1. SWACHH BHARAT MISSION GRAMIN

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: The country has achieved yet another major milestone under the Swachh Bharat Mission Gramin (SBM-G) with half of the total villages in the country i.e., 50% villages achieving ODF Plus status under phase II of the Mission. The top performing states in terms of percentage of ODF Plus villages are – Telangana (100%), Karnataka (99.5%), Tamil Nadu (97.8%) & Uttar Pradesh (95.2%) among the big states and Goa (95.3%) and Sikkim (69.2%) among small states, are the top performer. Among UTs – Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Dadra Nagar Havelli & Daman Diu and Lakshadweep have 100% ODF Plus Model villages.

EXPLANATION:

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION

• It is a massive mass movement that seeks to create a Clean India by 2019. It was launched on October 2, 2014, keeping the vision of father of our nation Mahatma Gandhi who always puts the emphasis on swachhta as swachhta leads to healthy and prosperous life.
• The mission aims to cover all rural and urban areas. The urban component of the mission will be implemented by the Ministry of Urban Development, and the rural component by the Ministry of Jal Shakti.

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION URBAN:

• The programme aims elimination of open defecation, conversion of unsanitary toilets to pour flush toilets, eradication of manual scavenging, municipal solid waste management and bringing about a behavioural change in people regarding healthy sanitation practices.

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION URBAN 2.0

• It envisions to make all cities ‘Garbage Free’ and ensure grey and black water management in all cities other than those covered under AMRUT, make all urban local bodies as ODF+ and those with a population of less than 1 lakh as ODF++, thereby achieving the vision of safe sanitation in urban areas. It will focus on source segregation of solid waste, utilizing the principles of 3Rs (reduce, reuse, recycle), scientific processing of all types of municipal solid waste and remediation of legacy dumpsites for effective solid waste management.

This will be a continuation of the Swachh Bharat Mission (Urban), with the following components for funding and implementation across all statutory towns, viz.

• Sustainable sanitation (construction of toilets)
• Wastewater treatment, including fecal sludge management in all ULBs with less than 1 lakh population (this is a new component added to SBM-U 2.0)
• Solid Waste Management
• Information, Education and Communication, and
• Capacity building.

 At the end of the Mission, the following outcomes are expected to be achieved:

• All statutory towns will become ODF+ certified
• All statutory towns with less than 1 lakh population will become ODF++ certified
• 50% of all statutory towns with less than 1 lakh population will become Water+ certified
• All statutory towns will be at least 3-star Garbage Free rated as per MoHUA’s Star Rating Protocol for Garbage Free cities
• Bio-remediation of all legacy dumpsites.

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION GRAMIN:

• The Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan has been restructured into the Swachh Bharat Mission (Gramin). The SBM(G) was launched on 2nd October 2014 to ensure cleanliness in India and make it Open Defecation Free (ODF) in Five Years.
• It seeks to improve the levels of cleanliness in rural areas through Solid and Liquid Waste Management activities and making Gram Panchayats Open Defecation Free (ODF), clean and sanitised.
• It has been instrumental in improving the health and well-being of millions of people across the country. Several reports in the past few years have exhibited the ground impact of SBM-G programme.
• Under the mission, all villages, Gram Panchayats, Districts, States and Union Territories in India declared themselves “open-defecation free” (ODF) by 2 October 2019, the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi, by constructing over 100 million toilets in rural India.

SWACHH BHARAT MISSION GRAMIN 2.0

• To ensure that the open defecation free behaviours are sustained, no one is left behind, and that solid and liquid waste management facilities are accessible, next Phase II of SBMG i.e ODF-Plus was launched. ODF Plus activities under Phase II of Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) will reinforce ODF behaviours and focus on providing interventions for the safe management of solid and liquid waste in villages.
• The programme will be implemented in mission mode from 2020-21 to 2024-25.

Major Components Of Phase-II Of SBM (G) 

• Sustaining Open Defecation
• Free Status (ODF-S) Plastic Waste Management
• Solid (Bio-degradable) Waste Management
• Liquid Waste Management   I
• nformation Education and Communication/Behavior Change
• GOBARdhan
• Faecal Sludge Management Capacity Building

An ODF Plus village is one which has sustained its Open Defecation Free (ODF) status along with implementing either solid or liquid waste management systems. ODF Plus Model village is one which is sustaining its ODF status and has arrangements for both Solid Waste Management and Liquid Waste Management; observes visual cleanliness, i.e., minimal litter, minimal stagnant wastewater, no plastic waste dump in public places; and displays ODF Plus Information, Education & Communication (IEC) messages.

GOBARdhan, which stands for Galvanising Organic Bio-Agro Resources-dhan, is an initiative to support biodegradable waste recovery, conversion of waste into resources and for creating clean & green village. It is a ‘waste to wealth’ initiative wherein waste generated in villages is used to generate bio-gas/CBG as well as bio-slurry/bio-fertilizer and is in tune with the circular economy and Mission LiFE initiatives of GoI.

2. CARBON DATING

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT: The Allahabad High Court ordered a scientific survey, including carbon dating, of a “Shivling” said to have been found at the Gyanvapi mosque complex in Varanasi after setting aside a lower court order on the issue.

EXPLANATION:

Carbon dating:

• Carbon dating is a widely-used method to establish the age of organic materials, things that were once living as living things have carbon in them in various forms.
• The dating method is based on the fact that Carbon-14 (C-14), an isotope of carbon with an atomic mass of 14 is radioactive and decays at a well known rate.
• Though extremely effective, carbon dating cannot be applied in all circumstances. It cannot be used to determine the age of non-living things like rocks.
• Also, the age of things that are more than 40,000-50,000 years old cannot be arrived at through carbon dating. This is because after 8-10 cycles of half-lives, the amount of C-14 becomes almost very small and is almost undetectable.

How Carbon Dating Works?

• The most abundant isotope of carbon in the atmosphere is C-12. A very small amount of C-14 is also present. The ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the atmosphere is almost static and is known.
• Plants get their carbon through photosynthesis; animals get it mainly through food. Because plants and animals get their carbon from the atmosphere, they too acquire C-12 and C-14 in roughly the same proportion as is available in the atmosphere. When they die, their interactions with the atmosphere stops.
• While C-12 is stable, the radioactive C-14 reduces to one half of itself in about 5,730 years known as its ‘half-life’. The changing ratio of C-12 to C-14 in the remains of a plant or animal after it dies can be measured and can be used to deduce the approximate time when the organism died.

Other methods to calculate the age of inanimate things:

• Radiometric dating methods: Instead of carbon, decays of other radioactive elements that might be present in the material become the basis for this dating method.
• Potassium-argon dating: This method is used for dating rocks. The radioactive isotope of potassium decays into argon, and their ratios can give a clue about the age of rocks.
• Uranium-thorium-lead dating: This method is used for dating rocks .Uranium and thorium have several radioactive isotopes, and all of them decay into the stable lead atom. The ratios of these elements present in the material can be measured and used to make estimates about age.
• Cosmogenic nuclide dating: This method is used to determine how long an object has remained exposed to sunlight. It is regularly applied to study the age of ice cores in polar regions.

3. PREVENTION OF MONEY LAUNDERING ACT (PMLA), 2002

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: Finance Ministry has brought changes to the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and brought practicing chartered accountants, company secretaries, and cost and works accountants carrying out financial transactions on behalf of their clients into the ambit of the money laundering law. Lawyers and legal professionals, however, seem to have been kept out in the new definition of entities covered under the PMLA.

EXPLANATION:

• It is an act to prevent money-laundering and to provide for confiscation of property derived from, or involved in, money-laundering and for matters connected therewith. It was enacted in January, 2003 and act along with the Rules framed thereunder have come into force with effect from 1st July, 2005.
• 3 of PMLA defines offence of money laundering as whosoever directly or indirectly attempts to indulge or knowingly assists or knowingly is a party or is actually involved in any process or activity connected with the proceeds of crime and projecting it as untainted property shall be guilty of offence of money-laundering.
• It prescribes obligation of banking companies, financial institutions and intermediaries for verification and maintenance of records of the identity of all its clients and also of all transactions and for furnishing information of such transactions in prescribed form to the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-IND).

Objectives of the Act:

 The PML Act seeks to combat money laundering in India and has three main objectives:

• To prevent and control money laundering
• To confiscate and seize the property obtained from the laundered money
• To deal with any other issue connected with money laundering in India

Salient features of the act include:

• Special Courts have been set-up in a number of States / UTs by the Central Government to conduct the trial of the offences of money laundering. The authorities under the Act like the Director, Adjudicating Authority and the Appellate Tribunal have been constituted to carry out the proceedings related to attachment and confiscation of any property derived from money laundering.
• In order to enlarge the scope of this Act and to achieve the desired objectives, the Act provides for bilateral agreements between countries to cooperate with each other and curb the menace of money laundering.
• In certain cases the Central Government may seek/ provide assistance from/to a contracting State for any investigation or forwarding of evidence collected during the course of such investigation.
• The Act provides for reciprocal arrangements for processes/assistance with regard to accused persons.

Institutional Framework

1. Enforcement Directorate:

• The Directorate of Enforcement was established in the year 1956 with its Headquarters at New Delhi.
• It is responsible for enforcement of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA) and certain provisions under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act and work relating to investigation and prosecution of cases under the PML has been entrusted to Enforcement Directorate.
• The Directorate is under the administrative control of Department of Revenue for operational purposes; the policy aspects of the FEMA, its legislation and its amendments are within the purview of the Department of Economic Affairs.

2. Financial Intelligence Unit- India (FIU-IND):

• Financial Intelligence Unit – India was set by the Government of India as the central national agency responsible for receiving, processing, analyzing and disseminating information relating to suspect financial transactions.
• FIU-IND is also responsible for coordinating and strengthening efforts of national and international intelligence, investigation and enforcement agencies in pursuing the global efforts against money laundering and related crimes.
• FIU-IND is an independent body reporting directly to the Economic Intelligence Council (EIC) headed by the finance minister.

Adjudicating Authority:

• In terms of sub-section (1) of section 6 of Preventions of Money Laundering Act, 2002, an Adjudicating Authority under PMLA has been constituted to exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred by or under the said Act.
• The Authority comprises three Members, one each from the fields of ‘Law’, ‘Administration’ and ‘Finance or accountancy’. Further, one of the Members is appointed as Chairperson of the Adjudicating Authority.   It functions within the Department of Revenue; M/o Finance of the Central Government with its headquarter at New Delhi.
• Adjudicating Authority exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred by or under the PMLA. Where the Adjudicating Authority decides that any property is involved in money-laundering, Adjudicating Authority shall, by an order in writing confirm the attachment of the property made or retention of property or record seized.

Appellate Tribunal:

• Under Section 25 of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002, the Central Government has established an Appellate Tribunal. Section 28(4) of the PMLA provides that “the Chairperson or a Member holding a post as such in any other Tribunal, established under any law for the time being in force, in addition to his being the Chairperson or a member of that Tribunal, may be appointed as the Chairperson or a Member, as the case may be, of the Appellate Tribunal under this Act.
• The Tribunal consists of a Chairperson and two other Members. The Chairman and one Member of ATFP holds additional charge of the post of Chairman and Member of Tribunal under PMLA.
• Adjudicating Authority exercise jurisdiction, powers and authority conferred by or under the PMLA. Where the Adjudicating Authority decides that any property is involved in money-laundering, Adjudicating Authority shall, by an order in writing confirm the attachment of the property made or retention of property or record seized (as under sec. 5 of PMLA).

