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Author: Explains

  • Blue economy: Prospects in Indian ocean

    Subjects:

    As we hear about the activities going on in South east china sea (chinese claim), Indian ocean (piracy), time has come to clear some terms about blue economy. It will be significant for India in strengthening prospects in indian waters. Let’s analyse this in detail.

    blueecobanner

    What is Blue economy?

    • Gunter Pauli’s book, “The Blue Economy: 10 years, 100 innovations, 100 million jobs” (2010) brought the Blue Economy concept into prominence
    • Blue Economy began as a project to find 100 of the best nature-inspired technologies that could affect the economies of the world
    • While sustainably providing basic human needs – potable water, food, jobs, and habitable shelter
    • This is envisaged as the integration of Ocean Economy development with the principles of social inclusion, environmental sustainability and innovative, dynamic business models
    • It is creation of environment-friendly infrastructure in ocean, because larger cargo consignments can move directly from the mothership to the hinterland through inland waterways, obviating the need for trucks or railways

    What makes Indian water attractive? How is it geographically different?

    • Vast coastline of almost 7,500 kilometres, with no immediate coastal neighbours except for some stretches around the southern tip
    • This is not possible, for instance, in the Persian Gulf region because of the proximity to trade routes and contiguous countries
    • In some sense, India has the advantage of a latecomer, helped by natural geography
    • For an offshore transloading zone, the availability of calm waters during the monsoons is a problem
    • But this can be overcome by conducting such operations closer to the coast and seasonally, in calmer waters

    What are some developments initiated by India?

    • An offshore infrastructure project was successfully launched by the ministry of shipping, for transporting imported coal to the thermal power station at Farakka in West Bengal
    • Such transshipment, out on the high seas yet within India’s economic zone at the Sandheads in the Bay of Bengal, worked out to be financially viable and environmentally friendlier, compared to traditional handling of cargo at ports
    • As ship sizes become bigger, transshipment/ lighterage operations on the high seas are becoming more viable

    Blueeconomyheader

    What are the potential efficiencies from blue economy infrastructure?

    • Ports can multiply operations because each cargo shipment is of small parcel size, with no extra capital expenditure for dredging or for large berths and associated equipment
    • As larger surpluses are generated, some parts can be utilised for better and more environment-friendly “smart ports” Less physical congestion unclogs bottlenecks at ports
    • Faster clearances mean less waiting time and savings on demurrage, so a shorter waiting time for ships also helps the environment by reducing fuel burn
    • As transloading takes place on the high seas, it creates an opportunity to spread the cargo across more ports
    • It makes ample sense to create a well-distributed network for handling bulk cargo along the entire coastline
    • If we introduce “smartness” to transloading zones, we can add value and reduce transaction costs

    How does maritime diplomacy set rules in Indian ocean?

    • Maritime diplomacy had its heyday back in the 1980s, with the sensational discovery of manganese nodules and cobalt crusts on the ocean floor
    • The euphoria over marine mining led to the establishment of the International Seabed Authority <An intergovernmental body based in Kingston, Jamaica, was established to organize, regulate and control all mineral-related activities in the international seabed area>
    • The UNCLOS, the “constitution of the seas”, which came into force in 1994, became the basis for the legal rights for mining in the open sea
    • The interest in seabed mining flagged because of escalating costs, but it’s being revived on account of the demand for minerals and metals in industrial development, particularly in China, Japan and India

    Why are regional organisations considered as most active players?

    • The importance of regional organisations has increased in the context of the blue economy as PM Modi spoke to the SAARC leaders
    • In September 2015, the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) hosted the first Ministerial Blue Economy Conference and identified priorities
    • Goal 14 of the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) — “Conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development”
    • This makes detailed references to the reduction of marine pollution, conservation of coastal and marine areas and regulated fish harvest

    Why is blue economy significant for India?

    • The new focus on the Asia-Pacific highlights the security and economic dimensions
    • The US rebalancing of forces and counter-measures by China have created a new cold war
    • New partnerships are in the making in the Asia-Pacific, seeking Indian participation by competing powers
    • The blue waters of the Indian Ocean have become a new theatre of tension

    What does Delhi needs to do to transform its efforts into action?

    • India can profitably integrate its ongoing programmes like Make in India, smart cities, skill development and self-reliance in defence
    • Delhi’s forthcoming chairmanship of the BRICS will offer a splendid opportunity to highlight the cooperation needed for the blue economy
    • The imperatives of cooperation and the need for adept diplomacy are evident
    • Prime Minister endorsed the blue economy during his visit to Seychelles, Mauritius and Sri Lanka
    • Diplomats aspiring to a “blue diplomacy” should begin to grasp the immense possibilities of the blue economy
    • It will be diplomats in coastal and island countries and with the UN, IORA and Saarc, who will have to operationalise it
    Published with inputs from Arun | Image source - cri.org

  • Tribal Development in 2015 | Part – 1

    Subjects:

    To start with, lets take a sector wise snapshot –

     

    #1. EDUCATION:

    • Bilingual Primers: To overcome language barriers in learning among tribal children, all Tribal Research Institutes have been funded to prepare bilingual primers (both in tribal and regional languages) which would be reproduced through Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Odisha, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Maharashtra have already initiated this process
    • Vacations: Synchronization of vacation with Tribal Festivals has been advocated to check drop out
    • To provide physical safety and quality education and its access, nearly 20,000 seats during FY 14-15, about 40,000 seats during CFY in hostel/residential school facility have been sanctioned.
    • To make education relevant for the tribal children- vocational training integrated with residential schools with one of the teachers acting as mentor cum counselor.
    • Training of tribal girl/lady as ANM and their posting as Assistant Warden in Girls hostel for girl safety and counselling.
    • Toilets: Every tribal area school without toilet targeted to have functional toilets with focus on girls toilets and funds provided for safety and inculcating hygiene and sanitation habits.
    • Scholarships: Increasing the number of scholarships for ST students in professional education and research from 667 to 1000 scholarships per year under the Scheme of Top Class Education and from 625 to 750 fellowships per year for ST students under the National Fellowship scheme.

     

    #2. RESEARCH:

    • Grant-in Aid to Tribal Research Institutes (TRI) scheme: has been revised from the FY 2014-15 to extend 100% financial assistance to strengthen them in the areas of Research & Documentation of tangible and intangible heritage and Training & Capacity building etc.
    • TRIs of Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur,Odisha, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, West Bengal & Andaman & Nicobar Islands supported for carrying out the following activities:
    1.  Research Studies/ Evaluation Studies/ Ethnographic / Anthropological Studies.
    2.  Organization of Exhibitions/Conferences/Workshops on tribal issues, etc
    3. Training and Capacity building
    4. Exchange of visits for Tribal youth
    5.  Tribal festivals, etc.

    The functions of the TRI: to work as body of knowledge and research, to support evidence based policy, planning and legislations, capacity building, dissemination of information and creation of awareness etc.

     

    STRENGTHENING OF INSTITUTIONS:

    • Strengthening of Integrated Tribal Development Agency/Integrated Tribal Development Project (ITDA/ ITDP) for effective delivery of public goods and services to tribals in Tribal Areas
    • Society for Protection of Tribals: Will be set up by Ministry of Tribal Affairs, in collaboration with the Government of NCT of Delhi; an autonomous body; would help the migrant tribals access basic citizen services, including Rescue, Rehabilitation and counselling services, through a 24 X 7 helpline
    • Tribal Research Institute – have been revived to make them vibrant institutions through 100% funding for core staff and activities. TRI, Odisha has been declared as National Resource Centre
    • Centre of Excellence has been set up for study of Tribal language and literature in Viswa Bharati, Shantiniketan, and West Bengal
    • Forest Right Act development: Till the end of September, 2015, 44,01,563 claims have been filed and 17,02,047 titles have been distributed under the Forest Rights Act, 2006. Out of these, 16,61,214 individual, 38,685 community and  2148 CFR titles have been distributed, covering a total area of around 89 lakh acres of land.

     

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

     

  • Important judgements of Supreme Courts in 2015 | Part 2

     

    #1. Section 66A IT Act held unconstitutional 

    Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India

    To punish somebody because he uses a particular medium of  communication is itself discriminatory and falls foul of Article 14 in any case.

    Summary:

    Netizens had a good year with Supreme Court striking down Section 66A of Information Technology which was viewed as ‘draconian’ by many. The Apex court bench comprising of Justices J. Chelameswar and R.F. Nariman held that Section 66A arbitrarily, excessively and disproportionately invades the right of free speech and upsets the balance between such right and the reasonable restrictions that may be imposed on such right.”

    Important observations:

    • Very basis of Section 66A- that online speech has given rise to new forms of crimes – is incorrect, and that Sections 66B to 67C and various Sections of the IPC are good enough to deal with all these crimes
    • Infringes the fundamental right to free speech and expression and is not saved by any of the eight subjects covered in Article 19(2)
    • Suffers from vagueness because unlike the offence created by Section 66 of the same Act,  none of the terms are even attempted to be defined and cannot be defined. The result  being that innocent persons  are  roped  in  as  well  as  those  who  are  not.
    • Rights under Articles 14 and 21 are breached  because there is no intelligible differentia between those who use the internet and those who use words or writing or other mediums of communication.

    To punish somebody because he uses a particular medium of  communication is itself discriminatory and falls foul of Article 14 in any case.

    • Makes no distinction between mass dissemination and dissemination to one person
    • Does not require that such message should have a clear tendency to disrupt public order– a reasonable restriction on freedom of speech
    • For something to be defamatory, injury to reputation is a basic ingredient. Section 66A does not concern itself with injury to reputation. Something may be grossly offensive and may annoy or be inconvenient to somebody without at all affecting his reputation. Therefore it is clear that the Section is not aimed at defamatory statements at all.

     

    #2. No compromise in Rape cases

    State of MP vs. Madanlal

    “Under no circumstances, a rape case can be compromised.”

    Summary:

    After a couple of High Courts allowed mediation to take place between the Rape Victim and the Accused, the Supreme Court in a strong worded judgment held that in a case of rape or attempt of rape, the conception of compromise under no circumstances can really be thought of.

    The Supreme Court accordingly ruled out mediation in such cases.

    Apex Court bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Prafulla C. Pant observed “any kind of liberal approach or thought of mediation in this regard is thoroughly and completely sans legal permissibility.”

    Observations:

    • These are crimes against the body of a woman which is her own temple.
    • These are offences which suffocate the breath of life and sully the reputation.  And reputation, needless to emphasise, is the richest jewel one can conceive of in life. No one would allow it to be extinguished.
    • When a human frame is defiled, the “purest treasure”, is lost.
    • Dignity of a woman is a part of her non-perishable and immortal self and no one should ever think of painting it in clay.
    • There cannot be a compromise or settlement as it would be against her honour which matters the most. It is sacrosanct.
    • Some of the appellate Judges have paved the path of unbelievable laconicity to deal with criminal appeals which, if we permit ourselves to say, ruptures the sense of justice and punctures the criminal justice dispensation system.

    The concluding remarks:

    “The woman’s right to bodily integrity stems from constitutional rights, human rights and not conservative notions of reputation, chastity, honour, dignity.Compromise in rape cases is prohibited by law. It is important for Supreme Court, and all other courts to premise their decisions on legal reasoning and not because they are kindly or charitably disposed towards women. Recent judgments of the courts make a compelling case for an urgent dialogue on the constitutional and human right to equality, rights of women and sexual violence, across the legal system.”

    Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • North Korean Fusion Bomb test in bid to change world power equation

    Subjects:

    The January 6, 2016 ‘thermonuclear’ test by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) is the fourth in the series of nuclear tests beginning in 2006. Is it a quest to attain credible deterrence against USA, Let’s see it!

    Let’s first go into some North Korean nuke history.

    What has North Korea tested in the past?

     

    • North Korea’s tests in 2006 and 2009 are thought to have been plutonium fission devices, but speculation was rife that its 2013 test was of an uranium-enriched device, though this has never been confirmed. <In general, uranium devices are much more difficult to fabricate and operate>
    • A test based on a uranium device would spell new dangers because weapons-grade plutonium enrichment happens in large facilities
    • That are easier to spot and uranium enrichment uses many, possibly small, centrifuges that can be hidden away
    • North Korea has also depleted its stocks of weapons-grade plutonium but has plentiful reserves of uranium ore
    • The fusion/H-bomb finds root in the history, as more powerful and technologically advanced than atomic weapons, such as those that devastated 2 Japanese cities in World War II
    • H-bombs use fusion, the merging of atoms to unleash massive amounts of energy, whereas atomic bombs use nuclear fission, or the splitting of atoms.
    fatMan image - A mockup of ‘Fat Man’, the bomb that blew up over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Credit: euthman/Flickr, CC BY 2.0
    fatMan image – A mockup of ‘Fat Man’, the bomb that blew up over Nagasaki on August 9, 1945. Credit: euthman/Flickr, CC BY 2.0

     

    What is Nuclear fusion?

    • In physics, nuclear fusion is the process by which multiple nuclei join together to form a heavier nucleus
    • It is accompanied by the release or absorption of energy depending on the masses of the nuclei involved.
    • In a hydrogen bomb, 2 isotopes of hydrogen, deuterium and tritium are fused to form a nucleus of helium and a neutron
    • This fusion releases 17.6 MeV of energy. Unlike nuclear fission, there is no limit on the amount of the fusion that can occur

    Let’s get back to learn some changing equations in new world order.

    Is it quest to attain deterrence against United States?

    • The supreme leader Kim Jong Un (KJU) had warned that, if aggressors dare to provoke us, even to a slight degree, we will never
      tolerate it, and respond resolutely with a merciless sacred war of justice, a great war for national reunification
    • It declared: “The United States has persisted in ignoring our just demand for replacing the Armistice Agreement with a separate pact to remove the danger of war, ease tension and create a powerful environment in the Korean peninsula. The Korean Armistice Agreement is the armistice which ended the Korean War. It was signed between U.S. and North Korea in 1953.
    • Instead, it has clung to its anachronistic policy hostile towards the DPRK, escalating the tension and egging its vassal forces on to stage a ‘human rights’ racket against the country
    • In May 2015, Pyongyang had announced that it had successfully tested a Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile (SLBM). However, South Korean experts had treated this claim with considerable scepticism 
    • Whether the most recent North Korean test was that of a Hydrogen Bomb will be known after a while, but the objective was miniaturisation of the system so that the nuclear weapon can be mounted on a missile 
    • North Korea has made it known that it wants recognition by the world community as a nuclear weapon power and no amount of external pressure would force it to pause in that quest

    What was the Global Reaction?

    • The UN Security Council condemned the nuclear test, declared that it is a ‘clear violation’ of its previous resolutions, and pledged to pursue new sanctions against North Korea
    • USA, South Korea and Japan have agreed to work together to forge a united and strong international response to North Korea’s reckless behaviour
    • Japan hinted at some unilateral measures, include strengthening of the anti-missile defence systems protecting Japan from a North Korean attack

    Who is in the real position to apply pressure on North Korea?

    • Only China is in a position to apply some credible pressure on North Korea since 88 per cent of North Korea’s foreign trade is with China
    • According to the South Koreans, China has been applying the existing UN sanctions against North Korea faithfully and the export of about 900 dual-use items has been prohibited to that country
    • China is comfortable with strategic ambiguity about the nuclear status of North Korea
    • But the insistence of an open declaration by the North of its Nuclear Weapon Power status would disrupt its strategic calculations in the region as the response from Japan could upset the regional power equation
    • Seoul expects China to do more to denuclearise North Korea particularly in view of the rapidly warming ROK-China relations

    Has North Korea’s approach towards South Korea changed?

    • In the midst of heightened tensions, there are signs that North Korea is working with the aim of driving a wedge between the United States and South Korea
    • For which it is pursuing 2 independent policies – one of nuclearisation and acceptance as a nuclear weapons power
    • The second of not upsetting the apple cart with South Korea and continue with the current policy of no peace – no war
    world nuke test image - Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5
    world nuke test image – Source: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.5

    Conclusion on sidelines

    • Analysing the events of the past 1 year, it would be fair to conclude that Kim Jong Un has firm control over all the levers of power in North Korea, including the military
    • The reclusive country would continue on the course set by Kim II Sung and Kim Jong II, pursuing a policy of ‘Military First’, the ‘Juche’ concept of self-reliance and seeking effective nuclear strike capability against the United States
    • Juche is a political philosophy, became the official autarkic state ideology of the DPRK in 1972 Although foreign scholars often describe juche as “self-reliance,” the true meaning of the term is much more nuanced.
    • The peninsula would continue to be divided as neither side is keen on unification despite their public protestations in favour of reuniting the long-divided country
    • The paramount objective of the DPRK leadership continues to be the survival of the regime and its politico-economic system, and it is unlikely to allow tensions with South Korea or the United States to come to a point that would lead to hostilities

    Whatever the truth of this test, for diplomacy, observers say it dashes any hopes of North Korea returning to stalled talks involving the US, Russia, China and others.

    Published with inputs from Arun

  • Important judgements of Supreme Courts in 2015 | Part 1

     

    #1. NJAC held unconstitutional

    Supreme Court Advocates on Record Association vs. Union of India

    “The judiciary cannot risk being caught in a web of indebtedness towards the government.”

    It is after 35 years that a constitutional amendment has been quashed by the top court.

    Summary:

    Within a year of both houses of Union Legislature passed much awaited National Judicial Appointments Commission Bill, the Supreme Court struck down the NJAC Act by 4:1. Justices J S Khehar, MB Lokur, Kurian Joseph and Adarsh Kumar Goel declared the 99th Amendment and NJAC Act unconstitutional while lone minority, Justice Chelameswar upheld it. The judgement rendered by five judges runs over 1000 pages.

    Major observations of the Supreme Court:

    • Does not provide an adequate representation, to the judicial component in the NJAC.
    • Insufficient to preserve the primacy of the judiciary, in the matter of selection and appointment of Judges, to the higher judiciary (as also transfer of Chief Justices and Judges, from one High Court to another)
    • The Law Minister:

    The inclusion of the Union Minister of Law and Justice as an ex officio Member of the NJAC is:

     

    • ultra vires the provisions of the Constitution, because it impinges upon the principles of “independence of the judiciary” & “separation of powers”
    • Violative of the “basic structure” of the Constitution
    • Against Principles of Natural Justice: Because Government is the major litigant and cases involve large sums of money. And inclusion of Law Minister would be against “judge of own case“, a part of PNJ.

     

    • Will of the people: The Union government had previously argued that NJAC represented the will of the people. However, rejecting the Centre’s argument, court noted that “the will of the people is the Constitution while the Parliament represents the will of the majority at a given point of time which is subordinate to the Constitution”.

    Culture of Reciprocity: Bench feared a culture of “reciprocity” of favours: FEELINGS OF PAY BACK TO POLITICAL-EXECUTIVE WOULD BE DISASTROUS TO THE INDEPENDENCE OF JUDICIARY, especially when govt is the major litigant in higher courts.

     

    #2. Yakub Memon & the midnight hearing

    Yakub Abdul Razak Memon vs. State of Maharashtra

    Summary:

    The year 2015 witnessed a rare event of the Apex Court opening its gates for hearing an urgent Writ petition. Yakub Memon’s final plea before the Apex Court was heard in Court Room 4 which was opened for an unprecedented 90-minute hearing that started at 3.20 AM and ended a little before dawn. The Bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra, Justice Amitava Roy and Justice P.C. Pant agreed and observed that granting further time was not necessary in the present case. The bench said the execution was “inevitable” after rejection of the mercy petitions. Yakub was executed the very next day on his birthday.

    Background:

    • Memon, a CA by profession was awarded the death sentence by a special TADA Court in Mumbai on July 27, 2007 for his role in the serial blasts.
    • Charges also included arranging finances for carrying out the 13 serial explosions.
    • Explosions left 257 dead and over 700 injured across the city on March 12, 1993.
    • In 2013, Supreme Court had upheld the TADA Court verdict convicting Memon for his role in the Bombay blasts.
    • Memon is the only one of 11 people whose death sentence in the case has been upheld. The sentences of the others were commuted to life imprisonment.

    Observations of the Supreme Court:

    • Stay on the death warrant could be a ‘travesty of justice‘: since ample opportunity was provided to Memon, after the rejection of the first mercy petition.

    Memon’s review petition was heard for ten days, when law mandates a hearing of only half an hour.

    • The President rejected after due consideration of all relevant fact. 22 years have passed since the incident. There is no error in judgments passed by this court.
    • At the drop of a hat one can add new challenges and developments and expect the President to act in exercise of power under Article 72 and thereafter on rejection of clemency they would challenge that in a court of law.

    Counter arguments:

    • The authorities were “hell bent” on executing Memon without giving him the right to challenge the rejection of his mercy petition by the President as right to life of a condemned prisoner last till his last breath.
    • How the President could have rejected Yakub’s fresh mercy plea in such a short time.
    • According to rules, the nearest legal centre must be contacted the day mercy plea gets rejected. That did not happen.
    
Published with inputs from Swapnil

  • India and Myanmar relations: Change in dynamics by democratic triumph

    Subjects: ,

    After decades of struggle, finally democracy triumphed over military junta and Myanmar parliament enters democratic era after 54 years of military rule. It’s time to glance over India-Myanmar relations and how India will be benefited from such stable democratic government.

    India and Myanmar have traditionally had much in common, with cultural, historical, ethnic and religious ties, in addition to sharing a long geographical land border and maritime boundary in the Bay of Bengal. Let’s see it in brief!

    How did India and Myanmar engagement begin ?

    • Myanmar is India’s bridge to east, and an important ally for growing its regional power.
    • India and Myanmar’s relationship officially got underway after the Treaty of Friendship was signed in 1951.
    • For many years, India did not open up to the authoritarian regime, and it was only over a period of time that India started engaging with the military junta of Myanmar.
    • The region’s focus has revolved around the SAARC countries and China, Myanmar is becoming increasingly important for India in both a strategic and economic context.

    What about bilateral trade ties?

    • Bilateral trade has grown from $12.4 million in 1980-81 to $2.18 billion in 2013-14.
    • Agricultural items like beans and pulses and forest based products make up nearly 90 percent of India’s imports.
    • Myanmar is also the beneficiary of a duty-free tariff preference scheme for least developed countries (LDCs).
    • Both countries also signed a border trade agreement in 1994 and have 2 trade points along their 1,643 km border.
    • India has also promoted some trade events such as the India Product Show 2012, which represented 19 Indian companies.

