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THE HAMAS ATTACK CAN SHAKE THE WEST ASIAN GEOSTRATEGIC ARCHITECTURE

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THE HAMAS ATTACK CAN SHAKE THE WEST ASIAN GEOSTRATEGIC ARCHITECTURE

 

 

Why in the News?

The Hamas operation Toofan Al-Aqsa (Al-Aqsa Flood) on Israel has led to launch of retaliatory full-fledged attacks on Gaza by the latter on a war-mode.

Key takeaways:

  1. From a military perspective, Israel is not under an existential threat because it can push back Hamas which lacks resources to sustain the campaign.
  2. Israel is pushed to revise its strategic doctrines from the experiences of the attach because of:
    1. Intelligence failure of predicting the Hamas attack
    2. Misplaced reliance on hi-tech missile defence and Artificial Intelligence.
  3. The Israel-Hamas conflict can further boost the standing of non-state Arab militias, such as Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah, al-Houthis, Islamic State, various avatars of al-Qaeda, and Al-Shabaab.
  4. Though the conflict could protract it would remain geographically confined as
    1. Hamas and Islamic Jihad have few all-weather supporters.
      1. The only Arab neighbour of Gaza is Egypt has a pro-West military regime.
      2. All the Gulf monarchies (except Qatar) strongly disapprove of Hamas, calling it a political Islamic outfit.
      3. Although Qatar provides generous humanitarian assistance to the Gazans, it doesn’t want to annoy the US.
      4. Turkey, a big regional Sunni power has a bruised economy with a limited outreach and is also trying to reconnect with Israel and the Gulf monarchies.
    2. Palestinian Authority is vertically split between the West Bank run by al-Fatah and Gaza administered by Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel. 
    3. Young Palestinians are losing trust with the Fatah gerontocracy as it failed to stop Israeli land grabs in the West Bank.
    4. Iran has been creating weapons and ammunition supply line through Sudan and Egypt to Gaza and is trying to replicate the success of Hezbollah-type proto-state in Gaza to threaten Israel.

Consequences on regional politics:

  1. The conflict could include a delay in the rapprochement between Saudi Arabia and Israel as Israel would be unwilling to grant the concessions to the Palestinians sought by Saudi.
  2. Iran can feel emboldened by its arch-enemy being in mortal combat.
  3. Protracted regional turbulence can lead to indirect effects on India:
    1. Collateral damage through an oil price rise
    2. Impact on Indian diaspora
    3. Dim the prospects for India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor and other I2U2 constructs.

THE YOM KIPPUR WAR

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THE YOM KIPPUR WAR

 

 

Why in the News?

The Yom Kippur war or the Ramadan war which started 50 years and reset equations in the Middle East forever is compared to the current attack of Hamas on Israel.

Why is the current violence being compared with the Yom Kippur war?

  1. The current attack by Hamas has been the deadliest attack on Israel killing 400 Israelis so far since the Yom Kippur war of 1973.
  2. In the Yom Kippur war, more than 2,500 Israeli soldiers were killed.
  3. The second similarity is the unpreparedness of Israel for the attack.
  4. Despite Israel’s advanced intelligence and interception systems, the Hamas attack came as a surprise which was similar to Yom Kippur war where Israel was unprepared, with many soldiers on leave because of Yom Kippur or the Day of Atonement, the holiest day in Judaism.

What was the Yom Kippur war?

  1. The Yom Kippur war, or the October war, or the Ramadan war, was fought between Israel on one side and Egypt and Syria on the other in 1973.
  2. It is also called the Fourth Arab-Israeli war, coming after three wars in 1949, 1956, and 1967.
  3. Israel witnessed a decisive victory in the Six-Day War of 1967 and also captured territories from its neighbours, including the Golan Heights from Syria and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt.
  4. Six years later in 1973, the two countries launched a coordinated attack on Israel which was unexpected by the latter in the Holy Islamic month of Ramadan.
  5. Israel took time to mobilise its own soldiers, many of whom were on leave for Yom Kippur and so both Syria and Egypt made some gains.
  6. Israel was able to stem the advance on both Syrian and Egyptian sides after three days and soon launched its own counterstrikes. 
  7. The US and the Soviet Union stepped in to back Israel and Egypt-Syria respectively, and tensions between the superpowers escalated dangerously.
  8. A lasting ceasefire had been arrived at by October 25, brokered by the UN.

What is the significance of the Yom Kippur war?