4. LASER INTERFEROMETER GRAVITATIONAL-WAVE OBSERVATORY (LIGO)-INDIA

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT: Seven years after the “in-principle” approval, Prime Minister finally kick started the Rs 2,600 core LIGO India programme as he laid the foundation stone to set up the world’s final gravitational wave observatory in Maharashtra for capturing the elusive cosmic waves whose existence was predicted by Albert Einstein more than a century ago.

EXPLANATION:

Background:

• LIGO-India was one of the mega-science projects proposed by the Planning Commission in 2011. A year later, the National Science Board in the USA gave its nod for shifting one of the US gravitational wave detectors to an Indian site.
• The green signal from NSB came after the National Science Foundation, which funds the US detectors, asked the board to look at the Indian proposal.
• At the Indian end, however, the project gathered dust for several years till the news of the first detection of the gravitational wave took the world by storm, following which the Centre gave an “in-principle” approval in 2016

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO):

• LIGO is a network of laboratories, spread around the world, designed to detect gravitational waves. These waves are incredibly weak, making their detection very challenging.
• The LIGO detectors are sensitive to distance changes that are several orders of magnitude smaller than the length of a proton.
• Currently, there are three operational gravitational wave observatories around the world – two in the United States (Hanford and Livingston), one in Italy (Virgo), and one in Japan (Kagra).
• It is the world’s most powerful observatory that exploits the physical properties of light and of space itself to detect and understand the origins of gravitational waves.

Laser Interferometer Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) -India

• The LIGO-India project is an initiative aimed at detecting gravitational waves from the universe waves traveling in the vastness of space from some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe and hitting Earth.
• It involves the construction of two vacuum chambers that are perpendicular to each other and 4 kilometres long each, making them the most sensitive interferometers in the world.
• The project is to commence scientific runs from 2030 and will be located in the Hingoli district of Maharashtra, approximately 450 km east of Mumbai.
• The LIGO-India project will be built by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and the Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India, with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the National Science Foundation (NSF), USA, along with several national and international research and academic institutions.
• The LIGO-India project is significant as it will be the fifth node of the planned network, thereby bringing India into a prestigious international scientific experiment.
• It has the potential to provide unprecedented insights into the mysteries of the universe, including the nature of black holes, neutron stars, and other celestial phenomena.

Gravitational waves

• Albert Einstein predicted the existence of gravitational waves in 1916 in his general theory of relativity. He said that when two massive objects collide they create a ripple in space and time in such a way that “waves of undulating space-time would propagate in all directions away from the source.”
• Gravitational waves are ‘ripples’ in space-time caused by some of the most violent and energetic processes in the Universe. These cosmic ripples would travel at the speed of light, carrying with them information about their origins, as well as clues to the nature of gravity itself.
• The strongest gravitational waves are produced by cataclysmic events such as colliding black holes, supernovae (massive stars exploding at the end of their lifetimes), and colliding neutron stars. Other gravitational waves are predicted to be caused by the rotation of neutron stars that are not perfect spheres, and possibly even the remnants of gravitational radiation created by the Big Bang.

5. 25^th ANNIVERSARY POKHRAN-II

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: India conducted five nuclear tests of advanced weapon designs between May 11 and 13 at Rajasthan’s Pokhran desert that propelled the country into a select group of nations having capabilities to develop nuclear weapons. These tests displayed India’s capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons, helping India enter the highly guarded club of countries with capability to deploy nuclear weapons.

EXPLANATION:

Background of India’s nuclear programme:

• India’s nuclear programme can be traced to the work of physicist Homi J Bhaba.
• Tata Institute of Fundamental Research: In 1945, after Bhaba’s successful lobbying of India’s biggest industrial family, the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research was opened in Bombay. TIFR was India’s first research institution dedicated to the study of nuclear physics.
• Department of Atomic Energy (DAE): Post independence, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) was founded, with Bhabha as director to allocate resources for its development.
• Physicist Raja Ramanna expanded and supervised scientific research on nuclear weapons and was the first directing officer of a small team of scientists that supervised and carried out the tests.
• A team of 75 scientists and engineers, led by Raja Ramanna, PK Iyengar, Rajagopala Chidambaram and others had worked on it from 1967 to 1974.

Reason:

• A pivotal moment in India’s nuclear journey came after it suffered a crushing defeat in the 1962 Sino-Indian Warand China’s subsequent nuclear bomb test at Lop Nor in 1964.
• Concerned about India’s sovereignty and the looming might of an unfriendly China, the mood in the political establishment towards nuclear weapons was slowly shifting.

Pokhran I

• On May 18, 1974, India carried out its first nuclear test at the Pokhran test site. Pokhran-I, codenamed Operation Smiling Buddha, would be billed as a “peaceful nuclear explosion”, with “few military implications”. The name was chosen because the test was conducted on Buddha Purnima that year.
• There was near-universal condemnation and countries like the US and Canada imposed significant international sanctions on India. These sanctions was major setback for India’s nuclear journey, and majorly decelerate its progress.
• It was the first confirmed nuclear test by a nation that was not a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
• With the Smiling Buddha, India became the world’s sixth nuclear power after the United States, Soviet Union, Britain, France and China to successfully test out a nuclear bomb.

Pokhran II

• On May 11, 1998, Pokhran-II which is codenamed Operation Shakti(literally, “strength”) conducted three nuclear bomb test explosions at the Indian Army’s Pokhran Test Range
• These tests displayed India’s capability to build fission and thermonuclear weapons with yields up to 200 kilotons, helping India enter the highly guarded club of countries with capability to deploy nuclear weapons.
• While the tests in 1998 also invited sanctions from some countries (like the US), the condemnation was far from universal like in 1974. In context of India’s fast-growing economy and market potential, India was able to stand its ground and thus cement its status as a dominant nation state.
• In March 1998, Pakistan launched the Ghauri missile built with assistance from China. Two months later, India responded with Operation Shakti. While the 1974 tests were ostensibly done for peaceful purposes, the 1998 tests were the culmination of India’s nuclear weaponisation process. Consequently, the Indian Government declared itself as a state possessing nuclear weapons following Pokhran-II.

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

• In 1968, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) came into existence. The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before January 1, 1967 – the US, Russia (formerly USSR), the UK, France and China – and effectively disallows any other state from acquiring nuclear weapons.
• While the treaty has been signed by almost every country in the world, India is one of the few non-signatories.

1. CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICERS (CISO) DEEP-DIVE TRAINING PROGRAMME

TAGS: GS 3: SECURITY

CONTEXT:  National e-Governance Division (NeGD), under its Capacity Building scheme, organised 36^th CISO Deep-Dive training programme from 8^th-12^th May 2023 with 24 participants from Central Line Ministries and States/UTs at Indian Institute of Public Administration.

EXPLANATION:

• The five-day intensive training programme is designed for designated CISOs from Central and State/UT Governments, subordinate agencies/PSUs, including public sector banks and insurance companies, technical wings of police and security forces, CTOs and members of technical/PMU teams; also, officers responsible to observe security of IT systems in their respective organisations.
• It is training which aims for partnership between the Government and industry consortium under Public Private Partnership (PPP) model.
• The deep-dive training specifically aims at educating and enabling CISOs to understand cyber-attacks comprehensively and thoroughly, get necessary exposure in latest technologies of safeguard, and translate the benefits of a resilient e-infrastructure to individual organisations and citizens at large.
• The training also focuses on providing a holistic view of legal provisions, enabling CISOs to formulate policies in the domain of cyber security and build concrete cyber crisis management plans.
• The training programme is bringing together an array of subject matter experts from the industry, the academia and the government to speak on key issues of cyber security: Governance Risk and Compliance, Landscape of Cyber Security Products in India, End Point & Digital Workplace Security, Network Security, Application and Data security.

Cyber Surakshit Bharat:

• It is the initiative of Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), which was conceptualised with the mission to spread awareness about cyber-crime and build capacities of Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT officials, across all government departments.
• It is for ensuring adequate safety measures to combat the growing menace – Organisations need to defend their digital infrastructures and become future-ready in tackling cyber-attacks.

Chief Information Security Officers (CISO) roles and responsibilities:

• Establishing a cyber security program and business continuity programme and for drafting of various security policies e.g., Information security policy, Data governance and classification policy, Access control policy, Acceptable use of assets and asset management, Risk assessment and risk treatment methodology, Statement of Applicability, Risk management framework including third parties, Cryptography, Communications security, Information Security awareness programs for all personnel in the organisation and Incident management.
• Interacting with regulatory bodies and external agencies that could be of help to maintain information security for the organization, e.g. CERT-In
• It aims to protect Critical Information Infrastructure as a computer resource, the incapacitation or destruction of which shall have debilitating impact on national security, economy, public health or safety.

2. RAISING AND ACCELERATING MSME PERFORMANCE (RAMP)

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE: SCHEME

CONTEXT:  The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India organised the first meeting of the National MSME Council with emphasis on RAISING AND ACCELERATING MSME PERFORMANCE (RAMP).

EXPLANATION:

• It is a new scheme of the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MoMSME) for addressing the generic and COVID related challenges in the MSME sector by way of impact enhancement of existing MSME schemes, especially, on the competitiveness front.
• This is World Bank assisted Central Sector Scheme commenced in FY 2022-23. The total outlay for the scheme is Rs.6,062.45 crore or USD 808 Million, out of which Rs. 3750 crore or USD 500 Million would be a loan from the World Bank and the remaining Rs.2312.45 crore or USD 308 Million would be funded by the Government of India (GoI).
• The programme aims at improving access to market and credit, strengthening institutions and governance at the Centre and State, improving Centre-State linkages and partnerships, addressing issues of delayed payments and greening of MSMEs.
• In addition to building the MoMSME’s capacity at the national level, the RAMP program will seek to scale up implementation capacity and MSME coverage in State.
• Further, the programme will bolster the inadequately addressed blocks of capacity building, handholding, skill development, quality enrichment, technological upgradation, digitization, outreach and marketing promotion, amongst other things.
• RAMP will complement the Atma Nirbhar Bharat mission by fostering innovation and enhancement in industry standards, practices and provide the necessary technological inputs to the MSMEs to make them competitive and self-reliant, enhancing exports, substituting imports, and promoting domestic manufacturing.

RAMP targets:

• ‘’Policy Provider’’ through the enhanced capacity for evidence-based policy and program design, to enable the delivery of more effective and cost-efficient MSME interventions to improve competitiveness and business sustainability.
• “Knowledge Provider” through bench-marking, sharing and demonstrating best practices/success stories by leveraging international experiences, and
• “Technology Provider” providing access to high-end technology resulting in the digital and technological transformation of MSMEs through state of art Artificial Intelligence, Data Analytics, Internet of things (IoT), Machine Learning etc.

Funding

Funds would flow through RAMP into the Ministry’s budget against Disbursement Linked Indicators (DLIs) to support ongoing MoMSME programmes, focusing on improving market access and competitiveness.

