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INDEX

1. National news

1.1 U.S exits from U.N human rights body

1.2 India’s first river interlinking project in UP-MP tussle

1.3 Centre cannot guarantee power supply to all villages, says official

1.4 Centre may scrap UGC, proposes new regulator

1.5 Old versus New – How different is the proposed Higher education commission from Present

UGC?

2. International News

2.1 World’s hungry population on the rise again, says UN report

3. Economy 3.1 India notifies higher tariffs on US imports

3.2 Oil rises after OPEC agrees to lift output

3.3 AIIB to invest $200 mn in infra fund

3.4 RBI steps in as rupee hits record low

3.5 FATF hands 10-point plan to Pak

4. Environment / Geography

4.1 States claim on fighting plastic only strong on paper

4.2 Rhino habitat under threat of mining

5. Security

5.1 India, Bangladesh navies to join hands


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Current Affairs (21 to 30 June, 2018)

1. National News

1.1 U.S exits from U.N human rights body

UNHRC was founded in 2006. Then President George W. Bush was dismissive of the body.

Under President Barack Obama, the U.S. joined it in 2009. The 47 members are elected to serve

three-year terms on the Council. The U.N. body also focused on the situation in Jammu and

Kashmir in a report recently.

“Look at the Council membership, and you see an appalling disrespect for the most basic

rights,” Ms. Haley, said citing Venezuela, China, Cuba and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

She did not mention Saudi Arabia, a close ally of the Trump administration and a member of the

UNHRC accused of human rights violations. The latest confrontation between the U.S. and

UNHRC followed the body’s criticism of Israel in the aftermath of the recent killing of protesters

in the Gaza Strip.

The U.S. decision also comes against the backdrop of global criticism of the Trump

administration’s policy of separating children and parents detained for illegally entering the U.S.

UN human rights chief Zeid Ra’ad al-Hussein on Monday asked to halt America’s

“unconscionable” policy.

1.2 India’s first river interlinking project in UP-MP tussle

Disagreements over water-sharing and difficulty in acquiring non-forest land impede the

₹18,000-crore Ken Betwa river interlink project.

The scheme, which involves deforesting a portion of the Panna Tiger Reserve in Madhya

Pradesh, was accorded clearance by the National Wildlife Board on the condition that the land

lost would be made good by acquiring contiguous, revenue land. This is to ensure that wildlife

corridors in the region aren’t hit. “The M.P. government has said that they are facing major

difficulties over this,” said a senior person in the Water Ministry involved with the project.

Unlikely this year

Another hurdle is a dispute over how Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh — the two

beneficiaries — will share water in the Rabi season.


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These “major” issues made it quite unlikely that the project will get under way this year.

A person familiar with the deliberations told The Hindu, “New points of differences between

the two States are constantly being raked up…there are still many things to be ironed out

before the project can be sent for the [Union] Cabinet’s approval.”

Conceived as a two-part project, this is the country's first river interlinking project. It is

perceived as a model plan for similar interstate river transfer missions.

The phase 1 involves building a 77 m-tall and a 2 km-wide dam, the Dhaudhan dam, and a 230

km canal to transfer extra water from the Ken river for irrigating 3.64 lakh hectares in the

Bundelkhand region of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.

Originally, this phase envisaged irrigating 6,35,661 ha (hectares) annually (3,69,881 ha in M.P.

and 2,65,780 ha in U.P.). In addition, the project was to provide 49 million cubic metres (MCM)

of water for en route drinking water supply.

No longer valid

While there’s a 2005 agreement between the two States on how water would be shared,

Madhya Pradesh said last year that these assumptions were no longer valid and the only way to

meet increased water requirements would be to include certain local water management

projects — the Kotha barrage, Lower Orr and Bina complex that were envisaged in the second

phase of the project — in the first phase.


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In theory, this could mean a completely fresh environmental appraisal. The Central Water

Commission is yet to officially take a call, though government sources say the Centre is

agreeable to the change. However, new demands by Madhya Pradesh for more water during

the Rabi season are yet to be negotiated.

1.3 Centre cannot guarantee power supply to all villages, says official

While it is the Centre’s responsibility to connect households and villages to the power grid or

provide them alternative sources of electricity, it cannot guarantee the supply of electricity to

them, Arun Kumar Verma, Joint Secretary in the Power Ministry, said here on Monday.

