In News

The recently unveiled the 6.5 metre-tall National Emblem on top of the under-construction new Parliament building, has been criticised.

About the News

• The Opposition found the lions on the new 9,500 kg emblem ‘angry’, with their fangs visible, as opposed to the grace and glory of the original. Others found them a distortion of the actual emblem.
• The lions, many alleged, looked “too aggressive”, which amounted to tampering with the original
• The new emblem is placed at the top of the Central Foyer of the new Parliament building which the government estimates will be ready in time for the winter session this year.

What is the history behind the national emblem?

• Four Asiatic lions are part of the national emblem with three lions being visible to the naked eye and the fourth one always hidden from general view.
  • They are taken from the Sarnath Lion Capital of the Mauryan emperor Asoka.
• The seven feet tall sculpture made of polished sandstone represented courage, power and pride.
• Built in 250 BC to commemorate the first sermon of Gautama Buddha, where he is said to have shared the Four Noble Truths of life, it was mounted on a base of a frieze of smaller sculptures, including a horse (under fire in the new replica for its tail supposedly resembling that of a dog), a lion, a bull and an elephant moving in a clockwise direction.
• The four animals are said to be guardians of the four directions — north, south, east and west. They are separated by a wheel, representing the Dharmachakra of Buddhism, on all four sides.
• Each chakra or wheel has 24 spokes. The chakra was later adopted as part of the national flag.
  • This abacus was mounted on an inverted lotus which is a symbol of Buddhism.
• Chinese traveller Hiuen Tsang has left a detailed account of Asoka’s lion pillar in his writings.
• The pillar was part of Asoka’s plan to spread Buddha’s teachings. After the large-scale massacre in the Battle of Kalinga, Asoka was shaken and embraced Buddhism with its emphasis on ahimsa. He decided to propagate his principles throughout his empire through the Major and Minor Edicts.

Why did the Constituent Assembly embrace the Sarnath pillar as the national emblem?

• As India won independence, the Constituent Assembly decided on the Sarnath pillar as the national emblem.
  • As per Assembly, pillar epitomised the power, courage and confidence of the free nation.
  • The emblem depicts a two-dimensional sculpture with the words Satyameva Jayate (truth alone triumphs) written below it, taken from the Mundaka Upanishad, written in Devanagari script.
• On January 26, 1950, the Lion Capital of Asoka at Sarnath officially became the national emblem of India. The emblem represents the seal of the Republic of India.
  • Five students of renowned artist Nandalal Bose created the emblem.

Sources:

• Explained | Why is there outrage over the new ‘National Emblem’?

In News

The Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction, 2022 (GP DRR 2022) recently took place in Indonesia, the outcome of which has been summarised in the Bali Agenda for Resilience.

About the News

• It was the first global gathering for disaster risk reduction (DRR)actors since the Covid pandemic and fell exactly midway between the UNFCCC COP26 and UNFCCC COP27 negotiations.
• It is a biennial multi-stakeholder forum, a critical component of the monitoring and implementation process of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction (2015-2030).

Important Outcomes of the Global Platform for DRR 2022:

• There is aneed for a whole-of-society approach to Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR), ensuring no one is left behind.
• DRR must be at the coreof development and finance policies, legislation and plans to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Current greenhouse gas emission levels far exceed their mitigation, resulting in an increase in the frequency and intensity of catastrophic events.
• DRR and climate change adaptation have the common objective of reducing vulnerability and enhancing capacity as well as resilience.

GP 2022 Suggestions for Resilience Building:

• Greater resources for grounded local action, government support and strict enforcement of law and international conventions:
  • This calls for greater budgetary allocationat central and state levels, revision of national/state disaster response funds norms which were there from 2015-2020, more resources at the gram panchayat level and so on.
• Greater focus on building resilience and sustainable livelihoods focusing on the community level:
  • Need to buildrural infrastructure in the disaster-prone areas in the country but not at the cost of livelihood recovery (climate-resilient, sustainable livelihoods) and meeting the immediate needs.
• Greater accountability and transparency in relief and rehabilitation efforts:
  • Need tostandardise transparency mechanisms to include transparency boards, clearly mentioning the cost, quality and quantity of relief items, social audits and citizens’ reports.
• Other Suggestions:
  • Third World countries are fighting to revive their economy after Covid-19 and hence there is a need tofocus on the most vulnerable and their awareness, mobilisation as well as leadership in rebuilding.
  • There should be sufficient groundswell at the community levelto influence the policymakers to include DRR in all their investments.
  • Women, persons with disability, uncared aged, people affected by war and conflicts and informal labour are some of the vulnerable groups which need to be mobilised, led and heard with sensitivity.

