IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-02

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India to be ‘Guest of Honour’ country at China’s import expo

News

• India will be one of the Guest of Honour Country at China’s second International Import Expo (CIIE) to be opened at Shanghai where it plans to make a strong pitch for exports of its Pharma, IT and agricultural products among others.

Guest of Honour

• An Indian business delegation headed by Commerce Secretary, Anup Wadhawan, would take part in the import expo which is aimed at enabling countries from the world over to showcase products to enhance their export to China.
• The others are Cambodia, the Czech Republic, France, Greece, Italy, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Peru, Russia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, and Zambia.
• Guests and representatives from more than 170 countries and regions have been invited to attend the expo, Vice-Minister of Commerce, Wang Bingnan, told the media ahead of the fair.
• More than 500,000 buyers and visitors from home and abroad are expected at the expo.
• The expo is composed of three parts – country exhibitions, business exhibitions and the second Hongqiao International Economic Forum.
• It covered a total area of 30,000 square meters, the country exhibitions will host 64 countries and international organisations, with uniquely designed pavilions to showcase the countries’ development achievements, business environment and special industries.
• China has held its first import expo last year amid growing protests from a number of countries, including India and U.S., complaining of unmanageable trade deficits.
• While India’s trade deficit last year climbed to over USD 57 billion in little over US 95 billion total trade, the U.S. trade deficit with China had mounted to USD 539 prompting President Donald Trump to launch a trade war last year demanding Beijing to open up.
• Last year China widely regarded as the factory of the world exported USD 2.48 trillion worth of goods while its imports jumped amounted to USD 2.14 trillion.
• The India-China bilateral trade is expected to touch for the first time USD 100 billion this year.
• From India’s point of view trade deficit with China has become a major issue.

India, Japan review situation in Indo-Pacific; resolve to ramp up cooperation in third countries

News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Japanese counterpart Shinzo Abe reviewed the evolving security scenario in the Indo-Pacific and agreed to further bolster bilateral cooperation in third countries for peace, prosperity and development in the region.

Bilateral cooperation

• The two leaders held a meeting on the sidelines of the East Asia Summit here during which China’s fast expanding military and economic expansionism in the Indo-Pacific region figured prominently among several other key issues.
• The two Prime Ministers reaffirmed their commitment towards a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific region based on a rules-based order.
• They agreed to further strengthen bilateral cooperation, including in third countries, to achieve the shared objective of peace, prosperity and progress of the Indo-Pacific region, it said in a statement.
• The two leaders also deliberated on the inaugural ‘two-plus-two’ Indo-Japan Foreign and Defence ministerial dialogue later this month in India, noting that it will help provide impetus to security and defence cooperation between the two sides.
• The leaders welcomed the increasing economic engagement between the two countries, propelled by high-level exchanges. The leaders also reviewed the progress of the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail project and reaffirmed their commitment to advance mutual efforts to facilitate the smooth implementation of the project.

India, Uzbekistan sign three defence MoUs

News

• India and Uzbekistan signed three memorandums of understanding (MoU) to enhance cooperation in military medicine and military education during the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh.
• This was the first visit by an Indian Defence Minister to Uzbekistan in about 15 years.

Enhance cooperation

• Indian Defence Minister held bilateral consultations with his Uzbekistan counterpart, Major General Bakhodir Nizamovich Kurbanov, after which they jointly presided over the curtain raiser of the first India-Uzbekistan Joint Exercise, “Dustlik 2019”.
• India has offered a concessional line of credit of $40 million for procurement of goods and services by Uzbekistan from India. The direct exchanges related to training, capacity building and education between the armed forces on both sides has also witnessed a significant upswing.
• The bilateral exercise will be conducted at Chirchiq Training Area near Tashkent and will be focused on counter-terrorism, in which “the two countries share a common concern”.
• There have been a series of high-level visits and exchanges after the visit of then Defence Minister of Uzbekistan to India in September 2018.
• Apart from the MoU on military medicine, two institution-to-institution MoUs on training and capacity building between institutes of higher military learning of the two countries were also signed.

