Daily Current Affairs

India-Arab-Mediterranean Corridor & BRI programme (GS Paper 2, International Relation)

Context:

• The India-Arab-Mediterranean corridor is the most ambitious project that adds a new dimension to its geo-economic imagination.
• The outbreak of COVID-19 and the trust deficit globally over China’s cunning and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war have generated a serious vacuum in the supply chain domain.
• In such a trying time, India and UAE are poised to reverse the current status quo in the supply chain domain, manufacturing, and distribution through this multimodal transport network.

 

What isIndia-Arab-Mediterranean corridor?

• This corridor links India, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Israel, and Greece through renewed infrastructure diplomacy paving the way for free trade transcontinental economic space.
• As envisaged, the goods from India through its Mumbai ports are charted to be transhipped to the UAE port and from there by railroad passing through Saudi Arabia and Jordan, they are to be transported to Haifa port in Israel and subsequently by sea to the port in Piraeus, Greece.
• The entire exercise of transshipment is expected to be covered in a period of 10 days. This duration is assumed to be 40 per cent faster than the conventional and busy Suez Canal maritime route.
•  The four major ports to be involved to operationalise this corridor are Mumbai Port Trust and Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust from India,Dubai’s Jebel Ali Port, Israel’s Haifa and Greece’s Piraeus.

 

Stakeholders:

• Dubai’s global logistics company DP World (DPW) has made a huge investment in the port infrastructures of India, primarily on India’s west coast ensuring ceaseless and effective maritime connectivity between Jebel Ali port and Mumbai port.
• DPW and Israel’s Bank Leumi and China’s Shanghai International Port Group have invested in Haifa port for its expansion and capacity enhancement of container terminals.
• In addition, the Israeli government’s bid to privatise Haifa port opened up the scope for Indian conglomerate Adani Ports to acquire a 70 per cent stake amounting to $1.18 billion. 

 

Alternative to BRI:

• The success of this deal is a product of a collective decision taken by India, Israel, the US, and UAE (I2U2) to open the India-Arab-Mediterranean economic corridor as an alternative to China’s BRI (Belt and Road Initiative) expansionism and interference.
• India’s trade discussions with the EU and UK have already started and efforts have been made to secure multilateral trade agreements.
• However, Adani’s debut into an international port and that to the busiest and geo-strategically and geo-economically critical port like Israel’s second largest Haifa promotes India’s role as an impact-making international actor in the domain of trade, commerce, defence and supply chain.

 

Multimodal commercial corridor:

• Apart from these functional ports (Mumbai Port, UAE Port, Haifa Port and Piraeus Port), the transport by land from Dubai to Haifa port involves UAE, Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Israel.

• The rail connection from Dubai port to Al Ghweifat at the UAE- Saudi Arabia border consisting of a 139 km track has been completed by UAE’s Etihad Rail. A 1392 km rail road covering Haradh in southeast Saudi Arabia Al-Kharj, Riyadh, Buraidah and Al-Haditha on the Saudi-Jordan border is functional and ready to be made use of.The Saudi Arabian Railway (SAR) ensures connectivity and logistics aspects of that section.
• A 300 km stretch connecting Al-Haditha to Haifa port which passes through Jordan needs to be completed to operationalise the multimodal commercial corridor.
• Jordan is also going to be one of the beneficiaries of the project and it has developed a dependable relationship with Israel, UAE and US. This multimodal commercial corridor connects the Indian Ocean region through West Asia with the Mediterranean regions.
• It was the Abraham Accords signed in 2020 that could bring Israel, UAE, Bahrain and USA together to work jointly in the region keeping aside decades-long animosity. This initiative could further lead to the formulation of the Arab-Mediterranean corridor.

 

What it holds for India?

