PIB Analysis for UPSC CSE
Topics Covered
- Bilateral Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti
- BIMSTEC
- Special Bulletin on MMR
- Steel Scrap Recycling Policy
- ODF Plus
1 . Bilateral Exercise Samudra Shakti
Context : Indian Navy – Indonesian Navy Bilateral Maritime Exercise ‘Samudra Shakti Progresses in the Bay of Bengal
About Samudra Shakti
- Samudra Shakti is the joint exercise between Indian Navy & Indonesian Navy
- The aim of the exercise is to strengthen bilateral relations, expand maritime co-operation, enhance interoperability and exchange best practices
- The joint exercises include manoeuvres, Surface Warfare exercises, Air Defence exercises, Weapon firing drills, Helicopter Operations and Boarding Operations.
2 . BIMSTEC
Context : The first ever BIMSTEC Conclave of Ports, being held at Vishakhapatnam on 7-8 November, 2019 was inaugurated by Minister of State for Shipping(I/C), Shri Mansukh Mandaviya today.The conclave aims at providing a platform to strengthen maritime interaction, port-led connectivity initiatives and sharing best practices among member countries. Providing Connectivity is one of the key priorities among BIMSTEC countries.
About BIMSTEC
- The Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) is a regional organization comprising seven Member States lying in the littoral and adjacent areas of the Bay of Bengal constituting a contiguous regional unity.
- This sub-regional organization came into being on 6 June 1997 through the Bangkok Declaration.
- It constitutes seven Member States: five deriving from South Asia, including Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and two from Southeast Asia, including Myanmar and Thailand.
- Initially, the economic bloc was formed with four Member States with the acronym ‘BIST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation). Following the inclusion of Myanmar on 22 December 1997 during a special Ministerial Meeting in Bangkok, the Group was renamed ‘BIMST-EC’ (Bangladesh, India, Myanmar, Sri Lanka and Thailand Economic Cooperation).
- With the admission of Nepal and Bhutan at the 6th Ministerial Meeting (February 2004, Thailand), the name of the grouping was changed to ‘Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation’ (BIMSTEC).
- The regional group constitutes a bridge between South and South East Asia and represents a reinforcement of relations among these countries.
Importance of BIMSTEC
- The objective of building such an alliance was to harness shared and accelerated growth through mutual cooperation in different areas of common interests by mitigating the onslaught of globalization and by utilizing regional resources and geographical advantages.
- Unlike many other regional groupings, BIMSTEC is a sector-driven cooperative organization. Starting with six sectors—including trade, technology, energy, transport, tourism and fisheries—for sectoral cooperation in the late 1997, it expanded to embrace nine more sectors—including agriculture, public health, poverty alleviation, counter-terrorism, environment, culture, people to people contact and climate change—in 2008.
Significance of BIMSTEC for India
- As the region’s largest economy, India has a lot at stake. BIMSTEC connects not only South and Southeast Asia, but also the ecologies of the Great Himalayas and the Bay of Bengal. For India, it is a natural platform to fulfil our key foreign policy priorities of ‘Neighborhood First’ and ‘Act East‘
- Connectivity. Almost 300 million people, or roughly one-quarter of India’s population, live in the four coastal states adjacent to the Bay of Bengal (Andhra Pradesh, Orissa, Tamil Nadu, and West Bengal). And, about 45 million people, who live in landlocked Northeastern states, will have the opportunity to connect via the Bay of Bengal to Bangladesh, Myanmar and Thailand, opening up possibilities in terms of development.
- Asian Trilateral Highway connecting India and Thailand through Myanmar, Kaladan Multimodal project that seeks to link India and Myanmar, the project envisages connecting Kolkata to Sittwe port in Myanmar, and then Mizoram by river and road Bangladesh, Bhutan, India and Nepal (BBIN) pact for movement of goods and vehicles are the projects undertaken by BIMSTEC countries which will provide connectivity especially in the North Eastern States.
- From the strategic perspective, the Bay of Bengal, a funnel to the Malacca straits, has emerged a key theatre for an increasingly assertive China in maintaining its access route to the Indian Ocean. Beijing has undertaken massive drive to finance and develop infrastructure in South and Southeast Asia through the Belt and Road Initiative in almost all BIMSTEC countries, except Bhutan and India. As China mounts assertive activities in the Bay of Bengal region, with increased submarine movement and ship visits in the Indian Ocean, it is in India’s interest to consolidate its internal engagement among the BIMSTEC countries.
3 . Special Bulletin on MMR
Context : Maternal Mortality Ratio (MMR) of India has declined by 8 points in one year as per the latest Special Bulletin on MMR released by the Registrar General of India
Key Findings
- MMR has declined from 130/ lakh live births in 2014-16 to 122/ lakh live births in 2015-17 (6.2% decline).
