UPSC Essentials | Mains answer practice : GS 3 (Week 11)

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QUESTION 1

What do you mean by bioenergy, and how is it generated? Discuss how it will aid in meeting India’s energy needs.

QUESTION 2

The year 2023 is the International Year of Millets. Discuss the benefits of including millet as a cereal.

General points on the structure of the answers

Introduction

— The introduction of the answer is essential and should be restricted to 3-5 lines. Remember, a one-liner is not a standard introduction.

— It may consist of basic information by giving some definitions from the trusted source and authentic facts.

Body

— It is the central part of the answer and one should understand the demand of the question to provide rich content.

— The answer must be preferably written as a mix of points and short paragraphs rather than using long paragraphs or just points.

— Using facts from authentic government sources makes your answer more comprehensive. Analysis is important based on the demand of the question, but do not over analyse.

— Underlining keywords gives you an edge over other candidates and enhances presentation of the answer.

— Using flowcharts/tree-diagram in the answers saves much time and boosts your score. However, it should be used logically and only where it is required.

Way forward/ Conclusion

— The ending of the answer should be on a positive note and it should have a forward-looking approach. However, if you feel that an important problem must be highlighted, you may add it in your conclusion. Try not to repeat any point from body or introduction.

— You may use the findings of reports or surveys conducted at national and international levels, quotes etc. in your answers.

Self Evaluation

— It is the most important part of our Mains answer writing practice. UPSC Essentials will provide some guiding points or ideas as a thought process that will help you to evaluate your answers.

THOUGHT PROCESS

You may enrich your answers by some of the following points

QUESTION 1: What do you mean by bioenergy, and how is it generated? Discuss how it will aid in meeting India’s energy needs.

Introduction:

A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around a general statement about bioenergy.

— Biomass has always been an important energy source for the country and it is renewable, widely available, carbon-neutral and has the potential to provide significant employment in rural areas.

— About 32 per cent of the total primary energy use in the country is still derived from biomass and more than 70 per cent of the country’s population depends upon it for its energy needs.

— Ministry of New and Renewable Energy has initiated a number of programmes for the promotion of efficient technologies for its use in various sectors of the economy to ensure the derivation of maximum benefits.

— Biomass materials used for power generation include bagasse, rice husk, straw, cotton stalk, coconut shells, soya husk, de-oiled cakes, coffee waste, jute wastes, groundnut shells, saw dust, etc.

— For efficient utilization of biomass, bagasse-based cogeneration in sugar mills and biomass power generation have been taken up under biomass power and cogeneration programme.

(Source: mnre.gov.in)

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Process

— The thermochemical processes for conversion of biomass to useful products involve combustion, gasification or pyrolysis. The most commonly used route is combustion.

— The cycle used is the conventional Rankine cycle with biomass being burnt in a high-pressure boiler to generate steam and operating a turbine with the generated steam.

— The exhaust of the steam turbine can either be fully condensed to produce power or used partly or fully for another useful heating activity.

— In India, cogeneration route finds application mainly in industries. The sugar industry has been traditionally practicing cogeneration by using bagasse as a fuel.

Aid in meeting India’s energy needs

— The two most common biofuels are ethanol and biodiesel:

Ethanol: It is produced by fermentation of residues of crops like corn and sugarcane. The ethanol after fermentation is mixed with petroleum, which dilutes the latter and reduces the emissions. Ethanol-10 or E10 is the most common blend in which 10 per cent composition is Ethanol.

Biodiesel: It is produced from used cooking oil, yellow grease or animal fats. During its production, cooking oil or fat is burned with alcohol in presence of a catalyst, which produces Biodiesel.

— National Policy on Biofuel, implemented in 2018 aims at promoting the production of biofuels under the “Make in India” program.

— The main amendments approved to the National Policy on Biofuels:

(i) to allow more feedstocks for the production of biofuels,

(ii) to advance the ethanol blending target of 20 per cent blending of ethanol in petrol to ESY 2025-26 from 2030,

(iii) to promote the production of biofuels in the country, under the Make in India program, by units located in Special Economic Zones (SEZ)/ Export Oriented Units (EoUs),

(iv) to grant permission for the export of biofuels in specific cases.

