AIR POLLUTION

Issue-1. Air Quality Standards

Question: What are the issues concerning Air Quality Standards? And why Indian Air Quality standards are not considered safe?

1.      Air quality is not being monitored in real time

Central Pollution Control Board gets real-time air quality data from only two or three monitoring stations in most cities. This gives a skewed picture of air quality status and compromises policy-making. Most cities depend on manual monitoring stations, which use obsolete technology, and data is released just twice a week.

2.      The sources of air pollution are not very well known

A study by IIT Kanpur for Delhi revealed that the contribution of each source of pollution-vehicles, waste burning, construction dust-changes with the seasons, but most cities don't have this information. Bengaluru's emissions inventory was conducted in 2010 and Chennai's by IIT Madras in 2011, while Kanpur, Mumbai and Pune released their reports in 2010. 2008 was when data on pollution sources was last collected in cities

3.      Governments fail to enforce

But no city administration seems worried about getting off that list. Delhi, for instance, is still short of 5,000 buses; it hasn't implemented SC directions on prohibiting waste burning or ensuring construction projects don't pollute. Data for most cities makes it obvious that air pollution is not high on any government's priority list. 94 cities don't meet national air quality standards.

4.      health risks are Ignored

While air pollution is hurting the country's exchequer, it's also associated with certain cancers, lower birth weight of babies, premature birth, strokes a respiratory disease. Across the country, air pollution is linked to 6.7 lakh premature deaths

5.      People’s participation not forthright

The Deonar landfill fire drew attention to Mumbai's waste problem, while Delhi's three landfills are constantly on fire exposing lakhs to carcinogenic emissions. This is a common problem in all cities. If people segregated garbage at home, there would be no burning of waste. People can also choose public transport, or pick electric and CNG vehicles 

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Cloudburst

Cloudburst-in-Uttarakhand

A cloudburst is an extreme amount of precipitation, sometimes with hail and thunder, which normally lasts no longer than a few minutes but is capable of creating flood conditions. Colloquially, the term cloudburst may be used to describe any sudden heavy, brief, and usually unforecastable rainfall. Rainfall rate equal to or greater than 100 mm (3.97 inches) per hour is a cloudburst. The associated convective cloud can extend up to a height of 15 km above the ground. During a cloudburst, more than 20 mm of rain may fall in a few minutes.

Cloudbursts have a very specific definition: if rainfall of about 10 cm or above per hour is recorded over a place that is roughly 10 km x 10 km in area, it is classified as a cloudburst event. And by this definition, 5 cm of rainfall in half an hour would also be classified as a cloudburst. That’s an anomaly for Indian conditions.

Where do cloudbursts can occur?

Cloudbursts do happen in plains as well, but there is a greater probability of them occurring in mountainous zones; it has to do with the terrain. Cloudbursts happen when saturated clouds are unable to produce rain because of the upward movement of very warm current of air. Raindrops, instead of dropping down, are carried upwards by the air current. New drops are formed and existing raindrops gain in size. After a point, the raindrops become too heavy for the cloud to hold on to, and they drop down together in a quick flash. It is not essential that cloudbursts occur only when a cloud clashes with a solid body like a mountain. One such cloud burst in the Himalayan region occurred when the monsoon winds were rising along the slope of the Himalayas and were sucked further by the ascending jet streams resulting in a very heavy downpour that caused devastating floods and landslides in June 2013. Cloudbursts can also occur when hot water vapour laden winds mix with the cold winds resulting in sudden condensation. Hilly terrains aid in heated air currents rising vertically upwards in two ways

1. by allowing water laden winds to rise
2. by allowing water laden winds to absoeb more moisture from Terai
3. and by allowing the jet stream to easily withdraw the convection aided orographic winds to be attenuated, thereby, increasing the probability of a cloudburst situation. Cloudbursts can happen in deserts due to enhanced convection.

Effect of Cloudbursts

1. Flash floods: Cloudbursts are also responsible for flash floods creation.
2. Accompanying effect of Cloudbursts on terrain

q  Sheetfloods

q  Landslides

q  Mudflows

q  Land caving

q  flash floods, houses and establishments getting swept away and cave-ins lead to the deaths.

q  Blocking path of rivers that may lead to temporary damming and creation of a reservoir and its consequent collapse

3. Accompanying effect of Cloudbursts on population

The rainfall itself does not result in the death of people, though sometimes, the raindrops are big enough to hurt people in a sustained downpour. It is the consequences of such heavy rain, especially in the hilly terrain, that causes death and destruction.

