Major and Minor Ports of India

• As per Annual Report 2022-23 of Ministry of Shipping, Government of India, there are 12 major ports and 200 non-major ports (minor ports) and intermediate ports owned by the government in the country.

• Major Ports are under the administrative control of Central Government and the non-major ports are under the jurisdiction of respective State Maritime Boards/ State Government.

• All the 12 Major ports are functional. Out of the 200 non-major ports, around 65 ports are handling cargo and the others are “Port Limits” where no cargo is handled and these are used by fishing vessels and by small ferries to carry passengers across the creeks etc.

Mangrove Forests in India

• Mangrove forests, also called mangrove swamps, mangrove thickets or mangals, are productive wetlands that occur in coastal intertidal zones.

• Mangrove forests grow mainly at tropical and subtropical latitudes because mangrove trees cannot withstand freezing temperatures.

• Mangroves in India: Mangrove cover in India is about 0.15% of the total geographical areas  found in West Bengal, Gujarat,  Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

• Largest mangrove forest in India is Sundarbans (UNESCO world heritage site) followed by Bhitarkanika (Odisha).

DISTRIBUTION OF CORAL REEFS IN INDIA

What is Coral?

Coral polyps are short-lived microscopic organisms, which live in colonies. They flourish in shallow, mud-free and warm waters. They secrete calcium carbonate. The coral secretion and their skeletons from coral deposits in the form of reefs: they are mainly of three kinds: barrier reef. fringing reef and atolls. The Great Barrier Reef of Australia is a good example of the first kind of coral reefs. Atolls are circular or horse shoe-shaped coral reefs.

Distribution in India

• All the three major reef types occur in India (atoll, fringing and barrier). The total area of coral reefs in India is estimated to be 2,375 sq km .

• The mainland coast of India has two widely separated areas containing reefs: the Gulf of Kachchh in the northwest, which has some of the most northerly reefs in the world, and Palk Bay and Gulf of Mannar in the southeast. 

• In addition to these, there are patches of reef growth on the West Coast, for example, coral reefs at Malvan. 

• The Andaman and Nicobar Islands have fringing reefs around many islands, and a long barrier reef (329 km) on the west coast. Little is known about these reefs, which may be the most diverse and pristine reefs in India. 

• The Lakshadweep also has extensive reefs but these are also poorly explored. 

• Indian subcontinent with its coastline extending over 8,000 km and subtropical climatic conditions has very few coral reef areas when compared to other regions of the world. 

• In India, the reefs are distributed along the east and west coasts at restricted places. However, all the major reef types are represented. 

• Fringing reefs are found in Gulf of Mannar and Palk Bay. 

• Platform reefs are seen along the Gulf of Kachchh. 

• Patchy reefs are present near Ratnagiri and Malvan coasts. 

• Fringing and barrier reefs are found in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

• Atoll reefs are found in Lakshadweep. 

• The absence of reef in Bay of Bengal (North East Coast) is attributed to the immense quantity of freshwater and silt brought by the rivers such as Ganga, Krishna and Godavari. 

• Scattered patches of corals in the intertidal areas and occasionally at subtidal depths along the West Coast of India, notably at Ratnagiri, Malvan and Rede Port. 

• The mainland coast of India has the Gulf of Kachchh in the Northwest (Gujarat State) and Palk Bay and the Gulf of Mannar in the southeast (Tamil Nadu State). 

• Other than these important off shore island groups of India, the Andaman and Nicobar in the Bay of Bengal and Lakshadweep in the Arabian Sea also have extensive reef growth. 

What is Karewa?

• In the Kashmiri dialect, the term Karewa means “elevated table land”. “Vudr” is the local name for Karewas in Kashmiri language.

• Firstly, this term was used by Godwin Austin in 1859 and later on by Lydekker in 1878 for unconsolidated to semi-consolidated sand clay conglomerate sequence.

• Karewas are the thick deposits of glacial clay and other materials embedded with moraines. These are unconsolidated lacustrine deposits. Lacustrine means “associated with lakes”.

