Daily Current Capsules

22 May 2023

Internal Security

National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP)

What’s the NEWS

• Union Home Minister laid the foundation stone of the permanent campus of the National Academy of Coastal Policing (NACP) at Dwarka, Gujarat

Why Coastal Police?

• India has a 15,000 km long land border and a 7,516 km long sea border.
• Out of the 7,516 km long maritime border, 5,422 km is the mainland border and over 2,000 km is the border of the islands.
• There are 1,382 islands, 3,337 coastal villages, 11 major ports, 241 non-major ports, and 135 establishments including those of space, defense, atomic energy, petroleum, shipping, etc.
• Earlier there was no special training system for all these security personnel, but after the 2008 Mumbai terror attack, the need for a coherent response from jawans at every In 2018, Prime Minister approved National Coastal Police Academy and it was decided to establish it in Dwarka

Know! about NACP

• NACP, the country’s first national academy to train police forces in effectively safeguarding the shoreline, started functioning in 2018 from the campus of the Gujarat Fisheries Research Centre.
• The NACP was set up to provide intensive and high-level training to the marine police of nine coastal states, five Union Territories as well as the Central Police Forces, the Border Security Force (BSF) Gujarat Frontier
• The Centre has sanctioned Rs 441 crore to develop NACP with modern infrastructure, the latest technology, and state-of-the-art training facilities in order to enhance the security of coastal borders,
• The academy trains police personnel and other security agencies in the subjects of marine laws, seamanship, boat work, navigation, weapons handling, and usage of sea guidance and surveillance gadgets and survival skills for long haul operations on the sea, etc

Government Schemes

PM MITRA Park

What’s the NEWS

• The proposal to set up PM MITRA Park in village Bhensola, Badnawar Tehsil, Dhar district of Madhya Pradesh received formal approval from the Government of India in March 2023.
• The program for MoU signing between the Government of India (Ministry of Textiles) and the Government of Madhya Pradesh is taking place in the Dhar district of MP on 21.05.2023.
• The Central Government had announced plans to set up seven mega textile parks under the PM Mega Integrated Textile Regions and Apparel (PM MITRA) scheme.
• In addition to Madhya Pradesh, these parks are being established in Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Uttar Pradesh.

Know! about PM MITRA

• Inspired by the 5F vision of the Hon’ble Prime Minister (i.e. Farm to Fibre to Factory to Fashion to Foreign), the PM MITRA Parks is a major step forward in realizing the Government’s vision of making India a global hub for textile manufacturing and exports.
• It is expected that these parks will enhance the competitiveness of the textiles industry by helping it achieve economies of scale as well as attract global players to manufacture in India.
• These 7 sites were chosen out of 18 proposals for PM MITRA parks which were received from 13 States.
• PM MITRA Parks will help in creating world-class industrial infrastructure that would attract large-scale investment including foreign direct investment (FDI) and encourage innovation and job creation within the sector.
• The Ministry of Textiles will oversee the execution of these projects.
• A Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) owned by the Centre and State Government will be set up for each park which will oversee the implementation of the project.
• The Ministry of Textiles will provide financial support in the form of Development Capital Support up to Rs. 500 crores per park to the Park SPV.
• A Competitive Incentive Support (CIS) of up to Rs 300 crore per park to the units in PM MITRA Park shall also be provided to incentivize speedy implementation.
• State governments will provide contiguous and encumbrance-free land parcels of at least 1000 acres of land and will also facilitate the provision of all utilities

Environment

Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM)

What’s the NEWS

• Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Labour and Employment formally inaugurated CoE-SLM on 20th May 2023 at ICFRE, Dehradun.