Frequency of cloudbursts

There is a paucity of past data on cloudbursts; in addition, since only some of them get counted – only those that result in death and destruction – there is a problem of accuracy as well. But what is very clear is that events of extreme precipitation have been on the rise in the last few decades; keeping temperature fluctuations in mind as a trend, that cloudburst events might be on the increase as well.

Forecasting

The difficulty arises out of the fact that they take place over a very small area.

What can be forecasted is the spell of heavy rainfall due to convergence of many meteorlogical conditions.

Forecasts for a very small area can be done through the use of Doppler radars. Through them, it is possible to forecast the possibility of cloudbursts about six hours in advance, sometimes even 12-14 hours in advance. 

Recent and contemporary topics

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FOREST FIRES

Forest fires are an annual occurrence in Uttarakhand, and Himachal Pradesh. Over 4,500 hectares have been affected in Himachal Pradesh, some 40% more than the 3,185 hectares in Uttarakhand. The latter state has seen 1,470 incidents of fire so far — 803 (affecting 1,413.58 ha) of which were in the Garhwal region, 463 (1,076.21 ha) in Kumaon, and 204 (695.65 ha) in wildlife zones.

Nature of fire

It is very difficult to actually know how the fire started. But at least with the circumstantial evidences it is clear that there was lack of preventive measures and the preparedness was low with a weak action plan.

Forest fires as Natural Event

As a natural event Forest fire in Uttrakhand is a common phenomenon during the summer season. It is so mainly due to the presence of Chir pine trees. These trees heavily shed the highly inflammable dry Chir pine needles which acts like a fuel for combustion.

As a natural event wildfires are sometimes a natural process, and help forests by promoting flowering, branching and seedling establishment. fires that are limited to the surface may help in the natural regeneration of forests. The heating of the soil may result in helpful microbial activity, and hasten decaying processes that are useful for the vegetation.

Forest fires are a natural phenomenon and are bound to happen periodically. Some of the contributing factors are, built up of highly inflammable Chir Pine dead leaves, poor hydrological health, increasing impact of temperature increases, increasing pressure on the forests due to increasing human activity in the vicinity and repeated drought conditions.

Read more @ Causes, Answers and related questions...

Floodplain: Issues associated with it

What is a floodplain?

That portion of a river valley, adjacent to the river, that is built up of alluvium deposited during the present disposition of the stream flow. It is covered with water when the river overflows during flood periods. Meandering streams are typical features of floodplains. During the process of lateral erosion, the form of a meandering stream is altered by reduction, trimming, and cutting through, until all that remains is a crescentic mark, a floodplain meander scar, indicating the former position of a river meander on a floodplain. The beginnings of a floodplain are represented by lunate or sinuous strips of coarse alluvium along the inner bank of a stream meander. These are called point bars.

Floodplain is the area adjacent to a river that is not always under water, but is prone to flooding. It is an extension of the riverbed. In the case of the Yamuna in Delhi, the area that is likely to get submerged at least once in a 25-year period has been classified as its floodplain. The floodplains are not separate from the river. They are an integral part of any river-system, and are an ecologically sensitive area.

Why was Yamina Floodplains in news?

The biggest ever festival of music and dance organized by The Art of Living saw 3.5 million people attending to it. A huge 7-acre stage apparently the world’s largest ever, was erected. Several tents have been put up, pontoon bridges are being laid, dirt tracks were being laid, and heavy equipment have been deployed. Vegetation has been cut to make way for the temporary constructions. A major portion of the area has been flattened.

Environment  impacts on Flood plain.

1. One of the important functions of the floodplains is groundwater recharge. In the process of flattening, the surface is to be hardened, and that can severely impact its groundwater recharge capability.
2. Such works can also change the natural gradient of the floodplain, which can diminish its flood-carrying capacity.
3. Small water bodies and wetlands are filled up which absorb rainwater.
4. Some vegetation necessarily gets cleared up which has a role in either diverting the water flow and or increasing the biodiversity.

But what did the committee say?

