Daily News Analysis 11th October 2018

Daily News Analysis (Prelims + Mains) – 11th October 2018

General Study – I

Topic:

Important Geophysical phenomena such as earthquakes, Tsunami, Volcanic activity, cyclone etc.,

Context: Cyclone Titli to make landfall in Odisha .

Originate: Bay of Bengal

Conditions Favourable for Tropical Cyclone Formation

1. Large sea surface with temperature higher than 27° C,
2. Presence of the Coriolis force enough to create a cyclonic vortex,
3. Small variations in the vertical wind speed,
4. A pre-existing weak low-pressure area or low-level-cyclonic circulation,
5. Upper divergence above the sea level system

Tropical Cyclone Naming:

• The practice of naming storms started in order to help in the quick identification of storms in warning messages because names are presumed to be far easier to remember than numbers and technical terms.
• Many agree that appending names to storms makes it easier for the media to report on tropical cyclones, heightens interest in warnings and increases community preparedness.
• Experience shows that the use of short, distinctive given names in written as well as spoken communications is quicker and less subject to error than the older more cumbersome latitude-longitude identification methods.
• These advantages are especially important in exchanging detailed storm information between hundreds of widely scattered stations, coastal bases, and ships at sea.

Importance for naming tropical cyclones:

• It would help identify each individual tropical cyclone.
• It helps the public to become fully aware of its development.
• Local and international media become focused to the tropical cyclone.
• It does not confuse the public when there is more than one tropical cyclone in the same area.
• The name of the tropical cyclone is well remembered by million of people as it is unforgettable event shoes name will long be remembered.
• Warnings reach a much wider audience very rapidly.

Procedure for Naming of Tropical Cyclone:

There is a strict procedure to determine a list of tropical cyclone names in an  ocean basin(s) by the Tropical Cyclone Regional Body responsible for that basin(s) at its  annual/biennial meeting. There are five tropical cyclones regional bodies, i.e.

1. a) ESCAP/WMO Typhoon Committee,
   b)        WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones,
   c)         RA I Tropical Cyclone Committee,
   d)        RA IV Hurricane Committee, and
   e)        RA V Tropical Cyclone Committee.

• The Specialised Meteorological Centre (RSMC) – Tropical cyclones is responsible for monitoring and prediction of tropical cyclones over their respective regions. They are also responsible to name the cyclones.
  In general, tropical cyclones are named according to the rules at a regional  For instance, Hurricane Committee determines a pre designated list of Hurricane names

Naming of tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean.

The WMO/ESCAP Panel on Tropical Cyclones at its twenty-seventh Session held in 2000 in Muscat, Sultanate of Oman agreed in principal to assign names to the tropical cyclones in the Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea. After long deliberations among the member countries, the naming of the tropical cyclones over north Indian Ocean commenced from September 2004.The Panel member’s names are listed alphabetically country wise.

• The RSMC tropical cyclones New Delhi gives a tropical cyclone an identification name from the above name list. The identification system covers both the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal. These lists are used sequentially, and they are not rotated every few years as are the Atlantic and Eastern Pacific lists.
• If public wants to suggest the name of a cyclone to be included in the list, the proposed name must meet some fundamental criteria. The name should be short and readily understood when broadcast. Further the names must not be culturally sensitive and not convey some unintended and potentially inflammatory meaning. A storm causes  so much death and destruction that its name is considered for retirement and hence is  not used repeatedly. 

INDIA METEOROLOGICAL DEPARTMENT (IMD)

• IMD is also one of the six Regional Specialized Meteorological Centers of the World Meteorological Organization.
• The India Meteorological Department (IMD), also referred to as the Met Department, is an agency of the Ministry of Earth Sciences of the Government of India.
• It is the principal agency responsible for meteorological observations, weather forecasting and seismology. IMD is headquartered in Delhi and operates hundreds of observation stations across India and Antarctica.
• It has the responsibility for forecasting, naming and distribution of warnings for tropical cyclones in the Northern Indian Ocean region, including the Malacca Straits, the Bay of Bengal, the Arabian Sea and the Persian Gulf.

WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

• WMO is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with 191 Member States and Territories.
• It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland.
• It originated from the International Meteorological Organization(IMO), which was founded in 1873.
• Established in 1950, the WMO became a specialized agency of the United Nations in 1951.

List of Tropical Cyclone RSMCs

• RSMC Miami-Hurricane Cente
• RSMC Tokyo-Typhoon Center
• RSMC-tropical cyclones New Delhi
• RSMC La Réunion-Tropical Cyclone Centre
• RSMC Nadi-Tropical Cyclone Centre
• RSMC Honolulu-Hurricane Center

General Study – II

Topic:

Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

MoU between India and Lebanon for cooperation in the field of agriculture and allied sectors

The MoU will help to increase agriculture production and productivity by getting access to best practices and market worldwide.  It will lead to innovative techniques for increasing production and productivity, leading to strengthening of food security.

India-Lebanon Relations

India and Lebanon have had traditionally amicable relations since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1954.

The fact that India kept its Embassy in Beirut open and functioning throughout the civil war (from 1975 to 1990, closing briefly from August 5 to October 16, 1989), in contrast to a large number of other foreign Embassies in Beirut, is appreciated by the Lebanese.

Together with India’s traditionally strong linkages with the Arab world, solidarity for the Palestine cause, and most recently our balanced and calibrated approach on Arab Spring developments including Syria.

Both countries have also cooperated closely on various issues of mutual interest during their overlap in 2010 as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council.

Lebanese officials and political representatives have traditionally praised the professional excellence and commitment of the Indian contingent deployed in the UNIFIL forces in south Lebanon, and positive reports have appeared in the Lebanese media about free medicines and medical care being provided by Indian doctors from the UNFIL contingent to villagers in south Lebanon.

The Indian Technical & Economic Cooperation [ITEC] programme has been popular in Lebanon since its inception in 1964.

Successive batches of ITEC trainees/alumni have been actively contributing to further strengthening India-Lebanon ties. India has offered 60 civilian ITEC slots and 19 defense slots to Lebanon for 2017-18.

Cultural Relations

The Lebanese people have traditionally admired Indian music, films, cuisine, etc.

An increasing number of them are also interested in Yoga – there has been a large and enthusiastic participation in the public events organized by the Mission to celebrate the IDY since 2015.

People-to-people ties have remained warm and cordial, with Bollywood playing an important role and with regular coverage in the Lebanese media on developments in India.

Indian Community

There are nearly 8,000 Indian nationals in Lebanon, with a majority of them employed as workers in companies, agricultural farms, etc.

General Study – II

Topic:

Bilateral, regional and global groupings and agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Memorandum of Understanding between India and Romania in the field of tourism

Romania is a potential tourism markets for India (India received approximately 11844 tourists from Romania in 2017). The signing of Memorandum of Understanding with Romania will be instrumental in increasing arrival from this source market.

India – Romania Relations

India and Romania established diplomatic relations in 1948 and raised it to Ambassadorial level in 1968. However, contacts between the two countries and civilizations pre-date this.

Political Relations

Bilateral political relations between India and Romania are warm and friendly.

The establishment and deepening of democracy in Romania since the 1989 Revolution which overthrew the communist regime, has brought the two countries closer together in terms of values and aspirations.

India and Romania have in the past supported each other on multilateral issues and worked in tandem at the UN

Bilateral cooperation under ITEC/PCFD Programme

Candidates from different fields from Romania have been going to India under the ITEC scheme to attend different training modules.

Till date Romania has used hundred ITEC slots. Romania has been allotted 5 slots during 2014-2015 of which one has been utilized.

ICCR scholarships have been utilized successfully by Romanians studying Indian dance, classical and popular music, Classical dances, Hindi, Film TV technology and other academic subjects.

Cultural Cooperation

India and Romania signed a Cultural Agreement in 1957, which provided for cooperation in culture, science, education, literature and arts.

Following this Agreement, Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) were formulated and implemented.

