TOPIC: GS 3 Indian Economy and issues relating to Planning, Mobilization of Resources, Growth, Development and Employment.

A recovery path for airlines

What is the news?

• After months of closing their borders regions that have contained the spread of COVID­19 are trying to find ways of reopening their borders.
• It is not easy for governments to reopen their borders, allow traffic and still keep the virus away.
• In April 2020, two thirds of the global fleet of aircraft was grounded, but essential operations were not halted.
• By raising private capital, receiving government support, cutting costs to the bone, and flying more to transport goods, etc., many airlines have managed to prevent bankruptcy.

Restarting operations

• The vaccination programme unfolds in different parts of the world, it is critical to restart air travel with an internationally reliable, acceptable and harmonious approach.
• The government and industry should collaborate to develop a sustainable ‘restart strategy’.
• A strategy should use a science based approach and specify nations must deal with vaccinated and non-vaccinated passengers,
• The quarantine and testing measures will be adjusted, and appropriate electronic capture of health data to facilitate international travel can be ensured.
• Tools can be developed to continually monitor the risk profiles of different regions.

 

 

 

 

India’s Point in term

• The large domestic aviation market is a saviour.
• Collaboration among the States will be critical to ensure the effective restart of the aviation industry.
• Different testing and quarantine requirements have already created a lot of confusion.
• Natural calamity protocols, a framework establishing clear rules, processes and standards needs to be in place according to the situation.
• Local actions need to be taken whenever risks are identified, and a consistent policy should be followed.
• The micro containment zones have been helpful over blanket lockdowns in containing infections.
• Vaccination can be a requirement to travel but should co­exist with testing regimes and should be considered as a progressive step towards safe travel.
• Imposing compulsory vaccination as a pre­requisite for air travel will only further impact the sector.

Vaccine passports

• Digital travel passes and vaccine passports may be another solution.
• Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines, which are generally recognised as examples of vaccines that will be used as a pre­requirement for vaccine passports, are accessible to countries

Way Forward

• Uneven travel restrictions and passenger demand are driving the need for flexibility and speed in decision­making processes.
• This is seen across multiple serviceable areas, including long­term fleet planning, network planning, and revenue management.
• If the aviation industry has to recover governments need to come up with consistent policies based on evidence, and
• Industry should do it can to reinstate passenger confidence, embrace new ways of making revenue, and new operational demands.

Mains Question

The government and industry should collaborate to develop a sustainable restart strategy. Explain

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/op-ed/a-recovery-path-for-airlines/article34938802.ece

PRELIMS PUNCHERS

1. The pygmy hog

 It  is a suid native to alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas at elevations of up to 300 m. Today, the only known population lives in Assam, India and possibly southern Bhutan. As the population is estimated at less than 250 mature individuals, it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

The pygmy hog is designated as a Schedule I species in India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and offences against them invite heavy penalties. Only one viable population remained in Manas National Park, which had been estimated to comprise a few hundred individuals. Recently, eight captive-bred pygmy hogs, the world’s rarest and smallest wild pigs, were released in the Manas National Park of Assam.

This is the second batch to have been reintroduced into the wild under the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) in a year.

Sources: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/rare-pygmy-hogs-released-in-assams-manas-national-park/article34909685.ece

2. Chumbi Valley

It is  also called Dromo/Tromo Valley and  valley in the Himalayas that projects southwards from the Tibetan plateau, intervening between Sikkim and Bhutan. It is coextensive with the administrative unit Yadong County in the Tibet region of China. The Chumbi Valley is connected to Sikkim to the southwest via the mountain passes of Nathu La and Jelep La.

The valley is being on the south side of the Himalayas, enjoys a wetter and more temperate climate than most of Tibet. The valley supports some vegetation in the form of the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests and transitions to the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows in the north. The Chumbi Valley intervenes between Sikkim and Bhutan south of the high Himalayas, pointing towards India’s Siliguri Corridor like a “dagger”.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/china-raising-new-militia-near-borders-with-india/article34936171.ece

3. The International Civil Aviation Organization

It is a specialized and funding agency of the United Nations. It changes the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth.

The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, its infrastructure, flight inspection, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for international civil aviation. ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation that are followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. The Air Navigation Commission  is the technical body within ICAO. The commission is composed of 19 commissioners, nominated by the ICAO’s contracting states and appointed by the ICAO Council

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/implement-icaos-air-travel-guidelines-iata/article31735230.ece

4. Great Barrier Reef

 The Great Barrier Reef is the world’s largest coral reef system composed of individual reef. The reef is located in the Coral Sea, off the coast of Queensland, Australia. The Great Barrier Reef can be seen from outer space and is the world’s biggest single structure made by living organisms. This reef structure is composed of and built by billions of tiny organisms, known as coral polyps. It supports a wide diversity of life and was selected as a World Heritage Site in 1981.

A large part of the reef is protected by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, which helps to limit the impact of human use, such as fishing and tourism. Other environmental pressures on the reef and its ecosystem include runoff, climate change accompanied by mass coral bleaching, dumping of dredging sludge and cyclic population outbreaks of the crown-of-thorns starfish. These polyps have microscopic algae called zooxanthellae living within their tissues. The corals and algae have a mutualistic relationship.

Sources : https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/great-barrier-reef-should-be-listed-as-in-danger-un-committee-recommends/article34897826.ece

PRELIMS QUESTIONS

1. Consider the following statement regarding to The pygmy hog
2. The only known population lives in Assam, India and possibly southern Bhutan
3. It is listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer: A

 It  is a suid native to alluvial grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas at elevations of up to 300 m. Today, the only known population lives in Assam, India and possibly southern Bhutan. As the population is estimated at less than 250 mature individuals, it is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List.

The pygmy hog is designated as a Schedule I species in India under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and offences against them invite heavy penalties. Only one viable population remained in Manas National Park, which had been estimated to comprise a few hundred individuals. Recently, eight captive-bred pygmy hogs, the world’s rarest and smallest wild pigs, were released in the Manas National Park of Assam.

This is the second batch to have been reintroduced into the wild under the Pygmy Hog Conservation Programme (PHCP) in a year

2. Consider the following statement regarding to Chumbi Valley
3. It is connected to Sikkim via the mountain passes of Nathu La and Fotu La Pass
4. It intervenes between Sikkim and Bhutan south of the high Himalayas, pointing towards India’s Siliguri Corridor

Select the correct statement using code given below.

(a). 1only       (b) 2 only

(c).Both       (d). None of above

Answer: B

It is  also called Dromo/Tromo Valley and  valley in the Himalayas that projects southwards from the Tibetan plateau, intervening between Sikkim and Bhutan. It is coextensive with the administrative unit Yadong County in the Tibet region of China. The Chumbi Valley is connected to Sikkim to the southwest via the mountain passes of Nathu La and Jelep La.

The valley is being on the south side of the Himalayas, enjoys a wetter and more temperate climate than most of Tibet. The valley supports some vegetation in the form of the Eastern Himalayan broadleaf forests and transitions to the Eastern Himalayan alpine shrub and meadows in the north. The Chumbi Valley intervenes between Sikkim and Bhutan south of the high Himalayas, pointing towards India’s Siliguri Corridor like a “dagger”.