Prelims Factoids
Project Seabird

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Project Seabird + reforms highlighted by the Defence Minister during his visit - helps in substantiating answers of GS II and GS III - defence and infrastructure related questions
What's the NEWS

• Raksha Mantri visited the Karwar Naval Base in Karnataka on June 24, 2021 to review the progress of ongoing infrastructure development under ‘Project Seabird'.
• After the completion of the project, the Kawar Naval Base would become Asia's largest Naval base which would further bolster the operational readiness of the Armed Forces and help in augmenting trade, economy & humanitarian aid operations.

The role of Navy

• The Navy is successfully discharging its duties of protecting the country, which through its coastline of more than 7,500 kms, about 1,300 islands and an exclusive economic zone of 2.5 million sq kms, is playing a crucial role in the development of the world.
• The Navy is continuously strengthening India's relations with its maritime neighbours with focus on 'SAGAR' (Security & Growth for All in Region) envisioned by Prime Minister

Reforms undertaken by the Government to further strengthen the operational preparedness of the Armed Forces

• appointment of Chief of Defence Staff and setting up of Department of Military Affairs in Ministry of Defence.
• allocation of 64 per cent of modernisation funds under capital acquisition budget for 2021-22 for domestic procurement; changes in Defence Acquisition Procedure 2020
• increase in FDI limit in the defence sector to 74 per cent.
• more than two-thirds of Navy's modernisation budget has been spent on indigenous procurement in the last five financial years.
• out of the 48 ships and submarines, 46 are being inducted through indigenous construction.
• Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant as a shining example of Navy's self-reliance efforts.
• commissioning of Indigenous Aircraft Carrier Vikrant will be a momentous occasion in the history of Indian defence as it is coinciding with the 75th anniversary of India's Independence.

Know! about Project Seabird

• The largest naval infrastructure project for India, it involves creation of a naval base at Karwar on the west coast of India.
• Upon completion, this $3 billion program and effort will provide the Indian Navy with its largest naval base on the west coast and also the largest naval base east of the Suez Canal.
• The new and expanded naval complex will be able to support several major warships and submarines and yard crafts.
• A specialised dockyard repair and maintenance facilities (with piers, wharfs, revetments, quay walls, etc.), covered dry berths for ships and submarines, new technologically advanced security and communication systems, a Naval Air Station (including multiple runways, hangars, housing, ordnance handling areas, services, personnel support infrastructure, etc.), various utilities systems as well as housing and residential complexes at multiple locations are some of the other facilities that the base will feature.
• Located on a partially hilly terrain along the coast, the project involves several technical and environmental challenges.
• A significant amount of site work will have to be carried out as portion of the area in the sea will be reclaimed.
• INS Kadamba is an Indian Navy base located near Karwar in Karnataka.
• The first phase of construction of the base, code-named Project Seabird, was completed in 2005 and the base was commissioned on 31 May 2005.
• Development of Phase II commenced in 2011. INS Kadamba is currently the third largest Indian naval base, and is expected to become the largest naval base in the eastern hemisphere after completion of expansion Phase IIB.
• During the Indo-Pakistan War of 1971, the Indian Navy faced security challenges for its Western Fleet in Mumbai Harbour due to congestion in the shipping lanes from commercial shipping traffic, fishing boats and tourists.
• At the end of the war, various options were considered on addressing these concerns.
• Alternative locations for a base on the west coast were evaluated, including Thiruvananthapuram, Kannur and Thoothukudi.

Bilateral Relations/Economy
Finance Minister addresses US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) Board of Directors Investment Roundtable

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about USISPF) + Mains ( GS II bilateral relations + GS III economic development)
What's the NEWS

• The Union Minister for Finance & Corporate Affairs participated in the Global Investors Roundtable organised by the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) through video conferencing which witnessed participation from some of the largest foreign investors, including Mastercard, MetLife, Prudential, Air Products, Dell, SoftBank and Warburg Pincus amongst others.

Know! about the event

• The event provided investors with an opportunity to engage with the Union Finance Minister and senior officials of Indian Government to discuss potential investment opportunities and deliberate on the role of ongoing policy reforms that will enable greater Ease-of-Doing-Business in India.
• The Finance Minister spoke about going ahead with an overall vision to build a self-reliant modern India driven by 5 "I's" viz. Intent, Inclusion, Investment, Infrastructure and Innovation.
• The Finance Minister stated that the country is committed for long term relationship with US investors and proposes to meet twice yearly.