The actual supply is the responsibility of the power distribution companies in each State, the

official told The Hindu.

The Centre has claimed 100% electrification of all villages and 83% of all households across the

country. It has said that all households will be electrified by the year end.

Discrepancies in claims

However, an analysis by The Hindu has found several discrepancies between the actual and the

on-paper status of electrification.

In some cases, the electrification infrastructure such as cables and transformers were stolen

days after they were installed, leaving the target village unelectrified in reality but connected

on paper. In other cases, electricity was supplied for just a few hours a day.

“It is not our job to go and check every village whether the infrastructure is still there or if they

are getting electricity supply,” Mr. Verma said.

“That has to be done by the State governments and the distribution companies (discoms). But

we are aware that access to electricity also means consistent supply.”


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“We are on track to meet the 24x7 power for all deadline by March 2019, in which case not

only will all houses be electrified but they will also get electricity through the day,” Mr. Verma

said.

Rampant power cuts

Despite the government pegging India as a power surplus nation, almost every State in the

country reels under power cuts, especially during peak summer. This, according to power sector

analysts, is because discoms are still very inefficient, with the costs they incur in the

transmission far outweighing revenue. Government data show discoms across the country, on

an average, lose ₹0.22 a unit of electricity supplied.

However, the Power Ministry has claimed that this situation is improving rapidly under the

Ujwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY), with Power Minister R.K. Singh recently saying that

discom losses have drastically reduced to ₹17,352 crore in 2017-18 from ₹51,096 crore in the

previous year.

More to achieve

Sector specialists however, say that while the performance of discoms is improving, they are

still not at the performance level to supply electricity 24x7. The only hope of the utilities is

continued assistance from the State governments.

“On their own, the many of the discoms right now are not ready to provide 24x7 power, for two

reasons,” Amrit Pandurangi, power sector analyst, said.


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“The first is their financial health. Most of them are not financially capable to do this. Secondly,

only some of the discoms have the infrastructure to supply good quality power on a sustained

basis. But if the respective State governments continue to give financial support and assurances

to the discoms, then this could definitely improve.”

1.4 Centre may scrap UGC, proposes new regulator

Setting the ball rolling for major reforms in higher education, the Centre has placed in the

public domain a draft Bill for a Higher Education Commission of India – aimed at replacing the

University Grants Commission – for eliciting suggestions from educationists.

The draft Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal of University Grants Commission Act)

Act, 2018, takes away funding powers from the proposed regulator and gives it powers to

ensure academic quality and even close down bogus institutions.

Stakeholders in the higher education sector can mail their suggestions at

[email protected] by 5 pm on July 7, 2018.

There is no plan to merge all higher education regulators, as was proposed through a planned

agency called HEERA, which was supposed to be put in place as a super regulator.

The present proposal, said secretary (higher education) R. Subrahmanyam, is to replace the

UGC. Once this is done after the HECI Bill is passed by Parliament, the technical education

regulator AICTE and the teachers' education regulator NCTE will also be reformed on similar

lines.

The new regime separates the academic and funding aspects of higher education. While HECI

will be in charge of ensuring academic quality in universities and colleges, the Ministry of

Human Resource Development (MHRD) – or another mechanism that will be put in place later –

will be responsible for funding universities and colleges.

Closing down

Another key feature of the draft legislation is that “the Regulator will have powers to enforce

compliance to the academic quality standards and will have the power to order closure of sub-

standard and bogus institutions”, said an MHRD release.

Moreover, non-compliance could result in fines or even a jail sentence.

Till now, the UGC had no such powers. All it could do was to release a list of bogus institutions

and not recognise their degrees.


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“HECI is tasked with the mandate of improving academic standards with specific focus on

learning outcomes, evaluation of academic performance by institutions, mentoring of

institutions, training of teachers, promote use of educational technology, etc.,” said the release.

“It will develop norms for setting standards for opening and closure of institutions, provide for

greater flexibility and autonomy to institutions, lay standards for appointments to critical

leadership positions at the institutional level irrespective of university started under any law

(including state list),” it said.

