Daily Prelims Notes 8 March 2023
- March 8, 2023
- Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
- Category: DPN
Daily Prelims Notes
8 March 2023
Table Of Contents
- Illegal sand mining in Haryana affecting water supply in Delhi: DJB
- Meeting carbon sink target
- VP appoints own staff on House committees
- Kochi dump yard smoke to be contained in two days
- Treaty on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)
- India sending 20,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via Chabahar
- Concerns over linking Aadhaar with voter ID
- China has sent assurances backing IMF package, Ranil tells Parliament
- Hailstorm, unseasonal rain damage crops in three States
- Diego Garcia
1. Illegal sand mining in Haryana affecting water supply in Delhi: DJB
Subject: Geography
Section: Indian Physical geography
Context: According DJB illegal mining in Haryana
Yamuna:
Yamunotri, which is north of Haridwar in the Himalayan Mountains, is the source of the Yamuna. The river Yamuna, a major tributary of river Ganges, originates from the Yamunotri glacier near Banderpoonch peaks (380 59′ N 780 27′ E) in the Mussourie range of the lower Himalayas at an elevation of about 6387 meters above mean sea level in district Uttarkashi (Uttranchal).The track along the river bank is quite magnificient dominated by wide panorama of mountains. It is said that the temple of Yamunotri was built by Maharani Gularia of Jaipur in the last decade of the 19th century. In 1923, this was destroyed, with only the idols left, and was rebuild. It was once again damaged in 1982. A hot water pool at Yamunotri is used for the prepartion of “PRASAD”. Normally, rice and potatos are cooked in cloth bags by dipping them in the hot water. In its first 170 km stretch, the tributaries Rishi Ganga Kunta, Hanuman Ganga, Tons and Giri join the main river.
The Tons, largest tributary of the Yamuna, has some magical spots in it’s upper reaches. Forests of Alder and Blue pine lead to the famous Har-ki-Dun catchment area, source of another tributary, the Rupin. Har-ki-Dun is a spectacular valley high up, an amphitheatre ringed on three sides by spurs of the Great Himalaya. A wonderland with vast grassy alps that inspire a sense of solitude that only the high Himalaya can inspire. The Rupin makes a spectacular precipitous descent through a narrow valley.
Fortunately the valley of the Tons has been protected, by whatever fates, from the surrounding human depredations.In the upper reaches of the Tons river is situated the Gobind Pashu Vihar Sanctuary, a high altitude preserve and is approached from the Rupin valley near Natwar. This spectacular sanctuary, ringed by high peaks and hemmed in on three sides by ice fields and snow beds, this amphitheatre is the source of the Tons river and home to many high altitude bird species like snow cock, snow partridge and the Monal pheasant.
Another little known fact about the Yamuna is that it is the frontier of the Indian elephant. West of the Yamuna, there is no elephant in 900 Km of the western Himalaya or its foothills. The forests of the lower Yamuna offer ideal corridors for elephant movement and the principal forests to be found here are of Sal, Khair Sissoo trees and the Shivalik chir- pine forests.
Arising from the source, river Yamuna flows through a series of valleys for about 200 Kms, in lower Himalayas and emerges into Indo-Gangetic plains. In the upper reaches, the main valley is overlooked by numerous hanging valleys, carved by glaciers during the last ice ages. The gradient of the river is steep here and the entire geomorphology of the valley has been influenced by the passage of the river. In the upper stretch of 200 Km, it draws water from several major streams. The combined stream flows through the Shivalik range of hills of Himachal Pradesh and Uttaranchal states of India and enters into plains at Dak Pathar in Uttranchal where the river water is regulated through weir and diverted into canal for power generation. From Dak Pathar it flows through the famous Sikh religious place of Poanta Sahib. On the right side of the Yamuna basin is the Mussourie spur-along which, lies sprawled, the hill station of Mussourie. Flowing through Poanta Sahib it reaches Hathnikund/Tajewala in Yamuna Nagar district of Haryana state, where the river water is again diverted into Western Yamuna canal and Eastern Yamuna canal for irrigation. During dry season, only environmental flow of 160 cusec is allowed to flow in the river downstream to Tajewala barrage and the river remains dry in some stretches between Tajewala & Delhi. The river regain water because of ground water accrual, contributions of feeding canal through Som nadi (seasonal stream) upstream of Kalanaur and through drain no.8 upstream of Palla. It enters Delhi near Palla village after traversing a route of about 224 Km.