    But, How shared cultural links promote unique relations between both countries?

    • The two countries have shared cultural exchanges through various cultural troupes.
    • One such exchange was in 2009 when Myanmar sent a 13 member student group that attended a SAARC cultural festival in India.
    • This was followed by another major event at which the Indian embassy in Yangon organized the annual Indian Film Festival, which is a major event on the Yangon cultural calendar.

    Does India have historical bond with Myanmar?

    • Yes! Yangon was once a center for India’s independence struggle.
    • The Indian National Army (INA), formed by Indian nationalists during World War II in 1942 with the motto of Ittehad, Itmad aur Qurbani (Unity, Faith and Sacrifice).
    • Comprised over 40,000 soldiers, who fought valiantly against the British imperialist forces.
    • Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose became leader of the INA in 1943 and undertook a groundbreaking march towards Indian territories from Burmese soil with the aim of achieving Indian independence.<This time we can expect question on Netaji and his work, as we know current happenings about Netaji’s files declassified>
    • General Aung San, Burma’s independence hero, was a close friend of Netaji, the supreme commander of the INA.
    • That friendship was reflected in cordial relationship between the soldiers of the INA and their counterparts in the Burmese National Army (BNA).
    • So, it’s good to use this historical bond for building more coherent and strong relations with Myanmar.

    How Myanmar is Strategically significant to India?

    • Myanmar is strategically important to India as it is the only ASEAN country that shares a land border with India.
    • It is also the only country that can act as a link between India and ASEAN.
    • Myanmar is India’s gateway to Southeast Asia and could be the required impetus to realize India’s Look East Policy.
    • India has also decided to upgrade the Kalewa-Yargyi road segment to highway standard.
    • Myanmar would develop the Yargyi-Monywa portion, and this would help to connect Moreh in India to Mae Sot in Thailand via Myanmar.
    • This in turn would improve India’s connectivity and relationship with both Myanmar and Thailand.

    How can India become regional pivot in Asia?

    • If India is to become an assertive regional player in Asia, it has to work toward developing policies that would improve and strengthen it domestically.
    • This will encourage more confidence in its ability to lead the region and be an important global player.
    • Competition with China should also be considered and taken seriously. As China’s growing influence in the region would lead to a more one-sided dynamic in the region.
    • China has asserted itself through its soft power as well as through its trade and economic relations with Myanmar by taking up large infrastructure projects in the country.
    • India on the other hand needs to use its soft power more effectively, and at the same time strengthen itself domestically and regionally.

    What are advantages that India has over China with regard to Myanmar?

    • One is the democratic process, which results in different governments at the center and states through free and fair elections.
    • There is also the respect for institutions that are strong enough to hold the country together.
    • Finally, cooperation in different multilateral forums such as ASEAN and BIMSTEC strengthen the relationship between the 2 countries.
    • Apart from these reasons, India has sent a clear signal that while economic ties are important, it is keen to build a holistic relationship and is prepared to assist in institution building in Myanmar.

    What is the significance of Connectivity in India-Myanmar Relations? 

    <How North-Eastern region can play vital role in this?>

    • Myanmar’s vast oil and natural gas reserves and other resources make it a natural partner for many countries in the world.
    • India, being its next door neighbour, cannot be indifferent to this reality.
    • Besides, geo-political considerations, historical and civilizational links, and the ethnic overlap across their borders, have all come together to make India’s North-East the land bridge between the South and South-East Asia through Myanmar.
    • The 1,640 km-long border between Myanmar and the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram signifies the importance of this eastern neighbour for India.
    • India expects to reap various economic benefits by bolstering bilateral trade and investment, which critically depends upon better connectivity in the region.

    How bilateral cooperation agreement gives impetus to India’s Look-East Policy?

    • The strategic location of Myanmar is pivotal to India in reaching out to the economically vibrant South-East Asian countries.
    • India’s Look-East Policy envisages building infrastructure and expanding the transportation network including railroads, aimed at furthering surface connectivity in the region.
    • It is recognized that in addition to more economic contacts, such connectivity will promote social stability in the region by facilitating people-to-people contact amongst trans-border ethnic groups.
    • It is expected that insurgent outfits would lose their recruitment base once the local resources begin to be exploited and employment is generated leading to overall development. 
    • Concrete economic benefits are expected to come up in the region with establishment of border haats.
    • In addition, internal trade routes have the potential to enhance accessibility to sub-regional markets that connect Bangladesh, Myanmar and Bhutan.

    Way forward

    • The basic foundation for the relationship between India and Myanmar has been laid by previous governments, the onus is on the present Indian administration to demonstrate that it can take the relationship to a higher level.
    • India can become a strong regional player through a more proactive approach, cement India’s place in the region and grow into a powerful, global country.

    Published with inputs from Arun

  • The First Firangis | Chapter 6 | The Anglo Mysore wars

    In the previous chapter (written light years ago), we read about how the imperialist “Marquess of Wellesley” extended the british dominion in India but putting an end to Mysore and doing more nasty things like extending the subsidiary alliance to most of the indian kingdoms (like a boss).

    Now the plan was to continue presenting the indian struggle for independence from the side of firangis, but some of you wanted to know more about the anglo mysore wars and so, here is an attempt to make things easy for you.

    Admittedly, these 4 wars, fought from 1767 to 1799 (32 years!) span a really long time in history. The timelines criss-cross with 3 empires which were humbled in course of time by the firangis (Marathas, Mysore & Nizam of Hyd).

    Here’s a really quick timeline of what all happened – 

    4 wars – 4 legions – 3 treaties and the great mysore rocket

    I hope you know about the mysore rockets right? No? Let’s tackle this bit of trivia first. The Mysorean rockets used by Hyder Ali during the Battle of Pollilur (2nd anglo-mysore war) were much more advanced than any the British East India Company had previously seen!

    So, after they slay Tipu in the fourth and final battle, they (the firangis) took their indigenous rocket development to the next level to use in the Napoleonic wars. 

    #1. First Anglo-Mysore War

    1. Hyder Ali had just made peace with Marathas so that they don’t team up against him when he goes on to attack the Brits at Madras
    2. Brits had support from Nizam but that guy just balked out in the last moment! He gets bullied again by the brits (at a later date)
    3. So, Brits were from two places – Bombay Brits & Madras Brits. But somehow the daring Hyder that he was, he kept on with the fight that led the Brits to conclude a peace treaty with him

    As per the Treaty of Madras:

    1. Both the Parties returned the areas won by each other
    2. The District of Arcot was given to Nawab of Arcot
    3. British & Hyder Ali promised that they would support each other if there is any foreign invasion

    #2. Second Anglo-Mysore War

    Now, what happens when you (allegedly) have a strong ally with you? More ambitions, more audacity, neh? That’s what Hyder thought after signing that treaty of madras. He started demanding tributes from the smaller states on the border of Maratha and Mysore. The Marathas responded this in 1770 with a force of over 30 thousand. This is the point when Hyder rings up the Brits to come for the rescue! Of course they did not. Hyder lost the battle – had to pay a huge tribute to the marathas and this episode left him high and dry.

    Hyder did not like this one bit and he swears revenge from the Brits FOREVER.

    The second anglo-mysore war begins now. It was one of the most bloodiest battle in the history of India (exaggeration helps). If you consider the 2nd anglo-mysore war as a T-20 world cup, then there many minor-major battles held in this 4 year period. Also, please note that Hyder Ali died during this prolonged battle period. So, Tipu Sultan rose to the occasion and marched ahead.

    • The siege of Arcot – Hyder won
    • The battle of Porto Novo – won by Sir Eyre Coote
    • The battle at Pollilur – won by Hyder (remember the rockets!)

    So, anyway – you win some – you lose continued and eventually the war ended with the last British-Indian treaty with an Indian ruler on equal footing, the 1784 Treaty of Mangalore. 

    #3. Third Anglo-Mysore War

    Mangalore Treaty of 1784, which was signed on the end of the Second Anglo Maratha war had an article regarding transfer of the Prisoners. Now it is said that Tipu Sultan did not honour this part of the deal – strike 1. 

    It so happened that Tipu developed a beef with the local raja of Travancore about a disputed land. Travancore was a British ally, so when Tipu moved against him, Brits got a chance to home in on Tipu.

    Where were the Marathas and the Nizams or the world? All credit goes to the diplomacy of Lord Cornwallis who kept Tipu aloof from the Marathas , Coorg and Nizams.

    Result? Tipu lost. The peace was restored by the Treaty of Srirangapatnam which was signed in 1792.

    This treaty was a big blow to Tipu Sultan. Half of his territories were snatched away and divided into Marathas, British and Nizam. Many would have thought it wise to retreat now but Tipu was seething with fear.

    #4. The Final Battle

    Marquess of Wellesley was a shrewd imperialist. He had got a wiff of a possible french-mysore collaboration and he did not want to give Tipu another chance. This battle was just a formality now. Tipu’s troops were outnumbered 4:1 in this war. The Nizam of Hyderabad and the Marathas launched an invasion from the north. Phew!

    He lost. He died fighting. The Wodeyar dynasty was restored its place in Mysore and rest of the territory was divided by the Brits, Marathas and Nizam.

    If you just joined us into reading the firangis, give the previous ones a quick read. Part 1 is here.

     

  • Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana – Min Premium, Max Insurance

     

    The government’s new crop insurance scheme could be a lifesaver for farmers at a time when the pain of rural distress is unimaginable, as they are facing three successive crop failures due to inclement weather conditions.

    In 2015-16, the central assistance towards drought relief is several times higher than what it spends to subsidise crop insurance premiums every year.

    Before the scheme was announced, a RBI-constituted committee has also emphasized on the same.

    What were the recommendations of RBI-constituted committee?

    • The committee called for phasing out interest subsidy on short-term agricultural loans.
    • The money saved should be used for into an universal crop insurance scheme for farmers.

    Reasons underlying the recommendation:

    • NSSO data shows that banks and cooperative societies account for 57.7% of outstanding loans of farming households.
    • The dependence on informal credit increases with reduction in the landholding size.
    • Farming is increasingly done by tenant cultivators/ share croppers.
    • Since, farmer has no regular income, so they are forced to go to money lenders to sustain their consumption.
    • Govt. spends nearly Rs.13000 crore annually on interest subvention for crop loans, which can be redirected towards subsidy on insurance premium.

    <The govt. rolled out Modified National Agricultural Insurance Scheme for the XII plan period across India, but it failed to solve the agrarian crisis.>

    Let’s analyse the short-coming in the earlier crop-insurance scheme

    • Premium rates were as high as 25%.
    • Lack of awareness.
    • Sum insured were way below the gross value of output for most crops.
    • Policy claims can’t even cover half of the value of produce when the crop suffers heavy damage.
    • The money pay back procedure was too complicated.

     

    What are the features of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana?

    The scheme will replace the existing two schemes National Agricultural Insurance Scheme as well as the Modified NAIS. The new Crop Insurance Scheme is in line with ‘One Nation – One Scheme’ theme.

    Nodal Agency: Department of Agriculture, Cooperation & Farmers Welfare , Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare. It will implement the scheme in co-ordination with various other agencies such as financial institutions, PRIs, etc.

