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Distribution: weekly

  • Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on Nile and Various Issues

    Africa’s longest river, the Nile, has been at the centre of a decade-long complex dispute involving several countries in the continent who are dependent on the river’s waters. At the forefront of this dispute, however, are Ethiopia and Egypt.

    Note: You never know when UPSC might switch map based questions away from the Middle East and SE Asia.

    Considering this news, the UPSC may ask a prelim question based on the countries swept by River Nile/ various dams constructed/ landlocked countries in the African continent etc.

    Grand Ethiopian Rennaissance Dam (GERD)

     

    • GERD is a gravity dam on the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia that has been under construction since 2011.
    • At 6.45 gigawatts, the dam will be the largest hydroelectric power plant in Africa when completed, as well as the seventh-largest in the world.
    • Once completed, the reservoir could take anywhere between 5 and 15 years to fill with water, depending on hydrologic conditions during the filling period and agreements reached between Ethiopia, Sudan, and Egypt.

    Issues with the Dam

    • While the main waterways of the Nile run through Uganda, South Sudan, Sudan and Egypt, its drainage basin runs through other countries in East Africa, including Ethiopia.
    • Egypt has objected to the construction of this dam and in Sudan has found itself caught in the midst of this conflict.
    • Due to the importance of the Nile as a necessary water source in the region, observers are concerned that this dispute may evolve into a full-fledged conflict between the two nations.
    • The US has stepped in to mediate.

    How can this lead to conflict?

    • The mega project may just allow the country to control the river’s waters, and this is essentially what concerns Egypt because it lies downstream.
    • Egypt has objected to these plans and has proposed a longer timeline for the project because it does not want the water level of the Nile to dramatically drop as the reservoir fills with water in the initial stages.
    • For the past four years, triparty talks between Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan have been unable to reach agreements. Egypt isn’t alone in its concerns.
    • Sudan is hardly a passive observer caught in the conflict just because of its location.
    • It too believes Ethiopia having control over the river through the dam may affect its own water supplies.

    Why does Ethiopia want this dam?

    • Ethiopia believes this dam will generate approximately 6,000 megawatts of electricity when it is done.
    • 65% of Ethiopia’s population suffers due to lack of access to electricity.
    • This dam will reduce those shortages and help the country’s manufacturing industry.
    • The country may also be able to supply electricity to neighbouring nations and earn some revenue in exchange.
    • Neighbouring countries like Kenya, Sudan, Eritrea and South Sudan also suffer from electricity shortages.
    • If Ethiopia sells electricity to these nations, they may also reap benefits.

    What is happening now?

    • In the latest developments on this front, Egypt announced that it is willing to resume negotiations with Ethiopia and Sudan concerning the dam.
    • Ethiopia has however proceeded with the first stage of filling the dam saying that it does not need Egypt’s permission to fill the dam.
    • In the letter to the UNSC, Egypt also implied that the dam would cause armed conflict between the two countries.

    Back2Basics: River Nile

    • The Nile is a major north-flowing river in northeastern Africa.
    • It is the longest river in Africa and the disputed longest river in the world as the Brazilian government says that the Amazon River is longer than the Nile.
    • The Nile is about 6,650 km long and its drainage basin covers eleven countries: Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia, Eritrea, South Sudan, Republic of Sudan, and Egypt.
    • In particular, the Nile is the primary water source of Egypt and Sudan.
    • The Nile has two major tributaries – the White Nile and the Blue Nile. The White Nile is considered to be the headwaters and primary stream of the Nile itself.

  • [pib] L7 Quadricycle category for BS VI

    The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has issued a notification regarding the emission norms for L7 (Quadricycle) category for BS-VI.

    Practice question for Mains:

    Q. What are Bharat Stage Emission Standards (BSES)? Discuss how the early implementation of BS-VI norms will help curb vehicular pollution in India.

    What is Quadricycle Vehicle verification?

