TOP 5 TAKKAR NEWS OF THE DAY (15th JULY 2023)

1. 25^TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN FRANCE AND INDIA

TAG: GS 2: INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS

THE CONTEXT: The joint statement “25th Anniversary of the Strategic Partnership between France and India: towards a Century of Indo-French Relations” sets the course for the France-India bilateral relationship in all areas till 2047.

EXPLANATION:

• India and France agreed on a slew of new initiatives and agreements after Indian Prime Minister and French President held bilateral talks.
• The roadmap for bilateral relations has three pillars: partnership for security and sovereignty, partnership for the planet, partnership for the people.
• The year 2047 will mark 100 years of India’s Independence, 100 years of diplomatic relations between our two countries, and 50 years of the Indo-French strategic partnership.

Partnership for security, sovereignty

1. Defence: Continuation of the cooperation on fighter jets and submarines, following the timely delivery of the 36 Rafale jets for the IAF and the success of the P75 programme (six Scorpene submarines).
2. Space:

• Scientific and commercial partnership is being enhanced through several agreements between France’s CNES and India’s ISRO, notably concerning reusable launchers
• Finalization of the joint Earth observation satellite, TRISHNA
• The first phase of the constellation of maritime surveillance satellites in the Indian Ocean
• The protection of Indo-French satellites in orbit against the risk of collision.

3. Civil nuclear energy:

• Both sides welcomed progress on the 6-EPR power plant project in Jaitapur.
• They decided to launch a cooperation programme on small modular reactors and advanced modular reactors.

4. Indo-Pacific:

• Adoption of a roadmap for joint actions in the Indo-Pacific, covering all aspects of our comprehensive strategy for the region.
• Work on finalising an Indo-French development fund for third countries, which will enable joint financing of sustainable development projects in the Indo-Pacific region.

5. Counter-terrorism: Strengthening of cooperation between France’s GIGN and India’s National Security Guard.
6. Critical technology: Strengthening of cooperation on cutting-edge digital technology, particularly on supercomputing, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and quantum computing.
7. Civil aviation: Signing of pacts in civil aviation towards supporting the expansion of routes between France and India.
8. Partnership for the planet, global issues
9. Plastic pollution: Commitment to the adoption of an international treaty to end plastic pollution throughout the entire life cycle of plastic products.
10. Health: Signing of a Letter of Intent on health and medicine to structure cooperation in hospitals, medical research, digital technology, biotechnology, public health and combating micro-bacterial resistance as part of the One Health approach

Partnership for people

1. Student mobility:

• New target of welcoming 30,000 Indian students in France by 2030.
• Issuance of a 5-year short-stay Schengen visa for Indian students with a Master’s degree who have studied at a university in France.

2. Diplomacy: The opening of a Consulate General of India in Marseille and a Bureau de France in Hyderabad was announced.
3. Research: France and India will increase funding of the Indo-French Centre for the Promotion of Advanced Research (IFCPAR/CEFIPRA) in order to fund new projects together.
4. Sports: Signing of a Letter of Intent to structure cooperation in this field, particularly in view of major upcoming sporting events.
5. Civil society: Objective of doubling the number of solidarity and civic service international volunteers in India and France by 2025.

Source: https://indianexpress.com/article/india/three-pillars-as-basis-india-and-france-draw-road-ahead-8838240/

2. SAGAR SAMPARK’

TAG: GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT:  Recently, ‘SAGAR SAMPARK’, which is an indigenously developed Differential Global Navigation Satellite System(DGNSS), was inaugurated to Strengthen the Indian Maritime sector.

EXPLANATION:

• It will provide more accurate information to the ships for safe navigation.
• DGNSS is a terrestrial-based enhancement system which corrects the errors and inaccuracies in the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS), allowing for more accurate positioning information.
• High priority to the safety of navigation is being considered, especially due to the considerable increase in shipping volume in the recent past.
• It will help mariners in safe navigation and will reduce the risk of collisions, groundings, and accidents in the port and harbour areas. This will lead to safe & efficient movement of vessels.
• It is an important Radio Aid to Navigation towards the fulfilment of international obligations of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO), Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and the International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA).
• With the aid of multiple satellite constellations like GPS and GNSS, it further increases the availability and redundancy as per International standards and helps the mariners to improve their positioning within 5 meters.
• It also improves the accuracy of GPS positioning, reducing errors caused by atmospheric inferences, satellite clock drift and other factors.
• This is achieved with the help of modern state of the art technology receivers and the latest software. The error correction accuracy has been improved from 5 to 10 meters to less than 5 meters for 100 Nautical Miles from Indian coastlines.

