Quote of the Day

 

“I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed.”
Michael Jordan

“मैं अपने जीवन में बार-बार असफल हुआ हूं और इसीलिए मैं सफल होता हूं।”
माइकल जॉर्डन

Risa in the Culture of Tripura

 The Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb recently wore “Risa” on Kokborok Day. The Chief Minister of late has made Risa, his style statement. The Government of Tripura is to promote Risa at national and international level.

What is Risa?

• Risa is the traditional dress of Tripura. Risa is worn by both men and women of Tripura.
• The dress for women in the upper half of the body has two parts namely Risa and Rikutu. Risa covers the chest part and rikutu covers the whole upper part. The dress of women that covers the lower half of the body is called Rigwani or Rignai.
• Each clan of Tripura has their own “Rignai” pattern and design. The clans of Tripura are identified based on the Rignai.
• Men of Tripura use Risa for head turban and also for tying the waist over Dhuti. When men wear Risa, it gives them strength and indicates the status of the person. It is also used as muffler in winter season.
• Risa is also used in Tripura culture to hold baby.
• “Risa Sormani” is an adolescent ceremony of a Tripuri girl child. On this day, the 12-14 year old girl is given risa to wear for the first time.

History of Risa

• The history of Tripuri attire originated before Manikya kings’ rule.
• In ancient period, the intelligence of a woman in the community was judged based on her woven Risa and Rignai designs.
• The Manikya king Maharaj Trilochana had invented 250 Rignai and Risa designs for his 250 wives. However, most of these designs were lost with passage of time. The Tripura Government is therefore trying to promote Risa and other traditional attire of Tripura.

Kokborok Day

Kokborok Day is celebrated in Tripura to celebrated the development of Kokborok language. Every year, the day is observed on January 19. The Kokborok is the official language of Tripura. January 19 was chosen to celebrate Kokborok Day as the language was recognized as an official language on this day in 1979.

Current Affairs – January 29, 2021

 

India

PM addresses the rally of NCC in New Delhi

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the rally of the National Cadet Corps (NCC) at Cariappa Ground in Delhi on January 28, 2021. Union Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat and the Chiefs of Army, Navy and Air Force were present on the occasion.

Indo-French year of Environment launched

Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar on January 28, 2021 launched the Indo-French year of Environment with his French counterpart Barbara Pompili. The basic objective is to strengthen Indo-French cooperation in sustainable development, increase the effectiveness of actions in favor of global environment protection and give them greater visibility.

National Marine Turtle Action Plan launched

Considering the need to have a conservation paradigm for marine mega fauna and marine turtles, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) has released ‘Marine Mega Fauna Stranding Guidelines’ and ‘National Marine Turtle Action Plan’ in New Delhi January 28, 2021.

Dr. Harsh Vardhan addresses WEF’s event on Restoring Cross Border Mobility

Dr. Harsh Vardhan, Union Minister of Health & Family Welfare addressed the event on Restoring Cross Border Mobility by World Economic Forum’s Common Trust Network on January 28, 2021 through video conference. The purpose of the event was to discuss the policies, practices and partnerships needed to reopen borders and enable essential travel, tourism and commerce in a safe and sustainable way.

India, Japan review progress of projects in Northeastern region

India and Japan on January 28, 2021 reviewed progress of various ongoing projects in the Northeastern region in areas of connectivity, hydropower, sustainable development and harnessing of water resources. The review was carried out at the fifth joint meeting of the India-Japan Act East Forum. The meeting was co-chaired by Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla and Japanese Ambassador Suzuki Satoshi.

NSA Ajit Doval, his US counterpart Jake Sullivan held discussions

Indian National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval and his American counterpart Jake Sullivan discussed continuing close co-operation in the Indo-Pacific region and promoting regional security, according to the White House.

PM Modi addresses WEF’s Davos Dialogue virtually

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Davos Dialogue via video conferencing on January 28, 2021.

Economy & Corporate

National Informatics Centre Services Inc. celebrates 25 years of its establishment

National Informatics Centre Services Incorporated (NICSI), a Public Sector Enterprise under National Informatics Centre (NIC), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), celebrated 25 years of its establishment on January 28, 2021. Ravi Shankar Prasad, Union Minister for Communications, Electronics & Information Technology and Law & Justice attended the event as the Chief Guest.

Suspension of scheduled international passenger flights extended till Feb 28

The coronavirus-induced suspension of scheduled international passenger flights has been extended till February 28, aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said on January 28, 2021. Scheduled international passenger services have been suspended in India since March 23 due to the coronavirus pandemic. But special international flights have been operating under the Vande Bharat Mission since May and under bilateral “air bubble” arrangements with selected countries since July.

World

NZ and Vietnam top COVID-19 “performance index”

New Zealand and Vietnam were ranked the best performing countries in their response to the pandemic according to a COVID-19 “performance index” put together by the Lowy Institute, an Australian think-tank, which sought to assess the impact of geography, political systems and economic development in assessing outcomes. India ranked 86 out of 98 countries.

NZ and Denmark top Corruption Perception Index

India’s rank has slipped six places to 86^th among 180 countries in corruption perception index (CPI) in 2020. For 2020, Transparency International (TI)’s Corruption Perception Index (CPI) was released on January 28, 2021. The index, which ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption according to experts and business people. New Zealand and Denmark were ranked first.

