DAILY CURRENT AFFAIRS 30 AUGUST 2019

August 30, 2019 Unlabelled

   IMPORTANT TOPICS FOR TODAY 

                             http://dailycurrentaffairs-sumit.blogspot.com 
BY SUMIT BHARDWAJ                                                       30 August 2019

1.Those excluded from final NRC will get a window of 10 months(GS-2)

2.RBI says lack of domestic demand affecting ‘animal spirits’ of economy(GS-3)



3.Russia set to offer submarines during Modi-Putin summit(GS-1,2)


  • CONTEXT:Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft also likely to be offered
  • Russia is likely to offer India its conventional submarines on the government-to-government route under the Navy’s Project-75I at the summit between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and President Vladimir Putin at Vladivostok next week, Russian officials said.
  • “Russian conventional submarines will be offered through the government-to-government route to India at the summit. This will save a lot of time in the procurement process,” one official said.
  • “The possibility of offering India the Su-57, the Russian Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), is also being explored, but it has not been decided yet,” he said.
  • INDIA RUSSIA RELATIONS:
  • In a Nutshell
  • India-Russia diplomatic relations are now 70-years-old.
  • A key pillar of India’s foreign policy has been the cultivation of relations with Russia.
  • The substantive relationship was cemented when the two countries signed the Declaration on the India-Russia Strategic Partnership in October 2000.
  • In December 2010, the Strategic Partnership was elevated to the level of a Special and Privileged Strategic Partnership.
  • India-Russia ties in the post-Soviet era have acquired a qualitatively new character with enhanced levels of cooperation in almost all areas of the bilateral relationship including political, security, trade and economy, defense, science and technology, and culture.
  • Introduction: India-Russia Bilateral Relations over the Decades
  • India and the Soviet Union (USSR)
  • Trust and mutual interests are at the base of India’s relationship with the former Soviet Union/Russian federation.
  • In the years after its independence, India gained industrially from the USSR which provided a base for its future growth. Starting in the 1950s, India received from the Soviet Union generous assistance for its industrialization. Its development in the areas of defense, space and atomic energy had Soviet capital and knowhow. India was short of capital, foreign exchange and technology; Soviet Union filled the gaps in India’s development story letting India pay for projects in rupees through a special arrangement.
  • India got reliable, affordable and good quality military supplies and crucial products like oil and oil products, fertilizers, metals etc. India’s emerging Public Sector (PSUs) was scripted with Soviet help. India’s relationship with USSR helped India in many ways to become more self-reliant.
  • During the Cold War and non-alignment decades, India was dependent on the USSR on strategic issues such as the Jammu and Kashmir problem. Support of Soviet Union has been behind India’s space, technological and nuclear advancement. The Indo-Soviet Friendship Treaty of 1971 (in the wake of 1971 Indo-Pak war where Russia supported India while the US and China supported Pakistan) supplied the framework to deepen the cooperation. Military-technical cooperation has indeed been at the centre of this bilateral relationship.
  • The 1990s: India and Post-Soviet Russia
  • In the 1990s, in the wake of USSR’s disintegration and rising Atlanticism in Russian foreign policy orientation, Russia looked up to the West and cut its third world engagements. It started on a difficult transition to a market economy to become a ‘normal’, ‘capitalist’ nation like the Western countries. The decline of Soviet military-industrial complex, its ‘shock therapy’ for transition to capitalism forced by the geopolitical developments led to change in content of bilateral relations and the two countries drifted apart for some time. However, the two countries have remained friends during the turbulent decade of 90s and later.
  • Post-Soviet India-Russia Relations after Putin: Contours and Interests
  • In the Soviet era, political, military and economic policies of the USSR were seen through the overriding Marxist-Leninist framework. But after the de-ideologization of the Russian foreign and security policy framework post 1991, it was Russia’s economic interests that superseded ideology which altered the board for countries like India. The bilateral relations had to undergo some pragmatic renewal (also given the liberalization of India in 1991), based on realistic possibilities and the legitimate interests of both sides with an emphasis on economics.
  • Russia, a vast nation of eleven time zones, made a remarkable comeback under President Putin after a turbulent decade of economic and political instability in the wake of the Soviet Union disintegration. Russia, under Putin, has been seeking the lost ‘great power status’ asserting itself on the regional and global stage. The nationalist surge was particularly emboldened by the rising oil revenues which helped Russia’s economic fortunes. Even though a Cold War era hostility has been ruled out, Russia has been trying to stand up to the West and NATO expansion in its ‘near abroad’ (independent republics which were once part of Soviet Union).
  • There has been a marked improvement in Indo-Russian relations that had suffered setback after the collapse of the Soviet Union. Bilateral high-level visits have been institutionalized and mutual visits by heads of state are a norm than an exception. India (with Pakistan) became a full member of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) and it also engages with Russia in the BRICS forum.
  • Indian military continues to depend on Russian hardware although the dependence is reinventing itself to one of partnership and joint production than the usual supplier-client relation. Countries like the US aspire to be India’s defense supplier as India is one of the world’s most lucrative arms market. Of late, Russia has turned to Pakistan for arms sales but nothing serious has materialized yet; Pakistan was also accommodated as a full member of the SCO.
  • The growing strategic dimensions of India-Russia bilateral relationship is grounded in the foundations of converging security interests at the global and regional levels. India supports Russia’s call for multi-polarity, multilateralism and reforms in the UN Security Council. Russia supports India’s candidature for a seat in the Security Council (UNSC) as India seeks a greater role for itself in the international system.
