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March 8th Current News Analysis (CNA)-360
TOPIC : GS 2 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS (INDIA AND CHINA)
GS 1 RESOURCE GEOGRAPHY
China gives green light for first downstream dams on Brahmaputra
What is the news?
- A draft china new policy five year plan (2021-2025) given green light for first dams to be built on lower reaches of yarlung zangbo river as Brahmaputra is known in Tibet before it flows into India
- This project is also listed along with Sichuan – Tibet railway and national water link
What is India concern in the project ?
- India accounts only 4% of water resources to utilize in the context of natural resources
- Brahmaputra is trans boundary river it flows through different countries, china is in completely upper stream have unparallel advantage and influence lower stream nations ex : India and Bangladesh
- China has built more dam on its river than the rest of the world combined and yet has no water sharing agreement with any neighbours including india
- By building dam especially near Arunchal Pradesh border area , china could seek its claim over this Indian region
- All the projects particularly near Great bend are highly volatile tectonic zone results in prone to natural disaster like earth quake
- There is much apprehension that the Brahmaputra may lose the silt, which makes the plains in its basin fertile, because of sediment trapping in the dams.
What are India’s strength?
- India too has decided to commence construction of 14 hydropower projects in Arunachal Pradesh, most of which were located lower down on Brahmaputra. This might be viewed as India’s effort to establish its ‘lower riparian right’ to counter China’s first use priority rights.
PRELIMS CONTEXT
The Brahmaputra called Yarlung Tsangpo in Tibet, Siang/Dihang River in Arunachal Pradesh and Luit, Dilao in Assam, is a trans-boundary river which flows through Tibet, India and Bangladesh.
Origin: Manasarovra lake region near mount Kailash and flows through 3 countries (India, China and Bangladesh). It is called as Jamuna in Bangladesh, the vast Ganges Delta, it merges with the Padma, the popular name of the river Ganges in Bangladesh, and finally, after merging with Padma, it becomes the Meghna and from here, it flows as Meghna River before emptying into the Bay of Bengal.
Tributaries: Manas, Kameng, Teesta, Subansiri, Lohit, Dhansiri, Raidhak etc
MAINS QUESTION
Brahmaputra river in geo strategic importance to India. critically analyze
TOPIC : GS 2 ,WELFARE SCHEMES FOR VULNERABLE SECTIONS OF POPULATION BY THE CENTRE AND STATES AND THE PERFORMANCE OF THESE SCHEMES .
Pradhan Mantri Bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana (PMBJP)
What is the news?Prime minister inaugurated the 7500th Janaushadhi Kendra at NEIGRIHMS, shillong as part of ‘Janaushadhi Divas’ celebration.
What is PMBJP?
- Pradhan mantri bhartiya Janaushadhi Pariyojana is by Department of pharmaceuticals to provide quality medicines at affordable prices to masses.
- PMBJP stores have been set up to provide generic drugs, which are available at lesser prices but are equivalent in quality and efficacy as expensive branded drugs.
- Bureau of Pharma PSUs of India (BPPI) is the implementation agency for PMBJP.
What are generic medicines?
Generic drugs are copies of brand-name drugs that have exactly the same dosage, intended use, effects, side effects, route of administration, risks, safety, and strength as the original drug. In other words, their pharmacological effects are exactly the same as those of their brand-name counterparts
Mission
- Create awareness among the public regarding generic medicines.
- Create demand for generic medicines through medical practitioners.
- Create awareness through education and awareness program that high price need not be synonymous with high quality.
- Provide all the commonly used generic medicines covering all the therapeutic groups.
- Provide all the related health care products too under the scheme.
The Janaushadhi week is being celebrated across the country from 1st March to 7th March 2020.
PRELIMS CONTEXT: PMBJP scheme
MAINS QUESTION: PMBJP is becoming medium of both service and employment. Write the importance of the scheme
Source: https://vikaspedia.in/health/health-campaigns/pradhan-mantri-bhartiya-janaushadhi-pariyojana
TOPIC :GS 2 INDIA AND INTERNATIONAL RELATIONSHIPS
What is the news?
External affairs minister Jaishankar and united states special envoy for Afghanistan Zalmay Khalilzad discussed pertaining to afghan peace talks
Afghan peace process
- Since USSR marched into Afghan in 1979 ,toppling Hatizullah Amin , people of afghan have not known the peace
- Ethno linguistic divisions and decentralization nature of afghan polity provides convenient fautlines for explotiations
- Kabul peace process – president Ghani conferred political recognition on Taliban promise power share and review constitution
- Trump administration “New afghan strategy” put military pressure on Taliban to bring it on negotiating table
Following 4 were the states as objectives of the Afghan peace process.
- 1) An end to violence by declaring a ceasefire.
- 2) An intra-Afghan dialogue for a lasting peace.
- 3) The Taliban cutting ties with terrorist organisations such as al Qaeda.
- 4) U.S. troop withdrawal.
Evolving Indian stand in the peace process
- India’s vision of a sovereign, united, stable, plural and democratic Afghanistan is one that is shared by a large constituency in Afghanistan, cutting across ethnic and provincial lines.
- At Doha meeting, India’s External Affairs Minister reiterated that the peace process must be“Afghan led, Afghan owned and Afghan controlled”.
- But Indian policy has evolved from its earlier hands-off approach to the Taliban.
- S. and Russian representatives suggested if India had concerns regarding anti-India activities of terrorist groups, it must engage directly with the Taliban.