Distinguished Independent Segments of River Yamuna
- Himalayan Segment -From origin to Tajewala Barrage (172 kms)
- Upper Segment- Tajewala Barrage to Wazirabad Barrage (224 kms)
- Delhi Segment- Wazirabad Barrage to Okhla Barrage (22 kms)
- Eutriphicated Segment -Okhla Barrage to Chambal Confluence (490 kms)
- Diluted Segment Chambal Confluence to Ganga Confluence (468 kms)
The river is again tapped at Wazirabad through a barrage for drinking water supply to Delhi. Generally, no water is allowed to flow beyond Wazirabad barrage in dry season, as the pond level is being maintained at Wazirabad as per Hon’able Supreme Court Order. Whatever water flows in the downstream of Wazirabad barrage is the untreated or partially treated domestic and industrial wastewater contributed through several drains along with the water transported by Haryana Irrigation Department from Western Yamuna Canal (WYC) to Agra Canal via Nazafgarh Drain and the Yamuna.
After 22 Km downstream of Wazirabad barrage there is another barrage, Okhla barrage, through which Yamuna water is diverted into Agra Canal for irrigation. Whatever water flows in the river beyond Okhla barrage is contributed through domestic and industrial wastewater generated from East Delhi, Noida and Sahibabad and joins the river through Shahdara drain. The Yamuna after receiving water through other important tributaries joins the river Ganga and the underground Saraswati at Prayag (Allahabad) after traversing about 950 Km. Thus, Yamuna river cannot be designated as continuous river particularly in dry seasons (almost 9 months), but can be segmented in five distinguished independent segments due to characteristic hydrological and ecological conditions. The catchments of Yamuna river system cover parts of Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh & Delhi states.
Tributaries of River Yamuna
The tributaries of Yamuna account for 70.9% of the catchment area; the balance of 29.1% area directly drains into the Yamuna River or is occupied by smaller streams. Further, the catchment area of Yamuna amount to 40.2% of the area of Ganga Basin and 10.7% of the land area of India.
The important tributaries of the Yamuna River are Tons, Chambal, Hindon, Betwa and Ken. Other small tributaries of the Yamuna River include the Giri, Sind, Uttangan, Sengar and the Rind. The main Yamuna and Tons are fed by glaciers, viz., the Bandar Punch Glacier and its branches and originates from the Great Himalayan range.
Tons River
The Tons is the longest tributary of the Yamuna River and its flows through Garhwal , the western part of the Himalayan state of Uttaranchal. The river originates at an elevation of 3900 m and join the Yamuna below Kalsi near Dehradun, Uttarakhand. It is one of the most major perennial Indian Himalayan rivers. It is the biggest tributaries of the Yamuna.
Giri River:
The river Giri is an important tributary of the Yamuna River. It is the main source of water in the South-Eastern Himachal Pradesh. The Giri is famous in the Jubbal, Rohru hills that rises from Kupar peak just above Jubbal town after flowing across the heart of Shimla hills and then flows down in the southeastern direction dividing the Sirmaur district into equal parts that are known as Cis-Giri and Trans-Giri region and joins Yamuna upstream of Paonta below Mokkampur.
Hindon River
Hindon River is an important tributary of Yamuna River. In fact, this river is sand-witch between two major rivers: Ganga on the left and Yamuna on the right. Hindon originates from upper Shiwalik (Lower Himalayas). It lies between the latitude 280 04’ to 350 05’ N and longitudes 770 08’ to 770 04’E. It is a purely rain fed river with catchment area of about 7,083 sq. km. This river has a total run of about 400 km. The width of Hindon River ranges from 20 m to 160 m.
Betwa River
The Betwa River is a tributary of Yamuna River. Its basin extends from longitude 770 to 810 and latitude 230 8’ to 260 0’N. The Betwa river originates at an elevation of 470 m in the Bhopal District in Madhya Pradesh. After traversing a distance of 590 km, the river joins the Yamuna River near Hamirpur at an elevation of 106,68 m. The total catchment area of the Betwa River is 46,580 sq km of which 31,971 sq km (68.64%) lies in M.P. and 14,609 sq km (31.36%) lies in U.P. The basin is saucer shaped with sandstone hills around the perimeter. The river has 14 principle tributaries out of which 11 are completely in Madhya Pradesh and 3 lies partly in Madhya Pradesh and partly in Uttar Pradesh. The Halali and Dhasan River are the important tributaries of the Betwa River.
Dhasan River
The Dhasan River is a right bank tributary of the Betwa River. The river originates in Begumganj tehsil of Raisen district in Madhya Pradesh state in central India. The river forms the southeastern boundary of the Lalitpur District of Uttar Pradesh state. Total length of the river is 365 km, out of which 240 km lies in Madhya Pradesh, 54 km common boundary between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh and 71 km in Uttar Pradesh. The river was known as the Dasharna in ancient period. There is a water quality station at Garrloi on River Dhasan.