How were they formed in Kashmir valley?

• Kashmir valley resides between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal ranges of the Kashmir Himalayas. In earlier times, when the upliftment of the Pir Panjal ranges happened, the flow of the river had stopped.

• As a result, the whole of Kashmir valley became a large lake. Slowly, the glacial deposits have accumulated here in this lake. Thus creating a large lacustrine plain.

• Later on, the water drained away and these unconsolidated deposits remained there. These unconsolidated gravel and mud deposits are known as Karewa formation.

 

Economic significance of Karewas:

• Karewa deposits have different soil and sediments such as sand, clay, silt, shale, mud, lignite and losses. Hence, these are very useful for agricultural and horticulture activities.

• Karewa formations are useful for the cultivation of Zafran is a local variety of Saffron in Kashmir valley. These are also important for the cultivation of almond, walnut, apple, and orchards.

All About Barak River

• The basin covers parts of India, Bangladesh and Myanmar. In India it spreads over states of Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Assam, Tripura and Nagaland having an area of 41,723 Sq.km which is nearly 1.38% of the total geographical area of the country. 

• The Drainage area (sq. km) Meghalaya (10650 Sq Km), Manipur (9567 Sq Km), Mizoram (8866 Sq Km), Assam (7224 Sq Km), Tripura( 4688 Sq Km) and Nagaland (728 Sq Km).

• The basin extends between 89°50’ to 94°0’ east longitudes and 22°44’ to 25°58’ north latitudes with maximum length and width of 460 km and 350 km. 

• It is bounded by the Barail range separating it from the Brahmaputra basin on the north, by the Naga and Lushai hills on the east and by Mizo hills and territory of Bangladesh on the south and west. 

• The Barak River rises from the Manipur hills, south of Mao in Senapati district of Manipur at an elevation of 2,331 m. 

• It flows then along Nagaland-Manipur border through hilly terrains and enters Assam.

• It further enters Bangladesh where it is known by the name of the Surma and the Kushiyara and later called the Meghna before receiving the combined flow of the Ganga and the Brahmaputra.

• The length of the Barak River from its origin upto the border of Assam along the Kushiyara is 564 km. 

• The principal tributaries of Barak joining from north bank are the Jiri, the Chiri, the Modhura, the Jatinga, the Harang, the Kalain and the Gumra.

• Dhaleswari, the Singla, the Longai, the Sonai and the Katakhal joins from south bank. 

• The Katakhal, Jiri, Chiri, Modhura, Longai, Sonai, Rukni and Singla are the main tributaries of the valley in Assam.

• The major part of basin is covered with forest accounting to 72.58% of the total area and only 1.92% of the basin is covered by water bodies. 

• Imphal and Agartala are the two important urban centres in the sub-basin. Silchar and Aizawal are other important towns. There are no industries worth mentioning in this sub-basin.

Silk and its Production in India

• Silk is an insect fibre, with lustre, drape and strength. Because of these unique features, silk is known as the “Queen of Textiles”, the world over. 

• India with the production of 34,903 MTs of silk is the second largest producer of silk in the world after China and also the largest consumer.

• India is the only country, which is producing all the four commercial varieties of silk, namely Mulberry, Tropical & Oak Tasar, Muga and Eri. 

• Among the four varieties of silk produced, Mulberry accounted for 73.97% (25,818 MT), Tasar 4.20% (1,466 MT), Eri 21.10% (7,364 MT) and Muga 0.73% (255 MT) of the total raw silk production of 34,903 MT.

• Bivoltine raw silk production has increased by 17.07% to 7941 MT during 2021-22 from 6,783 MT 2020-21.

• Further, under Vanya silks, Tasar production has reduced by 45.48% during 2021-22 over 2020-21, main reason for this is adverse climatic conditions and erratic rainfall during crop season.

• The major silk-producing states in the country are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Bihar, Gujarat, Jammu & Kashmir, Karnataka, Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, and West Bengal.

