Indian National Movement
High Level Committee headed by Union Home Minister to commemorate the 125^th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about High Level Committee objective + initiative taken by the government towards conserving Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose heritage) + Mains ( GS I The Freedom Struggle - its various stages and important contributors /contributions from different parts of the country.
What's the NEWS

• The Government has decided to constitute a High Level Committee to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.
• This High Level Committee will decide on the activities for a one year long commemoration starting 23rd January, 2021.

Know! about the High Level Committee

• The High Level Committee will be headed by the Union Home Minister
• The Commemoration is being held as a tribute and as a mark of gratitude to the colossal contribution Netaji made to India's freedom struggle.
• The members of the High Level Commemoration Committee will include experts, historians, authors, family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as well as eminent persons associated with Azad Hind Fauj/INA.
• The Committee will also lend guidance to the commemoration activities in Delhi, Kolkata and other places associated with Netaji and Azad Hind Fauj, both in India as well as overseas.

• Government of India has taken several steps towards preserving and conserving the precious heritage of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose.

Steps taken by the government towards conserving Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose heritage

• A museum has been set up on Netaji at Red Fort, New Delhi, which was inaugurated by the Prime Minister on 23.01.2019.
• A permanent exhibition and a Light and Sound show on Netaji has been planned to be set up at Kolkata in the historic Victoria Memorial building.
• In 2015, Government of India decided to declassify the files relating to Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and make them accessible to public.
• Prime Minister visited Andaman and Nicobar Islands in 2018, to join the programme to mark 75th anniversary of hoisting Tricolour by Netaji Bose.
• The Prime Minister paid tributes to Subhas Chandra Bose's Provisional Government of Azad Hind, which administered the Islands during World War II.
• The Prime Minister renamed 3 islands in Andaman and Nicobar. The Ross Island was renamed as Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Dweep; the Neil Island as Shaheed Dweep; and the Havelock Island as SwarajDweep.

know! all about Subhas Chandra Bose

• An Indian revolutionary prominent in the independence movement against British rule of India.
• He also led an Indian national force from abroad against the Western powers during World War II.
• He was a contemporary of Mohandas K. Gandhi, at times an ally and at other times an adversary.
• Bose was known in particular for his militant approach to independence and for his push for socialist policies.
• Bose joined the non cooperation movement started by Mohandas K. Gandhi, who had made the Indian National Congress a powerful nonviolent organization.
• Bose was advised by Gandhi to work under Chitta Ranjan Das, a politician in Bengal.
• There Bose became a youth educator, journalist, and commandant of the Bengal Congress volunteers.
• His activities led to his imprisonment in December 1921. In 1924 he was appointed chief executive officer of the Calcutta Municipal Corporation, with Das as mayor.
• Bose was soon after deported to Burma (Myanmar) because he was suspected of connections with secret revolutionary movements.
• Released in 1927, he returned to find Bengal Congress affairs in disarray after the death of Das, and Bose was elected president of the Bengal Congress.
• Shortly thereafter he and Jawaharlal Nehru became the two general secretaries of the Indian National Congress.
• Together they represented the more militant, left-wing faction of the party against the more compromising, right-wing Gandhian faction.
• In 1938 he was elected president of the Indian National Congress and formed a national planning committee, which formulated a policy of broad industrialization.
• In 1939, when he defeated a Gandhian rival for re election but he felt bound to resign because of the lack of Gandhi's support.
• He founded the Forward Bloc, hoping to rally radical elements, but was again incarcerated in July 1940.
• All India Forward Bloc was a left wing nationalist political party in India which emerged as a faction within the India Congress in 1939, led by Subhas Chandra Bose.
• The prime objective of the Froward Bloc was to bring all radical elements of the Congress party.
• On January 26, 1941, though closely watched, he escaped from his Calcutta residence in disguise and, traveling via Kabul and Moscow, eventually reached Germany in April to work for India's Independence.
• In 1943, he came to Singapore to lead the Indian Independence league and rebuild the Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj) to make it an effective instrument for the freedom of India.
• In 1943 he assumed leadership of the Indian Independence Movement in East Asia and proceeded, with Japanese aid and influence, to form a trained army of about 40,000 troops in Japanese-occupied Southeast Asia.
• On October 21, 1943, Bose proclaimed the establishment of a provisional independent Indian government, and his so-called Indian National Army (Azad Hind Fauj), alongside Japanese troops, advanced to Rangoon (Yangon) and thence overland into India, reaching Indian soil on March 18, 1944, and moving into Kohima and the plains of Imphal.
• In a stubborn battle, the mixed Indian and Japanese forces, lacking Japanese air support, were defeated and forced to retreat; the Indian National Army nevertheless for some time succeeded in maintaining its identity as a liberation army, based in Burma and then Indochina. With the defeat of Japan, however, Bose's fortunes ended.