A senior official of the MHRD said that UGC staff would be retrained to adapt to the HECI

regime.

1.5 Old versus New – How different is the proposed Higher education

commission from Present UGC?

he Centre has decided to establish a Higher EducationCommission of India (HECI) in the place of

the University Grants Commission (UGC). A draft Higher Education Commission of India (Repeal

of University Grants Commission Act) Bill, 2018, is being circulated among stakeholders to invite

suggestions.

Touted as a key reform in higher education sector, the Bill if passed by the Parliament, will

separate the academic and funding aspects of the sector.

Here are the key differences between the proposed Higher Education Commission of India from

the present University Grants Commission:

Financial powers

UGC: It disburses grants to Central institutions out of its funds

HECI: It will specify standards for grant of authorisation to a university or higher educational

institution to commence its academic operations

Academic powers

UGC: It is mandated to promote and coordinate university education and determine and

maintain standards of teaching, examination and research.

HECI: It will specify standards for grant of authorisation to a universaity of higher educational

institution to commence its academic opeartions.


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Inspection

UGC: To assess financial needs or standards of teaching in an institution, UGC conducts periodic

inspections

HECI: No inspections.The body will prescribe norms on academic performance by higher

educational institutions.

Action on bogus institutions

UGC: Affiliations of colleges to universities can be terminated for contravention of its

regulations. It can withhold grants to universities for violations of its regulations. It occasionally

publishes lists of bogus institutions.

HECI: It will be empowered to penalise or even shut down sub-standard institutions without

affecting students' interests. If the management of the institution does not comply with the

penalties, they can land in jail for up to three years.

Composition

UGC: Has a Chairman, a Vice-Chairman, and 10 members appointed by the Central government,

some ex-officia members and some from academia, industry. The Chairman's retirement age is

65 and has a term of 5 years, with an extension of additional 5 years.

HECI: It shall comprise a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson, and 12 members to be appointed by

the Centre, including educationists and a member of the industry. The Chairperson's retirement

age is 70, will hold office for five years.

Disputes

UGC: In case of any dispute between the Centre and the UGC on policy, the Centre prevails.

HECI: The Centre prevails in case of any dispute between the Centre and the HECI on policy.

Regular staff

The UGC appoints its own staff. The same will apply to the HECI as well. The present staff of

UGC will be re-trained to work on fully digital mode — without physical files — at HECI.


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2. International News

2.1 World’s hungry population on the rise again, says UN report

The number of hungry people in the world has risen for the first time in more than a decade,

according to a United Nations report released on Wednesday.

There are now approximately 38 million more undernourished people in the world, rising from

777 million in 2015 to 815 million in 2016, the year for which the latest statistics are available.

According to the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2018 report, conflict is

now one of the main drivers of food insecurity in 18 countries. “After a prolonged decline,

world hunger appears to be on the rise again. Conflict, drought and disasters linked to climate

change are among the key factors causing this reversal in progress,” said the report. Violent

conflicts also led to the forced displacement of a record high 68.5 million in 2017.

Economic losses

Noting the increasing impact of extreme events related to a changing climate, the report said

economic losses attributed to disasters were estimated at over $300 billion in 2017. This is

among the highest losses in recent years, owing to three major hurricanes affecting the United

States of America and several countries across the Caribbean.


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While there is little country-specific data in the report, it does examine the performance of

various regions in meeting the 17 SDGs, which were adopted by U.N. member nations in 2015.

The deadline to meet them is 2030.

South Asia, which includes India, has seen child marriage rates plunge, with a girl’s risk of

getting married in childhood dropping by 40% from 2000 to 2017. On the other hand, water

stress levels for many countries in the region are above 70%, indicating fast-approaching water

scarcity. More than nine out of 10 people living in urban areas around the world are breathing

polluted air, with southern Asia scoring the worst in this area. While electricity and sanitation

deficits in south Asia are still poor, the report noted efforts are being made to close the gap.

Sense of urgency

“With just 12 years left to the 2030 deadline, we must inject a sense of urgency,” said U.N.

Secretary General Antonio Guterres in the foreword to the report. “Achieving the 2030 Agenda

requires accelerated actions by countries along with collaborative partnerships among

governments and stakeholders at all levels. This ambitious agenda necessitates profound

change that goes beyond business as usual.”


