What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Disinvestment
• What is Disinvestment?
• Evolution of Disinvestment in India
• What are the benefits of Disinvestment?
• Why disinvestment is often criticised?
• How has disinvestment fared in recent years?
• News Summary: Govt. Concedes Disinvestment Stalled by Multiple Challenges
• What are the key obstacles to the disinvestment process?

 

Why in news?

• The Finance Ministry has publicly acknowledged the numerous challenges it is facing in its efforts to privatise public sector enterprises (PSEs) and raise funds through minority stake sales.
• Last month, the ministry had reduced the government’s disinvestment target for 2023-24 to a nine-year low of ₹51,000 crore.

 

Disinvestment

What is Disinvestment?

• About
  • Disinvestment means sale or liquidation of assets by the government, usually Central and state public sector enterprises, projects, or other fixed assets.
  • In some cases, disinvestment may be done to privatise assets. However, not all disinvestment is privatisation.
    • In complete privatisation, 100% control of the company is passed on to the buyer.
• Objectives
  • Reducing the fiscal burden on the exchequer
  • Improving public finances
  • Encouraging private ownership
  • Funding growth and development programmes
  • Maintaining and promoting competition in the market

 

Evolution of Disinvestment in India

• Disinvestment in India began in 1991-92 when 31 selected PSUs were disinvested for Rs. 3,038 crores.
  • The term ‘disinvestment’ was used first time in Interim Budget 1991.
• Later, Rangarajan committee, in 1993, emphasised the need for substantial disinvestment. 
• The policy on disinvestment gathered steam, when a new Department of Disinvestment was created in 1999, which became a full Ministry in 2001.
  • Ministry of Disinvestment was formed in 2001
• But in 2004, the ministry was shut down and was merged in the Finance ministry as an independent department.
• Later, the Department of Disinvestments was renamed as Department of Investments and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) in 2016.
  • Now, DIPAM acts as a nodal department for disinvestment. 

 

What are the benefits of Disinvestment?

• Helps government with the money
  • Govt also uses disinvestment proceeds to finance the fiscal deficit, to invest in the economy and development or social sector programmes.
• Beneficial for long term growth
  • Disinvestment can be helpful in the long-term growth of the country as it allows the government and even the company to reduce debt.
• Encourages private ownership of assets
  • Disinvestment also encourages private ownership of assets and trading in the open market.
  • Private ownership of assts often brings efficiency and increases the profitability.
    • E.g., Hindustan Zinc was acquired by Vedanta in 2022. Since then, it has seen 100 fold increase in profits on the back of six fold expansion in capacities.
• Often releases large amount of public resources
  • Disinvestment releases large amount of public resources (tangible & intangible both) such as manpower, assets etc.
  • These resources can be re-deployed in high priority social sector. 

 

Why disinvestment is often criticised?

• Loss of regular payments to the government
  • Profit making PSUs pay dividend to the govt at regular interval.
• Can create private monopoly
  • Disinvestment might create private monopoly in place of public monopoly.
  • E.g., Disinvestment of VSNL to TATA, IPCL to Reliance
• Vague classification of strategic and non-strategic sectors
  • Many proponents claim that govt should retain its presence in strategic sector which going for disinvestment in non-strategic sectors. 
  • However, the classification of strategic and non-strategic sector is not done properly. 
  • E.g., Strategic disinvestment in Oil sector might threaten the energy security of India.
• Faulty model
  • Using disinvestment funds to bridge the fiscal deficit has been termed as a faulty model by many analysts.
  • It is equivalent to selling family silver to meet short term goals.

 

How has disinvestment fared in recent years?

• Disinvestment receipts so far this year amount to just ₹35,282 crore, as opposed to a Budget target of ₹65,000 crore and revised estimates of ₹50,000 crore.
• According to the recently release Economic Survey report, about ₹4.07 lakh crore has been realised as disinvestment proceeds in the past nine years.
  • Post-2014 the government is engaging with the private sector as a co-partner in the development.
• So far, different central governments over the last three decades have been able to meet annual disinvestment targets only six times.

