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  • China’s growing footprint in the Pacific Islands

    Wang Yi, the Foreign Minister of China, is currently on an eight-day visit to ten Pacific Island Countries (PICs) after the MoU failed to gain consensus among the PICs.

    What are the PICs?

    • The Pacific Island Countries are a cluster of 14 states which are located largely in the tropical zone of the Pacific Ocean between Asia, Australia and the Americas.
    • They include Cook Islands, Fiji, Kiribati, Republic of Marshall Islands, Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), Nauru, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu.
    • The islands are divided on the basis of physical and human geography into three distinct parts — Micronesia, Melanesia and Polynesia.

    Geo-economics of PICs

    • The islands are very small in land area, and are spread wide across the vast equatorial swathe of the Pacific Ocean.
    • Even being the smallest and least populated states, they have some of the largest Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs) in the world.
    • Large EEZs translate into huge economic potential due to the possibility of utilising the wealth of fisheries, energy, minerals and other marine resources present in such zones.
    • Hence, they prefer to be identified as Big Ocean States, rather than Small Island States.
    • In fact, Kiribati and FSM, both PICs, having EEZs larger than that of India.

    Strategic significance

    • PICs have played an important role in major power rivalry as springboards for power projection and laboratories for developing and demonstrating strategic capabilities.
    • The major powers of the colonial era competed with each other to gain control over these strategic territories.
    • The Pacific islands also acted as one of the major theatres of conflict during the Second World War — between imperial Japan and the US.
    • Due to the remoteness of these islands from major population centres of the world, some of the major nuclear weapon test sites of the US, UK and France were located here.
    • In addition, the 14 PICs account for as many number of votes in the United Nations, and act as a potential vote bank for major powers to mobilise international opinion.

    China’s vested interests in PIC

    • China does not have any particular historical linkages to the PICs unlike the Western powers.
    • Therefore, its interest in the PICs is of relatively recent origin, and is linked to China’s rise in the past few decades.
    • The PICs lie in the natural line of expansion of China’s maritime interest and naval power.
    • They are located beyond China’s ‘First Island Chain’, which represents the country’s first threshold of maritime expansion.
    • The PICs are located geostrategically in what is referred to by China as its ‘Far Seas’.
    • Their control will make Chinese Blue Water Navy capable, an essential prerequisite, for becoming a superpower in maritime domain.

    For the Taiwan narrative

    • China is preparing for what seems like an inevitable military invasion of Taiwan, sooner or later.
    • In this context, it becomes important to break Western domination of island chains of the Pacific.
    • This could otherwise impede reunification.
    • Wooing the PICs away from the West and Taiwan will therefore make the goal of Taiwan’s reunification easier for China.
    • Currently, only four PICs have recognised Taiwan. They are Tuvalu, Palau, Marshall Islands and Nauru.

    What are the implications of China’s latest move?

    • China has increasingly started talking about security cooperation in addition to its economic diplomacy towards the PICs.
    • In April 2022, China signed a controversial security deal with the Solomon Islands, which raised regional concerns.
    • The PICs as a collective did not agree to China’s extensive and ambitious proposals, and therefore China failed to get a consensus on the deal.

    Why did the PICs refuted China?

    • PICs perceived that they could have negative implications for the sovereignty and unity of PICs and may drag them into major power conflicts in the future.
    • Some have argued that China has acted too boldly and has therefore met with such a debacle.
    • China might have also miscalculated the regional reaction, perhaps led by a monolithic understanding of the PICs after seeing Solomon Islands’ positive response earlier this year.

    A caution for the world

    • China can always come back with improvised plan (rather bigger lollipop) which is more acceptable and use it to further pursue its final objectives incrementally.
    • Moreover, this debacle does not stop China from pursuing bilateral deals of similar nature.

    Conclusion

    • The intensification of China’s diplomacy in PICs have made the powers who have traditionally controlled the regional dynamics like the US and Australia more cautious.
    • The US has started revisiting its diplomatic priority for the region ever since the China-Solomon Islands deal.
    • The role played by the US in mobilising opposition against China’s proposed deal could not be ruled out.

     

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  • UAPA

    The Supreme Court recently put freeze on sedition proceedings under the Section 124A (sedition law) of the IPC for persons who have also been charged under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) of 1967 in the same case or separately.

    What is the news?

    • This freeze has rejected bails for some journalist and JNU activists who also face charges under the UAPA (for anti-India sloganeering and activites).
    • Now they have been accused of making anti-national activities during the Delhi Riots.

    Why is UAPA significant?

    • An amendment made in 2019 has made the Act even more powerful.
    • Now it can designate individuals, and not just associations, as ‘terrorists’.

