Editorials/Opinions Analysis For UPSC 16 February 2023
Contents
- India wants $5 billion in defence exports by 2025
- The Advantages and Risks of Our Big Lithium Discovery
India Wants $5 Billion In Defence Exports By 2025
Context
The Prime Minister recently announced plans to increase annual defence exports to $5 billion over the following two years, as arms companies flocked to a significant air show in an effort to cut into the nation’s massive import budget.
Relevance:
GS Paper-3: Effects of liberalization on the economy, changes in industrial policy and their effects on industrial growth
Mains Question
Defense Industrial Corridors will encourage domestic production of equipment for the military and aerospace industries. This can reduce our imports and promote the export of items to other countries. Comment (150 words)
Highlights:
- Aero India, a five-day event held every two years, is expected to see India sign $9 billion worth of defence contracts. The largest deal India has ever made will be this one. This occurs as its airlines work to complete their purchases of jetliners to meet domestic demand and pressure foreign aircraft manufacturers to increase local production of aircraft, primarily through partnerships.
- Despite being one of the largest consumers of defence equipment in the world for many years, India has consistently underperformed in the international market for the export of weapons.
- India’s export targets reflect the country’s growing influence, as it uses significant imports to promote investment in its domestic industry.
India’s Defense Exports
- In the past, India has exported supersonic cruise missiles from the Russia-India joint venture BrahMos Aerospace to the Philippines as well as Dhruv helicopters from Hindustan Aeronautics (HAL) to the Philippines, Mauritius, and Ecuador.
- Other items exported by India include offshore patrol vessels, coastal surveillance systems, avionics, chaff rocket launchers, and radar spares. o HAL has also offered to sell Malaysia its Tejas light fighter jet.
- The air show aims to promote the export of domestic air platforms like the Tejas, Dhruv, HTT-40 training aircraft, Dornier light utility helicopter, and the light combat helicopter.
- India also wants start-ups and smaller domestic firms to produce parts for significant defence goods around the world as well as to attract foreign investment for joint product development and production.
Do you know?
- In 2021–2022, India exported defense-related goods and technology worth a record Rs 13,000 crores; in 2022–2033, this amount is predicted to reach Rs 17,000 crores.
- The Ministry of Defence has released positive indigenization lists for over 3,700 items, including 310 other defense-related items and components/line replacement units for defence public sector units.
- India’s defence exports increased from 1,520 crore to 8,435 crore between 2017 and 2021, according to data from the defence ministry, nearly quadrupling.
- It’s predicted that by 2023, defence exports will surpass $19,000 billion, and by 2025, India may reach its goal of exporting goods worth $25,000 billion.
Pressure to Diversify
- At the Aero India exhibition, officials praised the aerobatic feats of Tejas and Russian-made Sukhoi 30 fighter jets.
- India’s largely Soviet-era air force fleet, which shares borders with nuclear-armed rivals China and Pakistan, is in desperate need of modernization.
- Over the past five years, Russia has given India roughly $13 billion worth of weapons, and suppliers in the European Union and the United States have been competing for a larger share of the market.
- As a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, India must now further diversify its supply chain due to concerns over a potential Russian supply disruption and Western pressure on the country to cut its ties with Moscow.
- Indian airlines are also growing, and Tata Group’s Air India is expected to announce a record-breaking deal to purchase nearly 500 aircraft from Airbus and Boeing, with a list price of more than $100 billion.
- Although it is unlikely that the transaction will be revealed at the air show, it will be announced at India’s largest industry gathering, where suppliers will be vying for spin-off contracts from the country’s expanding civil and military aviation sectors.
Conclusion
- The Prime minister mentioned that India is not just a market for defence companies; it is also a potential defence partner. He also urged the private sector in India to continually increase its investments in the nation’s defence industry.
- The government is promoting an ambitious plan to make the country a centre for defence manufacturing. To encourage domestic producers, the nation has prohibited the importation of more than 300 defence systems and related components. It will take a while, but it is entirely doable, to go from having a 0.2 percent share of the world’s arms export market to being a significant exporter.
The Advantages and Risks of Our Big Lithium Discovery
Context
The government recently announced that lithium reserves totaling 5.9 million tonnes had been discovered in Jammu and Kashmir’s Reasi district.
