23rd Summit of the SCO 

Syllabus :GS 2/International Groupings 

In News

Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed the 23rd Summit of the SCO Council of Heads of State .

About Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO )

• It is a permanent intergovernmental international organisation.
• Founded in June 2001.
• It was built on the ‘Shanghai Five’, the grouping which consisted of Russia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan.
  • They came together in the post-Soviet era in 1996, in order to work on regional security, reduction of border troops and terrorism. 

• Members :  The SCO grouping now comprises China, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan.
  • India acquired the observer status in the grouping in 2005 and was admitted as a full member in 2017.
• The main goals of the SCO are : Strengthening mutual confidence and good-neighbourly relations among the member countries.
  • Promoting effective cooperation in politics, trade and economy, science and technology, culture as well as education, energy, transportation, tourism, environmental protection and other fields
  • Making joint efforts to maintain and ensure peace, security and stability in the region, moving towards the establishment of a new, democratic, just and rational political and economic international order.

Major Highlights of recent summit 

• Membership : The grouping’s decision to induct Iran as its ninth and latest member was one of a number of agreements signed at the summit. 
• Other agreements include : the New Delhi Declaration, outlining areas of cooperation between SCO countries; a joint statement on countering radicalisation; and one on digital transformation, where India offered to share expertise on digital payment interfaces such as UPI.
• SCO members also agreed to explore the use of “national currencies” for payments within the grouping, which would circumvent international dollar-based payments. 
• Stand on sanctions :  In a reference to sanctions on Russia and Iran by the U.S. and European countries, SCO members jointly criticised non-UN sanctions as “incompatible with the principles of international law”, which have a “negative impact” on other countries. 
• Defence  The Member States reiterated that unilateral and unlimited expansion of global missile defence systems by certain countries has a negative impact on international security and stability. 
• Space :They advocated keeping outer space free of weapons.
  • They called for compliance with the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling, and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction as an effective instrument in disarmament and non-proliferation.
• Cooperation in other areas :  The Member States expressed their intentions to strengthen cooperation in education, science and technology, culture, health, disaster management, tourism, sports, and people-to-people contacts.
  • They reaffirmed their commitment to the peaceful settlement of disagreements and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultations.
  • member states agreed to declare 2024 as the SCO Year of Environment.

Do you Know ?According to the New Delhi Declaration, the Member States will seek to develop common principles and approaches to form a unified list of terrorist, separatist and extremist organisations whose activities are prohibited on the territories of the SCO Member States. They opposed the militarization of information and communication technologies.

India’s Remarks at the Summit

• India refused to join other members on paragraphs relating to China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) in the joint statement, and stayed out of a joint statement on SCO Economic Development Strategy 2030, indicating a lack of consensus in the grouping.
  • India opposes the BRI over its inclusion of projects in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.
• India also took sharp aim at Pakistan for cross-border terrorism, and at China for connectivity projects that do not respect sovereign boundaries.

Emerging Challenges 

• The Delhi Declaration listed a number of global challenges, including new and emerging conflicts, turbulence in the markets, supply chain instability, climate change and the COVID-19 pandemic  are adding to the volatility and uncertainty in the global economy and creating additional challenges for economic growth, maintaining social well-being, ensuring food and energy security, as well as the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
• The Member States have expressed their concern about the growing threats posed by increased production, trafficking and abuse of narcotic drugs and using the proceeds of illicit drug-trafficking as a source of funding for terrorism. 

Conclusion and Way Forward  

• Some countries use cross-border terrorism as an instrument of their policies, provide shelter to terrorists.
  • SCO should not hesitate to criticise such nations. There should be no place for double standards on such serious matters
• Better connectivity not only enhances mutual trade but also fosters mutual trust.
• However, in these efforts, it is essential to uphold the basic principles of the SCO charter, particularly respecting the sovereignty and regional integrity of the Member States.

• There is the need for a joint and balanced approach to countering trafficking of illicit drugs and their precursors.
• The formation of a “more representative” and multipolar world order is in the global interest
  • Therefore ,New approaches are required to promote a more equitable and effective international cooperation.

Source:TH

     Shanghai Cooperation Organisation(SCO)

Syllabus :GS2/IR

In News

Recently Iran joined the SCO as the ninth member at its 23rd leaders’ summit.

