Upsc/Ssc/Rly Materials

India connects Bangladesh to Bhutan, through waterway

• In a first-ever development, Indian waterways is being used to transport cargo between 2 countries i.e. Bhutan and Bangladesh.
• The inland waterways vessel containing cargo from Bhutan to Bangladesh will move via River Brahmaputra ( NW 2) and the Indo Bangla Protocol Route
• The stone aggregates were transported by trucks from Phuentsholing in Bhutan which is 160 KMs from IWAI’s Dhubri jetty in Asaam.
• The first ship carrying crushed stones from Bhutan started its journey from Dhubri river port in Assam to Narayanganj in Bangladesh
• India’s Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI), which is responsible for developing and maintaining national waterways, has carried out dredging on Brahmaputra to maintain an assured draft in navigation channel.
At least 10 other National Waterways are under development currently.
• India is increasingly using its rivers to transport cargo which is cheaper than transport on roads.

Star campaigner

1. The Supreme Court observed that the election Commission “has no power” to decide who is a star campaigner.

2. A star campaigner is a celebrity vote seeker in an election for a party. This person can be a politician or even a film star.

3. They are nominated by the concerned political parties specifying their constituencies and duration of the status.

4. A ‘recognised’ party declared as such by the Election Commission -- can nominate a maximum of 40 star campaigners.

5. An unrecognised political party can nominate a maximum of 20 star campaigners.

6. Expenditure incurred on electioneering by the star campaigner is not added to a candidate’s poll expenditure giving him/her more leeway.

7. According to the Representation of People’s Act, these expenses will be borne by the political parties.

Source: India Today.

✅Recently, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the Prime Minister, has approved that 100% of the foodgrains and 20% of the sugar shall be mandatorily packed in jute bags.

▪️jute

✅Temperature: Between 25-35°C.
✅Rainfall: Around 150-250 cm.
✅Soil Type: Well-drained alluvial soil.

✅Top Jute Producing States: West Bengal > Bihar > Assam > Andhra Pradesh > Odisha.

✅It is mainly concentrated in eastern India because of the rich alluvial soil of Ganga-Brahmaputra delta.

✅The world's largest jute producing countries are India, Bangladesh, China and Thailand.

✅India is the world's largest producer of raw jute and jute goods, contributing to over 50% and 40% respectively of global production.

✅It is known as the golden fibre because it is one of the longest and most used natural fibre for various textile applications.

✅It is used in making gunny bags, mats, ropes, yarn, carpets and other artefacts.

Distribution of Fortified Rice under ICDS

In a bid to combat chronic anaemia and undernutrition, the government is planning to distribute fortified rice through the Integrated Child Development Services and Mid-DayMeal schemes across the country.

What is Fortified Rice?

Rice can be fortified by adding a micronutrient powder to the rice that adheres to the grains or spraying of the surface of ordinary rice grains with a vitamin and mineral mix to form a protective coating.

Rice can also be extruded and shaped into partially precooked grain-like structures resembling rice grains, which can then be blended with natural polished rice.

Rice kernels can be fortified with several micronutrients, such as iron, folic acid and other B-complex vitamins, vitamin A and zinc.

These fortified kernels are then mixed with normal rice in a 1:100 ratio, and distributed for consumption.

Note: Biofortification is the process by which the nutritional quality of food crops is improved through agronomic practices, conventional plant breeding, or modern biotechnology. It differs from conventional fortification in that Biofortification aims to increase nutrient levels in crops during plant growth rather than through manual means during the processing of the crops.

What was the earlier initiative?

The centrally-sponsored pilot scheme was approved in February 2019 for a three-year period from 2019-20 onwards.

However, only five States Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Chhattisgarh have started the distribution of fortified rice in their identified pilot districts.

Need for expansion

Currently, there are only 15,000 tonnes of these kernels available per year in the country.

To cover PDS, anganwadis and mid-day meals in the 112 aspirational districts, annual supply capacity would need to be increased to about 1.3 lakh tonnes.

To cover PDS across the country, 3.5 lakh tonnes of fortified kernels would be needed.

Regulating fortification

FSSAI has formulated a comprehensive regulation on fortification of foods namely 'Food Safety and Standards (Fortification of Foods) Regulations, 2016'.

These regulations set the standards for food fortification and encourage the production, manufacture, distribution, sale and consumption of fortified foods.

The regulations also provide for the specific role of FSSAI in promotion for food fortification and to make fortification mandatory.

WHO recommends fortification of rice with iron, vitamin A and folic acid as a public health strategy to improve the iron status of population wherever rice is a staple food.

Back2Basics: Integrated Child Development Services (ICDS)

The ICDS aims to provide food, preschool education, primary healthcare, immunization, health check-up and referral services to children under 6 years of age and their mothers.

