Defence, National Security and Terrorism

Defence, National Security and Terrorism

Sea Vigil 22’ drill tests security forces’ preparedness in TN

The exercise is being held from November 15 to November 18 in Chennai to check the preparedness of security forces and intelligence agencies against possible terrorist attacks along the entire coast of India.
About 1,000 personnel were drafted for the exercise from the Navy, the Coast Guard, the Central Industrial Security Force, the National Security Guard (NSG), the Fisheries Department, the Directorate General of Lighthouses and Lightships, intelligence agencies, the Mercantile Marine Department, Immigration, Customs, the Coastal Security Group and the police.

World Organisations – Pacts and Summits

COP 27 at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

The 27th United Nations Climate Change conference is being held from 6 November until 18 November 2022 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.
At COP 27 India along with some countries stated that Carbon border taxes, which could result in market distortion and aggravate the trust deﬁcit among parties, must be avoided.
European Union has proposed a policy called the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism to tax products such as cement and steel, which are extremely carbon intensive, with eﬀect from 2026
BASIC, a group comprising Brazil, India, South Africa and China, large economies that are signiﬁcantly dependent on coal has for several years voiced common concerns and reiterated their right to use fossil fuels during their transition to clean energy.
BASIC countries call for a united solidarity response by developing countries to any unfair shifting of responsibilities from developed to developing countries.

About Conference of the Parties (COP)

The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
All States that are Parties to UNFCCC are represented at the COP.
The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany in March, 1995.

G20 Summit at Bali, Indonesia

The 17th G20 Heads of State and Government Summit took place in Bali from 15-16 November 2022.
The Summit was the pinnacle of the G20 process and intense work carried out within the Ministerial Meetings, Working Groups, and Engagement Groups throughout the year.
Leaders of the G 20 grouping in a joint declaration at the end of the G20 summit in Bali said that the Ukraine war was causing economic difficulties and insecurity worldwide, and the threat of using nuclear weapons was “inadmissible”.
In the event, Indian PM Modi held meetings separately with the leaders of Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Singapore and the U.K.

India’s Presidency of G 20 in 2023.

India’s G20 presidency will be “inclusive, ambitious, decisive, and action oriented.
India stated that it would give priority to “women led development” on its G20 agenda, which would be driven by the theme of “One Earth, One Family, One Future” which was unveiled recently.
India is expected to showcase its geographical and cultural diversity during the year, and will hold approximately 200 G20 meetings at diﬀerent locations across the country.

About G20

The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum of major developed and developing economies comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU).
Formation – 26 September 1999
Chairman – Joko Widodo, President of Indonesia
First Meeting in Cologne, Germany
G20 Countries – Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Japan, India, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, Russia, South Africa, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the United States, and the European Union.

Cultural Panorama
Tamil estampages to be moved from Mysuru to Chennai

The Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) on January 6, 2022 directed the Director (Epigraphy), ASI, in Mysuru, to transfer the estampages and other connected Tamil documents and inscriptions to the Office of the Deputy Superintending Epigraphist, South Zone, ASI, in Chennai.
These unpublished estampages will help unearth more information about Tamil Nadu’s history and culture. Estampages are exact replicas of inscriptions copied from stone or copper plates to paper using specialised ink.
These are made by pressing wet paper on to the rock or metal face, and wiping a specialised ink on it.
The ASI move follows an order of the Madras High Court order dated August 19, 2021.
The court also directed the ASI to name the Chennai branch as ‘Epigraphy Branch-Tamil’. It also asked the Tamil Nadu government to provide assistance to the ASI to set up the branch.

Note

Appointments – Who is who?

New Full Time Member for NITI Aayog

The government has appointed senior economist Dr Arvind Virmani as a full-time member of the NITI Aayog.
Virmani, founder-chairman of the non-profit public policy organisation Foundation for Economic Growth and Welfare, has served as the Chief Economic Advisor in the Ministry of Finance during the Manmohan Singh-led UPA government from 2007-09.
The NITI Aayog, the government’s premier think tank headed by the Prime Minister, at present has three members — Dr V K Saraswat, Professor Ramesh Chand and Dr V K Paul.

About NITI Aayog