What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Coal Quality and Gradation
• What are the characteristics of Indian coal?
• What is Clean coal?
• Future of Coal in India

Why in News?

• A recent report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project claims that in 2014, the Adani Group falsely labeled low-grade Indonesian coal as high-quality. They inflated its value and sold it to Tamil Nadu's power generation company, TANGEDCO.
• The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project is a venture backed by billionaire hedge fund manager and philanthropist, George Soros.

Coal Quality and Gradation

• Understanding Coal Quality
  • Coal quality is determined by its Gross Calorific Value (GCV).
    • GCV is the amount of heat or energy that can be generated from burning the coal.
  • Coal being a fossil fuel is a mixture of carbon, ash, moisture and a host of other impurities.
  • Higher carbon content indicates higher quality or grade of coal.
• Types of coal
  • Coal is characterized into different categories:
    • Non-coking coal where grading is based on Gross Heat content; 
    • Coking Coal where grading is based on ash %; and 
    • Semi coking coal and weakly coking coal where grading is based on ash and moisture %.
• Coal Grades
  • The higher the available carbon in a unit of coal, the greater is its quality or ‘grade.’ 
  • There are 17 grades of coal, from grade 1 (highest quality) to the lowest grade.
    • Grade 1 coal yields over 7,000 kcal/kg, while the lowest grades yield 2,200-2,500 kcal/kg.
• Application Context
  • The usefulness of coal depends on its application, such as in thermal power plants or steel production, each requiring different types of coal.
    • E.g., Non-coking coal is used in thermal power plants. It can have higher ash content but still generate sufficient heat for boilers and turbines.
    • Coking Coal is essential for steel production, requires minimal ash content.

What are the characteristics of Indian coal?

• Low in calorific value
  • Indian coal has historically been evaluated as being high in ash content and low in calorific value compared to imported coal. 
  • The average GCV of domestic thermal coal ranges from 3,500-4,000 kcal/kg compared to imported thermal coals of +6,000 kcal/kg of GCV.
• High ash content
  • The average ash content of Indian coals is more than 40% compared to imported coal which has less than 10% ash content.
  • Hence, high-ash coal when burnt results in higher particulate matter, nitrogen and sulphur dioxide.
• Government Policies
  • Since 1954, the government has controlled coal prices to discourage the use of high-grade coking coal for power generation.
  • To balance coal production, power needs, and pollution, the government recommends using imported coal with lower ash and moisture content.
  • The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) in 2012 recommended blending 10-15% imported coal with Indian coal for power boilers designed for low-quality domestic coal.

What is Clean coal?

• About
  • Clean coal refers to technologies and practices designed to reduce the environmental impact of coal energy production.
    • In clean coal, the carbon content has been increased by reducing its ash content.
  • These methods aim to make coal a cleaner energy source by reducing its environmental and health impacts.
• Production of clean coal
  • some key aspects of clean coal:
    • Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): Capturing carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants and storing them underground to prevent them from entering the atmosphere.
    • Coal Washing: Removing impurities from coal before it is burned, which can reduce emissions of ash, sulfur, and other pollutants.
    • Flue Gas Desulfurization (FGD): Also known as scrubbers, this technology removes sulfur dioxide from the exhaust flue gases of coal-fired power plants.
    • Gasification: Converting coal into synthetic gas (syngas), which can be burned more cleanly than coal.
    • Advanced Combustion Techniques: Improving the efficiency of coal combustion to reduce emissions and increase energy output.
• Disadvantages associated with coal washing
  • Coal plants use washing techniques, employing blowers or baths to remove ash and moisture.
  • However, this process is costly and increases power production expenses.
• Coal Gasification
  • An alternative method is coal gasification, converting coal into gas.
  • Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle (IGCC) systems use steam and pressurized air or oxygen to create syngas (carbon monoxide, hydrogen, CO2, water vapor).
  • Syngas is cleaned and burned in gas turbines, producing electricity.
  • IGCC increases coal efficiency by generating both steam and syngas.

Future of Coal in India

• Production
  • India in 2023-24 produced 997 million tonnes of coal, an 11% growth over the previous year. 
  • Most of this was produced by the state-owned Coal India Ltd and its subsidiaries.
• Coal is the mainstay of India’s energy economy
  • Despite stated commitments to transition India’s electricity sector away from fossil fuel, coal is the mainstay of India’s energy economy.
• Change is in the air
  • For the first time this year, renewable energy accounted for 71.5% of the record 13.6 GW power generation capacity added by India in the first quarter of this year.
  • During this period, coal’s share (including lignite) of total power capacity dropped below 50% for the first time since the 1960s.

 Q.1. What is Central Electricity Authority (CEA)?

The Central Electricity Authority (CEA) is a statutory body in India that advises the central and state governments on all technical aspects of the power sector.

Q.2. What is Gross Calorific Value (GCV)?

Gross calorific value (GCV), also known as higher calorific value (HCV) or high heat value, is the maximum amount of heat produced when a unit of fuel is completely burned and the combustion products have cooled to room temperature. GCV is made up of the net calorific value, plus the energy in the exhaust gases and water vapor produced during combustion.