  1. Though Israel managed to beat back both attackers in the Yom Kippur war, it also made clear that Israel could be battered, if not beaten, in battle.
  2. Six months after the war, Prime Minister Golda Meir and her cabinet resigned.
  3. It is believed that Egypt’s strategy behind launching the attack was not necessarily to defeat the militarily superior Israel, but to bruise it enough to bring it to the negotiating table.
  4. After the ceasefire, a peace process was set in motion.
    1. Under the 1978 Camp David Accords, Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula to Egypt.
    2. The 1979 Egyptian–Israeli peace treaty was the first instance of an Arab country recognising Israel as a state.
    3.  The Israel-Egypt peace deal had nothing for Syria, and Israel in fact ended up occupying even more of the strategically important and fertile plateau of Golan Heights, which it holds to this day.

KEN- BETWA RIVER LINKAGE

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KEN- BETWA RIVER LINKAGE

Why in the News?

The Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP) involving cost of Rs 44,605-crore has finally secured the final forest clearance after 6 years of getting the provisional nod.

Ken-Betwa Link Project (KBLP):

 

 

  1. It is the first project under the National Perspective Plan for interlinking of rivers. 
  2. The project intends to transfer water from the Ken River to the Betwa river, both tributaries of river Yamuna.
  3. The project will be implemented in 2 phases:
    1. Phase-I: Daudhan dam complex and its appurtenances like Low Level Tunnel, High Level Tunnel, Ken-Betwa link canal and Power houses will be completed.
    2. Phase-II: 3 components that includes Lower Orr dam, Bina complex project and Kotha barrage will be constructed.
  4. The project will provide,
    1. Annual irrigation of 10.62 lakh hectares
    2. Drinking water supply to about 62 lakh people 
    3. Generate 103 MW of hydropower.
  5. The drought-prone region of Bundelkhand will get benefitted as the project spreads across 13 districts of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh.
  6. Concern:
    1. The Daudhan dam of Ken Betwa Link Project shall cause submergence of 6,017 ha of forest area.
    2. 4,206 ha of area of the project lies within the core tiger habitat of Panna Tiger Reserve.

Recent developments on interlinking of rivers in India:

  1. Dr K L Rao, the then Union Irrigation Minister suggested construction of a National Water Grid for transferring water from water-rich areas to water-deficit areas in 1970s.
  2. Later, a Garland Canal to redistribute water from one area to another was proposed.
  3. The govt dropped both the plans, to take up National Perspective Plan (NNP) for inter basin water transfer in the country. It comprised two components: 
    1. Himalayan Rivers Development
    2. Peninsular Rivers Development
  4. Based on the NPP, the National Water Development Agency (NWDA) identified 30 river links for water resource development:
    1. 16 under Peninsular component 
    2. 14 under Himalayan Component
  5. Generally, 4-5 types of clearances are required for the interlinking of river projects and they include:
    1. Techno-economic (given by the Central Water Commission)
    2. Forest Clearance and Environmental clearance (Ministry of Environment & Forests)
    3. Resettlement and Rehabilitation (R&R) Plan of Tribal Population (Ministry of Tribal Affairs)
    4. Wildlife clearance (Central Empowered Committee)
  6. The interlinking of rivers programme is based on the principle of consensus and agreement among the concerned States.

 

S.No

Name

Rivers

States concerned

 

Peninsular Component

 

 

 

1(a)

Mahanadi (Manibhadra)–

Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link

Mahanadi and Godavari

Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana,

Andhra Pradesh, Odisha, Karnataka and Maharashtra

 

1(b)

Mahanadi (Bermul)–

Godavari (Dowlaiswaram) link

Mahanadi and Godavari

do

 

2

Godavari(Inchampall)-Krishna(Pulichintala)

link

Godavari and Krishna

Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra

and Karnataka

 

3

Godavari(Inchampalli)-Krishna (Nagarjunasagar) link

Godavari and Krishna

--do--

 
 

4

Godavari(Polavaram)-Krishna(Vijayawada) link

Godavari and Krishna

--do--

 

5

Krishna(Almatti)

–Pennar link

Krishna and Pennar

Telangana, Andhra Pradesh,Maharashtra and Karnataka

 

6

Krishna (Srisailam)–Pennar link

Krishna and Pennar

--do--

 

7

Krishna(Nagarjunasagar)-Pennar (Somasila) link

Krishna and Pennar

--do--

 
 

8

Pennar (Somasila)–Cauvery(Grand Anicut) link

Pennar and Cauvery

Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry

 
 

9

Cauvery (Kattalai)–Vaigai–Gundar link

Cauvery, Vaigai and

Gundar

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry

 

10

Ken–Betwa link

Ken and Betwa

Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh

 

11

(i)

Parbati – Kalisindh –Chambal link

Parbati, Kalisindhand Chambal

Madhya Pradesh,Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan requested to be Consulted during consensus building)

 

(ii)

Parbati-Kuno-Sindh link

Parbati, Kuno and Sindh

Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan

 

12

Par-Tapi-Narmada link

Par, Tapi and Narmada

Maharashtra and Gujarat

 

13

Damanganga – Pinjal link

Damanganga and Pinjal

--do--

 

14

Bedti-Varada link

Bedti and Varada

Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka

 

15

Netravati – Hemavati link

Netravati

and Hemavati

Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala

 

16

Pamba - Achankovil –Vaippar link

Pamba,Achankovil and Vaippar

Kerala and Tamil Nadu

 

 

Himalayan Component

 

1.

