India Bangladesh Relation

People to People connectivity

• Bangladesh gave permission for Kolkata - Dhaka - Agartala bus service in 2015 for which India starting negotiation in 1980. Now distance of travel has been reduced to 400km instead of around 1700 km through chicken neck.
• India PM Modi and Bangladesh PM Haseena inaugurated border haat(market) in Kamalasagar, Agartala in 2015 Modi visit to Bangladesh.
• The Govt. sponsored service between Kolkata and Dhaka was launched on June 19, 1999; the inaugural bus was received in Dhaka by Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister of Bangladesh.The inauguration took place just months following the launch of the Delhi-Lahore Bus between Pakistan and India.  

Cooperation on legal(civil and criminal) matters

• India Bangladesh forces conducted drills in Sunderbans. BSF of India and Border Guarding Forces(BGF) of Bangladesh conducted their first ever joint excercise in the riverine borders of the Sunderbans. This will act as deterrent to smugglers who smuggle Fake Indian Currency Notes(FICN) into India. 
• Another concern from Bangladesh side was smuggling of Phensedyl from India to Bangladesh, BSF officials said the recent ban on the fixed dose combinations which included this drug will help the forces to stop smuggling.
• Bangladesh has been cracking down on hard line elements.

Economic Cooperation

• Bangladesh has provided India with logistical assistance, for instance in setting up the Paltana plant in Tripura. India will sell 100MW of electricity to Bangladesh.
• India Provides aid in million of dollars to Bangladesh as a commitment to help SAARC nations in their projects which directly or indirectly effects life of the people. 
• India has committed itself to provide communication and meteorology satellite to SAARC nations as a gift.

Teesta Agreement

Teesta Agreement is still a bone of contention between two as WB stiff resistance to give any water owing to decrease in flow of water in the river recently which thereby can compromise interest of WB farmers.

Land Boundary Agreement

India and Bangaldesh has signed Land Boundary agreement(LBA) to exchange enclaves and take people out of misery who were living in the enclaves after the partition of India and Pakistan(Now Bangladesh). people in both side of enclaves can opt for citizenship of any country and both countries will support in rehabilitation of their subjects.

Bangladesh as conduit for India's South Asia Policy which includes Act East Policy

The other point that will strengthen the relationship is the fact that both countries are keen to enhance connectivity not just between them, but also with other countries in South Asia.

• The BBIN (Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal) corridor will be high on agenda of both countries. BBIN also known as South Asian Growth Quadrangle  and areas of cooperation include water resources management, connectivity of power grids, multi-modal transport, freight and trade infrastructure.
• Apart from the SAARC region, Bangladesh is an important conduit for India’s Act East Policy, and there have even been some proposals of a strong trilateral between India-Bangladesh and Myanmar, such as a gas pipeline (although the current security situation may not permit it).  

Both countries are also part of a number of groupings that seek to expand South Asia’s connectivity with Southeast Asia and China; these include the Mekong Ganga Cooperation Initiative, BIMSTEC, and the BCIM (Bangladesh-China-India-Myanmar) economic corridor project.

• The Mekong–Ganga Cooperation (MGC) was established on November 10, 2000 at Vientiane, Laos at the First MGC Ministerial Meeting. It comprises six member countries, namely India, Thailand, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. They emphasised four areas of cooperation, which are tourism, culture, education, and transportation linkage in order to be solid foundation for future trade and investment cooperation in the region. The organization takes its name from the Ganga and the Mekong, two large rivers in the region. 
• The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is an international organisation involving a group of countries in South Asia and South East Asia. These are: Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Bhutan and Nepal. Bimstec Headquarters is situated in Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• The Bangladesh–China–India–Myanmar Forum for Regional Cooperation (BCIM) is a sub-regional organisation of Asian nations aimed at greater integration of trade and investment between the four countries. The Bangladesh, China, India and Myanmar Economic Corridor is an initiative conceptualised for significant gains through sub-regional economic cooperation within the BCIM. The multi-modal corridor will be the first expressway between India and China and will pass through Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojna(PMMY)