World Neglected Tropical Diseases Day to be observed on Jan 30

January 30, 2021 will mark the second annual World Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTD) Day, highlighting the global community’s commitment to ending Neglected Tropical Diseases that cause immeasurable suffering among the world’s most marginalized communities.  India joins the world to Combat Neglected Tropical Diseases. On this day the Qutub Minar will be lit up along with other landmarks across the world.

Oscar-winning actress Cloris Leachman passes away at 94

Cloris Leachman, an American actress whose career spanned more than seven decades, died on January 27, 2021 at the age of 94. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ‘The Last Picture Show’ in 1971.

A science teacher explains: Are cockroaches resistant to nuclear radiation?

 A cockroach is undoubtedly one of the toughest and most resilient creatures planet earth has ever known. Crawling and buzzing around for nearly 250 million years and belonging to the Jurassic period, they roamed with cavemen and witnessed the evolution of humankind. Having survived the giant asteroid 66 million years ago, which wiped out the mighty dinosaurs, cockroaches have an uncanny ability to survive and flourish in both arctic and extreme tropical conditions.

Practically unstoppable, you cannot block them as they can amazingly squeeze through a crevice as thin as a quarter of their body height in less than a second while capable of running at a speed of about 50 body lengths per second nearly equivalent to a human running at 320 km/h. Capable of withstanding forces more than 900 times their body weight without sustaining an injury, one cannot crush them easily. These exquisite creatures can live for nearly a week without their heads. Without highly pressurised blood vessels, unlike humans, they do not bleed out. Instead, their neck seals off the opening. With an open circulatory system, they can breathe through spiracles without the head and eventually die of thirst. Surprisingly, they can survive without food till about a month and without water, for about a week. While they cannot regenerate their heads, they are blessed with impressive regenerating powers capable of regrowing lost limbs, antennae and even their eyes.

They can run, walk, jump, almost fly and swim while holding their breath for 40 minutes. With a diverse diet ranging from normal food – sugar, meat cheese and even cardboard, nails, blood including rotten food they can find a meal just about anywhere even though it may be poisonous to most animals. Equipped with a super-strong immune system that seeks out and kills harmful microbes, no environment is unhygienic, no food inedible for them.

With remarkable talents, abilities akin to superpowers, they are so smelly, slimy, greasy and gross, that we do not have a superhero “Cockroach Man”, despite roaches being an ideal candidate for the same while we do have superhero characters based on much less capable and primitive creatures like the spider, ant and wasp.

According to urban legend, cockroaches have the grit to withstand and outlive a nuclear disaster. This theory further got credence because after the disaster bombs namely “Little Boy” and “Fat Man” devastated Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the ubiquitous cockroaches were seen on the site of rubble and destruction. The question is, is this fact or fiction?

Actually, it is a bit of both! Extensive research has proved that roaches have a remarkable ability to endure radiations. While radiation of 1000 radon units (rad), which was emitted in Hiroshima, Nagasaki explosions is fatal for humans when exposed for 10 minutes, 50 percent of the roaches exposed to this level remain alive and kicking and even at 10000 rad about 30 percent would be healthy. This is seemingly the tolerance limit as when exposed to a higher level of radiation, their survival rate was marginal. With much slower cell reproduction cycle, roaches can withstand radiation, unless they are going through the ‘molting process’ or ‘exoskeleton growing phase’ when they are weak and vulnerable to the exposure with a high probability of fatality. Directly exposed to a nuclear blast, they succumb to intense heat.

The extraordinary abilities of roaches have inspired scientists to develop rescue robots that could be used to locate survivors in confined spaces in the event of a natural calamity like earthquakes or manmade disasters.

Will the roaches survive the nuclear apocalypse and inherit the earth?

The answer is a clear no, notwithstanding being “insectes extraordinaire” unlike fruit flies, flower beetles and scorpions, the roaches cannot endure Nuclear Armageddon much against the common perception at large.

By Rachna Arora

(The writer is PGT- Physics at Shiv Nadar School, Noida)

Source: Indian Express, 24/01/21

Climate refugees and Assam’s future

 As the All-Assam Students Union released the confidential report on Clause 6 of Assam Accord in August last year, it was evident from a first reading that the report had all the intentions of securing the long-standing aspirations of the indigenous people of Assam. However, on closer inspection, certain issues do appear unaddressed, one of which is of “climate refugees”.

The phenomenon of climate change does not need an introduction. Today, across the world, people are aware of the adverse effects of climate change. In 2019, United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a report which forecasts a sobering picture of the challenges from rising sea levels due to climate change. The report predicts that the global mean sea levels will most likely rise between 0.95 feet (0.29 m) and 3.61 feet (1.1 m) by the end of this century. This rising sea level coupled with storm surges, severe cyclones and extreme weather events will force millions of people to leave their homes and move to safer places — this creates the problem of climate refugees, which is something the world today and, more particularly, India needs to seriously contemplate on.

The concept of climate refugees was first introduced by Lester Brown of the World Watch Institute in the 1970s, wherein he used the term environmental refugees to denote the forced migration of people due to environmental degradation and natural disasters. Despite several criticism, one of the best works on this issue was done by Norman Myers, a British environmentalist, who made several predictions as to the number of environmental or climate refugees worldwide. In 2002, Myers predicted that climate refugees from Bangladesh alone might outnumber all current numbers of refugees worldwide — the reasons behind this being the low-lying topography of the country, and a large number of people living in the volatile Gangetic delta region. In March 2018, a World Bank report revealed that the number of Bangladeshis displaced by the varied impacts of climate change could reach 13.3 million by 2050. These displaced people will seek shelter internally, as well as in neighbouring countries like India.