• The India-Arab-Mediterranean corridor has driven the prominent stakeholders to chart the course of economic cooperation and trade partnership in the manufacturing, food production, processing sectors, etc. The multilateral partnership between India, UAE, Saudi Arabia and Israel has led to the formulation of the India-Middle East food corridor project.
• Moreover, UAE and Saudi Arabia have invested significantly in India for modernising its agriculture and water management system. This is going to encourage scientific farming in India and reinforce the importance of agriculture.
• Israel, on the other hand, has extended its support in terms of supplying the cutting-edge scientific and technological know-how it has in the field. Both India and Israel are working closely to manufacture semiconductors and highly sophisticated drones.
• In the event of India turning out to be a manufacturing hub for semiconductors, the European automobile industry and other related sectors may depend on India for their requirements.
• Joint ventures in innovative technology, green energy, electric battery, electric vehicle, battery charging stations, technology-driven agriculture, etc., involving multiple investors and partners would help India in stretching its geo-economic leverage in Europe as well.

 

UAE’s interest in this corridor:

• In such a scenario India’s capacity to emerge as a manufacturing hub is likely to attract global majors to invest and minimize their dependencies on China and find a proper replacement.
• UAE understands this dimension very well and has expressed exceptional keenness in investing in the port, transport and logistics on the western coast of India. It works with India to share India’s journey towards becoming a major force in the supply chain sector. UAE too realises the non-renewability aspect of its oil reserves and fossil deposits.
• Partnering with India in several sectors helps it diversify its economy and reduce the singular dependencies on conventional sources for its economy.
• These imperatives bind UAE to India to ensure the consistency of strength of its economy secured from any probable volatility. This explains the enduring nature of the India-Arab-Mediterranean corridor. Hence, the

 

Way Forward:

• The corridor will be a real game changer connecting the Indian Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea giving a fillip to supply chain resilience, and subsequently paving the way for comprehensive economic architecture in the region.

 

British crown jewels

(Miscellaneous)

Why in news?

• When Queen Elizabeth II passed away recently, the United Kingdom and the world mourned the loss of Britain’s longest-serving monarch. However, her passing away also saw many tweeting about the crown jewels, with #Kohinoor becoming a trending topic.

Details:

• There are now calls from people of India, Africa and other nations that the royal family surrender artefacts obtained by the British Empire.
• People on social media argue that the acquisition of these jewels and artefacts are steeped in controversy given the history of British colonialism and hence, they should be returned to their rightful owners.

 

The Kohinoor diamond:

• Shortly after the Queen’s demise, Twitter lit up with many calling for the return of the Kohinoor, also spelled Koh-i-noorwhich is part of the British crown jewels.
• The Kohinoor, which means “Mountain of Light,” was originally about 186 carats, and while its exact origins are unknown, it was most likely discovered in South India in the 13th century.
  The Kohinoor was unearthed from the Golconda mines in central southern India before it was handed to the British monarchy in 1849.
• Britain came in to possession of the Kohinoor when the East India Company took the jewel from deposed 10-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849.

 

How it became part of crown?

• Rumored to be cursed for men, it was initially worn as a brooch by Queen Victoria and later mounted in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary. It is currently set in a crown that was created for Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, for her coronation as queen consort in 1937.
• She wore it again at the coronation of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953.
• It is on public display in the Jewel House at the Tower of London and will reportedly be worn by Camilla, Queen Consort, at King Charles III’s coronation.
• The diamond has been at the centre of political and legal controversy in India amid disputes over its ownership, with claims coming not just from India but Pakistan as well.
• Danielle Kinsey, an assistant professor of history with a focus on the history of 19th century Britain and empire observed that it is only a matter of time before the Kohinoor is surrendered.

 

Great Star of Africa:

• There are many in South Africa who are calling for the return of the Great Star of Africa or Cullinan I diamond.
• Known as the Great Star of Africa or Cullinan I, it is the biggest stone cut from the Cullinan diamond, which was discovered in South Africa in 1905 in a mine owned by its namesake, Thomas Cullinan, and is the largest gem-quality uncut diamond ever found.
• Today, the Great Star of Africa is mounted in the Sovereign’s Sceptre with the Cross. Queen Elizabeth II has been seen in many portraits wearing these diamonds.

