राजनीतिः चाबहार की अहमियत

राजनीतिः चाबहार की अहमियत
चाबहार होकर भारत को अफगानिस्तान जाने का एक रास्ता मिला है। वहीं अफगानिस्तान का व्यापार भी दुनिया के बाकी हिस्सों से बढ़ेगा। लेकिन सबसे ज्यादा लाभार्थी ईरान होगा। भविष्य में ईरान इसे उत्तर-दक्षिण परिवहन गलियारे से जोड़ेगा जो यूरोप तक जाता है। ईरान की भविष्य की योजना चीन के ‘वन बेल्ट वन रोड’ के लिए चुनौती है।
भारत-ईरान संबंधों में उतार-चढ़ाव के बीच तीन दिसंबर को चाबहार बंदरगाह के पहले चरण का उद्घाटन हो गया। चाबहार के पहले चरण की शुरुआत भारत-ईरान संबंधों में भी एक नए अध्याय की शुरुआत है। ईरान के राष्ट्रपति हसन रूहानी इस बंदरगाह का उद्घाटन किया। अब भारत, पाकिस्तान को छोड़, सीधे अफगानिस्तान और मध्य एशिया से व्यापारिक रिश्ते कायम कर सकेगा। बंदरगाह की शुरुआत पश्चिम और मध्य पूर्व एशिया की कूटनीति को सीधे प्रभावित करेगी। क्योंकि अब ईरान का कद यूरेशिया की सीमा तक बढ़ गया है। पाकिस्तान तो चिंतित है ही, चिंता चीन को भी होगी।
ईरान इस बंदरगाह के व्यापारिक इस्तेमाल से जहां मजबूत आर्थिक शक्ति बनेगा, वहीं चीन द्वारा पाकिस्तान के तट पर विकसित ग्वादर बंदरगाह के लिए चुनौती भी। मध्य एशिया और पश्चिम एशिया की कूटनीति में सऊदी अरब के नेतृत्व वाले सुन्नी गठबंधन को लगातार चुनौती दे रहा ईरान इस समय किसी को भी आंख दिखाने की स्थिति में है। सीरिया, यमन, लेबनान में अपने सफल हस्तक्षेप के बाद ईरान ने दुनिया को यह संदेश दिया है कि पश्चिम एशिया और मध्य-पूर्व एशिया में उसे कमजोर आंकना ठीक नहीं है।
चाबहार होकर भारत को अफगानिस्तान जाने का एक रास्ता मिला है। वहीं अफगानिस्तान का व्यापार भी दुनिया के बाकी हिस्सों से बढ़ेगा। लेकिन सबसे ज्यादा लाभार्थी ईरान होगा। भविष्य में ईरान इसे उत्तर-दक्षिण परिवहन गलियारे से जोड़ेगा जो यूरोप तक जाता है। ईरान की भविष्य की योजना चीन के ‘वन बेल्ट वन रोड’ के लिए चुनौती है। ईरान दुनिया को यह बताने में कामयाब रहा है कि ओमान की खाड़ी और हिंदी महासागर से मध्य एशिया और यूरोप तक पहुंचने का एक महत्त्वपूर्ण रास्ता ईरान है। चाबहार चीन के अलावा अमेरिका के लिए भी एक संदेश है। क्योंकि ईरान से खराब संबंध ने अमेरिका को पाकिस्तान पर निर्भर बना दिया। आज भी अमेरिका अफगानिस्तान में नाटो सैनिकों तक सैन्य साजो-सामान पहुंचाने के लिए कराची बंदरगाह पर निर्भर है। अमेरिका की इसी कमजोरी का लाभ पाकिस्तान ने अकसर उठाया है।

