The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) is building up its orbital debris tracking capability by deploying new radars and optical telescopes under the Network for Space Objects Tracking and Analysis (NETRA) project.
Project NETRA
The project will give India its own capability in space situational awareness (SSA) like the other space powers — which is used to ‘predict’ threats from debris to Indian satellites.
NETRA’s eventual goal is to capture the GEO, or geostationary orbit, scene at 36,000 km where communication satellites operate.
The initial SSA will first be for low-earth orbits or LEO which have remote-sensing spacecraft.
Under NETRA the ISRO plans to put up many observational facilities: connected radars, telescopes; data processing units and a control centre.
They can, among others, spot, track and catalogue objects as small as 10 cm, up to a range of 3,400 km and equal to a space orbit of around 2,000 km.
The NETRA effort would make India a part of international efforts towards tracking, warning about and mitigating space debris.
What NETRA consists of?
In the plans are a high-precision, long range telescope in Leh and a radar in the North East.
Along with them, we will also use the Multi-Object Tracking Radar (MOTR) that we have put up at the Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota, and the telescopes at Ponmudi and Mount Abu to get a broad SSA picture.
NORAD, or the North American Aerospace Defense Command, is an initiative of the U.S. and Canada that shares selective debris data with many countries.
The new SSA centre would consolidate debris tracking activities that are now spread across ISRO centres.
Currently there are 15 functional Indian communication satellites in the geostationary orbit of 36,000 km; 13 remote sensing satellites in LEO of up to 2,000 km; and eight navigation satellites in medium earth orbits.
Why Space debris matters?
Space junk or debris consists of spent rocket stages, dead satellites, fragments of space objects and debris resulting from ASAT.
Hurtling at an average speed of 27,000 kmph in LEO, these objects pose a very real threat as collisions involving even centimetre-sized fragments can be lethal to satellites.
Last year, ISRO monitored 4,382 events in LEO and 3,148 events in the geostationary orbit where space objects closely approached Indian assets.
Fragments from the Fengyun-1C satellite (part of the anti-satellite test (ASAT) by China in 2007) and the Cosmos 2251-Iridium satellite collision in 2009 accounted for the maximum number of these threats.
The observations also covered 84 “close approaches of less than one km” between Starlink satellites and Indian assets.
Enhancing Space situational awareness (SSA)
India, as a responsible space power, should have SSA as a part of a national capability, as in the U.S. This is a vital requirement for protecting our space assets and a force multiplier.
The SSA has a military quotient to it and adds a new ring to the country’s overall security.
It uses satellites, ground and air radars to secure its two countries against attacks from air, space or sea.
With long-range tracking radars, the SSA also provides us the capability of an early warning system against ballistic missiles coming in at a height.
Apart from radars and telescopes, he said India should also think of deploying satellites that track other satellites — as the U.S. and other space powers had done.
Combined with other elements of military intelligence SSA would help us to understand motives behind any suspicious orbit changes of other satellites and to know if they were spying on or harming our spacecraft.
Earlier this month, the Union Cabinet has approved the setting up of the National Land Monetization Corporation (NLMC) to monetize surplus land and building assets of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) and other agencies linked to the Government.
In this article, we will study how effective is this going to be, considering land monetization is a complex process, what potential challenges could NLMC face in the whole process, what roles and responsibilities will this separate agency be entrusted with?
What is NLMC?
The NLMC will be a firm, fully owned by the government, to carry out the monetisation of government and public sector assets in the form of surplus, unused or underused land assets.
It will fall under the administrative jurisdiction of the Ministry of Finance.
It will be set up with an initial authorised share capital of ₹5,000 crore and a paid-up capital of ₹150 crore.
Surplus land and building assets of CPSEs are expected to be transferred to the NLMC, which will then hold, manage and monetise them.
Functions of NLMC
The NLMC will-
Monetize underutilised or unused land parcels of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs)
Facilitate the monetisation of assets belonging to PSUs that have ceased operations or are in line for a strategic disinvestment
Actas an advisory body and support other government entities and CPSEs in identifying their surplus non-core assets
Benefits offered
Speeding up disinvestment: The setting of the NLMC will speed up the closure process of the CPSEs and smoothen the strategic disinvestment process.
