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THE INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

1. INDIA, UAE INKS COMPREHENSIVE TRADE PACT

THE CONTEXT: India and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) signed a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which is set to reduce tariffs for 80 per cent of goods and give zero duty access to 90 per cent of India’s exports to the UAE.

THE EXPLANATION:

• The agreement, which is expected to come into effect in about 60 days, is expected to boost annual bilateral trade to $100 billion within 5 years of its adoption, up from about $60 billion currently. The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement was signed between the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and the UAE’s Ministry of Economy Ab after 88 days of negotiations.

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE TRADE PACT

• An India-UAE Joint Vision Statement was adopted which lays down contours of future course of bilateral relations and highlights areas of focus.
• On defence and security, both sides agreed to enhance maritime cooperation contributing to maintenance of peace and security in the region. They also reaffirmed joint commitment to fight against extremism and terrorism, including cross-border terrorism, in all forms, at both regional and international levels.
• On energy partnership, they agreed to promote collaboration opportunities to support India’s energy requirements, including new energies, and ensure the provision of affordable and secure energy supplies to India’s growing economy. They also expressed mutual support in energy transition and focused work on a low-carbon future.
• On climate action and renewables, they agreed to support each other’s clean energy missions and establish a joint Hydrogen Task Force to help scale up technologies, with special focus on production of Green Hydrogen.
• On emerging technologies, they agreed to expand cooperation on critical technologies and mutually promote e-businesses and e-payment solutions and promote start-ups from both countries.
• On education cooperation, they agreed to establish an Indian Institute of Technology in the UAE.
• On health cooperation, they decided to collaborate in research, production and development of reliable supply chains for vaccines and enhance investments by UAE entities in the health infrastructure in India as well as collaborate in providing healthcare in underprivileged nations.
• On food security, they acknowledged the need to enhance the resilience and reliability of food supply chains. They also decided to expand cooperation through enhanced bilateral food and agriculture trade and, promote and strengthen the infrastructure and dedicated logistic services connecting farms to ports to final destinations in the UAE.

VALUE ADDITION:

India–United Arab Emirates relations:

• Relations between both the countries were traditionally close. They had enjoyed close and friendly ties on the basis of historic and cultural ties. Barter trade for clothes & spices in exchange of dates & pearls and people-to-people contacts from the region have existed for centuries.
• Relations flourished with the creation of federation in 1971. Today, Indians make up ‘largest minority ethnic group’ in the UAE, accounting for around 38% of UAE’s total residents.

Trade Relations:

• UAE is currently India’s third-largest trading partner. It is also India’s second-largest export destination after the US. India was UAE’s second-largest trading partner in 2019. Furthermore, UAE is the eighth-largest investor in India.
• India’s major exports to the UAE include petroleum products, stones, minerals, precious metals, gems &jewellery, food items like sugar, cereals, tea, meat, fruits & vegetables, seafood, textiles etc. India imports crude petroleum, petroleum products, stones, minerals, precious metals, gems and jewellery, chemicals, wood and wood products.

THE ENVIRONMENT AND ECOLOGY

2. THE ARMY TAG FOR NEW GECKO FROM MEGHALAYA

THE CONTEXT: A team of herpetologists have recorded a new species of bent-toed gecko from a wooded part of the Umroi Military Station in Meghalaya.

THE EXPLANATION:

• Its scientific name is Crytodactylusexercitus and English name is Indian Army’s bent-toed gecko. Exercitus in Latin means army.
• “The name was given to honour the Army for its services to the country. The military station where the bent-toed gecko was discovered was also a factor behind its name.
• The genus Cyrtodactylus is represented by about 320 species worldwide and is the third most speciose vertebrate genus in the world. The members of the genus range from South Asia to Melanesia with high diversity in south Asia.
• India is now home to 40 species of the bent-toed gecko with the northeast accounting for 16 of them.

3. THE NATIONAL GREEN HYDROGEN POLICY

THE CONTEXT: Releasing the first part of India’s National Green Hydrogen Policy, the government on announced some incentives for potential manufacturers, generation companies (gencos) and distribution licensees (discoms) to boost large scale indigenous production of green hydrogen, so as todecarbonise the energy sector and reduce India’s heavy dependence on fossil fuels and crude oil imports.

THE EXPLANATION:

The Mission aims to aid the government in meeting its climate targets and making India a green hydrogen hub. This will help in meeting the target of production of 5 million tonnes of Green hydrogen by 2030 and the related development of renewable energy capacity.

What is the Significance?