Source: What grade of coal does India produce? | Explained

PIB

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is Digital Competition Bill, 2024?
• What is the need for such bill?
• What are the key proposals of the draft digital competition Bill 2024?

Why in News?

• Four members of the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) have expressed a divergent stance on the proposed Digital Competition Bill (DCB). They have written to the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) to quickly implement regulations that prevent anti-competitive practices.
• In May 2024, the IAMAI has expressed apprehensions about the draft Digital Competition Bill 2024. It had argued against the need for ex-ante (before the event) regulations for digital markets in their submission on the draft Digital Competition Bill.
• IAMAI is a key industry body that represents numerous digital entities, including big tech firms.

What is Digital Competition Bill, 2024?

• About
  • The bill seeks to further regulate large digital enterprises, including news aggregators, as part of efforts to ensure a level-playing field and fair competition in the digital space.
    • It was proposed in March 2024.
  • The new law could prevent big tech companies like Google, Facebook, and Amazon from favoring their own services or using data collected from one of their businesses to help another one of their businesses.
  • It has provisions to set presumptive norms to curb anti-competitive practices before they actually take place.
  • It promises to impose heavy penalties — which could amount to billions of dollars — for violations.
• Nodal ministry
  • The Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA) is handling the draft.

What is the need for such bill?

• Ex post antitrust framework being followed in India
  • Currently, India follows an ex post antitrust framework under the Competition Act, 2002. 
  • One of the biggest criticisms of the law has been that regulating after the incidence of market abuse involves delays.
    • By the time the offending company has been penalised, market dynamics change to rule out smaller competitors.
  • Due to the complex world of digital markets, regulating for market abuse after it takes place (as in an ex-post framework) is not optimal.
  • A forward-looking, preventive, and presumptive law (an ex-ante framework), which foresees the potential harms that can arise out of antitrust issues and prescribes pre-determined no-go areas is perhaps the way forward.
• Big tech companies have shown a history of engaging in anti-competitive practices
  • In 2023, Google was fined Rs 1.337 crore by the CCI for its anti-competitive conduct in the Android ecosystem.
• High market barriers for new entrants
  • Many analysts believe that majority of the innovation has been confined to within the stables of a handful of big tech companies, mostly from the US.
  • A big reason for this is the high market barriers for new entrants in the sector — in the online market.
    • Once a company gets a significant portion of the market, their product becomes the default way to access that particular service, with rivals finding it increasingly difficult to challenge their dominance.

What are the key proposals of the draft digital competition Bill 2024?

• List of Core Digital Services (CDS)
  • The list of core digital services has been mentioned under Schedule I of the bill.
  • It consists of 
    • online search engines, 
    • online social networking services, 
    • video-sharing platform services, 
    • interpersonal communications services, 
    • operating systems, web browsers, cloud services, advertising services, and 
    • online intermediation services (includes web-hosting, service providers, payment sites, auction sites, app stores, e-commerce marketplaces and aggregators, etc.)
• Significant entities
  • The Bill proposes to designate certain enterprises as Systemically Significant Digital Enterprises (SSDEs).
    • SSDEs are those enterprises that provide core digital services in India and have a significant presence and significant financial strength in the country.
• Parameters to determine whether the enterprise may be designated as SSDE
  • If an enterprise is engaged in a CDS, the Bill proposes two tests – the financial strength test and spread test (user base test) to determine whether the enterprise may be designated as SSDE.
  • The quantitative parameters for a company to be designated a SSDE are:
    • If in the last 3 financial years, its turnover in India is not less than Rs 4,000 crore; or its global turnover is not less than $30 billion; or
    • Its gross merchandise value in India is not less than Rs 16,000 crore; or
    • Its global market capitalisation is not less than $75 billion; or
    • The core digital service provided by these companies should also have at least 1 crore end users, or 10,000 business users.
• Entities that do not fall under these parameters can still be designated as SSDEs if the CCI believes that they have a significant presence in any given core digital service.
• Obligations imposed on SSDE
  • Entities which are designated as SSDEs, have been prohibited from engaging in practices such as self-preferencing, anti-steering, and restricting third party applications. 
  • If they violate these requirements, they can be fined up to 10% of their global turnover.
• Associate Digital Enterprises
  • The Bill proposes to designate associate digital enterprises (ADEs) to understand the role that data collected by one company of a major technology group can play in benefiting other group companies.
  • If an entity of a group is determined to be an associate entity, they would have the same obligations as SSDEs.
    • However, this will depend on the level of their involvement with the core digital service offered by the main company.
  • For example, Google Maps could be seen as an associate entity because Google Search directs users to it. 
  • The same goes for YouTube, depending on how much data is shared between Google Search and YouTube, affecting the video recommendations YouTube makes to users.

Q.1. What is meant by for ex-ante regulations?

