Relevance IN -Prelims (about Parakram diwas + about the activities of various ministries to commemorate the 125^th Birth Anniversary
What's the NEWS

• Government of India has decided to celebrate the 125th Birth Anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a befitting manner at national and international level, beginning from 23rd January 2021.
• A High Level Committee, headed by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has been constituted for deciding the programs, and to supervise and guide the commemoration.
• In order to honour and remember Netaji's indomitable spirit and selfless service to the nation, Government of India has decided to celebrate his birthday on the 23rd day of January every year as "PARAKRAM DIWAS" to inspire people of the country, especially the youth, to act with fortitude in the face of adversity as Netaji did, and to infuse in them a spirit of patriotic fervour.
• Gazette Notification for declaring 23rd January as "ParakramDiwas" has been published.

• The Minister of Culture announced that the year long celebrations to commemorate 125^th birth anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will formally commence on 23^rd January, 2021.
• Prime Minister will preside over the inaugural event of the celebrations being held at Kolkata
• The 125^th Birth Anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose will be celebrated in a befitting manner at national and international level.
• A High Level Committee, headed by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, has been constituted for deciding the programs, and to supervise and guide the commemoration throughout the year.
• The Committee will provide guidance for the commemoration activities in Delhi, Kolkata and other places associated with Netaji and Azad Hind Fauj, both in India as well as overseas.

• The inaugural function of the commemoration will be held at Victoria Memorial in Kolkata on 23rd January 2021 presided over by the Prime Minister.
• A permanent exhibition on Netaji and a Projection Mapping Show will be inaugurated on the occasion.
• A cultural program "AmraNutonJouboneriDoot" will also be held based on the theme of Netaji.
• The Ministry of Culture will also be organising programme at Netaji's birthplace in Cuttack, Orissa.
• Tourism Ministry will be sponsoring this year the National Level indigenous games including Kabaddi Tournament which has been organised for the last 37 years on Netaji's Birth Anniversary in Madhya Pradesh's Narshingpur District by the ‘SahyogKrida Mandal'.
• Ministry of Education proposes to establish 5 chairs on Netaji in 5 Indian Universities, organize online Lectures and Webinars on teachings of Netaji, etc.

• Earlier, in order to honour Netaji's unparalleled contribution to the country, the National Implementation Committee in its meeting held on 25th November 2020 decided to commemorate the 125th Birth Anniversary year of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose in a befitting manner at national and international level.
• The Members of the Committee includes distinguished citizens, historians, authors, experts, family members of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose, as well as eminent persons associated with Azad Hind Fauj (INA).

Relevance IN -Prelims ( about Ex Desert Knight-21 and other Indo - French bilateral exercise)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Air Force and French Air and Space Force (Armée de l'Air et de l'Espace) will conduct a bilateral Air exercise, Ex Desert Knight-21 at Air Force Station Jodhpur from 20 to 24 Jan 21.

• French side will participate with Rafale, Airbus A-330 Multi-Role Tanker Transport (MRTT), A-400M Tactical Transport aircraft and approximately 175 personnel.
• The Indian Air Force aircraft participating in the exercise will include Mirage 2000, Su-30 MKI, Rafale, IL-78 Flight Refuelling Aircraft, AWACS and AEW&C aircraft.
• The exercise marks an important milestone in the series of engagements between the two Air forces.
• As part of Indo-French defence cooperation, Indian Air Force and French Air and Space Force have held six editions of Air Exercises named 'Garuda', the latest being in 2019 at Air Force Base Mont-de-Marsan, France.
• As measures to further the existing cooperation, the two forces have been gainfully utilising available opportunities to conduct 'hop-exercises'.
• The French Air and Space Force deployment while ferrying to Australia for Ex Pitchblack in 2018 was hosted by IAF at Air Force Stations Agra and Gwalior for exercise with fighters and MRTT aircraft.
• Presently, the French detachment for Ex Desert Knight-21 is deployed in Asia as part of their 'Skyros Deployment' and will ferry in forces to Air Force Station Jodhpur.
• The exercise is unique as it includes fielding of Rafale aircraft by both sides and is indicative of the growing interaction between the two premier Air Forces.
• As the two detachments commence their air exchange from 20 Jan onwards, they will put into practice operational experience gained across terrains and spectrums and endeavour to exchange ideas and best practices to enhance interoperability.

