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DAILY NEWS ANALYSIS

Monthly DNA

09 Aug, 2021

27 Min Read

Maritime Security open debate at UNSC

GS-II : International Relations Maritime security

Maritime Security open debate at UNSC

  • Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi will chair the High-level Open Debate on ‘Enhancing Maritime Security – A Case for International Cooperation on 9th August. Shri Narendra Modi would be the first Indian Prime Minister to preside over a UN Security Council Open Debate.
  • The meeting is expected to be attended by several Heads of State & Government of member states of the United Nations Security Council, and high-level briefers from the UN System and key Regional Organizations. The Open Debate will focus on ways to effectively counter maritime crime and insecurity and strengthen coordination in the maritime domain.
  • The UN Security Council has discussed and passed resolutions on different aspects of maritime security and maritime crime. However, this will be the first time that maritime security will be discussed in a holistic manner as an exclusive agenda item in such a high-level open debate. Given that no country alone can address the diverse aspects of maritime security, it is important to consider this subject in a holistic manner in the United Nations Security Council.
  • A comprehensive approach to Maritime Security should protect and support legitimate maritime activities while countering traditional and non-traditional threats in the maritime domain.
  • The Oceans have played an important part in India’s history right from the time of the Indus Valley Civilization.
  • Based on our civilizational ethos that sees the seas as an enabler of shared peace and prosperity, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi put forward the vision of SAGAR - an acronym for ‘Security and Growth for all in the Region’ in 2015.
  • This vision focuses on cooperative measures for sustainable use of the oceans and provides a framework for a safe, secure, and stable maritime domain in the region.
  • In 2019, at the East Asia Summit, this initiative was further elaborated through the Indo-Pacific Oceans’ Initiative (IPOI) with a focus on seven pillars of maritime security including
  1. Maritime Ecology;
  2. Maritime Resources;
  3. Capacity Building and Resource Sharing;
  4. Disaster Risk Reduction and Management;
  5. Science, Technology and Academic Cooperation;
  6. Trade Connectivity and
  7. Maritime Transport.
  • The participation of world leaders in the session is part of the broader global message about the consensus over India providing leadership of the UNSC as the world deals with conflicts in Afghanistan, Myanmar and Yemen among others.

Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI)

  • The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative (IPOI) was first suggested by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the 14th East Asian Summit.
  • It is also part of the SAGAR mission to expand and facilitate regional cooperation of India’s maritime neighbours.
  • The Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative’s objective is to strengthen maritime boundaries. To this end partnerships based on the principle of free trade and sustainable use of maritime resources are stressed.
  • A partnership between ‘like-minded’ nations is the core principle of the IPOI. Such partnerships should have three common goals in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) which are wealth creation, welfare promotion, and cooperative win-win strategies.
  • The proverbial cog in such mutual cooperation is to promote welfare via a democratic model of governance won by creating a rules-based order that promotes free trade and works together in order to create wealth.

Kashmir issue at UNSC

  • The current stint is the eighth time that India has held the Presidency of the top U.N. body.
  • Yet out of all the tenures, it is the first in 1950-51 that left lasting lessons about how difficult international affairs can be at the level of the chair of the President.
  • It was in 1950-51 that the issue of Kashmir took a critical turn at the Security Council which took the Indian delegation by surprise.
  • India was still struggling with the initial phase of freedom and the Kashmir issue had opened up almost immediately with the war of 1947-48. The issue arrived at the UN on January 1, 1948, as India urged the UNSC to discuss the battle that began with the invasion of tribal irregulars from Pakistan.
  • The Indian submission marked the origin of the “Jammu and Kashmir Question”. The title of the dispute was changed on January 22, 1948, to “The India-Pakistan Question”.
  • The period from 1948 to 1951 was heated as far as the Kashmir issue was concerned as there was little flexibility on display by either India or Pakistan as the UN involvement through the first UN Representative Owen Dixon failed to resolve the situation.
  • In this backdrop, on March 30, 1951, the UNSC took up an Anglo-American resolution on Kashmir and laid out a process of continuation that would give the Kashmir issue a long shelf life at the UNSC where it was formally taken up last time in 1971 before the August 2019 discussion on the issue by China in the backdrop of India’s abrogation of Article 370 by the government of Prime Minister Modi.
  • What was particularly embarrassing about the 1951 resolution was that the Kashmir issue concerned the President of the UNSC — India — and yet neither the U.S. nor the U.K. hesitated from going ahead with it.
  • Resolution 91 decided to replace the United Nations Commission for India and Pakistan (UNCIP) with UNMOGIP (UN Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan).
  • It also decided to appoint a UN Representative for India and Pakistan in continuation of the role of Sir Owen Dixon.
  • The second decision almost institutionalised the Kashmir issue in the U.N.