Know! about CoE-SLM

• The Prime Minister of India during the 14th Conference of the Parties (COP-14) of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) on 9th September 2019, announced the establishment of the Centre of Excellence on Sustainable Land Management (CoE-SLM) at the Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education.
• CoE-SLM aims to promote South-South Cooperation and address land degradation issues through sustainable land management practices.
• The CoE-SLM is poised to make a lasting impact in addressing land degradation issues, by leveraging sustainable land management practices, fostering cooperation among developing countries, and achieving Land Degradation Neutrality (LDN)
• The CoE-SLM, established at the ICFRE, aims to facilitate the restoration of degraded land through technical support, capacity building, and knowledge sharing at the national and sub-national levels.
• By collaborating with developing countries that are party to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the CoE-SLM seeks to achieve LDN targets, promote south-south cooperation, and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) outlined by various international conventions, including the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Know! about UNCCD

• The United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), adopted in 1994, is the sole legally binding international agreement linking environment and development to sustainable land management.
• The Convention’s 197 parties (countries) work together to improve the living conditions for people in drylands, to maintain and restore land and soil productivity, and to mitigate the effects of drought.
• The objective of UNCCD is to combat desertification and mitigate the effects of drought in countries experiencing serious drought, particularly in Africa. It is supported by international cooperation and partnership arrangements.
• India is a signatory to the United Nations Convention for Combating Desertification (UNCCD).
• The Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) is the nodal Ministry of the Government of India (GoI) that oversees the implementation of the Convention in the country.

Know! about ICFRE

• The Indian Council of Forestry Research and Education (ICFRE)
• It is an autonomous organization or governmental agency under the MoEFCC, Government of India.
• Headquartered in Dehradun, its functions are to conduct forestry research; transfer the technologies developed to the states of India and other user agencies; and impart forestry education.

Land degradation neutrality

• It is defined as “a state whereby the amount and quality of land resources, necessary to support ecosystem functions and services and enhance food security, remains stable or increases within specified temporal and spatial scales and ecosystems.”

Prelims Factoids

Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL)

What’s the NEWS

• In a special ceremony at the Government House, H.E. Sir Bob Dadae, Governor-General of Papua New Guinea (PNG) conferred Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi with the Grand Companion of the Order of Logohu (GCL).
• This is the highest civilian award of PNG and recipients of the award are titled “Chief”.

Prelims Factoids

LSD (Lumpy Skin Disease)

What’s the NEWS

• Department of Animal Husbandry acts promptly to address the concerns of livestock farmers of Darjeeling and Kalimpong districts of West Bengal, as suspected cases of LSD (Lumpy Skin Disease), a devastating disease of Cattle and Buffaloes are reported.

Know! about LSD

• Lumpy skin disease (LSD) is a highly contagious viral disease of cattle and buffalo that causes relatively low mortality.
• It does not affect humans.
• The disease can result in animal welfare issues and significant production losses.
• The disease is not present in Australia.

Infection typically causes acute disease with:

• fever
• depression
• skin nodules
• reduction in milk yield
• abortion in pregnant animals.

LSD is spread:

• by the movement of affected animals
• by biting insects or parasites such as flies, mosquitoes, and ticks
• by contaminated equipment
• directly from animal to animal in some cases.

Open Network for Digital Commerce

What’s the NEWS

• The Union government is looking to formally launch the Open Network for Digital Commerce (ONDC) this year to “democratize e-commerce” and “to provide alternatives to proprietary e-commerce sites”.

Know! about ONDC

• The ONDC is modeled after the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) project which is seen as a success by many.
• The UPI project allows people to send or receive money irrespective of the payment platforms on which they are registered.
• Similarly, the government wants to ensure that buyers and sellers of goods in the e-commerce market can transact regardless of the platforms on which they are registered.
• So under ONDC, a buyer registered on Amazon, for example, may directly purchase goods from a seller who sells on Flipkart.
• To make such transactions a reality, the government has ordered companies to list themselves on the ONDC.
• The pilot version of ONDC was launched last year in a few major cities and thousands of sellers have already been on-boarded onto the platform.
• Amazon and Flipkart, however, have not on-boarded their main shopping platforms onto the ONDC network yet.
• Food delivery apps such as Swiggy and Zomato have also been accused of charging high commissions from sellers.
• With an open network like ONDC that connects buyers and sellers across platforms, the government hopes to level the playing field and make private platforms redundant.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving

TEAM CL/GKP