Goaltide Daily Current Affairs 2022

Oct 05, 2022

Current Affair 1:
Pokkali, a GI-tagged rice variety, could be on the verge of extinction

 

Pokkali rice is a saline-tolerant, indigenous rice variety grown in the Alappuzha, Thrissur and Ernakulam districts of Kerala. In Malayalam, Pokkam means height and Aali means plant. This lesser-known rice variety is developed in low-lying coastal areas and employs one of the oldest organic farming techniques.

Pokkali is a system in which the farming alternates between rice and prawn; the fields are used alternately for rice farming and prawn and shrimp cultivation.

Why is Pokkali special?

Pokkali is cultivated with no fertilisers, be it chemical or organic, as it is grown in waterlogged areas. Pokkali can claim the title ‘organic’ as it is grown in water, and even if pesticides were added, the change in seawater level washes away the pesticides. This organically-grown rice is famous for its medicinal qualities and peculiar taste and has high protein and fibre content. Due to its geographical specificity, Pokkali was conferred a geographical indication (GI) tag in the year 2008.

Decline:

According to Pokkali Land Development Agency, Pokkali farming across Kerala has declined from 25,000 hectares to about 4,000 hectares. That said, the actual agriculture takes place in less than 1,000 hectares. They say that this decline has also affected prawn farming. What reasons led to this decline?

  1. Shortage of labour: Unemployment has been growing in Kerala at an average of eight percent per annum, which is higher than the national average
  2. Lack of mechanisation
  3. Poor marketing

Current Affair 2:
The impossible Trinity

 

News:

What is Impossible Trinity?

It refers to the idea that an economy cannot pursue the following three things at the same time:

1. Allow the free flow of capital across its borders

2. Independent monetary policy

3. Maintain a fixed exchange rate, and

As per economists, any economy can choose to pursue only two out of the three policy options noted above simultaneously in the long-run.

Now in today's world, you all know that capital is largely free to move across the borders with ease. So, the choice before policymakers is either maintain a fixed exchange rate OR pursue independent monetary policy.

For example, if a country’s policymakers want their currency to appreciate then it cannot be done without adopting a tight domestic monetary policy. Because in 'easy monetary policy', (domestic) money is cheaper and hence it will lose strength (depreciate) with the foreign currency.

And if a country’s central bank adopts easy monetary policy, this will naturally cause the value of its currency to depreciate against foreign currencies. [Easy monetary policy means 'money' will be available at a cheaper (interest) rate].

UPSC may not ask 'impossible trinity', but it can always ask the concept involved in impossible trinity.

 

Current Affair 3:
Cotton in India: Statistics

 

                   

Current Affair 4:
International Solar Alliance

 

The International Solar Alliance is an international organisation with 109 member and signatory countries.

It works with governments to improve energy access and security worldwide and promote solar power as a sustainable way to transition to a carbon-neutral future.

ISA’s mission is to unlock US$ 1 trillion of investments in solar by 2030 while reducing the cost of the technology and its financing.

It promotes the use of solar energy in the Agriculture, Health, Transport and Power Generation sectors. ISA member countries are driving change by enacting policies and regulations, sharing best practices, agreeing on common standards, and mobilising investments.

With the signing and ratification of the ISA Framework Agreement by 15 countries, on 6 December, 2017, ISA became the first international intergovernmental organization to be headquartered in India. 

ISA is partnering with multilateral development banks (MDBs), development financial institutions (DFIs), private and public sector organisations, civil society, and other international institutions to deploy cost-effective and transformational solutions through solar energy, especially in the least Developed Countries (LDCs) and the Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The Assembly is the apex decision-making body of ISA, in which each Member Country is represented.

The Assembly meets annually at the ministerial level at the ISA’s seat. It assesses the aggregate effect of the programmes and other activities in terms of deployment of solar energy, performance, reliability, cost and scale of finance.

As per the current information on website of ISA:

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