28 Sep 2022: PIB Summary for UPSC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. MoU between India and Bangladesh, on River Kushiyara
2. Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve
3. FTM (Fast Track Mechanism) between India and The Netherlands
4. Shaheed Bhagat Singh

1. MoU between India and Bangladesh, on River Kushiyara

Syllabus – GS 2, Bilateral & regional agreements involving India and/or affecting  India’s interests.

Prelims – Water Sharing of Kushiyara River along the India-Bangladesh border. 

Context – Cabinet approved the MoU between India and Bangladesh on sharing of water from the common river Kushiyara.

Details –

• The MoU was finalised during the 38th meeting of the ministerial level Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) of India and Bangladesh. 
• The MoU was signed in September 2022, between the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Govt of the Republic of India and the Ministry of Water Resources, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh on withdrawal of up to 153 cusecs of water each by India and Bangladesh from common border river Kushiyara.
• The MoU will allow the Government of Assam to withdraw 153 cusecs of water from the common stretch of Kushiyara river during the dry season (1 November to 31 May) for their water consumption requirement.

About Joint Rivers Commission –

• The Joint Rivers Commission (JRC) of India and Bangladesh was constituted in 1972 as a bilateral mechanism to address issues of mutual interests on common rivers. It is headed by the Water Resource Ministries of India and Bangladesh.
• India and Bangladesh share 54 rivers of which seven have been identified earlier for developing the framework of water sharing agreement on priority. It was also agreed upon to widen the area of ongoing cooperation by including more rivers for data exchange.
• One of the important areas of cooperation, where India has been assisting Bangladesh is sharing of real-time flood data (to help address unforeseen flood events).

About Kushiyara River –

• It is a distributary river in Bangladesh and Assam. It runs along the India-Bangladesh border as a branch of the Barak river. The Barak river is divided into two branches (distributaries) – Kushiyara and Surma. 

Read more on India – Bangladesh relations here.

2. Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve

Syllabus – GS 1, Indian Culture – Salient aspects of art forms and architecture from ancient to modern times.

Prelims – Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve, Madhya Pradesh

Context – Archaeological remains found in Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve.

Details –

• The exploration conducted by the ASI (Archaeological Survey of India), has unravelled remarkable remains in the reserve. These include-

1. 26 mostly Buddhist caves dating back to the 2nd and 5th centuries. This discovery brings the total number of caves found in Bandhavgarh Forest Reserve to 76 (50 are already in records).
2. 24 inscriptions in Brahmi text dating back to 2nd to 5th centuries. The inscriptions mention sites such as Mathura and Kaushambi, and Pavata, Vejabharada and Sapatanaairikaa. The kings they mention include Bhimsena, Pothasiri and Bhattadeva.
3. 46 new sculptures (Ten sculptures had already been found and reported in the previous ASI survey of 1938). Among the 46 sculptures, there is also a Varah sculpture which is one of the largest.
4. 26 remains of ancient temples  of Kalachuri period (9th – 11th centuries).
5. Also, 2 monasteries, 2 stupas, 20 scattered remains and 19 water structures have been recorded.

About ASI –

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), under the Ministry of Culture, was established in the year 1861. It is the premier organisation for the archaeological research and protection of the cultural heritage of the nation. 

Read more about Bandhavgarh National Park, Madhya Pradesh in the linked article.

3. FTM (Fast Track Mechanism) between India and The Netherlands

Syllabus – GS 2, Bilateral agreements involving India and/or affecting India’s interests.

Prelims – Invest India & FTM between India and The Netherlands.

Context – Bilateral FTM between India and The Netherlands.

Details –

• The joint statement was signed to formalise the bilateral FTM between India’s Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) and the Netherlands.
• The executing body of the bilateral FTM is Invest India – The national investment promotion and facilitating agency. Invest India was awarded the Investment Promotion Award, 2020 by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development for good practices during the pandemic.
• It will serve as a platform for faster resolution of investment cases of Dutch companies operating in India. This FTM will increase mutual investment activities, support and develop business cooperation between companies in both countries. 
• Diplomatic ties between India and the Netherlands were formally established in 1947. Since then, the two countries have developed strong political, economic and commercial relations.
• The Netherlands is the fourth largest Foreign Direct Investor in India.

4. Shaheed Bhagat Singh

Syllabus – GS 1, Modern Indian History from about the middle of the eighteenth century until the present- significant personalities.

Prelims – Indian Freedom Fighter – Bhagat Singh.

Details –

• The Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi paid rich tributes to Shaheed Bhagat Singh on his birth anniversary. 
• Bhagat Singh was born into a Sikh family on 28th September 1907 in Lyallpur District, present-day Pakistan.

Read about Shaheed Bhagat Singh and his contribution to the Indian freedom struggle in the link – Bhagat Singh.

Read previous PIB here.

September 28th, 2022, PIB:- Download PDF Here