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  • What is the Hagia Sophia?

    Turkey’s highest court this week convened to decide whether Istanbul’s iconic Hagia Sophia museum can be turned into a mosque.

    Try this question:

    Q. The iconic Hagia Sophia, a UNESCO World Heritage site was recently in news. It is situated in:

    a) Greece b) Turkey c) Israel d) Iran

    What is the Hagia Sophia?

    • The construction of this iconic structure in Istanbul started in 532 AD during the reign of Justinian I, the ruler of the Byzantine Empire when the city was known as Constantinople.
    • The structure was originally built to become the seat of the Patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church and remained so for approximately 900 years.
    • In 1453, when Constantinople fell to Sultan Mehmet II’s Ottoman forces, the Hagia Sophia was ransacked by the invading forces and turned into a mosque shortly after.
    • For a long time, the Hagia Sophia was Istanbul’s most important mosque.
    • The 1,500-year-old structure, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, was originally a cathedral before it was turned into a mosque.

    What is the controversy about?

    • In the 1930s, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, shut down the mosque and turned it into a museum in an attempt to make the country more secular.
    • There have been calls for long from extremists groups to convert the Hagia Sophia back into a mosque.

  • [Burning Issue] US Visa Ban and its Impact on India

    We have been having a bad summer! The Nepalese have face-palmed us, the Chinese have taken our territory and let not forget the Covid crisis. Now Donald Trump has dealt a blow to thousands aspiring for a career in the US.

    The US administration extended the 60-day ban on immigration and non-immigrant worker visas till the end of 2020. Popular work visas including the much-coveted H-1B and H-2B, and certain categories of H-4, J, and L visas would also remain suspended until December 31.

    Apart from the suspension of these work visas, the executive order signed by Trump has also made sweeping changes to the H-1B work visa norms, which will no longer be decided by the currently prevalent lottery system. The new norms will now favour highly-skilled workers who are paid the highest wages by their respective companies.

    What are H-1B, H-2B, L and other work visas?

    • In order to fill a vacuum of highly-skilled low-cost employees in IT and other related domains, the US administration issues a certain number of visas each year which allows companies from outside the US to send employees to work on client sites.
    • Of these work visas, the H-1B remains the most popular among Indian IT companies.
    • The US government has a cap of 85,000 total H-1B visas for each year.

    Here are the visas that have been put on hold till December 2020:

    1) H-1B visa

    What is it: The H-1B visa category covers individuals who “work in a speciality occupation, engage in cooperative research and development projects administered by the US Department of Defense or are fashion models that have national or international acclaim and recognition.”

    Who’s covered: The H-1B is most well known as a visa for skilled tech workers, but other industries, like health care and the media, also use these visas.

    2) H-2B visa

    What it is: According to USCIS, the H-2B program allows US employers or agents “to bring foreign nationals to the United States to fill temporary non-agricultural jobs.”

    Who’s covered: They generally apply to seasonal workers in industries like landscaping, forestry, hospitality and construction.

    3) J-1 visa

    What it is: The J-1 visa is an exchange visitor visa for individuals approved to participate in work-and-study-based exchange visitor programs in the United States.

    Who’s covered:     The impacted people include interns, trainees, teachers, camp counsellors, au pairs and participants in summer work travel programs.

    4) L-1 visa

    What it is: The L1 Visa is reserved for managerial or executive professionals transferring to the US from within the same company, or a subsidiary of it. The L1 Visa can also be used for a foreign company opening up US operations.

    Who’s covered: Within the L1 Visa, there are two subsidiary types of visas

    • L1A visa for managers and executives.
    • L1B visa for those with specialized knowledge.

    The story of work visas

    • The 1952 scheme: Since it was started in 1952, the H-1 visa scheme has undergone many changes and revisions to allow or disallow certain categories of skilled workers in the US, depending on the economic situation of the country.
    • Harnessing the technology boom: The technology boom coupled with the arrival of the internet and low-cost computers in developing nations such as India and China saw a large number of graduates willing to work at relatively low costs in the US.
    • This is often the win-win situation for both the employer in the US and the employee.
    • Bypassing Americans: However, it has since often been criticised for sending low-cost workers to the US at the expense of domestic workers.