चाबहार के पहले चरण के उद््घाटन ने पाकिस्तान की चिंता बढ़ाई है। भारत को अफगानिस्तान तक पहुंचने का आसान रास्ता मिल गया है। पाकिस्तान का आरोप है कि भारत चाबहार के रास्ते अफगानिस्तान पहुंच पाकिस्तान को घेरेगा। भारत पाकिस्तान को दोनों सीमाओं पर घेरने की योजना में है। पाकिस्तान और चीन दोनों मजबूरी में चाबहार में घुसपैठ करना चाहते हैं। उधर ईरान संतुलन साधने की रणनीति पर है। अमेरिकी राष्ट्रपति डोनाल्ड ट्रंप ईरान के प्रति लगातार सख्त हो रहे हैं। सऊदी अरब के दबाव में वे ईरान से हुए परमाणु करार को एकतरफा रद््द करने की बात कर रहे हैं। यही कारण है कि चाबहार खोलने का मतलब यह नहीं है कि ईरान भारत के प्रति खासा उदार हो गया है। ईरान भारत से अपनेसंबंधों को व्यावहारिकता के आधार पर तय करेगा। ईरान की व्यावहारिक कूटनीति ने उसे इराक, सीरिया और लेबनान में मजबूत किया। कतर जैसा सुन्नी देश सऊदी अरब से विद्रोह कर ईरान से संबंध बढ़ाने को तरजीह दे रहा है।
भारत, आस्ट्रेलिया, जापान और अमेरिका के चतुर्भुज गठबंधन पर ईरान की नजर है। ईरान खुले पर तौर पर भारत-अमेरिका की बढ़ती नजदीकियों पर कोई प्रतिक्रिया नहीं दे रहा है, लेकिन व्यवहार में वह भारत को समय-समय पर झटका देने में संकोच नहीं करता। ईरान ने फरजाद बी गैस क्षेत्र से गैस निकालने का अधिकार भारतीय कंपनी ओएनजीसी-विदेश को देने के बजाय एक रूसी कंपनी को दे दिया। कूटनीति के जानकारों के अनुसार भारत को ईरान ने जानबूझ कर झटका दिया। जबकि ओएनजीसी विदेश लिमिटेड ने इस गैस क्षेत्र में दिलचस्पी दिखाई थी।
गौरतलब है कि इस गैस क्षेत्र की खोज भारतीय कंपनी ने की थी। ईरान ने भारत को झटका देते हुए तर्क दिया कि गैस क्षेत्र की खोज और अनुसंधान तक का अधिकार भारतीय कंपनी के पास है। इसलिए गैस निकालने का काम वह रूसी कंपनी को दे रहा हैं। हालांकि भारत ने इस गैस क्षेत्र में 11 अरब डॉलर के निवेश का प्रस्ताव दिया था। यही नहीं, भारत-अमेरिका की बढ़ती नजदीकियों के मद््देनजर ईरान ने भारत को तेल सौदों में दी गई कुछ छूट भी वापस ले ली थी।
दक्षिण पूर्व एशिया में अमेरिका के साथ अहम सहयोगी की भूमिका निभा रहे भारत को रूस-ईरान गठजोड़ पर ध्यान रखना होगा। क्योंकि ईरान की नाराजगी भारत की परेशानी का सबब बन जाएगी। अफगानिस्तान से लेकर मध्य एशिया तक के व्यापारिक रास्ते भारत के लिए ईरान ही खोल सकता है। पाकिस्तान भारत के लिए अफगानिस्तान का रास्ता आज भी खोलने को तैयार नहीं है। वैसे में भारत के लिए चाबहार के अलावा कोई और दूसरा रास्ता नहीं है। भारत को यह सावधानी बरतनी होगी कि यहां चीन और पाकिस्तान घुसपैठ करने को तैयार हैं।
अगर मध्य एशिया और पश्चिम एशिया में भारत को अपने महत्त्व को बनाए रखना है तो ईरान से संबंध मधुर रखने ही होंगे। सऊदी अरब के तमाम अहसानों के बावजूद पाकिस्तान ईरान से संबंध खराब करने को तैयार नहीं है। पाकिस्तान ईरान के महत्त्व को समझता है। पाकिस्तान की एक बड़ी सीमा ईरान से लगती है। पाकिस्तान अच्छी तरह जानता है कि इस समय अफगान-तालिबान के कमांडरों की ईरान में काफी घुसपैठ है। अफगान-तालिबान के नेता ईरान के संपर्क में है। इसका खुलासा अमेरिकी मीडिया ने भी किया है।
चीन की चिंता अलग है। चीन-पाकिस्तान आर्थिक कॉरिडोर का एक बड़ा हिस्सा पाकिस्तान के बलूचिस्तान प्रांत में है, जिसकी सीमा ईरान के साथ लगती है। ग्वादर बंदरगाह भी बलूचिस्तान में स्थित है। ईरान से खराब संबंध सीधे चीनी निवेश को प्रभावित करेगा। बलूच विद्रोही पहले ही चीन-पाकिस्तान आर्थिक कॉरिडोर का विरोध कर रहे हैं। यही कारण है कि पाकिस्तान आतंकवाद के खिलाफ सऊदी अरब के नेतृत्व में बने 41 देशों के संयुक्त सैन्य गठबंधन में शामिल होने के बावजूद ईरान से अपने संबंधों को मधुर बनाए हुए है। इस गठबंधन में सीरिया, ईरान और इराक नहीं हैं। ईरान इस गठबंधन का घोर विरोधी है।
अफगानिस्तान भी ईरान की बढ़ती ताकत को समझ रहा है। अफगानिस्तान को पता है कि ईरान शुरू से ही उसके आंतरिक मामलों में दखल देता रहा है। क्वेटा-कंधार-अश्काबाद आर्थिक गलियारा जो पाकिस्तान से अफगानिस्तान के रास्ते तुर्कमेनिस्तान जाता है, उस पर ईरान की नजर काफी समय से है। यह आर्थिक गलियारा ईरान की सीमा से लगते हुए तुर्कमेनिस्तान को जाता है। इस गलियारे पर कब्जा करने की कोशिश पाकिस्तान ने भी की, लेकिन ईरान ने उसे सफल नहीं होने दिया। ईरान समय-समय पर इस गलियारे पर नियंत्रण के लिए स्थानीय अफगान आबादी, तालिबान और अन्य गुटों को आर्थिक और सैन्य मदद देता रहा है। अफगानिस्तान में इस समय ईरान फिर सक्रिय है। हाल ही में पश्चिमी मीडिया में इस तरह की खबरें आई हैं।
खबरों के मुताबिक अफगान-तालिबान के लड़ाके ईरानी सेना से प्रशिक्षण ले रहे हैं। वे क्वेटा से सीधे ईरान की सीमा में जाते हैं। उन्हें आर्थिक मदद भी मिलती है। अफगानिस्तान के फरह में नाटो सेना और तालिबान की लड़ाई में मारे गए तालिबानी लड़ाकों के बीच कुछ ईरानी सैनिकों के शव भी मिले। खबरों के मुताबिक अफगानिस्तान के हेलमंड, कंधार, हेरात प्रांतों में ईरानी सैनिक सीधे हस्तक्षेप कर रहे हैं। इसके बावजूद अफगानिस्तान के राष्ट्रपति अशरफ घनी ईरान से अच्छे संबंधों की वकालत कर रहे हैं, क्योंकि अफगानिस्तान को बाहरी दुनिया से व्यापारिक पहुंच के लिए चाबहार बंदरगाह की जरूरत है। अफगान-पाक संबंध इस कदर खराब है कि पाकिस्तान अफगान सीमा की बाड़बंदी में लग गया है।

