Museums for Democratic Musings

In the context of modern democracy, the adage “history repeats itself” is a crucial one for every person to understand and avoid mistakes of the past. One need not repeat the mistakes of the past to learn a lesson, just knowing and studying them can do the trick. This is where monuments and museums play a crucial role. India is a torch bearer for modern times, and given its rich heritage, ancient and modern history, it’s story is crucial for a sustainable, peaceful and prosperous future of the planet. For context, France became part of the EU more or less from an Empire status, and the USA, though an old state, became a true democracy only around 60 years back. As Indian democracy is celebrating ‘azaadi ka amrit mahotsav’, every citizen needs to do something towards preserving, protecting and upholding democratic values. First and foremost of these is to differentiate between ‘what is entertainment’ and ‘what is reality’ – where monuments and museums play a key role.

To a land that saw over 9 million manually-written sacred manuscripts burnt to the ground as the Nalanda University library was set ablaze for three painful long months, every article of inheritance that can preserve even a bit of India’s lost history matters.

On lines of the commitment between India and US to “combat theft, illicit trade, and trafficking of cultural objects”, US President Joe Biden returned 248 Indian antiquities to India, 157 of which were brought back to Indian soil by PM Modi (following his visit to US in September 2021). Earlier, in March 2021, the Ministry of Culture and Tourism had conveyed taht the Archaeological Survey of India had retrieved as many as 36 antiquities from foreign countries over the last five years. As for vigrahas of Gods and Godessess alone, since 1976, 55 vigrahas have been returned to India, 42 of which, including that of Goddess Annapurna, have been acquired back in the last 7 years.

Along with these retrieval efforts and upgrading existing museums, focus has also been on constructing new museums with engaging exhibits and content, leveraging modern technologies such as digital, augmented reality and virtual reality. From museums based on food security (Food Security Museum at Thanjavur) to museums featuring the Indian railways, there are over 1000s of them in the country. Museums in India have also gone digital, to not only remain relevant during the pandemic but to also use technology to its advantage. As of July 2021, more than 2.8 lakh artifacts of ten government museums and galleries under the Ministry of Culture were available online. Culture Ministry’s ‘Museum Grant Scheme’ provides financial assistance to State governments, societies, autonomous bodies, local bodies, and Trusts registered under the Societies Act for the digitization of art objects in the museums across the country for making their images/catalog available over the website for online access.

In January 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated a set of 4 museums at Red Fort, one of which is dedicated to Netaji and the INA, known as Kranti Mandir. The complex includes Yaad-e-Jallian Museum on Jallianwala Bagh and World War 1, a Museum on 1857- India’s First War of Independence, and Drishyakala- a Museum on Indian Art which has 4 historical exhibitions, spanning three centuries, with over 450 works of art. Similarly, the newly built museum of Prime Ministers at Teen Murti Estate is ready now, and these efforts are important to engage every Indian towards a vibrant democracy.

MMLPs for Logistics Efficiency

“Contracts for implementation of Multimodal Logistics Parks at four locations through PPP mode will be awarded in 2022-23”, announced Union Budget 2022. This is going to provide a much needed solution towards reducing logistics costs in India. It is well documented that as a proportion of the total value of goods, logistics costs are almost double in India (around 14%) as compared to developed nations( around 7%), hence there is a lot of room for improvement. This underlines the need and power of Modern logistics mechanisms, which is a lot systematic and integrated. It offers a full range of one-stop service through using IT and industry expertise extensively to support the entire supply chain, from transport, to warehousing management, to order processing, to delivery and customer service.

Multi-Modal Logistics Parks or MMLPs, a key policy initiative of the Government of India, is being led by NHAI and the National Highways Logistics Management Ltd under Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH). It may be defined as a freight-handling facility with a minimum area of 100 acres, with various modes of transport access, mechanized warehouses, specialized storage solutions (such as cold storage), facilities for mechanized material handling, bulk and break-bulk cargo terminal, etc. In 2017, the Government of India launched a program to develop 35 MMLPs across the country. This was followed by India securing rank 44 in the World Bank’s Logistics Performance Index (LPI) 2018, wherein it competed with 160 other countries.

