UPSC Key: Kudavolai system, Cheetah in India and US-EU trade deal | UPSC Current Affairs News

Bihar special roll revision: Volunteers will help electors get govt documents, says EC

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act.

What’s the ongoing story: Volunteers will be deployed to help electors get the documents required from government departments to meet the submission deadline of September 1 as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, the Election Commission said on Sunday.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What you know about Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?

• What is the controversy about Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?

• Under which provision does the Election Commission of India (ECI) conduct a “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls?

• What is the primary objective of the “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) of electoral rolls?

• How does Special Intensive Revision (SIR) impacts the credibility of elections?

• What challenges are associated with maintaining accurate and inclusive electoral rolls in India?

• How the SIR of electoral rolls can affect marginalized and migrant populations in Bihar?

• What is the role of the Supreme Court in overseeing election matters and its response to petitions against the SIR?

Key Takeaways:

• The EC’s statement comes a day before the Supreme Court is set to hear a clutch of petitions challenging the SIR with opposition parties and civil society groups raising concerns over the potential disenfranchisement of existing electors. The court heard the matter first on July 10.

• According to the EC, the first phase of the drive, which started on June 25, came to an end on July 26 with the enumeration forms of 7.23 crore out of 7.89 crore registered electors of the state having been received within the deadline. Around 65 lakh names would be removed from the rolls as the electors were found to have either died or migrated permanently or registered in more than one place or untraceable, the EC said.

• Currently, under the Bihar SIR, those who were on the 2003 electoral rolls need only submit an extract from it as proof, while others (enrolled after 2003) must provide one or more documents from a list of 11 (along with a pre-filled enumeration form for existing electors) to establish their date and/or place of birth – which, in turn, is used to determine citizenship.

• In fact, in 1993, when the poll watchdog tried venturing into the question of citizenship at the stage of preparation of the draft roll, the Gauhati High Court held in the case of H.R.A. Chaudhury vs. Election Commission and Others (supra) (upheld by the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India) that “the draft rolls are to be prepared on the basis of the statements submitted by the heads of the households in a constituency in Form 4 under Rule 8 of Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.”

Do You Know:

• The nomenclature “Special Intensive Revision” (SIR) indicates that the ECI is exercising its discretionary powers under Section 21(3) of the 1950 law, which permits it to revise electoral rolls “in such manner as it thinks fit”.
For this exercise, the ECI has adopted a hybrid approach — combining door-to-door field verification that is characteristic of an intensive revision with elements of a summary revision, such as the reliance on existing electoral rolls to distribute enumeration forms.

• According to the EC’s June 24 order, all electors of Bihar had to submit enumeration forms by July 25 to make it to the draft roll to be published on August 1. From August 1 to September 1, the electors would have to submit documents, from a list of 11 specified by the EC in its order, to establish their eligibility. These documents would then be scrutinised and the final roll published on September 30, as per the schedule.

• For those on the 2003 electoral roll, when the last intensive revision was done, the EC order says the extract of the roll would do. The 11 documents include caste certificate, matriculation/ educational certificate, passport and birth certificate, but not the widely held Aadhaar, Voter ID and ration card.

• The EC said that no name can be deleted from the draft roll without notice to the elector and the relevant order passed by the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant ERO. “Any elector aggrieved by any decision of the ERO may appeal to the District Magistrate and the Chief Electoral Officer thereafter under Section 24 of the RP Act, 1950. Volunteers are also being trained in helping people to file appeals against any decision of ERO. A standard format for filing appeals is also being devised and will be widely circulated to allow people to file appeals easily,” the EC said.

• The EC said 22 lakh electors were found to be deceased, 36 lakh had permanently shifted or were not found by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and 7 lakh were enrolled in multiple places.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Bihar special roll revision | BLOs’ refrain: Many still not able to file one of 11 documents needed

Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:

📍Examine the need for electoral reforms as suggested by various committees with particular reference to “one nation – one election” principle. (2024)

SC-named panel proposes ‘power corridors’ through Bustard habitats

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change – that do not require subject specialization.

Main Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment

What’s the ongoing story: Giving relief to renewable energy companies from blanket restrictions on existing overhead power lines in habitats of the Great Indian Bustard (GIB), a Supreme Court appointed expert committee has proposed designated “power corridors” for transmission lines in Gujarat and Rajasthan, The Indian Express has learnt.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the Great Indian Bustard?