The need to rethink skilling India

The need to rethink skilling India
Skill training should be viewed as a complementary part of mainstream education, rather than being regarded as an inferior alternative
Young and aspirational, the millennial generation that makes up about 40% of India’s population has long been regarded as the saviour and driver of future economic growth. Yet, the gap between the productive labour force and the employment and entrepreneurial opportunities available to them continues to widen. The fourth Industrial Revolution has already made its mark on certain sectors. The economic turmoil that could be brought on by further large-scale disruption should be a cause of concern.

India’s status as an information technology (IT) powerhouse has fostered the false hope that the nation could be saved from future disruption. It should be noted, however, that the global appeal of the Indian IT industry has been the labour cost arbitrage available to multinational corporations looking to capitalize on a young, educated, English-speaking population. Low wages cannot drive economic growth or foster innovation, and the sector’s professionals are easily replaceable if they ask for higher pay or wish to move up the ladder.

With prestigious and highly regarded Indian sectors such as IT amounting to little more than cyber “coolies”, the manufacturing and agricultural sectors are in an even more precarious situation. Much of India’s workforce is already hampered with outdated and irrelevant skills. As technology continues to surge forward in leaps and bounds, both blue- and white-collar jobs will become increasingly sparse.

To be fair, policymakers recognize the problem and have taken steps to combat it. The “Skilling India” programme aimed at accelerating the pace of skill development, creating new employment opportunities and reforming India’s archaic labour ecosystem is a positive step. Yet the challenges faced by the ministry of skill development and entrepreneurship (MSDE) are complex and varied.