Relevance IN -Prelims ( about CSMRS ) + Mains ( GS II government policies and interventions + GS III infrastructure development - energy)
What's the NEWS

• A review meeting of the CSMRS has been conducted recently.
• CSMRS is a state of the art Research institute which is famous for its core competency in Investigation, Consultancy and applied research in challenging Geo-technical environment in large scale Water resources projects.
• CSMRS is the only union organization dealing with soils, rocks, concrete, rockfill, geosynthetics and other materials for WR Projects.

• The Institute is pioneer in Geotechnical Survey and Analysis.
• It provides consultancy to Strategic International projects like Punatsangchu (Bhutan)
• It plays a fundamental role under the DRIP Programme of Ministry of Jal Shakti
• The Institute plays a pivotal role in carrying out the investigation and analysis of the soil, rock and other geological parameters which is critical for the design and construction of large scale structures like Dams, Barrages, Water canals etc.
• CSMRS is making silent yet significant contribution in almost every WR project of National and International importance for eg - Polavaram project, Andhra Pradesh, SardarSarovar Dam Project, BhaunratDam,U.P, Kholongchhu HE project, Bhutan, Punatsangchhu HE project,Bhutan, projects in Afghanistan and Myanmar etc.
• CSMRS has an instrumental role to play in the Ongoing DRIP - Dam Rehabilitation & Improvement Project.
• The Government has allocated funds under the DRIP Project for procurement of cutting edge software and equipment for CSMRS.
• The Director of the Institute informed that 2 Software for real time Data Analysis and study of structural behaviour during and post construction stages, namely FLAC 2F and RS2/PHASE 2 have been procured along with other equipment.
• The Government has also provided Nod for specialized training and capacity building of CSMRS scientists at Swansea University, UK and Norwegian Geotechnical Institute Oslo, Norway.

• It is an attached office of the Department of Water Resources, River Development & Ganga Rejuvenation, Ministry of Jal Shakti was established in 1954.
• CSMRS is an ISO 9001:2015 certified organization which deals with field and laboratory investigations, basic and applied research and problems in geotechnical engineering, concrete technology, construction materials and associated environmental issues, having direct bearing on the development of irrigation and power in the country and functions as an adviser and consultant in the above fields to various projects and organizations in India and abroad.
• CSMRS undertakes consultancy works pertaining to the proposed projects, mostly in the area of water resources sector, in the domain of investigation with reference to laboratory and in-situ testing for foundations on soils and rocks and investigations for the construction materials, like - concrete (and its constituents), soil, geosynthetics, Rockfill etc.
• The consultancy work comprises suggestions, based on the recommended parameters of the investigated materials (required for the design of structures) and remedial measures to be adopted for the problems encountered at/by the project.
• In several instances, CSMRS is also called upon to ascertain the veracity of investigations in case of disputed/ unreliable investigations.
• CSMRS also undertakes quality control works for the under construction projects.
• CSMRS provides assistance to the projects for setting up of the quality control laboratories at the project site and renders its expertise for the quality assurance of the projects.
• CSMRS can take up any challenging investigation works in respect of dams, bridges, multi-storey buildings, nuclear and thermal power stations besides safety evaluation of existing hydraulic and other civil engineering projects.

Relevance IN -Prelims ( about the 1st national conference of states on logistics- highlights + steps taken by the government) + Mains ( GS III centre-state relations + GS III infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry conducted the 1st National Conference of States on Logistics,
• The Ministry of Commerce and Industry is trying to integrate various means of transport, documentation & stakeholders through technology platforms, into a much-simplified way of working, which will enhance the Ease of Doing Business.
• Logistics is about ensuring customer satisfaction, and the associated infrastructure required to achieve that is what logistics is all about. Center & States are working as team.
• Logistics is all about 5R's: Getting the Right product - In the Right condition - At the Right place - At the Right time - To the Right customer.

