Current Affairs 30th April 2024 for UPSC Prelims Exam

Table of Contents

Strategic Petroleum Reserve

Context: The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd. has invited bids to build 2.5 million tonnes of underground storage at Padur in Karnataka.

Strategic Petroleum Reserve: An Overview

Background

Product prices are influenced by the dynamics of supply and demand, particularly in a globally connected world.
This principle applies to commodities like oil, where disturbances in one region can impact global markets.
1973 Oil Crisis: It was triggered when oil-producing nations in the Middle East reduced supply in response to U.S. support for Israel during the Yom Kippur War. This caused oil prices to skyrocket.
To hedge against sudden disruptions, countries began maintaining oil reserves.

About Strategic Petroleum Reserves (SPRs)

Strategic petroleum reserves are stockpiles of crude oil maintained by nations to ensure a reliable supply amid geopolitical uncertainties or supply chain disruptions.
Under the International Energy Program agreement, member nations of the International Energy Agency are required to maintain emergency oil reserves equivalent to at least 90 days of their net oil imports.

India’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves

The concept of SPRs in India was introduced in 1998.
India, an associate member of the International Energy Agency since 2017, manages its strategic petroleum reserves through Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserve Limited, a subsidiary of the Oil Industry Development Board under the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas.
The crude oil storages in India are constructed in underground rock caverns located on the eastern and western coasts.
These caverns are considered the safest means of storing hydrocarbons and can supply oil to refineries either through pipelines or via a combination of pipelines and coastal movement.
India, the world’s third biggest oil consumer and importer (over 85 percent of its oil needs through imports).
Phase-I of Strategic Petroleum Reserves: The Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL) has built the phase-I of strategic petroleum reserves in underground unlined rock caverns with a storage capacity of 5.33 million tonnes of crude oil at three locations:
- Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh: 1.33 million tonnes
- Mangaluru, Karnataka: 1.5 million tonnes
- Padur, Karnataka: 2.5 million tonnes
These existing reserves can provide for approximately 10 days of the country’s crude oil requirement.

Phase-II of Strategic Petroleum Reserves:
- In July 2021, the Indian Government granted approval for the establishment of two additional commercial-cum-strategic SPR facilities.
- Chandikhol, Odisha: 4 MMT capacity
- Padur, Karnataka: 2.5 MMT capacity
Government initiatives:
- Public-private partnership (PPP) model for building new SPR facilities.
- Allowing 100% Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the oil and gas sector.
- Fiscal incentives to attract investment and technology for improving oil field recovery.
- Setting up bio-CNG plants to promote clean energy.

Facts

Biggest Global Strategic Petroleum Reserves in the World:

United States
China
Japan

Apart from the SPR in India the oil marketing companies (OMCs) have storage facilities for crude oil and petroleum products for 64.5 days, which means there is sufficient storage to meet around 74 days of the country’s petroleum demand.
UAE’s Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (Adnoc): Leases 2.5 million tonnes at Padur and 1.5 million tonnes at Mangalore.
Indian Strategic Petroleum Reserves Ltd (ISPRL), a special purpose vehicle created in the year 2004 by the government for building and operating strategic petroleum reserves in the country.
Assam is the largest producer of natural gas in India, contributing to about 13% of the total reserves.

Warming of Indian Ocean

Context

From 1950 to 2020, the Indian Ocean has warmed by 1.2 degrees Celsius.
Climate models predict a further increase ranging from 1.7 degrees Celsius to 3.8 degrees Celsius by the year 2100.

What are the Consequences?

Marine Heatwaves and Ecological Impacts

Frequency of Marine Heatwaves: Currently averaging 20 days per year, marine heatwaves are expected to intensify significantly, occurring 220-250 days per year. This dramatic increase is mostly due to global warming.
Ecological Consequences: The tropical Indian Ocean is likely to enter a “near-permanent heatwave state,” which could accelerate the destruction of marine ecosystems.
- This includes increased coral bleaching, destruction of seagrass, and loss of kelp forests, with adverse effects on the fisheries sector.

Ocean Heat Content

Deep Ocean Heating: The heating of the Indian Ocean extends beyond the surface, affecting water down to a depth of 2,000 metres.
- The “heat content” of the ocean is increasing at an alarming rate.
Current and Future Heat Content Increase: The ocean’s heat content is currently increasing by 5 zetta-joules per decade.
- Predictions indicate that this rate will rise to between 16 and 22 zetta-joules per decade in the future.
Energy Comparison: The anticipated increase in heat content is equated to adding the energy of one Hiroshima atomic bomb every second, continuously for a decade.