Ken River
Ken is an inter-state river, flowing through the state of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. Its basin lies between north latitudes 230 20’ and 250 20’ and east longitude of 780 30’ and 800 32’. The river originates near the village Ahirgawab in Jabalpur District of Madhya Pradesh at an altitude of 550 m above near sea level and joins the Yamuna River, near Chilla village of U.P. at an elevation of about 95 m. It forms the common boundary between Panna and Chattarpur district of M.P. and Banda district (U.P.). The river has a total length of 427 km, out of which 292 km lies in M.P., 84 km in U.P. and 51 km forms the common boundary. The total catchment area of the Ken river basin is 28,058 sq km, out of which 24,472 sq km lies in M.P. and the balance 3,386 sq km in Uttar Pradesh. The important tributaries of the Ken River are Sonar, Bearma, Kopra, Bewas, Urmil, Mirhasan, Kutni, Kali, Gurne, Patan, Siameri, Chandrawal, Banne, etc, among others. The longest tributary is Sonar which is 227 km in length and lies wholly in M.P. The catchment area of the Sonar river is 12,620 sq km.
Sind River
River Sind is one of the second largest right bank tributaries of Yamuna. It rises at a height of 543 m above sea level in Vidisha District of Madhya Pradesh. It flows generally in north- east direction for a distance of 415 km before joining Yamuna 20 km upstream of Auraiya. Important tributaries of Sind are Parwati and Kunwari on its left bank and Pahuj on the right bank. It is probably river Sindhu mentioned in epic Vishnu Purana.
River Chambal
The Chambal River, called Charmanvati in ancient times, is the largest of the rivers flowing through Rajasthan state. This tributary of Yamuna is 960km long. The total area drained by the Chambal up to its confluence with the Yamuna is 143,219 sq km out of which 76,854 sq km lies in M.P. state, 65,264 sq km in Rajasthan state and 1,101 sq km in Uttar Pradesh. River Chambal, the biggest tributary of Yamuna rises in Vindhyan range near Mhow in Indore District of Madhya Pradesh at an elevation of 354 m at north latitude 22° 28′ and east longitude 75° 40′. Chambal basin is bound on north by the ridge separating it from Luni and Yamuna basins, on the south by Vindhyan range and on the west by Aravali range, on east lies the ridge separating it from Kunwari and Sind rivers of Yamuna basin Chambal basin lies between north latitudes 22° 27′ and 27° 20′ and east longitudes 73° 20′ and 79° 15′. Its total catchment area is 1,39,468 sq.km. It flows initially in north direction for a length of 320 km upto Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan Border. In this reach Chamla, Siwan and Ratlam rivers join river Chambal from the left and Sipra and Chhoti Kalisindh from the right. The river then enters Rajasthan and after flowing for a distance of 38 km turns clockwise and takes a north easterly course. At 428 km from its origin, it receives its major tributary Kalisindh from the right near the village Laban and further 22 km below another tributary Mej from the left. The river continues to flow in north easterly direction for a further distance of 40 km when it is joined by another major right bank tributary Parwati near village Pali. Thus, the river flows in Madhya Pradesh for a length of 320 km. River Chambal then forms a common boundary between Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan for a length of 251 km River Banas, a major left bank tributary joins Chambal in this reach near village Rameshwar. Thus, the river flows in Rajasthan for a length of 226 km The river then forms common boundary between Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for 117 km and continues in northeasterly direction upto village Pinhat. It then gradually turns right and flows in south –easterly direction to enter in Uttar Pradesh, north west of village Chakar Nagar. After flowing for 46 km in Uttar Pradesh, the river outfalls into Yamuna southeast of village Sehon in Etawah District of Uttar Pradesh. Topographically, out of total area of 1,39,468 sq km of the basin, about 3083 sq km around the origin of the river can be classified as hilly and rest as plains. Three major dams and one barrage have been constructed on this river forming a series of hydraulic structures known as Chambal Project. Gundhi Sagar is the first dam located on the boundary of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan . Rana Pratap Sagar is second dam located in Rawat Bhata (Rajasthan) 48 km downstream of Gandhi Sagar Dam. Jawahar Sagar Dam is third, 22 km downstream of Rana Pratap Sagar Dam. Last one in the series is Kota Barrage near Kota city which is 48 km downstream of Rana Pratap Sagar Dam.