Key Points

• Refinance lenders for loan to small borrowers by MUDRA.
• Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency(MUDRA) - Banks and Micro Finance Institutions(MFI) can draw refinance under MUDRA scheme after becoming member lending institutions of MUDRA, opening them as additional resource stream.
• Scheme is to fund the unfunded and bring such enterprises to formal financial systems.
• Banks will extend affordable credit to all non-farm enterprises under micro enterprises and small enterprises segment engaged in income generating activities.
• Loans to manufacturing, trading, and services with credit need to the tune of Rs 10 Lakh.
• Target group are retail traders like vegetable vendor and Kirana merchants, services like mechanics, fabrication, tailors, all service providers are covered, small borrower like shoe repairers, tent house hirers, cycle rickshaw, auto and taxi operators. All categories of areas including rural, semi urban, urban and metro.
• Shishu if loan amount < Rs 50000.
• Kishore if loan amount > Rs 50000 && < Rs 5 Lakhs.
• Tarun if loan amount > Rs 5 Lakhs && < Rs 10 Lakhs.
• Bank will not insist for collateral security up to Rs 10 Lakhs.
• Recently SBI has decided to give loans for UBER drivers under PMMY.

A goldmine of opportunities - Agriculture

“If agriculture goes wrong, nothing else will have a chance to go right.”

Areas in Agriculture:

RESEARCH

• Geared towards boosting productivity, agriculture research studies the different facets of agricultural production, ranging from seeds and soils to irrigation and harvesting that would increase the output for domestic consumption as well as exports.  
• With thousands of scientists and over one lakh support staff, India has one of the most extensive agriculture research systems in the world. 
• More plant scientists are needed to improve agriculture growth. There is worldwide demand for agriculture scientists doing R&D in the lab and for experts who look after crop production in the field, such as agronomists, plant pathologists and breeders. The growing impetus for organic produce is also creating many opportunities, especially in horticulture crops.
• Some trials and experiments may not work or may give unexpected data, so the person should be able to interpret the data properly, admit mistakes and learn from them. Growing crops need proper management and care at all times, so hard work is also essential.
• Careers in research, especially as a research scientist, typically require candidates with a doctoral qualification, such as a PhD in agronomy, genetics or plant breeding. A master’s qualification is required for entry-level positions in research, both on-site and in the lab. However, those with relevant undergraduate qualifications, such as agriculture science or biotechnology are eligible for support positions on the field and within labs.
• A qualification in agriculture engineering typically leads to research openings related to the design and manufacture of farm machinery and systems for irrigation and food processing.
• Employment Avenues - Public and private research bodies such as the Indian Council of Agricultural Research and the International Crops Research Institute for Semi-Arid Tropics; research departments at agriculture universities; agribusinesses, especially seed companies 

AGRI-BUSINESS MANAGEMENT

• With growing commercialisation, a number of businesses have emerged in this sector catering to everything, from production technology to food processing. Agribusiness management refers to the management of the finances, marketing and operation of such businesses. 
•  As a signatory of the World Trade Organization, India has immense potential to increase its export of a number of different agricultural commodities, both raw and processed. The huge population also implies major domestic demand, and with a growing affluence, the market for processed food is also going up.
• Farming practices in India have traditionally been organic, involving a minimal usage of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers. Hence the booming market for organic produce has created many opportunities in this segment. During 2012-13, India exported organic products worth USD 312 million to countries around the world. The domestic market is also growing at 15-25 per cent annually.
• Typically candidates for agribusiness management roles are MBA students, especially those with degrees in agribusiness or rural management. Institute of Rural Management Anand(IRMA) provides post graduate management degrees in rural management.
• Employment Avenues - National and multinational companies, especially those working in fields like seeds, bio-pesticides, bio-fertilizers, micro-irrigation and labour-saving farm equipment.

AGRI-FINANCE

• Agri-finance refers to credit extended for investment in agriculture to farmers as well as businesses. In the years before independence and for a few years after, this sector was dominated by unscrupulous moneylenders and their tales of exploitation. However, in the 1930s, the Reserve Bank of India stepped in to curtail the malpractice, and opened the door to growing opportunities in this sector. 
• Under the Reserve Bank of India mandate, agriculture is a priority area and all banks are required to apportion a percentage of loans for this sector. This has led to greater organisation and opportunities in agri-finance.
• There are a number of roles within agri-finance, ranging from pre- and post-disbursement activities, inspection and document management, to generating reports and analysis for informed decisionmaking, underwriting proposals and designing services suitable for this sector.
•  Agriculture graduates with a specialisation or post graduate diploma in finance are a good fit for this field.
• Employment Avenues - Public and private sector banks; microfinance Institutions; agribusinesses and developmental agencies such as the International Finance Corporation and the Food and Agriculture Organization.