Productive utilization of stagnant assets: It will also enable productive utilisation of these under-utilised assets by setting in motion private sector investments.
Easing up of finances: It will boost new economic activities such as industrialisation, boosting the local economy by generating employment and generating resources for potential economic and social infrastructure.
Maximum value realization: It will help monetising them in an efficient and professional manner, maximising the scope of value realisation.
What does monetization mean?
When the government monetises its assets, it essentially means that it is transferring the revenue rights of the asset (could be idle land, infrastructure, PSU) to a private player for a specified period of time.
In such a transaction, the government gets in return an:
Upfront payment from the private entity
Regular share of the revenue generated from the asset
Promise of steady investment into the asset, and
Title rights to the monetised asset
Why need monetization?
There are different reasons why the government monetizes its assets.
Revenue shortfall: One of them is to create new sources of revenue.
Pandemic damage control: The economy has already been hit due to the coronavirus pandemic and revenues are essential to fulfil the Modi government’s target of achieving a $5 trillion economy.
Risk management: Monetisation is also done to unlock the potential of unused or underused assets by involving institutional investors or private players.
Capital generation: It is also done to generate resources or capital for future asset creation, such as using the money generated from monetisation to create new infrastructure projects.
Need for NLMC
Professional dealing in negotiations: The firm will hire professionals from the private sector with a merit based approach
Market expertise: Asset monetisation of real estate requires expertise in valuation of property, market research, investment banking, land management, legal diligence and other related skill sets.
Global best practices: NLMC will undertake monetisation as an agency function and is expected to act as a directory of best practices in land monetisation.
How much land is currently available for monetization?
According to the Economic Survey 2021-2022, as of now, CPSEs have put nearly 3,400 acresof land on the table for potential monetisation.
They have referred this land to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
As per the survey, monetisation of non-core assets of PSUs such as MTNL, BSNL, BPCL, B&R, BEML, HMT Ltd, Instrumentation Ltd etc. are at different stages.
Challenges to the NLMC
(a) Volatile market situation
The performance and productivity of the NLMC will also depend on the government’s performance on its disinvestment targets.
For example, the Life Insurance Corporation IPO, which was supposed to raise ₹60,000 crore is now shrouded in uncertainty owing to the Russia-Ukraine crisis making stock markets volatile.
If the IPO does not hit the markets by the end of March, the government would be missing its disinvestment targets by a wide margin.
(b) Issues with the transfer of rights
The process of asset monetisation does not end when the government transfers revenue rights to private players.
Identifying profitable revenue streams for the monetised land assets, ensuring adequate investment by the private player and setting up a dispute-resolution mechanism are also important tasks.
(c) Unattractiveness of PPP Model
Posing as another potential challenge would be the use of Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) as a monetisation model.
For instance, the results of the Centre’s PPP initiative launched in 2020 for the Railways were not encouraging.
It had invited private parties to run 150 trains of the Indian Railways but when bids were thrown open, nine clusters of trains saw no bidders.
Criticisms of NLMC
It militates philosophy of privatisation: PM has propounded more than once: the business of government is not business. Setting up a CPSE to help sell or shut down the existing CPSEs doesn’t appear quite congruous.
Privatisation process is not new: Dozens of companies have been sold; in many more, minority stakes have been offloaded. So, if the existing process has served so well, why try something new?
Conflict of interest: NLMC may have a turf war with the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) which is tasked with similar functions.
Nature of NLMC: The government organs tend to acquire a life of their own. The National Anti-Profiteering Authority (NAA) is a case in point. It was supposed to be wound up in two years but still getting extensions.
Public land being sold: Publicly owned lands in a democracy are literally owned by the public. They are held in trust on behalf of the public by governments or government agencies.
Sale of crucial assets: Land holdings are one of the government’s most significant tangible assets, whether owned by central ministries, state governments, public sector undertakings or local bodies.
Way forward
There is a need to monetise non-core unused and under-used assets that would help the government generate substantial revenues.