    Unlawful (Activities) Prevention Act (UAPA)

    • The UAPA is aimed at effective prevention of unlawful activities associations in India.
    • Its main objective was to make powers available for dealing with activities directed against the integrity and sovereignty of India
    • It is an upgrade on the Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act TADA, which was allowed to lapse in 1995 and the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) was repealed in 2004.
    • It was originally passed in 1967 under the then Congress government led by former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi.
    • Till 2004, “unlawful” activities referred to actions related to secession and cession of territory. Following the 2004 amendment, “terrorist act” was added to the list of offences.

    Major feature: Designation of Terrorists

    • The Centre had amended UAPA, 1967, in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist.
    • Before this amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist outfits.
    • Section 15 of the UAPA defines a “terrorist act” as any act committed with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, or sovereignty of India or with intent to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country.
    • The original Act dealt with “unlawful” acts related to secession; anti-terror provisions were introduced in 2004.

    Who makes such designation?

    • The UAPA (after 2019 amendment)seeks to empower the central government to designate an individual a “terrorist” if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in an act of terror.
    • A similar provision already exists in Part 4 and 6 of the legislation for organizations that can be designated as a “terrorist organisations”.

    How individuals are declared terrorists?

    • The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette, and add his name to the schedule supplemented to the UAPA Bill.
    • The government is not required to give an individual an opportunity to be heard before such a designation.
    • At present, in line with the legal presumption of an individual being innocent until proven guilty, an individual who is convicted in a terror case is legally referred to as a terrorist.
    • While those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities are referred to as terror accused.

    What happens when an individual is declared a terrorist?

    • The designation of an individual as a global terrorist by the United Nations is associated with sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets and an embargo against procuring arms.
    • The UAPA, however, does not provide any such detail.
    • It also does not require the filing of cases or arresting individuals while designating them as terrorists.

    Removing the terrorist tag

    • The UAPA gives the central government the power to remove a name from the schedule when an individual makes an application.
    • The procedure for such an application and the process of decision-making will is decided by the central government.
    • If an application filed by an individual declared a terrorist is rejected by the government, the UAPA gives him the right to seek a review within one month after the application is rejected.
    • The central government will set up the review committee consisting of a chairperson (a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) and three other members.
    • The review committee is empowered to order the government to delete the name of the individual from the schedule that lists “terrorists” if it considers the order to be flawed.
    • Apart from these two avenues, the individual can also move the courts to challenge the government’s order.

     

     

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  • What are PM Shri Schools?

    Union Education Ministry is planning to set up “PM Shri Schools”.

    PM Shri Schools

    • PM Shri Schools will be the laboratory of National Education Policy (NEP) 2020.
    • They will be fully equipped to prepare students for the future.

    Likely features of these schools

    • It could imbibe 5+3+3+4 (to replace the 10+2 schooling system) approach of NEP covering pre-school to secondary, emphasis on ECCE, teacher training & adult education.
    • There will be an integration of skill development with school education and prioritising learning in mother tongue which are steps for preparing global citizens of the 21st century.
    • Since the NEP 2020 also increases the span of the Right to Education Act, it will now cover ages 3 to 18.

    Explained: 5+3+3+4 Schooling System

    • As per the new school education system of 5+3+3+4 outlined in NEP 2020, children will spend 5 years in the Foundational stage, 3 years in the Preparatory stage, 3 years in the Middle stage, and 4 years in the Secondary stage.
    • The division of stages has been made in line with the kind of cognitive development stages that a child goes through early childhood, school years, and secondary stage.
    • Here is the age-wise breakdown of the different levels of the new school education system:

    (1) 5 years of Foundational stage:

    For ages: 3 to 8, For classes: Anganwadi/pre-school, class 1, class 2

    • The foundational stage of education as per the national education policy will comprise 3 years or preschool or anganwadi education followed by two years of primary classes (classes 1 and 2).
    • This stage will focus on teaching in play-based or activity-based methods and on the development of language skills.

    (2) 3 years of Preparatory stage:

    For ages: 8 to 11, For classes: 3 to 5

    • The focus in the preparatory stage will remain on language development and numeracy skills.
    • Here, the method of teaching and learning would be play and activity-based, and also include classroom interactions and the element of discovery.

    (3) 3 years of Middle stage:

    For ages: 11 to 14, For classes: 6 to 8

    • As per NEP 2020, this stage of school education will focus on critical learning objectives, which is a big shift from the rote learning methods used in our education system for years.
    • This stage will work on experiential learning in the sciences, mathematics, arts, social sciences and humanities.