  • Russia’s Emphasis on a Multipolar world
  • Both Russia and India support the concept of a multi-polar world, an idea shared by China and many others.
  • This vision supports the co-existence of multiple powers and possibilities in the international system; a collective security that is inclusive; it supports greater regionalism to foster common regional interest; it supports negotiated settlements and the possibility of independent foreign policy; and also that international decisions be made through bodies like the UN which should be strengthened, democratised and empowered. It suits a rising Russia which sulks its loss of ‘great power status’ and a rising India which aspires for a permanent seat at the UNSC and enhanced status in the global arena.
  • It is not a coincidence that all Cold war institutions that Russia inherited as the successor state to the Soviet Union, such as the COMECON and the Warsaw Pact, have collapsed. But the US-led Cold War regime remains intact. NATO not only remains but has been strengthened and touches the Russian borders. The US walked out of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty. The US constantly critiques Russia on its democracy. The US challenges Russian influence in Central Asian republics, its policy on Iran, and most of all, its aspirations with China for a multi-polar world. Anti-Americanism in Russian foreign policy is not a dogma, it is often a need. India has to balance itself between Russia and the US, both of who look up to it for cooperation and engagement.
  • Russian and Indian interests converge with respect to global foreign policy landscape where both seek a rise in their profile. Russia’s foreign relations are more unstable now than ever (given its support for Syria, a suspected nerve agent attack in the UK, its meddling in the US elections, continuing US sanctions for annexation of Crimea in 2014)and it needs a stable partner like India.
  • Russia’s Domestic Problems which attract International Criticism
  • The post-Soviet surge in the Russian economy was also linked to a power struggle within – redistribution of wealth (centralisation and reprivatisation), especially in the energy sector and even in military industrial complex.
  • Corruption is rife with little transparency in the decision-making system in Russia. Its judicial system is weak and requires reforms. There has been considerable opposition against the leadership for adopting autocratic tendencies, backsliding on democracy, curbing free press, encouraging nationalism and xenophobia while using energy as a powerful weapon of foreign policy. In May 2018, Putin was sworn in as Russia's president for a fourth term, extending his almost two-decade rule by another six years at a time of high tension with the West.
  • Recent Security Concerns in Russia-India Bilateral Relationship
  • There are emerging concerns in India-Russia bilateral relations. The most important of which is Pakistan. Russia, of late, is courting Pakistan as India inches closer to the West. For example, Pakistan was also admitted as a full member of the SCO alongwith India in 2017.
  • Most recently (February, 2018), a Balochistan rebel leader gave an interview in Moscow blaming India for the trouble in the region. Russia has expressed its willingness to help Pakistan augment its ‘anti-terror capabilities’, a modest phrase for arms sales. India has repeatedly asked Russia not to sell arms to Pakistan.
  • India is also part of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue (Quad) with US, Japan and Australia seeking a viable balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region which raises some eyebrows in Russia. Russia is also said to be cozying up to China. It has also suggested India to join China’s Belt and Road Initiative which India maintains transgresses its sovereignty. Russia has also showed willingness in joining Pakistan and China in giving legitimacy to Afghan Taliban.
  • India is the biggest market for arms and Russia has been the traditional supplier. Now India is looking up to the West, particularly to the US and Israel, and because of this Russia is finding new allies and markets as it feels slightly alienated. Russia still has substantial military-technical engagements with India which will nevertheless continue. Russia as such, appears to be trying to balance its South Asia relations rather than abandon its traditional strategic partner India even as it cultivates new partners and engagements.
  • Conclusion: Enduring Partnership
  • The fact is that Russia has been a long standing, significant partner of India. The bilateral relationship with Russia forms a cornerstone of India’s foreign policy and it is likely to continue so despite occasional concerns. The two countries have a political understanding underpinned by a strong economic and strategic relationship which continues to evolve and endure.
  • On the trade front, the two countries need to up the ante. India has to concentrate on export of its strength areas (sectors such as IT/ITeS, pharmaceuticals and healthcare) while gaining from Russia’s expertise in nuclear technology, defence, energy and hydrocarbons so that efforts like Make in India, Digital India and Smart Cities get aligned with India-Russia bilateral relationship.
  • There are certain concerns that India is looking up to the West and trying to replace Pakistan as US pivot in the South Asian region as it aspires for Western defence equipment (including aircrafts) and Russia is warming up to Pakistan to counter the US in Afghanistan and Central Asia. Despite the concerns, if the two countries keep playing the balancing game the bilateral relations will endure.
  • Most recently, PM Modi and President Putin had a fruitful informal meeting in Sochi in late May 2018 where the two discussed bilateral and regional issues including BRICS and the International North-South Transport Corridor. These talks have been labelled ‘extremely productive’.
  • India-Russia Relationship: A Timeline
  • Pre-Independence Period
  • The deep roots of this relationship go back to the early 20th century when India was under British rule and the Czars ruled over Russia. The Russian Revolution of 1905 inspired Indian freedom fighters.
  • Gandhi developed a close connection with Russia and carried on lengthy correspondence with Leo Tolstoy.
  • Russia's communist leader V.I. Lenin followed with interest and sympathy the rising Indian freedom struggle.
  • Nehru visited the Soviet Union in 1927, on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of the Bolshevik Revolution, and he came back deeply impressed with the Soviet experiment. He was convinced that a poor developing country like India needed to follow not the capitalist path but a socialistic one.