The disbursement of funds from World Bank towards RAMP would be made on fulfilling the following Disbursement Linked Indicators:

• Implementing the National MSME Reform Agenda
• Accelerating MSME Sector Centre-State collaboration
• Enhancing effectiveness of Technology Upgradation Scheme (CLCS-TUS)
• Strengthening Receivable Financing Market for MSMEs
• Enhancing Effectiveness of Credit Guarantee Trust for Micro and Small Enterprises (CGTMSE) and “Greening and Gender” delivery
• Reducing the incidence of delayed payments

Implementation Strategy

• The overall monitoring and policy overview of RAMP would be done by an apex National MSME Council.
• A RAMP programme committee headed by the Secretary of MoMSME to monitor the specific deliverables under RAMP.
• Further, for day to day implementation there would be programme management units at the National level and in States, comprising professionals and experts competitively selected from the industry to support MoMSME and States, to implement, monitor and evaluate RAMP programme.

The National MSME Council

• It is headed by Minister for MSME, including representation from various Ministries and supported by a secretariat.
• It has been set up to work as an administrative and functional body to oversee inter-Central Ministerial/Departmental co-ordination, Centre State synergies and advise / monitor progress on the reforms mandated in the MSME sector including the RAMP programme.

3. POSHAN BHI, PADHAI BHI

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE: SCHEME

CONTEXT:  Union Minister for Women and Child Development launched the Centre’s flagship programme ‘Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi’, which will focus on Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) at anganwadis across the country. 600 crores has been allocated for the training of anganwadi workers to implement the ECCE. The National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) has been roped in for the training of Anganwadi workers.

EXPLANATION:

• As per the guidelines of the National Education Policy 2020, with ‘Poshan bhi Padhai bhi, Government has taken up the goal of strengthening the foundations of the country’s future generations.
• It is not only to make anganwadi centres nutrition hubs but also education-imparting centres.
• It is a pathbreaking ECCE program to ensure that India has the world’s largest, universal, high-quality pre-school network and will focus on education in the mother tongue, as per the New Education Policy.
• Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) which is an important component of Mission Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0) and envisaged under the National Education Policy.
• Government will target children’s development in every domain mentioned in the National Curriculum Framework, viz., physical and motor development, cognitive development, socio-emotional-ethical development, cultural/artistic development, and the development of communication and early language, literacy, and numeracy.
• All States will follow the national ECCE taskforce recommendations for a play-based, activity-based learning pedagogy, targeted specifically at developmental milestones of 0-3-year olds as well as 3-6-year olds, including special support for Divyang children.
• Through ECCE policy, every child would be provided with at least two hours of high-quality pre-school instruction on a daily basis.
• As stated in the NEP, Anganwadi Centres will be strengthened with high-quality infrastructure, play equipment, and well-trained Anganwadi workers/teachers.
• Poshan bhi Padhai bhi will focus on promoting holistic and quality early stimulation and pre-primary education for children, ensuring the use of developmentally appropriate pedagogies and emphasizing the links with primary education as well as early childhood health and nutrition services.
• Poshan Bhi, Padhai Bhi program will provide for mother tongue as primary teacher instruction medium, different types of teaching-learning material (visual aids, audio aids, audio-visual and bodily-kinesthetic aids) to Anganwadi Sewikas, and help build a Jan Andolan, to involve communities in strengthening the foundations of the country’s future generation.

Saksham Anganwadi and Poshan 2.0 (Mission Poshan 2.0)

• It is an Integrated Nutrition Support Programme. It seeks to address the challenges of malnutrition in children, adolescent girls, pregnant women and lactating mothers through a strategic shift in nutrition content and delivery and by creation of a convergent ecosystem to develop and promote practices that nurture health, wellness and immunity.
• Poshan 2.0 shall focus on Maternal Nutrition, Infant and Young Child Feeding Norms, Treatment of MAM/SAM and Wellness through AYUSH. It will rest on the pillars of Convergence, Governance, and Capacity-building. Poshan Abhiyan will be the pillar for Outreach and will cover innovations related to nutritional support, ICT interventions, Media Advocacy and Research, Community Outreach and Jan Andolan.

With a view to address various gaps and shortcomings in the on-going nutrition programme and to improve implementation as well as to accelerate improvement in nutrition and child development outcomes, the existing scheme components have been re-organized under Poshan 2.0 into the primary verticals given below:

• Nutrition Support for POSHAN through Supplementary Nutrition Programme (SNP) for children of the age group of 06 months to 6 years, pregnant women and lactating mothers (PWLM); and for Adolescent Girls in the age group of 14 to 18 years in Aspirational Districts and North Eastern Region (NER);
• Early Childhood Care and Education [3-6 years] and early stimulation for (0-3 years)
• Anganwadi Infrastructure including modern, upgraded Saksham Anganwadi; and
• Poshan Abhiyaan

The objectives of Poshan 2.0 are as follows:

• To contribute to human capital development of the country
• Address challenges of malnutrition
• Promote nutrition awareness and good eating habits for sustainable health and wellbeing
• Address nutrition related deficiencies through key strategies.

4. PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY OF INTERNATIONAL CONCERN

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

CONTEXT: World Health Organisation (WHO) said that Covid-19 was no longer a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, and that the focus would now be on the long-term management of the infection.

EXPLANATION:

• SARS-CoV-2 was a novel virus which discovered that the infection put the immune system into overdrive, leading to a cytokine storm when immune cells started attacking the patient’s own organs. This tended to happen more in the elderly, and in those with existing comorbidities like diabetes.
• COVID-19 was raised as its highest level of alert and termed as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern, a designation that remained in place for over three years.

Three conditions for declaring a disease a public health emergency:

• It is spreading across several countries.
• It is leading to serious illness, hospitalisations, and deaths.
• Serious stress on health systems because of the disease.

Why WHO removed the designation?

• Methods of transmission reduced
• better, cheaper, and point-of-care diagnostics
• a treatment protocol that works
• medicines to prevent viral replication that can help in reducing severity of the diseases
• vaccines that can prevent severe disease.

Public Health Emergency of International Concern

• A PHEIC is a formal declaration by WHO of ‘an extraordinary event which is determined to constitute a public health risk to other States through the international spread of disease and to potentially require a coordinated international response’, formulated when a situation arises that is ‘serious, sudden, unusual or unexpected’, which ‘carries implications for public health beyond the affected state’s national border’ and ‘may require immediate international action’.
• PHEIC are not confined to only infectious diseases and may cover events caused by chemical agents or radioactive materials. However, to date, all PHEIC declarations have been for viral emerging infectious diseases, not for bacterial diseases, nor for chemical or radioactive materials.
• States have a legal duty to respond promptly to a PHEIC.
• International Health Regulations (IHR) have been the governing framework for global health security since 2007. Declaring public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) is a cornerstone of the IHR.
• Six events were declared PHEIC between 2007 and 2020: the 2009 H1N1 influenza pandemic, Ebola (West African outbreak 2013–2015, outbreak in Democratic Republic of Congo 2018–2020), poliomyelitis (2014 to present), Zika (2016) and COVID-19 (2020 to present).

The International Health Regulations (IHR):

• It is governing framework for global health security for the past decade and are a nearly universally recognized World Health Organization (WHO) treaty, with 196 States Parties.
• The IHR is one of the six leadership priorities of the WHO programme of work, the purpose of which is to promote health and well-being. Declaring public health emergencies of international concern (PHEIC) is a cornerstone of the IHR.
• The IHR provide an overarching legal framework that defines countries’ rights and obligations in handling public health events and emergencies that have the potential to cross borders.
• It is legally binding on 196 countries, including the 194 WHO Member States.

5. DEEP OCEAN MISSION

TAGS: GS 1: GEOGRAPHY

CONTEXT: India has identified 11 potential sites for exploration of hydrogen sulfide and a dedicated multi-purpose vessel was being acquired to carry out detailed surveys as part of the Deep Ocean Mission. Addressing the first meeting of the Mission Steering Committee it was stated that the technologies developed under the Deep Ocean Mission would help in exploration of the oceans and possible harnessing of non-living resources such as energy, fresh water and strategic minerals.

EXPLANATION:

• It is a mission mode project to support the Blue Economy Initiatives of the Government of India under Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) to explore deep ocean for resources and develop deep sea technologies for sustainable use of ocean resources.
• The deep-sea mining industry is developing specialized underwater mining technology to harvest remotely-located mineral resource from thousands of square kilometers of seafloor, which will involve collecting the nodules at the seabed and bringing them up to a ship for transport to land.

Major Objectives of Deep Ocean Mission:

• To address issues arising from long term changes in the ocean due to climate change
• To develop technologies for deep-sea mission of living (biodiversity) and non-living (minerals) resources
• To develop underwater vehicles and underwater robotics
• To provide ocean climate change advisory services
• To identify technological innovations and conservation methods for sustainable utilization of marine bioresources
• To develop offshore based desalination techniques
• To develop renewable energy generation techniques
• To provide clean drinking water and explore the avenues of desalination of water as well as extracting minerals from the ocean belt.

Components of Deep Ocean Mission:

• Development of Technologies for Deep Sea Mining, and Manned Submersible: A manned submersible will be developed to carry three people to a depth of 6000 metres in the ocean with a suite of scientific sensors and tools.
• Development of Ocean Climate Change Advisory Services: A suite of observations and models will be developed to understand and provide future projections of important climate variables on seasonal to decadal time scales under this proof-of-concept component.
• Create awareness amongst the public, students, academicians and user communities about the various fields of Earth system science as well as on the achievements and services rendered by MoES.
• Technological innovations for exploration and conservation of deep-sea biodiversity: Bio- prospecting of deep-sea flora and fauna including microbes and studies on sustainable utilization of deep-sea bio-resources will be the main focus. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Fisheries and allied services.
• Deep Ocean Survey and Exploration: The primary objective of this component is to explore and identify potential sites of multi-metal hydrothermal sulphides mineralization along the Indian Ocean mid-oceanic ridges. This component will additionally support the Blue Economy priority area of deep-sea exploration of ocean resources.
• Energy and freshwater from the Ocean: Studies and detailed engineering design for offshore Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC) powered desalination plant are envisaged in this proof-of-concept proposal. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of off-shore energy development.
• Advanced Marine Station for Ocean Biology: This component is aimed as development of human capacity and enterprise in ocean biology and engineering. This component will support the Blue Economy priority area of Marine Biology, Blue trade and Blue manufacturing.

India’s First and Unique Manned Ocean Mission, Samudrayan

• It was launched in 2021 from Chennai. With this step India joined the elite club of nations such as USA, Russia, Japan, France and China in having such underwater vehicles for carrying out subsea activities.
• The Samudrayaan Mission’s manned submersible vehicle MATSYA 6000 will help conduct deep-ocean exploration for resources such as gas hydrates, polymetallic manganese nodules, hydro-thermal sulphides, and cobalt crusts, which are found at depths of 1000 to 5500 metres.
• Under the Deep Ocean Mission, the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) and the Ministry of Earth Sciences (MoES) constructed the manned submersible with a depth capacity of 6000 metres.
• It will facilitate MoES in carrying out deep ocean exploration of the nonliving resources such as polymetallic manganese nodules, gas hydrates, hydro-thermal sulphides and cobalt crusts, located at a depth between 1000 and 5500 metres.

