DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

SAARC AND ITS ANALYSIS

The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) was established with the signing of the SAARC Charter in Dhaka on 8 December 1985. SAARC comprises of eight Member States: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. The Secretariat of the Association was set up in Kathmandu on 17 January 1987.

There are currently nine Observers to SAARC, namely: (i) Australia; (ii) China; (iii) the European Union; (iv) Iran; (v) Japan; (vi) the Republic of Korea; (vii) Mauritius; (viii) Myanmar; and (ix) the United States of America.

Objectives of SAARC:

• to promote the welfare of the peoples of South Asia and to improve their quality of life;
• to accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region and to provide all individuals the opportunity to live in dignity and to realize their full potentials;
• to promote and strengthen collective self-reliance among the countries of South Asia;
• to contribute to mutual trust, understanding and appreciation of one another's problems;
• to promote active collaboration and mutual assistance in the economic, social, cultural, technical and scientific fields; to strengthen cooperation with other developing countries;
• to strengthen cooperation among themselves in international forums on matters of common interests; and
• to cooperate with international and regional organizations with similar aims and purposes.

Decisions at all levels are to be taken on the basis of unanimity; and bilateral and contentious issues are excluded from the deliberations of the Association.

AREAS OF COOPERATION

• Human Resource Development and Tourism
• Agriculture and Rural Development
• Environment, Natural Disasters and Biotechnology
• Economic, Trade and Finance
• Social Affairs
• Information and Poverty Alleviation
• Energy, Transport, Science and Technology
• Education, Security and Culture

SAARC Specialized Bodies

SAARC Development Fund (SDF)

• Its primary objective is funding of project-based collaboration in social sectors such as poverty alleviation, development, etc.
• SDF is governed by a Board consisting of representatives from the Ministry of Finance of the Member States. The Governing Council of SDF (Finance Ministers of MSs) oversees the functioning of the Board.

South Asian University

• South Asian University (SAU) is an international university, located in India. Degrees and Certificates awarded by the SAU are at par with the respective Degrees and Certificates awarded by the National Universities/ Institutions.

South Asian Regional Standards Organization

• South Asian Regional Standards Organization (SARSO) has its Secretariat at Dhaka, Bangladesh.
• It was established to achieve and enhance coordination and cooperation among SAARC member states in the fields of standardization and conformity assessment and is aimed to develop harmonized Standards for the region to facilitate intra-regional trade and to have access in the global market.

SAARC Arbitration Council

• It is an inter-governmental body having its office in Pakistan is mandated to provide a legal framework/forum within the region for fair and efficient settlement of commercial, industrial, trade, banking, investment and such other disputes, as may be referred to it by the member states and their people.

SAARC Achievements

• Free Trade Area (FTA): SAARC is comparatively a new organization in the global arena. The member countries have established a Free Trade Area (FTA) which will increase their internal trade and lessen the trade gap of some states considerably.
• SAPTA: South Asia Preferential Trading Agreement for promoting trade amongst the member countries came into effect in 1995.
• SAFTA: A Free Trade Agreement confined to goods, but excluding all services like information technology. Agreement was signed to reduce customs duties of all traded goods to zero by the year 2016.
• SAARC Agreement on Trade in Services (SATIS): SATIS is following the GATS-plus 'positive list' approach for trade in services liberalization.
• SAARC University: Establish a SAARC university in India, a food bank and also an energy reserve in Pakistan.

Importance of SAARC for India:

• Neighbourhood first: Primacy to the country’s immediate neighbours.
• Geostrategic significance: Can counter China (OBOR initiative) through engaging Nepal, Bhutan, the Maldives and Sri Lanka in development process and economic cooperation.
• Regional stability: SAARC can help in creation of mutual trust and peace within the region.
• Global leadership role: It offers India a platform to showcase its leadership in the region by taking up extra responsibilities.
• Game changer for India’s Act East Policy: by linking South Asian economies with South East asian will bring further economic integration and prosperity to India mainly in the Services Sector.

South Asian Satellite:

The GSAT-9(SAARC Satellite) has been launched with an objective to provide different communication applications in Ku-band with coverage over South Asian countries.It is launched by GSLV F09- 49 metres tall and weighing around 450 ton, the GSLV is a three stage rocket. The first stage is fired with solid fuel, the second with liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine. The first stage is fired with solid fuel, the second with liquid fuel and the third is the cryogenic engine.

