- Indian Heritage
- Culture
- Modern Indian history
- The Freedom Struggle
- Post-independence
- Indian Society
A. population and associated issues
B. poverty and developmental issues
C.urbanization
7. Geographical features
8.Indian Constitution
9. Polity
10. Governance
A. institutions
B. regulatory
C. Government policies
D. role of NGOs
E. measures
11. Social Justice
A. Welfare schemes
Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi Scheme
The Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN), a Central Sector Scheme, aims at providing financial assistance to all cultivable landholding farmer families across the country, subject to certain exclusion criteria.
Under the Scheme, an amount of Rs. 6000/- is transferred annually in three equal installments of Rs.2000/- directly into the Aadhaar Seeded bank accounts of the farmers.
A farmer-centric digital infrastructure has ensured the benefits of the scheme reach all the farmers across the country without any involvement of the middlemen, maintaining absolute transparency in registering and verifying beneficiaries. The Government of India has disbursed over Rs 2.60 Lakhs Crores to more than 11 Cr farmers.
The details of beneficiaries who received benefits under PM KISAN scheme state-wise, year wise, since inception are enclosed in Annexure II.
The PM-KISAN Scheme was launched in Feb. 2019. The state of West Bengal joined the Scheme from 8th installment (April-July, 2021) as initially the State desired that the funds under PM-KISAN Scheme be transferred to the State Government for onward disbursement to the farmers through the State Government.
In the last financial year i.e 2022-23, a total amount of Rs. 58,201.85crores was disbursed to eligible beneficiaries.
Brief details of major schemes implemented by the Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfa
| Sl No | Name of the Scheme | Purpose |
| 1 | Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi (PM-KISAN) | PM-KISAN is a central sector scheme launched on 24th February 2019 to supplement financial needs of land holding farmers, subject to exclusions. Under the scheme, financial benefit of Rs 6000/- per year is transferred in three equal four-monthly installments into the bank accounts of farmers’ families across the country, through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT) mode. |
| 2 | Pradhan Mantri Kisan MaanDhanYojana (PM-KMY) | In order to provide financial support and security to the most vulnerable farmer families, Government launched Pradhan Mantri Kisan Maandhan Yojana w.e.f. 12.09.2019 to provide pension benefits to small and marginal farmers. PM KMY is meant for Small and Marginal Farmers falling in the entry age between 18 to 40 years having cultivable land up to 2 hectares The scheme seeks to provide Rs 3,000/- monthly pension to the Small and Marginal Farmers once they attain 60 years of age. |
| 3 | Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana (PMFBY) | PMFBY was launched in 2016 in order to provide a simple and affordable crop insurance product to ensure comprehensive risk cover for crops to farmers against all non-preventable natural risks from pre-sowing to post-harvest and to provide adequate claim amount. The scheme is demand driven and available for all farmers. |
| 4 | Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) | The Interest Subvention Scheme (ISS) provides concessional short term agri-loans to the farmers practicing crop husbandry and other allied activities like animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries. ISS is available to farmers availing short term crop loans upto Rs.3.00 lakh at an interest rate of 7% per annum for one year. Additional 3% subvention is also given to the farmers for prompt and timely repayment of loans thus reducing the effective rate of interest to 4% per annum. The benefit of ISS is also available for post-harvest loans against Negotiable Warehouse Receipts (NWRs) on crop loans for a further period of six months post-harvest to small and marginal farmers having Kisan Credit Cards (KCCs), on occurrence of natural calamities and severe natural calamities. |
| 5 | Agriculture Infrastructure Fund (AIF) | In order to address the existing infrastructure gaps and mobilize investment in agriculture infrastructure, Agri Infra Fund was launched under Aatmanirbhar Bharat Package. AIF was introduced with a vision to transform the agriculture infrastructure landscape of the country. The Agriculture Infrastructure Fund is a medium – long term debt financing facility for investment in viable projects for post-harvest management infrastructure and community farming assets through interest subvention and credit guarantee support. The Fund of Rs. 1 lakh crore under the scheme will be disbursed from FY 2020-21 to FY2025-26 and the support under the scheme will be provided for the duration of FY2020-21 to FY2032-33. Under the scheme, Rs. 1 Lakh Crore will be provided by banks and financial institutions as loans with interest subvention of 3% per annum and credit guarantee coverage under CGTMSE for loans up to Rs. 2 Crores. Further, each entity is eligible to get the benefit of the scheme for up to 25 projects located in different LGD codes. Eligible beneficiaries include Farmers, Agri-entrepreneurs, Start-ups, Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS), Marketing Cooperative Societies, Farmer Producers Organizations(FPOs), Self Help Group (SHG), Joint Liability Groups (JLG), Multipurpose Cooperative Societies, Central/State agency or Local Body sponsored Public Private Partnership Projects, State Agencies, Agricultural Produce Market Committees (Mandis), National & State Federations of Cooperatives, Federations of FPOs (Farmer Produce Organizations) and Federations of Self Help Groups (SHGs). |
