Mohenjo Daro and the floods in Pakistan
Program:
Preliminary Examination: History of India
Main Exam: General Studies I: Indian Culture will cover the most prominent facets of art forms, literature, and architecture from antiquity to time.
Why in the news?
—In the 1960s, hydrologist Robert L Raikes and archaeologist George F Dales complicated the theory that a series of catastrophic floods in the Indus around 1800 BC. C. J. -C. had annihilated the urban centers of the Harappan civilization.
Last week, Pakistan’s Department of Archaeology warned that heavy rains in Sindh province threatened the World Heritage Site of Mohenjo Daro, one of the largest sites of the Indus Valley civilization.
Key issues to remember
-The prehistoric antiquity of Mohenjo Daro, which flourished on the right (west) bank of the Indus in the third millennium BC. It was established through Rakhal Das Banerji of the Archaeological Survey of India in 1922. The ruins of the sprawling city of Unbaked (burnt brick) 510 km northeast of Karachi and 28 km of Larkana in Sindh were identified as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980.
— The Dawn report states that between August 16 and 26, the archaeological ruins of Mohenjo Daro gained a record 779. 5 mm of rain, which caused “considerable damage and the partial fall of several walls, adding the protective wall of the stupa dome. “. “
—Along with Harappa, Mohenjo Daro is the best-known urban civilization of the Bronze Age that flourished in the Indus Valley between 3300 B. C. and 1300 B. C.
Civilization went into decline in the middle of the millennium BC. C. for reasons of the idea of coming with catastrophic climate change.
Sites of the Indus Valley civilization have been found in a vast domain stretching from Sutkagen Dor in Balochistan, near the Pakistan-Iran border, to Rakhigarhi in the Hisar district of Haryana, and from Manda to Jammu in Daimabad in Maharashtra.
Other sites of the Harappa civilization in India are located at Lothal and Dholavira in Gujarat and Kalibangan in Rajasthan.
The ruins of Mohenjo Daro remained undocumented until Banerji visited the site in 1920 and began excavating the following year. Excavation continued in stages until 1964-65; even now, only a small part of the site has been excavated.
-He stands out for his elaborate urbanism with grids of streets with brick sidewalks, evolved water supply systems, drainage and covered sewerage, houses with bathrooms and monumental buildings such as the Grand Grenier and the Grand Bain.
At its peak, Mohenjo Daro, “mound of the dead,” would have between 30,000 and 60,000 inhabitants with a highly evolved social organization.
—There are about 1,100 sites inscribed on the UNESCO list in its 167 member countries. Last year, the World Heritage Committee removed “Liverpool – Mercantile Maritime City” in the UK from the World Heritage List due to “the irreversible loss of attributes that convey the Exceptional Universal Value of the good”.
In 2007, the UNESCO panel removed from the list the Arab Oryx Sanctuary in Oman after considerations of poaching and habitat degradation, and the Elbe Valley in Dresden, Germany, in 2009 after the structure of the Waldschlosschen road bridge over the Elbe.
Point to ponder: Why do we want a national policy of archaeological exploration, excavation and conservation?
1. MCQ:
Which of the following ancient villages is well known for its elaborate formula of collecting and managing water by building a series of dams and channeling the water into connected reservoirs?(Paper 1-2021)
(a) Dholavira
(b) Kalibagan
(c) Rakhigarhi
(d) Dress
Floods in Bangalore
Program:
Preliminary examination: General problems on environmental ecology, biodiversity and climate change
Main Exam: General Studies I: Urbanization, its Problems and Remedies.
Why in the news?
The overflow of Bellandur, Varthur, Saul Kere and Kaikondrahalli lakes in Bangalore has highlighted the loss of interconnectivity of water bodies, which is the cause of recent urban flooding. While the government resumed work to unblade lakes Bellandur and Varthur in June 2020, this painting is still complete.
Key issues to remember
Dr. T V Ramachandra, from the Centre for Ecological Sciences at the Indian Institute of Sciences (IISc), says the loss of interconnectivity between the region’s lakes is the main explanation for the floods.
In 1800, Bangalore (740 km² region) had 1452 bodies of water with a water storage capacity of 35 TMC (one billion cubic feet), which made it possible to collect rainwater optimally and also mitigate flooding.
