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Daily Current Capsules - 10th January 2020

Disaster Management
Centre approves Rs 5,908 crore to seven states for calamity damage relief

Relevance IN - Prelims (about NDRF and SDRF) + Mains (GS III Disaster Management)
What's the NEWS
  • The Centre approved the release of Rs 5,908.56 crore to seven states, including Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka and Assam, as assistance for the damage caused due to various calamities last year.
Know! more about it
  • The decision was taken at a meeting of a high-level committee (HLC), chaired by Union Home Minister Amit Shah.
  • The HLC approved additional central assistance of Rs 5908.56 crore to seven states from the National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF) of which Rs 616.63 crore will be given to Assam, Rs 284.93 crore to Himachal Pradesh, Rs 1869.85 crore to Karnataka, Rs 1749.73 crore to Madhya Pradesh, Rs 956.93 crore to Maharashtra, Rs 63.32 to Tripura and Rs 367.17 crore to Uttar Pradesh for floods or landslides or cloudburst during the 2019 southwest monsoon,
Know! about NDRF
  • National Disaster Response Fund (NDRF)is defined in Section 46 of the Disaster Management Act, 2005 (DM Act) as a fund managed by the Central Government for meeting the expenses for emergency response, relief and rehabilitation due to any threatening disaster situation or disaster.
  • NDRF is constituted to supplement the funds of the State Disaster Response Funds (SDRF) of the states to facilitate immediate relief in case of calamities of a severe nature.
  • The DM Act defines "disaster" to mean ‘a catastrophe, mishap, calamity or grave occurrence in any area, arising from natural or man-made causes, or by accident or negligence which results in substantial loss of life
  • The primary purpose of NDRF is to supplement the SDRF, in case there is a calamity of "severe nature" which requires assistance over and above the funds available under SDRF.
  • NDRF is located in the "Public Accounts" of Government of India under "Reserve Funds not bearing interest"
  • Department of Agriculture and Cooperation under Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) monitors relief activities for calamities associated with drought, hailstorms, pest attacks and cold wave /frost while rest of the natural calamities are monitored by Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Environment Conservation
Bhitarkanika census finds an increase of 15 saltwater crocodiles from last year

