Lord Curzon and his policies

• The West Bengal government recently made the decision to install a statue of Radharani, the wife of Maharaja Bijay Chand Mahatab of Bardhaman, in front of the Lord Curzon Gate.
• When Curzon visited the town in 1903, Mahtab had already completed the gate.
• From 1887 till his passing in 1941, Maharajadhiraja Bijay Chand Mahtab (1881–1941) ruled over Burdwan Estate in Bengal, British India.

About Lord Curzon

Early Age:

• Born in 1859 into British nobility.
• He received his education at Oxford University and the exclusive Eton College school.
• He assumed the position of Under-Secretary of State for India in 1891. (The deputy minister in the British cabinet responsible for India).
• Before being named Viceroy of India in 1899, he held the positions of Under-Secretary of State for India (1891–1892) and for Foreign Affairs (1895–1898).

Viceroy of India from 1899 until 1905.

• He wanted to stifle the rising aspirations of the educated Indian middle class because he was both irritated and outraged by the burgeoning nationalist movement in India.
• Between 1899 through 1905, he succeeded Lord Elgin as Viceroy of India.
• At the age of 39, he was appointed as the youngest Viceroy of India.
• He was one of the most contentious and significant people to hold that position.
• Curzon travelled to Afghanistan, China, Persia, Turkestan, Japan, Korea, Ceylon, India (four times), China, and Persia before taking office as governor general and viceroy.

Curzon’s Foreign Policies

• Contrary to his predecessors, Curzon followed a policy of strengthening, securing, and consolidating the British-occupied territories in the northwest.
• He maintained British rule over Chitral and built a road between Peshawar and Chitral, ensuring the safety of the region.
• Lord Curzon's Afghan strategy was influenced by political, economic, and regional concerns about Russian expansion in Central Asia and the Persian Gulf.
• There was a rift in the relationships between Afghans and the British from the beginning.
• Policy towards Persia: In 1903, Lord Curzon personally visited the Persian Gulf region to secure British dominance there. He then took decisive action to safeguard British interests.
• Relation to Tibet: Concern over Russian control in the region had an impact on Lord Curzon's Tibet policy.
• Lord Curzon's efforts helped to restore economic ties between the two, and as a result, Tibet agreed to give the British a sizable indemnity.

Major policies of Lord Curzon

• The Calcutta Municipal Amendment Act, passed in 1899, reduced the number of elected representatives in the Calcutta Corporation. The Indian Universities Act, passed in 1904, placed Calcutta University under government control.
• The Indian Official Secrets Amendment Act, passed in 1904, further curtailed press freedom.
• One of Curzon's most criticized decisions was the division of the undivided Bengal Presidency in 1905, which sparked fierce opposition not only in Bengal but also throughout India and fueled the freedom movement.
• Curzon declared the division of Bengal into two provinces in July 1905. With a population of 38 million, East Bengal and Assam were largely Muslim, whereas Bengal, the western province, had 55 million residents who were mostly Hindu.

Economic:

• A pound was determined to be equivalent to fifteen rupees when the British currency was recognized as legal tender in India in 1899.
• Curzon lowered the price of the salt tax from 2.5 rupees per maund (one maund is equivalent to around 37 kg) to 1.3 rupees per maund.
• People who earned more than Rs. 500 per year paid the tax. Additionally, income taxpayers also got a break.

Famine:

• When Curzon arrived in India, the vast regions of the south, central, and western India were under the grip of a dreadful famine. Curzon offered the impacted folks every form of assistance.

• Work was given to people in exchange for money, and farmers were free from paying taxes.
• After the famine was finished in 1900, Curzon established a Commission to investigate its causes and provide recommendations for preventive measures that would subsequently be taken into account.

Agriculture:

• To encourage people to establish cooperative credit societies for the purpose of deposits and loans, the Co-operative Credit Societies Act was created in 1904, mostly to protect peasants from the clutches of moneylenders who typically charged excessive interest rates.