| 6 | Formation & Promotion of new 10,000 FPOs | The Government of India has launched the Central Sector Scheme (CSS) for “Formation and Promotion of 10,000 Farmer Producer Organizations (FPOs)” in the year 2020. The scheme has a total budgetary outlay of Rs.6865 crores. Formation & promotion of FPOs are to be done through Implementing Agencies (IAs), which further engage Cluster Based Business Organizations (CBBOs) to form & provide professional handholding support to FPOs for a period of 5 years. FPOs get a financial assistance upto Rs 18.00 lakh per FPO for a period of 03 years. In addition to this, provision has been made for matching equity grant upto Rs. 2,000 per farmer member of FPO with a limit of Rs. 15.00 lakh per FPO and a credit guarantee facility uptoRs. 2 crore of project loan per FPO from eligible lending institution to ensure institutional credit accessibility to FPOs. Suitable provisions have been made for training and skill development of FPOs. Further, FPOs are onboarded on National Agriculture Market (e-NAM) platform which facilitate online trading of their agricultural commodities through transparent price discovery method to enable FPOs to realize better remunerative prices for their produce. |
| 7 | Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) | Per Drop More Crop scheme mainly focuses on water use efficiency at farm level through precision/micro irrigation. Besides promoting precision irrigation (drip and sprinkler irrigation systems) and better on-farm water management practices to optimize the use of available water resources, this component also supports micro level water storage or water conservation/management activities to supplement micro irrigation. |
| 8 | Sub-Mission on Agriculture Extension (SMAE) | The scheme aims at making the extension system farmer driven and farmer accountable by disseminating technology to farmers through new institutional arrangements viz. Agricultural Technology Management Agency (ATMA) at district level to operationalize extension reforms in a participatory mode. |
| 9 | Sub-Mission on Agriculture Mechanization (SMAM) | Sub Mission on Agricultural Mechanization (SMAM) is being implemented w.e.f April, 2014 which aims at catalyzing an accelerated but inclusive growth of agricultural mechanization in India with the objectives of Increasing the reach of farm mechanization to small and marginal farmers and to the regions where availability of farm power is low, Promoting ‘Custom Hiring Centres’ to offset the adverse economies of scale arising due to small landholding and high cost of individual ownership, Creating hubs for hi-tech& high value farm equipments, Creating awareness among stakeholders through demonstration and capacity building activities and Ensuring performance testing and certification at designated testing centers located all over the country. |
| 10 | Sub-Mission on Seed and Planting Material (SMSP) | SMSP covers the entire gamut of seed production chain, from production of nucleus seed to supply of certified seeds to the farmers, to provide support for creation of infrastructure conducive for development of the seed sector, support to the public seed producing organisations for improving their capacity and quality of seed production, create dedicated seed bank to meet unforeseen circumstances of natural calamities, etc. |
| 11 | Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) | Paramparagat Krishi Vikas Yojana (PKVY) aims at development of sustainable models of organic farming through a mix of traditional wisdom and modern science to ensure long term soil fertility build-up, resource conservation and helps in climate change adaptation and mitigation. It primarily aims to increase soil fertility and thereby helps in production of healthy food through organic practices without the use of agro-chemicals. |
| 12 | National Food Security Mission (NFSM) | The Mission aims at increasing production of rice, wheat, pulses coarse cereals (maize & barley), nutri-cereals (jowar, bajra, ragi& other small millets) and commercial crops (jute, cotton & sugarcane) and oilseeds through area expansion and productivity enhancement in a sustainable manner in the identified districts of the country. |
