Swavlamban 2.0

The second edition of the Indian Navy’s Naval Innovation and Indigenization Seminar, Swavlamban 2.0, took place in Delhi recently.

Background:-

The event will unveil the Autonomous Weaponized Boat Swarms for the Indian Navy.

About Swavlamban 2.0:-

Date: 4th and 5th October 2023.

Venue: New Delhi.

Maiden edition of the seminar: July 2022.

Naming: the term”Swavlamban” signifies self-reliance or self-sufficiency in Hindi.

“Swavlamban 2.0” is an updated indigenization roadmap aimed at fostering self-reliance in technological capabilities. (Military Exercises)

Objective: to showcase the Navy’s achievements in developing new technologies and outline the course for future developments.

It is the Naval Innovation & Indigenisation Organisation’s (NIIO) annual seminar.

Niche technologies are being progressed across the spectrum, including:-

Blue-green lasers for underwater application

Autonomous weaponised swarms and

Underwater swarm drones

Multiple firefighting aid

Introduction of Artificial Intelligence (Al) for various uses

Development of an ultra-endurance small drone for maritime missions.

75 prototypes of these will be showcased during “Swavlamban-2023”.

This will include a live demo of a few promising technologies.

Historic Background:-

The Hon’ble Prime Minister launched the 75 challenges for the start-ups/ MSMEs as a part of the ‘SPRINT’ initiative.

The ‘SPRINT Challenges’, are aimed at giving a boost to the usage of indigenous technology in the Indian Navy, and the Navy is committed to developing at least 75 technologies/ products as part of the ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’.

SPRINT is a collaborative initiative being undertaken in conjunction with the Defence Innovation Organisation (DIO) and stands for Supporting Pole-Vaulting in R&D through Innovations for Defence Excellence (iDEX), NIIO and Technology Development Acceleration Cell (TDAC).

Significance:-

It aims to reduce dependence on foreign technologies and promote domestic innovation.

It aligns with efforts to involve Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) and start-ups in developing futuristic technologies that meet global standards at a more economical cost.

GST Council

The Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will chair the 52nd GST Council meeting in New Delhi recently.

About GST Council:-

The GST Council is a constitutional body established under Article 279A of the Indian Constitution.

It is a joint forum of the Centre and the states to discuss issues relating to GST.

GST is one of the biggest indirect tax reforms in the country.

It has subsumed indirect taxes like excise duty, Value Added Tax (VAT), service tax, luxury tax, etc.

The 101st Amendment Act of 2016 (122nd Amendment Bill), paved the way for the implementation of GST.

Salient features of GST Council:–

Article 279-A: gives the President the authority to appoint a GST Council by executive order.

Members: The members of the Council include the Union Finance Minister (chairperson), and the Union Minister of State (Finance) from various states.

Chairperson: The GST Council is chaired by the Union Finance Minister.

Functions:-

As per Article 279, is meant to make recommendations to the Union and the states on important issues related to GST.

These include the goods and services that may be subjected or exempted from GST and model GST Laws.

It also decides on various rate slabs of GST.

Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj

As per recent announcements, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj’s ‘wagh nakh’ will be brought back to Maharashtra from a London museum.

About the story of Shivaji’s Wagah Nakh:-

The wagh nakh is a medieval claw-like dagger, designed to either fit over the knuckles or be concealed under the palm.

It literally means ‘tiger claws’.

It was used across the Indian subcontinent.

The weapon consisted of four or five curved blades affixed to a glove or a bar of some kind.

It was a weapon used for personal defense or stealth attack, and could easily slice through skin and flesh.

The most famous use of the wagh nakh in history comes from the story of Afzal Khan’s killing by

Shivaji used to be a former vassal of the Adil Shahis but by the 1650s, he had become increasingly assertive, taking forts across the Konkan, and bringing under control large swathes of Adil Shahi territory.

Given Afzal Khan’s success in the south, he sent the Sultan, with a mighty army, to subdue the Maratha icon.

Khan marched into the Konkan and demanded a meeting with Shivaji.

In the meeting, Khan, in the guise of embracing him, attempted to stab the Maratha leader.

But Shivaji was protected by his armour and retaliated: the wagh nakh ripped out Khan’s guts.

Khan would eventually be beheaded by one of Shivaji’s men and in the battle that followed, Shivaji’s army came out as victor.

About Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj:-

Birth: 1630.

Death:1680.

Shivaji was the founder of the Maratha Kingdom.

He was born to Shahaji Bhonsle, a Maratha general who held the jagirs of Pune and Supe under the Bijapur Sultanate and Jijabai.

He was crowned as the king of the Marathas on 6th June 1674, at Raigad.

He took on the titles of Chhatrapati, Shakakarta, Kshatriya Kulavantas, and Haindava Dharmodhhaarak.

He was known as the Father of the Indian Navy.

He was the first to realize the importance of having a naval force, and therefore he strategically established a navy and forts at the coastline to defend the Konkan side of Maharashtra.

He was a secular ruler, accommodating of all religions.

He had numerous Muslim soldiers in his army.

Shivaji was a dependable supporter of women and their honour.

He had a council of ministers (Asht Pradhan) to advise him on the matters of the state but he was not bound by it.

He was called the ‘Mountain Rat’ and was widely known for his guerrilla warfare tactics.

Amphibians

Recent studies show that two of five amphibians are threatened with extinction due to climate change.

Key Highlights of the report:-

Habitat loss, diseases, and climate change are majorly deteriorating the status of vertebrates.

Climate change is the new driver pushing the amphibian population towards extinction.

Climate change was the primary threat for only 1 percent of amphibian species whose conservation status in the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species worsened between 1980 and 2004.

But since then, it has emerged as the primary threat for 39 percent of species.

Two of every five amphibians were threatened with extinction.

Amphibians were also found to be particularly vulnerable, with 7 percent of the species being globally threatened – the highest for any species.

The status of amphibians, according to the latest Red List, continues to be deteriorating globally, especially for salamanders of which three of every five species are threatened.

Disease and habitat loss drove 91 percent of status deteriorations between 1980 and 2004.

The highest concentration of threatened species was mapped to be located in India’s Western Ghats, Sri Lanka, Madagascar, Caribbean islands, tropical Andes, Mesoamerica, and the mountains and forests of western Cameroon and eastern Nigeria.

Other geographic locations of high concentrations included the Atlantic Forest biome of southern Brazil, central and southern China, and the southern Annamite Mountains of Vietnam.

The second most threatened group of vertebrates included cycads which faced 69 percent threat.

Sharks and rays faced 37.4 percent threat, conifers faced 34 percent, reef-building corals 33.4 percent, mammals 26.5 percent, and reptiles 21.4 percent.

Dragonflies, birds, and cone snails faced 16 percent, 12.9 percent, and 6.5 percent threats respectively.

About Amphibians:-

Amphibians come in a range of sizes.

The smallest is a frog known as Paedophryne amanuensis from New Guinea, which is the size of a housefly.

The largest is the Chinese Giant Salamander which can grow to six feet in length and weigh 140 pounds.

They are Ectothermic (cold-blooded).

They live on both land and water.

They are Vertebrates.

They can smell, see, and hear.

They have 4 legs except for some salamanders and caecilians.

They have teeth but swallow their prey whole.

They have lungs and permeable skin.

They are carnivorous.

Invasive plant species

Recent studies show that Invasive plant species threaten 66% of India’s natural systems.

Key Highlights of the study:-

Western Ghats, South Eastern Ghats & and Central Indian Highlands among widely and densely invaded regions.

More than half of India’s natural systems are threatened by invasive plant species.

About 66 percent of the country’s natural systems are threatened with invasive species.

The study estimated that loss due to biological invasions would cost the Indian economy up to $182.6 billion.

A total of 53 percent of plots recorded at least one of the 11 high-concern invasive plants that invaded 72 percent which is 254,880 sq kilometers of land.

High concern invasive plants were recorded in 22 per cent natural areas.

It is predicted to potentially threaten 66 percent of natural areas.

Nilgiri Biosphere Reserve in Western Ghats was one of the largest impacted hotspot areas due to an invasion dominated by Lantana camara, Prosopis juliflora, and Chromolaena odorata.

Besides, Southern Eastern Ghats were found to host the most densely invaded landscapes with maximum vegetation of Prosopis juliflora and Lantana camara.

About Invasive plant species:-

An invasive species is an organism that is not indigenous, or native, to a particular area and causes harm.

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) defines it as “an alien species whose introduction and spread threaten ecosystems, habitats, or species with socio-cultural, economic and environmental harm and harm to human health”.

They are capable of causing the extinction of native plants and animals.

They are responsible for reducing biodiversity, competing with native organisms for limited resources, and altering habitats.

They can be introduced to an area by ship ballast water, accidental release, and most often, by people.