• Great Indian Bustards and their habitats-Mark on Map

• Why is the Great Indian Bustard endangered?

• Why is the Great Indian Bustard is on the brink of extinction?

• Great Indian Bustard-Know the Conservation efforts

• How to balance the effectiveness and risks of allowing limited renewable energy infrastructure versus maintaining blanket restrictions in critical habitats?

• What you understand by ‘flagship species’ in conservation?

• How does the Great Indian Bustard serve as an indicator for grassland ecosystem health across India?

Key Takeaways:

• The committee has also revised the boundaries of GIB conservation zones. In Rajasthan and Gujarat, it has proposed a “revised priority area” of 14,013 sq km (up from 13,163 sq km) and 740 sq km (up from 500 sq km), respectively. These priority areas are meant for focused conservation and protection of the GIB.

• The corridors proposed by the seven-member committee will be 5 km wide in Rajasthan and between 1 and 2 km wide across two separate zones in Gujarat. One member of the committee, however, is learnt to have submitted a dissent note, raising objections to exempting several power lines from mitigation.

• The committee has proposed a set of mitigation measures and restrictions based on zonal priorities:
—Existing power lines in Bustard habitats to be dealt with based on voltage.
—Immediate burying of certain lines identified by the Supreme Court in key GIB habitats.
—Lines of 220 kV and above be assessed individually for possible mitigation.
—In some cases, rerouting lines outside proposed power corridors to reduce risk of GIB collisions. For instance, in Gujarat, 79 km of lines have been identified for burial or rerouting outside the revised priority area.
—No new overhead power lines, wind turbines, solar plants over 2 MW, or expansion of existing plants in priority areas of Gujarat and Rajasthan. Only power lines of 11 kV (kilovolt) and lower capacities will be permitted — and strictly through designated power corridors.
—No restrictions on laying new power lines outside the priority areas.

• Sources said the idea behind creating power corridors is to ensure that birds, especially in high-risk habitats like Jaisalmer and Kutch, aren’t forced to repeatedly navigate through a maze of criss-crossing power lines. These areas are densely dotted with transmission and distribution lines, which pose fatal risks to all birds, including the critically endangered GIB.

Do You Know:

• The estimated population of the large bird — once considered a candidate for national bird — is below 150. Owing to its poor vision, the GIB is at high risk of injury and death due to collisions with power lines. In addition to these collisions, GIB populations have plummeted over the years due to hunting, poaching for eggs, predation and habitat loss.

• In March 2024, a Supreme Court bench headed by Justice D Y Chandrachud had recalled a 2021 Supreme Court order that required all power lines in GIB habitats to be buried underground, following concerns about the technical and economic feasibility of such a move. It then tasked the expert committee with prescribing measures to mitigate GIB deaths from power lines while balancing conservation goals with mushrooming renewable energy development in these two states.

• In April 2021, the Supreme Court had ordered that all power lines in the GIB habitat be buried underground. However, earlier this year, the apex court said it would review its 2021 order after the central government found that it would be “practically impossible to implement” over long distances.

• The Great Indian Bustard is one of the heaviest flying birds in the world and has disappeared from 90% of its habitat except in parts of Rajasthan and Gujarat. The International Union for Conservation of Nature has categorised the species as ‘critically endangered’.

• According to the government, there are fewer than 150 GIB – birds that are found only in India. Most of these are found in Rajasthan.

• Increased human activity in their habitat, predators preying on their eggs, and deaths due to overhead power lines are seen as being among the causes of the bird’s population decline.

• In 2020, a study carried out by WII in the 4,200-sq-km of the great Indian bustard (GIB) habitat in and around Desert National Park in Rajasthan estimated that power lines had killed around 84,000 birds of multiple species every year. This included the endangered GIB, which are particularly vulnerable because of their narrow frontal vision and large size.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: Critically endangered Great Indian Bustards’ recovery program, and what lies ahead

📍The Great Indian Bustards of Kutch: Their habitats, existential threat

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
1. With reference to India’s Desert National Park, which of the following statements are correct? (2020)
1. It is spread over two districts.
2. There is no human habitation inside the Park.
3. It is one of the natural habitats of Great Indian Bustard.
Select the correct answer using the code given below:
(a) 1 and 2 only
(b) 2 and 3 only
(c) 1 and 3 only
(d) 1, 2 and 3

EXPRESS NETWORK

Before Magna Carta, Cholas had ‘ballot pots’: What is the ancient voting system PM lauded?

