Today's Headlines - 26 July 2023
Parliamentary panel's nod for inter-services organisations bill
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
As India gets set to create unified theatre commands for integrated war-fighting machinery in a cost-effective manner, a parliamentary panel has approved the proposed law to empower military commanders of all tri-service organisations with full administrative and disciplinary powers. Agreeing with the provisions of The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on 15 March, the parliamentary standing committee on defence recommended the bill be passed “without any amendments” and enacted as a statute.
More about the Bill
The enactment of the bill will herald greater integration and jointmanship in inter-services organisations (ISOs) and establishments, the committee said.
India was once again resolutely working towards the creation of integrated theatre commands (ITCs) – which stalled after the first chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat’s death in a helicopter crash in December 2021 -- after achieving a “consensus” among the Army, Navy and IAF.
This most radical military reorganization since Independence will see two “adversary-specific” ITCs -- one for the northern borders with China at Lucknow and the other for the western front with Pakistan at Jaipur.
Then there will be the Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) at Karwar in coastal Karnataka for the Indian Ocean Region as well as the larger Indo-Pacific.
Why this legislation?
The proposed legislation will ensure the requisite command and control of the existing ISOs such as the regional Andaman Nicobar Command and the functional Strategic Forces Command as well as the impending ITCs.
The new law will “empower” the government to constitute ISOs as well the commander-in-chief of an ISO to maintain discipline and ensure proper discharge of duties of all the personnel from the Army, Navy and IAF serving under his command.
At present, military personnel are governed by different acts and rules of their own respective services. These are the Army Act, 1950, the Air Force Act, 1950, and the Navy Act, 1957.
Consequently, personnel serving in ISOs currently have to be sent back to their parent service for disciplinary or administrative action.
Once the theatre commands are in place, they will take over the “operational role” of the single-service commands under them.
Flashback
At present, India has as many as 17 single-service commands (Army 7, IAF 7 and Navy 3), which have very little synergy in planning, logistics and operations.
China, in contrast, re-organised its 2.3-million People’s Liberation Army into five theatre commands in early-2016 to boost offensive capabilities and establish better command-and-control structures.
Its Western Theatre Command, for instance, handles the entire 3,488-km Line of Actual Control from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. India, in contrast, has four Army and three IAF commands for the northern borders with China.
#upsc #news #parliamentary #panel #todayheadline #interservices #organisations #polity #bill #MTC #legislation #indian #ocean #region #indopacific #andaman #nicobar #command #strategic #empower #airforce #army #act1950
Parliamentary panel's nod for inter-services organisations bill
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
As India gets set to create unified theatre commands for integrated war-fighting machinery in a cost-effective manner, a parliamentary panel has approved the proposed law to empower military commanders of all tri-service organisations with full administrative and disciplinary powers. Agreeing with the provisions of The Inter-Services Organisations (Command, Control & Discipline) Bill, 2023, which was introduced in Lok Sabha on 15 March, the parliamentary standing committee on defence recommended the bill be passed “without any amendments” and enacted as a statute.
More about the Bill
The enactment of the bill will herald greater integration and jointmanship in inter-services organisations (ISOs) and establishments, the committee said.
India was once again resolutely working towards the creation of integrated theatre commands (ITCs) – which stalled after the first chief of defence staff Gen Bipin Rawat’s death in a helicopter crash in December 2021 -- after achieving a “consensus” among the Army, Navy and IAF.
This most radical military reorganization since Independence will see two “adversary-specific” ITCs -- one for the northern borders with China at Lucknow and the other for the western front with Pakistan at Jaipur.
Then there will be the Maritime Theatre Command (MTC) at Karwar in coastal Karnataka for the Indian Ocean Region as well as the larger Indo-Pacific.
Why this legislation?
The proposed legislation will ensure the requisite command and control of the existing ISOs such as the regional Andaman Nicobar Command and the functional Strategic Forces Command as well as the impending ITCs.
The new law will “empower” the government to constitute ISOs as well the commander-in-chief of an ISO to maintain discipline and ensure proper discharge of duties of all the personnel from the Army, Navy and IAF serving under his command.
At present, military personnel are governed by different acts and rules of their own respective services. These are the Army Act, 1950, the Air Force Act, 1950, and the Navy Act, 1957.
Consequently, personnel serving in ISOs currently have to be sent back to their parent service for disciplinary or administrative action.