A committee appointed by the NGT did make a site visit, and recorded its observations in a report to the court. But it was based on just a three-hour inspection, and not a proper scientific assessment.

In his observations, one of the members of the committee, said that

q  the site had been cleared of all natural vegetation, raised with the help of JCBs

q  huge amount of debris and construction waste had been dumped into the main channel of the Yamuna

q  The  activity was in no way benign and would have a permanent footprint on the floodplain.

It recommended that the organisers restrict the area of their operation to the bare minimum, and pay for the entire cost of the restoration. It said that a strong message should be sent to the DDA so that such violations are not repeated, and a restoration plan is prepared and its implementation monitored strictly.

An assessment

The area be restored to its original condition with not too much amount of difficulty. The clearing of debris can be done comparatively easily. Some other works can take several years. However, the problem in this case is that the authorities don’t even know what the original condition was. No study or assessment was done before the Art of Living Foundation was allowed to make changes to the floodplain for the event. In the absence of a baseline scenario, there is no way to assess whether the original condition has been restored.

Depending on what the impacts are, the monetary costs of restoration can be very high. The NGT-appointed committee had estimated that between Rs 100 and Rs 120 crore might be required for the restoration. It had recommended that the organisers be asked to deposit this amount in a separate account ahead of the event.

But the Akshardham temple and Commonwealth Games Village too stand on the Yamuna floodplains. They also caused damage. On both occasions, activists and citizens petitioned the courts, and the matter reached the Supreme Court. On both occasions, the apex court finally cleared the construction. In the CWG Village case, the court ruled that the site did not constitute the floodplains of the river.

In scale and size, these two are several times bigger than the Art of Living Foundation’s event. Activists and experts say the two gigantic, permanent structures have caused irreparable and irreversible damage to the river. But again, no scientific assessment has ever been made of the precise impact.

Why India needs a strong Navy

1.      Oceans are a large buffer zone inviting control and management for want of which the buffer can be replaced by a direct face off.

2.      India has along coastline of 7516 kms with many littoral islands, which requires to be defended monitored and to undergo surveillance. Only a strong navy will be able to do it.

3.      India has to make necessarily concentrate on Indian Ocean

·         If China were to gain the upper hand in the Indian Ocean region, it will mark the end of India’s great-power ambitions.

·         India’s tactical and strategic disadvantages along its land frontiers are more than compensated by its immense geographic advantage in the Indian Ocean. Such is peninsular India’s vantage location in the Indian Ocean — the world’s premier energy and trade seaway — that the country is positioned dominantly astride vital sea lanes of communication (SLOCs), including China’s emergent Maritime Silk Road.

·         The Indian Ocean promises to shape the wider geopolitics and balance of power in Asia and beyond.

·         To conter The Silk Road of China with the use of aid, investment and other leverage to pull littoral states closer to its orbit, including through the construction of seaports, railroads and highways. Such construction may provide a counterpoint to China’s military assertiveness. Yet it is integral to a strategy that fuses soft and hard tactics to bind countries to China’s economy and security and to convince them that it is in their interest to accept China as Asia’s alpha power.

·         To prevent Chinese military encirclement, India needs to significantly accelerate naval modernization. It must build sufficient naval prowess to potentially interdict Chinese SLOCs in the Indian Ocean and hold the Chinese economy hostage if a Himalayan war were thrust upon it again.

·         The Chinese military keeps Indian ground forces busy in peacetime by staging Himalayan border incursions and other flare-ups, the oil and liquefied gas flowing from the Gulf and Africa to China pass through the Indian Ocean unmolested and unimpeded. Over 80% of China’s oil imports pass through the Malacca Strait chokepoint. Boosting SLOC interdiction capability would allow the Indian Navy to dominate key maritime routes and help improve the Chinese military’s behaviour along the Himalayas.

4.      As India expands its regional influence through trade and commerce, it needs a Navy to protect and defend its interests. Trade with African countries is improving. India is involved in several projects in Africa and a Naval presence is required in the Arabian Sea and the Indian Ocean to deter the Chinese. Despite superior numbers, the Chinese have a distinct disadvantage in the fact that their Navy has no actual war experience. India, thus is improving its Naval presence there.