India and Afghanistan
- India policy –There is ‘NO GOOD TERRORIST ,BAD TERRORIST’
- Afghan parliaments, Salman dam, Zaranj –Deleram highway are part of India initiatives
- TAPI gas pipeline is enhancing geo political boundaries
MAINS QUESTION: India role in Afghan peace process . Examine
https://thediplomat.com/tag/afghanistan-peace-process/
TOPIC : GS 3 CYBER SECURITY OF INTERBNAL SECURITY
PATCHING THE GAP OF INDIA CYBER SECURITY
What is the news?
Recently, a Chinese Group named as “Red Echo” was behind a malware attack known as “Shadow pad” on India’s critical information infrastructure such as Ports, power systems etc.
Basics of Cyber Security:
Based upon the motive, Cyber threats can be of 4 types:
Cyber Espionage: The act or practice of obtaining secret information i.e. personal, sensitive, classified nature from individuals, competitors or governments using malicious software such as Trojan horses and spyware. Motive is to obtain secret information which could go against our National security.
Cyber Attack: Targets computer information systems, infrastructures, computer networks. Motive is to damage or destroy targeted computer network or system. Impact: Destruction of Communication network.
Cyber Terrorism: Convergence of terrorism and cyber space. Cyberspace has been used the by terrorists for number of purposes such as Planning terrorist attacks, recruitment of sympathizers, Spreading propaganda to radicalize people, to raise funding etc.
Cyber warfare: Warfare carried out by a country or its proxies to attack the computer systems in other countries. Can Include- Theft, Vandalism (Defacing Web Pages), Destruction of Critical information infrastructure.
Steps taken by india
- Section 66F of ITA: Specific provision dealing with the issue of cyber terrorism that covers denial of access, unauthorized access, introduction of computer contaminant leading to harm to persons, property, critical infrastructure, disruption of supplies, ‘sensitive data’ thefts. Provides for punishment which may extend to life time imprisonment.
- CERT-IN: Organization under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology with an objective of securing Indian cyberspace. CERT-In is responsible for overseeing administration of the Act.
- Cyber Swachhta Kendra: This platform was introduced for internet users to clean their computers and devices by wiping out viruses and malware
- Cyber Surakshit Bharat Initiative: It was launched in 2018 with an aim to spread awareness about cybercrime and building capacity for safety measures for Chief Information Security Officers (CISOs) and frontline IT staff across all government departments.
MAINS QUESTION : Cyber security important component of internal security. Comment
Source: https://www.thehindu.com/opinion/lead/patching-the-gaps-in-indias-cybersecurity/article34000336.ece
PRELIMS PUNCHERS
- Forest specialist index is released by WWF
It is an index that tracks wildlife lives only in forest. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) released a report that finds forest vertebrate populations declined by 53% on average between 1970 and 2014. The report warns this decline has “serious consequences for forest integrity and climate change.”
https://sdg.iisd.org/news/wwf-proposes-forest-specialist-index-to-measure-forest-ecosystem-health/
- Kaldkaad –Mundanthurai Tiger Reserve
It is located in southern Western Ghats in Tirunelvi district and Kanyakumari district, Tamil Nadu. It is part of Agasthyamala biosphere reserve .Established primarily for conservation of lion tailed macaque
- Frontier technologies
They are defined as potentially disruptive technologies that can address large scale challenges or opportunities. They include Artificial intelligence, internet of things ,big data, 5G,3Dpriniting etc
Source: https://pib.gov.in/PressReleseDetailm.aspx?PRID=1665845
- Red rice
It is also called BAO DHAAN, primarily grown in Assam. it is cultivated without using of fertilizers that promotes the organic farming. It is rich in iron content. APEDA has been promoting rice exports through collaborations with various stakeholders in the value chains.
PRELIMS QUESTIONS
- Consider the following statement with reference to river Brahmaputra :
- Brahmaputra called as yarlung Tsangpo river in china .
- Kameng , nyang , zangbo are its important tributaries .
- It is classic example of braided river and suspectible to channel migration.
Select the correct statement using code given below.
(a). 1only (b).1 and 2
(c). 2and 3 (d). All the above are correct
Answer :c
The Brahmaputra called yarlung in Tibet, With its origin in the Manasarovra region, near the mount Kailash, located on the northern side of the Himalayas in burang county of Tibet. This river is important for irrigation and transportation. The river is prone to catastrophic flooding in the Spring when the Himalayan snow melts. It is a classic example of a braided river and is highly susceptible to channel migration and avulsion It is also one of the few rivers in the world that exhibits a tidal bore. Kangchenjunga (8,586 m) is the only peak above 8,000 m, hence is the highest point within the Brahmaputra basin
Tributaries :
Lhasa river, nyang river , parlung river zangbo river ,lohit river , kameng river, kolong river
- Kaldkaad – Mundanthurai tiger reserve is located in
- Andhra Pradesh
- Tamil nadu
- Kerala
- Telangana
Answer : Tamil nadu
Explanation : it is located in southern western Ghats in Tirunelvi district and Kanyakumari district Tamil nadu . it consists of 895 sq.km of core area consisting of two adjacent sanctuaries namely Mundanthurai tiger reserve and kalakkad wildlife sanctuary in Tirunelvi district and part of veerapuli in adjacent to Kanyakumari district . The reserve spans a range of 40 to 1,800 m in elevation. Agasthamalya (1681 m.) is in the core zone of the reserve.