Relevance IN - Prelims (about saltwater crocodile + bhitarkanika National park) + Mains ( GS III environment conservation)
What's the NEWS
  • The population of the saltwater or estuarine crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) has increased in the water bodies of Odisha's Bhitarkanika National Park and its nearby areas in Kendrapara district, with forest officials counting 1,757 individuals in this year's annual reptile census on January 3, 2020.
  • Last year, they had counted 1,742 crocodiles in the area.
  • The peak winter is the ideal time to carry out the census as it exposes more than 50% of mud banks.
  • The IUCN status of salt water crocodile is Least Concern.
Bhitarkanika National Park
  • The Park obtained the status of Ramsar site in 2002.
  • The area is also been designated as second Ramsar site of the State after the Chilika Lake.
  • It is surrounded by Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary
  • Gahirmatha Beach and Marine Sanctuary are to the east, separating swamp region and mangroves from the Bay of Bengal.
  • The national park and wildlife sanctuary is inundated by the rivers Brahmani, Baitarani, Dhamra, Pathsala.
  • It hosts many mangrove species, and is the second largest mangrove ecosystem in India.
  • The Fauna of the park includes saltwater crocodile, black ibis, Indian Python, wild boar, cobra, darter, monitor lizard, etc.
  • The park holds Guinness World Record of spotting largest male salt water crocodile in the world that weighed 2,000 kg in 2006.
Prelims Factoids
Kutpui (festival)
Mizoram govt to organise Zo fest in 10 states, US, Bangladesh
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Kutpui festival + about Mizo tribes)
What's the NEWS
  • The Mizoram government will be organising Zo Kutpui (festival) in at least 10 states across India and countries such as US, Myanmar and Bangladesh
Know! more about the fest
  • The first edition of the festival will start on January 9 in Vanghmun in Tripura and will be held over three days, an official of the state tourism department said.
  • The festival will then move to other states which have significant Mizo population
  • The move is an attempt to unify and strengthen the brotherhood among various Mizo tribes living in different parts of the world
  • The event will witness various cultural programmes by different Mizo tribes, besides performance by various artistes belonging to Zo ethnic tribes of Mizoram and the Northeast,
Know! more about Mizo tribes
  • The history of Mizoram basically encompasses the history of Mizoram which lies in the remotest part of northeast India. It is a conglomerate history of several ethnic groups of Chin people who migrated from Chin State of Burma.
  • The Mizo population is found in Manipur, Tripura and Mizoram.
  • They are spread between Myanmar in the east to Bangladesh in the west.
  • The Mizo people were governed by the Assamese Government after the independence
  • In 1952, a subsidiary government was created under Assam called Lushai hills, the now Mizoram.
  • The Mizo National Front (MNF) was created in 1961 to achieve independence of Mizoram.
  • In 1966, the MNF created its armed wing and declared independence under Operation Jericho. The area was then declared disturbed and in 1967, GoI enforced AFSPA.
  • In 1987, the Rajiv Gandhi Government signed the Mizoram Peace Accord establishing peace in the region after several negotiations of peace
Focus Article(Bilateral Relations)
With revived ‘Amber Way', Latvia could be gateway to Europe for Indian exporters
Relevance IN - Prelims (about Amber Way) + Mains (GS II Bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS
  • Visit of Vice President to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia can enhance the bilateral relations with Baltic countries (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia).
Know! more about Amber Way
  • India and Latvia have been historically linked by the ancient route called ‘'the Amber Way'.
  • India is keen to push the International North-South Transport Corridor Project that aims to link the Indian Ocean with the Baltic Sea and provide seamless connectivity.
  • The International North South Transport Corridor (INSTC) will help make Latvia a gateway for Indian goods entering northern Europe, the Baltic region and Belarus.
  • Latvia, a tiny nation on the Baltic Sea between Lithuania and Estonia, is now hard-selling its main seaport Riga free port to exporters.
  • Latvia wants to "widen and deepen the economic cooperation with India" while seeking to revive the ‘Amber Way' - an ancient route that linked India and Latvia.
  • Riga, Latvia's biggest sea port, is ice-free, and therefore work through the year.
  • Using the new corridor, a pilot container train service is planned this month from JNPT to Riga, a route that is expected to reduce transit time by 40 per cent and carriage cost by 30 per cent.
  • The new Mumbai-Tehran-Moscow transport corridor is expected to rival the Suez Canal route, as it allows for faster, cheaper and smoother transit of goods between Asia and Europe.
  • The new route will use a combination of ocean, rail and road - JNPT to Bandar Abbas in Iran by sea and from there by rail and road to Riga.

Know! about Amber and Amber Road
  • It is fossilized tree resin which has been appreciated for its colour and natural beauty since Neolithic times. This resin produced from Taiga coniferous trees.
  • It is much valued from antiquity to the present as a gemstone and amber are made into a variety of decorative objects.
  • The Amber Road was an ancient trade route for the transfer of amber from coastal areas of the North Sea and Baltic Sea to the Mediterranean Sea.
  • Throughout 1000 of years a key route developed between Venice and St. Petersburg for transporting amber through the ancient world.
  • Amber was transported from the North Sea and Baltic Sea Coasts overland by way of the Vistula and Dnieper River to Italy, Greece, the Black Sea, Syria and Egypt.
Know! about INSTC
  • The International North-South Transport Corridor (INSTC) is a multimode network of transport for making freight.
  • The trade route is around 7200 km long. This route will use the ship, rail and road route between India, Iran, and Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Russia, Central Asia and Europe.
  • India and Russia agree to step up trade to $30 billion by 2025.
  • The INSTC project would help Asian and Europe countries transport their cargo through the corridor at double speed compared to the Suez Canal.
  • It is thought to be the most suitable route for transit traffic between Asia and Europe as only a few countries exist along the route, which means fewer border crossings and earlier for the countries to reach agreements.
The role of Latvia
  • Exports to battle states are difficult due to the 16,129 km long sea takes 35 days via the traditional route.
  • This makes Indian exports costlier and less competitive in the European market.
  • Latvia connects the Baltic region and Russia with the rest of Europe and Central Asia.
  • The new ‘Rail Baltica' a Trans-European Rail Project to connect the Baltic states to the existing European rail network would be an advantage for India.
  • Rail Baltica is one of the European Union's Territory projects and falls under the Trans-European Transport Network (TEN-T).
  • Ice-free ports and well-developed rail and road network would help Indian exports reach these (Europe+Russia) markets faster and chapter via Riga.

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