Know! about the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF)

• The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is a non-profit organization, with the primary objective of strengthening the India-US bilateral and strategic partnership through policy advocacy in the fields of economic growth, entrepreneurship, employment-creation, and innovation.
• The US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF) is committed to creating the most powerful strategic partnership between the U.S. and India.
• It is about business and government coming together in new ways to create meaningful opportunities that have the power to change the lives of citizens.
• It is entering a new era based on a strategic partnership between the U.S. and India - one where they will work closely together with business and government leaders to achieve our goals of driving economic growth, job creation, innovation, inclusion, and entrepreneurship.
• USUSOF build, enable, advocate, and guide partnerships between the United States and India by providing a platform for all stakeholders to come together in ways that will create meaningful opportunities with the power to change the lives of citizens in both countries.

Its areas of work include:

• Business Advocacy
• Strategic Initiatives
• Legislative Affairs
• Higher Education & CSR
• Startup and Innovation
• White Papers

Defence
Indian Coast Guard rescues nine crew from sinking vessel Ganga-I off Cinque Island

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the location of Cinque Island )
What's the NEWS

• The Indian Coast Guard (ICG) rescued nine crew from sinking vessel Ganga-I off Cinque Island on June 23, 2021.
• The ICG had received a distress alert from Tug Ganga-I in approx. 30 nm South East of Port Blair.
• The ICG immediately launched a Search and Rescue (SAR) operation in coordination with Port Management Board (PMB), Port Blair in which ICG ships and PMB Tug ‘Ocean Marvel' were deployed for response.
• ICG ship C-146 and ICG ship C-412 on routine deployment were immediately diverted for assistance.
• ICG ship Durgabai Deshmukh and PMB Tug ‘Ocean Marvel' sailed from Port Blair with a damage control team and de-flooding equipment for immediate assistance.

Know! about Cinque Island

• The Cinque Island is located just around 25 kilometers from the famous Port Blair and is situated in the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park.
• Due to its proximity to Port Blair, the islands can be reached through any popular means of transportation.
• The Cinque Island, divided further into the North Cinque and South Cinque islands, are two among the many small islands that are found near Andaman and Nicobar, in India.
• Unlike the main islands, these are uninhabited and tourists are only allowed to visit them for day visits unless they have a special grant or permission.
• The islands are often considered to be one single island, because they are connected by a sandbar, making it easy to access them both at the same time. Both the islands are also a part of the Wandoor Marine National Park, also commonly referred to as the Mahatma Gandhi Marine National Park.

Economy
IFSCA constitutes a committee for development of avenues for Ship Financing and Leasing in IFSC

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about the committee constituted and its role + about IFSCA) + Mains ( GS III Infrastructure development)
What's the NEWS

• International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has constituted a committee to examine global best practices in ship financing and leasing, identify opportunities and devise a roadmap to enable such activities from GIFT IFSC.
• This committee will be chaired by Ms. Vandana Aggarwal, former Senior Economic Advisor, Government of India.
• The committee includes representatives from the Government of India, Gujarat Maritime Board and industry experts possessing domain knowledge.

Know! the objective of the committee

• India is strategically located on the world's shipping routes and has a large coastline of approximately 7,500 km.
• India also has 12 major and over 200 minor ports. Data from the Ministry of Shipping suggests that 95% of India's trading by volume and 70% by value is done via maritime transport.
• Inspite of significant exposure to Shipping, India is yet to develop as an international shipping hub.
• IFSCA aims to provide an enabling regulatory framework and facilitative environment so that GIFT IFSC can become an international hub for Ship Financing & Leasing activities thereby benefitting shipowners, lessors, carriers, ship operators, ship management companies and other stakeholders in the maritime ecosystem.
• The committee is mandated to examine the existing legal, regulatory, tax and other applicable frameworks, identify the bottlenecks pertaining to ship financing & leasing and recommend specific measures required which shall enable ship financing & leasing from IFSC at par with best international practices.
• The committee would submit its recommendations to IFSCA in three months.

Establishment of IFSCA

• The International Financial Services Centres Authority (IFSCA) has been established on April 27, 2020 under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019. It is headquartered at GIFT City, Gandhinagar in Gujarat.
• The IFSCA is a unified authority for the development and regulation of financial products, financial services and financial institutions in the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) in India.
• At present, the GIFT IFSC is the maiden international financial services centre in India.
• Prior to the establishment of IFSCA, the domestic financial regulators, namely, RBI, SEBI, PFRDA and IRDAI regulated the business in IFSC.
• As the dynamic nature of business in the IFSCs requires a high degree of inter-regulatory coordination within the financial sector, the IFSCA has been established as a unified regulator with a holistic vision in order to promote ease of doing business in IFSC and provide world class regulatory environment.
• The main objective of the IFSCA is to develop a strong global connect and focus on the needs of the Indian economy as well as to serve as an international financial platform for the entire region and the global economy as a whole.