• The Punjab Land Alienation Act, which was passed in 1900, limited the transfer of peasants' properties to money-lenders in circumstances of debtors' default.

Railways:

• Curzon made the decision to upgrade the country's rail infrastructure and turn it into a money-making venture for the government.
• The number of railway lines was increased, the railway department was eliminated, and a three-member Railway Board was given control of the railway instead of the Public Works Department.

Education:

• In 1901, Curzon organized a conference on education in Shimla, which led to the appointment of the University Commission in 1902.
• On the commission's advice, the Indian Universities Act was enacted in 1904.
• The Calcutta High Court judge and commission member Gurudas Banerjee had expressed his dissent in the report, and the Indian populace detested the Act, but it was all in vain.

Return to London

• After losing a power struggle with Lord Kitchener, the head of the British Army, Curzon resigned and left for England in 1905.
• The colonial authorities proclaimed Bengal's reunification in 1911, and Raj's seat was moved from Calcutta to Delhi as a result of the demonstrations that persisted after his departure.

Famous Phrases

• He is credited with saying, "We might lose all our dominions [of white colonization] and still exist, but if we lost India, our sun would drop to its setting."
• "Efficiency of administration is, in my view, a synonym for the contentment of the governed," he said in his budget speech in 1904.
• (cited in Sumit Sarkar's "Modern India 1885–1947,"

What caused the Partition of Bengal?

• The Bengal Presidency, which included modern-day West Bengal, Bangladesh, Bihar, and portions of Chhattisgarh, Odisha, and Assam, was one of India's largest provinces and had a population of more than 78 million. Calcutta served as the capital of the British Raj.
• The British had long argued that Bengal was too big to effectively govern and manage, and they also thought that with Calcutta serving as the hub of the educated nationalists, resistance to colonial rule would only get stronger.

The effects of the division

• Since the British announced their plan, there had been growing public unrest against division, but after it was put into effect in 1905, the movement became more powerful and well-organized.
• Nationalist leaders organized a boycott of British goods and institutions in opposition to the partition and promoted the use of indigenous goods.
• The Swadeshi movement started in August 1905 in Calcutta after a formal resolution was adopted.
• Not just Bengal, but also Punjab, Maharashtra, and portions of the Madras Presidency saw the spread of the Swadeshi movement and boycott.
• The song "Bande Mataram," composed by Rabindranath Tagore, became the movement's unofficial hymn as nationalist fervour increased.
• His most renowned patriotic song, "Amar Sonar Bangla" (My Golden Bengal), which is now the national anthem of Bangladesh, was penned while he was leading marches in numerous locations.

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Ocean Diversity Pact

Deliberations on a groundbreaking deal to protect marine biodiversity on the high seas are being held in New York by a delegation from India and other UN members.

2018 saw the start of a number of conferences aimed at developing international regulations under the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) regarding the preservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity in certain regions.

What are High Seas?

• The high seas are those areas of the ocean that are not a part of a state's territorial sea, internal waters, or exclusive economic zones.
• All nations, whether coastal or landlocked, have access to the high seas. The conditions outlined by this Convention and other international laws must be met in order to exercise freedom of the high seas.
• Nearly 45% of the surface of the Earth is covered by the high seas.

How are the High Seas Regulated Currently?

• Seabed mining and cable laying are two examples of operations in international waters that are governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
• It establishes guidelines for using the ocean and its resources, but it makes no mention of how states should protect and sustainably utilize biodiversity found on the high seas.
• Oceanic biodiversity and delicate ecosystems are not covered by any comprehensive treaties.

Why do we need the Ocean Diversity Pact?