What are Polymetallic nodules?

• It primarily consists of precipitated iron oxyhydroxides and manganese oxides, onto which metals such as nickel, cobalt, copper, titanium and rare earth elements absorb.
• Mining of polymetallic nodules has been spurred by the need for critical metals to support growing populations, urbanization, high-technology applications and the development of a green-energy economy.
• These nodules are found in various deep ocean regions, including the deep Pacific and Indian Oceans.
• They are used in making electronics like rechargeable batteries and touch screens, among other things.

1. SUDAN CRISIS

TAGS: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

CONTEXT:  The ongoing fighting is Sudan is forcing thousands to flee. The humanitarian emergency is spreading creating a dangerous security situation in the Sahel region. Despite talks between warring parties, which met in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, air strikes were reported in Khartoum amid ongoing fighting.

EXPLANATION:

Background of the conflict:

• When Sudan won independence on New Year’s Day in 1956, two features stood out in the new nation: it was the largest country in Africa, and it was already embroiled in civil war that had erupted several months earlier.
• Sudan has suffered three domestic wars spanning well over 40 years of the country’s 67 years of independence.

Recent issues:

• Violence erupted in mid-April in Sudan between its military, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group. The fighting has dashed the country’s hopes for a peaceful transition to a civilian government.
• Rapid Support Force (RSF) forces invaded Merowe town, located 210 kilometres north of the capital resulted in violence. The RSF stated that it retaliated in response to a military attack at one of its bases in South Khartoum. Sudanese foreign ministry declared the RSF a rebel entity and ordered its dissolution. And the agreement between civilians, the military, and paramilitaries intended to reinitiate the democratic transition in Sudan appears to be frozen once more.

What makes this conflict in Sudan so intractable?

• This conflict needs to be considered in terms of three overlapping layers: Local, regional and global. These three layers, which feed through and affect one another, represent various stages of conflict escalation, engagement, and potential resolution.
• And this conflict in Sudan is a prime example of a local conflict that is becoming increasingly intertwined with regional and international power dynamics, making it impossible to find a standalone solution.

Reason of the conflict:

• Sudan has a wide range of ethnic, linguistic and tribal differences. Residents in remote parts of the country feel the elites in Khartoum monopolize the country’s limited resources.
• There is a link between Sudan’s vast landscape, the many different groups that make up the country, and the repeated internal conflicts that have plagued the nation for decades.
• If the Sudanese problem can be divided into three layers, the local level corresponds to the conflict’s primary driver. In essence, this layer is concerned with the issue of who will control Sudan and under what type of political structure. General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, commander of the Sudanese National Army, also known as the SAF (Sudanese Armed Force), and General Muhammad Hamdan’ Hemedti, Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary group RSF are allegedly involved in a power struggle that is at the heart of this conflict.
• The second layer at the regional level is about who can have the most significant influence in Sudan and the larger Red Sea region. As Sudan is situated where the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and the Red Sea converge, it is considered valuable by many countries. The strategic location and agricultural resources of Sudan have attracted regional power struggles. Sudan shares its border with seven countries: Chad, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Libya, and Egypt. As all these countries have their own vested interests, the conflict risks getting more interwoven with regional rivalries and power struggles.
• The third layer involves the international power rivalry playing out in the Sudanese crisis. In this layer, Sudan serves as a microcosm for a struggle for regional and international power. Energy-rich United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia have long sought to influence Sudan’s politics. Both have made significant investments in sectors including agriculture, where Sudan has tremendous potential, aviation, and ports near the Red Sea coast. Initially, both the Saudis and the UAE have seen Sudan’s transition from al-Bashir’s rule as an opportunity to push back against Islamist influence in the region. However, the interest of both countries diverged, with Saudi Arabia prioritising its national interest vis-a-vis Saudi Vision 2030 over its alliance with the UAE.

Hakki Pikki

More than 181 members of the Hakki Pikki tribal community from Karnataka are stuck in violence-hit Sudan, even as the government is making efforts to bring them back. Who are the Hakki Pikki, and why did so many travel to far-away Sudan?

The Hakki Pikki is a tribe that lives in several states in west and south India, especially near forest areas. Hakki Pikkis (Hakki in Kannada means ‘bird’ and Pikki means ‘catchers’) are a semi-nomadic tribe, traditionally of bird catchers and hunters.

Operation Kaveri

‘Operation Kaveri’, launched to rescue its nationals stranded in crisis-hit Sudan, with the transport aircraft of the Indian Air Force making its final flight to bring 47 passengers home.

India launched Operation Kaveri on April 24 to evacuate its nationals from Sudan, which has witnessed deadly fighting between the country’s army and a paramilitary group.

2. 27^TH MEETING OF FINANCIAL STABILITY AND DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL

TAGS: GS 2: POLITY AND GOVERNANCE

CONTEXT:  Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister chaired the 27^th Meeting of the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) for the first time after the announcement of the Budget 2023-24.

EXPLANATION:

Meeting concluded with following discussions:

• Regulators should maintain a constant vigil as ensuring ‘financial sector stability is a shared responsibility’ of the regulators. Regulators must take appropriate and timely action to mitigate any vulnerability and strengthen financial stability.
• Regulators should adopt a focused approach to reduce the compliance burden further and ensure a streamlined and efficient regulatory environment.
• The regulators need to be proactive and ensure cyber-security preparedness of the information technology systems to reduce the risk of cyber-attacks, protect sensitive financial data, and maintain overall system integrity, thus safeguarding the stability and resilience of the Indian financial ecosystem.
• Regulators should conduct a special drive to facilitate the settlement of unclaimed deposits and claims in the financial sector across all segments, such as banking deposits, shares and dividends, mutual funds, insurance, etc.
• Action Taken Report on Budget announcements made since 2019 was discussed. A focused approach should be adopted by the regulators to implement the announcements made in the Budget 2023-24, for which timelines were also decided.

About Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) 

• With a view to strengthening and institutionalizing the mechanism for maintaining financial stability, enhancing inter-regulatory coordination and promoting financial sector development, the Financial Stability and Development Council (FSDC) was set up by the Government as the apex level forum in December 2010.
• The Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister and its members are Governor, Reserve Bank of India; Finance Secretary and/or Secretary, Department of Economic Affairs; Secretary, Department of Financial Services; Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance; Chairman, Securities and Exchange Board of India; Chairman, Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority and Chairman, Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority.
• Council monitors macro prudential supervision of the economy, including functioning of large financial conglomerates, and addresses inter-regulatory coordination and financial sector development issues. It also focuses on financial literacy and financial inclusion.

FSDC Sub-Committee:

• The FSDC Sub-committee has also been set up under the chairmanship of Governor, RBI. It meets more often than the full Council.
• All the members of the FSDC are also the members of the Sub-committee. Additionally, all four Deputy Governors of the RBI and Additional Secretary, DEA, in charge of FSDC, are also members of the Sub Committee.

3. PRADHAN MANTRI JEEVAN JYOTI BIMA YOJANA (PMJJBY), PRADHAN MANTRI SURAKSHA BIMA YOJANA (PMSBY) AND ATAL PENSION YOJANA (APY) COMPLETES 8 YEARS OF PROVIDING SECURITY COVER

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPETIVES: SCHEMES

CONTEXT: Three social security (Jan Suraksha) schemes Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY), Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY) and Atal Pension Yojana (APY) completed 8^th anniversary. PMJJBY achieved more than 16 crore Cumulative Enrolments and PMSBY achieved more than 34 crore Cumulative Enrolments and APY achieved over 5 Crore subscribers.

EXPLANATION:

• The three schemes are dedicated to the welfare of the citizens, recognising the need for securing human life from unforeseen eventualisation and financial uncertainties. In order to ensure that the people from the unorganised section of the country are financially secure, the Government launched two insurance schemes PMJJBY and PMSBY; and also introduced APY to cover the exigencies in the old age.
• In the year 2014, the National Mission for Financial Inclusion was launched with the primary objective of ensuring that every citizen in India has access to banking facilities, financial literacy, and social security coverage.
• Building on this initiative, the Prime Minister introduced three Jan Suraksha schemes in 2015 with the aim of further promoting and advancing financial inclusion in the country.

Pradhan Mantri Jeevan Jyoti Bima Yojana (PMJJBY):

• Scheme: PMJJBY is a one-year life insurance scheme renewable from year to year offering coverage for death due to any reason.
• Eligibility: Persons in the age group of 18-50 years having an individual bank or a post office account are entitled to enroll under the scheme. People who join the scheme before completing 50 years of age can continue to have the risk of life covered up to age of 55 years upon payment of regular premium.
• Benefits: Life cover of Rs. 2 Lakh in case of death due to any reason against a premium of Rs. 436/- per annum.
• Enrolment: Enrolments under the scheme can be done by visiting the branch/ BC point or website of the bank of the account holder or at the post office in case of post office savings bank account. The premium under the scheme is auto debited every year from the subscriber’s bank account based on a one-time mandate from the account holder.
• Achievements: As on 26.04.2023, the cumulative enrolments under the scheme have been more than 16.19 crore and an amount of Rs. 13,290.40 crore has been paid for 6,64,520 claims.

Pradhan Mantri Suraksha Bima Yojana (PMSBY):

• Scheme: PMSBY is a one-year accidental insurance scheme renewable from year to year offering coverage for death or disability due to accident.
• Eligibility: Persons in the age group of 18-70 years having an individual bank or a post office account are entitled to enroll under the scheme.
• Benefits: Accidental death cum disability cover of Rs.2 lakh (Rs.1 lakh in case of partial disability) for death or disability due to an accident against a premium of Rs.20/- per annum.
• Enrolment: Enrolment under the scheme can be done by visiting the branch/ BC point or website of the bank of the account holder or at the post office in case of post office savings bank account. The premium under the scheme is auto debited every year from the subscriber’s bank account based on a one-time mandate from the account holder.
• Achievements: As on 26.04.2023, the cumulative enrolments under the scheme have been more than 34.18 crore and an amount of Rs. 2,302.26 crore has been paid for 1,15,951 claims.

Atal Pension Yojana (APY):

• Background: The Atal Pension Yojana (APY) was launched to create a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganised sector. It is an initiative of the Government to provide financial security and cover future exigencies for the people in the unorganised sector. APY is administered by Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) under the overall administrative and institutional architecture of the National Pension System (NPS).
• Eligibility: APY is open to all bank account holders in the age group of 18 to 40 years who are not income tax payers and the contributions differ, based on pension amount chosen.
• Benefits: Subscribers would receive the guaranteed minimum monthly pension of Rs. 1000 or Rs. 2000 or Rs. 3000 or Rs. 4000 or Rs. 5000 after the age of 60 years, based on the contributions made by the subscriber after joining the scheme.
• Disbursement of the Scheme Benefits: The monthly pension is available to the subscriber, and after him to his spouse and after their death, the pension corpus, as accumulated at age 60 of the subscriber, would be returned to the nominee of the subscriber.
• In case of premature death of subscriber (death before 60 years of age), spouse of the subscriber can continue contribution to APY account of the subscriber, for the remaining vesting period, till the original subscriber would have attained the age of 60 years.
• Contribution by Central Government: The minimum pension would be guaranteed by the Government, i.e., if the accumulated corpus based on contributions earns a lower than estimated return on investment and is inadequate to provide the minimum guaranteed pension, the Central Government would fund such inadequacy. Alternatively, if the returns on investment are higher, the subscribers would get enhanced pensionary benefits.
• Payment frequency: Subscribers can make contributions to APY on monthly/ quarterly / half-yearly basis.
• Withdrawal from the Scheme: Subscribers can voluntarily exit from APY subject to certain conditions, on deduction of Government co-contribution and return/interest thereon.
• Achievements: As on 27.04.2023 more than 5 crore individuals have subscribed to the scheme.