Tributaries of Chambal River:
Kali Sindh:
It’s originated in the northern slopes of Vindhya Hills. Flowing in the M.P., it enters in the Rajasthan near Bindha village in Jhalwara District. After flowing 145 km in Rajasthan its joins Chambal River near Nonera village of Kota District. The catchment area of the Kalisindh River is 7944 sq km.
Parwan River:
The Parwan River is the important tributaries of Kalisindh River. The Parwan originate in the Malwa Plateau and after flowing for about 186 km in M.P., its enter in Rajasthan near Kharibor village in Jhalwara District. Its join Kali Sindh near Ramgarh village in Kota district. The catchment area of the Parwan River is 2892 sq km.
Parwati River:
The Parwati river originates in the northern slopes of the Vindhyan hills in M.P. where it forms a boundary between MP and Rajasthan for about 18 km, and then enters Rajasthan near Chatarpura village in Baran District. Therefore, it flows for about 83km in Rajasthan before again forming the boundary between MP and Rajasthan for a distance of about 58 km up to Pali village in Kota District, where it joins the Chambal. The river catchment in Rajasthan is situated in Kota and Jhalawar District. Major tributaries of the Parwati River are Lhasi, Berni, Bethli, Andheri, Retri, Dubraj, Bilas and Kunu.
Banas River
The Banas River originates in the Khamnor hills of the Aravali range (about 5km from Kumbhalgarh) and flows along its entire length through Rajasthan.Banas is a major tributary of the Chambal River, the two rivers meeting near village Rameshwar in Khandar Block in Sawai Madhopur District. The total length of the river about 512 km and the catchment area is 45,833 sqkm. The main tributaries of the Banas River are Berach and Menali on the right bank and Kothari, Khari, Dai, Dheel, Sohadara, Morel and Kalisil on the left bank.
The Banas River itself has many big tributaries. The Berach river originates in the hills northeast of Udaipur city. It flows northeast for about 157 km in Udaipur, Chittorgarh and Bhilwara district before joining Banas near Bigod village in Mandalgarh Tehsil of Bhilwara District. The catchment area of the river is 7502 sq km, which lies between 700 25’ and 750 02’ east longitudes and 240 29’ and 250 14’ north latitudes. The Berch flow in a hilly region up to Badgaon reservoir and then through plains. This river receives flow from Ayar, Wagli Wagon, Gambhiri and Orai Rivers.
Sipra River
The Sipra River is also call Ksipra (Markandeya). It flows in the state of Madhya Pradesh. The river is famous for the sanctity associated with it. According to the legend, the river has originated from the blood of Lord Vishnu. In the time of Mughal King Akbar, it was believed that the river used to flow with milk. Probably this means that the region where it flowed was very prosperous.
Subject :Environment
Section: Climate Change
Context:
India updated its climate commitments. It said it would reduce the emissions intensity of its economy — emissions per unit of GDP—by45percentfrom2005levelsinsteadofthe33to 35per cent promised earlier. And that it would ensure that renewables formed at least 50 per cent — up from theoriginal40percent—of its total installed electricity generation capacity
The third target — a commitment to increase its carbon sink by 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2030 through the creation of additional forest and tree cover—was left untouched. A year earlier too, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke about India’s five-point “Panchamrit” action plan at the Glasgow climate meeting in 2021, there had been no mention of this third commitment.
The baseline year
The carbon sink target had not been defined precisely in 2015. India had committed “to create an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnes of CO2 equivalent through additionalforestandtreecoverby2030”,but it had made no mention of the baseline year. That is, it did not say which year this additional2.5to3 billiontonnesCO2 equivalent of carbon sink would be measured against
Meanwhile, the rate of increase of carbon stock in India’s forests and tree cover has been showing a rising trend, even though the total carbon stock in 2021 was slightly less than what the FSI had projected just two years aga.
Carbon Sinks
- A carbon sink is any reservoir, natural or otherwise, that accumulates and stores some carbon-containing chemical compound for an indefinite period and thereby lowers the concentration of CO2 from the atmosphere.
- Globally, the two most important carbon sinks are vegetation and the ocean.
- Public awareness of the significance of CO2 sinks has grown since passage of the Kyoto Protocol, which promotes their use as a form of carbon offset.
- There are also different strategies used to enhance this process. Soil is an important carbon storage medium. Much of the organic carbon retained in agricultural areas has been depleted due to intensive farming.
- “Blue carbon” designates carbon that is fixed via the ocean ecosystems. Mangroves, salt marshes and seagrasses make up a majority of ocean plant life and store large quantities of carbon.