Relevance:
GS Paper-3: Science and Technology- developments and their applications and effects in everyday life
Mains Question
What makes lithium metal so crucial to India? What are the dangers of mining lithium? (250 Words)
Highlights
- The discovery of lithium in Jammu and Kashmir is a significant boost for India’s electrification plans, but mining in the ecologically fragile Himalayas is a high-risk, high-reward endeavour.
- With approximately 5.7% of the world’s reserves, this deposit of the rare element may rank seventh in size.
- The International Energy Agency claims that the price of lithium increased more than seven-fold between the beginning of 2021 and May 2022. They are also said to be of a higher grade—550 parts per million (ppm) compared to the average 220 ppm—making it highly profitable.
- An important factor to consider would be the G3 category of lithium deposits as the EV industry celebrates the recent discovery.
What does G3 stand for?
- According to the United Nations Framework Classification for Fossil Fuels, a G3 category or inferred resources is defined as quantities associated with a known deposit that can be estimated with a low level of confidence.
- By “inferred resources,” we mean a portion of a mineral resource whose quantity, grade, or quantity can be estimated based on geological evidence, sparse sampling, and a reasonably ascribed, but unconfirmed, continuity of geology and grade.
- “The best estimate scenario is equivalent to the combination of the high confidence and moderate confidence estimates (G1+G2), whereas a low estimate scenario is directly equivalent to a high confidence estimate (i.e. G1).
- Quantities can be calculated either deterministically or probabilistically.
Lithium Metal
- With three protons and the element symbol Li, lithium is the third element in the periodic table. The atomic mass of it is 6.941.
- Two stable isotopes of lithium, lithium-6 and lithium-7, combine to form natural lithium.
- Lithium is the lightest metal, making up more than 92% of the element’s natural abundance. Of all the metals, lithium has the lowest density.
- The metal is stored under oil or enclosed in an inert atmosphere because it reacts with both air and water. It is challenging to put out a lithium fire because of the reaction with oxygen.
- Lithium burns brightly red when it is ignited.
- It was one of the three elements, along with hydrogen and helium, that were created during the big bang.
- The element occurs naturally in the Earth’s crust in an abundance of about 0.0007%.
Significance of Lithium
- Lithium is a soft, shiny grey metal that can be found in the earth’s crust. Lithium is significant to India. Its capacity for energy has made it useful in a variety of industries, earning the nickname “white gold.”
- The majority of the world’s lithium production in the future will go towards making the batteries that power electric vehicles and other modern appliances.
- India is currently dependent on imports of lithium because it lacks its own lithium resources.
- In fiscal 2022, India imported Lithium and Lithium ion worth almost ₹14,000 crore.
- These reserves are uncommon.
- India could become truly “Atmanirbhar” by utilising the potential of the lithium reserves in J&K, which would also help it achieve its goals for renewable energy while reducing its reliance on foreign nations.
- Lithium is a key component of India’s plan to increase EV penetration by 30% by 2030.
What are the dangers of mining lithium?
- Environmental Pollution: Like any mining activity, there are negative environmental effects, such as air, water, and soil pollution.
- Highly water-intensive: To extract one tonne of lithium from its ore, approximately 2.2 million litres of water are needed.
- Highly fragile and environmentally sensitive region: As evidenced by the recent Joshimath subsidence, the Himalayas are a highly fragile and environmentally sensitive region that is susceptible to the long-term negative effects of unauthorised development activities.
- Environmentalist opposition: Environmentalists may voice their disapproval of mining in the area.
China’s Lithium Dominance
- Although China is the world’s largest market for electric vehicles, it controls both the supply and demand side of the lithium industry. It also controls nearly 75% of the world’s production of cell components and battery cells. As a result, the spread of EVs may lead to India’s dependence on China, similar to how it is dependent on the Middle East for crude oil.
- However, the reserves in J&K offer a significant opportunity for India to become self-sufficient.
Do You Know?
- According to a report by the International Energy Agency, China currently processes 58% of the world’s lithium, followed by Chile, which processes 29%, and Argentina, which processes 10%.
- Over 170 crore worth of lithium metal and an estimated 8,800 crore worth of lithium batteries were imported by India in 2020–21.
- The largest lithium reserves are found in Chile.
Conclusion
- Miners need to do more before they can extract lithium for use in industry.
- According to the UN Framework Classification of Mineral Resources, the discovery is “inferred,” or preliminary, which is the lowest of the three levels of estimations of a mineral deposit and the second of the four stages of exploration.