4. INDIA’S FIRST UNDERSEA TWIN TUNNELS

TAGS: PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT:  India’s first undersea twin tunnels in south Mumbai are close to completion and is set to open in November 2023.

EXPLANATION:

• Tunnels start near Girgaon (ahead of Marine Drive), extend north under the Arabian Sea, Girgaon Chowpatty and Malabar Hill, and end at Breach Candy’s Priyadarshini Park.
• The 2.07-km tunnels are a part of the Rs 12,721-crore Mumbai Coastal Road Project (MCRP) being built by the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC).
• Tunnel will be built between the underground station at Bandra-Kurla Complex and Shilphata in Thane district of Maharashtra thus connecting the two cities.
• National High Speed Railway Corporation Limited (NHSRCL) invited this week bids for the construction of a 21-km-long tunnel, seven kilometres of which will be under the sea, for the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail Corridor.
• The tunnels, which have a diameter of 12.19 metres, run 17-20 m below sea level. A nearly 1-km stretch lies under the sea. The tunnels hit peak depth at Malabar Hill at 72 m.
• Resembling the shape of the Queen’s Necklace the famous C-shaped Marine Drive promenade the tunnel entry and exit points will have fiberglass facades.
• It is stated that the tunnel will be built using a tunnel boring machine and the New Austrian Tunneling Method (NATM).

5. GREEN PORT GUIDELINES “HARIT SAGAR”

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT:  The ministry of ports, shipping and waterways on Wednesday launched the “Harit Sagar” Green Port Guidelines, aimed at achieving zero carbon emissions by promoting eco-friendly practices in port development, operation, and maintenance.

EXPLANATION:

• The ‘Harit Sagar’ Guidelines -2023 provide a comprehensive framework for our Major Ports, empowering them to create a comprehensive action plan aimed at achieving quantifiable reductions in carbon emissions over defined timelines.”
• It emphasizes the use of clean and green energy, such as green hydrogen, green ammonia, green methanol/ethanol.
• The objective of the guidelines is to minimize waste through reduce, reuse, repurpose, and recycle to attain zero waste discharge from port operations while promoting monitoring based on Environmental Performance Indicators.
• The guidelines are aimed at minimising waste through Reduce, Reuse, Repurpose and Recycle to attain zero waste discharge from port operations.
• It also promotes monitoring based on environmental performance indicators.
• It lay emphasis on the use of clean and green energy in port operations, developing port capabilities for storage, handling, and bunkering greener fuels like green hydrogen and green ammonia, among others.
• The guidelines were launched to meet the larger vision of achieving Zero Carbon Emission Goal set by the Ministry.
• Harit Sagar Guidelines – 2023 envisages ecosystem dynamics in port development, operation, and maintenance while aligning with the ’Working with Nature’ concept and minimizing impact on biotic components of harbor ecosystem.

1. SURROGACY LAWS IN INDIA

TAGS: GS 2: SOCIETY

CONTEXT: The government in the Supreme Court has said that same sex couples and live-in partners are not included in surrogacy and assisted reproduction laws to avoid ‘misuse’ and provide children a ‘complete family’. The Union’s Department of Health Research and the Indian Council of Medical Research, in a 131-page affidavit, said the welfare of the child “trumps any notions of equality amongst prospective/intending parents/couples”.

EXPLANATION:

Types of Surrogacy:

• Surrogacy is considered altruistic when the surrogate offers to carry the child of the commissioning couple in her womb purely out of love for them and empathy for their need to have a child.
• Surrogacy is considered commercial when money is paid to the surrogate for her services. Surrogacy law bans commercial surrogacy and makes it a non-bailable and non-compoundable offence to undertake commercial surrogacy. The commission of such an offence invites imprisonment for a term which may extend to ten years and with fine which may extend to ten lakh rupees.

Background:

• Indian Council of Medical Research in 2005 come up with a set of guidelines for the conduct of surrogacy. Later in 2010, the government put more curbs on the Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Bill.

The Surrogacy (Regulation)Act, 2021:

Some of the key features of the Act include the following-

• All the clinics providing the surrogacy treatment and facilities need to be registered under this Act and people practicing in those clinics need to qualify as per the criteria given in this bill.
• Every facility that performs surrogacy treatments must apply for registration within sixty days after the competent authority’s appointment. Every three years, registration must be renewed.
• Commercial surrogacy is prohibited in any form by any surrogacy clinic, gynaecologist, embryologist, or other medical practitioner. Only altruistic surrogacy is permissible under the 2021 Act.
• Eligibility: The Act is restricted to only two categories of people i.e., the intending couple who are legally married and according to the laws of India, and that have a certificate of infertility can use this facility. The intending couple i.e., the couple wanting to have the baby must be legally married in line with the laws of India. The age of the female should be between 25-50 years and that of the male should be 26-55 years. Also, another important condition is that they shouldn’t be having any other adopted or conceived child through surrogacy or naturally.
• As required by the law, the surrogate has to be eligible too. She has to be between 25 and 35 years of age; be married with a child of her own. She should also be a first-time surrogate. Furthermore, a psychiatrist has to certify her as being mentally fit. Any woman cannot be a surrogate mother more than once in her entire lifetime.
• Furthermore, the couple should have an insurance policy for the surrogate mother to cover her medical needs for 36 months from the date of embryo transfer. Once the board validates the couple’s submission, an essentiality certificate is issued to them
• The National/State Assisted Reproductive Technology and Surrogacy Board must provide a ‘Certificate of Essentiality/Infertility’ to an intended couple who has a medical need for surrogacy.

LGBTQIA+ community exclusion:

• In line with the gender bias that still exists in our society, this Act only allows a legally married man and woman in India to get a baby through this method, and thus the non-binary and the same-sex couple are not able to enjoy the parenthood even if they wish to.
• Though in the case ofNavtej Singh v. Union of India, 2018, the Supreme court decriminalized homosexuality, same-sex marriage is still not legal in India hence homosexual couples do not come under the purview of this Act.

The Assisted Reproductive Technology (Regulation) Act, 2021:

• The Act aims at the regulation and supervision of ART clinics and assisted reproductive technology banks, prevention of misuse, and safe and ethical practice of ART service.
• Every ART clinic and bank is required by the Act to be listed in the National Registry of Banks and Clinics of India. This Registry, which consists of scientific and technical personnel, will serve as a central database for all facilities in India that offer ART treatments.

2. PETERSBERG CLIMATE DIALOGUE (PCD)

TAGS: GS3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: The Petersberg Climate Dialogue (PCD) is an annual high-level political and international forum that took place from 2 -3 May 2023 ahead of the annual United Nations Climate Change Conferences (Conference of the Parties or COP). The PCD series was co-hosted in Berlin by the German Federal Foreign Office and the United Arab Emirates, which is hosting the 28th Conference of Parties (COP28) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Delegates from 40 countries attended this year’s high-level dialogue series, the 14^th such event.

EXPLANATION:

Background:

• The first Petersberg Climate Dialogue, aimed at improving communication between leaders and environmental ministers following the nearly unsuccessful negotiations at the 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP15), was initiated by German politician and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel.
• The meeting took place on April 2–4, 2010 at Hotel Petersberg, located on the hill named “Petersberg” near the German city of Bonn, where the UNFCCC is headquartered.
• In subsequent years, the Petersberg Climate Dialogue conference was held in Berlin.
• PCD aims at strengthening strategic dialogue on just energy transition, global transformation and responses to climate impacts.

Highlights from the summit are as follows:

• The 14th Petersberg Climate Dialogue will bring together high-level representatives from around 40 countries to discuss concrete steps towards overcoming the climate crisis and strengthen confidence both in multilateral climate negotiations and between countries.
• The Dialogue will focus on cross-cutting themes related to the availability and affordability of and access to finance. In particular, participants will discuss implementation of the UNFCCC COP 27 decision on financial support for overcoming loss and damage caused by climate change.
• The focus this year included topics such as climate adaptation, climate finance and dealing with loss and damage, but in particular the first-ever global stocktake.
• Global renewables target: In order to limit global warming to 1.5°C, the world needs to make sharp cuts in their greenhouse gas emissions. Discussions inititated around a potential global target for renewables at the next climate conference.
• Fossil fuels: Phaseout production or reduce emissions?: COP28 President called on meeting participants to ramp up renewable energy capacity building and phasing out fossil fuel emissions, while phasing up viable, affordable zero-carbon alternatives. He called for a tripling of renewable energy capacity by 2030 followed by a doubling in 2040.
• On track for $100 billion climate finance: It is found that developed countries are “on good track” to deliver the $100 billion per year they had promised to mobilise by 2020 during the COP15 in 2009.
• Global Stocktake: 2023 is the year for the Global Stocktake, which is essentially a periodic review of global climate action which aims to assess whether current efforts will enable us to reach the objectives set out in the Paris Agreement. This is the first Global Stocktake year since the Paris Agreement was signed in 2015 and the report has been underway for the past two years. It is set to be released in September of 2023.

India’s stand:

• Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Labour and Employment said that there was a broader consensus over the need for stronger mitigation and adaptation efforts and for expansion of renewables.
• At the event it was reiterated that recognising the need for support towards Just, Affordable & Inclusive Energy Transition is crucial in the spirit of leaving no one behind.
• While following the clean energy pathway, to protect livelihood of local population and local economy, which depend on the existing energy system, focus on diversifying the economy and creation of new livelihood opportunities are required.

3. CARBON BORDER ADJUSTMENT MECHANISM (CBAM)

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: European Union (EU) proposes to introduce a framework for levying a carbon tax on imports of products that rely on non-green or sub-optimally sustainable processes and where carbon emissions are deemed to have not been adequately priced.

EXPLANATION:

• It is also known as Carbon Border Tax which imposes importers and non-EU manufacturers to pay for the carbon emission linked to the goods they sell within EU limits.
• Importers will be required to purchase carbon import certificates/ permits for each metric ton of CO2 brought into the EU through specified goods. The price of certificates could depend on carbon intensity of goods being impo . and carbon price per metric ton which will be the same as domestic carbon price being paid by EU producers.
• The CBAM plans to impose a tariff on a set of carbon-intensive imports, which will have to be paid by EU importers and companies who export such goods to EU countries.
• This Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) will begin with an import monitoring mechanism and culminate in the levy of duties as determined from January 2026.
• The EU argues that the CBAM will ensure its climate objectives are not undermined by carbon-intensive imports and spur cleaner production in the rest of the world.

How will the CBAM work?

• The European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) plans to impose a tariff on a set of carbon-intensive imports from countries having weaker climate policies.
• The CBAM initially plans to impose a carbon border tax on the most carbon-intensive imports—iron and steel, cement, fertilisers, aluminium and electricity.