• The agreement is deciding whether or not companies who conduct biological resource exploration on the high seas have exclusive rights to any discoveries or extractions made in these areas, or whether they should share their profits in terms of intellectual property and royalties with an UN-recognized body.
• Historically, gas hydrates, precious metals, and other fossil fuel resources have been the main targets of mining in the ocean. Nevertheless, thanks to developments in biotechnology and genetic engineering, a number of businesses see potential in unusual bacteria and other creatures, some of which are still unidentified.
• The open ocean is rife with human rights breaches since there is little oversight and enforcement.
• There are no universal guidelines for conducting environmental impact assessments or a single global process for creating Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) outside of States' territorial oceans.
• India's "Blue Economy" initiative, a nearly 4,000-crore program spread over five years, was approved by the Union Cabinet. The primary emphasis will be on studies on the sustainable exploitation of deep sea bio-resources.
• In ocean regions outside of national maritime zones, the treaty aims to address the conservation and sustainable use of marine species.
• In addition, it will cover issues relating to benefit-sharing, methods for area-based management, environmental impact analyses, and the transfer of marine technology.

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS)

• The United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea is referred to as UNCLOS.
• The agreement is also known as the Law of the Sea Treaty or the Law of the Sea Convention.
• UNCLOS was established and went into operation on November 16th, 1982.
• India joined the UNCLOS in 1982 and became a signatory.
• It replaced the four Geneva Conventions of April 1958, which dealt with the high seas, the continental shelf, fishing, and the preservation of living resources on the high seas, respectively.

As per UNCLOS, the sea is divided into 4 parts:

• Territorial waters
• Contiguous Zone
• Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ)
• Continental Shelf
• It designates a limit for the territorial sea at a distance of 12 nautical miles (about 22 km) from the baseline and a limit for the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) at a distance of 200 nautical miles.
• A sovereign state's exclusive economic zone is a portion of the ocean where it is granted special privileges for the research and utilization of marine resources, including the generation of wind and water power.

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Tilapia Aquaculture Project

The Tilapia Aquaculture Project with Israeli Technology has received funding from the Technology Development Board (TDB), which was motivated by the Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY).

The Ministry of Science and Technology is home to the Technology Development Board (TDB), a statutory organization.

What is Aquaculture?

Aquaculture is the managed process of raising aquatic organisms, especially those intended for human consumption.

• As per FAO of the United Nations claims aquaculture is the farming of aquatic animals like fish, molluscs, crabs, and plants. In order to increase productivity, farming usually involves some type of intervention, such as frequent stocking, feeding, predator protection, etc.

• This type of farming also entails the planning, creation, and management of aquaculture locations, facilities, and techniques, as well as the production and transportation of the stock being produced by an individual or business.

What is Tilapia?

• One of the most successful and widely traded fish foods in the world is tilapia, sometimes known as aquatic chicken.
• Because of its fast development and simple cultivation, tilapia has gained commercial popularity throughout the world and earned the moniker "aquatic chicken."
• Tilapia can be raised in ponds or cage systems, salt or brackish water, and in a number of other aquaculture conditions.

State of Fisheries in India

• In marine, coastal, and inland environments, fishing is the capturing of aquatic species.
• Millions of people throughout the world receive food, nourishment, and a source of money from marine and inland fisheries as well as aquaculture, which includes harvesting, processing, marketing, and distribution.
• It also plays a role in many people's traditional cultural identities.
• Illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing is one of the biggest challenges to the sustainability of the world's fisheries resources.

Relevance:

• Among the primary producing sectors, fishing has one of the fastest expanding economies.
• The second-largest producer of fish in the world, India accounts for 7.56% of worldwide production, 1.24% of the nation's Gross Value Added (GVA), and more than 7.28% of its agricultural GVA.
• Fish exports from India rank fourth in the world.
• The sector, also known as the "Sunrise Sector," is crucial to the economic and general development of the nation and is in a position to unleash enormous potential through inclusive and fair growth.
• The industry is acknowledged as a strong engine for employing 14.5 million people and sustaining the life of the nation's 28 million fishermen.

Three significant changes have occurred in the fishing industry over the past few years:

• the expansion of freshwater aquaculture in inland waters.
• the mechanization of fishing for a catch especially in the Western waters.
• the start of brackish water shrimp aquaculture with success.

