Defence
GLOBAL CHIEFS' OF AIR STAFF CONCLAVE

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Global Chiefs' of Air Staff Conclave)
What's the NEWS

• Indian Air Force hosted a two day Global Chiefs' of Air Staff Conclave on 03 & 04 February 21 themed 'Leveraging Aerospace Power for Security and Stability' on Day 2 & 3 of Aero India 21.

CAS conclave (takeaways)

• The CAS conclave brought together Chiefs and senior dignitaries from Air Forces across the world and was a befitting event as part of Aero India, with primary focus on Air Power & associated technologies.
• Chief of Defence Staff, Gen Bipin Rawat graced the inaugural session.
• The CAS conclave enables the exchange of ideas & enhancement of multilateral cooperation between the participating Air Forces.
• The Conclave was organised in a hybrid format to obviate restrictions imposed due to the Covid-19 pandemic and was attended by close to 50 countries.
• Between 03 & 04 Feb, Chiefs/ Commanders of Air Forces of 28 countries joined the Conclave.
• The Conclave was conceived for exchange of ideas and best practices on themes of contemporary relevance in the aerospace domain.
• Countries participated from across continents with Air Forces from the Americas, Europe, Middle East, West Asia, Central Asian republics, South East Asia, Africa, Indian Ocean region and the Indo Pacific.
• The three sessions of the CAS Conclave provided a forum to discuss important issues with respect to aerospace strategy, emerging technologies impacting the battle space and issues pertaining to security and stability of the Global Commons.
• These sessions were planned to address themes of "Disruptive Technologies and Innovations", "Air Power in the Indo-Pacific Region" and "Air Power and Aerospace Strategy".

Bilateral Relations
1^st India-Bahrain Joint Working Group meeting in the field of Renewable Energy

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the first JWG meeting and its takeaways + bahrain - geographical location) + Mains ( GS II bilateral. relations)
What's the NEWS

• The 1^st meeting of the Joint Working Group in the field of Renewable Energy between India and the Kingdom of Bahrain held in virtual format.

Know! more about it

• A Memorandum of Understanding between India and Bahrain was signed in July 2018 for promoting bilateral cooperation in the field of Renewable Energy.
• Both sides underscored importance of renewable energy to meet climate change goals, and presented the initiatives taken, progress made and future targets set by their respective governments as well as opportunities available in this sector.
• They agreed on sharing experience, expertise and best practices.
• Both sides agreed to forging deeper engagement in capacity building and focused cooperation between concerned agencies as well as private sector of the two countries in this sector, particularly in the field of solar, wind and clean hydrogen.

Bahrain (geographical location)


Parliament Session (information given by the Minister in Lok Sabha)
Ganga Amantran Abhiyan

Know! the steps taken by the government to rejuvenate river Ganga

• Ganga Aamantran Abhiyan, a rafting and kayaking expedition on the Ganga River from Devprayag to Ganga Sagar, was organised between 10th October 2019 to 12^th November 2019.
• The expedition encompassed five Ganga basin States, i.e. Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal with stops at 34 locations including Rishikesh, Haridwar, Kanpur, Allahabad, Varanasi, Patna, Sonepur and Kolkata.
• The expedition was undertaken through an adventure sporting activity to connect people to the river and to spread the message of river rejuvenation & water conservation on a massive scale.
• During the expedition, public awareness campaigns were organised and interactions with people, in particular, youth and students of the village/city made on the various locations to spread the message of river conservation.
• With the aim to integrate people's participation and economic development for Ganga rejuvenation with various stakeholders who have a key role to play in this initiative including Agriculture, Power, Tourism, Energy, Water, AYUSH, Environment, Forest & Climate Change etc.,
• NMCG is working in an integrated manner with concerned Ministries/Departments and Government agencies to boost economic activities and tourism in the river Ganga.
• Documentation of intangible cultural heritage in the Ganga basin is also being carried out by INTACH, which includes inventorization of heritage culture, spirituality, yoga/ayurveda/wellness, eco-tourism, cuisine, fairs & festivals, interpretation/ heritage walks as a part of the project.
• Namami Gange Programme is conceptualised not only as a sewerage infrastructure development programme but also includes components of Communication and Public Outreach which are important for its sustainability.
• For this purpose, dedicated voluntary groups like Ganga Vichar Manch, Ganga Doots, Ganga Prahari, Ganga Mitra including NCC, NSS, NYKS etc. at the grassroot level have been formed and their resources are channelized for engagement of the community and public at large.
• Under the Namami Gange Programme, number of public campaigns and events are organised like Swachhta Pakhwada, Swachhta Hi Sewa, Ganga Yatra, Rafting Expedition, Ganga Utsav, Plantation Drives, Ganga Run etc.

