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Daily News Simplified - DNS

02 07 20Notes

SL. NO. TOPICS

THE HINDUPAGE NO.

1 Striking a blow against Assam’s Inclusive ethos 06

2 SBI unit to set up SPV for aiding NBFCs on liquidity 15

3 How not to tame the digital dragon 07

4 Reforming India’s digital policy 07

5 Police reform and the crucial judicial actor 07

6 IRDAI forms panel to mull surety Bonds 15

7 Ministry reconstitutes Central Zoo authority 10

8 Mamta Writes to NITI Ayong on Sunderbans 11

9 Prelims Pointers

Dated: 02. July. 2020 DNS Notes - Revision

Title Striking a blow against Assam’s Inclusive ethos (Page Number 06)

Syllabus Mains GSI: Social Issues GSII: Issues related to Federalism

Prelims: Languages of 8th Schedule and Article 350

Theme

HighlightsContext:

The Assam government recently decided to promulgate a law to make the Assamese language compulsory in all schools, both public and private, including the Kendriya Vidyalayas, from Classes I to X.

However, the law will not be applicable in Barak Valley, Bodoland Council and other Sixth Schedule areas, where Bengali, Bodo and other indigenous languages will take precedence.

Statistical data have often been used as a tool to construct the linguistic hierarchy and homogenisation in a region. This happened in north India with the census-driven communal split of Hindi-Urdu, presuming Muslims to be Urdu speakers, while Hindus to be Hindi speakers. Crucially, this politics marginalised languages such as Magadhi, Awadhi, Bhojpuri, Garhwali with their rich literary and linguistic traditions as mere dialects of the Hindi language.

A similar approach is also evident in Assam. Census data are often used to portray a ‘danger’ to the Assamese language — the ‘infiltration’ of Bengali-speaking communities is considered to be the primary reason.

Though over the years the number of assamese speaking people have reduced , the reason for this is that most tribal communities speak Assamese (Assamese is the dominant market language) but return their own respective languages as their mother tongues.

The anti-Citizenship (Amendment) Act (CAA) movement could have been a another reason for departure in the ‘Assamese Nationalism’ discourse. People of Assam fear that since the people from 6 minority communities will get citizenship , they could come live in Assam thereby causing danger to Assam’s culture .

Impact on tribal languages The imposition of Assamese has had adverse effects on tribal languages, especially

on those which do not enjoy any constitutional protection. Tribal languages are generally on a steady decline. Tribal communities since long have been demanding linguistic and territorial

protection and attention from the State government but have got empty promises or mere paper hogwash.

Tribal communities have always resisted attempts of forced homogenisation. And even though the Tribes have often highlighted that the ‘Assamese nationalism’ discourse was narrow and rarely included other communities, however, tribes such as the Misings, Deoris, Rabhas, etc. have still consistently supported the Assamese


movement against the imposition of Bengali language or Hindi in Assam. But in turn they now find themselves consistently marginalised, with their linguistic and cultural heritage derecognised by the State and the hegemonic forces.

Further the Home Minister of Assam states that the government is also mulling over a separate legislation which will make only those who learned Assamese till their matriculation suitable for government jobs in Assam. These moves are clear indications of a non-inclusive homogenised Assamese nationalism taking precedence over the inclusion of minority linguistic and cultural aspirations.

While the tribes acknowledge the threat that infiltration poses to local languages and culture, they are also wary of the Assamese hegemony and homogeneity. This law will only increase the marginalisation of these communities, triggering social conflicts once again.

Personal Notes


Title SBI unit to set up SPV for aiding NBFCs on liquidity (Page Number 15)

Syllabus GSIII: Banking Prelims: Monetary Policy

Theme Steps taken by the government to prevent NBFC defaults.

HighlightsContext:

As financial Intermediaries, the NBFCs and HFCs borrow money through the issuance of short-term commercial papers and then the borrowed money is given in the form of loans. Now, the lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 has adversely affected the cash flows to the NBFCs and HFCs. This has made it difficult for them to fulfil their repayment obligations on the commercial papers.

