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UNESCO Lists 50 Iconic Textile Crafts

Why in News?

Recently, UNESCO released a list of 50 exclusive and iconic heritage textile crafts of the country.

• One of the major challenges to the safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage in South Asia is lack of proper inventory and documentation.

What are Some of the Important Textiles Crafts Listed?

• Toda embroidery and Sungudi from Tamil Nadu
• Himroo weaves from Hyderabad
• Bandha tie and dye weaving from Sambalpur in Odisha
• Kunbi weaves from Goa
• Mashru weaves and Patola from Gujarat
• Himroo from Maharashtra
• Garad-Korial from West Bengal
• Ilkal and Lambadi or Banjara embroidery from Karnataka
• Sikalnayakanpet Kalamkari from Tamil Nadu
• Khes from Haryana
• Chamba rumals from Himachal Pradesh
• Thigma or wool tie and dye from Ladakh
• Awadh Jamdani from Varanasi

What is the Status of the Textile Sector of India?

• About:
  • Textiles & garments industry is labour intensive sector that employs 45 millions people in India is second only to the agriculture sector in terms of employment.
  • India’s textiles sector is one of the oldest industries in the Indian economy, and is a storehouse and carrier of traditional skills, heritage and culture.
  • It can be divided into two segments:
    • The unorganised sector is small scale and uses traditional tools and methods. It consists of handloom, handicrafts and sericulture (Production of silk).
    • The organised sector uses modern machinery and techniques and consists of the spinning, apparel and garments segment.
• Significance of the Textiles Sector:
  • It contributes 2.3% to Indian Gross Domestic Product, 7% of Industrial Output, 12% to the export earnings of India and employs more than 21% of total employment.
  • India is the 6^th largest producer of Technical Textiles with 6% Global Share, largest producer of cotton & jute in the world.
    • Technical textiles are functional fabrics that have applications across various industries including automobiles, civil engineering and construction, agriculture, healthcare, industrial safety, personal protection etc.
  • India is also the second largest producer of silk in the world and 95% of the world’s hand-woven fabric comes from India.

What are the Initiatives related to the Textile Sector?

• Amended Technology Upgradation Fund Scheme (ATUFS): In 2015, the government approved the scheme for technology upgradation of the textiles industry.
• Scheme for Integrated Textile Parks (SITP): To assist small and medium entrepreneurs in the textile industry to clusterize investments in textile parks by providing financial support for world class infrastructure in the parks.
• Power-Tex India: It comprises new research and development in power loom textiles, new markets, branding, subsidies and welfare schemes for the workers.
• Silk Samagra Scheme: It focuses on improving the quality and productivity of domestic silk thereby reducing the country’s dependence on imported silk.
• Jute ICARE: This pilot project launched in 2015 is aimed at addressing the difficulties faced by the jute cultivators by providing them certified seeds at subsidized rates, and by popularizing several newly developed retting technologies under water limiting conditions.
• National Technical Textile Mission: It aims to position the country as a global leader in technical textiles and increase the use of technical textiles in the domestic market. It aims to take the domestic market size to USD 40 billion to USD 50 billion by 2024.

Way Forward

• For centuries, Indian textile crafts have dazzled the world with their beauty.
• Despite the pressures of industrial mass production and competition from new countries, it is essential that these iconic heritage crafts are taken stock of and promoted as contemporary treasures.
• The Textile sector has great potential, and it should be realised by using innovations, latest technology and facilitations.

Source: TH

Global Innovation Index 2022

Why in News?

Recently, India was ranked 40^th position out of 132 in the Global Innovation Index (GII) 2022 rankings released by World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO).

• India was ranked 46^th position in 2021, and 81st rank in 2015.

What are the Highlights of the Report?