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: History of India

Mains Examination: General Studies I: Indian culture will cover the salient aspects of Art Forms, literature and Architecture from ancient to modern times.

What’s the ongoing story: Village councils in the Chola empire were not just symbolic but elected bodies with real powers over revenue, irrigation, temple management and even justice.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Know about Rajendra Chola I and the Chola empire

• Rajendra Chola assumed the title ‘Gangaikonda Chola’ meaning what?

• Know about Chola administrative, architectural, and trade systems under Rajendra I

• In what ways did the Cholas integrate self-governance institutions like Sabha/Ur and variyams into state administration and resource management?

• What is Kudavolai system?

• The Kudavolai system as an early form of participatory democratic governance in the Chola Empire- What elements resemble modern electoral processes?

• How the combination of qualifications, ballot by lot (via palm leaves), tenure limits, and recall powers in Kudavolai reflects checks and balances in local self-governance?

• What were the limitations of the Kudavolai system?

Key Takeaways:

• Standing before the thousand-year-old stone temple built by Rajendra Chola I, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said the Chola empire carried forward India’s ancient democratic traditions. “Historians talk about Britain’s Magna Carta in the name of democracy,” he said, referring to the 1215 English charter. “But many centuries ago, elections were held in the Chola Empire through a democratic method.”

• Long before the Enlightenment in Europe birthed the ideals of representative governance, the Cholas had etched out rules for local self-rule, literally inscribed into stone. The inscriptions of Uttaramerur, a village in present-day Kanchipuram district, offer some of the world’s earliest surviving evidence of a formal electoral system.

• However, the Chola system was far from egalitarian in the modern sense. It excluded women, labourers, and landless groups. But as historian Tansen Sen wrote in The Military Campaigns of Rajendra Chola, the Cholas were masters of strategic signalling, not just through naval conquests but in governance structures that prefigured electoral thought

Do You Know:

• The Gangaikonda Cholapuram Shiva temple, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is often considered the pinnacle of Chola architecture, a triumphant declaration of the might and magnificence of an empire that at its peak stretched from near the banks of the Ganga in north India to parts of Sumatra, Malaysia, and Myanmar.

• Rajendra Chola I, who reigned for 30 years (1014 to 1044 AD), built Gangaikonda Cholapuram as his capital after his Army marched right up to the Ganga river, defeating the Pala kingdom of Bengal, and returned victorious. In this new town, he built a grand water tank and a grander temple. The tank, Cholagangam, was meant to be a ‘Ganga-jalamayam jayasthambham’, or “a liquid pillar of victory”.

• As chronicled by K A Nilakanta Sastri in The Cholas (1935), the Chola administrative framework was built on two foundational units: the Sabha for Brahmin settlements and the Ur for non-Brahmin villages. These were not symbolic councils but elected bodies with real powers over revenue, irrigation, temple management, and even justice. “It was democracy at the grassroots — built into the fabric of Tamil civic life,” Sastri wrote in Chapter VIII, “Local Self-Government”.

• But what made the system particularly striking was the method of voting, a process called the Kudavolai system or “ballot pot” election. Under this method, as detailed in the Uttaramerur Inscriptions documented in Epigraphia Indica Vol. XXII (1933–34), the names of eligible candidates were inscribed on palm leaves and placed inside a pot. A young boy, typically chosen for his impartiality, would draw the lot in full public view. This randomised draw was not a game of chance but a civic ritual rooted in transparency, fairness, and collective consent.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍PM Modi at Gangaikonda Cholapuram: How this grand temple’s history is linked to present-day politics

Previous year UPSC Main Question Covering similar theme:

📍Chola architecture represents a high watermark in the evolution of temple architecture. Discuss. (2013)

As India seeks more cheetahs, a flurry of diplomacy in Africa

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: General issues on Environmental ecology, Bio-diversity and Climate Change

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Conservation, environmental pollution and degradation, environmental impact assessment.

What’s the ongoing story: Over the past two years, India has been working its diplomatic channels with Botswana, South Africa and Kenya as it navigates a complex set of negotiations to replenish its African cheetah population.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Cheetah in India- Background

• Extinction of Cheetah from Indian Landscape-know the reasons

• Supreme Court of India on Translocating Animals-know in detail

• Trans-continental translocation of Animals-know the Issues and Challenges

• How Reintroduction of the cheetah in India was executed?