 

How it became part of British jewels?

• The Cullinan diamond was presented to King Edward VII (the British monarch at the time) in 1907, two years after its discovery in a private mine in South Africa’s old Transvaal province.
• However, many South Africans reject this narrative.
• According to them, the whole Transvaal and Union of South Africa governments and the concomitant mining syndicates were illegal. Receiving a stolen diamond does not exonerate the receiver. The Great Star is a blood diamond. The private (mining) company, the Transvaal government, and the British Empire were part of a larger network of coloniality.
• There’s also a petition being circulated asking for the Great Star of Africa to be returned and displayed in a South African museum. It has received the signatures of 6,000 people already.

 

Elgin Marbles:

• Greece has been demanding for the return of the Elgin Marbles since 1925.
• The Elgin Marbles, also known as the Parthenon Marbles, are a collection of different types of marble architectural decoration from the temple of Athena (the Parthenon) on the Acropolis in Athens. Today, they sit inside the British Musuem.
• In 1803, Britain’s Lord Elgin allegedly removed the marbles from the Parthenon’s decaying walls in Greece and transported them to London. This is also the reason those precious marbles are called Elgin Marbles.
• Lord Elgin was the British Ambassador to the Ottoman Empire and successfully petitioned the authorities to be able to draw, measure and remove figures.
• He was granted a permit (firman), and between 1801 and 1805 acting under the oversight of the relevant authorities, Elgin removed about half of the remaining sculptures from the ruins of the Parthenon. He also obtained permission to have removed sculptural and architectural elements from other buildings.
• All of Elgin’s collection of antiquities was then transported to Britain. His actions were thoroughly investigated by a Parliamentary Select Committee in 1816 and found to be entirely legal, prior to the sculptures entering the collection of the British Museum by Act of Parliament.

 

Rosetta Stone:

• The Egyptians want to bring back the Rosetta Stone, which is currently on display at the British museum.
• The Rosetta Stone, a granodiorite stele, has unlocked the mysterious hieroglyphic script of ancient Egypt. It is perhaps the most famous piece of rock in the world.
• The Rosetta Stone was found in Memphis, Egypt in 1799 by a French military officer before being seized by British forces in Alexandria and shipped to England two years later. In 1802, the stele, which enabled hieroglyphs to be deciphered, was given to the British Museum.
• Since then, the stone has been on display at the museum, with only one break during the World War I, in 1917, when the museum moved important objects to prevent damage from heavy bombing in London.
• Now, Egypt has initiated a campaign for the return of the atefact.

 

Benin Bronzes:

• The Benin Bronzes are a group of thousands of objects that were takenfrom the kingdom of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, in 1897. Their exact number is unknown, though it is believed to exceed 3,000.
• These objects including figurines, tusks, sculptures of Benin’s rulers, and an ivory mask were looted by British troops, and have since been dispersed around the world, with the bulk of the works now residing with state museums in Europe.
• It is said that the death of James Phillips, an unarmed British explorer, on the orders of Benin’s ruler Oba Ovonramwen caused the loot.
• To avenge Philips’ death, the British Empire sent troops to steal artifacts from the kingdom, and they walked away with thousands of priceless objects.
• Today, Nigerians have been demanding that the figurines be returned to them, as they are a window into the African art of those times and it’s just unfair that the locals have to travel to London if they want to take a look at them.

How cities can cope with climate change-induced floods

(GS Paper 3, Environment)

Context:

• The repeated flooding of Bengaluru in the monsoon season of 2022 will become more common as the world becomes warmer and the atmosphere holds more moisture, increasing the possibility of extreme rainfall events.
• There were many meteorological reasons for the floods, but the lack of climate-adaptive infrastructure increased the intensity of the flooding and this needs to be addressed. 