India has been able to climb up in the Logistics Performance Index riding on massive capacity investments made since last 4-5 years, in transport, in major policy reforms like GST and measures supporting Ease of Doing Business. Mega projects like the ambitious Bharatmala, Sagarmala, UDAN, Dedicated Freight Corridors, and other relief measures in transportation mechanisms have largely contributed in churning the Logistics and supply chain cycles.

In India, each segment of logistics encounters tricky challenges which lead to low efficiency and high cost. In order to bring this cost down MMLPs can facilitate freight aggregation and distribution, integrated storage and warehousing, seamless multimodal freight transfer, tech support, and value-added freight services. MMLPs aim to improve India’s freight logistics sector by lowering overall freight costs and time, reducing warehousing costs, cutting vehicular pollution and congestion, improving the tracking of consignments and more.

Cost of Coastal Urbanization

Budget 2022 had special focus on Urban Development. It stated, “By the time of India @ 100, nearly half our population is likely to be living in urban areas. To prepare for this, orderly urban development is of critical importance…This would require us to reimagine our cities into centres of sustainable living with opportunities for all, including women and youth. For this to happen, urban planning cannot continue with a business-as-usual approach. We plan to steer a paradigm change.” The paradox of urbanization, however developed and equipped it turns the cities into, is that it advances at the cost of upsetting the balance of nature. Large scale migration results in an acute pressure on resources, land and vexes climate. Coastal area development becomes a very critical aspect to look into.

Globally, India has one of the longest coastlines of 7,500 kilometres. As per the 2011 census, this coastline length housed over 486 urban centres and was home to around 4.17 crore Indians, a number that equals to the population of Australia and New Zealand put together. According to NASA’s Sea Level Projection tool, these coastal areas are projected to face a sea level rise of 0.1 metre to 0.3 metre in the next two to three decades & cities such as Kandla, Bhavnagar, Kochi, Mormugao, Mangalore, Mumbai, Chennai, Paradip, Visakhapatnam, etc. will be impacted by sea level rise in varying degrees. One example to highlight the urgency is that the Island country Indonesia is prepping to relocate its government offices to the province of East Kalimantan, following its plan to move the national capital there from Jakarta. Apart from the intent of redistribution of wealth, the move aims to give relief to an overcrowded and brimmingly congested Jakarta, a city which suffers regular flooding. With its northern parts falling at an estimated 25cm a year, due to subsidence, Jakarta has become one of the fastest sinking cities in the world due to over extraction of groundwater.

Unlike Indonesia, the problem is even deeper and grievous for India, with the world’s second largest population and an entire peninsula to shield. For example, A UNESCO World Heritage Site, the Sundarbans Biosphere Reserve, which lies soaked and half-sunk, is another example indicating the dangers of rapidly rising sea levels. From rising water level, to cyclones, the area, its people, its flora and fauna are constantly living in the fear of getting wiped out. The beautiful Mangrove forests of the sunken and cracked Sunderbans are fast depleting causing the Bengal tigers, over 250 bird species and the Indian python to lose their homes. The land situation has also pushed the Irawadi dolphins, estuarine crocodiles, Batagur baska, etc. on the verge of extinction.

Beginning from a proper study of present systems, the task is to chart out fresh plans to develop a modern strategic infrastructure for proper drainage across target cities with the help of state governments, scientific institutions and other concerned bodies. Continuous weather and wave alerts, however mild they may seem now, make such an undertaking a matter of utmost importance. Hence, it is a welcome move when GoI proposed that, “A high-level committee of reputed urban planners, urban economists and institutions will be formed to make recommendations on urban sector policies, capacity building, planning, implementation and governance.”

Tractors and Drones for Agri-Innovations

In Union Budget 2022, the agriculture sector allocation has been increased by 4.4% to Rs 132,513.62 crore. From promoting chemical-free farming to funding agri-tech start-ups to digital services to farmers, the budget looked at taking agriculture on a sustained higher growth trajectory with a slew of innovative announcements.