 

News Summary: Govt. Concedes Disinvestment Stalled by Multiple Challenges

What are the key obstacles to the disinvestment process?

• Global challenges
  • The Finance Ministry has noted that the COVID-19 pandemic seriously impacted transactions in 2020 and 2021.
  • It was followed by the Ukraine conflict last year.
  • These events hurt minority stake sales as well as strategic sales as financial capacity and risk-reward options of potential bidders turned worse.
• Internal challenges
  • Strategic disinvestment transactions have to deal with matters such as:
    • resolving land title, lease and land use issues with State government authorities;
    • disposal of non-core assets, excess manpower and labour unions, protection of process and functionaries etc.
• Challenges posed by employees’ unions
  • Multiple court cases filed by employees’ unions and other interest groups against the disinvestment policy as well as specific transactions were also hindering deals.
• Challenges to disinvestment through minority stake sale
  • These include: 
    • Reduced availability of government stake over 51% for large listed central PSEs; 
    • Relatively muted perception of investors in these stocks as compared to private sector peers; 
    • Price overhang in the market due to high disinvestment target and 
    • frequent use of exchange traded funds (ETF) route for stake sale till 2019-20.
      • ETF is a type of investment fund that is traded on stock exchanges like individual stocks.

 

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Q1) What is the purpose of disinvestment?

 Disinvestment is aimed at reducing the financial burden on the government due to inefficient PSUs and to improve public finances. It introduces competition and market discipline and helps to depoliticize non-essential services.

 

Q2) What is Exchange traded fund (ETF)?

An Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) is a type of investment fund that is traded on stock exchanges like individual stocks. It is a collection of assets such as stocks, bonds, or commodities, that is designed to track the performance of a particular market index, sector, or asset class. ETFs are similar to mutual funds in that they provide investors with a diversified portfolio of assets, but they differ in that ETFs trade on an exchange like stocks, allowing for intra-day trading and pricing transparency.

 

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Source: Govt. concedes disinvestment stalled by multiple challenges | DIPAM | Financial Express | Deccan Herald

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is Photovoltaic Waste?  
• What are the Challenges India faces in Photovoltaic waste Management?
• How have other Countries Responded?
• What are the Recent Initiatives of the Indian Government to Reduce Photovoltaic wastes?
• What is the Way ahead in India’s Photovoltaic waste management?

 

Why in News?

• Even though there has been a concerted push from policymakers in India to transition to a circular economy, waste management in the solar photovoltaic sector still lacks clear directives.

 

What is Photovoltaic Waste?

• Globally, India stands fourth in solar photovoltaic deployment, with a solar power installed capacity of nearly 62 GW by 2022.
  • India’s solar photovoltaic installations are dominated by crystalline silicon (c-Si) technology.
  • A typical photovoltaic panel is made up of 93% of c-Si modules and 7% of cadmium telluride (CdTe) thin film modules.
  • The metals used to manufacture c-Si modules are silver, tin, and lead. The CdTe thin film module is made of glass, encapsulant, and compound semiconductor.
• While this is certainly encouraging, it indicates a serious issue of solar photovoltaic waste in future.
• According to a report by the International Renewable Energy Agency, India could generate 50,000-3,25,000 tonnes of cumulative photovoltaic waste by 2030 and more than 4 million tonnes by 2050.
  • India is expected to become one of the top five leading photovoltaic waste producers globally by 2045-2050.
• According to a 2021 report, approximately 50% of total materials can be recovered through such waste management and recycling processes.

 

What are the Challenges India faces in Photovoltaic waste Management?