    Trumps in ‘The Protectionism’

    • Donald Trump coming to power: In January 2017, after taking over as the president of the US, Trump had hinted that the low-cost workers were hampering the economy and undercutting jobs of citizens.
    • Delivering election vendetta: The US had then hinted at reforming the “broken” H-1B visa system.
    • COVID uncertainties: Trump seized the opportunity provided by the economic contraction due to Covid-19 by first banning the entry of non-immigrant workers till June 23, and then extending it till December 31.
    • Sudden unemployment: The White House reasoned that the ongoing pandemic has “significantly disrupted Americans’ livelihoods”, to the extent that the overall unemployment rate quadrupled between February and May 2020 to a little over 13%.

    Motive behind the visa ban

    • Breaking the chain: The ban implies that U.S. firms or others with U.S. operations who rely on skilled foreign nationals working in the U.S. will be unable to make new hires as long as the ban stands.
    • Looming slowdown: Many firms are unlikely to do any hiring at this economically depressed time.
    • Upcoming elections’ agenda: As per popular opinion, this is a method by the US President to reach out to the voter base.
    • Yet again- ‘America first’: Trump would take all moves to build political capital in the name of the “America First” mantra — a foregone conclusion given his outspokenness on the subject to date.

    Who all does it impact?

    • The visa ban means those who do not have a valid non-immigrant visa as of June 23 and are outside of the US, will not be allowed to enter the country until December 31.
    • Workers in essential services in the food sector have been given some reprieve, and their entry shall be decided by the consular officer of immigration services.
    • H-1B, H-2B, J and L visa holders, and their spouse or children already present in the US shall not be impacted by the new worker visa ban.
    • H-1B visas are generally approved for a period of three years for a person, but many visa holders change employers to extend their US stay.
    • Foreign nationals outside the US, who were to begin work on an H-1B visa or even L-1 visas (intra-company transfer) – but do not as yet hold a valid visa, as well as dependents who were to accompany them (be it spouses or dependent children) will have to wait longer, till the ban expires.

    Will Indian corporations be hit?

    This visa ban come at a crucial inflexion point for the Indian economy when restrictions on the movement of people and goods slowly will be lifted after India passes its peak viral case numbers. This would create a knock-on effect from IT to other sectors.

    1) IT sector

    • Indian IT companies are amongst the biggest beneficiaries of the US H-1B visa regime and have since the 1990s cornered a lion’s share of the total number of visas issued each year.
    • As of April 1, 2020, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) had received about 2.5 lakh H-1B work visa applications, according to official data.
    • Indians had applied for as many as 1.84 lakh or 67 per cent of the total H-1B work visas for the current financial year ending March 2021.
    • India’s IT services exports to the U.S., which depend significantly on the H-1B visa, have been an important constituent element of bilateral economic trade.
    • Though the large Indian IT companies have cut down their dependency on H-1B and other worker visas by hiring as much as 50 per cent of staff locally, they still rely on these visas to keep costs in check.

    2) Highly skilled workers

    • Favouring highest-paid worker could result in a significant impact on margins and worker wages of Indian IT companies which send thousands of low-cost employees to work on client sites in the US.
    • This, in turn, impacts their remuneration in the long term.

    Silver lining

    • Newer opportunities for Indian high skilled workers in the IT sector in other countries outside of the US will be explored after this ban.
    • H1B1 has drawn away from the best talent from India for decades. This move may cause reverse brain gain for better growth of the Indian tech industry.
    • These would in turn benefit innovation, R&D for nurturing the growing start-up sector in India.
    • Most of the companies have become capable of handling their work remotely in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. This has provided resilience to the Indian tech sector against international mobility restrictions.
    • With this ban, already employed skilled workers from India may get higher salaries which in turn would increase the inflow of remittances.

    Criticism within the US

    • Google CEO Sunder Pichai has expressed disappointment over the proclamation, and said he would stand with immigrants and work to expand opportunity for all.
    • He said that immigration has contributed immensely to America’s economic success, making it a global leader in tech, and also Google the company it is today.
    • The ban on issuing visas will harm employers, families, universities, hospitals, communities, and delay America’s economic recovery.

    Impact on bilateral ties

    • An internal matter for the US: The freezing of non-immigration work visas is more of a US election-related issue rather than an indication of any mutual problems between India and the US.
    • India & the US share global strategic partnership, based on shared democratic values and similarity of interests on bilateral, regional and global issues.
    • However despite this strong bond and despite hectic talks at diplomatic levels between India and the US, the Trump administration decided in favour of implementing the ban.
    • The issue becomes a sensitive one as US cooperation becomes strategically necessary for India amid its border tensions and skirmishes with China.