Encumbered with the Herculean challenge of skilling 400 million young Indians by 2022, the MSDE is forced to coordinate with 22 departments and ministries at the national level, and many more at the sub-national levels. The MSDE also must account for the possibility of intra-state migration, rapid urbanization and possible changes in social fabric as populations react to new job opportunities.

Fulfilling the great expectations set for the MSDE seems unlikely unless certain changes are made. A prime example of the worst-case scenario can be seen with the National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC), an autonomous entity functioning under the MSDE. Tasked specifically with the responsibility of skilling 10 million people by 2020, the NSDC has struggled to achieve its goal. If India wishes to avoid economic stagnation and societal upheaval, additional policy measures must be undertaken to cut through bureaucratic red tape and bring clarity to the policy framework. Creating a coherent organizational structure is the first step—the NSDC, for example, has been tasked with managing the financing processes while also implementing the skilling programmes. Separating the two tasks and allowing the ministry of finance to manage the financial aspects would allow the NSDC to focus on its core competencies, allowing it to be more effective and efficient.

It is also imperative that the MSDE focus on implementing a multi-skilling aspect to its training programme moving forward. As job markets evolve at unprecedented rates, it is incumbent upon the MSDE to provide its trainees with more than one way to earn a living. Additionally, the ministry should also explore the possibility of programmes aimed at skilling and reskilling older “educated” populations that might be left behind owing to disruption and technological advances.

Furthermore, the curriculum and education system offered also needs to be overhauled. Industry sources claim that close to 90% of trainees have limited understanding of the business sectors they are entering. For many skill programme graduates, the training does very little to prepare them for their day-to-day jobs.

Targeted initiatives focused on updating skills can help ensure that the training benefits its intended audience. A solutions-based approach, where instructors employ case studies and present relevant problems, would provide students with a holistic education, allowing them to compete at both the national and international levels.

Implementation of licensing and regulation procedures can also help boost the Indian labour force’s chances globally. Most developed nations have systems in place to ensure that electricians, plumbers, agricultural machine operators and other skilled trade workers update their skills regularly through the licensing and regulatory mechanisms. Implementing such a system without creating additional layers of burdensome bureaucracy might be challenging, but could also be a key difference marker for the Indian labour force moving forward.

Cutting away excessive bureaucratic fat, implementing structural changes to the pedagogy of the skill training system, and installing licensing and regulatory mechanisms are all important steps to help reskill India. The most important change, however, needs to happen on a cultural level. Skill training should be viewed as a complementary part of mainstream education, rather than being regarded as an inferior alternative. Gainful employment through skilled trades needs to be embraced by the wider Indian public and given the respectability and opportunity it deserves, for true change to be brought about. Otherwise, India’s youth will be relegated to the same conditions that their grandparents were subject to.

first woman Secretary General of the Lok Sabha.

Snehlata Shrivastava, a 1982-batch retired IAS officer of the Madhya Pradesh cadre, was on Wednesday appointed the first woman Secretary General of the Lok Sabha. The appointment was made by Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan.

.........Belonging to the Madhya Pradesh cadre (1982 batch), she is currently Secretary, Justice, in the Law Ministry. She would assume charge on December 1. Shrivastav would be the first woman to be appointed to the post, although the Rajya Sabha has had a woman secretary-general — B S Rama Devi — in the past, who also served as the Governor of Himachal Pradesh after retirement.
The secretaries-general of the two Houses enjoy the rank of the Cabinet Secretary. Mishra, her predecessor, was also a serving IAS officer when he was appointed as the Secretary-General in 2014.

Q. Find incorrect statement(s) about Secretary General of Lok Sabha?

No woman has ever held this position.
The Secretary general of Lok Sabha is ex-officio secretary general of Rajya Sabha as well.
Secretary general enjoys rank of a cabinet Secretary.
In the table of precedence, LS Secretary general is ranked higher than UPSC Chairman but lower than CAG.
Answer codes

Only 1 and 4
Only 2 and 3
Only 1, 2 and 4
None of the given statement

Level of Urbanisation

Level of Urbanisation

Among all the States and Union territories, the National Capital Territory of Delhi and the Union territory of Chandigarh are most urbanized with 97.5 percent and 97.25 percent urban population respectively, followed by Daman and Diu (75.2 percent) and Puducherry (68.3 percent).