India, Russia to conclude mutual logistics agreement

News

• India and Russia are expected to conclude a mutual logistics agreement and review the setting up of joint ventures for manufacturing spares for Russian defence platforms in India during the visit of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh to Moscow from November 5 to 7, official sources said.

Logistics agreements

• Logistics agreements are administrative arrangements facilitating access to military facilities for exchange of fuel and provisions on mutual agreement when the Indian military is operating abroad.

Supreme Court questions Delhi’s odd-even scheme

News

• The Supreme Court questioned the “logic” behind the Delhi government’s odd-even scheme, saying what is the point of banning cars with certain registered numbers to reduce pollution when “third-rate” auto rickshaws and taxis ply the roads.

Effectiveness of the scheme

• A Bench of Justices ordered the Delhi government to produce data and records of the previous years, by Friday, to show the effectiveness of the scheme launched by the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP government in Delhi.

Pakistan skips inaugural session of SCO joint exercise

News

• Pakistan did not participate in the inaugural session of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) joint exercise on urban earthquake and rescue in Delhi. The session was addressed by Union Home Minister Amit.

Joint exercise

• The exercise is the outcome of the 9th meeting of the heads of government departments of SCO countries dealing with the prevention and elimination of emergency situation in Kyrgyzstan in 2017, in which India offered to organise the next annual disaster management exercise for the region.
• The countries part of SCO are China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan and India.
• Union Home Minister said that during 1996-2015, more than 3 lakh people lost their lives due to natural calamities.
• Earthquakes have taken more than 2 lakh lives, which account for two-thirds of disaster related mortality in SCO countries. In this background, this joint exercise will be very useful for improving the collective preparedness and building a common understanding of internationally recognised procedures to co-ordinate post-earthquake response.
• The joint exercise with SCO member states would be helpful in developing personal understanding amongst counterpart teams when they would work together to tackle any disaster situation.

SC asks Punjab, Haryana, U.P. to end stubble burning immediately

News

• In a bid to save Delhi from the choking air pollution, the Supreme Court asked the governments of Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh to immediately stop their farmers from stubble burning and warned that their entire administrative and police hierarchy, from the Chief Secretary to the sarpanch to the local policeman, will be held responsible even if one instance of stubble burning occurs in the future.

Air pollution

• The court said any instance of stubble burning from now on would be penalised. It made the local and civic bodies as “personally responsible” as the errant farmer who puts fire to his crop residue.
• The dense smoke from the fires travelled to Delhi and hovered over the national capital. It had been identified as a major pollutant.
• The court ordered the Chief Secretaries of the three neighbouring States of Delhi to be present in court to explain why the governments and civic bodies should not be punished under tort law and be made to pay a hefty penalty for stubble fires seen so far this season.
• The court said the ‘Polluter Pays Principle’ does apply to the State and the local bodies.
• The court ordered the respective high-level committees of the three States to meet on the issue of extinguishing the existing stubble fires and report back to the court
• The court passed a slew of directions meant to immediately reduce pollution in Delhi National Capital Region (NCR). The immediate measures to control pollution include ban on construction and demolition activities.
• Any violation would cost Rs. 1 lakh in fine. The Bench further banned the burning of garbage in open dumps. Non-compliance would mean would Rs. 5000 in penalty.
• The court also banned the use of diesel generators in Delhi NCR for the time being. It said any industry in Delhi NCR found to use coal as fuel, despite the ban by Supreme Court, would be hauled up for contempt of court.

India storms out of RCEP, says trade deal hurts Indian farmers

News

• Seven years after India joined negotiations for the 16-nation ASEAN (Association for South East Asian Nations)-led RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership) or Free Trade Agreement, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that India was dropping out of the agreement, citing its negative effects on “farmers, MSMEs and dairy sector”.