Sea-Level Rise

Thermal Expansion: The warming of the ocean leads to thermal expansion of water, which has been responsible for more than half of the observed sea-level rise in the Indian Ocean.
- This factor contributes more to sea-level rise than glaciers and sea ice melting.

Chang’e 6 Mission

Context: China is set to launch a robotic spacecraft (Chang’e 6) to explore the far side of the moon.

More in News

This mission marks the first of three technically challenging steps towards a crewed lunar landing and a south pole base.
The three key missions in this endeavour are: Chang’e 6 (2024), Chang’e-7(2026), Chang’e- 8 (2028).
- The subsequent missions, Chang’e-7 in 2026 and Chang’e-8 in 2028, will focus on exploring the moon’s south pole for water resources and constructing a basic outpost in collaboration with Russia.
- These missions are supported by the same relay satellite. Chang’e-7 will also carry payloads from Russia, Switzerland, and Thailand.
Since the Chang’e-1 mission (2007), China has made significant advancements in lunar exploration, narrowing the gap with the US.
S. law prohibits NASA from any form of collaboration with China, either directly or indirectly.

About Chang’e 6 Mission

This mission was followed by the success of Chang’e-5.
Chang’e-6 will collect lunar samples from the moon’s far side, a first for China.
Chang’e 6 aims to land on the northeastern side of the South Pole-Aitken Basin, the oldest known impact crater in the solar system. This region is considered highly valuable for lunar exploration.
The goal of Chang’e-6 mission is to collect samples and return is expected to provide valuable insights into the early evolution of the moon and the inner solar system, enhancing our understanding of celestial dynamics.
Due to the lack of direct line of sight with Earth, Chang’e-6 will depend on a relay satellite for communication during its 53-day mission.
This mission includes the challenging task of ascending from the moon’s hidden side.
Chang’e-6 will carry scientific payloads from France, Italy, Sweden, and Pakistan.
The mission features international partnerships, including contributions from the European Space Agency (ESA) and the French space agency CNES.
- ESA is supplying a lunar surface ion tester, and CNES is providing devices to measure radon gas and its decay products.
- Additionally, the mission includes an Italian laser corner reflector for calibrating radar instruments and Pakistan’s ICUBE-Q CubeSat.

Facts
The presence of polar ice, confirmed by India’s Chandrayaan-1 in 2008, could support long-term research bases on the moon, reducing the need for expensive resource transportation from Earth. Artemis Program: Under the separate NASA-led Artemis program, U.S. astronauts are scheduled to land near the South Pole in 2026, marking the first human moon landing since 1972.

International Criminal Court (ICC)

Context: Israel showed concern that the International Criminal Court could be preparing to issue arrest warrants for government officials on charges related to its war against Hamas.

About International Criminal Court (ICC)

Establishment: The ICC was established by the Rome Statute in 1998 and began operations on July 1, 2002.
Function: It investigates and prosecutes individuals responsible for the most serious offenses affecting the global community, including genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and the crime of aggression.
Headquarter: The Hague, Netherlands.
Membership: The ICC has 123 member nations that adhere to the Rome Statute.
- Not a member: the US, China, Russia, and India.
Funding: Financial support for the Court comes from member states and voluntary contributions from governments, international organisations, corporations, and individuals.
Structure of the ICC:
- Judges: Composed of eighteen judges from different member states, serving non-renewable terms of nine years.
- The Presidency: Includes three judges (the President and two Vice-Presidents) elected from among the judges, representing the Court globally and organising judicial operations.
- Judicial Divisions: Divided into the Pre-Trial Division, Trial Division, and Appeals Division, each featuring judges specialising in different phases of the judicial process.
- Office of the Prosecutor (OTP): Responsible for evaluating and investigating referrals and information on crimes, and prosecuting cases.
- Registry: Provides essential administrative and operational support to the Chambers and the Office of the Prosecutor.
Jurisdiction:
- Unlike the International Court of Justice which resolves state disputes, the ICC prosecutes individuals.
- Conditions for Jurisdiction: The ICC can prosecute if the crime occurred in a member state or if the accused is from a member state.
  - It also steps in when national courts are unable or unwilling to prosecute.
- Timeframe: The ICC only has authority over crimes committed after the Rome Statute came into effect on July 1, 2002.

Facts
The ICC is not part of the United Nations but has a cooperative agreement with it. The UN Security Council can refer situations to the ICC, thereby extending its jurisdiction to cases outside its normal purview. The ICC is not a U.N. body but accepted “The State of Palestine” as a member in 2015, a year after the Palestinians accepted the court’s jurisdiction.