• The CBAM will start phasing in from October 2023, if all approvals go through, first requiring importers in the EU to collect data about the number of metric tons of carbon dioxide released during the manufacture of the goods they import.
• The CBAM will be implemented in a phased manner with importers in the EU submitting data about the embedded emissions of their imports in 2023 and start buying certificates for such imports by 2026.
• After that, importers will need to buy a new type of pollution certificate to reflect that discharge at prices aligned with the bloc’s Emissions Trading System. The fee could be partially waived if a carbon tax has already been paid in the country where the goods were the goods were originally manufactured.

Why are developing countries including India opposing it?

• While the EU believes the mechanism is a global solution to the global problem of climate change, trading partners such the United States, China, Russia and developing countries including India, have opposed the measure, describing it as unilateral, “protectionist” and even a trade weapon.
• India has invoked climate justice on the global fora and contends that it places a carbon charge on companies from countries that did not primarily or historically cause climate change.
• According to the Global Trade Research Initiative, the tax will translate into a 20-35% tariff on India’s exports of steel, aluminium and cement, which now attract an MFN duty of less than 3%. As much as 27% of India’s exports of steel, iron and aluminium products, or $8.2 billion, head to the EU.
• It is critical that the Centre reacts with greater alacrity to what may be considered by some as a sophisticated trade barrier doused in ‘greenwashing’ optics, proposed by the EU. Last year, about a third of India’s iron, steel and aluminium exports, for instance, were shipped to EU members. Engineering products, the largest export growth driver in recent years, would be impacted too.

4. ECUADOR SEALED DEBT FOR NATURE SWAPS FOR CONSERVATION OF GALAPAGOS ISLANDS

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT; GS 1: GEOGRAPHY; PRELIMS: PLACES IN NEWS

CONTEXT: Ecuador sealed the world’s largest “debt-for-nature” swap on record on Tuesday, selling a new “blue bond” that will funnel at least $12 million a year into conservation of the Galapagos Islands, one of the world’s most precious ecosystems.

EXPLANATION:

Background:

• With Ecuador in severe financial peril, the bonds were trading well below face value as investors considered non-repayment to be likely.
• Effectively, Ecuador has now bought its own debt back at a knock-down price via a fresh loan from Credit Suisse.
• And in return, Ecuador’s government had pledged to spend about $18 million annually for two decades on conservation in the Galapagos Islands.

Galapagos islands:

• The Galapagos archipelago is located about 1,000 km from continental Ecuador and is composed of 127 islands, islets and rocks, of which 19 are large and 4are inhabited. 97% of the total emerged surface (7,665,100 ha) was declared National Park in 1959. Human settlements are restricted to the remaining 3% in specifically zoned rural and urban areas on four islands (a fifth island only has an airport, tourism dock, fuel containment, and military facilities).
• The islands are surrounded by the Galapagos Marine Reserve which was created in 1986 (70,000 km²) and extended to its current area (133,000 km²) in 1998, making it one of the largest marine reserves in the world.
• These islands and the surrounding marine reserve have been called a unique ‘living museum and showcase of evolution’ that inspired Charles Darwin’s theory of evolution by natural selection following his visit in 1835.
• It is located at the confluence of three ocean currents as a ‘melting pot’ of marine species. Ongoing seismic and volcanic activity reflects the processes that formed the islands. These processes, together with the extreme isolation of the islands, led to the development of unusual animal life such as the land iguana, the giant tortoise and the many types of finch.
• The remote islands home to some of the most unspoiled nature in the world are a UNESCO world nature heritage site.
• The main threats to the Galapagos are the introduction of invasive species, increased tourism, demographic growth, illegal fishing and governance issues.

Debt for nature swaps:

• It is an initiative of World Wide Fund for Nature implemented through trust funds or foundations specifically set up to channel funding to local biodiversity.
• They are typically a voluntary transaction in which an amount of debt owed by a developing country government is cancelled or reduced by a creditor, in exchange for the debtor making financial commitments to conservation.
• Swaps typically involve countries that are financially distressed and experiencing difficulties in repaying foreign debts. The earnings generated through swaps are often administered by local conservation or environmental trust funds.
• Debt-for-nature swaps have proved successful in Belize, Barbados and the Seychelles in recent years, but Ecuador’s deal is by far the largest to date, cutting the country’s debt by over $1 billion once the $450 million of total conservation spending is taken into account.

5. NATIONAL PROGRAMME FOR PREVENTION & CONTROL OF NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (NP-NCD)

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUES

CONTEXT: The existing National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS) programme has been renamed National Programme for Prevention & Control of Non-Communicable Diseases (NP-NCD) amid widening coverage and expansion.

EXPLANATION:

• Ministry of Health and Family Welfare (MoHFW) has decided to rename the portal which enables population enumeration, risk assessment, and screening for five common NCDs, including hypertension, diabetes, and oral, breast and cervical cancers of the population aged above 30 years.
• Now Schemes subsume all types of NCDs with an addition of diseases to the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS), such as non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, chronic kidney disease etc.

Status of Non communicable disease:

• India is experiencing a rapid health transition with a rising burden of Non-Communicable Diseases (NCD) surpassing the burden of Communicable diseases like water-borne or vector borne diseases, TB, HIV, etc.
• The four major NCDs are cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), cancers, chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs) and diabetes which share four behavioural risk factors – unhealthy diet, lack of physical activity, and use of tobacco and alcohol.
• Meanwhile, a study ‘India: Health of the Nation’s States – The India State-Level Disease Burden Initiative in 2017’ by Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) estimated that the proportion of deaths due to NCDs in India have increased from 37.9% in 1990 to 61.8% in 2016.
• Non-Communicable Diseases like Cardiovascular diseases, Cancer, Chronic Respiratory Diseases, Diabetes, etc. are estimated to account for around 60% of all deaths. NCDs cause considerable loss in potentially productive years of life. Losses due to premature deaths related to heart diseases, stroke and Diabetes are also projected to increase over the years.

Objectives of NP-NCD

• Health promotion through behaviour change with involvement of community, civil society, community based organizations, media etc.
• Opportunistic screening at all levels in the health care delivery system from subcentre and above for early detection of diabetes, hypertension and common cancers.
• Outreach camps are also envisaged.
• To prevent and control chronic non-Communicable diseases, especially Cancer, Diabetes, CVDs and Stroke.
• To build capacity at various levels of health care for prevention, early diagnosis, treatment, IEC/BCC, operational research and rehabilitation.
• To support for diagnosis and cost-effective treatment at primary, secondary and tertiary levels of health care.
• To support for development of database of NCDs through Surveillance System and to monitor NCD morbidity and mortality and risk factors.

The strategies for prevention, control and treatment of NCDs would have following components: 

• Health promotion awareness generation and promotion of healthy lifestyle
• Screening and early detection
• Timely affordable and accurate diagnosis
• Access to affordable treatment
• Rehabilitation

Mechanism of the scheme:

• NP-NCD is being implemented under the National Health Mission (NHM) across the country.
• Under NP-NCD, NCD Cells are being established at National, State and District levels for programme management, and NCD Clinics are being set up at District and CHC levels, to provide services for early diagnosis, treatment and follow-up for common NCDs.
• Provision has been made under the programme to provide free diagnostic facilities and drugs for patients attending the NCD clinics. Cardiac Care Units (CCU) are also being set up in identified districts for providing facilities for emergency Cardiac Care. Day Care Centres at the identified districts are setup to provide facilities for Cancer care.

1. LITHIUM RESERVE IN RAJASTHAN

TAGS: GS-3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

CONTEXT:  Months after India found its first ever lithium reserve in Jammu and Kashmir, another reserve of the crucial mineral has been found in Rajasthan’s Degana (Nagaur) by India’s Geological Survey. The new lithium reserve is much bigger than the one found in Jammu and Kashmir.

EXPLANATION:

• Findings: GSI and mining officials have claimed that the amount of Lithium present in these reserves can satisfy 80 percent of India’s total demand. The discovery of these reserves may help in reducing the dependency of India on imports.
• A World Bank study suggests that the demand for critical metals such as lithium (Li) and cobalt is expected to rise by nearly 500% by 2050. While “the global electric vehicle market is projected to reach $823.75 billion by 2030, registering a Compounded Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.2% from 2021 to 2030,”
• India’s market is projected to register a CAGR of 23.76% by 2028. India is seeking to secure its critical mineral supplies and build self-sufficiency in this sector.
• Lithium is a non-ferrous metal, which is also the softest and lightest metal in the world. Soft enough to be cut with a vegetable knife and light enough to float when put in water. It stores chemical energy and converts it into electrical energy.
• Use of Lithium: Lithium is present in every chargeable electronic and battery-powered gadget in the house today. For this reason, there is a tremendous demand for Lithium around the world. Due to the global demand, it is also called White Gold. Lithium-ion batteries are used in wind turbines, solar panels, and electric vehicles, all of which are crucial in a green economy.
• Lithium Reserve in World: Lithium reserves are concentrated in the lithium triangle in South America i.e Argentina, Bolivia & Chile, with 50% of the deposits concentrated in these regions. Bolivia has highest lithium reserves. China, meanwhile, has the lead over other countries and China controls 75% of Lithium refining.
• India currently imports all of its Li from Australia and Argentina and 70% of its Li-ion cell requirement from China and Hong Kong, the lithium reserves in J&K could boost the domestic battery-manufacturing industry.
• Environmental impacts of Lithium mining: Open-pit-mining, refining, and waste disposal from these processes substantially degrades the environment, including depletes and contaminates waterways and groundwater, diminishes biodiversity, and releases considerable air pollution.

2. ARAB LEAGUE REINSTATED THE MEMBERSHIP OF SYRIA

TAGS: GS-2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS; PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: The Arab League voted to reinstate Syria’s membership after its suspension more than 10 years ago, underlining the thawing relations between Damascus and other Arab countries. The decision was taken at a closed-door meeting, attended by foreign ministers from 13 out of 22 member states of the organisation, held in Cairo, Egypt.

EXPLANATION:

• Background: Syria was ousted from the Arab League in 2011 following President Bashar al-Assad’s brutal crackdown on pro-democracy protests, which led to the ongoing civil war in the country. The conflict has since killed around half of a million people and displaced about 23 million.
• Reasons for reinstatement: Experts believe these countries have realised they need to end Damascus’ isolation for the stability of West Asia. Moreover, they want some sort of repatriation of refugees back into Syria and a curb on the trade of captagon, a highly addictive amphetamine produced in the country. Another catalyst in Syria’s rehabilitation is the China-brokered re-establishment of diplomatic relations between regional powerhouse Saudi Arabia and its archenemy, Iran.