—Bengaluru has the particularity of having interconnected lake systems. The valley spaces that connect lakes will have to be to give some continuity to the hydrological purposes of drainages and alluvial plains. However, the valley spaces of the city continue to be mistreated despite the criteria of coverage of these fragile ecosystems.
—”The Bellandur-Varthur wetland ecosystem is threatened due to large-scale adjustments in the basin with adjustments in land use and land cover. This wetland is being changed lately for a combined land use to build residential and work complexes. Changes in the wetland began in 2004 and worsened after 2008. Modifications to these wetlands began by filling the low spaces with excavated earth debris, followed by other structural activities. The infill drilled the drains and lakes,” Ramachandra said.
The upstream lakes of Bellandur and Varthur, which come with Kaikondrahalli and Saul Kere, are also overflowing due to the widespread encroachment of typhoon sewers.
In addition, a 2021 audit report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (MAF) indicated that the stormwater drainage service has no records such as paint logs or painting progress reports. He also said that the BBMP (Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike) did not take into account high-intensity rains in a context of immediate urbanization and did not comply with the provisions of the Indian Road Congress and the standards of the National Disaster Management Authority when designing and building roads/drains. Groundwater recharge structures were not used because water bodies and drains were not interconnected and the link between the other drains was absent. This has affected the loss of rainwater, leading to common flooding in various parts of the city,” the report says.
—The Bangalore Development Authority (BDA) in June 2020 had begun the de-ablation of Bellandur and Varthur lakes. Authorities say that due to the pandemic, works were halted and resumed in January 2021. In April 2021, the works were interrupted.
— Lake Varthur keeper Jagadish Reddy said: “Sandblasting, regardless of what has happened so far, has improved the water holding capacity of Lake Varthur. The desablage of Lake Bellandur stopped in March and that of Varthur in April. The challenge is that there are no more than 90 lakes in this series of lakes of which Varthur and Bellandur are part. Most of those lakes and drains in this series are invaded or not sandblasted, leading to flooding. “
Point to ponder: The fate of India’s flooded tech capital is surprising but unique. Discuss.
2. MCQ:
Which of the following measures is the only structural flood measure?
(a)
(b) Terraces
(c) Thresholds
(d) Zoning of floodplains
In the tragedy of the Cyrus Mistry car accident, a reminder of the death toll on the country’s roads
Program:
Preliminary examination: news of national significance.
Main review: General studies II: problems relating to the progression and control of the sector/social related to health, schooling and human resources.
Why in the news?
Former Tata Group chairman Cyrus Mistry died Sunday in a twist of fate on the national highway in Palghar district, Maharashtra. The tragedy again topped the highest number of deaths on Indian roads each year.
Key things to remember
Some of the most sensitive issues according to the National Bureau of Criminal Records Accidental Deaths Report
—1. 55 lakh Americans died from injuries on Indian roads in 2021, compared to 1. 33 lakh deaths in the 2020 pandemic lockdown year.
Two-wheelers are for the maximum number of deaths (44. 5%). Buses accounted for 3% of accident deaths.
—Accelerate 87,000 dead, more than a part of the total dead.
—Dangerous and reckless driving is attributed to 42,000 deaths.
The maximum accumulation in the number of traffic destination turn cases between 2020 and 2021 was reported in Tamil Nadu, followed by Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra and Kerala.
The Lancet series on road safety suggests vital issues that should be considered as issues of solution.
It calls for greater political and monetary commitments and the inclusion of road safety in general policies of progression. It also argues that this is key to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), adding the purpose of halving the number of deaths and injuries. in traffic accidents until 2030.
Some of the main themes of The Lancet are:
— New global and national estimates recommend that normal helmet and seat belt use, compliance with speed limits and driving can save between 347,000 and 540,000 lives worldwide each year.
The benefits of more helmeted motorcyclists can save 5,683 lives in India.
—Speed-reducing interventions, such as infrastructure adjustments and electronic speed, can save some 347,258 lives worldwide each year.
—Measures to combat driving under the influence of alcohol, such as the intensified application of driving under the influence of alcohol, can save an additional 16 304 lives.
“Improving seat belt use would have a concrete effect on reducing road fatalities.