Subhas Chandra Bose and Indian National Army (INA) or Azad Hind Fauz

• An important development in the struggle for freedom during the Second World War was the formation and activities of the Azad Hind Fauj, also known as the Indian National Army, or INA.
• Rash Behari Bose, an Indian revolutionary who had escaped from India and had been living in Japan for many years, set up the Indian independence league with the support of Indians living in the countries of south-east Asia.
• When Japan defeated the British armies and occupied almost all the countries of south-East Asia, the league formed the Indian National Army from among the Indian prisoners of war with the aim of liberating India from the British rule.
• General Mohan Singh, who had been an officer in the British Indian army, played an important role in organizing this army.
• The Azad Hind Fauj comprised of about 45,000 soldiers, among who were Indian prisoners of war as well as Indians who were settled in various countries of south-east Asia.
• On 21 October 1943, Subhas Bose, who was now popularly known as Netaji, proclaimed the formation of the provisional government of independent India (Azad Hind) in Singapore.
• Netaji went to the Andaman which had been occupied by the Japanese and hoisted there the flag of India.
• In early 1944, three units of the Azad Hind Fauj (INA) took part in the attack on the north-eastern parts of India to oust the British from India.

Government Schemes
"JSA II: Catch the Rain" Awareness Generation Campaign launched

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Awareness Generation Campaign + about NWM + about NYKS) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions)
What's the NEWS

• National Water Mission(NWM), Ministry of Jal Shakti in collaboration with Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan (NYKS), Ministry of Youth Affairs & Sports launched the "JSA II: Catch the Rain" Awareness Generation Campaign

Know! more about the campaign

• The campaign was launched jointly by Union Minister of Jal Shakti, Youth Affairs & Sports and Minister of State, Minority Affairs
• As a preparatory phase of JSA-II, the Ministry has involved Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangthan (NYKS) for undertaking ‘Catch the Rain' awareness campaign to cover 623 districts.
• NWM has launched a campaign Catch the rain" with tag line "catch the rain, where it falls, when it falls" in order to nudge all stake-holders to create Rain Water Harvesting Structures (RWHS) suitable to the climatic conditions and sub-soil strata to store rain water as rains falling in the four/five months of monsoon are the only source of water for most parts of the country.
• The collaboration with NYKS is a step to engage people at the grassroots through effective campaigning & IEC activities for implementation of the campaign.

National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC)

• The National Action Plan on Climate Change (NAPCC) has been prepared by the Government of India, which has been released by the Prime Minister on 30th June 2008.

The NAPCC has laid down the principles and has identified the approach to be adopted to meet the challenges of impact of climate change through eight National Missions namely,
(a) National Solar Mission,
(b) National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency,
(c) National Mission on Sustainable Habitat,
(d) National Water Mission,
(e) National Mission for Sustaining the Himalayan Eco-system,
(f) National Mission for a Green India,
(g) National Mission for Sustainable Agriculture, and
(h) National Mission on Strategic Knowledge for Climate Change.

National Water Mission

• The Government of India has established National Water Mission as one of the eight National Missions under the National Action Plan on Climate Change.
• The main objective of NWM is "conservation of water, minimizing wastage and ensuring its more equitable distribution both across and within States through integrated water resources development and management".

NWM has identified five goals as under:
a. Comprehensive water data base in public domain and assessment of the impact of climate change on water resource,
b. Promotion of citizen and state actions for water conservation, augmentation and preservation,
c. Focused attention to vulnerable areas including over-exploited areas,
d. Increasing water use efficiency by 20%, and
e. Promotion of basin level integrated water resources management.
Nehru Yuva Kendras

• Nehru Yuva Kendras were established in the year 1972 with the objective of providing rural youth avenues to take part in the process of nation building as well providing opportunities for the development of their personality and skills.
• In the year 1987-88, Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan(NYKS) was set up as an autonomous organization under the Government of India, Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports, to oversee working of these Kendras.
• NYKS is the largest grassroots level youth organization; one of its kind in the world. It channelizes the power of youth on the principles of voluntarism, self-help and community participation.
• NYKS has targeted to identify areas of harnessing youth power for development by forming Youth Clubs, which are village level voluntary action groups of youth at the grassroots level to involve them in nation building activities.
• The core strength of NYKS lies in its network of youth clubs. Youth Clubs are village based organizations working for community development and youth empowerment.
• The basic objective for creation of youth clubs is to render community support through developmental initiatives involving activities with particular focus on youth empowerment.

