Connect to Current -Daily Current Capsules - 30th April 2019

International Affairs
China's Belt and Road Initiative

Relevance IN - Prelims ( china's IBR and CPEC) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relation and factors affecting India )

What's the NEWS

• Chinese President Xi Jinping defended his ambitious ‘Belt and Road Initiative' (BRI), vowing to prevent debt risks and saying that his global infrastructure project is not an exclusive club.
• The clarification came after various nations accused that Belt and Road is a "debt trap" and a geopolitical tool for Beijing's ambitions of becoming a global superpower.

 

What's the accusation

• The BRI aims to bring about much-needed transformation in developing countries; however, critics believe that the initiative favours Chinese companies while burdening other nations with debt and causing environmental damage.
• President Xi took the stand at the second edition of the three-day Belt and Road Forum. The three-day forum was attended by leaders of 37 countries and officials from scores of other nations. However, India once again managed to skip the event.

 

Why India skipped the Belt and Road Forum?

 

• It was for the second time that India skipped the Belt and Road Forum in a protest against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key component of the Belt and Road Initiative.
• The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through the disputed Kashmir held by Pakistan and claimed by it. The corridor connects the Chinese city of Kashgar with Pakistan's Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea.
• The CPEC project runs through the strategic Gilgit-Baltistan region in Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK), an integral part of India. It portends that China may emerge as a ‘direct party' in the Kashmir dispute in future.

 

Know! all about Belt and Road Initiative

• The Belt and Road Initiative is a development strategy, which was proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
• The initiative aims to create ‘One Belt, One Road' by establishing new routes linking three continents - Asia, Europe and Africa by 2049.
• The initiative focuses on connectivity and cooperation among countries primarily between the People's Republic of China and the rest of Eurasia, which consists of two main components, the land-based "Silk Road Economic Belt" and oceangoing "Maritime Silk Road".
• The initiative was unveiled in two separate announcements in September 2013 and October 2013, revealing the Silk Road Economic Belt and Maritime Silk Road, respectively.
• The Belt and Road Initiative aims to reinvent the ancient Silk Road to connect Asia to Europe and Africa through massive investments in maritime, road and rail projects.

 

Report/Index
Global Food Policy Report-2019
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the IFPRI report findings)

What's the NEWS

• International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has recently released Global Food Policy Report-2019.
• IFPRI's flagship report reviews the major food policy issues, developments, and decisions of 2018, and considers challenges and opportunities for 2019.
• This year's Global Food Policy Report highlights the urgency of rural revitalization to address a growing crisis in rural areas.

 

 

Know! more about the food policy report

 

• Food Policy report says that rural people around the world continue to struggle with food insecurity, persistent poverty and inequality, and environmental degradation.
• Policies, institutions, and investments that take advantage of new opportunities and technologies, increase access to basic services, create more and better rural jobs, foster gender equality, and restore the environment can make rural areas vibrant and healthy places to live and work.

 

Know! the findings of the report (critical aspects of rural revitalization.)

 

• Rural population account for 45.3% of the world's total population and at least 70% of the world's population remains extremely poor.
• The rural population suffers from rapid population growth rates, inadequate job and enterprise creation, poor infrastructure, scarce financial services.
• In addition, rural communities bear the brunt of climate change impacts.
• Nearly 50% of rural youth all over the world do not have any formal job they are either unemployed or under-employed.

 

Know! the South Asia Specific Findings

 

• South Asia remained the fastest growing region in the world in 2018, as economic growth continued to strengthen.
• However, growth rates varied greatly across the region-exceeding 7.0 percent in Bangladesh, India, the Maldives, and Nepal, and reaching 5.8 percent in Pakistan, but only 2.6 percent in Afghanistan.
• Rice and wheat are the region's major staple crops, accounting for about two-thirds of total dietary energy. But food consumption patterns have changed in the region over the past few decades.
• India, home to 70 percent of the region's rural population, has unveiled a number of measures to bolster the rural economy: The government will maintain minimum support prices for major crops (25 at present) equal to at least 1.5 times their production costs.

 

What are the Challenges and way forward

 

• The rural transformation in South Asia is at a crossroads.
• The rural sector has been gradually transforming, but agricultural livelihoods still provide more than 43 percent of employment, meaning that most jobs in South Asia are in the informal sector.
• Implementing a "decent employment agenda" will require improving rural livelihoods. The predominance of smallholder farming communities, their increasing political voice, and national commitments to the Sustainable Development Goals are prompting governments in the region to emphasize inclusive rural development strategies.

 

Geophysical phenomena
Cyclone naming
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about various cyclones and its naming) + Mains ( GS I - important geophysical phenomena)

Cyclone naming

• Traditionally, cyclones were not named! The trend started with frequent hurricanes hitting the Atlantic Ocean.

 

Know! the trend/criteria

• A basic criteria was set that the tropical storms that sustain wind speed of 39 miles per hour would be given different names.
• It is quite amazing to know that hurricanes, cyclones and typhoons are all the tropical storms, just called out with the different names in different corners of the world. Thus, storms in the Atlantic are known as ‘Hurricanes', as ‘Typhoon' in the Pacific, while ‘Cyclone' in the Indian Ocean.