• Hydrogen and Ammonia are envisaged to be the future fuels to replace fossil fuels. Production of these fuels by using power from renewable energy, termed as green hydrogen and green ammonia, is one of the major requirements towards environmentally sustainable energy security of the nation.
• Government of India is taking various measures to facilitate the transition from fossil fuel / fossil fuel based feed stocks to green hydrogen / green ammonia. The notification of this policy is one of the major steps in this endeavour.
• The policy promotes Renewable Energy (RE) generation as RE will be the basic ingredient in making green hydrogen. This in turn will help in meeting the international commitments for clean energy.

The policy provides as follows:

• Green Hydrogen / Ammonia manufacturers may purchase renewable power from the power exchange or set up renewable energy capacity themselves or through any other, developer, anywhere.
• Open access will be granted within 15 days of receipt of application.
• The Green Hydrogen / Ammonia manufacturer can bank his unconsumed renewable power, up to 30 days, with distribution company and take it back when required.
• Distribution licensees can also procure and supply Renewable Energy to the manufacturers of Green Hydrogen / Green Ammonia in their States at concessional prices which will only include the cost of procurement, wheeling charges and a small margin as determined by the State Commission.
• Waiver of inter-state transmission charges for a period of 25 years will be allowed to the manufacturers of Green Hydrogen and Green Ammonia for the projects commissioned before 30th June 2025.
• The manufacturers of Green Hydrogen / Ammonia and the renewable energy plant shall be given connectivity to the grid on priority basis to avoid any procedural delays.
• The benefit of Renewable Purchase Obligation (RPO) will be granted incentive to the hydrogen/Ammonia manufacturer and the Distribution licensee for consumption of renewable power.
• To ensure ease of doing business a single portal for carrying out all the activities including statutory clearances in a time bound manner will be set up by MNRE.
• Connectivity, at the generation end and the Green Hydrogen / Green Ammonia manufacturing end, to the ISTS for Renewable Energy capacity set up for the purpose of manufacturing Green Hydrogen / Green Ammonia shall be granted on priority.
• Manufacturers of Green Hydrogen / Green Ammonia shall be allowed to set up bunkers near Ports for storage of Green Ammonia for export / use by shipping. The land for the storage for this purpose shall be provided by the respective Port Authorities at applicable charges.

The implementation of this Policy will provide clean fuel to the common people of the country. This will reduce dependence on fossil fuel and also reduce crude oil imports.

THE GOVERNMENT SCHEMES IN NEWS

4. PRADHAN MANTRI FASAL BIMA YOJANA (PMFBY) ENTERS ITS 7TH YEAR OF IMPLEMENTATION

THE CONTEXT: The Pradhan Mantri FasalBima Yojana (PMFBY) has successfully entered its 7th year of implementation with the upcoming Kharif 2022 season, completing 6 years of its implementation since its launch announcement in February 2016.

THE EXPLANATION:

According to the Government, over 36 crore farmer applications have been insured under PMFBY, with over INR 1,07,059 crores of claims have already been paid under the scheme as of 4th February 2022.

• The PMFBY replaces the existing two schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as the Modified NAIS.
• The scheme has been able to provide financial assistance to the most vulnerable farmers, as around 85% of the farmers enrolled with the scheme are small and marginal farmers. The recent announcement by Finance Minister of India during her 2022-23 budget speech on the use of drones for crop insurance will further strengthen the integration of technology for smooth implementation of the scheme on the ground.
• It is to be noted that the scheme will be launching a doorstep distribution drive to deliver crop insurance policies to the farmers ‘Meri Policy Mere Hath’ in all implementing States. The campaign aims to ensure all farmers are well aware and equipped with all information on their policies, land records, the process of claim and grievance redressal under PMFBY.

ABOUT THE SCHEME

Objectives

• To provide insurance coverage and financial support to the farmers in the event of failure of any of the notified crop as a result of natural calamities, pests & diseases.
• To stabilise the income of farmers to ensure their continuance in farming.
• To encourage farmers to adopt innovative and modern agricultural practices.
• To ensure flow of credit to the agriculture sector.

Highlights of the scheme

• There will be a uniform premium of only 2% to be paid by farmers for all Kharif crops and 5% for all Rabi crops. In case of annual commercial and horticultural crops, the premium to be paid by farmers will be only 5%. The premium rates to be paid by farmers are very low and balance premium will be paid by the Government to provide full insured amount to the farmers against crop loss on account of natural calamities.
• There is no upper limit on Government subsidy. Even if balance premium is 90%, it will be borne by the Government.

Farmers to be covered

• All farmers growing notified crops in a notified area during the season who have insurable interest in the crop are eligible.
• To address the demand of farmers, the scheme has been made voluntary for all farmers from Kharif 2020.
• Earlier to Kharif 2020, the enrolment under the scheme was compulsory for following categories of farmers:
  • Farmers in the notified area who possess a Crop Loan account/KCC account (called as Loanee Farmers) to whom credit limit is sanctioned/renewed for the notified crop during the crop season.
  • And such other farmers whom the Government may decide to include from time to time.

