Hybrid Electric Vehicles

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

Context

• Electric vehicles (EVs) have emerged as a crucial element for the world’s transition to becoming net-zero. 

What are Electric Vehicles?

• Any vehicle propelled by an electric drivetrain, taking electric power from a portable, electrical energy source, is called an Electric vehicle (EV).

Different Types of EVs

• Hybrid EV:  In hybrid EVS an internal combustion engine (ICE) is used to produce electricity with an electrical generator. 
  • A small battery, typically 1-5kWh, is used in a hybrid EV as an energy buffer to store the electricity. 
  • The battery can’t be charged from the grid.
• Full EV: Also called a battery EV or a plug-in EV has no ICE and hence no tailpipe emissions. 
  • The battery typically is much larger at 20-120 kWh and it can only be charged from the grid.
• Plug-in hybrid EV: It is still a hybrid EV with a much larger battery, typically 5-15 kWh. 
  • This larger battery can also be charged from the grid. This means a plug-in hybrid operates like a fully electric vehicle as long as there is energy in the battery.
• Fuel-cell EV: It uses a fuel cell to produce electricity with a small battery buffer to manage variations.

Fuel economy of hybrid and fully electric EVs:

• The use of an ICE in combination with a generator and battery in a hybrid EV results in the fuel economy of these vehicles being 1.5-2x times higher than in conventional ICE vehicles for city driving and 1-1.5x times higher for highway driving. 
• A plug-in hybrid EV combines the best of both hybrid and full EVs. Using a small battery (5-15kWh) that can be charged from the grid, it can cover 80-90% of all short, day-to-day commutes in a fully electric mode with 3-4x higher fuel economy than conventional vehicles. 

Net-zero for a vehicle

• Making vehicles net-zero requires cutting emissions from both new and existing vehicles. It includes emissions from both the tailpipe of the vehicle and at the power plant. 
• Well-to-wheel emissions are all emissions related to fuel production, processing, distribution, and use.

• The life-cycle emissions is a more comprehensive index that includes well-to-wheel emissions and emissions due to vehicle and battery production, maintenance, and end-of-life recycling.
• In the case of full EVs: the lower the emissions from power production, the lower the vehicle’s well-to-wheel and life-cycle emissions.
• The grids of different countries are decarbonised to different extents at present (Figure 2). 

How do EVs’ life-cycle emissions compare to ICE vehicles?

• According to International Council on Clean Transportation, an independent nonprofit organization, life-cycle emissions of various vehicles in the U.S., Europe, China, and India (Figure 3), switching to full EVs will result in 19-34% lower emissions by sedans and 38-49% by SUVs – even with the fossil-fuel-dominated energy mix in India. 

Challenges to transitioning to electric mobility:

1.  Charging infrastructure: A successful transition to full EVs requires fast-charging infrastructure along highways. The lack of a fast-charging infrastructure will discourage people from buying full EVs. 
2. The High cost: It is due to the high-capacity power connections, the cost of making and installing a new transformer and cables; high battery costs; service-level agreements; DC charger plug options and quantities; customisation costs; labour costs; and permits.
3. Reliability of grids:Economically developing nations don’t have access to a grid or the grid isn’t 100% reliable. This in turn could retard the transition to EVs.

Way Ahead

• The current focus in the industry is on full EVs, which isn’t practical for the immediate future, given grid reliability, state of highway charging infrastructure, and prohibitive vehicle costs.
• Hence, hybrid EVs present a big opportunity to lower emissions in the interim, until we have full EVs powered 100% by renewable energy. 
• The 1.5-2x higher fuel economy of hybrids and 3-4x higher fuel economy of plug-in hybrids in electric mode drastically reduces fuel costs, emissions, and oil imports.

Source: TH

Akira Ransomware

Syllabus :GS 3/Cyber Security 

In News

• The Computer Emergency Response Team of India issued an alert for the ransomware dubbed “Akira.”