• Launched by ISRO
• It will be used by countries of SAARC except Pakistan
• Plan for this satellite was announced in 2014 SAARC summit
• It is launched by GSLV-F09
• The satellite will provide a full range of applications and services in the fields of telecommunication and broadcasting applications, namely, Television, Direct-to-Home (DTH), Very Small Aperture Terminals (VSATs), Tele-education, Telemedicine and Disaster Management Support.

This is what it means for India and South Asia:

• Data from GSAT-9 will be shared with Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. It was also offered to Pakistan, which turned it down. India is also working with Afghanistan but a deal has still not be ironed out.
• At least one transponder of this satellite will be available to the participating countries, which will help them connect with each other. In other words, the satellite will help India gain a footprint that extends all over South Asia. Not just that, this 'gift' is a first such move from any country in this region.
• The participating nations anticipate a Rs 10,000 crore ($1.5 billion) benefit from the satellite's 12-year lifespan.
• Each country has to develop its own ground infrastructure though India is willing to extend assistance and know-how.
• The satellite also has the capability to provide secure hot lines among the participating nations in addition since the region is highly prone to earthquakes, cyclones, floods, tsunamis, it may help in providing critical communication links in times of disasters.
• The 2230-kg satellite has been fabricated in three years and is purely a communications satellite costing Rs 450 crore. The satellite's main structure is cuboid in shape, built around a central cylinder with a mission life of more than 12 years.
• The nearly 50-m-tall rocket that weighs about 412 tonnes will carry what is now dubbed as the 'South Asia Satellite' or what the Isro still prefers to call GSAT-9.
• The mission is part of PM Modi's proposal on June 30, 2014 to Isro, asking them to develop a satellite that can be dedicated to our neighbourhood as a 'gift' from India.
• Modi's efforts got a jolt when even after participating in the planning meeting on June 22, 2015, Pakistan decided to 'opt out' from the proposed SAARC satellite, suggesting it had its own space program'.
• The project was renamed to 'South Asia Satellite' but sources say Pakistan was not allowed to veto the development project. Frequency co-ordination activities took longer than expected and the launch got postponed by almost six months.
• Among India's neighbours, three nations already possess full-fledged communication satellites with Pakistan and Sri Lanka having been helped by China; Afghanistan also has a communication satellite, which is an an old India-made satellite acquired from Europe. Bangladesh is likely to have its first bird in the sky later this year made with help from Thales.
• Experts say "Pakistan has missed an opportunity" since its own space programme is currently in a primitive stage as compared to India's, this, despite the fact that Islamabad actually launched its first rocket five years ahead of India and its space agency Pakistan Space and Upper Atmosphere Research Commission (SUPARCO) is older than ISRO.
• Pakistan has had five satellites in space but today lacks heavy duty launchers and satellite fabrication facilities.
• The South Asia Satellite is India's plan to counter China's growing influence on its neighbours. But in the 21st-century Asian space race, China already has the first mover advantage.

SAARC’s Resurrection

• On March 15, India led from the front in hosting the first SAARC meeting in years, following PMModi’s proposal to hold a virtual meet through video to devise a regional strategy in fighting the rapidly spreading coronavirus. He proposed that the “leadership of SAARC nations chalk out a strong strategy to fight coronavirus”.
• The virtual meeting included leaders of seven countries including Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the special health adviser to Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan. They discussed the rising cases of coronavirus in the subcontinent, measures taken to halt the spread of the raging virus, and possible treatment methods.
• India laid out its ongoing efforts and action plan to limit the outbreak of the coronavirus.