• The growing informal handling: Only about 20% of the waste is recovered in general, the rest is treated informally.
• Waste accumulation at landfills: This in turn causes acidification, leaching of toxic metals (such as lead and cadmium) into the soil, and contaminates the local water.
• Leading to pollution: Gradual incineration of the panel encapsulant also releases sulphur dioxide, hydrogen fluoride, and hydrogen cyanide into the atmosphere.
• Ignorance of appropriate disposal practices: Among multiple actors and institutions across the supply chain, including producers, owners, consumers, and waste disposal facilities.
• Small market to repurpose or reuse recycled photovoltaic waste: This is because of a lack of suitable incentives and schemes in which businesses can invest.
• The absence of a regulatory body: To measure, monitor, and report solar photovoltaic waste.

 

How have other Countries Responded?

• The European Union’s ‘Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive’ makes producers responsible for safely and responsibly disposing of end-of-life photovoltaic panels.
• In the U.S., states have the freedom to establish their own solar photovoltaic regulatory standards.
• Manufacturers in Japan are responsible for developing environment-friendly recycling technologies through public-private partnerships and launching awareness campaigns about their benefits.
• China has introduced an implementation plan for life-cycle management and to improve the resource efficiency of solar photovoltaic panels.
  • Chinese researchers are also developing recycling processes to recover silicon from end-of-life panels and process them back into solar wafers.

 

What are the Recent Initiatives of the Indian Government to Reduce Photovoltaic wastes?

• The Ministry of Environment, Forests and Climate Change’s revised electronic waste (e-waste) management Rules in 2022 brought solar photovoltaic cells, panels, and modules under its ambit.
• The Green Credit Programme under the Environmental Protection Act 1986, announced in the 2022-2023 Union Budget, aimed to promote green growth and sustainable practices.
• The latest production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme promotes the domestic manufacturing of high-efficiency solar photovoltaic modules.

 

Way ahead in India’s Photovoltaic waste management

• Avoiding clubbing of photovoltaic waste with other e-waste: India should formulate and implement provisions specific to photovoltaic waste treatment within the ambit of the e-waste guidelines.
• A legislative framework to enforce the Extended Producer Responsibility Rules.
• A Central insurance or a regulatory body should be set up to protect against financial losses incurred in waste collection and treatment.
• To give away the practice of classifying waste generated from photovoltaic modules as hazardous.
• Pan-India sensitisation drives and awareness programmes on photovoltaic waste management and clear recycling targets in the photovoltaic waste management policy directive are needed.
• Paying more attention to domestic R&D efforts. Depending on a single module type will deplete certain natural resources and stunt the local capacity for recycling and recovery of critical materials.
• The methods/best practices of other countries could be a good reference point for India to develop ‘Made in India’ manufacturing capabilities, recycling technologies, and waste management strategies in this field.

 

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Q1) What are the E-Waste (Management) Rules, 2016?

It provides for compulsory authorisation of the dismantling and recycling units from the concerned State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs)/ Pollution Control Committees (PCCs).

 

Q2) What is the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA)?

It is an intergovernmental organisation (founded in 2009) mandated to facilitate cooperation, advance knowledge, and promote the adoption and sustainable use of renewable energy. 

 

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Source: India’s solar push augurs a looming waste management challenge

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in News?
• What is the Piezoelectric Effect?
• What is the History behind the Piezoelectric Effect?
• About Piezoelectric Materials
• Examples of Piezoelectric Materials
• Applications of Piezoelectric Effect
• Discovery of Piezoelectric Effect in Liquids
• What is the Significance of this Discovery?

 

Why in News?

• A pair of chemists at Michigan State University has observed the piezoelectric effect in liquids for the first time.
• In their paper published in The Journal of Physical Chemistry Letters, Md. Iqbal Hossain and G. J. Blanchard, describe accidently observing the property while studying ionic liquids.

 

What is the Piezoelectric Effect?