Challenges:

• Nearly 90% of the world's marine fish populations, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), are either completely exploited, overfished, or so severely depleted that a biological recovery may not be conceivable.
• Discharge of waste and other hazardous materials into waterways has a disastrous effect on aquatic life.
• Climate change and global warming also impact the marine ecosystem.
• India in particular faces problems in the form of outdated technology, lack of infrastructure for processing and heterogeneity in the variety of fishes, and poor financial and technical support to the coastal communities.

Reforms were undertaken by the Government

The following are some of the significant reforms and actions the Union Government has done to fully realize the potential of the fishing industry in a sustainable and accountable manner and to launch the "Blue Revolution" in fishing.

• The establishment within the Union Government of a separate Ministry of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy.
• establishing a fresh, committed Department of Fisheries with a separate administrative framework.
• Implementation of 2015–2019 Centrally Sponsored Blue Revolution Scheme: Integrated Development and Management of Fisheries.
• Establishing a fund for the development of infrastructure for fishing and aquaculture (FIDF).
• Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana's debut (PMMSY).

Blue Revolution

Vision

The goal of the Neel Kranti Mission is to develop fisheries in a sustainable manner while taking biosecurity and environmental concerns into consideration, with the goal of achieving economic prosperity for the nation, fishers, and fish farmers, as well as helping to ensure food and nutritional security.

Comprehensive development

• Its goal is to establish an environment that will allow the nation's fisheries to reach their full potential through integrated development.
• Enhancing financial standing It tries to do so while taking sustainability, biosecurity, and environmental concerns

The goals include:

• Increasing global fish output in a sustainable and responsible manner to promote economic prosperity.
• to update the fishing industry, paying particular attention to new technology
• To ensure nutritional and food security
• to create jobs and gain money from exports
• To promote inclusive growth and support aquaculture and fishing farmers

Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana

It is a flagship program for the country's targeted and sustainable growth of the fisheries industry, and as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat package, its implementation is expected to cost $20,050 crore.

Aims

• to expand India's fisheries industry sustainably and responsibly in order to bring about the Blue Revolution.
• To increase fisheries export revenue to Rs. 1,000,000 crores by 2024–2025 by boosting fish output by an extra 70 lakh tonnes.
• to increase prospects for gainful employment in the sector while doubling the incomes of fishers and fish farmers and cutting post-harvest losses from 20 to 25 per cent to roughly 10 per cent.

Implementation

• It will be carried out as an umbrella program with two distinct parts, namely
• The Central Government will cover the project's costs under the Central Sector Scheme.
• Scheme Centrally Sponsored The States/UTs will carry out all of the supporting elements and activities, and the Centre and States will split the associated costs.
• For the efficient planning and implementation of PMMSY, a well-structured implementation framework would be built.
• The "Cluster or area-based strategy" would be used, with the necessary forward and backward connections and end-to-end solutions, for the best results.

Intended benefits of the scheme

• This plan will close significant gaps in fish quality, post-harvest infrastructure and management, logistics, and output and productivity.
• For the benefit of international trade, it will increase the accessibility of certified high-quality fish seed and feed.
• The program aids in improved fish traceability and efficient control of aquatic health.
• About 15 lakh fishermen, fish farmers, fish traders, and other rural and urban people will have direct employment prospects in fishing as a result.
• This will raise the competitiveness of fish and fishery products as well as investments from governments and private parties in the fishing industry. By 2024, the program will also contribute to tripling the wages of fish farmers and fish workers.

Conclusion

Therefore, the industry exhorts the nation's young entrepreneurs to step forward and propose solutions, resolving real-world problems through technological interventions and creative ideas.

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CAROTAR, 2020

• In a recent circular, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) advised customs officials to apply the CAROTAR (Customs Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020 with care and to ensure that their actions are consistent with the rules of any applicable trade agreements.
• In the event of a dispute between the revenue department and the importer, the exemptions outlined in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with regard to the nation of origin will take precedence.

