Context: The Union Ministry of Tribal Affairs has launched an Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) campaign for the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN).

News:

• The campaign aims to reach 22,000 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG) majority tribal habitations and families in 200 districts nationwide.
• PM-JANMAN was inaugurated on November 15, 2023.
• The comprehensive IEC campaign initially covers 100 districts and will later extend to the remaining districts in phase II.

• The initiative focuses on raising awareness among PVTG communities about their entitlements, providing Aadhar cards, community certificates, and Jan Dhan accounts during the campaign.
• It aims to cover unreached PVTG households, utilizing various locations like Haat Bazar, CSC, Gram panchayat, Anganwadi, Multipurpose center, Vandhan Vikas Kendras, and Krishi Vigyan Kendras for organizing events.

PM Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan

• It also known as PM JANMAN, is an initiative with the primary objective of safeguarding and fostering tribal groups, particularly those facing the risk of extinction.
• The program is designed to offer essential support, facilitate development, and enhance connectivity for tribal communities, ensuring their integration into mainstream services and opportunities.
• The initiative extends its coverage to 75 Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) residing in 18 states and union territories, spanning 22,544 villages across 220 districts. These identified tribal groups comprise approximately 28 lakh people.
• PM JANMAN holds significant importance as it reflects the government's dedication to uplifting and protecting tribal communities, with a focus on preserving their cultural heritage. The initiative aims to bridge the gap between tribal populations and essential services, emphasizing socio-economic empowerment and their seamless integration into the broader development process.

Context: A Japanese-owned chemical tanker off the coast of India was targeted by a drone, allegedly fired from Iran, marking the seventh Iranian attack on commercial shipping since 2021, according to the Pentagon.

News:

• A recent report indicates that the drone assault on a vessel near Gujarat originated from Iran. The targeted ship, MV Chem Pluto, is a chemical tanker with a Liberia flag, Japanese ownership, and Netherlands operation, transporting crude oil from Saudi Arabia to the Mangalore coast.
• The responsibility for the drone attack is being linked to the Houthi group based in Yemen, which has been conducting a series of drone and rocket attacks on ships associated with Israel.
• Their motivation is reportedly linked to Israel's perceived ongoing aggression in Gaza.

The global supply chains are facing disruption due to Houthi attacks on ships

Location: concentrated in the Red Sea and the Bab el-Mandeb straits off the Yemeni coast. The Red Sea, spanning almost 2,000 kilometers, serves as a crucial link between the Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean through the narrow Suez Canal. Approximately 15% of worldwide shipping traffic, including roughly 30% of global container trade, traverses the Suez Canal.

Impact: The heightened risk of Houthi attacks has prompted the imposition of a "war risk" surcharge on every vessel navigating this route. In response to these threats, British Petroleum has temporarily halted its movements through this strategic passage, opting for a longer, more fuel-intensive, and time-consuming route around Africa's Cape of Good Hope, which takes approximately 34 days.

Escalation: The Houthi rebels' warning, "Red Sea will burn," comes in the context of Operation Prosperity Guardian, indicating a potential escalation of tensions in the region.

Suez Canal

• The Suez Canal serves as the most expeditious maritime route connecting Asia and Europe, linking the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea and extending further to the Indian Ocean. It plays a crucial role in the transportation of oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG), facilitating the shipment of approximately nine million barrels of oil daily through the canal in the first half of 2023. Annually, around 17,000 ships traverse the Suez Canal, transporting goods valued at roughly $1 trillion.
• As for Operation Prosperity Guardian, it is a multinational security initiative initiated by the United States to counter the escalating attacks targeting international traffic bound for Israel. The coalition involved in this operation includes the United Kingdom, Bahrain, Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, and Seychelles, in addition to the United States.

