Daily Current Capsules – 18th January 2020

Prelims Factoids

Strait of Hormuz and Operation Sankalp Relevance IN – Prelims ( about Strait of Hormuz and about Maritime choke points)

What’s the NEWS

In the backdrop of the deteriorating security situation in the Gulf region, post

attacks on merchant ships in the Gulf of Oman in Jun 19, Indian Navy had

commenced Maritime Security Operations, code named Op SANKALP, in the

Gulf Region on 19 Jun 19 to ensure safe passage of Indian Flag Vessels

transiting through the Strait of Hormuz.

Indian Navy warships and aircraft were deployed to establish presence,

provide a sense of reassurance to the Indian merchantmen, monitor the

ongoing situation and respond to any emergent crises. One war ship is

presently deployed for Operation SANKALP.

About the Strait of Hormuz

The Strait of Hormuz is a strait between the Persian Gulf and the

Gulf of Oman.

It provides the only sea passage from the Persian Gulf to the open

ocean and is one of the world's most strategically important choke

points.

It separates Iran and Oman. It inks the Gulf countries to the Gulf of

Oman and to the Arabian Sea.

On the north coast lies Iran, and on the south coast the United Arab

Emirates and Musandam, an exclave of Oman.

The strait is about 90 nautical miles (167 km) long, with a width

varying from about 52 nautical miles (96 km) to 21 nautical miles

(39 km).

Hormuz Peace Initiative

India recently attended the Hormuz Peace Initiative that was held in

Tehran.

The Peace Initiative was started by Iran with Oman, China, India and

Afghanistan being the key attendees.

The countries that attended the initiative reviewed the “Hormuz

Peace Endeavor” (HOPE) that was proposed by Tehran. It was

proposed by Iran at the UN

The talks were important for India because 2/3 of the oil supply to India

and half of the natural gas supply to India is done through this route

called the Hormuz strait.

Maritime Choke Points

Maritime choke points are naturally narrow channels

of shipping having high traffic because of their strategic locations.

Maritime chokepoints, or oil chokepoints, are congestive pathways in

some of the world’s famous shipping routes.

There are many such choke points around the world, however, a few of

them are extremely famous for ships and thus face high international

security conflicts and cross-border terrorism threats.

Some of the famous maritime chokepoints around the world are:

The Malaccan strait in the Indian Ocean

The Gulf of Hormuz in the Middle-east

The Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea

The Panama Canal linking the Atlantic with the Pacific Ocean

The Strait of Bosporus (Turkish Strait) linking the Mediterranean Sea to

the Black Sea

The three Danish Straits linking the Baltic Sea with the North Sea

The Strait of Bab el-Mandeb forming a gateway for vessels to pass

through the Suez Canal, through the east coast of Africa

Prelims Factoids

Rojgaar Sangi app.

Relevance IN – Prelims (about the Rojgaar Sagi app)

What’s the NEWS

Chhattisgarh State Skill Development Authority (CSSDA) is introducing

a mobile phone app. The soft launch of ‘Rojgaar Sangi’ was conducted

by Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel

Know! more about the app

The app was developed with the help of National Informatics Centre to

help skilled and trained candidates find jobs.

The app will benefit 7 lakh students who were trained under the 705

courses offered by CSSDA.

The app can also be used to register online for the unemployment index.

Under any employment generation scheme, the users will be notified

The app makes it easier for start-up companies to hire office staff.

The app currently has no way to regulate the earning. “In the app, the

customer can put the salary they can pay and registered workers can then

show interest accordingly.

Infrastructure Development

World Bank and Government of India Sign $88 million loan agreement for the implementation of Assam Inland Water Transport Project Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the agreement signed and its benefits + inland

waterways + Jal Marg Vikas Prog.) + Mains ( GS III infrastructure development-

ports)

What’s the NEWS

The Government of India, the Government of Assam and the World Bank

signed a loan agreement of $88 million to help modernize Assam’s

passenger ferry sector that runs on its rivers including the mighty

Brahmaputra.

Know! more about the agreement

A majority of Assam’s more than 361 ferry routes cross the Brahmaputra

or serve its islands, providing a crucial means of transport to thousands of

commuters in both the urban and rural areas of the Brahmaputra Valley.

The Assam Inland Water Transport Project (AIWTP) will help Assam

improve the passenger ferry infrastructure and its services and strengthen

the capacity of the institutions running the inland water transport.

Technically better designed terminals and energy-efficient vessels (both

new and retrofitted) will make the ferry services more sustainable with

least disruption to nature.

Inland waterways

India’s large network of inland waterways can play a significant role in

the country's economy.

Its fuel efficiency contributes to lower operating costs and reduces

environmental impact.

Inland Water Transport is also a more sustainable mode of transport. It

provides low-carbon and low-cost options when compared to the cost of

constructing and maintaining flood-resilient roads and bridges across the

long stretches of the Brahmaputra river.

In Assam, the rivers are a vital transport asset for its people.

The Assam Inland Water Transport Project will help develop a modern,

efficient and safe river transport system for the large volume of

passengers and cargo carried by the

Assam has the largest network of navigable waterways in India.

Know! all about Inland Waterways developments in India

Inland waterways is a network in the form of rivers, canals, backwaters

and creeks that can be used for transportation in place of or in addition to

roads and rails.

National Waterways

There are 111 officially notified Inland National Waterways (NWs) in

India identified for the purposes of inland water transport, as per The

National Waterways Act, 2016.

