India is currently widening the road to the Lipulekh pass. The Nepalese ruling party recently issued a statement objecting this. Also, Nepal has demanded India to withdraw its troops in the region. Nepal also claimed the Lipulekh, Kalapani and Limpiyadhura regions.
The Prime Minster Narendra Modi recently said that India is working to expand the road to Lipulekh pass. He made these remarks during his visit to Haldwani in December 2021. The border issue has resurfaced since then.
In 2020, Nepal published as revised political map. The map incorporated the Limpiyadhura territories, especially the source of Kali river.
In 1816, British India and Nepal signed a treaty. It was signed after Nepal lost the Anglo – Nepalese war. According to the treaty, the entire lowlands between rivers rapti and kali will belong to British India. However, the treaty did not speak about the ridgeline. The subsequent surveys conducted by the Britishers showed the source of river kali in different regions. The issue between the countries is around demarcating this region.
The Lipulekh pass in the kalapani region is strategically important for the Kailash – Manasarovar pilgrimage.
Currently, all the three regions Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura are controlled by India. Nepal claims that it belongs to it.
According to Nepal, the source of Kali river is at the high altitudes of the mountain ridges near Limpiyadhura. Thus, the entire slope and the stretch of Limpiyadhura belongs to Nepal.
Border begins at Kalapani, that is, where exactly the river begins. According to India, the river originates in the springs of lipulekh pass. The 19th century administrative records of India show that the Kalapani was located in the Indian side.
India and Nepal also have border dispute in the susta region. This dispute is due to the change of course of the Gandak river.
The act was passed in 2020. The act reserves 75% of jobs to the local residents of the state.
The constitution provides fundamental rights to all the citizens. This includes right to equality, right to practice any occupation and right to reside in any state or part of the country. Also, the fundamental rights prohibit discrimination against place of birth, caste, sex, etc. But the states of the country can provide concessions for improving the vulnerable and economically backward sections. The act brings in mandatory provisions to the private institutions. This violates the right to do business in any part of the country. The act has created based on domicile. This is again a violation of the fundamental right, Article 16(2). Article 16 (2) prohibits discrimination against place of birth.
The in – migration of Haryana has been increasing lately. These migrants are mainly competing for low – paid jobs. According to 2011 census, the net – in – migration of Haryana between 2002 and 2011 was eight lakhs. Haryana had the fourth largest in – migration. The first three were Maharashtra, Gujarat and Delhi.
The trade between India and China was around 125 billion USD in 2021. India’s imports from China stood at 100 billion USD. Most of the import demands were in machinery.
India faced a trade deficit of 69.4 billion USD with China in 2021. This was 22% higher than the trade deficit faced in 2019. In 2021 alone, the total imported goods from China exceeded the total trade between the countries.
The Indian imports from China were 20% greater than those in 2019. On the other hand, the Indian exports to China increased by 56% between 2019 and 2021. The Indian exports to China in 2021 were 28.1 billion USD. But still, India’s import from China stands at 100 billion USD. Though the exports have increased largely, it appears meager.
In 2021, the major Indian exports to China were cotton, iron ore, and raw material based goods.
Electrical machinery, mechanical machinery, medical supplies such as oxygen concentrators, active pharmaceutical ingredients, semiconductor devices, electrical batteries
The data about the trade between India and China was released by the China General Administration of Customs (GAC).
In 2021, the Chinese trades increased considerably with three other partners. They are ASEAN, European Union and United States. Today, these three are the leading trading partners of China. The Chinese trade with ASEAN increased by 28.1%. It was around 878.2 billion USD. The Chinese trade with European Union was 828 billion USD and increased by 27.5%. The trade with US increased by 28.7% and it was around 755.6 billion USD.
The Chinese officials have warned about disruptions in Global supply chain. This might happen due to Omicron.
The United States Government has recently proposed a bill to end China’s “chokehold” on rare – earth metal supplies.
The rare earth metals are used almost in every latest technology starting from electric batteries to fighter jets. China has a strong chokehold on all these metals. In 2019, 80% of the US rare – earth metals was from China.