- Many efforts are being made to enhancing natural sequestration in soils and the oceans.
- In addition, a range of artificial sequestration initiatives are underway such as changed building construction materials, carbon capture and storage and geological sequestration.
3. VP appoints own staff on House committees
Subject : Polity
Section: Parliament
Concept :
- Eight members of the personal staff of VicePresident and Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar have been appointed to 20 committees that come within the ambit of the Upper House.
- There is no past precedent of personal staff working on the committees.
- Four of these staffers are employed with the Chairman’s office and four of them with the VicePresident’s Secretariat.
- Each Standing Committee has an official of the rank of Additional Secretary or Joint Secretary assisting in its functioning who also attends the meetings, which are strictly confidential.
Parliamentary Committee
- India’s Parliament has multiple types of committees. They can be differentiated on the basis of their work, their membership and the length of their tenure.
- However, broadly there are two types of Parliamentary Committees– Standing Committees and Ad Hoc Committees.
- The Standing Committees are permanent (constituted every year or periodically) and work on a continuous basis.
- Standing Committees can be classified into the following six categories:
- Financial Committees
- Departmental Standing Committees
- Committees to Enquire
- Committees to Scrutinise and Control
- Committees Relating to the Day-to-Day Business of the House
- House-Keeping Committees or Service Committees
- While the Ad Hoc Committees are temporary and cease to exist on completion of the task assigned to them.
- They are further subdivided into Inquiry Committees and Advisory Committees.
- The principal Ad hoc Committees are the Select and Joint Committees on Bills.
4. Kochi dump yard smoke to be contained in two days
Subject : Environment
Section: Pollution
Concept :
- The toxic smoke from the waste dump yard at Brahmapuram — where a major fire broke out — spread to a radius of more than 10 km, causing breathing difficulties for city residents and reduced visibility on the roads.
- Meanwhile, the Kerala High Court has proposed a three level court monitored programme for the implementation of the Municipal Solid Waste Management rules.
Solid Waste Management Rules, 2016
- The Solid Waste Management Rules (SWM), 2016 replaced the Municipal Solid Wastes (Management and Handling) Rules, 2000, which have been in place for the past 16 years.
Salient features of the SWM, 2016:
- Segregation Of Waste Is Important: As per the new rules, all waste generators should start segregating their waste into three categories – Biodegradables, Dry Waste (Plastic, Paper, metal, Wood) and Domestic Hazardous Waste (diapers, napkins, mosquito repellents, cleaning agents) before they hand it over to the collectors.
- Collection And Disposal Of Sanitary Napkins: In order to manage the sanitary waste like diapers and sanitary pads effectively, the new guidelines have made it mandatory for the manufacturers to provide a pouch or wrapper for disposal whenever they sell their products to the customer.
- Introduction Of New Things – User Fees And Spot Fines: Under the new rules, waste generators will have to pay some amount to the waste collectors for activities like collection, disposal, and processing of waste. The local body across India has the authority to decide the ‘User Fees.’
- The rules also stipulate zero tolerance for throwing, burning or burying the solid waste generated on streets, open public spaces, water bodies, “Spot Fines” are also introduced under these new rules which means if someone is found littering or disobeying the guidelines, then local bodies have the authority to fine them.
- Collect Back System For Non-biodegradable Packaging Waste: The new guidelines says that the brand owners who sell or market their products in packaging material which are non‐biodegradable or are not environmental friendly, will have to put a system in place to collect back the packaging waste generated due to their production.
- A Bin Is A Must For Street Vendors: All street vendor should keep suitable containers or bins for storage of the waste generated by them such as food waste, disposable plates, cups, cans, wrappers, coconut shells, leftover food, vegetables, fruits etc. They are also responsible for their own waste and should deposit their waste at a waste storage depot or container or vehicle as notified by the local authority.
- Guidelines For The Over-growing Landfills: No non-recyclable waste having calorific value of 1500 K/cal/kg or more shall be disposed in the landfills. That waste can either be utilised for generating energy or can be used for preparing refuse derived fuel. It can also be used for co-processing in cement or thermal power plants.
- As per the new rules, the landfill site should be 100 metres away from a river, 200 metres from a pond, 500 metres away from highways, habitations, public parks and water supply wells and 20 km away from airports/airbase.
- Waste Processing And Treatment Guidelines: The new rules advise that the bio-degradable waste should be processed, treated and disposed of through composting or bio-methanation within the premises as far as possible and the residual waste shall be given to the waste collectors or agency as directed by the local authority.