• Ranking of the Countries:
  • Most Innovative Economy:
    • Switzerland is the most innovative economy in the world in 2022 - for the 12^th year in a row - followed by the United States, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
    • China is nearing the top 10 while Türkiye and India enter the top 40 for the first time.
  • Performance of India:
    • India is the innovation leader in the lower middle-income group.
    • It continues to lead the world in ICT services exports and holds top rankings in other indicators, including venture capital receipt value, finance for startups and scaleups, graduates in science and engineering, labor productivity growth and domestic industry diversification.
• Increase in R & D Expenditure:
  • The top global corporate R&D spenders increased their R&D expenditure by almost 10% to over USD 900 billion in 2021, higher than in 2019 before the pandemic.
• Venture Capital (VC) Growth:
  • It exploded by 46%in 2021, recording levels comparable to the internet boom years of the late 1990s. Latin America and the Caribbean and Africa regions are witnessing the strongest VC growth.

What is the Global Innovation Index?

• About:
  • The Global Innovation Index, which is published annually, has been a leading reference for measuring an economy’s innovation performance.
  • A large number of countries use the GII to assess and improve their innovation ecosystems and use the GII as a reference in economic plans and/or policies.
  • The GII has also been recognized by the UN Economic and Social Council in its 2019 resolution on Science, Technology and Innovation for Development as an authoritative benchmark for measuring innovation in relation to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• Indicators of the index:
  • Parameters for computing the index include 'institutions', 'human capital and research', 'infrastructure', 'market sophistication', 'business sophistication', 'knowledge and technology outputs' and 'create outputs'.
• Theme for 2022: “What is the future of innovation-driven growth?”.
• Effects of Two Novel Innovation Waves: The GII 2022 also outlines the positive effects of two novel innovation waves, although it emphasizes that such effects would take some time to be realized:
  • A digital age innovation wave built on supercomputing, artificial intelligence, and automation. Effect: making ample productivity impacts across all sectors and fields of scientific research.
  • A Deep Science innovation wave built on breakthroughs in biotechnologies, nanotechnologies, new materials, and other sciences. Effect: revolutionizing innovations in health, food, environment, and mobility (four fields of key importance to society).

What are the Related Initiatives by India?

• Digital India:
  • India embarked on the ‘Digital India’ journey in 2015 and have set up a goal of a trillion-dollar digital economy in the next few years.
  • Digital technologies are used in several areas, including mapping capital assets using GIS technology and revolutionizing payments through Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
  • In fact, 40% of global real-time digital transactions happened in India in 2021.
• National Education Policy 2020:
  • To further strengthen innovation, the National Education Policy was introduced which promoted the spirit of enquiry by setting up incubation & technology development centers.
• Atal Tinkering Labs:
  • Over 9000 Atal Tinkering Labs encourage youth to develop solutions to society's problems.
• Structural Reforms in IPR:
  • India has taken up structural reforms to strengthen its Intellectual property rights (IPR) regime including modernization of IP offices, reducing legal compliances and facilitating IP filing for start-ups, women entrepreneurs, the small industries and others.
  • Domestic filing of Patents registered a 46% growth in the last 5 years.

Source: PIB

Global Methane Pledge: GMCCA Forum

Why in News?

Global Methane, Climate and Clean Air (GMCCA) Forum 2022 is being held in Washington, DC, USA to discuss opportunities to protect the climate and improve air quality with a special focus on methane by adhering to the Global Methane Pledge.

What is the Agenda of the Forum?

• The Forum is a joint event sponsored by the Global Methane Initiative (GMI) and the UNEP-convened Climate and Clean Air Coalition (CCAC).
  • GMI is an international public-private partnership focused on reducing barriers to the recovery and use of methane as a clean energy source. It provides technical support to deploy methane-to-energy projects around the world that enable Partner Countries to launch methane recovery and use projects.
  • India is a partner country of GMI.
• High-level plenary sessions will be held on global efforts to reduce methane and other short-lived climate pollutants.
• The forum will outline policy, political and scientific arguments for global ambition on methane action. They also aim to define a path forward.

What is the Global Methane Pledge?