• Map Work World-South Africa, Kenya, Namibia and Botswana

• Map Work India-Kuno Palpur National Park and Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary

• Why relocation of some of the cheetahs from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary?

• What are the concerns about the relocation of some of the cheetahs from Kuno National Park to Gandhi Sagar Wildlife Sanctuary?

• Cheetah Project Steering Committee—Know its role, vision and powers

• National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) and Cheetah Project Steering Committee—Is there any difference between the two bodies? If yes, what are they?

• India’s translocation diplomacy in engaging South Africa, Botswana, and Kenya to reintroduce African cheetahs-Comment

• Know the ecological rationale and challenges of reintroducing Southeast African cheetahs at Kuno National Park.

Key Takeaways:

• Senior members of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) have said that talks with South Africa, a key source country, have slowed down following the formation of a new political coalition after general elections there last year.

• At the same time, Botswana has formally committed to sending four cheetahs, and discussions are underway to finalise timelines. In Kenya, negotiations remain broad, centred on long-term collaboration rather than immediate translocation.

• As many as 20 cheetahs have already been brought to India as part of the country’s ambitious translocation plans. Of these, eight were brought from Namibia in 2022 and 12 from South Africa in early 2023. They were all brought to Kuno National Park in Madhya Pradesh.

• In April this year, the Madhya Pradesh government announced that eight new cheetahs would be brought from Botswana and that the first four would arrive by May. That is yet to happen.

• A senior official from the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) said, “We have sought an engagement to work out the logistics. Our High Commission is coordinating to arrive at dates of mutual convenience. The Union Minister concerned has been working on speeding up negotiations with the other countries.”

• Records of Cheetah Project Steering Committee meetings show that as early as December 13, 2023, the committee was apprised that “steps have been taken for bringing further cheetahs from Kenya, Tanzania, Sudan, and other range countries as well.” However, the NTCA has clarified that as of now, there is “no arrangement with Sudan or Tanzania”.

Do You Know:

• As for South Africa, with the translocation of 12 cheetahs having already taken place in 2023, experts from the country have been closely associated with India’s Cheetah Project. However, the changes in government in the country have led to delays in further discussions to bring more cheetahs to India, officials said.

• Project Cheetah kickstarted in 2022 with the translocation of eight cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa to Kuno National Park. The project has faced setbacks with the deaths of eight of these cheetahs and five cubs born in Kuno.

• The Cheetah Project Steering Committee was constituted by the National Tiger Conservation Authority in May 2023 to review and monitor the project, and also act as an advisory body.

• Cheetahs are among the oldest of the big cat species, with its ancestors going back about 8.5 million years. It is listed as “vulnerable” by the World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species. Two subspecies, the Asiatic cheetah and the Northwest African cheetah, are listed as “critically endangered”.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Explained: How cheetahs went extinct in India, and the plan to reintroduce them into the wild

Previous year UPSC Prelims Question Covering similar theme:
2. Consider the following: (2012)
1. Black-necked crane
2. Cheetah
3. Flying squirrel
4. Snow leopard
Which of the above are naturally found in India?
(a) 1, 2 and 3 only
(b) 1, 3 and 4 only
(c) 2 and 4 only
(d) 1, 2, 3 and 4

India’s 1st hydrogen-powered train nears reality as Railways successfully tests coach

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies III: Infrastructure: Energy, Ports, Roads, Airports, Railways etc.

What’s the ongoing story: Indian Railways successfully tested the first hydrogen-powered coach or driving power car earlier this week at its Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai. This marks a key milestone in the national transporter’s quest to build India’s first hydrogen-powered train, something only a few railways in the world have tried, with a bulk of the projects still in the trial phase.

Key Points to Ponder:

• What is the project?

• How will it work?

• What is the significance of India’s first hydrogen powered coach test?

• What were the technical and operational challenges of retrofitting diesel power cars into hydrogen fuel cell units?

• Know the economic viability of hydrogen powered trains in India.

• What are the institutional framework behind the projects like Northern Railway’s RDSO, ICF and Medha Servo Drives?

• Why there is a need for public private and international collaboration in the projects like hydrogen-powered coach or driving power car?

• Compare hydrogen‐fuel cell propulsion with battery‐electric and diesel technologies.