Common features of invasive exotics include:-

The ability to reproduce both asexually and sexually

Fast growth

Rapid reproduction

High dispersal ability

Tolerance of a wide range of environmental conditions

Ability to live off of a wide range of food types

Riska and Threats:-

They have a direct impact on human health.

They have potential threats to livestock health.

Biological invasions are a major threat to global food security and livelihoods, with developing countries being the most susceptible.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016

Recently, the Ministry of Corporate Affairs issued a notification stating that certain provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) will no longer apply to aircraft, their engines, airframes, and helicopters.

Highlights of the changes:

The provisions of sub-section (1) of section 14 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 , which imposes a moratorium on assets of a company undergoing insolvency ,shall not apply to transactions, arrangements or agreements, under the Cape Town Convention and the protocol, relating to aircraft, aircraft engines, airframes and helicopters.

It is a global treaty that guarantees the rights of lessors to repossess leased high-value equipment such as aircraft, engines, and helicopters in case of payment defaults.

It was adopted at a conference in Cape Town in November 2001 under the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT).

It is expected to have a significant impact on the aviation industry in India, making it easier to recover assets especially aircraft and engines even when an airline goes through insolvency.

About Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC):

In 2016, at a time when India’s Non-Performing Assets and debt defaults were piling up, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) code was introduced to overhaul the corporate distress resolution regime in India and consolidate previously available laws to create a time-bound mechanism.

Insolvency resolution in India took 4.3 years on an average compared to countries such as UK and USA took 1 year and 1.5 years, respectively.

The Bankruptcy Legislative Reforms Committee under the leadership of TK Viswanathan projected the IBC.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 was implemented through an act of Parliament.

The law was necessitated due to huge pile-up of non-performing loans of banks and delay in debt resolution.

Significance of IBC code:

Post the implementation of IBC, as per the World Bank’s report, India’s rank in resolving insolvency went from 136 in 2017 to 52 in 2020.

Addressing NPA problem: The IBC was instrumental in reviving India’s insolvency regime and successfully addressing the looming threat of Nonperforming assets (NPAs).

Credit discipline: Ease of credit flow is necessary for attainment of Ease of doing business and economic growth.

Under the IBC regime, Rs. 2.5-lakh crore has been brought back into the banking system as a result of resolution of insolvencies.

Advantages of IBC code:

Speedy and Timely resolution of insolvency process: The process of resolution is carried out in a time-bound manner, the business is transferred as an ongoing concern to the resolution applicant.

It ensures nil loss to the economy due to stoppage of production or under-utilization of resources, and minimum loss of employment, revenues to government, local ecosystem and ancillary industries.

Certainty and clean title: When insolvency is resolved through the Code, there is a certainty in the settlement of liabilities and ownership of assets.

Since all liabilities including government dues are settled, the resolution applicant is vested with a clean and litigation-free business and assets, etc.

Prevents fraudulent activities by debtors: Since the ownership and control of the business entity, its assets and business activities stand transferred from the debtor to an insolvency professional as soon as an application is admitted by the adjudicating authority, the debtor is pre-empted from indulging in any activity to defraud the creditors.

Relief for bona fide debtors: Prior to the IBC, the liabilities that remained unpaid after proceedings continued to haunt the debtors for the rest of their lives.

However, resolution through the Code guarantees final settlement of all liabilities, thus freeing the bona fide debtors from debt traps and government liabilities.

Challenges for the IBC:

Lack of proper resolution: As per the IBBI data of 3400 cases in the last six years, more than 50% of the cases ended in liquidation while only 14% cases found a proper resolution.

Huge delays in resolution: The amended IBC act made the total timeline for completion of the resolution process to 330 days from the earlier 180­ day deadline (with a permitted 90­ day extension).

However, in FY22, it took 772 days to resolve cases involving companies owing more than Rs. 1,000 crore.

Haircuts: It means the debt foregone by the lender as a share of the outstanding claim.

Lack of digitisation: It has led to the delays beyond the prescribed statutory limits in the insolvency resolution process.

Overburdening of courts: As the number of NCLTs and NCLATs are limited, they are weighed down by a deluge of applications, naturally impeding the timely conclusion of proceedings.

Thus it is time to double the number of benches of both the NCLT and NCLAT.

Lack of coordination between parties involved: Time and again, a lack of coordination between the parties in the process (creditors, stakeholders) is encountered which delays and stymies the insolvency proceedings.