Out of the 111 NWs, 106 were created in 2016. The NW network covers

around 20,275.5 km. NW-1, 2, & 3 are already operational. Cargo as well

as passenger / cruise vessels are plying on these waterways

Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP)

The Government is implementing the Jal Marg Vikas Project (JMVP) for

the capacity augmentation of navigation on the Haldia-Varanasi stretch of

National Waterway-1 (Ganga) with the technical and financial assistance

of the World Bank at an estimated cost of Rs.5,369.18 crore.

Under this project, construction of three multimodal terminals, two

intermodal terminals, one new navigational lock and works for fairway

development, River Information System (RIS), vessel repair and

maintenance facilities and Ro-Ro terminals are envisaged to be

completed by December, 2022.

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI)

The Inland Waterways Authority of India (IWAI) came into existence on

27th October 1986 for development and regulation of inland waterways

for shipping and navigation.

The Authority primarily undertakes projects for development and

maintenance of IWT infrastructure on national waterways through grant

received from Ministry of Shipping.

India has about 14,500 km of navigable waterways which comprise of

rivers, canals, backwaters, creeks, etc.

About 55 million tones of cargo is being moved annually by Inland Water

Transport (IWT), a fuel - efficient and environment -friendly mode.

Its operations are currently restricted to a few stretches in the Ganga-

Bhagirathi-Hooghly rivers , the Brahmaputra, the Barak river, the rivers

in Goa, the backwaters in Kerala, inland waters in Mumbai and the

deltaic regions of the Godavari - Krishna rivers.

Sagarmala Programme

Vision

Components of Sagarmala Programme are:

Port Modernization & New Port Development: De-bottlenecking and

capacity expansion of existing ports and development of new greenfield ports

Port Connectivity Enhancement: Enhancing the connectivity of the ports to

the hinterland, optimizing cost and time of cargo movement through multi-

modal logistics solutions including domestic waterways (inland water

transport and coastal shipping)

Port-linked Industrialization: Developing port-proximate industrial clusters

and Coastal Economic Zones to reduce logistics cost and time of EXIM and

domestic cargo

Coastal Community Development Promoting sustainable development of

coastal communities through skill development & livelihood generation

activities, fisheries development, coastal tourism etc.

Coastal Shipping & Inland Waterways Transport Impetus to move cargo

through the sustainable and environment-friendly coastal and inland

waterways mode.

Environment Conservation

Centre eases CRZ rules for ‘Blue Flag’ beaches

Relevance IN – Prelims ( about the eased CRZ rules and about blue flag

certification) + Mains ( GS III Environment conservation)

What’s the NEWS

The Environment Ministry has relaxed Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ)

rules that restrict construction near beaches to help States construct

infrastructure and enable them to receive ‘Blue Flag’ certification.

Last year, the Ministry selected 13 beaches in India to vie for the

certificate , one of them, Chandrabhaga beach, has already received the

Blue Flag tag. Other 12 notified beaches are:

Ghoghala beach (Diu), Shivrajpur beach (Gujarat), Bhogave beach

(Maharashtra), Padubidri and Kasarkod beaches (Karnataka), Kappad

beach (Kerala), Kovalam beach (Tamil Nadu), Eden beach (Puducherry),

Rushikonda beach (Andhra Pradesh), Miramar beach (Goa), Golden

beach (Odisha), Radhanagar beach (Andaman & Nicobar Islands) and

Bangaram beach (Lakshadweep).

This is an international recognition conferred on beaches that meet

certain criteria of cleanliness and environmental propriety.

Know! more about it ( restrictions eased)

The Blue Flag certification, however, requires beaches to create certain

infrastructure — portable toilet blocks, grey water treatment plants, a

solar power plant, seating facilities, CCTV surveillance and the like.

However, India’s CRZ laws don’t allow the construction of such

infrastructure on beaches and islands.

Via an order on January 9, the Environment Ministry eased these

restrictions for the “purposes of Blue Flag certification”.

The following activities and facilities shall be permitted in the Coastal

Regulation Zone (CRZ), including Islands, subject to maintaining a

minimum distance of 10 meters from HTL (High Tide Line),” the gazette

notification notes.

Blue Flag certification

The certification is accorded by the Denmark-based Foundation for

Environment Education, with 33 stringent criteria under four major heads

for the beaches, that is, (i) Environmental Education and Information (ii)

Bathing Water Quality (iii) Environment Management and Conservation

and (iv) Safety and Services.

The ‘Blue Flag’ beach is an ‘eco-tourism model’ and marks out beaches

as providing tourists and beachgoers clean and hygienic bathing water,

facilities/amenities, a safe and healthy environment, and sustainable

development of the area.

The Blue Flag Programme started in France in 1985 and has been

implemented in Europe since 1987, and in areas outside Europe since

2001, when South Africa joined.

Japan and South Korea are the only countries in south and south eastern

Asia to have Blue Flag beaches. Spain tops the list with 566 such

beaches; Greece and France follow with 515 and 395 Blue Flag beaches,

respectively.

Chandrabhaga beach located on the Konark coast of Odisha is the first

beach in the country to receive 'Blue Flag Certification'.

Coastal Regulation Zone

It describes an area of coastal areas of rivers, seas, backwaters, and bays

declared as Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) under coastal zone regulation

notification in 1991.

It has been further classified into four different zones - ecologically

sensitive areas, urban areas, rural areas, low tide line area.

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