• About:
  • The Global Methane Pledge was launched at COP (Conference of Parties) 26 in November 2021 to catalyse action to reduce methane emissions.
  • It was led by the United States and the European Union.
  • It has 111 country participants who together are responsible for 45% of global human-caused methane emissions.
    • India, which is not a part of the Global Methane Pledge, is among the top five methane emitters globally. Most emissions can be traced back to agriculture.
  • By joining the Pledge, countries commit to work together in order to collectively reduce methane emissions by at least 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.
• Concern:
  • Methane has contributed to about one-third of the current anthropogenic greenhouse gas-driven warming.
  • Methane enters the atmosphere due to leaks in oil and gas industries, rearing livestock and the decomposition of waste in landfills.
  • Currently, only 2 % of global climate finance goes to methane.
  • If the Global Methane Pledge is not adhered to, Methane emissions will likely increase by 13 % by 2030.
• Top twelve emitters of methane with breakdown by sector, 2021:

Way Forward

• Mitigating methane and other short-lived climate pollutants is essential to achieving decarbonisation goals.
• Developing national action plans or strategies that identify specific actions to encourage emissions reduction, define timelines and assess needed resources;
• Proposing new policies or regulations aimed at methane emissions, including measures like leak detection and repair programmes, technology and equipment standards, limits on flaring and venting, and measurement and reporting requirements;
• Adopting national reduction targets, whether economy-wide or sectoral, to establish a political commitment, signal expectations and enable better planning.
• Participating in a super-emitter rapid response system based on satellite detections, which would establish communication channels to ensure large emissions events are addressed in a timely manner.
• Directing funding towards research and development on abatement and measurement technologies and support for verifiable mitigation projects through grants, targeted finance or other incentives.

Source: DTE

Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)

Why in News?

Recently, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has extended the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA) in parts of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland for another six months.

What are the Armed Forces (Special Powers) Act (AFSPA)?

• Background:
  • A reincarnation of the British-era legislation that was enacted to quell the protests during the Quit India movement, the AFSPA was issued by way of four ordinances in 1947.
  • The ordinances were replaced by an Act in 1948 and the present law effective in the Northeast was introduced in Parliament in 1958 by the then Home Minister, G.B. Pant.
  • It was known initially as the Armed Forces (Assam and Manipur) Special Powers Act, 1958.
  • After the States of Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland came into being, the Act was adapted to apply to these States as well.
• About:
  • The AFSPA gives unfettered powers to the armed forces and the Central armed police forces deployed in “disturbed areas” to kill anyone acting in contravention of law and arrest and search any premises without a warrant and with protection from prosecution and legal suits.
  • The law first came into effect in 1958 to deal with the uprising in the Naga
  • The Act was amended in 1972 and the powers to declare an area as “disturbed” were conferred concurrently upon the Central government along with the States.
  • Tripura revoked the Act in 2015 and Meghalaya was under AFSPA for 27 years, until it was revoked by the MHA from 1st April 2018.
  • Currently AFSFA is in some parts of Assam, Nagaland, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh.

What is the Controversy Around the Act?

• Human Rights Violations:
  • The law empowers security personnel, down to non-commissioned officers, to use force and shoot “even to the causing of death” if they are convinced that it is necessary to do so for the “maintenance of public order”.
  • It also grants soldiers executive powers to enter premises, search, and arrest without a warrant.
  • The exercise of these extraordinary powers by armed forces has often led to allegations of fake encounters and other human rights violations by security forces in disturbed areas while questioning the indefinite imposition of AFSPA in certain states, such as Nagaland and J&K.
• Recommendations of Jeevan Reddy Committee:
  • In November 2004, the Central government appointed a five-member committee headed by Justice B P Jeevan Reddy to review the provisions of the act in the northeastern states.
  • The committee recommended that:
    • AFSPA should be repealed and appropriate provisions should be inserted in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
    • The Unlawful Activities Act should be modified to clearly specify the powers of the armed forces and paramilitary forces and Grievance cells should be set up in each district where the armed forces are deployed.
• Second ARC Recommendation: The 5^th report of the Second Administrative Reforms Commission (ARC) on public order has also recommended the repeal of the AFSPA. However, these recommendations have not been implemented.