In India, the primary point of concern regarding the climate refugees is not only their migration but also the non-recognition of climate refugees under the Indian law. In fact, even under the international refugee law, no proper recognition is accorded to the climate refugees. Article 1A (1) of the 1951 Convention applies the term “refugee”, first, to any person considered a refugee under earlier international arrangements. Then, Article 1A (2), read now together with the 1967 Protocol and without time or geographical limits, offers a general definition of the refugee as including any person who is outside their country or origin and unable or unwilling to return there or to avail themselves of its protection, owing to well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group (an additional ground not found in the UNHCR Statute), or political opinion. The definition itself views the term refugee narrowly from a persecution point of view, disregarding any other factor which may induce migration — like climate change.

This non-recognition of climate refugees both at the national and international levels complicates the problem as there is no clarity on the course of action to deal with such refugees and also on who shall be responsible for their protection and rehabilitation. From several studies and research reports, it is undisputedly clear that climate refugees as a phenomenon exists and is growing considerably, affecting countries worldwide including India. If the sea levels in Bangladesh rise, as it has been predicted, undoubtedly there will be large-scale migration from the country towards India seeking refuge. Without a proper legal or policy framework in place, dealing with such a crisis would be challenging, and politicisation of the issue cannot be ruled out.

From a humanitarian point of view India would have no alternative but to accept and rehabilitate the refugees. Such sudden settlement and rehabilitation drive of refugees has the possibility of a fresh conflict between the refugees and indigenous people, especially in states like Assam, which not only shares a boundary with Bangladesh but has also witnessed an unabated influx of migrants and refugees since the beginning of the 20th century. Assam has witnessed several violent conflicts in the past between the indigenous people and the immigrants — be it the Nellie massacre or the ethnic riots in Bodoland. However, what is noteworthy here is that indigenous people have also been on the receiving end in many such conflicts, which often is not highlighted.

In Mayong region of Morigaon district, nearly 200-odd Bodo tribal families have been living in relief camps for years — most of whom have been uprooted from their lands due to conflicts with immigrants. Similarly, many Garo villagers were uprooted from their native villages in Dhubri district by the immigrant population. This phenomenon of natives losing their rights over their land can be seen in the names of the villages and the current demographics. Several villages across Brahmaputra Valley still bear names of the tribe which inhabited them like — Kachari gaon, Lalung gaon and so on. On a closer look, one would often see that there is no person from these tribes left in the villages which are now dominated by mostly immigrants and refugees, or industries in some cases.

At this point of time, when a mass migration of climate refugees is imminent, safeguards to the fragile indigenous population becomes necessary to avoid future conflicts in the region. This is where Clause 6 of the Assam Accord coupled with several other safeguards like conferring ST status to the six indigenous communities of Assam can come into play. The committee on Clause 6 has already made several necessary recommendations for the protection of indigenous people in Assam, but what is required now is a constitutional guarantee of these recommendations under Article 371B — which is already dedicated for special provisions to the state of Assam. Besides this, an expansion of the ambit of the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution by conferring Sixth Schedule status to other major tribes of the state, including Mishing, Rabha, Tiwa, Amri Karbi, Sonowal Kachari, Deuri etc., would secure the land, cultural and political rights of these numerically small tribal groups in the event of a major climate migration.

An inevitable event like climate migration has to be addressed by legislative and policy measures — making sure that the refugees get their due rights of settlement and rehabilitation; also ensuring the rights of indigenous people over the land and resources so as to avoid future conflicts between the groups. To ensure this, Indian lawmakers need to come up with a climate refugee framework, and alongside ensure the implementation of the Clause 6 of the Assam Accord with a constitutional guarantee.

(Abhishek Chakravarty is an Assistant Professor of Law at Sai University and faculty at Daksha Fellowship)

Source: Indian Express, 28/01/21

India justice report 2020: One in 4 cops in Bihar a woman, highest among states

 At 25.3 per cent, Bihar leads the list of 25 states for employing most women in its police force, according to the second annual survey on police, prisons, judiciary and legal aid, India Justice Report, released on Thursday.

The state finished ahead of Himachal Pradesh (19.2%) and Tamil Nadu (18.5%).

However, although it is the only state to have more than 20 per cent women in the police force, women account for only 6.1 per cent in the officer category. Tamil Nadu, the report says, has the highest percentage of women police officers (24.8%) , followed by Mizoram (20.1%).

On diversity, Karnataka is the only state to meet its quotas for SC, ST and OBC in both officer cadre and constabulary, Chhattisgarh being the only other state that meets the diversity requirements for constabulary.

The report analysed expenditure, vacancies, representation of women and members of SC, ST and Other Backward Classes, across 18 large and mid-sized states with a population of over 1 crore and eight smaller states. The report was an initiative of Tata Trusts, along with the Centre for Social Justice, Common Cause, CHRI, DAKSH and TISS-Prayas and Vidhi Centre for Legal Policy.

The lack of representation of women as judges in high courts is telling. Sikkim tops the list with 33.3 per cent women – Sikkim High Court has just three judges, Justice Meenakshi Madan Rai being its lone woman judge. Overall, only 29 per cent judges in HCs across the country are women, but no state except Of the rest, Andhra Pradesh tops the list with 19 per cent, followed by Punjab and Haryana, where the common HC for the two states has 18.2 per cent women judges.

Four states — Bihar, Uttarakhand, Tripura and Meghalaya — have no woman judge in its high courts.