For CPSEs undergoing strategic disinvestment or closure, monetisation of these stagnant surplus land and non-core assets is important to unlock their value.
There is a need to create a comprehensive inventory of public land and synergize the existing Government Land Information System (GLIS).
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In 2021, Mexico and India commemorated 71 years of the establishment of diplomatic relations. This article is written by the Foreign Minister of Mexico, who has been on his official visit to India.
Areas of cooperation between two countries
Mexico and India are members of the G-20, which brings together 20 of the largest economies in the world and whose presidency in 2023 will be assumed by India.
Non-permanent members of the security council: Both countries are non-permanent members of the United Nations Security Council this year.
At both forums, India and Mexico will contribute decisively to world peace and security, and will put poverty reduction at the centre of the multilateral debate.
The health sector is another cornerstone of our exchanges.
Mexico will strengthen its cooperation with India as one of the leading global producers of medicines and will also seek joint pharmaceutical manufacturing.
Another key focus area of cooperation will be aerospace.
Although it was started less than a decade ago, this has enormous potential for the Mexican Space Agency and for regional initiatives such as the recently established Latin American and Caribbean Space Agency (ALCE) of which Mexico is the founder.
In the economic sphere, Mexico’s links with India, the sixth-largest economy in the world and our tenth-largest trading partner, undoubtedly offers a wide range of prospects for Mexico’s productive sectors.
Conclusion
Links between India and Mexico have evolved positively in recent years, demonstrating the complementarities between two ancient countries, rich in history and diversity. In this spirit, we will take a firm step towards a tangible alliance to showcase this evolution, which could result in mutual benefits.
Sri Lanka is gearing up to host the Fifth Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) Summit, now in its silver jubilee year. The summit is being held in virtual/hybrid mode and Sri Lanka is the current BIMSTEC chair.
Why BIMSTEC matters for India and the region
The unique ecology of BIMSTEC is witnessing enriched political support and commitment from India.
India has made the Bay of Bengal integral to India’s ‘Neighbourhood First’ and ‘Act East’ policies which can accelerate the process of regional integration.
Significance in economic and strategic space: Finalising the BIMSTEC Charter; BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity; BIMSTEC Convention on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters; BIMSTEC Technology Transfer Facility (TTF); cooperation between diplomatic academies/training institutions; and a template of Memorandum of Association for the future establishment of BIMSTEC centres/entities present signs of optimism.
BIMSTEC as a centre of Indo-Pacific: With a re-emergence of the idea of the ‘Indo-Pacific’ region, the growing economic, geopolitical and security connections between the Western Pacific and the Indian Ocean regions are creating a shared strategic space.
The Bay of Bengal is evolving as the centre of the Indo-Pacific region again.
The renewed focus has given a new lease of life to the developmental efforts in the region, in particular BIMSTEC.
Way forward for BIMSTEC
1] Political support and strong commitment from all member countries
With a changed narrative and approach, the Bay of Bengal has the potential to become the epicentre of the Indo-Pacific idea — a place where the strategic interests of the major powers of East and South Asia intersect.
Potential of BIMSTEC: There is a greater appreciation of BIMSTEC’s potential due to geographical contiguity, abundant natural and human resources, and rich historical linkages and a cultural heritage for promoting deeper cooperation in the region.
Political support and strong commitment from all member countries are crucial in making BIMSTEC a dynamic and effective regional organisation.
2] Boost connectivity
Connectivity is essential to develop a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable Bay of Bengal region.
The BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity will provide the necessary boost to connectivity.
Therefore, BIMSTEC needs to address two dimensions of connectivity – one, upgrading and dovetailing national connectivity into a regional road map; and two, development of both hard and soft infrastructures.
3] Enhance cooperation in different areas
There is growing involvement of educational institutions, industries and business chambers through various forums and conclaves which are helping to enhance cooperation in the areas of education, trade and investments, information technology and communication among others.
India has implemented its promise to set up a Centre for Bay of Bengal Studies (CBS) at Nalanda University, Bihar for research on art, culture and other subjects related to the Bay of Bengal.