The scheme was launched in 1975, discontinued in 1978 by the government of Morarji Desai, and then relaunched by the Tenth Five Year Plan.

The tenth FYP also linked ICDS to Anganwadi centres established mainly in rural areas and staffed with frontline workers.

The ICDS provide for anganwadis or day-care centres which deliver a package of six services including:

Immunization

Supplementary nutrition

Health checkup

Referral services

Pre-school education (Non-Formal)

Nutrition and Health information

Implementation

For nutritional purposes, ICDS provides 500 kilocalories (with 12-15 grams of protein) every day to every child below 6 years of age.

For adolescent girls, it is up to 500-kilo calories with up to 25 grams of protein every day.

The services of Immunisation, Health Check-up and Referral Services delivered through Public Health Infrastructure under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare.

WWF Water Risk Filter

Nearly a third of the 100 cities in the world susceptible to 'water risk' defined as losses from battling droughts to flooding are in India, according to the WWF Water Risk Filter.

What is Water Risk Filter?

This is an online tool, co-developed by the Worldwide Fund for Nature that helps evaluate the severity of risk places faced by graphically illustrating various factors that can contribute to water risk.

Launched in 2012, it is a practical online tool that helps companies and investors assess and respond to water-related risks facing their operations and investments across the globe.

After a major upgrade in 2018, the Water Risk Filter 5.0 enables companies and investors to Explore, Assess, Value and Respond to water risks.

Lately, the Water Risk Filter provides scenarios of water risks for 2030 and 2050, integrating climate and socio-economic changes in different pathways.

Highlights of the recent analysis

It reported 30 Indian cities that would face a 'grave water risk' by 2050 due to a dramatic increase in their population percentage to 51 per cent by 2050, from 17 per cent in 2020.

Jaipur topped the list, followed by Indore and Thane. Mumbai, Kolkata and Delhi also featured on the list.

The global list includes cities such as Beijing, Jakarta, Johannesburg, Istanbul, Hong Kong, Mecca and Rio de Janeiro. China accounts for almost half the cities.

Major recommendations

The future of India's environment lies in its cities. As India rapidly urbanizes, cities will be at the forefront both for India's growth and for sustainability.

For cities to break away from the current vicious loop of flooding and water scarcity, nature-based solutions like restoration of urban watersheds and wetlands could offer solutions.

Urban watersheds and wetlands are critical for maintaining the water balance of a city, flood cushioning, micro-climate regulation and protecting its biodiversity, the report notes.

🔆Mansar Lake Project:

Why news

✅Mansar Lake Development Plan in Jammu and Kashmir was inaugurated recently.

✅The project is eyed to attract almost 20 lakh tourists every year and create employment for 1.15 crore man-days with an income generation of ₹800 crore per year.

▪️About Mansar lake:

✅Mansar Lake is situated 62 km from Jammu.

✅Surinsar-Mansar Lakes are designated as Ramsar Convention in November 2005.

Foundational agreements

What are foundational agreements?

1. The United States enters into ‘foundational or enabling agreements’ with its defence partners.

2. These agreements govern the nature and scope of U.S. defence partnerships.

3. Partners enhance the capabilities of the U.S. military in distant places through sharing information, platforms and logistics.

4. The sale of advanced communication and security systems on the aircraft is made seamless by foundational agreements.

5. These agreements increase interoperability.

Which agreements are included?

1. The General Security of Military Information Agreement or GSOMIA, and its extension, the Information Security Annex (ISA) allow military technology cooperation for the sharing of classified information between governments and companies in both countries.

2. The LEMOA enables logistics support, say refuelling of planes or ships, supply of spare parts or maintenance to each other.

3. The COMCASA allows Indian forces to procure advanced, secure communication equipment from the U.S.

4. The BECA enables exchange of geospatial information.

5. Akin to a GPS that enables navigation, such exchange of geospatial information enhances the accuracy of a missile or the utility of a drone.

Why are these agreements strategically important?

1. Since the Civil Nuclear Agreement of 2005, the India-U.S. defence cooperation has been advancing at a rapid pace.

2. The U.S. has designated India a ‘Major Defence Partner’.

3. Foundational agreements deepen defence cooperation, in trade and operation.

4. India and the U.S. are also part of a broader shared vision for the Indo-Pacific region, where both countries, along with Japan and Australia, are increasing their military cooperation.

Where are the concerns?

1. India’s strategic autonomy may be affected.

2. The evolution of technology makes it inevitable that all military platforms will be integrated and networked in the future.

3. it will not be possible to integrate Russian and American platforms, and this could throw up new challenges of military planning for India.

India’s journey towards Quad.

1. Quad is a result of strong institutional commitment of Australia, India, Japan and the USA and is likely to serve long despite regime changes.