Despite the low figures, women’s representation has marginally increased in police, prisons and the judiciary, the report mentions. Women account for 10 per cent of all police personnel, up from 7 per cent in January 2017; 13 per cent prison staff (10% in December 2016); 29.3% of judges (26.5% in 2017-18).

Overall, Maharashtra retained the top spot on delivery of justice to people among 18 large and mid-sized states, followed by Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Punjab and Kerala.

The report also noted that an overwhelming two-thirds of all prisoners are undertrials awaiting a conviction.Sikkim has over 20 per cent women judges.

Source: Indian Express, 29/01/21

Study centre at IIM Shillong to help implement NEP in Northeast: Jitendra Singh

 The A P J Abdul Kalam Study Centre at IIM-Shillong, which is supported by the Ministry of Development of North Eastern Region (DoNER), will help in the implementation of the new National Education Policy (NEP) in the Northeast, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Thursday.

Singh said this after a meeting with the management of IIM-Shillong represented by its Chairman Shishir Bajoria, member Board of Governors Atul Chandrakant Kulkari and others.

Hailing the NEP, brought by the Union Education Ministry with the intervention of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as the biggest path-breaking reform in India since independence, Singh said, the new policy is not only progressive and visionary but is also in keeping with the emerging needs of 21st century India.

The A P J Abdul Kalam Study Centre at IIM-Shillong will help implement the NEP in the Northeast and it may also undertake a study to understand how best this can be done, he said.

The minister said the centre also gives the young scholars and students enough room to decide their options depending upon their aptitude and their personal circumstances from time to time

Singh said the entire Northeastern region is faced with the challenge of mass exodus of students to different parts of the country in pursuit of higher education in streams of their preference.

He said, it is therefore, for the educationists in the Northeast to work out a comprehensive and effective plan to make use of the best practices incorporated in the NEP for the benefit of the students in the Northeast by overcoming the peculiar constraints of the region.  

The minister said the centre may also undertake a study to understand how the different streams and subjects available in the central institutions be introduced in the Northeast so that the students of the region can take the benefits of chosen subjects.

The centre can also suggest ways and means to involve the state run colleges and institutions in carrying out the academic programmes initiated by the central government.

It can also play the role of resource centre as well as coordinator between the central and state governments on the one hand and among the various education institutions of the region on the other hand, in order to ensure that the benefits of the NEP percolate down to the last student. 

Source: Hindustan Times, 29/01/21

Quote of the Day

 

“The most important thing about goals is having one.”
Geoffry F. Abert

“लक्ष्यों के बारे में सबसे महत्त्वपूर्ण चीज है उनका होना।”
जेफ्री ऍफ़ ऐबर्ट

Current Affairs – January 28, 2021

 

India

Home Ministry extends COVID-19 guidelines till February 28

The Ministry of Home Affairs issued an order on January 27, 2021 extending the COVID-19 “guidelines for surveillance, containment and caution” till February 28. The guidelines permit opening of cinema halls and theatres at a higher capacity as opposed to 50% seating strength allowed till now. Swimming pools have also been permitted to open for all.

Statue Govind Ballabh Pant unveiled at its new location in Delhi

A statue of freedom fighter Govind Ballabh Pant that was removed from the Parliament premises recently was unveiled at its new location, a roundabout opposite Gurdwara Rakab Ganj on Pandit Pant Marg in New Delhi on January 27, 2021. Pant served as Union Home Minister from 1955 to 1961.

Economy & Corporate

International Customs Day observed on Jan 27

The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) observed the International Customs Day on January 27, 2021. The theme for this year as given by World Customs Organisation (WCO) is “Customs bolstering Recovery, Renewal and Resilience for a sustainable supply chain”.

Textiles Ministry signs MoU with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan

The Textiles Committee of the Ministry of Textiles has signed a Memorandum of Understanding- MoU with Nissenken Quality Evaluation Centre, Japan to boost export of Textile and Apparel to Japanese market. The main objective of the MoU is to provide required support to textile’s trade and industry for ensuring quality as per the requirement of Japanese buyers.

India’s new farm laws have potential to raise farm income: IMF

India’s recently-enacted agri laws have the potential to increase farmers’ income, but there is a need to provide a social safety net to the vulnerable cultivators, IMF’s Chief Economist Gita Gopinath has said.

World

India inks MoU with IEA for global energy security, sustainability

India on January 27, 2021 inked a strategic partnership agreement with the International Energy Agency (IEA) to strengthen cooperation in global energy security, stability and sustainability. This partnership will lead to an extensive exchange of knowledge and would be a stepping stone towards India becoming a full member of IEA. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Power Secretary Sanjiv Nandan Sahai and IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.

India pledges $150,000 for UN peacebuilding as a token of engagement

1. S. Tirumurti, permanent representative of India to the United Nations, on January 26, 2021 announced a pledge of USD 150,000 to activities of the UN fund this year.

International Holocaust Remembrance Day observed on Jan 27

International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust (International Holocaust Remembrance Day) was observed on January 27, 2021. The day commemorates the tragedy of the Holocaust during the Second World War. On January 27, 1945, Auschwitz-Birkenau, the largest Nazi concentration and death camp, was liberated by Soviet Union’s Red Army.

Russia’s lower house approves extension of arms control treaty with US

Russia’s lower house of parliament, State Duma, on January 27, 2021 approved an extension of the New START (Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty) with the United States for five years. The treaty limits the numbers of strategic nuclear warheads, missiles and bombers that Russia and the United States can deploy. The Kremlin said that the two countries had reached a deal to extend the pact which was signed in 2010 and is set to expire by the end of January 2021.