| 13 | Integrated Scheme for Agriculture Marketing (ISAM) | ISAM supports state governments in governing the agricultural produce marketing through creation and improvement of market structures, capacity building and generating access to market information. During 2017-18, National Agriculture Market Scheme popularly known as e-NAM scheme has also been made part of the same.1260 mandis of 22 States and 03 UTs have been integrated to e-NAM platform. |
| 14 | Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH) | Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture (MIDH), a Centrally Sponsored Scheme was launched during 2014-15 for holistic growth of the horticulture sector covering fruits, vegetables, root and tuber crops, mushrooms, spices, flowers, aromatic plants, coconut, cashew, cocoa and Bamboo. |
| 15 | Soil Health Card (SHC) | Soil Health Card is used to assess the current status of soil health and, when used over time, to determine changes in soil health that are affected by land management. A Soil Health Card displays soil health indicators and associated descriptive terms. The indicators are typically based on farmers’ practical experience and knowledge of local natural resources. The card lists soil health indicators that can be assessed without the aid of technical or laboratory equipment. |
| 16 | Rainfed Area Development (RAD) | The Scheme aims to promote integrated farming systems by focusing on multi-cropping, crop rotation and allied activities like livestock, apiculture etc. Integrated farming systems helps in minimizing adverse impact of crop failure through diversified systems thereby enhancing production and productivity of rainfed area and helping in sustaining the income of small and marginal farmers even in climatic variability. |
| 17 | Rastriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) | The scheme focuses on creation of pre & post-harvest infrastructure in agriculture and allied sectors that help in supply of quality inputs, market facilities, etc to farmers. It provides flexibility and autonomy to states to implement projects as per the local farmers’ needs and priorities from a bouquet of activities in agriculture and allied sectors. The scheme aims to fill the resources gap of agriculture and allied sectors by providing financial support to states for undertaking various activities to increase in overall growth of agriculture and allied sectors and farmers’ income. Allocation for the scheme during 2022-23 is Rs 3031.08 crore. |
| 18. | National Mission on Edible Oils (NMEO)-Oil Palm | National Mission on Edible Oil (NMEO)-Oil Palm (NMEO-OP) has been launched during the year 2021-22 with the aim to enhance the edible oils availability in the country by harnessing Oil Palm area expansion, increasing CPO production and to reduce the import burden on edible oil. The Mission will bring additional area of 6.5 lakh ha under Oil Palm plantation. Allocation for the scheme during 2022-23 is Rs 900 crore. |
| 19. | Market Intervention Scheme and Price support Scheme (MIS-PSS) | Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare implements the Price Support Scheme (PSS) for procurement of pulses, oilseeds and copra. Market Intervention Scheme (MIS) for procurement of agricultural and horticultural commodities which are perishable in nature and are not covered under the Price Support Scheme (PSS). The objective of intervention is to protect the growers of these commodities from making distress sale in the event of a bumper crop during the peak arrival period when the prices tend to fall below economic levels and cost of production. |
| 20. | National Bamboo Mission (NBM) | To increase the area under bamboo plantation in non-forest Government and private lands to supplement farm income and contribute towards resilience to climate change as well as availability of quality raw material requirement of industries. |
| 21. | National beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) | A National Beekeeping and Honey Mission (NBHM) has been launched in 2020 as part of the AtmaNirbhar Bharat Abhiyan. Rs. 500 crore for the period 2020-2021 to 2022-2023 has been allocated for beekeeping sector. |
| 22. | Mission Organic Value Chain Development for North Eastern Region | The MOVCDNER scheme aims at development of commodity specific, concentrated, certified organic production clusters in value chain mode to link growers with consumers and to support the development of entire value chain starting from inputs, seeds, certification, to the creation of facilities for collection, aggregation, processing, marketing and brand building initiative in Northeast Region (Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur, Meghalaya, Mizoram, Nagaland, Sikkim, and Tripura) |
B Health
National Health Authority (NHA) organises Accelerator Workshops on ABDM Integration and NHCX Adoption in association with IRDAI
The National Health Authority (NHA) and the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) have joined hands to operationalize the National Health Claim Exchange (NHCX), a digital health claims platform developed by National Health Authority. This initiative is being undertaken in the context of a circular issued by IRDAI in June 2023, whereby the insurance regulator had advised all insurers and providers to onboard the NHCX.