Once the theatre commands are in place, they will take over the “operational role” of the single-service commands under them.
Flashback
At present, India has as many as 17 single-service commands (Army 7, IAF 7 and Navy 3), which have very little synergy in planning, logistics and operations.
China, in contrast, re-organised its 2.3-million People’s Liberation Army into five theatre commands in early-2016 to boost offensive capabilities and establish better command-and-control structures.
Its Western Theatre Command, for instance, handles the entire 3,488-km Line of Actual Control from eastern Ladakh to Arunachal Pradesh. India, in contrast, has four Army and three IAF commands for the northern borders with China.
#upsc #news #parliamentary #panel #todayheadline #interservices #organisations #polity #bill #MTC #legislation #indian #ocean #region #indopacific #andaman #nicobar #command #strategic #empower #airforce #army #act1950
Today's Headlines - 07 August 2023
Offshore mining and mineral auctions
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
In a significant step toward exploiting India's offshore resources, the Council of States passed the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill (OAMDR), 2023. The Bill represents a transformative change for the offshore mining sector, which has remained largely inactive since the enactment of the OAMDR Act in 2002.
More about the Bill
It aims to increase transparency in the allocation of minerals found in the country's offshore basins, permitting the granting of production leases exclusively through auctions and reserving some allocations for government entities and public sector units (PSUs).
The passage of the Bill marks a historic milestone, unlocking India's vast mineral-rich offshore areas.
This move promises strategic benefits, strengthening the nation's territorial waters, which have been frequently threatened by neighboring countries.
The extraction of minerals from these areas is expected to bolster India's strategic position further.
Auctions as primary means
The Bill stipulates a fixed 50-year production lease for offshore minerals. Under this new legislation, the government plans to introduce auctions as the primary means to award production leases for offshore minerals.
The amendment enables the granting of production leases to the private sector solely through competitive bidding auctions.
Under the composite licensing system, explorers will also have the right to develop and mine minerals under a single license.
The Bill introduces a four-year timeline for the start of production and dispatch following the execution of a composite license or production lease.
It also establishes a two-year timeline (extendable by one year) for the resumption of production and dispatch after a discontinuation.
#upsc #news #headline #offshore #mineral #polity #resources #development #regulation #OAMDR #bill #PSU #india #strategic #water #nations #territorial #award #production #lease #legislation #singlelicense #compositelicensing #historic #milestone #amendment
Offshore mining and mineral auctions
GS Paper - 2 (Polity)
In a significant step toward exploiting India's offshore resources, the Council of States passed the Offshore Areas Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill (OAMDR), 2023. The Bill represents a transformative change for the offshore mining sector, which has remained largely inactive since the enactment of the OAMDR Act in 2002.
More about the Bill
It aims to increase transparency in the allocation of minerals found in the country's offshore basins, permitting the granting of production leases exclusively through auctions and reserving some allocations for government entities and public sector units (PSUs).
The passage of the Bill marks a historic milestone, unlocking India's vast mineral-rich offshore areas.
This move promises strategic benefits, strengthening the nation's territorial waters, which have been frequently threatened by neighboring countries.
The extraction of minerals from these areas is expected to bolster India's strategic position further.
Auctions as primary means
The Bill stipulates a fixed 50-year production lease for offshore minerals. Under this new legislation, the government plans to introduce auctions as the primary means to award production leases for offshore minerals.
The amendment enables the granting of production leases to the private sector solely through competitive bidding auctions.
Under the composite licensing system, explorers will also have the right to develop and mine minerals under a single license.
The Bill introduces a four-year timeline for the start of production and dispatch following the execution of a composite license or production lease.
It also establishes a two-year timeline (extendable by one year) for the resumption of production and dispatch after a discontinuation.
#upsc #news #headline #offshore #mineral #polity #resources #development #regulation #OAMDR #bill #PSU #india #strategic #water #nations #territorial #award #production #lease #legislation #singlelicense #compositelicensing #historic #milestone #amendment
Today's Headlines - 12 August 2023
‘Sponge cities’ not stopped the floods
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)
China has been hit by devastating floods, inundating cities and causing deaths and infrastructural damage, as well as raising questions about the effectiveness of its 2015 “sponge city” initiative aimed at reducing urban flood risks. The initiative was launched to boost flood resilience in major cities and make better use of rainwater through architectural, engineering and infrastructural tweaks.