• The meet was important from quite a few perspectives. First, it is a crisis turned opportunity by bringing together countries of the region for the first high-level SAARC meet since 2014 by providing directional leadership with health diplomacy as it core objective- an agenda which none can refuse. Moreover, this was the organisation’s first meeting in four years after India had declined to meet in Islamabad in 2016 citing cross-border terrorism (Uri Attack) as the basis.
• Then, other countries of SAARC like Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Bhutan had also pulled out leaving SAARC directionless. Second, India’s decision to hold the conference despite its open reservations against talking to Pakistan reflects a befitting attitude of a leader-nation that has risen above bilateral animosity to engage all nations to think of the larger regional good. It shows its mature understanding that global challenges require coordinated response.
• This was evident when India chose to ignore Pakistan’s use of the SAARC forum to rake up the Kashmir issue, even though the meet had a different and a much more pressing agenda. Major countries of the world including the US and Russia have lauded India’s efforts towards preparing South Asia for a collective response.
• Although, India’s decision came a day after the World Health Organisation (WHO) floated the COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund with the help of corporate bodies, foundations and the UN Foundation and a day prior to a similar videoconference between G7 leaders, bringing the SAARC leaders on a common platform by India has been held as a masterstroke.
• Among tangible deliverables, the meeting saw India’s proposal of a COVID-19 emergency fund for SAARC countries to fight the pandemic, extending $10 million as India's contribution for the fund.
• Contributions to the emergency fund have also been committed by Sri Lanka ($5 million), Bangladesh ($1.5 million), Nepal ($1 million), Afghanistan ($1 million), Maldives ($200,000) and Bhutan ($100,000) taking the total amount in the COVID-19 Emergency Fund to $18.3 million. Pakistan’s contribution is still awaited. Since the leaders’ videoconference, the senior health professionals of SAARC countries also met on another video conference on March 26 to exchange experiences of combating the spread of COVID-19 thus far and share best practices.
• SAARC Disaster Management Centre (SDMC-IU), Gandhinagar has set up a website (http://www.covid19-sdmc.org/) on COVID-19 for shared use of SAARC countries.
• A ‘special cell’ in the Ministry of External Affairs of India is coordinating and monitoring coordination of regional efforts with SAARC countries.

Context:

Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare had launched “Kisan Rath” App on 17.04.2020 to facilitate Farmers and Traders in identifying right mode of transportation for movement of farm produce ranging from food grain (cereal, coarse cereal, pulses etc), Fruits & Vegetables, oil seeds, spices, fiber crops, flowers, bamboo, log & minor forest produce, coconuts etc. Till date, total of 80,474 farmers and 70,581 traders are registered on this App.

Kisan Rath mobile app:

The Ministry of Agriculture & Farmers Welfare has launched ‘Kisan Rath’ mobile application (app) to facilitate transportation of foodgrains and perishable during lockdown

• The application has been developed by the National Informatics Centre (backed by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology).
• It will be available in eight languages initially, including english and hindi.

Features of the Kisan Rath app:

• The app is expected to connect farmers and traders to a network of more than 5 lakh trucks and 20,000 tractors.
• It is meant to help farmers and traders who are searching for vehicles to move produce. This includes:
  • Primary transport from the farm to the mandis, local warehouses or the collection centres of Farmer Producer Organisations (FPO).
  • Secondary transport from the local mandis to intra-and inter-State mandis, processing units, railway stations, warehouses or wholesalers.
• The Government has granted relaxation in the nationwide lockdown for activities related to agriculture-farming and allied activities with a view to address problems being faced by the farming community.

China Mars mission Tianwen-1

Part of: GS-III- S&T Space (PT-MAINS-PERSONALITY TEST)

Aiming to catch up with India, U.S., Russia and the European Union to reach the red planet, China’s Mars mission plans to complete orbiting, landing and roving in one mission
China named its first Mars exploration mission to be launched later this year as Tianwen-1 as it celebrated Space Day to mark the 50th anniversary of the launch of the country’s first satellite Dong Fang Hong-1 in 1970.

China in recent years has emerged as a major space power with manned space missions and landing a rover in the dark side of the moon. It is currently building a space station of its own.

However, China’s attempts to send an exploratory probe to Mars called Yinghuo-1, in a Russian spacecraft in 2011 failed as shortly after the launch and it was declared lost and later burnt during re-entry.

The U.S., Russia, the EU besides India so far succeeded in sending missions to Mars regarded as the most complex space mission.

India became the first Asian country to have successfully launched its Mars orbiter mission, Mangalyaan which has entered the orbit of the red planet in 2014.
India also became the first country to have entered the Martian orbit in its first attempt.

