Daily Current Affairs 16 May 2020 | UPSC Current Affairs 2020

Current Affairs Of Today Are

1) Finance Minister announces measures to strengthen Agriculture Infrastructure Logistics, Capacity Building, Governance and Administrative Reforms for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Processing Sectors

• Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi announced a Special economic and comprehensive package of Rs 20 lakh crore - equivalent to 10% of India’s GDP on 12th May 2020. He gave a clarion call for आत्मनिर्भर भारत अभियान or Self-Reliant India Movement. He also outlined five pillars of Atmanirbhar Bharat – Economy, Infrastructure, System, Vibrant Demography, and Demand.
• Union Finance & Corporate Affairs Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman today in her press conference announced the 3rd Tranche of measures to strengthen Infrastructure Logistics, Capacity Building, Governance, and Administrative Reforms for Agriculture, Fisheries, and Food Processing Sectors.
• Giving details, Smt. Sitharaman said that out of these 11 measures, 8 measures are for improving agricultural infrastructure and 3 measures are for administrative and governance reforms, including removing restrictions on the sale and stock limits of farm produce.

The Finance Minister announced the following measures to strengthen Infrastructure Logistics and Capacity Building for Agriculture, Fisheries and Food Processing Sectors: —

Rs 1 lakh crore Agri Infrastructure Fund for farm-gate infrastructure for farmers

• Financing facility of Rs. 1,00,000 crore will be provided for funding Agriculture Infrastructure Projects at farm-gate & aggregation points (Primary Agricultural Cooperative Societies, Farmers Producer Organizations, Agriculture entrepreneurs, Start-ups, etc.).The impetus for development of farm-gate & aggregation point, affordable and financially viable Post Harvest Management infrastructure. Fund will be created immediately.

Rs 10,000 crore scheme for Formalisation of Micro Food Enterprises (MFE)

• A Scheme promoting the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi: ‘Vocal for Local with Global outreach’ will be launched to help 2 lakh MFEs who need technical up-gradation to attain FSSAI food standards, build brands and marketing. Existing micro food enterprises, Farmer Producer Organisations, Self Help Groups, and Cooperatives to be supported. The focus will be on women and SC/ST owned units and those in Aspirational districts and a Cluster-based approach (e.g. Mango in UP, Tomato in Karnataka, Chilli in Andhra Pradesh, Orange in Maharashtra, etc.) will be followed.

Rs 20,000 crore for fisherman through Pradhan Mantri Matsya Sampada Yojana (PMMSY)

• The Government will launch the PMMSY for integrated, sustainable, inclusive development of marine and inland fisheries. Rs 11,000 crore for activities in Marine, Inland fisheries and Aquaculture, and Rs. 9000 crore for Infrastructure - Fishing Harbours, Cold chain, Markets, etc shall be provided. Cage Culture, Seaweed farming, Ornamental Fisheries as well as New Fishing Vessels, Traceability, Laboratory Network, etc. will be key activities. There will be provisions of Ban Period Support to fishermen (during the period fishing is not permitted), Personal & Boat Insurance. This will lead to Additional Fish Production of 70 lakh tones over 5 years, Employment to over 55 lakh persons, and double the exports to Rs 1,00,000 crore. The focus will be on Islands, Himalayan States, North-east, and Aspirational Districts.

National Animal Disease Control Programme

• National Animal Disease Control Programme for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and Brucellosis launched with a total outlay of Rs. 13,343 crore to ensure 100% vaccination of cattle, buffalo, sheep, goat, and pig population (total 53 crore animals) for Foot and Mouth Disease (FMD) and for brucellosis. Till date, 1.5 crore cows & buffaloes tagged and vaccinated.

Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund - Rs. 15,000 crore

• An Animal Husbandry Infrastructure Development Fund of Rs. 15,000 crore will be set up, to support private investment in Dairy Processing, value addition, and cattle feed infrastructure. Incentives will be given for establishing plants for the export of niche products.

Promotion of Herbal Cultivation: Outlay of Rs. 4,000 crore

• The National Medicinal Plants Board (NMPB) has supported 2.25 lakh hectare area under cultivation of medicinal plants. 10,00,000 hectares will be covered under Herbal cultivation in the next two years with an outlay of Rs. 4,000 crore. This will lead to Rs. 5,000 crore income generation for farmers. There will be a network of regional Mandis for Medicinal Plants. NMPB will bring the 800-hectare area by developing a corridor of medicinal plants along the banks of Ganga.