- The developers of Special Economic Zone, industrial estate, industrial park will also have to earmark at least 5 percent of the total area of the plot or minimum 5 plots/ sheds for recovery and recycling facility.T he rules have also mandated bio‐remediation or capping of old and abandoned dump sites within five years.
- Involvement of Ragpickers: The new rules help in the integration of ragpickers, waste pickers and kabadiwalas from the informal sector to the formal sector by the state government.
- Guidelines for Municipal authorities: All local bodies are required to set up few by-laws regarding waste management, segregation of waste within their society. They are also required to set up a system in place so as the process of waste segregation can be followed smoothly by all waste generators. They are also required to promote the idea of composting, waste segregation and waste management through different educative campaigns.
- The Process Of Monitoring: The government has also established a Central Monitoring Committee under the chairmanship of Secretary, MoEF&CC to monitor the overall implementation of the rules effectively. It is advised that the committee comprising of various stakeholders from the central and state governments will meet once a year to discuss and monitor the implementation of these rules.
5. Treaty on Marine Biodiversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction (BBNJ)
Subject : Environment
Section: International Conventions
Concept :
- For the first time, United Nations members have agreed for an early conclusion of the International Legally Binding Instrument of BBNJ under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
Background
- The UN Convention on the Law of the Sea was established in 1994 before marine biodiversity became a well-established concept
- An updated framework to protect marine life in the high seas had been in discussions for over 20 years.
What is the BBNJ treaty?
- The BBNJ Treaty also called the Treaty of the High Seas, is an international agreement that aims to preserve and sustainably use the marine biodiversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction.
- This includes the high seas, which are outside of countries’ exclusive economic zones and makeup nearly half of the Earth’s surface.
- These areas are currently poorly regulated and only 1% of them are protected.
- The High Ambition Coalition on BBNJ was launched in February 2022 to negotiate and achieve a comprehensive and ambitious outcome.
Key areas of agreement
- The negotiations focus on elements agreed upon such as the-
- Conservation and sustainable use of marine genetic resources,
- Area-based management tools like marine protected areas,
- Environmental impact assessments, and
- Capacity-building and technology transfer
Consensus reached
- A new body will be created to manage the conservation of ocean life and establish marine protected areas in the high seas
- The treaty establishes ground rules for conducting environmental impact assessments for commercial activities in the oceans
- Several marine species, including dolphins, whales, sea turtles, and many fish, make long annual migrations, crossing national borders and the high seas
Significance of this treaty
- Beyond jurisdiction coverage: BBNJ refers to the areas beyond the jurisdiction of any single country, such as the high seas, the deep sea floor, and the international seabed area. These areas are critical for the health of the ocean, the well-being of coastal people, and the overall sustainability of the planet.
- Covers entire oceans: BBNJ comprises 95% of the ocean and provides invaluable ecological, economic, social, cultural, scientific, and food-security benefits to humanity.
- Hard-arrived consensus: BBNJ is governed by a patchwork of international agreements, conventions, and bodies, but there is no single comprehensive framework that regulates activities in these areas.
6. India sending 20,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan via Chabahar
Subject : International Relations
Section: Places in news
Concept :
- India is looking to send its next consignment of wheat to Afghanistan as aid via the Chabahar port in Iran.
- This decision was announced during the first meeting of the India-Central Asia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Afghanistan in Delhi, as the agreement with Pakistan for sending the wheat over the land route has expired and talks to extend the time have not yielded any results.
- This JWG meeting was held after the India-Central Asia summit in January 2022.
- At the JWG, India also agreed to offer “customised capacity building courses” for United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) officials and cooperate on initiatives to counter drug trafficking and rehabilitation efforts for Afghan drug users, especially women.
- In the wake of the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, India had announced its partnership with the UN World Food Programme (UNWFP) for the delivery of 20,000 tonnes of wheat to Afghanistan.
- India had sent around 40,000 tonnes out of the 50,000 tonnes promised after an agreement with the previous Pakistan government. However, the shipments were halted after the floods in Pakistan, and the time allowed by Pakistan expired.
- India in the past has used the Chabahar port route to send shipments of wheat to Afghanistan.
India-Central Asia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Afghanistan
- The India-Central Asia Joint Working Group (JWG) on Afghanistan held its first meeting in New Delhi on March 7, 2023.
- The Special Envoys and Senior Officials of the Republics of India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan were at the conference.
- The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes (UNODC) and United Nations World Food Programme (UNWFP) country representatives also attended the discussion, according to the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
- The Envoys discussed essential issues related to Afghanistan, including the country’s political, security and humanitarian situation.
