UPSC 2017 IAS Exam: PIB Summary and Analysis July 20

President of India inaugurates the 200th anniversary celebrations of the Paika 
Rebellion of Odisha

• 40 years before the revolt of 1857, which was later termed as 1st War of Indian Independence against British Colonialism, a battle was fought under the leadership of Baxi Jagabandhu of Odisha. Many scholars, researchers and historians have opined that the Paika Rebellion of 1817 was India’s first organized armed rebellion against British Raj.
• It was aimed at upholding the rights of the Odia people and sovereignty of Odisha. Paika Rebellion was not only the rebellion of Paikas, it was a National War waged by ordinary people at the grassroots level who resented the dispossession of their Sovereign of his rights and the consequential repressive measures that followed.

All you need to know about Paika Rebellion of Odisha

• Pre-dating what has been popularly regarded as the fist war of independence in 1857, the Paika Bidroha (Paika Rebellion) of 1817 in Odisha briefly shook the foundations of British rule in the eastern part of India.
• Paikas were essentially the peasant militias of the Gajapati rulers of Odisha who rendered military service to the king during times of war while taking up cultivation during times of peace.
• They unfurled the banner of rebellion against the British under the leadership of Baxi Jagandhu Bidyadhara as early as 1817 to throw off the British yoke.
• Rulers of Khurda were traditionally the custodians of Jagannath Temple and ruled as the deputy of lord Jagannath on earth.
• They symbolised the political and cultural freedom of the people of Odisha.
• The British, having established their sway over Bengal Province and Madras Province to the north and south of Odisha, occupied it in 1803.
• The Gajapati King of Odisha Mukunda Deva-ll was a minor then and initial resistance by Jai Rajguru, the custodian of Mukunda Deva-II, was put down brutally and Jai Rajguru was torn apart alive.
• A few years later, it was the Paikas under Baxi Jagabandhu, the hereditary chief of the militia army of the Gajapati King, who rose in rebellion, taking support of tribals and other sections of society.
• The rebellion started in March 1817 and spread quickly. Though Paikas played a larger role in the rebellion against the British, it was by no means a rebellion by a small group of people belonging to a particular class.
• The tribals of Ghumusar (part of present day Ganjam and Kandhmal Districts) and other sections of the population actively took part in it. In fact, the Paika Bidroha got the opportune moment to spread when 4OOtribals of Ghumsar entered Khurda protesting against the British rule.
• The Paikas attacked British symbols of power, setting ablaze police stations, administrative offices and the treasury during their march towards Khurda, from where the British fled.
• The Paikas were supported by the rajas of Kanika, Kujang, Nayagarh and Ghumusar and zamindars, village heads and ordinary peasants.
• The rebellion quickly spread to Purl, Pipli Cuttack and other parts of the province.
• The British were initially taken aback and then tried to regain lost ground but faced stiff resistance from the rebelling Paikas. Many a battle ensued with some victories to the rebels, but the British finally managed to defeat them within three months.
• Widespread suppression followed with many killed and imprisoned. Many more were tortured. Some rebels fought a guerilla war till 1819 but were captured and killed.
• Baxi Jagabandhu was finally arrested in 1825 and died in captivity in 1829.
• Though the Paika Bidroha enjoys a cult status in Odisha with children growing up with stories of the brave fight against the British, it has unfortunately received less attention at the national level than it should have got.
• While the reasons can be many for such scant attention to such a significant event of the history in India, it is heartening that the Government of India has decided to give the event its due recognition by commemorating its 200 anniversary in a befitting manner.

Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership

• Project for setting up of the Global Centre for Nuclear Energy Partnership (GCNEP) in India was sanctioned during September, 2010 with a proposal for construction in phases.
• The construction activities of Phase-I buildings have been completed and the construction activities for the next phase is being taken up. The facility is operational in the buildings completed in Phase-I. Setting up of the facility is being done indigenously by the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE).