    • Uniform premium to be paid by farmers. <Rate of premium will be about 1/10th of existing rates>
      • Kharif crops – 2%
      • Rabi crops – 1.5%
      • Horticulture & commercial crops – 5% <of premium amount>
    • No upper limit on govt. subsidy, even if the balance premium is 90%, govt. will bear the burden.
    • Govt. liability on premium subsidy would be shared between Centre and States on a 50:50 basis.
    • Smart phones, remote-sensing drones and GPS technology will be used to capture and upload data of crop cutting to reduce the delays in claim payment to farmers.
    • The scheme aims to increase insurance coverage to 50% from the existing levels of 25-27% of crop area.
    • The new scheme will also be executed by private insurance companies.
    • There will be exemption from Service Tax liability of all the services involved in the implementation of the scheme.

    Risk Covered

    A Comprehensive risk insurance is provided to cover yield losses due to:

    • Non-preventable risks, such as Natural Fire and Lightning, Storm, Hailstorm, Cyclone, Typhoon, Tempest, Hurricane, Tornado.
    • Risks due to Flood, Inundation and Landslide, Drought, Dry spells, Pests/ Diseases.
    • In cases where majority of the insured farmers of a notified area, having intent to sow/plant and incurred expenditure for the purpose, are prevented from sowing/planting the insured crop due to adverse weather conditions, shall be eligible for indemnity claims upto a maximum of 25% of the sum-insured.
    • In post-harvest losses, coverage will be available up to a maximum period of 14 days from harvesting for those crops which are kept in “cut & spread” condition to dry in the field.

    International Experience

    The mechanism of higher subsidy for crop premiums in Indian scheme is not out of line with international standards.

    • The US covers over 120 million hectares and gives subsidy to the tune of around 70%.
    • China insures its farmers for a sown area of around 75 million hectares with a subsidy on premiums of about 80%.

    How the scheme overcomes the shortcomings of previous scheme?

    • Farmers will have to pay the low premium rates and balance premium will be paid by the govt. to provide full insured amount, against the crop loss on account of natural calamities.
    • The sum insured will be calculated by multiplying the MSP of a crop with the average 7-year threshold yield for the particular village panchayat area where it is grown.
    • The improvement over previous scheme is that the premiums will be determined by the sum insured, unlike currently where premium determines sum insured.
    • CACP( Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices) has argued that premium will drop to 3.5% of sum insured if 50% of India’s gross cropped area is insured.
    • Once the new scheme kicks in, farmers in high-risk areas would stand to benefit the most

    One of the best thing is that it will also rid farmers of the web of complex rules of the earlier insurance schemes.

    How is current Insurance coverage in the country?

    • Currently, only 45.82 million hectares out of 195 million hectares was covered under crop insurance in 2014.
    • Coverage is higher in states of Rajasthan, Karnataka, Bihar, Odisha and Chattisgarh.
    • UP, West Bengal and Gujarat are worst performers in terms of coverage.

    <There are various suggestions pouring from wide spectrum of society to implement scheme in a better manner to mitigate the agrarian distress and suicides>

    What steps could be taken to implement scheme in a better manner?

    • Crop insurance should be done in a transparent manner & within a specified period of time.
    • Make use of advanced technology like automatic weather stations, drones and low earth orbit satellites.
    • Compensation must be paid to farmers account directly, within a short duration after assessment of crop damage.
    • Accountability of each stakeholder needs to be clarified and fixed.
    • Crop-damage assessment must be done within 2 weeks of the extreme weather event.
    • Implementing the scheme will require huge premium subsidy outgo, more so in a drought year.

    What kinds of financial and technological infrastructure is required?

    • Information has to be digitised plot wise, the plot of the tiller who has paid the premium has to be synchronised/seeded with their bank account, Aadhar and mobile number.
      • Ministry of rural development will be required to clean up land records.
      • Ministry of agriculture and farmer’s welfare to digitise plot-wise information.
      • Banks to seed the account of tillers.
    Published with inputs from Pushpendra

  • Start-up India, Stand up India : Wings to fly [Part II]

    Subjects: ,

    We have seen first part of Action plan for Start ups, now let’s see another part in brief!

    Let’s see Funding Support and Incentives?

    #Providing Funding Support through a Fund of Funds

    1. In order to provide funding support to Startups, Government will set up a fund with an initial corpus of INR 2,500 crore and a total corpus of INR 10,000 crore over a period 4 years (i.e. INR 2,500 crore per year) .
    2. The Fund will be in the nature of Fund of Funds, which means that it will not invest directly into Startups, but shall participate in the capital of SEBI registered Venture Funds.
    3. The funds of fund shall ensure support to a broad mix of sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, health, education, etc.

    #Credit Guarantee Fund for Startups

    • To catalyse entrepreneurship by providing credit to innovators.
    • In order to overcome traditional Indian stigma associated with failure of Startup enterprises in general.
    • To encourage experimentation among Startup entrepreneurs through disruptive business models, credit guarantee comfort would help flow of Venture Debt from the formal Banking System.

    #Tax Exemption to Startups for 3 years

    • With a view to stimulate the development of Startups in India and provide them a competitive platform, it is imperative that the profits of Startup initiatives are exempted from income-tax for a period of 3 years.
    • This fiscal exemption shall facilitate growth of business and meet the working capital requirements during the initial years of operations.

    #Launch of Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) with SETU Program

    To serve as a platform for promotion of world-class Innovation Hubs, Grand Challenges, Startup businesses and other self-employment activities, particularly in technology driven areas.

    The Atal Innovation Mission (AIM) shall have 2 core functions:

    • Entrepreneurship promotion –

    Through Self-Employment and Talent Utilization (SETU), wherein innovators would be supported and mentored to become successful entrepreneurs and establishment of 500 Tinkering Labs.

    • Innovation promotion –

    To provide a platform where innovative ideas are generated.

    Launch of Grand Innovation Challenge Awards for finding ultra-low cost solutions to India’s pressing and intractable problems

    The main components proposed to be undertaken as part of the mission include:

    #1. Setting up of 7 New Research Parks Modeled on the Research Park Setup at IIT Madras

    • To propel successful innovation through incubation and joint R&D efforts between academia and industry
    • The IIT Madras Research Park endeavors to enable companies with a research focus to set up a base in the Park and leverage the expertise of IIT Madras.
    • Creating a collaborative environment between industry and academia through joint research projects and consulting assignments.

    #2. Promoting Startups in the Biotechnology Sector

    Department of Biotechnology endeavors to scale up the number of Startups in the sector by nurturing approximately 300-500 new Startups each year to have around 2,000 Startups by 2020.

    The Department of Biotechnology shall be implementing the following measures along with its PSU Biotechnology Research Assistance Council (BIRAC) :

    • Biotech Equity Fund – BIRAC AcE Fund in partnership with National and Global Equity Funds (Bharat Fund, India Aspiration Fund amongst others) will provide financial assistance to young Biotech Startups.
    • Bengaluru-Boston Biotech Gateway to India has been formed.
    • Letter of Intent has been signed between DBT, GoI and Department of IT, Government of Karnataka for the same.

    Finally, can we expect Startup India will be the real boost for Make in India and Digital India Mission ? Let us know!

    Would you like to give answer of this question!

    #Q.Will the Start-up India campaign end up making India the start-up hub of the world? Critically comment.

     

    Published with inputs from Arun

  • Geography | Ocean Currents

    Ocean Currents can be a confusing topic. Understanding the complete mechanism and various interrelationships in play when it comes to ocean currents can be overwhelming. The following visualisation by NASA will help you understand the role of ocean and ocean currents. Many terms and themes discussed here will be taken up in subsequent sections.

    Ocean Currents are influenced by 2 kinds of forces.

    1. Primary or Causation forces – that initiate the movement of water.
    2. Secondary forces – that modify the flow of the waters.

    Primary forces 

    Ocean is driven by the atmosphere above it in 2 ways

    1.Wind Stress or Frictional Drag – Friction between wind and oceans creates a frictional drag known as wind-stress. It impacts the upper 100m of the ocean surface and sets the water in motion.

    2.Insolation – Heating by solar energy. The heating causes water to expand.

    >Causes water to expand. In the equatorial regions, the height is 8cm higher. This causes a slight gradient and water tends to flow down the slope.

    >Causes precipitation and evaporation which changes the salinity and hence the density of water.

    Secondary forces

    1.Coriolis Force – The effects of this force has been discussed in atmospheric circulations. It causes winds to deflect toward the right in the Northern Hemisphere and toward the left in the Southern Hemisphere, resulting in curved paths. It has a similar impact on Ocean Currents deflecting them to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere.

    2.Gravity – Gravity acts of the density difference of water. Density is a function of temperature and salinity and insolation, precipitation and evaporation plays an important role.

    3.Shape of the ocean basin –

    *NCERT somewhat differs in its definition of Primary and Secondary forces, but the above classification is apter.

    Types of Ocean Currents

    There are 2 types of Ocean Currents

    1. Surface Currents also called Wind-Driven Currents 

    The Surface Currents are a result of the Wind-stress and are modified by Coriolis force. Hence Surface currents mimic Atmospheric Wind Circulations. The diagram below shows how Easterlies are inline with equatorial current, the Westerlies are inline with Kuroshio and Gulf Stream.

    Ocean currents are constrained by the continental masses that border the three major oceans. This causes slight variations in their movement.

    To understand the mechanism, we touch upon few concepts.

    Ekman Spiral

    Ekman Spiral is the result of Coriolis force on the movement of surface water. The wind-stress moves the uppermost layer of water. This layer, in turn, drags the layer below it. Each deeper layer moves more slowly than the layer above it until the movement ceases at a depth of about 100 meters.

    All layers of water are deflected by Coriolis force to the right in the Northern Hemisphere and to the left in the Southern Hemisphere. As a result, each successive layer moves 45 deg. to the direction of drag force being applied. The diagram below captures this aptly. This creates a twisting effect creating the spiral. The spiral is known as Ekman Spiral and each subsequent layer is called the Ekman Layer.

    The average movement of all the layers comes out to be 90 deg to the direction of the surface wind.

    Gyres

    Ekman Spiral give rise to ‘Gyres’. These are ocean-circling currents that occur north and south of the equator. They do not occur at the equator, where the Coriolis effect is not present. There are five in all: two in the Pacific – north, and south of the equator, two in the Atlantic, and one in the Indian Ocean, south of the equator. In the northern Indian Ocean, the landmasses of Asia prevent the formation of a full gyre. Instead, there is a seasonally reversible current, driven by the Monsoon winds.

    Surface ocean currents are further divided into warm and cold currents

     

    2. Deep-water Currents also called Thermohaline Currents –

    While wind effects drive ocean currents in the upper 100 meters of the ocean’s surface, ocean currents also flow thousands of meters below the surface. These deep-ocean currents are driven by differences in the water’s density, which is controlled by temperature (thermo) and salinity (haline). This process is known as thermohaline circulation.

    Cold, salty water is dense and sinks to the bottom of the ocean and eventually returns to the surface through mixing. On a global scale, this sinking and rising of ocean water creates what scientists call the ‘great ocean conveyor belt.’