  • India-Russia Relations Since 1947: Important Landmarks
  • In 1947, the Stalin led Soviet Union became one of the first countries to recognize India‘s independence.
  • Even before India became independent, an official announcement was made on 13 April 1947 on the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and the Soviet Union.
  • The Soviet Union also showed great interest in Pakistan which instead showed more interest in an alliance with the West instead of Soviet Union. Soviets became pro-India since then, evidenced by their coming to more neutral positions on Kashmir and Goa.
  • After Stalin’s death in 1953, Nikita Khrushchev showed greater interest in aiding countries with a mixed economy. India also got substantial assistance from USSR during the Khrushchev period.
  • Soviet Union used its veto power for the first time to block anti-India initiatives on Jammu & Kashmir (first in February 1957 and then again in June 1962) and Goa (in December 1961).
  • IIT Bombay was established in 1958 with assistance from UNESCO and the Soviet Union and was stocked with Soviet equipment.
  • The Soviets declared their neutrality during the 1962 Sino-Indian War and helped broker a peace agreement during the 1965 India-Pakistani border war.
  • In 1962, the USSR agreed to transfer the then-cutting edge technology to co-produce the MiG-21 jet fighter in India (something which was denied to China earlier).
  • The military-technical assistance the USSR was providing to India came with the advantage of payment in nonconvertible rupees through a rupee-rouble credit fund set up by the Soviets, thereby saving scarce foreign currency.
  • Indian debts to the USSR could be paid back in goods as per the agreement between the two nations. So, traditional export commodities like Indian tea, leather, textile goods, and agricultural products dotted many a Soviet household (apart from the Raj Kapur films popular in the USSR).
  • In the initial decades, Five-year plans in India coincided with or were preceded by a new loan by USSR.
  • India got assistance in the sector of industrial technology, with the Soviets building dozens of factories throughout India for producing heavy machinery, for manufacturing of steel some of which was also exported to the USSR, for generating power, and for extracting and refining oil.
  • USSR also played a major role in building India’s energy sector by building hydropower stations, developing India’s coal industry and finding oil in Indian soil. USSR also helped in setting up India’s energy major ONGC.
  • Estimates say that between 1955 and 1970 Indian imports from the Soviet Union increased more than 100 times, and exports to the Soviet Union more than 50 times. Also, 70,000 skilled workers were trained at joint Indo-Soviet centres in India.
  • During the 1971 Indo-Pak war, the Soviet Union cast three vetoes in the UN Security Council to block attempts to stop India from its ongoing military campaign.
  • Soviet diplomatic backing and material support and the confidence provided by the 1971 Indo-Soviet Treaty of Peace, Friendship and Cooperation enabled India to successfully undertake the operations in 1971 that led to the creation of Bangladesh.
  • The 1971 treaty contained a pledge of military assistance; it was a significant departure from India‘s stance of nonalignment.
  • ISRO built India's first satellite, Aryabhata, which was launched by the Soviet Union on 19 April 1975.
  • Rakesh Sharma became the first Indian in space in 1984, when he flew aboard the Soviet spacecraft Soyuz T-11.
  • In 1991, about 70% of Indian army’s armaments, 80% of its air force systems, and 85% of its naval platforms were of Soviet origin.
  • In 1991, two watershed moments happened — economic liberalisation was introduced in India, and the Soviet Union was dissolved.
  • Soviet disintegration was met with shock and disbelief in Indian foreign policy circles. In the early 1990s, discussions were about managing India‘s rupee-rouble debt that had accumulated over the years of the Soviet Union’s favourable trade policy.
  • When Vladimir Putin became Russia’s President in 2000, the bilateral ties were put on a solid foundation again after about a decade of post-Soviet confusion and stagnation.
  • Russia-India defence relationship has begun to move beyond the buyer-seller model to a more cooperative relationship with joint research, design, and production.
  • The manufacture and supply of tanks and missiles (T-90 and BrahMos), ships and submarines (the Talwar-class stealth frigates), the aircraft-carrier Vikramaditya and the nuclear submarine (Arihant), jetfighter and early airborne warning aircraft (Sukhoi 30MKI and IL-76) are all examples of such cooperation.
  • India and Russia historically enjoyed ties in the cultural sphere: long-term scholarly and student exchanges, culture festivals, and art exhibits, observance of Year of Russia in India and vice versa.
  • Indo-Russian energy cooperation has acquired new dimensions particularly in the hydrocarbon and nuclear sector. In August 2017, Russia’s largest oil producer, Rosneft acquired Essar Oil refinery and port (Vadinar, Gujarat) in a $12.9-billion deal.
  • India-Russia Civil Nuclear Cooperation is an important dimension in the strategic partnership and includes transfer of nuclear power reactors (over twenty reactors to be built in twenty years), fuel supply agreement, fuel supply assurance, agreement to transfer reprocessing technology and enriched technology. This developing Eurasian grid of peaceful Nuclear production and consumption could also be extended to other countries in future deepening the bilateral cooperation.
  • India’s investments in Russia’s oil and gas industry is presently around $8 billion. It is likely to reach $15 billion by 2020, with India set to acquire an almost 50 per cent stake in the Rosneft Siberian oil project.
  • In October, 2016 (Goa), the two adopted a Joint Statement, “Partnership for Global Peace and Stability” which resulted in 19 cooperation agreements in areas including defence, space, trade and investment, hydrocarbons and railways.
  • In 2016, India announced a $5.5 billion deal with Russia to purchase the S-400 Triumf air defence system. Russia could deliver it in 2018.
  • The weakest link in Indo-Russian cooperation remains the low volume of trade. The goal is of boosting bilateral trade to US$30 billion by 2025.
  • On 21 May 2018, PM Modi had extremely productive discussions with President Putin in Sochi. The complete range of India-Russia relations was reviewed as well as other global subjects.