Steps taken by the government to improve the Logistics

• National Logistics Policy, which is under consultation, along with the National Logistics Council and State Logistics Coordination Committee, will work as a template for better coordination and integrated development for logistics centre.
• In India, we have $200 billion logistics ecosystem. A good part of it is supported by the Indian Railways.
• The government is making massive efforts to bring down the cost of logistics & expand the scope of service that Railways provide.
• Using COVID crisis as an opportunity, Railways reoriented its pattern of working. A zero-based time table was created.
• The average freight speed train speed was 46.77 kmph as compared to 22.47 kmph last year in the same period."
• The average freight speed train is 97% higher as compared to the same period last year
• DFC are corridors which will only carry freight transport, increasing the speed exponentially and bringing down the cost while adding huge capacity to be able to transport volume goods & small parcels.
• By 2022, we will have both, the Eastern and Western Dedicated Freight Corridors ready and will serve the people of India.

Governance
National Startup Advisory Council

Relevance IN -Prelims ( all about National Startup Advisory Council)
What's the NEWS

• The Central Government has now decided to nominate the non-official members on the National Startup Advisory Council representing various stakeholders such as founders of successful startups, veterans who have grown and scaled companies in India, persons capable of representing interest of investors into startups, persons capable of representing interests of incubators and accelerators, representatives of associations of stakeholders of startups and representatives of industry associations.

Startup Advisory Council

• The term of the Non-official members of the Startup Advisory Council shall be for a period of two years or until further orders, whichever is earlier.
• Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) had constituted the ‘National Startup Advisory Council' India dated 21^st January 2020 to advise the Government on measures needed to build a strong ecosystem for nurturing innovation and startups in the country to drive sustainable economic growth and generate large scale employment opportunities.

The council shall, inter alia, suggest measures to:

• Foster a culture of innovation amongst citizens and students in particular;
• Promote innovation in all sectors of economy across the country, including semi-urban and rural areas;
• Support creative and innovative ideas through incubation and research and development to transform them into valuable products, processes or solutions to improve productivity and efficiency;
• Create an environment of absorption of innovation in industry;
• Facilitate public organizations to assimilate innovation with a view to improving public service delivery;
• Promote creation, protection and commercialization of intellectual property rights;
• Make it easier to start, operate, grow and exit businesses by reducing regulatory compliances and costs;
• Promote ease of access to capital for startups;
• Incentivize domestic capital for investments into startups;
• Mobilize global capital for investments in Indian startups;
• Keep control of startups with original promoters.
• Provide access to global markets for Indian startups.

Bilateral Relations
First India-EU IPR dialogue
Relevance IN -Prelims ( all about the 1st India-EU IPR dialogue - highlights) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations + GS III issues relating to intellectual property rights.

What's the NEWS

• The 1st India-EU IPR dialogue was held between the EU Commission and Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT)through a virtual platform.

India-EU IPR dialogue (highlights)

• The aim of the dialogue was to further strengthen the India-EU relation & facilitate enhanced cooperation in the field of Intellectual Property Rights.
• The India Co-Chair provided an overview of various IPR developments, with an aim to meet the objectives set forth in the National IPR policy 2016.
• He also reiterated importance of legislative reforms brought in by India to stimulate innovation and creativity among start-ups and MSMEs.
• Various initiatives taken up by the Indian government in this context were appreciated by EU representatives.
• The EU Co-Chair provided brief overview of DG trade and the various activities being undertaken by them including IPRs in relation to Free Trade Agreements as well as effective enforcement of Intellectual Property Rights.
• Representative from EU provided an update on a recent directive on Copyright in the digital market keeping in pace with changing demands of industry.
• On Trademark, they presented the details about the dual system available in the region which provides flexibility to the owners.

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