Hence, in order to prevent the default by the NBFCs and HFCs and to improve their liquidity position, the Government has announced a special liquidity window worth Rs 30,000 crores. Special Liquidity Scheme

The SBICAP, which is a subsidiary of the State Bank of India has set up a Special Purpose Vehicle(SPV) known as Special Liquidity Scheme (SLS) Trust to manage this operation.The SLS Trust would raise money by issuing government guaranteed special securities to the RBI. The total amount of value of such securities would be Rs 30,000 crores.Under this scheme, certain eligible NBFCs and HFCs would be issuing commercial papers to borrow money from SLS trust. These commercial papers should have maturity period of less than 3 months.The borrowed money should be used by the NBFCs and HFCs only for the purpose of repaying back their borrowed money. The money cannot be used by the NBFCs and HFCs for any other purpose. Eligible Beneficiaries (You can leave it out, if you wish)

NBFCs including Microfinance Institutions that are registered with the RBI under the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, excluding those registered as Core Investment Companies;

Housing Finance Companies that are registered under the National Housing Bank Act, 1987; CRAR/CAR of NBFCs/HFCs should not be below the regulatory minimum, i.e., 15% and 12%

respectively as on March 31, 2019; The net non-performing assets should not be more than 6% as on March 31, 2019;


They should have made net profit in at least one of the last two preceding financial years (i.e. 2017-18 and 2018-19);

They should not have been reported under SMA-1 or SMA-2 category by any bank for their borrowings during last one year prior to August 01, 2018;

They should be rated investment grade by a SEBI registered rating agency; How such a scheme would benefit?

NBFCs and HFCs borrow money from the Banks and financial institutions. Default on the repayment of loans by the NBFCs has potential risk of financial contagion.

Improve the liquidity position of the NBFCs and HFCs. Kickstart the credit creation.

Personal Notes


Title How not to tame the digital dragon (Page Number 07)

Syllabus GSIII: Social Media and Internet and Internal Security

Theme Legal perspectives in recent order of the government to ban 59 Chinese apps

Highlights Context: Earlier this week, on June 29, a dramatic press release was issued by the Ministry of

Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) directing a ban on 59 smartphone applications, many of them web services.

This includes TikTok, a popular social media platform; the UC Browser, a preferred web browser for low budget smartphones; and CamScanner, which is used to convert images into shareable documents.

Beyond the geopolitical and economic impact of this ban, a lot questions arise as to the legality of the step and its impact on democratic norms.

o We will discuss those issues which this notification brings to the foreo We will understand why it is important to follow laws

The issues with respect to this ban Lack of transparency in notification.

o Lack of examination, debate The whole decision is supposed to have been taken on

recommendations by the Ministry of Home Affairs. But, the Ministry’s assessment was not deliberated Upon. Hence, the need for disclosure of these recommendations

gains primacy.o Notification not publicly available

Further, more importantly, the legal order by itself has not yet been published or been made publicly available.

Disclosure of this order is necessary because: Affects Rights of citizens: Because the nature of the action

of blocking impacts the right not only of the owners of these smartphone applications, but the public’s fundamental right to receive information.

Mandatory notification: This need for public disclosure prior to placing any restriction on Internet access (of any scope or nature) has been expressly directed when the Supreme Court examined the scope of the telecommunications shutdown in Jammu and Kashmir. Here, citing a solitary rule from the process devised by the government won’t be of much assistance.

How to challenge the order? Although the power of the government to block any content has been upheld in Shreya Singhal and Anuradha Bhasin judgments, but to approach a High Court in a writ, the petitioner would require the availability of the legal order.

Issues related to legality o Provisions of Section 69A of the IT ACT not followed

Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 permits the blocking of information that falls within specific grounds that need to be invoked when it is “necessary and expedient”.

Such a process requires a show-cause notice to be served, offering


the aggrieved party a detailed opportunity to defend itself; this would have been followed by a detailed legal order

o Issue None of the processes have been followed. Although, This can be exempted when there exists an emergency;

however, there is little in the press release to indicate whether this was indeed an emergency and, if yes, what its specific cause was.