Source:

• Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction 2022: Challenges in building resilience & way forward
• Global Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction

In News

Recently, International Monetary Fund (IMF) concluded for the seventh and eighth review under Extended Fund Facility (EFF) for Pakistan.

What is Why was the Extended Fund Facility (EFF)?

• When a country faces serious medium-term balance of payments problems because of structural weaknesses that require time to address, the IMF can assist through an Extended Fund Facility (EFF).
• An EFF provides support for comprehensive programs including the policies needed to correct structural imbalances over an extended period.
• When a country borrows from the IMF, it commits to undertake policies to overcome economic and structural problems.
• Under an EFF, these commitments, including specific conditions, are expected to have a strong focus on structural reforms to address institutional or economic weaknesses, in addition to policies to maintain macroeconomic stability.
  • The IMF’s Executive Board regularly assesses program performance and can adjust the program to adapt to economic developments.

How much can a country borrow and what is the cost?

As with other IMF lending, the size of borrowing under an EFF is guided by a country’s financing needs, capacity to repay, and track record with past use of IMF resources.

• Normal access: The EFF is one of several lending facilities under the IMF’s General Resource Account (GRA). Access to GRA resources is subject to the normal limit of 145 percent annually of a country’s IMF quota (temporarily increased to 245 percent of quota through end 2021 as part of the Fund’s COVID-19 response), and a cumulative limit in all outstanding exposure to the GRA over the life of the program of 435 percent of its quota, net of scheduled repayments.
• Exceptional access: Access above normal limits is decided on a case-by-case basis under the IMF’s Exceptional Access policy. EFFs generally are not formulated on a precautionary basis in anticipation of a future balance of payments problem.

Sources:

• Extended Fund Facility (EFF):
• The Pakistan and IMF talks: What lies ahead?

On July 20, 1969, the Eagle lunar landing module, carrying U.S. astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin (“Buzz”) Aldrin, landed on the Moon, and several hours later Armstrong became the first person to set foot on its surface. Buzz Aldrin was second as he joined his astronaut friend almost 19 minutes later. Armstrong and Aldrin spent over 21 hours on the lunar surface at a site they named 'Tranquility Base'.

Sources:

• Moon Day 2021: 52 years of moon landing - know the history and significance of National Moon Day:
• This Day in History: July 20:

• Context: Bhogali Pathar village of Dibrugarh district in Assam has recently reported a case of African swine fever (ASF).
• World Health Organization for Animal Health (WHOH) states that ASF is a highly contagious viral disease of domestic and wild pigs, whose mortality rate can reach 100%.

• It is not azoonotic disease  (it does not spread from animals to humans).
• Therefore, ASF is not a danger to human health, but it has devastating effects on pig populations and the farming economy.
• The symptoms of ASF in pigs are high-grade fever, poor appetite, coughing, breathing problems, diarrhoea, vomiting, and red lesions.
• The virus is “highly resistant in the environment” which means that it can survive on clothes, boots, wheels, and other materials.
• It can also survive in various pork products, such as ham, sausages or bacon. Therefore, human behaviour can play an important role in spreading this pig disease across borders if adequate measures are not taken.
• There is currently no effective vaccine against the disease.

Source:

• African swine fever reported in Assam
• African swine fever detected in this district of Assam

Image source:

• African swine fever (ASF).

• Context: The Consultative Committee meeting of the Ministry of Civil Aviationwas recently held in New Delhi to discuss ‘DIGI YATRA’.
• ‘DIGI YATRA’ is an initiative designed to ensure contactless, seamless passenger processing at airports and is based on facial recognition technology (FRT).

• In essence, the idea envisions any traveller being able to pass through numerous checkpoints at the airport utilising a paperless and contactless procedure, establishing their identification through facial recognition and linking it to their boarding card.
• It offers a decentralised, cost-effective, mobile wallet-based identity management technology that addresses privacy and data protection concerns while implementing Digi Yatra. 
• In the first phase, Digi Yatra is proposed to be rolled out at two Airports namely Varanasi and Bengaluru in August 2022and at five Airports namely Pune, Vijayawada, Kolkata, Delhi and Hyderabad by March next year.
• Airports Authority of India (AAI)will identify the airports where Digi Yatra would be implemented in a phased manner.