Ex-ante regulations are proactive rules designed to prevent anti-competitive practices before they occur. These regulations set predetermined guidelines and restrictions for companies to ensure fair competition in the market, rather than addressing issues after they have already happened. 

Q.2. What is Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI)?

The Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) is a not-for-profit industry body that represents the digital services and mobile content sectors in India. Established in 2004, IAMAI works to expand and enhance the online and mobile value-added services sectors.

Source: Divergent views emerge within IAMAI on proposed digital competition bill

News 18

Indian Express

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC)/ Harappa Civilisation (3300 - 1300 BCE)
• The Vedic Age (1500 - 600 BCE)
• How Archaeologists are Establishing Relationships Between the Harappan and the Vedic Age?

 Why in News?

• Archaeologists are working with Sanskrit scholars to decipher the Rigveda, carrying on research that could lead to a relationship between the people of the Vedic age and the Harappan civilization.

Indus Valley Civilisation (IVC)/ Harappa Civilisation (3300 - 1300 BCE):

• Also known as the Indus Civilisation, the IVC was a Bronze Age civilisation in the northwestern regions of South Asia.
  • The Indus civilisation is also known as the Harappan Civilisation, after Harappa (now in Punjab), which is the first of its sites to be excavated early in the 20th century.
• Together with ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, it was one of three early civilisations of the Near East and South Asia, and the most widespread among the three.
  • Its sites stretch over an area spanning from today’s northeast Afghanistan, through much of Pakistan and into western and northwestern India.
• It flourished in the basins of the Indus River and along a system of rivers that once coursed in the vicinity of the seasonal Ghaggar-Hakra river in northwest India and eastern Pakistan.
• The civilisation's cities were noted for their -
  • Urban planning,
  • Baked brick houses,
  • Elaborate drainage systems,
  • Water supply systems,
  • Clusters of large non-residential buildings,
  • New techniques in handicraft (carnelian products, seal carving) and
  • Metallurgy (copper, bronze, lead and tin).
• The urbanisation that accompanied the civilisation may have started as a result of the region's soil gradually drying out during the third millennium BCE.
• However, the civilisation eventually declined and its population dispersed eastward and southward due to weaker monsoons and a lower water supply.

The Vedic Age (1500 - 600 BCE):

• It is the period in the late Bronze Age and early Iron Age of the history of India when the Vedic literature, including the Vedas was composed in the northern Indian subcontinent.
• It lies between the end of the urban IVC and the second urbanisation, which began in the central Indo-Gangetic Plain (c. 600 BCE).
• In terms of literature, as well as social and cultural evolution, Vedic age is divided into two stages
  • The Rigvedic period/ Early Vedic period (between 1500 BC and 1000 BC) and
  • The Later Vedic period (between 1000 BC and 600 BC).
• The early Vedic Aryans lived in the area known as sapta-sindhu/ an area of seven rivers - in and around present-day Punjab region.
• During the Later Vedic period, they gradually moved eastward and came to occupy eastern UP (Kosala) and north Bihar (Videha).

How Archaeologists are Establishing Relationships Between the Harappan and the Vedic Age?

• Ongoing debates:
  • The NCERT recently made a major addition (based on DNA evidence from the 4,600-year-old remains of a woman) to the Class 12 History textbook, indicating that the Harappans were an indigenous people.
    • The NCERT has added a disclaimer that more research is required to establish this relationship.
  • Some historians believe that the Vedas date farther back to 2,500 BC/ 4,500 years ago, which would coincide with the IVC.
• What archaeologists are trying to establish?
  • Archaeologists are now working to test the hypothesis that the Harappans and the Vedic people were the same.
  • According to the renowned archaeologist Vasant Shinde, a clear understanding of what is mentioned in the Rigveda text is importantto co-relate archaeological evidence unearthed in excavations of Harappan settlements.
• What evidence shows?
  • While excavating the site of Rakhigarhi (Haryana), the archaeologists found evidence of ritual platforms and fire altars. Fire worship is also mentioned in Rig Vedic texts.
  • The mention of the river Saraswati (modern Ghagghar-Hakra river) is recorded at least 71 times in the Rigvedic text. During archaeological excavations, a majority of Harappan settlements were discovered along the banks of river Saraswati.
  • Another point of reference which may link the Harappans with Vedic times is a set of animal bones found and studied by archaeo-zoologists in the Surkotada region of Kutch, Gujarat.
    • While some researchers stated that these bones belonged to a proper domesticated horse (which finds mention in Rigvedic texts), another group concluded that these were the bones of a wild ass.

 Q.1. What is the significance of the Harappan site of Dholavira?

Located on the Tropic of Cancer, Dholavira is one of the five largest Harappan sites and most prominent archaeological sites in India belonging to the Indus Valley Civilization. It is also considered as having been the grandest of cities of its time.

Q.2. What were the Mahajanpadas in ancient India?

The Mahajanpadas were sixteen kingdoms and aristocratic republics that existed in ancient India from the sixth to fourth centuries BCE, during the second urbanisation period.

Source: Archaeologists, Sanskrit scholars tie up to decipher Rigveda text