    Way Forward

    • For its benefits, the US should amend the H-1B programme, not end it.
    • Immigrants have played a crucial role in making the USA a global leader in cutting edge technology.
    • Suspending the visas will only weaken the USA’s economy and its health care workforce at a time when there is a need to strengthen both.
    • Politics should not trump smart policy and the ingenuity of migrant workers should be harnessed to revive an economy in dire straits.

    Conclusion

    • India needs to keep the US on its side for strategic and security reasons.
    • But the immediate future of the relationship depends on the upcoming US presidential elections.
    • If India-US relationship is a defining one for this century, as PM Modi has said, the visa ban decision should not let this sour in.
    • Lastly, we can conclude that the US has maligned its image of being the global ambassador of Liberalism.

     

     

     

    References

    https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/us-h1b-visa-suspension-india-it-companies-6471966/

    https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/the-hindu-explains-how-will-the-us-visa-ban-impact-india/article31935322.ece

    https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/nri/visa-and-immigration/trumps-h1-b-order-makes-it-impossible-for-many-indians-to-return-to-their-lives-in-the-us/articleshow/76663260.cms?from=mdr

    https://www.theweek.in/news/biz-tech/2020/06/23/how-will-trump-H1B-visa-ban-affect-indians.html

  • 3rd July 2020 | Prelims Daily with Previous Year Questions

    [WpProQuiz 473]

    [WpProQuiz_toplist 472]

  • Making justice accessible through live streaming

    Livestreaming of the judicial proceeding goes a long way in increasing the access of justice which is granted under Article 21. This article examines the evolution in judiciary and making justice accessible.

    Judiciary adapting to changes

    •  As the lockdown began, the Court had to quickly find the technology and create protocols for virtual courts and e-hearings.
    • Before this, there was an open courtroom that the public could access.
    • This protected the right to access justice, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.

    Access to justice without physical classroom

    • Now that the Court is proactively adopting technology, it must expand the right of access to justice by live-streaming proceedings.
    • Further, court proceedings must also be documented and preserved for future generations.
    • Both audio-visual recordings and transcripts of oral arguments should be maintained for this purpose.

    Evolution of access to court

    • The Supreme Court maintained no public record of its own proceedings in the past.
    • Nor were its proceedings broadcast live for public viewing.
    • Over time, security concerns meant that the public could only enter courtrooms in the SC with a pass.
    • Due to space constraints, law students were not permitted to enter courtrooms on Mondays and Fridays when the Court heard fresh matters.

    A case that led to live broadcast of the proceedings

    • In its 2018 judgment in Swapnil Tripathi v Supreme Court of India, the Court recommended that proceedings be broadcast live.
    • The SC held that live streaming proceedings is part of the right to access justice under Article 21 of the Constitution.
    •  Justice DY Chandrachud noted that open courts help foster public confidence in the judiciary.
    • Further, publishing court proceedings is an aspect of Article 129, per which the Supreme Court is a court of record.
    • Journalists, young lawyers, civil society activists and academics would all benefit from live streaming, the Court opined.
    • The guidelines proposed live-streaming cases of constitutional and national importance as a pilot project including Constitution Bench cases.
    • Matrimonial cases and those involving national security could be excluded.

    Recording the proceedings- Examples

    • Internationally constitutional court proceedings are recorded in some form or the other.
    • In Australia, proceedings are recorded and posted on the high court’s website.
    • Proceedings of the Supreme Courts of Brazil, Canada, England and Germany are broadcast live.
    • The Supreme Court of the US does not permit video recording, but oral arguments are recorded, transcribed, and available publicly.
    • Democracies aside, in China, court proceedings are live streamed from trial courts up to the Supreme People’s Court of China.

    India stands alone

    • India stands alone amongst leading constitutional democracies in not maintaining audio or video recordings or even a transcript of court proceedings.
    • Court hearings can be turning points in the life of a nation: ADM Jabalpur comes readily to mind.
    • More recently, there are a number of cases where the Supreme Court’s judgments have changed citizens’ lives — Aadhaar, Section 377, Sabarimala, NRC and the triple talaq judgments are among them.

    Steps to make justice accessible

    • The Court started providing vernacular translations of its judgments.
    • Non-accredited journalists were permitted to live-tweet court proceedings.
    • During the lockdown, journalists have been permitted to view virtual court proceedings in real time.
    • If that technology is available, it could be extended to members of the public, who can then view court proceedings themselves.
    • Due to pandemic for the next few years, Indian courts will have to adopt a combination of virtual and in-person hearings.

    Consider the question “Live-streaming and recordings of the court proceeding helps in reinforcing the public faith in the judiciary. Comment.”