Why these questions are important? The principle of legality is inherent to a republic that is governed by laws and

not the whims of powerful individuals in high office. It is the hallmark of a democracy that laws are validly enacted and do not violate

fundamental rights. To circumvent them to reach a convenient goal would amount to undermining

the constitutional framework of India. Rather these concerns related to privacy and data protection must be addressed

through legislation. o A watered down version of a Data Protection Bill is pending before a

parliamentary committee and awaits enactment.

Forsaking our democratic values is too high a price to pay if the goal is to neuter the designs of an aggressive single-party state. To protect individual liberty and national interests, India must proceed with caution and remember the age-old adage, of being careful of whom we hate, for we may end up just like them.

Personal Notes

Title Reforming India’s digital policy (Page Number 07)


Syllabus GSIII: Internet and Social media

Theme Discussion on Personal data protection Bill

HighlightsContext

This article highlights that Indian Government must soon put in a place a new architecture to provide fillip for digital services. Such an architecture should strike a balance between contrasting objectives such as- Right to Privacy Vs Need to process the data, Need to promote domestic Companies Vs Need to attract more FDI etc.

The Government must also take into account the pros and cons of Data Localisation. Ultimately, the policies have to be formulated in a manner wherein these policies should act as key enabler for India to become $ 5 trillion economy.

Background

The lockdown imposed due to COVID-19 has caused demand and supply side disruption leading to an adverse impact on the world Economy. As highlighted by the UNCTAD's World Investment Report, the negative investor sentiment may lead to broad-based decline in the FDI inflows into developing countries.

However, the COVID-19 has given impetus to the digital services in the form of Online Education, Telemedicine, E-Commerce, E-Payments etc. This shows that the digital sector has withstood the impact of COVID-19 and has potential to attract more FDI inflows.

India, being an Ideal destination for attracting FDI inflows must put in place a new architecture to give fillip to Industrial revolution 4.0. New Digital ArchitectureThe new digital architecture should provide clear-cut and unambiguous directions on the following questions:

1. Where is the data generated?2. Where is the data stored?3. Who processes the data?4. Where is the data processed?

In order to provide clarity on these aspects, the Government has planned 3 reform measures- Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB), the e-commerce policy, and the Information Technology Act Amendments.

Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB)The Bill deals with the broad guidelines on the collection, storage, and processing of personal data, the consent of individuals, penalties and compensation, and a code of conduct.

Data Storage and Data ProcessingThe bill classifies personal data into 3 categories- General Personal data, Critical personal data, Sensitive Personal dataGeneral Personal data: The bill allows some personal data to be stored and processed abroad without requiring a mirror of the data in India. However, all personal data can be processed outside India only with the consent of the person.Critical personal data: In case of certain critical personal data the bill requires both storage and processing of data on servers located solely within the national borders.Central government is empowered to notify categories of personal data as critical personal data.Sensitive Personal data: The draft Bill classifies ‘sensitive personal data’ as including passwords, financial data, health data, sex life, sexual orientation, biometric data, genetic data, transgender


status, intersex status, caste or tribe, and religious or political belief or affiliation. “Sensitive” personal data shall be stored only in India. This data can be processed abroad only under certain conditions, including the approval of a Data Protection Agency (DPA). Government’s powersAccess to data: Government is empowered to gain access to any non-personal data like traffic patterns or demographic information — mainly for framing policy for better delivery of services and evidence-based policy. The Government can also access any information for the purpose of National Security.

Duty of intermediaries: The Bill also requires social media companies, which are deemed “significant data fiduciaries” (SDF) to develop their own user verification mechanism. This is primarily to curb the menace of fake news in India Processing of data without consentThe Bill includes exemptions for processing data without an individual’s consent for “reasonable purposes”, including security of the state, detection of any unlawful activity or fraud, whistleblowing, medical emergencies, credit scoring, operation of search engines and processing of publicly available data. Personal data processed in the interest of prevention, detection, investigation and prosecutionof any offence is exempt.

E-Commerce PolicyInitially, the Draft E-commerce policy provided for Data localization norms. According to the draft, the e-commerce companies such as Amazon, Flipkart etc. are required to store the users' data in the servers which are physically located within the territory of India. However, right now, talks are going on between the Government and e-commerce companies as to whether such provision has to be included in the e-commerce policy or not.