The NHCX will serve as a gateway for exchanging claims-related information among various stakeholders in the healthcare and health insurance ecosystem. The integration with NHCX would enable seamless interoperability of health claims processing, enhancing efficiency and transparency in the insurance industry and benefiting the policyholders and patients.
In this regard, a three-day workshop was organized from 7th to 9th November in New Delhi, aimed mainly at hospital providers to onboard on the NHCX and insurance companies to fully integrate with the NHCX. This workshop was the third in a series of workshops that have been organized by NHA and IRDAI. The first two workshops were organized in August and October of this year and had participation from insurance companies and TPAs.
Over 150 professionals representing 45 organisations – insurance companies, TPAs, and hospitals have participated in these workshops. Considering the encouraging progress made by the insurance companies in these workshops, the organisations were advised to select their most popular retail product along with one network hospital to pilot the operationalization of NHCX.
This workshop saw participation from 10 hospitals, each assigned to an insurance company. The technical and business teams of these hospitals were guided by teams from NHA, IRDAI and NRCeS (National Resource Centre for EHR Standards) to onboard on the NHCX. At the end of the workshop, 10 hospitals namely Jupiter Hospital,Thane ; Kauvery Hospitals, Chennai; A J Hospital Research and Research Centre, Bengaluru ; Sarvodaya Hospital, Faridabad; Fortis Hospital, Gurugram; Fortis Hospital, Noida; Shri Balaji Action Hospital, Delhi; Sanar International Hospital, Gurugram; Centre for Sight, Dwarka, Delhi; and Narayana Hrudayalaya, Delhi were onboarded on the NHCX provider Registry.
In addition, the hospital/claim management systems (HMIS) of these hospitals, namely M/s Jupiter Hospitals, Kauvery Hospitals, Akhil systems, Kare Expert, Fortis Hospitals, Narayana Hrudayalya and Vitraya Technologies Private Limited were able to complete the requisite M1 integration of Ayushman Bharat Digital Mission (ABDM), which is an essential step to complete NHCX integration. The M1 integration enables a software to create and verify Ayushman Bharat Health Account (ABHA).
The workshop also saw completion of full integration with NHCX by eight insurance companies/TPAs, taking the total count to 12 insurance companies having successfully completed the NHCX integration. Four insurance companies, namely Aditya Birla Health Insurance, Star Health and Allied Insurance, Bajaj Allianz Insurance Company and HDFC Ergo Insurance had already completed the full integration in the second workshop in October. During this workshop, seven insurance companies and one TPA, namely ICICI Lombard General Insurance, The New India Assurance Company, Care Health Insurance, Go Digit General Insurance, Acko General Insurance, Tata AIG General Insurance company, Paramount TPA, United India Insurance Company successfully completed NHCX integration.