Key Takeaways:

• The ICF project is significant for the Railways as it is one of the key players in India’s mission to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and increase the share of renewable energy in its energy mix. An increased use of hydrogen, which is a cleaner fuel, will further reduce dependence on fossil fuels.

• Officials said that the project has reached the final stage, wherein testing of various equipment is being done before hydrogen-powered trains are pressed into commercial service.

• The 3,000-kg hydrogen fuelling facility at Jind will provide the required hydrogen for the operation of the hydrogen-powered train. The storage capacity has been divided into two separate storage spaces — 2320 kg at low pressure and 680 kg at high pressure.

• The facility will be operated and maintained in accordance with the standards and specification of Petroleum Explosives Safety Organisation (PESO), a nodal agency under the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT).

• Officials said that Northern Railway is undertaking the associated infrastructure works such as power supply, road construction, firefighting tank, etc, to make the facility operational.

Do You Know:

• Indian Railways’ Northern Railway zone has undertaken this project which began in 2020-21. The project has two major components. First, the conversion of two conventional 1600 HorsePower (HP) diesel power cars into hydrogen fuel cell-powered traction system, and second, setting up a hydrogen storage and fuelling facility at Jind in Haryana.

• The total cost of the project is approximately Rs. 136 crore. The primary design, validation, and testing is being undertaken by Indian Railways’ Research Design & Standards Organisation (RDSO).

• A senior official of the Ministry of Railways said that the hydrogen train project was conceptualised for conversion of a 10-coach diesel-electric multiple unit (DEMU) into a hydrogen-powered multiple unit, with two 1600 HP Power cars. With a train length of 10 coaches, it will have a capacity to carry more than 2,600 passengers.

• It has been planned to operate the hydrogen train between Jind and Sonepat stations of Northern Railway in Haryana, two round-trips of 356 km. The hydrogen storage and fueling facility at Jind will have a storage capacity of 3,000 kg of Hydrogen.

• Hydrogen fuel technology is still an emerging field in Railways. There are many challenges and safety concerns, too, as hydrogen is a highly flammable gas. As the project involves the retro-fitment of two diesel-powered cars into Hydrogen fuel cell-powered cars, each power car will carry 220 kg of hydrogen, stored in specially designed cylinders at 350 bar pressure. The mounting structure of hydrogen cylinders and fuel cells is critical and for that, multiple rounds of testing are on.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Railways plans hydrogen-powered engine for passenger trains by end of 2021

THE WORLD

Trump, EU chief strike trade deal: 15% tariffs on all imports to US

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

What’s the ongoing story: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday that the United States and the European Union have reached a basic agreement on a new trade deal, following talks with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Scotland. The agreement includes a 15% tariff on most goods imported from the EU to the US, according to the BBC.

Key Points to Ponder:

• ‘Biggest ever’ US-EU trade deal-What are the key takeaways?

• Know the context and rationale behind the U.S.-EU trade agreement.

• What baseline tariff rate did the U.S. agree to impose on most EU imports under the new trade deal?

• “All EU goods will face a baseline tariff of 15%”-What you understand by the given statement?

• What can be the economic implications of a 15% tariff regime on EU imports?

• What is the zero-for-zero tariff clauses on strategic goods?

• Compare the 2025 EU trade outcome with earlier Trump deals with Japan and others.

Key Takeaways:

• Speaking at his Turnberry golf resort, Trump said, “The European Union is going to agree to purchase from the United States $750 billion worth of energy. They are going to agree to invest into the United States $600 billion more than they’re investing already.”

• The deal came just before a US deadline to impose a 30% tariff on European imports starting August 1, which Trump had warned about in a letter sent to EU officials earlier this month.

• The new 15% tariff, which will take effect on Friday, is higher than the 10% rate previously applied to British goods. It is, however, the same as the rate recently agreed in the US-Japan trade deal, CNN reported.

• The talks also touched on pharmaceutical exports, one of Europe’s biggest exports to the US. Last month, the Trump administration had threatened a 200% tariff on European medicines, which would have severely affected the industry. Trump said on Sunday that pharmaceuticals were “very special” and “need to be made in the United States,” but acknowledged the country would “still import a lot” of medicine from
Europe.

Do You Know:

• Germany, Europe’s biggest economy, had pushed for lower tariffs on its car exports to the US, which have been hit by a 27.5% duty since April. European carmakers exported nearly €39 billion worth of vehicles to the US last year.