Know! about INTACH

• The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) was founded in 1984 in New Delhi with the vision to spearhead heritage awareness and conservation in India.
• INTACH is recognized as one of the world's largest heritage organizations, with over 190 Chapters across the Country.
• The Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage is a non-profit charitable organisation registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860.
• In 2007, the United Nations awarded INTACH a special consultative status with United Nations Economic and Social Council
• In the past 31 years INTACH has pioneered the conservation and preservation of not just our natural and built heritage but intangible heritage as well.
• Headquartered in New Delhi, it operates through various divisions such as Architectural Heritage, Natural Heritage, Material Heritage, Intangible Cultural Heritage, Heritage Education and Communication Services (HECS), Crafts and Community Cell, Chapters, INTACH Heritage Academy, Heritage Tourism, Listing Cell and Library, Archives and Documentation Centre.

National
First anniversary of the historic Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) agreement

Relevance IN - Prelims (about Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) agreement.+ Mains ( GS II Polity - Centre- State relations)
What's the NEWS

• Union Home Minister attended a special function held in Kokrajhar, Assam to celebrate the first anniversary of the historic Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) agreement.

Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR) agreement.

• A TRIPARTITE accord signed in New Delhi last year on 27^th January by representatives of Bodo organisations with the Central and Assam governments, presents a new model of power sharing and governance in Assam under the Sixth Schedule of the Indian Constitution.
• The Bodo parties to the agreement include the All Bodo Students' Union (ABSU), the United Bodo People's Organisation (UBPO) and all the four factions of the National Democratic Front of Boroland (NDFB).
• The deal renamed Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD), which included four districts, as Bodoland Territorial Region (BTR).
• Redrawing of BTR boundaries, grant of Rs.5000 crore, rehabilitation of NDFB rebels and naming Bodo as associate official language of the state were also part of the deal.
• This model reduces the dependence of the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC), constituted under the Sixth Schedule, on the State government for funds, provides scope for expansion of the territory, and empowers the BTC to have a say in the appointment of Deputy Commissioners and Superintendents of Police although the Home and Police departments will continue to be with the State government.

New model v/s schedule six

• The augmented area and powers of the BTC, under the new accord trigger fresh aspirations in the nine autonomous councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram to graduate to the new model.
• That is likely to have an impact on the existing power-sharing arrangements between the governments and the autonomous councils constituted under the Sixth Schedule in these States.

Bodoland Territorial Region

• It is an autonomous region in Assam, Northeast India. It made up of four districts on the north bank of the Brahmaputra river, by the foothills of Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh.
• It is administered by an elected body known as the Bodoland Territorial Council which came into existence under the terms of a peace agreement signed in February 2003 and its autonomy was further extended by an agreement signed in January 2020.
• The region covers an area of over nine thousand square kilometres and is predominantly inhabited by the Bodo people and other indigenous communities of Assam

Bodoland Dispute

• Bodos are the single largest community among the notified Scheduled Tribes in Assam. They constitute about 5-6% of Assam's population.
• The first Bodo Accord was signed with the ABSU in 1993, leading to the creation of a Bodoland Autonomous Council with limited political powers.
• Under the second Bodo Accord, it is agreed to create a self-governing body for the Bodo Areas in the State of Assam.
• In pursuance of this, the Bodoland Territorial Council (BTC) was created in 2003 with some more financial and other powers.
• Bodoland Territorial Council is an autonomous region in the state of Assam in India.
• The area under the jurisdiction of BTC, formed under the 2003 Accord, was called the Bodo Territorial Autonomous District (BTAD).
• BTC is an area governed under the 6th schedule. However, BTC is an exception to the constitutional provision under the 6th schedule as it can constitute up to 46 members out of which 40 are elected.
• Of these 40 seats, 35 are reserved for the Scheduled Tribes and non-tribal communities, five are unreserved and the rest six are nominated by the governor from underrepresented communities of the Bodoland Territorial Areas District (BTAD).
• Thus, the creation of the BTC can be seen as a new experiment of territorial autonomy under the Sixth Schedule.