Among States, Goa is now the most urbanised State with 62.2 percent urban population, a significant increase since 2001 when urban population of Goa was 49.8%. Another significant instance of rapid urbanisation is that of Kerala, its urban population is now 47.7 per cent, while a decade ago it was just 25.9 percent. Among the North-Eastern States, Mizoram is most urbanised with 51.5 per cent urban population, though in terms of absolute contribution to total urban population in the country, Mizoram’s contribution is just 0.1 percent. Similarly Sikkim, which was just 11.0 urbanised a decade ago became almost 25 percent urbanised in 2011. Among major states, Tamil Nadu continues to be the most urbanized state with 48.4 percent of the population living in urban areas followed now by Kerala (47.7 per cent) upstaging Maharashtra (45.2 percent).

The proportion of urban population continues to be the lowest in Himachal Pradesh with 10.0 per cent followed by Bihar with 11.3 percent, Assam (14.1 percent) and Orissa (16.7 percent).

In terms of absolute number of persons living in urban areas, Maharashtra continues to lead with 50.8 million persons which comprises 13.5 percent of the total urban population of the country. Uttar Pradesh accounts for about 44.4 million, followed by Tamil Nadu at 34.9 million.

Urban Growth

In India out of the total population of 1210.2 million as on 1st March, 2011, about 377.1 million are in urban areas. The net addition of population in urban areas over the last decade is 91.0 million.

The percentage of urban population to the total population of the country stands at 31.6. There has been an increase 3.35 percentage points in the proportion of urban population in the country during 2001-2011.

The provisional results of Census 2011 reveals that there is an increase of 2774 towns comprising 242 Statutory and 2532 Census towns over the decade. Growth rate of population in urban areas was 31.8%.

Further the number of million plus cities/urban agglomeration UA has increased from 35 in Census 2001 to 53 in Census 2011. The new entrants are Srinagar UA Jam-mu and Kashmir,Union Territory of Chandigarh UA, Jodhpurs UA and Kota Rajas than, Ghaziabad UA Uttar Pradesh, Ranchi UA Jharkhand, Raipur UA and Durg-Bhilainagar UA Chattisgarh, Gwalior UA Madhya Pradesh, Vasai Virar and Aurangabad UA Maharashtra, Kozhikode UA, Thrissur UA, Malappuram UA, Thiruvananthapuram UA, Kannur UA and Kollam UA Kerala, and Tiruchirapalli US Tamil Nadu. So while the States of Jammu and Kashmir and Chattisgarh now also have million plus city/UA, Kerala now has as many as 7 million plus cities/UA, a quantum jump from the situation in 2001 when just Kochi UA was a million plus city/UA.
Population Census 2001 and 2011

Persons in million numbers Decadal growth in population %
2001 2011 1991-2001 2001-2011
Total 1029 1210 21.5 17.6
Rural 743 833 18.1 12.2
Urban 286
27.81% 377
31.16% 31.5 31.8
+0.3%

Urban areas

Urban areas have been recognized as “engines of inclusive economic growth”. Of the 121 crore Indians, 83.3 crore live in rural areas while 37.7 crore stay in urban areas, i.e approx 32 % of the population. The census of India, 2011 defines urban settlement as :-

All the places which have municipality, corporation, cantonment board or notified town area committee
All the other places which satisfy following criteria :

a. A minimum population of 5000 persons ;

b. At least 75 % of male main working population engaged in non-agricultural pursuits ; and

c. A density of population of at least 400 persons per square kilometer

The first category of urban units are known as Statutory town. These town are notified under law by respective State/UT government and have local bodies like municipal corporation, municipality, etc, irrespective of demographic characteristics. For example- Vadodara (Municipal corporation), Shimla (Municipal corporation)

The second category of towns is known as Census Town. These were identified on the basis of census 2001 data.Cities are urban areas with more than 100,000 population. Urban areas below 100,000 are called towns in India

Similarly Census of India defines:-

Urban Agglomeration (UA): An urban agglomeration is a continuous urban spread constituting a town and its adjoining outgrowths (OGs), or two or more physically contiguous towns together with or without outgrowths of such towns. An Urban Agglomeration must consist of at least a statutory town and its total population (i.e. all the constituents put together) should not be less than 20,000 as per the 2001 Census. In varying local conditions, there were similar other combinations which have been treated as urban agglomerations satisfying the basic condition of contiguity. Examples: Greater Mumbai UA, Delhi UA, etc.