    Case Study: The Gulf Stream

    Gulf Stream is where you don’t see a clear-cut distinction between the Wind-Driven and Thermohaline.The first part of the Gulf Stream that represents the warm waters to a certain extent are Wind Driven

     

     

     

     

     

  • Progress in Dedicated Freight Corridor: Ministry of Railway Updates 

    Subjects:

    Freight operations on the Indian Railways are set to witness a paradigm shift with the stage-wise completion of its 2 dedicated freight corridors, the Western Dedicated Freight Corridor (WDFC) and the Eastern Dedicated Freight Corridor (EDFC), over the next 4 years, beginning 2017-18. Let’s have some updates from Ministry of Railway!

    What are the objectives of Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs)?

    • To create world-class rail infrastructure with advanced technology and knowledge to carry higher throughput per train.
    • To improve overall transport efficiency.
    • To offer customer guaranteed, faster transit, energy efficient, environment-friendly transport.
    • To encourage total supply chain management.
    • Increase Rail share in the freight market.

    What’s the mandate for DFCs?

    • Effective independence in decision-making and functions with a market focus and business orientation.
    • DFCs will provide non-discriminatory access to freight trains belonging to Indian Railways and other qualified operators.
    • A Complementing Indian Railways for increasing the Rail share.

    So, that’s why Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India Limited (DFCCIL) come into picture?

    • Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (DFCCIL) is a Special Purpose Vehicle set up under the administrative control of Ministry of Railways.
    • To undertake planning & development, mobilization of financial resources and construction, maintenance and operation of the DFCs.
    • DFCCIL has been set up with 100% equity by Ministry of Railways and registered as a company under the Companies Act 1956 on 30th October, 2006.

    Did you know about Golden Quadrilateral ?

    • The genesis of the Dedicated Freight Corridor is due to saturation in rail transportation capacity of Indian Railways on the Golden Quadrilateral.
    • The Indian Railways’ network linking the 4 metropolitan cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Chennai and Howrah, along with its 2 diagonals (Delhi-Chennai and Mumbai-Howrah) commonly known as the Golden Quadrilateral.
    • Adding up to a total route length of 10,122 km, carries more than 58% of its revenue earning freight traffic.

    What are the reasons that led to demand for additional capacity for rail freight transportation?

    • Growing international trade along existing Eastern and Western Routes.
    • In the first phase, the Government of India has approved construction of two corridors-the Western DFC (1504 route km) and Eastern DFC (Estimated 1856 route km)- spanning a total length of about 3360 route km.
    • The Eastern Corridor, starting from Dankuni in West Bengal will pass through the states of Jharkhand, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to terminate at Ludhiana in Punjab.
    • The Western Corridor connecting Dadri in Uttar Pradesh to Mumbai – Jawaharlal Nehru Port (JNPT), will traverse through NCR and the states of Haryana, Rajasthan, Gujarat and Maharashtra.

    How will these corridors helps in Industrial Growth?

    Multi Modal Logistic Hubs

    • The DFC network would attract setting up of Multimodal Logistics Parks along the corridor to facilitate value addition including packaging, retailing, labeling, pelletizing, transportation etc.
    • The last mile connectivity in terms of door to door services will be provided to the customers by 3PL service providers.

    Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor (DMIC) & Amritsar-Delhi-Kolkata Industrial Corridor (ADKIC)

    • Impact of DFCCIL is visible as a driver of Industrial Growth with planning and development of DMIC & ADKIC along the DFC.
    • Industrial Corridors have been planned using the backbone of the DFC.
    •  Industrial Corridor will get benefits from the World-Class Rail Infrastructure of the DFC.
    • The traffic originating from the Industrialized Corridor will contribute significantly to traffic on the DFC.

    Let’s see progress of these 2 significant corridors –

    Western Corridor

    • Western Corridor comprising of estimated 1504 km of a double line track from Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust to Dadri via Vadodara-Sanand-Palanpur Phulera-Rewari.
    • The Corridor will provide a boost to EXIM Trade.

    Eastern Corridor

    • The Eastern Corridor with a route length of estimated 1856 km and consisting of the some distinct segments.
    • Traffic on EDFC comprises of coal for the power plants in the northern region of India from Coalfields located in state of Bihar, Jharkhand and Bengal , finished steel, food grains, cement, fertilizer, limestone from Rajasthan to steel plants in the east and general goods.

    How will DFC aim at reducing Carbon Footprints?

    • DFC aims at to follow a low carbon path adopting various technological options which can help DFC to operate in a more energy-efficient fashion.
    • As per detailed study on a Green House Gas (GHS) emission forecasting for a 30-year period Cumulative GHG emissions over the 30-year period in the case of no-DFC scenario would have been 582 million ton CO2 while in the DFC scenario it would be 124.5 million ton CO2.
    • This demonstrates that in absence of DFC implementation approximately 4.5 times more GHG would be emitted in 30-year period for freight transportation envisaged on the Eastern and Western Corridor.

    Are there any future corridors in the list?

    Ministry of Railways has assigned DFCCIL to undertake Preliminary Engineering & Traffic Survey (PETS) for 4 additional corridors, which is in progress.

    • East-West Corridor (Kolkata-Mumbai) Approx 2330 Kms.
    • North-South Corridor (Delhi-Chennai) Approx 2343 Kms.
    • East Coast Corridor (Kharagpur-Vijayawada) 1100 Kms.
    • Southern Corridor (Chennai-Goa) Approx 899 Kms.
    Source - PIB features

  • India-Russia relations : Momentum in transforming Strategic Partnership

    Subjects:

    In late December, Indian Prime Minister made his first state visit to Russia to take part in the 16th annual bilateral summit. PM Modi and Russian President Vladimir Putin used the summit to review bilateral ties across a number of areas. Let’s glance over revamped relations of India-Russia!

     

    Can we have some background of bonding legacy?

    • Relations with Russia are a key pillar of India’s foreign policy, and Russia has been a longstanding time-tested partner of India.
    • India & Russia signed “Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership” in October 2000.
    • Under the Strategic Partnership, several institutionalized dialogue mechanisms operate at both political and official levels to ensure regular interaction and follow up on cooperation activities.
    • During the visit of the Russian President to India in December 2010, the Strategic Partnership was elevated to the level of a “Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.”

    Let’s dive into the PM’s visit for bilateral summit in Russia?

    • With the signing of sixteen agreements, this is being seen as very significant in sustaining and expanding India-Russia ties.
    • One major step taken is a deepening of India’s defense partnership with Russia for Make in India.
    • On the eve of Modi’s visit to Russia, the Indian government announced the purchase of five S-400 supersonic air defense systems from Russia, costing around $6 billion.
    • For instance, the two sides agreed that the Kamov 226 helicopter would be manufactured in India.

    How will bilateral partnership boost Make in India programme?

    • India and Russia agreed to strengthen the defense partnership in line with the “Make in India” program. So while only the public sector has been involved in defense cooperation between the two countries to date.
    • The new initiatives will encourage joint manufacturing of defense products in India and motivate the private sector to play a role in developing a strong defense manufacturing base in India.
    • It should be emphasized that “Make in India” also aims at having India emerge as an essential player in the global defense market.
    • India is forecast to spend $250 billion over the next decade upgrading its military and Russia wants to seize the opportunity to become a major part of this mission, expressing its readiness to work jointly with India on defense manufacturing.

    So, How does economic and trade cooperation matters in economic growth?

    • Enhancing trade and economic cooperation between India and Russia is a key priority for the two governments.
    • On the economic front, India and Russia decided to institutionalize the CEO’s Forum, which will meet twice a year – once in India and the other in Russia.
    • During 15th Annual Summit, the two leaders set a target of US$30 billion bilateral trade by 2025.
    • Hydrocarbons is an active area for exploring cooperation between the two countries.
    • In May 2014, ONGC and Rosneft signed an MoU for bilateral cooperation in subsurface surveys, exploration, appraisal and hydrocarbons production in the offshore Arctic region of Russia.
    • In September 2015, OVL signed an agreement with Rosneft to acquire 15% stakes in Vankorneft project.

     

    Did you know about India-Eurasian Economic Union FTA?

    • Moscow is a gateway for India to Central Asia.
    • In this regard a significant move by PM Modi was the effort to move forward on the India-Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
    • The EEU FTA will introduce the free movement of goods, capital, services and people-people contacts and provides for common transport, agriculture and energy policies, with provisions for a single currency and greater integration in the future.
    • The FTA between India and the EEU comprises of Russia, Belarus, Armenia, Kyrgyzstan, and Kazakhstan.
    • It offers India access to a huge market with a population of over 180 million, with a joint GDP of an estimated $2.7 trillion.
    • As Russia tries to re-calibrate its economic orientation towards the Asian region, India, as one of the fastest growing G20 economies can be a significant partner for Russia.

    Shall we move into Political Relations?

    • Annual Summit meeting is the highest institutionalized dialogue mechanism under the Strategic Partnership between India and the Russian Federation.
    • So far, 15 Annual Summit meetings have taken place alternatively in India and Russia with the 15th Annual Summit held in New Delhi during the visit of President Putin to India on 11 December 2014.
    • During the Summit, 20 documents were signed covering cooperation in nuclear energy, defence, hydrocarbons, science & technology, trade and investment etc.
    • Prime Minister Modi and President Putin also adopted a Joint Statement “Druzhba-Dosti: A Vision for strengthening the Indian-Russian Partnership over the next decade.”

    Let’s see our Defence Cooperation with Mighty Russia?

    • India-Russia military technical cooperation has evolved from a simple buyer – seller framework to one involving joint research, development and production of advanced defence technologies and systems.
    • BrahMos Missile System, Joint design and development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft, as well as the licensed production in India of SU-30 aircraft and T-90 tanks, are examples of such flagship cooperation.
    • An Indian contingent participated in the military parade in Moscow on 9 May 2015, during the 70th anniversary of the victory in the World War II.
    • The Inter Governmental Commission on Military Technical Cooperation (IRIGC-MTC) is in place to review defence cooperation between the two countries.

    Let’s know about importance of International North-South Trade Corridor (INSTC) ?

    • The INSTC was initiated by Russia, India and Iran in September 2000.
    • To establish transportation networks among the member states and to enhance connectivity with the land locked region of Central Asia.
    • The North-South Transport Corridor is an ancient route that connected South Asia with North Europe for centuries.
    • This route was used by the European, Indian, Russian and many other foreign traders.
    • During the late 17th and early 19th centuries, Indian traders used this route to reach out to the Central Asian markets.
    • The modern day INSTC is a multi-modal transportation route linking Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran, and onward to northern Europe via St. Petersburg in Russia.

    How is it important to India to protect its strategic and economic interest?

    • The INSTC envisages movement of goods from Mumbai (India) to Bandar Abbas (Iran) by sea, from Bandar Abbas to Bandar-e-Anzali (an Iranian port on the Caspian Sea) by road.
    • Then from Bandar-e-Anzali to Astrakhan (a Caspian port in the Russian Federation) by ship across the Caspian Sea, and thereafter from Astrakhan to other regions of the Russian Federation and further into Europe by Russian railways.
    • Given India’s strategic interests in the West and the Central Asian region, and need for greater economic and energy cooperation between South, Central and the West Asian region.
    • New Delhi has stepped up its engagement to reconnect with its extended neighbourhood.

    Was there any momentum on Nuclear power deal?