Proposed Amendments to the IT Act, 2000The government has started inter-departmental and industry consultations to revamp the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000. The proposed amendments are centred around some of the core issues related to provision of digital services.

1. Reconciling Data Privacy Vs Need to Provide data to Government on issues related to National Security

2. Syncing IT act with the Personal Data Protection Bill (PDPB)3. Thrust on new and emerging tech (AI, IoT and cryptocurrencies)

Personal Notes

Title Police reform and the crucial judicial actor (Page Number 06)


Syllabus GS II: Polity and Governance

Theme Issues related to police reforms

Highlights Context: This article is in the context of senseless act of violence committed inside a

police station in Thoothukudi in Tamil Nadu which resulted in death of father and son inside the police lockup. So, in such situations of grave state brutalities committed on powerless citizens can only be rectified by judicial intervention. Judiciary becomes a beacon of hope not only for such powerless citizens but also to ensure that justice is delivered. In this aspect the Madurai Bench of Madras High Court has taken notice of the Thoothukudi violence on its own and is “closely” monitoring the situation.

Important decisions of Supreme Court on Police Reforms in the pastSupreme Court of India has been hailed by jurists and scholars as the only institution working in favour of police reforms and has accordingly provided important guidelines to ensure transparency in police functioning.

Joginder Kumar v. State Of U.P and Others – (1994) Joginder Kumar, a young lawyer was illegally detained by the police for 5 days

and his family had to file a writ of Habeas Corpus in Supreme Court of India to know about his situation.

Supreme Court held that any police officer must be able to justify the reason for arrest in writing and such person must be produced before the nearest Magistrate within 24 hours.

SC held that no arrest can be made in a routine manner on a mere allegation of commission of an offence made against a person. In this regard, the Court stressed the importance of Article 21 and 22 cumulatively.

Article 21 - No person shall be deprived of his life or personal liberty except according to procedure established by law.Article 22 – (1) No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest nor shall he be denied the right to consult, and to be defended by, a legal practitioner of his choice. (2) Every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.

D.K. Basu v State of West Bengal– (1997) The Supreme Court laid down certain basic "requirements" to be followed in all

cases of arrest or detention. The police personnel carrying out the arrest and handling the interrogation of the arrestee should bear accurate, visible and clear identification and name clear identification and name tags with their designations.

The friend or family members of the person arrested must be informed soon after the arrest. The particulars of all such police personnel who handle interrogation of the arrestee must be recorded in a register.

The person arrested must be made aware of this right to have someone informed of his arrest or detention as soon as he is put under arrest or is detained. An entry must be made in the diary at the place of detention regarding the arrest of the person which shall also disclose the name of the next fried of the person who has been informed of the arrest and the names and


particulars of the police officials in whose custody the arrestee is. Copies of all the documents including the memo of arrest, referred to above,

should be sent to the Magistrate for his record.

Impact of the two judgments So, overall in both these judgments, Supreme Court highlighted the aspects of

Right to life and right to be informed. Through the guidelines, the Court sought to curb the power of arrest, as well as

ensure that an accused person is made aware of all critical information regarding her arrest and also convey this to friends and family immediately in the event of being taken in custody.

These guidelines became a part of Code of Criminal Procedure as it was added in 2008 after amendment in the said law.

Prakash Singh Case – 2006 Prakash Singh, former Director General of Police filed a petition in Supreme

Court and sought major changes to the police structure. He stressed on autonomy and appealed for police professionalism in the service

by giving a fixed tenure to police officers holding crucial positions beginning with the DGPs in the States.

Supreme Court gave number of orders including fixation of tenure of senior police officers, setting up of a State Security Commission, mandated a new Police Act on the basis of a model Act prepared by the Union government which was circulated among States.

Efforts made after Prakash Singh Case This led to the government constituting a new committee under the

chairmanship of Julio Ribeiro in 1998. This was followed by further committees like Padmanabhaiah, Malimath

committee, Soli Sorabjee committee. Supreme Court made the police reforms a mandatory reform to be taken

up by the central and state governments.

