Wild Pig Culling, eSakshya, India’s External Debt-RBI

The Wildlife Protection Act, 1972

• Vermin are certain wild animals that can be legally hunted or culled due to their significant harm to crops, livestock, and property.
• The state government assesses the damage caused by the species and recommends its declaration as vermin.
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) reviews the request, consulting experts if necessary.
• Upon approval, the MoEFCC issues a notification in the Official Gazette declaring the species as vermin in the specified area.
• This declaration is temporary, reviewed periodically, and aims to minimize ecological disruption while protecting human interests.

• The Tamil Nadu government has decided to allow the culling of wild boars causing distress to farmers near forest areas.
• The decision was taken based on the Farmers’ Conflict Resolution Committee which included representatives from the Departments of Forest, Revenue, Agriculture, and Horticulture, as well as scientific experts and wildlife enthusiasts, was formed to study the impact of raids by elephants and wild pigs on crops.

The wild pig (Sus scrofa)

• It is a widespread and adaptable mammal found across various habitats globally.
• The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classified wild pigs as “Least Concerned” due to their wide distribution and large population.
• In India, the wild pig is protected under the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972. It is listed under Schedule III of the Act, protected from poaching, hunting and trading.
• The 2023 guidelines by the MoEFCC on mitigating human-wild boar conflict say the animals are “multi-speciality ecosystem engineers”.
• They help disperse seeds through their ploughing, form the prey base for large carnivores such as tigers, and are important scavengers due to their omnivorous diets.

• Areas adjacent to reserve forests would be divided into three zones: Zone A (within one kilometre from forest limits), Zone B (one to five kilometres), and Zone C (beyond five kilometres).
• The shooting of wild pigs will not be permitted within five kilometres of the reserve forest.
• While farmers have requested permission to cull wild boars, experts have raised concerns about indiscriminate killing.
• The government emphasized that any culling must follow a scientific approach, considering the intensity of conflict and the frequency of incidents on farmland outside Zone C.

Dig Deeper: Besides wild pigs, which other animals are harmful to agriculture and have repeatedly been proposed for declaration as vermin?

• The Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (Urban), aimed at providing affordable housing for the urban poor, will be revamped with new features, according to the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.
• Launched in 2015, the PMAY (Urban) has been extended until December 2024.
• Its mission is to address the urban housing shortage among the poor and middle-income groups, including slum dwellers, by ensuring a pucca house for all eligible urban households.
• Additionally, the Ministry announced the Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment schemes for 2023-24 and 2022-23, aimed at improving and speeding up urban planning by incentivising States.
• These schemes also encourage States to create an enabling ecosystem for affordable housing for built-up areas up to 66 sq m through favourable by-laws and policies.
• Under these provisions, approximately 500,000 dwelling units have been constructed in the last four to five years in the States. In 2023-2024 alone, around 44,000 dwelling units have been built.

Dig Deeper: Compare PM Awas Yojana -Urban with its version of Rural areas.

• It is a mobile application designed to help police record crime scenes, conduct searches, and seizures, and upload files to a cloud-based platform.
• The National Informatics Centre (NIC) developed the eSakshya app, which will be available to all police stations.
• If there are connectivity issues, police can record on their devices, generate a hash value, and upload the file later. Alternatively, they can directly upload through eSakshya, requiring good internet speed.

Implementation of three new criminal laws from 1 July

• The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) will replace the Indian Penal Code, 1860; the Bharatiya Sakshya (BS) will replace the Indian Evidence Act, 1872; and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS) will replace the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1898.
• The BNSS mandates compulsory audiovisual recording of searches and seizures in every criminal case and mandatory forensic examination for offences punishable by seven years or more.

• Police officials will need to upload a selfie after completing the procedure. Each recording can be up to four minutes long, with multiple files allowed per FIR.

Dig Deeper: Read about key changes brought by new criminal laws.

• A five-member Pakistan delegation and neutral World Bank experts toured the 850-MW Ratle hydroelectric power project on the Chenab River in the Chenab Valley.

• Since 2006, Pakistan has raised technical objections to power projects in Jammu & Kashmir, including the Ratle project, through various forums such as the Permanent Indus Commission, and has sought arbitration from international bodies, which India has rejected.
• The Pakistani delegation might also inspect the 1,000-megawatt Pakal Dul hydroelectric project being built on the Marusudar River, which emerges from the Marwah Valley before joining the Chenab River.
• Pakistan has also objected to the Kishanganga project in Kashmir, a run-of-the-river hydroelectric scheme in Jammu and Kashmir, India. Its dam diverts water from the Kishanganga River to a power plant in the Jhelum River basin.
• It remains unclear if the delegation will access the Kishanganga power project in Bandipora district.

The Indus Water Treaty (IWT)

• It was signed in 1960, between India and Pakistan, with the World Bank’s mediation, allocates the waters of the Indus River system.
• The treaty grants Pakistan control over the three western rivers (Indus, Jhelum, Chenab) and India control over the three eastern rivers (Ravi, Beas, Sutlej).
• It establishes the Permanent Indus Commission for cooperation and provides a framework for dispute resolution through bilateral talks or arbitration.

Dig Deeper: Read about the features of Run-of-River (ROR) hydroelectric power plants different from conventional hydroelectric plants.

• India’s external debt at the end of March 2024 was at $663.8 billion, an increase of $39.7 billion from its level at the end of March 2023.
• The external debt-to-GDP ratio declined to 18.7% at the end of March 2024 from 19.0% at the end of March 2023, according to data released by RBI.
• The valuation effect due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar vis-à-vis the Indian rupee and other major currencies such as yen, euro and SDR amounted to $8.7 billion.
• U.S. dollar-denominated debt remained the largest component of India’s external debt, with a share of 53.8% at the end of March 2024, followed by debt denominated in the Indian rupee (31.5%), yen (5.8%), SDR (5.4%), and euro (2.8%).
• Outstanding debt of both government and non-government sectors increased at the end of March 2024 over the year-earlier level.
• Loans remained the largest component of external debt at 33.4%, followed by currency and deposits (23.3%), trade credit and advances (17.9%) and debt securities (17.3%).

Dig Deeper: What is Public Debt? Also, read about its components.

• For the first time, India’s coal consumption surpassed that of North America and Europe combined in the calendar year 2023, Energy Institute and KPMG said in a report titled ‘2024 Statistical Review of World Energy’.

• Fossil fuel use accelerated in India and many African nations, outpacing the growth of renewables, the organisations observed.
• Globally, energy demand was up 2% and emissions exceeded 40 Gross Tonnage for the first time.

Energy Institute (EI)

• It is the professional membership body for the world of energy.
• It is a non-profit body headquartered in London, UK.
• It has been providing timely, comprehensive and objective data to the energy community since 1952.
• The EI was formed in 2003 by the merger of the Institute of Petroleum (dating back to 1913) and the Institute of Energy (dating back to 1925).

Dig Deeper: Read about the International Energy Agency.