About

• The Ministry has instructed customs field agents to be cautious when implementing CAROTAR and to preserve compliance with its Rules of Origin or the terms of pertinent trade agreements.
• It also makes it clear that, in the event of a dispute between the tax department and an importer, the exclusions stated in a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with regard to the nation of origin would take precedence.
• India has signed FTAs with a number of nations, including the ASEAN states, the UAE, Mauritius, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore.
• As part of the FTA, the trading partners also agree to loosen rules to encourage trade in services and investments and to considerably decrease or remove import/customs charges on the majority of goods traded between them.

Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) or CAROTAR Rules

• On September 21, 2020, these Regulations went into force.
• It gives the customs officers the authority to request additional information from the importer in accordance with the trade agreement if the officer has grounds to suspect that the country-of-origin requirements have not been met.
• If the importer doesn't supply the necessary information, the officer may conduct additional checks in accordance with the trade agreement.

Provisions:

• Before importing the commodities, an importer must perform due diligence to confirm that they match the established origination standards.
• An importer will have to submit certain origin-related information in the Bill of Entry, as accessible in the Certificate of Origin.
• To qualify for a reduced rate of customs duty under free trade agreements, importers must make sure that imported goods comply with the established "rules of origin" (FTAs).
• Importers must demonstrate that their items have undergone at least a 35% increase in value in the countries of origin.
• To profit from FTAs in the past, all that was required was a country of origin certificate issued by an organization that had been notified in the exporting nation.

Consequences:

• They will force the importer to accurately determine the nation of origin, properly claim the reduced duty, and help customs officials with the efficient clearance of legal imports made according to FTAs.
• The home industry would be safeguarded from unfair FTA practices.
• According to these regulations, a nation that has signed an FTA with India is not permitted to simply label goods imported from a third country and dump them on the Indian market

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Arctic Snailfish with Freeze Proteins

Scientists have discovered a fluorescent snailfish (Liparis gibbus) with antifreeze proteins coursing through its veins beneath a Greenland glacier.

By doing this, snailfish may stop ice crystals from building up in their cells and bodily fluids.

About the Discovery

• The first known Arctic bio fluorescent fish is also a result of the discovery of the Greenland snailfish.
• According to experts, it is uncommon for a marine animal to display fluorescence, the property that allows some living things, such as fish and insects, to absorb sunlight and reemit it as a distinct hue.
• Notothenioid fishes were once noted for having an antifreeze substance in their bloodstream that protects them from dying from hypothermia.

About Snailfish

• The Liparidae is a family of marine scorpaeniform fishes, also referred to as snailfish or sea snails.
• In the dark northern seas, the snailfish emits bio fluorescence that enables it to glow both green and red.
• The only polar fish known to exhibit fluorescence is the snailfish. An organism's capacity to change blue light into green, red, or yellow light is known as bio fluorescence.
• In the Arctic, Antarctic, and North Atlantic oceans as well as the North Pacific, snailfish can be found.

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Exo-moons

Recently, with the aid of ground-based and space telescopes, scientists found approximately 5,000 exoplanets.

About Exomoons

• Exomoons are regarded as those naturally occurring satellites that orbit exoplanets.
• Exomoons around any of these planets, though, are still untraceable.
• Exo-moon signals are too feeble due to their small sizes.
• Origin: The solar system is made up of multiple naturally occurring satellites of various masses and sizes.
• A few of these satellites have an impact on the solar planet's surrounding environment.
• Because of this, a sizable number of exomoons are anticipated, which may also have a significant impact on the habitability of rocky exoplanets in a star's habitable zone.

Exoplanets

• Any planet outside of our solar system—that is, planets that revolve around stars other than the sun—is referred to as an exoplanet.
• The majority of exoplanets orbit other stars, while rogue planets—free-floating exoplanets that are unattached to any star—orbit the galactic centre.
• There are almost 5,000 exoplanets outside of our solar system.

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