Shanghai Cooperation Organisation

• The SCO is an intergovernmental organization founded in 2001 with six members.
• Objective: To enhance regional cooperation for efforts to curb terrorism, separatism, and extremism in the Central Asian region.
• Members: China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and the four Central Asian countries of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan,Iran.
• Observer status: Afghanistan, Belarus and Mongolia.
• Dialogue Partner status: Azerbaijan, Armenia, Cambodia, Nepal, Turkey and Sri Lanka.
• Secretariat: Beijing. It is headed by the Secretary-General. 
• The SCO has been an observer in the UN General Assembly since 2005. 

Iran and the SCO

• The case for Iran’s full membership of the SCO has been made for several years.
• In 2021, Iran was declared a member with observer status. 
• Subsequently, at the 21st SCO summit held in the Tajikistan capital Dushanbe all existing members unanimously agreed to change Iran’s status from observer state to a full member.

Significance for India

• Iran’s entry into the SCO will boost India’s Eurasian outreach ensuring seamless coordination between India and Iran.
• Oil Imports: Commercial ties between India and Iran have been traditionally dominated by Indian imports of Iranian crude oil. Iran was among India’s top energy suppliers until May 2019. 
• Chabahar port project: The port is being developed by India and Iran to boost connectivity and trade ties.

Implications for India

• USA apprehensions: India and the US have elevated their partnership to unprecedented levels of cooperation and trust, and recently the two countries signed important technology and defense agreements.
• Chinese angle: Recently Iran signed a China-brokered deal to re-establish diplomatic relations with its old regional rival, Saudi Arabia.  In 2021, China and Iran signed a 25-year deal for cooperation in many areas including oil.
• Closeness with pakistan: A border market was opened at Iran’s border with Pakistan in 2023, despite the fact that they have not shared close ties over the years.

Way Ahead

• India has to maintain a delicate balance as the dynamics of the SCO are changing.
• Also Iran’s entry is an opportunity for India as SCO provides a platform to both the Nations to address the challenges like terrorism, drug trafficking in the West Asian region with cooperation and collaboration.

Source: IE

Trade in Services for Development

Syllabus: GS3/Economy

In News

Trade in services for development report has been released by the World Bank and World Trade Organization (WTO).

About the Report

• An important aim of the publication, and a key reason for its joint nature, is to recall the benefits of advancing the negotiating agenda on trade in services, and the opportunity costs of not doing so. 
• The publication aims to foster reflection on how best to mobilize additional support – and better assistance – for developing and least-developed economies in implementing services sector reforms and reaping the development gains from expanded trade and investment in services. 

What is the Service Sector? 

• The service sector, also known as the tertiary sector, is the third tier in the three-sector economy. Instead of product production, this sector produces services maintenance and repairs, training, or consulting.
• India’s services sector covers a wide variety of activities such as trade, hotel and restaurants, transport, storage and communication, financing, insurance, real estate, business services, community, social and personal services, and services associated with construction.
• The services sector of India remains the engine of growth for India’s economy and contributed 53% to India’s Gross Value Added at current prices in FY21-22.

Key Highlights of the Report

• Services trade offers opportunities for developing economies: Services trade promotes greater inclusiveness, particularly for female and young workers and entrepreneurs as well as micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs).
  • In 2021, 59 percent of employed women worked in the services sector, and 9 out of 10 services firms were MSMEs. 
  • Today, the services sector generates half of employment worldwide and two-thirds of global GDP – more than agriculture and industry combined. 
• Factors responsible for growth of the sector: Policy reform efforts to make domestic service markets more competitive and also the accelerating pace of technological change. 
• Digitalization of trade in services: Fuelled by advances in information and communications technologies (ICT), exports of commercial services almost tripled between 2005 and 2022, with exports of digitally delivered services experiencing the fastest growth, increasing almost four-fold. 
• Services are central to tackling the most pressing global challenges: Services trade policy has an important role to play in reducing trade costs, improving the performance of services, attracting FDI, boosting supply-chain resilience and increasing manufacturing productivity and exports. 
• Improved commitments on services trade can bring key benefits: Although services sector reforms are chiefly undertaken by governments at the domestic level through autonomous policy measures, binding commitments in trade agreements represents a key policy complement. 
• Trade in services for development initiative: The initiative could help to mobilize a coherent Aid for Trade package in services, targeting five key challenges:
  • addressing data gaps in services trade; 
  • supporting greater participation of developing and least-developed economies in policy discussions on trade in services; 
  • strengthening regulatory frameworks and institutions; 
  • promoting diversification, notably that offered by digital services trade; and 
  • addressing key supply-side constraints and improving the services-related skills of workers. 