4.Train 18 no less an achievement than Chandrayaan’(GS-3)

  • CONTEXT:Architect of Vande Bharat Express seeks a working environment 'free from fear'
  • The architect of Train 18 and Southern Railway’s Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer (PCME) Shubhranshu has called for a working environment that is “free from fear, suspicion and inter-departmental conflicts” to deliver Vande Bharat Express trains to the nation as desired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
  • In a letter to Chairman of the Railway Board V.K. Yadav, the officer said while Mr. Modi in his Independence Day address urged the Indian Railways to roll out more Vande Bharat Express trains for the people, the third rake itself of the iconic train was nowhere in sight.
TRAIN 18

  • Train 18 (VANDE BHARAT EXPRESS):
1. Driven by a self-propulsion module sans a separate locomotive, Train 18 or T18, is capable of running at a speed of up to 160 kmph. Train 18 comes with technical features for enhanced quick acceleration.

2. The swanky 16-coach prototype without a locomotive (engine) will cut travel time by 15 per cent compared to the Shatabdi Express.

3. Developed by Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory in 18 months, the fully AC train is designed in such a way that passengers can see the driver's cabin.

4. The estimated cost of each Train 18 vehicle is Rs 100 crore. Indian Railways' Integrated Coach Factory General Manager Sudhanshu Mani said that subsequent production would bring down the cost compared to its current prototype.

5. Train 18 will be unveiled on October 29. A trial will be conducted for three to four days. The trial will be conducted outside the factory after which the train would be handed over to the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for further trials.

6. The self-propelled train, fitted with CCTV cameras, would have two executive compartments in the middle with 52 seats each whereas trailer coaches would have 78 seats each.

7. Though the maximum speed of Train 18 is 160 kmph against 130 kmph of Shatabdi, the issue could be the suitability of the existing tracks. The tracks are being improved and once the tracks are fit to suit Train 18's speed, it would reduce travel time by around 15 per cent compared to Shatabdi.

8. Train 18 has diffused lighting, automatic doors and footsteps beside GPS-based Passenger Information System.

9. The footstep in a coach's doorway slides outward when the train stops at a station enabling passengers to alight safely with comfort. The footstep would adjust to the variation in height between a train's floor and the platform.

10. Shatabdi was introduced in 1988 and is presently running on over 20 routes connecting metros with other important cities.

5.Centre releases RS47,436 crore to 27 States for afforestation(GS-2,3)

  • CONTEXT:These funds have been collected as compensation from industry, which has razed forest land for its business plans.
  • The Union Environment Ministry on Thursday transferred RS47,436 crore to 27 States for afforestation. These are long-pending dues part of the Compensatory Afforestation Fund (CAF), a RS54,000 crore tranche that has been collected for nearly a decade as environmental compensation from industry, which has razed forest land for its business plans.
  • Economic value
  • The amount to be paid by industry depends on the economic value of the goods and services that the razed forest would have provided. These include timber, bamboo, firewood, carbon sequestration, soil conservation, water recharge, and seed dispersal. Industrialists pay this money and this is eventually transferred to the States concerned to carry out afforestation.
  • Only a fraction of this corpus had actually been disbursed to States, due to the lack of a legal framework and instances of States using it for non-forestry purposes.
  • The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act, 2016:
  • An Act to provide for the establishment of funds under the public accounts of India and the public accounts of each State and crediting thereto the monies received from the user agencies towards compensatory afforestation, additional compensatory afforestation, penal compensatory afforestation, net present value and all other amounts recovered from such agencies under the Forest (Conservation) Act, 1980; constitution of an authority at national level and at each of the State and Union territory Administration for administration of the funds and to utilise the monies so collected for undertaking artificial regeneration (plantations), assisted natural regeneration, protection of forests, forest related infrastructure development, Green India Programme, wildlife protection and other related activities and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

6.National Sports Day: History, significance and Fit India Movement

  • EVery year on August 29, India celebrates its National sports day. The day is celebrated to honor the legendary hockey player Major Dhyan Chand Singh. THE day is observed to spread awareness on the importance of sports and daily activities in everyone's life.
  • This year, on the occasion of National Sports Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched the 'Fit India Movement' . He has asked everyone to take up sports as it has a direct connection with fitness and fitness is necessary for a healthy life.
  • History of National Sports Day
  • Dhyan Chand Singh joined the army at an early age and learned the game of hockey from his coach Pankaj Gupta. He quickly picked up the technique of ball dribbling which led him to became the captain of the Indian Hockey team. Due to his extraordinary skills, he was named as 'Chand'.
  • During his sports career, he has won 3 Olympic medals and till date, he remains the only hockey player who has won Padma Bhushan award. His lifetime awards and achievements in sports are considered as the highest point in the history of Indian sports
  • National Sports Day 2019
  • Just like every year, this year too, two athletes have been nominated by the Selection Committee for sports awards in highest sporting honor in the country - Khel Ratna.
  • Wrestler Bajrang Punia and Rio Paralympics silver medalist Deepa Malik has been nominated for the award.
  • Fit India Movement:
  • On the occasion of National Sports Day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the 'Fit India Campain'. It is a nationwide campaign and it aims to encourage people to inculcate physical activity and sports in their everyday lives.
  • UGC has issued a letter to inform all the universities to prepare for the 'Fit India Movement'. A committee comprising government officials, members of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), national sports federations, private bodies, and fitness promoters was also formed to advise the government on the Fit India Movement.
  • The 28-member committee, under the chairmanship of sports minister Kiren Rijiju, has 12 members from the government, including secretaries of Sports, Secondary Education, Ayush, Youth Affairs, among others

7.T.N.’s Dindigul lock and Kandangi saree get GI tag(GS-3)


                        Dindigul lock

  • The lock is known throughout the world for its superior quality and durability while the cotton saree is characterised by large contrast borders

  • Two well-known products from Tamil Nadu — Dindigul lock and Kandangi saree — have been given the Geographical Indication (GI) tag by The Geographical Indications Registry in Chennai.