Supreme Court in a judgment ordered the setting up of three institutions at the state level:

1. State Security Commission with a view to insulating the police from extraneous influences,

2. Police Establishment Board to give it functional autonomy, and 3. Police Complaints Authority to ensure its accountability

Supreme Court also ordered that the Director General of Police shall be selected by the state government from amongst the three senior-most officers of the department empanelled for promotion to that rank by UPSC and shall have a prescribed minimum tenure of 2 years.

Police officers on operational duties in the field would also have a minimum tenure of two years.

The court also ordered to separate the investigation and law and order functions of the police to ensure speedier investigation, better expertise and improved rapport with the people.

The Union government was asked to set up a National Security Commission for the selection and placement of heads of Central Police Organisations, upgrading the effectiveness of these forces and improving the service conditions of its personnel.

Importance of Separation of Investigation & Law and Order functions of


police Investigations are poorly mounted, slow, done by inadequately trained and

unspecialized staff and frequently subject to manpower deflection into other pressing law and order duties. Both investigation and law and order are vital and specific police functions.

In order to encourage specialization and upgrade overall performance, the Court has ordered a gradual separation of investigative and law and order wings, starting with towns and urban areas with a population of one million or more.

It is felt that this will streamline policing, ensure speedier and more expert investigation and improve rapport with the people. The Court has not said how this separation is to take place in practice but

Failure to Reform Police Functioning Despite various judicial guidelines and reminders, police functioning is still

unaccountable at many levels resulting in the kind of violence including custodial deaths witnessed in Tamil Nadu on a daily basis.

Not only there is apathy from police and state machinery as a whole, but also judiciary’s approach of simply passing directions and guidelines has proven to be a failure on many fronts.

So, it is ultimately upon the judicial magistrate who hears the arrest petition within 24 hours to decide the fate of a person accused of a crime. Failure to ensure compliance of its judgments have made the Judiciary comparatively weak as certain laws declared as unconstitutional are still followed by lower police officials in India.

Views expressed by the Author – Way Forward So, the article highlights that rather than passing more guidelines, constitutional

courts must seriously contend with the concrete cases that come their way and expose how hard it is for a common man to get justice against police violence, either through compensation claims or prosecutions.

At the same time, constitutional courts must not defend police brutality in the name of low morale of the police in such situations as has been done in this case by Madras High Court.

This tendency was on display when the Madras High Court reportedly saw the Thoothukudi incident as the result of a “few bad apples” ruining a system’s reputation.

Few bad apples must not let the system rot and must be duly punished according to procedure established by law as it is the culture of impunity which allows police to wield their power upon powerless.

Thus, it is time to consider sanctions at a larger scale and impose monetary penalties at the district level, to drive home the message that the erring actions of one officer must be seen as a failure of the force itself.

Supreme Courts must focus on functioning of Judicial Magistrate The overworked magistrate is very often in a rush to get done with the “remand

case”, rather than treat an arrested person with the care and the consideration that the person deserves and is entitled to.

This is not the fault of the magistrate but the systemic failure which constitutional courts are indirectly responsible for as they hardly focus on the work load of judicial magistrates.

Thus, the Constitutional Courts must focus on functions of Judicial Magistrate before whom police produces the accused arrested within 24 hours as he is the point of first contact for a citizen as per the constitutional rule of law under


Article 22.

Personal Notes

Title IRDAI forms panel to mull surety Bonds (Page 15)

Syllabus GS III: Banking

Theme Possibility of insurance companies offering Surety Bonds to ensure completion of the highway projects

Highlights Context:Recently, the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Highways had requested the Insurance regulator, IRDAI to examine the possibility of insurance companies offering Surety Bonds to ensure completion of the highway projects by the Contractors. In this regard, IRDAI has constituted a working group to study the suitability of insurance companies offering surety bonds for contractors. What are Surety Bonds?

The Surety Bond is form of contractual agreement between 3 parties- Principal (Contractor), Obligee (Government) and the Surety company. As part of such an agreement, the surety company gives an undertaking that the Principal (contractor) would complete the project as per the timeline keeping in mind all the specifications laid down by the Government.