That of seat belts
—A public interest video released by the Union Ministry of Road Transport and Motorways indicates that wearing a seat belt reduces the effect of a turn of fate by 80%.
A study by the Save LIFE Foundation and NISSAN published in January 2019 found that only 7% of people in India still wear seat belts when sitting in the back seat, 26% wear them and others never wear them.
— Seat belts are mandatory both at the front and at the rear. Section 194(B)(1) of the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Act 2019 states that “Anyone driving a motor vehicle without fastening his seat belt or carrying passengers dressed in a seat belt shall be punished with a fine of one thousand rupees. “
—Attitudes seat belts
Compliance with seat belts in the back seat is poor in India. For most people, wearing a seat belt is only mandatory for the front seat. It is not unusual to place other people who prefer to do so in the back just to avoid the “inconvenience” of wearing a seat belt.
There is no express explanation of the reason for the breach. Three main arguments are presented.
We don’t care about our safety
We don’t need to spend more on safer cars
We suffer from poor application
But blaming irrationality for deaths on the roads is a political end.
Point to ponder: what can India be informed about road safety?
3. MCQ:
Which of the following statements is in terms of road safety?
a) At the “Third High-Level Global Conference on Road Safety to Achieve the 2030 Global Goals”, he conceptualized that there would be no road deaths in India until 2030.
(b) The Committee, chaired by Shri S. Sundar, has finalized a draft national road protection policy.
(c) The Brasilia Declaration signed at the Second High-Level Global Conference on Road Safety.
d) According to accidental deaths of the National Bureau of Criminal Records
India-Bangladesh Trade
Program:
Preliminary examination: news of national significance.
Main Exam: General Studies II: International Relations
Why in the news?
Following an assembly with Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Tuesday that India and Bangladesh will soon begin negotiations on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (ECA).
Key issues to remember
In 2021-22, Bangladesh, India’s largest trading partner in South Asia and the fourth largest destination for Indian exports in the world. Exports to Bangladesh increased by more than 66%, from $9. 69 billion in fiscal year 2020-21 to $16. 15 billion in fiscal year 2021-22.
— India is Bangladesh’s largest trading partner and its largest export market in Asia. Despite covid-19 disruptions, the bilateral industry grew at an unprecedented rate of nearly 44%, from $10. 78 billion in 2020-21 to $18. 13 billion in 2021-22.
India’s exports to Bangladesh are uncooked cotton, non-retail natural cotton yarn and electricity, and its imports from the country are natural vegetable oils, non-woven men’s clothing and textile scraps.
“CEPA is very likely to concentrate on the goods, facilities and investment industry, with the key objective of reducing the industrial gap between the two countries. As Bangladesh prepares to become an emerging country until 2026, after which it may no longer be eligible for the benefits of the industry it enjoys lately as a less evolved country– it is willing to conclude CEPA within a year.
—CEPA featured prominently at the last assembly of industry secretaries in New Delhi in March this year.
—Current institutional frameworks for industry and investment include:
* During Prime Minister Modi’s stopover in Bangladesh in June 2015, the bilateral industrial agreement between the two countries was renewed for a five-year era with an automatic renewal clause.
* Under the provisions of the South Asian Free Trade Area (SAFTA), Bangladesh extends preferential price lists to Indian exports of products outside the “sensitive list” of 993 items. In 2011, India announced duty- and quota-free access to Bangladesh for all tobacco and alcohol tariff lines.
* An agreement on investment promotion and coverage has been in force since 2011. The joint interpretative notes of the agreement were signed on the scale of the Indian Minister of Finance in Bangladesh in October 2017.
* To facilitate industry and transit through inland waterways, a Protocol on Trade and Transit through Inland Waterways (PIWTT) has been in force since 1972. The PIWTT was also renewed for a five-year era with an automatic renewal provision Modi’s scale in Bangladesh in 2015. The protocol allows the movement of goods via barges/ships on 8 routes between points in India and Bangladesh, as well as between points in India through Bangladesh.
* Direct maritime movement of containerized/dry cargoes began after the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on cabotage in June 2015. This reduced the shipping time between India and Bangladesh from 30 to 40 days to 7 to 10 days. , and has the prospect of an economical mode of transportation for the business communities on both sides.
