SECURITY                                                           

Kandla, Adani ports put on security alert

Country’s two largest ports, Nkandla and Adani in Gujarat, were put on high alert along with the entire Gulf of Kutch after intelligence agencies shared inputs of a possible entry by Pakistan-trained commandos through the ‘Harami Naala’ creek to carry out underwater attacks.

 

Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh cited intelligence reports to claim that Pakistan-based terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad was training members for underwater attacks in India. 

 

Actions:

-        Directed all shipping agents to ensure proper safety of all berthed vessels and those arriving for berthing.

-        Asked all stakeholders to step up security and remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity anywhere on the coast. 

-        Directed all suspicious activity should be reported to the Marine Control Station, the nerve centre of all maritime forces.

-        Use of maximum possible assets and personnel to plug vulnerable areas.

 

Indian Coastal Security:

India's 7,516-kilometre-long coastline includes 5,422 kilometres of coastline on the mainland and 2,094 kilometres on the islands belonging to nine states and four Union Territories.

It is increasingly facing security challenges from adversarial neighbours and non-state actors.

 

-        National Committee for Strengthening Maritime and Coastal Security headed by Cabinet Secretary coordinates all matters related to Maritime and Coastal Security.

-        Setting up of Joint Operations Centres (JOCs) by the Navy as command and control hubs for coastal security at Mumbai, Visakhapatnam, Kochi and Port Blair.

-        Increase in the Coastal patrolling by Navy, Coast Guard and marine police.

-        Setting up of National Command Control Communication and Intelligence Network (NC3I)

-        It collates data about all ships, dhows, fishing boats and all other vessels operating near our coast, from multiple technical sources including the AIS and radar chain.

-        Issue of ID cards to all fishermen with a single centralised database.

-        Registration of over 2 lakh fishing vessels operating off our coast and equipping fishing boats with suitable equipment to facilitate vessel identification and tracking.

-        Involvement of Fishing communities in coastal security

-        Periodic maritime training to marine police in all coastal states.

 

Indian Coast Guard:

- Law enforcement in India’s jurisdictional waters.
- Safety and protection of artificial islands and offshore terminals.
- Installations and other structures and devices in any maritime zone
- Assisting the customs and other authorities in anti-smuggling operations.

A three-tier security grid has been installed with the Indian Navy, the coast guard, and the marine police jointly patrolling India’s near-seas.

 

POLITY

Fit India launch 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched a nation-wide campaign to encourage people to inculcate physical activity and sports in their everyday lives, named ‘Fit India Movement’.

 

A committee comprising government officials, members of Indian Olympic Association (IOA), national sports federations, private bodies and fitness promoters has been formed to advise the government on the campaign. Fitness is not a word but a necessary condition of healthy and prosperous life.

 

Issues: 

-        Some people get excited and talk about fitness and also buy fitness related gadgets. But after a few days those gadgets are placed in the corner of the house. we have become indifferent to fitness.

-        Till a few decades ago, a normal person used to walk 8-10 kilometres in a day. Then gradually technology changed, modern means came and the person's walking was reduced.

-        Technology has made us this condition that we are short on moving.

-        Spontaneous physical exertion, fitness, exercise is not the case in India.

-        Many lifestyle diseases like diabetes, hypertension are increasing in India.

-        Earlier we used to hear that the risk of heart attack increases after the age of 50-60, now the youth of 35-40 years are having heart attack.

-        Lifestyle diseases are happening due to lifestyle disorders. 

Need For Fitness:

-        Mental and physical fitness is important helps in bringing efficiency in one's professional life.

-        It allows us to know more about our body, our weakness and our strength.

-        Knowing the body also helps in building the confidence and developing a better personality.

-        Lifestyle disorders can be tackled through fitness.

-        Fitness needs to become integral of our life.

-        Indian success in international tournament also depends upon fitness of children. 

 

 

Reference: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/pm-modi-to-launch-fit-india-movement/article29286473.ece

 

Assam gears up for release of NRC on Saturday

The Central and the Assam state governments are gearing up for the much-awaited release of the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC) on Saturday.

-        It seeks to disenfranchise illegal immigrants in the state.

-        The Union home ministry has said that no person who is left out of the NRC will immediately be declared a foreigner.

-        He/she has 120 days to approach the Foreigner’s tribunal. If they are not happy with the FT’s decision, they can appeal against that decision.

-        The Centre has also set up detention centres where the disenfranchised will be lodged.

-        As per guidelines, a person cannot be kept for more than three years, following which they will be released on condition that their biometrics and iris scans are recorded and the person marks his/ her presence at the local police station every week.

-        215 companies (21,500 troops) of Central Paramilitary Forces have been stationed across the state, in the run up to the release of the NRC on Saturday. 