4] Strengthen the institutional capacity of the BIMSTEC Secretariat
The BIMSTEC Secretariat coordinates, monitors and facilitates the implementation of BIMSTEC activities and programmes. The leaders must agree to strengthen the institutional capacity of the BIMSTEC Secretariat.
Charter for BIMSTEC: Approval of a charter for BIMSTEC during the summit will further augment its visibility and stature in international fora.
Conclusion
The quest for economic growth and the development of the BIMSTEC region can be achieved with single-minded focus and cooperation among the member counties. In this endeavour, India has a key role in accelerating regional cooperation under the BIMSTEC framework and in making it vibrant, stronger and result-oriented.
As UPSC Mains results were announced last week, Sajal sir (Co-Founder of Civilsdaily and Mentor ofSmash Mains 2021 Program) was flooded with calls by delighted aspirants who thanked him for his mentorship. Sajal Sir himself is the topper of GS 2017 Mains paper and mentor of 400 UPSC Toppers.
After a quick check, we found out 41 Smash Mains students are qualified to attend the interview this year. As we are waiting for their interview results, we will not be announcing their names right now. However, we are sharing the testimonials of the qualified aspirants. We wish them all the very best!
As prelims is round the corner, you would have already started your revision. The main purpose of the UPSC prelims exam is to test your conceptual clarity in basic topics and application of current affairs in subject-related questions. Since the questions in prelims aren’t direct or straightforward, they appear to be outside the standard book and NCERTs.
Based on our research, we have come up with nearly 30-35 important subject-wise topics for Prelims 2022. In this article, we will be highlighting only 3 topics per subject. Those aspirants interested to get the complete handbook of Must-Read Static+ Current Affairs Prelims Topics can register for ourFree 1-on-1 Mentorship Session.Along With the Free Consultation+Handbook, aspirants will Get Free Personalised 60 Days Revision Timetable for Prelims 2022.
Polity
Important Supreme Court Judgements.
Revise important judgements passed by the Supreme Court in the year 2021 along with those mentioned in your polity standard books like Keshvananda Bharati case, Uman Rao Case and Minerva Mills Case. While reading up the reasoning behind the judgements, you will gain clarity of the constitutional provisions.
Fundamental Rights from Article 12-35
Every year, a minimum of 2-3 questions mandatorily ask about the basic human rights guaranteed by the constitution, their significance and limitations. Sample these questions from Prelims 2021.
1. Under the Indian constitution concentration of wealth violates
(a) The Right to Equality
(b) The Directive Principles of State Policy
(c) The Right to Freedom
(d) The Concept of Welfare
2. A legislation which confers on the executive or administrative authority an unguided and uncontrolled discretionary power in the matter of the application of law violates which one of the following Articles of the Constitution of India?
(a) Article 14
(b) Article 28
(c) Article 32
(d) Article 44
Non-constitutional Bodies
Questions have been consistently asked about the recent developments in the quasi-judicial, statutory and regulatory bodies set up by the state legislatures. Examples include the National Human Rights Commission, National Green Tribunal and National Law Commission. One must be aware of the corresponding laws around which these bodies were established.
Inflation has been a persistent issue that has affected Indians every year. Everytime, there is news on how the RBI plans to tackle the issue or how foreign crises result in inflation of goods in India. Aspirants are expected to understand types of inflation like demand-pull inflation, cost-push inflation and wholesale price inflation. Remedies for inflation can be found in the current affairs section. One can expect 2-3 questions in prelims from this section. The prelims questions would test the conceptual clarity in fiscal policy and inflation.
Money market
Aspirants are expected to have a general and not specialized knowledge on the financial instruments with high liquidity and short term maturities. The different kinds of credit that exist for different sections of the society needs to be read.
GDP Estimates
Every year one question in prelims is about the GDP estimates of a particular year. While reading this topic, aspirants must note down the department that releases this report, the difference between GDP and GVA and the Index of Industrial Production (IIP).
Aspirants are expected to make micronotes from the standard books they are reading on the role of international institutions in combating environmental pollution through conventions, acts and policies. Examples of such conventions are Stockholm convention, Ramsar Convention, CITES etc.