• Karnataka contributed around 32.3% of the total silk production in the country during 2022-23. This was followed by Andhra Pradesh which had a share of 26.0% in the overall silk production during 2022-23.

• Bankura, Kolar, and Jamnagar have historically been important centers for silk weaving and production.

Dhamma Mahamatra or Mahamatta in Buddhism

•  A Mahamatra (meaning "Officer of high rank") was an "officer of morality" established by the Indian Emperor Ashoka (reigned 269-233 BCE). Their full title was Dhaṃma Mahāmātā, the "Inspectors of the Dharma". 

• They were apparently a class of senior officials who were in charge various aspects of administration and justice.

• Some were called "Dharma-Mahamatras" ("Mahamatras of Virtue"), who seem to have been established in the 14th year of Ashoka's reign (256 BCE).

• There were also Anta-mahamatras in charge of foreigners, and Stri-adhyaksha- mahamatras, in charge of women.

• The Twelfth Rock Edict of Ashoka mentions the Ithijika Mahamatta. It appeals for toleration and to honor other sects. It also mentions that the beloved of the Gods does not consider gifts or honor to be important.

 

Ø  

Vajrayana Buddhism

 Vajrayana Buddhism is known as the "Diamond Vehicle," . Vajrayana is a form of Buddhism prominent in Tibet and incorporates esoteric rituals and practices.

 

Mahayana Buddhism

•  Mahayana Buddhists believe they can achieve enlightenment through following the teachings of the Buddha. The goal of a Mahayana Buddhist may be to become a Bodhisattva and this is achieved through the Six Perfections.

• Compassion is very important in Mahayana Buddhism. Therefore, Bodhisattvas choose to stay in the cycle of samsara to help others to achieve enlightenment as well as themselves. This is a key difference between Theravada and Mahayana Buddhists. 

• Theravada Buddhists strive to become Arhats and gain freedom from the cycle of samsara, Mahayana Buddhists may choose to stay in the cycle of samsara out of compassion for others.

Theravada Buddhism

• Theravada Buddhism is older and the more conservative of the divisions of Buddhism and is often referred to as the ‘traditions of the elders’.

• Many Theravada Buddhists follow the teachings of the Buddha exactly, and many of them a monks or nuns.

• Theravada Buddhists strive to be arhats. Arhats are perfected people who have gained true insight into the nature of reality. 

• They followed the Noble Eightfold Path to ‘blow out’ the three fires of greed, hatred and ignorance and have become enlightened.

• In Buddhism, enlightenment leads to nibbana (or nirvana), which means freedom from the cycle of rebirth (samsara). Consequently, they will no longer be reborn through samsara.

Ancient name of Indian River

Ancient name	Current Name
Drishadvati	Chautang
Askini	Chenab
Vitasta	Jhelum
Purushni	Ravi

List of All Important Committees and Commissions

 

