A brief of newspaper articles for the day bearing
relevance to Civil Services preparation
National
[1]. Kerala scientists develop saltwater-tolerant paddy
What has happened?
Scientists at the Rice Research Station of Kerala Agricultural University (KAU) at Vyttila have developed a new variety of paddy tolerant to saltwater intrusion, a major challenge faced by farmers in the lowlands.
Methodology adopted by scientists
The feat was achieved by the introduction of genes tolerant to salinity and iron toxicity into Jyothi, Kerala’s most popular rice variety.
Saltwater tolerant gene: SalTol. The SalTol gene is the donor for salinity-tolerant rice breeding programmes all over the world.
SalTol is present in: Pokkali, the most salt tolerant variety in the world
SalTol was introduced into Jyothi to achieve saltwater tolerant paddy.
Technique used: Introgressive hybridisation
Project began in 2008
Benefit of saltwater resistance
The new introgressed paddy variety of Jyothi can now be cultivated in the Eastern and Western coastal areas of Indian Peninsula.
Future work
Submergence of crops is another major challenge faced by farmers in lowlands, so the research team is now working on the introduction of a submergent tolerant gene (Sabl) into Jyothi, to make the rice variety resistant to flash floods up to two weeks.
International
[1]. Old friction led to shooting down of the jet
What happened?
Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Turkish-Syrian border. Both the governments are giving conflicting information as to what actually happened and both claim to have hard evidence to support their stands.
Turkish government says – ‘The planes violated their airspace. The pilots were warned suitably and when they didn’t listen, one of the planes was shot down’
Russian government says – ‘Planes were never outside the Syrian airspace. They never violated the Turkish airspace’.
It’s the first time in decades that a NATO country has shot down a Russian or Soviet war plane, and the first plane Russia has lost since it began its campaign in Syria.
What can be the consequences of this whole scenario?
- Impact on Russia-Turkish economic ties since after the imposition of sanctions by the European union, Turkey has been a key tourism destination for Russians
- Geo-political impact: These events can have significant impact in terms of Syrian conflict and the ISIS war. World is already divided in two over what should be done in Syria. U.S believes Assad should go while Russian believes Assad should remain. Turkey is in favour of removal of Assad so it is aiding the rebel forces fighting against him. The area in which the Russian jet was downed is controlled by Turkmen rebels, a Turkic ethnic minority who are fighting Syria’s Assad regime and who have close ties to Turkey.
Flight path of Russian jet as per Russia & Turkey [Image source: www.abc.net.au)]
Why would Turkey shot down the jet?
- Opposing positions: Ankara and Moscow both are on the opposite sides when it comes to Assad and Syria. Turkey wants to topple Assad while Russia supports Assad. So, when Russia started its campaign against Turkey-backed Syrian rebels in the northern Syria, it wrecked Ankara’s policy of Assad’s ouster creating feelings of anger and distrust.
- Border dispute: The area in which the Russian jet was shot down has been a point of conflict between Russia and Turkey. Russia has sometimes supported Syrian claim.
The Hatay province of Turkey runs south along the Mediterranean Sea, deep into Syria. It is a melting pot of ethnic Turks and Arabs. The League of Nations granted Hatay province to France after World War I as part of France’s legal mandate over Syria. Ethnic Turks led the province’s secession from Syria and declaration of an independent republic in 1938, and that republic then joined Turkey the next year.
Syria has questioned the loss of Hatay over the years. When Hatay seceded from the French mandate of Syria, Hatay’s borders did not encompass all of the ethnic Turks in the area; many Turkmens remained just across the border in what is now northernmost Syria.
Hatay Province [Image source: www.snipview.com]
Conclusion
Instead of escalating the situation further, both countries should sit together and resolve the issue. ISIS which is the main enemy here should not be forgotten amidst unnecessary revenge talk.
[2]. India-Southeast Asia: More clarity needed
What author says in the article?
In the backdrop of PM’s recent to Southeast Asia, author explains that in order to be a more active regional player India needs to articulate its stance more clearly.
Major points that author makes,
- An opportunity: At this point of time Southeast Asia is suffering from a slowdown. China is under an economic slump while Japan is under recession. Countries are feeling a need to boost growth. To this end the finalisation of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) framework has been a very important step forward but even then the desired outcome will not be possible unless trade & investment are increased with the rest of the world. It is here, where India can jump in and help. For the subcontinent, Southeast Asia can be a partner in Make in India & a source of capital, finance and tourism
- Expectations unfulfilled: The key expectation from the visit was that India would spell out details regarding future engagement with Southeast Asia esp on the economic front. The conclusion of RCEP is a major expectation. Such expectations on the economic side were unfulfilled as the commitments. There were commitments during the Prime Minister’s visit on early conclusion of the RCEP negotiations. There were also assurances of multiplying trade volumes with Singapore and Malaysia along with shared commitments on increasing investments but they lacked deeper specific s and details.
- India should have sent out a clear message regarding the gains it expects from the conclusion of RCEP to indicate its sincerity & eagerness to play the role of a major regional player in the Southeast Asia
- Unclear Act East policy: There is also disappointment over the lack of clarity on the specific contents of the Act East policy. Speculation is there as to what it actually entails. Whether India will take active interest in regional matters like South China Sea dispute or not. This confusion needs to be eradicated and a clear policy needs to be spelt out.
[3]. The most important fight against ISIS is the ideological war
What the article says?
Author, a Spanish ambassador, articulates that it is not Islam that is responsible for ISIS but a very radical ideology that has been twisting the meaning of Islam to transform it into a violent and monstrous entity.
Objectives of ISIS
- Those nations, where Islam was once dominant like Spain (which IS calls as Andalus) and India which once was influenced by Islam are on its agenda
- To target nations that they have a special hatred of – the US, Israel and western nations. Spain for example falls in more than one category – it has a special significance for IS as does India. No one is immune to this but the fact is that India, like Spain has had an impressive track record in the fight against terrorism in all these years.
Countering ISIS
- Understanding ISIS: What the world needs to understand is that ISIS are not terrorists. They have their own territory, their own resources, their own money and their own army. They need to be countered, keeping that in mind. It is a war against organised crime and the fight has to be against financing, sources of weapons as well as recruitment.
- Ideological battle: The radical ideology that is being propagated by ISIS needs to be countered by an anti-IS ideology. It is the responsibility of the world to point out the fallacies in the IS ideology by enunciating clearly that such form of violence has no place in Islam. The teachings of Koran have been manipulated and twisted to produce a convoluted set of ideas which go against the very soul of Islamic tradition.
Conclusion
It is not just about fighting the IS with police forces and air strikes, it is about devising a very sophisticated strategy to counter the ideological war.
By: ForumIAS Editorial Team
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