The reform-oriented scheme- Sub-Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) is being attributed to the sharp rise in the sale of tractors recently. This is a clear indication of deepening mechanisation of agriculture and rural economy and generates hope to double farmers’ income.

Drones have flown into Indian landscapes quite fast. In August 2021, the Ministry of Civil Aviation liberalised the drone use policy. This was followed by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare issuing the SOP for using drones to spray pesticides in agricultural, forest lands and non-cropped areas. In October 2021, India became the first-ever country to commercially produce and spray Nano Liquid Urea through Drone in Gujarat’s Bhavnagar. A drone subsidy proposal was also included later in the drone policy. It is through this clause that FPO’s can now receive a grant of up to 75% of the cost of an agriculture drone.

Innovative drone-powered solutions and government initiatives like the Svamitva scheme (Survey of Villages and Mapping with Improvised Technology in Village Areas), which is surveying inhabited Indian rural lands using drone technology are taking advantage of these measures. This will empower villagers with a “record of rights”, which may further assist them to fight off property disputes or make more enterprising decisions concerning their land.

As for crop assessment, drones can be peerless as they can provide high-resolution crop data which can help identify, warn & fix issues with the agricultural produce. Other uses include livestock Management, crop health and stress analysis, plant growth monitoring and treatment, scouting, precision farming, fertiliser spraying and more. High-tech aerial surveying drones have advanced sensors which procure precise data. Geo-tagging aerial images provide information that can result in lesser cost, improved crop yields and profitability.

Clearly, the increased public expenditure on infrastructure, agri-techs including ‘Kisan Drones’, crop assessment, digitisation of land records, spraying of insecticides and nutrients, other R&Ds, and FPOs is sure to create a multiplier impact on the growth and competitiveness of the agriculture sector in coming years.

 

Carbon Capturing for Sustainability 

One of the three key goals identified by the government during the budget 2022 is Promoting digital economy & fintech, technology-enabled development, energy transition, and climate action. To protect the interests of future generations and prepare the major polluting industries for green operational levels, achieving these tech and sustainability goals is vital.

Producing top soil, balanced and clean air, well-recharged aquifers etc are gifts of nature that are not easy to produce using man-made technologies, surely not in the short span of time they are needed for a sustainable future. The solution is mindfulness of damages, reducing externalities and capturing & restoring at the source. Top soil storage and refilling open cast mines to sewage treatment are already in vogue. Efforts towards air pollution is collectively termed Circular Carbon Economy(CCE). Latest in CCE is Carbon-capturing, whereby the plants capture carbon at the point of emission itself and using oxidation process traps the carbon dioxide. This way the pollutant becomes reusable in the production of fuels, plastic, soda ash etc. Wherever near by mines, oil wells or other appropriate geological structures are available, this captured carbon is stored deep inside earth’s surface.

To accelerate Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) technologies, India’s DST has established a national programme on CO2 storage research and, in August 2020, made a call for proposals to support CCS research, development, pilot and demonstration projects. CCS technology is meant to play an essential role in meeting net-zero targets, including as one of few solutions to tackle emissions from heavy industry.

Globally, power and industry account for about 50% of all greenhouse gas emissions. With the debate rounding on Net Zero Emissions and targets being set, it is vital to identify and adopt the right balance of portfolio of emission curtailment technologies. The words in the spotlight are – Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage – induced with the aim to reduce carbon emission either by storing it or reusing it. Aligning with this, two National Centres of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilization are being established in India. With the support of the Department of Science & Technology (DST), these two centres namely, NCoE-CCU (National Centre of Excellence in Carbon Capture and Utilization) is established at the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT-Bombay) and NCCCU ( National Centre in Carbon Capture and Utilization ) at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR) Bengaluru.

CCU is among such key pathways to reduce emissions while continuing to develop sustainably at an unprecedented pace. CCU aligns with 5 of the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs), namely, climate action; clean energy, industry, innovation, and infrastructure; responsible consumption and production; and partnerships to achieve the goals.