    • Kandangi saree
  • The application for the lock was made by the Dindigul Lock, Hardware and Steel Furniture Workers Industrial Co-operative Society Limited. The Amarar Rajeev Gandhi Handloom Weavers Co-operative Production and Sales Society Limited filed the application for the Kandangi saree.
  • GI tag:
  • What is GI status?
  • GI status is an indication that identifies goods as produced from a particular area, which has special quality or reputation attributable to its geographical origin.
  • GI-branded goods possess a recall value amongst consumers who essentially attribute these characteristics, qualities or reputation to such geographical origin.
  • Importance of GI Tag:
  • GI tag helps the producers to differentiate their products from competing products in the mark.
  • It enables the producers to build a reputation and goodwill around their products, which often fetch a premium price.
  • The products help in export earning, promotion of tourism, cultural heritage and national identity.
  • For example Kanjeevaram silk sarees and Pochampally Ikat contribute to exports and popularity.
  • GIs have great potential to play a major role in trade between countries.
  • Legal protection to GIs protect livelihoods and encourage employment
  • Owing to the premium prices that many GIs command today, there is a possibility of preserving many traditional skills.
  • Benefit to the rural economy by improving the incomes of farmers or nonfarmers.
  • GI allows genuine producers to capture the market and creates entry barriers for fakes.
  • Key Facts:
  • Under Paris Convention for the Protection of Industrial Property, GIs are covered as an element of IPRs.
  • GI is governed by WTO’s Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS).
  • In India, GI tag is governed by Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection Act), 1999.
  • This Act is administered by Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, who is also Registrar of Geographical Indications.
  • GI Tags products (2019):
  • 14 products that got a GI tag this year:
  • Odisha – Kandhamal Haldi
  • Himachal Pradesh – Kala Zeera
  • Chhattisgarh – Jeeraphool Rice
  • Karnataka – Coorg Arabica Coffee
  • Andhra Pradesh – Araku Valley Arabica
  • Kerala – Wayanad Robusta Coffee
  • Karnataka- Sirsi Supari
  • Challenges:
  • The special treatment to wines and spirits in TRIPS Agreement appears to be developed country centric.
  • Developing countries, including India, seek the same higher level of protection for all GIs as was given under TRIPS for wines and spirits.
  • The battle for GI tag between states.
  • False use of geographical indications by unauthorized parties is detrimental to consumers and legitimate producers.
  • Cheap Power loom saris are sold as reputed Banarsi handloom saris, harming both the producers and consumers.
  • Such unfair business practices result in loss of revenue for the genuine right-holders of the GI and also misleads consumers.
  • Protection of GI has, over the years, emerged as one of the most contentious IPR issues.
  • Way Forward:
  • The benefits of GI tag is realised only when these products are effectively marketed and protected against illegal copying.
  • Effective marketing and protection requires quality assurance, brand creation, post-sale consumer feedback and support, prosecuting unauthorised copiers, etc.
  • For internationally recognised products like Darjeeling tea, international protection is of crucial importanc
  • Legal protection to GIs also extends to protection of traditional knowledge and traditional cultural expression contained in the products.
  • Hence Intellectual Property is a power tool for economic development and wealth creation particularly in the developing world.
  • GIs have the potential to be our growth engine. Policy-makers must pay a heed to this and give Indian GI products their true reward.

8.UN warns of rising seas, storm surges(GS-3)

  • CONTEXT:
  • Draft report says rising global ocean waterline could displace 250 million people by 2100
  • The same oceans that nourished human evolution are poised to unleash misery on a global scale unless the carbon pollution destabilising Earth’s marine environment is brought to heel, warns a draft UN report obtained by AFP.
  • Destructive changes already set in motion could see a steady decline in fish stocks, a hundred-fold or more increase in the damages caused by superstorms, and hundreds of millions of people displaced by rising seas, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) “special report” on oceans and Earth's frozen zones, known as the cryosphere. As the 21st century unfolds, melting glaciers will first give too much and then too little to billions who depend on them for fresh water, it finds.
  • The 900-page scientific assessment is the fourth such tome from the UN in less than a year, with others focused on a 1.5-Celsius cap on global warming, the state of biodiversity, and how to manage forests and the global food system.
  • Extreme events
  • By 2050, many low-lying megacities and small island nations will experience “extreme sea level events” every year, the report concludes.
  • Even if the world manages to cap global warming at two degrees Celsius, the global ocean waterline will rise enough to displace more 250 million people.
  • The report indicated this could happen as soon as 2100, though some experts think it is more likely to happen on a longer timescale.
  • Humanity should brace itself for some serious blowback over this century and beyond from the oceans and Earth's frozen zones, known as the cryosphere, according to the draft of a major UN report obtained by AFP.
  • Our longtime habit of loading the atmosphere with planet-warming CO2 has spawned a host of consequences, starting with irreversible sea-level rise, according to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) "Special Report".
  • Here are key points from the draft Summary for Policymakers, slated for release in Monaco on September 25.
  • Oceans
  • The ocean has absorbed about a quarter of manmade greenhouse gases since the 1980s and more than 90 percent of the extra heat they generate in the atmosphere. As a result, it has become warmer, more acidic, and less salty.
  • OXYGEN: The concentration of life-giving oxygen in marine environments has dropped two percent in 60 years, and is on track to lose another 3-4 percent by 2100 at current rates of carbon pollution.
  • HEATWAVES: The frequency, intensity and extent of marine heatwaves like those that devastated Australia's Great Barrier Reef have all increased, with ocean hot spells twice as likely today as during the 1980s. Globally, the corals upon which half-a-billion people depend for food and protection are unlikely to survive surface warming of two degrees Celsius above preindustrial levels. The planet has warmed 1C so far.
  • EL NINOS: A doubling in the frequency of extreme El Ninos—which drive forest fires, cause disease outbreaks and affect cyclones—is expected if emissions are not cut.
  • SEA LEVEL: The ocean watermark will rise for centuries no matter what action humanity takes. Compared to the late 20th-century, seas will likely rise some 43 centimetres by 2100 if global warming is capped at 2C, and 84 cm on current trends, which would see the world warm 3C to 4C.
  • In the absence of major adaptation efforts, annual flood damage caused by sea level rise is expected to increase 100 to 1,000 fold by 2100.
  • In the 22nd century, the pace of sea level rise is likely to increase 100 fold from 3.6 millimetres per year today to "several centimetres" annually.
  • FOOD: Food supply from shallow tropical waters could decline by 40 percent by 2100 due to warming, temperature stratification and acidification.
  • Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):
  • The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific government body under the United Nations set up at the request of the member governments, dedicated to providing the world with an objective, scientific view of climate change and its political and economic impacts on the nations.
  • It was first established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme and later endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly. Membership of the IPCC is open to all members of the WMO and the UNEP. The IPCC produces reports that support the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is the main international treaty on climate change.
  • The main objective of UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. IPCC reports cover the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation.