Read Estate Bill 2015

Key Points

• Real estate contributes nine per cent to the national GDP and the Bill’s passage was seen as crucial to ensuring better regulatory oversight and orderly growth in the industry.
• Previously, in the absence of a regulatory authority, real estate deals were largely done on faith or based on the experience of friends and family.  
• Buyers will now be paying only for the carpet area and not the super built-up area which was fraught with confusion earlier.
• The developers will now have to take consent of 66 per cent of the homebuyers in case they have to increase the number of floors or change the building plans. This will protect the buyers from any ad-hoc changes that are a norm presently.
• If builders still cause delays in transferring properties to buyers, the appellate tribunal would intervene and slap fines on them within 60 days. In a worst case scenario, the tribunals can send a developer found guilty of fraud to jail for three years.
• The builders would also be responsible for fixing structural defects for five years after transferring the property to a buyer. 
• In case consumers fail to make payments to developers, the appellate tribunal can fine them, too.  

 How it will benefit consumer?

• A total of 17,526 projects were launched between 2011 and 2015 with an investment value of Rs.13.70 lakh crore. According to Minister of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation M. Venkaiah Naidu, a total of 76,044 companies are involved in the real estate sector. The sheer scale of these numbers demands that this sector be run on transparent lines, taking into consideration both the need to foster fair play and encourage equity. 
• Beyond just being a disciplinary legislation that regulates the haphazard functioning and the presence of unscrupulous operators in the real-estate business, the Bill will also bring in a sense of comfort and feeling of security to homebuyers.
• Compulsory registration of any project of the size of 500 square metres in size or involves eight apartments, a separate escrow account to park collections, greater clarity in the definition of carpet area, a tighter penalty norm for structural defects in construction, a mandatory consent clause for changes in construction plans and other such provisions will go a long way in boosting consumer confidence.
• Read in tandem with the stringent disclosure norms and penalty provisions, including imprisonment, in some cases, for delays and other contractual failures on the part of a builder, this legislation is a necessary and desirable means to clean up the real estate sector.
• It is hoped that the legislation will improve the trust quotient, which has been identified as a key factor hurting the credibility of the sector that serves the role of a multiplier in a growing economy. If that happens, it would go a long way in strengthening the overall demand sentiment. A better regulatory environment could also inject a sense of clarity in the operation of the industry, and facilitate prospective investors to look at it as a huge opportunity.

I-LTEO - India Long term ecological observatories.

India on 7 December 2015 launched the Indian Long Term Ecological Observatories (I-LTEO) programme to scientifically monitor eight different biomes (natural landscapes) across the country. The initiative was launched on the sidelines of the Conference of Parties-21 (COP-21) of United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) in Paris.

Objectives of this programme:
The programme aims to identify and monitor targeted socio-ecological challenges and help build capacity within India. The studies under the programme will indicate the need for imminent adaptation measures.

Highlights

• Under this programme, students and young scientists will also be trained through sustained long-term support for research in the area of climate change. 
• The initiative will also help the country to have its own scientific data-base in this key area without depending on studies done abroad.
• The new initiative will cover all the major biomass of the country from Western Himalayas to Western Ghats, Eastern Himalayas to Andaman & Nicobar Islands, central India to the Sunderbans and from Jammu & Kashmir to Rajasthan and Gujarat.
• Moreover, long term scientific monitoring of the natural landscapes, water resources, grasslands, mammals, birds, fishes and insects will also be carried out.
• The focus would be to pick up signals and patterns of how changes in climate are affecting natural and closely associated human systems of agriculture and pastoralism.
• It will also enable its scientists to join international initiatives on the subject and provide empirical data on actual impacts on various eco-systems.
• The work on LTEO Programme is being done in a number of developed and developing countries. India too was doing it but was restricted to only one place in the country- a 50 hectare plot at Mudumalai which has been monitored for over the past 30 years by the Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore.