    Conclusion

    Openness and transparency reinforce the public’s faith in the judicial system. Livestreaming and recording of the proceeding will open the door to ensure the same.

  • In an uncertain world a seat at the UNSC

    As a non-permanent member of the UNSC for the next two years, India will have to navigate through a tumultuous world. Anti-terrorism will be top priority for India.

    India at UNSC

    • India will be back in the United Nations Security Council for a two-year term beginning January 1, 2021.
    • Two-year term will be a critical time in the history of the UN.
    • It is hoped that by then COVID-19 will have subsided, a U.S. President will have been elected.
    • And the contours of a new world order may have emerged.

    How elections take place

    • The basic contest for the non-permanent seats takes place in the respective regional groups and their sub-groups.
    • Voting in the General Assembly is to fulfil the requirement of countries having to secure a two-thirds majority of the member states.
    • But regional endorsement is becoming difficult.
    • Last time, it was Kazakhstan which vacated the place for India.
    • This time, it was Afghanistan. India could not have got the endorsement without such gestures from friendly countries.

    What will be India’s priorities as a member of UNSC

    • India will continue to provide leadership and a new orientation for a reformed multilateral system.
    • How far the UN will be able to reform itself in the new situation remains uncertain.
    • The UN did not succeed in either defining terrorism or in adopting the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism.
    • Counter-terrorism will be one of the highest priorities for India at the UNSC.

    Permanent member of India issue

    • India’s election as a non-permanent member has understandably ignited the hope that its quest for permanent membership.
    • Nothing is farther from the truth.
    • Seeking to amend the Charter to add new permanent members is difficult task.
    • None of the proposals has the possibility of securing two-thirds majority of the General Assembly and the votes of the five permanent members.
    • A majority of the UN members are against the privileges of the permanent members, particularly the veto.
    • India’s performance in the Council will not lead to its elevation to permanent membership as the opposition to any expansion is not India-specific.

    Role of India as non-permanent member

    • The non-permanent members have a collective veto over every resolution in the Council.
    • As a part of collective veto, India will have a higher profile at the UN for the next two years
    • Permanent members can prevent the adoption of resolutions by themselves through veto.
    • But they need at least nine votes to get a resolution passed.
    • India will also have a rare peep into the consultations chamber of the UNSC, which is closed to non-members of the Council.
    • India will get involved in many issues in which it may not have any direct interest.
    • Since India does not have a veto, it shall have to proceed cautiously not to offend anyone.

    Consider the question “India has been chosen as the non-permanent member of the UNSC and will be there at the critical time in the history of the UNSC. What should be India’s priority and approach as a member of the UNSC?”

    Conclusion

    India’s mission in New York has earned a reputation that it is next only to the permanent members in influence. But whether it will be able to deal with traditional challenges in novel ways will depend on the turns and twists in an uncertain world.

  • Safety net of income post Covid

    Providing a minimum basic income post-Covid will require some novel approach. This article proposes an approach with the mix of direct cash transfer and changes in the employment guarantee scheme.

    Non-universal targeted programs

    •  It is true that a universal schemes are easy to implement.
    • Non-universal targeted programmes face the problem of identification.
    • Narrowly-targeted programmes will run into complex problems of identification.
    • And the problem of identification gives rise to exclusion and inclusion errors.

    How to solve identification problem

    • There are three proposals which meet the objective of providing a minimum basic income.
    • 1) Give cash transfers to all women above the age of 20 years.
    • 2) Expand the number of days provided under MGNREGA.
    • 3) Have a national employment guarantee scheme in urban areas.
    • In all the three proposals, there is no problem of identification.
    • A combination of cash transfers and an expanded employment guarantee scheme can provide a minimum basic income.

    1) Cash transfer to all women

    • One way of doing it will be to give it to all women say above the age of 20.
    • This is an easily identifiable criterion because the Aadhaar cards carry the age of the person.
    • The female population above the age of 20 is around 42.89 crore.
    • Making available a minimum of Rs 4,000 annually as a cash transfer to all of them will cost Rs 1.72 lakh crore.
    • Which is 0.84 per cent of GDP.
    • The cost of the scheme to the government will be less if the well-off women choose not to take the cash transfer.

    2) Expanding MGNREGA

    • The Act guarantees 100 days of employment.
    • At present, MGNREGA is availed of only for 50 days of employment.
    • One way to help the poor and informal workers is to strengthen it.
    • The government needs to increase the number of days under the scheme from 100 to 150 in rural areas.