5.      The US is friendly, for now. But they have the same Anglo Saxon mentality of their ancestors, the British. They mistake friendliness for weakness. They will always try to ensure their supremacy in the world by making other nations fight among themselves, providing arms to all sides of the conflict. An expanded presence in our own backyard will help us to protect ourselves in cases of National threats coming from outside. Indigenous production in this case becomes more vital. The Soviets protected us from the Americans in the 1971 war against Pakistan. The USSR exists no more. So we need to be stronger to prevent such events from recurring.

6.      India imports 70% of its crude oil from abroad. This passes through the strategically important Strait of Hormuz. The US has its 5th fleet stationed there.

7.      The Chinese are building a port with a nuclear submarine pen in the city of Gwadar in Pakistan. The port will be connected to China via a highway from Gwadar through Pakistan Occupied Kashmir and into China. This will save them the 6000 mile long journey to take the oil through the Sea. India is countering this by building the port in Chabahar in Iran. The actual work was delayed thus far due to sanctions against Iran. Now that they are lifted, the work will hopefully resume. The port will serve 2 purposes:

·         It will outflank the Chinese Pakistani project.

·         It will provide access to the sea for land locked Afghanistan.

India also plans to source raw materials and minerals from Afghanistan through this project.

Challenges to rise of Indian naval power

Naval power had always been technology intensive and most innovative like aerospace power. Waves of technology revolutions have rendered obsolescent the concepts, doctrines, operations and the hardware of the past era.

Four cardinal challenges stand out for India.

1.      The pace of platform buildup outpaces by the platform ageing of the current inventory-therefore the order of battle of the fleet is constantly under flux with falling numbers. Although considerable service-life-extension-programs have gone into the platforms with hybridization of technology, these platforms are now coming to an end of their immensely useful operational life. The imperatives for newer platforms on emerging technology templates require urgency. However, the addition of platforms to the ratio of retirement has- not been sufficient in numbers.

2.      Secondly, the complexity and diversity of missions have been increasing stressing the existing fleets into missions often beyond their capacity.

3.      Thirdly, the pace of Revolution in Military Affairs or even specifically the Revolution in Naval Affairs produces new synergies in technology, doctrines and operations resulting in new templates of naval platforms, organizational and operational complexity.

4.      The operational reputation of a navy is often intact unless challenged by a rising challenger or a new wave of technology and weaponry that may reduce the robustness of an established navy be inflicting a shocking defeat.

5.      The pace of the plan modernization and the strategic alliances that it is building with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, and Sri Lanka for access and basing engages the Navy into inevitable regional overdrive to sustain and leverage its power and domain. It demands the Indian Navy the buildup of capacities in organizational, order of battle and operational wherewithal that would be able to develop a strong forward presence in the Strait of Malacca-South China Sea all the way to the East Pacific as a counterpoise to the Chinese maritime access building

Why slum relocation schemes are not effective? Examine the problems in brief with an emphasis on slums as a offering solutions and its economic prospects.

The Government of India, for purposes of the implementation of various schemes relating to urban development, has defined a slum area as follow: "A slum area means any where such dwellings predominate, which by reason of dilapidation, overcrowding, faulty arrangement and design of buildings, narrowness and faulty arrangement of street, lack of ventilation, lack of sanitation facilities, inadequacy of open spaces and health or morale." These slum area are also referred to as the 'blighted area'; 'renewal area'; 'deteriorated area', 'lower class neighborhood'; 'lower income area', etc. in India, these areas are also known as 'Jeropadpatti'; Juggi Jhounpadi'; 'Bastee'; 'Akatas' and 'Cherri', in regional vocabularies.

With respect to slums, there is a pattern where people are willing to give up better living conditions (more space and toilets on premises) for better opportunities in the core areas near city (in contrast to peripheral areas near periphery).

1. Some of them do not move to the new/relocated areas as their livelihood is deeply rooted in these slums (core) and the new areas have poor accessibility and livelihood options are limited. Intrinsic skills like zari making are related to specific markets. Relocation renders these skills redundant.
2. The credit ecosystem that existed based on trust, social relationship and nurtured for generations is also lost. Unemployment and credit opportunities have a cyclical impact on each other. Credit makes it easy for people to start small businesses and skill-based work such as carpentry, driving autorickshaws and taxis, and employment makes it easy for people to get and pay back credit on time.  Read more...

METEORITIC IMPACT

The Earth has been getting hit by asteroids and comets for its whole life. The planets formed from collisions of smaller objects, and even our water may have come largely from comets.

To lead to a global catastrophe, an asteroid or comet only has to be big enough to launch large amounts of dust in to the atmosphere. That leads to the abrupt change in climate that wipes out species.

The odds of a major asteroid impact are very small. However, asteroids do pass close to earth, to have a major impact.

Impact event

An impact event is a collision between celestial objects causing measurable effects. Impact events have physical consequences and have been found to regularly occur in planetary systems, though the most frequent involve asteroids, comets or meteoroids and have minimal impact. When large objects impact terrestrial planets like the Earth, there can be significant physical and biospheric consequences, though atmospheres mitigate many surface impacts through atmospheric entry.

One of the best-known recorded impacts in modern times was the Tunguska event, which occurred in Siberia, Russia, in 1908.

The 2013 Chelyabinsk meteor event is the only known such event to result in a large number of injuries, and the Chelyabinsk meteor is the largest recorded object to have encountered the Earth since the Tunguska event.

Geological significance

Impacts have, during the history of the Earth, had a significant geological and climatic influence.

1.    Exogenesis-The origins of life may have been influenced by impacting objects by bringing organic chemicals or life forms to the Earth's surface

2.    Several consecutive impacts can have effect on the dynamo mechanism at a planet's core responsible for maintaining the magnetic field of the planet, and can eventually shut down the planet's magnetic field.

3.    an impact event in an ocean or sea may create a megatsunami (a giant wave), which can cause destruction both at sea and on land along the coast.

4.    The impact event can cause mantle plume (volcanism) at antipodal point

5.    Biospheric effects-The effect of impact events on the biosphere has been the subject of scientific debate. Several theories of impact related mass extinction have been developed.

Evidences for such an impact-Unusually high concentrations of iridium in a specific layer of rock strata in the Earth's crust. Iridium is an element that is rare on Earth but relatively abundant in many meteorites.

Multi directionally shocked quartz (coesite), which is only known to form as the result of large impacts or atomic bomb explosions, has also been found in the same layer at more than 30 sites. Soot and ash at levels tens of thousands times normal levels were found with the above.

Anomalies in chromium isotopic ratios found within the K-T boundary layer strongly support the impact.

6.    Sociological and cultural effects: End of civilization, An impact event is commonly seen as a scenario that would bring about the end of civilization. Read more...

ELECTRIC GRID IN INDIA

What is an electrical grid ?

A grid is an interconnected network of transmission lines and substations hooked on to generating stations on the one hand and load centres on the other. The generating stations, put together, supply the electricity demand through the transmission lines; the load centres or distribution companies then draw the power from the lines and wheel it to consumers. The basic premise for the stability of the grid is that load and generation must be balanced at all times to prevent a failure.

The flow of electricity through the lines should ideally not exceed the rated capacity; otherwise the lines could trip due to an overload. For grid operators, one of the prerequisites is to ensure that there is adequate redundancy in the system so that the possible tripping of one line does not lead to a cascading event that can potentially impact operations of the grid as a whole.

Components of a grid

A grid consists of three main components:

1. power stations that produce electricity from fossil fuels (coal, gas) or non-combustible fuels (hydro, nuclear, wind, solar);
2. transmission lines that carry electricity from power plants to demand centers;
3. transformers that reduce the voltage so that distribution lines carry power for final delivery.

Functioning and Stability

All generating stations are expected to inject power as per schedules declared by them to the grid operator while all load centres or distribution utilities are expected to draw power as per the drawal schedule given by them to load despatch centres.

Stablity of the grid

This is done by monitoring the grid frequency, an index that shows whether power is being supplied and drawn as per schedule. The optimal frequency in India is pegged at 50 hertz, or cycles per second. The permissible frequency band for grid operations in India is 49.5Hz to 50.2Hz, as per the Indian Electricity Grid Code. The larger the grid size, the more stable it is deemed to be. At the same time, if a grid disturbance does happen, its scale could be larger for a larger grid.

The nature of network in India.