About Houthis:

• The Houthi movement, also known as the Ansar Allah movement, is a Shia Islamist political and military organization situated in Yemen. Primarily composed of Zaidi Shias, its leadership, largely from the Houthi tribe, guides the movement.
• The movement's official slogan includes declarations such as "God is the Greatest," along with sentiments expressing opposition to America and Israel, a negative view towards Jews, and a call for victory to Islam.
• Influenced by the Lebanese Shia political and military organization Hezbollah, the Houthi movement has played a significant role in the Yemen Civil War, a conflict lasting over a decade.
• The Yemen Civil War has been characterized by the Houthi forces, supported by Iran and Hezbollah, clashing with the Yemeni government, backed by Saudi Arabia and Western powers. Over the course of the conflict, the Houthis have gained control over substantial portions of northern and western Yemen, including the official capital, Sanaa.

Context: Recently, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) launched Project PRAYAS to help Indian workers and students migrate in a secure, orderly, and regular manner.

PRAYAS

• Project PRAYAS, which stands for Promoting Regular Assisted Migration for Youth and Skilled Professionals, was initiated in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
• It represents one of the initial efforts to bring together various state-level initiatives aimed at ensuring secure, organized, and well-managed international migration.
• The primary objective of Project PRAYAS is to support the safe, organized, and regular migration of Indian migrant workers and students.
• This is to be achieved through the formulation of policy recommendations in partnership with the MEA and state governments, thereby enhancing the governance of international migration.
• The project seeks to conduct a comprehensive study, capturing essential migration trends, the needs and aspirations of migrants, and significant international migration and mobility initiatives undertaken by both the central and state governments.
• The findings of this analysis will be shared with the Ministry, contributing to informed decision-making in the realm of international migration.International Organization for Migration
• Established in 1951, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) is a UN agency dedicated to promoting humane and orderly migration. IOM provides advice on migration policy, supports migrants globally, and addresses evolving migration dynamics.
• The organization operates in emergencies, enhancing the resilience of people on the move, especially in vulnerable situations, and helps build government capacity to manage various forms and impacts of mobility.
• IOM, guided by the UN Charter, upholds human rights, dignity, and the well-being of migrants as fundamental principles. Currently, IOM has 175 Member States and 8 states with Observer status, with India becoming a Member State in 2008.

International Organization for Migration

• The International Organization for Migration (IOM), established in 1951, operates as a specialized agency under the United Nations (UN) with a primary focus on promoting the humane and organized movement of people.
• The IOM defines a migrant as an individual who relocates from their usual place of residence, whether within a country or across international borders, either temporarily or permanently, and for various reasons.
• At the behest of states, the IOM extends its support not only to migrants but also to internally displaced persons, refugees, and other displaced populations. Its efforts span four main areas: migration and development, facilitating migration, regulating migration, and addressing forced migration.

Context: The bilingual work in 11 volumes, spread across about 4,000 pages, is a collection of the writings and speeches of Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya, collected from every nook and corner of the country. These volumes comprise his unpublished letters, articles and speeches, including memorandums; the editorial content of Hindi weekly ‘Abhyudaya’ started by him in 1907; articles, pamphlets and booklets written by him from time to time etc.

• About Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya
  • Born on December 25, 1861, in Allahabad (now Prayagraj) in Uttar Pradesh, he was a distinguished educationist, trailblazer, compelling speaker, and a prominent national leader.
  • Mahatma Gandhi bestowed upon him the title of 'Mahamana,' and Dr. S. Radhakrishnan, the second President of India, recognized him as a 'Karmayogi.'
  • Positioned between the moderates and the extremists during the freedom struggle, he represented a middle ground between the followers of Gokhale and Tilak.
  • Serving as the President of the Congress committee four times in 1909, 1918, 1932, and 1933, he played a crucial role.
  • In 2014, he was posthumously honored with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

Gangster Goldy Brar, the mastermind behind the murder of Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala, was declared a designated terrorist by the Centre under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

UAPA

The UAPA aims to prevent unlawful activities and terrorist activities in the country.

Terrorist Act - Any act committed with intent to threaten or likely to threaten the unity, integrity, security, economic security, sovereignty of India or any section of the people in India or in any foreign country.

2019 Bill - Originally only covering organizations that engage in terrorism, the Act was amended in 2019 to allow the government to designate individuals as terrorists too.

• The 2019 Bill sought to empower the central government to designate an individual a terrorist if they are found committing, preparing for, promoting, or involved in an act of terror.
• A similar provision already existed in Part 4 and 6 of the legislation for organisations that can be designated as a terrorist organisation.
• The 2019 amendment did not clarify the standard of proof required to establish that an individual is involved, or is likely to be involved, in terrorist activities.