The bill aims to reduce the Chinese dependence on rare – earth metals. This is essential to protect US from threat of rare – earth metal supply disruption. It will encourage the residents to increase domestic production of the rare – earth metals. Ultimately it will reduce the US reliance on China.
The rare earth metals are the 17 metals in the periodic table. They are the 15 lanthanides and scandium and yttrium. They are mainly used in high tech devices such as mobile phones, flat screen monitors and televisions, electric and hybrid vehicles. They are also essential in defence applications such as radar, lasers, sonar systems and electronic displays.
In 1993, US accounted to 38% of world rare earth production and China contributed to 33%. Now China contributes to 97% of rare earth metal production in the world.
The Chhattisgarh Government is to launch an employment mission called the Rojgar Mission. The mission aims to create 15 lakh job opportunities in the state in the next five years.
The mission will leverage experts from IITs, IIITs, IIMs. It is to be headed by the Chief Minister of the state. The others taking active roles in the mission are chief secretary and principal secretary of the state.
The chief minister is the chairman. The Chief Secretary of the state is the vice chairman and the principal secretary will act as Chief Executive Officer. The committee will also include the managing director of minor forest produce federation of the state.
The mission is expected to create 12 to 15 lakhs of job opportunities in the next five years. The state has already excelled in minor forest produce. In 2021, Chhattisgarh secured ten national awards for good procurement, processing and performance. It has also excelled in implementing Van Dhan Yojana. The committee is to focus more on this area. This will help boost the employment around minor forest produces and will help the tribals largely.
According to report released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE) in 2022, the unemployment rate in Chhattisgarh is 2.1%. The state ranks fourth among the states with lowest unemployment rate.
The recent economic recession caused by COVID did not affect the state as much as it did to the other states. The unemployment rate in the country was 6.52% in January 2021.
Government of India announced the winners of “National Start-up Awards 2021” and felicitated 46 start-ups for their contribution in their respective sectors.
National Start-up awards seek to recognise start-ups contributing towards economic dynamism by encouraging innovation and injecting competition. It focuses on following start-ups:
Ministry received 2,177 applications from start-ups across 49 sub-sectors. There were applications from 53 incubators and 6 accelerators as well, for the ecosystem enablers categories. Out of these, 863 were women-led start-ups and 253 were start-ups, which were working in rural areas of India.
Six parameters were used to decide the winners:
India’s Lakshya Sen secured his maiden Super 500 title by winning “Yonex-Sunrise India Open”, on January 16, 2022.
In the doubles’ final, top doubles pair of Satwiksairaj Rankireddy and Chirag Shetty won against three-time world champions Mohammad Ahsan and Hendra Setiawan from Indonesia. The pair become India’s first men’s team to win the Yonex-Sunrise India Open. The world no 10 Indian pair had won its first Super 500 tournament in 2019 in Thailand.
India Open is an annual badminton event. It has been held in India since 2008. It is a BWF World Tour Super 500 Grade international badminton tournament. The event was inaugurated in 2007 in Hyderabad, however the it was cancelled amid Hyderabad bombings. The first three editions of the India Open were designated as Grand Prix Gold events. It was upgraded to BWF superseries tournament in 2011. In between 2011-2019, the event was held annually at the Siri Fort Sports Complex in New Delhi. India open is categorised as one among seven BWF World Tour Super 500 events by BWF since 2018.
BWF is the international governing body, recognised by International Olympic Committee, for the sport of badminton. It was founded in 1934 as International Badminton Federation (IBF), comprising of nine member nations namely, Canada, England, Denmark, Ireland, France, New Zealand, Netherlands, Wales and Scotland. In 1981, IBF was merged with World Badminton Federation and its name was changed to Badminton World Federation in September 2006.
The retail inflation in India increased to 5.59% in December 2021. This is the highest in the last five months. The inflation data was released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation.
The inflation rate is measured by Consumer Price Index. In December 2020, the retail inflation in India was 4.59%. Later in July 2021, the inflation increased to 5.59%. In October 2021, it was 4.49%. In November 2021, the retail inflation increased to 5.8%. With the December inflation at 5.59%, the Consumer Price Index has remained within the tolerance level set by the RBI. According to the target set by RBI, the inflation level is to remain between 2% and 6%.The target is being maintained for more than two years now.
