India-Papua New Guinea Relations

Why in news?

Recently, the Government of India has granted $1 million assistance to Papua New Guinea. 

India-Papua New Guinea relations at Glance 

• About: 

• The diplomatic relations between India and the Independent State of Papua New Guinea (PNG) were established when the latter got independence from Australia in 1975.

• Geo-political Relations: 

• India and PNG are Commonwealth countries and enjoy warm and cordial relations.
• They share commonality of views on most global issues. 
• The two countries have been working closely in international fora including the Commonwealth, NAM and UN.
• Both countries are partners under the Forum for India-Pacific Islands Cooperation. 

• Geostrategic Relations: 

• Both countries are apprehensive about nefarious Chinese design in the Indo-Pacific.  
• PNG have supported our candidature for various bodies and international offices

• Economic Relations: 

• Papua New Guinea (PNG)’s engagement with India in trade and investment has progressively increased. 
• Indian companies are now progressively looking at the various projects coming up in PNG, consequent to discovery of Natural Gas

• Defence Relations: 

• Both countries are aiming to strengthen bilateral ties in the maritime domain and enhance maritime partnerships. 
• Last year, the Indian naval ships were docked in PNG, marking a significant milestone in India’s engagement with the Pacific region. 

Importance of Papua New Guinea to India

• Strategic Location:

• Papua New Guinea (PNG) is the most populous, diverse, and resource-rich country. It is situated between the shores of the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean. It hosts the largest economy of the Pacific Islands.
• PNG is located in the center of a region with increasing rivalries and tensions between China and the US. 

• Gateway to Indo-Pacific Region: 

• India is swiftly reaching out to countries of the extended eastern region. It is in this context that India’s engagement with Papua New Guinea provides India with opportunities to strengthen its active presence in the region.

• Strengthen India’s Act East Policy: 

• PNG has a key role in India’s extended ‘Act East’ policy, because India’s growing maritime interests are not limited to the Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean neighbourhood and the Straits of Malacca.
• Strong strategic relations with PNJ could help India to keep a close eye on the South China Sea and Pacific Ocean to safeguard its interests. 

• Economic Security: 

• PNG is a resource-rich country and India has been attempting to secure its energy supplies away from conflict ridden West Asia. India could benefit from PNG’s untapped resources, especially its liquid natural gas.
• PNG could also contribute in meeting virtually the insatiable demand for gold among Indian households.  

Challenges 

• China’s Presence: Chinese engagement with the PNG has put India always on the back foot. Beijing has lavished aid in areas of poverty reduction, COVID-19 response, and climate change adaptation. India needs time to match China’s reach with respect to economic resources. 
• Presence of other powers: 

• PNG has occupied common spheres of influence and interest for major superpowers, like the US, France, Japan, Australia, and the United Kingdom (UK). 
• India’s approach to PNG is different and unique as compared to the West and even China. 

• Lack of Diplomatic Presence: PNG is the biggest country in the region and India has high commissions only in Papua New Guinea. Despite being close linguistic familiarity and rich diaspora, India has not given sufficient diplomatic attention to the country. 
• Lack of connectivity: The Lack of connectivity between India and any of the Pacific Island nations including PNG and Fiji is perhaps the biggest challenge in people-to-people links and in improving India-PNG bilateral trade. 
• Presence of Indian Private Sector: India’s presence in PNG’s infrastructure development and energy sector has also been negligible. Essar (India) is the only Indian construction company which has been operational in PNG for the past few years.
• Domestic Problem in PNG: PNG is plagued by a host of issues including democracy deficit, under-resourced healthcare, corruption, climate change, and violence. All such issues make the cooperation limited and short-lived. 

Conclusion

• India now plays a crucial role in the Indo-Pacific region. However, there is a greater need to invest diplomatically, encourage Indian companies to invest in the country and improve interactions between the two nations.
• To step up India’s diplomatic and economic foothold in the region and make India’s Act East policy, India can cooperate with like-minded parties to secure its interest. 

Colombo Process

Why in news?

Recently, India assumed the Chair of Colombo Process for 2024-26, for the first time since its inception.

About 

• The Colombo Process (CP) is a regional consultative forum comprising 12 member states of Asia, namely

• Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Vietnam. The eight Observer States include Bahrain, Italy, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates.

• Colombo Process is a Regional Consultative Process of migrant worker origin countries from South and South East Asia. 
• It is a non-binding process that facilitates discussions on improving the management of migration and protecting the rights of migrant workers.
• It serves as a forum for exchange of best practices on overseas employment.
• The CP meetings are generally conducted in two parts – the Senior Officials’ Meeting and the Ministerial Consultations. The Chairmanship of the Ministerial Consultations rotates.
• Objectives

• It aims to share experiences, lessons learned and best practices in labour migration management.
• Consult on issues faced by migrants, countries of origin and countries of destination, and propose practical solutions for the well-being of overseas workers.
• Optimize development benefits from organized overseas employment and enhance dialogues with countries of destination.
• Review and monitor the implementation of the recommendations and identify further steps of action.

Analysis report of candidates of 2024 Lok Sabha Election

Why in news?

Recently, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch released a survey containing an analysis report of candidates of the 2024 Lok Sabha election.