Differential Global Navigation Satellite System(DGNSS)

It is an enhancement to GNSS that was developed to correct these errors and inaccuracies in the GNSS system, allowing for more accurate positioning information. It can use a network of fixed, ground-based reference stations to send the difference between the positions broadcasted by the GNSS satellites and the known fixed positions

Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS)

It is a network of satellites broadcasting timing and orbital information used for navigation and positioning measurements. The multiple groups of satellites, known as constellations, broadcast signals to master control stations and users of GNSS across the planet. These three segments – space, control and user are all considered part of GNSS.

International Maritime Organisation (IMO)

• It is a specialized agency of the United Nations which is responsible for measures to improve the safety and security of international shipping and to prevent pollution from ships.
• It has an integral role in meeting the targets set out in United Nations Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 14: Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
• It is also involved in legal matters, including liability and compensation issues and the facilitation of international maritime traffic.
• It was established by means of a Convention adopted under the auspices of the United Nations in Geneva on 17 March 1948 and met for the first time in January 1959. It currently has 174 Member States.

International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS), 1974

• It is an international maritime treaty that sets minimum safety standards in the construction, equipment and operation of merchant ships.
• It is regarded as the most important of all international treaties concerning the safety of merchant ships.
• The IMO convention requires signatory flag states to ensure that ships flagged by them comply with at least these standards.
• It has 167 contracting states, which flag about 99% of merchant ships around the world in terms of gross tonnage.

International Association of Marine Aids to Navigation and Lighthouse Authorities (IALA)

• It is an intergovernmental organization founded in 1957 to collect and provide nautical expertise and advice.
• It brings together representatives of the aids to navigation services of about 80 countries for technical coordination, information sharing, and coordination of improvements to aids to navigation throughout the world.
• It provides a permanent organization to support the goals of the Technical Lighthouse Conferences, which had been convening since 1929.
• The General Assembly of IALA meets about every four years. The council of 24 members meets twice a year to oversee the ongoing programs

Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleaseIframePage.aspx?PRID=1938985

3. NATIONAL RESEARCH FOUNDATION TAPS ON CSR FUNDS

TAG: GS 2: GOVERNANCE; GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: The proposed National Research Foundation (NRF), a body to fund research, looks to tap CSR funds as it envisages an allocation of ₹50,000 crores over the next five years, with close to ₹36,000 crore coming in from the private sector.

EXPLANATION:

• According to previous data from the Ministry of Corporate Affairs says that during the financial year 2021-2022, companies spent ₹14,588 crore as part of their CSR obligations.
• CSR trends suggest that nearly 70% of such funds were spent on education, healthcare, and sanitation projects.
• Statistics from the Ministry of Science and Technology suggest that only 36% of India’s research expenditure came from the private sector in 2019-20.
• This was one of the reasons why India’s expenditure on R&D was hovering around 0.6% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), well below the global average of 1.8%. In China, Japan, South Korea and the U.S., the private sector pooled 70% of the research expenditure.
• About 70% of India’s research funds were taken up by the Defence Research and Development Organisation, the Department of Space (DoS), the Department of Atomic Energy and the Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR).
• The Ministry of Science and Technology, the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) and the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) garnered about 20%.
• However, a major challenge to private sector funding revolves around autonomy.
• The NRF is envisioned as a body that would be autonomous. The money given to it wouldn’t be controlled by the general financial rules (laid down by the Ministry of Finance), and the CEO as well the board would have autonomy in directing research funds.

National Research Foundation:

• It will be administered by DST, which is governed by a Governing Board consisting of eminent researchers and professionals across disciplines.
• The Prime Minister will be the ex-officio President of the Board, and the Union Minister of Science & Technology and Union Minister of Education will be the ex-officio Vice-Presidents. The Science Ministry will administratively control it.
• It is meant to ensure that scientific research is conducted and funded equitably and greater participation from the private sector.
• It will receive a contribution of ₹10,000 crores over five years.
• It will focus on creating a policy framework and putting in place regulatory processes that can encourage collaboration and increased spending by the industry on R&D.
• It will provide an excellent opportunity for academia, industry, and research institutions to work together on the most pressing challenges of our country to make India the frontrunner in research and innovation.