    • Russia is an important partner in peaceful uses of nuclear energy and it recognizes India as a country with advanced nuclear technology with an impeccable nonproliferation record.
    • In December 2014, Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) and Russia’s Rosatom signed the Strategic Vision for strengthening cooperation in peaceful uses of atomic energy between India and Russia.
    • Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant (KKNPP) is being built in India with Russian cooperation.
    • KKNPP Unit 1 became operational in July 2013, and attained full generation capacity on 7 June 2014.
    • While its Unit 2 is in the process of commissioning in the later part of 2015.
    • India and Russia have signed a General Framework Agreement on KKNPP Units 3 & 4 and subsequent contracts are under preparation.

    What’s Next to the geopolitical space?

    • Needless to say, defence remains at the centre-stage of the bilateral relationship, although with a diversified supplier base India is at a better position today to negotiate deals with Russia especially concerning technology transfer and co-production.
    • A sharp rise in Russia-China defense ties, the assertive foreign policy of a rising China in the Indo-Pacific, the U.S.-Pakistan relationship, and the China-Pakistan nexus will all encourage India to continue to strengthen ties with Russia.
    • It is clear that India-Russia relations remain vital for both countries amid a changing regional and global security environment.
    Published with inputs from Arun

  • Outcome of Paris Climate Summit

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    Paris Agreement was recently adopted by 195 countries of UNFCCC, which agreed to take measures to control climate change.

    We had written 4 explainers for a comprehensive coverage and they can be read here – 

    As we move ahead, let’s take a look at this agreement with respect to various dimensions and debates, which are going on in the international sphere.

    When this agreement will enter into force?

    The agreement in Paris will come into effect only after 2020 when the Kyoto Protocol, an existing international mechanism to deal with climate change, comes to an end.

    What is the temperature goal?

    The agreement says that its objective is to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degree Celsius, but pursue efforts to keep it below 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times.

    It also says that IPCC will come with a special report in 2018 on the impacts of global warming of 1.5 degree Celsius and above pre-industrial levels. <IPCC reports form the scientific basis on which the world is taking climate action>

    Let’s analyse the implications

    • Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and Small Island Developing Countries (SIDCs) were demanding that the rising temperature be kept under 1.5 degree Celsius from pre-industrial times.
    • LDCs fear that cost of adaptation will be high, if the temperature is allowed to risee upto 2 degree Celsius.

    What about Finance and Technology Transfer ?

    Finance

    Developed nations have been asked to provide financial resources, but $ 100 bn mark does not figure in the agreement. $ 100 bn has been shifted to the decision text, which is a list of all decisions taken at the conference.

    Developing countries are also asked to raise financial resources, even as voluntary effort.< This was one of the demands of the developed countries to widen the base of countries who will provide financial resources>

    There has to be a balance between the mitigation and adaptation needs of the developing countries, while allocating financial resources.

    Technology

    The developed countries to abide by their promises to provide technology development and transfer, and capacity building to developing countries.

    Why is it a matter of concern?

    • Paris Agreement is a permanent document, while the decisions of the conference can be modified.
    • This gives a message that developed nations will provide $ 100 bn every year from 2020, but they will not increase it annually, as demanded by developing countries.

    Carbon Neutral, by when?

    The agreement says that, world should peak emissions as soon as possible and achieve a balance between sources and sinks of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the second half of this century.

    This means that to limit the amount of GHG emitted by human activity to the same levels which can be absorbed naturally such as trees, soil, ocean, etc beginning 2050.

    What happens to INDCs?

    In the run-up to the Paris conference, 186 countries submitted their INDCs, giving information about the climate actions they planned to take until 2025 or 2030. INDCs would henceforth be called only Nationally Determined Contributions.

    Every country needs to communicate NDCs every 5 years. Each NDC has to be progressively more ambitious than the previous one.

    However, NDCs are not legally binding, i.e. the targets set by nations will not be binding under the Paris Climate Agreement. <India, China and South Africa were unwilling to sign up for this condition because they felt that it could hamper economic growth and development>

    What is Global Stocktake?

    • It refers to a proposed a 5-yearly review of the impact of countries climate change actions.
    • It will assess whether the net result of the climate actions being taken was consistent with the goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature from pre-industrial times to within 2 degree Celsius.
    • It is mandatory for every country to participate in the global stocktake, the exercise will not assess whether actions of any individual country are adequate or not.

    The best part of global stocktake is that it will also assess whether developed countries are adequate help to developing countries by providing money and technology.

    Is Differentiation principle at Stake?

    Experts are divided on whether developed countries succeeded in their effort to do away with concept of Common But Differentiated Responsibilities.

    The Paris agreement firmly anchors ‘differentiation’ for developing countries. At many places, differentiation is achieved by having different kind of commitments for developed and developing countries.

    Developed countries are expected to take the lead on mitigation and support, while developing countries are expected to take actions within the context of their sustainable development and poverty eradication imperatives.

    Let’s see what is the other point of view.

    • All parties have to report NDCs every 5 years.
    • There is no differentiation in reporting, inventory of GHGs and progress made in implementation of NDCs.< Inventory is basically a list of all units which release GHGs>
    • The stocktake is universal for aggregate actions and it will happen in 2023 and every 5 years henceforth.
    • Developed countries are asked to take absolute economy-wide emission reduction targets, while developing countries will enhance mitigation efforts, but are encouraged to move towards economy-wide reduction in the light of national circumstances.
    Published with inputs from Pushpendra

  • Striking the Sec 66A of IT Act: The Shreya Singhal Case

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    Supreme Court takes freedom of speech to the Net by striking down much abused Section 66A. The apex court has reaffirmed the importance of free speech.

    Do you remember? It is the same provision which became famous following the arrest of two girls for posting content against the bandh called for Bal Thackeray’s death. Since then, several arrests have been made by different State police.

    The provisions were challenged in Supreme Court by a law student, and the case came to be known as – Shreya Singhal vs Union of India 2015.

    What are the provisions of Information Technology Act, 2000?

    • It regulates the use of internet including the message service, social media, etc.
    • It creates separate offences for the misuse of internet & prescribes higher punishment for similar offences committed in print/electronic media.
      For Example –

      • Sec 66A made defamation as cognizable offence with a punishment of not more than 3 years with/without fine. <But, same offence is a non-cognizable offence under IPC>
      • Sec 67A of IT Act, confers a punishment that may range from 5-10 years of imprisonment with 1-2 lakh fine, for transmitting the obscene or vulgar offences across internet.< A similar offence would attract lesser punishment under IPC>
    • Sec 69A provided power to govt. to issue directions to block public access of any information through any computer source.

    Why Section 66A was challenged?

    • Section 66A had extremely wide parameters, which allow whimsical interpretations by law enforcement agencies.
    • There was no clarity over terms like offensive, grossly menacing, causing annoyance, etc opening it to many interpretations.
    • It outlawed all political satire, cartoons, caricatures and spoof writing indirectly.

    What was Govt. of India’s stand to protect Section 66A?

    • The Section 66A of the IT Act acts as a necessary deterrent against publishing or writing “objectionable” or “grossly offensive” contents in cyberspace.
    • The provision is essential for controlling inflammatory content provoking violence.
    • The Centre failed to impress the bench, by assuring that it will be administered in a reasonable manner.

    How Section 66A was in conflict with Fundamental Rights?

    It violated the freedom of speech and expression given under Article 19 (1)(a).

    ISP argued that it even violated right to equality given under Art. 14, as separate offences cannot be created for people using internet. < However, SC rejected this opinion, because there is clear intelligible difference between internet and other medium of communication. Can you imagine, what is the difference, please post in the comments box>

    What was court’s judgment in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India Case?

    • SC held that Sec 66A is unconstitutional and void on the ground that it was excessively vague, open-ended and undefined.
    • It did not give clear direction, either to the users of internet or to the law enforcement agencies on what acts performed on internet would amount to defamation.
    • Court held that vagueness of Sec 66A, took away the freedom of speech and the right to descent. It had a intimidating effect on free speech.

    Why scrapping Section 66A may not be in India’s best interests?

    • Some experts argue that India’s IT Act provides legal remedies for a just a handful of cyber crimes & many have been left out.
    • The new kinds of cyber crimes are emerging on a daily basis, which was facilitated by the vagueness of Sec 66A.
    • The ruling will only mean several steps backwards for the govt. and the country on this aspect.
    • However, it maybe very difficult to prove instances of cyber stalking, bullying or annoyance by applying provisions of the non-Internet world. < These activities are easily facilitated by the instant nature of the Internet>

    Why did SC upheld Section 69A of the IT Act?

    • SC upheld the constitutional validity of section 69A, which is exercised by govt. to issue directions to block an internet site.
    • Although, reasons for blocking have to be recorded in writing, which would be amenable to judicial scrutiny.
    • Powers under section 69A comes under ‘reasonable’ restriction as expressed in article 19(2) and thus it is legal.
    Published with inputs from Pushpendra

  • China-Pakistan Equation: Is it India’s Dilemma?

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    In April, China struck 51 agreements with all-weather ally Pakistan, including the multibillion dollar economic corridor through the PoK that will expand the communist giant’s influence in India’s neighbourhood.

    Before we deep dive, let’s first know historical background

    Kashmir_region_2004
    India claims the entire erstwhile princely state of Jammu and Kashmir based on an instrument of accession signed in 1947. Pakistan claims Jammu and Kashmir based on its majority Muslim population, whereas China claims the Shaksam Valley and Aksai Chin.
    • The origin of the Sino-Pak equation could be traced in China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), finds root to the Border Agreement of 1963, considered a milestone in China-Pakistan relations.
    • The agreement ceded the 5000 plus square mile Trans Karakorum Tract to China and served as a precursor to the Karakoram Highway, conceived later as a strategic link defining China and Pakistan’s ‘all-weather friendship’.
    • The then Defence Minister of India, Krishna Menon, elaborately enunciated India’s position on the issue at the UN, condemning the agreement as illegitimate.
    • Besides, India lodged an “emphatic protest” to China and conveyed its concerns in a letter of protest.
    • Decades down the line, while India’s policy orientation and broader claim on Gilgit Baltistan remains unchanged, its stance on Chinese investments in the Karakoram Highway, and Chinese efforts to leverage this territorial link to build a strategic corridor, is perceived to be weakening over time.

    What is the China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project?

    • The China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is biggest connectivity project aims to connect Gwadar Port in southwestern Pakistan to China’s northwestern autonomous region of Xinjiang, via a network of highways, railways and pipelines to transport oil and gas.
    • The economic corridor is considered central to China–Pakistan relations and will run about 3,000 km from Gwadar to Kashgar.
    • The Corridor is an extension of China’s proposed 21st century Silk Road initiative.
    • According to a Firstpost report, this is the biggest overseas investment by China announced yet and the corridor is expected to be operational within 3 years.

    Why Gwadar Port is strategically so important to China?

    • Gwadar forms the crux of the CPEC project, as it is envisaged to be the link between China’s ambitious One Belt, One Road (OBOR) in Maritime Silk Road project.
    • In total, more than $1 billion worth of projects are to be developed around the port of Gwadar by December 2017.

    But, what are the geopolitical reasons to China’s OBOR project?