About Akira ransomware

• It is designed to encrypt data, create a ransomware note and delete Windows Shadow Volume copies on affected devices. 
  • The ransomware gets its name due to its ability to modify filenames of all encrypted files by appending them with the “.akira” extension.
• It is designed to close processes or shut down Windows services that may keep it from encrypting files on the affected system.
  • It uses VPN services, especially when users have not enabled two-factor authentication, to trick users into downloading malicious files.
• Once the ransomware infects a device and steals/encrypts sensitive data, the group behind the attack extorts the victims into paying a ransom, threatening to release the data on their dark web blog if their demands are not met.
• The ransomware, found to target both Windows and Linux devices, steals and encrypts data, forcing victims to pay double ransom for decryption and recovery.

Targeted Areas and Concerns 

• In use since March 2023, the ransomware has steadily built up a list of victims, targeting corporate networks in various domains including education, finance, real estate, manufacturing, and consulting. 
• The threat actors also steal sensitive corporate data for leverage in their extortion attempts.
• Akira has already attacked asset management companies London Capital Group and the Development Bank of Southern Africa as well as many companies across industries, including finance, education, manufacturing, etc.

Measures 

• CERT-In: Set up in 2004, the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) is the national nodal agency that collects, analyses and circulates inputs on cyber-attacks; issues guidelines, advisories for preventive measures, forecasts and issues alerts; and takes measures to handle any significant cyber security event. 
• The National Cyber Security Coordinator, under the National Security Council Secretariat, coordinates with different agencies at the national level on cybersecurity issues, while the National Critical Information Infrastructure Protection Centre has been set up for the protection of national critical information infrastructure. 
• The Cyber Swachhta Kendra (Botnet Cleaning and Malware Analysis Centre) has been launched for detection of malicious software programmes and to provide free tools to remove the same, while the National Cyber Coordination Centre works on creating awareness about existing and potential threats.

Recent Advisories 

• CERT-In has advised users to follow basic internet hygiene and protection protocols to ensure their security against ransomware. 
  • These include maintaining up to date offline backups of critical data, to prevent data loss in the event of an attack.
• Additionally, users are advised to ensure all operating systems and networks are updated regularly, with virtual patching for legacy systems and networks.
• Companies must also establish Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance, DomainKeys Identified Mail (DKIM), and Sender policy for organisational email validation, which prevents spam by detecting email spoofing. Strong password policies and multi-factor authentication (MFA) must be enforced.
• There should also be a strict external device usage policy in place and data-at-rest and data-in-transit encryption along with blocking attachment file types like .exe, .pif, or .url to avoid downloading malicious code.
• The agency has also advised periodic security audits of critical networks/systems, especially database servers.

Source:TH

Taiwanese Firm  Investments in  Tamil Nadu

Syllabus: GS 2/International Relations 

In News 

• Taiwanese firm Foxconn Technology Group met Tamil Nadu CM to discuss the company’s investment in the State.

Key Highlights of Discussion 

• Taiwanese major and Apple phone manufacturer Foxconn will expand its operations in Tamil Nadu by pumping in ₹1,600 crore in a new factory in Tamil Nadu to manufacture mobile components.
  • The plant will generate employment for around 6,000 people.
• They discussed further investments in electric vehicles (EV) and electronic components. 
  • Another milestone in ambition to make Tamil Nadu the new emerging electronics manufacturing hub of Asia!.
• Foxconn Chairman signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Indian Institute of Technology – Madras (IIT-M) and Guidance (the nodal agency instrumental in bringing investments to the State).

• This MoU enables Foxconn to support research and development capabilities in partnership with IIT-M for Tamil Nadu to improve the talent pool’s skills and industry readiness to cater to the evolving needs of the electronics industry and share knowledge and best practices in higher-order talent and workforce development.

How significant are these investments?