At present the northern, western, eastern and northeastern regions are integrally connected through AC (alternating current) transmission links to form what is called the 'NEW' grid. There is a free flow of power between these four regions. The southern region is hooked up with the rest of the country through HVDC (high voltage direct current) transmission links, which have constraints on wheeling capacity, thereby limiting the free flow of power from and to the southern region. India's current cumulative installed capacity is 205 gigawatts (1GW is 1,000MW).

Major problems plaguing the power transmission sector

1. During construction. The right of way (where to put the tower) problem is most severe because it is on somebody else’s land.
2. Availability of land to build substations. The availability and possibility of buying that land is also difficult.
3. Concerning the vendors. Because the construction is quite large, large number of vendors are needed. Sufficient numbers of vendors are not available.
4. The problems in realisation of money from the beneficiaries. The financial condition of distribution companies is not very good currently. So collection of money is difficult.
5. Grid collapse

While India has seen two major grid failures in the last 10 years, there have been several instances of grid collapses in other parts of the world. These include the Brazil-Paraguay blackout of 2009 that affected 87 million people, the Northeast blackout of 2003 in North America that affected some 55 million residents, the 2003 Italy blackout that hit another 55 million people, and the 2005 Java-Bali blackout, by which close to 100 million people were affected in Indonesia.

There can be two main reasons.

·         One is equipment failure due to reasons such as fog and pollution, as had happened when the northern grid collapsed in 2002.

·         The other, and more common, reason is when one or more constituents violate the grid code and overdraw in a big way from the grid, causing it to fail due to the imbalance in the power injection and drawal patterns.

Management of overdrawing

There cannot be physical control over excess drawal, only a financial penalty. In India, the grid frequency-linked penal measure is called the Unscheduled Interchange or UI rate. If the grid frequency drops, the UI rate shoots up, acting as a disincentive for discoms to overdraw when the frequency dips.

Northern states are repeat violators of the grid frequency norms, especially Uttar Pradesh, Haryana, Punjab, Jammu and Kashmir. The 'UI' penalty has failed to deter some of these states, which overdraw and then default on the 'UI' payment itself with the grid operators. UP, for instance, is known to routinely run up 'UI' bills of several hundred crores and delay the payments. The state has also taken advantage of a High Court order under which it does not pay the full UI penal rate.

Smart Grid

A "smart grid" is an electrical grid, which includes a variety of operational, and energy measures including smart meters, smart appliances, renewable energy resources, and energy efficiency resources. Electronic power conditioning and control of the production and distribution of electricity are important aspects of the smart grid.

Benefits of a smart-grid

1. The basic objective is that consumers should participate in the project. They should know what is happening in the power supply space. They should know how much they are actually consuming and paying. Presently, someone comes at some time for meter reading and the consumers have no clues, they just pay the bill. In the new system, a lot of intelligence is built into the meter.
2. Energy saving in a smart-grid set up. At least 15 to 20 per cent, which is huge. Smart-grid is the future. That is why we have invested in the project. Our objective is not to earn money but to ensure energy conservation and help improve the quality of life in the society.

The status of the smart-grid project and the roadmap ahead

The first project at Puducherry. All the features of smart-grid are there. The project is complete. One thousand four hundred smart meters have been installed. Any feature of smart-grid and it is there. Now, the government has planned similar projects at 14 other locations.

Progress

Smart -grid will be in various states. It is in the domain of distribution. It will not be in the network. Power grid Corporation is one consultant for these projects. In the transmission sector, a smart-grid is under implementation.

Plans for Smart grid

Out of the budgeted capital expenditure of Rs. 22,000 crore, 30 per cent will be Power grid money and the rest will be raised through line of credit and issue of bonds. Future plans

1. Shifting emphasis on commissioning.
2. Work on smart-grid and energy efficiency.
3. Venturing into products.
4. Altough a services company it has developed products such as smart meters and apertures.
5. The establishment of a research centre. The board is now setting up a lab facility.
6. Human  resources management. It is being ensured that at every level there is a leader. In this front, an academy is being set up called called Power grid Academy of Leadership at Manesar.
7. All the requirements till now were met through issuance of domestic bonds. It has shifted its attention to international bonds.

BRIEFLY DISCUSS AREAS OF CONTENTION AMONG INDIA AND CHINA. WHAT IS STRATEGIC DEFENCE INITIATIVE THAT INDIA HAS TAKEN AGAINST CHINA AND WHAT IS GOING TO BE ITS IMPACT?