9.Skull find in Ethiopia yields new clues on how humans evolved(GS-1,3)

Facial reconstructions show a hominid with cheekbones projected forward, a prominent jaw, a flat nose and a narrow forehead(SOURCE:AFP)
  • CONTEXT:Addis Ababa (AFP) - A "remarkably complete" 3.8-million-year-old skull of an early human has been unearthed in Ethiopia, scientists announced Wednesday, a discovery that has the potential to alter our understanding of human evolution.
  • The skull, known as "MRD", was discovered not far from the younger Lucy -- the ancient ancestor of modern humans -- and shows that the two species may have co-existed for about 100,000 years.
  • "This skull is one of the most complete fossils of hominids more than 3 million years old," said Yohannes Haile-Selassie, the renowned Ethiopian paleoanthropologist of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History who is a co-author of two studies published Wednesday in the journal Nature.

  • It "looks set to become another celebrated icon of human evolution," joining the ranks of other high-profile hominid findings, Fred Spoor of the Natural History Museum of London wrote in a commentary accompanying the studies.
  • "Toumai" (of the species Sahelanthropus tchadensis) is around 7 million years old and is considered by some paleontologists to be the first representative of the human lineage. It was discovered in Chad in 2001.
  • Ardi (for Ardipithecus ramidus, another species of hominid) was found in Ethiopia in 1994 and is believed to be around 4.5 million years old.
  • And Lucy, the famous Australopithecus afarensis, was discovered in Ethiopia in 1974 and is 3.2 million years old.
  • Australopithecus afarensis is one of the longest-lived and most studied early human species.
  • The new skull, MRD, belongs to the species Australopithecus anamensis.
  • Discovered in February 2016 at the site of Woranso-Mille, just 55 kilometres (34 miles) from where Lucy was found in the Afar region of northeastern Ethiopia, MRD offers "the first glimpse of the face of Lucy's ancestor," according to a statement announcing the finding.
  • Other lesser-known Australopithecus fossils date back at least 3.9 million years, but they featured only jaws and teeth. Without the skull, scientists' understanding of the evolution of these extinct hominids has remained limited.

10.Two new species of eels discovered (GS-1,3)

