Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Pmfias Ca 2023 11 03
Pmfias Ca 2023 11 03
Table of Contents
Context (TH): The Agartala-Akhaura rail link project has been inaugurated.
Context (IE): Thailand will build a land bridge across Kra Isthmus financed by China.
Isthmus is a narrow strip of land that connects two larger landmasses. It is often bordered by bodies of
water on two sides. E.g. Isthmus of Panama.
• This land bridge will give a direct access between the Andaman Sea and Gulf of Thailand.
• lt will have two large-capacity ports or shipping terminals on either side, joined by an east-west
economic corridor including an oil pipeline.
Benefit of the Kra Isthmus Land Bridge
It will reduce the sailing distance between the Indian Ocean Region and the waters of East Asia.
It will be an alternative to the longer and congested shipping route through the Strait of Malacca.
Strait of Malacca carries 25% of the world’s traded goods.
Thailand
• Thailand is a country in Southeast Asia, located on the Indochinese Peninsula.
• It is bordered to the:
North by Myanmar and Laos
East by Laos and Cambodia
South by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia
West by the Andaman Sea
• It shares maritime borders with Vietnam, Indonesia, and India.
• Bangkok is the nation's capital and largest city.
• Thailand is the only country in SE Asia that has never been colonised by a European power.
• It is home to the world's largest golden Buddha statue.
• It is the world's second largest exporter of rice after India.
• It is called the "Land of Smiles" because of the friendly and welcoming nature of its people.
Context (TH): President-elect Mohamed Muizzu plans to remove Indian troops from the Maldives to
ensure the country's independence and sovereignty in his foreign policy.
• Currently, there are 75 Indian military personnel in the Maldives. They operate Dornier aircraft and
two helicopters provided by India.
Tourism
• The Maldivian economy heavily depends on its tourism sector, the primary source of foreign ex-
change earnings and government revenue.
• Tourism directly accounts for about a quarter of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of Maldives.
• In 2023, India, with 147,527 tourist arrivals, is the 2nd leading source market for Maldives.
Security Concerns
• Maldives is strategically crucial to India due to its proximity to India's west coast (70 nautical miles
away from Minicoy and 300 nautical miles away from India’s West coast).
• India needs to maintain close ties with Maldives, considering the increasing influence of China in the
Indian Ocean region.
• The Maldives is part of the 'Colombo Security Conclave' with India and other nations, emphasising
collective security and regional cooperation.
The Maritime Boundary Treaty of 1976 resolved Maldives's claim to Minicoy Island, recognising
it as part of India.
Context (TH | PIB): The MoU was signed between the ECI and the Ministry of Education (MoE) to in-
troduce content on electoral literacy in the NCERT textbooks.
Electoral Literacy is a process of transforming citizens into empowered voters by helping them un-
derstand the electoral process and the need to enrol as electors and participate in the elections in
an ethical and informed manner.
Long-term Vision
• It aims to extend the Systematic Voters' Education and Electoral Participation to schools/colleges.
• It also aims to instil electoral literacy in young people and addresses issues like voter apathy.
Context (TH | ET | IE | TH | TH): India has opposed Europian Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment
Mechanism (CBAM) citing that carbon cannot be priced the same in India and Europe.
• GoI has declared that it is working on tax akin to CRAM to aid the local industries.
Criticism of CBAM
Unilateral Measure
EU has decided on CBAM without agreement with other countries.
This undermines the spirit of multilateralism and so, it can lead to trade disputes and hinder inter-
national climate cooperation.
Beneficiary of CBAM
The burning of carbon anywhere in the world affects climate change everywhere.
CBAM like tax regime can only be meaningful if they are utilised for the whole world.
Otherwise it will simply become a revenue earning mechanism of the EU.
Context (TH | IE): The Vision India@2047 document by Niti Aayog will provide the roadmap for In-
dia to become a developed economy with an estimated $30 trillion GDP by 2047.
• It will provide a roadmap for India's progress in 2030 and the ultimate vision for 2047.
Preliminary Results
• To achieve the Vision India@2047 goals, India needs annual economic growth rates of:
9.2% (2030-2040)
8.8% (2040-2047)
9% (2030-2047)
• Exports are projected to reach $8.67 trillion by 2047, while imports are estimated at $12.12 trillion.
• India's average life expectancy is expected to increase to 71.8 years, up from 67.2 in 2021, and the
literacy rate is predicted to rise to 89.8%, compared to 77.8% in 2021.
Challenges
Aligning state vision documents
Avoiding middle-income trap
Strategy to prevent the economy from getting stuck in the middle-income trap.
Ensures competitiveness amid rising costs to reach high-income status.
Context (TH | TH | IE): The Vizianagaram train accident may have occurred due to overshot.
• The anti-collision KAVACH system is not available on either of these trains.
Overshot
• Overshot is technically called Signal Passing at Danger (SPAD).
• It occurs when a train doesn't stop at a red signal and keeps moving forward.
• It is a serious safety hazard that can lead to train collisions and other accidents.
Reasons of Overshot
Human error: Due to fatigue, distraction, or signal misinterpretation.
Technical failure: It includes problems with the train's brakes, signalling system, or track.
External factors: Such as bad weather or obstructions on the track.
{GS3 – Infra – Tourism} Domestic Sailing of the First International Cruise Liner
Context (PIB): Domestic sailing of the first International Cruise Liner ‘COSTA SERENA’ in India is
set to be launched at Mumbai.
• Costa Cruises, a prominent European cruise company, operates under an Italian flag.
• This cruise initiative is part of ‘Dekho Apna Desh’, launched to appeal the middle class to prefer
domestic tourism over international.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways is focused to bring India on the cruising map of the world.
At Global Maritime India Summit 2023 organised by the Ministry, target of 50 million cruise pas-
sengers in India by 2047 was set.
Haemoglobin
• Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein in that carries oxygen in our body.
• Without it, oxygen could not be transported to the body's tissues, and the cells would die.
Haemoglobin in Blood
• The fluid part of blood is called plasma.
• Cells in blood are:
Red blood cells (RBC) carries oxygen with the help of haemoglobin. Haemoglobin binds with
oxygen and transports it to all the parts of the body and, ultimately, to all the cells.
White blood cells (WBC), which fight against germs that may enter our body.
Platelets help in the clotting of blood.
Context (TH | HT): UNESCO added 55 cities to its Creative Cities Network for their commitment to
culture and creativity in urban planning.
Now, the UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) has 350 cities in seven creative fields.
• Kozhikode is designated as a "City of Literature," known for hosting literary festivals.
• Gwalior is recognized as a "City of Music" for its rich musical heritage and prestigious music insti-
tutes.
• Other cities added to the list are:
Bukhara (Uzbekistan)
Casablanca (Morocco)
Kathmandu (Nepal)
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil)
• UNESCO Creative Cities Network (UCCN) was established in 2004 to promote cooperation among
cities valuing creativity for sustainable urban development.
• Cities in the network aim to prioritize creativity and cultural industries in their local development
plans and collaborate internationally.
• The Network spans seven creative fields: Crafts and Folk Art, Media Arts, Film, Design, Gastronomy,
Literature and Music.
• UCCN partners with UNESCO, serving as a platform for sustainable development discussions and im-
plementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Reports
1. UNESCO Science Report
2. Global Education Monitoring Report
3. State of the Education Report for India