- The parties reaffirmed their support for an Afghanistan that is peaceful, secure, and stable while highlighting the importance of respecting its sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity and refraining from meddling in its internal affairs.
India-Central Asia Summit 2022
- India hosted the first India-Central Asia Summit in virtual format in January 2022.
- It was attended by Presidents of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz Republic, Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Republic of Uzbekistan.
- This first India-Central Asia coincided with the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Central Asian countries.
Key Points
- Institutionalisation of the Summit:
- Discussed the next steps in taking India-Central Asia relations to new heights. In a historic decision, the Leaders agreed to institutionalise the Summit mechanism by deciding to hold it every 2 years.
- They also agreed on regular meetings of Foreign Ministers, Trade Ministers, Culture Ministers and Secretaries of the Security Council to prepare the groundwork for the Summit meetings.
- An India-Central Asia Secretariat in New Delhi would be set up to support the new mechanism.
- India-Central Asia Cooperation:
- The Leaders discussed far-reaching proposals to further cooperation in areas of trade and connectivity, development cooperation, defence and security and, in particular, on cultural and people to people contacts.These included:
- Round-Table on Energy and Connectivity.
- Joint Working Groups at senior official level on Afghanistan and use of Chabahar Port.
- Showcasing of Buddhist exhibitions in Central Asian countries and commissioning of an India-Central Asia dictionary of common words.
- Joint counter-terrorism exercises.
- Visit of 100 member youth delegation annually from Central Asian countries to India and special courses for Central Asian diplomats.
- A comprehensive Joint Declaration was adopted by the leaders that enumerates their common vision for an enduring and comprehensive India-Central Asia partnership.
- Afghanistan:
- The leaders reiterated their strong support for a peaceful, secure and stable Afghanistan with a truly representative and inclusive government.
- India conveyed its continued commitment to provide humanitarian assistance to the Afghan people.
7. Concerns over linking Aadhaar with voter ID
Subject : Polity
Section: Msc
Concept :
- Close to 60% of Indian voters have currently linked their Aadhaar to their name on the electoral rolls.
- The linking exercise has achieved coverage of over 90% in States like Tripura and is lagging behind in states like Gujarat and Delhi as only 30% of the electorate has provided their Aadhaar to election officials.
- The linking of Aadhaar with voter IDs is being carried out by filling Form 6B, which is provided by election officials and is a result of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, 2021 that has allowed the linking.
- While the Election Commission of India (ECI) has maintained that the linking is optional, Form 6B requires voters to declare that they do not have an Aadhaar to avoid doing so.
- Before the passage of the Election Laws (Amendment) Act, the Supreme Court had restricted the mandatory use of Aadhaar to welfare schemes and PAN linking.
- Several activists have raised concerns about disenfranchisement, coercion and privacy as a result of this linking exercise.
- There have been concerns over privacy issues as Aadhaar linking may enable political parties to micro-target voters.
- Activists from the NGO Swechha have said that documents they had obtained through a Right to Information (RTI) request revealed that over 20 lakh voters were deleted from the rolls in Telangana following an Aadhaar-linking exercise.
Linking of Aadhaar with Voter ID
- The Election Laws (Amendment) Bill 2021 was passed in Parliament enabling the linking of electoral roll data with the Aadhaar ecosystem
- The bill amended certain provisions of the Representation of Peoples Act, 1950 and the Representation of Peoples Act,1951.
- Section 23(4) was inserted in the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
- It authorises the electoral registration officer to ask citizens already enrolled to furnish their Aadhaar numbers. This is done in order to curb the problem of multiple enrolment of the same person in different places.
- To reflect this amendment, in June 2022, the government notified changes to the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
- Use of discretionary language throughout the amendments has been accompanied by assurances by both the government and the EC that linkage of the Aadhaar with Voter ID is optional.
- Ambiguities in Form 6B issued under the new Rule 26B have negated the element of choice that has been incorporated in the amendments.
Concerns over linkage
- In the Puttaswamy judgement, the Supreme Court of India explored whether the mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts was constitutional or not.
- The Court in case of mandatory linking of Aadhaar with bank accounts observed that depriving a person of their right to property for non-linkage fell foul of the test of proportionality.
- Even though other means of verification and authentication are allowed,if the person does not hold an Aadhaar in case of voter verification, given the wide coverage of Aadhaar, the current design would in effect mandate Aadhaar linkage.
- In this context, it needs to be considered whether requiring an Aadhaar holder to mandatorily provide Aadhaar for authentication or verification would not be considered violative of their informational autonomy (right to privacy) which would allow them to decide which official document they want to use for verification and authentication.