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3. Economy

3.1 India notifies higher tariffs on US imports

India has notified higher tariffs on several items imported from the United States, including

agricultural products such as apples, almonds, chickpeas, lentils, and walnuts, and industrial

inputs such as some grades of iron and steel products, in the latest salvo in the ongoing tariff

tiff between the U.S. and several of its trading partners.

The notification, however, says that these higher tariffs would come into effect from August 4,

leaving room for further discussions between the U.S. and India before the new rates are

implemented.

Wednesday’s action follows the government’s notification to the World Trade Organisation

(WTO) last week, saying that it was imposing tariffs amounting to $240 million in retaliation to

the U.S. action on steel and aluminium.

The notification did not mention a tariff hike on 800 cc (or more) motorcycles, which would

affect Harley Davidson imports, already a sore point.

“The Commerce Minister has said that he will be having more talks with the U.S. on the trade

issues, and so the later date [for the implementation of the tariffs] is to give time so that they

can be amended following the talks,” a Finance Ministry official said on the condition of

anonymity. “But the notification also shows that we are serious about the issue,” the official

noted.

India’s move comes close on the heels of escalating trade tensions, with the U.S. and China

both imposing hefty tariffs on each other, and even the European Union joining the fray.

Trumps signs order

The issue began in March, when U.S. President Donald Trump signed an order imposing a 25%

tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminium imports, causing concern among its

trading partners and members of the WTO.

Recently, International Monetary Fund chief economist Maurice Obstfeld highlighted the

detrimental effects of such a trade environment, saying that “the prospect of trade restrictions

and counter-restrictions threatens to undermine confidence and derail growth prematurely.”

“The U.S. has more sustaining power. It’s a large economy,” Dharmakirti Joshi, Chief Economist

at Crisil told The Hindu. “But what it does mean is that the costs at both the ends would go up,

for Indian consumers as well as for U.S. consumers. Imposing tariffs basically means either you


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look for other sources, or you import at higher prices. That’s the general direction this is going,

and now it has intensified. Of late, it was rhetoric, but now these are actions.”

3.2 Oil rises after OPEC agrees to lift output

Oil prices rose almost 3% on Friday as OPEC agreed to a modest increase in output to

compensate for losses in production at a time of rising global demand.

Benchmark Brent crude jumped $2.19 a barrel, or almost 3%, to a high of $75.24 before slipping

to about $75 by 1305 GMT. U.S. light crude was $1.80 higher at $67.34.

The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), meeting in Vienna, agreed on

Friday to boost output from July after its de facto leader Saudi Arabia persuaded arch-rival Iran

to cooperate in efforts to reduce the crude price and avoid a supply shortage.

Two OPEC sources told Reuters the group agreed that OPEC and its allies led by Russia should

increase production by about 1 million barrels per day (bpd), or 1% of global supply.

Smaller real increase

But the real increase will be smaller because several countries that recently underproduced oil

will struggle to return to full quotas while other producers will not be allowed to fill the gap.

Analysts had expected OPEC to announce a real increase in production of 5,00,000 to 6,00,000

barrels per day, which would help ease tightness in the oil market without creating a glut.

“The effective increase in output can easily be absorbed by the market,” Harry Tchilinguirian,

head of oil strategy at French bank BNP Paribas told Reuters Global Oil Forum.

Oil prices have been on a roller-coaster ride over the last few years, with Brent trading above

$100 a barrel for several years until 2014, dropping to almost $26 in 2016 and then recovering

to more than $80 last month.

The most recent price rally followed an OPEC decision to restrict supply in an effort to drain

global inventories.

The group started withholding supply in 2017 and this year, amid strong demand, the market

tightened significantly, triggering calls by consumers for higher supply. Declining production in

Venezuela and Libya, as well as the risk of lower output from Iran as a result of U.S. sanctions,

have all increased market worries of a supply shortage.


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3.3 AIIB to invest $200 mn in infra fund

The board of Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) has approved $100 million investment

in the National Infrastructure and Investment Fund (NIIF) which could be followed by a similar

tranche later, Piyush Goyal, the minister in charge of finance, said.