• The development also comes at a time when Tamil Nadu has become the top exporter of electronic goods in India, with exports nearly tripling during 2022-2023 to $5.37 billion. The State accounted for 22.8% of India’s electronic exports.
• Foxconn’s repeated investments and expansion plans in Tamil Nadu are a testament to the state being the top choice for manufacturing in India for major companies across the world. 
  • This is a major achievement for the state.
•  India’s huge market provides Taiwan with investment opportunities. Taiwan’s reputation as the world leader in semiconductor and electronics complements India’s leadership in ITES (Information Technology-Enabled Services). 
  • This convergence of interests will help create new opportunities

Future Prospects 

• With this proposed investment, and many more to come, Tamil Nadu is poised to not only remain the top electronics exporter in the country, but also significantly increase its electronics exports in the coming years. 
• Policymakers need to coordinate better with the business community to help them navigate the regulatory and cultural landscape for better ties.

Source:TH

Space Junk

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

In News

• The Australian Space Agency has confirmed that a large object found on the shores of western Australia to be the debris of an Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) rocket.

Space Debris

• Junk from space objects falling to the earth are not unheard of. Most such incidents involve relatively small fragments from rockets that survive the friction of the atmosphere.
• In recent times, a large chunk of a 25-tonne Chinese rocket fell into the Indian Ocean in 2021.
• Concerns: The threat to life and property from falling space junk is not negligible. Even when falling into the oceans, large objects can be a threat to marine life, and a source of pollution.

Convention on International Liability for Damage Caused by Space Objects

• This convention is one of the several international agreements that complement the Outer Space Treaty, the overarching framework guiding the behaviour of countries in space. 
• The Liability Convention came into force in 1972 and deals mainly with damage caused by space objects to other space assets, but it also applies to damage caused by falling objects on earth.
• The Convention makes the launching country “absolutely liable” to pay compensation for any damage caused by its space object on the earth or to a flight in air. 
  • The country where the junk falls can stake a claim for compensation if it has been damaged by the falling object.
  • The amount of compensation is to be decided “in accordance with international law and the principles of justice and equity”.
• This provision of the Convention has resulted in compensation payment only once so far — when Canada sought damages from the then Soviet Union, for a satellite with radioactive substance that fell into an uninhabited region in its northern territory in 1978. The Soviet Union is reported to have paid 3 million Canadian dollars.

Source: IE

Women’s Unpaid Labour

Syllabus: GS3/Development and Employment

News:

• To recognise women’s unpaid labour, the Tamil Nadu government recently launched Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai Thittam (Women’s basic income scheme), which aims to provide ₹1,000 per month to women in eligible households.

What is Women’s Unpaid Labour?

• Indian women have disproportionately borne the responsibility of domestic and care work, which is unpaid. 
• It includes household-specific tasks like cooking, cleaning, washing clothes, household management and maintenance, grocery shopping, child care, and caring for sick or elderly members.

Chart 3: Women who are not in the labour force (neither employed nor seeking employment) spend 7.5 hours a day. But employed women were not far behind, spending 5.8 hours a day compared to employed men who spent 2.7 hours a day. Unemployed men spend 3.5 hours per day on such chores, over two hours less than employed women. 

Chart 4: Married women spend around 8 hours/day compared to women who are widowed/divorced/separated (5.7 hours/day) or have never married (4.3 hours/day). In contrast, married men spend only 2.8 hours/day compared to men who are widowed/divorced/separated (4.2 hours/day) or have never married (3.1 hours/day).

Why is it a concern?

• The more the burden of domestic work, the lower the participation of women in the labour force. 
• India’s female labour force participation rate (LFPR) has been declining for more than 20 years, despite the share of educated women surging in this period. 

Chart 1: In the last two decades, female LFPR has fallen from 30% to 24%, despite the Class 10 enrolment rate among girls increasing from over 46% to 87%.