Manas-Sankosh-Tista-Ganga(M-S-T-G)link

Manas,Sankosh,

Tista and Ganga

BHUTAN&INDIA

(Assam,West Bengal and Bihar)

2.

Kosi-Ghaghra link

Kosi and Ghaghra

NEPAL&INDIA

(Bihar and Uttar Pradesh)

3.

Gandak-Ganga link

Gandak and Ganga

 

4.

Ghaghra-Yamuna link

Ghaghra and Yamuna

 

5.

Sarda-Yamuna link

Sarda and Yamuna

NEPAL&INDIA

(Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana

And Rajasthan)

6.

Yamuna-Rajasthan link

Yamuna and Sukri

Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana and UttarPradesh

7.

Rajasthan-Sabarmati link

Sabarmati

 

8.

Chunar-Sone Barrage link

Ganga and Sone

Bihar and Uttar Pradesh

9.

Sone Dam – Southern Tributaries of Ganga link

Sone and Badua

Bihar and Jharkhand

10.

Ganga (Farakka)-Damodar-

Subernarekha link

Ganga, Damodar and Subernarekha

West Bengal,Odisha and Jharkhand

11.

Subernarekha-Mahanadi link

Subernarekha and Mahanadi

West Bengal and Odisha

12.

Kosi-Mechi Link

Kosi and Mechi

NEPAL & INDIA

(Bihar and West Bengal)

13.

Ganga (Farakka)-Sunderbans link

Ganga and Ichhamati

West Bengal

14.

Jogighopa-Tista-Farakkalink(Alternative to M-S-T-G)

Manas,Tista and Ganga

Assam, Bihar andWest Bengal

         

 

DIGITAL  INDIA  ACT TO SHAPE INDIA’S CYBER LANDSCAPE

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DIGITAL  INDIA  ACT TO SHAPE INDIA’S CYBER LANDSCAPE

 

 

Why in the News?

The Digital India Act 2023 (DIA) has been recently announced by the government to establish a future-ready legal framework for the country’s growing digital ecosystem.

Digital India Act 2023 (DIA):

  1. It seeks to replace the two-decade-old Information Technology Act of 2000 (IT Act) which is struggling to keep pace with the rapid changes in technology and user behaviour.
  2. It seeks to address the challenges and opportunities presented by the dramatic growth of the internet and emerging technologies.
  3. Need for DIA act:
    1. India’s internet user base has exploded from 5.5 million to 850 million.
    2. Outdated IT act, 2000
    3. Proliferation of new forms of user harm, such as cyberstalking, trolling, and doxing.
    4. Therefore, a comprehensive legal framework to address them is required.
  4. Key provisions:
    1. Emphasis on online safety and trust with a commitment to safeguard citizen’s rights in the digital realm.
    2. Being adaptable to shifting market dynamics and international legal principles.
    3. Provides guidelines for responsible utilisation of new-age technologies such as AI and blockchain.
      1. Besides ensuring adherence to ethical and legal principles, it encourages adoption of these technologies and shape their development.
      2. It thus strikes a balance between fostering innovation and safeguarding against potential harms.
      3. Promotes ethical AI practices and data privacy in blockchain applications.
      4. Provides for mechanisms of accountability in the use of these technologies.
    4. It upholds the concept of an open internet and mandates stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements for wearable devices, along with criminal law sanctions.
    5. It emphasises a review of the “safe harbour” principle.
      1. The “safe harbour” principle shields online platforms from liability related to user-generated content.
      2. A review of the principle can foster online accountability standards.

Challenges in implementation of the act:

  1. The act may have potential impact on innovation and the ease of doing business as stricter regulations in emerging technologies can stifle entrepreneurial initiatives and deter foreign investments. 
  2. A review of the “safe harbour” principle can impinge on freedom of expression of users as these platforms may a adopt more cautious approach on user-generated content.
  3. The effective enforcement of DIA will require substantial resources, expertise, and infrastructure. 
  4. Balancing the interests of various stakeholders, including tech giants, while ensuring the protection of citizen rights will be a tedious process.

DIA offers steps for towards ensuring a secure, accountable, and innovative digital future for India in an age of constant change of digital landscape. DIA implementation with vigilant monitoring and adaptability to avoid unintended consequences can lead to its successful implementation.