Indonesia: 2,968-m Mount Merapi volcano erupts

Mount Merapi, Indonesia’s most active volcano, erupted on January 27, 2021 with a river of lava and searing gas clouds flowing down its slopes. The 2,968-meter volcano is on the densely populated island of Java and near the ancient city of Yogyakarta. Merapi’s last major eruption in 2010 killed 347 people.

Italy: PM Giuseppe Conte resigns

Italy’s Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte resigned on January 26, 2021. He tendered his resignation to President Sergio Mattarella who invited him to stay on in a caretaker capacity. The coalition government has been fatally weakened by the withdrawal of Italia Viva party.

Antony Blinken sworn in U.S. Secretary of State

Antony Blinken was sworn in U.S. Secretary of State on January 26, 2021 after his 78 to 22 confirmation at the Senate.

What is Alpha Global Union?

 Recently, the Google workers from all around the globe have formed an international union called the “Alpha Global”. The new union has been named after Google’s parent company Alphabet. The union was formed in coordination with UNI Global Union.

About Alpha Global

• The Alpha Global union comprises of 13 different unions.
• These 13 unions represent the workers in 10 countries like United States, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
• The grouping has been formed with the aim to “build a more ethical and accountable company.
• It also aims to bring together the direct Alphabet employees besides the temporary, vendor, and contract workers.
• For now, Alpha Global will not have a legally binding agreement with the company.

What is the need of Global Union?

The problems created by Alphabet are not limited to any one country. It is problematic to all of them. These problems can easily be addressed on a global level. Formation of such global Unions will help in finding solutions.

Alphabet Workers Union (AMU)

The alphabet workers union was launched by the United States and Canada. It is a minority union. It initially had over 200 workers affiliated with the Communications Workers of America. Within a week, AWU grew to over 700 members.

UNI Global Union

It was earlier known as the Union Network International (UNI). It is a global union federation for skills and services. It helps in gathering the national and regional trade unions. It is based in Nyon, Switzerland. This union federation represents more than 20 million workers from over 150 different countries in the skills and services sectors. The union represents the Cleaning & Security, Graphical & Packaging, Hair & Beauty, Information, Communication, Technology and Services Industry (ICTS). It also includes the Media, post and logistics, Entertainment and Arts, Private Care and Social Insurance, Women and Youth.

What is Economic Survey?

 The economic survey for 2020-2021 will be tabled in the parliament on January 29, 2021 days before the presentation of Union Budget on February 1, 2021

Key Facts

• The Economic survey will be released with the focus on the impact of lockdown and COVID -19 on the economy.
• It is expected that, the survey will provide an overview of how much did the COVID 19 pandemic affect the economy.
• It will also provide a road map to revive the Indian economy.
• The road map for the 5 trillion economy is also expected to be laid down.

What is economic survey?

• The Economic Survey is a flagship annual document that reviews the development in the Indian economy.
• The survey reviews the development of economy over the past fiscal year and presents a holistic preview of the Budget.
• It is released by the Department of Economic Affairs of the Ministry of Finance.
• The survey is prepared by the country’s Chief Economic Advisor and tabled in both houses of Parliament one day before the budget presentation.
• The document is also discussed by the Chief Economic Advisor (CEA) and his team during a press conference.
• Presently, Krishnamurthy Subramanian is the CEA of India.

Significance of the Economic Survey?

The document helps in reviewing the development of the Indian economy over the past year. It also summarises the performance on major development programs besides highlighting the policy initiatives of the central government. The economic survey also projects the India’s GDP growth for the next fiscal and suggests measures to boost the growth. For the year 2020, the Economic Survey had projected growth of Indian economy by 6 to 6.5 per cent and had suggested new ideas for boosting the manufacturing like ‘assemble in India for the world’ which in turn created jobs. However, the growth was disrupted because of Covid-19 outbreak.

World’s richest men, Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, fight over satellite fleets

 The world’s two richest men are duking it out before U.S. regulators over celestial real estate for their satellite fleets.

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has asked the Federal Communications Commission for permission to operate Starlink communications satellites at a lower orbit than first planned.

Jeff Bezos’s Amazon.com Inc. says the move would risk interference and collisions with its planned Kuiper satellites, which like Starlink are designed to beam internet service from space.

A dispute that would normally be confined to regulatory filings is spilling into public view, in a spat that showcases the large personalities involved as billionaires chase dreams in the sky.

“It is SpaceX’s proposed changes that would hamstring competition among satellite systems,” Amazon tweeted Tuesday from its official news account. “It is clearly in SpaceX’s interest to smother competition in the cradle if they can, but it is certainly not in the public’s interest.”

The statement followed a tweet from Musk, the richest person according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“It does not serve the public to hamstring Starlink today for an Amazon satellite system that is at best several years away from operation,” Musk said in a tweeted reply to coverage by CNBC journalist Michael Sheetz.

Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has launched more than 1,000 satellites for its Starlink internet service and is signing up early customers in the U.S., U.K. and Canada. Amazon last year won FCC permission for a fleet of 3,236 satellites and has yet to launch any.

Amazon earlier urged the FCC to reject SpaceX’s request for lower orbits. It said the change would put SpaceX satellites in the midst of the Kuiper System orbits, according to filings at the agency.

SpaceX pushed back in calls to the FCC, saying its plans wouldn’t increase interference for what it termed Amazon’s “still nascent plans.”

A lower orbit allows quicker internet service because the signal doesn’t travel as far. SpaceX told the FCC that having the satellites closer to Earth lessens the risk of space debris because they would fall out of orbit more quickly than higher spacecraft.