    • The quadricycle is a European Union vehicle category for four-wheeled microcars, which allows these vehicles to be designed to less stringent requirements when compared to regular cars.
    • Quadricycles are defined by limitations in terms of weight, engine power and speed.
    • There are two categories of quadricycles: light quadricycles (L6e) and heavy quadricycles (L7e)

    What are the new notified norms?

    • These norms are applicable from the date of notification.
    • This notification completes the process of BS-VI for all L, M and N category vehicles in India.
    • The emission norms are in line with EU with WMTC cycle.
    • The procedure for testing is laid down in Automotive Industry Standard (AIS) 137-Part 9.

    What is the WMTC cycle?

    • The World Motorcycle Test Cycle (WMTC) is a system of driving cycles used to measure fuel consumption and emissions in motorcycles.
    • The methods are stipulated as part of the Global Technical Regulation established under the UN World Forum for Harmonization of Vehicle Regulations, also known as WP.29.

    Back2Basics:  Bharat Stage Norms

    Standard Reference Date of Implementation
    Bharat Stage II Euro 2 1 April 2005
    Bharat Stage III Euro 3 1 April 2010
    Bharat Stage IV Euro 4 1 April 2017
    Bharat Stage VI Euro 6 April 2020 with a mandate (proposed)

    Minutes of BS-VI

    • Carmakers would have to put three pieces of equipment — a DPF (diesel particulate filter), an SCR (selective catalytic reduction) system, and an LNT (Lean NOx trap) — to meet stringent BS-VI norms, all at the same time.
    • This is vital to curb both PM (particulate matter) and NOx (nitrogen oxides) emissions as mandated under the BS-VI norms.

    How is BS-VI Different from BS-IV?

    • The major difference between the existing BS-IV and forthcoming BS-VI norms is the presence of sulphur in the fuel.
    • While the BS-IV fuels contain 50 parts per million (ppm) sulphur, the BS-VI grade fuel only has 10 ppm sulphur content.
    • Also, the harmful NOx (nitrogen oxides) from diesel cars can be brought down by nearly 70%.
    • In the petrol cars, they can be reduced by 25%.
    • However, when we talk about air pollution, particulate matter like PM 2.5 and PM 10 are the most harmful components and the BS-VI will bring the cancer-causing particulate matter in diesel cars by a phenomenal 80%.

  • [pib] Shahapur’s Katkari Tribe

    The newscard is based on the PIB news which discusses the success story of Katkari Tribe, a PVTG in Maharashtra regarding the implementation of Van Dhan Yojana.

    Try this:

    Consider the following statements about Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) in India:

    1) PVTGs reside in 18 States and one Union Territory.

    2) A stagnant or declining population is one of the criteria for determining PVTG status.

    3) There are 95 PVTGs officially notified in the country so far.

    4) Irular and Konda Reddi tribes are included in the list of PVTGs.

    Which of the statements given above are correct? (CSP 2019)

    (a) 1, 2 and 3

    (b) 2, 3 and 4

    (c) 1, 2 and 4

    (d) 1, 3 and 4

    Katkari Tribe

    • The Katkari is an Scheduled Tribe mostly belonging to the state of Maharashtra.
    • They are bilingual, speaking the Katkari language, a dialect of the Marathi-Konkani languages, with each other; they speak Marathi with the Marathi speakers, who are a majority in the populace where they live.
    • In Maharashtra, the Katkari has been designated a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG), along with two other groups included in this sub-category: the Madia Gond and the Kolam.
    • In the case of the Katkari this vulnerability derives from their history as a nomadic, forest-dwelling people listed by the British Raj under the Criminal Tribes Act of 1871, a stigma that continues to this day.

    What are PVTGs?

    • There are certain tribal communities who have declining or stagnant population, low level of literacy, pre-agricultural level of technology and are economically backward.
    • They generally inhabit remote localities having poor infrastructure and administrative support.
    • These groups are among the most vulnerable section of our society as they are few in numbers, have not attained any significant level of social and economic development.
    • 75 such groups have been identified and categorized as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs).