“I was given the good news that today [Sunday] the AIIB board has approved an investment in

the NIIF (National Infrastructure and Investment Fund), the first tranche of $100mn has got

approved,” the Minister said on the sidelines of the India Infrastructure Expo and ahead of the

third-AIIB annual meeting that starts on Monday.

This is the first time that India is hosting the annual meeting of AIIB, which would be addressed

by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

India is the second largest shareholder in AIIB after China and is also the largest recipient of

funds from the multilateral agency.

“Nearly 25% of the total funds committed by AIIB have been committed for projects in India,

both in the government sector and the private sector, which is a matter of great satisfaction,”

Mr. Goyal said.

Leveraging investment

Earlier in the day, Economic Affairs Secretary S.C. Garg told the media that there will be a

leverage of 10-12 times on the original investment, which can result in up to $2.4 billion flowing

into infrastructure projects.

The Beijing-headquartered agency, which started operations in January 2016, has approved

$4.4 billion investments so far, including $1.2 billion in India, making the country the largest

beneficiary so far.

Mr. Garg said the government had sent a proposal to the AIIB seeking $475 million for the

Mumbai Urban Transport Project-III which had already been approved in-principle.

Belt and Road initiative

Asked about India’s reservations about China’s Belt and Road Initiative, which includes China-

Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) that goes through Pakistan-occupied-Kashmir, AIIB Vice-

President Danny Alexander said that the AIIB was an apolitical organisation that invested in

projects as per a board policy that was decided by the member-states.


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He added that he would not be able to comment on internal relations of member-states.

AIIB has 86 countries as its members.

3.4 RBI steps in as rupee hits record low

The rupee breached the 69-a-dollar mark for the first time ever in early trade on Thursday

which prompted the central bank to intervene in the currency market that enabled the

domestic unit to cut losses.

The rupee finally ended at 68.79 a dollar after hitting a intraday low of 69.09 a dollar. The rupee

ended at 68.61 a dollar on Wednesday. Its previous record low was 68.87 reached on

November 24, 2016.

“The Reserve Bank of India is said to have intervened to stop the sharp fall in the rupee against

the dollar,” the treasure team at HDFC Bank said in a note.

“It is estimated to have sold dollars about $700-800 million through state-owned banks. We

expect the RBI to intervene aggressively at 69.0 levels to support the rupee,” it added.

A combination of rising crude oil prices which would stroke inflation and widen the current

account gap and looming trade war fears that is prompting outflows from emerging markets is

putting pressure on the rupee. The Indian currency which depreciated more than 7% this year,

is the worst performing Asian currency so far.

The currency will be under pressure in the near term as oil prices continue to stay high and

capital outflows from the emerging markets to continue.

While the country’s $ 413 billion foreign exchange reserves acts as a cushion but it has fallen in

eight of the nine weeks to June 15 as the central bank intervened in the currency market to

provide support. RBI always maintains that it intervenes to cut volatility and do not target any

levels.

"The outflow by foreign investors and the hardening of oil prices have impacted the rupee,"

said U.R. Bhat, managing director, Dalton Capital Advisors India.

"However, I feel that the rupee is fairly priced at the current levels. It has been holding steady

for almost an year. Most of the other currencies have depreciated against the dollar and so the

correction in the rupee is not completely negative as such," he added.


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The weak sentiment spilled onto bonds and equity markets as the benchmark 10-year yield rose

6 bps to 7.94% and the the 30-share Sensex lost 179.47 points to close at 35,037.64 while the

broader Nifty ended at 10,589.10, down 82.30 points.

Foreign investors have been net sellers at Rs 40,439 crore in the debt segment in the current

calendar year till date. In the equity market, overseas Investors have been net sellers at Rs

5,753 crore in 2018 till date.

The market breadth was weak with more than 1,800 stocks declining as against only 765

gainers on BSE. Markets were partly under pressure due to the derivatives expiry as well with

weak global cues and high crude prices acting as catalysts to dampen investor sentiment.

Meanwhile petroleum minister Dharmendra Pradhan said India cannot remain insulated in a

globalised economy.