    (4) 4 years of Secondary stage:

    For ages: 14 to 18, For classes: 9 to 12

    • This stage will cover two phases classes 9 and 10, and classes 11 and 12.
    • The main change in these classes is the shift to a multidisciplinary system where students will have access to a variety of subject combinations that they can choose as per their skills and interest areas instead of being strictly divided into Arts, Science and Commerce categories.
    • This stage will again push for greater critical thinking and flexibility in the thought process.

     

     

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  • International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT)

    The four-meter International Liquid Mirror Telescope (ILMT) saw the first light recently, gazing out from its vantage on Devasthal, a hill in Uttarakhand.

    What is the ILMT?

    • The telescope has been built by a collaboration of scientists from Canada, Belgium and India.
    • It is located at an altitude of 2,450 metres on the Devasthal Observatory campus of the Aryabhata Research Institute of Observational Sciences (ARIES) in Nainital district.
    • A large pool of mercury placed in a vessel is spun around so fast that it curves into a parabolic shape. Since mercury is reflective, this shape helps in focusing the reflected light.
    • Nearly 50 litres of mercury, weighing close to 700 kilograms, is spun hard to form a paraboloid mirror of just 4 mm thickness and a diameter of about 4 metres.
    • A thin sheet of mylar protects the mercury from the wind.
    • Once it starts making observations, the telescope will collect gigabytes of data, which will need to be analysed using artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI and ML) tools.

    It’s utility

    • The telescope will make sky surveys possible and obtain images that can help observe transient phenomena.
    • It will help analyse events such as supernovae and record the presence of space debris or meteorites — basically, watch the skies.

    What is the first image?

    • The first image made by the telescope consisted of several stars and a galaxy, NGC 4274, which is 45 million light years away.
    • The telescope, having a primary mirror that is liquid, cannot be turned and pointed in any direction.
    • It “stares” at the zenith and watches the sky as the earth rotates, thereby giving a view of different objects.
    • This property can be used to scan and survey the sky, and observe transients and moving objects such as meteorites.
    • It will work in tandem with the existing 3.6-metre Devasthal Optical Telescope.

     

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  • Posidonia Australis: World’s Largest Plant

    The world’s largest plant has recently been discovered off the West Coast of Australia: a seagrass 180 km in length.

    Posidonia australis

    • The ribbon weed, or Posidonia australis, has been discovered in Shark Bay by a group of researchers from Flinders University and The University of Western Australia.
    • These researchers have also found that the plant is 4,500 years old, is sterile, has double the number of chromosomes than other similar plants.
    • It has managed to survive the volatile atmosphere of the shallow Shark Bay.

    So how remarkable is this plant’s size?

    • The ribbon weed covers an area of 20,000 hectares.
    • The next on the podium, the second largest plant, is the clonal colony of a quaking Aspen tree in Utah, which covers 43.6 hectares.
    • The largest tree in India, the Great Banyan in Howrah’s Botanical Garden, covers 1.41 hectares.

    If it is so large, how come it has just been discovered?

    • The existence of the seagrass was known, that it is one single plant was not.
    • Researchers were interested in what they then thought was a meadow because they wanted to study its genetic diversity, and collect some parts for seagrass restoration.

    How did it grow, and survive for, so long?

    • Sometime in the Harappan era, a plant took root in the Shark Bay.
    • Then it kept spreading through its rhizomes, overcoming everything in its way, and here we are today.
    • Ribbon weed rhizomes can usually grow to around 35cm per year, which is how the scientists arrived at its lifespan of 4,5000 years.
    • The researchers found that the ribbon weed cannot spread its seeds, something that helps plants overcome environmental threats.
    • Also, Shark Bay sees fluctuations in temperature and salinity and gets a lot of light, conditions challenging for any plant.

    Ecological significance

    • Because seagrass performs a vital role in the environment, and if some of it is hardy, it is good news for everyone in a world threatened by climate change.
    • In India, seagrass is found in many coastal areas, most notably in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait.
    • Apart from being home to a variety of small organisms, seagrass trap sediments and prevent water from getting muddy, absorb carbon from the atmosphere, and prevent coastal erosion.

     

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  • Species in news: Eublepharis pictus

    A gecko found in Visakhapatnam in 2017, then thought to belong to a known species, has now been identified as a member of a new species.

    Eublepharis pictus

    • The species, Eublepharis pictus, also known as the Painted Leopard Gecko, has been described in the journal Evolutionary Systematics.
    • Phylogenetic study and morphological comparisons have distinguished it as a new species.
    • It is endemic to the forests of Andhra Pradesh and Odisha.
    • The gecko genus Eublepharis now has 7 species.

    Conservation status

    • The species occurs outside protected areas.
    • Most leopard geckos are killed when encountered.
    • Activists have called for raising awareness about the fact that the species is actually harmless.