Dropping out of the agreement

• The present form of the RCEP Agreement does not fully reflect the basic spirit and the agreed guiding principles of RCEP. It also does not address satisfactorily India’s outstanding issues and concerns. In such a situation, it is not possible for India to join RCEP Agreement, Prime Minister Modi told leaders of the other 15 nations at the RCEP summit in Bangkok.
• The summit included China, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and the 10-nation ASEAN grouping.
• A joint leaders’ statement indicated that despite India’s “unresolved” outstanding issues, other countries were prepared to go ahead with the RCEP agreement.
• RCEP negotiations were meant to create the world’s biggest free trade region that represented half the world’s population and one-third of the global GDP.

IASTODAY DAILY CAPSULES -General Studies-03

Astrosat views star formation in jellyfish galaxies

News

• Observations of a jelly fish galaxy, JW100, by Astrosat using its Ultraviolet Imaging Telescope have thrown up interesting puzzles. These puzzles involve star formation in hostile environments containing X-ray-emitting hot plasma.
• JW100 is located far away in the galaxy cluster Abell 2626. A recent work describes this analysis and poses the puzzle, vouching for the power of multiwavelength astronomy.

Jelly fish galaxies

• • Jellyfish galaxies are called so because they are shaped like discs that have many tentacle-like arms streaming away from the disc. They are formed when a disc-shaped galaxy rams into a galaxy cluster, which is a dense region containing many hundreds or thousands of galaxies packed into a small region. This can happen when the galaxy is attracted by the gravitational attraction of the cluster.
  • As the individual galaxy rams into the galaxy cluster, the cold gas in its disc interacts with the hot plasma in the cluster. Acting like a strong wind, the plasma in the cluster strips away the cold molecular gas of the disc, causing it to stream behind like tentacles.
  • Unlike usual galaxies that have stars forming in the disc, the jellyfish galaxies have star formation in the tentacles also.
  • The jellyfish galaxies’ tentacles contain a very hostile environment as they interact with the galaxy clusters that are rich in X-ray emitting hot plasma.

India attaches importance to Myanmar’s cooperation against insurgent groups: PM Modi to Suu Kyi

News

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi has conveyed to Myanmar’s State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi about the importance India attaches to her country’s cooperation in ensuring that insurgent groups do not find space to operate across the India-Myanmar border.
• The Prime Minister also conveyed to Ms. Suu Kyi about India’s readiness to expand its socio-economic projects in the country’s Rakhine State, months after New Delhi implemented a housing project in the restive province.

Cooperation

• • The two leaders also agreed that a stable and peaceful border was an important anchor for the continued expansion of bilateral partnership. The Prime Minister also emphasised the value India attaches to Myanmar’s cooperation in ensuring that insurgent groups do not find space to operate across the India-Myanmar border.
  • Myanmar is one of India’s strategic neighbours and shares a 1,640-km-long border with a number of northeastern States including militancy-hit Nagaland and Manipur.
  • According to security agencies, there were over 50 camps of insurgent groups from the northeast in Myanmar till last year.
  • The Indian and Myanmar armies carried out a three-week-long coordinated operation from May 16 in their respective border areas, targeting several militant groups operating in Manipur, Nagaland and Assam.
  • During the talks, Mr. Modi also emphasised the speedy, safe and sustainable return of displaced people from Bangladesh to their homes in the Rakhine State was in the interests of the region, the displaced persons, and all three neighbouring countries (India, Bangladesh and Myanmar).
  • An estimated 7,00,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar’s Rakhine State since 2017 after large-scale violence following a military crackdown. The exodus of refugees in large numbers has resulted in a major crisis in neighbouring Bangladesh.
  • In July, India handed over 250 prefabricated houses it had built in the Rakhine State to the Myanmar government, in an effort to encourage Rohingya Muslims to return to their homeland.
  • Prime Minister expressed India’s readiness to carry out more socio-economic projects in the Rakhine State.
  • The two leaders also agreed that people-to-people connectivity would help expand the base of the partnership, and therefore welcomed the expansion of air connectivity between the two countries, and the growing interest of India’s businesses in Myanmar, including India’s plans to host a business event for the CLMV countries (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam) in Yangon next month.

BSF tracks earth, water and air on Bangladesh border

News

• The Border Security Force (BSF) has literally gone underground to keep a watch on trafficking in the Dhubri sector of the India-Bangladesh border. It has also placed eyes in the sky.