The food inflation has increased to 13.35% in November 2021. It was 14.35% in October 2021. In December 2020, the food inflation was 3.41%. The clothing and footwear inflation were at 8.3%. Housing inflation was at 3.61%. Fuel and light inflation was at 10.95%.
The inflation increased because of unfavourable base effect. Base effect happens when the choice of reference or base level impacts the comparison results between data. Say price index is 100, 150 and 200 in the period A, B and C respectively. Assume the increase is 50 in the period A to B. This gives 50% increase. Now the increase in period B to C is same. However, here the increase will be 33.33%. This is due to the large difference in bases, 100 Vs 150. Price Index is the average of prices of goods and services in a region.
As long as the inflations stays between 2% and 6%, the RBI and its monetary policy committee will focus on prioritizing the growth, maintaining policy support and provide sustainability to recovery.
China is all set to implement a strategic agreement with Iran, in a bid to strengthen economic and political cooperation between both the countries.
China and Iran signed a $400 billion agreement on March 27, 2021 by then Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif and Wang. The agreement includes Economic & Cultural interaction between both the countries. It also opens up ways for Iran’s participation in Belt and Road initiative which is an infrastructure project running from East Asia to Europe. The project was launched with the aim of expanding China’s economic and political influence.
The agreement was signed in 2016 when Chinese leader Xi Jinping visited Iran, after a nuclear deal was signed between Iran and world powers. However, when US withdrew from the deal in May 2019 and put sanctions on Iran, Iran-China agreement was also put on hold.
Official relations between China and Iran were started in 1937. Both the civilizations have had a history of cultural, economic and political exchanges along the Silk Road since 200 BC. Presently, China and Iran have developed a friendly strategic and economic partnership. Both the countries singed a 25-year cooperation agreement in March 2021, for strengthening the relations. The relation also includes “political, strategic and economic” components.
China considers Iran as permanent partner for its exports and a source of its growing energy demand. Chinese state-run company, Zhuhai Zhenrong Corporation, signed a 25-year contract for importing 110 million metric tons of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) from Iran, in March 2004. China has been crude oil sink of Iran, since the JCPOA was signed. 64% of an export total of $16.9 billion with China was crude oil, in 2017.
Under “Chip to Start-up (C2S) Programme”, central government is seeking application from 100 start-ups, MSMEs, R&D organisations and academia to train 85,000 engineers in very-large-scale integration (VLSI) and embedded system design areas.
Under C2S programme, three proposals are invited in three categories, on the basis of institutions’ expertise, technology readiness level (TRL) and design experience:
The nodal agency for implementation of C2S programme is C-DAC (Centre for Development of Advanced Computing). C-DAC is a scientific society operating under MeitY.
Online applications for this programme are open at Chips to Startup (C2S) website. It will remain open until January 31, 2022. Application and proposals have to be submitted at the portal in prescribed format.
In December 2021, Union government had approved a Rs 76,000-crore scheme for boosting semiconductor and displaying manufacturing in India, with the objective of placing India as a global hub for hi-tech production, and attracting large chip makers. Under this scheme, India will set up around 20 semiconductor design, components manufacturing and display fabrication (fab) in next six years.
National Award for e-Governance 2020-21 (Silver) was recently conferred to Mon District Administration of Nagaland.
The National Award for e-Governance was presented under the category 6 of “Use of ICT in the Management of Covid-19” to Mon district. It was aimed at recognizing the initiatives undertaken by district administration.
Project titled “Technology in Aid to Administration” was initiated in Mon district, for mitigating the hardships caused to public while enforcing Covid-19 Appropriate Behaviour (CAB) to restrict the spread of infections. This project is helping in reducing hardship of people, keeping people safe from Covid and increasing effectiveness of administration.
A total of 231 entries were received from India in this category. But only two districts were awarded. There were 1377 entries, with top 26 initiatives awarded across six different categories.