Source: TH

PM Ujjwala Yojana 2.0

GS-III : Economic Issues Energy

PM Ujjwala Yojana 2.0

  • In India, the poor have limited access to cooking gas (LPG). The spread of LPG cylinders has been predominantly in the urban and semi-urban areas with the coverage mostly in middle class and affluent households. But there are serious health hazards associated with cooking based on fossil fuels.

  • According to WHO estimates, about 5 lakh deaths in India alone due to unclean cooking fuels. Most of these premature deaths were due to non-communicable diseases such as heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and lung cancer.
  • Indoor air pollution is also responsible for a significant number of acute respiratory illnesses in young children.

Significance of PM Ujjwala Yojana

  • According to experts, having an open fire in the kitchen is like burning 400 cigarettes an hour.
  • Providing LPG connections to BPL households will ensure universal coverage of cooking gas in the country.
  • This measure will empower women and protect their health.
  • It will reduce drudgery and the time spent on cooking.
  • It will also provide employment for rural youth in the supply chain of cooking gas.

Target beneficiaries

  • Under the scheme, an adult woman belonging to a poor family not having LPG connection in her household, is an eligible beneficiary under the expanded scheme.
  • Release of LPG connection under this Scheme shall be in the name of the women belonging to the BPL family.

Initially, the Government covered the following categories under the Scheme

  • Beneficiaries listed in the SECC 2011 list
  • All SC/STs households beneficiaries of Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana(PMAY) (Gramin)
  • Antyoday Anna Yojana (AAY)
  • Forest dwellers
  • Most Backward Classes (MBC)
  • Tea & Ex-Tea Garden Tribes
  • People residing in Islands
  • People residing in river islands.

Benefits to Citizens

  • Under the scheme, five crore LPG connections are to be provided to BPL households.
  • The Scheme provides a financial support of Rs 1600 for each LPG connection to the BPL households, interest free loan to purchase stove and refill by Oil Marketing Companies.
  • The administrative cost of Rs. 1600 per connection, which includes a cylinder, pressure regulator, booklet, safety hose, etc. would be borne by the Government.

Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme for the PMUY beneficiaries

  • As part of Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana scheme for the PMUY beneficiaries to enable them to combat COVID 19 crisis, availability of up to 3 refills for 14.2 kg cylinders and advance Retail Selling Price being transferred by OMCs to the PMUY customer’s bank account, which can be withdrawn to obtain the refill from the distributor has been announced. The scheme is valid until 30 September 2020.

PM to launch Ujjwala 2.0

  • During Ujjwala 1.0 launched in 2016, a target was set to provide LPG connections to 5 crore women members of BPL households.
  • Subsequently, the scheme was expanded in April 2018 to include women beneficiaries from seven more categories (SC/ST, PMAY, AAY, Most backward classes, tea garden, forest dwellers, Islands).
  • Also, the target was revised to 8 Crore LPG connections. This target was achieved in August 2019, seven months ahead of the target date.
  • In the Union budget for FY 21-22, provision for an additional one crore LPG connection under the PMUY scheme was announced. These one crore additional PMUY connections (under Ujjwala 2.0) aim to provide deposit-free LPG connections to those low-income families who could not be covered under the earlier phase of PMUY.
  • Along with a deposit free LPG connection, Ujjwala 2.0 will provide first refill and hotplate free of cost to the beneficiaries. Also, the enrollment procedure will require minimum paperwork.
  • In Ujjwala 2.0, migrants will not be required to submit ration cards or address proof. A self-declaration for both ‘family declaration’ and as a ‘proof of address’ will suffice. Ujjwala 2.0 will help achieve the Prime Minister’s vision of universal access to LPG.

Source: PIB

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