International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC)

Particulars	International Court of Justice (ICJ)	International Criminal Court (ICC)
Established in	1946	2002
Authority derived from	States that ratify the UN Charter become parties to the ICJ Statute. Non-UN member states can also become parties by ratifying the ICJ Statute.	Rome Statute (Signed by 139 countries, 123 of which have ratified it).
Relationship with UN	Official Court of the UN	Independent from the UN, although the UNSC may refer cases to the ICC
Type of Court	Civil court	Criminal Court
Jurisdiction	UN Member States (i.e., National Governments)	Individuals
Scope of Work	Legal disputes between parties, provides advisory opinions	Criminal prosecution of individuals
Subject Matter	Sovereignty, boundary disputes, maritime disputes, trade, natural resources, human rights, treaty violations, treaty interpretation, etc.	Genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, crimes of aggression.
Funding	Funded by the UN	Contributions from state parties to the Rome Statute, voluntary contributions from the UN, governments, international organisations, individuals, corporations, and other entities.
Nature of Judgement	ICJ decision is binding on member states.	ICC rulings are binding only on parties involved.
Is India a member?	Yes	No

Hangor Class Submarine

Context: The first Hangor class submarine, built by China for Pakistan, was launched at a Wuhan shipyard.

About Hangor-Class Submarine

Agreement: The contract to build the submarines was signed in 2015 between the Government of Pakistan and China Shipbuilding & Offshore International Company Ltd.
Construction: Four out of the eight submarines are being constructed by Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry Group (WSIG), while the remaining four are being built at Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KS&EW) under a Transfer of Technology agreement.
Design: The Hangor-class submarine is an export variant of the Chinese Type 039A Yuan class. It is named after the PNS Hangor, known for sinking the Indian frigate INS Khukri during the 1971 war.
Submarine Features: These submarines are equipped with diesel engines and an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, enhancing their underwater endurance.
Armament Capabilities: Hangor-class submarines are capable of launching anti-ship missiles and the Babur-3 subsonic cruise missile, which has a range of 450 km, thereby enhancing Pakistan’s deep-strike capabilities.
Comparison with Indian Submarines: Pakistan’s Hangor class serves as a direct counterpart to India’s Kalavari class, which is based on the French Scorpene-class design

Aspect	Hangor Class	Kalavari Class	Similarities
Size	Significantly bigger than the Kalavari class.	Relatively smaller in size.	Both classes operate on diesel-electric propulsion.
Propulsion	Runs on diesel-electric propulsion.	Runs on diesel-electric propulsion. However, does not have built-in Air Independent Propulsion (AIP).	Both have a top speed of 20 knots (37 kmph).
Crew Comfort	The crew would lead (slightly) more comfortable lives in shallow, littoral waters.	More manoeuvrable, a major advantage in littoral waters.	Both are equipped with state of the art sensor suites.
Armament	Can launch anti-ship missiles and Babur-3 subsonic cruise missiles.	Carries six 21 inch, German-made torpedoes, French Exocet anti-ship missiles, and MICA anti-air missiles.	Neither have vertical launch systems, which limits their ability to carry larger cruise missiles like the Brahmos-NG.

Facts

Project-75 (Kalvari Class)

This project involves a series of submarines named and themed after oceanic elements or historical references.
INS Kalvari: Named after the “Tiger Shark,” this submarine was commissioned in the year 2017.
INS Khanderi: This submarine takes its name from an “Island Fort built by Chhatrapati Shivaji” and was commissioned in 2019.
INS Karanj: Named after an “Island located South of Mumbai,” INS Karanj was commissioned in 2021.
INS Vela: Commissioned in the year 2021, although the meaning of its name isn’t specified in the provided data.
INS Vagir: This submarine is named “Sand Fish” and was commissioned in 2023.
INS Vagsheer: Also named “Sand Fish,” INS Vagsheer was launched in 2022 and is currently undergoing trials.

Examples, Value Addition and Data for Case Studies

Issues related to Children, Public/Civil Service Values and Ethics in Public Administration (GS 2 & GS 4): In Katni district, Madhya Pradesh, District Collector Avi Prasad initiated a community-driven approach to combat malnutrition, which affects nearly half of the under-five children in the area.
- Inspired by cases of severe malnutrition he encountered, Prasad implemented a program that encourages community members to adopt malnourished children and provide them with nutritional care.
- The program involves distributing nutrition kits, designed by experts, which contain a variety of vitamin and protein-rich foods.
- Launched in January 2023, this initiative has already shown significant progress, improving the nutritional status of malnourished children by 27% for severely acute malnutrition (SAM) cases and 23% for moderate acute malnutrition (MAM) cases within a year.
- The success of this program highlights the power of community involvement in addressing critical health issues.