(Sources: World Biofuel Day: Biofuels, their future, mnre.gov.in, http://www.pib.gov.in)

Conclusion:

Your conclusion should be short.

— The amendment proposal will pave the way for Make in India drive thereby leading to reduction in import of petroleum products by generation of more and more biofuels.

— Over 800 biomass power and bagasse/Non-bagasse cogeneration projects aggregating to 10205.61 MW capacity have been installed in the country for feeding power to the grid.

— States which have taken leadership positions in the implementation of bagasse cogeneration projects are Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh. The leading States for biomass power projects are Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu.

(Source: mnre.gov.in)

Points to Ponder

Limitations of Biofuel

Challenges in implementation

QUESTION 2: The year 2023 is the International Year of Millets. Discuss the benefits of including millet as a cereal.

Introduction:

A simple introduction to this answer can revolve around a general statement about millets.

— The United Nations has declared 2023 as the International Year of Millets. Since that was at the initiative of India, which also accounts for a fifth of the world’s millets production.

— India is the largest producer of millets in the world. India’s two varieties of millets namely Pearl Millet (Bajra) and Sorghum (Jowar) together contributed approximately 19 per cent in world production in 2020.

— The major millets producing states in India are Rajasthan, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh and Uttarakhand.

(Sources: The International Year of Millets: how India’s govt can promote the cereals in 2023 by Harish Damodaran, apeda.gov.in)

Body:

You may incorporate some of the following points in the body of your answer:

Benefits of Millet as a Cereal

— The protein, dietary fibre, iron and calcium contents in millet are 2-10 times higher than staple cereals including wheat and rice. Therefore, it is always good to consume millet-based foods which are rich in nutrients and have anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative properties.

— Millets are often the only crops that can grow in arid regions, requiring only 300– 400 mm of water compared to 1400–1500 mm for rice cultivation and 1900-2000 mm for sugar cane.

— Millets are the carbon neutral crops by virtue of carbon absorption from the environment equivalent to their carbon emissions of 0.1–0.2 CO2eq kg per kg of production, compared to 0.4 CO2eq kg per kg of rice production and 0.35 CO2eq kg per kg of wheat production.

— Millet is a short-duration crop that is good for a farmer. Millet is known as an efficient crop that takes only 60–90 days to mature while other fine cereals need 100–140 days.

— Millets are the hardiest, most resilient, and climate-adaptable crops in harsh, hot (up to 64 degrees Celsius) and drought environments.

— Millet contains a lot more nutritional value than rice and wheat which can be able to fulfil our hunger for nutrition.

— Millet releases sugar very slowly in comparison with rice and wheat. Sugar dissolves with blood after a long time of eating, so you will not get hungry frequently.

(Source: indiamilletinitiative.org)

Conclusion:

Your conclusion should be short.

— Multiple varieties of millets are produced in India such as Pearl Millets, Sorghum, Finger Millet, Foxtail, Kodo, Barnyard, Proso, Little Millet and Pseudo Millets like Buckwheat and Amaranths. Pearl millet (Bajra), Sorghum (Jowar) and Finger Millet (Ragi) constitutes the largest share in India’s total production of millets.

— The Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI) has bred Pusa-1201, a hybrid bajra that gives an average grain yield of over 2.8 tonnes and potential of 4.5 tonnes per hectare. It matures in 78-80 days and is resistant to downy mildew and blast, both deadly fungal diseases.

(Sources: The International Year of Millets: how India’s govt can promote the cereals in 2023 by Harish Damodaran, apeda.gov.in)

Points to Ponder

Government Initiatives towards Millet cultivation

Related Previous Year Question

How has the emphasis on certain crops brought about changes in cropping patterns in recent past? Elaborate the emphasis on millets production and consumption. (2018)

Previous Mains Answer Practice

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 9)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 1 (Week 10)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 9)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 2 (Week 10)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 9)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 3 (Week 10)

UPSC Essentials: Mains answer practice — GS 4 (Week 9)

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