  • Two new species of marine eel were discovered and documented this month by the Estuarine Biology Regional Centre (EBRC) of the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) at Gopalpur in Odisha. One of them is a short brown unpatterned moray eel now named Gymnothorax andamanensis. Two specimens of this eel were caught in two metre deep waters off the south Andaman coast by J. Praveenraj of the Division of Fisheries Science, ICAR Central Island Agricultural Research Institute, Port Blair, on March 18. It had been sent to ZSI Gopalpur for identification. Anil Mohapatra, a scientist at Gopalpur ZSI, and his colleague Swarup Ranjan, after a detailed study, identified the specimens as a complete new species.
  • Biodiversity hotspot :Recently, a few more specimens were collected from the southeastern Arabian Sea, off  the Kerala coast. These specimens had also reached the Gopalpur ZSI for identification. Marine eels are mostly found in shallow waters but some of them live off shore in sandy or clayey bottoms ranging up to 500 metres. According Dr. Mohapatra, till now, 49 species of moray eel from 10 genera had been reported from Indian waters, and their species numbers have increased to 50 with the new addition. An estuarine museum is coming up on the campus of the ZSI at Gopalpur. This first of its kind museum in Odisha is expected to be ready by the end of 2021. To be built at a cost of over RS11 crore, it will showcase the coastal and marine animal diversity of the country, with a special focus on Odisha and the Chilika lake.
  • WHAT IS Biodiversity hotspot :
  • A biodiversity hotspot is a biogeographic region that is both a significant reservoir of biodiversity and is threatened with destruction. The term biodiversity hotspot specifically refers to 25 biologically rich areas around the world that have lost at least 70 percent of their original habitat.
  • Qualification for Biodiversity Hotspot
  • To qualify as a biodiversity hotspot, a region must meet two strict criteria:
  • Contain at least 1,500 species of vascular plants (> 0.5 percent of the world’s total) as endemics (species found nowhere else on Earth).
  • Have lost at least 70 percent of its original habitat.
  • Many of the biodiversity hotspots exceed these criterion. For example, both the Sundaland Hotspot in Southeast Asia and the Tropical Andes Hotspot have around 15,000 endemic plant species, while the loss of vegetation in some hotspots has reached 95 percent.
  • List of Biodiversity Hotspots
  • North and Central America
  • California Floristic Province-8
  • Madrean pine-oak woodlands-26
  • Mesoamerica-2
  • North American Coastal Plain (composed of Atlantic Coastal Plain and Gulf Coastal Plain)-36
  • The Caribbean
  • Caribbean Islands-3
  • South America
  • Atlantic Forest-4
  • Cerrado-6
  • Chilean Winter Rainfall-Valdivian Forests-7
  • Tumbes-Chocó-Magdalena-5
  • Tropical Andes-1
  • Europe
  • Mediterranean Basin-14
  • Africa
  • Cape Floristic Region-12
  • Coastal Forests of Eastern Africa-10
  • Eastern Afromontane-28
  • Guinean Forests of West Africa-11
  • Horn of Africa-29
  • Madagascar and the Indian Ocean Islands-9
  • Maputaland-Pondoland-Albany-27
  • Succulent Karoo-13
  • Central Asia
  • Mountains of Central Asia-31
  • South Asia
  • Eastern Himalaya, Nepal, India-32
  • Indo-Burma, India and Myanmar-19
  • Western Ghats, India-21
  • Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka-21
  • South East Asia and Asia-Pacific
  • East Melanesian Islands-34
  • New Caledonia-23
  • New Zealand-24
  • Philippines-18
  • Polynesia-Micronesia-25
  • Eastern Australian temperate forests-35
  • Southwest Australia-22
  • Sundaland and Nicobar islands of India-16
  • Wallacea-17
  • East Asia
  • Japan-33
  • Mountains of Southwest China-20
  • West Asia
  • Caucasus-15
  • Irano-Anatolian-30
  • Criticism of Biodiversity Hotspots
  • The high profile of the biodiversity hotspots approach has resulted in some criticism. Papers such as Kareiva & Marvier (2003) have argued that the biodiversity hotspots:
  • Do not adequately represent other forms of species richness (e.g. total species richness or threatened species richness).
  • Do not adequately represent taxa other than vascular plants (e.g. vertebrates, or fungi).
  • Do not protect smaller scale richness hotspots.
  • Do not make allowances for changing land use patterns. Hotspots represent regions that have experienced considerable habitat loss, but this does not mean they are experiencing ongoing habitat loss. On the other hand, regions that are relatively intact (e.g. the Amazon Basin) have experienced relatively little land loss, but are currently losing habitat at tremendous rates.
  • Do not protect ecosystem services.
  • Do not consider phylogenetic diversity.
  • A recent series of papers has pointed out that biodiversity hotspots (and many other priority region sets) do not address the concept of cost. The purpose of biodiversity hotspots is not simply to identify regions that are of high biodiversity value, but to prioritize conservation spending. The regions identified include some in the developed world (e.g. the California Floristic Province), alongside others in the developing world (e.g. Madagascar). The cost of land is likely to vary between these regions by an order of magnitude or more, but the biodiversity hotspot designations do not consider the conservation importance of this difference. However, the available resources for conservation also tend to vary in this way.
  • Biodiversity Hotspots of India
  • Himalaya: Includes the entire Indian Himalayan region (and that falling in Pakistan, Tibet, Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar)
  • Indo-Burma: Includes entire North-eastern India, except Assam and Andaman group of Islands (and Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and southern China)
  • Sundalands: Includes Nicobar group of Islands (and Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Philippines)
  • Western Ghats and Sri Lanka: Includes entire Western Ghats (and Sri Lanka)

  • TODAYS SOURCES:THE HINDU,BYJUS IAS,INVESTOPEDIA,RSTV,INDIAENVIRONMENTALPORTAL.ORG.IN,INDIA TODAY,PHYS.ORG,YAHOO NEWS

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1 comment:

  1. NithyaSeptember 9, 2019 at 4:21 PM

    Daily updates on the current affairs are provided. Both national and international current affairs are covered. Detailed information is provided for all the important news. Some related information added to the news makes us link between different news which is very helpful in exam point of view.

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