Corporate Social Responsibility

• It is a management concept where companies integrate social and environmental concerns into their business operations and interactions with their stakeholders.
• It is generally  understood as being the way through which a company achieves a balance  of economic, environmental and social imperatives (“Triple-Bottom-Line-  Approach”).
• These are often broken into four categories: environmental impacts, ethical responsibility, philanthropic endeavours, and financial responsibilities.
• Key CSR issues: Environmental management, stakeholder engagement, employee and community relations, social equity, gender balance, human rights, good governance etc.
• Benefits: enhanced access to capital and markets, increased sales and profits, operational cost savings, improved productivity and quality, efficient human resource base, improved brand image and reputation

CSR in India:

• The enactment of the Companies Act 2013 by the Ministry of Corporate Affairs was one of the world’s largest experiments in introducing CSR as a mandatory provision for Companies to take up CSR projects towards social welfare activities.
• The rules in Section 135 of India’s Companies Act make it mandatory for companies of a certain turnover and profitability to spend 2% of their average net profit for the past three years on CSR.
• This has made India the only country which has regulated and mandated CSR for some select categories of companies registered under the Act.
• This CSR Initiative will push the nation towards the achievement of sustainable development goals and public-private partnership in transforming India.

Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/proposed-national-research-foundation-looks-to-tap-csr-funds/article67075092.ece

4. STATUS OF RENEWABLE ENERGY IN INDIA

TAG: GS 3: ECONOMY AND ENVIRONMENT

THE CONTEXT: According to a recent report, India’s renewable energy sector is poised for a major expansion, with projections suggesting an increase of around 45 gigawatts (GW) by the fiscal year 2025.

EXPLANATION:

Highlights of the report:

• It anticipates annual additions to the renewable energy capacity to oscillate between 20 and 25 GW over the upcoming two fiscal years, driven by a robust pipeline of over 55 GW assets in development.
• Annual renewable energy installations are anticipated to hit around 20 GW in the fiscal year 2024, primarily from solar, followed by over 25 GW in the subsequent year, culminating in an overall increase of 45 GW over the next two fiscal years.
• The report also emphasizes the government’s focus on promoting pumped storage projects. The aim is to set up 26.7 GW of storage capacity by fiscal year 2032.
• In addition to outlining a positive bidding trajectory, the government has recognized the challenges faced by developers, including the low availability of domestic modules and high module prices.

Status of Renewable Energy in India:

• India is the 3rd largest energy-consuming country in the world.
• India stands 4th globally in Renewable Energy Installed Capacity (including Large Hydro), 4th in Wind Power capacity & 4th in Solar Power capacity as per REN21 Renewables 2022 Global Status Report.
• The renewable energy target, set in 2015, of 175 gigawatts of renewable energy capacity to be set up in the country by the year 2022, is missed. This included 100 gigawatts from solar power, 60 gigawatts from wind power, 10 gigawatts from bio-power and 5 gigawatts from small hydropower.
• Currently, India has only achieved 70% of the goal of 121 GW of renewable energy capacity installed in the country.
• The country has set an enhanced target at the COP26 of 500 GW of non-fossil fuel-based energy by 2030.

Different Renewable Energy Sources (RES):

• Solar Power: Solar power can be produced through PV cell, which is made of semiconductor and Energy Collectors classified into parabolic trough, parabolic, tower and parabolic disc system etc. With 300 clear sunny days, India receives around 5,000 trillion KWh/year.
• Wind Power: India is set to become the country with the fourth-largest installed wind power capacity in the world. Wind power accounts for 10% of India’s total installed power capacity.
• Bio Energy: Biomass is a resource of renewable energy that is derived from carbonaceous waste of various human and natural activities. Bioenergy encompasses biomass power, bagasse cogeneration, waste to energy, biomass gasifier, bioethanol, and biodiesel.It is estimated that the potential for biomass energy in India includes 16,000 MW from biomass energy and a further 3,500 MW from bagasse cogeneration.
• Small Hydro Power (SHP): India is the 7^th largest producer of hydroelectric power in the world. Hydro projects in India under 25MW capacity are classified as ‘Small Hydro Power’ and are considered as a ‘renewable energy’.

Source: https://www.livemint.com/industry/energy/indias-renewable-energy-sector-set-for-major-expansion-with-expected-45-gw-increase-by-2025-report-11689249172831.html

5. CRITICAL MINERALS REGULATIONS

TAG: GS 2: GOVERNANCE ;GS 3: SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY

THE CONTEXT: The government amended the Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act of 1957, allowing private players to mine lithium and five other critical minerals, including titanium, beryllium, zirconium, niobium and tantalum.

EXPLANATION:

• India’s decision to allow private players to mine lithium, other critical minerals is a major step towards self-reliance in clean energy.
• These six minerals have been removed from the country’s atomic minerals lists, paving the way for private players to mine and empowering the government to auction their reserves going ahead.
• India is currently heavily dependent on imports of these minerals.
• Recently, the Union Ministry of Mines has released a list of thirty critical minerals that are strategic to the country’s economic development and national security.
• This will enable a much-needed public-private partnership in the ecosystem.
• Private players will bring more capital and foster the use of new and emerging technologies for exploration and mining processes.
• These minerals are in high demand as countries move towards green transition and e-mobility. These have applications in the defence and space sectors.
• This will enable India to move towards more enriching public-private partnerships, enabling it to be a global manufacturing hub.
• India should revise its lists of critical minerals every three to five years while preparing a robust and reliable value chain for each mineral used in the development of strategic and emerging technologies.
• The entry of private players will enable more and more exploration and also support India’s ambitions to become a global player in batteries and renewable energy technologies.