Chart 2: Compare India’s 2022 female LFPR to that of other BRICS countries (excluding Russia) and select South Asian countries. India’s female LFPR (24%) was the lowest among all these countries. 

Challenges with measuring and compensating women’s unpaid work

1. Measuring unpaid work: Whether a value can be assigned to unpaid care work, which usually involves emotions. Can the care provided by a parent to their child be valued in terms of a market wage? 

2. A binary view of labour: Housework is conventionally categorised into ‘economic’ and ‘non-economic’ categories, depending on notions of productivity and labour that is productive and accounted for and labour that is not considered productive and is unaccounted for.

3. Identifying what counts as work: Women often undertake unpaid tasks such as weeding fields, tending to cattle, cutting grass, and so on. Typically, this is all considered to be household work, despite it being productive. This work goes unreported and unaccounted for.

4. The perception that housework is women’s work: Compensating housework might further perpetuate this stereotype and could help solidify it. In a situation where women are already rapidly disappearing from the labour force, institutionalising patriarchal conceptions like this may not help bring more women into other paid jobs.

5. Confusion around who provides compensation: Demands that asked husbands to pay wages to their wives for the housework criticised on the grounds that the onus of housework on the housewife, conversely imply that the men are the ‘owner’.

What needs to be done?

• A carefully formed, state-supported policy (instead of a simple transfer of money from husband to wife within the household) could be a viable solution.
• The first step must be to think of methods that assign appropriate values to domestic work and care work, not just because women deserve a salary for their labour, but because it is important to reclaim dignity of such work.
• Use time as a valuing measure: The government needs to account for the non-market household economy.
• Consider a state-supported gender-neutral income transfer at the household level. 
• Universalise maternity entitlements and childcare as a public good. This would allow Indian women to move away from the immense burden of care work.
• Invest in public infrastructure and services: Investing in water, sanitation, roads, energy, and health services could significantly reduce women’s work-load.

Way Ahead: 

• Before attempting to monetise or assign a value to women’s housework activities, it is essential that steps be taken to reduce and redistribute such work. 
• As women need to be empowered at work, men should be empowered at home. There is a need to sensitize men about the sharing of domestic work.
• The Madras High Court recently held that home-makers are entitled to an equal share in household properties purchased by the husband, reason being the wife bears and rears children and minds the home and thereby frees her husband for his economic activities. Thus, giving due recognition to the domestic work done by the women.

Source: TH

Delhi Services Bill to be tabled in Lok Sabha

Syllabus: GS2/Government Policies & Interventions

In News

• The Delhi Services Bill is set to replace the Delhi services Ordinance designating the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) as the authority who will have the final say on the postings and transfer of all bureaucrats serving under the Delhi government.

About the Delhi Services Bill 

• The Bill deviates from the Delhi services Ordinance on two aspects: 
  • Itt drops Section 3A that said, “Notwithstanding anything contained in any judgement, order or decree of any Court, the Legislative Assembly shall have the power to make laws as per Article 239AA except with respect to any matter enumerated in Entry 41 of List II of the Seventh Schedule of the Constitution of India or any matter connected therewith or incidental thereto.”
  • It also empowers the L-G to appoint the heads of boards or commissions that are enacted by Delhi Legislative Assembly.
• The National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA):
  • The bill aims to constitute the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA).
  • With a view to give effect to the intent and purpose behind the provisions of Article 239AA of the Constitution, a permanent authority is being constituted named NCCSA. 
  • NCCSA would be headed by the Chief Minister of Delhi along with the Chief Secretary, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Principal Secretary, Home, Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi, 
  • It is being constituted to make recommendations to the Lieutenant Governor regarding matters concerning transfer postings, vigilance and other matters.
  • The National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA) shall have the responsibility to recommend the transfers and postings of all Group ‘A’ officers (IAS) and officers of DANICS serving in the Delhi government.
• Significance:
  • Several important national and international institutions and authorities like the President, the Parliament, the Supreme Court, various constitutional functionaries, foreign diplomatic missions, international agencies, etc., are located in Delhi and high dignitaries from other nations pay official visits to Delhi.
  • The highest possible standards are required to be maintained in the administration and governance of the NCT of Delhi
  • The bill is expected to maintain a balance between the interest of the nation with the interest of the Union territory of Delhi in the administration of the capital to the manifestation of the will of the people reposed in the Central government as well as the government of NCT of Delhi.