- “With this persistent decline, India is on track to achieving the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) target for reducing MMR by 2025, five years ahead of timeline of 2030
- 11 States have achieved the ambitious target of MMR of 100/lakh Live Births by 2020 set under the National Health Policy 2017. These states are Kerala, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand, Telangana, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, West Bengal, Karnataka and Haryana.
- The most important feature of this bulletin is that MMR for the States of Jharkhand, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been published independently for the first time.
- A total of seven States, namely Karnataka, Maharashtra, Kerala, West Bengal, Odisha, Rajasthan, Telangana have shown a decline in MMR that is greater than or equal to the national average of 6.2%.
Reasons for Improvement
- Improvement has been possible in view of the gains made in institutional deliveries and focused approach towards High Priority Districts and inter-sectoral action to reach the most marginalized and vulnerable population.
- Focus on quality and coverage of health services through public health initiatives under the National Health Mission such as Pradhan Mantri Surakshit Matritva Abhiyan, Janani Shishu Suraksha Karyakram and Janani Suraksha Yojana have also contributed to this decline
Way Forward
- India is on track to achieve SDG target of MMR, however the four states namely Assam, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan will have to intensify their efforts to accelerate the MMR decline to achieve the SDG target.
- New initiatives in the form of LaQshya, POSHAN Abhiyan and SUMAN (Surakshit Matritva Aashwasan Initiative) will help to ensure that all pregnant women receive quality maternal care with dignity and that no mother or newborn dies due to a preventable cause.
4 . Steel Scrap Recycling Policy
Background
- Steel Ministry’s endeavor is to develop a globally competitive steel industry by adopting state of the art environment friendly technologies.
- Ferrous Scrap being the primary raw material for EAF/ IF based steel production, the policy envisages a framework to facilitate and promote establishment of metal scrapping centers in India.
- This will ensure scientific processing & recycling of ferrous scrap generated from various sources and a variety of products.
- The policy framework shall provide standard guidelines for collection, dismantling and shredding activities in an organized, safe and environmentally sound manner.
- Steel is a material most conducive for circular economy as it can be used, reused and recycled infinitely.
- While iron ore remains the primary source of steel making, used or re-used steel in the form of Scrap is the secondary raw material for the steel industry. Indian steel industry is characterized by the presence of a large number of small steel producers who utilize scrap with other inputs in EAF/IF for steel making.
- As on March 2019, 47 Electric Arc Furnaces & 1128 Induction Furnaces are operating in the country and largely depend upon scrap as a raw material to produce steel.
Need
- The increased production of vehicles and increased use of consumer durable white goods in the last two decades and their rapid obsolescence shall generate large quantities of end of life products. This shall result in generation of continuous flow of large ferrous scrap for recycling in steel production.
- To address the issue of collecting such end of life products for increasing scrap generation in India and also to structure the informal recycling sector based on environmental and scientific fronts, a hub and the spoke model is promulgated
Benefits
- Scrap based steel making technologies have been envisaged as one of the important options to reduce GHG emission intensity. This shall feature as an important initiative of the steel sector to minimize Green House Gas (GHG) emissions.
- It shall also contribute in adopting the principle of 6Rs i.e. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture to avoid any adverse impact on the environment and strengthening the foundation of sustainable development.
Objectives of the Policy
- To promote circular economy in the steel sector.
- To promote a formal and scientific collection, dismantling and processing activities for end of life products that are sources of recyclable (ferrous, non- ferrous and other non-metallic) scraps which will lead to resource conservation and energy savings and setting up of an environmentally sound management system for handling ferrous scrap.
- Processing and recycling of products in an organized, safe and environment friendly manner.
- To evolve a responsive ecosystem by involving all stakeholders.
- To produce high quality ferrous scrap for quality steel production thus minimizing the dependency on imports.
- To decongest the Indian cities from ELVs and reuse of ferrous scrap.
- To create a mechanism for treating waste streams and residues produced from dismantling and shredding facilities in compliance to Hazardous & Other Wastes (Management & Transboundary Movement) Rules, 2016 issued by MoEF & CC.
- To promote 6Rs principles of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recover, Redesign and Remanufacture through scientific handling, processing and disposal of all types of recyclable scraps including non-ferrous scraps, through authorized centers / facility.
5 . ODF Plus
About ODF Plus
- ODF Plus consists of two main tracks:
- ODF Sustainability (ODF-S)
- Solid and Liquid Waste Management (SLWM)
- ODF-S includes sustaining behaviour change for safe sanitation, leaving no one behind and addressing gaps, ensuring community toilets for floating populations, and strengthening the capacity of all grassroots functionaries.
- As part of SLWM, the Mission is taking up biodegradable waste management, plastic waste management, grey water management, and fecal sludge management.