    Back2Basics: Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana (PMVDY)

    • It is a retail marketing-led value addition plan for Minor Forest Produce (MFP), meant for forest-based tribes to optimize the tribal income, locally.
    • Under the program, MFP-based tribal groups/enterprises of around 300 members are formed for collection, value addition, packaging & marketing of Minor Forest Produces (MFPs).
    • These tribal enterprises will be in the form of Van Dhan SHGs which will be a group of 15-20 members and such 15 SHG groups will further be federated into a larger group of Van Dhan Vikas Kendras (VDVKS) of around 300 members.
    • TRIFED will support the VDVKs through providing them with model business plans, processing plans & tentative list of equipment for carrying out the value-added work of MFPs.

    Also read:

    https://www.civilsdaily.com/news/pib-development-of-pvtgs-scheme/

  • Western Ghats yield 3 new plant species

    A team of scientists of the Botanical Survey of India (BSI) have reported the discovery of three new plant species from the evergreen forest patches of the southern end of the Western Ghats in Kerala and Tamil Nadu.

    One may get carried away from the heavy botanical names. But UPSC is known for asking ruthless questions.

    Q. Recently, our scientists have discovered new and distinct spices of banana plant which attains a height of about 11 meters and has orange – colored form of pulp. In which part of India has been discovered? (CSP 2016)

    a) Andaman Islands

    b) Anaimalai Forests

    c) Maikala Hills

    d) Tropical rainforest of North-East

    Which are the new species?

    The three new species found are:

    1) Eugenia sphaerocarpa of the Myrtaceae or Rose apple family

    • A good population of Eugenia sphaerocarpa is growing in the Kakkayam area of the Malabar wildlife sanctuary in Kerala above 800 m.
    • The specific epithet ‘sphaerocarpa’ denotes to the large, showy lemon-yellow spherical fruit.
    • The fruits of Eugenia species are known for their palatability and many of them are harvested from the wild with some under cultivation.

    2) Goniothalamus sericeus of the Annonaceae family of custard apple

    • A small number of Goniothalamus sericeus plants has been found in the Kanyakumari wildlife sanctuary in Tamil Nadu.
    • Mature flowers with characteristic greenish-yellow to beige petals are fragrant while the fruits are very showy and an attractive golden yellow in colour.
    • The specific epithet ‘sericeus’ refers to the presence of dense silky hair on the petals.

    3) Memecylon nervosum of the Melastomataceae (Kayamboo or Kaasavu in local parlance) family

    • A small population of Memecylon nervosum was also found at the same sanctuary at an altitude between 700-900 m with more that than 10 sub-populations located along the banks of a perennial rivulet.
    • The species have showy purplish-blue flowers and mauve to purplish-red fruits.
    • The specific epithet ‘nervosum’ alludes to the presence of prominently raised lateral and intramarginal veins on the lower surface of the lamina.

  • [Burning Issue] India-China Skirmish in Ladakh

    “Hindi Chini bhai bhai” – The tale of these brothers is filled with so much action and drama that it can give Bollywood writers a run for money. See, border issues is never easy to resolve, never has been and never will be. Pangong Tso or Doklam – All point to Troubled LAC and an aggressive neighbour, which is a tough combination for India. Let’s dive into this article to learn about the border skirmishes.

    Current Incidents

    On May 5, around 250 Indian and Chinese army personnel clashed with iron rods, sticks, and even resorted to stone-pelting in the Pangong Tso lake area of Ladakh, in which soldiers on both sides sustained injuries. In a separate incident, nearly 150 Indian and Chinese military personnel were engaged in a face-off near Naku La Pass in the Sikkim sector on May 9. At least 10 soldiers from both sides sustained injuries.

    After Chinese accusation of Indian Army’s border transgressions and strong Indian pushback, Ladakh has become a new festering point for the Sino-Indian relations.

    A deeper look into reasons of present tensions

    • The stand-off in Galwan valley, according to reports, was triggered by China moving in troops and equipment to stop construction activity by India.
    • Delhi claims that it was well within India’s side of the LAC. The LAC was thought to be settled in this area which has not seen many incidents in the past, but China now appears to think otherwise.
    • The northern bank of Pangong lake has, however, been a point of contention where there are differing perceptions of the LAC.
    • The Sikkim incident is unexpected as the contours of the LAC are broadly agreed to in this sector.
    • Unofficial reason: The broader context for the tensions appears to be a changing dynamic along the LAC, as India plans to catch-up in improving infrastructure there.