Source:

• Consultative Committee of Ministry of Civil Aviation discusses ‘DIGI YATRA’ project
• All you need to know about the ‘DIGI YATRA’ Project

Image source:

• ‘DIGI YATRA’

• Context: The government’s ambitious road connectivity project under the Bharatmala Pariyojana programme (BMP) has been reported to face a significant delay of nearly six years with completion expected only by FY28.
• Bharatmala Pariyojana is an umbrella program for the highways sectorenvisaged by the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways.

• UnderPhase-I of Bharatmala Pariyojana, implementation of 34,800 km of national highways in 5 years (from 2017 to 2022) has been approved at an estimated outlay of  5,35,000 crore.
• Phase-IIenvisages around 48,000 km of road network across India by 2024.
• The objectives of the programme include:
  • To optimise the efficiency of freight and passenger movementacross the country by bridging critical infrastructure gaps through effective interventions.
  • Togenerate a large number of direct and indirect employment opportunities in the construction and infrastructure sector and also as part of the enhanced economic activity resulting from better road connectivity across the country.
  • Toconnect 550 districts in the country through national highway linkages.

Source:

• Road project may be completed six years late: ICRA
• Bharatmala Project may face a delay of six years

Image source:

• Road project may be completed six years late: ICRA

• Context: Discussions on Promoting Green Jobs for Sustainable Development were held recently at BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting 2022.
• ‘Green jobs’ refer to a class of jobs that directly have a positive impact on the planet, and contribute to the overall environmental welfare.

• Jobs involving renewable energy, conservation of resources, and ensuring energy efficient means are categorised under the same.
• In all, they’reaimed at reducing the negative environmental impact of economic sectors and furthering the process of creating a low-carbon economy.
• The idea behind alow-carbon economy or decarbonisation is fairly simple — it is about maintaining a sustainable economy, one that doesn’t lead to vast emissions of greenhouse gasses, especially carbon dioxide.

Source:

• Shri Bhupender Yadav attends BRICS Labour and Employment Ministers’ Meeting 2022
• BRICS nations recognise the promotion of green jobs

Image source:

• BRICS nations recognise the promotion of green jobs

Essence: Recently, the Government has announced that a Bill will be introduced in to modify a law dealing with ancient monuments and provide more teeth to the Archaeological Survey of India.

Historically, each monument was integrally connected to the landscape around it. Over the past 75 years, grounds around ASI-protected sites have served diverse needs. The article fears re-zoning of the areas around the archaeological sites, as it may lose its essence and damage the structure.

Hence, the author suggests that now is also the time to ask for new, well-planned archaeological excavations to be undertaken at Sarnath and beyond, new partnerships to be formed with academic institutions committed to the rigorous study of India’s past, and new accessible articulations of why studying history is important today.

Why should you read this article?

• To understand the importance of archaeological sites and the areas around them.
• To understand the damage due to re-zoning of areas around these sites.

Source:

• Tunnel vision that is endangering India’s history:

Essence: India is working on new trade policy and this article talks about some of the areas India should focus on to improve its export. Author exhorts Indian policy makers to focus on integration with global value chains.

Some of the policies of India like increase in import tariff is among the weaknesses India will have to overcome to reap maximum benefit. Indian industry must be closely involved in decision making and trade policy should be supported by other policies like developing infrastructure.

The Indo Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) agreement presents a historic opportunity for India and we should grab it with both hands.

Why should you read this article?

• To understand steps India should take to integrate with the global supply chain.

Source:

• The trade policy India needs

Background

• The role of leaders in the Panchayati Raj structure is critical for development at the grassroot level.
• One such leader is Priyanka Tiwari, who in a single year, the Sarpanch of Rajpur Gram Panchayat in Uttar Pradesh.

 About the Sarpanch and her drive:

• The issues in village like improper waste management, damaged drains, and a lack of crematoriums made it difficult to live there.
• As a first step, the panchayat gave cloth bags to businesses, roadside sellers, and residents. Second, they fined them – Rs 500 for first-timers, Rs 1000 for second-timers – and threatened to cancel the shop's licence if they did it again.
• Recognizing that children contribute to plastic garbage in the form of snack packs and chocolate wrappers, they were encouraged to collect it and receive Rs 2 per kg. In addition, awareness sessions were held in schools and colleges. As a result, 70-75 percent of plastic usage was reduced.
• For greywater management, community soak pits were introduced in each of the village's four corners. It is currently used for groundwater recharge.
• The Panchayat has also built a proper crematorium and a library in the neighbourhood to make better use of the available space.

 Quote: When the panchayat raj is established, public opinion will do what violence can never do. — Mahatma Gandhi

 Source:

• Young Sarpanch Making Her Village Go Plastic Free with 75% Cut, Recycles Greywater too: