​What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• What is the Fujiwhara effect?
• Five different ways in which Fujiwhara Effect can take place
• Associated damages
• How is this related to today’s climate?

Why in news?

• Earlier this year, California witnessed an unusually wet winter, with at least twelve atmospheric river storms battering the state.
  • Atmospheric rivers are vast airborne currents carrying dense moisture and hanging low in the atmosphere.
• In one of these storms, two small areas of low pressure were drawn together in a ‘dance’, commonly known as Fujiwhara effect.

What is the Fujiwhara effect?

​

• It is a phenomenon that occurs when two nearby cyclonic storms, such as hurricanes, typhoons, or tropical cyclones, come close enough to each other to interact.
• As per the National Weather Service (NWS), when two hurricanes (or cyclones), spinning in the same direction, are brought close together, they begin an intense dance around their common centre.
• This interaction between two cyclones is called the Fujiwhara effect.
• The interaction could lead to changes in the track and intensity of either or both storms systems.
• In rare cases, the two systems could merge, especially when they are of similar size and intensity, to form a bigger storm.

Five different ways in which Fujiwhara Effect can take place

• Elastic Interaction (EI)
  • In these interactions, only the direction of motion of the storms changes and is the most common case.
  • These are also the cases that are difficult to assess and need closer examination.
• Partial Straining-Out (PSO)
  • In this, a part of the smaller storm is lost to the atmosphere.
• Complete Straining-Out (CSO)
  • It takes place in which the smaller storm is completely lost to the atmosphere.
  • The straining out does not happen for storms of equal strengths.
• Partial Merger
  • In this, the smaller storm merges into the bigger one.
• Complete Merger
  • It takes places between two storms of similar or different strength.

​

Associated damages

• The influx of additional heat, moisture, and positive vorticity during the Fujiwhara effect intensify the primary circulation of a system.
• The occurrence of the Fujiwhara effect also makes cyclonic systems harder to predict, as every interaction between two storm systems is unique and difficult to assess within the present climate models.

How is this related to today’s climate?

• Experts have noted the rising frequency of this unusual effect, attributing it to a rapidly warming world and the subsequent heating of ocean waters.
• A warming climate is giving rise to stronger cyclones, and thus, increasing the possibility of the Fujiwhara effect.

Q1) What are Cyclones?

Cyclones are powerful natural phenomena characterized by strong rotating winds and low-pressure systems. They are also known as hurricanes or typhoons in different parts of the world. Cyclones typically form over warm ocean waters in tropical and subtropical regions.

Q2) What are atmospheric river storms?

Atmospheric river (AR) storms, often referred to simply as "atmospheric rivers," are relatively narrow, elongated corridors or bands of concentrated moisture in the Earth's atmosphere. These atmospheric rivers are associated with the transport of large amounts of water vapor from one area to another, typically from warm, moist regions to cooler regions. They play a significant role in the planet's hydrological cycle and can have substantial impacts on weather and climate.

Source: The Fujiwhara effect: When cyclones ‘dance’ | DownToEarth

What’s in today’s article?

• Why in news?
• India-Greece Bilateral Relationship
• Historical Linkages between India and Greece
• Political linkages between India and Greece
• Trade & Commerce between India and Greece
• Defence Cooperation between India and Greece
• Science & Technology between India and Greece
• Cultural cooperation between India and Greece
• Indian Community at Greece
• News Summary: PM Modi’s visit to Greece
• Key highlights of the visit?

Why in news?

• Following his visit to South Africa to attend 15^th BRICS summit, PM Modi paid an official visit to Greece on 25 August 2023.
• This was the first visit by an Indian Prime Minister to Greece in 40 years.

India-Greece Bilateral Relationship

• India and Greece enjoy civilizational ties, which have strengthened in recent years through cooperation in areas like maritime transport, defence, trade and investments and people-to-people ties.

Historical Linkages

• India’s contacts with Greece began over 2500 years ago. Trading between the Mauryan Kings and Greece is evidenced by coinage and writings. 
• In 326 BC, Alexander’s expedition led him to the North-Western part of the Indian subcontinent as far as the Hyphasis (Beas River), where he fought with King Porus, King of Pauravaa – (between the Jhelum and Chenab), and Ambhi who ruled at Taxila.
• Chanakya, in Chandragupta’s Court records in Arthashastra about Yavan Ambassador in the Kings’ court, named Megasthenes.
• Gandhara art is believed to be a fusion of Indian and Greek influences.

Political linkages

• Diplomatic relations were established between the two countries in May 1950. Greece opened its Embassy in Delhi in 1950 and India in Athens in 1978.
• On J&K, Greece’s position reflects our concerns. It has not issued any statement on the recent developments in Kashmir.
• Greece supports India’s quest for permanent seat in an expanded UNSC.

Trade & Commerce

• Two-way trade has grown from $507 million in 2016-17 to $1.94 billion in 2022-23.
• The main Export items from India to Greece are Aluminum, organic chemicals; fish and crustaceans; iron and steel; plastic; textile articles etc.
• The main import items from Greece are Aluminium foil; mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; sulphur; lime and cement etc.

Defence Cooperation

• Bilateral defence cooperation received an impetus after the visit of Raksha Mantri to Greece in 1994.
• Since then, the two countries regularly cooperate with each other on defence related matters.
• INS Chennai naval ship of Indian Navy visited Souda Bay, Crete in July, 2023 and undertook a Passage Exercise with the Hellenic Naval Ship in the Aegian Sea.

Science & Technology

• With the aim of encouraging and supporting cooperation in the field of science and technology on the basis of equality and mutual benefit, the Agreement on Science & Technology was signed in April 2007.
• A team of 7 scientists from ISRO/DoS participated in the 44th Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) assembly at Athens in July, 2022.
• On the sidelines, opportunities for cooperation in Space between India and Greece were explored.

Culture

• Dimitrios Galanos a Greek, became the first European Indologist gaining world reputation.
• His translations of Sanskrit texts into Greek made knowledge of the philosophical and religious ideas of India available to many Europeans.
• A "Dimitrios Galanos" Chair for Hellenic Studies has been established at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi, India in September 2000.
• Nicholas Kazanas, a distinguished Greek Indologist, was declared as one of the awardees of the prestigious Padma Shri award on the occasion of the 72nd Republic Day of India 2021.

Indian Community

• According to 2011 Greek census, the number of Indian community is 11,333. Currently, they are estimated to be between 13000-14000.
• They have been living across various parts of Greece for many years and are predominantly from Punjab and largely Sikhs.

News Summary: PM Modi’s visit to Greece

• At the invitation of Prime Minister H.E. Kyriakos Mitsotakis, Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi paid an official visit to the Hellenic Republic recently.

Key highlights of the visit

• PM Modi conferred with the Grand Cross of the Order of Honour
  • PM Modi was conferred with the Grand Cross of the Order of Honour by Katerina N. Sakellaropoulou, President of Greece.
  • He became the first foreign Head of Government to receive this honour.
• Decision to upgrade Greek-Indian bilateral ties
  • The leaders of both the countries decided to upgrade Greek-Indian bilateral ties to the level of a "Strategic Partnership”.
  • They agreed to work to further expand bilateral cooperation in political, security and economic spheres.
• Decision to double bilateral trade by 2030
  • Appreciating the increase in bilateral trade and economic engagement in recent years, the leaders also directed that both sides shall work to double bilateral trade by 2030.
• Institutional dialogue framework at the level of National Security Advisers
  • The two sides also agreed to have an institutional dialogue framework at the level of National Security Advisers besides vowing to strengthen defence industrial cooperation.
• MOU on Cooperation in the field of Agriculture
  • This included the establishment of a Hellenic-Indian Joint Sub-committee on Agriculture for facilitating sectoral cooperation for mutual benefit.
• Cultural cooperation
  • Both the leaders also agreed to encourage joint efforts in preserving and protecting ancient sites, and strengthen cooperation within UNESCO.
• Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement (MMPA)
  • Both leaders agreed that an early finalization of a Mobility and Migration Partnership Agreement (MMPA).
  • This agreement would be mutually beneficial, facilitating in particular the free movement of workforce between the two countries.
    • Describing ties between India and Greece as a “natural reunion”, PM Modi said this agreement would facilitate skilled migration between the two countries.

Q1) What is Gandhara art? 

 Gandhara art refers to a distinctive style of Buddhist art that flourished in the Gandhara region, which encompasses parts of modern-day Pakistan and Afghanistan, from the 1st century BCE to the 5th century CE. This artistic tradition emerged at a time when these regions were part of the larger Gandhara region and were influenced by various cultures, including Greek, Roman, Persian, and Indian.

Q2) Who was Nicholas Kazanas?

Nicholas Kazanas is a contemporary scholar known for his work in the fields of linguistics, comparative mythology, and the history of ancient Indian literature. He has made contributions to the understanding of Indo-European linguistics, particularly in relation to the Sanskrit language, as well as the reconstruction of ancient Indo-European culture and mythology.

Source: Modi, Greece PM agree on strategic partnership, doubling trade by 2030 | Embassy of India in Athens | MEA

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• About the State of India’s Birds (SoIB) Report
• Highlights of the SoIB 2023 Report
• Major Threats to Bird Species
• Way Ahead - Need for More Actions, Research

Why in News?

• According to the State of India’s Birds 2023 Report, there is a general decline in numbers in most bird species in the country.
• While the raptors, migratory shorebirds and ducks have declined the most, several bird species such as the Indian Peafowl, Rock Pigeon, Asian Koel and House Crow are showing an “increasing trend”

About the State of India’s Birds (SoIB) 2023 Report:

• The SoIB report was created to assess the conservation status of the majority of species that regularly occur in the country.
• SoIB is published by the State of India’s Birds Partnership, a group of 13 government (including SACON, WII, ZSI) and non-governmental organisations.
• Worldwide, common and widespread species are declining. But in India, lack of information has meant that conservation attention has been focussed on only a few species (usually large, charismatic and threatened).
• The 2023 Report, in its second iteration (1st in 2020), fills this gap by using over 30 million observations uploaded to the eBird platform by more than 30,000 birdwatchers.
  • This helped in evaluating the distribution range size of 942 Indian birds, and their trends in abundance in both the long term (over 25+ years) and currently (since 2015).
• Using these three measures, plus information from the IUCN Red List of global threat status, this report places Indian species into Low, Moderate and High categories of Conservation Priority for India.
• A large number of species that are thought to be common and widespread find themselves as of High Conservation Priority in the SoIB 2023 Report.

Highlights of the SoIB 2023 Report:​

• Decline, overall:
  • Of the 338 species that had enough data to assess for long-term trends, 60% of the species showed long-term declines. Of the 359 species analysed for current annual trends, 40% are declining.
  • Birds that feed on vertebrates and carrion (including raptors and vultures) have declined greatly, suggesting harmful pollutants in their food resources, a decline in prey availability, or both.
  • Birds endemic to the Western Ghats and Sri Lanka biodiversity hotspot have rapidly declined in India over the past few decades.
• Some increases:
  • A few generalist bird species such as the national bird - the Indian peafowl, are doing extremely well in the country.
  • There has been a 150% increase in the abundance of peafowl across the country over the past decades.
  • The good news of the increase is tempered by a recognition of increased reports of crop damage in different parts of the country, and the negative impacts on snakes and other reptiles.
  • Therefore, it is important to investigate the impacts of this peafowl boom on both people and ecosystems.
• Species of high conservation priority:
  • Out of the all 942 species, 178 species are classified as High Priority, 323 as Moderate Priority, and 441 as Low Priority.
  • The High Priority species include migratory wetland birds like the Ruddy shelduck, resident species such as the Indian courser, endemics such as the Narcondam hornbill and the Nicobar megapode on Nicobar Island.

Major Threats to Bird Species:

• The report also highlighted major threats including - forest degradation, urbanisation and energy infrastructure - that bird species face across the country.
• Environmental pollutants including veterinary drugs such as nimesulide still threaten vulture populations in India.
• Other concerns include the impacts of climate change (such as on migratory species), avian disease and illegal hunting and trade.

Way Ahead - Need for More Actions, Research:

• The report points to the need to conserve specific groups of birds.
  • For instance, the grassland specialists have declined by more than 50% - indicating the importance of protecting and maintaining grassland ecosystems.
• Systematic monitoring of bird populations over long periods of time are critical to understand small-scale changes in bird populations.
• More research is needed to understand the reasons behind the declines or increases.
• As the abundant, widespread species provides several ecosystem services, river, water, or wasteland development policies must also converge, rather than act in opposition to each other.
• An action plan for conservation of bird populations and habitats must include citizen participation, which is an important contributor towards biodiversity conservation.

Q1) What is the IUCN Red List?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological species.

Q2) What is the SACON?

Salim Ali Centre for Ornithology and Natural History’s (SACON) mission is to help conserve India’s biodiversity and its sustainable use through research, education and peoples' participation, with birds at the centre stage.

Source: State of birds: Most species show dip, Indian Peafowl among those flourishing | HT | The Wire

What’s in Today’s Article?

• Why in News?
• About Smart Cities Mission
• Need for Smart Mission
• Core Infrastructure Elements of Smart Cities Mission
• Coverage of Smart Cities Mission
• Strategy of Smart Cities Mission
• Administrative Structure of Smart Cities Mission
• Financing of Smart Cities Mission
• Progress Made by Smart Cities Mission
• News Summary

Why in News?

• The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry named Indore the best city and Madhya Pradesh the best state in the Smart Cities Mission in its India Smart Cities Awards 2022.

About Smart Cities Mission:

• Smart Cities Mission was launched by the Union government in June, 2015.
• The main objective of the Mission is to promote cities that provide core infrastructure, clean and sustainable environment and give a decent quality of life to their citizens through the application of ‘smart solutions’.
• The Mission aims to drive economic growth and improve quality of life through comprehensive work on social, economic, physical and institutional pillars of the city.
• The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development by creation of replicable models which act as lighthouses to other aspiring cities.

Need for Such Mission:

• Cities accommodate ~31% of India's current population and contribute 63% to the GDP (Census 2011).
• By 2030, urban areas are expected to accommodate 40% of India's population and contribute 75% to the GDP.
• Population growth in cities leads to infrastructure management and service delivery challenges.
• The Smart Cities Mission in India is an initiative that aims to efficiently and effectively tackle these challenges.

Core Infrastructure Elements of Smart Cities Mission:

• The core infrastructure elements in a Smart City are as follows:
  • Adequate water supply
  • Assured electricity supply
  • Sanitation including solid waste management
  • Efficient urban mobility and public transport
  • Affordable housing, especially for the poor
  • Robust IT connectivity and digitalization
  • Good governance, especially e-governance and citizen participation
  • Sustainable environment
  • Safety and security of citizens, particularly women, children and the elderly
  • Health and education
• The focus is on sustainable and inclusive development and the idea is to look at compact areas, create a replicable model to serve as a beacon to other aspiring cities.

Coverage of Smart Cities Mission:

• The mission will cover 100 cities that have been distributed among the States /Union Territories (UT) on the basis of an equitable criteria.
• The formula gives equal weightage (50:50) to urban population of the State/UT and the number of statutory towns (a town with a municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee) in the State/UT.
• Based on this formula, each State/UT will, therefore, have a certain number of potential Smart Cities, with each State/UT having at least one.

Strategy of Smart Cities Mission:

• Components of area-based development in the 100 Smart Cities Mission in India comprise city improvement (retrofitting), city renewal (redevelopment) and city extension (greenfield development), along with a pan-city initiative.
• Area-based development that will transform existing areas, including slums, into better planned residential areas by retrofitting and redevelopment, thereby improving habitability of the whole city.
• Greenfield projects that will develop new areas in the city to accommodate the expanding population in urban areas.
• Pan-city development envisaging the application of select smart solutions to the existing city-wide infrastructure.

Administrative Structure of Smart Cities Mission:

• Guidelines on Smart City provide monitoring at three levels – national, state and city.
• National:  An Apex Committee, headed by the Secretary of the Ministry of Urban Development and comprising representatives from related ministries and organisations, has the mandate to approve proposals, monitor progress and release funds.
• State: A High Powered Steering Committee (HPSC) to be headed by the Chief Secretary of the State, which would steer the Smart City Mission as a whole.
• City: A Smart City Advisory Forum in all Smart Cities, comprising the District Collector, Chief Executive Officer of Special Purpose Vehicle (an SPV is created for implementation at the city level.
  • Its role is to release funds, and implement, monitor and evaluate the Smart City development projects), member of Parliament, member of Legislative Assembly, Mayor, local youth, technical experts and representatives of the area Resident Welfare Association to advise and enable collaboration.

Financing of Smart Cities Mission:

• The Smart Cities Mission in India is a Centrally Sponsored Scheme.
• It requires state governments and urban local bodies (ULBs) to contribute an equal amount for implementing projects under the Smart City Proposal (SCP).

Progress Made by Smart Cities Mission:

• As per data submitted by the Ministry of Urban Affairs & Housing in February 2023, more than two-thirds of the total 7,804 projects under the Smart Cities Mission (SCM) have been completed.
  • According to SCM guidelines, the Union government is expected to provide financial support to the tune of Rs 48,000 crore to the 100 smart cities over a period of five years (2017-22) — almost Rs 100 crore per city per year on average.
  • Compared to Rs 14,100 crore in FY 2022-23, the budgetary allocation for the Smart Cities Mission was hiked in the Union Budget for FY 2023-24 to Rs 16,000 crore.
• Of the total proposed projects under SCM, 6,041(76 per cent) projects worth Rs 1,10,635 crore have been completed and the remaining 1,894 projects worth Rs 60,095 crore will be finished by June 30, 2024.
• With about 768 projects, Karnataka topped the list of states with the most completed projects, followed by Madhya Pradesh (577), Uttar Pradesh (553), and Tamil Nadu (531).
• Raipur (235) in Chhattisgarh, Indore (220) in Madhya Pradesh, Tumakuru (199) in Karnataka, and Varanasi (104) in Uttar Pradesh were identified as the cities with the highest number of completed projects in their states.

News Summary:

• The Union Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry named Indore the best city and Madhya Pradesh the best state in the Smart Cities Mission in its India Smart Cities Awards 2022.
• Surat and Agra were named second and third best among cities and Tamil Nadu second in states, with the third prize being shared by Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh.
• The cities were selected based on their ranking in terms of progress of projects, project outcomes and presentations submitted for the awards.

Q1) What is Urban Mobility?

Urban mobility is all of the movements of both people and goods that occur in a city via public or private transportation.

Q2) How does PPP model in infrastructure development work?

A public-private partnership (PPP) is a funding model for public infrastructure projects and initiatives such as a new telecommunications system, public transportation system, airport or power plant.

Source: Indore named best city, MP best state in Smart Cities Mission