    • There are compelling geopolitical reasons, such as energy security, for China to push forward with its One Belt, One Road plans at a time when its trading partners are potentially excluding it from strategic agreements.
    • Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) and the EU-Japan agreement show comprehensive liberalisation agendas, but do not include China and have the potential to increase trading costs.
    • In response, China plans to negotiate free-trade agreements with 65 countries along the OBOR.
    • Until now China has signed 12 free-trade agreements including Singapore, Pakistan, Chile, Peru, Costa Rica, Iceland, Switzerland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
    • Further 8 are under negotiation with Japan, Korea, Australia, Sri Lanka, Norway, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, Asean and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

    How will CPEC benefits to Pakistan ? Is it a Game changer for Pak?

    • China and Pakistan hope the massive investment plan will transform Pakistan into a regional economic hub as well as further boost the growing ties between Pakistan and China.
    • The CPEC is considered a significant project that seeks to cement Sino-Pakistan bilateral ties and further consolidate their strategic ties.
    • According to The Guardian, “The Chinese are not just offering to build much-needed infrastructure but also make Pakistan a key partner in its grand economic and strategic ambitions.”

    What’s the claim from India in CPEC?

    • The corridor will run through India’s periphery, more significantly, Gilgit Baltistan, claimed by India as part of the erstwhile princely state of J&K.
    • In due course, this geographical reality of the CPEC could potentially impinge upon India’s geopolitical calculations and pose a strategic challenge.

    How does China look at CPEC?

    • In December 2014, the Chinese state-run Xinhua published a statement announcing the closure of the strategic Khunjerab Pass and in the process referred to Gilgit Baltistan as part of Pakistan.
    • Until then, China had maintained that J&K was a bilateral problem/dispute between India and Pakistan.
    • Whether terming Gilgit Baltistan as part of Pakistan reflected a possible shift in the Chinese position on the J&K— a change from its previously held neutral position – was debated in the Indian media for a while.
    • In the Gilgit Baltistan segment, the CPEC project design includes a major expansion of the Karakoram Highway, establishing industrial parks in special economic zones, constructing hydropower projects, railway line and road building.
    • The project also entails building hydropower projects and motorways/highways in the so-called Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK).

    What’s the India’s claim and response to it?

    • India’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, noted: “India has no worry over the construction of Pakistan-China Economic Corridor as an economically strong Pakistan would bring stability in the region.”
    • India is yet to comprehensively articulate its approach towards the CPEC despite the fact that the corridor bodes strategic implications for India.
    • The corridor will pass through the Gilgit Baltistan region where China has invested in the past in infrastructure and hydropower projects.
    • India has occasionally raised objections to Chinese infrastructure investment in the region.
    • New Delhi’s move to raise objections to Pakistan’s plan of holding an election in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir’s Gilgit-Baltistan region may appear to be an afterthought.
    • In fact, the belated assertion of a simple principle: In a dispute, express your maximal position, rather than the one you will compromise on.

    Is it India’s Dilemma?

    • Is it because of a realization that in a changed strategic landscape, the options for India vis-a-vis a project like CPEC are limited and complicated?
    • Is India conflicted about whether to engage itself in the mega connectivity network project or stay out of it in accordance with its stated position on Gilgit Baltistan and the so-called AJK?

     

     

    How does it pose a policy challenge to India?

    • Participating in the project would require a major alteration in India’s policy.
    • Overlooking the territorial dimension could be interpreted as a massive climb-down from its stated position.
    • It may even be construed as acquiescing to the China-Pakistan alliance in the region and beyond.
    • Thus, the CPEC poses a policy challenge to India on how best to strike a precarious balance between securing its strategic/territorial interests without at the same time being confrontational.
    • Charting a policy course is essential since China has, of late, through stray remarks extended an invitation for India to participate in the Silk Route ‘one route one belt’ project.

    How will CPEC get materialised despite scepticism?

    • Ironically, in Pakistan itself, there is growing cynicism about the CPEC’s prospects and feasibility because of security-related concerns and inter-provincial political discord on route preferences.
    • Nevertheless, given the Chinese determination to find a route to oil-rich West Asia through Pakistan, and the Pakistani desperation to provide every possible assurance to China about safeguarding its investments, the project is likely to be implemented, even if its scope may be limited.
    • One has to remember that China and Pakistan have weathered geographical and logistical extremes in the past to build the highest metalled road on one of the toughest terrain, i.e. the Karakoram Highway.
    • Moreover, the Pakistani decision to raise a special security division to protect Chinese workers and interests in Pakistan, indicates its resolve to implement the project in all earnestness.

    The Way forward

    • While India’s overall stance on PoK remains understated, the commencement of the CPEC warrants more serious attention than what has been accorded so far.
    • There is a need to carefully weigh the situation and devise a suitable and sustainable approach that could serve India’s long-term interests.
    • It is imperative that some of the explicit strategic concerns regarding the CPEC figure in the bilateral round of talks during the Indian Prime Minister’s forthcoming visit to Pakistan.

    What do you think on such a big triangular geostrategic politics? How will it resolved from Sino-India relations? Let us know!

     

    Published with inputs from Arun | Image: Wikipedia

  • All that you need to remember about the Indian Remote Sensing satellite system

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    Let’s clear up some basics from Indian Remote Sensing satellites, as we have seen it in the newscard @Civilsdaily App, but take a glance for IRS knowhow.

     

    Let’s first take a look in history?

    • The launch of India’s first civilian IRS-1A in March 1988, marked the beginning of a successful journey in the course of the Indian Space Programme.
    • The Indian Earth Observation activities carried out under the National Natural Resources Management System (NNRMS).
    • With a host of payloads in the thematic series of Indian Remote Sensing Satellites (IRS) and the INSAT systems, the Indian Earth Observation (EO) system has been providing operational services to the user community.

    What is the IRS Satellite system?

    • The Indian Remote Sensing satellite system has one of the largest constellations of remote sensing satellites in operation in the world today.
    • IRS series of satellites provide data in a variety of spatial, spectral and temporal resolutions.
    • With these and the planned thematic series of satellites, such as Cartosat-3, Megha Tropiques, SARAL, and Insat-3D.
    • The National Remote Sensing Centre (NRSC) is the focal point for distribution of remote sensing satellite data products in India and its neighboring countries.
    • NRSC has an earth station at Shadnagar, about 55 Km from Hyderabad, to receive data from almost all contemporary remote sensing satellites.

    But, What is Megha-Tropiques?

    • Megha-Tropiques is an Indo-French Joint Satellite Mission for studying the water cycle and energy exchanges in the tropics.
    • The main objective is to understand the life cycle of convective systems that influence the tropical weather and climate and their role in associated energy and moisture budget of the atmosphere in tropical regions.

     

    Let’s know some IRS satellites in brief

    RESOURCESAT – 1

    • RESOURCESAT – 1, the tenth satellite in IRS series, was launched onboard PSLV – C5 in 2003.
    • It was placed in 820 km high polar Sun Synchronous Orbit.
    • The images and data are being used for advanced applications like vegetation dynamics, crop yield estimates, disaster management support.

    CARTOSAT – 1

    • CARTOSAT – 1 was launched into a 617 km polar sun synchronous orbit in 2005 on board PSLV – C6 from Satish Dhawan Space Centre (SDSC), SHAR, Sriharikota.
    • The data from Cartosat-1 is used for the preparation of cartographic maps, cadastral mapping updation, land use and GIS applications.

    OCEANSAT – 2

    The main objectives of OCEANSAT – 2 are to study surface winds and ocean surface strata, observation of chlorophyll concentrations, monitoring of phytoplankton blooms, study of atmospheric aerosols and suspended sediments in the water.

    RISAT – 2

    • RISAT – 2 is a Radar Imaging Satellite using an active SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) imager with all weather capability to take images of the earth.
    • This Satellite will enhance ISRO’s capability for Disaster Management applications.
    • India’s first satellite with SAR and has a day-night, all-weather monitoring capability.

    SARAL

    • SARAL or Satellite with ARgos and ALtiKa is a cooperative altimetry technology mission of ISRO and CNES (Space Agency of France), was successfully launched on 25 February 2013.
    • The overall objectives are to assess development of operational oceanography, understanding of climate and developing forecasting capabilities.
    Published with inputs from Arun

  • Sagarmala Project: Smart ports for Blue Revolution in India

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    The Union Cabinet chaired by the Prime Minister Modi, on March,2015 gave its ‘in-principle’ approval for the concept and institutional framework of Sagarmala Project. Let’s take a glance on it.

     

    What’s the prime objective of Sagarmala?

    The prime objective of the Sagarmala project is to promote port-led direct and indirect development and to provide infrastructure to transport goods to and from ports quickly, efficiently and cost-effectively.

    What’s the current issue and background of ports in India?

    • At present there are around 200 ports (small and big) in the country, of these, only 12 are major ports which are government owned ports, which handle about 58% of sea-borne traffic.
    • These major ports operate as Trusts under the Major Ports Trust Act, 1963, except for the Port of Ennore, which is a company under the Companies Act.
    • There are legacy issues with these govt owned major ports, they do not keep pace with emerging technology, requirements of international trade, emerging trends in containerisation, flexible rules, size of ships etc.

    Which are the 12 Major Ports ?

    These are Kolkata (including Dock Complex at Haldia), Visakhapatnam, Chennai, V.O. Chidambaranar (Tuticorin), Cochin, New Mangalore, Mormugao, Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust (JNPT), Mumbai, Kandla and Ennore.

     

    Just, Look back into the history?

    In 2003, then PM Vajpayee proposed Project Sagarmala with following features:

    • Setup Sagarmala Development Authority (Similar to National highway authority of India).
    • It will get money via Maritime development cess. (5 paise per kg on cargo).
    • It will improve ports, shipping industry, inland water transport, coastal shipping.
    • PPP and FDI to gather more investment.

    Then, which are the Key pillars to achieve Smart-development ?

    • Supporting and enabling Port-led Development through appropriate policy and institutional interventions.
    • Providing for an institutional framework for ensuring inter-agency and states’ collaboration for integrated development.
    • Port Infrastructure Enhancement, including modernization and setting up of new ports.
    • Efficient Evacuation to and from hinterland.

    What are some of the measures to make Smart Ports?

    • Ports should be registered as Companies under Companies Act.
    • The port administration should only look after the provisions of infrastructure and safety and not day-to-day running of the port
    • There is still no regulation to control the trade practices.
    • Hence, there is a dire need to introduce a regulatory architecture that takes care of ex-ante declaration of rates of services.

    Then, what’s the plan to implement such a vast initiative?

    • For a comprehensive and integrated planning for “Sagarmala”, a National Perspective Plan (NPP) for the entire coastline shall be prepared within six months.
    • It will identify potential geographical regions to be called Coastal Economic Zones (CEZ).
    • While preparing the NPP, synergy and integration with planned Industrial Corridors, Dedicated Freight Corridors, National Highway Development Programme, Industrial Clusters and SEZs would be ensured.

    What are the suggestions for effective mechanism at state level?

    • Set up State Sagarmala Committee to be headed by CM / Minister in Charge of Ports.
    • Sagarmala Coordination and Steering Committee (SCSC) shall be constituted under the chairmanship of the Cabinet Secretary and others.
    • This Committee will provide coordination between ministries, state governments and agencies connected with implementation and review the progress of implementation of the National Perspective Plan.

    How does it ensure the sustainable development in CEZ?