Beekeeping initiatives – Rs 500 crore

• The government will implement a scheme for:
• Infrastructure development related to Integrated Beekeeping Development Centres, Collection, Marketing and Storage Centres, Post Harvest & value Addition facilities, etc;
• Implementation of standards & Developing a traceability system
• Capacity building with thrust on women;
• Development of quality nucleus stock and bee breeders.
• This will lead to an increase in income for 2 lakh beekeepers and quality honey to consumers.

From ‘TOP’ to TOTAL - Rs 500 crore

• “Operation Greens” run by the Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) will be extended from tomatoes, onion, and potatoes to ALL fruit and vegetables. The Scheme would provide a 50% subsidy on transportation from surplus to deficient markets, 50% subsidy on storage, including cold storages and will be launched as a pilot for the next 6 months and will be extended and expanded. This will lead to better price realization to farmers, reduced wastages, affordability of products for consumers.

During the press conference, the Union Finance Minister also announced the following measures for Governance and Administrative Reforms for Agriculture Sector:-

• Amendments to the Essential Commodities Act to enable better price realization for farmers
• The Government will amend the Essential Commodities Act. Agriculture foodstuffs including cereals, edible oils, oilseeds, pulses, onions, and potato shall be deregulated. The stock limit will be imposed under very exceptional circumstances like national calamities, famine with the surge in prices. Further, No such stock limit shall apply to processors or value chain participants, subject to their installed capacity or to any exporter subject to the export demand.
• Agriculture Marketing Reforms to provide marketing choices to farmers
• A Central law will be formulated to provide -
• adequate choices to the farmer to sell their produce at a remunerative price;
• barrier-free Inter-State Trade;
• a framework for e-trading of agriculture produce.
• Agriculture Produce Pricing and Quality Assurance:
• The Government will finalize a facilitative legal framework to enable farmers to engage with processors, aggregators, large retailers, exporters, etc. fairly and transparently. Risk mitigation for farmers assured returns and quality standardization shall form an integral part of the framework.

Source: PIB

2) $1 Billion from World Bank to Protect India’s Poorest from COVID-19

• The Government of India and the World Bank signed a $750 million of $1 billion proposed for Accelerating India’s COVID-19 Social Protection Response Programme to support India’s efforts at providing social assistance to the poor and vulnerable households, severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• This takes the total commitment from the Bank towards emergency COVID-19 response in India to $2 billion. A $1 billion support was announced last month towards immediate support to India’s health sector.
• This new support will be funded in two phases – an immediate allocation of $750 million for the fiscal year 2020 and a $250 million second tranche that will be made available for the fiscal year 2021.
• The first phase of the operation will be implemented countrywide through the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). It will immediately help scale-up cash transfers and food benefits, using a core set of pre-existing national platforms and programs such as the Public Distribution System (PDS) and Direct Benefit Transfers (DBT); provide robust social protection for essential workers involved in COVID-19 relief efforts; and benefit vulnerable groups, particularly migrants and informal workers, who face high risks of exclusion under the PMGKY. In the second phase, the program will deepen the social protection package, whereby additional cash and in-kind benefits based on local needs will be extended through state governments and portable social protection delivery systems.
• Social protection is a critical investment since half of India’s population earns less than $3 a day and is precariously close to the poverty line. Over 90 percent of India’s workforce is employed in the informal sector, without access to significant savings or workplace-based social protection benefits such as paid sick leave or social insurance. Over 9 million migrants, who cross state borders to work each year, are also at greater risk as social assistance programs in India largely provide benefits to residents within states, without adequate portability of benefits across state boundaries. Importantly, in urbanizing India cities and towns will need targeted support as India’s largest social protection programs are focused on rural populations.
• The program will create a system that will strengthen the delivery of India’s safety nets program. It will:
• Help India move from 460 plus fragmented social protection schemes to an integrated system that is fast and more flexible, acknowledging the diversity of needs across states;
• Enable geographic portability of social protection benefits that can be accessed from anywhere in the country, ensuring food, social insurance, and cash-support for all, including for migrants and the urban poor; and
• Move India’s social protection system from a predominantly rural focus to a pan-national one that recognizes the needs of the urban poor.
• Of the $1 billion commitment, an immediate allocation of $750 million for the fiscal year 2020 of which $550 million will be financed by a credit from the International Development Association (IDA) – the World Bank’s concessionary lending arm and $200 million will be a loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), with a final maturity of 18.5 years including a grace period of five years. The remaining $250 million will be made available after June 30, 2020, and would be on standard IBRD terms. The program will be implemented by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India.
  