“All major players must behave responsibly. OPEC decision to increase oil production by 1

million barrels per day from July 1 will start having its impact. Weak INR and strong dollar and

high crude oil prices are sentimental and have market driven impact. It impacts country like

India and its a matter of concern but no commodity can remain stagnant,” he said. (End)

3.5 FATF hands 10-point plan to Pak

Islamabad faces task force’s action for inaction against terror funding

Unanimously agreeing to put into effect its February decision to place Pakistan in the grey list

for inaction against terror funding, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has laid out a 10-point

action plan for compliance with its guidelines.

Pakistan’s failure in implementing the elaborate action plan may result in it being included in

the black list the next year. After 2012-15, this is the second time it has been grey-listed and is

facing sanctions.

The country has been instructed to take measures demonstrating that UN-designated terrorists

and banned terror outfits such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, Taliban and Haqqani

Network, Jaish-e-Mohammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and their affiliates, are deprived of their

resources and their sources of funding are choked.

Political commitment

The FATF, in its Paris Plenary that concluded on Friday, observed that Pakistan had this time

round made a high-level political commitment to work with the global watchdog and the Asia


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Pacific Group, of which it is a member, to strengthen its anti-money laundering and counter

terror-financing regime.

Remedial measures

Pakistan will have to take steps to ensure that terror funding risks are properly identified,

assessed and that supervision is applied on a risk-sensitive basis. It will also be required to show

that remedial measures are being taken to prevent financial institutions from indulging in

money laundering and terror funding.

The country will have to take stringent action against illegal financial operations, identify cash

couriers and enforce controls on illicit movement of currency. It has been told to improve

coordination between the provincial and federal authorities on combating terror funding and

enforce effective prosecution and conviction of the designated persons, entities and their

affiliates.


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The FATF has also sought actions demonstrating effective implementation of targeted financial

sanctions (supported by a comprehensive legal obligation) against all designated terrorists and

those acting for or on their behalf.


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4. Environment / Geography

4.1 States claim on fighting plastic only strong on paper

While Maharashtra may be gearing up for a stringent ban on plastic, experience from across the

country suggests that States’ claims on reigning in plastic are stronger on paper than on the

ground.

According to the Centre’s Plastic Waste Management (PWM) Rules, 2016, all States have to

annually apprise the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) on the steps taken to reign in

plastic use, whether a ban is in force, and the strength and performance of a recycler and

waste-processing network. The latest such report — as of July 2016 — notes that only 24 States

and Union Territories have complied with these directions.

Most States, while claiming a ban, qualify it by saying that the ban is imposed in specific towns

or cities. Or that it is focussed on particular categories of plastic. Take Assam. Its performance

report states that while there is a “complete ban” on plastic carry bags in Kamrup, Sonitpur,

Nalbari, Dibrugarh, it allows the import of “substandard plastic carry bags”, provided the

Commissioner of Taxes, Assam is informed.

In Gujarat, the estimated plastic waste generation is approximately 2,69,294 tonnes per annum

and there are nearly 689 plastic waste recyclers, all of them registered. But only Gandhinagar —

the capital city but with less than 4% of neighbouring Ahmedabad’s population — has an

“explicit” ban on the use of plastic carry bags.

Delhi, which reportedly generates the largest quantity of plastic waste in the country, has not

provided information on its plastic management initiatives to the CPCB.

The law requires that all plastic waste recyclers register themselves but there were around 312

unregistered plastic manufacturing/recycling units in Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Jammu &

Kashmir, Jharkhand, Manipur, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Uttrakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

“…It is observed that most of the States/UTs have not set-up proper monitoring system for use

of carry bags as per the specified guidelines. It has been observed that those States/UTs, who

have imposed complete ban on use and sale of plastic carry bags, the plastic bags are stocked,

sold and used indiscriminately. Besides, substandard carry bags (<50 micron) are used widely in

other States/UTs, violating PWM Rules, 2016,” the CPCB highlights in the report.

India generates an estimated 32 million metric tonnes of packaging waste each year, of which

plastic waste constitutes 16%. But only 60% of the collected plastic waste is recycled.

Single-use plastics


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Around 43% of manufactured plastics are used for packaging, most of it “single-use” plastic. So

far, not a single one of the 24 States that report their plastic waste management performance

have plans in place to tackle single use plastics.