Name of Committee/ Commission	Objective	Year
Malimath Committee	For Criminal Justice Reform	2003
Vohra Committee Report	Electoral Reforsm	1993
Rangarajan Committee	On disinvestment of shares in Public Sector Enterprises	Apr, 1993
C. Rangarajan Committee	formed to Review the Poverty Measurement Methodology	2014
Justice Indu Malhotra Committee (Appointed by Supreme Court)	To look into the alleged security breach of Prime Minister's Punjab visit on 5th January, 2022.	13th Jan, 2022
Appleby Committee	formed to examine the functioning of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in India.	1948
A.D. Gorwala Committee	set up to study the reorganization of states in India.	1948
Santhanam Committee	investigating allegations of corruption and maladministration in government departments.	1962
Rajamannar Committee	formed to examine the issue of state autonomy within the Indian federal system.	1969
Justice M N Venkatachalaiah	Chairman of the National Commission to Review Working of the Constitution.
Sarkaria Commission	primarily dealt with the Centre-State relations in India and provided recommendations to improve the relationship between the Union and the States.   It focused on various aspects such as the distribution of legislative and administrative powers between the Union and the States, the role of the Governor, inter-State disputes, and other related matters.	The commission was established in 1983 and submitted its report in 1988
Punchhi Commission	The Punchhi Commission, officially known as the Commission on Centre-State Relations, examined various aspects of Centre-State relations, including the role and powers of the Governor, and made recommendations regarding their appointment, powers, and functions.
Verghese Commission	The Verghese Committee, officially known as the Committee on Civil Services Reforms, was set up in 2003 to examine and provide recommendations for reforming the civil services in India.	Submitted its report in 2004.
Chandrachud Commission	Officially known as the Commission to Review the Working of the Constitution established to review the functioning of the Indian Constitution. It examined various aspects such as the working of parliamentary democracy, federalism, judiciary, and the balance of power between different organs of the state.	Established in 2000 and submitted its report in 2002.
Shah Commission (Justice J.C. Shah, a former chief Justice of India)	It was a commission of inquiry appointed by Government of India/Janta Party to inquire into all the excesses committed in the Indian Emergency (1975 - 77).	1977
Dileep Singh Bhuria Committee	Recommendation for enactment of Panchayat (Extension to Scheduled Areas)Act, 1996
Justice Verma Committee	The provision of Zero FIR came up after the recommendation in the report of the Justice Verma Committee, which was constituted to suggest amendments to the Criminal Law in a bid to provide for faster trial and enhanced punishment for criminals accused of committing sexual assault against women.
Dr. K. Radhakrishnan Committee	Reforms in Accreditation System of Higher Education as per NEP, 2020.
Prof. K. Kasturirangan	National Steering Committee to create a curriculum aligned with the NEP, 2020

THE WASSENAAR ARRANGEMENT : Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies

Ø  On Export Controls for Conventional Arms and Dual-Use Goods and Technologies

Ø  It is a new multilateral arrangement, temporarily known as the “New Forum” came into existence on 16 November 1993, at The Hague, High Level Meeting (HLM). Agreement to establish the “Wassenaar Arrangement” was reached at the HLM held on 19 December 1995.

Ø  It terminated the cold war era control regime Coordinating Committee on Multilateral Export (COCOM) to deal with risks to regional and international security and stability related to the spread of conventional weapons and dual-use goods and technologies.

Ø  The inaugural Plenary Meeting of the Wassenaar Arrangement was held 2-3 April 1996 in Vienna, Austria. All Plenary decisions are taken by consensus.

Ø  There are 42 Participating Nations including India : Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, Ukraine, United Kingdom and United States.

Ø  Participating States apply export controls to all items set forth in the List of Dual-Use Goods and Technologies and the Munitions List, with the objective of preventing unauthorized transfers or re-transfers of those items.

Ø  Munitions List Contains 22 main entries on items designed for military use, including certain items within the categories such as (but not limited to):

1.           Small Arms & Light Weapons (and related ammunition);
2.           Tanks and other Military Armed Vehicles;
3.            Armoured/Protective Equipment,
4.    Aircraft & Unmanned Airborne Vehicles, Aero Engines & related equipment (for comprehensive details please refer to the ‘Munitions List’ on the Wassenaar Arrangement Website).

15th Finance Commission of India

 

THE REPORT OF THE FIFTEENTH FINANCE COMMISSION 

 

Terms of Reference

• The Commission was asked to recommend performance incentives for States in many areas like power sector, adoption of DBT, solid waste management etc.
• to recommend funding mechanism for defence and internal security.
• The XVFC’s Report is organised in four volumes.

• Volume I and II, as in the past, contain the main report and the accompanying annexes.
• Volume III is devoted to the Union Government and examines key departments in greater depth, with the medium-term challenges and the roadmap ahead.

• Volume IV is entirely devoted to the States.
• In total, main report has 117 core recommendations. Vol-III and IV has numerous suggested reforms for the Union ministries and State governments respectively.