2. India should use Quad to construct a wide range of new international coalitions.

3. There is a bipartisan consensus in the US on the need for an overhaul of global structures to cope with the emerging challenges.

4. The overhaul of structures could include changes in the Five eyes alliance and the G-7 grouping that coordinates Western policies on global economic management.

5. There could be a creation of a new League of Democracies that will address issues like the defence of shared values, commerce, corruption, taxation, climate change and digital governance.

6. The post-Quad era opens a new phase in which India, for the first time, can help shape global institutions.

Evolution of India’s policy:

1. In the 1950s, India had an idealist foreign policy that was affected by the politics of the cold war.

2. In the 1970s, India aimed at the New International Economic Order, as the leader of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 77. The results were not as expected.

3. The third phase began with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the emergence of the unipolar moment and the Washington Consensus in favour of globalisation.

4. India balanced its engagement with the US on one hand and Russia and China on the other.

5. India thus aimed at a multi polar world and BRICS forum with Russia, China, Brazil and South Africa became a symbol of this strategy.

6. Delhi realised that it was not possible to deal with China in multilateral groupings like BRICS.

7. In the fourth phase in India’s multilateralism that is marked by three features — the relative rise in India’s international standing, the breakdown of the great power consensus on economic globalisation, and the US-China rivalry.

8. Hence, India has become a part of Quad, and was invited to be a part of the five eyes alliance.

Bad bank.

1. Indian Public Sector banks are caught in a perpetual cycle of bad loans.

2. PSBs are unlikely to emerge from the Covid crisis unscathed.

3. As a healthy banking system will be vital to a post-covid economic recovery, a business-as-usual approach does not seem optimal.

Need:

1. Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) process takes an average of 340 days for resolution.

2. This long resolution period amplifies the second-order effects of stressed assets.

3. Due to this, bank capital reduces and resolution uncertainty tends to turn them risk averse.

4 A bad bank can create a mechanism that allows PSBs to offload stressed assets in an equitable manner so that they resume lending activities at the earliest.

Critical analysis:

1. The transfer of stressed assets to a bad bank will lead to capital write downs in some banks and the government will be forced to recapitalize them.

2. Another government-funded and owned bank is unlikely to do a better job of managing the mismanaged assets of other government-owned banks.

3. A bad bank should be funded by private capital and managed by specialists who focus on maximizing recovery, without political concerns and dependence.

4. PSBs may not be incentivized to sell loans to bad banks as they might be investigated for their judgments.

5. A well-capitalized, professionally-managed and time-bound bad bank could alleviate asset quality-related risk aversion among Indian PSBs.

Mission Sagar - II

1. As part of ‘Mission Sagar-II’, Indian Naval Ship Airavat entered Port Sudan recently.

2. . The Government of India is providing assistance to Friendly Foreign Countries to overcome natural calamities and COVID-19 pandemic, and towards the same INS Airavat is carrying a consignment of 100 Tonnes of food aid for the people of Sudan.

3. Mission Sagar-II, follows the first ‘Mission Sagar’ undertaken in May-June 2020, wherein India reached out to Maldives, Mauritius, Seychelles, Madagascar and Comoros, and provided food aid and medicines. As part of Mission Sagar-II, Indian Naval Ship Airavat will deliver food aid to Sudan, South Sudan, Djibouti and Eritrea.

4. Mission Sagar-II, is in line with the Prime Minister’s vision of Security and Growth for All in the Region ‘SAGAR’ and highlights the importance accorded by India to relations with her maritime neighbours and further strengthens the existing bond.

5. The Indian Navy is progressing this mission in close coordination with the Ministries of Defence and External Affairs, and other agencies of the Government of India.

MALABAR-20

1. The 24th edition of the MALABAR naval exercise is scheduled in two phases in November 2020. Phase 1 of the Exercise MALABAR 20 involving participation by Indian Navy (IN), United States Navy (USN), Japan Maritime Self Defence Force (JMSDF), and Royal Australian Navy (RAN) is set to commence off Visakhapatnam in Bay of Bengal.

2. MSDF joined MALABAR in 2015. The 2020 edition will now witness participation of the RAN in this joint maritime exercise.

3. Indian Navy units participating in the exercise include destroyer Ranvijay, frigate Shivalik, Off Shore Patrol Vessel Sukanya, Fleet Support Ship Shakti and submarine Sindhuraj. In addition, Advanced Jet Trainer Hawk, long-range maritime patrol aircraft P-8I, Dornier maritime patrol aircraft, and helicopters will also be participating in the exercise.

4. The exercise, being conducted as a ‘non-contact, at sea only’ exercise in view of COVID-19 pandemic, will showcase the high-levels of synergy and coordination between the friendly navies, which is based on their shared values and commitment to an open, inclusive Indo-Pacific and a rules-based international order.