 

Image Caption: Piezoelectric Effect

• The piezoelectric effect is a phenomenon where specific types of material (e.g., quartz, topaz, etc.) produce an electric charge proportional to the mechanical stress applied to them.
• It occurs when there is a conversion of kinetic or mechanical energy due to crystal deformation, into electrical energy.
• Piezoelectric materials are materials that can produce electricity due to mechanical stress.
• When a piezoelectric material is placed under mechanical stress, there is a shift of the positive and negative charge centres in the material, which then results in an external electric field.

 

What is the History behind the Piezoelectric Effect?

• In 1880, Jacques and Pierre Curie discovered that pressure generates electrical charges in certain types of crystals such as quartz and tourmaline.
• They called this phenomenon the "piezoelectric effect". The word "piezo" is derived from the Greek word piezein, which means to squeeze or press.
• Later they noticed that electric fields can deform piezoelectric materials. This effect is called the "inverse piezoelectric effect".
• After these first demonstrations, more work was undertaken to explore the great potential of the piezoelectric effect.

 

About Piezoelectric Materials

• A crystal is any solid with atoms or molecules that are arranged in a very orderly way based on repetitions of the same basic atomic building block (the unit cell).
• In most crystals (such as in metals), the unit cell is symmetrical; in piezoelectric crystals, it isn't.
• Normally, piezoelectric crystals are electrically neutral.
• The atom arrangement may not be symmetrical, but the electrical charges are perfectly balanced: a positive charge in one place cancels out a negative charge nearby.
• However, stretching or squeezing a piezoelectric crystal deforms the structure, pushing some of the atoms closer together or further apart.
• This upsets the balance of positive and negative, and causes net electrical charges to appear.

 

Examples of Piezoelectric Materials

• There are a variety of piezoelectric materials, both man-made and natural, that can produce electricity.
• Natural –
  • The most well-known, and the first commercially available piezoelectric material used in electronic devices is the quartz crystal.
  • Other naturally-occurring piezoelectric materials include topaz, tourmaline, and even bone.
• Man-made –
  • A breakthrough came when scientists developed a new class of man-made materials, called ferroelectrics, which exhibited piezoelectric characteristics many times more powerful than piezoelectric crystals.
  • Scientists kept searching for higher performance materials and this resulted in the development of barium titanate and lead zirconate titanate.

 

Applications of Piezoelectric Effect

• Developed in the 1900s to detect icebergs, the sonar device is the first practical application for piezoelectric devices.
• Sensors, high voltage generators, electronic frequency generators, microbalances, inkjet printers, and ultra-fine focusing and alignment of optical assemblies among others all exploit piezoelectric technology.
• It is also the basis of a number of scientific instrumental techniques with atomic resolution, such as scanning tunnelling microscopes.

 

Discovery of Piezoelectric Effect in Liquids

• The researchers at Michigan State University were studying properties of ionic liquids.
  • Ionic liquids are made from salts with unsymmetrical, flexible organic cations and symmetrical weakly coordinating anions.
• The liquid piezoelectric material was discovered as the researchers applied pressure with a piston to a sample of an ionic liquid in a cylinder.
• To their surprise, they found that this led to the release of electricity.
• They also found that the amount of electricity released was proportional to the amount of pressure applied.

 

What is the Significance of this Discovery?

• The reason the piezoelectric effect has only been expected in solids thus far is that the body being squeezed needs to have an organised structure, like the pyramids of quartz.
• Liquids don’t have such structure; instead, they take the shape of their container.
• The researchers suggest that liquid piezoelectric materials could prove to be useful, especially ones made using ionic liquids, because they would be more environmentally friendly than solid materials.
• They also note that liquid piezoelectric materials could allow more variety in device shape, opening up wider design opportunities.

 

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Q1) What are Ionic Liquids?

Ionic liquids (ILs) are normally defined as compounds completely composed of ions with melting point below 100 °C. The first IL (ethylammonium nitrate) was reported by Paul Walden in 1914.

 

Q2) What is Doppler Effect?

The Doppler effect, or Doppler shift, describes the changes in frequency of any kind of sound or light wave produced by a moving source with respect to an observer.