Dual Governance of Delhi

• Delhi as Union territory (UT) and National Capital Territory (NCT): 
  • Delhi holds a unique position in India’s administrative framework. 
  • As a Union territory, it is governed by the Government of National Capital Territory of Delhi Act 1991 which provides for both an elected assembly and an L-G appointed by the Union Home Ministry.
  • It was amended and is now governed by the Government of National Capital Territory (GNCT) of Delhi (Amendment) Act, 2021.
  • The status of Delhi being a UT under Schedule 1 of the Constitution and the ‘National Capital Territory under Article 239AA, engrafted by the Constitution (Sixty-ninth Amendment) Act, 2014, put the dynamics of the relationship between the elected Council of Ministers in Delhi and the Central Government under severe strain. 
• Status:
  • Delhi was given a fully elected legislative assembly and a responsible government through an amendment in the constitution in 1991.
  • Since 1991, Delhi had been made a UT with an assembly with “limited legislative powers”.

About the dispute over control of services

• About:
  • According to few, the Delhi government has no power over administrative services at all. 
  • Whereas according to others, transfers and postings of Secretaries, HODs and other officers in the scale of Joint Secretary to the Government of India and above can be done by the Lieutenant Governor and for other levels, including DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service) officers, the files can be routed through the Chief Minister to LG”.
• Centre’s opinion:
  • The Centre had sought a reference to a larger Bench, arguing that it needed the power to make transfers and postings of officers in Delhi on account of it being the national capital and the “face of nation”.
• Opinion of Delhi government:
  • According to Delhi govt., a government cannot function if it does not have control over services as the exclusion of civil servants will negate governance and render officials unaccountable to people.

Supreme Court’s verdict

• The ruling places following constitutional principles within the interpretation of Article 239AA: 
  • Representative democracy, 
  • Federalism and accountability – to an elected government 
• The court concluded that Delhi under the constitutional scheme is a Sui Generis (or unique) model, and is not similar to any other Union Territory. It said Delhi presents a special constitutional status under article 239AA.
  • The ruling was in favour of the Delhi government.
• The judgment also recognises “principles of democracy and federalism” to be part of the basic structure of the Constitution.
  • It held that while Delhi could not be accorded the status of a state, the concept of federalism would still be applicable to it.

Source: TH

Facts In News

ISRO successfully conducts TransLunar Injection of Chandrayaan-3

Syllabus: GS3/ Space

In News

• The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) performed the TransLunar Injection (TLI) to slingshot Chandrayaan-3 towards the moon.

About

• Chandrayaan-3 completes its orbit around the Earth and heads towards the Moon. A successful perigee-firing performed at ISTRAC, ISRO has injected the spacecraft into the translunar orbit
• The Chandrayaan-3 is expected to reach the lunar orbit on August 5 and the spacecraft’s liquid engine will be fired again to insert the spacecraft into a lunar orbit. 

India’s Chandrayaan-3 Mission

• The Chandrayaan-3 mission, launched on July 14, 2023, is the third lunar exploration under the Chandrayaan programme. 
• It comprises a lander named Vikram and a rover named Pragyan, similar to its predecessor, Chandrayaan-2.
• However, unlike the previous mission, Chandrayaan-3 does not include an orbiter. Instead, its propulsion module acts as a communication relay satellite, carrying the lander-rover payloads to the moon.
• It is designed to deploy a rover near the lunar south pole, where it is expected to remain functional for two weeks running a series of experiments.
• Once in lunar orbit, the lander will separate from the propulsion module and attempt a soft landing near the southern polar region of the moon.