Scenario in India

• India, South Africa and Türkiye, jobs directly linked to cross-border services exports account for more than 10% of total services sector jobs.
• India has doubled its share of global commercial services exports to 4.4% in 2022 from 2% in 2005.
• The developing economies’ impressive trade performance under this expanded measure of trade in services is largely due to four economies that rank as leading services exporters and importers– China; Hong Kong; Singapore; India.
• Software Industry: India and the Philippines are global leaders of trade in computer services and in business process outsourcing services.
  • In the 1990s India became a leading destination for multinational corporations to outsource their labor intensive software and business process outsourcing (BPO) services. 
  • The export of computer-related services has significantly contributed to India’s economic growth. 
• Medical Tourism: India has become a popular destination for medical travel, and hosted around 3.5 million foreign patients from 2009 to 2019.
  • Foreign patients from developed countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as from developing countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka, go to India in search of less costly, high-quality treatment.
• Digital services trade: The PanAfrican e-Network Project – launched and funded by the Government of India in partnership with the African Union – has become one of the largest telemedicine and online education projects in Africa.
  • The project’s aim is to connect major universities and centres of excellence in Africa and India, extending quality higher education opportunities for thousands of African students. 
  • The project also aims to connect major African hospitals to highly specialized hospitals in India for medical training, online medical consultations and other medical services.
• Reasons for India’s growth in Service Trade: In the 1990s, policy changes bringing about better regulation and greater openness to FDI in services provided manufacturing firms in India with access to better, more reliable and more diverse business services.
  • This allowed manufacturing firms to invest in new business opportunities and better technology to organize production more effectively and reap economies of scale.

Way Ahead

• India will need to upskill and reskill it’s workforces and invest in the development of  domestic services sectors — particularly in terms of R&D to keep pace with rapidly changing technology and still remain competitive and progress up the value chain.
• Noting that services value-added accounted for over 53% of India’s total exports in 2021-22 highlights how reforms to facilitate foreign direct investment (FDI) in services can ignite positive growth dynamics by boosting participation in foreign manufacturing value chains.

Source: TH

One Health Priority Research Agenda on Antimicrobial Resistance

Syllabus: GS2/Health/GS3/Science and Technology

In News

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), United Nations Environment Programme(UNEP), World Health Organisation(WHO) and World Organisation for Animal Health(WOAH) has launched one health priority research agenda for antimicrobial resistance.

What is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)?

• Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death. 

• Antimicrobials: Antimicrobials are agents used to prevent, control and treat infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants.
  • They include antibiotics, fungicides, antiviral agents and parasiticides. Disinfectants, antiseptics, other pharmaceuticals and natural products may also have antimicrobial properties.

What is One Health Approach 

• One Health is an integrated, unifying approach that aims to sustainably balance and optimize the health of people, animals, and ecosystems . 
• One Health recognizes that the health of humans, domestic and wild animals, plants and the wider environment (including ecosystems) are closely linked and interdependent.
• Consequently, addressing global health issues requires a multisectoral, multidisciplinary response to AMR at this One Health interface.

Objectives of One Health Approach 

• To improve our understanding of transmission of AMR; drivers & impact.
• To strengthen the evidence base for interventions.
• To advocate for the prioritization of AMR mitigation and inform policy-making.

Need for One Health Approach on Antimicrobial Resistance

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been recognized as one of the greatest global threats to the health of humans and animals, plants and ecosystems as well as a threat to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
• In the globally connected world, resistance to antimicrobials may spread and circulate among humans, animals, plants and the environment, necessitating a “One Health” approach.
• The priority research agenda identifies research areas at the interface between sectors that are most relevant to low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), where the negative impacts of AMR are highest and are currently increasing.

Highest Priority Research Areas.

• Transmission: This pillar focuses on the environment, plant, animal, and human sectors where AMR transmission, circulation and spread occur. This includes what drives this transmission across these areas, where these interactions occur, and the impact on different sectors.
• Integrated surveillance: This pillar aims to identify cross-cutting priority research questions in order to improve common technical understanding and information exchange among One Health stakeholders. The surveillance aims for harmonisation, effectiveness, and implementation of integrated surveillance with a focus on LMICs
• Interventions: This pillar focuses on programmes, practises, tools, and activities aimed at preventing, containing, or reducing the incidence, prevalence, and spread of AMR. This also calls for the best use of existing vaccines, as well as other One Health-related measures to reduce AMR.
• Behavioural insights and change: The priority research areas under this pillar are concerned with comprehending behaviour across various groups and actors involved in the development and spread of AMR at the One Health interface. It focuses on research addressing human behaviour that affects AMR, including ways to combat it.
• Economics and policy: This pillar addresses investment and action in AMR prevention and control. This pillar also takes into account the cost-effectiveness of an AMR investment case, financial sustainability, and long-term financial impact.
  • The agenda also emphasises the importance of developing research capacity in LMICs, which will be critical for addressing research gaps and developing evidence.

Source: DTE

Fukushima Disaster 

Syllabus :GS3/Nuclear Technology/Environment 

In News

A UN nuclear watchdog has approved plans by Japan to release waste water from the tsunami-wrecked Fukushima nuclear plant into the sea. 

About Fukushima  Disaster 

• In 2011, a tsunami triggered by a magnitude 9.0 earthquake flooded three reactors of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant. 
• It is regarded as the world’s worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl. 
• Impact : The combined impact and repercussions of the earthquake and tsunami caused great loss of life and widespread devastation in north-eastern Japan.
  • Over one lakh fifty thousand people were evacuated from an exclusion zone around the plant, which remains in place. Decommissioning of the plant has also started, but the process could take decades.

Nuclear Waste water Issue

• The Fukushima facility is running out of storage space for the water, which was used to cool nuclear reactors.
• The water was distilled after being contaminated from contact with fuel rods at the reactor, destroyed in a 2011 earthquake.
  • Most radioactive elements have been filtered from the water. 
• The  Fukushima nuclear plant produces 100 cubic metres of waste water daily and Tanks on the site now hold about 1.3 million tonnes of radioactive water – enough to fill 500 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

Opposition

• Some neighbouring countries have also complained over the years about the threat to the marine environment and public health, with China emerging as the biggest critic.

Stand of IAEA

• The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said, the release complies with international standards and will have a negligible impact on the environment.

Conclusion 

• Japan  has said the water that will be released into the Pacific Ocean, which has been mixed with seawater, has tritium and carbon 14 levels that meet safety standards.
• The water disposal will take decades to complete, with a rolling filtering and dilution process, alongside the planned decommissioning of the plant.

Chernobyl accidentOn April 26, 1986, the Number Four RBMK reactor at the nuclear power plant at Chernobyl, Ukraine, went out of control during a test at low-power, leading to an explosion and fire that demolished the reactor building and released large amounts of radiation into the atmosphere. Safety measures were ignored, the uranium fuel in the reactor overheated and melted through the protective barriers.

Source:News on air

     Leptospirosis

Syllabus :GS2/Health 

News:

With the onset of monsoon period the outbreak of Leptospirosis has become a concern.

About:

• Leptospirosis is an infectious zoonotic disease caused by a bacterium called Leptospira interrogans, or leptospira.
• It affects around 1.03 million people every year, killing around 60,000. 

Which people are at risk?

• The main occupational groups at risk include agricultural workers, pet shop workers, veterinarians, sewer workers, abattoir workers, meat handlers, military personnel, survivors of natural disasters.
• A person is more likely to contract leptospirosis if they have cuts or abrasions on their skin.
• Recreational activities in contaminated lakes and rivers also increases the risk of leptospirosis.

Causes for disease

• Carriers: Wild or domestic animals like pigs, cattle, water buffaloes, goats, dogs, horses, and sheep. 
• Onset of the monsoon: It facilitates the disease’s incidence and transmission.
• Humid environment: It helps the pathogenic leptospira survive longer, thus increasing the risk of disease exposure in the community.
• Extreme weather events: Floods and hurricanes, when people are exposed to contaminated water.
• Poor waste management: A high density of stray animals, faulty drainage systems, and unhygienic sanitation facilities are major drivers of the disease in urban areas. In rural parts, these are contaminated paddy fields, dirty livestock shelters, and poor water-quality and sanitation.