-        The Supreme Court struck down a bid by the Central and Assam governments to pause the process of compiling an NRC, refusing to reopen the re-verification exercise.

 

About NRC:

-        The National Register of Citizens (NRC) is the list of Indian citizens of Assam.

-        It was prepared in 1951, following the census of 1951.

-        For a person’s name to be included in the updated NRC list of 2018, he/ she will have to furnish proof of existence of name in the legacy data.

-        The legacy data is the collective list of the NRC data of 1951 and the electoral rolls up to midnight of 24 March 1971. 

 

Reference: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/assam-gears-up-for-release-of-nrc-on-saturday-1567133492504.html

 

ENVIRONMENT

Explained: PM wants a war on plastic. Here’s the big picture

The PM invoked Gandhi in his appeals, and it has been speculated that a specific ban may be announced on October 2, 150th birthday of Gandhiji.

 

Single-use plastic:

Single-Use Plastics (SUPs) are those that are discarded after one-time use.

Besides the ubiquitous plastic bags, SUPs include water and flavoured/aerated drinks bottles, take-away food containers, disposable cutlery, straws, and stirrers, processed food packets and wrappers, cotton bud sticks etc.

 

Impact on environment

-        If not recycled, plastic can take a thousand years to decompose.

-        At landfills, it disintegrates into small fragments and leaches carcinogenic metals into groundwater.

-        Plastic is highly inflammable — a reason why landfills are frequently ablaze, releasing toxic gases into the environment.

-        It floats on the sea surface and ends up clogging airways of marine animals.

 

Plastic waste management

-        The Plastic Waste Management Rules, 2016 notified by the Centre called for a ban on “non-recyclable and multi-layered” packaging by March 2018.

-        Ban on carry bags of thickness less than 50 microns (which is about the thickness of a strand of human hair).

-        India pledged to phase out SUPs by 2022. 

-        Some government-controlled bodies such as Air India and the Indian Railways have announced they would stop SUPs.

-        According to the Plastic Waste Management Rules, all states and UTs are required to send annual data to the CPCB.

 

Size of the problem

-        A 2015 study by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) estimated that the country generated around 26,000 tonnes of plastic waste daily in 2011-12, equivalent to the weight of 4,700 elephants.

-        About 70% of the plastic waste was collected and 60% was recycled.

 

Recycling of waste

-        India recycles about 60%; the rest goes to landfills, the sea, and waste-to-energy plants.

-        Most experts view recycling as an interim measure until plastic is completely banned.

-        Plastics have an end life too. They can’t be treated more than four-five times.

-        CPCB (Central Pollution Control Board) warns that recycled products are at times more harmful to the environment, as they contain additives and colours.

 

Models before India:

-        At least 60 countries around the world have fully or partially restricted the use of non-biodegradable polymers.

-        Consumption has reduced in at least 30% of the countries.

-        Ireland imposed a 0.15-euro levy, plus Tax, on plastic bags. A dramatic change in behaviour was seen within a few weeks.

-        In 2008, Rwanda imposed a blanket ban on the sale, use, and production of plastic bags. A wave of illegal imports from neighbouring countries followed, and Rwanda was forced to increase penalties. After initial hiccups, residents switched to green alternatives.

-        A 2011 study by the Delhi School of Economics suggested that levying a fee on consumers would yield better results than a ban.

-        For multi-layered packaging, experts have suggested effective buyback schemes and recycling units.

-        The Prime Minister has mentioned the use of plastics in road construction and extraction of fuel.

 

 

 

Reference: https://indianexpress.com/article/explained/pm-modi-single-use-plastic-ban-explained-gandhi-jayanti-5948806/

 

ECONOMY

Revival of demand, investment top priority: RBI annual report

Reviving consumption demand and private investment remains the top priority in the current fiscal, as per Reserve Bank of India (RBI).

 

-        Governor asked banks to pass on past rate cuts to borrowers at a faster pace by linking lending rates to external benchmarks such as repo rate.

-        The recent deceleration could be in the nature of a soft patch mutating into a cyclical downswing, rather than a deep structural slowdown.

-        There are structural issues in land, labour, agricultural marketing and the like that need to be addressed.

-        The delayed onset and skewed distribution of the south-west monsoon may pose downside risks to crop production and rural consumption demand.

-        Throughout the year, protectionist policy pronouncements and actions dominated the global political arena.

-        Macroeconomic outcomes in the first quarter of 2018 seemed to indicate that the global economy was on an extended expansionary phase.

 

Reference: https://www.livemint.com/news/india/revival-of-demand-investment-top-priority-rbi-annual-report-1567101722372.html