India-Bangladesh border

• The border force has procured an unspecified number of Israeli tether drones for the Dhubri sector that stretches from Meghalaya to Cooch Behar in West Bengal. Tethered to a base for continuous supply of power, these drones worth ₹37 lakh each are equipped with day-and-night vision cameras that can capture images within a range of 2 km.
• Five States Assam, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura and West Bengal share a 4,096-km border with Bangladesh. Of the 263 km that Assam shares, 119.1 km is riverine.
• The 61-km border in western Assam’s Dhubri sector where the expansive Brahmaputra river flows into Bangladesh is arguably the toughest to man. Vast sandbars or river islands and innumerable water channels make surveillance a challenge, especially during the rainy season.
• The difference between a normal drone and a tether drone is that the former needs to be brought down after 30 minutes of flying for a battery change and can be blown away by strong winds.
• Apart from the drones, the BSF has employed thermal-imagers non-contact temperature measurement devices and both underground and underwater sensors to detect movement of people, animals and other objects.
• Smugglers often use the Brahmaputra and its channels to smuggle drugs and cough syrups sealed in polythene and stuck to the bottom of boats or below a raft. Smugglers are also known to have used children using hollow papaya stems as snorkels to breathe underwater while guiding cattle across the border.
• The BSF personnel have been seizing at least a dozen cattle every month in the Dhubri sector. These are handed over to the police who either entrust with authorised NGOs or auction them.
• The BSF’s use of gadgets is part of the Comprehensive Integrated Border Management System to ensure foolproof security.

Australian researchers mount rescue bid for endangered pygmy possum

News

• Climate change is threatening to wipe out Australia’s critically endangered mountain pygmy possum, but researchers are hoping to save the hibernating species by relocating the last remaining mammals to cooler lowlands.

Critically endangered

• The tiny mammal lives in alpine regions but less than 2,500 remain in the wild, according to estimates, with winter snowfall declines and warmer weather threatening extinction.
• The possums hibernate deep inside humid rock piles that are insulated by snow during winter and provide shelter from high summer temperatures that can prove fatal.
• Scientists at UNSW have started a breeding program in a lowland area of New South Wales state in an attempt to acclimatise the possums to a new home, with hopes of establishing an inital colony of 25 animals.
• The mountain pygmy possum is also under pressure as numbers of its primary post-hibernation food source the bogong moth  are dwindling, apparently also due to climate change and drought.

Indian Army to have first Dhanush regiment by March 2020

News

• The Indian Army, which began inducting the indigenously upgraded Dhanush artillery guns, will have the first regiment in place by March 2020 and will get all 114 guns by 2022.

Dhanush artillery guns

• Dhanush is the indigenously upgraded variant of the Swedish Bofors gun imported in the 1980s.
• In April, the Ordnance Factory Board had handed over the first batch of six Dhanush guns. The Gun Carriage Factory, Jabalpur, received the Bulk Production Clearance to manufacture 114 guns from the Army on February 18, 2019.
• The Defence Ministry had stated earlier that indigenisation to the extent of about 81%, has “already been achieved” and by the end of 2019, the level of indigenisation in the manufacture of the gun “will go up to 91%.”
• Dhanush is a 155 mm, 45-calibre towed artillery gun with a range of 36km and has demonstrated a range of 38 km with specialised ammunition. It is an upgrade of the existing 155m, 39 calibre Bofors FH 77 gun.
• The Army recently procured 155mm Excalibur precision guided ammunition from the U.S. having the ability for targeted artillery strikes at extended ranges. Sources said the ammunition can be used with all 155-mm artillery guns in the inventory.
• The gun is fitted with an inertial navigation system having global positioning system (GPS)-based gun recording and auto-laying, an enhanced tactical computer for on-board ballistic computations, an on-board muzzle velocity recording, an automated gun sighting system equipped with camera, thermal imaging, and laser range finder.
• After close to three decades, the Army inducted its first modern artillery guns system in November last year. These include M-777 Ultra Light Howitzers (ULH) from the U.S. and K9 Vajra-T self-propelled artillery guns from South Korea.

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