SpaceX eventually plans to operate some 12,000 satellites and has won FCC authorization for about 4,400 birds, including 1,584 at 550 kilometers — where its satellites currently orbit. The company is seeking permission to stage another 2,824 satellites at the same approximate altitude, rather than twice as high as originally proposed.

Source: Indian Express, 27/01/21

The Anthropocene era has placed an ethical challenge before the human race

 With the rapid advance of the manufacturing sector and deeper penetration of the global market since the Second World War — what is known as the Great Acceleration — the emission of carbon dioxide increased in geometric proportions. The Keynesian revolution from the 1940s to the beginning of the 1980s made massive investments in infrastructure with the aim of increasing demands. It has been observed that Keynesianism did not replace capitalism but made it ordinary, acceptable to the masses.

In the mid-1980s, the Thatcher-Reagan joint economic regime dismantled the welfare system of the previous decades and heralded the turn towards neoliberalism. The transformation of the social into a mere extension of the economy being complete, every human affair could be explained in market terms. With the rise of digital, virtual, and biotechnological systems from the 1990s, capital could operate as an integrative, hermetic bind transforming itself into a rationalised regime of the projective calculation for the market like never before. The combined result is humankind’s entry into an era where everything they do will have a direct impact on the planetary history from now on. In other words, mankind has entered the Anthropocene era leaving behind that of the Holocene.

The argument that the Anthropocene emerged dialectically from the contradiction of capitalism and nature, however, is problematic and has influential detractors. It can be conjectured that had the entire world gone socialist after the Russian Revolution, it would have produced more, and not less, greenhouse effect since the equitable distribution of resources across the population would have meant more purchasing power on a global scale.

Interestingly, the figure of the Anthropocene has now been constructed as the ultimate test of humanity’s capacity for self-overcoming through technologistic solutions. Apart from ensuring the faith of the global populace in the prevailing economic-technological order, it offers capitalism a new market. Bioengineering in the form of genome science is posing as the new form of a political messiah. Calling it a genetic bomb, French philosopher Paul Virilio explains the promises of this new science in terms of the installation of a new human being with a smaller ecological footprint because it uses fewer proteins, oxygen, and water, a creature made compatible with an earth of dwindling resources. The damage of ecology that so long compromised and promised conditions suitable for human biological existence now paves the way for the success of a new techno-market solution. If the bomb signalled the destruction of human life, decoding the human genome heralds the industrial production of life.

Is it possible even now for us as a collective to work out an escape from the impending doom? Can the Anthropocene be made liveable for humans? Time has come to develop a species sense, the sense that we as a species were born through the longue durée of geological and biological changes. The weave through which we are related to one another is the weave of power be it at the global, national, professional, or familial level. But along with this, we need what may be called an ethical understanding at the level of species. Though not connected intrinsically, the issues of power and ethics can be brought on the same plane through patient reflection.

Mere criticism of capitalism will not suffice. We need to imagine a feasible global systemic alternative where the human considers itself a part of the natural order and actively cooperates with it. The planet is not for humankind’s loot. The task is to reconfigure the political. The incorporation of the geobiological into the human calculus is oftentimes seen as an escape from the pressing issues of hunger and injustice. There is little awareness at present that unless the question of ecological impact is woven into the question of justice in human affairs, it will be of less and less practical relevance. The compass of the political must include ecological.

So far, human-social thinking has taken the natural and planetary world as constant, not affecting human affairs. The tree I see from my window will bloom at a particular time of the year, the planets and the sun will reside in their stately domains and have the same effect on our planet, and so forth. As a matter of fact, those functions of the human that resembled the animal world like food, nutrition, and reproduction were left out from the centre of human knowledge. Only those aspects of the human beings that are specific to our species being like language, justice, and the fight for it were considered the proper domain of human investigation. Hence, the difference between human-historical time and the time of geology thus never bothered us. History became the study of human consciousness.

The irony is in their attempt to transcend nature, humans made an abrupt fall into nature, allowing fundamental earthly forces to dictate their lives and unleashing the beast of geophysical forces that cannot be controlled by human endeavour. The pandemic moves around the world at great speed while climate change is a slow process occurring over centuries. Only a drastic reduction of the global population to half the present number in the next 30 years and a practice of ascetic life can save the planet. It is difficult but not impossible. The textures of our comportment as we conduct our lives and engage in different transactions with not only humans but nature at large deserves its due importance. This is the domain of spirituality. Today’s politics begins from here.

Written by Manas Ray

This article first appeared in the print edition on January 28, 2021 under the title ‘The ecological is political’. The writer is former professor in cultural studies at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences, Kolkata.

Source: Indian Express, 28/01/21

Quote of the Day

 

“Everything is always created twice, first in the mind and then in reality”
Anonymous

“हर चीज का सृजन दो बार होता है, पहली बार दिमाग में और दूसरी बार वास्तविकता में।”
अज्ञात

Current Affairs – January 27, 2021

 

India

Bharat Parv 2021 being organised on a virtual platform

Bharat Parv 2021, a festival to celebrate the spirit of India, is being organised on a virtual platform from January 26 to 31, 2021. Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla inaugurated the Bharat Parv-2021.

Bangladesh tri-service contingent marches in Republic Day parade

As New Delhi and Dhaka celebrate the 50^th anniversary of the 1971 Liberation War, a 122-member tri-Service contingent of Bangladesh marched on Rajpath at the Republic Day parade in New Delhi on January 26, 2021. It had soldiers drawn from the units of 1971.