    Some old bruises in border relations

    • India and China do not have a well-defined border, and troop face-offs are common along its 3,500 km Line of Actual Control (LAC), though not a bullet has been fired for four decades.
    • After the 1962 Sino-Indian war, one of the longest standoffs between the Indian and Chinese armies happened at Sumdorongchu (near the Bhutan tri-junction) in 1986, when the troops had an eye-to-eye stalemate.
    • In 2017, at Doklam, near the same Bhutan tri-junction, the troops of India and China were engaged in a 73-day stand-off, triggering fears of a war between the two nuclear-armed neighbours.

    The Gandhi-Deng bargain

      • A year after a military skirmish between India and China in the Sumdorong Chu Valley in Arunachal Pradesh, then PM Rajiv Gandhi visited his counterpart Deng Xiaoping in Beijing to mend ties.
      • The two leaders agreed to establish a forward-looking relationship but border dispute were temporarily set aside.
      • The reason for this pragmatism was rooted in economic and strategic factors: Both China and India needed a stable external environment to promote domestic economic development.
      • China was already a decade into the dramatic economic reforms that Deng had initiated, while Gandhi’s India had also embarked on a similar path.
      • The Gandhi-Deng bargain paved the way for a number of border management agreements (including the 1993 and 1996 agreements related to confidence-building measures.

    Then, Why do face-offs occur so frequently?

    • Basic: Face-off and stand-off situations occur along the LAC in areas where India and China have overlapping claim lines. The LAC has never been demarcated.
    • The boundary in the Sikkim sector is broadly agreed but has not been delineated.
    • Face-offs occur when patrols encounter each other in the contested zones between overlapping claim lines.
    • Protocols agreed to in 2005 and 2013 detail rules of engagement to prevent such incidents, but have not always been adhered to.

    What are the various sectors on the India-China border?

    • The border can be broadly divided into three sectors—Western, Middle and Eastern.
    • The Western sector, which includes Ladakh, is governed by the Johnson Line, making Aksai Chin (controlled by China) in Jammu and Kashmir contested territory for India.
    • The Middle sector, consisting of Uttarakhand and Himachal, is relatively tranquil. Even map exchanges between the two countries have taken place, based on a broad understanding of borders.
    • In the Eastern Sector (where Indian controls territory based on the MacMahon Line), China claims Arunachal Pradesh as part of southern Tibet, while India contests it.
    • The MacMahon Line was drawn at the tripartite 1913-14 Simla Convention attended by British India, Tibet and China; the problem: Tibet is involved and China is not a signatory to this pact.

    LAC: Why no solution yet?

    • It’s not like nothing has been done!
    • Maps have been exchanged in the Middle Sector, but the exercise fell through in the Western Sector where divergence is the greatest.
    • China has rejected this exercise, viewing it as adding another complication to the on-going boundary negotiations.
    • India’s argument is rather than agree on one LAC, the exercise could help both sides understand the claims of the other, paving the way to regulate activities in contested areas until a final settlement of the boundary dispute.

    Also, Chinese transgressions are frequent: Dragon’s aggressiveness

    • A higher number indicates that the Chinese soldiers are coming to the Indian side more often, and their movements are being observed and recorded by the Indian soldiers.
    • This can be seen as an indicator of increased Chinese assertiveness.
    • Since 73-day Doklam standoff on Sikkim-Bhutan border in 2017 there had been no major standoff.
    • PM Modi and President Xi met in Wuhan, following the Doklam crisis, and passed some instructions.

    Wuhan Coziness turned sour

    • Modi and Xi had met for their first informal summit at Wuhan in April 2018, where the two leaders had issued strategic guidance to their respective militaries.
    • These guidelines aimed to strengthen communication in order to build trust and mutual understanding and enhance predictability and effectiveness in the management of border affairs.
    • They had also directed their militaries to earnestly implement various confidence-building measures agreed upon between the two sides, including the principle of mutual and equal security.
    • But the latest border issues show hollowness of such talks.