The designation of an individual as a global terrorist by the United Nations is associated with sanctions including travel bans, freezing of assets and an embargo against procuring arms, however, the 2019 amendment did not provide any such detail.

Appeal - Under the amendment, the central government set up a review committee comprising a chairperson (a retired or sitting judge of a High Court) and three other members.

• The review committee will be empowered to order the government to delete the name of the individual from the schedule that lists terrorists, if it considers the order to be flawed.
• Apart from these two avenues, the individual can also move the courts challenging the government’s order.

Satinderjit Singh, popularly known as Goldy Brar has become the 56th person to be named an individual terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

Individual Terrorists

• The central government may designate an individual as a terrorist through a notification in the official gazette, and add his name to the Fourth Schedule to the UAPA.
• The government is not required to give an individual an opportunity to be heard before such a designation.

An individual who is convicted in a terror case is legally referred to as a terrorist, while those suspected of being involved in terrorist activities are referred to as terror accused.

India is poised to establish a National Maritime Domain Awareness Centre (NMDAC) in response to emerging threats in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR).

NMDAC

• The Indian Navy’s Information Management and Analysis Centre (IMAC) in Gurugram, is on track to upgrade into the National Maritime Domain Awareness Centre in about three years.

Objective - The primary objective of the NMDAC is to meticulously gather, analyze, and provide actionable intelligence to address maritime challenges.

• The center will maintain vigilant oversight of the expanding Chinese naval activities within the IOR.
• Once operational, the NDMA Centre will house people from 15 agencies under seven Ministries enabling exchange of maritime information in real-time across the board.
• The involved ministries include petroleum, defense, fisheries, shipping, among others.

BEL - Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a defense public sector undertaking, is entrusted with the responsibility of providing all the requisite hardware and software necessary for the NMDAC.

IMAC

• IMAC is the nodal agency for maritime information and monitoring and was set up after the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
• Approved by the Defence Acquisition Council in 2012, the IMAC became operational in 2014 and is located in Gurugram.
• IMAC serves as the nodal center of the National Command, Control, and Intelligence (NC3I) Network, and the Information Fusion Centre-Indian Ocean Region (IFC-IOR) in 2018.
• Both function as hubs for maritime domain awareness for domestic and international information sharing.
• NC3I - It is the nodal centre of the National Command Control Communication and Intelligence System (NC3I).
• It is spearheaded by the Indian Navy.
• NC3I was established to link the operational Centres and lower echelons of Navy and Coast Guard spread across the country’s coastline including the island territories.
• The NC3I, , links 51 stations, comprising 20 Navy and 31 Coast Guard stations, providing a comprehensive, real-time depiction of the approximately 7,500-km long coastline.

IFC-IOR - In the case of the IFC-IOR, the center presently has 12 International Liaison Officers, with plans to increase this number to 40 by 2025-26.

• Additionally, the IFC-IOR has established agreements with 25 countries and 1 international maritime construct concerning the sharing of white shipping information.

Functions of the IMAC -

1. 1. Tracks vessels on the high seas
   2. Gets data from the coastal radars
   3. White shipping agreements
   4. Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) transponders fitted on merchant ships
   5. Air and traffic management
   6. Global shipping databases management

Indian Ocean Region (IOR)

• The Indian Ocean Region (IOR) is a vital maritime area spanning over 36 littoral and island countries.
• The region is strategically important due to its significant trade routes, natural resources, and geopolitical importance.
• It is home to some of the world’s busiest sea-lanes, including the Straits of Hormuz and Malacca, which serve as a conduit for international trade.
• Major portion of the world population and comparatively younger population resides in this region.

• Valmiki, also known as Maharishi Valmiki, is a legendary poet and revered sage in Hindu mythology.
• He is known as the author of the epic poem Ramayana, and is revered as the 1^st poet in Sanskrit literature.
• He is called as the Adikavi or First Poet - the Poet of Poets of India.

Valmiki's birth anniversary is celebrated every year on Ashwin Purnima.