Akshay Kumar launches mobile action game FAU-G

Akshay Kumar launched the mobile action game ‘Fearless and United Guards (FAU-G). The initial episode of the game is based in the Galwan Valley in Ladakh and the rest of the episodes will be set in other Indian battlegrounds. The game is free to download and play while the users will have to pay for several premium features like skins of their avatars.

Economy & Corporate

India’s economy to grow 11.5% in FY22 fiscal, 6.8% in FY23 fiscal: IMF

India’s economy is expected to bounce back strongly in the next fiscal year with 11.5% growth, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said in its World Economic Outlook (WEO) update released on January 26, 2021. India is the only major economy forecast to grow in double digits next year and forecast to follow that up with the highest 6.8% rise in the FY23 fiscal.

India’s economy to grow at 7.3% in 2021: UN DESA

India’s economy is projected to grow at 7.3 per cent in 2021, even as it is estimated to contract by 9.6 per cent in 2020 because of lockdowns and other efforts to control the Covid-19 pandemic slashed domestic consumption, the World Economic Situation and Prospects 2021, produced by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), revealed.

Dhanlaxmi Bank Board approves appointment of Shivan as MD and CEO

Board of Directors of Kerala-based Dhanlaxmi Bank have given approval to appoint J K Shivan as managing director and CEO of the Bank.

World

US: President Joe Biden signs ‘Buy American’ executive order

President Joe Biden signed an executive order on January 25, 2021 to boost government buying from U.S. manufacturers. Biden’s order would modify the rules for the Buy American program, making it harder for contractors to qualify for a waiver and sell foreign-made goods to federal agencies. It also changes rules so that more of a manufactured good’s components must originate from U.S. factories.

US: Joe Biden signs order to reverse Trump’s transgender military ban

President Joe Biden signed an executive order that brought in a policy of including all qualified Americans to serve in the US military, effectively overturning a ban on transgender persons that was introduced by the former Trump administration, the White House said on January 25, 2021.

US: Senate confirms Janet Yellen as first woman treasury secretary

The United States Senate on January 25, 2021 confirmed economist and former Federal Reserve Chairperson Janet Yellen as first woman Treasury Secretary of the United States.

What is Green Tax?

 The Ministry of road transport has decided to impose the additional taxes on old vehicles that are no more fit on road. This additional tax is being called as the “Green Tax”. Th decision was taken to curb pollution. It will also motivate people to switch to environment-friendly alternatives to the vehicles

Highlights

• The Green tax will reduce the pollution level.
• It will also make the polluter to pay for creating pollution.
• Revenue collected from the green tax will be kept in a separate account. The amount will be used for tackling the problem of pollution.
• The states have been asked to set up state-of-art facilities to monitor the emission.

How the vehicles will be taxed?

• Under the Green Tax norms, the transport vehicles older than eight years will be charged with the green tax at the time of renewal of fitness certificate. They will be charged at the rate of 10 to 25% of road tax.
• While, the Public transport vehicles like city buses will be paying lower Green Tax.
• However, the vehicles used in farming like tractor and harvestor will be exempted from the tax.

What is Green tax?

Green tax is also called as the pollution tax or environmental tax. The tax is an excise duty on goods that results into the environmental pollutants. An economic theory says, that if taxes will be charged on emissions causing pollution will lower the environmental impairment in a cost-effective manner. The tax will encourage the behavioural changes in households and firms that are required to reduce the pollution. The tax mainly aims to ensure that polluters are duly punished for their pollution creating activities.

Green Tax in India

This tax in India is relatively new trend. However, the RFID tags are being given and CCTV cameras have been deployed at border entry points. With this, the commercial vehicles that enter the city are monitored for emissions. In the cities like Delhi, Environmental Compensation Charge (EEC) is imposed on pollutants depending upon the vehicle’s size.

What is “Blue Jet Lightning”?

 The Scientists from the International Space Station (ISS) have observed a bright-blue lightning bolt that is shooting upward from the thunderclouds. Such blue jets are hard to observe from the ground because the electrical discharges emerge from the tops of thunderclouds. But from space, one can easily observe the phenomenon.

Highlights

• The instrument at the space station had captured a blue jet shooting from the thunderstorm cell near a small island in the central Pacific Ocean on February 26, 2019.
• Scientists had observed the five intense flashes of blue light.
• Each of the lighting lasting about 10 to 20 milliseconds.
• After that, the blue jet moved out from the cloud towards a narrow cone shape stretching into the stratosphere.

What are blue jets?

• Blue jets are initiated as “normal” lightning discharges.
• It emerges between the upper positive charge region in a thundercloud and a negative screening layer above the charge region.
• The positive end network fills the negative charge region and after that the negative end fills the positive charge region.
• After that, the positive end exits the cloud and starts propagating upward.
• Earlier, it was believed that blue jets are directly related to lightning flashes but it is the result of the hails.
• The blue jets are brighter than sprites and are blue in colour.
• The blue colour of the jets is the result of blue and near-ultraviolet emission lines from neutral and ionized molecular nitrogen.
• The blue jets were recorded on October 21, 1989 for the first time.

Thunderstorm

It is also known as an electrical storm or a lightning storm. It is characterized by the presence of lightning and the acoustic effect on the Earth’s atmosphere that is thunder. This phenomenon is usually taking place in the cumulonimbus cloud, the thunderstorm is also accompanied by strong winds and heavy rain. It could also lead to snow, sleet, or hail.