Climate Change related events:

• Climate change in cities will lead to increased rates of heavy precipitation, accelerated sea-level rise, exacerbated acute and chronic coastal flooding, drought, higher-than-average annual temperatures and extreme heat events. These, in turn, will exacerbate socioeconomic challenges and inequalities.
• Such urban flooding events have also happened during the northeastern floods in June, especially in Assam, and during the devastating Pakistan floods of August.

 

Urban flooding in Assam:

• In the case of the urban flooding in Assam, the loss of wetlands (known as beels) around the various towns and cities was found to be the major reason. The degradation of these natural sponges of excess flood waters lead to the increase in the intensity in urban floods in the state.

 

Khamranga wetland:

• A 27-year (1992-2019) analysis of the Khamranga wetland close to Guwahati shows that the wetland degraded each year, its size decreasing by almost 22 per cent during the period.
• The decline occurred between 2000 and 2010. The study identified rapid urbanisation, industrial activities and lack of government intervention as the major factors for the degradation.

 

Deeporbeel:

• Another study on the Deeporbeel, also close to Guwahati and Assam’s only wetland of international importance under the Ramsar convention, showed a decrease in the storage capacity of the highly biodiverse site over the last two decades.
• The study showed that the storage capacity decreased by almost 27 per cent between 2001 and 2019.
• If these wetlands had been healthy, they could have lessened the impact of extensive flooding in Guwahati in June. The same could be said for other urban flooding events that have happened in 2022 in Cachar, Darrang, Goalpara, Karimganj and Morigaon districts.

 

Adaptation Measures:

• The report highlighted the adaptation measures that cities need to take to protect their populations, especially the most vulnerable, from frequent flooding of the sort that has happened in Assam, Bengaluru and Pakistan.
• By continuing to address climate challenges as they occur, decision-makers put themselves in positions of responsive rather than proactive action. There is an urgent need to address pressing ecological, social, economic, and climate justice needs within cities and settlements.
• In cities, rapid experimentation with inclusive decision-making and multi-level governance can take place.
• Both bottom-up approaches involving communities and top-down climate actions coming from the local governments can work together to make cities more resilient to climate change-induced events such as urban flooding.
• Reducing greenhouse gas emissions of cities, along with adaptation, is also important for mitigation of climate change.

Early warning system:

• One of the key aspects of this is the monitoring, collection and analysis of high-resolution data over space and time on various aspects of urban climate and environment.
• In the case of floods, the Interdisciplinary Programme in Climate Studies (IDPCS) at the Indian Institute of Technology Bombay came up with an interesting early warning system for urban flooding based on crowdsourcing of information from citizens through the social networking platform Twitter.
• With the help of geotagged photos of water-logging people put on Twitter, the team of researchers wanted to generate real-time flood maps, which can help people avoid those areas while commuting. The data will also help them in creating a flood-risk map for future flooding scenarios.

 

Way Forward:

• Co-generation of knowledge and research while working with stakeholders is crucial to create usable climate data at the city level.
• Cities have a vital role to play by implementing inclusive, urgent, and scaled-up urban climate action required to enhance resiliency, limit the degrees of warming, and keep the planet liveable.

 

India observes 28th World Ozone Day   
(GS Paper 3, Environment)

Why in news?

• On 16 September 2022, India observed the 28th International Day for the Preservation of the Ozone Layer.
• The event was organized in Mumbai by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change in collaboration with the Department of Environment and Climate Change, Government of Maharashtra. 

Theme:

• The theme of World Ozone Day 2022 is “Montreal Protocol@35: global cooperation protecting life on earth”.