    International forces in this bilateral ties

    • In addition to the border dispute, some of the core issues in the Sino-Indian rivalry include Tibet (the presence of the Dalai Lama, the Tibetan government-in-exile), the burgeoning China-Pakistan partnership, and the two countries’ overlapping spheres of influence in Asia.
    • These issues have become more salient in the context of the two countries’ simultaneous but asymmetric rising power.
    • In addition to accruing power domestically, India is also building strong strategic partnerships with China’s other rivals, especially the US and Japan.
    • Meanwhile, a rising China has stabilized its northern borders with Russia and is working to undermine the US primacy in the East Asian maritime (particularly the South China Sea).
    • This basically leaves only one border issue with a rival unresolved: namely, the Sino-Indian border.
    • It is hardly surprising that it is exerting periodic pressure on India along this front—a trend that is only likely to escalate.

    India should not fear. Why?

    To be sure, China’s regional aggression is COVID-proof. From Japan to Malaysia, Vietnam, Philippines and Taiwan, everyone has had to push back against Beijing’s marauding missions.

    1) India can retaliate

    • India, while still under-resourced, is no longer a pushover, having emerged stronger and wiser from the Depsang incident of 2013, when Chinese troops pitched tents to establish their control over the area.
    • India and China are both nuclear-armed countries with strong militaries.
    • India has been building a road along the Galwan River to Daulat Beg Oldie that would improve India’s access to the Karakoram Highway, as well as 61 border roads with a total length of 3,346 km across the Himalayan frontier.
    • The Indian Air Force’s capabilities have improved as well.

    2) China is wooing its people

    • Presently, China is in the midst of its annual “2 Sessions” of the CPCC (Chinese People’s Political Consultative Process) and NPC (National People’s Congress), where the ruling sentiment is how China is being bold and tough.
    • Hong Kong was an example of that sentiment. It is likely the India moves may be related. No softening or reasonableness can be expected from China until the NPC ends.
    • China is, as usual, changing the ground realities to influence a future boundary agreement.

    The ground realities before we think settlement

    • India sees China as occupying 38,000 sq km in Aksai Chin. In the east, China claims as much as 90,000 sq km, extending all across Arunachal Pradesh.
    • A swap was hinted at by China in 1960 and in the early 1980s, which would have essentially formalized the status quo.
    • Both sides have now ruled out the status quo as a settlement, agreeing to meaningful and mutual adjustments.
    • At the same time, the most realistic solution will involve only minor adjustments along the LAC, considering neither side will be willing to part with territory already held.

    Way forward

    • India and China should grasp the current situation as an opportunity to revive the stalled process of clarifying the LAC.
    • Clarifying the LAC may even provide a fresh impetus to the stalled boundary talks between the Special Representatives.
    • Beyond the posturing, both sides know a final settlement will ultimately have to use the LAC as a basis, with only minor adjustments. Only a settlement will end the shadow boxing on the LAC.
    • With both countries in the midst of an unprecedented global pandemic, the time to push for a settlement to a distracting, protracted dispute is now.

    Conclusion

    • The issue is basically the fundamental difference in how both sides view the boundary question.
    • India insists that its relations with China won’t improve until the border dispute is resolved.
    • But China differs here.
    • In some sense, Beijing appears to view an unsettled border as holding some leverage with India, one of the many pressure points it could use to keep India off-guard.
    • But for now, India should resist the Chinese design which could have disastrous consequences for India’s defence and strategic interests. Lastly, Diplomatic channels is always a better option than skirmishes on the borders.

     

     

  • Neglect of demand side

    What should the government focus on first: increasing demand or streamlining the supply side. This question is at the heart of the debate that has been going on after the government announced the stimulus package. This article argues on two lines- Inadequate size of the package and the neglect of the demand side in the package.

    Why stakeholders are not happy with the package?