National Award for e-Governance is presented to recognise and promote excellence in implementation of e-Governance initiatives. It is presented during the National conference on e-Governance. It is presented by Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances (DARPG). The National Award for e-Governance was announced in December 2021. It comprises of a trophy, certificate, and cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh
The National Award for e-Governance is presented with following objectives:
According to Oxfam India “Inequality Kills” report, wealth of India’s richest families reached to a record high in 2021.
In the report, India was described as ‘very unequal,’ country, as top 10 people in India holds 57 per cent of the wealth. On the other hand, share of bottom half is 13 per cent.
Oxfam report highlights that, government tax revenues disproportionately depend upon indirect taxes, such as goods and services tax. This makes all people buying a product or using a service to pay tax at same rate. Thus, tax rate of poorer sections of society is similar to that of wealthiest, despite lower income. This has resulted into higher inequality in India.
Oxfam India is a movement of people, who are working to end discrimination and seeks to create a free & just society. They work to ensure that Adivasis, Muslims, Dalits, women and girls have a safe-violence free lives with freedom to speak their mind, discrimination free future and equal opportunities to realize their rights.
On January 17, 2022, the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal flagged off the first electric bus of the Delhi Transport Corporation. The E – buses are to run on 27 – km long route. These buses were manufactured by the JBM Auto Limited.
These electric buses are low floor buses. They are fully air conditioned. These buses were acquired under the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Hybrid and electric Vehicles in India, that is, FAME – II. The first fleet of 300 buses is ready. First a few electric buses are to run from Pragati Maidan to IP Depot. It is a 27 – km long route. It will cover places like ITO, Safdarjung and Ashram on its way. This is a prototype. This is being flagged off to check how long the batteries in the bus last. It will also check for technical problems. After this test run, the rest of the buses in the fleet will be added.
The Delhi Government has planned to release fifty more electric buses by February 2022. The target is to add fifty electric buses per month. In the pipeline set earlier, the Delhi Government will launch 2,300 electric buses. Of these, 1,300 are to be procured by the DTC. The rest of the thousand is to operate under the cluster scheme.
The Delhi Government is to install charging stations in the bus depots. The charging stations are to be built in phased manner.
Apart from the charging stations, the Delhi Transport Corporation will also build hybrid bus depots. These depots are a combination of CNG (compressed natural gas) buses and electric buses. They are to be established in Bawana, Hasanpur, Rajghat depot and Subhash Place depot.
There are 6,793 buses in Delhi. Of this 3,760 are run by the Delhi Transport Corporation and 3,033 are run by the DIMTS. DIMTS is Delhi Integrated Multi – Modal Transit System.
The Delhi Government decided to run electric buses in the region in 2018. In future, the Kejriwal Government has decided to convert all the government run buses into electric buses.
As per official data, birth rate in China declined to a record low in 2021, as analysts are warning over faster-than-expected ageing in the country.
The birth rate in China in 2021 declined to 7.52 births per 1,000 people. In 2020, it was 8.52. It marks the lowest figure in China’s annual Statistical Yearbook data since 1978. It is also the lowest data, since Communist China was founded in 1949.
In 2016, China relaxed the nation’s “one-child policy”. It allowed couples to two children. Even after easing one of the strictest family planning regulations worldwide, it has failed to bring a baby boom. In 2021, China extended the policy to allow couples to have three children.
China registered 10.62 million births in 2021. The natural population growth rate decreased to 0.34 per 1000 people, as compared to 1.45 figure earlier.
Family planning policies in China have included specific birth quotas, including three-child policy, two-child policy and one-child policy. China has harshly enforced such quotas.
One-child policy was a population planning initiative in China. It was implemented in between 1980 and 2015 for curbing country’s growth by restricting families to a single child. This policy had a wide-ranging social, cultural, and economic effects. Its efficacy in reducing birth rates and defensibility from human rights perspective have raised several controversies.
Law on two child policy in China was passed on December 27, 2015. The policy remained in effect from 2016 to 2021. Under it, government-imposed limit to have two children per family.
Under this policy, couple can have three children. This policy was announced on May 31, 2021 in China. This policy was implemented because, in 2020, the number of births in China was only 12 million, lowest since 1960.