About Arab League:

• The Arab League, formally known as the League of Arab States, was established in 1945 with initially just six nations: Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Currently, it has 22 member states in Northern Africa and on the Arabian Peninsula, which belongs geographically to Asia, who have pledged to cooperate on economic and military affairs, among other issues.
• 22 member states are: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordon, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.
• All member countries together cover an area of 13.15 million km² (8.7% of the world’s inhabitable area). Significant parts are desert regions such as the Sahara and the Rub al-Chali sand desert. With about 456.52 million inhabitants, the area is home to about 5.8 percent of the world population.
• All member states are also members of the OIC, the Organisation for Islamic Cooperation.
• Foundation: The origins of the Arab League go back to the Second World War. Large parts of the founding members belonged to the Ottoman Empire. At the end of the war, the region was to be stabilized and its independence secured. On October 7, 1944, a “Protocol of Alexandria” was signed as a loose union. After elaborating on the ideas, the Arab League was founded the following year on 11 May 1945. The first member states were the kingdoms of Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen, as well as Lebanon, Syria and the then Emirate of Transjordan.
• Aim: The aims of the Arab League were very similar to those of NATO and the Warsaw Pact. The aims of the league in 1945 were to strengthen and coordinate the political, cultural, economic, and social programs of its members and to mediate disputes among them or between them and third parties.
• Administration: The chairmanship is elected every five years, but the seat of the Arab League has been in Cairo (Egypt) since the beginning. Other sub-organizations are:
• the Arab Monetary Fund (AMF)
• Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD)
• Arab Economic Development Bank (BADEA)
• Arab Air Carriers Organization

3. FIVE MORE CHEETAH TO BE INTRODUCED IN KUNO NATIONAL PARK

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT; PRELIMS PERSPECTIVE

CONTEXT: Five more cheetahs, three females and two males will be released from acclimatisation camps into free-ranging conditions at Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park (KNP) before the onset of the monsoon in June 2023.

EXPLANATION:

• Background: Eight cheetahs from Namibia and 12 from South Africa were transported to India between September 2022 and February 2023 as part of an initiative to reintroduce the species to India, where it had gone extinct in the early 1950s. eight African cheetahs were brought to India today from Namibia as a part of Project Cheetah, the world’s first inter-continental large wild carnivore translocation project

About Cheetah:

• Being a top carnivore, the cheetahis a major evolutionary force that shapes ecosystem functions and enhances species diversity. Their prey base includes ungulates like chital, Sambar deer, nilgai, four-horned antelope, chinkara, blackbuck and wild boar.
• Cheetah is found only in arid region of eastern Iran in Asia and in Africa. It is found in isolated population in grassland and open forest areas.
• African Cheetah and Asiatic Cheetah:

African Cheetah

African Cheetahs are much larger in population and listed as Vulnerable in the (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species

The African cheetah is spread out across Africa from Northwest Africa, East Africa, and Southern Africa. With a bigger territory, the African cheetahs have the highest populations compared to their Asiatic counterparts

African cheetahs, on the other hand, have a slightly bigger build with sturdier legs and necks. Their heads are also bigger compared side by side with the Asiatic cheetahs. An adult African cheetah can reach 84 inches in length and can weigh up to 159 pounds

Asiatic Cheetah

Asiatic Cheetahs have a very small population base and are listed as critically endangered species in the (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species.

On the other hand, Asiatic Cheetahs are only found in a small region between Iran and Pakistan. Asiatic cheetahs once roamed the whole expanse of the central Asian continent from India to Afghanistan and Pakistan, but with their numbers reduced, it is hard for them to be sighted outside Iran

The Asiatic cheetah is slightly smaller and slender than the African cheetah. The neck is much smaller and longer. Their legs are also slender, which has led many to believe that they could be much faster than their African cousins. However, no data is available to confirm. An Asiatic cheetah adult grows to about 53 inches in length with a 33-inch tail and can weigh up to 119 pounds

Why Cheetahs Got Extinct in India?

• The species was declared extinct in India in 1952 primarily due to hunting and habitat loss. In 1947, the last three recorded cheetahs in India were killed by Maharaja Ramanuj Pratap Singh Deo of Korea in Madhya Pradesh.
• Cheetahs were frequently used by the hunters to course blackbuck. They were relatively easy to tame and trained for sport-hunting.
• Under British rule, to develop settlements and agricultural fields, forests were cleared and it resulted in losing the habitats for the species. Moreover, there is evidence to prove that Britishers considered the animals ‘vermins’ (harmful to crops, farm animals, or game, or which carry disease) and they started distributing monetary rewards for killing them from 1871 onwards.

Project Cheetah:

• India then committed to returning cheetahs in several locations including Madhya Pradesh’s Kuno National Park where the staff have been trained, several dogs have been made specialised, facilities have been upgraded and large predators have been moved away.
• In July 2020, India and Namibia signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) stating Namibia’s agreement to donate eight individuals to India as an initial part to launch the programme.

Kuno-Palpur National Park:

• Kuno Palpur National Park is located in Madhya Pradesh, Sheopur and Morena Districts, first established in 1981 as a wildlife sanctuary, and later in 2018 as a national park, is a part of the Khathiar-Gir dry deciduous forests ecoregion.
• Kuno’s geography consists of vast grasslands, open forest patches and hills, perfect for the big cat.
• Some of the main fauna of the park are the Indian leopard, sloth bear, jungle cat, Indian wolf, striped hyena, Bengal fox and many more. Some of the birds found here are Honey badger, ruddy mongoose, Indian grey mongoose, Indian hare etc.
• In 2009, it became a possible site to reintroduce cheetah in Madhya Pradesh. Kuno National Park is selected for the new home for the eight cheetahs as geographically it is located very close to the Sal forests of Koriya, where the native cheetahs were last spotted about seven decades ago.

4. RIVER CITIES ALLIANCE

TAGS: GS 3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG) in association with the National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) organized the ‘River-Cities Alliance (RCA) Global Seminar: Partnership for Building International River-Sensitive Cities’. The purpose of the RCA Global Seminar was to provide a platform for officials of member cities and international stakeholders to discuss and learn good practices for managing urban rivers.

EXPLANATION:

• Background: The Government of India is working extensively to rejuvenate the twenty river basins in the country. In 2014-15, the Namami Gange Mission was launched as a Flagship Initiative for the protection, conservation and rejuvenation of the Ganga River Basin. Guided by a holistic river basin centric approach, the focus is on the riverine ecosystem, including components such as pollution abatement, solid and liquid waste management, biodiversity, afforestation, wetland conservation, groundwater management, etc.
• Namami Gange Mission recognizes that integrated river basin management needs to be interwoven with economic growth and urban transformations. Efforts are being made to engage city governments in this collective responsibility of river rejuvenation and economical gains with the stretch of river flowing through or near their boundaries. This is in alignment with the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India’s clarion call for “need for new thinking for river cities. Cities should be responsible for rejuvenating their rivers. It has to be done not just with the regulatory mind set but also with developmental and faciliatory outlook.”

The River Cities Alliance (RCA):

• It is a joint initiative of the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation under the Ministry of Jal Shakti (MoJS) & the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA), with a vision to connect river cities and focus on sustainable river centric development.
• Beginning with 30 member cities in November 2021, the Alliance has expanded to 109 river cities across India and one international member city from Denmark.
• River Cities Alliance (RCA) was launched as a dedicated platform for river cities in India to ideate, discuss and exchange information for sustainable management of urban rivers.
• NMCG, National Institute of Urban Affairs (NIUA) and key partners provide dedicated technical and handholding support to the 107 member cities of the RCA, as they implement interventions for river-sensitive development.
• Mechanism of RCA: The Governance Mechanism of the RCA has been envisaged as a city-led movement for promulgating river-sensitive planning and development. Hence, the agenda and operations for RCA are determined by the member cities. The activities being undertaken are in three broad areas:
  Networking: Organizing annual river summit; facilitating exchange of official visits for member cities; and publishing a bi-monthly newsletter
  B. Capacity Building: Conducting certification training programmes for officials of member cities; annual calendar of events; and organizing webinars and expert talk.
  C. Technical Support: River-sensitive urban planning and interventions; Innovations in urban river management; river linked economy and rejuvenation of urban water bodies.

RCA- DHARA 2023(Driving Holistic Action for Urban Rivers)

• DHARA 2023 featured key sessions on international best practices and examples for urban river management.
• DHARA 2023 was aimed to inspire members of the RCA to engage in progressive actions for urban river management in their cities.
• It will help helped in developing a compendium of technological solutions that cities may adopt for enhancing the management of their local rivers.

5. ISSUE OF DRUG RECALL

TAGS: GS 2: HEALTH ISSUE

CONTEXT: In a rare occurrence, Abbot, a multinational pharmaceutical company, published a public notice in newspapers alerting people about a mislabelled batch of medicine that it had inadvertently shipped to the market. While such recalls take place regularly in the U.S., including by Indian companies, it has never been witnessed that domestic or foreign pharmaceutical companies recall substandard or mislabelled drugs in India.

EXPLANATION:

• A drug recall occurs when a prescription or over-the-counter medicine is removed from the market because it is found to be either defective or potentially harmful.

Background:

• In 2012, after a scathing report by the Department Related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Health & Family Welfare raised the issue of recalls, among other issues, the CDSCO proposed a set of draft recall guidelines except the national regulator lacks the power to convert guidelines into a binding law.
• Only the Ministry of Health or, more importantly, the Drug Regulation Section of the Ministry, can initiate the process to make binding rules or legislation. The then Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) had announced that the guidelines would become binding law in a few months, but that never happened. In any event, the guidelines were not very thorough.
• The issue of recalls resurfaced in 2016 at meetings of the DCC and at another committee, called the Drugs Technical Advisory Board (DTAB). Nothing changed on the ground. The same issue came up again in 2018 and 2019 at the meetings of the DCC, but India still lacks a recall law, 46 years on.

Reasons for lack of effective recall mechanism:

• Drug Regulation Section of the Union health ministry is simply not up to the task of tackling complex drug regulatory issues due to a combination of different factors including apathy, lack of expertise in the area, and a greater interest in enabling the growth of the pharmaceutical industry than protecting public health.
• The second possible factor is India’s highly fragmented regulatory structure, with each state having its own drug regulator. But despite the fragmentation, drugs manufactured in one state can seamlessly cross borders to be sold in all states around the country.
• The third possible factor is that India’s drug regulators are aware of the fact that a mandatory drug recall system, which necessarily has to be centred on a system of wide publicity, will bring to public attention to the rotten state of affairs in India’s pharmaceutical industry.

Drug Regulation in India:

• The Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO)under Directorate General of Health Services, Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India is the National Regulatory Authority (NRA) of India.
• Its headquarter is located at New Delhi and also has six zonal offices,four sub zonal offices, thirteen Port offices and seven laboratories spread across the country.
• The Drugs & Cosmetics Act,1940 and rules 1945 have entrusted various responsibilities to central & state regulators for regulation of drugs & cosmetics. It envisages uniform implementation of the provisions of the Act & Rules made there under for ensuring the safety, rights and well being of the patients by regulating the drugs and cosmetics.
• CDSCO is constantly thriving upon to bring out transparency, accountability and uniformity in its services in order to ensure safety, efficacy and quality of the medical product manufactured, imported and distributed in the country.
• Under the Drugs and Cosmetics Act, CDSCO is responsible for approval of Drugs, Conduct of Clinical Trials, laying down the standards for Drugs, control over the quality of imported Drugs in the country and coordination of the activities of State Drug Control Organizations by providing expert advice with a view of bring about the uniformity in the enforcement of the Drugs and Cosmetics Act.
• The government has notified the DPCO 2013 under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955, which gives power to the NPPA (National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA )to regulate prices of 348 essential drugs along with their specified strengths and dosages under National List of Essential Medicines . As per the DPCO 2013, “Scheduled formulation” means any formulation, included in the First Schedule whether referred to by generic versions or brand name. “Nonscheduled formulation” has been defined as a formulation, the dosage and strengths of which are not specified in the First Schedule.