     

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  • The Digital India transformation

    Context

    Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a telling observation about his idea of India: “… every Indian must have a smartphone in his hand and every field must be covered by a drone”.

    Digital India program and its impact

    • Digital India solved some of the most difficult problems the country had been facing for decades.
    • The Jan-Dhan-Aadhaar-Mobile (JAM) trinity has ensured that the poorest receive every penny of their entitled benefits.
    • Financial benefits worth nearly Rs 23 lakh crore have been transferred using DBT technology in the last eight years.
    • This has led to savings of Rs 2.22 lakh crore of public money.
    • Leveraging the power of drones and GIS technologies, SVAMITVA Yojana is providing digital land records to the rightful owners
    • Digital inclusion: The inclusive character of Digital India not only makes it a unique initiative but also reflects our core philosophy of “Sabka Saath, Sabka Vishwas”.

    Digital transformation in India

    • India today is home to more than 75 crore smartphones, 133 crore Aadhaar cards, more than 80 crore internet users, has 4G and is now accelerating towards 5G.
    • It has among the lowest data tariffs in the world.
    • Digital technology must be low-cost, developmental, inclusive, and substantially home-grown and it should bridge the digital divide and usher in digital inclusion.
    • The digital ecosystem was also useful in tackling the challenge of the pandemic.
    • To provide high-speed broadband to all the villages, optical fibre has been laid in 1.83 lakh gram panchayats under Bharat Net.
    • CSCs: There were only 80,000 Common Service Centers (CSCs) in 2014, which is an entity under the Ministry of Electronics and IT headed by Secretary IT, for providing assisted delivery of digital services to common citizens offering only a few services. Today, there are nearly four lakh CSCs.
    • Fintech innovation ecosystem: India has emerged as the fastest-growing ecosystem for fintech innovations. 
    • This was made possible due to innovative digital payment products like UPI and Aadhaar-Enabled Payment Systems (AEPS).
    • Startup ecosystem: India has more than 61,400 startups as of March 2022, making it the third-largest startup ecosystem after the US and China.
    • With nearly 14,000 startups getting recognized during 2021-22, 555 districts of India had at least one new startup as per the Economic Survey 2022.

    Atmanirbharta in electronic manufacturing

    • With initiatives like Modified Special Incentive Scheme (MSIPS), Electronics Manufacturing Cluster, National Policy on Electronics 2019, Electronics Development Fund, Production Linked Incentive (PLI) and Scheme for Promotion of Electronics Components and Semiconductors (SPECS), India is moving towards self-reliance in the field of electronics manufacturing.
    • The value of electronics manufacturing in India has touched $75 billion in 2020-21 from $29 billion in 2014.
    • Indian companies have developed their own 4G and 5G technologies.

    Conclusion

    Digital India’s motto – “Power to Empower” — is truly living up to its goals and expectations. The success of Digital India only confirms that it has a robust future in India’s development.

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  • For India, a lesson in food security from Sri Lanka

    Context

     India needs to have a strategy of self-reliance in basic foods, including edible oils.

    Contrasting cases of Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia

    • Sri Lanka, a country with 21.5 million population imported dairy products valued at $333.8 million in 2020 and $317.7 million in 2021.
    • The island nation’s imports of whole milk powder (WMP) alone were 89,000 tonnes and 72,000 tonnes in these two years.
    •  The 89,000 tonnes of powder imported in 2020 would have, thus, “produced” almost 2.1 million litres per day (MLPD) equivalent of milk.
    • This is as against the 1.3 MLPD that Sri Lanka produces from its own cows and buffaloes.
    • It translates into an import dependence of over 60 per cent.
    • At the other end, we have Saudi Arabia, home to over 35 million inhabitants (including immigrants) and also the world’s largest vertically integrated dairy company.
    • Almarai Company has six dairy farms producing more than 3.5 MLPD of milk.
    • The animals are sourced from the US and Europe.
    • The entire feed and also forage given to them are procured from abroad.
    • Why is Saudi Arabia taking such pains to produce its own milk?
    • The answer is food security.
    • The Saudis — other Persian Gulf countries have also copied the Almarai model — are prepared to pay any price when it comes to ensuring the availability of basic food like milk.

    Lessons for India: Reducing import dependence on edible oil

    • India annually imports 13.5-14.5 million tonnes of vegetable oils, again roughly 60 per cent of its total consumption.
    •  Low international prices meant that the import bill, though high, fell from $9.85 billion in 2012-13 to $9.67 billion in 2019-20.
    • However, in the last couple of years, retail prices of most oils more than doubled
    • The value of India’s vegetable oil imports surged to a record $19 billion in 2021-22.

    Conclusion

    As a country with a population many times that of Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia, India needs to have a strategy of self-reliance in basic foods.

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