Indian Satellites in Outer Space

• At present, there are 42 Indian satellites operational in orbit.
• Out of these 42 satellites, 15 satellites are used for communication, 4 for meteorological observations, 14 for earth observations, 7 for navigation and 2 for space science purposes. During FY 2016-17, the total revenue accrued from communication satellites through leasing of INSAT/ GSAT transponders is Rs. 746.68 crore.
• With respect to earth observation satellites, the annual income from sale of remote sensing satellite data is Rs. 25.17 crores. The data and value added services derived from earth observation, meteorological, communication & navigation satellites are used to support various applications viz. resource monitoring, weather forecasting, disaster management, location based services, including societal applications.

NDDB “Logo” signifies safe and quality milk and milk Products from dairy co-operative

• NDDB’s Quality Mark will provide dairy cooperatives and producer institutions the much-needed brand identity and competitive edge
• The aim of Quality Mark “Logo” is to bring about process improvement in the entire value chain from producer to the consumer to ensure availability of quality milk and milk products.

Installation of Gagan System in Aircraft

• Government proposes to make it compulsory to install GAGAN navigation system in all aircrafts in the country. In accordance with the provisions of the National Civil Aviation Policy, 2016, it is mandatory for all aircrafts registered in India from 1st January, 2019 to be GPS Augmented Geo Navigation System (GAGAN) enabled.

Visit of the Commerce and Industry Minister to Geneva for discussions on WTO 
related issues

India’s stand on WTO issues

• The MC11 outcomes must include a permanent solution on public stockholding for food security purposes (PSH) on which there is a Ministerial mandate.
• Any attempts at seeking outcomes on new issues such as e-commerce and investment facilitation should not be at the cost of other long pending issues on the agenda of the Doha Round.
• As one of the founding members of the WTO, India has a long history as a staunch supporter of multilateralism.

FM: Entry into force of the WTO-Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on 22nd 
February, 2017 is a major milestone for the global trading system; Releases National 
Trade Facilitation Action Plan today

• The Union Minister of Finance, Defence and Corporate Affairs, Shri Arun Jaitley said that the entry into force of the WTO-Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) on 22nd February, 2017 is a major milestone for the global trading system.
• The Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley was speaking after releasing the National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP) here today in the national capital.

Trade Facilitation Agreement

• The Trade Facilitation Agreement contains provisions for expediting the movement, release and clearance of goods, including goods in transit.
• It also sets out measures for effective cooperation between customs and other appropriate authorities on trade facilitation and customs compliance issues.
• These objectives are in consonance with India’s “Ease of Doing Business” initiative.

National Trade Facilitation Action Plan (NTFAP)

• With the release of this Action Plan today,India is looking forward to ensuring compliance with the TFA and also, impetus to trade facilitation.
• This Action Plan gives a time bound map, not only for implementing TFA, but also for India’s initiatives for trade facilitation and Ease of Doing Business which goes beyond TFA.
• The National Action Plan aims to transform cross border clearance ecosystem through efficient, transparent, risk based, co-ordinated, digital, seamless and technology driven procedures which are supported by state-of-the-art sea ports, airports and land borders.
• The Action Plan lists out specific activities which would be carried out by all regulatory agencies like Customs, FSSAI, Drug Controller, Plant Quarantine, DGFT etc in time bound manner. The Co-ordination among all the stakeholders is the key to achieve the objective of Trade facilitation.
• The Action Plan not only covers the activities coming under the TFA but they go beyond the ambit of TFA per se, which have been defined as TFA Plus category.
• The Action Plan covers many activities in the areas of infrastructure augmentation, particularly the road and rail infrastructures leading to ports and the infrastructure within ports, airports, ICDs, Land Customs stations that cuts across all stakeholders for which various ministries like Shipping, Civil Aviation, Railways, Road transport and Highways, Home Affairs, Finance, Commerce etc have been assigned specified targets.
• All actions covered under the plan have been categorized by prioritizing the activities into short term, midterm and long term. The National Plan would be monitored by the Steering Committee (the operational arm of the NCTF) chaired by the Revenue Secretary and the Commerce Secretary. The plan would be reviewed by the Cabinet Secretary.

Objectives of NTFAP

• The objectives to be achieved by National Action Plan are improvement in ease of doing business by reduction in cargo release time and cost, move towards paperless regulatory environment, transparent and predictable legal regime and improved investment climate through better infrastructure.