National
Fleet Commander of the Sword Arm
⇒ The ‘Sword Arm’ of Indian Navy, the Western Fleet underwent a change of guard on 10 November 2023. Rear Admiral CR Praveen Nair, NM took over the mantle of Flag Officer Commanding Western Fleet from Rear Admiral Vineet McCarty at a ceremonial naval parade held in Naval Dockyard, Mumbai.
About Rear Admiral Nair:
- Rear Admiral Nair was commissioned into the Indian Navy on 01 July 1991.
- Rear Admiral Nair has commanded the missile corvette INS Kirch, aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and commissioned the guided missile destroyer INS Chennai.
International
India has been removed from the RST process for Red Sanders
⇒ The 77th meeting of the Standing Committee of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) was held in Geneva, Switzerland from 6th to 10th November 2023.
A delegation led by Dr. S P Yadav, Additional Director General of Forests (PT) & CITES Management Authority-India, participated in the 77th Standing Committee meeting.
- India is a Party to the CITES since 1976.
Discussion:
During the five-day meeting, the Committee, chaired by Ms. Naimah Aziz, United States of America, had discussed various issues, mainly CITES compliance matters, many of which were relevant to India.
Union Minister for Environment, Forest and Climate Change and Labour and Employment Shri Bhupender Yadav said in a post-
The CITES Standing Committee meeting proved to be a major boost for India’s wildlife and ecosystem conservation efforts.
Major Takeaways:
- Consequent to amendment of Wildlife Act, placement of the CITES legislation of India in Category 1 of the National Legislation Project of CITES has been confirmed.
- India was under Review of Significant Trade (RST) process for Red Sanders since 2004.
- Based on our compliance and reporting, India has been removed from the Review of Significant Trade for Red Sanders.
Highlights:
Removal of Red sanders from RST process:
- The Red sanders (Pterocarpus santalinus) is a high market value tree, endemic to few districts in Andhra Pradesh. The species is listed as Appendix II under CITES since 1994. The species has been subjected to threats of illegal harvesting and smuggling leading to their depletion from natural forest. However, red sanders wood sourced from artificially propagation (plantations) comprise a major part of legal export. The Red sanders species was listed for Review of Significant Trade (RST) process more or less since 2004.
- The CITES RST process enables disciplinary action in the form of trade suspensions directed at countries that do not meet their obligations. This is a process through which the CITES Standing Committee places increased scrutiny on the exports of a species from a country to determine if the Convention is being properly implemented. In the past, it has even led to a recommendation to suspend trade with India.
- India had been updating the CITES Secretariat on the status of export of red sanders from India. India had also conducted Non-Detrimental Finding for the species and had finalized a zero quota for export of Red sanders from wild. Continuous pursuance on the matter with the CITES Secretariat, Standing Committee and Plants Committee has led the Standing Committee in this (77th) meeting to decide on removing Red sanders from the RST process. The removal of Pterocarpus santalinus from RST process from India was unconditional. This action will help the farmers growing Red sanders to increase their income through cultivation and export of Red Sanders from the plantations. It would also help in motivating farmers to grow more red sanders trees as a source of sustainable income.
Placement of the CITES legislation of India in Category 1 of the National Legislation Project of CITES:
- The CITES provides that every Party align its national legislation to accommodate CITES provisions. India was listed in Category 2 for CITES National Legislation programme. The Wild Life (Protection) Act, 1972 was, therefore, amended in the year 2022, wherein the provisions of CITES was incorporated in the Act.
- The CITES Standing Committee has in its 77th meeting decided to place India in Category 1 as it had fully complied with the requirements of CITES National Legislation programme.
» Besides, India had also made interventions for the need for according stringent measures for conservation of Big Cats, and especially, the Asian Big Cats.
- India in its intervention also appealed to range countries and other stakeholders to join International Big Cat Alliance (IBCA), launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 9th April 2023 for conservation of seven Big Cat species.
WHO Global TB Report 2023
⇒ The World Health Organization released its Global TB Report 2023 on 7th November 2023.
Key Points:
- According to the report, India has made tremendous progress in improving case detection and reversed the impact of COVID-19 on the TB programme.
- The treatment coverage has improved to 80% of the estimated TB cases, an increase of 19% over the previous year.
- India’s efforts have resulted in reduction of TB incidence by 16% in 2022 (from 2015) almost double the pace at which global TB incidence is declining (which is 8.7%). The mortality of TB has also reduced by 18% during the same period in India and globally.
- The World Health Organization has made a downward revision of the TB mortality rates from 4.94 lakhs in 2021 to 3.31 lakhs in 2022, a reduction of over 34%.
Other Points:
» The Global TB Report 2023 has acknowledged and published the revised estimates for India with downward revision of the burden estimates, especially TB related mortality figures.
» The report notes that India’s intensified case detection strategies have resulted in the highest ever notification of cases – in 2022, during which, over 24.22 lakh TB cases were notified, surpassing the pre-COVID levels.
- The key initiatives launched by the government like specialised active case finding drives, scaling up of molecular diagnostics to block levels, decentralization of screening services through Ayushman Bharat Health & Wellness Centres and private sector engagement have resulted in significantly bridging the gap in missing cases.
- The Pradhan Mantri TB Mukt Bharat Abhiyan has received a tremendous response across the country with over 1 lakh Ni-kshay Mitras from all walks of life coming forward to adopt over 11 lakh TB patients.
- Under Ni-kshay Poshan Yojana about Rs 2613 Cr have been disbursed to over 95 lakh TB patients since its launch in 2018.
- Newer patient centric initiatives like Family Care Giver Model and Differentiated Care have been introduced to ensure further reduction in mortality and improvement in treatment success rates.
» The report also notes that India has taken bold steps to prioritize TB elimination efforts with investing additional resources to the National TB Elimination Programme being implemented under the aegis of the National Health Mission.
6th High-Level Meeting of the India-OPEC Energy Dialogue
⇒ The 6th High-Level Meeting of the India-OPEC Energy Dialogue took place on 9 November 2023, at the OPEC Secretariat in Vienna, Austria.
Co-chaired by:
The Meeting was co-chaired by HE Haitham Al Ghais, Secretary General of OPEC and HE Hardeep Singh Puri, Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas and Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs of the Republic of India.
Key Points:
- The open and candid discussions at the Meeting focused on key issues related to oil and energy markets with a specific emphasis on ensuring availability, affordability and sustainability, which are necessary in ensuring the stability of energy markets.
- The two sides discussed the short, medium and long-term outlooks for the industry and recognized the important role of India in global economic growth and energy demand.
- The sides noted the World Oil Outlook 2023, which forecasted that India would be the fastest-growing major developing economy, averaging long-term growth of 6.1% between 2022-2045 and to account for over 28% of incremental global energy demand during the same period.
- The sides also noted the need for continued cooperation and dialogue in the interest of both producers and consumers while also exploring further areas for future cooperation.
» The 6th High-Level Meeting of the India-OPEC Energy Dialogue concluded with both parties underscoring the importance of fostering enhanced cooperation between India and OPEC moving forward.
» It was agreed to hold the next High-Level Meeting of the India-OPEC Energy Dialogue during the course of 2024 in India.