Cumulonimbus Cloud

It is a dense and towering vertical cloud. This cloud is formed by the water vapor which is carried by the powerful upward air currents.

International Education Day: Engineering, diverse cultural experience attract foreign students to India

Twenty-one-year-old Rhythm Patel, a Qatari resident of Indian origin, chose India to study computer sciences after finishing school. Patel says he had offers from universities in the US and Canada but the quality of education here was a clinching factor for him. He chose IIIT-Delhi for B.Tech in Computer Science and Engineering. “Contrary to public opinion, some colleges in India have a very good quality of education. If one graduates from a top institute in India like IITs, IIITs, and NITs, it also opens many doors for securing a job,” Patel tells indianexpress.com.

Promising ‘quality education’ at a reasonable price as compared to other countries, engineering education in India seems to be a preferred choice for foreign students, especially from South Asian countries. According to the Education Ministry’s latest AISHE report, the number of foreign students in India has gone up from 6,988 in 2000 to 47,427 in the academic year 2018-19. Much like Indian students, engineering and medicine courses are popular among foreign students.

Course-wise, BTech is the most preferred choice, with the gender ratio, however, remaining skewed in favour of male students. BTech is followed by BBA, BSc, BA, and MBBS courses. Like with Indian students, in the medicine stream, enrolment of female students is higher for foreign students too; with 58.92 per cent of total foreign enrolments in the stream being that of women.

The recent employability report by the Times Higher Education (THE) reported that India is among one of the biggest study destinations for foreign students because of the ’employability’ factor it offers. The report also claimed that traditional foreign destinations such as the US and the UK are struggling to “compete in terms of value for money” with these younger nations. Students and their parents are motivated by the ability to get a job rather than the brand, as per the report, and in the coming decade, universities will have to focus on their employability more.

Atal Zadran, an Afghanistan national, studied BCA from Bangalore University. Like Patel, he had the option of studying in any other European country but he decided to study in India. After securing high grades in BCA, he got a job in his own country. Three years ago when Zadran wanted to pursue higher studies, he decided to return here. Apart from the “updated MCA curriculum”, he says he prefers India because it offers “peace of mind” and a “cultural familiarity”.

Non-STEM courses not as popular

India is the favourite destination for students from Africa, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. As per the Education Ministry data, Nepal sends the most number of students to India.

Desmond Papa Wusu Mill, a 23-year-old student from Ghana, is in his second year of Mass Communication at Lovely Professional University (LPU), Punjab. But his first choice was engineering because he had heard greatly about India’s reputation as an emerging IT giant. It was during his engineering degree here that he discovered his interest in a course in public relations.  “During my stay here in India, despite initial adjustments to adapt to the culture, I could easily interact with people despite us having different accents in English.

Cultural Mix a USP

Mazharul Miraz, a 24-year-old Bangladeshi student at LPU says that India gives an “experience of not just studying in a country but a united entity with multiple countries”.

“India is a combination of multiple countries. It has such a diversity in terms of languages, cultures, and cuisines that I have learned a lot of management and public dealing skills along with my engineering degree. When I had joined I was a bit scared because people from different parts of the nation have entirely different viewpoints, but they all deal with each other very nicely. This cultural experience helped in giving me a well-rounded experience,” he said.

Shahid Nawaz Khan, a resident of Kuwait and a B.Tech student from IIIT-Delhi, says there is an environment of competitiveness here which drives “me to achieve my full potential”. “Having been brought up in a very protective environment in Kuwait, moving to any other country at that time seemed like a daunting task, and coming to India was not such a big step. My parents were a little skeptical about the pollution in Delhi,” says Khan.

Gopal Rizal, a 34-year-old Bhutanese student pursuing PhD in nanotechnology at IIT-Guwahati, claims that he had to move his classes online due to the pandemic shortly after he had started studying here. Even as his academic studies are continuing online, he says that culturally he had learned a lot.

“Ever since I took admission at IIT-Guwahati, the Covid-19 pandemic led to switch the teaching and learning process to online mode. During my short stay in India, I started to learn how people from cultural and ethnic diversities work together here. I aim to embrace these qualities of Indian citizens and work in building my own country after the completion of my study here. I would also like to collaborate with the friends and the professors of IIT-G to build a strong scientific temper among the youth of Bhutan.”

Are there concerns over women’s safety?

Masoda Khairzada, a 33-year-old Afghan national and a PhD fellow at the chemical engineering department of IIT-Madras, headed back home due to the lockdown but cannot wait to come back and “walk freely on Tamil Nadu’s lush green roads”.

Like many other female foreign students, Khairzada too had apprehensions about studying in India but was surprised by the sense of security she was offered here.

“I really miss working in the lab. I want to go back to labs and perform my experiments but I also miss walking on roads with its green and fresh environment. Chennai really impressed me with its security. When I was in Afghanistan, I was a little worried about staying in Chennai because I was the only Afghan student in IIT-M. However when I lived in Chennai it has started to feel like my second home,” said Khairzada who has worked as a lecturer at Jawzjan University in Afghanistan.

Bangladesh’s Swarna Roy too was skeptical of studying in India. “There was a myth about India that it is not very safe for girls and the system is not women-friendly, but I have found myself completely safe and comfortable during my whole journey in India.” said the 25-year-old student.

Hemlita Mondal, another MTech student at IIT-M recalls, “I heard about alarmingly growing rape cases in India. So, I was worried about women’s safety there.” However, it was the country’s ever-increasing technological education that had made her select it as her study destination.

Source: Indian Express, 25/01/21