 

Releases:  

• India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP), is a vision document developed by the MoEFCC to provide socio-economic and environmental benefits related to reduced refrigerant use, climate change mitigation and Sustainable Development Goals over the period 2037-38.
• The Union Minister released the 23rd edition of “The Montreal Protocol: India’s Success Story”. The other publications of the Ozone Cell of the MoEFCC released on the occasion include:     

1. Action Plan for implementing the recommendations of the India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) for the thematic Area Space Cooling in Buildings
2. Study Report on Public Procurement Policies for Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning (RAC) Equipment using non-ODS based refrigerants
3. Study Report on Cold Chain sector in India for Promoting non-ODS and Low-GWP Refrigerants
4. Booklet on Good Servicing Practices for Energy Efficient operation of Room Air conditioners.

 

Contributions by India:

• India’s contribution to the Montreal Protocol in terms of policy formulation is noteworthy, India has played a proactive role in the phase-out of production and consumption of Ozone Depleting Substances.
• India adopted the mantra of L.I.F.E (Lifestyle for Environment) coined by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, in line with the concept of sustainable lifestyle, encouraging to adopt mindful and not mindless consumption and utilization of resources.
• India is among the countries which has stated that the country's sustainable development will be such that net zero is achieved by 2070.
• India played a key role in the finalization of the Kigali Amendment. After ratifying the same in September 2021, the central government is working towards developing a national strategy, in close consultation with the industry stakeholders, for phasing down Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

 

Collaboration with 8 IITs:

• The Ministry will soon be entering into collaboration with eight Indian Institutes of Technology (Bombay, Roorkee, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Guwahati, Banaras, Madras and Delhi) to promote research and development of chemicals with low global warming potential, including blends.
• These can be used as alternatives to substances controlled under the Montreal Protocol.
• The collaborative research will be done in line with industry requirements through engagement of research scholars, leading to the development of a robust R&D ecosystem in this area, and will also help promote the Make in India initiative of the Government.   

 

About World Ozone Day:

• World Ozone Day is celebrated on 16th September each year to commemorate the signing of the Montreal Protocol that came into force on this day in 1987.
• World Ozone Day is celebrated every year to spread awareness among people about the depletion of Ozone Layer and the measures taken and to be taken to preserve it.   

 

India’s achievements in Implementation of the Montreal Protocol:

• India, as Party to the Montreal Protocol since June 1992, has been successfully implementing the Montreal Protocol and projects and activities for phasing out of ozone depleting substances, in line with the phase out schedule of the Protocol.
• India phased out Chlorofluorocarbons, Carbon tetrachloride, Halons, Methyl Bromide and Methyl Chloroform for controlled uses as on 1 January 2010, in line with the Montreal Protocol schedule.

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP):

• Currently, Hydrochlorofluorocarbonsare being phased out as per the accelerated schedule of the Montreal Protocol.  
• Stage - Ihas been successfully implemented from 2012 to 2016 and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons Phase-out Management Plan (HPMP) Stage - II is under implementation since 2017 and will be completed by 2023. 
• Stage III of the HPMP, the last of the HPMPs to phase out remaining HCFCs, will be implemented from 2023 - 2030. 
• The phase-out of HCFCs in all manufacturing sectors, comprising refrigeration and air-conditioning manufacturing sectors, will be completed by 1.1.2025 and the activities relating to the servicing sector will be continued till 2030.

Reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions:

• The study on reduction of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions through phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODS) under the Montreal Protocol implementation in India.
• The study carried out by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change estimates that the reduction of GHG emissions due to phase-out of ODS till 2022 is 465 million tonne C02 equivalent, while it is expected that the reduction of GHG emissions till 2030 is expected to be 778 million tonnes of C02 equivalent.

India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP):

• Implementation of actions emerging from India Cooling Action Plan (ICAP) will supplement efforts in adopting climate-friendly alternatives and promotion of energy efficiency during the implementation of HFC phase-out under the Kigali Amendment.

This will significantly contribute to India’s climate action in achieving the net zero emissions by 2070, through the ‘Panchamrits’, committed by the Prime Minister of India, at the Climate Change Conference of Parties in 2021.