To encourage adoption of digital health transactions and digitization of patient health records in the country, NHA has also announced financial incentives under the Digital Health Incentive Scheme (DHIS) from Jan 2023. Under the DHIS, to encourage efficiency in insurance claim processing, there is a provision that for every insurance claim transaction through NHCX, financial incentives of Rs 500 per claim or 10% of the claim amount, whichever is lower would be provided for the hospitals. More information on the DHIS is available here: https://abdm.gov.in/DHIS
C. Education
D. Human Resources
E. poverty and hunger
12. International relations
A. India and its neighbourhood
B. groupings and agreements
Bilateral Meeting of Commerce and Industry Minister with Minister of Trade and Industry, Singapore, H.E. Mr. Gan Kim Yong
During these Ministerial meetings, the Minister discussed potential collaboration under the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), ways and means of further enhancing bilateral trade and commerce linkages, matters related to WTO, and other issues of mutual interest. During the interaction with his Singaporean and South Korean counterparts, the Minister suggested expedited conclusion of the review of AITIGA and CEPA respectively.
Further, the Minister participated in the Investors Round Table organized in collaboration with USISPF & Indiaspora. The event was attended by venture capitalists and entrepreneurs from a wide spectrum of Industry in the US, including from the domains of energy, manufacturing, logistics, technology, and so on. In an interactive session, the Minister held wide ranging discussions with the participants and highlighted the various steps taken by the Government of India to improve the ease of doing business in India.
During the visit, the Commerce and Industry Minister will participate in the third in-person IPEF Ministerial meeting, and the engagements of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). He will also interact with eminent business persons, US officials and industry leaders during the visit to fortify the partnership between the two nations and strengthen trade and economic ties.
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)
he Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an economic group, currently with 21 members, that promotes and facilitates trade, economic growth, and the improvement of living standards for the Asia-Pacific region. With a growing interdependence of the region, APEC was established in 1989 as a way to leverage the growth to move members forward, where it was a “win-win” for all.
While members are committed to the overall group, APEC does not require its members to enter into legally-binding obligations. As for operations, the economic forum promotes dialogue within the 21 members and uses consensus-based decision-making, lending equal weight to all members, no matter the size of the country or economy.
Requiring consensus is beneficial for representing all members, but you can imagine that achieving unanimity between 21 members can be quite difficult. As a result, APEC’s effectiveness is limited by how fast the group can come together and agree.
The APEC’s 21 members are described as “economies” since it is primarily concerned with trade and economic dealings. Additionally, not all members are countries, per se. For example, Hong Kong and Chinese Taipei are members.
- The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is an economic group focused on promoting and facilitating trade and economic growth for its 21 members.
- The 21 members are not necessarily 21 countries. Each member is considered an “economy” since APEC is primarily concerned with trade and economic dealings.
- APEC uses consensus-based decision-making, which allows for all members to be heard but also can slow down the group’s effectiveness.