At various pockets along the disputed 3,500-km LAC-a line that reflects the territory under the present control of India and China, but is not an agreed upon final border-both sides have differing views on where the line actually lies. With troops patrolling up to what they see as their perception of the LAC, patrols have had run-ins and face-off situations caused by overlapping claim lines.

1.      KARAKORAM RANGE- Talks on the LAC in the western sector stalled with China rejecting discussions on areas west of the Karakoram Pass and the roughly 5,800 sq-km Shaksgam Valley ceded by Pakistan to China, which is claimed by India.

2.      DEPSANG- Ties strained as Chinese troops pitched a tent on the Depsang plains, ahead of the May 2013 visit of Premier Li Keqiang. China claimed the area as being on "its side of the LAC':

3.      CHUMAR- Patrols on both sides engaged in three-week-long stand-off coinciding with President Xi Jinping's September 2014 visit to New Delhi.

4.      BARAHOTI- Differing perceptions of area in the middle sector in Uttarakhand emerged during the map exchange in 2000, with reports of intermittent incursions in this region.

5.      TAWANG- China has never recognized the McMahon Line in the eastern sector. Its hardening claims on Arunachal, and especially on Tawang in spite of a 2005 understanding on settled populations, has led to further stalemate in the east.

INDIA’S STRATEGIC DEFENCE AGAINST CHINA, MEASURES AND MEANS

Building of ALG (Advanced Landing Ground)

Under the overall plan to progressively boost both military force-levels and infrastructure to address the stark military asymmetry with the People's Liberation Army, the IAF will activate its Pasighat advanced landing ground (ALG) in West Siang district of Arunachal Pradesh.

The ALG will not only improve our response time to different operational contingencies, but also the efficacy of the overall air operations on the eastern front.

Pasighat is the fifth ALG to become operational other than Daulat Beg Oldi and Nyoma in Laddakh, While Ziro, Along, Mechuka and Walong ALGs in Arunachal are now operational, Tuting will be ready soon.

Other infrastructural support

Similarly, the government has now approved several infrastructure development projects in the Andaman and Nicobar Command (ANC), as the country's first theatre command, say defence ministry sources. India has also begun to regularly deploy its Sukhoi-30MKI fighters and C-130J Super Hercules air craft, as well as the long range patrol and anti-sub-marine warfare Poseidon-81 aircraft, at the ANC, which can act as a pivot to counter China's strategic moves in the Indian Ocean Region. 

Weapon and Payload mounting

• Agni-III (3,000km range) inducted. Agni-IV (3,500km) & Agni-V (over 5,000km) to be ready in another 2-3 years.
• More Sukhoi-30MKI fighters, spy drones & helicopters in eastern theatre.
• More T-72 tanks in Ladakh & Arunachal.
• 2 new infantry divisions (36,000 soldiers) raised at Likabali & Missamari (Assam) in 2009-2010.
• Mountain strike corps (90,274 soldiers) to be fully raised by 2021.
• Ongoing deployment of 6 Akash surface-to-air missile squadrons in northeast.
• CCS has cleared a regiment of BrahMos supersonic cruise missiles for Arunachal.
• Activated ALGs in Ladakh (DBO, Nyoma & Fukche) and Arunachal (Pasighat, Mechuka, Walong, Along & Ziro).
• Military force-levels & infrastructure to be bolstered in A& N Islands).

Problems in Strategic counter move                                                          

But road and rail connectivity remain a major problem along the unresolved 4,057km Line of Actual Control (LAC), which witnesses almost daily "transgressions" by Chinese troops.

Chah Bahar, Its significance and the impediments in taking it ahead

Introduction

An India-operated port in Iran's Chabahar would open a gateway for the country to Afghanistan and Central Asia. The port is of strategic importance.

The decision to ink MoU with Iran for expansion of Chabahar Port, after a long delay, opens up major commercial and strategic opportunities for India

Why Chabahar is Crucial ?