Mines and Minerals (Development & Regulation) Act of 1957

• It is an act of the Parliament of India enacted to regulate the mining sector in India.
• This act forms the basic framework of mining regulation in India.
• This act is applicable to all minerals except minor minerals and atomic minerals. It details the process and conditions for acquiring a mining or prospecting licence in India.
• Mining minor minerals come under the purview of state governments.
• For mining and prospecting in forest land, prior permission is needed from the Ministry of Environment and Forests.
• Act has been amended two times in 2015 and 2021 which has been mentioned below:

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021

• Deemed extension of mining leases: The lease period for all metallic and non-metallic minerals, such as, iron-ore, lead, manganese ore, zinc, lead, gold etc. were extended to a period of 50 years.
• Prospecting licence-cum-mining lease: It was introduced for certain notified minerals (such as, bauxite, iron ore, limestone, manganese ore) in areas where there is scarce proof to show presence of mineral substance through the system of serious offering.
• Allocation mechanism: The grant of mining leases in respect of certain notified minerals would be done through auction by competitive bidding; further all provisions with respect to the process of allocation of mines through auction by competitive bidding were streamlined.
• Grant of mining leases: The requirement of prior Central Government approval for grant of mineral concession for all the minerals specified in the First Schedule was removed for all mineral concession.

The Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2021

• Removal of restriction on end-use of minerals: It removes restrictions on end-use for future auctions of mineral mining rights and provides that no mine will be reserved for particular end-use.
• Removal of the distinction between Captive and Non-captive Mines: It removes the distinction between captive and non-captive mines and seeks to introduce an index-based mechanism by developing a National Mineral Index (NMI) for statutory payments.
• Sale of minerals by captive mines: It allows operators of existing captive mines to sell up to 50 % of minerals extracted in a year.
• Transfer of Statutory Permissions: Upon expiry of a mining lease (other than coal, lignite, and atomic minerals), mines are leased to new persons through auction and the statutory permissions issued to the previous lessee are transferred to the new lessee for a period of two years.
• Powers to Central Government: It empowers the central government to conduct an auction or re-auction process of mines if state governments do not conduct auctions in a timely manner.

Critical Minerals:

• Lithium It is a soft, silvery-white alkali metal. Under standard conditions, it is the least dense metal and the least dense solid element. It is used in several industrial applications, including in the production of batteries needed for electric vehicles, heat-resistant glass and ceramics, lithium grease lubricants, flux additives for iron, steel and aluminium production, lithium metal batteries, and lithium-ion batteries
• Titanium: It is found in nature only as an oxide; it can be reduced to produce a lustrous transition metal with a silver colour, low density, and high strength, resistant to corrosion in seawater, aqua regia, and chlorine. Titanium can be alloyed with iron, and vanadium, among other elements, to produce strong, lightweight alloys for aerospace (jet engines, missiles, and spacecraft), military, industrial processes (chemicals and petrochemicals, desalination plants, pulp, and paper), automotive, sporting goods, jewellery, mobile phones, and other applications.
• Beryllium: It is a steel-grey, strong, lightweight and brittle alkaline earth metal. The commercial use of beryllium requires the use of appropriate dust control equipment and industrial controls at all times because of the toxicity of inhaled beryllium-containing dust that can cause a chronic, life-threatening allergic disease in some people called berylliosis.
• Zirconium: It is a lustrous, grey-white, strong transition metal that closely resembles hafnium and, to a lesser extent, titanium. It is mainly used as a refractory and Opacifier, although small amounts are used as an alloying agent for its strong resistance to corrosion.
• Niobium: It is a light grey, crystalline, and ductile transition metal. Pure niobium has a hardness rating similar to pure titanium, and it has similar ductility to iron. Niobium is used in various superconducting materials. Other applications of niobium include welding, nuclear industries, electronics, optics, numismatics, and jewellery.
• Tantalum: Tantalum is a very hard, ductile, lustrous, blue-grey transition metal that is highly corrosion-resistant. It is used in tantalum capacitors for electronic equipment such as computers. It is being investigated for use as a material for high-quality superconducting resonators in quantum processors.

Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/news/mining/india-s-decision-to-allow-private-players-to-mine-lithium-other-critical-minerals-step-towards-self-reliance-in-clean-energy-90604

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