Key highlights of the survey

• The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch have conducted a comprehensive analysis of the self-sworn affidavits of 8,337 candidates vying for seats in the upcoming Lok Sabha 2024 Elections.
• According to an analysis, there has been an increase of 104% in the number of political parties contesting Lok Sabha elections from 2009 to 2024.

• 751 political parties are participating in 2024 as compared to 677 who participated in 2019, 464 in 2014, and 368 in 2009.

• Out of the total 8,360 contesting candidates, the breakdown reveals a diverse landscape of political representation: 1,333 from national parties, 532 from State parties, 2,580 from registered unrecognised parties and 3,915 independent candidates.
• The analysis also sheds light on the prevalence of criminal cases among candidates.
• Independent candidates fall in between with 550 out of 3,915 candidates facing criminal cases and 411 facing serious charges.
• Additionally, the analysis reveals financial assets of the candidates with 2,572 out of all 8,337 candidates being crorepatis or millionaires.

Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure 

Why in news?

Recently, the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI), has announced a new funding initiative to support disaster resilient infrastructure in Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

More about the news 

• The funding call is a part of CDRI’s Infrastructure for Resilient Island States Programme (IRIS). 
• This initiative aligns with the priorities outlined in the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS). 
• The IRIS programme, which has received financial commitments totalling USD 40 million from Australia, the European Union, India, and the United Kingdom, aims to strengthen infrastructure resilience across various sectors in SIDS.
• The funding call is open to all 57 SIDS and will support projects focused on enhancing disaster resilience in transport, power, telecommunications, water, health, and education sectors.

About Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure

• The Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) is a multi-stakeholder global partnership of national governments, UN agencies and programmes, multilateral development banks and financing mechanisms, the private sector, and knowledge institutions.
• It was launched by the Prime Minister of India in September 2019 at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York, USA.

• The CDRI is the second major coalition launched by India outside of the UN, the first being the International Solar Alliance.
• Both of them are seen as India’s attempts to obtain a global leadership role in climate change matters.

• • CDRI promotes rapid development of resilient infrastructure to respond to the Sustainable Development Goals’ imperatives of expanding universal access to basic services, enabling prosperity and decent work.
  • The CDRI has 39 members. 

• The following are CDRI’s strategic priorities: 

• Technical Support and Capacity-building: This includes disaster response and recovery support; innovation, institutional and community capacity-building assistance; and standards and certification.  
• Research and Knowledge Management: This includes collaborative research; global flagship reports; and a global database of infrastructure and sector resilience. 
• Advocacy and Partnerships: This includes global events and initiatives; marketplace of knowledge financing and implementation agencies; and dissemination of knowledge products.

EarthCARE Mission 

Why in news?

Recently, the European space agency launched its earth cloud aerosol and radiation explorer (EarthCARE) satellite. 

More about the news

• It is a joint collaboration between the European space agency and the Japanese space agency. 

• EarthCARE is an acronym standing for Earth Cloud, Aerosol and Radiation Explorer.
• It was designed and built by a consortium of more than 75 companies under Airbus as the prime contractor.

• The main goal of the mission is the observation and characterization of clouds and aerosols as well as measuring the reflected solar radiation and the infrared radiation emitted from Earth’s surface and atmosphere.
• The mission will make a range of different measurements that together will shed new light on the role that clouds and aerosols play in regulating Earth’s climate.
• The satellite will make measurements useful for a better understanding of the Earth’s thermal and solar radiation balance. 
• The instruments on-board will enable EarthCARE to simultaneously measure the vertical and horizontal distribution of clouds and atmospheric aerosols along with top-of-atmosphere (TOA) long- and short-wave fluxes.
• The mission will also provide this information to improve predictions about the weather and future climate.

Sharavathi River

Why in news?

Recently, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed the Karnataka State Environment Impact Assessment Authority to stop any unlawful/illegal sand mining in Sharavathi river coastal zone.

About Sharavathi River

• Sharavati river originates and flows entirely within the state of Karnataka in India.
• It is one of the few westward flowing rivers of India and a major part of the river basin lies in the Western Ghats. 
• It rises in the Western Ghats and runs northwest for 60 miles (100 kilometres) to the Arabian Sea in Honavar.
• The famous Jog Falls, located about 25 km from Siddapura, is formed by this river.
• The main tributaries of Sharavathi River are Nandihole, Haridravathi, Mavinahole, Hilkunji, Yennehole, Hurlihole, and Nagodihole.
• The river basin is mostly made up of Precambrian rocks. The two major groups of rocks found in the Sharavati river basin are the Dharwar system and the peninsular gneiss.
• Soils in the Sharavati basin are mainly lateritic in origin and tend to be acidic and reddish to brownish in colour. The various types of soil found here are clay loamy, clayey, clayey-skeletal, and loamy.
• The river flows through the Sharavathi Valley Wildlife Sanctuary. 

• The endangered lion-tailed macaque found in the Sharavathi Valley wildlife sanctuary.
• Other mammals include tiger, leopard (black panther), wild dog, jackal, sloth bear, spotted deer, sambar, barking deer, mouse deer, Malabar giant squirrel, giant flying squirrel, otter and pangolin.
• Reptiles include king cobra, python, rat snake, crocodile and monitor lizard.