    3) Employment guarantee scheme for urban areas

    •  Introducing Employment Guarantee Act in urban areas would help also provide income.
    • Providing employment for 150 days instead of 100 days will also prove beneficial.

    Some facts and figures

    • In 2019-20, the government spent Rs 67,873 crore for providing 48 days of employment to 5.48 crore of rural households.
    • Out of this, the wage expenditure was Rs 48,762 crore.
    • The government has increased the per day wage rate from Rs 182.1 in 2019-20 to Rs 202.5 in 2020-21.
    • So, the estimated expenditure for 150 days of employment to 5.48 crore households in rural areas and 2.66 crore households in urban areas — together they account for 33 per cent of total households in the country.
    •  The additional expenditure needed for the new proposal proposal is Rs 1.9 to 2.5 lakh crore.
    • This additional expenditure is around 1 to 1.22 per cent of GDP.
    •  The total cost of the three proposals would be Rs 4.9 lakh crore or 2.4 per cent of GDP.

    But the total cost could be lower

    •  As the Employment Guarantee Programme is a demand-based programme, the number of days availed could be lower.
    •  This is happening even now.
    • Second, on cash transfers, some women, particularly from richer classes, may voluntarily drop out of the scheme.
    • Alternatively, we can provide that everyone receiving cash transfer must declare that her total monthly income is less than Rs 6,000 per month.

    Where the additional money will come from

    • Removing all exemptions in our tax system would give enough money.
    • Tax experts advocate removing exemptions so that the basic tax rate can be reduced.
    • Perhaps, out of the Rs 4.2 lakh crore which is needed, Rs 1 lakh crore can come out of phasing out of some of the expenditures.
    • While another Rs 3 lakh crore must come out of raising additional revenue.
    • Some of the non-merit subsidies, another item of expenditure, can be eliminated.

    Consider the question “What are the issues non-universal schemes faces? Suggest the ways to do with the issue of identification which such schemes face.”

    Conclusion

    In the post-COVID-19 situation, we need to institute schemes to provide a minimum income for the poor and vulnerable groups and trying the mixed approach of cash transfer to women and modification of Employment Guarantee Acts could do that.

  • Biodiversity Governance: The agreements and laws that help enforce it

  • International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) Project

    The heavy engineering division of L&T dispatched a giant Cryostat lid, to International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) site in France from its Hazira unit in Gujarat.

    Try this MCQ:

    Q.With reference to International science projects, consider the following:

    1. Large Hadron Collider (LHC)– The God Particle
    2. Thirty Metre Telescope (TMT) – The World’s Most Advanced Telescope
    3. International-Thermonuclear-Experimental-Reactor (ITER) – Fusion Energy
    4. Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research (FAIR) – Antiproton and Ion Research

    Which of the above projects have India’s active participation?

    a) 1 only

    b) 2 and 3 only

    c) 1, 3 and 4 only

    d) All of them

    ITER Project

    • ITER is international nuclear fusion research and engineering megaproject, which will be the world’s largest magnetic confinement plasma physics experiment.
    • The goal of ITER is to demonstrate the scientific and technological feasibility of fusion energy for peaceful use.

    Minutes of the project

    • The project is funded and run by seven member entities—the European Union, India, Japan, China, Russia, South Korea and the United States.
    • The EU, as host party for the ITER complex, is contributing about 45 per cent of the cost, with the other six parties contributing approximately 9 per cent each.
    • Construction of the ITER Tokamak complex started in 2013 and the building costs were over US$14 billion by June 2015.

    How does it work?

    • ITER is the most complex science project in human history. The ITER aims to use a strong electric current to trap plasma inside a doughnut-shaped enclosure long enough for fusion to take place.
    • Hydrogen plasma will be heated to 150 million degrees Celsius, ten times hotter than the core of the Sun, to enable the fusion reaction.
    • The process happens in a doughnut-shaped reactor, called a tokamak 1, which is surrounded by giant magnets that confine and circulate the superheated, ionized plasma, away from the metal walls.
    • The superconducting magnets must be cooled to -269°C (-398°F), as cold as interstellar space.
    • Scientists have long sought to mimic the process of nuclear fusion that occurs inside the sun, arguing that it could provide an almost limitless source of cheap, safe and clean electricity.
    • Unlike in existing fission reactors, which split plutonium or uranium atoms, there’s no risk of an uncontrolled chain reaction with fusion and it doesn’t produce long-lived radioactive waste.