Biogeochemical cycles
Aspirants need to be familiar with the process of biogeochemical cycle, the types of biogeochemical cycle and the significance of the same. Questions around this are typically direct and straightforward.
Mapping of national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and wetlands
Every year, aspirants definitely get 3-5 fact based questions on national parks. Some of these questions could be asked due to a recent development in a particular park. For example, the Chilika Lake wetland was recently in news in January due to migratory birds like the Mongolian Gull staying there. The Chilika Lake is the first wetland of international importance under Ramsar convention. Certain aspects the aspirants must note down are the areas where the particular national park or wetland is spread across, the major attractions, the economic and social significance of the place.
Any report released by an international organisation on the performance of India against other countries under certain parameters must be revised. This includes The Global Hunger Index, World Happiness Report and Human Development Index.
GOI schemes for 2021
Ranging from agriculture, education, MSMEs, vulnerable sections and banking, aspirants need to have awareness on government initiatives in 2021. This will make it easier for them to solve indirect questions as well.
Electric Vehicles: India’s commitment towards electric vehicles and COP26 of Glasgow might be areas where prelims questions would be asked. Aspirants should understand the various measures to develop and promote the EV ecosystem in the country such asFaster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles (FAME II) scheme, Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for Advanced Chemistry Cell (ACC) and the recently launched PLI scheme for Auto and Automotive Components for manufacturers of electric vehicles.
Dark Genome
This is a hot topic in DNA research and aspirants must understand why research in this area is essential for treatment of diseases. Questions on genetics can be expected from Prelims this time.
Emerging technologies (5G, AI, Machine learning)
In recent years, a lot of questions have appeared about the latest developments in technology, their discoveries and the latest theories related to them. Few of these technologies are 5G, Quantum Key Distribution technology, hydrogen fuel cell etc. Aspirants must micronotes on these topics from prelims perspective.
Aspirants must practice places in the Indian Map on a regular basis. Particularly, they must focus on himalayan rivers like Ganga, Brahmaputra and Yamuna, peninsular rivers like Damodar, Mahanadi, Godavari, Krishna, Kaveri and Periyar. Not only rivers, but aspirants must know where exactly their tributaries are located. Apart from this, North to South Alignment of Mountains in Eastern ghat and Western Ghat, Andaman, Nicobar and Lakshadweep islands and Industrial Location and Ports need to be marked.
Climatic Regions in India
Aspirants must learn about the onset and withdrawal of the Indian Monsoon system, tropical cyclones, different climatic zones, factors that cause shifts in climate and intertropical convergence zone.
Continental Shift Theory
Present in the NCERT textbooks, this theory talks about the formation of different continents. Aspirants must keep an eye for one or two questions that might come from this topic in the Geography section.
Want to Know How a Free 1-on-1 Mentorship Looks Like? Watch This Video
In this video, there is first an initial discussion of the test performance, which is then followed by the mentor discussing the questions which the aspirant had got wrong and then he will ask the aspirant, where did he study the topic and to share the notes he made on that topic. The mentor will find out the problem and suggest the correct method of studying the topics. After the session gets over, the aspirant has to study the topics where he couldn’t score high marks in polity. After this, the next day the mentor will conduct another test only on those topics. This way the aspirant gains an understanding on how to approach the whole subject of polity.
Addressing the ministerial of the BIMSTEC (Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi–Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation), EAM S. Jaishankar urged closer cooperation and connectivity among the members.
What is BIMSTEC?
The BIMSTEC formed in 1997 is an international organisation of seven South Asian and Southeast Asian nations, housing 1.73 billion people and having a combined gross domestic product of $3.8 trillion (2021).
The BIMSTEC member states – Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand – are among the countries dependent on the Bay of Bengal.
Leadership is rotated in alphabetical order of country names. The permanent secretariat is in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
A BIMSTEC free trade agreement is under negotiation (c. 2018), also referred to as the mini SAARC.
Objectives of BIMSTEC
There are 14 main sectors of BIMSTEC along technological and economic cooperation among South Asian and Southeast Asian countries along the coast of the Bay of Bengal.