Voluntary coverage: Voluntary coverage may be obtained by all farmers not covered above, including Crop KCC/Crop Loan Account holders whose credit limit is not renewed.

 THE MISCELLANEOUS

5. EXPLAINED: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FIR

What is an FIR?

An FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint. The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.

The term first information report (FIR) is not defined in the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC), 1973, or in any other law, but in police regulations or rules, information recorded under Section 154 of CrPC is known as First Information Report (FIR).

Section 154 (“Information in cognizable cases”) says that “every information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence, if given orally to an officer in charge of a police station, shall be reduced to writing by him or under his direction, and be read over to the informant; and every such information, whether given in writing or reduced to writing as aforesaid, shall be signed by the person giving it, and the substance thereof shall be entered in a book to be kept by such officer in such form as the State Government may prescribe”.

Also, “a copy of the information as recorded…shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant”.

In essence then, there are three important elements of an FIR:

1. the information must relate to the commission of a cognizable offence,
2. it should be given in writing or orally to the head of the police station and,
3. it must be written down and signed by the informant, and its key points should be recorded in a daily diary.

What is a cognizable offence?

• A cognizable offence/case is one in which a police officer may, in accordance with the First Schedule of the CrPC, or under any other law for the time being in force, make an arrest without a warrant.
• In the First Schedule, “the word ‘cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer may arrest without warrant’; and the word ‘non-cognizable’ stands for ‘a police officer shall not arrest without warrant’.”

What is the difference between a complaint and an FIR?

• The CrPC defines a “complaint” as “any allegation made orally or in writing to a Magistrate, with a view to his taking action under this Code, that some person, whether known or unknown, has committed an offence, but does not include a police report.”
• However, an FIR is the document that has been prepared by the police after verifying the facts of the complaint. The FIR may contain details of the crime and the alleged criminal.
• If, on the basis of a complaint, it appears that a cognizable offence has been committed, then an FIR under Section 154 CrPC will be registered, and police will open an investigation. If no offence is found, the police will close the inquiry.
• In case of non-cognizable offences, an FIR under Section 155 CrPC, commonly called “NCR”, is registered, and the complainant will be asked to approach a court for an order. The court may then direct the police to conduct an investigation on the complaint.
• Section 155 (“Information as to non-cognizable cases and investigation of such cases”) says: “When information is given to an officer in charge of a police station of the commission within the limits of such station of a non-cognizable offence, he shall enter or cause to be entered the substance of the information in a book…and refer the informant to the Magistrate. No police officer shall investigate a non-cognizable case without the order of a Magistrate having power to try such case or commit the case for trial.”

 What is a Zero FIR?

• When a police station receives a complaint regarding an alleged offence that has been committed in the jurisdiction of another police station, it registers an FIR, and then transfers it to the concerned police station for further investigation. This is called a Zero FIR.
• No regular FIR number is given. After receiving the Zero FIR, the concerned police station registers a fresh FIR and starts the investigation.

What if the police refuse to register an FIR?

• Under Section 154(3) CrPC, if any person is aggrieved by the refusal on the part of the officer in charge of a police station to register an FIR, she can send the complaint to the Superintendent of Police/DCP concerned who, if satisfied that such information discloses the commission of a cognizable offence, will either investigate the case, or direct an investigation by a subordinate police officer.
• If no FIR is registered, the aggrieved persons can file a complaint under Section 156(3) CrPC before a concerned court which, if satisfied that a cognizable offence is made out from the complaint, will direct the police to register an FIR and conduct an investigation.

What happens after an FIR is filed?

• The police will investigate the case and will collect evidence in the form of statements of witnesses or other scientific materials. They can arrest the alleged persons as per law.
• If there is sufficient evidence to corroborate the allegations of the complainant, then a chargesheet will be filed. Or else, a Final Report mentioning that no evidence was found will be filed in court.
• If it is found that no offence has been committed, a cancellation report will be filed. If no trace of the accused persons is found, an ‘untraced’ report will be filed.

THE PRELIMS PRACTICE QUESTIONS

QUESTION OF THE DAY 19^TH FEB 2022

Q.Which of the following explains ‘green hydrogen’?

a It is produced from renewable resources of energy.

b It is produced from green plants.

c It is produced from sea water.

d It is produced from fossil fuels.

ANSWER FOR 18^TH FEB 2022

Answer: B

Explanation:

India’s first water taxi service was inaugurated in Maharashtra connecting the Navi Mumbai area to mainland Mumbai.