09 Mar 2023: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Ind-Aus ECTA
2. Exclusive Women’s Portal - Research Grants and Funds
3. Sagarmala Program
4. G20: Y20 Meeting
5. National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR)

1. Ind-Aus ECTA

Syllabus – GS2, International Relations – Bilateral agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Prelims – India-Australia Economic Cooperation & Trade Agreement (Ind-Aus ECTA)

Context – India-Australia CEO Forum held in Mumbai.

Details –

• Addressing the India-Australia CEO Forum in Mumbai, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of Australia, Mr Anthony Albanese said that Ind-Aus ECTA is a transformative agreement which will unlock the next level of potential in trade and investment. Shri Piyush Goyal, Union Minister of Commerce and Industry also participated in the forum and said that the current goal of doubling the trade between the two countries should be reset as there is great potential to increase the bilateral trade manifold. 
• The forum was organised by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade), and the Ministry of Commerce & Industry in collaboration with CII (Confederation of Indian Industry) in order to leverage the ever-growing trade between the two countries.
• It was pointed out that USD 2.5 Billion worth of trade benefited from the lower tariffs arising from the ECTA agreement in Jan 2023 alone and that this growth will continue to further rise. 
• A four-year extension MoU was signed between CII and the Business Council of Australia which will go a long way in furthering the relationship between the two countries.
• CEOs of leading companies from Australia and India from across sectors like mining, telecom, education, healthcare, aviation, IT, pharmaceuticals, etc. participated in the forum. Discussions were held on how to increase economic trade and investment relations between the two countries across sectors.
• In the fiscal year 2022, India was Australia’s 9th largest trading partner. Major exports to Australia include textiles and apparel, petroleum products, leather, pearls, iron, steel, gem, jewellery, etc. and imports include dyeing extracts, edibles, chemicals, wool, minerals and precious stones.

Also read – India Australia Relations

2. Exclusive Women’s Portal – Research Grants and Funds

Syllabus – GS3, Inclusive Growth – Women Empowerment 

Prelims – CSIR – Women’s Portal for research grants 

Context – On International Women’s Day, GoI announced an exclusive women’s portal for research grants and funds.

Details –

• The Union Minister of State for Science and Technology, the Minister for Earth Sciences, and the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances, Pensions, Atomic Energy, and Space, Dr. Jitendra Singh announced the launch of a special women’s portal for grants and funding for research. The portal will be operational from April 1, 2023. The Minister was speaking at the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research’s [CSIR] International Women’s Day celebration.
• CSIR has started exclusive research grants for women scientists under CSIR-ASPIRE and an exclusive portal in this regard will be available from April 1, 2023.
• In December 2022, under the chairmanship of Dr Jitendra Singh, the Governing Body of CSIR accepted the proposal to invite research funding proposals from women scientists under the Extramural Research Program. 
• The total budget of a research proposal including the research fellow’s stipend should not generally exceed the limit of 25 – 30 lakhs.

3. Sagarmala Program

Syllabus – GS3, Growth & Development.

Prelims – Sagarmala Program.

Context – Under the ambit of Sagarmala, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has granted in-principle approval to additional projects in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

Details –

• Under the Sagarmala Programme, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways has undertaken a number of reforms and initiatives in the maritime sector to strengthen the country’s socio-economic and regulatory environment.
• One of the initiatives is the concept of floating jetties ecosystem which offers a number of advantages over the traditional fixed jetties, have a longer shelf life, are environment friendly and modular.
• Under the Sagarmala project, the ministry has provided in-principle approval to 4 additional projects, taking the number of floating jetty projects in Karnataka to 11. These projects are primarily located on the Gurupura river and Netravati river and shall be used for tourism purposes.

Image Source – PIB

• The  Ministry has also provided in-principle approval to 4 floating jetty projects in Tamil Nadu. The projects at Agni Theertham and Villoondi Theertham are located in Rameshwaram, a renowned spiritual place in India. The other projects are located at Cuddalore and Kanyakumari and cater to tourists. 

Also read – Sagarmala Project

4. G20: Y20 Meeting

Syllabus – GS2, Important International institutions.

Prelims – India’s G20 presidency, Fourth Y20 Consultation Meeting.

Context – The fourth Y20 (Youth 20) consultation meeting will be held in Pune on March 11, 2023.

Details –

• Y20 is an official consultation forum for youth from all G20 member countries to be able to dialogue with each other. 
• The theme for the fourth Y20 consultation meeting is “Peace Building and Reconciliation: Ushering in an era of no war – the philosophy of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam”.
• The six sub-themes include – 
  • Vikas politics in India as an enabler in conflict resolution.
  • Climate action.
  • Gender-related conflicts and reforms.
  • Education.
  • Legal reforms needed for social change.
  • Future of work.
• Y20 encourages youth as future leaders to raise awareness of global issues, exchange ideas, argue, negotiate and reach a consensus.
• The Y20 Summit is a unique opportunity to allow the youth to provide constructive policy inputs and to utilise the platform to voice their opinions to the world audience. The Youth 20 India Summit brings together the trustees of future generations from across the G20 countries to deliberate, discuss and deduce innovative, sustainable and actionable solutions, especially in the realm of social development. 

5. National Platform for Disaster Risk Reduction (NPDRR)

Syllabus – GS3, Disaster and Disaster Management.

Prelims – NPDRR

Context – Shri Narendra Modi will inaugurate the third session of NPDRR on March 10, 2023, in New Delhi.

Details –

• NPDRR is a multi-stakeholder platform constituted by the GoI to facilitate dialogue, sharing experiences, views, ideas, action-oriented research & explore opportunities in the area of Disaster Risk Reduction.
• The main theme of the third session of NPDRR is “Building local resilience in a changing climate”.
• During the event, the Prime Minister will facilitate the awardees of the Subhash Chandra Bose Aapda Prabandhan Puraskar. The winners of the 2023 awards are Odisha State Disaster Management Authority (OSDMA) and the Lunglei Fire Station, Mizoram.

Also read – National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA)

Read the previous PIB articles here.

March 9th, 2023, PIB:- Download PDF Here