Why was the initiative launched?
China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather, and make highly populated cities less vulnerable to flooding and drought.
The “sponge city” initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact “nature-based solutions” to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage.
Those solutions included the use of permeable asphalt, the construction of new canals and ponds and also the restoration of wetlands, which would not only ease waterlogging, but also improve the urban environment.
Breakneck urbanisation has encased vast stretches of land in impermeable concrete, often along banks of major rivers that traditionally served as flood plains. With wetlands paved over and nowhere for surplus water to settle, waterlogging and flooding was commonplace.
What has been done so far?
Studies show that many of the local pilot initiatives launched so far have had a positive effect, with low-impact projects like green roofs and rain gardens reducing run-offs.
But implementation has so far been patchy. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016.
By last year, only 64 of China’s 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January.
The researchers said the government had so far paid “minimum attention” to sponge city construction, and called for national legislation to be drawn up as soon as possible.
What are the limitations of sponge cities?
Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year’s disasters.
Zhengzhou in Henan province was one of the most enthusiastic pioneers of sponge city construction, allocating nearly 60 billion yuan to the programme from 2016 to 2021. But it was unable to deal with its heaviest rainfall in history in 2021.
Experts believe sponge city infrastructure can only handle no more than 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain per day.
At the height of the rainstorms that lashed Beijing at the end of July, rainfall at one station reached 745 millimetres over three and a half days. In July 2021, Zhengzhou saw rainfall in excess of 200 mm in just one hour.
Authorities are also playing catch-up to climate change. This year’s heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.
#upsc #news #headline #sponge #floods #geography #china #weather #launched #damage #city #rainwater #wetlands #urbanisation #restoration #canals #ponds #limitations #legislation #disasters #zhengzhou #henan #development #climatechange #rainstorms #rainfall
‘Sponge cities’ not stopped the floods
GS Paper - 1 (Geography)
China has been hit by devastating floods, inundating cities and causing deaths and infrastructural damage, as well as raising questions about the effectiveness of its 2015 “sponge city” initiative aimed at reducing urban flood risks. The initiative was launched to boost flood resilience in major cities and make better use of rainwater through architectural, engineering and infrastructural tweaks.
Why was the initiative launched?
China has long sought to improve the way it handles extreme weather, and make highly populated cities less vulnerable to flooding and drought.
The “sponge city” initiative was designed to make greater use of lower-impact “nature-based solutions” to better distribute water and improve drainage and storage.
Those solutions included the use of permeable asphalt, the construction of new canals and ponds and also the restoration of wetlands, which would not only ease waterlogging, but also improve the urban environment.
Breakneck urbanisation has encased vast stretches of land in impermeable concrete, often along banks of major rivers that traditionally served as flood plains. With wetlands paved over and nowhere for surplus water to settle, waterlogging and flooding was commonplace.
What has been done so far?
Studies show that many of the local pilot initiatives launched so far have had a positive effect, with low-impact projects like green roofs and rain gardens reducing run-offs.
But implementation has so far been patchy. A total of 30 pilot sponge cities were selected in 2015 and 2016.
By last year, only 64 of China’s 654 cities had produced legislation to implement sponge city guidelines, researchers said in January.
The researchers said the government had so far paid “minimum attention” to sponge city construction, and called for national legislation to be drawn up as soon as possible.
What are the limitations of sponge cities?
Even if sponge city measures had been implemented in full, they would have been unable to prevent this year’s disasters.
Zhengzhou in Henan province was one of the most enthusiastic pioneers of sponge city construction, allocating nearly 60 billion yuan to the programme from 2016 to 2021. But it was unable to deal with its heaviest rainfall in history in 2021.
Experts believe sponge city infrastructure can only handle no more than 200 millimetres (7.9 inches) of rain per day.
At the height of the rainstorms that lashed Beijing at the end of July, rainfall at one station reached 745 millimetres over three and a half days. In July 2021, Zhengzhou saw rainfall in excess of 200 mm in just one hour.
Authorities are also playing catch-up to climate change. This year’s heavy rain hit cities in the normally arid north, where sponge city development is less advanced.
#upsc #news #headline #sponge #floods #geography #china #weather #launched #damage #city #rainwater #wetlands #urbanisation #restoration #canals #ponds #limitations #legislation #disasters #zhengzhou #henan #development #climatechange #rainstorms #rainfall