News Crux Defence/Military Exercises
Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX)
On 10th and 11th March 2023, INS Sahyadri, a guided missile frigate of the Indian Navy, participated in a two-day Maritime Partnership Exercise (MPX) with two warships from the French Navy in the Arabian Sea.
The aims of the exercise are:
- Strengthening cooperation and interoperability between the Indian and French navies through joint training and operations.
- Enhancing the tactical proficiency of both navies through a range of drills and exercises at sea.
- Demonstrating the advanced capabilities of the Indian and French warships in detecting and neutralizing air, surface, and sub-surface threats.
- Reinforcing the strategic partnership between them and promoting regional stability and security in the Arabian Sea.
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INS Sahyadri is a guided missile frigate of the Indian Navy that is equipped with advanced weapons and sensors. This makes it capable of detecting and neutralizing air, surface, and sub-surface threats, enhancing India's naval capabilities. |
Current News Ecology & Environment Disaster Management
The Landslide Atlas of India
On March 11, 2023, Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) released The Landslide Atlas of India.
The Atlas is based on an all-India database created by the Hyderabad-based National Remote Sensing Centre that includes three types of landslide inventory: seasonal, event-based, and route-wise, covering the period from 1998 to 2022.
- Deaths Due to Landslides: Landslides rank third globally in terms of deaths among natural disasters.
- Sudden heavy rains due to climate change are increasing landslides, particularly in the Himalayan region, where 73% of landslides are attributed to heavy rains and reduced water-absorbing capacity of soil.
- Impact of Landslides: Landslides can cause buildings, roads, bridges, and other structures to collapse or become damaged, resulting in injuries, deaths, and financial losses.
- The risk analysis is based on the density of human and livestock populations in affected areas.
- Increasing Risks: The risk is increasing due to climate change and human activities such as deforestation and unplanned urbanization.
- Heavy rains reduced water-absorbing capacity of soil, and specific events such as earthquakes or slope cuts can trigger landslides.
- Occurrence of Landslides:The maximum number of landslides between 1988 and 2022 were recorded in Mizoram (12,385), followed by Uttarakhand, Tripura, Arunachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Manipur, and Maharashtra.
| Landslides are the movement of rock, earth, or debris down a slope. This movement can be caused by a variety of factors, including natural events like heavy rainfall, earthquakes, and erosion, as well as human activities like construction and mining, and even underwater, where they are called submarine landslides. |
News Crux Ecology & Environment
Zero Waste Mandatory for Buildings
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs in India is set to send a directive to all State governments to make net zero waste and liquid discharge treatment mandatory for upcoming housing societies and commercial complexes.
- About: It is a convergence of programs like Swachch Bharat, NAMASTE, and AMRUT.
- Aim: To achieve Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and modernize sewage disposal system.
- Manhole to Machine-hole: The scheme aims to replace manual scavenging with a mechanized sewage system (Machine-hole system).
- Untreated Wastewater: This move aims to address the issue of untreated wastewater and promote a shift towards sustainable and eco-friendly waste management practices in the country.
- India generates 72,368 million liters per day of urban wastewater, with only 28% treated.
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NAMASTE (National Action Plan for Mechanised Sanitation Ecosystem) is a Central Sector Scheme of the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment (MoSJE) aimed at eliminating manual scavenging and promoting mechanized sanitation. |
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AMRUT (Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation) is a scheme launched by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs to provide basic infrastructure and services in urban areas with a focus on water supply, sewerage, and urban transport. |