 

Classification of storm

 

• On the basis of wind speed, storms are classified as a hurricane/cyclone/typhoon. Only if the speed of wind reaches 74 mph or above, the storm is classified into the above three categories.

 

Know! the naming process

• Naming of different tropical cyclones is a recent phenomenon, wherein meteorologists from several countries sit together and the naming process is done under the guidance of World Meteorological Organization.
• Naming of cyclones began in 2000 for the Indian Ocean region and in 2004, finally a formula was adopted. Eight countries in the region such as Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Thailand suggested a set of names that are assigned a sequence whenever a cyclonic storm pops up.
• Since 2004, all the cyclones that have occurred were named as Agni, Akash, Bijli, Jal. The Indian names in the queue are Leher, Megh, Sagar and Vayu.

 

Importance of naming cyclone

• Naming of cyclone avoids confusion as it is difficult to always remember the storm's number or its longitude and latitude. Also naming is fruitful when more than one storm needs to be tracked.

 

Naming of very severe storms

• The trend is to retire the names of storms that result into widespread damage and deaths. These names are not reused for atleast 10 years and are replaced with new ones of same gender beginning with the same alphabet.

 

Naming of cyclone ‘Fani'

 

• The very recent cyclone ‘Fani' has been making a breaking news since the last few days, expected to soon hit Chennai and parts of Tamil Nadu thereby giving heavy rains.
• The name ‘Fani' has been taken from the list of names created by south Asian countries. This name was picked up by Bangladesh.

 

Cyclone in recent years

• In 2017 Cyclone Ockhi hit parts of Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka.
• Cyclone Gaja, Cyclones Sagar (in Somalia), Cyclone Mekunu (striked Oman), Cyclone Luban (affected the Arabian Peninsula) and Cyclone Titli (made landfall near Palasa, Andhra Pradesh)were part of 2018 North Indian Ocean cyclone season.
• Cyclone Pabuk originated over the Gulf of Thailand, in 2019

 

The Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale

• It classifies hurricanes or Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms into five categories or 1 to 5 rating based on intensities of their sustained winds.
• It estimates potential property damage. Cyclones reaching Category 3 and higher are considered alarming because of their potential for significant loss of life and damage.

 

Tropical Cyclone

• They are also known as Hurricanes (in Atlantic), Typhoons (in Western Pacific and South China Sea), Willy-willies (in Western Australia).
• It is an intense circular storm that originates over warm tropical oceans and is characterized by low atmospheric pressure, high winds, and heavy rain.
• It draws energy from sea surface, maintains its strength as long as it remains over warm water, and generates winds that can exceed 119 km (74 miles) per hour.

 

International Affairs
World's first floating nuclear power plant to begin operations
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Akademik Lomonosov)

What's the NEWS

• Akademik Lomonosov, the world's only floating nuclear power unit is ready to start commercial operations in Russia. The plant was launched by Russia on May 19, 2018 at the St Petersburg shipyard.
• The plant is to be the first of a fleet of floating nuclear power stations to be stationed in the Russian Arctic.
• The power plant is ready to start generating power after a series of comprehensive and successful tests on its twin KLT-40 reactor system.
• The power generation at both of the 35-MW KLT-40C reactors achieved 100 percent of capacity on March 31, with subsequent tests confirming that both the main and the auxiliary equipment of the units, as well as the process control systems, were operating normally.
• Russia's main objective behind the development is to meet its growing electricity needs in its drive to develop oil resources in remote Arctic regions.

 

Know! more about Akademik Lomonosov

• The ‘Akademik Lomonosov' is to be the first of a fleet of floating nuclear power stations to be stationed in the Russian Arctic.
• The 144-by-30-metre (472-by-98-foot) power plant holds two reactors with two 35 megawatt nuclear reactors that are similar to those used to power icebreaker ships.
• The power plant has no propulsion of its own. It will be towed up North to avoid the steep cost of shipping it by land piece by piece to remote areas.
• It is expected to operate for 40 years, with the possibility of the operating life being extended to 50 years and the two reactors will be refueled once every three years.

 

Prelims Practice Questions

Consider the following statements
1. For the first time India skipped the Belt and Road Forum in a protest against the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a key component of the Belt and Road Initiative.

2. The China-Pakistan Economic Corridor passes through the disputed Kashmir held by Pakistan and claimed by it. The corridor connects the Chinese city of Kashgar with Pakistan's Gwadar port on the Arabian Sea.

3. The Belt and Road Initiative aims to create ‘One Belt, One Road' by establishing new routes linking three continents - Asia, Europe and Africa by 2049.

Find the correct statement from the option given below
a. 2 and 3
b. 1 and 3
c. 1 2 and 3
d. None

 

 

Consider the following statements about Akademik Lomonosov

1. The ‘Akademik Lomonosov' is to be the first of a fleet of floating nuclear power stations to be stationed in the Russian Arctic.

2. Russia's main objective behind the development is to meet its growing electricity needs in its drive to develop oil resources in remote Arctic regions.

Find the correct statement from the option given below

a. 1 only
b. 2 only
c. Both
d. None

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