IASbaba PIB Weekly: Press Information Bureau – 4th to 11th November, 2018

ARCHIVES

GS-3

India and the Republic of Korea Sign MoU for –

(Topic: India and Neighbors)

Strengthening cooperation in the field of Tourism

The Republic of Korea is one of the leading tourists generating market for India from East Asia. The signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Korea will be instrumental in increasing tourist arrivals from this source market.

The main objectives of the Memorandum of Understanding are:

• To expand bilateral cooperation in tourism sector
• To increase Exchange of information and data related to tourism
• To encourage cooperation between tourism stakeholders including Hotels and Tour Operators
• To establish exchange programmes for cooperation in Human Resources Development
• To encourage Investment in the Tourism and Hospitality sectors
• To exchange visits of Tour Operators / Media / Opinion Makers for promotion of two-way tourism
• To exchange experience in the areas of promotion, marketing destination development and management
• To encourage participation in travel fairs/exhibitions in each other’s country
• To promote safe, honorable and sustainable tourism

MoU signed between Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports of India and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of the Republic of Korea

To establish a framework to facilitate and promote cooperation between the two countries on the basis of reciprocity and mutual benefit. The cooperation under this MoU may include areas like

(a) Exchange of coaches, athletes, experts

(b) Exchange of scientific and methodical materials

(c) Joint training for athletes and officials

(d) Participation in sports event, seminars, symposia and conferences organized by either country etc.

The two countries will encourage exchanges and cooperative actions between sports authorities, sports federations and other sports bodies in the different areas of cooperation, as jointly decided.

Cabinet approves

Agreement between India and Morocco on Mutual Legal Assistance in Civil and Commercial Matters:

• Service of summons and other judicial documents or processes;
• taking of evidence in civil matters;
• production, identification or examination of documents, recordings;
• The execution of a Letter of Request for taking of evidence in civil matters; and
• Recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards

Signing and ratifying the Extradition Agreement between India and Morocco: The Agreement will provide a strong legal base for the extradition of fugitive offenders who are accused of economic offences, terrorism and other serious offences in one Contracting State and found in another Contracting State. This Treaty will also strengthen bilateral relations to deal with criminal elements acting against the national interest of both India and Morocco.

MoU between India and Italy for continuing training and education in the fields of Labour and Employment: The major impact of the MoU would be

• Up-gradation of technical capacities of both the institutions in responding to the challenges emanating from transformations in the world of work.
• It will enhance the technical capabilities of developing and organising international training programmes and the evolution of V.V. Giri National Labour Institute (VVGNLI) as a leading training institution in the Asia-Pacific region.

Cabinet apprised of India joining as Member of Advanced Motor Fuels Technology Collaboration Programme under International Energy Agency

Goals

• To facilitate the market introduction of Advanced motor fuels/ Alternate fuels with an aim to bring down emissions and achieve higher fuel efficiency in transport sector.
• AMF TCP also provides an opportunity for fuel analysis, identifying new/ alternate fuels for deployment in transport sector and allied R&D activities for reduction in emissions in fuel intensive sectors.

Benefits

• Shared costs and pooled technical resources
• The duplication of efforts is avoided and national Research and Development capabilities are strengthened.
• There is an information exchange about best practices, network of researchers and linking research with practical implementation.

Background

• AMF TCP is an international platform for co-operation among countries to promote cleaner and more energy efficient fuels & vehicle technologies.
• The activities of AMF TCP relate to R&D, deployment and dissemination of Advanced Motor Fuels and looks upon the transport fuel issues in a systemic way taking into account the production, distribution and end use related aspects.

GS-3

Pilot Ganga Grams

(Topic: Environment and Ecology; Biodiversity; Pollution)

Ganga Gram is a concept to transform the villages on the bank of river Ganga into ideal villages with emphasis on

• Open Defecation Free
• Solid and Liquid Waste Management
• Water Conservation
• Ground Water Recharge
• Modern crematorium
• Tree plantation
• Organic and medicinal plants

India has achieved national sanitation coverage from a lowly 39 per cent to over 95 per cent.

Must Solve:

1. It took more than 30 years to clean the Rhine river. The state of pollution in the Ganges is even more alarming. In a scenario like this, how far can the Ganga rejuvenation plan go in bringing back the river to its normal flow and purity? Discuss.