The Indian Army is to provide new uniform to more than 12 lakh military personnel. Unlike the old uniform, the new uniform has a combat T – shirt underneath.
The previous uniform has been in use since 2008. The new uniform has the same colour of the older one. That is, earthen shades and olive green colour. The pattern is digital. The new uniform is made of light, sturdy and more breathable fabric. The fabric was chosen considering the different terrains the army men have to cross and serve. The cotton to polyester ratio of the fabric is 70:30. This makes it more comfortable to wear in hot and humid conditions. As compared to the old uniform, the new uniform is 15% lighter and 23% stronger.
The army men will not tuck in the new uniform as that of the older uniforms. The shirt to be worn over the T-shirt is called jacket. The jacket has top angular pockets. It also has lower pockets with vertical opening. There is one another pocket on the left sleeve. The knife pleats are located in the back. The jacket also has improved quality buttons and a pen holder on the left fore arm. The trousers of the uniform are double layered at the groin. They are adjustable at the waist with buttons and elasticity. The girth of the caps is adjustable. The army logo printed on the caps is of better quality as compared to the previous uniform.
No separate uniform for the women officers. However, the uniform has been designed considering the requirements and comfort of the lady personnel. This is the first time such considerations are being made in designing and developing army uniform.
It was designed by a team of twelve designers from National Institute of Fashion Technology. It included seven professors and three students and also two alumni.
While designing and developing the uniform, the designers adopted a 4C approach. The approach is Comfort, Climate, camouflage and confidentiality.
The major drawback of the older uniform is that its material was common and easily available in the market. Therefore, the army men can easily buy from outside the market. This introduced security breaches. Any common man can easily forge like an army man. The new uniform carries a QR code and also a barcode. This maintains the uniqueness of the uniform.
The other army uniforms such as ceremonial uniforms, peace area uniforms are not being changed.
The new uniform was unveiled by the Chief of Indian Army General F R Roy bucher. It was unveiled during the army day celebrations. Every year, the Indian Army Day is celebrated on January 15. On January 15, 1949, General KM Cariappa took over as the first Indian Commander – in – chief of Indian Army. The Army Day is celebrated in the country to honour this event. Also, it is celebrated to honour the courageous army men like Cariappa serving the country.
It is a unique identifying feature. It differentiates them from the civilians very easily. It brings togetherness, discipline and conformity among the personnels.
Union government has started the process of making six airbags mandatory from October 1, 2022. Airbags will be made mandatory for all cars being sold in India.
Though, many Indian cars have six airbags in their top variants already. Now, government have approved a draft GSR notification for making minimum of 6 airbags compulsory. This decision was taken for minimising the impact of frontal and lateral collisions to the occupants seated in front as well as rear compartments. 4 additional airbags be mandated in M1 vehicle category.
M1 vehicle category refers to passenger cars having a maximum of eight seats in addition to driver’s seat. It includes sedans, hatchbacks, MUVs and SUVs.
Airbag is a vehicle occupant-restraint system using a bag. It is designed to quickly inflate and deflate during a collision. It comprises of airbag cushion, an inflation module, a flexible fabric bag, and an impact sensor. Airbags are fitted in cars for providing the vehicle occupant with a soft cushioning and restraint during a collision. It can help in reduce injuries between flailing occupant and interior of the vehicle. It provides an energy-absorbing surface between occupants and steering wheel, body pillar, headliner, instrument panel and windshield.
Modern vehicles comprise up to 10 airbag modules in various configurations, including: driver, passenger, seat-mounted, side-curtain, door-mounted, knee bolster, inflatable seat belt, B & C-pillar mounted side-impact, and pedestrian airbag modules.
According to Union transport minister Nitin Gadkari, 23,483 pedestrians lost their lives in road crashes in 2020. As per NCRB data, 17,538 car occupants died in road crashes in 2020.
On January 17, 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to deliver a special address at the World Economic Forum’s (WEF) Davos Agenda.
WEF virtual meeting will be aligned with the objective of “orienting global leaders on the imperatives of the year ahead”.