    • Agriculture sector: There is relief for agriculture in the form of a concessional credit line of Rs 2 trillion, but loans are neither automatic or assured.
    •  Marketing reforms and infrastructure creation are distant promises.
    • MSME sector:  The backbone of the economy that provides 25 per cent of employment, 32 per cent of the GDP and 45 per cent of exports, is unhappy despite the Rs 3 trillion line of credit for loans without collateral.
    • In their experience, lenders are not always supportive in extending loans.
    • While buyers-central and state governments, public sector firms and the private sector- owe them as much as Rs 5 trillion.
    • What is more, most MSMEs just do not have the resources to pay wages or meet fixed costs on electricity, rent or interest during the lockdown period.
    • Corporate sector: There is nothing for the corporate sector in manufacturing or services.
    • The distressed sectors such as airlines, automobiles, hotels, restaurants, and tourism have been ignored.
    • Ironically, there is little for public health, already in a dilapidated state.
    • Even stock markets, characterised by irrational exuberance in the past month, have dropped.

    Government expenditure in the fiscal stimulus

    • The fiscal stimulus, which can be defined as government expenditure that could stimulate demand, is difficult to separate.
    • This is because the package is neither clear nor transparent about the cost to be borne by the government in each component.
    • Even so, there are 12 estimates by analysts in financial sector institutions, suggesting that the fiscal stimulus is in the range of 0.7 per cent to 1.3 per cent of the GDP.
    • The effective fiscal stimulus, in terms of extra resources provided by the government, is Rs 1.76 trillion, or 0.8 per cent of the GDP.
    • Its contribution to domestic demand will be minuscule, given that private final consumer expenditure in India is about 60 per cent of the GDP.

    Focus of the package: supply side

    • It is clear that the design of this relief package seeks to focus on the supply side.
    • Package emphasises on providing liquidity through lines of credit, where the RBI is providing as much as Rs 8 trillion.
    • Focus is not on the demand side by stepping up government expenditure.
    • This is done with the aim of minimising the cost to the government.
    • The arithmetic is obviously imaginative — as much as Rs 10 trillion of the relief package will have to be financed by sources other than the Centre and the RBI.

    So, let’s understand why focus on supply side is flawed strategy

    • This stress on the supply-side, while neglecting the demand-side, reveals a flawed understanding of economies in crisis.
    • Speed of adjustment: Even in normal circumstances, the speed of adjustment of the supply-side is slow because supply responses take time.
    • Whereas the speed of adjustment on the demand-side is fast as incomes spent raise consumption demand without any time-lag.
    • At present, if there is little or no increase in demand, supply responses will be slower than usual because producers would not wish to pile up inventories of unsold goods.
    • In terms of the chicken-and-egg parable, demand must be revived first to kickstart the economy.
    • For this reason, the fiscal stimulus should have been much larger.

    Excessive concerns over fiscal deficit

    • The decision-makers have been timid, intimidated by the prospect that, because of revenue shortfalls (2 per cent of the GDP or more), the fiscal deficit would be 5.5 per cent of the GDP.
    • Which would have exceeded the budget estimate at 3.5 per cent of the GDP.
    • The conclusion drawn, wrongly, is that there is no fiscal space.
    • The obsessive concern about the fiscal deficit is deeply embedded in government thinking.
    • In this situation, the extra fiscal stimulus should have been Rs 7-9 trillion i.e. 3-4 per cent of the GDP and that would have been modest compared to what other countries have done.

    Monetising the deficit  and issues involved in doing so

    • This enlarged fiscal deficit (3-4 % of GDP) cannot be financed by market borrowing.
    • Such market borrowing would simply drive up interest rates and nip recovery in the bud.
    • It would have to be financed by monetising the deficit — RBI buying government T-bills — printing money, now termed “helicopter money”.
    • Inflation concerns: The idea that monetised deficits will unleash inflation is blind to the reality that, at this juncture, if there is no further intervention by the government, the GDP could contract by 5 per cent in 2020-21, with lingering consequences.
    • In fact, a monetised deficit might be the only way of increasing aggregate demand to revive economic growth.
    • Rating downgrade issue: The worry about a downgrade from credit rating agencies is bizarre.
    • For one, their ethics and integrity have seen steady erosion.
    • Moreover, how many sovereign governments will they downgrade?
    • In fact, we might be better off without the footloose and volatile portfolio investment inflows.