• Only three other space agencies – the United States, the former Soviet Union and China – have touched down a lander on the moon’s surface. None has landed near the lunar south pole.

Source: TH

 

Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023

Syllabus: GS2/Polity

In News

• The Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was introduced in Lok Sabha.

About

• It amends the Constitution (Jammu and Kashmir) Scheduled Tribes Order, 1989 to create separate lists for Scheduled Tribes for Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh.
• The Bill also adds four communities to the list of Scheduled Tribes in Jammu and Kashmir.  These are Gadda Brahmin, Koli, Paddari Tribe, and Pahari Ethnic Group. 

Present Status

• The dominant ST communities in J&K are the Gujjars and Bakerwals, who mainly live in the districts of Rajouri, Poonch, Reasi, Kishtwar, Anantnag, Bandipora, Ganderbal, and Kupwara. 
  • Most of them, especially the Bakerwals, are nomadic — they migrate with their livestock to the higher reaches in the summer, and return before the onset of winter.
• They are the third largest group after Kashmiris and Dogras in J&K. 
• They were given ST status in 1991, along with the two smaller groups of Gaddis and Sippis. 
  • This entitled these four communities to 10% reservation in government jobs and admission to educational institutions; in 2019, they were given a 10% quota in Lok Sabha and Assembly seats in J&K.

Proposed Communities

• The Paharis are Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs, including people of Kashmiri origin who settled in the districts of Rajouri and Poonch over a period of time. 
  • There are upper caste Hindus among the Paharis; also people who were displaced from Pakistan Occupied Kashmir.
• The Paddari Tribe live in the remote Paddar area of the hilly Kishtwar district. Spread over two tehsils, the Paddari homeland borders Zanskar (Ladakh) in the north and the east, Pangi in Himachal Pradesh in the south, and the rest of J&K in the west.
  • The 2011 census recorded the Paddari population at 21,548, comprising 83.6% Hindus, 9.5% Buddhists, and 6.8% Muslims. The people of the area, including those who have come from elsewhere to settle there, speak the Paddari language.

Source: IE

National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP)

Syllabus: GS3/Science and Technology

In News

• Draft National Deep Tech Startup Policy (NDTSP) has been released for Public Consultation.

About

• Background: The Prime Minister’s Science, Technology, and Innovation Advisory Council (PM-STIAC), in its 21st meeting, recommended the creation of a National Consortium and a Working Group to propose a comprehensive policy framework to address the needs and strengthen the Indian deep tech startup ecosystem.
• Aim: To harness the transformative potential of technological advancement across diverse sectors and laying the groundwork for new industry creation. This policy aims to significantly strengthen India’s capabilities and enhance global competitiveness.
• The Office of Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India is entrusted with the formulation of this policy collectively with key stakeholders. 
• The policy identifies nine key thematic priority areas that require intervention for initialising the creation of a conducive ecosystem. 
  • Nurturing Research, Development & Innovation
  • Strengthening the Intellectual Property Regime
  • Facilitating Access to Funding
  • Enabling Shared Infrastructure and Resource Sharing
  • Creating Conducive Regulations, Standards, and Certifications
  • Attracting Human Resources & Initiating Capacity Building
  • Promoting Procurement & Adoption
  • Ensuring Policy & Program Interlinkages
  • Sustaining Deep Tech Startups

Deep Technology

• Deep Technology refers to innovations founded on advanced scientific and technological breakthroughs. Due to their disruptive nature, they have the potential to solve India’s most pressing societal issues. 
• India’s deep tech Vision encompasses four key pillars: securing India’s economic future, progressing towards a knowledge-driven economy, bolstering national capability and sovereignty through the Atma Nirbhar Bharat imperative and encouraging ethical innovation.

Source: PIB