 

IRNSS - Indian Regional Navigation Satellite System

This System is designed to provide position information in the Indian region and 1500 km around the Indian mainland.
IRNSS would provide two types of services, namely, Standard Positioning Services (SPS) - provided to all users and Restricted Services (RS)- provided to authorised users only.

Objective 

By using the IRNSS as a platform the Government of India is planning to launch its own Global Navigational Satellite Services, GINS (Global Indian Navigation Satellite) system, similar to Global Positioning System (GPS) of the the US.

Some Facts

• Country own system for location services like US GPS.
• There are 21 ground stations. ISRO navigation centre which is nerve centre is at Byalan, Bangalore.
• Backup for Byalan nerve center is at Lucknow.
• Ground center provides data recovery and processing center, units have  instruments such as atomic clocks for keeping accurate time which is essential in navigation.
• Navigation satellites provides three main data namely PNT - information on position, navigation and time.
• Ground center presently consists of 13 Indian Range and Integrity Monitoring stations (IRIMS), 1 IRNSS Navigation Center at Byalan, Bangalore, 1 Spacecraft Control Facility(SCF) with its data communication center.
• Planned one are 2 more IRIMS, 1 Network Timing Center, 1 Indian Navigation Center, 1 SCF.
• IRIMS will be spread across Gaggal(In HP near Kangra), Dehradun, Lucknow, Jodhpur, Udaipur , Bhopal, Shillong, Kolkata, Goa, Pune, Kavaratti(Capital of Lakshadweep), Mahendragiri(TN - Southern tip of western ghats) and Port Blair(HQ of Andaman and Nicobar Island) besides Bangalore and Hassan.
• SCF is in Hassan and alternative center in Bhopal.

Transparency at any cost - Nuclear Power Plants

Original Article
 
It is related to leakage of heavy water used to cool the nuclear reactor, on March 11, the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant disaster in Japan.It is a reminder of the inherent risks associated with operating nuclear reactors and the importance of augmenting safety mechanisms.

Key Points

• Unlike the Fukushima accident, rated seven (the highest level) on the International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale, where meltdown of the core of three reactors occurred due to the failure of the cooling system, it is reassuring that the safety systems of the KAPS reactor worked as intended, including the backup cooling systems, thus preventing any cascading event leading to radioactivity release outside the plant. 
• While this may be a “rare event for a functioning plant” that happened for the “first time” in India, it is a cause for concern that the magnitude of the coolant system failure was “significant”. That the reactor has been shut down and an independent assessment of the safety situation at the plant is being undertaken by scientists from the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board evokes confidence. 
• The second unit here has remained shut since July 2015 for maintenance. While the AERB has maintained its independence in terms of its risk assessment and management functions, there is no room for complacency. 
• It must be borne in mind that collusion between the Japanese government, the country’s regulator and the operator had led to many violations that were detrimental to the environment and human health. 
• The only way AERB officials can reassure the public and win confidence is by being more transparent with its findings, however grave they are, and by taking all necessary steps to ensure that similar events are averted in the future.
•  Just as lessons learnt from the Fukushima accident led to an enhancement of the level of safety of the backup systems in reactors that are under construction in India, lessons from this incident should be put to good use.
• These steps are indeed warranted as India plans to increase the installed nuclear power capacity from the current 5,780 MW to 10,080 MW by the end of the Twelfth Plan (2017) and 20,000 MW by 2020.
• Also, India gave an assurance in Paris that by 2030 it would reduce carbon emissions relative to its GDP by 33-35 per cent from 2005 levels and also generate 40 per cent of the country’s electricity from non-fossil fuel-based sources, using among others the solar, wind and nuclear options.  
• While India has positioned itself as a leader in the renewable energy sector by playing a pivotal role in the creation of the International Solar Alliance, the nuclear space is plagued by delays in completing the construction of reactors, as seen in the case of Kota in Rajasthan (RAPP 7 and 8) and at Kakrapar (KAPP 3 and 4). Whether public sentiment supports fresh nuclear reactor proposals would depend on how well the AERB fulfils its tasks.