    Consider the question- “Do you agree with the view that the focus of the supply side should be at the heart of any stimulus package announced in the financial crisis? Give reasons in the support of your agreement.”

    Conclusion

    If the government does not accept the necessity or wisdom of expansionary macroeconomic policies, it must set out its alternative plan for recovery. The relief package will not suffice.

  • U.S. set to exit the ‘Open Skies Treaty’ Copy

    The U.S. has given notice that it will exit the Open Skies Treaty (OST) in response to Russia who had allegedly violated the treaty.

    The New START, INF and now the OST …. Be clear about the differences of these treaties. For example- to check if their inception was during cold war era etc.

    Open Skies Treaty (OST)

    • OST is an agreement that allows countries to monitor signatories’ arms development by conducting surveillance flights over each other’s territories.
    • The idea behind the OST was first proposed in the early years of the Cold War by former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower.
    • It came to existence decades later and was signed in 1992, during the George H.W. Bush presidency and after the Soviet Union had collapsed.
    • The OST came into effect in 2002 under the George W. Bush administration and it allows its 34 signatories to conduct unarmed reconnaissance flights over the territory of treaty countries.

    Issues with the OST

    • The U.S. has used the treaty more intensively than Russia.
    • Between 2002 and 2016, the U.S. flew 196 flights over Russia (in addition to having imagery from other countries) compared to the 71 flights flown by Russia.

    Significance

    • The U.S.’s exit last year from other arms deal the West had signed with Russia — the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) treaty — as well as its imminent departure from the OST has raised the strong possibility that the Trump administration may not renew the New Start Treaty.
    • The New START Treaty was signed by the Obama administration with Russia that caps Russian and U.S. nuclear arsenal. The New Start Treaty is due to expire in February 2021.
    • The Trump administration has been worried that extending New START would negatively impact an arms deal with China and Russia.
    • It is concerned that China’s nuclear stockpile could be doubled if the New Start Treaty continued as is, without including China.

    Back2Basics: New START pact

    • The New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START) pact limits the number of deployed nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers and is due to expire in 2021 unless renewed.
    • The treaty limits the US and Russia to a maximum of 1,550 deployed nuclear warheads and 700 deployed missiles and bombers, well below Cold War caps.
    • It was signed in 2010 by former US President Barack Obama and then-Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
    • It is one of the key controls on superpower deployment of nuclear weapons.
    • If it falls, it will be the second nuclear weapons treaty to collapse under the leadership of US President Donald Trump.
    • In February 2019, the US withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), accusing Moscow of violating the agreement.

    INF Treaty

    • Under the INF treaty, the US and Soviet Union agreed not to develop, produce, possess or deploy any ground-based ballistic and cruise missiles that have a range between 500 and 5,500 km.
    • It exempted the air-launched and sea-based missile systems in the same range.
    • The INF treaty helped address the fears of an imminent nuclear war in Europe.
    • It also built some trust between Washington and Moscow and contributed to the end of the Cold War.

  • [pib] UMANG Mobile App

    To further enhance the initiatives of Digital India Programme, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) services have been brought on the “UMANG App”.

    UPSC may puzzle you by asking a question such as: Which of the following services are included under UMANG App?  It would provide some ambiguous 5-6 options.

    UMANG App

    • The UMANG is an acronym for Unified Mobile Application for New-age Governance.
    • It is an all-in-one single, unified, secure, multi-channel, multi-platform, multi-lingual, multi-service mobile app, powered by a robust back-end platform providing access to high impact services of various organizations.
    • It was in 2017 to bring major government services on a single mobile app, with a larger goal to make the government accessible on the mobile phone of our citizens.
    • About 660 services from 127 departments & 25 states and about 180 utility bill payment services are live and more are in pipeline.
    • UMANG user base has crossed 2.1 Crore including Android, iOS, Web and KaiOS.
    • Citizens can also access their Digilocker from UMANG and give their feedback after availing any service through Rapid Assessment System (RAS) which has been integrated with UMANG.