More recently, cultural exchanges have also been facilitated via sources outside the official framework for bilateral cooperation.

A Romanian ballet troupe visited India in early 2012.

Sahitya Akademi has published from Romania under the CEP between the two countries:

(i) Sach Leta Hai Aakar & (ii) Jhonpri Wale aur Anya Kahania.

Embassy of India, Bucharest collaborated with local cultural groups such as Rabindra Nath Tagore Cultural Centre, Bucharest to organise “Namaste India” festival.

International Day of Yoga was organised in four different cities of Romania.

Memorandum of Cooperation between India and Finland on Environmental Cooperation

Cabinet approved Memorandum of Cooperation will enable establishment and promotion of closer and long-term cooperation between the two countries in the field of environment protection and management of natural resources on the basis of equity, reciprocity and mutual benefits, taking into account the applicable laws and legal provisions in each country.

The areas of cooperation under this Memorandum of Cooperation shall include

• Air and water pollution prevention and purification, remediation of contaminated soils;
• Waste management including hazardous wastes, and waste-to-energy technologies;
• Promotion of circular economy, low-carbon solutions and sustainable management of natural resources including forests.
• Climate change;
• Environmental and Forest monitoring and data management;
• Conservation of Marine and Coastal Resources;
• Integrated water management of Oceanic/Sea Islands;

Topics for Prelims

Permanent campuses of the Indian Institutes of Science Education & Research (IISERs) at Tirupati and Berhampur

• In 2015, IISER, Tirupati was established in pursuance to the Andhra Pradesh Reorganization Act, 2014, while IISER, Berhampur was established in 2016 in pursuance to the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister in his Budget speech, 2015.
• These institutes are presently functioning from transit campuses.
• The IISERs will provide top quality science education at the Under-Graduate and Post-Graduate levels, PHDs & Integrated PHDs.  They will carry out research in frontier areas of science.
• They will enable India move towards being a knowledge economy by attracting the best scientific talent as faculty and prepare a strong base of scientific manpower in India.

IAF Trans Himalayan Mountain Terrain Biking Expedition (THE MTB)

• To commemorate the 86^th anniversary of Indian Air Force a unique cycling expedition was undertaken by its Air Warriors covering more than 4200 Kms from Daulat Beg Oldie (DBO) in Ladakh to Kibithu in Arunachal Pradesh.
• Trans Himalayan expedition promoted the spirit of adventure and enhanced awareness about global warming.
• This was for the first time in history of services that a mountain terrain biking expedition of such a scale in the Himalayas has been undertaken.
• This expedition reflects the unique spirit of adventure in our air warriors.

Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018

Indian Navy, through the Naval War College, Goa is hosting the ‘Goa Maritime Symposium – 2018’ on 16^th October 2018.

The event, which is a follow-on to the maiden Goa Maritime Conclave held in 2017, is likely to be attended by senior naval officers and representatives from 16 Indian Ocean littoral countries, which include

·         Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand from South East Asia;

·         Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka from India’s immediate neighborhood:

·         the island nations of Seychelles, Mauritius and Maldives;

·         Oman in West Asia; and

·         South Africa, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique from Africa.

The theme for the one-day symposium is “Building Stronger Maritime Partnerships in IOR.”

The focus of the symposium is on capacity building among IOR Navies to tackle emerging maritime threats, as well as discussing cooperative strategies for enhancing interoperability among partner maritime agencies.

29^th Accountants General Conference

• The President of India, Shri Ram Nath Kovind, inaugurated the 29^th Accountants General Conference in New Delhi today.
• The theme of this year’s Conference is “Auditing and Accounting in a Digital Era”. 
• CAG has come out with a data management policy and is increasingly using data analytics in its audit work.
• Use of data analytic techniques the CAG can assist in not only giving insights for the present but also aid in providing credible forecasts.
• With the tools appropriate to managing and examining the expanding data in a digital economy, the CAG is positioned to anticipate long-term trends and emerging issues related to the economy, education, health, environment, national security among others.
• These warrant the attention of lawmakers and the executive.