Independent experts say that while Maharashtra’s initiative is laudable, it still hinges on

extremely efficient enforcement. “Maharashtra has increased its collection centres in the last

three months but the problem remains — what alternatives exist to single use plastics?” said

Swati Sambyal who works on waste management policy at the Centre for Science and

Environment. “The manpower requirements and enforcement challenges are enormous.”

Kerala and Sikkim, according to Ms. Sambyal, are the States with the most creditable plastic

waste management policies. “Sikkim has a system of buying back plastic from consumers.

Maharashtra needs to implement such a system,” she said.

4.2 Rhino habitat under threat of mining

The lynching of two adventure enthusiasts a fortnight ago has put the focus on rampant mining,

quarrying and stone crushing activities that are threatening the ecology of the Kaziranga-Karbi

Anglong landscape.

Two friends — audio engineer Nilotpal Das, 29, and businessman Abhijeet Nath, 30 — were

beaten to death by a mob at Panjuri Kachari village in Karbi Anglong district on June 8. The

police said a man with a criminal past had spun a story of child abductors to get them killed by

gullible villagers. Reports later suggested that Nilotpal and Abhijeet could have been silenced


21


for knowing too much about illegal mining and stone quarrying while exploring the area around

a waterfall named Kangthilangso. The area where the duo was killed is close to the Kaziranga

National Park, home to the largest population of one-horned rhinos in the world.

Outlining the threat posed to the rhino habitat, also a tiger reserve, environmentalist and RTI

activist Rohit Choudhury has complained about the non-implementation of the

recommendations of the National Tiger Conservation Authority (NTCA) by the Assam

government for stopping all mining, quarrying and stone crushing activities in the Kaziranga-

Karbi Anglong landscape.

‘NTCA ignored’

“The NTCA had in its report on April 20 asked the State government to immediately stop such

activities that are severely hampering the survival and conservation of the tiger, its habitats, co-

predators, prey, including mega herbivores, and their transit routes during the annual flood

season,” Mr. Choudhury said on Saturday.

During floods, animals of low-lying Kaziranga National Park flee to the adjoining kills of Karbi

Anglong district. Some stone mines and quarries are on their transit routes. “The NTCA found

that stone mining/quarrying and stone crushers in the area between Kaziranga and the Karbi

Anglong hills are responsible for the destruction of wildlife corridors and vital wildlife habitat

essential for long ranging species like Indian elephants and tigers. In addition, these stone

mining/quarrying and stone crushers are also responsible for drying up and siltation of several

natural streams and rivulets flowing from the Karbi Anglong hills towards Kaziranga,” Mr.

Choudhury wrote in his letter.

The Assam government, he said, has shown “complete disregard” to the NTCA’s

recommendations.

Accusing the State Forest Department of corruption, Mr. Choudhury sought action from the

Union Ministry.


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5. Security

5.1 India, Bangladesh navies to join hands

India and Bangladesh have agreed to institute a Coordinated Patrol (CORPAT) as an annual

feature between the two Navies. The first edition will be inaugurated by Navy Chief Admiral

Sunil Lanba during his visit there from June 24 to 29.

“The commencement of CORPAT is major step towards enhanced operational interaction

between both Navies. Naval cooperation between India and Bangladesh has been traditionally

strong, encompassing a wide span which includes operational interactions through port calls,

passage exercises along with capacity building, capability enhancement and training initiatives,”

the Navy said in a statement.

The Navy said the aim of Adm. Lanba’s visit is to “consolidate bilateral defencerelations

between India and Bangladesh and to explore new avenues for naval cooperation.”

During his visit, Adm. Lanba will call on Bangladesh President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime

Minister Sheikh Hasina and also interact with the three service Chiefs of Bangladesh armed

forces.

Widening cooperation

Over the last few years, the Navy has expanded its assistance to countries in the region through

“material support, training, EEZ (Exclusive Economic Zone) surveillance, provisioning of

platforms, hydrographic assistance, joint exercises and offering slots in professional training

courses.”

The Navy regularly conducts CORPATs with Indonesia, Myanmar and Thailand. It also conducts

EEZ surveillance of Maldives, Mauritius and Seychelles on their request.


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