 

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Source: Scientists spot piezoelectric effect in liquids for the first time 

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• Participation of Women in Defence Sector

 

Why in news?

• Around 40 more women Army officers are set to be cleared for the rank of colonel (selection grade) in phases over the next two to three years.
  • A total of 108 women officers, out of 244, were cleared for the rank of colonels by a special selection board in January 2023.
  • They have already assumed command roles in various Army units across the country.
• This move will make them eligible to command units in their respective arms and services in the future.
  • The SC order to grant permanent commission to women Army officers in Feb 2020 opened the doors for their promotion across all streams of the Army, except pure combat arms.

 

Participation of Women in Defence Sector

• 

Image caption: Percentage of women in armed forces

• Navy
  • The induction of women as officers in the Indian Navy commenced in the year 1991.  
  • Since then, the Indian Navy has gradually opened all branches to women officers including induction through NDA. 
    • In Navy, women are engaged in activities such as firing torpedoes and missiles at enemy warships. 
    • Women officers also serve on board naval warships in combat, albeit discharging non-combat roles.
  • In 2020, the Indian Navy started deploying its first batch of women pilots on the Dornier maritime aircraft. 
  • Further, for the first time, women are also being recruited for sailors’ entries under the Agnipath Scheme w.e.f. 2022.
    • 20% vacancies are reserved for women.
• Air Force
  • Officers recruitment in the IAF is gender neutral. Women officers are inducted in all the branches and streams of IAF.
  • In 2015, Indian Air Force had opened new combat roles for women as fighter pilots. 
  • This experimental scheme to induct women officers in all combat roles has now been regularised into a permanent scheme.
• Army
  • Initially, woman officers were permitted PC in only two services – the Judge Advocate General’s Branch and the Army Education Corps. 
  • In February 2020, the defence ministry permitted SSC women officers in another eight arms/services to be granted PC.
    • This happened after the Supreme Court, in February 2020, granted women the right to permanent commission (PC), and the right to command.
  • Hence, at present, the women are being commissioned in Indian Army in ten Streams.
  • Now the prestigious National Defence Academy (NDA) has started accepting women cadets.
    • In 2021, the Supreme Court allowed women to appear for the upcoming entrance exam of the National Defence Academy (NDA).
  • So far, no combat role has been given to women in Army.
    • The ‘no women in combat’ rule was not challenged in the SC and the apex court did not rule on this.
• Recent developments in Army
  • For the first time, five women officers have cleared the prestigious Defence Services Staff Course (DSSC) and Defence Services Technical Staff Course (DSTSC) Exam.
  • Recently, a women officer has been deployed, for the first time, to a post in the Saichen Glacier.
  • The Army has so far recruited six meritorious sportswomen into the Corps of Military Police under its Mission Olympic Programme.
    • The Indian Army was the first among the three Services to open its soldier ranks to women in the Corps of Military Police.
  • In January 2023, Indian Army deployed its largest-ever contingent of women soldiers for UN peacekeeping operations in the volatile oil-rich Abyei region of Africa.
    • This is India’s largest single unit of women peacekeepers in a UN Mission.

 

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Q1) When did the armed forces begin inducting women?

 The army, air force and navy began inducting women as short-service commission (SSC) officers in 1992. This was the first time women were allowed to join the military outside the medical stream. Initially, they could serve for five years, and their service could be extended by another five years. In 2006, a policy revision allowed them to serve for a maximum of 14 years as SSC officers.

 

Q2) What does Permanent Commission in Indian Armed Forces mean?

In the Indian Armed Forces, Permanent Commission refers to a career in which a serving officer can continue to serve until their retirement age, which is typically between 54 and 60 years of age, depending on the rank. A Permanent Commission is granted to officers who are selected through a rigorous selection process and who meet the required physical and educational criteria.

 

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Source: After 108 women officers, 40 more set to get Colonel rank | PIB | Outlook