* Memorandums of Understanding signed in 2015 on the use of the ports of Chittagong and Mongla for the movement of goods to and from India.
* The Memorandum of Understanding on Border Haats on the India-Bangladesh border was renewed in April 2017, Prime Minister Hasina’s stopover in India. Currently, 4 Border Haats – two each in Meghalaya (Kalaichar and Balat) and Tripura (Srinagar and Kamalasagar) – are functional. Work is underway to identify two more haats on the Tripura-Bangladesh border and 4 on the Meghalaya-Bangladesh border. The two sides also made the decision to identify locations for six more border Haats.
Point to ponder: In times of regional unrest, relations between India and Bangladesh will have to be conscientiously maintained. Argue.
4. MCQ:
Which of the following statements is true?
(a) The percentage of five Indian states borders Bangladesh.
(b) India has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bangladesh on the use of the ports of Chittagong and Mongla for the shipment of goods to and from India.
(c) India is Bangladesh’s trading partner and its export market in Asia.
d) In 2021-2022, the largest business spouse of Bangladesh India in South Asia.
Government push for international trade in rupees
Program:
Preliminary examination: news of national significance.
Main review: General Studies III: Indian Economy – Indian Economy and Problems of Planning, Resource Mobilization, Growth, Development and Employment.
Why in the news?
The Ministry of Finance to meet with stakeholders, add banks and the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Trade, to discuss tactics to advertise foreign industry in rupees instead of the US dollar.
Banks will be asked to ask exporters to trade rupees, according to the report, citing the sources.
Key issues to remember
On July 11 of this year, the RBI issued a circular stating that it had taken the decision to “establish an additional arrangement for invoicing, payment and the export/import agreement in INR. “The idea, the RBI said, was to “promote the expansion of the global industry with a focus on India’s exports and the growing interest of the global trade network in inR. “
While the resolution to allow industrial agreements between India and other countries in rupees was considered to basically benefit the industry with Russia, it was also intended to help dollar outflows and curb the depreciation of the rupee to a “very limited extent”.
To settle business transactions with any country, banks in India would open Vostro accounts of correspondent banks of the spouse country for transactions. Indian importers can pay for their imports in INR on those accounts. This source of income from imports can then be used to pay Indian exporters in INR.
—A Vostro account is an account that a correspondent bank maintains on behalf of the bank; for example, the HSBC Vostro account is maintained through SBI in India.
Currently, a company’s exports or imports are in foreign currency, with exceptions such as Nepal and Bhutan. Thus, in case of importation, the Indian company will have to pay in foreign currency, which is basically the dollar, but it can also be the pound, the euro or the yen, etc.
The Indian company is paid in foreign currency in case of exports and the company converts this foreign currency into rupees, as it wants rupees for its needs in most cases.
Although the RBI Ordinance does not specify this, the arrangement will be used primarily for Russia. “There are sanctions against Russia after the Ukraine war and the country is outside the SWIFT formula (formula used through banks for foreign currency notes) This means that invoices do not have to be made in foreign currency and this agreement would help both Russia and India,” said Madan Sabnavis, Leading economist of the Bank of Baroda, to the Indian Express at the time.
Sabnavis said the deal is unlikely to be extended to other countries. Lanka might also want us to pay in dollars or any other foreign currency.
– The agreement is not intended to help prevent the fall of the rupee significantly. The rupee, like all world currencies, is depreciating against the dollar, and the overall trend has been towards a stable weakening for several months now.
Point to ponder: The rupee is a more effective currency compared to the trade-weighted one. Do you agree?
5. MCQ:
The convertibility of the rupee implies
(a) be to convert rupees into gold
(b) allow the price of the rupee to be constant through market forces
(c) freely allow the conversion of the rupee into other currencies and vice versa
(d) expand a foreign exchange market in India
Questions and after reading
Can you what you read?
1. What are SAFTA and PIWTT?
2. What are the characteristics of Mohenjo Daro?
3. What does the NCRB say about accidental deaths?
4. What are the 4 border boundaries in the India-Bangladesh driller?
Responses to MCQs: 1(a), 2(a), 3(d), 4(c), 5(c)
King Charles III the “loyal public office” of Camilla’s “dear wife”