•The EU had been preparing countermeasures in case no deal was reached. Some member states believed having a retaliation plan ready was essential to maintain leverage.

• The agreement, is expected to set a baseline tariff rate of 15% on most European imports into the US. Earlier this month, Trump had threatened to increase this rate to 30%, effective August 1, if a trade deal was not realised. The two have been in talks for nearly four months. Since April, the US has charged an additional 10% ‘reciprocal’ tariff on top of the pre-existing 4.8% average duty on imports from the EU.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍Tariff Tracker, July 27 | What to expect from prospective EU-US deal ahead of deadline

📍 ‘Biggest ever’ US-EU trade deal: 5 takeaways

EXPLAINED

China’s mega dam on Brahmaputra, and concerns in India

Syllabus:

Preliminary Examination: Current events of national and international importance.

Mains Examination: General Studies II: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India’s interests

What’s the ongoing story: China formally began construction of a massive dam on the Brahmaputra river close to the border with Arunachal Pradesh at a ceremony that was attended by Premier Li Qiang last week, Xinhua reported.

Key Points to Ponder:

• Map Work-Yarlung Zangbo

• What is the estimated capacity of the mega-dam China has begun constructing on the Yarlung Zangbo (Brahmaputra)?

• What is Brahmaputra in China called?

• What is special about the Three Gorges Dam?

• What are the geostrategic implications of China building a mega-dam on the Brahmaputra’s Great Bend vis-à-vis India’s upstream water security?

• What are India’s concern on a massive hydropower project on the Yarlung Zangbo?

• Which term did Arunachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister Pema Khandu use to describe the dam’s threat?

• “The dam is the biggest issue facing India, second only to the “military threat”, and could be used as a “water bomb”-Analyse

• ‘The risks highlighted by Indian stakeholders, such as “water bomb” threats and lack of data-sharing’-To what extent are they grounded in hydrological reality?

Key Takeaways:

• The $167.8 billion hydropower project, which will be the world’s largest when it is completed, has been talked about for long, and has raised concerns in India and Bangladesh about the impact it may have on the flow of the river.

• The dam on the Yarlung Zangbo (or Tsangpo), as the Brahmaputra is known in Tibet, is being built at the “Great Bend”, where the river makes a U-turn in Medog county before entering India at Gelling in Arunachal Pradesh. The river is called Siang in Arunachal Pradesh.

Ritesh Kumar

• The dam, which China announced in 2021, will have a generation capacity of 60,000 MW, three times that of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze, which is currently the world’s biggest hydropower station.

• In an interview given to PTI about a week before the dam’s groundbreaking ceremony on July 19, the Chief Minister of Arunachal Pradesh, Pema Khandu, described it as a potential “water bomb” and an “existential threat”.

Do You Know:

• The Brahmaputra is the lifeline of Assam, fundamental to its economy, and central to its history, culture, and ecology. Any significant disruption in the flow of the river in the state will have far-reaching consequences.

• On July 21, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma sought to alleviate concerns, pointing out that the Brahmaputra grows into a mighty stream only in Assam, fed by numerous tributaries and bountiful monsoon rain.

• India is currently engaged with China in a series of confidence-building measures after Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri announced last October that the two sides had reached an agreement “on patrolling arrangements along the Line of Actual Control, leading to disengagement and a resolution of the issues that had arisen in these areas in 2020”.

• At the heart of India’s concerns, as articulated by Chief Minister Khandu, lies the fear that China may seek to weaponise the dam project at some stage, perhaps to build pressure on behalf of Pakistan after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty in the aftermath of the terror attack in Pahalgam in April.

• Water experts Naresh K Mathur and Debarshee Dasgupta had written in The Indian Express earlier that as a mitigation strategy, India
could plan storage on rivers of the Brahmaputra system to absorb potential variations in flows (periods of flooding and reduced flows).

• The Upper Siang project in Arunachal Pradesh, with its 300-metre-high dam, is seen as important not just for its formidable hydropower potential, but also as a strategic imperative in view of the Chinese projects in Tibet. The dam’s storage can serve as a buffer against variations in the flow of the river.

Other Important Articles Covering the same topic:

📍India, China and the Brahmaputra front

 

PRELIMS ANSWER KEY

1.(c) 2. (b)

  

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