Functions of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
The primary function of APEC is to promote and facilitate trade and economic growth between members of the group. Under that large umbrella, it will aim to achieve its objectives through two primary actions:
C.Indian diaspora
13. Economic Development
A. Government Budgeting
Annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number stands at (-) 0.52% (Provisional) for October, 2023 (over October, 2022) against (-) 0.26% recorded in September, 2023
Negative rate of inflation in October, 2023 primarily due to fall in prices of chemicals and chemical products, electricity, textiles, basic metals, food products, paper and paper products, etc
he annual rate of inflation based on all India Wholesale Price Index (WPI) number is (-) 0.52% (Provisional) for the month of October, 2023 (over October, 2022) against (-) 0.26% recorded in September, 2023. The negative rate of inflation in October, 2023 is primarily due to fall in prices of chemicals and chemical products, electricity, textiles, basic metals, food products, paper and paper products, etc. as compared to the corresponding month of previous year. The index numbers and inflation rate for the last three months of all commodities and WPI components are given below:
| Index Numbers and Annual Rate of Inflation (Y-o-Y in %)* | |||||||
| All Commodities/Major Groups | Weight (%) | Aug-23 (F) | Sep-23 (P) | Oct-23 (P) | |||
| Index | Inflation | Index | Inflation | Index | Inflation | ||
| All Commodities | 100.0 | 152.5 | -0.46 | 151.5 | -0.26 | 152.1 | -0.52 |
| I. Primary Articles | 22.62 | 190.3 | 6.73 | 182.4 | 3.70 | 184.5 | 1.82 |
| II. Fuel & Power | 13.15 | 149.1 | -6.34 | 153.1 | -3.35 | 154.1 | -2.47 |
| III. Manufactured Products | 64.23 | 139.9 | -2.30 | 140.3 | -1.34 | 140.3 | -1.13 |
| Food Index | 24.38 | 187.1 | 6.19 | 177.8 | 1.54 | 179.6 | 1.07 |
Note: P: Provisional, *Annual rate of WPI inflation calculated over the corresponding month of previous year
2.The month-over-month change in WPI index for the month of October, 2023 stood at 0.40% as compared to September, 2023. The monthly change in WPI index for last six-month is summarized below:
| Month Over Month (M-o-M in %) change in WPI Index# | |||||||
| All Commodities/Major Groups | Weight | May-23 | Jun-23 | Jul-23 | Aug-23 (F) | Sep-23 (P) | Oct-23 (P) |
| All Commodities | 100.0 | -1.13 | -0.33 | 2.15 | 0.26 | -0.66 | 0.40 |
| I. Primary Articles | 22.62 | -1.52 | 0.57 | 8.86 | -0.73 | -4.15 | 1.15 |
| II. Fuel & Power | 13.15 | -2.69 | -1.62 | -0.55 | 2.54 | 2.68 | 0.65 |
| III. Manufactured Products | 64.23 | -0.57 | -0.50 | -0.29 | 0.29 | 0.29 | 0.00 |
| Food Index | 24.38 | -0.63 | 1.27 | 7.77 | -0.85 | -4.97 | 1.01 |
Note: P: Provisional, #Monthly rate of change, based on month over month (M-o-M) WPI calculated over the preceding month
3. Month-over-Month Change in Major Groups of WPI:
- Primary Articles (Weight 22.62%):- The index for this major group increased by 1.15% to 184.5 (provisional) in October, 2023 from 182.4 (provisional) for the month of September, 2023. Prices of Minerals (7.81%) and Food Articles (1.33%) increased in October, 2023 as compared to September, 2023. Prices of Crude Petroleum & Natural Gas (- 0.60%) and Non-food Articles (- 0.24%) declined in October, 2023 as compared to September, 2023.
- Fuel & Power (Weight 13.15%):- The index for this major group increased by 0.65% to 154.1 (provisional) in October, 2023 from 153.1 (provisional) in the month of September, 2023. Prices of Mineral Oils (1.28%) increased in October, 2023 as compared to September, 2023. Prices of Electricity (-0.73%) declined in October, 2023 as compared to September, 2023.
- Manufactured Products (Weight 64.23%):- The index for this major group remained constant at 140.3 (provisional) in October, 2023 and September, 2023. Out of the 22 NIC two-digit groups for manufactured products, 13 groups witnessed an increase in prices, 7 groups witnessed a decrease in prices whereas 2 groups remained unchanged. Some of the important groups that showed month-over-month increase in prices are manufacture of food products; chemicals and chemical products; motor vehicles trailers & semi-trailers; textiles; other non-metallic mineral products, etc. Some of the groups that witnessed a decrease in prices are manufacture of basic metals; fabricated metal products, except machinery & equipment; rubber & plastic products; other transport equipment, etc. in October, 2023 as compared to September, 2023.
4. WPI Food Index (Weight 24.38%): The Food Index consisting of ‘Food Articles’ from Primary Articles group and ‘Food Product’ from Manufactured Products group has increased from 177.8 in September, 2023 to 179.6 in October 2023. The annual rate of inflation based on WPI Food Index stood at 1.07 % in October 2023 as compared to 1.54 % in September 2023.