What are the Supreme Court Views on the Act?

• The Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of AFSPA in a 1998 judgment (Naga People's Movement of Human Rights v. Union of India).
• In this judgment, the Supreme Court held that
  • a suo-motu declaration can be made by the Central government, however, it is desirable that the state government should be consulted by the central government before making the declaration;
  • the declaration has to be for a limited duration and there should be a periodic review of the declaration 6 months have expired;
  • while exercising the powers conferred upon him by AFSPA, the authorized officer should use minimal force necessary for effective action.

Way Forward

• The status quo of the act is no longer the acceptable solution due to numerous human rights violation incidents that have occurred over the years. The AFSPA has become a symbol of oppression in the areas it has been enacted. Hence the government needs to address the affected people and reassure them of favourable action.
• The government should consider the imposition and lifting of AFSPA on a case-by-case basis and limit its application only to a few disturbing districts instead of applying it for the whole state.
• The government and the security forces should also abide by the guidelines set out by the Supreme Court, Jeevan Reddy Commission, and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

Source: TH

New Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)

Why in News?

Recently, the central government appointed the former head of eastern command Lt General Anil Chauhan (retired) as the new Chief of Defence Staff (CDS).

What is Chief of Defence Staff (CDS)?

• Background: Its creation was recommended in 2001 by a Group of Ministers (GoM) that was tasked with studying the Kargil Review Committee (1999) report.
  • After the GoM recommendations, in preparation for the post of CDS, the government created the Integrated Defence Staff in 2002, which was to eventually serve as the CDS’s Secretariat.
  • In 2012, the Naresh Chandra Committee recommended the appointment of a Permanent Chairman of the Chiefs of Staff Committee as a midway to eliminate apprehensions over the CDS.
  • Finally, the post of CDS was created in 2019 on the recommendations of a committee of defence experts headed by Lt General DB Shekatkar.
    • General Bipin Rawat was the first CDS in the country and was appointed on December 31, 2019.

• Roles and Responsibilities: His core function will be to foster greater operational synergy between the three service branches of the Indian military and keep inter-service frictions to a minimum.
  • He also heads the newly created Department of Military Affairs (DMA) in the Ministry of Defence.
  • The CDS will be the single-point military adviser to the Defence Minister on matters involving all three services and the service chiefs will be obliged to confine their counsel to issues pertaining to their respective services.
  • As the head of DMA, CDS is vested with the authority in prioritising inter-service procurement decisions as Permanent Chairman-Chiefs of Staff Committee.
  • The CDS is also vested with the authority to provide directives to the three chiefs. However, he does not enjoy any command authority over any of the forces.
  • CDS is first among equals, he enjoys the rank of Secretary within the DoD (Department of Defence) and his powers will be confined to only the revenue budget.
  • He will also perform an advisory role in the Nuclear Command Authority (NCA).
• Significance:
  • Synergy between Armed forces and Government: CDS’ role is not simply about tri-service (Army, Navy and Indian Air Force) cooperation, it is equally about fostering better cooperation between the Ministry of Defense bureaucracy and the Armed services.
    • Since 1947, there have been three Service Headquarters (SHQ) designated as “Attached Offices” of the Department of Defense (DoD). Due to this, communication between SHQ and DoD takes place largely through the medium of files.
    • With the creation of CDS as Principal Military Adviser (PMA) to Defense Minister, the process of decision-making will be accelerated.
  • Jointness in operations: The Chiefs of Staff Committee-COSC (predecessor of CDS), has been dysfunctional because its chairmanship is held by one of the three chiefs on a part-time rotational basis.
    • Historically, the chairman COSC lacked the authority as well as capacity and inclination to tackle tri-service issues of substance.
    • With the CDS now being designated as “permanent chairman of COSC”, he will be able to devote undivided attention to the administration of tri-service organisations.
  • Operationalisation of Theatre Command: Creation of DMA will facilitate the operationalisation of joint/theatre command.
    • Although a successful template for joint operations was created in the Andaman & Nicobar Command, the lack of political direction and indifference of the COSC has led to inactivity of this joint command.
    • Theatre commands would need staff with the knowledge and experience to deploy land, maritime and air forces. Given the disruptive impact of each of these measures, they would best be implemented by the CDS.
  • CDS as a key functionary in the nuclear command chain will also administer the Strategic Forces Command.
    • This measure will go a long way in enhancing the credibility of India's nuclear deterrent.
    • The CDS would also initiate an early review of India's Nuclear Doctrine.
  • In the approaching era of dwindling defence budgets, a crucial function of CDS will be “prioritising” the capital acquisition proposals of individual services.