About MARS (PT SHOT)

Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System after Mercury. In English, Mars carries the name of the Roman god of war and is often referred to as the 'Red Planet'. The latter refers to the effect of the iron oxide prevalent on Mars' surface, which gives it a reddish appearance distinctive among the astronomical bodies visible to the naked eye. Mars is a terrestrial planet with a thin atmosphere, having surface features reminiscent both of the impact craters of the Moon and the valleys, deserts, and polar ice caps of Earth.

Facts:

1. The days and seasons are likewise comparable to those of Earth, because the rotational period as well as the tilt of the rotational axis relative to the ecliptic plane are very similar.
2. Mars is the site of Olympus Mons, the largest volcano and highest known mountain on any planet in the Solar System.
3. Valles Marineris, one of the largest canyons in the Solar System.
4. The smooth Borealis basin in the northern hemisphere covers 40% of the planet and may be a giant impact feature.
5. Mars has two moons, Phobos and Deimos, which are small and irregularly shaped. These may be captured asteroids,similar to 5261 Eureka, a Mars trojan.

Explorations

1. Mariner 4, launched by NASA on November 28, 1964, was the first spacecraft to visit Mars, making its closest approach to the planet on July 15, 1965. Mariner 4 detected the weak Martian radiation belt, measured at about 0.1% that of Earth’s, and captured the first images of another planet from deep space.
2. On July 20, 1976, Viking 1 performed the first successful landing on the Martian surface.
3. Although the Soviet Mars 3 spacecraft achieved a soft landing in December 1971, contact was lost with its lander seconds after touchdown.
4. On July 4, 1997, the Mars Pathfinder spacecraft landed on Mars, and on July 5 released its rover, Sojourner, the first robotic rover to operate on Mars.
5. Pathfinder was followed by the Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirit and Opportunity, which landed on Mars in January 2004 and operated until March 22, 2010 and June 10, 2018, respectively.
6. The Mars Express orbiter, the first European Space Agency spacecraft to visit Mars, arrived in orbit on December 25, 2003.
7. On September 24, 2014, the Indian Space Research Organization became the fourth space agency to visit Mars, when its maiden interplanetary mission, the Mars Orbiter Mission spacecraft, successfully arrived in orbit.

There are ongoing investigations assessing the past habitability potential of Mars, as well as the possibility of extant life. Future astrobiology missions are planned, including the Perseverance and Rosalind Franklin rovers. Liquid water cannot exist on the surface of Mars due to low atmospheric pressure, which is less than 1% of the Earth's, except at the lowest elevations for short periods. The two polar ice caps appear to be made largely of water. The volume of water ice in the south polar ice cap, if melted, would be sufficient to cover the entire planetary surface to a depth of 11 meters (36 ft). In November 2016, NASA reported finding a large amount of underground ice in the Utopia Planitia region of Mars. The volume of water detected has been estimated to be equivalent to the volume of water in Lake Superior.

India’s Mission

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) or Mission Mangalyaan is the first interplanetary space mission of Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was successfully launched on 5th November 2013. The space probe of this mission has been orbiting the Mars since 24th September 2014. Some of the highlights of this successful mission was

1. ISRO is the 4th space agency to reach the orbit of Mars after Roscosmos, NASA, European Space Agency (ESA).
2. India is the first nation to reach the orbit of Mars on the very first attempt.
3. India is the first Asian country to reach the orbit of Mars.

Which was the Launch Vehicle used for Mars Orbiter Mission?

Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was launched using Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV XL – C25) from Satish Dhawan Space Centre, Sriharikota, Nellore District of Andhra Pradesh. It took 298 days for the Mars probe to reach the orbit of Mars. The probe is being tracked from ISRO centres located in Bangalore.

What were the Objectives of Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM)?

The primary objective was to develop the necessary technologies for interplanetary space missions. The other objectives were

1. Explore the surface features of Mars planet.
2. Morphology
3. Mineralogy
4. Atmosphere of Mars.

What were the Scientific Instruments Carried on the MOM mission?

Payload in the Mars Orbiter Mission (MOM) was made of 5 scientific instruments.