5. Final Index for the month of August, 2023 (Base Year: 2011-12=100): For the month of August, 2023 the final Wholesale Price Index and inflation rate for ‘All Commodities’ stood at 152.5 and -0.46% respectively. The details of all India Wholesale Price Indices and Rates of Inflation for different commodity groups based on updated figures are at Annex I. The Annual rate of Inflation (Y-o-Y) based on WPI for different commodity groups in the last six months are at Annex II. WPI for different commodity groups in the last six months is at Annex III.
- Response Rate: The WPI for October, 2023 has been compiled at a weighted response rate of 85.9 per cent, while the final figure for August, 2023 is based on the weighted response rate of 94.0 percent. The provisional figures of WPI will undergo revision as per the final revision policy of WPI. This press release, item indices, and inflation numbers are available at our home page http://eaindustry.nic.in .
B. industrial
E.issues
14. Technology
15. Environment
As fireworks light up night sky, air pollution spikes to 120 times WHO limit
16. Security
THE INDO-PACIFIC REGIONAL DIALOGUE 2023
Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) showed that pollution levels in some parts of the city were nearly 120 times the prescribed limit of the World Health Organization (WHO).
As per DPCC data, the level of the key pollutant PM2.5 — particulate matter that is 2.5 microns or less in diameter — at Patparganj as of 1 a.m. on Monday was 1,856 micrograms per cubic metre. This is about 123 times the WHO’s permissible limit of 15 micrograms per cubic metre for 24 hours.
At Dwarka, the PM2.5 level was 1,396 micrograms per cubic metre as of 1 a.m. — almost 93 times the WHO limit.
Problem worsens Violation of the Supreme Court’s order against bursting firecrackers on Deepavali, followed by a spike in air pollution the next day, is a regular occur
THE APEX-LEVEL INTERNATIONAL OUTREACH OF THE INDIAN NAVY
he annual apex-level international conference of the Indian Navy – the Indo-Pacific Regional Dialogue (IPRD) – will be held in New Delhi from 15 to 17 November 2023. The event will include a Keynote Address by Shri Jagdeep Dhankhar, the Hon’ble Vice President of India on 15 Nov 23, and a series of Special Addresses by Union Ministers and senior officers of the Government of India, designed to provide overarching guidance to the deliberations of this mega conference (https://maritimeindia.org/indo-pacific-regional-dialogue-2023/)
The IPRD follows hard on the heels of the Goa Maritime Conclave 2023, which had been conducted by the Indian Navy from 29 to 31 Oct 2023 in Goa (https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=1973395). In terms of conceptual positioning, the Goa Maritime Conclave seeks to project the Indian Navy’s cooperative engagement at the strategic-operational level, by providing a forum for the Chiefs-of-Navy and Heads of Maritime Agencies in the Indian Ocean Region. The IPRD, on the other hand, is the principal manifestation of the Navy’s international engagement at the strategic-level, addressing ‘holistic’ maritime security issues across the Indo-Pacific.
The first two editions of IPRD were held in 2018 and 2019 respectively at New Delhi. IPRD 2020 was cancelled due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The third edition of IPRD was held in 2021 in online mode and the fourth edition was conducted, reverting to a physical format, at New Delhi in 2022.
The National Maritime Foundation (NMF) is the Indian Navy’s knowledge partner and chief organiser of each edition of the IPRD, which aims to review various maritime trends within the Indo-Pacific region, the regional opportunities and challenges that arise therefrom, and foster the exchange of solution-oriented dialogue amongst key stakeholders.
Theme of IPRD-2023
The overarching theme of IPRD-2023 is “Geopolitical Impacts upon Indo-Pacific Maritime Trade and Connectivity”. This year’s edition of the IPRD builds upon the previous one, which focussed upon ‘Operationalising the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI)’, by specifically addressing the ‘Trade, Connectivity and Maritime Transport’ pillar of the IPOI. Both ‘Trade’ and ‘Maritime Transport’ are, of course, segments of maritime connectivity.