    Back2Basics: Nuclear Fusion

    • Nuclear fusion is the process of making a single heavy nucleus (part of an atom) from two lighter nuclei. This process is called a nuclear reaction.
    • The nucleus made by fusion is heavier than either of the starting nuclei. It releases a large amount of energy.
    • Fusion is what powers the sun. Atoms of Tritium and Deuterium (isotopes of hydrogen, Hydrogen-3 and Hydrogen-2, respectively) unite under extreme pressure and temperature to produce a neutron and a helium isotope.
    • Along with this, an enormous amount of energy is released, which is several times the amount produced by fission.
    • Scientists continue to work on controlling nuclear fusion in an effort to make a fusion reactor to produce electricity.

    How it is different from nuclear fission?

    • Simply put, fission is the division of one atom into two (by neutron bombardment), and fusion is the combination of two lighter atoms into a larger one (at a very high temperature).
    • Nuclear fission takes place when a large, somewhat unstable isotope (atoms with the same number of protons but a different number of neutrons) is bombarded by high-speed particles, usually neutrons.

  • What are Containment Zones?

    In the current pandemic, all interventions are primarily geared towards reducing people-to-people contact, and thus breaking the chain of transmission to the extent possible. The demarcation of containment zones, which works at a more micro level, is likely to remain as long as the disease is spreading.

    Practice question for mains:

    Q.Discuss how the preemptive lockdowns imposed during earlier phases of coronavirus pandemic has led to reduced casualties in India.

    What are Containment Zones?

    • The lockdown, implemented in five phases, worked at the national level, while the classification of red, orange and green districts operated at the state and inter-district levels.
    • Demarcation of containment zones is done within a town, village, or municipal or panchayat area.
    • Neighbourhoods, colonies, or housing societies where infected people live are sealed, and access is restricted.
    • Containment zones are where the restrictions on movement and interaction are the most severe.
    • In many cities, the entire demarcated area is barricaded and the entry and exit points closed. Only the very basic supplies and services are allowed inside.

    Who defines the containment zones?

    • It is the district, town or panchayat authorities that decide which areas have to be marked as containment zones, how large they would be, and what kind of restrictions would apply.
    • The rules for the national lockdown, for example, were set by the central government, while the state governments decided what restrictions to impose on districts.
    • The district administration, Municipal Corporation or panchayat bodies exercise a great deal of discretion in the demarcation of containment zones.
    • The definition and time period vary and are continuously reviewed and updated.

    How are they demarcated?

    • The parameters used are similar, but the exact criteria applied to vary, and usually depends on local conditions. These have also evolved with time, and are under constant review.
    • In general, containment zones are getting smaller with time as the number of cases is increasing — from entire localities to colonies or neighbourhood, to streets and lanes, to particular buildings, and now just particular floors.
    • As of now, in Delhi, a containment zone is declared if three or more infections are detected.
    • The perimeter of the containment zone is also different in different cities.

  • Tillari Conservation Reserve

    The Maharashtra state forest department on declared 29.53 sq. km area of Dodamarg forest range in Sindhudurg district as ‘Tillari Conservation Reserve’.

    Note the differences between Conservation Reserves and Community Reserves. Their shuffled meanings can be asked directly in statements based MCQs.

    Tillari Conservation Reserve

    • This area is known to serve as a corridor and even as a habitat for the population of tigers and elephants moving between the three states of Goa, Karnataka and Maharashtra.
    • The 38-km-long Dodamarg wildlife corridor that connects Radhanagari Wildlife Sanctuary in Maharashtra to Bhimgad Wildlife Sanctuary in Karnataka frequently witnesses elephant and tiger movement.
    • Tillari will be the seventh corridor in the state to be declared as a ‘conservation reserve’.

    What are Conservation Reserves?

    • They denote protected areas which typically act as buffer zones to or connectors and migration corridors between established national parks, wildlife sanctuaries and reserved and protected forests.
    • Such areas are designated if they are uninhabited and completely owned by the Government of India but used for subsistence by communities if part of the lands is privately owned.
    • Administration of such reserves would be through local people and local agencies like the gram panchayat, as in the case of communal forests.

    What are Community Reserves?

    • They are the first instances of private land being accorded protection under the legislature.
    • It opens up the possibility of communally owned for-profit wildlife resorts, and also causes privately held areas under non-profit organizations like land trusts to be given protection.
    • These protected area categories were first introduced in the Wildlife (Protection) Amendment Act of 2002 − the amendment to the Wildlife Protection Act of 1972.
    • These categories were added because of reduced protection in and around existing or proposed protected areas due to private ownership of land, and land use.

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