    Key features

    • Unified Platform: It brings together all government departments and their services on a single platform to provide better and easier services to citizens.
    • Mobile-First Strategy: It aligns all government services with the mobile-first strategy to leverage mobile adoption trends.
    • Integration with Digital India Services: It provides seamless integration with other Digital India Services like Aadhaar, DigiLocker, and PayGov. Any new such service will automatically be integrated with the platform.
    • Uniform Experience: It is designed to enable citizens to discover, download, access, and use all government services easily.
    • Secure and Scalable: It supports Aadhaar-based and other authentication mechanisms for service access. The sensitive profile data is saved in an encrypted format and no one can view this information.

    Benefits for Citizens

    • Single-Point Ubiquitous Access: All government services are available for citizens on a unified platform for easy access through multiple online and offline channels (SMS, email, app, and web).
    • More for Less: Only a single mobile app needs to be installed instead of each app of each department.
    • Convenience: Citizens do not even need to install or update the app again to avail government services if more services are added to the platform.
    • Saving of Time and Money: Citizens can anytime and anywhere avail these services through their mobile phones, desktops, and laptops without any need for visiting the department office and standing in queues.
    • Uniform Experience: All the government services including payment-based transactions provide secure and uniform experience.

  • [pib] Initiatives launched on International Day of Biodiversity

    In a virtual celebration of the International Day for Biological Diversity 2020, Union Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has launched key initiatives towards conservation of biodiversity.

    Possible prelim question:

    The ‘Not all Animals Migrate by Choice’ campaign recently seen in news is an initiative by __________.

    About the International Day for Biological Diversity

    • This Day is a United Nations-sanctioned international day for the promotion of biodiversity issues.
    • It is currently held on May 22.
    • The year 2020 is also the “Super Year for Biodiversity”, as the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity with 20 global Aichi targets adopted in 2010 ends in 2020.

    1) Biodiversity Samrakshan Internship Programme

    • The program proposes to engage 20 students with postgraduate degrees for a period of one year through an open, transparent, online competitive process.
    • It has the National Biodiversity Authority (NBA) and the UN Development Programme (UNDP) as a nodal agency.

     2) ‘Not all Animals Migrate by Choice’ campaign

    • It is a United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Campaign launched by the Wildlife Crime Control Bureau on Illegal Trafficking of Endangered Species.
    • It aims to curb illegal trade in wildlife which carries the risk of spreading dangerous pandemics.

    Back2Basics: Aichi Targets

    • The ‘Aichi Targets’ were adopted by the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) at its Nagoya conference.
    • The short term plan provides a set of 20 ambitious yet achievable targets, collectively known as the Aichi Targets.
    • The IUCN Species Programme provides advice to Parties, other governments and partners on the implementation of the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity and it’s Aichi Biodiversity Targets (2011 – 2020) and is also heavily involved in work towards the Target.

  • What are General Financial Rules (GFR)?

    The union government has notified amendments to General Financial Rules (GFR) to ensure that goods and services valued less than Rs 200 crore are being procured from domestic firms, a move which will benefit MSMEs.

    Possible mains question:

    Q. Discuss how the nationwide lockdown to control the coronavirus outbreak has led to the resurfacing of inherent bottlenecks in India’s MSME Sector.

    What are the General Financial Rules (GFRs)?

    • The GFRs are a compilation of rules and orders of the Government of India to be followed by all while dealing with matters involving public finances.
    • They are instructions that pertain to financial matters.
    • They lay down the general rules applicable to Ministries / Departments, and detailed instructions relating to the procurement of goods.
    • They are issued by the procuring departments broadly in conformity with the general rules while maintaining the flexibility to deal with varied situations.

    Also read:

    [Burning Issues] Fiscal Push for MSME Sector of India (Part I)