1. LAP (Lyman-Alpha Photometer)
2. MSM (Methane Sensor for Mars)
3. MENCA (Mars Exospheric Neutral Composition Analyser)
4. TIS (Thermal Infrared Imaging Spectrometer)
5. MCC (Mars Colour Camera)

Jai Hind Jai Bharat

Context:

• The death of Kalpana, a white tigress in Delhi zoo, on Wednesday had set alarm bells ringing. However, the Ministry for Environment, Forests and Climate Change clarified late on Friday evening that the tigress died of renal failure and other complications related to old age.
• With nine big cats in New York's Bronx zoo having tested positive for COVID-19, forestry and zoo authorities across India have been extra cautious about keeping the infection away from fauna.
• Elsewhere in the world, domestic animals like cats and dogs, too, have tested positive for the virus. However, there is still not enough information on whether the infection can spread back to humans through animals.

Precautionary Measures to protect tigers in Zoo:

• A letter from the NTCA to all tiger ranging States that owing to the communicable and zoonotic nature of the coronavirus, certain actions need to taken to avert the disease in wild tigers in India.
• Tigers may be observed for symptoms cosset with COVID-19 such as respiratory signs of nasal discharge, coughing and laboured breathing through direct observation to the extent possible besides through camera trap images for visible symptoms,” the NTCA letter to tiger ranging States.
• Earlier in the day, the CZA wrote to all zoos in the country to take precautionary measures in the wake of confirmation of the presence of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that leads to the COVID-19 disease, in a tiger housed in the Bronx Zoo
• Zoos in the country are, therefore, advised to remain on the highest alertness, watch animals on 24x7 basis, including CCTV for any abnormal behaviour/symptoms, keepers handlers not to be allowed in the vicinity, without safety gear preferably PPE (personal protective equipment), isolate and quarantine sick animals and have least contact while providing feed to animals.

Central Zoo Authority

• Central Zoo Authority is an autonomous statutory body
• It regulates the functioning of zoos
• It has been constituted under the Wild Life (Protection) Act,1972
• Organisation: The Authority consists of a Chairman, ten members and a Member Secretary
• Main objective: To complement the national effort in conservation of wild life

Recognition of Zoo Rules, 1992:

• Standards and norms for housing, upkeep, health care and overall management of animals in zoos
• Every zoo in the country is required to obtain recognition from the Authority for its operation
• The Authority evaluates the zoos with reference to the parameters prescribed under the Rules and grants recognition accordingly
• Zoos which have no potential to come up to the prescribed standards and norms may be refused recognition and asked to close down

Roles & Functions:

• The Authority’s role is more of a facilitator than a regulator
• It, therefore, provides technical and financial assistance to such zoos which have the potential to attain the desired standard in animal management
• Primary function– grant of recognition and release of financial assistance
• It also regulates the exchange of animals of endangered category Listed under Schedule-I and II of the Wildlife (Protection) Act among zoos
• Exchange of animals between Indian and foreign zoos is also approved by the Authority before the requisite clearances under EXIM Policy and the CITES permits are issued by the competent authority
• The Authority also coordinates and implements programmes on capacity building of zoo personnel, planned breeding programmes and ex-situ research including biotechnological intervention for conservation of species for complementing in-situ conservation efforts in the country

Some major initiatives:

• Establishment of Laboratory for Conservation of Endangered Species at Hyderabad for carrying out research in biotechnology, planned breeding of Red Panda and its restocking into the wild
• Upgradation of diagnostic facilities for disease diagnosis at selected veterinary institutions and their networking with zoos on regional basis for better health care of animals.

National Board for Wild Life

• National Board for Wild Life is a “Statutory Organization” constituted under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972. Theoretically, the board is “advisory” in nature and advises the Central Government on framing policies and measures for conservation of wildlife in the country. However, it is a very important body because it serves as apex body to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries.
• Primary function of the Board is to promote the conservation and development of wildlife and forests. It has power to review all wildlife-related matters and approve projects in and around national parks and sanctuaries. No alternation of boundaries in national parks and wildlife sanctuaries can be done without approval of the NBWL.
• The NBWL is chaired by the Prime Minister. It has 47 members including the Prime Minister. Among these, 19 members are ex-officio members. Other members include three Members of Parliament (two from Lok Sabha and one from Rajya Sabha), five NGOs and 10 eminent ecologists, conservationists and environmentalists.