Transmission:

• The cycle of disease transmission begins with the shedding of leptospira, usually in the urine of infected animals.
• The bacteria can be transmitted to humans through cuts and abrasions of the skin, or through the mucous membranes of the eyes, nose and mouth with water contaminated with the urine of infected animals.However, human-to-human transmission occurs very rarely.

Prevention:

• Increased awareness: Focus should be on improving health literacy, informed healthcare policy and community health empowerment.
• One Health approach: It is an interdisciplinary approach that recognises the interconnections between the health of humans, animals, plants, and their shared environment.
• Sanitary animal-keeping conditions to prevent animals from getting infected.
• Avoid walking through stagnant water,Dressing of wounds and cuts,washing one’s arms and legs with an antiseptic liquid after handling animal waste and working in water.

Status In India 

• It  is probably the most widespread zoonosis in the world. The history of leptospirosis and its research in India dates back to the last decades of the 19th century. With thousands of people affected every year in our country it has emerged as an important public health problem in India.

Governments Initiatives  

• Govt of India initially launched a pilot project on Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis as a “New Initiative” under XI Five Year Plan. 
• Following the success of the pilot project, the Govt. of India then launched the Programme for Prevention and Control of Leptospirosis (PPCL) during the 12th Five year plan in the endemic states viz. Gujarat, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Karnataka and UT of Andaman &Nicobar Islands.
  • National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has been designated as the nodal agency for implementation of Programme. 
  • The objective of the Programme is to prevent morbidity and mortality due to Leptospriosis in humans. 

Source:TH

 Rehabilitation of trafficking victims

Syllabus :GS1/Social Issues

News:

The center has approved a scheme to assist border States and UTs to build infrastructure for rehabilitation of trafficking victims.

• The Centre would set up homes in border areas for the protection and rehabilitation of trafficking victims from neighboring countries.
• The trafficking victims  will also be produced before the child welfare committees to declare them fit for availing sponsorship as per the Mission Vatsalya Scheme guidelines.

Status of Trafficking in India:

• India is a source as well as a destination country for human trafficking.The main source countries are Nepal, Bangladesh and Myanmar from where women and girls are trafficked in the lure of a better life, jobs and good living conditions on this side.
• A majority of those trafficked are minor girls or young women who after their arrival in India are sold and forced into commercial sex work.
• According to NCRB data, as many as 6213 victims of human trafficking were rescued in 2021, and of them, 3912 were female. Maximum number of victims were rescued from Odisha ( 1290 ), followed by Maharashtra ( 890), Telangana 

(796), and Delhi ( 509).

Reasons 

• Poverty, hunger, and lack of work are the main reasons for this. The caste and community-based discrimination and unfair treatment in rural areas are also at the root of this problem.
• Externalities such as the COVID-19 pandemic, armed conflict, and climate change catalyse precarity for children. 

Issues and Challenges 

• India doesn’t have a composite anti-trafficking law that addresses prevention, protection, rehabilitation and compensation of survivors. 
• There are, however, separate regulations that address different crimes related to trafficking.
• The government did not report investigating, prosecuting, or convicting government officials for alleged involvement in trafficking crimes. 
• Efforts to audit government-run or -funded shelters remained inadequate, and shortcomings in protection services for victims, especially children, remained unaddressed.”

Laws governing anti-trafficking crimesThe Immoral Traffic (Prevention) Act, 1956 (PITA) is targeted at stopping immoral trafficking and sex work. It went through two amendments, in 1978 and 1986. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2006, prohibits and penalises the act of child marriage. The Child Labour (Prohibition and Regulation) Act, 1986, prevents children from partaking in certain employments and regulates the conditions of work for children in other fields. The Bonded Labour System (Abolition) Act, 1976, prohibits systems of labour where people, including children, work under conditions of servitude to pay off debt, and also provides a framework for rehabilitating released labourers. The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act 2015, which governs laws relating to children alleged and found to be in conflict with law.The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act, 1994, makes commercial dealing in human organs a punishable offence.Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, which seeks to prevent commercial sexual exploitation of children.India set up Anti-Human Trafficking Units (AHTUs) in 2007. AHTUs are tasked with “addressing the existing gaps in the law enforcement response,” “ensuring a victim-centric approach which ensures the ‘best interest of the victim/ survivor’ and prevents ‘secondary victimization/ re-victimisation of the victim,” and developing databases on traffickersThe Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2013, revised Section 370 of the Indian Penal Code, which deals with buying and selling of any person as a slave, to include the concept of human trafficking.

Conclusion and Way Forward 

•  A strong anti-trafficking law is the moral and constitutional responsibility of our elected leaders, and a necessary step towards nation-building and economic progress.
• It is also important to build the capability of law enforcement officials. We need to create a legal deterrence through enhanced detection mechanisms for online and human interface.
• Motivating and updating the knowledge base of the officers dealing with human trafficking was essential, for which States had to make special efforts and provide them adequate training and resource material etc. on a regular basis. 
• The conviction rate will remain low unless India has a comprehensive legislation that provides for a strong investigation mechanism clarifying the roles and responsibilities of investigating agencies such as AHTUs and the NIA (National Investigation Agency).
  • The proposed Trafficking In Persons Bill 2021 is one of the instruments that can really help in addressing all aspects of human trafficking and increasing conviction rate

Source:TH

Facts 

GIFT NIFTY

Syllabus :GS3/Economy

In News

The popular Singapore Exchange (SGX) NIFTY started trading from GIFT City in Gujarat  as Gift Nifty, executing over 30,000 trades in a single session.

• This is the first cross-border initiative in connecting India and Singapore’s capital markets.

What is GIFT NIFTY?

• Trading on SGX NIFTY ceased in Singapore and the entire trading volume and liquidity fully switched to GIFT IFSC.
  • Therefore, it was rechristened GIFT NIFTY. 
  • This migration was first initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July 2022.
• Currently, four products are being offered under the umbrella brand of GIFT Nifty — GIFT Nifty 50, GIFT Nifty Bank, GIFT Nifty Financial Services and GIFT Nifty IT derivatives contract.
• According to a five-year contract between the two, business will largely be shared on a 50:50 basis. 

Importance for India

• GIFT Nifty is an important milestone for GIFT IFSC and its outreach towards foreign investors and enhancing the capital market ecosystem in GIFT City
• Over the past two decades, SGX has been our bridge to the world. It has linked two of the fastest growing economies of the world

Source:IE

Mo Jungle Jami Yojana

Syllabus: GS3/Environment

In News

The Odisha government announced the launch of state forest rights scheme to strengthen forest rights among tribals and forest dwellers across the state’s districts.

About the Scheme

• To function Parallel to FRA:  The Mo Jungle Jami Yojana is aimed to function parallely with The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006 or FRA. It is entirely funded by the state government.
• To bridge gaps in FRA: The scheme is conceived to bridge the gaps and address critical issues not targeted in the central scheme (FRA) for the past 15 years since its implementation.
• Revenue Villages: Under the scheme, all unsurveyed, forest and zero area villages will be converted into revenue villages thus enabling all households access to water supplies, road connectivity, schools and healthcare.
• Digitising records: The scheme would also include digitising records of title holders who can then access them online. The state will thereby have data of all the claimants and the number of benefits received by the title holders under the different programmes of the scheme
• Providing land titles: The implementation of the scheme will provide ownership of land and access to forest resources to the beneficiaries according to their entitlement and join them with mainstream development programmes of the government.
  • According to the notification, all eligible claimants — mainly single women and PVTGs — will receive land titles and record corrections will be made for all title holders.
• If implemented, Odisha would become the first in India to recognise community forest rights along with individual rights offered by the Centre. 

State Data on Tribes

• Odisha has 32,562 FRA potential villages and 7.35 potential Scheduled Tribe families which are targeted to be benefitted.
• The state is home to 62 different tribes of which 13 are recognised as Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTG). 
• The tribal population is estimated at 9,590,756 which amounts to 22.85 percent of the overall population.

Forest Rights Act, 2006

• About:
  • The Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act, 2006- popularly known as Forest Rights Act (FRA) recognises the rights of forest dwellers and the importance of their participation in the forest management processes. 
  • It also marks a shift from the colonial era view of forest dwelling communities being isolated entities which prey on forests. 
  • The act is based more on the principle that the communities are a part of forest ecosystems.
  •  ‘Gram Sabha’ is an important entity within the act’s tools to achieve its objective.
• Objectives:
  • To undo the historical injustice occurred to the forest dwelling communities
  • To ensure land tenure, livelihood and food security of the forest dwelling Scheduled Tribes and other traditional forest dwellers
  • To strengthen the conservation regime of the forests by including the responsibilities and authority of Forest Rights holders for sustainable use, conservation of biodiversity and maintenance of ecological balance.

Source: DTE