If the Contractor fails to complete the project on time or if the contractor does not fulfil any requirement laid down by the Government, then Surety company comes into picture and is required to compensate the Obligee (Government) for the loss.

Presently, these surety Bonds are commonly used in countries such as US, UK, Australia etc. Now, we are trying to create an enabling framework which would enable the Insurance companies to act as surety companies.

Working Mechanism of Surety Bonds

For example, let's say NHAI wants to award the construction of National Highway project to a particular private company ABC. The NHAI would lay down all the specifications and timeline for the completion of the project. The NHAI would want the particular private


company ABC to adhere to these timelines and specifications. Hence, NHAI may insist the private company ABC to provide Surety Bond worth Rs 1000 crores.

Now, the private sector company may buy this Bond from the Insurance Company. Usually, such bonds are not bought at the face value. Rather, they are bought a premium of around 1-10% depending upon the Contractor's financial strength, credit history, experience in execution of projects etc. Let's say, here private sector company ABC buys the bond at the premium of 2%. This means that the company has paid Rs 2 crores to get the surety from the Insurance Company.

This surety bond would then be presented before the NHAI leading to the award of the highway project. In future, if the private sector company ABC fails to adhere to the timelines or the specifications, the Insurance company would be required to pay Rs 1000 crores to the NHAI.

Benefits

Presently, the NHAI requires the Contractors to furnish Bank guarantees for awarding Highway projects. In case of failure of the contractor to adhere to the contract, the Banks would be required to compensate the Government for the loss. This puts higher burden on the Banking sector. Creation of enabling framework for surety bonds would reduce the burden on the Banks and help contractors to avail surety from insurance companies.

Provide Fillip to the Insurance Sector Ensure Completion of Highway projects without any delays and cost escalations.

Personal Notes

Title Ministry reconstitutes Central Zoo authority (Page Number 10)

Syllabus Prelims: Environment

Theme Reconstitution of Central Zoo authority

Highlights Central Zoo authority

It has been constituted under the Wildlife protection act 1972 Thus, it is a statutory body established in 1992 under the Ministry of environment

& forest. Chairman - Minister of Environment, Forest and Climate Change. Apart from the chairman, it consists of 10 members and a member¬ secretary Every Zoo in the country is required to obtain recognition from the Central Zoo

Authority for its operation. Exchange of animals between Indian and foreign zoos is also approved by the

authority before the requisite clearances under EXIM Policy and the CITES permits are issued by the competent authority.

New changes - Environment Ministry has reconstituted the Central Zoo Authority (CZA) to include an expert from the School of Planning and Architecture, Delhi, and a molecular biologist.

Personal Notes


Title Mamta Writes to NITI Ayong on Sunderbans (Page Number 11)

Syllabus Prelims: Environment

Theme Prelims aspect of Sunderbans

Highlights Article Focus:Recently, Indian Sundarbans has been accorded the status of ‘Wetland of International Importance’ under the Ramsar Convention.

Briefly about Ramsar Convention: Famously known as Ramsar Convention, it is Convention on Wetlands of

International Importance, a international treaty for conservation and sustainable use of wetlands.

It is the only global treaty to focus on a single ecosystem. The convention was adopted in the Iranian city of Ramsar in 1971 and came into

force in 1975.Why Ramsar Convention:

Wetlands are important as they provide freshwater and food and serve as nature’s shock absorber.

Because of their critical importance for biodiversity and threat due to factors such as major changes in land use for agriculture and grazing; water diversion for dams and canals; and infrastructure development, more than 64% of the wetlands have disappeared since 1900

This necessitated the need for international treaty to conserve wetlands, which finally culminated as Ramsar Convention.

Geography of Indian Sudarbans It is located in southwestern part the delta of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra at

the mouth of the Bay of Bengal in India and Bangladesh. Sundarbans comprises hundreds of island and a network of rivers, tributaries

and creeks and over 60% of the country’s total mangrove forest area. It is 27th Ramsar Site in India and is now the largest protected wetland in the

country.