 Infographic 

Source: IE

Maheshwar Dam: Narmada River

Why in News?

The Madhya Pradesh government has canceled all contracts with Maheshwar Hydroelectric Project almost three decades after it agreed to purchase power from it.

• It has been canceled due to its poor financial track record, several irregularities and graft allegations and caused the submergence of 61 villages.
• The Maheshwar dam is one of the large dams of the Narmada Valley Development Project, which envisages the construction of 30 large and 135 smaller dams in the Narmada valley.

What are the Key Points of Narmada River?

• About:
  • Narmada is the largest west flowing river of the peninsular region flowing through a rift valley between the Vindhya Range on the north and the Satpura Range on the south.
    • Narmada is flowing through the area where the land is not sloping towards the west from central India, but it is flowing west because of the rift valleys only.
  • It rises from Maikala range near Amarkantak in Madhya Pradesh.
  • It drains a large area in Madhya Pradesh besides some areas in the states of Maharashtra and Gujarat.
  • The river near Jabalpur (Madhya Pradesh) forms the DhuanDhar Falls.
  • There are several islands in the estuary of Narmada of which Aliabet is the largest.
• Major Tributaries: Hiran, Orsang, the Barna and the Kolar.
• Hydro Power Projects: Indira Sagar, Sardar Sarova, Maheshwar etc.
• Narmada Bachao Andolan (NBA):
  • It is an Indian social movement spearheaded by native tribes (adivasis), farmers, environmentalists and human rights activists against a number of large dam projects across the Narmada River.
  • Sardar Sarovar Dam in Gujarat is one of the biggest dams on the river and was one of the first focal points of the movement.

Source: DTE

36th National Games

Why in News?

Recently, the 36^th National Games was inaugurated by the Prime Minister in Gujarat.

What are the National Games?

• Background: The Olympic movement, which garnered the attention of the nation in the 1920s, includes the National Games. The National Games in India were first envisioned as the Indian Olympic Games with the goal of promoting Olympic sports in the nation.
  • The first edition of the Indian Olympic Games at Lahore in an undivided Punjab in 1924.
  • The Indian Olympic Games were named as National Games beginning in 1940. This competition sets athletes from several Indian states with one another in a variety of sporting disciplines.
• Objectives:
  • They are held for the benefit of Indian athletes, sports organisations etc.
  • They help in raise awareness among states/UT's about the necessity of developing internationally grade sports infrastructure.
  • It attempts to attract a wide number of youths to participate in sports activities.
  • It aims to inculcate sports culture in individuals from all walks of life and educate them on the value of sports in building a healthy society.
• Jurisdiction: The duration and the regulations of the National Games are entirely within the jurisdiction of the Indian Olympic Association.

What are the key Highlights of 36^th National Games?

• Event: The National Games, being held after seven years, will witness India’s best athletes compete in 36 disciplines in six cities of Gujarat.
• Mascot: The Official mascot for the 36th National Games is “SAVAJ”, it portrays a sportsman’s most prominent personality traits of self-confidence, vigour, a strong sense of motivation, an inner desire to succeed, a strong sense of focus, a natural leader, and a goal setter
  • Savaj- taranhar(તારણહાર) in gujarati means “Savior” in English. Savaj is the representation of The Asiatic Lion, which today survives only in wild India.

Source: IE