The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, had espoused the principle of “responsible maritime connectivity” in his remarks at the UNSC high-level open debate on “Enhancing Maritime Security: A Case for International Cooperation” on 09 August 2021, in which he specifically emphasised three key aspects in marine infrastructure creation, namely, the physical sustainability of such projects, the absorption capacity of the countries where such infrastructure is proposed to be developed, and appropriate global norms and standards for the creation of marine infrastructure. However, geopolitical disturbances, wherever they might occur, pose significant maritime challenges, including adverse impacts upon trade and maritime connectivity. These challenges have been evident in the events that have occurred in recent years — from the COVID-19 pandemic to the maritime manifestations of the rash of escalating tensions, as also armed conflicts, that are breaking-out across a world increasingly embroiled in geopolitical contestations.
Therefore, IPRD-2023 will, through the agency of a series of globally renowned subject-matter experts and eminent speakers, explore geopolitical impacts upon Indo-Pacific maritime trade and connectivity through six professional sessions spread over a three-day period. The sessions are:
(1) Nodes of Maritime Connectivity;
(2) China’s Impact vis-à-vis Maritime Connectivity across the Indo-Pacific;
(3) Maritime Connectivity through Shipping and Trade;
(4) Maritime Connectivity through Shipping and Trade (Part 2);
(5) Private Industry in the Safety and Security of Indo-Pacific Maritime Trade and Shipping; and
(6) Maintaining a Rules-based, Safe, and Secure Indo-Pacific.
Practitioners and domain-experts from within the Government of India, Indian defence industry, and Indian academia will also enrich the conference by their presence and contributions.
International participation in IPRD 2023 will be through eminent speakers from 16 countries, who are expected to offer diverse regional perspectives on the subject, as also through the presence of representatives of the various embassies and high commissions in New Delhi.
As with previous editions of the IPRD, participation of the vibrant student community and scholars, eminent citizens, military practitioners, members of the diplomatic corps, and think-tanks from India and abroad will add effervescence to this event.
10th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus in Jakarta, Indonesia on November 16, 2023
Bilateral meetings with Defence Ministers of participating countries to take place on the sidelines
aksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh will pay an official visit to Indonesian capital Jakarta from November 16 to 17, 2023 to attend the 10th ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting-Plus (ADMM-Plus). During the meeting, which will take place on November 16, the Raksha Mantri will address the forum on regional and international security issues. Indonesia is hosting the meeting as it is the chair of ADMM-Plus.
On the sidelines of the ADMM-Plus, Shri Rajnath Singh will hold bilateral meetings with the Defence Ministers of the participating countries and discuss defence cooperation matters to further strengthen mutually-beneficial engagements.
The ADMM is the highest defence consultative and cooperative mechanism in ASEAN. The ADMM-Plus is a platform for the ASEAN member states (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam) and its eight Dialogue Partners (India, US, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand) to strengthen security and defence cooperation.
India became the dialogue partner of the ASEAN in 1992 and the inaugural ADMM-Plus was convened in Hanoi, Vietnam on October 12, 2010. Since 2017, the ADMM-Plus Ministers have been meeting annually to bolster the cooperation amongst the ASEAN and the Plus countries.
The ADMM-Plus progresses practical cooperation amongst member countries through seven Experts Working Groups (EWGs) namely Maritime Security, Military Medicine, Cyber Security, Peacekeeping Operations, Counter Terrorism, Humanitarian Mine Action and Humanitarian Assistance & Disaster Relief (HADR). During the 10th ADMM-Plus, the next set of co-chairs for the cycle 2024-2027 would also be announced. In the present cycle from 2021-2024, India is co-chairing EWG on HADR along with Indonesia.
17. Disaster Management