- The Supreme Court in the Lal Babu Hussein case,1995, had held that the Right to vote cannot be disallowed by insisting only on four proofs of identity — voters can rely on any other proof of identity and obtain the right to vote.
8. China has sent assurances backing IMF package, Ranil tells Parliament
Subject : International Relations
Section: International Organization
Concept :
- China has given assurances that it will support Sri Lanka’s debt restructuring, clearing the biggest hurdle for the debt-ridden country to secure a much-needed USD 2.9-billion bailout package from the IMF, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said on Tuesday.
- In January, India strongly backed the island nation’s efforts to secure a loan from the global lender to recover from its worst-ever economic crisis.
Background
- Sri Lanka is facing its worst economic crisis since independence from Britain in 1948, and policymakers have been grappling with multiple challenges over the past year including a shortage of dollars, runaway inflation and a steep recession.
- China, Japan, and India are Sri Lanka’s three largest bilateral lenders.
- Sri Lanka owes India around $1 billion that will come under the debt restructuring plan.
- New Delhi also separately provided Sri Lanka with about $4 billion in rapid assistance between January and July last year, including credit lines, a currency swap arrangement and deferred import payments.
Need of The Assurances:
- New Delhi’s backing comes at a critical time for Sri Lanka as it has to put its massively indebted public finances in order to unlock a $2.9 billion IMF loan that was agreed in September.
- Sri Lanka has to secure prior financing assurances from creditors, put its heavy debt burden on a sustainable path and increase public revenue before the global lender will disburse the funds.
- The IMF has stressed the importance of joint talks involving three of Sri Lanka’s main bilateral creditors – China, Japan and India.
9. Hailstorm, unseasonal rain damage crops in three States
Subject : Geography
Section: Physical Geography
Concept :
- According to Bihar government officials, rain and hailstorm in parts of south and north Bihar adjacent to Uttar Pradesh on Tuesday damaged flowering and fruiting oilseed, pulses, vegetables, tobacco crop, and blossoming mango orchards.
- Unseasonal rains with hailstorm over the past two days have caused massive damage to crops at several places in Bihar, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, officials said.
Hailstorms
- A hailstorm is a thunderstorm that produces ice as precipitation. Hailstorms can cause serious damage to crops and property.
- In India, hailstorms mostly affect the northeast and western Himalayas, with the maximum strikes in March and April.
- Unlike other forms of water ice precipitation, such as graupel (which is made of rime ice), ice pellets (which are smaller and translucent), and snow (which consists of tiny, delicately-crystalline flakes or needles), hailstones usually measure between 5 mm (0.2 in) and 15 cm (6 in) in diameter.
- Hail is possible within most thunderstorms (as it is produced by cumulonimbus), as well as within 2 nmi (3.7 km) of the parent storm.
- Hail formation requires environments of strong, upward motion of air with the parent thunderstorm (similar to tornadoes) and lowered heights of the freezing level.
- In the mid-latitudes, hail forms near the interiors of continents, while, in the tropics, it tends to be confined to high elevations.
- Hailstones generally fall at higher speeds as they grow in size, though complicating factors such as melting, friction with air, wind, and interaction with rain and other hailstones can slow their descent through Earth’s atmosphere.
Favorable conditions for a hailstorm
- Hail forms in the strong updraft region of a thunderstorm. Atmospheric conditions favourable for the formation hail bearing thunderstorm are:
- High degree of instability,
- High moisture content,
- Low freezing level,
- High vertical wind shear.
Subject : Geography
Section : Mapping
Concept :
- A total of 16 Indian fishermen — seven from Kerala, six from Tamil Nadu and three from West Bengal — have been apprehended by authorities in Diego Garcia of British Indian Ocean Territory, when they were fishing in the deep sea.
About Diego Garcia
- Diego Garcia, coral atoll, largest and southernmost member of the Chagos Archipelago, in the central Indian Ocean, part of the British Indian Ocean Territory.
- Occupying an area of 17 square miles (44 square km), it consists of a V-shaped sand-fringed cay about 15 miles (24 km) in length with a maximum width of about 7 miles (11 km); its lagoon is open at the north end.
- Discovered by the Portuguese in the early 16th century, it was for most of its history a dependency of Mauritius.
- In 1965 it was separated from Mauritius as part of the newly created British Indian Ocean Territory.
- After that, the residents of the Chagos Archipelago were forcibly removed and the Chagos Archipelago was handed over to the US.
- The US established its strategic Indian Ocean military base at the Chagos Archipelago.