1.      Sits at mouth of Strait of Hormuz area. It is at the Junction of shipping, oil trade routes About 100,000 ships sail by yearly

2.      It Connects three regions: Central Asia, South Asia and West Asia

3.      Chah Bahar will foster Closer ties with Iran will allow Delhi to secure cheaper energy imports. Chah Bahar has hold on two-thirds of world oil reserves. Chabahar Port route helps connect India with energy-rich Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan & other central Asian nations. An estimated 17 billion barrels of crude oil passes this way daily.

4.      It Gives India strategic heft in region; helps it bypass Pakistan & build closer ties with Iran and Afghanistan

5.      This route is 40% shorter, 30% less expensive than trade via the Red Sea-Suez Canal-Mediterranean route

6.      In the absence of transit through Pakistan, Iran is India's gateway to Afghanistan, Central Asia, and Russia and beyond and the Chabahar port is the key element in that

7.      The location of the port is significant as It is located barely 72 km away from the deep-sea Gwadar port. Thus Once functional, Chabahar will Offset China's growing influence and reach in the region. will further undermine Gwadar.

8.      While the Chabahar port is essentially meant for commercial purposes and provides transit route to Afghanistan, India Can use the facility to monitor Pakistani & Chinese activities in the India Ocean Region as well as Gulf. It could be convenient location for India to monitor activities of Pakistani Navy

9.      Indian investment in the port would serve as a link to Delaram-zaranj road that India built in Afghanistan. Chabahar port would give New Delhi a base to position itself after international troops withdraw from Afghanistan

10.  India-built Zaranj-Delaram road in Afghanistan will connect to the Chabahar port via Milak. Iran with financial aid from India is upgrading the Chabahar-Milakroad

11.  The Chabahar-Milak-Zaranj-Delaram highway will open up the Indian market to Afghan farm products and other exports. It will also help combat the scourge of illicit drugs production and export and assist the trade, transport and transit network of Iran

Significance of the deal for Afghanistan

1.      Unhindered access to the Indian Ocean

2.      India-built highway will link country to Chabahar port, further trade

3.      Afghanistan hopes to exploit $ltrillion of untapped mineral wealth to earn revenue

Run-Up To The Deal

In 2009, India built a 218 kin long (@$100m) link road from Delaram in western Afghanistan to Zaranj on the Iran-Afghan border to link up with Chabahar port

Zaranj Delaram highway connects with the 2,200 km two-lane metalled road network, known as the Garland Road that connects major cities in 'the country

Rational for indian Investment in Chabahar

An Indian JV company will lease two berths in Chahbahar's Phase-I for 10 years, which could be renewed by "mutual pact". The JV will invest $85.21 m for equipping the two berths further within 12 months.

r        India will invest $85m to build a container terminal & a multi-purpose cargo terminal

r        On May 6, 2015, Union minister Nitin Gadkari signed MoU with Iran to complete this by Dee 2016

r        Iran wants Chabahar to be the third major hub for its petrochemical industries

r        Indian private & public sector entities projected investment worth $22b in the free trade zone area

r        Chemicals, petrochem, steel, fertilizer are major sectors, besides Indian railways likely to invest

r        India was offered the project to develop Chabahar port in 2003 by Iran, intended to be a critical access-point to land locked Afghanistan

r        For Afghanistan, an operational Chabahar route was a better alternative. It would reduce its dependence  on Pakistan - the sole nation providing it access to the sea

r        Pakistan has been reluctant to allow Indian goods to pass overland through its territory

r        The project did not take off over US sanctions against Iran, but India has gone ahead now follwing lifting of the sanctions

Factors that will obstruct  Chabahar in its full development.

Chahbahar has the potential to alter the entire strategic relations of Afghanistan and Iran with India and oil geopolitics of Central Asia. But the path is not going to be easy.

1.          The fate of the Chabahar project will depend on successive governments showing sustained resolve in the face of geopolitical hurdles. The potential spoilers are several.

(a)     For one, relations between Tehran and the West, though vastly improved, remain fraught, with many hardliners in Iran believing the country was short-changed in the nuclear deal that paved the way for an end to sanctions. That, potentially, could lead to tensions

(b)    There could be differences over Iran’s role in Syria and Afghanistan.

(c)     Indian governments will also have to incentivise private corporations for using the Iranian route to transit goods to Central Asia, rather than the fast, cheap networks they now use through Singapore and China.

(d)    Finally, the project can only be successful if Indian manufacturing is globally competitive.