Autonomous districts and regional councils

• The Sixth Schedule has provision for ADCs and separate Regional Councils for each area constituted as an autonomous region.
• There are 10 areas in the Northeast that are registered as autonomous districts - three in Assam, Meghalaya and Mizoram and one in Tripura.
• These regions are named as district council of (name of district) and regional council of (name of region).
• Each autonomous district and regional council consists of not more than 30 members, of which four are nominated by the governor and the rest via elections. All of them remain in power for a term of five years.

Sixth Schedule

• The Sixth Schedule consists of provisions for the administration of tribal areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram, according to Article 244 of the Indian Constitution.
• It was passed by the Constituent Assembly in 1949, it seeks to safeguard the rights of the tribal population through the formation of Autonomous District Councils (ADC).
• ADCs are bodies representing a district to which the Constitution has given varying degrees of autonomy within the state legislature.
• The governors of these states are empowered to reorganise boundaries of the tribal areas also they can alter or change the names of autonomous regions without separate legislation.

Report/Index
India slips two positions to 53^rd spot in EIU's Democracy Index
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the Index highlights + about EIU)
What's the NEWS

• India's overall score fell from 6.9 in 2019 to 6.61 in the Index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for 167 countries.
• India slipped two places to 53rd position in the 2020 Democracy Index's global ranking, according to The Economist Intelligence Unit, which said the "democratic backsliding" by authorities and "crackdowns" on civil liberties has led to a further decline in the country's ranking.

Know! the report highlights

• India is ranked higher than most of its neighbouring countries. India's overall score fell from 6.9 in 2019 to 6.61 in the Index that provides a snapshot of the current state of democracy worldwide for 167 countries.
• With mounting pressure on India's democratic norms, India's score fell from a peak of 7.92 in 2014 to 6.61 in 2020 and its global ranking slipped from 27^th (in 2014) to 53rd as a result of democratic backsliding" under the current regime
• Norway topped the report titled "Democracy in sickness and in health?", with Iceland, Sweden, New Zealand and Canada making up the top five.
• Out of 167 countries, the Democracy Index classifies 23 countries as full democracies, 52 as flawed democracies, 35 as hybrid regimes and 57 as authoritarian regimes.
• India has been classified as a ‘flawed democracy' along with countries such as the US, France, Belgium and Brazil.
• It further alleged that the Narendra Modi-led government has "introduced a religious element to the conceptualisation of Indian citizenship, a step that many critics see as undermining the secular basis of the Indian state".
• The EIU report said that in India and Thailand, "democratic backsliding by the authorities and crackdowns on civil liberties led to a further decline in their global rankings".
• India was ranked 51st in the 2019 Democracy Index.
• Among India's neighbours, while Sri Lanka, at 68th rank, is classified as a flawed democracy, Bangladesh (76), Bhutan (84) and Pakistan (105) are classified in the 'hybrid regime' category.
• Afghanistan is ranked 139th and classified as an 'authoritarian regime' in the index.
• The EIU report looks at the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on freedom and democracy around the world.
• The Asia and Australasia region includes top-scoring New Zealand, which retained its fourth position in the global ranking (out of 167 countries), and persistent laggard North Korea at the bottom of the global ranking in 167^th place

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU)

• The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) is the research and analysis division of Economist Group providing forecasting and advisory services through research and analysis, such as monthly country reports, five-year country economic forecasts, country risk service reports, and industry reports.
• The EIU provides country, industry, and management analysis worldwide and incorporates the former Business International Corporation, a UK company acquired by its parent company in 1986.
• The Economist Intelligence Unit (The EIU) is the world's leading resource for economic and business research, forecasting and analysis,
• The EIU has several offices across the globe including two offices in China and one in Hong Kong.

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