    • This would be done by synergising and coordinating with State Governments and line Ministries of Central Government through their existing programmes.
    • Such as those related to community and rural development, tribal development and employment generation, fisheries, skill development, tourism promotion etc.
    • In order to provide funding for such projects and activities that may be covered by departmental schemes a separate fund by the name ‘Community Development Fund’ would be created.

    What’s the role of Institutional Framework ?

    • It has to provide for a coordinating role for the Central Government.
    • It should provide a platform for central, state governments and local authorities to work in tandem and coordination under the established principles of cooperative federalism.

    What’s the role of NSAC?

    A National Sagarmala Apex Committee (NSAC) is envisaged for overall policy guidance and high level coordination, and to review various aspects of planning and implementation of the plan and projects.

    So, Is it Good to have smart ports on the line of Smart Cities?

    Can you answer some questions?

    #1. Can you examine the bottlenecks in Indian port infrastructure and list the initiative taken in recent times to address this issue?

    #Q.2 Indian port infrastructure can be revamped by Sagarmala project by effective management? critically comment.

     

    Published with inputs from Arun

  • Freedom of Speech and Criminal Defamation Law

    Recently, Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on constitutional validity of criminal defamation law.

    Lets try to understand the concept of defamation and then we will move on to criminal defamation and its relation with fundamental rights, which is the center-point of the debate.

    What is Defamation?

    Defamation means destroying the reputation of an individual or organisation through slander (speech), libel (written) or both.

    Slander: To make a false spoken statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone.
    Libel: The act of publishing a false statement that causes people to have a bad opinion of someone.

    Defamation gives rise to both civil and criminal liability.
    This means that the guilty may be punished with a simple imprisonment of less than 2 years arising out of criminal liability and/or he may be subjected to monetary compensation arising out of civil liability.

    What does IPC have to say about Defamation?

    There are two sections under IPC, viz. Sec 499 and Sec 500, which pertains to the criminal defamation.

    Sec 499: Whoever, by words either spoken or intended to be read, or by signs or by visible representations, makes or publishes any imputation concerning any person intending to harm, or knowing or having reason to believe that such imputation will harm, the reputation of such person, is said, except in the cases hereinafter expected, to defame that person.

    Sec 500: Punishment for defamation: Whoever defames another shall be punished with simple imprisonment for a term which may extend to two years, or with fine, or with both.

    PIL petitions were filed before the SC arguing that criminalisation of defamation deters free speech.

    What was government’s stand in the SC?

    • Govt argued that in India citizens are unlikely to have enough liquidity to pay damages for civil defamation.
    • Online defamation in the Internet age can be effectively countered only by making it a criminal offence, and that the law is part of the state’s compelling interest to protect the dignity and reputation of citizens.

    What is the criticism of criminal defamation?

    • Citizens are afraid of expressing their opinion freely and openly because of possible fear of punishment.
    • It indirectly violates the freedom of press, as it has chilling effect on the publication of free and independent news articles.
    • Section 499 and 500 prevent the citizens from even expressing their legitimate criticism of govt. and public officials.
    • The recent history of defamation laws is riddled with misuse by politicians and corporate’s to silence the media, activists and criticism.

    Why there are concerns regarding its misuse?

    • It is liable to be misused where many complaints can be filed across the country in various courts against the person for allegedly making a single defamatory statement.
    • This possibility of misuse of Sec 499 and 500 has an intimidating effect on the citizen and they are afraid of using their right under Article 19(1)(a) freely.
    • Critics of such a law argue that civil liability is a sufficient means of safeguarding the reputation of person.

    Let’s know a bit about Article 19(1)(a) and Art 19(2)

    Article 19(1)(a) confers right to freedom of speech and expression on all citizens.

    Article 19(2) allows the state to make laws which impose reasonable restrictions on this right in the interests of the sovereignty and integrity of India, the security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states, public order, decency or morality or in relation to contempt of court, defamation or incitement to an offence.

    What are concerns, if the criminal liability is removed?

    • The argument says that in the absence of penal provisions, there will be no deterrence against the misuse of free speech to destroy the reputation of a person which is earned over his lifetime.
    • If the defamation is to be treated merely as a civil liability, then the defamer may be too poor to pay compensation to the victim and it cannot act as a sufficient deterrent.
    • During elections, the absence of criminal liability will give rise to hate speeches more frequently destroying the free and fair nature of elections in the country.

    How to strike the balance between the two extremes?

    There is a need to balance free speech and dignity of an individual which is possible only by retaining the criminal nature of defamation.

    If Sec 499 and 500 are misused, the logical approach should be to place a regulatory mechanism to prevent that misuse, but not to withdraw them.

     

    Published with inputs from Pushpendra

     

  • Khawalailung village: A Mizo ‘role model’ of Peace and Development

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    On 25th October 2015’s ‘Mann-ki-Baat’ radio programme through All India Radio, when the Prime Minister Narendra Modi took the name of the hitherto little known Mizoram’s Khawalailung village from the remote Champai district, most Mizos were impressed.

    Almost the entire state echoed in one tone ‘kalaw mein’ (Thank You in Mizo language) to the Prime Minister Sh. Narendra Modi for his radio talk.

    Khawahlailung_village_mizoram

    So, What’s special about Khawalailung villages?

    Most Mizo villages are community maintained, disciplined and clean. Visitors are often stunned to witness the kind of self-governing mechanism, even symbolism and perfectionist methods are maintained on the movement of dogs, cattle and chickens in these villages.

    Community and voluntary works are held to clean the village frequently, butchering of animals and selling meat on roadsides are banned and animals are slaughtered only in an appointed slaughterhouse and meat, staple food of the natives are sold only in a designated meat market. There are also segregated areas for selling fish.

    How is this change inclusive of the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan? 

    Cleanliness of villages across Mizoram, across northeastern India and the rest of India is also part of an ambitious national programme being undertaken under Swachh Bharat Abhiyan.

    Now the village Khawalailung will be perhaps in a position to be showcased as a model village under both National Clean Mission and also Sansad Adarsh Gram Yozana.

    The new Adarsh Gram Yojana is a Rural Development programme, broadly focusing upon the development in the villages which includes social development, cultural development and spread motivation among the people on social mobilization of the village community. This programme was also launched by the on the birth anniversary of Jayaprakash Narayan on 11 October, 2014.

    Some statistics about this special village

    To start with, one vital statistics about the village Khawlailung is that the hamlet has higher literacy rate compared to the state’s (Mizoram) own records. In 2011, literacy rate of Khawlailung village was 95.05 per cent compared to 91.33 per cent of Mizoram. In Khawlailung Male literacy stood at 97.01 per cent while female literacy rate was 93.10 per cent.

    How do Mizo villages transform into Model Villages?

    Under the ‘model village’ or Adarsh Gram programme, Khawlailung village with a population of 520 villagers has already taken important initiatives, like a Joint Action Committee (JAC) was constituted in the village to check the menace of drugs and alcohol-related problems.

    Seminars on importance of cleanliness were held many times in the village and many sanitation groups were formed to undertake practical work.

    For projects under the aegis of Agriculture sector, the village was also benefitted with the grant of machines for juicing sugarcane for 22 families engaged in manufacture of molasses/raw sugar (gur) at a highly subsidised rate.

    Similarly, beneficiaries were identified and assistance provided under the Integrated Wasteland Development Project (IWDP) for construction of farm pond and terrace.

    Under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) families were also identified and provided with one piglet each. In fact, the list of good works in the tiny village can go on.

    But what needs to be appreciated and in fact emulated is the pragmatic and inherently hard working nature of the Mizo people.

    If the villagers in other northeastern states and more so in rural areas in states like Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh can emulate the Mizo people, things can change a lot.

    Originally a primordial economy, Mizoram today represents a modern society with higher rate of literacy, good knowledge bank of English education and quality works in cane works, handloom and agriculture.

    Truly, going by the spirit of the statement, it is high time for the people of the region to mobilise wider public opinion against all sorts of violence and bring about lasting peace in the north east region.

     

    Source - PIB features | Pic - Mizo

  • UNFCCC Updates : Lima-Paris Action Agenda

    Subjects: ,

    As we know, 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in Paris making a progress on crucial climate change issue. Let’s take a glance on Lima-Paris Action Agenda

     

    What’s the prime motive of LPAA?

    1. The Lima-Paris Action Agenda (LPAA) is a joint undertaking of the Peruvian and French COP presidencies, the Office of the Secretary-General of United Nations and the UNFCCC Secretariat.
    2. It aims to strengthen climate action throughout 2015, in Paris in December and well beyond through mobilizing robust global action towards low carbon and resilient societies.

    What are the LPAA initiatives – addressing Water and Ocean Resilience?

    • Paris Pact on Water and Adaptation
    • MegaCities Coalition on water
    • Business Alliance for Water and Climate Change
    • Adaptation of the West African coastal areas
    • Maritime Regions in Action against Climate Change.

    What’s the Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation?

    • A broad coalition of nations, river basin organizations, business and civil society announced the creation of the international Paris Pact on Water and Climate Change Adaptation.
    • This is to make water systems, the very foundation of sustainable human development, more resilient to climate impacts.
    • Water Resilience Focus event highlighted key partnerships and coalitions to make river basins, lakes, aquifers and deltas more resilient to climate change and reduce human interference with oceans.
    • Almost 290 water basin organisations are engaged under pact.

     

    What’s the scope of Paris pact on Water?

    These major collaborative projects combined represent over US$20 million in technical assistance and potentially over US$ 1 billion in financing.

    They include –

    • A financial commitment by India to build climate resilience through improved groundwater management.
    • In the Niger Basin (9 African countries involved), the launch of a 10-year investment plan to strengthen resilience to climate change.
    • In Jordan, Lebanon, Monaco, Morocco, Spain and Tunisia, a 7-year commitment under Mediterranean Water Platform to assess the state and trends of water resources, supported by the European commission.
    • In China, a 3-year commitment to improve management of the Hai river basin, supported by France.

    What about Cities? Are they committing to strengthen the resilient water systems?

    • Indeed, the Mega Cities Coalition, involving 10 megacities with 85 million people, is establishing a knowledge exchange platform.
    • The World Bank Group’s financial commitment of USD 200 million to enhance Water Security and Climate Resilience in Kenya’s Coastal Region.
    • A financing program, including 50 million euros from AFD and 15 million euros from Senegal, to protect 300 000 people from flooding Pikine, a suburb of Dakar.

    How many countries planning to join a coalition to enhance resilience of deltas?

    • The Delta Coalition includes 12 countries (Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Japan, South-Korea, Mozambique, Myanmar, Netherlands, Philippines, Vietnam, France and Bangladesh).
    • To bring deltas to the forefront of global policy discussions, build partnerships and focus on action, aiming to increase resilience for almost 250 million people in deltas in these 12 countries.

    How does it enhance the action on conservation and resilience of oceans to climate change?

    • Commercial shipping: The maritime transport sector is taking action to reduce greenhouse gases emissions 20 % by 2020 in tonnes-km, and 50 % by 2050.
    • Adaptation and marine ecosystem conservation: More marine protected areas, World Heritage recognition, children’s education, innovative funding support such as debt-for-nature swaps.
    • Coastal risk management and adaptation: Solutions to rising sea levels, coastal erosion, flooding and extreme climate.

    Do you really think that, Lima-Paris Action Agenda would pave the way for sustainable development and climate change? Why or why not?

     

    Published with inputs from Arun