The WEF has been holding its annual meeting “Davos Agenda Summit” in Swiss ski resort of Davos every year. However, it has been deferred this year, and will be held in virtual mode, amid covid-19 pandemic.
WEF is an international non-governmental and lobbying organisation. It is based in Geneva, Switzerland. The organisation was founded on January 24, 1971 by Klaus Schwab. WEF is mostly funded by its 1,000 member companies.
An underwater volcano erupted in Tonga (a country in the Pacific Ocean) recently. It is called the “Hunga Tonga Hunga Haapai” volcano. The eruption was huge and loud. Though the volcano was located under water and 2,383 km away, it was heard in Tonga. Also, the eruption created tsunami waves.
The volcano had been erupting for some days now. This was identified through the smell of ammonia and sulphur in some areas. The volcano is located in a seismically active area.
The volcanic eruption created tsunami waves in the nearby beaches and also in the regions around the Pacific. The tsunami waves caused by this type of volcano are called meteo tsunami waves. It is caused due to collapse of a part of the volcano. The meteo – tsunami waves are caused by instant changes in pressure that leads to displacement of large amount of water.
It is a volcanic island. It is located in Tonga. Tonga is a Polynesian country. It is an archipelago. It consists of 169 islands. It is surrounded by New Caledonia and Vanuatu in the west, Fiji, Futuna and Wallis in the north west, Niue in the east and Kermadec (New Zealand) in the south west.
Hunga Tonga and Hunga Haapai were two separate islands. A volcanic eruption merged the two islands. The recent eruption has occurred in this underwater volcano that merges the two islands. The volcano in the island is a part of Kermadec Islands Volcanic arc.
It is a sub – tropical island arc. It is located in the South Pacific Ocean. It is located to the south west of Tonga and north east of New Zealand. It is located in subduction zone. Subduction zones occur when one heavier and larger tectonic plate dives beneath the other less heavier tectonic plate. Volcanic arc is chain of volcanoes. These volcanoes are formed above the subducting plate. The volcanic arc usually parallel volcanic trench.
The Hunga Tonga Hunga Haapai was formed as the Pacific plate subducts the Indo – Australian plate
After China’s artificial Sun reached temperatures five times hotter than the Sun, China is ready with its first artificial moon. Scientists have built an “artificial moon” research facility. The facility will help them in conducting low-gravity environments using magnetism.
The artificial moon research facility is scheduled for official launch in the year 2022. It will use powerful magnetic fields inside a vacuum chamber of 2-foot-diameter, for making gravity disappear. To develop this research facility, scientists were inspired by a previous experiment, in which magnets were used to levitate a frog.
The research facility will be filled with rocks and dust to resemble it with the lunar surface.
It is first of its kind research facility in the world. It is capable of maintaining low-gravity conditions for as long as scientists want.
Scientists have planned to use this facility to test technology in prolonged low-gravity environments, before sending it to the moon, where gravity is one-sixth of Earth’s gravity. This experiment will help scientists to resolve technical issues and test whether some structures will survive on the moon’s surface. It will also help in assess viability of human settlement on the moon.
Scientists will conduct impact and creep tests in the research facility. Impact test will require few seconds in simulator while creep test will take some time. Creep test is conducted to measure how a material will deform under constant temperature and stress.
Chinese scientists got inspired to develop this facility from “Andre Geim”, who is a physicist at University of Manchester in U.K. He won “satirical Ig Nobel Prize in 2000” for conducting an experiment in which a frog was made to float with a magnet. The levitation trick used in his experiment comes from an effect dubbed as “diamagnetic levitation”. Same trick is being used in “Artificial Moon research facility”.
Atoms consists of atomic nuclei and electrons orbiting around them in loops of current. These moving currents induce magnetic fields. Usually, randomly oriented magnetic fields of all the atoms of an object cancel out, and no material-wide magnetism is evident. With the application of external magnetic field to these atoms, electrons modify their motion and produces their own magnetic field to oppose the external magnetic field. If the applied external field is strong, magnetic force of repulsion & field of the atoms becomes powerful to overcome gravity and levitate the object into the air. This phenomenon is called as diamagnetic levitation.