Out Growths (OG): An Out Growth (OG) is a viable unit such as a village or a hamlet or an enumeration block made up of such village or hamlet and clearly identifiable in terms of its boundaries and location. Some of the examples are railway colony, university campus, port area, military camps, etc., which have come up near a statutory town outside its statutory limits but within the revenue limits of a village or villages contiguous to the town.

While determining the outgrowth of a town, it has been ensured that it possesses the urban features in terms of infrastructure and amenities such as pucca roads, electricity, taps, drainage system for disposal of waste water etc. educational institutions, post offices, medical facilities, banks etc. and physically contiguous with the core town of the UA. Examples: Central Railway Colony (OG), Triveni Nagar (N.E.C.S.W.) (OG), etc.

Each such town together with its outgrowth(s) is treated as an integrated urban area and is designated as an ‘urban agglomeration’. Number of towns/UA/OG 2011, according to Census 2011 Census are :-

1 Statutory Towns — 4,041

2 Census Towns — 3,894

3 Urban Agglomerations — 475

4 Out Growths — 981

At the central level, nodal agencies which look after program and policies for urban development are Ministry of housing and urban poverty alleviation (MoHUPA) and Ministry of Urban development. Urban development is a state subject. At state level there are respective ministries, but according to 74th Constitutional Amendment act,1992, it is mandatory for every state to form ULBs and devolve power, conduct regular election, etc. Under 12 schedule of Indian constitution , 18 such functions have been defined which are to be performed by ULBs and for that states should support the ULBs through finances and decentralization of power, for more autonomy. But this is not uniform throughout all the states and still more is need to be done to empower ULBs in India.

Urban areas are managed by urban local bodies(ULBs), who look after the service delivery and grievance redressal of citizens. There are eight type of urban local government in India- municipal corporation municipality, notified area committee, town area committee, cantonment board, township, port trust and special purpose agencies.

Migration is the key process underlying growth of urbanisation; and the process of urbanization is closely related with rural to urban migration of people. In most developing countries of the world where rate of urban growth is relatively higher the urban-ward migration is usually high. Rural to urban migration is by far the major component of urbanisation and is the chief mechanism by which urbanisation trends all the world-over has been accomplished

After independence, urbanization in India is increasing at very high pace, but at the same time there are some problems, which are becoming barriers for balance, equitable and inclusive development.

INSTC

INSTC
India, Iran and Russia had in September 2000 signed the INSTC agreement to build a corridor to provide the shortest multi-model transportation route linking the Indian Ocean and the Persian Gulf to the Caspian Sea via Iran and St Petersburg. From St Petersburg, North Europe is within easy reach via the Russian Federation. The estimated capacity of the corridor is 20-30 million tonnes of goods per year.

The route primarily involves moving freight from India, Iran, Azerbaijan and Russia via ship, rail and road. The objective of the corridor is to increase trade connectivity between major cities such as Mumbai, Moscow, Tehran, Baku, Bandar Abbas, Astrakhan, Bandar Anzali and etc.

Significance of the corridor: Conceived well before China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), INSTC will not only help cut down on costs and time taken for transfer of goods from India to Russia and Europe via Iran but also provide an alternative connectivity initiative to countries in the Eurasian region. It will be India’s second corridor after the Chabahar Port to access resource rich Central Asia and its market.

Ajeya Warrior-2017:,,,Sentinel- 5P, ,,Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

Ajeya Warrior-2017:
It is a fourteen days training exercise between the Indian Army and the British Army. It is being held in Rajasthan. It is the third joint military exercise between the two countries. The first exercise was conducted in 2013 at Belgaum, Karnataka, whereas for the second exercise in 2015, an Indian Army contingent had visited the United Kingdom.

The aim of the exercise is to build and promote bilateral relations and enhance interoperability while sharing experiences between the Royal British Army and the Indian Army.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sentinel- 5P, a European satellite tracking the levels air pollutants around the world has beamed back new views of the Earth’s atmosphere, including images of pollution drifting away from power plants in India.

,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC)

The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) is a political and economic alliance of six countries in the Arabian Peninsula: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
The #38thGulfCooperation Council summit is being held in #Kuwait.
Established in 1981, the GCC promotes economic, security, cultural and social cooperation between the six states and holds a summit every year to discuss cooperation and regional affairs.
Due to their geographic proximity, similar political systems and common sociocultural stances, the immediate goal was for these countries to protect themselves from threats after the Iran-Iraq War.