December 8th, 2020 PIB:- Download PDF Here

TABLE OF CONTENTS

1. Army Service Corps Day
2. Partners in Population and Development (PPD)
3. Indo-Nepal Link Canal
4. India Mobile Congress 2020
5. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

1. Army Service Corps Day

Context:

Indian Army celebrates 260^th Army Service Corps Day.

Details:

• 8^th December is observed as the Army Service Corps Day by the Indian Army.

About the Army Service Corps:

• Indian Army Service Corps (IASC) is a corps and an arm of the Indian Army which handles its logistic support function.
• The origins of the Corps goes back to 1760 when the very rudimentary supply and transport organizations of the three presidencies of the East India Company were brought under the council of a single authority.
  • In 1901, it was renamed the Supply and Transport Corps.
  • During the First World War, the Corps became a permanent component of the British Indian Army and was renamed the Indian Army Service Corps in 1923.
  • In 1935, the Corps was granted the ‘Royal’ prefix and became known as Royal Indian Army Service Corps (RIASC).
  • On 8 December 1950, after India became a republic, the Corps dropped the use of the ‘Royal’ prefix and was once again renamed the Indian Army Service Corps. Since that day the Corps has celebrated its Raising Day on 8 December.
• The Corps is mainly responsible for the provisioning, procurement and distribution of supplies of food ration, fresh & dry eatable items, FOL (fuels, oil, lubricants), hygiene chemicals and items of hospital comforts to Army, Air Force and when required Navy and other paramilitary forces.
• Other responsibilities include the operation of mechanical transport except for first-line transport and fighting vehicles.
• IASC is responsible for the provision and operation of first and second-line animal transport; carriage and distribution of ammunition including mines; corps maintenance area in case of plains, divisional maintenance area in case of mountain formation; packing of commodities for supply; loading of aircraft and ejection of loads; training and provisioning of clerks for all branches of staff at formation headquarters; training and provisioning of catering staff in the army; and postal services in forward areas.
• Officers in the Army Service Corps are not considered combatant officers by the Army.
• The regimental centre of the IASC is in Bengaluru.
• Its motto is ‘Seva Asmakam Dharmaha’.

2. Partners in Population and Development (PPD)

Context:

Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare addresses the Inter-Ministerial Conference by Partners in Population and Development (PPD).

About PPD:

• Partners in Population and Development is an intergovernmental organisation for promoting south-south cooperation in the fields of reproductive health, population, and development.
• PPD was launched at the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD), when ten developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America formed an intergovernmental alliance to help implement the Cairo Program of Action (POA).
  • This POA, endorsed by 179 nations, stresses the need to establish mechanisms to promote development through the sharing of experiences in reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP) within and among countries and to promote effective partnerships among the governments, NGOs, research institutions and the private sector.
• The members of the PPD are:
  • Asia & the Pacific (AP):
    • India
    • China
    • Bangladesh
    • Indonesia
    • Pakistan
    • Sri Lanka
    • Thailand
    • Vietnam
  • Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA):
    • Zimbabwe
    • Uganda
    • South Africa
    • Senegal
    • Nigeria
    • Mali
    • Kenya
    • Ghana
    • The Gambia
    • Ethiopia
    • Côte d’Ivoire
    • Benin
  • Latin America & the Caribbean (LAC)
    • Colombia
    • Mexico
  • Middle East & North Africa (MENA)
    • Egypt
    • Jordan
    • Morocco
    • Tunisia
    • Yemen
• Its Secretariat is located in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

3. Indo-Nepal Link Canal

Context:

Foundation stone of head regulator works of Indo-Nepal Link Canal laid.

Background:

• In 1996, the governments of India and Nepal had entered into a bilateral agreement called ‘Mahakali Treaty’.
• As per this treaty, the Govt. of India is to supply 70MU per annum of energy generated from Tanakpur Power Station and construct a head regulator & 1.2 km long Indo-Nepal irrigation canal taking off from Tanakpur Barrage for release of a predetermined quantity of water.
• The Indo-Nepal Link Canal project comprises constructing a Head Regulator on the left bank of the existing Tanakpur Barrage and diverting its water into irrigation canal to Nepal.

Tanakpur Power Station:

• It is a hydel power station located at Tanakpur near Banbassa, District Champawat, Uttaranchal.
• The Tanakpur Power Station has a capacity of 94.2 MWe.
• The first unit was commissioned in 1992 and the last in 1992. It is operated by National Hydro Power Corporation (NHPC).
• It harnesses the hydropower potential of the Sharda River (Mahakali River in Nepal).

Mahakali Treaty

• The Mahakali Treaty is a bilateral treaty between India and Nepal and pertains to the sharing of the waters of the Mahakali River.
• The treaty basically aims at integrated development of water resources in the Mahakali River and has been finalized on the basis of equal partnership.
• The Mahakali originates in Nepal and forms the border between the two countries for a considerable distance.
• The treaty recognizes the Mahakali River as a boundary river between the two countries.
• The scope of the Treaty covers the Sarada Barrage, the Tanakpur Barrage and the proposed Pancheswar project.
• From the Sarada Barrage, the Treaty gives Nepal 28.3 cumec (1000 cusec) of water in the wet season and 4.25 cumec (150 cusecs) in the dry season. This quantity is to be supplied from the Tanakpur Barrage if the Sarada Barrage turns non-functional.
• Further, the Treaty also directs that not less than 9.91 cumecs (350 cusecs) should flow downstream of the barrage to maintain and preserve the ecosystem of the river.
• Although the treaty is in operation, the implementation process had been tardy.

Note:-

The Sharada River, also called Kali River and Mahakali River, originates at Kalapani in the Himalayas in the Pithoragarh district in Uttarakhand, India. The Himalayan river is also called ‘Kutiyangdi’. River Mahakali is a Himalayan catchment of Ghagra sub-basin of the large Ganga Basin, originating from the Trans Himalayan region (>3600 m) ultimately draining the region through the Terai plains of Uttar Pradesh.

4. India Mobile Congress 2020

Context:

PM addresses India Mobile Congress 2020.

About the India Mobile Congress (IMC) 2020:

• India Mobile Congress is the largest digital technology forum in South Asia.
• It is organised by the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) and Cellular Operator Association of India (COAI).
• IMC has established itself as a leading platform for bringing together the industry, Government, academia, and other ecosystem players, to discuss and display the latest in the technology world.
• It is also the biggest networking event in India in the digital technology space.
• The event includes exhibitions and international conferences.
• The theme for IMC 2020 is ‘Inclusive Innovation – Smart, Secure, Sustainable’.

5. Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR)

Context:

Ministry of AYUSH and ICCR to streamline and intensify joint efforts to promote Yoga worldwide.

To know more about the ICCR, click on the linked article.

Read previous PIB here.

December 8th, 2020, PIB:- Download PDF Here