 1. INDIA’S FIRST NATIONAL WATER BODY CENSUS

TAGS: GS-3: ENVIRONMENT

CONTEXT: Ministry of Jal Shakti has released the report of India’s first water bodies census, a comprehensive data base of ponds, tanks, lakes, and reservoirs in the country.

EXPLANATION:

• Definition of Water Bodies: First Census Report considers “all natural or man-made units bounded on all sides with some or no masonry work used for storing water for irrigation or other purposes (e.g. industrial, pisciculture, domestic/ drinking, recreation, religious, ground water recharge etc.)” as water bodies.
• Objective: The census’s objective was to develop a national database with information on the size, purpose, ownership, status, and conditions of water bodies. It covered all natural and human-made units bounded on all sides for storing water, irrespective of condition or use.
• Findings: As per the report, West Bengal’s South 24 Pargana has been ranked as the district having the highest (3.55 lakh) number of water bodies across the country. The district is followed by Andhra Pradesh’s Ananthapur (50,537) and West Bengal’s Howrah (37,301).
• Exclusion of Seven specific types of water bodies from the count. They were: 1) oceans and lagoons; 2) rivers, streams, springs, waterfalls, canals, etc. which are free flowing, without any bounded storage of water; 3) swimming pools; 4) covered water tanks created for a specific purpose by a family or household for their own consumption; 5) a water tank constructed by a factory owner for consumption of water as raw material or consumable; 6) temporary water bodies created by digging for mining, brick kilns, and construction activities, which may get filled during the rainy season; and 7) pucca open water tanks created only for cattle to drink water.
• Methodology to collect census data: According to the report, “traditional methodology, i.e., paper-based schedules, were canvassed both for rural and urban areas. A “village schedule”, “urban schedule” and “water body schedule” were canvassed, and a smart phone was used to “capture latitude, longitude and photo of water bodies”.

https://www.thehindu.com/sci-tech/energy-and-environment/water-census-ministry-jal-shakti-findings-analysis/article66822865.ece

2. CYCLONE MOCHA BUILDING OVER BAY OF BENGAL

TAGS: GS1: PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY
CONTEXT: The Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) has said that a cyclonic or low-pressure area is developing in the Bay of Bengal and can lead to high rainfall in the next few days in the region, from May 8 to May 12. It also said that the weather system was likely to form a depression over the southeast Bay of Bengal around May 9, and then intensify into a cyclonic storm.

EXPLANATION:

• A cyclone is a low-pressure system that forms over warm waters. Usually, a high temperature anywhere means the existence of low-pressure air, and a low temperature means high-pressure wind.
• Formation of cyclones: When warm and humid air rises and cools, the water in the air turns into clouds. As ocean heat and water evaporate from the surface of the ocean, the entire system of clouds and winds rotates and rises. As the air system spins at increasing speed, an eye forms in the middle. The center of the storm is very calm and clear. The difference in temperature between the warm and rising atmosphere causes the air to rise up and become more energetic.
• Naming of cyclones: Cyclones that form in every ocean basin across the world are named by the Regional Specialised Meteorological Centres (RSMCs) and Tropical Cyclone Warning Centres (TCWCs). There are six RSMCs in the world, including the India Meteorological Department (IMD), and five Cyclone Mocha’s name is suggested by Yemen and the name originates from the city of Mocha in Yemen, which is located on the Red Sea coast.
• Local names of cyclones:
• Typhoons – South China Sea and Western Pacific Ocean
• Tropical Cyclones – Indian Ocean
• Hurricanes -Caribbean Sea
• Wily Willies – Western Australia
• Baguio- Philippines
• Taifu- Japan
• Cyclone warning system in India: The Meteorological Department of India is the nodal agency in India responsible for weather monitoring, weather forecasting, and seismology. The Cyclone Warning Center (ACWC) predicts a storm area in the Bay of Bengal and the Cyclone Warning Center (CWC) in the Arabian Sea. The ACWC and CWC sent their reports to the coordinating center, National Cyclone Warning Center (NCWC).

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/explained-climate/imd-cyclone-mocha-formation-details-explained-859653

3. ISRO’S SPACE SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY AWARENESS TRAINING (START)

TAGS: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY
CONTEXT: The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) has announced a new introductory-level online training programme called Space Science and Technology Awareness Training (START).

EXPLANATION:

• The START programme is part of the ISRO’s efforts to enable Indian students to become professionals in Space Science and Technology, as the organisation’s Space Science exploration programme continues to expand into new domains.
• The programme is intended to provide students with an introductory-level training in Space Science and Technology, giving them an overview of different facets of the field, research opportunities, and career options.
• Aim: START is aimed at postgraduate and final-year undergraduate students of Physical Sciences and Technology. The programme will cover various domains of Space Science, including Astronomy and Astrophysics, Heliophysics and Sun-Earth interaction, Instrumentation, and Aeronomy. It will be delivered by scientists from Indian academia and ISRO centres.
• The training will also emphasise the cross-disciplinary nature of Space Science, giving students insights into how the individual aptitudes can be applied to the field.
• The START programme is part of ISRO’s efforts to enable Indian students to become professionals in space science and technology, as the organization’s space science exploration program continues to expand into new domains. The programme is expected to help build a human capacity that will lead space science and research in the future.

https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/isro-to-start-online-training-programme-for-pg-and-and-final-year-ug-students/article66823617.ece

4. MANIPUR VIOLENCE

TAGS: GS 2: EMERGENCY PROVISIONS, ST STATUS, SPECIAL STATUS OF MANIPUR
CONTEXT: Violent protests have erupted in Manipur over the Indian state’s decision to grant a Scheduled Tribe (ST) tag to the Meitei community. Stoking historic tensions, the move has been met with suspicion by Nagas and Kukis, who dominate the state’s population and live in rural areas surrounding the fertile Imphal Valley, home to around 53% of the population. The controversial eviction of local farmers from reserved forests triggered initial opposition, while residents’ frustration mounted at a growing sense of dislocation from the state’s political decisions.

EXPLANATION:

• Issue of the violence: The escalation in violence in Manipur has its roots in an over 10-year-old demand by the Meitei community for a Scheduled Tribe tag. The immediate reason for this violence, however, is a Manipur High Court order directing the state government to recommend to the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry by May 29, an ST tag for the community. The petitioners have argued that this community had once enjoyed the ST tag prior to the merger of Manipur with the Indian Union and have sought the restoration of this status.
• On May 4, as the violence escalated, the Centre invoked Article 355 of the Constitution, which is a part of emergency provisions. It empowers the Centre to take necessary steps to protect a State against external aggression or internal disturbances.

Scheduled Tribe status:

• According to the modalities for inclusion first framed in 1999, the proposal for inclusion must originate from the respective State or Union Territory government.
• Following this, the proposal is sent to the Union Tribal Affairs Ministry, which sends it to the Office of the Registrar General of India (ORGI). If the ORGI approves the inclusion, the proposal is forwarded to the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
• Only after the concurrence of these institutions, will the proposal go forward to the Cabinet to bring in the appropriate amendment to the Constitution (Scheduled Tribes) Order, 1950.

Article 371:

• It was added in the constitution by 27^th Amendment Act of 1971.
• Under this, the President is authorised to provide for the creation of a committee of the Manipur Legislative Assembly consisting of members elected from the Hill Areas of the State.  The expression ‘Hill Areas’ means such areas as the President may, by order, declare to be Hill Areas.
• Governor shall annually, or whenever so required by the President, make a report to the President regarding the administration of the Hill Areas in the State of Manipur and the executive power of the Union shall extend to the giving of directions to the State as to the administration of the said areas.

Emergency provisions:

• It is a part of emergency provisions contained in Part XVIII of the Constitution of India, from Article 352 to 360.
• Article 355 is found in part XVIII of the Indian constitution which contains emergency provisions that are meant to be used in extremely rare circumstances.
• Article 355 States that it shall be the duty of the Union to protect every State against external aggression and internal disturbance and to ensure that the Government of every State is carried on in accordance with the provisions of this Constitution.
• This section of the constitution empowers the Union government to declare a state of emergency (through Article 352) or, in other cases, President’s Rule in a particular state of the Union (through Article 356).

https://indianexpress.com/article/political-pulse/why-manipur-violence-is-different-northeast-history-8595766/

5. WOMEN IN THE DEFENCE FORCES OF INDIA

Tags: GS 1: SOCIETY
Context: Continuing the policies of recent years that have been aimed at improving the availability of opportunities for women in the defence forces of India, the Union Ministry of Defence is planning to further increase the participation of women in next year’s Republic Day parade.

EXPLANATION:

• An office memorandum issued stated the Republic Day Parade 2024 will have “only women participants” in contingents marching and band tableaux and other performances during the parade at Kartavya Path.
• In 2015, For the first time in the country’s history, an all-women contingent from the three forces Army, Air Force and Navy marched down the path between India Gate and Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi.

Women in the Indian Army:

• The Indian Army began inducting women in 1992. They were commissioned for a period of five years in certain chosen streams such as Army Education Corps, Corps of Signals, Intelligence Corps and Corps of Engineers.
• Combat role in the Indian Army has for long been an exclusive domain for men. Supreme Court judgment has finally accepted gender parity in the Armed by allowing women officers in command positions.
• The Army is yet to open core combat arms like infantry, mechanised infantry, and armoured corps for women, even as it has recently inducted five women officers in the Regiment of Artillery, which is a combat support arm.
• Consequent to grant of Permanent Commission to Women Officers (WOs), a gender neutral Career Progression policy covering employment and promotional aspects was promulgated on 23.11.2021, providing equal opportunities to women officers in the Arms/Services where they are commissioned.

Women in the Indian Air Force:

• Women officers are inducted in all branches and streams of Indian Air Force. Gender neutral approach is facilitating the employment of women officers of Indian Air Force in all combat roles without any restrictions. They are flying fighter aircraft and operating from the length and breadth of the country in all branches of the IAF with pride.
• At present, women are serving in Officer’s cadre only in the Indian Air Force (IAF).  The strength of women officers, as on March 01, 2023, in the IAF (excluding Medical and Dental branches) is 1,636.
• Women officers are empowered to tenate key appointments including Commanding Officers in Combat Units of various field units. The rules in this regard are gender neutral and provide them equal opportunities. Their medical fitness and medical conditions are also factored prior to their effective utilization.

Women in the Indian Navy:

• As on date, women are employed in the Indian Navy in the officer’s rank. The strength of women officers in the Indian Navy, as on March 09, 2023, is 748 including Medical and Dental officers.
• Permanent Commission to Women Officers: SSC women officers in the Indian Navy are eligible for consideration towards grant of Permanent Commission. As on date, 59 women officers (excluding Medical and Dental officers) have been granted PC.
• Entry of Women into NDA: Entry of women candidates into NDA has been permitted from 2022 wherein women officers are being inducted as PC officers. Three vacancies per batch have been allocated at NDA for women candidates of Navy and the first batch has joined in July 2022.

https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/women-india-republic-day-parade-explained-8596861/

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