 

Vertical devolution:

• In order to maintain predictability and stability of resources, especially during the pandemic, XVFC has recommended maintaining the vertical devolution at 41 per cent – the same as in our report for 2020-21. It is at the same level of 42 per cent of the divisible pool as recommended by FC-XIV.
• However, it has made the required adjustment of about 1 per cent due to the changed status of the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir into the new Union Territories of Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir.
• In XVFC’s assessment, gross tax revenues for 5-year period is expected to be 135.2 lakh crore. Out of that, Divisible pool (after deducting cesses and surcharges & cost of collection) is estimated to be Rs.103 lakh crore.
• States’ share at 41 per cent of divisible pool comes to 42.2 lakh crore for 2021-26 period.
• Including total grants of Rs. 10.33 lakh crore (details later) and tax devolution of Rs. 42.2 lakh crore, aggregate transfers to States is estimated to remain at around 50.9 per cent of the divisible pool during 2021-26 period.
• Total XVFC transfers (devolution + grants) constitutes about 34 per cent of estimated Gross Revenue Receipts of the Union leaving adequate fiscal space for the Union to meet its resource requirements and spending obligations on national development priorities.

 

Horizontal Devolution:

• Based on principles of need, equity and performance, overall devolution formula is as follows.

Criteria	Weight (%)
Population	15.0
Area	15.0
Forest & ecology	10.0
Income distance	45.0
Tax & fiscal efforts	2.5
Demographic performance	12.5
Total	100

• On horizontal devolution, while XVFC agreed that the Census 2011 population data better represents the present need of States, to be fair to, as well as reward, the States which have done better on the demographic front, XVFC has assigned a 12.5 per cent weight to the demographic performance criterion.
• XVFC has re-introduced “tax effort criterion” to reward fiscal performance.

 

Revenue deficit grants:

• Based on uniform norms of assessing revenues and expenditure of the States and the Union, XVFC has recommended total revenue deficit grants (RDG) of Rs 2,94,514 crore over the award period for seventeen States.

 

Local Governments:

 

• The total size of the grant to local governments should be Rs. 4,36,361 crore for the period 2021-26.
• Of these total grants, Rs. 8,000 crore is performance-based grants for incubation of new cities and Rs. 450 crore is for shared municipal services. 
• A sum of Rs. 2,36,805 crore is earmarked for rural local bodies,
• Rs.1,21,055 crore for urban local bodies.
• Rs.70,051 crore for health grants through local governments.
• Urban local bodies have been categorised into two groups, based on population, and different norms have been used for flow of grants to each, based on their specific needs and aspirations.
• Basic grants are proposed only for cities/towns having a population of less than a million.
• For Million-Plus cities, 100 per cent of the grants are performance-linked through the Million-Plus Cities Challenge Fund (MCF).

 

Health:

• XVFC has recommend that health spending by States should be increased to more than 8 per cent of their budget by 2022.
• Given the inter-State disparity in the availability of medical doctors, it is essential to constitute an All India Medical and Health Service as is envisaged under Section 2A of the All-India Services Act, 1951.
• The total grants-in-aid support to the health sector over the award period works out to Rs.1,06,606 crore, which is 10.3 per cent of the total grants-in-aid recommended by XVFC. The grants for the health sector will be unconditional.
• XVFC has recommend health grants aggregating to Rs. 70,051 crore for urban health and wellness centres (HWCs), building-less sub centre, PHCs, CHCs, block level public health units, support for diagnostic infrastructure for the primary healthcare activities and conversion of rural sub centres and PHCs to HWCs. These grants will be released to the local governments.
• Out of the remaining grant of Rs. 31,755 crore for the health sector (total of Rs. 1,06,606 crore minus Rs. 70, 051 crore through local bodies and Rs.4800 crore state-specific grants),
• XVFC has recommended Rs. 15,265 crore for critical care hospitals. This includes Rs.13,367 crore for general States and Rs 1,898 crore for NEH States.
• XVFC has recommended Rs.13,296 crore for training of the allied healthcare workforce. Out of this, Rs. 1,986 crore will be for NEH States and Rs. 11,310 crore for general States.

 

Performance incentives and grants:

• XVFC has recommended grants of Rs.4,800 crore (Rs. 1,200 crore each year) from 2022-23 to 2025-26 for incentivising the States to enhance educational outcomes.
• XVFC has recommended Rs.6,143 crore for online learning and development of professional courses (medical and engineering) in regional languages (matribhasha) for higher education in India.

• XVFC has recommended that Rs. 45,000 crore be kept as performance-based incentive for all the States for carrying out agricultural reforms for amending their land-related laws on the lines of NITI Aayog’s model law incentive-based grants to States that maintain and augment groundwater stock growth in agricultural exports production of oilseeds, pulses and wood and wood-based products

• Apart from above, following is the snapshot of grants.

S.no.	Grant Components	2021-26
1	Revenue Deficit grants	294514
2	Local governments grants	436361
3	Disaster management grants	122601
4	Sector-specific grants	129987
i	Sectoral grants for Health	31755
Ii	School Education	4800
iii	Higher Education	6143
iv	Implementation of agricultural reforms	45000
v	Maintenance of PMGSY roads	27539
vi	Judiciary	10425
vii	Statistics	1175
viii	Aspirational districts and blocks	3150
5	State-specific	49599
	Total	1033062

 

Defence and Internal Security

• Keeping in view the extant strategic requirements for national defence in the global context, XVFC has, in its approach, re-calibrated the relative shares of Union and States in gross revenue receipts. This will enable the Union to set aside resources for the special funding mechanism that XVFC has proposed.
• The Union Government may constitute in the Public Account of India, a dedicated non-lapsable fund, Modernisation Fund for Defence and Internal Security (MFDIS). The total indicative size of the proposed MFDIS over the period 2021-26 is Rs.2,38,354 crore.

Disaster Risk Management:

• Mitigation Funds should be set up at both the national and State levels, in line with the provisions of the Disaster Management Act. The Mitigation Fund should be used for those local level and community-based interventions which reduce risks and promote environment-friendly settlements and livelihood practices.
• For SDRMF, XVFC has recommended the total corpus of Rs.1,60,153 crore for States for disaster management for the duration of 2021-26, of which the Union’s share is Rs. 1,22,601 crore and States’ share is Rs. 37,552 crore.
• XVFC has recommended six earmarked allocations for a total amount of Rs. 11,950 crore for certain priority areas, namely, two under the NDRF (Expansion and Modernisation of Fire Services and Resettlement of Displaced People affected by Erosion) and four under the NDMF (Catalytic Assistance to Twelve Most Drought-prone States, Managing Seismic and Landslide Risks in Ten Hill States, Reducing the Risk of Urban Flooding in Seven Most Populous Cities and Mitigation Measures to Prevent Erosion).

 

Fiscal consolidation

• Provided range for fiscal deficit and debt path of both the Union and States.
• Additional borrowing room to States based on performance in power sector reforms.
• A threshold amount of annual appropriation should be fixed below which the funding for a CSS may be stopped. Below the stipulated threshold, the administrating department should justify the need for the continuation of the scheme. As the life cycle of ongoing schemes has been made co-terminus with the cycle of Finance Commissions, the third-party evaluation of all CSSs should be completed within a stipulated timeframe. The flow of monitoring information should be regular and should include credible information on output and outcome indicators.
• In view of the uncertainty that prevails at the stage that XVFC have done its analysis, as well as the contemporary realities and challenges, we recognise that the FRBM Act needs a major restructuring and recommend that the time-table for defining and achieving debt sustainability may be examined by a High-powered Inter-governmental Group. This High-powered Group can craft the new FRBM framework and oversee its implementation. It is important that the Union and State Governments amend their FRBM Acts, based on the recommendations of the Group, so as to ensure that their legislations are consistent with the fiscal sustainability framework put in place.
• This High-powered Inter-Governmental Group could also be tasked to oversee the implementation of the 15th Finance Commission’s diverse recommendations.
• State Governments may explore formation of independent public debt management cells which will chart their borrowing programme efficiently.