Impact on Handset Manufacturers: The ruling may result in handset manufacturers, particularly those like Apple who benefit from Google’s payments, losing significant revenue, which could impact their business strategies and innovation incentives.
  3. Legal Uncertainty: The ongoing legal battles and potential appeals could create a period of uncertainty in the tech industry, affecting investment decisions and business operations.
  4. Limited Impact on Search Advertising: The ruling did not find Google monopolistic in the search advertising market, potentially leaving a significant area of concern unaddressed, which could continue to affect competition in this sector.
  5. Risk of Fragmentation: If Google is forced to break up or alter its business model significantly, it could lead to fragmentation of services, which might inconvenience users accustomed to the integration and convenience provided by Google’s ecosystem.

Relevance for India

  • India’s rapidly growing digital economy is heavily reliant on the platforms provided by global tech giants like Google.
  •  The Indian market could face similar concerns regarding monopolistic practices, which could stifle competition and innovation.
  • Furthermore, India’s regulatory framework is increasingly focusing on ensuring fair competition and preventing market dominance, making this case a potential reference point for future legal and policy decisions in the country.
  • The Competition Commission of India (CCI) has already initiated actions against Google for similar practices, indicating the global nature of these concerns.
  Google’s Anti-Competitive Practices (2018 and 2022)  
In 2018, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) fined Google ₹136 crore for abusing its dominant position in online general web search and search advertising services in India. The case centered around Google’s practice of promoting its own services in search results while demoting rivals. In 2022, the CCI imposed another fine of ₹1,337.76 crores on Google for abusing its dominant position in the Android mobile operating system market. The CCI found that Google was imposing unfair conditions on device manufacturers to use its own applications and services, which stifled competition in the market.  

The U.S. court’s ruling against Google underscores the importance of maintaining a competitive digital marketplace. As global regulators, including those in India, grapple with the growing influence of tech giants, this case serves as a reminder of the potential risks associated with monopolistic practices.

Ensuring a level playing field in the digital economy is crucial for fostering innovation and protecting consumer interests. The outcome of Google’s appeal and the subsequent remedies will be closely watched as they may set precedents that could shape the future of antitrust enforcement in the tech industry worldwide.

Crest gate and Stoplogs:
Crest Gate (Spillway Gate): A gate on the crest of a spillway that controls overflow or reservoir water level.
Tungabhadra Reservoir was not equipped with Stoplogs as recommended by the World Bank; as it is quite an old dam.
The stoplog was conceived so that the flow and its hydrodynamic effects on the gate would be properly reproduced in order to assess the down pull force properly

  • A crest gate of the Tungabhadra reservoir near Hospete in Vijayanagara district, Karnataka, was washed away, raising concerns of downstream flooding.
  • The full reservoir level (FRL) is 1,633 feet with a total storage of 105.788 tmcft.
  • After the chain link of crest gate 19 broke and the gate was swept away, the remaining 32 crest gates were opened to reduce pressure on the damaged gate, increasing the discharge to one lakh cusecs.
  • Water storage in the reservoir must be reduced to about 60 tmcft to facilitate repairs.
  • The Tungabhadra is an inter-state project involving Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, and the other riparian States that were informed about the incident.

The Dam Safety Act, 2021
• Enacted by the Union Government, ensures proper surveillance, inspection, and maintenance of specified dams to prevent failures.
• It establishes a National Committee on Dam Safety (NCDS) to develop policies and recommend regulations, ensuring uniform safety standards.
• The National Dam Safety Authority (NDSA) acts as a regulatory body, implementing NCDS policies, offering technical assistance, and resolving inter-state disputes.
• State Governments are empowered to form State Committees on Dam Safety and State Dam Safety Organisations, responsible for enforcing safety standards and providing crucial instructions to dam owners on safety protocols.

Dig Deeper: Read about the safety concerns of various old dams in South India.

Nitrogen-use efficiency refers to the yield of a crop relative to the nitrogen, both natural and artificial, available to it.

ICMR New Seed Varieties:
• Prime Minister released 109 high-yielding, climate-resilient, and biofortified crop varieties at the India Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi.
• These include 61 crops, such as cereals, millets, pulses, and horticultural varieties.
• Farmers praised the new varieties for reducing costs, boosting yields, and supporting natural farming.

  • Biotechnologists at Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University (GGU), New Delhi, have discovered significant variation among popular rice varieties in India regarding nitrogen use efficiency (NUE).
  • The study, published in the Journal of Plant Growth Regulation, found that the best rice varieties had five times the NUE of the least efficient ones.
  • This finding can lead to the development of high-yielding, nitrogen-efficient rice varieties, reducing fertilizer costs and nitrogen-linked pollution.
  • India’s cereals consume two-thirds of all urea in India led by Rice.
  • However, high NUE doesn’t always correlate with the highest yields, which are typically preferred by farmers.
  • The focus of Indian agriculture has historically been on maximizing yield, especially during the Green Revolution, leading to increased fertilizer use and pollution.

Dig Deeper: Read about Legume-based Crop rotation.

  • The Perseid meteor shower, which began in July, will be visible to the naked eye from midnight to dawn, especially in the northern hemisphere, depending on local weather conditions.
  • Meteor Shower is also popularly known as ‘Shooting Star’ by layman.
  • The Perseids are debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet, which orbits the Sun every 133 years.
  • As the Earth passes through this debris cloud, gravity pulls the particles, creating the meteor shower.
  • Although Swift-Tuttle was once thought to pose a collision threat in 2126, further calculations confirmed Earth is safe for at least two millennia.
  • The Perseids shower poses no threat, as most meteors burn up in the atmosphere, though some may produce small fireballs.
  • During its peak, the shower can produce over 60 meteors per hour.
Meteor: A meteor is the streak of light produced when a meteoroid enters the Earth’s atmosphere and burns up due to friction.
Meteorite: A meteorite is a fragment of a meteoroid that survives its passage through the Earth’s atmosphere and lands on the Earth’s surface.
Meteoroid: A meteoroid is a small rocky or metallic body in space, smaller than an asteroid. When it enters the Earth’s atmosphere, it can become a meteor.
Asteroid: It is a small rocky or metallic body that orbits the Sun, primarily found in the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. Asteroids can vary in size from a few meters to hundreds of kilometres in diameter.
Comet: A comet is a celestial object composed of ice, dust, and rocky material. When it approaches the Sun, it develops a glowing coma and often a tail, due to the sublimation of its icy components.

Dig Deeper: Read about OSIRIS-REX which is the first mission to touch down on the Asteroid Bennu.