The Sustainable Development Goals go much further than the previous goals set by the Millennium Development Goals. Elucidate

1. The United Nations says the SDGs go much further than the previous goals, because they address the root causes of poverty and pledge to leave no one behind, including vulnerable groups. 

2. They also emphasise the need to tackle climate change urgently and protect the environment through a shift to sustainable consumption and production, and wiser management of natural resources. 

3. The SDGs are intended to be universal, applying to all countries rather than just the developing world. 

4. They recognise the key role of the private sector in pursuing and financing sustainable development, in partnership with governments and civil society.

"The record of life that existed on this planet in different periods is found in rocks in the form of fossils". Explain

The microscopic structures closely related to the present form of blue algae have been found in geological formations that are much older than these were some 3,000 million years ago 

Discuss the various stages of formation of the earth's atmosphere.

There are three stages in the evolution of the present atmosphere. 

• The first stage is marked by the loss of primordial atmosphere. 
• In the second stage, the hot interior of the earth contributed to the evolution of the atmosphere.
• During the cooling of the earth, gases and water vapour were released from the interior solid earth. 
• This started the evolution of the present atmosphere. 
• The early atmosphere largely contained water vapour, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, methane, ammonia and very little of free oxygen. 
• The process through which the gases were outpoured from the interior is called degassing.
• Continuous volcanic eruptions contributed water vapour and gases to the atmosphere. 
• As the earth cooled, the water vapour released started getting condensed. 
• The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere got dissolved in rainwater and the temperature further decreased causing more condensation and more rains. 
• The rainwater falling onto the surface got collected in the depressions to give rise to oceans.
• The earth’s oceans were formed within 500 million years from the formation of the earth.  
• Finally, the composition of the atmosphere was modified by the living world through the process of photosynthesis. 
• around 2,500-3,000 million years before the present, the process of photosynthesis got evolved. 
• Life was confined to the oceans for a long time. Oceans began to have the contribution of oxygen through the process of photosynthesis. 
• Eventually, oceans were saturated with oxygen, and 2,000 million years ago, oxygen began to flood the atmosphere. 

What factors lead to the formation of lithosphere?

1. Differential rate of cooling of earth led to separation of layers. Lighter material came up and heavier sank down.

2. During the formation of moon,due to the giant impact, the earth was further heated up. It is through the process of differentiation that the earth forming material got separated into different layers.

 

What do you understand by the term "big-splat"?

It is now generally believed that the formation of moon, as a satellite of the earth, is an outcome of ‘giant impact’ or what is described as “the big splat”. A body of the size of one to three times that of mars collided into the earth sometime shortly after the earth was formed. It blasted a large part of the earth into space. This portion of blasted material then continued to orbit the earth and eventually formed into the present moon about 4.44 billion years ago. 

What reasons could be attributed to for the difference between the terrestrial and the jovian planets?

1. (i)  The terrestrial planets were formed in the close vicinity of the parent star where it was too warm for gases to condense to solid particles. Jovian planets were formed at quite a distant location.
   
   
2. (ii)  The solar wind was most intense nearer the sun; so, it blew off lots of gas and dust from the terrestrial planets. The solar winds were not all that intense to cause similar removal of gases from the Jovian planets.
   
   
3. (iii)  The terrestrial planets are smaller and their lower gravity could not hold the escaping gases. 
   

“There is no dearth of technical talent in India but, we have not been able to utilise the talent to create our own “Silicon Valley” as well”. Discuss the factors which are inhibiting the development of world-class technology based enterprises in India.

1. Culture/Mindset: More inclined towards service than manufacturing.
2. Risk Taking Appetite
3. Industry-Academia linkage:

• Stanford University in Silicon Valley; Companies like HP, Google, Cisco
• High investment by industries on RnD
• New Jersey failed to replicate the California model precisely because they could not create a robust Industry- Academia interface.

4. Inspiring teachers and guides like Frederick Terman => encouraged Hewlett and Packard to open an enterprise from a garage.
5. Infrastructure and governance
6. Paucity of Capital
7. Quality of Skill set of supporting personnel

* WB's Ease of Doing Business Report 2015: India's rank is 142/189

Reference