Agriculture
APEDA in collaboration with Indian embassy organize virtual buyer seller meet for boosting agricultural and processed food products exports to Algeria

Relevance IN - Prelims ( about APEDA) + Mains (GS III Farmer's welfare)
What's the NEWS

• In a bid to boost agricultural and processed food products exports, APEDA in collaboration with Indian embassy has organized a virtual buyer seller meet (VBSM) with Algeria where key stakeholders in the agricultural value chains from both the countries participated.
• More than 100 participants including exporters, processors and traders of agricultural commodities from India and Algeria participated in the VBSM titled ‘Opportunities in Agri-sector between India and Algeria' organized on Wednesday.
• In the VBSM held with trade and government officials from Algeria, the scope of increasing exports of India's Geographical Indications (GI) certified agricultural products were discussed. Export potential of products including cereals, animal product, non-basmati and basmati rice etc to Algeria were discussed during VBSM.
• Along with APEDA and Indian embassy officials, trade representatives including officials from All India Rice Exporters Association, The Rice Exporters Association, All India Food Processors Association, importers from Algeria participated in the VBSM.

Agriculture and processed food production export Development Authority (APEDA)

• It is an apex body that promotes export trade of agricultural products in India. Set-up by the ministry of Commerce and Industry, Government of India, APEDA or Agriculture and Processed Food products Export Development Authority was formed under the act passed by parliament in December 1985.
• The act came into the effect from 13th February 1986 (34years ago) by the notification issued in the Gazette of India.
• APEDA is responsible for export promotion of Fresh Fruits & Vegetables, Processed Food products, Livestock products and Cereals.
• It provides the crucial interface between farmers, storehouses, packers, exporters, surface transport, ports, Railways, Airways, all others engaged in export trade and finally to the international market.
• Directly or indirectly, it offers services that support farmers and exporters from different states in the country.
• It bridges the gap between agricultural and processed food producers to reach to the exporters in international markets.

APEDA is mandated with the responsibility of export promotion and development of the following scheduled products:

• Fruits, vegetables and their products
• Meat and meat products
• Poultry and poultry products
• Dairy products
• Confectionery biscuits and Bakery products
• Honey, jaggery and sugar products
• Cocoa and its products, Chocolates of all kinds.
• Alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages
• Cereal and cereal products
• Groundnuts peanuts and walnuts
• Pickles, papads and chutney
• Guar gum
• Floriculture and its products
• Herbal and Medicinal plants

The above product categories are almost covered 50% of all Agriculture products exported from India.
During the period 2020-21, India's Agriculture exports stands at US$ 41.25 Billion out of which exports of APEDA monitored products was around US$ 20 Billion.

State Specific
Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project
Relevance IN - Prelims ( about Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project )
What's the NEWS

• The Government of India, Government of Mizoram and the World Bank have signed a $32 million Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project to improve management capacity and quality of health services in Mizoram, particularly for the benefit of under-served areas and vulnerable groups.

Know! more about the project

• The project will strengthen the governance and the management structure of the Department of Health and Family Welfare (DoHFW) and its subsidiaries, improve the quality and coverage of services delivered by the state government health systems, and invest in a comprehensive Quality Assurance program which would enable quality certification of health facilities.
• A key focus will be to strengthen the effectiveness of the state health insurance programme; build synergies with the Government of India's Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojna (PMJAY); and thereby reduce financial barriers in accessing hospital services, prevent catastrophic out of pocket expenditure for health by poor families and expand coverage.
• The Mizoram Health Systems Strengthening Project will benefit the people across all eight districts of the state. It will also benefit health sector staff, specifically at the secondary and primary levels, by strengthening their planning and management capacity along with building their clinical skills and competencies.
• The project will move towards a performance-based financing system where Internal Performance Agreements (IPAs) between the DoHFW and its subsidiaries would foster more accountability at all levels.
• This is expected to go a long way in improving the management of the system to deliver quality health services.
• The project will also focus on promoting synergy between various schemes and augment the capacity of the state insurance agency.
• The project will invest in infection prevention and control for a more resilient response to future outbreaks, pandemics, and health emergencies.
• The project will also invest in improving the overall ecosystem for bio-medical waste management (both solid and liquid waste).
• It will include segregation, disinfection, and collection while safeguarding the environment and improving the quality of health service and patient safety.

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