Prelims oriented News

11th Nov: 100 years of First World War

Must Solve:

• How did World War I change the balance of economic power in the world? Analyse.

• Write a short note on the nature of World War 1 and discuss its impact on the Women.

• The Indian support for British during WWI and the very nature of the war were antithetical. Do you agree? Examine.

25th edition of SIMBEX – “Singapore-India Maritime Bilateral Exercise”

Bilateral cooperation between Singapore and India was first formalised when RSN ships began training with the Indian Navy in 1994. What began as a modest endeavour to exchange best practices in the field of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), has in the recent years evolved into a complex high stakes exercise with both nations attaching premium in terms of time, complex advanced exercises and type of platforms involved.

Complementing India’s ‘Act-East’ policy, there have been a number of agreements and high level visits in the recent past between the two countries.  Indo-Singapore bilateral relations have been on an upswing in the recent past.

India elected as a Member of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) Council for another 4-year term (2019-2022)

• India has been an active member of the ITU since 1869, earnestly supporting the development and propagation of telecom in the global community of nations.  
• The country has been a regular member of the ITU Council since 1952, and has played an important role in harmonizing the contributions of member States from the region, always respecting the principles of equality and consensus-building.

Operation Greens

Announced in the Budget speech of 2018-19 with an outlay of Rs 500 crores; on the line of “Operation Flood”, with an outlay of Rs.500 crore to promote Farmer Producers Organizations, agri-logistics, processing facilities and professional management.

Aim:

• To stabilize the supply of Tomato, Onion and Potato(TOP) crops
• To ensure availability of TOP crops throughout the country round the year without price volatility

The strategy will comprise of a series of measures as decided by the Ministry which include:

• Short term Price Stabilisation Measures

NAFED will be the Nodal Agency to implement price stabilisation measures. MoFPI will provide 50% of the subsidy on the following two components:

• Transportation of Tomato Onion Potato(TOP) Crops from production to storage;
• Hiring of appropriate storage facilities for TOP Crops

• Long Term Integrated value chain development projects

• Capacity Building of FPOs & their consortium
• Quality production
• Post-harvest processing facilities
• Agri-Logistics
• Marketing / Consumption Points
• Creation and Management of e-platform for demand and supply management of TOP Crops

Major objectives of “Operation Greens” are as under:

• Enhancing value realisation of TOP farmers by targeted interventions to strengthen TOP production clusters and their FPOs, and linking/connecting them with the market.
• Price stabilisation for producers and consumers by proper production planning in the TOP clusters and introduction of dual use varieties.
• Reduction in post-harvest losses by creation of farm gate infrastructure, development of suitable agro-logistics, creation of appropriate storage capacity linking consumption centres.
• Increase in food processing capacities and value addition in TOP value chain with firm linkages with production clusters.
• Setting up of a market intelligence network to collect and collate real time data on demand and supply and price of TOP crops.

National Policy on Biofuels-2018

• Focusses on giving impetus to R&D in field of advanced biofuels such as 2G Ethanol, Bio-CNG, biomethanol, Drop-in fuels, DME etc.
• These advanced fuels can be produced from various kind of wastes such as crop residues, Municipal solid waste, Industrial waste, waste gases, Food waste, plastic etc.

Quotes:

The Vice President of India, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu

On Mahatma Gandhi

His experience with truth & his commitment to serve the needy is an inspirational saga. Mahatama Gandhi’s vision and voice has a rare resonance in numerous hearts around the world because it springs from the timeless humanistic vision of India.

Personalities in News:

Acharya JB Kripalani

• An Indian politician, noted particularly for holding the presidency of the Indian National Congress during the transfer of power in 1947
• Kripalani was a familiar figure to generations of dissenters, from the Non-Cooperation Movements of the 1920s to the Emergency of the 1970s.

Maulana Abul Kalam Azad

• An Indian scholar and the senior Muslim leader of the Indian National Congress during the Indian independence movement.
• Following India’s independence, he became the first Minister of Education in the Indian government.
• His contribution to establishing the education foundation in India is recognised by celebrating his birthday as “National Education Day” across India.
• Leader of the Khilafat Movement; at an age of 35, he became the youngest person to serve as the President of the Indian National Congress.
• He is also credited with the establishment of the Indian Institutes of Technology and the foundation of the University Grants Commission, an important institution to supervise and advance higher education throughout the country.
• He also worked for Hindu-Muslim unity through the Al-Hilal newspaper