Trade & Investment
Transport & Communication
Energy
Tourism
Technology
Fisheries
Agriculture
Public Health
Poverty Alleviation
Counter-Terrorism & Transnational Crime
Environment & Disaster Management
People-to-People Contact
Cultural Cooperation
Climate Change
About the proposed BIMSTEC FTA Framework
The BIMSTEC FTA has been signed by all member nations to stimulate trade and investment in the parties, and attract outsiders to trade with and invest in the BIMSTEC countries at a higher level.
Subsequently, the “Trade Negotiating Committee” (TNC) was set up, with Thailand as the permanent chair, to negotiate in areas of trade in goods and services, investment, economic co-operation, trade facilitations and technical assistance for LDCs.
Once negotiation on trade in goods is completed, the TNC would then proceed with negotiation on trade in services and investment.
Others
(1) BIMSTEC Coastal Shipping Agreement draft
It was discussed on 1 December 2017 in New Delhi, to facilitate coastal shipping within 20 nautical miles of the coastline in the region to boost trade between the member countries.
Compared to the deep sea shipping, coastal ship require smaller vessels with lesser draft and involve lower costs.
Once the agreement becomes operational after it is ratified, a lot of cargo movement between the member countries can be done through the cost effective, environment friendly and faster coastal shipping routes.
(2) BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity
The BIMSTEC Master Plan for Transport Connectivity, finalized under India’s chairmanship of the expert group last year, envisages a seamless multimodal transport system across the region.
This will stimulate intra-regional trade and investment in the region.
It identifies 264 projects requiring an investment of $ 126 billion over a ten year horizon from 2018–2028.
A research, reviewing India’s entrepreneurial policy Startup India, affirmed its positive impact in reducing regional entrepreneurial disparities.
Startup India Initiative
The Startup India campaign was first announced by PM Modi during his speech on 15 August 2015 address from the Red Fort.
The action plan for this initiative is focusing on three areas:
Simplification and Handholding.
Funding Support and Incentives.
Industry-Academia Partnership and Incubation.
An additional area relating to this initiative is to discard restrictive States Government policies within this domain, such as License Raj, Land Permissions, Foreign Investment Proposals, and Environmental Clearances.
It was organized by the Department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPI&IT).
The success of the scheme
Minister for Commerce and Industry has informed the Lok Sabha that the entrepreneurial portal had more than 65,000 startups registered.
Of which, 40 attained the ‘unicorn’ status in the last twelve months, bringing the total as of date to 90.
India now ranks third among global startup eco-systems.
The networking, training and mentoring facilities provided by Startup India alongside entrepreneurship outreach campaigns in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, helped address regional entrepreneurial disparities in India.
Limitations to its success
(1) Heavy concentration in megacities
Entrepreneurship continues to be “highly concentrated” in three megacities, namely, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi NCR.
India’s venture capital industry is also clustered in and around these three cities.
Such concentration can lead to increased economic inequality and hinder emergence of entrepreneurs from industries other than those belonging to the clusters.
(2) Narrow Representation
The Startup India Action Plan document has no mention of the words ‘caste’, ‘tribe’, ‘marginalised’, ‘indigenous’ or ‘social group’.
Additionally, the policy’s reliance on technology does not take into consideration India’s digital divide, especially with respect to urban and rural areas.
(3) Few Women in the industry
There is an under-representation of women and marginalized caste groups in the national startup ecosystem.
Dedicated measures to support Women
10% of the fund in the Fund of Funds operated by Small Industries Development Bank of India (SIDBI) has been reserved for women-led startups.
Further, all the alternate investment funds where the SIDBI takes equity have been mandated to contribute 20% in business which are women led.
There is a capacity-building program and a dedicated webpage for women on the portal.
Way ahead
There is a need for policies and progressive strategies from governments to encourage startups and provide access and assistance in key areas including tax clarity, incubation, affordability and licensing.
In any case, governments should be well prepared and dedicated to creating a culture of startups to impact the entrepreneurial ecosystem in their cities, countries and citizens.