Source: PIB

3) DST INSPIRE Faculty from Bhopal develops lightweight carbon foam that can replace lead batteries

• Dr. Rajeev Kumar from CSIR-Advanced Materials and Processes Research Institute, Bhopal, a recipient of the INSPIRE Faculty award instituted by the Department of Science &Technology, Govt. of India, is developing porous carbon materials which have the potential to replace lead grid in lead-acid batteries.
• It can also be useful for heat sinks in power electronics, electromagnetic interference shielding in aerospace, hydrogen storage and electrode for lead-acid batteries and water purification systems
• The present grid-scale energy-storage sector is dominated by lithium-ion batteries, because of their higher energy density & specific power and long cycle life. However, there are some serious concerns regarding Li-ion batteries, such as safety risk, limited resource supply, high cost, and lack of recycling infrastructure. This necessitates the development of an alternative battery system with lower environmental concerns, economic and higher energy density. As a result, lead-acid batteries are still one of the most reliable, economical, and environmentally friendly options. However, electrodes in the lead-acid batteries suffer from the problem of heavyweight, corrosion, poor thermal stability, and diffusion of electrolytes in one dimension, which ultimately affects the output power.
• They have developed lightweight carbon foam with a density of less than 0.3g/cc, high porosity of over 85%, good mechanical strength. His group has published about 16 papers on carbon foam in highly reputed Scientific journals since 2016 (after joining as inspire faculty). The foam is highly resistive to corrosion, has good electrical and thermal conductivity with high surface area, and have recently attracted a lot of attention owing to their potential applications in various field.
• The carbon foam developed under the INSPIRE fellowship will also be cost-effective for the removal of arsenic, oil, and other metals from contaminated water. These carbon foams are non-toxic, easy to fabricate, affordable, and insoluble in water. The raw material for the fabrication of carbon foam is easily available everywhere, and there is no requirement of any costly equipment for the fabrication of carbon foam and filtration. Such materials can be safely used in remote areas where power supply is scarce.

Fig. 1 (a) Optical image, (b-c) SEM image of carbon foam showing open cell structure, (d) Compressive strength, (e) Cyclic voltammetry, (f) Specific capacitance and (g) EMI shielding performance of carbon foam. 

Source: PIB

4) JNCASR scientists develop injectable Silk Fibroin-based hydrogel for sustained Insulin delivery in diabetic patients

• Scientists at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research (JNCASR), an autonomous research institute under the Department of Science and Technology, have recently developed an injectable Silk fibroin-based hydrogel for sustained insulin delivery in diabetic patients. A patent application has also been filed for this invention.
• They have developed the silk fibroin (SF) formulation using biocompatible additives and prepared an injectable SF hydrogel (iSFH) that can ease insulin delivery in diabetic patients. The iSFH has demonstrated successful delivery of active insulin in rats, and the results have been published in the journal ACS Applied Bio Materials.
• The JNCASR scientists have shown that subcutaneous injection of insulin with-iSFH in diabetic rats formed active depot under the skin from which insulin trickled out slowly and restored the physiological glucose homeostasis for a prolonged period of 4 days with no risks of low blood sugar through a sudden burst of high concentration of insulin into the blood.
• The viscous additives used by the team restricted the mobility of SF protein backbones and results in the rapid gelation. The microstructures provide mechanical strength (to support injectability), and the porous morphology of iSFH allowed the encapsulation of human recombinant insulin in its active form in diabetic rats.
• Diabetes affects more than 70 million people in India, the second-highest in the world. It results from inadequate production of insulin due to the loss of beta cells or insulin resistance within the body, which imbalances the glucose homeostasis is leading to an abrupt increase of blood glucose level.
• The conventional and last resort of treatment involves repeated subcutaneous insulin injections to maintain the physiological glucose homeostasis. The multiple subcutaneous insulin injections are associated with pain, local tissue necrosis, infection, nerve damage, and locally concentrated insulin amyloidosis responsible for the inability to achieve physiological glucose homeostasis. This problem can be overcome with controlled and sustained insulin delivery. Thus, encapsulation and sustained delivery of insulin in its active form (without loss of activity) is the key to the development of such controlled and sustained in vivo delivery of Insulin.
• The iSFH has proved to be an effective insulin delivery tool for diabetic patients with excellent mechanical strength, biocompatibility, encapsulation, storage, and demonstration of its sustained delivery of active insulin in the diabetic animal. The active encapsulation and delivery of insulin by iSFH may also have implications for the future development of formulations for oral insulin delivery. The JNCASR team hopes that pharmaceutical companies will come forward and further develop it for human use.

Fig: Image from the Table of Content and insulin delivery data from the article

Diagrammatic representation of the insulin delivery mechanism

Source: PIB

5) NBFCs requested to RBI to use reserve

• Non­banking finance companies (NBFCs) requested the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to allow them to draw down from their reserves for making additional provision for expected losses due to COVID-­19 pandemic
• NBFCs appropriate statutory and other reserves, and utilization of these reserves is governed by the statute requiring its creation
• NBFCs are required to comply with Indian Accounting Standards (IndAS). 
• The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) has advised the NBFCs to measure the impact of COVID­19 on the portfolio quality in the form of PD and LGD with adverse impact on the business of the borrowers or debtors due to COVID­19 on one hand, and prudential regulatory actions to sustain the economy such as loan repayment holidays. 
• As per IndAs norms applicable in respect of ECL measurement and disclosure in the financial statements, the NBFCs are required to make additional provisioning in terms of ICAI advisory, which will surely make a severe dent on the profitability and net worth of the respective NBFCs
• A one­time draw­down from reserves would enable them to shore up their balance sheet strength by reporting a more fortified ECL provision cover against their likely increase in delinquent loans and remain eligible to access equity/debt capital when situation normalizes, the letter read. 
• The sector has asked the RBI to consider permitting any provisions made as per ECL, in respect of the standard assets, to be reckoned with for the purpose of tier II capital. The industry also wanted the RBI to raise the ceiling for considering standard asset provision for calculation of capital adequacy to 2.5% from 1.25%.

Source: The Hindu

6) ‘Goal’ program

• Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Shri Arjun Munda launched the “GOAL (Going Online As Leaders)” program of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) in partnership with Facebook at a Webinar in New Delhi. The GOAL program is designed to provide mentorship to tribal youth through digital mode. The digitally-enabled program envisages acting as a catalyst to explore hidden talents of the tribal youth, which will help in their personal development as well as contribute to all-round upliftment of their society.
• In this program, 5000 scheduled tribe youth (to be called as ‘Mentees’) will get an excellent opportunity to get training by experts from different disciplines and fields (to be called as ‘Mentors’). There will be 1 mentor for 2 mentees. The program aims to enable Scheduled Tribe (ST) youth in remote areas to use digital platforms for sharing their aspirations, dreams, and talent with their mentors.
• GOAL (Going Online As Leaders), Joint initiative of Facebook India with Ministry of Tribal affair
• 5,000 young tribal entrepreneurs, professionals, artisans and artists will be trained on digital skills under digital entrepreneurship program
• Aspiring candidates invited to apply at online portal “goal.tribal.gov.in”
• The application will be open from May 4, 2020, till midnight of July 3, 2020.
• Leaders from the industry and academia invited to register as mentors on “goal.tribal.gov.in”
• Facebook had on its own run the project on a pilot basis from February 2019 to October 2019 in 5 states with 100 mentees and 25 mentors; which received an enthusiastic response. Based on its success, Facebook approached MoTA for a joint initiative under affirmative action and help Facebook in the selection of mentees, design curriculum, and various activities under the program.
• The Mentees and Mentors have to register on portal (goal.tribal.gov.in), which will be open for 2 months from May 4, 2020, to July 3. 2020. Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has been requested to associate CSCs (Common Service Centres) in facilitating ST youth who do not have a smartphone for registration with Portal.
• The mentees and mentors will be selected based on their inputs in such a way that it represents tribal youth from varied professions and has representation from the urban and rural areas across India. The IT-based system is designed to match mentors and mentees so that they are from a similar profession and preferably speak the same language. The selected mentees will remain engaged in the program for nine months or 36 weeks comprising 28 weeks of mentorship followed by eight weeks of internship. The program will focus on three core areas – Digital Literacy, Life Skills, and Leadership and Entrepreneurship, and on sectors such as Agriculture, Art & Culture, Handicrafts & Textiles, Health, Nutrition, among others. At least 250 Fellows who are getting scholarships from the Ministry of Tribal Affairs under the National Scholarship and Fellowship Scheme and are part of Tribal Talent Pool will also be mentored through the program.
• All the selected mentees will be provided with smartphones and Internet access (for one year) by Facebook along with exposure to various external forums that will allow the participants to showcase their entrepreneurial skills and leadership abilities. The program will also create awareness amongst tribal beneficiaries about various schemes initiated by Central and State Governments for the welfare of STs as well as their fundamental duties. Efforts will be made to integrate the program with other government schemes such as Mudra Yojana, Kaushal Vikas Yojana, Jan Dhan Yojana, Skill India, Start-Up India, Stand Up India, among others. This will enable participants to leverage opportunities provided under these government schemes.

Source: PIB

7) World Bank Project Agreement Signed to Reduce Flooding and Improve Irrigation in West Bengal

• The Government of India, the Government of West Bengal, and the World Bank here today signed a loan agreement for a $145 million project to improve irrigation services and flood management in the Damodar Valley Command Area (DVCA) in West Bengal.
• The West Bengal Major Irrigation and Flood Management Project will benefit about 2.7 million farmers from five districts of West Bengal across 393,964 ha area with better irrigation services and improved protection against annual flooding to mitigate the impact of climate change.
• The DVCA is over 60 years old and in need of modernization. Key challenges include the degradation of infrastructure and inadequate irrigation management, including poor quality of service delivery, inefficient irrigation, and the failure to serve the middle and tail parts of the canal network with surface water. Tail end farmers are compelled to extract groundwater, which increases the costs of cultivation and undermines the sustainability of the scheme. Between 2005 and 2017, the number of semi-critical blocks increased from five to 19 (out of a total of 41 blocks).
• The Lower Damodar basin area is historically flood-prone. On average, 33,500 hectares of the cropped area and 461,000 people have affected annually. This downstream part of the project area lacks the infrastructure to protect against recurrent flooding. The project will invest in measures to reduce flooding, including strengthening of embankments and desilting.
• To deal with these challenges, several institutional reforms are planned under the project. These include the introduction of a modern Management Information System (MIS), benchmarking and evidence-based decision making, promotion of conjunctive use of surface and groundwater, the introduction of rational asset management, and improving transparency through citizen engagement. Irrigation Service Providers will be recruited on a performance basis to improve the quality of irrigation services.
• The total value of the project is $413.8 million, co-financed between IBRD ($145 million), the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank ($145 million), and the Government of West Bengal ($123.8 million).
• The $145 million loans from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), has a 6-year grace period, and a maturity of 23.5 years.

Source: PIB

8) Defense Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS)

• To give a boost to domestic defense and aerospace manufacturing, Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh has approved the launch of the Defence Testing Infrastructure Scheme (DTIS) with an outlay of Rs 400 crore for creating a state of the art testing infrastructure for this sector. The Scheme would run for five years and envisages to set up six to eight new test facilities in partnership with the private industry. This will facilitate indigenous defense production, consequently, reduce imports of military equipment and help make the country self-reliant.
• The projects under the Scheme will be provided with up to 75 percent of government funding in the form of ‘Grant-in-Aid’. The remaining 25 percent of the project cost will have to be borne by the Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) whose constituents will be Indian private entities and State Governments. The SPVs under the Scheme will be registered under Companies Act 2013 and shall also operate and maintain all assets under the Scheme, in a self-sustainable manner by collecting user charges. The equipment/systems tested will be certified as per appropriate accreditation.
• While the majority of test facilities are expected to come up in the two Defence Industrial Corridors (DICs), the Scheme is not limited to setting up Test Facilities in the DICs only.

Source: PIB

9) Commissioning of Seventh Ship of Landing Craft Utility MK-IV ‘INLCU L57’ (GRSE Yard 2098) at Port Blair 

• Lieutenant General PS Rajeshwar, PVSM, AVSM, VSM, ADC, Commander-in-Chief A&N Command, commissioned INLCU L57 into the Indian Navy on 15 May 2020 at Port Blair. INLCU L57 is the seventh Landing Craft Utility (LCU) MK-IV class to be inducted into the Indian Navy. The ship has been indigenously designed and built by M/s Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers (GRSE), Kolkata. The commissioning of INLCU L57 is yet another manifestation of the country’s indigenous design and shipbuilding capability.
• The LCU MK-IV ship is an amphibious vessel with a designated primary role of transporting and deploying Main Battle Tanks, Armoured Vehicles, troops and equipment from ship to shore. Based at the Andaman and Nicobar Command, these ships can be deployed for multirole activities like beaching operations, search and rescue, disaster relief operations, supply, and replenishment and evacuation from distant islands.
• The ship, commanded by Lieutenant Commander HarshvardhanVenugopal, has a complement of five officers, 45 sailors, and is capable of carrying 160 troops also. The ship, displacing 830 tonnes, is capable of transporting various kinds of combat equipment such as Main Battle Tanks Arjun, T72, and other vehicles. The ship is fitted with state-of-art equipment and advanced systems, like the Integrated Bridge System (IBS) and the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS).
• The last ship of the same class is at an advanced stage of construction at M/S GRSE, Kolkata, and is scheduled to be inducted by this year-end. It is anticipated that the induction of these ships will contribute to the nation’s maritime security needs, in consonance with the Hon’ble Prime Minister’s drive for ‘Make in India’.

Source: PIB

10) Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh commissions Indian Coast Guard Ship ‘Sachet’ and two interceptor boats

• Raksha Mantri Shri Rajnath Singh commissioned Indian Coast Guard Ship (ICGS) Sachet and two interceptor boats (IBs) C-450 and C-451 in Goa via video conference. The ICGS Sachet, the first in the series of five offshore patrol vessels (OPVs) has been designed & built indigenously by Goa Shipyard Limited (GSL) and is fitted with state-of-the-art navigation and communication equipment.
• The 105-meter longship ‘Sachet’ displaces approximately 2,350 tons and is propelled by two 9,100 KW diesel engines designed to attain a maximum speed of 26 knots, with an endurance of 6,000 nautical miles. The sustenance and reach, coupled with the latest equipment and systems, provides her the capability to perform the role of a command platform and undertake tasks to fulfill the ICG charter. The ship is designed to carry a twin-engine helicopter and four high-speed boats and one inflatable boat for swift boarding and search & rescue operations. The ship is also capable of carrying limited pollution response equipment to undertake oil spill pollution response at sea.
• ‘Sachet’ meaning alert is a projection of will and commitment of ICG ‘to be ever vigilant for serving and protecting’ the maritime interest of the Nation. The ICGS Sachet is being commanded by Deputy Inspector General Rajesh Mittal and manned by 11 Officers and 110 men. It is for the first time in Indian maritime history that a ship was commissioned through a digital medium, maintaining strict protocol of social distancing in the backdrop of COVID-19 pandemic.
• The IBs C-450 and C-451 are indigenously designed & built by Larsen & Toubro Shipyard Hazira, and fitted with the latest navigation and communication equipment.  The two 30 meter longboats are capable of achieving speeds over 45 knots and designed for the high-speed interception, close coast patrol, and low-intensity maritime operations. The quick response capability of the IBs makes it an ideal platform to respond and thwart any emerging maritime situation. The ships are commanded by Assistant Commandant Gaurav Kumar Gola and Assistant Commandant Akin Zutshi.
• The Coast Guard has been a pioneer in inducting indigenous assets which have enabled it to remain operationally available throughout the year.  In continuation of maximizing the indigenous content in the IBs has about 70 percent of indigenous content, thus providing the necessary fillip to the Indian shipbuilding industry.
• The ships, on joining the Coast Guard fleet, will be deployed extensively for Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) surveillance, coastal security, and other duties as enshrined in the Coast Guard charter of duties, to safeguard the maritime interests of the Nation.  With the commissioning of these ships, the ICG has reached a landmark of 150 ships & Boats and 62 aircraft. Further, 40 ships are in various stages of construction at different Indian Shipyards and 16 advanced light helicopters are under production at Hindustan Aeronautics Limited, Bengaluru, which will provide the added strength to the surveillance capabilities of ICG to deal with the ever-dynamic maritime challenges.
• The ICG has to its credit of saving about 400 lives at sea, 4,500 lives as part of assistance rendered to civil authorities, and undertook 32 medical evacuations in the year 2019 alone. The deterrence created by the ICG is not limited to the Indian waters, but collaboration with friendly littoral states as per provisions of bilateral cooperation agreements resulted in successful apprehension and seizure of drugs in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The real-time information sharing, close coordination, and understanding between ICG and other international agencies have been the key success of these operations. Hawkeye vigil of the Indian EEZ has ensured seizure of Rs 2,000 crore contraband, detainment of 30 foreign fishing vessels with 119 miscreants for fishing illegally in Indian waters during the same period.

Source: PIB