Criteria for status of Wetland of International Importance: Criteria is divided into 2 groups, which is further sub-divided into different sub-

sections, making in total 9 criteria which are required to award any wetland the status of International Importance. The 2 groups are namely:

o Sites containing representative, rare or unique wetland types( 1 Criteria)

o Sites of international importance for conserving biological diversity Criteria based on species and ecological communities (3 Criteria) Specific criteria based on waterbirds (2 Criteria) Specific criteria based on fish (2 Criteria) Specific criteria based on other taxa( 1 Criteria)

Indian Sudarban met four of the nine criteria’s, i.e., o presence of rare species and threatened ecological communities, o biological diversity, o significant and representative fish, and o fish spawning ground and migration path

The part of the Sunderban Delta which lies in Bangladesh (60% of the total area) was accorded status of International Importance in 1992. With Indian Sunderban (40% of the total area) also getting the same status, the whole of the Sunderbans now is Wetland of international Importance.

Important Facts about Indian Sunderban: It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site Home to Royal Bengal Tiger :The mangroves of the Sundarbans—shared

between Bangladesh and India—are the only mangrove forests where tigers are found

Home to rare and globally threatened species, such as:o Northern River Terrapin ( Critically Endangered)o Irrawady Dolphin ( Endangered)o Fishing Cat ( Vulnerable)

Apart from that it is also home to numerous faunal species and 90% of the country’s mangrove varieties.

Threats to Sunderbans: Anthropogenic pressures: Huge population putting pressure on this ecosystem. ‘High impact’ actual threat: Fishing and harvesting of aquatic resources, and

‘low impact’ threats such as tourism. Other threats: grudging, oil and gas drilling, logging and wood harvesting

hunting and collecting terrestrial animals.

Significance of the Status of International Importance: Will help highlight conservation issues of the Sunderban at the international

Level. International cooperation between India and Bangladesh for the protection of

this unique ecosystem will also improve significantly.Could lead to better conservation strategy for various flagship species such as tiger, northern river terrapin etc.

Personal Notes


Prelims Pointers

Kerala village deploys robot nurses for patient care (Pg 08) Eraviperoor grama panchayat has successfully deployed robot nurses named Asha at a COVID-19 First-line Treatment Centre. Use of technology for human welfare An ASHA [Accredited Social Health Activist] worker in the district testing positive for COVID-19. This prompted the panchayat to explore new ways to ensure adequate protection to health-care workers at the hospital A case study on 'Excellence in Governance' Eraviperoor was the first grama panchayat in the country to receive the National Award for Public Administration in April 2015. Also the first panchayat in the State to get ISO-9001 certification for its Primary Health Centre. [ISO 9001 is the international standard for a quality management system (“QMS”)].

Convalescent plasma for those not responding to steroids: govt. (pg 10)

Convalescent plasma is the antibody-rich plasma of someone who has recovered from a virus, in this case COVID-19.

Convalescent plasma can be given to people with severe COVID-19 to boost their ability to fight the virus.

Convalescent plasma therapy - It involves 'plasma-only donation'. The liquid portion of the donor’s blood is separated from the cells. The donor’s red blood cells and platelets are then returned to the donor along with some saline. The process is safe and only takes a few minutes longer than donating whole blood.

West Bank annexation plan set to get delayed: Minister (Pg 14) Israel wants to bring 30% of the territory under its control. Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied West Bank has been postponed on account of -

British Prime Minister made an extraordinary appeal to Israel to call off the plan. Fierce international condemnations from some of Israel’s closest allies.


Israeli officials were still working out the final details with their American counterparts. Mr. Netanyahu had said that he wants to begin annexing West Bank territory in line with President Donald Trump’s Mideast plan.

West Bank It is a landlocked territory in West

Asia, bordered by Jordan to the east and by the Green Line separating it and Israel on the south, west and north. It also contains a significant section of the western dead sea.

It was captured by Jordan after the Arab-Israeli War (1948). Israel snatched it back during the Six-Day War of 1967 and has occupied it ever since.

At present, there are around 130 formal Israeli settlements at West Bank. Over 4 lakh Israeli settlers — many of them religious Zionists who claim a Biblical birthright

over this land — now live here, along with some 26 lakh Palestinians.

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