Objectives of NYKS are two fold :-

• To involve the rural youth in nation building activities.
• To develop such skills and values in them with which they become responsible and productive citizens of a modern, secular and technological nation.

Bilateral Relation
India-Vietnam Leaders' Virtual Summit

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the summit highlights) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations)
What's the NEWS

• Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi held a Virtual Summit with H.E. Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam.
• The two Prime Ministers reviewed ongoing bilateral cooperation initiatives, and also discussed regional and global issues.

Know! the summit highlights

• A ‘Joint Vision for Peace, Prosperity and People' document was adopted during the Summit, to guide the future development of the India-Vietnam Comprehensive Strategic Partnership.
• Both leaders also welcomed the signing of a Plan of Action for period 2021-2023 to implement the Joint Vision.

Steps taken by the government of India

• Successful implementation of the US$ 100 million Defence Line of Credit extended by Government of India to Vietnam, and the completion of seven Development Projects with Indian ‘Grant-in-Aid' Assistance for the benefit of local community in Vietnam's Ninh Thuan province.
• Restoration and conservation work of the My Son temple complex in Vietnam, recently carried out by Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), and offered to work with Vietnam in other similar projects.
• The Prime Minister reaffirmed India's commitment to its development and capacity building partnership with Vietnam, through initiatives such as Quick Impact Projects, ITEC and e-ITEC initiatives, PhD fellowships, as well as projects to support Vietnam's SDGs, digital connectivity and heritage conservation efforts.

List of Outcomes: India - Vietnam Virtual Summit

• Agreement for US$ 5 million Indian Grant Assistance for Army Software Park at National Telecommunications University, Nha Trang, Vietnam between Embassy of India, Hanoi and Telecommunications University, Ministry of National Defence, Vietnam.
• To facilitate setting up of IT infrastructure at the Army Software Park in Telecommunications University, Nha Trang, with provision for training and services in the field of software applications.
• MOU between India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board (AERB) and Vietnam Agency for Radiation and Nuclear Safety (VARANS).
• Implementation of the High Speed Guard Boat (HSGB) Manufacturing Project for Vietnam Border Guard Command under the US$ 100 million Defence Line of Credit extended by Government of India to Vietnam; handing over of one completed HSGB to Vietnam; launch of two HSGBs manufactured in India; and keel-laying of seven HSGBs to be manufactured in Vietnam.
• Completion and handing over of seven Development Projects with Indian ‘Grant-in-Aid' Assistance of US$ 1.5 million for the benefit of local community in Vietnam's Ninh Thuan province.
• Enhancing the number of annual Quick Impact Projects (QIPs) from currently five to ten commencing FY 2021-2022.
• Three new Development Partnership projects in heritage conservation in Vietnam (F-block of Temple at My Son; Dong Duong Buddhist Monastery in Quang Nam province; and Nhan Cham Tower in Phu Yen province).
• Launch of bilateral project for preparing an Encyclopedia on India - Vietnam

Science and Technology
High-Resolution Aquifer Mapping & Management in Arid Region of North-Western India

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Aquifer Mapping Programme + ministries involved) + Mains ( GS III awareness in the field of science and technology)
What's the NEWS

• A Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) was between Central Ground Water Board (CGWB), Ministry of Jal Shakti and CSIR-NGRI, Hyderabad for use of advanced heliborne geophysical survey and other scientific studies in parts of the States of Rajasthan, Gujarat and Haryana under the Aquifer Mapping Programme.
• Under phase- I of the project, an area of nearly 1 lakh sq km spreading over nearly 65,500 sq km of western arid Rajasthan 32,000 Sq. Km arid parts of Gujarat and nearly 2500 sq km of Haryana would be covered at an estimated cost of 54 Crores.

Aquifer Mapping Programme.

• The major objectives of the study include High resolution aquifer mapping using heliborne geophysical studies, including identification of Sites for artificial recharge,3D Geophysical model, Geophysical Thematic maps at horizontal and vertical plains, Aquifer Geometry of principal aquifer with demarcation of de-saturated and saturated aquifers,Aquifer system with relatively fresh and saline zones; Spatial and depth wise distribution of paleochannel network if any and its linkage with aquifer system; Selecting suitable sites for groundwater withdrawal and water conservation through artificial or managed aquifer recharge.
• This is the first time Ministry of Jal Shakti has decided to use the state of the art technology for identification of aquifers in such a large arid/semi-arid area of the country.
• The study is likely to generate groundwater data in very short time period and will help CGWB in expeditiously finalizing the groundwater management plan in above mentioned water stressed areas.
• The findings of the study would help in formulating site specific plans for improving ground water levels in the water stressed areas and charter the road map for sustainable management of ground water resources.

KEEP Learning KEEP Evolving
TEAM CL IAS